History of India Essay

India, or Bharat, the fifth largest and the second populated country in the world, is one of the few countries which can boast of an ancient, deep-rooted and diverse culture, which stretches back to 5000 years. In ancient times, India was known as ‘Bharata Varsha’, the country of the legendary king of Puranic times called Bharat, and was believed to be a part of the island continent called ‘Jambu Dvipa’. Geologically speaking, India formed part of the Gondwana land and was attached to Antarctica and Australia, before it was liberated from the Antarctica complex about 135 million years ago and started drifting towards the north and finally joining South Asia about 45 million years ago. The Siwalik foothills of the north-western Himalayas served as home to the fossil primate genus known as Ramapithecus, which lived some 14 million years ago. Researches have also found that a species resembling the Australopithecus lived in India some 2 million years ago. Some anthropologists believe that the Chotanagpur region witnessed the transformation of Homo Erectus to Homo Sapiens. This claim is based on the findings of hand axes and blades in the region of Pathalgarwa and the discovery of Harappan pottery in the nearby areas. Early Civilisations Extensive archaeological excavations carried out at Mohenjodaro in the present Pakistan in 1922 brought to light the existence of a highly sophisticated and urbanized culture known as the Harappan Civilization in India, which dominated the north-western part of the Indian Subcontinent. It is believed that this civilisation covered an area of 1600 km from east to west and 1100 km from north to south, which exceeds the area occupied by contemporary civilisations like the Egyptian and Mesopotamian Civilisations. This civilisation is generally dated from about 2600 to 2000 B.C. However, Carbon-14 analysis of the structures at Mehrgarh near the Bolan Pass has indicated that the people of this place were growing wheat and barley and tending sheep and goat as early as 5000 B.C. Archaeologists have by now discovered more than 800 sites related to the Harappan Civilisation. Most scholars believe that the Harappan Civilisation was decayed as a result of the ‘problems of ecology’. The next most important phase in the Indian history came centuries later with the advent of Aryans from the northwest of India. The Aryan migration to India was gradual and spread over many centuries. There is a difference of opinion about the original home of the Aryans. The different suggestions given by different scholars vary considerably in terms of geographic position in the world. Bal Gangadhar Tilak suggested that the Arctic region could be the home of Aryans. P.Giles suggested Hungary, Austria, Bohemia or the Valley of Danube as the possible home of Aryans, while Max Muller suggested Central Asia, Penka suggested Germany or Scandinavia, Edward Mayer suggested Plateau of Pamir and Dr B.K.Ghosh and Gordon Childe suggested South Russia. There are others who vouch for an Indian origin of the Aryans, like Ganganath Jha (origin from Brahmarishi Desh), D.S.Kala (hilly region of Himalayas and Kashmir), Avinashchandra Das (Saptasindhu Pradesh) and Rajbali Pandey (Madhya Desh). The Aryans developed a remarkable culture, popularly known as Vedic culture, which was markedly different from the Harappan Culture. The Vedic period is divided into the Rig Vedic Period (1500-1000 B.C.) and the Later Vedic Period (1000-600 B.C.). The Vedic period can be considered as the foundation stone for the Indian culture in all its multitudinous aspects. It laid the foundation for the Hindu Dharma and produced a host of religious and secular texts, which constitute a very important part of the religious heritage of India. The Vedas, Upavedas, Upanishads, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and the Dharmashastras were produced during these times. The institution of gotra and the caste system appeared in the later Vedic times. From this period onwards, India functioned as a virtually self-contained political and cultural unit, which gave rise to a distinctive tradition that was associated primarily with Hinduism, although other religions, notably Buddhism and Jainism in the ancient times, Islam in the medieval period and Christianity in the modern times, did make a strong impact on the socio-cultural aspects of India. Endless Diversity There is an endless diversity in India starting from its physical features to Geologic structure, fauna and flora, demographic structure, races, languages, religions, arts and crafts and customs and traditions. India has been variously described as â€Å"the Mini World†, the â€Å"epitome of the world† and an â€Å"ethnological museum†. The diversities are so bewildering that for many people in the Western world, India remains a land full of mysteries and myths. The diversity in India is unique in the sense that it binds the country together in some form of common identification. Underneath this diversity lies the continuity of Indian civilization and social structure from the very earliest times until the present day. This concept of ‘Unity in Diversity’ is perhaps typical of India and has served as its strength during all ages and during the roughest times in its political and cultural history. It is amazing that different elements of Indian culture, particularly its drama and the arts, despite passing through different political phases, are characterised by an unmistakable unity and continuity. The successive waves of migration into India starting with the Indo-Greeks (2nd Century B.C.), the Kushans (First century A.D.), the incursions from the northwest by Arab, Turkish, Persian and others beginning in the early 8th century A.D. and finally the establishment of the Muslim empire by the 13th century A.D. and the advent of Europeans ‘ the Portuguese, the Dutch, the English, the Danes and the French ‘ into India, have brought in new elements in arts, music, literature, customs and traditions, which got absorbed into the Indian way of life, thus enriching the Indian culture . From the very ancient times India not only absorbed the foreign cultures into its composite fold, but it also managed to spread the rich elements of its own unique culture in different parts of the world. It is historically recorded that the Chola rulers had cultural contacts with countries like Ilamandalam (Sri Lanka), Sri Vijaya (Sumatra), Chavakam (Java), Kamboja (Cambodia) and Kadaram (Malay Peninsula). Evidences of these early Indian contacts are still found in the art and architecture of these countries. The Southeast Asian countries formed a stronghold of Indian culture from the early centuries of the Christian era. The various Southeast Asian languages show strong influence of Sanskrit. Many earlier kingdoms of these countries had adopted Hinduism as their religion, whose influence is perceptible even today. India presents a picture of unity in diversity to which history provides no parallel. There is complete harmony in India in each of its cultural elements. Religion and philosophy, which forms the bedrock of any civilisation, are evident in India in the form of all major religions in the world — Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism and Judaism. Several unique philosophical thoughts like Kapila’s Sankhya Philosophy, Patanjali’s Yoga, Gautami’s Nyaya, Kananada’s Vaisheshika and Jaimini’s Purva Mimamsa developed in India and attracted the attention of the outside world. Religious tolerance has been the characteristic of the Indian civilisation right from the ancient days. Hindu sages declare that there is no single religion that teaches ways leading to an exclusive path to salvation. All genuine spiritual paths are valid and all great religions are like the branches of a tree ‘ the tree of religion. This doctrine lays foundation for the Hindu ideal of universal harmony. This tradition was carried forward in the medieval times by the Sufi and Bhakti saints like Ramananda, Kabir, Guru Nanak, Baba Farid, Baba Malukadasa, Baba Dharinidasa and Garibadasa. Indeed, the framers of the Indian Constitution ensured the continuance of these glorious traditions when they declared India as â€Å"Sovereign, Socialist, Secular and Democratic Republic†. Regional Diversity: Each state of India has its own language and set of tribes, festivals, arts and crafts and customs and traditions. While there are the Chenchus tribes in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, Bhils and Gonds in the Central India, Dogris, Gujjars and Ladakhis in the Jammu and Kashmir and Nagas, Bodos, Mishmis, Gharos and Khasis in the Northeast, there are tribes like the Jarewas, Onges, Andamanis and Sentinelese in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. There are some festivals, which are typical of particular states, towns or villages like the Bonnalu of Andhra Pradesh, Pushkar of Rajasthan, Rajrani of Orissa, Teej of Rajasthan and Bogali Bihu of Assam. Each region is also identified with its typical folk and tribal dance forms, like Puli Vesham of Andhra Pradesh, Keli Gopal of Assam, Chhau of Bihar, Dandia of Gujarat, Bhangra of Punjab and Otthanthulal of Kerala. A similar distinction can also be established in the folk drama, theatre and puppetry forms, as also the arts and crafts. Development of Arts and Fine Arts There was a continuous evolution of drama, music, dance, painting and folk art forms under the different political rules in India that ultimately led to the development of the definite ‘Indian’ element in each of these forms. Thus, within the ambience of Indian culture one can identify ‘Indian Music’, ‘Indian Dance’, ‘Indian Theatre’, ‘Indian Literature’, ‘Indian Fairs and Festivals’ and so on. Indian music has a very long and unbroken tradition, which is an accumulated heritage of centuries and traces its roots to Vedic days. Bharata’s Natyashastra (4th Century A.D.) is a great, comprehensive work on the science and technique of Indian drama, dance and music. The advent of Muslim rule in India brought in a changed perspective in the style of the Northern Indian music. The traditional Hindu devotional music form of dhruvapad got transformed into the classical dhrupad form of singing under the Muslim rule. The khayal developed as a new form of singing in the 18th century A.D. and became equally popular among the Hindus and Muslims. Different ragas began to be introduced from the medieval times. Tansen created many new ragas like Darbari Kanada, Darbari Todi, Miyan Ki Todi, Miya ki Malhar and Miya ki Sarang, which until now, are regarded as the foremost ragas of Northern India. Sultan Hussain Sarki of Jaunpur introduced ragas like Jaunpuri tori and Hussaini Kanada. Amir Khusro is credited with the creation of the Hemant, Prabhat Kali and Hem Behag ragas. A large variety of foreign musical instruments like Harmonium, Sarod, Shehnai, Sitar, Tabla and Violin were introduced in India to supplement the ancient musical instruments like Flute, Nadaswaram, Veena, Gootuvadhyam, Thavil, Mridangam and Plain drum. The six outstanding Sanskrit playwrights of all times, Shudraka, Harsha, VisakhA.D.atta, Bhasa, Kalidasa and Bhavabhuti have made tremendous contributions in the field of dramatics. Kalidasa’s Shakuntala, King Harsha’s Ratnavali, Bhasa’s Swapna-vasavadatta, Bhavabhuti’s Uttara-rama-charita and Mahavira-charita, Visakhadatta’s Mudrarakshasa are some of the outstanding Sanskrit plays, which indicate that India had a highly sophisticated theatre tradition in ancient times when in most other countries it was still in its infancy. Again in the field of literature, the earliest writing can be traced to the Rig Vedic poetry in Sanskrit. The Rigveda consists of 1028 suktas or hymns that are distributed in ten books called mandalas. This is perhaps, the earliest poetry in the world. The two great Sanskrit epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata composed by Valmiki and Vyasa respectively, along with the Puranas, constitute the pillars of the Indian literature. The Manu Smriti (1st century B.C.) is the best illustrator of the Dharma-sastras or Smritis or the Hindu religious laws. Kalidasa, Bairavi, Sudraka, Vishnu Sharma, Dandin and others composed several literary masterpieces in the ancient times. India’s contribution to the world was also immense in the field of astronomy, mathematics and medicine. Aryabhatta was the first to state that the earth moves round the sun and that the eclipses are caused by the shA.D.ow of the earth falling on the moon. Aryabhatta’s Aryabhatiya, Dasagitika-Sutra and Aryastasata belonging to the 5th century, Varahamihira’s Pancha-siddhantika, Brahmagupta’s Brahmasphuta-siddhanta and Khanda-khadyaka, Bhaskaracharya’s Siddhanta-shiromani and Karana-kutuhala and Bhoja’s Raja-mriganka are important ancient Indian texts on astronomy. Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans, which was consolidated 2500 years ago by Charaka, who was described as the ‘Father of Medicine’. Another ancient Indian Sushruta, who is considered as the ‘Father of Surgery’, is believed to have conducted complicated surgeries using over 125 different surgical equipments. Usage of anaesthesia was also well known in ancient India. Like-wise deep knowledge of anatomy, physiology, aetiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts. India’s most precious gift to the world is zero (0), which wa s referred to as Shunya in the ancient texts. Algebra, trigonometry and calculus also came from India. One of the best-known achievements of the Indian mathematics is the decimal system. Its first occurrence was on a plate of the year 595 A.D. where the date 346 A.D. was written in decimal place-value notation. Aryabhatta, who calculated the value of p as 3.1416, is also credited with the creation of Algebraic analysis. Budhayana explained the concept of the Pythagorean Theorem way back in the 6th century. Brahmagupta’s Brahma-Sphuta-Siddhanta has two chapters devoted to arithmetic, algebra and geometry. Bhaskara’s Lilavati was for many centuries a standard work on arithmetic and Mensuration in the East. The world’s first university was established in Takshila in 700 B.C., where more than 10,500 students from all over the world studied over sixty different subjects. The University of Nalanda established in the 5th century B.C. was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education. Described as â€Å"The Oxford University of Mahayana Buddhism†, it offered wide range of subjects like literature, logic, grammar, medicine, philosophy and astronomy. Sanskrit is the mother of all the European languages. A report in the Forbes magazine of July 1987 described Sanskrit is the most suitable language for the computer software. Vaishali, in modern Bihar, is often described as the World’s First Republic, as it had a duly elected assembly of representatives and efficient Administration as early as the 6th century B.C. Modern India The British rule in India, despite its several excesses and oppressive characteristics, had made several useful and lasting contributions to the Indian culture. Several social and administrative reforms were introduced during the British period. Warren Hastings brought about a reorganisation of judicial institutions and re-codification of the Hindu law. He established courts of appeal for civil and criminal cases at Calcutta and also a Supreme Court at Calcutta (now Kolkata). He also gave active encouragement to the formation of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Lord Cornwallis laid the foundation for the present Indian constitution. He also brought about judicial reforms by replacing the Shariat law with the English law. William Bentick abolished evil practices prevailing in the Indian society like Sati and female infanticide and introduced modern western education in India. He also established the Calcutta Medical College and the Elphinstone Institution at Bombay (now Mumbai). Lord Dalhousie set up the Public Works Department to look after the construction and maintenance of roads. He also set up the Post & Telegraphs Department and issued the first postage stamp in 1852 at Karachi. He opened the first Railway line on April 16, 1853 between Bombay and Thane. He also legalized the marriages of Hindu widows. The British introduced the neo-Colonial and Indo-Saracenic styles of Architecture in India. They were also instrumental in encouraging the development of modern theatre and cinema movements in India. The British enacted several laws and regulations, many of which are still followed in the Indian administrative set-up in some form or the other. The positive outcome of English education was most felt when many Indian social reformers began to emerge on the scene to fight against the social evils like Caste system, untouchability and emancipation of women and the downtrodden. Raja Ram Mohan Roy was the foremost among such social reformers, who established the Brahmo Samaj. Soon, other organisations like the Prarthana Samaj, Arya Samaj, Dev Samaj, Ramkrishna Mission and the Theosophical Society of India were set up with similar aims and objectives. After Independence, the Indian Government enacted several legislations to tackle the prevailing social evils. Several steps were also initiated towards the emancipation of women and protection of the weaker sections of the society. Economically and socially, India has made great strides since independence. It has a well-developed infrastructure and a highly diversified industrial base, its pool of scientific and engineering personnel is the third largest in the world, and the pace of its agricultural expansion has more than kept up with the growth in its population. Rapid strides were also made in the field of Science and Technology and Research. India’s eminent scientists like C.V.Raman, Hargobind Khorana and S.Chandrasekhar won Nobel Prizes for outstanding contributions in their respective fields. India has an advanced and well-developed Space Technology programme and the remote sensing data from its IRS series of satellites is much sought after all-over the world. India has even launched satellites for advanced countries like Germany and South Korea. India is now a nuclear power, but its nuclear policy is not aimed at the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or threatening the security of any country. India’s foreign policy is based on ‘enlightened self-i nterest’, peaceful co-existence and respect for international law and the United Nations Organisation. March into the New Millennium India marched into the new Millennium as the fifth biggest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). It has become the leading supplier of IT professionals in the world, particularly to the United States. Its population having crossed the one-billionth mark, India has perhaps the largest middle class market in the world. It is indeed a matter of great pride for India that the world has given due recognition to Indians and Indian leaders as major contributors, who have shaped the world during the last millennium. Mahatma Gandhi was voted the Man of the Millennium in an online opinion poll conducted by the British Broadcasting Service (BBC)’s online news site in December 1999. In an earlier BBC Online poll conducted in May 1999, Gandhi was also voted as the Greatest World Leader. The Time magazine also chose Gandhi as the most important person of the century, next only to Albert Einstein. The former Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, was named as the â€Å"Woman of the Millennium† in a BBC poll, ahead of several other distinguished personalities of the world. India’s culture and heritage is so rich and deep-rooted that it may take several months or even years to understand all its dimensions. From the time immemorial India has fascinated many a world traveller like Fahien, Hiuen Tsang, Ibn Batuta, Alberuni, Ferishta, Vasco da Gama, Marco Polo and several others. Albert Einstein once said: â€Å"We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.† The great German Indologist Max Muller said: â€Å"If I were to look over the whole world to find out the country most richly endowed with all the wealth, power and beauty that nature can bestow ‘ in some parts a very paradise on earth ‘ I should point to India. If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed the choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solution of some of them, which well deserve the attention even of those who have studied Plato and Kant ‘ I should point to India.’ The following quotation of the great American philosopher and writer Will Durant sums up the divine land called India, thus ‘India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe’s languages; she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother, through the Buddha, of ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all.’

Life Without Travel Is a Life Unlived

A Life Without Travel, is a Life Unlived ‘The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page,’ said St Augustine. I’ve always had a love for travel, give me the resources and point me in a direction and I’m there. ? Just the other week, I had the opportunity to visit one of the largest cities in the world: Hong Kong. That opportunity came to me when I was on my way to work. I got phone call from a friend who just found out about a promo for Cebu Air Pacific for flights to Hong Kong. She asked me if I wanted in. Without any hesitation I said yes! Before even knowing when the dates are, I said yes.That was three months ago. I never had any regret for that decision . We left Baguio around midnight for the long trip to the Diosdado Macapagal Airport. We were excited, eager. We didn’t sleep the whole 4 and a half hour trip. Our flight was scheduled 9 am. We arrived 3 hours early. Yeah, were were excited. After that 3 hour wait and a two hour flight, touchdown Hong Kong! It’s funny that the travel from here to the airport was twice as long as compared to the time going to another country. After clearing customs and swooping our packs, the first thing we did was get something called an Octopus card.The octopus card is Hong Kong’s Universal way of paying for transportation fare. It’s very convenient. You just swipe your card and you can hop on anything. Buses, subways, ferries, trams, you name it. So with that we took a super efficient train right into the heart of Hong Kong. After a 30 minute ride and a few stops, We stepped off the air conditioned train and we were instantly awed by what we saw. There are thousands of people out on the streets shopping, eating and drinking and every street is lit up with electric signs and florescent lights with the classic Asian energy.Our first destination , even before dropping off our bags, was Ngong Ping village, the location of the Giant Buddha. The village is a culturally themed attraction with lots arts and music and you really get a feel for their traditions and culture. Visiting the Giant Buddha was the highlight of the experience that can only be reached by climbing up a 300 hundred step hill. The whole experience took the whole day. After that it was time to head into Hong Kong. The actual city of Hong Kong is built on a small island and for new development–the only place to go, is up.The entire city is covered with monster skyscrapers, huge hotels and super-malls. Transportation is super easy, everything is detailed in both Cantonese and English so it would be very hard to get lost. There’s plenty to see here: experiences of endless shopping, big-city nightlife and delicious dim sum are to be had. Visitors can find both colonial history and modern architecture. Its open society allows many different cultures to flourish and you would see a lot of nationalities there. You would not be surprised to see a lot of fellow kababayans walking around.The second day was spent in DisneyLand. Even though people say its one of the smaller Disneylands, I was still impressed. The first time I saw the Disney castle in the horizon I felt like a kid again. We got to ride all the rides, experience all the shows. It much better than I expected, lots to do there, it took up the whole day. The evening fireworks was unforgettable, with each explosion timed perfectly with the music. Everyone had their mouths open. I can say that, even if we’re grown up and all it still is a magical experience. The third day was for Ocean park.This was a fun filled day out and very good value for money! As well as the obvious scary rides. There was a ride there that when you were in strapped to the roller coaster the floor would disappear and have you ride around and around. Unforgettable. We were lucky enough to see the Pandas at feeding time and it was a wonderful experience to be so close to them. I loved the aquarium, where you can see and watch a whole eco system live in there, with thousands of fishes, sting rays, sharks and all kinds of sea life mingle with each other.With live dolphin shows, tons of stuff to see and do. I think this was my favorite place there. Day four was the day we had to go home. As we were leaving the skylines of Hong Kong, I cant shake of the feeling that it was all worth it. Between budgets and busy schedules, it is not always easy to set aside time and plan a getaway. But as Mark Twain has said, â€Å"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So come out of your comfort zone. Explore. Dream. Discover. †

2)In what ways can French New Wave cinema be considered a product of Essay

2)In what ways can French New Wave cinema be considered a product of its particular moment institutionally, technologically and culturally Your answer should make close reference to ONE or TWO films - Essay Example While French cinema was changing after the Great War, the cinemas across Europe were not in as great transformations. It is perhaps for this reason that French New Wave cinema was and is considered one of the watershed movements of all time in terms of cinematic creation and cinematic experience (Neupert, 2007). In many ways, French New Wave cinema can be seen as a rejuvenation of filmmaking that came about as a reactionary approach to contemporary filmmaking. This paper will look into the French New Wave cinematic movement in order to decipher the various changes introduced by it. In addition, this paper will explore the effects of institutional, technological and cultural factors that made the French New Wave cinematic movement one of the world’s most prominent cinematic transformations. Two French New Wave films, Jules and Jim and The 400 Blows will be analysed in detail in order to meet the objectives stated above. The French New Wave cinematic movement is considered as being influenced by the Italian neo-realistic movement of the same age. In essence, the French New Wave cinematic movement allowed the filmmaking quarters to revisit the basics in order to redefine them. Among other things, cultural and peculiar historical events played a large role in defining how this particular cinematic movement began and progressed. During the Nazi occupation of France, the French cinema became both the tool and the property of the German state. A number of French directors, producers and actors collaborated with the Nazis in order to create new films through the course of the war. After the war ended, these filmmakers and actors were not highly looked upon by filmmaking circles in general. French cinema after the Second World War was looking for change. This change came through as a host of new filmmaking techniques were introduced in tandem with cinematic themes and new faces

Teachers Perception of Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7500 words

Teachers Perception of Leadership - Essay Example d be to understand and subsequently work on factors that satisfy teachers-those who have been in the profession for a long period of time as well as those who are now about to board on this particular journey in life. What then are the factors, which satisfy teachers? Researchers have discovered many issues, which influence teachers’ job satisfaction in a significant way. However, they all agree that measuring job satisfaction is challenging because teachers are not in harmony with what satisfies them throughout their career. In spite of its difficulty to measure, investigators note that the degree of teacher satisfaction directly affects the school’s stability, the quality of instructions and hence the overall climate of the school (Bogler, 2000; Richards, 2003; Woods & Weasmer, 2004). Researchers examined the various qualities in a principal that are desired by teachers (Haser & Nasse, 2003; Nir & Kranot 2006; Jorissen, 2002; Richards, 2003). Richards (2003) compared the needs in terms of principal’s behavior of three groups of teachers - those with 1-5years experience, those with 6 - 10 years and those with 11 years or more of teaching experience. Richards utilized a phenomenological study and discovered that the beginning teachers cited â€Å"emotional support and safety† as their main need. Teachers with 6-10 years valued â€Å"respect as professionals† as the key element in their job satisfaction while those with more than 10 years regarded â€Å"respect for their knowledge and experience† as their chief need (2003, p.12). However, support for the teacher was the main factor in influencing teacher’s satisfaction for the entire range of teachers. Richards (2003), like Woods and Weasmer (2004),

Arizona statehood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Arizona statehood - Essay Example Wanting to return to Spain, de Vaca turned him down, and Marcos turned to Estevanico for help, letting him go ahead of him. Francisco Vasquez led an invading army of Spaniards, looking for the mythical gold cities, the following year (AZ Big Media, 2011). However, Coronado made it only as far as Kansas before turning back, his only major discovery being the Grand Canyon. For the next 250 years, from 1540-1810, the Spaniards ruled Arizona, considering it a desert land that was worthless and left its natives alone (The Robinson Library, 2012). It was referred to as New Spain’s Pimeria Alta colony. However, silver and gold were soon discovered and they began expanding their influence by moving in that area. Arizona’s name comes from Spaniard owned silver mines. Father Kino who was an Italian priest came along with the Spaniards and was the most famous European at this time. Father Kino was instrumental in bringing new farming methods and education. As a fierce opponent of slavery, he was hugely popular among the natives of Arizona (The Robinson Library, 2012). During his mission to bring the Southern Arizona tribes to Christianity, he established twenty-four towns and missions including Tucson. Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1810 and Arizona formed part of its territory. Some American mountain men did venture into Arizona, including Kit Carson who was the first American to travel the length of Arizona and back, but it was left alone for a while since its tribes were considered savages. America moved against Mexico in 1846 to seize land stretching from Texas down to the Pacific Ocean (e-RD, 2011). However, they had no way to get to California, which they had already established interest in before the beginning of the war. On the other hand, the Mormons had been evicted from Illinois, and they wanted to establish a colony in Utah. Therefore, they struck a deal with the US government as suppliers of labor to build a road from New Mexico to San Diego. They managed this but by using a longer route than was necessary, although this meant that they escaped the Apaches, who were known to be vicious and would have attacked them (e-RD, 2011). After, winning the Mexican war, the question turned to the drawing of the Southern border. The Northern States, which were the most dominant, wanted the line as north as possible since New Mexico and Southern Arizona was a slave friendly territory as it lay south of the line at Mason-Dixon (Facts About..., 2012). The border was thus drawn along the Gila River. Ambassador James Gadsden then travelled to Mexico with the view of making a purchase for some of Mexican territory. Mexico actually needed this money and offered the North of Mexico and Baja California. However, Congress authorized a bare minimum to regain the Mormon built road as they were afraid of adding more territory that ran slavery. According to Mexican law, native tribes had their land claims recognized but Americans only con sidered title deeds as land claims. The Apache wars lasted from 1848 to 1886 with the surrender of Geronimo after which the south of New Mexico was enjoined with the American Confederate States (Facts About..., 2012). Arizona has a unique political history. It was the first state to allow women voters, as well as the first to allow judges to be recalled. It was also the first state to let public petitions override the legislature and constitution of the state. Its recent reforms have included state

Exploration of Healthcare and Immigrants Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Exploration of Healthcare and Immigrants - Essay Example However, facts and figures show that, compared to the native-born, expenditures for immigrants’ health services are much less, and their contribution to Medicaid is much larger. Moreover, Immigration Reform could improve the situation with the shortage of the medical personnel. Immigrants are an integral part of the American life, society and economy. Currently, our country is experiencing another increase of immigration. In 2005, the foreign born population made nearly 36 million, where 35% were naturalized citizens, 33% were documented immigrants and 31% were undocumented immigrants. Children consisted 16% of the undocumented immigrants, and nearly two-thirds of them are U.S. citizens by birth. Expectations are that by 2050 about 80 of 120 million of the U.S. population will be the direct or indirect effect of immigration (King 2007, p.4). Though, contributing largely to the prospering of the country, these people experience many hardships in obtaining vital services. Access to health care system became one of the greatest problems they face. Looking back, we may suggest that the trouble started, for the reason that health care system of the US revealed its weak sides. Propaganda played its role. It was easier to misinform the public than to reform the whole health care system. Documented and undocumented immigrants were blamed for the trouble. Misinformation gave birth to numerous myths. These myths led to the restrictions in legislation concerning immigrants’ access to the health care service. In 1996 the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act was past, establishing that recent legal immigrants to the country were to wait five years for the eligibility for Medicaid and other public benefits programs. The same eligibility restrictions were included into the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, put in force in 1997. Further, another law was enacted as part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, requiring that US citizens

Literature review (2) major project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Literature review (2) major project - Essay Example It shall also relate these studies to each other in terms of consistency across a variety of variables. The therapist-driven approach in respiratory therapy as described by the American Association of Respiratory Care (Des Jardins & Burton, 2006, p. 131) focuses first on delivering individualized diagnostic and therapeutic care to patients; second, on assisting the physician in evaluating the needs of the patient; third, on determining the indications for respiratory therapy and what mode would work best in providing quality health services to the patient; and lastly, on empowering practitioners in allocating signs-and-symptoms based algorithms for patient treatment. This type of therapy is based on the individual needs of a patient. The interaction with the therapist would primarily decide the treatment protocols for the patient. Each patient has unique qualities and unique needs that often ultimately influence the choices that would work best for patients. The therapist-driven protocols are also known for being specific respiratory care services which are implemented under the supervision of the respiratory care practitioners (Stoller, 1998, p. 408). It primarily seeks to implement care services for patients more specifically based on their needs, and administered by experts in respiratory care. The development of the care is collaborative and planned with the assistance of the other members of the health care team equipped with the necessary expertise as regards respiratory care. The collaboration takes into consideration all factors pertinent to the needs of the patient. More often than not, the therapist-driven approach extends to the respiratory consult service, also known as the evaluate-and-treat program. This is a program â€Å"in which respiratory care is directed by respiratory care practitioners based on a menu of protocols for individual respiratory care services† (Stoller, 1998,

Write a summary of a report on trade theory and tarifs for a team of Essay

Write a summary of a report on trade theory and tarifs for a team of newly hired International Managers. What are the important points you would highlight in this report - Essay Example rights on a global scale, through the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) and the recent significant agreements that have been signed under the WIPO’s umbrella. Similarly, it is also important to realize the influences of the latest multilateral trade negotiations that have occurred such as the TRIPS (Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights System) Agreement’s accession with the aspect of Intellectual Property (World Trade Organization). By doing so, one can derive the combined advantages of the practicalities of Intellectual Property Right Systems and the TRIPS agreement. The last aspect that holds immeasurable importance in the regard of the subject at hand is the telecommunication regime that is becoming increasingly directed by the evolution of Information Technology on a global scale. All these aspects come to together to have direct affects upon areas such as international air transport and global trade, the structural characteristics of the airline industry alongside the implementation of public policies and the involvement of the International Civil Aviation Organization in this regard. The discussion however would not be complete without an understanding of the framework that the General Agreement on Trade in Services provides under the flag of the World Trade

International Economic Problems Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Economic Problems - Coursework Example It measures the average price of goods relative to the average price of goods of trading partners. a. The Calculation of the multilateral trade-weighted annual U.S. dollar exchange rates (USD per unit of foreign currency) with respect to four major trading partners of the United States: Canada, Mexico, China, and Germany, from 2007 (normal time) to 2013 (not so normal time) involves aggregation that take the following form: (Please note that weights are the volumes of US trade (exports + imports) with each trading partners). The weights for the j currencies included in the TWI are then calculated by re-scaling the trade shares so that they sum to 100. The inverse of the share of trade accounted for by the currencies included in the TWI basket, which make up at least 90 per cent of U.S’s total merchandise and services two-way trade. c. Calculate the real value of multilateral trade-weighted monthly average U.S. dollar exchange rates (use CPI of each nation to convert nominal exchange rate to real exchange rate. Index the real values of multilateral trade-weighted exchange rates (2007 = 100). d. With help of excel make two line graphs of the multilateral trade weighted-average monthly exchange rates (the nominal and the real). Write a short essay (about 100 words) on the performance of trade-weighted U.S. dollar exchange rates and its possible effects on U.S. trade with major trading partners. The exchange rate plays an important role in the tradable sector of the U.S. economy since movements in the exchange rate affect both the demand and supply of export and imports. The rise and fall of the exchange rate of the major trading partners of the U.S. is therefore an important point to the analysis of the U.S. economy. The unstable foreign currency value of the dollar over the past years and the increase in the U.S. price inflation recently have caused rippled pressure and concerns on the depreciating value of the U.S. dollar. Both

Ferdinand Davids Trombone Concerto Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ferdinand Davids Trombone Concerto - Essay Example After a brief hop at the sixteenth note, the triplet should drive through directly to the arrival note. The motivic rhythm reappears in measures 46, 48, 102-106, and beyond the first movement. Once the initial motif is past, the entire statement (measures 42-65) is also important to emphasize for the audience. The poetic pairing found in measures 44-47, and then again in measures 48-51, is one of the key elements that must be inflected, and then followed up effectively in the dramatic resolution found in measures 52-55. This is a good microcosm of the dramatic builds to be found in the work, and the half notes in measure 52 are one excellent place to build dramatic value. Vibrato is one way to accomplish this, but a solid drive through the air column is also crucial here. The grand opening then takes place between measures 60 and 83. The first four measures of this should be played with a significant amount of verve and vigor to lend a sense of heroic drama. Measures 64-67 remind the listener of your opening passage, and so a definite sense of sweep and flow is important at this point. In measure 68, a definite development begins, and so dropping slightly in dynamics before entering the measure will give more energy to the later crescendo build; one of the most effective ways to snatch the attention of the audience is to drop the dynamic before beginning a slow build. This crescendo should reach its boiling point in measures 72 and 73, with the flourish in G-flat major. These two measures can be performed with some license as to the rhythm, because of the dramatic power. As this first section of the opening ends, in measures 76-82, it is important to pay special attention to the dotted eighth notes. Accents and marcato may well be called for here, as long as the tongue stays out of the tone's way. The diminuendos here can definitely be musical and technical assets. What one might term a cantilena then comes, from measures 83-102. Grove's Dictionary of Music defines cantilena as a "flowing melodious phrase of vocal character." It comes from the Italian, meaning "little song." This is a point in the piece that permits the performer really to let loose with the lyrical side of the trombone. The piano dynamic here should be taken to its metaphorical extremes. Piano here does not necessarily just mean quieter, but conveying a sensual sort of softness to the listener. How would a fur coat feel How would a warm blanket feel These are the sorts of ideas that the trombone should convey to the audience at this point. This should be combined with the dolce mood. The meaning here, of course, is "sweet," but that is a word that has numerous connotations. For the purposes of this performance, the sweetness that comes in romantic attachments would be a good mood to consider while playing this section, or the sweetness that comes from a conversation with a yo ung child. The phrase marks should not be read as dividing these first four measures into separate phrases, but four ideas within the same phrase. The phrase marks should bring lucidity and charm to the longer musical idea of the four measures, rather than dividing the idea into artificial chunks. The "d" in 4th comes in handy here in measures 94, 95, and 99. In measure 94 it can help smooth out the slur,

SOP for MS in Computer Science Essay Example for Free

SOP for MS in Computer Science Essay Ive always been fascinated by research, especially work that benefits common people or the environment. The idea that my efforts may better someones life or help create a greener planet motivates me. So after a successful career in IT, I intend to pursue my MS in Computer Science at University of Pennsylvania in order to build my research skills and work towards my interests in Computer Visualization, Data Mining, and Software Engineering. After completing my bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, I was interested in joining the Information Technology industry. So I pursued my dream by enrolling in a six-month Post Graduate Diploma course in Advanced Computing. At the end of the course I got a job in Software Automation Testing with Verismo Networks. After working in Perl for 1 year at Verismo, I joined Siemens Information Systems Limited. There I worked in Automation Testing using Microsoft .Net Technologies. Working with Siemens was both challenging and rewarding, as we did not use any commercially available tool for testing but rather created, designed and developed our own automation scripts, frameworks, APIs to communicate with the hardware, and developed various automated test tools to check system performance, integrity, stability, etc. After 4 years in Siemens, I joined Schneider Electric where I was given the leadership of introducing automation testing into our project. I worked with several teams to understand the project requirements and built automation testing framework using MSUIA and developed testing tools using MS SilverLight and .Net C#. This strong professional experience has given me a better understanding of the immense potential of technology to materialize innovative ideas ideas which not only help solve our toughest problems but also enrich our everyday lives by objective research and even humble developments. To create innovative technologies and bring research ideas to life, I will need appropriate problem solving approach and a competitive environment that will help sharpen my acumen in research. A Masters degree with thesis will help me acquire these skills. In my 6 years working in the IT industry, I have developed specific interests in the fields of Computer Visualization, Data Mining and Software Engineering. University of Pennsylvania is one of the renowned universities in USA and houses research teams that work on the  areas of my interest. Given a chance, I would like to continue this journey in your department. Developing automation tools for 2D and 3D Imaging Applications of Siemens ultrasound machine, I gained a fair idea of the domain of Ultrasound in Healthcare. I substantiated my knowledge by studying more about specialized areas like Visualization and how it transforms complex data into graphics representations that enhance the perception and meaning of data. 3D Visualization, one of the latest advances in the field of medical science, plays a vital role in diagnosis and has the potential to greatly reduce invasive interventions into the body, increasing physician performance in arresting or curing a disease. However in many countries, like in India/Bangladesh, these advanced facilities are still unavailable to most physicians. Also, in many cases, the visualization of the 3D anatomy is not very easy even with state-of-the-art techniques. Broadening our research areas in the field of medical science might enable us to build more affordable medical equipment. For instance MIT developed an inexpensive smart phone device Catra that can detect cataract. In a country like India where public healthcare services are dismal and even basic level healthcare is beyond the reach of most citizens, we have to devise innovative ways in similar lines to make better healthcare reachable to all. This is an area where emerging research can have a significant positive effect on people’s lives. I want to specialize in the field of Computer Graphics and Visualization to exploit the significant potential of 3D visualization. Not only will this open more options for minimally invasive or non-invasive surgeries, it may also vastly simplify post-operative care and expenses. At University of Pennsylvania, I am especially excited by work being carried out in the Computer Graphics, Computer Vision and User Interfaces research area. I want to develop my skills and knowledge in this field by working in the project group Visualization Research Group under Prof. Sebastian Bauer and use this knowledge to further my chances of a career in a research institute like Siemens Corporate Technology, a research division of Siemens. By  working with this research group, I will learn how vast quantities of complex data can be represented in a visual and legible format to respective users. I may also get a chance to learn about the latest technology 4D Visualization and invent ways to use it in medical domain in a cost effective manner. In my undergraduate project, I worked on Forecasting Power Consumption and Energy Needs for the State Electricity Board based on historical energy usage using Neural Networks. I analyzed huge piles of records to understand the usage behavior based on season, time of the day, location, etc. Although the project was very rudimentary, I quickly realized how helpful, economical and efficient energy usage would be, if this was implemented. Luckily again in Schneider Electric, I worked on energy monitoring application which had similar approach. There I could see the practical benefits. This experience triggered my interest in Data Mining. This is a field that helps develop intuitive systems that forecast future problems and channel solutions based on current data. Rapidly developing economies like the BRIC countries are among the largest markets for automobiles which is leading to heavy traffic issues, fossil fuel wastage and alarming pollution levels. All these can be mitigated if we encourage Data Mining as a research area in the companies working with public service departments. If we look through various databases available to analyze association between population increase/emigration and rate of increase in the number of vehicles, rush hour syndrome, current and upcoming major business areas, etc. we can find a connection among all these which will enable us find solutions to our traffic woes like building intelligent traffic control systems or innovative routes that can ease traffic congestion, reduce fuel usage and cut down emission. Corporate initiatives like IBMs Smarter Cities are using data mining principles to help give authorities the tools to analyze current problems or anticipate future ones from available data and find solutions pro-actively. *I want to study Data Mining to work with such research companies and address some of the challenges most developing countries are facing today. University of Pennsylvania’s ‘MADAI : Models and Data Analysis Initiative research group  is conducting cutting-edge studies in data mining and would give me exceptional opportunities to develop my skills. I am especially interested in the fact that MADAI emphasizes areas that are sometimes in domains outside of computer science. Similarly, I want to use my Data Mining knowledge in solving some real-time problems that cross disciplinary boundaries. I would be excited to work under Prof. Edward Griffin, because my objective of tackling real world problems is in accordance to his research interests. Not every emerging technology is a breakthrough but some truly do have the potential to change our social landscape, and to build such effective technologies we need effective testing tools that will help create a dependable product. This drives me towards Software Engineering. Testing a subdivision of Software Engineering, especially Automation Testing, is one of the most underrated parts of the Software Development Life Cycle. A major area of the IT industry is unable to identify the importance of strong testing skills, resulting in a low skilled team where testing is executed within a limited boundary of a few pass/fail scenarios. In my years working in IT, I realized automation testing requires far more expertise; its just like any development project requiring proper planning, design and commensurate skills. *I also realized how important it is to embrace the latest technologies in automation scripts as the latest software developed are far more enhanced to be truly tested with age old testing methodologies.*Since Ive worked in this domain for so long, I know if I specialize in the field of Software Engineering, I can introduce Software Testing and Methodologies as a research area in corporate level and help promote Automation Testing as a crucial part of software development. Working with Dr. Lars Anderson in ‘Analysis of Computer Systems Group under Software Engineering research area at University of Pennsylvania would help me understand latest software engineering practices and how it can be implemented to expedite software testing and overall product development. While my primary areas of interests are Computer Visualization, Data Mining and Software Engineering, I look forward to gaining a broad foundation in Computer Science during my MS, and I am eager to learn about other research  opportunities. My brother who is pursuing PhD in IISc, Bangalore also strongly recommended your university on the basis of faculty interests and the research work currently in progress. I am confident that earning my MS (with thesis) at University of Pennsylvania will help me hone my research skills and prepare me to contribute as a researcher who helps bring innovative ideas to reality.

Web-based Geovisualization of Renewable Energy

Web-based Geovisualization of Renewable Energy Table of Contents (Jump to) 1 Introduction 2 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction to renewable energy 2.2 Web based Spatial Data Visualization Method 2.3 Geovisualization Tools Bibliography Table of Figures Figure 1: Map of share renewable energy for gross final energy consumption and electricity generation in European Countries (European Comission) Figure 2: BMU-Brochure â€Å"Renewable energy sources in figures – national and international development†, provisional figures. Provided by BEE (Federal Ministry for the Environment, 2012) 1 Introduction Geovisualization is set of tools and techniques to analyze geospatial data with the use of interactive visualization. It’s identical with large datasets of spatial data, means creating geovisualization requires large datasets handling. In the past it was almost impossible to visualize and analyze this large spatial data, but it changed since the rapidly development of technology these past decades, as tools have been developed by individuals and organization. As a result, spatial information becomes more available and accessible to support the use of location information for other related fields in order to produce better analysis and clearer visualization. Many researches have been conducted in geovisualization field. Different approaches are implemented to create a number of software such as: statistical data exploration, graph drawing techniques, exploratory visualization with multiple linked view, visualizing individual spatio-temporal behavior, design of spatio-temporal data visualization tools, etc. The technologies and approaches are applied based on type of data to be visualized and the result expected for geospatial. For example: flow map is used in analysis of migration and disease spread in the U.S. this flow map purpose is to show a form of weighted location-to-location network, the pattern movement of people or disease from one location to another location. Whereas, another map visualization will be preferable with different aim of visualization such as chloropleth map is to show statistical data aggregated for each area such as state or city by coloring or shading these regions. Generally in choropleth map, differences in hue are used to indicate qualitative differences, such as land use, while differences in saturation or lightness are used to indicate quantitative differences, such as population. In renewable energy area, Eurostat has published time series (per year) web based map with statistic illustrated for Renewable energy generation of European Union member. The map created is a cloroplath map using different colors that refers to percentage range of renewable energy share of each country in gross final energy consumption and electricity generated from renewable energy. Figure 1: Map of share renewable energy for gross final energy consumption and electricity generation in European Countries (European Comission) The percentage of share renewable energy used by each country not only identified by color and number range in agenda, but also shows by mouse over effect, when user pointed certain area in map, text and percentage of renewable energy generation will be appear. This thesis aims to create web-based geovisualization of renewable energy to monitor the growth of renewable energy share in Germany especially in electricity production. Data is obtained from enerymap.info that collects data from EEG messages in form of csv file. Two main ways to visualize data proposed are graphs and maps. Main visualization result will be the different aggregation level of area in Germany (based on states and counties), time series and statistics. To be able creating web based geovisualization, mapping technology and graph tools creator becoming issue. There is a need of tools that provide functionality to create map and graph with fast response that support web based application performance. Topojson is proposed to be used as mapping visualization combined with graph to show the statistical illustration. One tool free available that has the ability to connect topoJSON map and data in array format to create maps and graphs is D3.js. This JavaScript library is fast and efficient to handle large dataset and enabling maps with interaction and animation (Kà ¶bben, 2013). To create web based geovisualization, this thesis proposes the use of free tools to develop the web based application. However, because of the input data is in German format, all numerical values that are needed for statistical illustration is saved in text values, pre processing to re format data is necessary and will be done in arcGIS using phyton code. Additio nally, geo processing tools from arcgis are also needed in the pre processing stage to group and select important data from the large dataset to be visualized in the web based geovisualization. Shapefiles result of geo processing will be stored in topoJSON contains both gemotry values and properties that will be processed as input for final visualization using web based tools and d3.js library. 2 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction to renewable energy According to European Energy Security Strategy document(strategy, 2014), energy is a vital part of Europe’s economy that motivates European commission to secure energy supplies and open access to energy sources in order to provide affordable price. There are several policies to rule energy supplies: EU’s 2020 energy and climate policies, energy efficiency and renewable energy policies. In between 1995 and 2012, total demand of energy decreased gradually due to economic crisis, structural changes in EU’s economy and significant increase of crude oil price. During that time period, crude oil still dominate the energy demand among other sources, but surprisingly the number has declined slightly from around 21% to 17%, in contrary, share of renewable energy has doubled to almost 11%. The increase share of renewable energy has helped European countries to gradually suppress demands of energy imports, even though oil still holds the largest quantity for almost 90% impo rt dependencies for energy sources. Germany as one of EU member has set national integrated climate and energy package as follows for EU’s 2020 energy and climate policies. One of the main focuses of the national commitments is in electricity generation considering electricity has relatively high share in many sectoral levels such as: industry, agriculture, residential, service and transport. Figure 2: BMU-Brochure â€Å"Renewable energy sources in figures – national and international development†, provisional figures. Provided by BEE (Federal Ministry for the Environment, 2012) From above figure of electricity generation from renewable energy, wind gives the largest contribution in electricity generation followed by hydropower, biomass, biogas and photovoltaic sequentially. Governments set goals to increase share of renewable energy in electricity sector for around 25-30% by 2020(EEG, 2012) by offering support of stable policy for the growth of renewable energy and feed-in tariff of fixed price of every kilowatt-hour electricity produced by renewable energy in 20 years. The feed-in tariffs have been introduced through the electricity feed act(StrEG) in 1991. StrEG was then replaced by Renewable energy resource Act (EEG) in 2001. Based on EEG amendment in 2014, federal network agency officially operates the official plant register. Energymap.info with aim to support EEG and the visibility of renewable energy in Germany publishes publicly data available in the website. Data is combined from EEG messages and assigned to each region. Then calculate non-trading energy produced for all areas and create top 10 regions that achieve highest target for renewable energy. 2.2 Web based Spatial Data Visualization (Geovisualization) Technique Nowadays, spatial information is more available influences by the growth of web GIS technology and supporting tools. One of the purposes of developing geovisualization with web-based mapping technology is to increase the accessibility of spatial data through online system. However, because geographical data is identical with large dataset, needs technology and database with fast response to develop a web-based GIS application because both of aspects will influence over all website performance. A paper with title: Developing Efficient Web-based GIS Application has published nand this research focuses on the comparison for mapping technology and databases for webGIS application(Adnan, et al., 2010). Based on this paper, tile based maps are preferable than static map renders. Tile based map can handle large data set by divided maps into different zoom levels. Various popular use tile based maps geovisualization technique are Google maps, yahoo maps and open layers. This map is faster to load because only respond to user specific location requests. However, at the end section of this paper, writer proposes preferable database and mapping technology to be implemented in webGIS application to give better performance for web application. Flash map that based on vector images becomes the final choice for fly rendered map capability and it’s developed along with popular tools adobe illustrator and already integrated with an API in ArcGIS (ArcGIS Flex API) and flash with google map API. While for the database of web GIS requires efficient performance of database in response user request, because the nature of GIS web-based application needs large amounts of geographically referenced data to be displayed from database. Oracle is final choice to handle large dataset among other databases free available tools. However, both for mapping technology and database are commercial software, not free available even though both offered great functionality to create web GIS ap plication. Moreover, flash map requires flash player in the web browser to enable user view the map. In another research, Luca Morandini writes: Getting the best performance for GeoJSON Map visualizations: PostGIS vs CouchDB back-end, explains another possibility to visualize map through online system with technique called TopoJSON. This research mentions Geojson is one possibility to send geometries data from server to client. Geojson is formed by encoding geographic data structure into one object. Geojson supports various geometry types such as: point, lineString, polygon, multipoint, multiLineString, multiPolygon, and geometryCollection. However the extended of GeoJSON called TopoJSON format is considered to be more effective for geographical data because the reduction of response size by applying a topological approach. GeoJSON is handy dealing with browser but causes duplication of polygon’s border, while topoJSON is encoding topology that creates geometry simplification and defines polygons as arcs collections that shared by adjacent polygons that reduces file size. Acc ording to this research, TopoJSON data size is reduce about 30% from original geoJSON(Morandini, 2013). The reduction of file size used in web application will improve the performance and response of user request. In addition, tools to create both geoJSON and topoJSON are freely available. 2.3 Geovisualization Tools D3.js provides many functions for graph and also map to build customize visualization framework. D3.js is easy to use and written in a functional style that can be reuse and add specific functions to create desired content. D3.js gives full customize ability to developer to create the visualization by support of various d3.js functions(Anon., n.d.). d3.js is used in web application to utilize web page communication with data that are with form of JSON or loading external data: csv, geoJSON, topoJSON or database. D3.js is a JavaScript library to manipulate Data Object Model (DOM) by binding data, apply transformation and transition to create interactive data visualization. D3.js library works with combination of other tools such as HTML and CSS to create web based visualization system (Maclean, 2014). Two main focuses for using d3.js in this thesis are to create graphs and mapping visualization. In creating graph, external or JSON data can be used. Firstly, create canvas with svg object by setting margin and graph area. This svg will be the container to bind data to be visualized in the application. Then, data rendered with data() command. Next, set scales domains and ranges of x and y axes with domain() and scale() commands. Lastly, add text or modify the appearance of the graph(Mulder, 2014) Not only to create graph visualization, d3.js is also can be used to create mapping visualization. D3.js includes several common projections in it’s library to support mapping visualization. There are 3 main steps to create mapping visualization using d3.js: create projection function with projection system options from d3.js, create path function that will store all geometry values, using geojson or topojson as object data to draw map in path (Jenson, n.d.). All geo functionalities to build the map are provided by d3.js. There are significant invested amount of time to learn geoJson structure but once user familiarwith the function and data structure, visualization can be easily to create. Thus, d3.js can be utilized to create various geovisualization techniques such as: stack display, iconic display, dense pixel display and also interaction techniques that can be added to create a more interactive visualization, such as: standard, projection, filtering, and zoom (Dykes, et a l., 2005) . D3.js is also fast and efficient to handle large dataset and enabling maps with interaction and animation (Kà ¶bben, 2013) Bibliography Adnan, M., Singleton, A. Longley, P., 2010. Development Efficient Web-Based GIS Applications. London, CASA. Anon., n.d. Dashing D3. [Online] Available at: https://www.dashingd3js.com/why-build-with-d3js [Accessed 16 January 2015]. Dykes, J., Fabrikant, S. Wood, J., 2005. Exploring Geovisualization. In: Exploring Geovisualization. London, Enschede: Elsevier, p. 4. EEG, 2012. Act on granting priority to renewable energy sources, s.l.: EEG. EREC, 2009. Renewable Energy Policy Review, Germany, s.l.: Intelligent Energy Europe. Federal Ministry for the Environment, N. C. a. N. S., 2012. Renewable Energies Driving Germanys Energiewende, Berlin: Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), Public Relations Division. Jenson, G., n.d. d3.js Geo fun. [Online] Available at: http://www.hashbang.co.nz/blog/2013/2/25/d3_js_geo_fun [Accessed 15 JAnuary 2015]. Kà ¶bben, B., 2013. Using the D3 library for web-mapping in an SDI environment. May, pp. 14-17. Maclean, M., 2014. D3 Tips and Tricks Interactive Data Visualization in a Web Browser. s.l.:Lean Publishing. Morandini, L., 2013. Getting The Best Performance For GeoJSON Map Visualizations: PostGIS Vs CouchDB back-end. Nottingham, At Nottingham, UK . Mulder, P., 2014. Getting Started with D3. [Online] Available at: http://thinkingonthinking.com/Getting-Started-With-D3/ [Accessed 15 January 2015]. strategy, C. S. E. e. s., 2014. COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT: In-depth study of European Energy Security, s.l.: s.n. 1

Trends in Housekeeping Departments in Hospitality

Trends in Housekeeping Departments in Hospitality AN ESSSAY ON THE 5 TRENDS IN THE HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT OF THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY CHAPTER 1 THE HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT 1.1 ABOUT HOUSEKEEPING The first thing that comes to our mind when we talk about the word housekeeping is cleanliness. Every time we enter a five star hotel, the reason why it still looks new and the same every time is because of the Housekeeping department. These Housekeepers work day in and day out in shifts to maintain the standards of the hotel. The aesthetic appeal helps the guest to form a first impression about the hotel. To run a successful hotel, the Housekeeping department plays a crucial role. Even when the hotel’s service is not up to the standards a clean environment or more specifically a clean room could bring back guests again. Even though the Housekeeping is not a revenue generating department, the executive housekeepers need to carefully plan the budget, so that the housekeeping department does not swallow huge funds that could be a potential harm for the hotels future. The complementary kept in each room needs to be carefully monitored always. CHAPTER 2 TRENDS IN THE HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT 2.1 KEEPING UP WITH THE CHANGES Running a successful Housekeeping department is not an easy task. The Executive Housekeeper needs to be very flexible and spontaneous in dealing with guests. With so many websites coming up, which has eased the process of making reservations. The user is given the chance to compare the tariffs and then choose what suits him the best. However, the user also has the opportunity to read reviews of guests who have already experienced the hospitality. The hotel needs to maintain their standards always. With increased market competition even small mistakes could lose guests. Since the appearance and cleanliness is the first thing guest’s talk about, the Housekeeping department need to be on their toes. CHAPTER 3 3. NEW TECHNIQUES FOR STAFF MANAGEMENT 3.1 EFFECTIVE STAFF MANAGEMENT In any hotel, managing staff is the biggest task faced by the employer. When it comes to the Housekeeping department it involves hard labor with long working hours. It is not easy to motivate the employees as it is monotonous and tiring. The management should always take the necessary steps to reduce the high employee turnover. Since the Housekeeping department is in charge of the hotel regarding the rooms and the public areas, there has to be complete co-ordination with the other departments so that the work flow is smooth and fast. 3.2 OVERCOMING THE LANGUAGE BARRIER Most hotels employ staff who cannot speak English. It is a common phenomenon in most hotels around the world. The staff would be professionals at their work but when it comes to communication, their skill would be lacking because of the lack of education. The staff would be very experienced and very skillful though. Since the Housekeepers are in direct contact with the hotel guests, communication is a key aspect. When the guest and a hotel staff find it tough to communicate, it slows things. Communication is also required to co-ordinate with the other departments so that work flow is smooth. At the end of the day, effective communication is the key to success. 3.3 NEW COMMUNICATIVE TECHNIQUES FOLLOWED Many hotels have come up with interesting techniques of communication. This helps the staff to learn quickly and also grasp things easily. Since the staff are trained in these terms, they start relating to it and slowly learn. a. COLOUR CODING Hotels nowadays, are using colour coding’s to differentiate between the various chemicals and wiping products used to clean different areas. The staff can co-relate the colour to the specific wiping product. b. NUMBERING The other option used by hotels is where certain common problems are pre-numbered. This way the staff just need to see which problem comes under what number and they could work with ease. Other training facilities are also available. 3.4 THE BENEFITS The work flow in the hotel becomes easier. Leads to effective Housekeeping planning. The staff get to learn things fast. CHAPTER 4 4. LIGHTING IN HOTELS Lighting plays a very crucial role in any hotel. It actually has the power to make a place look beautiful if it is done to perfection. Hotel’s need to be lit up always whether guests are coming or not as long as they are open. The lighting companies have come a long way, from the time of halogen bulbs to today’s LED strips. When we talk about lighting, they consider it as an investment for the hotel. The lighting can sometimes even hide the mistakes done by the Housekeeping department or vice versa. Hotel’s concentrate a lot on the lighting. 4.1 DIFFERENT KINDS OF LIGHTING The lighting in hotels has seen a lot of changes in the past few years. The LED strips have taken the lime light of lighting. Even though they are expensive, hotels have understood that their benefits far outweigh the costs. However, with further improvisation hotels have come up with this new idea of using ‘ceiling motion sensor lighting’. They in turn help in reducing the costs of the hotel even more. a. PIE DIAGRAM SHOWING THE ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION BY HOTELS 4.2 CEILING MOTION SENSOR LIGHTING a) About ceiling sensor motion lighting Various statistics have proven that lighting takes up 30 percent of the energy in hotels. However LED lighting have helped in reducing the energy consumption in a large level, ceiling motion sensor lighting have helped hotels to save energy even further. However these sensors reduce the life of the lights marginally but significantly increase the longevity of the lamps. These motion sensors work either through infrared signals or ultrasonic waves. They work according to motion or difference in the body temperature. 4.3 THE ADVANTAGES These sensors help in reducing the energy consumed in less used areas. The Housekeeping staff need not switch off the lights when they are done as they automatically work. The light would appropriately fall only on the areas where the guest needs. It has proven been that the life of the bulb increases. Reduces the operational cost of the hotel. 4.4 LIMITATIONS The life of the bulb is reduced marginally because they turn on and off regularly. 4.5 USER’S Many hotels feel that this motion sensor has helped them in a huge way because it helps in saving energy in areas which aren’t in use that often. Especially in very large hotels where the public areas are not used. The savings in light energy help hotels to increase their earnings in net income by 2 percent. And in a country like the United States, where hotels is the third largest industry these trends help the hotels in a huge way. CHAPTER 5 5. THE CHANGES IN MINIBAR Tiny fridges found in hotel rooms stocked up with alcoholic beverages, canned juices and aerated drinks are called as minibars. They can be found in almost every hotel. It used to be a luxury but as time went by almost all hotels started having minibars in their rooms. No one knows why the products found in the room are very expensive. However most of the time they are outdated or spoilt. In almost every property the minibars are managed by the Housekeepers because they go to the room on a daily basis and also avoids fights between the FB and Housekeeping department. There would be a lot of theft by staff and they would blame each other. In order to avoid this many hotels have come up with new ideas to overcome this problem. 5.1 MINIBARS GOING EXTINCT Lately, many hotels all over the world have slowly stopped providing guests with minibars in the room. These minibars proved to be costly and managing them was very exhaustive. Many guests do not use the minibar facilities as they are priced very high. 5.2 NEW TRENDS IN MINIBAR Many hotels nowadays have come up with new ideas that reduce the cost of maintaining the minibars. These new trends proved to be useful as they also increased the revenue of the hotel. 5.3 THE CONCEPT OF FEED THE FRIDGE A famous five star hotel chain in Orlando has come up with this unique concept called â€Å"FEED THE FRIDGE†. In this program the hotel has completely stopped filling up the minibars with goodies and beverages. Instead the hotel asks the guests what he/she would prefer before their arrival. This new initiative by the hotel was very different compared to other hotels as it also reduced the burden on the Housekeeping department. The hotel also offers the guest with various packages, where the guests can pre order during reservation. This way the guest can choose what they want and use. â€Å"A Sparkling wine package†, which would include champagne with a choice of cheese and crackers. â€Å"Night at the movies†, this includes beer, water or wine with popcorn and a chocolate bar. â€Å"Energizer†, this package come with three energy drinks for the guest and costs $15. â€Å"Card shark†, comes with a pack of cards and a six pack beer. This costs the guest $18. 5.4 USER’S VIEW According to the hotel’s executive Mr. Menelik Tefera, this program proved to be very useful. It cut down the hotel’s cost by $500.00 on a monthly basis. This also helped the hotel in avoiding fights between different departments. He feels this initiative by the hotel has also improved the revenue of in room dining. CHAPTER-6 6. ROOM CLEANING EQUIPMENTS 6.1 THE IMPORTANCE OF CLEAN ROOMS Rooms are a major source of revenue for hotels. They in fact are the hotel’s majority source of income. Even if a hotel has clean rooms it can attract a lot of guests and repeat guest. It need not be part of a very big chain of hotels too. People travelling all over the world are looking for rooms at standard prices and hygienic rooms. Clean and hygienic rooms play a crucial role in the guest’s experience at a hotel. It is important that the hotel takes utmost importance for this aspect. Negative remarks through word of mouth can bring down a hotel. 6.2 CLEANING EQUIPMENTS Over the years there have been improvements for the housekeeping department that made cleaning of rooms faster and easier. With the increase in demand for rooms, the need to clean the room quickly and sell is very crucial. Since there are many hotels, the need to maintain good guest relations is very important. Many companies have come out with equipment’s that has made maintenance and cleaning easy for the housekeepers. One such company called DUPLEX SOLUTIONS. 6.3 DUPLEX SOLUTIONS This company came up with a unique technology that cleans rooms quickly using dry steam at very high temperatures. These equipment’s are specialized to clean specific areas. Even though cleaning is a very time consuming job, this equipment reduces the time to clean a room. a. KEY FEATURES It is very fast and efficient. Cleans the surface at very high temperatures using microfiber technology. It also dries the floor very quickly and does not involve any chemicals. Room cleaning is done at 155 degree Celsius and 94 percent dry steam and deodorizing. This helps the hotel to equip itself for any huge outbreaks. These equipment’s are used for outdoor cleaning as well. b. AREA OF USE Upholstery of chairs and sofas. Mattresses and beds. Curtains and drapes. Spills and bed bugs on carpets. Hard floors. Bathroom can be cleaned in 4 minutes. CHAPTER 7 7. LAUNDRY DEPARTMENT 7.1 ABOUT LAUNDRY One of the major divisions under the Housekeeping department is the laundry service. Different hotels follow various methods of processing their laundry. Laundry includes both the guest’s clothes and the hotel’s linen. The maintenance of laundry is very crucial for hotels. It involves huge costs and hotels need to make sure that these costs don’t exceed the hotels budget. 7.2 TRENDS IN LAUNDRY The laundry department has been seeing various changes over the years. Most hotels either choose in house laundry or it is outsourced to other cleaners. According to the hotel’s budget whichever method is adopted. Other than this, big hotels need to have a proper count of their linen. They need to make sure that loss or theft is minimized. Other problems in hotels is maintaining these linen sheets. Due to the use of chemicals and detergents, the linen lose their look and texture. This would in turn cause huge operational costs for the hotel. A few trends adopted in hotels are: 1. Advanced washing techniques (Green Practices). 2. Hotel linen tracking system. 7.3 ADVANCED WASHING TECHNIQUES a. XEROS BEAD CLEANING (ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY PRACTICE) This company specializes in making washing machines which help hotels to clean linen in a very eco-friendly manner. They have come up with a unique technology through which the linen are washed through polymer technology. Even though water is the primary resource used for cleaning, this technology enhances the water used and helps in reducing the amount of water used compared to the regular washing machines. b. THE BENEFITS It helps in reducing the costs for hotels. The amount of water used is very less compared to regular machines. Increases the life of linens which is the primary problems faced by hotels. A very new and innovative technique for washing the linen. C. LIMITATIONS The hotels needs to have an in house washing facility. Hence this facility can be used in huge hotels who have the money to invest. d. COMPARISON BETWEEN CONVENTIONAL AND XEROS CLEANING 7.4 HOTEL LINEN TRACKING SYSTEM Hotels need to make sure that the linen are properly managed. If not the hotel would incur high operational costs which would pull down the net profit. Many large scale hotels need to keep a proper tracking management system. This would help them in the long run. a. KEY TONE’S USE of RFID Among the various companies, key tone came up with the unique use of RFID. This technology helps the hotel to track down the linen. It shows a detailed description of where the linen is being dispatched. This way the Housekeeper can keep track of his linen. Bad linen management is the major problem is small scale hotels. This technology helps the hotel to come out of this problem. b. THE BENEFITS The hotel can keep track of their stock of linen. Reducing the cost of laundry because they know exactly the number of clean linen available. It leads to successful Housekeeping planning and puts less pressure on the Housekeepers. This technology generates various reports like ‘linen inventory report’, ‘linen discard report’, ‘shrinkage report’ and many more. c. LIMITATIONS The use of this technology would be high for hotels because individual sheets needs to be marked. CHAPTER 8 8. SUMMARY In this essay I have tried covering the various aspects of the Housekeeping department namely, overcoming the language barrier, innovative machines for cleaning rooms and maintaining the linen, the transition of lighting and new approaches adopted by hotels. All the topics I have chosen are encompassing around better planning for Housekeeping operations for example, innovative equipment’s available for cleaning rooms and maintaining linens, improving guest amenities supplies by starting innovative programs and finally improving guest expectation by employing and training staff in an innovative way and providing the guests with the best lighting.

Comparing Lord Dunsany’s Two Bottles of Relish and James Thurber’s Secr

A Comparison of Lord Dunsany’s Two Bottles of Relish and James Thurber’s Secret Life of Walter Mitty â€Å"The Two Bottles of Relish,† by Lord Dunsany, written in 1932, tells the story of Smithers, a relish vendor and London resident, in his quest to sell his product, Num-numo and, along with his new roommate, Linley, solve the murder of Nancy Elth. The 1942 short story â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,† by James Thurber, documents the fantasies of ordinary man Walter Mitty as he attempts to escape his mundane life. Both Smithers and Mitty have low self-esteem and are ambitious in different ways, but they differ in imagination. Both Smithers and Mitty have low opinions of themselves and permit others to push them around. Smithers shows his feelings of inferiority when he readily admits, â€Å"I’m what you might call a small man and in a small way of business†(42). He acknowledges his low opinion of his work of selling relish when he says, â€Å" . . . it is quite easy to push . . . I wouldn’t have gotten the job if it weren’t†(42). Smithers concedes that Mr. Linley is superior when Smithers agrees to sleep in the hall to be out of Linley’s way and to do the leg work to get the clues so that Linley can solve the murder. Walter Mitty exposes his feelings of inadequacy as he remembers bungling the removal of chains from his tires and having to pay a mechanic to correct his mistake. He is totally managed by his wife which is proven when she orders him to buy overshoes, and when he protests, she continues to put him down by saying, â€Å" ‘Weâ₠¬â„¢ve been through that . . . You’re not a young man any longer’†(273). Mitty further demonstrates his inability to stand up for himself when he tolerates being given orders ... ...g†(52). Also, Smithers has all the facts that he needs to solve the murder after he goes to Unge, but his lack of mind’s eye prevents him from solving the murder. Mitty’s imagination allows him to escape into fantasy, and Smither’s lack of imagination keeps him ordinary. Smithers and Mitty feel inadequate and are ambitious in different ways; however, they differ greatly in their use of imagination. Smither’s characteristics result in an ordinary man; Mitty’s traits result in a man who arouses sympathy. Works Cited Plunkett, J. M. D. â€Å"The Two Bottles of Relish.† 1932. 21 Great Stories. Ed. Abraham H. Lass and Norma L. Tasman. New York: Mentor, 1969. 42-55. Thurber, James. â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.† 1942. 21 Great Stories. Ed. Abraham H.Lass and Norma L. Tasman. New York: Mentor, 1969. 272-277.

Does the I-Function Control Dreaming? :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Does the I-Function Control Dreaming? Imagine you are in a dream. The world is different from the way it normally appears. Things that would normally be impossible are happening. You have no clue this is a dream. All of a sudden things start falling into place within your brain. You realize you are dreaming. By exerting your will you can alter the scene. You can do all of the things you always wanted to do. With a bounding leap you are flying. You are controlling this and you know no harm can come from it. This is lucid dreaming. Does the I-function control this? It would appear that it does because it is creating everything and you can direct what happens. Everyone dreams. It is a natural part of the sleep cycle. It occurs during the rapid eye movement (REM) stage. Do dreams stem from the brain going through normal activity or do they come from a controlled portion of the brain? This question raises continual debate among people. However, both sides may be correct. Most of the time a person dreams and is not aware of it occurring. There are other times when a person becomes aware they are dreaming and can influence it. This is lucid dreaming. It appears that the I-function plays a more active role during lucid dreaming. This could be a new outlet where the I-function is allowed to run without constraints and produces more influences than it normally does. Regular dreaming occurs without one being aware of it whereas the I-function brings consciousness and control to lucid dreaming that does not occur at any other time during sleep. An introduction to sleep provides important background to understanding when dreaming occurs and the state of the brain. The whole process is initiated by the release of various chemicals in the brain. They cause particular areas to shut down and this is sleep. There are various stages to the sleep cycle. They are NREM, Stages 1-4, and REM. During the first five stages, NREM and 1-4, brain activity continually decreases. An electroencephalogram (EEG) reveals this by measuring all action in the neocortex. However, during REM abnormal activity begins to take place and the brain function resembles that of a person who is awake. The EEG shows fast, random waves indicating increased activity (6). Typically a person goes through many cycles of this process during a normal sleep pattern.

Conflicts in Elizabeth Stuart Phelps The Angel Over the Right Shoulder

Conflicts in Elizabeth Stuart Phelps' The Angel Over the Right Shoulder      Ã‚  Ã‚   "The Angel Over the Right Shoulder" is fascinating because of the conflict it uncovers between a woman's need to fulfill her domestic role and her need to develop as an individual. The story was published in 1852, when the American people were struggling with the role of women in society. The author, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, introduces two opposing possibilities for this role. One is the woman whose entire being revolves around her domestic sphere and who has no individual identity. The other is an individual who, although fulfilling the role of mother and wife, takes time to cultivate and develop her own interests and person. This essay will focus on discussing the social and historical concepts intertwined with these two opposing viewpoints concerning the role of women in the middle 19th century rather then evaluating them in terms of the story. This will give the reader information necessary to better understand and analyze the events of the text.    The first possibility of woman's ideal social role, revolving entirely around her domestic responsibilities, has its origin in the past. Women of white middle class standing had historically taken on the responsibilities of clothing, feeding and caring for all members of the family, while the men had ensured that the raw materials for these duties existed. Stereotypically, the husband would work the farm cultivating the crops and caring for the animals, while the wife would turn these raw materials into the necessities of life, including food and clothing. When industry began to take over in the early 1800's the specific tasks of gender shifted, but the general spheres d... ...ideas about the new role of women in society while reading "The Angel Over The Right Shoulder", and to consider the ways in which Phelps encourages or discourages each one. I also encourage the reader to delve more deeply into the wealth of information surrounding this very important time period in the history of the United States, to understand where Phelps' ideas were generated and why she may have seemed to favor of one role of women over another.    Works Cited Graves, A.J., Mrs. Woman in America: Being an Examination into the Moral and Intellectual Condition of American Female Society. New York: Harper, 1847,c1841 Melder, Keith. Beginnings of Sisterhood: The American Woman's Rights Movement, 1800-1850. New York: Schocken Books, 1977. Phelps, Elizabeth Stuart. The Angel Over the Right Shoulder. Andover: Warren F. Draper, 1852.   

Literal vs. Figurative Blindness

The importance of figurative vision as opposed to literal vision to the influence of an individual is emphasized by the power inner vision yields, even over the power of the gods. Homer first highlights the power of inner sight in the situation of Agamemnon and Aigisthos. This example demonstrates that even the authority of the Greek gods cannot overcome the imbalance of power caused by the lack of figurative vision, for â€Å"the gods may love a man, but they can’t help him when cold death comes to lay him on his bier,† (III, 255-256).The gods attempt to save Agamemnon from the consequences of his figurative blindness by warning Aigisthos against the betrayal, but even the interference of the gods cannot assist Agamemnon when he is weakened by lack of knowledge. Another circumstance where inner vision is indirectly shown to be more powerful than the strength of the gods themselves is in the case of Demodokus.Demodokus’ example is unique in the fact that it can b e argued that Demodokus’ literal blindness is a demonstration of the power of the gods to keep mortal power in balance, for though Demodokus was â€Å"that man of song whom the Muse cherished,† it was â€Å"by her gift he knew the good of life and the evil- for she who lent him her sweetness also made him blind,†(VIII, 67-70).However, this only bolsters the point that inner sight brings one level with, if not above, the Greek gods themselves in terms of influence. If not, the Muse would have had not felt the need to take away literal sight to limit the power wielded by Demodokus through inner vision. The gods themselves are the product of strong inner vision in conjunction with literal vision.While they do possess magical powers, it is their inner vision that truly gives them power over mortals. Clearly, the strength of inner sight, or the weakness caused by a lack thereof, is a force that even the power of the gods cannot overcome. It is clear that an eye for a n eye does not steady the imbalance of power caused by a mortal possessing or lacking inner vision, for an eye with figurative sight is far more powerful than an eye with literal vision. Literal vs. Figurative Blindness The importance of figurative vision as opposed to literal vision to the influence of an individual is emphasized by the power inner vision yields, even over the power of the gods. Homer first highlights the power of inner sight in the situation of Agamemnon and Aigisthos. This example demonstrates that even the authority of the Greek gods cannot overcome the imbalance of power caused by the lack of figurative vision, for â€Å"the gods may love a man, but they can’t help him when cold death comes to lay him on his bier,† (III, 255-256).The gods attempt to save Agamemnon from the consequences of his figurative blindness by warning Aigisthos against the betrayal, but even the interference of the gods cannot assist Agamemnon when he is weakened by lack of knowledge. Another circumstance where inner vision is indirectly shown to be more powerful than the strength of the gods themselves is in the case of Demodokus.Demodokus’ example is unique in the fact that it can b e argued that Demodokus’ literal blindness is a demonstration of the power of the gods to keep mortal power in balance, for though Demodokus was â€Å"that man of song whom the Muse cherished,† it was â€Å"by her gift he knew the good of life and the evil- for she who lent him her sweetness also made him blind,†(VIII, 67-70).However, this only bolsters the point that inner sight brings one level with, if not above, the Greek gods themselves in terms of influence. If not, the Muse would have had not felt the need to take away literal sight to limit the power wielded by Demodokus through inner vision. The gods themselves are the product of strong inner vision in conjunction with literal vision.While they do possess magical powers, it is their inner vision that truly gives them power over mortals. Clearly, the strength of inner sight, or the weakness caused by a lack thereof, is a force that even the power of the gods cannot overcome. It is clear that an eye for a n eye does not steady the imbalance of power caused by a mortal possessing or lacking inner vision, for an eye with figurative sight is far more powerful than an eye with literal vision.

Childhood obesity in the United States

Childhood obesity in the United States and internationally has become a wide spread public health catastrophe. Over the years childhood obesity has increased at a rapid pace. This paper will show the results of the data collection method, the data analysis procedure, and the conclusion of how to apply the background and methodology of the research process with the problems in health care, and apply the emphasis on childhood obesity. Data Collection: The data collection method was appropriate for this study because children were involved and the research was based on previous studies already performed.The collection method used was a reviewed and detailed â€Å"search of CINAHL, MEDLINE, ERIC, Academic Search Premier data bases was carried out for the time period 1999-2011† (Karnik & Kaneka, 2012, p. 1). Key words for this search were â€Å"calorie imbalance, childhood obesity, interventions, physical activity, and policy changing† (Karnik & Kaneka, 2012, p. 1). The subj ects researched were children, the appropriate actions to be taken were parental consent and supervision; the identities of the children remained anonymous throughout the studies.Based on the outcomes of the research, there was no harm or negativity to the children participating in the research project. The concealment of the children was the main concern for the study, this way the children would not undergo the prejudices and abuse for developing an overweight condition, eating an unhealthy diet, and not exercising. There was no communication of individual names, or identifying factor of the children researched. Data Analysis Procedure:The provisions and procedures are appropriate for the type of study conducted and the results received from the research answered the hypothesis that the researchers were considering. The study was centered on preset criteria and questions. The qualitative data is based on numerical facts, which were extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) according to Karnik & Kaneka (2012) the report stated the following: In the years 2007-2008 there were an estimated 16. 9% of adolescents and children aged in groups of 2-19 that were over weight.The total number of childhood obesity cases for children in preschool between the ages of 2-5 for boys and girls increased from 5. 0% to 10% between the years of 1976-1980. In the years 2007-2008 childhood obesity increased from 6. 5% to 19. 6% in children who were 6-11 years old. With the data that was collected during the same time period for adolescents aged 12-19 years old obesity increased from 5. 0% to 18. 1% (Karnik & Kaneka, 2012, p. 2). The non-statistical methods of review and the studying of social phenomena have qualitative research concerned.The research is appealing to a primary method in which subjects and groups appear through analysis of information gathered by techniques for example, case studies, observations, interviews, and videotapes. Sample s are typically small and are often nominated intentionally. Descriptions must be detailed when they are of qualitative research and are the perspective of all research members as a way of examining certain problems and issues under study (McCroy, 2013). In this qualitative research the article consists of the information found in relation to genetics, behavior, environmental factors, and interventions.Genetic factors may affect the metabolism, through altering fat, energy consumption, and energy disbursement. Hereditary traits may cause childhood obesity. Childhood obesity can be caused by behavioral issues. The food and drinks that children are ingesting cause more energy, and is not being used in the correct way. With the larger portions of food that children are eating which are high in glucose, and carbohydrates, the energy consumption is higher than the energy expenditure. This can lead to weight gain in children and cause childhood obesity (Karnik & Kaneka, 2012).Children who are not physically active are prone to obesity. The energy that is gained needs to be properly balanced with the energy used (Karnik & Kaneka, 2012). There is a realization that many teens and children are absence of the necessary quantity of some physical activity; therefore the calories are not being used properly, which can lead to obesity. In Iran there was a mixed-methods study which went to prove that there is a shortage of safe places that has easy access for children to get the physical activity they need.The inactive lifestyle may be caused because there are no facilities, for example, safe sidewalks, parks, and paths to ride bicycles on. The main barriers for these adolescents were the unsupportive families. It is seen that inactive lifestyles are a big part of childhood obesity. Children today spend a lot of time sitting and playing video games, watching television, and using their computers. Children tend to eat more goodies while they sit watching television and playin g video games and are spending more and more time with no physical activity.These developmental issues are a brutal cycle. Children are more prone to an inactive lifestyle because of watching television, consuming larger portions of food that are more energy-dense, and with a lack of physical activity, this has caused a rise in childhood obesity. Television advertisements show foods that are high in sugar; this leads children to make the wrong choices when it comes to eating healthy, and can lead to weight gain and childhood obesity. Environmental factors have a huge impact on children, school, home and the community is some of these influences.Parents who interact with their children have a huge influence when it comes to their child’s food choices and can inspire them to live a healthier life style. A huge amount of children’s time is spent in school; schools can help to offer healthy food choices and more physical activity to help promote a healthier lifestyle. With the lack of availability and affordability of healthy food it can affect a child’s nutrition. Conclusion: The provisions and procedures are appropriate for the type of study conducted and the results received from the research answered the hypothesis that the researchers were considering.The study was centered on preset criteria and questions. Childhood obesity can be resolved through prevention, education, and supportable interventions associated to living a healthy lifestyle with the proper nutrition habits and physical activity. Childhood obesity can be decreased with encouragement from the children’s parents. There needs to be an implementation of schools and governmental monitoring of the success or failure of the interventions. If interventions are not working then there should be a reevaluation of intervention to prevent childhood obesity.