Mapping the Issue

Tammy Lin ENGL 1302 051 Brittain 5/11/12 Trimming the Fat of a Growing Problem Obesity is becoming a major problem to many Americans as well as many people around the world. Being the second cause of preventable death in the United States, obesity increases the risk of numerous adverse health problems including breast cancer, heart disease, type II diabetes, osteoarthritis, colon cancer, stroke, and more. Obesity is defined as an excess proportion of total body fat, with a person being considered obese if his or her weight is twenty percent or more above normal body weight.A common way to measure obesity is by calculating the body mass index. An individual is considered overweight if his or her BMI is between twenty five and thirty, while a person is seen as obese if his or her BMI is over thirty. With that said, it has been estimated that sixty million Americans twenty years and older are obese, which makes up thirty percent of the adult population; meanwhile, nine million children and teenagers ages six to nineteen are overweight. The number of overweight and obese Americans has increased since 1960, a trend that shows no sign of slowing down.In this paper I will review three main positions regarding the issue of ways to approach the multiplying rate of obesity. First, there are those who advocate for the implementation of fat taxes. With the administration of taxes on unhealthy foods and drinks, this group believes that it will significantly discourage the consumption of such foods and will, in turn, promote healthy and responsible eating. Second, there are those who remain persistent in maintaining the privacy of one’s decision making concerning food intake.With the expansion of diverse kinds of food production, this group considers an individual’s food preference as unique, exclusive, and personal. Third, there are those who believe that lowering the costs of healthy foods will encourage the purchase of nourishing and health-benefiting foods. They embrace the belief that most people would eat healthier if the food was more affordable. The first position is the support of fat taxes. The people who stand in this position are those who are concerned with America’s public health issue today, especially the issues centering on obesity. Lisa Baertlin recently ublished an article on Reuters, an international news agency headquartered in the UK, entitled â€Å"Battle Lines Drawn over Soda, Junk Food Taxes† in response to the the wide-growing obesity epidemic today, with the proposition that fat taxes could help save individuals their health and money. She claims that taxes could help make up for the at least one hundred and forty seven billion dollars spent on treating diseases related to obesity and fund programs that battle for this issue. According to U. S. lawmakers, soda tax is one of the most probable sources that would most likely be used to tackle healthcare reform.In relativity to the taxing of cigarettes , these people believe that by taxing soda, it would also similarly reduce consumption and its revenue stream; by taxing more than ten percent for beverages, purchases would be cut down by eight to ten percent. According to a recent Thomson Reuters survey included within Baertlin’s article, â€Å"about fifty-eight percent of Americans are willing to bear a tax increase of one percent or more to support healthcare reform† (Baertlin 1), which proves that more than half of American citizens are willing to take a step forward for the promotion of a healthy nation.Writers like Baertlin sympathize with those who are in the center of the public health crisis today, specifically â€Å"overweight adolescents who are starting to suffer problems that used to plague middle-aged adults† (1). Baertlin herself is in favor of administering fat taxes and is certain that levies on fattening foods are an essential factor of any anti-obesity endeavor. The food industry plays a larg e part in the causes of obesity. Most food companies are culpable of false advertisement, which swallows consumers into their too-good-to-be-true trends.Journalist Karlee Weinmann contributed a piece to Business Insider concerning food companies’ false advertisement. In the article â€Å"14 False Advertising Scandals That Cost Brands Millions†, Weinmann states that for companies that cross the line to making false claims, it can cost millions of dollars, while also having to face public negativity. However, even with all this said, will companies modify their marketing policies for the greater good, or will they uphold their profits as far more important than a consumer’s right to know the truth?More than likely, most brands will continue to false advertise their products, which is why these people in this group believe that fat taxes are efficient in lowering consumption of soda and other health-stripping foods. According to Weinmann, â€Å"there’s a bi g difference between pushing the truth and making false claims. Is a product really ‘scientifically proven’, and are ‘results guaranteed’? † (Weinmann 1). Food brands such as Activia yogurt, Splenda, Kashi, and Eclipse gum have been caught with such false advertisement scandals; the more unhealthy the food really is, the more beneficial its company would make it seem.Writers like Weinmann identify with those who have been misled by deceitful food claims made by the companies they trusted. Therefore, supporters of fat taxes are certain that the implementation of fat taxes would solve these complications by creating more awareness and heedfulness when consumers purchase junk foods. The second position is the promotion of health education and that one’s food choice should not be hindered or influenced to reduce obesity. The people who stand in this position believe that an individual should have choices in the items he or she buy, and be guilt-fre e.In the article â€Å"Childhood Obesity: A Global Public Health Issue† published in International Journal of Preventive Medicine†, writer Amar Kanekar states that the main cause of childhood obesity in today’s public health crisis in both developed and underdeveloped countries is because of the disproportion between the child’s caloric intake and the calories effectively used for growth/development and physical activities. To these people, what we eat is not the sole reason of the cause of obesity; genetic, behavioral, and environmental are all constituents of childhood obesity.Moreover, many health-related risks are present when a child is obese; negative body-image and low self-esteem inevitably result in psychological and social issues. Cardiovascular disease, increased cholesterol levels, and high blood pressure are all possible potential health risks involved and that there is, indeed, â€Å"preventive programs that help regulate obesity by educatin g individuals about healthy nutrition and diseases† (Kanekar 2). According to a report presented from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, in the years of 2007-2008, there was an estimation that â€Å"16. % of children and adolescent in the age group of 2-19 years were obese†¦The data collected for the same period shows that the adolescent (age group 12-19 years) obesity has increased from 5. 0 to 18. 1%† (2). By letting people know about health hazards and the importance of physical exercise, the chance of obesity could greatly decrease. Those who are pro-food-choice would side with Kanekar in that they believe there should not be any direct government intervention with food costs, but that there should be a public informing of the effects commonly eaten unhealthy foods would result in.Kanekar, Baertlin, and Weinmann all believe that the prevalence of obesity seen in children and adults is increasing and that some form of action must be done. While th ese writers see and support the benefits of the reduction of junk food intake, Kanekar is more focused on declaring health education, with the hope of lowering BMI and the rate of weight gain. All three authors recognize the importance of lowering consumption of fatty foods, but the position here does not endorse the advocating of fat taxes. The third position is lowering the costs of healthy foods.The people who stand in this position believe that by decreasing the costs of healthful foods sold, there would be a habit shift in the people’s purchases of fatty foods to foods that are much more nutritional. Journalist Katherine Bauer published an article entitled â€Å"Price and Availability Matter† in Room for Debate, a running commentary by outside contributors from The New York Times, where she states the â€Å"lack of access to high quality, reasonably priced fruits and vegetables and other healthful foods has been associated with poorer diets and, in many cases, hi gher risk for obesity.This is especially true among lower-income individuals whose purchasing habits are more sensitive to the cost of food† (Bauer 1). There is strong evidence that shows a clear impact between change in food access and the pricing on one’s purchasing habits. For example, there are programs that decrease the cost of healthier foods, which resulted in the increased purchasing of the healthier foods. Cheaper prices on healthy foods reduce one’s weight, even if the cost of junk foods remains the same price. A news report conducted from the USDA observed the BMI of children and how it changed in correlation to food prices.It was shown that â€Å"if the price of 100% juice decreases 10%, BMIs decreased . 3%. The same process works for lowfat milk (. 35% decrease) and dark, leafy vegetables (. 28% decrease)† (2). Moreover, Bauer identifies with those who receive low-income and struggle with the purchase of healthy foods, and also with those who believe that it is not only the wealthy that ‘deserve’ the most benefits from the healthy aisles in the food market. Bauer’s views is relatively similar with Baertlin, Weinmann, and Kanekar, in that public attitudes towards obesity and obesity policy should be given much more ttention than it is now, but Bauer herself has a different approach in this matter, especially from Kanekar. She believes that health education may not be sufficient enough to cause a significant awareness in individuals that junk foods should no longer be habitually purchased. Instead, she considers the perspective that by lowering healthy foods, there would be an effective overall change in the nation’s weight and BMI and that the idea would more readily fit within one’s budget.Works Cited Page Baertlein, Lisa. â€Å"Battle lines drawn over soda, junk food taxes. † Reuters [Los Angeles] 1 Sept 2009, n. pag. Print. Katherine, Bauer. â€Å"Price and Availability Matter. † New York Times. (2011): 1-2. Web. 5 Apr. 2012. Kanekar, Amar. â€Å"Childhood Obesity: A Global Public Health Issue. † Int J Prev Med. (2011): 2. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. Weinmann, Karlee. â€Å"14 False Advertising Scandals That Cost Brands Millions. † Business Insider. (2011): 1-2. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. <www. businessinsider. com>.

Modern Family: Show Review

Barren Modern Family Is a popular television show that underlines family values and gender roles. The show centers on a divorced father, Jay, and his two adult children, Mitchell and Claire. Jay Is a wealthy, retired business man, who has remarried a younger Latino woman, with son from a previous relationship, and Is very close In age to Claire. Mitchell is an opening gay man who recently married his partner, Cameron. Together they are raising their adopted Vietnamese daughter, Lilly.Claire is married to Phil, and together they have three teenage children. This show does an excellent job of displaying traditional and non-traditional roles within each household. All three of these families represent diversity within a traditional setting. It is constantly pushing boundaries by switching mixed messages for gender roles, traditional family values, non-traditional roles, and stereotypes in today's society. For example, Mitchell is a full-time attorney, while Cameron is a stay-at-home dad .Cameron, who Is more feminine, has worked part-time Jobs in the past for extra money and self-worth. It can be said he Is portrayed as the â€Å"wife† In the relationship since he Is consistently shown doing the majority of the household duties and child rearing. Parts of the mixed messages that are gleamed from the show come In the form of comic relief. When Cameron goes home to the farm he was raised on, he is portrayed in a more masculine role, to include a more dominant tone in his speech.In these scenes, Mitchell is portrayed as more feminine. Another example of a non-traditional role is Claimer's family. At first glance, they appear to be very traditional; however, there have some non-traditional qualities. While they are a happily married straight couple raising three children together, they both work since Claire began running her father's company. The show follows Claire dealing with traditional challenges women face in the work place such as earning respect of her peers and gaining acceptance as a superior.The show Is a brilliant representation of how society has changed and what constitutes a traditional family. The dichotomy ranges from a big strong man, Ewing very friendly In demeanor and a stay-at-home dad, to the stereotype of an older man marrying an inappropriately younger minority woman. The woman being slightly portrayed as only interested in the older man for his wealth, to a daughter attempting to fill her father's shoes in the work place.As people have become more tolerant and accepting of different people, cultures, and ways of life, it has opened the door to new possibilities. From Cameron providing support work in his family dynamic, to Gloria subtly providing status production desperately needed in Jays life o Claire living up to the stereotype of the second shift routine, this show points out that as we look at a time diary of how gender roles in society have changed and how in our modern society we define family, the basic t hemes of domestic labor still plays an Impacting role to maintain a family.Modern Family: Show Review By k-barren Modern Family is a popular television show that underlines family values and gender and Claire. Jay is a wealthy, retired business man, who has remarried a younger Latino woman, with son from a previous relationship, and is very close in age to s a full-time attorney, while Cameron is a stay-at-home dad.Cameron, who is more can be said he is portrayed as the â€Å"wife† in the relationship since he is consistently shown doing the majority of the household duties and child rearing. Parts of the mixed messages that are gleamed from the show come in the form of comic relief. As a superior. The show is a brilliant representation of how society has changed and being very feminine in demeanor and a stay-at-home dad, to the stereotype of an an impacting role to maintain a family.

Assessment Of For And As Learning Essay Example for Free

Assessment Of For And As Learning Essay Assessment of learning refers to strategies designed to confirm what students know, demonstrate whether or not they have met curriculum outcomes or the goals of their individualized programs, or to certify proficiency and make decisions about students’ future programs or placements. It is designed to provide evidence of achievement to parents, other educators, the students themselves, and sometimes to outside groups (e. g. , employers, other educational institutions). Assessment of learning is the assessment that becomes public and results in statements or symbols about how well students are learning. It often contributes to pivotal decisions that will affect students’ futures. It is important, then, that the underlying logic and measurement of assessment of learning be credible and defensible. Teachers’ Roles in Assessment of Learning Because the consequences of assessment of learning are often far-reaching and affect students seriously, teachers have the responsibility of reporting student learning accurately and fairly, based on evidence obtained from a variety of contexts and applications. Effective assessment of learning requires that teachers provide  ?a rationale for undertaking a particular assessment of learning at a particular point in time ?clear descriptions of the intended learning ?processes that make it possible for students to demonstrate their competence and skill ?a range of alternative mechanisms for assessing the same outcomes ?public and defensible reference points for making judgments ? Transparent approaches to interpretation ?descriptions of the assessment process ?strategies for recourse in the event of disagreement about the decisions With the help of their teachers, students can look forward to assessment of learning tasks as  occasions to show their competence, as well as the depth and breadth of their learning. ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING Assessment for learning focuses on engaging students in classroom assessment in support of their own learning and informing teachers about what to do next to help students to progress. Assessment for learning is assessment for improvement not assessment for accountability as can be the case with summative assessments (Stiggins, 2002). The keys to Assessment for Learning (AFL) is to use a variety of assessment tools and methods in order to provide ongoing evidence to students, teachers and parents that demonstrates how  well each student is mastering the identified outcomes. This evidence is used to provide descriptive feedback to the students and to enable the teacher to differentiate the instruction to meet the needs of individual students or groups. ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING VS. ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING Gregory, Cameron, and Davies (1997) outline some distinct differences between Assessment for Learning and Assessment of Learning. Educators are using these terms to help distinguish between the teacher’s role as a learning coach versus the teacher’s role of judging the extent of a student’s achievement in relation to an established standard. This assessment is considered summative and is done at the end. 1. Assessment for learning is the big deal, while assessment of learning is the done deal. 2. Assessment for learning is formative, while assessment of learning is summative. 3. Assessment for learning is supportive, while assessment of learning measures. 4. Assessment for learning uses descriptions, while assessment of learning uses scores. 5. Assessment for learning happens day by day, moment by moment, while assessment of learning happens at the end. The assertion is that neither one is better than the other, but both need to be used within a  students learning so that the student is able to understand not only the work that is being asked of them, but also how their own learning occurs. Assessment for learning is intended to be both diagnostic and formative to help students improve their learning. Four critical questions that the teacher must ask when planning for assessment for learning: WHY AM I ASSESSING? If the intent of assessment is to enhance student learning teachers use assessment for learning to uncover what students believe to be true and to learn more about the connections students are making, their prior knowledge, preconceptions, gaps, and learning styles. This information is used to inform and differntiate instruction to build on what students already know and to challenge students when their are problems inhibiting progression to the next stages of learning. Teachers use this information to provide their students with descriptive feedback that will further their learning and not as a sumamtive assessment or to report a grade. WHAT AM I ASSESSING? Assessment for learning requires ongoing assessment of the outcomes that comprise the intended learning. In most cases these are the curriculum outcomes. Teachers create assessments that will  expose students’ thinking and skills in relation to the intended learning, and the common preconceptions. WHAT ASSESSMENT METHOD SHOULD I USE? When planning assessment for learning, the teacher must think about what assessment is designed to expose, and must decide which assessment approaches are most likely to give detailed information about what each student is thinking and learning. The methods need to incorporate a variety of ways for students to demonstrate their learning. For example, having students complete tasks orally or through visual representation allow those who are struggling  with reading or writing to demonstrate their learning. HOW CAN I USE THE INFORMA%ON? The information collected in assessment for learning is used to report to the student and by offering descriptive, on time feedback and to provide the teacher with information to allow for changes in instruction for individual students or groups of students. ASSESSMENT AS LEARNING Assessment as learning occurs when students are their own assessors. Students monitor their own learning, ask questions and use a range of strategies to decide what they know and can do, and  how to use assessment for new learning. Assessment as learning: ?encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning ?requires students to ask questions about their learning ?involves teachers and students creating learning goals to encourage growth and development ?provides ways for students to use formal and informal feedback and self-assessment to help them understand the next steps in learning ?encourages peer assessment, self-assessment and reflection. ROLES This assessment model supports the view of today’s learners as actively involved in the learning process. Students are educated on the purpose of assignments and the outcomes they are trying to achieve. Hence the teacher and the student both have critical roles in understanding learning outcomes and modifying learning in Assessment as Learning. Teacher Ensuring assessment methods are appropriate and the purpose is clear to students ensures quality and fair assessment practices as per the Principles for Fair Student Assessment in Canada (1993). Beyond choosing the learning outcomes to be covered, the activities to follow and the assessment methods, in Assessment as Learning, the teacher engages the students in this process. In Assessment as Learning, the teacher is a guide, â€Å"Giving them [students] the tools to undertake their own learning wisely and well. † (WNCP, p. 42) Students learn to monitor their own learning and make adaptations as required. In addition to monitoring learning and guiding instruction through assessment for learning, the teacher is assessing the students’ ability to assess themselves as they learn how to assess their own learning. Teachers can follow the following model in order to practice Assessment as Learning in their classroom: (adapted from WNCP, p. 42-43) 1. Discuss the learning outcomes with the students. 2. Create criteria with the students for the various tasks that need to be completed and/or skills that need to be learned or mastered 3. Provide feedback to students as they learn and ask them guiding questions to help them monitor their own learning 4. Help them set goals to extend or support their learning as needed in order to meet or fully meet the expectations 5. Provide reference points and examples for the learning outcomes Teachers are also responsible for ensuring that students have a learning environment in which they feel comfortable and safe to learn as well as have ample time to practise what is being  taught. Student Beyond completing the tasks assigned to them by their teacher, students move from the passive learner to an active owner of their own learning. Initially, with teacher guidance and tools, students learn to monitor if they have understood the learning outcome being explored and the metacognitive process. Once the metacognitive skills have been acquired, students can independently adjust their learning accordingly and demonstrate the â€Å"self-reflection, self- monitoring and self-adjustment. † (WNCP, 2006, p. 85) Extensive and relevant modeling in the questions below can help students reach this point: 1. What is the purpose of learning these concepts and skills? 2. What do I know about this topic? 3. What strategies do I know that will help me learn this? 4. Am I understanding these concepts? 5. What are the criteria for improving my work? 6. Have I accomplished the goals I set for myself? What is self-assessment? According to Boud (1995), all assessment including self-assessment comprises two main elements: making decisions about the standards of performance expected and then making judgments about the quality of the performance in relation to these standards. When self-assessment is introduced, it should ideally involve students in both of these aspects. Andrade and Du (2007) provide a helpful definition of self-assessment that focuses on the formative learning that it can promote: Self-assessment is a process of formative assessment during which students reflect on and evaluate the quality of their work and their learning, judge the degree to which they reflect explicitly stated goals or criteria, identify strengths and weaknesses in their work, and revise accordingly (2007, p. 160). EXAMPLES OF SELF-ASSESSMENT Self-assessment can take many forms, including: ?writing conferences ?discussion (whole-class or small-group) ?reflection logs ?weekly self-evaluations ?self-assessment checklists and inventories ?teacher-student interviews These types of self-assessment share a common theme: they ask students to review their work to determine what they have learned and what areas of confusion still exist. Although each method differs slightly, all should include enough time for students to consider thoughtfully and evaluate their progress. When students understand the criteria for good work before they begin a literacy activity, they are more likely to meet those criteria. The key to this understanding is to make the criteria clear. As students evaluate their work, you may want them to set up their own criteria for good work. Help them with the clarity of their criteria as they assess their own work. Students’ observations and reflections can also provide valuable feedback for refining your instructional plan. As your students answer questions about their learning and the strategies they use, think about their responses to find out what they are really learning and to see if they are learning what you are teaching them. K-W-L (KNOW, WANT TO KNOW, LEARNED) CHART. K-W-L (Ogle, 1986) is an instructional reading strategy that is used to guide students through a text. Students begin by brainstorming everything they Know about a topic. This information is recorded in the K column of a K-W-L chart. Students then generate a list of questions about what they Want to Know about the topic. These questions are listed in the W column of the chart. During or after reading, students answer the questions that are in the W column. This new information that they have Learned is recorded in the L column of the K-W-L chart. Purpose The K-W-L strategy serves several purposes: Elicits students’ prior knowledge of the topic of the text. ?Sets a purpose for reading. ?Helps students to monitor their comprehension. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? Donna Ogle asserts that KWL helps students become better readers of expository text and helps teachers to be more interactive in their teaching (Ogle, 1987). KWL charts help students to be active thinkers while they read (Carr & Ogle, 1987), giving them specific things to look for and having them reflect on what they learned when they are finished reading. In learning, metacognition involves the active monitoring and conscious control and regulation  of cognitive processes. It involves thinking about thinking, self-awareness, and self-regulation (Flavell, 1979). The metacognitive strategy of self-questioning is used to ensure that students comprehend the text. When students set their own purposes for reading, they are more motivated and active as readers. Each student has a schema, or a framework for how they view the world. Accessing a student’s prior knowledge is the first step in integrating new concepts into their existing schema. KWL charts help activate background knowledge and provide an opportunity for students to set their own learning objectives. Assessment Of For And As Learning. (2016, Sep 26).

An evaluation of economical impact on educational tourism in Australia Essay

An evaluation of economical impact on educational tourism in Australia - Essay Example It is known that international students are not subsidized by the Australian government and pay full fees for all courses. This mandate is under the Education Services for Overseas Student (ESOS) Act under the Federal legislation. An examination of recent researches and data indicates that educational tourism revenue have been steadily gaining an upward strength and ultimately surpasses tourism as the top services export this year. Recent studies show that 40% of the total expenses of international students were spent on tuition fees, and the remaining 60% were spent on other goods and services such as food and accommodation (National Centre, 7). This paper will discuss the effects of educational tourism to skilled immigration and travel and tourism, and detail the business industries who greatly benefit from international education. The paper will also evaluate which five countries are the top sources for international students, and the possible reasons why these countries generate the most number of foreign students. Since the number of foreign students in Australia is considered relatively high, it is fair to hypothesize that a large part of the country’s overall revenue is generated from the expenses of these population group. It is also important to keep in mind that these foreign students may be considered as an investment in the country’s future as numerous foreign students have acquired quality education in the country before, and that allowed them to gain significant qualifications that definitely created a difference in their lives. These graduates will be highly skilled in their careers and can be influential in their own countries in the future. Their past bond with Australia at a major point in their lives will aid Australia in creating bridges on people-to-people, cultural, and business ties with these nations. Those students who will gain permanent residence

Literary elements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Literary elements - Essay Example The story revolves around the picture of the white elephant, which indirectly puts the situation of the girl into a simpler picture. A white elephant means that something is too expensive or too costly to keep up that it becomes a nuisance. The girl keeps mentioning the white elephant over and over the story, emphasizing that there is something that burdens them. But as can be seen throughout the story, hesitation can be seen in her voice when she talks about the simple operation that her partner is suggesting. This shows that the girl is torn between keeping the white elephant, or going through with the operation to get rid of it. The white elephants, then, becomes the symbolism for keeping the baby, which is obviously what the partner is trying to rid of. Throughout the story, we can see that the exchange of statements between the girl and the man is full of tension. The reader can feel that the girl is torn between going through the operation and not going through with it. We cann ot feel that she is scared but more that she is worried that the plan will not go through as simply as the man puts it. The man is insistent, almost sounds too pushy, when he mentions that the operations is just simple, just letting air in through and everything will be alright again.

INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN ORGANISATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN ORGANISATION - Essay Example Until present, information itself was not well thought-out as an imperative asset for an organization. The management course of action was thought-out a face-to-face, personal art and not a far-flung, comprehensive coordination course of action. While at the present time, it is extensively acknowledged that understanding information systems is indispensable for managers for the reason that most organizations require information systems to continue to exist and make money (Laudon & Laudon 1999, p.4). The term information system can be described technically as a collection of interconnected components that bring together, process, store, and distribute information to carry decision making and control in an organization (Laudon & Laudon 1999, p.7). In addition to facilitating decision making, coordination, and control, information systems may also facilitate managers and workers evaluate troubles, think about multifarious issues, and produce new products. Information systems include inf ormation about important people, places, and things inside the organization or in the environment surrounding it. In the above context, by information we mean data that have been fashioned into a structure that is understandable and functional to the human beings. On the other hand, data are collection of raw facts representing events occurring in organizations or the physical environment before they have been prepared and arranged into a structure that people can identify and make use of it (Laudon & Laudon 1999, p.7). In its most fundamental type, an information system is a technique that helps people bring together, store, organize, and make use of information (Norton 2001, p.455). Ultimately, the information system is the computer’s basis for being. For the reason that there are numerous types of information and it can be used in countless ways, numerous kinds of information systems have been built. For case in point, it is correct, if we

Social Web Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Social Web - Research Paper Example †. A question comes to mind, what is social networking meant for? Its purpose is to enable people for creating a virtual social network to exchange ideas and thoughts with class mates, old friends, lost friends, relatives, and new friends. Social networking sites have advantages as well as disadvantages later to be discussed. The factors impacting on the society are interrelated to each other. The severity of the impact of these sites may vary from severity level 1 to severity level 3. Social networking sites facilitate people to create a public or private profile to share it with a group of people within an isolated system. Likewise, these ‘web based’ services offer opportunities to create a new relation. The first social network site was launched in 1997 that was named as SixDegrees.com. Since then, these sites offered innovation in relationship performances, impression management, privacy management, online and offline status of friends. However, study shows tha t there is no research on cultural disparity (VitkauskaitÄâ€", 2011). Social Networking Sites Statistics Over 700 billion minutes are spent by each user on ‘Facebook’ per month. More than 500 million active users are registered on face book. 50% of massive 500 million contributes to the log of active users on to ‘Facebook’ in every single day.... ite ‘www.facebook.com’ statistics also includes the activity of users is â€Å"above 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each month. The Global Reach is in more than 70 translations available on the site About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States and Over 300,000 users helped translate the site through the translations application. Moreover, Fig 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 illustrated below, demonstrate the participation of genders, privacy and beliefs and behavioral tracking on ‘Facebook’. Fig 1.1(Retreived from (Hoy & Milne, 2010) Fig 1.2(Retreived from (Hoy & Milne, 2010) Fig 1.3(Retreived from (Hoy & Milne, 2010) These figures are incomparable to other social networking sites such as twitter has 175 million registered users and 95 million tweets are written each day (Roberts, 2011). Positive Impact of Social Networking Sites (SNS) Social networking sites (SNS) facilitate users to creat e new relationships. Continuous communication online strengthens relationships and gives opportunities for creative expressions in a collaborative way. The social networking sites provide free photo storage, blogging, games, invitations for participating friends and various services. The social networking sites provide common interest between people and proffer revelation to innovative ideas publishing around the globe and provide freedom of expression. Those people who have stammering problem while speaking can express their emotions and feeling to share with others in full confidence. Social networking sites also contributed people to make crucial decisions in their life. 60 million Americans are facilitated by the Internet for making one of the most crucial life decisions ("The Strength of Internet Ties,

Write up Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Write up - Essay Example The focus of the company was to provide an end-to-end package of medical device contract manufacturing services. MDCM was renowned for its ability to produce highly customized versions for unique applications of specialized equipment, self designed and fabricated, used in the assembly of medical devices. MDCM is one of the largest companies in the contract manufacturing and packaging services sector of the medical devices industry. The firm’s success can highly be attributed to its close partnership with its customers that had produced tremendous customer satisfaction. MDCM’s record of winning over customers have led to its tremendous growth which allowed the company to expand and grow its geographical reach through acquisition within the country and now the company derived 40% of its revenues from eight of its largest accounts. Today despite the victory the company has achieved over the past decades, the evolving and unpredictability and high level competency in the global market, the company had announced its fifth consecutive quarterly loss with net losses amounting to thirty three million dollars. Despite the acquisition and expansion the company was not able to catch up to the global capabilities of other competitors that called for changes in growth strategy. The expansions and acquisitions could not be realized since the company has let these companies operate on their own believing that by letting these acquired companies operate on the basis of self autonomy to better cater to the local customers. Thus there was no unified system for the global MDCM Corporation that would have let it operated under one system of standard operations and procedures leading to a worst operating and profit margins. There was poor coordination since the all other companies under the corporation operates independently th at led to poorly controlled unified operations. The MDCM Inc. falls under the quadrant, responsive

Critical appraisal of a qualitative research paper Essay

Critical appraisal of a qualitative research paper - Essay Example he review links potential findings of the study to a wider framework of theoretical knowledge in the area of community health services and helps the reader identify gaps in the existing body of knowledge and justify the need for their study. Such synthesis of relevant information relating to the previous research provides adequate background to the study. Specific nature of the formulated research purposes raised a set of specific requirements to be addressed within a certain methodological framework. The context of study undertaken by Bissel and colleagues suggests that the choice of qualitative approach is the most appropriate alternative in this case. Such choice of methodology and research design is absolutely justified by the formulated research purposes and obtained results: the type of reasoning utilised by Bissel and colleagues is apparently inductive: the authors do not formulate any specific hypothesis or suggest a theory to be tested. Instead, they offer several research objectives to be fulfilled. Data gathering techniques chosen by the authors within the qualitative methodology are congruent with the purposes of their study. The authors prefer semi-structured interview is the instrument of data collection. Semi-structured interview is one of the most popular types of interviewing due to several reasons. Firstly, semi-structured interviewing allow for focused two-way communication. Secondly, while the questionnaire framework implies formulation of detailed questions, a semi-structured interview starts with more general topic or questions, identified ahead of time, and makes it possible for the interviewer to seek for relationships between the questions/topic and variety of relevant issues. The answers given by the interviewee serve as the basis for more specific questions formulated during the interview. And finally, semi-structured interviewing is not as time-consuming and costly as other qualitative methods, while the data is valid, diverse and

Written Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Written Analysis - Essay Example Germany was severely punished which led to World War II as many historians believe. There are many articles and books that contain writings including poets about the war with different themes. In this paper I will try explaining different themes according to different sources used and relate them to contemporary issues of gender, war and trauma. In addition to the many events that marked the beginning of the First World War, Stephen MacDonald wrote a play known as Not About Heroes that takes a courageous glance into the lives and works of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon who were war poets. The play is based upon their time in Craiglockhart War Hospital in 1917 where Owen was recovering from shell-shock also known as neurasthenia while Sassoon was being kept in there after he made a declaration against the war which was announced in the House of Commons and was declared to be suffering from shell-shock to provide an explanation of his outbursts. Sassoon is a well established and connected man and Owen a timid, stammering fan that grows to a confident determined poet whose creativity was unlocked after meeting his friend Sassoon. This book portrays the friendship of the two men and their war poems. The strong relationship formed between soldiers, the memories and experiences they had, the writings and literature skills and the sacrifices made by the soldiers in the war are among the themes in this book. Owen says that he is only concerned with the war and not poetry, for him poetry is in the pity. He is not concerned with honor or power or fame and glory, just War.† MacDonald tries to shun open reference to the sexuality of either the two. He represents their relationship as emotional which somehow seems to embarrass them this is seen when Siegfried feels glad that he was not seen embracing Wilfred and also in the description of Sassoon in his letters as â€Å"Dearest of Friends† Owen shows shyness and his determination by saying he will be a poet and he

The Intellectual Challenge Essay Example for Free

The Intellectual Challenge Essay The intellectual challenge was equally unprecedented. From the beginning of the modern age, there were significant segments of the intellegentsia which did not content themselves with any of the newly fashioned apologies for Judaism. They accepted the ideals of the outside liberalism, nationalism, and, later, socialism not because they had supposedly originated in Judaism but because they had not. What made these values attractive was that they promised to fashion a new secular world which would transcend and destroy all aspects of medievalism. The assimilationists, those Jews who consciously strove to give up their own identity entirely in order to become undifferentiated individuals in the modern world, were thus truly messianic. The very completeness and unconditionality of their surrender to the dominant values of the majority were a program for the final solution of the Jewish question: let the Jew become like everybody else, yielding up his claim to chosenness and being relieved of his role as scapegoat. Let society run on its universal and immutable principles, rooted in reason and natural law, which know neither positive nor negative exceptions for the Jew. Above all, let him disappear from the center of the stage, his own and the worlds, to be one among many equally important small incidents in the history of mankind. This was a kind of messianism that could have arisen only out of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, for it was fundamentally at variance with both the Jewish and the Christian concepts of such an age. Jew is equally important to the traditional Christian version of the end of days: he is not chosen but damned, but that is negative chosenness; he is doomed to wandering and suffering, because he once rejected Jesus, but the indispensable preamble to the Second Coming and the end of days is his conversion. It is beyond doubt that the long-standing Christian desire to convert the Jews was a significant aspect of the climate of opinion toward the end of the eighteenth century which prepared the ground for their emancipation. Liberal Christians believed that this would be a short cut to the devoutly desired result. So the Abbe Gregoire, the leader of this school of thought in revolutionary France, argued in a famous essay written in 1787 and published two years later, as the delegates were gathering to the meeting of the Estates-General in Paris, that the granting of religious liberty to the Jews would be a great step forward in reforming and in converting them, for truth is most persuasive when it is gentle. Â   What is even more apparent is that many of the philosophies of the Enlightenment, despite the ethical universalism and the vague deism or atheism in religion with which they were consciously subverting Christianity, were most reluctant to part with old-fashioned anti-Semitism. In fear of censorship and the Bastille, they may, indeed, have had to shoot their arrows of ridicule at Moses instead of the Apostles, in order to conduct their war against the Church in Aesopian language; but there is an edge and a nastiness to Voltaires comments on the Jews, an insistence that it is hardly conceivable that even reason can reform them, which sets one of the patterns for modern anti-Semitism: to uphold a universal and secular ideal e. g. , liberalism, nationalism, or socialism but to exclude the Jews from its purview and effect. Nonetheless, at its most ideologically consistent, the Enlightenment proposed full acceptance of the Jew in the new society of which it dreamed. His faults which even pro-Jewish writers like Dohm, Mirabeau, and Gregoire waxed eloquent in describing were, they maintained, not innate but caused by his unfortunate estate, and his claims to chosenness could be disregarded as a psychological defense the Jew found it necessary to cultivate to relieve the misery of his enslavement. All this would disappear, transmuted into good civisme even among this, the most difficult group to usher into the life of the modern world, once all of society is reformed. It is therefore true, as Nordau once observed that the Emancipation came to the Jews not out of humanitarian fervor, not as a reconciliation of age-old conflicts, but for the sake of the abstractions, reason and natural law. But the Jewish enthusiasts of assimilation chose to overlook that the Emancipation was not essentially conceived out of tender regard for the Jews: they preferred to accept it with passion as the totally messianic era that it purported to be.

Sex difference and mathematical reasoning Essay Example for Free

Sex difference and mathematical reasoning Essay The main aim of the study was to determine whether mathematical reasoning is influence by sex of a person due to inconsiderate admission criteria that was adopted in United States for awarding scholarships to students irrespective of sex. In order to achieve this, the study selected sample population from both genders for students who were 13 years and above. The study was a result of the argument that males tend to dominate in mathematical aptitude test, which was evidenced by John Hopkins talent search in 1971 to 1979. Hence, Benbow and Stanley had to carry out this study to prove whether the argument was true and whether there was link between sex and ability to have good mathematical reasoning. Benbow and Stanley in this study investigated sex difference at the high level possible of the mathematical reasoning ability. The study was started by first identifying two groups of students who had the best mathematical reasoning from various mathematical aptitude test that they had taken. The study adopted two procedures where the first one involved identification and selection of students who took part in John Hopkins talent searches campaign from 1980 to 1982 (Benbow, Stanley, 1983). The students who were found to have the highest intellectual ability and below 13 years were given college Scholarship aptitude test, (SAT) to determine their mathematical reasoning. Consequently, the second procedure involved conducting nation-wide talent search and selecting those students who were below 13 years and were willing to take SAT. The results of this study indicated that students who were 13 years of age and below had high mathematical reasoning as evidenced by high scores in SAT, the mathematical part of the test. In addition, the results found that males scored far much high compared to females and thus support the prediction of the study that sex difference play important part in mathematical reasoning for children below 13 years. The evidence from the study indicated that those who scored 400 marks in SAT, males were more than female in the ratio of 1.51:1 and those who scored 600 marks or more the boys to girsl ration was 4.1:1, which showed that males had better mathematical reasoning compared to girls at the age of 13 (Benbow, Stanley, 1983). Consequently, nationwide talent search had the similar results with boy to girls’ ratio increasing to 12.6:1 for those that score 700 marks or more. The significance level Null distribution is the study probability distribution when null hypothesis is considered and regarded to be true. This means that null hypothesis it proved using null distributions. In this case, the alternative hypothesis is rejected. However, where the study does not support the null hypothesis, the said concludes by rejecting the null hypothesis at a given level of significance. Therefore, 0.05 significance means that the null hypothesis was rejected at 95% level of significance. The standard deviation error helps to determine the level of unbiased data and results of a given study and thus it becomes very important in any study. In this study, the standard error was important to determine the level of errors and thus improve the level of data reliability. Similarly, the confidence interval is used as the measure of reliability of the estimates obtained in the study. This helps to indentify if the data is misleading or within the significance level. References Benbow, C. P., Stanley, J. C. (1983). Sex differences in mathematical reasoning ability: More facts.  Science,  222(4627), 1029-1031. Source document

The Potential Of Wind Assisted Ship Propulsion Engineering Essay

The Potential Of Wind Assisted Ship Propulsion Engineering Essay Wind is present all around the world, and in some places with abundant energy density. Wind had been extensively used in the past, for mechanical power in addition to transportation (J.F. Manwell and J.G. McGowan, A.L. Rogers (2009)).Wind energy has evolved into one of the most practical, cost-effective and both environmentally and technically attractive, of all the renewable energy options in the world. So the wind energy has a lot of potential at sea for assisting in ships propulsion. Wind is the cheapest, most powerful, and greenest source of energy on the high seas. The accelerating fuel costs over the last decade have led to growing interest in the application of wind assistance for ship propulsion and reduce fossil fuel consumption. Using wind energy for propulsion of ships in sea is in fact one of mankinds oldest ocean-going technologies. In one-way or another, with modern advances in ship design and propulsion the use of wind energy was almost forgotten Sail systems were the dominant form of propulsion until the 19th century (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_propulsion) Astrophysicist Carl again writes, for example, that: the consequences of scientific illiteracy are far more dangerous in our time than in any that has come before. Its perilous and foolhardy for the average citizen to remain ignorant about global warming, say, or ozone depletion, air pollution, toxic and radioactive wastes, acid rain, topsoil erosion, tropical deforestation, exponential growthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.How can we affect national policyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ if we dont under stand the underlying issues? Aim and Objectives: The main of the project is to analysis into the potential of Wind Assisted Ship Propulsion (WASP) and its application into the modern day shipping. WASP systems will be explained, analysed by showing its benefits and drawbacks. The applications and possible benefits of the use of the WASP will also be investigated showing all the relevant factors that are affected by the use of WASP. The key objectives are summarized as: Research into present and evolution of WASP systems, Potential of present WASP system and their applications. Advantages and future development of WASP systems Discussion of economic and environmental factors Analysis into the use of alternative energy sources at sea. Evaluation of WASP by application to a case study Critical analyse into all findings to produce a logical and well founded conclusion. EXISTING WASP SYSTEMS: The following are the remaining WASP Systems in use at present in the sea Aerofoil(Wing-Sail) Flettner Rotor Rig Soft Sail Towing Kites (Skysails) Wind Turbine (Skysails) Aerofoil (Wing-Sail): This form of marine propulsion works in the similar way as an aeroplane wing, producing pressure differences between opposite sides which create a force , supported by central mast. The trust provided by the solid structures of the sail is more with less drag than conventional sails. This technology came into wide development in 1980s by Japanese and still some vessels use this technology nowadays with research into the application of such systems proceeding. Various research is been carried out and one of the example using this aerofoil concept is this ship model which is called the ecoliner. It is a type of cargo vessel which propels by using combination of high-tech sail and engine power. This combined feature, make it possible to work like a normal cargo ship with similar service of speed, freight price and other factors. Using this ecoliners , as ocean transports will decrease the pollution emissions to 50% of the ship. MV Ashington vessel is a bulk carrier which has auxiliary propulsion with the use aerodynamic wing sail. (http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=823976) A computer controlled wingsail fitted to the 6,500 dwt dry cargo ship mv Ashington resulted in a fuel savings average of 8% and, under favourable circumstances, of up to 20%. (htt p://www.maritimejournal.com/features101/power-and-propulsion/wingsail_ready_for_small_commercial_vessels) The wing-sail have two significant drawbacks which are considered. First one is that the moments coupled with the lift forces which produce the propulsion also can create a large aerodynamic drag force which acts as a huge drawback when sailing directly into a head wind(Clayton, 1987).Rigid sails then usually themselves into the wind direction when no force can be created while some design allow the surface to be folded using hydraulic controls such that the direction can be controlled. In general wing-sails have a high lift coefficient compared to soft sails which will be discussed in further topics. This means this system has more advantage over the other conventional sails even though initial investment in the system will be high. Various designs now incorporate a frame with a material surface to keep the minimum weight. Flettner Rotor Rig: Flettner rotors consist of cylinders which are of spinning type and tall mounted onto the vessels deck. The vessel is set in motion by using the Magnus effect. The Magnus effect is produced whenever pressure difference occurring around spinning object. This concept was done by researcher Anton Flettner, a German naval architect. Later researchers conducted experimenting into its operation in 1980 when Saudi oil crisis happened. But this system never overtook the diesel engine usage. However in the 1920s Fletner rotor operated in sea for a quiet a long year proving reliable form of wind propulsion. To understand this system works, an understanding of the Magnus effect is necessary. The Magnus effect or force happens when there is a pressure difference around a spinning object. Because of this change in boundary later around this object happens, a lift force is generated in direct propulsion to the acceleration it imparts on the air streaming by (Seufert, 1983). This lift force happens due to Bernoullis principle; this use of the principle is highly effective and is described as practicable. Soft Sail: Soft Sail system consists of two main types, the modern square rig and the fore and aft rig. The square rig is the most efficient running rig and useful to longer routes with more constant and foreseeable winds.Fore and aft rig type is suitable to short routes, where the wind speed and direction be unlike. In modern day shipping the soft sails is not used, because of its large propulsion of deck space and needs constant manning. The reason for this is because the other types of sailing systems are more effective and efficient compared to these soft sails. The sky sail lakes large portion of deck space and always need constant manning. With deck space is considered more important for carrying cargos in present shipping world, it makes less effective in use and outweighs the advantages of any soft sail systems. The future of ship propulsion may consider this soft sail with combining with other types of propulsion to take advantages and use it in a efficient way. However there are some smaller vessels like fishing boats still depend on soft sails as an auxiliary propulsion force and the uses of soft sail are important in this fishing boats Towing Kites (Skysails): Towing Kites function on same basis as several conventional kite arrangements used on such things as Paragliding and kite boarding, etc. the propulsion of the vessel is assisted by the kite which harness the energy from wind. Since wind-conditions are not always sufficient, the Skysails system is designed to function as a supplementary power source, in addition to the ships engine. Skysail consists of a towing kite, a control system, a launch and recovery system and a wind-optimized routing system. The Para foil kite is constructed out of  high-strength, weatherproof textiles, and  is designed in such a way that it can achieve optimal aerodynamic efficiency at any wind speed. The steering system operates automatically and is composed of the control pod and the control system. The towing kite and the towing rope are linked by the control pod. Much like autopilot systems in airplanes, the Skysails sensors collect data that is processed by the systems software, which sends control orders accordingly. The launch and recovery system is responsible for automatically recovering and launching  the towing kite, control pod and towing rope. The kite is attached at only one point to the launch and recovery mast, enabling high manoeuvrability. A telescopic mast lifts the towing kite  during its launch. The wind unfolds the kite to its full size while the reef system launches the reef ropes. While the towing kite is decoupled from the launch and recovery mast, the towing rope is released. The power transmission system consists of a  towing rope, a force transmission point (tow point), and winch, and is responsible for transferring the tractive force from the kite to the ship.  The mounting system ensures that the towing kites force is aligned ideally to suit the winds direction. The routing system is composed of  a weather forecasting performance calculator, which processes the weather forecasting data and of a decision-making model, which calculates the optimal route following priorities set by the ships owner. Finally, the routing system has a route recommendation feature, which translates the information into a series of waypoints read by the shipmaster. The SkySails system also improves the ships safety and performance on water as it damps the waves so that the ship suffers from less slamming and torsion forces. In addition, as a result of smoother sailing, the ships life is extended. A short video of a ship equipped with the SkySails system is available (http://www.maplesoft.com/company/casestudies/skysails.aspx) The steering system of skysail operates automatically meaning that there is no input need via crew, just observation. The skysail system will have a control pod situated on the high strength towing rope and the kite. This pod changes the profile of the kite such that it ultimately controls its flyting path in line with ship needed direction. Wind-Turbine: Wind turbines are widely used in land; however it has not yet been applied on at large scale in the shipping industry. Wind turbines at sea could perform two functions as electricity generation and in aid of propulsion. The drawback using wind turbine is it will be ineffective at no wind and counterproductive at high wind conditions.many smaller vessels have used wind turbines directly connected through gearbox to the propeller. But large vessels need large size machine to drive the generators which makes complex engineering to make it work stable. Also this system will need more time to get fitted, assembled such that it means it will be suitable for future vessels. APPLICATION OF WASP SYSTEMS: The use and development of WASP systems in the modern day shipping should be considered to make an adequate conclusion .At present WASP system are at very small percentage of the global marine transportation industry. The different types of systems are already present in use various ships and also in small vessels such that it makes easy to have a very good potential in upcoming years since the price of fossil fuels hikes and also they pollute the air which made global impact to cut the harmful exists of these pollution.by looking at the advantages and the usefulness of WASP systems and its drawbacks, various factors related to it can be analysed. The further topics will discuss about the advantages and applications of these systems. POTENTIAL OF PRESENT WASP IN PLACE: WASP is already in place for long ago in small vessels like boats in fishing industry. Currently WASP is present in less in global marine industry but its still considered as notable, potential system to avoid fossil fuels.by analysis the various factors and cases, understanding can be done greater. Oil crisis happened in 1970s and 1980s , the Japanese were very conscious and tried to look into alternative to the field of ship propulsion and some 17 sail- assisted tankers were produced with all having similar design. The first vessel with name Shin-Aitoku-Maru (DWT: 1600), in 1980 reached 11knots speed when the sea and ship conditions were good. These sails travelled in sea during that oil crisis but later the oil prices dropped down again .this made the diesel engines to overcome those sails and the marine industry discarded to use the systems .however the environmental concern arrived in 2010 regarding water and air pollution due to the fossil fuel .this play a massive role to change the world to look into alternative energy sources that can be used in sea and imposing rules and regulations on various pollution factors. APPLICATION OF WASP: The application of WASP systems are vastly used in fishing industry in smaller vessels. Many American and European boats have small auxiliary soft sails but they are used rarely. Large commercial fishing vessels does not utilise wind at all, since it would be impractical most often. They increase work load on crew with others factors including cost of the equipment and less knowledge to use the system of WASP will make it difficult to use it. It can be seen in statistics that WASP could be used in fishing fleet to a greater extent that actually works. By looking at historical research, wind has been used ad earlier way of propulsion when no engines exists. The transaction from the main form of propulsion changing from wing to coal- fire propulsion units took place so quick over a time spam of 30 years. However increase in price of fuel and pressure to reduce fuel consumption. Skysails are used by Wesselss Sipping Company on three vessels where some good results have ben obtained. WHERE WASP MAY BE APPLIED: Although climate change has occurred since the creation of the Earth today it represents a setback to a society that grew in the last two centuries to over 7 billion with an associated energy demand based primarily on the consumption of fossil fuels. The global population is expected to peak at 9.2 billion around 2075, while social development is desired to continue.so its important that WASP could be used in various ships propulsion. WASP may not be a good solution in making all vessels more efficient and reduce fuel consumption. But some vessels use the benefit of this systems.in recent years Ultra Large Crude Carriers (ULC) and Very Large Crude Carriers (VLC) dominates the transport of crude oil and the benefits of WASP on such kind of carriers are hard to be seen in practice. But smaller carriers may benefit from WASP technology and vessels which run on lower speed can use this type of propulsion to reduce fuel consumption. For example, steam coal and iron ore are usually stored on a very large scale before the resource is even utilised. In that case the vessels can carry them with the use of WASP which can produce 11-13 knots speed and its practicable. FACTORS One of the weapons used by all vessels, the WASP combat is essentially highly advanced missiles that contain a variety of sub munitions. The computer that controls each one is also able to analyse tactical situations and plot the best path to achieve your goal and ensure success. The WASP has a maximum acceleration of 20g when using standard fusion fuel. This acceleration and speeds allows the WASP conditions for manoeuvre and more power. This speed advantage and acceleration allows you to run more. In addition to attacking enemy ships or space stations, WASP combat can also be used as a defines drones. In this mission profile, WASP can also be used as thermonuclear warheads or anti-matter ahead of the enemy. The health and economic impacts In this area, we are only beginning to understand the true extent of the consequences on utilization of WASP systems. Intuitively there is an accumulation of pollutants through the food chain and possibly in our drinking water supplies. But, according to Technical Document Management Measures National Pollution Control Environmental Protection Agencies, published in November 2001, petrol, oil, diesel fuel, and batteries and acidic cleaning compounds, and solvents involved in the maintenance of the boats ( as methylene chloride, tetrachloroethene, trichloroethene, and trichlorethylene) trickle in lakes, rivers and coastal areas, and many of these pollutants, particularly some of the heavy metals are attached to sediments and are eventually found in the food chain through either plankton or other organisms and then concentrated through the food chain, being a major environmental threat as well as a big human health problem when it comes to fish consumption. The high speed of supply and refuelling system used by WASP does not mask the problems caused by liquid spills and toxic gases; rather, it completely solves the problems. Industry There are economic consequences for the marine industry. The short-term impacts that cause direct financial costs are cleaning and punitive actions associated with them. Over time, the waters are much polluted, further legislative measures are introduced. Clean water is essential for multibillion dollar industry. Environment Supply system by WASP system is a high-speed refilling helps the environment in many respects, eliminating damage caused by other products refuelling. This product eliminates the smoke harmful gas that gives off the oil, polluting the air. It eliminates the greenhouse gases that pollute the earth and our ozone layer. This system prevents leaks that harm the soil. There was never a supply system created before can eliminate all kinds of damage, and that works without causing pollution. The high speed of supply and refuelling system using the WASP does not mask the problems caused by liquid spills and toxic gases, however, solve them by complete. Most of the damage caused by the emission engines and oil leaks comes from petroleum. Small leaks, despite being isolated events tend to occur every day around the world, they are, gallons of oil pollution in our waters. A small fuel leak affects a disproportionate amount of water on the surface of the ocean. In the UK the legal limit leaking oil and one drop of oil for every 2 litres of water in a proportion of 15mg per litre. Therefore, a single litre of oil can contaminate one million litres of water. And this is a chronic problem to be solved, and the reaction of sunlight, the chemicals become infinitely more toxic, and prolonged exposure affects thousands of fish species and a myriad of creatures such as shellfish, marine plants and damage as algae and their reproduction when exposed to oil. And the old trick of using soap or detergents to make the brightness disappear, is not only illegal, but it only makes pollution worse, and eventually adding surfactants to the mixture, whic h attach to the gills of fish and destroy their ability to breathe. The effect is catastrophic. And, as if that were not enough, the increase in population drives the development of the industry, and a lot of pressure on the marine environment. The impact on marine life inevitably leads to an impact on human health. WASP Systems are specialized in projects for supply, installation and commissioning of water systems and wastewater treatment systems, gray water recycling, along with some simple write-downs and innovative energy systems. The system creates a vacuum seal ventilating, and dramatically reduces the incidence of unintended leakage of gas that would normally escape to the atmosphere. The main advantage of the invention is that it allows the filling very quickly, which will significantly reduce operating costs for operators of vessels and facilities loading terminals. Applications for the WASP system will focus initially on three distinct segments in the market within the maritime industry: nautical recreation, navigation and commercial refuelling (as tugs, barges, ferries and commercial vessels), and loading of liquid cargo from ships that cross oceans. The deployment of this system in the world will eliminate millions of tons of harmful particles of gas to the atmosphere, and prevent millions of gallons of fuel from spreading into watercourses .freighters with this product, which is able to increase the delivery time cargo 100% and thus may reduce the time spent in each vessel terminals. We can shorten the terminal for vessels which reduces the rate per ton of whole load of liquid therefore increase the amount of deliveries for all vessels. We can reduce the waiting time for vessels which reduces the rate per ton of whole load of liquid therefore increase the amount of deliveries to all ships refuelling and increased how it works at high speeds. Our product also eliminates many greenhouse gases and gases hazardous to health that are associated with refuelling which in turn becomes safer for everyone to use our product to refuel. Currently we are working together this time with a major oil company and help them in their oils movement worldwide. 6.2 Economic factors Economic factors in the application of WASP freighters These ships can perform rapid sustained combat operations at sea as a centrepiece strategy. To carry out its core mission, WASP has a support system that synchronizes the simultaneous horizontal and vertical flow of cargo and vehicles throughout the ship. The ship propulsion can generate a total of 400 tons of steam per hour. If the energy of the two boilers were converted into electrical current could power a city of 160,000 inhabitants. Electric generators aboard a ship can provide more than 16,000 kilowatts of energy. Two stations provide a capacity of 450,000 litres to 200,000 litres of water per day supply. Chapter 5: Case Study 5.1: MS Beluga Skysails MS Beluga Skysails with its computer-controlled kite (top right corner) One of the latest innovations in the heavy cargo ship which increases fuel prices has been a return to wind power. The MS Beluga SkySails is a heavy carrier that uses a towing kite system as part of its propulsion systems. The ship was launched and followed early sea trials in the North Sea in January 2008, the vessel embarked on its maiden voyage from Bremerhaven, Columbuskaje to Guanta, Venezuela. On route, the efficiency of the system was applicable in winds of up to force five for 8 hours a day. The system was hailed as a success, with calculated savings of up to 2.5t of fuel/$1,000 a day. With larger sails of 600m ², fuel savings can get up to 35%, possible. CONSTRUCTION The system has been developed by SkySails SkySails GmbH and Co. KG. The Beluga SkySails was equipped to navigate with a candle paraglider 160m  ². The area of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹the kite can be increased to 320m ². A pipe controlled by computer, is connected to the ship by a system of rope. The system can control the kite at altitudes between 100m and 500m to maximize the benefit of the wind. With oil prices so high, a cargo ship 87m average could save about à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 300,000 a year. The system can potentially be adjusted to any ship. The overall reduction of carbon dioxide transport arrives at an estimate of considerable million tons per year. The BBC said there is something magical, a giant cargo ship being pulled on its way to the sea with ten thousand tons of metal, and with the sun shining giant masts. But there is something even more magical about the MS Beluga SkySails. On the face of it, this ship leading, for example, parts of a production line of wood to Venezuela looks like any other cargo ship. MS Beluga SkySails believes its fuel bill will be cut by  £ 800 ($ 1,560) a day. We can demonstrate that it is possible to combine economy and ecology, says Verena Frank of Beluga Shipping, and explains, Economy, because you can reduce consumption and fuel costs and, moreover, contribute to ecology, reducing emissions carbon dioxide. the kite is controlled by computers. a computer helps to make it fly, and maximize the power it produces, the other computer adjusts the direction of the kite. If the project is successful, we expect to see kites even higher very soon sum up to 5,000 square feet in size, pulling ships ac ross the seas and oceans. Graphic Steve Rosenberg explains, See how the ship kite works: of all the CO2 that is pumped into the atmosphere today, 4% comes from ships. Thats more than the aviation industry, mainly because 90% of world trade is done by sea. The MS Beluga SkySails believes it has the solution environmentally, with a mission to transform the green oceans. Once the ship reaches the open sea, reveals a new weapon in the fight against global warming: a kite. The 160m2 kite is hoisted on a mast and for half an hour or so, he stands there at the top of the mast, not making a big thing. The wind and certainly a wonderful thing, because it only needs a bit of wind to make everything else work. Half an hour later, however, the wind makes the kite start to fly hundreds of feet in the air and helping to pull the ship. The paragliding and synonym of power to the engines of the ship, so you can work on reduced power: which means less carbon emissions. It also means lower bills in fuel costs. With the price of trans portation fuel that has doubled in the past two years, paragliding promises great savings. How the Ship-Parrot The kite helps reduce annual fuel costs 10-35%. Fuel economy also means fewer carbon emissions harmful to the atmosphere. The large towing kite resembles a glider and is shaped like an airplane wing, so you can take advantage of different wind directions. The kite operates at 100-300m above the surface much larger than a normal sailing boat where winds are stronger and more stable. The kite can be used in winds of 12-74 km / h (or 7 to 40 knots). The Technology Skysail Graphic References: Tom Schueneman, MS Beluga SkySails Completes Her Maiden Voyage (February 6th, 2008) http://www.ship-technology.com/projects/msbelugaskysails/ Steve Rosenberg, BBC News, Bremerhaven, northern Germany, Gone with the wind on kite ship (September, 2012) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7205217.stm

The Roots of Babylon. :: essays papers

The Roots of Babylon. "We know where we're going We know where we're from We Leaving Babylon- We goin to our Father's Land....." The concept of Babylon plays a central role in Rastafarian Ideology: There is only one other word Rastafarians use with more frequency and passion, and that is the name of their Majestic Ruler, Haile Selassie. People who have even a mild interest in reggae understand what"Babylon"means, yet the roots of the word"Babylon"remain unknown to the masses. To gain a better understanding of this term, it is necessary know the full history of Babylon, which starts 6000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia. The popular use of the word"Babylon"can be difinitively traced to Marcus Garvey's teachings, which liken the Afro-Caribs in the West to the Jews Exile into Babylon. The institution of slavery created tremendous suffering for those that were enslavedin both of these cases. Many people in Jamiaca are still suffering, due to the successor of slavery, which is racism and poverty. The Bible contains many stories of slavery that describe the hardship that was endured in acncient times, as well as the eventual emancipation from the hardship. Rastas have found much applicable meaning from within the Bible, and it is only natural that they identify with the Jews in Babylon, who faced much of the same obstacles that they themselves face. By labeling the source of their own oppression as"Babylon", the Rastas shed more light on the fact that opression is in fact taking place. This definitive name gives the oppression that they face a center, or a heart, which can be targeted easier. Instead of s aying"Injustice must fall","Poverty must be alleviated", or"Jamaican legislation must represent its people", a Rasta need only say"Babylon must fall". When this centralized, encompassing word is used, it provides the Rasta with a target to be passionately against, and increases his sense of unity with his people. The word Babylon is by no means an arbritary word that is used to describe oppression. Babylon was one of the first cities to ever stand on Earth. It is quite clear that there is much to be learned about this mythical city that will help us to better understand the modern"Babylon system". I believe that the modern definition of Babylon describes a type of mentality that is common to all the institutions that are labeled as being"Babylon". However, the essence of what this midframe is can be most closely encountered through the study of the real Babylon as it grew, prospered and fell thousands of years ago.

Failures in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Essay example -- Paper

Failures in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Arthur Miller develops a number of significant and central themes throughout the play using techniques such as characterization, setting and language. The best explored theme in the play is the theme of failure and disappointments. 'Death of a Salesman' is a modern day play about a salesman, Willy Loman, his life and his failures in a success driven society and world. He is a victim of "The American Dream" destroyed by false promises and ideals. As the play unravels we realize that he more than just a financial failure but also socially, personally and morally. These failures and faults are not only confined to him but they rub off on his family. The storyline shoots from present day to past throughout the play this does not affect the theme of Failure very much but helps us understand and realize how these failures came about. Willy's entire life is a succession of missed opportunities and chances, and he considers himself a failure because of it. At the beginning of Act 1 we see him failing to make the drive to his business appointment, so he's going to miss out on making a sale because of it. So our first impression of the man is him failing to deliver. As the play proceeds we see Willy comparing himself to his relations or friends realizing that he is even more of a failure. Willy is a failure when compared to his father. Ben asserts "that he could sell more in a week than Willy could in a lifetime". He is represented as someone who was successful in his own way as Ben tells us: 'Great inventor, father. With one gadget he made more in a week than a man like ... ... could not handle it so commits suicide. This is interesting as his death was a financial failure too as life insurance does not cover suicide. His funeral was a failure because no one apart from his close family Charlie and Bernard came. So no matter how sad it sounds but Willy Loman's life was an entire failure. Until this day Willy Loman is a symbol of failure because of society's false value system. This play is based the mid 20th century when success was achieved through hardwork and industry and wit and charm would not earn you a living and this is the main reason Willy Loman failed in life. The play is one of the great tragedies and is a very depressing experience for the audience. No matter how much Willy deserved to fail because of his poor value and morality we cannot but feel sorry for this confused man.

Opposition to State-Mandated Premarital HIV Screening Essays -- AIDS

Opposition to State-Mandated Premarital HIV Screening When screening for HIV became possible in mid-1985, debates began concerning the role of such screening in controlling the spread of AIDS. One such debate concerned state-mandated premarital HIV screening. This policy was proposed to the CDC conference in February of 1987, but never received much widespread support, because it satisfied neither the proponents of public health nor the proponents of civil liberties (Reamer 37). This essay will show that the state is unjustified in enacting such policy and hopefully also shed some light on why such policy received so little support. In a liberal society such as the United States that values both civil liberties and public health, it is often unclear which policies best address the threat posed by the AIDS epidemic. It is clear that on the one hand, the United States is committed to respect the privacy and personal autonomy of its citizens. Though not expressly written in the constitution, the right to privacy is implicit in the right to deny illegal search and seizure of home and explicit in the recent laws that protect the privacy of internet and credit card users. On the other hand, the United States is also committed to "promote the general welfare", meaning it has a moral obligation to promote public health. Traditionally, in the struggle between civil liberties and public health, the United States has given precedent to civil liberties but yielded to departures when it was proven that doing so was justifiable by the resulting benefits to public health. AIDS, however, challenges the balance between civil lib erties and public health like no other previous epidemic, due to the strong threat it poses to public health and ... ...avior, they could probably have been identified through programs aimed at groups with a higher prevalence of seropositives. Hence, the last two conditions of our ethical framework are also not met. Using an ethical framework borrowed from Childress, it is clear that a state committed to upholding the civil liberties of its citizens as well as promoting public health is unjustified in mandating premarital HIV screening. Such screening infringes on civil liberties and does not promote public health in an efficient way. The state is obligated to seek other policies by which to promote public health, such as voluntary testing and educational programming for married couples, which do not violate civil liberties and which more efficiently target those who are seropositive. Works Cited Reamer, Frederic G. AIDS & Ethics. Columbia University Press: New York, 1991.

Ebay Case Study Essay

1. Describe EBay’s culture using the six characteristics describes in the prescribed text book according to the Corporate culture Index. Organisation Culture can be defined as a system of shared beliefs and behaviours such as; the language they use in the organisation, values systems, feelings and attitudes among each other and the interaction and norms of the members in the organisation. This determines how the company, employees and management interact and proceed with business transactions. An organisation’s culture develops mostly over time (Luthans, 2005). This set of beliefs is build within an organisation to create a sense of relation to employees and sometimes also consumers, it can be said that corporate culture is symbolic and identifies the organization as self. Corporate/organisational culture helps the organisation to achieve goals in their own way. A set of 20 cultural factors was developed by Henry Miglione, termed â€Å"Corporate culture index† (Brown and Harvey, 2006) The corporate culture index was developed to measure an organisations culture. These cultural factors include the following characteristics: Member Identity: Can be defined as the extent to which an employee indentifies with of within the organisation, taking into consideration their job and field of profession. Team Emphasis: The degree to with employees is able to work together as a team rather than  focusing on individual responsibilities, tasks and activities. People Focus: This involves the extend to which employees are empowered within the organisation. Autonomy: This involves the degree of independent and coordinated operation of the different departments within an organisation. Control: How rules, regulations and direct supervision is used to control employee behaviour that leads to better performance, and to what extent. Risk Tolerance: The motivation and encouragement employees receive from the organisation to be more aggressive, innovative, challenging and risk seeking to improve performance and development within the organisation. Describing EBay’s corporate culture trough using the 6 characteristics mentioned above. Member Identity: The working environment is casual and informal. Employees know what is expected from them and what they need to do. They stay focused on their goals. With the casual and informal atmosphere employees are able to identify with the organisation easier as they feel at home. In the case study the organisational vision and mission is outlined ant this would make it easier for the employees to identify with the organisation if they know what their working towards or standing for. They feel comfortable in their working environment and this leads to a better sense of identifying with their working environment/organisation. Team Emphasis: Employees work every day, they understand that a daily contribution is necessary to reach the organisations goals, they even ‘shop talk’ in the tearoom. People Focus: EBay empower staff by making them brand executives that makes them brand orientated. Employees have freedom within the office to do their work in a casual and comfortable environment to enhance performance. Autonomy: The department or brand executive is responsible for the specific happenings in the department. Every department operates in a coordinated manner to assure threat every purchase is handled with the upmost importance. Whitman  is all about bottom line approach and performance. Control: Employees know what’s expected from them, the informal culture gives the employees a sense of comfort that can lead to better performance, although the approach is still corporate it stays comfortable. There is no stick control. Employees are left to do their jobs without direct supervision. Employees have a drive to do their jobs as expected from them. The departments do not depend on one another so they know they are responsible for the completion of their responsibilities or tasks. Risk Tolerance: No risks were mentioned but referring to the case study and the departments employees will have a sense of competitiveness within the organisation against the different departments. EBay developed a target of internet users that they wanted to reach by the end of 2005. Their goals are innovative and reachable. 2. Briefly explain the socialisation process. Socialisation is the process where a new employee within the organisation learns and develops the skills, social knowledge, behaviour, norms and values that’s acceptable in the organisation. This usually follows after the introduction or training phase after an employee has been appointed, it can also be called learning the ropes. During socialisation an employee becomes aware of what is important in the organisation, what the organisation stands for and how things are being done. (Luthans, 2005) The socialisation process explained: New employee expectations New employees that join the organisation need to become aware of all the organisational norms, values and procedures of operation within the organisation. During this phase they need to be able to recognise it. This phase is easier handled when the new employee receives a mentor to help him/her through this process. (Brown and Harvey, 2006) The more the new employee adapts and learns the new culture the more comfortable they feel. Encounter organisational culture A new employee needs to learn their work group, and establish a relationship between the different members of group or team they work in. The new employee should understand and identify the way of functioning among the team members this includes the norms and values that’s used in the group. During this phase the new employee will develop positive relationships among colleges as well as support networks within the team or group. (Luthans, 2005) Adjustment to cultural norms The employee needs to accept the organisations culture and adapt to it. Responses to socialism can be identified into three different groups; they can reject the values and norms of the organisation and become rebellious, the new employee can accept only a few of the values and norms and make peace with the rest in time or the new employee can accept all the values and norms of the organisation and fully adapt and adjust to the organisational culture, that will lead to a comfortable employment and working atmosphere for the new employee. Result When an organisations culture is developed in such a positive way the employees will improve production and performance. The organisations climate and culture are set in place to develop a mission and vision in the organisation. Employees should be allowed to adapt to the norms of adapt it as a whole for the advantage of the organisation. (Brown and Harvey, 2006) 3. Bibliography Brown, D.R. and Harvey, D. (2006) An Experiential Approach to Organisational Development. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc. Luthans, F. (2005) Organisational Culture, Socialisation and mentoring. In: Luthans, F. Organisational behaviour. 10th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill Irwin, pp. 30-55.

Asking for Less Homework

ASKING FOR LESS HOMEWORK There are many important things in life but one of the most important things is education. Although education is really helpful, getting extra things to do like excessive homework makes it boring. Specific studies show that excessive homework makes students and parents hate school. People say that having more homework is good for students as it helps them get higher marks and be more responsible. They also say that more homework will make students revise a lot, so you remember explanations better.They prove that by doing more homework the parents would be able to get involved more with the student's educational life and be able to help them. Elders think that by giving students extra homework they will be able to be independent thinkers and know that they can learn things outside of school. However, I found that all these above findings are untrue. More homework won't make you revise more or get good marks, it will make you tired, sleepy and exhausted and lea ve no time to revise for quizzes or tests you have on the next day.Students don't want to be responsible now, in their future life they will be responsible. Parents would make it worse if they try to help their children to understand something as they might explain it in a different way and get the child confused. Students should have less homework. They need time to be with their family. They want to have a life for themselves and want to be active e. g going to the cinema to meet friends and play sports. We would enjoy simple things like having more sleep so we can go to school fresh the next day. Read also  Homework Solutions – Chapter 3Researchers have found that students finish their homework and stay up late at night so they can have some free time. In fact some teachers have found that more homework makes the student hate the subject. The student becomes pale and bored as he has been studying his whole life. Well, teachers should ask themselves if they want us to be active and do homework together, it will never work. Ask yourself : â€Å"Do you want your child to be constantly pale, sleepy and tired? â€Å",†Do you want to see your child so fat as he eats and eats and doesn’t have time to exercise? . Think of all the questions related to this and you will find the answer to none of them. In conclusion, I would like the school to think about students rights and having less homework is one of them. All principals should remember that teens and kids want to have fun, they don’t want to be responsible now and do hard work. They will be responsi ble later and will have to do extra study to get good marks but when they want not by forcing them and punishing them if they don’t do it. Think carefully and you will eventually agree with my beliefs.

Mary Barton

Elizabeth Gaskell’s â€Å"Mary Barton† is a novel of social reform that explores injustice, abuse and inequality. The novel is especially concerned with the societal condition of England at the time. In her â€Å"Preface† Mrs. Gaskell asserted, â€Å"I know nothing of Political Economy, or the theories of the trade. I have tried to write truthfully†. The â€Å"truth† of â€Å"Mary Barton† is not political or economic but the truth of the human heart. The novel is not about industrial conditions but about people living in those conditions. Mrs. Gaskell’s social aim in writing is to inform rather than to reform. Her aim in writing is to give â€Å"utterance to the agony† and to explicate the consequences of â€Å"the seeming injustice of the inequalities of fortune†. In â€Å"Mary Barton†, the protagonist John Barton asks with bitter vehemence about the injustice of the massive gulf between the upper and lower classes: â€Å"Why are they so separate, so distinct, when God has made them all? [†¦ ] We are their slaves as long as we can work; we pile up fortunes with the sweat of our brows; and yet we are to live as separate as Dives and Lazarus, with a great gulf betwixt us†. John Barton is ultimately driven to the act of murder by his outrage at the gulf fixed between the rich and the poor. John Barton is ultimately a victim of society and an example of how a man full of human kindness is hardened into hatred and violence. As the author tells the reader his wife’s death meant that â€Å"one of the ties which bound him down to the gentle humanities of earth was loosened†. The string of events that followed – the strike, the Davenports’ starvation and fever, the employees’ arrogant isolation and the failure of the petition, seem to purposely show that the world reckons the poor folk no account. And as John Barton lies on his deathbed his enemy Mr. Carson sits in his library quite unable to hate his son’s murderer. At the end Mr. Carson forgives John Barton and the murderer dies in the arms of the man whose son he has murdered and this image explicates the novel’s pivotal theme in the hope of human heartedness. In her novel Mrs. Gaskell presents men and women at the extreme of suffering at which point only the most radical of human actions remain be they despair and hatred or alternatively human compassion and forgiveness.

Can Prejudice Ever Be Eliminated? Essay

The idea of prejudice has been present for several decades now, and is so deeply rooted in our society today. They can be defined as a set of negative and irrational feelings, beliefs, and actions that are directed towards those of a different race, culture and religion. In the States, the African-American race has long been under prejudice by the Whites in the community. The Holocaust during World War II is also a portrayal of extreme prejudice against the Jews. According to Psychologist Gordon Allport, prejudice emerges in part as a result of normal human thinking, in other words, it is in human nature. Despite efforts and measures taken to reduce and minimise the extent of prejudice today, as long as humans have a conscious thought, they will always be prejudice in one way or another, and prejudice can and will never be eradicated. Through all the movements toward equal rights, there are still groups of people who are faced with prejudice and unfair treatment, one of which is LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender) community. LGBTs have been faced with many challenges regarding their fair rights and acceptance in society. One key issue that has become more apparent recently is the allowance of homosexual marriage. Our world has become more accepting, but still lacks in complete recognition of homosexuals. There are still many out there who do not recognize them as a part of society and it has affected more than just their community. Children who have parents that are homosexual are also affected because they face the prejudice from others who do not understand, which has damaging effects on the child’s development. Many homosexuals look to adoption when they decide to have a family because of their unique situation, and are also faced with discrimination when going through the adoption process. Though in other parts of the world like the Netherlands, Norway and recently USA, homosexual marriages are allowed, in Singapore, Section 377A of the Penal Code indicates that it is a crime to have homosexual marriages, showing the conservative of our society and the unacceptance of LGBT community. As such, though the acceptance level towards the GLBT community have been increasing throughout the years, the idea of removing the social stigma is seemingly impossible. Interracial marriages are yet another issue in which many around the world are prejudiced towards it. Interracial marriages have a hard go at it. They suffer not only from the prejudice of others, but also from problems of differences between their respective cultures which combine with those already present in a marriage. In USA, marriage between a Black and White is still being frowned upon by many in the society, mainly because of the prejudice against the Blacks which has been around since the 1900s. Not only the parents will be discriminated against, their children will also be frowned upon by the society. In the book â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird† which touches largely about the topic of prejudice in USA back in the early 1900s, a White man named Dolphus Raymond was frowned upon by society by marrying a a black woman and having children with her. His children were being discriminated against for the fact that they have â€Å"dirty blood†, as the White’s blood which is supposedly ‘pure’ is tainted with a Black’s. In present times, though the final law against interracial marriages in the States was removed on 2000, the social stigma will still be present. In addition, gender prejudice had long been woven into the fabric of most societies. It was driven by a universal belief that women were the weaker of the sexes emotionally as well as physically and must be protected from the world outside the home. Normally, males were expected to be the breadwinner of the family and dominated in family matters, particularly those relating to the outside world in commerce and politics. Females were expected to assume domestic chores and cook. At the same time, it was their responsibility to bear children and raise them according to the values and morals of the society in which they live in. Similarly, sons in families enjoyed more freedoms than daughters in just about every known society. In some provinces in China, due to the one-child policy implemented by the Chinese government to reduce population size, baby girls are being thrown into a †slops pail† to die due to the Chinese’ preference for sons over daughters. Hence, this idea and notion about women being the weaker sex amongst the two will always be inherent in the world, and as such, gender prejudice can never be eradicated. One of the challenges in eliminating prejudice is that the social stigma is so deeply rooted that the mindset of people will not be easily wavered. Though the manifestations of discrimination and prejudice are not as severe as they may have been in the past, but the problems still exist, and that the problems still have their negative effects. As of late, many parts of the world have perhaps â€Å"matured† and learned to peacefully appreciate the differences in people. But there is a small group that still discriminates against the black and looks down on women – both these problems have not ceased to exist. The society which we live in also constitutes to the challenge in eradicating prejudice. In Western countries like Canada and Norway, their thinking and mindset are liberal, and as such the acceptance level of LGBT is significantly higher than that of Asian countries. As compared to a conservative society like Singapore which adheres to a set of Asian values, LGBT will be frowned upon by the society because it is â€Å"morally incorrect and of improper behaviour†. Our acceptance level towards this community will never be full. As such, societies that we live in right now will hinder the pathway to eliminating prejudice completely. The process of eliminating prejudice from our society will no doubt be an arduous one. Though world-wide efforts put in by the various organisations to assimilate everyone may reduce the extent of prejudice in today’s world, but success of it is as unfeasible as the idea of a Utopian Society. After all, just as what Edward Roscoe Murrow quotes: â€Å"No one can eliminate prejudices – just recognise them. † The idea of eradicating prejudice will only be nothing but a dream.