Monday, September 30, 2019

Chemical in Daily Life Essay

Its brief meaning explains it all. Chemistry is a science that deals with matter, its composition, and changes they undertake. Chemistry has been part in our lives ever since. It contributes to our existence, our culture, and our life. Chemistry explains why changes happen around us. All living processes are chemical reactions. It helps in sustaining our needs. Through this we are able to feed the world’s population, medicines to cure diseases and improve health, and to protect our environment. Chemistry plays an important role in our lives. It contributes a lot to human knowledge. So let’s use chemistry in a way that human being and our environment would benefit from it. Chemistry involves everything about us. It is part of our daily life. From the moment we wake up until we go to bed. The food we take, the makeup we put on our faces, the soaps and cleaners we used everyday, chemistry is all around you every day. hemistry is somehow related to accountants. Because it helps to understand the changes that accountants undergo in their life and to understand human body. It only shows that chemistry plays a major role in our life. It explains every phenomenon in Life and illustrates the changes in our environment. It can be the source of maintaining the ecological balance and designates the life of planet Earth. Chemistry draws the chemical phenomena in life processes that contributes to our knowledge about the chemical changes in life and environment. Learning chemistry is like learning the reality that we are blessed by God because He create us and other Living things perfectly. Accountants need to study chemistry in order to know about the life processes and the composition of every thing. And that is the scope of studying chemistry. MPORTANCE AND USES OF CHEMISTRY An understanding of living organisms, including the human being have  reached us through chemistry, the science dealing with materials, their composition, and the changes, which they undergo. Chemistry and chemical changes help us understand the human body. Chemistry fits into our lives. It offers new chemical frontiers and tells us what benefits may flow from them. Chemistry contributes to our existence, our culture, and our quality of life. Chemistry is concerned with the changes we see around us, like the rusting of iron, growing of grass, burning of wood and many more. Without these changes or chemical reactions our Planet Earth would be lifeless. A plant takes carbon dioxide from the air and water from the soil to produce carbohydrates through a wondrous series of chemical reactions called photosynthesis. All living processes are chemical reactions. Everything we use, wear, live in, ride in, and play with is produced through controlled chemical reactions. Chemists design reactions that will convert chemical substances we find around us into chemical substances that serve our needs. Chemistry answers the needs of our society through a deep understanding of the factors that govern and furnish control of chemical reactions. It plays a critical role in man’s attempt to feed the world population, to tap new sources of energy, to clothe and house humankind, to provide renewable substitutes for dwindling or scarce materials, to improve health and conquer disease, and to monitor and protect our environment. Because of this responsiveness to human needs, chemistry has become a crucial factor in the nation’s economic well-being. Aside from that, our culture believes that learning about our place in the universe is not enough reason for encouraging scientific inquiry. Nothing concerns humans more than questions about the nature of life and how to preserve it. Since all life processes are brought about by chemical changes, understanding chemical reactivity is a vital foundation for our ultimate understanding of life. Thus chemistry, along with biology, contributes to human knowledge in areas of universal philosophical significance.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

John Rawls’ Theory of Justice: Contribution to Solve Some Political Issues in the Philippines

John Rawls is perhaps the most significant intellectual in philosophical ethics to have written in the past hundred years. It is nearly impossible to address ethics in contemporary philosophy without saying something about John Rawls. Central to his theory of justice are the concepts of fairness and equality from behind what he terms a â€Å"veil of ignorance†. Rawls's veil of ignorance is a component of the way people can construct society. He refers to an â€Å"original position† in which a person is attempting to determine a fair arrangement for society without any preconceived notions or prejudices. In this original position, people are behind what Rawls calls a â€Å"Veil of Ignorance† and do not know where they will fall in the social hierarchy in terms of race, class, sex, disability, and other relevant factors. Rawls is a Kantian liberal in that he believes that principles of justice should be universalizable, and so the only way to ensure that people will select fair principles of justice is to be certain that they do not know how the principles they select might affect them as individuals. A person behind the â€Å"veil of ignorance† does not know which side of a social contract he or she will be on, does not know his or her race, class, sex, or status in society. You can read also  Justice System Position Paper A person who does not know what privileges he or she will be born with (or without ) is, in Rawls' view, more likely to construct a society that does not arbitrarily assign privilege based on characteristics that should have no bearing on what people get. Rawls believes that a society cannot be just without fairness and equality and believes this veil of ignorance both reveals the biases of current society and can help to prevent biases in establishing future social arrangements. Rawls is often thought of as a liberal philosopher given his position emphasizing fairness regardless of social status. His philosophy can be used to justify programs like affirmative action but has also been used by the more politically conservative to argue that the American political system allows each person a fair chance and that most people would choose the American political system from behind a veil of ignorance. Source: John Rawls-A Theory of Justice

Saturday, September 28, 2019

A Critique Interpretation of the Behind the Beautiful Forevers

A Critique Interpretation of the Behind the Beautiful Forevers The Accident of Birth One’s birthplace can disproportionately influence one’s quality of life. Where per capita income is low and public education not as ubiquitous as in most of the first world, people often experience oppressive limits in terms of their economic opportunities. In India, the cultural remnants of their caste system as well as a general lack of social equality present nearly insurmountable barriers to those who are impoverished. Many Indian families, such as those seen in Behind the Beautiful Forevers, often spend generations with little to no improvement in their quality of life. The people that populate slums like Annawadi are usually victims of the accident of birth, meaning that they were born into poverty. However, although one’s birth determines their economic opportunity, it is worth noting that the accident of birth can have an aggregate effect when already resource-strained societies continue to increase population. In Behind the Beautiful Forevers, it is shown that everyone in Annawadi is aware of the three main ways to get out of poverty (Boo 62). One can find an entrepreneurial niche and thus generate income for oneself, thus elevating one’s standard of living (62). One can also try to fight back against the corrupt system that tries to keep the masses impoverished for their own benefit (62). However, many people look to education as a means of elevating themselves from poverty (62). Each of these methods presents its own advantages and disadvantages, and each method is often very difficult for various reasons. Finding an entrepreneurial niche is often cited as a method for getting out of poverty. For example, the Husains were able to use the skills that their family had accumulated over generations to have better-than-average success as scavengers for recyclable materials (62). However, without any kind of financial education, and without access to capital, it is often insurmountably difficult to realize any kind of entrepreneurial activity, in particular when the ultimate goal is to operate a business in these low-income regions. Additionally, because of the lack of financial expertise, many of these people may end up running nearly identical businesses and competing with each other often to a destructive degree. This is exemplified by the extraordinary number of scavengers living in Annawadi and other slums constantly fighting over dumpsters like street gangs. This is also a function of population, which brings up the aforementioned issue of high birth rates. Working with a corrupt system can often provide a framework for an eventual legitimate ascent into the middle or upper class. For an example, we can look at Asha, who is the unofficial slumlord of Annawadi (17). One of her main sources of income is securing loans for residents of Annawadi, supposedly to jump-start businesses (24). However, she takes money from the loans as commission (25). In this scenario, the theft might not be considered corruption if the circumstances were normal. However, the loans are meant for small businesses and given out based on how many jobs the new business will create (24). Because Asha’s only stake in the loan is the commission, she does not care whether the business will create jobs, or even if there is a business. This myopic self-interest is bad for the economy of Mumbai because the borrowed government funds may not be repaid, and thus government money will have been wasted. Asha is not only a de facto broker of government loans. She also provides residents with access to education or jobs, usually for a fee as well (21). With the money she had aggregated from these corrupt activities, Asha was able to send her daughter, Manju, to a reputable school so that she could be educated and lead a productive life. Through this investment in human capital, Asha will hopefully elevate her entire family’s standard of living. In keeping with the theme of birth rates, it is worth noting that Manju is an only child. Education and vocational training are perhaps the most common way for one to elevate one’s standard of living. In general, the people that are impoverished are low-skilled or semi-skilled laborers. The fact that they are not necessarily trained in anything unique or sophisticated is what prevents them from finding gainful employment. This diminished opportunity for employment is derived from having a lesser skillset than someone who is more educated. Since they are unable to seek gainful employment, they are often unable to send their children to the same schools that they themselves were unable to afford, and the cycle continues. One of the main problems in Annawadi is that there is very little public access to education. Additionally, the public schools that are available are generally of poor quality. For example, of the public schools that are available, only about 40% of the educators even have a college education themselves (63). Furthermore, the schools generally have access to minimal public funding. This can be attributed to the fact that these schools are often the result of corrupt attempts to maintain an image rather than any truly altruistic attempt to educate the people (63). In this society, the overarching corruption has subsumed the mission of education and investment in human capital. Adding to the issue, a society with a quickly increasing population will make it more difficult to benefit from the pedagogical institutions because of increased pressure on resources. Large class sizes are proven to reduce the overall quality of education, but this is particularly true in environments where resources are already strained. For instance, it is highly improbable that there are any textbooks or workbooks available to students in the public schools of Annawadi. Therefore, although there are schools available, they do not necessarily provide the benefits one might imagine. This indicates that increasing access to education is likely not the sole solution to poverty. In places like India that have a historical caste system with social effects that persist, often none of these aforementioned methods will improve one’s employment prospects. Their low caste may decrease access to education and employment to begin with. Additionally, attempts to include historically low-caste people into jobs and governments are often circumvented by corruption. For example, a man named Subhash Sawant, running for the role of Corporator, was not a member of a historically low-caste lineage (51). However, he was able to manufacture the paperwork that said so and he was able to enter and win the election (51). This instance of fraud entitled him to a position meant for historically oppressed Indians. High levels of corruption will prevent even the noblest attempts to include oppressed peoples in the governance and economic activity of a society from achieving any significant result. Those that are in positions of power, without just governance, will simply continue to manipulate the system to keep their power. This means that attempts by the government to create opportunities for the existing population without changing the overall system of government cannot be the sole solution to poverty. Because there is very little ability to educate one’s children and thereby improve the economic value of said child, it is very common for families to have multiple children, voluntarily or otherwise. This is because these children will each earn income in any way that they can. And, since the families have no substantial income, they end up spending little if anything on their children. Ergo, the marginal benefit of an additional child usually outweighs the marginal cost. Furthermore, high mortality rates make it difficult to know exactly how many children one will have even one year in the future, so families make it a practice to have many, which can be thought of as a sort of income insurance. A consequence of high reproduction is perpetually increased competition for resources. Things like water and food become increasingly difficult to access over time if the population continues to grow with no economic improvement. For example, in all of Annawadi there were six faucets that would run water for a total of only three hours per day (53). As competition for resources increases, so do malnourishment and dehydration. These conditions can lead to increased health problems, and often can lead to obvious deficiencies like stunting the growth of a child or teenager (35). People often turn to alternative means to satisfy hunger when food is not available, like smoking the remains of a cigarette, or other cheap ways to achieve a drug high that eases the pain of hunger (35, 43). Since so much time is spent in the pursuit of these resources, it is no wonder that they are unable to focus on things like education or entrepreneurship. The accident of birth is often thought of as the idea that one is born into poverty. However, the implications of many accidents of birth can be appreciated as an aggregate phenomenon as well. Often, people born in impoverished areas are in poverty because everyone else around them was born into poverty. High birth rates are common in underdeveloped regions of the world, often because the act of human reproduction is quite desirable, even under circumstances where the addition of children to a family is unfavorable, as in Abdul’s family in the book (2). This is largely because these families are not capable of investing in human capital through education or vocational training. Ergo, having a child adds to the income potential of a family. Once these new people are born, they have individual needs to which society must attend. Also, these new children often end up in socially destructive behavior cycles identical to those of their parents and relatives. This will increase stress on society’s resources. Ergo, the accident of birth must not only be thought of as an individual’s circumstances of poverty, but also as an aggregate phenomenon of exponential population increase in already adverse circumstances, exacerbating the existing social and economic problems. In conclusion, the place in which one is born can disproportionately influence one’s quality of life and economic opportunity. However, this is not solely a phenomenon related to the chances of an individual. The accident of birth is a situation in which high birth rates in underdeveloped areas of the world decrease opportunity for all by continuously putting stress on what little resources are available. This stress perpetually pushes the impoverished further below the poverty line. This issue will continue to be a problem for as long as people do not have access to reasonably priced methods of contraception in the developing world.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Antitrust Practices and Market Power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Antitrust Practices and Market Power - Essay Example The antitrust investigation against Google by Federal Trade Commission (FTC) followed complaints from competing search engines. They claimed that Google had monopolized the search business and online advertising, making it difficult for them to compete. Other search engine claimed that Google had made it hard for new entrants to find their way into the markets and industries that Google had already established operations. The Federal Trade Commission, which prohibits unfair methods of competition and deceptive practices (Areeda & Hovenkamp, 2011), came in to investigate Google’s antitrust behavior. Although FTC finally closed the investigation against Google without filling any lawsuits, antitrust behavior comes at a cost to the company. Google had to prove its case that it was not engaging in antitrust practices. This drew company resources into the investigation, resources that could have been directed to other company developments. Most importantly, unfair and illegal business activities often taint company image and consumer loyalty. This could eventually mark a devastating turning point for the company. Investigation into Google’s antitrust behavior was undertaken within the relevant legal framework. The applicable legal provisions included the Sherman Act (1890), Clayton Act (1914), and Federal Trade Commission Act (1914) (Posner, 2001). Under the Sherman Act, Google was investigated for the monopolization claims by other search engines. In the light of Clayton Act, the company’s exclusive dealings were put on the spot. Finally, the FTC Act encompasses unfair and anticompetitive practices for which Google was being investigated. Perfect competition, monopoly, and oligopoly market structures influence competition differently (Federico, 2009). These market structures determine whether or not there are barriers to entry into any given market

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Emergency Service Managment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Emergency Service Managment - Research Paper Example The first recognized fire protection in America had started in the year 1648 in New York City. At that time, the fire divisions were voluntary organizations. The substantial losses due to massive fire-related incidents stimulated changes in fire emergency services in the United States. The hazards of fire created the demand for stringent fire safety systems and mechanisms and professional fire service providing organizations. The responsibility of fire protection in the United States has remained local because of its centralized form of government. The national government controls the fire emergency services in almost 25 states. Nowadays, the United States has approximately 30542 fire divisions. There are differences that exist such as organizational or technical which at times prevent many departments from assisting each other through major fire emergency situations (Smeby 1-3). Insurance Service Office (ISO) Majority of the consistent practices in the fire divisions of the United S tates which exist in present days is a direct consequence of Insurance Service Office. The insurance industry requires methods for encouraging the fire divisions to be well-equipped for major fire-related losses and to enhance the capability to provide emergency services independently (Smeby 1-3). ISO is a profit generating organization which gives a rating to all â€Å"Fire Departments† in the United States. It performs rating reviews in the field of public fire safety. ISO helps insurance organizations, fire divisions and insurance officials by delivering significant information about fire related risks. ISO has been in action since 1971 and it uses a scheme named FSRS in order to evaluate the degree of efficiency of fire services. FSRS evaluates potential dissimilarities between cities regarding the abilities to

The Battle to be Top Dog PetSmart vs. Petco Essay

The Battle to be Top Dog PetSmart vs. Petco - Essay Example This created the popularity of the company and improved the customers trust in the benefit of the company. Handling competition is not an easy job and it needs committed resources of manual labor, system, and financial plan. Any trail off from a company would lead in decline of market share and profit. This made the Petsmart advance, widens its market thus included services such as, adoption, training, veterinary, grooming, day care, and more so pet hotel. . The article illustrates how Petsmart has vastly managed to strike equilibrium between being wholly alert on availability and pricing, which is highly vital in competing with strong merchandisers and looking into value added- services. The previous year the company groomed 7.5 million dogs, a 16% increase over the year before. It provided 378,000 training classes, another 16% increase. Overall, services are to generate $450 million sales this year, about 10% of the companys $4.5 billion total, but representing 26% annual growth since the initiation of the strategy in 2000. The structure of the company itself is a competitive strategy since it pleases the sight of the customer and the pet. For example, the inner dà ©cor was in blue color, decorated with brick and sliding to be attractive to the public. Petco uses a highly different approach compared to Petsmart. It Diversifies its market products Moreso for other animals not necessarily pets products. It recently introduced a â€Å"reptile rendezvous†. This Includes, the demonstration of products, and the photo contest. This strategy has improved its income since the effectiveness of the program pleases customers. Although petco has not embraced the services aggressively like Petsmart, it features grooming services and more so providing doggie day care at various locations. These Strategies have made it succeed thus withstanding the stiff competition from the Petsmart. Other sources say

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Status report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Status report - Assignment Example Households are also being educated on maintenance including protective measures to save units and panels from heavy rains. Scenario 1. Consulting/ knowing the facts are needed in planning the communication (Wolf, 1974). There is a reason why many of the technical staff do not come before 9:00 a.m. Possibly, they need to complete a heavy work load since they leave later in the evening. Prior to written communication, the project manager can meet the technical group to understand the problem and gain commitment for a stricter 9:00 a.m. rule. Compromise on late hours work may be reached through overtime incentives, if needed. An objective and well supported memorandum can then be prepared. Scenario 2. General announcements will involve informing all levels-- department heads, supervisors and rank-and-file. If the new direction is great in scope, the upper/middle management should be consulted. With gathered insights/greater objectivity, a general memorandum announcement can then be made channeled through various departments. The company newsletter can also be used to ensure wider dissemination in the company, while the company website information can serve outside clientele. Scenario 3. Action must support communication (Wolf). Project manager should find out the cause of the problem. Then a personal visit to the aggrieved manager, if he/she is open to an appointment, can be used to cordially explain your side—your regular reporting, as well as the inclusion in the list of the executive sponsor, and the cause of the problem. Possibly, a formal memo of explanation may not even be needed, unless the executive asks for it. Scenario 4. Business communication is reciprocal and multidirectional (Wolf). It goes in vertical, horizontal and diagonal directions. Thus, communication may go horizontally at the project team level, upward-downward between

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Turner v. Safley Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Turner v. Safley - Essay Example The second rule entailed that prisoners could only get married with the permission of the prison superintendent. This permission was only granted due to â€Å"compelling reasons†, which generally were a pregnancy or the birth of a child outside of marriage. Both the Federal District Court and Court of Appeals found these rules unconstitutional and ruled in favor of the petitioners, i.e. the inmates. The Missouri Division of Corrections appealed in the U.S. Supreme Court. In the Supreme Court, it was held that the first rule was reasonable and necessary for security reasons; if correspondence were to be allowed freely between prisoners, it could lead to inmates plotting escape plans, arranging violent activities and to promote prison gang activities. Moreover, this rule did not bar the prisoners from corresponding to prisoners and hence did not deprive them of all ways of expression. This rule was necessary for the safety of the prison staff as well as of the prisoners themselves. Therefore, the earlier decision in this matter was overturned. On the second rule, however, the Court agreed with the decision of the lower courts. It was decided that such a rule barred the right of the prisoners to marry on an unreasonable level, as, whether a prisoner married another prisoner or a civilian, it could not possibly have a negative effect that large on the prison staff or inmates so as to render it necessary for them to obtain the permission of the prison superintendent. Hence this rule was declared unconstitutional and ordered removed. The ruling of the Court was very balanced in its approach. The Court did not allow the infringement of the rights of the inmates that the Constitution provided them; moreover, it also kept in mind that the security of the prison staff and inmates was of prime importance and could not be compromised. Though it is important for none of the

Monday, September 23, 2019

Qualitative vs. Quantitative Data Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Qualitative vs. Quantitative Data - Essay Example Quantitative and qualitative research methods are usually compared, interchanged, and contrasted by researchers themselves. However, one should understand that the two methods are meant to answer different sets of problems. If done correctly, each method can be used as supplementary research and the findings can serve as supporting explanations to the other. Usually, the quantitative method provides theories and hypotheses, and the qualitative method explains, proves, or disproves them. This is exactly what happened to the research done in trying to explain the rise and fall of meth usage in several U.S. states. Looking at the numbers, researchers are dumbfounded to see a similar pattern existing in all states regarding meth usage, despite the different approaches the states use to combat it. The numbers provided by the quantitative research are too general and abstract --- failing to provide the necessary answers to formulate solutions to the said problem. Because of this puzzle, th e researchers used the qualitative method to try to find answers to the questions posed by the graphs. The researchers looked into the history of meth usage and found out descriptive results that tell a story about the connection of meth purity on the streets and the number of people using it.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Brazil Allows Police to Buy High Caliber Guns Essay Example for Free

Brazil Allows Police to Buy High Caliber Guns Essay The Brazilian military will now allow police and firefighters to buy powerful .45 caliber guns for personal use, raising fears over how the weapons will be used and where they might end up.Prior to the ruling, only federal police were permitted to buy .45 caliber weapons, while other police agencies carried less lethal .40 or .38 weapons. The new regulations open the way for civil, military, and transport police to purchase .45 handguns. The military command, which regulates gun sales in Brazil, said it changed the regulations in response to petitioning from state security forces. The move has already sparked controversy among some sectors. They are giving weapons to the police that they don’t know how to use. This is putting the safety of the police and the population at risk, a representative from violence prevention NGO Sou da Paz told O Globo. InSight Crime Analysis The decision to grant various police agencies access to more powerful weaponry is likely to prove controversial. Trust in the Brazilian police is low, amid widespread accusations of corruption, criminality and extrajudicial killings. Firefighters, who are allowed to carry weapons as part of the job, have also come under suspicion, with accusations that many form part of urban paramilitary groups while off-duty. The easing of the regulations could be linked to the ongoing conflict between criminal gang the First Capital Command (PCC) and the Sao Paulo police, which claimed the lives of at least 100 officers in 2012. The risk that rather than giving police another means to protect themselves, the increased availability of .45 weapons could only further fuel the conflict. Given past cases of Brazilian police selling weapons to criminal groups, there is a significant risk that these guns could fall into the hands of the gangs that are behind anti-police violence in much of the country. The high-power weapons could also end up being used by the vigilante militias that control many of Brazil’s favelas. Corrupt factions of the police and firefighting force are known to be members and collaborators of these militias.

Friday, September 20, 2019

The History Of Cloud Computing Information Technology Essay

The History Of Cloud Computing Information Technology Essay Cloud Computing are data and applications that are accessible through servers around the world (Clouds), and it can be reached at any time, from any device without installing that specific application to your computer. Data management within cloud involves extreme parallelization and distribution of data. Its goals are to provide quickness in which applications are deployed, increase the technology, and lower costs, all while increasing business agility.   The different types of services including IaaS, PaaS, SaaS have been projected for cloud computing. But, consumers want effective and efficient security for their virtual machines. There is some cloud providers that offer security-as-a-service based on VM introspection that promise the best of both worlds: efficient centralization and effective protection. Since customers can move data and apps from one cloud to another, an effective solution requires learning what providers to work with and what they secure. This report will provide detailed understanding of cloud computing and its major security issues. This will include the history of Cloud Computing, the models, its characteristics, deployment models, applications, advantages and disadvantages, security issues and other concerns. Key Words Access Control Cloud Computing Cloud Security Delivery Models Deployment Models SPI This Report is organized the following: Chapter 1: Introductions Chapter 2: Defining Cloud Computing Chapter 3: Cloud Security Chapter 4: Conclusion/Future Research Introduction Clouds is a metaphor for the Internet, the term Cloud Computing for computation over the Internet. It allows users to access resources database and Internet applications from anywhere as long as needed without worrying about maintenance or management of real resources. In addition, the databases in the cloud are very dynamic and evolving. Cloud Computing is unlike grid computing, utility computing, or autonomic computing. In fact, it is a very independent platform in terms of computing. The best example of cloud computing if Google Apps where any application can be accessed using a browser and it can be deployed on thousands of computer through the internet. Most of the data is stored on local networks with servers that may be clustered and sharing storage. This approach has had time to be developed into stable architecture, and provide decent redundancy when deployed right. Pinal Dave. Introduction to Cloud Computing Published 10 Apr 2009 This new technology, cloud computing, requires the attention and it changes rapidly the direction of the technology. Whether it is Googles file system or Microsoft Azure, it is clear that cloud computing has arrived with much to learn. In dealing with the abstract concept of the cloud, it is easy to misunderstand the structure and function. Defining Cloud Computing What is Cloud Computing? Cloud computing is a type of computation over the Internet. It shares resources instead of using a software or hardware on a physical computer. Cloud computing can be software and infrastructure. And, it can improve collaboration, mobility, size and availability features. It also improves cost reduction by offering a centralized platform for use when needed, and the reduction of energy consumption. Unlike grid computing, cloud computing can be hosted externally, but also internally, especially for companies who have businesses around the world. Consumers will no longer have to download and install memory-hogging applications and software on their device and will instead have access to everything they need via the browser. With this model, most of the computing software will be rented on an as-needed basis rather than being bought as an expensive one-off purchase. what is cloud computing and how to use it. February 11, 2010 . There are many definitions that try to answer the clouds of todays point of view of developers, researchers, administrators, engineers and consumers. This report focuses on a definition that is specifically tailored to the unique perspectives of IT network and security professionals. 2.2. History of Cloud Computing Originally, Cloud Computing was an unclear term for a vague and distant future in which computing would occur in a few remote locations without the need for very much human intervention. Infinite computing resources would be available for every need at prices approaching zero. Certainly, users would not care about how the computers, their software, or the network functioned. The idea of an intergalactic computer network was introduced in the 60s by J.C.R. Licklider, who was responsible for enabling the development of ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) in 1969. His vision was for everyone on the globe to be interconnected and accessing programs and data at any site, from anywhere, explained Margaret Lewis, product marketing director at AMD. It is a vision that sounds a lot like what we are calling cloud computing. History of cloud computing Computer Weekly (2009). Computer scientist John McCarthy, who attributed the cloud concept, proposed the idea of computation being delivered as a public utility, similar to the service bureaus which date back to the 60s. Since the 60s, cloud computing has developed along a number of lines, with Web 2.0 being the most recent evolution. However, since the internet only started to offer significant bandwidth in the 90s, cloud computing for the masses has been something of a late developer. In the past, the computers were connected from a larger computer. It was a common technique in industry. The technique enabled you to configure the computer to talk to each other with specially designed protocols to balance the computational load across machines. As a user you didnt care about what CPU was running the program, and cluster management software ensured that the best CPU at that time was used to execute the code. In the early 1990s Ian Foster and Carl Kesselman came up with a new concept of The Grid. The analogy used was of the electricity grid where users could plug into the grid and use a metered utility service. If companies dont have their own powers stations, but rather access a third party electricity supply, why cant the same apply to computing resources? Plug into a grid of computers and pay for what you use. Cloud Expo: Article A Brief History of Cloud Computing: Is the Cloud There Yet? Paul Wallis August 22, 2008 One of the first milestones for cloud computing was the arrival of Salesforce.com in 1999, which pioneered the concept of delivering enterprise applications via a simple website. The services firm paved the way for both specialist and mainstream software firms to deliver applications over the internet. The next development was Amazon Web Services in 2002, which provided a suite of cloud-based services including storage, computation and even human intelligence through the Amazon Mechanical Turk. Then in 2006, Amazon launched its Elastic Compute cloud (EC2) as a commercial web service that allows small companies and individuals to rent computers on which to run their own computer applications. Amazon EC2/S3 was the first widely accessible cloud computing infrastructure service, said Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Brightcove, which provides its SaaS online video platform to UK TV stations and newspapers. A history of cloud computing Arif  Mohamed   Friday 27 March 2009 Another big milestone came in 2009, as Web 2.0 hit its stride, and Google and others started to offer browser-based enterprise applications, though services such as Google Apps. Today, many companies are setting up data centers, sometimes as an extension of their own needs, sometimes only to serve customers. Originally, the idea of these clouds was to provide power and storage capacity. Everything else will be taken up by the customer. Now providers offer many services depending on the consumer needs. Source: http://www.fuzeboxinc.com/Extras/Blog/ 2.3. SPI for Cloud Computing SPI. This abbreviation stands for the three major services in the cloud. Software-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service, and Infrastructure-as-a-Service. Source: http://texdexter.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/figure-1-cloud-computing-architecture.jpg 2.4. Delivery Models Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)- Instead of wasting money on servers, software, hardware, racks..etc. the provider would resource the service. This will be on demand computing and whatever the amount is consumed that what the consumer will be charged. This service can be hosted or via VPS(virtual private servers) Major Infrastructure Vendors Below are companies that provide infrastructure services: Google (GOOG) Managed hosting, development environment International Business Machines (IBM) Managed hosting SAVVIS (SVVS) Managed hosting Terremark Worldwide (TMRK) Managed hosting Amazon.com (AMZN) Cloud storage Rackspace Hosting (RAX) Managed hosting cloud computing Cloud platform services (PaaS)- delivers a platform or a solution stack as a service. This makes the delivery of applications easier without the cost of hardware or software. Like Salesforce.coms, which lets subscribers access their applications over the cloud. Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have also allow the users access their applications from centralized servers. Software as a service (SaaS)- is  software in the cloud. This deployment model is absolutely through the web browser. This eliminates the installation of applications on the consumers computer making it easy to access as simplifying maintenance and support. Characteristic of SaaS: Availability via a web browser on demand availability payment terms based on usage minimal IT demands 2.5. Deployment Models Private cloud- This is used only for organizations. Can be managed by the organization or to third parties and can exist on premise or off premise. Community cloud- This is used by many organizations working together, and is compatible with a particular community, which shared the concerns (eg, mission, security requirements, policy and compliance). It can be managed by organizations or third parties and can exist on premise or off premise. Public cloud- This is owned by cloud providers and is used by a larger organization or the general public. Hybrid cloud- Cloud Infrastructure is composed of two or more clouds (private, community or the public), that remain unique entities, but are caused by a standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and applications. 2.6. Essential Characteristics What is Cloud Computing? On-demand self-service- A consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with each services provider. Broad network access- Capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs). Resource pooling- The providers computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand. There is a sense of location independence in that, the customer generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter). This includes storage, processing, memory, network bandwidth, and virtual machines. Rapid elasticity- Capabilities can be rapidly and elastically provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out and rapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be purchased in any quantity at any time. Measured Service- Cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilized service. Source: www.katescomment.com/images/CloudCube.png Cloud Security 3.1. Pros and Cons The main question is whether users are prepared to use the service from your local computer and are moving into the cloud because cloud computing has advantages and disadvantages to all potential users, but may have different meanings for different users. Pros Reduced Cost: Cloud technology is paid incrementally (you pay only for what you need), saving organizations money in the short run. Money saved can be used for other important resources. Increased Storage: Companies can save more data than on servers. Highly Automated: IT staff not needed to keep software up to date as maintenance is the job of the service provider on the cloud. More Mobility: Employees can access information wherever they are. Allows IT to Shift Focus: No longer having to worry about constant server updates and other computing issues, government organizations will be free to concentrate on innovation. Cons Security: standards depending on company and global location Reliance on 3rd Party: Control over own data is lost in the hands of an difficult-to-trust provider Cost of transition: Is it feasible for me to move from the existing architecture of my data center to the architecture of the cloud? Uncertainty of benefits: Are there any long term benefits? Today, customers are looking expand their on-premises infrastructure, but cannot afford the risk of compromising the security of their applications and data. In this survey of IDC, security ranked first as the greatest challenge or issue in cloud computing. Source: IDC Enterprise Panel What is Cloud Security? Security in the cloud, is not different than security control. But, because of the cloud models for contractual services, business models and technologies are used to cloud services, cloud computing different risks of a traditional organization of IT solutions can have. Cloud Computing is to lose control and accountability at the same time, but operational responsibility lies with one or more other parties. Not all services are the same. This depends on the provider you choose. This picture below illustrates the issue in SaaS where the contracts are negotiable; service levels, privacy, and compliance are all issues to be dealt with legally in contracts. In an IaaS, the remainder of the stack is the responsibility of the costumer. PaaS offers a balance in between, where the provider is in charge of securing the platform, but securing the application developed against the platform and developing them securely, both belong to the consumer. Source: http://www.rationalsurvivability.com/blog/wp-content/media/2009/07/CloudRefModel.html The technology has many advantages for employers. It is a simple solution that is cost effective, and can be updated easily and as quickly as the business grows, especially during peak sales. Many entrepreneurs do not do their homework when registering with a provider of cloud, and neglect to ask whether sensitive data can be isolated or not, or what layers of security is available. Cloud Security Top Threats According to CSA (Cloud Security Alliance) The report, titled Top Threats to Cloud Computing V1.0, These are the following threats in cloud computing: Abuse and Nefarious use of Cloud Computing: Attackers can find a way to upload malware to thousands of computers and use the power of the cloud infrastructure to attack other machines.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨ Insecure Application Programming Interfaces: The reuse and combination of existing code to rapidly build applications often sacrifices quality assurance for agility and quick turnaround, resulting in insecure APIs. Malicious Insiders: One that gains in importance as many providers still dont reveal how the hire people, how they grant them access to assets or how they monitor them. Transparency is, in this case, vital to a secure cloud offering, along with compliance reporting and breach notification. Shared Technology Vulnerabilities: Sharing infrastructure is a way of life for IaaS providers. Unfortunately, the components on which this infrastructure is based were not designed for that. To ensure that customers dont thread on each others territory, monitoring and strong compartmentalization is required, not to mention scanning for and patching of vulnerabilities that might jeopardize this coexistence. Data Lose/Leakage: Using security control to protect the inside data in a company. This control is hard to apply to new environment. There is a lack of having the ability to monitor and control what is going on. Accounting, Services and Traffic Hijacking: The cloud is vulnerable to hacking. Like being redirected to malicious sites. Unknown risk profile: The customer are not well informed on where their applications are being reside, nor the configurations of the systems. Access Control in the Cloud In a traditional network, access control focuses on protecting from unauthorized users based on host-based attributes. Which sometimes is inadequate, this can cause inaccurate accounting. In the cloud, the access control works as a cloud firewall policy. This is by using rules using TCP/IP parameters, including the source of IP, the source port, the IP destination and the port destination. Unlike the network-based access control, the access should be strongly focused in the cloud by binding the users identity to the resource in the cloud and will help protect access control, data protection and users accounts. ISO/IEC 27002 has defined six access control objectives that cover end user, privileged user, network, application, and information access control. The objective is to ensure that the authorized user have access the right information and unauthorized users are prevented from accessing the systems. A procedure should take place and should cover all stages in the lifecycle of the user access, staring from the registration of the new user to the final step which is denying the user who will no longer need to access the information in the system. The following are the six control statements: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Control access to information. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Manage user access rights. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Encourage good access practices. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Control access to network services. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Control access to operating systems. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Control access to applications and systems. The reasons for this six control statements from the view of IT security, is providing access to information and applications to authorized users. The objective of this task is to provide the right users the right services, while preventing access to unauthorized users. Conclusion/Future Research 4.1. Conclusion Cloud computing is increasingly popular. Industry leaders like Microsoft, Google and IBM, have been promoting cloud computing and have gain a lot of costumer. But the rest of the public that are still doing research on the topic are still doubting and afraid to migrate to the cloud. There are still many questions left without any answer and the most important one is security. On the other hand, Cloud Computing is the most amazing technology that has happened recently. It is easy to use, cheaper, faster, and convenient. The question is whether the users are ready to move and if so, what providers to move to. Security technology must be developed specifically for the protection of the business in the cloud. The technology has changed and security needs to keep up with it. Future Work According to btsecurethinking.com, Breach Security is working with partners, such as Akamai, to provide web application security in the cloud. Example, when deployed with Akamais Web Application Firewall service, Breachs WebDefend Global Event Manager is the first web application security management solution to defend against global application security threats by enabling customers to make distributed cloud and data center defense-in-depth architectures operational. CSA and HP are still doing research on top threats and intended to alert businesses to current and future cloud computing risks.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Titan:The Uprising :: essays research papers

CHAPTER 1 From the Darkness The cool, dense air boasted over the horizon at dusk. I stand there†¦Face to the boundless horizon of the terrain before me. Blood, Bullets, Bodies lie cold†¦still on the ground, each containing a past. I stood there with my AR in hand, I stepped forward, knocking all pebbles around my feet, leading my few men towards what seemed to be certain death. We all were a bit edgy now. After a week of fighting and adrenaline, the body seemed due to failure. No one could predict what had happened in the past few days. Of course, command stuck me with Ten young and inexperienced recruit’s, mind you that’s all there was left. All veterans were wiped out. Our people have been fighting for freedom from the dreaded Collective for years. It seemed as if it was a lost cause. Maybe it still is. Who knows what’s ahead for my men and I. My men and I have grown weary, all our suites were battered, most of the armor missing, or gone entirely. Faces were cut and bruised, some of them considered serious. No time for that now. Ammunition was in short supply. We finished all the remaining rations we had. We were hungry, cold at night, and without Enhanced Sensors. We were blind to what was coming†¦ â€Å"Setup camp here for the night!† I said with a stern voice. The recruit’s looked for their spots for the night. I however would not. Someone has to guard these kids. I sure as hell wasn’t going to let them guard me. A couple hours passed, it was now dark. The air grew ever more cold. I knew by the cold temperatures someone wasn’t going to make it through the night. They all seemed to stare at me, with a scared look in their eyes. Wishing that they were home, before they were all destroyed. All remaining people are now nomads. Cast into the wind, Seeking shelter wherever possible. The few fighting for our world, I included, only go where the enemy lie. You could say we’re the last hope for this planet, this planet seemed so destined to be Collective property. It was pitch black, I had been crouching on my knees for awhile now. All I could hear is deep shivering breaths from my men. The silence soon left. Out of my eyesight I heard footsteps. As I reached for my AR nervously, The steps grew closer and so close it seem like they should have passed already.

The Fall of the Roman Empire Essay -- Ancient History

The Fall of the Roman Empire A reason that leads to Rome's inability to remain self-sustaining as an Empire was its lack of technology. Technological advance did not increase at a rate proportional to the increase of the people per square mile. This lead to the inability of the Romans to become self-sustaining. Once again the slave trade was a reason that their technology levels failed to increase. The bulk of work done in the Roman Empire was always carried out by the slaves. This provided very little need or incentive for new discoveries. By neglecting the important technological advance, there was no increase in the efficiency of running Rome. Therefore, it was left behind from the start. What then started out small grew to a life threatening wound. With all of these stumbling blocks stacking up, the Roman juggernaut began to falter. The epitome of this problem rests in the Roman economy, which was now staggering drastically. As the Roman rulers of the time noticed this problem they slowly but increasi ngly moved back to their country estates. One of the main causes of disunity was the tension between the Emperor and his generals (Grant-1978-pg.437). By doing so, they left the offices of business in the city which out of this neglect began to disappear. This trend, although very strong in the west was comparably weak in the east, where the cities were older and more schooled and prepared to deal with economic recession. The final action of the Roman rulers to retreat to the country, resulted not only in the empires economy being weak, but moreover a general failure to function. A major reason for a weakening in the Empire was the inability to resist its invaders (Grant-1990-pg.60). It was the combination of these a... ...e. New York: Time Incorporated, 1965. Grant, Michael. The Fall of the Roman Empire. Pennsylvania: Annenberg School of Communications, 1976. Grant, Michael. The History of Rome. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1978. Nardo, Don. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. California: Lucent Books, 1998. Roberts, J.M. A History of Europe. New York: Penguin Books, 1996. Starr, Chester. A History of the Ancient World. New York: Oxford University Press, 1974. Stobart, J.C. The Grandeur that was Rome. New York: Frederick A. Praeger Incorporated, 1961. The Roman Empire. Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin, 1967. Boak, Arthur. A History of Rome to 565 AD. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1947. Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. New York: Random House Publishing, 1952. Hadas, Moses. Imperial Rome. New York: Time Incorporated, 1965. Grant, Michael.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Protestant Reformation :: Religion History

Protestant Reformation In the 16th century the Protestant Reformation divided the Roman Catholic Church. This reform was led by Martin Luther whose original intentions were to reform the church, but resulted in a split between Protestant and Catholic. Soon the Protestant Church itself divided resulting in two more churches, one Protestant, and the other reformed church. The Reformed Church is better known as Presbyterian, whose conspicuous leader was John Calvin. John Calvin had many beliefs which had been adopted by the Presbyterian Church. His ideas were modified from those in the Catholic Church. Presbyterians do believe in the Trinity as Catholics do but differ from Catholicism when dealing with ideas like original sin, salvation, and the idea of penance. Presbyterians believe that original sin is rooted in faithlessness which brought man to fall. The idea of salvation to Presbyterians is that salvation is reached through the grace of God, rooted in the deep faith of a person. Catholics believe in penance for sins through reconciliation. Presbyterians believe that penance is dealt with directly with God. Ultimately, Presbyterians believe that God’s truth was and is embodied in Jesus Christ, Lord, and Savior. One of Calvin’s beliefs included that of which God is God of state and nation and the state must be guided by his word. This idea is embodied in the idea of civil government. The Presbyterian government was originally formen when John Calvin was in Geneva. In a Presbyterian form of government there are four different officers. There are pastors, teachers, 12 elected elders, and deacons. The elders are seen to be equal to the clergy. Through this government the Presbyterian belief in total life of the community is displayed and put into practice. The Presbyterian definition of a sacrament is an outward sign by which the Lord represents and testifies his good will towards us. A sacrament is a testimony of God’s grace. Presbyterians acknowledge two sacraments. One is Baptism, and the other Eucharist. Baptism is a symbol of cleansing, forgiveness of original sin permanetly, and makes us all share in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It makes us one with God. The sacrament of the Eucharist is a memory of Christ’s death and a confession of faith.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Affects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis, and Muscular Distrophy Essay

Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis are both diseases of the bone. Osteoporosis actually means â€Å"porous bones† and is a problem with bones where there isn’t enough calcium in them to give them strength. This is because the bone cells aren’t being reproduced as fast as the bone is aging or deteriorating which causes the bones to become fragile. This can happen because of loss of calcium in the bone, or a problem with the calcium being absorbed correctly, which it needs in order to build new bone tissue and complete the remodeling cycle. Even if the bone has enough, other parts of your body may not and will start taking calcium away from your bones. Osteoarthritis occurs when smooth cartilage around a bone gets worn down and no longer allows smooth gliding between the bones which cause bone to bone contact. The cartilage is meant to be there to reduce friction so when it is worn away it can also cause pain. It is caused by an inflammation of the joints and is the most common type of arthritis. It is most likely due to aging or rather, a lot of continuous use. Muscular atrophy happens when the blood supply and amount of muscle fibers decreases which can cause the muscle to deteriorate. It can be cause by either disorders, lack of use, or injury. If there is an injury to the nerves that make the muscles move, then they will eventually deteriorate just as they would if a person stopped using their muscles as much. Lack of exercise, poor nutrition, nervous system problems, and disabilities can all cause muscular atrophy. For an 84-year-old small boned, white female, this can cause challenges of everyday life. With osteoporosis, she will have weak and fragile bones. For example, if she bumped into something or fell down, her bones could easily break so she would need to be extra careful when getting around. With osteoarthritis, she may be experiencing a lot of pain since most of or all of her cartilage has worn away causing her to feel the friction of the bone on bone contact. This would make it harder for her to walk and exercise. Lastly, the muscular atrophy would make her very weak since her muscles can’t function the way they are supposed to because of lack of strength. Lifting, pulling, walking, and any normal chore for her would be a very big challenge.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Diversity in Faith and the Health Care Provider

A comparative review of four religions: Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Christianity. This paper examines the belief systems and how diversity in faith affects the care givers philosophy of providing care. The importance of nurses to seek spiritual awareness is growing as the population becomes more diverse and health care facilities increase their efforts to create healing environments and meet the needs of every patient’s body, mind and spirit. Diversity in Faith and the Health Care Provider. Understanding the diversity in faith within the health care setting helps maximize the healing care provided. Faith influences coping strategies, health behaviors and attitudes about seeking health care. The purpose of this paper is to compare the philosophy of providing care from the perspective of Buddhist, Judaism, and Islam faith with that of Christianity. As the population becomes more diverse, so does the need to become spiritual competent. Buddhist Faith Buddhism is based on the teachings of Buddha and focuses on finding inner peace. The goal of a Buddhist is to find â€Å"enlightenment† or a perfect peace through which will end his suffering. If enlightenment is not obtained a Buddhist will be reborn and continue to suffer another life (Chan, et al. 2011). The core beliefs are there is a right and noble path which leads to enlightenment, Karma: for every action there is an equal or opposite reaction, and Samsara which is the continued cycle of life and death that continues because of karma (Wilkins, et al. 2010). Buddhist exercises faith with prayers, mantras, mudras, prayer wheels and use of other objects to practice their faith. Being respectful of belongings and asking before touching or moving is important (Wilkins, et al. 2010). Death and Dying is a very important experience for Buddhist: Therefore a care giver will need to adjust what is typically known palliative care and have open discussion of expectations to meet their spiritual needs. Allowing for uninterrupted prayer and meditation as a Buddhist reflects on his life. Having a clear mind is important and they may decline pain medication or sedatives. A Buddhist’s perspective of a nurses who understands the importance of this belief and uses non-narcotic methods to reduce pain and provide comfort is also providing a â€Å"true expression of loving kindness and compassion in helping to relieve the suffering of others† (Chan, et al. 2011). Some other aspects to Buddhism is the care of a monk or nun require the care taker to be of the same sex, since they took an oath of celibacy. Additionally, the practice of Buddhism does not require a person to be a vegetarian and monks general only eat once a day and do not eat after lunch time. Since there are many cultures within the Buddhist faith it is important to ask (Chan, et al. 2011). Jewish Faith Judaism exists mainly in Israel, Europe and the USA. Judaism is the belief of one God and that Moses was the greatest prophet and Jesus was a false prophet. They read from the first five books of the bible which is called the Torah and pray to God only. Their religious leader is called a Rabbi who will recite scripture to the ill, perform ceremonies, sermons in a synagogue on Saturdays. The way Judi live their life is the most important aspect of their religion. The Jewish faith has a heighten awareness of health and consider health a mortal responsibility. As far back as two thousand years ago Jewish people practiced frequent hand washing and cleansing before meals. Furthermore, Jewish laws prohibit eating shellfish and pork to prevent trichinosis, which is still practiced today. Therefore asking about dietary restrictions is necessary. Islamic Faith Muslims believe in one God who has no son. Jesus is considered a prophet, but Muhammad was the last prophet sent by God. Muslims read from the Koran or Qur’an and worship in Mosques on Fridays. Islam is indigenous of African Americans, South Asians and Arabians. Religious leaders are referred to as Imams and have diverse qualifications and expertise. Imams pray with the ill and help patients to cope by helping them to maintain hope in God or Allah. Additionally Imams encourage healthy lifestyles, advocating for patient needs, and assisting in healthcare decisions. Women may not lead men into prayer and therefore cannot be Imams (Padela, et al. 2011). Islam practices of involve praying, fasting and religious rituals, such as the pilgrimage to Mecca. Islam main perspective on health and illness is that â€Å"Health and illness become part of the continuum of being, and prayer remains the salvation in both health and in sickness† (Rassool, 2000). Therefore allowing time for prayer is essential. Since 9/11 misconceptions, discrimination and abusive behaviors towards Muslims have resulted in a delay of care in the U. S. therefore they may not be forth coming about their faith or spiritual needs, leading to sicker patients with stifled spiritual care (Padela, et al. 2011). Christian Faith The writer of this paper is of Christian Faith, a protestant, a believer in God who is a holy trinity of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus is his son and incarnate of God himself. Religious leaders are called pastors or ministers and in the Catholi c religion leaders are referred to as priests or nuns. Faith is practice through prayer, reading the bible, and attending church on Sunday. Fellowship with other Christians, reaching out to non-believers to spread the word of Christ and living a righteously are encouraged. However, it is the belief that Jesus Christ is the savior of man and only through this faith will a person live eternally in paradise with God. Comparative Analysis While some faiths embrace death as a new beginning into the afterlife or next life, Judaism does not emphasize the afterlife and survivors are instructed to only grieve for a limited time and not excessively. However, Buddhism discusses death and dying openly and wants to maintain consciousness for as long as possible to mediate and reflect. Visualization and relaxation techniques are a large part of their meditation. Judaism, Islam and Christianity all believe in one God and prayer helps to the body, mind and spirit. Buddhist believes that the collection of ones â€Å"physical body, sensations, perceptions, mental formation, and consciousness†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"Will dissolve at the time of death, although some stream of consciousness undergoes rebirth† (Chan, et al. 2011). Although Buddhism is the least practiced among the religions discussed, it is Islamic that is the most misunderstood and is met with inequalities. Providing a safe place and building trust is required to meet the spiritual needs of American Muslims. Conclusion All religions teach love, compassion, and righteousness. Therefore, respecting ones spirituality and assessing for spiritual needs is an important aspect of all patient interactions. Understanding why other faiths believe what they do help nurses to facilitate and accommodate practices and honor sacred rituals, prayers and meditation.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Describe and Evaluate Lifespan Changes in Sleep

Describe and Evaluate Lifespan changes in Sleep As humans grow from infancy to old age there are major changes in the amount and kind of sleep experienced. Babies sleep a lot more than children and adults also have different sleep patterns and different stages of sleep. They tend to sleep about 16 hours a day. But their sleep is not continuous. By the age of six months a circadian rhythm has become established (one main sleep wake cycle). By the age of give, children have EEG patterns like those of adults but they are still sleeping more and having more REM activity.During childhood, it is not uncommon for children to experience a variety of sleep disorders such as sleep walking and night terrors. During childhood, the need for sleep decrease, but in adolescence, it increases, to about nine of ten hours a night. Circadian rhythms also change so that teenagers feel naturally awake later at night and have more difficulty getting up early (a phase delay). Adult sleep is typically about eight hours a night, with 25% REM sleep. Childhood parasomsineas are rarer in adulthood but there is an increasing frequency of other sleep disorders, such as insomnia and apnoea.With increased age, the pattern of sleep changes; REM sleep decreases to about 20% of total sleep time. Older people also experience a phase advance of circadian rhythms – feeling sleepier early in the evening and waking up earlier. This approach to psychology is called the developmental approach and is important in highlighting the changes across a person’s lifespan. One suggestion as to why babies’ sleep patterns are so different from those of adults is that their sleep is an adaptive mechanism to make their parents life easier – daytime sleep means that parents can get on with their chores which enhances survival.Infants’ greater amount of active/REM sleep may be explained in terms of the relative immaturity of the brain, and is related to the considerable amount of lea rning taking place. The change of sleep patterns in adolescence may be linked to changes in hormone production at this age. These hormones are primarily released at night and therefore sleep patterns are disturbed leading to sleep deprivation. Hormone changes can also explain the upset to the circadian clock, which has been described as a delayed sleep phase syndrome by Crowley et al. ome researchers go as far as saying that schools should begin later to accommodate the poor attention span of adolescents in the early morning (Wolfson and Carskadon). In adults, the common perception is that a good night’s sleep is related to good health. To test this, Kripke et al surveyed over a million adults and found that there in an increased mortality risk associated with too much sleep. However, this was a correlational theory, and therefore does not account for extraneous variables. This means that a casual relationship cannot be established.It could be the sae that underlying illness may lead to increased sleep needs and to increased mortality. Reduced sleep in old age is partly a consequence of physiological changes, but may also be explained in terms of actual problems staying asleep, such as sleep apnoea or medical illnesses. The resulting sleep deficit in old age might explain why older people experience impaired functions, for example, of their alertness. Various treatments can be used to increase sleep at night, including relaxation techniques and melatonin to increase sleepiness.The research in this area shows that sleep patterns vary considerably with age, but these patterns are also influenced by cultural values as well as lifestyle habits (such as consumption of a alcohol, amount of exercise and so on). Tynjala et al found that sleep may also reflect cultural differences/ moreover in Korea, the mean sleep time was about 6. 5 hours (Shin et al) and the mean sleep time in Iran was 7. 5 hours (Glanizadeh et al), both supporting the view that sleep duratio n is shorter in Asia then Europe.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Run Lola Run Speach

Distinctively visual Images and the ideas conveyed through them can both enhance or challenge our understanding of the world and humanity. Ideas associated with images can be powerfull enough to provoke further thinking and understanding of certain matters. This is greatly evident in the 1998 German thriller film â€Å"Run Lola Run† directed and written by Tom Tykwer together with the poem â€Å"Summer Rain† by John Foulcher. Through the use of strong images these two texts manage to express their main ideas such as chaos and its relationship with time. In â€Å"RLR† we witness the protagonists facing dilemma due to these two aspects of the world, seeking to overcome them with determination and love. Meanwhile â€Å"Summer Rain† shows the unpredictability of these ideas and their destructive power to harm or chip away. In â€Å"RLR† Tykwer made chaos and time two influences against which the protagonist â€Å"Lola† is working due to the conviction of her love for Manni. The composer combines the ideas of chaos and time through the fast paced, rapidly altered camera shots differentiating in angles and lengths. This is prominent during all three of Lola’s twenty minute runs. The camera is set on Lola yet changes its angles and lengths to synchronize with Lola turning corners, avoiding obstacles and the change in location. The Fast paced camera action allows us the audience see Lola’s perception of her progress to save her lover Manni within twenty mins. This constant rapid camera work during the running scenes emphasizes the chaotic atmosphere a common reaction when working against time. The chaotic atmosphere distorts the time and progress in the mind of the audience and Lola. The use of a split screen where Lola is on the left running towards the right, facing in the direction of Manni as well as well as an image of a clock ticking on the bottom avoids this distortion of time in the last crucial minutes. Showing her progress during the last minute enhances the intensity yet gives the audience a much more vivid understanding of the situation, much like when we check our watches when we arrive somewhere late or at the last minute of a given deadline. These distinctive visual features allow the audience to understand Lola’s state of mind in this complication, to which we can partially relate in the modern era. â€Å"The Summer Rain† provides further evidence of the relationship of chaos and time. John Foulcher is explaining about the rush hour traffic which is present at a certain time which will create disorder in someone’s schedule if adaptations are not made. â€Å"At 4 o'clock† cars/† The use of high modality giving us the context of images. The composer introduces us to the setting with the use of time conveying utmost in importance. The visual imagery creates a sense of a disordered environment, â€Å"clutter on the highway like abacus beads† the simile creating a perfect image of the disturbance to the responder. He then addresses the destructive nature of chaos â€Å"Somewhere ahead, there's been an accident/One by one, the engines/stop, the cars slump into dusk. † By using linear narrative, imagery of the turmoil along with rhythmic sentence and personification the poet allows the audience to synchronize with the series of events, which seem happen within seconds. With constant use of visual Imagery the author conveys the idea of and unifies it with time via use of simple rhythmic sentence. Both Composers use distinctively visual techniques as to enhance, convey their ideas and allow the wider audience to connect with the circumstances imposed in on characters in the texts, ‘Run Lola Run’ and â€Å"summer rain† use combination of Visual Techniques together with language devices to subject the to send the idea through to the audience. It is through the use of imagery that we more effectively understand certain ideas that are in relevant to the world and humanity.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Innocent LTD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Innocent LTD - Essay Example According to Triandis (1990), individualistic cultures emphasise independence, achievement, freedom, high levels of competition, and pleasure; whereas collectivist cultures tend to embrace interdependence, family security, social hierarchies, co-operation; and low levels of competition. UK has an individualistic culture, which constitute the main factors of independence, achievement, freedom, high levels of competition, and pleasure. That's why the Innocent drinks give very much importance to taste. With the increasing awareness among the target population regarding the problems of obesity and other health diseases Innocent drink emphasises on the purity and the neutrality of the ingredients. These qualities correctly aiming at the demands of the customers make Innocent drinks the largest player of smoothies market in UK capturing 65% of the total market share. Advertising, as a form of social communication, is particularly reflective, and indicative of culture and its norms. To the extent that advertising does reflect cultural differences, and there exist clear differences between distinct cultural patterns, advertising appeals, which are specific approaches advertisers use to communicate how their products will satisfy customer needs (Arens & Bovee, 1994), should manifest such differences across these countries. "Taste remains the company's number one priority. ... ste test awards than its competitors, scooping Best UK Soft Drink in the Q Awards, the UK's principal food industry competition, every year since 2002." (Farr, 2006) "The Company sells 70,000 fresh, healthy drinks each day everywhere from Boots to Sainsbury's to a local deli. The company has the only range of 100% pure fruit smoothies that uses fresh, rather than concentrated juice." (Innocent drinks, 2004) SWOT Analysis of the Coca-Cola Company STRENGTHS Strong Brand name. Extended customer in more than 200 countries. Use of SAP R/3 Enterprise Resource planning software Low threat of new entrants. Continuous training programs for employees. High budgets of advertising and promotion. Good relations with media. Web based presence. WEAKNESSES Low ROE Subsidiaries create legal and territorial problems. Lack of funds for regional bottlers to continue expansion Old image still exists. Inconsistent marketing message. OPPORTUNITIES Expansion in shape of introduction of new and innovative products. Expanding market due to globalisation. THREATS Current economic climate. Over reliance on the bottlers. Results to be achieved in future can be less than projected "The Threats-Opportunities-Weaknesses-Strengths (TOWS) Matrix is an important matching tool that helps managers develop four types of strategies: So Strategies, WO strategies, ST Strategies, and WT Strategies. SO strategies use a firm's internal strengths to take advantage of external opportunities. WO Strategies aim at improving internal weaknesses by taking advantage of external opportunities. ST Strategies use a firm's strengths to avoid or reduce the impact of external threats. WT Strategies are defensive tactics directed at reducing internal weaknesses and avoiding environmental threats." (David,

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Insights and Takeaways Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Insights and Takeaways - Assignment Example In the realm of business communications, context could be understood as the events, circumstances and ideas that are imminent on the way in which a particular business communication is understood and made sense of (Frey, 2004, p. 58). Thereby, while pursuing this course I realized that context happens to be the most vital concept in any type of business communication. In the human communication and more important in business communication, I have realized that context happens to be a really important things as it is the context which enables a person to cull out or deduct meaning from a communication (Frey, 2004). In fact, the business communications do extend meaning only when they are understood and interpreted within a specific context. Thereby, I have realized that the knowledge of and subservience to context in business communication is always important. The other amazing insight I accrued regarding business communication was the relevance and importance of cultural differences in the conveyance and interpretation of business communication. Engaging in effective business communication with people from other cultures could indeed turn out to be a challenge. I realized that the way people think about, interpret and convey communications is to a great extent determined by their cultural mindset and beliefs. Same words and tones could convey different things to the subjects affiliated to different cultures (Schirato & Yell, 2006, p. 18). Thereby, business communication in the contemporary globalized world certainly does have an unavoidable cultural aspect associated with it, which does need to be taken care of by all people engaging in communication with people from different cultures. It was indeed amazing to realize that for a business communication to be fruitful and effective, it does need to be concise, clear and in consonance with the information being

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

I will upload the topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

I will upload the topic - Essay Example In the film, The World, Jia’s character depicts these paradoxical results clearly. In his film, he focuses on the isolation of shifted persons in the urban setting and the collapse of the society. In the film, Jia undermines the attempt by government to globalize the country without the Medias democracy. In this regards, Jia attempts to give the implication the government is trying to globalize the country without any form of questioning. This situation gives a very huge gap between the government perfect society and the Chinese experience. Jia gives different perception to the Chinese society in terms of their place in the world, their uniqueness and their actual segregation from international society Film production has been internalized, gained popularity and more so gained popularized screen plays in international basis in the last few years. In this regard, Jia tries to bring out the inter-modality. Inter-modality contains subtitles and digital media used to show up film characters to convey the modern life, and more so create some understanding. Jia uses China to convey all the problems that all persons worldwide face i.e. both the Chinese and the foreign audience. Basing my idea on Tao, a character in the movie The World, who has a relationship with a Russian dancer by the name Anna and also has romantic moments with Taisheng i.e. Kin-Yang Szeto’s study reveal, â€Å"Set amid this grand image of national transformation, the film tells a story of romance between Tao and Taisheng, two young adults who work at an existing tourist attraction in Beijing called World Park.† Jia Zhangke uses subtitles for cross-cultural intermediation that enable his film to fit into different social backgrounds. The use of this has given Jia a chance to avoid Chinese government restriction. In addition, use of subtitle has enabled his film to be shown in different parts of the world without any official authorization. In the process, people worldwide get to know the new

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Women Colleges Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Women Colleges - Coursework Example Originally steeped towards providing education in the liberal arts (Kiss, 2006), these colleges offer educational opportunities that equal that offered to boys in the men’s colleges. Women’s colleges, especially southern women colleges, were attended mostly by white women; however, black women’s colleges sprang up in the post-Civil War years that significantly contributed to the advancement of the educational opportunities of the black women (Guy-Sheftall, 1982). For instance, Bennett College, an originally co-ed institution, was converted into a liberal art college for black women. Unlike it precursors, the seminaries, which were restricted to women from the upper class, the mid- and late- 19 century women’s colleges were opened to women from the middle classes (Harwarth, Maline, & DeBra, 1999). Indeed, women from the middle class were able to afford a decorous education probably due to increase in philanthropic gestures from donors. The liberation of wom en from their traditional role in the post World War II years led to a corresponding increased in the role of women in the academia and in government (Harwarth, Maline, & DeBra, 1999).

Monday, September 9, 2019

Management of medical equipment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Management of medical equipment - Essay Example The researcher analyzed all the necessary stages involved in the two sub-cycles with the help of diagrams revealing the relevant stages involved in the two sub-cycles. The researcher also included the way utilization link together; thus reducing clinical risks. The researcher revealed the necessary management and legal actions that healthcare professions should take in order to reduce risks in the clinical setting. Lastly, the conclusion provided a brief summary of the managing medical equipment in the hospital. Management of Medical Equipment Introduction The rapid technology advancement has contributed to varied changes on the way health care providers deliver services in the contemporary society. Health care providers depend on the technology in disease mitigation, diagnosis, disease prevention, health promotion and other management care practices. Medical technology has driven the direction of healthcare services, and one is the primary factor for escalating costs in the health c are delivery system. Medical technology is seen as an effective tool for improving life quality of people across the globe. Therefore, managers should employ effective methodologies for managing medical technologies efficiently. ... chnology management requires coordination and organization of hospital activities, managers should manage medical technology across the life cycles in order to minimize risks. Management of Medical Equipment Lifecycle Acquisition Sub-cycle An effective way of managing medical technology in hospitals is through following a systematic procedure in varied stages starting from acquisition to disposal. This is essential because it will help in optimizing technology assessment, reducing costs, increasing utilization and readability in the acquisition process. It also improves the care quality through effective deployment of technology. This is through the use of quality assurance standards; thus reducing hazards by efficiently managing technology risks (Abdel-aleem and Wiley InterScience 2009, p. 112). This process happens once in the medical technology lifecycle until new medical technology is replaced, when it reaches the final stage of its useful life cycle as indicated on figure 1 belo w. Technology Assessment Acquisition Figure 1: Medical Technology Life cycle Phases of Acquisition Sub-Cycle a) Technology Assessment Technology assessment is a significant phase of acquisition, and it involves examining medical devices and the implication they have on the provision of quality services in the health care. It involves assessing the performance and security of medical technologies in the hospital. The main aim of technology assessment is to inform the policy makers in the clinical setup to adopt new technologies for better provision of healthcare services (World Health Organization 2003, p. 93). Medical technology is imperative because it offers valuable information for effective decision making reimbursement and implementation of new medical device. a) Technology Planning

Organization and Organizational Change Assignment

Organization and Organizational Change - Assignment Example With time constraint, management must maximize its time to alleviating the most pressing problems or issues. By identifying the actual performances, management can focus more time on the poor performances. After the poor performances are resolved, management can focus on improving the poor performance activities. Next, the author rightfully observes change management can allocate time to increasing performance outputs. Finally, management can use the remaining time to increase the average-rated activities. Resolving the above average performances, management can now use any possible time to ensuring retention of the best rated performances. Dean Anderson emphasized â€Å"different factors contribute to the change management process† (Anderson 31). The author correctly states that several factors are used in the formulation of the change management decisions. One of the factors is the competitors. When the competitor reduces its selling prices, the other competitors are persuaded to reduce their selling prices. Further, another factor is technology. When the author rightfully insists some competitors introduce new product technologies, all competitors are persuaded to acquire similar or even better product technology. For example, one company offers online booking services to its current and future customers. To retain customers, competitors are persuaded to implement similar online booking or marketing services. Furthermore, the author correctly insists changes in government statutes contribute to responsive change management strategies. For example, some governments require companies to reduce their factory smoke stack emissions. Consequently, management must comply. New government policies may require factory facilities to stop including all ozone layer damaging ingredients in the production process. Professor Robert Paton (51) emphasized â€Å"Companies must do their best to alleviate any resistance.† Some employees dislike learning

Sunday, September 8, 2019

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

Kierkegaard - Essay Example This aesthetic stage is criticized and held up as facile against the duty-bound nature of the ethical, but Kierkegaard did not favor one over the other. In fact, his progression of the self involved the transformation of the first two stages (aesthetic and ethical) into the third (religious) in such a way that they are both retained and yet, annulled. This higher synthesis is achieved through what Kierkegaard calls â€Å"absolute choice.† The absolute choice or decision that the individual makes at a point of crisis in their life is akin to the common phrase â€Å"leap of faith.† Both the ethicist and the aesthete find themselves questioning their mode of living at a certain point of time and it is here that Kierkegaard sees them as either taking the leap into the religious state or not. It is not necessary for the aesthete to pass through the ethical stage before reaching the religious state of Christianity, and vice versa although an individual may exist through both stages in the course of his lifetime. The decision to leap into religion, Christianity for Kierkegaard, is taken for different reasons by the ethicist and the aesthete. The aesthete, represented by A, detects irony in his lifestyle and in society around him. He is not unaware of the dangers and pitfalls of leading a hedonistic lifestyle.

Saturday, September 7, 2019

The Protectionist Policies of Developed World Essay Example for Free

The Protectionist Policies of Developed World Essay Globalization is the process of rapid global economic integration by both developed and undeveloped countries. The principle of globalization aims to facilitate lower transaction costs and barriers of the movement of capital and goods (Cable, 1999; in Manning and Baines, 2004), in which the said countries are involved.  Ã‚   It can be said that globalization is the world market and the supply chain is the pipeline that channels the flow of supply. However, globalization may cause smaller and weaker economic role players (such as developing countries) to be at a disadvantage whenever they trade with highly developed and more influential countries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the point of view of participating poor countries from Asia, Africa and the Middle East to the world market, the negotiations on economic protectionist policies have been formulated and executed through the GATT-WTO (Government Agreement on Tariff and Trade of the World Trade Organizations). The protectionist policies of participating economies representing the developed countries are embodied in the said organization. The negotiations, as cited, has been framed primarily on: (1) integration of agricultural trade rules of non-agricultural sectors, (2) incorporation of developing countries into the trade system, (3) management of trade impact of cash-out in farm support to countries under OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), and (4) provision of assurance on health and safety for consumers (Josling, 2003). In short, the framers of the negotiations under the GATT-WTO sufficed as the protective principles or safety net to the rules on participating in the world market. However, it is common knowledge within the agricultural and agro-industrial sector that among the impacts of the GATT-WTO to the poor and developing economies is its incapability to meet the volume of supply to the exporting countries, to which the efficiency of production is unable to sustain the given supply contract of exports. In this predicament, the ‘relatively poorer’ or developing countries would then cooperate with direct economic resource managements, exemplified by joint venture investments in the form of import and export—wherein foreign traders’ capital investment in manufacturing basically gains from cheap raw materials and labor. In effect, the poor and developing countries are dictated by the commodity pricing together with the ruling on supply regulation that has affected the domestic revenue generation. Another consideration on the impacts of the GATT-WTO to the poor and developing economies is its incapability to meet the volume of supply to the exporting countries, to which the efficiency of production is unable to sustain the given supply contract of exports. To cite an example, the withdrawal of cotton subsidy to several countries of Eastern and Western Africa has largely affected the production performance, in which cotton production in developing countries has significant role in poverty alleviation (Gillson, Balcombe, and Page, 2004). To cite, the GATT-WTO is taking part in agricultural trade reforms being represented by the rich and developed countries but benefit low-income farm households (Hertel, et.al., 2007). In this regard, it may be said that the protectionist policies of developed countries protect their interest at the global distribution and acquisition of economy. Therefore, despite the continuing negotiation on GATT-WTO, the restriction on agricultural trade has great impact to the poor and developing countries. On the other hand, the oversupplying of imported agricultural equipment and technologies that claim to enhance production efficiency serves the ploy of powerful countries to impose the requirements on exports and imports. The imposition of the so-called efficient and qualitative agricultural products remains a barrier to the poor and developing countries to compete in the world market. Thus, the ultimate impact is the over-dependency of the poor and developing countries to export-import economic orientation and controlling of the rich countries to the overall economic supply chain that amass the domestic distribution of economy and, in effect, leaves the poor countries in extreme poverty. List of References    Gillson, I., Poulton, C., Balcombe, K. and Page, S. (2004). Understanding the impact of Cotton Subsidies on developing countries. Working Paper [29 Febraury 2008] Josling, T. (2003) Key Issues in the World Trade Organization Negotiation on Agriculture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 85(3), 663-67, American Agricultural   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Economics Association. [29 February 2008] Leclair, M. (2002) Fighting the Tide: Alternative Trade Organizations in the Era of Global Free   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Trade. World Development Vol. 30, No. 6, pp. 949–958, 2002. Available from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev [29 February 2008] Manning L. and Baines, R.N. (2004) Globalization: a study of the poultry-meat supply chain.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Available from [http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0007-070X.htm [29 February 2008] Steinberg, F. (2008) The Impact of the Emerging Powers on the World Economy. Real Instituto   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Elcano (ARI) International Economy and Trade, Issue: 1 January 2008. [29 February 2008] Thomas W. Hertel, T., Keeney, R., Ivanic, M. and Winters, L.A. (2007) WTO agricultural reforms.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Economic Policy, Printed in Great Britain [29 February 2008]

Friday, September 6, 2019

Ethics of Hydraulic Fracturing Essay Example for Free

Ethics of Hydraulic Fracturing Essay Large gas companies have been wreaking havoc on Midwestern United States. These companies’ practices of hydraulic fracturing have been very detrimental to the local populace. Hydraulic fracturing has been known to damage the environment through earthquakes and gas spills. In addition, it has been said that these companies have certain law exemptions that only they enjoy. These unsafe practices have contaminated local’s water supplies. There have even been cases where people have been able to light the water from their faucets on fire. Stricter government regulation should be enforced on these gas companies. Hydraulic Fracturing, or fracking, has recently (in the last ten years) been used extensively by gas companies (â€Å"The Facts About Fracking†). Fracking involves drilling down below shale formations (over a thousand feet) in the ground and pumping water, sand, and chemicals until the rock fractures. When the rock fractures it releases natural gas that can be collected at very inexpensive cost. The problem is that this can contaminate local water supplies, including lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, and ground water. The documentary Gasland stirred up interest in the American population to the effects of fracking. After being offered one hundred thousand dollars for his land from a gas company, the director Josh Fox traveled around America investigating the effects of fracking on the local rural populace. Josh Fox did an excellent job at exposing the gas industry for what it really is. The film won an Oscar nomination and has been praised by environmentalists nation-wide. One of the environmentally damaging effects of hydraulic fracturing is that it has been known to cause earthquakes. Reports of minor tremors of no greater than 2. 8 on the Richter scale were reported on June 2, 2009 in Cleburne, Texas, the first in the towns 140-year history† (Fox). On the other side of the argument, they claim â€Å"Given the ubiquity of fracking without seismic impact, the risks would seem to be remote† (â€Å"The Facts About Fracking†). This is irrelevant considering that earthquakes are happening where they otherwise would not have occurred. In addition to earthquakes, they also damage the environment by causing environmentally damaging oil spills. In the past two years alone, a series of surface spills, including two blowouts at wells operated by Chesapeake Energy and EOG Resources and a spill of 8000 gallons of fracking fluid at a site in Dimock, Pa. , have contaminated groundwater in the Marcellus Shale region. The amount of water required to drill all 2916 of the Marcellus wells permitted in Pennsylvania in the first 11 months of 2010 would equal the amount of drinking water used by just one city, Pittsburgh, during the same period, says environmental engineering professor Jeanne VanBriesen (qtd. n McGraw). Spills like these cause water contamination for the locals. In this case, a large portion of the spilled fracking fluid flowed into a nearby stream (McGraw). The level of contamination is still being investigated. These irresponsible and selfish practices must be regulated before irreversible collateral and environmental damage occurs. Gas companies have even been able to exploit certain loopholes in the law. An employee from the Environmental Protection Agency stated that the fracking industry enjoy certain legal exemptions from the Clean Water Act – courtesy of Dick Cheney (qtd. in Fox). The federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 contained a provision that has come to be known as the Halliburton Loophole, an exemption for gas drilling and extraction from requirements in the underground injection control (UIC) program of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Other exemptions are also present in the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act (Fox). This is an injustice to the local people whose water has been contaminated by these companies. If the government will not regulate these large companies, what will stop these large companies? Furthermore, chemicals contaminating the locals’ water supply have been shown to be a serious health risk. It is reported that â€Å"Last year the EPA found that some chemicals known to be used in fracturing were among the contaminants detected in 11 residential drinking water wells†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Lustgarten). These chemicals have even been known to be carcinogenic (Lustgarten). Contaminated groundwater becomes a problem for locals when their cattle have to drink the contaminated water. There are even cases of sick animals where all their hair falls out (Fox). Many farmers worry about the welfare of their cattle’s health which is sometimes their only source of income (Fox). Landowners in shale gas drilling areas have reported foul smells in tap water, and toxic chemicals, such as benzene, have been detected in water from wells near drilling sites (Fox). In addition, there are cases of air pollution from the machinery from the drill sites (Fox). Many claim that the air pollution is the cause of a lot of cancer in the locals (Fox). In Dish, Texas, Mayor Calvin Tillman claimed that the fracking industry created carcinogenic pollution in his town (â€Å"The Facts About Fracking†). He then quit his job and left his hometown to protect his sons from this pollution (â€Å"The Facts About Fracking†). These unsafe practices can be very harmful to the local rural populace, and must be regulated. Scientific studies have shown that the drilling has caused local drinking water to be contaminated with methane. In fact, it has been shown that locals can light their water on fire. â€Å"â€Å"Our results show evidence for methane contamination of shallow drinking water systems in at least three areas of the region and suggest important environmental risks accompanying shale gas exploration worldwide. A scientific study has linked natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing with a pattern of drinking water contamination so severe that some faucets can be lit on fire. While most of the wells had some methane, the water samples taken closest to the gas wells had on average 17 times the levels detected in wells further from active drilling† (Lustgarten). This shows that their gas drilling in fact causes this contamination. The contamination can get so bad that it directly affects the local’s safety. There is a case that is being investigated where a large portion of a river is highly contaminated from seeping methane gas; it is so highly contaminated that all wildlife has died along a large portion of the river (Fox). Along the banks of the river are dead bodies of birds, squirrels, and other wildlife (Fox). One local even claims that her father died from drinking the water many years earlier (Fox). In Josh Fox’s documentary, it shows a clip of someone lighting seeping gas coming out of the ground on fire (Fox). â€Å"In several cases, homes blew up after gas seeped into their basements or water supplies. In Pennsylvania, a 2004 accident killed three people, including a baby† (Lustgarten). This irresponsible, disregard for basic human rights must be stopped. Large corporations that run free and unregulated will do whatever it takes for their own gain. The local rural populace has been very badly affected by the practices of hydraulic fracturing. It is clearly shown that these locals are not being heard and little is being done for compensation for the locals (Fox). These gas companies have too much freedom to operate and must be put to stricter government regulation. The question is not whether we should frack or not, but rather how do we regulate these practices to minimize the collateral and environmental damage.