The Life of Wilma Rudolph Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Life of Wilma Rudolph - Term Paper Example In 1952, Wilma who had contracted poliomyelitis eventually recovered from the debilitating virus. Poliomyelitis was subsequently eliminated from the United States when Dr. Jonas Salk created the polio vaccine in 1955 (Smith 2). Wilma started wearing a steel brace on her left leg when she was five. She felt psychologically devastated wearing the brace. At age six, her mother noticed that home exercises were not improving her mobility; thus, she took Wilma to Meharry Hospital, the Black medical college of Fisk University in Nashville. In Meharry Hospital, Wilma received heat, water, and massage treatments, supplemented by an exercise routine at home. Two years later, with the help of a metal leg brace, Wilma was able to walk again. Remarkably by age 12, Wilma no longer needed the aid of crutches, brace, or any corrective shoes in walking. The childhood illnesses made it impossible for Wilma to study. Therefore, her mother tutored her at home with basic academic fundamentals.   Howeve r, she felt the need to conquer physical restrictions and enrolled in the local, segregated Burt High School. It was there she discovered her athletic abilities, following the example of her older sister who was a member of the basketball team. Edward Temple, a renowned track coach of Tennessee State University, noticed Wilma and asked her to attend the university’s summer sports camp. Without hesitation, she accepted the offer and Wilma started to make her mark on the basketball court and the track (Smith 13). Wilma practiced with the Tennessee State University team and attended Temple’s daily college practices while still a student at Burt.   Eventually, she entered Tennessee State University as a full-time scholarship student. During the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, Wilma, who was only 16 then, received her first bronze medal as a member of the 4 X 100 relay team.   In 1960 Olympics, in Rome, she won in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash and together wit h her team; they beat the Germans in the 4 X 100 relay. Consequently, she became the first American woman to be a recipient of three gold medals in the international meeting (Smith 55). The 1960 Olympic Games were the first to be televised and Wilma’s victories and inspirational story of overcoming the physical and societal barriers inspired and encourage a lot of people, particularly women who exhibited increasing interests in the track and field event (Smith 55).

11 Facts About Elder Abuse Essay Example for Free

11 Facts About Elder Abuse Essay 1. Elder abuse most often takes place in the home where the senior lives. It can also happen in institutional settings, especially long-term care facilities. 2. Approximately 1.6 to 2 million seniors become victims of abuse or neglect in domestic and institutional settings in the U.S. every year. 3. The four most common forms of elder abuse are physical abuse (including sexual abuse), psychological and emotional abuse, financial/material abuse, and neglect. 4. Most elder abuse victims are dependent on their abuser for basic needs. 5. At least 1 in 9 Americans over the age of 60 has experienced some form of elder abuse. 6. Seniors who have been abused have a 300 percent higher risk of death when compared to those who weren’t. 7. In almost 90 percent of elder abuse and neglect incidents, the perpetrator is a family member. Two-thirds of perpetrators are adult children or spouses. 8. For every reported incident of elder abuse, five others go unreported. 9. Almost 50 percent of seniors with dementia (a decline in mental ability. Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia) experience some form of abuse. 10. While 91 percent of federal abuse prevention dollars are spent on child abuse, 7 percent is spent on domestic abuse, and only 2 percent goes towards protecting the elderly. 11. Legislatures in all 50 states have passed some type of elder abuse law. Types Although there are common themes of elder abuse across nations, there are also unique manifestations based upon history, culture, economic strength, and societal perceptions of older people within nations themselves. The fundamental common denominator is the use of power and control by one individual to affect the well-being and status of another, older, individual. There are several types of abuse of older people that are generally recognized as being elder abuse, including: Physical: e.g. hitting, punching, slapping, burning, pushing, kicking, restraining, false  imprisonment/confinement, or giving excessive or improper medication Psychological/Emotional: e.g. humiliating a person. A common theme is a perpetrator who identifies something that matters to an older person and then uses it to coerce an older person into a particular action. It may take verbal forms such as name-calling, ridiculing, constantly criticizing, accusations, blaming, or non verbal forms such as ignoring, si lence or shunning. Financial abuse: also known as financial exploitation. e.g. illegal or unauthorized use of a person’s property, money, pension book or other valuables (including changing the persons will to name the abuser as heir). It may be obtained by deception, coercion, misrepresentation, undue influence, or theft. This includes fraudulently obtaining or use of a power of attorney. Other forms include deprivation of money or other property, or by eviction from own home Scam by strangers: e.g. worthless sweepstakes that elderly persons must pay in order to collect winnings, fraudulent investment schemes, predatory lending, and lottery scams. Sexual: e.g. forcing a person to take part in any sexual activity without his or her consent, including forcing them to participate in conversations of a sexual nature against their will; may also include situations where person is no longer able to give consent (dementia) Neglect: e.g. depriving a person of food, heat, clothing or comfort or essential medication and depriving a person of needed services to force certain kinds of actions, financial and otherwise. The deprivation may be intentional (active neglect) or happen out of lack of knowledge or resources (passive neglect). Hybrid financial exploitation (HFE): e.g. financial exploitation that co-occurs with physical abuse and/or neglect. HFE victims are more likely to be co-habiting with abusive individual, to have fair/poor health, to fear the abusive individual, to perceive abusive individual as caretaker, and to have a longer duration abuse. In addition, some U.S. state laws also recognize the following as elder abuse: Abandonment: deserting a dependent person with the intent to abandon them or leave them unattended at a place for such a time period as may be likely to endanger their health or welfare. Rights abuse: denying the civil and constitutional rights of a person who is old, but not declared by court to be mentally incapacitated. This is an aspect of elder abuse that is increasingly being recognized and adopted by nations Self-neglect: elderly persons neglecting themselves by not caring about  their own health or safety. Self-neglect (harm by self) is treated as conceptually different as abuse (harm by others). Institutional abuse refers to physical or psychological harms, as well as rights violations in settings where care and assistance is provided to dependant older adults or others. What causes physical abuse of an elder? The exact cause of physical abuse is not known. Poor or crowded living conditions may be one of the reasons it occurs. The following may increase your risk of physical abuse: You have learning or memory problems. You have a long-term condition, such as dementia, diabetes, paralysis, or stroke. You have no relatives or friends who can take care of you. You have difficulty getting along with others. The carer depends heavily on you for things such as money or housing. The carer drinks alcohol or uses illegal drugs. The carer has a personality disorder, depression, or another mental illness. The carer has a history of family violence, such as physical or sexual abuse. The carer has stress due to work, taking care of you, or financial problems. What are the signs and symptoms of physical abuse of an elder? Repeated falls or injuries, or old injuries that were not treated when they happened Scratches, bite marks, or marks from objects used for restraining, such as belts, ropes, or electrical cords Broken or dislocated bones Cuts or bruises, especially on both upper arms (grab marks) Scars or burns from cigarettes, irons, or hot water Blood or discharge coming from your nose, mouth, or genitals

Voltaire :: Essays Papers

Voltaire Francois Marie Arouet (pen name Voltaire) was born on November 21, 1694 in Paris. Voltaire's style, wit, intelligence and keen sense of justice made him one of France's greatest writers and philosophers. Young Francois Marie received an excellent education at a Jesuit school. He left school at 16 and soon formed friendships with a group of sophisticated Parisian aristocrats. Paris society sought his company for his cleverness, humor and remarkable ability to write verse. In 1717 he was arrested for writing a series of satirical verses ridiculing the French government, and was imprisoned in the Bastille. During his eleven months in prison he wrote his first major play, "Oedipe," which achieved great success in 1718. He adopted his pen name "Voltaire" the same year. In 1726 Voltaire insulted a powerful young nobleman and was given two options: imprisonment or exile. He chose exile and from 1726 to 1729 lived in England. While in England Voltaire was attracted to the philosophy of John Locke and ideas of the great scientist Sir Isaac Newton. After his return to Paris he wrote a book praising English customs and institutions. The book was thought to criticize the French government and Voltaire was forced to flee Paris again. In 1759 Voltaire purchased an estate called "Ferney" near the French-Swiss border where he lived until just before of his death. Ferney soon became the intellectual capitol of Europe. Throughout his years in exile Voltaire produced a constant flow of books, plays, pamphlets, and letters. He was a voice of reason, and an outspoken critic of religious intolerance and persecution. Voltaire returned to a hero's welcome in Paris at age 83. The excitement of the trip was too much for him and he died in Paris. Because of his criticism of the church Voltaire was denied burial in church ground.

Trader Joe’s Case Brief Essay

There are several key sources of Trader Joe’s competitive advantage, including offering great bargains on products that are not typically found at other supermarkets. Trader Joe’s also chose to sell natural and organic foods aimed at well-educated, sophisticated consumers. Trader Joe’s also believed strongly in paying its employees a good wage, leading to higher employee satisfaction and a better quality of service within each store. In addition, the company embraced an everyday low pricing philosophy. More than 80% of Trader Joe’s products are private label (including their well-known private label wines). Also, they are able to reduce costs by purchasing directly from the manufacturers (as opposed to the distributors). Their marketing campaigns rely heavily on word of mouth and fan pages created by loyal customers. Given my answer to question #2, TJ’s business model would be difficult for competitors to imitate given a variety of reasons. First, employee commitment is extremely high due to high wages and increased employee benefits, which generates a very engaging experience for the customers. In addition, the company has thousands of vendor relationships all over the world and this takes time and skills to develop. The company’s model also relies on small stores with an intimate feel, a limited but unique selection of products that are free of preservatives, have no artificial color, and contain no genetically modified content, a highly motivated and well-paid work force, and excellent customer service. The great customer service offered by TJ leads to higher customer retention and loyalty, making it difficult for other firms to steal these customers away.

Customers Switching Behavior Essay

Relationships and individuals’ bank switching behavior Abstract We examine the role of relationships between individuals and their banks in determining bank switching behavior. Using data from a survey questionnaire from a random sample of bank customers in the United States, we find that the variables measuring the various dimensions of a relationship significantly lower an individual’s propensity to switch banks. These include the duration of an individual’s relationship with her bank, whether or not she has had problems with her bank in the past, and aspects of the quality of the service relationship. An innovation of the current paper lies in incorporating finance/economic aspects of relationship with the various dimensions of service quality relationship collectively as determinants of an individual’s propensity to switch banks. The attributes capturing whether or not an individual feels that her bank is responsive, is empathetic and is reliable to her needs, are all significantly negatively correlated with her propensity to switch banks. Our results demonstrate just how relationships may help in limiting bank switching behavior and deliver a strong message to banks about the importance of relationships in retaining loyal customers. Our findings also underscore the interconnectedness of seemingly disparate disciplines to better understand the behavior and decision making of individuals and their banks. Author Keywords: Bank switching; Relationships

support homosexuality essays

support homosexuality essays Gays are standing up and ask for their right. They fight against Anti-Gays, and ask for their rights and ask to legalize their sexual relationship. For many religions and some countries, they are discussing how to resolve this problem, and that if they should legalize homosexual marriage or not. For some religions, the man and woman are made especially for each other. Gays, who committed in homosexual relationship, violate the natural law, and its mean that they committed a sin. Its hardly accepted by society and there are too many people against the Gays. For some societies, example in ancient China, having a Gay child should be a shame for the family, and the Gay child would bear the discrimination from the society. The hope of having a boy child having the family name will be hopeless. They considered this relationship as a mental disorder and listed it as a disease in the law. People are also afraid that if Gay relationship is legal, it may encourage many people, who are not Gay, follow and act like Gays, and it will be terrible problem for our society. Base on the view of Gays, they think that their relationship is natural. Its natural because they are born like that; God created them like that so their natures are Gays and the homosexual relationship is natural for them. They found the sexual attract from others. They try to find their partners and live together; they take care for each other as normal heterosexual couple. They even take good care of their partners kids and raise the children. For me, I think if someone is born as Gays its okay for them to commit in their homosexual relationship. They are born different than others; it doesnt mean that they will be abandoned by the whole society. We should understand and let them have their human rights and live their style life. But I dont mean to encourage someone who is not Gay but follow and act like Gay; this action will aga...

Reaction Paper essays

Reaction Paper essays In her article, author Nada Elia describes what she refers to as the privileging of Arab-American women, at the same time that their male relatives are being subjected to an increasingly hostile environment. She criticizes the governments of both the United States and Israel as oppressors of Arabs and Arab-Americans. She discusses the fact Arab-American women are not seen as the same type of threat as Arab-American males, but as victims of their religion. She blames American culture at large, but also Western feminism, which she feels is very exploitative of non-mainstream American culture. She believes that the othering of Arab-Americans has occurred since the beginning of the country. She attributes some of this to the unsuccessful claims of separation of church and state, the fact that Christianity (especially Christian fundamentalism) has had a major impact on American political thought, and what she considers Americas Zionist worldview. She believes that Americans have tra ditionally shown the least tolerance in the areas of religion. She believes that Americans view the clash between Christianity and Islam is the most significant clash in modern society. She believes that Arabs are overtly discriminated against because they are not present in political discourse, recognized as a minority group, or represented in American popular culture. Moreover, when Americans are featured in popular culture, they are frequently villianized. She discusses the facts that since 9-11, Arab-Americans are portrayed as being hostile to democracy, subjected to racial profiling, and disappeared. She believes that the Bush Administration has no desire to improve womens position in the world or in the United States, and says that doing so would actually be at odds with Bushs Christian fundamentalist ideology. She also believes that Americans have failed to address racism and religious intolerance as major so...

Beware these Dangerous E-Z Pass Scams

Beware these Dangerous E-Z Pass Scams Want to jump on the fast lane to becoming an identity theft victim? Simple! Just fall for the dangerous and tricky E-Z Pass email phishing scam. The E-Z Pass system  automatic toll collection system  allows subscribers to avoid having to stop at crowded highway toll plazas. Once the driver has set up an E-Z Pass prepaid account, they receive a small electronic transponder that attaches to the inside of the windshield of their vehicle. When they travel thru a toll facility where E-Z Pass is accepted, an antenna at the toll plaza reads their transponder and automatically debits their account the appropriate amount for the toll. E-Z Pass is currently available in 17 states, with over 35 million E‑Z Pass devices in circulation.   According to the Federal Trade Commission, potential victims targeted by this scam get an email appearing to be from their state E-Z Pass toll road agency. The email will have a realistic E-Z Pass logo and will use pretty threatening language to informing you that you owe money for driving on a toll road without paying or using E-Z Pass. The email also contains the â€Å"hook† in the form of a link to a website where you can view your supposed invoice and take care of your supposed fine without fear of further legal action against you. The scam email is not from the real E-Z Pass Group, an association of toll agencies in 17 states that manages the popular E-Z Pass program. While the E-Z Pass system  operates in only 17  states, and your state may not even have any toll roads, you may still be targeted by the E-Z Pass scam, because  the scam emails are being sent to consumers nationwide. The Worst That Can Happen If you click on the link given in the email, the scumbags running the scam will try to put malware on your computer. And if you give the fake E-Z Pass website any of your personal information, they will almost certainly use it to steal your identity. Goodbye money, credit rating, and personal security. How to Protect Yourself from the Scam The FTC recommends that if you get the E-Z Pass email, do not click on any links in the message or try to reply to it. If you think the email may really be from E-Z Pass or if you think you might actually owe a toll road payment, contact E-Z Pass customer service to confirm that it is really from them. The E-Z Pass email is only one of a seemingly endless list of similar phishing scams, in which scammers pose as legitimate businesses in an attempt to steal consumers’ personal information. To help stay safe from these dangerous scams, the FTC advises: Never click on any links in emails unless you are certain you know or do business with the sender.Never reply to any emails that ask for personal or financial information. Even if the sender is legitimate, email is not a secure way to send such information. In fact, it is never a good idea to include things like your Social Security number or bank account information in any email message, including those you send.Always keep your computer security software current and active. How to Turn the Scammers In If you think you might have gotten a phishing scam email or be a victim of one, you can: Forward the suspect email to spamuce.gov and to the company impersonated in the email.File an official complaint with the Federal Trade Commission’s online FTC Complain Assistant. The E-Z Pass Transponder Theft Scam Another dangerous E-Z Pass scam has nothing to do with email. In this simple act of costly mayhem, thieves find cars and trucks that have been left unlocked so they do not have to break in. Once inside the vehicle, the thief simply steals the victim’s E-Z Pass device and replaces it with a non-operating fake one. In a matter of seconds, the crime that can cost the victim for months, or at least until they figure it out. In 2016, one stolen EZ Pass transponder in Pennsylvania racked up more than $11,000 in fraudulent charges before its real owner discovered the crime. As police advise, avoiding the E-Z Pass transponder theft scam is simple: Lock your car or truck.

The Externalities of Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

The Externalities of Education - Essay Example ed belief that children who are educated in public schooling systems benefit the society (Friedman, 1993), in three forms; educated society, higher pays (Kling, 2008), and a diversity from socio-cultural aspects (Huylenbroeck, Vandermeule, Mettepenningen & Verspecht, 2007). Public education contributes to an educated society on the whole. A person who is well educated learns virtues and values from his education, enabling him to be a better citizen of the society (Friedman, 1993), e.g. a student who is taught not to steal even if he may be hungry or poor, generates externalities for the society by preventing crime. An educated citizen is also a better voter which also inturn contributes to the society in turn (Friedman, 1993). They make communities safer and better place, more likely to make good decision when electing a leader, low crime rates and higher living standards. Higher pays result from public schooling. Public schooling renders more children exposure and ability to educate themselves, provides opportunities to those who cannot afford education and propagates a system that results in closing the gap between rich and poor; thus contributing to higher indexes of education, leading to higher pay scales of public (Kling, 2008). The higher the pay scales, the better will be the ability of citizens to pay their taxes, expand businesses and hire more workers, thus contributing further to the society benefits. Public schooling affords a socio-cultural diversity to the educated community. People from ethnic and neglected backgrounds gain a chance at educating themselves thus improving their circumstances (Huylenbroeck, et. al, 2007). The cultural and socio economic diversity at these schools makes them ideal for children to gain experience of living together with children of versatile communities; furthermore it allows children to develop cognitively, socio-emotionally, and character wise (teendiversophy, 2006). Public K12 education based on the externalities

Asa Philip Randolph Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Asa Philip Randolph - Research Paper Example He lectured at the Rand School of Social Science after the World War 1 (Randolph Biography 2014). Asa Philip Randolph was born in Crescent City, Florida in April 1889 as a second son of reverend William James Randolph, who was a tailor and at the same time a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and Elizabeth Randolph who was a skilled tailor. After his graduation, Randolph did some odd jobs and dedicated most of his time in activities like reading, acting, and singing. For example, WEB Dubois’ â€Å"The Souls of Black Folk† greatly influenced him towards the importance of social equity (Lamar 1998). Asa Randolph Phillip is one of the few Black Americans who made tremendous contributions in history through their work and their influence to the general public. He was the leader of African American civil rights movement, the American labor movements and Socialist political parties. Asa Randolph Philip is responsible for organizing and giving leadership to the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, which is preponderantly regarded as the first black labor union. He is called the most dangerous black in America more importantly, because of the kind of influence he demonstrated to have across the American society (Harmon 2000). Asa Randolph Philip demonstrated his charisma, as he is responsible for what is called the historic 1963 march on Washington, where he led more than two hundred and fifty people. It is referred to as the March on Washington movement, which is said to have convinced President Roosevelt to issue executive order 8802 in the year 1941, which led to banning the discriminatory practices that were too evident in the defense industries during the Second World War. This movement was organized by B. Rustin, at which Luther King Jr. birthed his â€Å"I Have A Dream† speech (Hardy 1993). The march on Washington saw thousands of Americans joining hands and uniting under the slogan â€Å"jobs and

The Case of Mr.R.Abel Rowser Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The of Mr.R.Abel Rowser - Case Study Example First off, while reading the Statute, one should underline several points in it. It is all about the intent to provoke, attempts to congregate with others, willingness to disturb the peace and peaceful development of the society at the moment (Schultz and Sirico 60). Following these prescriptions of the law, it is necessary to pay attention to the postulates, so to speak, of the democratic society keeping the freedom of speech in mind. On the other hand, Mr. Rowser did not have straight-forward confrontations with the people gathered nearby at the moment of his fulfilled â€Å"gesture†. Nevertheless, the D.C. Statute pays one’s attention to the clear identification where cases of disorderly conduct take place, namely: Acts in such a manner as to annoy, disturb, interfere with, obstruct, or be offensive to others†¦shall be fined not more than $250 or imprisoned not more than 90 days, or both (Schultz and Sirico 60). It is about time to take a glimpse at the somehow similar cases, Rodgers v. United States and District of Columbia 290 A.2d 395 (D.C. 1972) and Rockwell v. District of Columbia. The question is that both of them touch upon the cases of direct and violent confrontation between appellants and the crowd or other parties. Definitely, the law defends those who live and act in line with its values and prescriptions. Thus, Mr. Rodgers as well as Mr. Rockwell intentionally provoked disorders and physical contradictions harmful for the rest of the society. In case of Mr. Rowser, this confrontation was evaded by the appellant himself, as he escaped and disappeared at the moment when the pressure grew its apogee. To say more, Mr. Rowser was not inclined to provoke a disorder by means of his behavior, as the main intention was to attract the government’s attention in the course of the military activities provided by the US. The freedom of speech is not the same as the violence and assault or an offense able to hurt feelings of other com munities within the multinational country like the United States (Rockwell’s case). Furthermore, if there is a legal restriction for trespassing a definite area, no illegal attempts to do so shall be appreciated (Rodger’s case). In addition, if the government is still blind to see the national problem from inside out, Rowser’s case omits the points stated in the D.C. Disorderly Statute. That is to say, no one can accuse him in non-patriotic intentions, but in the patriotism starting from the rational analysis of the nationwide problem still unresolved. What Mr. Rowser did not expect was the reaction of public-spirited Vietnam veterans. Probably, they thought that Mr. Rowser was a representative of some radical or terrorist groups whose argument against the USA is in burning the US flag. However, the act by Mr. Rowser was neither about yelling during the nighttime not about the disturbance in the places of public significance. First, his demonstration was silent as the main slogan was carved on his back. Second, he cut and ran while the crowd perceived his action in a wrong way, as he meant initially. Thus, the formal element of a definition of a crime is incomplete for Mr. Rowser due the aforementioned arguments on the background of other similar precedents. The Statute is still vital for re-discovery of the exact intentions of the appellants. However, if such intentions do not coincide with the points of the Statute, there is no reason to find a person guilty. By the way, the

Tort assignment , Discuss the issues of tortious liability in this

Tort , Discuss the issues of tortious liability in this scenario - Assignment Example These unfairness outcomes in a wrong or detriment, form the foundation of a wrong toed alliance. A tortuous liability is related to the duty of care and negligence of that duty, with respect to persons with whom there is no contractual liability. For example if a property owner fails to maintain proper safety standards on his property and a passerby is injured by something falling from the roof, the property owner is liable for the damages to that person even though there are no contractual obligations between them. A person who commits a tort is known as a tortfeaser, or wrong doer. Where there are more than one, they are called joint tortfeasers. Their wrong doing is called a tortuous act and they are liable to be sued jointly and severally. The person who suffers the injury or damage is called the injured or aggrieved. The tort law’s primary objective is to offer assistance for damages incurred. Its aim is compensation of victims or their defendants. Capacity, loss of earni ngs and pain are the damage types. Objectives of Law of Torts To determine rights between parties to a dispute. To prevent the continuation or repetition of harm To protect certain rights recognized by law To restore property to its rightful owner where property is wrongfully taken away. Torts are categorized into three major classes: 1. Intentional torts. An example is intentionally beating up someone 2. Negligent torts. An example would be disobeying traffic laws and causing an accident 3. Strict Liability torts. An example would be defective product’s selling and making. The law of tort is used as an instrument for making people adhere to standards of reasonable behavior and respect the rights and interests of one another. A protected interest gives right to a legal right, which in turn gives rise to a corresponding legal duty. An act, which infringes a legal right, is a wrongful act but not every wrongful act is a tort. To constitute a tort or civil injury the following m ust have taken place:- There must be a wrongful act or omission The wrongful act or omission must give rise to legal damage or actual damage The wrongful act must be of such a nature as to give rise to a legal remedy in the form of an action for damages. The discussion is on two scenarios, PC Nosey Parker and Romulus PLC. It will centre around tortuous liability specifically negligence tort. Negligence is the failure to use ordinary care through either action or omission. It occurs when somebody does not exercise the amount of care that a reasonably careful person would use under the circumstances. It also occurs when somebody does something that a reasonably careful person would not do under the circumstances. PC – Nosey Parker Tort Liability Case Background: PC Nosey Parker inherited ? 2.9m from his Arsenal supporting grandmother. He is a worker for Essex based in Billericasy. On April 1 he witnessed A & B robbing an old lady. The following happened. He manages to arrest A and handcuffs him to a weak pole attached to the door of the shop. He goes after B and returns to take A to the Police Station, in the process he carelessly pulls off the weak pole which falls and injures the foot of a passerby Alf a premier Division football player. As a result of the injury Alf is able to play for his club for 2 months. Alf’s club can only sell him for ?1m instead of ?2m before his injury Alf’s club loses ?20,000 in ticket sales during the 2 months absence of Alf. Thelma, Alf’

Teaching Profession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Teaching Profession - Essay Example Teachers are expected to nurture attributes, skills and capacities in the young people that will enable them succeed and prosper in the knowledge society. The profession is bloated with many responsibilities stemming from imparting knowledge to students to modifying their personalities. Thus, the profession requires effective socialization, providing the necessary foundations for a responsible citizen, and providing emotional support. The first impression of teaching is formed in the student life when a teacher conducts their role responsibly. This creates a notion that teaching is a noble profession that caters for the academic, emotional or spiritual needs of the learners. Effective and efficient childhood interaction between teachers and young learners creates a positive image of teaching as an industrious job. Students do not come into contact with the practical details and challenges associated with teaching; thus, the worth of teaching in a classroom context should not be weigh ed upon professional hassles and practical work. The current first time teachers fail to realize that professional knowledge is no longer viewed as a constituent of explicit and fixed knowledge base. Sharpe (2004) posits that knowledge exists in use, and any advancements or modification is caused by experience. Therefore, when teachers use their knowledge, the mode of its delivery changes the impact of its use among students. Discussion The reality between the impression of teaching and reality can be explained by the nature of having unfavorable returns or when the experience conforms to the initial impression. The transformation from student life to teacher status may lead into a different feeling that may make a first time teacher uncomfortable. This can be viewed as a negative stroke considering the earlier positive impression and willingness to indulge in the profession. Most students view the teaching profession as an uncomplicated and easy knowledge delivery task full of exci tement and fun. However, this notion is blown away once they become teachers and encounter the responsibilities required of them such as effectiveness, high-end communication skills, hard work, creativity and determination. Dalmau and Gudjonsdottir (2002) affirm this when they state the roles and obligations associated with teaching. They include acting as pedagogues and experts in teaching, reflective and critical problem solvers, knowledge creators and theory builders as well as acting as research and change agents. Those who are not prepared for such commitments get disappointed once they get involved in the profession. Superiority and aggression was normally viewed as the effective measures necessary to instill discipline in students. This notion made most aspiring and first time teachers view this as a privilege associated with the profession. However, the current education systems do not support dictatorial authority but prefer popularly-based authority. The school atmosphere is characterized by negotiation and persuasion rather than confrontation. Most school rules are made by the community as a whole; hence, they are student friendly with the teacher’s input being reduced to that of nurturing and persuading. This requires commitment and dedication of a decided mind. Proponents of democratic school system argue that a school which follows fairly the democratically enacted laws is the one in which community discipline prevails and supports the development of the concept of law and order (Sharpe, 2004). Most learners may regard teaching with a high esteem. Such notion makes them expect recognition and uplifting of their status in the community once they adopt the

Federal elections and policy implications in 2012 Research Paper

Federal elections and policy implications in 2012 - Research Paper Example There are often different types of federal policies in the United States. These policies are usually subdivided according to the subject matter. The policy issues Almanac provides the background upon which information, links, and archived documents to cardinal America’s public policy issues are organized and categorized (Gleick, Christian-Smith, and Cooley 13). The United States has divided its public policies into nine categories: †¢ Criminal justice that include death penalties, drug policies, and gun controls †¢ Cultural and social policies including abortion, art, and civil rights †¢ Economic affairs policies that include taxes and budgets †¢ Education policies that incorporate elementary, secondary, and higher education †¢ Environmental policies that concentrate on global warming and quality of air †¢ Government operation policies that govern the campaign financing reforms and the privatization †¢ Health care policies that include health insurance and Medicare †¢ Social welfare policy that deals with social security and welfare †¢ Foreign affairs and national security policies that govern spending on the national defense ... Notably, during the 2007 elections, president Obama promised much on the economic recovery. At the end of his first tenure, it seems that he did not deliver fully as he had promised and the economy that was affected by Bush policies and administrations still moved to the worse. These facts have made the economic affair policy environment  quite volatile for either party (Coleman 127). Regardless of who could have won the 2012 presidential elections, the economic affair policy environment still remains heated. Additionally, the health policy was also a significant issue in the 2012 presidential campaigns. Despite the differences in opinions concerning the appropriate health care policies to be enacted, at some point Mitt Romney at one point agreed with some elements of the Obamacare (Gleick, Christian-Smith, and Cooley 21). Regardless of these agreements in opinions, the health affairs policy environment also remained a heated campaign throughout the campaign period. Other policies were viewed as one party or presidential aspirants show. For instance, president Obama mainly addressed the cultural and society policy on same sex marriage. Regardless some significant policies were not given concentration  they deserved. For instance, the environment policy is a radical policy that not only threatens United States but the entire globe. The environmental policies are the concerns of the citizens since from the 2008 election campaigns; it seemed the sure way of providing the cheap energy alternative (Gleick, Christian-Smith, and Cooley 54). The 2008 presidential campaign captured the attention of numerous Americans since the â€Å"DRILL, baby, drill† promised Americans cheap and reliable energy that was to be produced at home rather

Teaching Profession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Teaching Profession - Essay Example Teachers are expected to nurture attributes, skills and capacities in the young people that will enable them succeed and prosper in the knowledge society. The profession is bloated with many responsibilities stemming from imparting knowledge to students to modifying their personalities. Thus, the profession requires effective socialization, providing the necessary foundations for a responsible citizen, and providing emotional support. The first impression of teaching is formed in the student life when a teacher conducts their role responsibly. This creates a notion that teaching is a noble profession that caters for the academic, emotional or spiritual needs of the learners. Effective and efficient childhood interaction between teachers and young learners creates a positive image of teaching as an industrious job. Students do not come into contact with the practical details and challenges associated with teaching; thus, the worth of teaching in a classroom context should not be weigh ed upon professional hassles and practical work. The current first time teachers fail to realize that professional knowledge is no longer viewed as a constituent of explicit and fixed knowledge base. Sharpe (2004) posits that knowledge exists in use, and any advancements or modification is caused by experience. Therefore, when teachers use their knowledge, the mode of its delivery changes the impact of its use among students. Discussion The reality between the impression of teaching and reality can be explained by the nature of having unfavorable returns or when the experience conforms to the initial impression. The transformation from student life to teacher status may lead into a different feeling that may make a first time teacher uncomfortable. This can be viewed as a negative stroke considering the earlier positive impression and willingness to indulge in the profession. Most students view the teaching profession as an uncomplicated and easy knowledge delivery task full of exci tement and fun. However, this notion is blown away once they become teachers and encounter the responsibilities required of them such as effectiveness, high-end communication skills, hard work, creativity and determination. Dalmau and Gudjonsdottir (2002) affirm this when they state the roles and obligations associated with teaching. They include acting as pedagogues and experts in teaching, reflective and critical problem solvers, knowledge creators and theory builders as well as acting as research and change agents. Those who are not prepared for such commitments get disappointed once they get involved in the profession. Superiority and aggression was normally viewed as the effective measures necessary to instill discipline in students. This notion made most aspiring and first time teachers view this as a privilege associated with the profession. However, the current education systems do not support dictatorial authority but prefer popularly-based authority. The school atmosphere is characterized by negotiation and persuasion rather than confrontation. Most school rules are made by the community as a whole; hence, they are student friendly with the teacher’s input being reduced to that of nurturing and persuading. This requires commitment and dedication of a decided mind. Proponents of democratic school system argue that a school which follows fairly the democratically enacted laws is the one in which community discipline prevails and supports the development of the concept of law and order (Sharpe, 2004). Most learners may regard teaching with a high esteem. Such notion makes them expect recognition and uplifting of their status in the community once they adopt the

Human Impact on Environmental Degradation and Climate Change - A Research Paper

Human Impact on Environmental Degradation and Climate Change - A Sociological Perspective - Research Paper Example l of development and export intensity are correlated with the total carbon dioxide emissions and in the contamination of air, water, and land so in this case, it proves that industrial advancements contribute greatly to environmental degradation. Forests were also converted into export materials for some countries. Aside from deforestation, desertification, and oil spillage and sea erosion are forms of environmental degradation that were created based on functionalism’s doctrine. The overall culture of present America supports environmental restoration and so some technologies were centered on environmentalism but these things will be useful if people will be aware of their role in preserving the environment as well. Religion is one of the components in shaping the environmental beliefs and practices of people. There are religions that are aware of the environmental destructions like Buddhism. Buddhists believe that there are other living things on this planet and that ‘Mother Earth’ and all other beings living in it should be respected and cared. According to the principle, the People-as-Problem-Solvers Perspective, societies can institute changes that positively respond to the needs of the environment and that they can also craft solutions to combat the signs of damage existent therein. As proven by the study of Fien et al., young members of the society who have attended school have higher levels of concern toward the environment. Additionally, the researchers advocated for community participation that helps the youth to become more appreciative to the bounty of nature and more sensitive to its limits. From the work of Petkus.

Comparing America’s Economy in the 1920s and the Current Economic Situation Essay Example for Free

Comparing America’s Economy in the 1920s and the Current Economic Situation Essay Few periods in America have influenced the current government structure, size, and economy rather than the â€Å"Roaring Twenties† and the â€Å"Great Depression†. At the beginning of the 1920s, the United States was converting from wartime to peace time economy at the time weapons for World War I were no longer useful. In this decade, America became the richest nation in the world and a culture of consumerism was born. People spent money for better roads, tourism, and holiday resorts. Real estates booms sent land prices soaring (DeLong, 1997). Looking at technology, it played a vital role in delivering the economic and cultural good times that most of America enjoyed during the 1920s. The automobile’s popularity, construction of roads and highways, poured fresh public funds into the economy. This resulted to tremendous economic prosperity. Technology enhanced communication with the first public station being established, KDKA, the year 1922 introduced the first movie made with sound- The Jazz singer. It is in this time that the United States became a modern middle-class economy of radios, consumer appliances, automobiles and suburbs. Mass production had made the United States the richest society the world had ever seen (DeLong, 1997). The economy today seems to negate the glory it received in the 1920s. According to Leonhardt (2010), it produced $ 15 trillion worth of goods and services in 2008 in estimates, making it the largest in the world. The US economy however has shown a downward trend since in 2007, it began to slow significantly mainly because of a real-estate slump and other financial problems that has led the economy into a recession. The recession continued up to early 2009, making it the longest one in decades. August 2009 came with some hope with the Federal Reserve Bank’s policy-making committee saying that they believed the recession was ending. The bank cautioned that the recovery would be slow and there was a possibility that unemployment was to remain high for another year. The year 2010 is seen as the year of severe economic contraction. According to Whitney (2010), reports in the financial media believe that the effects of ongoing credit contraction and the massive injection of the central bank liquidity have prevented the collapse of financial markets. A lot is still to be done in order to leverage households and stimulate the general economic activity. The financial crisis has stripped the economy $ 13 trillion in equity and Americans have grown gloomier about the economy and the nation’s direction over the past few months, although it shows signs of moving to recovery. The country is persistent with high unemployment with ordinary working people continuing to fight to keep their jobs and maintain their standard of living. This is a contrast on what was happening in the 1920s. US had transformed in less than a decade to become the richest Nation in the world. High pay of $5 a day showed the low unemployment rate that existed. Industries were booming with high profits and numerous companies opened their doors to start operations. The US might be the world’s leading economy, but the current unemployment rates, the number of businesses closing their doors as a result of inability to pay their debts and the constraints the government face in order to fully fund the budget requirements are overwhelming. The government, the Fed and the whole economy need to work towards alleviating bottlenecks that cause the economy harm. They need to uphold policies that will see to it that economy does not run to the stagflation condition of the 1970s.

the machine that one the war Essay examples -- essays research papers

In the next couple of paragraph’s, I am going to be explaining the themes of irony and conflict in the short story, The Machine That Won the War, by Isaac Asimov. The setting of The Machine That Won the War is the future of the earth, and a great war had just been won against the enemy race. Two men, Swift and Henderson, are the main characters, and are debating over who really won the war for earth. They are discussing whether or not it was the giant strategy computer known as Multivac, or the men in charge of making the maneuvers and programming the computer. The author Isaac Asimov is using description and argument as his modes of discourse for the story. In the story, Henderson who is an excitable man, explained that the fact that Multivac was nothing more than a large machine, only capable of doing what it was programmed of doing. Henderson explained that some of Multivac’s data might have been unreliable. The great computer was capable of creating a direct battle which earth forces could be used to attack their enemies. However, with Henderson imputing faulty data, this caused some of the battle plans to be unreliable. Henderson’s internal conflict between himself losing his job and wanting to keep it made him jingle with the programming until it seemed right. Quote from The Machine That Won the War, on page 201. â€Å"Since the war is won, I’ll tell you what I did. I corrected the data.† â€Å"How?† asked Swift. â€Å"Intuition, I presume, I juggled them till they looked righ...

Boys Will be Boys in Tom Sawyer :: Tom Sawyer Essays

Boys Will be Boys in â€Å"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer† Mark Twain uses â€Å"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer† to reveal his own childhood; thus, many specifics in the book, such as the characters and the setting are very dear to his heart. It is the story about life in a boy’s world, and it discloses the feelings of Mark Twain concerning his boyhood, his town, and the people there. The time period is about two decades before the Civil War, and the setting is in St. Petersburg, Missouri, a small village on the Mississippi River. The main character in the book is Tom Sawyer, of course. Throughout the book, the author compares himself to Tom and his adventures. Tom is all boy, meaning that he is about as rambunctious and mischievous as a little boy can be. He despises anything that places restrictions on his boyhood freedom including school, church, and chores. Not only does he despise these restrictions, but he also will do anything to get out of them. For example, he skips school, and he cons friends into doing his chores for him. While he detests the restraints of life, he loves the liberating parts of life. He longs to take advantage of nature and all it has to offer. A quote from the book that exemplifies Tom Sawyer’s attitude toward life is when the author reveals his philosophy, â€Å"that work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.† The other characters in the story revolve around Tom’s character. Tom lives with his Aunt Polly because of the death of his mother. She tries to keep Tom in line, but she struggles because she has such a soft spot in her heart for Tom. When she does discipline Tom, she feels terrible, and in a way, she punishes herself. Sidney is Tom’s half brother who seems to always be making Tom look bad. While Tom is the so-called bad boy who is always getting into trouble, Sidney is the good boy who always does what he is told. However, Tom is presented in a compassionate way, but Sidney is portrayed as a tattler and a deceiver. He is shown to be deceitful when he allows Tom to take the blame and punishment for the broken sugar bowl even though he is the one who broke it.

Markets Price And Non Price Economics Essay

An agreement made where purchasers and Sellerss come in close contact with each other straight or indirectly to sell or purchase goods and services.Categorization of MarketsMarket CharacterisitcsMarket TYPE NO.OF Buyers NO.OF Firms Entry Conditionss Market power Demand snap Merchandise Differentiation Net income maximastion status Pricing Power Perfect competition Many purchasers Many Sellerss Free None Absolutely elastic Homogeneous P=MR=MC=AR=Min AC Monetary value Taker Monopolistic competition Many purchasers Many Sellerss Free Limited Relatively elastic Close Substitutes with differentitated merchandises MC=MR To the extent of their merchandises Oligopoly competition Many purchasers Few Restricted Some Relatively elastic Close replacements, differentiated or homogeneous merchandises MC go throughing through discontinuous MR Uncertain Duopoly competition Many purchasers Two Restricted Divided Relatively elastic Very near replacements–_Monopoly competition Many purchasers One Restricted Full moon Relatively inelastic No replacements MC=MR Monetary value Maker Monetary value and Non-Price Competition: non monetary value competion may be describe as the selling scheme under which the peculiar house tires to diffrentitate its merchandise from the competitiors merchandise this distinguish is done by the designor workmenship. It can be besides distinguish merchandise by offereing through quality service, client attending, distribustion scheme and other promotional activity. Where as the monetary value competion is refered to when the houses attempts to separate its productfrom the rival by maintaining the monetary value of the merchandise lower than the competitiors one. Now a yearss more houses are engaged with the non monetary value competion though it is really expensive in nature the ground behind that it is more profitable than selling the goods at lower monetary value and avoid the hazards of monetary value war. By and large in oligopoly markets and monopolistic markets are utilizing the non monetary value scheme because in this competions the houses becomes extermely competent with each other. Central of the non monetary value competion is merchandise diffrentiation. Hence the characteristics of merchandise diffrentiation are: Technical criterions Quality criterions Design characteristics Service characteristics Merchandise diffrentiation as the footing of set uping a down ward falling demand curve. This were introduced by the SRAFFA.but the chamberlin suggested that the demand is non merely determined by the pricind scheme of the house but besides by the manner of the merchandise and the services associated with them.he introduces two policy variables ; which are merchandise itself and selling activities. Individual house is incorporated with this dimensions therefore, the demand curve will switch if: The manner, servicesor the merchandising scheme of the house alterations Rivals change their monetary value, end product and servicesor merchandising policies Tastes incomes, pricesor selling policies of merchandise from the other industry alteration Non monetary value competition: Non monetary value competition is applicable to all types of markets except than the monopoly and perfect competition: Perfect competition: exclusion because the in this state of affairs he all merchandise are homogeneous in nature Monopoly: exclusion because the individual marketer is the accountant of Te market so no 1 at that place for the non monetary value competitio Non monetary value determiners of demand: non monetary value deteminants can be described as the any attempt made by the house to prolong in the market to gain the net income and to increse their demand in the market. Following are the some non monetary value determiners of the demand, Tastes and prefrences Income Monetary values of sustitutes Number of purchasers Future outlooks of purchasers Financing footings. As the determiners of demand are of import in the monopolistic market we besides should give equal importance to the determiners of the supply in the non monetary value competition Factor inputs alterations Production technique Change in no of Sellerss in the market Expectation of future alterations in monetary value Advantages of the non monetary value competition ; Consumers gets low monetary values Manufacturers and providers are going more displine in natureto cust down the monetary values. New betterments in engineering Enormous betterment in the quqlity or service Imformation for the consumers leting people to do more informed pick Price snap of the demand: Responsiveness on the snap of the measure demanded of a good or service to a alteration in its monetary value.it gives the per centum alteration in the measure demanded in responses to the 1 % alteration in the monetary value. Price competion is applicable in all types of markets except so perfect competion and monopoly competion. Perfect competion: exclusion because in perfect competion the houses are monetary value takers the monetary value is non decided by the house it is accepted. Monopoly competition: exclusion because in this state of affairs there is a individual marketer in the market who is the decider of the monetary value hence it is non applicable. Price snap of demand with reapect to the markets Perfect competition: in the the perfect competion the elasticiy of edmand is prefectly elastic in nature because all the merchandises availble in this market are homogeneous in the nature. As the homogeneous merchandises are perfect replacement for each other the market becomes extremely recative in nature. monopolistic market: snap of demand is comparatively elastic In nature as the stopping point substitues are availble in the market this substitues are availble with the small diffrention. Oligopoly market: oligopoly market is some how combination of the perfect competition and monopolistic market so the snap of the demand the comparatively high in nature as the all merchandises are homogeneous in nature and they are utility for each other. Duopoly market: in he duopoly market there are merely two Sellerss in the markets with regard to many purchasers. The snap is comparatively elastic because in this state of affairs there are really close substitues are availble for the merchandise. Monopoly market: in this market the snap is comparatively inelastic nature as there is merely one goad the reactivity of the demand for a good to alter in the monetary value of anthoer good.it is measured as the per centum alteration in demand for the first good that occurs in reactivity to % alteration in monetary value or 2nd good.Cross monetary value snap of the perfect competion with regard to replacements:the reactivity of the demand for a good to alter in the monetary value of anthoer good.it is measured as the per centum alteration in demand for the first good that occurs in reactivity to % alteration in monetary value or 2nd good.Cross monetary value snap of the perfect competion with regard to replacements:ucer in the market so the manufacturer is holding the full market poer in the custodies. there is no sustitute availble in the market. Cross monetary value snap of demand with the availble substitues: Cross monetary value snap: the reactivity of the demand for a good to alter in the monetary value of anthoer good.it is measured as the per centum alteration in demand for the first good that occurs in reactivity to % alteration in monetary value or 2nd good.Cross monetary value snap of the perfect competion with regard to replacements:Perfect competiton: the high monetary value cross snap can be seen in this market as the manufacturer Is monetary value taker and non the monetary value shaper. More over that the merchandises are homogeneous in nature which are replacement for each other. Monopolistic competition: there are figure of manufacturers are at that place in the market.du to the high competition the manufacturers are willing to do more market portion so the cross monetary value snap is comparatively high in nature. Oligopoly competition: in this market the cross monetary value snap do issues because in this market. As the replacements are availble in the market with the homogenity or merchandise diffrention. Duopoly competition: there are merely two manufacturers are availble in the markets there are really close replacement for each other and because of this cross monetary value snap is low. Monopoly competition: there is merely one manufacturer in the market and no replacement is availble so there is no inquiry of cross monetary value snap.

Ideal Teacher Essay

An ideal teacher is the one we respect from our heart. He/she acts as a guide to the students, while not pushing them too much. Such a perfect motivates them and boosts their morale. He/she tries to encourage the students and refrains from criticizing them. The perfect teacher prefers to give positive motivation to his/her students. His/her comments are always constructive in nature. He/she serves as our friend, guide, educator, confidante, and a blend of all the good qualities one can posses. Such a teacher shapes the entire life of the students. If everyone in this world gets an ideal teacher, he/she won’t have to look back in his/her life ever. The ideal teacher is a problem solver, he/she understands the students psychology, is an idol for his/her students, a good guide, and a motivator. Students have a tendency to assume that their teacher will come up with a solution for all their problems. This is the toughest test of a teacher-student relationship. Teachers are largely responsible to solve the problems of their pupils, without expecting anything in return. The students will then learn to look up to the teacher, because he/she has the answer for everything. The teacher should always maintain civilization in the classroom and make sure ever one gets along. It is the main yardstick of being an ideal teacher. It is very important for a teacher to understand the psychology of his/her pupils. Every student is different from the other and will react differently to situations. All students cannot be equated and therefore, need individual attention. An ideal teacher knows where the students lack and what their requirements are. He/she never fails to comprehend the needs of students and tries his/her level best to fulfill them. He/she will treat all students equally but at the same time teach them in a way which is easier for the students to learn. An ideal teacher leaves a life-long impression on his/her students and impacts their mind in a positive way. The teacher is a much valued asset, without whom one can’t imagine a life. In fact, perfect teachers are as important as our parents. Not even a single day of our life will seem to be complete without them. They keep their door open to who ever need them, and never denied to help any of us. They love us as if we are their own child, and never expect to see us fail. The work hard to keep us educated and make sure we stay in school. They are the ones, whom we can idolize and look up to. Children of a certain age trust their teachers, even more than their parents. Therefore, it is the responsibility of an ideal teacher to guide the pupil like his/her own child. Such a teacher shows students the right path under all circumstances and never shies away from his/her duties. In fact, he/she is always there by the student’s side, at the time of need. Most students cant always in most situation go to their parents for advise, but yet they still need an adults opinion on things, and the teacher will always be there to voice his/her opinion to the students. And if he/she feel that the situation is more serious and a parent need to know, he/she will go with the student to talk to the child parents. An ideal teacher never lets the limitations of his/her students restrict their vision. He/she constantly motivates them to reach ahead and broaden their horizon. A teacher should encourage and inspire his/her pupils to think beyond their confines and help them realize their talents as well as the need to pursue them with diligence. He/she stay and work long hours with the child so that the child won’t give up. His/her motivation keeps the child motivated to learn. In conclusion, all teachers should take time and get to know who their students really are. They might even be surprise at the outcome. By getting to know the students helps them become more close to each other; that way it’ll be easier for the teacher to solve any problems that occur in the classroom, it’ll be easier for him/her to understand the students psychology, he/she might even become an idol to the students, the teacher will become a good guidance, and also become a motivator to the students.

The Final Stages Of World WAr II In 1945

During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against Japan in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After six months of intense strategic fire-bombing of 67 Japanese cities the Japanese government ignored an ultimatum given by the Potsdam Declaration. By executive order of President Harry S. Truman the U. S. dropped the nuclear weapon â€Å"Little Boy† on the city of Hiroshima on Monday, August 6, 1945,[1][2] followed by the detonation of â€Å"Fat Man† over Nagasaki on August 9. These are the only attacks with nuclear weapons in the history of warfare. [3] Within the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects killed 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000–80,000 in Nagasaki,[4] with roughly half of the deaths in each city occurring on the first day. The Hiroshima prefectural health department estimates that, of the people who died on the day of the explosion, 60% died from flash or flame burns, 30% from falling debris and 10% from other causes. During the following months, large numbers died from the effect of burns, radiation sickness, and other injuries, compounded by illness. A plausible estimate of the total immediate and short term cause of death, 15–20% died from radiation sickness, 20–30% from flash burns, and 50–60% from other injuries, compounded by illness. [5] Since then, more have died from leukemia (231 observed) and solid cancers (334 observed) attributed to exposure to radiation released by the bombs. [6] In both cities, most of the dead were civilians. [7][8][9] Six days after the detonation over Nagasaki, on August 15, Japan announced its surrender to the Allied Powers, signing the Instrument of Surrender on September 2, officially ending the Pacific War and therefore World War II. Germany had signed its unavoidable[2] Instrument of Surrender on May 7, ending the war in Europe. The bombings led, in part, to post-war Japan adopting Three Non-Nuclear Principles, forbidding the nation from nuclear armament. [10] The role of the bombings in Japan's surrender and the U. S. ‘s ethical justification for them is still debated. [11]

British Monetary Policy vis--vis Euro-Zone Essay

British Monetary Policy vis--vis Euro-Zone - Essay Example In the 19th century peak British currency was actually defined in terms of gold. Giving up the precious metal link after 1945 relaxed the constraint on monetary policy and the floating sterling exchange rate that followed provided even less discipline. With the discarding of any precious metal support, dependence in sterling and monetary policy after the Second World War was reflected in the foreign exchange value, which fell from $4.03 to $1.70 by 1976, while inflation climaxed at an annual rate of 26.9%. Different tactics to create monetary stability have been tried since 1945, including shadow the Deutschmark and monetary targeting. Paradoxically one of the greater political dishonours for sterling, being forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992, marked the beginning of the present union of the British economy to a stable non-inflationary growth path. The turn around in post war British economic policy began with Margaret Thatcher's government, elected in 1979. In addition to a series of monetary policy experiments, a variety of structural reforms in the economy were begun, including privatisation and steps to increase labour market flexibility. Inflation receded along with unemployment and economic development resumed. Election of the 'New Labour' government of 1997 saw no break in the principles of national economic management. It created an independent Monetary Policy Committee instructed to follow a uniform inflation rule and to report their deliberations. These arrangements eventually are usually judged to provide best practice monetary policy. For example synchronization between independent monetary and fiscal policies is far easier for Britain under the present arrangements than for Euro-zone with its many national taxing and spending policies. Not only is the monetary policy strategy and inflation target of the European Central Bank (ECB) censured for being poor and possibly damaging to the ECB's credibility. For the better management of the nation's finances the Chancellor of the Exchequer introduced the long belated distinction between capital and current account spending. Borrowing to improve the nation's useful capital was acceptable, as was temporary borrowing to stabilise the economy in the face of shocks. To ensure government debt increases were restricted to these two purposes, he accepted two obligations on government policy; that existing account spending should balance tax receipts over the cycle and that the government debt to national income ratio should not exceed 40 %. These improvements in the British macroeconomic management structure are important and definitely superior to the present equivalent institutions of the euro-zone, the European Central Bank and the Growth and Stability Pact. The government now needs to make comparable progress in the fields of the health service, education and transport, about which there is general displeasure among the electorate. In these services there is much to be learned from other European countries nevertheless joining the euro and possible resulting closer political integration with Europe do not guarantee to deal with British concerns. European Integration What Britain has in fact wanted from the rest of Europe is simply free trade, not imported institutions intended to manage continental problems.

My Laptop, the Culprit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

My Laptop, the Culprit - Essay Example Admitting lack of funds, one discovers, is not a great conversational piece, nor does it leave one with many friends. However, upon acquiring some wealth of my own, hard earned I should add, I decided to replace my comatose computer with a new laptop. This necessitated a trip to the nearest retail store to buy the best laptop I could afford, which in turn resulted in my triumphant return with a brand new shiny, black laptop. The laptop is efficient, silent (a much-appreciated quality after having to endure the noise of the previous computer) and very much in line with current technology. Of course, I dare not mention the model and make of the laptop for fear that one man’s treasure is another’s garbage. Suffice it to say that I hold it very dear to me and it is one of my most prized possessions. I have noticed, however, that this acquisition has resulted in a few changes in my character. Firstly, whereas before I had time for all of my friends and family, now I want to be glued to the screen of my laptop, either playing some online game, or reading some article, or just mindlessly surfing on the internet – working on assignments are kept to a minimum. My old computer barely functioned, so I had limited myself to only working on my assignments on it – how it managed to run Microsoft Office is beyond me, but thank God it did, because otherwise I would have had to resort to going to the public library for even the smallest of assignments and for even the shortest of emails (yes, surprisingly, I could check my email on it too). Now, however, I can run just about any application on my laptop. So, I can be spotted sitting in my room alone, either trying to master some obscure technique to finish some obscure level of some obscure game, or watching a movie, or just surfing around looking for anything I might find interesting.

The Historical Influences in the Architectural Design of the Essay

The Historical Influences in the Architectural Design of the Westminster Abbey - Essay Example The exterior is as much remarkable as its interior. The dominant gothic architectural design - its towering pillars, towers and stained glass, takes its patrons and visitors back to the English medieval times. The prestige of Westminster Abbey’s architectural design cannot be separated from the historical events that moulded it to its present reputation. From the its foundation as an abbey by King Edward the Confessor in 1052 to its glory days as a gothic church under the initiative of King Henry III in 1245, Westminster Abbey owes its existence to the religious passion of its patrons. Given the context, this paper focuses on the historical events that led to the key developments of what is the Westminster Abbey today. By expounding on the topic, a historical methodology could not only give light to the origins of the church, but it could also relate historical context with architectural design and style. This paper is thus intended to explain Westminster Abbey’s rich a rchitectural history. The utilization of secondary sources such as books and journal articles, together with ample photo documentation, are used in order to accomplish this paper’s purpose. ... It then tackles the entrance of the 12th century and the important contributions of King Henry III to the creation of a magnificent gothic church at England’s capital. The second portion deals with the church’s architecture. An analysis of the exterior and interior aspects of Westminster Abbey is conducted by streamlining the various designs and styles, which produced the outcome. Such analysis is then related to the historical context of the church’s formative years in order to produce a conclusive account of architectural history. The Abbey in its Formative Years in the 11th and 12th Century The 11th century was included in the 3-century span of the Central Middle Ages, from 1000-1300, where the disintegration of the strong Roman Empire was realized in the Early Middle Ages. During that century, a direct by-product of the previous years caused the apparent struggle between the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy in Rome, not to mention the autonomy instituted by t he Eastern Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire (Bennett and Hollister, xv & 266). On a political standpoint, it was clear that religious strife that would establish dominance over Europe was as important as the clash of kingdoms and empires. As religious monarchy flourished in the name of the propagation of a certain religious denomination, independent nation states began to emerge as well. England was well underway in line with a monarchical leadership. The sacred monarchy carried by religious kingdoms in the Early Middle Ages evolved into a bureaucratic monarchy in the Central Middle Ages. Royal administration with a systematic distribution of powers was the one that England had adopted in the 11th century (Bennett and Hollister, 266). Though a secular state, the influence of the church

Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Questions - Essay Example Policies of the Company were framed from the head office which did not allow for the tailoring of policies to suit the needs of the local regional markets. The framing of decisions from the head office also made the operations of the Company more bureaucratic and customers were less efficiently served. Hence, this decision making framework was not appropriate to serve the complexities of the international environment. The Company has recently recognized this and has reorganized its structure by establishing a regional structure to bring decision making closer to its clients. The decision making structure has been reorganized to give greater decision making power to regional heads. This allows greater client focus and to achieve global product excellence. It allows managers to be receptive to the needs of the regional economies and helps to make the organization leaner and more efficient. The Company has taken steps to reduce the complexity of its business operations and reorganized its internal structure to adapt to its external environment. 2. Hickson et al (1971) have proposed the strategic contingencies theory of intra organizational power. This theory suggests that the extent of power of sub units will be determined by the extent of power they have over contingencies. Every organization is riddled with uncertainties about future events due to the lack of available information. The ability of the subunits to cope effectively with these uncertainties and reduce their impact for other sub units will determine the extent of intra organizational power that they have. When a subunit’s work is linked more pervasively to others in the organization, and when the sub unit is able to respond immediately and affect the activities of others in the organization, it is likely to enjoy a greater power than the other sub-units. In my organization which is a banking conglomerate,

Why Do Market Economies Need Government United Kingdoms Economic Essay

Why Do Market Economies Need Government United Kingdoms Economic growth, Inflation and Unemployment - Essay Example Such situations create disadvantages of buyers and reduce buyer surplus for those particular markets. For this reason, free market economy can potentially impinge on the rights of a certain segment in the economy (Acemoglu, Golosov and Tsyvinski, 2008). A fair exchange implies a relationship of equality between the persons concerned, which is absent in these scenarios. Sometimes, in a market economy the employer and the employee are not in a relationship of equality. The employer can attempt to dictate terms to the employees, therefore, a safeguarding body is required to ensure payment of minimum wages and to enforce health & safety measures (Agarwal, 2007). Government presence in needed in such situation to ensure rights of certain groups is not compromised. ii) Governments are needed to provide provision of pubic goods whose benefits are distributed over a very large population. For instance, creation of roads and national defense cannot be provided by a private enterprise. Government interventions are needed in the market economic system for these provisions (Halm, 2003). iii) Governments are also needed in market economic systems to provide social security to the citizens of the country. A market economic system cannot find mechanism to transfer funds from rich to poor. Governments serve the purpose of reducing income differences between rich and poor in an economy (Sharma, 2009). Government invention is, therefore, essential for redistribution of wealth and income for a healthy society. United Kingdom’s Economic Performance During Last Ten Years Growth Performance data of United Kingdom’s economy is graphed below. The data exhibits that the economic performance and growth rate of United Kingdom’s economy was at peak in the year 2000. The growth rate of the economy was highest which implies that the standard of living of UK citizens was increasing at a very rapid pace. GROWTH PERFORMANCE Year GDP Change 2000 3.90% 2001 2.50% 2002 2.10% 2003 2.80% 2004 3.00% 2005 2.20% 2006 2.90% 2007 2.60% 2008 0.60% 2009 ?4.9% 2010 2.10% 2011 0 .70% Growth of UK’s economy hit the bottom in the year 2009. It appeared that the economy is on the path of improvement in the year 2010; however, growth figures were low again for the year 2011. Growth Performance the annual inflation figures of UK economy shows that inflation is rising even though growth rate of the economy is slow. Such figures are considered alarming because standard of living of people is compromised in two manners – through low income growth, at the same time, a considerably high level of inflation (Baumol and Blinder, 2011). Annual Inflation Year Inflation Rate 2000 2.1% 2001 2.7% 2002 1.3% 2003 2.9% 2004 2.6% 2005 3.2% 2006 2.4% 2007 4.2% 2008 4.1% 2009 0.1% 2010 3.7% 2011 5.1% Unemployment Rate of UK’s economy is exhibiting a trend of rising with the inflation rate of the economy. This is considered one of the most challenging macroeconomic situations in macroeconomic text books. This is because a high inflation is generally associated with lower levels of unemployment since all factors of productions are considered to be highly utilized. Rising unemployment with inflation indicates major issues with the economy which need to be resolved (Henderson, 2003). Unemployment Rate Year Rate 2001 5.1% 2002 5.2% 2003 5.0% 2004 4.8% 2005 4.8% 2006 5.4% 2007 5.4% 2008 5.6% 2009 7.5% 2010 7.9% Deflationary Gaps and Appropriate Policy Responses Deflationary gap in an economy is

Emi Group Plc In The Music Publishing And Recording Industry Essay Example for Free

Emi Group Plc In The Music Publishing And Recording Industry Essay Music and recording industry present interesting development due to the introduction of new artists and the development of new music genre, to name a few. In addition, the industry also experiences significant challenge due to the advancement in digital technology that drives the industry to find appropriate ways in winning the competition. The challenge occurs since there is a difference circumstances in the competition of media industry where previously the existence of new media does not eliminate the old media. The existence of commercial radio, for example, does not kill the print media like magazines and newspaper. Similarly, the existence of television broadcasting also does not eliminate the existence of radio and newspaper. In many cases, the television broadcaster also owns radio and newspapers companies to complement their media business. However, the situation may be completely different in the digital age where the existence of internet and the development of digital technology like file compression (MP3, mpeg, and file-sharing technologies etc) could completely kill the old model of music distribution such as compact disc. The so-called MP3, often refers to MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, is an audio encoding format that reduce the file size from tens of megabyte (when using WAV or compact disc format) into less than 5 Megabyte (MB) in MP3 format for one same song. Audio Galaxy and Napster are two companies that employ file-sharing technology that enables their members/customers to exchange their music or video with others members/customers (Karp, 2007). Immediately, the invention of new audio encoding format increases the sales of portable digital music players like iPod. Coupled with the increased international internet bandwidth, the exchange of MP3 files rises significantly. A number of websites that enable users or music lovers to download the desired songs in MP3 format also rises. Despite the attractiveness of MP3 technology for audio, MP4, and MPEG for video, the technologies causes severe violation of copyright as downloading music and video without paying royalties to the owners/singers of the music is considered as piracy in digital world/domains. Concerning the challenges in the music and recording industry, this paper will discuss about Emi Group plc, a giant in music and recording industry. In particular, there are several issues including the identification of strategic choices that EMI performs, EMI and its critical success factors in competing in the industry within the last five years, and the use of appropriate management concepts in evaluating the suitability of EMI’s current strategies to deal with future competition. 2. Aim and Objectives The objectives of this paper are to analyze current and future positions of EMI Group plc in the music publishing and recording industry. Systematically, we can derive the objectives into four points. First is to analyze the strategy of EMI Groups plc that positions the company in the music and recording industry. Second is to use the appropriate research methodology, this paper is to assess EMI Group plc and its critical success factor in the last five years. Third is to use the relationship of research approach, deductive, quantitative to explore key resources and capabilities of EMI in the next five years and assess whether they can create sustainable competitive advantage. And fourth is to use the non-participant observation method, collecting data and analyzing qualitative information from journal, books, magazine and online materials, this paper is to adopt the management concepts to evaluate the appropriateness of EMI’s current strategies for the future. 3. Porter’s Five Forces This section will discuss Porter’s five forces on EMI Group the recording industry which details the threat of new entrants, power of buyers, power of suppliers, rivalry among existing competitors, and the threat of substitute products for market place organizer or transaction service provider industry satisfy following diagram: Figure 1 Diagram of Porter’s Five Forces Source: Porter, 1998 3. 1 Rivalry In music publishing and recording industry, competitive advantage plays a significant role in winning a competition. This is because it represents not only the greater benefits in terms of products but also in other Ps of marketing mix (place, promotion, and price). The possession of specific competitive advantages increasingly important since nowadays, customers use emotional side than rational side when decide which products or services they want to use (Manjoo, 2003). The rivalry in recording industry is quite intense since EMI Group does not only compete with similar company like Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, and Warner Music Group but also illegal distribution both in traditional and web-based distributors through several kinds of file-sharing program like Napster. Napster becomes the catalysts of online music service (Rupley, 2003). In order to prevent the distribution of illegal copy of music, Hodges Shaw and Brian B Shaw (2003) says that government has persuaded users regarding importance of not using file sharing for copyrighted materials over the Internet by considering it as illegal actions. 3. 2 Barriers to Entry One of common barriers to enter a new market is brand loyalty or in terms of multinational business, the main barrier could be the nationalism. In music industry, one significant challenge that continues gains popularity is iTunes, a legal web-based music distribution from Apple Company. In music industry, especially regarding the competition between EMI Music and p2p companies and iTunes, the brand loyalty is obvious since the fever for iPod products has driven the use of iTunes to download legal music (Manjoo, 2003). The entry to some markets like educations gets fiercer as Jason E. Lane and Margaret A Healy (2005) revealed in their article File Sharing, Napster, and Institutional Responses: Educative, Developmental, or Responsive Policy that file sharing (including music, video, and file sharing) has been parts of students activities. They usually use the internet to share their favorite music and movies illegally. In addition, Scott (2001) and Dong et. al (2002) reveals that file sharing remains a popular services due to their offering free downloading music and video. 3. 3 Products Substitution Impact of product substitution is possibly the most overlooked factor although its impact is damaging. Therefore, it is imperative that business must not only look at what the company’s direct competitors are doing, but what other types of products people could buy instead. The products substitution for EMI Group is the introduction of various digital formats like MP3 and MP4 that easily downloadable that enables customers to convert the CD format to MP3 and distribute it by e-mail. This is because EMI Group mostly still relies on the distribution of music in CD format that they believe is still better than others do. Figure 2 Music Format Source: RIAA, 2006 3. 4 Buyer Power In music distribution and recording industry, there are some factors that influence buyer power including size of buyer (larger buyers will have more power over suppliers), number of buyers (when there are a small number of buyers, they will tend to have more power over suppliers), and purchase quantity. 3. 5 Supplier Power Concerning the supplier power in recording industry, we find that digital format developer that invent MP3 and p2p technology continue gain popularity that further drive the customers to increasingly avoid the use of products distributed by recording companies (Manjoo, 2003). 4. EMI Groups plc Strategic Position in Music Publishing and Recording Industry Realizing the fierce competition that occurs in the music and recording industry, EMI Group develops several strategies such as the selection of new talents that will hit the market and develop sustainable distribution strategy to speed up the existence in new market. Among the distributions system, EMI Group appropriately conduct joint venture with foreign companies in order to smooth their distribution. One of them is with EMI Televisa joint venture that helps EMI Group to distribute Celestial and other English language album (EMI Group, 2006). The decision to conduct joint venture is a good strategy to be implemented for EMI Group since it is a model in business that composes of two or more enterprises that join hand-in-hand to increase their competitive advantages. In this scheme, joint venture is somewhat similar to partnership but joint venture is derived from one business transaction. Joint venture is preferred because it can help companies to divide potencies, reduce threats, and raise competitive advantages in the market. Joint ventures can be formed as separate business units or cooperation between businesses (â€Å"Corporate Venture Strategies†, 2001). Developing a joint venture properly can obtain many benefits and advantages, such as dividing expenses and risks, enhancing right of entry to monetary resources, admission to innovative knowledge and consumers, and admission to new decision-making performs. Moreover, companies are able to have some bearing on structural development of the business. Conduction of knowledge and skills are also accomplished easily (â€Å"Corporate Venture Strategies†, 2001). 5. EMI Strategic Choice EMI Group plc is a well-known company in music and recording industry. The company is currently perceived as the fourth largest recording company in the world behind Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, and Warner Music Group. The company main business is the distribution of compact discs, videos, and other formats under the auspices of their subsidiaries and partners including EMI Records, Capitol, and Virgin (Yahoo Inc, 2008). The label company is behind the success of many famous artists such as Norah Jones, Lenny Kravitz, and The Beastie Boys. Currently, the company also handles more than one million songs. The strategic position of the company has attracted many larger companies such as Warner Music Group (WMG) to takeover EMI Group plc. Although many acquisition attempts, the company finally bought by Terra Firma, a private equity firm, for $4. 9 billion in 2007 (Yahoo Inc, 2008). 6. EMI and Its Critical Success Factor The winning strategy of EMI Group exists since the company is suitably conducting several strategies that benefit the company in the long term. One of popular strategy is the decision to outsource their CD manufacturing in Australia. This decision occurred in 2004 where EMI Music and Warner Music conduct agreement with Summit Technology Australia Pty Ltd to own CD Manufacturing business together (EMI Group, 2006). This strategy provides great benefits for EMI Group since the company significantly obtains costs reduction and helps the company to insulate the business from the effects of changing volumes. Figure 3 Reasons of Outsourcing Source: Outsourcing World Summit This is in line with the general benefits of outsourcing where costs reduction becomes the main issues that companies perceive. When discussing the outsourcing business model, the images refer to advantages that organizations obtain, especially refers to costs reduction. However, the benefits of outsourcing do not merely the cost reduction. Figure 3 shows six main reasons of carrying out outsourcing in an organization like EMI Group according to Outsourcing World Summit. Similarly, to costs reduction, outsourcing also provides benefits of helping the company to focus on core competencies. In theory, outsourcing is only used for delegation of non-core activities concerning the mission statement of the company. Nevertheless, many corporations outsource some of their core functions to gain more value in competitive advantage. Furthermore, many if an organization is able to develop a good relationship with its outsourcing partner, the long-term effect would be a sustainable competitive advantage. Another critical success factor is the decision of EMI Group to take benefits of digital technology. Previously, the company relies on tradition supply chain as shown in the Figure 4 below. In traditional supply chain (figure 4), we witness that recording companies make huge revenue and thus the profits from the two elements (in blue boxes). However, this model soon changes considering technology advancement in music like MP3 that immediately spawned illegal peer-to-peer music download over the Internet. Concerning the issue, coupled with wide coverage of high-speed Internet access, recording labels realize that they should change their supply chain to adopt the advancement in information technology as described in the following section. However due to the benefit that digital distribution provides, the company also offers the digital option for the supply chain (Figure 5). By developing the digital distribution, the company starts receiving significant growth on digital revenues. In 2006, digital revenue contributed about 8. 5% of total Group revenues. In addition, digital revenues also experienced significant growth by 78. 2% in 2006, providing more opportunity to receive more revenue from this technology (EMI Group, 2006). In this web-based supply chain model, we witness that recording labels are massively legalize licensing strategy that significantly fire up a legal digital music subscription (in contrast to Napster that was illegal). 7. Key resources and capabilities of EMI in the last Five Years and Suitability, Feasibility, and Acceptability Concepts There are several key advantages and resources the company possessed within the past five years. First is EMI Music keep finding new talents that bear success in UK and North America, in particular, and in the world, in general including Letoya, 30 Seconds to Mars. This strategy represents the feasibility of strategy taken by EMI Group since competitions between recording industries is mainly regarding the artists that the company manages their music creation. Second is the success of current managed artists including popular artist such as All Saints, Keith Urban, Norah Jones, Robbie Williams, and Depeche Mode. This artist management represents the suitability to manage the popular artists and release the unpopular one. Meanwhile, EMI Music Publishing successfully finds songwriting talent that result in the attractive performance revenues that represents the acceptability (EMI Group, 2006) 8. Conclusion In the basic marketing management study, four factors characterize the successful marketing; they are product, place, promotion, and price. In the recording industry while product represented by the artists, distribution or place factor also provides significant contribution to the company. This is in line with O’Brien and Springman (2004) suggestion that say companies should balance supply and demand since focusing entirely on the supply side may result in unnecessary capital expenditures, inventory investments or suboptimal solutions. Concerning the challenges in the music and recording industry, this paper has discussed about Emi Group plc, a giant in music and recording industry. In particular, there are several issues including the identification of strategic choices that EMI performs, EMI and its critical success factors in competing in the industry within the last five years, and the use of appropriate management concepts in evaluating the suitability of EMI’s current strategies to deal with future competition. Reference: Carlson, Scott. (2001). Napter Was Just the Start of the Bandwidth Invasion. Chronicle of Higher Education, v47 Corporate Venture Strategies’, [Online] Available at: http://www. 1000ventures. com/business_guide/venture%20strategies. html Daugherty, Tyson. 2002, ‘Creating a Digital Music Marketplace’, [Online] Available at: elab. insead. edu/publications/mbareports/ Creating%20a%20digital%20music%20marketplace. pdf Elizabeth Scott, M. S. 2008, ‘Music and Your Body: How Music Affects Us and Why Music Therapy Promotes Health’, [Online] Available at: http://stress. about. com/od/tensiontamers/a/music_therapy. htm EMI Group Limited. 2005, ‘EMI Group Overview’, [Online] Available at: http://www. emigroup. com/About/Overview/Default. htm EMI Group. 2004, ‘EMI continues manufacturing outsourcing strategy with agreement to sell Australian CD plant’, [Online] Available at: http://www. emigroup. com/Press/2004/press18. htm . 2006, ‘EMI Group plc results for the six months ended 30 September 2006’, [Online] Available at: http://www. emigroup. com/Press/2006/press70. htm Forness, Megan J, ‘Copyright and Fair Use’, [Online] Available at: http://lrs. ed. uiuc. edu/students/forness/copyright. html Freeman, Jillian S. 2005, ‘The Pros and Cons of Sharing Music on the Internet’, [Online] Available at: http://www. angelfire. com/de3/jfreeman/termpaper. htm Harcourt, Robert H. and Robert W. Hutchinson. 2004, ‘Sup

Theories of Satellite Imagery and Fractal Concepts

Theories of Satellite Imagery and Fractal Concepts Introduction Many applications based on using satellite imagery in a quantitative fashion require classification of image regions into a number of relevant categories or distinguishable classes. Classification is a means of complementing retrieval. Satellite image classification is a clustering method based on image features, the classification results are represented by visualization techniques [Ant05]. Fractal geometry provides a suitable textural image classification framework by studying the nature irregularity shapes in the image, since it allows to easily describing such fractal images. The fractal geometry can recognize small image segment that characterized by its spectral uniformity, this necessitate first to segment the image before the classification. The main characteristics of fractal images are that they are continuous but not differentiable that allows showing the fine details at any arbitrarily small scale [Iod95]. This chapter presents an introduction to the fundamentals of satellite imagery and fractal concepts: Satellite imagery includes a brief description to the satellite imagery technology that useful to understand the main characteristics of satellite images. Whereas, the fractal concepts are mentioned to explain some regards when considering the fractal geometry techniques in digital image processing. Fractal characterizations are discussed to show the fractal features may found in satellite images. Also, some interested fractal measurements are mentioned to be applied on satellite images for purpose of classification. Later, the interested techniques of image segmentation and classification are given. Satellite Imagery Satellites are greatly used in remote sensing imagery, they have several unique characteristics enable to remote sense the Earths surface [Pan96]. The satellite senses electromagnetic energy at different wavelengths reflected by objects to produce the satellite images as shown in Figure (2.1). Visible satellite images are made of satellite signals received by visible channels that senses reflected solar radiation. Visible imagery is available only during daylight since it produced by reflected sunlight. The major advantage of using the visible imagery is due to it can gives higher resolution images than other imagery bands, so smaller features can be distinguished with visible imagery. The problem faces visible imagery is that clouds are shown white, while land and water surfaces are shaded. Clouds are Earths atmosphere, which absorb and reflect incoming solar radiation and leads to hide the fine details of the Earth surface under consideration [San04]. The two primary sensor types in the satellite are the optical and radar. Optical sensors are concerned with the imaging by visible and infrared radiation. While the radar sensors use microwaves to create an image, which enable the sensor to see through clouds and in night. In addition, multi-spectral, hyper-spectral and multi-polarization sensors are operated at different bands to improve the detection of objects under the sea or ground. Table (2.1) presents characteristics of the most popular optical satellites [ERD13]. Table (1.1) The most Popular optical satellites [ERD13] Satellite Mission life Spatial resolution (m) Panchromatic Multispectral Hyperspectral IRS 1988 / 03 0.80 73.00 Landsat 7 1999 / 07 15.00 30.00 60.00 IKONOS 1999 / 09 1.00 4.00 RapidEye 1999 / 12 5.00 ASTER 1999 / 12 15.00 30.00 – 90.00 MODIS 1999 / 12 250.00 500 1000 EROS 2000 / 12 0.50 – 0.90 QuickBird 2001 / 10 0.61 2.40 SPOT 5 2002 / 02 2.50 – 5.00 10.00 OrbView-3 2003 / 09 1.00 4.00 ALOS 2006 / 06 10.00 WorldView-1 2007 / 09 0.40 GeoEye-1 2008 / 09 0.41 1.65 WorldView-2 2009 / 06 0.41 1.80 Pleiades 2011 / 07 0.50 1.00 Many satellite imagery platforms are designed to follow an orbit determined by the direction from north to the south of the Earth, which is conjunct to the Earths rotation (from the west to east of the Earth). This setting of satellites allows them to cover most of the Earths surface (The coverage is called swath) over a certain period of time. More details about the satellite orbit and swath are given in the following subsections [Asr89]: Satellite Orbit Orbit is the path followed by a satellite. Satellite orbits are determined according to the capability and objective of carried sensors. The selection of orbit is depending on altitude, orientation, and rotation of the satellite relative to the Earth. Geostationary satellites revolve at speeds are matching the rotation of the Earth at altitudes of approximately 36000 km as Figure (2.2-a) shows. This makes the satellites to observe and collect information continuously over the considered areas. The common types of such orbits are found in weather and communications satellites. Whereas, most of satellite imagery are set to be used the near polar orbits, which indicates that the satellite moves northward along one side of Earth and then toward the southern pole on the second half of its orbit as Figure (2.2-b) shows. This trajectory is called ascending and descending passes, which are clearly shown in Figure (2.2-c). Moreover, there are sun-synchronous satellite orbits that cover each a rea on the Earths surface at a constant local time of day called local sun time. The ascending pass of sun-synchronous satellite is almost covers the shadowed side of the Earth while the descending pass is covering the sunlit side. This motion credits same illumination conditions when imaging specific area in periodic seasons over successive years [Pan96]. Swath Swath is imaged area on the surface of the Earth when the satellite around revolves, as Figure (2.3) shows. Swath covers an area is varying between tens and hundreds of kilometers wide. When the satellite rotates about the Earth from pole to pole, it seems to be shifted westward due to the rotation of the Earth (from west to east). This motion enables the satellite swath to cover a new area at each successive pass. The satellites orbit and Earths rotation work together to make complete coverage of the Earths surface when completing one orbital cycle. In near polar orbits, areas at high latitudes will be imaged more frequently than that ling at equatorial zone, this is due to the overlapping occurred in adjacent swaths when the orbit paths come closer together near the poles [Cam02]. If the satellites orbit start with any randomly selected pass, then the orbit cycle will be completed at the time when the satellite retraces its path, this is happen when the same point on the Earths surface become directly below the satellite (such point is called the nadir point) for a second time. The exact time period of the orbital cycle will vary at each satellite. Such that, the time interval required for the satellite to complete its orbital cycle is not the same as the revisit period [Sab97]. Satellite Image Scanning The satellite scanning produces digital images using detectors to measure the brightness of reflected electromagnetic energy. The scanner employs a detector with a narrow field of view which sweeps across the terrain, the parallel scan lines are combined together to produce an image as Figure (2.4) shows [Add10]. The most widely type used scanners is across-track (such as a Whiskbroom used in Quick Bird satellite), which uses rotating mirrors to scan the Earths surface from side to side perpendicular to the direction of the sensor platform. The function of rotating mirrors is redirecting the reflected light to be focused at the sensor detector(s). In such case, the moving mirrors create spatial distortions that can be corrected by processing the received data before delivering the image data into the user. The most significant advantage of whiskbroom scanner is the fewer sensor detectors that keeping data calibration. Another type of scanner is the along-track scanner (such as the pu sh broom scanner used in Spot satellite) that does not use rotating mirrors, it uses a sensor detectors are arranged in a rows called a linear array. Instead of scanning from side to side as the sensor system moves forward, the one dimensional sensor array captures the scanned line at once. Furthermore, some recent scanners are step stare based scanners, they contain two-dimensional arrays in rows and columns for each band. It is important to mention that the push broom scanner is smaller, lighter, and less complex due to fewer moving parts than whiskbroom scanner. Also push broom scanner gives better radiometric and spatial resolution. A major disadvantage of push broom scanner is the calibration that required due to a large number of detectors found in the sensor system [Bui93]. A multi-spectral scanner is a space borne remote sensing system that simultaneously acquires images of the same scene at different wavelengths. The sensors of a multi-spectral scanner are normally working in specific parts of the spectral range from 0.35ÃŽ ¼m up to 14ÃŽ ¼m. These specific parts of the spectrum in which remote sensing observation are made, are called bands or channels. The number of bands or channels varies largely from system to another [Add10]. Two important advantages of multi-spectral scanning are [Lil04]: Objects at the surface of the earth have varying reflection behavior through the optical spectrum; they can be recognized and/or identified more easily using several spectral bands than using just one band. A large number of objects do not reflect radiation very well in the visible part of the spectrum. Remote sensing observations outside the visible wavelengths or in combination with observations in the visible spectrum produce a much more contrasting image, which is helpful to identify objects or to determine their condition. Satellite Image Resolution Image resolution is the capability of sensor to observe the smallest object clearly with distinct boundaries. Resolution is often referred to count pixels in digital image. Usually, the pixel resolution is described by set of two positive integer numbers, where the first number is the width of the image (i.e. number of pixel columns) and the second is the height of the image (i.e. number of pixel rows). Whereas, the cite resolution is the total count of pixels in the image, which typically given in megapixels, and can be calculated by multiplying width by height of the image and then dividing by one million as Figure (2.5) shows [Zho10]. In satellite imagery, ground resolution indicates the Ground Sample Distance (GSD) that refers to the size of ground area covered by one pixel. For an image of 0.6m ground resolution, each pixel records an average reflected color of area 0.6m by 0.6m. The fewer meter per pixel, the higher the resolution of the image. The particular ground resolution is an important parameter when taking vertical aerial images. Satellites of various ground resolutions are listed in Table (2.2) [ERD13]. In addition to GSD, there are four types of resolution when discussing satellite imagery, they are: spatial, spectral, radiometric, and temporal. More details about each one are given in the following subsections [Ren99]: Table (2.2) Most interest satellite features [ERD13] Feature QuickBird Landsat -7 GeoEye -1 IKONOS WorldView -2 Pleiades GSD 0.61m 15m 0.41m 1m 0.5m 0.5m Swath width 16.5 km 185km 15km 13km 16.4km 20km Multispectral Yes yes yes yes yes yes Revisit time 3-4 days 16 days 2-3 days 1-3 days 2-3 days 2-3 days Spatial Resolution The discrimination of image details is depending on the spatial resolution of the sensor, which refers to the ability of detecting the smallest possible feature in the image. Spatial resolution of sensors depends primarily on their Instantaneous Field of View (IFOV).The IFOV is related to the angular cone of visibility of the sensor that determines the ground are seen from a given altitude at one particular moment in time. The size of the viewed area is determined by multiplying the IFOV by the distance from the sensor to ground. This ground area is called the cell resolution and determines the maximum spatial resolution of the sensor [Sab97]. Spectral Resolution Many remote sensing systems use several separate wavelength ranges at various spectral resolutions when imaging the ground areas. These are referred to as multi-spectral sensors. Advanced multi-spectral sensors called hyperspectral sensors, which detect hundreds of very narrow spectral bands in the visible, near-infrared and mid-infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The use of spectral resolution improve the informatic store of specific ground area since there are very high spectral resolution facilitates leads to fine discrimination between different targets based on their spectral response when using each narrow bands [Lil04]. Radiometric Resolution The radiometric characteristics describe the actual information of image contents. Radiometric resolution is the sensitivity of the sensor to the magnitude of the electromagnetic energy that describes its ability to discriminate little differences in the energy. The finer radiometric resolution of sensors the more sensitive for detecting small differences in reflected or emitted energy [Bui93]. Digitally, radiometric resolution is the number of bits comprising each pixel in the image, which indicates the brightness level of current pixel. Brightness levels are digitally represented by a positive numbers varies from 0 to a selected power of 2. The available maximum brightness level depends on the number of bits used to represent the recorded energy. Thus, if the sensor uses 8bits for data recording, then there are 28=256 digital values are available within the range from 0 to 255 [San04]. Temporal Resolution Temporal resolution is related to the revisit period of a satellite sensor. The temporal resolution is the period of a remote sensing system that images the same area appeared at the same viewing angle for second time. The actual temporal resolution is typically measured by days, it depends on three factors: satellite capabilities, swath overlapping, and latitude. The ability of image collection in same area at different periods is an important element for applying remote sensing data. Spectral characteristics of given areas may change over the time and these changes can be detected by collecting and comparing multi-temporal images. When imaging on a continuing basis at different times, change on the Earth surface whether they are naturally occurring or induced by humans can be monitored [Lev99]. Fractal Theory In the 1970s, Benoit B. Mandelbrot introduced his discovery as a new field of mathematics named as fractal geometry (from Latin fractus, i.e. irregular fragmented). He claimed that the fractal geometry would provide a useful tool to explain a variety of naturally occurring phenomena [Man83]. A fundamental characteristic of fractal objects is that their measured metric properties such as length or area are a function of the scale of measurement [Sun06]. Mandelbrots fractal geometry is the best approximation and the most widely used successful mathematical model [Man88]. Fractal objects can be found everywhere in nature such as coastlines, fern trees, snowflakes, clouds and mountains. Self-similarity is one of the most important properties of fractals, invariant scale, and non-integer dimension [Man83]. Fractal geometry is not concerned with the explicit shape of objects. Instead, fractal geometry identifies the value that quantifies the shape of the objects surface by the fractal dimension DF. For example, a line is commonly thought of as 1D object, a plane as a 2D object, and a prism as a 3D object. All these dimensions have integer values. However, the surfaces of many natural objects cannot be described with an integer value, such objects are said to have a fractional dimension. According to Mandelbrot, the fractal can be defined as â€Å"A rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be subdivided in parts, each is (at least approximately) a reduced size copy of the whole†. In term of Mathematics, fractal can be defined as â€Å"A set of points whose fractal dimension exceeds its topological dimension† [Man83]. Fractal geometry uses the fractal features to describe the irregular or fragmented shapes of natural features as well as other complex objects that the tra ditional Euclidean geometry fails to analyze [Ana11].