Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Tips for Telephoning Native English Speakers

Tips for Telephoning Native English Speakers Have you ever had problems understanding native English speakers on the telephone? If so, you are not alone. All English learners have difficulties understanding people on the telephone. This is for a number of reasons: People speak too quicklyPeople dont pronounce the words wellThere are technical problems with the telephonesYou cant see the person you are speaking withIts difficult for people to repeat information This article focuses on the first and last problems listed above. Follow these tips to help you get native speakers of English to slow down! Immediately ask the person to speak slowly.When taking note of a name or important information, repeat each piece of information as the person speaks.  This is an especially effective tool. By repeating each important piece of information or each number or letter as the spell or give you a telephone number you automatically slow the speaker down.Do not say you have understood if you have not. Ask the person to repeat until you have understood.  Remember that the other person needs to make himself/herself understood and it is in his/her interest to make sure that you have understood. If you ask a person to explain more than twice, he will usually slow down.If the person does not slow down, begin speaking your own language!  A sentence or two of another language spoken quickly will remind the person that he is fortunate because he doesnt need to speak a different language to communicate. Used carefully, this exercise in humbling the other speaker can be very effective. Just be su re to use it with colleagues and not with a boss! More Telephone English Telephone English: Dialogue and Appropriate VocabularyTelephone English: Leaving a Message on an Answering MachinePractical Exercises: Exercises to Improve Your Telephoning SkillsRole Plays: Role Play Dialogue Cues to Practice Telephoning with FriendsBusiness Telephone ConversationsTeaching Telephone English: Lesson Plan

Friday, November 22, 2019

The Legend of El Dorado

The Legend of El Dorado El Dorado was a mythical city supposedly located somewhere in the unexplored interior of South America. It was said to be unimaginably rich, with fanciful tales told of gold-paved streets, golden temples and rich mines of gold and silver. Between 1530 and 1650 or so, thousands of Europeans searched the jungles, plains, mountains, and rivers of South America for El Dorado, many of them losing their lives in the process. El Dorado never existed except in the fevered imaginations of these seekers, so it was never found. Aztec and Inca Gold The El Dorado myth had its roots in the vast fortunes discovered in Mexico and Peru. In 1519, Hernn Cortes captured Emperor Montezuma and sacked the mighty Aztec Empire, making off with thousands of pounds of gold and silver and making rich men of the conquistadors who were with him. In 1533, Francisco Pizarro discovered the Inca Empire in the Andes of South America. Taking a page from Cortes book, Pizarro captured the Inca Emperor Atahualpa and held him for ransom, earning another fortune in the process. Lesser New World cultures such as the Maya in Central America and the Muisca in present-day Colombia yielded smaller (but still significant) treasures. Would-Be Conquistadors Tales of these fortunes made the rounds in Europe and soon thousands of adventurers from all over Europe were making their way to the New World, hoping to be part of the next expedition. Most (but not all) of them were Spanish. These adventurers had little or no personal fortune but great ambition: most had some experience fighting in Europes many wars. They were violent, ruthless men who had nothing to lose: they would get rich on New World gold or die trying. Soon the ports were flooded with these would-be conquistadors, who would form into large expeditions and set off into the unknown interior of South America, often following the vaguest rumors of gold. The Birth of El Dorado There was a grain of truth in the El Dorado myth. The Muisca people of Cundinamarca (present-day Colombia) had a tradition: kings would coat themselves in a sticky sap before covering themselves in gold powder. The king would then take a canoe to the center of Lake Guatavit and, before the eyes of thousands of his subjects watching from shore, would leap into the lake, emerging clean. Then, a great festival would begin. This tradition had been neglected by the Muisca by the time of their discovery by the Spanish in 1537, but not before word of it had reached the greedy ears of the European intruders in cities all over the continent. El Dorado, in fact, is Spanish for the gilded one: the term at first referred to an individual, the king who covered himself in gold. According to some sources, the man who coined this phrase was conquistador Sebastin de Benalczar. Evolution of the Myth After the Cundinamarca plateau was conquered, the Spanish dredged Lake Guatavit in search of the gold of El Dorado. Some gold was indeed found, but not as much as the Spanish had hoped for. Therefore, they reasoned optimistically, the Muisca must not be the true kingdom of El Dorado and it must still be out there somewhere. Expeditions, composed of recent arrivals from Europe as well as veterans of the conquest, set out in all directions to search for it. The legend grew as illiterate conquistadors passed the legend by word of mouth from one to another: El Dorado was not merely one king, but a rich city made of gold, with enough wealth for a thousand men to become rich forever. The Quest Between 1530 and 1650 or so, thousands of men made dozens of forays into the unmapped interior of South America. A typical expedition went something like this. In a Spanish coastal town on the South American mainland, such as Santa Marta or Coro, a charismatic, influential individual would announce an expedition. Anywhere from one hundred to seven hundred Europeans, mostly Spaniards would sign up, bringing their own armor, weapons, and horses (if you had a horse you got a larger share of the treasure). The expedition would force natives along to carry the heavier gear, and some of the better-planned ones would bring livestock (usually hogs) to slaughter and eat along the way. Fighting dogs were always brought along, as they were useful when fighting bellicose natives. The leaders would often borrow heavily to purchase supplies. After a couple of months, they were ready to go. The expedition would head off, seemingly in any direction. They would stay out for any length of time from a couple of months to as long as four years, searching plains, mountains, rivers, and jungles. They would meet natives along the way: these they would either torture or ply with gifts to get information about where they could find gold. Almost invariably, the natives pointed in some direction and said some variation of our neighbors in that direction have the gold you seek. The natives had quickly learned that the best way to be rid of these rude, violent men was to tell them what they wanted to hear and send them on their way. Meanwhile, illnesses, desertion, and native attacks would whittle down the expedition. Nevertheless, the expeditions proved surprisingly resilient, braving mosquito-infested swamps, hordes of angry natives, blazing heat on the plains, flooded rivers, and frosty mountain passes. Eventually, when their numbers got too low (or when the leader died) the expedition would give up and return home. The Seekers of This Lost City of Gold Over the years, many men searched South America for the legendary lost city of gold. At best, they were impromptu explorers, who treated the natives they encountered relatively fairly and helped map the unknown interior of South America. At worst, they were greedy, obsessed butchers who tortured their way through native populations, killing thousands in their fruitless quest. Here are some of the more distinguished seekers of El Dorado: Gonzalo Pizarro and  Francisco de Orellana: In 1541,  Gonzalo Pizarro, brother of Francisco Pizarro, led an expedition east from Quito. After a few months, he sent his lieutenant Francisco de Orellana in search of supplies: Orellana and his men  instead found the Amazon River, which they followed to the Atlantic Ocean.Gonzalo Jimà ©nez de Quesada: Quesada set out from Santa Marta with 700 men in 1536: in early 1537 they reached the Cundinamarca plateau, home of the Muisca people, which they swiftly conquered. Quesadas expedition was the one that actually found  El Dorado, although the greedy conquistadors at the time refused to admit that the mediocre takings from the Muisca were the fulfillment of the legend and they kept looking.Ambrosius Ehinger: Ehinger was a German: at the time, part of Venezuela was administered by Germans. He set out in 1529 and again in 1531 and led two of the cruelest expeditions: his men tortured natives and sacked their villages relentlessly. He w as killed by natives in 1533 and his men went home. Lope de Aguirre: Aguirre was a soldier on Pedro de Ursà ºas 1559 expedition which set out from Peru. Aguirre, a paranoid psychotic, soon turned the men against Ursà ºa, who was murdered. Aguirre eventually took over the expedition and began a reign of terror, ordering the murder of many of the original explorers and capturing and terrorizing the Island of Margarita. He was killed by Spanish soldiers.Sir Walter Raleigh: this legendary Elizabethan courtier is remembered as the man who introduced potatoes and tobacco to Europe and for his sponsorship of the doomed Roanoke  colony in Virginia. But he also was a seeker of El Dorado: he thought it was in the highlands of Guyana and made two trips there:  one in 1595  and a second in 1617. After the failure of  the second expedition, Raleigh was executed in England. Was It Ever Found? So,  was El Dorado ever found? Sort of. The  conquistadors  followed tales of El Dorado to  Cundinamarca  but refused to believe that they had found the mythical city, so they kept looking. The Spanish didnt know it, but the Muisca civilization was the last major native culture with any wealth. The El Dorado they searched for after 1537 did not exist. Still, they searched and searched: dozens of expeditions containing thousands of men scoured South America until about  1800 when  Alexander Von Humboldt  visited South America and concluded that El Dorado had been a myth all along. Nowadays, you can find El Dorado on a map, although its not the one the Spanish were looking for. There are towns named El Dorado in several countries, including Venezuela,  Mexico, and Canada. In the USA there are no fewer than thirteen towns named El Dorado (or Eldorado).  Finding El Dorado  is easier than ever†¦just dont expect streets paved with gold. The El Dorado legend has proven resilient. The notion of a lost city of gold and the desperate men who search for it is just too romantic for writers and artists to resist. Countless songs, stories  books, and poems (including one by  Edgar Allen Poe) have been written about the subject. There is even a superhero called El Dorado.  Moviemakers, in particular, have been fascinated by the legend: as recently as 2010 a movie was made about a modern-day scholar who finds clues to the lost city of El Dorado: action and shootouts ensue.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Discussions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussions - Assignment Example Indonesia which happens to be the major producer of palm kernel oil predicts increased yield which triggers increased production of coconut oil related products. From the social reorganization observed across the world, there is increased use of various products like cosmetics which are derived from coconut and this is likely to boost demand of this god substantially. It is important for the management to explore other factors that will improve demand. One of them is to undertake market research on people’s desires in terms of units of sales, packaging and the overall quality. It is equally important for managers to seek other price stabilizing strategies like collective bargaining approach with other producers (Kohler, 75). The Euro crisis is a significant determinant of US economic progress directly and indirectly. It is therefore undisputable fact that this economic slump had significant disturbance on the American Economy. The extensive foreign trade engagement between US and Europe which has been facilitated by globalization is a big factor that influences the existing dependency of the economic trend in these two regions. Most of the American businesses that are undertaken in parts of Europe especially value creation activities due to the comparative advantage concept has generally been affected since the dwindling economic climate offers confusion in terms of predicting the future (Kohler,75). There has been significant borrowing of capital goods by some Euro zone members like Greece and Cyprus besides foreign direct investment which undermines the economy future of US in the event of the Euro crisis that hit in 2012. It is therefore advisable that most businessmen study stock market trend very c arefully and divest to spread the risk and sustain their profit margin. This would entail seeking other value creation places like in Asia and Africa. Making decision to outsource input factor is a global debate among various managers. The thorny

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Operation and Logistics Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Operation and Logistics Management - Essay Example Hence, it brings value to the firms, in the form of profits by raising its productivity and the ratio of inputs to outputs (p.3); and to customers in improving the quality of products (Klassen 2005, p.1). As a transformation process, OM evolved from the production systems used during the Industrial Revolution known as craft production where highly-skilled artisans individually manufacture goods using simple tools to produce high-quality customised products (Finch 2004, p.7). During these times however, process management was not considered as an integral concept within production, such that individual workers were given free reign on their crafts, resulting to a slow and costly production process lacking uniform standards necessary for effective and efficient operations (Stevenson 2005, p.19). It was not until Taylor’s introduction of scientific management, that processes were given attention in business operations (p.19). Adopting Taylor’s proposal that there is â€Å"one best way† to accomplish tasks workers must follow, Ford developed the â€Å"assembly line† in manufacturing his T-Model, which introduced mass production and the concept of interchangeable parts, revolutionising the automotive industry and generating tremendous cost and time savings (Finch 2004, p.8). As Ford describes it, this new manufacturing process is â€Å"constrained only by the capabilities of the workforce and existing technology† (Chase, Aquilano & Jacobs 2006, p.16). While Ford’s production processes increased productivity and efficiency, it resulted to quality deficiencies, especially when compared to Japanese products that were superior to their US counterparts. This spawned the â€Å"quality revolution†, shifting OM to focus on designing production processes that improved quality, just as much as productivity and cost-efficiency (Stevenson 2005, p.21). Apart from the growing importance of production

Sunday, November 17, 2019

What Is Obama Care Essay Example for Free

What Is Obama Care Essay Obama Care (also known as Health Care reform) is a national health care plan aimed at reforming the American health care system. Obama Cares main focus is on providing more Americans with access to affordable health care, regulating the health insurance industry and reducing spending in health care. There are around 44 million Americans who currently are unable to get health insurance. One of the major things Obama Care does is help these individuals to get health insurance through expanding Medicaid and Medicare and offering assistance to Americans who cannot currently afford healthcare. Obama Care helps to ensure that health care coverage is available to any legal U. S. resident who cannot otherwise obtain quality healthcare through their employer. Your access to health care is no longer in the hands of health insurance companies. The first phase of Obamas health care reform began in 2009 with the Affordable Health Care for America Act and was followed by The Patient Protection Act. Which culminated into the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 2010, or for short â€Å"Affordable Care Act†? After going through several changes the Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. Since Obama Care was upheld in the Supreme Court and Barack Obama was sworn into office for a second term Obama Care health care reform is now the law of the land (abet with some major changes made in the Supreme Court ruling). Many reforms have already gone into effect and many more will roll out over the next decade. Obamas healthcare reform is focused on health care funding, reducing the cost of healthcare for Americans, increasing coverage and removing the burden that health care has become on the average American. In the years since its become a law the Affordable Health Care Act, has already made a big difference in our country. Obama Care has done some important thins already such as prohibiting insurance companies from dropping your coverage if you get sick and has been chipping away at discrimination against anyone with a pre-existing condition. No system is perfect, but Obama Care Health Care Reform aims to reform the American medical system towards the favor of the people and away from the monopoly of the medical industry. Obama Care aims to provide complete and comprehensive medical coverage for Americans. Obamas health care reform under the Affordable Care Act is the most significant overhaul to health care industry in decades, covering every aspect of healthcare including mental health, care for seniors, child health, womans health and our nations poorest. Obama Care also provides drug coverage and free preventive care and checkups for children and countless other unprecedented reforms to the American health care system.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Computer Security And The Law :: essays research papers

I. Introduction You are a computer administrator for a large manufacturing company. In the middle of a production run, all the mainframes on a crucial network grind to a halt. Production is delayed costing your company millions of dollars. Upon investigating, you find that a virus was released into the network through a specific account. When you confront the owner of the account, he claims he neither wrote nor released the virus, but he admits that he has distributed his password to "friends" who need ready access to his data files. Is he liable for the loss suffered by your company? In whole or in part? And if in part, for how much? These and related questions are the subject of computer law. The answers may very depending in which state the crime was committed and the judge who presides at the trial. Computer security law is new field, and the legal establishment has yet to reach broad agreement on may key issues. Advances in computer security law have been impeded by the reluctance on the part of lawyers and judges to grapple with the technical side of computer security issues[1]. This problem could be mitigated by involving technical computer security professional in the development of computer security law and public policy. This paper is meant to help bridge to gap between technical and legal computer security communities. II. THE TECHNOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE A. The Objectives of Computer Security The principal objective of computer security is to protect and assure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of automated information systems and the data they contain. Each of these terms has a precise meaning which is grounded in basic technical ideas about the flow of information in automated information systems. B. Basic Concepts There is a broad, top-level consensus regarding the meaning of most technical computer security concepts. This is partly because of government involvement in proposing, coordinating, and publishing the definitions of basic terms[2]. The meanings of the terms used in government directives and regulations are generally made to be consistent with past usage. This is not to say that there is no disagreement over the definitions in the technical community. Rather, the range of such disagreement is much narrower than in the legal community. For example there is presently no legal consensus on exactly what constitutes a computer[3]. The term used to establish the scope of computer security is "automated information system," often abbreviated "AIS." An Ais is an assembly of electronic equipment, hardware, software, and firmware configured to collect, create, communicate, disseminate, process, store and control data or information. This includes numerous items beyond the central processing unit and associated

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Locus of Control vs Quality of life Essay

The locus of control measures the rational one has on how they assess the nature of cause and effect in their life. Studies show that the measure of control one interprets they have on the incidents in their life the better quality of life they lead. This is the core concept of the relationship between locus of control and quality of life, as well as the main topic of debate for many scholars. In his study† Community Correlates of Outcomes in Subjects with Panic Attacks†, David A. Katerndahl utilizes structured interviews of randomly selected adults from 18 different census tracts to measure the way they perceive their lives. All of those studied are college students, and lack of control directly correlates with stress. Oddly enough, the stressors that apply to these students tend to be some of the same stressors that apply to the lives of everyday working people. For instance Katerndahl notes that one significant stressor all of the students shared had to do with an inadequacy over their income to rent ratio. He ultimately concludes that there is a direct connection that can be made between quality of life and the control one feels they have over occurrences. He connects this finding with cases of panic attacks. The 97 subjects with panic attacks included 78% females, 56% Hispanics, and 30% non-hispanic whites (Katerndahl, 2001). More than anything Katerndahl’s work serves as an adamant argument for women being vulnerable to life stressors and anxiety being a detriment to their health. One major problem in society that is mentally affecting women is the culture of thinness. There is a constant pressure placed on women to be attractive, thin, and fit into the valley girl image established by films As a result, women are more likely to develop eating disorders. Anorexia, an eating disorder that involves drastic fasting, and Bulimia, which consists of binge eating followed by any compensatory behavior, are virtually nonexistent in men (Katerndahl, 2001). Both of these disorders lead to serious health problems but anorexia ultimately leads to death by starvation. It is thought that these disorders are caused by a perceived lack of control in their lives; which is balanced by these women having complete control over their looks. Discrimination against unattractive or overweight women is an unspoken prejudice. This epidemic of attaining physical perfection is actually an unnecessary and harmful setback for women. Here the locus of control, or lack of control, these women feel prevalent in their lives leads to cases of bulimia, anorexia, and even death. While Katerndahl’s study seems to imply that women are more prone to anxiety and and feeling a lack of control. Biologically, research shows that men and women are actually not all that different. Pertaining to cognition, men are more suited for mental rotation, navigation using geometry and recognizing objects within visual backgrounds. Women show better memory for locating objects and navigating through the use of landmarks (Allen, Goldscheider, & Ciambrone, 1999; Baider et al. , 1995; Ben-Tov, 1992; Ptacek et al. , 1994). As far as motor skills, from age 3-5 years old onward, men show an exceptional accuracy at aiming projectiles, while women show the ability for exceptional speech rate and small amplitude coordination. Pertaining to math skills, men are best suited for solving abstract reasoning problems, while women tend to be statistically best at computation and calculation problem solving. As far as verbal abilities go, women show earlier development of virtually every aspect of verbal ability, verbal memory, spelling grammar and fluency (Oren & Sherer, 2001). When emotions come into play, men and women use different areas of their brains to control sexuality, but most of the chemical systems overlap and most of the social bonding is somehow connected to the sexual process. Men and women have different forms of aggression. In most mammals, men tend to be the aggressor; many forms of aggression are controlled through different neural pathways (Oren & Sherer, 2001). BNST manages ‘affective attack’; this region is sensitized by testosterone and desensitized by estrogen. AVP stimulation increases aggressive behavior and drives persistence; circuits for this neuron are also more prevalent in males than in Females (Allen, Goldscheider, & Ciambrone, 1999; Baider et al. , 1995; Ben-Tov, 1992; Ptacek et al. , 1994). The mild biological differences that exist between men and women can only be significantly contrast their methods of responding to stress when the stressor in some way capitalizes on either sex’s chemical weakness. For example, men are psychologically more prone to substance abuse; a man under the influence of a substance that inhibits or enhances the circulation of AVP would affect the testosterone levels in the male’s body, thus making him more or less aggressive. This shift in behavior would entirely be dependent on whether the male abuses substances as a coping strategy for stress. This would have the same effect for a woman, but men are more prone to this dysfunctional behavior. Oddly enough, maternal stress can lead to a drop testosterone development desynchronizing or preventing masculinization. Stress can also effect the human body’s ability to heal itself when sick or influence the method of coping with disease. The biological assessment of both men and women show that at the core of the human mind everyone has a similar breaking point or defining line that depending on circumstances could drive any individual toward a panic attack. Katerndahl’s end finding sums it up best when he say, â€Å"This study found that, with the exception of overall quality of life, all of the assessed outcomes were associated with at least one community factor, accounting for up to 15% of outcome variance. Although previous work found that country-level variables (i. e. , unemployment, gross national product) were not related to morbidity or work satisfaction [Benavides et al. , 2000], this does not imply a lack of impact by neighborhood level factors (Katerndahl, 2001). † Here he is basically pointing out that in all of the events that occurred in the lives of each respective college individual, all of the students at least felt that 15% of the effects they endured were caused by community events out of their control. Which is understandable, but it also suggests there is a window for perceived helplessness in the psyche of all individuals, a panic attack is just dependant on the measure of one’s locus of control. Everything has a cause and effect, and while an individual can dictate their course of actions, sometimes the effect can be unpredictable and completely controlled by community events. For example, Katerndahl mentions how a major source of anxiety for many people is maintaining an adequate rent to income ratio. An individual who has a weak sense of control might fall into a morbid depression over their income which is ultimately designated by the government, so they rightfully feel as though they are catching a bad break; but, they also have the option of working more hours, or bettering their education for higher pay. In this scenario the locus of control is decided by deeply one buys into the illusion of being without options. This is a characteristic that many of the scholars suggest is measured by socioeconomic factors, such as upbringing, family education, and the environment of one’s neighborhood. This is the core concept in Jerome J. Tobacyk’s work. In Tobacyk’s article Changes in Locus of Control Beliefs in Polish University Students Before and After Democratization, he argues that sociocultural changes through changes that occurred through the democratization of Poland ultimately allowed for shifts in the locus of control perceived by Polish citizens. He directly connects ones economic circumstance to the extent of which they can construct their life. He argues that the ability of one to reinvent themselves was seen as a luxury only accessible to the financial elite before Poland became a legitimate democracy. As he notes, â€Å"The recent dramatic democratization movement in Poland allowed a study of the effects of the transformation from an external control to an internal control sociocultural situation on individual locus of control beliefs. This study compares the locus of control beliefs of Polish university students before (in 1985) and just after (in 1991) the profound sociocultural change of democracy. Here it becomes clear that the imediet newfound belief that one can achieve entirely independent of heritage, race, religion, or sex has the ability to uplift the moral of an entire nation. The author further notes that, â€Å"The most dramatic transformation was the change toward internal control (ie. Autonomy, independence, self-determination) in the sociopolitical effort (Tobacyk, 2001). † In sum, with their studies, these scholars show that one’s perceived happiness is just a measure of the control they insist they have over their respective circumstances. They can only insist they have this control, because even this control is just based on perception. As Katerndahl’s study shows only a fool would live as though outside forces have no effect on one’s life just as a lunatic might believe their life is completely driven by predestined events. Work Cited Allen, S. M. , Goldscheider, F. , & Ciambrone, D. A. (1999). Gender roles, marital intimacy and nomination of spouse as primary caregiver. Gerontologist,39, 150–158. Almeida, D. M. , & Kessler, R. C. (1998) Everyday stressors and gender differences in daily. distress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75,670–680 Long J. D. , & Williams R. L. (1988) The relationship of Locus of Control to Life Style Habits. Journal of Clinical Psychology, vol. 44, no. 2 Katerndahl, M. D. , M. A. (2001) Community Correlates of Outcomes in Subjects with Panic Attacks. Depression and Anxiety 13:194–197 Oren, N. , & Sherer, M. (2001). Cancer Patients and their Spouses: Gender and its Effect on Psychological and Social Adjustment. Journal of Health Psychology, 6(3), 329-338. Retrieved Sep. 18, 2008, from file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Simon%20Breedon/My%20Documents/Gender%20Differences-Coping%20with%20Stress. pdf. Tobacyk, J. (2001). Changes in Locus of Control Beliefs in Polish University Students Before and After Democratization. The Journal of Social Psychology, 132(2), 217-222

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Air Pollution Control in India

AIR POLLUTION CONTROL IN INDIA Air pollution  is the introduction of  chemicals,  particulate matter, or  biological materials  that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the  natural environment  or  built environment, into the  atmosphere. The first law against air pollution was passed in 1873. Air pollution can be classified broadly in two types: 1) Urban * Industrialization * Vehicles The increasing number of vehicles and industries constitute a major source for air pollution in urban areas. Heavy subsidy on Diesel also contributed to urban air pollution. 2) Rural * Indoor air pollution Indoor air pollution is caused due to poor availability of resources. It is directly and indirectly linked to lack of awareness and unaffordability which can be tackled by creating more employment opportunities for people. In India around 60% of the total population lives in rural areas and thus pollution caused due to indoor burning of solids is also very high. Case study: Bhopal Gas tragedy (1984) The Bhopal Gas Tragedy, involving a massive release of 40 tonnes heavier-than-air toxic methylisocyanate (MIC) gas, resulted in the death or injury of many thousands of people in the surrounding residential areas.It is attributed to the failure of safety systems, which allowed forty tones of the poisonous methyl isocyanate from the Union Carbide plant, to mix with water at a high temperature. Half a million people were exposed to the gas and 20,000 have died to date as a result of their exposure. More than 120,000 people still suffer from ailments caused by the accident and the subsequent pollution at the plant site. These ailments include blindness, extreme difficulty in breathing, and gynecological disorders. Controlling Air Pollution:National Air Quality Monitoring Program (NAMP)- The objectives of the N. A. M. P. are to determine status and trends of ambient air quality; to ascertain whether the prescribed ambient a ir quality standards are violated; to Identify Non-attainment Cities; to obtain the knowledge and understanding necessary for developing preventive and corrective measures and to understand the natural cleansing process undergoing in the environment through pollution dilution, dispersion, wind based movement, dry deposition, precipitation and chemical transformation of pollutants generated.UNEPs Indian Solar Loan Program- The aim of this effort is to help Canara bank and Syndicate bank develop lending portfolios specifically targeted at financing solar home systems (SHS). With the support of the UN Foundation and Shell Foundation, the project provides an interest rate subsidy to lower the cost to customers of SHS financing.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

AFRO-005, Section 04 [3 Credit Hours], CRN 10015[1 Essays

AFRO-005, Section 04 [3 Credit Hours], CRN 10015[1 Essays AFRO-005, Section 04 [3 Credit Hours], CRN 10015[1] Introduction to Afro-American Studies I[2], Spring, 2010 Semester Tuesdays/Thursdays, Ernest Everett Just[3] Hall (Biology) Auditorium, 9:40- 11:00 a.m.. Greg E. Carr, Ph.D., J.D., Associate Professor; Office: Founder's Library, Room 318 [202.806.7581, [emailprotected]] Office Hours: Tuesdays, 1-3 p.m.; Thursdays, 5:30-7:30 p.m.; By Appointment This course introduces and teaches students to apply major concepts and methods of the stand-alone academic field, discipline and meta- discipline of Africana Studies[4]. General Course Objectives: Students successfully completing this course[5] will be able to: . Identify and discuss the broad contours and some key specifics of the African intellectual tradition and genealogy, from antiquity to the present; . Utilize vocabulary, comparative and evaluative techniques explicitly associated with the academic field, discipline and meta-discipline of Africana Studies to analyze texts, practices and narratives; and . Relate a working knowledge of the African historical experience as a discrete element of world history, and demonstrate greater acquaintance with and interpretive acuity for institutions and forces shaping Africana life in the period of late modernity [1800 to the present], for the African experience in Latin, Caribbean, and North America and Africa in general and the United States in particular. Interdisciplinary Course Objectives Students successfully completing this course will be able to: . Describe and use basic academic vocabulary, concepts and methods (skills) associated with the academic field, discipline and meta- discipline of Africana Studies in their bi-weekly response essays; . Apply basic academic vocabulary, concepts and methods (skills) associated with other academic fields, including (but not limited to): History, Literature, Art History and Physics and Mathematics in an interdisciplinary fashion in their bi-weekly response essays; . Demonstrate a basic understanding of conceptual approaches common to clusters of academic fields. . Participate in Learning Communities with other faculty and students taking interdisciplinary research courses and integrate themes discussed in bi-weekly response essays and mbongi forms Research Skills Course Objectives Students successfully completing this course will be able to: . Describe and apply basic steps in completing a research paper in the social sciences or humanities; . Evaluate source materials critically and incorporate their evaluation in each bi-weekly response essay; . Identify the steps in creating a research proposal and final research project requiring the demonstration of applied skills in the field and discipline of Africana Studies and at least one other academic field/discipline. Evaluation System[6]: Bi-Weekly Written Response Essays [5]: 20% Every two weeks, you will be required to submit [typed, double- spaced] a three-page response essay. This essay will follow the format of a mini-research paper. Accordingly, it will rely on your notes taken from the previous two week's class readings and classroom discussions. You are required to include no fewer than two (2) citations from your reading assignments and no fewer than two (2) citations from class discussions and/or materials discussed in class. Each review will include the following categories: . Abstract [With Clearly Worded Thesis Statement of 1-2 sentences]: Your abstract should be a one paragraph answer to the framing question for the period. It should tell the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. For example: Framing question one asks "How do we undertake the study of the African experience?" The first paragraph of your essay should give your clearly worded scholarly opinion on how to answer that question based on your notes from the readings and class discussions. You will spend the rest of the essay persuading the reader of the logic of your interpretation based on the evidence you have found in your textbooks and class notes to support what you have said in this first paragraph. [Many researchers refer to this paragraph as the "abstract" and also use it to summarize their paper. This requires them to compose it last, as a summary of their longer paper]. . Critical Review of Scholarship: You should indicate in several paragraphs what specific sources you will be referring to in your essay, and for what specific points. You will, of course, be referring to the class textbooks, but should also refer to sources introduced in class. This is also the section of the paper where you should indicate how well your textbooks help you to answer the bi-weekly framing question. This last point is critical: This

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Teens Having Sex

Teens Having Sex Young women and teen girls trying to figure out the right age to have sex frequently want to know the answer to a related question: When do most teens have sex? When they see other teens having sex on TV and in films- and read about it in magazines and books- many get the wrong idea that everyone else is having sex except for them. Its an exaggerated image thats fed by depictions of sexually active teens in films like  Ladybird and TV shows like Mom, The United States of Tara, Riverdale, and 13 Reasons Why. The regular presence of pregnant teens in the media spotlight makes it seem as if most teens between ages 15 and 19 are having sex- and that this activity is commonplace. The truth? The majority of teens ages 15 to 19 are not having sex. In fact, only 46 percent of teens in this age group in the U.S. have had sex at least once. Worried parents and anxious teens can calm their anxiety by understanding that the medias obsession with teen sex is more a result of hype than a reflection of reality. Unlike some of the characters of Riverdale, who are having sex at 15, real-life teens who are actually sexually active tend to be older. The Guttmacher Institutes September 2017 report titled Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in the United States debunks this and other myths about teens sexual behavior. According to the Guttmacher study, On average, young people in the United States have sex for the first time at about age 17. And this is part of a trend: In recent years, teens are waiting longer and longer to have sex. In 2011–2013, about 13% of never-married females aged 15–19 and 18% of never-married males in that age group had had sex before age 15, compared with 19% and 21%, respectively, in 1995.   Despite the lingering stereotype that teen sex is all about casual hookups with no commitment between sexual partners, 73 percent of teen females report that the first time they had sex, they did so with a steady boyfriend, a fiancà ©, a husband, or a cohabiting partner. The news gets better. Teens who engage in sex are taking more responsibility for avoiding pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. From 2011 to 2013 over three-quarters (79 percent) of sexually active teen females used contraception when having sex for the first time. This represents a radical change in behavior from 1982, when only 48 percent of teen females used contraception the first time. Perhaps most importantly, this practice is sustained past that first encounter: In 2006–2010, 86% of females and 93% of males aged 15–19 reported having used contraceptives the last time they had sex. This increase in contraceptive use has paid off. In 2013, the adolescent pregnancy rate reached a record low...less than 5% of females [aged 15–19] became pregnant. This is a precipitous decline of around a third of the peak rate, which occurred in 1990. Theres one thing that reality TV shows and teen pregnancy dramas do get right: 75 percent of teen pregnancies are unplanned. Source Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in the United States. Guttmacher Institute, guttmacher.org. September 11, 2017.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Culture - Essay Example h disparities in the Muslim culture are the same as those that affect other people, but they require a different approach in some forms of treatment so that they adhere to their beliefs. Today, Muslims approach healthcare in different ways, for example, those in the rural areas are deeply rooted in their beliefs, and they do not accept western medicine. They prefer to use traditional medicines in the event that someone is sick. Today, there are traditional healers who use still use the mixture of Quran and other traditional healing techniques like herbs for treatment. Some of them use superstitious practices, and this goes against their beliefs. However, some have adapted to the western medicines, but they require certain values to be followed. They believe in preventive measures since they believe that Allah did not create any disease. They look into their religious, social heritage when using any form of treatment. They have celebrated dates such as Eid Fitr and Eid Adha, and medical practitioners need to consider these dates. For example, their diet requires exceptional care since they are not permitted to feed on pork. Medical practitioners need to ensure that their medicines and food are free from pork supplements. The gap in Muslims that hinders their healthcare is the strict following of the Quran. Cases have been reported where people die since the writings in the Quran do not allow a certain procedure. I believe that they should typify flexibility in their treatment so that medical practices are efficient. Therefore, healthcare providers need to understand beliefs of different cultures so that treating them conform s to their beliefs hence improving health