Early Design on the American Landscape- TOPIC- Effigy Mounds, Iowa Essay

Early Design on the American Landscape- TOPIC- Effigy Mounds, Iowa - Essay Example It has been realized that a number of these ancient landscape designs have been eroded by the time factors but, the altered cultural model has necessitated the preservation of some of these remaining historic sites. It is imperative to explore various preservation concepts that have been used over time to keep the ancient artifacts and scenic landscape to the present time. US have numerous sites of cultural heritage that is characterized by a wide range of architectural techniques. Various modes of preservation have been used to keep such historical pieces of art on land. It is equally important to establish some of the original structures that existed where a given feature currently occupy. Effigy mounts has been referred to a representation of some sort in the form of a picture or object that is easily identifiable by many. It may also mean a symbol that is used by different cultures to for the purposes of historical value or having a known significance to such community or groups of communities (Birmingham, Robert and Leslie, 66). In the modern times however, icons of places are mostly represented by beautiful architectural buildings. Though past icons such as monuments, statues and historical buildings are still recognized as icons of different places, there is a rapid change in the way icons are perceived and this has been brought about by the construction of amazing pieces of architecture. This paradigm shift has been driven by the demand for popularity and instant fame as well as for business purposes. Different regions are now in competition with one another in the construction of stunning architectural buildings. Most of Effigy Mounts features’ management is undertaken by Natural resources department of Iowa. It is just one among the many state owned tourist attraction sites in the US in co-operation with the museum agencies of the federal state. Effigy mounds are one of the greatest caretakers of various attractive sites in US. The attractive f eature is found in Iowa State; this state is one of the centers that showcase the master piece of art. The planning of this state was so planned in a way that it captures the need of the entire community at large. The location of the park is so strategic that it lies between the outskirts of the main town centre and the upcoming neighborhood. In the context of art as a perfect tool that actually symbolizes the creativity and the ultimate performance of the society, we shall consider its land mark park. The design and the infrastructural alignment in the city’s artistic work are such that administrative block being at the centre and residential environment forming an attractive settlement ring around it. About the Effigy mounts According to data from Effigy mounts, Iowa state city boasts of a well equipped schools of visual arts and monumental items where such beautiful artifacts are found. This state has various departments and these are divided into three main parts; one dea ls with filming affairs, another one repair and finally the department of artifacts. The library department is concerned with the management of the park’s arts records which they can produce at the demand or consent of the state’s authorities. There is a cultural heritage and museum department in the state which houses some of the finest artistic material in the region. Among them are some of the traditional items that were used

E Commerce And The Importance Of Encryption Computer Science Essay

E Commerce And The Importance Of Encryption Computer Science Essay Web-commerce has grown into one of the fastest-growing area of industry in the past two years. Billions of dollars have passed hands in the process and each entrepreneur wants a slice of the dough. To make this possible, data encryption plays a very central role in ensuring customers that paying for anything online is secure. E-commerce relies on encryption to secure data transmission by controlling data access and protect information on the internet and in the end improve consumer confidence. Encryption is the encoding of data using an algorithm such that it is incomprehensible to anyone in the event that the data transmission is intercepted, unless the key is known to enable file decryption. By implementing encryption, integrity is maintained while digital authentication is enforced, thus, allowing both customers and sellers to verify the identity of the other party, a concept fundamental to secure online credit card transactions. The reliability of an e-commerce website may be negatively impacted if theft of customer information occurs, especially risky since 90% of all online payments are dealt by credit cards. 4. Important of Encryption Cryptography is a method of mathematically encoding used to transform messages in to an unreadable format in an effort to maintain confidentiality of data. Cryptography comprises a family of technologies that include the following: Encryption transforms data into some unreadable form to ensure privacy. Decryption is reverse of encryption; it transforms encrypted data back into original, intelligible form. Authentication identifies an entity such as an individual, a machine on the network or an organization. Digital signatures blind a document to the possessor of a particular key and are the digital equivalent of paper signatures. Signature verification is the inverse of a digital signature; it verifies that a particular signature is valid. Application In order to enable secure online transaction, data encryption plays four important functions: Digital authentication which allows both the customers and the merchant to be sure that they are dealing with whom, the other party claims to be. These is absolutely necessary before sending credit card details to the seller and also allow sellers to verify that the customer is the real owner of the credit card being used. Integrity ensures that the messages received re not changed during transmission by any third party. Non-repudiation prevents customers or merchants denying they ever received or sent a particular message or order. In the event that information is intercepted, encryption ensures privacy that prevents third parties from reading and or using the information to their own advantage. Two methods of encryption network traffic on the web are SSL and S-HTTP. Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and its successor Transport Layer security (TLS) enable client and server computers to manage encryption and decryption activities as they communicate with each other during a secure web session. Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (S-HTTP) is another protocol used for encrypting data flowing over the internet, but it is limited to individual messages, whereas SSL and TLS are designed to establish a secure connection between two computers. The capability to generate secure sessions is built into Internet client browser software and servers, and occurs automatically with little user intervention. The client and the server negotiate what key and what level of security to use. Once a secure session is established between the client and the server, all messages in that session are encrypted. There are two alternative methods of encryption: symmetric key encryption and public key encryption. In symmetric key encryption, the sender and the receiver establish a secure Internet session by creating a single encryption key and sending it to the receiver so both the sender and receiver share the same key. The strength of the encryption key is measured by its nit length. Today a typical key will be 128 bits long (a string of 128 binary digits). The problem with all symmetric encryption schemes is that the key itself must be shared somehow among the senders and receivers, which exposes the key to outsiders who might just be able to intercept and decrypt the key, A more secure form of encryption called public key encryption uses two keys: one shared (or public) and one totally private, as shown in Figure. The keys are mathematically related so that data encrypted with one key can be decrypted using only the other key. To send and receive messages, communicators first create separate pairs of private and public keys. The public key is kept in a directory and the private key must be kept secret. The sender encrypts a message with the recipientà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s public key. On receiving the message the recipient uses his or her private key to decrypt it. Digital signatures and digital certificates further help with authentication. Benefits/Advantages Most corporations implement multiple forms of security by using hardware solutions such as routers and firewalls. These devices protect essential data by keeping external threats out of the network. Unfortunately, burglars will employ numerous attacks, specifically targeted at your information. When attackers find a way to enter your first line of defense, data encryption steps up and helps to ensure that your secrets cant be viewed. Encryption has changed significantly over the years, going from a military solution to widespread public use. Whether its hardware or software-based, this method is fast, easy to use and most important, secure. Here some of the key benefits this solution offers: Power: The best in data encryption is based on global standards, able to mitigate potential corruption without flaw. Many solutions are large enough to ensure that an entire organization is in full compliance with security policies. Data encryption allows a corporation to achieve military-level security with easy and affordable solutions. Flexibility: Data encryption can protect your sensitive information whether its stored on a desktop or laptop computer, a PDA, removable storage media, an email server or even the corporate network. This allows you to securely access important data from the office, on the road or at home. If the device is lost or stolen, the information will be protected by the data encryption mechanism. Transparency: It wouldnt be a good idea to employ any security measure that negatively impacts your business. An efficient data encryption solution enables your business to flow at a normal pace, silently securing crucial data in the background. Some of the best options are those running effectively without the user even being aware. There are many benefits of data encryption as this solution provides solid protection in the event of a security breach. Not only does it offer peace of mind, it also frees up resources normally used by your perimeter defenses. Every security measure you set in place is important yet inefficient if confidential data itself is not protected. Limitations Encryption is often oversold as the solution to all security problems or to threats that it does not address. Unfortunately, encryption offers no such protection. Encryption does nothing to protect against many common methods of attack including those that exploit bad default settings or vulnerabilities in network protocols or software even encryption software. In general, methods other than encryption are needed to keep out intruders. Secure Computing Corporations Sidewinder system defuses the forty-two bombs (security vulnerabilities) in Cheswick and Bellovins book, Firewalls and Network Security (Addison Wesley, 1994), without making use of any encryption. Conclusion

The Story of an Hour Essay example -- Kate Chopin

â€Å"The Story of an Hour† By Kate Chopin   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin describes the thoughts and feelings that are depicted in a single hour of the life of Louise Mallard after hearing that her husband has been killed in a railroad accident. As the story begins we are told that Mrs. Mallard is afflicted with a heart condition so the news of her husband’s death is broken to her gently by her sister. Mrs. Mallard’s initial reaction, upon hearing of her husband’s death is one of grief. She wishes to be left alone to grieve in her room upstairs in the house. However, during the hour she spends sitting in an armchair alone in the room, her state of mind changes dramatically. She is faced with conflicting emotions and although she loved her husband and is very upset by his death, she cannot suppress the thoughts that she is now free to begin a new life without the restraints of having a husband. Mrs. Mallard experiences a joy and hope that will change her life now that she only has herself to think about. The story ends in a dramatic climax when Brently Mallard returns home, unhurt and not dead. The sight of seeing her husband alive causes Mrs. Mallard to die of what the doctors’ say is a â€Å"heart disease – of joy that kills.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Story of an Hour† portrays the social status or the Mallard family as working class. We know this because the author tells us that Brently Mallard works on the railroad. Through...

A Definition of Collaborative vs Cooperative Learning Essay

I have been searching for many years for the Holy Grail of interactive learning, a distinction between collaborative and cooperative learning definitions. I am getting closer to my elusive goal all the time but I am still not completely satisfied with my perception of the two concepts. I believe my confusion arises when I look at processes associated with each concept and see some overlap or inter-concept usage. I will make a humble attempt to clarify this question by presenting my definitions and reviewing those of other authors who have helped clarify my thinking. Collaboration is a philosophy of interaction and personal lifestyle whereas cooperation is a structure of interaction designed to facilitate the accomplishment of an end product or goal. Collaborative learning (CL) is a personal philosophy, not just a classroom technique. In all situations where people come together in groups, it suggests a way of dealing with people which respects and highlights individual group members’ abilities and contributions. There is a sharing of authority and acceptance of responsibility among group members for the groups actions. The underlying premise of collaborative learning is based upon consensus building through cooperation by group members, in contrast to competition in which individuals best other group members. CL practitioners apply this philosophy in the classroom, at committee meetings, with community groups, within their families and generally as a way of living with and dealing with other people. Cooperative learning is defined by a set of processes which help people interact together in order to accomplish a specific goal or develop an end product which is usually content specific. It is more directive than a collaboratve system of governance and closely controlled by the teacher. While there are many mechanisms for group analysis and introspection the fundamental approach is teacher centered whereas collaborative learning is more student centered. Spencer Kagan in an article in Educational Leadership (Dec/Jan 1989/1990) provides an excellent definition of cooperative learning by looking at general structures which can be applied to any situation. His definition provides an unbrella for the work cooperative learning specialists including he Johnsons, Slavin, Cooper, Graves and Graves, Millis, etc. It follows below: â€Å"The structural approach to cooperative learning is based on the creation, analysis and systematic application of structures, or content-free ways of organizing social interaction in the classroom. Structures usually involve a series of steps, with proscribed behavior at each step. An important cornerstone of the approach is the distinction bet ween â€Å"structures† and â€Å"activities†. â€Å"To illustrate, teachers can design many excellent cooperative activities, such as making a team mural or a quilt. Such activities almost always have a specific content-bound objective and thus cannot be used to deliver a range of academic content. Structures may be used repeatedly with almost any subject matter, at a wide range of grade levels and at various points in a lesson plan. † John Myers (Cooperative Learning vol 11 #4 July 1991) points out that the dictionary definitions of â€Å"collaboration†, derived from its Latin root, focus on the process of working together; the root word for â€Å"cooperation† stresses the product of such work. Co-operative learning has largely American roots from the philosophical writings of John Dewey stressing the social nature of learning and the work on group dynamics by Kurt Lewin. Collaborative learning has British roots, based on the work of English teachers exploring ways to help students respond to literature by taking a more active role in their own learning. The cooperative learning tradition tends to use quantitative methods which look at achievement: i. e. , the product of learning. The collaborative tradition takes a more qualitative approach, analyzing student talk in response to a piece of literature or a primary source in history. Myers points out some differences between the two concepts: â€Å"Supporters of co-operative learning tend to be more teacher-centered, for example when forming heterogeneous groups, structuring positive inter- dependence, and teaching co-operative skills. Collaborative learning advocates distrust structure and allow students more say if forming friendhip and interest groups. Student talk is stressed as a means for working things out. Discovery and contextural approaches are used to teach interpersonal skills. † â€Å"Such differences can lead to disagreements†¦. I contend the dispute is not about research, but more about the morality of what should happen in the schools. Beliefs as to whast should happen in the schools can be viewed as a continuum of orientations toward curriculum from â€Å"transmission† to â€Å"transaction† to â€Å"transmission†. At one end is the transmission position. As the name suggests, the aim of this orientation is to transmit knowledge to students in the form of facts, skills and values. The transformation position at the other end of the continuum stresses personal and social change in which the person is said to be interrelated with the environment rather than having control over it. The aim of this orientation is self-actualization, personal or organizational change. † Rocky Rockwood (National Teaching and Learning Forum vol 4 #6, 1995 part 1) describes the differences by acknowledging the parallels they both have in that they both use groups, both assign specific tasks, and both have the groups share and compare their procedures and conclusions in plenary class sessions. The major difference lies in the fact that cooperative deals exclusively with traditional (canonical) knowledge while collaborative ties into the social constructivist movement, asserting that both knowledge and authority of knowledge have changed dramatically in the last century. â€Å"The result has been a transition from â€Å"foundational (cognitive) understanding of knowledge†, to a nonfoundational ground where â€Å"we understand knowledge to be a social construct and learning a social process† (Brufee, Collaborative learning: Higher Education, Interdependence, and the Authority of Knowledge, 1993). Rockwood states: â€Å"In the ideal collaborative environment, the authority for testing and determining the appropriateness of the group product rests with, first, the small group, second, the plenary group (the whole class) and finally (but always understood to be subject to challenge and revision) the requisite knowledge community (i. e. the discipline: geography, history, biology etc. ) The concept of non- foundational knowledge challenges not only the product acquired, but also the process employed in the acquisition of foundational knowledge. â€Å"Most importantly, in cooperative, the authority remains with the instructor, who retains ownership of the task, which involves either a closed or a closable (that is to say foundational) problem ( the instructor knows or can predict the answer). In collaborative, the instructor–once the task is set– transfers all authority to the group. In the ideal, the group’s task is always open ended. † â€Å"Seen fr om this perspective, cooperative does not empower students. It employs them to serve the instructor’s ends and produces a â€Å"right† or acceptable answer. Collaborative does truly empower and braves all the risks of empowerment (for example, having the group or class agree to an embarrassingly simplistic or unconvincing position or produce a solution in conflict with the instructor’s). † â€Å"Every person, Brufee holds, belongs to several â€Å"interpretative or knowledge communities† that share vocabularies, points of view, histories, values, conventions and interests. The job of the instructor id to help students learn to negotiate the boundaries between the communities they already belong to and the community represented by the teacher’s academic discipline, which the students want to join. Every knowledge community has a core of foundational knowledge that its members consider as given (but not necessarily absolute). To function independently within a knowledge community, the fledgling scholar must master enough material to become conversant with the community. † Rockwood concludes: In my teaching experience, cooperative represents the best means to approach mastery of foundational knowledge. Once students become reasonably conversant, they are ready for collaborative, ready to discuss and assess,†¦. † Myers suggests use of the â€Å"transaction† orientation as a compromise between taking hard positions advocating either methodology. â€Å"This orientation views education as a dialogue between the student and the curriculum. Students are viewed as problem solvers. Problem solving and inquiry approaches stressing cognitive skills and the ideas of Vygotsky, Piaget, Kohlberg and Bruner are linked to transaction. This perspective views teaching as a â€Å"conversation† in which teachers and students learn together through a process of negotiation with the curriculum to develop a shared view of the world. † It is clear to me that in undertaking the exercize of defining differences between the two ideas we run the risk of polarizing the educational community into a we versus them mentality. There are so many benefits which acrue from both ideas that it would be a shame to lose any advantage gained from the student-student-teacher interactions created by both methods. We must be careful to avoid a one-size-fits-all mentality when it comes to education paradigms. As a final thought, I think it behooves teachers to educate themselves about the myriad of techniques and philosophies which create interactive environments where students take more responsibility for their own learning and that of their peers. Then it will become possible to pick and chose those methods which best fit a particular educational goal or community of learners.

Privacy And Surveillance In It

The development in Information Technology (IT) plays an important role in the greater interaction and communication of people in various parts of the globe. During the process of communication, the exchange of personal information could not be prevented among people. However, this kind of activity also threaten the privacy of people because the emergence of the Internet and other technological tools have made it possible to have easy access to information even the ones that are consider as private. Being the case, it is important that privacy and surveillance in IT is given due attention.Privacy is defined as â€Å" . . . he interest that individuals have in sustaining a personal space, free from interference by other people and organizations† (Clarke, 1999). Nevertheless, according to Brock Meeks (1999) the privacy of people during this information age is being â€Å"eaten away† and is already dead because of the various means that could be used in order to infringe up on it. Cyberspace is invading the privacy of individuals and this could be seen through spam, cookies, and the clickstream. However, there are also invasion of privacy that could be detrimental to the security of a person like the real-time person-location technologies (Clarke, 1999).Furthermore, ethical issues have also emerged in the exchange of information and communication of people especially in the workplace. Employees are expecting their privacy would be respected in the e-mails that they exchange with other people but this is sometimes not satisfied because of the need of the company to control and monitor the flow of information in the workplace (Weisband and Reinig, 1995). As such, this has become one of the most debated ethical as well as legal issues that need to be addressed.Personal information privacy is the ability to control information about oneself is becoming more important than ever (Millberg et. al, 1995). In relation to this, there are several preventive measu res and laws that could be implemented in order to protect the privacy of individuals. Some of the programs that protect the privacy of people in relation with the use of the Internet are: the Privacy Preference Project (P3P) which is a simple automated way of controlling the use of personal information on websites, file encryption, firewalls, and access control systems (Quinn, 2005).The Australian government has its Australian Privacy Act that is mainly responsible in controlling privacy matters in the country (Australian Privacy Foundation, 2009). Moreover, surveillance of the flow of information in the workplace and other organizations is still debatable but it is indeed helpful in protecting the privacy of people against those who would want to have access of their personal information. However, surveillance in IT should also be responsibly used for security purposes only and not to cause harm to other people.

Impact Lenin had on Russia essays

Impact Lenin had on Russia essays Asses the impact Lenin had on Russia and the Russian people. Lenin was a remarkable leader who introduced many new policies that helped in the development of Russia to make it a stronger and more independent country. The War Communism was one of the most disliked policies by the people. Lenin was obligated into putting War Communism into action; otherwise there would have been no way for the Bolsheviks to have won the war. The most popular policy introduced by Lenin was the NEP (New Economic Policy).This gave the people much more freedom than they had in the Tsars time. Lenin was basically a unpretentious man whose only ambition was to make Russia a better place. Things were bad in Russia between 1914-17; World War II was taking place. The war was going badly for Russia and the conditions were terrible for the people and they were suffering. Near the end of the War, the people were fed up and soon there was an uprising and the people all rebelled against the Tsar, leading to him being overthrown. After the Tsar had been overthrown, they needed someone to run the country, so they formed the Provisional Government, which would stay in Power and rule the country until elections could be held to choose a new government and make a decision as to how Russia was to be ruled in the future. But as the Provisional Government was being formed, The Petrograd Soviet, a workers and soldiers council was being formed alongside it. There was Dual power between the Soviets and the Provisional Government, with the Provisional Government only able to make decisions if the Soviet agreed. Although the Soviets had much more power due to the fact it had issued the Order no. 1, many people liked the first measures taken by the Provisional Government; Political prisoners were freed, and the government announced that there would be freedom of press, freedom of speech, the right to strike and an end to soci...

How to Use the Chinese Birth Chart

How to Use the Chinese Birth Chart While modern day technologies like ultrasounds help determine the sex of a baby, there are also traditional ways of guessing the answer to this exciting question. For hundreds of years, the Chinese birth chart has helped many expecting couples predict whether they are having a boy or a girl. Unlike ultrasounds that require 4 to 5 months of pregnancy before the babys sex can be ascertained, the Chinese birth chart lets couples immediately  predict their babys gender once it is conceived. If youre an overly curious couple dying to know if the baby room should be painted blue or pink, learn how to use this traditional chart! Where the Chinese Birth Chart Comes From Invented during the Qing Dynasty, the Chinese birth chart has been used for over 300 years. The chart was kept by royal eunichs and only used by nobles and concubines. When the Eight Nation Alliance entered China in the late Qing Dynasty, military forces took the chart. The Chinese birth chart was taken to England where it was translated into English for the King’s sole use until it was later disclosed to the public. Accuracy The Chinese birth chart is based on factors such as the Five Elements,   yin and yang, and  the lunar calendar. With proponents claiming that the Chinese birth chart is highly accurate, you should take these predictions with a grain of salt. Even ultrasounds can be wrong!   How To Use the Chinese Birth Chart The first step is to convert  Western calendar months to lunar calendar months. Then, locate the lunar month of conception. After that, figure out the age of the mother at the time of conception. Using these two pieces of information on the chart, you can now use the chart. The intersection of the month of conception and the mother’s age at the time of conception on the chart reveals  the predicted sex of the baby. For example, a 30-year-old woman who conceived in lunar January 2011 (February 2011 in the Western calendar) is predicted to have a boy.   Use the Chinese birth chart below to guess the sex of your soon-to-be newborn! Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec 18 Girl Boy Girl Boy Boy Boy Boy Boy Boy Boy Boy Boy 19 Boy Girl Boy Girl Girl Boy Boy Boy Boy Boy Girl Girl 20 Girl Boy Girl Boy Boy Boy Boy Boy Boy Girl Boy Boy 21 Boy Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl 22 Girl Boy Boy Girl Girl Girl Girl Boy Girl Girl Girl Girl 23 Boy Boy Girl Boy Boy Girl Boy Girl Boy Boy Boy Girl 24 Boy Girl Boy Boy Girl Boy Boy Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl 25 Girl Boy Boy Girl Girl Boy Girl Boy Boy Boy Boy Boy 26 Boy Girl Boy Girl Girl Boy Girl Boy Girl Girl Girl Girl 27 Girl Boy Girl Boy Girl Girl Boy Boy Boy Boy Girl Girl 28 Boy Girl Boy Girl Girl Girl Boy Boy Boy Boy Girl Girl 29 Girl Boy Girl Girl Boy Boy Boy Boy Boy Girl Girl Girl 30 Boy Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Boy Boy 31 Boy Girl Boy Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Boy 32 Boy Girl Boy Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Boy 33 Girl Boy Girl Boy Girl Girl Girl Boy Girl Girl Girl Boy 34 Boy Girl Boy Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Girl Boy Boy 35 Boy Boy Girl Boy Girl Girl Girl Boy Girl Girl Boy Boy 36 Girl Boy Boy Girl Boy Girl Girl Girl Boy Boy Boy Boy 37 Boy Girl Boy Boy Girl Boy Girl Boy Girl Boy Girl Boy 38 Girl Boy Girl Boy Boy Girl Boy Girl Boy Girl Boy Girl 39 Boy Girl Boy Boy Boy Girl Girl Boy Girl Boy Girl Girl 40 Girl Boy Girl Boy Girl Boy Boy Girl Boy Girl Boy Girl 41 Boy Girl Boy Girl Boy Girl Boy Boy Girl Boy Girl Boy 42 Girl Boy Girl Boy Girl Boy Girl Boy Boy Girl Boy Girl 43 Boy Girl Boy Girl Boy Girl Boy Girl Boy Boy Boy Boy 44 Boy Boy Girl Boy Boy Boy Girl Boy Girl Boy Girl Girl 45 Girl Boy Boy Girl Girl Girl Boy Girl Boy Girl Boy Boy

Overview of the Haber-Bosch Process

Overview of the Haber-Bosch Process The Haber-Bosch process is a process that fixes nitrogen with hydrogen to produce ammonia - a critical part in the manufacture of plant fertilizers. The process was developed in the early 1900s by Fritz Haber and was later modified to become an industrial process to make fertilizers by Carl Bosch. The Haber-Bosch process is considered by many scientists and scholars as one of the most important technological advances of the 20th century. The Haber-Bosch process is extremely important because it was the first of processes developed that allowed people to mass-produce plant fertilizers due to the production of ammonia. It was also one of the first industrial processes developed to use high pressure to create a chemical reaction (Rae-Dupree, 2011). This made it possible for farmers to grow more food, which in turn made it possible for agriculture to support a larger population. Many consider the Haber-Bosch process to be responsible for the Earths current population explosion as approximately half of the protein in todays humans originated with nitrogen fixed through the Haber-Bosch process (Rae-Dupree, 2011). History and Development of the Haber-Bosch Process By the period of industrialization the human population had grown considerably, and as a result, there was a need to increase grain production and agriculture started in new areas like Russia, the Americas and Australia (Morrison, 2001). In order to make crops more productive in these and other areas, farmers began to look for ways to add nitrogen to the soil, and the use of manure and later guano and fossil nitrate grew. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, scientists, mainly chemists, began looking for ways to develop fertilizers by artificially fixing nitrogen the way legumes do in their roots. On July 2, 1909, Fritz Haber produced a continuous flow of liquid ammonia from hydrogen and nitrogen gases that were fed into a hot, pressurized iron tube over an osmium metal catalyst (Morrison, 2001). It was the first time anyone was able to develop ammonia in this manner. Later, Carl Bosch, a metallurgist and engineer, worked to perfect this process of ammonia synthesis so that it could be used on a world-wide scale. In 1912, construction of a plant with a commercial production capacity began at Oppau, Germany. The plant was capable of producing a ton of liquid ammonia in five hours and by 1914 the plant was producing 20 tons of usable nitrogen per day (Morrison, 2001). With the start of World War I, production of nitrogen for fertilizers at the plant stopped and manufacturing switched to that of explosives for trench warfare. A second plant later opened in Saxony, Germany to support the war effort. At the end of the war both plants went back to producing fertilizers. How the Haber-Bosch Process Works The process works today much like it originally did by using extremely high pressure to force a chemical reaction. It works by fixing nitrogen from the air with hydrogen from natural gas to produce ammonia (diagram). The process must use high pressure because nitrogen molecules are held together with strong triple bonds. The Haber-Bosch process uses a catalyst or container made of iron or ruthenium with an inside temperature of over 800 F (426 C) and a pressure of around 200 atmospheres to force nitrogen and hydrogen together (Rae-Dupree, 2011). The elements then move out of the catalyst and into industrial reactors where the elements are eventually converted into fluid ammonia (Rae-Dupree, 2011). The fluid ammonia is then used to create fertilizers. Today, chemical fertilizers contribute to about half of the nitrogen put into global agriculture, and this number is higher in developed countries. Population Growth and the Haber-Bosch Process Today, the places with the most demand for these fertilizers are also the places where the worlds population is growing the fastest. Some studies show that about 80 percent of the global increase in consumption of nitrogen fertilizers between 2000 and 2009 came from India and China (Mingle, 2013). Despite the growth in the worlds biggest countries, the large population growth globally since the development of the Haber-Bosch process shows how important it has been to changes in global population. Other Impacts and the Future of the Haber-Bosch Process The current process of nitrogen fixation is also not completely efficient, and a large amount is lost after it is applied to fields due to runoff when it rains and a natural gassing off as it sits in fields. Its creation is also extremely energy-intensive due to the high temperature pressure needed to break nitrogens molecular bonds. Scientists are currently working to develop more efficient ways to complete the process and to create more environmentally-friendly ways support the worlds agriculture and growing population.

Government Public meeting about urban planing Essay - 1

Government Public meeting about urban planing - Essay Example They keenly followed the meeting and sought clarifications on some points. The meeting mainly focused on urban planning and the relevant steps the government had taken to achieve them. The meeting resolved to approve the utilization of the one-year State of Arizona contract with various companies such as Teknion Facilitec Inc., Corporate Interior and Systems Inc. among others. The decision aimed at benefiting the upgrading of the various departments in the city. The council approved the utilization for purchase of furniture products and services for different offices. In addition, the planned total expenditure to facilitate this process was quoted to be $555000 during the one-year period. An estimate of $300 of the total sum would be set aside for water/wastewater Capital Improvement Project Fund. The amount would be used for solving the water and sewerage issues in the city. That amount also funded the replacement of worn out environmental laboratory furniture. Consequently, the total budget was allocated for the expenses planned. Furthermore, the meeting approved renewal of the contract with AP Fire Station, LLC. This would ensure inspection, servicing, repairing, and upgrading all alarms and fire extinguishers in the city. This move by the council attempts to increase protection of citizens against fire and fire-related problems. Similarly, the repairing and servicing of fire alarms ensures victims of fire accidents seek instant help. Through this project, the council expects least number of fire problems in the city. The total cost of this project is estimated at $ 85000 during a year period. The council had allocated enough funds for this project prior to its approval. Moreover, according to the meeting, the committee plans to make significant repairs and improve the transport sector. Through the adoption of the one-year contract with Fabiani Painting and Decorating, Inc., the council aims

Postpartum Depression Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Postpartum Depression - Coursework Example Women are likely to get affected by the disorder during their prime age of reproduction, ranging between 25 to 40 years of age. The case of Mandeep Singh is a classic case of Postpartum Depression, identifiable by the feelings that she has, of harming her newly born child and the observable characteristics of being agitated and withdrawn, as well as the consideration, that she is within the prime age of productivity, being 28 years old (Arentsen, 1968). Several factors can contribute to Postpartum Depression to Mandeep. Hormonal changes are among the factors that contribute to this disorder (Duffy, 1983). There occurs a great hormonal change in the body of a woman immediately after giving birth. The hormonal changes are characterized mostly by a greater reduction of serotonin levels in their bodies after they give birth (Harris, 1986). Consequently, the woman may be engulfed by the feelings of agitation, restlessness and hatred for her newly born baby. Status transition is another ca use of this disorder. Since the birth of a child is a transition of a woman, from a girl to a mother, then it is associated with stress, on how the woman is going to fit in the new status and roles. If by any chance any other circumstances that can cause stress occurs at the time as this transition, then the woman develops overwhelming stress which ends up as depression, as was the case of Mandeep due to a low economic status (Kumar, 1994). Another factor that contributed to the disorder is the ongoing life stress. Whenever a woman is faced by a long time of stress in her life, then, it accelerates when she gives birth, subscribing to Postpartum Depression. Dysfunctional love relationship is yet another factor that could have contributed to Postpartum Depression for Mandeep, as the long duration she would spend without her husband contributed to stress (Boyce, 2003). 2. The three nursing priority assessments in the case of Mandeep, which would help to devise the actual disorder from which she was suffering, include age. Since this disorder is mostly common for women who are in their prime age of productivity, then assessing the age of Mandeep would serve to indicate if she falls within that age bracket (Mauthner, 1999). Another assessment would be the socio-economic status of Mandeep. This assessment is necessary since the lower economic status of many women is contributory to stress, as they ponder the challenges of bringing up the newly born child, with such economic hurdles. Through the assessment of the economic status of the woman, then, the nurses can trace the actual causative factors to the disorder from which Mandeep is suffering. A significant assessment undertaken by the nurses is the nature of the relationship between Mandeep and her husband. The relationship between a woman who has recently given birth and her partner significantly affects the state of mind of a woman who has recently given birth (Sluckin, 1990). If there is tension and bad blood between the woman and her partner, then, there are greater chances that such a woman will suffer from the disorder. Thus, carrying out the assessment of such factors underlying the life of Mandeep would help the nurses determine the causative factors of the behavior she is exhibiting. 3. Whenever it is evident that the woman having recently given birth harbors the feelings of harming herself or the newly born baby, then treatment interventions becomes necessary. Some nursing interventions are necessary for the treatment of the disorder that Mandeep is suffering. The priority intervention will be given to the administration of

Designing and Implementing Effective HRD Programs Essay

Designing and Implementing Effective HRD Programs - Essay Example Hence, selection of appropriate methods that fulfill the purpose of training has an incremental effect on employees’ skill set and motivation, and relevance to management’s objectives needs to be selected (Carr, 1999). Â  In the light of my past experiences, it was observed that where HR department managed to select appropriate training topics for the workforce, training sessions intended to develop soft skills i.e. presentation skills etc, were considered as a leisure activity due to ineffective evaluation processes with intangible outcomes. A thorough analysis of the research method helped in developing an understanding that evaluation processes need to be amalgamated into the lesson plans and overall activity planning. Furthermore, peer evaluations and knowledge of industry’s best practices on the subject matter along with a concrete understanding of intended outcomes helps in developing relevant and effective evaluation processes. Â  Rockwell Collins faces a major issue of lack of accessibility of training resources to the employees as it has an extensive workforce scattered at different stations. Since the HR department is centralized and does not have a physical presence outside headquarters, it is important to identify how the training can be made available to the employees outside the physical proximity of HR department. First and foremost, support of organizational leadership needs to be acquired in order to extend delivery of training in secondary workstations. Secondly, close observation of employee performance and work schedule needs to be performed. Where HR department is aware of employees schedule outside headquarters, sending company’s trainers at a particular destination and arranging training may do the needful.

Investigation and evaluation of Organisation Value Strategies and how Dissertation

Investigation and evaluation of Organisation Value Strategies and how these are supported by modern Technology - Dissertation Example Any other person who uses this work should acknowledge it accordingly. Student's Signature: Date: Contents Introduction The success of an organization is highly dependent on its values and strategies used to attain those values. For an organization to be competitive, it must have a well- established business strategy that will be pivotal in helping it achieve its values. Values are the ones that guide the activities of organizations. Values can be defined as the good or worthwhile traits and qualities within the organization. They are indicators of the highest priorities of the organization. They are the ones that drive the organization towards achieving its objectives. Within an organization, value statements dictate the manner with which individuals will behave. It is worth noting that the behaviour of individuals has an impact on the performance of the organization. In addition, the way individuals behave with each other could be a motivating factor for employees. Organizational s uggests the value that the organization has put on customers, employees, suppliers and other stakeholders. Some of the most common values that can be embraced in an organization are; individuality, equality, responsibility, accountability, loyalty, credibility and honesty among others. The list of values that organizations can adopt is endless (Stein & Christiansen, 2010). Strategies can be defined as the approaches that the organization uses to achieve its values, goals and objectives. Developing strategies is very critical for any organization since this will draw the path through which the organization will attain its future success. Managers should invest enough time in defining the strategies that the organization will use to accomplish its values. For instance, value accomplishment can be facilitated by empowering employees. Employees have the ability to give the organization a competitive advantage. They are the once who facilitate the achievement of organizational goals and therefore they should be empowered. In the wake of the 20th century, technology has been advancing at a higher rate as compared to any other time in the past. Modern technology has the ability to support organizational value strategies. It offers a number of options that can be used as strategies to achieve its values. For instance, consumer value can be attained through innovation (Stein & Christiansen, 2010). In addition, accountability and loyalty can also be attained through innovation. Innovation is the lifeblood of today’s organizations. Organizations need to be highly innovative for them to survive in the economic environment. It is very difficult for any business to make it today without being innovative. Each of the businesses wants to have a large share of the market to maximize its revenue and therefore has to be creative in order to attract customers. Technology has led to emergence of businesses being conducted online which help in supporting the organizational v alue strategies. Modern technology is essential in supporting the organizational value strategies since it enables an organization to improve its innovation capability and hence gain a competitive advantage (Matheson & Matheson, 1998). Over the last couple of decades, academicians have focused their attention to modern technology. They evaluate how the technology can be used to help the organization attain a

Research Paper Rough Draft Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Rough Draft - Research Paper Example f the supernatural powers existed, manifestation of such beliefs in the form of witch hunts and witch trials became much more frequent during the Renaissance and culminated in the 16th and 18th centuries in the Germanic speaking areas. The practice of witchcraft and witch hunt subsided in the late 17th century, and by 18th century the last trials and executions took place in some parts of the medieval Europe. The causes for the decline of witchcraft and witch hunt are many and fairly complex.1 A general examination of the factors that led to the decline of the practice of witchcraft, witch hunt and witch trials include; introductions of new Legislations in the society, new socio-political phenomena and the new way of thinking by people in the growing scientific age. Western minds are fully confronted by the problem of what the term sorcery or witchcraft means in their culture, they shall assume most of the comfortable attitudes and categories of the informal and formal cultures exhibit. When women and men find themselves in a fearful and helpless state before the awesome forces of the invisible world and cannot explain; they traditionally seek to reach the inaccessible forces beyond the world. Naturally, it is in order to increase their human powers and their abilities to control their esteemed destinies. It is understandable with varying degree why the holders of such magical powers are the most feared people in the society, and why people’s behaviour towards them must take some specific and peculiar behaviours forms. The ordering and explanation of magic may appear to be so insufficient or inchoate, but at the overall end human preserve the sense of the final clarity and comprehensibility of such phenomena in the society. The witchcraft in the early medieval Europe period was essentially common folk magic or sorcery, developed over a period in the ancient period of 15th to 18th century2. The decline of witch hunt and witchcraft in Europe was a gradual

Writer's choice Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Writer's choice - Research Paper Example The word Islam equates to the English word ‘peace’ or ‘submission’. The core of teachings in the Qur’an largely focuses on good manners, worship and promotion of peace. The notions of forgiving others and sustaining healthy relationships with relatives and other members of the society are regarded in the highest esteem. Islam advises the followers to respect the laws of the country and avoid unlawful conduct in matters of daily life (Alavi, 205). Keeping in view the above mentioned teachings of Islam and by knowing that the vast majority of population in the Middle East follows the religion of Islam, one can safely infer that stability in the Middle East is largely due to a better understanding of Islam. As compared to rest of the Muslim world, the ability of Arabic population to better understand the word of Allah (God) makes them able to understand the significance of peace and obedience; the ultimate consequence of which is stability at the regional level. Flexibility is already a feature of sharia. Decisions about the various disputes are decided in accordance to the holistic conditions of both the parties. It is therefore apparent that although Islamic law is very strict about certain crimes, the overall purpose of punitive measures is an improved survival of the society as a whole. It should also be kept in mind that ‘flexibility’ and ‘discrimination’ are two distinct concepts and Islam does not allow discrimination due to flexibility in law

Research Paper Rough Draft Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Rough Draft - Research Paper Example f the supernatural powers existed, manifestation of such beliefs in the form of witch hunts and witch trials became much more frequent during the Renaissance and culminated in the 16th and 18th centuries in the Germanic speaking areas. The practice of witchcraft and witch hunt subsided in the late 17th century, and by 18th century the last trials and executions took place in some parts of the medieval Europe. The causes for the decline of witchcraft and witch hunt are many and fairly complex.1 A general examination of the factors that led to the decline of the practice of witchcraft, witch hunt and witch trials include; introductions of new Legislations in the society, new socio-political phenomena and the new way of thinking by people in the growing scientific age. Western minds are fully confronted by the problem of what the term sorcery or witchcraft means in their culture, they shall assume most of the comfortable attitudes and categories of the informal and formal cultures exhibit. When women and men find themselves in a fearful and helpless state before the awesome forces of the invisible world and cannot explain; they traditionally seek to reach the inaccessible forces beyond the world. Naturally, it is in order to increase their human powers and their abilities to control their esteemed destinies. It is understandable with varying degree why the holders of such magical powers are the most feared people in the society, and why people’s behaviour towards them must take some specific and peculiar behaviours forms. The ordering and explanation of magic may appear to be so insufficient or inchoate, but at the overall end human preserve the sense of the final clarity and comprehensibility of such phenomena in the society. The witchcraft in the early medieval Europe period was essentially common folk magic or sorcery, developed over a period in the ancient period of 15th to 18th century2. The decline of witch hunt and witchcraft in Europe was a gradual

You have to read the article and follow the uplode this question Assignment

You have to read the article and follow the uplode this question - Assignment Example The reference to the book Prototype of Japanese Architecture, provides fair mean of support to Reynolds’s view of legitimate claim of hierarchy by Japanese modernist. Thus, the association of Shinto shrine in Ise as a symbolic representation of imperial religious place turned into an architectural beauty for meditation; provides relevance when one observes the prevailing atheist culture of Japan. The inaccessibility to sight Shinto Shrine, made it more valuable in the political and cultural circle. Therefore, the exposure of its interior revolutionized its radiance in the political and social context and thus, it became more of a community service institute rather than a spiritual place of sanctuary. The captivating cohesive information engages the reader to read further to unravel the truth behind the change in status of the shrine. The description of modernist claims of discourse and author’s view on them regarding the significance of Japanese architectural standardization, in accord to the emerging traditions is a little confusing to comprehend ( Reynolds, p 316). Visualizing the shrines in terms of historical legacy made the article more interesting and profound. If one reads the article by keeping the past alive in their minds, it’s easy to process the change in prominence of the shrines. These historical monuments embark their significance one way or the other. Some remember them as the place where only elite class was allowed to worship and people were valued on the bases of cast and wealth. And yet, for some it has established foundation of prevailing traditions. Absorbing the details of this meticulous piece of document helped me grasp the true essence of the

Culture Is Separated Into Two Aspects Management Essay

Culture Is Separated Into Two Aspects Management Essay The Oxford Dictionary defines culture as ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society; the attitudes and behaviour characteristic of a particular social group. Culture cannot be precisely defined, but it may be sensed and felt. Mobley, Wang and Fang (2005) also states that culture provides direction to peoples behaviours, in visible and sometimes unnoticeable ways; and it deeply influences decision-making. Culture is separated into two aspects which are visible and invisible. Visible aspects include the appearance of a person or what food does he consume. While invisible aspects include the importance of religion, beliefs in a society or the thoughts and feelings people have about certain issues. In the global market today, culture is an important aspect to multinational companies (MNCs). Apart from serving a diversified marketplace, MNCs would also be consisting of different nationalities. As such, companies are faced with the challenges of serving and managing a culturally diverse workforce. In addition, doing business on a global basis requires a good understanding of different cultures. Failure to understand cultural differences can lead to serious consequences such as an impact on the companys business relationships with overseas customers, clients and employees and bad public relations. Culture also shapes the way people do business across international borders. Same organizations of different nationalities may operate differently due to their culture and this impact on policies, communication strategies, organizational structure, and human resources management. Organizations particularly MNCs can no longer afford not to consider the culture of the countries where they operate in. Thus, the main objective of this essay is to critically evaluate that culture is the most important factor in shaping and accounting for international differences in employment relations. The essay will be evaluating culture through national culture and organisational culture. In national culture, it will begin by comparing and contrasting three different countries (France, China and Japan) with their distinct national cultures in employee relations using the Hofstedes six cultural dimensions with case studies of Danone Vs Wahaha and Renault Vs Nissan. The two case studies will then illustrate the importance of national culture to organizations and employment relations. In the second part, the essay will be evaluating the importance and the need of an organisational culture. It will further evaluate organisational culture by using Edgard Scheins Three Levels of Culture with an example of Google as a case study. Lastly, it will end of by discussing the other underlying factors that also help in shaping and accounting for international differences. It will also conclude with recommendations and the rationale why culture is the most important factor. National Culture Hofstede (1991) de ¬Ã‚ ned national culture as the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or people from another. It implies that the people share a collective national character that represents their cultural mental programming which is a set of norms, behaviours, beliefs and customs that exist within the population of a sovereign nation. Hofstede also claims that every national population shares a unique culture. However, in the recent years, many MNCs have not yet grasped the culture of the country which they are operating or selling their products in. By using case studies of Danone Vs Wahaha and Renault Vs Nissan in this essay, it will attempt to compare the vast differences in national culture between France, China and Japan using Geert Hofstedes 6 dimensions of defining and interpreting culture. First Case Study: Wahaha Vs Danone In 1996, Chinas Hangzhou Wahaha food group, Frances Danone group and Hong Kongs Bai fu qin corporation decided to form a joint venture named Wahaha. In this joint venture, Danone attempted to enter the china market using Wahaha brand that is well-received by the Chinese. However, problems surfaced when Danone became the biggest shareholder in 1998; thus producing resentment from the Chinas Wahaha group as they felt that Danone misled them from the beginning. To worsen the problem, Hangzhou Wahaha food group that is managed by Chairman Zong was accused of breaching the contract by establishing non-joint ventures which infringed the interests of Danone, claiming that the Hangzhou Wahahas establishment of the non-joint ventures and the illegal use of the Wahaha trademark has violated the clause in the contract. After which Wahahas Chairman Zong was sued by Danone in California and Italy, he created a series of small companies producing the same products as the joint venture. The Wahaha Vs Danone case has significantly depicted a dispute between ownership rights. Conflicts between Danone and Wahaha may be caused by unawareness of the cross cultural differences between France and China. Second Case Study: Nissan Vs Renault Nissan, a Japanese company and Renault, a French company decided to come together to work on a joint project. Both companies were well known for their distinct corporate cultures and brand identity. The joint project was formed as both companies shares a single joint of strategy for profitable growth and community of interest. However, Nissans management style strongly encouraged group performance while Renault focuses on individual performance. Communication between the top management and employees were unclear and indirect, therefore resulting in misunderstanding within the company. The conflict between the 2 partners was due to Nissans employees assuming that Renault was similar to them that encourage group performance. However, Renaults management style belongs to a much more individualistic approach, making the Nissans employees felt uncomfortable of having the feeling of losing their family atmosphere. Communication between the Nissan employees and Renault employees broke down; Nissan did not understood what were Renaults main objectives and their company goals in their partnership with Nissan. Some of the Nissans managers felt frustrated and opposed to the entry of Renault representative on Nissans board. The managers were old employees, and they felt that employees should be promoted according to their seniority instead of individual performance. The breakdown of communication is also caused by the differences in their language. With such a significant difference in their management style, there is a need in cross cultural awareness for the business joint venture to be a successful one. Geert Hofstedes Six Dimensions According to Geert Hofstedes cultural research studies, culture can be classified into six different dimensions; Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism Vs Collectivism, Masculinity Vs Femininity, Long term orientation Vs Short term orientation. The table below illustrates for France, China and Japan. France China Japan Power Distance 68 80 54 Uncertainty Avoidance 86 30 92 Individualism Vs Collectivism 71 20 46 Masculinity Vs Femininity 43 66 95 Long Term Orientation Vs Short term Orientation 39 118 80 Figure 1.0 Scores allocated to the different dimensions for France, China and Japan Power Distance Power distance can be defined as all individuals in societies are not equal it expresses the attitude of the culture towards inequalities among us. Power distance can be defined as to the extent to which the less powerful expects and accepts that power is distributed unequally. (Geert Hofstede,2001 ) In comparison of France, China and Japan, China belongs to a society where the people believes that inequalities is acceptable, there is a presence of a powerful employer-subordinate relationship which the subordinate will abide all rules and regulations set by the employer. France on the other hand may be prone towards a more hierarchical organization system where the attitude towards managers are more formal. Japan belongs to a more hierarchical society where the Japanese should be conscious of their hierarchical position in any situations. All decisions must be reviewed by each level of the management and finally the top management. Individualism Vs Collectivism Individualism can be identified as the high degree of independence a society maintains among its members. It relates to peoples self image in terms of I while Collectivism can be identified to be the opposite. In a individualist society, people tends to only look after themselves and their direct family while a collectivist society consists of people belonging to a group that takes care of them in exchange for their loyalty.(Geert Hofstede,2001) Comparing the 3 countries, there is a significant difference; China belongs to a highly collectivist country where people act at an interest of a group. In this norm, personal relationships prevail over the task and company. However in France, there is a certain degree of independence a society maintains among its members. The French prefers individual and private opinions and work relationships between the employer and employees are contract based where everyone focus on the task itself. Communication within an individualist company would be direct where everyone gives their opinions freely if they do not agree. Referring back to the Nissan Vs Renault case, it has clearly shown that Renault (France) encouraged a more individualist approach by promoting individual initiatives and hoped that the employees are promoted through individual performance. Direct contacts between the top management and employees were encouraged in their individualistic approach. Japan similar to China; belonging to a highly collectivist society, this can be shown through putting their harmony of group above the expression of individual opinions and the Japanese have a strong sense of shame for losing face. In the Nissan Vs Renault case, Nissans employees feel that it is important to have a family atmosphere in their working environment. The managers of Nissan felt frustrated and opposed to the entry of Renault as they felt that promotions should be done according to seniority, not individual performance. Masculinity Vs Feminity Masculinity Vs Feminity is another dimension where we can infer that a masculine society will be driven by competition, achievement and success. It is a value system that starts in the school and continues throughout organizational behaviour. On the contrary, a feminine society will be driven by caring for others and quality of life. It is one where quality of life is sign of success and standing out from the crowd is not admirable. (Geert Hofstede, 2001) In China, leisure time is not as important compared to the status and better salaries. Such examples can be found in students as they care very much about their exam scores and ranking as the main criteria to achieve success or not. France belongs to a relatively feminine society. It may be due to their famous welfare system, securità © sociale where the French are only required to work 35 working hours per week and entitled to 5 weeks of holidays per year. France cares greatly for their quality of life and focuses more on work in order to live the reverse. Competition in the working environment is usually not encouraged and flashy signs of success should not be shown in the public. In the Renault Vs Nissan case, Nissan is shown to treat males and females equally. Some of the female employees were offered several managerial positions in the company. Japan, a total opposite from France has a highly masculine culture. It is usually shown through competitive situations between groups, not individuals. Their famous workaholism is another expression of their highly masculine culture. In Japan, women find it difficult to climb the corporate ladder due to their masculine norm of long working hours. Contrasting Renault in the case study, Nissan belongs to a masculine company which managerial positions are only offered to the male employees, not the female workers. Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty avoidance has to do with how the society deals with the fact that their future will not be known. The unknown elements will bring about ambiguity and different cultures will react to the ambiguity in different ways. The uncertainty avoidance can be defined as the extent to which the members of a culture feels threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these. (Geert Hofstede, 2001) High degree of ambiguity can be seen from the Chinese as their language is often full of ambiguity that can be seen as confusing for the westerners. It is shown that the Chinese are comfortable with ambiguity and seem to be adaptable and entrepreneurial. 70% 80% of Chinese businesses tend to be small to medium sized and family owned. France on the other hand tends to have their training done in a deductive approach. In the management level, rules and securities are ensured to create a stress free working environment and a certain level of expertise are welcomed. A change of policies can also be seen as a stressful event. Japanese is one of the few countries that have the highest uncertainty avoidance score. It may be due to the fact that Japan is constantly threatened with natural disasters such as earthquake, volcanoes eruptions that most Japanese are always prepared in any kind of situations. In the business environment, a lot of time and effort are put into feasibility studies and all the risk must be worked out before the project can proceed. Long term Vs Short term orientation In the Long term Vs Short term orientation, a long term orientation can be seen closely related to teachings of Confucius and can be separately interpreted as dealing with societys search for virtue. Long term orientation can be defined as the extent to which a society shows a pragmatic future orientated perspective while Short term orientation shows a conventional historical short term point of view. (Geert Hofstede, 2001) China belongs to a long term orientated society whereby persistence and perseverance is normal. The Chinese are thrifty and tends to invest in long term projects such as real estate. They also recognized that the government is by men rather than being influenced by external factors such as god or the laws. France on a contrary is a short term oriented society; there is a great respect towards traditions, cultures and their language. In business related issues, the French tends to focus on short term results and therefore, companies are usually driven by quarterly results. They do not focus on saving and the management style is based on self-reliance, personal achievement, hard work and managers are judged based on short term results. In Japan, people lives their lives guided by virtues and good examples in life. There is a hint of long term orientation in the constantly high rate of investment in RD, even through difficult times. This is for the sake of a steady growth for market share instead of a quarterly profit, thus increasing durability of the company, serving the stakeholders and the society for many generations to come. Figure 2.0 Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions table for France and China From the graph above, it shows that the cultural differences between France and China are distinctly different in the different dimensions. The graph implicates the importance of focusing on the awareness of cross cultural differences between the 2 country in order for the joint venture between Wahaha and Danone to be a successful one. In the case study, Danone, the French company may not understand the ambiguity in how the Chinese operates in Wahaha and thus misinterpreted their good intentions. Likewise, for Hangzhou Wahaha, it is founded by the Chairman Zong who started the company from a small company which may be very much more family-owned. Chairman Zong may not have a vast understanding of how international joint ventures works and can end up leading to bigger misunderstanding and conflicts which results in failure of the joint venture or business attempts. An example from the case study; Zhang Cheryl(2001) stated that the interpretation of losing control is different between the western society and china. In the western society, losing control may not be treated at a personal level. However, losing control in china is meant as losing face, which would refer to losing the power to make decisions which puts Chairman Zong of Wahaha in a disrespectful situation among his employees. Wahaha therefore insist to runs normally in their daily operations in order to keep their face. To worsen the situation, Wahaha perceived it was losing face when Danone established other IJVs with their competitors resulting in Wahaha being less motivated to settle their conflicts and disputes between each other. From the case study, we have seen how important cross cultural awareness is in shaping and cultivating a good business attempt. Figure 3.0 Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions table for France and Japan In comparison of France and Japan, there is a significant difference in the 6 dimension index from Hofstedes theory. In the Nissan Vs Renault case, the difference in management style, breakdown of communication, different cultural values and language barrier are factors which may have caused a conflict between the two companies. One of the major problems may be the different management style; where Nissan is works in a family like atmosphere. However, Renault focuses on individual performance where an individual only cares about their own results. Nissan can also be seen as a more masculine society which managerial positions are only offered to male employees while Renault treats all employees as equal and it can be shown that several managerial positions were taken up by female employees. In such a different cultural environment, it is important that both companies should have cross cultural awareness for the business venture to be successful. Therefore, it is crucial for MNCs to be exposed to the different international cultural differences as in their daily operations they are exposed to multiple national cultures. This suggests that managing across borders introduces substantial complexity because it forces multinationals to attune their practices and approaches to each and every cultural context they operate in. Edgard Scheins Three Levels of Culture Apart from Geert Hofstedes 6 dimensions of defining culture, there is another famous culture theorist, Edgard Schein that devotes all his effort into comparing and identifying the organizational cultural differences. According to Edward Schein(1992), Organizational learning, development, and planned change cannot be understood without considering culture as the primary source to change. Schein has categorized culture into 3 different levels: Artifacts, Espoused Values, Basic assumptions and values. Figure 4.0 Three Levels of Culture (Schein, 2004, Organizational culture and leadership, 27) Schein defined that culture is first seen through artifacts such as visual organizational structures or tangible items. Underlying artifacts is the values such as strategies, goals and philosophies. The core of the 3 levels would be assumptions such as taken for granted beliefs, perceptions, thoughts and feelings through experience. Through the case studies, it has implied that each country has a unique cultural perspective and approach to certain situations and hence it is important for companies to strive to understand and support relevant programs or strategies in each region. Failure to appreciate and account for them can lead to issues like strain relationships in employment relations, communication breakdown between management team and drag down business performance. Newman Nollen (1996) also state that there is no one best way to manage a business. Differences in national cultures call for differences in management practices. One of their conclusions also states the importance of the congruence between management practices and the national culture should be in harmony in order to produce better performance outcomes, therefore pinpointing in another way the importance of cultural differences. Therefore, the management of a company should pay extra attention to national cultural differences as it may influence the effectiveness of the strategies and decisions that the company makes. Based on Geert Hofstedes research on national culture, he has demonstrated that organizations can also no longer ignore the impact of national cultures on organizations cultures particularly for MNCs. Therefore it is clear that in current times, the implementation of positive organizational cultures and effectively merging of national cultures into organizational culture is critical for positive business performance. Therefore as a start, MNCs should understand and be aware of the different types of national culture as well as adopting a fitting organizational culture themselves to account for international culture differences in employment relations. Organisational Culture Greenberg and Baron (1997) define organizational culture as a cognitive framework consisting of attitudes, values, behavioural norms, and expectations. These values stated have a strong influence on employees behaviours, thinking, and behavioural patterns which in turns encourages diversity and adaptability to support its performance. Organizational culture is also an effective control mechanism for managing employee behaviour. In an organization with different nationalities, the company would need to foster a common diversity culture in the company to create a mutual respect for each and every different employee; which may in turn enhance their full potential. A strong organizational culture is a primary generator of real motivation and commitment and has a unique absorptive power to congregate people (Mobley, Wang and Fang, 2005). Therefore, this is a need for an organizational culture that fits to the needs of the company and its employees. Now, using a case study on Google in this essay, it will attempt to evaluate how Google makes use of national culture and their organizational culture to account and shape for international differences using Edgard Scheins Three Levels of Culture theory. Third Case Study: Google Google is a worldwide company that has strong practices in diversity. Google culture revolves around their mission: to organize the worlds information and make it universally accessible and useful. (Corporate Information, 2011) Google consists of a diversity of staffs, supporting various cultural norms. Through this cultural norm, they encourage and support the diversity of its customers and employees. Google consist of bilingual employees catering to their diverse consumer base. In fact, Statistics shows that more than half of the results Google provides to its customers are outside of the US. (Corporate Information, 2010). Diversity is distinct in Google such as their employees, offices, products, and customers. By understanding national culture and accepting the different nationalities differences, Google leverage and make use of the different skill sets of each employees. Googles Culture As Google consist of a diverse staff group, it shows the importance of having a strategically appropriate culture, a culture which will fits the needs of the organization, its employees and the marketplace. At Google, we dont just accept difference we thrive on it, we celebrate it, and we support it for the bene ¬Ã‚ t of our employees, our products, and our community. (Google Annual Report, 2010) Google has embraced diversity and integrated it into their culture and into their core culture statement. The manifestations of Googles culture are analyzed by evaluating the artefacts at Google (Gagliardi, 1992). Through looking at the various aspects of Google, it is shown that Google has an integrated and informal culture (Martin, 1992), which comprises of four key elements. Mission Innovation Fun Reward Using Edgard Scheins Three Levels of Culture, it is first defined and seen through the artefacts such as visual organizational structures or tangible items. Google supports diversity of norms in each office by utilizing their office and cafes. They are designed to encourage interactions between employees within and across teams, and to spark conversation about work as well as play. Social interactions stimulate knowledge and learning breakthroughs. Without communication, there is no way to express thoughts, ideas, manage differences and feelings. Communication plays an important role in keeping and maintaining values and relationships necessary to keep the system of the organisation united. The next level of culture would be the exposed values which are the strategies, goals and philosophies. Daft (2003) stated that managing a global environment requires managers to have the ability to manage change through innovation and creativity. Therefore, the employees in Google are motivated to contribute their suggestions and ideas. Most of Googles work are project based hence employees are required to team up and pursue the project. The team may consist of a diverse group of members. Through the concept of a group project, members would then need to learn to accept one another and work together. This enhances the communication between Googles employees and hence they share a unified common goal and vision. However, conflicts between the employees are bound to happen in project based work. Therefore, conflict management between employees and respect for cultures must be structured and organized for the many cultures and diversities. One strategy that Google implement is to create awareness of international national differences is by organizing national cultural events such as The 6th Sense: Diversity Week in India and Diwali and Google Mela to develop cultural intelligence to the employees and international cultural competence. The purpose of these cultural events is that the employees would generate a culture-specific understanding of the other and positively regard of the other. Through these events, it will groom and educate the employees on cultural awareness. During such events, Googles employees are able to interact and appreciate each others culture; consequently, an accommodating culture and organizational behaviour is then established within the organization. The next level of culture would be the assumptions such as taken for granted beliefs, perceptions, thoughts and feelings through experience. Googles employees are passionate and self-motivated, and the company empowers them to a certain degree to make responsible decisions. Therefore, employees could get an equal and fair opportunity to innovate and unleash their imagination and ideas through their meetings. After analyzing all of Google culture characteristic, using Deal and Kennedy model of organizational culture (Deal and Kennedy, 1982), Google most likely falls into the work hard/play hard culture. Characteristics of the culture include high levels of activity and where employee has to take few risks and these characteristics are clearly reflected in Google. Through the concept of organizational culture on how they are establish and reinforce, it will make a big difference in the way employees act and in the way the organization act as a whole when ethical dilemmas are faced. Through cultivating a fitting culture from the start, the organization and the employees will have a shared set of understandings about what is correct behaviour and how ethical issues will be handled. Therefore, if a company would to embrace and be accepting to international culture from the start, this will account and shape the employees to be more accepting to cultural differences and hence improve employment relations. Therefore, it is proposed that companies should ensure mentoring their employees through guidance coaching of the culture and encourage bonding and communication between levels of management and their employees. Also managers that have to work across different countries are required to understand the importance of national culture and organisational culture as well. Gabriel (1999) states that managers have to also recognise and build on cultural particularities, adapting organisational products and policies to local cultures and managing employees in a manner appropriate to their culture. It is beneficial to understand the country culture and the organisations culture. The country may have its own set of framework and culture in which they operate in. This will impact and forces multinationals to attune their practices and approaches to each and every cultural context they operate in. Different companies may operate things differently due to their home countrys culture and thus causing an impact on policies, communication strategies, organizational structure, and human resources management. By understanding and managing these cultural differences, it will be a vital ingredient of organisational success. Other Factors In this essay, it has stated the importance of national culture and organisational culture in how they account and shape for international differences in employment relations. However, other factors such as economic, social, political, and technological factors may also constitute an impact on international cultures. Amongst the different factors, economic, political and technological factors are identified to be one of the most important factors that affect international differences. Economic Factors Economic factors like globalization are one of the factors affecting international employee relations. Through effects of globalization where companies may become more advance, the management has to ensure that the skills processed by the employees are compatible with those required in the market to meet the customer needs. Globalisation will increase the competitiveness and inequality among the countries. Under globalisation, industries and services move from one country to another, thus restricting opportunities for permanent employment relationships to the benefit of economic performance. To improve their competitiveness, many MNCs sought to relocate their business operations to countries where labour is cheaper and workers are less protected and hence neglected employment relation to focus more on the performance of the company. Technological Factors Sometimes companies that undergo technological developments have destroyed jobs as they undergo aggressive growth and rapid expansion. This may make it necessary for its human resources department to focus on recruitment and staffing internationally and locally. Therefore a company may have its problems to expand and recruit new employees, as it may need to focus its recruiting efforts outside the region if the labour pool is not large enough. Companies may also make specific requirements for a job where the applicant is required to possess a certain degree of skills or nationality and this in turn affect employment relations. Political Factors These reg

Twelfth Night :: essays research papers

Twelfth Night â€Å"Twelfth Night is a comedy of light and shade. Its characters are not unreservedly happy and the events are not unreservedly humorous.† Discuss. As a comedy, Twelfth Night is obviously intending to not only entertain its audience but also point out problems in society. It is imperative to entire merit of the play not to be realistic but to allow for empathy. Therefor to have a comedy of complete lightheartedness there would be no balance and hence no avenue for audience interaction. Without light we would have no darkness and for this reason Shakespeare has had to incorporate tragedy in order for the comedy to have it’s desired effect. The two in juxtaposition accentuate each other. The characters of Twelfth Night are neither bluntly humorous nor artlessly tragic. Twelfth Night like all Shakespearean comedies is largely about social concerns. The social messages in Twelfth Night are largely about, the need for a balance in life, that you should not judge on appearance as they can be deceptive and the importance of self awareness or the humor in lack of. Neither is artlessly or bluntly humorous, as this would detract from the greater issues he in attempting to convey. Humor instead is used in contrast to some pain to antithesis the comedy and accentuate the themes. The plot of Twelfth Night is comic it explores many social issues in it’s comedy yet is also not unrestrained in it’s humor. As a comedy Twelfth Night follows, many conventions as far as structure, the setting is in a far away â€Å"romantic† land, situation, and events somewhat steer the plot however this is certainly not without art or subtleties. Shakespeare has carefully intertwined comedy and pain in both the main and the sub plots to highlight the comedy and explore the social themes. The audience is forced to suspend disbelief that such a coincidence could occur. The audience is transported from their ordinary mundane existence and is transported into a world of chance, non-existent penalties for practical jokes and the unmistakable harmony of events. It is this incongruity compared to everyday life that is humorous. However, this summer, frivolris setting is not completely free from conflict. There is however, some predominately â€Å"lighter† characters that serve as comic relief from the more serious main plot and represent a certain â€Å"type† of people in society. Sir Toby and Sir Andrew would have been marvelously enjoyed by Shakespearean audiences as they are today. Not a scene goes by involving these to where we can laugh and the slow wit of Sir Andrew and the awkward puns of Sir Toby.

Steps Towards An Ecosociety: Dealing With Air Pollution Essay -- essay

Steps Towards an Ecosociety: Dealing with Air Pollution This essay identifies and explains the problem of pollution facing humanity today. It will also propose one of the first ideas which could more effectively limit air pollution, Emission Credit Trading. This can be seen as one of the first steps in the development of an ecosociety. The notion of a viable ecosociety has created considerable problems in terms of deciding the most effective and efficient policies to be implemented. Air pollution has become one of the most serious environmental problems here at home, and throughout the rest of the world. Air pollution is also perhaps one of the more politically sensitive problems because of the numerous economic, environmental and health implications involved. A key step in the policy-making process is to define the problem to be remedied. If we can not understand the problem, how are we to know what needs to be fixed. Unfortunately, implementing policies on air pollution has the politically undesirable effect of having extensive economic consequences on all sectors of the economy. Therefore, those policies which lead to the development of an ecosociety must be aimed at having the greatest environmental impact while creating minimal economic distortions. For the purpose of this essay, pollution shall be identified as follows "...the deliberate or accidental introduction to the environment of contaminants, in the form of either wastes or products " (Bryner, 10). This essay will deal with the problem of air pollution. Air pollutants come from heavy industry, fumes from automobiles, jet planes and the like. When speaking of the automobile alone "...each gallon of gas burned releases 22 pounds of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere...the car is the single largest contributor to global warming " (Rifkin 179). Although the majority of the problem areas are in the developing world, these areas can affect the entire world. The atmosphere is not confined to borders like the land. Pollution spreads beyond the borders of any country, and as such, no one region can solve the problem alone. In some developing nations, there are areas that people and animals cannot live in for extended periods of time. One visitor to the Romanian 'black town' of Cops Mica noted that "the trees... ...eved, and the initial steps toward the ecosociety taken. Obviously this is not the ideal, having to put a price on the air we breath so as to ensure it's quality, but unfortunately it is the most viable option considering the social system in which we all live. Works Cited 1. Arnopoulos, P. Political Dimensions of an Information Society: A General Overview. Montreal: Gamma, 1982. 2. Bryner, G. ed. Global Warming and the Challenge of International Cooperation: An Interdisciplinary Assessment. Provo UT: Bringham Young University Press, 1992. 3. Gore, A. Biotechnology: Implications for Public Policy. Washington DC. : Brookings Institution, 1985. 4. Keller, E. Environmental Geology. Columbus: CE Merrill Publishing Co., 1985. 5. Mitchell, B. Canadian Resource Policies: Problems and Prospects. Toronto: Methuen, 1981. 6. Rifkin, E. Proteases and Biological Control. New York: Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory, 1975. 7. Saunders, DA Reintegrating Fragmented Landscapes: Towards Sustainable Production and Nature Conservation. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1993. 8. Vig, N and Kraft, M. Environmental Policy in the 1990's. Washington DC: C.Q. Press, 1990.

Importance of Physical Education in Schools Essay

Importance of Physical Education in Schools SPO3001 Learn to Swim Table of Contents Page Introduction3 Definition of Physical Education3 What is taught in Physical Education?4 Importance of Physical Education5 The Importance of Physical Education as it relates to Swimming7 Disadvantages of lack of Physical Education 9 Conclusion10 References11 Introduction Physical education plays a vital role in students’ development and growth. According to recent medical studies, physical well being of a student is directly related to his or her performance whether in class or in the office. The optimal physical education program will foster a lifetime commitment to physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle. Ultimately, improved coordinated school health programs, of which physical education is a central component, will augment other prevention efforts and help to reverse the growing epidemic of childhood obesity which threatens to undo decades of progress in the fight against cardiovascular and other diseases. Effective efforts made now will help children avoid a lifetime of chronic disease and disability. Before further discussion of the importance of physical education, there first needs to a formal definition of what physical education is and what type of teachings occur in such a class. Definition of Physical Education People are often mistaken in defining physical education as they often assume that physical education is sport education. Simply put, physical education is defined as a process of education through physical activity. The goal is the development of individuals acquired through experience of motion. In a  broader context, physical education is defined as a process of learning through physical activities designed to improve physical fitness, develop motor skills, knowledge and behavior of healthy and active living, sportsmanship, and emotional intelligence. Thus, Physical Education is not only aimed at physical development but also includes the development of the individual as a whole. With Physical Education students will acquire a variety of expressions which are closely related with the personal impressions of fun as well as various expressions of a creative, innovative, and skilled, have the physical fitness, healthy habits and have the knowledge and understanding of human motion. What is taught in Physical Education? The health and physical education programs should be designed to teach students the skills, knowledge and attitudes essential to live a healthy lifestyle and select healthy and safe behaviors. Physical education is unique as it provides students with opportunities to learn motor skills, develop fitness, and gain understanding about the importance of physical activity. Students should be provided an individualized, developmentally appropriate, and personally challenging instructional program that will advance the knowledge, confidence, skills, and motivation needed to engage in a lifelong, healthy, active lifestyle. There are many branches to physical education and it does not just deal with the teaching of a sport of any kind whether basketball or track, etc. Some major topics include nutrition and health, which entails the teaching of proper eating habits. Sport science, which is the teachings of the rules and play of a specific sport and the necessary equipment that sport requires. Anatomy and physiology, which looks into the human body for e.g. skeletal, muscular, nervous, circulatory, and respiratory systems. Exercise physiology e.g. components of health related fitness; fitness guideline such as frequency, intensity, time/duration and type/mode; principles of exercise such as specificity, overload, and progression; roles of the body systems in exercise; short and long-term effects of physical training, nutrition as related to effects of physical training and nutrition as related to exercise, fitness, and metabolic response to exercise. Other topics include movement concepts such as body awareness and effects of substance abuse on  body performance, health and behavior. Importance of Physical Education Fitness Obesity is a very common problem faced, which if not taken care of in time, can lead to many lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Engaging in physical activities help to burn calories and lose fat. Regular exercising builds muscles, makes the immune system strong and improves upon stamina. This increases the fitness levels and keeps various diseases and health conditions in check. It Builds Self Esteem Students who are active in physical activities like basketball, volleyball, martial arts and running just to name a few are more confident with themselves according to most social school studies. It’s probably because of the self discipline and dedication to excel in a sport that brings out the best in students. In school, the physical education program introduces these sport activities to students allowing them to make choices to which sport areas they want to get involved in. Life Lessons By participating in various sports, a student gets to learn so many things about life. A student wins some games and loses some; this makes him understand that winning and losing are a part of life and should be accepted with grace. When a student participates in team games, he learns that co-operating with others is very important if goals are to be achieved. Likewise, sports can teach so many life lessons to students and thus, help them evolve mentally. Hygiene Physical education classes lay great emphasis on maintaining hygiene. They teach students how to remain clean and germ-free at all times. Sex education is sometimes part of this curriculum too. The safe practices taught in these classes, and if the lessons are followed throughout a persons’ life, will save them from many diseases. Stress Management Often times, students, particularly in their adolescent years, face various kinds of pressure and experience stress and anxiety. Participation in physical activities can act as a stress buster for them. Research has shown  that when a person exercises, the levels of cortisol, a stress hormone which increases blood sugar, get reduced. Moreover, a person who exercises every day is able to sleep better, thus giving enough time to his body to repair and restore. This proves that by making an exercise routine, a student can remain stress-free, relaxed and concentrate more on his studies and other important things. Productivity Researches show that students who participate in physical activities have high energy levels and are more alert than those who led sedentary lifestyles. Due to these very reasons, the productivity of such students in various spheres of life, including their studies, improves considerably. As can be seen, physical education contributes so much towards making a child grow into a healthy, intelligent, confident and level-headed adult. It can be rightly said that it’s not just for individual growth, but for the improvement of the whole society, physical education should be made an important part of the school curriculum. Academic Performance Though a lack of attention on PE is often justified as an opportunity to spend more time in the classroom, studies show that physical activity contributes to improved academic performance. Regular activity during the school day is strongly associated with higher concentration levels as well as more directed, composed behavior. A statewide policy in North Carolina required that children from kindergarten to eighth grade participate in 30 minutes of physical activity each day. A survey of school representatives from 106 of the state’s school districts reported that the most recognizable benefit of the mandate was â€Å"improved academic focus.† Importance of Physical Education as it relates to Swimming In an article about â€Å"How to Learn† by Swim Smooth written in 2009, it speaks about the brain in two parts, our conscious and our subconscious. When we perform a familiar movement pattern such as walking or riding a bike we perform the movements on auto-pilot. The same goes for swimming stroke. Freestyle is such a complex set of movements that nearly every action is controlled by our subconscious. It may be thought that you are concentrating very hard on your stroke but in reality you can only make small changes through pure ‘conscious thought power’ or concentration. The subconscious mind is very fast, can do complicated things in a fraction of a second, and can react before you have time to think. The conscious mind on the other hand is very much slower and could never react or co-ordinate things this quickly. It can only co-ordinate one thing at a time and often very clumsily. With proper physical education, a swim coach can teach about the muscle groups used in each different form of swim stroke, the proper nutrition required in order to keep the body fit for doing swimming on a regular basis and give proper instruction on swimming techniques so that as the individual practices and it starts to move from conscious thought to subconscious forms of movement, the actions being carried out are correct and precise. It can also be of benefit where the physical education is concerned because with technique again, focus will be made on single aspects of a stroke and gradually everything at once in order to give the body a full feel and more susceptible to get it done correctly than a person teaching themselves and trying to do everything at once. Since the conscious mind can only do one thing at a time, focus should only be on one part of the swimming technique at a time and the subconscious gets a feel for things most quickly by doing the action. Many swimmers believe they have to concentrate very hard when they swim or their stroke technique will ‘fall apart’. They’re vastly over-estimating the influence of their conscious mind as they’re swimming! If they mentally switched off they would swim almost identically – sometimes better because they’d be more relaxed. Disadvantages of a lack of Physical Education Physical activity is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that require energy expenditure. Physical inactivity (lack of physical activity) has been identified as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality (6% of deaths globally). Moreover, physical inactivity is estimated to be the main cause for approximately 21–25% of breast and colon cancers, 27% of diabetes and approximately 30% of ischemic heart disease burden. Being inactive increases the risk of developing depression or dementia, according to studies presented at a conference of the British Nutrition Foundation. According to Nannette Mutrie of the University of Strathclyde, researchers are coming to understand how important physical activity is for psychological health. She said that recent research suggests that exercise can be successfully used to treat depression. Conversely, people who do live inactive lifestyles are twice as likely to become depressed. â€Å"It’s only recently that people have begun to see the link between physical activity and mental health,† Mutrie said. â€Å"It’s important for increasing people’s self esteem, general mood, coping with stress and even sleeping better. And we now have very strong evidence that physical activity can prevent depression.† As it relates to the theory aspect of physical education, a person wanting to be in better shape would not know the proper steps to take in order to make it happen. They would be ignorant about how the body works and how to eat healthy and so thought exercise is carried out often, may not see the results for all the work put in. Technique and precision is necessary for anyone to become good at whatever sport or activity they take part in and this can be more easily achieved if guidance through physical education is given. Conclusion In conclusion, physical education is very important as it helps with teaching of a healthy lifestyle, keeps the body active and promotes long life. Lack of physical education too has its disadvantages as it can promote various diseases, lead to obesity and more susceptible to mental issues such as depression or dementia. When relating to swimming specifically, physical education can help better with technique and necessary stretches and eating habits required to more develop on that skill. References Internet Sources American Diabetes Association (2008). Physical Education in Schools – Both Quality and Quantity are Important. Retrieved from http://www.everydaychoices.org/082008/PE%20in%20Schools%20Statement%20ACS%20ADA%20AHA%205.27.08%20_final_.pdf Greenlaw, E. (2012). What Do You Know About PE for Kids? Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/parenting/raising-fit-kids/move/parents-pe-questions Datka, A. (2011). What Are the Benefits of Physical Education in School? Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/529108-what-are-the-benefits-of-physical-education-in-school/ Dogra, A. (2011). Importance of Physical Education in Schools. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/importance-of-physical-education-in-schools.html Newspaper Articles Blair, L. (2003, May 11). Could PE fight the fat attack? Jamaica Gleaner Burke, D. (2012, September 3). The importance of play. Jamaica Observer Book Source Ayers, S. & Sariscsany, M. (2011). The Physical Best Teachers Guide: Physical Education For Lifelong Fitness, Third Edition. United States