Saturday, August 31, 2019
Police and Justice Professionals Roles
What is the role of a criminal justice professional? There are numerous amounts of roles that a criminal justice practitioner plays. Depending on which section of the criminal justice system you are certified in, your studies ensures your specialty in your career field. In this particular essay, we will focus on the key social issues contributing to the service of the criminal justice practitioners, the role of the criminal justice professionals serving needs, and how the key social issues impact the role of the criminal justice professionals along with examples.There are numerous amounts of key social issues contributing to the need for criminal justice practitioners. The three main issues that we are going to discuss are sex offenders, drug abuse, and gun control. The first key social problem is sex offenders. When you are a sex offender, the law in the state you reside in requires you to be registered in the system and allow the public to know where you live and what kind of offen se you made (Perlam 2006. ). An example of a sex offender is someone such as an adult, adolescent, or toddler having consensual or nonconsensual sex with someone under the age of eighteen or in better words a minor.Having a sex offender living in your community might not appear to be a good thing for your schools and home, but with individuals being registered allows people in the community to be aware of them. This effects the community as a whole and the offender as an individual. The next key social problem that world has to regret is drug abuse. Drug abuse is an issue that causes a need for a criminal justice practitioner in several different ways. This subject can be very broad, therefore, we will discuss this as a whole.Drug abuse is a major social problem and it is a physical pain that a person inflicts upon themselves intentionally and unintentionally while under the influence. Drug abuse leads to life threatening addictions and can also potentially kill a person, which ther efore causes for a need of a criminal justice professional in this particular category to promote abstinence of narcotics and prevent these individuals from serving the rest of their lives behind bars. When a person abuses drugs, they do not see their problem as an issue. A criminal justice professional roles comes in place and help drug abusers in many differenceways such as, sending them to rehabilitation centers or helping them seek medical treatments. Drug abuse influence violence and others to become addicts as well in our communities. The last key social problem is gun control. In the United States Constitution, the Second Amendment states, ââ¬Å"The right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringes. â⬠Therefore we all have a right to bear arms when we are of the right age and are licensed to do so (Reuters 2013. ) Not everyone with a gun is a criminal, yet there are people out there that are not responsible with handling a gun.The Second Amendment is of ten violated and abused based on the sum of suicides, homicides, and other crimes that involved the use of a fire arm. Criminal justice professionals roles are strongly needed to influence gun control. According to Henderson from USA Today, they are to stop violence and help the society feel safe when people use guns responsibly. The role of the criminal justice professional is serving individuals personal needs as well as a societies needs as a whole. Criminal justice professionals are responsible for defending and helping American nations while punishing and rehabilitating offenders (Cook, 2006.) As far as a professional serving an individual matter, an attorney is to prosecute or defend an offender. The attorney is to find the truth for their client, help place the right person in prison, and fortunately set innocent people free. When society is being represented by a professional, they are committed to promoting safety and protecting communities regarding to fire arm control. Ho w do problems impact the roles of a criminal justice professional? Depending on the type of circumstance, not having enough evidence, the lack of witnesses, and police corruption can influence a professional in a variety of ways to affect their duty.In reference to Captain Dean Harper of Meridian, Mississippi police department, ââ¬Å"It's really hard to work an investigation when people will not come forward and speak to the police. â⬠As a result, the guilty are terrorizing our neighborhoods and justice is not served. Also the lack of evidence is parallel to not having a witness regarding to the role of the criminal justice profession. Evidence may take the form of having reliable DNA, a witness testimony, or even a trail of sufficient elements that may be reliable to a judge and jury.Lack of evidence can unfortunately terminate a person's legal case, resulting in a motion to dismiss due to the party of opposition being unable to prove their half (Conjecture Corporation. ) Al so authority abuse is a major factor for criminal justice profession success. As a result, police corruption lose the trust of the community and influence citizensââ¬â¢ retaliation. According to the California Innocence Project, police corruption could be police harshness, deceit, deception, compulsion, and sexual misconduct. All of these examples can cause for a mistrial, wrongful conviction, and shows the world that our judicial system cannot be trusted.In conclusion, the role of a criminal justice practitioner have many different obligations in serving the nation. With all of the issues that they have to deal with, they are needed to help protect society and maintain law. In order to do their duty as a professional, every job comes with obstacles that impact their personal affairs as well as their morals. Their role is significant and will be needed forever. Throughout this essay weââ¬â¢ve discussed the roles of a criminal justice professional and how social and individual issues impact their role as ambassadors of the law.
Parenting Article Comparison: ââ¬ËPutting Fathers in the Frameââ¬â¢ and ââ¬ËDads Armyââ¬â¢ Essay
The following shall compare to articles about the ââ¬Ënew ageââ¬â¢ father. A ââ¬Ënew ageââ¬â¢ father is one that does most work looking after the child of the family. Dadââ¬â¢s Army is an article from a popular magazine written by Damon Syson that shows evidence of these ââ¬Ënew ageââ¬â¢ fathers and his view that all ââ¬Ënew ageââ¬â¢ fathers should â⬠put down the papooseâ⬠. The other an article called ââ¬ËPutting Fathers in the Frameââ¬â¢ by Elizabeth Grice from ââ¬ËThe Daily Telegraphââ¬â¢, that tells us there is no such thing as the ââ¬Ënew ageââ¬â¢ father and tells us that there should be more of them. The essay shall find similarities and differences between the two articles considering several factors: layout, language, and any other relevant comparisons. Firstly we can consider the layout of both articles. The pictures in the article ââ¬ËDads Armyââ¬â¢ surround the main article and are of cheesy ââ¬Ënew ageââ¬â¢ fathers in which there are quite a few. This is completely different to what the article in the ââ¬ËDaily Telegraphââ¬â¢ that only has one that cracks a joke about fathering. Another difference includes varying spaces between lines, bigger spaces in the magazine article than the newspaper article. One of the main differences includes the narrative. ââ¬ËDads Armyââ¬â¢ is written in first person and has the views and opinions of the writer, a man. ââ¬ËPutting Fathers in the Frameââ¬â¢ is written in the third person and less personal and direct and doesnââ¬â¢t refer as much to the writer, a womanââ¬â¢s opinions. The magazine article uses celebrities and young men to back up his opinions and evidence of ââ¬Ënew ageââ¬â¢ fathers like Jude Law and David Beckham. This is different to the newspaper article that refers to Prince Charles and unknown professionals to back up its point. ââ¬ËDads Armyââ¬â¢ uses much more easier vocabulary than ââ¬ËPutting Fathers in the Frameââ¬â¢ in which the vocabulary is far more sophisticated. There is also one more difference within the structure and form of the articles. ââ¬ËPutting Fathers in the Frameââ¬â¢ uses hyphens to create a perfect column where the magazine article doesnââ¬â¢t, a word is too big it leads on the next line. The two articles do not only contain differences, they do contain a number of similarities. The paragraph length varies in both articles however they do seem around the same length. Both articles have the use of italics, capital lettering, and rhetorical questioning. The language of the two articles are very different, ââ¬ËPutting Fathers in the Frameââ¬â¢ puts down the average father almost telling us that the ââ¬Ënew ageââ¬â¢ father no longer exists and promotes the idea. This is different to ââ¬ËDads Armyââ¬â¢ that puts down the idea of ââ¬Ënew ageââ¬â¢ fathering, and tells fathers to act normally. This conflict of belief allows brutal language for ââ¬Ënew ageââ¬â¢ fathers and supportive to normal dads in ââ¬ËDads Armyââ¬â¢ and vice versa for ââ¬ËPutting Fathers in the Frameââ¬â¢: ââ¬Å"smug dadsâ⬠¦ just put down the papoose and get over itâ⬠and ââ¬Å"sick ofâ⬠¦ acting like theyââ¬â¢re the Neil Armstrong of nighfeedsâ⬠These words within these quotes ââ¬Å"smugâ⬠and ââ¬Å"Neil Armstrongâ⬠really put down these ââ¬Ënew ageââ¬â¢ men whereas the newspaper article really puts them up there and promotes them: ââ¬Å"Many fathers who have wiped a lot of noses (in other words been a ââ¬Ënew ageââ¬â¢ father)â⬠¦ will feel aggrieved to be told they are backslidersâ⬠This quote from ââ¬ËPutting Fathers in the Frameââ¬â¢ really does give the feeling that being a ââ¬Ënew ageââ¬â¢ father is a good thing. ââ¬ËDads Armyââ¬â¢ promotes normal dads the same way the newspaper article promotes new age fathers: ââ¬Å"Itââ¬â¢s no walk in the parkâ⬠This tells us that being a ââ¬Ënew ageââ¬â¢ father isnââ¬â¢t easy and itââ¬â¢s hard to live up to it, normal fathers just do as best as they can for their children, isnââ¬â¢t that good enough? ââ¬ËPutting Fathers in the Frameââ¬â¢ on the other hand puts down the ââ¬Ëaverageââ¬â¢ father: ââ¬Å"The slobs are backâ⬠and ââ¬Å"appalling self-assessmentâ⬠¦ for it seems his type spends less than five minutes.. with his childâ⬠So with both articles having different viewpoints and opinions we get different language for the two groups. The two articles content varies too. As the newspaper article is written by a woman, it is difficult for her to make a necessary judgement on the issue of ââ¬Ënew ageââ¬â¢ fatherhood, so relies on a number of statistics to back up her point, and uses the views of an expert Mr Parsons, executive director of Care for the Family, a family charity. This can be compared with the magazine article ââ¬ËDads Armyââ¬â¢ in which the main bulk of the article is in fact the writerââ¬â¢s view, and uses a regular father. Overall the two articles have very conflicting views of the so-called ââ¬Ënew ageââ¬â¢ father and so have very different true content. So the varying views conflict yet share the same topic- fatherhood.
Friday, August 30, 2019
The History and Evolution of the European Common Agricultural Policy
The years immediately following the Second World War, Europe was marked with food shortages, a situation that needed immediate and lasting action. The food supply must and will be secured, and agricultural production within the region revitalized. This necessity would then prompt the beginnings of a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).The beginnings of CAPThe Cap has its roots in the signing of one of the Treaties of Rome[1] in 25 March 1957, which established the European Economic Community[2] (EEC). Article 38.4 of theTreaty Establishing the European Community refers specifically to the creation of a common agricultural policy among Member States that would accompany the implementation of a common market for agricultural products (3). Article 39 then presents the objectives of a common agricultural policy:1.à à à à à to increase agricultural productivity;2.à à à à à to ensure a fair standard of living;3.à à à à à to stabilize markets;4.à à à à à to assure availability of supplies;5.à à à à à to ensure that supplies reach consumers at reasonable prices. (3)The Stresa Conference[3] in July 1958 established the three key principles of the CAP namely: market unity (for free movement of agricultural products within the EU), financial solidarity (a communal treasury finances all of CAPââ¬â¢s expenses), and community preference (European products were to be given priority over products from outside the region) (Delayen 1). Finally, the year 1962 marked the CAPââ¬â¢s coming into force.The CAP started with the short-term goal of addressing the food supply problem by providing subsidies and granting high prices to farmers to produce more. There is a clear link between production and subsidy: the more farmers produce, the more they will earn.Aside from subsidies, the CAP also provided for financial assistance aimed at the development of farming: funds were directed towards farm management and enlargement, and acq uisition and management of proper and up-to-date technological skills.Moreover, the CAP created practical measures like aid for early retirement (to provide avenues for the next generation of farmers), assistance for training and development, and financial incentives for the less favored areas[4] (LFA).Farmers working in less favored areas are given compensation for income loses that they incur. (Rural development in the European Union 5) By the 1980s, the CAP was continuously seeing favorable results and agricultural production continued to increase. The CAPââ¬â¢s long-term goal of self-sufficiency is finally made secure.However, unhampered abundance in agricultural products led to a surplusââ¬âmore than what the region could consume was being produced. Excess commodities were stored, distributed within the EU, or exported (supported by export subsidies) (The Common Agricultural Policy Explained 4).However, this was not enoughââ¬âmore costs were incurred, prices were dis torted, and negative environmental effects were becoming manifest. There was a growing concern towards environmental sustainability of agriculture and the CAP just had to cope with the changing times and circumstances.The milk quota in 1983 was just the beginning of a series of reforms. To control dairy production and costs, producers were given a certain quota. If producers go beyond their quota, taxes would be appended. Then in 1992, the Mac Sharry reform[5] introduced the vital direct payments. Production was limited and prices reduced, but farmers were given direct payments as compensation (Delayen 2).The EU also began taking the environmental aspect into consideration by providing incentives to farmers who apply farming measures that help in protecting the environment. With the coming of the new century, the food supply is secure and self-sufficiency not an issue anymore. The emphasis of the CAP has changed and therefore, policies must undergo an overhaul.The CAP todayChange wa s inevitable and necessary, thus, Agenda 2000[6] came into being. The reforms initiated focuses on increasing productivity and competitiveness of agriculture in the EU while taking environmental sustainability into account, and establishing clear rural development policies. It was also in Agenda 2000 that the system of funding was reorganized and a specific budget was set.Regarding productivity and competitiveness, the EU remains a strong player in the world market. With the coming of the Agenda 2000, price cuts were implemented (15% for cereals, 15% for dairy products, 20% for beef and veal) so as to stabilize supply and demand in the market (Agenda 2000ââ¬âA CAP for the Future 1).The quality and circumstances involved in food production and the relationship between production and the environment has replaced the necessity of securing the food supply. In line with this, the CAP established agri-environment measures.Optional cross-compliance was introduced. Incentive is given an nually to farmers who commit to these agri-environment measures. However, non-compliance would mean reduction or cancellation of this incentive. The uncollected funds are then added to funds for rural development or agri-environment measures (Agenda 2000ââ¬âA CAP for the Future 1).Funding under the Agenda 2000 is now divided into two pillars. Whereas before, funding of the CAP only provided for market management (market-related subsidies) and direct payments to farmers, it now has a second pillar to provide for rural development policies.Funding for the second pillar is financed by both the EU and individual Member States, and encompasses agri-environment measures, aid to farmers working in LFAs, and commitments to higher quality of food, and animal welfare. à (The Common Agricultural Policyââ¬âA Policy Evolving with the Times 4).
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Outline and discuss the evolution of CSR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Outline and discuss the evolution of CSR - Essay Example This paper explores the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility, tracing its evolution and how businesses implement it as well as how it affects them. II. Definitions of CSR Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) may be perceived in a variety of ways depending on oneââ¬â¢s perspective. One commonly accepted definition is as follows: ââ¬Å"The continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of local community and society at large.â⬠- World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 2005 Another definition created by the European Commission (2003) is: ââ¬Å"Responsible business practices that support the three principles of sustainable development: economic growth and prosperity, social cohesion and equity and environmental integrity and protection.â⬠(p.5) III. Principles of CSR The United Nations is the main promoter of CSR. On December 31, 1999, then Secretary General Kofi Annan declared its principles at the World Economic Forum in Davos (Madrakhimova, 2013): 1. Human Rights ââ¬â Commercial organizations should maintain support and respect for internationally recognized human rights in the creation of their standards of work. The rights to bargain collectively of workers must be upheld. Forced labour and child labour should be eliminated along with any form of discrimination in the workplace. 2. Ecology ââ¬â Corporations should be conscious of the prevention of environmental problems and diligent in carrying out a more responsible attitude towards the care of the environment. They need to promote technologies and know-how in the reduction of negative impacts of some systems on the environment. 3. Anti-corruption ââ¬â Corruption in all forms which include extortion, bribery and red tape must be prevented. 4. Legal responsibility ââ¬â Legal frameworks bound in the territories where the businesses st and must be enforced. 5. Global responsibility ââ¬â Compliance with international standards of social responsibility 6. Environmental Responsibility ââ¬â collaboration of businesses and society in the rational use of natural resources, effective management of the environment and public health from the production of environmentally-friendly products. 7. Cultural and ethical responsibility ââ¬â Compliance with relevant territorial cultural and ethical customs and traditions as well as moral norms followed by employees and other stakeholders. 8. Philantropic responsibility ââ¬â support and development of the society and of individual marginal groups through voluntary participation in social programs and social and financial investment. IV. Benefits of CSR In a study of Lithuanian development of CSR practices, Spukiene & Urbonien (2011) report the following internal benefits in adopting CSR practices have been recognized: business sustainability; competitive advantage; e asier compliance with legislation; employee loyalty; attraction and retention of qualified employees; increase in productivity, quality and sales; financial improvement and access to capital; and reduction of costs. External benefits from adopting CSR practices were acknowledged as well: improved image and reputation; preservation of the environment; intangible benefits; contribution to Lithuania?s sustainable development; increased visibility; promotion of solidarity in the community; clients? loyalty; and
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Industrial Ergonomics case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Industrial Ergonomics - Case Study Example NIOSH conducted a qualitative field study. It began by asking the employees who used snowmobiles regularlyââ¬âthe only ones that were a part of this study-- about their jobs, their medical history and their job-related health problems. They made measurements of the seat, handle bars, and throttle control of snowmobiles to see if they could be adjusted to better fit people. They measured how much and how often workers are jolted when they ride snowmobiles on the bumpy roads. They also tested workersââ¬â¢ hands for nerve functions by administering a vibrotactile sensitivity test because disturbance of the vibrotactile sense can indicate early signs of vibration-induced injury. However, outside of testing workersââ¬â¢ hands for nerve functions and coordination, the other areas of complaints were not tested. Furthermore the researchers had only the workersââ¬â¢ word about their health prior to beginning to work for the National Park Service. Also, there was no control group. Admittedly, the researchers tried to approximate as best they could the scientific approach to determine how much of the employee complaints were due to travelling to the bumpy roads by attaching saver units to the snowmobiles to measure, record and store acceleration data on all three channels after being triggered by a shock or jolt that exceeded 1 g. These units could store 1346 separate events, but were filled after four hours! Secondly, some of the workers had hand tremor and decreased hand coordination related to snowmobile use. Another finding was that the grips on the handle bars were too narrow and not close enough to the rider to be safe and comfortable. Consequently, NIOSH stated that the most important feature to adjust was the steering bar, which if moved closer to the body with grips oriented to provide for neutral wrist positions would reduce grip forces and improve shoulder
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Ikea Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words
Ikea - Research Paper Example According to a research made in 2008, the company has been considered as the largest furniture retailing firm in the world. Overtime, proportions of discretionary spending of consumers in most economies have increased with rise in per capita. Such changes in composition of consumersââ¬â¢ expenditure have helped to enhance revenues of comfort product producing companies like, IKEA (Peng, 2010). Even so, it is also true that since the global financial crisis, aggregate income generated from the retail sector in the international market has fallen due to recessionary trails in economies. A very strong rival of IKEA, MFI Group Limited (a furniture retailing firm in U.K.) was forced to shut down its business during such critical conditions. So, since 2008, IKEA is facing strategic issues in business. The aggregate sales of the firm were recorded as 20.9 billion in 2009 and annual growth was approximately 1.4% since then (IKEA Group, 2013c). Rather, due to financial crunches, IKEA had t o cut down almost 5000 jobs in 2009 (IKEA Group, 2013b). Thus, from the above analysis, it can be claimed that the company needs to frame appropriate productive strategies in business which will help it to expand the scope of business internationalization and increase revenue in the long run. The following context of the paper will study the strategic initiatives that are already undertaken by IKEA as well as suggest ways through which the company would be able to strategically grow in the long run (Twarowska and KÃâ¦kol, 2013). From the above context, it is evident that IKEA is facing problems since emergence of the financial crisis. The company lacks adequate manpower to enhance its overall productivity. Moreover, aggregate demand experienced in companyââ¬â¢s domestic market has also fallen. This is evident from the annual report of the company. The gross revenue of IKEA was recorded as US$ 2583982 in 2012 and US$ 2406539 in 2011 (IKEA Group, 2013a). Even so, the liabilities in business
Monday, August 26, 2019
The Corporation as a Legal Entity Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
The Corporation as a Legal Entity - Coursework Example The formation of an entity requires the input of different stakeholders, including the owners, the investors, and the directors and managers. At law, the corporation is a separate legal entity from all those people involved in its formation, and has it owns rights and liabilities. Therefore, it is evident that the corporation has its own rights and duties, separate from the directors and stakeholders in the company, who are usually separated from the corporation by a corporate veil. This means that a company can, in its own right, perform contracts, own assets, perform lawful actions, and be liable to the authority in its own name. This principle, called the Salomon Principle, was established in 1897 in the case of Salomon V. Salomon, which will be discussed in detail at a later stage in this paper. This principle was later affirmed by the House of Lords, which stated that the company is not an agent of the owners of the said company. This means that, in law, the company is an entire ly separate being from the subscribers to its memorandum, and in law, is not an agent or trustee of the said subscribers. The Establishment of the Doctrine of Incorporation The doctrine of incorporation was firmly established by the House of Lords in Salomon V. ... ted that, even though the company could be the same as it was before incorporation, with the same managers, same people sharing profits, it is still an entirely separate entity. The members are, therefore, not liable in any way for the company, except in instances as prescribed in the Companies Act 2006. In stressing this doctrine, the House legalized the usage of the corporation by individuals seeking to put a veil between themselves and their creditors. The effects of this decision are widespread, for example, in Foss V. Harbottle (1843), it was held that the corporation can sue and be sued in its separateness from the shareholders. The decision in Regal (Hastings) V. Gulliver (1942) also established that the other effect of the Salomon Principle was that the company has perpetual succession, and that the company can enter into contracts in its own name, separate from its shareholders. The fourth implication of the Salomon Principle is that the corporation has the sole right to acq uire, possess and dispose of its own assets, which was decided in Macaura V. Northern Assurance Limited (1925). However, Lord MacNaughtenââ¬â¢s ruling concerning the Salomon Principle was not a good decision, since it gives some parties unreasonable shield, which can be detrimental to the individuals dealing with the companies. The case established an important principle in company law, that of the independent existence of a registered company or corporation. The inflexible application of this principle can be detrimental to the persons dealing with the company, since the corporate veil is insecure. Piercing the Corporate Veil As previously stated, there are instances where courts are allowed to remove the corporate veil enjoyed by shareholders and apportion liability directly to the
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Coca-Cola Company versus PepsiCo, Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Coca-Cola Company versus PepsiCo, Inc - Essay Example In 2009, the companies work under the 401k pension plan which provides insurance advantage on the medical requirements of the employees. In Coca-Cola the contributory plan is done by both the employer and the employees where the employer enjoys the benefit of taxation for their employees. The pension plan of PepsiCo is based on the willingness of the employees as the benefits are availed by both the full-time and international employees. The rates used by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo for calculating the pension amounts are rate of return on assets, rate of compensation, and rate of discount. For the year 2008, the expense discount rate and the rate of return on planned assets for Coca-Cola was 5.8% and 7.75%. The medical benefits for the retiree were calculated based on the available rates. PepsiCo had a discount rate of 5.7% on all US beneficiaries and 5.2% on foreign workers. The expected rate of return for PepsiCo in 2008 was 7.7%. Retirement rewards calculated were often based on the co mpensation rate for employees. Recent events in corporate finance have depicted the importance of efficient administration. The need to fund corporate pension plans have made many executives to offers offer defined constitution plans as because of the recent changes in IFRS. Whereas Coca-Cola have rejected such approach and have preferred the plan of cash balance plan design as it offered risk-free benefits to the employees and made the employees secured. Coca-Cola was a part of multi-employer pension plans of US, but from 2012 the company opts to change the accounting methodology for determining the market related value of assets for the defined benefit pension plans. Coca-Cola sponsors to the pension plans covering all US employees and has made necessary assumptions to determine the pension expense and other related obligations. As per the assumption the discount rates would be related to the present value liabilities and the expected long-term rate would relate to planned assets. The company decided to periodically revise asset allocation so as to improve returns and manage risks. PepsiCo is one of those major employers who are still planning to offer their new employees a final salary pension. In 2012, PepsiCo decided to decrease the fair value of pension so as to reduce the future employee benefit costs. The company made certain changes in their US Pension plans, which stated that employees earning benefit under the pension plans as stated in IFRS, were not eligible for the company matching contributions on the 401k contributions. The annual pensions is to be calculated based on 4 components, i.e. the value of benefits earned by employees during their working hours, the increase in liability due to time , other gains and losses and the expected return on assets which was based on pension plan investment strategy and the long-term rates of return by asset class. These schemes were essential to plan a secure retirement for the employees and to meet the futu re expectation of the management. Answer 2. The Coca-Cola Company In 2012 the companyââ¬â¢s total pension expense related to defined benefit plans were $251million. The companyââ¬â¢s primary US plan in 2012 represented 59% and 64% of the Companyââ¬â¢s consolidated pension benefit obligations and pension assets. The pension expense is expected to decrease by $60 million in 2013 by the management because of expected $640million of contributions to be made by the
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Ann Radcliffe and the Gothic movement behing her literature Research Paper
Ann Radcliffe and the Gothic movement behing her literature - Research Paper Example Ann Radcliffe due to her reclusive nature was made the brunt of her contemporariesââ¬â¢ imagination and was accused of being a mad genius, a sorceress and a madwoman haunted by ghosts etc. Considered the most significant writer of the English Gothic genre, Ann Radcliffe changed the Gothic novel from a mere medium for the depiction of terror into a tool for exploring the psychology of terror and suspense. Her stress on emotion, insight, and the connection between atmosphere and sensibility helped make the way for the Romantic Movement in England. Radcliffes most famous novel, The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), is one of the principal examples of Gothic literature. (Onorato& Cengage, 1997)1 Ann Radcliffe was extremely popular in her day. Her application of Gothic techniques, her talent to rouse terror and curiosity in her readers by setting up events which were seemingly supernatural, but which were afterwards logically explained by ordinary means, was widely imitated by other writers but never surpassed. Her construction of tastefully imaginary horrors (taste was equal to quality) and her stress on the supernatural was modern and Romantic, whereas her logical explanations belonged to the ordered world of eighteenth century England. Thus her novels offered contemporary readers a chance to indulge their penchant for the bizarre, the outrà © and the unusual by generally hinting at the immoral, decadent and the supernatural while in due course rectifying matters ,from a societal viewpoint , by vindicating the old world virtues of a submissive woman. The nature of Ann Radcliffeââ¬â¢s novels was startling to her readers and she was reviled by some critics as a misleader of youth and women. But her admirers called her the mighty enchantress. Ann Radcliffe was born in a lower-middle class family in Holborn, London. Her father was William Ward, a haberdasher and her mother was Ann Oates.troubled with asthma from youth, she was reserved by nature and read widely. In 1787,
Friday, August 23, 2019
Robots Memorandum Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1
Robots Memorandum - Assignment Example Of recent are the scientists and researchers from Harvard University who designed a construction crew of infinitesimal robots that have ability to construct complex structures without any external aid. It is realizable that the designation of the robots took four years. Scientists and robotics researchers are exploring ways of integrating the aspect of swarm intelligence from the termites into the robots to permit large groups of simple robots to team up. In this context, each robot is expected to work independently however, at the end they build something together. The scientists apply this intelligence. The robotics researchers and scientists used simple laws attributed to the termiteââ¬â¢s behaviour to programme the robots. The laws enable the robots to act free of human sense of intelligence from a non- centralized location or point of view. The scientists propose complex programming and coding of the robots to increase the intelligence of collaboration, accuracy and speed of working. As an example, a robot swam has an ability to construct form-bricked castles, towers and pyramids. The structure of the robots involves a height of 8 inches and width of 4.5 inches, with a pinwheel shaped tires. An infrared sensor, accelerator and an ultrasound sensor are equipped in each robot to help in responding to the dynamism of the surrounding. The robots have ability to sense and correct a mistake. The robot walk independently around the building severally to ensure that everything that needs to be done has been done. There are numerous thoughts of making the robots more efficient and less costly in terms of their construction. Numerous researchers have come up with diverse opinions on the materials to be used and the level of integrity they should possess. For the purposes of understanding the kind of material and the cost in
Power discusses several issues of human rights and genocide since the Essay
Power discusses several issues of human rights and genocide since the 1970s. Select one of these issues---Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, or Kosovo, and explain what - Essay Example Other than communist China, the international community was disturbed by Vietnamese involvement. The real issues, like in other genocide cases since 1970, was not the genocide, but of varying agendas by individual countries. When the Khmer Rouge came to power, the first order was to empty all cities. The goal was to create an agricultural based society with all members living in rural areas. The flaw to Pol Potââ¬â¢s plan was he expected this change to happen overnight. The young, old, sick, dying, man, woman, and everyone else had to leave the city (Chandler, 2000: 95). This alone created casualties. Some city residents only had ten minutes (Kiernan, 2002: 38). The residents that refused, no matter if sick or unable to leave, were killed. All the urban population had to relocate to the countryside in a matter of weeks. The second type of casualties occurred in the countryside. The old people, rural people, and the new people, urban people had a distinctive line drawn between them. Rural people were given larger rations of food, easier work details, and local positions of power. The urban people were given less food, harder work details, and no power at all. The urban people were not prepared for a hard rural life. Most of these people were scholars, businesspeople, doctors, lawyers, and so forth. Much of the real genocide occurred through starvation. The urban people were not given enough to eat, and did not have the skills to survive like their rural counterparts. The last set of casualties was due to arrest, deliberate torture, and assassination. Urban people were subject to arrest by the Khmer Rouge. Areas like S-21 were used to detain suspect people (Chandler, 2000: 7). These prisons obtained confessions through torture, and then the victim was murdered. Few people ever came back from a Khmer Rouge prison. Estimates of the deaths in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge vary from 1.5 million up to 5 million Cambodians (Kiernan, 2002:
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Sports and the Law Essay Example for Free
Sports and the Law Essay Sports is a wonderful gateway for recreation. It gives sense of completeness and physical balance for a person. That is why joining in sports activities is rewarding in any way. However, it may also cause accidents and unavoidable consequences. As such, there is a need for a knowledge of the law that governs sports accidents and careful application of the same. A contract should be entered into between the participants and the sports organizers to this effect. This is necessary in protection of the players or participants. Contract is the meeting of the minds between two or more persons or entities in which there is a promise to do something in return for a valuable benefit known as consideration. There are various types of contracts and these include unilateral contracts, bilateral contracts, oral and written contracts, conditional contracts, and joint and several contracts. A unilateral contract is one in which there is a promise to pay or give other consideration in return for actual performance. A bilateral contract is one in which a promise is exchanged for a promise. Oral contracts are more difficult to prove than a written contract. Conditional contract includes conditions or an event occurring whereas joint and several contracts means that several parties make a joint promise to perform but each one is responsible impliedly in which the courts will determine there is contract based on the circumstances (ââ¬Å"Contractsâ⬠, 2007, p. 1). The elements of contracts that will make the same valid involves the offer, an acceptance of that offer which results in a meeting of minds, a promise to perform, a valuable consideration which can be a promise or payment in some form, a time or event when performance must be made, terms and conditions for performance and performance of the contract. Any one of these elements that is not present in a contract will make the same void or voidable. In the case of Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton (Supreme Court, 1995), the Supreme Court of the United States found that mandatory drug testing in high school athletics programs was not an unreasonable search or seizure, nor was it an invasion of privacy. The petitioner school operates one high school in Oregon. The school also involves in athletics activities as sports play a 2 prominent role in the towns life, and students athletes are admired in their school and community. However, due to the observed increase in drug use, the school required every athlete to be under drug test. And yet, it was regarded by the concerned that it was against the right of every individual against unreasonable searches and seizures and an invasion of privacy. Respondent Acton was denied participation in his schools football program when he and his parents refused to consent to the testing. It was the right of the school to require Acton to be under drug testing based on the contract he signed under the football program. They then filed this suit seeking declaratory and injunctive relief on the grounds that the Policy violated personal rights identified earlier. There is a close relationship of tort law with sports. It cannot be avoided that participating sports activities will result to accidents due to negligence of the parties. To be able to resolve a particular case, tort law will come to the rescue. Many sports pose serious danger to participants. Generally, a person who suffers a sports-related injury may recover for medical expenses and other losses if the injury was caused by negligence of another party. Injuries and damages resulting from intentional torts, such as battery or assault, likewise are recoverable. Courts generally decide suits involving injuries to athletes, spectators, and other parties involved in sports according to basic tort laws. If a party owes a duty of care toward another party and that duty is breached, the party owing the duty is liable for any injuries suffered by the party to whom the duty is owed that result from breach. The level of duty will vary according to the circumstances. When the situation is dangerous, it will require a high degree of care, and less dangerous situations require less care (ââ¬Å"Sports Lawâ⬠, 2004). Athletes may recover for injuries resulting from anothers partys negligence or intentional acts. Athletes in contact sports consent to some physical contact, but courts do not find that participants consent to contract that goes outside the bounds of the game. In some cases, schools are 3 even liable for injuries of the athletes. If an employee of the school such as a coach or referee fails to properly supervise a student and the student suffers an injury as a result of the failure to supervise, the school may also be held liable for the employees negligence. Defendants in sports-related personal injury suits may posses any number of defenses. One of the most successful of these defenses is that the party assumed the risk of being injured by playing in or watching the sporting event. Defendants may also argue on their part that the plaintiff was negligent and therefore should recover only a portion of his damages or nothing at all. This can be illustrated in a situation where a plaintiff may have ignored warnings or signed a document that waved the defendants liability for any injury suffered by the complainant. We will now discuss a case that is related to the topic on negligence and injuries. This was the case of Montalvo v. Radcliffe (Federal and States Cases, 1999) wherein Michael Montalvo, a 12-year old boy with AIDS, was denied admission to a traditional Japanese style martial arts school because of his HIV-positive status. In this action, brought under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act thereby prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability by places of public accommodation. The district court denied Montalvos relief because his condition posed a significant risk to the health or safety of other students and no reasonable modification could sufficiently reduce this risk without fundamentally altering the nature of the program. The Court affirmed the same decision. The facts of the case would tell us that Southside Virginia Police Karate Association, Inc. operates a karate school in Colonial Heights, Virginia, known as U. S. A. Bushi- dokan, which is owned by James P. Radcliffe, II. The school teaches exclusively traditional Japanese, combat-oriented martial arts. Within the first three weeks of lessons at U. S. A. Bushidokan, students learn techniques that involve substantial body contact, and within the first few months they apply these techniques to spar in actual combat situations. Radcliffe testified at trial that the sparring often results in injuries which, while minor, are bloody. 4 In the course of their sparring or their fighting a blow can take place that may initiate some type of open wound or may initiate blood flow. The continuation of their activity continues for as long as they continue to show defensive techniques and then at some point, maybe seconds, maybe even closer up to a minute, they will break and at that point that is normally the point where we will notice that someone has blood on them. When they spar one person off another, at the finish of that whole thing, 10 to 15 minutes, they will have blood all over their uniforms and hands and have no idea where it came from, who it came from or things of that nature. Radcliffe explained that to progress through the belt, as a level of achievement, a student must engage in combat activity fighting. You have to do the self-defense. It involves contact, that is exactly what they do. Radcliffe also noted that inherent in this form of karate are consistently scratched skin, scratches, gouges, bloody lips, bloody noses, things of that nature. Accordingly, the Court concluded that U. S. A. Bushidokan who is the owner of the martial arts class, in excluding Michael Montalvo from participating in its combat-oriented group karate class, did not violate the rules under question because Michael posed a significant risk to the health and safety of others that could not be eliminated by a reasonable modification. Finally, we should not forget that the law on torts and damages is very important to be studied in relation to participation is sports activities because it will protect the safety of every athlete or player. It will also give a balance in giving decisions of every issue posed by the parties. 5 References Concord Law School. (2007). Sports Law Cases. Retrieved 4 December 2007, from http://www. news. findlaw. com/legalnews/sports/sports_law/cases. Karate Law. Com. (2004). Sports Law. Retrieved 4 December 2007, from http:// www. karatelaw. com/sports. html. Law. Com Dictionary. (2007). Contract. Retrieved 4 December 2007, from http:// dictionary. law. com/default2. cap? selected:337bold.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Geography of the Middle East
Geography of the Middle East Part 1: The top three issues that contributed significantly to learning in this course Following are the major issues that contributed to my learning because they provide distinctive advantage to the Arab world and help them promote their culture and civilization throughout the world: The first issue is related to the geographical or geo-strategic importance of Middle East studied in the course. This factor is of significant importance because Middle East is located at such a region that provides it with unique benefits. The geography consists of deserts, mountain ranges and rivers and within these, there are various cultural aspects. So, it can be said that the Middle Eastern geography is a blend of benefits that tend to increase the importance of this region in the world. Different types of crops and trees are located in the region. Dates are not found in such a large variety and number in any other area as in the Middle East. Similarly, there are three major mountain ranges and water regions. The geography contributes significantly to the learning because it is such a factor of civilization on which all other things depend. For instance: the political, economic and social systems of any region are directly related to it. Due to this reason, Middle East also forms the center of various geo-political activities. The water resources of this country are immense which have provided a reason for its huge importance. The water from River Nile had remained the center of attention of various countries and it also led to many conflicts. The management of this river has worldwide implications and the same is true for other water resources. So, basically, the reason why this factor has been chosen is that the geography is directly related to economic issues such as trade (imports and exports), political issues such as balance of power and so on. Moreover, another factor that provided excessive learning in the domain of civilization is the significance of oil and energy in the region and the reason as to how it is related to other issues. One can say that all the geo-politics of this region revolved around the distribution of oil. Due to this factor, this region always remained the focus of attention of great powers such as France, Britain and USA. OPEC which forms the basic unit of collaboration among the oil exporting countries contains the Middle Eastern countries. This issue is of significance because the entire petroleum industry of the world revolves around these countries because of existence of so many excessive resources. The non- OPEC countries collectively produce 277 billion barrels of oil whereas the OPEC countries produce 1200 billion barrels. This shows the sharp contrast and this is the reason why this region is powerful and strong as well as quite important in the eyes of the world. The reason why the energy and oil issues have contributed to the learning is that they occupy immense importance. History is witness that the power of this region is directly related to the existence of oil. In the past, production, consumption and exports had been quite balanced and this is expected to increase by 2035. This shows that proper management of supply and demand of oil and gas reserves as well as the balance of exports and imports can prove to be an excessive advantage for the region in the long run. This shows that civilization is not just an isolated phenomenon rather it is a complex mixture which includes the geopolitical factors and all of these factors work together to improve their importance of any region. So, they must be properly utilized in order to make sure that these real assets of the Arabian civilization do not go wasted. The third issue that is of extreme importance and has contributed greatly is the cultural and religious aspect of the Arabian civilization. The reason why this issue is selected is that while geo-politics, economics and reserves are related to some wider problems, this is an internal issue and provides a distinctive advantage to the Middle Eastern countries over the rest of the world. This is so because the Arabian identity is associated with it. Culture and religion form the real essence of the civilization and all these factors work together to create better value for the people and as a result; they feel more strong bonding and association with their identity. The course materials explain the distinctive features of religion and culture for instance: Quran is the basic text that is the sole source of guidance for the Arabs. Their language is different which sets them apart from other nations of the world. Their attitudes and belief towards humanity, culture, non-Muslims and univer sality are such that they provide a superior advantage. The major learning associated with this issue is that the cultural aspects of Arab world must be polished and shaped, they must be promoted among the local populace in such a way that they form the real backbone of the Middle Eastern nations because this culture, ethnicity, language and religion is the motivating force that has the ability to lead us to great heights and act as a driver towards worldwide growth, progress and prosperity. Part 2: The top two examples that strongly stimulated your critical thinking about the regionââ¬â¢s opportunities and problems The first example that forms a core strength or opportunity for the region is its oil and gas reserves. This is a great opportunity because it provides financial power to the region. Moreover, having such a huge amount of oil and gas reserves has made it one of the prominent regions in the world. It has a positive impact on trade; the exports and imports are increased and huge profits are acquired. However, there are certain problems associated with the opportunity too. The first one being that this God gifted region becomes the focus and center of attention of great powers which then use their different strategies to acquire hold of these reserves. Another example that is directly related to the regions opportunities and problems is the religion of Arab world. Islam is the strongest force which provides distinctive advantage and superiority to the Arabs over various other nations of the world. This is because of the better principles and rules taught by Islam. This religion is a huge opportunity for the Arab Muslim world because it provides the force of cohesion, unity and bonding to the people and thus provides a huge strength. This can be a great benefit in the sense that it can provide a power to the Arab people with which they can compete with rest of the world. Their ways of lives, their customs, their traditions as well as their norms and values are firmly rooted in the religion and thus, religion only is the biggest opportunity enjoyed by people of the Arab world. But at the same time, it can lead to certain problems having a global impact. While on the one hand religion forms a big opportunity by providing cohesion and solidarity among the people but at the same time, it divides the world along two lines i.e. the Muslims and the non-Muslims. This can prove to be a great threat as shown by the examples of various battles. Most of the regions fight either over economic or political issues and somewhere, these issues are also related to religion. The example of Iran war and the Israel-Palestine conflicts are good examples of this factor because directly or directly, they revolve around the issue of religion. Another factor that is closely related to religion is the concept of power and authority and it can also be a big problem and hindrance in maintaining smooth functioning of the society. Part 3: The single top finding that clearly influenced the worldview and vision about how to promote mutual understanding between the American people and the peoples of the Middle East. Based upon the subjects studied in the course, one single finding that can act as a stimulator to promote better understanding between the Middle East and the American people is the force of religion. This is so because all the other issues such as economics and geopolitics, the oil and energy reserves etc. are so complex that they become the center of political tensions. So, it is hard to adopt a middle approach in these cases and to promote better understanding among the two nations. So, the only factor that can prove to be beneficial in this case is the religion because it provides a clear cut explanation of all the issues that form the basis of misunderstanding between the Eastern and the Western world. Another reason to select this finding is that it is always difficult to convince people in the domain of economics or politics but it is relatively easier to convince them in the domain of religion because religion includes within itself emotional attachments and bonding of people to some higher forces. It is based upon certain concepts that form the base of all human activities. So, misunderstanding can be resolved by changing the wrong conceptions of people as well as their misperceptions about the Muslims as terrorists. This can be done by explaining to them the clear interpretation of Quranic texts which show that Islam is a liberal religion which allows us to follow utmost standards of humanity in all domains of life. Islam does not promote terrorism or unnecessary harsh behavior with any nation of the world. It asks human beings to believe in the higher authority of Almighty Allah as well as the belief that He is the only one and he has no son or father. So, the right explanati on of religious texts in the Arabic literature to the Western world can be a source of motivation and can help in removing the misconception that Muslims are fundamentalists, terrorists and religious fanatics. Although there are economic and political factors associated with every problem but I believe that the major source or reason of misunderstanding between the Western and Eastern world is the religious factor which created deep differences. These differences can be resolved only through better understanding and communication whereby the Muslims are able to portray their true image to the Americans and the Americans in turn are ready to accept this image as the real one and change their stigmatized labels about terrorism that are wrongly associated with the Muslim world. Resolution of such process take lots of time yet nothing is impossible. If proper efforts are given to this issue from both sides, it can help in better understanding of each otherââ¬â¢s position in the world in terms of religion, culture, economic as well as politics and hence; this can be a real positive step towards the promotion of mutual understanding between the Eastern and the Western world. Conclusion Therefore, it can be concluded that while the Arab world is one of the strongest regions of the world because of its economic power, the oil and gas reserves, the huge development as well as the force of Islamic religion. Despite of various political battles and conflicts and religious issues in the region, most of the countries have still managed to thrive and prove themselves as strong nations as compared to the rest of the world. In order to remove various misunderstandings between the Arab and the Western world, a religious approach can be the best tool but at the same time, this religious approach needs to be assimilated with all other relevant factors in order to ensure progress and development in the long run.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Speech Enhancement And De Nosing By Wavelet Thresholding And Transform Ii Computer Science Essay
Speech Enhancement And De Nosing By Wavelet Thresholding And Transform Ii Computer Science Essay In this project the experimenter will seek to design and implement techniques in order to denoise a noisy audio signal using the MATLAB software and its functions, a literature review will be done and summarized to give details of the contribution to the area of study. Different techniques that have been used in the audio and speech processing procedure will be analyzed and studied. The implementation will be done using MATLAB version 7.0. Introduction The Fourier analysis of a signal can be used as a very powerful tool; it can perform the functions of obtaining the frequency component and the amplitude component of signals. The Fourier analysis can be used to analyze components of stationary signals, these are signals that repeat, signals that are composed of sine and cosine components, but in terms of analyzing non stationary signals, these are signals that have no repetition in the region that is sampled, the Fourier transform is not very efficient. Wavelet transform on the other hand allows for these signals to be analyzed. The basic concept behind wavelets is that a signal can be analyzed by splicing it into different components and then these components are studied individually. In terms of their frequency and time, in terms of Fourier analysis the signal is analyzed in terms of its sine and cosine components but when a wavelet approach is adapted then the analysis is different, the wavelet algorithm employes a process and an alyzed the data on different scales and resolution as compared to Fourier analysis. In using the wavelet analysis, a type of wavelet, referred to as being the mother wavelet is used as the main wavelet type for analysis; analysis is then performed from the mother wavelet that is of higher frequency. From the Fourier analysis the frequency analysis of the signal is done with a simplified form of the mother wavelet, from the wavelet components that are achieved via this process further analysis can be done on these coefficients. Haar wavelet types are very compact and this is one of their defining features, its compact ability, as the interval gets so large it then starts to vanish, but the Haar wavelets have a major limiting factor they are not continuously differentiable. In the analysis of a given signal the time domain component can be used in the analysis of the frequency component of that signal, this concept is the Fourier transform, where a signal component is translated to th e frequency domain from a time domain function, the analysis of the signal for its frequency component can now be done, and based of Fourier analysis this is possible because this analysis incorporates the cosine and sine of the frequency. Based on the Fourier transform a finite set of sampled points are analyzed this results in the discrete Fourier transforms, these sample points are typical to what the original signal looks like, to gather the approximate function of a sample, and the gathering of the integral, by the implementation of the discrete Fourier transforms. This is realized by the use of a matrix, the matrix contains an order of the total amount of points of sample,à the problem encountered worsens as the number of samples are increased. If there is uniform spacing between the samples then it is possible to factor in the Fourier matrix into the, multiplication of a few matrices, the results of this can be subjected to a vector of an order of the form m log m operation s, the result of this know as the Fast Fourier Transform. Both Fourier transforms mentioned above are linear transforms. The transpose of the FFT and the DWT is what is referred to as the inverse transform matrix and they can be cosine and sine, but in the wavelet domain more complex mother wavelet functions are formed. The domain of analysis in the Fourier transforms are the sine and cosine, but as it regards to wavelets there exist a more complex domain function called wavelets, mother wavelets are formed. The functions are localized functions, and are set in the frequency domain, can be seen in the power spectra. This proves useful in finding the frequency and power distribution. Based on the fact that wavelet transforms are transforms that are localized as compared to Fourier functions that are not, the Fourier function being mentioned are the sine and cosine, this feature of wavelet makes it a useful candidate in the purpose of this research, this feature of wavelets makes oper ations using wavelets transform sparse and this is useful when used for noise removal. A major advantage of using wavelets is that the windows vary. A major application of this is to realize the portions and signals that are not continuous having short wavelet functions is a good practice to overcome this, but to obtain more in depth analysis having longer functions are best. A practice that is utilized is having basis functions that are of short high frequency and basis functions that are of long low frequency (A. Graps, 1995-2004), point to note Is that unlike Fourier analysis that have a limited basis function sine and cosine wavelets have unlimited set of basis functions . This is a very important feature as it allows wavelet to identify information from a signal that can be hidden by other time frequency methods, namely Fourier analysis. Wavelets consist of different families within each family of wavelet there exist different subclasses that are differentiated based on the coefficients that are decomposed and their levels of iteration, wavelets are mostly classified based on their number of coefficients, that is also referred to as their vanishing moments, a mathematical relationship relates both. Fig above showing examples of wavelets (N. Rao 2001) One of the most helpful and defining features of using wavelets is that the experimenter has control over the wavelet coefficients for a wavelet type. Families of wavelets were developed that proved to be very efficient in the representation of polynomial behavior the simplest of these is the Haar wavelet. The coefficients can be thought of as being filters; these are then placed in a transformation matrix and applied to a raw data vector. The different coefficients are ordered with patterns that work as a smoothing filter and another pattern whose function is to realize the detail information of the data (D. Aerts and I. Daubechies 1979). The coefficient matrix for the wavelet analysis is then applied in a hierarchical algorithm, based on its arrangement odd rows contain the different coefficients, the coefficients will be acting as filters that perform smoothing and the rows that are even will have the coefficients of the wavelets that contains the details from the analysis, it is to the full length data the matrix is first applied, it is then smoothed and disseminated by half after this process the step is repeated with the matrix., where more smoothing takes place and the different coefficients are halved, this process is repeated several times until the data that remains is smoothed, what this process actually does is to bring out the highest resolutions from that data source and data smoothing is also performed. In the removal of noise from data wavelet applications have proved very efficient and successful, as can be seen in work done by David Donoho, the process of noise removal is called wavelet shrinkage and thresholding. When data is decomposed using wavelets, actually filters are used as averaging filters while the other produce details, some of the coefficients will relate to some details of the data set and if a given detailed is small, it can then be removed from the data set without affecting any major feature as it relates to the data. The basi c idea of thresholding is setting coefficients that are at a particular threshold or less than a particular threshold to zero, these coefficients are then later used in an inverse wavelet transform to reconstruct the data set (S. Cai and K. Li, 2010) Literature Review The work done by Student Nikhil Rao (2001) was reviewed, according to the work that was done a completely new algorithm was developed that focused on the compression of speech signals, based on techniques for discrete wavelet transforms. The MATLAB software version 6 was used in order to simulate and implement the codes. The steps that were taken to achieve the compression are listed below; Choose wavelet function Select decomposition level Input speech signal Divide speech signal into frames Decompose each frame Calculate thresholds Truncate coefficients Encode zero-valued coefficients Quantize and bit encode Transmit data frame Parts of extract above taken from said work by Nikhil Rao (2001). Based on the experiment that was conducted the Haar and Daubechies wavelets were utilized in the speech coding and synthesis the functions that were used that are a function of the MATLAB suite are as follows; dwt, wavedec, waverec, and idwt, they were used in computing the wavelet transforms Nikhil Rao (2001). The wavedec function performs the task of signal decomposition, and the waverec function reconstructs the signal from its coefficients. The idwt function functions in the capacity of the inverse transform on the signal of interest and all these functions can be found in the MATLAB software. The speech file that was analyzed was divided up into frames of 20 ms, which is 160 samples per frame and then each frame was decomposed and compressed, the file format utilized was .OD files, because of the length of the files there were able to be decomposed without being divided up into frames. The global and by-level thre sholding was used in the experiment, the main aim of the global thresholding is the maintenance of the coefficients that are the largest, this not being dependent on the size of the decomposition tree for the wavelet transform. Using the level thresholding the approximate coefficients are kept at the decomposition level, during the process two bytes are used to encode the zero values. The function of the very first byte is the specification of the starting points of zeros and the other byte tracks successive zeros. The work done by Qiang Fu and Eric A. Wan (2003) was also reviewed; there work was the enhancement of speech based on wavelet de-nosing framework. In their approach to their objective, the noisy speech signal was first processed using a spectral subtraction method; the aim of this involves the removal of noise from the signal of study before the application of the wavelet transform. The traditional approach was then done where the wavelet transforms are utilized in the decomposition of the speech into different levels, thresholding estimation is then on the different levels , however in this project a modified version on the Ephraim/Malah suppression rule was utilized for the thresholdign estimates. To finally enhance the speech signal the inverse wavelet transform was utilized. It was shown the pre processing of the speech signal removed small levels of noise but at the same time the distortion of the original speech signal was minimized, a generalized spectral subtraction algorithm was used to accomplish the task above this algorithm was proposed by Bai and Wan. The wavelets transform for this approach utilized using wavelet packet decomposition, for this process a six stage tree structure decomposition approach was taken this was done using a 16-tap FIR filter, this is derived from the Daubechies wavelet, for a speech signal of 8khz the decomposition that was achieved resulted in 18 levels. The estimation method that was used to calculate the threshold levels were of a new type, the experiments took into account the noise deviation for the different levels, and each different time frame . An altered version of the Ephraim/Malah rule for suppression was used to achieve soft thresholdeing. The re-synthesis of the signal was done using the inverse perceptual wavelet transform and this is the very last stage. Work done by S.Manikandan, entitled (2006) focused on the reduction of noise that is present in a wireless signal that is received using special adaptive techniques. The signal of interest in the study was corrupted by white noise. The time frequency dependent threshold approach was taken to estimate the threshold level, in this project both the hard and soft thresholding techniques were utilized in the de-noising process. As with the hard thresholding coefficient below a certain values are scaled, in the project a universal threshold was used for the Gaussian noise that was added the error criterion that was used was under 3 mean squared, based on the experiments that were done it was found out that this approximation is not very efficient when it comes to speech, this is mainly because of poor relations amongst the quality and the existence to the correlated noise. A new thresholding technique was implemented in this technique the standard deviation of the noise was first estimated of the different levels and time frames. For a signal the threshold is calculated and is also calculated for the different sub-band and their related time frame. The soft thresholding was also implemented, with a modified Ephraim/Malah suppression rule, as seen before in the other works that were done in this are. Based on their results obtained, there was an unnatural voice pattern and to overcome this, a new technique based on modification from Ephraim and Mala is implemented. Procedure The procedure that undertaken involved doing several voice recording and reading the file using the wavread function because the file was done in a .wav format The length to be analyzed was decided, for the my project the entire length of the signal was analyzed The uncorrupted signal power and signal to noise ratio (SNR) was calculated using different MATLAB functions Additive White Gausian Noise (AWGN) was then added to the original recorded, making the uncorrupted signal now corrupted The average power of the signal corrupted by noise and also the signal to noise ratio (SNR) was then calculated Signal analysis then followed, the procedure involved in the signal analysis included: The wavedec function in MATLAB was used in the decomposition of the signal. The detail coefficients and approximated coefficients were then extracted and plots made to show the different levels of decomposition The different levels of coefficient were then analyzed and compared, making detailed analysis that the decomposition resulted in After decomposition of the different levels de-nosing took place this was done with the ddencmp function in MATLAB, The actual de-nosing process was then undertaken using wdencmp function in MATLAB, plot comparison was made to compare the noise corrupted signal and the de-noised signal The average power and SNR of the de-noised signal was done and comparison made between it and the original and the de-noised signal. Implementation/Discussion The first part of the project consisted of doing a recording in MATLAB, a recording was done of my own voice and the default sample rate was used were Fs = 11025, codes were used to do recordings in MATLAB and different variables were altered and specified based on the codes used, the m file that is submitted with this project gives all the codes that were utilized for the project, the recordings were done for 9 seconds the wavplay function was then used to replay the recording that was done until a desired recording was obtained after the recording was done a wavwrite function was then used to store the data that was previously recorded into a wav file. The data that was written into a wav file was originally stored in variable y and then given the name recording1. A plot was then made to show the wave format of the speech file recorded. Fig 1 Fig1 Plot above showing original recording without any noise corruption According to fig1 the maximum amplitude of the signal is +0.5 and the minimum amplitude being -0.3 from observation with the naked eye it can be seen that most of the information in the speech signal is confined between the amplitude +0.15 -0.15. The power of the speech signal was then calculated in MATLAB using a periodogram spectrum this produces an estimate of the spectral density of the signal and is computed from the finite length digital sequence using the Fast Fourier Transform (The MathWorks 1984-2010) the window parameter that was used was the Hamming window, the window function is some function that is zero outside some chosen interval. The hamming window is a typical window function and is applied typically by a point by point multiplication to the input of the fast fourier transform, this controls the adjacent levels of spectral artifacts which would appear in the magnitude of the fast fourier transform results, for a case where the input frequencies do not correspond with the bin center. Convolution that occurs within the frequency domain can be considered as windowing this is basically the same as performing multiplication within the time domain, the result of this multiplication is that any samples outside a fr equency will affect the overall amplitude of that frequency. Fig2 Fig2 plot showing periodogram spectral analysis of original recording From the spectral analysis it was calculated that the power of the signal is 0.0011 watt After the signal was analyzed noise was added to the signal, the noise that was added was additive gaussian white noise (AWGN), and this is a random signal that contains a flat power spectral density (Wikipedia, 2010). At a given center frequency additional white noise will contain equal power at a fixed bandwidth; the term white is used to mean that the frequency spectrum is continuous and is also uniform for the entire frequency band. In the project additive is used to simply mean that this impairment to the original signal is corrupting the speech; The MATLAB code that was used to add the noise to the recording can be seen in the m file. For the very first recording the power in the signal was set to 1 watt and the SNR set to 80, the applied code was set to signal z, which is a copy of the original recording y, below is the plot showing the analysis of the noise corrupted recording. Fig3 Fig3 plot showing the original recording corrupted by noise Based on observation of the plot above it can be estimated that information in the original recording is masked by the additive white noise to the signal, this would have a negative effect as the clean information would be masked out by the noise, a process known as aliasing. Because the amplitude of the additive noise is greater than the amplitude of the recording it causes distortion observation of the graph shows the amplitude of the corrupted signal is greater than the original recording. The noise power of the corrupted signal was calculated buy the division of the signal power and the signal to noise ratio, the noise power calculated from the first recording is 1.37e-005. The noise power of the corrupted signal is 1.37e-005; the spectrum peridodogram was then used to calculate the average power of the corrupted signal , based on the MATLAB calculations the power was calculated to be 0.0033 watt Fig4 Fig4 plot showing periodogram spectral analysis of corrupted signal From analysis of the plot above it can be seen that the frequency of the corrupted signal spans a wider band, the original recording spectral frequency analysis showed a value of -20Hz as compared to the corrupted signal showed a value of 30Hz this increase in the corrupted signal is attributed to the noise added and this masked out the original recording again as before the process of aliasing. It was seen that the average power of the corrupted was greater than the original signal, the increase in power can be attributed to the additive noise added to the signal this caused the increase in power of the signal. The signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the corrupted signal was calculate from the formula corrupted power/noise power , and the corrupted SNR was found to be 240 as compared to 472.72 of the de-noised, the decrease in signal to noise ratio can be attributed to the additive noise this resulted in the level of noise to the level of clean recording to be greater this is the basis for the decreased SNR in the corrupted signal, the increase in the SNR in the clean signal will be discussed further in the discussion. The reason there was a reduce in the SNR in the corrupted signal is because the level of noise to clean signal is greater and this is basis of signal to noise comparison, it is used to measure how much a signal is corrupted by noise and the lower this ratio is, the more corrupted a signal will be. The calculation method that was used to calculate this ratio is Where the different signal and noise power were calculated from MATLAB as seen above The analysis of the signal then commenced a .wav file was then created for the corrupted signal using the MATLAB command wavwrite, with Fs being the sample frequency, N being the corrupted file and the name being noise recording, a file x1 that was going to be analysed was created using the MATLAB command wavread. Wavelet multilevel decomposition was then performed on the signal x1 using the MATLAB command wavedec, this function performs the wavelet decomposition of the signal, the decomposition is a multilevel one dimensional decomposition, and discrete wavelet transform (DWT) is using pyramid algorithms, during the decomposition the signal is passed through a high pass and a low pass filter. The output of the low pass is further passed through a high pass and a low pass filter and this process continues (The MathWorks 1994-2010) based on the specification of the programmer, a linear time invariant filter, this being a filter that passes high frequencies and attenuates frequency that are below a threshold called the cut off frequency, the rate of attenuation is specified by the designer. While on the other hand the opposite to the high pass filter, is the low pass filter this filter will only pass low frequency signals but attenuates signal that contain a higher frequency than the cut off. Ba sed on the decomposition procedure above the process was done 8 times, and at each level of decomposition the actual signal is down sampled by a factor of 2. The high pass output at each stage represents the actual wavelet transformed data; these are called the detailed coefficients (The MathWorks 1994-2010). Fig 5 Fig 5 above levels decomposition (The MathWorks 1994-2010) Block C above contains the decomposition vectors and Block L contains the bookkeeping vector, based on the representation above a signal X of a specific length is decomposed into coefficients, the first part of the decomposition produces 2 sets of coefficients the approximate coefficient cA1 and the detailed coefficient cD1, to get the approximate coefficient the signal x is convolved with low pass filter and to get the detailed coefficient signal x is convolved with a high pass filer. The second stage is similar only this time the signal that will be sampled is cA1 as compared to x before with the signal further being sampled through high and low pass filter again to produce approximate and detailed coefficients respectively hence the signal is down sampled and the factor of down sampling is two The algorithm above (The MathWorks 1994-2010) represents the first level decomposition that was done in MATLAB, the original signal x(t) is decomposed into approximate and detailed coefficient, the algorithm above represents the signal being passed through a low pass filter where the detail coefficients are extracted to give D2(t)+D1(t) this analysis is passed through a single stage filter bank further analysis through the filter bank will produce greater stages of detailed coefficients as can be seen with the algorithm below (The MathWorks 1994-2010). The coefficients,à cAm(k)à andà cDm(k)à formà m = 1,2,3à can be calculated by iterating or cascading the single stage filter bank to obtain a multiple stage filter bank(The MathWorks 1994-2010). Fig6 Fig6 showing graphical representation of multilevel decomposition (The MathWorks 1994-2010) At each level it is observed the signal is down sampled and the sampling factor is 2. At d8 obeservation shows that the signal is down sampled by 2^8 i.e. 60,000/2^8. All this is done for better frequency resolution. Lower frequencies areà presentà at all time; I am mostly concerned with higher frequencies which contains the actual data. I have used daubechies wavelet type 4 (db4), the daubechies wavelet are defined by computing the running averages and differences via scalar products with scaling signals and wavelets(M.I. Mahmoud, M. I. M. Dessouky, S. Deyab, and F. H. Elfouly, 2007) For this type of wavelet there exist a balance frequency response but the phase response is non linear. The Daubechies wavelet types uses windows that overlap in order to ensure that the coefficients of higher frequencies will show any changes in their high frequency, based on these properties the Daubechies wavelet types proves to be an efficient tool in the de-nosing and compression of audio signals.à For the Daubechies D4 transform, this transform has 4 wavelet types and scaling coefficient functions, these coefficient functions are shown below The different steps that are involved in the wavelet transforms, will utilize different scaling functions, to the signal of interest if the data being analyzed contains a value of N, the scaling function that will be applied will be applied to calculate N/2 smoothed values. The smoothed values are stored in the lower half of the N element input vector for the ordered wavelet transform. The wavelet function coefficient values are g0à = h3 g1à = -h2 g2à = h1 g3à = -h0 The different scaling function and wavelet function are calculated using the inner product of the coefficients and the four different data values. The equations are shown below (Ian Kaplan, July 2001); The repetition of the of the steps of the wavelet transforms was then used in the calculation of the function value of the wavelet and the scaling function value, for each repetition there is an increase by two in the index and when this occurs a different wavelet and scaling function is produced. Fig 7 Diagram above showing the steps involved in forward transform (The MathWorks 1994-2010) The diagram above illustrates steps in the forward transform, based on observation of the diagram it can be seen that the data is divided up into different elements, these separate elements are even and the first elements are stored to the even array and the second half of the elements are stored in the odd array. In reality this is folded into a single function even though the diagram above goes against this, the diagrams shows two normalized steps. The input signal in the algorithm above (Ian Kaplan, July 2001) is then broken down into what are called wavelets. One of the most significant benefits of use of wavelet transforms is the fact that it contains a window that varies, to identify signal not continuous having base functions that are short is most desirable. But in order to obtain detailed frequency analysis it is better to have long basis function. A good way to achieve this compromise is having a short high frequency functions and also long low frequency ones(Swathi Nibhanupudi, 2003) Wavelet analysis contains an infinite basis functions, this allows wavelet transforms and analyisis with the ability realize cases that can not be easily realized by other time frequency methods, namely Fourier transforms. MATLAB codes are then used to extract the detailed coefficients, the m file shows these codes, the detailed coefficients that are Daubechies orthogonal type wavelets D2-D20are often used. The numbers of coefficients are represented by the index number, for the different wavelets they contain vanishing moments that are identical to the halve of the coefficients. This can be seen using the orthogonal types where D2 contain only one moment and D4 two moments and so on, the vanishing moment of the wavelets refers to its ability to represent the information in a signal or the polynomial behavior. The D2 type that contains only one moment will encode polynomial of one coefficient easily that are of constant signal component. The D4 type will encode polynomial of two coefficients, the D6 will encode coefficient of three polynomial and so on. The scaling and wavelet function have to be normalized and this normalization factor is a factorà à . The coefficients for the wavelet are derived by the reverse of the order of the scaling function coefficients and then by reversing the sign of the second one (D4 wavelet = {-0.1830125, -0.3169874, 1.1830128, -0.6830128}) mathematically, this looks likeà whereà kà is the coefficient index,à bà is a wavelet coefficient andà cà a scaling function coefficient.à Nà is the wavelet index, ie 4 for D4 (M. Bahoura, J. Bouat. 2009) Fig 7 Plot of fig 7 showing approximated coefficient of the level 8 decomposition Fig 8 Plot of fig 8 showing detailed coefficient of the level 1 decomposition Fig 9 Plot of fig 9 showing approximated coefficient of the level 3 decomposition Fig 10 Plot of fig 10 showing approximated coefficient of the level 5 decomposition Fig 11 Plot of fig 11, showing comparison of the different levels of decomposition Fig12 Plot fig12 showing the details of all the levels of the coefficients; The next step in the de-nosing process is the actual removal of the noise after the coefficients have been realized and calculated the MATLAB functions that are used in the de-noising functions are the ddencmp and the wdencmp function This process actually removes noise by a process called thresholding, De-noising, the task of removing or suppressing uninformative noise from signals is an important part of many signal or image processing applications. Wavelets are common tools in the field of signal processing. The popularity of wavelets in de-nosingis largely due to the computationally efficient algorithms as well as to the sparsity of the wavelet representation of data. By sparsity I mean that majority of the wavelet coefficients have very small magnitudes whereas only a small subset of coefficients have large magnitudes. I may informally state that this small subset contains the interesting informative part of the signal, whereas the rest of the coefficients describe noise and can be discarded to give a noise-free reconstruction. The best known wavelet de-noising methods are thresholding approaches, see e.g. In hard thresholding all the coefficients with greater magnitudes as compared to the threshold are retained unmodified this is because they comprise the informative part of data, while the rest of the coefficients are considered to represent noise and set to zero. However, it is reasonable to assume that coefficients are not purely either noise or informative but mixtures of those. To cope with this soft thresholding approaches have been proposed, in the process of soft thresholding coefficients that are smaller than the threshold are made zero, however the coefficients that are kept are made smaller towards zero by an amount of the threshold value in order to decrease the effect of noise assumed to corrupt all the wavelet coefficients. In my project I have chosen to do a eight level decomposition before applying the de-nosing algorithm, the decomposition levels of the different eight levels are obtained, because the signal of in
Monday, August 19, 2019
Free Essays - Love and Hate in A Tale of Two Cities :: Tale Two Cities Essays
Love and hate are both emotions that are used in our attempt to express ourselves to certain people. Like it or not, although hate is more sinister of the two, without hate, the scales would be upset. We cannot always get the best of everything. However, in the novel " A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens, hate only adds to the story's appeal. In the novel, both emotions are displayed by the characters in the book through the actions they carry out and the words that they speak, even though it can be justified that there are more examples of love than hate. The love between Lucie Manette and her father, as well as that of Charles Darney and Lucie and indeed many other characters are just some of the many examples of love. The more baleful emotion of hate is also revealed many times in the novel, by the French commoners and especially by Madame Defarge when it came to Charles Darney being an aristocrat and the suffering of her own family. The first strong example of love we read about in the novel is that of Lucie Manette and her father, Dr Manette who has been kept in the Bastille for eighteen years. Lucie meets him with the help of another character, Mr Javis Lorry, and tells her father that his agony is over and that she'll bring him to London and away from his previous sufferings. Later in the story, the night before Lucie is to be wedded to Charles Darney, we learn that Lucie has saved her last day as a single woman to be with her father and to reassure him that she'll still be with him even though she is to be married. "Lucie was to be married tomorrow. She had reserved this last evening for her father, and they sat alone under the plane-tree."( Pg 174 ) Throughout the whole conversation with her father that evening, it is evident that her love for her father prevails even that between Charles and herself. "If I had never seen Charles, my father, I should have been quite happy with you."( Pg 175 ) The affection for her father does not go only one way. Her father's for Lucie is also clear as we can see by the following quote: "Quite sure my darling! More than that, my future is far brighter, Lucie, seen through your marriage, than it could have been - nay, than it ever
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Harry Potter And The Goblet of Firebook report Essay -- Essays Papers
Harry Potter And The Goblet of Firebook report Harry Potter The Time The Story Takes Place and Setting This story takes place at the present time. It takes place over the course of one year. It all starts at a small town outside London, then moves to an enchanted castle, located in a the middle of Britain. The castle is very large and would take hours to describe in detail. It has secret passages, doors that can move, and suits of armour that can get up and walk around. It has four large towers, and a dungeon in which Potions class is held for the pupils. The castle is actually a large school by the name of ââ¬Å"Hogwart School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.â⬠Hogwart is surrounded by a forbidden forest, which has werewolves and giant spiders in it. The students go to school at the castle, and it is set up like an English boarding school. The school also has a large lake beside it. It is fathoms deep, and has many magical creatures in it, from Hinkypunks, to Merpeople. Characters (1) Dominant The main character in this story is Harry Potter. He is a fourteen year old boy, and the extraordinary thing about him is that he is a magician. He is very famous, because when he was one year old he defeated the most powerful evil sorcerer of the time. The person he defeated was named Voldemort, and he died after killing Harryââ¬â¢s parents and turning on him. Voldemort had many supporters, and after he was weakened and almost lifeless most pretended to be under ...
Saturday, August 17, 2019
How to Steal a Million Dollars
Fraud Examination Unit 9 6/2/12 How to steal a million dollars Mr. Seneca Stunton was an accountant clerk for a company called Carlton Chemical. Seneca had no formal education for accounting. His experience was for a smaller company which he exceled at book keeping. He accepted the job with Carlton Chemical and he was on the track to excel and have a great career. His supervisor was just in Senecaââ¬â¢s position, so Seneca was pretty happy to see that there were advancement opportunities within the company. Seneca approached his job with commitment and enthusiasm.He was married and with his wife and his own kids they had a total of seven children. Senecaââ¬â¢s duties were accounts receivable collections, posting payments, resolution of customer service inquires and maintenance of the accounts receivable ledgers. Patrick Dawley was the owner; he started the business over thirty years ago. Carlton Chemical sells chemicals to large and small business and they use it for raw materi al. The company was growing, Patrick looked on what really drove sales was how effective the operation is, like keeping accurate order taking, billing and collections, timely deliveries and great customer service.Patrick was viewed as a problem solver. There was not a problem too small for him to figure out. He had the ability to look at the problem and see the solution. Patrick was the only one who really had accuses to the money, all transactions had to go to him to approve. Every week he held detailed meetings about the money and unpaid bills. He looked over the statements on a regular basis. There was not really too much that got passed him so when he found out the ARs was not correct and there was more outstanding bills then he thought there was really surprised him.Seneca was taking one personââ¬â¢s larger payments and was putting it to other customerââ¬â¢s outstanding bills. He was doing this for over a great deal of time. Which created a huge landslide of problems for the company, and when all the audits was said and done there was around two million dollars missing. This investigation took a very long time and they could not find where the money went. They investigated Senecaââ¬â¢s life style and he did not over spend or live outside his salary, and everything they could do pointed that there was no money stolen. So they were stumped where the money went.There was however inappropriate discounts given to the customers. There were some complaints about this from the customers, but the company did not follow up on it. Carlton Chemical did recover a little of the money from customers that were willing to pay some of their bills, and from the insurance that the company has. After all this they were still one million dollars down. This was a unique problem that the company faced. The biggest thing that allowed Seneca to do this was the lack of supervision. Patrick looked at all the statements that where involved directly with the money.He did not think to keep track of the outstanding payments since that could not allow someone to directly steal from the company. Even thou Seneca had no control nor did he touch money he still was in charge of the bills. He did not steal from the company directly but he did use other payments to pay the past due. Which then created the first payments to be late and so it was a huge snowball effect. In no time at all there were so many past due bills. I think Seneca did this because he simply did not like addressing the customers about their bills. So he came up with this idea.
The Silk Road
March 7, 2013 Humanities The Silk Road Rome_____________Central Asia______________Han China | India The Nomads The Silk Road crossed nomadic territory Extreme Agriculture: humans + omega animals Sparce population in a large area Calorie Exchange: 90,000 calories * Plants- 100,000 calories * Animals- 10,000 calories Horse= mobility No borders (territorial imperative )= pastures War; Secure pastures Archery Who are they? Scythians Altaic people * Turks * Mongols * Koreans * Japanese Contributions to history Chariots (HORSE)-harness on the withers /bit (light cart, drive-by{bronze tires}) * Cavalry ââ¬âmounted archer (they move in hordes ) Artificial symbiosis +Trade * (population pressure and supplemental income) Population Crisis The Silk Road- 100 BCE-300CE Trade is going to increase population above what the herds can feed Central Asia becomes fully occupied Plagues hit Rome + China * Defenses collapse * Trade ends Switch to Raid Mongols: Xiong- Nu Han Wudi (Conqueror) his actio ns created the Silk Road (100 BCE) Xiong-Nu Split into two wings Eastern Wing: allies of the HanWestern Wing marched away Chinese Court ; paralyzed/ Dynastic Cycle Warlords- Mongol Soldiers (fatal error- introduced to China) Turks; Conquer North China Horse/Rice Western Xiong-Nu Pushed west + hit the Goths (Scandinavia) Germans Tribal Groups Nuclear Family (industry) Extended families (agriculture) Clan (hunting + gathering: 7th cousin) Tribe -multiple clans-totem/incest( totems are animals that represent your essence)- itââ¬â¢s a pastoral system Next generation will need an election. Warriors are going to vote. Germans flee west Visigoths ââ¬â yr 409 Rome Ostragoths- Italy The Franks- FranceThe Danes- Denmark The juts- Jutland (the neck of denmark) Burgundian- Burgundy Angles- England Saxons- Saxony Vandals- Vandalism-453 Rome Alemmani- germany The old trade routes I. Trade Nodals A. Nodal= Cluster of cities B. Nodal #1 : Flanders (belgium) 1. Ghent 2. Ypres 3. Bruges Countr y/count C. Rhine D. North Italy= Nodal # 2 4. Milan 5. Venice 6. Genoa 7. PISA 8. Florence Theyââ¬â¢re all city-states Network cities because they survive on trade network-crossbow Gun powder/ cannon E. Mediterranean 9. Constantinople (Changes name to instanbul) 10. Alexandria 11. Tunis * * * *
Friday, August 16, 2019
Cultural communication in France
French people have expectations for people they interact with in their country whether foreign or local. They look to people trying to express themselves in French, because they are proud of their culture and their history with all the roles it has played on the world affairs. They have a brief hand shake done when as greetings for when people and also as bye bye when people are leaving. During discussions people face each other and are close to each other. It is considered rude to chew a gun in public, and to have hands inside the pockets while speaking to people or in public.Political discussions are usually common subjects in discussion which gets interesting since they are heated debates, this is a form of entertainment but people prefer not to talk about how they voted, or are planning to vote. At introductions people prefer to use the first name alone. At work, in schools there lacks the spirit of team work as students are taught on a system which encourages individual goal rea lization. Their dressing is more formal as compared to Americans, but they are not so conservative and they prefer to express their individuality by their way of dressing at work.Dark colored fabrics with patterns are in preference to light colored ones. In their meetings they spend so much time analyzing and little time on aims and steps to take. Meetings done over meals will only commence towards the end of a meal e. g. at dessert. French people are not so consciously punctual. They are a clear line between official matters and those that are private. Privacy is respected; knock and wait for an answer before you enter into a room. Organizations are based on hierarchy and centralization.
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