My Essay on Vegetarianism Essay Example for Free

My Essay on Vegetarianism Essay The concept of vegetarianism may be defined as the practice of abstaining from flesh consumption. This practice can be adopted for different intentions. Many reject on eating meat out of respect for lives with the ability to feel and perceive. These ethical motivations can be related to religious beliefs, along with the concept of animal rights. Other motivations include reasons such as health, environmental, cultural or economic. To continue, some of these motives will be explained. One of the most common purposes for following this practice is the objection towards the beating or slaying of animals for food. As previously stated, this may be considered an ethical reason. Still, ethical motives upon this issue can be various. There are issues towards the ethics of eating meat and towards the ethics of killing for food but more commonly, the ethical motive is the way animals are treated. Some vegetarians with ethical motives try to discourage the exploitation and abuse animals suffer in slaughter houses. Factory animals are commonly intoxicated with synthetic growth hormones that cause them to grow in half the time they’d grow naturally. This makes them unable to sustain their own weight and make them prone to suffer organ failure. In some cases, their legs, unable to sustain the weight, break and consequently they can’t move or reach food causing them to starve to death. In the case of cows, calves are removed from their mother’s side shortly after birth. Female calves are added to the dairy herd or slaughtered for the enzyme rennet in their stomach used for cheese production. Cows are killed when after 4 or 5 years, her milk production ceases. In pigs, they are castrated, get hunks of flesh cut from their ears, the tips of their teeth cut off with wire-cutters, and their tails chopped. This is all without sedatives. On fish, they are dragged from ocean depths and undergo decompression, which ruptures their swim bladders, makes their eyes pop out, and push their stomachs through their mouths. It’s easy to understand that these practices are understandably decadent and thus contrary to the ethical beliefs of vegetarians. Ethical vegetarians also believe that killing an animal, like killing a human, can only be justified in extreme circumstances and that consuming a living creature for its enjoyable taste, convenience, or nutritional value is not sufficient cause. Another common view is that humans are morally conscious of their behavior in a way other animals are not and therefore subject to higher standards. Another motivation vegetarians have is precisely the effect that the meat industry leaves upon the environment. Some of the environmental effects that have been associated with meat production are pollution through fossil fuel usage, to give an example. It is said that adopting a vegetarian diet is more ecological than driving a hybrid car. This is because animals raised for flesh production use more resources than humans. They eat more plants, which also require resources to grow. They give off large amounts of planet-warming methane, breathe out a lot of carbon dioxide and create a lot of pollution. Moreover, in 2006 the United Nations reported that livestock has a substantial impact on the world’s water, land and biodiversity resources and significantly contribute to climate change. The report concluded that animal agriculture produces 18% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, compared with 13.5% from all forms of transportation combined. This is why reductions in meat consumption will ease the health care problem while improving public health. Declining livestock herds will take pressure off rangelands and grainlands, allowing the agricultural resource base to rejuvenate. Also, lowering meat consumption worldwide will allow more efficient use of land and water resources, while at the same time making grain more affordable to the worlds chronically hungry people. Another effect of the meat industry is on land degradation. Much of the world’s crops are used to feed animals with 30% of the land devoted to raising animals for food production. A 2010 United Nations report explained that Western dietary preferences for meat would be unsustainable as the world population rose to the forecasted 9.1 billion by 2050, year where demand for meat is expected to double. A third example of the motives vegetarians have on their nourishment ways is the health issue. Vegetarian-style eating patterns have been associated with improved health outcomes. Well-planed vegetarian diets are nutritionally adequate for all stages of the life cycle. This includes pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence. These diets can provide the adequate intake of protein, iron, zinc, vitamin B12, and calcium. However, these nutrients can be low in poorly planned vegetarian diets though this is a factor that may occur in any diet as well; when they are poorly planned, nutrient intakes will be poor as well. Evidence suggests that vegetarians have lower rates of coronary heart disease, obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and osteoporosis. They also tend to be more educated, wealthier, and more health-occupied than meat eaters. These findings are coherent as vegetarians are more health-occupied since, in order to be correctly accomplished, the practice of vegetarianism demands knowledge on its ways of nourishment. This is because it is not the typical diet us humans are commonly born into. Furthermore on the health effects, in 1999 a study was made comparing vegetarian and non-vegetarian mortality rates in Western countries. The findings were that in comparison with regular meat eaters, mortality from ischemic heart disease was 34% lower in pescetarians, 34% lower in ovo-lacto vegetarians, 26% lower in vegans and 20% lesser in infrequent meat eaters. On average, vegetarians consume a lower proportion of calories from fat; fewer overall calories; and more fiber, potassium, and vitamin C than do non-vegetarians. Vegetarians generally have a lower body mass index as well. In 2010 a study comparing a group of vegetarian and meat-eating â€Å"Seventh Day Adventists† found that vegetarians had a lower score on depression tests and had better mood profiles. All these findings in general, may easily conclude that vegetarian diets simply lead to a happier, healthier and longer way of life. Vegetarianism is a growing practice among the population. People living under this method of vegetarianism are often people concerned with the environment, with their health, and with the sensitive of other lives. It is a practice that may not be only contemplated on nutrition terms. This means that it follows an attitude and a way of living. A vegetarian may reject other forms of utilization of animals to produce goods or for human entertainment.

Measuring Depression for Individuals with Chronic Illness

Measuring Depression for Individuals with Chronic Illness The main intend of present study was to develop a reliable self-report indigenous measure of depression in people with chronic illnesses. Early detection of depression may decrease the risk of increment of disease burden and may provide insight for future coping skills to manage diseases in patients with chronic illnesses. Currently used scales for screening depression in Pakistan originated in Western countries. These scales are used as in original version, translated and/or in adaptive version (Naeem, 1990). Regardless of the high reliability and validity of the scales, there have been certain limitations in their capacity to identify depressive symptoms in Pakistani population. That is because of many cultural and regional differences that have an effect on mental disorders. These limitations of presently used Western scales possibly will increase the risk of mislaid symptoms in local population. By keeping these reviews in mind, it becomes visible that there is need to develop a new measure to assess depression in people with chronic illnesses with multivariate psychometric properties. That enables the clinician or researcher to measure the depression and its complicated effects on various chronic illnesses or vice-versa. Therefore this study attempted to develop a culturally receptive scale to measure depression as well as the assessment of validity and reliability of this scale named Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale (DCIS). The Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale is a 31-item, four points rating scale. Results ascertain Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale as a reliable and valid apparatus with significant psychometric properties such as high internal consistency, test re-test reliability, sufficient convergent validity with other similar constructs and adequate discriminant validity with non-clinical population. The DCIS require respondents to report feelings that they experienced in last six months. Item number 10, 18, 26 and 31 are an Urdu adaptation of Beck Depression Inventory- (1961). The DCIS subjected to principal axis factor analysis. Factor analysis is most important method of test development because it provides the dimensionality of the factors and reveals underlying factors of the data (Field 2005; Widaman Floyed, 1995; Guilford, 1948). Consistency of the factor analysis reliant on the attribute of data that have to be checked its aptness before analyzing, and sample size is one of them. Sizes of the sample may vary according to the requirement (Field, 2005). Sample size of more than 200 cases is sufficient for the factor analysis (Guilford, 1956). Whereas another decisive factor for factor analysis is communalities after extraction will be greater than .5 (Field 2005). The present study fulfills these requirements (Table 2). Table 2 indicates that most of the items show communalities greater than .5. To test the sample adequacy and Sphericity, KMO and Bartlett’s test was also carried out. The acceptable range of KMO value must be greater than .5 (F ield, 2005). In present study the KMO value is .8 (Table 1) which falls within the moderate range (Field, 2005) and fulfill the requirement to produce reliable and distinct factors while analyzing. Finally Bartlett’s test of Sphericity is also highly significant (p Factor analysis was carried out to estimate the strength of the relationship of individual items with the concepts and to determine the possible essential structures of Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale. Factor analysis quickly enables to take decision regarding item retention on the basis of good indicator of the construct and item deletion on the basis of poor indicator of the construct. After the assessment of decision making for factor analysis, specific criteria has been used that guide factor analytic decision making. That is based on the magnitude of the factor structure loading of one item on a factor opposed to another. When an item loaded on more than one factor the difference between the loadings must be at least .10 and an item needed .30 factors loading to be retained for further analysis (Nunnally, 1978). For the present study table 3 and 4 shows six distinct factors with Eigen Value greater than 1, whereas one strong factor with an eigen value of 11.01 that is expl aining 35.5% of the variance in the items. All items showed high loading on factor one ranging from .42 to .79. On the other hand rotation of factors extracted six factors by using Varimax Rotation Method. Though most of the items including items 1 (hopelessness), 2 (sadness), 3 (worthlessness), 4 (feeling of being rejected), 8 (pessimism), 12 (self-criticalness), 22 (hopelessness) are loaded on factor one which fall within the category of negative thinking. While items 5 (loss of energy), 6 (fatigue), 7 (fatigue), 17 (loss of pleasure) and 21 (loss of sleep) are loaded on factor two which is the category of lack of motivation. On the other hand third factor regret feelings comprised of item 9 (past failure), 18 (loss of pleasure) 28 (feeling of punishment) and 29 (loneliness). While item 10 (worry), 11(self dislike), 14 (hesitant), 15 (lack of confidence), 16 (uncertainty) and 19 (inability to make decision) are loaded on factor four fall within the category of indecisiveness. Whil e item 13 (feebleness), 20 (obsessed thoughts), 25 (crying), 26 (despondent) and 30 (self criticalness) are loaded on Factor five and this category is labeled as helplessness. While item 23(agitation), 24 (anger), 25 (crying), 27 (loss of appetite) and 31 (criticalness) are loaded on factor six and fall within the category of irritability. In present study item 25 (crying) loaded on factor five (helplessness) and factor six (irritability) simultaneously because the content of this item related to both factors. Almost all the item-total correlations of Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale (Table 6) are highly positive within the suggested range of .30–.70 (Ferketich, 1991). Item number 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30 and 31 showed strong positive correlation with the total scores. Their correlations with the total scores ranging between .5 to .7 and considered to be better-quality items for assessing depression in chronically ill patients. Item number 5, 6, 7, 11, 14, 16, 19, 21, 26 and 27 showed moderate positive correlation with the total score. Their correlations with the total scores ranged in between .49- .39. The reasonably high levels of item-total correlation suggest that the items are sufficiently related. Inter-item correlations of Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale are also calculated. Result indicates that item 1 (hopelessness) is highly correlated with worthlessness to feeling of being rejected to pessimism to past failures to self criticalness to feebleness to lack of confidence to uncertainty to loss of pleasure to obsessed thoughts to loss of sleep to anger to crying to feeling of punishment to loneliness and to criticalness. Furthermore item 2 (sadness) is significantly correlated with worthlessness to feeling of being rejected to pessimism to past failure to self criticalness to uncertainty to loss of pleasure to obsessed thought hopelessness to agitation to crying to despondent and to feeling of punishment. Item number three worthlessness significantly related to feeling of being rejected to pessimism to past failure to worry to uncertainty to loss of pleasure to inability to make decision to obsessed thoughts hopelessness to agitation to anger to crying to feeling of puni shment to loneliness to guilt. Item 4 feeling of being rejected is highly correlated with pessimism to past failure to worry to self criticalness to feebleness to lack of confidence to uncertainty to loss of pleasure to feeling of punishment to loneliness. Item 5 loss of energy is related to fatigue to feebleness to loss of pleasure to loss of sleep to feeling of punishment. Item 6 fatigue is highly related to feebleness to loss of pleasure to loss of sleep to feeling of punishment. Item 7 fatigue is highly related to self dislike to feebleness to loss of pleasure to loss of sleep to hopelessness to feeling of punishment. Item 8 is related to past failure significantly related to past failures to worry to self dislike to self criticalness to feebleness to lack of confidence to uncertainty to loss of pleasure to inability to make decisions to obsessed thoughts to hopelessness to agitation to crying to feeling of punishment to loneliness. Item 9 past failures is highly related to worr y to self dislike to self criticalness to feebleness to lack of confidence to uncertainty to loss of pleasure to inability to make decisions to obsessed thoughts to loss of sleep to hopelessness to agitation to crying to despondent to loss of appetite to loneliness to feeling of punishment. On the other hand self dislike, self criticalness, hesitant, lack of confidence, uncertainty, loss of pleasure, inability to make decisions, hopelessness, crying, feeling of punishment and loneliness are significantly relates with item 10 worry. Item 11 self dislike relates with hesitant to lack of confidence to loss of pleasure to obsessed thoughts to loss of sleep to hopelessness to agitation to loss of appetite to feeling of punishment. Item 12 self criticalness is highly related to feebleness to hesitant to lack of confidence to uncertainty to loss of pleasure to loss of sleep to hopelessness to agitation crying to loss of appetite to feeling of punishment. Item 13 feebleness is highly relate d with hesitant to lack of pleasure to uncertainty to loss of pleasure to inability to make decision to obsessed thoughts to hopelessness to agitation to anger to crying to despondent to loneliness to feeling of punishment. Item 14 hesitant is significantly related to lack of confidence to uncertainty to loss of pleasure to inability to make decision to hopelessness to agitation to anger to crying to despondent to loneliness. Item 15 lack of confidence is related to uncertainty to loss of pleasure to inability to make decision to hopelessness to agitation anger to crying to loneliness. Item 16 uncertainty is significantly related to loss of pleasure to inability to make decision to crying. Item 17 loss of pleasure is significantly related to inability to make decision to obsessed thoughts to loss of sleep to hopelessness to agitation to anger to crying to despondent to loss of appetite to feeling of punishment to loneliness. Loss of pleasure (item 18) is moderately related to inabil ity to make decision to loss of sleep to hopelessness to agitation to anger to crying to loss of appetite to feeling of punishment to loneliness. Item 19 inability to make decisions are related crying and despondent. Item 20 is highly related to hopelessness to agitation to anger to crying to loneliness to criticalness. Loss of sleep (item 21) is significantly related hopelessness to agitation to anger to loss of appetite to feeling of punishment to self-criticalness. Hopelessness (22) is significantly related to agitation to anger to crying to feeling of punishment despondent to loneliness. Anger is significantly related to crying to feeling of punishment to loneliness. Crying and despondent are more closely linked with self punishment and self-criticalness. Moreover feeling of punishment made its significant link with loneliness and self-criticalness. Link can be explained in the way that feeling of punishment arises when people have critical attitude for self and others and this attitude inculcate more criticalness towards self and the person entrap in vicious circle. Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale displayed its strength by providing significant test re-test reliability (table 8). Test re-test reliability was estimated by administration of Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale twice with the interval of one week between two administrations. Result establishes a high temporal stability of the scale i.e. a significantly high Pearson Product Moment Correlation of .716. It represents that the people with chronic illnesses maintain their relative position over a given period of time. Another reason of high test re-test reliability is those items that have significant item-total correlation in the Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale. Because those items momentously contribute in enhancing reliability of the scale. In addition people with depression usually consistent with their opinion about the feelings, experiences and illness. For estimation of internal consistency of the Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and split half reliability were computed. Cronbach’s alpha and split half reliability of Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale was found to be .902 and .875 respectively indicate that Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale highly internally consistent. Moreover high alpha range indicate that every single item of the scale assess the same construct as the total does. Therefore Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale provides an excellent support for measuring depression in chronic illnesses. Convergent validity is demonstrated by high positive correlations between different measures of the same traits (Campbell Fisk, 1959; Domino Domino, 2006). The Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale indicated good convergent validity in that it revealed significant and strong correlations with previously validated scales such as the CES-D i.e. .823 and HRDS i.e. .718 (table 9). To assess convergent validity, scores of the DCIS were compared to the scores of CES-D and HRSD scales. A positive correlation was expected between these three scales because of the superior clinical relevance of the CES-D and HRSD. A positive correlation between the DCIS, CES-D and HRSD provides an empirical support of the convergent validity of the newly established scale. Discriminant validity of a scale corresponds to the extent to which a test does not correlate considerably with that variable from which it ought to diverge (Campbell Fisk, 1959; Domino Domino, 2006). In order to explore discriminant validity, means, standard deviations and correlations between the scores of clinical population and non-clinical population were assessed (table 10, 11). The results demonstrated that there is a considerable difference in the means and standard deviations for both groups. The results further demonstrated significantly poor correlations between them, suggested that the DCIS can discriminate well between patients with chronic illness and normal peoples. Conclusion Depression in Chronic Illnesses Scale is constructing to provide a psychometrically reliable and valid self-report indigenous screening test for depression in people with chronic illnesses. There was no validated measure for screening the depression in chronically ill patients’ available indigenously. To fill that gap, the Depression in Chronic Illness Scale developed and is the first indigenous test which is culturally sensitive for screening depression in chronic illnesses. Findings of the study suggested that the DCIS captures several important areas of depression in patients with chronic illnesses. The scale will help clinician and primary care practioners to diagnose unnoticed depression missed due to the chronic disease burden. The scale has demonstrated good psychometric properties. Internal consistency for the overall scale was .902 falling within the recommended range, suggesting the scale is internally highly reliable. The factor analysis also supported the concept of depression as a multidimensional construct and consistent with the literature review. Significant input from chronically ill patients and health care professionals that guided in scale development. The scale is of four point likert type response system with high test retest reliability and sufficient convergent validity with Centre of Epidemiologic Study-Depression and Hamilton Rating Scale for depression. DCIS is a 31 items and 4 point likert type scale where each item scores on 0-3 rating system such as strongly agree 3, agree 2, disagree 1 and strongly disagree rated as 0. The collective sum of score is 93. The administration of the scale do not required much time i.e. five to ten minutes. Classificatory indices of the scores are, 0-30 indicates minimal depression, 31-41 indicates mild depression, 42-55 indicates moderate depression and more than 55 points indicates severe level of depression. The language of the DCIS is understandable and concise and does not require specific educational level. The only requirement is understanding and comprehension of Urdu language. Instructions of the scale are clearly stated without any ambiguity. The administration and scoring of DCIS does not need a skilled and trained interviewer. DCIS has hand scoring with little time consuming. In general, the DCIS is a useful test to provide a quick and proficient approach to assess depression in people with chronic illnesses. Furthermore, DCIS can also be use in research settings and will be as useful as in clinical settings. There are certain limitations that have a tendency to cloud the issue. The sample is to some extent small, containing only 220 chronically ill patients and the socioeconomic status of the participants is not accounted. However, as the DCIS was developed and validated only in Karachi, further studies need to evaluate its applicability in more demographically and culturally diverse samples of Pakistan. Gender differences may exist in terms of depression but present study did not address the issue. Future studies have to explore this possible gender difference. Another limitation of DCIS could be its applicability that is solely dependent on respondent’s mutual aid and their comprehension regarding Urdu language. Future studies can develop and validate the DCIS clinician rating scale to address this issue. There is need to control false positive and false negative responses from patients and the present study does not cater this issue. Further studies have to explore and control this issue.

Impact of Air Power Theory in WW2

Impact of Air Power Theory in WW2 Did â€Å"air power theory† do more harm than good before the outbreak of â€Å"and during† the Second World War? This essay will examine the meaning and impact of â€Å"air power theory†, a theory which took shape after World War One, which predicted that air power would be the single most important factor in the outcome of future wars. We will briefly examine the impact this theory had on the interwar Military planning and strategies of the major powers, as well as the influence of air power theory during the Second World War itself. The first part of our essay looks at what â€Å"air power theory† is, we shall look at the two major air power theorists, Giulio Douhet[1] and Billy Mitchell[2] and examine the differences and similarities between the two. Secondly we shall examine the negative impact of the â€Å"air power theory†, both in its implementation by the US and Britain and the shortcomings of the theory as demonstrated during the Second World War. The third part is concerned with the successful implementation of air power theory by the US and Britain before and dur ing the Second World War which led to positive military outcomes for the respective nations during the War. Finally we will attempt to conclude on whether the overall impact of â€Å"air power theory† during this time period can be judged positively or negatively. The most famous of the air power theorists, General Giulio Douhet was a passionate advocate on the fundamental importance and potentially revolutionary application of air power, specifically strategic bombing, as the most important means to win future wars. Douhet served with the Italian armed forces in Libya during the Italy – Turkey war of 1911 and during World War One, during which time aircraft were being used for the first time in military engagements. In 1921 he published â€Å"The Command of the Air† , arguably one of the most important works in air power theory and a endorsement of the power of precision bombing to win quick, decisive but devastating future wars. â€Å"I have maintained, and continue to do so, that in the wars to come the decisive field of action will be the aerial field†[3] It is not necessary to go into complex detail regarding Douhet’s theories of war, as we may summarise them into five key points. Firstly Douhet stated that modern and future warfare would give no distinction between civilian and combatant, that the previously taboo targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure would be a thing of the past. Secondly, Douhet believed, no doubt influenced by his experiences from the First World War, that a quick, decisive victory using purely ground forces was no longer possible. Thirdly, that there was at the time, and most importantly for Douhet, would never be an effective anti aircraft measure that could prevent heavy strategic bombing from destroying its target. â€Å"Consequently I say, no aerial defence, because it is practically useless†[4] . Following on from this point, and arguably the most controversial in terms of the suffering it was seen to have led to, Douhet stated that the only way to defend against an enemy strategic bombing and to ultimately win a war was to launch a massive bombing campaign that would devastate the target’s government, industrial infrastructure and ability to make war, as well as so demoralising the enemy population that the shattered civilian population would force their Government to sue for peace or surrender unconditionally. Finally, and sharing a similar viewpoint with Mitchell, [5] there was a need for a nation’s air force to be completely independent of both the army and navy, and to constantly maintain a state of readiness in the event of needing to deal the knockout blow to the enemy. [6] Although borrowing many of his ideas from Douhet and others, American General Billy Mitchell did combine many air power theories at the time to create a structured, well thought air power theory which some might argue was more comprehensive and realistic than the ideas of Douhet.[7] Like Douhet, Mitchell wanted a centralised, independent air force, but unlike Douhet Mitchell wanted a centralised structure for all types of airpower, each given equal importance, whereas Douhet was concerned primarily with strategic bombers, any other type of aircraft was for him possibly useful but certainly secondary to the importance of the bombers. Mitchell also did not share Douhet’s view of strategic bombing being impossible to defend against. Mitchell wanted equal resources dedicated to both offensive and defensive air capabilities, and envisioned a wider role for ground attack and fighter aircraft that could be used as bomber escorts.[8] What both theories have in common however is their firm belief that air power would be absolutely vital, indeed the most important factor, in any future wars. Both men died before seeing that in the awful carnage of the Second World War, their theories were far from entirely accurate. When looking at the use of air power in the Second World War, it is clear that air power, in particular strategic bombing, did not make land and navy forces obsolete, and that both Douhet and Mitchell had both overestimated the destructive and defensive capabilities of strategic bomber aircraft. â€Å"Successful warfare still depended upon the movement of armies to occupy land, and the movement of ships to provide supplies and men,†[9] Although it played an important role throughout the War, the majority of fighting in Europe, in particular on the Eastern front was done with conventional land armies. Douhet had predicted that Britain’s mighty navy would be useless against a co-ordinated air assault, yet the British navy and merchant fleet was the lifeline supported the war effort with supplies from America and beyond. And certainly Douhet’s assertion that land forces were no longer capable of achieving quick, decisive victories does not stand up when looking at t he German Blitzkrieg campaigns between 1939-1941. In the 1930s Britain had slashed military spending, partly as a result of having to support the mass of unemployed during the great depression and partly due to an increasing anti war feeling in some parts of British Society. The exception to this was spending on Bomber Command, the part of the RAF responsible for strategic bombing. Strategic bombing offered a solution to the horrors of the First World War’s trench warfare, a decisive, relatively humane way in which to fight and end a war. Before the beginning of the war the emphasis was fortunately shifted to air defence, investing in innovations such as radar and fighter interceptors to shoot down German bombers. Following through with Douhet’s theories, as Bomber Command wished to, could have been a disaster for the defence of the British Isles, leaving them literally defenceless in the face of the Luftwaffe. [10] Both the USAF and Bomber Command continued throughout the war, as well the interwar period, to seriously miscalculate both the destructive capabilities and accuracy of strategic bombing. Technology had not solved the problems that both Douhet and Mitchell had overlooked in their theories, which failed to seriously take into account weather conditions, inaccurate targeting of enemy targets, as well as being able to ascertain which type of industrial targets would cause the most damage to the enemy’s war making capabilities. Air power theory also seriously overestimated the ease to which Bombers could make their targets without being shot down. Even after Bombers were given fighter escorts, the losses to Bomber crews were horrific. â€Å"The night bombing offensive against German cities and transportation targets between 3 September 1943 and 2 September 1944 cost the command 17,479 flying personnel killed in action or dead of wounds†[11] When considering the harm inflicted by air power theories, undoubtedly we cannot ignore the huge loss of civilian life lost in strategic bombing raids, committed by German, British and American Bomber crews against civilian targets during the Second World War. It is estimated that more German civilians were killed by allied bombing, than the combined casualty rate of British servicemen during the war, a staggering 543,000 dead.[12] At the heart of this bombing campaign against civilians was one of the most important aspects of air power theory. The theory that a targeted bombing campaign designed to kill civilians and spread terror amongst a population that would then force its Government to capitulate. The theory was fatally flawed against a totalitarian regime where citizens knew that talk of surrender was likely to get one shot. The campaign undoubtedly affected German civilian morale, yet unlike the targeted bombing against industrial infrastructure it did not significantly affec t the Nazi war making capabilities nor convince them to consider surrender whilst Hitler was in power. [13] Despite many aspects of air power theory being flawed and causing what many consider a waste of lives and resources; I believe that the broad application of air power theory by both the British and the Americans played a serious impact in their final victory over the axis powers. Both Douhet and Mitchell believed that in order to maximise the potential of air power, a nation’s air force must be independent of both the army and navy. Williams in particular promoted the idea of a centralised, independent air command for all types of air power, equal in importance and as independent as the army and navy. Despite the near legendary status of the Luftwaffe, it was primarily meant and used as a support for the army, both in the interwar period and throughout the Second World War. The Germans had a limited air strategy, the Luftwaffe lacked complete independence and was not always given the same amount of resources as the army and navy. The British and the Americans both before and during the War placed a huge emphasis on a general air power strategy, giving the RAF and the USAF operational independence to formulate an independent strategy and the huge amount of investment, personnel and resources necessary to carry out that strategy successfully. [14] The comprehensive general air strategy that Britain possessed during the Battle of Britain, with equal emphasis on offence and defence, allowed it to resist the strategically limited Luftwaffe which from the beginning lacked the scientific air power knowledge of the better supported, more independent, RAF. When the allies went on the offensive, gaining air superiority over Europe was vital in both protecting allied land forces and speeding up the advance by inflicting serious damage on German forces of any kind. Once Germany lost control of the skies they were forced back onto the defensive, unable to effectively counter attack without sufficient air cover and with in adequate defence against air power. Although we have previously criticised the civilian bombing of German cities, strategic bombing of German industrial targets undoubtedly slowed down their ability to rebuild their forces and severely hampered the Nazi war economy. [15]Although enthusiastic advocates of air power, by not following through with the main principles of air power theory, the German war machine found itself at a distinct disadvantage against the Western allies. Once USA and Britain had gained domination of the skies, as Douhet and Mitchell had insisted was vital, it was never in doubt that the defeat of Nazi Germany was inevitable. â€Å"The influence of air power on the ability of one nation to impress its will on another in armed contest will be decisive.†[16] During the final stages of the War in the Pacific, the USAF demonstrated that one of Douhet’s most controversial theories, the use of strategic bombing to target not only military and industrial infrastructure but also civilians, could effectively bring a war to an end without the need for military conquest on land. Although the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were credited for ending the war, the conventional heavy bombing of Japan actually inflicted more casualties on Japanese civilians, and played a greater part in destroying Japan’s war making capabilities.[17] Undoubtedly the effect of heavy bombing and dropping of the atomic bombs was the single most important factor in forcing political pressure inside Japan to convince the leadership that surrender was the only option, Japan could simply not continue to fight the war.[18] The atomic bombs were the only time that the Douhet and Williams theories of the destructive potential of a short, decisive ove rwhelming bombing raid that could bring an enemy to its knees proved accurate. For many academics and observers, the strategic bombing of Japan is still considered one of the greatest crimes of the Second World War. Despite the awful suffering it caused however, I would argue that it ultimately did more good than harm, preventing a military land assault on Japan that would have cost potentially the lives of hundreds of thousands of American Soldiers and millions of Japanese citizens. Even without an invasion, conventional heavy bombing would have soon equalled then surpassed the amount killed in Nagasaki and Hiroshima in a relatively short space of time, so devastating was its effectiveness. The unconditional surrender was without doubt the best thing for both Japan and America, and it might never have happened if the atomic bombs had not been dropped. In conclusion then, I believe that ultimately, for the allies, the adoption of the broader aspects of air power theory was a positive thing. Many of what Douhet and Williams said about air power did not come true in the Second World War. It did not replace armies and navies as the pre-eminent factor in warfare. It did not lead to wars being settled in a matter of days with a short, destructive bombing campaign and their predictions of the destructive capabilities and accuracy of conventional strategic bombing, with the possible exception of Japan, were to prove ludicrously optimistic. Undoubtedly however, by adopting Mitchell’s theory of creating a centralised, independent air force that was given the necessary resources to achieve its strategic goals, the United States and Britain had a massive advantage over Nazi Germany’s more limited air strategy. This advantage allowed them to eventually gain air dominance, put the German forces on the back foot and never allow them to re-gain the initiative. Strategic bombing, although causing huge civilian casualties in both Germany and Japan, played a crucial role in crippling the German war machine, and the most important part in forcing an unconditional Japanese surrender. It is for these reasons that I believe that air power theory was overall, a positive and important body of work. Bibliography Collier, Basil – â€Å"A History of Air Power† – Wilmer Brothers (1974) DeSeversky, Alexander – â€Å"Victory Through Air Power† – New York, Simon and Schuster, (1942) Douhet, Giulio – â€Å"The Command of the Air†. – Faber and Faber (1927) Hurley, Alfred – Billy Mitchell, Crusader for Air Power – Bloomington IN: Indiana University Press, (1964). Lee, Asher – â€Å"Goering – Air Leader† Duckworth (1972) MacIsaac, David – â€Å"Voices from the central blue: The Air Power Theorists† In Paret, Peter â€Å"Makers of Modern Strategy- From Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age†. – Clarendon Press – Oxford (1986) Mitchell, Billy – Winged Defence – Dover Publications (1989) Murray, Williamson – â€Å"Strategic Bombing: The British, American and German experiences. In Murray, Williamson â€Å"Military Innovation in the Interwar Period.† Cambridge University Press (1998) Overy, R.J. – â€Å"The Air War 1939 – 1945† – Europa Publications Limited (1980) Warner, Edward – â€Å"Douhet, Mitchell, Seversky: Theories of Air Warfare† in â€Å"Makers of Modern Strategy† Princeton University Press (1952) 1 Footnotes [1] Douhet, G – â€Å" (1927) [2] Mitchell, B – (1989) [3] Douhet (ibid) p.199 [4] Douhet (ibid) p.157 [5] Mitchell, (ibid) [6] Warner, E – â€Å" (1952) p.630 [7] MacIsaac, D (1986) p .631 [8] Collier, B (1974) p.93 [9] Overy, R.J (1980) p203 [10] MacIsaac, D (ibid) p.633 [11] Murray, W (1998) p.99 [12] Overy, R.J. (ibid) p.207 [13] MacIsaac, D (ibid) p.637 [14] Overy, R.J. (ibid) p.204 [15] Overy, R.J. (ibid) p208 [16] Mitchell, B (ibid) p.7 [17] Overy, R.J (ibid) p.100 [18] Overy, R.J. (ibid) p.93

Children And The Internet Essay -- essays research papers

Children and the Internet Many children nowadays use, or at least have access to the internet. But most people are blinded by all the benefits of the internet, and fail to notice any of the problems that can come from overuse. Since the internet is a new technology, not many studies have been done to determine how beneficial or detrimental it can be to children. Although the internet may have many benefits to children, it can also be very harmful to them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the most obvious problems with children using the internet is the chance of getting addicted. Internet addiction is a serious thing, but hasn’t drawn much attention due to the fact that it is a newer problem in society. Children that have grown up using computers will naturally be more susceptible to getting hooked on the internet. Many children spend more time on the computer than they spend watching television. Most of the time children spend on the computer can be attributed to the internet. This computer overuse results in less time for children to study, do homework, read, exercise, or participate in any out of school organizations. Such a pattern will eventually affect the child’s grades, health, and social life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Spending too much time on the internet isn’t the only problem that children can encounter. The content which children access on the internet can be harmful as well. There is no regulation of the content on the internet. Children can acces...

Humanities - The Heart of Liberal Education Essay -- Education Philoso

I justify the humanities by sketching four views of knowledge in which the idea of an academy or an integration of disciplines might be understood. I assume that every system of higher education inevitably appeals to concepts of knowledge. Such concepts cannot be isolated from political and civic dimensions of life as well as from personal cultivation and character. Nonetheless, older views based on these aspects are open to serious criticism. The four views considered are Aristotelian-Thomistic, Cartesian-positivist, Kantian, and "traditionalist" (in a liberal and hermeneutic sense). The paper describes key elements in each of these views and notes several objections, with a marked preference for Kantian and "traditionalist" views. Kant provides for rehabilitation of the humanities, especially ethics and literature (the moral and aesthetic), within a framework in which modern science displaces ancient teleological nature. "Tradition" is justified on practical grounds--by the need to appropriate for oneself the knowledge and experience of past generations (without which human life loses continuity and meaning). Further, the humanities save the great texts from oblivion to which "progress" would otherwise consign them. The humanities counteract the tendency of science to undermine the conditions of its own possibility, as well as the discipline, knowledge, and virtue required for its own origin. Two questions are urgently posed to the modern academy: what is the justification for congregating all the disciplines of modern knowledge under one roof as if they belonged integrally together—if, that is, there is one? For perhaps it is merely a convenience. And secondly, what is the justification—if there is any—for insisting upon th... ...ndered unnecessary by its existence. Technology makes perpetual adolescents of us, because of the ease with which it puts great power in our hands; its power diminishes our desire (and thus our capacity) for responsibility. In the face of this fact of modern life, the traditionalist view of education seeks to reverse this effect, without denying the legitimacy of science. It cultivates liberal virtues by keeping the classics and all the great texts alive, including the classics of science itself (physical and human), abandoned by later science. Traditional stances like those of (1), (2), and (3), may be suspicious of it because it declines the attempt to found education upon the dogma of a metaphysics or an epistemology. But it may well be the most practical way pedagogically that the aims and content of those approaches can be sustained within a modern environment.

China Construction Market

Intoduction China’s construction market is currently in a state of over-supply, with an overreliance in the past on residential and commercial construction to drive economic growth leading to an apparent ‘glut’ in the market (AECOM, 2013). This shift has created a number of concerns in the market, with the most prevalent the risk of further declines in house-prices in a bid to spur additional demand and correct the possible supply-demand imbalance (BREE, 2014) (Wu et al., 2014). Another risk within the market has been the levels of debt taken on by construction companies during the years of exceptional growth; since the slowdown in demand began, it has been noted that a number of developers have come under pressure, with some defaulting on payments due (Liu et al, 2014). However, it must be mentioned that despite the recent slowdown, the construction market in China still remains a key and significant part of the country’s GDP and is expected to continue growing in the long-term given rising urbanisation and incomes, albeit at a lower rate (Financial Times, 2014). China will still remain an attractive market to consider for EU and US corporations; moving forward, rising labour costs, greater concerns for environmental issues and an increasing middle class will also increase the desire for China’s construction sector to develop more efficient and technological methods in a bid to lower costs, which in turn could present a number of opportunities for UK, EU companies wanting to gain access into the market (EUSME, 2013). Moving forward, both residential and commercial construction will see growth as development moves inland to western provinces looking to industrialise, while the major cities of Shanghai, Wuhan and Beijing etc will all continue to grow on urbanisation and rising populations (Wu et al, 2014). As the Chinese government looks to rebalance growth towards domestic consumption and demand, expect greater investment in infrastructure, especially investment designed to open up the western regions to the eastern, coastal cities. Change Management When considering a potential JV into the Chinese market, a business must be aware of the change management that would need to occur to effectively merge into business regulation and practices within China (Anderson, 2010) (Cameron, 2012). As noted above, the potential to form a JV based on the technology and knowledge within the company is immense as Chinese builders look to rein in costs and compete more effectively in an oversupplied market. One area of consideration for a business would be the current structure of the market, with previous research noting that the Chinese construction market is largely made up of state-owned and local private enterprises (World Bank, 2014). According to recent research undertaken (EUSME, 2013) privately-owned companies control 81% of the market, state-owned 18%, while foreign-funded firms control less than 1% of the overall market. From this, it could be assumed that regulation and business practices may restrict some international companies from moving into the market. Regulation: many companies that have attempted to establish Chinese entities have experience strong regulatory constraints; with the Chinese see protective of their domestic industry (Rowley, 2014). It has previously been noted that it is difficult to obtain building sector licenses given that Chinese provinces will favour the use of local construction companies, with corruption still a major issue to overcome (US Department of Commerce, 2012). Furthermore, it could be mentioned that China is quite risk adverse to the introduction of new building/material techniques, with regulation in place that quite often restricts the entrance of new technology into the market due to an inability for the country to assess its implications on the wider industry, which to some could be seen as a form of protectionism given that the construction sector is such as large employer within the country. While a JV may be beneficial for an international company given its access to a local market player who understands the market, the company must be wary of the technology or knowledge it would be sacrificing in the process (Cameron, 2012). It may also be noted that given current market conditions in China, some Chinese companies may be willing to form JV’s with Western counterparts in a bid to gain access into the recovering markets in Europe and the U.S. Again, the difference in regulation may affect the attractiveness of the Chinese market to some businesses. Business Practices: taking into account practices, it could be seen that major contracts in China have been known to be awarded more through relationships rather than product/ service quality (World Bank, 2014). To some Western companies, this may be business practices they are unwilling to follow, or in some cases unwilling to support the management change that is needed to facilitate business in the Chinese market. Taking this into account, the business must ensure that is able to trust the business and its employee’s in the joint venture. Given the difference in doing business and ethics, the UK Company must ensure that the JV does not contradict its standards in the UK (Cameron, 2012). Key Characteristics: key characteristics of the market may also be of importance given that it could be assumed the Chinese growth in construction has to part been fuelled by quantity over quality. There have been a number of reports detailing the major $Billion efforts by cities within China to essentially support rapid expansion, however most of the building work appears to be of a much lower standard/ design than similar projects in the western economies. With this, it becomes a question of whether the current market in China would fit in with the interests and desired outcomes of the UK Company seeking the JV. To provide come concluding remarks, the UK must ensure that it picks a Chinese partner that meets its UK ethical standards and business practices, essentially aligning their priorities to develop a viable business plan for the JV’s development in the marketplace (Paton, 2008). The company must also ensure that it’s safeguarding its intellectual property, mainly when dealing with Chinese companies that are in need of new development/ technology to improve competitiveness in their home market. The company must also ensure that it picks a partner where it can be an equal stakeholder it he project (Bosshart et al, 2010) References AECOM (2013) Asia Construction Outlook 2014, London, AECOM. Anderson, D. and Anderson, L. (2010) Beyond Change Management, London, Wiley Publications. Bosshart, S., Luedi, T. and Wang, E. (2010) Past lessons for China’s new joint ventures, London, McKinsey & Company. BREE (2014) China Resources Quarterly: Southern Winter- Northern Summer 2014, Sydney, Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics. Cameron, E. and Green, M. (2012) Making Sense of Change Management, London, Kogan Page Publishers. EUSME (2013) The construction sector in China, Beijing, European Union Research Centre. Financial Times (2014) [Online] Doing Business in China, Available at http://im.ft-static.com/content/images/892eae14-6323-11e4-8a63-00144feabdc0.pdf, Accessed 10.11.2014. Liu, B. Wang, X. Chen. C and Ma, Z. (2014) Research into the dynamic development trend of the competitiveness of China’s regional construction industry, KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering, 18(1), pp1-10. Paton, R. and McCalman, J. (2008) Change Management: A Guide to Effective Implementation, London, SAGE Publications. Rowley, C. and Cooke, F. (2014) The changing face of management in China (Vol. 6), London, Routledge. U.S Department of Commerce. (2012) 2012 Country Commercial Guide for U.S Companies, Washington, U. Department of Commerce. World Bank. (2014) Doing Business 2015: Going Beyond Efficiency – Economy Profile 2015 China, Washington, World Bank. Wu, J. Deng, Y. and Liu, H. (2014) House price index construction in the nascent housing market: the case of China, The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, 48(3), pp522-545.

Participant roles and purposes Essay

In lecture close social points and participants, Goffman enkindles that situations propel forward in accomplishing goal or target because the participants be to functional consensus more or less the nature of the situation Together the participants yield to single overall definition of the situation which involves non so more existent agreement as to what exists moreover quite real agreement as to whose claims concerning what issues forget be temporarily honored (1959 9-1o). The working consensus of most instructor-student collisions is realized through the expectations and obligations of the exercise of teacher and student.These types have mirroring expectations (the actions others can swan we perform) and obligations (the actions we can insist others perform) (Goffman 1967 126). For example, the obligations of the student useto involve, to take exams, to attend classes be expectations of the teacher role. The expectations of the student roleto receive in formation, to be given fair exams, to be ranked on the basis of meritare the obligations of the professor role. Thus these roles become dependent the expectations and obligations are complementary and in do to each other.In their interviews, two the prof and the bookman focus on the expectations and obligations of their individual roles as teacher and student, They some(prenominal) provide the role of the scholarly person as encloseing on an fitting (acquiring information) and making sure the savant had clear understanding of the profs expectations (giving information). The professor My view of the meeting was that was thither to answer the bookmans questions, not that was on that point to tell him anything. have in mind thats wherefore started the meeting by looking expectantly at him. The assimilator explained his purpose My purpose was to make sure understood the grant correctly and was going in the honorable direction. The paper was supposed to be hand in during class, and held it back because wanted her to check it first. If she approved, then fine, would hand it in. k upstart the ASL would be tough to understand, so wanted to ask if should go ahead with the ASL story or go over the English interpretation. When asked if they thought the meeting was successful, that expectations and obligations were met, both responded affirmatively. They explain in their own words.The professor The meeting was successful. Nobody yelled at anybody. The Student came to get information and he got it. The laughter, think the laughter is my signal that everything is going well. felt the Student knew what he was supposed to do. The Student She read my story and knowmed satisfied with it. knew she wanted me to improve it and bring it back with thirty copies. Yes, the meeting was successful. Although the Professor comments on the interactional success, zippo yelled at anybody as well, both speakers are attentive to the primary purpose, a nd their turn up obligations, of teacher-student meeting.As the next chapter demonstrates, many of the Professors and the Students motivations for m push throughh or taking turn kernel on their expectations or obligations of their social roles, their roles lay their purpose for meeting and constitute how they allow interact and how their meanings are represented in utter. The congresswomans role is to interpret. In general, the role of an illustration is to make come-at-able communion amid plurality who do not speak the same language. The interpretive program defined his role, what he says it always is, as working to have effective communication, for people to communicate. However, when asked if he thought the meeting went well, he offered perspective that was not centered on whether or not the participants had effective communication Yes, because think the Students goals were achieved, in getting well-nigh ideas across and talking about some issues. That he unde rstood where she was flood tide from and she understood where he was coming from Although this response is vague and unfortunately not merely clarified there are some indications as to what the vocalisation is referring.When the Interpreter mentions the Students goals were achieved, it appears that the Interpreter assumes goals other than getting an assignment reviewed. He continues by adding getting ideas across and talking about some issues, but the only issue mentioned previously by the Interpreter is connected to people communicating. The Interpreter never mentioned checking the assignment or the Student getting information on how to analyze the narrative, nor did he mention the Professors obligations she might have for meeting with students.Because both primary participants are involved with the need of language and because the study of ASL as ingrained language was still relatively new idea, many conversations with linguists who study spoken languages come around to t he topic of the differences between sign(a) language and spoken language. At the time, the attitude of ASL as language in the large world community was not firm established, nor was the status of desensitise persons as subdivisions of linguistic and ethnic minority.That these issues particularly affect interpreters can be demonstrate by reading newsletters and journals published at the time in the interpreting field, as well as by attention at meetings and conferences. These debates and preachings are practically referred to with phrases such as getting ideas across and talking about issues, so can suggest the possibility that the interpreter is referring to these potentially explosive arguments about the acceptance of American constrict Language as natural language.Fortunately, this is not an issue with the Professor, as the Interpreter acknowledges Shes obviously educated about deaf(p) people in that shes familiar with deafness and desensitise people because she explained the outgoing message on the state utensil, things that are very auditory modality culture and so think that in some regards she took care of all that. Although he acknowledges that the Professor is familiar with deafness and Deaf people, it is also his focus on her adaptations to the Student that remain primary in his reproval on the interpreted event.The answering mold was few seconds of small talk ahead the more important discussion of the Students narrative and transcript. The Interpreters focus on getting ideas across and taking care of cultural differences reflects what is key concern of interpreters in their role, the notions of equality and justice. It wait onms that the Interpreter feels that it is incumbent on him in his role to create an understanding and balance between these speakers moreover, the Interpreter never commented on the discussion around the assignment for either participant.To see how far the Interpreters thought was from the thin king of the primary participants, here is what the Professor said about the answering machine talk was trying to be civilised and make everyone comfortable, telling him about the answering machine and the knocking at the opening and then realized there was no close to tell him. The Interpreter has attributed the meaning of the talk to the Professors awareness of Deaf people when, in fact, she was focused on the nature of starting to talk and the often necessary small talk that is approach to official business.Because interpreters are primarily interested with communication, of language and also of cultural nuances, much of an interpreters concern is for differences in language and culture. But speakers themselves are typically concerned with the central task of the meeting, carrying out their obligations and responsibilities necessary to accomplish their goals.We will see in the next chapter that an interpreters role is more than to just turn in or just interpret. What the r ole is and how to prove that role to others, while appearing inert or impartial, is not an easy task. If an interpreters role expectations and obligations were as tardily defined as the teacher or student role, then there would not be the problems, concerns, and issues that arise around the discussions about an interpreters role.