The main idea behind use of biomimicry techniques

Biomimicry, also called bionics, is a new branch of science that explores natural designs and processes so as to transplant these ideas to finding solutions to human problems.The main idea behind use of biomimicry techniques is that â€Å"nature, imaginative by necessity, has already solved many of the problems we are grappling with†, and the organisms that survived to this day are the secret to success, in contrast to those that are buried as fossils (Benyus, n.d.).Scientists can discover the principles underlying natural phenomena to apply them later to design of human practices and products. The closer human society and production approaches nature, the closer is the goal of sustainable development.Biomimicry can help solve a number of problems in the most diverse areas of science. One of those is the production of extra strong materials. In contrast to humans that use the â€Å"heat, beat, and treat† for this purpose, nature makes tough stuff like collagen and bone from natural materials within the body.The spider’s web is in fact much more enduring than regular steel and produced of inexpensive materials in an environmentally friendly way. Knowledge of how humanity can copycat the spider’s work would help people make fiber in the same way would produce a revolution in the industry. The same is true of the proposal to introduce natural agricultural systems that would replace traditional annuals with plant cultures indigenous to the territory that would supply the land with natural fertilizers if allowed to overwinter.Biomimicry can alter the way we categorize living species. As of today, most biologists follow the traditional classification grouping organisms in accordance with their origin. A cow and a dolphin are placed in the same class of mammals even though they have a completely different habitat and adaptation mechanisms.From the bionic perspective, animals and other species that have similar adaptive mechanisms and employ similar processes can be grouped together so that their special features can be evaluated and studied by scholars. Under this perspective, dolphins can be grouped together with fish so that their methods of moving under water can be investigated effectively.Biomimicry would mean that humans would get strengthened grip over their evolutionary development. No longer would humanity be in conflict with nature, trying to re-shape it in its own way. All things produced and lifestyle would become less artificial and more natural.The greatest advancement would come from the application of biomimicry techniques in medicine where it is used in â€Å"replacement or enhancement of organs or other body parts by mechanical versions† that differ from regular â€Å"prostheses by mimicking the original function very closely, or even surpassing it† (Wikipedia, 2006).Examples include the cochlear implant intended for people with hearing impairments, artificial hearts, respirocyte, a red cell designed with the help of nanotechnologies, and a silicon retina functioning like the human one (Wikipedia, 2006). Looking at these technologies, one can draw the conclusion that human species can now control its own evolution in the way no other species had ever been able. Relying on scientific technologies to reproduce natural processes and designs, humans can correct â€Å"failures† of nature for disabled and sick individuals, helping them return to normal life.The use of biomimicry has important implications for pharmaceutical companies. They can now produce new, improved medication mimicking the designs and techniques used by nature. Exploring sharks, anemones, and other animals, scientists have discovered that â€Å"mrine creatures, which live surrounded by pathogens in the sea, are full of novel defenses† (Benyus, n.d.). Following nature in the composition of new drugs, pharmacologists can re-create this natural variety by creating medication that will mir ror these natural products and help humans in the same way.Natural substances are often the best solutions to human problems since they are applied in nature to heal and cure. As stated above, organisms that were inefficient in their design and failed to develop reliable ways to deal with diseases are long gone, after they had been shoved to the sidelines of the evolution. Those that survived can offer humanity reliable ways to fight with disease.Many pharmaceutical companies have recognized the emergence of new opportunities to improve their offerings. The Danish pharmaceutical company Novosymes that leads in industrial enzymes and microorganisms is one of the pioneers in this area. Production of enzymes for many other industries contributes to the manufacturing of â€Å"laundry detergents, bread, olive oil, wine and even the turf on the local golf course† (Fried, 2004).For example, in the detergent manufacturing it makes sense to use enzymes because they perform better than regular cleaning substances. Enzymes that are present in virtually every living organism are basically â€Å"biodegradable proteins that speed up all vital biological processes† (Fried, 2004). Growing organisms such as bacteria and fungi, Novozymes tries to identify organisms that produce a high amount of enzymes. In fact, scholars even combine microorganisms relying on DNA sequences to produce new enzymes.Thus, the use of biomimicry in pharmaceutical business and other corporate environments allows companies to better meet the needs of their customers and grant human beings greater control over their lives. This does not mean that companies using biomimicry techniques will be controlling human lives. However, by imitating nature, they will hopefully be able to make human society more sustainable and economic growth and technologies more balanced and environmentally friendly.ReferencesBenyus, J. Biomimicry. Retrieved August 7, 2006, from www.biomimicry.netFried, R. (2004). A Business Built on Biomimicry. Retrieved August 7, 2006, from http://www.tidepool.org/original_content.cfm?articleid=120228Wikipedia. (2006). Bionics. Retrieved August 7, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomimicry

Morals and Values: To Kill A MockingBird Essay

Have you ever faced a difficult decision? Every day, we have to make decisions. Some of these decisions can be simple, but others can raise moral or ethical dilemmas. How does one go about making these moral or ethical decisions? People have value systems that can influence the moral or ethical decisions they make. This is clearly illustrated in the book Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, through the main character, George Milton and his interaction with his companion, Lennie. Steinbeck shows how George’s value system influences his moral and ethical decisions when George shows his care for Lennie, when he helps Lennie resolve his conflicts with other people, and when Lennie kills Curley’s wife. Steinbeck shows that George values companionship. It is shown throughout the story that George values companionship but at the same time, he wants his freedom. However, he cannot have his freedom because he has Lennie to take care of, but George doesn’t mind having Lennie and wants Lennie to stay with him no matter how much trouble Lennie gets into because Lennie gives him companionship. An example is when George gets mad at Lennie and tells Lennie the â€Å"swell time† he can have without him and Lennie responds, â€Å"George, you want I should go away and leave ya alone †¦ I could go off in the hills there. Some place I’d find a cave† (pg. 13). Ethically, since Lennie is an adult, George could have let Lennie leave so that George would his freedom to â€Å"stay in a cathouse, eat any place [he] wants, get a gallon of whisky, or set in a pool room and play cards or shoot pool† (pg. 12). However, George feels that he is morally responsible for Lennie, and says, â€Å"Yeah? How’d you eat? You ain’t got sense enough to find nothing to eat †¦ No-look! I was jus’ foolin’ Lennie. ‘Cause I want you to stay with me †¦ Tell you what I’ll do, Lennie. First chance I get, I’ll give you a pup (pg. 14)†. Steinbeck also shows that George has the values of being responsible and loyal to Lennie. The story is set at a ranch where the boss’s son, Curley and Curley’s wife reside. Curley is a short man who likes trying to pick up fights with other people that are bigger and stronger than him and is extremely protective of his wife. Curley’s wife is a lon ely woman who tries to seek company by talking to the farm workers. An example of George being responsible is when Curley is looking for his wife and the other men working on the ranch make fun of him because they despise him. However, when Curley sees that Lennie is smiling, because he is dreaming about rabbits, he thinks that Lennie is making fun of him, so he gets angry. Curley shouts to Lennie, â€Å"Come on, ya big bastard. Get up on your feet. No big son-of-a-bitch is gonna laugh at me. I’ll show ya who’s yella. †¦ Lennie looked helplessly at George†¦ George was on his feet yelling, Get him, Lennie. Don’t let him do it. Get ’im, Lennie† (pg. 61-62). George here is being responsible as a person to Lennie because he is telling Lennie how to protect himself and make sure that Lennie doesn’t get injured too much. Also, George is, in a way, obligated to take care of Lennie because of George’s promise. George made a promise to Lennie’s Aunt Clara before she died that he would take care of Lennie and George, who is loyal, does just that. George’s ethical decision is to protect Lennie from harm and tell him what to do because he knows that that the right thing to do. Towards the end of the book, Steinbeck shows that George has the value ofcaring when it comes to doing the right thing for Lennie. George knows that the task of killing Lennie is difficult and has to find inner strength to do it. There are many similarities between Candy, a friend of George and Lennie, and his dog and George and Lennie. Candy’s dog has stiff joints, very old, and because he stinks so bad, he is troublesome to others. Candy said that, â€Å"I been around him so much I never notice how he stinks.† Candy has been around his dog so much that he is used to the smell so therefore, he doesn’t notice it and because he is used to his dog being around he won’t be able to kill his dog. Similarly, Lennie can be a nuisance to George because he is constantly getting into trouble. And when Slim asks why George still has him, George says, â€Å"†¦you get used to goin’ around with a guy an’ you can’t get rid of him†. Like Candy and his dog, George has been with George for too long that now simply they are used to each other. Candy had to let his dog go because it was best for the dog. However, he let someone else kill his dog and Candy later tells George, â€Å"I ought to of shot that dog myself George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.†George on the other hand, didn’t want anyone to hurt Lennie and knew that he must kill Lennie himself. The ethical decision here is that it is wrong to kill someone and technically, George is breaking the law. The moral part in George’s decision is that if George doesn’t kill him, then Lennie will be tortured and man-slaughtered by Curley. Also, George makes sure that Lennie dies in happiness by having him first think about the plan of getting a farm and tending to rabbits before George kills Lennie. Steinbeck portrays George as a person who has values defines who he is. Steinbeck had shown that George values companionship, responsibility, and loyalty while he fosters Lennie. Steinbeck shows how George’s value system influences George’s moral and ethical decisions when George shows his care for Lennie, when Lennie faces or gets into conflict with other people, and when Lennie kills Curley’s wife.

Eusebius and the History of the Church Term Paper

Eusebius and the History of the Church - Term Paper Example the lines, it is also to Eusebius’ merit that most, if not all of his sources were properly credited, and acknowledged, which is very unusual for historians at that time. One of the most noted and referred books written by Eusebius is Ekklestiastices Historias, or The History of the Church, was originally in Greek, and was translated in numerous languages during the course of history. This paper will focus on the eighth book, which tells about the persecutions of emperors from Diocletian to Maximian, and the tenth book, which is about the reign of Constantine and the tolerance of the Romans to Christians that resulted in the time of peace and tranquility. The eighth book in Eusebius’ Ekklestiastices Historias tells of the rise of the Christian faith, as well as its fall, which he accounts to the events that he himself experienced in his own time.3 Initially, the Roman rulers and officers were very favorable with regards to those of the Christian faith. Aside from lettin g the lesser of the people worship in accord to their own chosen faith, Christians were also able to hold offices, govern and rule, as well as to mingle with the upper ranks of the Roman Empire. Moreover, the clergy and other church leaders were also treated with respect not just by their own people, but also those Romans with noble birth.4 With the arrival of peace and tolerance, however, internal discord starts to brew within the structure of the Christian church itself. Due to the gains the Christians had in freedom, fights among them became common. These fights not only included the worshippers, but also their church leaders as well. Eusebius attributed the succeeding events to Divine intervention, when persecutions to Christians in the government offices and the army started. While initially there was not much thought given about it, as the changes in the governance kept sliding past the Christian groups bit by bit, after several generations the Christians were once again subje ct to the punishments that the early martyrs undertook. The different manners that the Roman Empire tortured its citizens of the Christian faith were described in detail by Eusebius. Among these forms of capital punishments are: death by strangling; beheading; being burned while still alive; bodies thrown into the depths of the sea; even digging up the corpses of some and being thrown in the sea as well, thinking that these bodies might become the subject of worship by those who remain. 5 The destruction of churches and the burning of scriptures during the reign of Diocletian during his reign in 284-305 were also recorded in full detail. As the festival of the Savior’s passion (Easter) approached, aside from the demolition of churches and the eradication of Christian scriptures, those of the Christian faith holding ranks in offices were immediately removed, and those who continue to

Problems with Degu as a result of Incorrect Feeding Coursework

Problems with Degu as a result of Incorrect Feeding - Coursework Example This makes them drink more water and urinate more. If there is too much fat in the food, this causes liver problems in especially female degus who are in fertile age. This results in a drastic increase in weight. Diarrhea is another problem that may occur in degus when they eat too much of something, like a fruit or a vegetable sprayed with chemicals. They will mess around in little bits instead of large droppings. Constipation is caused by incorrect feedings like not taking enough water or dehydration. Overfeeding or unrestricted feeding results in obesity which may also result from diabetes and hepatitis. Hepatitis occurs when degu’s diet contains too much of protein or fat. Degu may also become lethargic and stressful resulting in temperament changes and weakness, a condition called anorexia caused by malnutrition or deficiency of vitamin C. However, excess of vitamin C causes breeding problems like a reproductive failure in male degus. Stress or lack of iron in the diet ma y result in alopecia that causes fur loss. Imbalanced diet for longer periods may also result in degu’s death. To prevent these problems, degu’s diet must be moderated according to the recommended 10 grams of food for a degu per day. Diet should not be high in protein, fat, and sugar. Water should always be available for him. It is important not to breed from degus who have had diabetes in their history. Good exercise levels should be maintained for degus by providing him running wheels and time out of the cage.

Crime Scene Investigator Behind Mysterious and Unusual Deaths Case Study

Crime Scene Investigator Behind Mysterious and Unusual Deaths - Case Study Example There were three types of shoe marks there which indicated three types of footprints in these footprints it also became evident that one of that one out those three people was a female. The way the footprints were placed was favouring the fact indicating that the boy not dead body only struggle with the two men while the woman is standing at one side only watching or recording what is happening which was also raising a doubt that may be the reason of this crime the fight is that woman. A medical expert and police photographer that was there came forward and after all the shots of the body were taken. The medical expert started examining the body by just throwing a careful watch on it and along with that he also started collecting useful information. After this aspect was covered the body was searched for the belongings with the dead body but all his pockets were empty and were torn and it was giving evidence that they had been emptied freshly most probably by the criminal. This aspec t of the investigation gave another picture that he was killed maybe because he had some property with him and the criminals were trying to snatch that. Photographer was taking pictures from all every angle of the body as a set of â€Å"CSI shot† (This is the technique of shooting extreme close-ups, normally with explanatory commentary from one of the characters from the media) (CSI, 2004). Measurements and a rough sketch were made to preserve the scene for further study and investigations and possible reconstruction.

Criminal Justice and the Crime Problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Criminal Justice and the Crime Problem - Essay Example For instance, there may be higher numbers of tourist during the summer season and chances are that crime will escalate at that time. Additionally, rural records may experience higher cases of crime given the fact that planting seasons attract high numbers of workers. It is also very likely to find higher reports of crime during the summer season rather than any other season. One explanation for this is the fact that townships normally have higher alcoholic drinkers in the summer than in the winter. These and many other factors explain the variance in crime patterns recorded over time. (Field, 1990) Economic factors are quite crucial in the process of analyzing crime patterns. This is because persons who feel the pinch of an economic downturn are the marginalized individuals. They are the ones who react sharply to these changes by committing crimes. For example, research has shown that when the economy recedes, consumption patterns are also adversely affected. When the economy is doing well, people's consumption tendencies increase. (Hirsh & Goldthorpe, 1978) Consequently, potential criminals also increase consumption patterns because they have the ability to meet their needs. On the other hand, when consumption tendencies reduce, then higher there will be higher cases of crime; this is especially in relation to property crimes. The reason for this is that the economically marginalized need to meet their expenses but economic pressures may deter them from doing this. Consequently, they end up choosing illegal methods of acquiring property. (Field, 1999) Additionally, one must not ignore the link between crime and the availability of goods. Some research in this area shows that there is a link between crime and stock available. The two factors re directly affected in that when stores record high amounts of stock, then crime prevalence also increase. Home Office (1999) came up with a direct relationship between these two issues. They asserted the ratio of burglaries/theft to increases in stock is 2:1. This means that whenever stock levels increase by on percent, crime prevalence increases by double this amount. Burglaries and theft can also be associated with gender. Surveys conducted by the Home Office (1999) indicate that crime prevalence tends to increase when the number of males increases. This is especially so when these youth belong to the masculine gender. Their statistics show that when males older than fifteen and younger than twenty increase by one percent, then crime prevalence in the region increases by a similar percentage. However, some criminologists have argued that the converse is also true. When there is a rose in the number of older people within any one region, then chances are that there will be greater levels of crime again. This is because an older generation is quite venerable to attack and they provide fertile grounds for crime victimization. Social factors that effect crime It is important to note that the most important features here include; Technology Lifestyles Popular culture Society's drug patterns are constantly changing. In the past psychologists used the drug popularly called ecstasy during marriage counselling. However, society has changed all these. Young people now take the drug as a form of recreation. One can make the same assumption about the drug Viagra. This means that many young people no

Solar energy as an alternative energy source Essay

Solar energy as an alternative energy source - Essay Example (uk.news.yahoo.com 2011) Solar energy is more abundant, less exhaustible, and a more population free than any other source. Active and passive solar energy types are the major ones. The active systems are those that capture, stores, and distribute that energy from the sun. Passive systems provide the avenues for the sun to enter and they rely on natural airflow to provide distribution. (Goel, 2005 p109) The active solar system includes a collector, a storage mechanism and a distribution device. This type of the solar system has overcome the age-old problem of solar concept wholly. It is the most needed when the sun is not shinning at right for example, the storage area is usually water such as, an indoor swimming pool, stores or bricks located in the basement. The heat can be distributed as the need arises and it is extracted by means of pumps or fans, depending on the storage method. A passive solar system is not expensive as active system because it has only a device for collection which consists of a south facing solar panel that collects the sun rays. The method is effective in greenhouses and homes equipped with another back up heat source. The construction technique is followed to ensure heat is held once captured. Passive solar energy are used to heat water, grain, distilled water and also used in cooking. According to (Smith and Taylor, 2008 p2), the latest development with the solar energy concerns converting the sun rays that is, radiant energy, into electric energy. The second thermodynamics law states that heat is usually lost when we change the form of energy. The research indicates that 99% of radiant energy from the sun is lost in form of heat leaving the earth’s surface. The main goal of using solar energy to produce electrical energy is to use more efficiently the escaped heat of the sun. There is a more indirect method of converting the solar energy to electrical power. More research is being conducted lately on the direct conversion of sunlight to electricity by the use of solar cells. These solar cells are in need of more development before they are readily available to the public. The solar energy supply is unlimited and the supply is also renewable. The reliance of fossils fuel thus indirect population by the amount of solar produced can be reduced. Solar is a necessity because of the demand increase on the traditional energy and also the increasing costs relating to such an increase. There is no population generated as a result of its use. Every watt of power generated from the sun reduces the population thus solar energy is an excellent alternative energy. Other than the costs of manufacturing of the component, their purchasing and the installation costs, there are no other costs that are associated with the use after the initial investment outlay. To meet the needs, the electric solar system can be expanded by installation of more panels. It is notable that the demand of fossil fuels that is oil and natural gas decreases as the usage solar energy increases. Other advantages of alternative sources of energy is solar electric system can eliminate greenhouses gas emissions by an amount of 18tons. The solar energy can be used for the remote applications, heat water and space heating. (Craddock David, 2008 p 13) Solar energy as an alternative source of energy has various disadvantages too. Solar energy projects that are Large scale commercial involves a large area of land and involves

Personal Selling and Customer Focus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal Selling and Customer Focus - Essay Example Of all these methods forestalling and boomerang methods are the most effective methods of encountering objections. Forestalling can be termed as the best method of dealing with objections. Salespeople should understand that no product is perfect. There are bound to be certain vulnerable areas or features of their product or services. These features have immense chances of being materially different from other competitive products in the market or getting misunderstood by a section of the target audience. There may be many disadvantages attached to a product one is trying to sell like high prices, limited features, lack of service representative in the immediate area, absence of cash discount etc. No matter what the drawbacks are, through the forestall method of objection the salespeople raise the objections before giving the buyer the chance to raise them. For e.g. if the price of a product is high. Before letting the buyer to raise the issue during the sales presentation the salesperson should forestall the objection in the following way: " Though you might feel that the price of this product i s higher than the competitors' product you would have to appreciate the fact that no competitor gives the after sales service as good as we do. Also, the latest technologies have been used to design this product which ensures that it would last longer than any other product in the market." Hence if the salespeople are able to forestall the objection convincingly the buyers are surely going to changer their thoughts without articulating the objection that was in their minds. Boomerang method is also very effective. In the words of Weitz et.al " By using the boomerang method of responding to objections, the salesperson turns the objection into a reason for acting now." (1992, p. 290) Though this method appears very pushy, it can be effectively applied to all personality types. In today's fast pace world every body is short of time and might totally want to ignore the salespeople who are eager to seek an appointment or sell their products. The most common answer to sales call is that " Sorry I don't have enough time now. Perhaps we can talk about it later." Through boomerang technique the salesperson can make use of the time constraint of the buyer in the following way: " I know you have a very busy schedule and that is why this product is most suitable to you because it has the capacity of saving a lot of your time everyday which you can devote in other meaningful activities or in chores that you are longing to do but are not able to do due to lack of ti me." Time and money are the two main constraints of the buyer and through the boomerang method the salesperson can sell the product by making him realize the "benefit of investing these resources." (Weitz et.al., 1992, p. 291) Part 2 To resolve the issue in question the 7 Problem Resolution and Recovery Procedures is the best option. The General Manager should deal with the customer in the following manner: Listen: Listening is the most important thing to do when a customer is complaining about something. Even if the General Manager knows about the entire incident she should listen to the customer attentively. This skill would help in resolving the conflict amicably. Its often found that just by listening attentively to a complaining customer his anger or dissatisfaction

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Essay Example for Free

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Essay Every piece of literature created is influenced by the time in which it was written. A particular text is a reflection of the era or period in which it was born. An author is contained within a specific time in history, and his writing becomes the result of the social, economic or political milieu of that time. This is the reason why it is extremely important for a reader to determine the context of the story in order to fully understand a piece of literature. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a great example of how a text reflects a particular era. It is a novel written in the 1930s and revealed what was happening during that time in California. Hence, John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is a reflection of California during the 1930s. Of Mice and Men is a story about the friendship between George Milton and Lennie Small. The two men are remarkably different from each other. Steinbeck (1994) described George as â€Å"small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features† (p. 4). He depicted Lennie as the opposite of his companion; he was â€Å"a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide sloping shoulders† (Steinbeck, 1994, p. 4). However, their differences were not limited to physical appearances. George is intelligent, but his friend Lennie is mentally challenged (Steinbeck, 1994). The mental condition of the latter forced him to depend solely on the former. While George often expressed displeasure about the burden of being Lennie’s companion, he proved to be a dedicated friend. He served as Lennie’s guardian. Unfortunately, Lennie’s disability caused him to be involved in great trouble. He was unable to discern his own strength, accidentally harming and killing others in the process. In the end, George continues to fulfill his role as Lennie’s protector; he killed Lennie himself to spare him from death in the hands of Curley (Steinbeck, 1994). While the friendship between George and Lenny is the main focus of the story, the history of California plays a bigger and more significant role in the novel. Of Mice and Men is also a story about California and the problems which plagued it during the 1930s. John Steinbeck wrote three books which delved into the situation in California in 1930s; Of Mice and Men is the second book in the trilogy. The other two novels were In Dubious Battle and The Grapes of Wrath. In On Mice and Men, the relationship between George and Lennie is set against the backdrop of 1930s California. Both men are migrant workers with a single dream: they wanted to own a piece of land and farm it themselves. George said, â€Å"Someday—we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs† (Steinbeck, 1994). This dream was influenced, if not completely defined, by the problems of the state at that particular time. In the Introduction of the On Mice and Men, Shillinglaw (1994) described California in the 1930s. During the 1930s, the main problem in California was agricultural labor. Since the 1900s, most of the agriculturally abundant valleys were located in California. Produce such as broccoli, lettuce, sugar beets and strawberries were only some of those harvested in plenitude. The vast farms in California required many laborers for its harvest. Meanwhile, the Southwest region of America suffered from drought. Due to the drought, the once bountiful lands became similar to deserts. As a result, laborers left what was known as the Dust Bowl to try their luck in California. Since 1935, an estimated 350,000 people from Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas stormed the Golden State in hopes of finding jobs in the farms. While it was true that California had enormous agricultural fields which supplied most of the country’s produce, the employment of workers were still a problem. There were too many people to accommodate for jobs in these farms. Workers from the Dust Bowl wandered throughout the state in search of crops to farm, as they were desperate for work. By 1936, California was faced with a major problem: the constant flow of poor and hungry migrants from the Southwest. The situation of wandering farm workers was illustrated in Of Mice and Men. The novel began with the arrival of George and Lennie in the Salinas River. George was upset that the bus driver did not drop them off at the proper location. He said, â€Å"Didn’t wanta stop at the ranch gate, that’s what† (Steinbeck, 1994, p. 6). The two men exemplified the situation of all the other migrant workers in California during the 1930s. Agricultural laborers such as George and Lennie were directed from one ranch to another, in search for work. George asked Lennie, â€Å"You remember about us goin’ into Murray and Ready’s, and they give us work cards and bus tickets? † (Steinbeck, 1994, p. 7). Murray and Ready had provided both men with the cards and tickets, then sent them to the next ranch. According to the novel, the last ranch they worked for was called Weed. The plight of the itinerant laborers was best expressed by George’s words: â€Å"They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch† (Steinbeck, 1994, p. 15). The novel also portrayed the difficult life of male migrant workers and their need for human company. It was said that majority of the migrant agricultural workers in California were single men. Since the 1870s until 1930, the fruit and wheat crops of the Golden State were harvested by single men. These men were modern day nomads, for they constantly moved from one place to another. They carried bindles whenever they went. George confirmed the situation of male farm workers in California: â€Å"Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place† (Steinbeck, 1994, p. 15). The solitude of the farm workers resulted in the constant need for companionship. In the absence of wives and families, the male itinerant laborers develop friendships instead. The friendship between George and Lennie was the kind of relationship created due to the circumstances of the migrant workers. Despite his complaints about having Lennie around, it was apparent that George was just as dependent on Lennie as Lennie was dependent on him. Whenever Lennie threatened to leave, George told him that he wanted his friend to stay. Their bond was so strong that they did not consider themselves as similar to the aforementioned lonely guys. George said: â€Å"With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us† (Steinbeck, 1994, p. 15). The novel revealed how agricultural laborers were marginalized in California society. All of them were misplaced and lived on dire conditions. Despite the unfortunate circumstances which befell them, there are those who remained optimistic and ambitious. However, even the ambitious laborers also fail. They would simply leave the ranch and proceed to another place. In the novel, George and Lennie went to the bunk house of the next ranch they were supposed to work for. When George asked Candy why the former occupant of his new bed quit, this was the response: â€Å"He†¦just quit, the way a guy will. Says it was the food. Just wanted to move† (Steinbeck, 1994, p. 20). George and Lennie were also ambitious. They have grown weary of working from one ranch to another, and working for people like Curley. They dreamt of having a piece of land they can personally attend to. The dream was revealed early on in the novel, and was continuously mentioned throughout the story. Candy overheard the two taking about their desire for their own (Steinbeck, 1994). He responded positively, and even offered his savings to both men so that he could also live on their land. Crooks also learned about the plan to buy land. During one night, Lennie spoke to Crooks about his plan to own land with George. Unlike Candy, Crooks had a different response to the plan. He discouraged Lennie by insinuating that his dream will never come true. Crooks said: â€Å"I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads†¦every damn one of ‘em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of ‘em ever gets it† (Steinbeck, 1994, p. 75). The character of Crooks was right; in 1930s California, many workers did not achieve the success they originally hoped to find there. By the end of the novel, George and Lennie proved to be unsuccessful as well. The dream of George and Lennie to obtain their own land did not come true. Lennie has a fondness for petting things which are soft; it was this fondness which guaranteed his demise (Steinbeck, 1994). Lennie and George were forced to leave the ranch in Weed because Lennie’s petting had gotten them in trouble. In the ranch in Soledad, Lennie accidentally killed a puppy because he was too strong. By accident, he pulled the hair of Curley’s wife and also broke her neck, causing her to die. When Curley and the rest of the men in the ranch found out that Lennie killed the wife, they form a mob and went to search for Lennie. Before they arrived at the ranch, George told Lennie to return to the Salinas River in case he got in trouble. George told his friend, â€Å"Lennie—if you jus’ happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an’ hide in the brush† (Steinbeck, 1994, p. 17). After he killed Curley’s wife, Lennie proceed to the brush and George met him there. George began to speak of the land they would own together and the rabbits that Lennie would take care of. Afterwards, he shot Lennie on the back of his head (Steinbeck, 1994). The farm was a representation of every migrant worker’s dream: to own a piece of land and be in control of their own lives. The farm served as a symbol of freedom and independence. For George, the death of his friend was also the end of their dream. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck was truly a representation of California during the 1930s. Through the story of George, Lennie and the other characters, Steinbeck was able to illustrate the agricultural labor problem that existed in the Golden State during that decade. The novel revealed the displacement of workers, the harsh realities of living as a nomad in California, their isolation and need for companionship and the broken dreams that come with the journey. By reading this novel, one is given a glimpse of California in the 1930s. Reference Steinbeck, J. (1994). Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin Classics.

Crisis Intervention Issues Essay Example for Free

Crisis Intervention Issues Essay Counselors and other individuals in the helping profession play an important role in times of individual crisis such as violent crimes or mass crisis such as large-scale disaster situations by facilitating the diagnosis and treatment of pyschosocial disorders among populations that have been directly or indirectly traumatized by critical events. Gladding (2008, p. 246) notes that crisis counselling often involves incidents where there is a sense of loss or grief, and is therefore aimed at helping clients to regain a sense of normalcy in order to move on with their lives. However, there are instances when counselors are adversely affected by their work with traumatized clients. Sexton (1999, p. 393) notes that counselors and therapists who are constantly exposed to â€Å"reports of trauma, horror, human cruelty, and extreme loss† become vulnerable to experiencing the â€Å"feelings of fear, pain and suffering similar to their clients† that ultimately affects their ability to provide counselling services. Among the issues that counselors face in the course of their crisis intervention efforts is the risk of countertransference and vicarious traumatization. Countertransference refers to the counselors’ tendency to either avoid empathy or to overly identify with the client as a form of defense mechanim. Avoidance reactions are often manifested through the counselor’s â€Å"denial, minimisation, distortion, counter phobic reactions, detachment and disengagement from an emphatic stance† (Ibid, p. 394). In contrast, over-identification often leads into the overinvolvement of the counselor with the client’s experiences to the point that the counselor may feel idealize the client’s experiences and feel guilt for not being able to extend more help to the client (Ibid). Consequently, countertransference often impedes the therapeutic relationship as the counselor’s fails to feel empathy for the client. Empathy is particularly important in crisis intervention as it enables the counselor to correctly assess the client situation and support the client with definitive action plans for recovery (Gladding 2008, p. 248). Without empathy, client welfare is compromised by the inability of the counselor to identify the client’s problems from the client’s perspective, which could lead to incorrect or inadequate support and action from the counselor. Meanwhile, vicarious traumatization among counselors occurs as a result of the â€Å"accumulation of experiences across many therapy situations† (Sexton 1999, p. 395). Vicarious traumatization not only impacts the counselor’s helping relationships but also extends to other areas of his or her professional and personal life. The effects of vicarious traumatization include the development of anxiety and post-traumatic syndrome disorder (PTSD) symptoms and other psychosocial disorders by the counselor. Unfortunately, majority of counselors are vulnerable to the risk of vicarious traumatization (Ibid, p. 396). Hence, those who work in the midst of large-scale crises events are clearly at a greater risk due to the scale of horror, loss, and cruelty that they are exposed to through indirect and direct experiences of their clients and themselves. Hence, the vicarious traumatization of counselors not only hinders them from functioning effectively in helping relationships but renders them unable to continue their relationships with clients as they become individuals in need of therapy and counselling themselves. On the other hand, there are ways of reducing the risks of countertransference and vicarious traumatization. Sexton (1999, p. 396) note that counselors must engage in constant self-examination for the symptoms of crisis intervention issues in order to identify and resolve problems early by themselves or with the help of other counselling professionals. This ensures the counsellor’s assurance of his/her own psychosocial health which is important in safeguarding client well-being and interests. Thus, it is important for counselors and other helping professionals to be aware of the proper handling of crisis intervention issues they may confront while in the process of helping others recover and rebuild their lives after a traumatic incident. Works Cited: Gladding, S. T. (2008). Counselling: a comprehensive profession. New Jersey: Merrill-Prentice Hall/Pearson. Sexton, L. (1999). Vicarious traumatisation of counsellors and effects on their workplaces. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 27(3):393-403.

Mobile Location Techniques

Mobile Location Techniques INTRODUCTION: With the rapid increase in number of mobile users, a massive number of calls originate from mobile subscribers, all over the world, everyday. With the increasing number of mobile users and originating calls, there is also an increase in emergency calls that originate from mobile stations. In many emergency cases the position is unknown to the caller, or he cannot explain properly. Thus there is a strong need to locate any mobile user in emergency situation. Hence the scope of mobile positioning is vital. Due to importance of mobile positioning, the need to locate any mobile user in emergency was also called by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and European Countries. For instance, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) made a proposal to include location in the 911 emergency service number, which resulted in the E911 ruling [2]. Currently, all the legacy handsets used in public cellular networks in the USA must provide the location of the customer whenever this number is dialled. The European Commission (EC) adopted a similar regulation to include location in emergency services on 112 [2]. The FCC in USA took the first step in this direction. Initially by 2001, the mobile operators are required to provide the accurate location of an emergency caller. The current requirement of FCC is to locate 67% of emergency callers must be located within 100 meters and 95% of the callers must be located with an error of no more than 300 meters. [3] Applications: Mobile location can be used for a number of services by mobile operators. Some of them are discussed here: An important application of mobile location is to provide emergency services. By knowing the location of a mobile user, emergency vehicle can be directed to that location. Hence there is an increase in public safety and services. Another interest in exploiting the mobile location is to apply location sensitive billing. By knowing the location of mobile subscribers an operator can offer competitive tariff e.g. users can be offered more calls from their mobile to home or office. Asset tracking and fleet management is another application of mobile location. Using the location of mobile travellers can be informed about location. Mobile location can be used to effectively manage fleet and traffic conditions. There are two main categories for mobile positioning,Handset Based positioning and Network based positioning. Handset Based techniques needs special type of handset hardware or the installation of specialized network software in existing handsets e.g. GPS and A-GPS. GPS receiver determines its own position by sending and receiving signals from at least four satellites. The time to reach satellite signal to GPS receiver is used as a parameter. The accuracy of GPS based systems is very high. And the coverage of satellite is very good in outdoor environment. However, drawback is inability of GPS to operate in indoor and heavily populated urban environment. GPS lacks positioning where signals of the satellite cannot be fully covered. Another problem is related to existing handsets in market. A large number of existing handsets lack the built in GPS receivers. Thus using this method a huge number of people can not get benefit or can not be located in case of emergency. Also Embedding a GP S receiver into mobile devices leads to increased cost, size, and battery consumption [1]. Thus hundreds of millions of handsets in market need to be replaced or modified. In contrast, Network Based Techniques determine the position of a mobile user by measuring its signal parameters when received at the network Base Station (BS). Here BS receives signal from Mobile Station (MS) and sends them to a central site where location estimation algorithms are used to estimate location. In this method there is no need to change or replace existing handsets. It would require change in a few thousands of network nodes (Base Stations) than to change hundred of thousands of mobile stations. Hence, it can be implemented easily, less costly using existing technology. And still can provide a very good estimate of position of a mobile user. The future technologies also support network based positioning. Infact many positioning techniques can not be implemented using existing GSM technology. Using advanced technologies their efficiency will greatly increase. The Network based positioning is also feasible for network operators as it would help them to implement location sensitive billing and location related services. Thus based on a certain location the operator can implement a specific price plan e.g. less price calls to home or office number. It will also help them to generate more revenue. Another advantage of network based techniques is the security of the subscribers. Using an algorithm at network side also ensures that the position of subscriber is known only to emergency service or mobile operator. Thus it also increases the safety and security of the subscribers. The network based techniques have several advantages like low cost, ease of implementation, implementation using existing technologies and methods, beneficial for a large number of people. However, the main issue with this technique is its accuracy. Despite a number of efforts to reduce error and increase accuracy there is still no unbiased estimation method present. All of the methods produce good results under certain conditions or circumstances. Thus there is no general prediction for result using an algorithm. The main problems in incorrect positioning are multipath propagation, fading and low SNR. The efforts are continuously being made to minimize these and hence increase accuracy and thus performance. The project will emphasize on comparing various existing network based location techniques. Some of the common techniques will be studied in detail. Base on these existing methods, a number of positioning algorithms are also studied in detail to implement major positioning techniques. The algorithms will then be implemented using MATLAB. The results of algorithms will be compared to actual position of mobile station so as to measure the performance of each of them. Final thing is to develop an online benchmarking tool to compare location evaluation estimates using different techniques. The tool should be able to run user uploaded measurements in to its own algorithms. The results will then be compared to user submitted results to perform a benchmark. Existing Literature Review A number of mobile location techniques are common nowadays. These techniques can be divided into three main types: Mobile Based Techniques Network Based Techniques Indirect Techniques These techniques are briefly explained below: Mobile Based Techniques: In this method, a number of geographically separated transmitters are used by the mobile station to exploit its own position. It is also known as Self Positioning. Thus mobile station (MS) locates itself by using signals from a number of transmitters or base stations (BS). Example of mobile based positioning is GPS and A-GPS. In GPS based positioning GPS receiver uses signals from geographically distributed satellites to exploit its own position. Network Based Techniques: This method uses a number of transmitters in a network to locate position of an unknown receiver. It uses resources of the network only. The signals from the MS are used by a number of BS to locate the MS. This technique can be implemented using different type of parameters e.g. Cell Global Identity (CGI), Cell Global Identity with Timing Advance (CGI-TA), Enhanced Cell Global Identity (E-CGI), Time of Arrival (TOA), Angle of Arrival (AOA), Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA). Indirect Techniques: In this technique mobile or network can be assisted to locate a mobile station. Thus base station can send positioning data to mobile station to locate itself. Similarly measurements can be uploaded from MS to BS to locate mobile station. It involves measurements sent from MS to BS for positioning at BS or vice versa. There are a number of network based mobile positioning techniques in use today. In such techniques a number of involved base stations (BS) use signal from mobile station (MS) to locate the position of MS. The common methods are Signal Strength, Time of Arrival, Time Difference of Arrival, Angle of Arrival, or hybrid techniques. Each of the existing method has its own advantages and disadvantages. A major problem with all methods is the accuracy. It depends on cell size, cell environment, number of cells, multipath propagations and distance between MS and serving base station. Some other common parameters for performance measurement include applicability, robustness, etc. The existing methods have been described in detail below: Cell Global Identity: The CGI method to locate a mobile user is most easy and straight forward. In this method, the position of mobile user is estimated by using the cell identity of serving base station. Thus the mobile can be located anywhere in a call coverage area. It is very simple to implement. However, the positioning error may range from a few meters to a few kilometres. The accuracy will be dependent on the size of serving base station. Another problem with this method is that mobile station is not always connected to nearest base station. In this case the location of mobile cannot be even estimated. Enhanced-CGI: To overcome errors in basic CGI technique another method is used. The basic idea was to split the coverage area of a base station into two or more areas, mostly three 120 degree areas. Each area within a base station can then be issued with a separate identity. Hence in this way the position of mobile can be narrow down to a small area. Although this method is easy to implement yet error is large enough from practical point of view. CGI with Timing Advance: The CGI technique can also be improved by using the timing advance feature of GSM. Timing advance is a value that corresponds to the time it takes for a signal to reach from MS to BS. In GSM timing advance is a feature used by the base station to synchronise with mobile station. On step timing advance is equal to a change in 1100 m of round-trip time (the time signal takes to reach from base station to mobile and then back to base station). The timing advance is assigned by base station for each mobile station. Using the timing advance feature a mobile user can be located within 550 meters approximately. Time of Arrival: Although CGI method provides a good estimation of mobile position, the error is still large enough from emergency view point. Another method to locate mobile is using the arrival time of signals at base stations involved. The distance of mobile can be estimated by using information about time of arrival i.e. D = t / c Where t is the time of arrival of signal at base station and c is the speed of light. The distance will be the estimated mobile position. However the mobile can be located anywhere on circular path centred at base station and radius equal to estimated distance D. The exact position of mobile can be estimated by using same type of measurements from two other neighbouring base stations. Ideally the positioning circles from all the three base stations must intersect at a point, which will be the position of mobile. However, practically, the circles dont intersect at a single point rather they make a small area in which the mobile is potentially located. This method is really better than CGI because it gives more accurate results. The time of arrival method requires accurate synchronization or reference between mobile and base station to correctly measure the arrival time. The results, however, depends on environment of cell clutter, atmospheric conditions, and multipath propagation. In worst atmospheric conditions the results may vary severely. Angle of Arrival: In this method the position of the mobile is located by using the direction of signal arriving from mobile station to the serving and, at least one other base station. The direction or angle of arrival is measured at base station by using arrays of antennas. Angle measurement at one base station will give the position of mobile to be located at a straight line at a certain angle with base station. Measurement from another involved base station will produce another positioning line. Ideally the mobile must be located at the intersection of two lines from involved base stations. In practice, however, they may not intersect at all at a single point. The angle of arrival is good because it can be implemented using a small number of base stations. Thus it is best when the number of base stations visible to mobile is very low. The angle of arrival method is very sensitive to measurement errors of angle. So a very small error in angle measurement results in a much larger error in position o f mobile. Time Difference of Arrival: The time of arrival method requires a strict synchronisation or reference between mobile and base station. To overcome this problem, the difference of arrival time at a pair of base station is used for measurements. A pair of base stations is used to record one time difference measurement. The result will be a circle on which mobile can be anywhere. Ideally the three circles will intersect at one point. This point will be the position of mobile. In actual practice the method will give a small area in which mobile must be located. The difference of arrival time eliminates the need of synchronisation as required by time of arrival. This method can be used as to run entirely on network side or to run with mobile assistance. The performance of time difference method is greatly improved than time of arrival. The main advantage of this method is elimination of timing requirement. However, on the other hand, the number of involved base station must be at least four including primary base st ation. Thus only then three sets of measurements can be obtained. The time difference of arrival method is more frequently used due to ease of implementation. Data correlation method: The Database Correlation Method makes use of the signal information seen by mobile station. The signal information from all of the coverage area seen by mobile station is stored in a database at network side. The signal information may include signal strength, signal timing, signal delay etc. When position of the mobile is required, the stored data in database is used by a positioning server to do so. The signal measurements sent to the database depends on the environment. The resolution of such measurements must be set so as to achieve certain accuracy. In GSM a sub-band resolution is used by the Base Station Controller (BSC) to facilitate the handover process. Pilot Correlation Method: Algorithms Search: There are a number of positioning algorithms in present literature. These algorithms make use of the measurements done by the mobile station. The measurements required for each algorithm may vary. However, some common measurements may include Cell ID, LAC, Signal Strength, Timing Advance, Time of Arrival, and Direction (Angle) of Arrival. Also these measurements may be carried out only on network side i.e., by primary base station or they can be performed with assistance of mobile station. The algorithms for all of the major positioning methods are studied in detail. Although there is a large number of algorithms in literature yet each of them has own advantages and disadvantages. Each algorithm is based on some assumptions and limitations. For this reason we can not say which one is best. But the one which gives acceptable accuracy is thought to be the good one. Cell Global Identity (CGI): The Cell ID is the very basic method to locate mobile station. It is used to make a rough estimate of mobile position. With this method the mobile can be located anywhere within a cell. Thus the accuracy is very poor. The mobile station measures periodically the id of serving base station and up to 6 neighbouring base station. Thus no special algorithm is needed to locate Cell ID. By looking at mobile measurements the Cell ID can be located. Enhanced Cell ID: Due to very poor accuracy of basic Cell ID, a number of enhancements have been made to it. Thus measurements like signal strength, Timing Advance can be used in conjunction with Cell ID to improve accuracy. Two algorithms which show good results are Enhancement to CGI using Signal Strength and Positioning using Timing Advance. In the first algorithm the signal strength is taken as a parameter. The power received by mobile station from primary base station and up to six neighbouring cells is feedback to primary base station. The primary base station thus knows the power transmitted by it and power received by mobile station. Then the distance calculation is possible by using the known path loss. Using Okumura-Hata Path Loss model [4] the distance between mobile and base station is calculated. The mathematical form of this model is [4]; Urban areas: LdB = A + B log10 R E Suburban areas: LdB = A + B log10 R C Open areas: LdB = A + B log10 R D A = 69.55 + 26.16 log10 fc 13.82 log10 hb B = 44.9 6.55 log10 hb C = 2 (log10 (fc / 28))2 + 5.4 D = 4.78 ( log10 fc )2 + 18.33 log10 fc + 40.94 E = 3.2 ( log10 ( 11.7554 hm ))2 4.97 for large cities, fc = 300MHz E = 8.29 ( log10 ( 1.54 hm ))2 1.1 for large cities, fc E = ( 1.1 log10 fc 0.7 ) hm ( 1.56 log10 fc 0.8 ) for medium to small cities Definition of parameters: hm mobile station antenna height above local terrain height [m] dm distance between the mobile and the building h0 typically height of a building above local terrain height [m] lhbbase station antenna height above local terrain height [m] rgreat circle distance between base station and mobile [m] R=r x 10-3 great circle distance between base station and mobile [km] f carrier frequency [Hz] fc=f x 10-6 carrier frequency [MHz] ? free space wavelength [m] This model is fairly simple so it is used for a large number of situations. The distance calculation is easy from this model using known path loss in pre-defined environment. The mobile will be located anywhere on the circle of estimated distance with centre at base station. A minimum of three base stations are used for such measurements. Ideally the three circles will intersect at a single point. This point will be the position of mobile station. The triangulation technique is used to find the intersection coordinates of circles. Time of Arrival: Although CGI provides the position of mobile station yet the accuracy is not sufficient for many purposes. To improve accuracy the time of arrival method is used. It gives good results than CGI in most of the situations. A number of algorithms describing time of arrival method are in literature. Each of them has some advantages and some short comings. Also each algorithm works best under some specific conditions e.g. in line of sight (LOS) or non-line of sight (NLOS) conditions. A good algorithm which gives acceptable results in many situations is A Constrained Least Squares Approach to Mobile Positioning: Algorithms and Optimality. This algorithm uses a least square approach to estimate position of mobile station. The distance between mobile station and base station is estimated by using the fact that signals travel in free space at a speed equal to speed of light. Thus mathematically, Di =Ti / c i = 1, 2 N Where D is the estimated distance, T is the TOA measurement, i denote the number of base station and c is the speed of light. The mobile station will be located anywhere on the circle with radius D centered at base station i. Same TOA measurements are performed by at least three base stations. The position of mobile will be the intersection of three circles. Ideally this will be a single point. But in practice, due to multipath propagation and fading, it will give a small area. The mobile station will be located in this area. To reduce positioning error the algorithm uses a least square error approach. Thus the distance between every point in that area and each mobile station is calculated. The point where the sum of squares of distances is minimized will be the estimated position of mobile station. To get TOA measurements, base station and mobile station must be synchronized properly or there must be a reference point. Thus a strict timing requirement is necessary. Angle of Arrival: In LOS conditions this method is the best to use. A number of algorithms describing this method are in literature. All of these algorithms require a dominant LOS path to correctly perform angle of arrival measurements at base station. Thus this method is best in open areas and suburban areas. In dense urban environment this technique produces severe errors due to NLOS and multipath propagation. A number of algorithms are studied in detail. A good algorithm is A Constrained Least Squares Approach to Mobile Positioning: Algorithms and Optimality. It produces results with acceptable accuracy. According to this algorithm, to perform angle of arrival measurements, base station must be provided with multiple antenna arrays. A minimum of two base stations will be required to perform such measurements. The signal from mobile station will reach base station at a certain angle with horizontal axis. This angle can be measured by base station using antenna arrays. Mathematically, it is given by tan (fi) =(y yi / x xi) , i = 1, 2, . . . , M. The angle of arrival measurement from one base station will result in a straight line. This line is also called Line of Bearing (LOB). It will be at a certain angle between horizontal axis and base station. The mobile will be located any where on the LOB. A similar measurement will be done using another involved base station. It will result in producing another angle of arrival or LOB. The point where the two line of bearing intersects will be the position of mobile station. Ideally two lines will intersect at a unique point. However, practically they may not intersect at a point. In this situation the angle of arrival method need further measurements from other involved base station. This method produces very accurate results in LOS situation. However, the results depend critically on the measured angle. Thus a very small error in angle measurement may lead to positioning error of hundreds of meters. Another disadvantage is the cost of this method. It requires antenna arrays at each base station to measure AOA. Hence cost of implementation increases. Time Difference of Arrival: The time difference of arrival uses the difference in arrival times of signals at a pair of base stations. The time difference of arrival measurements are done with reference to primary base station. A good algorithm in literature is the Performance Comparison of TOA and TDOA Based Location Estimation Algorithms in LOS Environment. It explains the working of different types of TDOA approach. It also compares the performance of each of the type. However it uses a LOS approach. In open areas LOS assumption is valid but in heavily populated urban areas this assumption is invalid. Another good algorithm which explains the TDOA measurements is is A Constrained Least Squares Approach to Mobile Positioning: Algorithms and Optimality . In this algorithm, the primary (Serving) base station is the reference base station. The time of arrival measurements are performed using the reference base station. Thus the estimated distance between mobile station and reference base station is d1 and that of mobile station and a neighbouring base station is di. Thus the TDOA measurements are given by, d1 = t1 / c di = ti / c, i = 2,3 .. N Where d1 is the distance between mobile station and reference (primary) base station and di are the distances between mobile station and other three neighbouring base stations. The TDOA measurement between reference and second base station is given by TDOA= d1-di i = 2,3, .N This will be the error free TDOA measurement at a pair of base stations. The measurement including error is given by; TDOA= (d1 di) + error The error is modelled as a Gaussian distributed random variable with zero-mean. Such measurements are taken from at least three pairs of base stations. The triangulation technique is then employed to get the position of mobile station. The TDOA method is superior to time of arrival (TOA) in sense that it eliminates the need for timing reference. Thus it is easy to implement. Due to no timing requirement TDOA method is more frequently used than TOA method. Database correlation method: Despite of a number of algorithm which perform fairly well in urban areas there is still a need to further improve it. Due to severe multipath and fading effects LOS assumption is not valid in urban areas. The Database Correlation Method is a good method to counter effect multi path and fading. It can be implemented by utilizing the measurements performed in existing GSM systems. It can be implemented by making Signal Strength as a parameter. A ggod algorithm to implement Database Correlation Method is Database Correlation Method for GSM Location by Heikki Laitinen, Jaakko Lahteenmaki, Tero Nordstrom'. In this algorithm the DCM is implemented by using signal strength measurements performed by handset. The algorithm explains the way database correlation method can be implemented in GSM. The measurements performed in the coverage area are performed by mobile station and are stored in database. Thus the database will consists pre-measured samples of signal measurements in the coverage l ocation. When the need to locate mobile station arises, the primary base station asks mobile station to perform signal strength measurements and feedback to it. The BS sends these measurements to location server. The location server then calculates the difference between stored fingerprint and actual measurement. The point where the difference between fingerprint and actual measurement is minimum will be the estimated position of mobile station. The estimated position will also contain some error in it due to fading, NLOS path and multipath propagation. However this error will be drastically less than the error in other techniques applied under same conditions. The database correlation method has the advantage that it can be implemented in any type of system like GSM, CDMA,UMTS,etc. References: Network-Based Wireless Location IEEE SIGNAL PROCESSING MAGAZINE JULY 2005 A New Time-Based Algorithm for Positioning Mobile Terminals in Wireless NetworksIsrael Martin-Escalona and Francisco Barcelo-Arroyo, EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing Mobile Positioning Using Wireless NetworksIEEE SIGNAL PROCESSING MAGAZINE JULY 2005 Path loss models S-72.333 Physical layer methods in wireless communication systems Sylvain Ranvier / Radio Laboratory / TKK 23 November 2004 Performance Comparison of TOA and TDOA Based Location Estimation Algorithms in LOS Environment Guowei Shen, Rudolf Zetik, and Reiner S. Thoma A Constrained Least Squares Approach to Mobile Positioning: Algorithms and Optimality K.W. Cheung,1 H. C. So,1 W.-K.Ma,2 and Y. T. Chan3 Database Correlation Method for GSM Location Heikki Laitinen, Jaakko Lahteenmaki, Tero Nordstrom

Foreshadowing in A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Flannery O’Connor :: A Good Man Is Hard To Find Flannery O’Connor

In "A Good Man is Hard to Find," by Flannery O’Connor, one is struck by the unexpected violence at the end of the story. However, if one re-reads the story as second time, one will see definite signs of foreshadowing of the ending. In the course of this story, O’Connor uses strong imagery to foreshadow the people and the events in this story. There are three significant times she uses this technique. They are the description of the grandmother’s dress, the death of the family, and the conversation between the Misfit and the grandmother. The grandmother did not want to go to Florida; she ironically dresses in her Sunday best. She was dressed very nicely with, "A navy blue dress with a small white dot in the print. Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet." (11). A strong foreshadowing imagery can be seen in these lines. Knowing the ending of the story, the grandmother’s elaborate dress symbolizes a preparation for her coffin. When a person dies, they are usually dressed in their best outfit, just like the grandmother was dressed in what seemed to be in her Sunday best. A stronger foreshadowing is when O’Connor states the reason for the grandmother’s beautiful dress, "In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady." (11). She herself predicts her own death. Unfortunately, she does not know this yet. Not only does O’Connor foreshadow the grandmother’s death, she foreshadows the deaths of the rest of the family. The foreshadowing of the family’s death is very evident when they "passed by a cotton field with five or six graves fenced in the middle of it, like a small island." (12). It is not an accident that the numbers of graves "five or six" matches the exact number of people in the car. There are 5 people and a baby. Since a baby in not exactly a full person, it is appropriate to say "five or six." This foreshadowing image leads into the next one: "Look at the grave!" the grandmother said, pointing it out. "That was the old family burying ground. That belonged to the plantation." "Where’s the plantation? John Wesley asked. "Gone With the Wind," said grandmother." "Ha. Ha." (12).

John F. Kennedy Essay -- essays research papers

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts, into one of the wealthiest families in the United States. Universally called "JFK," he became a millionaire at the age of 21 when his father gave him one million dollars, but politics and sports were of much more importance to him. He loved touch football, tennis, golf, sailing, and swimming. JFK attended Princeton University and Harvard, graduating from there cum laude. He attended Stanford University business school before serving in the U.S. Navy. He was a naval hero during World War 11 when his PT boat was cut in half and he helped to save the lives of his crew. Returning after the war, he was elected to Congress in 1946 and to the Senate in 1948 and was popular, well-liked, and handsome. He had a fine sense of humor and was a good orator. On September 12, l953, JFK married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier. They had three children, but one, Patrick, born during Kennedy's term of office, died in infancy. JFK gained national prominence when he gave the keynote address at the 1956 Democratic National Convention. In 1960, when the Democrats nominated JFK over Lyndon Baines Johnson, Kennedy asked Johnson to be his Vice President. Kennedy and his opponent, incumbent Vice President Richard M. Nixon, ushered in a new era with a series of four televised Presidential debates. In November 1960, JFK became the youngest man ever elected President. (Theodore Roosevelt was 42 when he took over after McKinley's ...

My Reasons for Pursuing a Graduate Degree

Each individual has his own reason for pursuing a graduate degree. Professionally, a graduate degree shows that the person has the motivation, ambition, and dedication to improve and thus strive to obtain a position in which he/she can apply and expand his knowledge base. Many perceive a graduate degree as a status symbol, an opportunity for advancement, or even a cause for more money. The choice to seek additional education after investing four years in an undergraduate degree shows commitment to learning and recognition of self-worth. I chose to pursue a Master’s degree for two reasons; to obtain a higher learning level of education and to eventually increase my annual salary. The first, and most important, reason for my wanting to pursue a Master’s degree is to obtain a higher education level. I believe that obtaining a graduate degree will definitely make me more marketable in the corporate world. My goal is to broaden my horizon beyond the technical world, unlock career aspirations otherwise blocked, and enhance problem-solving and decision-making skills. I am hoping that by pursuing a degree of higher learning, I will pick up enhanced skills that will enable me to be more of an asset to a team once I enter the workforce. I truly believe that without the knowledge, strength and motivation from within, I would not have attempted such a bold move. I take pride in knowing that I am making the first step in the right direction and towards reaching new heights. A graduate program will be both a challenge and a major achievement to me. I believe I have the ability and motivation to contribute to a great body of intellectuals in the graduate program. Given the chance, I will be a major asset.

Environmental Message in Wall-E Essay

Introduction The film Wall-E is related to the science and description area because it talks about the environment and what can happen in the future. The film starts with a robot named Wall-E and he has been assigned to clean up Earth from all the waste that the humans have left behind. It shows him coming out of his house that is full of little different things that humans would think are trash but he does not know what they are and considers them treasures. As he is performing his duties he hears another ship land and drops off another robot named Eve. Eve’s mission is to find any living organism and bring it back to the main ship where all the humans are living so that they can determine if it is okay to return to Earth. Wall-E is curious about Eve and would like to get better look at her and eventually he ends up falling in love with her. When Eve and Wall-E go back to the planet with the humans, they find that they are fat, lazy and all wearing red because they are under the influence of technology and being told what is the new style and what they should be eating. When they go to the captain to show him the plant that they discovered the skipper who is also a robot tries to throw the plant away because he does not want the humans to return to Earth, he likes how he is in control of them and does not want that to change. There are two global implications of this movie. The first one is an environmental message on what happens over time when we do not take care of our planet. It makes going green a natural part of everyday life and shows society that recycling and throwing away the trash is important. Recycling should be made aware to everyone so that they can see the problems that it can cause to society if not practiced at all. Recycling is also important because it helps people, saves energy, saves the Earth, and helps mitigate Global Warming, reduces Pollution and waste products in Landfills, and helps save money. When it comes to what could happen if we do not educate society on taking responsibility for their waste and disposing it in the proper way this could happen to our planet. I know that after seeing what can happen I have taken recycling more seriously and I have also made sure to educate my family and friends because I want them to do their part on going green and taking responsibility for their waste. I know this huge change on getting everyone to go green will not happen overnight but if we all are more conscious about and do our parts then I am sure that one day we can make sure that it does not happen like in the movie. The second global implication for this movie is concerning technology. In the movie humans are living in the future on a space ship because they cannot return to Earth for it is uninhabitable from all the waste. When we are introduced to the humans they are all wearing red clothes, are fat and lazy, and are all sitting on chairs either watching television or on telephone calls on tablets. That we are too dependent on routines and habits that make us distracted and not able to make our own decisions. When Wall-E ends up accidently bumping into one of the ladies she realizes that her clothes have changed color and that she finally opens her eyes and sees everything from a new perspective and realizes that she does not have to be dependent on technology. I realized that from watching this movie there are times that we do depend on technology a lot. We all have cell phones, computers, game consoles, and televisions, just to name a few. I learned that we do listen to what advertisements tell us are the greatest new items to have and most of us go out and buy them right away. It shows that if we do not take time to just stop and remember the days before technology came along this could happen to all of us. I like how at the end of the movie it showed robots and humans working together to clean up the Earth. It also showed the humans communicating with one another in person and not hiding behind a technological device. I think that in today’s society we need more one on one communication that is in person because now it is all behind technology and it takes away from the personal aspect. It shows that we can control how much consumerism and advertisements we want to give into. I think this movie is a great way to adults and humans the importance of properly disposing their waste so that this never happens and also to be conscious of how much technology they are using.

Lokpal Bill

KONERU LAKSHMAIAH UNIVERSITY SEMINAR PRESENTION TOPIC: LOKPAL BILL SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY: Dr. V. SARADA B. SEKHAR BABU M. C. A [2ND YEAR] Lokpal Bill is not a new word for Indian people. It is frequently used against corruption. Anna Hazare creates a new history for the demand of Jan Lokpal Bill in the year of 2011. There is a discussion about a struggling history of Jan Lokpal Bill and important of Lokpal Bill in India in the context of corruption. What is Jan Lokpal Bill? Jan Lokpal Bill is a proposed anti-corruption law drowns up by prominent civil society activists to deter corruption effectively. Word of Jan Lokpal Bill derives from Lokpal which means ombudsman (Legal Representative) in India. Lokpal word has been derived from the Sanskrit words â€Å"loka† (people) and â€Å"pala† (protector/caretaker). So Lokpal is meant as the ‘protector of people’. Jan Lokpal Bill is referred as citizens' ombudsman bill also in India. Ombudsman would create the law called the Lokpal Bill. It would be an independent body similar to the Election Commission of India. The Lokpal will have a three-member body with a chairperson. The chairperson will be a chief justice or Supreme Court judge. Other two members will be high courts judges or chief justices. Importance of Jan Lokpal Bill: It is being expected that Lokpal bill will reduce corruption in India. The Jan Lokpal bill provides powers to of filing complaints of corruption against the prime minister, other ministers and members of parliament with the ombudsman. The Lokpal Bill gives us a right, except for a public servant, to file a complaint and the Lokpal has to complete the inquiry within six months. History of Lokpal Bill: There is a struggle for Lokpal Bill of last 42 years. First time, the bill was presented during the fourth Lok Sabha in 1968. It was passed there in 1969. Lokpal Bill was revived in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and 2008. In 2010, Lokpal Bill, awaits an okay from a select committee. According to former chief justice of Delhi high court and rights activist Rajinder Sachar, Lokpal Bill is â€Å"shamefully toothless and meant to give a false reassurance to the people that the government is serious in its fight against corruption†. But former chief justice of India M N Venkatachelliah said that the PM must be out of its purview. Statement of M N Venkatachelliah was supported by Rahul Gandhi also. Role of Anna Hazare in Jan Lokpal Bill: Who is Anna Hazare? Kisan Bapat Baburao Hazare or Anna Hazare, is a social activist and a social worker. He used to work as a driver in the Indian Army and has been greatly influenced by Swami Vivekanada, Ghandiji and Acharya Vinobha Bhave. He is especially recognized for his contribution to the development of Ralegan Siddhi, a village in Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra. After voluntary retirement from the army, Hazare came to Ralegan Siddhi  village in 1975. Initially, he led a movement to eradicate alcoholism from the village. Next, he motivated the residents of the village intoshramdan (voluntary labour) to build canals, small-scale check-dams and percolation tanks in the nearby hills for watershed development; efforts that solved the problem of scarcity of water in the village that also made irrigation possible. He helped farmers of more than 70 villages in drought-prone region in the state of Maharashtra since 1975. He also motivated the residents of the village to build a secondary school in the village through voluntary labour. Lokpal Bill movement In 2011, Anna Hazare led a movement for passing a stronger anti-corruption Lokpal (ombudsman) bill in the Indian Parliament. As a part of this movement, N. Santosh Hegde, a former justice of the Supreme Court of India and Lokayukta of Karnataka, Prashant Bhushan, a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court along with the members of the India Against Corruption movement drafted an alternate bill, named as the Jan Lokpal Bill (People’s Ombudsman Bill) with more stringent provisions and wider power to the  Lokpal  (Ombudsman). Hazare has started a fast up to death from 5 April 2011 at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, to press for the demand to form a joint committee of the representatives of the Government and the civil society to draft a new bill with more stronger penal actions and more independenceto the  Lokpal  and  Lokayuktas (Ombudsmen in the states), after his demand was rejected by the Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh. The movement attracted attention very quickly through various media. It has been reported that thousands of people joined to support Hazare’s effort. Almost 150 people are reported to join Hazare in his fast. He said that he   Ã‚  would not allow any politician to sit with him in this movement. Many social activists including Medha Patkar,Arvind Kejriwal and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi have lent their support to Hazare’s hunger strike and anti-corruption campaign. This movement has also been joined by many people providing their support in Internet social media such as twitter and facebook. In addition to spiritual leaders Swami Ramdev,Swami Agnivesh and former Indian cricketer Kapil Dev,   many bollywood celebrities like Shekhar Kapur, Siddharth Narayan, Anupam Kher, Madhur Bhandarkar, Pritish Nandy, Priyanka Chopra, Prakash Raj,Aamir Khan, Chetan Bhagat showed their public support through twitter. As an outcome of this movement, on 6 April, 2011 Sharad Pawar resigned from the  group of ministers  formed for reviewing the draft Lokpal bill 2010. Anna Hazare started his â€Å"Fast until Death† at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, stating â€Å"I will fast until Jan Lokpal Bill is passed† The movement gathered quite a significant amount of support from India’s youth visible through the local support and on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Differences between Government’s Lokpal and Jan Lokpal Bill: Lokpal Bill: ->Government will not have any power: ->To initiate action suo motu in any case ->To receive complaints of corruption from public ->To register an FIR ->Police powers >To investigate any case against PM in foreign affairs, security and defence ->To jurisdiction over bureaucrats and government officers Jan Lokpal Bill 2011: ->The Jan Lokpal Bill will have power: ->To initiate investigations suo motu in any case ->To complaints from the public ->To initiate prosecution after completion of investigations ->Police powers ->To register FIR, proceed with criminal investigations and launch prosecution ->To jurisdiction over politicians, officials and even judges ->To merge the entire vigilance machinery into Lokpal Recent Updates about Jan Lokpal Bill: Once again, Anna Hazare has announced to fast unto death at Jantar Mantar from August 16 if the government doesn’t pass the Jan Lokpal Bill. It will be the second battle of independence for him. He suggests his followers to opt the path of non-violence. About Jan Lokpal Bill: The Jan Lokpal Bill 2011 is a draft anti-corruption bill. The bill is drafted by Justice Santosh Hegde (former Supreme Court Judge and present Lokayukta of Karnataka), Prashant Bhushan (Supreme Court Lawyer) and Arvind Kejriwal (RTI activist). The draft Bill predicts a system where a corrupt person would go to jail within two years if he found guilty. It seeks power to prosecute politicians and bureaucrats without government permission. Features of Jan Lokpal Bill: 1. An institution called LOKPAL at the centre and LOKAYUKTA in each state will be set up 2. Like Supreme Court and Election Commission, they will be completely independent of the governments. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations. 3. Cases against corrupt people will not linger on for years anymore: Investigations in any case will have to be completed in one year. Trial should be completed in next one year so that the corrupt politician, officer or judge is sent to jail within two years. 4. The loss that a corrupt person caused to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction. 5. How will it help a common citizen: If any work of any citizen is not done in prescribed time in any government office, Lokpal will impose financial penalty on guilty officers, which will be given as compensation to the complainant. . So, you could approach Lokpal if your ration card or passport or voter card is not being made or if police is not registering your case or any other work is not being done in prescribed time. Lokpal will have to get it done in a month’s time. You could also report any case of corruption to Lokpal like ration being siphoned off, poor quality roads been constructed or panchayat funds being siphoned off. Lokpal will have to complete its investigations in a year, trial will be over in next one year and the guilty will go to jail within two years. 7. But won’t the government appoint corrupt and weak people as Lokpal members? That won’t be possible because its members will be selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities and not by politicians, through a completely transparent and participatory process. 8. What if some officer in Lokpal becomes corrupt? The entire functioning of Lokpal/ Lokayukta will be completely transparent. Any complaint against any officer of Lokpal shall be investigated and the officer dismissed within two months. 9. What will happen to existing anti-corruption agencies? CVC, departmental vigilance and anti-corruption branch of CBI will be merged into Lokpal. Lokpal will have complete powers and machinery to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician. 10. It will be the duty of the Lokpal to provide protection to those who are being victimized for raising their voice against corruption. To summarise, we can say, it will give more power to RTI act, corruption will be tackled and dealt with quickly, whistle blowers will (most likely) also get some protection for raising their voice against corruption. What is the need of Lokpal Bill in our society? Do you think Lokpal Bill is really needed in our society to make an ideal state? Government has already CVC, departmental vigilance and anti-corruption branch of CBI to stop corruption. What would be moral line of Lokpal Bill? Why a person will not be corrupt where money is everything? How an anti-corrupt society or state will fulfill the basic needs of people? Can a capitalist state be anti-corrupt which motive is nothing but profit? How a profit oriented society can serve basic need of people? How the difference between rich and poor will be filled? Government has already exposed the power of ‘STATE’ demolishing strike of Ram Dev Baba at Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi. We have seen the monopoly of Indian government in union budget 2011 also. In this context, people should think about the future of Lokpal Bill. Jan Lokpal Bill will improve existing anti-corruption systems. Existing System| System Proposed by civil society| No politician or senior officer ever goes to jail despite huge evidence  because Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) and CBI directly come under the government. Before starting investigation or initiating prosecution in any case, they have to take permission from the same bosses, against whom the case has to be investigated. | Lokpal at centre and Lokayukta at state level will be independent bodies. ACB and CBI will be merged into these bodies. They will have power to initiate investigations and prosecution against any officer or politician without needing anyone’s permission. Investigation should be completed within 1 year and trial to get over in next 1 year. Within two years, the corrupt should go to jail. No corrupt officer is dismissed from the jobbecause Central Vigilance Commission, which is supposed to dismiss corrupt officers, is only an advisory body. Whenever it advises government to dismiss any senior corrupt officer, its advice is never implemented. | Lokpal and Lokayukta will have  complete powers to order dismissal of a corrupt officer. CVC and all departmental vigilance will be merged into Lokpal and state vigilance will be merged into Lokayukta. | No action is taken against corrupt judgesbecause permission is required from the Chief Justice of India to even register an FIR against corrupt judges. Lokpal & Lokayukta shall have  powers to investigate and prosecute any judge  without needing anyone’s permission. | Nowhere to go  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ People expose corruption but no action is taken on their complaints. | Lokpal & Lokayukta will have to  enquire into and hear every complaint. | There is so much corruption within CBI and vigilance departments. Their functioning is so secret that it encourages corruption within these agencies. | All investigations in Lokpal & Lokayukta shall be transparent. After completion of investigation, all case records shall be open to public. Complaint against any staff of Lokpal & Lokayukta shall be enquired and punishment announced within two months. | Weak and corrupt people are appointed as heads  of anti-corruption agencies. | Politicians will have absolutely no say in selections  of Chairperson and members of Lokpal & Lokayukta. Selections will take place through a transparent and public participatory process. | Citizens face harassment  in government offices. Sometimes they are forced to pay bribes. One can only complaint to senior officers. No action is taken on complaints because senior officers also get their cut. Lokpal & Lokayukta will get  public grievances resolved in time bound manner, impose a penalty of Rs 250 per day of delay to be deducted from the salary of guilty officer and award that amount as compensation to the aggrieved citizen. | Nothing in law to recover ill gotten wealth. A corrupt person can come out of jail and enjoy that money. | Loss  caused to the government due to corruptionwil l be recovered  from all accused. | Small punishment for corruption-  Punishment for corruption is minimum 6 months and maximum 7 years. | Enhanced punishment –  The punishment would be minimum 5 years and maximum of life imprisonment. |

Human’s Identity in a Globalized World

Salomon Djakpa Professor Ralph Satterthwaite English 14-001 17 March 2013 Human’s Identity in a Globalized World Globalization has become a highly debated concept around the world. Globalization can be simply understood as â€Å"a process of  global economical, political and cultural integration† (thefreedictionary. com). Today the world has become global and integral and all of its major parts are completely interconnected like in a tiny village. Globalization is an everyday process that brings a cultural unification and changes people’s psychology.Globalization is happening almost everywhere in the world and having various impacts on people. It is a process that is bringing the world smaller and smaller and also imposing a change on people’s cultural level. People’s identity is changing because of globalization. Globalization has made the world we are living today more complex and culturally pluralized. Many people migrate to new places and are forced to adopt a new culture. However, their traditions might not fade away because they will always be part of their identity.Certain people believe that there is a connection between globalization and Americanization. However, in his essay â€Å"Globalization vs. Americanization†, Andrew Lam argues that there is a difference between globalization and Americanization even though it is sometimes hard to make that distinction. His essay interprets the divergences among cultures in the twenty-first century and how living in this century has blurred those distinctions. In his essay, Lam uses his own life experience to tell how globalization has changed his behaviors, thoughts and feelings.He believes that â€Å"man’s identity is in conflict† as a result of globalization. Many people often migrate to a new place and their identity becomes disturbed as a result of this dislocation. I believe Lam’s assertion can be true and totally agree with it because people can tend to follow their own culture as well as their new culture. Andrew Lam argues that â€Å"man’s identity is in conflict† as a result of globalization because of how it changed and disturbed people’s identity. Although someone’s identity is very precious and memorable, it can be hreatened at any time because of globalization. Lam stated: To want to be rooted is a deep human desire, of course, but to be displaced and uprooted, alas, is a human condition — Man's fate. All over the world, people are moving from language to language, from culture to culture, sensibility to sensibility, negotiating across time zones and continents. It's a world that resists simplification. Man's identity is in conflict, has become both the cause of pain and fear for some and the source of enormous inspiration for others. I am inclined, of course, to be on the side of the latter. (par. 13)Lam is trying to show us that an individual’s traditions, background, foundation and culture define him and to want to stay attached to his roots is a profound desire. However, your condition can alter at any time and lead you to move out of your place. All over the globe, people are switching accent, adopting a new culture and having new customs. These transformations are taking place in today’s globalized world. Lam is also arguing that some people fear changing their identity while it is just a stimulus for others. The world is becoming more sophisticated and complex but less manageable.Furthermore, to support his claim, Andrew Lam demonstrates how the growing towns of ethnic enclaves are proliferating in America. They are rapidly changing the American culture. These homogenous and culturally distinct societies are challenging the old ideas of the melting pot and integration. He explains the concept of this pluralistic society that emerged because of globalization. He also maintains that globalization has created a new man with a talent and the ability to overcome contradictory identities by creating new interactions between them.A new man able to hold contradictory ideas and resist the xenophobic and fundamentalistic views. Someone able to see the world with its many ranges at the same time. Andrew Lam is a result of globalization. He grew up to be a patriotic citizen of South Vietnam. He followed his culture’s tradition and promised that he would protect his homeland, but later he had to migrate overseas to build a completely different life. As Lam noted, â€Å"Yesterday my inheritance was simple–the sacred rice fields and rivers that defined who I was† (par. 6).The country Lam was from defined him and his cultural traditions. He grew up to become a rice farmer like the past generation but after migrating to a new country his identity changed. This was his identity before the global transformation of migration. He was only connected to the people who were in Vietnam but after travelling abroad he became aware that he had so many friends and relatives who lived in different countries. His identity is today bound up with multiple communities. He learned about aspects his friends had that were different from his.My own life experiences made me agree with Lam’s position. I migrated to the United States in search of the American dream. Traveling from Africa to America, which once required months at sea, now only takes hours in the air. All of this is because of the process of globalization. Today my identity is bound with a new community. I can honestly say my identity is changing because my tongue is slowly switching to the American language; I have slowly adopted the American culture. However, I follow my own culture as well.Due to migration, I have to learn a second language as well as a new culture. However, I still manage to speak French, my first language. Today I have this deep belief in the American dream and also that miracles are real and one day there will be n o more crime or violence. Migrating to this new country has showed me different perspectives of the world and varieties of teachings and moral support. My changing identity, new beliefs and my life as an immigrant are all experiences that make me accept Lam’s assertion.Globalization is one of the most contested concepts around the world and it has such a great impact on selves. Andrew Lam interprets in his essay globalization and its major effects on people’s identity. He clarifies that â€Å"man’s identity is in conflict† because of globalization. He was himself a result of globalization after being affected by the global transformation of migration. He saw his behaviors, thoughts and feelings changing rapidly after moving. His pluralized identity is one reason that makes him feel that man’s identity is in danger.I totally agree with Lam’s opinion because of my life experiences and how globalization has had a great impact on me. I really th ink globalization has today transformed people’s identity in many ways. Many people migrate to new places and are likely to follow their culture as well as their new culture. Globalization has given people new traditions, perspectives of the world and customs. In today’s globalized world, identity has become more conflicting than ever. Work Cited Lam, Andrew. â€Å"Globalization vs. Americanization. † AlterNet. (2004): 2. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.