Wednesday, August 26, 2020

binge drinking Essay -- essays research papers fc

What Causes Binge Drinking      Binge Drinking is a fascinating marvel that numerous undergrads partake in the whole way across the nation. The issue of hard-core boozing has been an issue on school grounds for a considerable length of time. Hitting the bottle hard has numerous awful impacts, yet the issue begins with the foundations for it. In the event that the causes could be controlled, at that point the issue would not turn crazy. Numerous undergrads give various reasons for their drinking issues, and specialists regarding the matter have their clarifications too. The issue is, while developing through pre-adulthood anything can turn into a reason for drinking, for example,  ¡Ã¢ §its Thursday the day preceding Friday, we have to drink⠡â ¨ or,  ¡Ã¢ §it⠡â ¦s the last Wednesday of the semester, lets get some beer.⠡â ¨      Binge drinking has various definitions yet many would concur that  ¡Ã‚ §Binge drinking has been characterized as drinking more than 4-5 beverages in succession at a time. A beverage is characterized as a 12 ounce can or container of brew, a wine cooler, a four ounce glass of wine, or an injection of liquor⠡â ¨ (Rhodes 1). Others accept that men who devour 5-6 beverages and ladies who expend 4-5 beverages are likewise viewed as Binge Drinkers. By and by I don't believe that sex matters, on the off chance that somebody is expending different beverages to turn out to be profoundly inebriated they ought to be viewed as a Binge Drinker.      One article that covers the consequences of a national study expresses that  ¡Ã‚ §Adolescents ¡Ã‚ ¦ levels of liquor and medication use have been seen as unequivocally connected with peers⠡â ¦ use. Nonetheless, different investigations have demonstrated that a student⠡â ¦s drinking was all the more unequivocally affected by the amount the person in question idea dear companions drank than by impression of the degree of utilization by understudies in general ¡Ã‚ ¨(Results 2). This is an explanation that I can concur with on the grounds that growing up I have viewed numerous youngsters gotten significantly affected by their companions. Presently a days the expression  ¡Ã¢ §peer pressure⠡â ¨ focuses on pressure from an immediate gathering of companions instead of an understudies peers all in all. Another explanation the article gives for the reason for Binge Drinking is that  ¡Ã‚ §Students who see that more drinking happens than really furnishes them selves with a reason for drinking more in light of the fact that  ¡Ã¢ ¥everyone is doing it⠡⠦⠡â ¨ (Results 2). Everybody realizes that most youths need what each other child has, this thought relates in the... ...nge drinking. Nearly anything can turn into a reason for hitting the bottle hard. There are things that legitimately lead to drinking issues, for example, discouragement yet the majority of the foundations for it are only any old reason. On the off chance that I needed to settle on primary driver for hard-core boozing they would be wretchedness and basic reasons that give understudies motivation to drink. Individuals that are discouraged as a rule have musings of abandoning life, so by drinking they are simply facilitating their agony. The vast majority of the hitting the bottle hard that goes on in school is on the grounds that understudies feel that they should drink, its a school custom as it were. This is the reason understudies will utilize any reason they can to drink. Works Cited Nervousness and Binge Drinking. 30 Oct. 2000. <http://www.stuaffairs.rhodes.edu/couns/bgdrink.html.> Houser, Regan. Message in a Bottle. 30 Oct. 2000. <http://www.iup.edu/puboff/iupmag/backissues/win99/message.html.> Counteraction Primer: Binge Drinking. 30 Oct.2000. <http://www.drugs.indiana.edu/distributions/ncadi/preliminary/binge.html.> Wechsler, Henry and Kuo, Meichun. Undergrads Define Binge Drinking and Estimate Its Prevalence: Results of a National Survey. EBSCO Publishing 29 Oct. 2000

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Facial Identification Of Driver Fatigue Health And Social Care Essay

Driver exhaustion is every now and again one of the prima reasons for auto collisions. In this finishing up twelvemonth endeavor, a figuring machine vision assault which misuses the driver ‘s facial look is thought of, using a blend of the Viola-Jones face detecting procedure and bolster vector machines to sort facial visual viewpoint and discover the level of weariness.Section 1: DescriptionIntroductionStatisticss show that driver exhaustion is as often as possible one of the prima reasons for auto collisions. In the course of the last not many mature ages, a clump of research and endeavor has been advanced in planing frameworks that screen both driver and driving open introduction. A processing machine vision assault which misuses the driver ‘s facial look is considered in this closing twelvemonth endeavor. The Viola-Jones continuous item detecting model taking a shot at a helped course of Haar swell attributes is embraced for face detecting. To discover the level of ex haustion, various trademark classification is so performed using bolster vector machines. The intentions in taking to build up the framework in this mode are the quick face detecting times combined with the basic and modest generally speaking execution, staying away from the interest to place in costly and complex hardware.Concise Literature ReviewThis development gives a wide reappraisal of the scholarly business related to confront detecting in exhaustion observing frameworks and engineerings, focusing curiously on what has been done in the field of driver exhaustion. In development 1.2.1, a few insights of weariness related engine vehicle mishaps are referenced and dissected. Segment 1.2.2 high spots a portion of the more fruitful frameworks ( both business and non-business ) that have been executed in ongoing mature ages. On the different manus, region 1.2.3 nowadayss an edifying review of the calculations and procedures regularly utilized in the improvement of such frameworks, especially those refering to both face and facial trademark detecting. Delegate plants for every one of these strategies will be included.Statisticss Related to Driver FatigueDriver exhaustion has been one of the main sources of course mishaps and human passings in late mature ages, and in this region an exertion is made to closer view a portion of the a greater amount of import measurements that exhibit this negative inclination. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ( NHTSA ) [ 1 ] estimations that 2-23 % of all vehicle thumps can be ascribed to driver exhaustion. Each twelvemonth, around 100,000 auto collisions and 71,000 damages identified with driver languor are accounted for in the United States, out of which more than 1,300 are lethal [ 2 ] . The NHTSA [ 3 ] other than reports that in the twelvemonth 2005 totally, there were around 5,000 course human passings ( around 8.4 % ) which were caused either by driver heedlessness ( 5.8 % ) or languid and exhausted drive ( 2.6 % ) . Moreover, 28 % of lethal car crashes were because of path looking after disappointment, one of the roundabout impacts of exhaustion on drivers, following in the loss of 16,000 lives. Without a doubt, truck drivers are progressively fit to tire mostly on account of the extended periods of time went on primary streets, taking to unavoidable unexceptional excursions. Truth be told, a review by the U.S. National Transportat ion Safety Board ( NTSB ) [ 4 ] affirmed that exhaustion was the discovering factor in 51 out of 87 occasions of truck mishaps. These daunting measurements highlighted the interest to plan and actualize frameworks equipped for following and breaking down a driver ‘s facial highlights or natural structure areas and giving an admonition signal at the main observable characteristics of exhaustion to look for and prevent the feasible occurring of a mishap. In the accompanying development of this writing reappraisal, a figure of these frameworks will be presented.Existing Fatigue Monitoring SystemsMany various assaults for frameworks undertaking the activity of driver weakness have been contemplated and actualized in the course of the last barely any mature ages. Prior gadgets would in general be rather meddlesome, requiring physical contact to mensurate exhaustion attributes while driving. These qualities included chest rate changeability, investigation of encephalon flags each piece great as the driver ‘s physiological area. Different frameworks examined the connection of driver drowsiness to moving catch and vehicle movements, with some other than utilizing path following establishments. Notwithstanding, the point of convergence these days is more towards autonomous non-meddlesome frameworks that work out of sight without avoiding the driver in any way, ready to watch and track caput and oculus movements by organizations of at least one cameras mounted on the vehicle ‘s splashboard. The majority of stocks following exhaustion have been intended for on-street vehicles, for example, automobiles, trucks and motors, and these will be looked into in the undermentioned region. In Section 1.2.2.2, different sorts of exhaustion checking frameworks that have been sent will be analysed.On-Road Fatigue Monitoring SystemsCommercially Implemented SystemsIn the framework introduced by Advanced Brain Monitoring Inc. [ 5 ] , a caput mounted gadget in the signifier of a baseball top uses the encephalon ‘s EEG ( Electroencephalography ) signs to mensurate exhaustion. Two terminals i nside the baseball top are associated with the driver ‘s scalp to catch these signs, guiding them by means of remote moving edges to a preparing gadget 20 pess off from the driver. Russian merchant Neurocom promoted the Engine Driver Vigilance Telemetric Control System ( EDVTCS ) [ 6 ] for utilization inside the Russian railroad framework. EDVTCS constantly track drivers ‘ physiological area by mensurating changes in the electro cuticular action ( EDA ) for example changes in the covering ‘s restriction to power dependent on the eccrine sweat secretory organs of the human natural structure, found mainly on the thenar of our authorities and the colloidal suspensions of our pess. One of the first non-meddlesome driver exhaustion managing frameworks was ASTiD ( Advisory System for Tired Drivers ) [ 7 ] . It comprises of a forward-thinking information base hypothetical record uncovering a 24-hour expectation structure sing the chance of the driver going to kip piece in the driver's seat, and a direction wheel indicator framework fit for setting modest driving interims, for example, those in principle streets, each piece great as bizarre moving movements as an outcome of driver exhaustion. Path trailing is another assault assumed to position interruption structures while driving. SafeTRAC, by AssistWare Technology [ 8 ] , comprises of an image camera situated on the windscreen of the vehicle ( standing up to the course ) and a splashboard mounted having gadget to which it is associated. The camera can watch path markers in streets and issues hearable, visual or haptic alerts if flighty drive structures, for example, immutable impetuss between paths, are watched. Sing the issues experienced in before frameworks, more significance currently began being given to frameworks that observed driver head movements, face and facial qualities. Brains ( MicroNod Detection System ) , portrayed in [ 9 ] , ways head spot and movement, with caput gesturing being the central exhaustion trademark utilized for watching miniaturized scale rest ( brief times of interruption ) while driving. Head movement is followed by a variety of three capacitance finders found simply over the driver ‘s cockpit. One more assault was taken by David Dinges and Richard Grace [ 10 ] at the Carnegie Mellon Research Institute ( CMRI ) in the improvement of the PERCLOS delegate, which decides the oculus shutting per centum over clasp for weariness detecting. In [ 11 ] , PERCLOS is characterized as the extent of clasp the eyes are shut 80 % or more for a predetermined clasp interim. FaceLAB [ 12 ] central focuses on both face and oculus trailing, mensurating PERCLOS ( PERcentage of oculus CLOSure over clasp ) and dissecting water chickweeds in existent clasp ( including wink frequence and wink continuation ) . A significant contrast from different frameworks is that the total spot of the eyelid, rather than the impediment of the understudy, is utilized to mensurate oculus shutting, doing it considerably more exact. The 2001 AWAKE endeavor of the European Union [ 13 ] concentrated explicitly on driver exhaustion, incorporating a significant number of the previously mentioned advances. The central finish of this endeavor, ( its abbreviation representing System for solid Assessment of driver watchfulness and Warning Harmonizing to traffic peril Estimation ) , was to flexibly inquire about on the ongoing, non-nosy checking of the driver ‘s ebb and flow territory and driving open introduction. Numerous mates were engaged with AWAKE, including engineers, producers and suppliers of gadgets, inquire about foundations, colleges, automobile creators and terminal clients. The endeavor ‘s introductory closures were those of achieving more than 90 % reliability, a lower than 1 % bogus disappointment rate and a client assurance rate rising above 70 % . Vehicle creation organizations, for example, Toyota, Nissan and DaimlerChrysler [ 9 ] are other than in the methodology of building up their ain exhaustion overseeing systems.Research Based SystemsMany look into archives firmly identified with driver weakness observing have been distributed in late mature ages. Arranged assaults have been proposed, among which skin shading material data has been extremely mainstream. Smith [ 14 ] nowadayss a framework dependent on skin shading material predicates to discover exhaustion from oculus wink rate and caput rotational movement data. Also, in the look way checking framework proposed by Wahlstrom et Al. [ 15 ] , shading material predicates are utilized to turn up the lip part by finding those pels that coordinate the required shading material qualities. Face extraction by skin shading material cleavage using the standardized RGB skin shading material hypothetical record is embraced in both [ 16 ] and [ 17 ] . Veeraraghavan and Pap

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Our Favorite Books from Elementary, Middle, and High School

Our Favorite Books from Elementary, Middle, and High School Pencils are being sharpened and backpacks being packed: its back to school time. And frankly, that makes me a bit nostalgic for my school days, especially for the books I read in school. I remember my elementary school library had a claw-foot tub in the library, with a sleeping bag and throw pillows, you know, thrown in, and I remember fondly the feeling of sitting in a bathtub in the middle of a library, reading books. Im not the only one who looks back fondly on school books. When I asked my fellow Rioters to weigh in with their most memorable books, they provided their own bits of nostalgia. So heres a list of our most memorable books from elementary, middle, and high school. Elementary School Dana Staves:   Number the Stars by Lois Lowry I read this in fifth grade, and it was the first time I encountered a story about kids in the Holocaust. I vividly remember the scene where Nazi soldiers come to the house, looking for Jews who might be hidden there; Annemarie’s family is hiding her Jewish friend, Ellen, and before the soldiers can reach them, Annemarie yanks her friend’s Star of David necklace off to protect her. It was a situation unlike I had ever encountered, and it scared me, but it also gave me hope for friendship and strength.   Kate Scott:  The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien   My dad read this to me when I was a small. I fell in love with Middle Earth (and the fantasy genre in general) and went on to become a full fledged LOTR junkie in middle school.   Alison Peters:  Anything at all by Beverly Cleary, but particularly the Ramona Quimby series. I didn’t have a sister, and Ramona and Beezus’s relationship just sounded wonderful to me. I loved their adventures, fights, make ups, and the way they stood up for each other. And it was my first experience with dying for the newest book in the series to come outpaving the way for so many, many more series I couldn’t live without.   Amanda Diehl:  The Oz series by L. Frank Baum. My library had the entire collection and I can still picture in my mind where they were located on the shelves. It was so whimsical and fun and I loved all of the illustrations. I remember being disappointed that so much of Oz wasn’t covered in the original film because there were cooler inhabitants than Munchkins and Flying Monkeys.   Rachel Manwill:    Matilda and The BFG by Roald Dahl. I started my elementary school life in England. Because of this, I missed some of the typical American literature as a kid, but I did have the pleasure of discovering Roald Dahl, and these two books in particular had a profound impact on my reading life, even to this day. They were my first introductions to magical realism and the knowledge that sometimes grown-ups suck.   Rachel Cordasco:  Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder- I was always interested in stories of pioneers and adventure, but this book (and the rest of the series by Laura Ingalls Wilder) made me fall in love with this period of American history. I suffered through the locusts and harsh winters with the Ingalls family, and I roamed the plains and explored with Laura. These books shaped me in crucial ways, and I find it only fitting that I wound up moving from the east coast to Wisconsin, much like Laura’s parents did.   Nikki Steele:   I was ALL about Matilda when I was growing upher bookishness, her magic, her amazing teacher. I wanted to be her, at least for the good parts. I also adored The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. It’s not the same re-reading those books, but I loved the adventure then and the sense of purpose all of those kids have. It’s also made reading The Magicians series by Lev Grossman that much more fun now.   Tasha Brandstatter:  The Ghost Wore Gray by Bruce Coville was the first book I loved. It had everything childhood me loved: ghosts, buried treasure, art, creaky old inns, and summer vacation. It also has one of my favorite lines ever in a MG novel: “What a hunk! Too bad he’s dead.” The rest of the books in this series, The Ghost in the Third Row and The Ghost in the Big Brass Bed, are delightful as well. I still reread them on occasion and they’ve stood the test of time.   Jessica Pryde:  I remember more the sensation of reading Number The Stars than the actual story. I recall the thrill of reading it the first time in third grade, and repeatedly returning to it as I saw it in my classroom library.  It was a combination of reading about a girl my age surviving through adversity, and a book I really enjoyed always being at my fingertips.  Also, Anansi the Spider gave me a really early appreciation of storytelling.   Peter Damien:  I read an awful lot of books as a kid, but I’m not sure any of them were having major emotional impacts on me. Maybe because I was a boy, or maybe because most of them were too busy being full of monsters. I don’t know. What I do know is that I read Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson as quickly and innocently as all those other booksand it obliterated me. The ending is abrupt and tragic (Do I need to worry about spoiling a book as old as Star Wars?) and I didn’t realize I had developed something of a crush on the girl until the ending happened. I remember wandering around the house, sad and hurt and bereft and entirely unprepared for that reaction. So profound was its effect, I have never gone back to it again.   Middle School Alison Peters:    Tess of the D’urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy. I think I was challenged to read this book before high school, and being the reading smart-ass that I was (am?), I took it up without hesitation. And I seriously loved this book, with its moors and lovers and jilted romance. But it really did take me till high school to get the gist of the whole ‘got pregnant in the field after doing it that one time’ vagueness. But it still stands out as one of my all time favorites.   Amanda Diehl:  Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman. This was probably the first epistolary novel I read and I was immediately taken with the genre. And, of course, we all have those amazing teachers who help guide us during our more formative years, so I found a lot of similarities between Sylvia and my favorite teacher (who also happened to teach English).   Swapna Krishna:  A Ring of Endless Light and Troubling a Star by Madeleine L’Engle. When I was in middle school, most of what I read was classics (upon reflection, I’m pretty sure I did NOT understand the books I was reading back then). These two books were the first YA books I’d read and to this day, they’re still on my bookshelves.   Rachel Manwill:   I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. As a military kid, I moved around a lot, and when I hit 7th grade, I ended up in an English class that bored me to tears because the books were so far below my reading level or I’d read them already. My teacher recognized this and gave me books that the other kids weren’t reading. Angelou’s memoir was the first one she gave me, and I remember staying after class to discuss it. I was profoundly honored that a teacher trusted me with that kind of material and it was cemented in my brain as my first “grown up” book.   Rachel Cordasco:  The Anne of Green Gables series by L. M. Montgomery- I absolutely fell in love with the rural landscape and people of Prince Edward Island, and Montgomery’s prose was vivid and entrancing. I remember binge-reading them with joy.   Nikki Steele:  One of my favorites memories was sitting in 7th grade English class reading Watership Down. At first, I just felt really cool reading my thick book when all the others kids were still paging through magazines or smaller books. It really ended up changing me, though, when I realized a somewhat cute story about rabbits, of all things, was becoming so much more.   Tasha Brandstatter:  The Vampire Diaries by LJ Smith. I went CRAZY over these books. Like full-on obsession, in the way only a teenager can obsess. I read all three books so often they started falling apart, wrote fan fiction, dressed like the characters, the whole nine yards. They were the first, and remain the only, books I’ve ever geeked out over like that (although I do love nearly all of LJ Smith’s other novels).   Jessica Pryde:  The Only Alien on the Planet by Kristen D. Randle. It was a RIF book I picked up in sixth grade, and I recall reading it multiple times over the next few years. A girl, new to school, strikes up a friendship-relationship with a kid who gets no love by anyone. He’s quiet, but super smart, and has a really snarky sense of humor; basically, he reminded me of me at a time where I didn’t really have a lot of friends. I was in love instantly, and that relationship was matched by none other while I was in middle school.   Peter Damien:  Star Wars: Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn doesn’t seem like it would be so important a book, given that it was “just” a tie-in novel, but it was a watershed moment for me. Not only because I discovered with Zahn’s trilogy that I could carry on my love of Star Wars into novels, but also because in or out of a media tie-in novel, Timothy Zahn is a superb science fiction writer. They were sprawling, epic novels (far better written than the movies, let’s be honest), and I was so enthused by them that I began writing. I haven’t stopped since. (They were also the first time I realized how books could be structured and mechanically shaped, the first time I noticed the authorial details and not just the story, and that was an immense benefit.) Dana Staves:  I was a late arrival at the  Little House on the Prairie party, and I only ever read the second book, but I remember sitting in the back of my sixth grade classroom, hating school (very unusual for me) and reading that book, and there being a description of cooking salted pork that made my mouth water and made me hate school more and wish for prairie life and salted pork and sunbonnets.   High School Kate Scott:  Jane Eyre  by Charlotte Brontë I read Jane Eyre the summer I was sixteen on a week-long vacation in Detroit. I was completely enraptured by Brontë’s use of language and it has remained one of my top five favorite novels of all time.   Alison Peters:    The House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende. This was assigned summer reading, and it just blew my mind. Up till that point, most of the school reading was American/English canon classics that the Norton publishing group would heartily approve of. My first glimpse into some South American history, magical goings-on and love across generations thrilled me, and changed what I enjoy reading, for the rest of my life.   Dana Staves:  Mythology by Edith Hamilton My 9th grade English teacher assigned this collection of mythology to us. It was such a drastic departure from anything I had ever read before. But the characters! Helen, with her face! Madea, totally freaking out! Odysseus, just trying to get home, and poor Penelope, weaving and unraveling. It was a new world with that book.   Amanda Diehl:  The Handmaid’s Tale and Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. And so began my love affair with Margaret Atwood. Though I feel The Handmaid’s Tale should be required reading for everyone, I think it’s especially important for young women. I remember having powwows with my girl friends over this book and it still gives me fond memories of female bonding. As for Oryx and Crake, well it’s just plain amazing.   Rachel Manwill:  Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner. This is the book that taught me that it’s okay to hate a piece of literature. I read this as summer reading before my senior year and I actually flung it across the room because I hated it so much. But once I calmed down, and finished it (begrudgingly), I had to write an essay about it. And trying to channel all my dislike into a coherent and competent 3-page paper was the hardest piece of writing I’d ever had to do. But I picked apart the things I liked from the things I didn’t, and being able to explain what I disliked allowed me far more insight and as a reader from then on.   Rachel Cordasco:  Death in Venice by Thomas Mann- I read this novella for a high school lit group, and fell in love with Mann for ever and ever to eternity. His exploration of a life devoted to art, and aesthetics in relation to sensuality, were fascinating. Mann’s prose is also exquisite and expressive, the kind of style that inspires its readers to write.   Nikki Steele:  I’m going to echo Alison up there and say that Allende wrote the most memorable book for me in high school. On the Road by Kerouac was a close second, because teenagers and hormones and wanderlust and such, but The Stories of Eva Luna was so much more. It gave me new ideas of what it meant to be a woman. It played with fact and fiction in a daring way that absolutely thrilled me. It was also one of the first times I read about sex where it wasn’t talked about as something earth-shattering, dangerous, taboo. Of course, it was those things but she also allowed it to be a normal part of life.   Tasha Brandstatter:  I read so many incredible books in high school that not only shaped the way I read and look at literature, but affected my view of the world, from Jane Eyre (my favorite book of all time), to The Age of Innocence to Things Fall Apart. But for this exercise I’m going to go with Stranger in My Arms by Lisa Kleypas. Here’s the deal: I’d always been a bit snobby about romance novels, but I was sitting around my grandparents’ house one summer day, super duper bored, and Stranger in My Arms was lying open on my grandfather’s chair. Yes, my grandfather read romance novels. By the truck load. Anyway, I picked Stranger in My Arms up, thinking I’d just flip through it, and a romance reader was born. Thanks to Lisa Kleypas and that book, romance novels were the only books I willingly read, or wanted to read, for the next decade. And none of my grandfather’s Lisa Kleypas books were safe after that.   Jessica Pryde:  There were two books I read in high school (well, one is technically a series) that influenced my reading forever. The first was The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. My best friend and I had determined to read it “together” while she was summering in New York and I was working in DC. I’d been a vampire girl since Buffy and the Interview with the Vampire movie, and this just sealed the deal. I spent the next year or so eating the Anne Rice backlist, found more and more awesome stories about vampires before they were all the rage, and used Lestat as my measurement of greatness in all fictional men, period. He was nearly overthrown by Mr. Darcy.  Pride and Prejudice. I read it first in ninth grade for a technical reading course, and was impressed, intrigued, but hadn’t really expanded my purview. I read it again in eleventh grade as part of a research projectand discovered online fanfiction in my research. I was forever changed. I didn’t read anything but Prid e and Prejudice fanfiction for likethree years. And while I have moved back into the world of books, and moved on to different fandoms, I still go back to my roots sometimes. Peter Damien:  Somewhere in my high school years, I discovered Harlan Ellison, and it was a godsend. I think that’s probably the best age for anyone to discover his works. Yes, I was floored by “Repent, Harlequin!” Said The Ticktock Man and other such storiesbut it was his video interviews, and his nonfiction, and some of his other stories that were vital to me. They contained the same bottomless well of anger which I had, but that anger was not a wildfire, it was a fuel and it was powering this vast and roaring engine. For the first time, with Ellison for support, I began to figure out how to express myself, how to be angry and how to stop putting up with bullshit when it was important not to do so. Other books may have helped me write, or read more widely, but Ellison’s work helped me begin to live and function, and I’m immeasurably grateful. And also, “Lonelyache” is the single most perfect title and aptly descriptive word ever used, honestly. Sign up to The Kids Are All Right to receive news and recommendations from the world of kid lit and middle grade books. 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Sunday, May 24, 2020

Understanding the Importance of an Innovation - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1757 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Education Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? Effective innovation can help organization to transform poor businesses into world great leaders. The ability of the organizations to manage innovation is a key step towards the organization competence in the environment. In todays era organizations are required to keep tools that can help organization for the relationship and knowledge exchange of innovation not only in their boundaries but also towards the collaboration across organizations. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Understanding the Importance of an Innovation" essay for you Create order Innovation is one of the best ways to grow economies providing the organizations with the ability to adapt the change and keep on growing (Dooley OSullivan 2007). To innovate on a regular basis organizations have to acquire a strong knowledge capability through a qualified workforce that can manage innovation. The strategies used to manage innovation also depend on the size of the different organization. As large organizations have easy access to the conventional factors such as skilled workers, better knowledge infrastructure, and better technology as compared to the small organizations. On the other hand small organizations have also got their strengths in factors like trust, homogeneity which can help small organizations to find innovation as productive means to develop in the growing world. To maximize knowledge spillovers in an organization localization and urbanization effects can be used to strengthen the economy by innovation (Therrien 2005) It has been widely accepted that innovation is amongst the major roads for the organizations to survive in this competitive world of today and to achieve sustainable development path. Knowledge has always played an important part for helping the organization to gain competitive advantage in the market over its competitors. The increase in the learning capacity is an important for an organization as they can get the modern technology from the other organizations but before that they should the way to use it more effectively and efficiently for their use. (Varbalane, Dyker Tamm 2007) According to Smith et.al (2008) Studies have found out that there are several factors which influence the innovation and few are discussed below: Technology which is often defined as an output of the innovation. Technology helps in to facilitate innovation. Organization structure: it is also an important factor influencing the innovation in organizations. It relates to the configuration of an organization and how it impac ts on an organizations ability to manage change in a more effective manner. Organization culture: it relates to the values and beliefs of the people of the organization and how can this impact on the innovation management of an organization. In this section it considers when organizations undergo collaboration to determine the risks they can face. Employees: employees of an organization also have a great influence on the innovation in the organization because of the different personal characteristics of different people in the organization. Knowledge: it relates to knowledge available in an organization and how it can be used effectively for managing innovation in the organization. Management Style Leadership: it defines the way the upper management influences its employees and how the staff of an organization is motivated by the leader to adapt to the innovation change in an organization. Organizational change is defined as the adoption of a new idea or behavior by an organization. There are some elements that are considered to be essentially present in the organization for it to implement the change successfully. If the organizations are missing any of the elements mentioned, the organization will fail to implement the change. The elements considered important for the change process are: Ideas: it is very hard for organizations to come up with new ideas in todays world otherwise they will be lagging behind in this competitive world. There should be creativity in the organizations which helps organization to respond to the better opportunities more effectively. Need: there should be a need for the organization otherwise the new ideas of the organizations are not going to be considered seriously which will result in failure of the change process in the organization. Adoption: the Managers and Employee have to be in agreement with each other to support change Implementation: it occurs when the organization actually starts using the n ew proposed idea. To make the implementation successful the organization has to provide support to the employees to overcome the problems which they are facing towards the new change which can be like providing training, new equipment to the employees. (Daft, 2007) According to Bell (2007) there are three forms of the technological capabilities that can help to promote creation, development and use of knowledge in efficient and effective manner. The three forms are as follows: Operating Production capabilities are defined as the sections which uses the knowledge that is closely related with the existing production capabilities and the facilities in the organization. These cannot be directly related to the creation of a new knowledge but they help in the creation of new technologies in association with the research and development management capabilities. Designer Engineering department are associated with the capabilities that uses the existing knowledge to transform i nto new, innovative configurations that can led to the development of a new production system. This is one of the capabilities that most of the developing economies are lacking and is the major drawback for the creation of new technology. Research Development capabilities that are used to create new technology. These capabilities of an organization provides a way for successful and commercialization of new knowledge.(Wamae 2009) It has been found through studies that development of technological capabilities requires a constant and complex process that is linked to the innovative efforts within the productive activities of an organization. The ways of learning that can create competitive skills includes two critical elements: Explicit learning: this is a process in which the staff is given specialized training inside or outside the firms. Learning by Doing: this can be achieved by doing the routine tasks but they do not add much too innovative capabilities of individual s in the organization while the other way to develop innovative capabilities is through practicing the innovative technology developing tasks which add much more to the innovative capabilities of an organization. (Wamae 2009) Its been found in management literature that some of the most dynamic innovators of the world work in collaborative network of alliances. They work in alliances through the liaisons that are the representative between the organizations to form a linkage between different organizations which otherwise are not connected to work together. The two distinctive innovative processes are called Knowledge Brokers and Technology Brokers. The broker acts as the intermediaries between the sources of new ideas and the potential users of those ideas in the innovative network (Winch Courtney 2007) Businesses which are serious about competing in the fast changing markets with fast changing technology must innovate otherwise they will be lagged behind in the line. Produc t innovation provides a important means for generating the revenues whereas the process innovation provides a mean for safeguarding and improving the quality. It also considers factors to save the costs related to the business and provide a better performance for the long term run of the business. In order to be the market champion an organization has to consider several factors which directly have an influence on the performance of the business. Organization has to consider factors like preferences of the customers, the likely reaction of the competitors and the core competencies of the business. So a business wanting to have good long run in the market have to consider all these factors carefully and have to be innovative (Johne 1999) Strategies According to Wang (2005) HRM strategies can help an organization to achieve higher performance through managing the innovation going in the organizations. There are many strategies which can be used to give rise to a better co-ordination working environment which relates to the outcome of an organization. It can make easy for the organizations to undergo innovation as they develop such an environment to provide better results in the organizations. Few strategies are discussed below: Personnel strategy: this strategy focuses on the HR practices which facilitate employees for high performance, providing motivation to the employees to work towards their goals; it also concentrates on enhancing their skills through team work and leadership. This can be achieved by training or supervising. System strategy: this strategy aims to get the communication channels structured in the organizations so that better decisions can be made and innovation can be handled more effectively. Orga nizational Strategy: this strategy emphasizes on the HR practices which encouraging team work, cross-cultural leadership qualities, and organizational development programs. Studies have shown that these strategies in organizations add towards the innovation management in organization. According to (Prajogo et.al 2007) Order Qualifiers are those criteria that an organization has to meet before being considered as a supplier while on the other hand the order winners are those criteria that win the order over competition. As at present the market conditions have changed due to which the basis of competition also has been changed to a great extent. The globalization is increasing day by day and there are lots of changes taking place in the markets where competitive dimensions such as flexibility, responsiveness and particularly the innovation are being regarded as the order winners in the changing market of today. Conclusion It has been found that innovation for every business in the market is really important and organizations have to understand its importance. They have to implement various strategies in their organization to make them prepare for any change that can occur at any time. Ità ¢ÃƒÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¬ÃƒÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¢s also been found that human resource of an organization are of real importance for the organization so they should be provided with adequate resources to learn and grow their skills which are an important factors to be considered for the innovation to be successful. In the end it found that innovation is crucial factor that all organizations have to consider to survive in this competing and changing world of today. Recommendations Organizations must innovate in this competing world to survive and grow. Organization structure and organization culture should be well maintained to manage innovation in a better way. Organizations should implement various training programs to provide their employees with better resources to learn and grow. (Varbalane, Dyker and Tamm 2007) Need to implement strategies with a long-term objective instead of short term financial objectives. The firms should be motivated to change and then should be supported for the process of building capabilities (Varbalane, Dyker and Tamm 2007). Human capital development which is an important factor should be considered carefully (Varbalane, Dyker and Tamm 2007). Adoption of better techniques to manage innovation

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Mental Health Awareness Across The United States - 1409 Words

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a national initiative to spread awareness to the constituents of the United States. On April 28, 2016, President Obama issued a Proclamation addressing Mental Health Awareness across the United States. He declared: Nearly 44 million American adults, and millions of children, experience mental health conditions each year, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress. This month, we renew our commitment to ridding our society of the stigma associated with mental illness, encourage those living with mental health conditions to get the help they need, and reaffirm our pledge to ensure those who need help have access to the support, acceptance, and resources†¦show more content†¦Together, we can help everyone get the support they need to recover as they continue along the journey to get well. Mental health is essential to a person’s overall health. The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined health as: â€Å"The state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Child and adolescent mental health problems are at a point of crisis for our nation. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has identified that one out of every ten children or adolescents has a serious mental health problem that interferes with daily functioning, and another 10% have mild to moderate problems and fewer than one in five of these children receive the mental health services they need. SAMHSA asserts that half of adult mental illness begins before the age of 14, and three-fourths before age 24. They go on to state that more than 40% of youth ages 13 to 17 have experienced a behavioral health problem by the time they reach seventh grade. Concluding that suicide is the third leading cause of death among youth ages 15 to 24 after accidents and homicide. The costs of failure to prove adequate services to children and adolescents with serious mental illnesses are well known: high rates of incarceration in juvenile facilities; family disrup tion; social isolation; school truancy and drop out; and

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Free Essays

Oil and gas production, drilling, and trading is a big issue in the United States. Currently, much of the oil we use comes from foreign sources. Many argue that we should reduce foreign oil dependency by reducing our consumption and by drilling for oil right here in the U. We will write a custom essay sample on Arctic National Wildlife Refuge or any similar topic only for you Order Now S. For approximately forty years, a debate has been brewing about oil exploration and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is 19,000,000 acres of land in northern Alaska, a U. S. state. It is the largest protected wilderness in the United States and was created by Congress under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) of 1980†³ (Wikipedia Foundation, Inc) More specifically, within the ANWR, a 1,500,000 acre area located between the Beaufort Sea(northern border), Brooks Range (southern border), and the Prudhoe Bay (western border) is the center of controversy. This area is commonly referred to as section 1002 because when the ANILCA was created, in section 1002 of the document, the decision of how to manage oil and gas exploration and development for this area was tabled. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc. ) There are various opinions with points for and against oil drilling in the ANWR’s section 1002. At this point, I am against it. I recently read a quote by U. S. , President, Barak Obama in Wikipedia. It states, â€Å"In a League of Conservation Voters questionnaire, Obama said, â€Å"I strongly reject drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge because it would irreversibly damage a protected national wildlife refuge without creating sufficient oil supplies to meaningfully affect the global market price or have a discernible impact on US energy security. † (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc) I have to say, I agree with President Obama 100%. This area is true wilderness. According to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, it is the most diverse ecosystem in northern Alaska. It is home to many Native Indian tribes, a large population of porcupine caribou, some large whales, and other smaller animals not popular elsewhere. Not to mention, it is on the coastal line of Alaska, which opens it up huge varieties of marine life and migrating birds from all over. Many people don’t realize that oil drilling is big business. It will not only require oil drilling equipment and stations, but there will be roads, airports, housing, shopping, etc. This means much of the land will forever be affected. Many animal habitats and natural migratory and breeding patterns may be disrupted. The air and water will be polluted from vehicle traffic, the oil drilling itself, and many other human behaviors. Human waste will need to be dealt with. You name it, it will be a problem. Another concern is the potential for accidental pollution. As a matter of fact, in 1989, there was a bill on the table and it looked like it might make it through the Senate, to allow the drilling, when the infamous Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska. It was the largest spill of its kind where 260,000 to 750,000 barrels of crude oil spilled out of the tanker and into the surrounding waters, killing and injuring countless wildlife and destroying their habitats. (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc) Lastly, experts are not even sure how much oil is even there. A U. S. Geological Survey published in 1998 stated there was between 5. 7 billion barrels to 16 billion barrels of recoverable oil and natural gas liquids the ANWR’s coastal plain area. As compared to an estimated 120 billion in the rest of the U. S. It is estimated that drilling in area 1002 would amount to about 1% world oil production by the year 2030. (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc) This would create such a small impact on the products and services generated at the end user level. In other words, the rich oil investors will get richer and people like me will be no better off. The benefits do not outweigh the risks. I say not to drilling in the ANWR! Works Cited Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Arctic Refuge drilling controversy. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Ed. 7 September 2012. Web. en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Arctic_Refuge_drilling_controversy. 30 September 2012. How to cite Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Essay examples

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Managerial Ethics free essay sample

This paper is a summary of my understanding of how ethics has helped base my belief  system on a personal level as well as in the workplace as a professional. The learning  process is perpetual and the recent class on Managerial ethics has given me new insightson how I can still hold onto my own values while remaining respectful to those whovalue different ethical perspectives. Ethics can be defined as a philosophical study of moral values based on the concept of  right and wrong. An ethical perspective could be considered as a person’s individual  perception of moral values, beliefs, and rules based on his or her personal view of rightand wrong. My perspective on Ethics Ethics are a very important aspect of the success of an individual or a company. There are many decisions within a company that managers must base around thecompany’s ethical standards. Ethics are not only a guideline to employee and employer  Ã‚  behavior, but also the company’s behavior as a whole. Possessing good, strong ethics willhelp a company attract and keep customers. Without ethics, there would be no way for a  person to judge right from wrong, which is why it is important to have a good sense of  Ã‚  personal ethics awareness. My ethical perspective is obligation or deontology-one that is centered on a feeling asthough I have an obligation to do what is right. When judging whether or not a person’sactions are ethical or not, I tend to base my decisions on the intent of the person’s actionsand not the actual outcome,In order for a person with the obligation perspective to agree with a person or company’sethics, the ethics set in place should be suitable in every situation, respectful toeveryone’s character, and promoting of every individual’s freedom and independence. With an obligatory perspective, a person believes that everyone deserves respect and theright to make their own decisions. A few more ethical perspectives encountered in our workplaceVirtue Perspective A person possessing the character or virtue perspective does not believe that everyone iscapable of making their own decisions. This perspective is based on the belief that a  person must possess good character in order to make an ethical decision. Those with thevirtue perspective believe that a person’s character is by far, more important than a  person’s actions. No matter what a person’s intentions are, someone with the virtue  perspective does not believe that they are ethical unless they are constantly striving to bemorally good. Ethical decision making within this perspective is based on thedevelopment of practical wisdom within individuals. The perspective based on virtuedoes not believe that a person’s actions reflect their ethics; however, the utilitarianism  perspective believes just the opposite. Utilitarianism perspective A person possessing the results or utilitarianism view tends to base their ethical  perspective solely on the results of their actions. This perspective believes that their  ethical decisions should benefit as many individuals as possible. When debating over  whether or not a decision is ethical, those with utilitarianism views must see results. Theyrefuse to believe anything that they hear until it is proven to them. A person with this  perspective believes that all people deserve to have a good life; if someone is unhappy,they believe that something should be done in order to correct that. A person with theutilitarianism perspective believes that there is a solution to every ethical dilemma. Relativism perspective The equity or relativism perspective is based on the unpredictability of human awareness. The decision of whether an action or decision is ethical is based on the consequences thatthe decision has brought. A person with the relativism perspective does not believe inunity or equality among individuals. They also believe that there is no definite right or  wrong in any situation; they believe that with new knowledge and differentcircumstances, a person may find it necessary to change their point of view and beliefs. No matter what perspective a person holds when dealing with ethics, there will always beethical dilemmas that a person will be forced to face. While holding the deontology  perspective, I believe that everyone deserves respect from others. This can make it verydifficult to agree with some decisions that may be made within my company. Who decides what is right or wrong? A person’s view of right and wrong will differ from others, as will their beliefs of  whether or not all people can make decisions that benefit their own personal interests. Many of us were taught at a young age the golden rule, Do unto others as you wouldhave them do unto you. This is a very solid rule that we all seem to get away from, timeto time. Many of us were told fables and wives tales, or ethical narratives as we now callthem, that taught us how to live and interact with others. But where do we learn the rulesthat these fables didnt teach us, like, when is it appropriate to alter nature? Who decideswhat is right and correct there? Is there any common ground on issues like resurrectingextinct animals, cloning, or the human genome project? This brings us the field of applied ethics-an area in ethics that deals with how one shouldreact in specific situations, and especially with how our social policies ought to beformed to ensure the most balanced ethical standards. Learning about the different perspectives of ethics is a very important aspect of career  success. By knowing what category I fall under based on my answers in the EthicsAwareness Inventory, I can better understand my own decisions and beliefs. Having thisknowledge will come in very helpful when working with others that hold different  perspectives. Companies perspective on ethical practices today In the workplace, ethics and social corporate responsibly is a guide to decision-makingand fair treatment of employees and consumers. Ethical behavior, at its most basic level, is what most people in a given society or groupview as being moral, good, or right. Some societies emphasize moral conduct based onabstract moral principles, the violation of which is expected to cause feelings of guilt. Itis important to understand that what is right and wrong is not always easy to determineas there is no universally accepted code of behavior to aid decision makers. Knowledgeof the home market and foreign markets is essential to arriving at ones own behavior  code for each situation faced. No management can ignore the environment in which itoperates and the success of organizations may depend to a large extent upon their publicimage The attitude of management to labor is at the core of the social responsibility of  management. Ethics for me in Personal life The family is described as the natural and fundamental group unit of society and isentitled to protection by society and the State. Personal relations in family is one of themost important elements of personal development and maturity of a personality. We livein a multicultural society based on different values and traditions. If a bond between parents and children is broken, it can lead to negative consequencestraumatic for both. Thus in many cultures, family is a keeper of traditions and values,social norms and behavior patterns Ethics for me at my workplace The potential impact of my values in the workplace may be both, positive and negative. The positive side would be that by treating others with dignity and respect might help  better the employee surroundings. In turn this may help those employees decide on howto treat others, because they enjoy being treated respectfully and with dignity. Another positive example occurs when my values and ethics guide me to treat thecustomers in a respectful and honest manner. Doing so will ensure my integrity as a  business professional and while allowing me to gain the trust of the customers. Thiswould increase my performance. Offering a product or service in which I believe that  performs as expected, will give me a sense of pride on what I am doing. On the negative side, having to be deceptive with the public or the customers in order tomeet sales goals or quotas would decrease my performance on the workplace Conclusion Before beginning this class , ethics was not something that I gave much consideration toeven though it was already a part of my daily life. During the course conducted by Father  Paul, I have learned there is an importance in managing ethics on a personal level as wellas in the workplace as a professional. Ethics hold tremendous benefits for organizationsand its employees, both moral and practical. The principle of sustainability takes a larger worldview and strives to take futuregeneration into consideration, and to live with the awareness that present actions make animpact on others . It takes a larger worldview into consideration and its emphasis aresocial integrity, stability and improvement in the quality of life.