A Hill Of Fury Essays - Volcanology, Volcanic Rocks, Soufrire Hills

A Hill of Fury: Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat Island After 400 years of quiet slumber, the Soufriere Hills volcano on the tiny island of Montserrat in the Carribean Sea (Figure 1), came to life in the summer of 1997. The eruptions threatened the original 11,000 residents of the island and even today continue to be a nuisance to the remaining 4,000 people who refuse to leave the island, despite warnings of impending danger. At least 20 people have already been killed, and several villages destroyed. The Montserrat Volcano Observatory analyzes the active volcano and provides information to scientists and residents of the island (Montserrat Volcano Observatory 12). The worst of the eruption may or may not have already passed. Fig.2 Pyroclastic flows reached the Sea and formed a delta at the mouth of a major river (Discovery 1). Residents of Montserrat face many potential dangers as a result of the Soufriere Hills Volcano. A deadly combination of ash, rock, and hot gases form pyroclastic flows which travel down the steep slopes of the volcano at speeds which are often more than 100 miles per hour (Skurzinsky 39). Eruptions of Soufriere Hills in June, August, and December of 1997 created pyroclastic flows which blasted toward the sea along the White River at high speeds (Figure 2). Several villages were destroyed as a result. The capital city, Plymouth, was burned to the ground, and then covered in volcanic rock and ash (Figure 3). Twenty people were killed, despite evacuation attempts and warnings. One Hundred seventy-five homes were destroyed and the flows came within 200 feet of the airport (Williams 59). The monetary amount of the damage has not been calculated because the destroyed towns are uninhabita ble. Many people lost everything they had (Figure 4). An excerpt from the Montserrat Volcano Observatory describes the situation shortly after the eruption. Fig.3 The evacuated capital city, Plymouth, burned in Aug. 1997, as a result of the eruptions (National Geographic 1). "Pyroclastic flows from Soufriere Hills Volcano on Montserrat have reached the capital city of Plymouth. Many homes and businesses can be seen burning from several miles away. Fire fighters have been unable to stop these flames which threaten to consume the entire city. Ashfalls occurred in Iles Bay, Ole Towne, Salem, and several other areas west of the volcano (Montserrat Volcano Observatory 15)." Fig.4 Plymouth was left buried in ash by pyroclastic flows in the summer of 1997 (Discovery 2). Fig.5 A Montserrat resident watches as the volcano erupts and spews ashes over her town. Since the 1997 eruptions, villages near the volcano continuously experience dangerous ash dusting whenever the volcano spits magma from beneath the earth's surface. Sometimes, volcanic pebbles accompany the ash and can be dangerous as they fall from the sky. Ash gets everywhere; It kills gardens, grass pastures, and makes the roads slippery and dangerous for travel (Figure 5). In addition, breathing the ash-filled air can, over time, contribute to silicosis, a deadly disease of the lungs. The frequent earthquakes associated with the Soufriere Hills eruptions also pose a threat to residents. The Montserrat Volcano Observatory reported that the probability of future death is one in ten, or 10%. After the volcano reopened in 1997, a US geological team was sent to Montserrat, and the Montserrat Volcano Observatory kicked into high gear. In order to properly monitor the Soufriere Hills volcano, tiltmeters, seismometers, and gas analyzers were installed close by. Simon Young, A British volcanologist at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory commented on the technology in place. "There are five main areas of monitoring that we undertake. The first and really the foundation of monitoring is recording the earthquakes that go on underneath the volcano, and within the volcano, which are always associated with volcanic eruptions. We also have an electronic instrument that tells us whether the volcano is tilting . . . , swelling, or contracting . . . We collect samples from (the volcano) and . . . measure the gases (Montserrat Volcano Observatory 19)." Fig.6 Soldiers help residents evacuate the island in Aug. 1997 In addition to high tech monitoring and constant calculations, authorities have distributed helmets and gas masks to the 4,000 remaining residents. The helmets are to protect against airborne pebbles flying from the volcano and

Free Essays on Pollution Act

The Pollution Prevention Act of 1990: A Policy Who’s Time Has Come This article talks about the Prevention Pollution Act of the 1990’s. This particular act signifies an effort to reduce pollution and is an important part of American history. This was an earlier focus on the need to reduce or repair environmental damage by controlling pollutants at the point where they are released to the environment. Pollution was targeted over waterways, public highways, and over private property. Past provisions have not failed just needed to be updated for cleaner air, which is vital for the human body along with our surroundings. The law was enacted as Title VI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, P.L. 101-508, and is codified as 42 USC 13101-13109. The Environmental Protection Agency created a new office to advertise and invent an approach to cleaner air. This office is to bring new policies in front of congress to eliminate the sources of pollution. Auditing and promoting research is part of the process and enables the Environmental Protect ion Agency more authority to fight pollution. Also environmental public records are easier to access for the general public to be informed. Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 required owners and operators of many industrial facilities to report annually on their releases of toxic chemicals to the environment. The Pollution Prevention Act requires these reports to include information about the facility's efforts in source reduction and recycling. The major sections of The Prevention Act include Findings and Policy, definitions, EPA activities, grants to states for technical assistance, source reduction clearing house, source reduction and recycling data, EPA report, saving provisions, and authority of appropriations. This was an innovative procedure our federal government took to supply the Environmental Protection Agency with more authority and tools to util... Free Essays on Pollution Act Free Essays on Pollution Act The Pollution Prevention Act of 1990: A Policy Who’s Time Has Come This article talks about the Prevention Pollution Act of the 1990’s. This particular act signifies an effort to reduce pollution and is an important part of American history. This was an earlier focus on the need to reduce or repair environmental damage by controlling pollutants at the point where they are released to the environment. Pollution was targeted over waterways, public highways, and over private property. Past provisions have not failed just needed to be updated for cleaner air, which is vital for the human body along with our surroundings. The law was enacted as Title VI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, P.L. 101-508, and is codified as 42 USC 13101-13109. The Environmental Protection Agency created a new office to advertise and invent an approach to cleaner air. This office is to bring new policies in front of congress to eliminate the sources of pollution. Auditing and promoting research is part of the process and enables the Environmental Protect ion Agency more authority to fight pollution. Also environmental public records are easier to access for the general public to be informed. Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 required owners and operators of many industrial facilities to report annually on their releases of toxic chemicals to the environment. The Pollution Prevention Act requires these reports to include information about the facility's efforts in source reduction and recycling. The major sections of The Prevention Act include Findings and Policy, definitions, EPA activities, grants to states for technical assistance, source reduction clearing house, source reduction and recycling data, EPA report, saving provisions, and authority of appropriations. This was an innovative procedure our federal government took to supply the Environmental Protection Agency with more authority and tools to util...

Hunting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hunting - Essay Example This is hunting was seen as a dangerous mission and required tact and skills which women did not possess. Men also made tools for hunting and protection while women concentrated on house chores such as cooking and making wearing apparel (Stiles). It is believed that the hunting and gathering societies moved from the hunting and gathering to horticulture. The move was not abrupt and was influenced by the changing climatic conditions that reduced the wild game. Horticulture is different from agriculture as it involves small pieces of land that were cultivated using digging sticks and abandoned after some time. The roles of men and women were different such that the men were different as men cleared the land and women planted seeds, tended and harvested the crops. Men at this stage continued to hunt but they were less productive (Stiles). Agriculture involves growing of plants and rearing of animals. Men and women play different roles in agriculture such that men are involved in the heavy physical labor of preparing land, herding livestock, application of pesticides and negotiating sale of crops. Women on the other hand are involved in weeding, taking care of the kitchen and the garden at home. The similarity here is in taking care of animals where the men take care of the large herds while the women take care of the smaller livestock at home (Prakash). Men and women roles are complex today with most of the tasks shared and others neutral. It is difficult to pin point particular roles of the different genders today. Women primarily are still the care takers in today’s society with men still the providers. The roles are mostly neutral with any of the genders undertaking any role. This has been attributed to the fact that there is no weaker gender or a man’s job and the advocacies of gender equity (Siegel,

Plessy vs fersgeson Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Plessy vs fersgeson - Assignment Example Ferguson, the Committee of Citizens sought a legal redress in the Louisiana Court to challenge the unconstitutionality of ‘separate but equal’ doctrine that allowed racial segregation in public facilities in Louisiana. This followed the arrest of Plessy Homer who despite being a black used a white designated car. In his ruling, Judge John Howard held that Louisiana Stage was justified to enforce such discriminatory laws. The ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court of Louisiana and Supreme Court of US. By arguing in favor of ‘separate but equal,’ this ruling endorsed racial segregation in USA. On the other hand, Brown v. Board of Education was filed by Brown Oliver et al to advocate for the revocation of the laws that had been propagating the segregation of students in public schools. The plaintiffs argued that such laws violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments that support equality. The court ruled that segregation laws in public schools are unconstitutional and should be repealed. By overturning the Plessy v. Ferguson, this ruling paved way for the eradication of segregation in public schools and racial integration in the country. It was indeed, a great victory to the Civil Right Movements that had been piling pressure on the government to end

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 12

Marketing - Essay Example But as I learnt more about the financial services organizations, I was able to figure out that the perception that I had regarding such institution was just a mere image. I was able to learn that financial institutions are not just limited to banks but include a variety of players in the market. Some of the most prominent financial services organizations that I was able to figure out includes banks (retail, corporate, investment and private); mutual funds and trusts; credit card issuers; stock exchanges; leasing companies and government and saving institutions. Thus it is one of the most important learning outcomes from this course. Communication in the Marketing of Financial Services Before study about the financial services marketing, I considered communication the least important aspect in financial services marketing. But with constant and continuous study I have made, it has made me realize that communication in the marketing of financial services is regarded as the backbone of financial services. As communication is the interchange of information between two parties, I was able to learn that financial institutions heavily rely on the use of marketing communication i.e. advertisement, public relations and direct mail. With the help of such communication, the financial services aim to attract and influence the consumers towards the use of financial services. Such study has also helped me to understand that communication not only helps the financial services to attract customers but it also helps the organization to change their perception in the minds of the consumer. Moreover, I was able to identify that financial services are intangible due to which these services are often complex and quite risky but with the help of marketing communication, financial organizations significantly reduce the risks associated with the services and helps the organization to de-complex the products and services offered by the organization. I was also able to identify that fin ancial organizations have shifted marketing communication to whole new level and media. Due to the increase in customer traffic on social websites (i.e. Facebook and Twitter) financial organization have shifted their focus from traditional media to such media where the customer traffic is ten times higher. Marketing Mix and Financial Services I was well aware of the 4P’s of marketing but the study of financial services marketing; I was able to extract the services mix that plays significant role in the success of financial services organizations. In addition to 4P’s (i.e. product, price, place and promotion) the services mix includes process, people and physical evidence which are the other 3Ps of service marketing mix. I was able to identify that marketing mix plays significant role in financial services and with the help of such mix, banks are able to accept deposits and lend money to the customers. But in order to effectively do that financial institutions are const antly in need to understand the desires of the customers through which their trust could be won. This is where financial institutions rely on services mix. With continuous learning of financial services marketing, I was able to figure out that product mix helps the financial institutions to differentiate them from others in the market. The products offered by such institutions are c

Study On John Watsons Behaviorist Program

Study On John Watsons Behaviorist Program John B. Watson set out to change the landscape of psychology and to make it a viable scientific endeavor. The goal of Watson was to change psychologys focus or definition from the study of the consciousness to the study of behavior (Hothersall, 2004). Watson argued that to study the consciousness was like studying a ghost. His point was that its difficult to study something that those who were purporting to be the researchers couldnt even agree on its definition. How can psychology reasonably study something that they cant even definitively define? Therefore, Watson believed that the goal of psychology must be to study something that is definable and observable. Watson thought behaviorisms whose goals were concrete and definable; to observe, predict and control behavior in humans and animals was the appropriate system for such an endeavor (Graighead Nemeroff, 2001). Early Research Watsons began his research career investigating the relationship between the increasing complexities of behavior and development of the nervous system (Hothersall, 2004). He trained rats around a box or run through a labyrinth. He discovered that he could train rats as young as 12 days old to run around a box but when asked to run through a labyrinth the 12 day old rats would simply curl up and go to sleep. The results suggested that there was a definite correlation between age and the ability to do complex tasks. In the second phase of his study Watson physically studied the brains of rats ages one to thirty days. He discovered that at age 24 days the number of medullated fibers in the cortex had significantly increased (Hothersall, 2004). His finding corroborated his initial hypothesis that there was a direct correlation between the development of the nervous system and the ability to perform complex behavior (Hothersall, 2004 McCarty, 2009). His finding and conclusions that he dr ew from this experiment was significant. But, an even more significant outcome was that his research led to the standardization of rats as the organism of choice in psychological research for over fifty years, (McCarty, 2009). The results of this study and the response he received when he published them, emboldened him to consider the possibility of displacing both structuralism and functionalism as the prevailing or guiding voice in psychology (McCarty, 2009). Watsons Behaviorist Manifesto Watsons experiences with rats led to his acceptance of John Lockes belief that the mind enters this world as a blank slate and it is experience that writes its message upon it (LeFrancois, 2000). So certain was Watson of behaviorism that he once boldly proclaimed, Give me a dozen healthy infants well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and Ill guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select-doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors (Watson, 1930, p. 104, as cited in LeFrancois, 2000). Thus, in 1913 Watson published an article in the Psychological Review, that gave a detailed outline of behaviorism. Accordingly, Watson noted that Psychology cannot be the study of the consciousness because it (consciousness) is too nebulas to truly be observed. He noted that if psychology was to be an objective experimental branch of science, it can only do so by focusing on behavior since it is both observable and measurable (LeFrancois, 2000 Hothersall, 2004). Behavior in its measurable sense is the relationship between stimuli and responses. The goal then of behaviorism is to predict and control behavior. Furthermore, with respect to this response to stimuli, Watson saw no difference between man and animal. Watson, unlike most of the leading psychologist before him never tried to wrestle with the What is truth question. Instead he preferred to apply psychology to the problems of adjustment and even social improvements. In fact, Watson never really constructed an integrated theory of psychology and yet he was successful in affecting change in psychology primarily because of the logic and clarity of his arguments. The only significant requirement Watson made regarding research was that it must use objective methods of measurements and that the events themselves must be capable of being publicly observable (Hothersall, 2004). Watson was critical of Jamess definition of emotions (experiences of bodily changes). He believed that conscious experience was not an essential component of emotion, further he believed that you can associate emotions with a neutral stimulus in the same manner that Pavlov had done with his example of classical conditioning Hothersall, 2004). Figure 1 The development and growth of behaviorism is the U.S. (Source Unknown) It is easy to theorize or write about a concept in a paper, the next step is to show that behaviorism was workable without recourse to consciousness and the mind (Hothersall, 2004). Watson began conducting research with children, first at the Henry Phipps Psychiatric Clinic in Baltimore and then later at John Hopkins University Hospital. It is at John Hopkins, that Watson got the opportunity to study infant reflex and emotional responses. He was able to identify a host of reflexes such as coughing, yawning grasping, etc. In addition he was able to isolate three main classes of emotional responses in infants; fear, rage and love (Hothersall, 2004). He found that each of these classes of emotions had a specific set of stimuli and responses that were reliable and predictable. He was even able to conclude that fear responses to a stimuli beyond those noted earlier were learned. This was based on his observation that infants did not respond in fear to dogs, the dark or even snakes as most of us would or have. He also used his theories in advertisement after a scandal forced him out of psychology. He discovered that consumers behaviors could be predicted and controlled in the same manner as infants and rats. He used demographic surveys of target populations and offered a reward (gift) for a response (complete questionnaire). He was the first to prove that style was more important than substance. This principle alone has been one of the bedrock principles of American advertisement and salesmanship for decades. He tapped into humans propensity to heed the advice of people we admire by eliciting testimonials or endorsements for his products. In a couple of cases he even deliberately sought to manipulate consumers motives and emotions (Johnson and Johnson baby powder campaign stressed purity and cleanliness of product over the dangers of dirt and disease, targeting the gullible first time moms). The bottom line is that his work in the lab, with children and even in advertising demonstrated the efficacy of behaviorist theories. Little Albert and Peter Case Studies Little Albert In an effort to prove that behaviorism could be translated out of the lab, as noted in the previous paragraphs, Watson conducted research on infants at the John Hopkins University Hospital. While conducting research at the hospital, Watson decided to see if fear could be conditioned in an infant they named Albert (Hothersall, 2004). Albert an eleven month baby was selected because of his temperament and lack of fear for most things. In fact initially the only thing he seemed to have a strong fear response to was having a metal bar struck behind his head. In fact it was this fear that Watson used to condition of fear of white rats in Albert. The principle behind the experiment was simple; Watson would use the principle of association to illicit a fear response. In the case of Albert, Watson would show little Albert a white rat and as soon as he reached out for it, he would strike the metal bar. Thus, he would take a known fear and associate it with another stimulus or object. The resu lts were predictable, after doing this for only seven times, Albert would cry or crawl away from the white rat, with or without the metal bar being struck (Hothersall, 2004). Five days later, it was discovered that the conditioning had been generalized to anything that resembled the white furry rabbit (Hothersall, 2004). Interestingly enough five days after this the strength of the association was weakening, however after a freshening of the reaction the fear had generalized to even more objects (Santa Clause mask, sealskin coat, the dog, the rat and the rabbit ). A couple of conclusions that I drew from the experiment, first to initiate a fear response to the white rat, Watson needed to identify an object or stimulus in which the fear response was already associated with. Secondly, it seems reasonable that had Watson not refreshed it or reinforced it when the conditioning response appeared to be weakening, then it wouldve either gone away in its entirety or been localized to the rat. Thirdly, it appears that the age of the child was a significant factor in its outcome. The Case of Peter Apparently Watson and Jones also wanted to identify a methodology that could be used to help someone overcome fear. The texts suggests that time passage alone proved to be insufficient, describing a case in which one little girl went to months without seeing her feared rabbit and still responded with fear when she finally saw it again. Even the use of social imitation in which a child sees another child handling the object of his fear without negative repercussions did not work. Watson and Mary Cover Jones discovered that direct conditioning which in principle is in many ways the opposite of what Watson had done with little Albert could be used to help overcome fear. The technique they used is commonly referred to as deconditioning or desensitization. Basically, Peter had a phobia of rabbits and would react uncontrollably in their presence. So they (Watson and Jones) paired his phobia with eating food that he liked. In the first step, a caged rabbit was brought into the room and plac ed 12 or so feet away from Peter while he ate. Each day the rabbit was brought closer without disturbing Peter, until finally the rabbit was un-caged and placed on the table where Peter would eat while petting the rabbit. It was discovered that not only had Peter overcome his fear of the rabbit but also of cotton wool, fur coat and feathers. This technique is one of the classical methods for treating phobias today. The Major Tenants of Gestalt Psychology Introduction The word gestalt is a German word that means shape or form. Its founders Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Kohler initial interest was perception, however over time they began to apply the Gestalt principles to learning, problem solving and cognition (Hothersall, 2004). Like so many of our great discoveries, Gestalt psychology was inspired by an observation and its initial focus, as noted earlier was on how we perceive our environment and the stimulus it provides. In this case Max Wertheimer noticed that telephone poles and buildings appeared to be moving when he looked out the window of a moving train. Intrigued, he got off the train at Frankfurt and went to the Psychological Institute at the University of Frankfurt, to discuss the observed phenomenon with Friedrich Schumann, who held a PHD in physics. Unable to explain it, Schumann offered the use of his laboratory and equipment and introduced Wertheimer to Kopfka and Kohler (the triumvirate founders of Gestalt psychology). Based on Schumann report in 1907 that he had observed successively projected white stripes that appeared to move from the vertical to the horizontal at specific time intervals, Wertheimer designed and executed an experiment in which he projected lights successively through two narrow slits in a screen (Hothersall, 2004). He used Kohler, Koffka and Koffkas wife as his subjects. He observed that when the interval between lights was 50 to 60 milliseconds, lights appeared to move from one position to another but at longer intervals the lights appeared as independent, successive light (Hothersall, 2004). He also noticed that at shorter intervals the lights appeared to be on all the time. The Discovery and Subsequent Principles Wertheimer named this observed phenomena the Phi Phenomenon. Accordingly, Wertheimer noted that this phenomenon was not actually occurring in the world (not an actual physical stimulus). It was a mental stimulus or an interpretation of a stimulus that had occurred in his subjects mind. Which logically, leads to a reasonable supposition that if it is possible for a human to interpret the lights in this manner, what else is just interpretation and just how does this interpretation system work? Wertheimer noted that even though this was an apparent psychological experience, the phi phenomenon could not be reduced to its elements. Thus to adequately study this phenomenon and the questions it created he recognized that the phenomenon must be studied as a whole, the old and tried analytical techniques of psychology in which experiences are decomposed into its elements will not work. This and several other experiments that looked at auditory and even tactile interpretations were instrumenta l in the development of some basic perception principles that actually go beyond just visual perception. The underlying principles of Gestalt Psychology is three fold; 1) The brain is a dynamic system in which all active systems or elements within it when engaged interacts. 2) We perceive stimuli as wholes rather than as clusters of features. 3) If the first two principles are true then we must think holistically since the whole is greater than the sum of its parts (Gestalt, 2009). There were three important works that outlined the principles rules by which we organize our perceptual world, Koffkas Perception, An introduction to Gestalt Theory, Werthheimers An Inquiry into the Laws of Gestalt Psychology and Kohlers An Aspect of Gestalt Psychology (Hothersall, 2004). However, these principles are mostly descriptive and lack theory or an explanation of why we perceive this way except that our perceptions of our everyday world is organized into coherent wholes. The four basic principles are: figure-ground, closure, similarity and proximity. The principle of figure ground notes that we will separate important aspects of a figure from its background or surroundings. We will use real or imagined lines to separate the figure from its background. In figure 6 most of us will see a dog despite the background noise. Closure notes that we will take an incomplete object and make it whole by mentally filling in the missing contour lines or letters so that it makes sense. Pro ximity or nearness describes our tendency to group elements that are close to each other to form an overall figure or pattern. The last principle is similarity, which identifies our tendency to group together elements of a stimulus or pattern that have similar features (size, shape, colour). The similarity principle takes priority over the proximity principle if the two are together in a stimulus (Gestalt, 2009). Below are visual depiction of the principles described. They are classic depictions and can be found in an array of sources. Figure 2 Law of Closure Ge Figure 3 Law of Proximity Figures 4 and 5 Law of Similarity vase Figure 6 Figure-Ground Gestalt Principles in Life As noted earlier, while the initial focus of Gestalt psychology was sensory perception, especially visual, it does seem to have applicability in other areas of our life. For example, Kurt Lewin and Bluma Vul Zeigarnick discovered that our need to complete a task creates a state of tension that facilitates an ability to recall elements of that task until it is complete (Zeigarnik Effect, 2010). This was called the Zeigarnik effect. It was prompted by Zeigarniks observation that German waitress could remember details of a customers bill for a considerable amount of time until the bill was paid (after that they could not recall the basic information). The applicability of this is seen every day as television shows use this principle to keep their audiences loyal to a show with cliffhangers or advertisers leaving a message incomplete so as to illicit recall of its product by consumers. Gestalt versus Behaviorism Later, Wertheimer and Kohler would suggest that Gestalt could be applied to learning. The insight learning experiments conducted by Kohler found that both animals and humans can learn by sudden comprehension as opposed to gradual understanding or trial and error. Furthermore this insight is not necessarily observable by another person (Hothersall, 2004). In an experiment with apes, Kohler was able to demonstrate this type of learning. Kohler put a stick in cage, the ape played with it for a few minutes but eventually lost interest. Kohler then put a fruit just out of arms reach outside of the apes cage. When he tried to reach the fruit with his arm, he couldnt and got upset. He then simply picked up stick and used it to draw the fruit to the cage. When this was repeated the ape got better at using the stick for a tool. The significance of this experiment is that there was no trial-and-error learning. In another experiment, Kohler tested a dog and a 1 year old child, using what was ca lled a detour experiment. In this experiment the dog food was placed behind a barrier in which the dog needed to go around a barrier to get the food, likewise the one year old had her doll placed behind a barrier. In both cases the subjects simply went around the barrier to get the object of their desire (Hothersall, 2004). These experiments contradicted Thorndikes view of learning that stated that trial and error was the method of learning for animal. Kohler argued that the animals in Thorndikes experiment was also capable of insight learning, however the context of the experiment prohibited it. Kohler experiments had several characteristics that were different from Thorndikes. First, the experiments were done in the animals home or enclosure so as to make it as natural and as comfortable as possible which he believed made them more likely to display intelligent behavior. Secondly, his test was for the most part done in the presence of other animals. Finally, the results were almost always reported descriptively, which he believed ensured that the most valuable aspect of the experiments were not lost (Hothersall, 2004). Further comparisons of Gestalt psychology and Behaviorism shows some similarities and some striking differences. For example both occurred independently of one another in opposition to Wundts focus on sensory elements. However, they ended up opposing each other in many significant ways. Gestalt psychologists accepted the value of consciousness but criticized attempts to reduce it to its elements. Whereas behavioral psychologist ultimately refused to even accept it. Gestalt also criticized behaviorist belief that mental activity could not be studied scientifically (Moskowitz, 2005). Furthermore, Gestalt psychologist argues that behaviorist reduces psychology to nothing more than a collection of animal research. Behaviorist on the other hand noted the inferior quality of Gestalt experimental work (Kohler, for example, didnt use experimental method, he just observed). Behaviorist as one might expect, also argued that Gestalt psychologist research lacked adequate controls and its un-quantified data does not lend itself to statistical analysis (Moskowitz, 2005). I found it interesting that two schools of thought that in many ways actually complemented each other decided to strongly opposed each other. The only significant oppositional characteristics I believed that existed was their respective views on consciousness. Neo-Behaviorist Introduction Neo-behaviorism in many respects represents the second phase of behaviorism. Edward C. Tolman, Clark Hull, Edwin Guthrie and of course B.F. Skinner are the most prominent neo-behaviorist. Like their behavior predecessors, neo-behaviorist believed the keys to developing a scientific psychology was to study learning as observed through behavior and maintaining a focus on rigorously objective observational methods (Hothersall, 2004). The most significant difference between the leaders of neo-behaviorist and their behaviorist counterparts was their deliberate attempts to formalize the laws of behavior. Edward C. Tolman Tolman initially taught at Northwestern (1915 to 1918) but was fired because he was a pacifist. However, at Berkley in California he found the ideal academic environment where he taught for forty years. Tolman studied the behavior of rats in mazes and concluded that there was more to the rats behaviors in the mazes than plodding back and forth by stimuli, rewards and punishment (Hothersall, 2004). In his observations, he noted that the rats appeared to behave with intelligence and purpose. It appeared to Tolman that his rats had learned the general layout of the maze (he termed this a cognitive map). Tolman believed that Watson exclusion of purpose and cognition from psychological study was a grave error, thus he purposefully attempted to develop his form of behaviorism based on objective behavior that considered or analyzed both purpose and cognition (Hothersall, 2004). In a series of papers and his book, Purposive Behavior in Animals and Men, he completely rejected mentalist psychology and embraced behaviorism (Hothersall, 2004). Interestingly, despite the title of his book, its primary focus was on the behavior of rats in mazes. Specifically, he emphasized and elaborated on his ideas and belief that rats not only ran the maze with an expectation of a reward but had an expectation for a specific reward. To prove the point, he developed an ingenious experiment in which rats were placed in a maze without a reward then later given a reward. His goal was of course to ascertain if the presence or lack of reward impacted the rats behavior. In his control group, the rats had food in the goal box on all seven days. Group one, only had food in the goal box on day 7 (the first six days there were no food). The second experimental group did not get food in the goal box in the first two days but from days three to seven they did. He discovered that in such a s cenario the experimental groups did not perform to the level of the control group until the day after the food was introduced to the goal box. His conclusion was that learning had taken place despite the absence of a reward; he called it latent learning because it wasnt activated until the rat was sufficiently rewarded or motivated. In a slight modification of his experiment he changed the reward, so that one group got bread and milk, one group got sunflower seeds and one group got no food at all. The outcome, he believed confirmed purposeful behavior. The rats apparently had placed some level of value against the rewards because the rats receiving bread and milk ran the fastest, followed by the rats receiving sunflower seeds and those receiving no reward running the slowest (Hothersall, 2004). If the rat expected reward was changed, it displayed disappointment as evidenced by the increase in errors and slower pace (Hothersall, 2004). An experiment done later with an ape whose expected reward of a banana was changed to lettuce confirmed that such behavior was present in animals. In the case of the ape, upon discovering that her reward had been changed to lettuce she responded by basically having a temper tantrum. Behaviorist who discounted purpose and cognition found these finding troublesome because it suggests that S->R connections was insufficient in explaining the animals behavior (Neo-Behaviorist PPT. 2007). By the way, we all display latent learning when we display knowledge of the location of a particular store thats along some familiar route upon demand. Needless to say the concept of latent learning generated much discussion and research. In still another set of experiments, Tolman was able to show insight learning. In this experiment Tolman placed rats in an elevated maze with no walls and allowed the rats to explore the maze. The maze itself consisted of three different routes of varying lengths to the goal box. The rats were then allowed to become hungry and placed in the maze. The rats always chose the shortest route. If the shortest route was no longer available then the rat simply took the next shortest route. The results clearly indicate that the rat did in fact develop a cognitive map that included the whole maze. Furthermore, purposeful behavior is demonstrated by the very fact that the rats deliberately chose the route that required the least effort (shortest) (Hothersall, 2004). Based on these types of experiments as well as others not discussed, Tolman developed a basic theoretical model that he described in The Determiners of Behavior at a Choice Point. In it he identified three variables that influences behavior; the independent variable, dependent variable and the intervening variables (Graighead Nemeroff, 2001). The independent variable is what the experimenter is controlling. It is in essence the actual condition of the experiment. The dependent variable is what is actually being measured and the intervening variables are the things that may affect the experiments outcome but is not being controlled such as age, past experience and skill level. Accordingly, Tolman stated that Behavior as measured by the dependent variable is a function of the independent and intervening variables (Graighead Nemeroff, 2001). One of the biggest arguments or criticisms of Tolman is that he never developed a true theory of learning that outlined a clear theoretical posit ion. Others have criticized him because his writings tended to be subjective and mentalistic (Hothersall, 2004). Never the less few can argue with the fact that his research proved Watsons theory of behaviorism lacking because it did not consider the cognitive and motivational aspect of behavior. It (his research) also validated the use of rats as subjects for psychological study. Edwin R. Guthrie Guthrie earned his bachelors degree in mathematics but got his Masters degree and PHD in philosophy. He even taught as a philosophy professor at the University of Washington for a while. But eventually the pull to psychology was too strong and he became a professor in the universitys psychology department. His most significant contribution to the field of psychology was his learning theory, which he presented in several papers and books over a ten year period (1930s to 1940s). His theory of learning simply stated that all learning is based on contiguity between stimuli and responses (Hothersall, 2004). For Guthrie behavior was a function of the environment. So, if food is available then an animal will do what it takes to obtain that food. If his action successfully gets him food then he (the animal) will learn that action or response. Guthrie did not dispute Thorndikes belief that reward and punishment affected learning. His dispute was that he did not believe that the reward or puni shment stamped in or out habits. In the case of food, Guthrie saw its role as preventing unlearning. In other words, the rat developed a cognitive map simply by exploring, but the foods presence encourages or motivates the rat to keep the map in his mind or prevents him from unlearning the maze (Neo-Behaviorist PPT, 2007). Punishment works in that it reinforces the opposite behavior. For example, as a child I refused to go near a stove because of the spanking. So I was encouraged to do something else (as opposed to touching the stove) because of the spanking (punishment). The purpose of reinforcement is that it ends the act. Thus, I learn because it was the last successful act. I forget the unsuccessful acts because they a displaced by later successful acts (Hothersall, 2004). The study of movements that make up whole acts according to Guthrie was quite appropriate since they were easy to measure. He also believed that these individual acts are learned in one trial but practice is required in order for these individual movements to create a whole act (Graighead Nemeroff, 2001). Initially his theory was appealing because of its simplicity only to have it later criticized for the same reason. It should also be noted that his theories seemingly were more philosophical than experimentally based, which garnered criticism as well. Clark Hull Hulls goal was to develop universal laws of behavior (Hothersall, 2004). His most enduring contribution was the application of logic to psychological problems. He formed theoretical constructs that consisted of seventeen postulates and corollaries. He then showed that the theorems that grew from these constructs could be predicted and tested. Hulls concept of reinforcement was different from both Watson and Guthrie. Watson saw reinforcement as the thing that kept the animal on task. Guthrie saw reinforcements role as ending the behavior thus making it the last behavior learned (Hothersall, 2004). Hull on the other hand saw reinforcement as strengthening the connection between stimulus and a response. B.F. Skinner Whereas Guthrie and Hull dominated behaviorism in the 1930 and 1940s, B.F skinner assumed that role in the 50s and 60s. His most significant concept is of course operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is different from classical conditioning, in that the role of the animal is different. In classical conditioning the animal responds to the environment thus he learns as a result of that response. But in operant conditioning the animal operates on the environment. The animal performs a behavior that is repeated if rewarded. Thus the response rate is controlled by the animal, not the experimenter (Hothersall, 2004). Skinner study on schedules of reinforcement was accidental in that his studys original focus was on the nature reinforcement. However, he found himself short on pellets (food) so he decided to ration his pellets by reinforcing only an occasional response. In doing so he discovered the intermittent reinforcement maintained the frequency of responding (Hothersall, 2004, p. 519). He developed three different types of schedules; continuous, ratio (fixed and variable) and interval (fixed and variable). He and Ferster described the massive program of research they did on scheduled reinforcement in a work entitled Schedules of Reinforcement. They showed through their research that response rates could be reliably predicted based on the schedule of reinforcement. This work and its findings is now a basic tool in the experimental analysis of behavior (Hothersall, 2004). Skinner also introduced shaping, a behavioral training system that uses successive approximations.

Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being Essay

In Milan Kundera’s novel, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, the author uses plenty of literary elements to tie together his points in an effort to help readers understand the basic premise behind the work. Though there are plenty of literary themes that can be found throughout the work, the most important ones are the themes that Kundera uses, as well as the characters in the novel. By creatively using these things in his work, Kundera helps explain what might have otherwise been a fairly complex ideal. In addition, the author is able to tie these things together to create a measure of clarity for readers as they progress through the work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Theme is used in the novel to get across the basic ideas that the author is set on impressing into the reader. Since the novel relies mostly on ambiguous ideas to get across hard to find points, the utilization of different themes are critically important to the development of the story. As one might expect from the title of the work, Kundera uses lightness and the idea of weight as one of the primary themes throughout the book. Even in the title, one can see the dichotomy that exists. Lightness in itself is not something that should be too heavy to bear. Yet, the author is able to masterfully intertwine these two ideas to convey the point of his story. Through the entire work, the characters of the book are searching hard within themselves to find a solution to the primary question presented in the title. Their search for the important things in life is done in order to both find meaning and relieve themselves of some of the heaviness that their being light creates.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another important theme that the author uses is politics. Though the characters carry on with their lives throughout the work, they are constantly linked to both each other and to their collective pasts by their underlying political beliefs. A good example of this can be found on page 123 of the novel, when Sabina receives word that the political situation in Prague has cost Tomas and Tereza their lives. The book reads, â€Å"She could not get over the news. The link to her past had been broken† (123). English expert Jay Braiman describes a literary theme as, â€Å"The main idea or message conveyed by the piece† (Braiman). It is clear in the story that the author uses both politics and the idea of weight as the main idea in the work. The desire to escape from the weight of life was something that drove each of the characters, while politics served as a main idea in trying all of the characters together.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Characters were the second literary element used by the author to create the work. Not only do the characters power the action, but they shed a little bit of light into the what the other characters were thinking. Simply having characters is not enough to establish something as an important literary element. As the author clearly understood, the characters must be used in the most efficient, useless way possible in order to help push the idea of the story forward. The characters in this novel are not just there for an arbitrary reason. Instead, they play an active role in the story in establishing the primary aspects of plot development. A Eugene Knight book review of the work talks to the importance of the characters by saying, â€Å"The very fact that they stay together and seem to find some degree of happiness illustrates that an acceptance of a relationship that falls well short of satisfying and fulfilling hopes, is possible† (Knight). One can easily see that the author used the literary element of characters to tie in the many themes that he utilized and help the reader understand the underlying conflict in Czechoslovakia at the time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Overall, the book is a commentary on the reasons why people need people so much. This is a complex idea to establish, especially when one considers the fact that it is set against such a tough background. Kundera established his excellent work on the basis that his characters would do the talking for him. Instead of having to explain things to readers to get them to buy in to the main point of the book, he had characters live out their real life experiences to get across the points. Even more importantly than that, he was able to bring the characters closer to the themes that were so important to the author in this book. No one literary theme overtook the book or overpowered it. They all worked together in a sanctimonious harmony that not only told a story, but helped the reader interpret the story. The idea that a person who is too light could not bear that weight is a ridiculous one at first, but as the reader further understands the things that the characters are going through, they can begin to see how such a dichotomy can become quite a conundrum. Works Cited Braiman, Jay. Literary Devices. 2007. < http://mrbraiman.home.att.net/lit.htm> Knight, Eugene. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Review. < http://bookreviews.nabou.com/reviews/unbearable_lightness_kundera.html> Kundera, Milan. The Unbearable Lightness of Being. 4 May 2004. HarperCollins Publishing. Raudino, Guiseppe. Socialism and Arts. August 2007.

Geographical Information Systems (Gis)

1. Spatial data are what drive a GIS. Spatial features or entities and their attributes are stored in computers using a number of spatial data models. It is vital to understand the characteristics of them since the data model employed has considerable influence on the functionality of the GIS. Spatial data can represent real world features with discrete boundaries (such as roads, buildings, lakes, rivers, administrative boundaries) as well as real world phenomena with non-discrete boundaries (such as precipitation and nutrient levels, terrain).The basic approaches are: raster data model and vector data model. Depending on the type of problem that needs to be solved, the type of maps that need to be made, and the data source, either raster or vector, or a combination of the two can be used. Each data model has strengths and weaknesses in terms of functionality and representation. | Raster Data Model| Vector Data Model| Descriptions| The raster data model is the simpler model and is ba sed on the division of reality into a regular grid of identically shaped cells.Raster data represent the landscape as a rectangular matrix of square cells. In raster data model, attributes are limited to the numeric values of the cells themselves, and while it is possible to link additional attributes to the groups of cells having same values, which is rarely done in practice because of the low utilizing value and cumbersome data management. | In vector data model, an object’s shape is represented by dots which are located where the shape of the object changes.The dots which are known as vertices are joined by straight lines. Vector data represent features as discrete points, lines, and polygons. In vector model, as a point of difference, vector objects are additionally described by one or more characteristics, in GIS called attributes. Vector files attributes are stored in tables which consists of records (rows) representing individual features, fields (columns) representing a particular theme describing the feature, and attributes that refers to an intersection between a record and a field. Advantages| * The geographical location of each cell is implied by its position in the cell matrix. Accordingly, no geographical coordinates are stored other than an origin point. * Due to the nature of the data storage technique data analysis is usually easy to program and quick to perform. * The inherent nature of raster maps that is one attribute maps, is ideally suited for mathematical modeling and quantitative analysis. * Grid-cell systems are very compatible with raster-based output devices. As reconnaissance satellites and aerial surveys use raster-based scanners, the information can be directly incorporated into GIS. | * Data can be represented at its original resolution and form without generalization. * Graphic output is usually more aesthetically pleasing (traditional cartographic representation). * Allows precise representation of points, boundaries, an d linear features. * Accurate geographical location of data is maintained. * Since most data, e. g. hard copy maps, is in vector form no data conversion is required. Allows for efficient encoding of topology and operations that require topological information. | Disadvantages| * The cell size determines the resolution at which the data is represented. * It is especially difficult to adequately represent linear features depending on the cell resolution. Accordingly, network linkages are difficult to establish. * Processing of associated attribute data may be cumbersome if large amounts of data exist. Raster maps inherently reflect only one attribute or characteristic for an area. Since most input data is in vector form, data must undergo vector-to-raster conversion. Besides increased processing requirements this may introduce data integrity concerns due to generalization and choice of inappropriate cell size. * Most output maps from grid-cell systems do not conform to high-quality ca rtographic needs. | * The boundaries of the resulting map polygons are discrete whereas in reality the map polygons may represent continuous gradation or gradual change, as in soil maps. * The location of each vertex needs to be stored explicitly. Vector data must be converted into a topological structure to achieve effective analysis, which is often processing intensive and requires extensive data cleaning. * Continuous data is not effectively represented in vector form that usually requires substantial data generalization or interpolation for these data layers. * Spatial analysis and filtering within polygons is impossible. | References Heywood, I. S. (2006). Heywood, I. , S. Cornelius, and S. Carver. New York: Pearson Prentice Hall. Lo, C. P. (n. d. ). Concepts and Techniques of Geographic Information . Pearson Education Inc. Technology, T.U. (n. d. ). The GIS Spatial Data Model. Retrieved November 16, 2012, from Introduction to Geographic Information Systems in Forest Resources: http://courses. washington. edu/gis250/lessons/introduction_gis/spatial_data_model. html Buckey, D. J. (n. d. ). VECTOR AND RASTER – ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. Retrieved November 16, 2012, from Biodiversity GIS: http://bgis. sanbi. org/gis-primer/page_19. htm 2. Basic concept of GIS As the name implies, geographic information systems (GIS) are systems designed to be input, store, edit, retrieve, analyze, and output geographic data and information.It is composed of an orchestrated set of parts, which includes computer hardware and software, space and organizations within which these reside, personnel who use the system in numerous levels and capacities, data and information upon which the system operates, clients who obtain and use the products, vendors who supply the hardware and software, and other systems within which the GIS functions. These parts allow it to perform its many interrelated tasks well. The main task of a GIS is to analyze spatially referenced data and in formation.There are various ways of classifying the analytical and modeling capabilities of GIS as many of these capabilities interact. Ultimately, the software most certainly contains algorithms and computer code specifically designed to: (i) Organize geographic data within appropriate referencing systems, (ii) Selectively query those data and aggregate them for easy understanding, (iii) Count and measure both individual objects and collections of objects, (iv) Classify and reclassify objects based on user specified properties, (v) Overlay related thematic map data, vi) And be able to combine these individual techniques into ordered sequences of operations designed to simulate some natural or anthropogenic activities for decision making. One of the purposes of using GIS is to take observations of the real world and simplify and scale the data into graphical elements to which are related descriptive features termed attributes. Database management system (DBMS) is used to maintain th e attributes while the graphical elements are described in any one of two general types of spatial structure which are vector and tessellation.Vector structures which refer to discrete elements, points, lines, and polygons, are represented digitally by a series of 2-D coordinates (x and y) that imply magnitude and direction. Whereas tessellation refers to representation of spatial data with a network of elements such as rectangles, squares, hexagons, equilateral triangles, and irregular rectangles. In general, vector methods are more suitable for mapping and performing spatial queries, while tessellation is more suitable to represent continuous surfaces such as topography.The history of development of GIS parallels the history of developments in digital computers and database management systems as wells as those in cartography and automation of map production. The development of GIS has also relied upon innovations made in other sectors including geography, photogrammetry, remote se nsing, civil engineering, and statistics. Generally, GIS can be very beneficial in various fields that some organizations are utilizing it, such as retail, utilities, environment, local government, health care, transportation and financial services.However, it could go wrong if the organization was not really sure how it could use it. It should be determined that how an organization uses spatial data and whether the current practices can be automated, and also identify any new processes which would be useful to help decision making. Some people believe that there is no difference between computer-assisted cartography (CAC), computer aided drafting (CAD), and GIS. Because the graphic display from these three systems can look identical to both casual and trained observers.Nonetheless, CAC computer systems that designed to create maps from geographical objects combined with descriptive attributes are excellent for display but lack of the analytical capabilities of a GIS. Also, for pure mapping purposes, CAC is highly desirable for the input, design, and output of mappable data rather than working through the myriad analytics of GIS to produce a simple map. Whereas CAD is developed to produce graphic images that is excellent for architects, but it is not capable of analyzing maps that it is the primary task assigned to the GIS.A successful GIS may not be an off-the-shelf solution to your problems, while it will require considerable thought for a successful implementation. Applications Nowadays, GIS technologies have been applied to diverse sectors to assist experts and professionals in analyzing various types of geospatial data and dealing with complex situations. GIS plays a vital role to help people collect and analyze related spatial data as well as to display data in different formats in business, education, transportation, public safety, natural resources, mapping and charting, geospatial intelligence, government, tourism, and health service.In agriculture, G IS can be very beneficial too as the ability of GIS to analyze and visualize agricultural environments and workflows has contributed much in the farming industry. Balancing the inputs and outputs on a farm as a fundamental to agriculture success and profitability can be determined easily through GIS. Pest/ disease tracking, farm management, crop monitoring, yield prediction and soil analysis can easily be done through GIS.From mobile GIS in the field to the scientific analysis of production data at the farm manager’s office, GIS is playing an increasing role in agriculture production by helping farmers increase production, reduce costs, and manage their land more effectively. In natural resource management, GIS has also played important role in various applications. For example, groundwater recharge potential evaluation platform, soil database query system, biodiversity geographic information system, climate rainfall map system, private forest land management system, water bo dy quality and pollutant management system, as well as rainfall analysis system.In planning and economic development, GIS helps economic developers in effective decision-making that it conducts analysis, displays and disseminates results and makes informed decisions about where to locate new businesses or grow existing ones. GIS technology is really powerful and efficient in helping economic developers sustain economic recovery and growth. The necessary platform for visualization, modeling, analysis, and collaboration can be provided by GIS tools and help the economic developers to achieve their goals.Next, for public safety, GIS contributes a lot especially in disaster management. There are some systems introduced to detect and prevent disasters such as GIS-based campus emergency system, disaster prevention area planning, urban disaster prevention spatial system, and emergency response digital map platform. However, remote sensing can be combined with GIS to produce a better tool i n disaster management. For example, the Wellington Regional Council (WRC) in New Zealand has developed a comprehensive library of earthquake hazard maps.The data have been digitized and forms part of the WRC GIS. Black and white copies of the maps are faxed to media outlets, police and emergency services while GIS/GPS were utilized to monitor the daily spread of the fire, measure fire suppression actions and assess damage to structures and to natural and cultural sources. Bibliography Basic Concepts. (n. d. ). Retrieved November 13, 2012, from http://www. ce. utexas. edu/prof/maidment/gishydro/docs/reports/smith/sect3. pdf Buckey, D. J. (n. d. ). VECTOR AND RASTER – ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES.Retrieved November 16, 2012, from Biodiversity GIS: http://bgis. sanbi. org/gis-primer/page_19. htm Demer, M. N. (2009). Fundamental of Geographical Information Systems (4th Edition). United States of America: Wiley. GIS application in disaster management: some examples. (n. d. ). Retr ieved November 2012, 13, from GIS development: http://www. gisdevelopment. net/application/natural_hazards/overview/nho0001. htm Heywood, I. S. (2006). Heywood, I. , S. Cornelius, and S. Carver. New York: Pearson Prentice Hall. Linda Loubert, P. n. d. ). GIS for Economic Development. Retrieved November 13, 2012, from esri: http://www. esri. com/library/bestpractices/economic-development. pdf Lo, C. P. (n. d. ). Concepts and Techniques of Geographic Information . Pearson Education Inc. Rabley, P. (2009, June). GIS for Agriculture. Retrieved November 13, 2012, from ESRI: http://www. esri. com/library/bestpractices/gis-for-agriculture. pdf SuperGeo. (n. d. ). Retrieved November 13, 2012, from GIS Applications: http://www. supergeotek. com/library_GISApplication. spx Technology, T. U. (n. d. ). The GIS Spatial Data Model. Retrieved November 16, 2012, from Introduction to Geographic Information Systems in Forest Resources: http://courses. washington. edu/gis250/lessons/introduction_gis/s patial_data_model. html 3. Future of GIS Geographical Information System (GIS) is a technological tool designed to store, analyze and display geographical data so that a person reading a map can select data necessary for a specific project or task. The demand for GIS tools is constantly growing.Comparing to the early years of GIS one would dream up a new spatial widget, code it, and then attempt to explain to others how and why they ought to use it, nowadays GIS has been applied into various fields whether in data management, economic planning and development, agriculture, and public safety, whereas in future GIS application should be better than this and make jobs to be done more easily. Why is future of GIS valuable? One of the reasons is geographic information science as a new science that is used to design future information systems.Also, it is valuable as it generates expansion into new fields and application areas, discovering new uses and solving problems. In future, the scie ntific visualization and computer graphics will be increasingly integrated with GIS capabilities, especially animated and interactive maps. The potential of future of GIS is far beyond the other sciences for the tools. In today’s world, acquiring data for a new GIS is no longer a major problem. GPS has become a main source of new GIS data and comes increasingly from integrated GPS/GIS systems.Nevertheless, this GIS domain has always been the outdoors where GPS signals are strong and reliable. Thus this matter should be looked into that moving GIS indoors. We need techniques for the rapid, cheap, and accurate capture of 3D geometries and attributes, as well as efficient methods of determining indoor position. The market for solutions to the problem of moving GIS indoors and integrating the indoors and outdoors really holds an enormous potential. By developing GIS trends, knowing where everything is can be very possible.Take consideration during emergencies but not invading pri vacy of ones, tracking individuals using the technologies of GIS would be very useful. For instant, it would be much easier to search for the possible victims if every inhabitant of the Wenchuan area of China had been tracked prior to the May 2008 earthquake. Furthermore, shifting GIS from the relatively leisurely process of analyzing static data to a far more dynamic process of real-time monitoring and decision making can be possible in future also.A GPS navigation system, fed by sensors, might show the state of congestion of the road system in real time; an emergency manager might view the real-time situation of a disaster response; and a public health researcher might monitor the real-time state of a disease outbreak. Nonetheless, as the progress of future of GIS is developing, we should also take the major influencing factors on it either positive or negative into consideration.There are several positive influences of future of GIS that we can see, such as continuing hardware co st reductions and improved performance, improvements in storage capacities and performance, the improved capability and functional range of most software, the adoption of standards for GIS in many countries, the availability of a greater range of digital data sets, the greater recognition of GIS as valuable management tool, and also the perceived success of GIS in a number of varied fields.For the negative sides, the lack of government funding for basic research initiatives, too many systems are stand-alone applications having little incentive to progress, the necessary implementation procedures are very complex, data costs can be prohibitive, too frequently data is difficult to integrate because of structure, accuracy, scale, level of aggregation, as well as the legal concerns over the copyright of data. In conclusion, GIS can be very useful if researches of innovation and evolution can be made more.Of course, advantages and disadvantages of applications of GIS in future have to be concerned much so that it can be fully utilized and the consequence of GIS development can be minimized. Last but not least, there is one fact that is inescapable: the world of GIS has always been full of surprises, and there is every reason to believe the future will be just exciting! Bibliography Basic Concepts. (n. d. ). Retrieved November 13, 2012, from http://www. ce. utexas. edu/prof/maidment/gishydro/docs/reports/smith/sect3. pdf Berry, J. K. (2007). Topic 27: GIS Evolution and Future Trends. Retrieved

huck fin essays

huck fin essays 1. When all four of them are back on the raft, the Duke disguises Jim as a sick Arab so he can stay on the raft by himself and not be judged a runaway slave. 2. On their way, they meet a young man, and the Dauphin introduces himself as the Reverend Alexander Boldgette. The man tells him that he had hoped he was Mr. Wilks, whose brother Peter has just died. Peter's brothers are in England and word had been sent a couple of months ago when Peter first took ill. One of the brothers, Harvey, is a preacher, and the second, William, is deaf and dumb; they have inherited a fortune from Peter. The Dauphin asks all kinds of questions about the Wilks family and the town, and the young man supplies all the information. 4. The two men are able to hoodwink everyone except Dr. Robinson, who suspects that there is something fishy about these two men. He does not believe they are the brothers of Peter Wilks. Dr. Robinson sees through their fake Greek and English accents. He leaves to try and find out the truth 5. When he sees how gullible and trusting the three girls are, Huck realizes that he is allowing two despicable frauds to rob them of their inheritance. 6. Duke disguises Jim as a sick Arab so he can stay on the raft by himself and not be judged a runaway slave. The Duke and Dauphin dress up in the new clothes they have bought and think about boarding a 7. When he realizes that the scoundrel is going to try and seize the dead man's fortune, Huck is disgusted, but does not feel he can do anything to alert the people against them. At the end of the chapter, Huck says that the scoundrels make him "ashamed of the whole human race." It is the first time in the book that he has made such a strong moral judgment and shows th ...

Hobbes_Rousseau essays

Hobbes_Rousseau essays Through the development of the Polis, both Hobbes and Rousseau have stood as highly influential theorists of the Social Contract. Although both writers would strongly agree for the development of society and the importance of a Social Contract, the actual methods and ends are quite distinct for each man. Hobbes contract aims at assuring Civil Peace through the use of the ruler to secure the contract in exchange for obedience of the people. In contrast to this method, Rousseau chooses to generate the legitimacy in the contract through the will of the people and for their prosperity and self-preservation. It is through examining the divergent methods of each author that the true distinctions of each form of Social Contract become apparent. The development of the Social Contract for both Hobbes and Rousseau forms from mans need to preserve humanity, but this is not the intended purpose of the contract for Rousseau. For Hobbes, man is naturally evil in the State of Nature. The natural condition of man is competitive and causes distrust and vanity among men. Consequently, man turns to reason to dictate the necessity of self-preservation in this state. And therefore, as long as this naturall Right of every man to every thing endureth, there can be no security to any man...of living out the time which Nature ordinarily alloweth men to live (Hobbes p. 190). To preserve, secure and assure the right of self-preservation, man must use reason to escape the continual fear of violent death that occurs in Nature. The created Civil Peace is the purpose of the Social Contract for Hobbes and leads to the Common Wealth. In contrast, Rousseau sees man as self-interested or barbaric in the State of Nature. It is mans unlimited right to temptation that demonstrates the need for mankind to enter Civil Society. Unlike Hobbes, who sees the State of Nature as a horrible life, Rousse...

Williams Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Williams Company - Essay Example New business direction promised opportunities for the Williams Company and resulted in high revenue growth during 1998-and 2001. An examination how strategy is formed gives useful insights into the nature of financial strategy itself. In 1999 Williams decided to list WCG (Williams Conunumcatiort Group) in initial public offering. It was made to have a major source of finance from shares came in the form of IPO that raised approximately $650 million and 5725 million raised through placements to private investors. The main problem was that Williams did not take into account rapidly changing environment of the telecommunication industry, long-term predictions as for its financial activity, and economic peculiarities of the industry. There were two main problems led into collapse: the industry suffered from over production and it could not fared well in the economic downturn. Williams took pains to improve the situation by newly issues shares of WCG equity. Again, Williams faced with the problem of indirect "credit support" WCG's debt" provided for WCG. In accordance with the legislation it was treated as "pff balance sheet," and did not appear as a liability on the firm's balance sheet. An addition to this in April, 2002 the state security started investigation process as for WCG's financial activity. Accept WCG financial problems Williams faced problems with Energy Marketing and Trading Divisions caused by the unstable market situation. Credit ratings and rising yields on the trade worsen the situation and created another problem for Williams traders which needed a credit but were unable to get it from counterparts After these nuisances, Williams developed new financial strategy based on "aggressive program of asset sales" and capital expenditure. The plan to cut investment was developed in previous years and was the promising one to help Williams to overcome financial crisis. The investment made by warren Buffin in Williams allowed Williams to achieve financial flexibility and economic stability at the middle of 2002, but did not sole the main problems. In addition, Berkshire Hathaway and Lehman Brothers offered a 900 million dollar loan to Williams, but on the strict terms. Williams financial reporting involves the collection and presentation of data for use of financial management and accounting. According to the Exhibit 2 and 3, the main financial figures of the Williams companies main positions are high in comparison with Domination Recourses, Murphy Oil, except Dynegy company. The net income of William applicable to common shares figure has the highest rate between 1999-2001. According to the financial data Williams Company has the market value on equity which increased between 1999 and 2000, but failed in 2001; only Dominion resources has the highest rate. The figures of the total assets of Williams Company show the stable growth in 1999 and 2000. Because of the crisis affected the company the level of total assets decreased 1,5% in 2001 but remains the highest in comparison with its competitors. The cash flow investment activity was $1,970M (1999), 2,337M (2000) and 3, 543M (2001). Only Dominion Resources has the high figures in 2001. It is known that EBITDA is used to analyze the profitability between companies and industries, because it eliminates the effects of financing and accounting

Strategic Management Case Study Analysis Adam Aircrafts Term Paper

Strategic Management Case Study Analysis Adam Aircrafts - Term Paper Example A strategy is the game plan the company is using to stake out market position, conducts its activities, attract and service customers, compete successfully for achieving its organizational objectives and encompasses mobilization of resources, perceiving and utilizing the opportunities, managing risks in its operations, resolving uncertainties and meeting challenges and threats for survival and success. The corporate strategy should be flexible, dynamic and is generally long term in nature. In this paper strategic management with reference to Adam Aircrafts has been studied for identifying the objectives of the company, problems faced by the company and the causes for such problems, strengths and weaknesses of the company, the opportunities in the industry, the external threats in relation to its operations and strategies of the company for a careful analysis and possible solutions and recommendations. The promoter’s or the management’s views and conclusions about the company’s direction and the product-customer-market-technology focus constitute a strategic vision for the business. The promoter Rick Adam, a licensed pilot for over 18 years, hailing from a family of aviators with his successful foray into IT field had a vision on aviation sector. The company was closed and now Triton America is redesigning the A500 and A700 with the intent to return the aircraft to production at the  Port of Skagit County, Washington. (Wikipedia, 2010) The mission of the enterprise has not changed, that is building smaller and lighter aircraft designed for the most common trip length and passenger load to deliver optimal efficiency. Also, the company wants to focus on personal jet aircraft for the average mission of less than a two-hour flight, with three and a half people on board. Though it could be construed as a narrow segmentation, the idea of the company could be to es tablish itself in niche market, though