Soil Behaviour and Geotechnical Modelling

(a) Discuss advantages and limitations of Duncan and Chang's model. Duncan and Chang's model assumes a hyperbolic stress-strain relation and was developed based on triaxial soil tests. The original model assumes a constant Poisson's ratio while the revised model accommodates the variation of Poisson's ratio by means of stress-dependent Poisson's ratio or stress-dependent bulk modulus. The Duncan-Chang model is advantageous in analyzing many practical problems and is simple to set up with standard triaxial compression tests. When tri-axial test results are not available, model parameters are also abundantly available in literatures. It is a simple yet obvious enhancement to the Mohr-Coulomb model. In this respect, this model is preferred over the Mohr-Coulomb model. However, it has its limitations, including, (i) the intermediate principal stress s2 is not accounted for; (ii) results may be unreliable when extensive failure occurs; (iii) it does not consider the volume change due to changes in shear stress (shear dilatancy); (iv) input parameters are not fundamental soil properties, but only empirical values for limited range of conditions. (v) the model is mainly intended for quasi-static analysis. (b) Discuss advantages and limitations of Yin and Graham's KGJ model. Yin and Graham's KGJ model is formed using data from isotropic consolidation tests and consolidated undrained triaxial tests with pore-water pressure measurement. It provides functional expressions for , , , and relationships in soils. In Duncan and Chang's model for triaxial stress conditions: may cause volume strain ( dilation and compression) may cause shear strain. Whereas Yin and Graham's KGJ model: Thus the volume change and shear strain was taken into account, which is an improvement to Duncan and Chang's model. The limitation of Yin and Graham's KGJ model may exist in the determination of the parameter and the complexity of its calculation. (c) Discuss the differences between elastic models and hypo-elastic models. For soils, the behaviour depend on the stress path followed. The total deformation of such materials can be decomposed into a recoverable part and an irrecoverable part. Hypoelasticity constitutes a generalized incremental law in which the behaviour can be simulated from increment to increment rather than for the entire load or stress at a time. In hypoelasticity, the increment of stress is expressed as a function of stress and increment of strain. The Hypoelastic concept can provide simulation of constitutive behaviour in a smooth manner and hence can be used for hardening or softening soils. Hypoelastic models can be considered as modification of linear elastic models. However, it may incrementally reversible, with no coupling between volumetric and deviatoric responses and is path-independent. 5.2 Use sketches to explain the physical (geometric) meaning of all 7 parameters (only 5 independent) in a cross-anisotropic elastic soil model (). Figure 5.1 Parameters in cross-anisotropic elastic model – Young's modulus in the depositional direction; – Young's modulus in the plane of deposition ; – Poisson's ratio for straining in the plane of deposition due to the stress acting in the direction of deposition; – Poisson's ratio for straining in the direction of deposition due to the stress acting in the plane of deposition; – Poisson's ratio for straining in the plane of deposition due to the stress acting in the same plane; – Shear modulus in the plane of the direction of deposition; – Shear modulus in the plane of deposition. Due to symmetry requirements, only 5 parameters are independent. Assignment 6 (Lecture 6 – Elasto-plastic behaviour): 6.1 (a) Explain and discuss (i) yield, (ii) yield criterion, (iii) potential surface, (iv) flow rule, (v) normality, (vi) consistency condition. (i) The yield strength or yield point of a material is defined in engineering and materials science as the stress at which a material begins to deform plastically. Prior to the yield point the material will deform elastically and will return to its original shape when the applied stress is removed. Once the yield point is passed some fraction of the deformation will be permanent and non-reversible. In the uniaxial situations the yield stress indicates the onset of plastic straining. In the multi-axial situation it is not sensible to talk about a yield stress. Instead, a yield function is defined which is a scalar function of stress and state parameters. (ii) A yield criterion, often expressed as yield surface, or yield locus, is an hypothesis concerning the limit of elasticity under any combination of stresses. There are two interpretations of yield criterion: one is purely mathematical in taking a statistical approach while other models attempt to provide a justification based on established physical principles. Since stress and strain are tensor qualities they can be described on the basis of three principal directions, in the case of stress these are denoted by , and . (iii) Potential surface is the segment of a plastic potential surface plotted in principal stress space, as shown in Figure 6.1 (a). A two dimensional case was shown in Figure 6.1 (b). (iv) Flow rule: – a scalar multiplier; – plastic potential function; {} – location of surface (a vector), not in the final equation Figure 6.1 Plastic potential presentation (v) Assuming the plastic potential function to be the same as the yield function as a further simplification: The incremental plastic strain vector is then normal to the yield surface and the normality condition is said to apply. (vi) Having defined the basic ingredients of an elasto-plastic constitutive model, a relationship between incremental stresses and incremental strains then can be obtained. When the material is plastic the stress state must satisfy the yield function. Consequently, on using the chain rule of differentiation, gives: This equation is known as the consistency equation or consistency condition. (b) Explain and discuss the associate flow rule and non-associate flow rule and how the two rules affect the volumetric deformation and the bearing capacity of a strip footing on sand. Sometimes simplification can be applied by assuming the plastic potential function to be the same as the yield function (i.e. ). In this case the flow rule is said to be associated. The incremental plastic strain vector is then normal to the yield surface and the normality condition is said to apply. In the general case in which the yield and plastic potential functions differ (i.e. ), the flow rule is said to be non-associated. If the flow rule is associated, the constitutive matrix is symmetric and so is the global stiffness matrix. On the other hand, if the flow rule is non-associated both the constitutive matrix and the global stiffness matrix become non-symmetric. The inversion of non-symmetric matrices is much more costly, both of storage and computer time. As noted, it occurs in a special class of plasticity in which the flow rule is said to be associated. Substitution of a symmetric for all elements in a finite element mesa, into the assembly process, results in a symmetric global stiffness matrix. For the general case in which the flow rule is non-associated and the yield and plastic potential functions differ, the constitutive matrix is non-symmetric. When assembled into the finite element equations this results in a non- symmetric global stiffness matrix. The inversion of such a matrix is more complex and requires more computing resources, both memory and time, than a symmetric matrix. Some commercial programs are unable to deal with non-symmetric global stiffness matrices and, consequently, restrict the typo of plastic models that can be accommodated to those which have an associated flow rule. (c) Explain plastic strain hardening and plastic work hardening or softening. The state parameters, , are related to the accumulated plastic strains . Consequently, if there is a linear relationship between and so that then on substitution, along with the flow rule, the unknown scalar,, cancels and A becomes determinant. If there is not a linear relationship between and , the differential ratio on the left hand side of the above equation is a function the plastic strains and therefore a function of . When substituted, along with the flow rule given, the A's do not cancel and A becomes indeterminate. It is then not possums to evaluate the []. In practice all strain hardening/ softening models assume a linear relationship between the state parameters and the plastic strains . In this type of plasticity the state parameters}, are related to the accumulated plastic work, ,which is dependent on the plastic strains it can be shown, following a similar argument to that parented above for strain hardening/softening plasticity, that as long as there is a linear relationship between the state parameters }, and the plastic work, , the parameter defined becomes independent of the unknown scalar, , send therefore is determinant. If the relationship between and is not linear, become a function of and it is not possible to evaluate the constitutive matrix. 6.2 Show steps to derive the elastic plastic constitutive matrix [] in (6.16). The incremental total strains can be split into elastic and plastic , componets. The incremental stress, are related to the incremental elastic strains, by the elastic constitutive matrix: Or alternatively Combining gives The incremental plastic strains are related to the plastic potential function, via the flow rule. This can be written as Substituting gives When the material is plastic the stress state must satisfy the yield function. Consequently, which, on using the chain rule of differentiation. This equation is known as the consistency equation. It can be rearranged to give Combining, we can get Where Substituting again So that 6.3 The dimension of a slope is shown in Figure 6.2. Calculate the factor of safety of the following cases: (a) Without tension crack, the properties of Soil (1) are kPa, , kN/m3; The properties of Soil (2) are kPa, , kN/m3 (no water table). (b) With tension crack filled with water, repeat the calculation in (a). (c) Without tension crack, the properties of Soil (1) are kPa, , kN/m3 (below water table) and kN/m3 (above water table); the properties of Soil (2) are kPa, , kN/m3 (below water table) and kN/m3 (above water table). Water table is shown. Figure 6.2 Dimension of the slope and water table (a) Figure 6.3 Model without tension crack or water table Factor of Safety: 1.498 Figure 6.4 Results without tension crack or water table Figure 6.5 Slice 1 – Morgenstern-Price Method (b) Figure 6.6 Model with tension crack filled with water Figure 6.7 Results with tension crack filled with water The safety factor : 1.406 Figure 6.8 Slice 1 – Morgenstern-Price Method (c) Figure 6.9 Model without tension crack but with water table Figure 6.10 Results without tension crack but with water table Factor of Safety: 1.258 Figure 6.11 Slice 1 – Morgenstern-Price Method

Impact of nitrogen and phosphorous inputs on water quality Essay

Both Nitrogen and Phosphorous are necessary in agriculture for a farmer to achieve optimum yields in most crops, they have to use fertilizer which often contains either nitrogen or phosphorous. Despite their importance, these elements in excess can affect the environment adversely. Eutrophication is enhanced when nitrogen and phosphorous are in excess in surface waters and where nitrogen is in excess in ground water. (www. soil. ncsu. edu/) Nitrogen makes up about 78 percent of the gases in the atmosphere. A major constituent of proteins it is abundant in most living things. Nitrogen gas (N2), nitrate (NO3), nitrite (NO2) and ammonia NH3 are the common forms in which in organic nitrogen exists. Organic nitrogen exists in proteins. (http://kywater. org/). Compounds that contain nitrogen are found in water bodies such as reservoirs, streams and rivers. There are various routes by which nitrogen enters water bodies. These include wastewater (municipal and industrial), animal wastes such as bird wastes and wastes of fish, septic tanks and runoff from fields and lawns that have been fertilized. In certain parts of the United States, especially the northeast, some forms of nitrogen are deposited through acid rain (Baird, 1990). Nitrites are then converted to nitrates by bacteria, a process that uses up oxygen. (http://kywater. org). Surface and subsurface drainage are some of the ways through which nitrogen from fertilizers enter streams. When there is heavy rainfall following surface application of nitrogen fertilizers, most of the nitrogen is lost and even more is lost if the area is sloppy. When the fertilizer is mixed with soil the runoff is decreased. However, the loss of nitrogen becomes substantial when heavy rainfall causes soil erosion and movement of debris. The highly soluble nature of nitrogen makes it be absorbed easily into the soil when it rains heavily. Findings from research studies show that leaching does contribute to the presence of nitrates in groundwater. This however does not cause much contamination since the concentrations of nitrogen do not reach high enough levels. The crop uses up to 50 percent of the applied nitrogen leaving about 30 percent to 50 percent available for leaching. This, from a study done on North Carolina soils leads to leaching to a level of only two feet where there was 3 inches of percolated water (Baird, 1990). Eutrophication is a slow process whereby streams and lakes are enriched with natural nutrients. This process leads to the accelerated ‘aging’ of lakes and reservoirs. Eutrophication generally means excess growth of algae. The growth and decomposition of algae causes depletion of oxygen available in water. Nitrogen has a fertilizing effect in algae and other plankton which are food to other organisms in water such as fish and invertebrates. Overproduction and decomposition of these plankton uses up oxygen, meaning that other oxygen-dependent animals have inadequate oxygen which leads to their death. (http://kywater. org/). In addition to using up oxygen excessively, the overgrowth of algae and other plankton can lead to clogging up of water systems such that water flow is inhibited. This is especially common at points of water intakes. A lot of sea plants also block light from reaching the deeper waters (http://ga. water. usgs. gov/). This has the effect of compromising respiration for aquatic invertebrates and fish, making the death of animals and plant inevitable. High concentrations of nitrites produce a condition called brown blood disease which is fatal to fish. (http://kywater. org/). Eventually diversity of animal and plant life is lost. The death of fish results in offensive odours, and affects the water such that it cannot be used for recreative purposes like swimming, boating and fishing. Mueller and Helsel conducted a study of 12,000 ground water samples and approximately 22,000 samples of surface water at over 300 sites. The samples were collected within NAWQA study units. They report that the concentrations of nutrients in water have a close relationship to how land is used upstream or in the area that overlies a ground water aquifer. According to the analysis there were higher concentrations of nitrates in groundwater than surface water bodies. The regions with the highest concentration were the Northeast, the Great Plains and areas along the West Coast (Mueller and Helsel, 1996). Agricultural areas have a higher likelihood of having water with increased concentrations of nitrates. Research shows that public-supply wells and domestic supply wells outside areas where land is used for agriculture generally have lower concentrations of nitrates compared to wells in agricultural areas. On the other hand, urban areas have higher concentrations of Ammonia and phosphorous in surface water (Mueller and Helsel, 196). For water to be considered safe for domestic water supply, nitrates or nitrite level should be below 10mg/L. (United States Public Health Service). Nitrites undergo a direct reaction with haemoglobin in humans and warm-blooded animals leading to the formation of methemoglobin. This compound leads to decreased ability of red cells to transport oxygen. The most affected by this inability are infants less than three months because the babies develop methemoglobinaemia (blue baby disease. (http://kywater. org/ww/ramp/rmnox. htm). Due to this reason, when nitrates levels exceed 1. 0mg/L, the water should not be used to feed babies. In older people high nitrate levels cause disturbances in the digestion system. (http://kywater. org/). Phosphorous is a naturally occurring element that can be found in rocks and mineral deposits. Phosphate ions are soluble in water and are released when rock undergoes the weathering process. Phosphates have three forms of existence, metaphosphate, orthophosphate and organic phosphate. Orthophosphate is mainly produced by natural processed but there are man-made sources that produce orthophosphate. These include untreated sewage and partially treated sewage, use of certain fertilizers and runoff from sites where the main land use is agriculture. Metaphosphate or polyphosphate are used in treatment of detergents and boiler waters. When in water metaphosphate changes to orthophosphate and it can be used up by plants in this form. Organic phosphate occurs tied to organic material like plant tissue or waste solids. When decomposition occurs organic phosphate is converted to orthophosphate (www. water-research. net/phosphate. htm). Phosphorous is necessary for animal and plant growth and acts as a growth limiting nutrient in lake ecosystems. Well-oxygenated waters have low amounts of phosphates. Phosphate undergoes a complex process of uptake and mineralization to be retained in the soil, unlike the nitrogen cycle which is simpler. Soluble phosphate is incorporated by plants and animals in their biological systems to form compounds like ATP, DNA and RNA. ATP is necessary for energy production via the Kreb’s cycle while DNA and RNA have genetic importance. Phosphorous is therefore necessary for photosynthesis to occur (www. water-research. net/) Phosphates enhance growth of aquatic plants which are the food source for other organisms. Increased production of plankton result in an initial increase in population of fish and the entire biological system of the water body. This however has an adverse effect because as the phosphate levels build-up the process by which the water ecosystem is aging is speeded up leading to an imbalance of nutrients where production begins to exceed consumption. Phosphates like nitrates also cause eutrophication resulting in more plants than can be consumed by the system. The result is anoxic waters, presence of algal blooms that are toxic and a reduction in biodiversity as well as destruction of food supply and habitat. (www. water-research. net) Eutrophication is an issue that compromises water quality and has received much attention since 1980 when there was extensive occurrence of blue-green algae in fresh water systems. These blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) sometimes produce toxins that cause harm to human beings and farm animals. Poor conditions resulting from eutrophication have been noted in eastern North Carolina in the Chowan, Neuse and Pamlico River systems (Baird, 1990). Water that has very high levels of phosphates causes digestive problems to people. The negative effect of high levels of phosphate then is more indirect to humans but has a bigger impact because by altering the environment and destroying habitats the destruction caused is much harder to reverse. A compound like nitrates dissolves in water and moves in water in surface streams and ground water. Most forms of phosphorous, however, are transported together with soil that has undergone erosion especially when runoff is high flowing precipitation and irrigation. This is because instead of dissolving they attach themselves to soil particles. As such phosphorous is more likely to contaminate surface water rather than ground water (USGS, Circular1225, 2007). Findings from a USGS report indicate that phosphorous has a greater effect in causing eutrophication with 0.1mg/L of phosphorous being sufficient to cause excessive growth of aquatic plants (USGS, Circular 1225, 2007). In urban areas, the most significant point sources are urban streams which have discharged from wastewater treatment plants. A report of the US Geological service indicates that the streams in the semiarid western and south-western cities coupled with those in urban areas on the East had high levels of phosphorous (USGS, Circular1225). Recent research shows that phosphorous can travel with ground-water flows. The study was conducted in Cape Cod, Massachusetts where there has been contamination of the groundwater with phosphorous, an unlikely thing since most scientists generally believe that phosphorous is not transferable via groundwater (McCob et al, 2003; Stollenwerk, 1996). The main factors influencing vulnerability to contamination are the type of soils and slope of land. These two factors determine how fast and how much runoff there will be. Areas with steep slopes, poorly drained clay soils and little vegetation have higher likelihood of contamination of their surface waters. In urban centres, pavements and drains made of tile cause acceleration of flow of streams. Ground water on the other hand has a high chance of contamination if the soils drain well and the subsurface material is highly permeable. Some practices of crop-management designed to decrease sediment flow may increase infiltration leading to greater contamination of groundwater (USGS, Circular, 1225). To reduce the impact of phosphorous and nitrogen in water quality, strategies need to be employed that reduce the use of chemicals and alter transportation of the hydrologic system (USGS). In planning these strategies consideration of watersheds, patterns of land use and the differences in vulnerability to contamination in various areas should be foremost to ensure that whatever interventions are put in place are effective. References Baird J (1990) Nitrogen management and water quality retrieved from www. soil. ncsu. edu/publications/soilfacts/AG-439-02 Harvard, Olson and Cooke, 1999, Impact of soil phosphorous loading on Water Quality in Alberta, Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. McCob T D, Leblanc DR, Watter DA, Hess KN Kent DB and Smith RL 2003, Phosphorous in a Ground-water contaminant Plume Discharging to Ashumet Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 1999: US Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 02-4306, 70p Mueller D K and Helser D R, Nutrients in the Nation’s water-Too much of a Good Thing? National Water-Quality Assessment Program USGS, retrieved from http://water. usgs. gov/nawqa/CIRC-1136. html National findings and their implications for water policies and strategies, USGS, Circular 1225, retrieved from http://pubs.usgs. gov/circ/circ1225/html/nawqafind. htm/. Nitrogen and water quality retrieved from http://kywater. org/ww/ramp/rmnox-htm Stollenwerk K-G 1996, Simulation of phosphate transport in sewage-contaminated groundwater, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Applied Geochemistry, V. 11. no 1-2 pp 317-324 The effects of urbanization and agriculture on water quality: Nitrogen retrieved from http://ga. water. usgs. gov/edu/urbannitrogen. html Total phosphorous and Phosphate impact in surface waters Wilkes University, Environmental. Engineering and Earth Science retrieved from www.water. research. net/phosphate. htm Water-quality patterns in agricultural areas, USGS, Circular 1225 retrieved from http://pubs. usgs. gov/circ/circ1225/html/wq-agri. htm/ Water-quality patterns in urban areas, United States Geological Society, retrieved from http://pubs. usgs. gov/circ/circ1225/html/wq-urban. htm/ Water-quality patterns in areas with mixed hand use and a range of hydrologic and environmental settings, USGS, Circular 1225 retrieved from http://pubs. usgs. gov/circ/circ1225/html/wq-hydro. htm/.

Gender Equality Essay

As a female working in a professional environment and living in a society that promotes economic, social and cultural rights I often find myself concerned with gender equality. Sometimes I feel that gender equality is just a myth, because, I have yet to see women promoted or granted the same salaries as their male counterparts in the workplace, or treated equally in society. Gender equality is the measurable equal representation of women and men; however, it does not imply that women and men are the same, but that they have equal value and should be accorded equal treatment. Women desire to live and work in a world where the equal dignity and worth of every individual is respected and valued. Women desire equal pay for equal work. This is one of the areas where gender equality is rarely seen. All too often women are paid less than men for doing the same work. Even though women hold some of the same job titles as men in their field of work, salaries are usually not equal. Another area of gender equality is suffrage (the right to vote). This area of gender equality does not extend to all the women in the world. Women in Saudi Arabia does not have the right t to vote; in the USA right wing commentators say that women should never have been given the right to vote(IPPF.Org). Other discrimination against women and girls includes gender-based violence, economic discrimination, and reproductive health inequities. A key topic has been women’s rights affording the ability to control their own fertility. This is absolutely fundamental to women’s empowerment and equality. When a woman can plan her family, she can plan the rest of her life. When she is healthy, she can be more productive. And when her reproductive right, which includes the right to decide the number, timing and spacing of her children, and to make decisions regarding reproduction free of discrimination, coercion, or violence. Despite many international agreements affirming their human rights, women are likely to be poor and illiterate, compared to men. . They usually have less access than men to medical care, property ownership, credit, training and employment. They are far less likely than men to be  politically active and far more likely to be victims of domestic violence(UNFPA.Org). It’s also about political will. Until each nation embrace policies to integrate women into leadership like their counterparts, women will not be viewed as equal throughout the world. Therefore, gender equality implies a society in which women and men enjoy the same opportunities, outcomes, rights and obligations in all aspects of life. Gender equality includes sharing equally in the distribution of power, influence, opportunities, financial independence, and access to education and jobs. A critical aspect of promoting gender equality is the empowerment of women to manage their own lives and personal ambitions. The roles that men and women play in society are not biologically determined — they are socially determined, changing and changeable. Some see them as being justified or required by culture or religion, however, these roles vary widely by locality and change over time(UNFPA.Org). References IPPF.Org (N.D) What is gender equality? Retrieved from http://ippf.org/our-work/what-we-do/gender/what-gender-equality Zahidi, Saadia(2014, January 22) How women will dominate the workplace BRIC by BRIC Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/22/opinion/how-women-will-dominate-the-workplace-bric/index.html UNFPA.Org(N.d.) Empowering Women Retrieved from http://www.unfpa.org/gender/empowerment.htm

Pollution - Human health and the environment Assignment

Pollution - Human health and the environment - Assignment Example ubstances are responsible for causing skin disorders, respiratory abnormalities, abdominal problems, eye infections, damage to the central nervous system, and blood disorders (Santrock, 2014). The problem of interaction between environmental pollution and health is considered a global issue since pollution is not restricted to place and time. The problem of health hazards caused by environmental pollution is widely recognized due to fatalities that are associated with it. Pollution effects of health are caused by both natural and human factors. The greatest natural factor that spurs health hazards of pollution constitutes tsunamis. A tsunami is a series of water waves that results from a displacement of large volumes of water in an ocean or sea. The 2004 Indian tsunami is one of the deadliest in history of the world that caused deaths of more than 230, 000 people (Gullì, 2013). Tsunamis cause widespread destruction and deposits solid and liquid chemicals into water bodies. Global warming is the unequivocal and constant rise in the average temperature of the earth’s climate system. Human factors that cause pollution include emissions from industries and manufacturing activities, burning fossil fuels, household and farming chemicals, and discharge of untreated sewage into water bodies. The effects of pollution cause chemical reactions that create poisonous gases. An example of a poisonous gas is ground-level ozone, which is adversarial to p eople’s health (Grandjean, 2013). Pollution also causes to depletion of ozone layer from the atmosphere, leading to exposure of people to harmful ultra-violet rays. A clean environment is highly fundamental for human health and wellbeing. Human beings depend on environmental factors for their survival (Gullì, 2013). Without environment, no life would exist on the earth. The environment consists of both living and non-living components that surround a person, place, or an object. The interactions between the environment

Physical Security Principles Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Physical Security Principles Paper - Essay Example Physical security describes both measures that prevent or deter attackers from accessing a facility, resource, or information stored on physical media and guidance on how to design structures to resist various hostile acts. (Task Committee 1999) According to O’Sullivan (2003), security planning should encompass the following areas: (1) identification of assets; (2) exposing losses; (3) assignment of occurrence probability factors; (4) assessment of the impact of occurrence; and (5) selection of countermeasures. The WBDG Safe Committee averred that the countermeasures that must be implemented by security management in its role to safeguard the assets and resources of the organization would depend on the type of the building, on the risk levels, and on various factors influencing the assessment and evaluation of risk. Diverse classifications of risk are known to be more susceptible to buildings, to wit: forced entry, different kinds of threats (insider, explosive, ballistic), terrorist attacks through weapons of mass destruction, and technological breaches. From among the security measures necessary to address building, grounds and perimeter security, WBDG Safe Committee (2009) identified the following security countermeasures as the most effective: building or organizational access control, detection systems designed specifically to prevent intrusion by installation of fences and barriers, video and CCTV, and alarms. Specifically, the following methods are suggested to protect buildings, grounds and perimeters: (1) implementing stringent policies for access control through checking of proper identifications, (2) limiting and monitoring authority to access to highly safeguarded areas, (3) considering strengthening the foundation of buildings, grounds, and perimeters to ensure protection from collapse and fortuitous

The united States Constitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

The united States Constitution - Essay Example Following this amendment, bribery, false registration, false returns of votes and interference of voting processes were made illegal. The amendment also provided for the appointment of judges who would be present at the poling registration places. Their role would be to challenge a person who unlawfully registers or votes. The legislation to protect the right to vote in all elections whether state, federal or local has since been enacted (â€Å"CRS Annotated Constitution,† cornell.edu). In 1907, the congress passed a law referred to as the Tillman Act. This enactment prohibited the national banks from making any contributions towards federal elections. Another act that was put in place was the 1910 corrupt practice act; it was later replaced in 1925. These laws regulated contributions towards elections and other expenditures towards federal elections. Section 2, clause 1 of the legislation act vests the responsibility of the congress towards the establishment of voter qualification for the purpose of congress elections. Despite this, the Supreme Court held that the right for the members of the congress to vote is adopted from federal constitution. The court further expounded that the congress has the right to protect the suffrage against official and private abridgment (â€Å"CRS Annotated Constitution,† cornell.edu). The congress is mandated to provide protection to the right of an individual, in a case where a primary election is fundamental to the procedure of choice. The freedom from violence and intimidation is secured, but the bribery made to the voters, even though within the limit of the congressional power is taken not to be an interference of the rights provided by this section of the constitution. Under this clause, the congress may claim the statutes; it has the ability to punish election officials for violation of election

Antient Ages in Anthropology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Antient Ages in Anthropology - Essay Example Asian and European people were among the first to use the metal technology. Due to this, and the constant interaction between men, the technology had o spread through other parts of the world even though at a very slow rate. Some of the tools that came with the invention of metals include; spears, swords, arrow heads knife, and farming implements like hoes ploughs etc. These tools were stronger than stone tools and made work much easier to complete. For example when people went to war, spears and arrows were used against the enemies who was some distance off. Knifes were used for cutting meat as well as trimming grass and other thorny areas not to forget that they acted as digging instruments to dig out weeds (Maret, 39).After the metal age, came the METAL BRONZE AGE. This type of technology was mainly used by Asians and Africans around 3rd BC. It was used to make chariots, tablets for writing on as well as housing materials. At this moment of time, copper was invented. Copper later became the most valuable metal due to its ability to conduct electricity.Bronze was used in palaces to make cups, trays, statues of kings, plates, table’s kilns pots, floors and armor for the soldiers who went to battle (Wolf, 89). Anthropology is all about man’s existence all through times to the present day. It describes the technological trends that man has been able to go through to be in his present position. The ages can be described as the STONE AGE 2nd BC from Ethopia to Egypt in Africa .

Tsunami Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tsunami - Essay Example People who lost their lives were as many as 250 000 across the shores of the Indian ocean and millions of people were displaced from their homes and their livelihoods destroyed. Countries that were directly affected by the earthquake include Indonesia, Maldives, the Seychelles, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Yemen. The livelihoods of people were greatly affected especially the poor people who depended on the ecosystem and natural resources for survival. People lost their food stores and the shops in the coastline were greatly affected. Impact on environment/pollution Environmental impact assessment showed that there are great damages to both human and natural resources. The damage could have been larger but the natural resources also provided a first line defense to the tsunami effects. The damage needed an environmental reconstruction programme that cleaned the hotspots, carried the rehabilitation of the livelihoods and ecosystem, and strengthens environmental policies. The water and soils within the periphery of the coastal systems were greatly contaminated thus interfering with the coastal ecosystems (Samarajiva 14). Inland waters, wetlands, and agricultural lands that support people with food were greatly salinated thus affecting the agricultural yields. Shallow wells and ground water supplies in the small islands and in the coastal lands were greatly affected since their fresh waters were also salinized with the waters that overflowed from the ocean. About 90% of the toilets on the badly affected highlands and coastal regions lost and the waters contaminated with sewage. The living conditions were greatly affected since the survivors stood great chances of contaminating water borne diseases. In Sri Lanka; more than 25% of the wells become contaminated when the waters from the saline Indian Ocean and sewerage treatment systems mixed with them (UNEP 15). Waterborne diseases and vector borne diseases increased considerably resulting to high mortality rates along affected coastlines. The environmental infrastructure like water and sanitation systems together with disposal sites were tampered and greatly damaged. Contamination from waste deposits caused health and environmental problems that threatened livelihoods for several years. Most lives were saved due to the enormous humanitarian response that was quickly mobilized across the globe with appropriate mitigation measures put in place to improve environmental standards (Dawson & Stewart 17). Production of goods and services/Economic impact The economic activities in the coastline and the coastal highlands were greatly affected by the tsunami. Sources of daily income and food were totally destabilized leaving people vulnerable to hunger and thirst. Many of the victims were involved in fisheries prior to the attack but they are left with no source of income since their boats were destroyed and the aquatic system destabilized. Mangrove systems and the aquaculture provided a sustainable balance in the coastal systems that were greatly interfered with in the course of mangrove attack (UNEP 19). Rice crops in islands were seen to be yellowing in the field few weeks after the deadly tsunami, an indication that they were drying out. Soil conditions doubled their salt content needed by plants

Spiritual Narratives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Spiritual Narratives - Essay Example â€Å"As our Caucasian barristers are not to blame if they cannot quite put themselves in the dark man’s place, neither should the dark man be wholly expected fully and adequately to reproduce the exact Voice of the Black Woman† (Cooper, 1892 cited on vii). Allowing the black woman to speak for herself allows her to demonstrate that she was seizing her authority, claiming her rights as a free and thinking person and offering up her own personal story as a transformative tool for her readers on a political and spiritual level (xxix). Once the material has been introduced in this way, it is possible to read the texts to follow with greater understanding about the context in which they were written and why the writers concentrated so heavily on their subjects. Following the introduction, the book offers a collection of four black female writers, each speaking with their own voice and published from the original manuscript as much as possible. They are arranged in chronolog ical order from earliest to latest. The earliest writer is Mrs. Maria Stewart writing at 1835. She is followed by Mrs. Jarena Lee in 1849, Julia Foote in 1886 and ending with Virginia Broughton in 1907. As one reads through these various texts, this inner strength and desire to be a leader of men remains clear. The first book included in the set is entitled â€Å"Productions of Mrs. Maria W. Stewart† and was published by the Friends of Freedom and Virtue in Boston, Mass. in 1835. It is an autobiography that focuses primarily upon the reflections and revelations of the author following her conversion experience. The biography prior to this conversion experience is completed within a paragraph: I was born in Hartford, Conn. In 1803; was left an orphan at five years of age; was bound out to a clergyman’s family; had the seeds of piety and virtue early sown in my mind;

Patchi Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Patchi - Research Paper Example Therefore, the Global Strategy and Competitiveness of the company is being highlighted in the paper. Introduction Patchi was a company that originated from the Middle East in Lebanon. Since then, it has expanded to around five continents and excelled in business. Patchi has created its unique name after being originated in 1974 and has 130 branches worldwide. Patchi is a brand name that has created its own goodwill by attaching the unique idea of chocolates to celebrations and love. This is quite similar to the way the De Beers created a market for diamonds by relating them to love. Yet, the idea has created a permanent place in the hearts of the people and hence, Patchi has attracted vivid brand loyalty. Patchi has outstood as a producer of premium and best quality chocolates. The idea has been exacerbated from not only the consumption of chocolates but to create an emotional attachment as well. Thus, Patchi deals not only in chocolates alone but also in gifts that range from a vari ety of occasions such as weddings, new born babies, graduations and other special occasions and celebrations. The outlets have the best quality chocolate that has been hand manufactured and adorned in a special manner so as to create a special aura. Thus, the market segmentation for Patchi is quite different from that of the regular chocolate segment. There are people throughout the world who consume chocolate merely because of their association with taste. But Patchi is a distinct name in the chocolate market and is usually associated with celebrations, presents and happiness. It is however, a fact that the chocolate is a non-durable consumer product that prevails in a very competitive market system. There are many buyers and sellers of chocolates and big names such as Cadbury, Nestle and Hershey’s stand as tough competition. Thus, this paper would focus upon the global business and competitive strategies adopted by Patchi so as to survive in the market. Industry Situation H istory Chocolate, which is enjoyed today by millions of people all over the world, is one of the oldest inventions of mankind. It is actually a natural product obtained from cocoa seeds that are processed and manufactured so as to meet the taste requirements of people today. The first cocoa plantations were done by the Mayan Dynasty that dates back to 600 A.D (Chapter 1). These beans were high priced and were used as articles of trade as well as to make a drink called â€Å"chocolatl.† This beverage was very famous at that time. It was made by crushing the cocoa seeds and adding honey or vanilla spices (Chapter 1) so as to enhance its taste. Christopher Columbus is also said to have taken some cocoa seeds with him merely because of his curiosity (Chapter 1). Thus, in 1520s this drink was introduced in Spain but with the added element of sugar in it (Chapter 1). The first chocolate factory was set up after the Industrial Revolution in Bristol in UK by Joseph Fry. Other factori es that developed within a short period of time included, Rowntree, Cadbury and Hershey. Thus, the chocolate factory became a profitable business for the people at that time. The chocolate was enjoyed by the aristocracy as well as by the general public. Moreover, the Industrial Revolution meant more jobs for people and hence, the chocolate factories provided ample employment and better working conditions. Development It had then been realized that chocolate had

Web Literacy for Educators Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Web Literacy for Educators - Essay Example URLs provide us with the ways in which the site is organized. Extensions such as .org, .com, .edu, and country codes such as .mx for Mexico suggest that the website is owned either by the government or any private organization. However, keenness and critical thinking are needed in discerning the accuracy and validity of the site because anyone can choose and buy their own domain names. In addition, reading URLs also gives the researcher the ability to â€Å"truncate† (November 12). By truncating, the researcher can go back to the home page by deleting sub domains in the address bar for easier navigation. November explains the importance and ways of reading URL (12). URLs provide us with the ways in which the site is organized. Extensions such as .org, .com, .edu, and country codes such as .mx for Mexico suggest that the website is owned either by the government or any private organization. However, keenness and critical thinking are needed in discerning the accuracy and validi ty of the site because anyone can choose and buy their own domain names. In addition, reading URLs also gives the researcher the ability to â€Å"truncate† (November 12). By truncating, the researcher can go back to the home page by deleting sub domains in the address bar for easier navigation. Knowledge of the rules and Internet grammar is very important in advancing literacy among children in today’s generation because admittedly, the Internet has now become the modern library.

Transformational Learning Essay Example for Free

Transformational Learning Essay I believe that transformational learning process when everyone in the world goes through it in their life. When that time in your life comes up if you are on the right path or no sometimes you are on the right career path or not some adult change their career path that’s is using their transformational learning. A transformational learning experience from my life is when my mother told me and my sibling that we was moving to myrtle beach south Carolina it took us nine hundred thirty eight miles away from our family. I was so heart broken when my mother told me that the process of us moving was overwhelming and so painful, my mother didn’t know how to tell our family that we was moving so far away. This moving process was so stressful for me and my siblings, but also exciting that we was moving to a new state and not knowing anyone or how to get around to places without getting are self lost. My mother knew our family members would be so sad because we Was moving so far away. My mother had to make sure the moving process went well before we moved to Myrtle Beach. One of the Mezirow’s seven phases that applies to my experiences would be recognizing that others have gone through a similar process. I researched that everyday people move to better their self and to better their kids in their education or better their career. My mother move to Myrtle Beach South Carolina so that me and my sibling can further are career and are goals.

Bay Of Pigs Historiography

Bay Of Pigs Historiography March 1960 marked the future of international relations between the United States and Cuba. The epic battle at the Bay of Pigs defined irrationalities between the two nations. U.S. President of the time, Dwight D. Eisenhower, ordered the central intelligence agency, otherwise known as the CIA, to use their special activities division to train, equip, and lead Cuban exiles in an invasion of Cuba. This was elaborately planned to overthrow the new communist government led by Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz. Eisenhower justified his cooperation for his opposing position stating it was the policy of the United States to aid the anti-Castro guerrilla forces. The original CIA plan called for a ship-borne invasion at the old colonial city of Trinidad, Cuba. Trinidad had good port facilities, and arguably was close to much existing counter-revolutionary activities. The CIA later proposed alternative plans, and on March 11, 1961 President Kennedy and his cabinet selected the Bay of Pigs option. Dur ing the invasion Kennedy decided not to send the air support to Cuba, for it would cause Soviet Russia to believe the United States was only a vicious world leader, giving them liable reason to attack America. However troops did not respond well to Kennedys decision since Castro took that moment to capture U.S. Military officials. The catastrophe was solely blamed on the president at the time. Like several times in history, the United States claimed it was their duty to set democratic policies in the small but important country; spreading a peaceful and efficient government gave people equal rights and laws all the while separating the elite government officials from the common population. Furthermore Castro would be unable to harm the people of Cuba if he were no longer in power, thus decreasing the illegal immigration from Cuba to America. As far as the United States was concerned it was necessary for the invasion to set some standards of living in the troubled country. However like all wars or arguments there is an opposing side and Cuba was not concerned with the same matter. Castro was furious his own people were invading their homeland. Unfortunately because he was the highest authority at the time, he initially ordered those few individuals to be exiled. The people of Cuba wanted freedom and support from a government that was anything but just. The communist country made no attempts to help its people , when concerned with gaining higher power. Castro was looked down upon as a dictator of the time despite his disapproval of dictatorships. The Cuban government order of battle is unclear and subject to dispute, although most sources generally credit Fidel Castro with centrally directing the overall strategy from Havana. Today the Bay of Pigs invasion is once again looked through two different perspectives. The United States is content in believing their decision to invade was correct and history has obviously repeated itself with the recent war in Irag and the decision to invade Pakistan. However there are several controversial theories claiming President Kennedy did not in fact order the cease of the air support. Many historians believe the CIA went against official government orders and took it upon themselves to delay the message to aircraft transporters. John F. Kennedy may simply be the innocent by-standard that issued a command that small, tangent groups refused to follow. The argument once again has an opposition, and Castro-followers believe Kennedy and Castro might have been in a secret society together; somewhat of a masonic cult of their own. Conspiracies continue to arise throughout our modern historical perspectives yet our history cannot be rerecorded. Of course relations between the United States and Cuba only became worse with the Cuban Missile Crisis and extend to sour interactions into present day history. Today Cuba and America are far from cooperating neighbors and the battle continues. Until Castros recent exit from the Cuban government office in 2008 and the reelection of the United States President, both nations have constantly vowed to fight until the end. We ceased trade with Cuba while they released all of their fugitive prisoners to contribute to the illegal immigration overload in America. They have waged vengeance upon each other like angry siblings without parental supervision. Even as a leading world power the American government has done little to compromise and solve the international affairs. With the hope of a new government in control of both countries, the history is at chance to change for the better and one day prosper as an ally.

Is Climate Change Natural Or Man Made Environmental Sciences Essay

Is Climate Change Natural Or Man Made Environmental Sciences Essay Climate is the long term average weather conditions of different regions on earth. Some places are hot while others bear a cold climate. The different types of climates are namely, tropical, midaltitudinal, subtropical, arctic, subarctic, humid continental, Mediterranean, monsoon, desert and tropical wet-dry. The climate of the world is continuously changing. This change is not something new it is a very old concept perhaps since the birth of the universe. The factors or reasoning for the climate change can be divided into two sides. One side is of the view that this is a natural process that will and has to occur whereas the other side claims that the change has occurred because of the human activities on the earth. later in our essay we will be discussing these reasoning in more depth and with the help of some facts and figures. Literature Review: Definitions: Distinction between climate and weather. Most of the people use climate and weather terms synonymously, but the two terms have a difference between them. Climate is the long term average weather conditions of different regions on earth whereas weather is how the atmosphere behaves in a shorter period of time. Hence we can say that the distinct feature between weather and climate is the measure of time. What is Global Warming and Global Dimming? Global warming refers to the continuous warming of worlds surface. It occurs when the Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) traps the heat and light from the sun around the atmosphere of Earth which forms the root cause of the temperature increase. Some of the green house gases are, Carbon Dioxide, water vapor, methane etc. Whereas Anup Shah said, Global dimming is the opposite of global warming and should not be confused with it. It is the average reduction in heat that is reaching the earths surface. Pollutants from the fossil fuels in the air results in the larger number of droplets which makes the clouds more reflective. More of the suns heat and light is therefore reflected back in the space. (Anup Shah, 2005) Climate Change History Timeline: Earths climate is unstable and is continuously changing. It has experienced several ice ages and warmer periods. To make things simpler and focused we can split the history of climate change into several phases. These phases are briefly discussed below: If we look at The Big Bang Theory which is about the creation of the entire solar system. The temperature of the earth was very high because of which it expanded rapidly, and then it cooled down enough for rain, which became the source of the very first ocean on earths surface. Then from 3.8 to 2.5 billion years ago, the first land masses appeared and life developed on the planet. The atmosphere was still toxic and mainly consisted of ammonia and methane, the sun was only 75% as bright as today, this may depicts that the surface was covered with ice, but in reality it was warmer, scientist justify this situation by saying that this was because of the greenhouse gases i.e. methane which prevented freezing. Next phase is of about 2.5 to 500 million years ago. In this era the oxygen level on the surface started to increase, accompanied by the photosynthetic algae. There are enough evidences of glaciations periods in this era and scientists still discuss this scenario. The Earths core finally cooled down to level comparable to today about 500 to 250 million years ago. The volcanic eruptions became rarer. Earth generally saw a lot of glacial activity in this period because of the two poles known as South and North Poles, which received very less solar energy. The rapid development of photosynthetic organisms made the air more breathable. About 250 to 65 million years ago the climate of Earth became dry and seasonal with high temperature differences. More land came into contact with the oceans and therefore the humidity increased. This was the era of dinosaurs. Then the dinosaurs went extinct and mammals took over around 65 to 2.7 million years ago. The planet experienced sudden warming during this period. The global temperature shot up by 5-8 degree Celsius. This warming was enhanced by the methane bubbles which were previously hidden beneath the ice sheets. About 33 million yearn ago the very first glaciers started to form in Antarctica; this means that the sea level fell and ice grew. Than from 2.7 million to 12000 years ago a lot of the surface of Earth was covered with ice. It is been estimated that there were 25-30 Ice Ages in the history. Around 12000 years ago the last Ice Age ended and the Earth again entered to a warmer phase. From 950 to 1250 the Vikings started to emigrate from Iceland, Greenland. Excellent weather in many regions of the Earth gave a boost to the population growth. The things then rapidly changed in the 20th century when industrialization took place. It increased the temperature of Earth on a average of 0.7 degree Celsius. The British Meteorological Office predicts that 2010 will become the hottest year since the beginning of temperature records in 1880. The Debate: There are two sides of the debate as we have stated this earlier in our essay. One group supports the idea that the major causes of the global climate change are the activities by humans themselves. These activities include burning of fossil fuels, deforestation etc. the other group challenges this view with their research that the change is the natural process and it is occurring since the birth of the earth. The world temperature is increasing and it is occurring due to the activities of the people living in this world. The major culprits of this process are the developed countries of the world whose economies significantly rely on industrialization which results into the excessive emissions of carbon in the atmosphere. United States was the leader in this case followed by UK, Germany, France etc, but now China is taking over the lead and becoming the number one cause of global warming. Pearce said, Chinas annual carbon dioxide emissions have indeed recently surpassed those of the US (Fred Pearce, 2010). He further clarifies that this does not means that the whole blame should be given to China because industrialization is new to China and if we revise the statistics of carbon emissions we will come to know that major role in degrading the environment is played by other countries like US , UK, Germany and other countries of Europe. An International team headed by Nikla Hohne from the Cologne, Germany, office of Ecofys. An international climate change consultancy came up with the findings from the country by country analysis of who has contributed to the climate change and to what extent. The team also look upon other green house gases i.e. methane which is second most important after carbon dioxide. Methane is also produced by human activities from draining marshes and deforestation to cattle farming. Once methane was added to the analysis the team came up with evidence that the poor countries of the world play a much greater part in global warming. Hohne says, Others do worse. (Nikla Hohne, 2010). For instance Brazils contribution rises from1 percent to 5 percent of global total. Indonesia which extensively practices deforestation rises by a factor of between 10 to 90. The studies in this analysis estimated Indonesia as a third greatest contributor to global warming after China and US. To over come these problems and justify themselves developed countries claims that they are taking action to cut carbon emissions into the atmosphere. On example of this action is the Kyoto Protocol 1997. This protocol required the developed countries to start cutting emissions by almost 5 percent by 2008-2012. In this protocol certain quotas were assigned to industries. With in the limits of the quota they can pollute the environment. Larry Lohmann called it The Magic of the Market, (Larry Lohmann, 2002) because the a certain clause was added by the US elites in The Kyoto Protocol which allowed Northern countries to meet the emission targets by trading carbon dioxide with countries that had surplus. The trading of carbon did not solved the problem but in fact increased the climate change effect. Jens Stoltenberg who led a UN- commissioned task force to identify ways to raise finances which could be used in poor countries to deal with the climate change effects said, Carbon pricing h as a double climate effect- its a huge source for revenue, but also gives the right incentive for reducing emissions by making it expensive to pollute, (Jens Stoltenberg, 2010). The Kyoto Protocol gave an other benefit to the industries that hey can have a trade with the people who grow plants and trees as well. But it was impossible to calculate the intake of carbon by trees which make it ineffective. Larry Lohmann said that 30 more protocols with twice the level of Kyoto protocol are needed to rectify the situation. Otherwise the impact will be devastating. According to a special report more than 1000 scientists globally are changing their opinion and saying that the process of change is natural. These scientists also included people from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). the report included comments by some well known people. for instance, Nobel Prize-Winning Stanford University Physicist Dr. Robert B. Laughlin, who won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1998, and was formerly a research scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory said Please remain calm: The Earth will heal itself Climate is beyond our power to controlEarth doesnt care about governments or their legislation. You cant find much actual global warming in present-day weather observations. Climate change is a matter of geologic time, something that the earth routinely does on its own without asking anyones permission or explaining itself. (Dr.Robert, 2010). The scientist said that green house effect is not permanent and the predictions of global warmin g are not supported by the reliable data by IPCC. The economic crisis in 2009 which was very severe and affected almost every nation in the world resulted in the reduction in the carbon emissions. A report from Nature Geo science supports this statement by giving the figures like 1.3 percent reduction in the emissions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to the global financial crisis. The article by Hoffman says that estimated carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation have also been reduced. Doug L. Hoffman said à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦carbon dioxide will rise by 4.8% In 2010, proving that what should be treated as good news is not welcomed in climate change circles. Doug L. Hoffman, 2010). Discussion: After analyzing the both sides with reference to the articles. I am of the opinion that climate is changing because of the anthropogenic global warming i.e. made by the human activities. It is the humans themselves who are threatening their own home. They have increased the activities which involve the emission of greenhouse gases. Increased industrialization is the root cause of the problem in which dangerous gases like carbon dioxide, nitrogen, water vapors etc are emitted in the atmosphere. On the other hand I we consider third world countries were there is less industrialization we come to know that they are also the major contributors in degrading the environment. They emit methane which is second most dangerous after carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere in the process of deforestation which is required for the agricultural needs to grow food and other cash crops. A classic example of this earlier given in this essay is of Indonesia and Brazil. All these emissions give rise to the greenhouse effect in which the greenhouse gases (GHGs) accumulate around the surface of earth and block the rays from the sun. some part of these rays are reflected back into the space and the remaining enter the atmosphere were again some of it is reflected back by the intersection with clouds and other part reaches the surface. The surface of the earth also reflects back some rays which are than trapped by these GHGs. This whole process gives a boost to the temperature of the Earth. The more the emissions of GHGs the more the impact will be. The image below illustrates the situation more clearly. The carbon dioxide emissions have increased by 0.5 percent per year and it is a major contributor in the greenhouse effect with almost 60 percent of share. The emissions of CFCs are also increasing because of the increased use of refrigerators etc. These anthropogenic activities will cause an average increase in the global temperatures between 1.5 °C and 6.8 °C from 2000 to 2100.   From my point of view we are unable to rectify the devastating impacts of global warming and other anthropogenic activities with the help of Protocols like Kyoto Protocol because they are bias and are in the interest of only certain parties. Although we have placed the price on the carbon that is being emitted in the environment but have given industries some benefits as well that in this cause can be quasi property rights. We have designed the protocol but we are almost unable to implement it because the measurement required is very difficult. Whereas on the other hand I do not oppose the second group complete because there is to some extent reality in their piece of work. When they say that the anthropogenic global warming is not supported by the accurate data by the concerned organizations they are right. Some of the changes in the climate also occur because of the natural changes in the conditions, for instance. Hurricanes, floods etc. some scientist also claim that the change in the climate is because of the uncertainty in the earths orbit. Conclusion: In the end I would like to conclude by saying that from my point of view the major cause of the climate change is the anthropogenic activities i.e. global warming and global dimming which are caused by the increased use of fossil fuels. It is we humans who are responsible for this and at the same time it is we who are unable to control its devastating impacts on our climate. If the process will continue with the same pace, one day we will have to bear a lot of problems the ice in the south will start melting which will increase the water level of the world. Higher temperature will cause increased earthquakes, the rare species on earth will extinct, their will be food shortages which will affect our increasing population. Increased sea levels will cause tsunamis. All these consequences have there own further impacts on the economies of the countries. Therefore more practical steps should be initiated by the related agencies in controlling the problem. As an individual we people also have to bear some responsibility towards the climate. We should try to adopt environmental friendly techniques in our daily routine work.

The Continuant Domination of The Aboriginal People Essay -- Canada Can

The Continuant Domination of the Aboriginal People In any Canadian history class we learnt about how the Europeans settled in Canada to build a new life. Furthermore, as kids we have always learnt that Christopher Columbus had discovered Canada as an empty piece of land, with no habitants whatsoever. (Flashback Canada, 1994) These statements are false. Native Canadians had already been living in Canada, and the European settlers basically just moved tight in regardless. Setting up their own Government, and being the aggressor in the country took control of everything the aboriginals had. It was said that to the aboriginals it looked like â€Å"mercantilists wanted our furs, missionaries wanted our souls, colonial governments, and later, Canada, wanted our lands.† (Razack, 2002) The purpose of this paper is to show how the government of Canada, also known as the majority has taken advantage of the native peoples of this country. This has happened in many ways, but one of the most important techniques is land control. In addition, the treatment of the aboriginal people in Canada demonstrates how the dominant group utilizes the technique of land control to dominate the minority group. This is can be seen though the forcing of the native people to relocate, how the government responds to land claims made by the natives, and how the aboriginals have to settle for insufficient land. Throughout history in Europe, there was a concept of inalienability of sovereignty, meaning that people who were inhabitance of a colony firstly, did not have to adapt to ways and laws of other settlers. (McNeil, 2002) This was not the case when European settlers came to Canada, and forced the concept of assimilation upon the aboriginals who already resided in the country. The dominant group forced them to relocate to reserves, and as well forced them to abide by their laws, even though it was not based on the political philosophy of Europe. Reasoning being, the government wanted to have control of the land that was occupied by the Indians, because the government could use the land to develop business which can help them build the economy. (Aboriginal Rights Coalition, 1999) In addition, any resources that were available would be controlled by the dominant group, because they wanted to have control of the resources, because it could be used in trade with other countries. (Abor... ... great financial affect upon the aboriginals. This was just another technique used, by the government to stay on top. Even though they were given some land by the state, it was insufficient land to live on and the natural resources that the aboriginals required to have a good state of living were altered purposely, and nothing the aboriginals could do about it. In addition, even though things are getting a little bit better for the aboriginals, it will take a lot of compensation to make up for the years and years of dreadful treatment. Works Cited McNeil,Kent. "Self-government and the inalienability of aboriginal title." McGill Law Journal 47 (n.d.). Moore, Doorathy. UN doc. York University, Toronto. 9 Feb. 2005. Moore, Dorathy. Dimentions of Racism. York University, Toronto. 13 Oct. 2004. Razack, Sherene. "Race, Space and Law: Unmapping a White Settler Society." Between the Line (2002): 26-30. Redbird, Duke. "A Metis View of the Development of A Native Canadian People." Rev. of Aboriginal Rights and Land Claims. Usher, Peter. "Environment, race and nation reconsidered: reflection on Aboriginal land claims in Canada." The Canadian Geographer 47 (2003).

What A Day! :: Computers Internet Papers

What A Day! Pamela, Pamela, Pamela, what can I say she is a typical modern day mother. At work she is the woman who takes care of everyone else, she is the one who brings cookies and cakes everyday to share with everyone. I can see her now in her maroon 2001 Chrysler Mini van with vinyl interior so that the children don't mess up the seats! Driving along with her flowered dress, hair band, flat sandals, loads of jewelry and too much blue eye shadow, which by the way doesn't match her out fit, accompanied by her bulging purse that is filled with everything including the kitchen sink. This morning was a good one; she had orange juice with coffee, blueberry pancakes with butter and syrup. She isn't up in time very many mornings to make a full breakfast for herself, her three children and her husband; well you might as well say her four children. She just got her red hair permed and teased just the way she likes it a few days ago. Pamela is just so stylish in her everyday attire. Somehow s he finds the time to read her favorite book The Client, by John Grisham, and every once in awhile she even gets to watch her favorite movie Where the Heart Is. After a long day in the office as a secretary she is comforted to know that only four more weeks and she off to Disney World for a week of summer vacation with her kids. Pamela just got home from work. Each day after she gets home she reads her emails from her friends, which usually are about the most recent gossip. Today Pamela got an email that was quite frightening. The email was a forward from her friend Danielle and it contained a link to a website which was about a deadly chemical called dihydrogen oxide. This awful chemical is odorless, colorless, and tasteless, but it kills thousands of people each year. Pamela became scared and called her three children in the room with her to read about this terrible chemical. She continued to read her email aloud: â€Å"Most of the deaths caused by DHO are by accidental inhalation. Prolonged exposure to the chemical in its solid form can cause severe tissue damage.

Effects of Routing on Current Communication Essay

When it comes to Johnson Company’s current communication methods it is blatantly obvious that they are very outdated. I would start by updating their phone system to a digital multiline phone system which utilizes the latest network telephony protocols including VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). There are many vendors who offer multiline digital telephones which would be very useful in bringing the Johnson Company up to speed with their competitors. Another significant improvement would be to augment their advertising in the phone book with a well-designed website. With the explosive growth in the popularity of e-commerce over the last decade the Johnson Company could greatly improve their visibility to potential new customers. If the website could be built by properly trained professionals it would make the Johnson Company stand out from other businesses which in turn would help to draw in more customers. It would be in the company’s best interest to design and buil d a database which would be used to record order information. This would be useful in keeping track of existing customers and taking new orders from customers their information could be added to the database. Many companies do this and it is referred to as data mining. Simply put it helps keep track of what products and services they are buying in order to tailor products and services to their specific preferences. From a customer service standpoint it makes the customer feel like the company is going that extra mile to provide them with better products and services. When it comes to keeping existing customers informed of news and updates I would recommend the use of e-mail subscriptions. Most of today’s businesses are using this method and are seeing positive results. Sending e-newsletters and updates would keep customers informed of the latest products and services available to them from the Johnson Company. Just make sure to give customers the option to unsubscribe due to the fact that not  all of Johnson’s customers will want newsletters and updates sent to their e-mail accounts. All of the above recommendations should be helpful with regards to bringing Johnson up to speed with the rest of the modern business world. It would al so make their business more visible to new customers while improving business with existing customers. An additional effect of these updates will be an increase in profitability as a result of the higher visibility which would attract a vastly greater number of potential customers.

Every Person Is an Architect of His Own Future

Every person is an architect of his future. Discuss. First draft Batyrkhan Saniya, ID 20122886 Academic Reading and Writing Course GEN 1120 Turgan Zhanadilov 12 February 2013 Outline I. Introduction. Thesis statement: Although some people believe that it is quite hard to manage the future because of inevitable fate, there seem to be no doubt that the person and only person is a creator of the future. II. Body. A. First, the future depends on person’s attitude to life. 1. Inspiring yourself 2. Doing everything with love B.Second, person and only person can create favorable conditions in his or her life. 1. Experience of successful people D. However, some people argue that no one can manage the future. 1. The destiny 2. Life circumstances III. Conclusion. Meaning of the â€Å"Every man is an architect of his future† make the public understand the phrase in different ways. Some people become rich and successful by a chance, while others reach their goals after a long strug gle. According to Dahl & Ransom (1999), wealthy people may help to poor people, but they will not make poor people become as rich as they are.Why they will not make them rich? Someone may say that wealthy man cannot make poor man rich because being poor and being wealthy is the fate. Others may say that living in wealth depends on person: if poor person do not want to be rich, he will not be rich; but he can be wealthy if he really want it. Some people believe in nature’s laws that everything in this world is related and nothing can happen just like you want; while others know that everything in their hands, that they are masters of their life, they are making their destiny by themselves.Although some people believe that it is quite hard to manage the future because of inevitable fate, there seem to be no doubt that the person and only person is a creator of the future. One of the main reasons for saying that everyone is an architect of his future is the person’s attit ude to life. Our future is what we are thinking and doing now. We creating next day by thoughts, wishes, behavior, etc. That is true! There is not only one possible course of events in your life. Every person has several variants of a destiny, and everyone choose the way which he or she wants to follow.The problem is how people feel about a situation that forces them to make this choice. Almost everyone meet with some obstacles on their life road, and many people see them as something irresistible, irreparable. Others see these obstacles as a challenge. They see them as not a dead end, but the opportunity. In all the events that happen around us, for someone there are opportunities and for others may be â€Å"dead end†. For example, Steil (2007) in his article mentioned about a girl, who almost lost the ability to see and move because of accident, weird accident.Doctors said that the situation is very bad, and many people may give up in her place. However, this girl believed herself and in her strength, she was positively-oriented to everything. It was reflected in her attitude to herself and other people. No matter how the situation was bad, she could struggle with this obstacle and move straight to her goals. Another reason is that the person and only person can create favorable conditions in his or her life. The one of good examples for that are the successful people.Not getting that promotion can make person feel like the end of the world, but people who are the idols for whole world show that devastating failures are just another stop on the road to success. For example, Marilyn Monroe's first contract with Columbia Pictures expired because they told her she wasn't pretty or talented enough to be an actress. Monroe  kept plugging away and now she is one of the most iconic actresses and sex symbols of all time (http://marilynmonroe. com/history/).Oprah Winfrey was fired from her television reporting job because they told her she wasn't fit to be o n screen. But  Winfrey rebounded  and became the undisputed queen of television talk shows. She's also a billionaire (http://www. oprah. com/index. html). These are the one of the world's greatest success stories of people, who just happen to have experience of massive failure that could have easily made them give-up. But they didn't and now they're the monuments of success that they are remembered for, a good source of encouragement when it feels like you will never make it to the top.However, some people argue that no one can manage the future because of the destiny and life circumstances. As Conchalovsky says (2005), â€Å"For every person, there is a destiny. Nothing happens accidentally, everything happens because of some law or other things. † There is a nature’s law that everything comes from something, all subjects and objects are related to each other. Another example is inevitable life situations occurring frequently nowadays that can ruin plans of human at anytime. But, as it was written, the attitude to life helps to fight with these situations.To conclude, our life is complex and unpredictable. Often people think that no one can hide from the fate, that we were born and live on a particular scenario, and that everything what destined above will happen. But few of us have thought about the fact that person creates the future, person’s actions, thoughts, desires and feelings. Always remember that people are the creators of the future, so they must create it with enthusiasm, reveal the creative potential. Reference list: Ransom, M. R. , ; Dahl, G. B. (1999).Does Where You Stand Depend on Where You Sit? Tithing Donations and Self-Serving Beliefs. American Economic Review  (pp. 703–727). American Economic Association. Retrieved February 9, 2013 from www. jstor. org Steil, M. (2007). Chto takoe pozitivnoe otnoshenie k zhizni? Retrieved February 8, 2013 from www. shkolazhizni. ru Baraban, E. (2007). â€Å"The Fate of a Man† by Sergei Bondarchuk and the Soviet Cinema of Trauma. The Slavic and East European Journal,  51(3), 514–534. Retrieved February 10, 2013 from: http://www. jstor. org/stable/20459525 .

Heart Functions Essay

1.What do you notice about the sizes of the four chambers? Annotate the measurements you have recorded onto your drawing. The ventricles are much bigger than the atria and the left ventricle is bigger than the right ventricle. Left atrium wall: 0.4cm Left ventricle wall: 1.4 cm Right atrium wall: 0.2 cm Right ventricle wall: 0.6 cm 2.The left ventricle has a much thinker wall than the right ventricle; explain why this is. The left ventricle has a much thicker wall than the right ventricle because the left ventricle has to pump blood to the whole body while the right ventricle only has to pump blood to the lungs. 3.What is the function of the tendinous cords attached to the bicuspid and tricuspid valves? The tendinous cords attached to the bicuspid and tricuspid valves hold the valves in place and prevent them from turning inside out. 4.Explain how blood flow in the heart moves in one direction only and trace the movement of a single red blood cell through the heart. The valves in the heart prevent the back flow of blood on the heart because they close shut whenever the blood starts flowing in the wrong direction. A deoxygenated red blood cell coming from the body would enter the heart from the vena cava into the right atrium. It would then go into the right ventricle through the tricuspid valve. From the right ventricle, it would be pumped to the lungs through the pulmonary artery. The red blood cell would be oxygenated in the lungs and would return to the left atrium through the pulmonary vein. From the pulmonary vein, it would go through the bicuspid valves into the left ventricle and the left ventricle would pump it through the aorta to the rest of the body. 5.What is the function of the coronary arteries? The coronary arteries supply the cardiac muscle with the blood and in turn oxygen they need to contract.

Factors Influencing Comprehension

Factors influencing Comprehension The article under the sub- heading Understanding Comprehension stated that â€Å"comprehension is complex†. It is my belief that teachers whether in the primary or secondary system should see it as such and not just a situation where a passage is just read and the questions answered at the end of it. It has been brought to my attention that comprehension is affected by a variety of factors some of which may be considered internal as well as external. Some of the internal factors may include stressful situations and the external factors would include the reading text assigned and the pages with dense text with few paragraph breaks or illustrations. It is then my belief that if the pre-service and inservice teachers saw this as a critical issue then for those of us who have not been taking it as seriously then we need to. The students who we teach may have been affected by these factors but because of teachers ignorance comprehension lessons where not adequately prepared. Secondly, the fact that background knowledge was so important on the side of the pupil just did not occur to me. I thought that what I gave initially at the beginning of the lesson if they had no experience it would be enough. Students being taught the comprehension lesson should have some experiential background to the text being used or the teacher could run into problems. â€Å"Schema theory tells us that readers must have adequate back-ground knowledge to understand what they read; it also tells us that readers must activate their prior knowledge† (Langer, 1984). Preparations for students doing comprehension lessons must therefore be more in-depth not only on the teachers part but in light of the students as well as one needs to investigate if the students has any prior knowledge. Thirdly and quite interestingly the Transactional theory brought home the fact that different students read for different reasons, the efferent stance or the aesthetic stance. The fact is a student’s stance can influence his or her comprehension. In teaching we need to know just how important the material is to our students or rather how important we make it for them. The fact that they may be quizzed at the end of a reading may generate more interest. The students who read just for sheer experience may just not comprehend as well as the one who does it for a purpose that could be considered more important. Fourthly, comprehension as a process is very stimulating to a student or students for that matter. The fact that this process begins before actual reading and end long after the reading is finished emphasises the activities that are used to grab and keep the students involved in the whole teaching and learning experience. Dividing instruction into prereading, during reading and post reading helps teachers design activities for each stage that will improve students’ comprehension (Carlton, 1982) and provides opportunities for teachers to demonstrate strategies that readers can use at this stage†. The actual process of comprehension and the strategies used has truly been an experience and will be a welcomed difference in my approach to the teaching of comprehension.

High Cost of Poverty in the United States Essay

Poverty can be defined in many different ways. In certain attempts, it can be used in numbers, while other definitions can be more vague, and used to define a life style. The defined term of poverty is â€Å"the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions†. (Mirriam Webster, 2011) According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 37 million people live below the poverty line. â€Å"The ranks of America’s poor swelled to almost 1 in 6 people last year, reaching a new high as long-term unemployment left millions of Americans struggling and out of work. The number of uninsured edged up to 49.9 million, the biggest in more than two decades.† (Yen, 2011) Poverty is obviously very common in our country, and all over the world. Even with the United States being the wealthiest country in the world, we still have many Americans who struggle everyday to survive. The topic I chose to focus on is the high cost of poverty, and ho w it actually costs more to be poor. Although it seems like an oxymoron, it is a very realistic topic. I chose this topic because I have personally been involved in both sides of economic statuses. Although I do not live in extreme poverty, I technically have an income that falls within the line of poverty, but I do not have a family to support and have student loans to live off of. I wanted to know further detail of how those who only experience poverty, have limited choices, and how their disadvantages actually cost them more money. My personal life experience is one from an upper middle class family, and was raised in a wealthy suburb in a predominately white community. My family never had financial struggles, so I had no experience with battling bills. I worked in high school and had my own money, but I had nothing to pay for. I thought I made a decent amount of money making $7 an hour, and only working 15-20 hours a week. For a person with no bills or rents to pay for, $150-200 a week was a lot to me. Recently, I moved out of my parent’s suburban home and into the city to be closer to school and gain some independence as an adult. I make about $250-400 a week, depending on the activity of the restaurant I waitress at. I soon realized that I am very dependent on my two roommates to split bills and rent, because I could never afford to live on my own. Although we live in a low income neighborhood, the cost of food, rent, electric, heat and cable bills stack up, and I struggle to pay them. I also only pay one third of the full cost. I have a car I need to put gas in, a gym membership I pay monthly and credit card bills every month. I now see how people that make just as much, or less than I do, struggle even more to make ends meet when their income is at the head of the household. I wanted to show to people that it is more expensive to be poor, because of the lack of resources, income and credit, and also what their options become for survival due to these circumstances. I also did a quantitative study on renting versus owning an item, to show that it actually costs more to rent something than to purchase it upfront. I chose to sample the same three items from two different stores, and recording the prices to see the differences of renting and owning it. I am aware that most individuals in poverty, usually do not have enough money to purchase items or homes upfront so they often rent them, thinking they can afford weekly or monthly payments to stretch out their income to afford other life necessities. My first concept I chose to focus was access to food. I thought about how much I spend on the food I enjoy for just for me personally, and I think it is expensive. I enjoy fruits and fresh vegetables, brand name cereals and expensive breads. Since I grew up eating the certain brands, I continue to try and afford the things I like. Being an individual with a low income, I cannot imagine supporting not only myself, but a family solely on my income. In this research paper, I will explain the hardships of getting to and from the grocery store, and if you cannot, you need to shop elsewhere, such as corner stores.† Prices in urban corner stores are almost always higher, economists say. And sometimes, prices in supermarkets in poorer neighborhoods are higher. Many of these stores charge more because the cost of doing business in some neighborhoods is higher.† [ (Brown, 2009) ] This can lead to spending extra time, danger, stress, and in the end, costing the individual more money. It also forces those with less money to spend, higher risk for obesity. â€Å"Inequitable access to healthy foods is one mechanism by which socioeconomic factors influence the diet and health of a population†. (Drewnowski, 2009) Since they do not have the money to afford healthy choices, they must choose foods that they can stretch out in order to feed their families, even if it is not healthy. My next concept I chose to study was the price of minimum wage, and how it isn’t really the minimum coverage of standard living. In New York State, the minimum wage is $7.25. â€Å"About 20% of American adults who have jobs are earning less than $10.65 an hour. Even at 40 hours a week, that amounts to less than $22,314, which is the poverty level for a family of four†. [ (Isidore, 2011) ]. This simply states that a monthly income of about $1,000-$2,000 is almost impossible to survive on. This may lead to bad credit, forced into renting, and having people do dangerous or criminal activity to get money or items for their families. The poverty rate for all people disguises substantial variation between racial and ethnic subgroups. Poverty rates for blacks and Hispanics greatly exceed the national average. According to the United States Census Bureau, â€Å"In 2010, 27.4 percent of blacks and 26.6 percent of Hispanics were poor, compared to 9.9 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 12.1 percent of Asians.† (Bureau of the Census, 2011) Poverty rates are most often the highest for families headed by single women, particularly if they are black or Hispanic. â€Å"In 2010, 31.6 percent of households headed by single women were poor, while 15.8 percent of households headed by single men and 6.2 percent of married-couple households lived in poverty.† (Bureau of the Census, 2011). â€Å"The official poverty level is an annual income of $22,314 for a family of four â€Å". (Yen, 2011) On average, depending on the size of a household, a family living in poverty has an average income of less than $20,000. This can include couples with children, single parents with one or more children. Needless to say, this is not a lot of money to support a family on, and thus they have to take extra steps to survive, which results in higher costs, and contributing to the statement of the high cost of poverty. You have to be rich to be poor. This is what some people, who have never lived below the poverty line, don’t understand. The poorer you are, the more things cost. Additional steps in money, time, hassle, exhaustion, and danger. This is a fact of life that television, magazines and media, do not often explain. Take for example, food. First, if you do not have a car, getting to the supermarket can take anywhere from one to three hours of public transportation, and costing a price to use the bus or a taxi. To use the method of public transportation, it is necessary to hav e to load all of your groceries into the bus, or taxi. This is limiting to space and capability of carrying all of the groceries. A simpler version of this would be to walk to the corner store, for free, but where the grocery selection is limited and prices are doubled. â€Å"Prices in urban corner stores are almost always higher, economists say. And sometimes, prices in supermarkets in poorer neighborhoods are higher. Many of these stores charge more because the cost of doing business in some neighborhoods is higher.† (Brown, 2009) Also, if you are living in poverty, you will most likely not be making enough money to buy $100 or more worth of groceries for your family. This results in the person or family spending more money, to either get to the grocery store, or paying more for the food to save money traveling to and from. In the end, it is a losing situation, and the poor are paying more in the end than someone who is wealthy and has access to the necessary resources. Spending more money than middle class, or wealthy class to buy groceries is one example of how high the cost of poverty is. If the poor is spending money in the corner stores, they are most likely not getting nutritious foods or healthy choices that most corner stores do not carry. Obesity is a direct result from that, seeing that unhealthy foods cost way less than healthy eating does.† Obesity and type 2 diabetes follow a socioeconomic gradient. Highest rates are observed among groups with the lowest levels of education and income and in the most deprived areas. Inequitable access to healthy foods is one mechanism by which socioeconomic factors influence the diet and health of a population†. (Drewnowski, 2009) Low income levels leave people no choice but to choose foods that are nutrient poor, because it is a price that can afford and something they can stretch out among their whole family to feed them. It is also the best way to provide daily calories at an affordable c ost. Those who are struggling financially are clearly the most disadvantaged when it comes to healthy eating habits. In our grocery stores today we have so many artificial sweeteners, preservatives, fats and sweets that are sure to taste good, but not good for our health. Fats and sweets tend to cost way less, where as healthy foods cost more. It makes no sense to have unhealthy foods cost less than healthy foods, but it is the manufacturing and production that determines the cost of foods. Therefore, those who do not have the money to purchase healthy options have to choose foods that fit in their budget. These are usually unhealthy, packaged, canned or frozen options that have little to no nutritional value. Even those families that have government support, welfare checks and food stamps are still on a restricted budget. The foods they are allowed to get for free or reduced price are items such as fruit juices, canned fruits, cereal, grits, and corn tortillas. These items are all packed with sugar and calories which is not aiding in healthy lifestyles. â€Å"Researchers have shown that low-income neighborhoods attract more fast-food outlets and convenience stores as opposed to full-service supermarkets and grocery stores† (Drewnowski, 2009). This also relates back to travel costs, transportation and affording food. Since it is easier to get to the corner stores, it is a disadvantage to the customers because the corner stores are usually just packed with unhealthy options. It is economic deprivation that is a key factor in obesity, and one key factor of weight gain may be low diet cost. Another example of how the high cost of poverty is, is the price of minimum wage and if it really acceptable to be the minimum wage you can survive on. Most people and experts agree that to get out of an economic slump, we need more jobs. But another problem is that millions of Americans already have jobs that don’t pay very much. â€Å"About 20% of American adults who have jobs are earning less than $10.65 an hour. Even at 40 hours a week, that amounts to less than $22,314, which is the poverty level for a family of four†. (Isidore, 2011) In New York State, the federal minimum wage is $7.25. Minimum wage is supposed to be the wage in which it is the bare minimum amount of money that one can survive on. Even at 40 hours a week, that equals to be $290 without taxes taken out. This would be a paycheck of about $250 for one week, and this equals about $1000 a month. Taking into consideration that those who are the working poor, they need to spend more money getting to and from work, which also costs extra time. They also need to pay bills, feed themselves and their families. For an individual making $1,000 a month, this is almost impossible to survive on even in minimal conditions. An average cost of rent in Buffalo NY is fairly inexpensive, and taking into consideration that Buffalo on of the poorest cities in the United States, we have to be aware that there is many people in the city below the poverty line. According to Rentjungle.com, An average one bedroom apartment in Buffalo is $679 a month and two bedroom apartment rents average $750. To see this in comparison to another large city, one bedroom apartments in New York City rent for $2356 a month on average and two bedroom apartment rents average $2767. Minimum wage is clearly not enough to survive on if your average monthly income is $1000. Out of $1000 income, you have to set aside an average of $600 for rent, leaving you $400 for car fees, if you have one, or transportation fees if you depend on them. If your apartment does not include utilities, you need money for electric bill, gas bills, which can skyrocket in our area when it is winter, cable or internet if possible, and food budget. Another example of a disadvantage the poor have is the actual process of cashing their check to get their money. The rich or middle class usually have the option of direct deposit for their paychecks. The poor have check-cashing and payday loan joints, which cost time and money. The poor pay more for financial services, and many people who cannot be capable to have a bank account may have to pay extra money for a money order to pay their bills and cash their checks. â€Å"They may pay a 2 percent check-cashing fee because they don’t have bank services.† (Brown, 2009) Many people in poverty literally live paycheck to paycheck. If they have a bill that’s due, they do not have a luxury of online payments, because they cannot afford computers or internet, so they have to mail it. If they do not have the money in time for a bill, they have to wait for their next paycheck. This can cost late fees, and in an end result, spending more money than a person with those luxuries. While many people are surviving in this manner, people will look for any way to get by without spending their money. Many people in poverty may depend on credit cards to help them afford things they cannot. Credit cards can help out for temporary reasons, but if not paid off, this can cause more problems. People who are struggling to pay their bills will most likely have bad credit, and have no other option but to rent homes, items, and many other things they cannot afford, due to their credit and income. Bad credit also costs more money than those with good credit. If a person does not have enough money to pay off bills in full, they will get extra interest charges and fees that stack up and end up costing more for them. Since I did not have the option of going into homes of the people in poverty, I decided to do research on items, rather than homes, to compare the costs of rent to own. Poor people do not have the option of owning homes, because of their credit and/or income, so they have no choice but to rent. I wanted to see if the price you pay for being a low income individual actually costs you more, than to own something. This is to show that poverty does in fact cost more to live I chose to look at a refrigerator, a range and a television from two different department stores to compare prices on a rent versus owning the item. My first item, the refrigerator, a 25.3 cubic foot, Side-by-Side with thru-the Door Ice and Water, Black color, was $799.99 to own immediately from Best Buy. At Rent- A-Center, the same exact refrigerator was $37.99 to rent per week, for 91 weeks. At first, it seems like a cheap deal and a realistic price for those who do not have the $799.99 upfront to spend. When you do the math, $37.99 per week for 91 weeks is $3457 total to own after renting at the $37.99 per week. This is over four times the price it would cost to buy at Best Buy and own immediately. I also learned that consumers can get a â€Å"discounted† price by purchasing the item after 90 days, which seemed a little better to me. When I did the math again, it would equal out to be $1728 total to own after renting for 90 days. This is still about double the price of buying it immediately. My next item I compared was the range. A GE-30† Freestanding Electric Range, Black-on-Black Quickset III oven. At Best Buy this was $429.99 to own immediately. Rent-A-Center had the same oven for $24.99 to rent per week for 74 weeks. The total to own after renting for 74 weeks at $24.99 was $ 1849. After 90 days of renting, the total price to own would be $924.63. The prices are clearly different, but yet it seems manageable when you are there. Looking at a price of $25 a week for a nice, brand new stove seems pretty manageable if you have a low income. When you look at the math and how much it will actually cost to rent rather than own, it is actually over four times the original price to own the oven upfront. The last item I compared was a television, an Insignia © Advanced 42† Class/1080p/ 120Hz/ LCD. This item from Best Buy was $749.99 to own immediately. Rent-A-Center had the same television for $39.99 to rent per week, for 74 weeks. It seems like a reasonable, affordable price until you calculate it and realize that it would cost $2959 total to own after 74 weeks of renting. This is about four times the original price. After 90 days of renting, the â€Å"discount† price to own, at Rent-A-Center is $1479, still double the original price. All three of the items I chose to compare are most needed in homes, with the exception of the television. Although it is not a necessity, almost all homes have at least one television. When those who are living in poverty want to own these items, they will have struggles to afford paying them. They turn to the option of renting because they see the low price and it appeals that it is affordable to them. The small payments they think they can afford weekly add up and end up costing them quadruple of original prices. In conclusion, being poor is a struggle. It costs much more money and time to be poor. Working lots of hours and making little money takes a toll on many people here in the United States. I wanted to show readers that this is a very realistic topic to study, and that the cost of poverty is high. The obstacles and disadvantages those in poverty have to deal with are frustrating, stressful ,and in need of change. Poverty is a very difficult thing to understand and take control over because lifestyles cannot be forced upon. People choose their own paths of life, and lack of education, jobs, motivation, children and many other situations are uncontrollable. In our society, I think it is important to know the struggles of those in poverty stricken situations and to understand their hardships. This can be motivation to those in it, or headed towards it in their future. Learning about the costs and disadvantages poverty comes with can be a motivating factor for people to go to college and get an education to receive a well paying job, get a job in general, educate themselves about saving money, and learning that renting is not cheaper than owning. Hopefully my research will be beneficial to those in college, living on low income, to do well in school to gain better jobs, educate those in poverty about the costs they are spending and figuring new alternatives, and to open eyes to those that think it is cheap to be poor. Being in poverty costs time and the cost of poverty is certainly high. In the end, the high cost of poverty will be a never ending cycle of time and money and I hope this research paper opens the eyes of all individuals to help make this problem change. Bibliography Brown, D. L. (2009). The High Cost of Poverty: Why the Poor Pay More. Lexis Nexis Academic , A-4. Bureau of the Census. (2011). Income Alternative Poverty Estimates in the United States. Washington D.C: U.S Census Bureau. Drewnowski, A. (2009). Nutrition Reviews: Obesity, diets, and social inequalities. Seattle: University of Washington. Isidore, C. (2011, September 27). CNN Money. Retrieved November 15, 2011, from Not getting by on minimum wage: http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/27/news/economy/minimum_wage_jobs/index.htm Jason M. Sutherland, E. S. (2009). Getting Past Denial — The High Cost of Health Care in the United States. The New England Journal of Medicine , 1227-30. Mirriam Webster. (2011). Mirriam Webster Dictonary. Dictionary . Brittanica Company. Yen, H. (2011, September 13). Yahoo News. (A. Press, Ed.) Retrieved November 15, 2011, from Census: US poverty rate swells to nearly 1 in 6: http://news.yahoo.com/census-us-poverty-rate-swells-nearly-1-6-142639972.html