Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Biography of Philip Emeagwali, Computer Pioneer

Philip Emeagwali (born August 23, 1954) is a Nigerian-American computer scientist. He achieved distributed computing breakthroughs that helped lead to the development of the internet. His work with simultaneous calculations on connected microprocessors earned him a Gordon Bell Prize, considered the Nobel Prize of computing. Fast Facts: Philip Emeagwali Occupation: Computer scientistBorn: August 23, 1954 in Akure, NigeriaSpouse: Dale BrownChild: Ijeoma EmeagwaliKey Achievement: 1989 Gordon Bell Prize from the Institute of Electronics and Electrical EngineersNotable Quote: My focus is not on solving natures deeper mysteries. It is on using natures deeper mysteries to solve important societal problems. Early Life in Africa Born in Akure, a village in Nigeria, Philip Emeagwali was the oldest in a family of nine children. His family and neighbors considered him a prodigy because of his skills as a math student. His father spent a significant amount of time nurturing his sons education. By the time Emeagwali reached high school, his facility with numbers had earned him the nickname Calculus. Fifteen months after Emeagwalis high school education began, the Nigerian Civil War broke out, and his family, part of the Nigerian Igbo tribe, fled to the eastern part of the country. He found himself drafted into the army of the seceding state Biafra. Emeagwalis family lived in a refugee camp until the war ended in 1970. More than half a million of Biafrans died of starvation during the Nigerian Civil War. The Philip Emeagwali Family in 1962. Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons 4.0 After the war ended, Philip Emeagwali doggedly continued to pursue his education. He attended school in Onitsha, Nigeria, and walked two hours to and from school each day. Unfortunately, he had to drop out due to financial problems. After continuing to study, he passed a high school equivalency exam administered by the University of London in 1973. The education efforts paid off when Emeagwali earned a scholarship to attend college in the U.S. College Education Philip Emeagwali traveled to the U.S. in 1974 to attend Oregon State University. Upon arrival, in the course of one week, he used a telephone, visited a library, and saw a computer for the first time. He earned his degree in mathematics in 1977. Later, he attended George Washington University to earn a Masters degree in Ocean and Marine Engineering. He also holds a second Masters from the University of Maryland in applied mathematics. While attending the University of Michigan on a doctoral fellowship in the 1980s, Emeagwali began work on a project to use computers to help identify untapped underground oil reservoirs. He grew up in Nigeria, an oil-rich country, and he was someone who both understood computers and how to drill for oil. Conflict over control of oil production was one of the critical causes of the Nigerian Civil War. Computing Achievements Initially, Philip Emeagwali worked on the oil discovery problem using a supercomputer. However, he decided it was more efficient to use thousands of widely distributed microprocessors to do his calculations instead of tying up eight expensive supercomputers. He discovered an unused computer at the Los Alamos National Laboratory formerly used to simulate nuclear explosions. It was dubbed the Connection Machine. Emeagwali began hooking up over 60,000 microprocessors. Ultimately, the Connection Machine, programmed remotely from Emeagwalis apartment in Ann Arbor, Michigan, ran more than 3.1 billion calculations per second and correctly identified the amount of oil in a simulated reservoir. The computing speed was faster than that achieved by a Cray supercomputer. Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons 4.0 Describing his inspiration for the breakthrough, Emeagwali said that he remembered observing bees in nature. He saw their way of working together and communicating with each other was inherently more efficient than trying to accomplish tasks separately. He wanted to make computers emulate the construction and operation of a beehives honeycomb. Philip Emeagwalis primary achievement wasnt about oil. He demonstrated a practical and inexpensive way to allow computers to speak with each other and collaborate all around the world. The key to his achievement was programming each microprocessor to talk with six other neighboring microprocessors at the same time. The discovery ultimately helped lead toward the development of the internet. Legacy Emeagwalis work earned him the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers Gordon Bell Prize in 1989, considered the Nobel Prize of computing. He continues to work on computing problems, including models to describe and predict the weather, and has earned more than one hundred honors for his breakthrough achievements. Emeagwali is one of the most prominent African-American inventors of the 20th century.

Monday, December 23, 2019

Egypt Mesopotamia Comparison - 961 Words

Egypt and Mesopotamia Comparison In order to completely understand the relationship between two events, comparing and contrasting is necessary. Through comparing similarities and differences it is easier to analyze why things developed and occurred the way they did. For example, in comparing Egypt and Mesopotamia it will be easier to achieve understanding of major aspects of their culture, the way other cultures impacted them, and their influence on the future. In addition to the similarities between the two cultures, the differences are what make them unique. Although Egypt and Mesopotamia both left stable heritage in their respective regions, due to geographic location their influences on politics,†¦show more content†¦However, the influences of Egypt basically ended following the fall of their civilizations. Finally, the social structure of the cultures reflects them in a more relatable way in the sense that it is more interesting to understand their daily life. Mesopotamian and Egyptian social structur es are similar because of the fact that they have a structure which divides their cultures into classes. In both cultures, the bottom of the social ladder was reserved for peasants and slaves who did the dirty work and hard labor that led to agricultural surplus and then the modernization of these cultures. In contrast, people in Egypt that were born commoners had more of an opportunity to attain high positions than those in Mesopotamian society where nobles were born into their rankings. In addition to social classes, both civilizations also formed a patriarchal society. In Egypt and Mesopotamia, men dominated public affairs as well as household decisions, and they always held positions of power. In both societies, women were able to influence men and even some positions of power such as high priestesses in Mesopotamia who managed estates owned by the temples whereas in Egypt women could serve as regents and ultimately hold positions of real power. For example, Hatshepsut was a fem ale ruler who filled the role of pharaoh for her stepson as he was too young. Despite their new found power in Egypt, they still where mainly responsibleShow MoreRelatedMesopotamia and Egypt Comparison Essay1190 Words   |  5 PagesKnown as one of the earliest civilizations, Mesopotamia and Egypt both share set amounts of similarities along with a share of striking distinctions. Environmentally, these two civilizations were formed in similar surroundings, yet their weather patterns show distinctions. Politically, both governments derived from a monarch, yet their laws and punishments distinguished the two’s court systems. Economically, they both shared prosperous success in similar manners. Socially, although the two landsRead MoreEgypt and Mesopotamia: A Societal and Religious Comparison Essays765 Words   |  4 Pagesdifferent. The religions in Egypt and Mesopotamia were similar because both were polytheistic, had beliefs of an afterlife, as well as priests who were part of the upper levels of the social hierarchy. Social similarities between Egypt and Mesopotamia included: rigid social structure, dependence on slavery, and authoritative religious structure. However, the system of government was different because Egyptian society was governed by a theocratic monarchy, while Mesopotamia was ruled by a traditionalRead MoreEssay on Compare and Contrast Egypt and Mesopotamia901 Words   |  4 PagesEgypt developed around the Nile River, while Mesopotamia developed between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Egypt and Mesopotamia grew into complex civilizations. Politically, both Egypt and Mesopotamia had a government with one main ruler, but Egypt had a centralized government with a pharaoh, while Mesopotamia had a decentralized government with a king. Socially, both civilizations were patriarchal, but Egypt was more lenient towards women while Mesopotamia was stricter. The political and socialRead MoreMesopotamia, Egypt, and Indus Valley Essay813 Wo rds   |  4 Pagesfascinating developments, the most prominent being the first civilizations, Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. They had many similarities, such as characteristics of early civilizations and social structures, but they also had their differences. The most embossed differences included the divergent geography, prior belief, trade, relations with other civilizations, and politics. The earliest societies, such as Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt exhibiting indicator traits of civilization developed along the floodplainsRead MoreEgypt And Mesopotamia917 Words   |  4 PagesArchitecture in Egypt and Mesopotamia When you think about ancient architecture, what questions arise? Do you ask yourself about its history, durability, and structure? For example, Egypt is known for its pyramids, while Mesopotamia is known for its temple. Both are influential and recognizable after so many years and will continue to be for years to come, those questions come without a doubt to mind. In the following paragraphs, these questions will be answered and explainedRead MoreAncient Empires1235 Words   |  5 Pagesform of language at their time. Mesopotamia and Egypt show there similarities in the aspects of economic, political, and social elements with amazing similarities at a broad level until you look at specific comparison. Mesopotamia meaning land between the rivers is located in between the Tigris and Euphrates and is a vary arid zone surrounded by mountains and thanks to the irrigation canal they built it became a very impressive region for trade, on the other hand Egypt was a natural isolation privilegedRead MoreEgypt And Mesopotamia Similarities984 Words   |  4 PagesPaper 1 In what ways were the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt alike? In what ways were they different? What accounts for these similarities and differences? Mesopotamia and Egypt were the first known civilizations in history. While maintaining separate identities, they still managed to have a vast number of similarities. Differences that go beyond general location were also very prevalent between the two civilizations. One of the biggest similarities between the two civilizations isRead MoreThe Most Influential Innovators Of The Ancient World Essay1510 Words   |  7 PagesMesopotamia was once a vast fertile, green landscape with two mighty rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, running from the north to the south flowing into the Persian Sea. Sandy river valleys covered most of the south and mountain ranges dotted the north. This land was also known as the Fertile Crescent. Mesopotamia is one of the first major of civilization along with others that sprung up along major rivers around the world at approximately the same time. Mesopotamia was home to the SumeriansRead MoreDescribe The Relationship Between Ancient Civilizations1023 Words   |  5 PagesThese civilizations include; Mesopotamia, India, China and Egypt. Not only will I be explaining the relationship between these four civilizations, I will also be explaining how the geography of these civilizations relate to religion, social classes ,and writing. Paragraph 1 - Describe land and water forms The geography of these four civilizations are very important aspect of their culture and affect many things such as religion, social classes and even writing. Mesopotamia is the first known civilizationRead MoreMesopotamia, Egypt and Hebrews Essay975 Words   |  4 PagesMesopotamia, Egypt and Hebrews Mesopotamia and Egypt are known as the â€Å"place of the first civilization† followed by the Hebrews. These three societies traded extensively, but there was a difference in economic area. Mesopotamia was more productive of technological improvements, because their environment was more difficult to manage than the Nile valley. Trade contacts were more extensive, and the Mesopotamians gave attention to a merchant class and commercial law. Priests were part of the

Sunday, December 15, 2019

The Outbreak of the HIV Virus, AIDS in 1980s Free Essays

Who would have ever thought that a disease, possibly brought to America by infected African monkeys, would affect the country forever? This is exactly what happened in the late nineteenth century when the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was introduced to America. The unpredictable epidemic caused a huge outrage for years to come. The outbreak of the HIV virus, AIDS, in the early 1980†³s resulted in medical research, public misconceptions, and ultimately growing awareness. We will write a custom essay sample on The Outbreak of the HIV Virus, AIDS in 1980s or any similar topic only for you Order Now Appearing first only in homosexual men, AIDS was an unfamiliar virus to the entire United States. Reports of unknown and unexplainable symptoms caused much confusion among patients and even doctors. In 1981, the first reports explained that 41 homosexual men in the San Fransisco area had â€Å"†¦ a rare and often rapidly fatal form of cancer† (Altman n. p. ). After years of researching these cases and millions of others appearing later in the decade, scientists discovered that it was not cancer they were dealing with. They called it HIV (Human Immune Virus) which leads to AIDS (Acquired Immune deficiency Syndrome) that â€Å"†¦ rogressively destroys the body†s ability to fight infections and certain cancers† (ARIC n. p. ). With minimal research there was nothing to initially â€Å"combat† the virus; but, thanks to time and funding, there were some drugs that seemed to help stop the spread of the virus in ones body. These anti-retroviral drugs still don’t constitute as cures ! for the virus, but have definitely helped and continue to help patients live longer (ARIC n. p. ). Since a vaccine to â€Å"†¦ evoke an immune system response that will prevent infection or disease development† still has not been found, other treatments have been tested. Accupuncture, stress management, hypnosis, exercise, good nutrition, and an overall positive attitude all seem to alleviate symptoms even if they are not proven cures of the virus (Packer 78-88). Although AIDS is a life threatening disease, there were many people living with it by keeping healthy and staying safe. Scott Fried had not tried any of the aniviral drugs; however, practices such as taking 80 herbs and vitamins a day, staying physically fit, visiting the doctor every three months, and being happy have kept him alive with the virus for thirteen years (Fried speach). Most victims have not lived as long as he which is why AIDS has lead to some extensive research. Investigators supported by private and public funds continued to search for a cure or even an explanation of HIV/AIDS for two decades because like the â€Å"b! lack plague†, AIDS has killed off millions of people in a short time. Also like the black plague did, AIDS carried with it a long string of misconceptions. In the Middle Ages anyone carrying the â€Å"black plague† was to be avoided. Similarly, the public would often avoid people with AIDS. There were fabrications that AIDS could be caught by another human being from sneezing, coughing, hugging, kissing or even any â€Å"casual contact† ; so, people stayed away from those who were infected by AIDS. Another lie was that AIDS was caused by something magical or mystical (Taylor 23-24). Though some were overly careful of â€Å"catching† the virus, others were not careful enough. Since the initial outbreak was among gay men it was simply assumed that only gay men could be affected. Then reports of IV drug users having the disease still seemed to eliminate the chance of the common person being infected. Next, hemophiliacs and people who had had blood transfusions were reported followed by blacks, Hispanics, lesbians, straight women and finally white, heterosexual, males. Still everyone said â€Å"It can†t happen to me,† until it did (Fried speech). This assumption that AIDS only affected few amounts of people and only minorities was the basis of all misconceptions about that virus. People did not believe the virus could have any impact on their lives; but, it did impact everyones lives directly and or indirectly. Now that â€Å"AIDS is the second leading cause of death in the United States among people aged 25 to 44†³ (ARIC n. p. ), the misconceptions have been proven to be false. Although it was statistically correct that 66% of people infected by AIDS were homosexual males, 24% were IV drug users, and only 4% were heterosexual males or females (Packer 17) it was still a fact that AIDS can affect anyone. After years of research and statistical reports there were finally people relaying these messages to the public. Motivational speakers, like Scott Fried, continue to reach out to teens and adults about AIDS and sex. Information about these subjects can also be found easily, not only at hospitals or doctors† offices; but in books, magazines, pamphlets, and even on the internet. Conducting a simple search on http://www. yahoo. com came up with 164 â€Å"category matches,† 1,206 â€Å"web site matches,† and 237,000 web page matches. This means that HIV/AIDS appears at least 238,370 times on th! e world wide web and it shows that AIDS in an important component of modern life. Not only are people becoming aware of the AIDS epidemic, but they are becoming aware of sexuality through learning about AIDS. Before the outbreak of this fatal virus sex was only spoken about discretely. Now even kids are being made aware of the dangers of sex and spreading HIV. In this way HIV/AIDS had a positive affect on the country. People are aware of the facts and probably make better decisions. Some experts have said that AIDS will remain the way it is now and others predict it growing into a â€Å"huge epidemic† (Taylor 28). Hopefully due to this expansion of knowledge and recognition, he AIDS virus will not spread as quickly and infect as many people as it has in the past. HIV positive, homosexual, male, Scott Fried, said, â€Å"Ironically one of the blessings that HIV/AIDS has brought me is the abundance of love. . . † and perhaps that is true. Pertaining to the eighties and the early onset of the virus, AIDS caused much more commotion than love. However, every cloud has a silver lining and the hysteria has finally cleared up some myths. It has opened up the public to not only HIV/AIDS awareness, but sexual cognizance as well. How to cite The Outbreak of the HIV Virus, AIDS in 1980s, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

Never Been Kissed free essay sample

Have you ever looked at someone or heard something about someone and had an immediate image of them without even knowing their name or even talking to them? Everyone is guilty of Judging someone before they even get to know them. Teens today have to be careful about how they dress and act if they want to fit in with the crowd at high school. According to Jay Asher, Teens in the ass had the same basic desires as they do now. In his 1999 teen comedy Never Been Kissed, Raja Connell shows how teens Judged their peers by appearance, gossip, and status in high school. Much like the cruel insults and Judgments expressed in Never Been Kissed, there are several ways that teens Judge their peers by their appearance in high school. Teens are self-conscious about the way they dress because of the harsh Judgments they face from their peers. As said by Allen Fashion is a part of society, whether it be good or bad. Teens Judge each other by whether or not their appearance revolves around or creates new fashion. If someone isnt rocking the latest style, fashions hold on society deems them a loser. On the other hand, a new quiet kid in the high school after can instantly become popular simply by wearing the newest clothes or even unusual piercing. Unfortunately, the teenage mind undeniably Judges their peers by appearance without any consideration of personality or any true values. Connell shows this in his film Never Been Kissed when 25 year old copy editor Josses Seller is sent back to high school to do an undercover piece on high school kids. On her first day of school, Jokes outfit is chosen by her older friend Amanda whose knowledge of fashion stems from the ass. Her white Scares and feathered boa attract lot of negative attention and comments from the more popular kids in school like Kristin, who mouths off saying Like five chickens had to die Just so she could look that stupid. (Never Been Kissed). Because her style was ten years older than all the teenagers in the school, Josses was immediately labeled as a weirdo with no fashion sense or any hope of fitting in with the popular kids. Although appearance is a major factor in the way teens Judge each other, it isnt the only aspect they base their opinions on. Gossip is the main way information is spread around a high school, and everyone believes it. Teens believe every outrageous tale that they hear about anyone and judge people based on the rumors they are told. The rumor mill can make or break a tens reputation. In order to help Josses fit in with the cool crowd for her assignment, Rob offers to sign up for the same school to act as the cool-guy friend shell need to fit in. (Deeming). If Rob can become popular in high school again and the other teens see Josses hanging out with him, they will assume that Josses is Just as cool as Rob and tell all of their friends. Teens believe anything they say and hear and will pass around any information they have to everyone they know. One minute nobody knows your name, and the next, everyone is talking about how cool you are because of some silly gossip that isnt even true. In the film Never Been Kissed, Jokes younger brother becomes popular by lunchtime and tells all of the popular kids how awesome Josses is. Rob tells people that Josses has dated famous band members and that near parents invented x-lax and convinces people that seen deserves to be in the popular crowd. Shortly after Rob spreads the rumors about Josses, she is accepted by Kristin, Kristin, and Gibbs-the three most popular girls in school. Gossip s a big deal in high school and can totally change someones reputation-for better or for worse. In some cases, the rumors people spread can build someone up and give them confidence or even make them popular in school. In other cases, rumors can tear someone down. The gossip teens hear about othe rs puts immediate images in their head. Nobody has the desire to track down the truth behind a rumor and get to know the person everyone is talking about. In the sass a tens status in high school was everything. It defined who they were. Looking only at their high school status, teens label each other as lame or cool. The teens that everyone loves are usually athletes or cheerleaders. It doesnt matter how dumb he may be, the muscular football player is almost always cool simply because hes a strong athlete (Denny). Teens dont care about each others character or values. They dont have any interest in learning about who someone really is; teens would rather Just look at what somebody appears to be by what they do in high school than get to know anything about their personality. Teens Judging each other by status are shown in Never Been Kissed when the popular kids insult he geeky math nerd Ladys and call her Alp as in dog food. When she drives by one of the places that everyone goes to on weekends and the most popular guy in school, Guy, tells Ladys to go home and calculate how many lifetimes its going to take her to get cool. Everyone treats her like dirt because she isnt a cheerleader or anything cool like that. Although someone in a math club or other club of the sort is much smarter and has more potential than a dumb athlete or cheerleader, nobody treats them the way they deserve to be treated. Josses was an excellent writer and had a great attention in high school but nobody even noticed because they were too busy bullying her and calling her cruel names like Josses Grosser (Never Been Kissed).

Friday, November 29, 2019

About Architect David M. Childs, Design Partner

About Architect David M. Childs, Design Partner Architect David Childs (born April 1, 1941 in Princeton, New Jersey) is best known as the designer of the One World Trade Center we see today in Lower Manhattan. His long relationship with Skidmore, Owings Merrill (SOM) has given this senior statesman of American architecture wide-ranging experience and success. David Magie Childs was priviledged to attend the best private schools in the United states - from the Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts to his 1963 Bachelors degree from Yale University. His career as an architect began after completing a graduate degree from Yale School of Art and Architecture in 1967. He began his professional career in Washington, D.C. when from 1968 to 1971 he joined the Pennsylvania Avenue Commission. Fresh out of Yale University, Childs formed a strong relationship with both Nathaniel Owings, a founding partner of Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM), and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a future U.S. Senator from New York State. From 1964 until 1973, Childs future employer, Nathaniel Owings, was chairman of President Kennedys Temporary Commission on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC. In the early years of the Kennedy administration, the plan to redesign Pennsylvania Avenue was the most significant redevelopment project in the country, claims the SOM website. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the young Assistant Secretary of Labor in the Kennedy Administration, led the governments plan to revitalize Pennsylvania Avenue and the National Mall. Through this Commissions hard work, negotiations, and consensus, Pennsylvania Avenue is now a designated National Historic Site. One could argue that Childs early experiences on the Commission led the young architect to a lifelong proficiency in public architecture, city planning, and the politics behind construction and design - skills needed to accomplish his goals in the complicated days after September 11, 2011. David Childs has been associated with SOM since 1971, at first working on projects in Washington, D.C. From 1975 until 1981 he was Chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission involved in the 1976 Washington Mall Master Plan and Constitution Gardens. He worked on the 1984 National Geographic Society M Street Building and then the U.S. News and World Report Headquarters, both in Washington, D.C. By 1984 David Childs had moved to New York City, where hes been working on SOM projects ever since. A portfolio of his projects highlights a number of buildings in New York City  - the Worldwide Plaza at 825 8th Avenue (1989); Bertelsmann Tower at Times Square (1990); Times Square Tower at 7 Times Square (2004); Bear Stearns at 383 Madison Avenue (2001); AOL Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle (2004); and, of course, 7 World Trade Center (2006) and 1 World Trade Center (2014). Moynihan Station Redevelopment at the James A. Farley Post Office and 35 Hudson Yards are his latest project for the City of New York. Outside of The Big Apple, Childs was the design architect for the 1998 Robert C. Byrd United States Courthouse in Charleston, West Virginia and the 1999 U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, Canada. In May 2012, David Childs was one of fifteen Architects of Healing receiving a special AIA Gold Medallion for his redesign of One World Trade Center and Seven World Trade Center in New York City. Childs is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA). David Childs In His Own Words I like big complicated projects where you have to assemble teams, deal with the down-and-dirty contractors, the marketplace and the leasing agents with an imagination level only as high as what made money last time. - 2003, The New York Times Each of us architects has had mentors and teachers whose work and words have guided us as well. For me they include Nat Owings, Pat Moynihan, Vincent Scully. It is thus been a very collective effort in the fullest sense, and I believe every American can equally take pride in what is and has been accomplished. - 2012 AIA National Convention You know what a Richard Meier building will look like; theres a style. Im more like Eero Saarinen, whom I revere. His buildings all look different. - 2003, The New York Times The U.S. invented skyscrapers, but weve fallen behind. WTC 1 is a solution to many technical problems, and it represents the very best in codes, structure, and safety. Its a concrete core with steel exterior, which is an efficient and safe system, but it had not been done in New York for a host of reasons, mostly because of the arrangement between trade groups. The form tapers on its four corners, which buildings - like trees - want to do anyway. - 2011 AIArchitect What Others Say Throughout his years of practice in Washington, Mr. Childs became noted for his design of appropriate architecture, buildings and spaces that respond to their settings and programs rather than pursue a preconceived architectural image. - U.S. Department of State Your work demonstrates that architecture is the art of compromise and collaboration, that it is a social act, never created by one person working alone and always creating community. As a creative artist successfully negotiating within a world governed by corporate objectives you have shown that aesthetic vision and functional considerations can coexist, that architecture is the art of both the real and the visionary. You compose steel and glass the way a poet constructs phrases and in so doing create physical entities that reflect personal aspirations and a collective self-image. Your buildings grace our environment and enrich our lives. - Colby Collge Sources Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site, National Park Service, https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc41.htm [accessed September 2, 2012]Nathaniel A. Owings, FAIA, Architect and Founding Partner, 1903-1984, Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM), www.som.com/content.cfm/nathaniel_a_owings [accessed September 2, 2012]The New Ground Zero: The Invisible Architect, Julie V. Iovine, The New York Times, August 31, 2003 [accessed August 15, 2012]Architects of Healing Videos, American Institute of Architects, 2012 [accessed August 15, 2012]AIArchitect Talks with David Childs, FAIA, John Gendall, AIArchitect, 2011 [accessed August 15, 2012]U.S. State Department, http://canada.usembassy.gov/about-us/embassy-information/frequently-asked-questions/embassy-architects.html [accessed September 5, 2012]Citation for David M. Childs, Colby College, May 22, 2005, colby.edu/news_events/commencement/2005/honorary/citation-childs.cfm [accessed August 15, 2012]

Monday, November 25, 2019

Free Essays on Revolution De France

The French Revolution brought about great changes in the society and government of France. The revolution, which lasted from 1789 to 1799, also had far-reaching effects on the rest of Europe. "It introduced democratic ideals to France but did not make the nation a democracy. However, it ended supreme rule by French kings and strengthened the middle class" (Durant 12). After the revolution began, no European kings, nobles, or other members of the aristocracy could take their powers for granted or ignore the ideals of liberty and equality. The revolution began with a government financial crisis but quickly became a movement of reform and violent change. In one of the early events, a crowd in Paris captured the Bastille, a royal fortress and hated symbol of oppression. A series of elected legislatures then took control of the government. King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were executed. Thousands of others met the same fate in a period known as the Reign of Terror. The revolution ended when Napoleon Bonaparte, a French general, took over the government. At the beginning of the revolution, events seemed minor and proceeded in a logical fashion. One of the reasons the revolution originated was the discontent among the lower and middle classes in France. By law, society was divided in to three groups called estates. The first estate was made of up clergy, nobles comprised the second and the rest of the citizens, the third estate. The third estate resented certain advantages of the first two estates. The clergy and nobles did not have to pay most taxes. The third estate, especially the peasants, had to provide almost all the country's tax revenue. Many members of the middle class were also worried by their social status. They were among the most important people in French society but were not recognized as such because they belonged to the third estate. "Financial crisis developed because the nation had gone deeply into debt to f... Free Essays on Revolution De France Free Essays on Revolution De France The French Revolution brought about great changes in the society and government of France. The revolution, which lasted from 1789 to 1799, also had far-reaching effects on the rest of Europe. "It introduced democratic ideals to France but did not make the nation a democracy. However, it ended supreme rule by French kings and strengthened the middle class" (Durant 12). After the revolution began, no European kings, nobles, or other members of the aristocracy could take their powers for granted or ignore the ideals of liberty and equality. The revolution began with a government financial crisis but quickly became a movement of reform and violent change. In one of the early events, a crowd in Paris captured the Bastille, a royal fortress and hated symbol of oppression. A series of elected legislatures then took control of the government. King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were executed. Thousands of others met the same fate in a period known as the Reign of Terror. The revolution ended when Napoleon Bonaparte, a French general, took over the government. At the beginning of the revolution, events seemed minor and proceeded in a logical fashion. One of the reasons the revolution originated was the discontent among the lower and middle classes in France. By law, society was divided in to three groups called estates. The first estate was made of up clergy, nobles comprised the second and the rest of the citizens, the third estate. The third estate resented certain advantages of the first two estates. The clergy and nobles did not have to pay most taxes. The third estate, especially the peasants, had to provide almost all the country's tax revenue. Many members of the middle class were also worried by their social status. They were among the most important people in French society but were not recognized as such because they belonged to the third estate. "Financial crisis developed because the nation had gone deeply into debt to f...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

An analysis of why strategic planning is important for FBI Research Paper

An analysis of why strategic planning is important for FBI Investigations - Research Paper Example According to Beinhocker (2006 pp 2), when preparing for strategic planning, the management should make sure that decisions made are in line with the strategy of the organization; hence, the management is able to respond effectively to challenges and also opportunities when they occur. An organization should also increase its innovativeness and an open mind to allow room for creative thinking. According to Hanna (1989, pp4), in his article, he emphasizes on the importance of strategic planning being flexible, selective and responsive, such that, it should increase creative thinking and understanding. In addition, managers must embrace the strategy and must aim at meeting the customer’s needs. The author further adds that the management should incorporate a clear mission, a well thought and communicated strategy, and the management drive, in which they are expected to be communicators and motivators to the rest of the staff. The federal bureau of investigation According to FBI ( 2007, pp5), the federal bureau of investigation (FBI) intelligence operations include the war against terrorism. The FBI priorities vary from protecting the United States against foreign intelligence operations and attacks via cyber and high tech crimes. ... Nevertheless, the threats on national security, for instance, the attempt on airline bombing during Christmas by the al Qaeda and the cyber intrusion at Google are some of the challenges that the FBI has had to deal with. Corruption cases are also numerous and so are health scams and ponzi schemes that affect the American citizens who rely on the FBI for justice. Why strategic planning is important for FBI Investigations According to Bryson (2004 pp 301), for an organization to be effective in its strategic planning, it needs to articulate the importance of strategic planning, whereby, they should highlight their competencies, changes, and the strategic issues that the organization is likely to face in the future. The organization should also be willing to commit resources such as money, time, and energy. The leaders should also emphasize that strategic planning will impact change that could be beneficial to the workforce. The management should also be to reward those participants th at contribute to creative thinking, as a way of motivating them for their contributions in creative ideas. Strategic planning is very important for any organization. In addition, it requires the consideration of both internal and external factors (Simerson, 2011 pp 16). Hence, it is evident that a strategic plan can be compared to a road map of an organization. The Strategic Planning Process Mission &   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Objectives  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Environmental  Ã‚   Scanning Strategy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Formulation  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Strategy   Implementation  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Evaluation  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   & Control Source: http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/strategic-planning/ Strategic planning process

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Job Task Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Job Task Analysis - Essay Example ions and submitting them to the human resource manager, scheduling interviews for new employees in the branch, and following up on their progress once employed. Any memos for the department are also to be prepared by the personnel clerk in charge (Reddy, 2004). Behavioral objectives are goals that the military branch will be aiming to accomplish when training the personnel clerk. They include duties and responsibilities that the clerk should be conversant with by the end of the training. Therefore, according to the above tasks the behavioral objectives listed should be that: the personnel clerk will master all the recording procedures in the office; he or she will also be able to understand on how to follow up on the military personnel; he or she will be able to construct a pay roll sheet from the attendance register and lastly, that he or she will be able to prepare all the notices memos of the personnel department if need be. A job task analysis is used to train an employer by laying out all the duties to be performed. (Wolfe, 1991) An analysis for a personnel clerk would be: Enter into the office; Sign in at the register; Check out the attendance of each and every employee of the military branch; Note any absent employees; Identify the events of the day; Ensure all the office records are neatly in place; Arrange any misplaced documents; Prepare any memos required; Receive and attend to any visitors of the personnel department; Ensure that any injured militants are attended to; Ensure the pay roll sheet is in agreement with the attendance list; Check the mail box of the personnel department; Forward and present any available resumes and application mails to the necessary offices; Follow up on the new employees of the organization; Schedule interviews for any new employees and finally sign out the employees after work. Generally, a personnel clerk is important in all organizations since all organizations have employees that need to be managed and yet the

Monday, November 18, 2019

A report (maximum of 1500 words) describing your current understanding Essay

A report (maximum of 1500 words) describing your current understanding of BIM (Building Information Modelling) and its use in the Civil Engineering - Essay Example The processes associated with building information modeling (BMI) are linked to infrastructure and new buildings and have extended potential in refurbishment and retrofit projects especially when rapid energy analysis and laser scanning are employed. The technology associated with BMI is considered an association between software industry and construction sectors with and aim at developing an environment for synergies and opportunities. Building information modeling aids in managing and generating data during construction life cycle. The approach utilizes real time, three dimensional and dynamic building modeling software to increase construction and building design productivity. The process has gives rise to BMI (Building information model) which encompasses spatial relationships, building geometry, geographic information, properties and quantities of building components. Building information modeling has various benefits such as improved visualization, reduced costs, increased productivity as a result of easy access to information, and improved delivery speed, improved coordination of documents associated with construction and linking and embedding of vital information for instance location of details, vendors of specific materials and quantities required for tendering and estimation (Crotty, 2012). Building information modeling extends beyond the computer assisted design and software since it involves designing and shaping. It is an architectural process that entails construction and virtual design and connects and integrates information by utilization of technology. BMI software such as Revit, Tekla and Microstation allows construction of a three dimensional model by the design team. The virtual approach integrates structural, electrical, mechanical and architectural. The process applies to interior fit out, master planning, infrastructure projects and building architecture. During the phase of construction, building

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Cloud Computing Models Changing The World Information Technology Essay

Cloud Computing Models Changing The World Information Technology Essay The Cloud has become a new vehicle for delivering resources such as computing and storage to customers on demand. Rather than being a new technology in itself, the cloud is a new business model wrapped around new technologies such as server virtualization that take advantage of economies of scale and multi-tenancy to reduce the cost of using information technology resources. This paper discusses the business drivers in the Cloud delivery mechanism and business model, what the requirements are in this space, and how standard interfaces, coordinated between different organizations can meet the emerging needs for interoperability and portability of data between clouds. Hence, Cloud computing is about moving services, computation and/or data-for cost and business advantage-off-site to an internal or external, location-transparent, centralized facility or contractor. By making data available in the cloud, it can be more easily and ubiquitously accessed, often at much lower cost, increasing its value by enabling opportunities for enhanced collaboration, integration, and analysis on a shared common platform. Cloud computing describes both a platform and a type of application. A cloud-computing platform dynamically provides, configures, reconfigures, and deprovisions servers as needed. Cloud applications are applications that are extended to be accessible through the Internet. These cloud applications use large data centers and powerful servers that host Web applications and Web services. Enterprises are increasingly making innovation their highest priority. They realize they need to seek new ideas and unlock new sources of value. Driven by the pressure to cut costs and grow- simultaneously-they realize that its not possible to succeed simply by doing the same things better. They know they have to do new things that produce better results. Cloud computing enables innovation. It alleviates the need of innovators to find resources to develop, test, and make their innovations available to the user community. Innovators are free to focus on the innovation rather than the logistics of finding and managing resources. Enterprises can choose to deploy applications on Public, Private or Hybrid clouds. Cloud Integrators can play a vital part in determining the right cloud path for each organization. Therefore, there are four types of cloud paths they are : Cloud computing provides the facility to access shared resources and common infrastructure, offering services on demand over the network to perform operations that meet changing business needs. The end user does typically not know the location of physical resources and devices being accessed. It also provides facilities for users to develop, deploy and manage their applications on the cloud, which entails virtualization of resources that maintains and manages itself. Cloud Computing, to put it simply, means Internet Computing. The Internet is commonly visualized as clouds; hence the term cloud computing for computation done through the Internet. With Cloud Computing users can access database resources via the Internet from anywhere, for as long as they need, without worrying about any maintenance or management of actual resources. Besides, databases in cloud are very dynamic and scalable. Cloud computing is unlike grid computing, utility computing, or autonomic computing. In fact, it is a very independent platform in terms of computing. The best example of cloud computing is Google Apps, where any application can be accessed using a browser and it can be deployed on thousands of computer through the Internet. Æ’Â ¨WHAT DOES CLOUD COMPUTING MEAN TO US? Cloud computing is set to take over the world, or at least possibly replace Microsoft Outlook. The cloud concept is simple: Its a way to access your data and apps from anywhere, via the Internet (or the cloud). Yet everyone from Gartner Group to Google has a slightly different take on cloud computing: It can be anything from storing and sharing documents on Google Docs to running your entire company operations using a remote, third-party data center. Some envision it as a way to compute without operating systems, or pesky local client programs, and with minimal hardware needs (just a basic client machine). The most important single characteristic of a cloud is abstraction of the hardware from the service, says John Willis, a noted cloud-computing expert and blogger, explaining that the location of the servers is not as important as easy access to the data. However you define it, I think cloud technology will have a footprint in every business that does IT within the next five years. Cloud computing increases capacity and expands computing capabilities without heavy investment in infrastructure, training or software licensing. Most importantly though it democratizes Web 2.0-application development. With the removal of two significant barriers to entry cost and capacity access suddenly even small, lesser-funded entrepreneurs can dream big and bring their grand Web 2.0 applications to market. CLOUD COMPUTING has been changing how most people use the web and how they store their files. Its the structure that runs sites like  Facebook, Amazon and Twitter and the core that allows us to take advantage of services like Google Docs and Gmail. But how does it work Æ’Â ¨HOW DOES CLOUD COMPUTING WORK? Before we dig further into how does cloud computing work, first lets understand what the term CLOUD refers to.   The concept of the cloud has been around for a long time in many different incarnations in the business world. It mostly means a  grid of computers  serving as a service-oriented architecture to deliver software and data. Most websites and server-based applications run on particular computers or servers. What differentiates the cloud from the way those are set up is that the cloud utilizes the resources from the computers as a  collective virtual computer, where the applications can run independently from particular computer or server configurations. They are basically floating around in a cloud of resources, making the hardware less important to how the applications work. With broadband Internet, the need to have the software run on your computer or on a companys site is  becoming less and less essential. A lot of the software that people use nowadays are completely web-based. The cloud takes advantage of that to bring it to the next level. For example, if you are  hosting your website on a local server  or from your PC, you must usually select a particular operating system (Windows/Linux/Mac), to determine what software you can run on that particular server. If your site is being hosted in the cloud, there is no need to do that. You can run Windows and Linux programs side by side. Æ’Â ¨HOW IS THAT DONE? To understand how does cloud computing work, imagine that the cloud consists of layers mostly the  back-end  layers and the  front-end  or user-end layers. The front-end layers are the ones you see and interact with. When you access your email on Gmail for example, you are using software running on the front-end of a cloud. The same is true when you access your Facebook account. The back-end consists of the hardware and the software architecture that fuels the interface you see on the front end. As always seen, the user-end is usually a third party application or a termination for implementing their ideas on a visual end and rest all (hardware and logical) is taken care off at the back-end. Because the computers are set up to work together, the applications can take advantage of all that computing power as if they were running on one particular machine. Cloud computing also allows for a lot of flexibility. Depending on the demand, you can increase how much of the cloud resources you use without the need for assigning specific hardware for the job, or just reduce the amount of resources assigned to you when they are not necessary. The Cloud makes it possible to launch Web 2.0 applications quickly and to scale up applications as much as needed when needed. The platform supports traditional JavaTM and Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP (LAMP) stack-based applications as well as new architectures such as MapReduce and the Google File System, which provide a means to scale applications across thousands of servers instantly. Æ’Â ¨WILL IT CHANGE THE WAY WE USE COMPUTERS? The transition from being very personal hardware dependent to a world where resources are shared among the masses is creeping up on us slowly and unobtrusively. Very many people have already transitioned to using a cloud environment for most of their time in front of the computer without even realizing it. Sure, most of us still use some version of Microsoft Office or Quickbooks that was installed on our computers, but even  those kinds of software are now offering an online version  that can be used instead. The possibility of being able to access your data and software wherever you need it makes this transition very appealing to most people. Are there problems with this concept? Of course there are. If for some reason your internet goes down, your access to your data also disappears. There are security concerns with the data and the risk that companies will use proprietary formats for the files and that require that you pay for a certain service monthly or you may lose access to your own data permanently. So choose wisely when picking a service to use with your important data and make sure it can be downloaded if needed, but also enjoy the flexibility those services provide. The wave of the future is in the cloudsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Dreaming big.   Now thats what its all about. MODELS AND TYPES OF CLOUD COMPUTING Æ’Â ¨ Cloud Computing Models Cloud Providers offer services that can be grouped into three categories, they are: Software as a Service (SaaS): In this model, a complete application is offered to the customer, as a service on demand. A single instance of the service runs on the cloud multiple end users are serviced. On the customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ side, there is no need for upfront investment in servers or software licenses, while for the provider; the costs are lowered, since only a single application needs to be hosted maintained. Today companies such as Google, Salesforce, Microsoft, Zoho, etc offer SaaS. Platform as a Service (Paas): Here, a layer of software, or development environment is encapsulated offered as a service, upon which other higher levels of service can be built. The customer has the freedom to build his own applications, which run on the providerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s infrastructure. To meet manageability and scalability requirements of the applications, PaaS providers offer a predefined combination of OS and application servers, such as LAMP platform (Linux, Apache, MySql and PHP), restricted J2EE, Ruby etc. Googleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s App Engine, Force.com, etc are some of the popular PaaS examples. Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas): IaaS provides basic storage and computing capabilities as standardized services over the network. Servers, storage systems, networking equipment, data centre space etc. are pooled and made available to handle workloads. The customer would typically deploy his own software on the infrastructure. Some common examples are Amazon, GoGrid, 3 Tera, etc are some of the popular IaaS examples. Æ’Â ¨ Types Of Cloud Computing Enterprises can choose to deploy applications on Public, Private, Community or Hybrid clouds. Cloud Integrators can play a vital part in determining the right cloud path for each organization. Cloud  Computing  can be classified into 4 types on the  basis of location  where the cloud is hosted: Public Cloud Æ’Â   Public clouds are owned and operated by third parties; they deliver superior economies of scale to customers, as the infrastructure costs are spread among a mix of users, giving each individual client an attractive low-cost, Pay-as-you-go model. All customers share the same infrastructure pool with limited configuration, security protections, and availability variances. These are managed and supported by the cloud provider. One of the advantages of a Public cloud is that they may be larger than an enterprises cloud, thus providing the ability to scale seamlessly, on demand. Æ’Â   Also, the infrastructure is hosted at the vendors premises. The customer has no  visibility  over the location of the cloud computing infrastructure. The computing infrastructure is shared between organizations. Private Cloud Æ’Â   Private clouds are built exclusively for a single enterprise. They aim to address concerns on data security and offer greater control, which is typically lacking in a public cloud. There are two variations to a private cloud: -> On-premise Private Cloud: On-premise private clouds, also known as internal clouds are hosted within ones own data center. This model provides a more standardized process and protection, but is limited in aspects of size and scalability. IT departments would also need to incur the capital and operational costs for the physical resources. This is best suited for applications, which require complete control and configurability of the infrastructure and security. -> Externally hosted Private Cloud: This type of private cloud is hosted externally with a cloud provider, where the provider facilitates an exclusive cloud environment with full guarantee of privacy. This is best suited for enterprises that dont prefer a public cloud due to sharing of physical resources. Æ’Â   All in all, private cloud  architecture is dedicated to the customer and is not shared with other organizations. They are expensive and are considered more secure than Public Clouds. Private clouds may be externally hosted ones as well as in premise-hosted clouds. Hybrid Cloud Æ’Â   Hybrid Clouds combine both public and private cloud models. With a Hybrid Cloud, service providers can utilize 3rd party Cloud Providers in a full or partial manner thus increasing the flexibility of computing. The Hybrid cloud environment is capable of providing on-demand, externally provisioned scale. The ability to augment a private cloud with the resources of a public cloud can be used to manage any unexpected surges in workload. Æ’Â   In technical terms, Organizations host some critical, secure applications in private clouds. The not so critical  applications  are hosted in the public cloud. The combination is known as Hybrid Cloud.  Cloud bursting  is the term used to define a  system  where the organization uses its own infrastructure for normal usage, but cloud is used for peak loads. Community Cloud Æ’Â   The cloud  infrastructure  is shared between the  organizations  of the same community. Æ’Â  For example, all the government agencies in a city can share the same cloud but not the non government agencies. DISTINGUISHING PUBLIC, PRIVATE AND HYRBRID CLOUDS, DIAGRAMMATICALLYà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Difference Between Cloud Computing And Other Computing Techniques. Æ’Â ¨ Cloud Computing Vs Grid (distributed) Computing Grid computing has been used in environments where users make few but large allocation requests. For example, a lab may have a 1000 node cluster and users make allocations for all 1000, or 500, or 200, etc. So only a few of these allocations can be serviced at a time and others need to be scheduled for when resources are released. This results in sophisticated batch job scheduling algorithms of parallel computations. Vs Cloud computing really, is about lots of small allocation requests. The Amazon EC2 accounts are limited to 20 servers each by default and lots and lots of users allocate up to 20 servers out of the pool of many thousands of servers at Amazon. The allocations are real-time and in fact there is no provision for queuing allocations until someone else releases resources. This is a completely different resource allocation paradigm, a completely different usage pattern, and all this results in completely different method of using compute resources. - In grid computing, a single big task is split into multiple smaller tasks, which are further distributed to different computing machines. Upon completion of these smaller tasks, they are sent back to the primary machine which in return offers a single output. Vs Whereas a cloud computing architecture is intended to enable users to use difference services without the need for investment in the underlying architecture. Though, grid too offers similar facility for computing power, but cloud computing isnt restricted to just that. With a cloud users can avail various services such as website hosting etc. Grid computing is where more than one computer coordinates to solve a problem together. Often used for problems involving a lot of number crunching, which can be easily parallelizable. Vs Cloud computing is where an application doesnt access resources it requires directly, rather it accesses them through something like a  service. So instead of talking to a specific hard drive for storage, and a specific CPU for computation, etc. it talks to some service that provides these resources. The service then maps any requests for resources to its physical resources, in order to provide for the application. Usually the service has access to a large amount of physical resources, and can dynamically allocate them as they are needed. - With grid computing, your company gets power and flexibility. Grid computing, however, occurs when the processing power of an application or service is distributed across multiple systems. This is usually done in order to increase processing capacity or improve system resiliency. Vs Grid Computing Cloud ComputingWith cloud computing, your company gets cost-savings and convenience. This is where you get access to the resources of an independent 3rd party over the internet. In other words, they are remotely hosted applications. Life Before And After Cloud Computing. Æ’Â   Before Cloud Computing Traditional business applications-like those from SAP, Microsoft, and Oracle-have always been too complicated and expensive. They need a data center with office space, power, cooling, bandwidth, networks, servers, and storage. A complicated software stack. And a team of experts to install, configure, and run them. They need development, testing, staging, production, and failover (means for ensuring high availability of some critical resource) environments. When you multiply these headaches across dozens or hundreds of applications, its easy to see why the biggest companies with the best IT departments arent getting the applications they need. Small businesses dont stand a chance. Imagine a world without bridges.   It would be pretty hard to get from point A to point B reliably and without interruption!   The Cloud Computing is the to the Bridge solution that increases interoperability between your on-premise datacenters and off-premise clouds.   This interoperability increases your flexibility, enabling more choice around what applications you can move to the cloud.   Since the Cloud Bridge solution supports multiple virtualization environments, you also have more choice in cloud providers, enabling you to drive down costs.   In short, Cloud Computing is the big bridge to fill the big gap between your datacenter or the application. Æ’Â   After Cloud Computing Cloud computing is a better way to run your business. Instead of running your applications yourself, they run on a shared data center. When you use any application that runs in the cloud, you just log in, customize it, and start using it. Thats the power of cloud computing. Businesses are running all kinds of applications in the cloud these days, like CRM(Customer Relationship Management), HR(Human Resources), accounting, and custom-built applications. Cloud-based applications can be up and running in a few days, which is unheard of with traditional business software. They cost less, because you dont need to need to pay for all the people, products, and facilities to run them. And, it turns out theyre more scalable, more secure, and more reliable than most applications. Plus, upgrades are taken care of for you, so your applications get security and performance enhancements and new features-automatically. The way you pay for cloud-based applications is also different. Forget about buying servers and software. When your apps run in the cloud, you dont buy anything. Its all rolled up into a predictable monthly subscription, so you only pay for what you actually use. Cloud applications dont eat up your valuable IT resources, so your CFO(Chief Financial Officer) will love it. This lets you focus on deploying more applications, new projects, and innovation. The Nature of Cloud Computing Cloud computing builds on established trends for driving the cost out of the delivery of services while increasing the speed and agility with which services are deployed. It shortens the time from designing an application architecture to actual deployment. Cloud computing integrates virtualization, on-demand deployment, Internet delivery of services, and open source software. The on-demand, self-service, pay-by-use model The on-demand nature of cloud computing helps to support the performance and capacity aspects of service-level objectives. The self-service nature of cloud computing allows organizations to create flexible environments that expand and contract based on the workload and target performance parameters. And the pay-by-use nature of cloud computing may take the form of equipment renting that guarantee a minimum level of service from a cloud provider so billing is based on resource consumption: CPU hours used, volumes of data moved, or gigabytes of data stored. Growth and Further scope Of Cloud Computing. Æ’Â ¨ Cloud computing  is being touted as  the future of  the web. Everything from your Word documents to pictures, music has been  moving to  the cloud. In  Google  Apps, the company has a strong competing product to  Microsoft  Office. So, how big is all of this going to be. Here are some statistics from a  Gartner study Value of  Cloud computing services  through the years 2008 : $46.41 billion 2009 : $56.30 billion 2013 : $150.1 billion (projected) Advantages and Disadvantages Of Cloud Computing. Cloud computing is fast evolving from a  futuristic technology  into a commercially viable alternative for companies in search of a cost-effective  storage  and server solution. In fact, Gartner Inc. predicts that by 2012, 80 percent of Fortune 1000 enterprises will pay for some cloud-computing service, while 30 percent of them will pay for cloud-computing infrastructure. While the technology has its fair share of drawbacks (such as privacy and  security  concerns), an undeniable silver lining is currently turning skeptics into enthusiasts. Here some of the advantages of cloud computing: >ADVANTAGES: Scalability:  IT departments that anticipate an enormous uptick in user load need not scramble to secure additional hardware and software with cloud computing. Instead, an organization can add and subtract capacity as its network load dictates. Better yet, because cloud computing follows a utility model in which service costs are based on consumption, companies pay for only what they use. Easy Implementation:  Without the need to purchase hardware, software licenses or implementation services, a company can get its cloud-computing arrangement off the ground in record time and for a fraction of the cost of an on-premise solution. Skilled Practitioners:  When a particular technology becomes popular, its not uncommon for a whole slew of vendors to jump on the bandwagon. In the case of cloud computing, however, vendors have typically been reputable enough to offer customers reliable service and large enough to deliver huge  datacenters  with endless amounts of storage and computing capacity. These vendors include industry stalwarts such as Microsoft, Google, IBM, Yahoo! Inc. and Amazon.com Inc, etc. Frees Up Internal Resources:  By placing storage and server needs in the hands of an outsourcer, a company essentially shifts the burden placed on its in-house IT team to a third-party provider. The result: In-house IT departments can focus on business-critical tasks without having to incur additional costs in manpower and  training. Quality of Service:  Network outages can send an IT department scrambling for answers. But in the case of cloud computing, its up to a companys selected vendor to offer 24/7 customer support and an immediate response to emergency situations. Thats not to suggest that outages dont occur. In February 2008, Amazon.coms S3 cloud-computing service experienced a brief outage that affected a number of companies. Fortunately, service was restored within three hours. Æ’Â   According to  Jonathan Koomey, who is a consulting professor for Stanford University and a project scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, there are four primary reasons why cloud computing (at least philosophically speaking) should be a more power-efficient approach than an in-house data center. This is the order in which Koomey lists them. Workload diversity: Because you will have many different sorts of users making use of the cloud resources different applications, different feature set preferences and different usage volumes this will improve hardware utilization and therefore make better use of power that youre using anyway to keep a server up and running. Economies of economies of scale: There are certain fixed costs associated with setting up any physical data center. According to Koomey, implementing technical and organization changes is cheaper per computation for larger organizations than for IT small shops. And because you will have more people using the infrastructure, again, you can spread those costs more efficiently. Power-management flexibility: Koomey postulates that its easier to manage virtual servers than physical servers from a power perspective. If hardware fails, the load can automatically be deployed elsewhere. Likewise, in theory, you could move all virtual loads to certain servers when loads are light and power-down or idle those that arent being used You can pick the most efficient site possible: So, for example, if you are a business based in a state that uses primarily coal-powered electricity, do you really want to site your data center there? If you have a data center in a place that is all coal-powered, this is a big business risk, Koomey says. In a future where there might actually be a tax on the carbon your company produces, that would certainly be a risk indeed. >DISADVANTAGES: Æ’Â   One of its few major issues is that cloud computing relies totally on network connections. If the network goes down, youre done using the computer until it is back up. If the network gets bogged down, then your computing will be slower. Æ’Â   The other major downfall is that it doesnt use a hard drive. While it is a benefit, it is also a negative. Some applications or hardware might require having a hard drive attached to the computer; these might be hard to get working properly with the hard drive on a remote server. Æ’Â   The last big issue is peripherals. Getting printers to work is hit or miss. The more popular printers will give you little trouble when you try to get them working properly. The little printers that arent as common, such as label printers, can face issues with the mini PC that each user has. Æ’Â   In most big businesses, few people have personal printers; most printers are networked,  so its not a big issue to a majority of users. Things such as scanners use software to work with the PC, however, and if your virtual hard drive doesnt have the software, when you log onto the cloud computer at a desk, you wont be able to use the scanner until you install the software. Some Of The Disadvantages Are Listed Below Security: No control over the business assets (data!). The main assets in every company are its data files with valuable customer information. A proper security model for cloud computing is not yet developed. Security, privacy and compliancy is still difficult for cloud solutions. Especially for public cloud services. Physical location of hardware and software is unknown. Site inspections and audits are hard. Availability. Constant connectivity is required. Failure to compliance. E.g. HIPAA, SOX, PCI, SAS 70 and audits. Risk of data loss due to improper backups or system failures in the virtualized environment. Dependency (Lost On Control): Quality problems with Communicating Sequential Processes (CSP) No influence on maintenance levels and fix frequency when using cloud services from a CSP. No or little insight in CSP contingency procedures. Especially backup, restore and disaster recovery. No easy migration to an other CSP. Measurement of resource usage and end user activities lies in the hands of the CSP. Tied to the financial health of another Company. Cost And Flexibility: Special customization not possible. Possible lower rate of business IT innovation. The technological innovation pace is dictated by CSP. Cost: Hidden cost (e.g. compliancy regulations, backup, restore, disaster recovery and problem solving.) Opaque cost structure due to highly flexible usage of cloud services; Cost advantages is as hard to get when using outsourcing for IT services in a traditional way. Risks of higher future charges are real. Requires a constant Internet connection: Cloud computing is impossible if you cant connect to the Internet. Since you use the Internet to connect to both your applications and documents, if you dont have an Internet connection you cant access anything, even your own documents. A dead Internet connection means no work, period-and, in areas where Internet connections are few or inherently unreliable, this could be a deal-breaker. When youre offline, cloud computing simply doesnt work. Doesnt work well with low-speed connections: Similarly, a low-speed Internet connection, such as that found with dial-up services, makes cloud computing painful at best and often impossible. Web-based apps require a lot of bandwidth to download, as do large documents. If youre laboring with a low-speed dial-up connection, it might take seemingly forever just to change from page to page in a document, let alone to launch a feature-rich cloud service. In other words, cloud computing isnt for the broadband-impaired. Can be slow: Even on a fast connection, web-based applications can sometimes be slower than accessing a similar software program on your desktop PC. Everything about the program, from the interface to the current document, has to be sent back and forth from your computer to the computers in the cloud. If the cloud servers happen to be backed up at that moment, or if the Internet is having a slow day, you wont get the instantaneous access you might expect from desktop apps. Features might be limited: This situation is bound to change, but today many web-based applications simply arent as full-featured as their desktop-based brethren. For example, you can do a lot more with Microsoft PowerPoint than with Google Presentations w

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Euthanasia: The Right to a Peaceful and Merciful Death Essay -- Medici

The arrogance of mankind has dampened the hope that individuals can achieve a dignified death. "Science says: 'We must live,' and seeks the means of prolonging, increasing, facilitating, and amplifying life, of making it tolerable and acceptable, wisdom says: 'We must die' and seeks how to make us die well." - M. De Unamund sss. Whoosh. Hum. Beep. Slurp. A clock alerts her. Time to flip him over. The tired woman struggles to lift the six-foot, four-inch skeleton for the fifth time that day. Time to suction the massive bedsores filled with pustules. Slurp up the puss again. "Ed, do you want to try to eat today?" No response. The eyes are vacant, and the expression is infantile. The tongue hangs from the mouth, and a string of saliva drools onto the bed sheets. The woman inserts liquid food into the feeding tube once again. Hsss. Whoosh. Hum. Beep. Slurp. "Ed, it's time to see if you've done your duty yet." The woman peers into his diaper and sadly realizes that for the seventeenth day in a row he has not had a bowel movement. Insert the suppository into his rectum again. Hsss. Whoosh. Hum. Beep. Slurp. This woman, once a strong-willed professional and competent mother and grandmother, has lost fifteen years of her life to the task of caring for someone who no longer recognizes her. Euthanasia is the process of mercifully ending a person's life, allowing that individual to escape terminal illness or an undignified death. The term has taken on many new meanings in this modern age of medical technological advancement. Scientists have devised numerous inventions to help prevent the death of humans faced with medical tragedy. The question is just how long humans should undergo life-saving and life-prolonging treatments befor... ...ave this world. No matter how much we wish to believe they are immortal, we must realize that our bodies cannot sustain life infinitely. Works Cited Branegan, Jay. "I Want to Draw the Line Myself." Time 17 Mar. 1997: 30. Caplan, Arthur L. "Future Directions in Medical Ethics." Microsoft Encarta 4.0 (2000). Microsoft. CD-ROM. Goodman, Ellen. "Who Lives? Who Dies? Who Decides?" Rpt. in Current Issues & Enduring Questions. Ed. Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. 560-566. Huttman, Barbara. "A Crime of Compassion." Rpt. in Current Issues & Enduring Questions. Ed. Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. 555-557. Marker, Rita L. "Kids and Euthanasia." Human Life Review 26 (2000): 30-36. Schaeffer, Pamela. "Rigali Intervenes: Feeding Tube Must Stay." National Catholic Reporter 37 (2000): 5-7. Euthanasia: The Right to a Peaceful and Merciful Death Essay -- Medici The arrogance of mankind has dampened the hope that individuals can achieve a dignified death. "Science says: 'We must live,' and seeks the means of prolonging, increasing, facilitating, and amplifying life, of making it tolerable and acceptable, wisdom says: 'We must die' and seeks how to make us die well." - M. De Unamund sss. Whoosh. Hum. Beep. Slurp. A clock alerts her. Time to flip him over. The tired woman struggles to lift the six-foot, four-inch skeleton for the fifth time that day. Time to suction the massive bedsores filled with pustules. Slurp up the puss again. "Ed, do you want to try to eat today?" No response. The eyes are vacant, and the expression is infantile. The tongue hangs from the mouth, and a string of saliva drools onto the bed sheets. The woman inserts liquid food into the feeding tube once again. Hsss. Whoosh. Hum. Beep. Slurp. "Ed, it's time to see if you've done your duty yet." The woman peers into his diaper and sadly realizes that for the seventeenth day in a row he has not had a bowel movement. Insert the suppository into his rectum again. Hsss. Whoosh. Hum. Beep. Slurp. This woman, once a strong-willed professional and competent mother and grandmother, has lost fifteen years of her life to the task of caring for someone who no longer recognizes her. Euthanasia is the process of mercifully ending a person's life, allowing that individual to escape terminal illness or an undignified death. The term has taken on many new meanings in this modern age of medical technological advancement. Scientists have devised numerous inventions to help prevent the death of humans faced with medical tragedy. The question is just how long humans should undergo life-saving and life-prolonging treatments befor... ...ave this world. No matter how much we wish to believe they are immortal, we must realize that our bodies cannot sustain life infinitely. Works Cited Branegan, Jay. "I Want to Draw the Line Myself." Time 17 Mar. 1997: 30. Caplan, Arthur L. "Future Directions in Medical Ethics." Microsoft Encarta 4.0 (2000). Microsoft. CD-ROM. Goodman, Ellen. "Who Lives? Who Dies? Who Decides?" Rpt. in Current Issues & Enduring Questions. Ed. Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. 560-566. Huttman, Barbara. "A Crime of Compassion." Rpt. in Current Issues & Enduring Questions. Ed. Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. 555-557. Marker, Rita L. "Kids and Euthanasia." Human Life Review 26 (2000): 30-36. Schaeffer, Pamela. "Rigali Intervenes: Feeding Tube Must Stay." National Catholic Reporter 37 (2000): 5-7.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Porter’s Model Approach for Rice Industry

Why should Vietnam develop rice production as its competitive advantage? Rice is one of the leading food crops in the world with 85% of its production accounted by human consumption (The Importance of Rice, 2011). Rice is also the most important crop to millions of small farmers who grow it on millions of hectares throughout the region, and to the many landless workers who derive income from working on these farms. In the future, it is imperative that rice production continue to grow at least as rapidly as the population, if not faster.The world’s annual rough rice production will have to increase markedly over the next 30 years to keep up with population growth and income-induced demand for food (The Importance of Rice, 2011). In Viet Nam, rice plays an important role in national food security and political stability. Rice also has a direct effect on social security because it is consumed by a vast majority of the total population and is an important source of income for more than 60 million people living in agriculture and rural areas. Rice is the country’s main crop, accounting for more than 90% of total cereal production.Since the 1990s, the volume of rice exports has risen dramatically, making Viet Nam the second largest rice exporter in the world. Nevertheless, serious food security concerns in the country remains. Pockets of poverty and malnutrition persist more in remote areas and among ethnic tribes (Asian Development Bank, 2012 p. 01). Average food per capital has been increased rapidly, but inequally among regions: In 2007, Mekong is 1,075 kg, South Central Coast 287 kg; the North West 217 kg and the Central Highland 174 kg (the variation between the Mekong and the Central Highland is 6. 17 times)(Nguyen Vu Hoan, 2010 p. 3). Furthermore, rice industry is critical in the Vietnamese’s sustainable economic environment. Rice export helps increase foreign currency inflows and capital accmulation for the industrialization modernization process of the country. Specifically, the increase in rice export volumn means a growth in national incomes, in turns, a growth in national GDP. Realizing rice’s significance and the various threats, the government does not only seek solution but also plays an important role in the international rice market, and consequently, in the food security of the international communityThe factorial determinants Land is the first and foremost production material in rice cultivation. The soil fertility dominates profoundly the intensiveness ability and production prices. According to a survey of the Agriculture Ministry, land area with agriculture capability is above 10 million hectares, in which 8. 5 million hectares are suitable for rice cultivation (The Necessity of Vietnam’s Rice Expor, 2011). Therefore, land resource in Viet Nam has advantages in both intensive and extensive farming.In addition, the climate is ideal for rice due to the combination of humidity and stormy wea ther. Also, the canal and river systems spread densely throughout the country, especially the three major rivers including Red, C? and Nine Dragons Rivers, which provide farmers with huge amount of water. These natural conditions helps create a solid foundation for rice industry in Viet Nam. The human resource is another factor contributing to rice production. 50% of national labour force participates in farming with broad knowledge and experience passed down by their ancestors (Asian Development Bank, 2012 p. 1). The Vietnamese culture has been attached deeply to rice cultivation; consequently, the people possessed various compatible skills with the particular weather conditions in Viet Nam. The amount of research and development carried out has been considerable. Many new rice varieties have been introduced offering much higher yield than the old ones. Besides, new production model has been applied and used successfully in boosting productivity, together with efficient irrigation system.Advanced drainage, aluminum, salt removal techniques are deployed to improve rice quality (Asian Development Bank, 2012 p. 02). Viet Nam is the country to have cheapest cost of production within South-East Asia, especially in Mekong Delta – cheapest in the world. This creates price competitiveness for Vietnamese rice in both domestic and foreign market (The Competitiveness of Agricultural Products in the Context of Joining AFTA, 2003). The infrastructure system is continually upgraded to help make use of every source efficiently.The Government is currently working with foreign countries especially Australia. The two nations are carrying on several projects on projects: build Cao Lanh Bridge; Mekong Delta infrastructure and Vietnam Rural Energy Distribution to provide efficient delivery of power service by power companies; also a Southern Coastal Corridor connecting between Viet Nam, Thailand and Cambodia. As soon as these instructions go into operation, many efforts ca n be made to exploit potential benefits that have not yet been seen (AusAid, 2013). The overnment also concerns about the educational and health level of people from rural areas. The systems of school at all levels are being constructed new, upgraded and temporary primitive schools and classes are being eliminated. Besides, rural health care system continues to be enhanced quite comprehensive, truly becomes the rural residents’ crucial initial health care system, growing both in terms of number of health stations, qualification of health service providers as well as the physical facilities. (Agricultural and Fishery Situation in Vietnam, 2011). The Demand ConditionsAs the Viet Nam’s economy has been growing, leading to higher living standards especially in big cities, the demand for consumption goods is rising including rice. Moreover, people get access to high quality rice both from foreign and domestic market. Therefore, a potential growth in demand for superior qual ity rice is obvious and people will turn to other rice exporters like Thailand if its rice quality is higher. However, domestic production can take over the rice market by producing high quality rice with lower prices based on new production model and continuous innovation in machinery and rice varieties.If the rice industry can successfully address this sophisticated demand, it can exploit profits from high-end market both domestically and internationally by producing much higher value-added rice. The Up and Downstream Industries The upstream industries supporting rice production include machinery, fertilizers and pesticides. The government realized the importance of these industries so it implemented policies to encourage investment on R&D and facilities. Vietnam has recently working on a project building a huge milling house with capacity of 100,000 tons per annum, in Mekong Delta region (Huynh Xu TTXVN, 2013).Also, the collaboration of many agriculture scientists and experts has resulted in eco-friendly fertilizers and pesticides using green recycled components, helping paddy field to grow more quickly. The packaging industry is in the downstream process in rice production. In order for the rice to be in the market, it must be packed properly first. An automatic packaging line is being used in many rice processing factories. The government does realize the benefit packaging could bring especially in marketing, value added function and brand perception. It is now encouraging competition among package production firms for a higher quality packaging.Rice manufacturers also cooperate with the packagers on their own packaging designs. The structure of the industry and its rivalry The economic units are mainly dominated by small-scaled farmers and there is significant land fragmentation. Theoretically, there is no competition among cooperatives. However, due to the fact that the whole rice production process is managed by Agriculture and Rural Development Minist ry and its regulations and standards put on the farmers to produce high quality rice, the Vietnamese rice competitiveness is considerable relative to other countries’.Moreover, the pressure to compete with other big rice exporter drives manufacturers to continuously upgrade their production model. The other contributing factors Chance Joining WTO provides several opportunities for rice exports. First, WTO is a big playing field offering a huge market including one for rice consumption as before Viet Nam became member of WTO; rice is limited in participating in global market. Besides, many enterprises have access to advanced technology in rice production.Secondly, a complete law system has been introduced in order to be able to join WTO, which encourages foreign investment funds since the other countries think Viet Nam has a m? e stable environment. Finally, there will be no unfairness in case of conflictions as the WTO’s commerce policy is applied to Vietnam ensuring o ur rights in international playground (Rice production situation after joining WTO, 2009). Wars are still big issues in many regions of the world and will continue to be. And food security is at stake in these particular areas. Vietnam’s rice export can become one of the major sources for food during instabilities.Government Policy The authorities also play a crucial role in influencing the nation’s competitive advantage. Regarding the supply side, Viet Nam’s Government has implemented multiple measures to boost production including decollectivism (xoa b? ch? nghia t? p th? ) transforming land and production materials to household system; agricultural R&D involving one third of the S&T government budget to support hybrid rice varieties for farmers; access to credit provided by Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development and favoured loan interest rate granted to farmers (Dang Kim Son, 2011).The government, being aware of rice industry’s significance, has b een putting huge investment and concern about this and will continue to do so In foreign trade, policy such as removing export quotas has encouraged foreign investors. Besides, control is still be made over export contract registration as well as conditions to rice export enterprises to ensure rice quality. In conclusion, the rice industry is promising due to several factors both from Porter’s model and from outside sources.The human, natural, knowledge resources are all favourable to rice production in the first place. Not to mention other factors namely demand, supporting industries, chances and government policy, these are essentially supporting the growth of rice industry though there are plenty of efforts to be made to exploit them. It is wise to take into consideration that making rice the nation’s competitive advantage. This does not only help the Viet Nam’s economical growth but also ensures its stability in far future.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

The Internet Economy Essays - Digital Technology, Media Technology

The Internet Economy Essays - Digital Technology, Media Technology The Internet Economy T he internet, the world wide data connection that has caught on like a wild fire sweeping through a parched California forest, has wide ranging implications on our world economy. Locally, we have witnessed staggering swings of fortune in more dot-com firms than any other form of business in American history. The old adage of that American Dream - starting a business in the garage to see it one day be listed on the stock exchange is truer now than at any other time in our short history as well. While many still feel that the internet is simply a fad that will fade out as consumers tire of on-line shopping, most are resigned to the fact that the computer age is finally found a foothold into the masses a true consumer product as inseparable in the modern household as the television and telephone. The fact that it isnt being called the telenet may be more a matter of poor timing than a marketing gaffe. As the data-stream (bandwidth in internet parlance) becomes more efficient read that as fast, other uses of the internet will boom. No longer will the internet be just for buying and selling merchandise, chatting with friends and family, or gaining insight into the latest sexual technique, but will become a truly real-time and practical multi-media tool. Video data, currently suited only for the occasional voyeuristic views with choppy, grainy images reminiscent of our parents/grandparents 8mm movies, will one day (soon, I predict) become a window to the world. The video phone a product most of us in my age group thought would have become reality long before now - will finally become commonplace. With video, audio and other input devices at ones disposal, doctors will again make house calls, and visits to far off friends and relatives will nearly suffice for the real thing (a rekindling of the infamous smell-o-vision system to transmit the aroma of Grandmas fresh apple pie baking in the oven, perhaps?). The uses are nearly as endless as ones imagination, and is a field where current state-of-the-art has only touched the surface of what can and will be achieved over a very short period of time. So what does all this high tech wizardry have to do with the economy? Just about everything, actually. Already governments across the globe are clamoring to be the first to find a practical method of taxation into this new world wide interchange system. Hopefully, the Genie has long since been out of the bottle on that one Shopping malls, already feeling the effects of internet commerce, may be forced to radically change their business structure or face certain failure. The parcel delivery systems are feeling the effects as well as a dramatic increase of flow is being realized directly through internet sales. As fuel prices continue to climb, video conferencing, once reserved for the well-healed companies will make sense for even the smallest of companies. The ramifications of the internet are wide ranging and will certainly impact nearly every human being on the face of this planet. What a marvelous time to be living in to see one of the single biggest technological advances come to fruition. While the telephone made the world a much smaller place to live in, the internet has taken the meaning of distance out of the equation completely. The economy? Its the internet, stupid Bibliography businessweek.com/1999/99_40/b3649001.htm

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Bulimia1 essays

Bulimia1 essays My disease is Bulimia. I choose this topic because I was very curious about it. This disease effects the digestive system, which effects the rest of the body systems. Bulimia is a disease that is a serious eating disorder characterized by alternating binge eating and purging. The Bulimic first eats the food and then gets rid of it by either vomiting or the use of laxatives and diuretics. The disease can vary from some people just eating an ice cream cone and vomiting to those who eat and vomit after every meal. The overall desire to be thin and accepted appears to be the main cause of Bulimia. The attitudes about diet and appearance expressed by parents can be a factor. Teens may temporarily become slightly overweight and parents who react negatively may cause their children to become fearful or anxious about the way they look. It has been discovered that female teens have a strong desire to please their father and when he is rigid, emotionally distant, demanding and a perfectionist, this my cause a very low self-esteem or self-worth in his teenage daughter. The daughter may discover she has control of only one thing and that is her body and by controlling her weight, no matter how drastic the measure, and being thin means that she is not a failure. Bulimics learn from their families to look like they dont have any problems and in our society, being thin is looking perfect, inside and out. When teens have a low self-esteem and/or self-worth they cannot handle problems with friends and peers. They may not want to, or know how to, talk to their parents or friends about problems or pressures and again, the feeling of being in control of something, like their thin body is enough and they will go to any length to get it. Over time, the body is physically effected by Bulimia. Some of the physical effects are; the onset of diabetes, malnutrition, erosion of tooth enamel caus...

Monday, November 4, 2019

The book Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The book Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson - Essay Example However, the outcome is never attractive for either them, or the civilians who fall victims. Whenever there is war in a country and there are battles between the state soldiers and the rebels, the people who suffer most will be the civilians (Johnson 80). There are many reasons for such results. For example; some soldiers end up going against their respectful duties. Civilians fully depend on their soldiers to protect and fight for them, but in some cases, it is not quiet clear why the very soldiers end up turning against the helpless civilians. In this book the Tree of Smoke, as the American soldiers set out for the famous Vietnam War. Many people suffer the consequences and instead of solving the problem, the wars ends up affecting the same victims of the war (Johnson 300). This is seen when women are rapes, and other civilians short to death. Soldiers in the wars are meant to attack the enemy and not the victim. But in this case, soldiers are seen to change course and turn on thei r dependents. The relationship between the soldiers and the civilian is expected to be a fair one as the civilians safety only depends on the soldiers. This relationship in Tree of Smoke does not last when soldiers turn against their dependants and perform actions of violence against them including rape (Johnson 250). This picture gives a very negative view towards the soldiers, and it leaves a person wondering what kind of world we live in. In as much as soldiers like in this situation may be get frustrated, it is still not acceptable the way the can behave (Johnson p.250). The behaviors are truly pathetic and unacceptable. It is even sadder when such incidences occur and yet nothing is done about them. The relationship between them and the victimized civilians is ruined completely. This situations doubles the victimization of the civilians as they are fall both victims of war and their supposedly saviors. We all know that the soldiers in war are human (Johnson 179); they may end u p using such stuff like drugs and alcohol. Consequently, most of the time this would make them change their attitude to that of â€Å"who cares† when their minds are set in that manner. Those who depend on their protections become very vulnerable to them. Sometimes there are cases where soldiers break in people houses harassing them severely and looting their property, or misusing them. It is not clear to me what causes this kind of behavior in this people. I presume that as soldiers they have the capability to use the authority, they have to punish civilians under their mercy. The soldiers in Vietnam War are also seen in the story to portray misconduct when they still the puppies from the Vietnamese homes and smuggled them to their homes. This is harassment towards the same civilians who innocently depend on them (Johnson 220). The civilians have no power over the soldiers and they suffer so much lose in the hands. Soldiers were viewed to be merciless during the time when th ey raided houses of the victims blowing them using the grenades. Many innocent civilians died in the process, with so much confusion being experienced by the Vietnamese (Johnson 234). The confusion arose because the victimized civilians had no idea who was on their side because they were being attacked from all sides. In the Long run, this book does not really show a positive effect from the war, as those people who expected to benefit from it suffered even worse situations. The story clearly states the evil