Discuss the view that the influence of religion on UK society is declining

The UK is lucky to have such a vibrant, diverse and cultured population from migrants that have entered our small islands from the past few thousand years. However each time they make Britain there home, they bring there religion. This gives rise to the many religions and there denominations that have a presence. But what is a religion? According to the Penguin Dictionary of Sociology it is â€Å"A set of cultural ideas, symbols, and practices that focus on the meaning of life and the nature of the unknown. † Secularisation had been happening for long time before Nietzsche proclaimed, â€Å"God is Dead† and is a far more complex process than just a drop in church attendance. Marxists believe that religion is form of social control on the proletariat by the bourgeoisie. He saw religion as the opium of the masses, teaching them acceptance which was reinforced by hymns like ‘All things bright and beautiful' which had verses akin to â€Å"The rich man in his castle, the poor man at his gate, God made them, high or lowly, and ordered their estate. † aided there exploitation by teaching them to accept there place in society because it was God wished. When Marx wrote this, churches had a high monopoly on truth so people would be more inclined to believe it. Looking at statistics of ex and current communist countries it is clear that secularisation is very high with the majority of Britain from Chinese decent claiming they have no religion, it is also known that countries that follow a Marxist, however stringently, doctrine that government officials must have no religion, this is very widely enforced within the Peoples Republic of China's administration but not as obligatory within the soviets of the USSR. With only one class there should be no reason for a religion to control society, however when countries became communist the did not all suddenly drop there views and become atheists, even if these values were taught at school, they were still taught in the home as primary socialisation always comes before secondary such as the school. The media openly ridicules religion by broadcasting comedies such as Father Ted and The Vicar of Dibley which portray very un orthodox Ministers and there they very un orthodox parishioners. But the media does not stop there it regularly comments on the flaws in religion through various mediums such as articles printed about the bonuses of secularisation and TV programs calling for religions to be abolished in the bid for world peace. However many of the Abrahamic religions forgot the second commandment â€Å"Though shall not worship false idols† but would God really smite the celebrities that use there fame to help highlight charitable work and those less fortunate than ourselves? However jealous a god he is, does he approve of celebrities such as The Pope or Grand Ayatollah? Even with there religious leadership they still fit the job description of a celebrity. Religions are often accused of being behind the times on items seen as very taboo yet have always been there, especially gay rights and abortion. Many religions see all human life as sacred and that abortion is an act of killing one of gods children so a sin, they also conform to functionalist view of homogonous, heterosexual, monogamous marriage been the only appropriate view on raising children. Within the past hundred years many laws have been passed that work towards an egalitarian society in which no person is superior or inferior to another such as gay rights, abortion rights and gender equality, which have been advocated for as long as Plato in his â€Å"The Republic† in which he sees men and woman indifferent albeit for childbirth and strength, to which he argues that some woman are stronger than some men. Moreover, some religious organisations have moved slightly with times, notably the Anglican faith which no allows gay and female Vicars, abortion in certain circumstances as well as divorce and remarriage. So as many equality principles have been oppressed by religion and are only recently winning it over, only one has been supported which is race equality, which was lead and fronted by one the most famous men in the world, a Methodist minister, Dr Martin Luther King. But to counter that the Dutch Reform Church openly supported Apartheid in South Africa, as well as many Far Right Political Groups mainly National Socialism Groups such as Hitler's Administration but also the BNP and NF groups which solely believe in Aryan Protestants to be the superior race, a dumbfounded patriarchal view that contradicts many statements within the bible including when Jesus Christ died on the Cross for our sins he removed all barriers including that of gender, race, and nationality. This is as said by the apostle Paul â€Å"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ then you are†¦ heirs according to the promise† (Galatians 3:28-29). Weber first introduced his theory of rationalization in his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, He predicts a decline in religion due to industrial advancement, plurality of religions and a rise in science and technology to answer questions that gave rational answers juxtaposed to religions ambiguous statement of it was Gods will. He looks at the Protestant denomination of ‘Calvinism' who believed in predestination and worked hard to beat their anxiety on whether they would be accepted into heaven. Eventually this evolved from a monopoly on truth to a monopoly of industry with many Calvinites becoming successful capitalistic businesspeople, for which Weber argued was inevitable. A rise in religious pluralism also adds to secularisation as individual religions are loosing their monopoly on truth as they are co-habiting and recognising other religions. Many large religious buildings now have faith rooms in which all religions are welcome. Also some Christian denominations meet and work together as Christians this is called Ecumenicalism. Within the past 250 years scientific advancement has gone from virtually nothing to a vital part our lifes today, religion has caught along on this bandwagon as well, but to only a certain extent. Darwin's theory of evolution is still questioned by some many religious individuals however these are mainly creationists. Weber suggested that eventually the mystical ideas would be succumbed by scientific ones. Durkheim (1965) suggests that religion was about celebrating the rules of your society and making the citizens keep to those rules. Yet, he argues, that as a society becomes more complex religion struggles to bind individuals due to industrialization and social fragmentation that regulate religion into a corner of where it becomes one of many beliefs and fails to unify members of society. Secularists and Antidisestablishmentarians have fought along side the broad left and broad right respectively, but hardly any battles have been as severe as the Spanish civil war (1936 – 1939) The Republicans were secularists and some of the more radical groups within in them such as the Stalinists NKVD committed terrible atrocities against the catholic church in Spain such as massacring clergy and destroying churches and monasteries. While the Nationalists were led by the infamous General Francisco Franco and had largely fascist yet catholic views and ties. They suppressed the terrorist secularist activities by executing teachers that promoted the removal of the church from education. Clear Statistics prove a decline in church attendance (All Protestant and Roman Catholic) from 30% of the population in 1900 to 12% in 1990, Hamilton (? ) Table 1. However a Social Attitudes Survey (1992) cited in Haralambous et al (2000) table 7. 19 pg 479 states that 75% of people believe in at some point God with or without scepticism, while the remaining 25% either stated they were Atheists, no answer or that they did not if there was a God and believed there was no way to find out. As 75% of people still believe in God at some point, this adds to the point that people may not be attending churches but still are retaining faith and does indicate a rise in Atheism. Davie calls this â€Å"believing without belonging†. Returning back to the Penguins Dictionary of Sociology's definition of religion in no point of the description does it state that one has to attend a specific place of worship to practice there religion. This adds to the point that people have not stopped believing in god but merely openly practicing in public, this could be that a conventional church does not fit in with there views of a religion or their lifestyles. In America Evangelical Christians have used the TV to their advantage and started to broadcast live sermons, this is taking the idea of songs of praise to a new level and with channels emerging such as GOD channel, religious sermons can make it into our homes – if we choose. Furthermore, Christian Church attendance was only mentioned above so what would be held for other religions and the attendance at there place of worship. Other data suggests that Christianity is just for Christmas According to UK Census Data (2001) 71. 6% claim to be Christian, 2. 7% to be Muslim, 1. 0% to be Hindu, 0. 6% to be Sikh, 0. 5% to be Jewish, 0. 3% to Buddhist and 23. 2% either have no religion or did not state one. However, comparing this with data from Social Trends 30 (2000) cited in Moore (2001) pg 417 suggest that while Christianity may be on the decrease other religions are not. Islam in the UK had increased 380% from 130,000 individuals in 1970 to 495,000 individuals. As well the amount of people stating their religion as Sikhism increased 250% from 1970 to 1990. Interestingly, participants of other non-Christian religious institutions had increased 231% over the twenty-year period, these could be institutions that conform to the description of a religion but are either world rejecting or world affirming. World rejecting religions promise savoir on judgement day and normally have very tight, strict rules and regulations placed upon their members, and most of all see the world as a bad place in which will not make it into heaven. World affirming religions on the other hand are too promised savour but do not have as many tight restrictions on its members but maybe one or two, such as no sex before marriage or no drinking alcohol and most importantly do not see the world as a bad place. There are many methodical issues raised when researching any religion topic, let alone secularisation. There are many points to include when research is undertaken for instance the reliability of the data, would a different research get the same results or if a different sample of participants and method of data collection was used. Is their a true representative sample, this would be important as Britain is a highly religiously diverse country and a poor sample could obscure the results. How valid is the data actually gained; is it what the researcher aimed to find in their question or is it irrelevant due to an ambiguous question. Religion is a very private matter and a researcher must question there self on how far they may be intruding on a participant's life or institution. Finally a researcher must be sensitive to the data and interaction with participants, as beliefs are very sacred to a person they must be fully aware of their customs so that they do not offend. Secondary sources must be looked at with great care and what they say applied today for example a woman practicing herbal medicine would not be seen as anything bizarre in today's world but 400 years ago burnt at the stake for witchcraft. In conclusion the debate of secularisation has rage on with the sociological world for many year, yet a unified decision has yet too be and probably won't be made. Bellah (1967) and Luckman (1996) both argue that religion is not in decline but is merely changing form. They say that the public side of religion may be in decline but the private side of religion and personal belief is not. Berger (1967) on the other hand says that religion is loosing its traditional place within society saying how the growth of science and technology has questioned it, and suggests that religion, as a way of life is no longer in capacity to do so. Wilson (1966) described secularisation as â€Å"the process whereby religious thinking, practices and institutions lose their social significance† But even though there is a drop in church attendance, society is not loosing its belief in a religion. Many religions have religious buildings to worship their god, yet with some religions it is not compulsory to attend them regularly, such as Islam and Judaism – perhaps Christianity has to learn from its religious ‘relatives'. On the contrary Voas (2005) gives evidence for a significant rise in church attendance around Christmas time, which can rise by 330% in some diocese in Anglican Britain. Perhaps this suggests that Anglicans choose to go to church only at special religious occasions. Many sociologists looking at secularisation focus on Britain and do to take into account other countries that have taken a huge rise of fundamentalism such as the USA and Iran, which are closely linked too politics. Fundamentalists, such as the Christian Coalition, helped shape the policies of the Reagan and Bush administrations, Bruce (1995). Finally Stark and Bainbridge (1990) suggest that secularisation and strong religious belief alternate in a cyclical pattern. From this I agree with Bellah and Luckman that religion is not in decline but merely changing the form in which it presents its self within society, as there is more corroboration between researchers that suggest people have not lost faith.

Cultural Anthropology Social Organization Essay

In the United States the practice of serial monogamy, where one goes through a series of marriages then divorce; and unwed parenthood seem to have replaced the cultural traditional marriage. (Nowak & Laird, 2010) Single parent families and the accompanying socioeconomic circumstances usually warrant social intervention from state agencies and that places a strain on public funds. The fact is, every single parent household is unbalanced. In the household where both parents are present the children usually benefit because each parent brings; not only a gender based perspective to the relationship and child rearing cultural traditional practices; but he/she also brings a level of stability that is not easily quantified. Stable marriages are usually founded upon the couple’s religious beliefs, kinship traditions of stable relationships, friendship, trust, similar backgrounds, traditional values as well as kindred cultural practices that include gender role expectations. Persons in stable marriages tend to understand each other’s moods and idiosyncrasies; so they are able to co-exist and live as friends. In the film, people adhere to the traditions of their kindred, they hold them sacred and they marry their own kind. It might seem bizarre to the outsider but it is normal behavior for their kinship. Arranged marriages are basically bilateral agreements between two families. The groom’s family gives the bride’s family a bride wealth of livestock, jewelry land and other valuables depending on the traditional culture of the tribe. The bride wealth forms a part of the wealth of the bride’s kinship. The groom basically has to pay the bride’s family for the loss of her labor. (Nowak & Laird, 2010). The women accept and submit themselves to the cultural traditions of their kinship. They have no choice in the arrangements. In the film, the women are hard workers. They take care of the men, children, fields, livestock wash the clothes, cook but the most bizarre was the Indian polyandrous family; the woman was married to three brothers. The children in this family do not know their biological father; and it is normal behavior so nobody really cares about a DNA match. It is also interesting to note that the wife in the feature film is illiterate and she knows no other way of life. The family is stable and the brothers look out for each other. This arrangement is economical as all the wealth is kept in the groom’s kinship. As strange as it may sound, this marriage seem to be more successful than the marriages of choice; in that the wives know there roles and stick to their list of duties. On the other hand, in marriages of choice, after a few years have passed, the wives tend to place pressure on the husbands to change into their likeness and to be what they, and their families want them to be. Arranged marriages are basically bilateral agreements between two families. The gang/crime family is a rather incredible one. I prefer to consider it as a social group with its own set of operational tenets but not a family. Rference Nowak, B., & Laird, P. (2010). Cultural Anthropolgy, San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education Inc.

Nutritional Physiology and Biochemistry Assignment

Nutritional Physiology and Biochemistry - Assignment Example According to the research findings, a number of different types of food must be consumed in order to provide the body with the energy that it needs for even the simplest of processes. Proteins must be consumed in order for the body to grow, and they are essential for the repair of the muscles, should they become damaged. Healthy fats are important to consume, as these contain vitamins, and the fat is necessary for us to survive. Minerals are important to the body's simple functions; vitamins give the body what is necessary to remain healthy, and they are soluble in fats and water, depending on what types of vitamins are consumed. Roughage is the foods that we need to eat in order to provide us with our source of fiber, and it is this fiber that enables food to be processed through our digestive tract. Finally, the last two very important elements of nutrition are carbohydrates and water. Carbohydrates are the body's most important source of energy, and water is important for all func tions of the body. Because the body is made up of approximately sixty to seventy percent of water, it is to the body's detriment if it is denied even the slightest form of water necessary for it to function. IF any of these are unbalanced in the least bit, this will cause the body to not function as it should. For one, if the body is lacking in carbohydrates, then the person will become tired and have a hard time getting tasks completed. If the body lacks water, then dehydration sets in, which can cause a myriad of problems, such as dizziness, the skin drying out, a speeding heart rate, and even death if not dealt with. Without fiber, the digestive tract cannot move; if the body is lacking in fat, then certain body processes cannot take place, such as the ability of foods to be metabolized. And finally, if vitamins, proteins, and minerals are lacking, then malnourishment can set in, and the body will not be able to heal properly, such as the muscles and tissues will not be able to r epair themselves if damaged. When nutritional balance and the appropriate level of energy are maintained, the body and its processes will run smoothly. Not to mention, health and stability will be maintained. When comparing the energy of the human body to which is measured by a bomb calorimeter, there are some differences as to how the energy is obtained. For one, the energy of a bomb calorimeter is obtained through electrical energy igniting the fuel so that the calories contained in the fuel can be measured. Secondly, pure oxygen is suppressed inside, and the combustion of these gasses, i.e. the energy that is being discharged from this technology. Gasses that have been discharged, and the water that is around the tubing is heated up, and this is contributing to the combustion. The heat and the combustion are what is the energy that is considered to be measured, which is under constant pressure. Available energy from the human body is different than that of a bomb calorimeter. Ava ilable energy is measured in a number of ways. It is measured by heart rate through various instruments, such as heart rate monitors, and it is not measured by combustion like that of the bomb calorimeter.

Precursers to WWII and Non-Germany Contributors to the Prosecution of Essay

Precursers to WWII and Non-Germany Contributors to the Prosecution of Jews - Essay Example In the aftermath of the First World War serious unrest in Europe grew, especially revanchist and irredentist nationalism. Under the Treaty of Versailles German Empire lost over 10 per cent of its pre-war territory as well as all of its overseas possessions. Furthermore limits were imposed upon the size of German army. During the period of Weimar republic domestic civil conflict took place in Germany involving both nationalists and reactionaries against moderate democrats and communists. In the aftermath of World War I concerns about anti-Semitism rose throughout Europe. By late 1928 European states were legislating immigration that sometimes prevented Jews from entering their territories. Moreover some of the newly established European states viewed ethnic Jewish immigrants as a menace to their stability. Due to the large number of Jews among bolshevist leadership some European politicians feared that Jews arriving to their countries from the east would smuggle revolutionary spirits with them. The rise to power of National Socialists in Germany in 1933 gave another powerful impetus for growing Zionist support as well as immigration to British-controlled Palestine. The long held non-Zionist and assimilationist view that Jews might live safely as minorities within European societies was seriously undermined, since Germany had been regarded before as the state in which Jews had been successfully integrated. With almost all other states closed to immigration a new wave of Jewish immigrants rushed for Palestine. Those who could not pay the due fees for immediate entry joined British waiting lists. It is worth to mention that the British did really contributed much into committing genocide against European Jewry during World War II. In 1939 they issued the o-called White Paper. That document declared that the Jewish National Home had already been established so all of their obligations under the mandate had already been fulfilled. Further migration was viewed as harm ful to Palestinian Arabs. Only 10,000 Jewish migrants were allowed to arrive to Palestine each year from 1939 to 1944. Moreover Jewish migration was supposed to require consent of the Arab majority in Palestine. Palestinians were promised independence by 1949. Furthermore the British restricted Jews’ land purchases. Being preoccupied with securing Arabian support for British war efforts against the counties of the Axis while the latter’s propaganda was targeting Muslim world. As a result Palestinian Zionists increasingly viewed Great Britain as their enemy. Having contributed much into the catastrophe of European Jewry they by no means may be blamed for killing Jews. This notwithstanding Nazi Germany was not the only power responsible for killing 6 million of them. Germany’s allies are also responsible for crimes against humanity perpetrated during World War II. As a result of 1938 Munich treaty prewar Czechoslovakian Republic was dissolved and the puppet Slovak Republic was proclaimed in March 1939. Two years later Slovakian parliament passed the so-called Jewish Code which followed notorious Nuremberg Law of Nazi Germany. Slovakian Code required that Jews were to

A Study on the Impact of Coal Use Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Study on the Impact of Coal Use - Essay Example This obtained from coal which is a  combustible  dark  or dark brown sedimentary rock that occurs within the rock strata. This is in vain layers referred to as coal seams or coal beds. It is this rock mined to  produce  the  required  industrial  energy  through its combustion. Coal primarily comprised of various elements like carbon, sulphur, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen among other elements. These elements emitted to the atmosphere upon combustion of coal causing various adverse environmental and health effects.  This is also true for the other alternative fossil fuel sources of energy such as wood energy, petroleum, hydroelectric and nuclear  energy  whose consumption trends in the U.S has been on a constant  rise  from 1775-2010, (appendix 1), (Kristina, 6). ... This is a combined statistic for  industrial  and residential  consumption. In the year 2008, coal constituted 21% of its total energy consumption which rose to 28% in the year 2009, and this projected to  be  increasing with every year among all the coal consuming  key  states (Kristina, 4). The exports and imports of coal among these countries  mainly  depicted by the  amount  and rates of coal energy requirements within the state less the amounts and rates of coal mining and exports the  state  handles. China's total exports and imports during the year 2009 were about 32.20 and 10.53 million tons respectively. The environmental consequences of the coal industry are wide spread and felt from the extraction to the combustion of coal to produce energy.  This is  mainly  through atmospheric emissions and solid wastes productions that contribute to various heath complications such as cancer and bronchial complications. This is also true for environmental consequences including climate change and global warming. In the process of coal use, various forms of harmful environmental gasses produced such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and oxides of nitrogen and from such emissions  component  hayrides and nitrides such as sulphur nitrate and hydrogen cyanide produced (James, 1-4). The  emission  of such gasses into the atmosphere contribute to the  aspect  climate change that poses a  considerable  challenge to the survival of the planed and can also lead to the production of acid rain; reaction of  rain  water molecules and sulphur trioxide in the atmosphere, which also has significant effects to the vegetation. In order to  avert  and prevent against the various

How Global Value Chains May Have an Impact on an Organization's Supply Essay

How Global Value Chains May Have an Impact on an Organization's Supply Chain Design and Corporate Alignment - Essay Example The global value chain encompasses functions which are strongly included and frequently managed on a regular basis. Thus, these functions can impact on the activities of organization in home as well as in other host countries where they perform the business operations. These impacts are pretty straightforward when an organization from one nation inaugurates a new industrial unit or engineering unit in other nation. A few of the impacts are more complex when an organization of one nation makes an agreement with an organization in other nation in order to coordinate production in plants. The impacts of global value chain are precisely seen on the supply chain design and corporate alignment of an organization (Schroeder, Goldstein, & Rungtusanatham, 2010). Value Chain and Supply Chain The idea of value was first created and promoted by Michael Porter in the year 1985. He had demarcated value as the number of purchasers who are prepared to pay for an organization’s products or ser vices (Chan, 2007). According to him, the value chain is the blend of nine common value added functions inside an organization which can deliver value to the consumers. On the other hand, the concept of supply chain first appeared in the year 1980. Supply chain describes the handling of material flow inside an organization from suppliers to the end users. ... Impact of Global Supply Chain on Organization’s Supply Chain Design Nowadays, globalization is no longer restricted to only products; it has expanded to other business aspects such as foreign direct investment, occupation and services among others. The global value chain is determined by the organization’s wish to raise competency, because increasing domestic competition and global market powers are facilitating organizations to become more effective with respect to cost of products and services. In this regard, a strong value chain can help organizations to enter new evolving markets and to improve access to strategic resources which can assist in tapping foreign business knowledge (Kleindorfer, Singhal, & Wassenhove, 2005). In order to cope up with the changes carried by rapid globalization, there is need for an accurate supply chain design. A properly structured supply chain design can enhance the internal network and flow of resources through it. With constant commo ditization of several goods, organizations require improved methods to differentiate themselves from other competitors. In order to compete in the global market, there is need for improvement through supply chain redesign. Therefore, global value chain can impact on supply chain design of organizations in order to fulfill the objective of cost minimization and to develop a more efficient value chain to stay cost competitive (Power, 2005). Impact of Global Value Chain on Corporate Alignment The global value chain is also related with the corporate alignment of an organization. The global value chain delivers the contents of organizational culture, management style,

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

Fedex - Essay Example FedEx has market competitors who provide similar services. These include TNT, DHL and United Parcel Services as the main competitors. However, FedEx has a substantial market share despite the stiff competitiveness. FedEx has diversified to provision of printing services, which mainly targets organizations that have bulk of work that requires to be printed. In addition, the company targets professionals and organizations in producing their documents, providing information technology services and doing any other work within the organizational mandate. One of the largest markets of FedEx is found in the supply chain. Companies and organizations that supply goods are a target market for FedEx since they constantly transport goods from one place to another, both locally and internationally. In the supply chain FedEx provides an array of services including transportation, keeping inventory of goods, and transportation management. From a broad perspective, the market for FedEx is very broad. Individuals, small businesses, professionals, large corporations, governments, and other organizations provide market for FedEx. However, the largest market is taken up by the individuals and organizations in the supply

Effects of Advertising on Children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Effects of Advertising on Children - Essay Example And the results have been studied by various researchers with Harris, Bargh and Brownell (2009) concluding that advertisements that directly target children leads to increased preference and purchase of the case products. Thus, advertisements targeted on children do more harm than good to the children. In as much as firms achieve their objectives through advertising to children, a lot of concerns have been raised on the ethical implications based on what Mason (2012) argues as the lack of understanding the basis of advertisement among the children. Such children would be unaware of the meanings attached to the advertisements. The ability of a child to understand an advertisement would be described on the ability of such a child to distinguish between advertisements and non-advertisements and secondly, in understanding that advertisements aim at persuading the target audience. It has been noted that at age 6, children have the capacity to differentiate TV programmes from advertisement s. Nonetheless, such children still do not understand the persuasive intent of the advertisements. ... In the United States, Mason (2012) indicates that children under 12 years old would spend over $13 billion annually on direct food purchases as a result of the popular advertisements which in turn influences a greater $250 billion on family spending. In the UK, an average child has been found to view an estimated 18,000 television advertisements annually compared to 40,000 and 16,000 in the US and China. Similarly, the growth in print media advertisements targeting children has been tremendous with Jones, Gregory and Kervin (2012) giving the example of Disney which now markets Disney Adventures and Disney Girl respectively targeting children over 6 and girls between 6 and 13 known to spend their money on toys, lip glosses, clothing and accessories. The Internet has been widely used as an emergent mode of advertisement among children riding on the findings that children spent a lot of their time on the Internet (Asadollahi & Tanha, 2011). Through online marketing, the frequently visit ed sites would have pop-up advertisements or sponsored advertisements which open up the children to a myriad of advertised products and services. Positive impact There are scholars who have argued on the positive aspect of advertising on children. Social advertising has been cited by Asadollahi and Tanha (2011) as a form of positive advertising where the objective would be to change the behaviour and attitude of the public and stimulate positive change. For example, the November 2002 to February 2003 advertisement on polio immunization in the US saw over six million children immunised. A research that was commissioned by UNICEF found out that over 94% of the respondents

Tides Case Essay Example for Free

Tides Case Essay 1)why the east cost has one high and one low tide a day but other parts of the world have two per day? The most common type of tide around the world is the semi-diurnal type; this consists of two high and two low tides per day. Semi-diurnal tides occur when water is not uniformly raised; this may be due to ocean currents, tributary rivers and other out and in flowing systems. This results in water sloshing around, making the tide phases twice per day. The coast off Florida however, has a diurnal type of tide, having only one low and one high tide per day. Diurnal tides occur when water is relatively trapped, resulting in a uniform movement resonating from the center which follows the lunar phases. 2) How is it we are experiencing GLOBAL WARMING LA NINA? I am confused how both can exist at the same time. The world’s temperature is increasing due to global warming. La Nià ±a is brought upon by the abnormal cooling of the pacific Ocean. How can this two phenomena coexist? The Earth’s temperature is regulated by wind and ocean currents, evenly distributing the Earth’s heat. The increase in the Earth’s temperature is an added strain to this system, implying that the currents need to distribute more heat. In distributing this heat, some areas become abnormally cool while other become abnormally hot. Whaen the abnormally cool area falls upon the Pacific Ocean, La Nià ±a then occurs. 3)Is gravity the only cause of a wave change in shape at the shoreline? Gravity plays an important part in determining what shape a wave takes as it approaches the shore. However, strong winds that hit the wave can also mould it, either making it roll, or making its top crumble altogether. Additional, the tide in effect near the shore can define how high a wave is when approaching. Source: Calvert J.B. (2003) Tidal Observations Retrieved April 12 2007 from http://www.du.edu/~jcalvert/geol/tides.htm#Gulf

Renewable Energy Essay Example for Free

Renewable Energy Essay The possible downsides associated with different types of renewable energy resources are briefly listed below. Hydroelectric dam Located in remote hilly regions mostly prone to earth quakes Requires construction of large dams in potentially seismic zones Seasonality in power output as water flow is more in rainy season Nuclear Power Plants Accident if occur will cause lot of damage Radioactivity exposure to the personnel Radioactive waste disposal continues to be an unsolved issue Nuclear proliferation fear Solar Power Technology is yet to mature in terms of affordable and efficient solar panels Conversion efficiency is low Scalability is an issue Depends on sky condition Cannot produce electricity in night so storage device is required Green power refers to renewable energy resources which do not adversely affect ecological balance. Some examples are hydroelectric power, wind power, solar power, biomass etc. Advantages and disadvantages are listed below. Green Power Source Advantage Disadvantage Wind energy Free, clean Reliability is a big question mark Solar Energy Free, Clean, Plentiful Low conversion efficiency Hydroelectric Clean, free Located in remote hilly regions Today, the world is interested in renewable energy resources because the fossil fuels are limited in reserve and will deplete completely one day. Also, exploitation of the fossil fuels is leading to ecological imbalances and causing green house effect leading to global warming, which is a very serious issue, globally. The only answer to these problems is to go for renewable energy resources. Therefore, the world is so much interested in decreasing energy production from fossil fuel and increasing the same from renewable energy resources.

Effect of Occupational Noise Pollution on Workers

Effect of Occupational Noise Pollution on Workers Noise pollution CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Background Noise means unpleasant sound that gives a disturbing and annoying effect to the listener. Noise pollution is any unwanted, disturbing, or harmful sound that impairs or interferes with hearing, causes stress, hampers concentration and work efficiency, or causes accident. Noise can block, distort, change or interfere with the meaning of a message in both human and electronic communication (Wikipedia, 2009). Agricultures workers are one of the highest contributors in the rate of noise pollution among all occupation. Any person who is exposed to an excessive noise pollution in long period may suffer hearing loss. The amount of damaged caused by noise depends on the total amount received over time. The degree of risk is affected by the intensity (loudness) and the frequency (pitch) of the noise, as well as the duration and pattern of exposure and the individual susceptibility to hearing impairment (CCOH, 2009). The increased spread of hearing loss from high frequencies through low frequencies with age and noise exposure is common for this population. Hearing loss of farmers is very characteristic of a sensor neural, bilateral sloping configuration resulting from both noise and aging. When age group data were compared to the hearing sensitivity values of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), all farmer populations, age 20-60, showed more dramatically hearing loss than the comparison group. This also was true when the data were compared to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 1990 data. Physical ear discomfort to noise exposure starts from sound pressure level of 80-100 decibels (dB). A continuous noise level of 85 dB can result in hearing damage as well as create other various negative effects on health (League for the Hard of hearing, 2002). Noise induced hearing loss occurs gradually and without pain. Noise is often recorded as decibels dB (A) t o approximate how the human ears respond to noise. In Malaysia, noise exposure in work place is legislated under the Factories and Machinery Act (Noise Exposure) Regulation 1989, and Occupational and Safety Health Act (OSHA) 1994. This regulation makes it mandatory for noise level and workers exposure to noise is measured, assessed, and controlled. Malaysian permissible exposure level (PEL) refers to the limit of exposure that must not be exceeded by any employee over a specified time limit. These limits denote concentration levels above which exposure to chemicals hazardous to health must be controlled. To protect against chronic health effects of chemicals, the limits set are eight hours time-weighted average values. Excursions above the eight-hour time weighted average limit is allowed as long as it does not exceed three times this set limit. The farm tractor has a central role in field operations and often in stockyards and buildings too. It pulls lifts, powers and supports; it provides personal transport and shelter from the weather. It is often the main status symbol of the agricultural enterprise; this is why tractors are styled (like cars), why they are loved by enthusiasts (like steam railway engines), and why individual farmers often praise and are faithful to one particular make. Two aspects of tractor noise cause concern: the environmental noise heard by bystanders, either fellow road users or local residents, and the potentially harmful noise to which the operator is subjected. Environmental noise was the subject of a formal OECD test. In the 1960s the Institute harmonized details of the test procedure by comparing measurements in all European test stations. Noise screens for engines were successfully developed, but the dominant environmental noise arises from exhausts, where a balance must be found between silencer effectiveness and power loss. A separate study of the annoyance caused by farm noise of all kinds rated the tractor as much less annoying than axed plant such as grain driers. Objectives The study is focused on highlight that prolong to high level of occupational noise which can affect the hearing ability to agricultures worker who are using tractors and machines. To characterize noise exposure profile among agricultures workers at Seksyen Kejuruteraan Ladang, Taman Pertanian Universiti,Universiti Putra Malaysia. To evaluate safety practices among workers. Significant of study The purpose of this study is to determine and observe if the noise from heavy machine, agriculture machine, industry machine and agricultures tools that are related to noise can contribute to the incidence of hearing loss. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Noise Noise is a word often used to mean unpleasant sound that the listener does not want to hear, although there are no physical characteristics distinguishing noise from wanted sound (Plog et. al., 2002). Noise means unpleasant sound that give a disturbing and an annoying effect to the listener. Noise pollution is any unwanted, disturbing, or harmful sound that impairs or interferes with hearing, causes stress, hampers concentration and work efficiency, or causes accident). Noise can block, distort, change or interfere with the meaning of a message in both human and electronic communication (Wikipedia, 2009). Noise environments of the type and severity associated with combustion engines and other noises arising from mechanisms or animals may have the following principle effects on the person exposed. The noise may be annoying to varying degrees, from being just objectionable to being unbearable. The performance may be affected due to a lowering of concentration, fatigue caused by longer exposed, rhythm disturbance, interference with sound cues associated with the work or interference with worker-to-worker communication in a team. Damage to hearing noise may be caused by noise; the character and to a lesser extent, the mechanism of this damage is now being understood. Both temporary and permanent components of hearing threshold shift are possible (Matthews, 1968). Noise is unwanted electrical or electromagnetic energy that degrades the quality of signals and data. Noise occurs in digital and analog systems, and can affect files and communications of all types, including text, programs, images, audio, and telemetry. In a hard-wired circuit such as a telephone-line-based Internet hookup, external noise is picked up from appliances in the vicinity, from electrical transformers, from the atmosphere, and even from outer space. Normally this noise is of little or no consequence. However, during severe thunderstorms, or in locations were many electrical appliances are in use, external noise can affect communications. In an Internet hookup it slows down the data transfer rate, because the system must adjust its speed to match conditions on the line. In a voice telephone conversation, noise rarely sounds like anything other than a faint hissing or rushing. Noise is a more significant problem in wireless systems than in hard-wired systems. In general, noise originating from outside the system is inversely proportional to the frequency, and directly proportional to the wavelength. At a low frequency such as 300 kHz, atmospheric and electrical noise are much more severe than at a high frequency like 300 megahertz. Noise generated inside wireless receivers, known as internal noise, is less dependent on frequency. Engineers are more concerned about internal noise at high frequencies than at low frequencies, because the less external noise there is, the more significant the internal noise becomes. Communications engineers are constantly striving to develop better ways to deal with noise. The traditional method has been to minimize the signal bandwidth to the greatest possible extent. The less spectrum space a signal occupies, the less noise is passed through the receiving circuitry. However, reducing the bandwidth limits the maximum speed of the data that can be delivered. Another, more recently developed scheme for minimizing the effects of noise is called digital signal processing (digital signal processing). Using fiber optics, a technology far less susceptible to noise, is another approach (Techtarget, 2010). Noise Pollution generally refers to unwanted sound produced by human activities unwanted in that it interferes with communication, work, rest, recreation, or sleep. Unlike other forms of pollution, such as air, water, and hazardous materials, noise does not remain long in the environment. However, while its effects are immediate in terms of annoyance, they are cumulative in terms of temporary or permanent hearing loss. Society has attempted to regulate noise since the early days of the Romans, who by decree prohibited the movement of chariots in the streets at night. In the United States, communities since colonial days have enacted ordinances against excessive noise, primarily in response to complaints from residents. It was not until the late 1960s, however, that the federal government officially recognized noise as a pollutant and began to support noise research and regulation. Federal laws against noise pollution included the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, especially sections concerning environmental impact statements; the Noise Pollution and Abatement Act of 1970; and the Noise Control Act of 1972, which appointed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to coordinate federal research and activities in noise control. Charged with developing federal noise-emission standards, identifying major sources of noise, and determining appropriate noise levels that would not infringe on public health and welfare, the EPA produced its so-called Levels Document, now the standard reference in the field of environmental noise assessment. In the document, the EPA established an equivalent sound level (Leq) and a day–night equivalent level (Ldn) as measures and descriptors for noise exposure. Soon thereafter, most federal agencies adopted either the Leq, Ldn, or both, including levels compatible with different land uses. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) uses Ldn as the noise descriptor in assessing land-use compatibility with various levels of aircraft noise. In 1978 the research findings of Theodore J. Schultz provided support for Ldn as the descriptor for environmental noise. Analyzing social surveys, Schultz found a correlation between Ldn and people who were highly annoyed by noise in their ne ighborhoods. The Schultz curve, expressing this correlation, became a basis for noise standards. As part of its effort to identify major noise sources in the United States, the EPA set about determining the degree to which noise standards could contribute to noise reduction. During the 1970s, EPA-sponsored research on major noise sources led to regulation of the products that most affected the public, including medium and heavy trucks, portable air compressors, garbage trucks, buses, and motorcycles. Missing from the list was aircraft, which was considered the responsibility of the FAA. During the administration of President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, the power of the EPA and its Office of Noise Abatement and Control was curtailed and most of its noise regulations rescinded. Even so, efforts continued to curb noise pollution. The Department of Transportation maintains standards for highways, mass transit, and railroads, as well as aircraft. The environmental review process, mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, remains the single most effective deterrent to noise pollution (Answer, 2010). Noise exposure Noise is one of the most important environment factors, which affects the workers health and efficiency. Noise can increase the overall workload of operators during a specific task and can affect the performance. As the result, noise affects workers health directly and indirectly (Parsons, 2000). Exposure to intense noise has been shown to damage the human hearing process and noise has been labeled as the most pervasive hazardous agent in the workplace (Milz et al., 2008). Among these effects are weariness, backhoe, nervousness, nausea, careless, etc (TÃ ¶r, 1989; Anonymous, 2002; Ekerbicer and Saltik, 2008). According to McBride et. al (2003), it is known that people working in agricultural facilities are exposed to some noise sources, but the risk appeared in the people who have been exposed to noise for many years have not been fully characterized yet. The reduction in the hearing loss does not decrease below 1000Hz (Akyildiz, 2000). It was showed that noise induced hearing loss increase up to 7dB in the first 10 years at 1000 Hz and 100 dB (A), and then gradually increases to 12 dB losses for exposure time of 40 years. The hearing loss is about 30 dB for first ten years exposure at 4000 Hz and 100 dB (A). It is clear that at 100 dB (A), the ear is much more sensitive to 4000 Hz compared to 1000 Hz. Maximum sound pressure level for 8 h/day exposure is accepted to be 85 dB at frequencies higher than 1000 Hz. At levels lower than this value, the risk of noise becomes the least (Grandjean, 1988). Lonsbury and Martin (2004) states that the beginning region of impairment involves the sensitive mid-frequency range, primarily of impairment involves the sensitive mid-frequency range, primarily between 3 and 6 kHz, and the corresponding impairment is classically described as the 4-kHZ notch. This particular pattern of appears regardless of the noise exposure environment. Sumer et al. (2006) explains that, there is a tendency of reducing daily noise exposure to below 90 dBA for an 8-h shift, and hence exposure level of 85 dBA is informally acknowledged to be the informal threshold sound pressure level. Therefore it is crucial to keep sound pressure levels within safety limits to avoid health related disturbances and work related inefficiencies. Sanders and McCormick (1992) explained that the ear is more sensitive to noise at frequencies over 2000 Hz and the sensitivity increase with age. Miyakita and Ueda (1997) wanted to determine the number of persons exposed to loss of hearing at levels above 40 dB at a frequency of 4 Hz; and as a result, estimated that 360,000 people working in agricultural facilities in Japan impaired their hearing abilities. This feature makes the agriculture their second biggest sector after the construction sector, which causes the loss of hearing abilities. Hearing loss from noise exposure Exposure to occupational noise has been linked to variety of physical effects such as work absenteeism and stress. The most profound effect of prolonged exposure to noise is the noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). NIHL is an irreversible sensory-neural hearing impairment caused by prolonged exposure to noise. NIHL causes communication interference that can substantially affect social integration and the quality of life. The development of NIHL depends on exposure time, intensity, frequency, type of noise, and the use of personal protective equipment (Ismail et al, unpublished). Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a well and long recognized occupational hazard but methods of influencing attitudes towards noise hazard and prevention of hearing loss as a result a poor (World Health Organization, 1997). Although the effects of noise on hearing are not precisely defined and uncertainties remain, there is sufficient information to permit development of predictive indices of the hazardous effects of noise on human hearing sensitivity. The effects of noise on hearing may be divided into three categories which are acoustic trauma, noise-induced temporary threshold shift (NITTS) and noise-induced permanent threshold shift (NIPTS). Acoustic Trauma (immediate organic damage to the ear from excessive sound energy) is restricted to the effects of a single exposure or relatively few exposures at high sound levels. Extremely intense sound reaching the structures in the inner ear may exceed the physiologic limits of those structures producing a complete breakdown and disruption of the organ of Corti. Some degree of permanent hearing loss usually results from acoustic trauma. The precipitating episode is frequently dramatic so the person involved has no difficulty in specifying the onset of the resulting hearing problem. Noise-Induced Temporary Threshold Shift (NITTS) results in an elevation of hearing levels such as loss of hearing sensitivity, following shift the hearing loss is reversible. In Noise-induced Permanent Threshold Shift (NIPTS) the hearing loss is nonreversible; it remains throughout the lifetime of the affected person. There is no possibility of further recovery. Permanent threshold shift may result from acoustic trauma or may be produced by the cumulative effect of repeated noise exposure over periods of many years. The majority of those persons experiencing permanent hearing losses from noise sustain such losses from long periods of repeated noise exposure. Hearing ability decreases as age progresses. Age has been identified as one of the individual risk factors for sensory neural hearing loss (SNHL) among forest workers who handled chainsaws. Hearing loss induced among elderly miners in Romania was more pronounced compared to younger miners. The mean hearing threshold level (HTL) for the 40- 46 age group workers produced a decrease in HTL at frequencies 4, 6 and 8 kHz. Age is positively associated to hearing loss among metal processing factory workers in Brazil, with prevalence ratio of 4.02 for workers older than 40 years old (Ismail et. al, unpublished). Animals studies have shown that these chemicals interact synergistically with noise or potentiate its effect on auditory system. Workers exposed to chemicals have significantly poorer pure-tone thresholds compare to those not expose (Morata et al., 2003). Lonsbury and Martin (2004) gave audiogram results that show audiometric patterns of hearing levels from patients in beginning stages of noise induced hearing loss and examples were given for males and females exposed to noise in different environments including industrial noise. Hearing loss was not observed at frequencies below 1000 Hz and was sharpest above 2000 Hz for a male industrial worker. Patients working in different sectors showed that the hearing loss might not be observed below 2000 Hz in different work environments while others might experience hearing loss at about 1000 Hz. The sensitivity is also affected by gender and the number of years worked in a particular environment. Occupational health hazard of noise In Malaysia, noise exposure in the workplace is legislated under the Factories and Machinery Act (Noise Exposure) Regulation 1989, and the Occupational and Safety and Health Act 1994. These regulations make mandatory for noise levels and workers exposure to noise to be measured, assessed and controlled (Leong, 2005). International Labor Organization (ILO) accepts 85 dBA as warning limit and 90 dBA as danger limit for continuous work for 8 h. A-weighted equivalent sound pressure level of 85 dBA results in temporary hearing losses and 90 dBA increases the blood pressure, accelerates the pulse and breathing, decreases brain liquid pressure, causes tension in muscles, and withdrawal of blood in the skin (Sabanci and Uz, 1984). Lonsbury and Martin (2004) gave audiogram results that show audiometric patterns of hearing levels from patients in beginning stages of noise induced hearing loss and examples were given for males and females exposed to noise in different environment including industrial noise. Hearing loss was not observed at frequencies below 1000 Hz and was the sharpest above 2000 Hz for male industrial worker. Patients working in different sectors showed that the hearing loss might not be observed below 2000 Hz in different work environments while others might experience hearing loss at about 1000 Hz. The sensitivity is also affected by gender and the number of years worked in a particular environment. According to Dewangan et al. (2005), the exposure to noise may have both immediate and long-term effects on hearing of the tractor drivers and other farm workers. High noise levels can cause headaches; dizziness; nervousness and stress; sleeping problems; and loss of concentration. Noise can also increase human error, contributing to accidents by masking audible alarms, verbal messages, etc.; harder to process complex information for difficult task; and harder to monitor and interpret unusual events, by narrowing the span of attention. Although this kind of the damage is quite difficult to measure, it is always present and can manifest: in the gastro enteric tract with an increase in acid secretion; in the nervous system with states of fatigue and depressions; in the psyche, with insomnia and headaches (Febo et al., 1983). Jansen (2003) observed that sounds in the range or 70-90 dB cause tiny blood vessels in the toes, fingers, skin and abdominal organs to contract. This narrowing of small blood vessels can reduce blood flow to affected body parts by as much as one-half. Studies have indicated that workers exposed to high levels of industrial noise for 5-30 years have increased blood pressure and statistically significant increases in risk for hypertension, compared to workers in control areas (Passchier and Vermeer, 1993). Sensor neural hearing loss has been common complaint among farmers seen by rural otolaryngologist (Gregg, 1972). Farmers to be among the most hearing impaired workers and most expect to experience significant hearing loss by age 50 (Mahon, 1988). Occupational noise limit In the light of scientific data which shows the negative effects of noise on human health, new legal regulations were made in order to eliminate these effects. One of these regulations is Noise Control Regulation. In this regulation, it is stated that beside the intensity of the noise, the exposure duration in noisy medium can be effective on human health. Therefore it is emphasized that working hours should be determined according to sound pressure level (Aybek et al., 2007). Duration of exposure is also a consideration as well as the frequency content and A-weighting curve is used in practical applications denoted by dB(A) and 85-90 dB(A) have been proposed to be limiting values for 8 hours exposures (Parson, 2000). The effect is more profound to certain frequencies of noise (Parson, 2000). The farmers worked on average 14 hours a day and their exposure was 86 decibels on A-weighted scale (dB (A)) as an 8-hour time-weighted average (8HR TWA). Except for breakfast and lunch breaks, the farmers had nearly continuous noise exposure that exceeded the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) action level of 85 dB (A) (Milz et al., 2008). Legislation, effective since June, 1976, limits the maximum noise level at the driver to 90 dB (A) for all tractors sold in UK (Talamo, 1979). In Malaysia, to protect the workers from excessive exposure to noise, the hearing conservation program was introduced under the Factories and Machinery (Noise Exposure) Regulation 1989. Under this regulations, workers are protected from excessive noise exposure and reducing the risk of NIHL. According to the Factories and Machinery (Noise Exposure) Regulation 1989, for the permissible exposure limit, the employee shall not be exposed to noise level exceeding equivalent continuous A-weighted sound pressure level of 90 dB(A) or exceeding the limits specified in the First Schedule or exceeding daily dose of unity. No employee shall be exposed to noise level exceeding 115 dB (A) at anytime. The 85 dB (A) is adopted as a criterion for action (action level). When the action level is reached or exceeded, it necessitates (NIOSH, 2006). According to the U.S. National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, the recommended exposure limit (REL) for occupational noise exposure is 85 dB (A) time weighted average (TWA). Exposures at or above this level are considered as hazardous. They differed from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) which uses 90 dB (A) TWA. The rationale is to offer greater protection to noise-exposed workers, citing research that indicates an 8% excess risk of hearing loss at the 85 dB (A) TWA limit as opposed to 25% at 90 dB(A). The TWA is the averaging of different exposure levels during an exposure period. The REL for an 8-hr work shift is a TWA of 85 dB (A) using a 3-decibel (dB) exchange rate. The Malaysian Noise Exposure Regulation 1989 adopted a 5 dB exchange rate (OSHA, 2006). In the last 10 years, a considerable number of laws and rules regarding the control of noise in the working environment, also involving the agricultural sector, have come into force. The main purpose of the individual laws and rules were different, but all emphasized the hazard of noise for workers, and consequently the need to control and, if necessary, to reduce the relevant levels. In the European Union, and specifically in Italy, some of them held an important role. For agricultural machinery, the EN 1553 represents a particular reference, while specially for tractors, the EC 74/150 (environmental noise) and EC 77/311 (drivers ear noise) Directives were issued in the 1970s (Domenico and Matteo, 2000). Tractors and machines Agricultural and forestry tractors operate both as vehicles and as engines which provide power on the farm and in the forest. With respect to the noise which they emit, it is generally accepted that use as vehicles has the greater impact on the population at large. Hence the type of the test used to asses noise emission is equivalent to that used for other road vehicles, in which sound pressure level at a bystander position is measured under specified drive-past conditions, as opposed to the measurement of sound power, which is used for lawn-mowers and various items in construction equipment (Stayner, 1988). Parallel to the development in technology, the use of machines in mechanization processes of agricultural production has brought about the factors such as noise, vibration, gas , etc. which affect the working environment of users and inspectors of those machines (Aybek et al., 2007). In order to increase the work success of the machines and to provide the users with safety and comfort these machines must be designed with respect to the human characteristics (Lijedahl et al., 1996). The machines used in agricultural operations such as tractors, combines, shellers, elevators, driers, etc. exposed noise of high level. More hearing loss is encountered among people who work in agricultural facilities than other jobs (Baker, 2002). The mechanization of agriculture; including the use of the internal combustion engine, greatly increased the noise exposure of the US farm population (Matthew, 1968). Equipment manufactured prior to the institution of noise reduction features is often still in use on US farms, as demonstrates by the New York Farm Family Health and hazard Surveillance Program (Beckett et al., 2000). The majority of noise exposure seemed to come from mechanical equipment (Dennis et al., 1995). The mechanization of agriculture, and in particular the large-scale employment of the internal combustion engine, has led to a serious increase during the last few decades of farm workers to noise. For the most damaging environment, noise measurements were made on tractors (Matthews, 1968). Noise isolating enclosure for tractor drivers have the same conflicting performance requirements as hearing defenders in that they are required to exclude harmful noise and yet allow the passage of important information. The tractors drivers and his counterpart in industry may depend on acoustical signals for warnings of danger and for maneuvering instructions when he is working to close limits or when hitching implements to the three point linkage. Other external sounds may be important for example, the tone generated by a component such as a fan may be the most important source of feedback to the driver of machine performance. A change in noise produced also vital where it is associated with the operation of a safety device such as an overload clutch or with the failure of the component. Many tractors in use on farms, however, have a much higher noise level and since tractors have a long life it will be many years before they are phased out (Talamo, 1979). The management of very old tractors is uneconomical. They may be dangerous on the roads, unsafe for the driver and for other vehicles, mainly due to deterioration in performance. Very often the operators are exposed to unfavorable climatic and working conditions (noise, vibrations, etc.), and they are therefore subject to a higher level of stress and to a higher risk of accident or occupational disease. Despite the limit of technical obsolescence of agricultural tractors being commonly fixed at 10 yr (corresponding to an optimum of 1000 working hours per year) a large number of older machines are still in use in Italy. Repair and maintenance operations are frequently neglected on these vehicles, because the farmer does not consider the relevant cost appropriate (Domenico and Matteo, 2000). Hearing protectors In many noise environments it is not practical, economical, or feasible to reduce noise levels at the ear of a listener to within acceptable limits using engineering controls. In these situations, an acceptable noise level may be achieved with the use of personal either single or in combination. The widespread attention given to noise as a pollutant has stimulated the use of hearing protectors in industry as well as around the home and in recreational and in sports activities. This chapter describes the types of ear protectors, characteristics of ear protectors which influence their effectiveness and acceptance, other practical considerations for users of ear protectors, and estimations of the hearing protection which provide. Various types of ear protectors likes earplugs, earmuffs, ear cups on hardhat, ear cups on welding mask, communication headsets and helmets. Although an ear protector can reduce effectively the ambient sound at the ear of the wearer, factors other than hearing protection may actually determine its suitability and acceptability (Nixon, 1979). According to Domenico and Matteo (2000), the function of a hearing protection device (HPD) is to cover or to fill the ears so that the noise reaching the ear drum is attenuated. It is important to emphasize that the HPDs should not be the sole or primary means by which the worker noise exposures are reduced. HPDs should be used only when engineering controls and work practices are not feasible for reducing noise exposures. This seems to be the typical situation for very old and worn tractors. Nevertheless, the degree of attenuation that a HPD provides is dependent on the technical characteristics of the HPD and generally on a range of other factors, such as the wearing time, the motivation and training of the worker. The use of HPDs has been practiced since the 1950s; the first standards to measure their attenuation were issued about 40 years ago. All of them are finalized to obtain an index, in order to define the attenuation of the HPD: noise reduction rating (NRR) and single numbe r rating (SNR) are those more frequently considered. Wearing time is also an important parameter since it can decrease the effective protection provided by a HPD. For example, if a HPD with an NRR of 20 dB is not worn for as little as 30 min in an 8 h work shift, its effective NRR is reduced by 5 dB (Berger, 1980). It is in fact taken into account that wearers may be prone to remove and replace some HPDs more than others, depending on various factors such as comfort, ease of donning and removal, and the interference of the protector with the auditory communications. Many types of H

Free College Admissions Essays: We Must All Be Part of the Solution! :: College Admissions Essays

We Must All Be Part of the Solution! Â   Sara had always been my best friend. It didn't matter that she was different. We had fun together. Then we started middle school and our whole world was flipped upside down. Â   Sara and I were thrown into a larger school with more people than we had ever seen at one school at the same time. After a few fear-filled weeks, I became comfortable in my new surroundings and was doing well. I wish I could say the same for Sara. I didn't understand why she was having so much trouble. All the work we did was no harder than the things we had done in grammar school. The only real difference was how the material was presented to us, and I didn't see how that could affect her learning. Â   I was worried about Sara; she was getting teased a lot and always appeared so sad. She told me that she had a problem that she was working on with her guidance counselor. Sara asked if I would go with her to the guidance counselor. I went to see Mrs. Vance with Sara. Mrs. Vance told us that Sara's evaluation revealed a language disorder. Â   Sara had an impairment in the ability to use words. Mrs. Vance said that when Sara read, she understood what the words meant. When speaking or writing, however, her words didn't always come out the way she meant them to. That explained why Sara got the answers wrong to questions she knew. Â   I found out that 1 out of every 10 children in America have language disorders. These problems may mildly, moderately, or severely impair the learning process. Students with these kinds of learning disabilities may exhibit a wide range of traits, including problems with reading comprehension, spoken language and writing. These problems are not the result of a lack of intelligence, rather they are resultant from an obstacle to communication of ideas. Â   After our meeting, I sat down to talk with Sara. At first she was embarrassed, but after a few minutes I got her to talk. We spoke about her disability, study solutions, and ways to help her do better in school. I offered to help her in any way that I could. We started studying together. I read aloud to her and wrote in large, dark print.

The Horrific Holocaust :: World War II History

The Horrific Holocaust Nearly six million Jews were killed and murdered in what historians have called "The Holocaust." The word 'holocaust' is a conflagration, a great raging fire that consumes in its path all that lives. In the years between 1933 and 1945, the Jews of Europe were marked for total annihilation. Moreover, anti-Semitism was given legal sanction. It was directed by Adolf Hitler and managed by Heinne Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich and Adolf Eichmann. There were many other great crimes and murders, such as the killing of the Armenians by the Turks, but the Holocaust stood out as the "only systematic and organized effort by a modern government to destroy a whole race of people." The Germans under Adolf Hitler believed that the Jews were the cause of all the German troubles and were a threat to the German and Christian values. Dating back to the first century A.D. the Jews and Christians were always at war. The Jews were considered the murderers of Christ and were therefor denounced from society, rejected by the Conservatives and were not allowed to live in rural areas. As a result, the Jews began living in the cities and supported the liberals. This made the Germans see the Jews as the symbol of all they feared. Following the defeat of the Germans in WW1, the Treaty Of Versailles and the UN resolutions against Germany raised many militaristic voices and formed extreme nationalism. Hitler took advantage of the situation and rose to power in 1933 on a promise to destroy the Treaty Of Versailles that stripped Germany off land. Hitler organized the Gestapo as the only executive branch and secret terror organization of the Nazi police system. In 1935, he made the Nuremberg Laws that forbid Germans to marry Jews or commerce with them. Hitler thought that the Jews were a nationless parasite and were directly related to the Treaty Of Versailles. When Hitler began his move to conquer Europe, he promised that no person of Jewish background would survive. Before the start of the second world war, the Jews of Germany were excluded from public life, forbidden to have sexual relations with non-Jews, boycotted, beaten but allowed to emigrate. When the war was officially declared, emigration ended and 'the final solution to the Jewish problem' came. When Germany took over Poland, the Polish and German Jews were forced into overcrowded Ghettos and employed as slave labour. The Jewish property was seized. Disease and starvation filled the Ghettos. Finally, the Jews were taken to concentration camps in Poland and Germany were they were

Anglicisms: Evolution and Degradation Essay

In linguistics, there are two main standpoints when it comes to language changes: evolution and degradation. Evolution supporters see any changes in the language as a natural progression which cannot be stopped. Borrowing from English into Russian is one of progressive parts. However, what we are seeing now in modern Russian is the language being flooded with Anglicisms (a word borrowed from English into another language) via mass media, the Internet, and marketing industry. We want to understand the reasons of such a great flow of Anglicisms in our language First: The emergence of new terminology (computer language, economics, the Internet): due to the rapid development and diffusion of information technology in everyday life, many items that require name: e-mail, laptop, byte, site have appeared. It’s easier to use the existing words of another language than to invent new ones. 2) Borrowings for certain reasons (easier to pronounce, shorter) replaced the previously undeveloped or native Russian language units, such as the price (instead of preckurant), image (instead of obraz) Of course, another point must be a tribute to fashion: the knowledge of English language is considered highly prestigious. And often people use Anglicisms in order to look fashionable thus: presentation, rating, talk shows. 4) The expressiveness of novelty: many firms and companies use Anglicisms as a name to highlight the novelty of sound. — Spheres– As you know, foreign words are one of the major sources of the young people’s language, particularly youth slang. The USA and Great Britain are increasingly becoming the center of attractive goods, especially in the minds of Russian young people. Anglicisms have become a sort of a fashionable hobby; due to it stereotypes and ideals are created by youth society. Adding in the speech English borrowings, teens in some way are attached to American culture and lifestyle. With the advent of social networks there has emerged a certain group of words that people, especially teenagers, are using to communicate. We have analyzed the vocabulary employed in one popular social network. Needless to say, there are words like ok, hi, yes, no, like, thanks, sorry, which are related to the social sphere. Did you know that â€Å"ok† is the most popular word in our world? It was first used as a joke in the Boston Morning Post on March 23, 1839, a shortening of the phrase â€Å"oll korrect,† itself an incorrect spelling of â€Å"all correct.† The joke should have run its course, and OK should have been forgotten but we have been using it every day till now. Conclusion Through this research, we came to the conclusion that the process of borrowing from English into Russian amplified now, because the English language is the basis of a much professional language and as the new Latin of XX century, is widely used in the youth slang. On the one hand, this process is inevitable, but on the other, the cultural basis of any language must be preserved. So, we guess that Anglicisms must meet the following requirements: any borrowing must be necessary, if you can’t find the word in the Russian language, foreign words should be used correctly and accurately in the sense that it has in the original language, it should be clear to those who use it.

Financial Institutions in Financial Markets

A financial institution is an institution that issues deposits and other financial liabilities and invests predominantly in loans and other financial assets (Kidwell, Blackwell, & Whidbee, p. 636, 2008). Financial institutions include organizations such as banks, trust companies, insurance organization, pension, and mutual funds, and investment dealers or banks. In some shape or form individuals and corporations deal with a financial institution on a daily. Depositing money, taking out loans, currency exchange, or investing one has to go through a financial institution. There are several financial institutions three of the major financial institutions and the role they play in the financial market will be discussed in detail. Commercial Banks This is a bank that accepts deposits and makes consumers, commercial, and real estate loans (Saunders, & Cornett, p. 29, 2008). The largest groups of depository institutions that are measured by asset size are commercial banks. Commercial banks have similar functions as savings institutions and credit unions. The three accept deposits (Liabilities) and make loans (assets). The difference is in the arrangement of assets and liabilities, which are much more diverse. To meet the interest obligations to deposit, commercial banks carefully invest the assets in addition to extending loans to business and individuals. Enterprises of small and medium sized businesses are the greatest potential customers of the commercial banking area. Commercial banking has less influence over larger corporations there is a possibility for corporations to influence consumer behavior through the financial products offered. The role of commercial banks in the financial institution is essential because it offers a wide assortment of deposit accounts and serves both the public and private sector. Commercial banks are dominant depository institutions. Insurance Organization The primary function of insurance companies is to protect individuals and corporations from adverse events. In the financial institution, the insurance companies invest in financial securities, such as corporate bonds and stocks with the premiums collected. By accepting these premiums, insurance companies promise policyholders reimbursement if certain specified events occur. The importance of the insurance company in the role of financial institution is one that cannot be overlooked. It protects people and companies from the financial consequences of events whose risks are actuarially determinable. The financial health of the insurance company is the single most important purchase criterion; because an insurance contract is a promise by the insurance company to pay the insured if an event occurs. Investment Banks The possibility of the investment bank depends on the influence the investment bank has over the business. This type of financial institution specializes in the sale of new securities to the public or otherwise known as underwriter. Investment banking has the appeal of allowing one to make a large amount of money. The specialty is helping businesses and governments sell debt or equity in the primary markets to finance capital expenses. Restrictions are few on the range of activities in which investment banks can engage in. The one concern is the role of the financial institution between environmental performance and investment performance. Investment bankers study the market of the securities as well as maintaining relationship that provides a full range of the firm’s services to government agencies or corporate clients looking to raise capital. This requires creative thinking and the ability to leverage other product areas in the organization. The three financial institutions act as intermediaries between the net providers and borrowers of funds. The financial institutions specialize in varying types of financial assets and services and most of them are acquired through the market and organize them into a different and more widely preferable type of asset. Commercial banks, investment banks, and insurance companies facilitate the efficiency and growth of the economy as well as trading of existing securities. The major players in the financial market are very important to the financial market. In conclusion financial institutions create financial assets for customers and sell the assets to other markets for a profit. The functioning of these institutions is very important for an effective financial market and for the conduct of monetary policies. Commercial banks, insurance organizations, and investment banks have been explained separately and how each interacts with each other.

Thorn Queen Chapter Six

Kiyo always healed quickly, and when we got home that night, he was in fine condition to see who could put on the highest-quality performance in bed. Consequently, he woke in a very cheerful mood the next day, though he still couldn't help a little grumbling about following along yet again. I knew it was all gruffness, though. He liked knowing I was safe, and that warmed something up inside of me. â€Å"You tricked me,† he remarked once we'd crossed over to the Otherworld that morning. I was hoping these bandits would be as easy to dispatch as the kobolds, unnatural hybrids of small animals aside. â€Å"After that thing you did in bed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He sighed happily at the memory of a particularly skillful feat my mouth had performed last night. â€Å"Well, you know I'd agree to do anything now.† â€Å"Come on,† I said, still feeling a bit proud. â€Å"It has nothing to do with that. Don't you want to see justice served to those who dare torment my subjects?† â€Å"Careful there. People might think you're acting like a real queen.† I glanced down at my torn jeans and Poison T-shirt. â€Å"Well, let's not get carried away. Maybe it'd help if I got a crown like Dorian said.† To my astonishment, Kiyo's teasing expression immediately hardened. â€Å"No. That's the last thing you should do.† I stared in surprise. â€Å"Why not? Too Miss America?† â€Å"It'll make you seem more†¦official.† I gestured around at the tapestry-draped castle room we'd appeared in. â€Å"We're in a fucking castle, Kiyo. I don't really see how it can get any more official.† â€Å"You don't understand. I mean, you're a queen, yeah, and they all know it†¦but a lot just see you as this warrior stand-in. Like a regent. Get a crown†¦start appearing before lots of people in it, and I don't know. It makes you legitimate. It makes it real. It'll be harder for you to get out of this than it already is.† I thought about how often I'd wished I hadn't been saddled with this land and how often I'd tried to avoid it-yet still kept coming back. â€Å"I don't think it can get any harder.† We found Shaya before heading out on our raid. I'd brought some things that I hoped would help with the Thorn Land's drought and famine. When I gave the first one to her, she could only stare in silence for several moments. â€Å"Your majesty†¦what is this?† â€Å"It's a children's place mat I got from Joe's Tex-Mex restaurant.† Along with Joe's kid's menu, the place mat also depicted a map of Arizona that kids could color while waiting for their food. I pointed to the assorted symbols on the map. â€Å"See, this shows Arizona's natural resources. The stuff that grows and can be found there. Cotton. Copper.† â€Å"What's this?† she asked, pointing to something that resembled a glass of liquid. I frowned. It certainly wasn't water, that was for damned sure. â€Å"I think it's some kind of citrus product. Orange. Grapefruit.† I shrugged. â€Å"I think you can grow either in this weather. And that's the point. This land mirrors Tucson, so all the things there should be the same here. There should be copper deposits that you guys can find. That's valuable in trade, right?† Copper was one of the few metals gentry could handle. Iron was right out, being the harbinger of technology. That's what made it one of my most lethal weapons. â€Å"And the rest should grow here, if you can find seeds. Someone must have them somewhere, even in this world.† â€Å"They still need water,† she pointed out. â€Å"Right. That's what this is for.† I handed her my next prize: a book. â€Å"It's a history of the engineering of wells and aqueducts from ancient and medieval Europe. It should help in moving water around.† She still looked stunned, so I tried to think of something comforting. â€Å"I'll help find more water sources too.† I then handed her another book about Southwest architecture, adobe and stucco homes. She took the books and flipped through them, taking in the dense chapters and diagrams. â€Å"I don't think I'm the right person to do this. I don't have the mind for it.† â€Å"Maybe not. But I'm sure you can delegate to someone who can.† I patted her encouragingly on the arm. The truth was, I was as baffled by the book as she was. I could put together jigsaw puzzles in record time. Reading engineering diagrams? Not so much. â€Å"Just be careful with them-those are library books.† I had to go then and felt a little bad about leaving her. Yet, despite her confusion now, I knew she would find people and ways to implement this. She was just that competent. Maybe I should have had more of a hand in this, but hey, I'd been the one who had to choke down Joe's crap Tex-Mex food in order to score the place mat. That had to count for something. If I'd had my way, I would have just taken Kiyo and gone out to hunt down these bandits ourselves. I had to imagine they were just riffraff and not much of an obstacle to us. Kiyo was a pretty fierce fighter, as last night had shown, and between my weapons and magic, I was his equal. Rurik had protested this plan, however, insisting that he and almost two dozen guards come along. I didn't think this gave us much in the way of stealth, but he'd told me we'd dismount and go on foot once we reached the passes the bandits lived in. Before we left, I decided we might as well add one more person to our entourage. I stepped into a darkened corner, far from the light of candles in the room, and took out my wand. Immediately, the guards moved away from me. They knew what I was going to do and didn't like it. When something magical made gentry uneasy, you knew it was bad. I spoke the words of summoning and felt magic move through me. It wasn't the storm magic I'd inherited, the pull to water and air. This was a learned human magic, a way of reaching out to the worlds beyond. The temperature in the room dropped, a sudden shock compared to the dry heat we'd just been in. Then, the cold lifted, and Volusian stood before me. Volusian was my minion, for lack of a better word. He was a damned soul, cursed to wander without rest for all eternity after committing atrocious acts in life. I'd fought and bound him to me, forcing him to serve me. Volusian wasn't very happy about this and frequently liked to remind me of how he would destroy me if he ever broke free of my control. After hearing stuff like that over and over, it almost took on a familiar feel, kind of like how a pop song heard often enough will work its way into your heart. While Otherworldly spirits often had insubstantial forms in the human world, the shape Volusian had now looked exactly the same as it would if I summoned him back home: a short, imp-like creature with black skin, pointed ears, and red eyes. â€Å"My mistress calls,† he said in a flat voice. â€Å"And I answer. Regretfully.† â€Å"Oh, Volusian,† I said cheerfully. â€Å"Always a joy to have you around. You're such a ray of sunshine on a dreary day.† Volusian merely stared. I turned to the others, hoping I sounded queenly and authoritative. â€Å"Alright. Let's go kick some outlaws out of town.† I still wasn't used to having an entourage of guards. So much of my life had been solitary, so much of it spent fighting on my own†¦well, I didn't really know what to do with so many people at my back. As we headed toward our destination, I found it was a lot easier to deal with the guards if I just focused on Kiyo and pretended we were alone. â€Å"I can't believe you gave Shaya a place mat and now expect her to revolutionize this place's total infrastructure,† he noted. â€Å"What else am I supposed to do?† I asked. â€Å"You were just complaining about me getting too involved in this place. Handing off a place mat is about as uninvolved as I can get-unless you're saying I should take a more active role now?† â€Å"No,† he answered swiftly, face darkening a little. â€Å"Believe me, if there were an easy way for you to give up this place, I'd make you do it.† I cut him a glance. â€Å"You'd make me, huh?† â€Å"Encourage,† he amended. â€Å"Unfortunately, it's a moot point. The only way to lose a kingdom is if your power drops or†¦well, if you're killed.† â€Å"I'm sure Volusian would love to help with that.† My minion walked near me, needing no horse to move swiftly. Upon hearing his name, he said, â€Å"I would perform the deed with great relish and much suffering on your part, mistress.† â€Å"You can't put a price on that kind of loyalty,† I told Kiyo solemnly. â€Å"No crown even required.† Kiyo grunted noncommittally. There was a lot of tension between him and Dorian, but the one thing they both agreed on was that Volusian was trouble. Both had encouraged me to get rid of him. I didn't have the power to completely banish him to the Underworld, but it probably could be managed with another magic user. Still, dangerous or no, I continued to retain the spirit's services. â€Å"Are you going to stick around when we're done here?† I asked. That was my subtle way of asking if Kiyo was going to see Maiwenn. His dark eyes were on the road ahead, thoughtful. â€Å"No. I was hoping to go back to Tucson and see if I could get this hot chick I know to go out with me. I hear she's in demand, though. She keeps putting me off each time I try to plan something romantic.† â€Å"Yeah, well, maybe if you come up with a good itinerary, you could lure her out.† â€Å"I was thinking dinner at Joe's.† I made a face. â€Å"If that's the case, maybe you'd better brace yourself for rejection.† â€Å"Red Pepper Bistro?† â€Å"Okay. Now you're in the zone.† â€Å"Followed by a long massage in the sauna.† â€Å"That's pretty good too.† â€Å"And then indecent things in the sauna.† â€Å"I hope you mean you'll be doing the indecent things-because I more than did my share last night.† Kiyo glanced over at me with a mischievous grin. â€Å"Who says I'm talking about you?† I would have swatted him if he'd been in reach. Instead, I grinned back, my mood happy and light. Bantering with him like this was just like the old days, back before Maiwenn and this baby business was an issue. I felt like his girlfriend again. And despite just having had sex last night, I couldn't deny the truth. Thinking about having sex with him in the sauna was doing uncomfortable-pleasantly uncomfortable-things to my body, particularly with my legs spread like they were. Our gazes met, and I felt an answering heat in his eyes. I remembered how fierce he'd been while throwing himself in front of me last night and could perfectly envision that same fierceness translated into passion in bed. The lines and muscles of his body suddenly seemed that much stronger, and I could imagine his hands all over me†¦. Rurik trotted up beside me and interrupted my pornographic thoughts. â€Å"We need to go on foot now. We're getting close.† We stopped on the edge of a â€Å"forest† comprised of saguaro cactuses and scraggly trees. They spread on ahead of us, up toward some sharp rises in the land that turned into sandy red cliffs studded with rocks. While tethering the horses, Kiyo decided he'd go ahead and scout in fox form. â€Å"If you can't change back, that's going to seriously interfere with our date,† I told him. He ran a hand along my bare arm, making every part of me tingle. â€Å"Nah, nothing's interfering with that. I'll go in small fox form-they'll never see me.† He slowly shape-shifted, his large, muscled frame growing smaller, then elongating into a red fox about as big as a medium-sized dog. He brushed against my leg and then disappeared into the vegetation ahead. I watched him go. Some part of me would always worry about those I loved, but overall, I had confidence in Kiyo when it came to dangerous situations. The rest of us milled about in the midday heat, passing water around. About twenty minutes later, Kiyo returned. With each approaching step, he transformed from a cuddly furry critter into the man I loved. Not that I didn't love him as a fox too. â€Å"They're over there, just like we thought,† Kiyo said. There was kind of a lope as he walked, a leftover from the fox form. It was both cute and sexy at the same time. â€Å"Looks like they're camped out and resting for the day.† â€Å"Any lookouts?† asked Rurik. Kiyo grinned. â€Å"Not anymore.† I rolled my eyes. â€Å"Did you see any girls?† His smile faded. â€Å"No. Just the bandits. They've got a few less people than we do.† â€Å"Well, that's good,† I said, frowning. No girls. What did that mean? Had the couple in the village been wrong? Maybe their daughter really had run off with her boyfriend. Still, if this group was harassing people, getting rid of them would certainly be a good deed. Kiyo and Rurik plotted strategy on how to sneak up on the camp, and our group set off, planning to fan out around the brigands. With no lookouts, the gang had no one to warn them of our approach and seemed totally unaware when we got our first glimpse of them. They were mostly men, with a few women. The women clearly weren't captured girls, though. They were older and hardened from harsh living. The whole group looked like it had seen hard times, actually. There was a toughness about them that suggested they'd fight tooth and nail. Based on an earlier discussion, I'd thought our whole group would just swoop down at once. Instead, one of my guards suddenly stepped out and shouted, â€Å"Surrender in the name of the queen!† Oh God, I thought. He did not just say that. There was no time to ponder it further as my party charged forward. â€Å"Remember,† I hissed to Volusian. â€Å"Subdue. Don't kill.† He didn't look happy about this. Of course, he never looked happy. The rest of my guards had orders to avoid killing if they could but not to hesitate if it was their life or a bandit's. I wanted prisoners we could question later and didn't really like the idea of furthering my tyrannical image if I could help it. As I'd expected, the bandits fought back. No surrender here. They had conventional gentry weapons, as well as some weak fighting magic. It became clear early on that taking prisoners was a little harder than killing. Killing was fast. Taking someone down and tying them up was a little more complicated. It exposed you to attacks from others. Nonetheless, I saw my guards handily bind two of the bandits right away. A couple other bandits got killed shortly thereafter, but they'd had knives at my men's throats and left us no alternative. Kiyo and I were working together to tie a flailing man up when I suddenly felt a surge of magic in the air. I stopped what I was doing. It wasn't gentry magic. In fact, none of the others noticed it right away. As a shaman, I'd developed a sensitivity to creatures and powers from the different worlds. This power made my skin prickle and had a slimy, oily feel to it. It wasn't from the human world or even the Otherworld. There were Underworld creatures here. â€Å"Demons,† I said, just as they materialized within the camp. â€Å"There are fucking demons here.†

The main idea that runs through Christianity is that everybody should be treated equally

The main idea that runs through Christianity is that everybody should be treated equally. This is shown when Jesus said â€Å"Love one another, as I have loved you, so you must love one another,† (John 13). This means that you should like everybody as Jesus did and so coloured people should not be hated. To any Christian this shows that everyone should get on with one another as Jesus did, nobody is different in any physical form whether they are black or any other different race in the eyes of god they should still be loved. In Genesis 1:27 it says that â€Å"God created human beings, making them to be like himself.† So as we are like God we should treat one another as god would. Therefore again showing that we should treat everyone equally including different races etc as God would. A key point towards the Christian views to racism is written in James 2:8-9 where it states one should love people for what they are not what they look like. So a Coloured person may have a good personality, which you should like that person for, but you should not hate that person because of that persons appearance. Another point which comes across in Matthew 5:38-40 is one which would be very difficult to practise in a modern day society, as it is natural when somebody hits you for you to hit them back. Jesus in this passage is trying to say ignore those who harm you â€Å"if anyone slaps you on your left cheek let him slap you on your right cheek.† This is a statement for the oppressed i.e. like coloured people were. It is an ideal ethic and Christians believe we should aim for it, but in this modern day world it is extremely difficult to achieve. Gandhi used this greatly to his advantage in India, which was occupied by the British, and it worked. Throughout these passages in the bible it is proven what Christian views should be towards coloured people: Love them like you love yourself Judge them upon there character not what they look like And even if they are your enemy you should still treat them well. Where Martin Luther king was born was born slavery had been abolished in 1865 but segregation continued. Negroes were rated as inferior and insecure by the whites, they were discriminated against, intimidated, people were prejudice towards them, much of the white population were racist and the Blacks tried to fight for equal rights. Martin Luther king was Christian and when dealing with the problems the blacks faced this was a key factor. When King went to university a person of the name Gandhi impressed him. This was due to the fact of his un-violent protests, which turned out to be a very strong political weapon, and in its whole the use of un-violent protest led to the independence of India. This also related to King's Christian beliefs, if someone hits you on the right cheek let him or her hit you on the left. In 1954 he became a Baptist minister. He first went to Montgomery, Alabama. On December 5, 1955, five days after Montgomery civil rights activist Rosa Parks refused to obey the city's rules mandating segregation on buses, black residents launched a bus boycott and elected King as president of the newly formed Montgomery Improvement Association. King was very much for this as it was a non-violent protest and the authorities could do nothing about it immediately as the coloured community were doing nothing aggressive and wrong, in essence they were following the way of the bible and Christian views. As the boycott continued during 1956, King gained national importance as a result of his exceptional â€Å"oratorical skills and personal courage.† His house was bombed and he was convicted along with other boycott leaders on charges of conspiring to interfere with the bus company's operations. But because of his Christian believes he refrained form turning to violence and he followed the bible degrading people who were aggressive and he refrained from fight ing back. The boycott ended in 1956 with a mandate from the Supreme Court outlawing all segregated public transport in the city. During the spring of 1963, he and his staff guided mass demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama, where local white police officials were known from their â€Å"anti-black attitudes†. The protesters acted peacefully under Martin Luther kings guidance. Clashes between black demonstrators and police using police dogs and fire hoses generated newspaper headlines through the world. But whenever they came under attack they would kneel and prey. In June, President Kennedy reacted to the Birmingham protests and the â€Å"obstinacy of segregationist†. King and other civil rights leaders then organised a massive march in Washington, D.C. On Aug. 28, 1963, over 200,000 Americans, including many whites, gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in the capital. The high point of the rally was King's stirring â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech, which â€Å"eloquently defined the moral basis of the civil rights movement.† The moral basis of this was based greatly on Christian views. That of which states everyone is equal and also no black is inferior to a white person as so in the bible. As Luther said in his speech â€Å"all men are created equal†. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited racial discrimination in public places and called for equal opportunity in employment and education. King later received the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize. During the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march, King and his lieutenants were able to keep intra-movement conflicts sufficiently under control to bring about passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968, while seeking to assist a garbage workers' strike in Memphis. After his death, King remained a controversial symbol of the African-American civil rights struggle. Throughout Kings life of protesting he always tried to use non-violent methods. In 1955 he said these following words â€Å"†¦we have no choice but to protest. There will be no threats from bullying. Love will be our ideal. Love your enemies, bless them, and pray for them. Let no man pull you so low as to make you hate him†. Again King always followed his Christian routes making sure he always carried out non-violent protests, loved his enemies and taking whatever the enemy through at him, making him a true Christian. First of all I would like to address the fact of why people may find it in their hearts to be racist. Around a hundred years ago Coloured people were treated like they were insignificant and less important than whites due to their skin colour in many areas of the world, for instance England. One of the factors in the hatred of coloured people was that everyone else was doing it so you would be the odd one out if you didn't do it. This is better known as â€Å"peer pressure†, where the mass go the rest will follow. Just this fact was one of the key influences. Also some people felt that if the whites stopped mall treating the blacks the blacks would turn back on the whites and ruin them. So they just kept on treating the blacks like they had always done and how they had been brought up to do. But then you should also ask the question why people didn't do it. It was generally because of their religions, which they followed strictly, stating that all men are equal and that you should treat your neighbour how you would wish to be treated. Also some people felt sorry for the Blacks and wanted to help. So after all those years of hatred for the blacks many people would ask what was gained. Somebody from the Ku Kluck Klan may say that it terrorised the blacks and put them in their rightful place. Where as the majority now a days would say it was a pointless waste of lives and terribly unjust, people should be treated by means of their character, not by their appearance whatever that may be. I think that nobody on earth has the right to be racist in any shape or form. But there is a certain place where I draw the line. Jokes for instance can often be directed at another person's nationality or colour and the person who is the â€Å"victim† of the joke may often find it funny. But to be racist I think it can be a deeply offensive joke or much worse than a joke, hatred for one. Surely people shouldn't be racist it says in the bible to love one another, to judge people on their characters and not on their appearance and to even love your enemies. On top of this racism is terrible, it can ruins peoples lives, lead to death and leave whole countries in uproar. What is the point in it? I find it totally pointless and also morally unacceptable in the modern world were we should treat everyone equally no matter of their appearance.