Female Circumcision Essay Example for Free

Female Circumcision Essay Societies all over the world view an individual’s transcend from childhood to adulthood as a very important chapter in their life. Many rituals are done as part of the individual’s passage through adulthood. Some are ceremonious, while others involve much pain and suffering. One such painful ritual is female circumcision experienced by females in Africa. For many years, health experts have stressed the various complications that are experienced by females who had undergone the procedure ranging from excessive bleeding to death. Governments have attempted to ban the procedure by passing laws making circumcision illegal. In spite of this, female circumcision is continuous to be rampant among African communities both in Africa and even in African communities outside the country. This paper aims to establish the prevalence of female circumcision in African communities is strongly linked to their cultural beliefs regarding the essence and protection of the femininity of their women and the religious tradition of circumcision as prescribed in Islamic teachings. Look more:Â  foot binding process essay Process of Female Circumcision In order to establish female circumcision as a cultural tradition celebrated by African communities as opposed to the viewpoint of many health experts and human rights activists as an act of mutilation against women, the ritual and process surrounding female circumcision must first be discussed as well as its background in its role of preserving the virginity of the women of African communities. Contrary to the belief that female circumcisions is a tradition rooted among the indigenous African tribes, female circumcisions have been done in Arabia, Egypt and Syria as early as the fifth century BC with evidence provided in Greek documents by ancient historians. Female circumcision was also utilized by the ancient Romans among their female slaves where they would pierce the genitalia of the slaves with pins or fibula. Hence, the name infibulation. This was done by the Romans in order to prevent the female slaves from becoming pregnant by their masters. Female circumcision was also evident in Europe and the United States as a solution for the urge of masturbation and nymphomania (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Walley, 1997; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). Currently, female circumcision is being practiced by Muslims, Christians, Falasha Jews and indigenous African religions in Algeria, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Togo, Senegal and Mali as well as in the Southern part of the Arabian peninsula, Malaysia and Indonesia totaling approximately between 80 and 100 million women who have undergone some form of female circumcision with another four to five million children and adolescents undergoing this procedure every year in compliance to both their African cultural tradition of female circumcision as an initiation to womanhood as well as the requirements of their religious belief that circumcision must be done in order to be purified (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Obermeyer, 1999; Walley, 1997). The ritual of female circumcision among the rural African tribes begins with a ceremony where people of all ages would gather within the tribe’s compound and celebrate by drinking and dancing. This is in order for the women who would be circumcised to become tired and eventually numb for the pain that will be a part of the circumcision process. The circumcision rites would be carried out the following day at dawn and held in public without anesthesia with the girl either seated or lying down with her thighs held apart by helpers (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Walley, 1997). Depending on the tribe and preference of the family and woman to be initiated, the severity of female circumcision varies. The least severe form of female circumcision involves pricking the clitoris to cause bleeding. The second form of female circumcision is called the sunna. This procedure removes both the tip and the layer of skin covering the clitoris. The most severe is called the infibulation or Pharaonic type of circumcision. This procedure involves the removal of the entire clitoris, labia minora and most of the labia majora. Whatever is left of the labia majora is then stitched together using thread or thorns leaving only a small opening approximately the size of the head of a match stick to allow both urine and menstrual flow to pass. A powdery substance composed of sugar, gum, herbs, ashes and animal manure will be applied on the area afterwards. While the wound heals, the girls legs are tied together to immobilize her anywhere between fifteen to forty days (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Obermeyer, 1999; Walley, 1997; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). In more progressive African communities as well as communities in other countries, the circumcision ritual is less extravagant. There is usually no celebration before the ritual and the procedure is usually performed by medical professionals with the use of anesthesia to perform the infibulation (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Obermeyer, 1999; Walley, 1997; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). Health Effects of Female Circumcision Female genital operations is viewed as a major health concern not just because of its geographic distribution but also the number of females involved and the adverse complications resulting from the procedure. A woman who has undergone female circumcision does not only suffer from shock, hemorrhage and injury to the adjacent organs right after the procedure, but becomes susceptible to a number of other infections such as septicemia, tetanus, formation of scars and keloids, urinary infection, cysts and abscesses in the vulva region, pelvic inflammatory disease, infection of the uterus and fallopian tube, painful sexual intercourse, and even death (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). Women who had undergone this procedure, specifically from those who came from rural communities, experience psychological trauma as well as irritability, anxiety, and depression, reduced feelings of femininity, alterations of the personality and the absence of arousal in sexual intercourse (Kouba Muasher, 1985) Childbearing becomes hazardous not just on the part of the mother who has undergone a female circumcision procedure but the baby’s health is placed in danger as well. The formation of scars and keloids after the procedure may contribute to extremely painful labor. The tearing of the scar tissue surrounding the area where the procedure was done may also result to hemorrhage on the part of the mother. There is also a high possibility that the newborn will suffer from brain damage and other malformations since the sutures done on the labia majora of the mother will have to be removed only during the period of the delivery when the baby’s head will be crowning in order for the baby to pass through (Walley, 1997; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). Addressing the Issue of Female Circumcision Female circumcision has become an international controversy in reference to human rights and health issues within international conferences. In line with this, various efforts have been done in order to minimize, if not eradicate the proliferation of female circumcision which is now commonly practiced throughout much of Africa and is now being practiced within African expatriate communities in U. S. , Canada and Europe (Walley, 1997; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). In 1958, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women called upon the World Health Organization (WHO) to study the persistence of customs that subject girls to female genital operations rituals as well as to create measures to eradicate it. The strategy being used is similar to that which led to the discontinuation of foot binding in China. This strategy would include education and public health interventions as well as the formation of groups of parents who will pledge that they will not only cease committing their daughters to the female circumcision ritual but to discourage their sons to marry women who have been circumcised (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Obermeyer, 1999; Thomas, 1998; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). Slowly, this strategy has been yielding positive results. In Somalia, authorities have begun to make considerable effort through their education system to inform the public about the adverse effects of female circumcision. Due to the increase in education in Africa particularly regarding the adverse effects of the ritual of female circumcisions, more and more young women are beginning to favor less severe types of female circumcision if not oppose the ritual completely (Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). But in other parts of Africa, the opposite has been happening. Instead of using education to inform the communities of the complications of female circumcision, it has driven communities to continue the procedure with the process carried out no longer by crude and unhygienic measures as they have normally practiced, but utilized the advancement of medicine in carrying out the rituals. Nowadays, more and more hospitals and health clinics in order to prevent the woman initiated from suffering from shock, hemorrhage and injury to the adjacent organs right after the procedure as well as psychological trauma due to the pain since the procedure now utilizes anesthesia and medicine to prevent possible infections (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). Moreover, in spite the government passing legislatures banning the procedures completely, African communities still perform the rituals. For example, the Sudan government passed a law banning female circumcision in 1946. However, about 80% of women within the reproductive age group interviewed between the years 1989 and 1990 in Sudan have still undergone the ritual (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). Another is in Kenya where female circumcision has been considered illegal by the government since 1982. Yet, communities still continue to practice this since they argued that it is part of their custom (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Walley, 1997). In fact, in a study conducted by Williams Sobieszczyk (1997), 90% of all African women both residing in Africa and in African communities in other parts of the world had planned to have their daughters still undergo some form of female circumcision with 50% of them preferring the most severe forms of circumcision. Reasons for the Prevalence of Female Circumcision The African tribes and African communities in other countries who have practiced female circumcision for generations have remained undaunted with the continuance of the ritual of female circumcision in spite of the availability of education and resource materials for them with reference to the adverse effect female circumcision have on the part of the women. What is even more disturbing is that there are some women who request to be circumcised (Walley, 1997). One reason for this is due to the strong ties that female circumcision has in reference to Islam. Islam is the dominant religion in the countries in Senegal, Mali, Somalia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania which have been noted to practice female circumcision. It is the belief of those who practice Islam is that all forms of circumcision is prescribed by the prophet Mohammed and that circumcision would make the woman more radiant and it is sanctioned by the Islam authorities called the ulama. However, scholars on the Islamic faith have determined that although circumcision is prescribed, the most of the severe forms of the practice of female circumcision is not a requirement according to the Quran or the hadith which are the collection of sayings of the prophet Mohammed. In fact, such forms of circumcision are prohibited (Jhazbhay, 2003; Kouba Muasher, 1985; Obermeyer, 1999; Walley, 1997; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). Another reason for the continuance of female circumcision is that African communities have viewed female circumcision as an important initiation to adulthood while serving to construct, enhance and reinforce female purity and virginity in connection with the norms that govern family honor, female sexuality and marriage which must be strictly followed. For a woman to turn back from the circumcision rites would amount to disgracing their families and relatives since they will be branded as cowards thus would be isolated by the community. By undergoing female circumcision, they believe that they develop a personal sense of self-confidence and pride as well as public respect. Such is the case among the Sabaot women who are envied by the women of Bukusu since, unlike them; they do not undergo female circumcision since their belief is that circumcision is only for male (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Thomas, 1998; Walley, 1997; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). African men also require their brides to be circumcised. Women who are not circumcised are prohibited from bearing children, particularly among the women in Meru (Thomas, 1998). Some tribes view the clitoris as a dangerous organ which could kill the baby during delivery. Others view it as poisonous that it will kill a man during sexual intercourse (Kouba Muasher, 1985). Moreover, women believe that fertility is enhanced after a woman is circumcised. Thus, female circumcision would increase the dowry that the men would pay in order to marry a circumcised woman further increasing the pride and self-confidence of the woman since she is now entitled to be married and bear children (Kouba Muasher, 1985; Thomas, 1998; Walley, 1997; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). The importance of patrilineal kin in African families also influences the decision for the younger females to undergo female circumcision since female circumcision was believed to enhance the masculinity of the males and the femininity of the females through the removal of the external genitalia. It is the common belief, especially among the Hofriyati women female circumcision is seen as a symbolism of emphasizing femininity focusing more on fertility rather than sexuality since many tribes believe that if left alone, the clitoris would grow into a penis (Obermeyer, 1999; Walley, 1997). African communities have also perceived the views of many scholars in reference to the importance of their cultural traditions as harmful, coercive, superfluous and regarded as a myth that must be laid to rest and stated that development is the goal of every country today, with development pertaining to the assimilation of Western technology and living patterns. Although there have been a growing number of African women objecting to the practice of female circumcision, they also objected to the manner how feminists from First World countries are handling the matter. African women believed that women from First World countries do not comprehensively understand their experiences involving the matter. This is because most Euro-American studies about female genital operations view African women as thoroughly oppressed victims of a patriarchal society, ignorant, and not seen as social actors in their own right (Walley, 1997). As such, the practice of female circumcision still persists in many parts of the world because it remains as the center of the roles and how they value their women in society. Its continuance is seen as a social standing and a return to African tradition (Walley, 1997; Williams Sobieszczyk, 1997). Conclusion This paper has shown that there is a strong relationship between female circumcision and how African communities measure the worth of an African woman. Female circumcision is equated to courage, honor, family status, eligibility to marry and have children. Those who choose not to be circumcised are ostracized by society and are considered as a disgrace to their families, compelling them to endure this ritual. African communities have also viewed female circumcision as a fulfillment of the requirements of their Islamic faith even if scholars have stressed otherwise. In order to minimize, if not eradicate female circumcision, efforts in educating African communities both in Africa and in other parts of the country should center on ensuring that they properly understand the requirements of Islam regarding circumcision. By re-educating them of the requirements of Islam along with the adverse effects, the tradition would eventually be eliminated. References Jhazbhay, I. (2003, August 30). Islam in Africa. Retrieved on February 19, 2008, from http://www. nuradeen. com/currentissues/IslamInAfrica. htm. Kouba, L. J. Muasher, J. (March 1985). Female circumcision in Africa: an overview. African studies review, 28(1), 95-110. Obermeyer, C. M. (March 1999). Female genital surgeries: the known, the unknown, and the unknowable. Medical anthropology quarterly new series, 13(1), 79-106. Thomas, L. M. (1998). Imperial concerns and womens affairs: state efforts to regulate clitoridectomy and eradicate abortion in Meru, Kenya, c. 1910-1950. The journal of African history, 39(1), 121-45. Walley, C. J. (August 1997). Searching for voices: feminism, anthropology, and the global debate over female genital operations. Cultural anthropology, 12(3), 405-38. Williams, L. Sobieszczyk, T. (November 1997). Attitudes surrounding the continuation of female circumcision in the Sudan: passing the tradition to the next generation. Journal of marriage and the family, 59(4), 966-81.

Google Drive: Functions, Security and Applications

Google Drive: Functions, Security and Applications Table of Contents (Jump to) Introduction What is Google Drive and its function? How to start with Google Drive? How secure is Google Drive? How do people use Google Drive? What is the maximum upload limit of Google Drive and supported files? What is Google Drive’s storage plan pricing? What are Google Drive’s compatible Operating Systems? Conclusion References Introduction In addition to the development velocity of modern technology, the volume of information completing by or ingested by individuals all over the world maintains growing quickly. The storage units seem to incapable for holding increasing data quantity. In servicing, add-on and again-up of data are important just in case of automobile accident. To meet the requirements stated earlier, the cloud computing is produced especially cloud storing which have turn into a needed info storage for all fairly recently. There are 4 competitive large cloud storages from the IT sector Google Drive, SkyDive and iCloud Dropbox. With the advancement of the information technology the development of app has significantly elevated. The brand new age of online technologies have triggered need for the World Wide Web app in people’s everyday life. In this particular document we shall make an effort to assess among the many programs developed to make people’s existence less difficult. We have now s elected Google drive as our most fascinated cloud app and we are going to publish a comprehensive report about it. What is Google Drive and its function? Google Drive is really a central location where you may keep your documents. You have access to Google Drive from the desktop, the web or maybe the Google Drive app. Transform data online, on your computer system, or in your mobile device and it also updates on every gadget in which you have installed Google Drive. So should you use Google Docs, this application will let you gain access to your Google doc at anyplace and at any time. Google Drive is greatly used to exchange each sort of files and folders between individuals. Google Drive is really an Online-dependent document web hosting support run by Google, Inc. that utilizes networked storage space to permit users to hold and share folders and files with others throughout the World Wide Web making use of document synchronization. Google Drive is definitely the easiest, most classy document synchronization instrument actually utilized. The idea behind Google Drive would provide you with access to your data files no matter what per sonal computer or system you are using. The service merchants records with solid encryption on multiple hosts and lets you get at your records quickly and easily, and for the most part elegantly from practically any World Wide Web-empowered system. We begin by quickly describing the application and its features. How to start with Google Drive? What started off as just a few valuable on the web business office resources named Google Docs, has transformed into Google Drive, a workplace package with cloud storage. You get a small amount of everything with these services, together with a word processor chip, spreadsheet application, and display tradesman, plus 15GB of totally free storage area. You can enter Google Drive if you already have a Google account. You just need to head over to drive.google.com and start the service. You will get 15GB of storage space for everything you upload to Drive, such as photos, papers and videos, Photoshop files and a lot more. You will need to share that 15GB with your Gmail account, photographs you upload to Google+ , as well as any files you generate in Google Drive. While you can access any documents in the Google Drive site, you may also acquire the Drive desktop app for your computer to deal with your records through your laptop or computer. It is possible to organize all your files from the personal computer app, and theyll sync with the cloud to therefore you can have them with you all the time on all your devices. Chromium is a Web-based operating system which Drive is built into it, when you have a Chrome book, Google Drive is the best cloud storage choice. Like other cloud safe-keeping professional services, Google Drive has applications for iOS and Android, so you can control your files from the phone too. What we like most about Google Drive is that you can drag and drop files into the Drive Web site and theyll be uploaded automatically. You can also preview attachments from Gmail in Google Drive, and save those files to your cloud. Google Drive has the benefit of a built-in place of work suite, where you can modify documents, spreadsheets, and reports, even though you created the papers in an additional application. This service will also support other third-party apps than can edit and modify the documents. What we like about Google Drive is that you could drag and decrease records to the Drive Web site and theyll be submitted instantly. You can also review devices from Gmail in Google Drive, and preserve these records to the cloud. How secure is Google Drive? Google Drive is amongst the most extensive cloud-safe-keeping services, but between your National Security Agency (NSA) and Googles own overreaching relation to service, your data files might be available for being snooped from both organizations. The NSA asserts that its PRISM system focuses on only people of foreign nations and Not American inhabitants. In case the NSA at any time made a decision that it would be useful, with this particular technology into position, it would be simplicity itself to turn PRISMs focus toward People in America. Google denies granting the NSA unrestricted entry to exclusive data. Im unsure I could say this far more obviously: Were not in cahoots together with the NSA, mentioned David Drummond, Googles chief legitimate police officer, in the document on the Guardian. Regardless of whether you trust Edward Snowden, the NSA or Google, you will find good things about knowing precisely what Google gives many services a web email and internet browser, an internet search engine and worldwide menu, amongst other things. PRISM can supposedly acquire information and facts from these professional services as well as Google Drive, the companys cloud-storage foundation. Drive has two elements: Producing papers and keeping them around the Drive (Create), and importing your own personal documents (Upload). Googles online privacy policy weighs in at nine web pages, and states that Google can accumulate login, tool and location info. Google also gathers your browser past history, plants and cookies on the process and data the other applications youve been utilizing, in the event you entry Google Drive by way of Stainless. Googles Drive FAQs point out that the organization will not use any details of your tag as exclusive for advertising or advertising functions, nonetheless its terms of services tend to be much more freewheeling: Google can adjust, host, retail store, recreate and make use of create derivative performs interact, submit, openly execute, publicly screen and spread [customer] information. These permissions may appear terrifying, but theres actually an incredibly naive outline for every single one. So to keep you authorized-in on a cell phone or exclusive laptop or computer, Google needs to know your unit and logon info. Your physical location information and facts helps Google determine when someone has hacked your account in an unusual spot. How do people use Google Drive? Here are some examples of how people use Google Drive: 1. A harried item supervisor should proceed work towards a vital proposition within the weekend break. In past times, she could have dug about in the handbag to look for an old USB Drive she purposes of transporting documents. Or, she probably have emailed herself an attachment to open at home. Instead, she helps save the Word document and a Shine spreadsheet to Google Drive at her workplace. Later on that evening hours, in her home Computer, she starts her Google Drive folder to gain access to the Shine file. All of her helps save are updated to Google Drive. When she profits to operate the subsequent Monday, the up-to-date details might be considered in her work station. 2. The organizer of the family members’ reunion wishes to survey 34 relatives about attendance, accommodations personal preferences, and potluck meal preparation. He email messages everyone a link to web-based created Drive. The solutions are immediately transferred to Bedding, where he can view the reactions and the results. 3. An elementary university faculty makes use of Docs to team up on session plans. Every single teacher accesses the same papers from her or his houses or classrooms. Upgrades are quickly reflected, even if two teachers are all at once accessing the same record. Their principal is surprised by how quickly the faculty wraps up the plans, and the way properly the curriculums are incorporated. 4. At the identical institution, the fifth-level educators request their college students to distribute groundwork using Docs. The educators put remarks and modifications, in which the individuals can accessibility whenever you want via a Browser. It’s much more effective than emailing accessories close to, and the college students do not have to bug their parents to acquire pricey phrase-processing plans. What is the maximum upload limit of Google Drive and supported files? Documents: 1,024,000 characters, regardless of the number of pages or font size. Uploaded document files that are converted to the Google documents format can’t be larger than 2 MB. Spreadsheets: 400,000 cells, with a maximum of 256 columns per sheet. Uploaded spreadsheet files that are converted to the Google spreadsheets format can’t be larger than 20 MB, and need to be under 400,000 cells and 256 columns per sheet Presentations: Presentations created in Google Slides can be up to 50 MB — which is about 200 slides. Uploaded presentation files that are converted into the Google presentations format can also be up to 50 MB. Drawings: We’ve never seen anyone make a drawing that was too big (but that’s not a dare). Other files: Files that you upload but don’t convert to a Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides format can be up to 10 GB each. (Daily News Analysis, 2012) What is Google Drive’s storage plan pricing? People can store up to 15GB of data on their Google Drive account for free. If they need more space they can purchase it and the pricing is as follows: What are Google Drive’s compatible Operating Systems? Google drive is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android phones and tablets and Apple iOS. Conclusion Google Drive is a free of charge service that allows you to take your images, docs, and video clips anyplace and share them easily. There are tons of optimistic features which can be addressed to the application. The Google Drive buyer allows end users to decrease any data file right into a chosen directory which is then synced with Google drives Internet service and to every other of your users units and computer systems with the Google Drive’s customer. Customers may also upload data files manually through an internet browser. With these usages, it can be a substitute for World Wide Web (physical transportation of removable media), and also other standard sorts of submitting exchange, like File transfer protocol and e-mail attachments. While Google drive capabilities are as a storage service, its concentrate is on synchronization and revealing. It facilitates revision record, so data files deleted in the Google Drive directory might be healed from any of the synced computer systems. References Google unifies cloud storage across gmail, drive and google+. (2013, May 15). Kashmir Monitor. Gaylord, K., Kavanagh, M. (2006, 04). Search your hard drive in a snap: Google it! Inside the Internet, 13, 5-7. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/191096234 Nivio launches google drive app. (2012). Wireless News Maltais, M. (2012, Apr 25). Google adds to the cloud with drive. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1009108737 Google introduces google drive quick facts. (2012, Apr 24). RTTNews All you need to know about google drive. (2012, May 01). DNA : Daily News Analysis. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1010363648 Google drive updates app. (2013, Nov 08). Telegraph.Co.Uk. Kleinberg, S. (2012, Jun 11). Google drive: A lot to love, room for improvement. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1019609166 Google drive slashes prices on storage. (2014, Mar 13). University Wire. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1507019544

Paradigms Essay -- Philosophy Philosophical Essays

Paradigms What do you do when the hypothetical becomes reality? What if something not just unthinkable, but unimaginable, is suddenly proposed to you as a truth. Now, what if this new truth shatters your entire view of the world, of the universe, and of man’s place in all of that. This is a drastic example of a paradigm shift, when people are torn between two different beliefs. Galileo Galilei brought on the paradigm shift that yielded this extreme example when he offered proof of a heliocentric universe in his 1610 publishing Sidereus Nuncius. Thomas S. Kuhn discussed paradigm shifts like this in his 1962 book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. While it is never an easy transition, once the new paradigm gains acceptance it will offer brilliant new ideas and explorations. It’s not possible to give a modern parallel to Galileo’s early 1600 publishing Sidereus Nuncius. So we must attempt to consider this in the context of the 1600s. Many things that we take for granted today, things that we know from our days in elementary school and never bother to question, were not even conceived yet. There was no gravitation theory; everything naturally moved towards the center. The heliocentric Copernican model had not yet been accepted; everything naturally rotated around the earth. That put earth, and more importantly humans, at the center of the universe. Everything literally revolved around us, and that was how God the Almighty designed it. In order to change from this view, a new one must be proposed, proven, and finally accepted. As Kuhn writes, â€Å"The decision to reject one paradigm is always simultaneously the decision to accept another, and the judgment leading to that decision involves the comparison of bot... ...uble sin. I am alone against thirty thousand. No. Protect you, the court; protect, you, deception; let me protect the truth. It is all my strength. If I lose it, I am undone. I shall not lack accusations, and persecutions. But I possess the truth, and we shall see who will take it away† (Pascal #921). Works Cited Galilei, Galileo. Sidereus Nuncius or The Sidereal Messenger. Trans. by Albert Van Helden. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1989. Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Third Edition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1996. Pascal, Blaise. â€Å"Pensees.† Online. Internet. 07 Sept. 2000. http://altair.stmarys-ca.edu/studwork/integral/penseesi.txt. â€Å"Philosophy of Science & Information Technology: A Tribute to Thomas Kuhn† Online. Internet. 07 Sept. 2000. http://www.brint.com/kuhn.htm.

Animation :: essays research papers

Animation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Animation is a visual technique that creates the illusion of motion, rather than recording motion through live action. The technique is used mainly for motion pictures. Animation can be created by illustrators, filmmakers, video makers, and computer specialists. Animation is most popular in creating cartoon movies. Advertisers also employ animation to develop commercials for television. In addition, producers of instructional films may use animation to help explain a difficult idea or one that could not be shown in live action. Animation can also be combined with live action in a movie. Many animators continue to make many drawings by hand. Since the mid-1980's, however, computer assistance combined with hand-drawn animation has become standard in many movie studios. These methods created such feature-length animated films as The Lion King (1994) and The Prince of Egypt (1998).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One increasingly important type of animation is computer-generated imagery (CGI), in which the computer creates the characters and backgrounds and animates them without actually photographing either cels or figures. Films made entirely with CGI include Toy Story (1995), Antz (1998), and A Bug's Life (1998).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most CGI-animated characters start with a sketch or small sculpture called a â€Å"maquette† that is used for reference. The artist then creates a computer image called a wireframe model. The wireframe model serves as a framework for a shell or skin that gives the computer image a solid, three-dimensional appearance. To move the character, a computer animator changes the positions of the wireframe model in a number of key frames. The computer then supplies the frames between the key frames, moving the model from one of the animator's positions to the next.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After creating the three-dimensional model, the artist adds color, texture, and shading in a process known as texture mapping. Texture mapping makes the surfaces of the characters and scenery look real. A texture map can be created by a computer program or scanned from an actual photograph.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The final step is called rendering. During rendering, the computer calculates the effect of light, color, and texture on the model's surface. For a film or video, the computer will produce a two-dimensional digital picture of the characters for each frame of the animation. The computer artist usually adjusts many visual effects, such as camera focus and transparency, during the rendering phase.

War and Propaganda: A Look at How the Two Have Been Inseparable Though Time :: Essays Papers

War and Propaganda: A Look at How the Two Have Been Inseparable Though Time There have been many wars that the Unites States has been a part of. Some were fought on American soil, others fought abroad. But through it all, there has always been a need for the public’s support. And what better way to get that support than by putting information out there for the public. Now of course this is biased information that it put forth in front of the general public; just enough to get people caring and thinking about the war, but not enough to keep them fully educated on the subject. Once people start knowing too much and researching, it becomes something that they either feel has too much support, or they take stands that the government does not want. The different media that is out there is geared towards the general public knowing the truth. But I pose the question that â€Å"what is the truth?† especially back in the old days? Who, but those who put the information out, knew what was really going on when it came to wars and the enemies? This is why I thought it might be interesting to look at the way the citizens were swayed towards believing certain things during the war. Why was there such a scare about the Japanese being in the United States during WWII? The propaganda that was out at the time was highly against the Japanese, even the Japanese Americans, calling them the enemy. While it is sad to know that these sentiments are true, it is important to remember the past and to learn from it. History of Propaganda Propaganda has been a human activity as far back as reliable recorded evidence exists. The writings of Romans like Livy are considered masterpieces of pro-Roman statist propaganda. The term itself originates with the Roman Catholic Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, the department of the pontifical administration charged with the spread of Catholicism and with the regulation of ecclesiastical affairs in non-Catholic countries (mission territory). The actual Latin stem propagand- conveys a sense of "that which ought to be spread". Propaganda techniques were first codified and applied in a scientific manner by journalist Walter Lippman and psychologist Edward Bernays (nephew of Sigmund Freud) early in the 20th century. During World War I, Lippman and Bernays were hired by the United States president Woodrow Wilson to sway popular opinion to enter the war on the side of Britain.

History of H&M Essay

H & M, (Hennes & Mauritz AB) is a Swedish multinational retail-clothing company, known for its trendy fashion clothing for men, women, teenagers and children. It started out as a single womenswear store in 1947, and subsequently transformed to a global company offering fashion for the whole family, and their home. The business concept is to give the customer unbeatable value by offering fashion and quality at the best price. H&M ensures the best price by having few middlemen, having a broad, in-depth knowledge of design, fashion, textiles, buying the right products from the right markets, and being cost-conscious at every stage. H&M is driven by seven core values, namely; Keep it simple, Straight forward and open-minded, Constant improvement, Entrepreneurial spirit, Cost conscious, Team work, Belief in people. H&M’s quality testing is extensive, coupled with hard work to make sure goods are produced with least possible environmental impact and under good working conditions. Production is outsourced to independent suppliers as H&M does not own any factories. Apart from this, H&M does not own any of its stores, as they rent store space from international and local landlords. H&M is present in 43 countries and has employed about 94,000 people as of 2011. It has 2,325 stores at end of 2011 and 2,629 stores at end of August 2012. It is ranked the second largest global clothing retailer behind Zara and No. 1 user of organic cotton worldwide. Current Logistics process of H&M H&M does not own any factory, they have outsourced to external suppliers that managed two departments: Procurement and Production. The Procurement function focuses on customers, fashion and composition of the range. The clothing designs are created in Sweden by around 100 internal designers, 50 pattern designers and an estimated 100 buyers. H&M’s method of production is customer-driven. The company puts emphasis into research and forecasting of emerging trends, both through traditional research methods and innovative ones such as street trends. This activity is conducted by central staff and national offices which are responsible for detecting new trends. The production function involves 21 production offices. H&M purchases garments from about 750 suppliers, in which 60% of production takes place in Asia and the rest mainly in Europe. The production offices have a mediating function between the internal buying department and external suppliers. They ensure that the buyers’ orders are sent to the right supplier, the goods produced are of the correct price and quality and that the suppliers adhere to the company’s code of conduct. Additionally, production offices also deal with the checking and testing of sample garments, which contributes to reducing lead times. The decision of determining which supplier is the right one is not only a matter of cost-efficiency but is dependent on other factors such as transport times, import quotas and quality control aspects. To reduce risk, buying is carried out on an ongoing basis throughout the year. Continuous IT developments over the years have helped to support H&M logistics. While the inventory management is primarily handled within the H&M organisation, transport is outsourced to third parties. In terms of distribution, H&M adopts sea transportation where their finished products are shipped to a distribution centre in Germany, which will serve as a transit terminal. The transit terminal will be en-routed to receive the goods from all the suppliers across the world. Upon arrival at the designated location, goods are inspected and allocated either in a store or in the centralised warehouse. The role of the warehouse is to hold and replenish inventory levels in stores according to selling trends.

Gang Leader for a Day Essay

In the book, Gang Leader for a Day, a rogue sociologist passionately dives into the lives of one of Chicago’s toughest housing projects in an attempt to develop an insight as to how the urban impoverished lived. Throughout the text it becomes clear that a conflict paradigm is being reflected. A conflict society is based on social inequality, in which some individuals benefit and thrive more than others, which tends to lead to conflict and thus change. This is evident both in the housing projects where a gang known as the â€Å"Black Kings† take over and also in the surrounding neighborhoods where the more elite citizens, including persons from the authors university, shy away from associating with the nearby poor black nearby public, thus creating unbalanced communities. In the text the author, Sudhir Venkatesh, observes how elites use their power to control the less powerful. This is evident in the Robert Taylor Homes, where the Black Kings profit from drug sales that control the community, while the rest of the families are struggling to survive. There even appear to be hierarchies within a hierarchy. For example, within the Black Kings gang there were leaders such as a man known as â€Å"J.T.†, who would make thousands in profits from commanding others and then there were young teenage men who actually sold the drugs and barely earned minimum wage (256). Aside from the drug sale employees, other workers such as those who ran shops or did menial work from their high rises were also controlled by the gangs, who would use fear tactics to implement various taxes upon them. Clearly the majority of the society is being controlled by the middle and upper-class from surrounding neighborhoods and also the gangs in the lower-class community, creating social inequality. However, conflict and change do appear by the end of the book when the Chicago Housing Authority along with President Clinton decides to demolish Robert Taylor Homes in hopes of eliminating the hierarchy of gangs and stimulating a more prosperous society (269-270). There are many different factors presented in the text that lead to the disadvantage of poverty, including social, institutional, economic, and political influences. The obvious social influences were the relationships between and within the gangs. Although members within the gang act as a family, always protecting each other, the members who weren’t as fortunate to be party of their inner circle were treated unjustly, such as C-Note (62). Since gangs took over the disadvantaged community, they had control over who was allowed to move up in the social ladder and who was not. Since the community was filled with violence, thefts, drug abuse, and prostitutes, people tended not to trust each other, which would explain why it must have been so hard for the citizens to keep steady relationships and jobs (105). If there was no trust within relationships, clearly it would be hard to make yourself known in the community as a decent and honorable person who can handle a job. I believe it was because of these unstable relationships that so many persons in Robert Taylor Homes had to succumb to menial work as their source of income. Institutions such as work, school, and hospitals also influenced the sustainment of poverty. For example, the police refused to patrol Robert Taylor Homes because they believed it was too risky and there were only â€Å"two social-service centers for nearly twenty thousand children† (37). Similarly, hospital’s rarely ever responded to shootings in the neighborhood and when children dropped out of school there wasn’t much encouragement to get them back in. The lack of public assistance was clearly a factor in creating and maintaining poverty since the citizens had a lack of resources to free themselves from their difficulties. Furthermore, even if the police or other institutions were present, they were extremely flawed. This is evident in the fact the certain police would raid gang parties and steal their belongings, openly violating the law themselves (231). If cops displayed law breaking, how could they expect their citizens to dutifully follow the law? Another flawed institution was the Chicago Housing Authority, which demolished public housing to replace it with recreation (262). Not only did they take away the only homes the poor had, but also ineffectively relocated them to a community where they could thrive. One of the main economic problems that many people, particularly gangs, in Robert Taylor faced was the fact that they didn’t want to trade in their status for entry-level jobs because in many cases, gang leaders made far more than they would have if they worked minimum wage jobs (72). Many of the gang leaders such as J.T. held the false belief that the drug economy was â€Å"useful for the community, since it redistributed the drug addict’s money back into the community via the gang’s philanthropy† (115). However, the drug economy is not a stable or lucrative economy compared to your average jobs because it was clearly very hard for people to get ahead in gangs, thus no one ever had a fair shot of earning more money in their life span. Nevertheless, the situation can tend to be a grey area of debate since a lot of the residents did attempt to hold blue-collar jobs but continued to get laid off (60). In this case, the underground economy of drug sales may have been the only choice for residents looking for an income. Another way the gangs play into the economic situation is when there are drive by shootings, in which case parents would have to take time off from work to stay home with their kids (105). This further goes to show the negative widespread effects of gangs on urban, poor communities in that their illegal drug sales or shootings sustained the low SES of parents with real jobs. The political economy of outlaw capitalism evident in the text is another flawed institution creating poverty (37). As touched upon earlier, if the government allows certain communities to run these underground social systems where only one group benefits, then the community will obviously continue to be poorly balanced. The majority of the community will be fighting for a means of income while the various gangs benefit from the only wealth available. Another political flaw is that members of the community were told how to vote. It appeared that the gangs had a misconstrued depiction of how to go about political reform. Their idea of responsible voting was to gather in meetings and choose the alderman who would best keep the police away from their drug economy, â€Å"there was no discussion of platform, no list of vital issues† (77). The lack of knowledge of real political issues was ultimately detrimental to the community as a whole, as the cycle of outlaw capitalism would ju st continue to rule Robert Taylor. As mentioned before, Robert Taylor was heavily run by gangs, leading to various social factors such as marginalization, alienation, disempowerment, and social Darwinism to overtake the community. Robert Taylor residents were marginalized by the gangs within their community and also as a whole by the larger community through government neglect and vicious rumors to alienate them from the more elite neighborhoods (36). This ties in to the disempowerment in Robert Taylor, which is highly evident in the gangs where there are leaders who control drug dealers, squatters, foot soldiers, etc. (50-51). In this hierarchy, if a member of the gang disobeys the rules, such as by withholding money, then the leader will disempower that individual, forbidding them to sell drugs for a week or even a month – in effect, decreasing their income. Similarly, social Darwinism is evident in drug dealers because the process is essentially based off of the idea that those who are â€Å"fittest† or most able will thrive while the so-called â€Å"weak† are left to die. For instance, if drug dealers are fearful they could be shot, if mothers refuse to sell their bodies, they could have no food for their children that week. Even residents with real, marketplace jobs are subjected to this theory, as none of their jobs are very stable and they could succumb to an absence of income at any time. I believe it is both a â€Å"culture of poverty† and a lack of resources that are responsible for the â€Å"deviant† behavior and poverty in Robert Taylor. Clearly there is a high lack of resources, such as the police or hospital who won’t respond to calls in the neighborhood (37, 48). For example, if there are no police then gangs can get away with beating each other up instead of letting the law handle it (226) . Yet at the same time it is the gangs who encourage the younger generation to become part of their culture, instilling violent behaviors in them from a young age (258). Due to the absence of government assistance programs for the poor, citizens grew up with the belief that they were infinitely bound to poverty. In effect, they developed traits that would benefit their lifestyle, such as the drug economy, but did not bother developing skills that would extend beyond their culture of poverty, such as an education. Even when residents had a chance to make a better life for themselves and escape the projects, they would become â€Å"lonely† and move back (248). It is because of this continual neglect from society that the residents develop feelings of helplessness and marginality, ultimately leading to a â€Å"culture of poverty.† In the text, the author was able to get a very personal insight into the lives of those living in the projects, something that definitely expanded the sociological depiction of poverty (43-44). However, the fact that he failed to inform the university of what he was doing or follow any reporting requirements was not very ethical of him in acquiring his research (119). Before becoming part of the lives of gang members, he should have become informed on the fact that there is no research-client confidentiality for academic researchers (186). His lack of pursuit of this knowledge was immoral because he could have jeopardized the lives of Robert Taylor residents if he ever had to testify against them. One line the author should not have crossed was becoming a gang leader for a day, making what was supposed to be a research-client relationship far too casual. It is the fact that he knowingly crossed the line from observer to participant on multiple occasions by â€Å"hearing jokes, shari ng a beer, and loaning someone a dollar† that made his methods unethical (107).