Psychological gambling Essay Example for Free

Psychological gambling Essay Abstract: Few studies have explored the relationship between gambling and health status. Both compulsive and pathological gambling are disorders related to obsession-compulsive disorder. The data supports the notion that gambling does affect with non-gambling health problems. The purpose of this article is to provide the information between gambling behaviors and substance use disorders, health associations, screening and treatment options for problem and pathological gambling. Pathological gambling is an addictive and stress proposing disorder. More research is needed to investigate directly the biological and health relations associated with the different types of gambling behaviors and to define the role for doctors or therapists in the prevention and treatment of problem and pathological gambling. There are many types of gambling that people indulge in today. People of all ages have been seduced by gambling. Gambling is done every day, so as it continues to grow, so does the debt of the American people. Attractions such as online casinos with jackpots equivalent to ten years salary and simple sports booking, makes it more common today than it was yesterday. Gambling is hard to resist because it offers a feeling of hope, and defines that thin line between reality and fantasy that ends with a mental payoff. The main question with this concern is; is it all about the money? It couldnt be all about the money, unless the general public was extremely stupid. The odds of winning the lottery are lesser than the odds of someone being struck by lightning (1 in 649,739) or than someone being killed by a terrorist attack abroad (1 in 650,000). (7). It has been said, If you bought 100 tickets a week your entire adult life, from the age of 18 to 75, youd have a 1 percent chance of winning the lottery. (7) Now, a number of psychological studies have been done which indicate that the desire to play the lottery has more to do with the inability or unconcern of a person to calculate the total sum of their own money over time spent of these dollar tickets. The hope and fantastic feeling they receive is worth more than the dollar they give the 7-11 clerk at that time. Casino games create a different sensation. Whether it be cards, slots, or dice games after being seated in front of it for an hour or two there will generally be a win, some kind of win. Usually that win is small. It serves the person, or the brain, with a sort of reward. The reward entices the person to want to continue their game so to get another reward (7). The basis for this affirmative award is biological. Research done at the Massachusetts General Hospital has showed similar brain activity induced by prize money to food and drug rewards. The scientists measuring this brain activity compared it with giving a cocaine addict an infusion of cocaine. (2) An experiment was set up wherein the brain activity of the subjects was measured while they gambled. Each subject was offered one of three spinners: a good spinner offered them a chance to earn $10, $2. 50, or nothing; an intermediate spinner offered $2. 50, $0, or -$1. 50; and a bad spinner let them win nothing or lose, -$1. 50 or -$6. (3) The brain activity was measured with a high-field functional magnetic resonance imaging, otherwise known as an fMRI, while they were spinning for six seconds and after then after they had spun. The results showed that the brain activity proved to be strong, moderate, and low in accordance with the level of spinning good, intermediate and bad. The proportions always demonstrated the expected brain activity. The scientists performing this experiment came to the conclusion that money serves as the same type of reward to humans as does drugs and food; it sets into motion a reward mechanism in the brain providing relative stimulus to the amount of reward or loss which is taking place. The similarity suggests that a common brain circuitry is used for various types of rewards. (3) Considering the conclusion of this experiment to be true, there still remains an unsettling question pertaining to gambling and brain circuitry. Why do some people gamble more than others? At first I searched for some demographic conclusions to support a hypothesis that some group of people gambled more than others. However, there simply isnt much discrimination when it comes to gambling. The National Opinion Research Center, a government based study, showed that there is no gender gap in terms of gambling: the 1998 statistic showed 49% women and 51% men gamble in general. (1) The consensus showed that all different ages gamble. Some specifications were made like people between thirty and sixty tended to gamble with more money than the younger and older, but that seems natural because that range probably gains the most salary. It also specified that those under eighteen tended to play less in casino, lottery and horse races but that is because they were not allowed in. Thus, those under eighteen were showed to make more wagers outside of a gambling facility than the other age groups. Depending on the game, there seemed to be a pretty even distribution of race among gamblers. The bottom line being; the desire to gamble does not depend on any specific background or gender or age or culture. It depends on the human desire to gain monetary pleasure, to get something for little to nothing, to be rewarded via dollars rather than food or drugs. The demographic statistics and equalities listed above still do not account for why some crave gambling more than others. Distinctions have been made among gamblers. The categories are as follows: non-gambler, low-risk gambler, at-risk gambler, problem gambler and pathological gambler. (1) The desire to gamble becomes increasingly more prevalent and obsessive as the levels progress. A pathological gambler, according to the DSM-IV criteria is constantly preoccupied with gambling, increases the amounts of money spent over time on gambling so not to achieve a tolerance, cannot stop gambling, gambles as an escape, attempts to break even after having lost money, lies constantly to friends and family about gambling, sometimes commits illegal acts to support gambling, risks significant relationships, jobs, or education for gambling, and uses the financial help of others to be bailed out of some situation caused by gambling. (1) Why are these people so obsessed with gambling that it takes over their lives? It has been hypothesized that pathological gamblers have dysfunctional reward pathways. When the pathways function correctly, one important result is a release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that can stimulate pleasurable feelings. Pathological gamblers have been proven to have lower activity in an enzyme that breaks down neurotransmitters. This may create a problem for serotonin distribution. Also, researchers have identified a greater amount of certain genetic configurations in pathological gamblers, a variation which may be responsible for the deficient reward pathway. (4) The medication prescribed to some of these pathological gamblers who were tested increased their serotonin levels and seemed to have positive effects in the way of their resisting the urge to gamble. Many equate the pathological desire to gamble with a problem in the decision-making area of the brain, a constant lapse in judgment so to speak. The areas of the brain associated with the decision-making process are the middle frontal, inferior frontal and orbital gyrus. (4) While this neurological analysis may offer some understanding to why people gamble for reward purposes, it does not explain the bigger relationship between human beings and gambling. Gambling does not necessarily need to involve money; it can instead be translated to a risk. People gamble everyday whether it be the tasting of a new food or skipping an important business meeting. It seems that gambling is a part of life necessary to perpetuate the human species. Diversification, a part of natural life, involves adapting to different environments and niches. Say a bee only acquired nutrients from one specific flower, never venturing out to samples other types of pollen, what would happen? Suppose one winter that specific type of flower failed to survive, or some sort of spontaneous extinction occurred, all the bees who fed off this flower would become extinct as well. The same sort of thing may occur if a person moved to a different country, wherein the food looked completely different. In order to stay alive, that person would have to take a chance on a new type of diet. Human beings, as well as a majority of the remaining Animal Kingdom are inclined to diversify and adapt to new surroundings in order to stay strong and able to perpetuate their species. The same notion of adaptation for survival applies to drastic temperature changes and the effect it has on the body. (5) Although shell temperature is not regulated within narrow limits the way internal body temperature is, thermoregulatory responses do strongly affect the temperature of the shell, and especially its outermost layer, the skin. The temperature of the environment is directly related to the thickness of this shell. If the shell is needed to conserve heat, it may expand to a several centimeters underneath the skins surface, however, if the environment is warm, then the shell will tend to only be about one centimeter thick. This shell of warmth protects people in the case that they wish to change environmental settings, or so the same species can survive in all different locations. The complex nature of the human body responds well to their desire to gamble, to diversify, to extend their minds and risk. Whether it be monetary, behavioral or just plain desire to risk, humans are drawn towards the new and the chancy.It is the danger of loss and the thrill of life that keeps us breathing. Works Consulted: 1)Alvarez,A. The Biggest Game in Town. New York: Chronicle Books, 2002. 2)Brunson,Doyle. Doyle Brunsons Super System. Cardoza Pub, 1979. 3)Dostoeyevsky,Fyodor. The Gambler. New York: Viking Press, 1966. 4)http://www. norc. uchicago. edu/new/gamb-fin. htm 5)http://www. sciencedaily. com/releases/2001/05/010524062100. htm 6)http://www. sciam. com/article. cfm? articleID=0004400A-E6F5-1C5E-B882809EC588ED9F 7)http://www. gnxp. com/MT2/archives/001309. html 8)http://www. reflection-idea. com/psychics. html.

Citizenship - Account of activity during work experience Essay Example for Free

Citizenship Account of activity during work experience Essay My Citizenship coursework will be based on the rights and responsibilities of employees and their employers in the workplace. The aim of the coursework is to produce a report explaining the health and safety rules on my work experience placement. This is a citizenship activity because it looks closely at important rights. It will also look at my roles, and those of others, during the activity. I have chosen my work experience place because this will give me the opportunity to get an experience and will make me or introduce me to the world and get vital points on how to develop my life skills towards working. The placement that I have been given is not close to my house but I am willing to work hard and grab this opportunity. I am also interested in the financial market and promoting of products and Ill learn from this. I went for my work experience to Comet Stores. My work experience was for a two week period staring on the 6th of June 2005 and ending on the 16th of June 2005. The area that I was allocated for the work experience was in Fosse Park, which is near the outer ring of the city near to the motorways. Comet Stores is a well-known brand, which sells household electronic devices. The placement that I was in was the biggest store in the city. The complex comprised of two floors namely the sales floor (which was the first floor) and the warehouse, which was the second floor. Before attending the work placement I had to phone up and book an interview with the manager in charge of the store. A week after the phone call was the date of my interview. In the interview I was told the basics about the company such as start and finish times, the dress code and passwords to enter the staff room. I was told that at the first day of my work experience I would be told in more detail about my individual and team tasks. At the start of the first day of my work experience I was feeling anxious as well as nervous. This was the first time I would be entering a working environment. At the start of the day I was taken by the manager for an assembly. I was told to report to the designated area where each person would be given a briefing each morning. A gentleman named Chris was to look after me for the first day. He was in charge of the warehouse stock and was very helpful. He gave me some advice and told me many people have visited the store for work experience and that the store will challenge my ability individually and with a team. The manager had told Chris to take me to the boardroom where I was shown Health and Safety videos that were made by the store. After each key fact Chris would explain to me what it meant, how it concerned the store and asked me if I had any questions. I was also given additional leaflets on Health and safety in the building such as the fire exits and where the fire extinguishes were. I was given a wide range of activities during work experience. The main task I was given for the first few days was to pack and check the shelves. This consisted of me checking the availability of the stock, ordering the stock from the warehouse if it had run out and then packing the shelves with the item. I was also given the chance to analyze the security system of the work place and told how to alarm and disable the alarm system. I was put on my first test with this task, as I had to wire all the flat screen monitors in a sequence to alarm the security if any person may try to take the item. I had noticed as the days went on the store gave me different and more tasks to do which would challenge my ability. I was promoted to assisting the sales staff and to analyze the way in how the sales person would work. This task was to communicate with the public and gave a lot of confidence. I was also placed in the warehouse where I was given a lot of responsibility. I was asked to check the stock, the handling of goods, taking orders and also using the elevator belt, which I was given a Health and Safety guide to. The elevator belt could go upward towards the warehouse and when giving items to the sales floor going downwards. Special buttons were needed for this and great care was needed. All the staff members assisted me but as I was put on different jobs there was different staff members that would help me. As I was on the warehouse level the elevator belt had suddenly come to a halt. As I was not a technician I had asked from a member of staff from the warehouse level. He kindly came and tried to help me but could not fix the problem. As a result he sent a technician to come and assist. The problem was sorted and both members of staff assisted me when I asked for some help. Whilst on the placement I had learnt a lot about rights and responsibility of employers and their employees. I was given a sheet, which told me all the rights.

Water Decontamination Methods Advantages and Disadvantages

Water Decontamination Methods Advantages and Disadvantages Outline Abstract In Malaysia, for the past many years, drinking water treatment was only limited to water disinfection by using chlorine; however it had been concluded that its use in potable water treatment can be harmful to human health.(Subedi, et al., 2012) Following the development in drinking water treatment, conventional methods in three different technologies are available to have more purified water. They are biological, physicochemical and advanced oxidation process (AOPs) technologies. Each of the technologies has different roles in purifying water and they can be combined to treat drinking water as well. In this assignment, the lists of methods of each technology are stated and some of the main processes are discussed, including the advantages and disadvantages of each of them. For biological technology, slow sand filtration and perchlorate processes are discussed in 3a.For physicochemical technology, coagulation process is discussed in details in 3b. Lastly, the advanced oxidation proces s, AOPs, include both photochemical and non-photochemical oxidation. The fenton system and photocatalytic processes which are categorized in photochemical oxidation are discussed in 3c. Introduction Safe drinking water that free of contaminants is essential to human health and development issue at national, regional and local levels. Its accessibility is human’s rights and a component of effective policy for health protection. (who et al) Therefore, there are many drinking water regulations and acts set by specialized agency such as WHO to have standard on safe drinking water to give awareness to public and thus limit the levels of contaminants. The national primary drinking water regulations and number of regulated contaminants shown in Figure 2.1 and Figure 2.2 in appendix 2.According to the regulations and standards, the characteristics of safe drinking water are contaminants free, natural minerals rich, alkaline pH, taste good and odorless. Firstly, microbiological and chemical contaminants in drinking water may cause acute or chronic health effects or undesirable aesthetic properties when present at excessive concentrations. Microbiological contaminants refer to path ogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and protozoan parasites. Chemical contaminants refer to toxicity, inorganic and organic chemicals. The other contaminants are pesticides, herbicides and radioactive materials (radionuclide). Besides that, pH of water should be maintained from 6.5 to 8.5. This is because alkaline water is able to neutralize stored acids and help in eliminating toxins. Because of these, various types of technologies of drinking water treatments are introduced to minimize the deleterious effects of contaminated drinking water on human health. Details of contaminants by National Secondary Drinking Water Standards and details of contaminants and potential health effects by National Primary Drinking Water Standards as shown in Figure 2.3 and Figure 2.4 respectively in appendix 2. In the following, three different technologies which are biological, physicochemical and advanced oxidation process (AOPs) are introduced to treat drinking water to a safety level s o that human health is ensured. The goal of all of the developed water treatment technologies is to remove turbidity as well as chemical and pathogenic contaminants from drinking water source in the most affordable and expedient manner possible. 3.Content 3a.Biological Technology Water used for drinking and household use, even water from a ground water supply, should be treated before it is used to ensure it is safe and aesthetically pleasing. One innovative method of water treatment is biological water treatment. Biological drinking water treatment is one technology that has the potential to further many of these objectives. This technology is based on the ability of microorganisms – specifically non-pathogenic bacteria – to efficiently catalyze the biochemical oxidation or reduction of drinking water contaminants and produce biologically stable water. (Snoeyink, 1984) .Biological drinking water treatment is often used in combination with other chemical and chemical processes including ozonation and filtration. There are some types of biological drinking water treatment such as slow sand filtration, rapid biological filtration, ozone-enhanced biological filtration and granular activated carbon biological adsorption. Firstly, the slow sand filtration is a type of centralized or semi-centralized water purification system. A well-designed and properly maintained slow sand filter (SSF) effectively removes turbidity and pathogenic organisms through various biological, physical and chemical processes in a single treatment step. According to (Patrick J. Evans, 2010), slow sand filtration involves very low filtration rates (e.g. 0.04 to 0.10 gpm/ft2) through sand media without pre-oxidation or pre-disinfection (Awwa, 2005). During initial operation of slow sand filtration, a layer of biological matter will be produced on the surface of filter media by the separation of organic matter and other solids. This layer is called as schumutzdecke which acts as the predominant filtering mechanism. It supports the biological matter that works as the primary biofiltration process to remove BDOC, pathogenic microorganisms, and particulates (Page, 2006).To maintenance the slow sand filtration process, periodic scrap ing and removal of the top layer of sand are needed. Besides that, there is another more precise term to replace slow sand filtration which is called biological filtration (SBF) since the biologically active schmutzdecke is an integral part of this process. Besides that, the advantages of slow sand filters is very effective in improving the microbiological and physicochemical qualities of water and it is very easy to operate and maintain. The disadvantages of slow sand filters are vulnerability to clogging when the incoming water is of high turbidity. When dealing with such waters, pre-treatment, such as sedimentation or roughing pre-filtration is required. Next, biological perchlorate or nitrate process. Perchlorate and nitrate have the ability of being anaerobically biodegraded to chloride and nitrogen gas. (Patrick J. Evans, 2010) stated the process involves addition of an electron donor such as acetic acid plus nutrients to water to promote biochemical reduction of biological perchlorate or nitrate process. Moreover, perchlorate and nitrate act as the terminal electron acceptors for respiration by these bacteria. As a result, BPNP vary from the predate biological drinking water treatment processes that are aerobic and employ aerobic bacteria that use oxygen as a terminal electron acceptor for respiration. BPNP can be employed in diverse arrangement including packed beds, fluidized beds, and membrane systems. BPNP is followed by an aeration process to promote aerobic biodegradation of assimilable organic (AOC) and biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) in combination with a filtration process for turbidity removal. 3b.Physicochemical Technology Physicochemical drinking water treatment is frequently used in the area of drinking water treatment. This technique is applied to remove the heavy metals, oils and suspended matters. This physiochemical drinking water treatment technique is used to treat drinking water in order to become process water. According to (Spellman, 2009)the steps that are under this technique are coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, disinfection and arsenic removal from drinking water. The coagulation process that occurs in this drinking water treatment technique will be discussed in details in this assignment. The definition of coagulation is the destabilization of colloidal particles.(L.Droste, 1997)The particles are coated with a chemically sticky layer that enables them to stick with each other, forming a large molecule and settle in a short period of time. The ability of an agent to agglomerate the tiny particles found in water is directly related to its charge. The other factor that will affect the ability is the size of synthetic polymers. The most common materials that are used to coagulate the water are alum (aluminum sulfate) and iron salts. (L.Droste, 1997) stated that the multivalent characteristic of these coagulants effectively attracts them to charged colloidal particles and their high insolubility helps to ensure their removal from the water to a high degree. When coagulant such as alum is being added into the water, a chemical reaction that produces positively charged will occur. This reaction will indirectly reduce the electrical charges of the particles and hence form a sticky substance which also known as floc. In this reaction, turbidity, color and microorganisms can be removed easily. The formation of floc is the primary step of coagulation process. For perfect efficiency, intimate, rapid mixing of the water must be done and coagulant must be present. After mixing, the water should be stirred slowly so that the particles can stick to each other forming a large molecule. According to (Spellman, 2009) , the factors that will affect the coagulation process are pH, turbidity, temperature, alkalinity and he use of polymers. The degree to which these factors affect coagulation process relies on the type of coagulant use. The condition of raw water, optimum pH to coagulate the water and other factors must be taken into account before making decision on which chemical to be used. According to(E.Manathan, 2009), the main advantage of using this technique is lower cost compared to biological treatment. It requires less worker force and able to settle the issues regarding toxic materials effectively. On the other hand, it has its disadvantage too, which is require careful operator control and use up huge amount of energy. 3c.Advanced Oxidation Process (AOPs) Advanced oxidation process (AOP) is an oxidation process which affects water treatment by generating a sufficient quantity of hydroxyl radicals.(Goi, 2005) Hydroxyl radicals (†¢ OH), are non-selective reactive species, helps to oxidize pollutants into mineral end-products, yielding CO2 and inorganic ions.This process can treat those organic pollutants with high chemical stability and low biodegradability which cannot be treated by conventional techniques. Basically, refractory compounds cannot be removed efficiently by conventional biological processes, but AOPs will do and help to improve the overall compound removal efficiency in water treatment. Refers to Figure3.1 in appendix 2, in biological systems, AOPs are used as pre- and post-treatment. The pre-treatment improve wastewater biological treatability by common microorganism whereas post-treatment is targeted on the contaminants removal which not completely done during the biological treatment. (Cesaro, et al., 2013) Organic contaminants such as halogenated hydrocarbons (trichloroethane, trichloroethylene), pentachlorophenol (PCP), detergents, pesticides, etc can be destroying by this process easily. Besides, the inorganic contaminants (cyanide, nitrite, and sulfide) can be oxidized by this process. Non-photochemical and photochemical methods are used to generating the OH radicals. These two methods are as shown as table below: Fenton system In Fenton system, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) acts as an oxidation agent. When hydrogen peroxide presents in excess, Fe (II) oxidizes to Fe (III) within few seconds or minutes and hydroxyl radicals will be generated. The reactions are as shown as below: Fe2+ + H2O2 → Fe3+ + OH– +.OH The catalyst used in this process is iron salts which generate ferric ion, Fe2+as the Fenton’s reagent. Besides, ozone (UV-light) and transition metal salts are used.Mostly, ironsalts are used as transition metal salts. (Munter, 2001)Under the UV-radiation, the felton’s reagent undergoes oxidation processes that utilize activation of H2O2, has high efficiency to treat the hazardous organic pollutants that present in water. (Albert, 2010) Fenton reagent uses in wastewater treatment to convert the contaminants to harmless compound such as carbon dioxide and inorganic salts. This Fenton’s oxidation is the most efficient method in removing effluent toxidity and color compare to coagulation-flocculation process. It helps to decrease the rate of chemical oxygen demand (COD), aromatic compounds, and total polyphenols in the wastewater. However, Fenton process also can be combined with coagulation to reduce flocs settling time, amount of COD, and enhanced color removal. Photo-Fenton-type oxidation is a process when Fe3+ ions added to H2O2/UV process, resulted Fe (OH)2+ complex in pH3 condition. Fe3+ + H2O →Fe (OH)2+ + H+ Fe (OH)2+ ↔ Fe3+ + OH When Fe (OH)2+ will further decompose into .OH and Fe2+ ions with the presence of UV light. Fe(OH)2+hv→ Fe2+ + .OH This type of reaction very relies on UV irradiation to start up the .OH generation. Besides, this UV irradiation can mineralize organic pollutants completely. Efficiency of Fenton/Fenton-like reagents with UV irradiation can be increased by efficient use of light quanta and photo-reduction of ferric ion.(Munter, 2001) Photocatalytic oxidation Photocatalytic oxidation is an alternative AOP method which introduced high energy (photons of ultraviolet light,UV) into the treatment system. Besides that, it is a potentially green chemistry drinking water treatment process. Throughout the whole process, no reagents are added and only relatively harmless catalyst TiO2 and sunlight (source of UV) is needed. Solid titanium dioxide, TiO2 is used as the photocatalyst leading to chain reaction for the production of HO. free radicals. (E.Manathan, 2009) When the surface of TiO2 is irradiated with ultraviolet radiation, â€Å"holes† (h) are generated at sites where excited electrons (e) are produced: TiO2 +hv → TiO2 (h + e) The surface holes may take electrons from dissolved hydroxyl ion to produce reactive hydroxyl radicals on the TiO2 surface: TiO2 (h) + OH → OH. Refers to theFigure 3.2 in appendix 2, solar disinfection (SODIS) and solar photocatalytic disinfection (SPCDIS) are appropriate technologies for water disinfection of Cryptosporidium oocysts at household level. Cryptosporidium species are protozoan parasites that infect humans and causes diarrheal disease by the food-borne or waterborne routes. Cryptosporidium is capable to survive in the environment for long periods and even treated water is not guarantee to be safe from these infective parasites. Therefore, SODIS and SPCDIS are introduced to deactivate these microorganisms to reduce the risk of infection. SODIS and SPCDIS are both using the same method to reduce the oocyst viability. Both of them involve storing contaminated drinking water in transparent containers that are placed in direct sunlight before consumption.The disinfection effect of sunlight only occurs at temperatures exceeding 45 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™. Therefore during cloudy conditions, this process may take a longer time to ensure the safety of the drinking water. Photocatalytic disinfection, SPCDIS uses the non-toxic photocatalyst, TiO2 to enhance and accelerate the inactivation rate of the parasites. For SPCDIS, the photocatalyst particles would have to be removed after solar exposure and before consumption. Due to this additional step, the probability of compliance within communities in developing countries is low and lead to the inefficiency of the treatment. In order to overcome this problem, this photocatalyst,TiO2 has been isolated onto some form of coated flexible insert, which would reside permanently within the SODIS reactor. Due to the effectiveness of the cheap, flexible insert coated with the non-toxic photocatalyst TiO2, the photocatalytic oxidation is recommended since it enhances the diminution of the oocyst viability by as much as 50%. 4.Conclusions The three technologies in treating contaminated drinking water used different methods to purify water. Each of them has advantages and disadvantages. They have faced respective challenges in terms of added research and development. Some of the common challenges are techniques for effective removal of emerging contaminants, synthetic chemicals and pesticides, as well as problems in dealing with spills of chemicals in navigable rivers and lastly the development of sustainable treatment. The challenge involving technological development is the needs of economic, appropriate, relevant and sustainable developing technology. (Ray Jain, 2011) In fact, three of the technologies can be combined to bring the greatest efficiency in water treatment process. For biological technology, the slow sand filtrationand perchlorate processes are discussed. The biological treatment is environmental friendly but the limitation of the processes are low effectiveness when the turbidity of water source is hi gh. For physicochemical technique, the method discussed is coagulation, one of the challenges it meets is large amount of energy consumption; whereas its future prospect could be get use of solar energy which is environment friendly. For AOPs, fentonand photocatalytic process are discussed. Both of the processes still need a further research about the fundamental concepts and reaction mechanism. It is because there are still much remain to be done in terms of maximizing its efficiency, by enhancing the performance-related properties of oxide materials. 5.References /abstract 1 /intro 2,3 *4+WHO *5+natural regulations *biological /physico 6,7,8 carson /aops9,10,11,12 /13,14,15,16,17,18 (6) /conclu19 1

Gunboat Diplomacy :: Political Science

Theodore Roosevelt’s was a President who believed that the United States should be a strong country by military strength. He believed that that we had to a power in the world and a force in the world. Roosevelt wanted a two ocean navy. He wanted a navy that could come and go to the Pacific or the Atlantic Ocean. With the idea of wanting power in the both oceans he began plans for the construction of the Panama Canal. This is where the essence of the Gunboat Diplomacy comes in. Gunboat Diplomacy involves intimidation by threat or use of military force. He ended up taking Panama and then leaving the Congress to debate the situation out and while debating was building the canal. The invasion of Panama to depose Manuel Noriega was the root of Gunboat Diplomacy. Before the Panama Canal was constructed, the country of Panama was a province of Columbia. The Federal Government of the United States used the Monroe Doctrine to construct an imperial diplomacy, which initially staked out a sphere-of-influence that warned Old World powers not to attempt any further colonial adventures in the New World: the New World was to be dominated by the United States. The drive to build the canal as a short-cut between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans came about largely from the interests of the United States Navy, which recognized that the strategic control of the continent would devolve on anyone who had control of a canal at the narrowest point in the land: and there was the geo-political aspect of control of the Pacific Ocean. The British Navy had already proven the necessity of controlling the ocean as a supply line for colonial expansion. The biggest obstacle to building the Panama Canal was the issue of who would control it. The next biggest obstacle was the fact that the area was covered with jungle, which was a breeding ground for diseases Western medicine had never encountered. When President Roosevelt got behind the Navy to push its interests, influenced by the British Naval tradition, and intending to launch an American Naval tradition to rival the British in colonial expansion, he immediately embraced the plan to build a canal through the Isthmus of Panama. The only problem was that it belonged to another country. The Isthmus of Panama was a backwater, an inconsequential country province with no pretensions of independence. The entire project for independence was a proto-type for the kind of covert CIA operations Americans would be famous for in the Third World later in the century.

Essay --

It is difficult to ascertain the general view of an entire population towards another group of people. The opinion the British had for the American colonies was already negative as the colonists were generally viewed as second class citizens. The relationship declined after the Seven Years War. It was costly for Britain and they were forced to raise taxes in the colonies so as to financially recover. Many Americans were unwilling to pay and rebelled against the crown for it. King George III and majority of Britain viewed the Americans as ungrateful for their refusal and began to use force through their taxation. This would eventually lead to rebellious ideas forming in the colonies, but these ideas were treated as only belonging to a very small minority. Once the supporters for a revolution increased, it was falsely assumed that these â€Å"Yankees† were using bullying tactics to silence opposition. Another issue was that the damage from the war made it apparent to the British that a militia was not enough to protect their colonies from future enemies, so they had developed a large army to remain in America to protect their interests. However, maintaining an army can be costly, which is another reason taxes were so high for the colonists that most were unable to pay them. Their complaints were mostly ignored and taxes were collected through force. It was becoming apparent to colonists that they were nothing, but an economic resource to Great Britain, which would eventually lead to a revolution. This mentality that Americans are inferior to the British did not just sprout out of thin air. Although the colonies had become almost self-governing, many in Britain assumed this superiority complex due to the complete control they had over ... ...o this for the colonists. Instead, Americans were only able to exercise as much power as was granted to them by Parliament. There was no suggestion of colonial troops being developed to defend America. No leaders in Britain seemed to consider simply asking the colonists for financial aid, instead of just voting in taxes to forcefully place on them. A colonial government would only work with Britain if they could see a profit and there seemed to be no faith in colonial soldiers because they would operate under rules different to the British army. In fact, these prejudices were based on British interpretations of the early part of the Seven Year’s War. Failure to cooperate between British commanders and the colonial governments was common and sometimes hostile. The contributions that the colonists provided were mostly ignored, such as their provision of many troops.

Moses, David and Elijah Essay examples -- Religion, BIble, Prophets, G

Moses, David, and Elijah were all important biblical figures during the Old Testament times. They all had unique and faithful relationships with God. Moses relationship with God was a special one. To be specific, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. (Deut. 33:9-11) Though with David, he loved the Lord with all his heart. Furthermore, David’s dependence on God was everlasting as well as his praise and worship to God. (2 Sam. 22) And with Elijah, his relationship with God was his passion to do God’s will. Beside their different relationship with God, they all shared similar missions in the name of the Lord. First of all, they all were prophets chosen by the Lord God Almighty. As well as being chosen by God, the Lord appointed them to lead and guide the Nation of Israel. Most importantly, God used them all to fulfill His promise to the Israelites. For example, God would often use Moses and the other prophets to demonstrate signs of His power and to bring forth His judgment against Israel and her enemies. In fact, God provided them similar missions for His kingdom. Moses was the first Hebrew prophet to lead the children of Israel. Being humble and doubtful of his ability to lead, God still chose Moses to lead the Children of Israel of bondage. (Ex 3) Though Moses would often doubt God’s commandments, the Lord would always reassured Moses to go and carry out His commands. (Ex 6:1-12) With David and Elijah coming years after Moses, their missions for God are equally compared to Moses. Like Moses, God chose David to lead the Nation of Israel (2 Sam. 7:2-16). God told Moses to build the Tabernacle. (Ex 25:1-9) Years later, God would not allow David to build him a Temple, but He promised Davi... ...ct that Elijah demonstrated the Lord’s power and the Lord’s sovereignty at Mount Carmel. (1 Ki 18:16-42) So why did Elijah run away? He fled out of fear. Elijah doubted the God would protect him. He focused on Jezebel’s evil instead God’s power. (1 Ki 19) Above all, when God ask Elijah on top of Mount Herob, â€Å"What are you doing here?† Elijah said that he was zealous and he faulted the Israelite for rejecting the Lord’s covenant. Despite Elijah actions, he still did not confess. (1 Ki 19:9-14) As a person can see, God trusted Moses, David, and Elijah to follow his commands and to do His will. Above all, they were all faithful when the Lord called upon them to do His will. However, at pivotal periods in their lives, they all forgot their purpose of what God had prepared them to do. Importantly, they forgot to trust God and remain faithful in all situations.

Cyber Security Essay

President Obama has declared that the â€Å"cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation†¦ America’s economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on cyber security.† So why is it that so many people still don’t know some of the basic ways that produce cyber threats? The purpose of this paper is to name some of the more basic cyber threats. Even though it is just the beginning to the hazards you can obtain, they are highly effective because of the number of people that still allow these kinds of breaches. First and foremost are viruses. According to cknow.com, â€Å"There were over 50,000 computer viruses in 2000 and that number was then and still is growing rapidly. Sophos, in a print ad in June 2005 claims â€Å"over 103,000 viruses.† And, Symantec, in April 2008 is reported to have claimed the number is over one million.† With so many different viruses out there, how do you know what to look for and how to protect your cyber world from viruses? Some of the most common viruses that effect people are Trojans and Net Bots. PCmag.com defines a Trojan as â€Å"A program that appears legitimate, but performs some illicit activity when it is run. It may be used to locate password information or make the system more vulnerable to future entry or simply destroy programs or data on the hard disk. A Trojan is similar to a virus, except that it does not replicate itself. It stays in the computer doing its damage or allowing somebody from a remote site to take control of the computer. Trojans often sneak in attached to a free game or other utility.† To add to their definition, it can also be affixed to an email attachment or the email itself. So now that you know what it is you’re probably thinking so what can I do to protect myself from obtaining this virus? The best thing to do would be to educate yourself about this threat. Know what they look like and common websites they reside. The next thing that to do is to be sure to always have an up to date WELL KNOWN antivirus such as Sophos, McAfee, or Norton. The well known part is very important because some of the smaller antivirus companies are part of the reason there are so many Trojans out there. Once you get some antivirus software you need to be sure to keep it up to date. Also, don’t open emails from senders that you don’t recognize. Several of the Trojans out there that get circulated by email come from people opening emails from unknown senders. The next one is botnets. http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com says â€Å"A botnet (also known as a zombie army) is a number of Internet computers that, although their owners are unaware of it, have been set up to forward transmissions (including spam or viruses) to other computers on the Internet. Any such computer is referred to as a zombie – in effect, a computer â€Å"robot† or â€Å"bot† that serves the wishes of some master spam or virus originator. Most computers compromised in this way are home-based. According to a report from Russian-based Ka spersky Labs, botnets — not spam, viruses, or worms — currently pose the biggest threat to the Internet.† Trojans are the major way that you can get one of these viruses. So it is important that you again get antivirus software, keep it up to date, and don’t open emails from unknown senders. However, with this virus you can get it just from going to a questionable web site. So how do you know what ones are good and what ones are questionable? Well that you can for the most part guess using these deciding factors: Are there several java applications on the web page? Is there a lot of download able content? Are there pop up advertisements that come up on the page? Then you probably should do your best to stay away from the page. In case you are unsure, some antivirus software are now including a trusted and untrusted feature so when you search a site it will let you know if the page is safe or proceed at your own risk. If your antivirus does not have such a feature then there are some applications out there that will do the same thing just to name one would be WOT or Web of Trust. The next issue is a little more targeted to the business world. It deals more with their emails and correspondence but can also be directed to an average internet user. It is phishing. Webroot.com expounds â€Å"Email Phishing scams are carried out online by tech-savvy con artists and identity theft criminals. They use spam, fake websites constructed to look identical to a real sites, email and instant messages to trick you into divulging sensitive information, like bank account passwords and credit card numbers. Once you take the phisher’s bait, they can use the information to create fake accounts in your name, ruin your credit, and steal your money or even your identity.† This is a serious issue that takes some skill to recognize to evade taking the phisher’s bait. First and foremost is to educate yourself on phishing attacks or scams. Know what it looks like. There are many resources that you have available to you on the internet to learn how to spot a phishing attack and a legitimist email. The Department of Defense offer s a great course on how to spot a phishing email at http://iase.disa.mil/eta/phishing/Phishing/launchPage.htm. A more specific attack is whaling. Blogs.iss.net explains â€Å"The adoption of the term ‘Whaling’ within phishing is fairly new and may have been derived from the use of ‘Whales’ within gambling to refer to big-time gamblers and high rollers, but most likely come from the colloquialism for â€Å"big fish†. Regardless, Whaling describes the most focused type of phishing currently encountered by businesses or government – targeted attacks against groups of high-level executives within a single organization, or executive positions common to multiple organizations (e.g. the CTO or CFO). In a whaling attack, the phisher focuses upon a very small group of senior personnel within an organization and tries to steal their credentials – preferably through the installation of malware that provides back-door functionality and key logging. By focusing upon this small group, the phisher can invest more time in the attack and finely tune his message to achieve the highest likelihood of success. Note that these messages need not be limited to email. Some scams have relied upon regular postage systems to deliver infected media – for example, a CD supposedly containing evaluation software from a known supplier to the CIO, but containing a hidden malware installer.† So if you’re not a high level employee, you’re probably wondering how this is important to you. How phishers go about their scam is by obtaining little bits of what some would consider being harmless information from other employees about level executives and projects going on in the company. They start at the bottom to get more information at the top. So in all actuality it very much concerns everyone in the company. This leads me in to my last but important area of cyber security: insider threat. Frankly, that is you. Every employee is potentially an insider threat. So let me define it a little better with some help from searchsecurity.techtarget.com. â€Å"An insider threat is a malicious hacker (also called a cracker or a black hat) who is an employee or officer of a business, institution, or agency. The term can also apply to an outside person who poses as an employee or officer by obtaining false credentials. The cracker obtains access to the computer systems or networks of the enterprise, and then conducts activities intended to cause harm to the enterprise. Insider threats are often disgruntled employees or ex-employees who believe that the business, institution, or agency has â€Å"done them wrong† and feel justified in gaining revenge. The malicious activity usually occurs in four steps or phases. First, the cracker gains entry to the system or network. Secondly, the cracker investigates the nature of the system or network in order to learn where the vulnerable points are and where the most damage can be caused with the least effort. Thirdly, the cracker sets up a workstation from which the nefarious activity can be conducted. Finally, the actual destructive activity takes place. The damage caused by an insider threat can take many forms, including the introduction of viruses, worms, or Trojan horses; the theft of information or corporate secrets; the theft of money; the corruption or deletion of data; the altering of data to produce inconvenience or false criminal evidence; and the theft of the identities of specific individua ls in the enterprise. Protection against the insider threat involves measures similar to those recommended for Internet users, such as the use of multiple spyware scanning programs, anti-virus programs, firewalls, and a rigorous data backup and archiving routine.† It could also be an employee giving away what you would consider to be harmless information like an email address, a project you are working on at work, how many people you work with, or even where you work and the location of the building. Even with some of the best antivirus software, a stellar knowledge of phishing, and an elite cyber security system, an insider threat can penetrate that because they most the time have the credentials to log it to the system and pull resources ligitimently so it would go unnoticed. So how can you help protect you network or your company’s network from an insider threat? Simply, don’t be one. Always be sure to only give information that the other person is on the same level to receive. Secondly is to educate yourself on insider threat prevention. There is a plethora of resources to do just that. A helpful one is http://www.ussecurityawareness.org/highres/insider-threat.html. Also watch for signs of curious activity with co workers. Report any evidence or suspicions to your supervisor. So in conclusion, prevention starts with you. Buy up to date antivirus software. avoid risky sites, educate yourself on what a phishing attack looks like, know what a legitimate email is, don’t be an insider threat and educate yourself about things to look for from other co workers. Cyber security is a serious threat and is a major issue that needs to be taken seriously. It is not just something for the IT department to worry about but starts with every one making sure to take the appropriate security measures to make the cyber world more secure.