Gender Roles in the United States Essay Example for Free

Gender Roles in the United States Essay 1. Briefly discuss the history of ethnic relations in the United States. The ethnic history of the United States was long rooted during the colonial period. The first settlements in the United States were the Spanish outposts in the towns of Florida and California and a French outpost in Louisiana. English colonizers declared the United States’ independence in 1776 due to their yearning for freedom from their own country (Doane). â€Å"The class, racial, ethnic, and gender relationships of the contemporary nation have their roots in the colonial period† (Doane). Because of the failure to force Native American settlers to work on the fields, the British settlers resorted in importing African slaves to work on cotton plantations located at the South, while the Whites chose to reside on the North to further hone their emerging industries (Doane). The ethnic relations of the United States during the early years are characterized by the major issue of racism and discrimination based on skin color. During the colonial times, the poor whites and the indentured servants served as bridges for the slaves and the landlords. The poor whites tried to identify themselves with the rich landowning whites and propagated the idea of white racial identity rather than the class identity (Doane). This action in turn reinforced the racial discrimination in the country. The status, skin color and position in the labor market characterized the relationships among racial and ethnic groups. Some of the Blacks migrated northward to work on industrial jobs but disparity continued as they were paid less than the whites on comparable jobs. The Blacks also received less social benefits than the Whites reinforcing discrimination (Doane). 2. Describe the process of gender role socialization. Give examples of how females and males are trained to fulfill the expectations of their gender roles. There is a tendency for the society to mandate societal rules and determine what is right and acceptable to the people. This process is referred to as gender role socialization, wherein social institutions control the society’s expectations on â€Å"dress code, language, personality, leisure activities and aspirations for each sex† (Padavic and Reskin 53). Through this process, people learn their gender identity. The society associates well established values, attitudes, behavior, choices and performance that are appropriate for gender categories such as men and women. People are able to absorb the specific roles that the society is trying to inculcate to the members of a particular sex (Senior 25). Learning our gender roles is important in the aspect of socialization and our interaction with other people. Childhood experiences of socialization prepare the people in their gender and social roles in such a way that adult members of the society are expecting them to behave (Senior 25). Even as children, people have been trained to behave and act according to their biological sexual orientation. And as such, parents reinforce gender role socialization on their child-rearing methods. They give toy guns and robots to their male children and dolls and kitchen utensils to their female children. People may be unconsciously aware but through this method, social roles are being inculcated within the consciousness of children in the society as they become adults. Toy guns for male children depict that males should be aggressive and courageous. Boys are also more exposed to high-tech toys like PSP and Gameboy reflecting their advantage in the technological field of industry. Female children or girls, on the other hand, are encouraged to play with dolls and kitchen utensils to prepare them to their future social roles which are in charged of the household, homemaker and as domestic provider. It also encouraged the attitudes of women to become caring and nurturing. 3. Discuss the evidence, which points to either gender roles being biological or cultural in origin. Base on this evidence, what conclusions can be drawn about the origins of gender roles. Discuss some of the most important sources of gender inequalities in our society. How can these inequalities be alleviated? One of the speculated causes of the significant difference in the attitudes and social characteristics between men and women is their biological structure. It was said that genes and other biological components play a big role in influencing these social characteristics. There are biological explanations provided in an attempt to examine aggressiveness in males. It was already known that the inherent presence of Y gene in the 23rd chromosome makes males susceptible to physical disarray. However, there is no strong evidence explaining the role of genetics in the aggressiveness of individuals, particularly the males. Several indicators of violence have been found to be more evident in males than in females (Englander 122). Research further reveals the role of androgens in the prevalence of violence. Androgens are male sex hormones that are abundant in males. These hormones were indirectly linked to criminal violence and also to traditional behavior. Studies show that women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, a medical condition in which androgens are secreted in the uterus of females, have an inclination to male tastes and preferences. Although there is no concrete evidence of the relationship between androgens and violence, it was suspected to be the reason behind men’s more aggressive behavior (Englander 123). Another biological factor that is thought to be responsible behind the violent attitude of men is the enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAO). Behavioral patterns are related to the level of MOA presence in the blood. Men are found to have lower levels of MAO than women. Lower MAO levels are associated with aggressiveness and the sudden burst of anger and frustrations, especially impulsiveness (Englander 123). Another essential factor that was believed to be responsible for the development of aggression in men and the nurturing attitude of women is the social construction or the difference in how each was reared and molded by culture and society. A person’s social environment is accountable for the values inculcated in his or her personality. His or her socially-constructed identity is viewed to be inherent with his biological sex. Difference in gender has a widespread effect in the society, which was supported by documented knowledge in socio-biology and evolutionary psychology. This collection of knowledge states that men and women are irrevocably different in bodily configurations (Taylor Spencer 41). Such disparities in gender can be alleviated through programs that will breach the inequality in gender such as having equal opportunity on the workplace. We could also start hastening changes through campaign programs that will call for equality between genders. Works Cited Doane, Molly. 2007. â€Å"Culture of United States of America†. Advameg, Inc. 11 November 2008 http://www. everyculture. com/To-Z/United-States-of-America. html. Englander, Elizabeth Kandel. Understanding Violence. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. , 2007. Padavic, Irene and Barabara F. Reskin. Women and Men at Work, 2nd edition. Thousand Oaks, California: Pine Forge Press, 2002. Senior, Olive. Working Miracles. London: James Currey Ltd. , 1991. Taylor, Gary and Steve Spencer. Social Identities: Multidisciplinary Approaches. New York: Routledge, 2004.

Self-Driving Cars Are Smart Essay Example for Free

Self-Driving Cars Are Smart Essay The self-driving car is a car that allows a passenger to travel safely and quickly to their destination without human driving (Marsico, 8). These vehicles are also known as â€Å"autonomous cars†. If the self-driving cars are available, people are no longer had to worry about their own safety while driving on the road and also they don’t need a driver license. The drivers will have more freedom to do whatever they wish while inside the car including reading, texting, eating, and sleeping. The vehicle also can set up the speech limit that driver doesnt have to worry about when the police going to meet them. The self-driver cars are also can save our life because every year the new report accidents are caused on the road due to the human drive. â€Å"In 2009, the technology company Google began developing a fleet of a self-driving car. These vehicles are just stepping away from being totally autonomous. They already travel along U.S. roadways. Currently, people who ride in Google’s robotic cars are able to take control at any time† (Marsico, 29). Technology has changed the way we live in many ways, some including being able to communicate with people that we know around the world. It also made things a lot easier like homework and learning. As we can see today the car manufacturers continue to experiment with the new technology. The self-driving car is one of the cars that experiment with the car manufactures. The cars first may need a GPS system to get a rough idea of where they are and where they need to go (Marsico 18). They also have a bunch of sensors to constantly scan the area around them looking for any hazards- whether that another car or a bicycle, or even a rogue bird (Barone). For Google self-driving cars these sensors include a camera to see, and radar and lasers to map out the area (Barone). The self-driving car also monitoring 360 degrees around the car which much better than what a distracted driver could do (Stewart). Most important and challenging facet of self-driving cars is the software that makes them run (Barone). This has to take in all the data from the sensors and GPS and even things like traffic and weather conditions and make decisions based on that. It determines how to steer, stop, and go and everything else involved in getting you from point to point. According to the Katie Marsico said, â€Å"In fact, experts have suggested that self-driving automobiles might around 30,000 lives a year in the United State†. As we can see today some of the people are driving and always cause the accident. The car that we drive today is easy and many people can drive them. They become popular and help people to travel place to place, save time and energy. Workers are able to transfer some important things with the help of the car. Using a car is comfortable and easier than using public transportation. Driving a car has also some disadvantages, such as buying and running a car need a lot of money, even more for a good quality one that is not too old. There are a lot of things to pay for insurance to cover the cost of crashes or theft, maintenance, parking charges, license fees charged by the government, and repair. When too many cars try to go the same way, the traffic will go slow them all and may cause the accident. According to Watson said, â€Å"More than thirty –four thousand America lost their lives to automobile accidents each year†. The car accident is caused by human-made by a driver who is drunk, sleeps and distracted (Watson 46). If the self-driving becomes popular we may not see the accident because the car will do everything for us. The computer in the self-driving cars are don’t drink, send texts message or fall asleep. We don’t have to worry about keeping our eye on the road and in addition people can be more productive while traveling (Marsico 10). The car also can use the less gasoline because â€Å"fuel contributes to pollution this would benefit the environment too† (Marsico 38). The self-driving cars have also some disadvantages because when they are testing the self-driving car had run the red lights or been in a minor collision (Davies Para 1). I worry about a self-driving car made of the computer. If computer software got virus how can we do? For those who do not know how to use the computer how will they fix their car? It will cost a lot of money to let the shop fix. The amount of software and technology that’s required to build self-driving cars is likely to be quite expensive. Consumers may not want to pay such high costs for self-driving cars. According to Katie Marsico said, â€Å"The technology that makes the self-driving cars works will probably add between $3ooo and $10,000 to car prices† (Page 42). The car also can run on the computer if the hacker can decide that they like your car and can hack the system to unlock the doors to get inside or start the car and drive it away. They can also shut down your vehicle while it is driving you at high speeds and you end up in a fatal crash (Alex Hern Para 3). If the car can drive by them self we may not need the parking lots. Many people might get around with shared vehicles that never have to park (Barone). As we can see today millions of Americans make a living by driving trucks, delivery vans, and taxis. When the technology of self-driving cars takes their job, what will happen to their livelihoods? They depend on their paycheck and if the paycheck is no longer work, the person and his family often cannot afford to pay their living. The families will end up with losing a home and they cannot afford to move into another residence and will end up their life with homeless.

Symptoms Of Sick Building Syndrome Construction Essay

Symptoms Of Sick Building Syndrome Construction Essay SBS stands for Sick Building Syndrome. It covers a mixture of symptoms thought to be generated when a student at school spends time in a particular building. The symptoms range from itchy eyes, skin rashes, and nasal allergy symptoms, to more complicated symptoms such as fatigue, pains, and sensitivity to odours. On the other hand, it may be lead to more serious diseases like cancer and pneumonia. SBS was first identified in the 1970s, and its identification at this time because of the increasing number of electronic equipment and other factors. The term SBS is used when a large number of people occupying a particular building develop symptoms associated with their presence in that building. Later on, the symptoms disappear. In most cases sick building syndrome occurs in office buildings, schools and apartment buildings.   SBS is suspected when the following circumstances are present: Symptoms are temporary and associated with time spent in a particular building or place. Symptoms disappear when the individual is not in the building. Symptoms reappear seasonally (heating, cooling). Symptoms and their severity are different from person to person.   The signs and symptoms of a diagnosable illness are easy to identify and can be directed to specific airborne building contaminants. On the other hand, the cause(s) of symptoms in cases of SBS are often difficult to pin down and in many cases different factors may lead to the situation. When a sick building is identified an investigation should be done. Once the causes are identified, corrective measures must be taken to ensure that any adverse reaction exhibited and cause(s) are isolated to make the area safe for the students and school personnel. The prevalence of sick building syndrome is a problem, but statistics are limited. A World Health Organization (WHO) report from 1984 suggested that up to 30% of new and renovated buildings worldwide may generate excessive complaints related to indoor air quality (1). This high rate may be associated with modern mass produced construction materials that tend to off load gas irritating volatile organic chemicals (VOCs). In a U.S. report on office workers questioned at random, 24% reported air quality problems in their work place, and 20% believed this harmed their ability to do their job effectively (2) (http://www.houseofplants.co.uk). Symptoms of SBS People suffering from SBS present different symptoms, like other conditions such as: Headaches Eye infections and irritations Visual impairment tremors Damage to the central nervous system Running noses and throat irritations Dry coughs Dry, itchy skin and rashes Dizziness and nausea Difficulty in concentrating Fatigue and tiredness Breathing difficulties Pneumonia and chest infections Causes of SBS The mechanism by which a building or anything within the building causes employees to become sick is unknown. Problem areas can be easily identified and curative action taken after an investigation. Causes are listed below: Building design, maintenance Failure of ventilation system Interior design factors Levels of specific pollutants, humidity and temperature Multiple chemicals acting in combination to cause sickness Age of building Type of materials used in building SBS is associated with the presence of certain mechanisms and pollutants. Most of the symptoms appear because of known toxic effects of high levels of certain chemicals. Some symptoms are mainly allergic irritations which could result from various allergens in a building. Other symptoms are suggestive of those really experienced by sufferers of chemical sensitivity and many of the indoor pollutants. Occurs in building with ventilation problems and may occur along with upper respiratory tract infection, Or with direct contact with chemicals, dust and gases. Itchiness, soreness, redness, eye lashes drop and excessive tear production. Headache Tension, prolonged exposure to different irritant substances and long working hours. Pain across the forehead, begins in the back of the head and upper neck as a band-like tightness or pressure and may end with vomiting. Fever Caused by breathing water droplets from humidifiers or from an air filter ventilation system. Or exposure to chemicals that irritate the lungs and cause infection in the lung. Productive cough, aching limbs, headache, tiredness, lethargy and abdominal pain. Skin problems Occurs in exposed areas because of the direct exposure to chemical and different irritant substances like painting materials and products. Rashes, batches, itchy, dry skin and may end with chronic skin inflammation. Stress Physical changes: lack of sleep and new environment. Headaches, digestive disorders, fatigue and lethargy, sleeping disorders, skin disorders and isolation from community. Lung problem Exposure to dust, ventilation problems and chemicals. Cough, breathlessness, may end with lung cancer. Throat Problems Dry mucous membranes, ventilation problems and chemicals. Hoarseness, dry throat pain, recurrent throat infections and chronic Asthma. School Environment Students spend most of their day in the school; its their second house. From that aspect, the school environment should be physically and emotionally safe, well disciplined, and conducive to learning. Safety is an important issue, which may affect the students physically and psychologically from this aspect, and there are important points that should be considered: Structure of the school: School building structures consist of columns, structural walls, beams, floors, and roof structures, which provide their stability. School buildings develop invisible cracks in concrete columns, structural walls, beams and floors. At the beginning, they are not an important issue. With time, the school building moves, creating stresses at joints in materials which ends in small cracks appearing. However, this is the normal process of a structure settling in its foundation. But, with the presence of other factors it makes the issue more serious. The idea is to be able to differentiate. In the event of a major structural problem in a school building, it should be evaluated by a structural engineer, and corrective measures should be made accordingly. Special attention should be made to these aspects: Bending in columns, beams, and roof structure Rotting in wood structural components and floor structure Rusting of metal structural components especially in high humidity weather ROOFING The roof protects the school building from rain, sun, wind, and keeps water from getting into the school building. The waterproofing system should be kept in a proper way. To prevent problems from happening, the roof should be kept in good shape and annually maintained. BUILDING EXTERIOR Using different building materials in school buildings is common nowadays; for example, using fashion blocks in the walls and having exteriors as maintenance free as possible to lower costs. But new school buildings may feature concrete blocks or brick walls even though fashion blocks in some walls are kept. The school buildings exteriors will still need annual maintenance plans to protect the materials. The plan will consider the type and quality of materials used and their current condition. Some school buildings are old, and the exterior may not be quite suitable for a maintenance free plan. The biggest threats to school buildings exteriors are water, sun, wind, and being in areas near the coast. BUILDING INTERIOR The design of the inside of a building is an important issue. Paint maintenance should be paid special attention, because it plays a major roll in preventing the deterioration of the building, and usually cracks are invisible when they start to appear. Also, the paint should be good quality to avoid any irritation reaction. GROUNDS The area around the school is made of concrete, but a pathway may be concrete, brick, stone, asphalt, or even wood. Such materials need good maintenance and must be watched for conditions that may cause major hazards such as slips and falls. Any major hazards should be eliminated through repair, ramping or clearing. Annual checkups and repairs must be done if the condition of the material deteriorates. Classrooms: Healthy classrooms are ones that have adequate ventilation, lighting, an adequate number of students per class, and proper classroom temperature. All previous points which were discussed should be applied properly. Ventilation Proper Ventilation is important to the indoor air quality. Air-conditioning, the type of material used and maintenance also affect indoor air quality in order to optimise performance and prevent students becoming sick. Many factors may affect indoor air quality and contribute to many health problems, the comfort, and the performance of students. Temperature There are many causes of sick building syndrome like uncontrolled temperature (high or low). If there is a wide variation in temperature, it will affect other factors such as the increasing possibility of exposure to fever and throat infections. Therefore, maintaining adequate temperature inside classrooms will allow the students to perform butter. One must make sure that dangerous or offensive fumes are prevented from escaping into the classroom through the heating or cooling system. Humidity Humidity can lead to different problems. It could vary from a simple one to a complicated one. For example, bacteria, fungi, and parasites live in places where humidity is above the normal levels, and they enter the body mainly through the respiratory system, resulting in some kind of respiratory infection. In classrooms, the range of controlled humidity is 40% to 70% in order to increase students effectiveness. The range of relative humidity in warm classrooms should be less than 40%. Therefore, there should be annual checking of controls on a regular basis, and also, checking should cover the cleanliness of equipment for humidifying. Adequate lighting Ensure that there is adequate lighting in the classrooms and whole building to avoid a lot of problems. Surveys by the National Institute of Ophthalmology showed that around 38.8 percent of students at 260 schools in Ho Chi Minh City have refraction problems, short-sightedness, far-sightedness, and astigmatism. The ratio in the northern Hai Phong City was 60 percent, while in Hanoi, Da Nang and the central Ha Tinh Province, it ranged from 25 percent to above 30 percent. Doctors attributed the high incidence of weak eyesight to substandard classrooms in terms of size, area and light, as well excessive time spent working with computers Summary To sum up, there are different factors that could affect the school environment, and some of them were discussed above. Some problems can be avoided by early detections and by finding proper solutions to avoid any health problems that arise. If a problem is detected earlier it can be solved during the design step or maybe later in order to maintain a safe school environment. SBS affects productivity, increases the rate of absenteeism, poor concentration and fatigue. It affects the well-being of the students and all school personnel and their performance. All the measures are directed to avoid and reduce the risk factors that affect student health. Task 2 BREEAM BREEAM is a method used internationally to assess a buildings surrounding area. It can be applied to asses both new and old buildings. There are several types of environmental assessment systems in use such as BREEAM, ESRSA, and CEEQUAL. Because it is used in two significant areas of the globe, BRE Global introduced two new geographical schemes that are use by BREEEAM International assessors which are BREEAM Europe and BREEAM Gulf. In addition to these two schemes, the BREEAM In Use and BREEAM Communities schemes are also available for use on international buildings and developments. Since BREEAM is widely used in Europe and as it used in the gulf, the BREEAM Gulf scheme can be used to assess the environmental impacts of any building located in the Gulf region. This will be explained later on in this paper. BREEAM provides designers, planner and others with key factors: It ensures the best environmental practice is included in a building It finds solutions that help to minimise the environmental impact It ensures the use of high standards and regulations It reduces the costs and improves working and living environments It reduces the time needed to finish the work Steps of BREEAM assessment There are two steps in BREEAM which can be used to evaluate the environmental effect secondary to building development: 1. Design Stage (DS) 2. Post-Construction Stage (PCS) Design Stage This step should be done before construction works start. Related information should be available to enable the BREEAM assessor to demonstrate, in a healthy manner, the buildings performance against the reporting and evidential requirements of the technical guidance. The official assessment of DS will be carried out at the detailed design stages. Post-Construction Stage This step starts after construction work has finished. In this step, an evaluation and the BREMM rating are used before building occupation. The post-construction stage is divided into two approaches: 1. A post-construction review of a design-stage assessment 2. A post-construction assessment A post-construction appraisal aims to detect the BREEAM rating achieved at the design stage in accordance with the reporting and evidential requirements of the technical guidance. Where a formal DS assessment has not been carried out and a BREEAM assessment and rating is required, a full PCS assessment can be conducted. BREEAM Gulf BREEAM Gulf has been developed and established in collaboration with a variety of large organisations based in Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The purpose of the system is to bring all the new and used building types in the area into use. The available BREEAM system can be used to evaluate, demonstrate and improve the building environment. The system has been developed in the Gulf region to resemble UK BREEAM system categories; it provides special assessment points in relation to environmental impacts associated with construction in the Gulf region. The BREEAM Gulf system The BREEAM system for the Gulf assessment point areas is as below: Materials Waste Water Management Health and Wellbeing Land Use and Ecology Energy Transport Pollution During the assessment phase within each point from the above table, numbers of credits must be assessed to appraise the performance achieved by the development. This set of points is modified to fit the Gulf regions conditions and climate. They are applied to each point to enable the weighted scores to be added together to produce a single overall score for the building. Then, the score is translated into a 1-5 star rating and the highest level of environmental performance will score 5 stars. Unlike BREEAM in the UK which generally looks at building uses separately, a BREEAM assessment in the Gulf evaluates the performance of a whole building taking into account the different uses that are present (e.g. offices, retail, residential etc.). This approach reflects the construction market in the  region where mixed use buildings are the norm. The assessment, therefore, produces a single score for each assessed building based on an area weighted calculation. Differences with BREEAM in the UK The purpose of BREEAM Gulf is to evaluate the construction industry in the region to achieve and maintain higher levels of sustainability. It also aims to identify local contexts and issues, and with this consideration, all of the codes and standards which should be maintained are described in the guidance.   Figure3: factors affecting indoor environment www.yoshino-gypsum.com//sickhouse01.htm Appendixes Case study 1 The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has conducted a study about IAQ (Indoor Air Quality). William Blackstone Elementary School was one of three schools selected to pilot EPA Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools (IAQ TfS) Kit and Program in 1999. The school is located in Bostons South End and is one of 120 schools in the Boston Public School System. The school was built in 1975, using the typical design of that time; brick walls, mostly flat roofs, Plexiglas windows, and visible duct work. It has a history of IAQ and health-related problems, specifically high rates of asthma among students. William Blackstone Elementary School was one of three schools selected to pilot EPA Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools (IAQ TfS) Kit and Program in 1999. The school nurse noticed that the asthma rate was higher than the national average of two cases per classroom. Staff were also aware of serious problems with water intrusion during heavy rain, stained and collapsed ceiling tiles, peeling p aint and stains on the walls, rust on support beams, and water damage to equipment and furniture. Problem recognition Problems identified by the checklists and walkthrough included the following: An above-average number of asthma cases and illnesses typically associated with indoor air quality problems (headaches, nausea, etc.). Water damage, such as mold and mildew, missing, stained, and broken ceiling tiles, fungal growth on ceiling tiles, and damaged ceiling and wall plaster. Thermal discomfort, such as widely fluctuating temperatures, too high or too low humidity levels, and cold drafts. Ventilation problems, such as poor air circulation and lack of exhaust fans in some bathrooms. Cleanliness problems, such as dust accumulation around the supply vents and surrounding ceiling tiles, infrequent dusting and vacuuming, and pest problems. So, according to the findings, the IAQ team was formed and they established a meeting to list the causes of the problems and find solutions. Improvements The IAQ team implemented some actions to improve the indoor air quality at Blackstone Elementary School. The EPAs IAQ TfS Kit gave the team the leverage it needed to persuade the school district to improve the environmental problems in the school. Once the Superintendent was informed of the schools IAQ issues and the teams recommendations, Blackstone Elementary was placed on a high-priority list for roof repairs and other renovations. A number of improvements have been done, including roof repairs. There is a plan for installing new energy-efficient lighting and new ceiling tiles. Additionally, carpets will be replaced with tiles in the classrooms. The school nurse started to assess students health and document any new asthma cases over the next year to establish a link between the indoor environment and childrens health. Summary The surrounding environment plays a role in students performance and affects their health directly. This means that attention must be given at some point during design stage or later to avoid unwanted risky problems that may affect students health. Some problems can be detected easily like eye infections, but others like asthma will be treated but its effects are lifelong. Poor ventilation, lighting, humidity and temperature all can produce health problems; therefore, good ventilation, adequate lighting, and proper temperature should be maintained. High performance building features should be incorporated into the design process, and school building systems should be commissioned to ensure that they are operating according to design. Case study 2 Mold in schools is getting a lot of attention at local, state and federal levels, the Houston Chronicle reported in 2002. Wide variations in temperatures and humidity levels in South Texas make it difficult to maintain internal atmospheric conditions to minimise the formation of mold or mildew. Pharr-San Juan-Alamo School Districts Memorial High School, three years after it was established, faced a toxic mold problem that reached crisis stage. There were complaints from teachers, staff and students that some staff and students were becoming ill, and as a result students left the school. As with many schools, the indoor air quality at the school was poor because of high ventilation, the high number of students per classroom, high intermittent ventilation loads and carryover from showers in gyms and locker rooms, and long periods where the building was vacant. There was an increase in heat, humidity, moisture, bad ventilation and filtration. The building had reached a saturation point. Leaks from the roof and windows contributed to the problem, and mold growth. Humidity inside the building was as high as 90 percent. Problem recognition Instability of the weather (uncontrolled hot, humidity, moisture) Bad ventilation and filtration Leaks from roof and window Mold growth Solution Cut off the source of moisture and mold removed Fresh air from outside drawn to the building to regulate ventilation Equipment fixed to supply dry air to the building via temporary desiccant dryers Carpets exchanged for tiles Improvements outcome After three months the desiccant dehumidification system dried the building The school is kept at 45 percent relative humidity and 75 °F temp The mold growth is inhibited. Reduced absenteeism rate among students Conclusion Healthy environments in school settings empower students to learn more and increase their effectiveness. It also helps school personnel to meet their goals in teaching and other work. From the above case study it can be seen that any problem in the school environment affects students health and learning ability. The problem can be easily detected by studying the causes and solving them. Many problems can be avoided by: Choosing a good design of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning Controlling moisture to prevent mold growth and preventing damage to building materials and systems Maintenance of the roof and windows

Bubonic Plague :: essays research papers

Essay On Bubonic Plague In the early 1330s an outbreak of deadly bubonic plague occurred in the east. Plague mainly affects rodents, but fleas can transmit the disease to people. Once people are infected, they infect others very rapidly. Plague causes fever and a painful swelling of the lymph glands called buboes, which is how it gets its name. The disease also causes spots on the skin that are red at first and then turn black. Since China was one of the busiest of the world's trading nations, it was only a matter of time before the outbreak of plague in China spread to western Asia and Europe. In October of 1347, several Italian merchant ships returned from a trip to the Black Sea, one of the key links in trade with China. When the ships docked in Sicily, many of those on board were already dying of plague. Within days the disease spread to the city and the surrounding countryside. An eyewitness tells what happened: "Realizing what a deadly disaster had come to them, the people quickly drove the Italians from their city. But the disease remained, and soon death was everywhere. Fathers abandoned their sick sons. Lawyers refused to come and make out wills for the dying. Friars and nuns were left to care for the sick, and monasteries and convents were soon deserted, as they were stricken, too. Bodies were left in empty houses, and there was no one to give them a Christian burial." The disease struck and killed people with terrible speed. The Italian writer Boccaccio said its victims often "ate lunch with their friends and dinner with their ancestors in paradise." By the following August, the plague had spread as far north as England, where people called it "The Black Death" because of the black spots it produced on the skin. A terrible killer was loose across Europe, and Medieval medicine had nothing to combat it. In winter the disease seemed to disappear, but only because fleas--which were now helping to carry it from person to person--are dormant then. Each spring, the plague attacked again, killing new victims. After five years 25 million people were dead--one-third of Europe's people. Even when the worst was over, smaller outbreaks continued, not just for years, but for centuries. The survivors lived in constant fear of the plague's return, and the disease did not disappear until the 1600s.

Charles Dickens Great Expectations Essay -- Great Expectations Essays

Charles Dickens' Great Expectations Charles Dickens wrote Great Expectations in 1860-1861 when he was in London. It is set in the mid nineteenth century, in Kent, and London. The basic plot of Great Expectations is: Pip, a young orphan living with his sister and her husband in the marshes of Kent, sits in a cemetery one evening looking at his parents' tombstones. Suddenly, an escaped convict springs up from behind a tombstone, grabs Pip, and orders him to bring him food and a file for his leg irons. Pip obeys, but the fearsome convict is soon captured anyway. The convict protects Pip by claiming to have stolen the items himself. One day his uncle takes him to Miss Havishams house to play. A few years later he is apprenticed to his sisters husband. One-day pip is told that he is to live in London and has great expectations thanks to a secret friend. A couple of years after this the convict comes back to pip and tells him that he is the person that has been supplying all the money to him and that ever since Pip help him he promised himself that he would make Pip a gentleman. Pip is appalled at this but helps the convict to escape back to Australia. Before the convict escapes he is caught is put back into prison, he gets ill and dies. Before he dies he tells Pip that he has a daughter who was put up for adoption when she was a baby. Pip believes this to be Estella (who he used to play with at miss Havishams house and is in love with her). Miss havisham has died and has left her money to the pockets. Pip decides to go abroad with his friend to work. After some have past Pip comes back home where he goes to Miss Havishams old house where he finds Estella. He finds her coldness and hardness has been repl... ...d social status. This idea soon changes when Pip gets to London. He tries to be a gentleman when he reaches London but soon realises that he has a lot to learn and soon he starts to hate his past, the way he was brought up. After time he begins to hate Joe and the way he makes his living, but when Magwitch tells him who gave the order for him to become a gentleman, he starts to think about himself and what he has become. Then he remembers where his roots are, and who his family are. This is when he realises there's two types of gentleman the good type that he wanted to become and the bad type the one he has become. Only when he helps to save Magwitchs life by putting his own in danger he becomes a true gentleman. Also I think Dickens wanted us to remember where are roots are and who our true family and friends, by the time we had finished reading the book. Charles Dickens' Great Expectations Essay -- Great Expectations Essays Charles Dickens' Great Expectations Charles Dickens wrote Great Expectations in 1860-1861 when he was in London. It is set in the mid nineteenth century, in Kent, and London. The basic plot of Great Expectations is: Pip, a young orphan living with his sister and her husband in the marshes of Kent, sits in a cemetery one evening looking at his parents' tombstones. Suddenly, an escaped convict springs up from behind a tombstone, grabs Pip, and orders him to bring him food and a file for his leg irons. Pip obeys, but the fearsome convict is soon captured anyway. The convict protects Pip by claiming to have stolen the items himself. One day his uncle takes him to Miss Havishams house to play. A few years later he is apprenticed to his sisters husband. One-day pip is told that he is to live in London and has great expectations thanks to a secret friend. A couple of years after this the convict comes back to pip and tells him that he is the person that has been supplying all the money to him and that ever since Pip help him he promised himself that he would make Pip a gentleman. Pip is appalled at this but helps the convict to escape back to Australia. Before the convict escapes he is caught is put back into prison, he gets ill and dies. Before he dies he tells Pip that he has a daughter who was put up for adoption when she was a baby. Pip believes this to be Estella (who he used to play with at miss Havishams house and is in love with her). Miss havisham has died and has left her money to the pockets. Pip decides to go abroad with his friend to work. After some have past Pip comes back home where he goes to Miss Havishams old house where he finds Estella. He finds her coldness and hardness has been repl... ...d social status. This idea soon changes when Pip gets to London. He tries to be a gentleman when he reaches London but soon realises that he has a lot to learn and soon he starts to hate his past, the way he was brought up. After time he begins to hate Joe and the way he makes his living, but when Magwitch tells him who gave the order for him to become a gentleman, he starts to think about himself and what he has become. Then he remembers where his roots are, and who his family are. This is when he realises there's two types of gentleman the good type that he wanted to become and the bad type the one he has become. Only when he helps to save Magwitchs life by putting his own in danger he becomes a true gentleman. Also I think Dickens wanted us to remember where are roots are and who our true family and friends, by the time we had finished reading the book.

Essay --

R.Panda et, al (2013) Examined multimodal approach to Music Emotion Recognition (MER) problem. Collect information from different sources of audio, MIDDI and lyrics. This research was introducing a methodology for automatic creation of multimodal music emotion dataset categorization to AllMusic database, that based on emotion tags used in the MIREX mood classification task. MIDDI files and lyrics matching to a subset of achieved audio samples were collected. The dataset was classified into the same 5 emotion clusters identified in MIREX. Music Emotion Recognition (MER) research was received increased attention in recent years, the field still faces many difficulties and problems exacting on emotion detection in audio music signals. Many experiments were conducted to judge the importance of various features, sources and the effect of their combination in emotion classification. Holder Shaw and Gendall (2008) Conducted research for understanding and predicting of human behavior. Attitude is unspecified to play important role in human behavior theory that what people think and what they do. May be the most fundamental statement underlying the attitude concept was the notion that attitude in some way guide, influence, direct shape or predict actual behavior Labaw’s (1980) was offered in alternative approach to predicting the behavior in which behavioral characteristic of people’s lives from the basis of questionnaire design. Recent analyses originate that Labaw’s approach to predicting behavior was corresponding in terms of predictive ability and was greater from a survey research perspective. Labaw’s research was presented a sufficient alternative to attitudinal- based approach to predicting behavior. Byeong-Jan Han et al. (2010) E... ...ed for the automated explanation of large musical collection. Such an inquiry potential would be helpful for song collection and a range of application. Vallabha Hampiholi (2012) conducted research that past decade in the field of audio satisfied analysis for takeout variety of information was the â€Å"perceived mood† or â€Å"emotions† connected to music or audio clip. This information was really useful in applications like generating or approving the play list based on the mood of the listener. This information was really helpful in better categorization of music database. In this paper author have presented a method to classify that music not just a metadata of audio clip as well comprise the â€Å"mood† feature to help get better music organization. Example audio version of the song, the person is relaxing or chill out mood strength desire to listen to this track.

Project Management Theories

Assessment 2: Pre-Course Assignment (20%) Carry out a comprehensive literature review on the software development methodologies (for eg: Rapid Application Development, Object-Oriented Software Development etc) adopted by organizations emphasizing on the following for each method addressed: * What are the main characteristics of the method? * What are the main constraints of the method? * What are the advantages and drawbacks of the method? * When is this method more suitable to use? This is an individual assignment. All reference materials used must be properly acknowledged.Use Harvard referencing method. Assessment 3: Main Assignment (20%) Select an organization of your choice. * Describe the nature of the organization and the nature of the industry to which it belongs to. * Identify the major competitors and the competitive forces affecting the organization. Describe any environmental opportunities or threats to the chosen company that can be considered as significant or likely to be significant over the next few years. * Identify key business, functional or standalone strategies formulated by the chosen company to face the changing environmental conditions.How are these strategies matched with the strengths and weaknesses of the company? * Critically examine the Information systems/strategic IS used, development alternatives used, the purpose of use and analyze the benefits achieved and drawbacks of these information systems. Explain how each of these systems supports the overall business goals of the organization. * Describe the nature of the relationship between the IT division and the other divisions of the organization. Explain problem, change and recovery management processes adopted by the IT division. If the organization does not posses such processes, you may make suitable suggestions as part of your recommendations) * Explain the types of controls used by the IT division in order to protect the IT assets of the organization. * Explain briefly how IT costs are recovered and charge back mechanisms used by the IT division. * Based on you findings make suitable recommendations to improve the Information Systems and the IT division that would enable the organization to emerge as a market leader. Related article: Conveyor Belt Project