Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Environment - Essay Example Though there is no one ultimate source of climate change, there are varying contributory factors that would lead to global warming. This paper would highlight the causes of climate change to get a better understanding on the human contribution to climate change and the problems that arise in assessing the human contributory factors. Climate Forcing Climate forcing are contributing factors that affect changes in the climate. Such forcing processes include solar radiation. Since our sun is our primary source of energy, scientists have looked at the relation of deglaciation and solar irradiance as the cause of the heating of the earth’s atmosphere. But they found out that solar irradiance alone is not responsible for the violent fluctuations in temperature but may act as trigger to initiate the trend (Rapp 2008). Another process that could influence prolonged changes in weather patterns are the orbital variations of the earth. Astronomers have discovered that there are changes in the earth’s orbit that in turn affects the distance between the sun and the earth. These changes in the orbital cycles in turn produces varying amount of solar energy that the earth receives. Elliptical orbit of the earth is associated with prolonged warm periods while ice ages are associated with circular orbits (Gabler et al 2009). Third is plate tectonic or the process of the vertical and horizontal movement of the earth’s crust. Because the earth’s surface has direct contact with the atmosphere and the oceans, its evolving character has direct correlation with the â€Å"incoming and outgoing radiation, atmospheric circulation, ocean currents and the location of elevated terrain suitable for glaciers and ice sheets† (Gornitz 2009, p.784). Another way that plate tectonic affects climate change through its process is because it has control over geochemical cycling and ocean and atmospheric composition (Gornitz 2009). Another contributing factor to clima te change is volcanic activity because volcanic eruptions release particle effusions and gasses that affect atmospheric composition i.e. volcanic ash and sulphur-rich gasses. Strong volcanic eruptions could substantially affect the carbon dioxide composition of the atmosphere. The 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines have helped in significantly cooling down the earth’s atmosphere for instance (Letcher 2009). Fifth, climate forcing is the ocean variability. Despite the very limited measurements and studies conducted with regards to understanding variability of ocean circulations and ocean processes, there are enough oceanographic evidence to suggest that the irregular distribution and flow of cold and warm sea water, combined with changes in the atmospheric pressures have long term effect in the redistribution of energy in the world’s oceans and even affects water salinity. This combined with transient climate events like El Nino could cause â€Å"regional le vel social disruption, economic loss, and environmental degradation around the world† (Kininmonth 2004, p.110). Thus, persistent anomalies would not allow for marine and other aquatic animals to fully adapt to the changes in ocean variability i.e. temperature, salinity, current flow (Kininmonth 2004). Problems in Assessing Human Contributory Factors Despite the many climate forcing variables that could contribute to climate change, it is the human influence over the environment that is the greatest force of all.

The Proper Definition Of A Social Network Site

The Proper Definition Of A Social Network Site The purpose of this paper is to educate you with the proper definition of a social network site, a brief overview of its history and how they have evolved to being used in almost every facet of life today. Social Network: Definition Social network site is a web-based service that allows individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system (Boyd, Ellison, 2007). While the term social network site is used to describe this concept, the term social networking sites is also commonly used, and both can be used back and forth. I refrained from using the term networking for two reasons: emphasis and scope. Networking signifies intent of a new relationship, more often than not between strangers. Although people do network on these sites, it is not the main attraction, nor is it what makes them stand out from other forms of computer-mediated communication. The term community refers to networks that are ethnically homogenous. The uniqueness of social network sites does not come in the fact that they allow individuals to meet new people, but rather that they allow users to identify and publicize their social networks. This usually results in connections between individuals that would not otherwise be made, but that is often not the goal, and these meetings are frequently between latent ties (Haythornthwaite, 2005) who share some offline connection. On most of the popular social networking sites, members do not actually network or look to meet new people; instead, they are primarily communicating with people who are already a part of their extended social network. To emphasize this articulated social network as a critical organizing feature of these sites, we label them social network sites. As mentioned earlier, while social network sites may have a number of unique features to them, their background still consists of peoples profiles that display a list of their friends who are also members of the site. Profiles are a one page summary of an individual. When an individual newly joins a social network site, they are typically asked to answer basic questions that help to create ones profile. They typically ask for your name, age, sex, interests and location. There is also a section that allows one to upload a photograph and some networks even allow users to upload music and themes to enhance the look of their profile page. Once a user has joined a social network, the next step is typically to identify other friends on the system or network and request access to their profiles and/or networks via a friend request. The term Friends can be misleading, because the connection does not necessarily mean friendship in the everyday vernacular sense, and the reasons people connect are varied (Boyd, 2006). At this stage, users can scroll through their friend list and view each friends profile and their friend list. Some networks may permit access to profile pages in the same network even though a unique connection has not been established while others may not. Some even allow users to restrict access to their page. For example, if you are not directly connected to another user, you cannot view or have limited view to their profile page. Another feature of most social network sites is messaging. There is usually a mechanism in place for friends to communicate with one another on the network. For example, if you like a friends profile photograph, there should be a way to tell them there and then. The most common lingua for such is comment. Friends comment on each others pages and pictures and some even have email-like services on the networks but not all started out like this. History of Social Networks According to the criteria used to define social network sites, SixDegrees.com was the very first social networking site. It allowed its users to create profiles, add their friends on the site and, beginning in 1998, view their friends profiles. Profiles existed on most major dating sites and many community sites. Some sites allowed users to list friends although no one else could view them. Others allowed members to join networks such as high schools or colleges and see others in their networks but they could not create profiles for years. SixDegrees was the first social networking site that allowed it users to do all these. Figure Although SixDegrees garnered much public acclaim, its attempt to be a sustainable business failed and as such, the service shut down in 2000. With hindsight, the developers believed that the site offered more than was required. Meanwhile at this time most people who began using the internet more often had no networks of friends who were constantly online. It brought about complaints of boredom online. There was basically nothing to do after adding friends because people were not interested in networking with strangers. If you take a look at Figure 1, you can see a table that lists almost all the communities and social networks that have been established over a ten year period from 1997 to 2006. Some of these networks and communities did not actually have all the features that qualify them as a social networking site. Some names appear more than once as the years went by, the latter occurrence signifies their re-launch as a full social networking site. From 1997 to 2001, AsianAvenue, BlackPlanet, and MiGente began supporting various combinations of profiles and publicly listed friends. They allowed their users to create personal, professional, and dating profile and they could identify friends on their personal profiles without seeking approval for those connections. In 1999 when LiveJournal came around, it facilitated single connections on user pages. On LiveJournal, users mark others as their friends in order to read their journals. Cyworld, the Korean virtual world site kicked off in 1999 and by 2001 it re-launched as a full social networking site with features such as friend lists, guestbooks and diary pages as did the Swedish web community LunarStorm. After 2003, the social networking sites hit it big time. Several began to pop up for different reasons. While the basic profile based structured remained their purpose diversified some were for friends meeting old and new ones while others sought to cater to a more professional and business minded demography. Care2 connected activists to one another, Couchsurfing networked travelers and people with couches and MyChurch brought together churches and their members. Gradually as user-generated content began to grow, attention shifted to sites like Flickr (picture sharing), Last.FM(music listening) and YouTube(video uploads). Now most of these upcoming social networking sites were being launched from Silicon Valley where a lot of angel investors were pumping money into them and as such any site that developed outside of that area barely got attention. This is why some sites developed in the U.S had better reception outside the country. Examples will be Orkut(Brazils number one) and MSN Spaces. The advent of MySpace was aided by the ailing Friendster. Rumors that Friendster would begin to charge its users only succeeded in putting the sword to the heart on the already ailing site. MySpace garnered most of its initial popularity from rock bands out in Los Angeles who were trying to get their names out. They used it to advertise their shows and club owners used it to advertise bands and ticket sales. The demographic for MySpace gradually shifted toward young teenagers and adults who liked music and wished to connect with their favorite artists. Another thing that the site had going for it was that it allowed users to customize their pages and add their favorite songs to their pages. This and the fact that some adults began using it to meet minors to solicit sexual interaction were part of the reasons that MySpace began to fall just shortly after it got purchased for about $540 million. Apart from these network sites, there were others whose primary focus was a particular group of people such as when Facebook began in 2004. Facebook began in early 2004 as a Harvard-only SNS (Cassidy, 2006). To be a member, you had to be a registered student of Harvard University and use your school email address to register. With time, the network expanded but the restrictions still applied. It went to other schools but still required that a school email be used to register. This gave most people the perception that it was more of a community than a social networking site. Benefits of Social Network Sites Today social network sites are being used in very different ways that benefit a whole lot of people. Everyone seems to find a way to use them to their benefit. Consumers and manufacturers use social network sites to give and get feedback on their products. By analyzing feedback given by consumers on social network sites, blogs and other means, manufacturers have the ability to improve their sales, know when to up-sell and down-sell, they also know how to minimize cost of acquiring new consumers and many other methods. In some countries, the leaders use social network sites as a means of getting closer to the people. Some representatives use it to get feedback from their people and listen to their problems. Leaders can explain to their people what exactly the implications of certain policies and they can also get input or public opinion on certain issues that may require voting in the house. It is an essential tool in modern day leadership and political campaign. The results of the last presidential elections held in the United States were predicted by analyzing feedback about the respective candidates on sites like Facebook and Twitter. It also helped the candidates in addressing campaign issues that concerned the people. Senator Obama even had a MiGente profile that he used to reach out to the Latin-American population during the course of his campaign. Educators are finding new ways to engage their students in the learning process as well as improve teaching methods through social networking sites. Students across the world interact with one another via Skype, Twitter and Facebook during classes as a method of learning about other parts of the world and how they learn over there. In January 2009, Silvia Tolisano, a teacher in Jacksonville, Florida developed a project that involved over 300 participants in schools across the globe. The goal was to prove how helpful social networking sites can be in student education. According to her, It creates a global awareness that there is a wider world out there and that we are not alone. They find its just as easy to collaborate with a class in England as with the class next door. Social network sites not only benefit the student, the educators as well benefit from sites like Twitter and Ning. While students havent become enamored with Twitter yet, it has become a hot spot for educators to find professional development and resources (Michelle R. Davis, 2010). One of the most popular types of educator events on Twitter are EdChats-one-hour conversations that take place every Tuesday around a particular topic. The chats are the brainchild of several educators, including Thomas Whitby, a co-creator of a 3,700-member Ning site called The Educators PLN, for professional learning network.

Analysis of Accuracy of MidYIS Tests Essay -- Papers

Analysis of Accuracy of MidYIS Tests Introduction This essay is an exploration into the relevance of MidYIS tests as a predictor for results at GCSE Music. A comparison will be made between two sets of skills: those assessed by the MidYIS test - taken by most children in England at the beginning of year 9 - and those which, according to exam boards and experienced music educators, are tested at GCSE. Certain fundamental skills required for success at GCSE Music cannot be tested in the MidYIS tests, and I would suggest that a combination of MidYIS-type testing, musical intelligence assessment and some measure of the amount and quality of musical experience gained before embarking on the GCSE course would serve as a much more relevant indicator of likely success, and a more appropriate baseline from which to measure value added. However, the term 'success' needs defining - many pupils who are excellent musicians even before they reach year 9 may not obtain the highest marks at GCSE, and this begs the question, what exactly does GCSE music test, the musicality of a pupil (which will be discussed with reference to Howard Gardner's theories of multiple intelligence) or a pupil's ability to 'jump through the hoops' required to do well in this type of exam? Schools continually have their statistics compared, and the practice of comparing 'value added' through the means of a baseline test, is undoubtedly fairer than simply comparing final results. However, if, as I will argue, the baseline test is largely meaningless, music departments should not be put in the difficult position of having to justify any statistical 'evidence' of underac... ...GCSE? What is missing in the MidYIS and Bentley that is fundamental to GCSE? Sum up how you could do a research project into MidYIS' relevance to each section of the exam paper. Conclude on whether the MidYIS test is important. --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] http://cem.dur.ac.uk/MidYIS/ (accessed on 22 May 2002) [2] http://cem.dur.ac.uk/MidYIS/documents/newsletter6.doc (accessed on 23 May 2002, published January 2000) [3] http://cem.dur.ac.uk/MidYIS/Psa.htm (accessed on 22 May 2002) [4] http://cem.dur.ac.uk/MidYIS/documents/newsletter6.doc (accessed on 23 May 2002, published January 2000) [5] http://cem.dur.ac.uk/MidYIS (accessed on 25 May) [6] http://cem.dur.ac.uk/MidYIS/documents/newsletter7.doc (accessed on 23 May 2002, published Spring 2000)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

The narrator of the book; ‘The curious Incident of the dog in the night-time’ by Mark Haddon, is a kid named Christopher who is born with Asperberg’s syndrome, and therefore he narrates the novel from his point of view which is very interesting because he sees things in a much simpler way than people who do not suffer this mental birth defect. Christopher shows the ‘otherness’ in society because he is living in a social environment that unconsciously discriminates and excludes people that are different. A moment where we can see how Christopher is treated differently is in school. He goes to a school for kids that have mental problems that need special cares. Even though Christopher has this mental dementia, he is a genius in mathematics and physics, and as his school does not count with ‘A’ math classes, Christopher requested them. The school wanted to deprive this kind of education to him because they thought he was not going to endure it and that it was not necessary. But finally, Christopher’s father complained and he was allowed to take those classes. Also, he is discriminated when the police comes to Mrs. Shear’s house and sees him with the dead dog in his arms. The policeman acted alert from the beginning, when he realized that Christopher had a mental problem. He was quickly judged and considered guilty, and any move that he made played against him (the policeman touched him, and as Christopher does not like to be touched, hit him and was accused for attacking the police). He was taken to the police station and ended up with a mark on his personal register. Finally Christopher’s father saved him from being accused as the murderer of Mrs. Shears’s dog. In conclusion, Christopher lives unconscious of how differently he is treated and passes through them without caring. However, many people love him and take care of him.

Farhenheit 45

Literary Analysis Could you ever imagine living in a world where books were not allowed, houses were fireproof, and firemen started fires instead of putting them out? Ray Bradbury created this dystopian society of backwards thinking in his novel Fahrenheit 451. When he wrote the book, during the Cold War, the United States was beginning to censor many things and his fear of what it would turn into inspired him to write this novel. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury overly exaggerates a future society from where the United States in the 1950’s was heading through loss of humanity from television and the theme of censorship by; yet, the symbol of rebirth detracts from the overall effect of exaggeration. In Fahrenheit 451 Mildred, Guy Montag’s wife, is a mindless human being. She has a television show that she calls her â€Å"family† and she insists on watching it every time it is on. For example when she is arguing with Montag about reading she says, â€Å"Books aren’t people. You read and I look all around but there isn’t anybody!†¦ Now my family is people. They tell me things: I laugh, they laugh! And the colors!†¦ Why should I read? What for! † (73;ch. 2). This quote illustrates the fact that all she does is sit around and believes to be interacting with people, when in fact she is just talking to a television show. When she wants another television installed she tells Montag â€Å"Its only two thousand dollars and I think you should consider me sometimes. If we had a fourth wall, why it’d just be like this room wasn’t ours at all, but all kinds of exotic people’s rooms† (20;ch. 1). This line spoken by Mildred shows the reality of her mindless television show consuming her life and that she no longer thinks like a human being. Society’s goal in essentially hypnotizing its citizens was successful. Any person with sense such as Montag would know that it is outrageous to buy another screen when they cannot afford it. Mildred is a perfect example of a mindless person who allows the government to control her and thinks books are harmful. People like her make this society achieve its goals in censorship by burning books. In several cases the narrator is just as mindless as Mildred. For example, the book burning process is supported when the book states, â€Å"You were simply cleaning up. Janitorial work essentially,† and â€Å"they pumped rooms full of [kerosene]† it is supporting the book burning process (37-38;ch. 1). These statements are guilty of sustaining book burning. Also when Captain Beatty, the chief of the fire department, says, â€Å"I want you to do this all by your lonesome, Montag. Not with kerosene and a match, but piecework, with a flame thrower. Your house your clean up,† it illustrates how he is asking a horrible task be done (116;ch. ). Burning books, the only source of unchanging knowledge, is a horrific task to take on. Burning books is like taking away freedom and because they are no longer physically available humans have to memorize them. When Montag gets caught for having books he runs away. He does such a good job that even the mechanical hound can’t find him. When the search for him is seeing no hope they kill a random man alone on the street. At this point Granger, one of the traveling book men, says to Montag, â€Å"Welcome back from the dead† (150;ch. 3). This quote resembles the rebirth and final transformation of Montag from a regular in society. It detracts from the exaggeration because it symbolizes the life of memorizing books, which is the total opposite of eradicating them. Another time when rebirth is mentioned is when Granger tells Montag about the phoenix, â€Å"There was a silly damn bird called a phoenix back before Christ, every few hundred years he built a pyre and burnt himself up†¦ but every time he burnt himself up he sprang out of the ashes, he got himself born all over again† (163;ch. 3). This example takes away from Bradbury’s effect because it symbolizes new life, which the government does not want; they want it to stay the way it is. Ray Bradbury creates a dystopian society in the novel by expressing loss of humanity, censorship, and rebirth through many examples in the book. Throughout Fahrenheit 451 everyone is trapped under the government’s supervision except for the ones who are smart enough to escape through the knowledge of books, such as Montag. During the entire novel Mildred is an example of an individual consumed by the government’s rules and loss of humanity from TV.