Arthur Conan Doyle reveals Holmes Essay

Examine how Arthur Conan Doyle reveals Holmes character and his relationship with the police. Sherlock Holmes was created by Conan-Doyle in 1887. When Arthur Conan-Doyle’s character, Sherlock Holmes surfaced, London in the era of Queen Victoria was an intriguing place to live. At this time, Victorian people feared crime greatly due to the prostitution, drug abuse but mainly an infamous murderer, Jack the ripper. This brutal murderer was loose on the streets of London attacking vulnerable women savagely with a sharp, long-bladed weapon, this panicked many women due to the fact that the police’s methods were seen as inefficient; therefore would rarely solve the cases by catching the ruthless villains. Many Victorians had little if no faith for the police in London, as they did not appear to be protecting the public. On the other hand, Holmes, who is an excellent detective, is well known for his use of logic and observational understanding to unravel complicated cases. He described himself as a ‘consulting detective’ an expert who is brought in to cases that have proven too difficult for other investigators; we are told that he is often able to solve a problem without leaving his home. This is prodigious as Holmes was actually an amateur detective, not a member of the London police force. The purpose of this essay is therefore to show Holmes character and his relationship with the police. In some cases Holmes breaks the law, in others he does not. One example of when he doesn’t is in Silver Blaze; Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson pay a visit to their old friends the Baskervilles and find themselves in the middle of a mystery involving a missing horse and its dead trainer. Doyle reveals through his writing that Holmes’s character is very egotistical. This is shown many times throughout the story:† I follow my own methods and tell as much or as little as I choose. † Here, Holmes is being very demanding showing that he does not have much respect for other people; this is very shocking as Watson is not only a companion but most importantly a friend too. I think Doyle does this to ensure Holmes is referred to as a very dominant character in addition to being arrogant and making people feel small and unimportant. Doyle through his use of language creates Holmes’s character to have a greater intelligence over the police. Doyle uses sarcasm to show this: â€Å"Inspector Gregory, to whom the case has been committed, is a very competent officer, were he but gifted with the imagination he might rise to great heights during his profession. † This also shows that Holmes has no faith in the inspector in solving the case as Doyle uses the word ‘might’ to show the sarcasm therefore implying that he has no hope for the police in cracking the mystery. This same egotistical behavior towards the police is also repeated later on when Holme’s says â€Å"See the value of imagination; it is the one quality which Gregory lacks. † As this is repeated in his writing it reveals that Doyle is trying to emphasize Holmes’s views of the police as being incompetent. Furthermore, Holmes relationship with the police is very argumentative. Holmes is always mocking the police by acting witty. This is shown when Holmes says† The inspector here has done all that he could possibly be suggested; but I wish to leave no stone unturned in trying to avenge poor Straker, and in recovering my horse. † Doyle uses this sarcastic language to reveal Holmes true disrespectful manner and arrogance towards the police. In addition to that Holmes finds great pleasure in finding the clues way before the police are anywhere near. When the inspector says â€Å"I cannot think how I came to overlook it,† Holmes replies â€Å"I only saw it because I was looking for it! † Doyle, with the use of that language implies that Holmes was actually observing the murder scene, whereas the inspector did not think to do that. To Holmes, using his logic and observational understanding is general common sense, this is one of the reasons how Holmes makes the detectives feel incapable of their job in which they specialize in.

Song of Myself

In Walt Whitman’s poem Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855, the poet explores themes of the idea of the self, the recognition of self in relation to other people and the poet’s connection nature and the universe. For example, Whitman’s use of tangible objects such as the houses and the rooms symbolize the society. Another example is his use the perfume which embodies the self of one being; lastly, he use the atmosphere to describe the entire self. For Whitman, the self is regarded as mystical and remains constant throughout life. The self includes thoughts, experiences, conscious and subconscious states, and the individual’s spirituality. The theory of self is important in Whitman’s work because it is where his intellect and art is reflected. Walt Whitman sees the self as an individual and also as nature or the entire universe. The poet wants to preserve his own self while fusing with the entire universe. This means that the poet recognizes his need to associate with others and to commune with God. His reference to sex is a metaphor for spiritual experience. The poet’s pleasure stems both from the physical and the spiritual. Whitman demonstrates his individualistic style in â€Å"Song of Myself†. I consider it as one of the greatest poems I’ve read. His experiment with words is just breath taking. As one reads through his verses, one is lost in trance through his vivid imagery. The poem opens with the celebration of the self. The poet rejoices with the experience of communing with the universe as described in Section I lines 1-9: â€Å"I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.  I loafe and invite my soul, I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass. My tongue, every atom of my blood, form'd from this soil, this air, Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same, I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin, Hoping to cease not till death†. In section 2 of the poem, Walt Whitman asserts his independence from society and at the same time declaring his connection with nature. â€Å"Houses and rooms are full of   perfume†, as stated in line 1 of section 2; the perfume is a representation of the individual selves and the atmosphere denotes the universe. The poet is enticed to be with the other selves but he wants to keep his freedom and independence. The poet delights in experiencing all of his five senses. His use of his sight, his hearing, his taste, his smell and his touch gives him an intoxicating pleasure.  Sections 3 and 4 of the poem, the poet reproaches the â€Å"talkers†, the â€Å"trippers† and the â€Å"askers† for discussing things that is of shallow importance. Whitman describes his spiritual communion with God in section 5 of the poem by stating, â€Å"And I know that the promise of God is the promise of my own, And I know that the spirit of God is the brother of my own†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ In section 6 of the poem, a child asks the poet â€Å"What is the grass?† The poet stops and thinks and finally explains that the â€Å"grass† is a metaphor for life and death. The grass grows and eventually dries up and dies. In section 7 of the poem, the poet describes his universal nature. The universal self discovers that he is surrounded by everything good and he is a part of them. In sections 8-16, the poet depicts everything he encounters, genders, all young and old alike, people from different places. He is drawn to them and he considers himself as one of them. The poet acknowledges his similarity with mankind as illustrated by section 17. The poet addresses the entire humanity from section 18-19.   In sections 20-25, Whitman expresses his divine experience by the fusion of the physical reality and universal reality. The poet listens to everything around him as depicted in Section 26. The poet is amazed by the sense of touch and what joy it brings to him as it is described in section 27-30 where he asks â€Å"Is this then a touch? Quivering me to a new identity†. The poet believes that all small things are essential. He cites that â€Å"a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars†, as portrayed in sections 31-33. The poet makes reference to every person in existence and the ones who died; he also gives an account of his experiences in the history of America (Section 34-36). He further explains in sections 37-38 that through his connection to all things dead and living, he feels empowered by the experience. Sections 39-41 states that the poet is transformed to a hero that he would save people from falling he would stop â€Å"the descending man from and raise him with resistless will†¦/By God you shall not go down! hang your whole weight upon me†. In section 41, the poet accepts religion as universal. He believes that all men are divine. Whitman sees the inequality, injustice and corruption in society as described by section 42. The poet embraces all religion as explained in section 43. The idea of death and eternity is expressed in sections 44-49. He explains that everything will eventually unite with God in the end. Whitman feels that there is something greater than death and yet he could not explain it as cited on section 50 of the poem. Finally, in sections 51-52, the poet bids farewell â€Å"The past and present wilt—I have fill’d them, emptied them, /And proceed to fill my next fold of the future†¦Missing me one place search another, /I stop somewhere waiting for you.† Walt Whitman believed that the poet has a role of exposing the truth by using his poems. The use of metaphors not only enhances the reader’s imagination but also becomes an eye opener. It makes a person stop and think. It creates a sort of awakening of the senses that may not be seen, heard or felt before. Works Cited Whitman, Walt. â€Å"Song of Myself†. Leaves of Grass. New York: Bantam Books, 1998.

Love in Hamlet, The Jilting of Granny Weatherall, and 'We Real Cool' Essay

Love in Hamlet, The Jilting of Granny Weatherall, and 'We Real Cool' - Essay Example By contrast, in our times, even with the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, and of marriage equality in New York and other states, the love portrayed in literature often follows the so-called 'traditional' set-up of a man and a woman. There are also other ways in which literary portrayals of love have changed over time – for example, Shakespeare's works glorify love but modern works sometimes downplay its role in our lives. What does this signify? The different portrayals of love in the following three texts can, at least in part, be attributed to the time of their writing: Hamlet, in 1600, reflects a world in which love was idealized but often not really part of reality. Marriages were arranged according to property ownership and convenience – and what could be more convenient than the late king's brother taking over his role, wife included? The Jilting of Granny Weatherall, written by Katherine Anne Porter in 1930, presents love as important but not a driving force. Gran ny's stream-of-consciousness returns repeatedly to her being left at the altar, but also to her own strength as a successful single mother at the beginning of the twentieth century. Ultimately, though, her lost love pales in significance when compared to her 'jilting' from God. Finally, in 1960, Brooks' poem â€Å"We Real Cool† shows love as a reticent issue, masked by more important, wilder behaviour. This leads one to ask: now, fifty years after â€Å"We Real Cool†, what role does love play in modern literature, and is it as reflective of our reality as Hamlet, The Jilting of Granny Weatherall, and â€Å"We Real Cool† were in their times? ... s love play in modern literature, and is it as reflective of our reality as Hamlet, The Jilting of Granny Weatherall, and â€Å"We Real Cool† were in their times? This paper will look at the relationships of these texts in terms of language and context to show that love is an evolving force in literature. Love in Hamlet, like every other theme in the play, is a multifaceted and complex presence: Hamlet's adoration of his mother, tempered by vicious disgust, has been interpreted as his â€Å"sexual desire† for her, stimulated by â€Å"his sense of his mother's guilt† (Jardine, 38); his relationship with Ophelia is also one of destructive love, and his words to her oscillate wildly between kindness and hatred (â€Å"Get thee to a nunnery, go!† Shakespeare, III.i). Some critics have argued that Hamlet's perception of his mother as weak - â€Å"Frailty, thy name is woman!† (Shakespeare, I.ii) – influences how he sees Ophelia. Hamlet's relationshi p with Ophelia is clouded not just by his misogyny, but by his complete self-absorption: his melancholy takes precedence over her love for him, causing him to be cruel and sending Ophelia into a madness fueled by the loss of her father and her partner. However, the older couple in the play, Gertrude and Claudius, appears to be a genuinely happy one, if the reader examines the text closely and refuses to take Hamlet's interpretation of their marriage as read. Claudius is an effective king who deals diplomatically with events ranging in scale from the military threat from Norway to Hamlet's depression (Shakespeare, I.ii); Gertrude is a caring mother who independently invites her son's friends to Elsinore to alleviate his sorrow (II.ii); together they are a passionate couple who, in Hamlet's own words, spend time â€Å"honeying and making

Embryonic stem cells Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Embryonic stem cells - Research Paper Example Because of this precious ability, embryonic stem cells can be used to treat many of the human diseases. However, isolation of embryonic stem cells is impossible without destroying the embryo and therefore embryonic stem cell isolation and researches are controversial. This paper briefly analyses utility of embryonic stem cells and the ethical issues involved in embryonic stem cell research. Utility of embryonic stem cells According to Dr Rickard (2002), â€Å"the culturing of embryonic stem cells holds tremendous potential for the development of new forms of regenerative medicine to treat debilitating or fatal conditions that would not otherwise be curable† (Dr Rickard, 2002, p.1). Starr et al have pointed out that embryonic stem cells have huge importance in the life of a person and it could be used to provide new nerve cells (Starr et al., 2010, p.449). It should be noted that there are many people in this world who are suffering from nerve problems such as Parkinson disease , Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, dimenisia Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS etc. These diseases can affect the memory of the patient and normal life is extremely difficult for them. For example, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a disease which affects nerve cells in brain and spinal cord which control muscle movement. Even though genetic defects were reported in some cases, the exact reasons for ALS is still unknown in majority of the cases. (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, n. d.). ALS patients may not be able to move freely because of the problems in the communication between brain and muscles. Nerve cells or neurons which helps brain to communicate with other body organs may become dysfunctional in the case of ALS patients. Embryonic stem cells can do wonders in the case of such patients. As mentioned earlier, embryonic stem cells have the ability to reproduce all the lost cells and it can bring back the patient to his normal state. According to Inou (2010), Neurodegenerative d iseases like Alzheimers' is caused by problems in cortical neurons whereas in dementia, Lewy bodies, or frontotemporal lobar degeneration is causing the disease. Parkinson disease is caused by dopaminergic neurons whereas upper and lower motor neurons cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (Inou, 2010, p.2560). As in the case of ALS patients, embryonic stem cells can help patients with neurodegenerative diseases like diseases such as Parkinson disease, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, epilepsy, dimenisia etc. Stem cells are capable of renewing themselves into different types of cells which can be used to replace or repair malfunctioning or inactive cells. Another major feature of embryonic stem cells is its ability to stay secure even after many years, if stored under suitable conditions. Ethical issues involved in embryonic stem cell research Even though separation of adult stem cells is not a worry for medical science, separation of embryonic stem cells is not so. Embry onic stem cells are taken from aborted fetuses. It is impossible to separate embryonic stem cells without killing the embryo. In other words, in order to make the life comfortable for some people, destruction of embryos is necessary. Many people, including believers in different religions have questioned the morality of destroying a human life for saving the life of others. However, there are many others who

Theories of knowledge and The Matrix Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Theories of knowledge and The Matrix - Essay Example For example, with the power of vision a person can perceive height and width of three dimensional objects with ease but would have trouble knowing the depth (Thornton, 1987). The classic case of a mountain can be presented to clarify this idea because it is easy to see the height of the mountain and know how wide it is by sight alone but to realize that the mountain also has a certain depth and also extends deep into the ground has to come from the inferences made by the mind. This is in fact the central proposition made by Berkeley that people can never know what an object really is or they can never understand reality through their senses. The objects around us and the reality we see is only a perception which depends on our senses. Therefore, all we know about objects are our perceptions of those objects. Of course we can also imagine about things which never existed or imagine certain situations which can not exist given the physical laws of the universe (Thornton, 1987). However, such imaginations are weak perceptions and have little bearing on the real world. On the other hand, real objects and things continue to remain present in our ideas even if we do not see them as their perception is strong. The false reality is not false for the human inhabitants of The Matrix since it is the only reality they know. The information gathering which they do to function in their world comes from the same sources which provide information to other characters within the matrix, i.e. Neo, Morpheus or Trinity. The only difference is that the human inhabitants are getting signals sent to their brain from a supercomputer which is controlling how their reality functions. On the other hand, the characters which are free from the Matrix are using their natural abilities to experience the real world. Morpheus explains this quite clearly when he defines the reality of the Matrix by questioning what Neo considers to be real. Morpheus says, â€Å"What is "real"? How do you define

Employee involvement. Do employee involvement programs improve Essay - 3

Employee involvement. Do employee involvement programs improve organizational performance Discuss with reference to a minimum of four empirical studies - Essay Example This study seeks to identify the relationship between gun ownership and the crime levels in various countries of the world. The study classifies crime levels as either serious or less serious and this it explores in relation to gun ownership. It can be obviously concluded that gun ownership tends to increase the chances that it will be used inappropriately in some instances and result into more serious crimes as compared to a situation where the guns are not easily available. This paper examines the rates that such incidences have been involved and the seriousness of the crime by using the available data. From this perspective, it is true that crime levels will be serious in instances of gun ownership but this leaves behind the ownership status whether legal or illegal, (Bruce Wilcox, 1998). Gun licenced users need to be assessed their state of mind among other things before they are offered with the right to use such powerful weapons, (Draper,1981). According to Fessenden (2010), the legal side of gun ownership is a veritable snake pit of good and bad where all the gun owners need to take a crash course. This course is intended to reduce the incidences that are associated with gun misuse whether privately or in public places. Hence the various states that allow gun ownership have different laws that need to be adhered to enable minimisation of casualties to gun victims. This research needs to put across the ideology that there is the necessary training when awarding gun ownership licences in its detailed gun ownership concerns. There is a general assumption in this research that guns facilitate the violence witnessed in majority of the crimes reported in the better parts of the European countries. It is the general assumption of this study too that the European countries discussed are having stringent measures to ensure that the guns available to the

Mechanisms determining Temperature of the climate Essay

Mechanisms determining Temperature of the climate - Essay Example ave expressed high sense of will power towards the combating of climate change, their major problem has been on the specific steps to take in implementing the various policies that are suggested among climate change advocates. As a step towards solving this problem, this report is targeted towards drafting a policy that will be well defined in the strategies and principles. This is to say that the major component of the policy report will be to spell out the policies and ways of implementing them in a language that will be eaily understood by all users of the policy. Again, the policy in itself will aim at curbing the dangers associated with climate change. Further on, the various mechanisms that determine temperature in climate change will be highlighted so that needed solutions can easily be identified and worked towards. The report has been done in such a way that all terminologies that relate to climate system are defined in detail to make understanding of the report easier. In the subject of physics, we see natural and artificial mechanisms of work, involving the flow of particles and other objects. Because in the climate change, there is the flow of energy, we can generally describe the climate system as also being physics. Box (n.d) notes that â€Å"The Earth’s climate, at both global and regional scales, is the result of dynamic balances in the flows of energy, when averaged over sufficiently large time and space scales. Here, the major energy being referred to is heat energy. Most commonly, the time frame for measuring this equilibrium is twenty-five (25) years. On a global perspective, the climate system is determined on regional basis such as for countries. The mechanism that goes to play in labeling a particular region with a particular climate is a measure of the whether that has existed there for a number of years. In this direction, the Met Office (2010) explains that â€Å"climate is the average weather we expect over a long period of time.† It must

Summary of the article The RAND Health Insurance Experiment, Three Case Study

Summary of the article The RAND Health Insurance Experiment, Three Decades Later - Case Study Example Consequently, examining potential threats to validity using the results would increase uncertainty. In addition to these threats, there is no systematic reexamination of the original data, and core findings from the RAND experiment. Incompleteness of the publicly available health data also prohibits the replication of the original RAND results. Differential participation could also lead to bias in the experiment, as there was higher participation among those covered by more comprehensive plans than those in lower comprehensive plans. Consequently, results cannot be reported with confidence. The authors attempt to answer the question by presenting the main findings of the experiment in a manner similar to the way they would be presented today. This makes the findings accessible to current readers. They also reexamine the validity of the experimental treatment effects, and address the potential of differential study participation and differential reporting outcomes across experimental treatments. In addition, they consider the RANDS estimates, and contrast between how the elasticity was originally estimated and its subsequent application. They finally caution against summarizing the experimental treatment effects from nonlinear health insurance contracts using single price elasticity. The results of the experiment indicated that an insurance plan that offers a lower coinsurance rate leads to more health utilization, compared to a plan that requires an individual to pay more to access the services. The 95% plan, for example, records a lower level of health spending, while the free care plan records more health spending. Therefore, individuals who spend more on health seek less treatment, than those who spend less on medical insurance. Patients seeking medical attention, and then returning to their homes also posed a higher percentage compared to those spending their nights in

President Clintons Essay Example for Free

President Clintons Essay DeMan (1988) argued that most of the problems and hindrances to Implementing GIS in the earlier days of this technology are rooted in organisational and not technical. Understanding the organisation within which GIS are to function is fundamental to understanding the challenges of development and implementation. (Peuquet and Bacastow 1991) Peuquet and Bacastow (1991) examined the U. S. Armys digital topographic support systems (DTSS). The issues looked into were the organisational context, the elements of the development, history of the system, the recognition of some fundamental factors that had frustrated the development of DTSS. What they discovered were: For Organisational commitment to change- effective organisation of GIS needs not only people able to employ the technology but also people willing to employ the technology. The willingness depends on both the individuals and the organisation, this to overcome the long and pervasive resistance to innovation within both government and business (Morrison1966) Development of GISs is a mutual efforts- Management at all levels, as well as the prospective end-user must actively be involved through all the phases of the development process. A true appropriate functional requirement can only be derived with the detailed knowledge of the organisation uniquely possessed by those within the organisation. Sahay and Walsham (1996) identify factors and conditions under which GIS implementation is impeded or enabled, which they term as inhibiting and enabling factors respectively. INHIBITING FACTORS Data: This relates to its availability on appropriate scales, usability problems because of the over dependence on remotely-sensed data, quality problems due to maps being outdated, and non-standardised format of data that are not supported by standard software. Manpower: reflects an acute shortage of trained manpower that has the ability to understand and use GIS, and the general lack of awareness of GIS, especially among the planners. The dominance of GIS technocrats contributes to organisational issues being made subservient to technical concerns during implementation. Structure: relates to decision-making styles and the forms of developing country organisations decision-making (normal central), left to officials with inadequate knowledge about the technology and are responsible for taking critical decisions related to implementation. The sect oral form of organisation, the lack of appropriate policies to enable co-ordination, often leads to duplication of efforts. Financial: proves constraints in acquiring and maintaining GIS systems, also restricts the development and maintenance of training and research programmes . It is discovered that finding of a GIS project often comes as a pat of an aid package and the long times involvement in implementing GIS makes it difficult to provide sustained funding. ENABLING FACTORS Approaches: development of approaches that provides sustenance and by developing local expertise that would take over from the expatriates. Practices: development practices that smoothen transition of people from their existing ways of doing work to using GIS. For example enabling users to receive prior exposure to mapping systems and allowing systems development to take place in an incremental and evolving manner. Institutional Mechanisms: appropriate policy level initiatives around GIS . For example private companies and international aid agencies to aid in establishment of national level GIS institutions that would contribute to the development of local expertise. Sahay and Walsham (1996) basing their research of implementation of GIS in India, on the theoretical framework for their work was developed, using the concept social context of social context and processes, implementation and the linkages between context and process. Based on current thinking in IS implementation research (Walsham 1993). The Social context refers to conditions which are antecedent or given to the process for example the national culture of the country in which the system is being implemented. Implementation Process: this includes the adoption of decisions installation of apiece of hardware, acquisition, utilisation, acceptance or rejection of the GIS within the organisational context. Linkage between context and process: understanding of the interaction between the two. The social context may both enable and constraint the implementation process to evolve in certain ways, which can reinforce or reshape the existing, conditions. 5. 5. 2 PUBLIC ACCESS TO GEOGRAPHIC DATA In Europe, a European commission Directives of April 1990) required that all official agencies of all members states must make available all their environmental holdings of information to the general public a t reasonable cost (CEC1990). It is argued that it is not clear what constitutes environmental information, but certainly topographical information would seen to be a necessary part. Nor is it clear what constitutes reasonable cost except in so far as some organisation in any country should expect to Price its products in this category much more highly than other organisations in the same country or in others within the European Community. Geographical data and information is derived by aggregation to areas from bureaucratically compiled records pertaining to individuals, however some geographical data are not in aggregate form and their supply to a third party may then transgress regulations on privacy. However legislation on privacy constraints the uses to which such data may be put only when it is held in computer form. It is accepted generally that access to some geographical data may not be appropriate for example data created for military purposes. Many countries show immense differences in practice currently exist in data dissemination and policies. Many of the European countries are inclined to recoup as much as possible while U. S. A. Sees that almost free provision of federal government data as an entitlement of the citizen and as a precaution against the garnering of power by cliques through their sole access to information It seems no one has yet found a logical basis for charging for the use of topographic data. The price elasticity of geographical information is limited, especially where competitive products exist and except where the use of official products is required by statute. It is note that the development of brokering and legal advice services for geographical data seems very probable and this is likely to flourish on a national basis. NATIONAL SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURES Government agencies are involved as main external providers of geographical information for most operational applications of GIS, they also exert a profound influence on national developments which resulted in a phenomenon, Rhind (1996,1998) called a cocktail of laws, policies, conventions and precedents, which determines the availability and price of spatial data (Masser 1999). Traced back to the mid 60s the trend in which many governments throughout the world began to think more strategically about information needs, data collection, and the resources needed to deliver information to a wider markets; the potential of computer, cased surveying and mapping systems for creating multi-user, multi-purpose databases for the public administration was recognised. This vision was lost in the 70s and early 80s as the emphasis of how as spatial information systems were implemented for a wide variety of purposes within traditional institutional frameworks. (McLaughlin 1991 cited in masser1999). Later the focus shifted back to matters of geographical information and its use in society in the late 80s. TableI: the first generation of national data infrastructures. The table shows titles of some countries national initiatives, even though the terms used very from country to country three elements are of common: They are explicit national in nature; Refer to geographic information, spatial data, geospatial data, or in one case, to land information; Refer to terms such as infrastructure, system or framework, which imply the existence of some form of co-ordination mechanism for policy formulation and implementation purposes. They are term the first generation of national spatial data infrastructures (NSDI) These first generation NSDI have differences in terms of geography, levels of economic development and systems of government. DRIVING FORCES TO ESTABLISHMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURES Masser (1999) argues that two basic themes underlie these national spatial data infrastructures which are: growing importance of geographical information in the coming age of digital technology; and need from some form of government intervention to co-ordinate data acquisition and availability, Reports of the interest of some chief executives on these themes are: President Clintons Executive order for the National spatial data Infrastructure: Geographic information is critical to promote economic development, Improve our stewardship of natural resources and to protect the environment. Modern technology now permits improved acquisition, distribution, and utilisation of geographic (or geospatial) data and Mapping . (Executive office of the president 1994)

Assessing A Companys Future Financial Health Essay Example for Free

Assessing A Companys Future Financial Health Essay Google is a multinational corporation that serves thousands of consumers worldwide. Through Internet related products such as Internet searches, maps, emails, mobile apps, and other online contents for users Google became the company it is today. Every employee of Google is different in his or her own way; making it a well-diversified organization similar to the global audience they serve. Google’s mission statement is to organize information from all around the world and make it universally accessible at a quick and orderly fashion. This means creating a search engine smart enough to understand the difference between Jaguar, the car, and jaguar, the animal. Google went public in 2004 and has been doing exceptionally well ever since. It has an estimated number of over three hundred million servers using the search engine every day. From these statistics it is easy to say that Google is number one in the Internet information industry. This industry is considered to be one of the most important economic sectors due to the fact that it is for industries that are information intensive. Although there are many search engines similar to Google, such as Yahoo, Facebook, Groupon, Microsoft, and Pearson education, Google seems to be the one consumers use more frequently. The analysis of this paper will discuss the current financial status of Google, conditions relevant to the market, competitors, and recent news. One way to measure the financial health of Google’s current status is to analyze the S.W.O.T analysis: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This being said Google should maintain its current strengths of a successful audience which helped reach a high of $13,100,000,000 operating income for the current fiscal year. With the growth of the company over the last five years Google’s net income, gross profit, and revenue have gradually increased. Hitting a low point towards the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 then rising again in 2010. Even  during a recession, a time of need, Google remained lucrative through its assets, liabilit ies, stable stock price, and efficiency for paying back debt. Google’s total assets have steadily increased from 2008 to 2012. Some key figures to point out in their assets are the slow growth between the second half of 2008 to the second of 2009. This slow growth period is probably due to the economic recession. Google also saw a strong growth in assets from the second quarter of 2012 to the third quarter 2012. Google has mainly kept its liabilities relatively low compared to assets. There was some increase in liabilities in 2010 as well as an extensive increase 2012 compared to earlier years. The stock price during the recession drastically decreased for many companies but this was not the case for Google. In 2008, the beginning of the recession, Google’s stock price increased by $7; every year since the recession the stock price has risen and is predicted to continue rising for future years. Google also remains a strong company because of their efficiency on paying back their debt with their cash received from operations. This can be shown by their operating cash flow to total debt ratio. Google’s operating cash flow to total debt ratio is 2.56%. Meaning cash is double the amount of debt issued. Therefore, Google is able to pay back their debt fairly quick. Although Google has some strength’s the company also has some weaknesses. A key factor that contests Google’s respected reputation is its bond rating. In 2011 Google started to issue bonds; they received a rating of AA, the fourth down level of ratings a company can receive. However, the double a rating still means the company is a high credit-quality investment. According to credit rating Agency Moody’s, who gave the rating, Google received the rating due to their substantial financial flexibility as well as its conservative financial philosophy. For the year ending December 31, 2012 for Google, it finished with $60,454,000 in current assets. This is a big increase from 2011, which had $52,758,000 in current assets, a total increase of $7,696,000. The bulk of this increase is due to net  receivables, which could be the result from selling advertising space on credit or one of the many products Google offers. Cash and cash equivalents also had a major jump of $4,795,000, which could be the result from selling phones, advertising, apps, and other cash generating assets Google owns. This is a promising sign to investors because if they can sustain the growth hopefully enough cash will be retained and dividends will be offered. Assets 2012 2011 2010 Current Assets Cash and Cash Equivalents14,778,000 9,983,000 13,630,000 Short Term Investments33,310,000 34,643,000 21,345,000 Net Receivables 9,729,000 6,387,000 5,261,000 Inventory 505,000 35,000 Other Current Assets 2,132,000 1,710,000 1,326,000 Total Current Assets 60,454,000 52,758,000 41, 562, 00 Google’s total assets have steadily increased dating back from 2008 to 2012. Some key figures to point out in their assets are the slow growth between the second half of 2008 to the second of 2009. This slow growth period is probably due to the economic recession. Google also saw a strong growth in assets from the second quarter of 2012 to the third quarter 2012. Google has mainly kept its liabilities relatively low compared to assets. There was some increase in liabilities in 2010 as well as an extensive increase 2012 compared to earlier years. Google has a total asset turnover of .6%. The total asset turnover can be interpreted to mean the amount of sales, that each unit of assets can generate. Simply, its smarter to get more sales on the assets that you are deploying to a business. The higher the total asset turnover, the better the business is doing. Therefore, Google’s percentage of .6% is an indication that the company is below the average industry of .7%. The current ratio measures a company’s ability to pay short-term liabilities. The higher the current ratio, the more capable the company is of paying its liabilities. Google has a current ratio of 3.94, in comparison to the industry average of 4.8%. Due to the fact that Google is under the industry average it means that Google can pay  back its short-term debt but not as quick as other companies in the industry. The quick ratio is very similar to the current ratio; in the way it also measures the company’s ability to pay of short-term liabilities. The only difference is that it adds the inventory of the company to its calculations. Google maintains a quick ratio of 3.7, which still shows it, is efficient in paying off its short-term obligations. The debt to equity ratio indicates wha t proportion of equity and debt the company is using to finance its assets. Google has a debt to equity ratio of 11.61%. This is considered high and means that the company has been aggressive in financing its growth with debt. The high number can result in inconsistent earnings as a result of additional interest expense. Google has a return on assets of 10.5%. This is an indicator of how profitable a company is relative to its total assets. Since Google maintains an ROA below the industry average, of 15.6%, this shows that the company is earning less money on investments. Google has ‘day’s sales outstanding’ or DSO of 49.8. This means that Google takes a relatively long time to receive revenue once a sale has been made. This could be because most of their sales could be done on credit. With the expansion of the industry, Google has an opportunity for growth. The current growth rate for 2012 for Google is 11.29% and it is predicted to increase to 17.43% in 2013. The reason Google is predicted to grow over the next year or so is because the demand for online use is more predominant. With the growth of this industry it is vital that Google is aware of the threats it may encounter. One of Google’s biggest competitors, Microsoft, has introduced a newly organized search engine called Bing. The search engine Bing is gradually growing and advancing their technology making them a threat towards Google. Whenever Google advances their technology Bing turns around and does something to make their search engine better, creating a war between the two. Google is generally strong in its ability to cover debt. It has a current ratio of 3.94%, meaning it can efficiently cover its short-term liabilities. The company also has a debt to assets ratio of .07%. This number measures the company’s financial risk by determining how much of the company’s assets have been financed by debt. Since Google’s number is equal to industry average it is easy to infer that Google has average financial risk because its assets are significantly higher than its short and long term debt. Google also shows a strong ability to pay off their  interest because their EBITDA to interest ratio is extremely high at 154.64. The operating cash flow to total debt ratio measures how well the cash generated from Google’s operations covers current liabilities. Google’s operating cash flow to total debt ratio is also high at 2.56. This is a good sign and means Google is able to generate a large sum of cash to pay off debts. When a company with operating cash flow is considerably higher than its net income the company is considered to have high quality. This is the case with Google. In 2008 Google’s net income was $6,632,000,000 and its operating cash flow was $7,853,000,000. Over the last five years both net income and operating cash flows have increased. Net income increased to $13,339,000,000 and the cash from operating activities increase to $15,874,000,000. Since Google is generating a good amount of their money back they have been able to reduce debt alo ng with buying backs some of their stock. Google investing activities primarily consist of information technology, consumer discretionary, and financials. In 2008 Google’s investing activity started out at $5,319,000,000 and gradually increased over the last five years till it reached $19,041,000,000 in 2011. In the beginning of 2012 Google’s investing activities decreased to a $12,101,000,000. In 2012 Google’s main investment was information technology with a hint utility research. Over the last few years Google has spent an exceptional amount of money on capital expenditures, items that last a long time to keep the company running. Over the last three years Google spent an average of $2,755,333,000 on capital expenditures. Cash from financing activities measures the movement of cash between a firm, its owners, and creditors. Financing activities consist of issuing dividends and issuing or selling stock. In 2008 and 2009 there was no long-term or short-term debt issued but in 2010 Google issue over $5,246,000,000 worth of debt and only paid back $1,783,000,000 of the debt. The following year Google issued $10,179,000,000 dollars’ worth of debt and repaid more then 2/3s of the debt, making them a credible company. Over the last few years Google did not have any dividends. In 2010 Google repurchased a stock of $801,000,000 because they felt their stocks were undervalued. When a company buys back stock they increase their earnings per share and increase the market value of the outstanding shares. From 2009 to 2010 cash from financing increased drastically, from $233,000,000,000 to $3,050,000,000,000. With a CAPM beta of 1.23 and a P/E ratio of 21.65 Google is a riskier firm. Google’s beta of 1.23 is above average making it riskier than other firms in the industry due to the amount of debt issued. However, firms with higher risk have higher return. Google’s P/E ratio is also currently under the industry average of 28.70% making the stock undervalued. Over the next year Google had predicted that their P/E ratio would decrease to 17.88. Return on equity or ROE, shows a corporation’s profitability by revealing how much profit a company generates with the money shareholders have invested. Relative to the industry average of 15.30% Google has a relatively high ROE of 17.18%. Meaning Google generates a strong profit with the money shareholders invested in the company. In comparison to Google, Microsoft has a ROE of 24.5%, EBay has a ROE of 21.28%, Akamai Technologies has a ROE of 8.94%, and Baidu with an exceptionally high ROE of 53.6%. Another way to compare Google to its competitors is to compare benchmarks. Benchmarking of Google’s competitors would be measured in terms of profit margin. The higher the profit margin the more profitable a company is. Google has a profit margin of 59.92 % while its biggest competitor Microsoft has a profit margin of 75.23% and Apple has a profit margin of 43.87%. This means that Microsoft has a competitive advantage of cost control compared to Google, Apple, and other com petitors in this industry. Throughout the years Google has remained a strong well-known company that supplies organized information from all around the world to thousands of consumers every day. Through exploiting strengths, executing opportunities, fixing weaknesses, and distinguishing threats Google can remain a top-notch company and continue to dominate the Internet Information system. Some recent news for this company is the mind-blowing lawsuit between Apple and Google. Within the last year Apple had sewed Google for seeking unreasonably high license fees for patent use on wireless technology. Apple claimed that Motorola was in violation of their patent by seeking a license fee of 2.25 percent of the price of devices. Over the last week Google was  pleased to hear that this lawsuit was dropped due to the fact that there was no basis for the claim. References: Google Inc. Yahoo Finance. Yahoo, n.d. Web. . â€Å"Google Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2012 Financial Results Investor Relations Google. Google Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2012 Financial Results ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒâ€šÃ‚€Ã‚“ Investor Relations ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒâ€šÃ‚€Ã‚“ Google.n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2012. Reference for Business. Google, Inc.N.p. n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2012.

Still Be Neat | Delight in Disorder | Analysis

Still Be Neat | Delight in Disorder | Analysis Ben Jonsons poem, Still to Be Neat, and Robert Herricks poem, Delight in Disorder, both argue the themes of naturalness. While both poems have similar themes, their approach to the subject of art are opposite. Jonson uses a discreet approach, while Herrick is more up front and lighthearted. The structure, word choice, and diction of each poem helps further their argument of natural beauty. This is significant in showing how Jonson and Herricks poems both discuss the beauty in nature and art, and thus showing that being natural and carefree is preferable to meticulous concealment. The syntax of Still to Be Neat and Delight in Disorder aid in getting the theme across to the reader. Both poems are in the meter of iambic tetrameter. Stresses on the syllables in the words dress and the o in disorder show, in Herricks poem, that the order of the dress is the main argument of the poem. The syllables in the words neat and dressed are stressed to show the central subject of the poem. Jonsons poem is two stanzas while Herricks poem is only one stanza. In the first stanza of Jonsons poem, the speaker describes a woman with her makeup on and the second stanza describes a vision of the woman without her makeup. The single stanza of Herricks poem is a continuous thought that cannot be broken up. This shows that the speaker cannot think about anything else except the woman of the poem. Herricks one stanza consists of 14 lines that describe the sweet disorder the speaker mentions in line 1. The first 12 lines are very stretched rhymes that are a little chaotic. These lines r epresent the chaos of the clothes. Jonsons poem is 12 lines that has a weird rhyme at the beginning of the poem. The words dressed and feast do not rhyme as well as the rest of the rhymes in the poem. This could be stressing that the attention to details, in writing or in dressing, is not always important. Each poem consists of rhyming pairs throughout the whole poem. The consistent pairs represent the perfection women believe they must achieve. The playfulness of the rhymes present to the reader how Herrick and Jonson prefer that the attention to getting dressed should not be so serious. This is significant in showing that the structure of the poem adds to the themes of natural and carefree beauty. Herricks approach to the theme is more mischievous when being compared to Jonsons poem. Delight in Disorder is a cavalier poem, which justifies the use of playful alliteration such as winning wave (line 9). Line nine states Ribbons to flow confusedly; / A winning wave, deserving note. The alliteration gives the poem a lighthearted tone. The word winning means to conquer and wave means to sway to and fro (winning, wave, Oxford English Dictionary). The ribbons are waving in a neglectful manner that the speaker enjoys. This carefree manner can be seen throughout the whole poem. Words such as distraction, neglectful, confusedly, careless, and wild, describe the disorder of the clothes within the poem (lines 4, 7, 8, 11, 12). The words sweet, fine, winning, deserving, and tempestuous, describe the delight the speaker views within all the disorder (lines 1, 4, 9, 10). The whole poem is a sweet disorder due to its silly rhymes and its perfect rhyme at the end of the poem (line 1 and PJ Eme ry). The chaotic rhymes represent the disorder and the last couplet represents the sweetness of the disarray. Herricks playfulness reveals itself in the lines that describe pieces of clothing. The clothing brings the readers attention to body parts. For example, the speaker states A lawn about the shoulders thrown/ Into a fine distractioÃÅ'à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬n (lines 3-4). The piece of linen attracts the speaker to stare at the womans shoulders. The linen is not carefully put in place on the shoulders of the woman, but rather thrown about in a carefree manner. This use of heedlessness attracts the speaker the most because it is not precise. The word distractioÃÅ'à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬n is a distraction itself due to its spelling. It is a play with words that give the poem its good-humored tone. The speakers association with clothes and body parts give the poem a sexual tone. The speaker states A careless shoestring/Do more bewitch me than when art/ Is too precise in every part (lines 11, 13-14). Carelessly placed pieces of clothing attract the speaker to the woman. He would rather see a chaotic mes s of clothes thrown on rather than a neatly placed outfit. The negligence of the outfit is what attracts the speaker. This is significant in showing that the speaker feels the disorder in dressing is what makes the woman beautiful. Jonsons approach to the theme is less upfront. The speaker urges his love to show him her natural beauty rather than the facade she puts on every second of the day. The word still is throughout the whole first stanza. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word still means always and continuously without change. The speaker uses this word when saying Still to neat, still to dressed/ As you were going to a feast (lines 1-2). Being over-dressed all the time is not what attracts the speaker. The speaker states Give me a look, give me a face/ That makes simplicity a grace, which urges the speakers love to reveal her true beauty. He prefers the less complicated face over the one with makeup that hides the truth. Phrases and words such as simplicity, loosely flowing, free and sweet neglect are what attract the speaker the most (lines 8, 9, 10). These words describe a carefree approach to life that the speaker would favor his woman to live. Thus, showing that simplicity is preferab le than forced beauty. The speaker of Still to Be Neat does appreciate the physical appearance of a woman. In the last three lines of the poem the speaker says Such sweet neglect more taketh me/ Than all adulteries of art./ They strike mine eyes, but not my heart (lines 10-12). Although the makeup is appealing feature on the surface it does not affect the speakers heart, which really matters. The speaker is not satisfied with arts hid causes because they do not reveal the true nature of the woman (line 5). Physical beauty is not what the speaker seeks but seeks a deeper connection. This is significant in showing that beauty is not all it takes to win a mans heart. Both poems discuss art. Herrick refers to the art of dressing. Jonson refers to the art of dressing as well as the art of adultery. Jonson poems for a sexual tone in line 11 when the speaker states that the negligence of the clothes attract him more than the adulteries of art (line 11). This line shows how much power the art of dressing has on the speaker. Dressing playfully can prevent the speaker from cheating. Herrick finds a simple piece of clothing tempestuous due to its confusing manner (line 10). Both poets display the themes of nature and art are in association with clothing throughout each poem. The art of dressing should not be scrupulous order but a relaxed mess. Both Herrick and Jonson show in their poems that art is better when it is natural rather than concealing it to look perfect. Herrick takes a more mischievous route, while Jonson is more discreet but still shows a lighthearted side. Each poets approach varies but the message of natural beauty is consistent in both poems.

The Nature of Perceived Ultimacy in Zen Buddhism Essay -- Philosophy

This paper will explore the question of how to understand the nature of perceived ultimacy in Zen Buddhism. This will be achieved through providing a justification for why this question should be of any interest and then hypothesizing about possible implications of the results. Next, the framework that is to be used in categorizing the core beliefs in Zen will be explained and made clear. After this description is complete the author will proceed to fit Zen Buddhism into this framework and will demonstrate that the Zen religion is no exception to the employed framework. Finally the author will describe the perceived ultimacy of Zen Buddhism. The topic of Zen Buddhism and understanding how it fits into a framework that was designed to describe and compare religions is important because religion has a major impact on the world and to be able to understand and â€Å"explore† what the world has to offer is an important aspect of existence as a human being. Some might wonder why Zen Buddhism is important when it is not a major religion in the United States, but perhaps that is the very reason it is so important to understand Zen Buddhism and to be able to describe it in a way that allows one to make comparisons with more familiar religions in a standardized framework. Zen Buddhism in particular is interesting in the setting of the United States because as Americans we have had little experience with Buddhism. Shunryu Suzuki related in the book Zen Mind, Beginners Mind, that Americans start Buddhism with a very pure mind, a beginners mind, which allows us to understand the Buddha’s teaching as he meant them to be understood (138). Suzuki also states in the book that because of this, hopefully, young Americans have the chance to fi... ...if he and the world were just created from nothingness (Suzuki 67), this too is a change in how humans normally experience the world. Wherever Zen Buddhism fits in exactly between secular and spiritual is hard to tell, and like Suzuki said perhaps Zen is a religion before religion and the appreciation of our original nature as strange as it might sound to us is even described as â€Å"unusual† to Suzuki himself (124). It is clear however that Zen fits into Young’s framework and perhaps with a beginner’s mind one can make use of this and find for themselves the answers to at least part of the questions about their own life. Bibliography Suzuki, Shunryu. Zen Mind, Beginners Mind. New York & Tokyo: Weatherhill, 1982. Young, William A. The World’s Religions Worldviews and Contemporary Issues. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 1995.

Our Town - An Essay On Theme Of The Play :: essays research papers

The theme of the play has to do with the way that life is an endless cycle. You're born, you have some happy times, you have some bad times, and then you die. As the years pass by, everything seems to change. But all in all there is little change. The sun always rises in the early morning, and sets in the evening. The seasons always rotate like they always have. The birds are always chirping. And there is always somebody that has life a little bit worse than your own. In act one when the stage manager pulls Mr. Webb out of the play to talk with him on page 528, the lady in the box asks "Oh Mr. Webb? Mr. Webb is there any culture or love of beauty in Grover's Corners?". Mr. Webb her, there isn't much culture the way she might think, but "... we've got a lot of pleasures of a kind here: We like the sun comin' up over the mountain in the morning, and we all notice a good deal about the birds. We pay a lot of attention to them. And we watch the change of the seasons..." These are the things that the people of Grover's Corners appreciate, the things we take for granted. Also in act one, after the choir rehearsal on page 532, Dr. and Mrs. Gibbs are gossiping about the town drunk. Dr. Gibbs says "I guess I know more about Simon Stimson's affairs than anybody in this town. Some people ain't made for small-town life. I don't know how that'll end; but there's nothing we can do but leave it alone." This shows that there is always someone that has things worse than you do. At the very beginning of act two when the stage manager tells that three years have gone by, but nothing has really changed, and the cycle continues. In act three at the beginning on page 547, the stage manager tells that nine years have gone by. "Gradual changes in Grover's Corners." He then tells how horses are being replaced by Fords, and that people lock their doors now at night. Then he says, "You'd be surprised, though—on the whole, things don't change much around here." Again this indicates the endless cycle. My idea of the theme of the play doesn't differ all that much from Wilder's theme. My idea of the theme only adds to Wilder's theme.

Health Advocacy Campaign Essay

Health Advocacy Campaign: Fighting Mental Illnesses one Day at A Time Millions of American’s are affected by mental health illnesses. As a nurse I understand that mental health illnesses have no respect of person. The National Alliance on Mental Illness reported that approximately 61.5 million Americans are affected by mental illness in a given year, and almost 13.6 million individuals live with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, depression, or bipolar disorder (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2013). http://www.nami.org/factsheets/mentalillness_factsheet.pdf. Further, data revealed that 20 percent of youth ages 13 to 18 years old have experienced severe mental disorders within a given year, and about 13 percent of these populations are pediatrics patients that range between the ages of ages 8 to 15 years old. The United States spends nearly $193.2 billion per year on mental health diseases (NAMI, 2013) proving that mental health illnesses are a major public health concern. Crises around the world have caused a greater shift in the efforts to promote wellness within communities. Public health priorities are more geared towards communities working together to combat the devastating tragedies that continue to affect many schools and communities within the United States. It has been estimated that by the year 2020 depression will be the second largest killer, and many communities and schools have already begin to experience the horrific repercussions. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop a health advocacy campaign that will more readily identify mental health illnesses as well as explore realistic methods to promote policies as well as improve community health outcomes. Population Health Issue and Population Affected Depression is a chronic medical condition that affects the way in which individuals feel, think, and behave. At some time in every individuals life sadness will be experienced; however, depression is far more serious. Depression is a lifelong disorder that requires ongoing medical treatment. Yearly, depression affects approximately 9.5 percent of the United States adult population, but the pediatric population has recently been identified as the fastest growing population diagnosed with clinical depression (Uplift Program, 2004). http://www.upliftprogram.com/depression_stats.html#statistics. Research has  found that depression stems from trauma, stressful life situations, and environmental exposures. Even though genetics may be a factor, depression episodes are usually trigged by some type of upsetting or traumatic event. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that approximately 11 percent of adolescents are diagnosed with a depressive disorder by age of 18 years old (National Institute of Mental Health, 2014), which seems quite alarming because depression is not easily recognized in pediatric populations. Although, if close attention is paid changes can be noted in general interaction with peers such as: increased irritability, anger, aggression, social isolation, and low self-esteem. Most recently there have been an increasing number in school shootings. Although, all the shooters except one have committed suicide the assumed causes have been linked to some type of traumatic stressful situation such as bullying or exposure to afflicted violence. Research completed by psychiatrist Meena Vythilingam found that extreme stress and trauma has effects on portions of the brain leading to improper functioning of the body’s memory and control of emotions. ( cite article ) When mental illnesses are left untreated serious impairment in daily functioning occurs. Therefore, early screenings and treatments in pediatric populations are essential. Nature Neuroscience 5, 1242 – 1247 (2002) Published online: 15 October 2002; | doi:10.1038/nn958 Smaller hippocampal volume predicts pathologic vulnerability to psychological trauma Mark W. Gilbertson1, 2, Martha E. Shenton2, 3, 4, Aleksandra Ciszewski4, Kiyoto Kasai4, Natasha B. Lasko1, 2, 5, Scott P. Orr1, 2, 5& Roger K. Pitman2, 5 Advocacy Programs Researched in this Area Advocacy programs researched in mental health disorders included the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. The DBSA is an impactful organization that offers a multitude of support groups for youth and adults throughout the United States. The DBSA has multiple chapters and networks located within each state and are also tech savvy. Support services can be accessed through the web in real time; therefore, participants can join meetings virtually and partake in the ongoing support and promotion of wellness and recovery. The major benefits of DBSA are to enhance wellness by  helping individuals that suffer from depression look at the positivity that life can offer understanding that with treatment and recovery one can live a life of joy and happiness. Additionally, the program offers a 4 week course titled Living Successfully with a Mood Disorder that can be facilitated by advocates within communities as efforts to teach individuals how to live healthy, full, meaningful lives while living with a mental health disorder. Furthermore, if there is any reason an individual cannot attend their community facilitated session on Living successfully with a Mood Disorder the DBSA offers online courses as a way of reaching as many individuals as possible. To date the DBSA have developed a strategic plan which remolded their vision for wellness for individuals living with mood disorders as well as set innovative values that are established to support their direction of moving forward. http://www.dbsalliance.org/site/PageServer?pagename=home—citation The National Alliance on Mental Illness is another organization that advocates for community support and recovery of mental health disorders. NAMI has become known as one of the most popular organizations for supporting and advocating for mental illness throughout United States worldwide. The organization prides itself on its commitment to campaigning for access to services, treatment, and continuing research as they raise community awareness for individuals in need. Because NAMI understands the damaging and devastating effects that mental illnesses can create within communities the organization works diligently to make sure lives are saved daily. Furthermore, NAMI has also been a big influence politically. They have made national investment in lifesaving research and have rallied for the equality of mental health care. Additionally, the organization prides itself on successfully addressing the stigmas of mental illnesses through social media and signature educational programs that can be viewed as symbols of help and hope for communities, families, and individuals. Promoting public awareness will always be their main objective as they passionately work to ensure positive outcomes for all American youth and adults. Effective Attributes of the Programs To date both programs are currently meeting todays societal needs, outreaching through social media, as well as having tangible advocate that  can be contacted for support and help in times of need. There compassion and commitment to increasing and promoting community awareness have included outreach efforts worldwide. Moreover, NAMI has even further extended their efforts to address the challenges of our changing world through supporting virtual communities of help and hope to millions through social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and their very own website titled NAMI.org. Health Advocacy Plan According to the U.S. Surgeon General 11 percent of youth have been diagnosed with a mental health illness and more alarming statistics reveals that two-thirds of America’s youth who have a condition have not been identified nor have they received mental health services (Cite http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/legislative-priorities). My health advocacy plan focuses on the early identification, treatment, and recovery of mental health illnesses within pediatric populations proposing a policy addition to the Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2013 (S. 689). Currently the Act addresses the country mental health crises from an educational and public health standpoint. The educational standpoint focuses on promoting school-wide prevention through the development of positive behavioral supports and encouraging school-based mental health partnerships. The public health standpoint focuses on suicide prevention, helping children recover from traumatic events, mental health awareness for teachers and other individuals, and assessing barriers to integrating behavioral health and primary care ( cite). In addition to the current Act there needs to be an increase in efforts towards earlier identification of behavioral and emotional problems so that appropriate referrals for mental health can be assessed as early as possible facilitating ongoing follow up care and treatment for identified disorders. Efforts will include screening pediatric patient’s ages 3 to18 years for during well child exams. Local Health Departments, Pediatric offices, and Family Care Practices should be required to utilize The Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC-17) screening tool during well child exams. The PSC-17 screening tool which is recommended by the AAP will be completed by the parent or adult that the child lives with if the child is between ages 3 to 1 1 years old. Children between the ages of 12 to 18 years will complete to form by themselves with parental supervision. It  will be explained to parents/adults and teens that the enactment of the Affordable Care Act have encouraged a greater focus on preventive screenings; therefore, the visit today will encompass a comprehensive level of care that includes screenings to identify any risk factors that children may be subjected too. Parents/adults and teens will further be provided with clear directions on how to complete the form to determine the child’s risk for mental health problems in three different categories. The form will then be assessed and evaluated by the Physician/Practitioner or Registered Nurse based on the parents/adults or teens responses, determining the child’s risk and further needs for evaluation of care. If results are within normal limits the parents/adults and teen will be provided with positive reinforcements; however, if the results are abnormal the Physician/Practitioner will provide positive reinforcements along with a referral if the parent/adult consents f or further evaluation and ongoing care by a pediatric psychiatrist. Additionally, because we have a team of school nurses that work directly with children daily within the school systems this tool will further be utilized to recognize cognitive, emotional, and behavioral problems so that a greater percentage of the pediatric populations are reached and screened. In efforts to address ongoing follow up care and treatment, collaboration has been established with a local outpatient mental health and rehab center that provides comprehensive services to children and adults. All positive results and referrals will be forwarded and communicated with a designated nurse at the outpatient center and contact will be made with families from the designated nurse within 1-2 business days. The two entities which are the Richland Public Health Department and Catalyst Life Services will maintain ongoing communication regarding the child’s and families continuing progress, along with providing and directing needed resources as the needs arise. Objectives for the Policy Implemented: By January 1, 2015 at the end of the child’s well child visit parents or the adult that the child is living with will understand the significance and importance of early screening for pediatric depression and ongoing services if needed. By January 1, 2015 all children screening positive for depression will receive ongoing treatment and services that are evidence based  incorporating therapeutic knowledge that is individualized to each child’s specific needs within 30 days from the initial well child visit. By January 2015, Yearly well child exams will be scheduled and kept by the parents with reminder calls and/or letters sent out in the mail 30 days before scheduled appointment, then again 1 week before scheduled appointment. By January 2015, Communication between RPH and Catalyst regarding status/progress updates will be documented in the child’s EMR every other month documenting how the child and family are doing with treatment and follow up care. Data and Evidence to Substantiate Proposed Need— http://jpepsy.oxfordjournals.org/content/37/3/348.full citation In a 2011 study published in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology many physicians cited several barriers as reasons for not assessing and screening pediatric patients for psychosocial concerns, with the biggest barrier being time constraints. The study also found that during a National survey 29-50% of parents reported that their child’s pediatrician was not screening their child/children for mental health issues or concerns. So, the AAP has been diligent, formulating and designing a pediatric symptom checklist scoring tool that has a moderate to high sensitivity and specificity in efforts to address cited barriers for physician neglecting to screen pediatric populations during well child exams. The PSC-17 checklist and screening tool is a quick, easy, and effective way to identify cognitive, emotional, and behavioral which facilitates the initiation of interventions as soon as possible for identified mental health problems. Another study published in the American Academy of Pediatrics found that pediatricians and other primary care clinicians have only focused their attention on meeting the primary care needs of the child, forgoing evaluation of mental health disorders. The article further explored the values of the AAP policy statement which addresses the importance of improving pediatric populations’ health services as well as community services. Researched data has revealed that mental health concerns not only exist within the child, but includes all aspects of the child’s life such as family, school, community, and many other exposures they child may be vulnerable to. With the increasing number of school shootings communities as  well as primary care providers have shown an interested in advocating and enhancing mental services within communities as well as outreaching and forming partnerships with local mental health agencies, community health activists, child protective and juvenil e justice, local health departments, and schools. Improving patient’s health outcomes by shifting the health care system towards quality over quantity is imperative. Section 2713 titled Coverage of Preventive Health Services requires all healthcare plans to cover preventive services, as well as pediatric preventive services and screenings recommended by the Health Resources and Services Administration. HRSA works in connection with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, whose main goal is improving access to health care by strengthening the health care workforce, building healthy communities, and achieving health equity (Health Resources and Services Administration, 2014). Therefore, HRSA provides grants to multiple organizations as efforts are implemented towards improving and expanding health care services for underserved communities throughout the United States. How Attributes of Effective Advocacy Programs Researched Can Be Applied to this Proposed Campaign Attributes of effective advocacy programs researched can be applied to the proposed campaign by networking and outreaching with organizations and individuals that share the same compassion and commitment towards increasing and promoting community awareness about mental health illnesses. Further attributes include creating partnerships that fosters marketing skills that capitalize on combining resources to increase greater support and power than on organization would have alone. The DBSA and NAMI also have multiple chapters and networks located within each state; therefore, the utilization of trusted organization could also be utilized as conglomerates for regular contact, name recognition, and credibility in efforts to promote ongoing care and support of wellness and recovery through screening pediatric population. Legal Considerations All nurses should be familiar with the basic legal concepts of nursing practice acts and laws. Nursing practice is governed by many laws;  therefore, it is essential that nurses assume accountability for their professional nursing judgments and actions. Enactment of Policy through Modification of Existing Policy OR Creation of New Legislation Policies to address the mental health crisis throughout America has become of great concern for today’s youth. In April of 2013 the Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2013 (S. 689) was submitted to Congress to reauthorize and improve programs related to mental health and substance use disorders. Because of the identified risk from 2011 statistical data within my own community (13% of 6th -12th grade youth had seriously considered suicide and 6% of youth had attempted suicide. Further finds found that 265 of youth reported feeling sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more which stopped them from doing regular activities and 41% of youth reported they would seek help for sadness and 14% did not know where to seek help) professional self-regulation needs to occur. According to Milstead, legislators may make adjustments to bills during several points of review so it is important that Advanced Practice Nurses monitor bills during this process so they can apply influences for positive outcomes ( Milsted, 75). Although, the bill addresses the use of positive behavioral interventions and supports, early intervening services, and school-based mental health programs to improve academic achievement and reduce disciplinary actions (cite https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s689/text); however, further modifications should be considered to further improve this existing policy. Pediatric screenings for mental health disorders should be mandatory for all office and clinic based physicians/practitioners/providers that provide well child exams to children ages 3 to 18 years old. This will ensure that all pediatric populations are being reached and early identification of behavioral problems can be addressed as soon as possible as efforts to prevent, promote, and protect communities. How Existing Laws or Regulations could Impact My Advocacy The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is one law that could positively impact my advocacy. The ACA requires coverage of preventive health services as well as all healthcare plans to cover preventive services such as pediatric preventive services and screenings, which are recommended  and supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration. Because the HRSA works in connection with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services efforts are focused on building healthier communities and achieving health equality. Therefore, the HRSA provides grants to organizations as efforts are implemented towards improving and expanding health care services for underserved communities throughout the United States and as a result, nurses are capable of outreaching and marketing to form relevant political relationships to assist in supporting and backing legislation. According to Milsted (p.49) nurses utilize persuasion to achieve desired goals because policy makers not know everything about nursing specialties; therefore, nurses can utilize performance measures to showcase continuous monitoring when reporting progress and ongoing efforts to improve organizational programs. Moreover, the main goal is to report to policy makers what has been contributed and how it has positively affected community health outcomes.

Is This Unlawful Discrimination? Essay

Unlawful discrimination occurs when an employer commits an adverse action against an employee because of the following attributes of the person: race, color, sex, age, pregnancy, etc. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) may take action when an investigation shows that there has been a violation in a person’s civil rights just because of his or her attributes. Case #1 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a federal law that protects individuals from discrimination based on religion. Religious discrimination is treating a person differently because of their religious believes. In this case Elaine Mobley, a member of the nonsectarian Unitarian Universalist Church, can file a legal sue under religious discrimination or the Civil Rights Act of 1964, because she was discriminated by employees and her supervisor. They said that she would be â€Å"making efforts repeatedly to â€Å"save the soul† of a fellow employee† (Neill, 2014, Web). A proven wrongful dismissal will tend to lead to two main remedies: reinstatement of the dismissed employee, and/or monetary compensation for the wrongfully dismissed. In this case the court should look on how Elaine Mobley told her supervisor that she was feeling harassed by her employees, and shortly after that she was fired. In this case the judge should rule in favor of Elaine Mobley, because of what we have of the case it seems that she was being harassed and told her director of division and did nothing but fire her. The employer did in fact discriminate unlawfully, because you cannot force someone to become one of your same religion. It is especially unlawful to leave messages in her desk stating â€Å"How can you speak of God and Reject me? I love you and know all about you† as the book stated (Nkomo, Fottler, McAfee, 7 edition, p. 56). Case #2 In case #2 Edward Roberts was unlawfully mistreated because of his color and/or race. Edward Roberts can legally sue the trucking company, because after he applied in person after responding to a newspaper ad, he never got an interview or was contracted. He later saw that eight employees where hired from April thru June 2005, right after he applied for the job. The company told Edward Roberts that there was no available space when he went, but they could have called him to an interview when space was available. Edward knew that the employees hired had less hours of experience than him. In this case he can sue for discrimination, â€Å"The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement† (History.com Staff, 2010). The court should look at why the company didn’t call Edward when there was an opening and should also investigate why the company also only contracted eight white people. These two issues can be seeing as discrimination against race. The judge should rule in favor of Edward Roberts because he has more experience than the rest of the eight white hired employees, the company makes it look that they didn’t hire him because he was black which makes the employer look like he is discriminating unlawfully. And I also think the company did look bad by just hiring all white people, if they didn’t like Edward or thought that he was over qualified for the position they could have dressed it up and hired at least one Africa-American. Case #3 In Thelma Jones case, she is unlawfully sexually discriminated because she was described as â€Å"macho† and was told, â€Å"walk more femininely, talk more femininely, dress more femininely, wear make-up, style her hair, and wear jewelry† (Nkomo, Fottler, McAfee, 7 edition, p. 57). The law clearly states â€Å"It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin†(US EEOC, 2014). The court should take a look at what the partners said like, â€Å"she was sometimes overly aggressive†Ã‚  (Nkomo, Fottler, McAfee, 7 edition, p. 57). The judge should rule in favor of Thelma Jones because she is being sexually discriminated. The employer did in fact discriminate unlawfully because youâ €™re not allowed to tell a woman to be more â€Å"femininely† just to get a higher position. Case #4 In James McFadden vs. Airline company, James, a transsexual person, told his employer that he would be dressing as a woman in preparation to his â€Å"surgical sex reassignment†. James was fired from his job because he refused to dress and act as a man. In this case the legal statute that could apply would be the sex discrimination against James. The court should look at what happen, James told his employer about the sex change and employer told him he had to keep dressing as a man, he refused and was fired. The judge should rule in favor of the Airline Company because the employer told James he couldn’t do that, and it is understandable because of airport security. He was also no discriminated because he was still a man, and he said he was treated differently from the other women employed. Case #5 Andrew Johnson would be able to apply for racist discrimination, because of his color, white people would have name-callings for him. The court should take a look at the name-calling, what was done after Andrew complained to senior management, and the threat done to Andrew after he was told, â€Å"his days were probably numbered† (Nkomo, Fottler, McAfee, 7 edition, p. 57), after getting injured and recuperating, he got a letter from management saying that the accept his resining. Andrew denied it, and requested his job back, but he was denied. The judge should rule in favor of Andrew because the employer unlawfully discriminated because had no reason for name-calling and resining him without Andrew wanting to resign. Case #6 Paul Martin could have file sue on the statue of sexual discrimination. The court could have a look at the two candidates and why Betty Palmer was selected and not Martin. The county said that, â€Å"Palmer had gotten the job as part of voluntary affirmative action plan† (Nkomo, Fottler, McAfee, 7 edition, p. 58). The court should rule in favor of the county because they are trying to build a better composition of the county where there is no race or gender problem. The employer said that they where both qualified but  for certain reasons Palmer got the job, and there is no unlawful discrimination in that. Case #7 In this case Elnora Williams is able to sue in sex discrimination. The court should look at the reason of why there has never been a female as a principal, or look at a statement that says that it has to be a male person who runs the school. The judge should rule in favor of Elnora Williams because in no place does it say that a male should always be principal of the school. The employer did sexually discriminate against Elnora for saying that a male image should be used to run a school. Case #8 Frank Poole was in all his rights when he filed a suit against Department because he was discriminated with his disability (AIDS). The court should take into issue what the doctors have said, â€Å" medical director’s report that Poole’s condition did not place his students at any risk† (Nkomo, Fottler, McAfee, 7 edition, p. 58). The judge should file against the Department, the employer was discriminating Poole with his disability, if doctors already said that no body has risk of contagiousness. Case #9 Lauren Hill had the right to sue if she felt there was any sex discrimination against her. The court should take a look at the evaluation performance, and why the results showed that she was not working as good to get a raise. The court should also investigate if any other women where promoted. The judge should rule in favor of the company, there is no evidence that Lauren Hill was sexually discriminated by her employer. Case #10 Donna Skeen has all the right to sue the dealership because of all the disability, name-calling, and age discrimination that she suffered. The court should take a look at all that was said to her, the name-calling, telling her â€Å"old lady† and if she had Alzheimer’s. The reasons why Donna is suing are all litigable reasons for her to win the case. The judge should rule in favor of Donna Skeen for disability discrimination as well as age discrimination. The employer knew about the name-calling and did nothing about it. Case #11 Jerome Atwood a firefighter suing the city department for reverse discrimination has all the rights to do so, Atwood is more qualified than the minority firefighters. The court should investigate on why there was a layoff, and why Atwood was the one laid off. The judge should rule in favor of the City Department because they had a layoff plan aimed to protect minority firefighters. The employer was just doing his job and there was no wrong doing of it. Case #12 Herbert Fox disability discrimination is the right way to sue his 25 working years at the furniture company. The court should look at the disability of Mr. Fox, he said that the medicine given to him would have some troubles with his schedule. Mr. Fox was also terminated when he filled for disability benefits. The judge should rule in favor of Mr. Fox because if Mr. Fox has already said that the medicine given to him would counter effect his working schedule the company should do something to help him especially when he has 25 years with them . Case #13 Lia Lee field for suit under the race or nationality, because of her accent the company did not give her the promotion. The court should take the time to hear Lia speak or perfume some kind of reading demonstration that she can read and speak well English. The judge should rule in favor of the bank, if they don’t think she is ready to be a customer service specialist they know what is best for their company. The employer never said anything racist or against her nationality, only said that her English skills weren’t up to level, that is not discrimination. Case #14 Margaret Reynolds has all the right to sue Slendercise, Inc. because of weight, size or physical discrimination. The court need to look at the reason why they didn’t hire Margaret, and the reason they gave her as well. The judge should rule in favor of Margaret Reynolds, because in no place does it say that you have to be a certain height, weight, or size to be an aerobics teacher, this is a psychical discrimination that the employer took onto Margaret the employee. Case #15 Abdul Mohammed filed suit and has legal statute of applying religious harassment and ethnic discrimination against the steel company. The court should look at both the times Abdul asked them for a private room, the discrimination, name-calling, and mocking of Muslims. The judge should rule in favor of Abdul because nobody should be making fun of any religion especially name-calling. The employer knew about the problem and twice did not do anything to change it. References History.com Staff (2010). Civil Rights Act. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-act Neill and Byrne (2014). Religious Discrimination. Retrieved from http://www.workplacefairness.org/religion#1 Nkomo, S., Fottler, M., McAfee, B. (7 edition). Human Resource Management Application. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2014). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/titlevii.cfm

Cross Language Translation in a Web-based Environment Essay

One of the major problems with cross-language translations involving those that are rarely used together (i. e. Finish Lithuanian) is that there are no dictionaries available or it is extremely difficult to find one. The main problem is that there are not enough people to create a market and no one would invest in creation of such kind of dictionaries. English-based dictionaries, however, is of abundance. This project tackled the above cited problem in Cross Language Translation using English as its base dictionary. Artificial intelligence through Neural Networks was used as it appeared well-suited to problems of this nature. For this reason, artificial intelligence through neural networks was investigated as a potential tool to improve translation accuracy but future implementation was left as a possibility. WordNet ® was also investigated as source of defining English words and possible tool to achieve greater accuracy in cross-language translations. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have contributed in any way, shape or form to the completion of this project report, those at Zodynai. org and the Anglia Ruskin University for their advice and support. Thanks to my friends and family who (once again) tolerated my lack of time and sometimes grumpy demeanour. More thanks to friends at Anglia Ruskin University for their ideas and criticism. Your support (directly and indirectly) is greatly appreciated. T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S ABSTRACT Acknowledgements TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION OBJECTIVES METHODOLOGIES DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION RESULTS AND DISCUSSION CONCLUSION AND EVALUATION BIBILIOGRAPHY APPENDICES A Project Specification B User/Software Installation Guide A C Software Installation Guide B D Poster and Visual Presentations E Source Code F Abbreviations and Acronyms INTRODUCTION The multilingual world and the barriers it entails. A large number of people across the world converse in English thus it serves as the primary lingua franca for developments in the research world. Most publications and journals are published in such language. This leaves publications in other languages inaccessible and apparently, information in English is withheld from those millions who do not speak English (Diekema 2003) Recent trends promote the construction of a far-reaching complex infrastructure for transporting information across boundaries. Apparently, language shares a vital portion in the hindrances presented by National borders. Whilst the fact is inevitable that English remains the most spoken language in the whole world and though, it is true that the spread of ‘World English’ can promote cooperation and equity, longstanding linguistic competition threatens to be even more divisive in a globalizing world. (Maurais et al n. d. ) A lot is currently going on to overcome these linguistic barriers. The most efficient approach to overcoming such is with cross-language translation and in this literature it will well be mostly in the web-based-online-dictionary aspect of such approach. English has always been the main focus of information retrieval, well, that is by tradition. Many of them retrieval algorithms and heuristics stem from English speaking countries and thus are based on the said language. Over the years, these retrieval methods have been adopted by other language communities, creating a wide selection of language-specific monolingual retrieval systems. However, to ensure complete information exchange, information retrieval systems need to be multilingual or cross-lingual. (Diekema 2003) There are a lot of ways to pin down the hindrance of being in this multi-lingual world, the barrier of being in a world divided by being in English- or Non-English-speaking territories. And, as presented, the most researched approach is through Cross-Language translation. OBJECTIVES Main problem that we are facing when translating with English based dictionary is connecting various language data bases. One of solutions for this program is to create a base dictionary (as seen in Figure 1). Figure 1 Other major problem is that performing translation a lot of noise is created. As seen in Figure 2. Figure 2 We can examine this in greater detail in Figure 3. Word Autobusas is translated from Lithuanian language to Russian based on English language. Two different possible translations occur (bus, omnibus) when translating Lithuanian -> English. First word â€Å"bus† translated from English to Russian has three meanings â€Å"Ð °Ã ²Ã'‚Ð ¾Ã ±Ã'Æ'Ã' Ã¢â‚¬  †Ã ¾Ã ¼Ã ½Ã ¸Ã ±Ã'Æ'Ã' Ã¢â‚¬  †Ã'ˆÐ ¸Ã ½Ã °Ã¢â‚¬  word translated. As first few are synonyms third one has totally different value and meant â€Å"Topology bus†. As you can see on reverse translations †Ã'ˆÐ ¸Ã ½Ã °Ã¢â‚¬  will going to give you four different meanings translated in Lithuanian language. Figure 3 We are going to investigate WordNet and Neural networks approach for possible solution of this problem. METHODOLOGIES Cross-Language Information Retrieval, its promise. Information retrieval entails an individual querying about something of interest to him. Inevitably, since we are life forms known to be ever inquisitive, we do Information Retrieval in every aspect of our living. This event so commonly happens in a lot of situation and may be best displayed in a Library when a student picks his book of choice. Formally, let us define Information Retrieval (IR) as the process in which users with information need query a collection of documents to find those documents that satisfy his need. (Diekema 2003) In the electronic realm, the user queries by typing in related words, the system then processes these keywords to create a representation understandable by the system. In the course of the procedure, the system usually strips off non-bearing fragments of the query keywords such as articles like determiners, prepositions, and pronouns. The document collection undergoes the same process resulting to a list of document representations or a catalogue. To find documents that are similar to the query, the ‘stripped off’ query representation is then matched against the catalogue. When a certain degree of similarity between the catalogue and the ‘stripped off’ query has been established, the documents with the uppermost similarity scores (depending on the settings, say top 10) are shown to the user as results. This occurs typically during browsing through the internet and Google. comTM best displays this example. A development of IR is CLIR – the Cross-Language Information Retrieval, which, as the name implies, is information retrieval in a multi-linguistic environment. Consequently, CLIR techniques simplify searching by multilingual users and allow monolingual searchers to judge relevance based on machine translated results and/or to allocate expensive translation resources to the most promising foreign language documents. (Diekema 2003) Simple IR systems only consist of a Query, an Input Cleanser, a Matcher, the Document database and the Output, in logical order. The addition of Language Translators would make this system a Cross-Language Information Retrieval system. Of course the Document database would now contain multi-lingual entries as well and the output is to be presented in the way the query has been placed in the input. Figure 4 would show the Cross-Language Information Retrieval system in schematics. The method Cross-language Retrieval Systems promises users to state their queries in their native language and retrieve documents in all the languages supported by the system. (Diekema 2003) Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Artificial intelligence (AI) results to simulation of intellectual practice such as comprehension, rationalization and learning symbolic information in context. In AI, the automation or programming of all aspects of human cognition is considered from its foundations in cognitive science through approaches to symbolic and sub-symbolic AI, natural language processing, computer vision, and evolutionary or adaptive systems. (Neumann n. d. ) AI considered being an extremely intricate domain of problems which during preliminary stages in the problem-solving phase of this nature, the problem itself may be viewed poorly. A precise picture of the problem can only be seen upon interactive and incremental refinement of course, after you have taken the initial attempt to solve the mystery. AI always comes hand in hand with machine logistics. How else could mind act appropriately but with the body. In this case, a machine takes the part of the body. In a bit, this literature will be tackling about AI implemented through Neural Network. The author deems it necessary though to tackle Machine learning and thus the succeeding paragraphs. Machine Learning is primarily concerned with designing and developing algorithms and procedures that allow machines to â€Å"learn† – either inductive or deductive, which, in general, is its two types. At this point, we will be referring to machines as computers since in the world nowadays, the latter are the most widely used for control. Hence, we now hone our definition of Machine Learning as the study of methods for programming computers to learn. Computers are applied to a wide range of tasks, and for most of these it is relatively easy for programmers to design and implement the necessary software. (Dietterich n. d. ) Machine learning techniques are grouped into different categories basing on the expected outcome. Common types include Supervised, Unsupervised, Semi-supervised or Reinforcement learning. There is also the Transduction method and the ‘Learning to learn’ scheme. A section of theoretical computer science, Computational Learning Theory is the investigation on the computation of algorithms of Machine Learning including its efficiency. Researches on Machine Learning focuses mainly on the automatic extraction of information data, through computational and statistical methods. It is very much correlated not only to theoretical computer science as well as data mining and statistics. Supervised learning is the simplest learning task. It is an algorithm to which it is ruled by a function that automatically plots inputs to expected outputs. The task of supervised learning is to construct a classifier given a set of classified training examples (Dietterich n. d. ). The main challenge for supervised learning is that of generalization that a machine is expected in approximating the conduct that a function will exhibit which maps out a connection towards a number of classes through comparison of IO samples of the said function. When many plot-vector pairs are interrelated, a decision tree is derived which aids into viewing how the machine behaves with the function it currently holds. One advantage of decision trees is that, if they are not too large, they can be interpreted by humans. This can be useful both for gaining insight into the data and also for validating the reasonableness of the learned tree (Dietterich n. d. ). In unsupervised learning, manual matching of inputs is not utilized. Though, it is most often distinguished as supervised learning and it is one with an unknown output. This makes it very hard to decide what counts as success and suggests that the central problem is to find a suitable objective function that can replace the goal of agreeing with the teacher (Hinton & Sejnowski 1999). Simple classic examples of unsupervised learning include clustering and dimensionality reduction. (Ghahramani 2004) Semi-supervised learning entails learning situations where is an ample number of labelled data as compared to the unlabelled data. These are very natural situations, especially in domains where collecting data can be cheap (i. e. the internet) but labelling can be very expensive/time consuming. Many of the approaches to this problem attempt to infer a manifold, graph structure, or tree-structure from the unlabelled data and use spread in this structure to determine how labels will generalize to new unlabelled points. (Ghahramani 2004) Transduction is comparable to supervised learning in predicting new results with training inputs and outputs, as well as, test inputs – accessible during teaching, as basis, instead of behaving in accordance to some function. All these various types of Machine-Learning techniques can be used to fully implement Artificial Intelligence for a robust Cross-Language translation. One thing though, this literature is yet to discuss the planned process of machine learning this research shall employ, and that is by Neural Networks. There is yet to be a precise definition as to what Artificial Neural Network is, though many researchers would agree that it concerns a network of austere processing elements – otherwise known as the neurons, which presents complex behaviour established by the relationship amongst processing and parametrical elements. The main inspiration that lead to the development of this technique was from the investigation of, no lesser than, our Central Nervous System and the neurons (including their axons, dendrites and synapses) which make up its most important information processing elements. A neural network model would show us that simple nodes are connected forming a network of nodes — thus, its coining as â€Å"neural network. † A Neural Network functions in 2 different manners – learning and testing. The former would literally mean, the system learns the ways it is supposed to behave while the latter is when rigorous repetition of training would eventually result to a stable system, defined by its giving of constant satisfactory outputs. Most â€Å"abstract reasoning† of an Artificial Neural Networks are being implemented through three learning types – supervised, unsupervised and the reinforced learning, as has been introduced in the preceding paragraphs. Supervised learning entails a functional relationship between the input and the output. The system has to learn every possible IO pair that can be thought of. In case, there is a miss, all that has to be done is to input the said pair into the memory of the system hence when it resurfaces, the system knows how the handle it. Hence, basically, the goal is to ‘teach’ the network to identify the given input with the desired output. (Sordo 2002) This is usually best achieved when function f has already been derived to represent the behaviour of the Neural Network system. For unsupervised learning, we feed an input and a function to the system and record what behaviour the system outputs with such input and function. To begin with the learning process, there are no IO-pairs as opposed to supervised learning. Ultimately, the main goal of achieving the stable state will be attained through rigorous repetition of test with different sets of inputs. This type of systems – imploring unsupervised learning as its method of learning, are best displayed in statistical modelling, and the likes. Reinforcement learning stems its roots from the related psychological theory that has been conceived even before AI has been. Dynamically, in this type of learning, the machine interacts with its environment by producing actions a1, a2, †¦ These actions affect the state of the environment, which in turn results in the machine receiving some scalar rewards (or punishments) r1, r2, †¦ The goal of the machine is to learn to act in a way that maximizes the future rewards it receives (or minimises the punishments) over its lifetime. Reinforcement learning is closely related to the fields of decision theory (in statistics and management science), and control theory (in engineering). The fundamental problems studied in these fields are often formally equivalent, and the solutions are the same, although different aspects of problem and solution are usually emphasised. (Ghahramani 2004) Advantages of investing a system through Neural Networks. Neural networks with always have the outstanding characteristic of deriving intelligence from the usually complicated and, oftentimes, fuzzy data stored in the neurons. These systems, oftentimes, offer to be easy utilities to deduce patterns and perceive trends that are difficult to be noticed by either human observation or by our current computer intelligence. A trained neural network is regarded as an â€Å"expert† in the category of information it has been given to analyze. This expert can then be used to provide projections given new situations of interest and answer â€Å"what if† questions. (Chung et al 2007) It is used for adaptive learning on how to handle tasks based on the input provided for training or preliminary experience. It is a self-organizational tool that hones its own picture of the data it receives in as early as learning time. Neural networks another feature is that it is a real-time operation system where all calculation may be performed in parallel. Fault Tolerance via Redundant Information Coding is another aspect of the neural system where partial destruction of a network leads to the corresponding degradation of performance. However, some network capabilities may be retained even with major network damage. The platform to a successful implementation. Several environments can be used in totally implementing a Cross-Language Translator through with the various and fast developments in computer technology since its introduction. In the succeeding paragraphs we will be tackling some of those that has come the author’s A-list. Microsoft . NET Framework. This framework form part of Microsoft Windows operating systems, containing a vast number of pre-coded resolutions to general program requirements, and governing the performance of programs written particularly for the framework. This framework is a vital Microsoft contribution and is projected on being utilized by most applications created and to be created for Windows platform. Pre-coded solutions outlining the framework’s Base Class Library (third layer from Operating System in the . NET Framework) encompass a wide range of software requirements in areas including: cross language translation, user interface, database connectivity, cryptography, data access, web application growth, network communications, and numeric algorithms. This layer contains classes, value types, and interfaces that you will use often in your development process. Most notably within the . NET Framework Base Classes is ADO. NET, which provides access to and management of data. Supervising the software’s runtime requirements, this software is written for the . NET Framework implemented in an environment. This runtime environment, which is also a part of the . NET Framework, is known as the Common Language Runtime (CLR). The CLR provides the appearance of an application virtual machine, so that programmers need not consider the capabilities of the particular CPU that will implement the program. The CLR also provides other significant services such as security mechanisms, memory management, and exception handling. The class library and the CLR together compose the . NET Framework. The . NET Framework is included with Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista, and can be installed on some older versions of Windows. .NET Framework 1. 1 This is the first major . NET Framework upgrade that is accessible on its own as a redistributable package or in a software development kit since its publishing on April 3, 2003. It forms part of the second release of Microsoft Visual Studio . NET – the Visual Studio . NET 2003, and is the first version of the . NET Framework to be included as part of the Windows operating system, shipping with Windows Server 2003. 7 .NET Framework 3. 5 This version was authoritatively released to manufacturing (RTM) on November 19, 2007. As with . NET Framework 3. 0, this version applies the CLR of version 2. 0. It also installs . NET Framework 2. 0 SP1 adding some methods and properties to the BCL classes in version 2. 0 which are vital for version 3. 5 features such as Language Integrated Query (LINQ). These changes, however, do not involve applications written for version 2. 0 and a separately, new . NET Compact Framework 3. 5 was released in hand-in-hand with this revision to give support for additional features on Windows Mobile and Windows Embedded CE devices. The source code of the Base Class Library in this version has been partially released under Microsoft Reference License. 7 .NET Framework 3. 5 builds incrementally on the new features added in . NET Framework 3. 0 – for example, feature sets in Windows Workflow Foundation (WWF), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Windows CardSpace. This version also consists of a number of new features in several technology areas which have been added as new assemblies to avoid breaking changes. They are: (a) deep integration of Language Integrated Query (LINQ) and data awareness which will let to write code written in LINQ-enabled languages to filter, enumerate, and produce projections of several types of SQL data, collections, XML, and datasets by means of the same syntax; (b) ASP. NET AJAX 3. 5 lets you craft more resourceful, more interactive and highly-personalized Web experiences that work transversely with almost all the most popular browsers; (c) The New Web protocol sustain for building WCF services adding AJAX, JSON, REST, POX, RSS, ATOM, and several new WS-* standards; (d) Full tooling support in Visual Studio 2008 for WF, WCF, and WPF, including the new workflow-enabled services technology; and, (e) New classes in . NET Framework 3. 5 base class library (BCL) that address many common customer requests. Visual Studio 2008 and the . NET Framework 3. 5. The Microsoft Visual Studio development system is an appropriate development instrument devised to aid developers to tackle complex problems, thus create inventive resolutions. This system’s role is to improve the development process; hence, achieving breakthroughs would be easier and more satisfying. 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Every kind of software developer, from novice to skilled professional, can use the Visual Studio because it is engineered to support the development across all types of devices such as PCs, servers, the Web, and mobile devices. Visual Studio is the most reliable tool that is engineered and tested to be always dependable, secure, interoperable, and compatible. Visual Studio offers an unparalleled combination of security features, scalability, and interoperability. Although Visual Studio always incorporates forward- thinking features, it is designed to ensure backward-compatibility everywhere possible. Being a set of technology capabilities, core products, and best practice guidance, the Microsoft Application Platform (MAP) focuses on aiding IT and development business partners to maximize opportunity. As one of its core products, Visual Studio has always and continues to help spearhead for the right customer links, business efficiencies, and value-added services through provision of a fully integrated and single development environment for all types of advances, including Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, Web, and mobile applications.