Free Essays on Slavery in the United States

Slavery in the United States In the history of the United States nothing has brought more shame to the face of America than the cold, premeditated method of keeping black people in captivity. People from England who migrated to America used many different methods to enslave black people and passed them down through the children. These methods were quite effective, so effective that these â€Å"slaves† were kept in captivity for over two hundred years in this country. It was the rain of terror that kept black people in fear of their lives for so long. The invention of the gun back in the fifth-teenth century was the main reason that these people were able to go to another continent and enslave so many people. These people from Africa were mistreated very badly right from the start both mentally and physically. They were packed very tightly on ships for months at a time chained to each other with no place to go to the bathroom, little water to drink, and hardly anything to eat. As the population constantly increased in the colonies during the 1600’s, so did the demand for slavery especially in the southern colonies where the big plantations were. These plantations were very lucrative since the owners had free manual labor and they could keep all the profit from the crops for themselves. They also had to justify what they were doing to themselves so what they did was tell themselves that these slaves were barbaric and not smart enough to be civilized. These slave owners also owned huge houses in the middle of their plantations and thought of themselves as noblemen. In acuality, it was the slaves who were living nobly while the Europeans were living barbaricly. The Europeans who owned slaves also thought that the slaves were not smart enough because they could not speak English and they did not have a written language. This was proven not to be true either because the second generation of slaves learned the English language with no tr... Free Essays on Slavery in the United States Free Essays on Slavery in the United States Slavery in the United States In the history of the United States nothing has brought more shame to the face of America than the cold, premeditated method of keeping black people in captivity. People from England who migrated to America used many different methods to enslave black people and passed them down through the children. These methods were quite effective, so effective that these â€Å"slaves† were kept in captivity for over two hundred years in this country. It was the rain of terror that kept black people in fear of their lives for so long. The invention of the gun back in the fifth-teenth century was the main reason that these people were able to go to another continent and enslave so many people. These people from Africa were mistreated very badly right from the start both mentally and physically. They were packed very tightly on ships for months at a time chained to each other with no place to go to the bathroom, little water to drink, and hardly anything to eat. As the population constantly increased in the colonies during the 1600’s, so did the demand for slavery especially in the southern colonies where the big plantations were. These plantations were very lucrative since the owners had free manual labor and they could keep all the profit from the crops for themselves. They also had to justify what they were doing to themselves so what they did was tell themselves that these slaves were barbaric and not smart enough to be civilized. These slave owners also owned huge houses in the middle of their plantations and thought of themselves as noblemen. In acuality, it was the slaves who were living nobly while the Europeans were living barbaricly. The Europeans who owned slaves also thought that the slaves were not smart enough because they could not speak English and they did not have a written language. This was proven not to be true either because the second generation of slaves learned the English language with no tr...

Profile of Jodi Arias and the Murder of Travis Alexander

Profile of Jodi Arias and the Murder of Travis Alexander Jodi Arias was arrested on July 15, 2008, and charged with shooting and stabbing to death her 30-year-old ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander, in his home in Meza, Arizona. Arias pleaded not guilty, claiming that she killed Alexander in self-defense. Background Jodi Ann Arias was born in Salinas, California, on July 9, 1980, to William Angelo and Sandy D. Arias. She has four siblings: an older half-sister, two younger brothers and a sister. Beginning at the age of 10, Arias showed an interest in photography which continued throughout her adult life. Her childhood years are unremarkable, however, she has said that she was an abused child, claiming her parents hit her with wooden spoons and a belt. The abuse allegedly began when she was 7-years-old. Arias dropped out of Yreka Union High School in the 11th grade. She continued to pursue her interest in professional photography while working at various part-time jobs. Darryl Brewer During the fall of 2001, Arias began working as a server at a restaurant located at the Ventana Inn and Spa in Carmel, California. Darryl Brewer, who was the food and beverage manager for the restaurant, was in charge of hiring and training the restaurants employees. Both Arias and Brewer lived in staff housing and in January 2003, they began dating. At the time Arias was 21 and Brewer was 40. They had already engaged in sex together before they began to officially date. Brewer said that that time, Arias was a responsible, caring and loving person. In May 2005, Arias and Brewer purchased a home together in Palm Desert, California. The agreement was that they would each be responsible for paying half of the mortgage payments of $2008 a month. In February 2006, Jodi began working for Prepaid Legal, while keeping her servers job at Ventana. She also began getting involved with the Mormon Church. She started having visitors to the home who were of the Mormon faith for Bible studies and group prayer sessions. In May 2006, Jodi told Brewer that she no longer wanted to have a physical relationship with him because she wanted to practice what she was being taught at church and save herself for her future husband. It is also around the same time that she decided to have breast implants. According to Brewer, during the summer of 2006, Jodi had begun to change as her involvement with Prepaid Legal increased. She became financially irresponsible and began defaulting on her financial responsibilities, including what she owed in living expenses. As the relationship began to deteriorate, Brewer made arrangements to move to Monterrey to be closer to his son. Jodi was not planning to move with him and it was agreed that she would remain in the house until it could be sold. Their relationship ended in December 2006, however, they did remain friends and would occasionally call each other. The following year the house went into foreclosure. Travis Alexander Arias and Travis Alexander met in September 2006, in Las Vegas, Nevada, while attending a Prepaid Legal Services conference. Alexander was 30 and worked as a motivational speaker and a sales representative for Prepaid Legal. Arias was 28 and was living in Yreka, California, working in sales for Prepaid Legal and trying to develop her photography business. There was an immediate attraction between the two and according to Arias, the relationship became sexual a week after they met. At the time, Arias was living in California and Alexander was in Arizona. They began traveling together to several states and when apart the relationship grew through emails (over 82,000 were eventually exchanged) and talking together on the phone daily. On November 26, 2006, Arias was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in order, in her words, to get closer to Alexander who was a devout Mormon. Three months later Alexander and Arias began dating each other exclusively and she moved from California to Mesa, Arizona, to be closer to Alexander. The relationship lasted around four months, ending in the latter part of June 2007, although they continued to have sex together periodically. According to Arias, the relationship ended because she did not trust Alexander. She later alleged that Alexander was a sexual deviant who was physically and sexually abusive to her and that he wanted her to be his personal slave. Stalking After the relationship ended, Alexander began dating other women and allegedly complained to friends that Arias was jealous. He suspected that she had slashed his tires twice and sent threatening anonymous emails to him and to the woman he was dating. He also told friends that Arias had snuck into his home through a dog door while he was sleeping. Secret Relationship Despite the claims of being stalked, Alexander and Arias continued to travel together during March 2008 and maintained their sexual relationship. According to Arias, she grew tired of being Alexanders secret girlfriend and when it came time for her to find another place to live after her roommate married, she decided to return to California. Evidence shows that after Arias left Arizona, that the two continued to exchange sexually explicit internet messages and pictures. According to Alexanders friends, in June 2008 he had enough of Arias after suspecting her of hacking into his Facebook account and bank accounts. He allegedly told her he wanted her to stay out of his life forever. Alexander is Murdered According to police records, on June 2, 2008, Arias rented a car from Budget Rent-a-Car in Redding, California, and drove to Alexanders home in Mesa, where they took pictures of them having sex together and in various nude poses. On June 4, Arias drove back to California and returned the rental car to Budget-Rental. Alexanders friends became concerned about him when he missed an important meeting and failed to show up for a planned trip to Cancun, Mexico. On June 9, two of his friends went to his home and woke up one of his roommates, who insisted Alexander was out of town. He then checked Alexanders room which had been locked and discovered him dead on the floor of his shower stall. Through an autopsy it was determined that Alexander had been shot in the brow, stabbed 27 times and his neck had been severed. Evidence The detectives handling Alexanders murder were able to collect a lot of forensic evidence at the murder scene. This included a camera which was found in the washing machine, which appeared to have been washed. It was general knowledge that Alexander had grown annoyed with Arias stalking. It was first suggested that Arias could be involved in Alexanders death during the 9-1-1 call that was made after Alexanders body was discovered. Other friends and family members who were interviewed by the detectives also suggested that the police should interview Arias. Recovered Photos and DNA Results Arias began calling Esteban Flores who was the detective that was in charge of the case. She asked about details of the murder and offered to help in the investigation. She claimed that she had no knowledge of the crime and that she had last seen Alexander in April 2008. On June 17, Arias allowed herself to be fingerprinted and swabbed for DNA, as did many of Alexanders friends. Two days after being fingerprinted, investigators questioned her about a series of photos which had been recovered from the memory card of the camera that was found in the washing machine. The photos, which were time-stamped on June 4, 2008, showed images of Alexander in the shower, likely minutes before he was killed. There were also images of him lying on the floor bleeding. Other pictures, which had been deleted but recovered, were of Jodi, nude and posed in provocative positions, also time-stamped on the same day. Arias continued to insist that she had not seen Alexander since April. A week later lab tests showed that a bloody print found at the murder scene contained DNA that matched Arias and Alexander. There was also a DNA match to Arias on hair found at the scene. Happy Birthday Over the following weeks, Arias attended a memorial service for Alexander, wrote a lengthy sympathy letter to his grandmother, arranged for flowers to be sent to his family and posted loving messages about Travis on her MySpace page. On July 9, 2008, which was Arias birthday, a California grand jury indicted her on first-degree murder. Six days later she was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and in September she was extradited to Arizona to face trial. Lies and More Lies Just days after being incarcerated in Arizona, Jodi Arias granted an interview with the Arizona Republic. During the interview, she insisted that she was innocent and had nothing to do with the murder of Alexander. She gave no explanation for why her DNA was found at the murder scene. A few weeks later, on September 24, 2008, the television show, Inside Edition also interviewed Arias, but this time she admitted that she was with Alexander when he was murdered and that it was two intruders who did it. She explained more about the murder in another interview for 48 Hours on June 23, 2009. She said that she had been miraculously spared during what she called a home invasion. According to her story, Alexander had been playing around with his new camera and suddenly she found herself lying on the bathroom floor after hearing a loud pop. When she looked up she saw a man and a woman, both dressed in black, approaching. They were carrying a knife and a gun. She said that the man pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger, but that nothing happened. She then ran out of the house, leaving Alexander, and did not look back. She explained her reason for not calling the police was because she was afraid for her life and she was pretending that none of it happened. In fear, she drove back to California. The Death Penalty The Maricopa County Attorneys Office described the crimes of Jodi Arias especially cruel, heinous and carried out in a depraved manner and sought the death penalty. Representing Herself Months before the trial was to begin, Arias told the judge that she wanted to represent herself. The judge allowed it, as long as there was a public defender present during the trial. A few weeks later, Arias attempted to get letters into evidence that she alleged were written by Alexander. In the letters, Alexander admitted to being a pedophile. The letters were tested and found to be forged. Within days of the forgery discovery, Arias told the judge that she was over legally her head and her legal counsel was reinstated. The Trial and Sentencing The trial against Jodi Arias began on January 2, 2013, in Maricopa County Superior Court with the Hon. Sherry K. Stephens presiding. Arias court-appointed lawyers,  L. Kirk Nurmi and Jennifer Willmott,  argued that Arias killed Alexander in self-defense. The trial was live-streamed and quickly gained worldwide attention. Arias spent 18 full days on the stand and talked about being abused by her parents, shared intimate details about her sex life with Travis Alexander and described how the relationship had become verbally and physically abusive.   After deliberating for 15 hours, the jury found Arias guilty of first-degree murder. On May 23, 2013, during the sentencing phase, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision. A second jury convened on October 20, 2014, but they too were deadlocked 11-1 in favor of the death penalty. That left the sentencing decision up to Stephens, although the death penalty was now off the table. On April 13, 2013, Arias was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.   She is currently residing at the Arizona State Prison Complex - Perryville and is classified as a high-risk level 5 prisoner and remains in maximum security.

Syngenta and GM crops Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Syngenta and GM crops - Article Example The corn seed in question is named Agrisure Viptera which had not been previously approved by China back in November 2013. The corn shipments were found to contain a genetically-altered protein designed to act as deterrent against corn-eating bugs like earworms and cutworms.2 China has always been very careful regarding its approval for importation any genetically-modified seeds or crops if they had not yet completed their own laboratory tests. China is strict about their agricultural standards and always reserved unqualified right to reject any shipments for their safety. Biotechnology - GMO crops are termed as biotech crops because these were modified using genetic engineering to boost their yield, acquire better immunity against plant diseases or any plant bugs, and make these plants adapt better to adverse environmental conditions. GMO has been a controversial technology as some sectors are rightly or wrongly concerned about the potential harmful effects of using science to alter or modify the genes of any plant. But there are also advocates who claim this scientific technology holds the bright promise to help eradicate hunger, malnutrition, starvation, and even death by preventing famines in the developing world. Genetic engineering of agricultural plants and crops, in the same way that mechanized farming and the Green Revolution before, allows food production to be increased considerably and avoid the Malthusian theory of hunger resulting from overpopulation. Key solution - agricultural farming using GMO crops is seen as the solution to most of the problems associated with a growing global population. Moreover, GMO technology can mitigate the adverse effects of environmental degradation, global warming, and increasing pollution. GMO is applicable to all types of living organisms from bacteria, fungi, and yeast and to all larger and more complex organisms like insects, birds, fishes, and even mammals. The GMO

Plummer Vinson Syndrome Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Plummer Vinson Syndrome - Article Example This research tells that Plummer Vinson Syndrome is considered to be a risk factor for cancer formation. It is a progressive condition and if not intervened in time, it may lead to malignancy pertaining to upper gastrointestinal tract. Plummer Vinson Syndrome or PVS, also known as Paterson Brown-Kelly Syndrome, is a rare disease condition characterized by the classical trio of symptoms such as dysphagia i.e. difficulty in swallowing, iron deficiency anemia and esophageal web. It is also called as â€Å"sideropenic dysphagia†. PVS was more prevalent in initial decades of 20th century. Now, worldwide the incidences of this syndrome have been reduced drastically due to improved socio-economic and dietary conditions but in developing countries, the cases have still been reported. Distinct causative pathology of Plummer Vinson Syndrome is not yet confirmed. Some conditions are considered to be the possible predisposing factors. They are listed as malnutrition, iron deficiency anemi a, genetics and auto-immune diseases. PVS is predominantly seen in adults of middle age group but incidences are enormously higher in females. Incidence rate is 10 times higher in females living in under developed communities. â€Å"Plummer Vinson Syndrome† – this name was coined after series of cases reported by the two physicians of Mayo clinic. Plummer was the first person in 1912 to come across few patients having similar set of complaints such as dysphagia, prolonged anemia and narrowing of the esophagus. He could not confirm this clinical picture and thought them hysterical. Later on in 1919, Vinson published similar cases of â€Å"esophageal angulations† and available clinical data was confirmed.

Composites Used In Aircraft Structure Engineering Essay

Composites Used In Aircraft Structure Engineering Essay This report explores the uses of composites in modern aircrafts and investigates the technical effects of applying composites to aircrafts. In addition, this report also evaluates the future usage of composites in aerospace industry. Background Composites are defined as engineered materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties those remain separate and distinct on a macroscopic level within the finished structure. (Definition, 2010) The American Heritage Dictionary (Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1981) comes close, with a complex material, such as wood or fiber glass, in which two or more complementary substances, especially metals, ceramics, glasses, and polymers, combine to produce some structural or functional properties not present in any individual component. The problem with even a good definition, of course, is that it is all encompassing, so that every material in the universe could in some sense be defined as a composite. (Composites Manufacturing, 2006) Composites are first introduced after crash cases of aircrafts due to metal fatigue in the 1950s. And since then the use of composites in aircrafts increases exponentially over time. Method of Investigation Information is obtained online in the form of e-books, news articles and industrial reports. Furthermore, relevant book from SP library had been used in this report. Scope of Investigation This report explores the history of composites. Besides, this report also explores the types of composites used in aircraft structure, for example carbon fiber, fiberglass and Kevlarà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ aramid, as well as fabrication of the carbon fiber. Furthermore, this report discusses the technical effects and applications of composites in aircraft structure. Composites in the future such as self-repairing composites and shape memory composites are also discussed in this report. History of Composites Composites were introduced in the 1950s and 1960s, fiber-reinforced plastic, was introduced to substitute the usage of duralumin in the structure of aircrafts. Before composites were introduced, primary structure of aircrafts was made largely of aluminum alloy. Duralumin, a type of aluminum alloy, was widely used in aircrafts primary structure due to its high strength to weight ratio and good toughness. Furthermore, good corrosion resistance of duralumin makes it so suitable to be used under harsh condition. However, in 1950s, a fully loaded De Havilland Comet jet airliner crashed due to metal fatigue. This gave rise to demand of materials suitable for aircrafts primary structure with high fatigue resistance. English scientist, Norman de Bruline, was the first to propose the use of composite materials in aircrafts structures. Then, more and more composites were introduced to suit certain requirement of properties of aircrafts structure. Modern fibers, such as carbon-reinforced fibers, Kevlarà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ aramid, glass-reinforced fibers and boron fibers, are the stiffest and strongest materials known. (Composites Manufacturing, 2006) Modern Composites Composites are well known for their favorable properties such as high strength to weight ratio, high stiffness, very high stress level, high fatigue resistance and good corrosion resistance. Some of the widely used composites in aircraft structures will be discussed below. In common, all composites are made of relatively weak bonding of lamination of materials. Hence, core in composite laminate is introduced to increase the laminates stiffness by effectively thickening it with a low-density core material. This can provide a dramatic increase in stiffness for very little additional weight, where lightweight implication is so crucial for aircraft structure. For example, application of honeycomb core provides stronger impact resistance to composite laminates. With its hollow cells, it provides good energy absorption and sound dampening effect to the laminates. Types There are many types of composites currently used in aircraft structure. However, in this part only carbon fiber, fiberglass and Kevlarà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ aramid will be discussed. Carbon Fiber Carbon or graphite fiber is basically fiber that contains more than 90% of carbon. Carbon fibers are ideal for lightweight reinforcement, as well as high strength, high stiffness application in aircrafts structure, due to its unique combinations of properties. High-performance carbon fibers are available in a range of properties, product forms, and prices. Most of the Carbon Fibers are made from organic polymers, with chains of carbons connected to each other, such as polyacrylonitrile (PAN). (Composites Manufacturing, 2006) Fiberglass Fiberglass is a reinforcing material that is widely used in aircraft structure. More than 70% of the reinforcement of thermosetting resins is made of fiberglass. In general, the longer the fibers, the greater the strength of the fibers is. And continuous fibers are the strongest amongst all. Glass does not burn, and at high temperature glass retains its mechanical properties, up to 50 per cent of its strength at 700 °F. Furthermore, glass has excellent moisture resistance compared to metals. Thus, it is suitable for application on aircraft structures. Lime-alumina-borosilicate glass, or E glass, was the first glass developed specifically for continuous fibers production. It is designed for electrical applications, with its good adaptability and high effectiveness in processes and products, ranging from decorative to structural applications in aircrafts. (Composites Manufacturing, 2006) Kevlarà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ Aramid Kevlarà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ aramid, introduced commercially in the 1970s, is an aromatic long-chain polyamide polymer produced by spinning using standard textile techniques. It was introduced to replace steel in racing tires. Kevlarà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ aramid is well known for its high tensile strength, low density and good impact resistance with about half the stiffness of graphite structure. These properties offer a better choice for materials used in aircraft structures. For example, Kevlarà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ 49 aramid fiber is widely used as reinforcement for plastic composites in aerospace, marine, automotive, and other industrial applications. (Composites Manufacturing, 2006) Fabrication In general, the reinforcing and matrix materials are combined, compacted and processed to undergo a melding event. In this part, fabrication of carbon fiber will be discussed in details. Figure 1 below illustrates the brief process of fabrication of carbon fiber, from its precursor form to the fiber. Figure 1 Fabrication Of Carbon Fiber (Flow Chart, 2010) Firstly, acrylonitrile, CH2CHCN, a chemical compound derived from propylene and ammonia, is mixed with another plastic in powder form, and is then reacted with a catalyst in a solution polymerization process. In results, a polymer is formed. After that, the polymer is put under spinning process to form the internal atomic structure of the fiber. This process is done by heating up the mixture and pump through tiny jets into a chamber where the solvents evaporate. The polymer is then washed and stretched to align the molecules within the fiber. This complete process is called stretching. The final product after this process is known as precursor. Next, the fibers will undergo oxidation process. The fibers are heated in air to about 200 to 300 °C for 30 to 120 minutes, to convert the linear atomic bonding to ladder bonding. This is to prepare a more thermally stable bonding of fibers. After the fibers are stabilized, they are heated again to 1000 to 3000 °C for several minutes in a furnace. This has to be done in inert environment to prevent fibers from burning with presence of oxygen gas. As the fibers are heated, they start to lose their carbon atoms as well as non-carbon atoms while the remaining carbon atoms will form a tightly bonded carbon crystals that are aligned almost parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fibers. This process is known as carbonization. In some processes, two furnaces are operating in two different temperatures to provide a better control of heating rate. Lastly, the fibers will undergo surface treatments such as oxidation to provide better bonding properties, coating to protect fibers from external damage. (Composites Manufacturing, 2006) Technical Effects Generally, composites are superior in fatigue resistance, corrosion resistance, and high strength-to-weight ratio. These properties give composite aircrafts better fuel efficiency as well as better load capacity, as compared to the metal alloy counterparts. In addition, composites design offers lower maintenance cost compared to that of metal alloy design. Composite parts are manufactured as a whole, compared to metal parts are manufactured in the form of sheet metals and are connected by means of fasteners, the former greatly reduce maintenance cost by simplifying maintenance procedure. Figure 2 below shows the fuselage barrel section being manufactured in one piece, without the needs of fasteners. Figure 2 Boeing 787 DreamLiner Fuselage (Composites Material, 2004) However, composites are not as almighty as they have been told. For instance, most composite materials are poor in electric conductivity and such, causing them to be more susceptible to damage due to lightning strikes. Compared to metal alloy airframes, composite counterparts require extra procedure in order to take care of the electric charge from the lightning as well as static charge from friction when flying. Furthermore, unlike metals, composites break without sign or physical warning. Compared to aluminum alloy, composites do not bend when subjected to impact but break once they fail to withstand the load. Applications Composites are currently used widely in aerospace industry. Primary structures, for example fuselage, wings, ailerons, flaps, empennage, are made of composites in modern aircrafts. For example, composites contributed 50 per cent to the weight of Boeing 787 DreamLiner, whilst almost 100 per cent of the fuselage skin and wings surface are composites. Figure 3 below illustrates the usage of composites in Boeing 787 as compared to that in Boeing 777, has increased significantly. Figure 3 Goodbye Metal Planes (Goodbye Metal Plane, 2005) Secondary structures such as pressure bulkheads, floor beams, and landing gear door are also made of composites. Furthermore, composites are also used in interior. Composites In The Future Self-Repairing Composites Self-repairing composites are composites that are able to repair cracks on the aircrafts as they happen. Figure 4 below illustrates the fundamental of self-repairing composites. By designing a network of glass rods filled with resin, it is possible to stop the crack from propagating and repair the aerodynamics characteristic of the aircraft when crack happen in flight. Figure 4 Self Healing Artificial Skin (Self Repairing, 2007) However, there are limitations in self-repairing composites, for example, the supply of the resin in the network. A system with vascular network has to be developed to resupply the resin so that self-repairing composites serve their purpose from time to time. Shape Memory Composites Shape memory composites are composites that retain one or two shapes after being cold-worked. Figure 5 illustrates how shape memory composites retain shapes after being subjected to heat. Figure 5 Shape Memory (Shape Memory, 2007) This is highly useful in aircrafts design as it means the aerodynamics of the aircrafts can now be controlled according to whether maneuverability or stability is needed. Conclusion Composites are currently used as a better material used in aircraft primary structures, substituting aluminum alloy that had been used for decades. Due to composites superiority in corrosion resistance, fatigue resistance, and weight saving, it is expected that incoming models of aircrafts will use composites extensively. Application of composites in modern aircrafts once again proves that composites are more reliable than metal alloys in airworthiness. However, further development of composites should be done to overcome weaknesses found currently to further improve the safety of aircrafts.

Managing Information Overload Essay

In my opinion, organizations are likely to find better solutions thru informational overload using technical and social systems. Information overload has an ability to cause negative effects on an organizations performance. Within, technical and social systems there are a collection of complex components that solve problems within that system. Knowledge management uses the combination and utilization of technology at every phase that is available within the organization. Social and technical framework for management of knowledge is an appropriate method than an organization can use to handle problems due to information overload. In using both a social and technical approach within an organization allows an individual to gain the most insight within their performance. The relationship between people and technology does not matter in the process of solving different performance problems within an organization. The technical system is a tool used to identify problems within the organization that affect its performance. It supports the investment of knowledge management throughout the organization and its people. In doing so, this move enhances the technology and people within the organization to be used as interface models, and IT blueprints to ensure technology is implemented. (Liu & Errey, 2006) Conducting of business is at its present day of age within information technology. Within, the work environments today, they currently have access to various tools that assist with effective communication. (Pijpers, 2010) There is enough evidence to prove how these tools assist within an organization by keeping employees in an organization up-to-date, connect with others, remain productive and engage effectively with one another. In doing so, this shows the development of information technology thru internet and communicational technologies by bringing light problems to informational overload in addition to the increasing pace and development complexity in the society. (Strother 2012) Within an organization, many people find it difficult to deal with the information they receive within a continuous transformation in an organization with the increased unpredictable and complex effects on these actions. This leads the organization to stress and anxiety. (Blair 2010) This makes it challenging for the employees to comprehend the priorities in an organization and focus on the tasks that are achieved. Within reference to the introduction of the module, socio-technological design can be effective in the diagnosis of information overload that are present and not present in other organizations. Without knowledge in an organization nothing is possible and it is necessary to identify which place and at what extent the challenge exists within an organization. For example, within an organization knowledge is in repositories, documents, routines, practices, and processes. Social interaction among members plays a huge role in searching for knowledge. Knowledge management assists in renewing, developing, transferring, and sharing knowledge. This is based on produce value, economic wealth, and organizational performance. (Becerra-Fernandez & Sabherwal, 2010) This process creates value from its intellectual and knowledge based assets. Knowledge management leverges knowledge within an organization to provide a competititive edge. The fuctions within knowledge management acheives the goals of an organization to acquire additional knowledge within its operations to remain competitive. Management of knowledge can take the approach of being technology focused, people focused or social-technology focused. The people focus approach stresses that people are of primary importance in an organization. This results in developing and implementing significant strategies that encourage individuals to develop, store and disseminate knowledge. However, this approach is unable to solve problems alone. Technology management under knowledge management deals with collecting, modifying, storing, and manipulating knowledge through the use of technological resources such as computers and other machinery. Similar to people focus approach, this approach is not able to provide solutions to existing problems alone (Becerra-Fernandez & Sabherwal, 2010) This assumption is made by intoducing new technology by solving the existing problems in performance. Performance is perceived by people as complicated. The two approaches of people focused, and technolgy focused are effective in their area of focus. Therefore, there is a need for a more effective knowledge management approach that is taking advantage of these strengths. (Grant & Shahsavarani) Socio-technical refers to the balance between the social and technical systems that make up an organization. According to the perspective of socio-technical system, the capacity of an organization and its employees to perform effectively depends on knowledge. A systems concept seeks to emphasis a two way relationship between technology and individuals. A socio-technical design has a system of modifying changes, itself, and exploits creative capacities of human resource available for the organization. Computers are unable to make practical and crucial decisions. This means the attention of the human should stay in the loop at all times. These findings are assessed and identified in researching the socio-technical approach to handle information overload. In doing so, it shows for an organization to store and develop its’ knowledge they need to consider its culture and structuring roles. This ensures effective knowledge creation, sharing of information, and storage of an organizations reward system by motivating the employees to gain more knowledge. This is necessary for the organization to consider the huge significant role in the success of knowledge management initiative. All in all, organizational knowledge and knowledge management is the storage of information and additional data. Individuals that possess this ability make effective decisions to determine the success of the knowledge management initiative. This study considers the most significant methods that an organization uses to handle various problems from information overload including its complexity affecting knowledge management (Becerra-Fernandez & Sabherwal, 2010) The most effective approach in an organization is to increase the capacity, advance the intelligence and knowledge of individuals by using the people approach. However, this approach may not be enough because of various intrinsic limitation of the human brain. Thus, by advancing the information processing capacity complements an individual’s decision by making capacity with the support of computers thru technology. References Blair, A. (2010, November 28). Information Overload, Then and Now. Retrieved from The Chronicle: http://chronicle.com/article/Information-Overload-Then-and/125479/?sid=cr&utm_source=cr&utm_medium=en I. Becerra-Fernandez & R. Sabherwal. (2010). Knowledge Management: Systems and Processes. New York: M.E. Sharpe. J. B. Strother, J. M. Ulijn & Z. Fazal. (2012). Information Overload: An International Challenge for Professional Engineers and Technical Communicators. New York: John Wiley. Levinson, M. (2012). Knowledge Management Definition and Solutions. Retrieved from CIO: http://www.cio.com/article/40343/Knowledge_Management_Definition_and_Solutions Liu, X. and Errey, C. . (2006, February). Socio-technical systems: There’s more to performance than new technology. Retrieved from ptgGlobal: http://www.ptg-global.com/PDFArticles/Socio%20technical%20systems%20-%20There’s%20more%20to%20performance%20than%20new%20technology%20v1.0.pdf Pijpers, G. (2010). Information Overload: A S ystem for Better Managing Everyday Data. New York: John Wiley.

Why and How Censorship Lead to Ignorance in Young People - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1133 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2019/05/29 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Censorship Essay Did you like this example? When my 8th grade English teacher told me that To Kill a Mockingbird had been banned in many middle school classrooms in America I was shocked. I later learned that this was because of the strong racial themes present in the time that the story takes place, the 1930s. Though before then I had never heard of the idea of books being banned. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Why and How Censorship Lead to Ignorance in Young People" essay for you Create order I thought that the schools who banned the book were making a grave error in banning such a good and educational book; I mean, if I’m allowed to learn about those ideas in my History class, then why should those ideas be banned in my English class? For this reason and many more, banning books in high school libraries limits education and causes young people to become ignorant of the sometimes harsh realities of life. Though Ray Bradbury is against the censorship of books, in Fahrenheit 451 the fire chief, Beatty, makes the argument that many censored books contain controversial ideas which upset certain groups of people: â€Å"Dont step on the toes of the dog-lovers, the cat-lovers, doctors, lawyers, merchants, chiefs, Mormons, Baptists, Unitarians, second-generation Chinese, Swedes, Italians, Germans, Texans, Brooklynites, Irishmen, people from Oregon or Mexico. The people in this book, this play, this TV serial are not meant to represent any actual painters, cartographers, m echanics anywhere. The bigger your market, Montag, the less you handle controversy, remember that! All the minor minor minorities with their navels to be kept clean† (54). This quote is from Beatty’s conversation with Montag about how things came to be the way they are in the society of F451. While this is a valid argument, Bradbury disproves this argument when later in the book Faber makes the argument that without controversial ideas people stop wanting information about the world at all if it isn’t happy news which forms a bubble around each individual which â€Å"protects† them from reality: Patience, Montag. Let the war turn off the ‘families.’ Our civilization is flinging itself to pieces. Stand back from the centrifuge† (84). This is what causes the ultimate destruction of the main city of F451. In short, Bradbury argues that censorship ultimately leads to ignorance even among adults which shows that this argument would also hold true for teens. He is saying that this ignorance will ultimately lead to the destruction of society. A reason that many people give for the banning of controversial books in high school libraries is that they promote inappropriate ideas about sexuality. These ideas and themes include LGBTQ characters, nudity, rape, and other sexually explicit content (10 Reasons Books are Challenged and Banned). Many school administrators say that teens are too young to learn about these things. This argument is unsubstantiated because it doesn’t account for the fact that high school is the time when teens are supposed to be informed about these topics and learn how, though in the case of rape not, to do it. The argument that these sexual ideas are inappropriate is a false one because high school teens will soon be at the age when they will be able to experience those things; books containing this material can prepare teens to deal with those situations. Though the argument can be made that these books will corrupt teens perceptions of these topics when combined with a sexual education class where students are free to ask questions this will not happen. If the high school doesnt offer sex ed then students can always come to their parents with questions. If these books are read in tandem with a sexual education class or with the help of a parent, teens will understand the book even better and learn what is and isn’t acceptable. These school administrations, as stated perfectly by Sherman Alexie in his article titled: Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood, are simply trying to protect their privileged notions of what literature is and should be (Alexie 2). Finally, controversial books shouldn’t be banned in high school libraries because while peopl e may say that themes of rape, racism, physical abuse, drugs, and alcohol might cause teens to start doing those things (10 Reasons Books are Challenged and Banned), they are underestimating the capacity of high school students to understand what they are reading. When a high school student reads a book, they already have shown that they are interested in seeking information or learning about a story. While reading YA novels, or novels in general, usually students will take the themes exhibited in the book and think about them. When some of the aforementioned ideas or themes appear in books while reading teens have a chance to think about the topic and usually, the story shows the reader how badly people’s lives are impacted by their bad choices. For example, in the book Thirteen Reasons Why, there are strong themes of suicide as this is what the story centers around. When reading this book high school students wouldn’t be inclined to kill themselves as the book doesn’t encourage suicide; if anything, it allows teens who are contemplating suicide to think about their decision and if it’s really worth it. To finish, censorship of books in high school libraries is something that limits the growth of students intellectually and sexually. Censorship also limits the capacity, ability, and will of teens to think for themselves about controversial topics; it prevents them from accessing novels that contain ideas that will help them form a well-advised opinion. Young adult books allow students to learn about these things by providing examples of what not to do and the outcomes of those actions. In addition, the cultural critics who are advocating for these bans are assuming that high school teens arent ready for the strong, explicit themes present in young adult novels (10 Reasons Books are Challenged and Banned); this ideology, as stated previously, displays great ignorance on the part of the critics. Hopefully, this paper has shown at least some of the reasons why and how censorship is something that will ultimately lead to ignorance in young people and a lack of education about the explicit ideas and themes seen in YA novels and, more importantly, the real world. Works Cited Banned Books Week, American Library Association, December 11, 2012. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/banned (Accessed January 8, 2019) Gomez, Betsy. â€Å"10 Reasons Books Are Challenged and Banned.† Banned Books Week, The Banned Books Week Coordinator and the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, 26 Sept. 2018, bannedbooksweek.org/10-reasons-books-are-challenged-and-banned/ (Accessed January 8, 2019) Bradbury, Ray, and Neil Gaiman. Fahrenheit 451. Simon Schuster Paperbacks, an Imprint of Simon Schuster, Inc., 2018. Sherman Alexie Article Alexie, Sherman. â€Å"Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood.† The Wall Street Journal, 9 Jun. 2011, https://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Involved/Action/censorship/Authors-Rationales/Alexie_Sherman_BestKidsBooksWritteninBlood.pdf