Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Challenges to Pradhan Manti Jan Dhan Yojana

Difficulties to Pradhan Manti Jan Dhan Yojana A Study of Challenges and Problems Faced While Implementing Pradhan Manti Jan Dhan Yojana Shilpi Pal Dr. M.S.Khan Exploration Scholar Head/Coordinator (MBA M.Phil Program), Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (A Central University), Lucknow Theoretical The greatest advancement by the NDA government in the year 2014 is presenting first social government assistance conspire that is â€Å"Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana†. The reason for presenting this plan is money related consideration propelled by our Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi on 28th August, 2014. Mr. Modi has concocted this plan on his first Independence Day discourse on fifteenth August, 2014 which is a National crucial a money related incorporation. This plan depends on â€Å"Sab ka sath sab ka vikas† that is comprehensive development. The fundamental point of this plan is that each family living in India must have financial balances and should take a crack at manage an account with Zero equalization account. This is the initial step to bring out financial quality in nation. This paper features the issue and difficulties confronted while actualizing the plan. Additionally attempt to bring up fundamental explanation not to turn all individuals for receiving t his plan in spite of the fact that it is Zero Balance account plot which will be opened in completely nationalized and private bank. Catchphrases Financial Inclusion, National Mission, Inclusive Growth, Economic Quality Presentation Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is National Mission for Financial Inclusion to guarantee access to monetary administrations, such as Saving and Deposit Accounts,Remittance, Credit, Insurance, Pension in a reasonable way. Mr. Narendra Modi our head administrator has reported this plan on his first freedom discourse on fifteenth Augst, 2014. The Objective of PMJDY is monetary consideration and concentrated development alongside the improvement of financial status of our nation. The point behind PMJDY is that each family or family have their own record and can get to banking office effectively with the goal that everybody become equally a piece of nation uniquely a lower segment of society who may effectively not ready to get these offices preceding PMJDY. The name Jan Dhan was picked through an online rivalry on the MyGov Platform.Slogan of this plan is â€Å"Mera Khata †Bhagya Vidhata.† PMJDY Account can be opened at Business Correspondent (Bank Mitr) outlet or at B ank branches.PMJDY gives the office of Overdraft that is up to Rs.5000/ - is accessible in just one record for every family following a half year of palatable complete of records. On the primary day itself 1.5 crore accounts were opened under this plan. At that point around 12.58 crore accounts were opened by 28th January, 2015. Shared service can likewise be opened under this plan. The plan has been begun with an objective to give general access to banking offices beginning with Basic Banking Accounts with overdraft office of Rs.5000 following a half year andRuPayDebit card with inbuilt mishap protection front of Rs. 1 lakh and RuPay Kisan Card. Writing Review Dr.Anupama Sharma and Ms. Susmita Kukreja has talked about in their paper that â€Å"The study centers around the job of budgetary consideration, in fortifying the India’s position according to different nations economy. For dissecting such realities information for the examination has been assembled through optional sources including report of RBI, NABARD, books on monetary incorporation and different articles composed by prominent writers. Dr.G.H. Barhate and Ms. V.R.Jagtap has incorporate incorporates investigation of different money related consideration and to assess progress and ebb and flow status of monetary consideration of the State in their examination paper C. Paramasivan and V. Ganeshkumar talked about in his ppaper that Financial consideration is planned for giving banking and budgetary administrations to all individuals in a reasonable, straightforward and evenhanded way at moderate expense. This paper is an endeavor to talk about the outline of budgetary consideration in India. Goals of the Study The essential destinations of my investigation are: To Know the explanation for presenting Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana(PMJDY) To perceive mindfulness among individuals for this monetary consideration. To comprehend the issues and difficulties looked in actualizing PMJDY. To discover impact on banking part in the wake of receiving this money related consideration. Examination Methodology My examination is simply founded on auxiliary information which incorporate, Existing Articles, Newspapers, sites, online articles and Research Paper distributed in various diaries. Through these optional information and data accessible I have done my exploration on green promoting so profoundly to get together with the goal of the examination. Result and Discussions It is acceptable commencement with the end goal of money related consideration and financial development. Many have discovered positive angle behind the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana uncommonly the lower fragment of nation who feels increasingly good now as they effectively make stride in banking segment and have their own records with exceptional offices like Overdraft office, RuPay card, Kisan card office and so forth. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pradhan_Mantri_Jan_Dhan_Yojana Difficulties and Problems looked by PMJDY Implementation- The Connectivity Challenge †As we probably am aware around 68% of populace lives in provincial territories which should be associated through complete financial framework to benefit this office which is immense business potential for the financial part .But it hurls network related moves that should be tended to in rustic regions. Absence of physical and advanced availability is representing a significant obstacle in accomplishing monetary incorporation for rustic India. Mechanical Issue-The innovative issues influencing banks from poor availability, systems administration and transfer speed issues to overseeing expenses of keep up foundation particularly in country zones. To fulfill the expanding needs for banking administrations, banks frequently rely upon aloof optical system availability, for which they wind up paying significant expenses to web access suppliers. Foundation of banks in country territories It is about the availability in banking framework. The associations in rustic territories are not dependable and fall shorts on data transfer capacity. An elective choice must be embraced to associate in rustic regions branches through satellite connections. Banking through WAN or web connection of lower data transmission at remote areas more than once endures with video delays, slow perusing, slow document move, slow transfer and download of records, neglecting to satisfy the needs of record holders at specific time. Are truly individuals who don’t have record will pivot †This is the one of the serious issue as the majority of the individuals know about it yet at the same time they are not transforming into financial balance client might be on the grounds that they are not still comprehend the best possible channel of opening ledger under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna. Sexual orientation Gap-There is significant sex hole in banking segment; by 2012 for each 1,000 store accounts for the sake of men, only 394 were opened for the sake of ladies. Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat were far more terrible than the national financial sex proportion, while Delhi and the four southern States were better. ATM Network-People may confront issue because of ATM in rustic territories as there is low system of ATM so individuals are not surely understand how to utilize ATM. New record opening Creating new record isn't challenge yet exchange of this record is a test. As staff which is now there may discover pressure if there is parcel of individuals accompany the issue at once. Strategy not satisfactory Most of the individuals know yet at the same time such a significant number of are not pivoted as they are not understanding the best possible system of opening record and required report at once. Inclusion of Difficult zones Many territories like pieces of North East, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu Kashmir and so on are confronting difficulties of foundation and telecom availability . In these territories all family may not be completely secured under battle Brand Awareness and sharpening Customer must get legitimate mindfulness about the PMJDY and their advantage in the wake of opening record. All thing must clear to client and made mindful that overdraft of up to ' 5,000/ - to be given in their record is a credit office which should be reimbursed so as to get new cutoff points and isn't an award. Discoveries During research I found the significant difficulties and issue confronted while Implementation of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana which is talked about above under the heading of difficulties and issues. Still there are barely any focuses which should be mulled over It isn't certain that those clients who have existing sparing records without RuPay card will get other advantage or not. No clearness on that which has as of now accounts before declaration of inadvertent protection inclusion will get this advantage of 1 lakh coincidental protection inclusion. Clients can't follow legitimate channel of opening record as they are very little mindful about the strategy and advantages to the record holder. No attention to the clients who will be going to wear bill of protection premium and cost to keep account running. Banking staff may feel pressure as such a large number of records are opening under this plan. Recommendations There are bunches of exercises are going near with the goal that everybody get mindful about it and must open record under this who don’t have account in the bank and for the individuals who may confront issue in opening financial balance preceding PMJDY. Mindfulness program is adhering to appropriate procedure like Print Media, T.V, Radio, Banner and banner practically outside each bank and so forth. The outcome has been seen positive and nearly everybody has opened record. In any case, bank in rustic territories are confronting scarcely any difficult like low network, Less ATM machines and so on. Consequently there are barely any proposals which need to execute for the better financial assistance in the remote areas and they are- Bank must change to WAN Optimization-Banks need to sw

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Business Decision Making Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Business Decision Making - Assignment Example While all the nursery habitats offer characteristic plants as the principle item, there are a wide scope of administrations and items that some nursery places offer clients. A portion of the items that the organization’s contenders offer incorporate manures, little pets, outside furnishings, and arranging administrations and items. The Garden Center Group which claims a sum of 139 nursery habitats, for instance, has an eatery, plant shop, cultivating club, and online shop as a component of its bundle (The Garden Center Group 2013). The gathering offers among different items, Christmas lights, bulbs, counterfeit Christmas trees, tree designs, festoons and wreaths (The Garden Center Group 2013). Clients looking for garden focus items are quick to locate the particular sorts of items they want. They are especially excited about discovering items that are of top notch which means garden focuses should cautiously pick what they stock (Watson-Smyth 2012). They are excited about shop ping in a situation that is regular, quiet, and heavenly. Numerous clients like to purchase interesting herbaceous plants and certain assortments of clematis (Watson-Smyth 2012). ... The business can likewise get a smart thought about the size of the market from which it draws its clients. Moreover, optional information may give the business an insight about where the clients in the market originate from as far as geological areas. Once more, the association might have the option to set up the segment attributes of market including the salary levels, age go, culture, ethnicity, conjugal status and instruction levels of potential clients (acsbdc.org standard. 3). Different attributes that auxiliary sources may uncover about the clients and potential clients of the business incorporate their way of life, conduct, mentalities, item utilization propensities, patterns, and reliability to explicit brands (acsbdc.org standard. 5). In light of these arrangement of data, the nursery community can set up various market fragments. 1.2 Survey Methodology and Sampling Frame By directing a statistical surveying, a business can get the opportunity to set up what its clients fee l about its items and administrations. This being the situation, the nursery place needs to direct a statistical surveying to set up what its clients feel about the items and administrations offered by the business. The clients can likewise give recommendations on how their encounters with the nursery community can be improved. Information for a statistical surveying might be drawn from essential or optional sources, or even both. The nursery place will depend on essential information to settle on deductions and choices with respect to client encounters at the office. While there are a few techniques for gathering essential information, the association will lead a review highlighting an example of guests to the nursery place. The populace under investigation for this situation will incorporate the clients of the nursery place. The populace in

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Hogwarts Institute of Technology

Hogwarts Institute of Technology Hey friends!! I wanted to drop this brief blag here because I WAS SO EXCITED WHEN I SAW THIS HACK YESTERDAY. For those of you who may not have known, I am a *gigantic* Harry Potter nerd. I am one of those people who can name quite a few of the hundreds of really unimportant characters (such as the authors of Hogwarts textbooks) and have an intense appreciation for The Marauders. I reread the individual books often, and just this past summer I reread the entire series for the first time in a while. I was dripping with nostalgia by the end of itHarry Potter was very much my childhood! I went to all the book premiers and dressed up as a witch and ate Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and even Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum. I have yet to visit Harry Potter World, sadly (it will happen!). For those of you who are not as Potter-oriented, this hack is the scene from the second book and movie, The Chamber of Secrets. After a series of mysterious petrifications, Harry and the squad discover a bloody message on the wall, as well as a petrified Mrs. Norris (the cat). They’re trying to figure out who (or what) is behind it all.     (Note: This is a stuffed catno animals were harmed in the hacking of this hack.) Anyway this completely and totally made my day and my Halloween, and I think is now officially my favorite hack ever of my time at MIT thus far. It may not be the most elaborate, but to me it’s still the most exciting! Additionally, although I never posted it, I completed a little mini-hack of my own after Night Market, an event held by MIT’s Chinese Students’ Club, Asian American Association, and Association of Taiwanese Students. We had a ton of balloons leftover from our decorations that night. (so many balloons! Also shoutout to my friend Amber G. ‘18) So I tied them to The Alchemist sculpture outside of the Student Center, because I thought they would make him look much happier and also like he was holding them.   Amber thought they made him look slightly like his brains had fallen out onto his knees (which is true) but I still thought it was pretty. At least he has golden brains! The balloons were taken away after morning, but I was happy to hear a couple of my friends saw them that night, lit up by the light of The Alchemist. Hacks are great, and I should pay more attention to them. Despite actually going to MIT, I only really got the details on the Back to the Future hack and the MIT Zoo hack by reading the blogs rather than experiencing them for myself. I’ve been so caught up in racing to get all my work done this sophomore fall that for a time, I was a no sleep zombie wandering the halls of our Institvte, and have since learned much about self-care (more on that later). October has ended, November is here (cue winter!) and soon the cold weather will finally arrive. I’m much looking forward to it actuallyI like sweater weather and hot chocolate and snowflakes and cold wind and being comfy inside. But until then, I’ll try not to look anything directly in its eyes.

Friday, May 22, 2020

Role Of Foreign Direct Investment In Malaysian Economy Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2300 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? According to research by Mello, JR (1999) was defined FDI as a form of international, inter-firm co-operation that involves significantly equity stake and effective management decision power in or ownership of foreign enterprises. FDI also considered as desirable because it can enhance the productive to the country, in order to bringing into new technology and training skilled workers ( UNCTAD 2003:4 ) FDI is different from other major forms of foreign investment in that it is motivated largely by the long term profit prospects in production activities that investors directly control. ( Wong, 2005). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Role Of Foreign Direct Investment In Malaysian Economy Finance Essay" essay for you Create order FDI is the main sources of flows resources from developing countries of net flows for large share. ( Chiara, 2009) THE FDI FLOWS IN MALAYSIAN ECONOMY. Foreign direct investment is the major contributor to the Malaysian economy. The FDI flows can fluctuate from year to year . Malaysia recorded RM134 billion during the period 1990 -1999. In years 2000 until 2009, the net FDI inflows was increased RM152 . The FDI flows in Malaysia has change due to two factors. Firstly, the FDI inflows increasingly been channeled into the higher value- added in services sector which is the financial services and shared services operations. The value- added and contribution to the growth into these sector are lower amount of FDI is higher more skill intensive and have higher labour productive. Secondly is the raising competition of FDI in the region from new emerging markets economies such as PR China, India and Vietnam as well as established investments centers , namely Singapore and Hong Kong SAR . In years 2000 until 2009, the portfolio outflow is steadily growing over the years which is averaging about 3.9% of GDP. It shows that the liberalisation of the foreign exchange administration rules since 2005 has allowed for greater flexibility for residents to invest abroad. ( Annual Report, 2009). FDI outflow in Malaysia can occur in many reasons such as the excess savings over investment and the Malaysian companies are aggresively seeking higher returns from abroad. 1.1 Problem statement The foreign investor will invest in Malaysia depends on the business environment. Not all the foreign investor willing to take the high risk if the condition of the business environment is not suitable to make investment. The main problem of this study is determine the factor that contribute to the volatility of the FDI flows. From that, the factor will effect of the volatility of the Flow. 1.2 Research objective The objectives of this study are as follows:- 1.) To determine the factors that effect the volatility of FDI flows in Malaysia 2.) To determine whether there is a relationship between FDI and the variables such as exchange rate, Market size and inflation 3.) To examine the effect of the volatility of FDI flows in Malaysia 1.3 Scope and limitations of the study 1.3.0 Scope The scope of this study will cover the Malaysia only. The study will use the monthly data of CPI from the year 1980 up to December 2010. Apart from that, this study will also use monthly exchange rate that covers from the year 1970 until January 2011 respectively while data of GDP will be taken from the year 1980 to 2010. 1.3.1 Limitations of the study While preparing this study, there are several constraints and limitations that have been figure out since the study been conducted from the beginning such as lack of time, difficulty of finding information, and lack of data accuracy. Lack of time Since this study at the beginning semester, they need a lot of concentration which need a lot of time in preparing the research report and the due date of the submission of the report. Beside that, it require a lot of time in gathering information, collecting the data, study on finding and literature review but it also need time in writing the report. The cost involved Cost also became constraint in completing the studies such as photocopying, cost of using internet and printing the journal and data. As a student, it considers a lot of money needed when preparing this research. Lack of knowledge In order to complete this study, the guidance from the advisor and experts are really needed because the lack of knowledge and e xperience in conducting the research. Lack of accurate information While doing this research, the accuracy of the information and data that will be used is important to get a good result. We also not familiar with the software such as Data stream in order to get the data and give us the difficulty to find the suitable data. To get the better study, accuracy of data is important to support the research and to give the additional information while doing the research. 1.4 Significance of the problem Most of the previous studies have been done by the researcher to see the relationship between FDI with other macroeconomic variables. Since this study focus only on the three variables, it would make a difference and would give some benefits to the investors, company, students and university. 1.4.1 Significant to the investors As to investors, this study will make them to be more alert or sensitive towards any changes in the exchange rate. This study will help the investors to make an investment and reduce the potential of loss on their investment. 1.4.2 Significant of the students This study will provide information to the student about the relationship between FDI and exchange rate, GDP and CPI. The study also might help the student to use it as their reference and additional materials for their study purposes in the near future 1.4.3 Significant to the University The study will be used by the university as a material for academic purposes as well as a reference for other students to review and do research in the future CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction Foreign direct investment plays a major role in the development and growth to the Malaysian economy. In order to attract more inflow FDI in our country, the government introduced policy reform include the establishment of free trade zone on early 1970, the introduction of Investment Incentives Act 1988 and more liberal incentives introduce. The inflow FDI in our country increase since the government introduce these policy. 2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW The volatility of FDI flows in Malaysia has been studied by many individuals especially scholars in economics area that come out with many different ideas. There are some studies argue that the exchange rate can affect the FDI flows. In the previous studies by Gorg and Wakelin,(2002) on the effect of exchange rate on outward U.S. FDI flows into developed countries and inward FDI flows into the United states from those same developed countries shows that there is no evidence that the exchange rate effect the outflow and inflows U.S FDI flows. According a study by Bleaney and Greenaway (2001) show that there is strong negative effect between volatility of real exchange rate and FDI flow but their study focus on total investment not FDI . In a study done by Alaba (2003), to determined the magnitude and the direction of the effects of the exchange rate volatility and the FDI flows in agricultures and manufacturing sectors in Nigeria. The GRACH model was used to measure the volatilit y of exchange rate, and the error correction methodology also used for empirical investigation in order to test the effect of both the official and parallel market exchange rates on FDI flows to agriculture and manufacturing sectors. The result shows that the official market exchange rate movement significantly reduces FDI inflows to agriculture sector and the manufacturing sector is not significant. For the volatility coefficient show that both of the sectors is not significant in FDI inflows. The previous finding by Cushman (1985, 1988) and Goldberg and kolstad (1995) found that the positive impact on exchange rate volatility in FDI flows. However Urata and kawai (2000) and Benassy, (2001) shows the negative impact on their studies. On their studies, they found that the high exchange rate volatility discouraged FDI, and the local currency promoted FDI from developed countries. There are some reasons of the different impact of the exchange rate volatility to the FDI such as aggr egation problem and the lack of adequate treatment of exchange rate volatility. Froot and Stein (1991) and (Sazanami, Yoshimura and Kiyota (2001) were examined the impact of the exchange rate volatility in Japan FDI for the different period. In these studies, they found the depreciation of different effect in another industries. Meanwhile, a study by (Ajayi, 2004), (Khan and Bamou ,2005), (Mwega and Ngugi (2005), show that there is possible effect on exchange rate volatility on FDI. The previous study found that how Exchange rate volatility and FDI flows can be affected in two ways. According to a study by Kohlhagen,(1997) and Dixit, (1989) the behavior of foreign investors to postpone their investment decisions can effect the exchange rate volatility and FDI flows. (Campa , 2003) found that the risk neutral shows the behavior of investors causes the exchange rate volatility of US inward FDI inflows decline in 1980. The other studies by Dixit and Pindyck, (1994) show the ad justment of the cost investment means that the difficulty of the investors get back their decisions once it is made. When the investors postpone their investment decisions, the investor will lose their any expected profit but they still have the ability to get more profit in future. The investors who delay their investment decisions will faced with uncertainty is greater for industries in which the product is life cycle or the expected firm specific assets is long.( Blonigen 1997, Dunning 1993). According to research by Shatz and Venables,2000), they were suggest a theory related to the types of FDI, which is vertical and horizontal (market seeking). Vertical FDI occur when international market searching for the lower cost of production meanwhile horizontal is establishing the same production activities into different country. Gross domestic product and Gross nominal product measured for market size. There are some literature found that the relationship between FDI and GDP is positive.(Campa,1993: Culem,1993: Chakrabarti,2006). Meanwhile some literature show the negative relationship of GDP and inward FDI to Mexico during the period 1980 to 1995 using the Generalized Least Square (GLS method). (Thomas and Grosse, 2001) Based on the studies on Borenztein et al.1998) show that the negative and significant was found for market size. The market size of home country will determine the firm to more capable of expand their production. One factor that can give impact for investor profit is the rate of inflation. Normally, it assumed that the higher price is the more profit the investors will get but the high inflation can be viewed as a barrier to FDI. The studies on determinants of FDI in countries in southest Europe from 1996 to 2002 by Botric and skuflic (2006) found that FDI had a positive but insignificant effect to inflation. It is also being found on FDI flows in Latin America, shows that the FDI flows had a negative but insignificant effect on i nflation. (Trevino et.al, 2002) 2.2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK In this study, there are three macroeconomic variables that are selected to test the relationship between FDI and the variables. INDEPENDENT VARIABLES DEPENDENT VARIABLES EXCHANGE RATE FDI MARKET SIZE INFLATION Figure 1 Dependent variables:- -Foreign direct investment in Malaysia is measured by annual inflows of FDI. Independent variables:- Market size- Gross Domestic Product is measured for the size of home country market Exchange rate is measured by Real effective exchange rate (Kiyota and urata,2004) Inflation is measured by CPI. 2.3 Conclusion This chapter normally tell the supporting theory that I use in my studies by referring the previous studies that have been done in order to support my studies. We can see clearly, the argument, theory, opinion, and method that the researcher used on their study . This chapter also explained the conceptual frame work that I will be using on my studies. CHAPTER 3-RESEARCH DESIGN 3.0 INTRODUCTION This study is explaining about the methodology being used as well as data collection for the independent variables and dependent variable. To test the relationship between the variables, the Simple Ordinary Least Squares ( OLS) equation regressions are applied by using annual data of FDI, monthly data for CPI and exchange rate and the data of GDP will cover from year 1980 to 2010. To estimates the volatility of the variables, the E-GARCH MODEL was used. In this method, 3.1 Data, population, Sampling method 3.1.1 Data collection The data of this study will be collected through secondary data which refer to the information assemble from the sources that already exist through the other researcher conducting the current studies ( Sekaran, 2003). The data also can gathered from published articles provided through the web browser. The data of the variables will be taken form BNM statistical bulletin and world bank.The data will be collected by annually and monthly. 3.1.2 Population The population of this study is the foreign investors who invest in Malaysia. 3.1.3 Sampling method 3.2 Analysis of the data For the analysis of the data, we will use the specific software .This study will use the E-views software to get the result. Using EGARCH method, we will use the historical data in order to know the volatility of FDI. To know the volatility of the data, it will be measured by conditional variance which is an explicit multiplicative function of lagged innovations. 3.4 Hypothesis Development 3.4.1 Hypothesis 01 The hypothesis 1 shows the relationship between inflation and FDI. It is to shows how far that coefficient of the two variables. H0= There is no relationship between inflation and FDI H1=There is a relationship between inflation and FDI 3.4.2 Hypothesis 02 H0= There is no relationship between exchange rate and FDI H1= There is a relationship between exchange rate and FDI 3.4.3 Hypothesis 03 H0=There is no relationship between market size and FDI H1=There is a relationship between market size and FDI 3.4.4 Hypothesis 04 H0= There is no relationship between inflation, exchange rate, market size and FDI H1=There is a relationship between inflation, exchange rate, market size and FDI Summary of chapter This chapter will explain more about the data collected , population, method that I used on my studies , and the hypothesis from the variables.

Saturday, May 9, 2020

Should Armed Guard Be Patrolled Schools - 1240 Words

Should armed guard be patrolling schools? There were over 200 school shootings in America from 2013 to 2015 — an average of nearly one a week. In all, these incidents resulted in 59 deaths and 124 non-fatal gunshot injuries. A staggering statistic considering that protecting children at schools has been and will be one of the top priorities for all Americans. Americans disagree on many topics and have diverse social and economic beliefs , but we all agree on providing safe and secure learning environments for our students. Government officials and school administrators face substantial altercations balancing parents’ expectations on keeping the students safe, and understanding the best available solutions with limited funding. These†¦show more content†¦Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School incident in 2012, there have been heated debates about whether or not if schools should have armed guard to patrol schools to deter the potential active shooter and to protect the students if the unthinkabl e takes place. Many believe that just the presence of an armed guard will prevent any potential of shooting at schools. In reviewing past major school shooting incidents, the intrepid shooter planned ahead. They were not expecting anyone at schools would protect the students and staff by shooting back at them. It is safe to assume, the shooters would have had some hesitations, if they knew they were expect to confront an armed guard at the schools. If there is a shooting incident, an armed guard can take immediate action unlike the emergency responders who would have to get to the school and assess the situation before taking any actions. Even a five to ten minute reprieve could mean life or death to many students and school staff. Professionally trained guards can also could play a role in addressing some of the core issues before they even turn into school shootings. In most cases, the shooters are victims of bullying or have been depressed for a period of time. In addition to patrolling, the armed guards can watch for student on student bullying and can observe and report any students that are acting out their depression inShow MoreRelatedShould College Be A Campus Police?2376 Words   |  10 Pagessafe at Brevard College? For a school that has a tuition of $38,000 and at least 800 students and the campus size of 120 acres of land, there is only a couple campus security guards strolling around this campus and strolling an off campus resident. Two years ago, there was a problem with some females getting stalked and almost assaulted on campus. Until this day, we have yet to find the suspects because the suspects have gotten away because of only a one security guard being on duty and that’s notRead Mo reExploring the Reasons for United States Involvement in Vietnam1051 Words   |  5 Pagessabotage North Vietnam and boost up the image of President Diem. They also trained the South Vietnamarmy in modern fighting techniques in preparation for open war with the communists. Ngo Dinh Diem 1) Educated in French Catholic Schools and trained as an administrator. 2) At age of 25 he became a provincial governor. 3) Visited the US and met Cardinal Spellman of New York and John F Kennedy and won their support. 4) 1954 German conference - Diem was acceptedRead MoreEssay on W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington1240 Words   |  5 Pagesof social and economic standing for blacks. Booker T. Washington, an ex-slave, put into practice his educational ideas at Tuskegee, which opened in 1881. Washington stressed patience, manual training, and hard work. He believed that blacks should go to school, learn skills, and work their way up the ladder. Washington also urged blacks to accept racial discrimination for the time being, and once they worked their way up, they would gain the respect of whites and be fully accepted as citizens. W.ERead MoreJapanese Internment Camps During World War II1894 Words   |  8 Pagescreation of the WRA (War Relocation Authority), which was a U.S. civilian agency in charge of the forced relocation and internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. 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While West Berlin was controlled by a democratic nation led by the United States (Epler,Read MoreIncarceration: Prison and Inmates10532 Words   |  43 Pagesintervention services with the intent of maintaining a youths well-being during his or her stay in custody. More intensive treatment and remedial activ ities are usually made available in dispositional facilities for sentenced youth, e.g., training schools, rehabilitation centers, correctional facilities. There is a form of secure detention that is reserved for juveniles considered to be a threat to public safety or the court process. These status offenders, juveniles charged with running away from

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Intelligence Three Test Comparison Free Essays

Society has been intrigued with the human mind since the beginning of time whether it deals with expanding the mind, strengthening, conditioning, or testing the limitations. A popular way to test the human mind is through the use of an intelligence test. In order to test the human mind on intelligence it must be defined to have reliable constructs that can be measured. We will write a custom essay sample on Intelligence Three Test Comparison or any similar topic only for you Order Now Intelligence is being able to how well you learn from experiences and being able to adapt to the environment. Intelligence test the WISC uses four subtest groups to measure intelligence, which are verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed. These four subtest groups are constructs of intelligence broken into categories based on the skill type. Within the subtest these categories are used in intelligence test, for example the Shipley uses only vocabulary and abstraction as measurements of intelligence. IQ test vary with what types of constructs being used from using two items to all fifteen items. This paper is comparing the scores of three different IQ test, the Shipley, Wonderlic, and the classical IQ test. Similar to the comparing and contrasting of scores the ways each test defers will be examined along with the strength, purposes, and weaknesses of each test. The first test the Shipley, which is an intelligence test that is measuring education and intellectual deterioration. The test is broken up into two parts first the vocabulary section where participants have ten minutes to answer forty vocab questions based on the similarity of the word compared to the four answer responses. The second part of this test was the abstraction part where twelve minutes was given to answer twenty-five questions. This particular test showed high internal consistency at . 92 along with acceptable test-retest scores at . 87-. 4, and a SEM at 4. 57, which is a medium SEM. The Validity for this test showed good concurrent validity. The standardization for the Shipley is a total of 2,826 with the demographic of 1,203 adults and 1,876 children. The downfall of the Shipley is that scores are highly depend on the verbal and abstraction ability not including any of the other constructs for testing intelligences. Thus this supports the issue of the Shipley being bia s to people who have poor English skills or it is their second language making the test more challenging for them. I felt that the score I received on the vocabulary portion was accurate in regards to vocabulary IQ because I do struggle with learning and comprehension, spelling, and vocabulary. I scored in the lower 21% ranking for vocabulary, which isn’t surprising because a large amount of words I didn’t understand and was guessing. The scores seemed to favor people with a wide comprehensive vocabulary and people who are native English language speakers. What doesn’t seem fair is for the people who struggle with aspects such as vocab are going to have low scores, which can hinder aspects where the scores of the Shipley are used as a deciding factor. Although overall the abstract portion balanced out the combined score leaving me at a average percentile ranking for the Shipley. Some sources of error that my affect the results of the test could be the time of day the test was taken, if each test was instructed in the same manner along with the other previously discussed examples. The Wonderlic intelligence test is more widely used in the work force and is used to evaluate and aid in hiring decisions. It intends to measure the general intelligence of adults in the business and industry field. The test consists of fifty questions that progressively get harder as they go on. The time limit is twelve minutes to complete as many correct answers as possible. The test was not intended for people to complete in the elapse time. The internal consistency, test re-tests, and concurrent validity are all excellent for this test. This suggest that this test is reliable and measures what it intendeds to measure. The SEM is much smaller than the Shipley at 1. 4. While having excellent standardization with a sample size was 100,000 individuals. This test has been known as or called unfair, because for ESL individuals have a much harder time with the vocab and comprehension part. It could take them longer to read or understand certain aspects, which could slow them down and affect their scores for the test that could potentially decide who gets the job based on scores. The tests are scored and compare the standard score with the corresponding grade level. Age is also a factor in this test to where the older you are the higher number of points you can add to your final score. On this test I strongly agree with the idea that this test is unfair because of the short time limit you are given to take the full test. Also the content on the test may be examining your intellectual abilities but may not relate to the on the job aspect of learning or type of work duties. This is starting people off who need accommodations such as longer test taking, anxiety, ESL individuals, and people struggle in school to perform lower than people who don’t need these accommodations. It has been proven that certain ethnicity do better or worse on this test. So that alone is giving an advantage to a particular group because a portion of people start out with a disadvantage based on socioeconomic status, education, ethnicity, and parents education level. A source of error that can occur with this test could be the amount of time given to participants, time of day or beginning or ending of a school week and possibly ethnicity based on previous scores. The online intelligence test is used as a predictor of your academic achievements. It is measuring general intelligence; this test used several of the subtests that were previously discussed. The scoring was scaled by the ability to retain previous learned knowledge. The knowledge being tested was acquired through education and experience. What I learned about intelligence assessment was that there are many types of intelligence test and they each vary in aspects of testing. What I learned about my own intelligence was simply confirmed with the three test results. Prior to the intelligence test I would have guested that my levels of intelligence was around average. Overall for all three test a consistent finding of an average IQ score was found after reviewing the results. For the first Shipley my standard score was right on the 100 mark that coordinates to the fifty percentile of the overall scores of the Shipley. This is right on the average of overall scores for the Shipley. The Wonderlic showed similar results where I answered twenty-eight items scoring fifteen items correct out of fifty total items. The scoring was comparing your total score to the years of education completed. I scored in the tenth grade category with the cumulative ranking of 18. 72 when compared to adults and a 2. when compared to college graduates. When looking at the level of education completed the score puts me at grade level ten, which is right in the middle of the years of education. The interpreting of the WPT test results state that I may enter high school and will probably select classes that are on a less academic track. This is the lowest amount of educational success that is interpreted and I am on my way to achieving the highest level of interpretation being a coll ege graduate. This test doesn’t seem to be an accurate predication of education levels. Although my scores fall below the mean on this test it is fairly close to the overall mean. For the final online IQ test found that I was right around the overall mean again with my percentile ranking at 45% which is very close to the middle. Moreover I have confirmed through the three IQ test that I rank in the overall average category. When comparing the IQ results to my class performance or GPA they do correlate. My cumulative GPA is 2. 5 which is right on the average for overall GPA, which relate to the three scores I received from the test confirming an average overall IQ and learning processing. With my GPA and the overall IQ test scores correlating can suggest that the IQ test are a good predictor or accurate predictor of GPA. Also can imply that GPA is a predictor of your overall intelligence. Looking at my overall data suggest that I am of average intelligence with strongly correlates with my GPA. I agree with the findings of average IQ score because it reflects my grades in school throughout high school and college and attitude about my cognitive functioning. Although I disagree that the test should be used as a predictor or and outcome variable for selection decisions. How to cite Intelligence Three Test Comparison, Papers

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

The Barnhouse Effect free essay sample

Let me begin by saying that I dont know any more about where Professor Arthur Barnhouse is hiding than anyone else does. Save for one short, enigmatic message left in my mailbox on Christmas Eve, I have not heard from him since his disappearance a year and a half ago. Whats more, readers of this article will be disappointed if they expect to learn how they can bring about the so-called Barnhouse Effect. If I were able and willing to give away that secret, I would certainly be something more important than a psychology instructor. I have been urged to write this report because I did research under the professors direction and because I was the first to learn of his astonishing discovery. But while I was his student I was never entrusted with knowledge of how the mental forces could be released and directed. He was unwilling to trust anyone with that information. We will write a custom essay sample on The Barnhouse Effect or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I would like to point out that the term Barnhouse Effect is a creation of the popular press, and was never used by Professor Barnhouse. The name he chose for the phenomenon was dynamopsychism,† or force of the mind. I cannot believe that there is a civilized person yet to be convinced that such a force exists, what with its destructive effects on display in every national capital. I think humanity has always had an inkling that this sort of force does exist. It has been common knowledge that some people are luckier than others with inanimate objects like dice. What Professor Barnhouse did was to show that such luck was a measurable force, which in his case could be enormous. By my calculations, the professor was about fifty-five times more powerful than a Nagasaki-type atomic bomb at the time he went into hiding. He was not bluffing when, on the eve of Operation Brainstorm, he told General Honus Barker: Sitting here at the dinner table, Im pretty sure I can flatten anything on earth—from Joe Louis to the Great Wall of China. There is an understandable tendency to look upon Professor Barnhouse as a supernatural visitation. The First Church of Barnhouse in Los Angeles has a congregation numbering in the thousands. He is godlike in neither appearance nor intellect. The man who disarms the world is single, shorter than the average American male, stout, and averse to exercise. His I. Q. is 143, which is good but certainly not sensational. He is quite mortal, about to celebrate his fortieth birthday, and in good health. If he is alone now, the isolation wont bother him too much. He was quiet and shy when I knew him, and seemed to find more companionship in books and music than in his associations at the college. Neither he nor his powers fall outside the sphere of Nature. His dynamopsychic radiations are subject to many known physical laws that apply in the field of radio. Hardly a person has not now heard the snarl of Barnhouse static on his home receiver. The radiations are affected by sunspots and variations in the ionosphere. However, they differ from ordinary broadcast waves, in several important ways. Their total energy can be brought to bear on any single point the professor chooses, and that energy is undiminished by distance. As a weapon, then, dynamopsychism has an impressive advantage over bacteria and atomic bombs, beyond the fact that it costs nothing to use: it enables the professor to single out critical individuals and objects instead of slaughtering whole populations in the process of maintaining international equilibrium. As General Honus Barker told the House Military Affairs Committee: Until someone finds Barnhouse, there is no defense against the Barnhouse Effect. Efforts to jam or block the radiations have failed. Premier Slezak could have saved himself the fantastic expense of his Barnhouseproof shelter. Despite the shelters twelve-foot-thick lead armor, the premier has been floored twice while in it. There is talk of screening the population for men potentially as powerful dynamopsychically as the professor. Senator Warren Foust demanded funds for this purpose last month, with the passionate declaration: He who rules the Barnhouse Effect rules the world! Commissar Kropotnik said much the same thing, so another costly armaments race, with a new twist, has begun. This race at least has its comical aspects. The worlds best gamblers are being coddled by governments like so many nuclear physicists. There may be several hundred persons with dynamopsychic talent on earth, myself included. But, without knowledge of the professors technique, they can never be anything but dice-table despots. With the secret, it would probably take them ten years to become dangerous weapons. It took the professor that long. He who rules the Barnhouse Effect is Barnhouse and will be for some time. Popularly, the Age of Barnhouse is said to have begun a year and a half ago, on the day of Operation Brainstorm. That was when dynamopsychism became significant politically. Actually, the phenomenon was discovered in May, 1942, shortly after the professor turned down a direct commission in the Army and enlisted as an artillery private. Like X-rays and vulcanized rubber, dynamopsychism was discovered by accident. From time to time Private Barnhouse was invited to take part in games of chance by his barrack mates. He knew nothing about the games, and usually begged off. But one evening, out of social grace, he agreed to shoot craps. It was either terrible or wonderful that he played, depending upon whether or not you like the world as it now is. Shoot sevens, Pop, someone said. So Pop shot sevens—ten in a row to bankrupt the barracks. He retired to his bunk and, as a mathematical exercise, calculated the odds against his feat on the back of a laundry slip. His chances of doing it, he found, were one in almost ten million! Bewildered, he borrowed a pair of dice from the man in the bunk next to his. He tried to roll sevens again, but got only the usual assortment of numbers. He lay back for a moment, then resumed his toying with the dice. He rolled ten more sevens in a row. He might have dismissed the phenomenon with a low whistle. But the professor instead mulled over the circumstances surrounding his two lucky streaks. There was one single factor in common: on both occasions, the same thought train had flashed through his mind just before he threw the dice. It was that thought train which aligned the professors brain cells into what has since become the most powerful weapon on earth. The soldier in the next bunk gave dynamopsychism its first token of respect. In an understatement certain to bring wry smiles to the faces of the worlds dejected demagogues, the soldier said, Youre hottern a two-dollar pistol, Pop. Professor Barnhouse was all of that. The dice that did his bidding weighed but a few grams, so the forces involved were minute; but the unmistakable fact that there were such forces was earth-shaking. Professional caution kept him from revealing his discovery immediately. He wanted more facts and a body of theory to go with them. Later, when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, it was fear that made him hold his peace. At no time were his experiments, as Premier Slezak called them, a bourgeois plot to shackle the true democracies of the world. The professor didnt know where they were leading. In time, he came to recognize another startling feature of dynamopsychism: its strength increased with use. Within six months, he was able to govern dice thrown by men the length of a barracks distant. By the time of his discharge in 1945, he could knock bricks loose from chimneys three miles away. Charges that Professor Barnhouse could have won the last war in a minute, but did not care to do so, are perfectly senseless. When the war ended, he had the range and power of a 37-millimeter cannon, perhaps—certainly no more. His dynamopsychic powers graduated from the small-arms class only after his discharge and return to Wyandotte College. I enrolled in the Wyandotte Graduate School two years after the professor had rejoined the faculty. By chance, he was assigned as my thesis adviser. I was unhappy about the assignment, for the professor was, in the eyes of both colleagues and students, a somewhat ridiculous figure. He missed classes or had lapses of memory during lectures. When I arrived, in fact, his shortcomings had passed from the ridiculous to the intolerable. Were assigning you to Barnhouse as a sort of temporary thing, the dean of social studies told me. He looked apologetic and perplexed. Brilliant man, Barnhouse, I guess. Difficult to know since his return, perhaps, but his work before the war brought a great deal of credit to our little school. When I reported to the professors laboratory for the first time, what I saw was more distressing than the gossip. Every surface in the room was covered with dust; books and apparatus had not been disturbed for months. The professor sat napping at his desk when I entered. The only signs of recent activity were three overflowing ashtrays, a pair of scissors, and a morning paper with several items clipped from its fr ont page. As he raised his head to look at me, I saw that his eyes were clouded with fatigue. Hi, he said, just cant seem to get my sleeping done at night. He lighted a cigarette, his hands trembling slightly. You the young man Im supposed to help with a thesis? Yes, sir, I said. In minutes he converted my misgivings to alarm. You an overseas veteran? he asked. Yes, sir. Not much left over there, is there? He frowned. Enjoy the last war? No, sir. Look like another war to you? Kind of, sir. What can be done about it? I shrugged. Looks pretty hopeless. He peered at me intently. Know anything about international law, the U. N. , and all that? Only what I pick up from the papers. Same here, he sighed. He showed me a fat scrapbook packed with newspaper clippings. Never used to pay any attention to international politics. Now I study them the way I used to study rats in mazes. Everybody tells me the same thing—Looks hopeless. † Nothing short of a miracle— I began. Believe in magic? he asked sharply. The professor fished two dice from his vest pocket. I will try to roll twos, he said. He rolled twos three times in a row. One chance in about 47,000 of that happening. Theres a miracle for you. He beamed for an instant, then brought the interview to an end, remarking that he had a class which had begun ten minutes ago. He was not quick to take me into his confidence, and he said no more about his trick with the dice. I assumed they were loaded, and forgot about them. He set me the task of watching male rats cross electrified metal strips to get to food or female rats—an experiment that had been done to everyones satisfaction in the nineteen-thirties. As though the pointlessness of my work were not bad enough, the professor annoyed me further with irrelevant questions. His favorites were: Think we should have dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima? and Think every new piece of scientific information is a good thing for humanity? However, I did not feel put upon for long. Give those poor animals a holiday, he said one morning, after I had been with him only a month. I wish youd help me look into a more interesting problem—namely, my sanity. I returned the rats to their cages. What you must do is simple, he said, speaking softly. Watch the inkwell on my desk. If you see nothing happen to it, say so, and Ill go quietly—relieved, I might add—to the nearest sanitarium. I nodded uncertainly. He locked the laboratory door and drew the blinds, so that we were in twilight for a moment. Im odd, I know, he said. Its fear of myself thats made me odd. Ive found you somewhat eccentric, perhaps, but certainly not— If nothing happens to that inkwell, crazy as a bedbug is the only description of me that will do, he interrupted, turning on the overhead lights. His eyes narrowed. To give you an idea of how crazy, Ill tell you whats been running through my mind when I should have been sleeping. I think maybe I can save the world. I think maybe I can make every nation a have nation, and do away with war for good. I think maybe I can clear roads through jungles, irrigate deserts, build dams overnight. Yes, sir. Watch the inkwell! Dutifully and fearfully I watched. A high-pitched humming seemed to come from the inkwell; then it began to vibrate alarmingly, and finally to bound about the top of the desk, making two noisy circuits. It stopped, hummed again, glowed red, then popped in splinters with a blue-green flash. Perhaps my hair stood on end. The professor laughed gently. Magnets? I managed to say at last. Wish to heaven it were magnets, he murmured. It was then that he told me of dynamopsychism. He knew only that there was such a force; he could not explain it. Its me and me alone—and its awful. Id say it was amazing and wonderful! I cried. If all I could do was make inkwells dance, Id be tickled silly with the whole business. He shrugged disconsolately. But Im no toy, my boy. If you like, we c an drive around the neighborhood, and Ill show you what I mean. He told me about pulverized boulders, shattered oaks, and abandoned farm buildings demolished within a fifty-mile radius of the campus. Did every bit of it sitting right here, just thinking—not even thinking hard. He scratched his head nervously. I have never dared to concentrate as hard as I can for fear of the damage I might do. Im to the point where a mere whim is a blockbuster. There was a depressing pause. Up until a few days ago, Ive thought it best to keep my secret for fear of what use it might be put to, he continued. Now I realize that I havent any more right to it than a man has a right to own an atomic bomb. He fumbled through a heap of papers. This says about all that needs to be said, I think. He handed me a draft of a letter to the Secretary of State. Dear Sir: I have discovered a new force which costs nothing to use, and which is probably more important than atomic energy. I should like to see it used most effectively in the cause of peace, and am, therefore, requesting your advice as to how this might best be done. Yours truly, A. Barnhouse. I have no idea what will happen next, said the professor. There followed three months of perpetual nightmare, wherein the nations political and military great came at all hours to watch the professors tricks. We were quartered in an old mansion near Charlottesville, Virginia, to which we had been whisked five days after the letter was mailed. Surrounded by barbed wire and twenty guards, we were labeled Project Wishing Well, and were classified as Top Secret. For companionship we had General Honus Barker and the State Departments William K. Cuthrell. For the professors talk of peace-through-plenty they had indulgent smiles and much discourse on practical measures and realistic thinking. So treated, the professor, who had at first been almost meek, rogressed in a matter of weeks toward stubbornness. He had agreed to reveal the thought train by means of which he aligned his mind into a dynamopsychic transmitter. But, under Cuthrells and Barkers nagging to do so, he began to hedge. At first he declared that the information could be passed on simply by word of mouth. Later he said that it would have to be written up in a long report. Finally, at dinner one night, just after General Barker had read the secret orders for Operation Brainstorm, the professor announced, The report may take as long as five years to write. He looked fiercely at the general. Maybe twenty. The dismay occasioned by this flat announcement was offset somewhat by the exciting anticipation of Operation Brainstorm. The general was in a holiday mood. The target ships are on their way to the Caroline Islands at this very moment, he declared ecstatically. One hundred and twenty of them! At the same time, ten V-2s are being readied for firing in New Mexico, and fifty radio-controlled jet bombers are being equipped for a mock attack on the Aleutians. Just think of it! Happily he reviewed his orders. At exactly 1100 hours next Wednesday, I will give you the order to concentrate; and you, professor, will think as hard as you can about sinking the target ships, destroying the V-2s before they hit the ground, and knocking down bombers before they reach the Aleutians! Think you can handle it? The professor tu rned gray and closed his eyes. As I told you before, my friend, I dont know what I can do. He added bitterly, As for this Operation Brainstorm, I was never consulted about it, and it strikes me as childish and in insanely expensive. General Barker bridled. Sir, he said, your field is psychology, and I wouldnt presume to give you advice in that field. Mine is national defense. I have had thirty years of experience and success, Professor, and Ill ask you not to criticize my judgment. The professor appealed to Mr. Cuthrell. Look, he pleaded, isnt it war and military matters were all trying to get rid of? Wouldnt it be a whole lot more significant and lots cheaper for me to try moving cloud masses into drought areas, and things like that? I admit I know next to nothing about international politics, but it seems reasonable to suppose that nobody would want to fight wars if there were enough of everything to go around. Mr. Cuthrell, Id like to try running generators where there isnt any coal or water power, irrigating deserts, and so on. Why, you could figure out what each country needs to make the most of its resources, and I could give it to them without costing American taxpayers a penny. Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom, said the general heavily. Mr. Cuthrell threw the general a look of mild distaste. Unfortunately, the general is right in his own way, he said. I wish to heaven the world were ready for ideals like yours, but it simply isnt. We arent surrounded by brothers, but by enemies. It isnt a lack of food or resources that has us on the brink of war—its a struggle for power. Whos going to be in charge of the world, our kind of people or theirs? The professor nodded in reluctant agreement and arose from the table. I beg your pardon, gentlemen. You are, after all, better qualified to judge what is best for the country. Ill do whatever you say. He turned to me. Dont forget to wind the restricted clock and put the confidential cat out, he said gloomily, and ascended the stairs to his bedroom. For reasons of national security, Operation Brainstorm was carried on without the knowledge of the American citizenry which was paying the bill. The observers, technicians, and military men involved in the activity knew that a test was under way—a test of what, they had no idea. Only thirty-seven key men, myself included, knew what was afoot. In Virginia, the day for Operation Brainstorm was unseasonably cool. Inside, a log fire crackled in the fireplace, and the flames were reflected in the polished metal cabinets that lined the living room. All that remained of the rooms lovely old furniture was a Victorian love seat, set squarely in the center of the floor, facing three television receivers. One long bench had been brought in for the ten of us privileged to watch. The television screens showed, from left to right, the stretch of desert which was the rocket target, the guinea-pig fleet, and a section of the Aleutian sky through which the radio-controlled bomber formation would roar. Ninety minutes before H-hour the radios announced that the rockets were ready, that the observation ships had backed away to what was thought to be a safe distance, and that the bombers were on their way. The small Virginia audience lined up on the bench in order of rank, smoked a great deal, and said little. Professor Barnhouse was in his bedroom. General Barker bustled about the house like a woman preparing Thanksgiving dinner for twenty. At ten minutes before H-hour the general came in, shepherding the professor before him. The professor was comfortably attired in sneakers, gray flannels, a blue sweater, and a white shirt open at the neck. The two of them sat side by side on the love seat. The general was rigid and perspiring; the professor was cheerful. He looked at each of the screens, lighted a cigarette and settled back. Bombers sighted! cried the Aleutian observers. Rockets away! barked the New Mexico radio operator. All of us looked quickly at the big electric clock over the mantel, while the professor, a half-smile on his face, continued to watch the television sets. In hollow tones, the general counted away the seconds remaining. Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . Concentrate! Professor Barnhouse closed his eyes, pursed his lips, and stroked his temples. He held the position for a minute. The television images were scrambled, and the radio signals were drowned in the din of Barnhouse static. The professor sighed, opened his eyes, and smiled confidently. Did you give it ever ything you had? asked the general dubiously. I was wide open, the professor replied. The television images pulled themselves together, and mingled cries of amazement came over the radios tuned to the observers. The Aleutian sky was streaked with the smoke trails of bombers screaming down in flames. Simultaneously, there appeared high over the rocket target a cluster of white puffs, followed by faint thunder. General Barker shook his head happily. By George! he crowed. Well, sir, by George, by George, by George! Look! shouted the admiral seated next to me. The fleet-it wasnt touched! The guns seem to be drooping, said Mr. Cuthrell. We left the bench and clustered about the television set to examine the damage more closely. What Mr. Cuthrell had said was true. The ships guns curved downward, their muzzles resting on the steel decks. We in Virginia were making such a hullabaloo that it was impossible to hear the radio reports. We were so engrossed, in fact, that we didnt miss the professor until two short snarls of Barnhouse static shocked us into sudden silence. The radios went dead. We looked around apprehensively. The professor was gone. A harassed guard threw open the front door from the outside to yell that the professor had escaped. He brandished his pistol in the direction of the gates, which hung open, limp and twisted. In the distance, a speeding government station wagon topped a ridge and dropped from sight into the valley beyond. The air was filled with choking smoke, for every vehicle on the grounds was ablaze. Pursuit was impossible. â€Å"What in Gods name got into him? bellowed the general. Mr. Cuthrell, who had rushed out onto the front porch, now slouched back into the room, reading a penciled note as he came. He thrust the note into my hands. The good man left this billet-doux under the door knocker. Perhaps our young friend here will be kind enough to read it to you gentlemen, while I take a restful walk through the woods. Gentlemen, I read aloud, as the first superweapon with a conscience, I am removing myself from your national defense stockpile. Setting a new precedent in the behavior of ordnance, I have humane reasons for going off. A. Barnhouse. Since that day, of course, the professor has been systematically destroying the worlds armaments, until there is now little with which to equip an army other than rocks and sharp sticks. His activities havent exactly resulted in peace, but have, rather, precipitated a bloodless and entertaining sort of war that might be called the War of the Tattletales. Every nation is flooded with enemy agents whose sole mission is to locate military equipment, which is promptly wrecked when it is brought to the professors attention in the press. Just as every day brings news of more armaments pulverized by dynamopsychism, so has it brought rumors of the professors whereabouts. During last week alone, three publications carried articles proving variously that he was hiding in an Inca ruin in the Andes, in the sewers of Paris, and in the unexplored lower chambers of Carlsbad Caverns. Knowing the man, I am inclined to regard such hiding places as unnecessarily romantic and uncomfortable. While there are numerous persons eager to kill him, there must be millions who would care for him and hide him. I like to think that he is in the home of such a person. One thing is certain: at this writing, Professor Barnhouse is not dead. Barnhouse static jammed broadcasts not ten minutes ago. In the eighteen months since his disappearance, he has been reported dead some half-dozen times. Each report has stemmed from the death of an unidentified man resembling the professor, during a period free of the static. The first three reports were followed at once by renewed talk of rearmament and recourse to war. The saber-rattlers have learned how imprudent premature celebrations of the professors demise can be. Many a stouthearted patriot has found himself prone in the tangled bunting and timbers of a smashed reviewing stand, seconds after having announced that the arch-tyranny of Barnhouse was at an end. But those who would make war if they could, in every country in the world, wait in sullen silence for what must come—the passing of Professor Barnhouse. To ask how much longer the professor will live is to ask how much longer we must wait for the blessings of another world war. He is of short-lived stock: his mother lived to be fifty-three, his father to be forty-nine; and the life-spans of his grandparents on both sides were of the same order. He might be expected to live, then, for perhaps fifteen years more, if he can remain hidden from his enemies. When one considers the number and vigor of these enemies, however, fifteen years seems an extraordinary length of time, which might better be revised to fifteen days, hours, or minutes. The professor knows that he cannot live much longer. I say this because of the message left in my mailbox on Christmas Eve. Unsigned, typewritten on a soiled scrap of paper, the note consisted of ten sentences. The first nine of these, each a bewildering tangle of psychological jargon and references to obscure texts, made no sense to me at first reading. The tenth, unlike the rest, was simply constructed and contained no large words—but its irrational content made it the most puzzling and bizarre sentence of all. I nearly threw the note away, thinking it a colleagues warped notion of a practical joke. For some reason, though, I added it to the clutter on top of my desk, which included, among other mementos, the professors dice. It took me several weeks to realize that the message really meant something, that the first nine sentences, when unsnarled, could be taken as instructions. The tenth still told me nothing. It was only last night that I discovered how it fitted in with the rest. The sentence appeared in my thoughts last night, while I was toying absently with the professors dice. I promised to have this report on its way to the publishers today. In view of what has happened, I am obliged to break that promise, or release the report incomplete. The delay will not be a long one, for one of the few blessings accorded a bachelor like myself is the ability to move quickly from one abode to another, or from one way of life to another. What property I want to take with me can be packed in a few hours. Fortunately, I am not without substantial private means, which may take as long as a week to realize in liquid and anonymous form. When this is done, I shall mail the report. I have just returned from a visit to my doctor, who tells me my health is excellent. I am young, and, with any luck at all, I shall live to a ripe old age indeed, for my family on both sides is noted for longevity. Briefly, I propose to vanish. Sooner or later, Professor Barnhouse must die. But long before then I shall be ready. So, to the saber-rattlers of today and even, I hope, of tomorrow—I say: Be advised. Barnhouse will die. But not the Barnhouse Effect. Last night, I tried once more to follow the oblique instructions on the scrap of paper. I took the professors dice, and then, with the last, nightmarish sentence flitting through my mind, I rolled fifty consecutive sevens.

Friday, March 20, 2020

The History of Buenos Aires, Argentina

The History of Buenos Aires, Argentina One of the most important cities in South America, Buenos Aires has a long and interesting history. It has lived under the shadow of the secret police on more than one occasion, has been attacked by foreign powers and has the unfortunate distinction of being one of the only cities in history to be bombed by its own navy. It has been home to ruthless dictators, bright-eyed idealists and some of the most important writers and artists in the history of Latin America. The city has seen economic booms that brought in stunning wealth as well as economic meltdowns that have driven the population into poverty. Foundation of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires was founded twice. A settlement at the present-day site was established briefly in 1536 by conquistador Pedro de Mendoza, but attacks by local indigenous tribes forced the settlers to move to Asuncià ³n, Paraguay in 1539. By 1541 the site had been burned and abandoned. The harrowing story of the attacks and the overland journey to Asuncià ³n was written down by one of the survivors, German mercenary Ulrico Schmidl after he returned to his native land around 1554. In 1580, another settlement was established, and this one lasted. Growth The city was well-located to control all trade in the region containing present-day Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and parts of Bolivia, and it thrived. In 1617 the province of Buenos Aires was removed from control by Asuncià ³n, and the city welcomed its first bishop in 1620. As the city grew, it became too powerful for the local indigenous tribes to attack, but became the target of European pirates and privateers. At first, much of the growth of Buenos Aires was in illicit trade, as all official trade with Spain had to go through Lima. Boom Buenos Aires was established on the banks of the Rà ­o de la Plata (Platte River), which translates to River of Silver. It was given this optimistic name by early explorers and settlers, who had gotten some silver trinkets from local Indians. The river didnt produce much in the way of silver, and settlers didnt find the true value of the river until much later. In the eighteenth century, cattle ranching in the vast grasslands around Buenos Aires became very lucrative, and millions of treated leather hides were sent to Europe, where they became leather armor, shoes, clothing and a variety of other products. This economic boom led to the establishment in 1776 of the Viceroyalty of the River Platte, based in Buenos Aires. The British Invasions Using the alliance between Spain and Napoleonic France as an excuse, Britain attacked Buenos Aires twice in 1806 to 1807, attempting to further weaken Spain while at the same time gaining valuable New World colonies to replace the ones it had so recently lost in the American Revolution. The first attack, led by Colonel William Carr Beresford, succeeded in capturing Buenos Aires, although Spanish forces out of Montevideo were able to re-take it about two months later. A second British force arrived in 1807 under the command of Lieutenant-General John Whitelocke. The British took Montevideo but were unable to capture Buenos Aires, which was ably defended by urban guerilla militants. The British were forced to retreat. Independence The British invasions had a secondary effect on the city. During the invasions, Spain had essentially left the city to its fate, and it had been the citizens of Buenos Aires who had taken up arms and defended their city. When Spain was invaded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1808, the people of Buenos Aires decided they had seen enough of Spanish rule, and in 1810 they established an independent government, although formal Independence would not come until 1816. The fight for Argentine Independence, led by Josà © de San Martà ­n, was largely fought elsewhere and Buenos Aires did not suffer terribly during the conflict. Unitarians and Federalists When the charismatic San Martà ­n went into self-imposed exile in Europe, there was a power vacuum in the new nation of Argentina. Before long, a bloody conflict hit the streets of Buenos Aires. The country was divided between Unitarians, who favored a strong central government in Buenos Aires, and Federalists, who preferred near-autonomy for the provinces. Predictably, the Unitarians were mostly from Buenos Aires, and the Federalists were from the provinces. In 1829, Federalist strongman Juan Manuel de Rosas seized power, and those Unitarians who did not flee were persecuted by Latin Americas first secret police, the Mazorca. Rosas was removed from power in 1852, and Argentinas first constitution was ratified in 1853. The 19th Century The newly independent country was forced to continue to fight for its existence. England and France both tried to take Buenos Aires in the mid-1800s  but failed. Buenos Aires continued to thrive as a trade port, and the sale of leather continued to boom, especially after railroads were built connecting the port to the interior of the country where the cattle ranches were. Towards the turn of the century, the young city developed a taste for European high culture, and in 1908 the Colà ³n Theater opened its doors. Immigration in the Early 20th Century As the city industrialized in the early 20th century, it opened its doors to immigrants, mostly from Europe. Large numbers of Spanish and Italians came, and their influence is still strong in the city. There were also Welsh, British, Germans, and Jews, many of whom passed through Buenos Aires on their way to establish settlements in the interior. Many more Spanish arrived during and shortly after the  Spanish Civil War  (1936 to 1939). The Perà ³n regime (1946 to 1955) allowed  Nazi war criminals  to migrate to Argentina, including the infamous Dr. Mengele, although they did not come in large enough numbers to significantly change the nations demographics. Recently, Argentina has seen migration from Korea, China, Eastern Europe and other parts of Latin America. Argentina has celebrated Immigrants Day on September 4 since 1949. The Perà ³n Years Juan Perà ³n  and his famous wife  Evita  came to power in the early 1940s, and he reached the presidency in 1946. Perà ³n was a very strong leader, blurring the lines between elected president and dictator. Unlike many strongmen, however, Perà ³n was a liberal who strengthened unions (but kept them under control) and improved education. The working class adored him and Evita, who opened schools and clinics and gave state money away to the poor. Even after he was deposed in 1955 and forced into exile, he remained a powerful force in Argentine politics. He even triumphantly returned to stand for the 1973 elections, which he won, although he died of a heart attack after about a year in power. The Bombing of the Plaza de Mayo On June 16, 1955, Buenos Aires saw one of its darkest days. Anti-Perà ³n forces in the military, seeking to dislodge him from power, ordered the Argentine Navy to bombard the Plaza de Mayo, the citys central square. It was believed that this act would precede a general coup dà ©tat. Navy aircraft bombed and strafed the square for hours, killing 364 people and injuring hundreds more. The Plaza had been targeted because it was a gathering place for pro-Perà ³n citizens. The army and air force did not join in the attack, and the coup attempt failed. Perà ³n was removed from power about three months later by another revolt which included all of the armed forces. Ideological conflict in the 1970s During the early 1970s, communist rebels taking their cue from  Fidel Castros  takeover of Cuba attempted to stir up revolts in several Latin American nations, including Argentina. They were countered by right-wing groups who were just as destructive. They were responsible for several incidents in Buenos Aires, including  the Ezeiza massacre, when 13 people were killed during a pro-Perà ³n rally. In 1976, a military junta overthrew Isabel Perà ³n, Juans wife, who had been vice president when he died in1974. The military soon began a crackdown on dissidents, beginning the period known as La Guerra Sucia (The Dirty War). The Dirty War and Operation Condor The Dirty War is one of the most tragic episodes in all of the History of Latin America. The military government, in power from 1976 to 1983, initiated a ruthless crackdown on suspected dissidents. Thousands of citizens, primarily in Buenos Aires, were brought in for questioning, and many of them disappeared, never to be heard from again. Their basic rights were denied to them, and many families still do not know what happened to their loved ones. Many estimates place the number of executed citizens around 30,000. It was a time of terror  when citizens feared their government more than anything else. The Argentine Dirty War was part of the larger Operation Condor, which was an alliance of the right-wing governments of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil to share information and aid one anothers secret police. The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo is an organization of mothers and relatives of those who disappeared during this time: their aim is to get answers, locate their loved ones or their remains, and hold accountable the architects of the  Dirty War. Accountability The military dictatorship ended in 1983, and Raà ºl Alfonsà ­n, a lawyer, and publisher, was elected president. Alfonsà ­n surprised the world by quickly turning on the military leaders who had been in power for the past seven years, ordering trials and a fact-finding commission. Investigators soon turned up 9,000 well-documented cases of disappearances and the trials began in 1985. All of the top generals and architects of the dirty war, including a former president, General Jorge Videla, were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. They were pardoned by President Carlos Menem in 1990, but the cases are not settled, and the possibility remains that some may return to prison. Recent Years Buenos Aires was given autonomy to elect their own mayor in 1993. Previously, the mayor was appointed by the president. Just as the people of Buenos Aires were putting the horrors of the Dirty War behind them, they fell victim to an economic catastrophe. In 1999, a combination of factors including a falsely inflated exchange rate between the Argentine peso and the US dollar led to a serious recession and people began losing faith in the peso and in Argentine banks. In late 2001 there was a run on the banks and in December 2001 the economy collapsed. Angry protestors in the streets of Buenos Aires forced President Fernando de la Rà ºa to flee the presidential palace in a helicopter. For a while, unemployment reached as high as 25 percent. The economy eventually stabilized, but not before many businesses and citizens went bankrupt. Buenos Aires Today Today, Buenos Aires is once again calm and sophisticated, its political and economic crises hopefully a thing of the past. It is considered very safe  and is once more a center for literature, film, and education. No history of the city would be complete without a mention of its role in the arts: Literature in Buenos Aires Buenos Aires has always been a very important city for literature. Porteà ±os (as the citizens of the city are called) are literate and place great value on books. Many of Latin America’s greatest writers call or called Buenos Aires home, including Josà © Hernndez (author of the Martà ­n Fierro epic poem),  Jorge Luà ­s Borges  and Julio Cortzar (both known for outstanding short stories). Today, the writing and publishing industry in Buenos Aires is alive and thriving. Film in Buenos Aires Buenos Aires has had a film industry since the beginning. There were early pioneers of the medium  making films  as early as 1898, and the world’s first feature-length animated film, El Apà ³stol, was created in1917. Unfortunately, no copies of it exist. By the 1930s, the Argentine film industry was producing approximately 30 films per year, which were exported to all of Latin America. In the early 1930s, tango singer  Carlos Gardel  made several films which helped catapult him to international stardom and made a cult figure of him in Argentina, although his career was cut short when he died in 1935. Although his biggest films were not produced in Argentina, they nevertheless were hugely popular and contributed to the film industry in his home country, as imitations soon popped up. Throughout the latter half of the twentieth century, Argentine cinema has gone through several cycles of booms and busts, as political and economic instability have temporarily shut down studios. Currently, Argentine cinema is undergoing a renaissance and is known for edgy, intense dramas.

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Steampunk

Steampunk Steampunk Steampunk By Maeve Maddox My introduction to the term steampunk came when I read what I thought was a mystery with a historical setting and came to the part where Queen Victoria was hooked up to a steam-powered life-support machine. You’d better believe that I flipped frantically to the back cover to find a clue to what I was actually reading. There I discovered the word steampunk. Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction. The setting is often 19th century England or the American Wild West; there the characters encounter amazing steam-powered machinery. According to Wikipedia, the word steampunk originated in the late 1980s â€Å"as a tongue-in- cheek variant of cyberpunk.† Yes, I had to look up the meaning of cyberpunk: a subgenre of science fiction typified by a bleak, high-tech setting in which a lawless subculture exists within an oppressive society dominated by computer technology. Sci-fi author K.W. Jeter coined the term â€Å"steam-punk† for sci-fi that resembled the speculative fiction written in the 19th century by H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. The genre now includes settings beyond recognizable historical periods, but in dialogue and costuming, the feel is still â€Å"Victorian.† On the screen, Wild Wild West, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and the two Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes movies are typical of the steampunk genre. The literary genre has spawned a subculture called â€Å"the steampunk lifestyle† which blends Victorian design and clothing with modern technology. Practitioners shop at second-hand stores, wear suspenders, vests, and corsets (outside their clothing). They carry pocket watches and disguise their cell phones and laptops as Victorian artifacts. The steampunk lifestyle seems to be a kind of genteel back-to-basics hybrid that embraces technology while rejecting consumerism. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Examples of Passive Voice (And How To Fix Them)36 Poetry Terms25 Idioms About Bread and Dessert

Sunday, February 16, 2020

History of Telephone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History of Telephone - Essay Example Bell developed new and original ideas, but did so by building on older ideas and development (Farley). Transmission of electricity over wires by Stephen Gray in 1729, first Battery produced by Alessandro Volta in 1800, Michael Faraday's experiments with electromagnetism in 1821, Professor Henry's transmission of the first practical electric signal and the invention of the electromagnet in 1830 were the major developments, which paved the way for the invention of the first working telegraph by Samuel Morse in 1837, and the completion of the first non-working telephone in 1861 by Johann Phillip Reis. Successful experiments with a clock spring reed in transmitting actual sound over a pair of wires, ultimately led to the birth of the telephone on March 10, 1876, with the famous first sentence to be transmitted accidentally: "Mr. Watson, come here, I want you". With other inventors like Elisha Gray closely on his heels, Bell received his patent No. 174,465 for his epoch making invention. Since his invention was unprecedented, Bell was obliged to call it as "an improvement in telegraphy". Obviously, it was the telegraph and its wired network, which was most responsible for the development and success of the telephone. Impact of the Telephone on the social elements: Even after being baptized by the patent office and given a royal reception at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, Bell, instead of being applauded was pelted with a hailstorm of ridicule. While men of trade and commerce preferred to call it a scientific toy,. The newspapers went to the extent of describing it as 'the latest American humbug' (the London times), Salem Witchcraft , and something associated with the powers of darkness (The Providence press).The very idea of speaking to a metal piece seemed too bizarre and freakish. Since no one could understand how it worked, people saw this performance as a loss of dignity. Public Officials were slow to adopt it, as they were accustomed to use of written documents, and so was the banking community. It was only after a series of demonstrations and lectures arranged by Bell, as well as an account of a documented 3 hour demonstration, published in The Boston Advertiser (October 19, 1876), that people started taking it seriously. They r ealized, after several years of turmoil, that the telephone offered a hitherto unknown advantage of a 'Human Touch' to the communication. One could converse, respond to tones of voice and moods, discuss, persuade, enquire, argue and even reach agreements in a few minutes, in a personal way. It enabled members of the family to travel and even emigrate with increased security. It enabled the government to handle emergencies, like war, fires, accidents storms etc. Medical emergencies could be attended to much more efficiently. As it was having several advantages over telegraph, the businesses were in a position to handle all the issues in a more personalized way, and much faster. The Telephone in people's homes: Reasons for the delayed entry: The real popularity of the telephone in the home segment had to wait for more than 20 years after the invention of the

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Material Science - conclusion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Material Science - conclusion - Assignment Example he two is inversely proportional, which means that if the tempering temperature increases, the hardness decreases, and when the temperature decreases, the hardness increases. The lower the presence of carbon in the alloy, the lower the grade of the carbon steel is, thus, the softer the metal is. Whereas, the higher the presence of carbon content, the higher the grade, and the stronger the carbon steel is. Another issue is the machinability per se of the metal. As it enters the high machining zone, it could potentially lead to poor surface quality. In order to improve the process of machining, the involvement of heating, cooling, and mechanical vibrations should be integrated into the external energy assisted machining. The future trend should be of perfecting the machining process of metals instead of the use of external energy assisted machining per se. Moreover, considering the applications where Carbon steel is commonly used, it is important that it should be heated and machined

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Treating Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy with Ginger

Treating Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy with Ginger Qi-Cai Liu Tiran, D. (2012). Ginger to reduce nausea and vomiting during pregnancy: Evidence of effectiveness is not the same as proof of safety. Complimentary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 18(1), 22-25. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2011.08.007 This article presents a systemic review of the mechanism and safety of using ginger to treat nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP). In the article, the author first introduced the history of ginger as a traditional remedy in some eastern countries, then discussed the potential risk of several different forms of ginger that were available in the UK market. After that, the author explored the mechanisms of gingers anti-emetic function. Ginger can inhibit serotonin receptor and suppress vasopressin, as well as reduce tachygastric activity. However, the exact mechanism still remains unclear. The author pointed out that there was no consistency in dosages and forms of ginger among current studies, and the differences between nausea and vomiting was not fully understood. Next, the author discussed the safety of using ginger. The author believed that ginger should be treated as a pharmacological medication rather than a natural remedy. Therefore, it should be administered with safe dosages and be obtained from the correct plant, Zingiber officinale. Following that, the author discussed gingers potential adverse effects, drug-drug interactions, as well as contraindications and precautions. For example, ginger should be contraindicated for women who have a history of miscarriage because anticoagulation is one of its notable side effects. At the end of article, the author offered a contraindications and precautions checklist, which is very useful for health care providers to identify which women should avoid ginger. The limitation of this article is that it did not emphasize gingers therapeutic effects. The strength of this article is the valuable safety checklist. Overall, this article increased the awareness that ginger, although a natural remedy, has side effects and contraindications too. Ozgoli, G., Goli, M. Simbar, M. (2009). Effects of ginger capsules on pregnancy, nausea, and vomiting. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 15(3), 243-246. doi: 10.1089/acm.2008.0406 This article describes a single blind clinical trial to determine function of ginger on nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP). 70 pregnant women who experienced nausea and vomiting before 20 weeks of gestation participated this study. Prior to the treatment with ginger, the baseline levels of nausea and vomiting symptoms were measured via a standard visual analogue scale. The participants were randomly assigned to the experimental group and control group. In the experimental group, 35 participants were treated with ginger at a dose of 1000mg/day for 4 days. 35 participants in the control group were treated with a placebo (lactose) with the same dose and prescription form. The treatment effects were measured by asking participants to finish the 4-page questionnaire and record nausea intensity twice a day (3 participants from experimental group failed to complete the questionnaire). A statistically significant decrease in the nausea and vomiting intensity with ginger treatment was rep orted. 85% of women who received the ginger treatment reported an improvement of nausea symptoms, while only 56% reported improvement in the control group. In addition, the vomiting times for the pregnancy are also significantly decreased in the experimental group comparing to control group (50% versus 9%). The materials and methods section was well developed with clear description of experimental design, samples selection, data collection and analysis. The strengths of this article are the rigorous experimental design and large sample size. The limitation of this study, as mentioned by the authors, is the short assessment period. As a result, some ginger adverse effects may not be able to discover. The findings of this study provide some evidence-based information about effects of ginger for NVP. Ensiyeh, J., Sakineh, MC. (2009). Comparing ginger and vitamin B6 for the treatment of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy: A randomised controlled trial. Midwifery, 25(6), 649-653. doi: 10.1016/j.midw.2007.10.013 This study conducted a double-blind randomized controlled trial to compare the effects of vitamin B6 and ginger for nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP). 70 pregnant women who experienced nausea and vomiting symptoms before their 17 weeks gestation participated this study. Half of them were randomly selected to receive ginger 1g per day treatment for 4 days. As a control, half of them received vitamin B6 40 mg per day treatment at same time. The nausea intensity was measured via a visual analogue scale during the treatment plus 24 hours before. The vomiting episodes were also recorded in the same period. The treatment responses at a 7-day follow-up were measured via a five-point Likert scale (one participant from control group failed to return to clinic later). Their results showed that both ginger and vitamin B6 treatment could decrease the symptoms of nausea, and ginger worked significantly better than the vitamin (p=0.024). In terms to vomiting episodes, both ginger and vitamin B6 could reduce the frequency of vomiting, and there was no significant difference between them. In the 7-day follow-up visiting, there were 29/35 participants in ginger group and 23/34 participants in vitamin B6 group reported a decrease of nausea reaction (p=0.52). This trial was well designed with large sample size, strict sampling inclusion criteria, and rigor experimental process. The strength of this study is that they measured and compared the long-term effects of ginger and vitamin B6 on the pregnancy outcomes, such as abortion and preterm birth. The limitation of this study is that they changed the participants dietary, which might influence the treatments and outcomes. The findings of this study provide some evidence-based knowledge about the efficiency of ginger and vitamin B6 in the NVP treatment, as well as their long-term effects. Therapy Assessment Nausea and vomiting are the most common unpleasant complications in early pregnancy. There were about 70-80% of women experienced nausea and 50% of them experienced vomiting episodes during their early pregnancy (Ensiyeh Sakineh, 2009). That means there are about 350,000 Canadian women experience nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) every year (Lee Saha, 2011). The pathogenesis of NVP remains unclear. However, it is widely accepted that NVP is correlated to the hormone changes during gestation, such as the human chorionic gonadatropin (hCG), progesterone, and estrogen (Lee Saha, 2011). It was reported that the peak of NVP is positive correlated to hCG peak, and hCG could regulate gastric smooth muscle activity by stimulating placental prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) (Lee Saha, 2011). Progesterone also has a function of gastric emptying by decreasing smooth muscle contractility (Lee Saha, 2011). NVP can cause more undesirable consequences for the pregnant women than uncomfortable, such as s ocial interactions, families, and careers (Ozgoli, Goli, Simbar, 2009). About 25% of employed pregnant women have to leave their jobs due to the nausea and vomiting symptoms (Ensiyeh Sakineh, 2009). As a result, it may bring some financial and psychological problem for them, which will further influence the health status of themselves and even their babies (Ozgoli et al., 2009). Most important, nausea and vomiting symptoms can also change dietary and may lead to malnutrition for themselves and their babies. Therefore, it is very important for the women, who are experiencing NVP, to get treatment in time. In terms to the treatments of NVP, there are nonpharmacologic approach and pharmacologic approach (Lee Saha, 2011). The nonpharmacologic approach includes dietary measures, emotional support, acupuncture, and ginger. The pharmacologic approach includes pyridoxin-doxylamine, antiemetics, promotility agents, and antihistamines. The goal of treatment is to release the symptoms and reduce risks for the women and fetus. It has a long history for using ginger as an herbal medicine to treat NVP in some eastern countries, such as China, Japan, and India (Tiran, 2012). Pregnant women in western countries also knew gingers anti-emetic effects for a long time (Tiran, 2012). However, it was until recently, the effects of ginger for NVP were studied in the scientific way (Ensiyeh Sakineh, 2009; Ozgoli et al., 2009). In the Ozgoli et al. study (2009), a single blind clinical trial was conducted to investigate the effects of the ginger for NVP. Their results found that, 1000mg/day ginger treatment could significant decrease nausea symptoms, as well as reduce the frequency of vomiting. In Ensiyeh andSakineh study (2009), a double-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted to compare the function of ginger and vitamin B6 for NVP. Their results showed that both ginger and vitamin B6 could reduce the vomiting frequency. The ginger was more efficiency on reduce nausea symptoms than vitamin B6, which has a wel l known effects on treating NVP. The strength of these two studies is that they proved the gingers effects on NVP in the scientific way. However, both studies failed to explore the mechanism about how ginger can effectively treat NVP, and one study failed to measure the long-term adverse effects of ginger. These are the weaknesses of these two studies. Based on these research results, I would like to say ginger is an effective alternative therapy for NVP. In the future nursing practice, I would like to recommend pregnant women to take this herbal medicine to treat their NVP symptom. However, as Tiran (2012) suggested, ginger should also be treated like a pharmacological drug. I must be very cautious about its mechanisms, adverse effects, drug/food interactions, and contraindications before making the recommendation. Being familiar with these knowledge will also enable me to educate each pregnant woman why she can or cannot take ginger to treat her NVP. Mechanisms It is well known that ginger is very effective for treating NVP symptoms (Ensiyeh Sakineh, 2009; Ozgoli et al., 2009). However, the mechanism of its anti-emetic effects still remains unclear (Tiran, 2012). What already known are that the three ginger indigents: gingerols, shogaol, and zingiberence, can bind to serotonin (5-HT) receptor and block its function to inhibit nausea and vomiting (Tiran, 2012). The major anti-emetic substance in ginger was thought to be gingerols (Tiran, 2012). In addtition, ginger also was reported that it could reduce nausea and vomiting symptoms through suppressing vasopressin to decrease stomach activity (Tiran, 2012). Except these gastrointestinal tract effects, Tiran (2012) thought ginger might also have some effects on the central nervous system. For example, it has sedative and hypnotic functions. Adverse effects The adverse effects of ginger can be easily ignored by both pregnant women and health care providers due to its natural remedy character (Tiran, 2012). Like other pharmacological medications, ginger also has some adverse effects (Tiran, 2012). First, ginger has side effects on gastrointestinal tract (Tiran, 2012). Ginger can cause stomach irritant and then lead to heartburn, which may due to its weakly cholinergic function (Tiran, 2012). With the same function, ginger also can stimulate the bile secretion (Tiran, 2012). It is also reported that poorly chewed ginger can cause intestinal blockage (Tiran, 2012). Therefore, it is necessary to recommend women to masticate ginger properly if they are prescribed with the dried root ginger (Tiran, 2012). Second, ginger has adverse effects on cardiovascular system. It is reported that ginger can cause hypotension and that is one reason why some women felt dizziness after had the ginger herbal (Tiran, 2012). Ginger can also cause cardiac arrhy thmias, which may due to the interaction with beta receptors (Tiran, 2012). Third, ginger has side effects on the blood. One of its notable side effects is anticoagulant, which increases the risk of bleeding (Tiran, 2012). Beside that, ginger also can lower the blood glucose level, which may increase the risk of hypoglycemia (Tiran, 2012). Fourth, ginger can produce side effects of hot, sweating, constantly thirsty, and looking for cold drinks. These symptoms are caused by its cholinergic function (Tiran, 2012). Last, it needs to keep awareness that the long-term adverse effects of ginger on fetus development are still not fully understood (Tiran, 2012). Drug/food interactions Like other pharmacological medications, ginger also has the interactions with other drugs or food (Tiran, 2012). First, abundant evidences showed that ginger can interact with some prescribed medications, such as beta antagonists, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, as well as other herbs such as gingko balboa (Tiran, 2012). Second, ginger has weakly cholinergic function (Tiran, 2012). Therefore it can have interaction with other cholinergic drugs, including antagonists and agonists. For example, ginger can interact with donepezil, a muscarinic agonist, as both can increase the bile secretion. Third, ginger can interact with other drugs which can increase or decrease blood pressure as ginger can cause hypotension (Tiran, 2012). For example, ginger can reduce the anti-hypotension function of epinephrine, an adrenergic agonist. Fourth, ginger can lower blood glucose level (Tiran, 2012). Therefore it can interact with other drugs which can increase or decrease blood glucose level, such as in sulin and metformin. Fifth, as mentioned previously, ginger has the function of anticoagulant (Tiran, 2012). Therefore, ginger can interact with other anticoagulant and antiplatelet drugs, such as heparin, warfarin, and aspirin. Last, ginger can cause cardiac arrhythmia (Tiran, 2012). As a result, ginger can interact with other drugs with can cause cardiac arrhythmia too, such as Levodopa. Contraindications As ginger has some adverse effects and drug interactions, it should be contraindicated to the pregnant women who have relevant diseases or are taking the interactive drugs. First, ginger should be contraindicated for the women with certain gastrointestinal tract diseases (Tiran, 2012). Pregnant women with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or heartburn symptom should avoid ginger as it can worsen this symptom by irritating stomach (Tiran, 2012). Pregnant women with a history of gallstones should be contraindicated because ginger can stimulate the secretion of bile (Tiran, 2012). Dried root ginger should not be prescribed to pregnant women who have lower gastrointestinal tract disease, such as duodenal ulcer, as it may cause intestinal blockage (Tiran, 2012). Second, pregnant women with certain cardiovascular diseases should also be contraindicated from ginger (Tiran, 2012). Ginger can cause hypotension (Tiran, 2012), therefore the women who with hypotension symptom or are taking anti-hypertensive drugs to control their blood pressure should not take ginger. Ginger also can cause cardiac arrhythmia (Tiran, 2012). As a result, ginger should not be prescribed to the pregnant women who have cardiac arrhythmia or are taking anti-arrhythmic drugs, such as Na+ and K+ channel blockers. Tiran (2012) even suggested that all the herbal remedies and complementary therapies should be contraindicated for pregnant women who have major cardiac diseases. Third, ginger should be contraindicated for pregnant women with bleeding disorders as it has a function of anticoagulant. Tiran (2012) suggested that any pregnant women who had a history of miscarriage, vaginal bleeding, or clotting disorder should not take ginger. These women who may have a surgery several weeks later also should stop taking ginger at least two weeks before the operation (Tiran, 2012). Fourth, ginger has a function of lower blood glucose (Tiran, 2012). Therefore ginger should be avoided from those women wh o are taking drugs to control their diabetes mellitus, such as insulin and metformin. The women who have hypoglycemia also should also be contraindicated from ginger. Last, ginger has interactions with the benzodiazepines, beta blockers, and gingko biloba (Tiran, 2012). Therefore it should be avoided for the pregnant women who are taking those drugs. Conclusion Ginger is an effective herbal medicine in treating NVP although its mechanism still remains to explore. As a pharmacological medication, ginger has its own adverse effects, drug/food interactions, and contraindications. Ginger is not always safe for every pregnant woman who are experiencing nausea and vomiting symptoms. The women prescribed with ginger should be educated with its adverse effects and its possible interaction with other drugs. In addition, the women, who have certain gastrointestinal tract diseases, certain cardiovascular diseases, bleeding disorders, and hypoglycemia, should also be contraindicated from ginger. Overall, ginger should be treated like a pharmacological medication rather than a natural remedy when being prescribed for NVP treatment. References Ensiyeh, J., Sakineh, MC. (2009). Comparing ginger and vitamin B6 for the treatment of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy: A randomised controlled trial. Midwifery, 25(6), 649-653. Doi: 10.1016/j.midw.2007.10.013 Lee, N., Saha, S. (2011). Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Gastroenterology Clinics of North America, 40(2), 309-334. Doi:10.1016/j.gtc.2011.03.009 Ozgoli, G., Goli, M. Simbar, M. (2009). Effects of ginger capsules on pregnancy, nausea, and vomiting. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 15(3), 243-246. Doi: 10.1089/acm.2008.0406 Tiran, D. (2012). Ginger to reduce nausea and vomiting during pregnancy: Evidence of effectiveness is not the same as proof of safety. Complimentary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 18(1), 22-25. Doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2011.08.007