Factors which may affect the Learning Process Essay

The nature of the learning process has been studied by psychologists and physiologists. Many experiments have been performed and the literature on the subject is voluminous. There has been continual process in exploring what is not known about learning. Each year sees new discoveries and new hypotheses. Some proposed hypotheses were proven wrong and some older discoveries were made eligible for major modification. Subjecting individuals and classes to scientific measurements has lifted certain phases of learning from the realm of speculation to the realm of science. At present, there is no comprehensive theory concerning all aspects of learning. There is considerable disagreement about the language to be used in describing learning. Different writers hold conflicting positions on the degree of specificity of generality appropriate in talking about learning. The science of psychology is of significance for the light that it throws upon the nature of the learning process and upon the conditions most favorable to learning. Many other sciences have contributed a great deal to an understanding of the nature of the learning process and to the principal issues involved in the education of boys and girls. For example, sociology, physiology, biology, and biochemistry have added much to the improvement of educational procedures. In order to understand the teaching process, the students or the teacher must first know something about the learning process concerns the teacher no less than the pupils. Although the teacher cannot do the actual learning for the pupil, he can facilitate learning through effective teaching. Effective teaching and learning demand mutual understanding between teacher and learner. Moreover, motivation of school learning is closely related to the law of readiness. Readiness does not connote the mere desire to learn, his self concept and self-confidence, his levels of aspiration, and his knowledge and appraisal of how well he is doing in relation to his goals. This paper intent to discuss factors which may affect the learning process. II. Discussion A. Factors which may affect the Learning Process It has been found that the pupil’s difficulty in leaning may be due to many factors within the child himself. Some of the important factors which may affect the learning process are as follows. Intellectual factor. The term refers to the individual mental level. Success in school is generally closely related to the level of the intellect. Pupils with low intelligence often encounter serious difficulty in mastering schoolwork. Sometimes pupils do not learn because of special intellectual disabilities. A low score in one subject and his scores in other subjects indicate the possible presence of a special deficiency. Psychology reveals to us that an individual possesses different kind of intelligence. Knowledge of the nature of the pupils’ intellect is of considerable value in the guidance and the diagnosis of disability. The native capacity of the individual is of prime importance in determining the effectiveness of the learning process. Learning factors. Factors owing to lack of mastery of what has been taught, faulty methods of work or study, and narrowness of experimental background may affect the leaning process of any pupil. If the school proceeds too rapidly and does not constantly check up on the extent to which the pupil is mastering what is being taught, the pupil accumulates a number of deficiencies that interfere with successful progress. In arithmetic, for instance, knowledge of basic addition is essential to successful work in multiplication. Weakness in addition will contribute directly to the deficiency in multiplication. Likewise, failure in history may be due to low reading ability or weakness in English. Similarly, because of faulty instruction, the pupil may have learned inefficient methods of study. Many other kinds of difficulty which are directly related to learning factors may interfere with progress. Physical factors. Under this group are included such factors as health, physical development, nutrition, visual and physical defects, and glandular abnormality. It is generally recognized that ill health retards physical and motor development, and malnutrition interfere with learning and physical growth. Children suffering from visual, auditory, and other physical defects are seriously handicapped in developing skills such as reading and spelling. It has been demonstrated that various glands of internal secretion, such as thyroid and pituitary glands, affect behavior. The health of the learner will likely affect his ability to learn and his power to concentrate. Mental factors. Attitude falls under mental factors. Attitudes are made up of organic and kinesthetic elements. They are not to be confused with emotions that are characterized by internal visceral disturbance. Attitudes are more or less of definite sort. They play a large part in the mental organization and general behavior of the individual. Attitudes are also important in the development of personality. Among these attitudes are interest, cheerfulness, affection, prejudice, open-mindedness, and loyalty. Attitudes exercise a stimulating effect upon the rate of learning and teaching and upon the progress in school. The efficiency of the work from day to day and the rapidity with which it is achieved are influenced by the attitude of the learner. A favorable mental attitude facilitates learning. The factor of interest is very closely related in nature to that symbolic drive and reward. Emotional and social factors. Personal factors, such as instincts and emotions, and social factors, such as cooperation and rivalry, are directly related to a complex psychology of motivation. It is a recognized fact that the various responses of the individual to various kinds of stimuli are determined by a wide variety of tendencies. Some of these innate tendencies are constructive and others are harmful. For some reason a pupil may have developed a dislike for some subject because he may fail to see its value, or may lack foundation. This dislike results in a bad emotional state. Some pupils are in continuing state of unhappiness because f their fear of being victims of the disapproval of their teachers and classmates. This is an unwholesome attitude and affects the learning process to a considerable degree. This is oftentimes the result of bad training. Social discontent springs from the knowledge or delusion that one is below others in welfare. Teacher’s personality. The teacher as an individual personality is an important element in the learning environment or in the failures and success of the learner. The way in which his personality interacts with the personalities of the pupils being taught helps to determine the kind of behavior which emerges from the learning situation. The supreme value of a teacher is not in the regular performance of routine duties, but in his power to lead and to inspire his pupils through the influence of his personality and example. Effective teaching and learning are the results of an integrated personality of the teacher. Generally speaking, pupils do not like a grouchy teacher who cannot control his temper before the class. It is impossible for a teacher with a temper to create enthusiasm and to radiate light and sunshine to those about him. Pupils love a happy, sympathetic, enthusiastic, and cheerful teacher. Environmental factor. Physical conditions needed for learning is under the environmental factor. One of the factors that affect the efficiency of learning is the condition in which learning takes place. This includes the classroom, textbooks, equipment, school supplies, and other instructional materials. In the school and at the home, the conditions for learning must be favorable and adequate if teaching is to produce the desired instructional materials and equipment play an important part in the instructional efficiency of the school. It is difficult to do a good job of teaching in poor type of building and without adequate and instructional materials. A school building or a classroom has no merit when built without due to regard to its educational objectives and functions. III. Conclusion In conclusion, our knowledge concerning learning and the teaching process has thus undergone profound development in the last twenty-five years. Once it seemed sufficient for the educational psychologist to formulate a set of principles of learning around fairly simple concepts of exercise and effect. The teacher applied these principles through the techniques of drill, reward, and punishment. But with the development of theory and research, the psychologist has found it necessary to expand and to refine his understanding of learning with consequent important implication for learning. Reference: 1. â€Å"The Learning Process. † (Nov. 11, 2003). http://www. dynamicflight. com/avcfibook/learning_process/

Islamic State

Islamic Economics Institution Of Bait-ul-Maal By Muhammad Adeel Mian Sajjad Naqwi Sec-H Presented to: Miss Tahseen Lahore School of Economics BAIT-UL-MAAL Introduction The bait-ul-maal is a unique institute which was established for the economic prosperity of the people. As we all know in the Islamic system of life sovereignty belongs to Allah and man is His vicegerent on earth. Similarly the same concept applies to Bait-ul-maal, where Allah is sole master of this treasury while the caliphs are only the trustee of Bait-ul-Maal. In this sense the concept of Bait-ul-maal is different from the concept of public exchequer in un-Islamic systems.In an Islamic state Bait-ul-maal is Safeguarded and expenditures from it is made in the sense that it is a trust. Definition So how can we define bait-ul-maal? It is the place which is designed for keeping the spoils of war, charity, land tax and Jizyah (the tax which a free non-Muslim pays in Muslim countries in return for his protection), and thi s money should be in the hands of the caliph or a Muslim ruler who spends it in what Allaah has ordained. Historically, it was a financial institution responsible for the administration of taxes in Islamic states, particularly in the early Islamic Caliphate.It served as a royal treasury for the caliphs, managing personal finances and government expenditures. Further, it administered distributions of zakah revenues for public works. History Bayt al-mal was the department that dealt with the revenues and all other economic matters of the state. In the time of Muhammad (SAW) there was no permanent Bait-ul-Mal or public treasury. Whatever revenues or other amounts were received were distributed immediately. There were no salaries to be paid, and there was no state expenditure.Similarly Prophet Muhammad, (pbuh), established the common brotherhood of Muslims soon after the Hijrah to Medina from Mecca. Each resident of Medina became a helper (ansar) to each individual who migrated with Pro phet Muhammad (pbuh). The rich Muslims took charge of the poor ones and soon the economic disparity was removed with the interdependency. Hence the need for the treasury at public level was not felt. Abdullah ibn Abbas (R. A) states: â€Å"For me to fulfil the necessities of a Muslim family for a month or for a week or whatever period of time Allah pleases is more beloved to me than performing hajj after hajj.Buying a utensil for even a daaniq (one-sixth of a dirham) and giving it to my brother as a gift for the pleasure of Allah is more beloved to me than spending a dinar in the path of Allah. † – Abu Nu’aym in Hilya 1:328 But It wont be right to say that the concept of Bait-ul-maal didn’t exist at the time of last prophecy. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to have trustworthy people who kept these assets and they divided them with his order on those who deserved them. The mosque was the place in which the assets and belongings were exposed and the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would divide them by himself.However, the camels and other cattle remained in the folds until it was time for their division. Even in the time of Abu Bakr there was not treasury. Abu Bakr earmarked a house where all money was kept on receipt. As all money was distributed immediately the treasury generally remained locked up. It was reported that at the time of the death of Abu Bakr there was only one dirham in the public treasury. After the death of 1st caliph things changes. Establishment of Bait-ul-maal In the time of Umar (R. A) things changed. With the extension in conquests money came in larger quantities, Umar also allowed salaries to men fighting in the army.Abu Huraira who was the Governor of Bahrain sent a revenue of five hundred thousand dirhams. Umar summoned a meeting of his Consultative Assembly and sought the opinion of the Companions about the disposal of the money. Uthman ibn Affan advised that the amount should be kept for future needs. Walid bin Hisham suggested that like the Byzantines separate departments of Treasury and Accounts should be set up. After consulting the Companions Umar (R. A) decided to establish the Central Treasury at Madinah. Abdullah bin Arqam was appointed as the Treasury Officer. He was assisted by Abdur Rahman bin Awf and Muiqib.A separate Accounts Department was also set up and it was required to maintain record of all that was spent. Later provincial treasuries were set up in the provinces. After meeting the local expenditure the provincial treasuries were required to remit the surplus amount to the central treasury at Madinah. According to Yaqubi the salaries and stipends charged to the central treasury amounted to over 30 million dirhams. Whereas a separate building was constructed for the royal treasury by the name bait-u-maal, which in large cities was guarded by as many as 400 guards.Finally in Hazart Umer’s regime the concept of Bait-ul-maal was implemented and strengthened. Zakat This is the most important source of revenue of the Bait-ul-maal. It is different from the other revenues because its collection, in regards of with its collected amounts and in regards with its spending. Islam restricted the sources from where Zakat is collected, it is collected from the wealth of Muslims only and not from the non-Muslims. It is, as well, not a general tax, rather one of the pillars of Islam. Besides this, paying Zakat achieves a spiritual value, like the prayer, fasting and the hajj.Holy Quran and Prophet (pbuh) has laid a great emphasis on the duty of paying sadqats. Once the Messenger of Allah (SAW) sent Mu'az to Yemen and said to him: â€Å"Inform them that Allah obliged Sadaqah upon their wealth that is taken from their rich and given to their poor. † The Holy Prophet (S. A. W) fixed the rate on possession of wealth above a certain level and enforce its collection. There are different rates of Zakat on various pro perties such as zakat on 7. 5tolas of Gold, 52. 5tolas of silver etc. It is, as well, not a general tax, rather one of the pillars of Islam so of great importance to Muslim society.Jizyah Jizyah is derived from ‘Jaza’ which means ‘recompense’ or ‘compensation’. It is a per capita tax levied on a section of an Islamic state's non-Muslim citizens. From the point of view of the Muslim rulers, jizya was a material proof of the non-Muslims' acceptance of subjection to the state and its lawsIn return, non-Muslim citizens were permitted to practice their faith, to enjoy a measure of communal autonomy, to be entitled to the Muslim state's protection from outside aggression, and to be exempted from military service and the zakat taxes obligatory upon Muslim citizens.Allah said â€Å"Fight, with those from among the people of the book who do not believe in Allah nor in the Last Day; who do not make unlawful that which Allah and His Messenger has made un lawful and adopt the right way as their way. (Fight with them) until they pay Jazia with their own hands and are humbled. † [9:30] Kharaj Land of the conquered terrorities left by the reigning Caliph in the possession of the subjugated unbelievers and land of thoses countries which accepted the sovereignty of Islamic state by a treaty of peace are called kharaji.The revenue, tax, rent, rate, lease, produce, income, wages etc collected from these land owners is called kaharaj. This policy of collection was first adopted my Hazart Umer r. a but  sanction for the levy of Kharaj is also found from the practice of the Prophet of Islam who gave the conquered lands of Khaiber to the Jews (who were previous owners of these lands) on the agreement that they would pay half of the produce to the Islamic State. Now I will call upon Sajjad Naqwi to guide you through rest of the sources of revenue of house of treasury. SadqatLinguistically, sadaqah is derived from the root sadq or sidq, w hich means â€Å"to speak the truth, to be sincere. † It can also mean, â€Å"candor and efficiency. † Quran and Hadith laid emphasis on sadqat. It finds its origin in God's command to: â€Å"Take sadaqah (charity) from their property in order to purify and sanctify them. † (Qur'an at-Taubah:103) There are two main types 1- Sadqat-i-Wajiba(obligatory Sadqat) 2-Sadqat-i-Nafla( supplementary sadqat) Sadqat-i-Wajiba is the offering of Zakat while Sadqat-i-Nafla is distribution of charity according to your will. FaieIf overawed by the might of the Muslim army, the infidel forces runway without a fight leaving behind goods and property or after victory in battle the Muslim leaves the land of the unbelievers in their possession and ownership subject to a fixed tax, or a Kharaj or Jizyah all this gain sum up to FAIE. In this sense even kharaj and Jizyah become a kind of Faie. The Holy Quran declared the faie revenues as the right of bait-ul-maal. Faie is distributed am ongst the soilders of Islam but instead is kept for the poor and needy. Orders regarding the Faie have beed issued in Sura Al-Hashr: Whatever Allah restorted to His Messenger from the people of the habitants, belongs to Allah and the Messenger and the kinsfolk and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarers, so that it does not remain circulating among your rich people only. Take whatever you Messenger gives you, and refrain from whatever he forbids you. Fear Allah , for Allah is stern in inflicting punishment. †[59:7-10] Zaraib Taxes, apart from zakat and sadqat, which the Islamic state is constraint to rely on the rich to meet the emergencies are called Zaraib.Such emergencies include war, drought, carrying out of urgent public welfare works and alleviation of unemployment. Discussing the question of assisting the destitute, Imam Ibn-e-Hazm writes: â€Å"If the bait-ul-mal funds, and revenues of faie fall short of meeting the economic needs of the suppliants the Caliph can impose additional taxes on the rich. If they resist, the Caliph can use force to make them pay. † Kra-al-ard State lands leased out on fixed rent are called ‘Annual Rent’ kra-al-ard/lagan.No ushr or kharaj is levied on these lands. Lands which after war are denoted to a trust for the Muslims or ownerless tracts managed by Bait-ul-maal are called ‘Ard al-Mamlukata’ or Ard al-Hauza Ashur Import duty was collected only once a year from merchants who brought trade goods into the territory of the Islamic state. This custom or import duty is called Ashur. This duty was imposed fot the first tiome in the regime of Caliph Umer (R. A). Muslim traders who carried goods for sale to Rome or Iran paid custom on each consignment.As a reciprocal measure the Islamic govt also imposed a duty on incoming goods, but the duty was exacted only once a yr. Muslim, Dhimmi, or Non-Muslims, no one was exempt from this duty. However each of them had to pay different rates of As hur. Muslims being 2. 5%, Dhimmis 5% and Non-Arabs 10%. The minimum value of merchandise on which the duty was payable was 200 dirhams. Muslims who paid Zakat were exempted if they showed an affidavit. Waqf To transfer one’s property to the ownership of Allah, that is, to dedicate it to the cause of Allah is called Waqf(trust).The income from this property is deposited in the Bait-ul-maal. Amwal-i-fazla Other source of revenue includes: * The property of a deceased Muslim or Dhimmi with no heir becomes the the property of Bait-ul-maal * Secondly the property of an apostate is confiscated by the state and passed on to the ownership of Bait-ul-maal CONCLUSION Baitul Maal program is designed to  strengthen human resources, information technology, mentoring and facilitation of financing, and system management software technology-based and community empowerment in the areas of sustainable economic development.The master of the institution of bait-ul-maal is ALLAH and it is made to serve people and to maintain equality and brotherhood in the society. Tax system was designed in such a way that citizens did not consider it as burden and fail to fulfill it. Taxes which were imposed and collected were just for the prosperity of state and its citizens and to make the Islamic state a welfare state. Hence following the rules and regulations of Bait-ul-maal can help put an end to poverty THANK YOU!!!

Group Communications Essay

Three videos of different group and team interaction will be reviewed for this paper. After they have been viewed they will be discussed on matters of the relationship between group members, member diversity and communication style. The first case study to be reviewed is: Helping Annie. In this video a school nurse has called a meeting with a psychiatrist and a social worker to discuss the case of a High school student, Annie, who possibly suffers from depression and an eating disorder. Right off the bat the school nurse is interrupted by the psychiatrist before she can finish giving the background information on Annie. He wants facts immediately not â€Å"impressions.† He makes a quick decision as to her problem and her treatment within minutes of their meeting and seems to believe that they are done, no more needs to be said. The Social worker does not agree with his decision and offers a counter solution but is again interrupted by the psychiatrist. The psychiatrist wants to use medication and the Social workers wants to first talk to Annie and see if they can understand what the teenager is going through. The psychiatrist sees this as a total waste of time. There does not seem to be any real facilitator of these meeting, and no one points out the psychiatrist’s constant interruptions of the social worker but the social worker herself. The school nurse is totally intimidated into silence by both of their behaviors. The psychologist seems to have the communication traits of what the test calls thinkers, and the Social worker has the traits of a feeler. According to the text, Thinks are task-oriented. They take pride in their ability to think objectively and logically, regardless of if those thoughts are correct. (Reeve, 2007, Ch. 3, pg.69, para.2) Feelers are people-oriented. The psychologist is very direct and analytical. He seems to want to remove any feelings or humanity from Annie’s case while the social worker is taking a more subjective, humane approach to Annie’s problems and is obviously more concerned with the girl’s well-being than a quick fix. The diversity that exists in this group is both gender and class. The group consist of two women and one older man, the older man, the psychiatrist,  seems to believe that the social worker and school nurse are not in the same class as he, his age, experience and profession making him superior to them on all levels, therefore, their opinions are not worth considering. This diversity is a hindrance in their communication because the psychologist is not listening to the two women and continues to interrupt them because â€Å"he doesn’t have much time here.† If using a high context perspective the viewer could draw the conclusion that the psychologist does not agree with the social worker by watching his nonverbal behavior such as his gestures and facial expressions. In a high-context culture little meaning is expressed through words. Meaning can be conveyed through status such as age, gender, education or title. (Reeve, 2007) One method that could have been used to improve communications would have been to have a facilitator present to ensure that each party had the same amount of time to express his or her opinions. Another improvement would have been a change of setting from the informal setting to a more professional seating arrangement that may have helped foster communication between all parties present, such as a round table or face to face seating. The second video reviewed is: Planning the Playground. The group consists of three males and two females; three Caucasians and two minorities. The video case opens with two new members, one a younger male, Ray and one older woman, Betty, meeting the team for the first time. There seems to be two slightly awkward moments when Ray first only offers to shake the hands of the men at the table and when he has trouble pronouncing the name of the minority female Iesha. The moment was defused quickly when Iesha decided to make a small joke about her name to ease the tension and held out her own hand in greeting. Betty seemed uncertain about speaking and said she only joined the team to make friends. Communications between the team started out stiff and slow but by using â€Å"team talk,† (the nature of the language that group members use as they work together. Not only does team talk enable group members to share information and express opinions, but analysis of team talk also â€Å"reveals where the team is coming from and where the team is headed.) (Reeve, 2007, Ch. 5 pg. 124, Para. 2), team leader David kept the discussion flowing and moved it to the reason they were there. The role the diversity of the group played in their communication was the different  experiences each had to bring to the discussion. Iesha obviously liked research and set numbers and offered not only a sound dollar amount to strive for but reasoning behind it. Ray countered that he thinks the amount should be higher but offered no real reason as did Phil who wanted the amount lower. After deciding to compromise they moved to fundraising. The immediate response to Betty’s suggestion of having a Bake sale was obvious. They did not take her input seriously at all but again the team leader chimed in before their dismissive attitude could be considered rude an d insulting. Diversity was also not a strong hindrance to the group even though the potential was there. Conflict management techniques were used by the group by expressing interest in solving the problem and keeping their tone and language non-threatening, using phrases like â€Å"well, yes but let’s look at it from a different angle† or â€Å"that’s a good idea but may not be exactly what we need now.†The use of team speak was a very effective communication tool that kept the team focused and on track. Another important tool that was used was nonverbal. The seating arrangement at the table permitted members to have their personal space but still be able to have direct eye contact. According to Reeve, each person’s choice of seating position in groups has a direct effect on interaction and influence. A number of studies have demonstrated that group members prefercorner-to-corner or side-by-side seating for cooperative activities. Such an arrangement allows them to be close enough to share materials. (Reeve, 2007, CH. 5 pg. 138, Para 1) The team in thi s case study did show good communication skills on the whole but the one improvement would have been to ensure that before the meeting took place, that each member understood what the reason for the meeting was. The last video reviewed is Virtual Communication. This video is a presentation of three people meeting as a team via conference call. The third unseen member is not listening to what is being said by the manager or his coworker. This is obvious because when they ask him a question he pauses or stutters, then repeats something that neither of the other participants actually said. Listening is important in any group so that you can be sure to get all the available information as well as know exactly what is  expected of you. This is even more so in the virtual business work when team members are not actually sitting face to face. Charlie is neither listening to what is being said or to the messages that were contained in Ellen’s email or voice mails to him. According to the text, Effective listening in virtual groups requires adapting to a different medium of expression Your only adaptation is making sure that your microphone is on or off at appropriate times. In an email disc ussion, however, you can neither see nor hear participants, but you still must â€Å"listen† to their messages. (Reeve, 2007, Ch.6, Pg,.168)The disadvantage of group meetings using a virtual medium is that you can fake listening by answering â€Å"I agree† or a non-committal sound. You can also pretend you didn’t hear something that you don’t want to address as Ellen does in this video when Charlie tries to place the blame on her. Charlie did not effectively use any of his listening skills while on this call. It was apparent by his distracted â€Å"non-answers† that he was not listening. The entire fault is not necessarily Charlie’s; it is not known if he ever fully understood what was expected of him from the first meeting. If he had at any time used one listening skill such as paraphrasing he might have had enough clarification to get his assignment done in time. Paraphrasing is a form of feedback that one lets the speaker know you are listening and gives them the opportunity to clarify their statement. Paraphrasing can be used for multiple purposes such as: To ensure comprehension before evaluation; to reassure others that you want to understand them; to clear up confusion and ask for clarification; and to help other’s reach their own conclusions. (Reeve, 2007) References Engleberg, I. Wynn,D. 2007. Working in Groups: Communication Principles and Strategies (4th ed.) Allyn & Bacon Publishers. The Collaboration Tool Box. 2002-2003. MIT. Online resource. Retreived online January 12, 2009 from http://web.mit.e

Communcation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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Proposal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Proposal - Assignment Example Registration with the government authorities will offer a proper means of tracking such fraudsters. All Websites operating as sells agents without registration should be closed down with immediate effect so as to safeguard the welfare of the members of the public. The law will ensure that only registered firms and organization that can be held liable in cases of fraud are allowed to operate in e-commerce (Manzoor, 2010). The proposed law is set to offer a good environment for the online business organization by ensuring fair and healthy competition. This will enable the businesses to make good profit reducing the risks of having their operations terminated by the authorities (Dholakia, et. al, 2002). The proposed legislation will hinder small scale businesses who cannot meet the terms of registration from taking part in online business (Khosrow-Pour, 2004). Businesses that desire to sell their products online under short-term notice cannot do so as they have to comply with the registration requirements. The legislation will prevent online shoppers from obtaining products at low prices from unregistered online suppliers. Consumers who do not want to engage in official sales terms are likely to lose after the enactment of this proposed law. Unintended consequence likely to emerge from the proposed law is reduction in the number of organizations that take part in e-commerce and this is likely to have negative impact on the economy. Companies that fail to register with the authorities will have to find other means of selling their products besides online business (Plant,

Support for hormone replacement therapy Assignment

Support for hormone replacement therapy - Assignment Example ormone replacement therapy is beneficial in the treatment of urogenital atrophy by decreasing vaginal epithelial pH and inducing the maturation of urethral mucosal and vaginal cells. Urogenital atrophy brings psychological trauma and as such, hormone replacement therapy is by extension beneficial in treating such psychological effects. Hormone replacement therapy is helpful in preventing and treating oral bone loss. This is a common problem in postmenopausal women and is associated with estrogen deficiency. There is evidence that hormone replacement therapy can help treat vision problems in elderly persons. Evidence suggests that hormone replacement therapy is important in reducing the occurrence of coronary heart disease (Hodis, 2008). One of the limitations of hormone replacement therapy is that it increases susceptibility to venous and pulmonary thromboembolism. However, this varies with the timing so that the risk of contracting venous thromboembolism is higher in the first year of treatment. Another limitation with hormone replacement therapy is that it increases the risk of developing breast cancer. The therapy also increases susceptibility to stroke especially ischaemic stroke. Evidence suggests that the use of estrogen-only hormone replacement therapy increases the risk of endometrial cancer. Hormone replacement therapy has a limitation of increasing the risk of ovarian cancer. The therapy causes bleeding in its users especially for the first three to six months (Billecia et. al., 2008). In light of the above benefits and limitations of hormone replacement therapy, I would support hormone therapy. I would support this therapy because it is a good treatment option for many medical conditions some of which may not have a better treatment option. Another reason why I would support this therapy is that continued research is increasingly discovering ways of improving its effectiveness and reduces its side effects. I would support the use of hormone replacement

OLM Individual ASSIGNMENT Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

OLM Individual - Assignment Example These include process design and structure, human resource management, product design, location, capacity planning, supply-chain strategy, and partnering with outside agencies. Based on these factors, proven practices and principles have been linked with activities in operations management of the fast food concept that can help in achieving sustainability in the competitive market and the firm’s corporate strategy. According to Hill (1991), ‘The production/operations management (POM) task is concerned with the transformation process which takes inputs and converts them into outputs, together with the various support functions closely associated with this basic task’ (cited Brown, 2000; p.7). Such transformation processes can be applied to three main categories, materials, customers and information. Brown (2000) describes that Operations Management encompasses the most vital activities of production, beginning from and including, planning and design, production processes of goods and services, and also effective integration of marketing, finance, human resources management and strategy in order to enable a business to enter and compete with both new and existing markets. In other words, a business’s success and sustainability largely depend on the operational capabilities, including efficiency and quality. Based on a case adopted from Brown (2000; p.1), an attempt to establish a relationship between strategy and operations management through different ways in which an organization’s operations can add value to the delivery of goods and services has been coherently illustrated. The case is about ‘Sunnyside Up,’ a fast food concept in UK, a responsibility given to Chris Cowls, a former Franchise Director of Burger King. Chris Cowls and this team is responsible for designing and setting up the Sunnyside Up in UK market which already has well-established McDonalds

Research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 11

Research paper - Essay Example It is strongly believed that by taking into consideration various arguments along with counterarguments based on the aforesaid sentiments, the role of obligations in the context of fighting against evil and the potentiality of the intellectuals towards governing a specific society can be ascertained. Philip Zimbardo, the lecturer in the audio file i.e. â€Å"Journey from the Psychology of Evil to the Psychology of Heroism† provided knowledge about psychological effect on the mind and behaviour of people. The lecturer signified that there are different factors that are accountable for transforming human behaviour and character. Moreover, the transformation in the character is observed due to social influence, situational act, personal attributes or morality, compassion or sense of justice. The factors are identified to adversely affect the psychological stability of human mind based on which good people are engaged in performing evil actions affecting a society as a whole. The lecturer also added that evil behaviour is exercising power to damage, harm or obliterate psychological or physical well-being of others (Korstanje, 2013; Zimbardo, 2007). Correspondingly, the essay intends to analyse sentiment to fight evil. The discussion will identify the suitability of intellectuals about their fitness in governing a society. Additionally, argument and counterargument provided with the aim of determining the appropriateness of the arguments relating to good or evil actions performed. In general, most of the people recognizes that evil is a quality, which is inherent or developed by some of the people and not by all human beings. Evil behaviour is developed by an external force and bad seeds, which enforce an individual to perform evil actions. In contrast, spiritual power grounds evil either directly in the appearance of possession or indirectly as a spiritual oppression.

Final Project on Maternity Fashion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Final Project on Maternity Fashion - Essay Example The essay "Final Project on Maternity Fashion" concerns the maternity fashion. The idea of maternity wear in the modern sense of the word came first time around the middle of the 19th century when it was thought that such unmentionable circumstances as pregnancy had better stay hidden. This idea then evolved into a whole industry curtailing to the need of the modern pregnant woman. It offers women who are pregnant comfortable, trendy and everyday maternity clothing. The most inconvenient thing during pregnancy is the process of modifying dresses to the ever increasing stomach or choosing what to wear that would not look like a tent. Today a pregnant woman does not need to wear her husband’s clothes to hide her which will male her look dowdy and uncouth. Also she does not need to wear dresses made as if there was only one standard model called pregnant and nothing else. In the contemporary world, the options for pregnant women to choose from are humongous. Maternity clothing un derstands that some women like to show off their bump while other modest conservative women might think otherwise. During the nine month period of pregnancy women undergo several bodily changes. Till the first three to four months, for most women, this change is not apparent. However, from the fourth month onwards changes become unmistakable. The belly and hips begin to enlarge, for most women, there is a swelling and the body begins to bloat. Maternity clothing is manufactured to cater for the expanding breasts.... Obviously it also caters for the bump that is sitting out in front. Amongst pregnant women, some of them might have brownish or yellowish patches known as "mask of pregnancy," on their faces. There might also be some dark lines in the center of their lower abdomen. Also there is darkening of the skin of the nipples, external genitalia, and anal region. The above symptoms are a result of changes in the hormones during the pregnancy. The pigmentation might not be even in nature; therefore, the skin may darken in the areas where the patches appear. This pigmentation cannot be prevented but its effect can be minimized applying sunscreen and avoidance of ultraviolet rays. Acne is another skin problem during this nine month cycle because the skin oil production increases. It is not only pimples which appear on the face or the body, but moles and freckles which had been lighter earlier might darken in response to this increase in oiliness. The area around the nipple also darkens in color which is permanent. But all the other skin problems disappear after delivery. SWOT ANANLYSIS S-Strengths Our maternity line focuses on developing a relationship with the customer. It is one-on-one basis, where customers' needs are individually catered. The life span our product line is not short as the clothes bought during pregnancy can also be utilized afterwards with provision of pre- and post-natal services. A customized line for our customers is also developed, to fulfill their special needs accordingly. This customization can be done on the basis of color, design, size, texture or any other feature that the customer may require. The focus is not just maternity clothing, but out brand aims at the emancipation of the pregnant women with full range of

Ethics Essays Essay Example for Free

Ethics Essays Essay In this essay I will be comparing the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. Ethical development is an important tool needed in today’s society. Virtue theory emphasizes the need for people to learn how to break bad habit of character, like greed or anger. These are called vices and stand in the way of becoming a good person. Place emphasis on which rules people should follow and instead of focus on helping people develop good character traits such as kindness and generosity. Will, in turn allow a person to make the correct decision later on in life. Utilitarianism, the ethical doctrine that the greatest good; the ethical doctrine that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the criterion of the virtue of action. According to philosophy, an action is morally right if it consequences lead to happiness (absence of pain and wrong if it ends in unhappiness (pain). Deontological ethics focus entirely upon the actions which a person performs. Those theories focus on the question, â€Å"which action should I choose†? Here are some description of the differences in how each theory addresses ethics and morality. Utilitarianism morality is the result of act. Focus on the consequences. A moral act is what will bring the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. Virtue ethics morality stem from the identity or character of the person, rather than being a reflection of the actions. There are certain characteristics which a re virtue. People possessing these virtues is what make one moral, one’s actions are reflection of their own inner morality. Boylan (2009). There are two major ethic theories utilitarianism and deontological, that attempt to specify and justify moral rules and principles. Utilitarianism (also called consequencelism) is a moral theory developed and refined in the modern world in the writing of Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873). Deontological ethics is in  keeping with scripture, natural moral law, and intuitions from common sense. Important point about deontological ethics is, first duty should be done. Humans should be treated as objects of intrinsic moral values. A moral principle is a categorical imperative that is univeralizables, that is, it must be applicable for everyone who is in the same moral situation. The difference between these three approaches to morality tends to lie more in the way of how moral dilemmas are approached, rather than in moral conclusions reached. A personal experience to explain the relationship between virtue, values, and moral concepts as they relate to one of the three theories. Utilitarianism is the one I would pick it deal with working in a team setting. As a scholar at University of Phoenix. I have worked in a team with several other classmate where we are assigned team work paper and presentations. A good teammate develop hands on skills that can lead his or her team to a success completed of all assignment. Reference Boylan, M. (2009). Basis ethics: Basic ethics in action (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. www. differencesbetween.net/science/health

Effects Pine Beetles Have on the Forests

Effects Pine Beetles Have on the Forests Climate change and the effects pine beetles have on the forests. Introduction The ever growing effects of natural and man-made climate change are having a wide-spread effect on many mixed and coniferous forest ecosystems. Particularly as average annual temperatures increase, the habitat for the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosa, has expanded, because the beetle is able to occupy new habitats at higher elevations, which were previously too cold for it. The mountain pine beetle habitat extends from Mexico through the Western United States and up to Canada. The damage caused to cone-bearing trees by the mountain pine beetle is threatening the strength of the North American mixed and coniferous ecosystems at every trophic level, as well as affecting the mountain forest carbon cycle and watershed hydrology. This damage has combined with the effects of human logging practices in the coniferous forest to drastically alter these ecosystems. Though these areas have been severely degraded, there are solutions that can slow or reverse the damage that has alrea dy been done. Background Human-caused climate change is having a pronounced effect on many different ecosystems. One of these effects is the spread of mountain pine beetles through the forests of the Western United States and Canada. Mountain pine beetles inhabit many species of coniferous trees such as jack pine, whitebark, lodgepole, Scotch, ponderosa, and limber pines. Pine beetles typically attack and inhabit trees at lower elevations, but the effects of climate change have allowed them to inhabit ever higher elevations. With mild winters and warmer summers, the pine beetles have been able to infest mature pine trees that could resist the beetles before the change in average temperature (Carroll et al. 2003). There were many pine beetle outbreaks in Canada and the U.S. Rockies since the 1940’s but they are considered mild compared to the more recent outbreaks. The earlier outbreaks were partly contained by human intervention and were ultimately ended by severe winter conditions, the natural regula tor of pine beetle populations. As climate change undermines this natural regulation system, the current infestations are much larger in scope and much harder to contain through human intervention (Ono. 2003). Mountain pine beetles spend their life cycle in four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. In the summer the adults migrate and infest new trees. During the stages of their life they live under the tree bark where they feed and lay their eggs (Carroll et al. 2003). The mountain pine beetles’ life cycle and survival rate is regulated by the temperature of their habitat. Temperature at a particular time of year helps regulate the life cycle stage of the beetles, determining in part when eggs are laid, when the pupas become adults, when they migrate, and ultimately when the beetles die. A rapid decrease in temperature can kill an entire population of beetles. Other factors for survival include the dryness of the tree and the amount of snow insulation, but mainly the change (drop) in temperature is what keeps beetle populations in control (Creeden et al. 2013). Effects on the Ecosystem Changing climate and weather conditions in the higher elevations and their forest ecosystems are expanding the survivable habitat for the mountain pine beetle. The climate change occurring in these areas is weakening the overall strength of mixed and coniferous forest ecosystems. Hotter summers with less rainfall have caused many tree species to lose their natural defenses. Drought conditions have long been an indicator of previous outbreaks and are now a predictor of new pine beetle outbreaks. In turn, extended drought can also have a negative effect on the pine beetles if the drought lasts too long and the number of available hosts drops. Rising temperatures creates tree loss from drought and fires that hinders pine beetle migration (Creeden et al. 2013). At the same time, climate change exposes beetle infested conifers to a greater risk of fire and drought, reduces their resistance to both, and threatens both the beetles and the trees. Climate change is not only affecting the pine beetles, but species at every trophic level. One of the biggest food sources in the forest is new tree growth and seeds from mature trees. With changing climate conditions trees are not able to reproduce at the pre-climate-change rates. This is especially true in drought areas where the mountain pine beetle has infested the trees. The pine beetles weaken and destroy trees and reduce the rate of seed production and new tree growth, which affects small mammals such as squirrels that rely on the seeds pines produce. Decreasing food supply for smaller animals affects the population size of these species, which in turn affects their larger predators on higher trophic levels (Bartos et al. 1990). Climate change and the spread of pine beetle habitat are having such large effects on mountain ecosystems that it can change the diversity of species in the forests. The mountain pine beetle is no longer just an important species in the forest ecosystems they normally in habitat, they have becom e an important indicator species for ecological problems areas they normally do not inhabit. The expansion of their habitat demonstrates that climate change is having an effect on the entire ecosystem. Moreover, climate change is having an immediate effect on biodiversity and the ecosystem of conifer forests, which is increasing and accelerating (Logan et al. 2003). This is why it is important to keep track of the health of the ecosystem and make quick decisions when detrimental changes are observed. Effects on the Carbon Cycle Climate change and pine beetle outbreaks are also having an adverse effect on the carbon feedback cycle. Currently in British Columbia, Canada the outbreak of mountain pine beetles is so large that Canadian conifer forests have turned from carbon sinks to sources of carbon. Because of the combined effects of mountain pine beetle infestation, logging, and forest fires, large sections of forest are being damaged, which increases the amount of carbon dioxide. It is estimated that 435 million trees have been lost to the combined effects of climate change. This is having a big economic effect on the timber industry. The industry has responded by increasing the rate of harvesting and moving into areas that have not previously been logged. (Kurz et al. 2008). In these area loggers are stripping the biomass of the forest and turning it into, among other things, wood pellets as an energy source for Europe. Combining the damage from the mountain pine beetles, increased forest fires, drought, a nd all the commercial uses, these forests will release more carbon dioxide than they absorbs. This will increase both the causes and effects of climate change and worsen the situation years from now (Lamers et al. 2014). Kurtz modeled the effects of the mountain pine beetle in a test area of 374,000 km ² during the years 2000 to 2020. The study estimated that 270 megatons of carbon would be released during the pine beetle outbreaks in the test area. The model showed that if an area was untouched by pine beetle infestation but had moderate timber harvesting and fires, then the test area was a slight carbon sink; in the control scenario the area averaged 1 to 5 megatons of carbon release per year between 2007 and 2020. Two test scenarios were modeled, one in which the forest was infested with mountain pine beetles and one that included both infestation and additional timber harvesting. The scenario with mountain pine beetle infestation and normal harvesting showed the forest to be a net carbon source ranging from 10 to 20 megatons of carbon per year during 2007-2020. The scenario with the section of forest infested with mountain pine beetles and having additional harvesting due to timber damage showed that the forest was a net source ranging from 10 to 25 megatons of carbon per year for the years 2007 to 2020 (Kurz et al. 2008). This model shows that in the forests of British Columbia mountain pine beetle infestation combines with natural disasters and timber harvesting to help drive climate change (See fig 1). Effects on Watershed Hydrology Increased destruction of forests by the mountain pine beetle is causing a large effect on the hydrology of pines forests and the watershed. The increase in dead trees is having an effect on evapotranspiration as less of the sunlight evaporates water from live trees and instead heats the surrounding surface, raising local temperatures. This is turn is causing a change in hydrology locally and in areas downstream. The damage to the trees is also having an effect on the water quality and the biochemistry of the area (Mikkelson et al. 2013). The snow packs are also being affected; there has been an increase in canopy transmittance and a decrease in the amount of snow that is stored in the canopy. As more trees die solar radiation has been able to penetrate farther causing an increase in evaporation and a change in albedo (Winkler et al. 2012). Once an area of forest is affected, it takes several years for the changes in the canopy cover to effect a complete change. It takes an average of two to three years for the needles of the pine trees to change from green to red. During this time only a small portion of the canopy cover is lost and results in only a small change in interception. A few years after the needles turn red is when the trees turns gray and the majority of the needles are lost to the forest floor. During this stage pine needles and branches fall to the forest floor and eventually the entire tree falls and decays. This increases the amount of nutrients in the soil such as carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen, which leads to nitrification of the water supply (Mikkelson et al. 2013). These changes alone will cause noticeable changes in the quantity and quality of the water. Adding more numerous forest fires and increased timber harvesting can have a drastic effect on the local watershed (See Fig. 2). Rita Winkler and her colleagues studied the effects of snow accumulation, forest structure, and snow surface albedo in the Rocky Mountains after a mountain pine beetle infestation. Over a seven-year period they studied these effects in areas that were clear cut, mixed, or young pine forests. Their study showed that areas that were primarily infested young pines completely lost their canopy within six years. Due to the loss of their canopy the snow accumulation decreased while transmittance and snow surface albedo increased when trees turned from green to gray. The study found that as trees turned from green to gray the rate of snow water melt increased. In areas that had mixed species of trees the effects were not as drastic as the areas with only young pines. The primary reason that snow accumulation and surface snow albedo were not as affected was due to a large diversity of tree species. In these areas there was also a more developed understory that reduced the effects seen in areas that were primarily young pine. Moreover, while the effects increased from mixed species areas to young pine areas, the affects in neither area compared to the far greater affects in areas that were clear cut (Winkler et al. 2012). It is easy to see from this study that the type of forest, level of beetle infestation, and timber harvesting practices will have a significant or large effect on the water cycle and the hydrology of the surrounding watershed. In the Rocky Mountains this can have a particularly extreme effect on the quality and quantity of river flow in this region since the Colorado River is supplied largely by snow melt. If this trend continues, the amount of water coming out of the Colorado River will decrease, which could lead to increased water shortages in the Southwest. Managing Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreaks As the population and habitat of the mountain pine beetle continues to expand several types of management practices have been tried. Currently Western Canada is experiencing one of the largest expansions of mountain pine beetles, with estimates that over 13 million hectares of conifer and mixed forest have been affected. There are two main methods to manage pine beetle outbreaks, or at least slow their expansion. The indirect control is a preventative method that tries to limit host trees through prescribed burning and forest thinning. The direct method tries to limit the population and growth rate of the beetle by destroying infected trees before the beetles emerge to migrate and attack new hosts (Wulder et al. 2009). There have also been studies done using chemicals on non-infected trees to try and limit the expansion of beetles to these areas. While this type of managing technique is effective, it is too costly to use on a large area of affected trees (Fettig et al. 2007). Coggins and his colleagues completed a study in Western Canada to test which management practices were the most effective. In their study, they used two different areas and selected 28 sites with each plot of trees having a radius of 30 meters. Each plot was selected due to the age of the trees, elevation, and the severity of beetle infestation. They broke their plots into two groups. Eighteen of the plots were not managed while management practices were implemented on the other ten plots. For the ten plots that were selected for mitigation they used tree removal techniques to remove the infected trees before beetle migration. In their study, they calculated that at the beginning of their study, the average expansion rate was 0.29 for non-managed plots and 0.12 for managed plots. Over a ten-year period they showed that the plots of unmanaged areas grew exponentially. While during this same period the managed plots went to zero infected trees after ten years with a 43% detection rate. The s tudy found that the time to reach zero infected trees would be shorter if the detection rate was increased (Coggins et al. 2010). It can be concluded that managing practices will have an effect on the migration of the mountain pine beetle. The main problem with controlling their migration is detecting infected green trees. The problem is that they cannot be detected from the sky, so people have to actively go into the field to detect them. This causes a problem because some areas are inaccessible for a variety of reasons. Even with all of the problems associated with managing the mountain pine beetle, it is vital for the forest ecosystems of North America that these practices continue. Conclusion While the mountain pine beetles will continue to expand and inhabit new areas management practices need to be put into place. The main cause of the mountain pine beetle expansion is primarily due to climate change, particularly drier, hotter summers and shorter, warmer, drier winters. These insects in turn are also contributing to climate change. As their habitat expands, they are turning forests that were once net carbon sinks into net carbon sources. When infected trees die and decay, they release carbon dioxide and increase the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen in the ground. The damage the beetle is causing to forests is also changing the watershed in negative ways. Both the quality and quantity of water is being degraded, which affects the health of the ecosystem. All of these changes combined are having an extreme effect on the ecosystem and negatively affecting every species in it. At every trophic level there is some kind of effect as the mountain pine beetle expands and dest roys the forests. More studies must be done to help mitigate mountain pine beetle expansion and more money needs to be invested in managing them. As a society we will take a major economic hit if the timber we need is destroyed by the mountain pine beetle. Also, if their expansion continues in the Rocky Mountains and damages the watershed there, it could affect a large portion of the drinking water for the Western United States. We need to manage the mountain pine beetle as we reduce carbon dioxide emissions to curb the effects of global warming. Figure 1 Figure 2 Works Cited Bartos, D. L. and K. E. Gibson. Insects of whitebark pine with emphasis on mountain pine beetle. UT 84321. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Montana, United States. Carroll, A. L., S. W. Taylor, J. Regniere and L. Safranyik. Effects of climate change on range expansion by the mountain pine beetle in British Columbia. BC-V8Z-1M5. Canadian Forest Service, Pacific Forestry Centre, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Coggins, S. B., N. C. Coops, M. A. Wulder and C.W. Bater. 2011. Comparing the impacts of mitigation and non-mitigation on mountain pine beetle populations. Journal of environmental management 92: 112-120. Creeden, E. P., J. A. Hicke and P. C. Buotte. 2013. Climate, weather, and recent mountain pine beetle outbreaks in the western United States. Forest Ecology and Management 312: 239-251. Fettig, C. J., K. D. Klepzig, R. F. Billings, A. S. Munson, T. E. Nebeker, J. F. Negron and J. T. Nowak. 2007. The effectiveness of vegetation management practices for prevention and control of bark beetle infestations in coniferous forests of the western and southern United States. Forest ecology and management 238: 24-53. Lamers, P., M. Junginger, C. C. Dymond and A. Faaij. 2014. Damaged forest provide an opportunity to mitigate climate change. Bioenegy 6: 44-60. Logan, J. A., J. Regniere and J. A. Powell. 2003. Assessing the impacts of global warming on forest pest dynamics. Frontiers in ecology and the environment 1: 130-137. Mikkelson, K. M., L. A. Bearup, R. M. Maxwell, J. D. Stednick, J. E. McCray and J. O. Sharp. 2013. Bark beetle infestation impacts on nutrient cycling, water quality and interdependent hydrological effects. Biogeochemistry 115: 1-21. Ono Hideji. 2003. The mountain pine beetle: Scope of the problem and key issues in Alberta. BC-X-399. Canadian Forest Service, Pacific Forestry Centre, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Kurz, W. A., C. C. Dymond, G. Stinson, G. J. Rampley, E. T. Neilson, A. L. Carroll, T. Ebata and L. Safranyik. 2008. Mountain pine beetle and forest carbon feedback to climate change. Nature 452: 987-990. Winkler, R., S. Boon, B. Zimonick and D. Spittlehouse. 2009. Snow accumulation and ablation response to changes in forest structure and snow surface albedo after attack by mountain pine beetle. Hydrological Processes 28: 197-209. Wulder, M. A., S. M. Ortlepp, J. C. White, N. C. Coops and S. B. Coggins. 2009. Monitoring the impacts of mountain pine beetle mitigation. Forest ecology and management 258: 1181-1187.

Mosquito Species Detection using Smart Phone

Mosquito Species Detection using Smart Phone Abstract-According to WHO(World Health Organization) re-ports, among all disease transmitting insects mosquito is the most hazardous insect. In 2015 alone, 214 million cases of malaria were registered worldwide. Zika virus is another deadly disease transmitted from mosquitoes. According to CDC report, in 2016 62,500 suspected case of Zika were reported to the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDH) out of which 29,345 cases were found positive. There are 3500 different species of mosquitoes present in the world out of which 175 types is found in United States. But only few of them are responsible for these above mentioned fatal disease. Therefore classification between hazardous and regular mosquitoes are very important. For regular person with no expertise in this field would be almost impossible to identify the difference. Even for the mosquito-expert, identifying different species is a very tedious and time consuming job. Hence in this paper, we have tried to classify 7 different species of dead mosquitoes with total 60 samples collected from Hillsborough County Mosquito and Aquatic Weed Control Unit,Tampa Florida by capturing image from smart phone cameras. With our approach we want to enable non-expert population to early identify the risk and act pro-actively. We pre-processed the image for removing noise and applied random forest classification algorithm to distinguish different species. Achieved good precision,recall,F1 measure and aggregate 83:3% accuracy. We are also planning to develop a smart-phone application which will leverage this learning model and help in empowering population to identify mosquito species without any knowledge in this field. INTRODUCTION Of all animals, mosquitoes are amongst the most deadly in spreading diseases. Mosquito borne diseases like Malaria, Dengue, West Nile Fever, and most recently Zika Fever have extracted devastatic tolls on humanity [1]. Combating the spread of mosquitoes is an important health-care agenda across the globe, and several organizations across the globe serve this purpose. For instance, one such organization is the American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) is spread over 50 countries and conducts numerous programs to educate citizens of the dangers posed by mosquitoes and how to control them. According to CDC report, there are about 3500 different species of mosquitoes in the world, out of which about 175 different species are found in the USA. Among programs designed to combat mosquitoes spread, identification of the type and number of species in any par-ticular area is very important. Across the world, numerous mosquito control organizations have dedicated personnel that lay traps to catch mosquitoes in specific areas, and dedicated personnel visually look at each captured sample (via a mag-nifying glass) to identify the type of mosquito. It takes upto a minute to identify each sample, and with more samples, the time taken to identify each sample can take hours, and naturally significant manual effort. Contributions of this Paper: In this paper, we aim to de-sign a system that combines images from smart-phone cameras with machine learning algorithms for automatic detection of the type of mosquito species from their images. Towards this extent, our specific contributions are: a). Building a database of mosquito images: We visited the Hillsborough County Mosquito and Aquatic Weed Control in Tampa in Fall 2016 to collect numerous samples of mosquitoes that were captured in traps set up the county personnel. Subsequently, the personnel helped us visually identify the type of each sample. As a result, we collected 60 samples, that belonged to seven different species.Table I presents our database. Subsequently, each sample was imaged via a Sam-sung Galaxy S5 phone via multiple angles (at the same indoor light conditions) for a total of 200 images. This served as our database for subsequent classification. b). Designing Pre-processing Techniques: Generally, images are vulnerable to the different type of noises due to different environment condition and user expertise. Therefore, images need to be pre-processed for any noise removal and also for smoothening. In the process of noise removal, we need to make sure that edges and boundary of images are preserved otherwise images will lose the key information. We used median filter as it works very effectively when edges need to be preserved. This filter is widely used in image processing technique [2]. c). Designing Random Forest Based Classifiers: Random Forest is an ensembled supervised machine learning algorithm. It is a collection of decision trees, where each trees has been grown using subset of training dataset selected randomly. In most of the cases, it has shown significant improvement in accuracy as compare to other classification algorithm. Apart from that, it works very well on outliers and noise. It handles larger dataset efficiently and quickly without over-fitting the model as only a subset of training set is selected for each split.[3] [4] We conducted an extensive performance evaluation for our proposed techniques.We evaluated our experiment on 60 image samples of seven different species. 10-fold cross validation technique has been used and achieved 83:3% accuracy using RGB features. The rest of the paper is organized as follows. In section II, related works are discussed. Followed by section III where experimental set up and data collection process are described. Section IV contains the detail about preprocessing of image data, extracting and selecting features, building the learning model using classification method and different metrics lever-aged for showing the results. We talked about experimental evaluation and validation in detail in section V. Finally, dis-cussion and conclusion sections are VI and VII respectively. RELATED WORK There are many studies which are dedicated to leverage the use of smart phone camera for image recognition. In this section we have emphasized few of the related and important works done. A. Related Work on Image Recognition In [5] system was developed for determining the effec-tiveness of soil treatment on plant stress using smart-phone cameras.In this paper, 34 images of plant leaves are captured using smart phone in two soils that is biosolids and unamended tailings. Then each images was preprocessed using mean, me-dian filter followed by segmentation into pixels.They extracted RGB,R,G,B,HSV and YCbCr features from the segmented pixels. Random Forest which is a supervised classification algorithm was designed to detect the stress of leaves and achieved 91.24% accuracy. A [6] survey has been done on Pixel-Based skin color detection techniques. They have applied various color spaces like RGB, Normalized RGB, HSV and YCrCb for recognizing skin. RGB is the most widely used color spaces for processing and storing digital images. Wen et.al [7] has proposed image-based automated insect iden-tification and classification method. In this paper eight insect species have been selected for experiment. These insects were frozen to retreive a non damaging kill of the insect and then they were placed on a white balance panel under the reflectance light base of a Nikon stereoscopic zoom microscope SMZ1000 (Nikon, Tokyo) with Plan Apochromat 0.5 objective. Images of these were taken by a DS-Fi1 color digital camera which was placed on the microscope. Features which had been taken in these are color, texture, invariants, contour and geometric. In color features, HSV color space features were considered. T Many classification algorithm i.e. minimum least square linear classifier (MLSLC), normal densities based linear classifier (NDLC), K nearest neighbor classifier (KNNC), nearest mean classifier (NMC), and decision tree (DT) were used for testing and training the model. Among these NDLC classification algorithm outperfor ms other classifier. 1) Comparing our Work w.r.t. Related Work: Our work is focused on capturing mosquitoes images from smart phone camera and using the captured image for training and testing the learning model. In [7], authors have identified insect species but it needs lab set up with microscope and high resolution digital camera which is not available in house generally. We have extracted RGB features for classification which is most widely used color spaces [6]. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP AND DATA COLLECTION In this section, we have discussed data collection process our experiment. A. Data Collection We collected dead mosquito species samples from Hillsbor-ough County Mosquito and Aquatic Weed Control Unit,Tampa Table I: Mosquito Species and Number of Samples Specie Name Number of Samples Cx Nigrip 10 An Quadrim 6 Ma Titillans 7 Ps Columpi 10 An Crucians 10 Ps Ferox 7 Cq Perturbans 10 Table II: Camera Specification Camera Specification Value Sensor Resolution 16 MP Focus Adjustment automatic Special Effect HDR Camera Light Source Daylight Florida. We carefully identified seven species, mentioned in Table I for our study. Since, dead mosquito physical properties like color, del-icateness etc changes as time passes. So, images of dead mosquitoes were taken in a single day to make sure envi-ronmental conditional are same while taking these images. A Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone was used for capturing images in regular day light. Each sample image was taken based on the knowledge aware fusion described on the mosquito and aquatic control weed control unit web site. A total of 60 images were captured for our study, having following camera configuration, mentioned in Table II. OUR APPROACH We have implemented two steps in our approach. First, pre processing of image has been done for noise removal and feature selection using filter like median,mean. Second, building a learning model using a classification algorithm based on random forest. Here our main aim is to build a learning model for identi-fying each mosquitoes species. The challenge here we faced is the image size. Images which were captured from smart phone is of 2988 X 5322 pixels. We reduced their size to 256 X 256 pixels to decrease its data dimensionality. To remove the noise from each sample we applied median filter technique.This has been elaborated in the next subsection. Since, our images were already in dark color.It is mandatory to keep background and foreground in contrast for building the model reasonably well. So, we did not use any segmentation technique as it converts the background into black. Here,we are using Random Forest, a supervised learning algorithm and used 10-fold cross validation technique for learning and testing. The process flow of our algorithm is described in Figure 2. For proceeding further, we need labeled image data for training the model. All images were tagged manually under the guidance of mosquito experts. Noise Removal Generally, digital images are susceptible to different type of noise. It can occur by several ways like capture, transmission etc. Accuracy of the result are affected badly by the same. There are many filters used to remove and reduce noise from image. Sharpening Filter: It refers as a enhancing technique which highlights edges and line details in the image. In this procedure, original image is passed through high pass filter which extracts its high frequency components and then the scaled output of high pass filter is added to original image which results in sharpened image. [8] Mean Filter: This filtering technique refers to replacing each pixel value in an image with the mean of pixel values of its neighbors which falls in the sliding window of n*n size. This technique removes noise more effectively if large window size is considered.This is also called average filter. [8] Median Filter: It is a nonlinear filtering technique. The approach behind this filtering technique is to replace each pixel value in the window of n * n size pixel by the median of all pixel values in that particular window.It is very used in digital image processing and it preserves edges while removing noise. We have used this filtering technique with 3*3 pixels window size for removing the noise from our digital images. The output with median filter and without this is shown in Figure 1. [2] Feature Selection Feature extraction and selection is very critical part of any supervised learning algorithm. Extraction is about reducing the data dimensionality as the size of data grows and its dimension increases and becomes very difficult to handle it manually . And then the need of automation comes into the picture. Feature Selection is a process of selecting those features which are most relevant for our problem and eliminating unnecessary, irrelevant and redundant features of data that do not contribute to the accuracy of learning model. In our proposed model, we are identifying different species of mosquitoes. Each species have contrastive color. As we can see in Figure 3, each mosquitoes have similar shapes but differ-ent body and wings color.So,the correct color channels or the combination of channel is important to take into consideration for the features. Few of the color channels are RGB, HSV etc. RGB has Red, Green and Blue channels. In RGB, each component supports a range of intensity levels from 0 to 255 (integer valued)[9] . Here, we extracted RGB feature from the mosquito image data. Then for feature selection, we applied Information-Gain attribute selection algorithm which is a good measure for deciding the relevance of an attribute. This feature selection technique generally helps in achieving high accuracy and using this we got 1000 features which serve as an input vector x into Random Forest Classification Algorithm for species detection. We calculated its precision, recall and F1-measure which is mentioned in Table III Table III: Combination of color channels accuracy comparison Combination Precision Recall F1-measure RGB 0.845 0.833 0.834 C. Classification Method Random Forest Algorithm: Random Forests(RF) is an ensemble supervised machine learning algorithm. It consists of a set of decision trees; h(x,i) i = 1, 2,, where x is a feature vector extracted from the smartphone image data and i consists of K integers which are independent identically distributed random vectors. Each decision tree predicts a class independently. A voting is performed on the results from each decision tree and finally the class which gets majority vote will be the final predicted class. The same has been explained in Figure 4 . Given a dataset set that contains N feature vectors, each consisting of M features, the RF algorithm builds the trained model using following steps: N samples are selected at random with replacement from the data set, for training the model of a particular tree. K features are randomly selected from the set of available features, where K M. Among the values for each of the K features drawn, choose the best split according to the Information gain IG(T; a) of the attribute. Information gain is measure of decrease in entropy which is caused by splitting the samples on an attribute. T denote a set of training sample for a single tree. ((x),y) = (x1, x2,.., xk,y) where (x) consist is a single sample and y is its class label. The information gain for an attribute a is as follow: The information gain for an attribute a is as follows: IG (T; a) = H (T ) v val(a) j(x T jTa = v) j :H (x T jxa = v) X x j j (1) [10] Here, xa vals(a) is the value of the ath attribute of example x. The randomization is present in two ways: Random selection of data for bootstrap samples as it is done in bagging Random selection of input features for creating individual base decision trees. Each tree will grow to its maximum size until the stopping criterion has not been fulfilled and there will be no tree pruning. Once the forest has been ensembled, testing data sample will be labeled mosquito species class based on a majority vote among all classes from all decision trees in the forest. Once the forest has been ensembled, testing data sample is labeled with one of the classes (species1; species2::::species7) by taking the majority vote: i.e., it is labeled with the class which has been selected by maximum number of trees. In the RF approach, given a feature sample x to be classified, the conditional probabilities for each class are computed by taking the average of the conditional probabilities given by the trees constructing 4 Figure 1: a) Original Image b) Image after applying sharpening median filterFigure 2: Process description of our experiment a). Cruciansb). Columpic). Feroxd). Nigrip e). Peturbansf). Quadrimg). Titillans Figure 3: Mosquito Color Images the ensemble. These conditional probabilities are computed as follows. Given a decision tree T, and an input feature sample x to be classified, let us denote by v(x) the leaf node where x falls when it is classified by T. The probability P (mjx; T ) that the sample x belongs to the class m, where m 2 fspecies1; species2; :::; species7g (for 7 species of interest to this paper), is estimated by the following equation: P (mjx; T ) = nm (2) n where nm is the number of training samples falling into v(x) after learning and n is the total number of training samples assigned to v(x) by the training procedure. Given a forest consisting of L trees and an unknown feature sample x to be classified, the probability estimate P (mjx) that x belongs to the species m is computed as follows: 1 L (3) P (mjx) = P (mjx; Ti) L =1 Xi P (m x; T ) by where th j i is the conditional probability provided the i tree and is computed according to Eq.(1). As a consequence, for the sample x to be classified, the RF algorithm gives as output the vector: = fP (species1jx) ; P (species2jx) : : : : : : P (species7jx)g The class(species) with the highest probability in the set(4)is chosen as classified class for the ith tree. The final class of our RF algorithm is the one which gets the majority vote among all activities from all decision trees in the forest [11]. The work flow of the RF algorithm with pre-processing, training and testing phase is formally shown in Algorithm 1.[3] [12] D. Metrics The results of Mosquito-Species detection are shown in terms of precision, recall, F1-measure and Confusion Matrix. Each metric is a function of the of the true positives (T P ), false positives (F P ) and false negatives (F N). The precision is the ratio of correctly classified classes to the total number of classes predicted as positive: P recision = T P (5) T P + F P Recall is the ratio of total number of classes predicted as positive to the total number of positive classes: Recall = T P (6) T P + F N 5 Figure 4: Work flow of the Random Forest Algorithm The F1-measure is the weighted average of precision and recall: P recisionRecall F1 = 2 P recision + Recall (7) The Confusion Matrix (CM) is a table that allows the visu-alization used to describe the performance of a classification model. Each column of the matrix represents the instances in a predicted class while each row represents the instance in an actual class (or vice-versa) [13]. Precision indicates the number of samples classified as a particular species actually belonged to that species. Recall gives us the number of species which are correctly classified. The F1-measure denotes the classification models accuracy.It is calculated as the harmonic mean of precision and recall. Confusion matrix makes the system easy to see how much predicted model is getting confused between different species. For example if a species is predicted correctly only 80% of the time, then this matrix will show how the algorithm confused its prediction with the other (wrongly classified) species the remaining 20% of the time. RESULTS Overview of Evaluation Methods: In this paper, we evaluated the performance of our system using 10-fold cross validation that are standard for our problem scope. Cross-validation is a model validation technique for assess-ing how the results of a classification model will generalize to an independent dataset 10-fold cross-validation divides the dataset into 10 subsets, and evaluates them 10 times. Each time, one of the 10 subsets is used as the test set and the other 9 subsets are put together to form a training set. Then, the average error across all 10 trials is computed for final result. It limits problems like over-fitting in the classification model. Results and Interpretations: We used RGB feature men-tioned earlier to train our classification model. To evaluate its accuracy we used 10-fold cross validation technique and calculated precision, recall and F1 measure of each species independently. The evaluation measures of RGB feature are shown in IV have also shown it graphically in Figure 5. Confusion Matrix of the same is shown in Figure 6. Algorithm 1: RF-based Algorithm for Mosquito-Species detection Training Image dataset = Id; Testing Image dataset= Ited; RGB Features extracted from Training Image dataset = F tRGB; RGB Features extracted from Testing Image dataset = F teRGB; Classified Species from Images= M S; Probability that feature F belongs to Species M S = P (M SjF ); No. of trees in Random Forest = 121; Step 1 Pre-Processing: Median filters are applied to remove accidental spikes from Id and Ited. Features F tRGB and F teRGB are extracted from processed data Id and Ited obtained from (1). Step 2 Training: Input: Training data set F tRGB Output: Random Forest model to classify different species of mosquitoes. Select a bootstrap sample of size N from the training data. Grow a decision tree T using following steps. Select K features at random from the set of M features. Choose the best feature/split-point among the K. Split the node into two daughter nodes. Grow the tree to its maximum size that is 6 and let the tree unpruned Step 3 Prediction: Input: Testing data set Ited Output: Final Mosquito Species prediction M Ss. Select the same attributes used for training the model from testing feature set F teRGB. Predict the species from the model using features selected in the above step. 6 Table IV: RGB Features accuracy of each species indepen-dently Species Precision Recall F1-measure An Crucians 0.889 0.8 0.842 An Quadrim 0.571 0.667 0.615 Cd Peturbans 0.727 0.8 0.762 Cx Nigrip 0.889 0.8 0.842 Ma Titillans

The Second Amendment - The Right To Bear Arms Essay -- Constituton Bil

The Second Amendment and the Right to Bear Arms The Second Amendment to the Constitution gave United States citizens the right to bear arms. Although, the Second Amendment stated: â€Å"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms. However, the framers could not foresee the type of violence we have in our cities today. Innocent citizens have and are being brutally killed due to this amendment. Stricter gun control laws must be enacted to receive these types of weapons. Background checks for gun buyers were implemented a year and a half ago, more than 4,600 people who were supposed to be prevented from buying guns bought them anyway because their background checks were not completed in time, according to ABC news. The NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) is supposed to inspect the criminal, citizenship, and mental background of all gun buyers (Yahoo News). However, if authorities cannot finish the checks in three days, the buyer gets the gun by default—even if he/she is a convicted felon or illegal alien (Yahoo News). On April 20, 1999, Columbine School was terrorized by gunfire. Twelve students and one teacher was brutally slain by two seniors of the high school. According to the APB News, hundreds of people were intended to die. After the two students gunned down their classmates and teacher, they shot and killed themselves. At this time, the guns used in the shooting 2 are said to have been purchased from unlicensed dealers at gun shows, according to Yahoo News. For this reason and many others, stricter gun laws should be enacted to be able to purchase these types of weapons. In Asheville N.C., two... ...as Review-Journal. Due to the increasing amount of deaths that are caused by firearms, Congress should enact stricter gun control laws. However, they are not and more people are continuing to die on a daily basis due to that matter. Congress is continuously discussing ways of preventing convicted felons, mental patients, and illegal aliens from purchasing firearms, but do not fulfill the voters’ wishes of doing so. I feel that this is the government’s way to prevent the United States from becoming overpopulated, because they are not doing anything to stop this problem. On the other hand, if most of the United States population is killed by gunfire, then where is the tax money going to be derived from? In my opinion, there should be a way to eliminate the section of the Second Amendment that gave the citizens of the United States the right to bear arms.

Tragedy and the Common Man - Miller Redefines the Tragic Hero :: Tragedy and the Common Man Essays

Tragedy and the Common Man - Arthur Miller redefines the Tragic Hero Arthur Miller states in his essay, "Tragedy and the Common Man," " . . . we are often held to be below tragedy--or tragedy below us . . . (tragedy is) fit only for the highly placed . . . and where this admission is not made in so many words it is most often implied." However, Miller believes " . . . the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were" (1021). It is this belief that causes Miller to use a common man, Willie Loman, as the subject of his tragedy, Death of a Salesman. Miller redefines the tragic hero to fit a more modern age, and the product of this redefinition is Willie. Miller states, " . . . the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life . . . to secure one thing, his sense of personal dignity" (1021). Willie is no exception. Willie's sense of personal dignity is primarily found in his family, most notably his son Biff. Willie transfers his dreams of being great onto Biff and, when Biff is a failure in the world, these dreams affect Willie's self-image and sense of personal dignity. To regain this personal dignity, Willie must make Biff great. In the end, it is the love for his son and the belief that his insurance money will make Biff "magnificent" that give him the needed excuse and cause him to end his life. "Tragedy, then, is the consequence of a man's total compulsion to evaluate himself justly" (1021). It is the nature of man to make evaluations of himself based upon his peers. Willie's peer with whom he evaluates himself is Charley. Willie and Charley are about the same age, their children grew up together, and have been friends for many years. Charley has achieved what Willie has dreamed of for so long. Charley's son is a successful lawyer, whereas Biff is a loafer. Charley is successful in business, whereas Willie has "washed out." As mentioned before, for Willie to be great, Biff must be great. Willie has failed his job in making Biff better than Charley's son, therefore he fails his evaluations of himself. "The flaw Tragedy and the Common Man - Miller Redefines the Tragic Hero :: Tragedy and the Common Man Essays Tragedy and the Common Man - Arthur Miller redefines the Tragic Hero Arthur Miller states in his essay, "Tragedy and the Common Man," " . . . we are often held to be below tragedy--or tragedy below us . . . (tragedy is) fit only for the highly placed . . . and where this admission is not made in so many words it is most often implied." However, Miller believes " . . . the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were" (1021). It is this belief that causes Miller to use a common man, Willie Loman, as the subject of his tragedy, Death of a Salesman. Miller redefines the tragic hero to fit a more modern age, and the product of this redefinition is Willie. Miller states, " . . . the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to lay down his life . . . to secure one thing, his sense of personal dignity" (1021). Willie is no exception. Willie's sense of personal dignity is primarily found in his family, most notably his son Biff. Willie transfers his dreams of being great onto Biff and, when Biff is a failure in the world, these dreams affect Willie's self-image and sense of personal dignity. To regain this personal dignity, Willie must make Biff great. In the end, it is the love for his son and the belief that his insurance money will make Biff "magnificent" that give him the needed excuse and cause him to end his life. "Tragedy, then, is the consequence of a man's total compulsion to evaluate himself justly" (1021). It is the nature of man to make evaluations of himself based upon his peers. Willie's peer with whom he evaluates himself is Charley. Willie and Charley are about the same age, their children grew up together, and have been friends for many years. Charley has achieved what Willie has dreamed of for so long. Charley's son is a successful lawyer, whereas Biff is a loafer. Charley is successful in business, whereas Willie has "washed out." As mentioned before, for Willie to be great, Biff must be great. Willie has failed his job in making Biff better than Charley's son, therefore he fails his evaluations of himself. "The flaw

My Journey: Being A Person For Others

How I Became A Person For Others A synthesis paper In partial fulfillment of the requirements in the FOP subject Submitted to: Ms. Irish E. Bobtail Submitted by: Mr.. Glenn Ian E. Patella Date Submitted: October 7, 2014 Ad Majored Die Gloria, Magic, and Persons for Others – these are the common phrases expressed and uttered along the halls of Xavier University – Atone De Canaan. I am touched by the meaning of these values and practices since I am sort of new to this kind of environment.Now I know why this Institution Is prestigious and s being looked up by other people – it's because of the values they teach coupled with the quality education they offer. Going to Xavier University is an experience I will never ever forget; It's not about the name that the school carries; It's not about how seemingly glamorous you are when you walk down the streets wearing the school uniform; it's not about being classy and smart all at the same time, it's because here, they focus more on shaping you on to becoming the best of you, in service for others, the country and for God. In this school, I became a person for others.The first four months Vie spent here In Xavier are four months filled with vibrant colors and unforgettable shades. With its cheerful and Christ-centered aura, I knew that I was called here for a cause. The moment I stepped into the school with only a few steps away from becoming an official student, gleeful faces surrounded the university and seemingly elder students are trying their very best to make us feel at home. Successfully, I felt at home, it's as if I've been to this place before. Despite the air being sizzling and all, lye managed to enjoy my stay and tried my best to be as listen as I could.One things for sure that in college: it's definitely not the same with high school and you should practice being Independent and work harder. I found out that no matter how hardworking you are and excelled somehow In high school; some of it might change in college if you've changed in a slightly different way. If I could 1 OFF what I have now; I should've scanned for more rather than being contented by what is offered inside the walls from different classrooms; I should've spent a lot more time studying rather than focusing on some other activities, I should've practiced magic long the way.I don't want to sound as if my life is full of regrets, but, I also don't want to repeat some of the things Vie encountered this semester, literally. I believe that everything happens for a reason and God has plans, that God has a specific reason why things happen. With me on my weakest point was God – he was there and helped me through my obstacle. I told him that I would rise back and give my foremost power to be a good son for him. Despite the heavy load Vie carried along the pathway, I can say that being in here t the same time makes the load go away.Here, students are taught to be concerned for the environment and as well as the community. Sincerely, I was Just thrilled and excited at the thought that I would become a person for others; someone who's willing to sacrifice and give others a hand. Who wouldn't want that? So, I grabbed the chance. Also, thanks to the OFF 10 subject, I developed my prayer life. Being able to attend the prayer session workshop was an event I will carry across my heart for the rest of my life. It was Just life-changing! Indeed, everything happens for a reason.Going to Manners and experiencing the calming and peaceful atmosphere was fantastic. There, I met new friends and strengthen my connection with God. Furthermore, visiting the magnificent divine mercy along with my block mates was another remarkable event during this semester. It was my first time to visit the beautiful place and it was special, for me, that I'm with them. Being able to pray together and Just being peaceful with each other plus the silent and tranquil ambiance, the event turned out to be as splendid as I imagined.With all the activities that packed us into a strong and compelling group, the formation groups that shaped me into who I am today, the bonding I had with other people, I found myself sharing pieces of my life to each and every one of them. I am also glad that Vie picked bits of life lessons from people Vie met along the course. We are all men and women for each other. The semester can't be complete without this significant and fun-filled activity that we had in Consolation Elementary School.Smiles and laughter of children roared round the campus of their school when all of the students under OFF arrived at their destination. It was nice seeing young Filipinos that are lively, enthusiastic and carries potentials on becoming great people someday. Witnessing them enjoy the activities we've prepared makes me want to relive my younger years. I can now feel the sentiment of an adult. We planned on including the national anthem during the opening part of our little program wit h the kids, but, they proceeded in reciting the patriotic vows of our country!We were quite stunned, but hey, they got the Filipino parity in them. Of course, we tried our very best to entertain them and stand in front of them as role models. There, I realized how crucial everything can be when handling children. You must always set a very good example for them to follow, if we want to see a bright and harmonious tomorrow ahead of us. We served them food and drinks to complete this one of a kind experience. It was clear through their eyes that they had fun as much as we did and it totally feels good to make them happy. Happiness despite being buried by heavy load.In little ways, I served my fellow Monterrey by bringing Joy to their young and youthful hearts. Being helpful and concerned for the welfare of others is something that bursts out from within you. It can't be Just taught inside the classroom and the ideas are left, trapped within the four walls. You shape your own life with the guide of God through his own creations. You become a person for others if you believe that you already are and you should act what you perceive. As I close one chapter of my story here in Xavier University, I hope that the following chapters will be as bright as the sun.The heaper did mold me into becoming the product of what the school had envisioned its students to become: men and women for others. I became closer to God and I should serve him as my father and ultimate creator; I contributed small things to other people's lives and became a part of theirs as much as they are also a part of mine; I indulged myself into setting a good example for my young fellow countrymen to follow. In the process, my life was filled with ups and downs – a sign that I am alive and I will continue to do what Vie started. And that is how I became a person for others.