A Perspective on Water Crisis Essay Example for Free

A Perspective on Water Crisis Essay Global water crisis is one of the biggest problems that the world is facing. Freshwater resources are increasingly becoming scarce today and probably for the next decades. Less than one-half of 1% of all the water on the planet comprises the available fresh and clean water (Maude). Humans already used more than half of the world’s clean fresh water and by the year 2025 the consumption of freshwater will increase to three-quarters. Global water consumption becomes double every 20 years and if this trend continues, the supply of freshwater will not be enough for the demand of the world’s population by 2025. World Bank and World Heath Organization noted that there are about 2 billion people have no access to clean and safe water and about 1 billion people have no enough clean water to meet their daily water requirements. Depleted water resources are attributed to the intensive urbanization, deforestation, water diversion, industrial farming and population growth. As the world population increases, the consumption of accessible freshwater may grow six-fold (Maude). As a result of water crisis, lots of people suffer and die from water and sanitation related diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, and hepatitis. Unfortunately, most of the poorest countries in the globe are the ones who are experiencing water shortage. Uganda is located at the Sub-Saharan Africa and is among the poorest countries around the globe. The country relies solely on agricultural industry however, less than half of the arable land is subject for cultivation. Large part of the land area (more or less 82%) of the country is arable, however more than 67% of the country has poor ferralitic soil which has nearly lost its mineral content due to prolonged weathering. Thus, proper soil management is needed for the soil to regain its lost nutrients. The economy of the country has a great potential, considering the potentials of its agriculture and natural resources. There is a great possibility that Uganda will recover from difficulties, most especially from poverty. However, due to some existing problems that the country is facing, it seems to be difficult for Uganda to escape from poverty. One of the biggest problems that the country is facing today is water crisis. Water crisis definitely affect the country as a whole contributes to Uganda’s poverty and worsen her current situation (Dauda, 2003). The country of Uganda is definitely endowed with water resources. About 18% of the total surface area of the country is covered with renewable water resources including lakes, rivers and wetlands. Approximately, it can supply an individual of Uganda with 2,800 m of water in a year (Dauda, 2003). These fresh water resources are considered as the essential resource for sustaining life, preserving the environment, uphold development and alleviating poverty in the country. It has direct impact the quality of life of Ugandans and their productivity as a whole. Water is very essential to Uganda since it plays an essential role in the production of sufficient supply of food for the country as well as supplying electric power all over the country. It is the key resource of the country’s agriculture, food processing and other agro-industries which provides employment to the people of Uganda. Aside from supporting Uganda’s agriculture and industry, water also provides electric power to the country. Indeed, it is the source of hydropower which is the country’s main resource of abundant and cheap electric power. The socio-economic development of the country depends solely on the energy produced from hydropower. Inadequate power supply cannot support Uganda’s large-scale manufacturing industries and agro-industries which may lead to low economic level of the country (National Water Development Report, 2005). The major freshwater resources of Uganda include rainfall, surface or open water and groundwater. Rainfall is the most vital source of freshwater of the country. The rainfall pattern in the country greatly influences the land use potential and consequently the population distribution. The rainfall pattern of Uganda is influenced by the local topography and the presence of Lake Victoria. Rainfall in Uganda tends to increase with altitude; meanwhile, rainfall is apt to decrease with the distance from the lake. High rainfall is noted on the central and western parts of Lake Victoria and over the mountain. Another factor that determines the occurrence of rainfall is the country’s season. The most stable rain season in Uganda is from the months of March to May; meanwhile, the reported variable rainy months in Uganda is from October to December (National Water Development Report, 2005). The major freshwater resources of Uganda are in the form of lakes and rivers. These open sources are often used for the supply of hydropower in the country. The major resources of hydropower in Uganda are the Nile River and Lake Victoria. Lake Victoria supports the fisheries industry of Uganda and provide water supply to the majority of people of Uganda. Indeed, the Lake is also supporting the agriculture industry along its shoreline (National Water Development Report, 2005). However, the Lake’s potential use for the future is now in question since it is experiencing dying up which leads to lower water levels. The available water left in Lake Victoria may not be enough to sustain the required hydroelectric power generation (Xinhua News Agency). Other water bodies include Kyoga, Albert, George, Edward, Ruizi, Katonga, Kafu, Mpologoma and Aswa (National Water Development Report, 2005). Some of these lakes, most especially those on the western and central part are also drying up due to drought which threatens the cattle industry in the area. Cattles have little access to water which may lead to lower production rate and low quality of Cattles (Xinhua News Agency). In addition to drought, the quality of surface water has been deteriorating with time. In most parts of the country, surface and ground water are already polluted due to increased urbanization and population as well as human activities such as poor agricultural practices, poor sanitation practices, industrial waste discharge, and mining activities (National Water Development Report, 2005). Aquifers, which can only be generated and recharged by endogenous precipitation, are also essential resource of freshwater in Uganda. It is the major source of water in rural, semi-arid and arid areas in the country. The occurrence of groundwater is highly dependent on the geologic formation in the country. Uganda is endowed with productive aquifers water; this can be attributed to the geology of Uganda which is dominated by crystalline Basement Complex of pre-Cambrian age. More than 90% of the country is underlie by different kinds of rocks which predominantly include granites, granitoid gneisses and gneisses. Ground water resources are generally found on the underground layer of unconsolidated materials such as weathered bedrock, silt and clay. This groundwater can only be extracted through wells. The highest yielding and productive groundwater can be found in weathered-fractured bedrock which has high permeability (National Water Development Report, 2005). In general, the groundwater of Uganda is in good and sound condition. There are no traces of toxic substances that may threaten the health of the people in Uganda. Moreover, these aquifers have significant amount of minerals such as aluminum, calcium, magnesium metal cations, chloride, iron, manganese and chromium that may not cause harm to the people of Uganda. Consequently, there are few parts of the country that are found to have high amounts of these minerals and have traces of high nitrate and chromium levels in some areas. Aside from high amount of minerals, it was also reported that some parts of the country have found to be positive in Coliform bacteria. Contamination of the aquifers is attributed to deterioration of the borehole casings, leaching of sewage wastes, weathering of aquifer environment as well as poor sanitation condition in the areas around the aquifers (National Water Development Report 2005). In general, the availability and preservation of water resources in Uganda solely relies on various environmental, sociological and cultural factors. The availability of freshwater resources depends on the distribution of water bodies on the country. It is known that freshwater resources in Uganda constitute a great part of the country. However, due to its uneven distribution and seasonality, availability of water is still a big problem on most parts of the country. Ugandans find it difficult to have an easy access to fresh and clean water. Women together with their young are spending so much time and energy on walking a mile-long way just to fetch water from areas with sufficient supply of clean water. The uneven distribution of water resources in the country also influences the agro-industry in the country. Cattle raisers tend to transfer from place to place just to find safe and sufficient water for the cattles. As a result, disease spread and transfer brought by the cattles becomes prevalent on various regions of the country (Xinhua News Agency). Meanwhile, uneven distribution of groundwater greatly influenced the accessibility of Ugandans to clean water. Regions endowed with productive groundwater are indeed rich in geological characteristics (National Water Development Report 2005). The occurrence of extreme weather conditions has a great effect on the availability and safety of water on the country. Heavy rains may cause to flooding and consequently may contaminate the water resources of the some regions in the country. Contaminated water may result to more serious problems such as disease outbreaks, epidemics and even death. Contaminated water is the key reason to the high and increasing mortality rate of Ugandans especially of infants (National Water Development Report 2005). It is reported that most number of mortality occurs on infants and this can be attributed to less accessibility to clean and safe water. Meanwhile, erratic rainfall and seasonality of the occurrence of rainfall in the country resulted to desertification of arable lands. These definitely affect several industries in the country especially those that greatly depend on water (i. e. agricultural industries) (Dauda, 2003). Some of the suspected major reasons of water resources deterioration in Uganda are rapid growth population, urbanization, industrialization, relentless environmental degradation and deforestation as well as pollution. High population density greatly influenced the availability of water resources in Uganda. The population of Uganda in 2007 is approximately 30. 9 million and more than half of it is comprised of infants. The country has an average annual growth rate of 3. 4% which is one of the highest growth rates in the globe. The demand for water relatively increased while the supply decreased with high population density. And as what the country is experiencing, there is no enough clean water for all. Increased population accompanied by urbanization and industrialization resulted to increased pollution and deforestation. Most of the land bodies are converted to industries which produces toxic wastes that pollute the environment especially water bodies. This contributes to the decreased supply of water in Uganda. Depleted water supply is also attributed to poor agricultural practices in the country such as cultivation, pastoral activities, and livestock practices. Poor sanitation is also identified as a possible cause of freshwater shortage in Uganda. Some of the land owners that cultivate their own lands seem to be unaware of environmentally sustainable practices. They have poor knowledge on these methods that they do any practices which may pollute their environment. These practices accompanied by poor sanitation will indeed bring negative effect on Uganda’s environment. Poor sanitation practices are among the factors that contribute to depleted water supply and water related diseases in Uganda. Fetching and purifying water are very labor intensive, considering the distance that Ugandans walk just to obtain clean and safe water. They often share and obtain polluted water from water resources where farm animals usually dwell. However, as an everyday routine, it became arduous to the people of Uganda to fetch water from distance places and to consume so much time purifying the water that they fetched. People tend to ignore the hazard that the contaminated water may bring them; they just drink the water as ease without purifying it. As a result, development of water related diseases became prevalent in Uganda (Dauda, 2003). Another major factor that leads to water shortage in Uganda is global warming. Majority of Uganda’s water table, especially the northern and northeastern part is dry due to global warming and environmental degradation (Dauda, 2003). Global warming may also contribute to the occurrence on the extreme weather condition in the country such as El Nino and La Nina. Moreover, these parts of the country are experiencing wide fluctuations in the availability of water between wet and dry seasons as well as variations in the onset of rainfall as a result of the extreme weather conditions (National Water Development Report 2005). Prolonged drought, which leads to drying up of significant water tables of Uganda, has also threatened the food security in the country. Due to prolonged drought, production of staple foods of Ugandans such as sorghum and millet relatively decreased (EuropaWorld). Just like any other country, Uganda is rich in traditions and belief. They value their culture so much it comes to a point that their beliefs and traditions hinder the possibility of development in their country. There are existing cultural norms that are related to the water bodies in Uganda. Some of the water bodies in Uganda are believed to have special healing powers for many diseases and supernatural dwellers as well. Moreover, these water bodies have potentials for many significant uses such as hydropower resource and irrigation for agricultural industries. However, due to close cultural attachment of people of Uganda to these water resources, the government found it difficult to create potential programs that will optimize the use of the water resources in the country (National Water Development Report 2005). Aside from various problems stated previously that have great impact on freshwater availability, Uganda’s neighboring regions seem to contribute on the water crisis that it is experiencing. Majority of Uganda’s freshwater resources have existing crossing frontiers which bound the country from maximizing its use on its own water resources within its territory. Though they have legal riparian rights to have a share on the water resources, these transboundaries definitely affect the socio-economic growth of the country since water is considered to be as the key player in the development of Uganda (Encounter Uganda Well Health). For one thing, these transboundaries serve as the main competitors of Uganda from the available water resources. People of Uganda have little access to large water resources since they are restricted to come across the boundary of another country. Moreover, these crossing frontiers not only prevent Uganda from optimizing its available freshwater resources but source of food and employment as well (National Water Development Report 2005). In order to unravel the existing problems in Uganda, its government decided to make some modifications on its various sectors, most especially the water sector. Several studies and situational analyses are conducted by the water sector that leads to preparation of comprehensive strategy of water sector and investment strategies. The government has anticipated many factors and they made it possible that the strategies may still be implemented on the sector up to 2015. The government has already started implementing some of the strategies and one of these is Sector Wide Approach to Planning (SWAP). SWAP requires all stakeholders to participate in the planning and implementation of the sector’s activities while optimizing benefits for all. The strategy has provided a regular budget on the programs that are made which is relatively different to the previous programs that the sector has made (National Water Development Report 2005). Another significant program that also aimed to promote sustainable management and development of water resources of the riparian regions is the Collaborative Partnership Program. The program is focused in improving the coordination of efforts of the different stakeholders. The program is also focused on harmonizing strategies and plans that involves sustainable management and development of the shared water resources. This makes Uganda very eager to have a close relationship with its neighboring regions. Uganda became enthusiastic with regard to making joint plan, management and development of the water resources that they shared. Uganda’s aim on making collaboration with her transboundaries is for all of them to obtain fair benefits from the water resources as well as to ensure that they will get sufficient supply of clean water. Fair utilization and consumption of shared water provide a high opportunity for sustainable use of resources as well as sustainable growth and development. Moreover, Uganda will be able to support its economic and social objectives through collaborating with its cross frontiers (National Water Development Report 2005). The riparian countries including Uganda will have comparable advantages from the equitable use of shared water. While building a close relationship with the riparian countries, the potentials of the existing industries in Uganda may be developed through collaboration with her neighboring regions. Advancement in its industries may lead to economic development of the country and in turn advancement on the quality of life and well being of its whole nation. Meanwhile, there are potential conflicts identified in the implementation of collaboration program between the riparian countries. Aside from the common objective that the riparian countries agreed on making the joint collaboration, these countries also have different interests which make a potential conflict between them. They made plans and implemented projects which do not take into consideration the wide coverage of the shared water resources. They do not anticipate the possible conflicts that may arise by implanting their plans. As a result, some of their individual plans for the development of their own countries are contradicting with the plans of other countries. Plans of other countries will not be possible if other countries’ plan will be allowed. Another issue that makes the joint program complicated is the mistrust among the cross frontiers. This issue seems to be unavoidable since the riparian countries have different objectives and interest in joining the joint program. They refuse to show their own data regarding the shared water resources as well as information of their plans and strategies. Since the riparian countries have no idea of the plans and programs of other riparian countries there are instances that the individual projects implemented are the same with other countries (National Water Development Report 2005). The last issue identified is the restoration of the environment. One of the minor objectives of the joint program is to conserve the environment; however, it is found to be difficult to implement their plans and projects while not taking into consideration the possible negative effect that it may bring to their environment. The main concern here is the methods of the activities and projects as well as the way these are conducted. Countries located on the downstream of the shared water resources are threatened by the possible effect of the activities that the upstream countries are conducting. Also due to mistrust, they are not guaranteed that the upstream countries are performing the activities in a proper way. It is essential that both the upstream and downstream countries will conduct their programs and projects in such a way that these programs will not affect that conservation of environment that they are promoting in the country. Through this little start, there will be a great possibility that their countries will surpass big problems such as water crisis and most of all poverty. References Barlow, Maude. The global water crisis and the Commodification of the worlds water supply A Special Report issued by the International Forum on Globalization (IFG). Retrieved May 30, 2008, from http://www. thirdworldtraveler. com/Water/Global_Trade_BG. html Toure, Dauda. 2003. The Millennium Development Goals Progress Report for Uganda. Retrieved May30, 2008, from http://www. undg. org/archive_docs/6197-Denmark_MDG_Report. pdf 2005. National Water Development Report: Uganda. Retrieved May 30, 2008, from http://www. unesdoc. unesco. org/images/0014/001467/146760E. pdf Xinhua News Agency. 2006. Lakes in Uganda dry up due to prolonged drought. Retrieved May 29, 2008, from highbeam. com/doc database. Encounter Uganda Well Health. Retrieved May 29, 2008 from water_website database. EuropaWorld. 2003, February 21. Northern Uganda: The Forgotten Crisis. Retrieved May 29, 2008, from http://www. europaworld. org/week117/northernuganda21203. htm

The Built Environment And Tourism

The Built Environment And Tourism Tourism has been one of the economic success stories of the last 40 years. It has grown into a major component of the world economy and one of the most highly developed and dynamic industries with an important contribution to incomes and employment. Tourism has been rapidly growing sector and a wide-sweeping socioeconomic phenomenon with broad economic, social, cultural and environmental consequences. It is likely that tourism will continue to dominate the international scene for many years to come. (Sharma, 2011) The environment is perhaps one of the most significant contributors to the popularity and attractiveness of a destination. Sceneries, pleasant climates and unique landscape features have an imperative influence in tourism development and the spatial distribution of tourist movements. Apart from environment, the other important tourist puller is culture in all its diversity across continents. Cultural tourism has long existed, but recent demographic, social, and cultural changes in the main source countries have led to an increasing number of new niche markets in destination countries, including culture-oriented holidays. However, like other forms of development, tourism has also contributed to its share of problems, such as social interruption, loss of cultural heritage, economic dependence and environmental degradation. (UNEP, WTO, 2005). Learning about the brunt of tourism has led many tourists to seek more conscientious holidays. These incorporate various forms of sustainable tourism such as: nature-based tourism, ecotourism and cultural tourism. The major problems arise because the environment (at least in the short term) is a zero priced public good and as with any zero-priced good, is subject to excess demand and over-utilization. This over-utilization of the natural resources and exploitation of cultural heritage especially during the peak periods of tourist activity as well as often ill planned tourism development, have provided a number of examples where tourism is in conflict with the environment (Coccossis, Parpairis, 1995). Not only that, as a result of environmental consciousness, a grea t number of alternative forms of tourism been developed in the last decade. Sustainable Tourism promotes limited-scale, low-impact, community-based activities. It may be defined as tourism that gives stress to the contact and understanding between the hosts and the tourist, as well as the surroundings (Smith Eadington, 1992) or as tourism consistent with the natural, social and community values and that allows a constructive relationship among locals and tourists. (Wearing Neil, 1999). Sustainable environment requires sustainable design. Architecture and design can preserve the memorable and old monuments while it can also create new and attractive qualities in which people can use and enjoy. Architecture has the talent of defining spaces and therefore has a powerful influence on the human behaviour and understanding and this is exactly what is always taken into account in sustainability, maximizing economic benefit and preserving the ecosystem. But what should be the approach to this design to achieve all goals of sustainable tourism or rather what are the tools and principles of architecture that need to be adopted to embrace sustainable tourism need to be developed. Thus the question to be answered is: What should be the architectural approach for sustainable tourism? Defining Sustainable Tourism Sustainable tourism is often considered to be a special kind of tourism that appeals to a particular market niche that is sensitive to environmental and social impacts. This is a narrow view as sustainable tourism is much more than a discreet or special form of tourism. The term sustainable tourism refers to a primary objective to make all tourism more sustainable. It is a continual process of improvement, one which applies equally to tourism in cities, resorts, rural and coastal areas, hills and protected areas. It should be thought of as a division of tourism, not a type of tourism. Sustainable tourism is based on the three pillars of sustainability (economic, social and environmental) and is simply defined by the World Tourism Organization as: Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social, and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities. (WTO, 2005), Sustainability is a process and not an end state. The built environment and Tourism Tourism has an adverse effect on built environment. It could be on architectural faà §ade, change of landuse, overburdening of infrastructure etc. Large scale construction of tourist facilities and other infrastructure tends to change the land use of an area and also disturb the natural ecological harmony of a destination. Also tourism brings changes to the vernacular technology and sometimes the traditional constructions simply vanish giving way to modern construction which is most of the time not following and principles of sustainability. Instead they create harm to the destination, eventually losing the character, being environmentally disturbing and not suited to the needs apart from commercial aspect. Some of the other impacts of tourism on built environment and architecture of a place are: over-intensive urbanization, illegal constructions, pollution, negative aesthetic changes, degradation of quality etc. Need Identification Tourism now accounts for 10% of the worlds economic activity but at the same time it has major impacts on the natural and built environments and as well as on well being and cultures of host population. Ecological, social and economic sustainability are intertwined. Tourism and architecture may be connected to the benefit of the two and ultimately to the benefit of the people. There has been only a very little research on the role of architecture and the approach that should be followed when targeting sustainable tourism. Since building activities like construction of hotels, guest houses, tourist centres, commercial centers etc dominate the development of tourism at any place, there is a need to develop an approach and policy on architectural developments as part of sustainable tourism. This problem is of fundamental importance as it has led to the absence of an adequate theoretical foundation for understanding the dynamics of alternative tourism and the social activities it involves and responding to it accordingly. Sustainable design and planning do not jeopardize the economical benefits that a healthy tourism industry can bring; on the contrary, they can enhance local peculiarities and make use of traditional knowledge and expertise. Where sustainable methods and materials are employed, buildings can be both ecologically and economically profitable, thanks to their lower construction and life cycle costs. This dissertation will be a small effort in the same direction. Scope Sustainability does not require a diminished quality of life, but it does require a change in mindset and values toward a less consumptive lifestyle. These changes must embrace overall interdependence, ecological stewardship, social responsibility and economic feasibility. Various government bodies, international organizations and conventions have stated the importance of tourism and its sustainability. Many countries as well wish to or have already initiated the pursuit to policies of sustainable tourism. In fact one of the most important issues in sustainable development of tourism resources is the consideration and expansion of design and construction standards in order to reach an optimum use of energy, water and land resources. The scope of the study will be to understand sustainable tourism and its forms keeping in mind the delicate destinations specially, be it in terms of their ecosystem, cultural heritage or economic stability and state principles that should govern the architectural design and planning of the tourism infrastructure keeping in mind sustainability as defined above. To lay down the architectural ethics in planning and designing of tourist needs like hotels, guest houses , activity centres etc suitable to the ecosystem ,society and economy. The study will concentrate on the fragile destinations since there is more need there but the applications will be in general universal. The scope of research is in guidelines published by international bodies keeping in mind Indian destinations. Limitations The case studies where sustainable tourism developments have been implemented will not be accessible physically and the research will have to depend on secondary sources of data. The primary case study will be covering a destination which is fragile ecologically, culturally and economically. It might not be possible to make multiple visits and at the same time while doing the survey the lack of academic knowledge regarding the subject amongst hosts could lead it directionless. None of the tourist destinations in India has adopted sustainable tourism as a whole. Few resorts, localities etc have adopted sustainability within them. Sustainable tourism is a relatively new term; the research on it will be limited to data over the past 3o years only. Since the scope has to be limited the research will concentrate particularly on role of architecture in sustainable tourism and not other means of achieving it. When formulating the survey questionnaire, the lack of knowledge about sustainable tourism might lead to indirect framing of questions. Also people will have to be relied upon for being honest which might not be the case for all. 1.7 References and Bibliography References Khaksar,A., Tahmouri,A., Hoseinrazavi,S., 2001, The Reciprocal Effects Of Architecture And Tourism: The Sustainability Approach, Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran, Iran Sharma,K., 2011, Sustainable Tourism Development Through Sustainable Architecture: A Projected Case Study of Coxs Bazaar, Bangladesh. Masters thesis, University of Huddersfield UNEP and WTO, 2005, Making Tourism More sustainable: A guide for policy makers

The Battle Of Iwo Jima

The Battle Of Iwo Jima During World War II on February 19, 1945, the United States of America and the Empire of Japan fought for Iwo Jima, a small island approximately 660 miles away from Japan. Codenamed Operation Detachment by the United States, the battle lasted for 35 days, ending on March 26, 1945, and it remains the largest battle in Marine Corps history, with some 75,144 men being deployed to fight (Frank). The battle of Iwo Jima also marked the first time that American casualties were higher than Japanese casualties in an amphibious assault. American casualties reached 24,733 while Japanese casualties were a little over 21,570 (Frank Naval History). This number was due to the leadership of the Japanese during the battle. The general who was in command of the Japanese forces at Iwo Jima was Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi. During the battle for Iwo Jima, Lieutenant General Kuribayashi would show that he was one of Japans finest Generals. In preparation for the upcoming battle, Lieutenant General Kuribayashi chose to focus his defense on the Northern two-thirds of Iwo Jima, instead on the beaches where the United States would land troops (Frank). Kuribayashi knew that Japan would not beat the United States, simply because of the amount of soldiers the United States would send. Knowing this, Kuribayashi decided to not focus his efforts on the southern beaches and lose quickly to a superior American force, but instead Kuribayashi decided to create strong defensive positions on the rest of the island to increase the amount of American casualties. It was Kuribayashis belief that if his forces could inflict enough American casualties, the United States would not be compelled to invade Japan, fearin g that they would lose too many soldiers. In the Pacific Campaign of World War II, the United States used a strategy called island hopping, where the United States would attack a Japanese controlled island, capture it, and then repeat the process until they got to Japan. This was the United States strategy to defeat Japan, and the island of Iwo Jima was the next island to be captured. Iwo Jima was also strategically important because of the airfields located on it (Burrell). Iwo Jima was close enough to Japan where the United States could use the airfields on Iwo Jima to attack Japan through the air with B-29 bombers. This was the main reason why Japan defended the island so heavily. While the island of Iwo Jima was defensively important to the defense of mainland Japan, it was of little offensive importance because by this time Japans strategy was strictly based of the defense of mainland Japan. One Japanese officer described Iwo Jimas offensive relevance as such, Our first line Army and Naval air forces had been exhausted in the recent Philippines Operation. The anticipation to restore our air forces, bringing their combined number to 3,000 planes, could materialize only by March or April and even then, mainly because the types of airplanes and their performance proved to be impracticable for operations extending beyond 550 miles radius, we could not use them for operations in the Bonin Islands area (Burrell). Before the actually land invasion began, the United States bombed the southern part of Iwo Jima, three days before where they would land their troops. This is where American intelligence significantly failed in two ways. It underestimated Kuribayashis forces by at least a third, and completely missed Kuribayashis intent to make his last stand at the north end of the island, instead of facing the Americans head on at the south end. These errors ended up causing the misdirection of the three day bombardment, the heaviest of the war, to the southern landing beaches, instead of focusing on the northern side of the island, where the majority of Kuribayashis forces would be. When the land invasion did begin, Americans forces were met with no resistance by the Japanese. Instead of attacking the landing forces head on, the Japanese waited for the Americans to advance onto the beach, than ambushed them as they closed in towards the Japanese position. Not only did the ambush cause a great number of initial American casualties, it was difficult for the marines to fight back due to the terrain of the beach. Instead of the beach being made out of sand, it was full of volcanic ash, which made it hard for the landing forces to dig into the ground and defend themselves. One marine described it as, trying to fight in a bin of loose wheat (Frank). American forces were able to eventually break the Japanese line, and on February 23, 1945, the southern end of Iwo Jima was captured by American forces. As the United States pushed forward, they were met with heavy resistance from the Japanese who were well fortified and prepared to face the enemy. The more up north the United States went, the harder it became for them to fight. The Japanese had dug many bunkers into the terrain, and were successful at using ambush tactics against the marines which only made their advance more difficult. As the battle continued, marines started better adapting to fighting the Japanese on rough terrain, and with their superior forces drove the Japanese back until they could retreat no more. Marines fought for a long and tiring 35 days until on March 26, 1945, the island was officially said to be secure by American forces. In addition to being a historic battle in World War II, the battle of Iwo Jima has also had a significant effect on American culture. You can see traces of the battle in many art forms and popular media in America. The Raising of the Flag on Iwo Jima, a picture taken by American photographer Joe Rosenthal, depicts five marines and navy corpsman raising the flag on Mount Suribachi, at the southern end of Iwo Jima, on February 23, 1945. The photograph became a symbol for American patriotism during World War II, and the picture was even commemorated by being put on a postage stamp. You can also see the battle depicted in a movie directed by Clint Eastwood called Letters from Iwo Jima. In the movie Clint Eastwood shows the battle of Iwo Jima from the Japanese side, depicting what Japanese soldiers experienced as the battle was fought. The movie won an Academy Award for best sound editing, and was nominated for three more for its depiction of the historic battle. In conclusion, the battle of Iwo Jima was one of the most important battles in the Pacific front World War II. With the United States successfully able to capture the island of Iwo Jima, they acquired the airfields on the island. With these airfields now under United States control, B-29 bombers would now be able to use the island to launch aerial assaults towards Japan, and would be able to use it as a fueling station closer to Japan. The battle also showed the United States how far the Japanese were willing to go to defend their homeland. Out of the initial more than 20,000 force, only 1,083 Japanese soldiers were captured alive (Frank). This showed the United States that Japanese soldiers were willing to fight to the death to defend their home, and that if the United States was planning on invading Japan, the amount of casualties would have been catastrophic.

Domestic Violence Facts and Myths :: Violence Against Women Essays

In this paper I will be telling you many different forms of domestic violence. I will include the physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal abuse, spiritual abuse, economic abuse, social abuse, and emotional abuse. I will also describe the "cycle of violence", teen dating violence, and why women stay with an abusive partner. Physical abuse takes many forms including hitting, punching, pulling hair, slapping, grabbing, biting, kicking, breaking bones, bruising, burning, twisting arms, throwing victims against walls and furniture, throwing objects and using weapons. It also includes damaging household goods, killing pets, and denial of human needs, like sleep and nutrition. Assault can be of a life-threatening nature resulting in broken bones, miscarriages and other serious injuries. A substantial proportion of victims are threatened or assaulted with weapons such as knives, firearms and axes. Physical violence can result in murder and often leads to serious physical injury. The injuries are not always obvious as abusers often make sure the signs of their attacks are hidden under clothing. For many women there is a real and constant threat of death because of the seriousness of the abuse. Sexual abuse in the home is domestic violence. Sexual intercourse without consent is sexual assault. Sexual assault may or may not involve physical force. Sexual abuse is unwanted sexual contact. Many men still believe that they have the right to unlimited sexual access to their wives. Verbal abuse consists of derogatory comments, insults and constant put- downs. Lack of physical attractiveness, inferiority, inability to cope and succeed on her own and being told that she is not a good mother/wife/housekeeper. Over time this constant humiliation will destroy a women's belief in herself and severely affect her self-esteem. She begins to take on the abusive descriptions as if they are real and therefore may start to believe that she's worthless, that the violence is her fault. It must be kept in mind that responsibility for the violence lies solely with the perpetrator, not the victim. Threats are very common form of verbal abuse, aimed at terrorizing the woman to such and extent that the abuser is in total control. Threats by a man to kill a woman if she leaves him are often reported by victims of domestic violence. Emotional abuse closely linked to verbal abuse, these behaviors are also aimed at terrorizing the victim and stripping her of her self-confidence. Behaviors include destroying household/personal property deliberately hurting/injuring/killing domestic pets, deprivation of essential personal

Inline or Online :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Inline† or â€Å"online†, this very question is being asked by many different schools all around the country. As we enter a new age of technology, more and more schools are beginning to see the benefits of being â€Å"online†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Over 100 years ago Albert Einstein could have never imagined this thing we call the Internet. Although he was busy discovering nuclear fusion and theory’s to explain even the most puzzling questions, the Internet was never a thought that would come up. The Internet can be used to find all sorts of information, from the author of a famous book that you’ve been dying to read, or the stock quotes for the day. The Internet is a very useful tool that has proven effective in many schools. Unfortunately, the Internet can be a dangerous tool used to corrupt and to destroy people’s lives and families. The North Carolina Regional Educational Laboratory stated in 1995 â€Å"We believe that technology that does not advance a student's learning has little value in the classroom. Technology used in conjunction with the most recent research and development findings on learning, however, can help all students achieve in school†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The potential for growth of the educational resources available throughout the Internet are endless. However, there are some concerns. For one thing, there currently is no censorship, which means that students can access some material not appropriate for them. Any individual or group does not control the Internet. Congress is currently examining this, but the problem is that the Internet is not located in one specific place, country, or continent, in which, the U.S. Congress has no jurisdiction. A second concern is the improper use of the Internet. Many schools as well as districts need to establish Acceptable Use Policies. These policies clearly have to state the ground rules for student online computer use, and must be signed by both students and parents before the students may participate on Internet related projects. Another concern is that there is no systematic information system. There is no uniformity while searching for information. There are plenty of se arch engines. Some are easy and others not so easy to access. There is the need to have some information assistance. Sometimes, it becomes a major challenge to locate materials. At the same time many people are building home pages with references to their favorite links, this ultimately will build good reference materials. Inline or Online :: essays research papers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Inline† or â€Å"online†, this very question is being asked by many different schools all around the country. As we enter a new age of technology, more and more schools are beginning to see the benefits of being â€Å"online†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Over 100 years ago Albert Einstein could have never imagined this thing we call the Internet. Although he was busy discovering nuclear fusion and theory’s to explain even the most puzzling questions, the Internet was never a thought that would come up. The Internet can be used to find all sorts of information, from the author of a famous book that you’ve been dying to read, or the stock quotes for the day. The Internet is a very useful tool that has proven effective in many schools. Unfortunately, the Internet can be a dangerous tool used to corrupt and to destroy people’s lives and families. The North Carolina Regional Educational Laboratory stated in 1995 â€Å"We believe that technology that does not advance a student's learning has little value in the classroom. Technology used in conjunction with the most recent research and development findings on learning, however, can help all students achieve in school†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The potential for growth of the educational resources available throughout the Internet are endless. However, there are some concerns. For one thing, there currently is no censorship, which means that students can access some material not appropriate for them. Any individual or group does not control the Internet. Congress is currently examining this, but the problem is that the Internet is not located in one specific place, country, or continent, in which, the U.S. Congress has no jurisdiction. A second concern is the improper use of the Internet. Many schools as well as districts need to establish Acceptable Use Policies. These policies clearly have to state the ground rules for student online computer use, and must be signed by both students and parents before the students may participate on Internet related projects. Another concern is that there is no systematic information system. There is no uniformity while searching for information. There are plenty of se arch engines. Some are easy and others not so easy to access. There is the need to have some information assistance. Sometimes, it becomes a major challenge to locate materials. At the same time many people are building home pages with references to their favorite links, this ultimately will build good reference materials.

Week 1 Assignment

Working for a big company, there is always something new to learn and new work that comes our way. There are many different personalities. We were always training and learning new material and tools to use to make our work more effective and productive. We would have meetings that were hours long so everyone can train on the new work and tools we had coming our way. Most of the people were struggling to learn the new tools. I was taking a class in which we were learning about peoples’ different learning styles. I thought all the training we were doing would be a great project for the class I was taking.I brought it to my bosses’ attention that I think that people are not learning because everyone has a different learning style. She was convinced that people were just tired and busy that’s why they could not understand the material. I wanted to test this theory. I suggested if we can give the employees on our team a learning test to see which way they better leane d. The results were exactly what I thought they were. Everyone had different learning styles. It turns out that most of the people on our team learned best Hands-On. Others were visual and the rest learned best by reading the material.This type of research method is best described as Correlation Research (positive correlation) because I was determining if two sets of variables are associated and if the variables increase or decrease. In this case when people used a learning method that fit best for them, they had better results for learning. When they were using a learning method that was not best for them, they were not learning the material. If I could have done anything different it would have been to test peoples’ personalities to determine if certain personalities learned a certain way. This would have gone more in depth as to why people learn the way they do.

The Core of Religion, Art, and Faith

The Core of Religion, Art, and Faith When reading both the texts of Georges Bataille and Soren Kierkegaard, the reader is taken on an exploration of humanity. Although approached differently, this humanity is shown to be intimately intertwined with religion by both authors. Bataille studiously delves into the mind of the prehistoric man through his cave art in an attempt to understand and define what it means to be human. The art of this prehistoric man is the art of a consciousness at war with what it is and what it will become.It depicts a duality of identities. On one side the animalistic identity at one with nature and on the other side a creative rational identity that uses nature. This dual-meaning shown in the cave paintings lifts them to more than mere art. It is the visual first step in the transition from the simple to the complex. The cave art served as more than a creative outlet for our human ancestors. It held more of a ritualistic importance. They respected and loved t he animals they hunted but also degradingly used them as an instrument for personal survival.Bataille points out that it was in the ritual act of drawing the animal that the hunter created a spiritual connection. â€Å"Everything points to the fact that the carvings or the paintings did not have meaning as permanent figures of a sanctuary in which rituals were celebrated. It seems that the execution of the paintings–or the carving–was itself part of these rituals. . . The nascent[developing] image ensured the approach of the beast and the communication of the hunter with the hunted. † (75)The animals on the cave walls possessed a divine strength in the eyes of prehistoric man and as a result the hunt, and the drawing of the hunt, were a religious experience. Perhaps even the first religious experiences. As a product of the previously mentioned duality present in prehistoric man, the hunter used art as a corporeal representation of their remorse towards their des ired prey. â€Å"†¦ for the men of primitive times. . . the act of killing could also be shameful. Many primitive men ask for forgiveness beforehand for the evil that they are about to do to the animal they are pursuing. . For primitive human beings, the animal is not a thing. And this characterizes very broadly all of primitive humanity, for whom ordinary animality is rather divine. † (Bataille 54-55) To Bataille, â€Å"†¦ the world of understanding is to religion as the clarity of day is to the horror of the night. † (122) Religion is an experience undefinable through direct words. This â€Å"horror of the night† is all that is not understood; it is the undefinable, the intangible, the experience that lacks rationality and is based instead on feeling.It is how we explain and give meaning; it is the answer to the unanswerable questions that man has. Religion and art are intertwined in that they are both chaotic tools used by man to gain order over the chaotic horrors of the night. Kierkegaard, on the other hand, arrives at religion through the avenues of faith. To Kierkegaard, the man Abraham in the Bible is the perfect model of religious faith, the very first case in history of a man of pure faith, or as he calls it, a knight of faith.Faith is similar to Bataille’s idea of art and religion in that it can not be clearly defined through words. Faith is an experience; it is the idea that a single individual can have a one-on-one relationship with God that transcends the ethical. Abraham was faced with the dilemma of sacrificing his only son Isaac. Ethically and morally this would be labeled as murder, but through faith it is an absolute duty. This absolute duty is not something that can be shared, it is a private struggle, it is a solitary path to follows God’s command without remorse or doubt..It is only moments before the murder and sacrifice of Isaac that God stops Abraham and directs him to a ram instead. Through faith, ethics and morality become an entirely different thing. â€Å"He who loves God without faith reflects upon himself; he who loves God in faith reflects upon God. † (Kierkegaard 37) God’s will is the only correct way; what he asks is what will be done even if it goes against what society says is right. The man of the world, or ethical man, follows a different code of conduct. He is moral through and through and has a universal duty to others.He follows the laws and commandments of God for the good of everybody around him. His actions are dictated by cultural norms and given meaning by religious institutions. He is understood and buoyed by his peers. This is precisely the opposite of the knight of faith. Abraham has to do what is ethically wrong to do what is absolutely right in the eyes of God. Both art and faith are passionate pathways connecting with the divine. They give humanity a structure in that they give meaning to our emotions and guidance to our actions . Faith is a marvel, and yet no human being is excluded from it; for that which unites all human life is passion, and faith is passion. † (Kierkegaard 67) Faith was Abrahams way of expressing the inexpressible duty he felt toward God, just as art was the expression of prehistoric man inexpressible connection with the animal. Work Cited Bataille, Georges. The Cradle of Humanity, Prehistoric Art, and Culture. Brooklyn, New York: Zone Books, 2005. Kierkegaard, Soren. Fear and Trembling/Repetition. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1983.