Christian attitudes to Infertility Essay Example for Free

Christian attitudes to Infertility Essay Infertility is the inability for a couple to conceive a child by the natural processes or after a year of trying. This can happen for a number of reasons. One of the reasons could be stress. As we live in a society with high expectations for people to be successful it puts people under enormous amounts of stress which could cause them to become infertile. Another problem a couple could face is that either the man or woman could have been born infertile or one of them has an STD (sexually transmitted disease) . Another could be dieting , as some women and men diet excessively to reach size zero it causes the womans periods to stop which will in turn cause hormone imbalances which may make a woman infertile. Women could become infertile for a number of other reasons such as smoking, alcohol, age or being overweight or underweight . Men can also become infertile for a number of reasons such as alcohol, drugs, age and radiation and chemotherapy treatments for cancer. This makes life hard for married couples because the wish for a child is too strong. Although some couples can accept god chose for them not to have a child , some others will go to any lengths for a child. There are a number of different treatments for infertile couples. The most common is In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF).’In Vitro’ means ‘in glass’ in latin which is the way the egg is fertilised. It is a technique were an egg is taken from the womans womb and placed on a dish and sperm is taken from the man and used to fertilise the egg on the glass . Once the egg has been fertilised and has began to grow as a fetus it is implanted back into the womans womb where it grows for 9 months. The second is Surrogacy. Surrogacy is where another woman carries the baby for another couple who are unable to do so. An egg is taken from the infertile woman and a sperm from the partner and is fertilised then inserted into the surrogates womb where it grows and when the child is born it is given back to the couple. Another treatment is Artificial Insemination By Donor (AID) . This is a treatment where the sperm of a donor , who is usually unknown to the couple , is medically inserted into the neck of the womans womb where it fertilises the egg and grows into a child . The final treatment is egg donation . This is similar to AID ,only an egg from a donor who is usually unknown to the couple , is fertilised in a lab then medically inserted into the infertile womans womb to grow into the child . Georgia Allen AO2 Christian attitudes to infertility. Catholics have very strong views about infertility treatments which require research which are done on embryos which Catholics see and class as a human life. Catholics are completely against IVF as it leads to spare embryos being created and then are being used for experiments both scientific and medical. The embryos may even be thrown away , Catholics are against this because it is a life of a child and it has rights . Catholics are also against infertility treatments because children are supposed to be created through and act of love and infertility treatments interfere with what Gods plans for that couple and no body has the right to play God. Other Christians have opposite views about infertility treatments than catholics. They think infertility treatments are a good thing as it brings new life to the world and makes a couple happy. Some Christians might object to treatments where a donor is involved as some people class this as adultery because it involves somebody else in the marriage and that is wrong because it is in the ten commandments. They do agree with AIH as it involves no third party and is just between a husband and wife. Some Christians are against fertility treatments for unmarried couples or woman past the child bearing age and even homosexuals. As they think that it is not the way God planned it to be . Muslims agree to most treatments as long as they involve no third party and all natural methods of conception have failed . Muslims are completely against surrogacy and adoption . Muslims believe treatments such as AIH and IVF are ok because they use the sperm of the husband and no other person is involved. Islam is against AIH because it has been donated by another man and is seen as adultery .

Air France Flight 447 Crash 2009 Engineering Essay

Air France Flight 447 Crash 2009 Engineering Essay On May 31, 2009, Air Frances flight AF447 left Rio de Janeiro to take its 228 passengers to Paris. After sending the last message to Brazil ATC three hours after the flight took off, the aircraft suddenly disappeared while passing through the equatorial ITCZ. The aircraft computer system managed to transmit 24 fault messages indicating speed sensor problems to the Air Frances Paris Centre before it went missing. In the early morning hours of June 1, 2009, the aircraft dived into the Atlantic Ocean killing all passengers onboard. The investigation positively identified the main cause of the disaster as the pitot tube or the speed and temperature sensor malfunction located underneath the aircrafts cockpit. The cause of the pitot tube malfunctioning was determined to be due to the accumulation of ice crystals around it. Consequently, the aircrafts computerized navigational system was affected resulting in failure of different flight control systems. However, the physical evidences recov ered from the crash site suggest that the main pilot was not in the cockpit during the critical moments of the flight. Moreover, bodies of passengers and crew were found scattered in the crash indicating the possibility that they were not prepared for a crash landing. The analysis of the incident points to the possibility that the control of the aircraft during its final hour was left in the hands of a less experienced third officer. In general, the weather condition in the area where flight AF447 flew is the main causal factor that caused the pitot tube to malfunction. Another is Air France continuous use of a particular pitot tube that was implicated in a number of aircraft incidents in the past. Human error is also a contributing factor when the pilot made a very bad decision of flying through a known danger zone while others were diverting their route to avoid it. Another is the possibility that the captain was never in the cockpit during the critical hour as evidenced by the un prepared crew and passengers. Human error was involved in the safety design of the aircrafts computerized navigational system as evidenced by the sudden shut-down of the flight computers during the most critical moments of the incident. Finally, the worlds aviation industry and associated organizations are considered causal factors for their failure to set proper guidelines and standards for pitot tubes and travel across ITC zones. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 4 The Crash of Air France Flight 447 5 2.1 Background 5 2.2 Weather Condition 7 2.3 The Air Traffic Controllers 10 2.4 The Passengers of Flight AF447 11 2.5 The Aircraft and its Navigational Computer Systems 12 2.6 The Flight Crew and Human Errors 18 2.7 The World Aviation and other Organizations 23 Discussion and Conclusion 25 References 29 Appendices 32 Introduction On May 31, 2009 at 19:03 Brazilian local time, Air Frances flight AF447 was on its way to Paris from Rio de Janeiro carrying 228 passengers and crew when it encountered some technical problem. The A330 Airbus flew over the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) where it encountered numerous thunderstorms and on the morning of June 1, 2009, the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean killing all passengers and crew. The rescuers found small pieces of the aircraft indicating that it had landed like a flat hand into the waters with the nose slightly pointing upwards. The results of the investigation suggest that the cause of the incident was a malfunctioning pitot tube that was gradually covered by ice crystals during the flight. The pitot tube failed to send speed data to the aircrafts computerized navigation system resulting in a chain of problems and eventual loss of control. Four minutes before the aircraft finally hit the Atlantic Ocean, the computer system sent 24 messages informing the Air France Paris centre of the occurring failures. The last message sent by the pilot to Brazil and Senegal ATC was the one informing them that the aircraft reached high level 350 three hours after takeoff. The ATC never heard from the aircraft again and there was no way to monitor since the aircraft was out of the radar range. The investigation of the incident reveals some surprising details such as the absence of the pilot from the cockpit during the final hour of flight AF447 and dead bodies of passengers and cabin crew that seemed unprepared for an emergency landing. Moreover, the aircrafts position when it hit the water appears it had lost track of its altitude while the pilot was struggling to bring the nose up. The weather condition in the ITCZ area is undoubtedly the causal factor in flight AF447 crash since the extreme weather condition rendered the pitot tube useless. However, it could have been a successful flight if the pitot tube was designed to withstand such weather conditions or if the pilot took a diversion avoiding passing through a dangerous area. To summarize in a nutshell, three major causal factors are involved in flight AF447 disaster namely weather, pitot tube, and human error. The following sections discuss the details of the incident including background information before the disaster, the causal factors that may have contributed to the disaster, graphs and other details, discussion, and conclusion. The Crash of Air France Flight 447 Background The A330-200 Airbus, Air Frances flight AF447, was on its way to Paris from Rio de Jenario when in the early hours of that ill-fated day of June 1, 2009 something terrible and unexpected happened. Brazilian ATC got the last message from the AF447 and then all contact was lost. The plane was carrying 228 passengers and crew when it suddenly disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean. This set the background for one of the worst catastrophe in the aviation history, which killed 228 people. After hours of search and inquiry about the lost aircraft, the Air France officials did a detailed investigation of the messages transmitted from the plane before the accident. Except for some printout data indicating problems measuring air speed and difficulty in the in-flight computer control systems, the Brazilian and Senegalese air traffic controller reported that the plane never sent any distress signals. After about five days of the incident, the wreckage of the aircraft was found floating on the Atla ntic. About a month later, several pieces of the aircraft and some bodies were recovered but the flight data recorder or the black box was never recovered due to the extreme depth of the ocean (Kilner 2010, p.121). Sudden disappearance of flight AF447 causing a terrible air disaster and its discovery couple of days later, completely wrecked in pieces in the Atlantic Ocean, raises a lot of questions as to what went wrong. Various theories are given as well as various opinions. To unravel the mystery of AF447 air crash, a number of elements need to be evaluated. Since the black box was never found, people have no way of telling the actual cause of the crash. It may be because of the problem reported in the last message or some other problems after that. However, since there was no distress signal sent to the ATC except for some flight data printout of problems in air speed and computer control systems resulting in technical failures, the aircrafts flight control system would top the list. Second most prominent element that was evaluated in the investigation was the human error; the crew and particularly the pilots who were supposed to contact the ATC in case of any emergency. There were also some speculations about an explosion before the aircraft hit the water due to the presence of a long oil slick near the crash site (CNN World 2009, p.1). However, the constituting elements in this type of an accident is not limited to the people directly involved in the flight or terrorism, but extends to the prevailing weather, the control agencies, and other people who are responsible for commercial aviation (Kilner 2010, p.121). Weather Condition Meteorological analysis on the weather condition on AF447 crash doom day revealed its role in the cascade of events that occurred. There is substantial evidence that the thunderstorm and lightening resulted in raging turbulence, which affected the plane. The first thunderstorm encountered by AF447 was near Sao Luis in Brazil, followed by a dense cluster of thunderstorm and lightening in the Fernando de Noronha area, which comes in the ITCZ, the low pressure belt area at the equator. Such thunderstorms can create updrafts, which can reach up to 100 mph pooled up with downdrafts caused by cool air and vertical dry air mixing, which can lead to severe turbulence to aircraft. Other flights that were scheduled to fly the same night on the same route took a diversion of about 90 miles to avoid the storm zone, which encompassed about 50,000 feet of altitude. Then what prompted the experienced pilot and crew members of AF447, even after knowing the trouble, to enter the trouble zone? Would any pilot opt to fly in such a bad storm? This needed a serious thought and on investigating this matter it was observed that due to the small thunderstorm that the aircraft faced in the Sao Louis area before entering the huge thunderstorm front, the flights weather radar system may have got confused and thus the pilot and the crew were not aware of the big storm that was coming towards them. This reasoning is possible as aircraft radar system works on radio echoing principle. The tilt of the radar antenna beam helps the aircraft to detect the weather forecast. If by any means the tilt of the radar is set to a different angle then it is possible that the weather that might affect the aircraft ahead be missed (Ian Gilbert, 2005). This revelation about the weather condition and the radar operation raises another question as to when the weather condition was dangerous why AF447 did not try to avoid the storm and go around it. The satellite images obtained during the investigation showed that flying through the storm was inevitable for the Air France flight, as the storm covered approximately 400 miles and was in the route of the destination, making it impossible for the aircraft to go over or around the storm; unless they flew back. In such a situation, the only source to rely on for the pilot and the cabin crew would have been the onboard weather radar to navigate through, but the radar can only detect rain and not the turbulent wind shear. It is quite possible that these tempestuous weather conditions may have led to structural or electrical failure that was reported by the automated computer communications between the AF447 and Air France Paris headquarters. It is generally accepted that the weather in the route where flight AF447 was flying is very bad as evidenced by a number of accidents occurring particularly in that part of the equator. The weather forecast on that day was bad and it was up to the pilot to avoid the heavy thunderstorms they would encounter en-route to their destination. According to the analysis conducted on the incident, two engine planes like the A330 Airbus can withstand such conditions and flexible enough to go around any heavy thunderstorm. However, the weather condition on this situation may be too severe and created some unexpected problems for the aircraft (Kilner 2010, p.122). According to the analysis of the Baringer et al. (2010, p.182), there are evidences to suggest that the weather was an influencing factor in the crash of flight AF447. The report points to the large warm pool directly underneath the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone or ITCZ which was very active during that year. The Air Frances commercial flight that started its trip on the night of May 31 flew over the ITCZ passing an area of strong cumulus towers overnight. Equatorial weather data for the whole year of 2009 suggest that rainfall over the equator and tropical Pacific is 150% above normal (See satellite images in Figure A-1, p.32 and Figure A-2, p 33 in Appendix A). Aside from the ITCZ, there were also speculations about the occurrence of a microburst, a weather phenomenon that was implicated to a number of aircraft crashes like the Continental flight 3407 in New York and Delta Flight 191 in 1985 which killed 135 people (see Figure A-3, p.33 in Appendix A). According to McCormick et al. (2003, p.165), weather can play a role in accidents particularly in air transports. For instance, some of the most common affect of weather is reduced visibility, turbulence and gusting conditions, wind shear, ice and rain water on runways, and microburst conditions. In the annual review of aircraft accidents in 1995 conducted by the U.S. National Safety Board, weather contributes to 39 percent of fatal accidents while the majority at 87 percent is pilot error. The chart provided by U.S. National Safety Board shows the most usual initiating events of aircraft accidents and the most likely contributing factors. (See figure B-1 and B-2, p.34 in Appendix B) The Air Traffic Controllers In context to AF447 crash, ATC data becomes the prominent evidence in understanding the most probable reason behind the crash. The ATC details showed that the last contact made by the crew was with Brazilian ATC at 01:33 UTC, as the aircraft approached the Brazil Atlantic radar surveillance edge. After this routine message, the only information received was the 24 automated error messages received detailing flight problems and warnings, which was about 40 minutes after the last contact made at the Brazilian ATC. The last automated error message transmitted was at 2:14 UTC which mentioned about the cabin depressurization after which nothing was heard about the Air France 447. On deeper analysis of the ATC communication data that transpired during the flight, it shows that between 21:40 hr and 23:18 hr, there was successful communication between the crew and ATC. At 1 h 35 min 46 sec, the controller reported the aircraft to maintain an altitude of FL350 and to give TASIL estimate. Between 1 h 35 min 53 sec and 1 h 36 min 14 sec, the ATLANTICO checked with the crew on the estimate time of their reaching the TASIL point, which went unanswered. (BEA 2009, p.33). All these details point towards a strong possibility that the crew of flight AF447 was trying to contact the ATC before the incident but due to distance and bad weather conditions, the crew failed to get through. The ATC on the other hand had no radar coverage of that area and no weather data to warn the crew before it took off (Kilner 2010, p.122). The transcript of the investigation clearly stated that the pilot of flight AF447 reported flight level 350 which means the plane had reached its proper altitude after 3 hours. This is the last communication sent by AF447 with the ATC. In case there was a single message asking ATC for help then there might be some reason to implicate ATC on the incident, but there was none (Traufetter 2010, p.6). At this point, even the investigation conducted after the crash did not mention anything linking the Brazilian and Senegalian ATC to the incident except that they have a limited capability. The Passengers of Flight AF447 Aside from the angle of terrorism, the passengers seem an irrelevant factor contributing to the incident particularly when there was no indication of explosion in the recovered aircraft parts. However, one cannot eliminate the possibility that someone disabled the pilots and ditched the plane into the ocean. The possibility of terrorism is narrow and it cannot be eliminated completely but since there were actual distress messages from the aircraft before the crash, the possibility is irrelevant to consider. For instance, there were indeed data to prove that the aircrafts navigational system was failing minutes before the crash. Moreover, the rescue team sent to the crash site found considerable evidence that show that the crash occurred so suddenly that the bodies of passengers were not prepared for an emergency landing. The stewardess was also not sitting in the emergency seat and the life jackets were not used. From an ordinary passenger who may have been travelling through a commercial airline number of times, it is easy to visualize how crew members assigned in the cabin would prepare passengers in an emergency situation. If the imminent crash is known beforehand, passengers will be prepared for emergency landing and will be found almost in the same position and location during the rescue. Apparently, the report says that they were scattered everywhere indicating that cabin crew and passengers were not informed and wearing no seatbelts (Faith 2010, p.6). This surprising fact is linked to the man in control of the aircraft minutes before the crash. If the captain is the one maneuvering the plane, was he as an experienced and responsible person would not order or inform his cabin crew to prepare for an emergency? The passengers and even the cabin crew were mere victims and not in any way connected or contributed to the crash. The Aircraft and its Navigational Computer Systems The Airbus A330 is a modern aircraft and most commercial aircrafts are generally well-maintained. However, this aircraft model had been previously reported in one or two cases involving air speed measurement problems like the incident involving A340 flight from Tokyo to Paris, several months before the AF447 incident. Going by the investigation details, a day before the accident, the captain of AF447 had complained about some problem with the VHF1 selection key on RMP1, which was looked into. The routine Type A checks that were done on this aircraft type also did not identify any anomalies. These facts clearly indicate the otherwise good condition of the aircraft before the tragic flight. Measuring and maintaining the required air speed of the aircraft especially at high altitudes is very relevant. When air speed is not measured correctly, the pilot has a hard time controlling the plane particularly while flying in a very bad weather condition. In air transport, the most dreaded challenge faced by the pilots when things go out of control at high altitudes is the coffin corner, the area where the margin of error becomes very narrow. AF447 may also have faced the same fate with no chance of escape. On close speculation of the events that happened on 1st June, 2009 at 3 AM BST time, two main events surface. The A330 airbus reported that it has encountered bad weather and severe turbulence and ten minutes later the autopilot got disengaged as per the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS). The succession of these two events indicate that flying the 233 ton heavy aircraft and managing the internal condition was becoming tough for the crew at the advent of storm battering the aircraft from all sides. Reviewing the error messages that were received at the Air France Paris headquarters, it was evident that the three Air Data Inertial Reference Unit (ADIRU) computers were showing different information. This information is the compilation of the data received from the pitot tubes that is then transferred to aircraft computers. Speed is a crucial factor in aerodynamics. At high altitudes, speed alteration can be treacherous. As the air becomes thinner at higher altitudes, the more speed is required to push the plane forward and to maintain its lift. If the speed is less, the plane will start stalling. At the same time, if speed becomes too much then because of passage of more air above the wings the center tends to move backwards pushing the nose of the plane down resulting in nosedive. As reported from the ACARS, it got 24 error messages from the autopilot before losing the connection. It becomes very clear from this fact that the crew members of AF447 were unaware of the actual speed and various equipments were showing inconsistent speeds. A big issue that comes up here is whether it was a complete system failure that occurred? The fact that during the vigorous attempts to save the aircraft and the passengers the plane was sending data to the maintenance facility gives a clear evidence that there was some electricity in the plane, which is impossible in case of 100% system failure. So that aspect can be completely eliminated. Investigating the automated error messages, it included 19 warnings and 5 failure messages. The equipment failure messages included the failure of cabin pressure control, autopilot, and flight controls. The warning messages were about the disengaged autopilot and disagreement between the air data systems, also warning about the cabin vertical speed. These messages and data strongly point towards speed discrepancies that happened in the aircraft due to equipment failure. From this standpoint, pitot tube is also being implicated as the most likely cause of the disaster as Pitot tube is a component of the aircraft maintenance computer or the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS). The system transmit messages via satellite to ground stations which were the same messages received by the ATC before the AF447 incident. Going by reports, based on Air France Airbus earlier incidents, it was identified that the existing Pitot tubes had a high probability of malfunctioning in cold and icy conditions. The problems that were highlighted at that time due to Pitot tube malfunctioning were fluctuating and wrong speed indications, automatic switch off of the autopilot, and even a false warning under extreme conditions. On 1st June, 2009 before AF447 vanished into the Atlantic, the first automatic error message that ATC reported was that the aircraft was fluctuating badly, which followed by automatics switch off of fly-by-wire system. On comparing both the reports and facts of the incident, the vulnerability of the pitot tubes that were attached to the aircrafts cockpit comes out more distinctly, which in turn decided the fate of the aircraft and its passengers on the doom day. A330-200 Airbus had three pitot probes fitted to its aircraft, so it seems like all the three pitot tubes got iced up simultaneously. Most probably, all three of them were unable to tolerate the extreme conditions faced by AF447. According to BEA investigation report, it was identified that the present pitot tubes are certified only to handle temperatures of -40C. From the meteorological details and satellite images obtained on crash day in and around the ITCZ area, it is very obvious that the aircraft was in the bulk of the cloud fields for a significant amount of time due to the heavy thunderstorms and the super-cooled water in the clouds may have blocked and disabled all the three pitot tubes. Pitot tubes malfunction had caused several incidents in 2008 and generated similar messages or print out data that preceded the flight AF447 crash in June 1, 2009. According to Hichri (2009, p.5), unlike other commercial airlines which upgraded their pitot tubes, Air France did nothing about the problem. Examining the initial physical evidence found on the scene and the information sent by flight AF447 before it crashed, investigators said that the aircraft went through a heavy turbulence without a fully functioning flight control system. The flattened and crushed nose cone of the aircraft tells the story of its high speed impaction with the water. Consequently, the pilot may have struggled to revive their flight management computers while the aircraft was breaking up due to excessive speed (Aviation Human Factors 2009, p.2). Failure of in-flight computer systems is not a novel issue. In fact, it was the mostly considered causal factor in previous aviation incidents. For instance, the causal factor in the shutdown of the busy Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in April 19, 2006 was caused by software malfunction. The communication failure between FAA Air Traffic Control Center and the aircraft in September 14, 2004 at the Los Angeles International Airport was due to the sudden and unexpected computer shut-down. The crash of Korean Air Flight 801 was also partly caused by malfunctioning Minimum Safe Altitude Warning system or MSAW and the failure of FAA to adequately manage the system. Another is the crash of American Airlines Flight 965, where errors in navigational computer programming are the leading cause of the incident. Similarly, the onboard automating reporting system in Air Frances Flight AF447 sent a total of 24 error messages while the computerized navigational systems failed throu ghout the aircraft (Wong et al., 2009, p.1-8).. After several months of investigation, the scenario depicting the final hour of Flight AF447 was constructed. (See figure C-1, p 35 in Appendix C). This scenario suggests that the horrific disaster was caused by a very small technical failure a false reading from the temperature sensor covered by ice crystals (Traufetter 2010, p.1). Since there was no more airspeed to gather and display, the autopilot and the automatic throttle system also malfunctioned and the computer automatically entered the emergency control mode. At this point, the pilot could no longer control the aircraft as it sped towards the ocean at 2, 500 feet per minute. As a natural reaction, it can be expected that the pilot tried every second to regain control of the aircraft by restarting the flight computer, but evidence suggests that he failed. The disaster in this scenario took place in a matter of four minutes after the pilot lost control of the navigational system due to failure of the temperature probe. Another causal factor suggested by Anleitner (2010, p.123) is the material used in the wiring of this type of aircraft. Kapton an insulating material used in the wiring of most modern aircraft has been shown to decay over time. The same material was one of the suspected causal factors in Swiss Air Flight 111 incident in 1998, TWA 800 disaster, and being considered as a potential contributing factor in the crash of Air France Flight 447 in the Atlantic. When completely decayed, this type of material contributes to short circuit or strong electrical arcing which can ignite fuel vapor. Computers have been blamed for several disasters including the death of 22 American servicemen due to faults in the Blackhawk helicopters computer-based fly-by-wire system. Similarly, an Iraqi Scud missile penetrated the U.S. military barracks due to the failure of the computerized Patriot missile defense system. The failure of the Hubble space telescope was also associated with programming error that shut down the onboard computer unexpectedly. Much worse is the downing of the Korean Air Lines flight 007, sinking of the HMS Sheffield in the Falklands, and the Nepalese A320 disaster caused by faulty software running a computerized fly-by-wire system (Forester Morrison 1994, p.3). The Flight Crew and Human Errors The flight crew of flight AF447 was very experienced but according to Kilner (2010, p.122), too much experience can make some people overconfident. There is, therefore, a possibility that the pilot of flight AF447 overestimated his capability and underestimated the danger ahead. The fact that the pilot decided to fly despite bad weather forecast is an indication of extreme confidence, which novice pilots would never do in such a situation. A less experienced person would probably delay the flight, re-route, or make an emergency stopover in an airport somewhere before the ocean. There is indeed a possibility of a pilot error or errors contributed by one of the crew. For instance, the first officer and the navigator are all working inside the cockpit and their functions if not performed correctly can lead to unimaginable disaster. The first officer is in charge of communication between the plane and the ATC and any mistake can put the plane in a critical situation. The first officer is also in charge of assisting the captain and can put the aircraft in or out of the automated mode, which if done out of procedure or if the captain is not aware can result in sudden or severe dive. Similarly, any wrong input of the navigator in the flight computer can result in wrong flight directions which are very dangerous (McCormick et al. 2003, p.120). In Air Frances flight AF447, the computer system had warned the pilot and the crew of faults very early in the flight. In fact, 24 error messages reached the Air France centre in Paris before the crash. The pilot could have heeded the warnings and turned back, but he never did and in fact took the chances maneuvering over numerous thunderstorms in the ITCZ area. Human error not only exists in inputs or confusions over a navigational chart and communication but does exist in ignorance of warnings also. According to Faith (1997, p.164), pilots are trained individuals that would likely follow set procedures precisely. However, these trainings and familiarity with procedures can sometimes create problems particularly when independent thinking is required. For instance, a certain pilot for Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 flying from Frankfurt to London suffered the most fatal pilot problems a pilot could have indecisiveness. Having years of experience and training, the pilot was considered perfectly competent, but with a tendency to go by with routine procedures regardless of circumstances. Heathrow Airport was clear and most pilots decided to land on it rather than in the foggy area of Gatwick; however, the Ariana Afghan flight 701 pilot decided to land on Gatwick and while nearing the airport, thinking of something else, the pilot was surprised by a thick fog and tried to pull the aircraft nose up but it was too late. Consequently, a second pause killed 43 passengers and all the o ccupants of the house swept by the aircraft. Apparently, the pilot had a second thought on landing the aircraft at the Gatwick airport He was actually hesitating and this may be the reason why he was not concentrating and paused a moment during the approach. The possibility of human error in flight AF447 is great. Although, the weather is the major contributing factor that caused the instability of the aircraft, the warnings from the weather forecast and those released by the computer system could have saved all 228 passengers and crew, if the pilot listened to them and made emergency landing to the nearest available airport. Clearly, the pilot decided to depart from Brazil despite the bad weather on his route and while experiencing tremendous pressure from the ITCZ area, he never decided to return. Confusion inside the cockpit happens, and in an aircraft accident in Dulles International Airport in 1975, confusion over the approach chart and the air traffic controller instructions brought a descending aircraft to a ridge (Johnson Palanque (2004, p.20). According to Forester Morrison (1994, p.2), regardless if the problem is directly associated with computers, the cause of failure is eventually human error. This is because they were designed by humans and the software running them are also produced by humans. Another problem is human input which in many occasions is the cause of computer glitches. For instance, when an American Airlines jet crashed in Colombia, the investigators found out that the pilot missed one letter of the computer command. This very small error sent the plane crashing into the mountain and killed 163 innocent people. The pilot, the investigator reported, entered the coordinated for Cali, their actual destination was coordinates, but made a mistake in one letter of the code which sent the aircraft to the opposite direction towards Bogota (Pfleeger Atlee 2009, p.43). Incidents like these are good example how humans, regardless of advanced computer systems can take erroneous actions res

Tourism in Sri Lanka Essay

Tourism in Sri Lanka Essay Sri Lanka is one of the most sorts for tourist destinations in the world. It is advantageously situated between West Asia and South East Asia has been a significant stop on the silk route. To express the richness, beauty and the intensity of affection: the visitors addressed the country as Serendib, Ceylon, Teardrop of India, Resplendent Isle, Island of Dharma, and Pearl of the Orient.(Lanka Facts, 2012). Today, visitors are welcomed to Sri Lanka to experience the nations glittering tapestry of culture, and the rich abundance of nature, so handsomely bestowed, and to give credence to the old adage that good things come in small packages. Its landscape orientation especially the Warm Sun kissed Beaches creates mix of opportunities which lead to the final holiday destination. The diversity of temperatures, vegetation and scenery grab a large sense towards Srilanka. It is a most demanding country for lovers of nature and wild life because tourism offers safaris, Treks, Nature walks and Camping that could be a marvelous experience for them. The entire island is swarming with birds and animals. And the animals like elephants and leopards are not scarce. Though foods are not much expensive: they are tasty and the people of the country are very friendly and helpful.This colourful collection act as an indicator of its richness. All requirements are equipped in the country and it is to be one of the best tourist destinations with absolute peace, political stability and the climatic changes can be seen through beautiful waterfalls, rivers, sceneries, tea estates and many other attractive places. Sri Lanka is owned for a rich heritage and it has a recorded history of more than 2500 years and archaeological sites over 250,000.There are 8 world heritage sites within the country that was approved by the UNESCO and they are the hill capital kandy, the sacred city of Anuradapura, The Dutch fort of Galle, The ancient city of Polonnaruwa, The rock fortress of Sigiriya, The golden rock temple of Dambulla, the beautiful Horton plains and the Singharaja rain forest (Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, 2011). So, without a doubt a land like Sri lanka cannot be found because it has something to offer for everyone. The increase of tourism occurred in 2011 and is expected to climb further in the coming years. Colombo the capital city, the Cultural Triangle (Dambulla, Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura), the cities like Kandy and Galle, and most of the southern beach towns which are equipped with good tourist facilities, the roads connecting many of those destinations are improving. The pro of Sri Lanka as a tourism destination is threefold. Firstly, it is a real tourism destination. Secondly, a tourist can travel the whole compact island within few days because it consists only 65,610 square km.Thirdly, it has unparalleled diversity of tourism product. For the ease of communicating the diversity of Sri Lanka in 2010, 8 different products namely; heritage, beaches, wildlife, mind and body wellness, scenic beauty festivals, Essence and sports and adventure are started to position around the country by the tourism authorities. (Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, 2011). Art and culture, spices, tea, gems, handy crafts and its people are the unique features of Srilanka which are also known as the essence of the country. From the ancient time the travellers and the traders have attracted to Sri Lanka and it is a languorous tropical island of deep spirituality and serenity. Sri Lanka grabbed the Western imagination as the Tahiti of the East. 5.2.1 Institutional structure of tourism industry in Sri Lanka Tourism industry is under the Ministry of Tourism. Four sections of it are; Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (formed in 2005 by replacing Sri Lanka Tourist Board which was established in 1966), Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Sri Lanka Institute of Hotel Management and Sri Lanka Convention Bureau. While Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority is responsible for all the tourism development activities, the responsibility of all the marketing and promotional work goes to the Tourism promotion Bureau. 5. 2.1 History of tourism industry in Sri Lanka Marco Polo mentioned the Sri Lanka as the finest isle in the whole world as a well-known explorer of the 12th century. For European Travellers it had been a immense tourism destination. (Lanka Facts, 2012). However, the year 1966 was a landmark for international tourism in Sri Lanka, with the enactment of the Ceylon Tourist Board Act No. 10 of 1966. The Act provided permission for the establishment of a public authority known as the Ceylon Tourist Board for encouragement, promotion and development of tourist travel to Sri Lanka (Deheragoda 1980). According to this Act, the Board objectives are numerous: establishment of an institute to control the tourist industry, to encourage people to provide an efficient, attractive and adequate service, the encouraging, promotion and development of the travel trade (Deheragoda 1980; Zoysa 1978). After the establishment of the Ceylon Tourist Board, the Sri Lankan tourist industry has systematically developed drawing much foreign exchange into the country (Handaragama, 2010). From 1966 onwards, the tourist industry gradually inherited results of many mentioned implemented programs for the development of the industry. In 1977 the tourist industry had full attention and support of the government with the introduction of open economic policies and liberalization of the economy, because it was quite a suitable field for the operationalisation of the open economic policies. The tourist industry is gradually developing and reached a milestone in 1983 with ethnic problem with its manifestations particularly in the forms of conflicts in the North and East and bomb explosions in Colombo, threatening the safety of the tourists (Bandara, 2003). According to ADB (1998), until the early 1980s 76 percent of tourism accommodation in the country is owned and forced by the Hotel Corporation (a semi-privatized formerly state owned body).During this era (between mid-1960s and early 1980s) as a result of the state investments, the tourism accommodation facilities expanded. However, with the introduction of liberalized economic policies in 1977, significant amounts of national and international investments were made to construct the accommodation of tourism, mainly in Colombo and the Southwest coast which ultimately lead to control the large part of the inbound tourist market by the private sector. (Sri Lanka, Tourist Boar d, 2003). Growth of the tourism industry got stagnated because of the 30 year long internal conflict and terrorism which caused a negative impact on tourism. With the end of the conflict in 2009, created a lot of opportunities through tourism industry. (Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development, 2011). Sri Lanka had an expansion of 46% in tourism arrivals in 2010 just after the end of the war. The tourism arrivals got doubled from 2009 to 2011 with the number of arrivals attaining 855,975 as at end 2011(Figure 5.2). In 2012, Sri Lanka was named as the best valued destination for holidays by the post office worldwide holiday costs barometer. 5.2.2 Present situation of Sri Lankan tourism United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) lists Sri Lanka with a 50 percent growth in tourist arrivals among 77 countries that have reported international arrivals data. So that, the year 2011 has been a significant year for tourism industry as the arrival target was over 750,000. Sri Lanka recorded 856,000 tourist arrivals with a 30 percent annual growth at the end of 2011and also expects 30 percent growth as well in this year because the country has performed well compared to the world tourism industry. The sector envisaged 30 percent growth for 2011 with revenue of US $ 839 million (Ref). The hotel occupancy rate has increased up to 77 percent and it has created employment for about 125,000 persons. Compared to other industries it has the fastest growth prospects. Though Sri Lanka is predominantly a beach destination, it could offer culture, nature, agro, community, religious and spiritual attractions by now. Thirty year ethnic conflict of the country has been negatively affected for the growth and the development of the tourism industry (Ganegodage and Rambaldi, 2012). Sri Lankan government is now organizing several events and is in the process of developing the industry in order to make Sri Lanka a top tourism destination in the world. The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority will do their best to develop unique, quality and diverse tourism products and services that would globally make Sri Lanka as a unique destination. Identifying and developing tourist specific unique products and services, formulating and implementing Tourism Development Guidelines, facilitating and implementing the legal and administrative process for new product and service development are some activities done by the authority. (Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, 2011). Main markets of tourism in Sri Lanka Table 5.2 and Figure 5.4 shows a detailed account of the source of foreign visitors to the top 10 source nations the top ten source markets for tourism to Sri Lanka within the years 2010 and 2011. Sri Lanka relies greatly on Western European markets, especially the United Kingdom and Germany who rotate between second and third place as key source nations. However, India became the largest single source of arrivals in Sri Lanka. During this period, France, Maldives, Australia, Canada USA, the Netherlands and Russia also have become strong source markets. (Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, 2011). When tourist arrivals are analyzed by regions, in 2010 and 2011, most of the tourists are from Asia and the Western Europe. Next highest number is coming from Middle East followed by Eastern Europe and North America (Figure 5.4). Thus, these are the important markets of tourism of the country. Main tourist attractions of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka has a large number of tourist attractions for different types of visitors. Bentota, Beruwala, Hikkaduwa, Galle, Negombo and Trincomalee are the dominant beaches in Sri Lanka and they are famous for relaxing, sun bathing and surfing. The living heritage of Sri Lanka of 2500 years was discovered by the culture heritage. It was founded in the 5th century BC, when the Buddhism was first introduced to the island. Anuradhapura can be recognized as the capital city of Buddhism. The oldest living tree in documented history is the sacred Bo tree, grown from a sapling of the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightment.(Lanka Facts, 2012). Sigiriya the 8th Wonder of the World. Veddhas also known as aborigines of Sri Lanka.They are the Sri Lankas indigenous people.Wildlife is a vital assert. Animals such as Elephants, Leopards, Black Bears and many more can meet face to face with Jungle wildlife sanctuaries. Nature Witness the unmatched bio-diversity of Sri Lanka is waterfalls, misty hills, breezy mountains and Sinharaja Rain Forest. Sinharaja is a world heritage named by United Nations. The World Tourism Organization describes that Sri Lanka has the advantage of having 49 sites classified as unique attractions, 91 as rare attractions, and 7 world heritage sites, and 6 of the 300 ancient monuments in the world. (Asia-planet.net, 2012). Purposes of visiting the country by tourists The main purpose of visiting the country by tourists is to have pleasure. During vacations, most of the tourists come to the country to engage in various entertaining activities such as visiting beaches for swimming surfing, boating, fishing, jungle tracking for rock climbing, hiking, wild life seeing , bird watching, and so on. Therefore, it is very important to provide facilities for these activities at the best level. However, tourist coming for business, visiting friends and relations, religious and cultural activities are comparatively lower (Table 5.2). 5.2.3 Future development of the sector There are 2 stages of the future tourism development in Sri Lanka. First stage is to be reached in 2016 and the second is in 2020. The main goal of the first stage is to attract 2.5 Million high spending foreign tourists by the year 2016 (Figure 5.5) and the main target of the second stage is to get 4 million tourists to the country (Figure 5.6). Tourism targets during 2010-2016 The five year master plan prepared by the Department of National Planning for the period of 2011 2016 tackle a range of issues related to Sri Lanka Tourism Strategy including environmental, economic, social, cultural, institutional and promotional aspects together with their mutual relations with the National Development agenda, in order to create a favourable environment to achieve expected tourist proceeds by 2016 (Department of National Planning, 2010). The key objectives to be achieved by the 5 year strategy are  ®Increase tourist arrivals from 650,000 in 2010 to 2.5 Million by 2016.  ®Attract USD 3,000 Million with 5 years of time as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the country.  ® Tourism related employment increase by125, 000 in 2010 to 500,000 by 2016 and island widely expand tourism based industry and service.  ® Integrate tourism to the real economy by distributing the economic benefits of tourism to a larger cross section of the society.  ® Increase Foreign exchange earnings from USD 500 Million in 2010 to USD 2.75 Billion by 2016.  ®Contribute towards getting better global trade and economic linkages of Sri Lanka.  ® Position Sri Lanka as the worlds most precious island for tourism. (Department of National Planning, 2010) Tourism targets during 2010-2020 The vision of the government is to change the Sri Lankan tourism sector, by 2020, to be the biggest foreign exchange earner in the economy and to position Sri Lanka as the worlds most treasured and Greenest isle and draw high spending tourists while protecting the cultural values, natural habitats and environment of the country. Tourism development in the country: provincial level Provinces are the first level administrative division in Sri Lanka. In 1833, they were firstly established by British rulers of Ceylon. Then in the next century most of the administrative functions were transferred to the second level administrative division which is known as districts. Because of increasing demand for decentralization, in 1987 this change was done. In 1978 Provincial councils were established by the Constitution of Sri Lanka (Mongabay.com, 2012). Presently the nine provinces are named as Central, North Central Eastern, North Western, Northern, Sabaragamuwa, Uva and Western Southern (Figure 5). Ministry of tourism develop and manage tourism activities in each and every province because of the decentralization of the power. In line with the tourism development of the national government, provincial councils have development tourism master plans and implemented them during 2010-2016. Most of the tourism development programs of these provinces are mainly focused on rural tourism and niche markets such as nature tourism, ecotourism, culture tourism, agritourism in a sustainable way. Main aim of these tourism development programs is community empowerment and rural development. Motivation of local tourists Government expects to increase demand from domestic tourists, while planning to make additional foreign income to the country by providing facilities for foreign tourists to make additional foreign income to the country. Countrys total population is 21,283,913 (2011 estimated) and 0.934% is its growth rate is (2011 estimated). 14%from the total population is owned by the urban population (2010) and the annual urbanization changing rate is 1.1% (2010-15 estimated). Furthermore, age structure of the country is 0-14 years: 24.9%, 15-64 years: 67.2% and 65 years and over: 7.9% (2011 estimated) (Sri Lanka Demographics Profile, 2012. A positive background will be created in many ways in future because quantitatively and qualitatively local demand for tourism is rising. By using the print and electronic media government is trying to promote the less attractive places and grab the awareness which will help to fulfil the purpose of establishing a good culture among Sri Lankan travellers. (Dep artment of National Planning, 2012). When focusing the evolution of tourism industry in the country, there had been a flourishing period in the past. But, due to some bad experiences such as few youth unrest situations and revolutions, 1989-1992 a huge tsunami in 2004 and severe ethnic way during 2008-2009: the performance had gone down in the near past. However, recently, it is booming and the national government and the provincial councils have implemented lots of plans to get the optimum benefits of tourism in future.

My Philosophy of Teaching Essay -- Philosophy of Education Teachers Es

My Philosophy of Teaching I didn’t grow up wanting to be a teacher. I went to college after high school and studied Journalism, International Studies, and Psychology. Teaching was not a career I ever thought about pursuing. Then, I had the opportunity to spend time in the classroom and the teacher pointed out to me that I was a natural. I have had extensive experience volunteering with young people through school and church activities. I coach a high school track team. It is through this involvement and interaction with these young people that it has become clear to me that I need to be a teacher. I have a great rapport with kids and teens. I like them, they like me, and there is a mutual respect. Finally, I know I want to teach! I want to incorporate teaching something positive, something meaningful and helpful into the required curriculum. I want to teach the classics in a non-classic way. I will teach my students to learn about themselves. I want to enable them to realize what they can achieve. I will strive to build character in my classroom. I want my students to learn, interpret, and express! I don’t want to dictate. I don’t want to stand over them and lecture. I want the learning/teaching method to be one of interaction and feedback. I want to constructively correct mistakes without being critical or judgmental. I want to teach my students to teach themselves so they will be able to think for themselves and... My Philosophy of Teaching Essay -- Philosophy of Education Teachers Es My Philosophy of Teaching I didn’t grow up wanting to be a teacher. I went to college after high school and studied Journalism, International Studies, and Psychology. Teaching was not a career I ever thought about pursuing. Then, I had the opportunity to spend time in the classroom and the teacher pointed out to me that I was a natural. I have had extensive experience volunteering with young people through school and church activities. I coach a high school track team. It is through this involvement and interaction with these young people that it has become clear to me that I need to be a teacher. I have a great rapport with kids and teens. I like them, they like me, and there is a mutual respect. Finally, I know I want to teach! I want to incorporate teaching something positive, something meaningful and helpful into the required curriculum. I want to teach the classics in a non-classic way. I will teach my students to learn about themselves. I want to enable them to realize what they can achieve. I will strive to build character in my classroom. I want my students to learn, interpret, and express! I don’t want to dictate. I don’t want to stand over them and lecture. I want the learning/teaching method to be one of interaction and feedback. I want to constructively correct mistakes without being critical or judgmental. I want to teach my students to teach themselves so they will be able to think for themselves and...

Suicide :: essays research papers

Teen Suicide   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Suicide is a major issue among teens. In 1990 alone we lost more than 13 out of 100,000 teens to suicide. This number increased by 15% less than one year later. When suicide is discussed in schools students take it very seriously because they know that at least two people in their class will attempt suicide.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When there are suicide prevention discussions most feel their is no hope. â€Å"Youth still see psychiatry as a pretty scary system,† says Lynn Chiarell, satellite program coordinator for Youth Net (Youth Net). â€Å"When you look at what happened at Columbine, it’s pretty obvious those kids had real problems but everyone just ignored it. We want to prevent that from happening here at Youth Net.† When suicidal teens see that there are people who care, they feel they have someone to talk to. Most teens that are thinking about suicide won’t talk about their feelings. This is why it is important that if someone brings the issue up you talk to them and ask them about their feelings and tell them you care. If we can get more people to at least consider suicide being an open issue it is a big step in teen suicide prevention.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Every teenager has mood swings and habit changes. But when a teen seems to be depressed for more than two weeks, serious depression could be setting in (APA Online). â€Å" Young people who have attempted suicide are at greater risk of future attempts. Listen for hints like, â€Å" I’d be better off dead† or â€Å" I won’t be a problem for you much longer† or â€Å" Nothing matters; It’s no use,† so you can tell if your teen is suicidal. Many suicide cases are by teens who abuse alcohol or drugs. Some teenagers â€Å"clean house† by giving away favorite possessions, cleaning their rooms or throwing things away before committing suicide. Some of the most dangerous times of a teen’s life is when he or she has suffered a loss or been publicly humiliated, Loss of self-esteem, the break up with a boyfriend or girlfriend. When this happens suicide is often a reoccurring thought. When you know that something like t his has happened you should talk to the teen about how they feel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Young people in today’s society have it tough. They deal with divorce, death and illness. Teens have to deal with complex decisions and peer pressure every day.

Global Cooperation Essay

There is a Chinese proverb that says, â€Å"One chopstick is easily broken, but ten pillars chopsticks firmly hold dough.† This reveals a simple rule that unity is much stronger than individuals, and if you do not want to be beaten, you should unite and cooperate against enemies together. This proverb can also be used internationally. Global cooperation is important to maintain economy, and improve safety, peace and the environment. Different countries’ economies are linked together, and influence one another in many ways. Hence, in the globalized economies people always worry more about the economic growth and crisis. Trade is the activity of exchanging goods and services. There are many trades, for example, to exchange fish for beef or to pay a taxi for its driving. One of the economic principles is that trade makes everyone better off. International trade is essential in these days because each country cannot provide the product it needs to serve the whole society, or it will cost more opportunity cost such as time and money in some productions. In this case, global trade is required. According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), 2013 annual exports valued $18,784,000 million in total merchandise, and valued $4,623,710 million in commercial services (2014). These massive amounts of numbers show the significant value of international trade in the world. China is the largest exporter, and had valued $2,209,626.0 million, which is 11.7 percent of total world merchandises trade in 2013. Also, it had become the world second large economy according to WTO Database. However, it was only exporting $5,790 million goods and 1.0 percent of total world trade in 1973 (WTO, 2014). China has an unbelievable growth, and the biggest reason is that China started to switch the closed economy into more tradable market economy and trade much freely with other countries since 1978 (Chinese economic reform). The international trade provides more job opportunities, attracts investments and brings advanced technology, and these are the basic elements  in order to gain economic growth. Unfortunately, the drawback of collapsing a big international bank Lehman Brothers is unimaginable – crash the global financial system, credit crunch, and economic regression. Because of the Asian Crisis in 1997, the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) had been more careful against crises such as no risky loans and strengthened nations cooperation. China decided to set up a $ 10 billion total fund in order to support China-ASEAN work and offer $39.7 million aid to help Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar in financial troubles (Yan, W. 2009). International cooperation is needed for people’s safety such as natural disasters. Disasters are extremely powerful and destroy millions of lives. According to America, the Indonesia tsunami, which is caused by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake in the sea near Banda Aceh in 2004 had killed over 150 hundred of people and created millions of homeless among Southern Asia countries and Africa. However, the number was continuously increasing due to injury and disease. Governments provided about $2 billion to support those countries in the disaster. This was a global cooperation – many organizations such as Catholic Relief Services, the Red Cross, Oxfam, Caritas and Doctors Without Borders helped to save lives from diseases and water pollution. Because the transportations are damaged the supplies were delivered by helicopters and ships, which were supported by United State Military. Meanwhile, individuals’ donations around the world were greater than the governments’ total amounts, and these would be used in future recovery (2005). These international saving was successful and helped for countless people. Peace is a big issue for people because there are still numerous shouting and wars going on. In addition, the most thing that cause these dangerous issues are weapons. Weapons are made to protect people, however, they have become more and more powerful especially the nuclear weapons. The total nuclear weapons in the world are enough to destroy the earth! Also the negative effect of nuclear bombs not only it can destroy a city immediately but also spread the radiation, which has decades, even different generation influences after exposure. Since 1945, the statistics show that the total war and violent has diminished. However, this kind of weapon is still being produced in many nations. Safety of citizens is questing because of threats of terrorisms. They can buy or make nuclear weapons and expose â€Å"dirty bombs† (Lifton, R. 2013). In this case, terrorists  should be stopped; people should be protected and no nuclear weapons’ threat. Non-nuclear weapons are very important and hard to achieve. In addition, it needs global cooperation – every government does their duty to increase the world level of peace. Most importantly, the global environment affects all lives on the earth, and countries should avoid ruining it. First is the global warming issue, it is a big issue that is caused by human activities and has the additional effect of climate change. In 2009, United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen had failed to make a worldwide agreement about emissions reduction (Nordhaus, D. 2011). This is because the disagreement about the distribution of reducing greenhouse gases and its costs. The decrease in temperature is essential because it would affect everyone on the earth. Nevertheless, without governments’ cooperation this goal cannot be achieved efficiently because different places and regions have different situations and meet variable difficulties. For example, if the cost for imposing a high carbon dioxide emissions tax will generate the decline of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and the influence of economy may even promotes a financial crisis, a government will not choose to do that. Also, when a country with smaller population but higher per person green house gas emission but another nation which has the opposite situation, their will be conflict when ask them to produce the same amount of emission. These are complicated and hard to negotiate an agreement. However, as the future cost for climate change is too high – decrease in general’s life span and quality, international cooperation cannot stop and require to be done more successfully. Besides, climate change also affects other organisms such as animals and plants. Human activities such as travelling may cause many animals and plants in danger. Decrease in animals and plants will damage the ecological chain even influence the whole planet. To protect those animals and plants, the Washington Conversation has established in1975, July 1st and called the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and it goal is to ensure the safety of wild species not dangerous because of international trade (CITES). Because the trade is worldwide and every country will affect neighboring countries, CITES needs to make sure every country does their work to stop threat other species in other countries. In general, many things include economy, human lives and other species are interacting with  each individual and country. They will promote different but widespread effects. Because of these facts it needs global cooperation to enhance the quality and safety in these fields. Governments should keep improving international action in order to provide a better world for all of lives. References Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Crash course. (2013, Sep 7). The Economist. International trade and market access data. (2014). World Trade Organization (WTO). Lifton, R. (2013). The dimensions of contemporary war and violence: How to reclaim humanity from a continuing revolution in the technology of killing. Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists, 69(4), 9-17. Nordhaus, D. (2011). The architecture of climate economics: Designing a global agreement on global warming. Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists, 67(1), 9-18. Tsunami. (2005). America. Yan, W. (2009, April 23). Crisis-Driven cooperation. Beijing Review.

Adlerian Theory Essay

Introduction and Rationale School counselors work with students in academic development, social and emotional skill development, and college/career development. Their work supports student success through education in these domains, improvement of skills, reduction of stress, and improvement in mental health functioning. As I read the article, School Counseling Outcome: A Meta-Analytic Examination of Interventions, I couldn’t help but realize the importance of continued research on the effectiveness of school counseling interventions. This article focuses on the effectiveness of an array of school counseling interventions and not solely on individual and group counseling. The primary aim of this research was to review various literature pieces that relate to school counseling and identify their outcome and implications to the practice of school counseling. In this study, Meta-analysis 1 involved treatment control comparisons and Meta-analysis 2 involved pretest-posttest differences. The overall average weighted effect size for school counseling interventions was .30. The study examined whether relevant moderator variables influenced effect sizes. See more:  Social Satire in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay The pretest-posttest size was not significant, so moderator analyses were conducted on treatment control comparisons. Analyses of moderator variables indicated school counseling program activities or interventions varied in effectiveness Strengths and Weaknesses A meta-analysis of school counseling outcome research found an overall effect size of .30. Students who participated in the interventions improved almost a third of the standard deviation more than their peers who did not receive the interventions. In other words, school counseling interventions have a larger effect size than aspirin for preventing heart attacks (ES of .06) and an equivalent effect size to sertoline (Zoloft) compared to placebo, for  treating major depressive disorder (ES of .31). (Whiston & Quimby, 2009). The use of meta-analysis offers some weakness on the research which is actually a common thing for meta-analytic researches. This results from the fact that the effect size’s quality is dependant on the quality of research and accuracy. Sampling inaccurate of ineffective research cases may also render the meta-analytic research weak due to the weakness of the researches sampled. The meta-analytic research may also be stronger due to the fact that it samples a mean of similar variables under various researches and thus providing an average that is a true representative of all researches. In order to improve the meta-analytic exercise it is good to first make an analysis of the article and ensure that they are classified appropriately and their content has high validity so that they may not negatively affect the analysis (Sexton, L.T., & Whiston, S., 1998). Summary of Research Outcome A meta-analysis of school counseling research (117 studies, 153 school counseling interventions, and 16, 296 students) found an overall effect size of .30. The authors found that students who participated in school counseling interventions tended to score on various outcome measures about a third of a standard deviation above those who did not receive the interventions. School counseling interventions produced quite large effect sizes in the areas of discipline, problem-solving, and increasing career knowledge. The effect sizes were smaller, but significant, related to school counseling interventions’ impact on academic achievement. Surprisingly little school counseling research was found related to individual counseling. Concerning guidance curriculum, small groups were more effective than interventions that involved entire classrooms. Outcome research reflects that group counseling can be effective with students who are experiencing problems and difficulties. Applying this Research to Practice School counselors can improve the climate in their schools. They can also draw from a vast array of interventions that will help students increase  their academic achievement (Brown, 1999). One intervention that has been used for more than a quarter of a century is behavioral contracts. Behavioral contracts must have specific objectives, set attainable short-term goals, be monitored regularly, allow for immediate reinforcement, and be adjusted when they are not promoting the desired change. Other direct interventions frequently employed by school counselors include study skills groups, time management training, classroom guidance units aimed at improving test taking skills, and achievement motivation groups. Achievement motivation groups are led by the counselor, but involve input from the teachers and support for increased achievement from the students in the group. When students have educational and career goals, they do better in school. Counselors can facilitate the development of educational and personal goals by engaging students in individual and group activities that focus on goal setting. Some school counselors routinely ask students about interests, educational plans, and occupational goals and record these in their portfolios as one way of emphasizing the importance of goal setting. Research supports what educators have long understood: parent involvement is an important factor in student achievement (Brown, 1999). Parents who have a high level of commitment to their children, set high standards, maintain a stable home environment, and support achievement, have children who do better in school. Counselors can involve parents through parent consultation, parent education classes that teach parents how to support their children in schools as well as parenting skills, and by advocating for parents and students when students are not treated fairly by the educational establishment. They can also help keep the parents of children who are having difficulty in school apprised of their children’s progress by encouraging teachers to communicate more frequently with parents than once per grading period. Conclusion School counselors are under pressure to assist in the effort to increase student achievement. They can respond to this challenge by working to improve the school climate, using direct interventions such as teaching study skills and involving students in achievement motivation groups, and by increasing the involvement of parents in the educational process. As our culture and educational institutions change, school counseling practices are emerging to better meet the needs of today’s students. Resources Brown, D (1999). Proven strategies for improving learning and academic achievement. Greensboro, NC: CAPS Publications Sexton, L.T., and Whiston, S.C. (1998). A review of school counseling outcome research: Implications for practice. Journal of Counseling and Development volume 76, issue number pp 412-426. Whiston & Quinby (2009). Review of school counseling research. Psychology in the Schools 46(3), 267-272. Schatzberg & Nemeroff (2009). Textbook of Pyschopharmacology. Arlington, VA: The American Psychiatric Publisher. Whiston, Susan C; Wendi, Lee Tai; Rahardja, Daryn; Eder, Kelly. Journal of Counseling and Development. Winter 2011. Vol. 89. Issue 1, p. 37-55.