The play “Macbeth” Essay Example for Free

The play â€Å"Macbeth† Essay At the beginning of this exam we read through the play entitled â€Å"Macbeth† so we had an idea of the plot of the play I think this helped us all as most of the class had not read this play before and this made us want to learn more of Macbeth. Response Phase. Using still images and narration after we had read the play helped me to understand the play better than when I read it as you had a visual aid and could see exactly what was going on and having narration in Modern English made it easier to understand as we are used to Modern English. In order to create three still images with narration successfully we had to think about the relationships between characters within the play to make sure that the way in which we performed was as accurate as possible as then it made it easier for the audience to understand. When we performed the three still images with narration I found that putting emotion in your voice for the narration and using conscious movement when changing images was hard and we needed some more work on that however I feel that showing who we were acting towards other characters was easy and the audience knew who we were trying to act as. In the exam we did an exercise called â€Å"the mirror exercise† in this we got into pairs and had to stand facing each other and we had to copy our partner’s actions and movements to create an atmosphere and we compared this to characters in the play for example: When Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are arguing about killing the king in our movement piece we showed how the control of the two switched until Lady Macbeth wins the argument and we showed her higher in this piece showing that she had won the argument. In act 1 scene 3 we learnt through the mirror exercise that Macbeth is easily lead by Lady Macbeth in which he is willing to kill the king to make his wife happy and to make him self king this also shows that he is a greedy man. This exercise reflected upon me greatly as I got to see a different sides to lots of characters which I fell gave our performances a little more and we could perform better having done this. Hotseating Macbeth helped my understanding of the character much more as you could ask any questions which are unanswered within the text and you could also develop more of a background to the character and that meant you knew more about Macbeth so you could add more into your performances and this was much better than just being told about the character. What we discovered about Macbeth as a result of hotseating: He is a greedy man. A power thirsty man. Looks out for him self. Trusts his wife. Is loyal to whom he chooses. Is very deceiving. In act 1 scene 7 we used thought tracking, soundscape’s and abstract movement to explore the thoughts and inner turmoil in Macbeth’s mind and I fell that all f these strategies helped my understanding as I could discover more sides to Macbeth’s character which enhanced my performance when I was in his role. I discovered in this that Macbeth is a greedy man as he wants to kill a friend and a loyal boss just so he can have more power and be crowned king. In groups of three we identified and marked the moment that represented the struggle in Macbeths mind, we identified this moment by reading extracts and finding that moment, we found it as it was significant as it showed Macbeth talking to himself arguing with his conscious not knowing what to do that’s why we chose this scene. Following on from this we all created a short movement piece without dialogue to highlight this moment this deepened my understanding and effectiveness of the piece without dialogue as you got to watch Macbeths facial expressions and how he felt reflected upon them also you got to think for yourself what he may have been thinking so this helps to understand. Within this whole exam I feel that â€Å"the mirror exercise† helped me most to gain an insight into the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. I think that this whole experience has helped me to understand the life and times that William Shakespeare wrote this as I can see that it is easy to get away with murders as there was no authorities like the police like we have today which shows it was a dangerous time and a lot has changed since then. Empathy to see and feel someone else’s point of view is so important not only for an actor but for society in general as if you do not always see eye to eye and you cannot compromise friction between people enter and this is when fights and disagreements all break out so it is important as you can then have a conversation and the tone of your voice can reflect upon that which helps keep the peace. Development Phase. We looked at act 1 scene 3, this is when Macbeth meets the three witches for the first time and also when he is told that he will be Thane of Cawdor and the king, here is how I think Macbeth would have felt about this, his thoughts on this life changing news: Thane of Cawdor? How can that be there is already a Thane of Cawdor. To be king wow that would be great but how do I achieve that? These women cannot speak truth there is no way this can come true, but what if they speak true and I can become Thane then king ? I must tell my wife! From the above in which I have just written I will now bullet point how I feel I would perform the extract above: My facial expression would be tense and confused. I would look down just glancing up every so often looking at people until the line beginning â€Å"These women† then look up. Once looking up stare at the three witches. Look at them angrily. Look out in the distance when â€Å"but what if† starts. Confused look again. Return to the atmosphere of the room quickly as you say â€Å"I must tell my wife†. We used drama to create our own version of act 1 scene 3 we used props symbolically within this scene for example: Drums to create the drum sound in the text, black cloth to show the darkness of the witch’s growing closer towards Macbeth. In this scene we tried to replicate Macbeths temptation when the weird sisters are telling him all him becoming Thane of Cawdor and king as in our group we felt that it was important to show his lust for the titles of Thane and King so we tried to show that the weird sisters are making his lust worse as they say he can be Thane and king so in a group we felt that the weird sisters were responsible for his temptation but also he controls this so in a way they are both responsible for the temptation towards the titles and thought that somehow they could be like a mirror to his own soul as he wants to be Thane and king but does not show it only deep in his soul so they are showing him this and he knows that it what he wants and what he lusts for in his soul. I feel that a twenty first century interpretation of the text would be very different to that of Shakespeare’s age when witch’s were considered to be real as today people would think nothing of someone saying that they would be Thane and king as there is no such thing as witches known in present times so Macbeth in present time would not be as spooked and as tempted as there is no fear in what they say today. If I could develop this drama through the use of costume, stage design, special effects and props I would have used lighting so that every so often when the witches finished a sentence they flashed so it gave the effect of lighting and mystery and to give the atmosphere of storm I would also use black clothes with were ripped and look dirty and for Macbeth I would wear battle clothes like armor as they had just come from battle in this scene. When creating this movement piece from act 1 scene 7 I feel it gave a great sense of how Macbeth was feeling and gave an idea of the thoughts going through his mind as he is drawn to what the witches are saying but backs away when in his mind he thinks it may happen and he becomes overwhelmed with the thought. I feel we could have developed this further by the speed in which Macbeths walks toward the witches and when he backs away as the tempo and rhythm of that could make the audience engage more with his thoughts, also using contrasts as in the stillness when Macbeth backs away to when he was all excited to hear he will be king when he is very active, using spoken language in this piece may have made this better as some members of the audience may not have fully understood what was going on within this piece. If we were to use our movement piece and turn it into a naturalistic role-play I would design the stage as a dark stormy sky as the witches bring storms and the blackness can symbolize evil being the witches. Within this role-play I would have to think about spoken language between the characters including gestures and how they should show how they really feel with body language and where the climax of the whole scene should be in order to make it work. Acting out the text using Shakespeare’s language was very challenging and difficult to master and I would need a lot of time to get it perfect. If I had a week to rehearse a scene I would pick the very first one in the play when you meet the witches for the first time as I think this sets the scene for the rest of the play, in this I would use my voice to project over the whole of the stage when needed to create a sense of the witches being mysterious and my body language would be very bizarre as the witches move like this to create a strange atmosphere.

Reinforcement of Stereotypes in Television and Media

Reinforcement of Stereotypes in Television and Media Since the invention of television, racial, culture and ethnic stereotypes have been used to explain unknown cultures and ethnicities to those consuming content from this medium. Stereotypes on television were also used to gain new viewers whose ideals aligned with what was being presented in the programming as well keep viewers who may have been turned onto the show because of the stereotypes shown fit their perceptions of other races, cultures and ethnicities. However, many of these stereotypes paint certain racial, cultural, and ethnic groups in a negative light. These portrayals of race, ethnicity and culture in television negatively impact the way the groups portrayed as seen by people and are controlled by those who are in ownership positions at television conglomerates. Stereotypes are used in television to both frame what little is known about a race, ethnicity, or culture and to frame people in a way that make the characters relatable to those who are not informed. Media has long been criticized for their representations of African Americans on television. While the quantity of African-American portrayals has increased, the quality of these images has not. 1 Research using perceptions have shown that negative exposure to African-American portrayals in the media significantly influences evaluations of African-Americans in general and have an effect on viewers of all ages and races. 2 Studies have shown that on television, African-Americans are generally put into blue-collar occupations such as a house cleaner or postal worker while have shown that they are portrayed in roles such as servant, criminal, entertainer, or athlete. This is in stark comparison to the supervisory occupational roles regularly given to white television characters. 3 African- Americans are also regularly given negative personality traits and low achieving statuses. For viewers without their own base knowledge of African-Americans, these stereotypical portrayals cause them to create negative assumptions about African-Americans based on what they have seen on television. 4 Many programs on television do not display African-Americans in positive roles, but instead focus more on reaffirming negative stereotypes. However, media shapes and influences public perceptions and these negative stereotypes have the same impact on public perceptions. 5 Stereotypes are reinforced through the media, particularly on television. Because of time and dramatic constraints, producers, casting directors and casting agencies freely admit to stereotyping and using stock characters which are familiar to the audience. Characters are typecast based on what the script calls for based on stereotypes in an effort to make the hiring and writing processes easier and faster. For decades, working class men were portrayed as dumb, immature, irresponsible, and lacking in common sense. 6 As African-American men are more frequently typecast into working class, blue-collar occupations, this especially extends to African-American men. The production process in Hollywood studios and associated organizations gives rise to the use of stereotyping to meet the time demands of production. If a production company had an entire year to complete a season of 22 to 24 episodes, an episode would have to be produced on average every 2 weeks, which includes script writing , casting, staging, filming, and editing. 7 This pressure on the production team causes them to simplify as much as possible in order to streamline the process and thus allows for using stereotypes to make script writing and character casting easier.8 Creators will become more likely to stick to what is familiar to them as they do not have the time to become familiar enough with a racial, ethnic or cultural group to present a realistic portrayal of that group. For producers, casting directors and casting agencies, unless the idea behind the story is a contradictory to the stereotype, there is a strong pressure to use existing stereotypes to decrease the time spent casting characters and writing scripts. (Butsch 2014) This pressure also comes from media conglomerates whose main aim is to produce as much content as possible to make as much money as possible. One of the most obvious trends in media ownership is its increasing centralization into fewer and fewer companies. Media ownership has become so concentrated that as of the mid-2000s only five global firms dominated the industry in the United States; The Walt Disney Company, Time Warner, News Corporation, Viacom and the German company Bertlsmann AG. (Croteau, Hoynes, and Milan 2011).These conglomerates wield influence that extends to all parts of the multimedia entertainment. They produce newspapers, magazines, radio, television, books, and movies. Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter. The Perceived Realism of African American Portrayals on Television. The Howard Journal of Communications. Accessed October 2, 2014. https://library.uoregon.edu/sites/default/files/data/guides/english/howard_journal_communications.pdf Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Richard Bush, â€Å"Six Decades of Social Class in American Television Sitcoms.† In Gender, Race, and Class in the Media: A Critical Reader. (Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publishing, 2014), 507. Ibid., 513. Ibid. Bibliography Butsch, Richard. â€Å"Six Decades of Social Class in American Television Sitcoms.† In Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Critical Reader, 507-516. Los Angeles: SAGE Publishing, 2014 Croteau, David P., Hoynes, William D., Milan, Stefania. â€Å"The Economics of the Media Industry.† In Gender, Race and Class in Media: A Critical Reader, 28-30. Los Angeles: SAGE Publishing, 2014. Originally published in David P. Croteau, William D. Hoynes and Stefania Milan, â€Å"The Economics of the Media Industry,† in Media/Society: Industries, Images Audiences (2011). Monk-Turner, Elizabeth, Mary Heiserman, Crystle Johnson, Vanity Cotton, and Manny Jackson. The Portrayal of Racial Minorities on Prime Time Television: A Replication of the Mastro and Greenberg Study a Decade Later. Studies in Popular Culture. http://pcasacas.org/SiPC/32.2/Monk-Turner_Heiserman_Johnson_Cotton_Jackson.pdf (accessed October 2, 2014). Punyanunt-Carter, Narissra M.. The Howard Journal of Communications. The Perceived Realism of African American Portrayals on Television. https://library.uoregon.edu/sites/default/files/data/guides/english/howard_journal_communications.pdf (accessed October 2, 2014). Randall, Steve . Primetime Racism on Fox. FAIR. http://fair.org/extra-online-articles/primetime-racism-on-fox/ (accessed October 2, 2014). The Opportunity Agenda. Social Science Literature Review: Media Representations and Impact on the Lives of Black Men and Boys. The Opportunity Agenda. http://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/Media-Impact-onLives-of-Black-Men-and-Boys-OppAgenda.pdf (accessed October 2, 2014). UPDATED: Fox News Long History Of Race-Baiting. Media Matters for America. http://mediamatters.org/research/2011/06/13/updated-fox-news-long-history-of-race-baiting/180529 (accessed October 2, 2014).

The Olympic Athlete :: essays research papers

The Olympic Athlete I always have respected Olympic athletes, for they spend all their time training. Victorious athletes were professionals in the sense that they lived off the glory of their achievement ever afterwards. Their hometowns might reward them with: free meals for the rest of their lives, honorary appointments, or leadership positions in the community. The victors were memorialized in statues and also in victory songs, and commissioned from famous poets. Today, the Olympic Games are the world's largest pageant of athletic skill and competitive spirit. They are also displays of nationalism, commerce and politics. These two opposing elements of the Olympics are not a modern invention. The conflict between the Olympic movement's high ideals and the commercialism or political acts, which accompany the Games, has been noted since ancient times. The ancient Olympic Games, part of a major religious festival honoring Zeus, the chief Greek god, were the biggest events in their world. They were the scenes of political rivalries between people from different parts of the Greek world, and the site of controversies, boasts, public announcements and humiliations. Ancient athletes competed as individuals, not on national teams, as in the modern Games. The emphasis on individual athletic achievement through public competition was related to the Greek ideal of excellence, called "arete". Aristocratic men who attained this ideal, through their outstanding words or deeds, won permanent glory and fame. Those who failed to measure up to this code feared public shame and disgrace. Olympia was one of the oldest religious centers in the ancient Greek world. Since athletic contests were one way that the ancient Greeks honored their gods, it was logical to hold a recurring athletic competition at the site of a major temple. Also, Olympia is convenient geographically to reach by ship, which was a major concern for the Greeks. Athletes and spectators traveled from Greek colonies as far away as modern-day Spain, the Black Sea, or Egypt. Athletics were a key part of education in ancient Greece. Many Greeks believed that developing the body was equally important as improving the mind for overall health. Also, regular exercise was important in a society where men were always needed for military service. Plato's Laws specifically mentions how athletics greatly improved military skills. Greek youth therefore worked out in the palaestra (wrestling-school) whether they were serious Olympic contenders or not. Ancient competitors were required to train at Olympia for a month before the Games officially started, like modern competitors at the Olympic. Young men worked with athletic trainers who used long sticks to point out incorrect body

What Women Imply In Silence Essay -- Identity Style Expression

While walking through a random office the individual would see a multitude of women suggesting many things through their appearance, while all the men in the office will have the same style of slacks, dress shirt, and shined shoes. There may be slight variations in the men’s looks, but none of those variations compares to the variations evident in women. Deborah Tannen uses her essay â€Å"There is no Unmarked Woman†, published in 1994 within the book Talking From 9 to 5, to bring forth the idea that in the professional, working world all men are unmarked basic molds of each other while women mark themselves through the use of particle in linguistics, way they look, fill out a form, and change their surname after marriage. Tannen starts her essay by analyzing the people in her small business conference: Four women and eight men. She notices how each women presents something different through her clothes, makeup, hairstyle, and shoes. While the women separated themselves through their looks the males were the unmarked of the group with no special separate styles. Tannen uses her knowledge of linguistics to try to explain this fact. She uses the linguistics term marked. Marked refers to the particle that has no meaning of its own such as es and s (Tannen, 141). These particles only make sense when attached to the root word like wishes and misses. The root word or unmarked words are connected to the â€Å"male†; while the marked particles such as ess represent the female for example the word actress. Sadly the female endings also bring forth an idea of silliness. Tannen also brings forth the point that women cannot even fill out forms without giving forth information about themselves. When men are asked to fill out forms they chose the... ...rk Times, n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2010. abortion.htm>. Longley, Robert. "U.S. Birth Rate Hits All-Time Low." About.com. The New York Times Co., 2010. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. censusstatistic/a/aabirthrate.htm>. Monahan, Michael. "Complications You Can Have with Your Abortion." Abortion Facts.com. Heritage House '76, 15 Nov. 2006. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. . Peterson, Linda H. The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Nonfiction. New York: Norton & Company, 2000. Print. Torres, Adia Forest, Jacqueline Darroch. "Why Do Women Have Abortions?" Guttmacher Insitute 20.4 (1988): 169-176. JSTOR. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. 2135792.pdf?acceptTC=true>.

philhealths indigent program :: essays research papers

CHAPTER I. RATIONALE Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation was created by Republic Act No. 7875 to administer the National Health Insurance Program which is designed to provide health insurance coverage and ensure affordable, acceptable and health services for all Filipinos.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Enhanced â€Å"PCSO Greater Medicare Access (GMA) Program† is a partnership forged by four important agencies of the government: the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), the Local Government Unit (LGU), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and other national government agencies (NGAs) such as DILG, DSWD, DAR, DOH. The Enhanced PCSO GMA Program is a realization of the common goals of PCSO, PhilHealth, DBM and the LGUs of the intention to enroll 5 million indigent families nationwide institutionalizing an integrated health care financing and delivery mechanism that ensures accessible, affordable and quality health care to all underprivileged Filipinos. The Program started its enrollment on February 2004 and ended on May 2004. The validity of this card is for a year and can be renewed through the Local Government Units (LGUs).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For the implementation of the Program, PCSO allocated P1.5 billion as assistance for the payment of the local government unit (LGU) premium counterpart to PhilHealth for 2004, initially utilized the P1 billion â€Å"Stand By Fund† approved by the PCSO Board. DBM, on the other hand, assured the release of P1.5 billion to PhilHealth for the national government (NG) premium counterpart for the would be indigent. CHAPTER II. OBEJCTIVES 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To be able to identify the qualified members 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To be able to know the membership process 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To be able to identify the program benefits 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To be able know the number of indigents enrolled in Region VIII. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To be able to identify the number of claims from the enrolled members. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To determine the controversies behind the card CHAPTER III. SCOPE AND LIMITATION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The study is confined only to Region VIII which composes the provinces of: Biliran, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Northern Samar, Southern Leyte and Western Samar. Chapter IV. Methodology   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The primary data were gathered through interviews with the Membership & Marketing Division, Finance Division, Claims Division and Management Information System of PhilHealth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the secondary data, the researcher used the information from PhilHealth, news clippings from the newspapers and the Internet. CHAPTER V. DATA ANALYSIS Table I. Number of Indigents Enrolled In Eastern Samar Municipality  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  No. Of Indigents Enrolled  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Percentage   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Arteche  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1,142  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3.27% Balangiga  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  686  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1.96% Balangkayan  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  991  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2.84% Borongan  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5,398  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  15.46% Can-avid  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1,909  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5.47% Dolores  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3,575  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  10.24% Gen. Macarthur  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  505  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1.45% Giporlos  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1,092  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3.13% Guiuan  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2,933  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  8.40% Hernani  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  869  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2.49% Jipapad  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  315  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  0.90% Lawaan  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  953  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2.73% Llorente  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1,309  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3.75% Maslog  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  40  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  0.11% Maydolong  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1,154  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3.31% Mercedes  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  459  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1.31% Oras  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3,121  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  8.94% Quinapondan  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1,489  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4.26% Salcedo  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1,015  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2.91% San Julian  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1,220  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3.49% San Policarpo  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1,888  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5.41% Sulat  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1,311  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3.75% Taft  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1,540  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4.41% TOTAL  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  34,914  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  100.00%   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Eastern Samar, the highest number of indigents enrolled was the Municipality of Borongan with a total of 5, 398 or 15.

Supporting Career Women

Salvaging Sisterhood: Supporting Career Women Women and the Labor Market: the link grows stronger, by Susan Shank examines women and the emergence of their attachment to the labor market. This article takes a look at the labor market changes of women between the ages 25 and 54. Changes with these ages began throughout the post-World War II period and the rate of increase accelerated in the mid-1960's (Shank, 1988). The author links the rapid changes to various social and economic changes that have occurred in the United States.Historically women stayed home for the large part of their childbearing years, owever during the first world war women entered the workforce after the GI's returns women focused more on traditional family duties. After the Second World War far more women entered the workforce and even upon the return of the soldiers continued to stay in the workforce and those that did leave soon returned to work a few years later. According to age women in the 45 to 54 lead th e return to work postwar period. Rates for the 34 to 44 age group increased as well while 25 to 34 age group hardly changed at all.These were the postwar baby-boom years and most married women orking outside the labor force because of their child and family responsibilities (Shank, 1988). In 1960 women of childbearing in large number numbers began to enter the labor market. The spike in women workforce participants showed a very sharp decline in birth rate during this time period as well. Women began to show greater interest in education and work as time progress and delayed traditional familial norms. Black women had a much higher rate of activity in the workforce postwar than that of white women.The gap has since then narrowed by 1987 the rates for both whites and black women were similar. Hispanic women however were much less likely than black or white women to be apart of the workforce due to high birth rate, generally low educational attainment, and cultural roles that emphasiz e women's home and family roles. Women who where married stayed outside the workforce much longer than those that were single especially with the emergence of divorce and single women pregnancies. In 1987, 79 percent of women under the age of 18 were in the labor force compared to 67 percent for women with children (Shank, 1988).Working women generally were working full time hours 35 hours or more per week, to support heir families voluntarily while only 17 percent worked part time. Sixty-eight percent of women 25 to 54 worked for a full year and an additional 10 percent worked 40 to 49 weeks (Shank, 1988). The article written in 1988 states that there will be a future spike in women's participation in the workforce over the next decade is expected to increase 10 percentage points. I feel this article is an accurate picture of how I see the work force nas changed and the picture ot women today.Women nave become more involved in the workforce, bill paying, as well as family managemen t. This article interests me in terms of career and women because my significant other is the single working woman. From a personal perspective women planning a wedding and participate in pre marriage counseling, may try to examine and resolve some of their feelings about work and â€Å"women's work†. Their partner may have some more traditional views about work while she love it and find herself consumed with the high of a fast-paced extremely full life.I recognize the strain of stretching oneself too thin and figuring out how to manage married life, the balance of spousal needs and her routine eelings of her independent self. Controversies have held back improvements for training new counselors and development of treatment systematic treatment procedures. In order to explore treatment protocols, the debate must be addressed to help validate the suggestions of the impact of mothers' employment on family relationships. These consist of exploring the criteria development of th e designation, and effectively learning how to implement accountability for working career mothers'.The literature-based debate indicates how stresses in family relationships dynamics an be stabilized between home and work time, for full-time or part-time working mothers. Today, working mothers symptoms of normality are constructed in a wide variety of ways as viewed by other counseling colleagues, legislators, and the media. These criteria serve to indicate what can be considered the channel of communication for mother's expression of her genuine identity in the American culture.The Journal article read for this assignment related to career mothers, is entitled, â€Å"The impact of mothers' employment on family relationships† and was centered on my personal life style. The study was conducted by South Bank University as a qualitative case study of mothers working in an accountancy firm in both in the hospital and in the accountancy firm setting, in the London area. The inter views for the case study were completed in 2001 utilizing 37 mothers and 30 fathers in couples who had at least one pre-school age child.The information collected from the study revealed surprising results from the mothers, as well as, the fathers perspective. The case study focused on certain highlighted areas such as, how stresses in family relationships could arise as much from the quality of time pent at work by mothers as well as the amount of time they spent at work (emphasis added). During the interview process mothers and fathers were interviewed separately, in order to gain ‘her' and ‘his' perspective on the relationships, (Callender, Edward, Reynolds, 2003).The sample contained a spread of mothers working full- time or part-time in both the workplaces, and across higher, intermediate and lower status Jobs in the two organizations. The majority of the fathers were employed full- time. The study revealed interesting facts in reference to the dynamics of home and work time for mothers. The case study focused mainly on the management of mothers work time versus the amount of time they spend at work. Family-friendly policies and flexible working practices were the key components, as they have an impact on family life.More focus was given to the extent of autonomy and control that mothers experience in the workplace. The article stated that hospital mothers in higher status Jobs were perceived as having low â€Å"time sovereignty' because of an increased emphasis on managerial roles (Callender, Edward, Reynolds, 2003). It also states, by contrast, that in a devolved organizational structure, mothers in lower tatus Jobs in the accountancy firm tended to see themselves as having high levels of time sovereignty (Callender, Edward, Reynolds, 2003).These are key concerns from the case study that employers may consider addressing in the future (Callender, Edward, Reynolds, 2003). The most interesting facts, revealed from the case study, were the fat hers perspective of the impact mothers working and family relationship. A large portion of fathers established that it was beneficial and enhancing to their relationship. Other qualities that enhanced some relationships were the appreciation nd recognition that enabled their partners to express different aspects of her identity.This finding was impressive because the positive response acknowledged the fact that mothers are appreciated and respected for helping their partners financially as well as with raising a family. The fathers also gave an excellent confirmation that mothers are good partners as well as being ‘good' mothers. Fathers also expressed and recognized that the quality of the mother-child relationship enhances the child's ability to develop useful skills, and to provide them with a ositive role model (Callender, Edward, Reynolds, 2003).In contrast, some fathers were not proud or supportive of their partner's Job. A few fathers had mixed feelings or expressed a n egative reaction because enough time was not being devoted to the family (Callender, Edward, Reynolds, 2003). The fathers expressed that the demands of the mother's work load, and not being able to meet the children's needs completely, caused extreme tension in the household (Callender, Edward, Reynolds, 2003). Personally, the choice of a qualitative study to do the research was very informative.Utilizing 37 mothers and 30 fathers, with at least one pre-school child, was a well-balanced statistical advantage in the research of the case study. Women's contribution in the workforce has conduct to the study of career aspirations of women. Career aspirations are impacted by dynamics such as gender, socioeconomic status, race, parent occupation and education level, and parental expectations. Women have become progressively more engaged in the workforce, and salaried employment of women has shifted from partly traditional female-oriented Jobs to more non-traditional, more formerly male-or iented careers.This analysis of literature presents an impression of women's contribution in the workforce and the evolution of women's career development and career aspirations in the latter half of the 20th century. Despite their increasing numbers, women have tended to enter the workforce in lower-status, lower-paying Jobs, and remain clustered in a limited number of conventional careers (Tinklin, Croxford, Ducklin, & Frame, 2005). Because women's career choices were restricted, their earnings lagged behind their male counterparts with comparable education and experience (Farmer, 1985; Stephenson Surge).Income earnings have been found to increase with educational level and years employed (Day ; Newburger, 2002). However, women earned roughly two- thirds the income of their male counterparts. This discrepancy in income was partially attributed to the disparity between traditionally male and traditionally female occupations. For example, women are less likely to be employed in scie nce or engineering Jobs, as these are considered traditionally male occupations. However, females who are employed in these Jobs earn roughly 20% less their male counterparts (Graham ; Smith, 2005).A barrier is any obstacle that prevents forward movement or any event or condition that makes career progress d tticult (Brown ; Barbosa, 2001). Barriers are considerable factors in the career development process, and the start of such barriers often begins when women are children. Such barriers are reinforced throughout women's schooling, college, and work, and they become more complex over time (Brown & Barbosa; Stephenson & Burge, 1997). In contrast, career aspirations characterize an individual's direction toward a desired career goal under epitome circumstances.Career aspirations are influenced by factors such as gender, socioeconomic status, race, parent's occupation and education level, and parental expectations (Khallad, 2000; Watson et al. , 2002). The literature review provided an overview of the research evidence in examining such factors as the parent's role in career behavior and how they affect individual's career decisions. In recent years, studies such as these indicate the increased awareness of the impact of socioeconomic status, race, gender, and on the career decision-making process and career development of women.Results of studies examining the effects of race on career aspirations have been mixed (Mau & Bikos, 2000; and Hellenga et al. ,2002) noted that previous research typically found African Americans to possess lower career aspirations than their European American counterparts. (Osipow and Fitzgerald, 1996) supported this notion, stating African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans exhibit considerably lower educational and occupational outcomes than Caucasians.Additional studies asserted people from minority groups, particularly those from lower class backgrounds, had more restrictive factors nfluencing their career aspirations comp ared with Caucasian persons from higher class backgrounds. In contrast, a study conducted by Arbona and Now (1991) determined there were no ethnic differences with regard to their career aspirations and socioeconomic status. Although few studies exist regarding effects of socioeconomic status on career choice, researchers agree socioeconomic status influences career choice (Gottfredson, 1981; Sellers et al. , 1999).Mau and Bikos (2000) cited previous findings showing a positive association between a familys socioeconomic status and aspirations. Youth from upper socioeconomic statuses were more likely to be well informed of and decide on professional career occupations. In contrast, Brown and Barbosa (2001) found career aspirations of young females who came from low-income families were confined to experiences of their relatives and friends. Influential siblings are thought to play a key role in the career development of adolescents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds (All, McWhirte r, & Chronister, 2005).The differences in findings relative to this literature review indicate more information is necessary and that the target population must be tudied relative to key components such as the focus on successes, achievements, strengths, weaknesses, resources, and the abilities and acquired skills of the children, youth and working mothers. In conclusion, it appears that it is imperative that all of these areas be further studied for working mothers to have effective and successful career development outcomes.

Tsunami and Love Canal

A  tsunami  (‘harbor wave') or  tidal wave  is a series of water waves (called a  tsunami wave train) caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, usually an ocean, but can occur in  large lakes. Tsunamis are a frequent occurrence in Japan; approximately 195 events have been recorded. Due to the immense volumes of water and energy involved, tsunamis can devastate coastal regions.Earthquakes,  volcanic eruptions  and other  underwater explosions  (including detonations of underwater  nuclear devices), landslides  and other  mass movements,  meteorite ocean impacts or similar impact events, and other disturbances above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami. The  Greek  historian  Thucydides  was the first to relate tsunami to  submarine earthquakes,  but understanding of tsunami's nature remained slim until the 20th century and is the subject of ongoing research. Many early  geological,  geograp hical, and oceanographic  texts refer to tsunamis as â€Å"seismic sea waves. CHARACTERISTICS: While everyday  wind waves  have a  wavelength  (from crest to crest) of about 100  meters (330 ft) and a height of roughly 2  meters (6. 6 ft), a tsunami in the deep ocean has a wavelength of about 200  kilometers (120 mi). Such a wave travels at well over 800  kilometers per hour (500 mph), but due to the enormous wavelength the wave oscillation at any given point takes 20 or 30 minutes to complete a cycle and has amplitude of only about 1  meter (3. 3 ft). This makes tsunamis difficult to detect over deep water. Ships rarely notice their passage.As the tsunami approaches the coast and the waters become shallow,  wave shoaling  compresses the wave and its velocity slows below 80  kilometers per hour (50 mph). Its wavelength diminishes to less than 20  kilometers (12 mi) and its amplitude grows enormously, producing a distinctly visible wave. Since the wave st ill has such a long wavelength, the tsunami may take minutes to reach full height. Except for the very largest tsunamis, the approaching wave does not break (like a  surf break), but rather appears like a fast moving  tidal bore.Open bays and coastlines adjacent to very deep water may shape the tsunami further into a step-like wave with a steep-breaking front. When the tsunami's wave peak reaches the shore, the resulting temporary rise in sea level is termed ‘run up'. Run up is measured in meters above a reference sea level. A large tsunami may feature multiple waves arriving over a period of hours, with significant time between the wave crests. The first wave to reach the shore may not have the highest run up. About 80% of tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean, but are possible wherever there are large bodies of water, including lakes.They are caused by earthquakes, landslides, volcanic explosions, and  bolides. GENERATION MECHANISMS: The principal generation mechanism (o r cause) of a tsunami is the displacement of a substantial volume of water or perturbation of the sea. This displacement of water is usually attributed to earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, or more rarely by meteorites and nuclear tests. The waves formed in this way are then sustained by gravity. It is important to note that  tides  do not play any part in the generation of tsunamis; hence referring to tsunamis as ‘tidal waves' is inaccurate.Seismicity generated tsunamis Tsunamis can be generated when the sea floor abruptly deforms and vertically displaces the overlying water. Tectonic earthquakes are a particular kind of earthquake that are associated with the earth's crustal deformation; when these earthquakes occur beneath the sea, the water above the deformed area is displaced from its equilibrium position. More specifically, a tsunami can be generated when  thrust faults  associated with  convergent  or destructive  plate boundaries  move abruptl y, resulting in water displacement, due to the vertical component of movement involved.Movement on normal faults will also cause displacement of the seabed, but the size of the largest of such events is normally too small to give rise to a significant tsunami. |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |Drawing of  tectonic plate |Overriding plate bulges under |Plate slips, causing |The energy released produces | |boundary  before earthquake. |strain, causing tectonic uplift. |subsidence  and releasing energy |tsunami waves. | | | |into water. | Tsunamis have a small  amplitude  (wave height) offshore, and a very long  wavelength  (often hundreds of kilometers long), which is why they generally pass unnoticed at sea, forming only a slight swell usually about 300  millimeters (12 in) above the normal sea surface. They grow in height when they reach shallower water, in a  wave shoaling  process described below. A tsunami can occur in any tidal state and even at low tide can sti ll inundate coastal areas. On April 1, 1946, a magnitude-7. 8 (Richter scale)  earthquake  occurred near the  Aleutian Islands,  Alaska.It generated a tsunami which inundated  Hilo  on the island of Hawaii’s with a 14  meters (46 ft) high surge. The area where the  earthquake  occurred is where the  Pacific Ocean  floor is  subducting  (or being pushed downwards) under  Alaska. Examples of tsunami at locations away from  convergent boundaries  include  Storegga  about 8,000 years ago,  Grand Banks  1929,  Papua New Guinea  1998 (Tappin, 2001). The Grand Banks and Papua New Guinea tsunamis came from earthquakes which destabilized sediments, causing them to flow into the ocean and generate a tsunami. They dissipated before traveling transoceanic distances.The cause of the Storegga sediment failure is unknown. Possibilities include an overloading of the sediments, an earthquake or a release of gas hydrates (methane etc. ) The  1960 V aldivia earthquake  (Mw  9. 5) (19:11 hrs UTC),  1964 Alaska earthquake  (Mw  9. 2), and  2004 Indian Ocean earthquake  (Mw  9. 2) (00:58:53 UTC) are recent examples of powerful mega thrust  earthquakes that generated tsunamis (known as  teletsunamis) that can cross entire oceans. Smaller (Mw  4. 2) earthquakes in Japan can trigger tsunamis (called  local  and regional tsunamis) that can only devastate nearby coasts, but can do so in only a few minutes.In the 1950s, it was discovered that larger tsunamis than had previously been believed possible could be caused by giant  landslides. These phenomena rapidly displace large water volumes, as energy from falling debris or expansion transfers to the water at a rate faster than the water can absorb. Their existence was confirmed in 1958, when a giant landslide in Lituya Bay,  Alaska, caused the highest wave ever recorded, which had a height of 524 meters (over 1700 feet). The wave didn't travel far, as it st ruck land almost immediately. Two people fishing in the bay were killed, but another boat amazingly managed to ride the wave.Scientists named these waves  mega tsunami. Scientists discovered that extremely large landslides from volcanic island collapses can generate  mega tsunami that can travel trans-oceanic distances. SCALES OF INTENSITY AND MAGNITUDE: As with earthquakes, several attempts have been made to set up scales of tsunami intensity or magnitude to allow comparison between different events. Intensity scales The first scales used routinely to measure the intensity of tsunami were the  Sieberg-Ambraseys scale, used in the  Mediterranean Sea  and the  Imamura-Iida intensity scale, used in the Pacific Ocean.The latter scale was modified by Soloviev, who calculated the Tsunami intensity  I  according to the formula [pic] Where  Hav  is the average wave height along the nearest coast. This scale, known as the  Soloviev-Imamura tsunami intensity scale, is u sed in the global tsunami catalogues compiled by the  NGDC/NOAA  and the Novosibirsk Tsunami Laboratory as the main parameter for the size of the tsunami. Magnitude scales The first scale that genuinely calculated a magnitude for a tsunami, rather than an intensity at a particular location was the ML scale proposed by Murty & Loomis based on the potential energy.Difficulties in calculating the potential energy of the tsunami mean that this scale is rarely used. Abe introduced the  tsunami magnitude scale  Mt, calculated from, [pic] where  h  is the maximum tsunami-wave amplitude (in m) measured by a tide gauge at a distance  R  from the epicenter,  a,  b  &  D  are constants used to make the Mt  scale match as closely as possible with the moment magnitude scale. WARNINGS AND PREDICTIONS: Drawbacks can serve as a brief warning. People who observe drawback (many survivors report an accompanying sucking sound), can survive only if they immediately run for hi gh ground or seek the upper floors of nearby buildings.In 2004, ten-year old  Tilly Smith  of  Surrey,  England, was on  Maikhao beach  in  Phuket,  Thailand  with her parents and sister, and having learned about tsunamis recently in school, told her family that a tsunami might be imminent. Her parents warned others minutes before the wave arrived, saving dozens of lives. She credited her geography teacher, Andrew Kearney. In the  2004 Indian Ocean tsunami  drawback was not reported on the African coast or any other eastern coasts it reached. This was because the wave moved downwards on the eastern side of the fault line and upwards on the western side.The western pulse hit coastal Africa and other western areas. A tsunami cannot be precisely predicted, even if the magnitude and location of an earthquake is known. Geologists,  oceanographers, and seismologists  analyze each earthquake and based on many factors may or may not issue a tsunami warning. However , there are some warning signs of an impending tsunami, and automated systems can provide warnings immediately after an earthquake in time to save lives. One of the most successful systems uses bottom pressure sensors that are attached to buoys. The sensors constantly monitor the pressure of the overlying water column.This is deduced through the calculation: [pic] Where, P  = the overlying  pressure  in Newton per meter square, ? = the  density  of the  seawater = 1. 1 x 103  kg/m3, g  = the  acceleration due to gravity = 9. 8 m/s2  and h  = the height of the water column in meters. Hence for a water column of 5,000 m depth the overlying pressure is equal to [pic] Or about 5500  tonnes-force  per square meter. Regions with a high tsunami risk typically use  tsunami warning systems  to warn the population before the wave reaches land. On the west coast of the United States, which is prone to Pacific Ocean tsunami, warning signs indicate evacuation routes .In Japan, the community is well-educated about earthquakes and tsunamis, and along the Japanese shorelines the tsunami warning signs are reminders of the natural hazards together with a network of warning sirens, typically at the top of the cliff of surroundings hills. The  Pacific Tsunami Warning System  is based in  Honolulu,  Hawaii. It monitors Pacific Ocean seismic activity. A sufficiently large earthquake magnitude and other information trigger a tsunami warning. While the seduction zones around the Pacific are seismically active, not all earthquakes generate tsunami.Computers assist in analyzing the tsunami risk of every earthquake that occurs in the Pacific Ocean and the adjoining land masses. |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |Tsunami hazard sign |A tsunami warning sign on |The monument to the victims of |Tsunami memorial | |atBamfield,  British Columbia |a  seawall  in  Kamakura, Japan, |tsunami at Laupahoehoe,  Hawaii |inKanyakumari  beach | | |2004. | | |As a direct result of the Indian Ocean tsunami, a re-appraisal of the tsunami threat for all coastal areas is being undertaken by national governments and the United Nations Disaster Mitigation Committee. A tsunami warning system is being installed in the Indian Ocean. Computer models can predict tsunami arrival, usually within minutes of the arrival time. Bottom pressure sensors relay information in real time. Based on these pressure readings and other seismic information and the seafloor's shape and coastal  topography, the models estimate the amplitude and surge height of the approaching tsunami.All Pacific Rim countries collaborate in the Tsunami Warning System and most regularly practice evacuation and other procedures. In Japan, such preparation is mandatory for government, local authorities, emergency services and the population. Some zoologists hypothesize that some animal species have an ability to sense subsonic  Rayleigh waves  from an earthquake or a tsunami. If c orrect, monitoring their behavior could provide advance warning of earthquakes, tsunami etc. However, the evidence is controversial and is not widely accepted.There are unsubstantiated claims about the Lisbon quake that some animals escaped to higher ground, while many other animals in the same areas drowned. The phenomenon was also noted by media sources in  Sri Lanka  in the  2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. [21][22]  It is possible that certain animals (e. g. ,  elephants) may have heard the sounds of the tsunami as it approached the coast. The elephants' reaction was to move away from the approaching noise. By contrast, some humans went to the shore to investigate and many drowned as a result. It is not possible to prevent a tsunami.However, in some tsunami-prone countries some  earthquake engineering  measures have been taken to reduce the damage caused on shore. Japan  built many tsunami walls of up to 4. 5  metres (15 ft) to protect populated coastal areas. Oth er localities have built  floodgates  and channels to redirect the water from incoming tsunami. However, their effectiveness has been questioned, as tsunami often overtop the barriers. For instance, the  Okushiri, Hokkaido tsunami  which struck  Okushiri Island  of  Hokkaido  within two to five minutes of the  earthquake on July 12, 1993  created waves as much as 30  metres (100 ft) tall—as high as a 10-story building.The port town of Aonae was completely surrounded by a tsunami wall, but the waves washed right over the wall and destroyed all the wood-framed structures in the area. The wall may have succeeded in slowing down and moderating the height of the tsunami, but it did not prevent major destruction and loss of life. [23] Natural factors such as shoreline tree cover can mitigate tsunami effects. Some locations in the path of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami escaped almost unscathed because trees such as  coconut palms  and  mangroves  absorbe d the tsunami's energy.In one striking example, the village of  Naluvedapathy  in India's  Tamil Nadu  region suffered only minimal damage and few deaths because the wave broke against a forest of 80,244 trees planted along the shoreline in 2002 in a bid to enter the  Guinness Book of Records. [24]  Environmentalists have suggested tree planting along tsunami-prone seacoasts. Trees require years to grow to a useful size, but such plantations could offer a much cheaper and longer-lasting means of tsunami mitigation than artificial barriers. The Love Canal chemical waste dumpIn 1920 Hooker Chemical had turned an area in Niagara Falls into a municipal and chemical disposal site. In 1953 the site was filled and relatively modern methods were applied to cover it. A thick layer of impermeable red clay sealed the dump, preventing chemicals from leaking out of the landfill. A city near the dumpsite wanted to buy it for urban expansion. Despite the warnings of Hooker the city eve ntually bought the site for the meager amount of 1 dollar. Hooker could not sell for more, because they did not want to earn money off a project so clearly unwise.The city began to dig to develop a sewer, damaging the red clay cap that covered the dumpsite below. Blocks of homes and a school were built and the neighborhood was named Love Canal. Love Canal seemed like a regular neighborhood. The only thing that distinguished this neighborhood from other was the strange odors that often hung in the air and an unusual seepage noticed by inhabitants in their basements and yards. Children in the neighborhood often fell ill. Love Canal families regularly experienced miscarriages and birth defects.Lois Gibbs, an activist, noticed the high occurrence of illness and birth defects in the area and started documenting it. In 1978 newspapers revealed the existence of the chemical waste dump in the Love Canal area and Lois Gibbs started petitioning for closing the school. In August 1978, the clai m succeeded and the NYS Health Department ordered closing of the school when a child suffered from chemical poisoning. When Love Canal was researched over 130 pounds of the highly toxic carcinogenic TCDD, a form of dioxin, was discovered. The total of 20. 00 tons of waste present in the landfill appeared to contain more than 248 different species of chemicals. The waste mainly consisted of pesticide residues and chemical weapons research refuse. The chemicals had entered homes, sewers, yards and creeks and Gibbs decided it was time for the more than 900 families to be moved away from the location. Eventually President Carter provided funds to move all the families to a safer area. Hooker’s parent company was sued and settled for 20 million dollars. Despite protests by Gibbs’s organization some of the houses in Love Canal went up for sale some 20 years later.The majority of the houses are on the market now and the neighborhood may become inhabited again after 20 years o f abandonment. The houses in Love Canal are hard to sell, despite a renaming of the neighborhood. It suffered such a bad reputation after the incident that banks refused mortgages on the houses. None of the chemicals have been removed from the dumpsite. It has been resealed and the surrounding area was cleaned and declared safe. Hooker’s mother company paid an additional 230 million dollars to finance this cleanup. They are now responsible for the management of the dumpsite.Today, the Love Canal dumpsite is known as one of the major environmental disasters of the century. **** Love Canal is an abandoned canal in Niagara County, New York, where a huge amount of toxic waste was buried. The waste was composed of at least 300 different chemicals, totaling an estimated 20,000 metric tons. The existence of the waste was discovered in the 1970s when families living in homes subsequently built next to the site found chemical wastes seeping up through the ground into their basements, forcing them to eventually abandon their homes.Love Canal was used from the 1940s through the 1950s by the Hooker Chemical Company and the city of Niagara Falls, among others, to dispose of their hazardous and municipal wastes and other refuse. The canal was surrounded by clay and was thought at the time to be a safe place for disposal—and, in fact, burying chemicals in the canal was probably safer than many other methods and sites used for chemical disposal at the time. In 1953, the Niagara Falls Board of Education bought the land-fill for $1 and constructed an elementary school with playing fields on the site.Roads and sewer lines were added and, in the early 1970s, single-family homes were built adjacent to the site. Following a couple of heavy rains in the mid-1970s, the canal flooded and chemicals were observed on the surface of the site and in the basements of houses abutting the site. Newspaper coverage, investigations by the State of New York and by the U. S. Environm ental Protection Agency, combined with pressure from the district's U. S. congressional representative and outrage on the part of local residents, led to the declaration of a health emergency involving â€Å"great and imminent peril to the health of the general public. Ultimately, in August, 1978, a decision was made by Governor Hugh Carey, supported by the White House, to evacuate the residents and purchase 240 homes surrounding the site. Shortly thereafter, the residents of nearby homes that did not immediately abut the site also became concerned about their health and conducted a health survey that purported to show an increase in the occurrence of various diseases and problems such as birth defects and miscarriages, which were attributed to chemical exposures.A great controversy ensued over whether the observations were real or reflected normal rates of such problems, and whether chemical exposures had, in fact, occurred. Eventually, political pressure resulted in families bein g given an opportunity to leave and have their homes purchased by the State. About 70 homes remained occupied in 1989 by families who chose not to move. The controversy at Love Canal followed on the heels of the heightened awareness that occurred in the 1960s about environmental contamination, and it contributed to public and regulatory concern about hazardous wastes, waste disposal, and disclosure of such practices.Such concerns led Congress to pass the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in 1976, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as the Superfund bill, in 1980. When CERCLA was passed, few were aware of the extent of the problem potentially created by years of inappropriate or inadequate hazardous waste disposal practices. Since implementing CERCLA, the U. S.Environmental Protection Agency has identified more than 40,000 potentially contaminated â€Å"Superfundâ⠂¬  sites. The Gulf War In August 1990 Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait, starting the Gulf War in which an allegiance of 34 nations worldwide was involved. In January  1991  of the Gulf War, Iraqi forces committed two environmental disasters. The first was a major oil spill 16 kilometers off the shore of Kuwait by dumping oil from several tankers and opening the valves of an offshore terminal. The second was the setting fire to 650 oil wells in Kuwait.The apparent strategic goal of the action was to prevent a potential landing by US Marines. American air strikes on January 26 destroyed pipelines to prevent further spillage into the Gulf. This however seemed to make little difference. Approximately one million tons of crude oil was already lost to the environment, making this the largest oil spill of human history. In the spring of 1991, as many as 500 oil wells were still burning and the last oil well was not extinguished until a few months later, in November.The oil spills did cons iderable damage to life in the Persian Gulf (see picture). Several months after the spill, the poisoned waters killed 20. 000 seabirds and had caused severe damage to local marine flora and fauna. The fires in the oil wells caused immense amounts of soot and toxic fumes to enter the atmosphere. This had great effects on the health of the local population and biota for several years. The pollution also had a possible impact on local weather patterns. Tsunami and Love Canal A  tsunami  (‘harbor wave') or  tidal wave  is a series of water waves (called a  tsunami wave train) caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, usually an ocean, but can occur in  large lakes. Tsunamis are a frequent occurrence in Japan; approximately 195 events have been recorded. Due to the immense volumes of water and energy involved, tsunamis can devastate coastal regions.Earthquakes,  volcanic eruptions  and other  underwater explosions  (including detonations of underwater  nuclear devices), landslides  and other  mass movements,  meteorite ocean impacts or similar impact events, and other disturbances above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami. The  Greek  historian  Thucydides  was the first to relate tsunami to  submarine earthquakes,  but understanding of tsunami's nature remained slim until the 20th century and is the subject of ongoing research. Many early  geological,  geograp hical, and oceanographic  texts refer to tsunamis as â€Å"seismic sea waves. CHARACTERISTICS: While everyday  wind waves  have a  wavelength  (from crest to crest) of about 100  meters (330 ft) and a height of roughly 2  meters (6. 6 ft), a tsunami in the deep ocean has a wavelength of about 200  kilometers (120 mi). Such a wave travels at well over 800  kilometers per hour (500 mph), but due to the enormous wavelength the wave oscillation at any given point takes 20 or 30 minutes to complete a cycle and has amplitude of only about 1  meter (3. 3 ft). This makes tsunamis difficult to detect over deep water. Ships rarely notice their passage.As the tsunami approaches the coast and the waters become shallow,  wave shoaling  compresses the wave and its velocity slows below 80  kilometers per hour (50 mph). Its wavelength diminishes to less than 20  kilometers (12 mi) and its amplitude grows enormously, producing a distinctly visible wave. Since the wave st ill has such a long wavelength, the tsunami may take minutes to reach full height. Except for the very largest tsunamis, the approaching wave does not break (like a  surf break), but rather appears like a fast moving  tidal bore.Open bays and coastlines adjacent to very deep water may shape the tsunami further into a step-like wave with a steep-breaking front. When the tsunami's wave peak reaches the shore, the resulting temporary rise in sea level is termed ‘run up'. Run up is measured in meters above a reference sea level. A large tsunami may feature multiple waves arriving over a period of hours, with significant time between the wave crests. The first wave to reach the shore may not have the highest run up. About 80% of tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean, but are possible wherever there are large bodies of water, including lakes.They are caused by earthquakes, landslides, volcanic explosions, and  bolides. GENERATION MECHANISMS: The principal generation mechanism (o r cause) of a tsunami is the displacement of a substantial volume of water or perturbation of the sea. This displacement of water is usually attributed to earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, or more rarely by meteorites and nuclear tests. The waves formed in this way are then sustained by gravity. It is important to note that  tides  do not play any part in the generation of tsunamis; hence referring to tsunamis as ‘tidal waves' is inaccurate.Seismicity generated tsunamis Tsunamis can be generated when the sea floor abruptly deforms and vertically displaces the overlying water. Tectonic earthquakes are a particular kind of earthquake that are associated with the earth's crustal deformation; when these earthquakes occur beneath the sea, the water above the deformed area is displaced from its equilibrium position. More specifically, a tsunami can be generated when  thrust faults  associated with  convergent  or destructive  plate boundaries  move abruptl y, resulting in water displacement, due to the vertical component of movement involved.Movement on normal faults will also cause displacement of the seabed, but the size of the largest of such events is normally too small to give rise to a significant tsunami. |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |Drawing of  tectonic plate |Overriding plate bulges under |Plate slips, causing |The energy released produces | |boundary  before earthquake. |strain, causing tectonic uplift. |subsidence  and releasing energy |tsunami waves. | | | |into water. | Tsunamis have a small  amplitude  (wave height) offshore, and a very long  wavelength  (often hundreds of kilometers long), which is why they generally pass unnoticed at sea, forming only a slight swell usually about 300  millimeters (12 in) above the normal sea surface. They grow in height when they reach shallower water, in a  wave shoaling  process described below. A tsunami can occur in any tidal state and even at low tide can sti ll inundate coastal areas. On April 1, 1946, a magnitude-7. 8 (Richter scale)  earthquake  occurred near the  Aleutian Islands,  Alaska.It generated a tsunami which inundated  Hilo  on the island of Hawaii’s with a 14  meters (46 ft) high surge. The area where the  earthquake  occurred is where the  Pacific Ocean  floor is  subducting  (or being pushed downwards) under  Alaska. Examples of tsunami at locations away from  convergent boundaries  include  Storegga  about 8,000 years ago,  Grand Banks  1929,  Papua New Guinea  1998 (Tappin, 2001). The Grand Banks and Papua New Guinea tsunamis came from earthquakes which destabilized sediments, causing them to flow into the ocean and generate a tsunami. They dissipated before traveling transoceanic distances.The cause of the Storegga sediment failure is unknown. Possibilities include an overloading of the sediments, an earthquake or a release of gas hydrates (methane etc. ) The  1960 V aldivia earthquake  (Mw  9. 5) (19:11 hrs UTC),  1964 Alaska earthquake  (Mw  9. 2), and  2004 Indian Ocean earthquake  (Mw  9. 2) (00:58:53 UTC) are recent examples of powerful mega thrust  earthquakes that generated tsunamis (known as  teletsunamis) that can cross entire oceans. Smaller (Mw  4. 2) earthquakes in Japan can trigger tsunamis (called  local  and regional tsunamis) that can only devastate nearby coasts, but can do so in only a few minutes.In the 1950s, it was discovered that larger tsunamis than had previously been believed possible could be caused by giant  landslides. These phenomena rapidly displace large water volumes, as energy from falling debris or expansion transfers to the water at a rate faster than the water can absorb. Their existence was confirmed in 1958, when a giant landslide in Lituya Bay,  Alaska, caused the highest wave ever recorded, which had a height of 524 meters (over 1700 feet). The wave didn't travel far, as it st ruck land almost immediately. Two people fishing in the bay were killed, but another boat amazingly managed to ride the wave.Scientists named these waves  mega tsunami. Scientists discovered that extremely large landslides from volcanic island collapses can generate  mega tsunami that can travel trans-oceanic distances. SCALES OF INTENSITY AND MAGNITUDE: As with earthquakes, several attempts have been made to set up scales of tsunami intensity or magnitude to allow comparison between different events. Intensity scales The first scales used routinely to measure the intensity of tsunami were the  Sieberg-Ambraseys scale, used in the  Mediterranean Sea  and the  Imamura-Iida intensity scale, used in the Pacific Ocean.The latter scale was modified by Soloviev, who calculated the Tsunami intensity  I  according to the formula [pic] Where  Hav  is the average wave height along the nearest coast. This scale, known as the  Soloviev-Imamura tsunami intensity scale, is u sed in the global tsunami catalogues compiled by the  NGDC/NOAA  and the Novosibirsk Tsunami Laboratory as the main parameter for the size of the tsunami. Magnitude scales The first scale that genuinely calculated a magnitude for a tsunami, rather than an intensity at a particular location was the ML scale proposed by Murty & Loomis based on the potential energy.Difficulties in calculating the potential energy of the tsunami mean that this scale is rarely used. Abe introduced the  tsunami magnitude scale  Mt, calculated from, [pic] where  h  is the maximum tsunami-wave amplitude (in m) measured by a tide gauge at a distance  R  from the epicenter,  a,  b  &  D  are constants used to make the Mt  scale match as closely as possible with the moment magnitude scale. WARNINGS AND PREDICTIONS: Drawbacks can serve as a brief warning. People who observe drawback (many survivors report an accompanying sucking sound), can survive only if they immediately run for hi gh ground or seek the upper floors of nearby buildings.In 2004, ten-year old  Tilly Smith  of  Surrey,  England, was on  Maikhao beach  in  Phuket,  Thailand  with her parents and sister, and having learned about tsunamis recently in school, told her family that a tsunami might be imminent. Her parents warned others minutes before the wave arrived, saving dozens of lives. She credited her geography teacher, Andrew Kearney. In the  2004 Indian Ocean tsunami  drawback was not reported on the African coast or any other eastern coasts it reached. This was because the wave moved downwards on the eastern side of the fault line and upwards on the western side.The western pulse hit coastal Africa and other western areas. A tsunami cannot be precisely predicted, even if the magnitude and location of an earthquake is known. Geologists,  oceanographers, and seismologists  analyze each earthquake and based on many factors may or may not issue a tsunami warning. However , there are some warning signs of an impending tsunami, and automated systems can provide warnings immediately after an earthquake in time to save lives. One of the most successful systems uses bottom pressure sensors that are attached to buoys. The sensors constantly monitor the pressure of the overlying water column.This is deduced through the calculation: [pic] Where, P  = the overlying  pressure  in Newton per meter square, ? = the  density  of the  seawater = 1. 1 x 103  kg/m3, g  = the  acceleration due to gravity = 9. 8 m/s2  and h  = the height of the water column in meters. Hence for a water column of 5,000 m depth the overlying pressure is equal to [pic] Or about 5500  tonnes-force  per square meter. Regions with a high tsunami risk typically use  tsunami warning systems  to warn the population before the wave reaches land. On the west coast of the United States, which is prone to Pacific Ocean tsunami, warning signs indicate evacuation routes .In Japan, the community is well-educated about earthquakes and tsunamis, and along the Japanese shorelines the tsunami warning signs are reminders of the natural hazards together with a network of warning sirens, typically at the top of the cliff of surroundings hills. The  Pacific Tsunami Warning System  is based in  Honolulu,  Hawaii. It monitors Pacific Ocean seismic activity. A sufficiently large earthquake magnitude and other information trigger a tsunami warning. While the seduction zones around the Pacific are seismically active, not all earthquakes generate tsunami.Computers assist in analyzing the tsunami risk of every earthquake that occurs in the Pacific Ocean and the adjoining land masses. |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |Tsunami hazard sign |A tsunami warning sign on |The monument to the victims of |Tsunami memorial | |atBamfield,  British Columbia |a  seawall  in  Kamakura, Japan, |tsunami at Laupahoehoe,  Hawaii |inKanyakumari  beach | | |2004. | | |As a direct result of the Indian Ocean tsunami, a re-appraisal of the tsunami threat for all coastal areas is being undertaken by national governments and the United Nations Disaster Mitigation Committee. A tsunami warning system is being installed in the Indian Ocean. Computer models can predict tsunami arrival, usually within minutes of the arrival time. Bottom pressure sensors relay information in real time. Based on these pressure readings and other seismic information and the seafloor's shape and coastal  topography, the models estimate the amplitude and surge height of the approaching tsunami.All Pacific Rim countries collaborate in the Tsunami Warning System and most regularly practice evacuation and other procedures. In Japan, such preparation is mandatory for government, local authorities, emergency services and the population. Some zoologists hypothesize that some animal species have an ability to sense subsonic  Rayleigh waves  from an earthquake or a tsunami. If c orrect, monitoring their behavior could provide advance warning of earthquakes, tsunami etc. However, the evidence is controversial and is not widely accepted.There are unsubstantiated claims about the Lisbon quake that some animals escaped to higher ground, while many other animals in the same areas drowned. The phenomenon was also noted by media sources in  Sri Lanka  in the  2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. [21][22]  It is possible that certain animals (e. g. ,  elephants) may have heard the sounds of the tsunami as it approached the coast. The elephants' reaction was to move away from the approaching noise. By contrast, some humans went to the shore to investigate and many drowned as a result. It is not possible to prevent a tsunami.However, in some tsunami-prone countries some  earthquake engineering  measures have been taken to reduce the damage caused on shore. Japan  built many tsunami walls of up to 4. 5  metres (15 ft) to protect populated coastal areas. Oth er localities have built  floodgates  and channels to redirect the water from incoming tsunami. However, their effectiveness has been questioned, as tsunami often overtop the barriers. For instance, the  Okushiri, Hokkaido tsunami  which struck  Okushiri Island  of  Hokkaido  within two to five minutes of the  earthquake on July 12, 1993  created waves as much as 30  metres (100 ft) tall—as high as a 10-story building.The port town of Aonae was completely surrounded by a tsunami wall, but the waves washed right over the wall and destroyed all the wood-framed structures in the area. The wall may have succeeded in slowing down and moderating the height of the tsunami, but it did not prevent major destruction and loss of life. [23] Natural factors such as shoreline tree cover can mitigate tsunami effects. Some locations in the path of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami escaped almost unscathed because trees such as  coconut palms  and  mangroves  absorbe d the tsunami's energy.In one striking example, the village of  Naluvedapathy  in India's  Tamil Nadu  region suffered only minimal damage and few deaths because the wave broke against a forest of 80,244 trees planted along the shoreline in 2002 in a bid to enter the  Guinness Book of Records. [24]  Environmentalists have suggested tree planting along tsunami-prone seacoasts. Trees require years to grow to a useful size, but such plantations could offer a much cheaper and longer-lasting means of tsunami mitigation than artificial barriers. The Love Canal chemical waste dumpIn 1920 Hooker Chemical had turned an area in Niagara Falls into a municipal and chemical disposal site. In 1953 the site was filled and relatively modern methods were applied to cover it. A thick layer of impermeable red clay sealed the dump, preventing chemicals from leaking out of the landfill. A city near the dumpsite wanted to buy it for urban expansion. Despite the warnings of Hooker the city eve ntually bought the site for the meager amount of 1 dollar. Hooker could not sell for more, because they did not want to earn money off a project so clearly unwise.The city began to dig to develop a sewer, damaging the red clay cap that covered the dumpsite below. Blocks of homes and a school were built and the neighborhood was named Love Canal. Love Canal seemed like a regular neighborhood. The only thing that distinguished this neighborhood from other was the strange odors that often hung in the air and an unusual seepage noticed by inhabitants in their basements and yards. Children in the neighborhood often fell ill. Love Canal families regularly experienced miscarriages and birth defects.Lois Gibbs, an activist, noticed the high occurrence of illness and birth defects in the area and started documenting it. In 1978 newspapers revealed the existence of the chemical waste dump in the Love Canal area and Lois Gibbs started petitioning for closing the school. In August 1978, the clai m succeeded and the NYS Health Department ordered closing of the school when a child suffered from chemical poisoning. When Love Canal was researched over 130 pounds of the highly toxic carcinogenic TCDD, a form of dioxin, was discovered. The total of 20. 00 tons of waste present in the landfill appeared to contain more than 248 different species of chemicals. The waste mainly consisted of pesticide residues and chemical weapons research refuse. The chemicals had entered homes, sewers, yards and creeks and Gibbs decided it was time for the more than 900 families to be moved away from the location. Eventually President Carter provided funds to move all the families to a safer area. Hooker’s parent company was sued and settled for 20 million dollars. Despite protests by Gibbs’s organization some of the houses in Love Canal went up for sale some 20 years later.The majority of the houses are on the market now and the neighborhood may become inhabited again after 20 years o f abandonment. The houses in Love Canal are hard to sell, despite a renaming of the neighborhood. It suffered such a bad reputation after the incident that banks refused mortgages on the houses. None of the chemicals have been removed from the dumpsite. It has been resealed and the surrounding area was cleaned and declared safe. Hooker’s mother company paid an additional 230 million dollars to finance this cleanup. They are now responsible for the management of the dumpsite.Today, the Love Canal dumpsite is known as one of the major environmental disasters of the century. **** Love Canal is an abandoned canal in Niagara County, New York, where a huge amount of toxic waste was buried. The waste was composed of at least 300 different chemicals, totaling an estimated 20,000 metric tons. The existence of the waste was discovered in the 1970s when families living in homes subsequently built next to the site found chemical wastes seeping up through the ground into their basements, forcing them to eventually abandon their homes.Love Canal was used from the 1940s through the 1950s by the Hooker Chemical Company and the city of Niagara Falls, among others, to dispose of their hazardous and municipal wastes and other refuse. The canal was surrounded by clay and was thought at the time to be a safe place for disposal—and, in fact, burying chemicals in the canal was probably safer than many other methods and sites used for chemical disposal at the time. In 1953, the Niagara Falls Board of Education bought the land-fill for $1 and constructed an elementary school with playing fields on the site.Roads and sewer lines were added and, in the early 1970s, single-family homes were built adjacent to the site. Following a couple of heavy rains in the mid-1970s, the canal flooded and chemicals were observed on the surface of the site and in the basements of houses abutting the site. Newspaper coverage, investigations by the State of New York and by the U. S. Environm ental Protection Agency, combined with pressure from the district's U. S. congressional representative and outrage on the part of local residents, led to the declaration of a health emergency involving â€Å"great and imminent peril to the health of the general public. Ultimately, in August, 1978, a decision was made by Governor Hugh Carey, supported by the White House, to evacuate the residents and purchase 240 homes surrounding the site. Shortly thereafter, the residents of nearby homes that did not immediately abut the site also became concerned about their health and conducted a health survey that purported to show an increase in the occurrence of various diseases and problems such as birth defects and miscarriages, which were attributed to chemical exposures.A great controversy ensued over whether the observations were real or reflected normal rates of such problems, and whether chemical exposures had, in fact, occurred. Eventually, political pressure resulted in families bein g given an opportunity to leave and have their homes purchased by the State. About 70 homes remained occupied in 1989 by families who chose not to move. The controversy at Love Canal followed on the heels of the heightened awareness that occurred in the 1960s about environmental contamination, and it contributed to public and regulatory concern about hazardous wastes, waste disposal, and disclosure of such practices.Such concerns led Congress to pass the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in 1976, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as the Superfund bill, in 1980. When CERCLA was passed, few were aware of the extent of the problem potentially created by years of inappropriate or inadequate hazardous waste disposal practices. Since implementing CERCLA, the U. S.Environmental Protection Agency has identified more than 40,000 potentially contaminated â€Å"Superfundâ⠂¬  sites. The Gulf War In August 1990 Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait, starting the Gulf War in which an allegiance of 34 nations worldwide was involved. In January  1991  of the Gulf War, Iraqi forces committed two environmental disasters. The first was a major oil spill 16 kilometers off the shore of Kuwait by dumping oil from several tankers and opening the valves of an offshore terminal. The second was the setting fire to 650 oil wells in Kuwait.The apparent strategic goal of the action was to prevent a potential landing by US Marines. American air strikes on January 26 destroyed pipelines to prevent further spillage into the Gulf. This however seemed to make little difference. Approximately one million tons of crude oil was already lost to the environment, making this the largest oil spill of human history. In the spring of 1991, as many as 500 oil wells were still burning and the last oil well was not extinguished until a few months later, in November.The oil spills did cons iderable damage to life in the Persian Gulf (see picture). Several months after the spill, the poisoned waters killed 20. 000 seabirds and had caused severe damage to local marine flora and fauna. The fires in the oil wells caused immense amounts of soot and toxic fumes to enter the atmosphere. This had great effects on the health of the local population and biota for several years. The pollution also had a possible impact on local weather patterns.