Types Of Data Compression Computer Science Essay

Types Of Data Compression Computer Science Essay Data compression has come of age in the last 20 years. Both the quantity and the quality of the body of literature in this field provide ample proof of this. There are many known methods for data compression. They are based on different ideas, are suitable for different types of data, and produce different results, but they are all based on the same principle, namely they compress data by removing redundancies from the original data in the source file. This report discusses the different types of data compression, the advantages of data compression and the procedures of data compression. 2.0 DATA COMPRESSION Data compression is important in this age because of the amount of data that is transferred within a certain network. It makes the transfer of data relatively easy [1]. This section explains and compares lossy and lossless compression techniques. 2.1 LOSSLESS DATA COMPRESSION Lossless data compression makes use of data compression algorithms that allows the exact original data to be reconstructed from the compressed data. This can be contrasted to lossy data compression, which does not allow the exact original data to be reconstructed from the compressed data. Lossless data compression is used in many applications [2]. Lossless compression is used when it is vital that the original and the decompressed data be identical, or when no assumption can be made on whether certain deviation is uncritical. Most lossless compression programs implements two kinds of algorithms: one which generates a statistical model for the input data, and another which maps the input data to bit strings using this model in such a way that probable (e.g. frequently encountered) data will produce shorter output than improbable data. Often, only the former algorithm is named, while the second is implied (through common use, standardization etc.) or unspecified [3]. 2.2 LOSSY DATA COMPRESSION A lossy data compression technique is one where compressing data and its decompression retrieves data that may will be different from the original, but is close enough to be useful in some way. There are two basic lossy compression schemes: First is lossy transform codecs, where samples of picture or sound are taken, chopped into small segments, transformed into a new basis space, and quantized. The resulting quantized values are then entropy coded [4]. Second is lossy predictive codecs, where previous and/or subsequent decoded data is used to predict the current sound sample or image frame. In some systems the two methods are used, with transform codecs being used to compress the error signals generated by the predictive stage. The advantage of lossy methods over lossless methods is that in some cases a lossy method can produce a much smaller compressed file than any known lossless method, while still meeting the requirements of the application [4]. Lossless compression schemes are reversible in-order for the original data can be reconstructed, while lossy schemes accept some loss of data in order to achieve higher compression. In practice, lossy data compression will also come to a point where compressing again does not work, although an extremely lossy algorithm, which for example always removes the last byte of a file, will always compress a file up to the point where it is empty [5]. 2.3 LOSSLESS vs. LOSSY DATA COMPRESSION Lossless and lossy data compressions are two methods which are use to compressed data. Each technique has its individual used. A compression between the two techniques can be summarised as follow [4-5]: Lossless technique keeps the source as it is during compression while a change of the original source is expected in lossy technique but very close to the origin. Lossless technique is reversible process which means that the original data can be reconstructed. However, the lossy technique is irreversible due to the lost of some data during extraction. Lossless technique produces larger compressed file compared with lossy technique. Lossy technique is mostly used for images and sound. 3.0 DATA COMPRESSION TECHNIQUES Data compression is known as storing data in a way which requires fewer spaces than the typical. Generally, it is saving of space by the reduction in data size [6]. This section explains Huffman coding and Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW) compression techniques. 3.1 HUFFMAN CODING Huffman coding is an entropy encoding method used for lossless data compression. The term means the use of a variable-length code table for encoding a source symbol (such as a character in a file) where the variable-length code table has been derived in a particular way based on the estimated probability of occurrence for each possible value of the source symbol. It was developed by David A. Huffman while he was a Ph.D. student at MIT, and published in the 1952 paper A Method for the Construction of Minimum-Redundancy Codes [4]. Huffman coding implements a special method for choosing the representation for each symbol, resulting in a prefix code (sometimes called prefix-free codes, that is, the bit string representing some particular symbol is never a prefix of the bit string representing any other symbol) that expresses the most common source symbols using shorter strings of bits than are used for less common source symbols [5]. The technique works by creating a binary tree of nodes. These can be stored in a regular array, the size of which depends on the number of symbols, n. A node can be either a leaf node or an internal node. Initially, all nodes are leaf nodes, which contain the symbol itself, the weight (frequency of appearance) of the symbol and optionally, a link to a parent node which makes it easy to read the code (in reverse) starting from a leaf node. Internal nodes contain symbol weight, links to two child nodes and the optional link to a parent node. The process practically starts with the leaf nodes containing the probabilities of the symbol they represent, and then a new node whose children are the 2 nodes with smallest probability is created, such that the new nodes probability is equal to the sum of the childrens probability. With the 2 nodes combined into one node (thus not considering them anymore), and with the new node being now considered, the procedure is repeated until only one node remains, the Huffman tree [4]. The simplest construction algorithm is one where a priority queues where the node with lowest probability is given highest priority [5]: 1. Create a leaf node for each symbol and add it to the priority queue. 2. While there is more than one node in the queue: Remove the two nodes of highest priority (lowest probability) from the queue. Create a new internal node with these two nodes as children and with probability equal to the sum of the two nodes probabilities. Add the new node to the queue. 3. The remaining node is the root node and the tree is complete [7]. Figure (1). 3.2 LEMPEL-ZIV-WELCH (LVW) COMPRESSION Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW) is a data compression algorithm created by Abraham Lempel, Jacob Ziv, and Terry Welch. It was published by Welch in 1984 as a development of the LZ78 algorithm published by Lempel and Ziv in 1978. The algorithm is designed to be fast to implement but is not usually optimal because it performs only limited analysis of the data. LZW can also be called a  substitutional  or  dictionary-based encoding algorithm. The algorithm normally builds a  data dictionary  (also called a  translation table  or  string table) of data occurring in an uncompressed data stream. Patterns of data (substrings) are identified in the data stream and are matched to entries in the dictionary. If the substring is not present in the dictionary, a code phrase is created based on the data content of the substring, and it is stored in the dictionary. The phrase is then written to the compressed output stream [8]. When a reoccurrence of a substring is found in the data, the phrase of the substring already stored in the dictionary is written to the output. Because the phrase value has a physical size that is smaller than the substring it represents, data compression is achieved. Decoding LZW data is the reverse of encoding. The decompressor reads the code from the stream and adds the code to the data dictionary if it is not already there. The code is then translated into the string it represents and is written to the uncompressed output stream [8]. LZW goes beyond most dictionary-based compressors because it is not necessary to keep the dictionary to decode the LZW data stream. This can save quite a bit of space when storing the LZW-encoded data [9]. TIFF, among other file formats, applies the same method for graphic files. In TIFF, the pixel data is packed into bytes before being presented to LZW, so an LZW source byte might be a pixel value, part of a pixel value, or several pixel values, depending on the images bit depth and number of colour channels. GIF requires each LZW input symbol to be a pixel value. Because GIF allows 1- to 8-bit deep images, there are between 2 and 256 LZW input symbols in GIF, and the LZW dictionary is initialized accordingly. It is not important how the pixels might have been packed into storage; LZW will deal with them as a sequence of symbols [9]. The TIFF approach does not work very well for odd-size pixels, because packing the pixels into bytes creates byte sequences that do not match the original pixel sequences, and any patterns in the pixels are obscured. If pixel boundaries and byte boundaries agree (e.g., two 4-bit pixels per byte, or one 16-bit pixel every two bytes), then TIFFs method works well [10]. The GIF approach works better for odd-size bit depths, but it is difficult to extend it to more than eight bits per pixel because the LZW dictionary must become very large to achieve useful compression on large input alphabets. If variable-width codes were implemented, the encoder and decoder must be careful to change the width at the same points in the encoded data, or they will disagree about where the boundaries between individual codes fall in the stream [11]. 4.0 CONCLUSION In conclusion, because of the fact that one cant hope to compress everything, all compression algorithms must assume that there is some bias on the input messages so that some inputs are more likely than others, i.e. that there will always be some unbalanced probability distribution over the possible messages. Most compression algorithms base this bias on the structure of the messages i.e., an assumption that repeated characters are more likely than random characters, or that large white patches occur in typical images. Compression is therefore all about probability.

Health Care Policy Making in the Federal System Essay

Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act Open policymaking in the United States is molded on a basic level by American federalism. Federalism in the United States is defined as â€Å"a governmental system whereby power and authority are shared by national and state governments, with ultimate authority derived from the people†Ã‚  (Levin-Waldman, 2012). The interaction between the levels makes a muddled approach process. Government policymakers and bureaucrats at diverse levels of the elected framework – national, state and local – regularly have truly distinctive interests and points of view on how specific policies ought to be developed and implemented. In regards to health care policy, the national government has accepted essential obligation, with states playing a significant but auxiliary role. For national and state policymakers, there are three key objectives in healthcare policy: control services expenses of health care, improve the quality of health care, and allow for all citizens to have access to health care. The challenge is to beat the long-standing status of the U.S. as a nation with high medical costs paired with deficient coverage for a number of its citizens. On March 23, 2010, after a multitude of debates and votes, Congress approved and President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act (obamacarefacts.com). This is the most comprehensive health care law passed at the national level, and possibly the most controversial too. This enactment is giving a real test of American federalism. Each state is required to create an exchange in which people can look for a competitive plan. This online exchange will offer individual people, families, and small businesses a venue in which to review suitable and affordable plans. In the event that a state does not make an exchange, the national government will do so. There are many debates surrounding this new law as many feel it will do more harm than good. Under the law, tens of millions of uninsured will get access to competitive, quality, health insurance. In order to help cover the many millions who require monetary assistance, there are new taxes, generally felt by the upper income levels. These taxes are in the form of mandates; either as an individual mandate or an employer mandate. These mandates require individuals to obtain coverage, get an exemption, or pay a fee. However, it is estimated that over half of those uninsured prior to this new law, will be able to obtain free or low cost coverage thru their State’s exchange. Similarly, employers with an equivalent of 50 full time employees must provide health insurance coverage to their employees or they will have to pay a fine. This has prompted some businesses to cut employee hours to avoid meeting the criteria, although small businesses can qualify for up to 50% of their employees premium costs. (healthcarereform.procon.org) While the law allows young adults to remain on their parents plans until the age of 26, there is concern that the premiums these young adults could be paying on their own would help offset the rise in premiums due to the sick. In order for the premiums to remain low, there needs to be a significantly large healthy pool of insured. Their premiums will offset the expenses the insurance company will have to pay for the claims of those that are sick. If healthy young adults remain on their parent’s plans longer, it decreases the cushion the insurance company has to cover such claims. Since you cannot be dropped from your plan when you become sick, insurance companies must cover the sick and this causes premiums to rise. (healthcarereformprocon.org) Many question whether or not the government can enforce such a law. The U.S. Constitution makes no reference to health care policy or services as rights. To play a role in such, the national government must turn to less particular parts of the Constitution, for example, the  obligation to â€Å"promote the general welfare,† provide â€Å"equal protection under the laws,† or â€Å"regulate commerce among the states.† State constitutions by and large make no particular reference to health awareness as a commitment of state government or right of residents. Likewise with the national government, state power around there rests principally on more general protected provisions to promote the benefit of everyone. The law was presented to the Supreme Court and upheld by a vote of 5 to 4. â€Å"The Affordable Care Act’s requirement that certain individuals pay a financial  penalty for not obtaining health insurance may reasonably be characterized as a tax,† Chief Justice Roberts wrote in the majority opinion. â€Å"Because the Constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it, or to pass upon its wisdom or fairness.† (nytimes.com). Conclusion Policymaking in our federal system is laden with challenges. In health care, policymakers and other government authorities at all three levels of government assume vital and interconnected parts. Policymaking in our federal system has served the United States well for a long time, yet it remains a real test. It is uncommon that one level of government can bring an approach through to its fulfillment. Rather, most arrangements incorporate an imperative intergovernmental element. The unpredictability of intergovernmental policymaking and the numerous purposes of potential restriction in an elected framework put a premium on practicing successful initiative and making intergovernmental connections. To push ahead in the 21st Century, national, state and local policymakers will require a full set of administration and interpersonal abilities to unite all parties in the federalism process of policy making. References Levin-Waldman, O. M. (2012). American government. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Liptak, A. (2012, June 28). Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Law, 5-4, in Victory for Obama. The New York Times. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com Is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) Good for America? (2010, September). Retrieved from http://healthcarereform.procon.org The Pros and Cons of Obamacare. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://obamacarefacts.com

A Startling Fact about Global Issues Topics for Essays Uncovered

A Startling Fact about Global Issues Topics for Essays Uncovered Knowing the most usual IELTS essay topics permits you to revolve around the most significant vocabulary. You also need to realise that IELTS is a worldwide exam and once the writers of the exam are making the questions, their principal concern is writing questions that may be understood by nearly everybody in the world. Students often discover that the majority of their work on those essays is done before they even begin writing. If you're going to succeed in the IELTS test you should be using and exposing yourself to English everyday. For instance, in college, you might be requested to compose a paper from the opposing viewpoint. There is an abundance of research papers on the internet that you can see to acquire a notion of the range of work you will need to produce. Reading a research paper on the internet can also offer you a good of how passionate and intrigued you will need to be about a topic to generate a lengthy research paper on. Since you may see, there are lots of global issues, which can allow it to be overwhelming for a student to settle on a topic to write their research paper about. As stated above, one of the methods where the examiner judges your vocabulary is the way many topic certain words you use. A persuasive essay is one where the writer is attempting to demonstrate the reader a different approach to examine a specific subject. Don't be concerned about the originality. It's a tough and intricate question for commentators to reply. Also, a couple mistakes need to be made for the progress to occur, and everything must be questioned for the answers to appear. No matter your reasons are, it's great if you're passionate about the matter of climate change because it will be simpler to conduct research and persuade the reader to adopt your perspective. Go over both points of view and provide your opinion. New Step by Step Roadmap for Global Issues Topics for Essays The use of the ocean is an important part in climate regulation, yet ocean acidification isn't looked at as a huge deal once it comes to global warming. In addition, the impacts could be felt locally but the issue is a worldwide issue and can't be addressed easily. A gain in the worldwide population greatly affects many aspects of routine life for everybody in the world. It's increasingly harder to clean up existing environmental disasters and halt additional degradation of important al l-natural resources. Eliminating child labour is among the biggest challenges that the entire world is facing. It is possible to discover your fix in an international city. You need to focus on these very first, particularly if you don't have a lot of time before the test. There are lots of problems, even on your own campus, which need to be resolved. You will have the ability to find tons of sources to cite. There are a couple of main things you want to be aware of before you even begin picking social issues essay topics. There are two primary means by which you can use the most frequent IELTS essay topics to your benefit. Topic You ought to be attentive when selecting a topic for a worldwide problems paper. You don't need to acquire super technical with legal argumentative essays, but remember to do your homework on what the recent laws about your preferred topic actually say. Everyone on earth has an opinion on these types of everyday topics and you want to recognize that the examiners aren't trying to find the best' ideas, they are simply on the lookout for relevant ideas. The social issues research papers may appear easy to write in comparison with different topics, but still it demands an extremely creative strategy, a massive quantity of curiosity and capacity to think beyond the box and search info in unconventional sources. There are lots of trouble in the world that impact all of us and selecting a topic on this subject can be difficult but when you find one it is not hard to locate the facts relating to this issue. Odds are, all you have to do is relax and locate a topic you're passionate about and, naturally, one that's debatable. There are a few important things which you want to understand as a way to write up an outstanding essay. This is a somewhat broad category, so there are a whole lot of topics to pick from and even more that you could create all on your own. Here we're planting the four issues and on the lookout for possible solutions.

Thomas Aquinas Work to Prove the Existence of God Essays

Being a devout Christian, Thomas Aquinas naturally believed in God, but he wanted to prove Gods existence to those who could not accept things on faith alone. As a result he made five proofs, which he claims, prove the existence of God. With each proof there is always a beginning, a starting point, Aquinas claims it must be God that is the beginning of each. The first proof does not do complete justice to Aquinas’s claim that God exist, while the fifth proof could be used alone to prove Gods existence. One of Aquinas’s proofs is based on the idea of a first mover and another is based on the idea that intelligence is necessary to direct non-intelligent objects. St. Thomas Aquinas first argument tries to prove that there must be a†¦show more content†¦We also see that non-intelligent things cannot move toward their end unless directed by an intelligent being. As an example, St. Thomas Aquinas uses an arrow. An arrow will not achieve its purpose (that of reaching its mark) unless directed to do so by an archer. Obviously, humans are the intelligent beings that direct the small objects of our world, but there must be a greater intelligence that directs the larger bodies of the universe, such as the stars and the planets, since we obviously have no control over them. This higher intelligence is what we call God. These two arguments approach the problem of proving Gods existence in two completely different ways. One goes the route of saying there must be something that started everything, and the other says there must be something that controls the things that are here, even if it did not create them. Both of these arguments seem, at first, to be good and valid in their separate approaches. However, the first does have one major flaw. St. Thomas Aquinas says that the line of movers cannot go on to infinity, which common sense would tell you to be true. He thus establishes the arbitrary endpoint of God. The problem is that this argument could always be tested to be false by asking the question, What Moved God? St. Thomas Aquinas would probably answer that nothing moved God because God has always existed. I personally believe this to be true, but, to prove his first argument, St. ThomasShow MoreRelatedSt. Thomas Aquinas Essay823 Words   |  4 PagesSt. Thomas Aquinas, was a Dominican monk, wh o generally one of the greatest Scholastic writers of all times. He used ancient philosophy to prove religious propositions. One of the ancient philosophers that St. Thomas Aquinas used to prove religious facts was Aristotle. One of the greatest works that Aristotle did was to prove that god really exists. St. Thomas Aquinas used the forms that Aristotle and Plato used to prove the same philosophical question, does god really exist? St. Thomas AquinasRead MoreThomas Aquinas vs. Descarates Essays673 Words   |  3 PagesTHOMAS AQUINA’S V. DESCARATES Meditation III Several hundred years ago, two great philosophers Thomas Aquinas’s and Rene Descartes used the method of ontological argument for the existence of God and used intuition and reason alone to get to each other’s theory. Rene Descartes wrote out several mediations, but the one we’re going to touch base on is meditation III that he wrote in the 1600’s; While Thomas Aquinas’s wrote his five proofs of God in 1270 that specifies God’s existence in each proof;Read MoreA Brief Analysis of Saint Thomas Aquinas Essay example1285 Words   |  6 PagesSaint Thomas was born in 1225 and he came from a noble family from Naples, Italy. His work caused extreme controversially in his time. He is known for his greatest work Summa Theologiae. Saint Thomas Aquinas used scientific reasoning and logic to explain the concept of God. Thomas Aquinas setup the framework of this discussion as a question of whether or not God exists. Saint Thomas Aquinas theorized that the five different arguments could be used to prove the existence of God. Saint Thomas AquinasRead MoreThe Achievements of Saint Thomas Aquainas Essay630 Words   |  3 PagesSaint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1272) is fundamentally an Aristotelian, and for some, one of the greatest philosophers, and one of the best theologians. His theological writings became regulative of the Catholic Church and his commentaries on Aristotle, represents a great cultural resource, which are now receiving a greater recognition. As a very catholic man, he tried to prove the existence of God. But How? Thomas Aquinas recognized that there were people who doubted the existence of God. BecauseRead MoreThe Italian Kingdom Of Sicily1363 Words   |  6 PagesMedieval period witnessed the rise of the religious movement which was lead by Thomas Aquinas who invented the Thomistic way of thought which was based around Medieval scholasticism. He revolutionized the catholic church beginning in 1245 when he moved to Paris and studied under Albertus the Great. I am a monk who studies in a monastery similar to one that Thomas Aquinas studied in his earlier years. I, like Aquinas, was originally a Benedictine monk who realized the wrongs associated with livingRead MoreThe Five Ways Of The Existence Of God1557 Words   |  7 Pagesanalyze â€Å"The Five Ways†, from Summa Theologica, by Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). We cannot prove that God exists, merely by considering the word God, for that strategy work, we would have to presume to know God s essence. According to Aquinas, the existence of God can be proved. This paper will discuss what each of the five ways are that Thomas Aquinas introduced to show the existence of God. The Argument from Change: To begin with, one way to prove that God exists is to contemplate the fact that naturalRead MoreSt. Thomas Aquinas On The Existence Of God1048 Words   |  5 PagesSt. Thomas Aquinas is considered to be one of the greatest minds of the western world as well as one of the greatest theologians. In his work Summa Theologica, which he revised many times over the course of his life, he explored the existence of God, and there are essentially five ways in which St. Thomas Aquinas argues the existence of God. The first way is the argument from change, the second way is the argument from causation, the third argument is the argument from possibility and necessity,Read MoreThe Natural Law Theory Essay examples1037 Words   |  5 Pagesonly be obtained by following the natural law theory. God created a set of laws as a supreme guide for humans to live life, like any law these laws were created to ensure wellbeing for everyone. The laws he created are the civil law, the natural law and the divine law God created them from a law much superior than the rest, one which only God himself has the knowledge of, the eternal law. Humans actively participate in the eternal law of God by using reason in conformity with the Natural Law to discernRead MoreSt. Thomas Aquinas Essay898 Words   |  4 PagesOwen Zimmermann 11-20-11 Mrs.Donofree Rel. Pd. B St. Thomas Aquinas Saint Thomas Aquinas was a philosopher, theologian, Doctor of the Catholic Church, and is the patron saint of Catholic Universities, colleges, and schools. He was born in Rocca Secca, Italy, in 1225 and was born into a wealthy family. He even was related to the kings of Aragon, Castile, and France. His journey into Catholic beliefs seemed predestined, for he was told when he was a young child that he would becomeRead MoreThe Lifelong Goal Of Saint Thomas Aquinas1692 Words   |  7 PagesRyan Comolli Study Of St. Thomas Aquinas Research Paper 11/23/2014 The lifelong goal of Saint Thomas Aquinas was to clearly elaborate the independence of philosophy and theology, but at the same time show their symbiotic relationship with each other. Throughout his life Aquinas was known as a theologian but many of his works carry strong philosophical undertones as well. The beauty of theology is it can enlighten us through its leap of faith. Philosophy was required to precede theology.

Pollution and Environment Essay - Man Must Dominate...

Man Must Dominate Nature and the Environment How shall we deal with the environment? is an ethical question much discussed, but rarely answered with any well-thought-out justifications. Rather, individuals attempting to answer it have often made claims stating that certain things are obvious. In this paper, I intend to analyze one of these ethical principles which is considered to be inherently obvious. For every culture has regarded certain things as obvious and needing no further explanation -- and every culture differs vastly on what it considers to be an obvious truth. Thus, it seems that these truths are not, in themselves, obvious. Rather, they require further scrutiny to determine their validity. Hence, in this†¦show more content†¦We must still eat, sleep, and eliminate waste. We also have the same drives; the base upon which our essential physical natures are built is not much different from the drives of a monkey, for instance, or a whale. Nietzsche described the nature of the drives and desires of a species in Beyond Good and Evil. He said, if it is a living and not a dying body ... it will have to be an incarnate will to power, it will strive to grow, spread, seize, become predominant -- not from any morality or immorality but because it is living and because life simply is will to power. (Good and Evil 259) If we, like other animals, have a life which simply is will to power, and that this will to power expresses itself through the desire to grow, to expand, and to dominate, then to stifle this with a claim of morality is to commit a slow species-wide suicide by refusing humanity the ability to participate in the expression of the will to power which life simply is. Other animals, which also have a will to power (as that is what life simply is), are most certainly not concerned with environmental ethics. If an organism is introduced into a new ecosystem, it will strive to grow, spread, seize, become predominant until the ecosystem evolves a new balance. The organism does not practice an ethic of self-regulation for the good of the ecosystem; to do so would be suicidal for that organism.Show MoreRelatedMoby Dick : The Age Of Ecological Crisis3655 Words   |  15 Pagescharacter and for its theme of humankind’s violence against nonhumans (4). But Buell ultimately sees the novel as a â€Å"cultural failure,† faulting Melville for not clearly representing the need for human beings to recognize their role in destroying the environment and for Melville’s subordination of whales in favor of focusing more intensely on â€Å"homocentric† concerns relating to larger metaphysical and philosophical questions and the whaling indu stry in general (4-5). Although there may be some merit in Buell’sRead MoreEssay about Ecofeminism4924 Words   |  20 PagesEcofeminism The first part of this essay will outline the main arguments of the feminist ecologists and deal with the concept of Ecofeminism. The second part will sketch the main arguments of Rosemary Radford Reuther book, Gaia and God. The final part of this essay will analyze: Starhawks The Spiral Dance, Witchcraft as Goddess Religion, The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, and the Descent of Inanna and examine the pros and cons of the position that a return to goddess worship would save ourRead MoreEssay on Silent Spring - Rachel Carson30092 Words   |  121 Pagesoffprint from Gales For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.  ©1998-2002;  ©2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, I nc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design ® andRead MoreCorporate Social Responsibility10163 Words   |  41 Pagesexist within every companys infrastructure; however, the authors enlightening contentions enable the reader to realize that social integrity is not something that is often at the forefront of modern day business dealings. Ethics, business and society must work in tandem or there is no purpose for any of its existence. Unethical practices are what harbor ill will and create a climate of contempt and distrust, which is no way to run a business, be it personal or otherwise. Â…It is a necessary and criticalRead MoreLas 432 Research Paper: Gmos20901 Words   |  84 Pagesof discussion in recent years, has been around for decades. Within this report it details the history, and processes of this technology. A process that was once done naturally through nature and deliberate actions of farmers is now being taken to new levels with scientists in a contr olled scientific environment. This innovative technology is not without its legal, political and social issues, all of which will be discussed in depth. Among other things, this report also addresses the environmentalRead MoreSlums, Favelas, Ghettos and Shanty Towns: a Global Epidemic3426 Words   |  14 Pagesaffordable housing, and/or poor land-use policies. More specifically a slum household is defined by UN-Habitat as a group of individuals living under the same roof in an urban area who lack one or more of the following: Durable housing of a permanent nature that protects against extreme climate conditions. Sufficient living space which means not more than three people sharing the same room. Easy access to safe water in sufficient amounts at an affordable price. Access to adequate sanitation inRead MoreAnnotated Bibliography: Plagiarism39529 Words   |  158 Pagesaccess: the role of social determinants of health in dengue surveillance in Colombia. Global Health Promotion, 19(4): 45-50. Deguen, S., Sà ©gala, C., Pà ©drono, G. and Mesbah, M. (2012), A New Air Quality Perception Scale for Global Assessment of Air Pollution Health Effects. Risk Analysis, 32(12): 2043-2054. Hassoun, N. (2012), Global Health Impact: A Basis For Labeling And Licensing Campaigns?. Developing World Bioethics, 12:  121 134. Mackey, T. M. and Liang, B. A. (2012), Promoting global health:Read MoreCsr Theories13535 Words   |  55 Pagesthe following aspects of social reality: economics, politics, social integration and ethics. The inspiration for this hypothesis is rooted in four aspects that, according to Parsons (1961), can be observed in any social system: adaptation to the environment (related to resources and economics), goal attainment (related to politics), social integration and pattern maintenance or latency (related to culture and values).1 This hypothesis permits us to classify these theories in four groups: 1. A ï ¬ rstRead MoreThe Niger Delta Struggles: Its Implications for Resource Control.17990 Words   |  72 PagesMilitias and Self-determination nexus in the region. In other words, there is a need to understand the history, changing contexts and local and social processes and dynamics of the conflicts in the Niger-delta to guide policy-making. This explores the nature of the struggle by ethnic minorities in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta for the right to control their natural resources – particularly the petroleum mined from under their lands and waters. Five decades of oil exploitation has left the people severelyRead MoreWater as a Source of Future Conflict in Sa26984 Words   |  108 PagesN. Secretary-General in 2001 Background of the Study 1. Water is directly related with the survival of human kind and it is crucial unlike other resources, because it does not have choices and alternatives. As a consequence of global warming and pollution, importance of water has increased much. Some 2 billion people† already lack water supplies. Water use has risen six-fold over the past 70 years. By 2050, it is estimated that 4.2 billion people live in countries that cannot meet people’s daily

No god but God Free Essays

Reza Aslan’s book, ‘No god But God’, is a comprehensive telling of the story and the history of one of the major religions in the world today. Going through the 352 pages of the book, even a person who had no knowledge of Arabia’s pre-Islamic history, no familiarity with Islamic rise, and no previous comprehension of the various teachings and philosophical factors, is a great experience of exploration in the world of Islam and the Muslim way of thought. What makes this book unique is that it connects many of what is going on in the Islamic world with the latest events concerning terrorism and militant Islamic groups in different places of the world. We will write a custom essay sample on No god but God or any similar topic only for you Order Now Knowing that Aslan is a Muslim who earned different degrees in Religions and Arts in the United States gives us an idea about the amount of information that each reader can obtain. Throughout the book, the reader is being guided by an insider who is knowledgeable in what concerns all the related elements. And, from the other side, this can be another component in highlighting the fact that the book is written in a way that is easy to understand and that is completely comprehendible. CONTENTS AND THOUGHTS The author of the book begins by explaining the reasons that led him to write the book and to create such a volume about Islam. He explains that the main reason is not to go through the history and present conflicts within the religion, but to attempt to foresee its future and how it will evolve. â€Å"This book is not just a critical reexamination of the origins and evolution of Islam, nor is it merely an account of the current struggle among Muslims to define the future of this magnificent yet misunderstood faith. This book is, above all else, an argument for reform†Ã‚  Ã‚   (Prologue). The book is divided into ten distinct sections; each one goes through a certain stage of the birth and development of the religion. And in many of these chapters, many direct references and explanations are made concerning events that we see today and their origin and impact on the Muslim world of today in relation to a variety of subjects. The first section of the book ‘The clash of monotheisms’, is an introductory part in which the author states the reasons that led him to writing the book. He states that Islam is not, as some claim, a violent religion that cannot co-exist with modern values of democracy and human rights. â€Å"A few well-respected academics carried this argument further by suggesting that the failure of democracy to emerge in the Muslim world was due in large part to Muslim culture, which they claimed was intrinsically incompatible with Enlightenment values such as liberalism, pluralism, individualism, and human rights. It was therefore simply a matter of time before these two great civilizations, which have such conflicting ideologies, clashed with each other in some catastrophic way. And what better example do we need of this inevitability than September 11?† (Prologue). He claims, instead, that certain circumstances were the reason why the Muslim world is so much behind in these fields. In the first chapter of the book, ‘The sanctuary in the desert: pre-Islamic Arabia’, the reader can virtually live through the conditions and events that were taking place in Arabia before the emergence of the religion. Here we find many indications to the fact that, contrary to the reality of today, the Arabian Peninsula was populated by the followers of many religions: Jews, Christians, and others. â€Å"It is here, inside the cramped interior of the sanctuary, that the gods of pre-Islamic Arabia reside: Hubal, the Syrian god of the moon; al-Uzza, the powerful goddess the Egyptians knew as Isis and the Greeks called Aphrodite; al-Kutba, the Nabataean god of writing and divination; Jesus, the incarnate god of the Christians, and his holy mother, Mary† (Aslan 3). And in reference to the Jewish community the author states: â€Å"The Jewish presence in the Arabian Peninsula can, in theory, be traced to the Babylonian Exile a thousand years earlier, though subsequent migrations may have taken place in 70 C.E., after Rome’s sacking of the Temple in Jerusalem, and again in 132 C.E., after the messianic uprising of Simon Bar Kochba. For the most part, the Jews were a thriving and highly influential diaspora whose culture and traditions had been thoroughly integrated into the social and religious milieu of pre-Islamic Arabia† (9). The following three chapters, ‘The keeper of the keys: Muhammad in Mecca’, ‘The city of the prophet: the first Muslims’, and ‘Fight in the way of God: the meaning of Jihad’, give the reader an in-depth clarification about how Islam came to life, from the beginning of the story of the prophet of Islam, Muhammad, his life before recognizing the mission that he was set to accomplish and the various events that shaped the era of the beginning of the new religion and how the Muslim believers, including the prophet himself, were treated by the people of their tribe and all the conditions that led the Islamic state to be established in Medina instead of Mecca, the original city of the prophet. What is interesting in this book is that it makes, during the telling of the story, references to many things that we see today in the Muslim world. One of the examples of this is the reference made to the story of the Hijab or the Islamic clothes and head cover of Muslim women, which has became an identifying characteristic of Muslim women today. It is surprising to find out that the whole idea is not even brought by the Quran or the original Islamic teachings: â€Å"Although long seen as the most distinctive emblem of Islam, the veil is, surprisingly, not enjoined upon Muslim women anywhere in the Quran. The tradition of veiling and seclusion (known together as hijab) was introduced into Arabia long before Muhammad, primarily through Arab contacts with Syria and Iran, where the hijab was a sign of social status. After all, only a woman who need not work in the fields could afford to remain secluded and veiled†¦ the veil was neither compulsory, nor for that matter, widely adopted until generations after Muhammad’s death, when a large body of male scriptural and legal scholars began using their religious and political authority to regain the dominance they had lost in society as a result of the Prophet’s egalitarian reforms† (65-66). The next chapter, ‘The rightly guided ones: the successors to Muhammad’, goes through the events that took place after the death of the prophet, and how conflicts appeared on the succession in what concerns the position of Islamic leader of Caliph, or successor. The sixth chapter, ‘This religion is a science: the development of Islamic theology and law’, is the one that contains most of the information about the teachings, the myths, the different philosophical views, and the various rituals that make up the religion. Here, the reader will have an idea about the different schools of thought. The following chapter, ‘In the footsteps of martyrs: from Shi’ism to Khomeinism’, presents the story of how the Shi’ite Muslim sect appeared as a result of the killing of Ali, the fourth Caliph after Muhammad and the political and religious consequences of this appearance that we can see in our world today. It relates the new factors of faith that were introduced into Islam by the Shi’ite sect and how those factors were always being used according to desires and wishes of the leaders, such as Kommeini in what concerns modern Iran. Next, the chapter ‘Stain your prayer rug with wine: the Sufi way’ is a description of another sect of Islam, which is Sufism. It goes through many of the different concepts that Sufis use and believe in which are completely different than those of mainstream Islam and Shi’ite Islam. The ninth chapter, ‘An awakening in the east: the response to colonialism’, talks about the effects of European colonialism on Muslim countries and the way that it was faced: â€Å"the nationalists sought to battle European colonialism through a secular countermovement that would replace the Salafiyyah’s aspiration of religious unity with the more pragmatic goal of racial unity: in other words, Pan-Arabism† (Aslan 233) The final chapter, ‘Slouching toward Medina: the Islamic reformation’, discusses the establishment of the Muslim states after the end of colonialism. An interesting idea that the author presents in this chapter is the comparison between the reforms that took place within the Christian history which led Christian societies to move towards democracy, human rights, and pluralism and the conditions that are being shaped today within Islamic societies. And he states that Islamic societies may need to go through violent and extremely shaky conditions before reaching the final desired destination that others in the Western world reached. According to the author, there is an ongoing struggle taking place in the Muslim world between the forces of traditional religious beliefs and those that want to move their societies into the modern foundations of democracy and human right. He states that â€Å"in the developing capitals of the Muslim world – Tehran, Cairo, Damascus, and Jakarta – and in the cosmopolitan capitals of Europe and the United States – New York, London, Paris, and Berlin – where that message is being redefined by scores of first and second generation Muslim immigrants. By merging the Islamic values of their ancestors with the democratic ideals of their new homes, these Muslims have formed†¦ a ‘mobilizing force’ for a Muslim reformation that, after centuries of stony sleep, has finally awoken and is now slouching toward Medina to be born† (Aslan 254). In many parts of the book, there is a mentioning of terrorism and the reasons that led to its creation. Ben Laden is mentioned several times, even though the concepts that the author wants to express are not presented in the level that a reader expects. Aslan states that Ben Laden’s concept of Islam is wrong and that it is not the conception of the majority of Muslims: â€Å"Muslims may share bin Laden’s grievances against the Western powers, [but] they do not share his interpretation of Jihad† (87). CONCLUSION The book is a rich source of information about the history of Islam and the about the Muslim societies of today. It gives the reader a full, even though not detailed, description of everything that led the reality of those societies into what is being seen today. The writer tried to show the true face of Islam and to explain to everyone that what extremists stand for today is something that has nothing to do with religion, and that they have their own version and interpretation of the Quran. The author, to a certain extent, succeeded in clearing many points about the religion and to underline the idea that Islam is originally a peaceful religion. The book was certainly worth writing and publishing especially in this time when everyone should know more about the other in order to avoid and prevent further confrontation. Works Cited Aslan, Reza. No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam. New York: Random   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   House, 2005.    How to cite No god but God, Essay examples

Counselling Skills Free Samples for Students †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Counselling Skills. Answer: Introduction For a long time, the concept of counselling has existed. In a bid to understand themselves, humans have sought answers through ages. We have strived to counsel and nurture our abilities, realise the opportunities and to help ourselves in means that are associated with the practice of formal guidance (Low, 2015). This concept is paramount. For instance, when there is a collaboration between students and teachers, the learning progresses in a practical and useful way. The younger generation realises the importance of their freedom from psychological issues and understands the options they have by taking good advantage of them. Thus, counselling targets to help people detach from the chains of despair and efficiently manage situations in life. Definition of counselling Counselling refers to the principled and skilled utilisation of a relationship to facilitate emotional acceptance and development, maximum development of individual resources and self-knowledge ("UNESCO Counselling Modules", 2017). Five relevant counselling skills Contemporary research suggests that the therapy type during counselling is not so much important in the determination of the outcome of sessions, but the specific behaviours of the counsellor are necessary (Nelson-Jones, 2013). They include; enthusiasm, the belief that the patient can change and determination. Even if there is nothing that can assure change, the client most likely will develop the capacity to change if the relationship with the therapist is overboard and productive. In essence, the interaction between the counsellor and the client is a compelling premise in the relationship (Maxwell, 2013). As such, the therapist needs to possess some specific and relevant skills to ensure a fruitful engagement; empathy, good rapport, attentiveness, being genuine, collaboration among others. Empathy refers to the ability and power to perceive another persons experience and uncannily communicate the perception back to him or her in a bid to amplify and clarify his/her meaning and experiencing (Nelson-Jones, 2013). It does not encompass the identification and sharing similar experiences with the person being counselled (McLeod, 2014). A reflection that is effective has a more direct engagement process and involves serious aspects like making inferences that are reasonable about the clients emotional experiences (Maxwell, 2013). Thus, empathy dictates that the therapist chooses words that are different but lay the same message. For example, if a client gets angry about a situation that is deemed small to the therapist, then he or she must not respond with anger or a negative statement because there could be counter-productivity to the change process (McLeod, 2014). Rapport refers to a state where there is a harmonious understanding between one person or group with another enabling an easier and greater communication (Newton, 2013). In a nutshell, it means getting along well with one another or a group of individuals by having common things making communication more efficient and swift (Newton, 2013). The commencement of an interpersonal relationship with a stranger is a stressful event that calls for proper planning and arrangement (McLeod, 2014). Attentiveness refers to the ability of the counsellor to keenly and patiently listen to the client and render the necessary help. It aims at understanding and capturing the nonverbal and verbal data that the client communicates (Reese, 2016). Additionally, attentiveness helps the counsellor to identify the nitty gritty of the clients problem. For instance, the client may be having psychological problems like tangentiality and circumstantiality, but because the therapist is non-attentive, he or she may not capture these issues (Reese, 2016). Genuineness entails the ability of the counsellor to be himself or herself freely. It encompasses the congruence between the inner feelings and the outward expression. Moreover, there ought to be a lack of defensiveness, role playing, pretense among others (Reese, 2016). These factors may deteriorate the clients situation if he or she realises promptly. For instance, the counsellor may express the willingness to help the client handle his or her sexual or drug problem. However, if the body language shows discomfort and inability to do so, then the client may understand that indeed there is pretense here thus leading to mistrust and lack of confidence in the helper (Low, 2015). Finally, collaboration maintains the capacity to work along and close with the client. More than eighty percent of the clients therapeutic outcomes are as a result of individual efforts. The counsellor just supports the efforts (2017). As such, the client needs to understand that the use of professional progress is anchored on collaboration. For instance, the counsellor must not make personal decisions about the client, but instead, he/she should engage the client. Therefore, the usefulness of the relationship has to be based on working together (Vitelli, Galiani, Amodeo, Adamo, Valerio, 2015). Application of the skills in the mock counselling session The mock session has demonstrated improved and upheld skills of counselling. Upon reflection on the session, it is apparent that counselling needs to be effected in a more diverse and collaborative way (Low, 2015). First, I began by drawing the sit for the client. This gesture demonstrates a creation of rapport. Additionally, I introduced myself and welcomed the student to the room. This demonstrates to him that there is nothing to fear, I am a friendly person just like any other close frined of his. This indicates the need to propel the session to a more intimate level of self-revelation by the client. This is the reason that he was able to reveal his sexual orientation to me in the first place. To demonstrate relaxation, the client sighs in relief and says he needed to talk to someone. Therefore, it was clear that my strategy to alleviate his anxiety was fruitful (Langaard Toverud, 2013). Empathy entails the understanding of the clients situation but not to get emotionally attached to it or play a role in a countertransference stance (Vitelli, Galiani, Amodeo, Adamo, Valerio, 2015). I maintained an interpersonal distance because any form of closeness would warrant me to render comfortability or a shoulder to lean on. Moreover, it is because of empathy that I maintained a good professional response where I just asked the client to be calm and that I comprehended his problem (Sharpley Sagris, 2013). Despite having met similar cases in the past, I tried my level best not to get emotional. The demonstration of attentiveness was above board in the mock session. First, I was less inquisitive and more listening. For instance, the client began the narration of his sexual ordeal, and because I did not want to have him cut short, I just let him speak. Additionally, when someone is in deep emotions, he /she must be left to speak what is troubling him/her because it helps relieve the stress (Green, 2014). Opening up is the first form of therapy. When the client was crying, I did not stop him. This is the reason after the session; he was more relaxed and renewed. Again, the situation of the client was complicated and needed uncanniness to comprehend. As such, there was a clear demonstration of the counselling skill of attentiveness (Green, 2014). Being genuine is a gift that any human can have. In the session, I demonstrated this skill by being heavily armed with modern interventions. First, I understood the clients problem and then offered the best options. The desire to be the one breaking the news to his religious parents was a remarkable gesture. My body language was congruent with my expression (Langaard Toverud, 2013). Here, I ensured that there was a clear demonstration of willingness. I even asked the client to let me speak with his partner in case of trouble. I needed to involve the client in his healing process. First, I was asking him to be open with me after reassuring him of confidentiality. Then, he accepted the offer of being clearly genuine and understanding. Letting him solve part of the problem was easy. I wanted him to handle a person he did not fear, his lover and let me gradually introduce his sexual issue to the parents (Goss Adebowale, 2014). Therefore, it was a professional moment for me as well, ad ding a wealth of experience. Personal limitations faced during the session Just like any other counselling session, mine was not without limitations. They provide an opportunity to handle the next session in a more succinct and keen manner so that the best comes out of the relationship with the client. These included almost losing myself in sympathy, inability to follow the stages laid down in the counselling process, over-insistence on reassurance, hastiness and inadequate professionalism (Egbochuku, 2013). When the client explained about the problem of sexual orientation that he has and the background of his religious upbringing, I felt some aspects of betrayal to his parents. I had initially read about a case in the LGBTQ group forums where parents hacked a young girl for being a lesbian. This is the hardest news that parents can ever tolerate especially after being fond of their children (Egbochuku, 2013). For these reasons, I felt like weeping when instead, I was supposed to empathise and help the client solve his problem. Therefore, it is imperative to handle problems of clients in good time and professionally. Secondly, the counselling process has a systematic interpersonal relations stages that guides objective engagements (Chen, 2013) It includes initial disclosure, then deep exploration and finally a commitment to the interventions. I did not articulate well the disclosure phase because of the integration of the clients other forms of data like the past psychological problems, medical and surgical history among others. I was hasty in rendering my perceived solutions perhaps due to the previous experiences with clients of similar problems. As such, I needed to improve tactical skills and recall that every case is unique in its way ("Counselling psychology and beyond", 2015). As much as there was an aspect of professional engagement, I did not involve an improved and modern professional process that ensures there is proper recognition of special clues that may lead to an understanding of the clients problem. Conclusion The mock session is about a client who was bred under stringent Christian values from Catholic parents. He has a problem with a sexual orientation where he is attracted to the same gender, the males. The session commenced with a shallow introduction and full expression of the clients feelings. He was shaken and unhappy about the pressure from his lover and parental engagement. As such, I offered to help with the parents as he tackles the partners problem. The five primary skills of counselling involved include; being genuine, empathy, building rapport, being attentive and collaboration. Professionalism in the paramount concept in counselling and guidance. References (2017). Retrieved 8 March 2017, from https://www.ccpa-accp.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/NOE.What-is-Counselling-A-Search-for-a-Definition.pdf Chen, P. (2013). Guiding College Students To Develop Academic Self-Regulatory Skills.Journal Of College Teaching Learning (TLC),8(9), 29. Counselling psychology and beyond. (2015).Counselling Psychology Quarterly,1(1), 5-9. Egbochuku, E. (2013). Counselling Communication Skills: Its Place In The Training Programme Of A Counselling Psychologist.Edo Journal Of Counselling,1(1). Goss, S. Adebowale, O. (2014). Counselling and guidance in Africa.British Journal Of Guidance Counselling,42(4), 353-358. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2014.918363 Green, B. (2014). Counselling Skills for Working with Trauma Sanderson Christiane Counselling Skills for Working with Trauma 328pp 22.99 Jessica Kingsley 9781849053266 184905326X.Learning Disability Practice,17(2), 10-10. Langaard, K. Toverud, R. (2013). Youth Counselling in School Health Services: The Practice of Intentional Attentiveness.Nordic Journal Of Nursing Research,30(4), 32-36. Low, P. (2015). School counselling in Singapore: teachers thoughts and perceptions.Asia Pacific Journal Of Counselling And Psychotherapy,6(1-2), 17-27. Maxwell, C. (2013). Bereavement Counselling.Employee Counselling Today,1(4), 8-13. McLeod, J. (2014).Doing Research in Counselling and Psychotherapy(1st ed.). London: SAGE Publications. Nelson-Jones, R. (2013).Introduction to counselling skills(1st ed.). Los Angeles, Calif.: SAGE. Newton, T. (2013). Empathy in Psychotherapy: how therapists and clients understand each other.Counselling And Psychotherapy Research,13(1), 81-82. Reese, R. (2016). EcoWellness Guiding Principles for the Ethical Integration of Nature into Counseling.International Journal For The Advancement Of Counselling,38(4), 345-357. Sharpley, C. Sagris, A. (2013). Does eye contact increase counsellor-client rapport?.Counselling Psychology Quarterly,8(2), 145-155. UNESCO Counselling Modules. (2017). Retrieved 8 March 2017, from https://www.unesco.org/education/mebam/module_2.pdf Vitelli, R., Galiani, R., Amodeo, A., Adamo, S., Valerio, P. (2015). Psychotherapy and counselling in Italy: A situation still in the phase of definition.European Journal Of Psychotherapy Counselling,1(3), 459-474.