Religion, The Missing Dimension Of Statecraft Essays - Peace

Religion, The Missing Dimension Of Statecraft Religion, The Missing Dimension of Statecraft Douglas Johnston and Cynthia Sampson, editors Center for Strategic and International Studies Editors: Douglas Johnston and Cynthia Sampson compiled these essays for the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Douglas Johnston has since founded the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy, with the goal of encouraging faith based mediation through education and strategy development. Cynthia Sampson is the president of Peace Discovery Initiatives, a faith-based organization with the goal of peace building around the world. Argument: The main focus of this book is to bring religion back into politics. For various reasons, the religion factor has been removed from policy making around the world, to the detriment of international relations. Johnston conveys the importance of religion when dealing with international policy, especially when one of the parties has a worldview that is deeply rooted in religion. Seven examples of how religious involvement positively affected international relations and eventually brought about reconciliation are used: the role of the Moral Re-Armament Movement in Franco-German Reconciliation, the role of religious groups, especially the Quakers, in restoring peace between the Sandinistas and the East Coast Indians, the role of the Quakers in the Nigerian civil war, the role of the churches in East Germany during the break down of the Berlin wall and the events leading up to that even, the role of the Catholic Church and the 1968 revolution in the Philippines, the role of the c hurch during apartheid in South Africa, and the role of religious actors in the transformation of Rhodesia to Zimbabwe. The main reason given for the success of religious actors in conflict resolution is their ability to gain trust and act as honest brokers between the groups involved. The Western powers cannot afford to ignore the importance of religion around the world nor can they afford to let the rare skills of relationship building brought by religious actors to go to waste. Religious groups have the desire and key qualities of trust building, patience, and unbiased involvement necessary to facilitate reconciliation and build peace around the world. These attributes are vital to reconciliation and mediation in a world where deception and diplomacy often come hand in hand. Analysis: It clear that one of the key factors of the success of religious actors (RAs) in conflict resolution is their focus on reconciliation and a true desire to be unbiased mediators. Unlike others at the proverbial table of peacebuilding, religious actors usually seek only reconciliation and peace, and not personal gain. This, along with their ability to build faithful relationships, is a vital part of their work. Many government officials have picked up on this, and have used them to carry messages between themselves and other parties involved in conflict. RAs are often referred to as honest brokers in the book; years of trust building were required to build these bonds of trust. However, this trust is invaluable when it came time to sit down and talk. Most faith-based NGOs see this as a core value of the process of reconciliation; they understand the need for a trusting relationship to be built in order to be truly reconciled. Emerging leaders should take the message of this b ook into consideration and know that in order to truly change the world reconciliation must be built on a firm foundation of trust and honesty, both of which are key elements in faith-based mediation. The subject of why religion has been taken out of contemporary diplomacy was neglected, though this information would have given the reader a firmer foundation from which to defend their argument to include religion as a factor in international policy. The book is very thorough and well thought out. Readers will become well educated about the facts and people involved in each story. A reader should be very careful not to let the endless details slow their reading but to continue to gain an understanding. The book is useful to both the reader that just wants ideas pertaining to the use of religion in international policy and the reader who is looking for specific examples to use. I found myself confused by the style of some of the authors that wrote in great detail

Science Explains Why You Lose Water Weight

Science Explains Why You Lose Water Weight New dieters, especially if theyre eating a low carb diet, see a dramatic initial weight loss ranging from four to 12 pounds in the first week. The initial loss is exciting, but it quickly slows to one or two pounds per week. Youve probably heard this early weight loss is water weight, rather than  fat. Where does water weight come from and why does it drop before fat? Heres the scientific explanation. Key Takeaways: Water Weight Loss On a low carbohydrate diet, the body turns to glycogen as an energy source after it expends glucose. Quick water weight loss occurs when metabolizing glycogen because the process requires water.Eating or drinking excess electrolytes can lead to water retention because the body keeps the water to maintain a set electrolyte balance as part of homeostasis.Dehydration can also lead to water retention. In this situation, the body acts to conserve water when its not being replenished. The Source of Water Weight The early weight loss from a diet can be partly fat, especially if youre exercising and reducing calories, but if youre using more energy than youre replacing as food and drink, the first weight youll lose will be water. Why? Its because the energy source your body turns to once it runs out of its relatively small store ​of ​carbohydrates (sugars) is glycogen. Glycogen is a large molecule made up of a protein core surrounded by glucose subunits. Its  stored in the liver and muscles for use during energy-intensive activities, like running away from danger and supporting the brain when food is scarce. Glycogen can be quickly metabolized to meet the bodys need for glucose, but each gram of glycogen is bound to three to four grams of water. So, if you use up your bodys glycogen stores (as when dieting or with prolonged exercising), a lot of water is released over a short amount of time. It only takes a few days of dieting for glycogen to be expended, so the initial weight loss is dramatic. Loss of water can lead to loss of inches. However, as soon as you eat enough carbohydrates (sugars or starches), your body readily replaces its glycogen stores. This is one reason people often see an initial weight gain immediately after going off a diet, particularly if it was one that restricted carbohydrates. Its not the fat coming back, but you can expect all the water you lost the first couple of days of a diet to return. Other Causes of Water Weight Changes There are many biochemical reactions in the body that affect how much water is stored or released. Natural hormonal fluctuations can have a big impact on water storage. Since the body maintains stable electrolyte levels, losing too much of an electrolyte can leave you dehydrated, while too high of intake can cause you to retain water. Diuretics are chemicals that prompt the release of water. Natural diuretics include any stimulant, such as coffee or tea. These chemicals temporarily alter the natural set point for water retention, causing slight dehydration. Alcohol also acts as a diuretic, potentially causing much greater dehydration because additional water is used to metabolize ethanol. Eating too much sodium (as from salt)  leads to water retention because water is needed to dilute the high level of the electrolyte. Low potassium, another electrolyte, can also cause fluid retention because potassium is used in the mechanism that releases water. Many medications also affect water homeostasis, potentially leading to water weight gain or loss. So do some supplements. For example, dandelion and stinging nettle are natural diuretic herbs. Because water is used for thermoregulation, heavy perspiration, whether it be from exertion or sweating in a sauna, can produce temporary weight loss from dehydration. This weight is immediately replaced after drinking water or other beverages or eating foods that contain water. A surprising cause of water retention is mild dehydration. Because water is critical to so many processes, when its not being replenished at a fast enough rate, conservation mechanisms kick in. Water weight wont be lost until adequate water is being consumed and normal hydration is achieved. After that point, research indicates drinking more water doesnt aid weight loss. Nutrition expert Beth Kitchen (the University of Alabama at Birmingham) conducted research that concluding drinking more water does burn a few more calories, but it wasnt a significant number. Her research also indicated drinking ice-cold water as opposed to room temperature water resulting in an insignificant difference in calories burned and weight lost.

Last philosophy paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Last philosophy paper - Essay Example nce, if a philosopher asks whether knowledge originates in the senses or in the mind, this presupposes the philosopher has the right concept of knowledge, of mind, of senses, and of origination. Without these more basic concepts, the philosophical enterprise is doomed to wander aimlessly. An equally popular example of a philosophical question is, naturally, What is the meaning of life? Likewise, this question presupposes an understanding of the terms involved, and through a realized insight into what the terms refer to, one might come to understand the answer to the question. The question I am asking reflects on that existential quest for meaning. However, the quest for meaning I am concerned about deals not with life in general, but with the subject of a life. What is the meaning of my life? By changing the question, I have introduced a new term, but one which simplifies the issue and makes my life in particular something which must be grasped before attempting to answer the question. However, it is unclear is how I am to understand my life. As opposed to life in general, my life is defined by particular values and experiences that are not shared between different people or cultures. For example, my career as a Director of Sales and Marketing is driven by my experiences, knowledge, and values that I alone possess. My individuality reduces the issue to one of narrowing down what is important to me and finding values in those experiences. Asking the question in terms of my life provides a certain methodology for understanding how to answer the question, for if life shares certain essential characteristics, then it would not matter if it were my life the question asked about, or my neighbors life. This is the existentialist slant in trying to find an answer to the question. The philosopher Sà ¸ren Kierkegaard called this kind of answer a â€Å"leap of faith†1, and that the values, which belong to individuals, vary enough to give themselves, and their lives,

PRESENTATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

PRESENTATION - Essay Example entation; (2) delegate tasks; (3) integrate group effects in the unified presentation; (4) review and amend, as needed; and (5) present the information to an audience in the most comprehensive and informed manner. When a team member needs more information to clarify concepts or issues to be tackled, those members who are most qualified and competent in terms of knowledge, abilities and skills should share understanding of the concepts as simple, clear and concise as possible. The instructional approaches that could be used could also be in a form of an illustrative visual presentation, using diagrams or charts, or detailing in an outline form. The applicability and importance of presentations are seen in terms of their significant uses in current and future endeavors. Whatever profession one pursues, knowledge in making presentations would be seen as beneficial in assisting understanding of various concepts through a variety of

Sustainability and Food Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sustainability and Food - Essay Example Very likely some alteration of the vegetarian parents' diet will be necessary to make it suitable for a growing child. Parents must understand the need for combining cereals with legumes, milk, eggs, or fish if acceptable. A diet that combines several bowls of cereal will have variety but will have a severe imbalance of essential amino acids. Even with careful balance, both the parents and the physician should be aware that growth may be slower than expected.Slow growth cannot be equated with poor health and may not be bad per se depending on the degree of retardation. The pediatrician must decide at what point suboptimal growth becomes unacceptable. From a strictly practical point of view, the physician should try to instill certain dietary practices. Breastfeeding should be the mainstay of the infant's nutrition for at least six months, preferably much longer. Several of the cases cited previously, however, make it clear that careful attention must be paid to the mother's diet in t hese instances. Among older children, lactovegetarians and lactoovovegetarians willalmost certainly do well and the only real concern with these children is the assurances. Based on the foregoing information, it can be inferred that food and sustainability are interrelated. Vegetarianism, an option for healthy food, bridged the issue of sustaining life for human beings to contribute more to ecological preservation as stewards of the earth. Vegetarianism is not simply a trend for health concern. It is also apart of religious belief to care for our body.... vegetarian diets are lacto-ovo (milk, eggs included), lacto (no eggs), and vegan (no eggs, diary products or any foodstuffs made with eggs or dairy products). They abstain from food sourced from animal’s meat. Vegetarians were described as with lower weight, cholesterol level and blood pressures. Studies among dieticians and experts pointed that vegetarians have low mortality rate and advocates do not suffer nutritional deficiencies. Although there are few vegetarians in this world but they are proof that vegetarianism has substantial impacts to prolong life and to preserve better health. They consume less calories, fats but are more content with fibrous food. They prefer foods with macronutrient and micronutrient level of vitamins and minerals (White and Frank, xxxx). They prefer fruits that are with high anti-oxidant level. Studies have proven that vegetarianism improves social health because they live in an ecosensitive lifestyle and politics (p. 470). Vegetarians adopt thi s diet to conform to a stereotype; to wade off controversies of proteins; to uphold the relation of ecology to vegetarianism, including the economics of diet. Janda.and Trocchia (2001) explicated that vegetarianism gain prominence in contemporary society after advocates of vegetarianism explored deeper understanding on its concepts; its motivations and coping mechanisms underlying vegetarian orientation. In a two-phase phenomelogical study, researchers perceived that a person's attitude and character play an influential factor in opting this orientation. Dietician suggest that those with cardiovascular disease and cancer should be encourage to consume vegetarian diets (White and Frank, xxxx; 470). In a longitudinal study made by Burr and Sweetnam (2011) which used survey questionnaires

Comparison Of Persistence Framework Computer Science Essay

Comparison Of Persistence Framework Computer Science Essay Compare and contrast the following persistence frameworks: Java Persistence API (JPA), Hibernate and Java Database Connectivity. What improvements were made in EJB3.1 and JPA2? Include topics of scalability, security, connection pools, connection factories, entity management, transactional context, query languages, ORM, JCA, JNDI, the DAO-VO design pattern and specifically persistence layer(s) on a distributed n-tier enterprise platform in your discussion. Java Persistence API (JPA) JPA is an abstraction above JDBC that makes it possible to be independent of SQL. The main components of JPA are: ORM: Object relational mapping is a means to map objects to data stored in relational database [1]. JPA uses annotations and/or XML descriptor files to map POJO based java objects to relational database tables. CRUD: An entity manager manages lifecycle of JPA entities. It performs database related operations like create, retrieve, update and delete. JPQL: Java persistence query language allows writing CRUD queries using an object oriented query language. JTA: Java Transaction API provides transactions and locking mechanisms while accessing data concurrently. Callbacks and listeners: They hook business logic into the life cycle of a persistent object. Hibernate Hibernate is an Object relationship mapping framework. Hibernate helps in mapping POJO Java classes to SQL database tables. It has the power of significantly reducing development time. Hibernate uses annotations and/or XML (mapping) descriptor files to map the POJO Java objects in the application domain to relational database tables. Hibernate implements polymorphism and inheritance. Hibernate generated SQL maintains the portability of the application to all SQL databases. This HQL (SQL) allows create, retrieve, update and delete operations on POJO. This framework allows development of persistent Java classes which includes object oriented features like encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism, and collections frameworks. Hibernate Query Language (HQL): This is an extremely powerful query language similar to SQL. HQL is an object oriented SQL. Like SQL using tables and columns, HQL uses classes and properties. This means HQL uses object models for relational operations. Hence, it is less verbose as compared to SQL. JDBC JDBC is a standard java API for accessing relational database used for persisting state. It connects to database executes SQL statements and gets result. JDBC can also be used in a distributed environment. JDBC makes connection with an underlying data source using Connection Interface. It uses following mechanisms for connections: DriverManager This class is the management layer of JDBC. DriverManager loads any JDBC 4.0 drivers when an application makes connection to a data source as a part of its initialization. Other JDBC drivers must be explicitly loaded. DataSource DataSource can be a legacy database, file system or some other source of data. It is preferred over DriveManager as it allows the underlying data source to be apparent to the application. The two important extensions of the DataSource interface are as follows: ConnectionPoolDataSource The connection pool names are configured in JNDI. They support caching and reusing of physical connections in a way improving application performance and scalability. XADataSource XAdataSource uses XAConnection objects internally. It establishes physical connection with the database using the given user name and password. The connection thus obtained can be used in distributed transaction. Session bean and JDBC: Java architecture implementing session beans along with JDBC, any persistence request is delegated to the JDBC tier by the session bean. Upon request, the session bean calls JDBC layer to obtain a reference to object of type javax.sql.DataSource  interface. The DataSource type object serves acts as a resource manager factory for  java.sql.Connection  objects (as outlined by JDBC specification) that implement connections to a database. Once a  Connection  object is retrieved, the following business logic and persistence code (reads, updates, looping resultset, transaction commit/rollback etc.) are JDBC code. JDBC drawbacks Java applications initially used the JDBC API to create/read/update/delete/ data into relational databases. The JDBC API makes direct use of SQL statements to perform data persistence activities (create, read, update, and delete). When JDBC code is implemented in Java classes, the business logic gets tightly coupled to the Java class. The JDBC embeddable java code relies on SQL, which is not uniform across databases. Thus the code is tightly coupled to one type of database and hence difficult to migrate. Transactional Support: By default, JDBC drivers work in auto-commit mode, where each database SQL (read, update) is an atomic transaction. It is very easy to disable auto-commit, execute SQL in batch mode (multiple queries/updates) and then commit or rollback the transaction. DAO-VO A typical DAO (Data Access object) provides an interface that describes its contract with external interfaces. This outlines a series of methods for data persistence (CRUD operations). Generally a DAO is defined with a base interface and its methods are implemented by entity classes. A VO (Value object) is a simple POJO to transfer the data across various tiers of Java architecture. JDO For every method Persistence Manager is obtained, a transaction is fetched, and operations are executed. By availing attach/detach and fetch-groups, persisted objects are made available outside the DAO layer in a seamless way. Hibernate and JPA JPA acts as an adapter over Hibernate. JPA provides the entire API to interact with Hibernate. In a way JPA acts as an abstraction between the java code and Hibernate. In such a architecture it is easy to replace Hibernate if need be. JCA Java EE Connector Architecture (JCA) is a Java-based technology solution for connecting application servers and enterprise information systems (EIS) as part of enterprise application integration (EAI) solutions. While JDBC is specifically used to connect Java EE applications to databases, JCA is a more generic architecture for connection to legacy systems. What improvements were made in EJB3.1 and JPA2 Improvements in EJB 3.1 With EJB 3.1, there is no need to define home/local interfaces. Now EJB can be defined simple with an annotation. Singleton beans were introduced with EJB 3.1. Singleton beans can be used for shared data at application level. Asynchronous EJB calls are now supported with @Asynchronous method-level annotation. Packaging and deployment can be directly done in a war file. Session beans with a local view can be accessed without a separate local business interface. EJB Timer Service enhancements are also included to support scheduling jobs; Stateful Session Bean timed objects and deployment-time timer creation. Embedded container: A new embeddable API is available for executing EJB components within a Java SE environment (for unit testing, batch processing, etc.). EJB Lite: This definition of a lightweight subset of functionalities can be provided within Java EE Profiles (such as the Java EE Web Profile). Portable JNDI name: The syntax for looking up EJB components is now specified. Example: A Stateless EJB @Stateless public class CustomerEJB { @PersistenceContext(unitName = customerPU) private EntityManager em; public Customer findCustById(Long id) { return em.find(Customer.class, id); } public Customer createCust( Customer cust) { em.persist(cust); return cust; } } Improvements in JPA 2.0 Collections of basic types. Collections of embeddable. A persistent ordering is now maintained using the @OrderColumn annotation. Orphan removal that allows removal of child object when parent object is removed. Pessimistic locking has also been introduced along with optimistic locking. Foreign key mapping were introduced with JPA 2.0 for unidirectional one-to-many relationships. Improved support for maps (java HashMaps). Criteria query API which allows queries to be constructed in an object-oriented manner. Improvements in JPQL syntax. JPA 2.0 allows nesting of embeddable objects into other embeddable objects and has entity relationships. JPA 2.0 Example: @Entity @NamedQuery(name = findAllCust, query= select c from Customer c) public class Customer implements Serializable { @Id @GeneratedValue private Long id; @Column(name = cust_name) private String custName; public Customer() { } //à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.Get and set methods @Override public String toString(){ StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(100); sb.append(id : );sb.append(id);sb.append( ; ); sb.append(custName : );sb.append(custName);sb.append( ; ); return sb.toString(); }

Television and Media - Stereotypes, Stereotyping and the Media :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Stereotypes and the Media â€Å"Hey isn’t that Reverend Camden's daughter? I thought she was a Christian!† â€Å"Isn’t her dad a policeman?† â€Å"What! The President's daughters were arrested for drinking?† These are statements that are frequently made by people like myself. I expect more from my peers whose fathers have jobs as prominent moral leaders because of the way the media portrays them. Our society places higher standards on pastors of Christian church, a policemen, and the President of the United States of America, because of their positions. These fathers are expected to be upstanding, moral citizens of their community, and are expected to have children that conduct themselves in the same manner. As college students we have learned from the media how to judge our peers' social actions based solely on their fathers' jobs. The nightly news broadcast, newspapers, and television sitcoms such as the The Cosby Show, 7th Heaven, and Dawson’s Creek are all examples of where we learn to judge based on these stereotypes. Imagine you are at a party having a great time listening to a Marilyn Manson CD playing in the background, â€Å"Sweet dreams are made of these, who am I to disbelieve?† While filling up your glass of beer you spring a conversation with the person standing next to you. The music is loud so you both venture out to the porch to talk. Names, where you live, and your major are all exchanged in the beginning of your conversation. The two of you quit talking for a moment to take a sip of the beer you had both just filled up a few minutes ago. As the conversation gets deeper, the issue of your fathers' careers is brought up. Your dad is a real estate agent who sells homes for a living. The person standing across from you informs you that her father is a pastor of a Christian church. Your mouth drops, then your stomach. You quickly look down at your glass of beer, and then you look at her glass. A surprised eyebrow is raised, confused as to why this person is drinking, or wh y she is even at this party. Automatically, without any reason, you have already stereotyped this person and placed a higher standard of social prestige on her because of her fathers’ job.