An overview of Mobile Commerce and Mobile Banking solution for the Essay

An overview of Mobile Commerce and Mobile Banking solution for the Unbanked in Sub Saharan Africa - Essay Example One of the cornerstone Internet technologies that have emerged in recent years is electronic commerce. Electronic commerce does not simply provide convenience to merchants and retailers, but has revolutionized many aspects of banking and even social life. One of the prominent sub-elements of electronic is mobile commerce. This is the combination of electronic commerce with mobile handset technology. This thesis specifically provides an overview of electronic commerce and the means by which it has been integrated with mobile technology. The thesis implements literature sources and industrial and practical articles from the telecommunications and mobile industries. The research is categorized in three main sections: the history of electronic commerce, GSM network elements, and finally the implementation of mobile commerce banking solutions in Sub Saharan Africa. In terms of the history of electronic commerce, background elements examine the way electronic commerce is implemented in con temporary contexts as compared to historical contexts. This section also examines the means of past and future growth of electronic commerce. ... The final section considers the implementation of mobile commerce banking solutions in sub Saharan Africa, with particular emphasis on Kenya. This section recognizes that there are a variety of mobile banking solutions that have gained widespread popularity in the region. This popularity is partially motived by the large-scale need for banking solutions for individuals with non-traditional incomes. The two major banking solutions considered in these regards are the M-PESA Banking solution and the Gemalto Mobile Banking solution. The technological aspects are examined, as well as the means of security they provide. Acknowledgements This thesis owes its existence to the help, support, and inspiration of many people. In the first place, I would like to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to my supervisor Dr.Konstantinos Markantonakis for many hours of useful discussion, tirelessly reading and correcting my work, and suggesting many invaluable comments. Without his support, thi s thesis would not have been possible. I am also indebted to Dr. Chez Ciechanowicz for their care and guidance throughout my Master at Royal Holloway. In addition, I would like to thank the staff and colleagues in the Information Security Group for making my time at Royal Holloway an enjoyable one. Finally, and most importantly, I am most grateful to my family for their continuous and unconditional support throughout the period of my studies. Contents Abstract 2 Acknowledgment 3 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 8 1.1 BACKGROUND......................................................................................................8 1.1.1 The growth of e-Commerce/ m-Commerce...........................................8 1.2 Motivation

A Comparison Between the Hmong Shamanism and Num Chai, the Healing Essay

A Comparison Between the Hmong Shamanism and Num Chai, the Healing Dance of Kung San - Essay Example Nu’m Chai which is the Kung San healing dance, is performed from dusk to dawn. Dancers etch their round path around the fire to the resonance of musical singing and clapping. During the singing and clapping, a number of the dancers keel over; yelling and try to dash into the fire but others hold them back. A number of the dancers may bleed from the nostrils while experiencing sharp bodily ache that prompts them to go into distinctive physical postures. Afterwards, several dancers scream out verbal abuse at the spirits of the departed who prowl in the shadows of the night (Ryan 15). In both rituals, the shaman is the conventional healer selected by the spirits who diagnose and treat the illnesses. He does so by traveling both worlds and restoring a person’s health. Secondly, there is an element of the shamans getting into a state of trance. They do so in order to cross between the two worlds and communicate with the spirits (Ryan 16). Thirdly, the shamans have to get rid of the evil spirits and forces that cause the sickness and restore health. Fourthly, the shamans chant to get into the state of trance. The chanting forms a connection with the spirits as the shaman has to call them. Lastly, there is an element of music in both rituals. Hmong shamans have drumming which marks the beginning of the journey and rattles to help summon the spirits. In the Nu’m Chai, singing and clapping accompany the dancing (Ryan 17). The rituals provide the need for emotional connection between the spirit world and the humans. The humans believe the connection between well being and sickness to the spirits that have to be appeased. Secondly, both rituals provide a sense of community and belonging to which members can identify with. This is beneficial to members who receive health after sickness and improve both

Human Resource Management PT 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human Resource Management PT 1 - Essay Example as emphasized by Mueller & Baum (2011), â€Å"labor, like all organizational resources, is highly dependent on supply and demand of human talent in different occupations, professions and industries† (p. 140). The current discourse hereby aims to identify and discuss HRM concerns, such as organizational restructuring, staffing and selection, and other relevant HR issues in the healthcare setting. Restructuring in organizations are undertaken for varied purposes. Some organizations restructure to accommodate increased or specialized functions, departments, or divisions. Others deem that restructuring is needed to address inefficiencies and to minimize costs. In the study on restructuring, the authors revealed that it has the potential effects of leading to repercussive resignations, low morale from remaining staff, perceptions of insecurity, mistrust to management, low performance and productivty (Duffield and OBrien-Pallas 2002; Duffield, Kearin, Johnson, & Leonard, 2007). measured in terms of apparent effects on cost versus performance or productivity of the remaining workers, in the long-run (Bowes, 2009). According to Cascio (2009), downsizing has the following effects: â€Å"lost business as a result of fewer salespeople; lack of new products since there are fewer R&D staff members; (and) reduced productivity when high performers leave as morale decreases† (p. 1). As such, decreasing the number of employees does not always save an organization money because the organization would be incurring additional costs associated with hiring, training new personnel, and maintaining the current pool of human resources in a motivated and highly productive manner through the use of motivational techniques. Selecting a qualified person for a position necessitates application of acquisition strategies. The organization should have a well-designed job organization system that defines job positions according to qualifications of potential candidates versus the tasks and

Does Kinaalda Ritual Have Lasting Impact on Person's Identity Essay

Does Kinaalda Ritual Have Lasting Impact on Person's Identity - Essay Example Today the ritual is fulfilled as in former times. Kinaalda is a rite of passage, any ritual or ceremony connected with the change of social status of the person or group of people, for example, burial, knighting, initiation, christening (in particular, fighting), etc. In this particular case a girl is initiated into the world of women. Rites of passage are not just ceremonies of moving from one approved state to the next but sometimes happened for attained statutes. As Keith (1964) described: "Kinaalda is a summary, or way of giving meaning to skills and values learned gradually in childhood". (p.35) In many collective cultures teenage years is a time to undertake appropriate social roles that are often related to tasks to family, kin, or tribe. Obviously, we described a ceremony that stand for attribution of a social identity unfolding that strengthens the vital feminine gender position in matrilineal way of life. The young woman takes part in rituals that make an impact on her role modelling (Changing women) who reflects the understanding of Navajo womanhood. It is the well-off expressiveness of rituals that induce improvement toward finest identity being a very exact ascription of a female identity. (Markstrom and Iborra 2003 p.418-419) The Changing woman was born by miracle and 4 d... Modelling of a body was a one of the most important parts of the ceremony. They say, that during this first ritual Kinaalda the changing woman herself modelled her body. It was done in order to honour the Sun and the Moon. The changing woman was "modelled" and got the perfect form. According to Markstrom and Iborra (2003), "the transition from preparation to separation and beginning of the rite of passage can be understood in psychological terms".(p. 412) It is shown in Erikson's (1968) statement: "Identity formation begins where the usefulness of identification ends" (p. 159). The ritual transformed the nature of social attitudes. In Kinaalda the young woman is not considered to be a child by the adult society but to be a full member. Therefore, the confirmation of her new position is of great importance. Those concerns that can appear again because of obtaining the liberty of this new position and new identity, but not yet having mastering role, are maybe facilitated by the new holding up of the group. As well it is accepted that girl in Kinaalda is beginning her way to adulthood and her family is expected to lead and direct her. Identify support happens during the next four days after the ritual in which the girl is to have some rest and reveal experiences. Such a break was compared to the rest on the seventh day in the Christianity. Identify reinforcement is shown in the act of giving the rinse water used in the ceremonial hair washing to the mother of the girl who took part in the ceremony. She is to pour it near their house so that her daughter would be drawn to home for all her life. The important issue to touch upon is the possible temporal effect of the ritual. It must not be forgotten that outcomes leading to the best identity shape

Poetrys Influences on the Harlem Renaissance Essay Example for Free

Poetrys Influences on the Harlem Renaissance Essay Racial equality has been the topic of many works for centuries. Many of those works weren’t written by those actually affected by inequality. During the 1920’s African Americans began to express their opinions on the issue more frequently through the arts. Poetry was among the most prominent forms of art used for spreading equality and justice. Poets like Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Claude McKay wrote many poems that spoke on equality in society. African Americans felt betrayed after the civil war. They had given their lives and after the war nothing had changed (Cartwright, â€Å"The Harlem Renaissance†). They were still not treated equal and didn’t get paid as much as any other worker. During the 1920’s they started a cultural and racial movement in Harlem, New York called the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was a time of growth of African Americans during the 1920’s. During this time ideas on equality and freedom spread through the African American community like wild fire. African Americans were expressing their emotions about racial equality in many different ways (Rau 167). Some chose poetry some chose painting or jazz. They used these arts to highlight the injustices they saw in their everyday lives. 1. Langston Hughes Langston Hughes is one the most well know poets of the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes was born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri (Rampersad, â€Å"Hughes’s Life and Career†). His beginnings were more humble than most. At a very young age Langston’s Hughes parents divorced. After the divorce Hughes moved to Lincoln with his grandmother. This is where he began to write poetry (The Academy of American poets, â€Å"Langston Hughes†). Hughes ideals were closely based around his grandfather, who was a militant abolitionist (Rampersad, â€Å"Hughes’s Life and Career†) His poetry was influenced by many poets who shared his colorful writing style (The Academy of American poets, â€Å"Langston Hughes†). Hughes lived his life as he wrote, with passion. After high school Hughes spent a year in Mexico with his father who disliked his passion for writing and urged him to stop. At that time Hughes was beginning to get published in a number of places like magazines and children’s book. During this time he was noticed but W. E. B Dubois. Upon Hughes return to America he enrolled in Colombia University in New York. Hughes did not like the atmosphere at Colombia so after a year he left. After Columbia he moved to New York and began work on a freighter. This job took him to many places. He traveled to the coast of Africa, Spain, and Paris. ( Rampersad, â€Å"Hughes Life and Career†)He ended up staying in Paris for a couple of months this is where he began practicing a new style of poetry there. Hughes writing style was a lot different from the others. Throughout his life time Hughes wrote many poems that showed common experiences that all African Americans shared. Hughes never discussed the differences between his life and the lives of other Africans Americans. His poetry always showed the negative and positive sides of the African American experience. Hughes may have seen both sides of African Americans but when it came to issues between African Americans and Caucasians he had strong opinions. He (Rampersad, â€Å"Hughes’s Life and Career†) wrote many poems that touched on the controversial topics of that time. In poems like I, Too and The nergo speaks rivers Hughes talked about the struggles that African Americans went through. (Poetry Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, â€Å"Langston Hughes†). Hughes used his dislike for Caucasians often in his poetry. 2. Countee Cullen Countee Cullen might not have reached the fame that Langston Hughes has over the years but his poetry was just as influential. Countee Cullen was born in May 30, 1903 in New York when his grandmother died in 1918 Cullen was put under the custody of Reverend Fredrick A. Cullen. Cullen’s connection to the Salem Methodist Episcopal church through Reverend Cullen placed him in the center of black politics and culture at the age of 15. This gave him a more unconventional education. Instead of learning regular writing and math like other children his age he was taught about black ideals. Most of his education was provided by completely white influences. This gave him a well rounded look at racism. (Poetry Foundation, â€Å"Countee Cullen†). This was often shown in his writing. Cullen’s writing technique would never directly attack Caucasians like other poets during the Harlem renaissance. He was a new voice for the African Americans, one that was actually listened too Cullen graduated from New York University in 1925 as Phi Beta Kappa. At that time he was already writing some of the acclaimed poems published in books by Harper and Brothers: Color (1925), Copper Sun (1927). He won first prize in the Witter Bynner Contest in 1925. Graduating with a Harvard University M. A. egree in 1926, the poet traveled to France as a Guggenheim Fellow(A grant). Upon his return in 1928, he married Yolanda Du Bois, daughter of W. E. B. Du Bois. She divorced him two years later, saying that he told her he was sexually attracted to men. From 1934 on, Cullen taught English and French at the Frederick Douglas Junior High School, though he declined a Creative Literature invitation from Fisk University in Nashville. In 1940 he married an old friend, Ida Mae Roberson. (The Harvard Square Library, â€Å"Countee Cullen† He died in 1946 of gastrointestinal disorder Cullen’s upbringing helped his poetry reach both African American and Caucasian audiences. Cullen was able to do something most African American poets in the Harlem renaissance couldn’t and that was reaching both sides. Cullen was against the way that African Americans were treated but he also understood not all Caucasians had the same ideals. He was brought up with Caucasians in his life which causes him to show a less offensive type of poetry. Cullen’s poetry often presented the sad side of an African Americans life (Poetry Foundation, â€Å"Countee Cullen†). The poem The Little Brown Boy tells of the death of a young black boy (Nelson and Smethurst, â€Å"Countee Cullen poems†). This shows the method of persuasion he used. Countee’s poetry’s influence reached many and his voice spread far. 3. Claude McKay In 1889 Claude McKay was born in sunny vile, Jamaica to peasant farmers. His lower class up bringing taught him how to love himself and have pride in his African heritage. Similar to Cullen, McKay was unconventionally taught as well. McKay was home schooled by his older brother and neighbors. He studied romantics and many other European based things. In adult hood he moved to Kingston which would be the first time that he had actually experienced racism he was immediately disgusted with the way that African Americans were treated and returned home disgusted. Once he returned to sunny vile he published his first verse of poetry. (Academy of American Poets, â€Å"Claude McKay†) After hearing about Booker T. Washington’s Tuskegee institute he decided to move to Alabama and enroll. There he sees American racism for the first time. McKay took a lot of his influence for his writing from similar poets to Langston (University of Illinois, â€Å"Claude McKay’s Life†). As early as 1912 he had published his first volume of verse, Songs of Jamaica, which had been widely praised and had won a medal for poetry. McKay slowly decided not to return to Jamaica and stayed in America. In 1914 he left college and began work menial jobs typical of the African American in the Northern cities of America at that time. At different periods he worked as wheelwright, porter, dishwasher, waiter, and longshoreman. McKay didn’t take his jobs very seriously they were just a matter of earning enough cash to quit for a while and write. McKay’s interest in politics led him to the socialist like many other artist. He was associate editor of The Liberator, a socialist U. S. journal of art and literature. In 1923-24mckay went to Moscow, Russia to be a part of the Bolshevik Revolution. As a African American, McKay was used to show the soviets commitment to racial equality, and he was treated like royalty, being lavishly entertained and exhibited on platforms with the most famous revolutionary leaders. But McKay was skeptical of all this, though he had sympathy for the lives lost in to the Revolution. Claude traveled the world trying to find a peaceful place to write. He went to Morocco and France. In 1928 he published his famous novel, Home to Harlem, which was a national best-seller in the U. S. and was instantly a literary sensation. ( Though McKay reached great success in his life he died impoverished and unappreciated. Claude McKay’s experience with the racism in Alabama was the basis for a lot of his writing. McKay more geared towards the empowerment of blacks and less toward equality. McKay wanted to show that African Americans weren’t just equal but they were better. A lot of his poetry was written to show how much power African Americans had. (Academy of American Poets, â€Å"Claude McKay†) in the poem â€Å"If We Must Die† McKay writes about how African Americans must fight as hard as they can even if the end result is death. This poem says a lot about McKay’s style of writing. In the years after the Harlem renaissance African Americans expressed themselves more often than ever before. The Harlem renaissances effect on African Americans was obvious. Free ideas were flowing and battles were being fought for equal rights. In the thirties no one had much money so African Americans had even less opportunities for work. Each of these poets had a different style and finesse but there messages were all the same. They all grew up as African Americans and they all experienced racism in some way shape or form. They all took those situations and used them to empower those around them. Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, and Langston Hughes might have all had different writing styles but they all played a major role in the growth of African Americans in the United States of America.

The relationship between cannabis use and mental health disorder

The relationship between cannabis use and mental health disorder Abstract This assignment evaluates the relationship between cannabis use and mental health disorder related to it in Australia. Recent national data reflects that cannabis use was at its peak in 1998 when over 60% of people aged 20-29 were reported having used cannabis. Since then various studies have found co relation between cannabis use causing no mental health issues and cannabis use causing schizophrenia and psychosis. Recent studies have found that cannabis is recognized in Australia as the third most prevalent drug of dependence following alcohol and tobacco. About 10% of people who try cannabis will develop dependence at some point in their life. Studies have found relationship between weekly frequency of cannabis use and mental illness such particularly psychosis, schizophrenia, anxiety and depression (www.mhca.org.au). Introduction Cannabis is a plant contains a psychoactive molecule that produces a high associated with this drug. The psychoactive product contains dried flowers and leaves of plants selected to produce high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (www.dictionary.com). There is a significant and growing research on the relationship between mental illness and cannabis use in Australia. The evidence supports the association between mental illness and regular cannabis use. The evidence states that regular cannabis use from young age will increases the risk of mental illness since there is genetic vulnerability to psychosis being which can be triggered by cannabis use. Evidence shows that cannabis use facilitates schizophrenia in people who have family history of mental illnesses. The average first use of cannabis users is now 14.9 years. This is of a very important concern in Australia as this is the age at which there are psychological changes in brain. Psychosis is an abnormal condition of the mind in gene ric psychiatric term for a mental state is often described as a loss of contact with the reality. This disorder can disable the normal functioning of the brain. This malfunction in brain causes people with elevated risk of death by suicide. Thus it is important to analyse the evidence carefully in order to make conclusions and recommendations (Hall et al, 2004). Relationship between Mental Illness and Cannabis. Certain pockets of Australian population consume cannabis in form of heating or ignition combined with inhalation of smoke or oral consumption of the plant itself mixed into a food medium. The other way that individuals consume cannabis is by vaporization, which causes the active ingredients to evaporate into gas without burning the plant material. This is generally done by boiling the ingredients of cannabis plant. Once these vapours are inhaled, it produces various short term and long term effects. The short term effects range from sleepiness, difficulty keeping track of time, impaired or reduced short term memory. In my general practice I have observed that the patients consuming high amount of cannabis find it hard to communicate and focus. They are generally slower to react and have increased heart rate, heart palpitations and show signs of psychological dependence on cannabis drug consumption. Their reasons for addiction generally range from recreational purposes and sometimes to escape their present hardships in life (Personal Communication, Clinical Placement, 2010). Evidence shown by scientific research shows that potential harm of cannabis use is generally and especially in vulnerable groups such as Aboriginal, young people, people belonging to poor socio economic background. The habit starts from peer pressure and gradually becomes an addiction. Rates of cannabis use by people with mental illness such as anxiety and depression also show heavy use of cannabis use.(Castle, 2004) The self medication hypothesis states that people experiencing signs of mental health disorder consume cannabis in order to alleviate or increase symptoms. There have been longitudinal studies to determine whether the mental illness is related to cannabis use. The hypothesis covers two scenarios -that cannabis initiates mental disorder that were previously lying inactive and that cannabis causes mental health illness who would not otherwise develop them. Thus research has been conducted on biological mechanisms such as effects of cannabis on brain chemistry and its effects on people without genetic predisposition to mental illness. Other social effects are taken into consideration when researching on cannabis users exposed to factors such as poor mental health, substance using peers, school dropout, unemployment and crime. It is a difficult to justify the effects of cannabis on an individual if many variables co exist both for the cannabis user and people with other social vulnerabil ities including family difficulties. Thus it is possible that there is a common genetic factor that predisposes individuals to cannabis use and mental illness (Patton et al, 2002). According to DSouza et al (2004) there is little dispute that cannabis can produce short term recurrences of pre existing psychotic symptoms. However there is no evidence relating to the fact that cannabis actually causes schizophrenia or other psychotic illness in long term (Johns, 2001). Research also shows that cannabis can also amplify a pre existing thought in an individual. These thoughts tend to overwhelm the individual causing severe reactions by individuals including suicide and self harm in extreme cases. In order for ascertain the research Hill (1965) states that following criteria must be met: Strength, consistency, specificity, temporality, biological gradient, coherence and plausibility. Every case needs to support each criteria to make the hypothesis stronger. Relationship between Cannabis consumption and Psychosis A recent study conducted by Hldes et al (2006) states that there is a two way relationship between psychosis and cannabis which states that regular use of cannabis is associated with higher risk of psychotic relapse. Many longitudinal studies have found that the mental illness particularly psychosis leads to increased use of cannabis. Research conducted by Hall et al (2004) states that most common symptoms related to the individuals with psychosis smoking cannabis were sudden confusion which were generally related to delusions and hallucinations. Their emotional state became unstable and showed signs of paranoid symptoms. These findings have been supported by individuals suggesting that they took large doses of cannabis product. Most of these people had no family history of psychosis. Their symptoms were gone once the individuals stopped their cannabis intake. These symptoms were seen back within days once the individuals started cannabis consumption again. Thus this evidence supports the hypothesis that the regular use of cannabis increases chances of psychosis in an individual. On the other hand the other hypothesis can be argued that cannabis intake does not support psychosis. There have been number of studies conducted that have compared people with people who have mental illness post cannabis use and who have developed mental illness prior to cannabis consumption. There is always a little variation in the results. According to Mental health council of Australia, there have been number of researches that have been conducted investigating the cannabis use among individuals with psychotic disorders and found that they were not significantly different from the general population. A range of motive can be grouped into following four categories: coping with unpleasant affect (to relieve emotional distress), enhancement (to have fun), social interaction (to affiliate with others), confirming (to fit in) (www.mhca.org.au) The evidence obtained shows that the first two tend to be heavy cannabis consumers and the later two are just recreational. The first two consume cannabis to relieve themselves from emotional distress, psychotic symptoms and medication side effects which lead them to consume heavy amounts of cannabis in order to feel that state of mind and emotion. People with psychosis initially use substance to change their emotional state and facilitate social contact. They then develop dependence on this substance stating, If I dont smoke then I will not be able to cope. These individuals then have belief that cannabis is the only way out thus worsening their psyche and this will lead to worsening cannabis dependence (Spence in Castle and Murray, 2004) Conclusion Various cases and individual analysis state that there is a strong connection between cannabis consumption and psychosis. The hypothesis states individuals consuming cannabis have developed symptoms of psychosis and these individuals have normalised once they stopped consuming cannabis. Thus, there is some evidence that suggest that cannabis consumption will impact the psyche of an individual but these findings are inconclusive at this stage as it fails to take into consideration other variables such as socioeconomic background, mental state, lack of family and community support. Relationship between Cannabis Consumption and Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental illness caused by disintegration of thinking process and disorientated emotional response. It usually consists of hallucinations, paranoid, disorganized speech and thinking process with social and occupational dysfunction, withdrawal from reality, social apathy (www.dictionary.com) According to research by Mental Health Council of Australia relationship between Schizophrenia and cannabis use is growing though by no means comprehensive. Schizophrenia affects one percent of the Australian population. Smaller but substantial bodies of research exist such as depression and anxiety. In some cases, Schizophrenic patients had previous symptoms of psychotic illness (Hall et al, 2004). In research conducted on 100 young people consuming high amount of cannabis, 49% male with an average age of 19.3 years were identified at ultra high risk of psychosis. Schizophrenia was the symptom with presence of other acute psychotic symptoms. This research is very difficult due to the fact that there are many variables that co exist both cannabis users with mental health illness and non cannabis users with mental health difficulties have similar behavioural problem. Most of them have substance abuse history, unemployment and life time on benefits past. It can be possible that these are the common genetic factors in both cannabis users with mental health issues and non cannabis users with mental health issues (www.mhca.org.au). Longitudinal studies show that continuous cannabis consumption in people with schizophrenia is associated with worse mental health outcome in terms of more severe symptoms and thus there is a greater chance of relapse and more psychosocial issues. Thus frequent cannabis use is associated with a higher risk of psychotic relapse and a more increased risk of cannabis relapse (Hides et al, 2006). Studies conducted by Arsenault et al, (2004) cite cross national surveys from USA, Netherlands and USA found rates of cannabis consumption among people with Schizophrenia was double than those of general population. Thus following conclusions were derived from these findings: Evidence of self medication of cannabis because of pre existing Schizophrenia due to the mental health issues caused by schizophrenia related to negative symptoms may be a factor in continuous Cannabis consumption. There have been consistent longitudinal studies stating that cannabis precipitates schizophrenia and many other psychosis related symptoms in people who are vulnerable because of their family background. The rate of schizophrenia has remained stable or decreased with increases in cannabis use over the past few decades. Overall longitudinal studies conducted by Nemesis study from Holland and New Zealand have made these findings that conclude that cannabis can be considered a casual factor in schizophrenia. Research has found that alleged increases in cannabis use over past two decades have not affected increase in rate of schizophrenia. However vast number of people who consume cannabis have not developed schizophrenia and vast number of people who have schizophrenia have n ot got schizophrenia because of their cannabis consumption (Degenhardt et al, 2004). Conclusion Cannabis consumption may affect small percentage of population that is vulnerable socially and mentally. The pattern of cannabis use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress has manifested by a need for increased amounts of the substance to achieve intoxication or desired effect. That effect is then reduced by continuous use of the same amount of substance. Individuals then consume larger amount of substance to achieve that similar feeling and these persistent efforts start to affect the psyche of the individuals. Schizophrenia is more prevalent in individuals with poor socio economic background and history of substance abuse. Cannabis causes changes in neurotransmitter systems that make depressed mood more likely but greater evidence supports that this problem is due to individual behaviour pattern. Evidence from both hypotheses is limited and there needs to be well designed longitudinal studies including studies that examine cannabis use on older Australians to furt her narrow the relation between cannabis use and schizophrenia (Degenhardt et al, 2004).

History And Importance Of Hydropower

History And Importance Of Hydropower Hydropower is produced by converting the kinetic energy of the moving water to electrical one. The motion of water is part of a continuous natural phenomena called the water cycle. Energy from the sun evaporates water from oceans and rivers and raise it as steam or vapor. When the watervapor reaches a colder atmosphere level, it condenses and forms cloud. The moisture eventually reaches a point at which air cannot keep carrying it, so it falls to the earth as rain or snow, this process is called precipitation. Gravity drives the water, moving it from higher ground level to lower one. The force of moving water can be extremely powerful. Hydropower is a renewable energy source because the water on the earth is in a continuous motion. As long as the water cycle continues, we will not run out of this source. In the old past people used a simple machine called water wheel to produce a specific motion using the movement of the water in the rivers or any other source. The water wheel is located below a source of flowing water. It captures the water in plates that is normal to the wheel, the water hits the plates causes the wheel to turn. Water wheels convert the kinetic energy of the water into another type of motion. That energy can then be used to grind grain, drive sawmills, or pump water. There are several examples of water wheel application in the past. For instance, the Greeks used water wheels to grind wheat into flour more than 2,000 years ago. In the beginning of the 18th century, factories at America and Europe used it also to power machines. In the late 19th century, the potential energy of water was used to generate electricity. The first hydro electric power plant was built at Niagara Falls in 1879 and it started a revolution of Hydro electrical power plants. in the following decades, many plants were built. At the peak in the early 1940s, hydropower occupies 33 percent of USA electricity. But, by the end of 1940s, inexpensive fossil fuel plants also joined the competition. At that time, plants burning coal or oil could make cheaper electrical power than hydro power plants. This fossil fuel plants was burning the fossil fuel and the hydro power plants till the 1970s. In that decade the way was opened for hydro power plants again because of the oil shocks that made people showed an interest in renewable power sources. 1.3 Importance In this part of the report, I am going to relate people and hydropower in a logical chain, that will show how much it is important to change the way that electricity is produced nowadays. People, as we all know, are part of the natural world and the materials they are using in building, clothing, food, etc come from natural resources. What surround us are composed of large numbers of built environment, the facilities built by humans for comfort, security, and well-being. As our built environment grows, we become more reliant on what it is offering to us. To satisfy our demands improvement to our built environment is needed, to do such upgrading we need electricity which can be generated by using the resources of natural fuels. In obtaining these resources, it is necessary to drill oil wells, tap natural gas supplies, or mine coal and uranium. In order to put water to work on a large scale, storage dams are needed. Some human activities have more lasting impacts than others. Techniques to mine resources from below the earth may leave long-lasting impacts on the environment. Oil wells may detract from the beauty of open landscapes. Reservoirs behind dams may cover whole valleys. The usage of energy sources can further impact the land, water, and air in different amounts. People want clean air and water and a pleasing environment. They also want power to heat and light the homes and to run machines. So, what would be the solution? Logically there are two straight forward solutions, but both are hard to be done. One solution is curbing The increasing demand for electrical power. As explained above, this is something that far from the actual trend. The other solution is that more power must be produced in environmentally friendly ways. Conservation can save electricity, but our population is growing. In other words even if we are very conservative in power consumption, our demand is still increasing. So, growth is inevitable. So again, the wisest solution is a careful, planned approach to how to bring a new, efficient ,clean and renewable resource of energy. All choices must be examined, and the most efficient, acceptable methods should be adopted. One alternative is hydro power plants and based on the characteristics of this plants it seems to be a successful choice. These features are many, one is that hydro power plants do not use nonrenewable resources to make electricity. They also do not produce pollution, rarely fail, have low operating costs and they are reliable. WAYS OF HYDROPOWER PRODUCTION I will discuss in this part of the report two methods to produce power using hydro energy that fit with the conditions in Saudi Arabia which are the lack of dams and rivers. These two ways are the sea power plants and power production in water Desalination stations. Using Sea Energy First of all I will discuss tidal energy as one type of the sea energy. The tides rise and fall eternally . Tides are changes in the level of the oceans caused by the rotation of earth and the gravitational force from both the moon and the sun. Nearshore sea level can vary up to 15 meters, depending on different factors. Tidal energy is the most promising source of ocean energy for today and the near future. Tidal energy plants capture the energy in the same manner that happened in dams, but here the dam is the whole coastal line. The water is filling this virtual dam and draining it twice a day. Then, by sitting up a set of turbines that connected to gears to convert the motion of the water into electrical power, and by building specific structures under the sea level which magnify the speed of water during the filling and draining process we will have a perfect tidal power plant. The oldest and largest tidal plant, La Rance in France, has been successfully producing electricity since 1968. Nowadays, the electricity from tidal plants costs a lot compared to other ways. It is expensive and takes time to build up the turbines and the structures, which can be several miles long. On the other hand, the fuel free, always available and green, and the plants are easy to maintain. For example, two operators are needed to run the La Rance plant at night and on weekends. And the plants is durable with little maintenance. Other type of sea energy is current and marine stems. The water in seas are continuously moving. We can use some of the oceanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s energy, but most of it is out of reach. Capturing this energy problem is not a problem, the real problem is transporting it to the land. Generating electricity in the middle of the ocean just doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t make sense since there is no one living in the middle of the sea. We can only use the energy near shore. Using Steam Energy (In W.D.S.) Of course, during the process of desalinating water, steam must be produced. And the moving pressurized steam has tremendous energy in it. Energy in steam is held both in heat and pressure. When heat is applied to a water, the electrons begin to move quickly around molecules. The change of a liquid state to a gas state takes place when the moving molecules take to the air because of its rapidly moving electrons. The water molecules up in the air stay away from each other. When very large number of water molecules are heated, and all repelling each other, pressure builds. When this pressure is released, energy can be generated. When the pressure in steam is released, it transfers its energy to whatever it hits, so by putting a turbine or a piston, this steam energy will be converted to mechanical one. This movement can be used to generate electrical energy, or it can use the steam energy directly in steam machines, like steams trains. COMPARISON BETWEEN HYDRO ENERGY AND OTHER RESOURCES In this section I will come over many aspects about hydro energy like the cost of power generation depending on hydro energy. Then, I am going to mention some up and down sides of this energy source. Cost Hydropower on average is the world cheapest way to generate electricity today. No other energy source, renewable or not, can be compared to it. Today, it costs about a cent per kWh (kilowatt-hour) to produce electricity at a typical hydro plant. Comparing to others, it costs coal plants about 4 cents per kWh and nuclear plants about 2 to generate electricity. Producing electricity from hydropower is cheap because of many reasons. For instance, if a dam has been built and generators installed, the energy source becomes free one. They are cheap also due to their firm structures and simple equipment. Hydro plants are reliable and durable, and their maintenance costs are low compared to coal or nuclear plants. 3.2 Advantage The advantages of hydroelectric power are so many. The power created through the use of dams and turbines is not reliant on coal, oil, uranium, or any polluting nonrenewable resources. Unlike other sources of power, it does not create carbon monoxide smoke, nuclear waste or any other harmful materials. The second advantage is when you construct a dam, it can create power for years and years to come. For example, the Hoover Dam in the US was constructed back in 1936 and it still provides a large amount of power to California, Nevada, and Arizona, three of the most power consuming states. Another advantage is aside from initial construction costs, it is simple and cheap to maintain a turbine. The Hoover Dam again has had only one large renovation done in the 90 years ago since it was created. The last up side I want to mention, is about water, the source of the turbineà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s power, is one of the earthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s most abundant resources and it is completely renewabl e. The tides, dams, streams and lakes that hydro electric power sources use to generate power are always moving about, and the turbine simply captures the power, converts it and sends it out to the needed areas. Disadvantage While I spend the majority of report explaining the advantages of hydroelectricity, there are a few disadvantages in terms of cost and wildlife damage. The major disadvantage of hydroelectric power, is its initial cost. Building a dam or marine structures is costless thing to do. Another disadvantage is the need of hiring a professional person who can locate where the dam should be built, as well as a place where the water can build up. In addition to that, redirecting the river for a few months while constructing the dam or evacuating a shore and keeping it dry until building the enormous nuzzles, which is a huge project, and will cost billions. Now, to put things in perspective, once a dam is built, all what is basically needed is a few maintenance workers, so costs become low. Secondly, there is a fact that building a hydroelectric power source is terminating the local wildlife. Whatever done, destroying the surrounding landscapes specially for the dam well happen, whether because of building a whole new lake, or because of adding a large wall into an area where fish used to swim freely back and forth hydroelectric power certainl y takes a toll on the natural habitat. Fortunately engineers started to become a little more conscious of the damage, by building smaller dams, or by providing overflow areas so that fish do not stuck being. While these changes are floating to the surface slowly, at least they are being made. Finally, there is the element of social change that can happen because of a dam being built. By their nature, all sources of hydropower must limit the flow of water in order to make them build up pressure to attain maximum results. As the water is limited, towns and villages downstream can sometimes have their water source drained down to a trickle, particularly after multiple dams, waterwheels and simple use of water can dry riverbeds and render some towns without a water source. Overall, though, considering how much potential energy can be gained by hydroelectric power, the disadvantages of hydroelectric power are probably worth enduring, since they produce so little carbon dioxide, and provide an endless source of electrical power to the area. CONCLUSION In this report, I discussed in detail the Hydro power production trend from the past till now. I gave a brief definition of hydro energy and talked about it importance. In the second part, I explained the types of hydro energy that is available in KSA to use. These types are tidal and marine streams energy and moving pressurized steam in water desalination plants. I introduced the way of each process, and its main up and down sides of them. And finally, I compared Hydro energy with other resources of energy in terms of cost, environmental impact, simplicity and durability. I found out that it is in fact the cheapest way to produce electricity, also it has a simple and firm structure that can last for years with a little care.