Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Community Response to a Community Problem Essay Example for Free

Community Response to a Community Problem Essay The youth gang problem in Southern California has reached epidemic proportions, and it calls for immediate action. However, any meaningful response on a social concern must be made with an understanding of the root causes of such an issue. Here we identify possible key causes of gang involvement and draw out implications for possible solutions to the problems involved. The key solutions require going beyond the individual, towards taking community action. Solving Californias gang problem, as in any â€Å"issue† or social problem, would not be easy. As a social problem, it must be studied systematically and would invariably require a social response. This social response means the involvement of many if not all community members, not just those directly concerned with the issue. It also means tapping significant community resources. At a practical level, community response is key as some possible solutions would entail a lot of resources, such as increasing self-esteem among youth at risk, stressing the importance of education, and providing training services. Gangs, Youth, Class and Violence: Reasons to Act Los Angeles County in particular has been called the gang capital of the world. Gang activity in the place accounts for a significant amount of violent crimes with approximately 6617 gang-related crimes committed in 2006 (House of Representatives, 1993). Gang members were believed responsible for 19 percent of the robberies, and 10 percent to 12 percent of the total felonious assaults in the southeast division of Los Angeles (Joint Committee on Organized Crime and Gang Violence). Today, in the City of Los Angeles alone there are more than 250 active gangs with over 26,000 members, while in the entire LA County there are around 950 gangs with more than 100,000 individuals (www. lapdonline. org). The most unfortunate aspect of this development perhaps is that more and more young people are involving themselves in gangs and are being exposed to or are themselves causing a lot of violence. Juvenile offenders are the nations fastest growing crime problem. While adult violent crime rates have remained fairly steady over the past decade, juvenile offenses have soared. It appears that the catalyst for this violence is the presence of gangs in low-income, urban areas. A study by the Office of the Attorney General of the State of California reveals that in 2006 approximately 5,168 arrests were made per 100,000 juveniles (age 10-17) compared to 5,283 arrests per 100,000 adults. (http://ag. ca. gov) In low-income, urban areas of Southern California, much of the increase in youth violence can be traced to gangs, usually in confrontations between rival gang members. As one expert witness has testified, â€Å"Drive-by shootings, turf wars, and homicides are mostly tied to gangs† (http://www. lapdonline. org).

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Maxwells Demon - Not a Perpetual Motion Machine :: Physics Essays

Maxwell's Demon - Not a Perpetual Motion Machine Entropy is not a difficult concept to just take at face value, but it is a difficult topic to gain a good understanding of. To do this some background must be given such as the first and second law of thermodynamics. The second law of thermodynamics states that any event that occurs spontaneously must result in an increase in the randomness of lhe syslem. This means that as an ice cube melts the water molecules that it is composed of will progress toward a less ordered arrangement. The leaves that fall from the trees do nol arrange themselves in a pile on the ground because the second law of thermodynamics is against it. Entropy is a concept that most high school chemistry and physics students enjoy learning about because the now have an excuse for having a messy room, they are fighting nature. For a better understanding of the theory of entropy it helps to understand the first law of thermodynamics, energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it may only change forms. In other words the energy of the universe is constant. For the universe (the ultimate system) to give up energy to increase ordered is not a likely event. Therefore ,for a system, a persons room for example, to become more ordered, energy must be put into the system, cleaning the room. Everything in the universe is governed by entropy through the Gibbs free energy equation which states; the heat content of the system, minus the temperature of the system times the entropy, or randomness will dictate whether the event will be spontaneous. Entropy is actually centered around the probability of an event occurring. The greater the statistical probability of a particular event occurring, the greater the entropy. A good example of this is an experiment with a new deck of playing cards. When the cards are first unwr apped they are arranged in numerical order and according to suit, if the cards are thrown into the air and allowed to fall to the floor. When they are swept up and restacked, we will almost certainly find that the cards have become disordered. We would expect this disordering to occur because there are millions of ways for the cards to become disordered and only one way for them to come together again in their original sequence. Another result of the second law of thermodynamics is that spontaneous changes are always accompanied by a dispersal of energy into a more disordered form.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Nixon’s Policies Versus the Strategies of Cold War

It is at the peak of The Cold War that Richard Nixon assumed his position. He felt the need to change the country’s foreign policy because it is at this time that thousands of American troops were sent to Vietnam. Then, there was a strong urge to win The Cold War over and stop communism at any cost, Nixon rather wants to divert it to another way that points to a productive initiative that basically highlights cooperation. Nixon believed that the only key to a more stable world is a stronger America. He then emphasized the bigger importance of partnership to win back not the war but peace between countries. Nixon even stated to provide shield to those countries in alliance to them in case of nuclear threats. He even said that the United States would also keep its commitments to other nations, as well as manpower to those who needs defense. His strategy turned out to be more civil and diplomatic than that of the heated cold war policies. He engaged more on changing the approach so as to better see the problem and make it into something more favorable to everyone (Nixon's Foreign Policy: A Global Balance Of Power ). Reference Nixon's Foreign Policy: A Global Balance Of Power . (n.d.). Retrieved october tuesday, 2007, from free essays: http://www.freeessays.cc/db/38/pbk80.shtml   

Sunday, January 5, 2020

How to Make Sure You Buy the Best Magnifier

After you get a rock hammer—maybe even before—youll need a magnifier. The big Sherlock Holmes type lens is a clichà ©; instead, you want a lightweight, powerful magnifier (also called a loupe) that has impeccable optics and is easy to use. Get the best magnifier for demanding jobs like inspecting gemstones and crystals; in the field, for quick looks at minerals, buy a decent magnifier you can afford to lose. Using a Magnifier Hold the lens up next to your eye, then bring your specimen close to it, only a few centimeters from your face. The point is to focus your attention through the lens, the same way you look through eyeglasses. If you normally wear glasses, you may want to keep them on. A magnifier wont correct for astigmatism. How Many X? The X factor of a magnifier refers to how much it magnifies. Sherlocks magnifying glass makes things look 2 or 3 times bigger; that is, its 2x or 3x. Geologists like to have 5x to 10x, but more than that is hard to use in the field because the lenses are very small. 5x or 7x lenses offer a wider field of vision, while a 10x magnifier gives you the closest look at tiny crystals, trace minerals, grain surfaces, and microfossils. Magnifier Flaws to Watch for Check the lens for scratches. Set the magnifier on a piece of white paper and see if the lens adds color of its own. Now pick it up and examine several objects, including one with a fine pattern like a halftone picture. The view through the lens should be clear as air with no internal reflections. Highlights should be crisp and brilliant, with no colored fringes (that is, the lens should be achromatic). A flat object should not look warped or buckled—move it to and fro to be sure. A magnifier should not be loosely put together. Magnifier Bonuses Given the same X factor, a larger lens is better. A ring or loop to attach a lanyard is a good thing; so is a leather or plastic case. A lens held with a removable retaining ring can be taken out for cleaning. And a brand name on the magnifier, while not always a guarantee of quality, means you can contact the manufacturer. Doublet, Triplet, Coddington Good lensmakers combine two or three pieces of glass to correct for chromatic aberration—what gives an image blurred, colored fringes. Doublets can be quite satisfactory, but the triplet is the gold standard. Coddington lenses employ a deep cut inside the solid glass, using an air gap to create the same effect as a triplet. Being solid glass, they cannot ever come apart—a consideration if you get wet a lot.