The Criminal Justice System Essay Example for Free

The Criminal Justice System Essay America imprisons 756 inmates per 100,000 residents, a rate nearly five times the worlds average. About one in every 31 adults in this country is in jail or on supervised release. Either we are the most evil people on earth or we are doing something very wrong. (Webb, 2009, p. 4) This paper will look at basic criminal law, the reasons for lives of crime, a brief outline of the modern criminal justice system, and its future. Criminal LawCriminal law seeks to protect the public from harm by inflicting punishment upon those who have already done harm and by threatening with punishment those who are tempted to do harm. Most people accept that there are consequences for criminal conduct. The consequences are generally unpleasant and take away from the law breaker either his liberty or his property. One purpose of criminal law is to respond to harmful acts committed by individuals. However, each type of law provides different responses. A person who acts in a way that is considered harmful to society in general may be prosecuted by the government in a criminal case. If the individual is convicted (found guilty) of the crime, he or she will be punished under criminal law by a fine, imprisonment, or death. Once someone is found guilty of a crime, either a felony or a misdemeanor, punishment is imposed. The reasons for punishing law breakers are varied, and in some instances the reason may vary with the crime. Each reason has its own purpose, with the principal reasons being: Deterrence, Incapacitation, Retribution, and Rehabilitation. (Davenport, 2009)DeterrenceImposing a penalty for a criminal act is also intended to deter that person from repeating the act. If the penalty is significant enough, the law breaker will think twice before doing it again. Also, when the penalties are well known and there is public dissemination of penalties for a particular crime, it is expected that others who might contemplate the crime would be deterred from engaging in the prohibited activity. (Clarkson, 2005, p. 38) When there is a trial, sentencing, and punishment imposed, there is often a lot of publicity. This publicity is part of the deterrent factor in imposing a criminal penalty. Deterrence is frequently an  argument used to support the death penalty. IncapacitationJail or prison terms generally lengthen with the seriousness of the crime. The longer sentences serve as both revenge and deterrence, and also can serve another purpose. The longer a person is in custody, the less opportunity that person has to commit new crimes. This is particularly true of repeat offenders, which is why there has been a movement toward laws known as three strikes which impose long prison terms or even life sentences on individuals with multiple convictions. When an offender has not been deterred by prior penalties, protection of potential victims from that offender becomes an important consideration. Long jail or prison terms for individuals with multiple DUIs are becoming common as a protection for society. At some point it is in societys best interest to protect itself by certifying that a dangerous person is unable to harm others and incapacitation through custody serves that interest. (Farrington, 2003)RetributionA crime is considered an act that not only injures the specific victim, but also harms society at large. (Davenport, 2009, p. 12) A persons harmful acts may outrage the society as a whole. This gives rise to a desire for revenge, and punishing the criminal tends to satisfy that need. Additionally, having a person punished by society provides some measure of revenge for the specific victim of the act. If society provides an adequate punishment, the need for an individual to seek revenge personally is diminished and provides incentive to seek retribution through law enforcement. (Davenport, 2009)RehabilitationThere is also a value that every human life has meaning and worth, that there is a spark of good in everyone, even those who have chosen to break the laws of society. With that thought in mind, places that were previously known as jail or prison have become Departments of Correction. Some rehabilitation may come from within a person who is incarcerated. Criminals who are imprisoned may evaluate their actions and reshape their behavior so that when their liberty is restored they are able to readjust to  the boundaries of the law. Often programs are offered to offenders to assist in dealing with certain problems. Participation in programs such as drug and alcohol counseling or domestic violence education serves to potentially rehabilitate an individual. Involvement in such programs is often a condition of either continued freedom or reduction of jail time. (Davenport, 2009, p. 41)Justification for criminal punishment is not mutually exclusive. A particular punishment may advance several goals at the same time. A term of imprisonment, for example, may serve to incapacitate the offender, deter others in society from committing similar acts, and, at the same time, provide an opportunity for rehabilitative treatment of the offender. On the other hand, the goals of punishment may at times conflict. Retribution and deterrence call for the infliction of unpleasant experiences upon the criminal, including harsh prison treatment; but the prison environment may not be conducive to, or may even defeat, rehabilitation. Some offenders may even learn to become better criminals while incarcerated. Criminal CareersWhy do criminals pursue careers in crime? To understand the life of a career criminal we must first look at some Historical Backgrounds and Criminal Career Patterns. Historical BackgroundsThere are many theories as to why criminal activity occurs. The classical school theory has five basic concepts. One; everyone has free will. This means that a person chooses to do right or wrong. It also states that the two main determinates of human behavior are pleasure and pain. This theory also states that crime is immoral because of the bond that the act puts between the individual and their society. Also, that punishment is a necessary evil that can keep violators from repeating the crimes and sets examples for others. Finally they believe crime prevention helps to offset the gains of criminal behavior. (Davenport, 2009)Criminal Career PatternsThere appear to be ten widely accepted conclusions about the development of offending (Farrington, 2003):1 The age of onset of offending is most typically between ages 8 and 14, earlier with self-report data and later with official records, while the age of desistance from offending is  typically between 20 and 29 (though a small subset of offenders continue well into adulthood). 2 The prevalence of offending peaks in the late teenage years: between ages 15 and 19. 3 An early age of onset predicts a relatively long criminal career duration and the commission of relatively more offenses. 4 There is marked continuity in offending and antisocial behavior from childhood to the teenage years and adulthood. In other words, there is relative stability of the ordering of people on some measure of antisocial behavior over time, and people who commit relatively many offenses during one age range have a high probability of also committing relatively many offenses during a later age range. 5 A small fraction of the population (chronic offenders) commit a large fraction of all crimes; chronic offenders tend to have an early onset, a high individual offending frequency, and a long criminal career. 6 Offending is more versatile than specialized; violent offenders in particular appear to offend frequently in other kinds of offenses. 7 The types of acts defined as offenses are elements of a larger syndrome of antisocial behavior that includes heavy drinking, reckless driving, promiscuous sex, and so forth. 8 It appears that, as people enter adulthood, they change from group to lone offending. In fact, most offenses up to the late teenage years are committed with others, whereas most offenses from age 20 onward are committed alone. 9 The reasons given for offending up to the late teenage years are quite variable, including excitement/enjoyment, boredom, and/or emotional or utilitarian reasons. From age 20 onward, utilitarian motives become increasingly dominant. 10 Different types of offenses tend to be first committed at distinctively different ages. This sort of progression is such that shoplifting tends to be committed before burglary, burglary before robbery, and so forth. In general, diversification increases up to age 20; but after age 20, diversification decreases and specialization increases. Analysis of criminal careers has great value. Understanding why or how offenders get involved in a life of crime can lead to policies and procedures that can prevent criminal careers from developing. I have asked offenders in the prison I work in why they did their crime. Most answered that they needed money, some were gang related, and others done out of fits of rage. Most of them thought they would not get caught while some others just did not care or showed no remorse those are the scary ones. The Criminal Justice SystemThe criminal justice system has three component subsystems, they are: Police, Courts, and Corrections (Schmalleger, 2007). PoliceThe first step in the criminal justice system is the police officers or federal agents. When a crime is committed the police investigate the crime scene and if the suspect is still present they arrest the person. The police officer must always read the suspect his/her rights before questioning. During the questioning the suspect has the right to refuse to answer any questions at anytime during the questioning and ask for a lawyer. If the suspect is not at the scene of a crime, after an investigation the police will make a report and a judge or magistrate will issue a warrant for the suspects arrest. After an arrest the suspect is booked. This is a process where he/she has a picture taken, finger printed, and personal information is recorded (Schmalleger, 2007). CourtsThe prosecutors office becomes involved after an arrest. The information that is collected at the scene of the crime is turned over to the prosecutions office so they can determine if enough evidence exists for a conviction. It is not a good idea for a prosecutor to be involved in the beginning of an investigation because the defense counsel does not have the  opportunity till after they are either hired by the defendant or appointed one to them. The defense attorney is not involved in a criminal case until he/she is appointed or hired by the defendant. They cannot be involved prior to an indictment or arrest. At a preliminary hearing the defense attorney will hear the evidence presented and then determine if the evidence presented by the prosecution is strong enough for a plea bargain or a trial (Schmalleger, 2007). A judge or magistrates function begins with issuing a warrant if one is needed. A warrant is needed only if the criminal has not already been arrested. After a criminal defendant has been arrested, he/she is brought before a judge for a first appearance. This is when the judge will inform the defendant of the charges brought against him/her, read the defendant his/her rights again, and sometimes provide the defendant the opportunity to make bail. The next step for the criminal defendant is the preliminary hearing. During the preliminary hearing a judge will determine if there is probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed and if there is enough evidence to show the defendant committed the crime. This is when the prosecution presents the evidence to the judge and the defendant has the right to hire an attorney or if he/she cannot afford one the court will appoint the defendant a defense attorney (Schmalleger, 2007). The first appearance for a criminal defendant before the court that has the authority to conduct a trial, is called an arraignment (Schmalleger, 2007, p. 18). In this process the judge will hear the information (charges) and read it to the defendant, and again his/her rights are read to him/her by the judge. This is when the criminal defendant will enter a plea of either; not guilty, guilty, or no contest (Schmalleger, 2007). CorrectionsOffenders are then turned over to the correctional authorities, from the court system after the accused has been found guilty. Depending on the sentence, offenders will serve their time either in a jail or a prison. Jail is where you are held until you are sentenced. Jails are maintained by  municipalities or counties, and are generally used for incarceration sentences of less than one year. In most states, jail is for pre-trial detention for those who cannot raise bail (if bail is available), and also for post-conviction detention of those convicted on misdemeanor charges, which are defined as those convictions carrying a sentence of a year or less. Jails are generally run by counties, and every countys system will be different. Prisons are maintained by states or the federal government, and are used for sentences longer than one year. Prison is for post-conviction only, and is exclusively for felony convictions, that is, those charges with a sentence of a year or more. Prisons are operated by a states department of corrections (or equivalent agency), and tend to be more standardized; manning them are corrections officers from a statewide pool. The FutureLocal, state, and federal spending on corrections adds up to about $68 billion a year. Our overcrowded, ill managed prison systems are places of violence, physical abuse, and hate, making them breeding grounds that perpetuate and magnify the same types of behavior that they are intended to prevent. (Webb, 2009) One way that we can reverse this trend is through privatization. Corporations can bring more effective management and turn a tax drain into a profitable business. This can be done by employing the inmates as labor and giving them job skills at the same time. Another way we can reduce costs and prison overcrowding is by legalization and decriminalization of certain drugs. Drug offenders, most of them passive users or minor dealers, are swamping our prisons. According to data supplied to Congress Joint Economic Committee, those imprisoned for drug offenses rose from 10% of the inmate population to approximately 33% between 1984 and 2002. Experts estimate that this increase accounts for about half of the dramatic escalation in the total number imprisoned over that period. Justice statistics also show that 47.5% of all the drug arrests in our country in 2007 were for marijuana offenses. Additionally, nearly 60% of the people in state prisons serving time for a drug offense had no history of violence or of any significant selling activity. We need to save prisons and jails for  the more violent offenders. It is time to change the law. As a Correctional Officer, I have witnessed firsthand the results of the modern legal system. While there is clearly a lot of progress to be made there is also many educational and vocational programs available to offenders. The largest obstacle to their reform, however, is that the offender has to want to change. He must develop a conscious and be aware of the harm he has inflicted upon others. More importantly, he must have a desire to live productively, peacefully, and within the laws of society. References Clarkson, C. (2005). Understanding Criminal Law. London: Sweet Maxwell Ltd. Conklin, J. (2009). Criminology. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. Davenport, A. (2009). Basic Criminal Law: The Constitution, Procedure, and Crimes. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Press. Farrington, D. (2003). Evidence-based Crime Prevention. New York: Routledge PressSchmalleger, F. (2007). Criminal Justice Today. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall Publishing. Webb, J. (2009, March 29). Whats Wrong With Our Prisons? Parade, 4-5.

Solar Energy Sector In India General Studies Essay

Solar Energy Sector In India General Studies Essay India with abundant sunlight, unutilized manufacturing potential, readily available labour and significant demand for power, is one of the most promising markets for solar energy. The country is currently the seventh largest producer solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and ninth largest producer of solar thermal energy. Most parts of the country receive 4-7 kWh of solar radiation per square meter per day. There are 250-300 clear, sunny days in a year. This puts countrys solar potential at around 600TW per year. Still, solar energy is not the most popular source of renewable energy in India. Wind at 9,522 MW, continues to dominate the renewable energy sector , accounting for over 70% of total renewable capacity of 13,451 MW as of Sept, 2008. This sectoral report tries to cover the niche sector of solar energy in India which is still in nascent stage with very few detailed reports available. The sectoral report covers the size and growth of this sector various government initiatives taken to ensure the growth momentum considering the fact that solar power is still quite costly as compared to conventional sources of power. Thereafter the various key success parameters in the form of various issues challenges which decides the growth in this sector are covered like managing high cost, policy hurdles, environmental concerns, low land availability, power evacuation hurdles, profitability problems, entry barriers for new manufacturing facilities etc. Next the key enablers to sustainable success of solar energy sector in the form of technological innovations is discussed based on various factors. Here the focus is on various upcoming technologies in the solar sector like crystalline silicon, thin film, solar thermal/ CSP etc . Sectoral Report also give a brief overview of the key initiatives in the solar sector taken by a company which made it a leading company in solar sector. Finally the growth projection for the solar sector as a whole is being highlighted. Size and Growth of Solar energy sector in India The government of India started focusing on the solar energy segment when Ministry of New and renewable Energy (MNRE) launched a countrywide solar PV programme as a part of its renewable energy programme. It aimed to provide remote village electrification through decentralized distributed generation(DDG) using solar technologies and promote such technologies for urban, industrial and commercial applications. India has since transformed into a low cost hub for manufacturing solar PV cells and modules, a large proportion of which is exported to other countries. For instance, according to a 2008 study on solar PV industry by Indian Semiconductor Association, India produced 335 MWp of PV products during the period 2002-07 of which 225 MWp was exported. The annual production of solar PV cells increased from 9.5 MW in March 2000 to 110 MW in March 2000. The production of solar PV modules grew from 11 MW to 135 MW over the same period. In 1982, the government launched the national solar thermal energy programme to promote solar technologies such as parabolic troughs, parabolic dishes and solar power towers for generating grid-interactive power. The programme involved increasing awareness about the use of solar thermal energy as well as encouraging the manufacture of solar thermal equipment. The government even subsidized solar thermal products like water heating systems and solar cookers. Since then, Indias solar thermal energy collector area (a solar thermal collector absorbs sunlight to convert it into heat energy) has increased significantly from 119,000 square metres to over 1.66 million square metres as of March 2007. However the number of solar thermal installations (comprising parabolic troughs, parabolic dishes and solar towers) per 1000 people is still very low at 0.52. The MNRE has targeted installing 5 million square metres of collector area by 2012. In terms of end-use, there was area of solar water heating systems and 0.62 million box-type solar cooker units as of Dec, 2007. Recent government initiatives In June 2008, the prime minister launched the National Action Plan for Climate change (NPACC), which categorically targets an increase in solar based generation in country. As part of the plan, the government has approved the creation of national solar mission on the lines of the Atomic Commission. The mission has a target of adding 1000 MW of concentrated solar power in the next 10 years. Also as part of governments plan for solar energy segment is the launch of a major research and development programme which would enable the creation of more affordable and convenient solar power systems, and promote innovations for storing solar power for sustained, long term use. International cooperation would be an important part of RD programme. The US government recently sent a delegation including fourteen US-based solar energy companies on its first trade mission on solar energy in India. Till date the union government has made various concessions for solar energy development in India. The MNRE in an effort to promote large sized grid-interactive solar power generation projects, recently introduced a generation based incentive (GBI) of Rs 15 per kWh for solar PV and Rs 13 per kWh for solar thermal projects. Solar PV power generation plants with minimum installed capacity of 1 MWp per plant are eligible for the incentive. However, the incentive is available only for maximum cumulative capacity of 10 MWp of grid-interactive solar PV power generation projects in a single state, with the overall project size being limited to 50 MWp. Further, no single entity can achieve GBI for projects of more than 5 MW. The industry has been demanding the removal of the total capacity and per plant limits but, so far , no steps have been taken by the government in this regard. The government has also sanctioned the Development of Solar Cities Programme for the Eleventh Plan Period. The programme will extend support to municipal corporations for preparing and implementing the plan to set up 60 solar cities at investment of Rs 5million, which will enable a minimum of 10 per cent reduction in total demand conventional energy by 2012. The Forum of Electricity Regulators, headed by the Chairperson of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, is working on the road map to achieving the NAPCCs target of sourcing 5% of total power generation from renewable sources. Key Success Parameter for Solar Sector Growth: Handling Issues Challenges Despite these efforts, the solar industry still faces a plethora of issues including high production costs, lack of land, inadequate financing options and rising environment concerns. Moreover, despite the government offering many incentives, the industry is demanding more in order to be commercially viable. Policy Hurdles According to project developers, further policy action is required on the solar energy front. There is still a cloud of confusion surrounding the policy framework. Developers have cited issues as lack of clarity regarding the clearances required to set up operations. Others complain that it takes excessive time to obtain the multiple clearances required. Many developers have also faced problems with state governments as the latter have not adhered to the power purchase agreements. There is also strong demand for removing the cap on MNREs GBI. High Costs Despite costs coming down over the years, power generation from solar PV is still four to five time more expensive than fossil fuel-based generation. The estimated cost of generation from solar PV and solar thermal sources in India is Rs 12-20 per KWh and Rs 10-15 per KWh respectively. On the other hand, power from conventional sources can cost as little as Rs 3-4 per KWh. According to industry estimates, the current tariffs for initial 10-year period are not sufficient to make solar projects viable. This combined with project financing at 12-14 per cent with a loan tenor of seven-eight years result in internal rate of return (IRRs) of 6-10 %. Attractive IRRs have been the single most important factor for growth for the solar PV industry in Europe, with developers receiving at least an incremental return of 4-6 per cent over the capital/ financing cost. Several factors have contributed to this trend. With respect to crystalline solar PV-based power production, one of the most significant cost components is the high cost of energy, which constitutes around 11% of the total production cost (for a vertical integrated plant). Energy costs borne by solar power developers in India are especially high as industrial consumers are typically charged higher energy tariff to cross subsidize domestic and agricultural consumers. Interest cost and depreciation are two other important cost components, comprising 15% of production cost. According to a presentation by Rajeewa Arya, Chief Executive Officer, Mosaer Baer Photo Voltaic , project financing for solar power developers is usually granted at an interest rate of 12-14% for a loan tenor of seven-eight years, making solar PV projects ‘unviable. Thin film based solar PV technology is a cheaper alternative to mono or polysilicon based solar PV technologies as it costs less to manufacture thin film modules. Thin film modules are created by coating entire sheets of glass or steel with thin layers of semiconducting materials, which obviates the need for large quantities of semiconductors, thus lowering energy inputs and, consequently, the cost of production. With thin film modules, there is also added opportunity of locally sourcing raw material. The current cost structure of thin film silicon-based modules varies from Rs 50 to Rs 64per watt peak (Wp) depending on the efficiency (6 to 8.5%) of the module compared to Rs 88.7per Wp for silicon crystalline modules. Entry Barrier against Competitors for Manufacturing Process Solar PV cell manufacturing is a technology-intensive process requiring sophisticated expertise and know how. The technological landscape is changing rapidly. Moreover, as it is challenging for new entrants to replicate the success of companies having a long standing in solar PV market, competition is reduced to an extent. Environmental Concerns Some of the raw materials used for producing solar PV cells, like cadmium , are hazardous. Other raw materials, like plastics are non-biodegradable. Although some of the wasted generated during the manufacturing process is recyclable (for example silicon), not all materials are recyclable . As a result disposal is challenge. Low Land availability Solar Power plants require large areas of land 35-40 acres for a 5 MWp installation. However suitable tracts of land are not always available and land acquisition is sometimes subjected to local resistance. Power Evacuation In the past, it has been often seen that a transmission line is required to be drawn from solar power plant site to the nearest substation, which is usually 4-5 Km away. The concerned power utilities generally insist the line be drawn by the promoter of solar project. Setting up a transmission line is not only unfamiliar work for solar project promoters or engineering, procurement and construction contractor , it also adds substantially to the capital costs incurred. For conventional power plants, the respective transmission or distribution companies set up the line and purchases power from premises of the generating station. This is because TD companies have the experience and legal support to tackle socio-political issues that arises while setting up transmission lines across land owned by multiple landowners. Profitability In addition to raw material and project financing costs, Indian solar PV manufacturing companies face the problem of achieving profitability, as most companies are partially integrated. This means that they either buy wafers and convert them into cells , or buy cells and convert them into modules. In the value chain, 60% of value addition lies in the polysilicon and wafer manufacturing segments. In India, however cell and module manufacturing is largely carried out domestically, leaving polysilicon and wafers to be imported. This leads to a substantial loss in margins, increases the cost of the solar panel, and thereby increases the cost of the energy generated from solar power. If it is assumed that both the partially integrated manufacturer and vertically integrated manufacturer can sell the module at around Rs 145( based on international pricing of a crystalline silicon module), this gives the vertically integrated manufacturer a margin gain of 42 percentage points over the partially integrated one. There are however , several technical limitations as a result of which partial integration is more feasible than vertical integration. These include unavailability of technology and raw material. A key reason for this is high capital requirement for setting up such manufacturing capacities. In light of this , capital subsidies could boost vertical integration and reduce cost of production. Solar Thermal Advantages of Solar Thermal Power Solar Thermal power exhibits a different set of dynamics from solar PV as energy storage is much easier in the former. Solar thermal power plants have systems for heat storage and , consequently , generate power even after sunset . Solar thermal technologies have the additional advantages of being able to generate electricity right after the construction of collector (in other technologies, there is usually a gap between plant construction and production of electricity , which increases the interest cost to investment made). Limitations of Solar Thermal Technology On the flip side, however the technology has two key limitations. First, while PV systems can be installed in proximity to customers , thereby decreasing transmission and distribution costs, concentrated solar thermal systems require optimal solar conditions and large open spaces, which are only available at a great distance from customers. The second reason, as is explained in a report by McKinsey Consulting, â€Å"The ability of concentrated solar thermal power to cut costs further may be limited because it relies on conventional devices such as pipes and reflectors whose costs will probably fall less significantly than those of materials used in semiconductor-based PVs†. Issues Challenges- Going Forward Overall, solar energy costs can be expected to decrease significantly in the future. Capital costs have already declined over the past two decades, bringing down the cost of solar PV and solar thermal. Costs are projected to continue reducing to eventually compete with fossil fuel prices. With economies of scale and development of new technologies, the industry is targeting to achieve a level of Rs6-8 per kWh in three to five years. Analysts have further advocated that developers undertake cost cutting measures such as sharing operational resources, and building the plant closer to consumers to save on transmission expenses etc. Moreover, a carbon tax on coal based generation could provide a significant boost to CSP technology. Breakthroughs in nanotechnology also promises a significant increase in solar cell efficiencies from current values of around 15% to over 50%, which could subsequently reduce the cost of the solar energy produced. Key Success Enabler for Sustainable Growth in Solar: Growth in Technological Innovations Crystalline silicon The development of crystalline silicon technology took shape in 1976 when the government launched a five year programme focusing on indigenous commercial production of solar cells and modules based on crystalline silicon. Advantages of Crystalline Silicon Crystalline silicon technologies have several advantages. They are tried and tested and relatively more widely available in the Indian market, thus familiarity among groups and producers. Consequently, most applications for solar PV use have been designed on the basis of silicon-based PV characteristics. The technology also has relatively high conversion efficiencies of 15 to 18% for the polycrystalline versions and 17-18% for the monocrystalline version. Hence, they are ideal for locations with space constraints as the size of the panels need not be very large. Issues with Crystalline Silicon On the flip side , however , crystalline solar PV technologies are heavily dependent on pure solar grade silicon which has limited supply. Though accessing high quality of sand for manufacturing silicon is not a constraint in India, production of refined metallurgical silicon is costly , complicated and energy intensive. Crystalline technologies are also expensive, costing $2.4 and $2.15 to produce a 1 Watt monocrystalline and polycrystalline cell respectively. Crystalline technologies consume 8-9 grams of silicon per watt. However, silicon is a scarce commodity in India and these costs end up constituting a large part (40-50%) of the module costs. Over the years though, silicon usage in crystalline technologies (in terms of grams per watt) is expected to reduce. Future outlook of Crystalline Silicon The future of crystalline silicon technologies will be driven by technological advances that will establish new benchmarks in solar PV cell efficiency using materials that can trap a higher proportion of incident spectrum and convert it into useful energy and reduce cost by developing less energy intensive techniques of production and benefiting from decreasing polysilicon prices , and reduces waste. In the future, though other emerging technologies are likely to gain prominence , industry experts expect that solar PV systems based on crystalline silicon will dominate the off-grid applications segment with small rooftop-based installations. Though crystalline technologies monopolize the solar PV market at present, they are expected to slowly be replaced by more cost-effective technologies such as those based on thin film. By 2011-12 , the market share of silicon crystalline is expected to decline to 65-70%. Thin Film Thin film-based solar PV technology is a low cost alternative to crystalline silicon. The market share of thin film technologies currently stands at around 8% but is expected to go up to 35%in the next few years in India. In contrast to silicon crystalline technologies, thin films are expected to be especially important for on-grid applications in India Advantages of using Thin Film The key advantage of thin-film technologies is that they are more cost effective than other crystalline-based solar PV technologies as they require fewer materials and energy. Issues with Thin Film However thin film-based technologies are still at research and evolution stage and have relatively lower conversion efficiency compared to silicon crystalline technologies. There are other future challenges. Although thin film technologies have revealed long-term stability, some degradation has been observed. This is yet to be properly understood and dealt with. Moreover, in the long term , the availability and price of tellurium ( a key raw material in the production of thin films) are likely to become a bigger concern when the production capacity level reaches tens of gigawatts. Solar thermal/ CSP In addition to solar PV, solar thermal technology is also gaining traction in India. For on-grid applications, concentrated solar power (CSP) systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. This technology is commercially available with over 12 billion units of operation experience. The one drawback it faces is its use of an oil based heat transfer medium, which restricts operating temperature to up to 400 C , resulting in stream of moderate quality. This technology is again suited for grid connected plants but with high temperature process heat requirement. The highest capacity achieved until now for a single unit with this technology is 10 MWe. This technology is ideally suited for stand-alone, off-grid power systems or clustered to larger grid-connected dish parks. The highest single unit solar capacity achieved with this technology is 25 kWe. In some recent designs, a unit size of about 10 kWe has been claimed. However projected mass production goals and costs are yet to be achieved. Status of Solar Thermal in India The cumulative collector area of solar thermal thermal energy in India has grown steadily from 119,000 sq metres in 1989 to more than 2.6 million square metres in December,2008. Though this is substantial increment , the absolute number of solar thermal installations per 1000 people is very low at 0.52. In terms of end-use, there are 2.6 million square metres of collector area of solar water heating systems and 640,000 box-type solar cooker units as of January, 2009. Issues with spread of Solar Thermal The key disadvantage with all concentrated solar power systems is that the hours of power production coincide theoretically with hours of sunshine. However, with some adaptations , such as energy storage , it is possible to control the hours of power production. According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy , India has a gross potential of about 30 million square meters of collector area. In fact , in its draft policy , it has target of installing 5 million square metres of collector area till 2012. However, given the current status, a lot of distance is yet to be covered. However there are several key issues that needs to be addressed. Solar thermal power developers have to incur a high initial cost of equipment. Solar thermal equipment also requires a large quantity of space compared to conventional electric equipment. Currently , the number of equipment suppliers, spare part manufacturers and service providers for solar thermal equipment is limited. According to industry players , there is an urgent need for developing supply chain that can bring efficiencies to the system , from design to delivery. Concentrated Solar PV systems In order to tackle the above challenges, the industry is experimenting with concentrated solar PV-based systems, which use mirrors or lenses to focus light onto solar PV cells to produce electricity. This is in contrast to concentrated solar power using parabolic troughs or dishes that use heat from sun to produce steam, which turns an electric generator. Concentrated solar PV systems are so far at an experimental stage. Spanish firm Solfocus is working on a 3 MW concentrated solar PV power plant in southern part of the country. Future Growth Projections of Technological innovations in solar Substantial research is being undertaken to come out with more cost-efficient and conversion-efficient versions of solar power technologies. Researchers are targeting conversion efficiencies between 30% to 60% , while using similar low-cost materials and manufacturing techniques. In the solar PV field, new and emerging technologies are being designed to overcome the shortcomings of thin film such as poor electrical performance while maintaining low production costs. New solar cells made of nano materials are reportedly the next big advancement in the solar PV industry. Nano materials exhibit superior properties , such as high strength and flexibility , and trap more energy than conventional solar PV cells. Leading Companies in Solar Sector Applied Materials Inc.: Key success factors Future Growth projections Applied materials creates and commercializes nanomanufacturing technology that helps produce virtually every semiconductor chip and liquid crystal flat panel display in the world. Applied materials built on that expertise to enter PV cell manufacturing equipment industry and become the number one supplier in 2008 (Source: VLSI Research, Inc.) For crystalline silicon, they have the best-in-class tools with a focus on thinnest wafers , highest productivity and higher efficiency . The Precision Wafering System division offers MaxEdge â„ ¢ using the dual wire concept to enable cutting large loads with thin wire along with wire saw systems for cropping and squaring. The Baccini â„ ¢cell division offers the industry-leading solution in line metallization and test that can handle ultra-thin wafers. Further the companys Aton â„ ¢ offers the highest productivity and cost benefits for ARC deposition and passivation in cell manufacturing. For the thin film market, Applied has developed the SunFabâ„ ¢ Thin Film production line , the worlds first line capable of producing 5.7 square meter solar modules. As PV manufacturers seek to build highly automated , efficient plants, Applied Materials ability to commercialize innovative solar technologies and its unmatched global resources and service network bring the promise of a cleaner, brighter energy future. Future Growth Projections in Solar Energy Sector According to analysts and financial consultants, there may be temporary slowdown in the solar energy sector due to the current economic crisis. Funds have become restricted and companies are looking for safer investments. However the situation is going to turn around with increased government focus. According to industry estimates, the total annual demand for solar energy (including solar thermal systems) in India will rise from current 30-40 MW to 700 MW by 2012 due to falling costs of solar systems. The MNRE is targeting a solar energy capacity of 500 MW by the end of the eleventh plan period. However, this target is expected to be surpassed. By 2017, the MNRE expects Indias solar capacity addition is expected to rise from current 30-40 MW per annum to 70 MW by 2012, driven by decreases in the prices of solar PV. Around 50% of capacity addition is expected to come from solar PV based grid-interactive generation. Solar based generation for the grid is expected to be 25 MW, 50 MW, 75 MW and 100 MW in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. The increase will be partially drawn by generation based incentive, which has already led to companies such as Reliance Industries and Moser Baer expressing interest in setting up grid-interactive solar PV plants worth over 1000 MW. All in all , the Indian solar energy industry is looking at busy times ahead. List of References: http://mnes.nic.in/ http://www.powermin.nic.in/ http://www.projectsmonitor.com/ http://www.indiasolar.com/ren-india.htm Datamonitor- Online Library Resources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_in_India http://www.solarpowerindia.com/ http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/ multiple news related to solar power sector http://www.cercind.gov.in/ http://www.crisil.com/research/ Based on Three years of work-experience in power sector related industry contacts Study of various textbooks literature regarding solar energy while I was doing Post Graduate diploma course in Thermal Power Plant engg from an institute under ministry of Power

Gender Relationships in the Film Love Jones Essay -- Papers Movie Film

Gender Relationships in the Film Love Jones Using the movie Love Jones I will talk about the characteristics of male/male and female/female relationship as they are portrayed in the film. Then I will talk about how different the female/male relationship is and focus primarily on their communication styles. There is some harsh vocabulary included in my essay but only in quotations that I have taken from the movie itself to communicate what was going on in the scenes I have chose to talk about. Female/female relationship Josie and Nina Nina is one of the main characters in this movie and Josie is her best friend. A scene where their friendship is characterized is one where Josie and Nina are riding in a cab. Josie gets upset with Nina (briefly) when she finds out that Nina has had sex with Darius (the other main character) on the first night they went out. The haste in which they have had sex does not bother her as much as the fact that Nina does not tell her. This example is a direct correlation to one of the themes of women?s friendship that intimacy is cultivated through dialogue. This suggest that women build closeness in their friendships dialogue and by Nina not telling, it breaks the code of intimacy in a way. The establishment of a new relationship something like this that is an important part of Nina?s life, and excluding Josie from that is what is troubling her. Even though I do not believe that to be true in this example, that can be argued as a reason Nina doesn?t share. So, once Josie gets over the initial shock of the news, she wants Nina to tell all the details ?how big, how long, everything!? The two women then begin to discuss the sexual relationship as only women can do. Nina says, ?It was lik... ...*in toasted oats? and mumbles some more stuff on the way out of the house. The next morning, Nina is gone without any words of goodbye, but the engagement ring that Marvin had given her was left on his pinky when he woke up to an empty bed. In this scene there are a few places where the communication styles were conflicting. Nina wanted Marvin to be open and welcoming when she came home from work. He was abrasive and demanding, which was not what she wanted at that moment. Also, he was telling her what to do. He wanted her to sit around at home and not work and it was no conducive to her plans. My analysis of these Female/Male relationships is that there is so many problems in them because the ways of communicating are conflicting. I think that in part the break down can also be because people are not willing to try to make the individual situations work.

The Ancient Greeks Belief in the Underworld Essay -- Greek mythology,

A dark, silent, formless void, a perpetual abyss without orientation, this is essentially what the Greeks believed was the origin of the world. The ancient Greeks while trying to further explain the world, invented beguiling myths (Evie). From these myths a world of human like gods and goddesses was formed (Evie). Through narratives, legends, and myths this world justified various abstract ideas, thus creating Greek mythology (Evie). A central element in Greek mythology is the underworld. The underworld is considered to be the place where one’s soul goes to after death. The underworld has played a vital role in Greek culture by serving as an incentive to live a virtuous life, which in turn has affected all aspects of Greek life. The world of the dead or the underworld was viewed as a subterranean realm (Joe). The ancient Greeks believed that almost all mortals would reside in the underworld after their death. Those fortunate few that did not either gained a place at Mount Olympus or became gods or goddesses themselves (Joe). The underworld was ruled by Hades although there were many other deities in the underworld. Hades acquired the underworld when he and his two brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, divided the universe (Joe). Zeus received the sky, Poseidon received the sea and Hades received the underworld. The underworld was divided into several regions. There were five subterranean rivers which flowed through the underworld (Joe). They were Acheron (Woe), Cocytus (Wailing), Lethe (Forgetfulness), Phlegethon (Fire), and Styx (Abhorrence) (Joe). All souls would have to travel through the five rivers before they were judged and sent to their final residing place to wander for all eternity. The underworld also consisted of two mai... ...ir gods and goddesses they would be virtuous. The stories and myths of the underworld and those unfortunate souls left to wander for eternity gave incentive to be righteous and please their deities. The Greeks would live their lives accordingly so that they may truly be at peace in the afterlife. To avoid being sentenced to wander aimlessly in the after life the Greeks took every possible precaution. The underworld in Greek mythology served to encourage the Greeks to live a righteous life. In the desire to please the gods and goddesses and to prevent eternal wanderings in the underworld the Greeks changed their lives. Within the changes to their traditions, practices, and daily lives, the Greeks altered their culture. The mythologies of the dark, ominous underworld created a thriving Greek culture with many of its only practices, traditions, and rituals.

Plato Essay -- Philosophy Philosophers

Plato Plato was born in Athens to a wealthy family and lived from 429-347 B.C.E. He was Socrates' greatest student and held his teacher in such high regard that in most of his works Socrates plays the main character. Some people doubt the existance of Socrates but, "like nearly everyone else who appears in Plato's works, he is not an invention of Plato: there really was a Socrates" (Kraut). Plato wrote many works asking questions about terms such as justice, piety, and immortality to name a few. His works include but are not limited to, The Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Euthyphro, and his most famous work The Republic which was a work about justice. In 387 B.C.E. Plato founded the first great school of antiquity called "The Academy". This school was famous throughout the world and its most famous student was Aristotle. Plato's work has not ceased to influence great thinkers throughout history. In this paper, I will be discussing Plato's "Theory of Ideas or Forms" and "The Allegory of the Cave". "The Allegory of the Cave" is discussed in Plato's Republic. The Allegory tells the tale...

Comparing Organic And Non Organic Food Environmental Sciences Essay

Is organic nutrient better than conventional nutrient? ‘ This is the issue that has been a hot subject since the late 2000 ‘s. ( Michelle, 2007 ) . Organic nutrient defined by the nutrient must be produced, procedures and packaged without the presence of man-made pesticides, weedkillers, insect powders, antifungals, etc.However, conventional agriculture uses chemical weedkillers to pull off weed or uses pesticides to cut down plague and disease. ( Robin, 2008 ) The carnal Federal organic nutrient and the animate being that non given unreal endocrines, like antibiotics, growing endocrines are considered as the animate beings can be organically raised. ( All4NaturalHealth, 2007 ) Why is organic nutrient going so popular? Harmonizing to the research of Food Marketing Institute, there is about half of Americans buy organic nutrient one time a month. During 1990s, organic agriculture was the fastest turning agribusiness in U.S and organic nutrient production had has increased its growing rates around 25 % a twelvemonth. ( Lee, 2009 ) In this study, I will be chiefly researching the biological significance of organic nutrient and conventional nutrient, the pros and cons of taking organic nutrient. 2.0 Biological significance Based on the briefly debut of organic nutrient and conventional nutrient, it is grounds that there are two distinguishable types of nutrient. Organic agriculture is designed to bring forth the nutrient without utilizing conventional methods to fertilise, command weeds and cut down plague. Organic husbandmans may use sophisticated harvest rotary motions or mechanical cultivated land to command the weed growing instead than utilizing man-made weed-killers. Unlike conventional husbandmans, the meat, dairy merchandises and eggs that organic husbandmans produced are from animate beings that are fed organic provender and allowed entree to grazing land. In extra, the farm animal diseases are controlled fundamentally by organic husbandmans through balanced diet, healthful lodging, rotational graze etc. Figure 1: The sum-up of differences between conventional agriculture and organic agriculture: Conventional husbandmans Organic husbandmans Apply chemical fertilisers to advance works growing. Apply natural fertilisers, such as manure or compost, to feed dirt and workss. Spray insecticides to cut down plagues and disease. Use good insects and birds, copulating break or traps to cut down plagues and disease. Use chemical weedkillers to pull off weeds. Rotate harvests, boulder clay, manus weed or mulch to pull off weeds. Give animate beings antibiotics, growing endocrines and medicines to forestall disease and spur growing. Give animate beings organic provender and let them entree to the out-of-doorss. Use preventative steps – such as rotational graze, a balanced diet and clean lodging – to assist minimise disease. Beginning: MFMER, 2008 3.0 Advantages of organic nutrient ( compared to conventional nutrient ) 3.1 Having nutrition Organic nutrient is more alimentary than conventional nutrient. Organic nutrient is grown in dirt that ‘s healthier, since it is toxic-free substances from the man-made chemical substances which helps transport out the greatest possible good health. ( Kirstie, 2010 ) . There is less wellness harming chemicals on the nutrient that people may devour. ( Louise, 2009 ) Organic nutrient contains 50 % more foods, minerals and vitamins than conventional nutrient. Peoples have to eat more vegetable and fruit to Organically adult nutrients are alimentary although they may non look as colorful and good nowadayss as conventional nutrient. Peoples have to eat more veggies fruits presents to build the lack. However unluckily, the nutrient that contains hurt, more unfavourable affects on. ( Voice Marketing, 2008 ) . The incidence of new malignant neoplastic disease instances per twelvemonth between 1972 and 2004 Beginning: Julie, 2004 The graph shows that the incident of new malignant neoplastic disease has risen over 50 % merely between 32 old ages. ( Julie, 2004 ) 3.2 Health of environment Turning nutrients organically can protect the surface soil from eroding. Besides, organic nutrients do non impact the environment like conventional nutrients do, because there are no mills, pesticides, or preservatives that are added to the nutrient, so there is no waste to force onto the environment ( Loius, 2009 ) . Organic agriculture is less damaging to the environment and can protect the surface soil from eroding, because balance and biodiversity are encouraged. There is no fouling chemicals emitted as agrochemicals and unreal fertilisers like weedkillers and pesticides are absent in turning organic nutrient. Harmonizing to Government findings, organic agriculture has a lower C footmark than conventional agribusiness, in general utilizing 27 % less energy ( Caroline,2009 ) . 3.3 Tastes better and maintain longer Organic poulets live longer than battery poulets and the gustatory sensation is uncomparable. Organic poulets besides live longer than most free-range birds although there is arguably small or no difference in spirit and quality. Caroline,2009 The organically grown nutrient gustatory sensations better than that conventionally grown. The pleasingness of fruit and veggies is straight related to its sugar content, which in bend is a map of the quality of nutrition that the works itself has enjoyed. Food Keeps Longer Organically adult workss are nourished of course, rendering the structural and metabolic unity of their cellular construction superior to those conventionally adult. As a consequence, organically grown nutrients can be stored longer and make non demo the latter ‘s susceptibleness to rapid cast and decomposition. ( Julie ) 4.0 Disadvantages of organic nutrient ( compared to conventional nutrient ) With every positive comes a small negative, and organic nutrient is no exclusion. Time Indeed, organic agriculture requires greater interaction between a husbandman and his harvest for observation, timely intercession and weed control for case. It is inherently more labour intensive than chemical/mechanical agribusiness so that, of course a individual husbandman can bring forth more harvest utilizing industrial methods than he or she could by entirely organic methods. Skill advantages and disadvantages organic farming It requires well more skill to farm organically. However, because professional agriculture of any kind of course imparts a stopping point and observant relationship to populating things, the best organic husbandmans are converted agrichemical husbandmans. Organic husbandmans do non hold some convenient chemical hole on the shelf for every job they encounter. They have to prosecute careful observation and greater apprehension in order to cognize how to tweak their agriculture system to rectify the cause of the job instead than merely seting a plaster over its consequence. This is a bigger issue during the transition period from conventional to entirely organic when both the acquisition curve and passage related jobs are top outing ( it takes clip to construct a healthy farm ecosystem that copes good without man-made crutches ) . Organic husbandmans I have interviewed study that their most valuable redresss and advice come from other organic husbandmans. CostAt the minute organic nutrients are excessively expensive when compared to other nutrient merchandises that use pesticides and familial technology, because of harvest failures since husbandmans can non utilize any chemicals like pesticides. Since larger companies have bought into the Organic it is overselling and being treated more like a trade name so what it should be a manner of life, because corporations are merely traveling to utilize it for their greedy desires and inflate monetary values up to 50 % when compared to non organic merchandises. ( Kenyon,2008 )One more disadvantages organic nutrient production has is its cost. Less nutrient is produced per acre, and the nutrient does n't maintain every bit good, so it is more dearly-won to turn and bring forth organic nutrient. Those added costs are passed on to the consumer. For that ground, it is a disadvantage of organic nutrient that hapless people can non afford it.

What I Have Learned in Introduction to Psychology

In Introduction to Psychology we touched briefly on a lot of the components of psychology. It is an introduction class, so it does not go deeply into any one category, instead just skims most of them. I learned what qualifies psychology as a science, the brain and how it is important in the science of psychology. I learned about sensation and perception and then did a project on how psychoactive drugs alter them. We talked in depth about learning, classical conditioning specifically, and covered operant conditioning quite thoroughly as well. Freud was discussed quite often, since he is seen as the founder of psychology. The psychodynamic theories on development, personality, and psychological disorders as well as other theories are some of the subjects I will be going into depth in this paper. What is Psychology? The textbook describes psychology as â€Å"the scientific study of behavior and mental processes (Ciccarelli & White, p. 4, 2009)†. In class, the definition of psychology we used is â€Å"the scientific study of behavior and mental processes and how they are affected by an organism’s physical state, mental state, and external state (K.  Hoecker, class lecture, 2010)†. The four goals of psychology are to describe, understand, predict, and modify why behavior is happening (Ciccarelli & White, p. 5, 2009). Psychology is a social science, focused on the individual, which is related to sociology, anthropology, political science, and economics (K. Hoecker, class lecture, 2010). What Are the Models of Psychiatry? There are seven models of psychiatry mentioned in the textbook: psychodynamic, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, sociocultural, biopsychological, and evolutionary (Ciccarelli & White, p. 13-16, 2009). In class we also discussed the feminist perspective (K. Hoecker, class lecture, 2009). The original psychoanalytical theory was based on Freud and he believed that sex and sexual motivations were behind a person’s behavior. Modern psychodynamic theory focuses on childhood experiences and unconscious thoughts in relationship to a person’s behavior (Ciccarelli & White, p. 13, 2009). The behavioral perspective is the idea that people’s actions and behaviors are based on what they have learned. Watson and Skinner were both important people in the behaviorist field (Ciccarelli & White, p. 14, 2009). Humanistic approach to psychology is a newer approach than the other two and the most famous founders of the approach are Carl Rogers, and Abraham Maslow. The humanistic approach emphasizes free will and human potential to change. Gestalt started the cognitive perspective on psychology with his studies of thought. â€Å"Cognitive perspective with its focus on memory, intelligence, perception, thought processes, problem solving, language and learning has become a major force in psychology (Ciccarelli & White, p. 15, 2009)†. Sociocultural psychology tries to explain the context of behavior and how it is influenced by society (Ciccarelli & White, p. 5, 2009). The idea that behavior is caused by genetics, hormones, and body chemistry is biopsychiatry. Biopsychiatry is becoming an extremely important field, because of the possibility now to find mental illnesses with brain scans. (Ciccarelli & White, p. 16, 2009). Darwin is the most famous evolutionary psychiatrist. Evolutionary psychiatry is the study of the evolutionary basis of human behavior (Ciccarelli & White, p. 16, 2009). The last psychiatric theory is not mentioned in the text book but it is the feminist theory. The feminist theory explores gender roles, and gender bias (K.  Hoecker, class lecture, 2010). It is important to know about the different perspectives on psychiatry because they have different beliefs and treatment models. If a person is planning on going into the psychiatric field they would need to know the different types of psychiatry and which one meets their personality and belief system. What Does the Brain Have to do With Psychiatry? The brain is where thought processes happen and has always held mystery. Scientists are discovering new things all the time. We now know that 10% of the brain is made up of neurons, and the remaining 90% is made up of glial cells. Glial cells hold things in place, insulate the paths for electrical currents, provide the neurons with nutrients and clean up the dead neurons (K. Hoecker, class lecture, 2010). Neurons are made up of different parts. The soma is the body of the cell; dendrites branch off the soma and receive messages. Axons are tubes that transmit messages to other cells; the axon is covered by myelin to help insulate the axon and speed up the messages. The synaptic knobs, also known as the axon terminals, store the neurotransmitters that carry the messages (Ciccarelli & White, p. 49, 50, 2009). The left side of the brain deals with the right half of the body, language, math, logic, analysis and reading. The right hemisphere of the brain handles the left half of the body, nonverbal communication, visual-spatial perception, music, art, emotions, recognition, process, pattern, and facial recognition (Ciccarelli & White, p. 78, 2009). The cerebellum is located in the back lower part of the brain. It controls balance, muscle coordination, learned reflexes, and habits (Ciccarelli & White, p. 69, 2009). The Cerebral cortex is the outer covering of the brain. It controls complex thoughts (Ciccarelli & White, p. 68, 2009). There are four lobes to the cerebral cortex. The frontal lobe is located in the front of the brain and controls planning, personality, memory, decision making, and language. The parietal lobes are in the top and back of the brain. The parietal lobes process information from the skin and help to recognize where your body is in relation to things. The occipital lobe is in the rear of the brain and identifies information from the eyes (Ciccarelli & White, p. 73, 2009). In the text, neurologist, Oliver Sachs’ patient that had a tumor in his occipital lobe could see things and describe them, but could not identify them. Sacks once gave him a rose to look at. The man turned it around and around and began to describe it as a â€Å"red inflorescence† of some type with a green tubular projection. Only when he held it under his nose (stimulating the sense of smell) did he recognize it as a rose† (Sachs, 1990 as cited in Ciccarelli & White, p. 73, 2009). The temporal lobes of the cerebral cortex are located behind the temples. They contain the auditory and auditory association areas (Ciccarelli & White, p. 74, 2009). Sensation and Perception Sensation is the activation of receptors in sense organs; i. . eyes, ears, skin, nose, taste buds (K. Hoecker, class lecture, 2010). Perception is the way in which the brain interprets the information and forms it into logical functions (Ciccarelli & White, p. 116, 2009). The process of changing sensation to perception is called transduction (Ciccarelli & White, p. 92, 2009). I found habituation and sensory adaptation to be interesting. Habituation is the ability to tune information out from the ears. You still are hearing the noise, just not paying attention to it (Ciccarelli & White, p. 94, 2009). Sensory adaptation is blocking out the smell, sight, touch or taste after no changing stimuli. Sensory adaptation is different than habituation because the senses themselves become familiar with the stimuli and no longer send signals to the brain instead of the brain not paying attention to the signals (Ciccarelli & White, p. 94, 2009). Psychoactive Drugs Psychoactive drugs produce altered states of consciousness. They alter sensation, perception and memory. There are four types of psychoactive drugs; stimulants, depressants, narcotics, and hallucinogens (Ciccarelli & White, p. 158, 2009). Stimulants the sympathetic and or the central nervous system to increase in their levels of functioning (Ciccarelli & White, p. 158, 2009). Depressants slow the central nervous system down; the most known and used depressant is alcohol. Narcotics are all opium based and suppress the sensation of pain. They bind to endorphins and cause the body to release more (Ciccarelli & White, p. 164, 2009). Hallucinogens cause the brain to change the way it reads information, they can cause the brain to read sights as smells, â€Å"colors have sound, and sounds have smells, and so on (Ciccarelli & White, p. 65, 2009)†. Classical Conditioning The brain is needed in order to learn, act, and live. Classical conditioning is a type of learning that was started by a Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov identified elements that had to be experienced repeatedly and in an order for classical conditioning to happen (Ciccarelli & White, p. 179, 2009). The naturally occurring stimulus is called t he unconditional stimulus. The unlearned response to the unconditioned stimulus is the unconditioned response. A stimulus that has no effect on the unconditioned response is called the neutral stimulus. The neutral stimulus is eventually turned into the conditioned stimulus if it is presented often and on a strict pattern. Once the unconditioned response begins to happen when the conditioned stimulus is presented, it is then the conditioned response (Ciccarelli & White, p. 181, 2009). Extinction is the losing and eventual absence of the conditioned response to the conditioned stimulus if it is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus (Ciccarelli & White, p. 82, 2009), Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of the conditioned response for a short while when the original conditioned response appears (Ciccarelli & White, p. 182, 2009). Higher order conditioning is getting response to other stimuli based on the original conditioned stimuli. In the textbook they theorize about what would happen if after Pavlov succeeded in getting the dogs to salivate at the bell ring, what would happen if he snapped his fingers right before he ran the bell (Ciccarelli & White, p. 183, 2009)? The theory is that after enough times the dogs would salivate at the finger snap. Why is Learning Important? There are five types of learning; classical conditioning, operant conditioning, observation/vicarious learning, latent learning, and insight learning. Besides being able to set up experiments to test the types of learning, why is it important to know about the ways humans and animals learn? It is important to know how you learn best, why people are doing certain things, and what works to teach animals and children how to do things. For instance children learn a lot of their actions through observational learning (Ciccarelli & Whit, p. 209, 2009). Children learned how to act towards a doll based on how others treated the doll, in an experiment (Bandura, et al. , 1961 as cited in Ciccarelli & White, p. 209, 210, 2009). Development â€Å"Human development is the scientific study of the changes that occur in people as they age, from conception until death (Ciccarelli & White, p. 310, 2009), Personality, cognition, biological development, and social connections are all considered to be part of developing (Ciccarelli & White, p. 317, 2009). There are four argued theories; nature versus nurture, continuity versus stages, stability versus change, individual versus universal (K. Hoecker, class lecture, 2010). Continuity versus stages was the most interesting aspect of development to me. I believe that people change throughout their lives but I don’t necessarily believe that a stage needs to be completed 100% in order to successfully reach maturity. Piaget’s stages of cognitive development include four stages that a person must complete in order to be at their highest potential. From birth until 2 years old a child is considered to be in the sensorimotor stage. In the sensorimotor stage a child uses their senses and motor skills to explore and learn about the world. By the end of the sensorimotor stage the child will understand that when a person or object disappears it still exists (Ciccarelli & White, p. 326, 2009). From ages 2 until 7 a child is said to be in the preoperational stage, in which they can ask questions about their environment and do not have to rely on their senses alone. They are only able to focus on one object at a time and cannot understand that by changing the appearance of something it does not mean that the thing itself has changed (Ciccarelli & White, p. 327, 2009). The third stage of Piagnet’s stages is the concrete operations stage. During the concrete operations stage, age 7 to 12, a child can think logically but is lacking in the ability to understand abstract ideas (Ciccarelli & White, p. 328, 2009). The last of Piagnet’s stages is the formal operations stage. The formal operations stage is generally from the age of 12 onward. During this last stage a person is able to understand abstract thoughts and can have hypothetical thinking (Ciccarelli & White, p. 328, 2009). Personality Personality is how a person acts, think, feels, and presents themselves, it is a constant and originates within the individual (K. Hoecker, class lecture, 2010). There are four goals of personality theorists: figure out the components of identify, find out the structure of personality, and find out how people are motivated and the dynamics of personality, and how personality varies from person to person. Psychodynamic Theory of Personality Sigmund Freud split a person’s personality into three main components, the Id, the ego, and the superego. They are explained as, â€Å"Id: If it feels good, do it (Ciccarelli & White, p. 520, 2009†,†Ego: The executive director (Ciccarelli & White, p. 20, 2009), and the â€Å"Superego: The moral watchdog (Ciccarelli & White, p. 521, 2009). Freud theorized that we develop in stages, which he called psychosexual stages. The first stage is the oral stage, the main focus is oral pleasure and if a person has difficulty in this stage are effected by problems with â€Å"ability to form interpersonal attachments, basic feelings about the world, tendency to use ora l forms of aggression, such as sarcasm, optimism or pessimism, tendency to take charge or be passive (Ciccarelli & White, p. 525, 2009)†. The second stage is the anal stage. The anal stage is focused on bowel and bladder control. The third stage is the phallic stage is focused on the genitals and is when a child identifies themselves physically with the same sex parent (Ciccarelli & White, p. 525, 2009). From age 6 years to puberty is called the latency stage because not much is going on psychosexually. From puberty to death is the genital; stage in which people focus on sexual behavior. I don’t agree with Freud on his theory of personality. To me it seems like he watched people develop and wrote a list based on what he saw in order to explain a difficult adulthood. I know from experience that if you turn potty training into a power struggle it makes for a hellish experience but I don’t think it is going to affect a child later on in their adulthood. Why Is This Important? I knew people learned in different ways but I didn’t know that there are five different learning types and in those types, different styles. I am the mother of a young child and since we covered Chapter 5 (Ciccarelli & White, 2009), I have found myself looking back on the chapter in order to â€Å"trick† my daughter into learning new things. She now makes her bed every day because she modeled my action, and that same behavior worked towards putting dishes in the sink after dinner and picking up messes. I use to ask and then tell her to do something many times and get frustrated that it wasn’t getting done, now that I model the behavior when I know she is watching she is doing everything I had asked of her before without the power struggle. Knowing the different models of psychiatry is important to me and will be used in my life after I get my degree. I am in the behavioral health and human services program and am planning on being a licensed alcohol and drug ounselor soon. I will have to choose what theorist I most agree with and what style to work with when dealing with patients. I know that I will be working with an agency and will have to follow their guidelines but I will still need to understand the theory behind the practice. Global Citizenship Different cultures experience the same thing in different ways. In some cultures someone with schizophrenia may be looked on as having special powers in our culture they are viewed as sick. Cultures also have different psychiatric disorders, based on their own belief systems and structure. In America is not common that a person will fear their genitals are going to shrink or fall off but in China they have a disease name for it, Koro (Ciccarelli % White, p . 559, 2009). People act differently according to where they were raised, what they were taught and what resources available to them. I have an entirely different way of thinking and feeling about some things then even my sisters do, because they were raised with their father in a house while I grew up with my mother in a family shelter for a lot of my childhood. I am able to deal with some things better than them and other times I get panic stricken at things that don’t affect them. Even though we grew up in the same country, the same state, we grew up in different economic levels and with different parents. Being raised in a different location, region, time, economic class, culture in general makes it difficult to relate to other people. If the people have different experience they may not be able to understand where a person’s belief system is based and may not be able to validate that person’s beliefs. As discussed in the textbook people identify themselves. The social identity theory describes how a person develops an identity inside a group. Social categorization is how a person identifies them and where they place themselves into the group; to help determine the role they should play (Ciccarelli & White, p. 495, 2009). Identification is how the person sees themselves in the group, and social comparison is when a person compares themselves to others in order to feel better about their role (Ciccarelli & White, p. 495, 2009).