Pans Labyrinth Analysis

Visual Cues, Harassed Symbolism and the Grim Fantasy Unlike other blissfully enchanted film genres, this evocative fairytale becomes a surreal escape into the work of Guillermo Del Toro. This chilling story confines make believe verses reality through the eyes of a young girl. Two worlds are represented within Pan’s Labyrinth, a cold hard fascist regime in Spain, and a captivating fantasyland both conveyed through visual story telling.The striking surrealism of the fantasy world becomes reflections in reality, providing small visual cues that increase as the story unfolds, unveiling a grim interaction between Ophelia and the new world she has encountered. The style becomes the narrative within the film, and the use of mise-en-scene assists the films explicit meaning, by providing connections between the merging worlds. Del Toro uses standard and non-standard approaches in film, which speaks to the audience either intentionally or through the sub conscious, so the contrast of r eality and imagination is rendered.The style throughout Pan’s Labyrinth is essential for creating dramatic dynamic throughout the film; the attention to detail becomes a fierce component to mise-en-scene, and harasses symbolism. In the beginning of the scene, Ofelia walks toward the camera in pursuit of the little creature she seen during her travels. The facial expression is bewildering, however she wants to learn more. The aspiration to study new ideas can be seen physically while she seizes onto her books, meanwhile helpers unload her other items. The grasp on her books becomes the distinguisher between make believe and reality.As Ofelia moves towards the camera, she drops her stack of books, implying that she has let go of her reality to track the small inquisitive creature. During this, men are walking around in uniform, emphasizing the strict, bleakness and harsh reality of Ofelias new circumstance. Men lined in a row suggest that this new place is in order, with routin e that shall not be disturbed and certainly no place for a wandering imagination. As Ofelia runs toward the forest, she is running towards her new destiny, juxtaposing her willingness to escape, fleeing her new reality.Upon her arrival into the forest, the labyrinth is introduced for the first time. Dark shadows are casted among the rock representing the certain unknown that will be faced. The first pathway leading into the Labyrinth is brightly lit, as to appear welcoming and warming. The dissimilarity between the darkness of the gateway and the lightness of the path can be inferred as a certain warning, some danger will be introduced before the underworld can be reached. As Ofelia walks towards the entrance, taking small, slow steps, the feeling becomes an automatic switch from reality to fantasy, and a sense of falling down the rabbit hole arises.The entrance into the Labyrinth appears untouched, with moss and shrubs growing over the walls, a clear contrast from the cruel sadisti c community ran by the Captain. The walls appear to be weathered and diminishing in time, the time it has taken to find the lost princess. The serenity of the space develops into a piece of tranquility from the outside world paired with an illusion of hope for Ofelia, a new escape she will soon learn of. Throughout Pan’s Labyrinth, shallow color is used with a lot of grey and neutral tones casted in the real world, compared to the rich feast of colors in the underworld.During this sequence however, the two worlds have not yet been distinguished, so the color differentiation is subtle, warm colors are used that provide a sense of comfort. Dark shadows are casted among the walls making the unknown prevalent to the viewer, directing our eye down the dark path that leads further into the Labyrinth. These colors suggest a belonging for Ophelia, a place where she is wanted back. This feeling never goes away for Ofelia, she engages in different levels to get a chance at her new life in the fantasy world.Becoming homesick for a place she has never been or remembers. The clothing plays a role in sustaining the mise-en-scene in this film. Ofelia is dressed in drab clothing along with her mother. Fabricating the lifestyle from which they came from, and a disparity that is latched onto them when being brought to this new home. They instantly become the outsiders from the beginning, largely recognized during the panning shot of the camp while Ofelia becomes more intrigued by the fairies return. Tight, uniformed men lined up in a row contrasted against a young curious, dowdy girl.The style of clothing not only distinguishes the relationship between the newcomers, Ofelia and her Mother, to the military camp, but also positions an extra connection between Ofelia and Mercedes. As Mercedes arrives to explain the Labyrinth to Ofelia, her clothes are ordinary and dull much like that of Ofelia. The dissimilar impression that Mercedes has from the camp appeals to Ofelia, and a relationship is bonded. The clothing becomes a staple into the closeness that these two characters will later share.This relationship is not only choice of style, rather the desire for an escape. When the solider comes up and asks for Mercedes, despair reaches across her face as she turns around, placing Ofelia in the background of the shot, but quickly the young girl reaches back up to Mercedes, sustaining their relationship has began. Trust has started to build when Ofelia explains the relationship or lack of one with the Captain, as Mercedes wraps her arm around Ofelia, completing the security of their relationship.These small visual cues help the viewer establish ideas, which the Story may soon lead into. Becoming aware of these chosen elements can help viewers foresee story components. Mise-en- scene formulates the style as a form of story telling. Guillermo Del Toro approach is surreal and provides a lot of stylistic choice in compelling this masterfully crafted fairytale. Pan’s Labyrinth becomes less about the explicit meaning; yet rather the implied visual indicators leads the viewer to reflect more about the significance then the story.

The Definition of Euthanasia in Different Perspectives

Euthanasia is defined by The American Heritage Dictionary as â€Å"the action of killing an individual for reasons considered to be merciful† (469). Here, killing is described as the physical action where one individual actively kills another. Euthanasia is tolerated in the medical field under certain circumstances when a patient is suffering profoundly and death is inevitable. The word â€Å"euthanasia† comes from the Greek eu, â€Å"good†, and thanatos, â€Å"death,† literally, â€Å"good death†; however, the word â€Å"euthanasia† is much more difficult to define. Each person may define euthanasia differently. Who is to ecide whether a death is good or not? Is any form of death good? All of these questions can be answered differently by each person. It is generally taken today to mean that act which a health care professional carries out to help his/her patient achieve a good death. Suicide, self-deliverance, auto-euthanasia, aid-in-dying, assisted suicide — call it what you like — can be justified by the average supporter of the so-called â€Å"right to die movement† for the following reasons: The first reason is that an advanced terminal illness is causing unbearable suffering to the individual. This uffering is the most common reason to seek an early end. Second, a grave physical handicap exists that is so restricting that the individual cannot, even after due care, counseling, and re-training, tolerate such a limited existence. This handicap is a fairly rare reason for suicide; most impaired people cope remarkably well with their affliction, but there are some who would, at a certain point, rather die. We say that there is a second form of suicide; justifiable suicide, that is a rational and planned self-deliverance from a painful and hopeless disease which will shortly end in death. I do not hink the word â€Å"suicide† sits well in this context but we are stuck with it. Suicide is the taking of one's own life. Why does the term euthanasia even exist? Is euthanasia not suicide? A differentiation must be made between the two. Suicide is condoned by society as being unacceptable but euthanasia is viewed as moral and acceptable in most instances. The term â€Å"self-deliverance† is difficult to understand because the news media is in love with the words â€Å"doctor-assisted suicide†. This is because the news media is dissecting the notion of whether or not doctors, who are supposed to preserve life, should artake in euthanasia. The media is failing to look at the actual issue of euthanasia, but instead, they are looking at the decision of whether or not doctors should assist in euthanasia. Also, we have to face the fact that the law calls all forms of self-destruction There are ethical guidelines for euthanasia. If the following guidelines are met, then euthanasia is considered acceptable. The person must be a mature adult. This is essential. The exact age will depend on the individual but the person should not be a minor who would come under quite different laws. Secondly, the person must have learly made a considered decision. An individual has the ability now to indicate this with a living will (which applies only to disconnection of life supports) and can also, in today's more open and tolerant society, freely discuss the option of euthanasia with health-care professionals, family, lawyers, etc. The euthanasia must not be carried out at the first knowledge of a life-threatening illness, and reasonable medical help must have been sought to cure or at least slow down the terminal disease. I do not believe in giving up life the minute a person is informed that he or she has a terminal illness. Life is precious, you only live once, and it is worth a fight. It is when the fight is clearly hopeless and the agony, physical and mental, is unbearable that a final exit is an option. The treating physician must have been informed, asked to be involved, and his or her response been taken into account. The physician's response will vary depending on the circumstances, of course, but they should advise their patients that a rational suicide is not a crime. It is best to inform the doctor and hear his or her response. For example, the patient might be mistaken. Perhaps the diagnosis has been misheard r misunderstood. Patients raising this subject were met with a discreet silence or meaningless remarks in the past but in today's more accepting climate most physicians will discuss potential end of life actions. The person must have a Will disposing of his or her This shows evidence of a tidy mind, an orderly life, and forethought, all things which are important to an acceptance of rational suicide. The person must have made plans to die that do not involve others in criminal liability or leave them with guilty feelings. Assistance in suicide is a crime in most places, although he laws are gradually changing, and very few cases ever come before the courts. The only well-known instance of a lawsuit concerning this is the doctor-assisted suicide of Dr. Kevorkian. The person must leave a note saying exactly why he or she is taking their life. This statement in writing removes the chance of misunderstandings or blame. It also demonstrates that the departing person is taking full responsibility for the action. These are all guidelines for allowing a euthanasia to take place. By this, I mean the doctor is involved in the patient's decision and actively performs the euthanasia. I believe that passive euthanasia would show a lack of interest on the doctor's part. Simply allowing a patient to die does not require a doctor's Passive euthanasia should not even exist. Euthanasia is defined as â€Å"the action of killing†¦ † James Rachels states in his â€Å"Active and Passive Euthanasia† that â€Å"The important difference between active and passive euthanasia is that in passive euthanasia, the doctor does not do anything to bring about the patient's death. The doctor does nothing and the patient dies of whatever ills already afflict him. In active euthanasia, however, the doctor does something o bring about the patient's death: he [actively] kills him† (1024). Is allowing a patient to die considered to be an action? Rachels states â€Å"†¦ the process of being allowed to die can be relatively slow and painful, whereas being given a lethal injection is relatively quick and painless† (1020). Disconnecting respiratory devices is not an acceptable method of euthanasia. It causes the patient to starve for oxygen and gasp for it, but when he/she cannot breathe, the body is starved of oxygen and suffocates. This is not merciful by any means. Rachels also states, â€Å"One reason why so many people think that here is an important moral difference between active and passive euthanasia is that they think killing someone is morally worse than letting someone die† (1022). The idea that a patient utilizes a medical device and has grown dependent on it for life is a grim one indeed; however, relieving a patient who relies on this machine for his/her life by simply cutting it off is not acceptable. Leon Kass states in his â€Å"Why Doctor's Must Not Kill,† â€Å"Ceasing medical intervention, allowing nature to take its course, differs fundamentally from mercy killing. For one thing, death does not ecessarily follow the discontinuance of treatment† (1034). This states my point exactly. Euthanasia is the physical action of putting someone to a painless death who is suffering tremendously. The passive nature of allowing someone to die is not euthanasia. This is not an physical action taken by a doctor to ease a patient's suffering and The doctor should decide whether the ailment is curable and if it is not, he/she should decide whether the patient will live productively for months or even years to come. If the ailment is not immediately fatal, will it cause pain and suffering for the rest of he patient's life? How old is the patient? Will he/she live much longer anyway? All these factors should come into play when deciding whether a patient should be euthanized; however, the doctor's answers to these questions may differ from those of the patient and his/her family. It is up to the patient's doctor to decide whether the patient's ailment is indeed curable. The patient should be presented with the facts. The doctor should tell the patient exactly how it is and not project the false hope that the patient may recover. With this information, the patient can make an informed decision and feel that t is the best one. Sidney Hook states in his â€Å"In Defense of Voluntary Euthanasia† that â€Å"Each one should be permitted to make his own choice- especially when no one else is harmed by it. The responsibility for the decision, whether deemed wise or foolish, must be with the chooser† (1028). This is evidenced quite simply by the mere fact that everyone has civil rights and liberties. No one can decide who should die and who should not. Everyone is in complete control of his/her own life and; therefore, should be free to decide. Having considered the arguments in favor of auto-euthanasia, he person should also contemplate the arguments against it. First, should the person go into a hospice program instead and receive not only first-class pain management but comfort care and personal attention? Put simply, hospices make the best of a bad job, and they do so with great skill and love. The right-to-die movement supports their work, but not everyone wants a lingering death, not everyone wants that form of care. Today many terminally ill people take the marvelous benefits of home hospice programs and still accelerate the end when suffering becomes too much. A few hospice leaders claim that heir care is so perfect that there is absolutely no need for anyone to consider euthanasia. While I have no wish to criticize them, they are wrong to claim perfection. Most, but not all, terminal pain can today be controlled with the sophisticated use of drugs, but the point these leaders miss is that personal quality of one's live is foremost to some people. If one's body has been so destroyed by disease that it is not worth living, that is an intensely individual decision which should not be swayed. In some cases of the final days in hospice care, when the pain is very serious, the patient is drugged nto unconsciousness. If that way is acceptable to the patient, then so be it, but some people do not wish their final hours to be in that fashion. There should be no conflict between hospice and euthanasia, both are valid options in a caring society. Both are appropriate to different people with differing values. The other consideration is related to religion: does suffering glorify a person? Is suffering, as related to Jesus Christ's suffering on the cross, a part of the preparation for meeting God? Are you merely a steward of your life, which is a gift from God, which only He may take away. If your answers to these questions is yes, then you should not be involved in any form of euthanasia. Remember that there are millions of atheists, as well as people of differing religions, and they all have rights, too. Many Christians who believe in euthanasia justify it by reasoning that the God whom they worship is loving and tolerant, and would not wish to see them in agony. They do not see their God as being so vengeful as refusing them the Kingdom of Heaven if they accelerated the end of their life to avoid prolonged, unbearable suffering. A doctor should not be allowed to â€Å"play God† and ecide who should live and who should die. In fact, even the patient should not be allowed to, but it is the patient's life and he/she has to live it. So, it is only logical to allow the patient, and no one Another consideration must be that, by ending one's life before its natural end, is one is depriving oneself of a valuable period of good life? Is that last period of love and companionship with family and friends worth hanging on for? Even the most determined supporters of euthanasia hang on until the last minute; sometimes too long, and lose control. They, too, gather with their families and riends to say goodbyes. There are important reunions and often farewell parties. Euthanasia supporters enjoy life and love living, and their respect for the sanctity of life is as strong as anybody's. Yet they are willing, if their dying is distressing to them, to give up a few weeks or a few days at the very end and leave under their own control. Ultimately, the decision lies with the beholder. It is the right of a person to make his/her own choice, with some limitations. It is the doctor's responsibility to provide the patient with an accurate prognosis so that the patient may make an educated decision.

The Great War, a Catalyst for Changing Class Structure in Britain, Research Paper

The Great War, a Catalyst for Changing Class Structure in Britain, 1914-1919 - Research Paper Example More so, finally, arms race is also another triggering factor of the Great War because Britain and Germany had the best navies during that period and so naval rivalry between the two countries played a significant role in the emergence of World War 1. In 1914, Britain reigned over a quarter of the world’s population, it was a very powerful country, stratified in a class system, and that individuals were determined by their class ranks. About fourteen million civilians participated in the war and so they played a leading role in changing the class structure of Britain of 1914.2 The First World War changed the social class structure in Britain in many ways, first, it reduced the number of servants employed, increased the number of salaried workers, and increased ownership of the country’s wealth.3 This paper explores how the Great War changed the class structure in Britain covering its effects on the upper, middle and lower classes as well as the role of women in the how and how this change their status in the society. Class is a social category where individuals are grouped together based on their status in the society. It refers to an individual’s position in the social hierarchy based on their accessibility to wealth and power and this implies that those who are wealthy and powerful are ranked high as compared to those who are poor and less powerful. Notably, the nature of the class system is usually known by the distribution of wealth in the country.4 The British life was strictly stratified into a class system; however, during the war the traditional class differences were softened.5 The aristocracy was the wealthiest and most powerful people in Britain during the war, and they had influence because of their wealth and power. The middle or working class who worked hard to earn a living doing jobs like farmers and traders followed them. The British middle class valued education and generally, they work as managers, civil servants, or

Choose 3 non-profit political organizations. Discuss how these 3 Essay

Choose 3 non-profit political organizations. Discuss how these 3 groups have been negatively affected by the large amounts of mo - Essay Example Large sums of money spent by different presidential candidates have a significant impact on American social-political ecosystem. More so, the lucrative expenditure has a significant impact on non-profit political organizations. This essay focuses on the impact of lucrative election on non-profit political organizations within the country. American Civil Liberties Union, League of Women Voters and People for the American Way are the main political organizations in the country. League of Women Voters was founded in 1920 in Illinois. The league focused on women voting rights, which had not been included in the country’s constitution. The group is a non-partisan political organization and neither supports nor opposes government official at either level of the government. However, the organization takes stand on various controversial issues particularly those that affect women’s rights during an election. On the other hand, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a non-prof it organization whose mission is to defend individual rights and liberties as stipulated in the country’s constitution (Mooney). ACLU works through litigation, lobbying and civic education. It was established in 1920 as a non-partisan political wing to defend anti-war protestors. ... PFAW has its headquarters in Washington and it monitors Right Wing activities through political lobbying and volunteer mobilization. The three groups have been most vibrant during a presidential election season. Non-profit political organizations have a mission to educate voters and to ensure that elections are conducted on a neutral environment. Thus, the different political organization focuses on different needs of the society. League of women voters (LWV) focuses on voter’s education through seminar and the media. In past elections, LWV has been active in encouraging registration among women voters. The league has also a major sponsor of presidential debates. However, its board of trustees voted unanimously for the league to pull out of the presidential debate following the 1988 sponsorship (Stevens 161). Other activities of the group during previous presidential elections include promotion of human rights. Fundamentally, the groups educate American voters on their rights and offer them an opportunity to make independent decision. In recent presidential elections, political aspirants and their supporters have been spending large sums of money to boost their chances of winning the elections. Due to the large sums of money spent by PACs, the groups have lost their reputation and influence among American voters. It is obvious that the groups have become less active in the recent past as the super PACs continuously take their position in the country’s politics. The PACs spend their monies on advertisements meant to support or defend the policies of their selected presidential aspirants. On the other hand, the ads can

Compare and contrast the views of Howard Zinn's presentation of the Essay

Compare and contrast the views of Howard Zinn's presentation of the Vietnam War to the American Promise text - Essay Example both Zinn and the American Promise text begin by describing the combatants, the American Promise text seems to tacitly cast their communist leanings as irrational and in-direct opposition to freedom. Conversely, Zinn elevates their position to equal footing with the United States. Zinn describes North Vietnam as, â€Å"a nationalist revolutionary movement in a tiny, peasant country† (Zinn). One can easily argue that Zinn is even romanticizing the North Vietnamese movement, casting them in the mythic role as David in a battle with the United States’ Goliath. Zinn’s historicism goes on to explore the perspective of the North Vietnamese in more sympathetic details than the American Promise text. Where the American Promise text identifies the promise Kennedy made in fighting against Communist aggression, Zinn’s history notes the Atlantic Charter which promised the people the right to choose their own government. It shows that despite such a document, pleas by the North Vietnamese to President Harry Truman went unrecognized. The American Promise also focuses predominantly on the Vietnam War once it was started, and not the factors that ultimately caused the United States’ participation. While of this is surely attributed to the fact that it focuses on American History, key facts are left out, which Zinn includes. One of the most notable of these is that after the French left Vietnam there was scheduled to be an election that would unify the country. It was the United States that stepped in and prevented these elections from occurring, and placed a Vietnamese man who had previously resided in New Jersey in office. Quoting the Pentagon papers, Zinn states, â€Å"South Viet Nam was essentially the creation of the United States" (Zinn). When considering the Gulf of Tonkin incident the two textbooks have slightly different perspectives. While the American Promise acknowledges that there might be more to the attacks than was initially reported by the United States

The impact of sales promotion by 'Nike Golf' in Thailand on the Essay

The impact of sales promotion by 'Nike Golf' in Thailand on the Strength of the Brand - Essay Example The importance of price in purchase decisions puts an emphasis on the relationship between the price of a purchased item and its quality (Mesak, 1979). Among the most attention-grabbing is the sales promotion of Nike golf Thailand used for their Driver and golf clubs. This was also the event Driver SQ series was introduced in 2006. The approach was to reduce the cost of the item in a short period of time. For demonstration, when the company promotes new product, which is done once every year, the price that kicks off at roughly four hundred dollars ($400) to six hundred dollars ($600), which is about 13, 000-20, 000 Thai Baht will hold a price of just about $250 (approximately 8, 000 Thai Baht) six months later. Then towards the end of the promotion, it will fasten to a price of $120 at the least, which is around 5, 000 Thai Baht. January 2002 came into the vastly competitive golf club industry of $1.5 billion. Nike is relying on its sound brand image as well as its deep pockets to vie in commerce where companies are inclusive of rigorous technologies (Gabrielle et al, 2002) when golf became popular and demands begin to escalate. Companies subsequently changed mode of production to mass production by means of shifting production processes to China with the intention of decreasing the costs (Anderson, 2008). Owing to the formidable marketing strategy as well as the production mode which is being used by Nike golf in promoting their merchandise, items of Nike golf are virtually offered in all golf shops throughout the world. They are able to distribute merchandises through dealers on every country and that particular dealer ought to employ their own strategy or technique in advertising their products. Hence, the Thailand Nike golf sales promotion which is being applied for their SQ driver series is distinctive from other sales promotion used by dealers from other countries

5 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

5 - Assignment Example There was no element of destiny in this whole gamut of things, as this was simply a planned invasion. The invasion and intervention of US repeated in about â€Å"26 states with approximately 6.6 million deaths since then† (Sullivan, 8). The nations which fell victims to American invasions include â€Å"Guatemala, Iran, Cuba, Lebanon, Laos, South Vietnam, Cambodia, Chile, Libya, Somalia† and many more. Such an enormous destructive power can never be simply justified using the excuse of destiny. The next major war fought by US after Spanish-American war was the Second World War in which the world saw the cruelest weapon in human history, being used- the atom bomb. US masterminded and commanded the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, a killing spree in which millions died. In Vietnam war, even the majority of people at home hated American government for using chemical weapons and sacrificing many an American youths’ lives on the alter of the war (Sullivan, 75). When 9/11 happened, it was the culmination of a process that started almost half a century back, when to defeat Soviet Union and to diminish its powers, America had promoted Islamic fundamentalists including Osama Bin Laden (Sullivan, 155). Afghan war was only a preamble after which America invaded Iraq as well (Sullivan, 155, 41, 148). The WMDs that America searched for in Iraq were never to be found. America being the largest manufacturer of modern weaponry in the world, all these violent interventions that US made in the world as a nation, was in tune with its mercantile interests and policies. This is the hidden agenda even behind the so-called ‘war on terrorism’ that is being fought even

Valuation of the benefits of infrastructure projects(built Essay

Valuation of the benefits of infrastructure projects(built environment) may sometimes be difficult but it is essential for the rational determination of sector - Essay Example The public services are not able to mobilize resources to meet the increasing demand in these areas, mainly due to bureaucratic interventions, organizational lapses and political lethargy. Therefore, it has become necessary for the private sectors to involve themselves prominently in this strategic area of human living. The fact remains that the implementation and execution of infrastructure developmental projects have remained uppermost in the hands of their planners and executors, but they have not considered its implications nor pondered over the necessary ways in which these projects could provide long time succor and increased standard of living for the masses effected by these projects or the ultimate beneficiaries of these efforts. Hence these projects have been carried out in an ad hoc manner, which is why it has become imperative to upgrade and enhance the quality of service to bring it at par with acceptable standards. The emphasis should be on providing infrastructure proj ects with a national or regional development policy or strategy and also to link the resources decision with local social, economic and environmental requirements. This way, not only the broader objectives of the project would be met but its utility value, in the grassroots level would also stand ensured. This is because all important infra structural projects should have social upliftment and emancipation of the underprivileged and marginalized sections of society in mind when they are conceptualized and also when they are finally implemented. The economic evaluation of development projects should be such that it renders maximum benefit to social welfare. Although the objectives may be clearly delineated, the derivation of net benefits or its quantitative benefit value may not be assessable in real money terms. To take an illustration, the Government wished to seek the

Scholarly paper schizophrenia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Scholarly paper schizophrenia - Essay Example A holistic approach has to be adopted in the treatment of this condition. Although schizophrenia cannot be cured, its symptoms can be considerably mitigated by medication with antipsychotic drugs. To a significant extent, this condition is genetic. However, it is also caused by stress, abuse of drugs and trauma. Schizophrenia Introduction This work deals with the disorder of schizophrenia and the methods of dealing with the problem. Initially, clinical features of the disease were taken up for a discussion. Subsequently, implications of the disorder were discussed. Moreover, the psychopathology of this ailment had been analysed. In this regard, role of the health care professionals in implementing the pathological interventions related to the patient, had been examined. Thereafter, the impact of the disease on the psychological condition of the patient were examined. The extant medical treatments and their effectiveness have been analysed. Pharmacological treatments, and psychologica l interventions provided by the health professionals, as a part of the treatment of this disorder, were taken up for a brief discussion. Subsequently, genetic issues relating to the problem were examined. Finally conclusions were arrived at stating that family support and psychological interventions are essential, n addition to the available medical treatments, in containing the degenerative disorder schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a condition that can be correlated to many factors, and constitutes the result of a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Although the exact causes of this disorder have not been established, it is now evident that some of the genetic conditions have a causal relationship with schizophrenia, as depicted in the research conducted by Tandon, Keshavan, and Nasrallah. This can be established by family, twin and adoption studies (Tormoehlen & Lessick, 2011, p. 486). Individuals afflicted with schizophrenia exhibit excess mortality, in comparison to the general population. All the same, several of the people with this disease will survive and suffer from it in their later life. This makes it clear that schizophrenia among the old will emerge as a major public health issue in the future. Consequently, treatment of schizophrenia that is based on evidence will become a major issue, with regard to the older patients. All the same, the absence of adequate data to guide the selection of antipsychotics for those suffering from schizophrenia in their later life (Suzuki, et al., 2011, p. 961). There is an absence regarding the essential criteria necessary for arriving at a diagnosis of schizophrenia. However, there is consensus regarding the general clinical aspects of this syndrome (Tandon, Nasrallah, & Keshavan, 2009, p. 3). Clinical Features of Schizophrenia Patients diagnosed with schizophrenia have a higher mortality rate, in comparison to the normal population. Even though these heightened mortality rates seem to be on an increas ing trend, many of the patients afflicted with schizophrenia survive until old age and continue to suffer from the disorder. Hence, geriatric schizophrenia needs to be addressed in the near future, as one can expect the number of patients affected by it to increase substantially (Suzuki, et al., 2011, p. 662). Patients affected with an early onset of schizophrenia and who do not show adequate

United States History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

United States History - Essay Example Firstly it is the case that the civil rights act in 1964 made it illegal to engage in any type of job discrimination and eliminated segregation initiatives at the federal level. Secondly the Voting Rights Act in 1965 guaranteed that minorities could be allowed to register to vote and prohibited hindrance of voting through the elimination of voter qualification tests. Lastly there was the Immigration and Nationality Services Act in 1965 which eliminated regional quotas on immigrants. In terms of the anti poverty legislation that was enacted, anybody who is familiar with Lyndon Johnson recognizes that he came from a very modest background in rural Texas and from this perspective, Johnson enacted the Office of Economic Opporunity which was a grass roots initiative to find sources for over three billion dollars appropriated to be spent over three years from 1964. Lastly there was the Higher education act in 1965 which significantly increased money given to state universities and created a number of scholarships. In this regard there have been a number of successes however one of the major downfalls of this initiative is that a great deal of money that was earmarked for these massive programs quickly tapered off after the Vietnam war began and as such one could argue that the war declared on racial injustice and poverty took a backseat to an actual war. A#2) The role that President Nixon and his advisors had in the illegal and unethical activities of the Watergate scandal are numerous. Ultimately it became clear that the break-ins were committed by five members of the Committee to Re-Elect the President who were ultimately funded by a kind of slush fund earmarked for he collecting of intelligence against democrats. The goal was to break into the Democratic National Committee’s office and steal important communications. While to connection to higher

The Fall of Classical Greece Essay Example for Free

The Fall of Classical Greece Essay The war between Athens and Sparta in the fifth century BCE was a major turning point in western history. It marked both the end of Athens as a Mediterranean superpower, and the end of the Greek Golden Age. The war lasted nearly thirty years, left hundreds of thousands dead, disrupted trade, bankrupted both societies, altered the course of warfare, and rattled the platform of democracy. Though Sparta emerged victorious and Athens brutally subjugated, neither city state was able to recoup their former prosperity and power and both yielded to another Greek superpower after less than a century of tenuous peace. Nothing would be the same after the Peloponnesian War. In Classical Greece most states allied with either Sparta or Athens, the two most opposite states in the Greek world1. The Spartans focused on creating the perfect warrior; they were a militaristic oligarchic state dependent on slaves2. They viewed the democratic Athenians with suspicion and increasing resentment, especially after the Persian wars when Athens was becoming the authoritative economic and cultural centre of Greece. With its commanding navy Athens was able to accumulate many tribute-bearing allies and to devote itself to spreading democracy. According to Thucydides, the leading source of the events during the Peloponnesian War, the prime reason for the war was the growth of Athenian power and the fear which this caused in Sparta3. By 431 BCE both sides were prepared to go to war, and both believed victory would be quick. The war lasted twenty-seven years. It began with Spartan raids on Atticas countryside in the summer of 431 BCE. Soldiers attempted to burn olive trees and grape vines, the mainstay of Athens economy4. They hoped the ruined crops would force Athens to sue for peace or face the deadly Spartan hoplites in battle. Spartan soldiers were fabled; the rest of Greece knew that they would lose any land battles against Sparta5. But Athens refused to bow to Sparta. Pericles, a powerful Athenian statesman, believed he had a winning plan. He moved everyone from the hinterland into Athens city walls so that Spartan raids on the countryside would have little effect6. He also kept up military pressure along the coast by sending superior fleets to harass the Peloponnesus. This move into the city was disastrous. With pressure on food, housing, and sanitation a plague broke out within Athens, one so deadly that Spartan soldiers refused to advance to the Long Walls. Thucydides, a survivor of the plague, states that the disease, first settling in the head, went on to affect every part of the body in turn, and even when people escaped its worst effects, it still left its traces on them by fastening upon the extremities of the body7. This was a time of complete and utter chaos. There was nowhere to bury the dead, and no way to treat the infected or even reduce their suffering. When people became affected they often resorted to unprecedented lawlessness8. Many lost their entire family and died alone in the streets. The exact numbers are debatable but Attica likely lost one-quarter to one-third of its population9. The plague, in only the second year of a twenty-seven-year long war, is what ultimately drove the Athenian defeat. It caused more deaths than all the battles the city fought against the Peloponnesian League. Thucydides states that nothing did more damage to Athenian power than the plague10 because it changed the entire course of the war. The state lost about one third of its hoplite troops and cavalry forces, and between forty and fifty thousand women, children and slaves, as well as the level-headed Pericles11. So few eligible sailors and rowers remained that slaves were given these positions in exchange for freedom12. It left Athens profoundly demoralized The plague was followed by a series of poor decisions by both sides. For the most part the two states never directly faced off, this was largely because of their opposing strengths; Spartas hoplite army could defeat any land-based enemy and Athens had the most powerful navy in the Aegean13. Athens did not want to fight Sparta on land, and Sparta did not want to fight Athens at sea. In 424 BCE Athens attacked Boetia, a Spartan ally just north of Attica that allowed Spartan raiders easy access into the Athenian countryside. This was supposed to be an equal-sided pitched battle14. Hoplite battles were normally fought on even ground at a set time and with roughly an equal number of troops. There were generally no surprises and winning was determined on the individual strength and resolve of the men. Battles were usually over in a matter of minutes15. But at the Battle of Delium the Boetians charged downhill towards the Athenian army and eliminated it. The Athenians lost nearly 15 per cent of their hoplite army16. The Athenians received another severe blow when they tried to regain Amphipolis, an important ally that had recently surrendered to Sparta. Thucydides was sent to save the city but arrived too late. He spent the next 20 years in exile. The Peloponnesian War marked the end of formalized warfare in Greece. Whole cities were destroyed and their inhabitants murdered or enslaved. After a decade of fighting the Peace of Nicias sought to ally Sparta and Athens. The terms stated that peace between the Peloponnesian League and the Delian League was to last for 50 years, and both sides were to return what land they had gained from the enemy17. This uneasy peace18 did not last long. By 418 BCE the truce was officially over; Athenian coastal attacks of the Peloponnesus had not ceased, and King Agis of Sparta attacked Mantinea and Argos19. In 415 BCE the Athenians embarked on their most controversial and disastrous military expedition to date. They resolved to sail again against Sicilyand, if possible, to conquer it.they did not realize that they were taking on a war of almost the same magnitude as their war against the Peloponnesians20. The Athenians believed that if they could conquer the large, fertile island they could cease grain imports into the Peloponnesus as well as increase imported grain for themselves21. They underestimated the size and strength of Sicily. The expedition was also poorly led22. The Athenian Assembly sent three commanders: Nicias, Lamachus, and the traitorous Alcibiades who jumped ship in southern Italy and fled to Sparta. After arriving at Syracuse the Athenian fleet waited several months before attacking thus enabling the Syracusans to prepare. When they finally attacked they won a hoplite battle but were unable to breach the reinforced city walls. They began constructing a siege wall, Syracusans built counter-walls but could not keep pace and victory looked certain for Athens. Then the Spartan fleet, having been informed by Alcibiades of the Athenians plan, landed on the island and attacked the Athenians from the rear. Athenian naval reinforcements were sent but modified Spartan and Corinthian ships smashed through the Athenian triremes and 25000 sailors and nearly all the Athenian ships were destroyed23. A night attack on Syracuse also ended disastrously. When the Syracusans began fighting back Athenian soldiers panicked, and in the dark began killing their own men. Some 40,000 Athenian soldiers attempted to retreat to Catana, a city in northern Sicily that was Athenian friendly. More Athenians died while fleeing than in all other Sicilian battles; 9000 hoplites and countless foot-soldiers perished. This wasthe greatest action that we know of in Hellenic historyto the vanquished the most calamitous of defeatstheir losses were, as they say, total; army, navy, everything was destroyed24. This failed conquest of Sicily was the second major factor in Athens fall from preeminence. While the Athenians flailed in Sicily, Spartan troops urged by Alcibiades, set up base in Decelea, which gave them control of rural Attica and prevented food supplies from reaching Athens. The Athenians were forced to break into the Iron Reserve, a secret stash of 1000 talents to construct a new fleet. In order to construct a fleet of their own, Sparta made a deal with King Darius of Persia: the Persians would provide gold for a fleet if Sparta surrendered Ionia25. The Spartans agreed and the Peloponnesian War moved to the sea. The Battle of Arginusae in 406 BCE was the biggest naval battle in Greek history and Athens greatest naval victory. The Athenians destroyed two thirds of Spartas fleet26. Sparta, exhausted and defeated, offered peace but the Athenians refused, arrogantly assuming their rivals could never recover from such devastating losses. This was the third massive blunder of the Athenians. Backed by Persian gold Sparta quickly rebuilt her fleet. The final battle of the Peloponnesian War was at Aegospotami, a harbour in the Hellespont. For days the Athenians tried to lure the Spartan admiral Lysander into battle. He waited until many Athenian sailors were off searching for food and water then, in a surprise attack, destroyed 171 Athenian triremes and killed 3000 soldiers27. With this defeat Athens was forced to join the Spartan alliance, destroy the Long Walls, surrender all but twelve ships, and abandon democracy28. Athens was finished. In three decades the once paramount polis of Athens had lost a third of its population to war, disease, and famine; she was bankrupt and was no longer a player in Mediterranean trade. She was now ruled by the oligarchic Spartans, and a tyrannical group of thirty Lysander loyalists who slaughtered more than five per cent of her remaining population29. The events of the last twenty-seven years, the plague, loss of tribute-bearing states, the violence wrought upon its allies, the financial burden of having to rebuild several fleets, bankruptcy, the humiliation of an enemy-occupied homeland, the Sicilian disaster, the broken down class barriers, political turmoil, and the monumental losses at sea had changed the city of Athens30. She was defeated and demoralized but was not destroyed. Population soon rebounded, arts and philosophy were restored, and trade and agriculture grew productive again. Athens had been brought to its knees by the plague and a few massive blunders, not because of superior Spartan strategic tactics and military ingenuity31. Athens was able to throw off the Spartan yoke in little over a year and reinstate democratic rule. An oligarchic Sparta was incapable of running an empire, even with Persian support. Classical Athens demonstrates a remarkable example of the resiliency of democracy. But, if Athens had not been so determined to spread democracy and to extend their empire throughout the Aegean, the thirty year long battle and its irreparable damage to classical Greek civilization may have been avoided entirely. Lessons to be learned from the Athenian empire are glaringly apparent in todays world of superpowers run by corporations where present-day governments, in a quest for secure oil reserves, again wage war under the guise of spreading democracy. The economic and political costs of the war in Iraq have been devastating to America and her allies. America finds herself increasingly weakened and isolated from the rest of the world. Any claims the United States may have had to moral superiority have been destroyed. Tens of thousands of civilians are being slaughtered in the chaos that the war has created. Iraqs infrastructure has been destroyed and the economy devastated. Much of the population has been reduced to poverty. It is imperative that democracy consider human rights before the interests of the state. The deplorable impact upon the populace by Athens attempts to spread democracy throughout ancient Greece are being echoed today in Americas attempts to impose democracy in the Middle East. The war is undermining and making unpalatable democracy itself. And, like ancient Athens, America risks finding its seemingly infinite power and prosperity irrevocably damaged. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.32 References Bagnall, Nigel 2004 The Peloponnesian War: Athens, Sparta, and the Struggle for Greece. New York: Thomas Dunne Books. Detailed book on the Peloponnesian War, although rather dry. It did however provide a great description of the events leading up to the war and what events may have perpetrated it. It also had good maps, a list of the main players in the war, and a historical survey, which listed all the city-states involved and how they contributed to the outcome of the war. Hanson, Victor Davis 2005 A War Like No Other. New York: Random House A very entertaining and accurate book on the Peloponnesian War. Hanson does not write like an historian, he writes as thought he is telling a story. This made the book enjoyable to read, but I did find it lacked continuity. He explained major themes of the war but had to jump around between events to do so. I often got confused as to which part of the war I was reading about. Hornblower, Simon 2002 The Greek World 479-323 BCE. London: Routledge. This book covers Greek history from the Persian invasion to Alexander the Great, essentially Classical Greece. There is a small discussion on the Peloponnesian War, but the majority of the text focuses on the before and after; that is how much the war changed Greece. It was an interesting read, although at parts rather technical and dry, but nonetheless informative on the causes and effects of the Peloponnesian War. Kagan, Donald 2003 The Peloponnesian War. London: Viking. A mammoth book on nothing but the Peloponnesian War. Kagan discusses every event in the war, taken from the writings of Thucydides and Xenophen. This makes his book very long and descriptive, but like Hanson he writes like a story-teller so his text is very engaging. Some parts (particularly the battle tactics drawn from Thucydides) are less entertaining. Nonetheless, a very clear and complete book. Morris, Ian Barry B. Powell 2006 The Greeks: History, Culture and Society. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc. Survey textbook for my Classical Studies course. Just gives a chapter-long overview of the war, but is very complete in its description. The text lacks analysis, but it helped clarify certain events that some other authors went into far too much detail about. Overall, the book is very good; it discusses every aspect of ancient Greek life. Santayana, George 1906 The Life of Reason. New York: Prometheus Books. I only used his book for the quote. It demonstrates how something written one hundred years ago is still applicable in todays society and justifies the importance of understanding and learning from history. Thucydides 1972 History of the Peloponnesian War, trans. Rex Warner. London: Penguin Books. Thucydides, being our only primary source on the Peloponnesian War (up until 407 BCE at least), writes on the war from the militaristic standpoint. His analysis varies from being dry (when he is describing the military tactics in detail) to being extremely interesting (pretty much everything else). However, there is the problem of reliability when it comes to his discussion: he was not present at many of the events and speeches he writes about. Some of what he says must be taken with a grain of salt, but nothing he wrote about has been archaeologically disproved. His history is as accurate as we can ever hope to get. Notes 1 Kagan, 2003:3 2 Morris Powell, 2006:193 3 Thucydides I.23 4 Hanson, 2005: 37 5 Hornblower, 2002:118 6 Bagnall, 2004:139 7 Thucydides, II.49 8 Thucydides, II.53 9 Hanson, 2005:79 10 Thucydides, III.87 11 Hanson, 2005:79 12 Hanson, 2005:264 13 Kagan, 2003: 4, 8 14 Hanson, 2005: 144 15 Hornblower, 2002:192 16 Hanson, 2005:145 17 Hornblower, 2002:160 18 Thucydides, V.26 19 Hornblower, 2002:161 20 Thucydides, VI.1 21 Hanson, 2005:203 22 Hanson, 2005: 206 23 Morris Powell, 2006: 351 24 Thucydides, VII.87 25 Morris Powell, 2006:354 26 Morris Powell, 2006:358 27 Morris Powell, 2006:358 28 Kagan, 2003:481 29 Hanson, 2005:290 30 Hanson, 2005: 293 31 Hanson, 2005:309 32 Santayana, 1906:248.

Novel Elliptic-function Low-pass Filter (LPF)

Novel Elliptic-function Low-pass Filter (LPF) Performance of microstrip low pass filter with stub loaded Electromagnetic Band Gap ground plane Mariselvam V, Raju S Abstract A novel elliptic-function low-pass filter (LPF) is Presented, which consists of a Electromagnetic band gap on the ground plane. The Electromagnetic band gap provides the required wideband attenuation in stop band, while the slot provides steep transition from pass band to stop band. A 5.4 GHz five-pole LPF is developed and experimental results show that it has a sharp cutoff frequency response. The measured pass band insertion-loss is below 0.4 dB, and the rejection band over 15 dB is from 5.425 GHz to 8.25 GHz, Which increases from 2.95 GHz.      Keywords:  Defected ground structure (DGS), elliptic-function filter, low-pass filter (LPF). 1. INTRODUCTION Recently, defected ground structure (DGS) has become one of the most interesting areas of research in microwave and millimeter wave Applications [1]. It could be widely used in microwave circuit design such as power divider, power amplifier and especially in filter design [1–9]. Low pass filters (LPF) design require that both in-band and out-band performances should be: low loss, high selectivity, high rejection, and wide spurious free frequency ranges. Many novel types of microstrip filters have been proposed and designed. Periodic or non-periodic DGS are realized by etching a slot in the backside metallic ground plane. The etched slot disturbs effectively the current distribution in the ground plane of microstrip line and the results in resonant characteristics [2, 3]. IT is well known that typical properties of low-pass filters (LPFs) can be obtained by adding periodic structures to transmission lines. The representative periodic structures for planar transmission lines and/or microwave circuits are photonic band gap (PBG) and defected ground structure (DGS) [4, 5]. The PBG has been known as a popular periodic structure for planar transmission lines. However, drawbacks of PBGs have been also discussed as follows. 1) A large area is needed because a number of periodic patterns should be adopted. 2) It is obscure to define the unit element, and difficult to extract the equivalent-circuit elements for the PBG unit element. 3) Therefore, it is very restricted to extend its practical application to microwave circuits. To the contrary, one can easily define the unit element of the DGS and model the equivalent circuit. In addition, since only a few DGS elements show the typical properties of periodic structures, the resultant circuit size becomes relatively small. Furthermore, the structure of the DGS is simple and it is easy to design the DGS pattern. For these reasons, since [4] has introduced the structure and called it a DGS for the first time, the DGS has been extensively applied to design microwave circuits such as filters, power dividers, couplers, amplifiers, oscillators, and so on [1], [6]–[12]. There is much previous research about the characteristics of LPFs having periodic structures on microstrip or Coplanar waveguide (CPW) transmission lines [13]–[16] However most of them are not analytical because they mainly depend on electromagnetic (EM) simulations to design LPFs and predict circuit performances. To the contrary, in the design of LPFs using DGSs including this study, all design steps are based on theories and reasonable explanations as follows. The equivalent-circuit elements of the DGS is extracted and used for replacing the series inductances in the LPF Prototype circuit. The LPF is composed of the extracted equivalent lumped Elements, thus, it is an ideal LPF, is designed, and is compared to the realized LPF using the DGS practically. Two methods to design a three-pole LPF using the DGS has been proposed in [1] and [6]. In these papers, the sizes of two DGS patterns in the LPF were exactly the same because two inductances in the three-pole â€Å"L1 (series) C2 (shunt) L3 (series)† prototype LPF are identical. In [6], discontinuity elements such as tee- or cross-junctions were adopted to connect open stubs to realize the shunt capacitance. However, in the three-pole LPF proposed in [1], there are no junction elements, thin transmission lines for high impedance, or open stubs. In addition, the width of the transmission-line elements in the LPF has been remarkably broadened. Thus, advantages such as compact design and error-robust realization fabricating the layout have been obtained. However, in order to design -stage LPFs using the DGS, e.g., a five-stage like â€Å"L1 (series) C2 (shunt) L3 (series) C4 (shunt) L5 (series),† two different dimensions of the DGS have to be adopted because L3 is no t equal to L1=L5, although. In order to select the proper dimension of the DGS for L3 careful consideration based on filter theories, extracted equivalent- circuit elements of various DGS dimensions, and some related topics of transmission lines should be taken. The size of the DGS for L3 is determined by accurate curve-fitting results for equivalent-circuit elements to correspond exactly to the required inductance. In addition, the length of transmission-line elements between DGS patterns is determined through the consideration for the equivalent capacitance and additional parasitic inductance, as well as the required shunt capacitances in the prototype LPF. Therefore, a design of a five-pole DGS-LPF requires many more complex steps than the previous three-pole DGS-LPF shown in [1] and [6]. Thus, the goal of this paper is to propose a new technique to design an -pole LPF having (â€Å"DGS-LPF†), and to generalize the previous design method for N>5 using different sizes of DG S patterns. For this purpose, modeling for the equivalent circuit of the DGS, a curve fitting for determining the required different sizes of the Fig.1 Top view of the Microstrip line with a DGS pattern and its dimensions in mm Fig.1a. Bottom view of the Microstrip line with a DGS pattern and its dimensions in mm DGS that reflects the inductance values in the prototype LPF and a practical design example will be successively discussed. In order to show the validity of the proposed method, a five pole DGS-LPF, as an example, is designed and measured in this paper. The five-pole DGS-LPF has a much wider microstrip line than conventional microstrip LPFs, and does not include high-impedance lines, which have been essentially required in conventional design. The series inductances in the prototype LPF are realized by DGSs, while the shunt capacitances are realized by the widely compensated transmission line. Therefore, no discontinuity elements such as tee- or cross-junction for connecting open stubs are required because there are no stubs in the DGS-LPF. 2. DGS PATTERN AND MODELING FOR THE EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT Fig. 1and 1a shows a microstrip line having a dumb-bell DGS and its -parameters from an EM simulation. Two elliptical defected areas and one connecting slot correspond to the equivalently added inductance (L) and capacitance(C), respectively. Accordingly, a resonance occurs at a certain frequency because of the parallel L–C circuit. Inversely, it is intuitively known that the equivalent circuit includes a pair of parallel inductor– capacitor from the resonant phenomenon in the -parameter. This means the microstrip line having the DGS does not have all-pass characteristics, but restricted pass band properties. Fig.2. Equivalent circuit of the microstrip line with unit DGS using ADS In addition, slow-wave characteristics are observed due to the added– components of the DGS [3], [5], [9]. The defected areas can be realized by not only ellipse, but also other geometries such as triangle, circle, hexagon, octagon, spiral, and so on. It is very clear that the resonant frequency (wo) of the DGS and 3-dB cutoff frequency (wc 3dB) exist as shown in Fig. 1.The equivalent – circuit of the DGS can be extracted because this kind of electrical characteristic is observed from a typical L –C parallel resonant circuit. The equivalent circuit of the DGS and one-pole Butterworth prototype of the LPF are presented the DGS in Fig. 2. The equivalent L– C elements are calculated by (1–3) because two reactance values of Fig. 2(a) must be equal at wc 3dB as follows XLc= (1) XL = ωZo g1 (2) XLc | ω= ωc, (3) Where w'(=1), g1 (=2) and Zo (=50ÃŽ ©) are the normalized 3-dB cutoff frequency, element value of one-pole Butterworth prototype LPF, and port impedance, respectively, and wo = (1/√ Lk1Ck1). The calculated L2and c2 of the DGS shown in Fig. 2 are 3.2 nH and 0.8194 pF, respectively. Fig. 3 shows an excellent agreement between the previous -parameters shown in Fig. 1 and the new ones calculated using Lk1and ck1. Advanced Design System (ADS), a circuit simulator from Agilent Technologies, has been used for the calculation. This agreement means that the modeling technique is valid in extracting the equivalent-circuit elements. It should be noted that this is one of the great advantages of DGS because it is possible to define the unit element of the DGS and to establish the equivalent circuit of it, while the conventional Planar transmission lines with a periodic structure such as a PBG have difficulty in defining the unit element and to extract the modeled circuit element. 2.1 DESIGN OF THE FIVE POLE LOWPASS FILTER A. Prototype LPF and Adoption of DGS The method to design a five-pole LPF using the DGS is discussed here. Fig. 3 depicts the prototype circuit of a five-pole LPF. Here gi (i=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), represent the normalized element values of a Chebyshev prototype LPF for the given ripple [17]. According to the design theory of filters, in order to transform the prototype LPF to the LPF composed of lumped elements, the values of L1,C2,L3,C4 and L5can be determined owing to the impedance and Fig.3. Five-pole Chebyshev prototype LPF with Elliptic DGS Fig.3a. Equality of a series inductor to an LC parallel circuit frequency scaling rules expressed in (4)–(6). Here, ωc means the Cutoff frequency of the LPF L1 = = = L4 (4) L3 = (5) C2 = = C4 (6) Fig.4. Performance of the designed five pole LPF using ADS Fig.5. Performance of the designed five pole LPF using CST 2.2 PERFORMANCE OF THE DESIGNED DGS-LPF FIG. 6 shows the measured S-parameters of the designed DGS-LPF, as compared with the theoretical performance (circuit simulation) and the EM simulation by CST-MWS. As shown, the measurement result agrees with the EM simulation very well. The designed elliptical function DGS-LPF exhibits a much shaper transition knee than the Chebyshev one reported in [5]. Its transition bandwidth from 1 to 20 dB attenuation is only 0.45 GHz. The measured pass band insertion loss is less than 0.3 dB. The stop bandwidth corresponding to 15dB rejection is from 2.95 to 8.25 GHz. The total length of the designed DGS-LPF is 17 mm, and compared with the LPF reported in [5], it is reduced about 40.88% and compared with the LPF reported in [6] it is reduced about 14.66%. Fig.6. Measured result of the designed five pole LPF using Agilent Network analyzer N5230A 3. PERFORMANCE OF THE PROPOSED DGS LOWPASS FILTER Fig.7. Top view of the Microstrip line and its dimensions in mm Fig.7a. Bottom view of the Microstrip line and its dimensions in mm The proposed five-pole DGS-LPF has a much wider microstrip line than conventional microstrip LPFs, and does not include high-impedance lines, which have been essentially required in conventional design. The series inductances in the prototype LPF are realized by DGSs, while the shunt capacitances are realized by the widely compensated transmission line. A stub like elements which gives a inductance effect is introduced in the proposed DGS-LPF. DGS combined with microstrip line causes a resonant character of the structure transmission with a resonant frequency controllable by changing the shape and size of the slot. There is a huge evolution in terms of defected shapes: dumbbell, periodic, fractal, circular, spiral, and L shaped [12–14]. In this paper, a novel elliptic shape DGS is proposed for the LPF design. The use of elliptic shape DGS will be shown to give sharp cut off frequency response as well as a good performance in the pass band. The analysis of the dimension parameters with different dimension parameters was demonstrated as a design guide. The equivalent circuit (EC) has been extracted to characterize the proposed low-pass filter. The equivalent circuit model agrees with the field simulation results. The theoretical and measured results are presented with good agreement for LPF. The total length of the designed DGS-LPF is 15 mm, and compared with the LPF reported in [5], it is reduced about 60% and compar ed with the LPF reported in [6] it is reduced about 29%, the pass band increases up to 5.425 GHz from 2.95 GHz and the stop bandwidth corresponding to 15dB rejection is from 5.425 GHz which is suitable for WLAN application Fig.8. Comparison Performance of the designed five pole LPF Fig.9. Equivalent circuit of the microstrip line with unit DGS using ADS Fig.10. Measured result of the proposed five pole LPF using Agilent Network analyzer N5230A Tab 1: Performance of the five pole LPF using CST Tab 2: Dimensions of the proposed DGS designs Tab3. Prototype elements of the five pole elliptic function LPF Fig.11. Top view of the prototype Fig.11a. Bottom view of the prototype 4. CONCLUSION This letter has presented a new LPF to obtain elliptic-function response using Dumbbell shaped DGS. The designed LPF exhibits sharp cutoff frequency response, low insertion loss, and excellent stop band performance. The proposed design procedure can be extended to arbitrary -stage LPF. In addition, its physical structure is only composed of defect and microstrip line, so it is easy to fabricate. Since this design is simple, analytical, and does not require any optimization process, this kind of equivalent circuit model of DGS and its design technology may be further applied to various microwave circuits such as low-noise amplifiers, diplexers, mixers, and so on. References SERGIO PALMA PACHECO, JIANEI WANG, JONG- GWAN YOOK, AND LINDA P. B. KATEHI, â€Å" Micromachined Filters on Synthesized Substrates Rhonda Franklin Drayton,† IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech, 2001, Vol. 49, No. 2. SYSTEMS PIERRE BLONDY, ANDREW R. BROWN, â€Å"Low-Loss Micro machined Filters for Millimeter-Wave Communication†,1998 IEEE vol.38, pp 22-23. C. Y. CHI AND G. M. REBEIZ â€Å"Conductor loss limited stripline resonator and filters,† IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech., 1996, vol. 44, pp.626–629. S. V. ROBERTSON, L. P. B. KATEHI, AND G. M. REBEIZ, â€Å"Micromachined self-packaged W-Band bandpass filters,† in IEEE MTT-S Symp. Dig., 1995, pp. 1543–1546. J. S. LIM, C. S. KIM, D. AHN, Y. C. JEONG, AND S. NAM, â€Å" Design of low-pass filters using defected ground structure,† IEEE Trans. Microw.Theory Tech., 2005, vol. 53, no. 8, pp. 2539–2545. JINPING YANG AND WEN WU â€Å"Compact Elliptic-Function Low-Pass Filter Using Defected Ground Structure† IEEE Microwave and Wireless components letters, 2008, Vol. 18, No. 9. GAËTAN PRIGENT, ERIC RIUS, FRANÇOIS LE PENNEC, SANDRICK LE MAGUER, CÉDRIC QUENDO, GONZAGUE SIX, AND HENRI HAPPY, â€Å"Design of Narrow-Band DBR Planar Filters in Si–BCB Technology For Millimeter-Wave Applications † 2009 IEEE xplor.Vol.13. R. F. DRAYTON, S. PACHECO, J.-G. YOOK, AND L. KATEHI, â€Å"Micromachined filters on synthesized substrates,† in IEEE MTT-S Int. Microwave Symp. Dig., 1998, pp. 1185–1188. S. DEEPAK RAM PRASATH, A. THENMOZHI, P. SRINIVASABHARATHWAJ, S.RAJU, AND V.ABHAIKUMAR â€Å"A Novel Miniaturized Filter on Micromachined Multilayered Substrates† IETE 2008, Vol.54, No.2. RHONDA FRANKLIN DRAYTON, SERGIO PALMA PACHECO, JIANEI WANG, JONG-GWAN YOOK, , AND LINDA P. B. KATEHI â€Å" Micro machined Filters on Synthesized Substrates†, IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech.,2001, vol.49, no. 2. S.RIKI BANERJEE AND RHONDA FRANKLIN DRAYTON, â€Å" Circuit Models for Constant Impedance Micro machined Lines on Dielectric Transitions†, IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech.,2004, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 105-111. B.F. ZONG, G. M. WANG, H. Y. ZENG, Y. W. WANG. â€Å"Compact and High Performance Dual-band Bandpass Filter using Resonator-embedded Scheme for WLANs† RADIOENGINEERING, 2012, VOL. 21, NO. 4. K.ANNARAM, SURESH NITHYA. â€Å"Investigation of Compact Low Pass Filter with Sharp Cut–Off using Metamaterial† RADIOENGINEERING, 2013, VOL. 22, NO. 3. PIERRE BLONDY, ANDREW R. BROWN, DOMINIQUE CROS AND GABRIEL M.REBEIZ, â€Å"Low-Loss Micro machined Filters for Millimeter-Wave Communication Systems†, 1998. JIA-SHENG HONG AND M.J.LANCASTER, â€Å" Microstrip Filters for RF/Microwave Applications †, John Wiley Sons, Inc., 2001 About Authors Mariselvam VENKAT Obtained his BE degree from PTR College of Engineering and Technology, Madurai and ME from Thiagarajar college of Engineering Anna university Chennai in 2010 respectively. He is now pursuing PhD in the Electronics and Communication Engineering department, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai., India. His area of interests includes microwave and millimeter wave circuits. [emailprotected] Raju SRINIVASAN Obtained her BE degree from the PSG college of technology university of madras ,India and M.tech degree from NIT Trichy ,India 1982 and 1984 respectively she received her PhD from Madurai Kamarajar University, Madurai in 1996 .She is now working as a professor and head of the department of Electronics and Communication Engineering Department, Thiagarajar college of Engineering Madurai, India her areas of research interest are wireless technologies, RF circuits and systems. [emailprotected].

Germanys Refugee Intake

Germanys Refugee Intake Germany’s important model in aiding refugees but limitations arise Introduction A streamline of images appeared on the television screen located in the living room of a German household. Various colors from the news segment on Syrian refugees reflected on the faces of the viewers. The topic of refugees was a highly discussed one throughout Europe. Many of the refugees consisted of Syrians as a result of the Syria crisis that began in 2011. Germany has been one of the most prominent figures as their participation in assisting refugees has been high. Germany receives the highest number of refugees, compared to other countries in the world, with the United States, who is considerably larger, coming in second (Marks, 2018). Germany has provided a lot of assistance towards refugees as there are programs, such as German language program and designated housings as a part of local integration. It is important to note that â€Å"Germany’s refugee policy is an important model† (Nanette, 2016); however, there are implications that arise as there may be limita tions on how far the generosity of one country can go. For example, as new people arrive in a country, the competition for markets such as the ones for jobs, increases significantly and this may create narrower job opportunities for current German citizens. As a result, several questions come up, with one relating to if it is okay to put the needs of others before citizens of the host country in any particular situation. Germany has been a good model of a country wanting to aid refugees and the events occurring in the country surrounding refugee issues but it is also an unfortunate term of being generous and welcoming and it is restrictive at the national level. Migrant Crisis in Europe In the year of 2015, about more than one million people, including â€Å"refugees, displaced persons and other migrants† (European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, 2018). have arrived in Europe, with hopes of a better life because of constant conflicts or few opportunities in their home country. These migrants arrive in Europe, typically after strenuous and draining journeys by land or sea and upon arrival, they often need help with basic human needs such as â€Å"clean water, health care, emergency shelter and legal†. This large increase in number also affects countries that are part of the transit route such as â€Å"Turkey, Greece and Libya† as they receive large amounts of people at a period of time that exceeds their capacity. The top countries in which persons who are applying for asylum Europe are from Syria (360,000), Afghanistan (170,000) and Iraq (120,000). The European country that had acquired the most asylum applications was Germany, a total of 476,000 in 2017. There are problems with the responsibilities shared by each country in Europe. This is because there are some countries in which more migrants arrive to, such as Greece, Italy and Hungary and this results in them taking in more responsibilities and using their resources. European countries have certain quotas established for the amounts of migrants that they can take from the transit countries such as Greece and Italy. Germany has the highest quota at 27,000, then comes France at 19,000 and Spain comes in third with 8,000. Top countries in which people are granted asylum status are Syria, Eritrea and Iraq. This from an economic perspective which helps further illustrate the seriousness of the crisis in numbers. Refugee Politics in Germany Flà ºchtlingspolitik or refugee politics in Germany is a topic discussed rampantly in the country. The German refugee policy is considered as â€Å"admirable in many ways† because of its attempts of trying â€Å"to fulfill its moral duties to refugees† (Nanette, 2016).There are many legalities of the policy taken from the German Basic Law, specifically article 16a, where people have the right to asylum. It states that â€Å"persons persecuted on political grounds shall have the right of asylum† and this relates to the issue of refugees. Two important laws of the refugee policy, the Asylum Law and Integration Law, were created and passed on July 7, 2016. Through these policies, refugees are first â€Å"granted either asylum or protected refugee status† (290) for a duration of three years or the other option of â€Å"subsidiary protection† for only one year. They then go through a series of regulations to determine their status in Germany. One of the restrictions include from this process includes that if the country that they arrived from was considered a â€Å"safe country†, then they would automatically face rejection and their future is decided, â€Å"a scheduling for deportation† but there could a ban placed upon this deportation if it one of several reasons is determined such as if their life would be endangered, â€Å"because of their health or conditions in their country†. Even so, there are problems with establishing clear boundaries for these categories of what is considered as a â€Å"safe country† and what would be â€Å"life-endangering† and questions about who gets to decide the fate of these refugees arise too. At this period, the refugees are not fully accepted, instead they are â€Å"tolerate† or geduldete in German. In addition, these refugees also have the opportunity to obtain further extensions for the categories mentioned previously or attempt to have a repeal of their decisions. Furthermore, there are specific requirements to be granted â€Å"asylum or protected refugee status† as the refugee needs to fulfill having a â€Å"well-founded fear of persecution in [their] country of origin† relating to several traits of â€Å"race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group† (Nanette, 2016). And those who want to acquire â€Å"subsidiary protection†, must have â€Å"substantial grounds for believing that [they] would face a real risk of suffering serious harm in [their] country of origin†, which does not exclude the conflicts relating to international or internal arms. It is important to gain refugee status as it is also necessary perquisite in order to have access to some benefits for refugees to support their family’s migration as well or allowed participation with â€Å"priority for job training and language courses†. In Germany, the refugees are organized into big buildings that are funded by the state but organized by private organization. They are housed in these large buildings until they receive news or updates on their status for asylum. There are many refugee housings throughout Germany and they are located in various areas, from â€Å"large cities to small towns† (Nanette, 2016), They are often cramped and in many buildings. Definitions for Refugees   It is important to note that there are establishments of the definition of who are regarded as refugees, even though in many places like Germany may regard the terms â€Å"refugee†, â€Å"asylum seeker† and â€Å"migrant† as similar and use them interchangeably (OECD, 2018). However, it is essential to learn about the proper definitions of the terms to avoid any possible confusions. Migrants basically encompass any persons that relocate to a different country â€Å"with the intention of staying for a certain period of time†. Permanent and non-permanent â€Å"migrants with a valid residence permit or visa, asylum seeks and undocumented migrants† can fall under this term. Furthermore, refugees are persons who have completed their applications for asylum and have been granted a bit of protection, which can fall under â€Å"formal refugee status according to the Geneva Convention or to the German fundamental law†. This term can also relate to other persons such as those that have participated in resettlement programs that were facilitated by UNHCR, especially in the host countries of Australia, Canada and the U.S. In addition, this term covers persons that have subsidiary protection. Subsidiary protection is typically granted to persons who have not qualified as a refugee but there are complications to their safety if they were to participate in repatriation or return to their home country. The third term, asylum seekers define persons that have completed their applications for asylum, but are in the process of waiting for their results. Unlike other Organizations for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Germany’s process for asylum registration has two tiers. First people are required to complete their registrations â€Å"as prospective asylum applicants† and then they will be able to â€Å"file an asylum request†. However, there has been few problems and complications that came from this two-tiered process as the amounts of requests has increased, so there have been â€Å"long delays in asylum seeking† in Germany. Solutions for Refugees The United National High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has detailed several categories that are used in the process of finding possible and viable solutions for the problems of refugees. These categories include legal, economic, social/cultural and civil/political processes. Some things that need to be considered are the legalities such as rights that the refugees are designated that include basics rights such as â€Å"right to work, freedom of movement† and etc. (Refworld). When regarding economic factors, refugees should have the opportunity to â€Å"participate in the local work force either through jobs or self-employment† and have â€Å"access to land, acess to financing or credit and etc†. Furthermore, some features in the social or cultural process are that the refugee should be â€Å"accepted by the host community and State into the community without fear of discrimination† and they should have the opportunity to the â€Å"establishment of joi nt businesses and access to community centers†. Leading to civil or political processes, there should also be the right to â€Å"participate in civil society†, which includes being able to have the opportunity to government jobs and participate in the processes of elections. Even so, refugees could only be â€Å"granted† these rights or supervised by the UNHCR if they are mandated by them, which requires a long process to get to. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) details several solutions for the refugee crisis. The first solution involves voluntary repatriation, which is essentially, refugees returning back home if it is deemed safe. However, this solution has little implementation because of the problems with numerous amounts of refugees not being able to simply return because of ongoing â€Å"conflict, wars or persecution† in their home country. Another option would be resettlement in a different country. If voluntary repatriation is not a viable option. This solution encompasses several programs to help refugees with settlement such as â€Å"cultural orientation, language and vocational training† and â€Å"access to education and employment†, which are important in helping refugees adjust in a new country. Even so, this solution is not often implemented as only less than 1% submit for resettlement out of the total of 14.4 million refugees considered as concern to UNHCR. If the two previous options do not appear to work for the refugees, then local integration in a host country could work. This solution involves an extremely â€Å"complex process† as it places a lot of responsibilities and weight on both the refugee and the host country that is helping. Even though this is the case, there are also positives as the refugees that settle into their new host countries can positively contribute in a social and economic manner. This solution appears to be the most used, but it is not the most effective as there are complications. There is a total of 1.1 million refugees that have taken this route throughout the past ten years. Voluntary Reparation There will be a more detailed explanation of these three solutions that the UNHCR currently has in place. It is important to note that the term voluntary is taken seriously when discussing voluntary repatriation as it is crucial that this solution allows the refugee to make the decision to return to be â€Å"free and informed†. There should not be any pressures from any external sources and the refugee should not be convinced otherwise. Regulations are needed to appropriately measure this process as there needs to be the fulfillment that the refugee will return to â€Å"physical, legal and material safety†. UNHCR â€Å"provides the framework† for this process as it includes the responsibilities and roles involved. Some examples of the implementation of this solution include 4,600 Angolan refugees returning back in September 2015 and overall, 18,000 have returned since the year of 2014. Another example includes 5,000 Rwandans returning home in the year of 2015, to taling the number to 160,000 since the year of 2,000. Even though there has been somewhat some success with this solution, it is quite on a small scale and it not used often. Local Integration Local integration is the second option for refugees. The document that supports and is important in providing the legalities and the basis for this solution is the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol. After a willing and able State, such as Germany, decides that they â€Å"will offer local integration prospects†. There will be a comprehensive process that will determine how the solution will get played out and this is determined with â€Å"a number of factors† (UNHCR, 2018). These factors are determining for which groups would this option be the most viable or important to and these can include â€Å"refugees born on a host country’s territory† and they are at a high risk â€Å"of statelessness† or have no determined nationality. The host country should also be able to recognize the possible challenges that come from opening up their country to refugees, which could be negative impact of refugees â€Å"living many years and decades without a clea r idea of possible options† but should also keep in mind advantages as the refugees can create a positive impact as they â€Å"invest in the country and contribute to the community†, such as in economical ways. There have been some instances in the past in which countries have been willing but are not completely able to help with local integration as they do not have enough resources and as a result, need help from the larger community at an international level. The number of able and willing is so small compared to the rest of the options and this raises the question about what could be done about the other possible states that could help with characteristics of willing and not able or not willing but able (UNHCR). An example of local integration includes Brazil as there has been a gradual increase in refugees in the country since the year of 2010 and as a result, there has been the decrease of employment opportunities available. Some steps that were taken were that there has been â€Å"increased partnership with the private sector†, to provide more opportunities for jobs for the refugees and also with public and private universities, to help support the education of the refugees, specifically higher-education. Local integration in Germany includes several projects such as leisure and sport program, cultural and languages program, program for women and more (Bundesamt fà ¼r Migration und Flà ¼cthling, 2018). Regarding leisure and sport programs, there are many opportunities for refugees to get to know other civilians as they participate in after-school programs that involve music, dance or sports. This provides several benefits as it aids the process in refugees being able to be involved in the process of creating something together and â€Å"breaks down prejudices† as others get to know the refugees and will be able to make their own perceptions, instead of preconceived notions from stigmatization. There are programs to help younger refugees to get integrated into German society with special programs in gymnasiums, or high schools and cultural programs to help them get accustom to German cultures as they interact with German students daily. There are also specialized programs for women refugees as there are courses to also learn German and courses that relate to issues of â€Å"everyday life, family, health and school†. There are also additional programs and services made available to refugees to help them comfortably integrate into the German community. Resettlement The third solution for refugees is resettlement and it is the option that is most widely used. This solution is important for refugees that are not able to find sufficient protection in their home or asylum country. Resettlement has the possibility of being â€Å"an effective mechanism for responsibility sharing and international cooperation† and this aligns with the principle of international solidarity as it provides possibilities of options to help (UNHCR, 2018). Agreements within the resettlement umbrella can help with refugees that travel overseas to disembark at coastal states. This is helpful as it differentiates responsibilities for â€Å"initial reception and processing arrangements from the provision of long term solutions. And this reason is now more important as resettlement being used as a solution has increased drastically as more States are interested in hosting and more cases are being submitted to UNHCR since the year of 2012. A case relating to resettlement involves Egypt and trafficking victims. Since 2006, there have been many cases of smuggling of humans from Africa through East Sudan going into Israel, which originally began as a voluntary movement and then progressed into kidnappings in 2010. Some actions that have been taken place by the UNHCR is resettlement to protect these victims. It is interesting to note that local integration was not a realistic option for this case because the UNHCR had considered that there were not any â€Å"adequate services for treating severely traumatized victims of trafficking†. The victims were given priority for the registration for refugee status and often resulted in the implementation of resettlement to another country (UNHCR, 2018).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Germany has had a program with the solution of resettlement since the year of 2012 and before was only ad-hoc for resettlement. In the year of 2016, the admission target was 800 but increased to a maximum of 14,300 the following year. Germany has had an annual amount 300 persons that participated in the resettlement program from 2012 to 2014. There was a slight increase to a total of 500 in 2015. And Germany has plans to resettle a total of 1,600 in the following two years. Refugees arrive in German after going through the application process for resettlement from the UNHCR, who then â€Å"grants mandate refugee status† (UNHCR, 2018) and this appears to be the only way for admittance of resettlement for now. Effectiveness of the Solutions Discussing the effectiveness of the solutions that UNHCR has for refugees and its implementation in aiding refugees, it has helped few but truthfully not have had a lot of success. The solutions appear to work for a short period of time and is not effective for long periods of time. Data show that out of the refugees that UNHCR is accounted for, approximately 5.6 million, there are only 3% that participated in voluntary repatriation and 1% that are resettled (UNHCR, 2018). In the past, voluntary reparation has â€Å"been the solution for the largest proportion of refugees†, but the number of participants in this solution has dramatically declined since the year of 2011 because of problems of conflicts in the home country not ceasing. . Some statistics to illustrate this are that the number of participants decreased to 526,000 in the year of 2012 and to 414,000 a year later. As a result, only â€Å"6.5 million refugees were able to return to their country of origin in the past decade† in comparison to the number of 14.6 million in the decade before. Even UNHCR are discussing about how this solution has not been extremely effective as of late. Resettlement has only been able to have helped about 1% of the refugees and requires a lot of resources to implement. There have frequently been low numbers of participants in this solution, reaching only about 69,252 refugees in 2012 and 71,411 in 2013 (UNHCR, 2018). There are additional problems as because resettlement requires so much resources that they have limited availability and are only able to accommodate a restricted amount, which further limits its impact. Furthermore, UNHCR estimates â€Å"that 691,000 people† needed resettlement in the following year of 2014. The host country with the most acceptance of resettlement cases is the United States, about 67% of the toal cases, even so, there are not many host country participants in this solution. Some staff members of UNHCR reasons that a general consensus is that resettlement is not the best solution because there were a small number of refugees that are aided and the process details so much rigor. Compared to the other solutions, it is the most difficult to measure the success of local integration because there are so many differing ways to define integration and there are also a lot of â€Å"high political sensitivity in host countries†. This solution involves a selection of categories such as â€Å"legal, economic and/or social integration† (UNHCR, 2018). UNHCR has been working on ways to improve this solution for refugees and has worked for â€Å"better naturalization statistics†. Overall, approximately 431 host countries of asylum have â€Å"granted citizenship† to approximately 716,000 refugees†. An important part of local integration is detailed in the 1951 Convention relation to the Status of Refugees and this includes that the refugees have â€Å"the right to work† but results of this have proven to be not quite implemented, as 28 States a part of the convention have placed restrictions for refugees regarding the right. In addit ion, it was difficult for some refugees to obtain job opportunities as some states have made restrictions on this with â€Å"a legal bar on employment†. Generally, the three solutions detailed have not been extremely effective as exemplified by statistics in the past years. And this raises the question of possible improvements to these solutions or new additional solutions that could be implemented. Finding solutions for refugees is a difficult task and working out its implementation is even more so and has been proven a challenge for UNHCR and it host country participants. Addition of Complementary Pathways   In addition to these solutions, a question arises about any possible additional solutions that could also be implemented. Furthermore, there are â€Å"complementary pathways† that can be used in conjunction with the solutions (UNHCR, 2018). These pathways can be used to further help refugees reach the solutions that meet their â€Å"international protection needs†. Some examples of complementary pathways are family reunification, especially for â€Å"extended family members† who do not meet the guidelines of resettlement for a refugee or educational-based programs that require communities and educational institutions to become involved and regulate. Pathways are not limited to a level of scope and can be either â€Å"local, regional or global† and can be used in implementation to help â€Å"a limited number of nationalities, professions and skills or other categories†. Reason for Migration: Conflict in Syria (journal on migration) Numerous amounts of Syrians have been fleeing Syria since 2011 as many conflicts appear as a result of â€Å"the government of Bashar al-Assad† and others. This creates a plethora of displacement that occurs throughout the war-torn country. In 2014, there were approximately 7.6 million Syrians that fell under the category of internally displaced persons, people who have migrated without crossing borders because of conflict and an additional 3.7 million left the country. In the same year, about â€Å"one million Syrians† were able to have their statuses as refugees approved. Even though many Syrians were granted refugee status in their host countries, there were still 117,590 that were a part of the waiting process on being notified about their status decision. The conflict had a huge toll on countries that were nearby, such as â€Å"Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey shouldering the largest burden†. This is especially illustrated in statistics, as Lebanon with a population of 4.8 million, has about a million Syrian refugees residing in the country, a 1/5 of their population. Furthermore, Turkey had the most Syrian refugees at 1.5 million and Jordan was in third with 500,000 refugees. The conflict has caused many problems relating to refugee issues, creating an influx of migrants that are displaced. Refugee Situation in Germany There is a total of 7,594,000 persons in Germany with a migrant background and about 1,099,363 (DESTATIS) are from Turkey and 698,950 are from Syria. Furthermore, almost everywhere in Germany, people are discussing the topic of refugees, especially in the city of Berlin. Often these questions may relate to the physical characteristics of refugees as some are not quite sure what the refugees look like as in some areas, refugees are sometimes separated from other civilians for a period of time, in their designated housing. In the German state, there have been about one million refugees that have entered in the year of 2015 only and there was also the â€Å"adoption of integration politics† (Nanette). Germany’s policy on refugees has been somewhat established as a good and essential model for European refugee policy, however, it does have areas in which it needs improvement. In the years of 2015-2016, Germany received the most asylum applications from persons from Syria, with a total of 424,907 applicants (OECD, 2018). The next countries with the highest amounts of applicants for asylum in Germany were Afghanistan with 158,394 applicants and Iraq with 125,900. Syrian applicants received a lot of recognition for obtaining asylum with a total of 98% of the total applicants, while only 56% Afghan received less recognition. This shows how some countries have more priority over others as they gain asylum status throughout Germany, most likely dependent on the direness of their situation. Some more statistics on refugees in Germany include job-seekers, with Syrians being on top of the list with 252,231 persons (OECD, 2018). There are also statistics on the rates in which refugees are employed. Only approximately 28% refugees that had basic or worse German language skills were employed, while 65% with intermediate German were employed, which is the same percentage as those who were fluent. This illustrates the importance of obtaining or learning the German language for refugees in Germany as it increases job opportunities and that is why Germany has been making language programs easily accessible to refugees, which includes online courses as well. Other statistics illustrate how the asylum seekers are distributed throughout Germany and its municipalities as it is dependent on the size of the population. The top three municipalities that receive the most are North Rhine-Westphalia (north-west) with 21.2%, Bavaria (central) with 15.5% and Baden-Wà ¼rttemberg (south-west ) with 12.9%. In years of 2015 until 2016, Germany â€Å"embarked on a ‘Welcome Politics’ of care for refugees† and also â€Å"Integration Politics† supported by Chancellor Merkel as she enforces with her statement of â€Å"Wir schaffen das† or â€Å"we can do it† (Nanette, 2016). And as a result of this, Germany has allowed open borders throughout its country, allowing numerous amounts of refugees to enter and participate in the application for refugee status. This also â€Å"fulfills moral duties to refugees† as part of German’s culture of welcome, which basically encompasses a part of the German identity of human morality with the wanting to help, compared to other countries. Even so, as a result of the crisis, it is unknown what the future for the country that has â€Å"tendencies toward both xenophobia and welcome culture† (Holmes, 2016). Furthermore, there are problems with negative connotations and stigmatization that the refugees receive as current civilians are worried that the new refugees would take their jobs or that they are labelled as â€Å"terrorists† because of some recent events that have been occurring in Europe with attacks from migrants. There is also the problem of xenophobia as they are fearful and not super knowledgeable or aware of negative stereotypes. And as a result, there have been â€Å"criticisms of Germany’s refugee policy† and the creation of hostility from others to refugees. These issues that arise are related to â€Å"serious applied ethics† and created discussions on limitations of responsibilities with questions of â€Å"Where does my responsibility end?† (Nanette, 2016). There have been more problems as Nanette adds Konrad Ott’s, a German philosopher, words of criticizing â€Å"defenders of Merkel’s refugee policy† and referring them to as deontologists, as he questions the realistic sense of wanting to help â€Å"refugees purely as an end to itself†, which is â€Å"an ethics of conviction†, not having regard for possible consequences that could arise for others in the process. This raises questions about what is Germany’s duty on how many refugees they should except and is that number within their threshold? This has been a large debate among many Germans as there is no clear definition of German’s responsibility, which has caused a lot of problems for the country. Continuing on with criticisms, retrieved from various German authors, some Germans are afraid of the possibility of â€Å"Muslims threaten[ing] German cultural identity† (Nanette, 2016). As a result, this had fed into the further xen ophobic ideas as â€Å"wearing the burka† has come to represent danger in the country, even though there are few women in the country that actually do wear them. In this context, cultural change has not really been viewed in a positive context as enrichment, but always in a negative context as a threat. There are additional criticisms towards other things that allowing an influx of refugees to arrive â€Å"provided†, such as â€Å"threats to safety and social peace† which creates negative stigmatizations towards the refugees as some Germans are hostile and violent in regards to them because of their arrival (Nanette, 2016). Another problem relates to the â€Å"costs of refugee programs and its consequences†, it takes a lot of resources to aid refugees, as citizens that are poorer in terms of economic status could be negatively affected as there are â€Å"increased taxes, a higher retirement age and reduced state benefits† as Germany needs to accommodate more people. This raises the question of how much could Germany’s own citizens be negatively affected in order to fulfill the moral duties of the countries and its individuals of helping those in need such as refugees. This further raises the issue of sense of moral obligation and capabilities. Voice from the German Public A county in Germany named Passau has been â€Å"accepting more refugees than whole countries in Eastern Europe† (Feichtinger, 2016). And in this article titled Refugees in Germany by Hans Feichtinger, he details his opinion on the refugee situation in his home country. He states that he is â€Å"proud of the charity and hospitability† that he observes from Germans but because the number of refugees has increased dramatically in the past year, there needs to be a limitation established as there are many challenges that come with allowing refugees to arrive, especially with such a large amount. Some examples of challenges that are mentioned are the difficulties of finding â€Å"suitable living quarters†, â€Å"accepting refugee children in schools† and adds that the recent attacks in Europe, such as Hannover were from refugees that entered Europe. He continues to voice his opinion and states that there are reasons why Germany has been so â€Å"generous† in allowing numerous amounts of refugees to enter the country, which are because it aligns with the philanthropy of Germans and the chancellor and also provides economic benefits, as â€Å"economic leaders have acknowledged that the Federal Republic needs immigration to maintain its economic prosperity†. And continues to address the issue by stating that it is â€Å"slightly unfair† to â€Å"accuse refugees of wanting to immigrate to this prosperity and security† as it depends on immigration in Germany. Even so, the refugee situation in Germany has been shown to â€Å"become the ultimate ‘wedge’ issue of German politics† as problems arise and become obvious (Dorstal, 2017). As mentioned previously, it is difficult to define some terms such as â€Å"refugee† and â€Å"migrant† as various interpretations can be made for each term. To obtain the refugee status, it was suggested that the persons need to be â€Å"facing individual persecution† relating to their â€Å"race, religion, nationality or political beliefs†. And those who do not fall under this category may have the opportunity to gain â€Å"temporary protective status† until the conflict ends. However, there are problems as the protective status is stated to not guarantee â€Å"permanent residency in Germany†. There are also expectations set in place for migrants that arrive in Germany as they should be able to â€Å"integrate into Germany society† and the eco nomy that would â€Å"benefit both sides†. There continues to be a problem in Germany, as shown on social media and television, with defining the boundaries for the terms as they have been used â€Å"without any clear distinction by politicians†, which further adds to the confusion for German individuals as observers as some political figures cannot distinguish them properly either. Conclusion In conclusion, it is important to note that there have been the recent resurface of refugee problems as there was recently a large increase of migrants as a result of conflicts such as the ones in Syria. This has caused a lot of problems as responsibilities are not evenly dispersed, with able countries not willing to help and partake in a share of the responsibilities. There are also implications with limitations of aiding refugees as there could be negative benefits that affect the host country’s current civilians in the process of helping the refugees. It is important to use statistical sources to help illustrate the large picture of the numerous amounts of refugees in the refugee crisis, easier to see in images. Works Cited â€Å"BAMF Bundesamt Fà ¼r Migration Und Flà ¼chtlinge A Culture of Welcome.†Ã‚  BAMF – Bundesamt Fà ¼r Migration Und Flà ¼chtlinge Information for Refugees in Several Languages Information Sheet on the Asylum Application, www.bamf.de/EN/Willkommen/Integrationsprojekte/Willkommenskultur/willkommensk ultur-node.html;jsessionid=53FD018FDEB9DC20337BADA8EC30DA63.2_cid368. Dostal, Jà ¶rg Michael. â€Å"The German Federal Election of 2017: How the Wedge Issue of Refugees and Migration Took the Shine off Chancellor Merkel and Transformed the Party System.† Political Quarterly, vol. 88, no. 4, Oct. 2017, pp. 589–602. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/1467-923X.12445. â€Å"Europes Migration Crisis.†Ã‚  Human Rights Watch, www.hrw.org/tag/europes-migration-crisis. Feichtinger, Hans. â€Å"Refugees in Germany.† First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life; New York, no. 260, Feb. 2016, pp. 20–22. Holmes Seth M., and Castaà ±eda Heide. â€Å"Representing the ‘European Refugee Crisis’ in Germany and beyond: Deservingness and Difference, Life and Death.† American Ethnologist, vol. 43, no. 1, Jan. 2016, pp. 12–24. anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com (Atypon), doi:10.1111/amet.12259. Marks, Amy K., et al. â€Å"National Immigration Receiving Contexts: A Critical Aspect of Native-Born, Immigrant, and Refugee Youth Well-Being.† European Psychologist, vol. 23, no. 1, 2018, pp. 6–20. 2018-12389-002, EBSCOhost, doi:10.1027/1016-9040/a000311. â€Å"Migrant Crisis: Migration to Europe Explained in Seven Charts.†Ã‚  BBC News, BBC, 4 Mar. 2016, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34131911. 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