Natural hazard in Japan Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Natural hazard in Japan - Term Paper Example Natural hazards or disasters that Japan is frequently subjected to experience include volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, heavy torrential rains, typhoons, and heavy snow (Kingston, 2012 pg. 216). Every year in Japan, there are great loses of peoples’ lives and property due to natural hazards. Until 1950s numerous large scale typhoons and earthquakes caused thousands of casualties and extensive damages. However, though the causes of disaster are natural and cannot be within anyone’s control, the disasters damage have been shown to be on a tendency which is declining even if the natural disasters are still occurring. Japan and its economy have been through series of naturally hazardous occurrences. The Japan economy, according to the statistical economy figures released in 2011, shrank by 3.7% in the first period of 2011. Such an economic shrinking tipped the country in to a recession. The economic crisis also disrupted the Japan’s political life. This was illustrated by incidence of Mr. Kan starving being starved off through a vote of no confidence. The action gave a deep insight of division between the government of Mr. Kan and the alliance of bureaucrats that has dominated the public life of Japan for decade (Kingston, 2012 pg. 254). There are overwhelming human and economic losses due the natural hazard that are experienced by Japan. Japan was estimated to have lost 5% of stock in the capital as a result of disasters and hazards. After initially playing economic impact down as a result of the March 2011 earthquake, there was an announcement by the government that Japan had officially fallen into recession following the tsunami and the soon followed nuclear disaster. The GDP of the country fell by 0.9% in the quarter of January to March and 3.7% annualized retreat. Insurance companies in the economy have been hit hard. This is because more than 400000 claims on damages of properties were made while many survivors say that they had no insurance

Drawing to Express Feelings

Drawing to Express Feelings It is not possible to write about drawing and the expressive arts as taught by Natalie Rogers without, also, including other art forms such as writing, dancing, music, or drama (Rogers, 1993). She explained that the different art forms interplay and enhance each other. She calls this the creative connection (4). For instance, a client could draw to express her feelings and then gain further understanding by writing about her drawing (78). Therefore, according to Rogers (1993) what one writes about drawing applies to the other expressive arts as well. She wrote of using arts in a supportive setting to promote growth and healing. She emphasized it is the process, not the product, that is important. It is about drawing to express feelings, not about creating a pretty picture (2). The philosophy underlying her work is based on person-centered theory which was developed by her father, Carl Rogers. He emphasized the therapists role as being empathic, caring, and congruent (3). Natalie developed her interest in art through her mother who had been an artist (Preface, XV). Natalie discovered healing through the arts for herself and suggested it for her clients. Their feedback told her it was helpful (5). Natalie described three conditions are needed to foster creativity. They are psychological safety, psychological freedom, and offering stimulating and challenging experiences. She explained psychological safety as defined by her father involves accepting the client unconditionally, not evaluating the art, and empathetic understanding. He defined freedom as permission for any type of symbolic expression (14). Natalie further explained that this freedom refers to symbolic expression and not any and all types of behavior. The expressive arts are an ideal means for symbolic expression (17). Natalie found the first two conditions alone were not enough because it is possible to talk about creativity without becoming involved in the process. She found it necessary to supply art materials along with suggestions to stimulate creative juices (18). It was also important to tell clients that participation in art activities is voluntary so that they never felt like they were under pressure to create (20). The benefits of expressive arts are to identify and be in touch with feelings, explore unconscious material, release energy, gain insight, solve problems, and discover intuitive, mythological, and spiritual dimensions of the self (96). It is possible for clients to transform repressed feelings into constructive energy (70). It is also useful for people who are highly rational and verbal. These clients tend to discuss their problems without experiencing any feelings (96). An advantage that drawing has over the other art forms is that the images are lasting. One can continue to reflect on a particular drawing for as long as one wants (70). Natalie goes on to explain that color, line, and form can reveal energy levels as well as feelings. Colors can be brilliant or dull, and lines can be jagged or smooth (69). Art can put clients in touch with anger, greed, fear, or any other feeling clients might prefer to hide (71). Natalie cautions against the psychoanalytic technique of the therapist interpreting the drawing for the client which can cause resentment and inhibit future drawings (102). She suggests some methods to help the client interpret her own drawing. For instance, the artist could write several sentences to accompany the art which start with, I am, I have, or I feel. The client could entitle the image or list five words that spontaneously come to her as she looks at the picture (78). Art therapy is also recommended for serious disturbances such as eating disorders and cutting behavior in order to improve verbalization and symbolic expression. This helps the client to understand how inner feelings relate to harmful behaviors (Dean, 2007, citing Bruch, et. al., 1973, 58). Art work aids in the sublimation of these behaviors (Milia, 2000, as cited by Dean, 2007, 66). Sanson, et. al. (2004 as cited by Dean, 2007) describe drawing strategies for managing self-harm and eating disorders that include various theories such as cognitive and interpersonal restructuring, dynamic intervention, family therapy, and behavioral modification, all of which can be adapted to the use of art therapy (58). Themes in the art of eating disorder and cutting clients can include depictions of weapons, fire, blood, and death. Preferred colors are often red and black (Gerber and Jacobson, 1982, as cited by Dean, 2007, 68). Most striking are slashes and Xs drawn over body parts (Spring, 1993, as cited by Dean, 2007, 65). Dean (2007) describes a case study of Bonnie who suffered from an eating disorder as well as cutting behavior and suicide ideation. In group art therapy, she was shy and timid, often refusing to speak for long periods of time. However, the images she created were filled with rage, sexual themes, and hearts with holes. She was often unable to keep the art work contained to the paper. When asked for associations to her art work, she would shrug in puzzlement demonstrating a disconnection between her thoughts and feelings. She did, however, possess an intellectual insight into her problems as stemming from an alcoholic father and an untreated, bipolar mother who had abandoned the family. There was suspected but unproved sexual abuse by a relative. Her father was oblivious to this abuse. Gradually, over a period of years, Bonnie was able to improve her self-esteem with the help of art therapy. She was eventually able to sublimate her destructive behaviors using art and to generate altern ative solutions to problems that had previously seemed insurmountable. Her art work slowly changed from violent depictions to images representing her current experiences. After breaking up with a boyfriend, she still drew a heart with a hole, but now she included an arrow through the hole which transformed as it emerged on the other side of the heart. The arrow lacked a point and connected to her face which had both a smile and a frown. She terminated treatment soon after that drawing but returned for maintenance appointments and was doing well with a long term relationship and a stable, skilled job. She was contemplating returning to school to pursue a college degree (70-78). Klorer (2006) in a family systems approach, describes using art therapy with traumatized families. Issues to explore in therapy are individual reactions to the trauma, exploring the role each person plays, helping each family member to communicate their needs, and helping family members to find support, either from one another or outside of the family system (118). In exploring individual reactions, Consoli and Klorer (1995) as cited by Klorer (2006), recommend that the first session include asking each family member to make a picture about what happened. This brings the issue to the forefront in the beginning. Even in families that are colluding in silence, there is often one member who is willing to draw the problem from her perspective, irrespective of how others might feel. Four year old Julie was such a child. She and her sister had been shot by their mother who then killed herself. The sister died. Julie needed to talk about this tragedy, but her father was uncomfortable discussing it. Julie drew what happened while describing the incident and asking her father why her mother shot her and her sister. Her father couldnt answer why, but Julies drawing enabled him to become more comfortable discussing the tragedy (118, 119). When it comes to exploring roles, Klorer explains that in a family crisis prescribed roles can become exaggerated. For example, the organizer could become more rigid or the hyperactive child could become more stimulated. Conversely, existing roles cold shift. For instance, a mother who is usually nurturing might relinquish that role to a daughter. As roles shift, other family members could find themselves in a state of disequilibrium because they no longer have a secure place in the system. A case example is 12 year old David who began taking on the responsibilities of his dying father. This was a huge burden that didnt allow him to express his own feelings of grief because he didnt want to portray weakness. Davids picture showed him at the center of the drawing and larger than everyone else with his arm on his mothers shoulder. Upon seeing this picture, his mother realized how much stress he was under and that she had been promoting that role for him. She and the therapist devised w ays for David to not feel he had to take care of her (120, 121). When it comes to communicating needs, Riley (2002) as cite by Klorer (2006) suggests sometimes the therapist can help the family accept the event as a life changing experience by reframing it as a catalyst for change to occur. A case example is Mr. L. who brought his children into therapy because they had witnessed the murder of their mother. The children drew their mother in the picture as if nothing had happened. Their father omitted her, because she is dead, he explained. The children then began engaging in avoidant behavior. One put his picture over his head and announced, Its raining. The other child copied and both began giggling. In subsequent drawings when asked to draw their mother, both children refused to draw her. It was clear the children needed to find a way to grieve their mother as did the father. The therapist suggested a memory book of happy memories of their mother as well as those depicting the tragedy. Both the father and children participated in this process. Th e children were gradually able to conceptualize their mother and drew her inside a heart because she will always be in our hearts. The art helped them to reframe and express their grief (121, 122). As to helping a family find support, Klorer (2006) describes a family in therapy because the father had murdered the daughter. The mothers own unresolved grief made her incapable of meeting the other childrens basic needs let alone dealing with their grief. When the children spoke about their father in one session, the mother was so despondent she was unable to lift her head off the table. The mothers sister, who had previously played a maternal role in their extended family, was invited to be a part of the family art therapy so that a support system could be built for both the mother and children. The aunt was instrumental in helping the children express their feelings. Prior to her joining therapy, the children drew only happy pictures of the entire family including father and sister as if nothing had happened. The aunt did not want to collude with that false image and drew pictures expressing her rage over what had occurred. The children then realized their unexpressed feelings we re acceptable and began drawing a wide range of emotions including anger and sadness (122, 123). In conclusion, this research has explored the use of art therapy to express feelings. Natalie Rogers (1993) described how all the art forms interplay and enhance each other in the creative connection which is also the title of her book. The paper looked at the use of drawing to help clients with eating disorders or cutting behavior. The research also described how families who are victims of trauma can express their feelings through art. Drawing can be transformative for a wide range of people. It can be spiritually uplifting for those who are healthy, and it can help in the recovery of clients with serious problems or mental illnesses.

The social and political context of the 1950?s is crucial to any unders

The social and political context of the 1950’s is crucial to any understanding of the birth of rock n roll. â€Å"Rock was formed out of the social, economic and political context of post-war America†. The social context was on the bases of the post war baby boom, which counted for the birth of 77 million babies between the years 1946-1964. By the year 1964 forty percent of America’s population was under twenty years of age. For the first time both middle and working class youths were acquiring an affluent lifestyle. Disposable income came from part-time work and pocket money, which gave youths some form of spending power, which gave them a sense of independence. This mind you were what Wicke’s point out was due to America’s economic growth and capitalism, which was reinstated in the country. The American governments distrust in politicians as well as other members in different institutions led to the investigation of numerous people and the need for government employees to sign loyalty oaths. America became obsessed with the need to conform in social behaviour, so much so that youths were placed under immense pressure to understand the important value of the American way of life, which was to do well at school. This message was deployed through the bombardment of propaganda campaigns. It was this notion of importance on school that sociologist Coleman describes as being the reason for the segregation of youths from the rest of society by forming a new culture ‘teenagers’ a gr...

Financial ratio analysis Essay

Financial ratio analysis is conducted by managers, equity investors, long-term creditors and short-term creditors. What is the primary emphasis of each of these groups in evaluating ratios? Managers deal with all types of ratios. It is important for them to judge and improve the overall financial position of the company. Financial ratios are one of the most common tools of managerial decision making. Financial ratios involve the comparison of various figures from the financial statements in order to gain information about a company’s performance. Ratios to this group, serve as indicators, clues, or red flags regarding noteworthy relationships between variables used to measure the firm’s performance in terms of profitability, asset utilization, liquidity, leverage, or market valuation. Equity Investors use the analysis of financial ratio to help equity investors know whether their investment earnings some return or not. They emphasize more on profitability ratios with those investors look for entities with high earning potential and will be reluctant to associate themselves one that poor return since the market price of stock and dividend potential will be adversely affected. Long-Term Creditors deal mostly with the solvency ratios. They are important because the ratios under this category indicate the long term financial position of the company in terms of its solvency. Financial ratios analysis helps long term creditors to know company’s ability to meet interest expenses and long term obligations on time. Times interest earned ratio, debt to total assets turnover ratio, debt to shareholders equity ratio are also some of the ratios that are helpful for long term creditors. Short-term Creditors find liquidity ratios as more important. The analysis of financial ratios assists Short term creditors to know the ability of company to pay their short term obligation. They mainly focus on corporate liquidity is especially important to creditors. If a company has poor liquidity position, it may lead to delay in receiving interest and principal payments or even losses on the amounts due. It includes various calculated ratios such as Current ratio, receivable turnover, accounts payable , liquid ratio, working capital etc. , that helps short term creditors analyze company’s credit history. (3-3) Over the past years, M. D.  Rryngaert & Co. has realized an increase in its current ratio and drop in its total assets turnover ratio. However, the company’s sales, quick ratio, and fixed assets turnover ratio have remained constant. What explains these changes? It may have been that the inventory of M. D. Rryngaert & Co. was not properly managed. We can witness that because of a higher inventory, current assets increases, with an automatic decrease in total assets turnover. However, the quick ratio and the fixed assets turnover have remained constant due to the fact that they are not included in inventory. Furthermore, with sales remaining constant and with an increase in inventory as mentioned, the company is definitely not in a good financial position. (3-4) Profit margins and turnover ratios vary from one industry to another. What differences would you expect to find between a grocery chain such as Safeway and steel company? Think particularly about the turnover ratios, the profit margin, and Du Pont equation. Safeway, being a grocery business, requires a lesser number of dollars in assets to produce a dollar in sales than would a steel company. Furthermore the margin that grocery stores derive from the sale of each item is usually low. That is why they rely on a large volume of sales, and high turnover of inventory. They sell their products quickly, with a high turnover, and a lower profit margin with having to sell higher volumes of products to make up for the low margin. As for the steel company, being a business that has a higher profit margin but low turnover ratio, it tends to have lower volume of business transactions. The steel company would also spend more money in assets in order to generate a good return in sales, as compared to a grocery store. The profit margin being the ratio between revenue and income, finds a business with higher profit margin to have lower cost of sales and hence high profit, while a business with lower profit margin will have higher cost of sales. Turnover ratios show how many times a year company is replacing their inventories. So by using the DuPont formula, we can calculate the ROA for each different company by a simpler version of the equation being Return on Assets (ROA) = Profit Margin x Total Asset Turnover.

Chinese Communist Party in the Civil War in 1949 Essay

The Chinese Civil War, which lasted from 1927 to 1949, was a civil war in China which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) overthrew the Guomindang (GMD) . As the CCP had always been inferior to the GMD in many aspects, many were shocked and startled by the Communist’s victory; although numerous factors show that the Communist’s victory was almost inevitable. This essay will examine the factors that lead to the Communists victory, which includes ideology, economic, political, social, military, foreign issues, and personalities of the leaders. One of the major advantages of the CCP can be seen in their social aspects and the support of peasants, which were the vast majority of people. They owned limited amount of land, had high rents, low productivity, were in dept and many lived on the edge of starvation. In addition, having peasant support for the CCP can supply with food resources. Therefore, Mao understood the first goal he had to achieve was the support from peasants. First, he set up peasant unions of Hunan from 1925-27, then in 1838-45 when Chiang had their attention focused on the Japanese Invasion, Mao and the CCP went to the rural areas, where the peasants were grateful for the way the soldiers behaved and helped the people. Then, the political leaders confiscated land from the landowners and redistributed it to landless people; lastly, they were given rights to vote for village leaders. By doing all this, the once enslaved and exploited people of china gained faith and freedom established the myth that only the ‘Red Army’ was the true protector of China. In contrast, the GMD had no strong support from the peasants; and most of them felt no connection to the government. The GMD had no party organization helping the struggling provinces, and after the split of GMD and CCP in 1927, the support of common people was very low . On the military aspects, the CCP was disadvantaged in the number of arm forces. In 1945, the GMD had 5 million troops, while the CCP only and 1.25 troops. However, there are a few points which can turn this into an advantage. Firstly, they made use of guerilla warfare, which is extremely suitable for small troops to travel swiftly, change position; be precise and alert. Secondly, the communists selected high quality troops and trained them strictly with strong discipline. Lastly, the communists had similar  lifestyles between the leaders and soldiers, and with the peasant support, they sustained high morale within the Red Army. With all these advantages, we can see that in 1930-1931 Chiang Kai-shek sent 3 military expeditions to exterminate the Red Army, facing an army of 300000, the CCP defeated them all . Here, we can see how effective the guerrilla warfare is in facing a large amount of troops. In contrast, the GMD had huge troops and modern weapons . However, the GMD troops did not have strategies against the light armed and swift troops of the CCP. Moreover, because the life between the leaders and the soldiers had too much difference, they had low morale and did not have the full heart to fight for the GMD. In terms of economic aspects of the CCP, and they did not have a lot of expenses due to the guerilla warfare tactics, and the people can self-supply themselves with food, as they were all peasants. In contrast for the GMD, 65% of the state’s budget was met by currency expansion and only 10% by taxes . Therefore, they were highly dependent on foreign aids of the US. The constant depreciation of the value of paper currency undermined in particular the morale in all jobs that were dependent upon the payment of salaries, including troops, officers and civilian officials. Their tolerance was limited and led to widespread corruption. In terms of political aspects, the CCP had made a lot of errors and had escaped destruction by a hair’s breadth, but they had an extraordinary resilience, refused to give up and learned from their mistakes . In 1927 after the failure of the autumn harvest uprising and retreated to Jinggang Shan, he noticed needed to win the hearts of the peasants; therefore, he adapted the Marxist theory and incorporated it into the peasants . Then, as he retreated with the remaining troops, he set his base in the Jinggang shan mountains where nationalists were far. Here, it shows that Mao learned from his mistakes. Furthermore in 1936 during the Japanese invasion, Mao forced the GMD to unite with them to defend the country, and here, we can also see that Mao truly cared for his country and did not just want power. In contrast, the GMD did not truly care for China. Firstly, the GMD’s support came from the wealthy city classes and landowners, which was a small population of China. Lastly, the GMD lacked passion and never learned from  their mistakes, for example, in the final battle in 1948, when they were advised to concentrate his forces on the Huai River. The foreign issues were also a crucial point in the victory of the communists. During the Japanese invasions in 1937, the GMD, who were supposed to be in charge of china, conserved his forces for the inevitable civil war, and pinned their hopes of interventions of foreign powers to defeat Japan . Moreover, as the GMD is dealing with the Japanese invasions, it gave chance to the CCP to gain popularity, strengthen their armies, and give them time to expand in general. By 1945, party membership gained from 100,000 to 1.2 millionOther factors such as the ideology and the personalities of the Mao and Chiang played an important role in the victory of the Communists. In the ideology of communism by Marx, they were just supposed spread communism, but later, it was adapted by Mao to suit china’s conditions, focused on the peasantry as the main revolutionary force, instead of the workers. Meanwhile, the Nationalists did not remain to their original ideology, which was the three principles – people’s livelihood, democracy and nationalism. For example, when Chiang gave the warlords a position in the government to develop urban areas, he ignored people’s livelihood. During the Japanese invasion, he ignored nationalism by relying on foreign aid, and in 1932, he ignored democracy by suppressing the media, books, and the press. Gradually, the GMD lost support and the people favored the Communists. In conclusion, the Communists’ victory was due to the peasant support, political organization, and their use of military tactics in guerilla warfare. Also, the nationalists’ incapability of governing, corruptions not remaining to the original ideology, and the lack of passion, leads to the downfall of the GMD. In addition to the foreign issues, the Japan invasions, the Communists truly won not only by forcing the GMD out of china physically, but winning the people’s hearts and minds. At last, the country with the largest population, China, is finally painted red. References Chinese Civil War 1946-1949. (2000., December 16). Wars of the World. Retrieved September 26, 2007, from http://www.onwar.com/aced/chrono/c1900s/yr45/fchina1946.htmElegant, R. S. (1972). Mao vs. Chiang: The Battle for China, 1925-1949. New York: A Thistle Book. Lescot, P. (2004). Before Mao (S. Rendall, Trans.). 10 East 53rd Street, NewYour, NY10022, USA: HarperCollins Publishers. (Original work published 1999)Marrin, A. (1989). Mao Tse-Tung and His China. 375 Hudson Street, New York 10014, USA: Puffin Group. Meins, B. (n.d.). Chinese history: The Chinese Civil War of 1927-1950 . In Helium where knowledge grows. Retrieved September 26, 2007, from Helium Web site: http://www.helium.com/tm/346350/chinese-civil-happen-momentShowalter, D. (2005, April). Decisive Encounters: The Chinese Civil War, 1946-1950. Retrieved September 26, 2007, from LookSmart Web site: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3686/is_200504/ai_n14681639Wood, J., & McManus, A. (1998). China Revolutionary Leadership (L. Day, Ed.). 6 Ride Way, Albany, Auckland, NewZealand: Macmillan Publishers. (Original work published 1998)