Fire in the Pioneers by James Fenimore Cooper Essay

Fire in the Pioneers by James Fenimore Cooper - Essay Example He artistically finds and positions fire strategically amidst the conflict thereby portraying his artistic prodigy. Forest fires in the novel epitomize the conflict between humans in the civilized society and the nature. In the several scenes, Cooper uses forest fires specifically to portray he role of humans in the destruction of massive forestlands thereby perpetuating environmental pollution. The forest fires spread fast and consume hundreds of hectares annihilating both animals and vegetation throughout the entire region. Most of the fires are results of human carelessness since malicious individuals who spark the fires simply to torment the rest of the society instigate some of the fires. Other forest fires on the other hand begin because of carelessness such as smokers and famers burning refuse in their gardens. Such shows of carelessness result in the destruction of the ecosystem as hundreds of hectares of forest cover burns away killing all the animals in such ecosystems (Cooper 54). The portrayal of the forest fires is tactical as Cooper uses such to build the extent and effects of environmental degradation. As the fires spread, the forests sustain the flow as massive bush land go up in flame owing to human laxity. The inability of the people to orchestrate timely response to the forest fires result in the loss of both the ecosystem and human life at times. Cooper uses the forest fires to sustain his sardonic criticism of the society and the relationship between humans in the civilized society and the natural wilderness thereby depicting the priorities of the humans. Apparently, the humans fail to recognize the position and role of the environment despite their technological advancement a feature that contributes to the people’s inability to curb forest fires before they destroy large tracts of

Personnel Selection and Assessment Research Paper

Personnel Selection and Assessment - Research Paper Example According to Field (2009) when testing for validity, one is effectively testing for ‘evidence that a study allows correct inferences about the question it was aimed to answer or that at test measures what it set out to measure conceptually’ (p. 795). There are three main types of validity. Construct validity refers to whether a test correlates to the theorized construct that it purports to measure. For example, an intelligence test is a test which requires strong evidence for construct validity, since researchers need to be sensitive to the extent to which they are measuring intelligence rather than language or culture differences (Mertens, 2009). The second type of validity is content validity, which is relevant to test which aims to evaluate a specific body of knowledge. For example, a depression scale may lack content validity if it does not represent the entire range of possible items, such as the behavioral dimension. Finally, criterion-related validity is a measure of how well a test is effective at predicting of a construct. This type of validity testing is divided into two types, namely concurrent and predictive validity, where concurrent validity is assessed by correlating a test with another test that has been previously validated. These two tests are taken at the same time. Predictive validity differs in that the one test is taken earlier and is meant as a predictor to a later measure (Mertens, 2009). The utility of selection methods refers to the value it has in the process of selection.

Family Support in Mental Illness

Family Support in Mental Illness Family is an important and inevitable part of an individual and its uninterrupted presence gives us a psychological support and courage to courageously deal with any kind of trouble.It provides a strong and long lasting shelter to a person and every one looks toward his family for primary care. Although family’s role is necessary in physical illness but in psychiatric illness it has an undeniable and imperative part in treatment exercise and it is indeed one of the mental health promoting practice. So we can say that family plays an integral role in alleviating the significance of mental illness because only medical intervention is ineffective. The support of family for an individual with mental illness is crucial in Asian Indian culture. The involvement of the family is so imperative, that often it becomes a prerequisite of seeking help for psychiatric illness (Stanhope, 2002 as cited in Cook Tarnovetskaia, 2008). Studies have concluded that the rate of recovery from schizophrenia is greater and mortality of people with schizophrenia is lower in the developing world than in the developed countries and the key positive factor that bring that change is the involvement of families in the course of treatment (Warner, 2009). Let’s view this aspect in a sense that what difference it will make if family is not involved in the treatment of psychiatric illnesses in cases where people living alone without any family support during the course of their illness. Maladaptive parental behavior is associated with an increased risk in offspring for anxiety, depression, disruptive personality, and substance use disorders during late adolescence and early adulthood. (Ajit Avasthi,2010) Childhood exposure to parental verbal aggression is associated, by itself, with moderate to large effects on measures of dissociation, irritability, depression and anger-hostility.According to studies, lack of family and social relationship cause homelessness and badly effect the quality of life (Pinikahana, Happell, Hope Keks,2009). . This causes too much frustration to the patient and instead of reducing mental illness it enhances much pain and suffering to the patient. Thus it has been found that when family support is absent the severity in the mental disorder keep increasing and any sort of medication often failed to produce good result. Resultantly family support is very vital and has a big impact to a patient suffering from mental illness.. Families have valuable information and knowledge about their relatives. They also have expertise, acquired through sometimes painful experience.They know about approaches that work and those that do not. Consumers, service providers and families beneà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ t greatly when family members are involved as full partners in the care and support of people with mental health and addiction problems. When family support is not provided to an individual suffering from a mental illness, he endures a lot of setbacks and it has a direct impact on him. Mostly he confused about his parents changed behavior and feels embarrassing for being in the affected persons company. A 50 years old male patient Noor Ali Hussain was in Nizari Senior Citizen, suffering from mental illness for the last ten years. The patient has a history of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and odd behavior. On clinical day, I interviewed him about his family history. He told me that his family leaves in America and they have left him in senior citizen. Moreover, he explained that his family doesn’t come to meet him, they just call him only on some special occasion. He stated that he feels happy when he talk to family and he want to live with them. However his family doesn’t take him with them to America because he is illiterate and aged.Further stated family told him that we are busy in our work no one is here to take care of you and left me in senior citizen. After carefully assessing this pathetic situation I decided to choose this topic that is family support in mental illness. In my patient multiple disorders were present and in such cases family suppor t is very important in rehabilitation and recovery of mental illness. But, in my patient case, unfortunately the family support ceased to exist. Care giving literature has illustrated that the prominent role in the provision of support for individuals with mental illness falls on family members, especially on women (Saunders 2003, Zauszniewski et al. 2008, Huang et al. 2009). Evidence linking caring for a member with mental illness to increased levels of burden for the family caregiver is compelling and consistent. Family caregivers have widely identified burden as ‘any individual whose presence and performance aroused either fear or shame must be burdensome and could not be living within a supportive environment’ (Thompson Doll 1982, p. 380). Studies have concluded that mostly people consider taking care of a mentally ill person as a burden. The family care giving burden framework best define my patient case because it distinguishes between the objective and subjective burden (Hoening and Hamilton,1996). Objective burden emerge in the form of disruption in everyday life in the household, financial constraint, breakdown in daily activities and social interaction and these are observe by the caregiver. Subjective burden are the caregivers feelings, attitude and emotions that reflects that he carries a burden(Bull, 1990; Hoening Hamilton,1966; MaurinBoyd, 1990; Reinhard, 1994). Therefore it is necessary to minimize the sense of burden felt by caregivers. Some strategies and interventions that could be help when families are involved in order to promote mental health are discussed briefly. Skilled Training and Health Management(STHM) intervention was developed with the aim of enhancing independent functioning and health care outcomes for older adults with SMI (primarily schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and bipolar disorder) (Bartels et al., 2004).moreover HM consisted of health care preventive measures to identify and monitor acute and chronic medical problems. Moreover family interventions should focus on expanding training to patient and key relatives about mental illness recovery, skills training, task sharing of household and self-care. A positive change in these areas is likely to improve the quality of life of people with mental illness and their families. Other effective strategies include discussion, debriefing session and family therapy that are good practices to involve family in care. Family therapy is also useful Psychotherapy that teaches families and their members to resolve the issue effectively and improve their understanding. According to psychiatric mental health nursing book(2006) Psychoeducation family therapy has been more successful in treatment of patient with schizophrenia and it reduces long term hospitalization as well(Dixon, 2001). According to psychiatric mental nursing book(2006),Self-help group are best position to help clients and families find additional support and information. Family support in mental illness can’t be ignored and it has a lasting role in the recovery of a mentally disorder individual. But sometime family considers burden and feels embarrassed and frustrated. In such crucial time, I think nurse can play a positive role by educating and counseling the family and his close relative about the intensity of the case and teach them strategies and skill to tackle the issue. By concluding, it can be said that family is an important source in promoting mental health but at the same time it is also necessary for the care professional to avoid commenting any mistake which may restrain the family from their beloved one who suffer from mental illness.Lastly, through assessing the identified framework and effective strategies we can play a role in alleviating the burden of mental illness that may bring a positive change in the patient who is diagnosed with mental illness. The prerequisite to promote mental health is to deal the patient holisticall y and make family involvement in treatment an integral part.

International business Essay -- essays research papers fc

Protectionism in the global economy The global economy has seen a dramatic increase in services trade between countries. The regulation and monitoring of service trade between countries has become much harder. As highlighted by Johnson, trading in services was the fastest growing constituent of global trade during the 80’s and 90’s. Cross border transactions include anything from banking to software. When services are offered to another country, the provider has to interact with the customer through either, cross border communications, movement of the provider or the consumer moving to the supplier’s state of residence. Technology has made international trade much easier and more feasible; this has lead countries to boost services being exported to other countries. IT has decreased the cost of communication between countries. As a result it has made it more feasible for businesses to introduce new products and modify services abroad. This spark in global trade of services has its downfalls. The lib eralization of services goes against certain countries’ development strategies. Areas like health and education needs the provisional planning of governments. The interference from abroad has hindered the governments’ strategic planning with respect to these services. This takes us to the importance of regulating services coming in from abroad through protectionism. Regulations on services can be a burden on service providers which can consequently weaken the liberalization of tr...

Is Decoherence a Solution for the Measurement Problem

Abstract—Decoherence is considered as one of the important topics in quantum computing research area. Some researchers stated that decoherence solved the measurement problem and on the other hand many researchers stated the opposite. In this paper we will prove whether decoherence is a solution or not through an exhaustive survey of the different ideas, methodologies, and experiments. Index Terms—Quantum computing, decoherence, measurement problem INTRODUCTION Decoherence is considered as one of the important research areas since 1980s.Quantum decoherence is the Loss of coherence or ordering of the phase angles between the components of a system in quantum computing superposition and the consequence of this is classical or probabilistically additive behavior†¦ (Zurek Today 10 (1991)) Wave function collapse is the reduction of the physical possibilities into a single possibility as seen by observer can appear in quantum decoherence also it justifies the framework an d can predict using classical physics as an acceptable approximation†¦ Namiki and Pascazio 1991). However, decoherence is a mechanism that emerges out quantum stating point also it determines the location of the quantum classical boundary moreover decoherence appear when the quantum system interacts with its environment in a thermodynamically irreversible way and that lead to prevent different factors in the quantum superposition of the system and environments wave function from interfering with each other†¦ Zurek Today 10 (1991)) Decoherence can be viewed in different ways such as flowing information from the system to the environment lead to lose information this is known as heat bath since each system is losing some of its energetic state because of its surroundings environments†¦ (Kumar, Kiranagi et al. 012) There is also another view of decoherence that is called isolation; which is the combination of the system and the environment which known as non-unitary ther efore the dynamics of the system alone are irreversible also as a result of combination of system and environment the entanglements are generated between them and that will lead to sharing quantum information without transferring these information to the surroundings†¦ (Lidar and Whaley 2003) Describing how the wave function collaps occurs in quantum mechanics called measurement problem. The disability of observing the process directly lead to different nterpretations regard quantum mechanics, also it rises too many qustions that each interpretation must answer. However there are some researches provides aprove that the decoherence solved the measurment problem and some other researchers prove the opposite thus in this paper we will make a comparasion between these two different point of views†¦ (Kumar, Kiranagi et al. 2012) PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION Decoherence is a real challenge that prevents implementing quantum computers; because the machines rely on undisturbed evolutio n of quantum coherences†¦ (Chen, Ang et al. 003), (Flitney and Abbott 2004) Decoherence provides an explanations for the appearance of the wave function collapse it does not generate actual wave function collapse and that is the nature of quantum systems it leaks into the environment and that done by decomposing the component of the wave function from the coherent system and then applying phases to the environment†¦(Flitney and Abbott 2004) P. W Anderson claimed that decoherence has solved the Quantum measurement problem while S. L Adler prove the opposite†¦. Adler 2002) In this paper, we will conduct a comprehensive survey of the different views and experiments to come up with a solution for the relationship between decoherence and measurement problem. Decoherence is the Solution Zurek (1991), Tegmark and Wheeler (2001), and Anderson (2001) stated that decoherence has solved the quantum measurement problem by eliminating the necessity for Von Neumann’s wave fu nction collapse postulate. Osvaldo Pessoa Jr. wrote an article titled â€Å"Can the Decoherence Approach Help to Solve the Measurement Problem? He concluded that decoherence could help to solve measurement problem in open systems. From that point, he wanted to count on the open systems to solve the measurement problem of individual systems. He also mentioned that decoherence helps to get an approximate solution for the statistical version of the measurement problem. Wallace (2011) mentioned that decoherence explains why the measurement problem is a philosophical rather than a practical problem and stated that decoherence could solve the measurement problem.He claimed that the quantum state continues to describe the physical state of the world. So, decoherence finds its natural role in the measurement problem as the process which explains why quantum mechanics can be fundamentally deterministic and non-classical, but emergently classical. It does not dull the aspect of Everett's pro posal, which states that all are equally part of the underlying quantum reality. Decoherence is Not the SolutionThe decoherence initiative was to explain the transformation from large to conventional by evaluating the relationships of a program with a determining program or with the environment. It is realistic to think about a large specialized substance or program of pollutants as a divided program boating in unfilled space. Dynamical Failing Styles Somehow do not like the idea of failure due to professionals trying to rig the pattern function improvement so to advantage loss of the situation vector in a well described way.One way is to say that the pattern function, or at least an element of it, consistently gets â€Å"hit† in such a way as to cause localization in the position base. Another way is to add a not unitary term into Schrodinger’s program. There are suggestions stated that we can infer using mind ability to get the collapse of the wave function Tohmas Br euer at 1996 try to investigate these suggestions and apply it to recent results of quantum machines regard restrictions on measurement from inside.Tohmas Breuer count on these restrictions to come up with a phenomena of subjective decoherence therefore he split his article into parts. The first part is â€Å"measurement from inside† and he makes a presentation to illustrate why it is impossible for an observer to make a distinction between all states in a system in which an observer is contained and that consider as restriction on the measurability from inside, he conclude that bigger system O need more parameters to fix its state.However, this will lead to situations that big O can be determined of each physically possible state by the state of a subsystem A together with some constraint. Second part is â€Å"EPR-Correlations† and he focus on situation which stronger results hold when we take into account particular features of quantum mechanical situations for examp le if we have two systems A and some environment R then the union of two system A ? R equal to Big O. also if both systems A and R have Hilbert spaces HA and HR as state spaces then EPR correlations can be obtained in the vector states HA HR .Therefore he conclude that A con not make a distinction between states of O which is make difference only in the EPR correlations between A and R. however observers can only be able to make a measurement of EPR correlations between A and R in A ? R†¦(Breuer 1996) David Wallace wrote his article to achieve two goals the first one is to present an account of how quantum measurements are dealing with in modern physics in other word quantum measurements does not involve a collapse of the wave functions also to present the measurement problem from that account perspective of view.The second part is concentrate on clarifying the role of decoherence plays in modern measurement theory and what affects it has on the different strategies that have been proposed to solve measurement problem. Wallace concluded that it seems not possible to have a complete understating of the microscopic predictions quantum mechanisms without interpreting the state in a probabilistic way and that because of interference since quantum states cannot be thought of as probability distributions in physical states of airs.Therefore it is allowable to try to resolve the incoherence by two ways, the first one by philosophical methods which means trying hard to think about how to make a full understanding quantum states so as to come out with a non-incoherent way, also the second way done by making modifications on the physics which means trying to make a replacement of the quantum mechanics by using some new theory which does not prima facie lead to the conceptual incoherence.Finally, Wallace state that the natural role of decoherence can be found in the measurement problem as the process which provides an explanations regard why quantum mechanics, inte rpreted can be basically not classical and deterministic, but critically classical†¦(Wallace 2011) Dan Stahlke based on application he made state that the most important point of decoherence theory is that it provides understanding about the process of wave collapse. Some systems need to be built in way that it stays in coherent superposition.However, tendency of system that been in superposition can be immediately calculated. Also he stated that decoherence does not give the ultimate solution in the measurement problem but it bring some light to the matter†¦(Stahlke 1999) Maximilian Schlosshauer makes a distinctive discussion regard the role of decoherence in the foundation of quantum mechanics, and focusing of the effectiveness of decoherence regard the measurement problem. He concludes that within a standard interpretation of quantum mechanics that decoherence cannot solve the problem of definite outcomes in quantum measurement.Therefore he mention the effectiveness of environment super selection of quasiclassical pointer states along with the local superposition of interference terms can be put to large use in physical motivation, assumptions and rules regard alternative interpretation approaches that can change the strict orthodox eigenvalue-eigenstate link or make modification on the unitary dynamics to account for the awareness of definite outcomes†¦(Schlosshauer 2005) Elise M.Crull mention in his article that it has been claimed that decoherence has solved the measurement problem. In other hand, some researchers stated that it does not solve the measurement problem. However, the Crull target is â€Å"Which measurement problem? †, thus he argue three questions depending on Max Schlosshauer which has neat catalog on the different problems which called â€Å"the measurement problem†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦(Schlosshauer 2008; Crull 2011) Harvey Brown stated that there are many attempts to proof the insolubility of the measurement problem in non -quantum mechanics.We can use these attempts for quantum mechanics. These proofs tend to establish that if mechanical interaction between object system A and measuring instrument B is described through a suitable defined unitary operator on the â€Å"Hilbert† tensor product space, so the final state of the A + B together cannot be described by a density operator of a specific kind in that space.Therefore this leads us to a resolution in terms of weighted projections which be useful to interpreted as mixture of pure A + B states, which are eigenstates corresponding to the â€Å"pointer position† that observable connected with the instrument†¦(Brown 1986) Ford, Lewis and Connell count on a book â€Å"Decoherence and the Appearance of a Classical World in Quantum Theory† †¦(Giulini, Joos et al. 1996) which state that ‘‘irreversible coupling to the environment seems to have become widely accepted ~and even quite popular!During the last decade, not least through the various contributions by Woljciech Zurek and his collaborators. ’’ And he conclude that general and simple formulation of quantum measurement gives a good method regard discussing quantum stochastic systems†¦(Ford and Lewis 1986) . Also authors stated that decoherence appear at high temperature with or without dissipation and the time for both cases are the same furthermore at zero temperature, decoherence occurs only in the presence of dissipation†¦(Ford, Lewis et al. 001) In 1980s and 1990s techniques are established to cool single ions captured through a trap and to control their state by using laser light and the single ion can be observed using photons with minimal interaction with the environment. Photons can observed without being destroyed during interaction together with atoms in designed experiment. That leads to make a study regard pioneers that make a test for basis of quantum mechanics also the transition between microscopic and microscopic world.The most important stage in controlling the quantum state regard ion is cooling it to the lowest energy of the trap using a common technique called sideband cooling†¦(F. Diedrich, Bergqvist et al. 1989) this technique consists of exiting the ion, increasing inside energy also decreasing the vibration energy†¦(SCIENCES 2012) Bas Hensen starting his discussion by defining the measurement problem and he stated that measuemet problem begin naturally from quantum theory’s success through describing the realm regard microscopic particles also permitting them to have definite values for quantities like momentum and position.Then he split the problem into several parts. The first two parts are â€Å"the problem of outcomes: Why does one perceive a single outcome among the many possible ones in equation? †, â€Å"The problem of the collapse: What kind of process causes the state of the system to ‘collapse’ to the outcome one percei ved (in the sense that a repeated measurement yields the same answer)? † in these two part he found that in quantum the world must be divided into a wave quantum system and the rest stays in some classical system.Also in accuracy point of view the division is made one way or another in a particular application. The third part is â€Å"The problem of interference: Why do we not observe quantum interference effects on macroscopic scales? † in this part author stated that the best way to illustrate this problem by using the double slit experiment. The experiment shows that the physical setup suggests that grouping the probability distribution gained with either one of the slit opened should occur in the probability distribution regard the two slits opened.For this situation of electrons as particles the probability distribution regard course differs, but regard a similar setup using macroscopic particles it doesn’t†¦(Hensen 2010 ) Dieks reviewed several proposa ls that solved the quantum mechanical measurement problem by taking into account that in measurement interactions there are many unobserved degrees of freedom. He found out that such â€Å"solutions† are unsatisfactory as they stand, and must be supplemented by a new empirical interpretation of the formal state description of quantum mechanics (Dieks 1989).Zurek mentioned in † Decoherence, Einselection, and the Quantum Origins of the Classical† that decoherence is caused by the interaction in which the environment in effect monitors certain observables of the system, destroying coherence between the pointer states corresponding to their eigenvalues. Then, he mentioned that when the measured quantum system is microscopic and isolated, this restriction on the predictive utility of its correlations with the macroscopic apparatus results in the effective â€Å"collapse of the wave packet†; which implicitly states that decoherence did not solve the measurement p roblem (Zurek 2003).Elby scrutinized the claim that the measurement problem is solved by decoherence, by examining how modal and relative-state interpretations can use decoherence. He mentioned also that although decoherence cannot rescue these interpretations from general metaphysical difficulties, decoherence may help these interpretations to pick out a preferred basis (Elby 1994). Janssen mentioned that the alleged relevance of decoherence for a solution of the â€Å"measurement problem† is subjected to a detailed philosophical analysis.He reconstructed a non-standard decoherence argument that aimed to uncover some hidden assumptions underlying the approach. He concluded that decoherence cannot address the â€Å"preferred-basis problem† without adding new interpretational axioms to the standard formalism (Janssen 2008). Busch et al (1996) explained decoherence using the many-worlds interpretation and stated the decoherence cannot solve the measurement problem. Legge tt (2005) concentrated on the paradox of Schrodinger's cat or the quantum measurement paradox to prove that dechorence is not a practical solution.Other researchers and scientists including Gamibini and Pullin (2007), Zurek (2002), Joos and Zeh (1985), Bell (1990), Albert (1992), Bub(1997), Barrett (1999), Joos (1999), and Adler (2002) stated that decoherence did not solve the measurement problem. Conclusion There is a serious and unresolved quantum measurement problem. Some, like Ghirardi, Rimini, and Weber (1986), try to solve it by modifying quantum mechanics. If successful, such attempts would result in a theory, distinct from but closely related to quantum mechanics, that is no longer subject to a measurement problem. That problem may be unsolvable (Healey 1998).

Report of Seasonal Goods

————————————————- American Library Association From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia American Library Association| ALA Logo| Abbreviation| ALA| Formation| 1876| Type| Non-profit NGO| Purpose/focus| â€Å"To provide leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all. â€Å"[1]| Headquarters| Chicago, Illinois| Location| Chicago, Illinois  andWashington, DC| Region  served| United States| Membership| 59,675[2]|CEO| Keith Michael Fiels| President| Maureen Sullivan| Budget| $33. 5 million[3]| Staff| approx. 300| Website| American Library Association| The  American Library Association  (ALA) is a  non-profit organization  based in the  United States  that promotes  libraries  and library education international ly. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world,[4]  with more than 62,000 members. [5] * | ————————————————- [edit]History Founded by  Justin Winsor,  Charles Ammi Cutter,  Samuel S. Green, James L. Whitney,  Melvil Dewey  (Melvil Dui), Fred B.Perkins and  Thomas W. Bicknell  in 1876 in  Philadelphia  and chartered[6]  in 1879 in  Massachusetts, its head office is now in  Chicago. During the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, 103 librarians, 90 men and 13 women, responded to a call for a â€Å"Convention of Librarians† to be held October 4–6 at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. At the end of the meeting, according to Ed Holley in his essay â€Å"ALA at 100,† â€Å"the register was passed around for all to sign who wished to become charter members,† making October 6, 1876 to be ALA's birthday.In attendance were 90 men and 13 women, among them Justin Winsor (Boston Public, Harvard), William Frederick Poole (Chicago Public, Newberry), Charles Ammi Cutter (Boston Athenaeum), Melvil Dewey, and Richard Rogers Bowker. Attendees came from as far west as Chicago and from England. [citation needed]  The aim of the Association, in that resolution, was â€Å"to enable librarians to do their present work more easily and at less expense. â€Å"[7]  The Association has worked throughout its history to define, extend, protect and advocate for equity of access to information. 8] Library activists in the 1930s pressured the American Library Association to be more responsive to issues put forth by young members involved with issues such as peace, segregation, library unions and intellectual freedom. In 1931, the Junior Members Round Table (JMRT) was formed to provide a voice for the younger members of the ALA, but much of what they had to say resurfaced in the social respon sibility movement to come years later. 9]  During this period, the first  Library Bill of Rights  (LBR) was drafted by  Forrest Spaulding  to set a standard against censorship and was adopted by the ALA in 1939. This has been recognized as the moment defining modern librarianship as a profession committed to intellectual freedom and the right to read over government dictates. [10]  The ALA formed the Staff Organization's Round Table in 1936 and the Library Unions Round Table in 1940. The ALA appointed a committee to study censorship and recommend policy after the banning of  The Grapes of Wrath  and the implementation of the LBR.The committee reported in 1940 that intellectual freedom and professionalism were linked and recommended a permanent committee – Committee on Intellectual Freedom. [11]  The ALA made revisions to strengthen the LBR in June 1948, approved the Statement on Labeling in 1951 to discourage labeling material as subversive, and adopted the Freedom to Read Statement and the Overseas Library Statement in 1953. [11] In 1961, the ALA took a stand regarding service to  African Americans  and others, advocating for equal library service for all.An amendment was passed to the LBR in 1961 that made clear that an individual's library use should not be denied or abridged because of race, religion, national origin, or political views. Some communities decided to close their doors rather than desegregate. [12]  In 1963, the ALA commissioned a study,  Access to Public Libraries, which found direct and indirect discrimination in American libraries. [13] In 1967 some librarians protested against a pro-Vietnam War  speech given by General  Maxwell D.Taylor  at the annual ALA conference in San Francisco; the former president of  Sarah Lawrence College, Harold Taylor, spoke to the Middle-Atlantic Regional Library Conference about socially responsible professionalism; and less than one year later a group of librarians pr oposed that the ALA schedule a new round table program discussion on the social responsibilities of librarians at its next annual conference in  Kansas City. This group called themselves the Organizing Committee for the ALA Round Table on Social Responsibilities of Libraries.This group drew in many other under-represented groups in the ALA who lacked power, including the Congress for Change in 1969. [14]  This formation of the committee was approved in 1969 and would change its name to the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) in 1971). After its inception, the Round Table of Social Responsibilities began to press ALA leadership to address issues such as library unions, working conditions, wages, and intellectual freedom. The Freedom to Read Foundation was created by ALA's Executive Board in 1969. 15]  The Black Caucus of the ALA and the Office for Literacy and Outreach were set up in 1970. [16] In June 1990, the ALA approved â€Å"Policy on Library Services to the Poorà ¢â‚¬  and in 1996 the Task Force on Hunger Homelessness, and Poverty was formed to resurrect and promote the ALA guidelines on library services to the poor. [17] The ALA archival materials, non-current records, are currently held in the University of Illinois archives. [18]  These materials can only be used at the University of Illinois. ————————————————- edit]Membership ALA membership is open to any person or organization, though most of its members are  libraries  or librarians. Most members live and work in the United States, with international members comprising 3. 5% of total membership. [19] ————————————————- [edit]Governing structure the ALA is governed by an elected council and an executive board. Since 2002,  Keith Michael Fiels  has been the ALA executive director (CEO). [20]  Policies and programs are administered by various committees and round tables.One of the organization's most visible tasks is overseen by the Office for Accreditation, which formally reviews and authorizes American and Canadian academic institutions that offer degree programs in  library and information science. The ALA's current President is Molly Raphael (2011–2012). [21]  Notable past presidents of the ALA include  Theresa Elmendorf, its first female president (1911–1912),[22]  Clara Stanton Jones, its first African-American president (1976–1977),[23]  Loriene Roy, its first Native American president (2007–2008),[24][25]  Michael Gorman  (2005-6), and  Roberta Stevens. 26](See  List of presidents of the American Library Association. ) [edit]Activities The official purpose of the association is â€Å"to promote library service and librarianship. † Members may join one or more of eleven membe rship divisions that deal with specialized topics such as academic, school, or public libraries, technical or reference services, and library administration. Members may also join any of seventeen round tables that are grouped around more specific interests and issues than the broader set of ALA divisions. [edit]Notable divisions ALA Editions (book publishing)[27] * American Association of School Librarians  (AASL) * Association for Library Collections and Technical Services  (ALCTS) * Association for Library Service to Children  (ALSC) * Association of College and Research Libraries  (ACRL) * Library Information Technology Association  (LITA) * Public Library Association (PLA) * Reference and User Services Association  (RUSA) * Young Adult Library Services Association  (YALSA) [edit]Notable offices * Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) * Office for Accreditation (OA) Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS) * Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) [e dit]Notable sub-organizations In 1970, the ALA founded the first  lesbian,  gay,  bisexual  and  transgender  professional organization, called the â€Å"Task Force on Gay Liberation†, now known as the GLBT Round Table. [28][29]  In the early 1970s, the Task Force on Gay Liberation campaigned to have books about the gay liberation movement at the  Library of Congress  reclassified from HQ 71–471 (â€Å"Abnormal Sexual Relations, Including Sexual Crimes†).In 1972, after receiving a letter requesting the reclassification, the Library of Congress agreed to make the shift, reclassifying those books into a newly created category, HQ 76. 5 (â€Å"Homosexuality, Lesbianism—Gay Liberation Movement, Homophile Movement†). On July 23, 1976, the Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship was established as a Council Committee of the ALA on recommendation of the Ad Hoc Committee with the same name (which had been appointed by the Presid ent of the ALA in December 1975) and of the Committee on Organization.The Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship works to â€Å"officially represent the diversity of women's interest within ALA and to ensure that the Association considers the rights of the majority (women) in the library field; to promote and initiate the collection, analysis, dissemination, and coordination of information on the status of women in librarianship; to coordinate the activities of ALA units which consider questions of special relevance for women; to identify lags, gaps, and possible discrimination in resources and programs relating to women; in cooperation with other ALA units, to help develop and evaluate tools, guidelines, and programs designed to enhance the opportunities and the image of women in the library profession, thus raising the level of consciousness concerning women; to establish contacts with committees on women within other professional groups and to officially represent ALA concerns at interdisciplinary meetings on women's equality; and to provide Council and Membership with reports needed for establishment of policies and actions related to the status of women in librarianship; and to monitor ALA units to ensure consideration of the rights of women. †Ã‚  [30][31]  In 1979 the Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship received the Bailey K. Howard – World Book Encyclopedia – ALA Goal Award to develop a profile of ALA personal members, known as the COSWL Study. In 1980 the Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship was awarded the J. Morris Jones – World Book Encyclopedia – ALA Goals Award with the OLPR Advisory Committee to undertake a special project on equal pay for work of equal value. [31] [edit]National outreach The ALA is affiliated with regional, state, and student chapters across the country.It organizes conferences, participates in library standards development, and publishes a number of book s and periodicals. The ALA publishes the magazines  American Libraries  and  Booklist. Along with other organizations, it sponsors the annual  Banned Books Week  the last week of September. Young Adult Library Services Association  (YALSA) also sponsors  Teen Read Week, the third week of each October, and  Teen Tech Week, the second week of each March [edit]Awards Main article:  List of ALA awards The ALA annually confers numerous book and media awards, primarily through its children's and young adult divisions (others are the  Dartmouth Medal,  Coretta Scott King Awards, Schneider Book Awards, and  Stonewall Book Award).The children's division ALSC administers the  Caldecott Medal,  Newbery Medal,  Batchelder Award,  Belpre Awards,  Geisel Award, and  Sibert Medal, all annual book awards;[32]  the Odyssey Award for best audiobook (joint with YALSA), and the (U. S. )  Carnegie Medal  and for best video. There are also two ALSC lifetime recog nitions, the  Wilder Medal  and the  Arbuthnot Lecture. The  young-adult  division YALSA administers the  Margaret Edwards Award  for significant and lasting contribution to YA literature, a lifetime recognition of one author annually, and some annual awards that recognize particular works: the  Michael L. Printz Award  for a YA book judged on literary merit alone, the  William C. Morris Award  for an author's first YA book, the new â€Å"YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults†, and the â€Å"Alex Award† list of ten adult books having special appeal for teens.Jointly with the children's division ALSC there is the  Odyssey Award  for excellence in  audiobookproduction. [33] The award for YA nonfiction was inaugurated in 2012, defined by ages 12 to 18 and publication year November 2010 to October 2011. The first winner was ‘The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism ; Treachery  by Steve Sheink in (Roaring Brook Press, November 2010) and four other finalists were named. [34][35] Beside the Alex Awards, ALA disseminates some annual lists of  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Notable†Ã‚  and â€Å"Best† books and other media. The annual awards roster includes the  John Cotton Dana Award  for excellence in library public relations.In 2000 the Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS) launched the  Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecture  in tribute to the work of the first OLOS director, Dr. Jean E. Coleman. Barbara J. ford gave the inaugural lecture, â€Å"Libraries, Literacy, Outreach and the Digital Divide. † From 2006 the ALA annually selects a class of Emerging Leaders, typically comprising about 100 librarians and library school students. This minor distinction is a form of organizational outreach to new librarians. The Emerging Leaders are allocated to project groups tasked with developing solutions to specified problems within ALA divisions. The class meets at the ALA Midwinter and Annual Meetings, commonly January and June.Project teams may present posters of their completed projects at the Annual. [36] [edit]Conferences The ALA and its divisions hold numerous conferences throughout the year. The two largest conferences are the annual conference and the midwinter meeting. The latter is typically held in January and focused on internal business, while the annual conference is typically held in June and focused on exhibits and presentations. The ALA annual conference is notable for being one of the largest professional conferences in existence, typically drawing over 25,000 attendees. [37] ————————————————- [edit]Political positions ALA Seal|The ALA  advocates  positions on  United States  political issues that it believes are related to libraries and librarianship. For court cases that touch on issues about which the organization holds positions, the ALA often files  amici curiae  briefs, voluntarily offering information on some aspect of the case to assist the court in deciding a matter before it. The ALA has an office in  Washington, D. C. , that  lobbies  Congress  on issues relating to libraries, information and communication. It also provides materials to libraries that may include information on how to apply for grants, how to comply with the law, and how to oppose a law. [38] [edit]Intellectual freedom See also:  Book censorship in the United StatesThe primary documented expressions of the ALA's intellectual freedom principles are the Freedom to Read Statement[39]  and the  Library Bill of Rights; the Library Bill of Rights urges libraries to â€Å"challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment. â€Å"[40]  The ALA Code of Ethics also calls on librarians to â€Å"uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources. â€Å"[41] The ALA maintains an Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) headed by Barbara M. Jones, former University Librarian for Wesleyan University and internationally known intellectual freedom advocate and author. 42]  She is the second director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom, succeeding  Judith Krug, who headed the office for four decades. OIF is charged with â€Å"implementing ALA policies concerning the concept of  intellectual freedom,†[43]  that the ALA defines as â€Å"the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored. â€Å"[44]  Its goal is â€Å"to educate librarians and the general public about the nature and importance of intellectual freedom in libraries. †Ã‚  [43]  The OIF compiles lists of challenged books as reported in the media and submitted to them by librarians across the country. 45] In 1999, radio personality  Laura Schlessinger  campaigned publicly against the ALA's intellectual freedom policy, specifically in regard to the ALA's refusal to remove a link on its web site to a specific sex-education site for teens. [46]  Sharon Presley  said, however, that Schlessinger â€Å"distorted and misrepresented the ALA stand to make it sound like the ALA was saying porno for ‘children' is O. K. â€Å"[47] In 2002, the ALA filed suit with library users and the ACLU against the United States  Children's Internet Protection Act  (CIPA), which required libraries receiving federal E-rate discounts for Internet access to install a â€Å"technology protection measure† to prevent children from accessing â€Å"visual depictions that are obscene, child pornography, or harmful to minors. [48]  At trial, the federal district court struck down the law as unconstitutional. [49]  The government appealed this decision, and on June 23, 2003, the  Supreme Court of the United States  upheld the law as constitutional as a condition imposed on institutions in exchange for government funding. In upholding the law, the Supreme Court, adopting the interpretation urged by the U. S. Solicitor General at oral argument, made it clear that the constitutionality of CIPA would be upheld only â€Å"if, as the Government represents, a librarian will unblock filtered material or disable the Internet software filter without significant delay on an adult user's request. â€Å"[50] [edit]PrivacyIn 2003, the ALA passed a resolution opposing the  USA PATRIOT Act, which called sections of the law â€Å"a present danger to the constitutional rights and privacy rights of library users†. [51]  Since then, the ALA and its members have sought to change the law by working with members of Congress and educating their communities and the press about the law's potential to violate the privacy rights of library users. ALA has also participated as an  amicus curiae  in lawsuits filed by individuals challenging the constitutionality of the USA PATRIOT Act, including a lawsuit filed by four Connecticut librarians after the library consortium they managed was served with a National Security Letter seeking information about library users. 52]  After several months of litigation, the lawsuit was dismissed when the FBI decided to withdraw the National Security Letter. [53]  In 2007 the â€Å"Connecticut Four† were honored by the ALA with the Paul Howard Award for Courage for their challenge to the National Security Letter and gag order provision of the USA PATRIOT Act. [54] In 2006, the ALA sold humorous â€Å"radical militant librarian† buttons for librarians to wear in support of the ALA's stances on intellectual freedom, privacy, and civil liberties. [55]  Inspiration for the button’s desig n came from documents obtained from the FBI by the  Electronic Privacy Information Center  (EPIC) through a  Freedom of Information Act  (FOIA) request. The request revealed a series of e-mails in which FBI agents complained about