Critically Evaluate the Case for and Against Global Governance Essays

Critically Evaluate the Case for and Against Global Governance Essays Critically Evaluate the Case for and Against Global Governance Essay Critically Evaluate the Case for and Against Global Governance Essay 1. 0Introduction: Mulley ( 2008 ) defines planetary administration as government-like activities in the international system . Over the past eight decennaries. it has been possible to witness the growing and development of the assorted establishments and administrations that compose modern planetary administration. From the creative activity of the United Nations to the constitution of the European Union. planetary administration has had a major influence on political relations and on our mundane lives. The intent of this essay is to analyze the different facets of planetary administration and effort to critically measure statements for and against its being. Therefore. this essay begins with the instance against planetary administration by oppugning the function of planetary establishments consistently concentrating on some of the major failures of the international system. such as the managing of the universe fiscal crisis of 2008. It so moves on to measure whether the current international community is able to confront challenges such as growth of planetary inequality and planetary warming ( Jayadev. 2010 ) . Subsequently. the successes of the assorted organic structures of planetary administration such as the United Nations Social and Economic council and its Millennium development ends and the benefits of the Single European market will be discussed. Furthermore. the essay will analyze some current tendencies. such as the planetary heating understanding reached late in Cancun Mexico. which give cause for cautious optimism ( Mulley. 2008 ) . Ultimately. this essay constructs a balanced analysis of the positive and negative statements on planetary administration and will finally measure whether the statements proposed reach a coherent and plausible decision 2. 0 Arguments against: After sketching the construction of this paper. this essay will get down by measuring the statements against planetary administration. First. it will analyze the authoritative statement of the administration quandary. Boyer et Al. ( 2007 ) describes the administration quandary as the increasing demand of more and more states for international administrations to turn to jobs on a planetary scale†¦ . yet when these establishments undermine province sovereignty the states become less and less willing to back up them . This position appropriately represents the construct of the administration quandary because as Boyer et Al ( 2007 ) later states The appropriate function of planetary establishments in affairs that cross province sovereignty is a affair of high profile and controversy . To back up this statement it is necessary to look back on the behavior of antique U. S President George Bush during the preliminary to the war in Iraq. Initially. he stated that Although I would wish the United Nations Security Council to approve military intercession in Iraq. I do non experience it is necessary ( Boyer et al. 2007 ) . However. he concluded that the U. S will move one-sidedly. I am confident the American people will understand that when it comes to our security if we need to move we will move. We truly do non necessitate the United Nations’ blessing to make it . ( Boyer et al 2007 ) . It is clear that planetary administration can non work without the support of the states and of their peoples and that at the same clip a turning figure of the policy challenges confronting provinces in the modern-day planetary system are multinational in character and therefore demand many-sided solutions for effectual resolution ( Mearshimer. 1995 ) . State provinces need to happen a balance in the mutuality between national and supranational otherwise planetary administration will stay uneffective. As writer David Held ( 2006 ) proposes: The paradox of our times refers to the fact that the corporate issues we must cope with are of turning cross-border extensity and strength but the agencies for turn toing these are state-based. weak and uncomplete. Second. the essay will look back at the events of the universe fiscal crisis of 2008 and why planetary administration has failed to cover with it in an effectual manner. It is a fact that policy devising in the wake of the fiscal crisis was nationally based instead than cover with at an international degree. In add-on it could be argued that non merely responses to assist states unable to cover with the crisis were weak and non-committal but besides that international establishments themselves were a major subscriber to the crisis by supplying narrow policy advice ( Jayadev. 2010 ) . The Commission of Experts set up by the President of the United Nations agreed with the latter point in chapter 4 of their study: The response of international fiscal establishments to the planetary fiscal crisis has demonstrated the urgency to reexamine the adequateness of their mandates ( Jayadev. 2010 ) . International administrations did non acknowledge the failing of the planetary economic system but they besides promoted policies that prevented national governments from protecting their citizens from economic instability. It can be argued that from the point of position of poorer states the result of the fiscal crisis is merely a contemplation of the go oning failure of planetary administration. In fact the UN estimated that up to a 103 million more people would fall into poorness because of the crisis and worse of all the IMF estimated that the cost to African economic systems from the crisis was around $ 250 billion ( Jayadev. 2010 ) . This statement one time once more proposes the job that the members of current planetary establishments continue to trust on the Westphalia premise that the state is the 1 that acts and makes decisions ( Jayadev 2010 ) . Furthermore. the paper moves onto the more delicate topic of the failure of most international administrations in efficaciously deciding planetary and non planetary struggle. The flooring instance of Rwanda is likely one of the clearest illustrations of moral inadequacy of modern-day planetary governance ( Murphy. 2000 ) . From April to July 1994 between 500. 000 and 800. 000 people including ? of the Tutsi population were slaughtered. The events happened despite a widely sanctioned UN Genocide Convention and ample warning provided to the UN secretariat and the Security Council by its ain officers in the field ( Murphy. 2000 ) . The effects of the race murder were dramatic. Writer Peter Uvin ( 1998 ) writes: The Tutsi military authorities seized power to halt the race murder and accordingly moved on to trip a cascade of wars across cardinal Africa . The whole International community was blamed and put to dishonor. By analysing the grounds why the international community was set up. most of import one being to avoid international struggle. it could be argued that the failure to efficaciously step in in a struggle is the biggest and most of import failure of planetary administration. Finally. the literature reasoning the instance against planetary administration brings up another defect of modern international administrations. more specifically mentioning to the demand of a reform in the UN construction. It is possible to detect that at the minute the United Nations Security Council mostly reflects the state of affairs of 1945. China. France. Russia. United Kingdom and the United States of America have been the lasting members for decennaries. The last decennary brought major alterations in the planetary political economic system ; there has been a greater economic end product from states such as India and Brazil and yet Belgium still holds more quotas than Brazil. 2. 12 % against 1. 41 % . at the International Monetary Fund ( Jayadev. 2010 ) . The economic and political scene is clearly changing and so should the assorted organic structures that make up planetary administration.

The Singular Possessive Apostrophe

The Singular Possessive Apostrophe The Singular Possessive Apostrophe The Singular Possessive Apostrophe By Maeve Maddox A reader asks, Could you please do a post on possessives versus plurals? Im seeing this mistake more and more, to the point where I saw someone use an apostrophe for a plural on a billboard. That wretched, wretched apostrophe! Why can’t we get it straight? The answer is complicated. In this post I’ll explain why the apostrophe is used to form the singular possessive. Its use with plurals will have to wait for another post. The apostrophe came into English from French in the 16th century. The French used the apostrophe to indicate elision: the dropping of a vowel letter. For example, in French l’heure, (â€Å"the hour†), the apostrophe stands in place of the a of the article la. English writers use the apostrophe in the same way, to replace letters in contractions like don’t for â€Å"do not,† and I’ll for â€Å"I will† or â€Å"I shall.† The use of the apostrophe in English would have been straightforward and not at all confusing if it hadn’t been for a complication already existing in the language: the breakdown of noun inflections. In Old English, nouns were spelled with different endings to indicate possession and number (singular or plural). Where modern English uses the apostrophe to show possession, OE used inflections. Here’s a rough idea; king’s horse = mearh cyninges (horse of king) king’s horses = mearas cyninges (horses of king) The -es inflection on cyninges is the equivalent of modern ’s. kings’ horses = mearas cyninga (horses of kings) Cyniga is plural; the inflection -a is the equivalent of putting an apostrophe on the plural kings. The loss of noun inflections has simplified English grammar, but it has also lumbered us with apostrophes to show possession. As early at the 13th century–long before the arrival of the apostrophe–English speakers had become confused about the possessive. Spoken, the possessive ending sounded like â€Å"is.† For example, â€Å"the kinges horse† sounded like â€Å"the king is horse.† Because the pronoun his was pronounced â€Å"is† in unstressed positions, the mistaken idea grew up that the possessive was formed of a noun plus his. In time, this notion enabled Shakespeare and his contemporaries to write constructions like this: [against] the count his galleys I did some service –Othello When the apostrophe was introduced into English orthography in the 16th century, constructions like â€Å"the count his galleys,† â€Å"James his throne,† and â€Å"the king his horse† gave way to â€Å"the count’s galleys,† â€Å"James’s throne,† and â€Å"the king’s horse.† In the mistaken notion that the apostrophe was replacing the word his, the singular possessive was born. The French sagely managed to avoid getting the apostrophe mixed up with the possessive by sticking with the â€Å"of the† construction, as in â€Å"la plume de ma tante†: â€Å"the pen of my aunt† (i.e., my aunt’s pen). We could save ourselves a lot of apostrophe grief by going back to â€Å"the horse of the king† and â€Å"the horses of the kings.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Beautiful and Ugly Words26 Feel-Good Words8 Great Podcasts for Writers and Book Authors

Impact of Standardized terminologies Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Impact of Standardized terminologies - Coursework Example According to (Nolan 2004), NIC is a common terminology with practicing and research nurses. It is a broad, research-based, standardized classification of care-interventions that clinical nurses perform (Nolan 2004). It is important for all-setting clinical communication, documentation, productivity measurement, and integration of data across systems and settings, competency evaluation, effectiveness research, curricular design and reimbursement (Clark & Lang 1992).As a practicing nurse, the Implementation of NIC would have varied and diverse impacts on my nursing practice (Nolan 2004). First, apart from the better communication between other health providers and me, NIC would provide me with an increased visibility and clear view of nursing interventions (Nolan 2004). Second, due to increased enlightenment in nursing interventions I would have improved patient care in my capacity. Third, a practicing nurse with knowledge in nursing informatics, NIC will enhance my data collection abilities and the capabilities to evaluate nursing care outcomes (Nolan 2004). Fourth, I believe NIC will support me in gaining greater adherence to the nursing standards of care (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2015). Five, because competency is very vital in every occupational field, particularly nursing occupation, NIC will facilitate assessment of my nursing competency (Nolan 2004). As a result of these impacts, I will develop a greater experience, knowledge and nursing wisdom that will eventually enhance my nursing

International environment policy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

International environment policy - Assignment Example (2) World Bank began its operations at Bretton Woods in 1944; at that time, the Bank intended to assist the European countries to rebuild themselves after the Second World War. Some of the purposes of the bank include: (I) Overcome poverty to spur growth to the poor countries mostly in Africa. (II) To offer reconstruction of the poor countries as they come out of war to end extreme poverty. (III) Spur governments to address communicable diseases international financial crisis, promote free trade, and prevent climate change. (3) IMF opened its doors in July 1944 at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. Forty-four different countries agreed to create a body to oversee economic cooperation, prevent financial turmoil and currency devaluations. Two years on 46 nations met and agreed to establish IMF that currently has 188 member nations. IMF sets the global monetary policy to foster monetary stability, fix balance of payments issues, and facilitate trade. IMF allows member nations to access short term financing that can reduce the poverty rates. (4) Mission of IMF include: to oversee the international monetary system, promote exchange stability, assist the member states in development agenda, supplement currency reserves using special drawing rights. The organization has $215billion at its disposal and a staff of 2300 from 182 member countries. The mission of World Bank include promote economic development on the poor countries, assist countries using long-term financing, provide the poorest countries with special financial assistance, and encourage the development of private enterprises. The organization has a total of $184 billion with a staff of 7000 from 180 member countries. (5) The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) began its operation during the 1960 Baghdad Conference. The five founding members included Venezuela, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,

Regarding Indefinite Administrative Detention Essay example -- Politic

Regarding Indefinite Administrative Detention Blind patriotism and resounding public support of President Bush’s ‘War’ on terrorism after the events of September 11 th have allowed considerable leeway to be taken by the Federal Government in terms of indefinite detention of non-U.S. citizens in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But all the flag waving seems to have helped a lot of people dismiss the idea that, even though the detainees taken from Afghanistan in the past year are not U.S. citizens, they remain innocent until proven guilty according to American legal principles. One might ask: ‘if the suspects haven’t been proven guilty in court (or the remarkably prosecutor-friendly military tribunals), how can they be, for all intents and purposes, imprisoned while innocent (without violating numerous constitutional, statutory, and international laws)?’ The answer is that, because the detainees have NOT been charged with any crime, they are held as enemy combatants. Once deemed a threat to national security by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, they are subject to the restrictions of Wartime Internment: â€Å"according to the Geneva Conventions, captured combatants may be detained without charges until the end of active hostilities.†(Mariner) The procedural laws governing detention of aliens lie in a complex net of statutes declaring the rights of the government to detain aliens under different situations. When Donald Rumsfeld says that the end of active hostilities will come â€Å"when we feel that there are not effective global terrorist networks functioning in the world† (Mariner), the importance of looking at exactly what the Supreme Court has to say about detention regulations becomes increasingly clear: indefinite detention could v... ...tizens as a fair, just, and prudent tactic to serve the goal of winning a seemingly impossible, rhetorical war.(Mariner) But while the moral issues revolving around preventative administrative detention remain, the court in fact resolved Zadvydas in an ethically sound, legally justifiable manner. WORKS CITED Carter, Lief. 2002. Reason In Law: Sixth Edition. New York, NY: Longman. Mariner, Joanne. May 28, 2002. Indefinite Detention On Guantanamo. Retrieved October 19, 2002, from http://writ.corporate.findlaw.com/mariner/20020528.html Ramasastry, Anita. Oct. 5, 2001. Indefinite Detention Based Upon Suspicion: How The Patriot Act Will Disrupt Many Lawful Immigrants’ Lives. Retrieved October 19, 2002, from http://writ.corporate.findlaw.com/ramasastry/20011005.html Zadvydas v. Davis, et al. U.S. Supreme Court. Argued, Feb. 21, 2001. Decided, June 28, 2001.

Buddha’s Brain

[in the SPOTLIGHT] Richard J. Davidson and Antoine Lutz Buddha’s Brain: Neuroplasticity and Meditation I n a recent visit to the United States, the Dalai Lama gave a speech at the Society for Neuroscience’s annual meeting in Washington, D. C. Over the past several years, he has helped recruit Tibetan Buddhist monks for— and directly encouraged—research on the brain and meditation in the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior at the University of WisconsinMadison. The findings from studies in this unusual sample, as well as related research efforts, suggest that over the course of meditating for tens of thousands of hours, the long-term practitioners had actually altered the structure and function of their brains. In this article we discuss neuroplasticity, which encompasses such alterations, and the findings from these studies. Further, we comment on the associated signal processing (SP) challenges, the current status, and how SP can contribute to advancing these studies. WHAT IS NEUROPLASTICITY? The term neuroplasticity is used to describe the brain changes that occur in response to experience. There are many different mechanisms of neuroplasticity, ranging from the growth of new connections to the creation of new neurons. When the framework of neuroplasticity is applied to meditation, we suggest that the mental training of meditation is fundamentally no different than other forms of skill acquisition that can induce plastic changes in the brain [1], [2]. WHAT IS MEDITATION? The term meditation refers to a broad variety of practices, ranging from techDigital Object Identifier 10. 109/MSP. 2007. 910429 niques designed to promote relaxation to exercises, performed with a more farreaching goal such as a heightened sense of well-being. It is thus essential to be specific about the type of meditation practice under investigation. In [3], meditation was conceptualized as a family of complex emotional and attentional regulatory strategies developed for various ends, including the c ultivation of well-being Buddhist Vipassan? and Mah? mudr? , a a a and are also implicated in many popular secular interventions that draw on Buddhist practices. FINDINGS OF BRAIN CHANGES IN MEDITATION In what follows, we summarize the changes in the brain that occur during each of these styles of meditation practice. Such changes include alterations in patterns of brain function assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), changes in the cortical evoked response to visual stimuli that reflect the impact of meditation on attention, and alterations in amplitude and synchrony of highfrequency oscillations that probably play an important role in connectivity among widespread circuitry in the brain. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP The experiments described below that measure hemodynamic changes with fMRI require a high-field-strength magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner equipped with the appropriate pulse sequences to acquire data rapidly and with the necessary fiber optic stimulus delivery devices so that visual stimuli can be presented to the subject while he or she lays in the bore of the magnet. For the studies that measure brain electrical activity, a high-density recording system with between 64 and 256 electrodes on the scalp surface is used. FA MEDITATION A recent study [4] used fMRI to interrogate the neural correlates of FA (continued on page 172) THE TERM NEUROPLASTICITY IS USED TO DESCRIBE THE BRAIN CHANGES THAT OCCUR IN RESPONSE TO EXPERIENCE. and emotional balance. Here we focus on two common styles of meditation, i. e. , focused attention (FA) meditation and open monitoring (OM) meditation. FA meditation entails voluntarily focusing attention on a chosen object in a sustained fashion. OM meditation involves nonreactively monitoring the content of experience from moment to moment, primarily as a means to recognize the nature of emotional and cognitive patterns. OM meditation initially involves the use of FA training to calm the mind and reduce distractions, but as FA advances, the cultivation of the monitoring skill per se becomes the main focus of practice. The aim is to reach a state in which no explicit focus on a specific object is retained; instead, one remains only in the monitoring state, attentive moment by moment to anything that occurs in experience. These two common styles of meditation are often combined, whether in a single session or over the course of a practitioner’s training. These styles are found with some variation in several meditation systems, including the 1053-5888/08/$25. 00 ©2008IEEE IEEE SIGNAL PROCESSING MAGAZINE [176] SEPTEMBER 2007 [in the SPOTLIGHT] y=4 continued from page 176 % T2 Accuracy: Times2 Versus 1 50 40 30 20 10 0 ? 10 Novices Time1 Practitioners PZ P3b to T1 420-440 ms 0 10 1,000 F-Values ms Novices Practitioners r=? 0. 68, p=. 001 Amygdala 0. 2 0. 1 0 ? 0. 1 ? 0. 2 10 20 30 (a) V 20 ? 20 20 ? 20 20 ? 20 20 ? 20 20 ? 20 20 ? 20 (d) 40 50 r=? 0. 64 Time2 +5? V ? 5? V ? 200 Blink No-Blink T1 T2 ?5 ? 4 ? 3 ? 2 ? 1 0 1 2 3? V T1-Elicited P3b Amplitude: Time2 Versus 1 (c) (b) F3 Fc5 Cp5 F4 Fc6 Cp6 V2 500 300 100 0 Blocks 50 Resting State 100 Meditative State (e) 150 Time (s) % 100 45 0 Controls % 100 45 * * % 80 Practitioners * * * * * 40 0 Ongoing Initial Baseline Baseline (g) Meditation State * Controls Practitioners * * 0 * 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (f) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 [FIG1] Neuroimaging and neurodynamical correlates of FA and OM meditations. (a) Relationship between degree of meditation training (in years) and hemodynamic response in the amygdala (in blue) to distractor sounds during FA meditation in long-term Buddhist practitioners. Individual responses in the right amygdala are plotted (adapted from [4]). (b) The reduction in P3b amplitude (a brain-potential index of resource allocation) to the first of two target stimuli (T1 and T2) presented in a rapid stream of distracter stimuli after three months of intensive Vipassan? meditation [5]. (c) Generally, the greater the reduction in brain-resource allocation to T1 was a over time, the better able an individual became at accurately identifying T2 (adapted from [5] ). d)–(e) Example of high-amplitude gamma activity during a form of OM meditation, nonreferential compassion meditation, in long-term Buddhist practitioners [6]. (e) Time course of gamma (25–42 Hz) activity power over the electrodes displayed in (d) during four blocks computed in a 20-s sliding window every 2 s and then averaged over electrodes. (f) Intra-individual analysis of the ratio of gamma to slow oscillations (4–13 Hz) averaged across all electrodes during compassion medita tion. g) The significant interaction between group (practitioner, control) and state (initial baseline, ongoing baseline, and meditation state) for this ratio. meditation in experts and novices. The study compared FA meditation on an external visual point to a rest condition during which participants do not use meditation and are simply instructed to adopt a neutral baseline state. The meditation condition was associated with activation in multiple brain regions implicated in monitoring (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), engaging attention (visual cortex), and attentional orienting (e. g. , the uperior frontal sulcus, the supplementary motor area, and the intraparietal sulcus). Although this meditation-related activation pattern was generally stronger for long-term practitioners compared to IEEE SIGNAL PROCESSING MAGAZINE [172] JANUARY 2008 novices, activity in many brain areas involved in FA meditation showed an inverted u-shaped curve for both classes of subjects. Whereas expert me ditators with an average of 19,000 practice hours showed stronger activation in these areas than the novices, expert meditators with an average of 44,000 practice hours showed less activation. This inverted u-shaped function resembles the learning curve associated with skill acquisition in other domains of expertise, such as language acquisition. The findings support the idea that, after extensive FA meditation training, minimal effort is necessary to sustain attentional focus. Expert meditators also showed less activation than novices in the amygdala during FA meditation in response to emotional sounds. Activation in this affective region correlated negatively with hours of practice in life, as shown in Figure 1(a). This finding may support the idea that advanced levels of concentration are associated with a significant decrease in emotionally reactive behaviors that are incompatible with stability of concentration. Collectively, these findings support the view that attention is a trainable skill that can be enhanced through the mental practice of FA meditation. OM MEDITATION Another study [5] recently examined the idea that OM meditation decreases elaborative stimulus processing in a longitudinal study using scalprecorded brain potentials and performance in an attentional blink task. The consequence of decreased elaborative stimulus processing is that the subject is able to better attend moment-to-moment to the stream of stimuli to which they are exposed and less likely to â€Å"get stuck† on any one stimulus. The attentional blink phenomenon illustrates that the information processing capacity of the brain is limited. More specifically, when two targets T1 and T2, embedded in a rapid stream of events, are presented in close temporal proximity, the second target is often not seen. This deficit is believed to result from competition between the two targets for limited attentional resources, i. e. , when many resources are devoted to T1 processing, too few may be available for subsequent T2 processing. The study in [5] found that three months of intensive training in Vipassan? meditation (a common style of a OM meditation) reduced brain-resource allocation to the first target, as reflected in a smaller T1-elicited P3b, a brainpotential index of resource allocation. This is illustrated in Figure 1(b), which shows the reduction in P3b amplitude. In this figure, the scalp-recorded brain potentials from electrode Pz, time-locked to T1 onset as a function of T2 accuracy [detected (no-blink) vesus not detected (blink)], time (before or after three months), and group (practitioners versus novices) are shown. The scalp map shows electrode sites where this three-way interaction was significant between 420 and 440 ms. The reduction in brain-resource allocation to T1 was associated with a smaller attentional blink to T2, as shown in Figure 1(c). As participants were not engaged in formal meditation during task performance, these results provide support for the idea that one long-term effect of OM meditation may be reduction in the propensity to â€Å"get stuck† on a target as reflected in less elaborate stimulus processing and the development of efficient mechanisms to engage and then disengage from target stimuli in response to task demands. Previous studies [6] of high-amplitude pattern of gamma synchrony in expert meditators during an emotional version of OM meditation support the idea that the state of OM may be best understood in terms of a succession of dynamic global states. Compared to a group of novices, the adept practitioners self-induced higher amplitude sustained electroencephalography (EEG) gamma-band oscillations and long-distance phase synchrony, in particular over lateral fronto-parietal electrodes, while meditating. Importantly, this pattern of gamma oscillations was also sig- nificantly more pronounced in the baseline state of the long-term practitioners compared with controls, suggesting a transformation in the default mode of the practitioners as shown in Figure 1(g). Although the precise mechanisms are not clear, such synchronizations of oscillatory neural discharges may play a crucial role in the constitution of transient networks that integrate distributed neural processes into highly ordered cognitive and affective functions. An example of high-amplitude gamma activity during a form of OM meditation, nonreferential compassion meditation, in long-term Buddhist practitioners [6] is shown in Figure 1(d) and (e). The intra-individual analysis of the ratio of gamma to slow oscillations (4–13 Hz) averaged across all electrodes during compassion meditation is illustrated in Figure 1(f). The abscissa represents the subject numbers, the ordinate represents the difference in the mean ratio between the initial state and meditative state, and the black and red stars indicate that this increase is greater than two and three times, respectively, the baseline standard deviation. The significant interaction between group (practitioner, control) and state (initial baseline, ongoing baseline, and meditation state) for this ratio is shown in Figure 1(g). The relative gamma increase during meditation was higher in the postmeditation session. In the initial baseline, the relative gamma was already higher for the practitioners than the controls and correlated with the length of the long-term practitioners’ meditation training through life (adapted from [6]). SP CHALLENGES While SP has a unique opportunity to contribute to this novel effort to chart the manner in which the brain may be transformed through the mental practice of meditation, there are several associated challenges. Among these challenges are the characterization of different signatures of brain function that distinguish among different meditation practices, IEEE SIGNAL PROCESSING MAGAZINE [173] JANUARY 2008 [in the SPOTLIGHT] continued the parsing of variance in brain activity that may be due to changes in peripheral physiology such as respiration, and the simultaneous measurement of electrical and hemodynamic signals to harness the best temporal and spatial resolution possible. IMPACT ON BRAINCOMPUTER INTERFACES One of the interesting implications of the research on meditation and brain function is that meditation might help to reduce â€Å"neural noise† and so enhance signal-to-noise ratios in certain types of tasks. In contexts where brain-computer interfaces are being developed that are based upon electrical recordings of brain function, training in meditation may facilitate more rapid learning. This idea warrants systematic evaluation in the future. FUTURE WORK Ongoing and future work focuses on a few distinct directions. One of the crucial areas requiring attention is the characterization of changes in connectivity among the various brain circuits that are engaged by these practices. The development of new methods to probe different aspects of connectivity (both structural and functional) will be extremely valuable in furthering this line of inquiry. The goal of such work is to better understand how different circuits are integrated during meditation to produce the behavioral and mental changes that are said to occur as a result of such practices, including the promotion of increased well-being. AUTHORS Richard J. Davidson ([email  protected] edu) is a director and Antoine Lutz ([email  protected] edu) is an associate scientist, both with the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, University of Wisconsin-Madison. REFERENCES [1] A. Berger, O. Kofman, U. Livneh, and A. Henik, â€Å"Multidisciplinary perspectives on attention and the development of self-regulation,† Prog. Neurobiol. , vol. 82, no. 5, pp. 256–286, 2007. [2] R. A. Poldrack, â€Å"Neural systems for perceptual skill learning,† Behav. Cognit. Neurosc. Rev. , vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 76–83, 2002. [3] A. Lutz, J. P. Dunne, and R. J. Davidson, â€Å"Meditation and the neuroscience of consciousness: An introduction,† in The Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness, P. D. Zelazo and E. Thompson, Eds. Cambridge, U. K. : Cambridge Univ. Press, in press. [4] J. A. Brefczynski-Lewis, A. Lutz, H. S. Schaefer, D. B. Levinson, and R. J. Davidson, â€Å"Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners,† Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. , vol. 104, no. 7, pp. 11483–11488. [5] H. A. Slagter, A. Lutz, L. L. Greischar, A. D. Francis, S. Nieuwenhuis, J. M. Davis, and R. J. Davidson, â€Å"Mental training affects use of limited brain resources,† PLoS Biol. , vol. 5, no. 6, pp. e13800010008, 2007. [6] A. Lutz, L. Greischar, N. B. Rawlings, M. Ricard, and R. J. Davidson, â€Å"Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude synchrony during mental practice,† Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. , vol. 101, no. 46, pp. 16369–16373, 2004. [SP] I N D I A N A U N I V E R S I T Y †¢ P U R D U E U N I V E R S I T Y †¢ F O R T WAY N E FOUNDING DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION RESEARCH Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) Department of Engineering invites applications and nominations for the position of Founding Director of the Center of Excellence in Wireless Communication Research. Candidates must possess a recognized national reputation for research excellence in the field of wireless communication. Master’s degree required; possession of an earned doctorate in electrical engineering or its equivalent is highly desired. Preference will be given to candidates with a strong history of applied research, industry collaboration, and experience in Department of Defense-funded projects. The initial appointment will be for a period of three years with the option for subsequent renewal based upon performance. IPFW is a regional campus of both Indiana University and Purdue University and is the largest university in northeast Indiana. Serving more than 12,000 students and offering more than 180 degree options, IPFW is a comprehensive university with a strong tradition of service to and collaboration with the region. The Department of Engineering offers B. S. degrees in electrical, computer, civil, and mechanical engineering. The M. S. egree in engineering with concentrations in electrical, mechanical, computer, and systems engineering will be launched during the 2007-2008 school year. The department presently includes 16 full-time faculty members and has approximately 300 undergraduate students. The Founding Director of the Center of Excellence in Wireless Communication Research shall have the following responsibilities: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Establish the Center of Excellence in Wireless Communication Research, emphasizing the practical application of wireless technology for the needs of the regional defense industry. Expand collaboration with industry through sponsored research. Establish a wireless laboratory to support courses in wireless communication. Develop a series of undergraduate courses that would lead to an undergraduate certificate in wireless communication. Develop and teach courses for the Master of Science in Engineering (MSE) – electrical engineering concentration – that would lead to a graduate certificate in wireless communication. Develop and offer credit and non-credit professional development experiences for regional employees. Participate in IEEE 802. X standards development. Coordinate and host conferences on the application of wireless technology with an emphasis on defense applications and emerging commercial wireless technologies. This position offers a unique opportunity to build a Center of Excellence in Wireless Communication Research and to significantly expand industry-university collaborative research in the fields of wireless networks. IPFW offers a competitive salary and benefits package and an excellent work environment. Fort Wayne is the second largest city in Indiana and is located within several hours of Chicago, Columbus, Cincinnati, Detroit, and Indianapolis. It boasts affordable housing, a low cost of living and a safe environment in which to raise a family. The region is home to seven major defense contractors employing over 1,800 engineers working in the fields of wireless communication, sensor networks, C4, network-centric systems, and defense products. Applicants with extensive industrial rather than university career experience will be given serious consideration and are strongly encouraged to apply. Candidates demonstrating extensive contact networks within the business and governmental sectors will be preferred. To apply for this position, please visit our Web site at www. ipfw. obs. Applicants should submit a cover letter addressing wireless communication and DoD knowledge and experience, resume/vita, statement of research and teaching experience, and the names and contact information for at least three references. The committee will begin review of applications immediately and the search will remain open until the position is fi lled. For additional information regarding IPFW and the Department of Engineering please visit the Web sites at: www. engr. ipfw. edu and www. ipfw. edu. ,3): LV DQ (TXDO 2SSRUWXQLW(TXDO $FFHVV$IILUPDWLYH $FWLRQ (PSORHU IEEE SIGNAL PROCESSING MAGAZINE [174] JANUARY 2008

7 Best Audiobook Apps Every Student Must Have

In today’s world of constant rush, hustle and bustle reading is a luxury not everybody can afford. Even those who genuinely love reading find it more and more difficult to find time for it – and students certainly fall into the category of those who often have to juggle too many responsibilities to find time to read even what is expected of them for their studies, let alone for pleasure. In this situation audiobooks, which you can listen to as you go about your other business, are a godsend. Let’s take a look at 7 audiobook apps that can make your life as a student a great deal easier and more pleasant. 1.  Audible (iOS, Android, $14.95/month) Audible is the unrivalled behemoth in the world of audiobooks, offering an ever-growing library of more than 150,000 titles, comfortable integration with Amazon’s Kindle and powerful functionality including easy chapter navigation, multitasking, playback and much more. Subscription will also grant you a free book once a month and 30% off further purchases. 2.  Ã‚  Audio Books by Simply Audiobooks (iOS, Android, $14.95/month) Very similar to Audible – a powerful app with interesting functionality, a free first book after subscribing, but a much narrower choice – about 45,000. It may still be more than enough for you, and not all titles overlap with those by Audible. 3.  Overdrive (iOS, Android, free) Overdrive takes an entirely different approach. Instead of selling you books, it allows you to download audiobooks and ebooks for free – but only if your local library supports the app, and you have a library card there. As a result, you will have to be happy with what you get, and the choice of books may be very different from community to community. 4.  Scribd (iOS, Android, $8.99/month) Scribd initially was a digital library and only relatively recently moved in the domain of audiobooks, with its own take on the matter. It doesn’t sell them but provides unlimited access to more than 30,000 titles and more than a million of ebooks for a fixed monthly fee. 5. Nook Audiobooks (Android, free) Nook is a more traditional store, offering about 50,000 titles and has one important advantage over the likes of Audible and Audio Books – you don’t have to pay a subscription fee. You simply buy books and then listen to them through Nook’s own and rather well-designed app. 6.  Bookmobile (iOS, 60-day free trial, 3.99/month) Bookmobile doesn’t come with a store attached – instead it is an app that allows you to listen to DRM-free audiobooks, e.g., ripped from CDs, while accepting content from iTunes and Audible as well. It features simple and convenient controls, including playback, bookmarking and much more. 7.  Downpour (iOS, Android, free) Downpour offers DRM-free books both for sale and for rent, works on any device and offers pretty typical but comfortable control scheme. It expands rapidly, adding thousands of new titles every month, so you may find it a good idea to take a look at it rather often not to miss something you may want. So choose the one that suits you most and jump in!