Nature and Architecture | Literature Review

Nature and Architecture | Literature Review The human race has reached the zenith of excellence in the paradigm of technology. With their advancement they have nestled an utter disregard for the only thing which has taken care of the human race since the beginning of time. When man was born, nature had already created an environment for the healthy and unhindered survival of humankind. Now that we have learnt so much about ourselves and the different elements of nature, we have an unreasoned intent to cut out nature from our dwellings. In the recent times, we hardly find any living element in our modern interiors. Bold usage of architectural elements like steel and glass has turned our houses into boxes and vaults which does not even allow natural ventilation. With the introduction of bio mimicry, we have settled for lifeless inanimate dummies which are inspired from nature, but we still could not take a bold step toward making our homes more penetrable yet secure, so as to cut down on resource consumption. It is obvious that natural ventilation and lighting reduces consumption drastically. I imagine what life would be like in the age when the human race came into existence. There were trees, which were abundant. Man must have found shelter under them. Then there were threats, the different species of wild animals. Man had to build a protective shelter to keep the wild threats away. Thus started the fight between nature and humans, trying to keep nature out of the house they lived in. with time, we learnt to tame many forces of nature. Now we almost feel invincible as a race that can control the weather that we experience inside. But now, we have come to a stage where we have started to eliminate the natural necessities for human survival. We see the effects of such acts in phenomena like global warming, ozone depletion etc. and also their aftereffects which are diseases that kill the human himself. I don’t intend to say that the first fight to keep the wild away from the home was not just, but at some point in time, the human progressive intent to dominate or pu t governance against natural forces should have been shunned or stopped totally so as to keep a balance in ecology of places. The broader term that incorporates both the human society and natural ecology is Landscape. Landscape is the term which incorporates a lot of subjects, along with nature and architecture. Now, the change from a green to an apparently morbid look of the cityscape is not just because of the people cutting down trees and building over them. There is a deep connection between the nature of contemporary landscape and the different aspects of human knowledge. The subjects like art, literature, geography, social sciences are vividly influential to dictate landscapes (Benson, John F and Roe, Maggie H, 2000). So a landscape (which captures nature and architecture and is a medium to link the two) is governed by the whole system which runs the universe. It is not the department of public health or the environment department of our country that is going to keep it balanced and save nature for us. Nobody can. To change the morbid landscape back to green, we need a paradigm shift of ideas throughout. According to the researches of Thomas Kuhn, the natural sciences are more of hypothesis, which answers to most of questions in its paradigm. For example, the Copernican theory on the movement of planets , even if it is presently proven to be true, was initially not accepted as Ptolemy’s deductions of the planetary motions seemed to answer more questions. But with advancement of physics and optical knowledge, new devices were made and new questions were raised. These questions seemed to be answered better by Copernican theories. This was a literal paradigm shift in the world of natural sciences. Books were rewritten, theories and corollaries redrawn (The structure of scientific revolutions, Thomas Kuhn, 1962).We need such a huge change in the outlook toward nature. Now, when we talk about such huge changes, there should be reasons enough to justify them, and there are. Firstly, the term ‘Global Warming’ has been dominating our media since many days now. From all the initiatives taken by our governments, we are all aware of the fact, that cutting down of trees are in some way connected to the heating up of our planet earth, but very few actually care about it or are actually taking steps to prevent the cutting down of trees. Secondly, there is increase in the ozone depletion and it is increasing daily. The ozone depletion does not only affect the humans, but also affect the natural ecology as it destroys the natural ecological systems by killing many organisms which cannot survive the dangerous ultra violet radiations. The list goes on and would definitely be a chapter in my dissertation. Significant Environmental Issues There are many options/issues and most of them so far suggested are varying degrees. These options/issues are as follows: Ozone Layer Depletion Global Warming Loss of Biodiversity Climate change Exploitation of natural resources Land degradation Nuclear issues Hazardous waste Water pollution Acid rain Over population Deforestation Desertification (Khan, MD. Zulfequar Ahmad, 2013) All these issues lead back to the root of all problems, humans trying to capture or tame nature. The inquisitive minds of the human race have deciphered the codes of nature and learnt a lot about it, and used and combined natural elements to invent ways of taming nature itself. Everything that is happening is all abiding the laws of nature. So if it is all going wrong, then there are two possibilities- one that we are not going in the right direction, or our knowledge of nature is flawed right at the foundation level of scientific studies. The latter is more unlikely to happen. Whereas the first is very possible, if we think that we have been walking the wrong path right from the beginning. Imagine, if the human who had built a house for the first time in history of human enlightenment, had not cut down a whole tree to build his house, and cut branches only enough to build his house, and had let the rest of the tree to live, we would be living in a very different landscape right now. Trees were abundant. If we suppose that a family generally has three members, and can fit into one house, and if we also suppose that to build a house one needs branches from ten trees ( to leave the trees alive even after building out of their woods), we can still have shelter for every person on this earth (considering the present population of earth is 7.5 billion extrapolating the data from 2012, and the number of trees on earth is 400 billion and at least 80 billion are trees from which houses can be built). It would be unjust to the people who are working to revive nature from the current disastrous state that it is in, if I say that people do not care at all about nature. There are various green rating systems these days like USGBC, IGBC, LEED, GRIHA, GREENECO etc. that rate buildings on the eco-friendly approaches in design. With the participation of the new generation of architects in achieving these ratings, people’s houses are becoming more sustainable and there are great reductions in resource consumption in proportion to the increase in number of buildings.(4) References: Benson, John F and Roe, Maggie H, 2000. Landscape And Sustainability, Page- 3. Kuhn, Thomas, 1962, The structure of scientific revolutions. Khan, MD. Zulfequar Ahmad, 2013. Global Environmental Issues and its Remedies, International Journal of Sustainable Energy and Environment, Vol. 1, No. 8. (http://www.ijsee.com/IJSEE_Vol.%201,%20No.%208,%20September%202013/Global%20Environmental%20Issues.pdf) http://in.usgbc.org

The Death of Indian Culture Exposed in The Jewel In the Crown Essay

The Death of Indian Culture Exposed in The Jewel In the Crown      Ã‚   The Jewel in the Crown, by Paul Scott, is a postcolonial novel about the realism of the interracial love affair between Daphne Manners and Hari Kumar, the subsequent rape of Daphne Manners, and the after effects on British and Indian relations. At a time when British and Indian affairs were strained, at best, the rape of Miss Manners is significantly metaphoric of the British rape of Indian land and culture. British colonial sentiment became a primary influence in India, when the revolt of 1857 led to the reorganization of British influence. The British felt that India could not rule itself, that they (the British) would govern India as its benefactor, bringing modernization to an inferior culture. The Indian economy was transformed into a colonial economy, whose nature and structure was determined primarily by the needs of the British economy. Britain's policies, in effect, ruined India's urban and rural industries, which caused a great pressure on the land, as the developm ent of India's industry could not keep up with British needs.    The Jewel in the Crown focuses on how British colonialism affected the relations between native Indians and the British English, and the affects on Indian culture seen through the tragedy of the unique triangle formed by Hari Kumar and Ronald Merrick, at two opposing points (English vs. India), and Daphne Manners (the catalyst) connecting them both. The story is significant in understanding the historical aspects of British colonial rule, and the subsequent destruction and transformation of Indian culture. Through the eyes of the characters, we get several very distinct and personal stories about the values and custo... ...e history unfolds itself, as the personal lives intertwine with social and historical attitudes of British India and its ideology of benevolent governance. In a metaphorical sense, the personal tragedies of Hari Kumar and Daphne Manners represent the inability of two clashing distinctly different cultures to mix in creating an atmosphere of modern unity. The fact that Daphne Manners dies in childbirth, a birth that would have represented such a unity between these two cultures, idealizes the very nature of the problems associated with the rights and wrongs of colonialism, and represents perhaps the very death of native Indian ideology and culture.    Works Cited Agatucci, Cora. "Jewel in the Crown Study Guide Timeline" English 103, Spring 2001. Scott, Paul. The Jewel in the Crown: The Raj Quartet:1. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. C. 1998.

Ada Lovelace Essay

Ada Lovelace was born in 1815, and died in 1852 from cancer. Ada Lovelace was the daughter of a famous poet Lord Byron and Anabella Millbank, who also enjoyed math. Ada’s parents were divorced right after she was born and was never able to meet her estrange father. However, her father corresponded with her mother on her upbringing. Anabella Millbank, Ada’s mother, did not want her daughter to be a poet like her father and did everything possible, pushed Ada night and day, to learn mathematics. Even though Ada’s fond interests were elsewhere, her mother diminished those interests until Ada grew a fondness of math, by no choice of her own. At an early age Ada met with Charles Babbage in London, and with that Ada first learned of the Difference Engine. This is when Ada Lovelace’s eyes grew with enormous content, interest, and enthusiasm of the invention, which was later known as the Analytical Engine. In her twenties, Ada married her husband (several years her age) Earl William King and soon after, she bore three children. After having her children she became engrossed and focused on the formulation of the Analytical Engine, which took several years of extensive work, which she loved. Ada composed a â€Å"plan for how the engine might calculate Bernoulli numbers. This plan is now regarded as the first â€Å"computer program† (Larry Riddle, p. 1). Ada became ill and was diagnosed with cancer of the uterus and died at an early age, like her father, right after her accomplishments. Ada’s achievement was shown in her â€Å"notes† on Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, which was finally acknowledged and â€Å"became reality in the 20th century computers which earned her a place in the history of mathematics and computer science† (Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, p. 6).

Cannabis Sativa Essay - 514 Words

Cannabis Sativa Cannabis is marijuana or any other substance derived from the hemp plant. The plant has many different uses from Hemp products to medicinal purposes. This paper will talk about the plant as a whole and it’s usefulness. Marijuana is a Mexican slang term from the 1930’s referring to the medicine part of cannabis, which Mexican soldiers used to smoke. Nearly 70 million Americans have smoked marijuana at some time in their lives. Aside from recreational uses, the cannabis plant can be an extremely useful product. (www.norml.org/facts/index.shtml) There are several different medicinal purposes for marijuana. Uses of cannabis are appetite stimulant, alleviating nausea, relieving stress and depression, relives†¦show more content†¦One example, Cannabinol, can help people get to sleep. Cannabidiolic Acid, taken from premature buds, is a powerful disinfectant. (http://cannibus.com/faqs/hemp1.shtml) In the United States, hemp is legal to possess. Marijuana, the fl owers, buds, or leaves of the cannabis plant, is not legal to possess. The seeds are only legal to possess if they are sterilized. Therefore, because you can’t grow hemp without also growing marijuana, it isn’t legal to grow. It’s possible to get permission from the D.E.A., but this is rare. (http://cannibus.com/faqs/hemp1.shtml) There are many different uses for hemp. Hemp is cannabis produced containing very low levels of cannabinoids (THC) and is produced for industrial use. Many products can be made from hemp. Paper, textiles, building materials, paint, medicine, detergent, oil, varnish, ink and fuel are all products of hemp. Hemp can be grown in most locations and climates because it needs only moderate amounts of water and fertilizer. (http://cannibus.com/hemp/) Cannabis produces a tough cloth called ‘canvass’. The pulp is used to make paper. The seed is suitable for both human and animal foods. Oil from the seed can be used as a b ase for paints and varnishes. Hemp seed is very nutritious and a good source of protein and essential fatty oils. Leaves can also be eaten but not without a slight psychoactive side effect. Hemp seed protein is similar toShow MoreRelatedMarijuana Is A Product Of The Hemp Plant ( Cannabis Sativa )1903 Words   |  8 Pagesthat marijuana is a type of cigarette that people of any age take into their body to feel relax or be some type of mood. But as I grew up, I began to know more about it. According to Buddy T (2015), â€Å"marijuana is a product of the hemp plant (cannabis sativa) and appears as a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers.† There are about 200 of slangs used for marijuana like maryjane, pot, weed, grass etc. From where I come from, marijuana is illegal and mostRead MoreEssay about Medical Attributes of Cannabis sativa - Marijuana943 Words   |  4 PagesMedical Attributes of Cannabis sativa - Marijuana Cannabis sativa is an erect herb commonly known as hemp or marijuana, or by vernacular names such as grass, weed, refer, and pot. C. sativa is a member of the Cannabinaceae or hemp family. Marijuana can be cultivated illegally in eastern and central North America. Marijuana was legal in the United States for industrial, recreational and medicinal uses until 1937 (Anon., 1996a). C. sativa contains about sixty various psychoactive chemicalsRead MoreIntroduction Of Industrial Hemp ( Cannabis Sativa L. ) ( No More Than 2 Pages )1411 Words   |  6 Pages †¢ Introduction to industrial hemp (Cannabis Sativa L.) (no more than 2 pages) o Growing conditions/climate Hemp is an annual herbaceous crop with a long history of cultivation due to its wide range of uses and adaptive nature. Once indigenous to Central and South Asia, hemp does especially well in temperate zones. Optimum hemp yields are obtained when daily temperatures range between 60Ëš and 80ËšF with total available moisture ranging between 20 to 28 inches through the growing season. The firstRead MoreLegalizing Marijuana in the United States Essay563 Words   |  3 Pagesbelieved what we were told; the older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve come to realize that not all of these â€Å"drugs† are as bad for you as we were taught. The particular drug I am speaking about comes from the dried leaves and flowers of a hemp plant (Cannabis Sativa), and goes by the name Marijuana. Marijuana has been prohibited since 1968. You would think that because it is illegal, most would stop using the substance. But in fact, in the past 30 years, 10 million people have been arrested for marijuanaRead MoreThe Effects of Marijuana Essay1259 Words   |  6 Pagesmarijuana usually never use any other type of illegal drugs, but more than seven thousand five hundred people get arrested for using marijuana every year. There is a wide variety of marijuana, but they are all based off of two marijuana plants, Indica and Sativa. Marijuana is very popular in America, and all over the world. Marijuana affects the body, it can be used as medicine, and marijuana can be addictive. Marijuana can simply increase the user’s happiness, but it can also mess with the brain in someRead MoreMarijuana Is A Rich Cultural History1424 Words   |  6 Pagesceremonial and recreational pursuits and the practice has been sustained in the present. Marijuana is one of the most universally known drug that is composed from cannabis. However, it is the least potent form of cannabis that obtains a green, brown or grey mixture of dried, shredded leaves, flowers, stems and seeds from the hemp plant cannabis sativa. There are over fifty cannabinoids in marijuana but the primary psychoactive constituent is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol which is also referred as THC. THCRead MoreThe Cannabis Wellness Center: Industry Competitive Analysis3305 Words   |  14 PagesThe Cannabis Wellness Center | Industry and Competitor Analysis | * Introduction The Cannabis Wellness Center will provide services/products to customers who are medically certified. To qualify as a medically certified candidate you must have your physician certify that you have an eligible condition. Your physician will certify you if you suffer from severe chronic pain, painful peripheral neuropathy, intractable nausea/vomiting, severe anorexia/cachexia, hepatitis C infection currentlyRead MoreMarijuana Is The Most Dangerous For Human Health1251 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Marijuana is the dried leaf of the Cannabis Sativa or hemp plant. The hemp plant’s dried leaves are greenish gray in color and when smoked or ingested, marijuana has psychoactive effects in humans. These psychoactive effects include: relaxation, heightened senses, laughter, altered perception of time, and increased appetite (What Are Marijuana Effects?). The main chemical in Marijuana that causes these effects is delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, but there are about one hundredRead MoreMarijuana Is The Most Common Drug Used By Australian Youth1469 Words   |  6 PagesAccording to a report by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, published in 2015, cannabis is the most common drug used by Australian youth, despite countless campaigns by governments, schools and community groups to make Australian adolescents more aware of its devastating consequences. What is Cannabis? Cannabis is a depressant drug derived from the Cannabis Sativa plant. (Year 10 HPE, Drug Education, 2015) Cannabis slows down the messages going to and from the brain to the body. (Australian DrugRead MoreAdvocation for Legalizing Recreational Marijuana1332 Words   |  5 Pagesoften being advocated for by sitting governors is whether the legalization of marijuana is more beneficial or harmful to the economy. Marijuana, also known as weed, is a mixture of the dried and shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the cannabis sativa plant. It’s the most widely used illegal drug in the United States, even though studies have shown results that the benefits of using marijuana for medicinal or recreational reasons far outweigh the negative matters that may be associated with