Problems and Prospects of the Chongming Dontan Ramsar Site

Name: Su Zhelong UtasNum: 144362 SOUNum: 0991340 Word Count: 1846 KGA 378 Long Essay: Pressures, Problems and Prospects of the Chongming Dontan Ramsar Site I. Introduction From the pre-industrial period to post-industrial period, the problems caused by environment deterioration always come with the great economic growth and significant technical promotion. To equilibrate social development and environmental health puzzles people all over the world at present while poverty still affect one fifth of human population after the population explosion and accelerating urbanization.The contradiction typically occurs in the coastal zones, which are under the pressure from population growth, pollution, over-exploitation of resources and habitat degradation due to these areas hold approximately half of the world’s population. In China, the whole country is fueled by â€Å"powerful social and economic forces† that are â€Å"promoting individual development and land reclamationâ₠¬  (Yang, 1999; Yang et al. , 2001 cited in Zhao et al. , 2004). This author focused on the Chongming Dongtan Ramsar Site as a case to discuss its pressures, problems and prospects in the development dilemma of the changing world.Chongming Island is the third largest island in China(1200km2) and the largest alluvial island in the world that located in north of Shanghai city. As a migratory staging and wintering site for millions of birds and spawning and feeding grounds for 63 species of fish, Chongming Dongtan provides important ecological services with its extraordinary resources. (Zhao et al. , 2004) The essay used SWOT analysis process to evaluate the ecological situation of Chongming Dongtan Ramsar Site, therefore, the article discussed this issue from four main aspects: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.II. SWOT Analysis: Strengths The strengths of Chongming Dongtan Ramsar site can be concluded as three respects: geographic advantages, abundant resources and bi ological diversity. Firstly, the Chongming Dongtan is the most large-scaled and well-developed tidal wetland and the mouth of the river. It is located in the easternmost Chongming Island that formed by the sediment accumulation from the runoff of Yangzi River. Moreover, the Dongtan is still increasing in size by about 500 ha annually to the East Ocean through the deposition of sand. (Zhao et al. 2004) This position, the coastal area in the center of Yangzi Delta, is the midpoint along the only way that must be passed of migratory birds in Pacific Asia that many birds stop here to take rest and food when they pass by in spring and summer. Besides, it is also a wintering site for millions of birds because of its moderate climate (Shi et al. , 2001). Secondly, the extensive tidal-flat area and hierarchical distribution make the Dongtan rich in both inorganic and organic resources. The luxuriant aquatic plant and massive plankton provide adequate food for birds and reptiles.As a habitat , especially in winter, the widely flourishingly growing reed is very suitable to perch and hatch for birds. Lastly, the Dongtan site has amazing biological diversity that 63 species of fish including the rare animal which is on the verge of extinction – Chinese sturgeon and 108 species of migratory birds. The total number of the birds aggregates three million which is the tenth of China and quarter of Shanghai area. III. SWOT Analysis: Weaknesses Since 1960s the Chinese, both government and civilians, started to exploit the Chongming Island, the total annual ecosystem service values in Dongtan keep declining until today.Especially after the reform and open, the fast industrialization and economic development accelerate the environmental degradation in Dongtan. Just between 1990 and 2000, the total ecosystem service values had reduced 62%, which was largerly attributable to the 71% loss of wetlands and tidal flats. (Zhao et al. , 2004) According to relative research, the main reasons, also the weakness, of Dongtan are mostly from two aspects: the depletion caused by overdevelopment and inning and the water discharge pollution. From 1964 to 2001, there were more than 20 times of inning activity that occupied over 14198. hm. The inning activities becomes increasingly frequent and large-scaled that result in the wetlands/tidal flats shrunk from 12,432 ha in 1990 to 7915ha in 1997, and 3856 ha in 2000. In contrast, the orchard /plant nursery had increased from 80 ha in 1990 to 3863 ha in 2000. (Zhao et al. , 2004) The detailed situation of land structure changes had been listed in the following tables: Tables from Zhao B. , Kreuter U. , Li B. , Ma Z. , Chen J. & Nakagoshi N. , 2004, An Ecosystem Service Value Assessment of Land-use Change on Chongming Island, China, Land Use Policy, Volume 21, pages 139-148.In addition, the reed regions area fell off from 2039. 78 hm to 810. 17 hm and the salt marsh area decreased from 539. 27 hm to 391. 43 hm. Influenced b y the changes, many birds are forced to leave the original habitat so that the total number of birds dropped with the tidal reduction. These irrational distributions of land use broke up the ecosystem balance and caused high rate of environmental services loss that will bring serious negative ecological consequences in long term. The shortsighted activities will finally limit the development of the area and lead to economically costly outcomes.The other weakness of Dongtan site is the water quality degradation because of the sewage discharge. There are 16 township enterprises use 166. 67 tidal lands to initiate ship dismantlement factories, which produced serious water pollution with waste oil and Toxic chemical substances that make the large-area reed withered or dead. Particularly in the combined concentrated sewage discharge outlets, the water quality of both the intertidal and offshore was polluted by the heavy metal contamination and organic pollution (PAHs and LABs). Shi et al . , 2001) from almost three million m3 sewage per day is discharged to the coastal zone water body. Compared with the industrial centralized sewage discharge, the non-point pollution from urban runoff, agriculture and aquaculture contributes much more significant percentage of the total pollution. Despite these two factors, poaching activities and wetland grazing also wreck the environmental heath of Dongtan site in different degrees. IV. SWOT Analysis: OpportunitiesIn 1992, the Chongming Dongtan had been put in the Chinese Protected Wetland Dictionary while it was brought into The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance and other international important wetland lists. The Dongtan sites undertake the functions of environmental damage resisting, environment purifying and maintain the biological diversity. Due to its great meaning for sustainable development of multiple regions, the Shanghai City made decisions of constructing Chongming Island into the largest ecolog ical island in China.The Chongming Dongtan Wetland Nature Protection Area, Chongming Dongtan Migratory Birds Nature Protection Area of Shanghai and Chongming Dongtan Wetland Park had been established in succession. The foundation of these protection areas will effectively retard the environmental degradation in Dongtan site and promote the environmental quality through policy and integrated management. At the same time, in order to lighten the pressure of exploit on the wetland, the government has built a convenient communication network to stimulate the tourist industry and economic growth.The overall plan of Dongtan transport system development has four parts: * Freeway traffic: the G40 line, important part of national highway network that connects East China and North China, will cross the Chongming Island through Shanghai Yangzi River Tunnel; * Rail transit: the subway 9th line will reach the Chengjia Town in Chongming Island across the Yangzi River; * Water traffic: dork constr uction along the south band of the Yangzi River; * Air traffic: the parking apron for helicopter in the International Forum Island, which is in the south of Dongtan Avenue, has been built already.To deal with the water pollution from sewage discharge, the Chongming ecological construction plan states that the wetland sewage treatment project is under building. This project aims to concentrate both industrial and sanitary sewage to purge before discharge to improve the water quality of the area. Three of the 9 programmed sewage disposal works had been accomplished and come into service. The total sewage treatment system includes sewage collection network, preprocessing system and artificial wetland processing system. The treated water can be directly discharge into the farmland or irrigate plants.This sewage treatment system can handle 6 million tons of water per day that is the biggest sewage disposal work in Chongming Island. V. SWOT Analysis: Threats The last section is to analysi s the potential problems or threats to the future development of the Chongming Dongtan Ramsar Site. As the arguer had mentioned before, the Chongming Dongtan is formed by the sand sedimentation from the water flow of the Yangzi River. Thus the area of the wetland/tidal flats still keeps increasing because the sedimentation process continues to bring solid matter.However, the water conservancy construction in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, like the Three Gorges Hydropower Station and . projects to divert water from the south to the north, substantially diminishes the sediment charge of the current while the water flow does not change. Less sediment concentration slows down the speed of wetland and tidal flats increasing. Corresponding, affected by the storm surge, many coastal areas have been widespread eroded. The problem will become more and more serious if no measures are taken.Every year, thousands of fishing vessels gather from different provinces to Chongming Dongtan t o fish for eels. The massive fishery activity invades and occupies the habitat of birds and brings significant pollution like noise of motor and engine oil. The geese and ducks overwintering has been serious disturbed that they could not foraging and perch safely and peacefully. The frail ecosystem that is lack of unified management has been wantonly destroyed from the immoderate seining. (Yin, Jiang & Li, 2008)In addition, the local plants like scirpus mariqueter and reed provide necessary food and habitat for migratory birds. Notwithstanding, the invasive alien species like spartina is growing in extreme abundance and snatching resources from local plants while these invasive alien species cannot take place of the local plants’ functions. (Yuan et al. , 2003) Therefore, if the reed has be instead of the invasive alien species, the species and quantity of the bird will sharply decrease thus the environmental services of tidal flats are not functioning properly.VI. Conclusion In conclusion, after the SWOT analysis of the Chongming Dongtan Ramsar Site, the author had summarized the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The pressures of the Dongtan mostly come from over exploit, resource depletion and human-made pollution from many aspects especially the sewage discharge. The reduction of wetlands/tidal flats caused by enclose tideland for cultivation and less sediment concentration in water flow of Yangzi River and immoderate seining are the major problems for the protection area.However, a number of measures taken by the government of Shanghai City, for instance, the foundation of three natural protection areas, integrated high speed communication network and sewage treatment works, will make remarkable difference to the present situation. The author considered the poor management of Dongtan site as the primary restriction to limit its development. Thus, applying the integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) will be a proper solution to deve lop and protect the Dongtan and its resources.By uniforming a common objective of national and local authorities, the ICZM will promote the way of coastal area using and balance the demands from natural, economic, cultural and social needs. (Shi et al. , 2001) VII. Reference O? Connell M. , 2000. , Threats to Waterbirds and Wetlands: Implications for Conservation, Inventory and Research, Wildfowl, Volume 51, pages 1-15. Shi C. , Hutchinson S. M. , Yu L. & Xu S. , 2001, Towards a Sustainable Coast: An Integrated Coastal Zone Management Framework for Shanghai, People? Republic of China, Ocean & Coastal Management, Volume 44, pages 411-427. Tian B. , Zhang L. , Wang X. , Zhou Y. & Zhang W. , 2010, Forecasting the effects of sea-level rise at Chongming Dongtan Nature Reserve in the Yangtze Delta, Shanghai, China, Available at: http://www. sciencedirect. com/science/article/pii/S0925857410001709 [Access at May 15th 2012] Yin H. , Jiang W. & Li J. , 2008, Simulation of Non-Point Pollutant s Evolution in Coastal Plain Island-A Case Study of Chongming Island, Available at: http://www. sciencedirect. om/science/article/pii/S1001605808600530 [Access at May 15th 2012] Yuan W. , James P. , Hodgson K. , Hutchinson S. M. & Shi C. , 2003, Development of sustainability indicators by communities in China: a case study of Chongming County, Shanghai, Available at: http://www. sciencedirect. com/science/article/pii/S030147970300063X [Access at May 15th 2012] Zhao B. , Kreuter U. , Li B. , Ma Z. , Chen J. & Nakagoshi N. , 2004, An Ecosystem Service Value Assessment of Land-use Change on Chongming Island, China, Land Use Policy, Volume 21, pages 139-148.

Love And Disguise In The Twelfth Night Essay

The art of love suggests that this complex emotion cannot be easily defined; it must instead be conceptualized within the confines of language and images.   One writer that mastered this presentation of love is William Shakespeare. Through his sonnets and plays, he immortalized the concept of love for readers of all generations.   His comedy Twelfth Night in particular presents love as an elusive object which throws out many tricks along its path.   Through the artful use of language and disguise, this play presents love as a comic yet sentimental quest.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first words in this play are spoken by a man in love – â€Å"If music be the food of love, play on:/Give me excess of it, that surfeiting, /The appetite may sicken and so die† (I,i,1-3).   Duke Orsino is lovesick for Lady Olivia, who, unfortunately, has gone to great lengths to avoid his pursuit.   He uses a metaphor comparing himself to a hart hunted by love’s â€Å"cruel hounds† (I, i,   22).   This use of negatively connoted language reveals to the reader how much pain and suffering the Duke feels due to this unrequited love.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The plot becomes ironic when the shipwrecked Viola chooses to disguise herself as a eunuch, a serving boy, in the house of Orsino in order to quietly pass the time until she can find out if her twin brother has survived the same disaster at sea.   In doing so, she finds that she has fallen in love with him but cannot express it because she is masquerading as a man.   Her job is to woo Olivia, who is continuing to disguise herself in her mourning garb to thwart Orsino, which creates a further complication in that Olivia herself falls for the man that she thinks Viola is – Cesario.   Thus, a triangle forms:   Viola loves Orsino who loves Olivia who loves Viola (as Cesario).   Clearly the point that love is confusing is well-taken.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Yet, this play has more to say about the complexities of love.   Olivia marvels at the quick onset of her feelings: â€Å"How now!/Even so quickly may one catch the plague?† (I, v, 206-207).   Again, love is presented here as an illness to be avoided.   TO make matters worse, Malvolio, Olivia’s grumpy servant, carries a secret love for his mistress.   When Olivia’s uncle and his friend, who also loves Olivia, find out, they set him up for embarrassment.   The love letter he ‘finds’ compels him to make romantic gestures toward Olivia, who has him banished for madness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The further irony is that the choices of love interests in this play defy reason.   Orsino emphatically asserts that nothing and nobody can â€Å"bide the beating of so strong a passion/ as love doth give my heart;† (II, iv, 72-73) for a woman that has constantly spurned him.   Olivia, on the other hand, has fallen in love with a disguised woman: â€Å"I love thee so, that maugre all thy pride,/Nor wit nor reason can my passion hide/† (III, i, 121-122).   Viola, disguised as a man, loves a man, and Malvolio has made the unfortunate mistake of loving a woman out of his class.   Of course Andrew has been convinced to love Olivia as well, out of Toby’s malevolent and usurious needs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The role that disguises play in the love situations above cannot be ignored.   With the possible exception of the Duke, nobody is who they seem to be on the outside.   Typically, Olivia would not fall for another female, but the traits in the person she perceives to be a male jive with her own desire for independence and autonomy.   Likewise, Viola knows that she cannot formally announce her love for the Duke because she is disguised as a male.   However, he is drawn to her because he must somehow sense her femininity.    Olivia is pretending to still be in mourning for her brother’s death by hiding herself under a veil, though the period for mourning has long since passed.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Further, when Sebastian, Viola’s twin brother enters the picture, Olivia naturally gravitates to him, resulting in hilarious results.   Oddly, he accepts her proposal of marriage only minutes after coming in contact with her. This just goes to show that the characters in this play are not serious about love while they are disguised.   It is characterized as a painful, cancerous emotion, yet they still seek it.   When the characters finally are able to express their emotions as their true selves, the love seems more substantial. The marriage of Sebastian and Olivia is false until she realize that she hasn’t married Cesario, but really Sebastian.   Likewise, the moment that the Duke discovers that Cesario is really the woman Viola, he offers his hand to her.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What appears to be a happy ending is itself disguised.   The reader must wonder what has compelled these individuals to profess their undying love then change their minds so quickly.   If love is as painful as they might suggest, why pursue it in the first place?  Ã‚   The idea of the happy ending is shadowed in the forced marriage by bet of Toby and Maria, and the angry outburst of the wronged Malvolio.   The marriages of the play are reduced to a farce, which the clown can only sum up with a song. Reference Shakespeare, William.   Twelfth Night.   Mineola, NY:   Dover, 1996.

Organized Crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organized Crime - Essay Example Despite the fact that there were criminal organizations existing before this prohibition, the country experienced an upward development of strong organizations, which took advantage of the prohibition to make millions of dollars through illegal importation and sale of liquor to the American citizens. For example, a Chicago gang, the Capones, led by a notorious gangster, Al Capone, is said to have been making more than $100 million on annual basis through bootlegging of liquor and other criminal activities such as prostitution (Abadinsky, 2002). After the ban was lifted in 1933, criminal organizations that depended on income from the sale of liquor had to look for other sources of income and this brought about a rise in activities such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, gun trafficking and extortion among others. This paper is a critical evaluation on some of the criminal organizations in the US. Criminal Organizations in the US The US is a country, which is rich in diversity esp ecially due to the presence of high numbers of immigrants from all corners of the world. This diversity has propelled the country’s economic growth but it has also led to the emergence of numerous criminal organizations and street gangs as a result of culture importation coupled with poverty and insecurity in neighborhoods especially those belonging to the minority groups. Some of these organizations have grown in size such that they are not only operating within the US but also across international borders. Mara Salvatrucha, for example, is a transnational organized criminal gang, which is perceived as being one of the most notorious both internationally and within the US. It is estimated that the gang has more than 50000 active members, 10000 of whom are supposedly operating inside the US (Logan, 2009). The formation of this gang was motivated by the need to provide protection for its members but with time, it has deviated from its original goal by engaging in well organize d criminal operations involving drug trafficking, extortion, gun trafficking, murder among others (Logan, 2009). Mara Salvatrucha, commonly abbreviated as MS-13, begun in Los Angeles after immigrants from El Salvador, who were escaping from civil conflicts in their country met hostile communities of Mexican and African American origins, who were not willing to accommodate them in their neighborhoods. The Mexicans and African Americans in Los Angeles had well established street gangs, which kept on attacking and harassing the Salvadorians to the point that it became too much for the immigrants to handle. They were used to armed conflicts due to the civil war in their country and therefore, they had the skills and the motivation to defend them selves from armed attacks (Logan, 2009). The US authorities have had a difficult task of identifying and arresting members of this gang but their actions are highly credited for the ever increasing numbers of Mara Salvatruchans (Monteith, 2010). It is believed that the authorities have made this possible through deportation of gang members, which has made it possible for them to recruit new members from their home countries only to return to the US through illegal means to meet with members of their families and other gang members operating within

What should people set there goals in life Essay

What should people set there goals in life - Essay Example Setting and achieving goals translate to the feelings of accomplishment and success life. This spurs greater confidence and productivity. Setting goals in life helps propel and individual forward. When the goal is written down a alongside it dates of accomplishment, it makes an individual something to plan and work for, towards its achievement. Additionally, proper goal setting enables one to break what might have seemed large and intimidating into something small, hence easily achievable. The small milestones that one starts with enhance the achievement of greater aspirations in life. Another import aspect of setting personal goals is that it enhances the belief in oneself. This helps in fuelling ambitions and the inspiration necessary for aiming for great things in life. On the same note, setting personal goals facilitate an individual to be accountable for failures that might arise. These goals go a long way to helping an individual to evaluate the milestones achieved during specified time duration. It is also imperative to note and take into account that goals help an individual know what they truly want in life. Depending on an individual’s desires, goal give that sense of direction towards what should be accomplished. Lastly, a person who has set goals has the ability to live their life, in the desired lifestyle, to the fullest. This is achieved through the accomplishment s realised out of every moment spent alive. Therefore, it is imperative to note that in order to have fulfilment in life, people should set goals that enable them live

Evaluating artists significance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Evaluating artists significance - Assignment Example As a painter, da Vinci developed a number of iconic artifacts key among which is the Mona Lisa. In this portrait, da Vinci couples a number of possibilities within a single face to come up with the most beautiful painting of its time. The painting portrays a fairer face of a woman with a protruding breast as though of a woman. In all aspects, the painting is a woman. However, several art professionals disagree with the actual portrayal in the painting some asserting that it is a combination of both male and female thereby depicting the beauty of creation (O'Connor 44). Such ambiguities in his works portray da Vinci’s creativity. Art is relative and therefore earns relative interpretations from different people. Leonardo da Vinci’s works on the contrary were difficult to interpret since the artist used simple artistic features to portray complex information mostly targeting the elite in the early society. This ability thus quantifies him as the father of the mannerist pe riod, a period in arts in which artists used complex artifacts to communicate and to criticize the society and the elite ruling class. Besides the Mona Lisa, da Vinci produced several other controversial paintings including the last supper, which is one of the most reproduced religious paintings. In the painting, Leonardo portrays Jesus sitting at a table with his twelve disciples. In a very controversial twist, Leonardo inserts a male disciple in the painting with fairer features next to Jesus. While most people view the image as that of Mathews one of the closest disciples of Jesus, other have rightly argued that she could be Marry Magdalene thereby raising questions about Marry Magdalene’s relationship with Jesus. This portrays the level of controversies that da Vinci left in most of his works. His other iconic painting is the Virgin and child with St Anne, in this, Leonardo includes a controversy as he superimposes two figures in the picture thereby complicating the ident ity of either Marry or St Anne. Despite the controversies that made his works more exciting, Leonardo da Vinci captured nature’s beauty in his works. He used some of the best models of the time and depicted nature as the most beautiful of all that existed. II. Late Renaissance and Baroque: Gian Lorenzo Bernini Lorenzo Bernini was yet another iconic Italian artist, architect, and sculptor. Bernini was a renowned playwright with the ability to develop dramatic narratives and a great sculptor who depicted magnificence in most of his works. As an artist of his time, Bernini portrayed arts as a reflector of the society; most of his narratives were therefore satirical criticisms of the elite in the early Roman society and the ruling class. He therefore portrayed the issues affecting the society in a sardonic manner thereby attracting the attention of the masses to the actions of the ruling elite through entertainment. His sculptors on the other hand were both realist and humanist. In such, he developed big sculptors of the great figures of the time in the streets and churches in Rome and developed others as decorations to similar places. The streets of Rome and some great international museums still stash some of his surviving artifacts. Among his great works that portrayed both beauty and opulence included the Apollo and Daphne, in the sculpture, Bernini portrays both a complex understanding to nature and the

Sports Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sports Law - Essay Example accreditation for laboratory tests (and laboratories themselves) carried out in foreign lands, and that the IAAF should execute measures to see that this is reflected in all EU sports governing bodies. As stated in Rule 55.11 of the IAAF, the procedure of determining whether an athlete is culpable with regards to an illegal substance use does not really matter unless it is "such as to cast real doubt on the reliability of such a finding." (IAAF cited by Parliament 1999) Yet the IAAF compensates for this by stating in paragraph eight (8.2) of the procedural guidelines that the test of Sample B, following that of Sample A, should be done in the presence of the athlete and/or a representative. Also paragraph 8.5 states that every athlete should have the right to a fair hearing, before decisions are reached to avoid unjust suspension or discharging. In the Modahl versus BAF case there were loopholes, open wounds for vampires, on both sides. The effect of it calls for action, not only at the domestic level, but at the international level as well. Note the defence of the BAF: it was simply following the guidelines set out by the IAAF (which in turn probably did not foresee that kind of circumstance). In summary, it is not the sports law and policy that is the enemy here, but the type of attention paid to it. Situations like this summon a need for more focus on positively detailed contractual rules and their application. As always, there is room for growth. REFERENCE LIST Abbott, H. (2006) Sports Law Blog: People Hate Honest Athletes - True Hoop, [Online] Available from: http://sports-law.blogspot.com/ [Accessed 26th October 2008]. CMM (2007), Diane Modahl, [Online] Available from:...Sports Management 335, [Online] 1 Available from: http://www.isenberg.umass.edu/sportmgt/uploads/listWidget/13465/spt335-lpm.pdf ISLA (2007) Doping and Corruption in Sports. Sports and Law, [Online] 1-4 Available from: http://www.icsspe.org/news/pdf/SportsandLaw.pdfPHPSESSID=fed48f126f02e253c7d54624d633a0a0 [Accessed 28th October 2008]. Wadler, G. I. (no date) Doping in Sport: From Strychnine to Genetic Enhancement, It's a Moving Target, [Online] 1-9 Available from: http://www.law.duke.edu/sportscenter/wadler.pdf [Accessed 27th October 2008].

(HRM)Globalisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

(HRM)Globalisation - Essay Example It is recognized through a number of trends such as growing economic integration and liberalization; trade deregulation; convergence of macroeconomic policies; modification of the role and concept of nation state; proliferation of supranational agreements and regulatory bodies; and globalization of information systems 1." Upon looking into the given premise, one might have the idea that the said practice has its positive and negative effects. In this case, if some countries oppose this kind of practice definitely anticipate is negative effects. So, what are these negative effects that they seem to oppose this kind of practice Vandana Shivea (2006) 2, an Indian ecofeminist and scholar, once stated that "globalization along with the support of organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, have created a term more often known as "slave wages". These kinds of wages are not necessarily the result of "unjust" societies, but of the fact that global trade devalues the worth of people's lives and work. While globalization has brought jobs to rural, developing areas such as India where there was previously no employment, these jobs seem to be wolves in sheep's clothing.

Classical and Baroque Style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Classical and Baroque Style - Essay Example There were several important forms that were used during this period. These included the mass, Missa Brevis, Missa Solemnis, requiem, and the vespers (Downs 69). Furthermore, the classical choral was homophonic and lighter in its texture. In addition, during this era, music was given careful attention by elegance, to form and restraint. The music was objective in nature and emotions were carefully controlled. In contrary, the Baroque period was dominated by chants and choral music. There were poems that were accompanied by instruments meant for praises. Music had the triadic harmony which made the music more complex. Furthermore, this music was dramatic and expansive. This music marked the beginning of harmony and melody use. Melodies were now played with a group of instruments in a chamber or by soloists in a concerto. For instance, Brandenburg concerto is one of the major Baroque concertos. It was composed by J.S Bach. The period led to the creation of foundations of scales and chords. Modulation in composition was also another style that emerged during this period. The period had composers like Monteverdi and Vivaldi. The period was also characterized by polyphonic approach and the basic form of the period was type of the three parts and it also incorporated the binary form. However, the two periods have some factors in unison. For instance, most of the instrumental forms like sonata a nd symphony were invented in the Baroque period but they were used in the classical era.

Statement of Purpose Essay Example for Free

Statement of Purpose Essay My country, India, is on the threshold of hectic development in infrastructure like roads, bridges, highways, expressways etc. India is in a tearing hurry to make up the lost time and catch up with the developed world and achieving better standard of living. Civil engineering will play a major role in changing the face of Indian Panorama. When we go for modern bridges, high rise buildings or ultra-modern condominiums; structural engineering will form the center stage of engineering development. Being the son of an engineer who is running a construction company in Mumbai for past 25 years, the exposure to civil engineering was available to me from my childhood. This field fascinated me, when I used to join my father during vacations on his projects. Thus, as far as future career was concerned, I had already decided that I should carry on the business established by my father. Only aim was that I would like to reach much greater heights in scope, expanse and technology. During my schooling and college days, where I had high academic profile, I was focused on opting for civil engineering and when I got an admission for undergraduate studies in a premier Institute like S. P. College of Engineering, which is reckoned next to IIT’s in stature and standing, I was extremely happy and decided to make the best of the opportunities offered. I found structural engineering subject very interesting as it forms the heart of any structure, be it building, bridge or highway. In my final year project, I got an opportunity to study the construction of the tallest buildings being built by a premier construction company of Mumbai. These 60 storey high rises will be the tallest in Mumbai. I was exposed to modern construction methods and management and the use of modern equipments. I could see the use of concrete batching plant (which is seldom used in India) and tower cranes on this site. For the first time, I learnt how quality control of materials is carried out to ensure safe and efficient construction, or the steps taken to improve ground stability like rock bolting and guniting etc. This project gave me an insight in how much development has taken place in civil engineering. It has firmed up my resolve to do graduate studies in structural engineering, get in-depth knowledge and exposure in the field and later, develop family construction business further. Your University with its excellent facilities, highly qualified faculty and worldclass infrastructure is the right place for pursuing graduate studies in structural engineering and if given a chance, I shall make the best out of it.

Famine & Poverty and Famines Essay Example for Free

Famine Poverty and Famines Essay The phenomenon of famine has been widely described and analyzed in socio-political literature. The topic has been considered a controversial one in terms of its definition and its definitive features. In a recent revision of the concept of famine, â€Å"Poverty and Famines,† Amartya Sen retains part of classical vision on famine offered by Malthus, distinguishing â€Å"regular starvation,† which is a â€Å"normal feature in many parts of the world,† from â€Å"violent  outbursts of famine,† a â€Å"particularly virulent form of [starvation] causing widespread death† (Sen, 38-39). USAID defines famine as â€Å"a catastrophic food crisis that results in widespread acute malnutrition and mass mortality† (USAID, 2002).   Proper definition of famine matters not only in terms of labeling an event after the fact, but also in terms of how humanitarian organizations and governments respond to crises as they are happening. Maxwell points out that this is in large part because of the emotional weight the term â€Å"famine† has come to carry (Maxwell, 49). Humanitarian workers spent a considerable amount of time arguing about whether or not to call the 2002-2003 crisis in Ethiopia, ostensibly affecting over 13 million people, a famine. Calling it a famine would have stepped up the international response, but it might also be perceived as â€Å"crying wolf,† which would have a detrimental effect on organizations’ abilities to obtain resources for emergency responses in the long run. Aid agencies want to avoid using the term â€Å"famine† too often because they worry about â€Å"compassion fatigue† or â€Å"donor fatigue† – essentially that donors will be less likely to support emergency efforts if there are too many emergencies. There are also political implications for using the term â€Å"famine,† as can be seen in the case of the 2005 crisis in Niger, which President Mamadou Tandja insisted was a fabrication of relief agencies to obtain more funding (Sengupta, 2005). Aid agencies likewise were reluctant to apply the term famine, and referred instead to â€Å"pockets of severe malnutrition,† in part because they didn’t want to alienate Tandja (Sengupta, 2005). The general discussion in literature indicates that number of deaths, scale, intensity and time frame were main considerations for when to call something a famine. There also is a consensus that lack of access to food had to be the main problem, to distinguish a famine from other types of humanitarian crises. For instance, the 1984/85 famine in Ethiopia was unanimously considered a famine. Iraq in the 1990s was not, mainly because â€Å"the time-frame was too long for a famine and many deaths were the result of a health crisis, not calorie-related† (IDS, 3). Ethiopia in 1999/2000 was probably a famine, but Malawi in 2002 â€Å"represented a famine-threat, rather than a true famine† because â€Å"too few people died† (IDS, 3). In the latter case, the mortality was estimated between 500 and 3,000, and estimates were complicated by the prevalence of HIV/AIDS; thus, it was difficult to attribute deaths specifically to hunger and hunger-related diseases. WORKS CITED Institute of Development Studies. Report on Operational Definition of Famine Workshop. Sussex, UK: Institute of Development Studies, March 14, 2003 Maxwell, D.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Why do famines persist? A brief review of Ethiopia 1999-2000.† IDS Bulletin, 33 (4), 48-54, 2002 Sen, A. Poverty and famines: An essay on entitlement and deprivation. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981 Sengupta, K. â€Å"President Tandja: ‘The people of Niger look well fed, as you can see.† The Independent, August 10, 2005 United States Agency for International Development. USAID background paper: Famine. Washington, DC: USAID, 2002. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/2002/02fs_famine.html

Uses of DNA Technology

Uses of DNA Technology Introduction DNA typing was first used in Great Britain for law enforcement purposes in the mid- 1980s and has revolutionized forensic science and the ability of law enforcement to match perpetrators with crime scenes. It wasnt employed in the United States until 1987. DNA profiling has changed forensic science. DNA technology has given police and the courts a means of identifying the suspects of rapes and murders. Thousands of cases have been closed and innocent suspects freed with guilty ones punished because of the power of a silent biological witness at the crime scene. Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation performs the bulk of the forensic DNA typing for local and state law enforcement agencies. In criminal investigations, DNA from samples of hair, bodily fluids or skin at a crime scene is compared with those obtained from suspected suspects. (http://faculty.ncwc.edu) ‘DNA fingerprinting, or DNA typing (profiling) as it is now known, was first described in 1985 by an English genet icist named Alec Jeffreys. Dr Jeffreys found that certain regions of DNA contained DNA sequences that were repeated over and over again next to each other. He also discovered that the number of repeated sections present in a sample could differ from individual to individual. By developing a technique to examine the length variation of these DNA repeat sequences, Dr Jeffreys created the ability to perform human identity tests. (John Butler, 2005) Sir Alec John Jeffreys, was born 9 January 1950 at Oxford in Oxfordshire. He is a professor of genetics at theUniversity of Leicester, and he became an honorary freeman of the City of Leicester on 26 November 1992. (Leicester City Council, 1992) In 1994, he was knighted by her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, for Services to Science and Technology. Jeffreys had a eureka moment in his lab in Leicester after looking at the X-ray film image of a DNA experiment at 9:05 am on Monday 10 September 1984, which unexpectedly showed both similarities and differences between the DNA of different members of his technicians family. (BBC Radio, December 9, 2007) Within about half an hour, he realized the possible scope of DNA fingerprinting, which uses variations in the genetic code to identify individuals. The method has become important in forensic science to assist police detective work, and it has also proved useful in resolving paternity and immigration disputes. (BBC Radio, December 9, 2007) The method can also be applied to non-human species, for example in wildlife population genetics studies. Before his methods were commercialized in 1987 his laboratory was the only center carrying out DNA fingerprinting in the world, and during this period of about two or three years it was very busy, receiving inquiries from all over the globe. (Ne ston, Giles February 2, 2004) The technique used by Dr Jeffreys to examine the VNTRs was called restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) because it involved the use of a restriction enzyme to cut the regions of DNA surrounding the VNTRs. This RFLP method was first used to help in an English immigration case and shortly thereafter to solve a double homicide case. Since that time, human identity testing using DNA typing methods has been widespread. The past 25 years have seen tremendous growth in the use of DNA evidence in crime scene investigations as well as paternity testing. Today over 100 public forensic laboratories and several dozen private paternity testing laboratories conduct hundreds of thousands of DNA tests annually in the United States. In addition, most countries in Europe and Asia have forensic DNA programs. The number of laboratories around the world conducting DNA testing will continue to grow as the technique gains in popularity within the law enforcement com munity. (John Butler, 2005) How DNA Typing Is Done Only one-tenth of a single percent of DNA (about 3 million bases) differs from one person to the next. (Internet Source www.ornl.org, 2009) Scientists can use these variable regions to generate a DNA profile of an individual, using samples from blood, bone, hair, and other body tissues and products. In criminal cases, this generally involves obtaining samples from crime-scene evidence and a suspect, extracting the DNA, and analyzing it for the presence of a set of specific DNA regions (markers). Scientists find the markers in a DNA sample by designing small pieces of DNA (probes) that will each seek out and bind to a complementary DNA sequence in the sample. A series of probes bound to a DNA sample creates a distinctive pattern for an individual. Forensic scientists compare these DNA profiles to determine whether the suspects sample matches the evidence sample. A marker by itself usually is not unique to an individual; if, however, two DNA samples are alike at four or five regions, o dds are great that the samples are from the same person. If the sample profiles dont match, the person did not contribute the DNA at the crime scene. If the patterns match, the suspect may have contributed the evidence sample. While there is a chance that someone else has the same DNA profile for a particular probe set, the odds are exceedingly slim. Many judges consider this a matter for a jury to take into consideration along with other evidence in the case. (Internet Source www.nfstc.org, 2009) Experts point out that using DNA forensic technology is far superior to eyewitness accounts, where the odds for correct identification are about 50:50. The more probes used in DNA analysis, the greater the odds for a unique pattern and against a coincidental match, but each additional probe adds greatly to the time and expense of testing. Four to six probes are recommended. Testing with several more probes will become routine, observed John Hicks (Internet Source www.alabany.edu/nerfi, 200 9). He predicted that DNA chip technology will enable much more rapid, inexpensive analyses using many more probes and raising the odds against coincidental matches. Types of DNA Technologies Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism RFLP is a method used by molecular biologists to follow a particular sequence of DNA as it is passed on to other cells. RFLPs can be used in many different settings to accomplish different objectives. RFLPs can be used in paternity cases or criminal cases to determine the source of a DNA sample. RFLPs can be used determine the disease status of an individual. RFLPs can be used to measure recombination rates which can lead to a genetic map with the distance between RFLP loci measured in centiMorgans. (Internet Source www.bio.davidson.edu, 2009) Total DNA is first extracted from the microbial community and the16S rRNA gene  is amplified from samples using fluorescently-labeled forward and reverse primers. Next, the PCR product is purified and subjected to restriction enzyme digestion with enzymes that have 4 base pair recognition sites. This step generates fluorescently-labeled terminal restriction fragments. The digested products are then se parated and detected on an appropriate electrophoresis platform. For a given sample the terminal fragments will contain a fluorescent label at the 5 end and will therefore be detected. The output will be a series of peaks (fragments) of various sizes and heights that represents the profile of that sample. (Osborn, A. M., Moore, R.B. and Timmis, K.N., 2000) Polymerase chain reaction PCR is used to make millions of exact copies of DNA from a biological sample. DNA amplification with PCR allows DNA analysis on biological samples as small as a few skin cells. A polymerase is a naturally occurring enzyme, a biological macromolecule that catalyzes the formation and repair of DNA (and RNA). The technique was made possible by the discovery of Taq polymerase, the DNA polymerase that is used by the bacterium Thermus auquaticus that was discovered in hot springs. This DNA polymerase is stable at the high temperatures need to perform the amplification, whereas other DNA polymerases become denatured. Since this technique involves amplification of DNA, the most obvious application of the method is in the detection of minuscule amounts of specific DNAs. This is important in the detection of low level bacterial infections or rapid changes in transcription at the single cell level, as well as the detection of a specific individuals DNA in forensic sci ence. It can also be used in DNA sequencing, screening for genetic disorders, site specific mutation of DNA, or cloning or subcloning of cDNAs. (Internet Source www.plattsburgh.edu, 2009) Short tandem repeat STR technology is used to evaluate specific regions (loci) within nuclear DNA. Variability in STR regions can be used to distinguish one DNA profile from another. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) uses a standard set of 13 specific STR regions for CODIS. CODIS is a software program that operates local, state, and national databases of DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence, and missing persons. The odds that two individuals will have the same 13-loci DNA profile is about one in a billion. (Internet Source www.ornl.org, 2009) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has chosen 13 specific STR loci to serve as the standard for CODIS. The purpose of establishing a core set of STR loci is to ensure that all forensic laboratories can establish uniform DNA databases and, more importantly, share valuable forensic information. If the forensic or convicted offender CODIS index is to be used in the investigative stages of unsolved cas es, DNA profiles must be generated by using STR technology and the specific 13 core STR loci selected by the FBI. (Internet Source www.dna.gov, 2009) Mitochondrial DNA analysis mtDNA can be used to examine the DNA from samples that cannot be analyzed by RFLP or STR. Nuclear DNA must be extracted from samples for use in RFLP, PCR, and STR; however, mtDNA analysis uses DNA extracted from another cellular organelle called a mitochondrion. (Internet Source www.fbi.gov, 2009) While older biological samples that lack nucleated cellular material, such as hair, bones, and teeth, cannot be analyzed with STR and RFLP, they can be analyzed with mtDNA. In the investigation of cases that have gone unsolved for many years, mtDNA is extremely valuable. (Internet Source www.dna.com, 2009) All mothers have the same mitochondrial DNA as their offspring. This is because the mitochondria of each new embryo come from the mothers egg cell. The fathers sperm contributes only nuclear DNA. Comparing the mtDNA profile of unidentified remains with the profile of a potential maternal relative can be an important technique in missing-person investigations. ( Melton, T. et. al., 2001) Y-Chromosome Analysis The Y chromosome is passed directly from father to son, so analysis of genetic markers on the Y chromosome is especially useful for tracing relationships among males or for analyzing biological evidence involving multiple male contributors. Y chromosome analysis is a useful technique for analyzing DNA that can be likened in one sense to studying male surnames. Think about the way that male surnames are passed down from one generation to another and continue on through sons. This mechanism is a simplistic representation of Y chromosomes. A son inherits a Y chromosome from his biological father and he also inherits an X chromosome from his biological mother. Conversely, a female would inherit an X chromosome from her biological mother and an X chromosome from her biological father. (Internet Source www.esploredna.co.uk, 2009) As such, when scientists study Y chromosomes, they are studying these chromosomes as they are inherited over time through males in a famili al line. This type of DNA analysis has important ramifications for scientists wishing to investigate the familial ties between male members. (Internet Source www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2009) Conclusion No field has benefited more from the tools of molecular biology than forensic science. DNA technology affords the forensic scientist the ability to eliminate individuals who have been falsely associated with a biological sample and to reduce the number of potential contributors to a few (if not one) individuals. Inculpations are strong evidence regarding the source of the biological sample. Today, some wrongly convicted people have been exonerated because of DNA evidence. Moreover, in casework, individuals are excluded routinely. Since the inception of forensic DNA profiling, there has been a debate in the legal setting regarding admissibility on the methods and the practices of computing DNA profile frequencies. While the scientific basis of DNA typing were sound, both the methodology and the statistical interpretations were aggressively challenged in court. The methods challenge focused on reliability and validity testing. The statistics debate focused on the reliability of the ass umption of independence for applying the product rule to derive estimates of DNA profile frequencies. References Butler, John â€Å"Forensic DNA Typing: Biology, Technology, and Genetics of STR Markers† 2nd Edition 2005 Elsevier Science Desert Island Discs, â€Å"Desert Island Discs with Alec Jeffreys† BBC Radio 4 December 9, 2007 Leicester City Council â€Å"List of persons upon whom the honorary freedom of the city has been conferred† http://www.leicester.gov.uk/aboutleicester/lordmayorcivic/freeman/honorary-freemen/list-of-freemen Retrieved December 10, 2009 Newton Giles, â€Å"Discovering DNA fingerprinting: Sir Alec Jeffreys describes its development†. Wellcome Trust. http://genome.wellcome.ac.uk.doc Retrieved December 10, 2009 Osborn, A.M., Moore, R.B. and Timmis, K.N. (2000). An evaluation of terminal-restriction fragment lengty polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis for the study of microbial community structure and dynamics. Environmental Microbiology 2(1): 39-50. Journal of Forensic Science â€Å"Diversity and Heterogeneity in Mitochondrial DNA of North American Populations.† January 2001; 46 (1):46-52. Melton T. et al Internet Source www.ornl.org 2009 Internet Source www.plattsburgh.edu 2009 Internet Source www.fbi.gov 2009 Internet Source www.dna.com, 2009

AIDS in Africa :: AIDS HIV Disease Africa African Essays

AIDS In Africa   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  HIV-AIDS has infected over thirty million people in the world. Over 95% of all AIDS cases in the world are in Africa and in some of those countries over 40% of the people are infected (Frederickson and Kanabus HIV and AIDS in Africa 1). AIDS does not solely affect homosexuals, or any certain ethnicity of people, either; HIV-AIDS can affect any type of ethnicity including African Americans, Caucasians, Asians, Indians, and Hispanic people. AIDS cannot be reversed or cured, but with proper treatment this deadly virus can be controlled and people can live a nearly normal life. In Africa, though, proper treatment is not nearly as available as it is in some other countries. Approximately 2.3 million people died in 2003 in Sub-Saharan Africa alone and that is only the beginning (Frederickson and Kanabus HIV 1). Because of AIDS and its devastating effects and increasing infection rates in Africa, organizations and governments are increasing their efforts to stop this dis ease. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on AIDS efforts, but still the disease continues to spread and take thousands of people?s lives each year.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1992, 20% of Botswana, Africa was infected with HIV-AIDS. In 1995, 1/3 of the country was infected. Today over 40% of Botswana is infected with HIV-AIDS, and these numbers continue to increase (Epstlen 70). The rest of Africa is mimicking these same numbers as infection rates continue to rise. Of the 27 million infected in Africa, 3.2 million were new cases diagnosed in 2003, and over 2.3 million people died in Africa because of HIV-AIDS last year (Frederickson and Kanabus HIV 1). Such numbers are astronomical compared to the rest of the world. In the United States less than 1% of the population is infected; in Russia and India the numbers also match the United States. In Thailand, where it is claimed to be more corrupted in sex and drug trades and have even fewer anti-AIDS efforts than in Africa, the infection rates are still less than 2% (Frederickson HIV 70). Sub-Saharan Africa is the worst region to be infected with AIDS. While countries like Swaziland, Bot swana, Lesotho and Zimbabwe all have infection rates reaching near 40%, West African countries barely top 10% in some places (Frederickson 2). In Sub-Saharan Africa, 11 million children have been orphaned by AIDS (Frederickson AIDS orphans in Africa 1). Of the 27 million people infected, 10 million are between the ages of 15 and 24, and 3 million are estimated to be under the age of 15 (Frederickson HIV 1).

Expansion Of Government Power :: essays research papers

Expansion of Government Power During the Civil War and Reconstruction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Contrary to what I believed in the past, the United States federal government retained and expanded their power and authority during the years of the Civil war along with the period of Reconstruction. Through drafts and monitored elections, they exercised this power during the Civil War. Then, as Reconstruction began, they initiated other methods of increasing their authority over the citizens. Military was placed in Southern states, by the federal government, in order to keep control over the rebellious people. Not only that, but, the idea of putting the federal government in charge of Reconstruction and rebuilding an entire nation gave them an enormous amount of power. Finally, the creation of the 14th and 15th Amendment were two more big achievements on the part of the government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the month of April of 1862, the government issued the first draft of the Civil War. Throughout the war, they put out drafts because so many men were needed to fight. Citizens were expected to obey these orders, and as the war progressed, it was harder and harder for men to avoid fighting for their country. Towards the end, the government began forcing almost every able man to enlist in the army. Men of ages 17-50 were drafted in the South (20-45 in the North); bodies were needed. And the government made sure that they got what they needed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Along with drafts, the federal government also monitored elections in order to control who the people were voting for. Ballots only contained candidates which were appropriate according to the government, and various colored slips were associated with the different nominees. Everyone could see what color slip everyone else was holding, and people holding slips that they â€Å"weren’t supposed to† were later caught and punished.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The power of the federal government can also be seen during Lincoln’s presidency at the time of the Civil War. He swayed the entire purpose of the war to something far off from what had been the initial purpose. From fighting for the preservation of the Union, Northerners readily began to accept that the abolition of slavery was the cause of the war for them, not the Union. Lincoln and his power made this happen.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As Reconstruction began, our government was given the full responsibility of rebuilding and revising many areas of our nation. That is some incredibly power– having the authority to change an entire country to what they thought was correct.

What Kind of Person Is an Overambitious Parent

What kind of person is an overambitious parent Each and every person on this planet has some goals, ambitions, dreams. We all have this picture in our minds of how our life is supposed to be and we do everything we can to make it real. But a wise man once said that while we're making plans, God is laughing. Not achieving the life you yearn often leads to negative emotions and depression. Some people learn to let go of their dreams and set new targets. Others never quite get over their failure and always seek ways to see their goal accomplished. Often, these people become overambitious parents.I have been a witness of what having an overambitious parent is like. One of my closest friends mother had always been very goal-oriented, but unfortunately fate had other plans for her. As a result, she tried to force her dreams on her two kids. She always pushed them to the limit, expecting them to excel in all areas of life. She rarely left them time (to)relax and have (maybe you can put free time for themselves) time for themselves. She expected only the best from them and when they didn't manage to live up to her high standards, things always ended up with screaming and sobbing from both sides.Her way of â€Å"stimulating† them was to bring them down, telling them some pretty harsh words and constantly nagging. What she failed to grasp was that her kids were different from her, with different view of the world, their own opinion and ambitions. Their deepest yearnings weren't the same as hers. In the end, all she wanted was to see them successful and fulfilled, but she couldn't fully understand what was best for them and chose the wrong approach. What this type of parents fail to see is that they're driving their kids away from home and are, sometimes, the cause of depression. Ambition is good, but there are borders to everything.We are all different, our destinies are different and no one should force us to choose another way in life. After all, we only get one chance in life. I give you and F+ because you said it’s a bad essay and mislead me into thinking that it’s actually going to be bad. Actually it’s a pretty good read and I don’t see any need to correct anything more or less. Vicky What kind of person is an overambitious parent Each and every person on this planet has some goals, ambitions, dreams. We all have this picture in our minds of how our life is supposed to be and we do everything we can to make it real.But a wise man once said that while we're making plans, God is laughing. Not achieving the life you yearn often leads to negative emotions and depression. Some people learn to let go of their dreams and set new targets. Others never quite get over their failure and always seek ways to see their goal accomplished. Often, these people become overambitious parents. I have been a witness of what having an overambitious parent is like. One of my closest friends mother had always been very goal-oriented , but unfortunately fate had other plans for her. As a result, she tried to force her dreams on her two kids.She always pushed them to the limit, expecting them to excel in all areas of life. She rarely left them time to relax and have free time for themselves. She expected only the best from them and when they didn't manage to live up to her high standards, things always ended up with screaming and sobbing from both sides. Her way of â€Å"stimulating† them was to bring them down, telling them some pretty harsh words and constantly nagging. What she failed to grasp was that her kids were different from her, with different view of the world, their own opinion and ambitions.Their deepest yearnings weren't the same as hers. In the end, all she wanted was to see them successful and fulfilled, but she couldn't fully understand what was best for them and chose the wrong approach. What this type of parents fail to see is that they're driving their kids away from home and are, somet imes, the cause of depression. Ambition is good, but there are borders to everything. We are all different, our destinies are different and no one should force us to choose another way in life. After all, we only get one chance in life.

Australian Current Economic Situation

Australian Current Economic Situation The current Australian economy is performing significantly well and the future prospects looks positive, given the unfavourable global environment. Australia continues to be a world leader in the global recovery, with lower unemployment, lower debt and stronger growth than other countries. Australia’s economy is expected to grow by 3. 25 percent in late 2010 and 3. 75 percent in 2011 (Table 1) (RBA, 2010). This follows a further growth in employment with jobs increasing by 353,200 over the past year (Wayne Swan, 2010).However due to global uncertainty, consumer confidence and the increased financial market volatility could start to impact on the growth of Australia. Table 1: Output Growth and Inflation Forecasts Per cent, over year to quarter shown | Dec2009| June2010| Dec2010| June2011| Dec2011| June2012| Dec2012| GDP growth| 2. 7| 2? | 3? | 3? | 3? | 3? | 4| Non-farm GDP growth| 2. 5| 2? | 3? | 3? | 3? | 3? | 4| CPI inflation| 2. 1| 3? | 3? | 3| 2? | 3| 3| Underlying inflation| 3? | 2? | 2? | 2? | 2? | 3| 3|Source: RBA, 2010 The early stages of the economic recovery shows the pace of growth remains uneven with some advanced economies still fragile, with concerns with US growth and European debt , while Asia is rapidly growing with growth forecasts for China from 10. 0 to 10. 5 percent in 2010 (Wayne Swan, 2010). Due to this growth and support of Asia, public investment and exports will be the key growth engines for Australia in 2011 and 2012, along with the housing construction boom (Rowan Callick, 2010).This will follow an increase in GDP and will continue to strengthen with the help of the monetary and fiscal stimulus by increasing consumer confidence through supporting the economy, which in turn will increase spending in households. The strong recovery in the Asian region has helped Australia emerge from the global downturn and has dramatically increased Australia's main commodities prices in iron ore and coal a nd will continue to increase over the next decade.The Australian Bureau of Statistics displays a 23 percent rise in the value of iron and copper ore exports and a 15 percent increase for coal, which is mainly due to the increasing volume (The China Post, 2010). This has doubled the forecasts to post a record monthly trade surplus of 3. 54 billion dollars in June 2010 (AFP, 2010). Terms of trade are forecasted to increase further while there will be a medium term decline, as supply expansions come online and increasing prices of steel dampen end-user demands (Graph 1)(RBA, 2010). Graph 1: Terms of tradeSource: RBA, 2010 Due to the higher terms of trade, higher income will be evident and therefore nominal GDP is forecasted to grow by close to 10 per cent over 2010 (RBA, 2010). The high level of commodity prices and the terms of trade are contributing to a strong outlook for investment in the mining sector, with high demands from China. Although the introduction of mining tax threatens investment’s and future exploration in Australia (Philip Kirchlechner, 2010). The Reserve Bank of Australia left its interest rate unchanged at 4. percent on the third of august 2010, as the headline inflation rate came in at 3. 1 percent, while the underlying inflation rate fell to 2. 7 percent. (David Olsen, 2010) This is within the RBAs target range, meaning it rules out an interest rate increase. Headline and underlying inflation rates are forecasted to be 2. 75 percent by Dec 2011 and to reach 3 percent by June 2012. (Table 1) (RBA, 2010). With jobs increasing over the past year more consumers are working, meaning job security is much stronger, as the unemployment rate has declined and is expected to fall further in the year ahead.Consumer attitudes have improved in the past month, which may have been impacted by the interest rate staying put, but there are still not enough signs that consumers want to open their wallets more widely and start spending more. This could a lso be impacted by the doubt of higher interest rates, as there are concerns about the health and uncertainty of the global economy and increasing utility charges and council rates are establishing more conservative spending and borrowing approaches (Craig James, 2010).Australia's unemployment rate in July 2010 was 5. 3 percent and is reported by National Australia Bank chief economist Allan Oster to further fall to 4. 5 percent over the course of the next 12 months (Graph 2) (Lexi Metherell, 2010). Furthermore Australia unemployment rate is lower than other major countries in the world with the United States having an unemployment rate of 9. 5 percent in July 2010 (Swan w. and Tanner L, 2010). Graph 2: Unemployment rate Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010References * AFP, 2010. Commodities drive record Australia trade surplus. [Online] Available at:<http://www. google. com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hUrzVBXJkBd80gIbVHZbWlsK-Tmw> [Accessed 14 August 2010]. * Austra lian Bureau of Statistics, 2010. Labour Force, Australia. [Online] Available at:<http://www. abs. gov. au/ausstats/[email  protected] nsf/mf/6202. 0> [Accessed 16 August 2010]. * Craig James, 2010. Weakest spending since global financial crisis. [Online] Available at: <http://www. switzer. com. u/business-news/news-stories/weakest-spending-since-global-financial-crisis/> [Accessed 16 August 2010]. * David Olsen, 2010. RBA rate rise ruled out as inflation fall. [Online] Available at: <http://www. dynamicbusiness. com. au/articles/articles-finance-cash-flow/rba-rate-rise-abs-june-cpi-inflation-data-1849. html> [Accessed 15 August 2010]. * Lexi Metherell, 2010. Unemployment tipped to stay steady. [Online] Available at: <http://www. abc. net. au/news/stories/2010/08/12/2980536. htm> [Accessed 16 August 2010]. * RBA, 2010, Economic Outlook. Online) Available at: <http://www. rba. gov. au/publications/smp/2010/may/pdf/eco-outlook. pdf> [Accessed 14 August 2 010]. * Rowan Callick, 2010. Asian boom will support our long-term picture. [Online] Available at:< http://www. theaustralian. com. au/business/asian-boom-will-support-our-long-term-picture/story-e6frg8zx-1225905071813> [Accessed 14 August 2010]. * Swan w. and Tanner L. , (2010), Economics Statement, July, 2010, Canberra: Department of Treasury, July, 2010. * The China Post, 2010. (Online)

W. H Auden: The Unknown Citizen

The marble monument erected by the state or town is usually of a hometown hero. The person is almost always someone who did well for the country and originated from a certain town. The statue is almost never of someone who is just an ordinary man living life just like everyone else around him. This man is the model citizen; one who never causes a stir, goes to war when asked, and does everything to serve the common good. He is a conformist, a person whom the government holds high and promotes for others to strive toward becoming. The monument covers everything from his job record to his health history, all documented parts of his life, showing the reader exactly what the â€Å"State† is concerned with. Looking at the poem’s structure, use of sound, and the style we see that the man is celebrated because â€Å"he served the Greater Community† (Auden 5) in everything he did and never questioned the government. The narrative structure of the poem represents a speech by the local representative. The statue only has a reference number JS/07/M/378 because to the government the behavior is more important the man himself. While the speaker calls this man, â€Å"in the modern sense of an old-fashioned word, he was a saint† (4), he only knows this because of the research prior to the event. The representative decides to talk about how the man performed all t he correct tasks throughout his life. The state hardly cares whether or not the man â€Å"was popular with his mates and liked a drink† (13) so long as he â€Å"wasn't a scab or odd in his views† (9). It is also important to note that â€Å"he held the proper opinions for the time of year† (23) than if he was â€Å"free† and â€Å"happy† (28). The use of sound reveals that the Unknown Citizen lived an ordinary life. The speaker consistently uses a simple rhyming scheme- â€Å"Our report on his Union shows it was sound/ And our Social Psychology workers found† (11-12) to show the man’s existence. The reader learns that the citizen â€Å"was fully insured† (16) and that â€Å"he was once in hospital but left it cured† (17). The fact that the rhyme scheme is hardly tampered with suggests that the citizen's life was consistently regular and ordinary. The most significant use of sound comes at the end of the poem, when the speaker asks, â€Å"Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd:† (28). Here, the speaker reinforces the state's power over the individual and dismisses any notion that happiness and freedom are part of the state's plan. It also forces the reader to acknowledge the state's total control over its citizens and how the man's passive life was led according to the government's will, not his own. Looking at the style and the use of language in The Unknown Citizen it reveals that the man served the state in every aspect of his life and was rewarded to show other people the benefit of doing the same. The poem states that â€Å"there was no official complaint† (2) against this model man and it goes so far as to saying â€Å"he was a saint (4). The speaker describes more of the man's qualities in order to show the people what a model citizen should be like. Thus, he explains that the man â€Å"never got fired, / but satisfied his employers† (7-8) and â€Å"paid his dues† (10) on time. By doing this, the citizen â€Å"had everything necessary to the Modern Man, / a phonograph, a radio, a car and a frigidaire. † (20-21). The man even had the state in mind when he had a family of five children, for he had â€Å"the right number for a parent of his generation† according to the government's â€Å"Eugenist† (26). For those citizens who may have doubted whether the man's existence was an ideal one, the speaker explains that questioning whether or not the citizen was happy â€Å"is absurd† (28) because only the man's servitude to the state is important. The overall theme of the poem can be viewed as a symbol as a whole, as it is a symbol of how the government treats conformists versus individuals. A symbol can be found in the line â€Å"Our researchers into Public Opinion are content / That he held the proper opinions for the time of year;† (22-23). â€Å"Public Opinion,† which is capitalized, is very important to the â€Å"State,† as they feel if they can control opinion, they can control people, because most people will just go with the flow. It is through these subtle symbols that Auden is able to reveal how he feels about conforming to government xpectations, as most writers stray from conform. Yet despite the state's assurances, the Unknown Citizen's monument is still dedicated to a reference number instead of an actual name. Being a model citizen does not amount to much in a country where one's freedom and liberty are nonexistent and one's entire life is planned by the state. Indeed, the man's inscription illustrates this point: â€Å"To JS/07/M/378 / This Marble Monument is Erected by the State† follows the familiar rhyme scheme that marked the man's passive life.

Literature Review †Organisational Change Essay

Team report you are to list 6 issues facing CanGo that you gleaned from the week 1 and 2 videos. They should be prioritized in order of importance. They should be numbered. The team must then come up with an actionable recommendation for each of the issues found. These should also be numbered. 1. CanGo does not have a a concise vision or mission statement that defines who they are as a company. Solution: CanGo needs to find out what market they want to be in and also figure out what market they want to be in, and where they see themselves going as a company and what values they have. . CanGo did not approach the strategic planning correctly for the online gaming. They discussed going into a new market with no prior knowledge of how the market operates. They also do not have the proper staff to begin the new business venture. Solution: I think that CanGo should do more research for the online gaming market. I also think that if they decide to go in this new direction that they should outsource some of the work and train some of the people they have on hand to help save costs. Liz needs to sit down and complete all of he steps in the strategic management process, including: SWOT analysis, mission statement, long term goals, implementation, strategic choice, evaluation, revision, and vision statement. Conducting a firm financial analysis of the overall project can prevent and reduce higher costs. Setting short-term and long-term goals will give the team a better outlook on the launch of the online gaming system. 3. Nick’s issue with organization is indicative of a bigger issue; the company does not have a structured approach to scheduling, planning, or reporting progress. Solution: CanGo lacks organization. There should be a better system for filing information, and a clear understanding of what each individual’s responsibilities within the company are. This way they would have a better understanding of which staff members are capable to complete which jobs, and those which be able able to with more training. This way tasks will not be inappropriately assigned. Set up a training session or a number of sessions as needed to bring everyone up to speed as far as what is expected for status reporting, prioritizing, scheduling tasks, and de-conflicting schedules. . Nick and the team members are not organized and they are distracting to each other when they are supposed to be working. Solution: The members should be more considerate in talking about some other topics. They can talk about side topics after work, and not during meetings. The main focus is to help out Nick on how to be successful on their new venture. Nick needs to be organized and read y to do the job. 5. Nick did not have a proper plan in place for the launch of the gaming system. He also did not step up and ask for help when he needed it. Solution: Nick should have figured at a proper plan for the launch of the online gaming system. A strategic goal plan should have been approved and put in place before Nick and the team were able to start on the project . Nick should have prioritized and been specific about the goals in the planning of the project through the use of the Gantt Chart. This would have allowed him to give a breakdown of all the issues that needed to be addresses such as hardware, software, recommendations, price comparisons, and testing. Nick not only failed to ask for help, but he did not ask any clarifying questions when the project was assigned to him. The instructions he was proved when given the project were vague and incomplete. He should have advised someone if he was incapable of doing the job in the first place, but he also should have sought more information and assistance if he was capable of doing the job. 6. During the planning meeting the manager quickly points out issues and made statements such as, â€Å"we need†, â€Å"we should†. He never gave any specific assignments, no dates or expectations. Solution: Design a structure for meetings such as this. Have the manager come into the meeting with a determined list which everyone can add to and discuss. He should also assign people to specific tasks based on their skills along with an expected completion date to make certain nothing is dropped. Establishing the projected deadline and developing an outline of the tasks to be accomplished over the course of time will help him reach his goals.

Andersons View of The Grotesque

Anderson's View of The Grotesque In The Book of the Grosteques, the first story of his novel Winesburg, Ohio, Sherwood Anderson introduces the concept of the â€Å"grotesque.† This concept sets up the following stories in the novel, and can also be seen in other modernist texts following the publication of Winesburg, Ohio. Anderson specifically traces the birth of the grotesque back to a time when the world was pure, and a conglomeration of vague thoughts formed beautiful truths: â€Å"Man made the truths himself and each truth was a composite of a great many vague thoughts. All about in the world were the truths and they were all beautiful† (Anderson 12-14). However, people began to take up these truths and attempted to make them their own. What resulted was a distortion of these truths: they were turned into lies, and the people themselves became grotesque upon attempting to own these truths. The moment one of the people took one of the truths to himself, called it his truth, and tried to live his li fe by it, he became a grotesque and the truth he embraced became a falsehood† (Anderson 15-17). In developing his idea of grotesqueness, Anderson not only provides a key into how to read Winesburg, Ohio, but also articulates a way to portray characters by reducing them to a single characteristic. Modernist authors following Anderson, specifically Virginia Woolf and William Faulkner, latched onto this notion and created characters who defined themselves by a singular truth. Although effective, the implementation of this type of character as one-dimensional and symbolic becomes problematic in its oversimplification. These characters represent particular aspects of humanity, but the humanity is lost on them due to their lack of complexity. There is a distance between the reader and the read, because they are not believable, organic characters only caricatures. In her novel Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf expands on Anderson’s notion through the character of Peter Walsh. Woolf’s approach differs from Anderson’s in that some of her characters are grotesque in order to display the complexity of other characters, such as Clarissa Dalloway. The juxtaposition of Peter Walsh and Clarissa Dalloway positions Peter as an inadequate foil. They are by no means equally represented; Peter’s follies and vanities are exaggerated. Instead of sympathizing with Peter, we are disgusted by him. Clarissa is allowed both faults and triumphs, and her character is constructed as a human being rather than as a gross distortion of a few human characteristics. To follow suit with Anderson, Peter Walsh â€Å"snatches up† the truths of romantic love and youth. His dripping sentimentality serves as a threat to Clarissa’s impenetrability. Because Peter’s grotesque character is created to embody these truths, readers begin to conflate romantic love with his portrayal. This leaves few alternatives for love in the world of Mrs. Dalloway. The reader spurns Peter in favor of Clarissa, who has no room for this type of love: â€Å"Peter is her version of that repulsive brute with blood-red nostrils, human nature, and of that sexual and spiritual defilement it demands—that passionate and penetrating and soul-destroying love† (Spilka 332). Peter vacillates between resenting Clarissa and loving her completely. Clarissa’s powerful yet subtle presence is able to bring proud Peter to his knees, despite his superficial background of â€Å"journeys; rides; quarrels; adventures; bridge parties; love affairs; work’ work, work† (Woolf 46). Clarissa’s maintenance of a private self is perceived by Peter as â€Å"coldness.† However, when Woolf gives us such limited options, between Peter’s maudlin love and Clarissa’s platonic, subtle love, we choose Clarissa each time, in fear of the penetrating and soul-destroying love† that Peter represents and in favor of Clarissa’s â€Å"privacy of the soul† (Spilka 332; Woolf 138). Peter’s constant self-aggrandizement creates an unflattering portrait of an older man in love who has not yet matured. One of his more unflattering moments occurs during his chase of the young woman dressed in black. During this chase he views himself to be â€Å"an adventurer, reckless, he thought, swift, daring, indeed (landed as he was last night from India) a romantic buccaneer, careless of all these damned proprieties†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Woolf 57). For the one-dimensional Peter, this woman is a one-dimensional symbol of his youthful fire, which he revels in. After nearly two pages of this illusion, Peter gives up the chase in order to revel in the fantasy. The reader experiences the predictable, appalling deflation: â€Å"The girl, silk-stockinged, feathered, evanescent, but not to him particularly attractive (for he had had his fling) alighted† (Woolf 58). This unrealistic, chauvinistic fantasy serves to appall the reader and reveal the capricious nature of Peter†™s affections. Peters idealization of youth and his pride in understanding youth suggest a resistance against the natural process of aging: â€Å"for he understood young people, he liked them† (Woolf 52). His marriage to Daisy exemplifies his desire to hold on to youth. His inner monologues are riddled with judgments. In â€Å"Notes on the Grotesque,† James Schevill explains, â€Å"the grotesque is often beautiful because it is openly human and exposed† (Schevill 235). Unlike Woolfs detestable Peter Walsh, William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury portrays a more beautiful kind of grotesque. In the beginning of his section, the troubled Quentin Compson evokes the reader’s sympathy in a way that Peter Walsh cannot. This is because we believe Quentin’s torment to be poignant and justified, and we are drawn in by his pain and eloquence. However, as his section progresses, Quentin’s behavior becomes more erratic and less beautiful. His discussions with his father, coupled with his attempt to lure his sister into death or incest expose Quentin as a grotesque, inseparable from his obsessive, skewed perceptions of morality. In Mrs. Dalloway, Peter’s one-dimensionality serves to position Clarissa as a more complex and balanced character. In the case of Quentin and Caddy Compson, Quentin actually narrows Caddy’s character, bringing her down into his distorted vision. Through Quentin’s eyes, we see Caddy and Caddy’s â€Å"sin† as one. The reality is carried through this conflation without objection until the momentum of Quentin’s grief is interrupted with a memory of a conversation with Jason Compson, his father. The father and son are discussing the worth of virginity. Quentin remembers his father’s justification for his son’s torment: And Father said it’s because you are a virgin: don’t you see? Women are never virgins. Purity is a negative state and therefore contrary to nature. It’s nature is hurting you not Caddy and I said That’s just words and he said So is virginity and I said you don’t know. You cant know and he said Yes. On the instant when we realize that tragedy is second-hand (Faulkner 116). Through Mr. Compson, Faulkner gives a more objective (yet cynical) view of Quentin’s obsession with purity. It is here that we begin to see the irrationality of Quentin’s actions and the distorted vicariousness of his pain. This distortion ultimately results in Quentin’s suicide, but long before this, he wishes for a double suicide on the day that Caddy loses her virginity: â€Å"I held the point of the knife at her throat/it wont take but a second just a second then I can mine I can do mine then† (Faulkner 152). Even once Caddy consents, Quentin cannot bring himself to kill his sister. He reaches for something just as tragic, leading Caddy to the ditch where Nancy’s bones lie. Nothing comes of this, but the bewildered reader looks on with uncomprehending horror at Quentin’s obsession. Quentin feels either form of â€Å"death† could baptize him and Caddy so intensely that they will both be made clean again. Unable to emerge from his eg o and his family, Quentin sees salvation as an immersion in his particular kind of love. Karl F. Zender sheds light on Quentin’s puzzling attempt to solve his moral dilemmas: â€Å"Clearly, Quentin wishes to understand his incest fantasies as asexual in origin and atemporal in effect. They are, he believes, a way of rescinding Caddy’s sexual initiation†¦and, by extension, of denying the descent of the Compson family and of the South into the modern age† (Zender 747).

Reading response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 37

Reading response - Essay Example Another major hurdle that Wal-Mart employees face is discrimination against women. Many women employees who have faithfully served the organization for years fail to receive equal salary increment similar to male colleagues. Furthermore, they also face opposition from the company as they seek to form a union for employees. Often, those who show initiative in such activities find their jobs in jeopardy. A number of staff in Jacksonville, Texas found themselves unemployed after successfully voting for a union. Another concern for employees is the fact that many times, they are called upon to work overtime without payment. The company has very high targets, and supervisors regularly call employees to work extra hours to meet these demands. Mallaby argues that Wal-Mart caters to the poor and those households with little income. He claims that the prices of Wal-Mart commodities are pocket-friendly. A huge part of an employees salary usually goes to food and other basic needs. The company offers items at very reasonable prices and operates other programs focused on assisting employees (Mallaby 621). Therefore, Wal-Mart is of benefit to the underprivileged members of the community. He also goes further to respond to criticism about the alleged suppression of wages. He points out that the companys wage structure is better in comparison to that of other firms. Many people would like to work in Wal-Mart, and this is revealed in Mallabys account of a recruitment drive when the store opened a branch in Glendale, Arizona. There were 527 job openings advertised, and they received an overwhelming 8,000 applications for these positions. There is also criticism that Wal-Mart is a parasite on taxpayers. This is because 5% of its wor kers are on Medicaid. Mallaby argues that this is normal with large retail firms. He adds that the national average for all the companies is

How to Succeed in the Business World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

How to Succeed in the Business World - Essay Example ays and means that are usually taken care of whilst managing a business are aplenty and it is only up to the top management within a company that the same can be handled in a several different methods. They are the ones to decide as to what is the real manner in which the firm’s operations would be handled as well as who will head the respective departments, lead the business strategic units and act as legal and media representatives of the said business. The business, as marketers say, exists to satisfy its target audience through fulfilling a need courtesy its products and/or services or a combination of the both, the same being true in case of a retail outlet which sells gasoline to local consumers, thus giving in petrol plus extra services in the form of window cleaning, fuel gauge checks and so on and so forth. (Kennedy, 2003) With the advent of the middle management growing in stature, the need has been to categorize it separately. Now the middle management of yesteryears is known as the ‘knowledge organization’ which plays the role of the ‘brain’ within the organization. (Kaye, 2003) The mind or brain is the unit within the human body that rationalizes each and every decision in the wake of past evidences and future predictions, not to forget what is happening in the present. Thus the same role is duly played by the knowledge organization, i.e., the middle management quite professionally. A business thus has to keep track of the top management and its decisions as well as the middle power cadre too. It is with the combined efforts of the two that the business can exist smoothly and thus benefit not only its own future long term growth but also help the customer and/or stakeholders by fulfilling their needs and desires. A business does not come into its own overnight. It takes a lot of research, planning and proper execution to take it where the marketers, the business professionals and the stakeholders want it to proceed and end up as something

Describe and evaluate the main macroeconomic policies used by the Essay - 3

Describe and evaluate the main macroeconomic policies used by the Government and Central Bank of Brazil over the last two years - Essay Example een undergoing a phase of sharp economic slowdown as inflation in the country has continued to slide up the scale to touch its highest level in the decade, with 12 month rolling inflation index (ICPA) clocking in at 7.70%, significantly above the country’s Central Bank target of 6.5%. It must be noticed that this is the highest inflation rate prevailing in the country even since May 2005, when the rates touched 8.05%. Brazil’s Central Bank plays with the policy of interest rate of the country in a bid to control the inflation in the country, as well as regularize the country’s currency (Media, 2015). Just recently Brazil’s Central Bank raised its interest rates for the third time in a row to touch the 12.75% level. The main motive behind the increase in the country’s discount rate was to control the rising inflation engulfing the economic spheres of the country, along with being in line with the monetary tightening stance taken by the Central Bank. A look further into the past tells us that in line with the slowdown being witnessed in the Brazilian economy, the Central Bank had cut its growth prediction for the country by a phenomenal 90 basis points to 0.7%. Essential to notice here is the fact that such low growth figures are below are generally below what other Latin American economies have forecasted, with the exception of Argentina and Venezuela. Taxation has also been a key cause of concern in the Brazilian economy. Within the time span of the last two years the government had given incentives to many industries to stimulate demand, for instance by giving tax breaks to the auto sector. However, knowing where Brazil currently stands at the moment, the current Government will have to take some non-populist measures including abandoning the incentives provided to various industries. The last two years have also seen changes in the country’s investment environment despite various efforts taken by the government and the Central Bank to control the

Napoleon as a Child of the Enlightenment and the First Modern Dictator Research Paper

Napoleon as a Child of the Enlightenment and the First Modern Dictator - Research Paper Example This was an indication of his devotion to the enli. With scholastic and scientific advancements came the so called â€Å"opening of great minds†. Shortly after the advent of enlightenment, the revolution and civil war broke out in France from 1879 to 1899. This period required a strong leader and Napoleon’s leaning towards enlightenment’s principal-called the minds of the French, middle class (Posner 12). He displayed this in his policies and attitudes, resulting from his enlightened social reform agenda and religious ideas. Enlightenment taught principles of religious tolerance via the lessening of God and religion in everyday life. Napoleon was able to isolate himself from the devout and use religion for the furthering of his goals and political ideas. For example, he took the religion of the lands that he conquered. In France, he was a Catholic, but in Egypt, he took up Islam. It is difficult to reconcile whether Napoleon's political acumen was his source of e nlightenment or whether the enlightenment made him a political strategist (Posner 16). Regardless, Napoleon is considered a despot of the enlightenment. Though by today’s standards, Napoleon’s ideals, such as a puppet parliament and clergy would seem unenlightened, the 18th-century enlightenment despot was one able to introduce rational thought and reform while ignoring the minority. Napoleon’s most interesting enlightened social reform involved the institution of a law system that treated the citizens as individuals, without recognition of social class. Napoleon also instituted enlightenment principled reforms in the education sector by promoting scholarships for those with scholastic promise, as education became increasingly important in the enlightenment world. His enlightenment era actions and ideas led to the codified law system that was embraced all over Europe and continues to influence constitutions all over the world to date. Napoleon was a child of the enlightenment who followed the ideas that the period presented through his strategy and policies. Napoleon can be considered as the first modern dictator. Most dictators usually come to power during war or a state of emergence, just as Napoleon did. As an army general during the French Revolution, France witnessed a period of great political and social upheaval. From 1789, France evolved from being a monarchy to a republic and finally to an empire. In the middle of bloody coups, executions, and confusion, Napoleon rose to the high consul in the provisional government (Woloch 34). Because of his status as an undefeated commander, he enjoyed great popularity. He went on to write the Napoleonic code, which is still the basis for French civil law to this day.  Ã‚  

The impact of globalization on HRM in multinational organizations Assignment

The impact of globalization on HRM in multinational organizations - Assignment Example It has brought about an integration of the companies all over the world and has facilitated trade by way of reducing transportation costs and doing away with the barriers to trade. Globalisation has also facilitated a free flow of goods and service, knowledge, skills, capital and labour. During a strong economic growth period world exports shot up in various countries thereby contributing heavily to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Previously, human resource management (HRM) was typically concerned with the cost cutting activities and the administrative activities, focusing on bringing about efficiency in the system and the minimised the cost. However in the present world the role of HRM has changed and focuses on an organization’s long-term objective. The companies’ business strategies were affected by globalisation in a large manner. The companies had access to a large variety of markets and could market their products in global markets. The emerging markets of the developing countries are of lucrative content to such MNCs who are looking to diversify. Due to the emergence of new markets the external financing sources of the companies also increase. A very important source of financing is Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) that has opened avenues for the MNCs to invest in the developing countries. FDI has a dual benefit to both the country and the company. There is a global market for the products of the MNCs. Moreover due to abundance of labour resources in the developing countries the MNCs often shift their production processes to such countries such that they can carry out production at low costs. Also the political stabilisations across the globe and the favourable relations between the countries have made positive impac ts on the strategic positions of the companies. The socio-political globalisation has given rise to regulatory bodies that govern the different policies that mark the path of trade between various companies. The most

Pharmaceutical indusrry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pharmaceutical indusrry - Essay Example With this monopoly, comes a lot of power which gives pharmaceutical companies the incentive to focus on the large amount of capital needed for research and development. This then allows them to profit more from competitive companies by use of these patents. Without these patents, only one company, which had invested in research and development, would be responsible for development a new drug into the system. All the other pharmaceuticals would only be responsible for reproducing this new, innovative drug. Pharmaceutical companies are trying hard to recover the research and development costs that are incurred during the innovation of a new drug. One of the ways of achieving this is by marketing these drugs. Unlike most consumer drugs that can be purchased from the seller to the buyer directly, these drugs have to be prescriptions from the doctor or physician. Without these prescriptions, the drugs cannot be legally sold. Since the physician does not stand to legally profit from authorizing the drug to be used, the drug companies stopped the advertising campaigns that were directed at physicians. This was mainly because the physicians would likely act in their own interest, and in the best interest of the patient, as well. However, as time went by, the FDA (Food and Drugs Administration), began letting the pharmaceuticals to do direct consumer exchanges (Acemoglu, p 1). This made them target their advertising and campaigns to consumers. The aim of this was that when the consumer went t o the physician they could ask for a drug. This in effect, increased the advertising costs and raised the costs of innovative new drugs. Clinical trials have significantly increased because of the reduced willingness of test subjects. This coupled with greater challenges in drug trials are responsible for an increase in costs. Due to increased development,