Annexation of Hawaii

Not many Americans are familiar with the history behind Hawaii becoming part of the United States. Most people know Hawaii for beautiful beaches, nice weather, and the native cultures. The annexation of Hawaii is an interesting story and was not an easy task to accomplish for the United States. The story of the annexation is a story of conflicting goals as the American businessman struggled to obtain favorable trade conditions and native Hawaiians sought to protect their culture and heritage. In 1891 Hawaii was a monarchy ruled by King Kalakaua and was later ruled by his sister, Queen Liliuokalani.The United States began seeking interest in Hawaii in the early 1820s to expand on agricultural growth. The United States became interested in Hawaii’s sugar growing agriculture and began trading with Hawaii [1]. America began trading and making deals with Hawaii while King Kalakaua was still ruling. During this time the United States did not charge anything for importing Hawaiian su gar. Also, the United States established a U. S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in the late 1880s. The sugar growing industry is where the annexation of Hawaii started to begin or was the root cause of the annexation.In 1890 Congress approved the McKinley Tariff; this tariff raised the rates on sugar being imported into the United States from foreign countries. The raised rates caused a financial hardship on the sugar farmers of the Hawaiian Islands. The American sugar farmers knew if the islands were to be annexed by the United States, then the tariff would be no longer needed. Queen Liliuokalani tried to rebuild the monarchy and was against the annexation with the United States. Many of the local sugar farmers were plotting a revolt to defeat the Queen because of her opposition to the annexation.American troops invaded the island without the consent from the President of the United States. The troops overthrew the Queen in a bloodless battle on January 17, 1893 and raised the American flag to lay claim of their new proclaimed territory [2]. After being overthrown by the American troops the annexation committee decided to proclaim themselves the Provisional Government. The Senate did not get a chance to ratify the treaty of annexation before the new President, Grover Cleveland withdrew the treaty.President Cleveland felt the United States acted inappropriately by ordering the overthrowing of the Hawaiian monarch and quickly withdrew the annexation treaty. Queen Liliuokalani resumed her authority as queen and leader, but the newly appointed President of the Provisional Government, Sanford Dole, was not so willing to submit his power back to the Queen. Many of the natives were not happy with the new government and began to form rallies to protest. Two groups were formed to try and prevent the annexation of Hawaii.The two groups were Hui Hawaii Aloha Aina (this was the female group) and the other group was Hui Hawaii Aloha Aina o Na Wahine (this was the male group). The groups fought to try and prevent the takeover, but were not successful. The leaders of the rebellion along with the Queen were put in prison. The Queen was imprisoned because she failed to stop the fight. In 1897 the new President of the United States, William McKinley, was inaugurated. President McKinley was in favor of the annexation. McKinley along with three representatives of the government of the Republic of Hawaii signed a treaty to annex Hawaii.Once the treaty was signed, it was then passed on to the Senate for ratification. Once again this provoked the two protest groups, who then decided to organize a mass petition drive. The groups hoped to accomplish showing the American government that the majority of the Hawaiian natives wanted the annexation to be stopped. The groups gathered 21,269 signatures to oppose the petition [2]. Four delegates along with Liliuokalani met with Senator George Hoar to present the petition for the Senator to read to the Senate.The petition w as formally accepted and the treaty was turned down by the Senate. Not long after Senate opposed the annexation treaty was the subject brought up again. A United States’ battleship was blown up in the Havana Harbor. The Hawaiian Islands became a key place for the refueling of the naval ships during the Spanish-American War. The Congressmen who were for the annexation of Hawaii submitted a proposal to annex the islands by joint resolution, which required only a simple majority, vote in both houses.The â€Å"Newlands Resolution† passed Congress and President McKinley signed the document on July 7, 1898. After being, annexed Hawaii remained a United States territory and then in 1959 became the fiftieth state. Bibliography 1. Schamel, Wynell and Charles E. Schamel. â€Å"The 1897 Petition Against the Annexation of Hawaii. †Ã‚  Social Education63, 7 (November/December 1999): 402-408. 2. ushistory. org. â€Å"Hawaiian Annexation†. U. S. History Online Textbook. Accessed March 19, 2013. http://www. ushistory. org/us/44b. asp.

Blockbusters and Star Wars Essay

If one views the top grossing films of all time, it becomes easy to see that most of the films rely heavily on computer generated images, whether to enhance live action or the animation of popular animated features. Many cinematic experts cite the fact that blockbusters in the last thirty years have relied increasingly on special effects to the point that they overshadow the plot, which in essence becomes superfluous. However, this is hardly the case, and most blockbuster films feature plotlines and ideologies that date back to the earliest days of cinema when special effects were scarce. One of the most popular film franchises in history, Star Wars contains not only special effects that helped change movie making, but it also features a plot with many of the same elements as classic western films, including the ideological battle of good versus evil, the wild frontier, and archetypal characters. In the first few years of its existence, cinema was nothing more than a novelty that possessed little artistic value. The idea of moving images was more than enough to attract audiences, though like all novelties, the public would soon grow weary of the invention without the efforts of men like Edwin S. Porter. Undoubtedly, Porter can be said to be the creator of the first blockbuster in movie history, with 1903’s The Great Train Robbery. The film advanced filmmaking in many regards, as not only the first western, but also by incorporating action, violence, frontier humor, color, special effects, and a full-screen closeup of a bandit firing his pistol at the audience. While a short film featuring only one reel of action, it soon led to the proliferation of the nickelodeon as the most popular and commercially successful film of the pre-nickelodeon era, establishing the idea that film could be a commercially-viable medium. This realization that films could make money would eventually become the driving force behind the Hollywood film industry, and the conventions of the western would serve as the perfect template for plots to the present day. When the Hollywood studio system emerged in the 1910s and 1920s, films were produced much in the way of automobiles, with an assembly line mentality and factory-based production operations that allowed the studios to dominate the movie industry in the U. S. and abroad. The impact of the western formula on the success of film was apparent and by the mid-1920s, nearly half of Universal Studio’s annual output of feature films was westerns. After remaining the most profitable genre of film for decades, by the 1960s the western had peaked both as a viable Hollywood commodity and as a national myth to ease America’s rural-urban transformation, in part brought low by a combination of market saturation and generic exhaustion. However, many of its familiar conventions would find their way into the plots of some of the biggest blockbusters in history. Over seventy years after Porter’s blockbuster, George Lucas would also change the face of cinema, relying on the basic plot techniques developed through the evolution of the western. Stars Wars is credited as ushering in not only the era of dominating special effects, but also remains one of the highest grossing blockbusters of all time, with a worldwide box office take of $797,000,000, not to mention another few billion from its subsequent sequels and prequels. While Star Wars contains amazing artistry in the scale and scope of its special effects, its plot still relies on the simple conventions of the western film, which are designed to be accessible to all audiences. Often considered the first blockbuster to star one of cinema’s greatest icons, John Wayne, the film Stagecoach is an adult drama that had deep roots and moral lessons that helped make it a timeless classic, whose plot is about a group of strangers thrown together on a journey and put under stress so that the strengths and weaknesses of the character within them is revealed; this same basic formula has been seen in blockbuster films like Apollo 13 and the biggest blockbuster in history, Titanic. While both of these later films are heavy with special effects, they feature these proven plot techniques, much like Star Wars. The first time viewers see the heroic Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, it almost looks like a scene from a western. The classic desert landscape, the flat, expansive land and the big sky are all classic icons of the western genre. It is this vastness that is a key characteristic in Star Wars and westerns. Specific settings for westerns include lonely isolated forts, the isolated homestead, the jail, or small frontier towns that are forming at the edges of civilization. Luke, much like the young heroes of westerns, yearns only to get off the farm and lead a life of greater excitement. It is only when the Empire storms through and kills his family is he forced to become a man and take on the evil forces conspired against him. Usually, the central plot of the western film is the classic, simple goal of maintaining law and order on the frontier in a fast-paced action story: â€Å"It is normally rooted in archetypal conflict – good vs. bad, virtue vs. evil, white hat vs. black hat†¦ Often the hero of a western meets his opposite â€Å"double,† a mirror of his own evil side that he has to destroy† (Dirks). For Luke, the good, his opposition is Darth Vader, the evil. This point is even illustrated by the color of the clothing they wear, as Luke dresses in white and Vader is decked out in ominous black. This element of good versus evil, or white hat versus black hat is a key to western films and make it easy for viewers to delineate between good characters and bad characters is traditionally easy in conventional western movies. There is little question as to who the good guys and bad guys are. And, this is even seen in Luke’s sister, Leia, who begins the movie wearing an all-white dress. The white clothing of Luke and Leia link them through their apparent goodness, even though it is not revealed until later that they are brother and sister. The only character that is seen in both white and black is Han Solo, who wears a white shirt with a black vest. Unlike Luke and Leia, Han has elements of mischief and is also an outlaw. The white shirt signifies his goodness, while the black vest hints of his less than admirable qualities–his greed, selfishness, and willingness to deal with shady characters. When Han is introduced into the movie, he kills an alien within the first few minutes. According to author Stephen D. Greydanus, this scene is typical of western films: â€Å"The saloon shootouts, of course, come from that other great American mythology, the Western. (So does Han Solo’s general cowboy look and demeanor. ) By the 1970s, though, the Western no longer enjoyed the hold on the popular imagination it once had, though its influence has continued to be felt in films [like] Star Wars†. With all the element of classic westerns, including cowboy-type characters, evil villains, and a plot filled with action, it would only seem appropriate that Star Wars also possessed a classic theme, as many popular westerns do. However, Han’s goodness is finally known and he becomes one of the rebels’ greatest assets and is one of the movie’s best examples of a western style cowboy. While Star Wars could be considered a western set in space, it certainly possesses more elements and intricacies of plot than are given credit. While none of the conventions are new, they helped infuse the modern blockbuster with the spirit of old Hollywood, to very profitable results. A few true westerns have become blockbusters in the past thirty years, most notably Dances with Wolves, which grossed $424,200,000 worldwide, and featured many of the same elements as Star Wars, including good versus evil, the encroaching omnipresent technological power, and the perseverant hero. Ironically, Dances With Wolves even won the Academy Award for best film, beating out the film Goodfellas, which actually ended with an homage to Edwin S. Porter’s original western; it featured one of the most sinister mobsters in the movie shooting his gun directly at the audience at the end of the film, almost exactly duplicating the ending of Porter’s film. This just goes to show that regardless of what genre today’s Hollywood blockbusters fall under, the plot elements of the American western permeate most, from the simple battle of good versus evil to the ultimate victory enjoyed by the pure-hearted hero. Bibliography All-Time Worldwide Box office, Internet Movie Database, 2008, retrieved 2 April 2008, . Dirks, Tim, The Great Train Robbery (1903), The Greatest Films, 2008, retrieved 2 April 2008, . Dirks, Tim, Western Films, The Greatest Films, 2008, retrieved 2 April 2008, . Eyman, Scott and Gianetti, Louis, Flashback: A Brief History of Film, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1991. Greydanus, Steven D. , An American Mythology: Why Star Wars Still Matters,† Decent Films Guide, 2007, retrieved 2 April 2008, . Levy, Emanuel, Oscar History: Western Genre–Best Picture, EmanuelLevy. com, 2008, retrieved 2 April 2008, . Lucas, George. Star Wars. Hollywood, CA, Twentieth Century Fox, 1977. Schatz, Thomas, Cowboy Business, The New York Times, November 10, 2007, retrieved 2 April 2008, . Schatz, Thomas, Studio System, Film Reference, 2007, retrieved 2 April 2008, . Williamson, Ed, John Wayne’s First Blockbuster Movie, Epinions, 2002, retrieved 2 April 2008, .

Skype and its impact on Social and Culture Environment Term Paper

Skype and its impact on Social and Culture Environment - Term Paper Example Importance of Skype and its Impact on People’s Lives Skype has been significant in the lifestyles of the modern society. The most important aspect has been lowering the cost of telephone services. Subscribers of Skype are able to communicate effectively through unlimited phone calls, which is not possible through the common telephone service providers. Moreover, Skype services are accessible globally and therefore every person who has access to the internet can use them (Booth, 16). The current wave of globalization has necessitated effective communication among business people, workers and their families as well as among organizations with mobile workers. Greenhow observes that Skype services have enabled many people working away from home to accomplish work-life balance by means of video conferencing (11). The common mobile telephony only allows voice calls, but workers and their relations appreciate visual communication whereby they are able to see the person whom they are communicating with. Under such circumstances, expatriate workers overseas are able to see their families through video chats. This is significance in the enhancement of satisfaction in employment and avoidance of family breakdown as a result of distance work. Video conferencing has also enhanced business and inter-organizational partnerships by enhancing networking capabilities. The cost of travel and conference rooms has been eliminated by Skype. Moreover, it helps in saving time in the p reparations for conferences (Turban et al. 19). In making purchases online, a person is in a position to see the partner whom he/she is communicating with thereby avoiding chances of falling in to the trap of fraudsters. For example, the recent rise in fraudulent transactions involving the sale of used motor vehicles by fake dealers through their short-lived websites could have been avoided if buyers insisted on visual conversations through Skype. This would enable them to request an image of the company premises and the cars before concluding a deal. On the other hand, the fear of fraudster companies in the internet has led to a decline of consumers willing to buy products online (Booth, 13). Skype can be applied by marketers to express their genuineness to potential online customers. Its application offers the opportunity to present a positive image by showing customers their marketing team, management and physical location. In deed, as Kuriyan & Ray (95) assert, Skype is the way to go in future online shopping. In healthcare, Skype has contributed to numerous positive changes with regard to communication between doctors and patients. Doctors, just like other professionals have been using Skype to communicate with families and friends. However, new developments have changed the manner in which they relate with patients. With increased cost of hospitalized healthcare, doctors have established a new strategy of home based care through Skype. Routine medical checks for patients have been facilitated by Skype video calls to patients in the comfort of their homes. Moreover, patients can interact with doctors for clinical consultations and other health related issues without physical presence in the hospital (Turban et al. 19). This has enabled doctors

Globalization of infectious diseases Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Globalization of infectious diseases - Coursework Example ases presents an economic concern for globalization because in a globalized and interconnected world, the healthy nations feel obliged morally, ethically, as well as politically to help the victims of the affected regions with medical supplies and healthcare services. Similarly, prevalence of infectious diseases in a region deters the foreign companies to expand into them, thus proving a hurdle to cultural integration and globalization. The globalization of economy presents a health concern for populations by directly affecting the quality and cost of medical care supplies and services. As the value of one currency goes up, the medical supplies and services imported from it rise in price. Purchasers have to pay more to get the same services. â€Å"Population health status and its distribution are determined by population-level influences, individual level health risks, and the health care system. The last two are strongly influenced by the household economy† (Woordward et al., 2001, p. 876). The household economy, in turn, is affected by a range of factors driven by

Introduction to International Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Introduction to International Accounting - Essay Example It had started its operation with single fleet and three flights per week and presently it spreads its span to 99 destinations over 39 countries. The organisation had commenced its business with the name of Malaysia-Singapore Airlines in the year 1947. After 25 years, in the year of 1972, the Airlines had split into two entities, named as Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airline System. The Singapore Airlines was the first to provide the complimentary headsets and free drinks. In addition to it, their latest innovation of providing in-flight telecommunication services made them pioneer in this service. Eventually, it can be stated that the history of the organisation was the witness of the quality services (Singapore Airlines, 2011). The Singapore Airlines is a unit of Singapore Government. The holding company of the organisation is Temasek Holdings which acquires 54.5% of voting stock. The organisation has adopted an effective strategy of diversification. It has been diversified into related sectors and industries. Hence, it can be stated the organisation has gone for the horizontal diversification (Singapore Airlines, 2007). The financial statements of the organisation indicates that during the period of economic downturn the organisation was not managed properly as the profit had became negative in the financial year 2009. But there after, SIA has controlled the organisation effectively as drastic changes in the financial performance have been noticed. Report published by Statistical Commission (2008) had defined the concept of balance sheet. The report had considered the balance sheet as the statement which has drawn up the values of the assets owned and the liabilities owed by an organisation or a group of organisations, based on a particular point of time. A balance sheet is able to show the ways of best meeting the liabilities. Moreover, comparing the fixed assets and the current assets of a balance sheet, it can be determined

Should the drinking age of 21 be lowered to 18years old Why or Why not Personal Statement

Should the drinking age of 21 be lowered to 18years old Why or Why not - Personal Statement Example Adolescent brains are much more defenseless than adult brains to stand the ill effects of alcoholism. Consumption of alcohol at a young age badly affects learning, memory, thinking capacity, judgment, and decision-making capability. Grant (1998, p.144) states that the age at which a person starts consuming alcohol plays a very important role in deciding how much alcohol dependent he will be in his later life. He investigated the relationship between life time alcohol dependence and the age at which a person starts drinking. He used data from the 1992 National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey. He found in his research that â€Å"regardless of the family history of alcoholism, respondents with an earlier age of drinking onset were more likely to become alcohol dependent compared with respondents with a later age of drinking onset† (p.144) and that â€Å"the likelihood of lifetime alcohol dependence decreased with increasing age at drinking onset† (p.146). Young brains are more vulnerable to hazards of alcohol. Hence, it is very important not to lower down the drinking age to 18 in order to reduce the hazardous effects of alcohol when consumed at younger age. Grant, B.F. (1998). The impact of a family history of alcoholism on the relationship between age at onset of alcohol use and DSM–IV alcohol dependence. Alcohol Health and Research World, 22(2), pp.

Paper on international business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Paper on international business - Assignment Example There are two main existing strategies that XYZ used and need to keep using to keep the business profitable. As we look at those strategies those they should not change and need to find a way to keep them in their operation plan: Price and shipment- By offering the cheaper price in their products and free shipment had help to attract their customers and get new ones through the word of mouth. XYZ will always succeed when the customers is looking for better products. Customer Service- Customer receives great customer service in the product that they buy and when they return product back to the company. The customers only have to deal with one company not other company that advertises the product in the web site. One of the important strategies to study is the feasibility study. Feasibility study is an important phase in the development process. It enables the developer to have an assessment of the product (like XYZ 's soaps, detergents, etc) being developed. It refers to the feasibility study of the product in terms of outcomes of the product, operational use and technical support required for implementing it. Feasibility study should be performed on the basis of various criteria and parameters. The various feasibility studies are (1) Economic Feasibility, (2) Operational Feasibility and (3) Technical Feasibility. It reEconomic Feasibility: It refers to the benefits or outcomes. We are deriving from the product as compared to the total cost we are spending for developing the product. If the benefits are more or less the same as the older system, then it is not feasible to develop the product. The development of the new product greatly enhances the accuracy of the system and cuts short the delay in the processing of the product. Operational Feasibility: It refers to the feasibility of the product to be operational. Some products may work very well at basic implementation but may fall in the real time environment. It includes the study of additional human resources required and their technical expertise. Technical Feasibility: It refers to whether the products available in the market fully support the present new one. It studies the pros and cons of using particular product for the development and it's feasibility. It also studies the additional training need to be given to the people to make the product work. FDI FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) is of great significance for production as well as consumption of goods. It is through trade that goods produced at particular places are equitably distributed among users. With the help of trade goods are made available to consumers at the time of their need. It removes the hindrance of persons by bringing together producers and consumers who are widely scattered. Advantages of FDI for XYZ are outlined below: It enables the company to concentrate on the production activities; otherwise they would have to go in search of consumers for goods they produce. Trade makes goods available to consumers who can concentrate on their own occupations. It results in specialization and large-scale production as the markets are now spread over wide territories. Sale of goods from one country and purchase of goods form other countries. It provides avenues of employment to various

Research company tries to show that you can only understand consumer Essay

Research company tries to show that you can only understand consumer behaviour by living with their behaviour - Essay Example For this reason, a high range of research methods has been developed for helping marketers in developing the above task. In practice, it has been proved that certain of these methods are not fully effective, allowing the appearance of inaccuracies in their findings. The potential use of ethnography as a research method is explored in this paper. The ‘Project Keyhole’, a research program based on ethnography is used as an example. The project was developed by the advertising firm BMP DDB. The advantages and the limitations of ethnography are also critically examined in order to understand the reasons that led BMP DDB to choose the specific research approach. It is proved that ethnography is a quite effective research method, under the terms that the rules related to its application are respected. 2. Ethnography as a research approach for studying consumer behaviour 2.1 Importance and limitations of ethnography as a research approach Ethnography is a quite popular qualitat ive research method (Rubin and Babbie 2009, p.218). The key characteristic of ethnography is ‘observation in natural settings’ (Rubin and Babbie 2009, p.218). More specifically, in the context of ethnography researchers can observe the behaviour of a social group in regard to a particular social activity (Rubin and Babbie 2009, p.218). ... The research tools used in the context of ethnography are interviews and observation (Rubin and Babbie 2009, p.218). Haviland et al. (2010) also note that ethnography is preferred from other qualitative research approaches since it can offer valuable information on a particular culture, as the similar assumptions have been developed through fieldwork (Haviland et al. 2010, p.12). As a research method, ethnography has certain requirements. The common culture of the social group under observation is the primary condition for the development of a successful research project using ethnography (Rubin and Babbie 2009, p.218). Then, it is preferred that the social group participated in the research project is isolated (Haviland et al. 2010, p.12). Isolation, as a term related to ethnography, reflects not just the lack of participation in certain social activities but also the gathering in a particular area, where the social group involved can develop its own style of life (Haviland et al. 2 010, p.12). Reference can be made, as examples, to the ‘Islands of the Pacific Ocean or the deserts of Australia’ (Haviland et al. 2010, p.12). The above fact cannot lead to the assumption that ethnography cannot be used in the industrialized countries. In fact, ethnography can be used in every place where a social group, of any size but of a common culture, is established (Haviland et al. 2010, p.12). A household can be a social group that could be studied using ethnography (Haviland et al. 2010, p.12). From a similar point of view, Schensul and LeCompte (1999) note that the key requirement for the development of a successful research project based on ethnography is the ability of the researcher involved to identify ‘the cultural

Overcoming the fear of speaking in public Essay Example for Free

Overcoming the fear of speaking in public Essay I heard several stories of how it was like speaking in public for the first time. While some would be tongue tied for the first few moments and stare in to a blank space, others knees would simply give way to the painful fact that no force would blow them away or hide them from the drowning gaze of their audience. My experience was in no way different from theirs. I had resisted and vehemently opposed every attempt to bring me to speak before the congregation of my local church. ‘I am not good at debating,’ or ‘I got the information late, so I could not prepare’ were among the several excuses I would bring up whenever I was enlisted for any debating competition in the church. But this day, I was ‘shoed’ to the front by my mother to give a testimony on my escape from a deathly road accident. At first, my buttocks felt like they were glued to the seat. I went blank and no words would form in my head. Standing before the congregation, I felt like running away. I searched for what could distract me and then I found the shape of the pulpit attention drawing. I slurred on the first few words, but I later gained confidence. Right there and then, I was completely discharged of all stage fright. I delivered my first public speech, if I may call it that. Ever since then, I find it easy and less disturbing to address the public, their number notwithstanding. I joined a freelance writing company recently. I used to have problem with meeting deadlines, customers were always sending back my works for revision and I was losing my earning with the company. I was frustrated and I felt like leaving. But I decided to take it as a challenge and to resist giving in to frustration. I have been doing fine ever since. I also learnt how to relate well with customers. I acquired also professional writing skills.

Sports Marketing Essay Example for Free

Sports Marketing Essay The business of sports is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. All over the globe, many people participate as players and spectators in a variety of sporting activities, creating opportunities for the marketing of a companys goods and services. An important part of the business of sports is sports marketing, which revolves around understanding consumer behaviour and motivating target markets to purchase goods and services. Sports marketing is simply any sales or publicity-related activity associated with an organised sporting event (or events), its personalities, or the celebrity lifestyle of its participants. There are two components of sports marketing; the marketing of sport and marketing through sports. Marketing of sport consists of the actual marketing of a particular sport such as rugby league or basketball. This includes, but is not limited to, signage, endorsements, print media, broadcast media, billboards, and news media. Examples of marketing through endorsements are Michael Jordan wearing Nike shoes or ex-rugby league player turned commentator Peter Sterlo Sterling on the Blue Haven Pool commercials. Any type of media that mentions a team or athletic organisations is an example of marketing through the use of media. WPT Enterprises, Inc. is a media and entertainment company engaged in the development, production, and marketing of gaming-themed, televised programming; the licensing and sale of branded consumer products; and the sale of corporate sponsorships. WPT Enterprises creates and produces the ? World Poker Tour which is a collection of poker tournaments featuring the worlds most professional and experienced players. It airs Wednesday nights at 9pm on the Travel Channel and consists of 16 high stakes poker tournaments filmed at glamorous locations throughout the world. It continues to be a rating juggernaut on the network. Each time the show has been aired, it viewers have grown ? often doubling its ratings over the two hour time slot. This long term deal allows the World Poker Tour to be a popular weekly fixture on the network, and provides a great promotional platform for the networks wide array of programs and series. In sports (poker in this particular instance), competition is the name of the game, but this competition is not just limited to the playing field (or card table), as sports teams (professional card players) and foundations continually compete for the support of fans, sponsors and governmental agencies ? this opens up the need for sports marketing programs. Sports marketing programs assist sports marketers who coordinate big sporting events in evaluating the success of their marketing and communications activities as well as the potential economic impacts of facilities, construction and expansion.

The Drug Policy System In Portugal Criminology Essay

The Drug Policy System In Portugal Criminology Essay In contrary to popular believe, it is not the Netherlands that has the most liberal drugs law, it is actually the Portugal. With its reputation of being the first European country to abolish all the criminal penalties for the personal possession of drugs (decriminalising) and at the same time enabling them to manage and control their drug problem effectively than every other country in the West, it is impossible to deny that Portuguese is a model for drug policy in the Europe. In this assignment, this will be discussed further in depth along with the comparisons of Portugal with the other (European) countries that has different drug policies in order to support this argument. CONTENT There are different types of drug control method used by different countries all over the world. There are the prohibition of drugs, the legalisation and finally, the systems of drug policy (such as decriminalisation, harm reduction and medicalisation). The prohibition of drugs is mainly done by countries such as Sweden, United States of America (USA) and Islamic countries where they criminalised drugs by penalising the drug user. The next method of drug control, legalisation of drugs as we speak are not yet done by any countries in the world as many are usually against this idea. However, Uruguay has proposed the legalising of marijuana in order to stop drug traffickers problem in their country (Cave, 2012). The other drug control method is a system of drug policy reform that is done by Portugal which is to be studied in this essay. This drug policy reform system consists of three aspects which are the decriminalisation of drugs, looking the drug issue in a medical perspective (medi calisation) and also harm reduction programs to lower the harm done by drug use. Some other countries that have also decriminalised drug use are as follow: Netherlands, Spain and Czech Republic, although they are being carried out differently in each country. On the 1st of July 2001, Portugal began a significant drastic policy change in its effort to reduce the escalating number of drug users and the problem related to drug use (particularly in the 1990s- which this problem was seen to worsen) in the country. The flagship of the new policy is to decriminalise the use and possession of drugs for personal use, introduced as a new law, Law 30/2000. Under this new law, the personal use and possession of drugs are made to be only administrative offenses rather than criminal offences. Portugal in the liberal drug policy coupled its decriminalisation with a public health reorientation with treatment and harm reduction put central in dealing with its drug problem. This decriminalisation also separates the drug user from the criminal justice system by identifying the drug user as patient, a health and social problem. In addition to this, the drug user will not have any criminal record for their drug offences but rather, an administrative offence. This distinguishes the drug policy from Spain where the policy is de facto decriminalisation where the drug user will still be judged by the criminal court. It is the stigmatisation that arises from conviction of criminal onto the drug user is what that Portuguese policy explicitly aims to avert. This medicalisation view at the same time is also a great measure to help the society out in order for it to develop as the effects of criminal conviction on the drug user will apparently be complicated once they are back in the soc iety such as in terms of seeking for employment and also, the loss of the drug users social esteem and friends or family (Pager, 2003). Together with that, the avoidance of stigma to the drug users will also make them more likely to seek for treatment and eventually have a better chance to succeed. In dealing with the administrative offences, each of the eighteen districts in Portugal will have at least one committee that deals only with drug use in that district ( however, larger ones will have more than one committee). In general, the committees will consist of three people; two people from the medical sector (physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, or social workers) and another with a legal background. They are also better known as the Commissions for the Dissuasion of Drug Addiction (Comissà µes para a Dissuasà £o da Toxicodependà ªncia), the CDTs. People who are found in possession of drugs will be referred to the CDTs by the police. The person will then be expected to appear before the CDT within 72 hours after found by the police. The CDTs use targeted responses to drug users, including sanctions such as community service, fines, suspension of professional licences and bans on attending designated places. But their primary aim is to dissuade new drug users and to e ncourage dependent drug users to enter treatment. Towards this end they determine whether individuals are occasional or dependent drug users and then apply an appropriate sanction (Hughes and Stevens, 2007). However, the committee cannot mandate compulsory treatment, although its orientation is to induce addicts to enter and remain in treatment. Additionally, because the committees will see the users repeatedly, they would build up a relationship of trust with the addict. This kind of treatment to the drug user is more likely to succeed rather than other methods as the drug user enter the doctor-patient relationship on a voluntary basis and they are also given the choice to proceed with it or not, hence empowering them (Merril et al, 2002). This is done differently in other countries such as in Sweden, where treatment is quite inaccessible as drug users will be more likely to be given penalty for drug offences and can only undergo free treatment by applying to their local social wel fare board, but since the treatment is expensive, only a few thousands of applications are approved every year due to limited resources (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2007). In addition to its medicalisation view and the law changes done by Portugal to combat its drug use problem, harm reduction programs were also seen to be put central in their new drug policy. Drug treatment in Portugal can be classified into four main categories the outpatient drug treatment, the day care centres, the detoxification units and the therapeutic communities. All of the centre provide both psychosocial and substitution treatment. Day centres offering outpatient care and withdrawal treatment are provided by both public and non-governmental services. Inpatient psychosocial treatment mostly consists of therapeutic communities and is mainly available in private services. There is also short-term and long-term residential psychosocial drug treatment provided (The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 2011). As of 2011, there are about 40 projects that deal with drug users in order to make the drug use activity safer (Vale de Andrade and Carapinha, 2010). As h arm reduction acknowledges that the drug users are in most cases unable to go on abstinence but still need to be helped, the common methods to reduce harm consists of the following: needle exchange program in order to reduce the inevitable risks commonly associated with needle sharing (such as HIV) and also, special designated injection sites with medical supervision to educate drug users the safer injection techniques and to get them off the streets. Additionally, methadone and buprenorphine  subscriptions are also used so as to help street heroin addict in reduction of their number by curbing cravings (Christie et al, 2008). This measure of harm reduction and treatments provided by the country has seen a positive outcome as there have been significant reductions in Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C for people in the treatment and also, between the year 1999 2003 there was a 17% reduction in notifications of new, drug related cases of HIV (Beagrie, 2011). The effect of decriminalising also increased the number of people going in seeking for the treatment voluntarily. The treatment will also take place faster and increase the effectiveness as the drug users do not have to wait for the long process going through law enforcements such as that in Sweden and Spain. Although the prohibition of drug possession is done through administrative regulation, rather than criminal penalties, one of the many 13 objectives of the strategy, is to increase the enforcement of laws prohibiting trafficking and distribution of drugs in Portugal (Moreira et al, 2007). Before the new drug law was introduced in 2001, the time and resources of the justice system were greatly stretched when tasked with combating drug consumption. For instance, in 2000, 7592 charges for drug consumption were made by police, putting a huge strain on the courts and prisons. One year after the policy changes, 6026 users, instead of going through the traditional route of prosecution and incarceration, were referred to dissuasion groups. This not only lessened the burden on the justice system, but also allowed the police to focus on the real criminals in the drug industry. Charges for trafficking increased by 11% when compared to the four years prior to decriminalisation (Hughes and Steven s, 2007) and the police were able to target traffickers instead of low level users. By combining decriminalisation with alternative therapeutic/educational responses to drug dependency, the burden of drug law enforcement on the overall criminal justice system is greatly reduced  (Beckley Foundation, 2012). Furthermore according to research, drug treatment is the most cost-effective way of addressing drug problem compare to imprisoning the drug user which is very expensive. Moreover, drug treatment was found to be able to cut crime by 80%, other than its ability to help the societys health by decreasing the risk of contracting drug related disease such as HIV and hepatitis. However, this policy is not effective at the moment in country like United States and Sweden as there is a severe shortage drug treatment programs provided by the countries and the fact that treatment is not made free of charge as it is done in Portugal (News Briefs, 1998). The decriminalising of drug has also been proven to diminish the size of the black market for drugs in the Portugal. This is done by stealing the consumers of the drug dealers, which are actually the real criminals here in the war against drug. The Portugal government supplied the drug substitutions for free of charge as a part of their drug treatment hence there is no demand for the drugs supplied by the dealers. As there is no more demand in the black market drug dealing, they are mostly will be out of business, therefore will eradicate them (Swan, 2012). In another argument regarding the decriminalising of drug in Portugal and the black market is that by bringing drug (replacements) into the legitimate economy, it will also ultimately separate the drugs from the black market itself. This will greatly reduce the risk by the black market dealers where hard drugs are often pushed onto buyers, who are only in to buy less dangerous drugs than promoted by the dealers. This will help a l ot in decreasing the risk of exposure on the drug users to a more dangerous drug. In essence, this will also help the removal of the gateway effect in which this undermines many arguments against the decriminalising of drugs (such as the Swedens zero tolerance for drugs) policy and shows that users will not be forced by dealers to buy cocaine, for instance, when all they want is marijuana (Herrington, 2012). Furthermore by making the drug substitutes available, it will bring to an end to the common association of drug taking and being cool or the forbidden fruit theory among the younger group. The usual use factor for drugs for them is usually peer pressure, to be accepted by others and look or feel as cool as the other youth who are also taking drugs. This is usually caused by the desire to do something different or rebel out of the norm. Therefore, by making drug replacements available, drug taking will no longer be an activity that is attractive or unordinary for them (United Nat ions Office on Drugs and Crime, 2012). Ever since this new drug policy came into place in the year 2001, numerous positive evaluations have been observed instantly regarding the drug use problem across the country. One of the primary indicators on drug use available in Portugal concerns the lifetime prevalence amongst school student. According to the statistics collected the changes in lifetime prevalence of drug use among students aged 16-18 has gone down in the year 2003 comparatively before the new policy was introduced in the year 1999. The decrease of prevalence for the number of the usage of heroin for the students is 2.5% in 1999 and 1.8% in 2003. Whereas, for cannabis it is seen to be increasing, as in 1999, the number is 9.4% and in 2003, 15.1%. These figures suggest that, while cannabis use among young people may have increased, heroin use has decreased. Although some argued that this decline is not statistically significant for Portugal, the neighbouring country, Italy however saw an increase during the same pe riod of the decline in Portugal intravenous drug use (Beckley Foundation, 2012). This just strengthened the argument that this new policy works up to a certain extent instantaneously after its introduction. Also, as desired with the substantial improvement of drug user to seek for treatment, the Portuguese authorities have recorded a reduction in the numbers of heroin users who are entering treatment for the first time. It seems that initiation into heroin use is falling, while cannabis use is rising towards the levels which are also experienced in some other European countries. This indication is supported by the pattern of referrals to the CDT (IDT, 2007) in which it was found that there is about 28% increase between the year 2001 and 2005 for the referral of cannabis drug user while for heroin a decrease of 55% was seen in terms of the referrals to the CDT. As there has been an increase in the young people appearing before CDTs for cannabis, and a decrease in those appearing for heroin the explanation for this is it is a part of the corresponding trend increase as part of the other European nations. This increase is also because of the increasing self-reported drug use due to the reduced stigma attached to the drug use compared to pre-decriminalisation (Hughes and Stevens, 2007). As more people are seeking and undergoing drug treatment, the amount of addiction was also seen to decrease and more importantly, this also enable the country to manage and reduce the harms related to drug use as Portugal has had a serious problem with the transmission of HIV and other blood borne viruses. For instance during the year 1999 Portugal had the highest rate of HIV amongst injecting drug users in the European Union (The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug, 2000). This is why the major target of the Portuguese public health approach to drug use is the harm reduction, with opiate substitution treatment and needle exchange being an important element of the Portuguese response. As a result, between the year 1999 and 2003, there was a 17% reduction in the notifications of new, drug related cases of HIV (Tavares et al, 2005). Likely for the same reasons, since 2000, there were also reductions in the numbers of tracked cases of Hepatitis C and B in treatment centres nat ionwide, despite the increasing numbers of people in treatment (Greenwald, 2009). According to Greenwald (2009) beyond the disease, the mortality rates of the drug related was also found to be decreasing as well. In absolute numbers, drug-related deaths from 2002 to 2006 for every prohibited substance have either declined significantly or remained constant compared with 2001. In 2000, for instance, the number of deaths from opiates (including heroin) was 281. That number has decreased steadily since decriminalisation, to 133 in 2006. This fact is also supported by other findings that the total drug related death in the country almost halved between the year of 1999 and 2003, which are 369 and 152, respectively. The large drop in deaths is also associated to decline in the use of heroin. This fall in deaths related to opiates (heroin) has been linked to the big increase in the numbers of heroin users who have entered substitution treatment (Tavares et al, 2005), as substitution treatment has repeatedly been found to be effective in reducing the mortality rate of th e opiate users. It is also an indication of the falling levels of heroin use (Hughes and Stevens, 2007). Unlike the Netherlands and Switzerland, the fears of drug tourism with the decriminalisation of drugs have turned out to be completely untrue as this has simply not been the case. In accordance to this, approximately 95% of people sent to CDTs were of Portuguese origin, which implies that tourists are not travelling to the country to abuse its liberal approach to narcotics (Beckley Foundation, 2012). After five years since the introduction of this new policy, both the general and the youth populations prevalence of drug use in the country are below European Union (EU) average. Also, the overall population prevalence of drug use is actually the lowest compare to the other EU nations, of below 10% as the highest is above 30% for Denmark. To make it better by and large, the usage rates for each category of drugs is found to be lower in the EU than it is in the non- EU states with a far more criminalised approach to drug usage such as the USA which has the highest level of usage for ille gal cocaine and cannabis in the world. With the USA approach to drug criminalisation that appears to cause a higher drug usage rates among Americans, and also this trend in general, appear to be worsening, contrasted with the far better rates in decriminalised Portugal. This suggests that severe criminalisation laws against drug use do not necessarily produce lower drug usage, as instead data suggest that the contradictory may be true (Greenwald, 2009). However, too liberal effort in order to combat the drug use such as the Netherlands lenient way of dealing with soft drugs policy is proven to be ineffective as well as even though they too, decriminalise drugs like Portugal, they do not actually practice and make the harm reduction and CDT programs in dealing with the drug users in its drug policy. Along with this, contrasting to Portugal, they in a way legalise the selling of certain drugs through the coffee shops hence, attracting drug tourists from all over the world. As a confir mation, the drug lifetime experience prevalence of the Dutch population is on the average, not the lowest along with the fact that Netherlands is the most crime-prone nation in Europe with most of its drug addicts live on state welfare payments and by committing crimes (World and I, 2012). Additionally, the number of drug induced deaths recorded for Netherlands is higher than that in the Portugal which is 129 in the year 2008, compare to only 94 in the Portugal (The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 2011). CONCLUSION The drug policy system in Portugal is definitely a model drug policy for the Europe as can be analysed throughout the essay. Although it is liberal in its own way, it still try to reduce as much as it can the prevalence of drug use along with putting harm reduction and treatment programmes central in its war against drugs. The Portuguese policy tries to avoid the use of harsh policy such as criminalising as done in countries like Sweden and the USA as it is proven to only backfire. Other than that, it is also not as liberal as it is done in the Netherlands where, certain drug use are treated in such a lenient manner which is also proven to be ineffective comparatively to the one done by Portugal. Moreover, with the successful and positive evaluations ever since the policy was implemented in 2001 that managed to bring out a country that was once the most problematic in the EU in terms of its drug use, to the current lowest drug use overall prevalence, it is doubted why it will not wor k for the other European countries where the social-economic background is mostly similar.

Pre 1914 Poetry Comparison: Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Charge Of The :: English Literature

Pre 1914 Poetry Comparison: Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Charge Of The Light Brigade, and Wilfred Owen, Dulce Et Decorum Est 1) The Charge Of The Light Brigade Tennyson was prompted to write this poem after reading an article in the Times newspaper about the charge of the Light Brigade. Tennyson's main motive for writing this poem seems to be to celebrate the bravery of the troops. Tennyson appears to be a patriot. He concentrates on the brave way the soldiers went into near certain death and only makes one mention of the complete cock-up made by the generals. Rather than concentrate on the mistakes made he sticks with celebrating what the soldiers did 'When can their glory fade?' he asks. The use of the rhetorical is almost challenging you to disagree with his opinion of the soldiers' bravery. Tennyson uses a lot of things like onomatopoeia, repetition and alliteration. He uses repetition to try and show, in words, the confusion of the battle. An example of this is 'Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them'. He uses all of these things to try and create imagery of the battle, to help try and imagine what the battle was like. However what he doesn't do is he doesn't personalise he always generalises. He gives you a picture of the battle without actually giving accounts of the actions of the men. The pace of the poem is the same all the way through except for one point at the end of the fourth verse. For most of the poem the pace is quite fast, with a rhythm comparable to the clatter of horses hooves (on purpose or by accident?). But near the end of the fourth verse, after speaking of the battle and the slaughter of many men, the pace slows for about one line. 'Then they rode back, but not, Not the six hundred.' The pause between 'back' and 'but' is cleverly used to emphasise the loss of life. An image that recurs a lot in the poem is personification of the valley into which the Light Brigade rode into some kind of monster, a devourer of human life. The phrases 'the jaws of Death' and 'mouth of Hell' are used more than once, an important piece of imagery. Alfred Lord Tennyson did not have first hand experience of the battle and it shows in the poem. The Charge Of The Light Brigade is very generalised, with the word 'them' constantly being used. No actions or fate of any specific soldier is mentioned; it's always soldiers rather than soldier. My personal reaction to his poem is that it would have been better for

Emerging From Claustrophobia Essay -- Crime and Punishment Amerika Ess

Emerging From Claustrophobia The Bible's notion of the "promised land" has had a profound influence on secular literature. Modern authors have reinterpreted this biblical ideal to include any land of redemption or salvation. This is an important concept in both Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment and Kafka's Amerika. While these novels present very different images of the Promised Land, both focus on the protagonist's sense of claustrophobia until the moment of deliverance. Thus, whether their deliverance is mental or physical, both protagonists' salvations lay ultimately in a sense of spatial freedom. Amerika begins with a corrupted ideal of America as the land of redemption. Karl goes abroad because he has inadvertently impregnated a servant; he is sent away to escape from paternity charges and his societal sin. Parallels can be drawn between Karl and the biblical Joseph, who also must leave his home because he is similarly blamed for an older woman's sexual advances. When Karl arrives in America, he is greeted by a bright light: "a sudden burst of sunshine seemed to illumine the Statue of Liberty, so that he saw it in a new light. (3)" This can be likened to the Israelites' exodus, which is guided by a pillar of fire: "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light. (Exodus 13:21)" However, a crucial difference between the biblical guiding light and Kafka's is that, despite its brilliance, the latter illuminates a foreboding entrance---the Statue of Liberty holds a sword instead of a torch. Despite this detail, America, for the moment, remains a landscape of freedom: "The arm with the sword rose up as if newly stretched aloft, and round... ...skolnikov attain spatial freedom from their claustrophobic lives. Of course, we cannot be sure that Oklahoma will be the promised land Karl expects, since Kafka never finished the novel, but the imagery of limitless landscapes that we are left with suggests that Karl's quest will soon come to fruition. Like the Jews leaving Egypt, Karl leaves a land of slave labor for unknown but promising territory. Raskolnikov, however, knows where he is headed but has trouble getting there. The moment of his confession and his realization of love finally allow him access to redemption, and as his delirious and guilt-ridden persona dies, one of love and "gradual regeneration (465)" is created. Like the gospels preach, confession purges one's sins and leads to renewal; thus Raskolnikov, despite being physically imprisoned, is emotionally redeemed and can now strive for a new life.

Self Reliance Rhetorical Analysis

â€Å"Self-Reliance† is a series of loosely related thoughts and extracts from lectures and journals that Ralph Wald Emerson has written in the past. Through the use of the classical argument, imagery, and many other rhetorical devices, Emerson makes such a convincing case that a person from almost any background would find it difficult to disagree with him. Emerson wrote this essay is to teach a lesson. He argues to the reader to trust themselves and to not conform to the standards of others. Emerson tells his audience, â€Å"Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world.This means that you must first have approval and support of yourself, and then you will gain approval of the world. The purpose of this essay, pertaining to any audience, is to show that a person needs to find his own truth, and have confidence or â€Å"self-reliance† in themselves. The author adds pathos to his essay by evoking the personal prejudices and biases of the audienc e. Pathos stands out most in his essay, as it contains a lot of emotional conflicts that we all face at some point or other in our lives. â€Å"Self- Reliance† is sprinkled with memorable sayings known as aphorisms.These are brief statements that express a general principle or truth about life. â€Å"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of the little minds† is a very popular aphorism Emerson uses in his essay. He adds logos, or reason, to his essay by giving examples of arguments that people face with themselves and others, and rationally explaining how we should deal with these struggles. Emerson adds ethos to his essay by referencing to well known people in history. He states that Luther, Socrates, Galileo, Newton, Pythagoras, Copernicus, andJesus were all great minds that were misunderstood. By referencing to these people, he established credibility, as his audience is most likely familiar with the struggles and triumphs of a few or more of these people in history . Emerson uses a unique style of diction in this essay. He uses words such as â€Å"thyself†, â€Å"bestowed†, and â€Å"arduous†. To us his word choice seems to be very formal. We may even call it archaic, or out dated. But we must keep in mind that he was a 1 9th century writer, and this choice of words was probably ore common at the time he wrote this essay.Emerson uses a multitude of tropes in his essay. For example, he uses the metaphors â€Å"envy is ignorance† and â€Å"imitation is suicide† to explain what every man feels at some point in his life. As stated earlier, Emerson uses multiple aphorisms in this essay. His aphorisms proclaim his radical ideas in clear, concise sentences. His idea about consistency, for example, is distilled into one easy-to-remember aphorism, and is thereby amortized. In his essay, the author also says that, For nonconformity the world whips you with its displeasure. This is personification. What Emerson is tryin g to say is that there is common belief that if you are a nonconformist, meaning you do not follow generally accepted beliefs, then everyone in the world will think badly of you. Emerson does not believe this to be so. Emerson uses symbols and imagery of nature to support his claim of individuality. The â€Å"over soul† is one key element that Emerson illustrates in his essay, meaning that a person should look deep inside his heart and find his own truth.

A Matter of Time

A Matter of Time By Shashi Deshpande. Feminist Press at the CUNY, 1999. Reviewed by Sudha S. Balagopal I first read a A Matter of Time a few years ago, when it was published in India. The book made a deep impression on me, with its sensitive story of rebuilding and hope. After its more recent release in the US, I read it again, enjoying it even more. Very few books can lay claim to that fact for me. In A Matter of Time, a father, named Gopal, with three almost-grown girls, decides he has had enough of marriage and its binding ties, and walks out on his family. In a culture where marriage, to many, is the be-all and end-all of existence, where responsibilities outweigh desires, this expression to be free of all bondage in itself is strange and different to say the least (unless of course, it is for spiritual reasons). Sumi, Gopal’s wife, and his three daughters, seek shelter with her parents. Coincidentally, Sumi's parents themselves have a relationship that is more than strained. They are husband and wife in name only, inhabiting the same house with virtually no communication between the two of them. The three girls, Aru, Charu and Seema are bewildered and adrift. They all want normalcy. But what is normalcy once a father has walked out on his family? Sumi, the mother, is extraordinarily collected, to the point of indifference. How they learn to cope with this dislocation is the story that Deshpande spins for her readers. Ofcourse this is not the only story-it is also the story of all the families that are intimately linked to Sumi's. The one problem I had with A Matter of Time was the abrupt introduction of characters. Deshpande does not describe how some of the people are related to the main character as they come into the picture. In the beginning, I had a problem sorting out the various relationships. And in this I do not mean the central family of Sumi, Gopal and their three daughters. It is all the other family members: the cousins, their children, Gopal’s nephew and his wife and their children, the grandparents’ tenants and a host of others. It is said in India that when you marry a man you marry his whole family. It is the same with Deshpande’s book, where the reader is forced to accept Sumi and her entire clan, including the complex network of her relatives and well-wishers. That fact apart, Deshpande’s characters develop as you read on. The inner workings of a family are examined so clearly, making me see my own family in many parts of the book. The book is also a mirror of a society in transition. The change in Indian society is skillfully elaborated through the different generations in this book; the grandmother Kalyani who is not really educated, Sumi who is educated but doesn’t work outside the home, Sumi’s sister Premi who is a successful doctor, and the young girls Aru, Charu and Seema, who all aspire for careers and independence. The old and the new co-exist in a family that is modern, but with certain old values. With a style that is lilting and gentle, Deshpande draws us into an intricate web of family relationships, without passing judgement on any other characters' deeds. For the reader, however, there is no escaping the clutches of emotion or feeling.

Ethical Dilemma Essay

Stepping away from a company that has brought sales up to an increasing 15% will take courage. Will you have the courage to stand for what is right for the current workers working for a company that is working long hours and a few dollars a day or continue doing business that may cause backlash from the media and public? You are responsible for deciding if you will continue to do business with this company by your CEO while also having the name of your company in the local newspaper as doing business with equipment manufacturing company that doesn’t treat their employees with standards and morals. Ethics The company has standards to abide by and to conduct interactions with other companies. â€Å"Ethics is the code of moral principles and values that governs the behaviors of a person or group with respect to what is right or wrong† (Daft 2012, pg. 123). Continuing to do business will have its disadvantages. Many clients that are currently doing business with the company will look at the company’s decision to see if they will continue to do business. Managers are looked upon as role models of the organization and to set the standard ethics of a company (Daft, 2012). Making this decision isn’t just about you as a manager but your decision also stands for the employees of the company, shareholders, stakeholders, and customers (Daft, 2012). Prepare for backlash if you decide to continue to do business with a company that treats their workers like slaves. Every company has a code of ethics to abide by with any given situation and to go against the code which your company stands for will turn many believers in your company away. The company will experience a decrease in profits turning away from the company that has brought the company an increase of 15% of profit and a substantial amount of money. Now with losing 15% of profit, it will affect the money for the company. The company may not be able to employ as many workers as before with the substantial amount decreasing. Investors may look at this decrease as the company not holding its profit and value as it once did. While losing this profit, the company now has to find a way to make up for the loss of the profit. To continue to do business with this company, you have to decide if you would break any laws while continuing to do so. The equipment manufacturing company isn’t the responsibility of your company. The company doesn’t have a code of ethics or moral rights for workers. Is that the responsibility of your company? It’s not the company’s responsibility to handle the ethics for the company but to stand by the codes and morals that their company is based on. Continuing to do business with this company will not be breaking any laws. As a company that stands behind the code of ethics and morals, it would be best to part ways from this company to avoid breaking legal laws and company standards. As a manager, one has to make decisions for a company and will this benefit the company. Walking away from doing business with this company would be best. As a company not only is standing behind the code of ethics and morals of a company, one also has a reputation to maintain. Taking a stand and parting ways will keep a company’s reputation intact. Having been involved with this company, many people are going to look to see what decision a company such as yours would take. Maintaining your reputation within the business community is a must. Parting ways with this contract with the previous company may bring another company to offer a contract at the same price because of the way you handled the outcome of the previous company. To come to my final decision, I would approach it in a nonprogrammed decision and utilitarian approach. â€Å"A nonprogrammed decision is one made in response to a situation that is unique, is poorly defined and largely unstructured, and has important consequences for the organization. Decisions differ according to the amount of certainty, risk, uncertainty, or ambiguity in the situation (Daft, 2012, pg. 36). Making this decision for the company, I have to look at all angles. Will my decision ruin the company or will it enhance the company. This isn’t a decision that can be done overnight. This decision isn’t based on one person but a company. Allowing myself to make the best decision for the greatest outcome for the greatest beneficial for the company. Allowing myself a week to weigh my options and once my decision has been made, present them to the company so they can see why I came to this decision. My decision would be to part ways with this company for the good of my company.

Questionnaire on soft drinks’ purchasing preferences…” Essay

â€Å"Questionnaire on soft drinks’ purchasing preferences†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Questionnaire on soft drinks’ purchasing preferences.. Today soft drinks don’t only reduce the thirst but also have become style and fashion. The purpose of this questionnaire is to know what people like most about soft drinks and what attracts them toward these products†¦ Part 1: 1. Do you drink soft drinks? oYES oNO, if no, please return this questionnaire 2. Gender oMale oFemale 3. Which of the following best describes your age? o 16-25 o 26-30 o 31-40 o41-50+ 4. Where is the most common place that you purchase soft drinks? o Restaurants o Supermarket o Hypermarkets. oKiosks oOther (please specify) 5. How often do you consume a soft drink? oDaily Basis o Weekly basis o Monthly basis o Never 6. On average how many times do you visit stores to purchase beverages? o 1-2 per month o 3-4 per month o 5-6 per month o 7+ per month 7. What is your soft drink of choice? oPepsi oCoca-Cola oSprite o7-Up oMirinda oFanta oSchweppes oOther (please specify) 8. Why do you drink soft drinks? oTaste o Caffeine o Refreshment o Brand loyalty oOther (please specify). 9. What is the most effective advertising that makes you want to drink a Coke? o Commercials o Web advertising (social media, official website, etc. ) o Billboards o Print advertising oOther (please specify) Part 2: Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement with each of the following statements as 1 = Strongly agree, 3=neutral & 5= strongly disagree: StatementStrongly agree to strongly disagree 1. I understand the features of sodas well enough to evaluate the brands. 2. I have a preference for one or more brands in the soft drink class. 3. Soft drinks are a product for which I have no need whatsoever. 4. I usually purchase the same brand within the soft drink class. 5. If I received information that was contrary to my preferred soft drink, I would still keep my preferred brand. 6. If my preferred brand of soft drink is not available at the store, it makes little difference to me if I must choose another brand. 7. My preferred brand of soft drink helps me attain the type of life I strive for. 8. This soft drink helps me express the â€Å"I† and within myself. 9. I definitely have a â€Å"wanting† for soft drinks. 10. Most of the brands of soft drink are all alike. 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5. â€Å"Questionnaire on soft drinks’ purchasing preferences†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Questionnaire on soft drinks’ purchasing preferences.. Today soft drinks don’t only reduce the thirst but also have become style and fashion. The purpose of this questionnaire is to know what people like most about soft drinks and what attracts them toward these products†¦ Part 1: 1. Do you drink soft drinks? oYES oNO, if no, please return this questionnaire 2. Gender oMale oFemale 3. Which of the following best describes your age? o 16-25 o 26-30 o 31-40 o41-50+ 4. Where is the most common place that you purchase soft drinks? o Restaurants o Supermarket o Hypermarkets  oKiosks oOther (please specify)5. How often do you consume a soft drink? oDaily Basis o Weekly basis o Monthly basis o Never 6. On average how many times do you visit stores to purchase beverages? o 1-2 per month o 3-4 per month o 5-6 per month o 7+ per month 7. What is your soft drink of choice? oPepsi oCoca-Cola oSprite o7-Up oMirinda oFanta oSchweppes oOther (please specify) 8. Why do you drink soft drinks? oTaste o Caffeine o Refreshment o Brand loyalty oOther (please specify). 9. What is the most effective advertising that makes you want to drink a Coke? o Commercials o Web advertising (social media, official website, etc. ) o Billboards o Print advertising oOther (please specify). Part 2: Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement with each of the following statements as 1 = Strongly agree, 3=neutral & 5= strongly disagree: StatementStrongly agree to strongly disagree 1. I understand the features of sodas well enough to evaluate the brands. 2. I have a preference for one or more brands in the soft drink class. 3. Soft drinks are a product for which I have no need whatsoever. 4. I usually purchase the same brand within the soft drink class. 5. If I received information that was contrary to my preferred soft drink, I would still keep my preferred brand. 6. If my preferred brand of soft drink is not available at the store, it makes little difference to me if I must choose another brand. 7. My preferred brand of soft drink helps me attain the type of life I strive for. 8. This soft drink helps me express the â€Å"I† and within myself. 9. I definitely have a â€Å"wanting† for soft drinks. 10. Most of the brands of soft drink are all alike. 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5.

Are Concerns over Immigration to Do with Culture of Economic Reasons Essay Example for Free

Are Concerns over Immigration to Do with Culture of Economic Reasons Essay Almost all economists are in agreement that immigration has positive economic effects. Indeed in the United States it â€Å"provides natives with a net benefit of at least $80,000 per immigrant, or as much as $10 billion annually† (Bolin, 2006). However despite this there are huge numbers of advocacy groups pushing the pros and cons immigration to the populations of the host countries, with natives having negative views towards immigration (McLaren & Johnson, 2007). Through the course of this essay I will examine whether the root cause of these often xenophobic views towards immigration have root causes in economic reasons (immigrants taking jobs from natives, and leading to lower wages) or symbolic reasons, where the natives are fearful that the immigrants will bring their culture to the host country and cause change. Enoch Powell, the Conservative British politician, gave a warning that immigrants were causing such strife that â€Å"like the Roman, I seem to see the River Tiber foaming with much blood† (Powell, 1969). This turned out to be nonsense, and his advice that immigrants should be encouraged to leave, would have left Britain, and many other countries that rely on cheap foreign labour in a horrific state of affairs. Immigrants are now taking far longer to integrate into their host country and this is upsetting many natives. â€Å"In the past a third-generation migrant, for example in America, would have been expected to have shed much of his grandparents’ identity† (The Economist, 2008), not speaking his mother tongue and having little loyalty to the country his family originated from. This is changing â€Å"as migrants feel loyalty to more than one country† (The Economist, 2008). For example, Moroccans in Europe, even fourth generation, are encouraged by the Government to identify with the African country, and are granted Moroccan citizenship under the constitution. As many source countries such as India and China grow intent on gaining remittances from their emigres, â€Å"migrants even several generations on may come under great pressure to retain some of their old identity† (The Economist, 2008). This can all lead to immigrants never becoming fully integrated into the host country, causing social problems such as immigrants bunching together in the same place. Due to globalisation and time-space compression, it has become far easier for migrants to emigrate further away from their own country, this causes problems as they subsequently have little in common with their host country and find it harder to integrate into the community. Traveling long distances to emigrate is no longer a problem and in the future there will be the problem of â€Å"people moving greater distances and settling among different ethnic, religious and cultural groups† (The Economist, 2008), meaning they will have problems integrating. â€Å"Danes in Sweden or Albanians in Greece have little trouble integrating into the relatively familiar societies next door. Even Poles in Ireland prosper, perhaps thanks to the incomers’ good standard of education and skill and the shared Catholic faith. But Iraqis in Sweden, Somalis in Canada or Pakistanis in Norway typically find integration harder† (The Economist, 2008). Samuel Huntington blames this on the â€Å"great divisions among humankind† (Huntington, 1993) that are the differences between civilisations. He believes that immigration will ‘intensify civilization consciousness and awareness of differences between civilizations and commonalities within civilizations’ (Huntington, 1993). This leads to a ‘them versus us’ attitude, with the natives having the xenophobic view that the immigrants are qualitatively different from themselves. As the natives of the host country would have spent time constructing â€Å"discursive practices that attempt to fix meanings which enable the differentiation between the inside and the outside to be made† (Doty, 1996), they will resent immigrants not properly integrating themselves into the community. Research on social identity appears to conclude that identity is highly important to individuals, with individuals protecting these identities even if they have no realistic meaning (Monroe, et al. , 2000). People use these identities to provide a sense of self (Sniderman, et al. 2004), partly in order that they may distinguish between those similar to themselves and those different. The ‘identities tend to have their basis in perceptions of differences’ (McLaren & Johnson, 2007)with those viewed as outsiders thought to have radically different values and approaches to life. â€Å"The threat posed by minorities and immigrants may be symbolic in nature and may stem from concerns about the loss of certain values or ways of life† (McLaren & Johnson, 2007), due to immigrants having a significant presence in the host country. Immigrants also often congregate in areas of the host country, London for example has a huge immigrant and minority presence with only 44. 9% classing themselves as ‘White British’ (Gye, 2012), in the 2011 census. This all means that natives are fearful that immigrants will cause them to adapt or change their ways of life. Migrants who preserve â€Å"a strong religious sense that cuts across any national loyalty may be the hardest of all to assimilate into broadly secular Western societies†. In the post-9/11 world Muslims are often seen as being the greatest cultural threat to Western societies. In a recent survey McLaren and Johnson measured anti-Muslim feeling in the United Kingdom. They found that 62% of people agreed with the statement that British Muslims are more loyal to Muslims around the world, than to other Britons, only 12% disagreed. Only 30% of Britons felt that Muslims living in Britain were committed to Britain, with 47% feeling that they could never be committed to Britain. 52% of people thought that Britain would begin to lose its identity if more Muslims came to live there. Clearly there is considerable anti-Muslim feeling in Britain and concern that British-Muslims pose a threat to the identity and culture of Britain (McLaren & Johnson, 2007). Most economists are in agreement that immigration has very little effect on native’s wages; this should mean that natives won’t oppose immigration based on the misbelief that immigrants lower wages. Although conventional economic wisdom states that an increase in supply of labour will lead to a decrease in price, this doesn’t happen. Friedberg and Hunt conclude that a 10% increase in immigrant levels in the population, decreases wages by 1% (Friedberg & Hunt, 1995). Economist Francisco Revera-Batiz came to the same conclusion, noting that although immigration has increased the supply of low skilled workers into the United States, there has been very little impact on the wages of high school dropouts, the lowest skilled people in America (Rivera-Batiz, 1998). One of the most influential studies is Card’s 1990 study on the Miami Labour market after the sudden influx of 125,000 Cuban immigrants in 1980 due to a sharp downturn in the Cuban economy. Surprisingly the arrival of so many immigrants didn’t affect native wages, although it did lower the overall wage level in Miami; due to the immigrants being employed in low-wage jobs (Card, 1990). This tallies with the outcomes of other natural experiments in recent history such as the homecoming of 600,000 Portuguese after the collapse of their empire in Africa in 1974-76, the return of 900,000 Frenchmen from Algeria in 1962 (The Economist, 2008) or the influx of 610,000 Russian Jews into Israel 1990-94, increasing the labour force by 12%; all had negligible effects on native wages. Immigrants don’t decrease wages because as well as increasing the supply of labour, they become a domestic consumer for goods as well as services, they â€Å"create jobs as consumers and fill jobs as producers† (Bolin, 2006). A higher total population, ceteris parabus, will lead to the production of more goods and services, boosting the host countries gross domestic product (GDP). In some rare cases immigrants can even boost native’s wages. Illegal Mexican immigrants, who are â€Å"predominantly low skilled† (Bolin, 2006), have a positive effect on other workers’ wages (Bean, et al. 1998). This is due to immigration increasing the productivity of native workers by â€Å"taking low-skilled jobs, freeing higher-skilled workers to work in higher-skilled employment where they can be more productive† (Bolin, 2006). Based on the results of a range of economists, using results based on a â€Å"range of methodologies† (Bolin, 2006), it can be seen that immigrants have a small negative impact on native wages, although mainly low-skilled workers. Based on this, natives shouldn’t be concerned over immigration levels based on their own wages falling. The popular theory that immigrants ‘come over here and take our jobs’, has been shown to hold very little truth, as most studies â€Å"find no or negligible effect[s]† (Bolin, 2006) on employment rates. The ‘lump of labour fallacy’ is the mistaken idea that there are a set number of jobs in the economy, and when an immigrant takes one of those jobs, it is a job lost for a native. This is incorrect for three reasons. Firstly, by coming to a country â€Å"immigrants increase the supply of labour and hence reduce wages. In turn, cheaper labour increases the potential return to employers to build new factories or expand their operations. In so doing, they create extra demand for workers† (Grinda, 2006), and more jobs are created. Secondly, immigrants are consumers as well as producers. When there is a large influx of immigrants such as the 610,000 Russian-Jews into Israel in the early 1990’s, they are in need of goods and services. People are employed to provide these goods and services, meaning more jobs added to the economy, and immigrants simply enlarge the economy. Thirdly, immigrants are 10 to 20 percent more likely to become entrepreneurs and start their own business than natives (Briggs & Moore, 1994). In 1999, The Wall Street Journal reported that â€Å"Chinese and Indian immigrants run nearly 25% of the high-companies started in [Silicon] Valley since 1980†¦The 2,775 immigrant-run companies had total sales of $16. 8 billion and more than 58,000 employees† (Thurm, 1999). â€Å"Immigrants not only take jobs, they make jobs. They open new businesses that employ natives as well as other immigrants and themselves. And they do so in important numbers† (Simon, 1999). Similarly, the findings by Friedberg and Hunt discovers â€Å"no evidence of economically significant reductions in native employment†. Card, as well as examining the impact of the Muriel boatlift on wages also examined the impact of it on employment. Even though Miami’s workforce was increased by 7%, virtually overnight, with an influx of relatively unskilled Cuban workers he finds â€Å"no evidence of an increase in unemployment among less skilled blacks or other non-Cuban workers. Rather the data analysis suggests a remarkably rapid absorption of the Muriel immigrants into the Miami labour force† (Card, 1990). Again with immigrant’s impact on wages, the evidence seems to suggest that a lack of evidence that immigration causes native unemployment. This should mean that concerns over immigration should not be linked to worries over employment. Due to immigrants being â€Å"disproportionately low-skill[ed]† (Bolin, 2006) they tend to have lower wages than natives. It is often assumed therefore that they depend more upon the welfare system than natives. The level of benefits are often higher in the host country than the source country, and it is often suggested that it is this difference that brings in migrants. Borjas coined the term â€Å"welfare magnet effect† (Borjas, 1999), making the point that immigrants are drawn to the country with the highest benefits. This however has all been shown to be completely false, and many economists believe that over the long term immigrants more than pay for the public services they use (Simon, 1999). In the United States â€Å"most immigrants, including Mexicans, are usually less likely than comparable natives to receive welfare†, with the per capita cost of social welfare for immigrants being 8% less than the per capita cost for natives (Bean, et al. 1998). It is plain to see that objections to immigration come from those who are worried about the identity and culture of their nation being eroded, rather than for economic reasons. Immigrants are solving many problems for the host countries, such as the problems of aging populations and those participating in the workforce being increasing choosy about the jobs they do. Immigrants have few economic disadvantages, although high immigration may bring about a small decrease in jobs for the natives, the tax revenue that they bring in more than displaces this negative effect. As the immigrants have little impact on jobs, and simply create more jobs in the economy, disproving the lump of labour fallacy, they don’t have a negative impact on wages which is a positive for the economy as a whole. The argument that immigrants have a negative impact on the identity and culture of a nation holds some truth. Due to the fact that a nation’s identity is made up of what its inhabitants believe it to be, immigrants having different views, can water this identity down. Are Concerns over Immigration to Do with Culture of Economic Reasons. (2016, Oct 02).

Family Law has Evolved to Suit Modern Society Essay

Family Law has Evolved to Suit Modern Society - Essay Example However, the Law Commission’s paper recommending reformations that would govern the distribution of property between cohabitants upon the breakup of the relationship3 demonstrates that Family Law in England and Wales has still further to evolve before it can be consistent with modern society. The Law Commission’s paper identifies a crucial inconsistency between British Family law and modern society. The reality is families are formed without the benefit of a solemnized marriage in modern society, particularly between same sex partners. These families start out like any other family intending to make their lives together indefinitely and by making this commitment they raise children together and purchase property together. In other words, in modern society the structure of the family has changed dramatically.4 The introduction of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 grants same sex couples with the facilities to establish a partnership that is similar to a civil partnership an d confers upon the partners specific rights and responsibilities that are commonly granted to married couples.5 However, there is no right to claim financial/spousal support upon the breakdown on a civil partnership.6 Beyond the 2004 Act, unmarried couples remain at a disadvantage in terms of settling property once the relationship comes to an end. This reality has led the Law Commission to refer to the concept of common law marriage as a â€Å"myth†.7 As Baroness Ruth Deech explains, the idea that there is a family institution in England and Wales referred to as â€Å"common law marriage† is â€Å"erroneous†.8 The judiciary does not have the authority to settle property or the rights of couples who have lived together for any period of time and have decided to end their relationship. The only recourse of cohabiting couples ending a relationship is to seek civil remedies relative to claiming property through litigation.9 For unwed couples who live together all q uestions relative to finances and property must be resolved by reference to the applicable property and trusts laws.10 It is unfortunate that unmarried couples are denied the opportunity to resolve the financial issues arising out of the breakdown of their cohabitation when modern society demands that they do. Samantha Singer explains that public opinion is on the side of granting unmarried cohabitees the same property rights as married couples. For instance, British Social Attitudes Survey conducted in 2006 revealed that most members of the public are of the view that â€Å"cohabitants should have access to financial relief on relationship breakdown†.11 A more recent study on unmarried cohabitees in 2007/2008 revealed that 74% of the respondents supported the idea of unmarried couples having access to marital property settlement laws upon the breakdown of their relationship.12 The consequences of the denial of matrimonial property settlement laws are particularly difficult f or the cohabitee who depended on the financial support of the other cohabitee. The Family law applicable to married couples certainly recognizes the potential for hardship on the dependent spouse. For instance, Section 25A(2) of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 provides that the court is required to determine whether or not an order for spousal support is necessary and in doing so, the court must determine: Whether it would be appropriate to require those payments to be made†¦

Develop a partial risk and mitigation plan Assignment

Develop a partial risk and mitigation plan - Assignment Example These are the malicious programs that are spread via the internet which damage stored information in the computers. High Attack by the malicious programs would lead to loss of information that is stored in the computers which results into a significant loss for the company. The first impact would be loss of documents while the latest would be total crushing of the ICT system. 2 Hacking The ICT students may hack the schools’ accounts, which would lead to loss of information and money. Medium If this happens, the school may lose a lot in terms of cash. This is because hackers can even clear the school fees for students with fees balances First impact may be unsustainable college due to the big losses accrued. The latest impact would be total declaration of bankruptcy of the college. Malicious programs As shown in the table, the risk associated to malicious programs is very likely to occur. Malware such as viruses, bugs and other destructive programs find their way into computers and other memory storage devices. Viruses and worms have been declared a big threat to businesses’ and institutions’ security (Brittson, Oshea & Reyes, 2011.) The last survey that was done for the 1000 fortune companies indicated that cyber crime is the most dangerous crime in businesses and institutions and that can drive an organization into a lot of losses. These disastrous programs have a very high probability of occurrence in the learning institutions. Most of the Universities today do everything online. Establishment of an ICT center would enable students to carry all the assignments and other applications through the internet especially when there is a configuration of WIFI. Since most of the students are in need of the computer facilities, they would be regular in the ICT centers to carry out their research. It is through interaction of students with computers that the ICT laboratories are exposed to the risks. This results from the various memory storage devi ces that the students insert into the computers for instance the flash disks, memory cards, diskettes, external hard drives and hard disks. These storage facilities if infected would lead to infection of the computers in the ICT laboratories. The other way through which the computers could be affected by viruses and worms, is through the downloading of non-genuine files, music, or movies from the internet. If the downloaded document of music is from untrustworthy provider it may be malicious to the stored information in the computers in the ICT center (Clough, 2010). According to Martin & Schell (2004), malware attack is always associated with the loss of information from the computers. This has been witnessed in many businesses and institutions especially in the cases of viruses and worms attack and also the hackers. For instance the attack known as Aurora which happened recently destructed a lot of information in many companies. In this attack, the hackers used techniques that emp loyed a combination of stealth programming and encrypted techniques. Through the use of this technology, the attackers traced the source codes for Adobe, Google and many

Project management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 17

Project management - Essay Example Mediation regarding theory development in project management is not a recent development; this essay has discussed the fit between several published theories regarding project management and individual practice as a result of my participation in the Being-Active project. There are several published theories about management, though this article has touch on a few that were relevant with the discourse. Actually, the discipline of project management is not the only discipline of knowledge that within its progression falls into this trap of reinforcing its theoretical base as one of the academic discipline. Theory can be described as a scientific principle facilitating prediction and avails explanation for a given phenomenon as contrary to the body of knowledge (Tauber, 2007). In respect to this, a theory as the way it has been defined in natural sciences entails empirical verifications founded on direct observations and personal experience as per laws or scientific typology that assists in organizing things, give an explanation for the past and predicting the future occurrences and help explain the factor behind the way things do happen. Most entrepreneurs are most likely to have employees with skills in project management. This may be so in that learning the skill of project management becomes more useful and important. Good project managers are come from experience or being train ed, and not by birth. (Blanco, 2011) In getting involved in ActiveBeing project 2014-15, there are several managerial theories that one may notice as to being in use. There are some critics who argue that there is no explicit theory of project management (nmbm). During the stay, there were a lot of activities which needed to be handled in order to achieve the goals at the end of it all. As new entrants into the field of management that is competitively hard to handle, it was advisable to

A piece of writing which may persuade or advise a readership. (1,000 Essay

A piece of writing which may persuade or advise a readership. (1,000 words) - Essay Example Nevertheless, plastic is a major threat to our environment, which is already being ravaged by innumerable human activities. If we want our future generations to live on this planet, enjoying its resources, we have to conserve our environment, and shunning plastic is a sure step in that direction. Chemicals used to produce plastic are toxic and many of its constituents like benzene and vinyl chloride are known to be carcinogenic. Ethylene oxide and xylenes, released during its production can cause birth defects and nervous system disorders, besides weakening the immune system and causing damage to kidneys and blood. Discarded plastic waste can choke drains, providing breeding ground for disease causing organisms, and floods during heavy rains. Plastic is non biodegradable, but it degrades into smaller and smaller toxic particles in presence of light. These particles pollute soil, water and oceans, wreaking havoc in marine life and entering our systems through food chain. The Marine Conservation Society, UK has highlighted the increasing danger to marine life from plastic pollution. Discarded plastic causes hardships to about 267 marine species. Can you believe there are about 46,000 pieces of non-degradable plastic in every square mile of the ocean? According to the MCS, the plastic on UK beaches has grown by 126 percent since 1994, explaining the deaths of many seabirds, turtles, whales and seals. The ubiquitous plastic bags, seemingly harmless, are potential killers if swallowed by stray animals. When these bags enter oceans, they become harmful pieces of litter. Mistaking them for food, many marine animals and birds swallow them, and die very painfully. According to a special section in the Oct 2008 issue of Environmental Research—â€Å"A Plastic World†, pthalates used in PVC plastics can block the production of male sex hormone testosterone, bisphenol A (BPA) used in poly carbonate plastics