Thursday, October 31, 2019

The contemporary securitization of borders and the new policies of Essay

The contemporary securitization of borders and the new policies of states in North America and Europe that attempt to link asylu - Essay Example Third, Germany issues its own version of anti-refugees and asylum seekers statutes. Fourth, emphasized the problems of the refugees and asylum seekers grew in magnitude after the end of World War II. Fifth, some host countries have not fully given the refugees and asylum seekers their deserved rights and liberties. Sixth, the key to the strict refugees and asylum seekers policies is protection from terroristic and other acts that may disadvantage other residents of the host country. Seventh, international refugee law defines a refugee as: having a well grounded fear of being persecuted one or more discriminatory grounds. The reduction of protection for the refugees and asylum seekers is grounded on self- preservation. INTRODUCTION Refugees and asylum seekers are realities of the cruel world. The research centers on the difficulties faced by the refugees and asylum seekers. The research includes the moves to improve the lives of the refugees and asylum seekers in their host countries. North American and European policies are currently attempting to link asylum-seekers and refugees with terrorism and threats of national security, violating related international refugee laws. ... There is an increasing trend of host democratic governments turning their backs on the implementation of the Universal Humanitarian Principles. After the September 11, 2001 attack, many laws were enacted to reduce the rights as well as the liberties of the refugees and asylum seekers and also the citizens entering the host countries. A vivid example is the establishment of extra-judicial refugees and asylum seekers detention camps. Of the recent abuses was headlined in the abuses of the American soldiers, including the abuses committed by the American soldiers on Cuban and Haitian refugees and asylum seekers held in a prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, near Cuba. Likewise, abuses of the Soldiers managing the refugee and asylum seeker camps on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea as well as the Island Republic. Consequently, many democratic governments have reduced their focus on implementing the rights and liberties of refugees and asylum seekers (Wilson 659). Many of the refugees and asylum s eekers arrive in foreign country because they could no longer bear living in their home country. The refugees and asylum seekers escape from their home country taking with them the agony of losing their home, social status, friends, and identity. Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states â€Å"Everyone has the right to seek and enjoy in other country’s asylum from the sufferings received in their home countries. However, the refugees and asylum seekers do not know what will happen to them on their journey towards the host country (Wilson 641). To understand the sudden turnaround in terms of offering rights and liberties to refugees and asylum seekers, the focus should first look at the refugees and

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Legal and Ethical Responsibilities Essay Example for Free

Legal and Ethical Responsibilities Essay This memo is in response to the company’s decrease in sales and profit because of the current state of the economy. The company will be executing more cost-effective measures because of this present situation. These new procedures will begin immediately with approval from the company owners. The first change will be a reduction in the monetary incentives for the sales department. To be successful in implementing this change a complete understanding of the sales process is mandatory. Consumer and salespeople feedback will be instrumental in gathering the data necessary to make a concise and informed decision on the best way to reduce the incentives for every party involved. The first step in the decision-making process is determining the facts of the situation at hand (Hartman DesJardins, 2011, p. 47). The facts are that the company is losing income because of the economy. Additionally known is the company profits are on the finished product that meets the need of the consumer. A written survey will ascertain what the specific needs and wants of the consumer toward a particular product are. Once the feedback is analyzed, the products most in demand by the consumer will continue with production, whereas the products in less demand will begin interruption until the sales or the demand from the consumer are in need. This step will aid in cutting costs for products with unnecessary production. As an example, there was a significant increase in sales the first few years, opposed to last year’s sales that decreased substantially for the products not in demand. By investigating and discovering products in demand will aid in painting a clearer picture, thus assisting in cutting production cost that will get the company back in line with increasing sales and profits. Additionally, investigating and discovering will keep the plan of reducing monetary incentives for the sales force until sales and profits are on the increase again. However, the plan is to once again start issuing monetary incentives to the sales force once the company starts again seeing an increase in sales and profits. For this plan to be successful it will be necessary to motivate the sales force with tools to set achievable goals relating to increasing company sales and profits. This also has a direct impact on the sales force pertaining to the company’s organization and management. Upper management as well as the owners of the company has to be on the same accord concerning aiding the sales department in reaching their goals by providing motivation and support to the sales department. A strong support system is imperative if the sales team along with the organization is to reach their primary objectives. This plan will also include evaluations on the progress of the sales department pertaining to reaching their goals. The second and final change will be implementing a month-long layoff for some of the production employees. Laying-off production workers for a month will cut production costs of producing products unnecessary for the economy. While keeping in mind that this layoff will also have an adverse result on producing products in demand. Instead of laying off production workers, the more cost-effective way would be to keep them at work to help meet the current demand for products. The workers still working with the organization will receive more overtime, and this is not cost-effective because the result is increasing payroll for employees. Although removing monetary incentives for the sales department and laying-off a portion of the production department is legal, it does nothing for morale. Ethically there will be some repercussions to implementing these changes. Some of the repercussions may include employees leaving the organization and a decline in sales means possible bankruptcy. Implementing a more amicable plan will have a more positive influence that will promote a higher morale and happiness. With a higher morale, this will more likely promote a boost in productivity.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Theoretical Perspectives On Globalization

Theoretical Perspectives On Globalization The last century has seen a growth in the intensity of globalisation. It is argued to be one of the main forces that have shaped politics, economies and societies. The purpose of this assignment is to evaluate one of the main theoretical perspectives on globalization. It will begin by defining the concept globalisation. Following this, the assignment will outline two key perspectives n globalisation phenomenon; the hyperglobalists perspective and sceptics perspective. Thereafter, the assignment will examine one policy concern and how it links to the sceptics perspective on globalisation. The assignment will then conclude. Definition of Globalisation The concept of globalisation has been argued to have no distinct definition, is challenging to distinguish and has often been used ambiguously. The term has a theoretical construct that is itself contested and open for various meanings and inflections (Kellner, 1997:25). The meaning of globalisation is dependent on the context in which it is used. It has been argued to be a prominent topic among geographers and sociologists as well as economists and political scientists, and is studied within every paradigm, from neo-classical economics to post-modern social theory to realist international relations theory to Marxism (Radice, 2000: 6, cited in Sudgen and Wilson, 2005:15). Globalisation includes distinct phrases such as global culture, free trade, internationalization and interdependence. According to Mursheed (2001:1) the term is employed in the enumerative sense to define a reaction to increased integration, and the policies that follow from there. On the other hand, Held and McGrew (1999) portrays globalization through the use of four main changes, primarily, it encompasses the eradication of borders as a result of economic, social, and political behaviour. The subsequent characteristic contains the growth of links between culture, trade flows and investment. The third characteristic is the intensification of the combination of consumer preference, ideas, goods, information, capital and people. The last characteristic comprises of the prospective global impact that local developments have on other economies, perhaps resulting in global consequences. Held and McGrew further argue that these are the characteristics that illustrate globalization as remarkably fluid. Theoretical perspectives on globalisation The concept of globalisation has provoked much disagreement and discussions about its benefits and conceptualization. There are two schools of thought that argue two extreme accounts of globalization and its impact. These are referred to as the hyper-globalists and the sceptics. Both views provide a distinct perspective on this topic. Hyperglobalists generally recognize the globalization phenomenon as an element with positive economic, social and political outcomes. Globalisation is considered a process which involves interconnectedness and shapes global integration. According to Ohmae (1995), globalisation represents a new phenomenon whereby international law has predetermined the conclusion of the nation-state. Optimists promote the idea that globalisation established a single global market capable of managing itself. In contrast, sceptics argue that a discussion on globalization condemns the characteristics of globalization supported by the hyperglobalists (Hirst and Thomspon, 199 9). Sceptics reject the notion of a new globalization and argue that globalisation is not unique and has been a longstanding phenomenon. However, sceptics do not oppose globalisation altogether but oppose it in its current form (Deadroff, 2003). Stiglitz (2002) and Kellner (1997) argue that globalization creates dissatisfaction, and is viewed as a new form of capitalism or imperialism which inherently negatively affects tradition, culture and less developed countries. The sceptics perspective on globalisation Having highlighted both extreme perspectives on globalisation, the assignment will now focus on one main theoretical perspective chosen for this particular assignment which is the sceptics perspective. The sceptics argue that globalisation is a necessary myth to conceal developed countries and institutions goal of expanding neo liberal policies globally (Held et al, 1999). They assume that globalisation is a tool used by those in power such as America and Europe to dominate what happens in the world. However, Sceptics do not presuppose a desire to eliminate globalisationbutagree that many aspects of it is awful (Deardroff, 2003:643). For example, sceptics argue that although globalisation benefits developed economies it indirectly disadvantages less developed countries. In 1999 the United Nations found that there were less than 20 less developed countries that had positive gains as a result of globalisation (Shangquan, 2000). The research illustrated that the difference of income per capita reported between the richest countries and the poorest countries had increased from 30 times in 1960 and to 70 times in 2000. Consequently, the difference signifies the magnitude to which globalisation benefits developing countries, however, it is evident that developing countries do not benefit as much as their developed counterparts. Therefore, globalisation is argued to unfairly redistribute income, thereby increasing the wage discrepancies between the skilled and unskilled labor force (Jenkins, 2006). This inevitably creates societal and hierarchical disparities which inherently has an impact on local culture. Culture and globalization Sceptics argue that globalization threatens local tradition and culture (Kellner, 1997). Globalisation is argued to have diffused consumer belief systems through imposing a new sense of identity, displacing traditional cultures and ways of life. According to Hannerz (1991) consumer preferences of products, for example food, movies and music, enables consumers to embrace the culture and tradition of the producers country as it is circulated through distribution. To illustrate, Americanization, which refers to American culture has flooded non-western markets with products priced at resoundingly cheap rates which have been argued to have threatened the availability of local produce resulting in the displacement of local farmers. Fundamentally, host countries purchase American goods which essentially encourage local people into embracing the culture consequently resulting in the reshaping of their own culture. There is a fear among developing nations of losing their tradition and identit y as a nation, for example, countries such as China. China has evidently blocked global cultural influences from accessing their markets through the limitation of access to the internet, media and publications. Conversely, globalisation has been argued to have evidently caused an increase in migration rates and import rates in the UK over the years. Whilst the movement of produce has been enjoyed by the UK, the movement of people has not. Migration has brought forth people with different cultural backgrounds to the UK, which however, has been feared to have had an adverse impact on the English culture and welfare system. Movement has been gained through employment in transnational companies by the educated few whilst the poor have been restricted to illegal means. Nevertheless, in terms of culture, UK has seen an increase in diversity and a high level of the importation of different cultures disseminated through the re-distribution of produce sought from foreign countries which are less developed countries. Critical evaluation Hyperglobalists disregard cultural differences and perceive culture as a variant such as consumer preferences as a result it does not have an impact on the global economy. The new globalization era governs economic, social, political and cultural orders through government and institutional policies (Deardroff, 2003). This has been evidenced through institutions such as The International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organisation, the World Bank and transnational companies. Held et al (1999), note that these institutions facilitate and cultivate the globalisation phenomenon. For example, the World Trade Organisation, which is one of the primary hyperglobalists institutions has influenced universal integration and has an international reputation for its endeavours in shaping the universal market and trade. These institutions are often referred to as the key actors of globalization, argued to have superseded government authority (Klein and Naomi, 2000). However, within these institutions s ceptics argue that decisions made are mostly controlled by the rich countries, e.g. America (Deardroff, 2003). Conclusion To conclude, globalisation is a phenomenon that has been heavily debated from different perspectives over the last century. Having examined the concept and perspectives on globalization this assignment has highlighted the sceptics perspectives on globalisation and its impact on culture. The assignment argues that globalisation is influenced by American culture, dominance and regulations. Culture is important and has been vehemently influenced by globalisation, through the diffusion of western produce, technology, and publication in non-western local markets and homes. The impact socially can be argued to have had both negative and positive results. It is evident that globalisation has had positive impacts on economies and politics, through attempts to improve the health of people in poor countries and attempts to reduce pollution, however, culturally the impact has not been a desired one. Word Count-1403

Friday, October 25, 2019

The Beach Essay -- essays research papers

The Beach Brothers and sisters grow up arguing, screaming, and fighting from dusk until dawn. The arguments range from talking on the telephone, sharing the bathroom, to who gets dibs on the car. These confrontations appear to be the norm between siblings. In reality, when one comes face to face with losing a sister, all the arguing, screaming, and fighting seem of little importance. I realized this during a blistering hot July afternoon sojourn at the beach. The long drive felt like a never-ending adventure. Instead of cool air, the air conditioner blew air from the gates of Hell. My sister and I sat in the back seat of the ever-shrinking Toyota Camry arguing and hitting each other until dad threatened us yelling, â€Å"Don’t make me drive this car into a telephone pole!† Mom sat on the other side with only two jobs, control the radio and navigate us to the beach. Both were done very poorly, giving us static from the radio and forty-five minutes on a road with no name. After hours of driving, which felt like an eternity, we finally arrived at the beach. Running toward the ocean, I felt the cool sand squish between my toes. The water was clear and inviting, seashells cover the bottom, and rolling waves punctuate the surface. My sister and I went into the ocean, diving through the waves and swimming as quickly as we could. We rode enormous waves into the shore on our raft and then swam back to catch more. We enjoyed ourselves for hours until I was totally exhausted and hea...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Interesting Sociology Essay Topics Essay

Sociology essays deal with the study of human social behavior in a society, thus, it is quite interesting for the students who are interested in human psyche but boring for those who don’t like studying their species. By and large, essays on sociology are mostly based on informative and argumentative style of writing, the argumentative sociology essay demands to work on thesis while essays on the sociology of knowledge are mostly assigned to the students in the informative arena. Whether it is argumentative or informative essays, one has to develop a topic that can grab the attention of the reader in no time and this is not such an easy task. While developing a topic for sociology essay, on should remember the nature of the subject, that is it deals with human behavior, psychology, humanities and social science. Thus, the topic should be as such which revolves around these subjects. Following are some of the recommended sociology essay topic for the students who are not able to select a good topic for their assignment. 1- Youth addiction to alcohol – Causes and concerns 2- Comparison between the children brought up in Filipino and Europe 3- What is and should the role of politicians in socializing through campaigning? 4- Merits and demerits of media for a society? 5- How cross cultural media transformation destroys the culture of a particular society? 6- Internet and its implications on a society. 7- Diffusion of innovation in European culture. 8- Critical comparison between sociology and anthropology 9- Homosexuality – crucial warning to our society 10- Views about organ transplantation in our society 11- What are the causes of increasing street crimes in our society? 12- What does mean to be a single parent in a conservative society? 13- Comparison between marriages and live-in? 14- Life in rural areas and life in a metropolitan city 15- Increasing materialism increases the depression in a society 16- In spite of such an advanced means of communication people are increasingly going for solitude. 17- Adoption and its consequences for an adopted child 18- How does divorce effects on the minds of the children 19- Comparison between materialistic and a spiritualistic person 20- Living a life as an eternal bachelor 21- Women empowerment in a conservative society 22- Challenges a working women faces in our society 23- Comparison between inferiority and superiority complex 24- Living whole life in a prison 25- Origin of sociology as a science

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Computers and How They Impact Our Lives Essay

Have you ever thought about how much computers have been integrated into our lives? Personally speaking there is not a day that goes by that I don’t sit down in front of a computer for something. Computers play a large role in the way that businesses are run, the days of type writers and filing cabinets are a thing of the past. We can access information about almost anything on the internet, such as banking records, insurance information, shopping, technical assistance the possibilities are almost limitless. Looking at the history of computers they really haven’t been around that long. Frederic Golden writer for Time magazine tells us this on the history of computers If you look at most history books, they’ll tell you ENIAC (for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was the first true all-purpose electronic computer. Unveiled in 1946 in a blaze of publicity, it was a monstrous 30-ton machine, as big as two semis and filled with enough vacuum tubes (19,000), switches (6,000) and blinking lights to require an army of attendants. Capable of adding 5,000 numbers in a second, a then unheard of feat, it could compute the trajectory of an artillery shell well before it landed. This machine was a remarkable achievement for its time but it doses not even begin to compare to the average personal computer that people have in their homes today. In its short 57 year span of history computer technology has increased at an unprecedented rate. Businesses are very dependant on computers, email, printing, data storage, internet access, data analyst are just a few of the thing that people take for granted in everyday business. Email has revolutionized the way we communicate and has become one of the most critical systems in business today. Servers are the back bone of almost every business. They handle many of the things that are essential for people to do their jobs. From email to file storage, printing and databases, these are just a few of the jobs that they perform. The complexity of what is going on behind the seen is unimaginable to the common person doing their job. Your basic end users have  no idea about how much work that is involved to maintain the systems that they use every day. Computer networking is an area that I find to be very interesting. The ability to access information on a server thousands of miles from where you are amazes me. For instance, Joe Smith is traveling to England and he wants to access his work email while he is there. He arrives at his hotel, turns on his notebook and plugs it into a phone line, signs on to the internet and gets his mail. To the user this seems like something simple but what is going on in the back ground is far more complex than he can ever imagine. I was watching the news a few months ago, and there was a doctor that could control a robotic device and perform surgery on a patient, via a high speed connection thousands of miles away. We have gone from a machine that performs simple calculations to a machine that enables a doctor to perform surgery on patient thousands of miles away in 57 years. Where will we be heading in the next 50 years? What you would think to be science fiction is becoming reality, Ascribe Higher Education News Service, Oct 8, 2003 wrote this article on DNA research at Purdue University â€Å"They have precisely placed strands of DNA on a silicon chip and then stretched out the strands so that their encoded information might be read more clearly, two steps critical to possibly using DNA for future electronic devices and computers.† The possibilities for the future are exciting when you reflect on how far we have come already. We are just beginning to scratch the surface of our potential with computers. Computers play an important part in our society; from our personal life to large corporations they are integrated into our lives. Some of the most basic and common tasks that we perform today such as driving cars or even turning on a light is made possible by computers. The advancements we’ve made over the last 57 years have been substantial, but what we will accomplish in the future will be even more amazing. References Ascribe Higher Education News Service, Oct 8, 2003 Purdue Researchers Stretch DNA on Chip, Lay Track for Future from the InfoTrac database Time, March 29, 1999 Title: Who Built The First Computer? (TIME 100)(Brief Article) from the InfoTrac database

The Hukbalahap Rebellion in the Philippines

The Hukbalahap Rebellion in the Philippines Between 1946 and 1952, the government of the Philippines fought against a tenacious foe called the Hukbalahap or Huk (pronounced roughly like hook).  The guerrilla army got its name from a contraction of the Tagalog phrase Hukbo ng Bayan Balan sa Hapon, meaning Anti-Japanese Army.  Many of the guerrilla fighters had fought as insurgents against the Japanese occupation of the Philippines between 1941 and 1945.  Some were even survivors of the Bataan Death March who managed to escape their captors. Fighting for Farmers Rights Once World War II was over and the Japanese withdrew, the Huk pursued a different cause: fighting for the rights of tenant farmers against wealthy land-owners. Their leader was Luis Taruc, who had fought brilliantly against the Japanese in Luzon, the largest of the Philippine islands.  By 1945, Tarucs guerrillas had retaken most of Luzon from the Imperial Japanese Army, a very impressive result. A Guerrilla  Campaign Begins Taruc began his guerrilla campaign to overthrow the Philippine government after he was elected to Congress in April of 1946, but was refused a seat on charges of election fraud and terrorism.  He and his followers went to the hills and renamed themselves the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). Taruc planned to create a communist government with himself as president.  He recruited new guerrilla soldiers from tenant organizations set up to represent poor peasants who were being exploited by their landlords. The Assassination of Aurora Quezon   In 1949, members of the PLA ambushed and killed Aurora Quezon, who was the widow of former Philippine president Manuel Quezon and the head of the Philippine Red Cross.  She was shot dead along with her eldest daughter and son-in-law.  This killing of a very popular public figure known for her humanitarian work and personal kindness turned many potential recruits against the PLA. The Domino Effect By 1950, the PLA was terrorizing and killing wealthy land-owners across Luzon, many of whom had ties of family or friendship with government officials in Manila.  Because the PLA was a left-wing group, although it was not closely affiliated with the Philippine Communist Party, the United States offered military advisers to assist the Philippine government in combating the guerrillas. This was during the Korean War, so American concern about what would later be termed the Domino Effect ensured eager US cooperation in anti-PLA operations. What followed was literally a textbook anti-insurgency campaign, as the Philippine Army used infiltration, misinformation, and propaganda to weaken and confuse the PLA.  In one case, two PLA units each became convinced that the other was actually part of the Philippine Army, so they had a friendly-fire battle and inflicted heavy casualties on themselves.   Taruc Surrenders In 1954, Luis Taruc surrendered.  As part of the bargain, he agreed to serve a fifteen-year prison sentence.  The government negotiator who convinced him to give up the fight was a charismatic young senator named Benigno Ninoy Aquino Jr.   Sources: Bridgewater, L. Grant.  Philippine Information Operations During the Hukbalahap Counterinsurgency Campaign, Iosphere, Joint Information Operations Center, accessed July 2014.Gojo, Romelino R.  The Hukbalahap Movement, Command and Staff College Thesis, April 6, 1984.Greenberg, Lawrence M.  The Hukbalahap Insurrection: A Case Study of a Successful Anti-Insurgency Operation in the Philippines, 1946 - 1955, U.S. Army Center of Military History, Historical Analysis Series, Washington DC, 1987.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

The Positive Re-channeling of Nerves Essays

The Positive Re-channeling of Nerves Essays The Positive Re-channeling of Nerves Essay The Positive Re-channeling of Nerves Essay Cicero once said, â€Å"If we are not ashamed to think it, we should not be ashamed to speak it† (qtd. in WorldofQuotes.com 1).   This is good advice, but those who engage in any type of public speaking are bound to feel some type of nervousness or insecurity about what they are going to say.   It may not be that we are necessarily ashamed of the content, but most people report having fears that they will appear foolish to their audience.   This nervousness, however harrowing, is actually quite natural, and if channeled correctly, can work to the speaker’s benefit.The first step to dealing with the nervousness of public speaking is to know your topic.   The more one knows their subject, the more confident they feel.   If the speaker is well versed in the topic, even if they should lose their place or train of thought, they still possess enough knowledge to create a segue-way that will prevent the panic caused by awkward pauses.   If this nervous energy can b e channeled into knowing the subject matter, the speaker extremely diminishes their chances of going blank or being caught off-guard.The book of lists says that public speaking is the number one fear of all fears (Laskowski 1 ).   However, if one can also channel this energy toward their audience, one has a greater possibility of succeeding.   Many speakers are simply not concentrating on their audience or message but rather their own anxiety.   Concentrating on the audience brings the speaker out of their own self-consciousness and creates an awareness that may allow the speaker to better capture the audience’sattention.   A speaker worried about the own internal fears cannot aptly address the audience’s needs.   These speakers often have poor eye contact or articulation.   Placing emphasis on the audience not only calms the speaker but at the same time keeps the audience engaged.Student Name 2The last and probably most important thing that a speaker can d o to re-direct nervous energy is too simply make it positive energy.   The best speakers are those who can turn butterflies into a voluptuous surge of vivacity and enthusiasm.   Speakers can use this energy to make hand-gestures or alter inflection for emphasis; these in turn show that the speaker is truly impassioned about the subject.   This type of energy is contagious and it is likely that the enthusiastic speaker will see their own energy spilling over into the crowd.   Audience members may smile or nod along with the speaker’s important points; some may sit erect or even lean forward in their seats.   Likely, when the speaker who has transformed nervousness into vivacity concludes, there is not likely to be vacant stares or disinterest but energetic acceptance and warm applause.Public speaking can cause a great amount of insecurity in even a seasoned speaker.   Speakers are naturally concerned about the acceptance of their presentation and the possibility of making mistakes in front of their peers.   This natural energy does not have to work to paralyze the speaker.   When re-focused, it can lead to a speaker who is better informed, more aware, and greatly more enthusiastic and engaging.   A speaker should not be overly concerned regarding their anxiety, but realize that this extra energy can be a catalyst that will serve to enhance and intensify the performance.   In this light, a person may realize that the butterflies that they had in the beginning may have been what made the speech special in the end.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Personal statement for Hult International Business School

For Hult International Business School - Personal Statement Example I have acknowledged that a brighter future awaits if I pursue higher educational degrees in the field I am most interested in. Since the start of my bachelor degree, I have focused on delving in International Business at Hult International Business School due to the shared commitment for â€Å"personal growth, intellectual integrity, global sensitivity, local engagement, and civic values, so that students are able to flourish in the global economy and are empowered to contribute meaningfully to their business and community† (Hult: Mission, 2010). In this regard, I am looking forward into changing cities to face new challenges and experiences. After completing Master of International Business, I plan to pursue a job in finance or real estate, concurrent with past experience in my family’s business. Likewise, after a few years of work experience, I am determined to return to Hult to pursue my MBA.   For my long-term goals, there is this entrepreneurial drive to take over my familys real estate firm in Belgrade, pursuant to the encouragement of my parents. Equipped with the theoretical framework and skills honed through the academe, I am determined to expand it and to seek new business opportunities to capture Balkans’ growing market. The course in International Business would effectively develop the needed knowledge and skills to venture into opportunities in the local market (initially) and eventually in global and emerging markets. My current course in Economics with focus on finance and administration would provide the theoretical background to indulge in higher education on an analogous field on endeavor. As I have been part of our family business, I was exposed to the rigors of entrepreneurship, management, operations, and human behavior in organizations. These experiences, in conjunction with the academic framework, provide the impetus for making my plans viable and credible, both in the short-term and

Friday, October 18, 2019

Restaurant Procedures Purchasing, Receiving, Storage, Preparation, Assignment

Restaurant Procedures Purchasing, Receiving, Storage, Preparation, Selling And Service - Assignment Example Starting a restaurant business comes with its challenges though it can be a paying job. Before starting a restaurant, it is wise research on the restaurant service and location. This will assure that are doing the correct thing and offer a satisfaction that your restaurant will be a successful. Trust is necessary to your produce or service as it may consume your time, particularly during the start-up period. There are common matters to consider such as principles, financing, handling your business, promoting, and taxation. Working in the restaurant and learning the essentials is significant first step to becoming a proprietor. Knowing your target market will help solidify the menu, determine the locality, design and the overall atmosphere of your restaurant. A restaurant will need a brief business strategy. This strategy should include: concept and goal of your restaurant; definite financial information and estimates; an n account of your target market; an advertising and marketing p lan; your menu and pricing and a potential exit strategy. Make sure the menu is striking to your target market, affordable within your budget, and matches your restaurant's design concept. Site is important in the restaurant world. It is important to find a location that has a convenient parking and is in proximity to other businesses particularly if you are catering to the lunch customers. When designing your kitchen, reflect about what's on the menu in order to fix what is needed for the food preparation area. Identify a suitable

Stem Cells Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Stem Cells - Research Paper Example Stem Cells are specialized and powerful cells found in the body. The stem cells are non-differentiated cells, and have the potentiality of differentiating to form other cells. In the process of differentiation of the stem cells, they divide through mitosis. The stem cells in adults can be harvested from three main areas. The bone marrow is a special area where the cells can be extracted. From the bone marrow, the cells are harvested by drilling through the bones of the iliac crest or the femur where the stem cells are in abundance. Other than the bone marrow, adipose tissue (lipid cells) is another of the key areas where stem cells could be harvested. The stem cells from the adipose tissues are harvested through the means of liposuction. Additionally, the stem cells can be extracted from the blood tissues. The process of extraction of stem cell from the blood is called apheresis. In this process, blood is drawn from a donor similar to the typical blood donation mechanism, but in this procedure, the blood is flown through a specialized machine that separates the stem cells from the blood (Rodriguez et al., 2005). Apart from extraction of stem cells from mature adults, the cells can be gotten from the umbilical cord and are usually extracted immediately at birth. Of all the means through which the stem cells can be harvested, it is safer when a stem cell from an individual is implanted to the same individual. In this means, a stem cell from one part of the body (bone) can be transplanted to another. Implantation of auto stem cells decreases the risk of immune sensitivity and immune rejection of the implanted stem cells (Blanpain et al., 2012). Contrary to other cells of the body, stem cells are unspecialized. In this essence, the stem cells are capable of self-renewal through cell division, especially after a long period of inactivity. Another classical difference between stem cells and other cells of

Decision Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Decision Analysis - Essay Example The essay refers to â€Å"Case Study of Rural Health Care in the Economic Downturn" by North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center. Healthcare facilities have energy-intensive buildings and use more energy than other forms of buildings per square meter. Energy efficiency is critical to freeing capital trapped within conventional hospital infrastructure. Approaches to energy efficiency will provide clean, cheap, and abundant to Ashe Memorial Hospital in the delivery of immediate hospital savings. The hospital will improve financial performance through making advanced decisions to energy management. Ashe Memorial Hospital should focus on achieving sustainable utility cost reductions and savings across the building’s life cycle (Borkowski & Deckard, 2013). The approach generates new cash and increased capital continuously. It is important to note that hospital investment in efficient procedures has appreciable impacts on hospital financial performance. However, there is a need to have consistency in implementing the stability of cost per case and cash flow. The reduced of penalties and carbon taxes grows the energy efficiency in the future while Ashe Memorial Hospital endorses the ability of full compliance with regulators and accreditation organizations in its operations. The reduced potential for preventable adverse events includes infant abductions as well as unexpected patient departures for improved security of patients, staffs, and assets without extra costs (Twaddle, 2002). Lower levels of power failure and patient injuries as well as death due to electrical fires or power failure reduces the potential for higher costs. The application of intelligent healthcare solutions provides Ashe Memorial Hospital with an opportunity of improving hospital’s financial performance. Other benefits of automation include higher productivity level and overall patient satisfaction, safety, and security. In addition,

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Sex Education in America Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sex Education in America - Article Example A better option would indeed be to sit them down and explain to them in moral or practical terms what they need to know about sex. Knowing the stages in the 28 days of ovulation did not benefit that 16 year old pregnant girl in the clinic, but perhaps if that girl who had remarked over hoping child-birth did not hurt as much as sex, had been told how to say no or avoid doing something she clearly never enjoyed doing, she wouldn't be in the position that she currently was. Teachers should sit students down and explain to them the social aspects of teenage pregnancies, explain the possible 'solutions' one relies on when such a situation arises, and explain how none of them are ever really a solution. Furthermore, rather than scaring them away from sex using pregnancy as a tool, students should be educated on sex itself, in practical terms rather than scientific ones. Sex is not a tool to keep someone interested in you, nor is it something to increase intimacy. Rather it is something us ed to express intimacy, and until students know how to do that, it would be like speaking French without actually knowing how to. Furthermore, as that girl in the high school told you Ms. Quindlen, most girls will succumb to intercourse under pressure from their peers or their boyfriends. Perhaps girls should also be taught that there is no need to feel the pressure to keep a friend or a boyfriend who will judge them on their willingness to have sex. Yet we find that none of these issues are ever actually discussed in sex ed classes. Nor is student input ever taken, so that their confusions or queries can be cleared out. Indeed it is possible that, as you, the future or aftermath is such a vague distant matter that the students aren't even aware of their confusion in reference to it. If all that matters is the build-up to the act, they would not find themselves focusing on the ifs, buts, whys and hows of the matter. Perhaps this is because parents are not comfortable with the idea o f sex being taught to their children in such an accepting matter, because idealistic or not, many parents do not want to accept that the idea is relevant to their child. Nonetheless, as their teachers and parents, it is our job to protect our children and educate them on the matter and I do feel that sex education needs to be reconsidered in the way that it is being taught. As for the matter brought up by Ms. Austin, I also completely agree with what you had to say. Indeed as you said, after the revolution of the sixties and the current changing trends, many girls today feel that as they are career-oriented women and not the basic definition of a housewife, home economics and learning how to run a home is not relevant to them. Men on the other hand feel that it's the woman's job to handle a house and they too feel it is not relevant to them. This, in my view, is the basic reason for the decreasing popularity of home economics, and perhaps the rising rate of broken or mismanaged hous eholds. Home economics is essential for anyone hoping to have some form of a household or family, whether it is as a full-time housewife or husband, or as a part-time housewife.

Marcet Conversations in Political Economy Essay

Marcet Conversations in Political Economy - Essay Example The format that this paper will utilize is to first give a precise definition of what is identified above followed by a brief discussion of what the government might try to do in order to solve said problem including a personal evaluation of the effectiveness of the proposed policy measures. Thirdly this paper will discuss some alternative means by which this problem might be solved with a particular emphasis on informal social arrangements drawing on some real life examples of said arrangement. The above passage illustrates some fundamental issues of economics and political science. In one respect one could refer to this issue is illustrating the importance of scarcity in its regard to the laws of supply and demand, secondly there is the issue of ownership insofar as it may be the case that who would protect what is free and available to everybody. As one can boil down the entire issue it is arguably the case from an anthropological and sociological perspective that without the feeling of ownership people are not often compelled to take care of any particular resource. A great case is presented by Diamond (2005) in which it is postulated that the Greenland Norse faced their collapse as a result of over grazing of pastureland, a reluctance to trade with their neighbors and a reluctance to adapt in the wake of a potential societal collapse. What this illustrates is that when resources are relatively free for the taking the wake of poor crop yields it is invariably in the hum an spirit to over consume other resources which could theoretically bring with it the risks of a total collapse in society. When one examines the case as illustrated above one could draw the conclusion that if everything were free people would not take a sense of ownership and as such there would be a case of over consumption. From an economics standpoint one could bring

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Decision Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Decision Analysis - Essay Example The essay refers to â€Å"Case Study of Rural Health Care in the Economic Downturn" by North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center. Healthcare facilities have energy-intensive buildings and use more energy than other forms of buildings per square meter. Energy efficiency is critical to freeing capital trapped within conventional hospital infrastructure. Approaches to energy efficiency will provide clean, cheap, and abundant to Ashe Memorial Hospital in the delivery of immediate hospital savings. The hospital will improve financial performance through making advanced decisions to energy management. Ashe Memorial Hospital should focus on achieving sustainable utility cost reductions and savings across the building’s life cycle (Borkowski & Deckard, 2013). The approach generates new cash and increased capital continuously. It is important to note that hospital investment in efficient procedures has appreciable impacts on hospital financial performance. However, there is a need to have consistency in implementing the stability of cost per case and cash flow. The reduced of penalties and carbon taxes grows the energy efficiency in the future while Ashe Memorial Hospital endorses the ability of full compliance with regulators and accreditation organizations in its operations. The reduced potential for preventable adverse events includes infant abductions as well as unexpected patient departures for improved security of patients, staffs, and assets without extra costs (Twaddle, 2002). Lower levels of power failure and patient injuries as well as death due to electrical fires or power failure reduces the potential for higher costs. The application of intelligent healthcare solutions provides Ashe Memorial Hospital with an opportunity of improving hospital’s financial performance. Other benefits of automation include higher productivity level and overall patient satisfaction, safety, and security. In addition,

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Marcet Conversations in Political Economy Essay

Marcet Conversations in Political Economy - Essay Example The format that this paper will utilize is to first give a precise definition of what is identified above followed by a brief discussion of what the government might try to do in order to solve said problem including a personal evaluation of the effectiveness of the proposed policy measures. Thirdly this paper will discuss some alternative means by which this problem might be solved with a particular emphasis on informal social arrangements drawing on some real life examples of said arrangement. The above passage illustrates some fundamental issues of economics and political science. In one respect one could refer to this issue is illustrating the importance of scarcity in its regard to the laws of supply and demand, secondly there is the issue of ownership insofar as it may be the case that who would protect what is free and available to everybody. As one can boil down the entire issue it is arguably the case from an anthropological and sociological perspective that without the feeling of ownership people are not often compelled to take care of any particular resource. A great case is presented by Diamond (2005) in which it is postulated that the Greenland Norse faced their collapse as a result of over grazing of pastureland, a reluctance to trade with their neighbors and a reluctance to adapt in the wake of a potential societal collapse. What this illustrates is that when resources are relatively free for the taking the wake of poor crop yields it is invariably in the hum an spirit to over consume other resources which could theoretically bring with it the risks of a total collapse in society. When one examines the case as illustrated above one could draw the conclusion that if everything were free people would not take a sense of ownership and as such there would be a case of over consumption. From an economics standpoint one could bring

Kazakhstans Rough Road to Wto Accession Essay Example for Free

Kazakhstans Rough Road to Wto Accession Essay But talks with the WTO chief revealed a number of hurdles blocking Kazakhstans entrance into the WTO, particularly agricultural reform (Kazakhstanskaya pravda, August 27). Over the last decade the government has taken steps to increase agricultural efficiency through land privatization and financial support for farmers. But these half-hearted measures have failed to produce radical changes. Most small farmers and individual households cannot secure bank credits due to high interest rates. Without credit, it is difficult to increase production. Speaking one month ago in Petropavlovsk, North Kazakhstan, an expert from Kazakhstans Ministry of Agriculture, Akzhol Abdukalimov, noted that the country lags at least three years behind Russia in terms of processing its agricultural yield. He added that only 19 of Kazakhstans more than 600 agricultural processing enterprises were planning to introduce ISO international quality standards. Inefficient processing facilities and high production costs are among the main factors that make Kazakh agricultural produce uncompetitive even in domestic markets. Abdukalimov admitted that Kazakhstan still imports 88% of its condensed milk, 70% of its cooking oil, and 30% of its sausages. Last year only 16% of the meat and 13% of the milk produced in Kazakhstan were processed. The poor state of agricultural production minimizes the overall effect of the much-trumpeted positive economic performance. The national Statistical Agency registered 9. 1% GDP growth in the first half of this year. But the growth in agricultural sector was a paltry 5. 2%, compared to a 9. % increase in industrial output and 12% growth in transport and communications. Not surprisingly, these apparent statistical gains are actively used for propaganda purposes. Recently Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov boasted that the high economic achievements recorded in Kazakhstan for five consecutive years were characteristic of the states that hold leading positions in the world. Many analysts are more cautious in forecasting the pace of the economy in coming years. They attribute the steady GDP growth to rising oil prices in the world market over last five years. Other trends are cause for alarm. The production of goods in Kazakhstan makes up only 41% of the economy, whereas the service sector holds 53. 5%. In reality, the annual GDP growth rate is much slower in Kazakhstan than in neighboring Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, where the economy is beginning to outpace the performance of Kazakhstan (Epoha, August 20). The complex relations among the Central Asian states help explain the political value Astana sees in gaining WTO membership. Kazakhstan, praised by Washington as a leading market economy in Central Asia, had its pride wounded when Kyrgyzstan became the first in the region to join the World Trade Organization. While Russia and Kazakhstan have declared their intention to synchronize WTO accession efforts within the Eurasian Economic Community, little substantive work has been done. Dozens of interstate and intergovernmental agreements aimed at regulating railway tariffs and removing customs barriers remain largely unimplemented. Nevertheless, on August 24 Prime Minister Akhmetov, in talks with CIS executive committee chairman Vladimir Rushailo, resurrected the subject of integration within the CIS and coordinated entry into WTO. Yet the Prime Ministers optimism contrasts with reality. Many regional managers are from the older generation and offer stiff resistance to the introduction of ISO standards. They favor closer ties with Russia and harbor suspicion of international institutions like the WTO. The most widespread fear is that, if Kazakhstan becomes the member of the WTO, foreign goods will flood domestic markets, driving local industries to ruin. However, there is a growing recognition that Kazakhstan needs WTO membership. Although no date has been set for Kazakhstans WTO accession, it is becoming clear that the country will join this organization. Earlier this year, the government launched an industrial innovation program to stimulate the introduction of high-tech methods into the production process.

Monday, October 14, 2019

The Lovely Bones Book vs Movie

The Lovely Bones Book vs Movie Alice Sebolds bestseller The Lovely Bones is another book that you dont quite know what to expect when you pick it up, but when you read it you get it very quickly. It affects you emotionally as a reader and makes it interesting. Mass market book publishing is, like movies, a calculated and repetitive business. Sebold came with something really different. She was lucky to get her book published, and when she did, no one expected it to sell over 2 million copies or be on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year (Bradshaw). This bestselling book became the basis for the film, taking on the same name, and directed by Peter Jackson; who also is known for directing Heavenly Creatures, The Lord of the Rings, The Lord of the Rings the Two Towers, and The Lord of The Rings the Return of the Ring (York). Having read The Lovely Bones and then watching the film it became clear that not only was there an obvious difference between the movie and book cover, but there were many differenc es and changes that were made on behalf of the film. The Lovely Bones is set in the suburbs of Philadelphia in the early seventies. Its about the Salmon Family; husband, wife, three children and the tragedy that occurs within the family. They were in the prime of their lives, the next thing you know the police have arrived and nobody really knows what happened to the main character, Susie Salmon, a young girl who is murdered in a corn field just beyond the back of her house. In the book Susie is going through her process of going up into Heaven and looking down on her family struggling to deal with the death of their daughter and sister. A major aspect of the book is how she directs her family towards her killer in some sort of retribution (Sebold). As the book was translated to film the differences that are often seen in book to film translations can be more evident as it goes along. As the process of translating The Lovely Bones to film was approached it became the ultimate puzzle for screen writers according to the director Peter Jackson. (Filming) Getting films out to the public for directors or the marketing team of any movie has become easier and easier with Amazon, YouTube, eBay, and personal websites, filmmakers have direct access to the public (Garon xix). Jackson seemed to hope for a similar outcome from the movie as the book. If he had stayed truer to the book, he may have gotten what he wanted. In an attempt to produce from within the pages of the novel, the film, and book, take place during the nineteen seventies and is narrated from the perspective of a fourteen year old girl named Susie Salmon. She is a passionate photographer, has the love and support of her family, and is even getting looks from the boy she has a crush on in school. Life is all good. And then she is brutally murdered by her creepy neighbor George Harvey. (The Lovely Bones) It begins with the same line from the first page of the book: My name is Salmon, like the fish, first name Susie (Sebold 6). Even though the book and film begin the same, the story in the film and the story in the book are very, very different. In the book the actual process and the crisis of the death in the beginning of the book is covered in the first chapter. This first chapter covers forty five to fifty minutes of the film, which is most of the movie. Susie Salmon the lead in the movie, played by Saoirse Ronan, and the main character of the book is portrayed amazingly. She really does capture the tone and the innocence along with the development away from the innocence of the character of Susie in the original text. Mark Walberg plays the father and is a massive character in the book. The best casting to the book is Susan Sarandon, as the Grandmother, even though physically they have a completely different description of the Grandmother in the book (USA). However, translation to film does not detail you the torment that the family goes through chapter after chapter. For example, the destruction of the family unit, the extended leave of the mother, sleepless nights of the sister and obsessive focus on finding Susie and her killer. There is no depiction in the film of the horrific nature of the abduction, murder, or more specifically the graphic rape and dismemberment of Susie. The movie is quite sugar coated compared to the book. It almost appears that the screenwriters for this movie pulled an old teenage trick of reading the first chapter and then skipping to the last. (York) Many differences continue to unfold as the movie shows Susie feeling life fading away from her as she grabs onto the top of a flower, forcing herself into the in-between. There, she is confused and alone until she meets Holly, who helps her navigate her new world. Its just the two of them in utopia, a perfect world of their own making, at first. As it plays out Susie and Holly only exist with a growing number of girls that Harvey has killed. Jackson creates a visual basis for the in-between that is almost like a dream. Creative license took shape when the director places visions of ghostly Susie entering the realm of the real world to inspire changes in events. (The Lovely Bones) Among one of the larger differences in the film to book translation, which wasnt a problem until the viewing of the film, was it became unclear in the book what kind of state or status Susie was in when she died; rather she was in a kind of purgatory or they call it the in-between in both the book and film. It was made clearer in the movie that she was going on a specific journey, and they actually created that world very visually, which was very good. The only issue with these visuals was as a reader you have your own images in your head that were previously described in the book. Visually the film is spectacular, but for a reader there are no huge bottles with ships inside and visions of her in the eyes of her family. These events just dont exist in the text. Contrary to the production, book Susie puts her dismembered body back together and meets Franny, her intake specialist, who helps her navigate this new world. Susie refuses to go to heaven until she can reach her family and help catch her killer (Sebold 8). Only then does she meet Holly, her roommate (Sebold 17). Susie lives in her vision, with people everywhere throwing javelins and wandering around in their own versions in the distance, similar to the real world. She creates cool swing sets and a duplex that she always wanted and shares it with her new friend Holly. Susies interpretation of heaven is populated with real men and women, of all ages, from all background, who died and now resides in overlapping worlds (Sebold 19). Because this movie is based off a three hundred page book it feels like it moves too fast missing key components in the timeline. Several minutes into the film George Harvey lures her to his hidden den in a field, sparking excitement and interest in Susie. Harvey tries to hide his deed and find other victims as her family tries to deal with the tragedy as well as trying to find out just who is responsible for her murder (Filming). It then becomes confusing for readers when the movie cuts to a point where Susie appears to escape from the underground lair in the corn field and then is running through the streets. Its not immediately apparent that she is dead or how she died. This ghostly appearance does not occur and the death scene is clearer in the text. The book is detailed and sharp which leads to the confusion of the timeline within the movie. Timelines within the film get more blurred as we read further into the novel. It graphically describes the rape followed by him murdering her with a shaving razor (Sebold 12). Then, he dismembers her body, putting her remains in a safe that he dumps in a sinkhole (Sebold 53). This timeline is skipped in the film as they focus more on Jack, Susies father, and his search for a killer. He is obsessively seen collecting personal files and digging up tax records on a number of shady men, every man he can think of (The Lovely Bones), although, Mr. Harvey is the first, and only, suspect of Jack in the book. He knows it and feels it after helping Mr. Harvey with a project in his backyard, bringing about another difference, a ceremonial tent in the book and a duck blind in the movie. However, this occurs two years later in the movie. Its within the first month in the book. It takes eleven months before the police even turn up Susies hand-knit hat. Within the book Susies elbow turns up three d ays later, the hat within weeks. The film skips or twists more and more detail and leaves you expecting and waiting for them to unfold but, some never come and others dont come until almost the end, and then it is vague and contained in sudden flashbacks with no explanation. (Sebold 55) (The Lovely Bones) In terms of the plot line the film attempts to get it, though it does not go into the depth that they do in the book. Jackson takes his time in carefully setting up the plot just enough so that we have a good hold on the world of the story the entire time (USA). The time period is reflected well and the main character is likeable and someone who we can sympathize with easily, but not because she is a teenage girl that dies. Her personality and narrations are what do it instead. The film moves back and forth between what the book and movie call the in-between or afterlife and the real world and comes across in the movie very visually (Visual). The visuals are just stunning and there is a unique feel about them as though you are in a dream while they play in front of you. The structuring of this movie is also kind of weird; thankfully with so many other differences this didnt make the movie so confusing as to lose the audience completely (Filming). In film it diverts back and forth to Susie focusing on having her first kiss with Ray, the visually extravagant in-between, and warning her family; whereas the book, although narrated by Susie, explores so many other characters and life experiences. In contrast to the movie, the book is more of a coming of age story about a girl who will never get the chance to grow up. Susie can only grow spiritually by watching her family and friends as they each reach milestones, leave for college, get married and have kids of their own. For book readers shes already had her first kiss and after watching her sister and Samuel make love she longs to do the same with Ray, the boy who was going to go out with her, her crush (Sebold 237). Susie later possesses Ruth, her former classmate and friend. Ruth, who has a spiritual connection with Susie, is overwhelmed by the feeling of her presence. Susie then enters Ruths body and makes love to Ray, which is again graphically described in text (Sebold 300). The movie focus again takes away from the book journey eliminating this sexual growth aspect to the teenage girl. Like many adaptations found with book to film projects; you do lose a vast number of really important events. Such that, the scenes where we follow Harvey are well thought out in just how they show his life and his way of thinking in the film very vaguely. His apparent odd psychological state of mind, expressed with his need for an alarm to prompt him to open his window shades, does not translate as well in the movie (The Lovely Bones). His odd psychological state and inability to follow social norms are described in detail within the chapters as he devices ways to appear normal to the outside world (Sebold 130). In the book you get more in depth descriptions which develops the characters of not just Harvey and Susie but, her sister, her father and, especially, her mother. You learn a lot about her mother which is important however, in the film you learn very little. It is played out in the text that Abigail, Susies mother, never wanted children, withdraws from her family and has an affair with police detective Len Fenerman, the investigator to Susies case (Sebold 196). You also dont learn in the movie that the mother abandoned the father, sister and brother. You see her in the film leave with one suitcase in a cab as though she is taking a vacation or just a getaway to clear her head. However, in the book narrations she abruptly leaves and takes a job at a winery in California and attends College. Abigail leaves and creates a life for herself with her boyfriend, Samuel Heckler, who she becomes engaged to after finishing college. Only after hearing that Jack has had a heart attack does she return eight years later (Sebold 220). This huge gap in time and events are not portrayed in the movie. The relationship between Abigail and her children is then laid out in detail as their son Buckley expresses bitterness for her abandoning the family for most of his childhood (Sebold 264). The filmmakers cut this out completely never even giving a hint that this fracture happened within the family. She is nearly ignored in the movie by giving us just small glimpses of an upset and lost mom, until Jack is nearly beaten to death and then appears again creating an image that she was there the whole time, perhaps distant in her mourning (The Lovely Bones). This information could have made the film come to life as more realistic, instead it is projected on the screen that the family also lives in their own utopia of sorts. Both the book and film end with a similar event. Mr. Harvey, her rapist, her murderer, and the evil man that exists in the world is killed in the book when he is attempting to violate a young girl and an ice sickle falls from a tree hitting his shoulder. As it hits him he is put off balance and falls into a deep ravine. He lies there, being buried by the cold snow, not to be found for weeks (Sebold 327). It is similar in the movie; he is also hit by an ice cycle and falls down a large ravine then abruptly ends. You have an idea that he is dead from the graphic fall, but still no closure, it is left open ended. (New Zealand). When watching the movie you find that it seems to intertwine three story lines. First, is that of Susie in the in-between, the second deals with her mourning family and the third, interestingly, deals with her killer. Although this movie has a serial killer on the loose and its share of cops it is in no way like a crime or revenge story. Instead this is a movie about family bonds and about a loss. Its about the presence people can have in our lives even when they are gone; its about understanding what closure really means, and differs from the novel. The Lovely Bones is a very compassionate story the way it is told from the girls point of view and the innocence that she has in the way she looks at the world she has left behind. Alice Sebold gives us a look at how the Salmon Family is forever changed as a result of Susies murder. Susie watches as her parents drift apart and her siblings and friends grow up and have experiences Susie can only witness. Through the experiences of the Salmon Family in The Lovely Bones, readers can examine their own feelings and reactions to loss and mourning. Susie is on this incredible adventure into the world of the afterlife, described as the in-between. The rules of our world no longer apply. She has to come to terms with where she is and has to somehow influence events back down on earth that enable her killer to be caught. It is an incredibly layered story getting its title from a section at the end of the book (Mehegan). These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence: the connections-sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at great cost, but often magnificent-that happened after I was gone. And I began to see things in a way that let me hold the world without me in it. The events my death brought were primarily that the bones of a body that would become whole at some unpredictable time in the future. The price of what I came to see as this miraculous lifeless body had been my life (Sebold 320). Throughout this discussion you can see that as the book was translated to film, by director Peter Jackson, the differences that are often seen in book to film translations are more evident and clear as it goes along. Due to time constraints and interpretation, we find that a majority of book to film projects do not hold faithfulness to the authors. It has also been found that many books to film correlations create added characters or eliminate characters for theatrical benefit (Cohen 1). It may even be better to watch the film and then read the book. This might prevent you from making judgments about this film on the basis of the book such as, visual effects, timeline, and content, due to it being three hundred pages turned into two hours, which in text form are actually only about one hundred pages. Predictably, Peter Jacksons interpretation of The Lovely Bones is not equal to the interpretation of the author Alice Sebold. Clearly you can see that this story has been interpreted in very different ways, both in film and in text. Differences within the movie create a watered down and non-confrontational approach to the real subject matter of the novel. Therefore, if you are looking to research any book by watching its movie remember you are probably going to be missing about two thirds of the book, if not more. As exampled here, with The Lovely Bones, the differences between book and film translations can be extreme causing confusion and distorted reality of the content and subject matter of the authors original concepts. Work Cited Bradshaw, Peter. Guardian. 2002. 14 Nov. 2012 http://books.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/feb/18/the-lovely-bones-review. Cohen, Steven and Hark, Ina Rae. The Road Movie Book. Routledge. New York, NY. 1997. Filming the Lovely Bones (Special Features). DW Studios LLC. Dreamworks Pictures. BLU-RAY. 2009 Garon, Jon. The Independent Filmmakers Law and Business Guide: Financing, Shooting, and Distributing Independent and Digital Films. Chicago Review Press. Chicago, IL- 2nd Edition. 2009. Mehegan, David. Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones. Words to Live by (Supplementary interview). Little, Brown and Co. New York, NY. 2002. New Zealand Principal Photography (Special Features). DW Studios LLC. Dreamworks Pictures. BLU-RAY. 2009 Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones. Little, Brown and Co. New York, NY. 2002. Sebold, Alive. The Lovely Bones. The Oddity of Suburbia. (Supplementary essay). Little, Brown and Co. New York, NY. 2002. The Lovely Bones-Free Online Study Guide. The Best Notes. 2008. 14 Nov. 2012. http://thebestnotes.com/booknotes/lovely_bones_sebold. The Lovely Bones. Peter Jackson. DW Studios LLC. Dreamworks Pictures. BLU-RAY. 2009. USA Principal Photography (Special Features). DW Studios LLC. Dreamworks Pictures. BLU-RAY. 2009. Visual Effects (Special Features). DW Studios LLC. Dreamworks Pictures. BLU-RAY. 2009. York, April. Book vs. Film: The Lovely Bones. 2010. 14 Nov. 2012. http://culturemagazine.ca/cinema/book_vs_film_the_lovely_bones.html.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Remembering Vietnam :: Vietnam War Essays

Remembering Vietnam "Facing It," by Yusef Komunyakaa talks about a war which most, if not all Americans are familiar with. The ever so controversial Vietnam Conflict, also known as the Vietnam War. This poem was very well written, and I respect all that was said in the context of the poem. "Facing It," discusses his visit to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C., and his emotions that he experienced while he was at the memorial. I can not imagine what the feelings would be like to see one of my friend's name etched in this wall, although Tomas Van Putten can. I had a personal phone interview with him on October 30th, 2002. Tom Van Putten served nine years in the U.S. Army, two of which were spent in Vietnam. In a phone interview with Tom, I asked him if he had ever visited the monument. In fact, he did and he discussed with me how hard it was to see a dozen names of men he knew that were put on that wall. "It's really an awesome monument; it is hard remembering what it was like coming home. I was definitely changed for life " (Van Putten). Most of the content Mr. Van Putten and I spoke about, alluded back to "Facing It." Komunyakaa really shows me that he is emotional about the monument by his visions that he sees when he is at the wall. "My black face fades / hiding inside the black granite" (1-2). Here I believe he is realizing he should be on that wall. I feel as if he may be remembering a point in time in Vietnam that he was involved in an incident that should have cost him his life. Also, these are all names. His fading face makes me think that he realizes that there were no separate races in that war. When I told Mr. Van Putten about this part of the poem, he said "Yea, you are right. We all looked the same. We were all Americans." "I said I wouldn't, dammit: no tears" (3-4). How could you not cry at this scene. Hundreds, if not thousands of fellow Americans that Komunkyaa had interacted with at one point in time, or another, were just names etched on a wall. I asked Mr. Van Putten what the overall environment was like once he arrived in Vietnam. Mr. Van Putten described the environment of Vietnam as a "pretty country, really nice. Remembering Vietnam :: Vietnam War Essays Remembering Vietnam "Facing It," by Yusef Komunyakaa talks about a war which most, if not all Americans are familiar with. The ever so controversial Vietnam Conflict, also known as the Vietnam War. This poem was very well written, and I respect all that was said in the context of the poem. "Facing It," discusses his visit to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C., and his emotions that he experienced while he was at the memorial. I can not imagine what the feelings would be like to see one of my friend's name etched in this wall, although Tomas Van Putten can. I had a personal phone interview with him on October 30th, 2002. Tom Van Putten served nine years in the U.S. Army, two of which were spent in Vietnam. In a phone interview with Tom, I asked him if he had ever visited the monument. In fact, he did and he discussed with me how hard it was to see a dozen names of men he knew that were put on that wall. "It's really an awesome monument; it is hard remembering what it was like coming home. I was definitely changed for life " (Van Putten). Most of the content Mr. Van Putten and I spoke about, alluded back to "Facing It." Komunyakaa really shows me that he is emotional about the monument by his visions that he sees when he is at the wall. "My black face fades / hiding inside the black granite" (1-2). Here I believe he is realizing he should be on that wall. I feel as if he may be remembering a point in time in Vietnam that he was involved in an incident that should have cost him his life. Also, these are all names. His fading face makes me think that he realizes that there were no separate races in that war. When I told Mr. Van Putten about this part of the poem, he said "Yea, you are right. We all looked the same. We were all Americans." "I said I wouldn't, dammit: no tears" (3-4). How could you not cry at this scene. Hundreds, if not thousands of fellow Americans that Komunkyaa had interacted with at one point in time, or another, were just names etched on a wall. I asked Mr. Van Putten what the overall environment was like once he arrived in Vietnam. Mr. Van Putten described the environment of Vietnam as a "pretty country, really nice.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Human Gene Therapy Essay -- Science Genetics Essays

Human Gene Therapy What is human gene therapy? Human gene therapy is a procedure that is being used in an attempt to treat genetic and other diseases. Many ethical, social and safety concerns are being raised on the use of human genetic engineering. Gene therapy techniques will introduce copies of a "healthy" gene into cells of the body. The disease will be controlled if the introduced genes work normally. This is called somatic gene therapy because it introduces the gene into a somatic or body cell. Any cells that could divide to form sperms or eggs will not have genes introduced into them through somatic gene therapy. The insertion of a single gene into the somatic cells of an individual with a life threatening genetic disease is the somatic cell gene therapy. This type of therapy is intended solely to eliminate the clinical consequences of the disease. Future generations shouldn't have any problems because the inserted gene is not passed down to them. Germ line gene therapy, involves the insertions of a healthy gene into the fertilized egg of an animal that has a specific genetic defect. This has been performed successfully in several animal studies. The new gene is obtained in every cell in the body including reproductive cells. There are three overwhelming technical problems that are preventing consideration of this technique for the use in human beings. "The first is that scientists have no way of diagnosing genetic disorders in the fertilized egg. Secondly, the procedure is most often used to insert genes into fertilized eggs - injection with a microscopically guided glass needle - has a high failure rate and thirdly, the problem is lack of control over where the gene is inserted into the embryo's genetic machinery ... ...n of health insurance. I feel that any person regardless of age, sex, wealth and so on should have the opportunity to have the human gene therapy techniques performed. I also feel that the cost of the procedure of human gene therapy should be in the price range of anyone needing the procedure. Human gene therapy should not be available to only an elite group. Human gene therapy should be used in fetuses if the disease is recognized and if that fetus is in danger of dying. I feel human gene therapy will have a good impact on our society. More funding should be allowed for human gene therapy so more research can be done to improve the techniques for this procedure. References Anderson, W.F., Science, vol 256 pp 808-813, May 8, 1992 . Human Gene Therapy. Nichols, E.K., Human Gene Therapy , Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts (1988) PP 1-251.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Happiness in marriage Essay

â€Å"Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance.† With reference to marriages in Pride and Prejudice, to what extent is this statement true? Marriage is the key issue in Pride and Prejudice, and Austen uses class structure, manners and proper behaviour in society to embellish the topic. It is the overall picture given by these subjects that tell us about the happiness a woman could expect from entering the state of marriage, whether marrying for love and felicity, or, as seems the wise choice in the case of many of the characters, for money and financial security. Pride and Prejudice explores the situations that many young ladies found themselves put in, and whether or not it was possible to achieve fulfilment and happiness if you were to marry for the latter. In the Bennet household, particularly, marriage is a very poignant subject. For Mrs Bennet, she feels it is essential for her girls (and for herself) that they should marry well, as otherwise they stand to lose everything without a son to take over the estate. Her feelings are made clear at the beginning, once she has heard that a wealthy Mr Bingley has recently moved to the neighbourhood. Without any knowledge or regard for his character, she immediately jumps to the conclusion that it is ‘a fine thing for our girls’. This statement is made purely on the awareness of his handsome fortune, and of the happiness and fortune that it could bring her. She uses the word ‘girls’, and this shows that she doesn’t care for individual happiness, but she does want one of them married to him, never mind which. Her own marriage is described as lacking in ‘respect, esteem and confidence’, and through Elizabeth’s eyes it is improper and ‘unsuitable’. Although their marriage was based chiefly on an attraction on Mr Bennet’s part, Jane Austen states that it had been an ‘imprudent’ move, and that he ‘had married a woman whose weak understanding and illiberal mind had very early in their marriage put an end to all real affection.’ The only happiness he seems to have from the marriage is his constant mocking of his wife for his own amusement, and marvelling at her ignorance. The marriage which exists is based on a fancy rather than the three qualities that Jane Austen, through Elizabeth, attributes to true marital happiness for both partners: respect, esteem and confidence, which is exactly what Mr and Mrs Bennet don’t have for each other. Mrs Bennet, for her own daughter’s marriages, sees the purpose as a way of supporting themselves, and gaining some kind of financial security, and the bigger the fortune, the better the match. When Elizabeth turns down the heir to Longbourn, Mr Collins, she says to her daughter â€Å"If you go on refusing every offer of marriage, you will never get a husband, and I am sure I do not know who is to maintain you when your father is dead.† This view is one shared by Charlotte, although she does not air her opinions so openly. Charlotte Lucas is a realist. Her role in the book is to represent the thoughts and intentions of many ladies in eighteenth century society. What numerous young women were doing, whether they were influenced by their mothers or not, was to make a cautious and prudent marriage. As a girl of twenty-seven, plain, and in danger of dying an old maid, she has taken on the view that ‘happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance’ is a reference to the fact that women did pre-dominantly marry for money, not indeed love. She even goes as far as to advise Elizabeth on a match with Mr Darcy, although Elizabeth’s feelings are prejudiced towards him. She tells Elizabeth ‘not to be a simpleton, and allow her fancy for Wickham make her appear unpleasant in the eyes of [Darcy] a man ten times his consequence.’ This shows her prudence, that although Elizabeth has admitted she has feelings for Wickham, she should keep herself open to anyone who pays her a compliment, and is wealthier. It is this theory that influences her own marriage with Mr Collins, for although there is no real affection on her side, he can offer her protection and a comfortable life. The practical nature of her marriage causes her to justify herself to her best friend, and she openly admits to her ‘I am not a romantic, I never was’. Immediately, this tells us that this marriage is not the result of a passionate affair, it is the conclusion that her ‘chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state.’ This statement is quite shocking, because it means the wedding takes place with no real affection on either side: it is done merely for self-gain. This view is also made clear when she comments on Jane and Bingley’s relationship: ‘When [Jane] is secure of him (i.e. a wedding or engagement has taken place), there will be leisure for falling in love as much as she chuses.’ Although Mr Collins seems to be happy, when he tells Elizabeth that ‘We (he and Charlotte) seem to have been designed for each other,’ we have to go back to the fact that Charlotte was his third choice. He had favoured Jane, before Mrs Bennet enlightened him with the information that she believed that she would soon be engaged to Bingley, and it was only afterwards, when Elizabeth had turned his offer of marriage down, that he showed any regard for Charlotte. He proposed twice in three days, and so it is clear that no real feelings of admiration on either part could have developed strongly. This marriage is established on the ground that Mr Collins wants to set an example to his parishioners, and, more importantly in his eyes, to please his wealthy patroness, Lady Catherine. Mr. Collins also remarks on Elizabeth’s situation, as his wife had done previously when he says that her ‘portion is unhappily so small that it will in all likelihood undo the effects of [her] loveliness and amiable qualifications.’ The Lucases are by no means wealthy, but Mr Collins is not looking for wealth, he is looking to add to his happiness by obtaining a companion. He came with the intention of returning home with a Bennet bride, but failing that he has an intelligent, practical woman, who has gone into a marriage with no pre-wedding romance, but to be content with her quite prosperous situation. As Elizabeth observes, Charlotte was ‘disgracing herself and sunk in her esteem, was added the distressing conviction that it was impossible for that friend to be tolerably happy in the lot she had chosen.’ In direct contrast to Charlotte’s carefully thought about match, Lydia rushes into a passionate and imprudent marriage. Society almost expected women to marry above their own wealth and station, to make a sensible union, but it was a disgrace to have an affair – it was essential that a woman should keep her virtue. Lydia, however, did the latter but not the first. Inside these parameters, Lydia is a slur on her already tarnished family name. Herr quite insincere love caused her to follow her heart, and go against the foresight that was instilled in so many young women, essentially from birth. Her love can be described more as a ‘fancy’, because it holds none of the virtues so important to Elizabeth, and therefore Jane Austen’s eyes: respect, esteem and gratitude. However, the match between herself and Wickham gives them both happiness, and, although her family does not share their feelings, her decision, however misguided, does give her happiness. Prior to the marriage, she writes ‘for there is but one man in the world I love, and he is an angel’. This view is in opposition to Charlotte’s, that one must marry into good fortune, and then see what happiness may come of it, if any at all. Lydia’s perception of Wickham is unchanged when she writes again, once Elizabeth and Darcy are married. She says that ‘If you love Mr Darcy half so well as I do my dear Wickham, you must be very happy.’ Although on initially embarking on her elopement, the marriage looked as though it was a flirtatious whim, especially on the part of Wickham, by the end, there is no real relationship development, except that they still love each other. From the circumstances surrounding both of their families, it is safe to say that Wickham is not marrying for wealth, it is for his apparent love for Lydia. Previously, he had been engaged to Mary King, a wealthy heiress of ten thousand pounds, and Elizabeth had said of the match ‘a wise and desirable measure for both; handsome young men must have something to live on, as well as the plain.’ As Colonel Fitzwilliam said of men ‘Our habits of expense make us too dependent, and there are not many in my rank of life who can afford to marry without some attention to money’. However, these same motives are not seen in his match with Lydia, although it is true to say that unless Darcy had intervened, they may not have married. Elizabeth also observes that his affections for Lydia were ‘not equal to Lydia’s for him†¦.that their elopement had been brought on by the strength of her love’. She also wonders why ‘he chose to elope with her at all’, before coming to the conclusion that some financial gain must have been the reason, ‘and if that were the case, he was not the young man to resist an opportunity of having a companion’. However, these reasons have not impaired Lydia’s enjoyment of married life, nor Wickham’s, as she is constantly praising him – he is always her ‘dear’, and he did ‘everything the best in the world’. Whether these observations are made due to Lydia’s ignorance, or her blindness in her fancy, she does not seem to have tired of him, as Mr Bennet had of Mrs Bennet soon after their wedding. Someone who has married for both money and affection is Jane. There is a mutual attraction between her and Mr Bingley, and this leads onto, we presume, matrimonial bliss. Their relationship is fixed firmly on a rational basis, and they both share an optimistic view of the world. Elizabeth, early on in the book, comments on the likelihood that Jane’s marriage would be for money, not love, but by the end, Jane and Bingley’s equally happy manners and charming countenances mean that there is equality in their affections – unlike Wickham and Lydia, where there is more fondness on her side. Their shared admiration for one another gives the foundation for equilibrium, that there will be a good balance of respect, esteem and confidence on both sides. Mr Bingley says that ‘he could not conceive an angel more attractive,’ while Jane says of Bingley, albeit in private, that ‘she never saw such happy manners’. With these observations, this is a match will lead to domestic felicity – that luck and chance will have no role in the marriage; it has been carefully thought out, and although it is practical, it is also a match which will bring happiness on both sides. Elizabeth describes him as ‘violently in love’, and goes on to say, at the request of her aunt, that he was ‘wholly engrossed in her’ and his inattention to anyone else, meant that this was ‘the very essence of love.’ Mr Bennet, immediately after the engagement had been announced tells his daughter that ‘you will be a very happy woman†¦I have no doubt of your doing very well together.’ These views are ones shared by all, because it is obvious from their first physical attraction, and also their same manner, that they were well suited, and that their pleasure is secured by such high regard. However, when Elizabeth announces her engagement, her father is not as convinced that she will be as happy as Jane is. Her knowledge of Darcy’s gallantry has grown, whereas her father’s has been stifled, and so he doubts her true happiness when he says: ‘I know your true disposition, Lizzy. I know that you could be neither happy nor respectable unless you truly esteemed your husband.’ However, his understanding of her true feelings could not be further from the truth. Throughout the entire book, it seems Darcy and Elizabeth’s relationship is the only one that has grown in understanding and estimation of one another. Respect on both sides has grown, because as they have gained more knowledge, they have also gained more esteem. This is the one relationship where there is a true shift from almost hate to true love. The re-assessment of characters allows us to see the real feelings behind the relationship, and even with Jane and Bingley’s, although they respect one another, their connection is based centrally around admiration, whereas Darcy and Elizabeth have had to conquer their own pride and prejudice to have a full understanding of each other. Throughout the novel, Austen dropped hints about Darcy’s interest into Elizabeth’s intriguing character, but Elizabeth showed no interest in Darcy, except to air her feelings of intolerance at his proud nature. Mrs Gardiner, whose marriage is a very good example of what a successful relationship should aim to achieve, is very motherly towards Elizabeth and gives her competent advice, rather than nonsensical schemes for marriage. She advises her on her fancy for Mr Wickham: ‘affection for Wickham would be so very imprudent because of his want of fortune’. The relationships in the book are mainly seen through the eyes of Elizabeth, and it is she who determines whether they are happy or not. She was full of scorn for Charlotte’s match with her father’s cousin, and when she advised Elizabeth that Jane should ‘secure’ him and than fall in love, she made a witty and ironic comment, which tells us that she would only marry for a love that had been determined before a ceremony: ‘Where nothing is in question but the desire of being well married; and if I were determined to get a rich husband, or any husband, I dare say I should adopt it.’ In short, Lizzy represents Austen’s own view on marriage, that one should truly know, admire and respect a person before entering the state. Her mother complained to Mrs Gardiner, that had it not been for Lizzy’s ‘perverseness’ she could have married Mr Collins. With views such as this, it is little wonder that the intelligent Elizabeth has such guarded opinion of marriage: she had always been aware of the ‘impropriety’ of her own parent’s union, that this could put her off entering into marriage with someone she did not hold esteem for. It is this reasoning that allows her to fall in love with Darcy, and visa versa. Her unconventional views on what should be established prior to an engagement contrast with many of the motives for the marriages in the book. Lydia and Wickham, as well as Mr Bennet had all been headlong in their reasons, and these marriages, although they could bring happiness for at least some amount of time would not have been as morally successful as Elizabeth and Darcy, whose marriage is based on mutual esteem. Whereas Charlotte had thought about the espousal, and then agreed, much to the disdain of her friend, her happiness is impaired, because the marriage is not based on love, as Elizabeth’s is, it is principled on common gain, as were many matches in the society. Not only do Darcy and Elizabeth respect and gratify each other, they also share common interests, such as reading, as well as having the same elegant tastes. These qualities ensure happiness, unlike Mr and Mrs Bennet, where stimulation of the mind is essential to one, and stimulation of the tongue necessary for the other. Pride and Prejudice is a very good example of what different types of marriages can achieve: a good home and security, passion and fun or intelligent companionship. Marriage opens up different ways to different types of happiness, but true happiness can only be achieved on the grounds of honour and deference. Lydia, and to some extent Wickham, are happy, despite the different morals in their marriage, when compared to Charlotte and Mr Collins marriage. Darcy and Elizabeth are happy because they knew, appreciated and respected each other before entering matrimony, whereas Wickham and Lydia entered marriage with little but their fancy for each other to base their lives together on. In my opinion, Darcy and Elizabeth’s match is better, because their happiness is determined before marriage, not decided afterwards. ‘Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance’ is true to some marriages, but in a carefully calculated marriage, based on respect, esteem and confidence, the question of chance is indifferent.   

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Atmospheric Pollution

Firstly, we must question: How does air pollution occur? To understand this, one is required to recognise the earth's surroundings. Life is totally dependant upon the blanket of mixed gases referred to as ‘air' surrounding our planet earth. This atmosphere is, approximately, a five hundred kilometre thick1 composite layer of colourless, odourless gasses that surrounds the earth kept in place by gravitational forces. Due to its intangible form, it is often ignored by man, making it vulnerable and easily damaged (this fact being highlighted by a large number of disasters caused, effectively, by man). The political and scientific debate on the so called ‘Greenhouse Effect' is based on concern over increasing atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide resulting from combustion of fossil fuels and emissions of other ‘Greenhouse Gases' – such as methane (from decomposing waste), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and nitrous oxides (NOx). The activities of homo sapiens have introduced these new chemicals into the atmosphere and disturbed the distribution of its natural constituents. At first, this was limited to the effect of the fireplace, but later, with the greatly expanded usage of coal, these effects grew more acute. And, after the Industrial Revolution, these effects were compounded. As will be made clear, this revolution reached such a point that consequences began to be regarded more than just an inevitable residue of industrialisation and the struggle for economic growth. 1.1 Secondly, in order to intertwine the above information with the issue at hand, it may be necessary to ask oneself, what is environmental law, who is using it and for what purposes? These questions are being posed, as it is imperative to understand the background of the subject, not just for this subtopic in environmental law, but any topic, before entering it in any depth. Environmental law is first and foremost, a combination of primary legislation2, secondary legislation3 (which will be explained in more depth throughout the project), judicial decisions, common law principles, European Community legislation4 – ‘which impose an obligation on members states to enact legislation to give effect to the terms of the Directive'5 which are transposed into national law (as regulations), European treaties and international law (found in treaties, conventions and protocols). 1.2 The foremost function of environmental law is not, as many would imagine, to completely eliminate pollution altogether, but rather, to allow, or balance pollution levels with the gains we, as a society receive from economic growth. This phenomenon, known most frequently as ‘sustainable development' is one that will be referred to time and time again in any environmental law topic. Sustainable development's widely accepted definition is to be found in the 1987 Bruntland Report – â€Å"Our Common Future† (the report for the World Commission on Environmental Development 1987). It states: ‘†¦development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs'. In layman terms, what this report was recommending, or advising the inhabitants of this earth to do, was to use our resources on the planet in such a manner, so as not to jeopardise the way in which it can be used by others in those years after us. A classic example highlighting the necessity of sustainable development is that of the Communist regimes, such in Poland, in which they favoured production and economic development over protection of the environment. In brief, economic growth will lead to changes in the environment. If this growth is not controlled/governed, it can lead to an ugly and dangerous environment. One could be as bold as to say that obviously, the overriding consideration of any commercial enterprise is the maintenance and expansion of profit. To achieve this, one tactic is to minimize costs and this can occur by reviewing methods of disposal of unwanted materials. If discharging these wastes into the atmosphere represents the cheapest way of accomplishing this, then the industry will have a strong inclination to adopt this strategy. The costs of disposal do not disappear when pollution is emitted into the atmosphere, and as has been discovered, the society will eventually end up paying far greater costs. Therefore, it is the governments of each nation must choose limits to benefit both the environment and economic growth. This is often referred to as ‘anthroprecantic'7 and most law is based on it. As it was eventually assessed (with regards to the situation in Poland) that their lack of concern for the environment in which they inhabited was, in effect, the reason for their poor economic advancement. It was also noted that their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was less than those countries who followed the anthroprecantic system. This perhaps is the most precise example of how the environment plays such a big factor on our lives, not just for our health, but also for the development of our respective countries. (After all, it is the aspiration of each and every governing nation to become wealthy and prosperous – economic development is at the heart of each nation). In working towards sustainable development, whether in broad terms or looking at one particular aspect such as air quality, a number of basic concepts must guide action. These concepts have been clearly outlined in a number of governmental papers8. Within the United Kingdom's largely secular and pragmatic societ y, it seems inevitable that pollution is view in an economic context. 2.0 The industrial revolution was the main cause of such concern over the environment. Before this time, ‘environmental law in England and Wales was characterised by a parochial focus on localised pollution problems'9. Such problems date back to the early uses of coal in domestic fires. The production of fumes and particulates from fires caused pulmonary infections and related lung diseases. Notwithstanding this effect, coal continued to be used. In 1661, John Evelyn published his famous work on air pollution in city areas, Fumi Fugiumi, which not only outlined the problems that atmospheric pollution from smoke caused, but also, more importantly, tried to suggest methods by which the problem could be resolved. After this period, much legislation was passed addressing specific problems in this area of law, for example, atmospheric pollution from chemical industries and ‘unclean' modes of transport, water pollution and the regulation of statutory nuisance. 2.1 Very few areas of the United Kingdom are safe from air pollution. Pollution levels exceed Government health standards all over the country on many days every year, even in rural areas. It is difficult to assess exactly the impact of air pollution on public health. However the government itself stated that: â€Å"the Department of Health's latest assessment is that air pollution is at present responsible each year for several thousand advanced deaths; for ten to twenty thousand hospital admissions, and for many thousands of instances of illness, reduced activity, distress and discomfort†10. It was also assessed that short-term episodes cause between 12,700 and 19,500 premature deaths in the UK a year11. And three years prior to this, it was estimated12 that short-term pollution episodes were responsible for between 12,000 and 24,000 deaths per year. These figures have put new pressure on the Government to fully support the Road Traffic Reduction Bill13, from Cynog Dafis MP. Over 400 Members of Parliament are supporting the principles of the Bill, which requires the government to produce a national plan to cut road traffic from 1990 levels by 5% by the year 2005 and 10% by the year 2010. As can be imagined, road transport is a major source of air pollution in the UK. Five of the key pollutants are: particulates (fine dust and soot particles – PM), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), benzene and hydrocarbons (HCs). ‘After more than half a century of under-investment in Britain, roads are the most congested in Europe'14. However, knowing that transport is the cornerstone of modern society, yet it is responsible for poor air quality in many urban centres around the world, what is there that can be done about its damaging effect on our environment? There are increasing concerns about the impact of traffic exhaust emissions on the health of citizens who are exposed to the high concentrations of pollutants, plus the wider global implications. Legislation is helping clean up vehicles and fuel, but there is a significant time lag while the vehicle stock is being replaced. In the interim, mechanisms could to be introduced that accelerate the replacement of vehicles or improve the existing stock. 2.2 In the UK such a concept has taken the form of Low Emission Zones, which aim to restrict the use of the most polluting vehicles from specific areas in an urban environment. In Sweden, a similar concept has been in operation since 1996 whereby environmental standards are specified for heavy vehicles entering the central area of the main cities. The government has also recently set health standards for eight key pollutants. For these pollutants it has also set policy targets to be reached by the year 2005. Meeting these targets will need action locally, nationally and internationally. The Environment Act 1995 set up a system known as Local Air Quality Management through which local authorities will play a major part in reducing pollution levels. 2.3 If we are to meet the Government's targets for air pollution, then pollution from traffic must be cut drastically. There are two main ways to do this: Traffic reduction: cutting the volume of traffic on the roads. A number of environmental organisations are supporting the Road Traffic Reduction Act (which is now law) and the Road Traffic Reduction (UK Targets) Bill. This Bill, which is currently in Parliament as a Private Members Bill, aims to cut traffic levels nationally by 5% by 2005 and 10% by 2010. Greener cars: making sure that cars pollute as little as is possible. This is achieved through tightening engine technology and fuel quality standards. These standards are set at a European level15. 2.4 Although the above issues are seemingly simple, everyone does not welcome the manner in which they will be implemented. For example, There are a huge number in opposition to the government increasing taxes on fuel, and in one particular instance, it was stated by a former chairman of a lobbying institution, that ‘if Gordon Brown increases his fuel taxes, he will see the same situation as he saw in Autumn 2000' [where there was a great number of protests and havoc was caused around Britain]16 This threat was reinforced by a totally independent party, namely the Petrol Retailers Association, who warned ‘if taxes on motor fuels are increased, petrol forecourts will close'17. With statistics and threats such as those provided, it is difficult to advise what the government can do to aid the situation. The Liberal Democrat party also showed its urgency when it released a statement highlighting its concern that the Chancellor of the Exchequer must freeze fuel taxes in real terms for the lifetime of this Parliament. The party also called for a ‘sliding scale' of car tax emissions, so that consumers with polluting vehicles paying higher duties, and those with the most environmentally friendly, paying nothing18. And, in support of this plea, it was stated, by The Confederation of British Industry, that they would be ‘surprised and disappointed if there was a real increase in fuel duties' 2.5 The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, who is behind many of the more noticeable environmental issues with regards to London stated in his manifesto that he aims to ‘put the environment at the heart of London government and provide for comprehensive environmental assessment and monitoring of all strategies which the Mayor is required to produce'19. In addition to this, the Mayor said that he will ‘aim to reduce road traffic by 15% by 2010'20. In favour of this aim, recent figures suggest that the UK's emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are being reduced21 and in addition, greenhouse gases are also being reduced. However, as stated previously, with the correction of specific pollution problems, comes an uplift of other hazards, such as in this case, the increase in carbon dioxide emissions and recent developments in the electricity market suggest problematic situations. 3.0 All aspects of environmental law have a domestic, European and international dimension to them. For example, if one lives in a country where there are dangerous waste materials being transported thorough, the government of transporting town will ensure that the standard of safety provided is of a standard expected on a international level. These precautions must be taken in any environmental situation as will be discovered through this assignment. The influence of international law on the regulation of air pollution has been significant. This may be in recognition of the fact that many of the problems caused by air pollution can have impacts across a large geographical area (and in many cases cause seriously global effects). There have been a number of areas where international law has helped to shape policies and rules on both a domestic and European level. Therefore, with regards to our particular topic, atmospheric pollution in England is regulated, not only by domestic bodies, but moreover, on a European and global level. The problems related to air pollution are by no means a new phenomenon. The prohibitions on certain activities producing smoke are probably the first instances of environment pollution legislation in the United Kingdom, and legislation dates back to 1863 with the Alkali Act, Public Health Act 1875 and 1936, Public Health (Smoke Abatement) Act 1926 and the Clean Air Act (CAA) 1956. The first modern piece of legislation combating air pollution, namely the Alkali Act, represented the culmination of a long period of dissatisfaction with environmental conditions, especially in London. For example, in 1819, an M.P had written, â€Å"[T]he volumes of smoke which issues from the furnaces on every side of the river Thames opposite my own house actually blacken every flower I have in my own garden in Whitehall†22 Until the CAA 1956 was introduced, the government of Britain has had a large amount of difficulty in tackling the problems of atmospheric pollution. Nowadays, the 3 main pollution controls in Britain (which will be clearly explained in detail in), are the Integrated Pollution Control (IPC)23 and Integrated Pollution and Control (IPPC), the Clean Air Act (CAA)24 1993 (a consolidation of the CAA 1956 and CAA 1968), and the controls relating to vehicle emissions. In addition to these, the Environmental Act 1995 25(EA 1995) naturally plays a large role, as it does in all environmental issues. 3.1 Having discussed the topic of environmental law, recapped on the history of atmospheric pollution, and established that there is a need for change, it is now necessary to discuss and evaluate the measures and changes which have been made, by domestic, European and international governments along with a vast number of very influential pressure groups. The main three are (mentioned in section ): a) The Integrated Pollution Control (IPC)26 and Integrated Pollution and Control (IPPC) license based controls relating to a range of highly polluting industries detailed in part1 of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990 and the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) 1999. b) The criminal sanction based controls over the emission of smoke and other particulate matter from chimneys and furnaces detailed in the Clean Air Act (CAA) 1993. c) Controls relating to vehicle emissions. These controls encompass engine efficiency standards, the chemical composition of fuels, the mandatory use of catalytic converters, eco-taxes, price differentials between different types of fuel and the use of traffic management powers.27. The aforementioned controls are an enhancement made by the Environmental Act 1995. 3.2 The CAA 1993 concentrates on the control of emissions on smoke, dust and grit by means of criminal offences. The main offences are, emissions of dark smoke – from a chimney or from industrial premises, emissions of dust and grit from non-domestic furnaces, emissions of smoke from a chimney in a ‘Smoke Control Area' and various other offences relating to the installation of furnaces. Having stated earlier, atmospheric pollution is not merely a domestic issue, the involvement of Europe is particularly highlighted with the great many directives established. Since 1993, when the Maastricht Treaty on the European Union (EU) reformed the Treaty of Rome, Articles 130r – 130t of the EC Treaty have provided the legal basis for Community environmental law. Specifically, under Article 130r (2), environmental policy is guided by four principles: the precautionary, the polluter-pays principle, the integration principle, and the source principle. Moreover, the aforementioned Article further provides that a directive or regulation may include a ‘safeguard clause', which allows Member States to take any appropriate measure to protect the environment in case of emergency28. European Community (EC) measures to curb air pollution can be divided into different categories. Emissions from industrial plants – whereby the most important directive is the Large Combustion Plant Directive (88/609/EEC). In addition to this, Directives 89/369/EEC (dealing with emissions from incineration plants, and Directive 96/61/EC (IPPC) which was implemented into national law in 1999 are the most important directives regarding Emissions from industrial plants. Another category is that of Air pollution affecting the ozone layer and global warming in which EC regulations 3322/88, 591/91 and 549/91 which have banned CFCs and hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs), respectively. Air quality standards have been inputted in Air Quality Framework Directives (96/62/EC) and 99/30/EC. As can be seen, the EC has implemented a large number of directives, however, what is not apparent from the information given, is which have been implemented in British national law. The EC also concentrates on vehicle emission standards, product quality standards and atmospheric pollution and waste reduction29. 4.0 As an evaluation, it is necessary to view the opinions and publications of specialised bodies that thrive to ever improve the environment, such as Green Peace and Friends of the Earth. However, when consulting such sources, one is required to acknowledging the great possibilities of biasness, in order to assess the contribution these measures and policies have made on the atmospheric pollution levels in Britain. Regarding one particular publication issued by Friends of the Earth, it was stated, that by using government data and methods to calculate an Air Quality Indicator for 1999 established that air quality is still ‘very poor'. The calculation shows, for key monitoring sites around Britain, the average number of days on which air pollution levels were above the Government's air quality standard. John Prescott called it a â€Å"key quality of life indicator†. It was also stated that road traffic is the major source of air pollution in the UK, which is responsible for 48% of UK emissions of nitrogen dioxide, 26% of particles, 2% of sulphur dioxide and 74% of carbon monoxide. Ozone is a secondary pollutant, produced by reactions between nitrogen dioxide and hydrocarbons. Road traffic is responsible for 38% of UK emissions of hydrocarbons. In this report, it was stated that the share of pollution produced by road traffic would be significantly higher in towns and cities. 4.1 The (New) Labour government took office in 1997 promising to be â€Å"the first truly green Government ever† and to put â€Å"concern for the environment at the heart of policy making†. There have been real achievements. In Labour's first term, both Tony Blair and John Prescott led international efforts to agree the Kyoto treaty to fight climate change. Labour committed the UK to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, the most significant climate changing gas, by 20% by 2010. Despite Tony Blair's very close relationship with the United States, he is still prepared to criticise President Bush for reneging on this treaty and attempting to undermine support for it from other states. Gordon Brown overcame considerable hostility from the business lobby to introduce the Climate Levy, which has begun to give industry clear incentives to cut emissions. Unfortunately, this is where achievements tend to become more difficult to establish. Early in Labour's first term, Chancellor Gordon Brown took important steps to implement the basic principle of green taxation, that tax should be raised on polluting and environmentally destructive behaviour, with the revenues used to pay for green initiatives and to cut taxes on employment. But New Labour has now simply surrendered to the fuel tax protestors, and abandoned the process of gradually raising fuel duty to ensure that the cost of motoring more accurately reflects the environmental damage it causes. And in his last Budget, Brown put employers' National Insurance contributions back up again, increasing the cost of labour and discouraging job creation.30 4.2 Ultimately, it appears that any capitalist economy must face the full scale of any atmospheric pollution problem presented by their production. As stated in 1.2, a capitalist economy focuses on survival of the fittest to ensure its own self preservation. Eventually, if the exhaustion of natural resources is approached, a capitalist economy will have to modify it's own behaviour to guarantee it's own survival, for it requires these resources to continue it's existence. It appears as though we are, environmentally, living in a vicious circle, whereby our preventative measures are preventing one particular problem, but at the same time, causing a problem of a different nature. It is only when that problem becomes apparent to public knowledge that it begins to be tackled. It appears, from methods undertaken before, for the protection of the environment that we may be preventing the condition of our earth from deteriorating to such a dismal point. Our structural interventions in capitalist economy do not appear without merit, albeit sometimes unnoticeable. 4.3 It was stated by Al Gore31 in his book ‘ Earth in the Balance': †Modern industrial civilisation is colliding violently with our planet's ecological system.' We inherited Eden and are leaving our children a depleted rubbish tip'32. However, on a global scale, this appears not to be, in my opinion, the case. Having researched this project for a number of months, one can honestly believe that environmentally, things are getting better. Although issues are still to be found on a daily basis in any newspaper one picks up, the fact remains that things are getting better – or are getting worse, at a slower rate than they were previously. 4.3 ‘Air pollution is not a new phenomenon that has been getting worse and worse, but an old phenomenon that has been getting better and better, leaving London cleaner than it has been since the Middle Ages.'33 Having evaluated governmental policies and researched air pollution, foremost in Britain, one would hope that this statement can now be conclusively agree, or disagreed with. Evidently, the system in which the British government takes actions often referred to as the ‘sectoral approach'34 means that whilst our nation is tackling one particular aspect of pollution, another problem would shift to another sector. ‘Britain has a problem with embarking upon the environmental issue on the whole'35. Therefore, in a brief summary of the above conclusions, it can be said that the environmental issues themselves are not seemingly the problem. Moreover, it is the funding of the implementation that causes the problems. Environmental issues are being discovered and publicised weekly. If the nation were to consider only issues relating to the environment (which it seems the Green Party and other such organisation are aiming for), there would be no advancement in other fields. Therefore, the question of sustainable development is highlighted again. How much should a nation consider the state of the environment, when clearly it needs to concentrate on the economy? As everyone is aware, the government obtains most of it's funding from taxes. If they were to continuously tax the nation, then no one would vote for them. Therefore, they have to bind their policies with one another and establish a sustainable method in which to provide both for the present, and the growing nation. Consequently, on the whole, the implementation of policies and legislation appear to be having a generally good effect on the atmospheric pollution level in Britain. One question remains, however, and that is, for how long will the preventative principle prevail, and will be sufficient in curbing an environmental hazard? In essence, it appears as though sustainable development is the mainframe of environmental and political ideology, and that government policy, and legislative implementation is delivering a sound task in the   field of atmospheric pollution in maintaining sustainable development. After all, it must be remembered, that no organisation in this world is flawless in its methods, and with it come faults, as is evident with the topic of atmospheric pollution. On the whole, policy and legislation appear to be achieving the ever fervent goal of sustainability.