Comparing”Cask of Amontillado” with “The Rats in the walls”

Compare the narrator in Poe's â€Å"Cask of Amontillado† with the narrator of â€Å"The Rats in the walls.† The style and mode of narration in any story determines how appealing a narrator becomes to his or her readers. Additionally, this has much to do with the size of readership that the narrator garners. It is worthwhile that a narrator chooses a narration style that reflects the context of the story, captivating and which gets the reader engaged and involved throughout the narration. This narration will have significant implications for the reviews as well as comments that the reader will make which translate to more or fewer people seeking to read the narrators story. The narrators in â€Å"Cask of Amontillado† and â€Å"The Rats in the Walls† share much in common about their styles, approaches, themes, and appeal to the reader although they differ substantially in some respects. â€Å"Rats in the Walls† is narrated by the last survivor of Delapore family who moves from Massachusetts to his ancestral homeland, Exham Priory in England. On multiple instances, the Delapore and his cats hear the scurrying sounds of rats behind the ways and upon investigation find a city below the subcellar of his home, which has existed for centuries and the dwellers of this underground city fed on human flesh (Lovecraft 4). The narrator in â€Å"The cask of Amontillado† is Montresor, seemingly a gentleman, but in reality, a vindictive and vengeance filled person. (Poe 1). Montresor commits a murder and is unrepentant and guiltless of his deed because he thinks that all, he did and does is right. Most of the time, Montresor is dedicated to his viewpoint which is quite cold, vengeful, brutal, and conniving. He lures his friend, Fortunato, to tunnels and tombs underground, drugs him and locks him in chains, walls him and leaves him in his position to die slowly (Poe 5). Montresor and Delapore exhibit a great deal of quality in their narration style. The tales are given from their points of view and involve crimes, and horrendous acts that get the reader aroused and somewhat scared. They keep a great deal of suspense to maintain the reader and ensure he or she follows to the end. Both narrators, however, could be questioned regarding reliability although they have various levels of any security that could be noted (Lovecraft 8).They seem to have some mental problems which make them act in ways unnatural and do things that would naturally be abominable to sane people. The fact that we have difficulties trusting the narrators question their reliability. Montresor, first, tells the story of the crime he commits fifty years later saying that he was never caught for this. Now, trusting someone telling things that happened many years ago can be difficult because in many cases, things surface a short time after they have been done. Confessions are made, or details unveiled not very long after. Walling his friend and leaving him to die with little to no remorse characteristically defines the possibility of soundness implying that he could probably not be entirely sane. This could make him be considered unreliable (Poe 8). Delapore, similarly, exhibits a high level of unreliability. He presents the story in a way that the things happen in the supernatural realm. This elicits fiction rather than reality, and the details raise many questions because few readers would be accustomed to the nature of things that unfold throughout the narration. Eating human flesh would be an act expected of animals or an unbalanced mind. There is an element of mental issue with the narrator, and this would make him unreliable (Lovecraft 10). Constant sounds of rats in the walls which are never found raise questions as to whether substantial evidence can be gathered to support the points raised in the narration. The default the tone by the narrators is one that conveys abject panic, fear, and impending doom. The mood they employ precedes or supersedes events which could reasonably justify it. Mostly, they share much in common in the narration technics, emotions, feelings, and atmospheres. However, they also differ in some ways. Delapore narrates in a setting of a family background rich in mystic scenarios. This is evident in the declaration of the finding of bones in the underground of the Priory(Lovecraft 14). Montresor narrates from a setting of being insulated which leads him to revenge (Poe 1). The motivations behind the narration are entirely different Delapore is motivated by the desire to unravel a family background which influenced him to act and behave in the way he did. Montresor is affected by the desire to resolve the dampness of his surroundings which exert pressure on him to react in a manner to repay for what has been done against him. The levels of the unreliability of the stories also differ. Delapore is somewhat fictitious in his narration and to some extent narrates from an insane person. Delapore is profoundly unreliable because the details are hard to prove in the real world from which the readers view the content of the narration (Lovecraft 16). Montresor can be termed unreliable, but the extent is not as deep because there are actual details which offer significant proof of turn of events with a human element. While for the most part, he remains unrepentant and self-justifying of the crime he commits, there is a portion where he notes his heart grew sick after he had only a brick left to seal Fortunato forever. However, he withdraws from guilty and accuses his surroundings instead. The narration is better regarding reliability as compared to Delapore. The narrative by Montresor is mostly a revenge mission which happens in the real world giving greater credit to the details (Poe 14). For Delapore, the narration based on the occult is something that questions the credibility and reliability of the details. Overall, however, there is much held in common with a few differences inherent for the narrators the nature of narration and story details. Works citedLovecraft, Howard Phillips. The Rats in the Walls. New York: WS via Publish Drive, 2018. PrintPoe, Edgar Allan.  The Cask of Amontillado. Publisher Not Identified, 2016.

Life †Purpose Essay

Life is a gift. It is an honor, a spark, an excitement. We all have a world of our own. Albert Camus, once said, â€Å"You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life† (Camus, 1946). Life is about living to your fullest abilities. Why waste our time looking for the meaning of each breath we take? Each person is a part of life. Each life has a world of its own. I believe that the meaning of life, is to find meaning in our own life. The meaning of life is a philosophical question concerning the significance of life or existence in general. It can also be expressed in different ways, such as Why are we here? , What is life all about? , and What is the purpose of existence? It has been the subject of much philosophical, scientific, and theological assumption throughout history. There have been a large number of proposed answers to these questions from many different cultural and ideological backgrounds. The meaning of life is in the philosophical and religious conceptions of existence, social ties, consciousness, and happiness, and borders on many other issues, such as symbolic meaning, value, purpose, ethics, good and evil, free will, the existence of one or multiple Gods, conceptions of God, the soul, and the afterlife. Scientific contributions focus primarily on describing related experiential facts about the universe, exploring the perspective and parameters concerning the how in life. Science also studies and can provide recommendations for the pursuit of well being and a related origin of honesty. An alternative, humanistic approach poses the question â€Å"What is the meaning of my life? † The value of the question regarding to the purpose of life may agree with the achievement of ultimate reality, or a feeling of oneness, or even a feeling of sacredness (d2bb. org,2011). The meaning of life is a question that is thrown around from person to person asking them what they think. Some people have an idea of what the meaning of life is and other has no clue. Some believe that you just live life and others believe while living life you find the meaning. When I had a conversation with my father about what the meaning of life is all about he had the same response to the question that basically everyone else had came up with. The one difference that he said while we were talking was that life is full of choices and decisions. I thought for a while about what he said thinking that there was more behind it then just what he had stated. What I came up with was that maybe he was implying that what we do during our period of living is what sets up the next thing that happens in life. So each choice that we make is important in that it’s not the meaning of life that’s so important but the concept of what we do during life is the meaning. Some might disagree still thinking about what my father has said to, but its just another point of view and I have no problem looking at it from a different angle. Another big topic when it comes to the question of the meaning of life is music. Music is a great way to hear what other people and especially artist think about the meaning of life thought their songs. Sometimes it’s hard to hear but if you listen closely there is always a message somewhere that says something about the meaning of life. For example, in the song I don’t wanna be by Gavin Degraw, he speaks out about what he thinks about the meaning of life threw what other people are and what he doesn’t want to become. â€Å"I’m surrounded by liars everywhere. I turn. Imposters everywhere. I turn surround me. I’m surrounded by identity crisis everywhere. I turn Am I the only one who’s noticed? I can’t be the only one who’s learned I don’t want to be anything other than what I’ve been trying to be lately. All I have to do is think of me and I’ve peace of mind, I’m tired of looking ’round rooms wondering what I got to do Or who I’m supposed to be. I don’t want to be anything other than me† (azlyrics. com). What these lyrics are basically saying is that he can see that everyone around him is acting like something that there not. Then he says that he doesn’t want to act like everyone else and not know who he is but he just wants to be himself and live life the way he wants to. The next topic that is a good place to find out the meaning of life is the creative minds of artist and there art work. Art work is always a good place to find out the meaning of life because again the artist have a message in there work hidden and you have to find what there saying. The only difference from music is instead of saying the message they paint the message in a form of image weather it’s a paining or it’s a sculpture. There is many ways that you can discover meaning of life. In some ways its not what you find the meaning of life in its more about what you perceive of the meaning of life. When you look at something like a painting or a song what do you think it is trying to say? Does it paint a picture in your head and what does that picture look like? I find that the best way to see the meaning of life is threw movie. Movies are an image of the life that we live but it shows us the true meaning of life in a way that we can all understand. People are blind when it comes to what makes them in this world. Hope is another one, if you don’t have hope then you have nothing to look forward to so then what is the point of living. The main thought in a lot of movies are get busy living or get busy dieing. What this is suppose to mean is if your not going to start living and doing all the things you want to complete in life you might as well start on dieing. That brings me to my next question. Is there a God? If there is, why did he put us here? Any Christian asked will say our sole purpose is to serve God. First of all, what does that even mean? And second, I must ask why? Why would a supernatural being place us strategically on this planet strictly to serve him? That sounds pretty selfish to me. There has to be something more. Something solid or something greater. How could there not be (brainpickings. org)? The meaning of life is very complex and you can’t always pick up everything that it’s going to throw at you. That’s why movies, art and music in around so that other people who think about the topic more can show you there incite. If you listen and look at thoughts things you can learn things that will show you what the meaning of life is or at least what you can do to get started on living your life. I believe the meaning of life is to give life a meaning. Throughout my entire life, I have wondered what the purpose is. Why am I and every other human being even on this planet in the first place (thinksimplenow. com)? All my life I have worked hard to succeed. I have challenged myself and fought to do better than my best. Why? I asked myself. Why stress so much when I’m only going to die in the end? Pessimistic, I know. Finally, I thought, maybe the meaning of life doesn’t have to be so complex. Maybe the meaning of life is whatever we want it to be. Maybe the meaning of life is to give life a meaning. I do what I do because I want to do it. It’s that simple. I do it because it means something to me. Everyone adds their own meaning to life. The meaning of life is never universal. The meaning of life is never complex. The meaning of life is actually quite simple to think about. Many people help the needy. Others play sports. Both activities add meaning to those lives involved. Purposes change, but the overall meaning of life will always stay the same. The meaning of life is simply to give life a meaning. This I believe. Reference Degraw, G. (2009). I Don’t Wanna Be. Retrived December 31, 2012, from AZ Lyrics website: http://www. azlyrics. com/lyrics/gavindegraw/idontwanttobe. html Calmus, A. (1946). The Strangers. New York, NY: Vintage Books Brian, M. (2011). The Meaning of Life. Retrieved January 1, 2013, from Deciding To Be Better website: http://d2bb. org/meaning-of-life. htm Popova, M. (2012). Charles Bukowski, Arthur C. Clarke, Annie Dillard, John Cage, and Others on the Meaning of Life. Retrieved December 28, 2012, from Brain Pickings website: http://www. brainpickings. org/index. php/2012/09/17/the-meaning-of-life/ Su, T. (2011). What Is The Meaning Of Life. Retrieved December 28, 2012, from Think Simple Now website: http://thinksimplenow. com/happiness/what-is-the-meaning-of-life/.

B. F. Skinner and Albert Bandura

B. F Skinner came up with Skinner’s theory of personality. According to the theory, differences in individual behavior are as a result of different kinds of learning experience different people encounter. Some of the behavior pattern may be learned through direct experience (direct reinforcement) while others are through observational or sensational learning. Reinforcement plays a major role in shaping the expression of the learned behavior. Reinforcement takes three shapes. Direct reinforcement involves social approval or disapproval and tangible rewards.Vicarious reinforcement involves observing someone receive a reward or punishment for behavior similar to his/her own behavior. Self administered reinforcement is whereby a person evaluates his/her own performance with self honor or criticism (Zillman and Bryant 2001). Therefore, a given behavior in a specific situation will bank on the likely result. According to Bandura social cognitive theory, behaviorism is based on the c oncept that development is cultured and is subjective to environmental factors.1). The theory put more stress in the fact that environment, behavior and cognition work together and hence wield important influence among each other (Travers 2001). In personality development, Albert Bandura came to a conclusion that environment causes behavior while on the other hand behavior causes environment. This factor led to Bandura’s idea of reciprocal determination and had a belief that an action of an individual and the action of his environment are linked together. According to his theory, personality development comes as a result of relations between environment, psychological process and behavior of an individual (Travers 2001).2). Discuss the similarities between each theorist’s ideas of personality Theories by B. F Skinner and Albert Bandura played a great role in the environmentalist point of view of development. The two theories are similar in stating that the environment shape learning and the behavior of an individual from childhood stage to adulthood stage (Travers 2001). Both theories recognize the significance of reinforcement in learning and behavior. In both case, motivation is embedded and reinforced by the consequences and so one can easily learn if he/she values the consequences and also one can be reinforced vicariously.In both the theory, the individual is at the center stage of determining his/her behavior. In skinner theory, self administered reinforcement play a major role in self criticism or honor and so he/she can decide on what behavior to adopt without influence from another party. This fact is the same as in Albert Bandura theory of personality where an individual has self regulatory mechanism which provide for the potential for self directed change and for the capability of one influencing his own behavior (Zillman and Bryant 2001). This is inclined to self observation, self decision and self-reaction.3) Discuss the differences between the theorists’ ideas of personality (include any reasoning for the differences—personal history B. F. Skinner theory of personality differ with Albert Bandura social cognitive theory in that it specified that a behavior was only as a reaction of environmental stimuli while social cognitive theory state that behavior of an individual can be modified by external stimuli while putting into consideration the fact that learning can take place through copying. Albert Bandura also state that learning also take a cognitive perspective.Skinner theory of personality provides room for operant conditioning while Bandura social cognitive theory does not. In Skinner theory of personality, the behavior is influenced by the environment and it is a one way tier while in Albert Bandura social cognitive theory, the behavior of an individual is influenced by the environment while at the same time, the environment is influenced by the individual behavior and so it is a two way tier . 4) Discuss each theorist’s ideas concerning the role of society in the development of personality and any developmental stagesAlbert Bandura’s idea about the role of society concerning the development of personality and any developmental stage in cognitivism, behavior is guided by cognitions about the world. The cognitive theories are personality theories which stress on cognitive processes like thinking and offering judgment. Bandura’s theory further draws the importance of modeling through the social cognitive theory, in that as a result of direct training of an individual in the society or conditioning (for instance through reinforcement a child is subjected to such as punishment) models behavior hence development of personality (Travers 2001).Through the influence of the society, an individual learns several issues from childhood which help in development of personality. Through this idea of social learning, the role played by role models in development of personality becomes very significant. B. F. Skinner also gives a perspective of personality development that is based on learning through others in the society.Skinner (Quoted in Travers 2001: 156) also further notes that the adolescent stage of human development requires that the positive behaviors exhibited by the adolescents since adolescents are more vigorous in repeating the behavior for which they have obtained reinforcement.Reference List: Travers, F. , John, (2001). â€Å"Human growth and development through the lifespan† Jones & Bartlett Publishers Zillman, D. and Bryant, J. (2001). â€Å"Media effects: Advances in theory and research 2nd Edition,† NJ Lawrence Erlbaum; Hillsdale:

Clinical psychology Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Clinical psychology - Personal Statement Example It is their purview to help people cope with their condition and find suitable means to overcome them and lead a normal life. Regarding my experiences in this field, I have worked for 10 years as a Psychologist in the Department of drug addiction. Having fully realized the importance of clinical psychology, I now want to pursue a Masters Degree program and hence I am seeking admission for the same at your institute. I believe enrolling for the Masters Degree program will give me an opportunity to learn in depth the concepts and theories relating to clinical psychology and thus improve my understanding of the subject. This will enable me to work better with my patients and have the right understanding about their medical condition. In addition, I am also interested in pursuing research in this field and hence this Masters program will help me achieve my long-cherished dream. Studying about the human mind is always fascinating as the mind is subject to constant changes. Both genetic an d environmental factors can contribute to these changes. All the studies carried out in the field of clinical psychology focuses on the human mind in order to better understand the working of the mind and to work out a solution to help people overcome their difficulties and problems. These studies have helped psychologists to understand how the human mind works under different circumstances. This field also provides the opportunity to work with people both young and old and both the sexes. I am keenly interested in using the various theories of clinical psychology to understand in more detail about several psychological disorders such as schizophrenia and depression. During my experience as a psychologist with the department of drug addiction, I employed techniques such as observation, assessment and experimentation to understand individual behavior and the causative factors behind the addiction. Additionally laboratory experiments carried out along with suitable controls, hypnotic methods, biofeedback techniques, and tests which help to ascertain the personality traits, intelligence and aptitude of an individual. I understand that clinical psychologists play a vital role in helping people deal with their lives after events such as terror strikes and numerous other accidents and natural calamities. It is the clinical psychologists who help people cope with mental disorders or personal problems. A strong bond between the patient and the psychologist is established through patient interviews, psychotherapy for patients and their family and other suitable intervention and treatment strategies which are undertaken to fully understand the mental state of the individual. I hope to employ all the above approaches and strategies effectively while dealing with patients and their families. I also understand the importance of encouraging patients to think and reason out things on their own which would provide more clarity to previously confusing thoughts and actions and also help them cope better with their mental condition. When the right strategy is employed people often find a relief from the underlying medical condition or from the stresses imposed by daily life. I also have a strong inclination to work with under-privileged people suffering from mental illnesses and want to help them cope with their condition and thus bring some cheer in to their lives. I have, in my personal experience, worked and helped such people and the experience that I had gained

Public sector and management accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Public sector and management accounting - Essay Example Most accounting standards organisations set standards for the running of companies. This is because such companies are in the majority in most nations. And such companies have stakeholders who demand timely and comprehensive financial statements. However, the public sector has distinct requirements and expectations. Due to this unique posture, the public sector requires different standards and frameworks for accounting. The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) sets standards for the public sector in the international community. And these standards are applicable to government agencies and other public sector entities as well as intergovernmental organisations. These standards are known as International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). The aim of this paper is to examine the framework for such standards and how they operate. The paper would examine the important framework and systems for the creation and the operation of IPSASs. It would include a critical review of IPSASB and how they operate as well as their scope. The main objective of the IPSAS is to improve the quality of financial reporting by public sector entities (Jorge, 2008). This is to provide a framework for the provision of periodic reports by these entities that exhibit transparency and accountability (Muller-Marques, 2010). IPSAS is a major set of standards that tries to provide the rules and definitive guidance for the creation of financial statements for these public oriented companies around the world. The main reason why a different set of accounting reporting rules are needed for the public sector is that they have a welfare oriented system which is in contrast with the profit-orientation of the private sector. Hence, there is the need to create a system of rules for the public sector. The main scope of the IPSAS is to provide guidelines for central and decentralised

Hotel Revenue Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hotel Revenue Management - Research Paper Example To this effect, a quick PEST analysis has been done below. PEST Analysis According to Competitive Intelligence (2011), â€Å"Political factors include parts such as employment laws, environmental regulations, tax policy, trade restrictions and tariffs and political constancy.† This means that political factors have to do with factors that are influenced by government. In this case study, tax charged on rooms, trade restrictions and travel policies would be factored in the political analysis whereby a relatively low tax system and free flow of people would enhance the patronage of hotels. Economic factors for the revenue management are exceptionally important for international trade and patronage. This is because according to Marketing Teacher Limited (2000), economic factors cover issues such as â€Å"Interest rates, the level of inflation Employment level per capita and long-term prospects for the economy Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita†, which are all very imp ortant in determining internal revenue management models. ... This point is buttressed further by the Quick MBA Network that mentions issues under social factors to include â€Å"health consciousness, population growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes and emphasis on safety.† Technological factors will eventually play a central part of the revenue management in the sense that it is going to be the single most important interactive medium by which potential customers are going to be contacted. Customers are also expected to be abreast with innovations and programs of the hotel by accessing data and information on the hotel through the use of the internet. Most commonly, it is expected that online reservations and group bookings will be made via the internet. The Net MBA (2011) mentions other forms of technological issues such as â€Å"Recent technological developments, Technology's impact on product offering, Impact on cost structure, Impact on value chain structure, Rate of technological diffusion.† Revenue Management Mode l In today’s competitive economic era, revenue management has been identified as an extremely important means for hotels to make up for their apportioned resources and income. Revenue xls (2007) has it that â€Å"revenue management models are intended to optimize the pricing of hotel rooms, airline seats, and other â€Å"perishable† commodities for a given duration by taking into account demand variability over time and capacity constraints.† The major model to be adopted would be the stochastic model, which was first used on the airline industry by De Boer et al. (2002) for the airline industry. A qualitative rather than a quantitative form of the model shall however be used. Under the model, the following areas will be considered. The

Impact of competitive environment and product life cycle of sony Essay

Impact of competitive environment and product life cycle of sony camera TF-1 - Essay Example The camera is also dust proof. The competitiveness in the market makes the Sony camera TF-1 innovative and progressive. The camera has a well-designed snapper, and performs better as compared to all other cameras in the industry. The company focuses on improving the resolution of the F-1 camera versions. According to GibaldI (2010, 41), Sony restructures its camera in a bid to have a competitive edge. The restructuring will help reduce the cost of manufacturing and improvement of camera quality. This company also seeks the design of camera its competitors are offering in the market (Sahlin, 2012, 61). This will help the marketing team to select the suitable camera to present in the market. In a wider sense, the marketing strategy of the Sony Company boosts the sales of the company significantly. Through the camera differentiation, consumers are able to visualize the cameras be offered in real time (Standage, 2012, 23). Sony, through the enhanced strategy of the snapper is able to widen customer base. Marketing influences the strengths and weaknesses of the Sony. The Sony Company also applies promotion to the determination of the number of clients made on a daily basis. The major goal for Sony is the maintenance of its current customers in order to boost the sales revenue. According to White (2013, 83), the marketing strategy that Sony uses is wide and varied. For instance, the cameras can be established using different design materials to ensure a new look. The camera design improves when the branding system is above board and effective. Branding, as is conventionally known can potentially change the TF-1’s look. Sony should, come up with fashionable design of camera that is able to demystify the use of other low quality cameras. The camera’s lifecycle is comprehensive because it incorporates the developmental stage of the camera and the decline stage of the camera’s performance. The

Care of the severe asthmatic paediatric patient Essay

Care of the severe asthmatic paediatric patient - Essay Example Unless severe asthma is adequately treated it can become life threatening. Treatment regimen in the case of severe paediatric asthma is giving high concentrations of oxygen to the patient, nebulized salbutamol and systemic corticosteroids. One of the most frequent causes of children being presented in hospitals is asthma. The important concern with paediatric asthma is that a significant percentage of children hospitalized with a severe attack of asthma are likely to die. This makes understanding paediatric asthma and maintaining guidelines for managing severe paediatric asthma important to the reduction of paediatric mortality in hospitality Weinberger 2008 p.633, defines asthma as a disease characterized by hyper-responsiveness of the airways to various stimuli, resulting in airway obstruction that is reversible to a substantial degree either spontaneously or as a result of treatment†. The airway obstruction observed in asthma arises from the different levels of severity of broncho-spasm and inflammation. Inflammation in asthma is the result of mucosal oedema and the secretion of mucous (Weinberger, 2008). Guill, 2004, points out that asthma does not occur as a set of episodic events spread over periods of time, but is rather present as a state of inflammation and hyper-responsiveness of the airway that presents in a varying manner in an individual suffering from asthma and also among the different individuals having asthma. Such an observation suggests the severity of an asthmatic event in a child varies from time and time and the severity of an asthmatic event is not necessarily the same between different indiv iduals (Guill, 2004). The varying severity of asthma in children gives rise to asthmatic events that may be present with minimal symptoms that have hardly any impact on the health of the child to asthmatic events with life threatening potential. The available indicators of the severity levels of asthma in children are the

Global Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Global Marketing - Assignment Example Today the global economy is as turbulent as it gets. The economies of the western developed nations are still felling the wrath of the economic down turn of 2008. Therefore a lot of companies belonging to countries like U.K. or U.S. are looking to set up business in the emerging economies which includes the brics and mitsk countries such as India, China, Mexico, Brazil etc. (Ghauri and Cateora, 2010, p. 141). The present study has been done in lieu to analyze the internationalization process of a product which is actually not present in a targeted or host nations. Such circumstances would provide scope for a thorough understanding about the fundamental yet extremely aspect of setting up a business in an international market. During the course of the study various important concepts related to the international marketing such as the market attractiveness analysis, analysis of potential threats and opportunities and threats, evaluation and selection of appropriate market entry strategy , market segmentation, targeting and positioning has been discussed. Product Choice As per the pre-defined project criteria the company to be discussed has been chosen as Innocent Drinks. The company was founded in 1999 by Adam Balon, Richard Reed and Jon Wright. All of them were Cambridge University graduates. The main product produced by the company includes crushed fruits, vegetables and juices. The fruit juices provided by the company are mainly known as smoothies who are usually provided to the customers in small bottles and big cartoons. The ingredients used include apple, topical, mango, apple, berry, and other vegetables such as carrots, ginger, etc. In 2009, the company announced the decision to sell 10-20% of stake to the soft drinks giants Coca-Cola. On February of 2013 coca-cola increased the stake to 90%. The decision to internationalise Coca-cola becoming the majority stake holder provided a lot of opportunity for the company to global. The company already has internat ional presence in the form of countries such as Ireland, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, etc. However, the company does not have any significant presence in Latin America and U.S. Deciding which market to enter While deciding the appropriate choice of the markets come to mind including North American, Latin American countries and also Asian Countries. Among these Asian countries would most definitely be an interesting choice. But it has to be said that while entering the Asian market two diverse factors would be the extreme geographical and cultural differences. Also although the hot and humid conditions of countries like India looks to be tailor made for the launch of such products; idea gets eliminated on the count that the product is already present in India. Hence the next choice to look forward would be the Latin American nation. Among these the top two contenders would be Mexico. Despite of the recent economic downturn the country has witnessed a steady growth in the GDP sinc e 2010 till present by 5.5%. The GDP per capita happens to be $15,782 at the end of the last fiscal year. According to a research conducted by just-drinks, the Mexican soft drinks industry grew by 3.7% in the last year and is expected to reach a value of $15.18bn by 2014. From 2008 to 2012 there also happens to be a steady growth in the disposable income of the people in Mexico. The demand for

Topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 5

Topic - Essay Example The countries that may be taking this place may include China and India. Therefore, in spite of the advancement of the U.S, which ought to support the most important aspects such as education, the country’s education system is lagging behind due to reasons that can be resolved through development of better policies. One of the reasons behind this deterioration is that the Americans students are not being taught the relevant subjects. Here, the system is teaching today’s students yesterday’s subjects. The world has developed and the system keeps on teaching the same issues making the American students unfit for the workplace. This is the reason why the employers in the U.S have been finding it difficult to get the skills that they require in the workplace. This may be the key reason why students from other countries have been getting employment easily in the U.S and the unemployment rates in the country continue to rise. Therefore, for this reason, employers are finding it easier to outsource from foreign countries than from the U.S (Kaminski). Additionally, the American education is the easiest worldwide. This implies that it does not challenge the students but involves reading of a script and sitting for an exam. However, it does not teach the students the skills that they will require in the workplace as well as the resilience required in the modern business world, which is highly competitive. The American students are taught to follow what has been the behaviour of previous generations instead of showing them how to question what has been taking place throughout history. This has been reducing their capabilities to be innovative and creative when they join the employment world. In addition, the lack of challenging education has been denying them the chance to get problem resolution and decision making skills, which are crucial to the employers and form the requirements for working in modern business environments

Mental health and crime casestudy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Mental health and crime casestudy - Essay Example Hayley’s story is just one case study of many that victimizes the mentally challenged for being unable to constructively handle their disease and/or their afflictions. In actuality, those struggling with their mental health fall to the wayside because of the way they are treated by their communities and society, and the many factors that come with their mental health, not because of it. Our culture cannot stigmatize people like Hayley anymore, people who might otherwise be productive. Though people with mental health issues often get help and lead to productive lives, much of the time society doesn’t deal with mental disorders in a constructive manner, both in a communal sense and for the best interest of the individual. First, there is the initial problem in defining what a â€Å"mental disorder† actually is. According to Andrew E. Skodol’s book Psychopathology and Violent Crimes, this question can be traced back to Aristotle, where â€Å"confusion about the reality of a situation might provide a moral excuse for persons who acted unlawfully in response to their beliefs (Skodol, 1998).† Jeremy Coid did a study of men in U.K. prisons and the results showed that many of them tested positively for borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder. Coid did not make any conclusions as to what specifically differentiated these men from their U.K. counterparts who resided in mental health centers, though he did conclude that â€Å"low socioeconomic status, family dysfunction and inadequate parenting seem to form the genesis of violent behavior (Butterfield, 1997).† The Great Britain Penal System seems to be (in comparison to their American penal system counte rpart) more understanding in nuances and distinctions of where to place people who have been convicted of crimes yet are diagnosed with

Light throws sparks Essay Example for Free

Light throws sparks Essay The article discusses the recent event that happened within the University of Zulia (LUZ). Last May 8 and 9, there had been launching of tear gas canisters at the Faculty of Liberal and Education as well as in the Faculty of Dentistry. The two consecutive events created fear and anxiety for the students, faculty, and administrators of the University. The incident left 17 students and 1 professor severely injured. As a result, the incident disturbed most of the classes, and led to the cancellation of all the classes in the morning. Classes in the afternoon resumed but fear was still felt by the students and the faculty. In order to address and prevent the terrifying incident, the University had already called the attention of the government. Although the University of Zulia is known for its autonomy from the government, Rose Nava, a Vicerrectora Academic, stated Article 7 of the University law which stipulates that in times of grave danger, the police must be called. The said incident was believed to be caused by the clash of candidates for the election of the Confederacy of Universities (FCU). Although no parties are admitting the violent act, candidates have spoken to their co-students to stop the violence and resort to proper and legal means for their concerns. Luiggi Nery, a candidate of the Initiative 13, said, â€Å"We should avoid the registration of destructive actions. † Jose Vine, also a student leader, stated that anything that results in human losses or action that leads to violence must be stopped. Title: Behind Closed Doors They Sign the Collective contract of Sidor Author: Henry Parada Lopez Published: 05 -13-2008 Tuesday From: Nuevaprensa. com (http://www. nuevaprensa. com. ve/index. php? option=com_contenttask=viewid=10060Itemid=2) The article narrates the recent event that involved the Government of Venezuela and Sutiss, a steel producing company. The government and Sutiss both signed a contract for the creation of another corporation which will bear the name â€Å"Iron Steel Works of Venezuela. † The mission of this new corporation is to enhance the steel and iron products as well as develop the technologies to create quality products. The contract signing was supposed to be conducted in public, but the higher ups changed their plan, as sudden actions against constructing the corporation created worries. Thus, rather than having the Guyanese Region present, the workers were the only audience in the contract signing. Instead of conducting a collective signing, President Hugo Chavez was given a tour of the corporation. The President truly believes that the promotion of mining and enhancement of steel and iron production would truly enhance the economy of Venezuela. President Hugo Chavez, a known socialist, said â€Å"We are going to create this corporation to order all the system of production of our steel, since the mines where the mineral of the iron is produced. † The President also said that capitalism is not good for a state and in order to stop that, â€Å"one must continue dominating spaces inside the country. † Though there lots of negative comments towards the corporation, President Hugo Chavez is positive towards the outcome of this corporation, not only economically but socially. In achieving success, the President called for action towards unity and cooperation. He encouraged the working class, students, peasants and the National Armed Forces to be matured and to leave each others differences for their own success. Title: Politics and Sex Should Be in the Same Scale Author: Charlie Garcia Published: 05-12 -2008 Monday From: CadenaGlobal. com (http://www. cadenaglobal. com/Noticias/? Not=174607) The column was about a question raised by a reader in which she asked the rights of women and how is it addressed by the government. As the writer discussed, we are currently in the modern times wherein women could easily relate to love and sex. Due to this, there is a need for the government to open up this topic and create official political documents addressing such issue. The writer stated that in the past, sex is not something that the international community is paying attention to as it is viewed as only an external factor. However, because of the emergence of globalization and strengthened Western relations, the ways on how the issues of sex are viewed have changed. Although openness in terms of sex can be observed in many societies, there are still countries that are not open to changes. In Afghanistan and Iraq—countries currently occupied by the United States—women are killed or given death threats if they hold any government positions. In Venezuela, the government has very well reflected the current female rights but it is not enough to address the problem of the rights of women. As the writer put it, the â€Å"the government at times find the theme of the female human rights too problematic to discuss in detail or they see it with little interest†. In the international community, there are evident examples of discrimination of women. These include the little reference on the female rights against domestic violence, sexual exploitation, and forced marriages, among others. There are no sanctions against countries that have a high percentage of human rights, specifically for women. Commentary: I often heard of the country Venezuela through international pageants, newspapers, television and the internet. As I have known, it is filled with interesting tourist spots due to its location and rich culture. However, as I was browsing the internet trying to find news that seemed interesting to me, I learned more about the country Venezuela. It is not simply a country with a lot of tourist destinations; it is a country filled with issues and concerns, just like others countries of today. As a developing country, Venezuela has a lot of concerns to address and one of them is the strict competition when it comes to elections. Just like in any country or culture, a person or organization that strongly feels about their advocacy would result in violence if he or she does not see that their goals are attained. I do believe that the launch of the tear gas canisters which led to violence was caused by their strong belief or was a form of protest. Although it is not a terrorist attack, it still brought fear to the University. The second article that I chose discussed about a contract that supposedly signed by President Hugo Chavez and Sutiss. I find the news intriguing, because the reason behind the sudden closed door the contract signing was not publicized. There are a lot of speculations that came into my mind, including corruption and conspiracy. The news was interesting but I suddenly questioned the real intentions of the government and the Sutiss in cooperating to establish a new company. The last topic was about sexuality and the current actions of the government towards creating female human rights. This story really piqued my interest because it focused on the reality of what really is happening in terms of the rights of women. The statement given by the writer, for instance, drew my attention. The creation of and addressing the human rights of women is very complicated to discuss as it may require recreating the laws of the land to fit the rights to be granted for women. It is evident that even in the modern world, women are still limited due to the restrictions made by the society and the government. Although there are plans made for the women to have determined and precise laws applicable to them, there are no direct actions made by the government to present their real interest to create equality between men and women. All the news articles made me realize that every country has its own issues that need to be solved. Further studies on Venezuela would reveal the roles of culture, society, and history in the issues that this country is currently facing. The hunger for power, development, and equality are the major struggles seen in these articles. Each of these presents the different sides of Venezuela which I have never seen before. There is a huge difference between life in Venezuela and the lifestyle of United States. In Venezuela, I believe that poverty is definitely hard to eradicate due to lack of education and opportunities for the people. On the other hand, development and progress is also a challenge to achieve. This is evident in the lines uttered by President Hugo Chavez in which he encouraged and called for all the citizens to unify and cooperate in achieving success and development. Although there are many struggles in attaining these goals, hope is still exhibited by the President which shows his passion and desire to create a successful Venezuela. Works Cited Garcia, Charlie. Politica y sexo deberian estar en la misma balanza. Cadena Global. Cadenaglobal. com. 12 May 2008. 14 May 2008 http://www. cadenaglobal. com/Noticias/? Not=174607

Agricultural Climate Adaptation Plan

Agricultural Climate Adaptation Plan Krity Neermul Agricultural Climate Adaptation Plan: A Case Study of the Mauritius Sugar Cane Industry Introduction: Climate change being now a reality, the future weather projections of Mauritius is contemplating a warmer and drier condition in the coming years. The annual temperature is expected to increase by 2.0Â °C by the 2060s and a decrease in the annual rainfall by 13% by 2050s coupled with extreme events like recurrent flash flood, acute drought and cyclone (McSweeney et al., 2010). Agriculture is fundamentally driven and dependent on climate and as such any distortion in the climatic conditions would have serious consequences on production. Likewise, the thread of climate change to the sugarcane industry of Mauritius is now real. Hence, given it considerable economic, social and environmental importance, sugar cane industry should be; prepared for and shielded again, the potential devastating effect of climate change. It is undebatable that the effect of climate on the industry would be felt all throughout its value chain line starting from the primary industry, passing through secondary level and going up the ladder till the national economic benchmark (Muchow et al., 1999). The impacts are real which are mainly due to due rise in temperature, low precipitation and extreme events and are concentrated around: Low yield Decrease in sugar production. Inefficient planning of crushing campaign by millers and harvesting period extended. Penalties by buyer, for unable to supply required amount of sugar as per contract. Required underground water for irrigation. Hence competition with other crops. Emergence of pests and diseases. Replantation constraints. Decrease of GDP. Decrease in foreign currency return. Affect policy and national budget program. Economic dis-balance Having an overview of the potential impacts of climate change on the Mauritian Sugarcane Industry, its effect can be reduced by formulating the right mitigation and adaptation strategies. Both strategies are of uttermost importance in the sense that; mitigation would mainly focus on stratagems required to limits further deterioration of the global climate and adaptation would address specific issues on how to reduce the severity of climate change due to past and future emission by mankind. Therefore the objective of this paper is to prepare an adaptation and mitigation plan on how to make the sugarcane industry viable and continue to be effective in projected harsh climatic conditions like higher temperature, low precipitation and extreme events. 2.0Â  Adaptation strategies 2.1 Government involvement The Government of Mauritius being a signatory of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and member in several international bodies like IPCC, World Climate Programme of the World Meteorological Organisation and UNFCCC, is duty bound to fulfil its commitment in mitigating and preparation of its national adaptation plan for climate change. Furthermore, in the wake of framing the adaptation plan, the leadership of the government is crucial for its concretisation together with all stakeholders. Government of Mauritius should play a central role in the development of an adaptation strategy for the sugarcane sector pertaining to policy formulation, research and development, fund disbursement, role of institutions among others. The concept of Maurice Ile Durable is the right project which is looking into climate adaptation strategies. 2.2Â  Research and development Assessment proves that climate change particularly due to low rainfall and rise in temperature would affect sugar cane production if the existing varieties together with operational framework are maintained. Therefore, to mitigate the effect of water stress due to low rainfall and high temperature, researches should be oriented toward breeding new cultivars that would be drought resistant and at the same time withstand higher temperature. There is real potential in breeding new varieties, like evocated by Inman-Bamber et al., (2012) that sugarcane cultivar differences in drought adaptation exist and concurrently, Matthieson (2007) further stated that plant breeders should therefore continue to breed varieties that tolerate drought conditions or greater water use efficiency. Another strategy could be that growers drop single variety plantation throughout their fields and move to multi-cultivars field cover which would decrease the risk of collateral damage in the event of failure of o ne particular variety due to water stress (Challinor et al., 2007). Pests and diseases incidences are expected to increase with climate change and they are even expected to be difficult to control due to alteration of their genomes (Harmon et al., 2009). To that regard, together with plant breeding program, biotechnology could be an essential tool in developing new cultivars which would be pests and diseases resistant and their release could be faster in an eventual outbreaks. As stated by Cheavegatti-Gianotto et al. (2011) that apart from conventional breeding of new varieties to shadow the effect of climate change, researchers should practice biotechnology so as to diminish abiotic and biotic stresses associated with sugarcane. These tasks are under the responsibilities of the Mauritius Sugarcane Industry Research Institute which is the sugarcane research and development arm of the Island. 2.3Â  Water and land requirement Water is expected to be a limited resources in the near future as a result of climate change and the effect of low water availability on sugar cane production is well known. Therefore, apart from having drought tolerant varieties, it is essential to curtail water wastage and inefficient use. In view thereof, introduction of appropriate irrigation technologies and schemes are fundamental like increasing use of supplementary water, optimisation of irrigation scheduled to maximise water use efficiency, effective irrigation water delivery technologies, and modification to row spacing, minimum tillage and the use of cover crops. Under its reform program of the sugarcane industry, the Government of Mauritius is already investing in the Field Operation, Re-grouping and Irrigation Project (FORIP). Since most small farmers fields are rain fed, thus the aim is to install irrigation facilities to these lands which would at time benefit the growers and also preparing to sustain future attack of climate change. Another ambitious project laid by the government is construction of additional dams for water storage and this would be an important strategy in mitigating the effect of low rainfall in the long run. Climate change would also affect the soil structure required by sugarcane for growth and maturing. Heavy rainfall, cyclone and thunderstorms as a result of climate change, impact the soil aggregate, causes surface runoff and affect infiltration rate (VÃ ¡rallyay, 2010). Furthermore, Brevik (2013) mapped response of plants to elevated atmospheric CO2level with soil nutrients (N and P) dis-balance and soil organic matter reduction essential to support growth and maintain soil stability. In Mauritius sugarcane is harvested either fresh of burnt. Therefore one possible way to mitigate effect of climate change would be adopting fresh harvest. This would imply leaving all residues in the fields which could be useful in weed suppression, increasing the content of organic matter in the soil which increases water holding capacity; improve soil structure and biological activity in the soil. Furthermore use of trash blanketing to intercept raindrops and increase water infiltration; conserve ti llage, and alter row configurations are also recommended. 2.4Â  Harvesting and milling requirement It is known that decrease yield would create some degree of uncertainty in planning for harvesting and crushing campaign. A potential strategy could be use of seasonal climate forecasts in planning for optimum harvesting and crushing season. Low yield would also entail poor viability and profitability of sugar mills. In this line, in the Multi Annual Adaptation Strategy (MAAS) mentioned has been made for centralisation of existing sugar factories into clusters so as to be more efficient and profitable. Previously there were 21 factories around the island and now with the reform spelled under MAAS, there are 4 big flexi-factories which are operational. Despite sugarcane is mainly cultivated for sugar production, yet derivatives products like energy from bagasse and bio-fuel from molasses are having increasing important. The concept of flexi-factory resides around the fact that the mill can instantly shift from its main product which is sugar, in case of an event, to another production like electricity from biomass. This could become an economic opportunity in case the primary industry is affected with regard to low sucrose content within the crop stand. 2.5Â  Extreme events (Cyclone) More cyclone with higher intensity is expected as a result of climate change and such occurrence would affect the whole industry. During cyclone the crop would be affected seriously which would require additional post cyclone inputs for the re-establishment. As an adaptation strategy, it is therefore proposed to plant trees around the field to act as windbreak. In order to mitigate the financial losses to be incurred by planters in an event of cyclone, government should encourage growers to take insurance policy again the associated risk. 2.6Â  Economic implications Financial shortfall due to low sugar production could have serious economic consequences for all stakeholders of the industry including national budgetary planning. To lessen the economic burden that might result due to climate change, initiatives like diversification of the economy is imperative. Emerging sectors like ICT and offshores are already in the pipeline of the central government policy framework. Since Mauritius has a contractual obligation to supply 400, 000 tonnes of refined white sugar annually to the buyer, therefore a good initiative has recently been taken which deal with importing raw sugar from other partner countries and reprocessing same into white sugar. This step fill the gap if ever the quota is not met as a result of climate change. 3.0Â  Barriers to effective adaptation plan for the sugarcane industry In the attempt to prepare an effective adaptation plan for the Mauritian Sugarcane industry to continue to be resilient despite facing the negative impacts of climate change, several barriers emerged. The barriers are particularly categorised in four main pillars pertaining to regulatory, organisational, market failure and behavioural barriers. 3.1Â  Regulatory barriers The central government has a very important role to play in the preparation of the adaptation strategies for policy and regulatory making. As evocated earlier that biotechnology could prove to be an essential tool for designing new cultivars that would suit and adapt climate change. Moreover, one barrier that exist is that there is no proper piece of legislation so far that would legalised biotechnology and genetically modified organism. Another barrier is not enough fund and resources being allocated to the sugar cane industry these days hence constraints for the scientist to explore deeper for potential varieties. It is often observed that in the Finance Act these days marginal finance is deployed to RD for sugarcane industry in fact there is reduction of staff and cut cost process. Mentioned has also been made for insurance cover but the constraint that might arose is government intervention with private companies or for subsidies initiatives. Government processes always take time and this would acting as an obstacle for prompt intervention to help and assist for farmers in distress following extreme events like cyclone. Mentioned has also been made for the concept of flexi-factory pertaining to electricity generation rather than sugar manufacture in extreme event. The biggest draw back and barrier for this concept is that planters, entitlement. The current law makes provision for planters being remunerated for amount of recoverable sugar from their cane and a very marginal return from bagasse used to generate electricity. Therefore if no proper act is enacted where equitable share of return is given to the planters’ community then the take-off of the flexi-factory project particularly for energy production would be hindered. 3.1.1Â  Organisational Barrier Disputes between millers and farmers are omnipresent when sugarcane quality supplied to the factories come in to play. Arbitration of disputes have never been an easy and rapid task since it has legal implications. Therefore in circumstances of extreme event where the sucrose per cent is low, millers would refused to take the cane for milling until a decision is not taken by competent authorities. The time taken by organisation to make a decision would result in more economic losses to planters since already harvested canes deteriorate with time if milling delayed. 3.1.2 Market failures It is proposed that raw sugar be imported from other countries and reprocessed into refine white sugar in case the quota not fulfilled from local production. But the main constraint might be market accessibility and acceptability. There is a growing concern for fair trade these days where all cultural practices are documented and norms respected. Moreover, if raw sugar is used from a country which does not satisfy the standards, then this strategy would just fail and its recurrent might end up the contractual agreement, then further problem would arise in searching for alternate potential buyers. 3.1.3 Behavioural barriers. Acceptance of GMO is still having some ethnical refusal and this would act as a barrier in developing new resistant varieties. It is commonly observed that planters are more attached to traditional farming and system and they are quite resistant in adopting new strategies like regrouping and mechanisation. Therefore this is impeding the ambitious project of FORIP to reach its cruised speed with the objective to mitigate the effects of climate change. 4.0Â  Mitigation strategies In the attempt of decreasing considerably green-house gas emission in the atmosphere, sugarcane industry could play a role model. The co-generation of electricity recently embraced by the sugarcane industry is a good show piece. In this concept, during the harvesting period, the power plant utilised bagasse instead of coal to produce electricity for export to the national grid. The sugarcane industry is a whole picture in itself where every emission from power plant are trapped back by the sugarcane plant which is well known for its carbon dioxide fixing capability. Another by-product which came out from the processing of sugar is filter cake (scum). The scum is used as bio-fertiliser in grower’s fields. This strategy decreases the dependency on chemical fertiliser and at the same time helps in soil conservation. 5.0Â  Conclusion To conclude, the impacts of climate change is likely to affect all stakeholders of the Mauritian Sugarcane Industry throughout all its operating value chain. Having a good adaptation plan is important but to be successful, the adaptation strategies demand for active participation of each and every one. Moreover, not all strategies could easily be implemented because there are barriers that prevent its effective implementation. Furthermore as always said prevention is better than cure, then it is equally important to have a climate change mitigation framework with aim not to further deteriorate the already affected climate. References McSweeney, C., M. New and G. Lizcano (2010). UNDP Climate Change Country Profiles: Mauritius. School of Geography and Environment, University of Oxford. Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. http://country-profiles.geog.ox.ac.uk Muchow, R.C., Robertson M.J. and Keating, B.A. (1997). Limits to the Australian sugar industry: climatic and biological factors. In ‘Intensive sugarcane production: meeting the challenges Beyond 2000. BA Keating, JR Wilson (eds) pp. 37–54. (CAB International: Wallingford, UK). Mathieson L (2007). Climate change and the Australian Sugar Industry: Impacts, adaptation and R D opportunities. Sugar Research and Development Corporation. Australia. Challinor A, Wheeler T, Garforth C, Craufurd P, Kassam A (2007). Assessing the vulnerability of food crop systems in Africa to climate change. Climate Change 83:381-399. Inman-Bamber N G, Lakshmanan P, Park S (2012). Sugarcane for water-limited environments: Theoretical assessment of suitable traits. Field Crops Res. 134:95–104. Harmon, J.P., Moran N.A. and Ives, R.A. (2009). Species Response to Environmental Change: Impacts of Food Web Interactions and Evolution. Science 323:1347. Cheavegatti-Gianotto A, Abreu H M C, Arruda P, Bespalhok F J C, Burnquist W L, Creste S, Ciero L, Ferro J A, Oliveira F A V, Sousa F T, Grossi-de-SÃ ¡ M F, Guzzo E C, Hoffmann H P, Andrade L M G, Matsuoka S, Castro R F, Romano E, Silva W J, Castro S F M, CÃ ©sar U E (2011). Sugarcane (Saccharum X officinarum): A Reference Study for the Regulation of Genetically Modified Cultivars in Brazil. Tropical Plant Biol. 4(1):62-89. Park, S., Howden, M. and Horan, H. (2007). Evaluating the impact of and capacity for adaptation to climate change on sectors in the sugar industry value chain in Australia. Proceedings of the International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists 26, 312-324. Multi Annual Adaptation Strategy Report, (2006 – 2015), Mauritius. Brevik, E.C. (2013). The Potential Impact of Climate Change on Soil Properties and Processes and Corresponding Influence on Food Security VÃ ¡rallyay, G. (2010). The impact of climate change on soils and on their water management. Research Institute for Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry (RISSAC) of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest. Agronomy Research 8 (Special Issue II), 385–396

Ethical Impact of Knowledge

Ethical Impact of Knowledge â€Å"The possession of knowledge carries an ethical responsibility.† Evaluate this claim. Mahatma Gandhi, when asked by an adoring, adulating public, what he believed the greatest sins were, was prone to answer as simply and as quickly as possible. His answers varied, of course, depending on his audience, but in his last word to all of India, his autobiography, â€Å"The Story of My Experiments with Truth,† he characterized the greatest sin as â€Å"Knowledge without character.† Gandhi evidently believed that the possession of knowledge without the ability for action was perhaps the greatest sin man could commit. Of course, one must wonder a great number of things about the ethical responsibility that any wielder of knowledge is supposedly subject to. To begin with, the statement strongly implies the existence of an absolute ethical system, leaving no place for ethical relativism, a stance that leaves little room for debate on the varying ethical and moral standards that people of various different labels ascribe to themselves. Moreover, a rather interesting phenomenon that occurs in the academic world today is the existence of the foolish scholar; the man who harbors a veritable cornucopia of knowledge, but has little understanding of the practical aspects thereof, or of the use that other humans might put this knowledge to. The statement necessarily requires that this man be held responsible for any use or abuse of his research and knowledge, a thought that is not merely of obvious naivetà ©, but plainly unjust. What remains however, is the wilful and focused abuse and misuse of knowledge with the complete and total understanding of any ending that this misuse entails; this must, under any ethical system, be punished, but the question that remains is, which ethical system? How can one reconcile the idea of an ethically relativistic system and the demand of a universally absolutist system that the statement puts forth? Perhaps it is key to first reconcile the idea of an absolutist ethical system with the demands of the real world. W.T. Stace was a proponent of the same, arguing that only a single universal code of conduct could exist which was deemed morally correct. Kantian deontological ethics similarly stated that the only good action was the action that, when universalized, would have maximum moral effect, as demonstrated by the categorical imperative. Therefore, under Kantian ethical philosophy, we can state that as long as the principle of Universalizability is adhered to, an absolutist ethical system can exist, for it is then the non-adherents who are fundamentally flawed, and not the system itself, a position taken by Kant as well. Moral relativism cannot be well considered within the structure of the question, for to accept a morally relative system would cause, in itself, major issues within the foundations of ethicality. Moral relativism then leads towards existential nihilism, for to ac cept all ethical systems is akin to accepting none; No fundamental idea of right or wrong can exist, for right and wrong may well differ from individual to individual, and both are therefore abstract concepts with no real meaning or motive. Moral relativism within the scope of the question would render the question pointless, for no ethically relative system can assign ethical responsibility, the definition and nature of which will differ from system to system, person to person, and place to place. In the most idealistic and humanistic sense, perhaps ethical relativism is the only doctrine that can effectively promote universal acceptance, but in a practical, objective manner, ethical absolutism is the only possible form of moral systems which allows for the formation of laws, legal systems, and an ordered manner of living that does not give way to either Nihilism or Anarchy. Therefore, we establish the existence, at least in practicality, of an ethically absolutist system, and designate Kantian ideology, that of Deontological Ethics, as the ethical system to be considered within the scope of the question. Having established the kind of ethical system we are considering, we must now consider, in depth, the system of ethical responsibility itself. Knowledge has been argued to be akin to a tool. The common scythe is possibly the best analogy for the slightly less common tool of knowledge, for, like a scythe, knowledge can be used to either reap or sow crops or to kill and maim a person. The only difference, really, is the scale. Knowledge has long been considered a tool with no moral nature of itself. After all, one hardly blames the gun for going off, or, as in our comparison, commends the scythe for a bountiful harvest. The wielder of the gun and the farmer of the land; these are the men we attribute actions towards, and therefore, they are the ones deemed responsible for the use of their tools. However, with knowledge, and the possession thereof, things aren’t quite as straightforward. â€Å"I am become death, destroyer of worlds,† Robert Oppenheimer cried in anguish when he witnessed the Trinity Atom bomb test; a test he helped design and facilitate. The Natural Sciences are an area that is rife with ethical dilemmas. Consider the case of Oppenheimer himself, a man who helped design and invent the Atom bomb which was responsible for the death of thousands, the eradication of two who cities, and the disfigurement of millions of unborn children. Oppenheimer himself felt directly responsible for the chaos he had helped cause, but the question that arises is simple: Was he responsible for using his knowledge towards its inevitable end goal, and indeed, were any of the other scientists involved in the Manhattan project? Can blame for the Project itself be assigned so easily to the scientists commissioned? Under Kantian Deontological ethics, universalization of the subject leads one to question whether or not Knowledge needs to be shared at all. It is not a simpl e question of knowledge in Nuclear Physics, but of all knowledge, and the answer to this question is plainly positive. Knowledge needs to be shared so we, as humanity, can collectively move forward in a field that has implications around the world, a field which saves lives, improves living and, collectively, causes more good than ill. In the end, while there is a certain ethical responsibility involved with the possession of knowledge, hoarding knowledge and keeping it to oneself if plainly worse than the alternative: Sharing it and putting it to use. Consider, for example, Jonas Salke, the man who invented the Polio vaccine, and understanding the widepsread impact it would have, refused to patent it, essentially making the vaccine free. Under Kantian ethical systems, therefore, the sharing of knowledge is vital towards actual progress: The converse halts progress and forces every scientist to deal with the same bottlenecks and breakthroughs before any real research can take place. History is another AOK with a paramount ethical impact on the present and the future. Accepting, or alternatively, denying the past has consequences that shape the policies and attitudes of entire countries and races. Two comparative cases can be studied here: That of Germany and Turkey. Germany today is nation deeply repentant of its past sins and mistakes. Having accepted their deeds during the rule of the Nazi Party as being not only brutal, but downright horrific, Germany today has swung towards extreme sorrow and repentance, making it by and large illegal to deny the Holocaust and introducing an Amendment to their constitutional free speech which makes the Nazi party illegal. The Germans, a once nationalistic race, have disbanded their army, instead training a national police force. The knowledge of their sins has clearly had a deep and lasting impact on the Germany psyche. The Turks, on the other hand, vehemently deny the very existence of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Turkish history books not only fail to mention it, but Turkish historians, well respected in other fields, are curiously silent, and often in denial, about the crimes of Turkey’s past. The Turkish government itself refuses to recognize the brutality of its actions against 1.5 million Armenians. Modern day pundits, however, state that there may be good reason for this. An acceptance of Turkish guilt will indubitably lead to civil war due to the extreme denial of Turkish society on the matter, leading to a forced change in the government. While the acceptance of past mistakes may be crucial towards building a bridge towards a better relationship with the Armenians, the acceptance of this past mistake could very well destabilize the Turkish regime permanently, a turn of events with dire results for the Western World were an extremist party, of which there are plenty, to come to powe r. The Turkish government itself cannot make reference to the Genocide, for to do so is possibly akin to sparking off a civil war which could cause the entire region to erupt. The question to be asked, therefore, is whether it is possible to deny past actions and yet live morally, or whether it is absolutely necessary to accept one’s past guilt before once can be absolved of blame. The ethical impact of the genocide is plain to see, but the fact remains that the Turkish government has an ethical responsibility first towards its citizens and then to the rest of the world. To spark of a civil war due to events that took place a century ago may very well be considered unethical and immoral, but yet, to deny outright such egregious events is not a morally sound stance either. In conclusion, the ethical impact of knowledge is certainly vast. To measure this impact is, by and large, impossible, but one can certainly gauge the effect that knowledge once made public would have. While the possession of knowledge always carries with it an ethical responsibility, it is difficult to discern the scope and extent of this responsibility, even in a Kantian ethical system. While knowledge in the natural sciences must almost always be shared, in other AOK’s, such as history, civil and geopolitical issues come into play, which would lead to ethical catastrophes perhaps bigger than those that they try to repair. In the end, the only constant is that knowledge, for better or worse, is a powerful tool that must not be underestimated.

abraham Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Abraham, a very important hero from Genesis, was the first person to believe in a single God. He was the first to show devoted faith to God and risk everything to follow God. He always found strength in his faith in God, but sometimes his unyielding, strong faith was a weakness that almost got good people hurt.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Abraham is one of the most important people in the Old Testament because he was the first person to believe in and be called by God. â€Å"The Lord said to Abram, ‘Go forth from the land of our kinsfolk and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the communities in the earth shall find blessing in you.†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Genesis 12:1-3). This is God’s call to Abraham and God promises to give Abraham all of those things if Abraham will do what God tells him to do. Abraham does what God says not knowing what he might have to do in the future and only knowing that he is leaving almost everything behind him. Abraham has no real reason to believe in God other than what God said to him. Promises from a god that nobody knows and that one person has only briefly spoken with is not much to base leaving everything behind to do what this God says. Another risk Abraham takes i...

Responding To Loss And Death :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In my entire life there are some experiences of losses that some of them happened to me and some happened to people who were close to me and it was possible to see their responses, and the time that I spent with them during their suffering from losses was enough to realize their situation and recognize its details.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is interesting to compare the losses with each other as a way to assess my learning of loss experiences.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At first I like to state my father’s responses toward his two different kind of losing. First one was his mother’s death. It happened by a car accident, so it was unexpected and sudden and was enough to shock him. At first days he was quiet and sometimes weeping silently, but one thing that in that time for me was interesting and I never forget, was visiting his mother’s grave every night or early morning when it was dark I do not remember exactly how long, but it did not last long. Then after Perhaps three or four weeks it became every Thursdays and probably continues up to now. In our religion Thursday afternoon is a holy time and people believe that this time is the best to pray for spirits’ absolution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another experience of my father’s losses that I like to mention is from wartime. War between our country and Iraq. During that time town almost was empty because it had been attacked by air force, and continued. One time as a result of the bombing my father’s house was destroyed, when we became aware every body rushed to the town and home, what we saw was an unforgettable scene, all doors, windows and walls were ruined and scattered and massed inside the house. Some furniture plus all rugs were safe, but my father touched nothing; he leaned to a wall and was gazing in space. After a short time he said, â€Å"leave all these stuff here. I do not need anything, leave them for people.† and turned back to the village. First days he was angry, sometimes he was silent and sometimes yelling at every body and for everything, but the main target of his rush and his offenses was the government. He was swearing to governors and the leader all the time. T hen he turned to sadness, but it did not last long and during an interval of war he rebuilt his house.

Meaning of life †Happiness Essay

By Occasionally, there comes a time in everyone’s life when they ask themselves if they have a purpose. This question is not easy to answer, but can only be answered by the person themselves. I once asked myself this very question. My purpose in life is simply to live. My answer to this question may be wrong, may look simple, and you may even laugh at it, but it means much more than it seems. The term â€Å"to live† has many meanings to me. Love, happiness, charity, and justice are just a few meanings I feel are parallel to this term. Love is a constant reminder of why I would want to have a purpose in life. When a person loves with their heart, the feeling they have is like no other. Anyone can love with his or her mind or body, but love of the heart and soul is hard to come by. I have loved with my mind many times before, but its not the same. I believe I have been struck with love, because it hit me like a freight train. The swift perfume and luscious looks of a girl are usually only temporary and I forget about it after the essence is gone. Although I believe I found the perfect combination of perfume, looks, and personality. Her name is Jodi Block. She is the the coolest person I know. She likes me for who I really am and doesn’t laugh at me for mistakes I make, or ever criticizes me for anything I do. She is always there with a compliment or telling me how good of a job I did on something. She is always there to listen to me when I have get something off my chest. I don’t know what I would do with out her. At the current moment, the only people I love with my heart are Jodi, my mother and father, and my two siblings Jordan and Erin. I don’t like to admit it, but its the truth. Like any son or daughter, I would be devastated if anything ever happened to them before their time. They are my main reason for wanting to succeed. The world has come to know that being happy is better than being sad. I believe the reason for this can never have an exact answer, but happiness is good and sadness is bad. Almost everyone agrees with this statement. The dilemma we must face ourselves with is what makes us happy and sad. There is no universal constant that makes everyone happy or everyone sad. The factors are for everyone. For myself, going hunting, fishing, driving, and being with Jodi are fun and make me happy. These factors associated with myself are for the most part positive activities. Surrounding myself with positive reflections comes by nature. Many people these days are materially well off, but are unhappy. We surround ourselves with clever toys, movies, and fashionable clothing, but in reality we are as mortal as any other is. Like most, I feel infringed upon when negativity is present. Though happiness is the goal of most, being sad is necessary. To be always happy in life would be as useless as having Christmas day everyday. We would soon begin detesting it. The question we must ask ourselves is what do we need to have that perfect balance of happiness? True happiness can only come from the understanding of that individual’s environment and nature of existence. Charity is a virtue that is deemed torturous by some, prosperous by others, but a necessity by most. Helping the fellow man has been known to happen since the dawn of time. Think of how many charitable acts have been committed throughout our many years of existence. Some of us would not be alive today if it were not for the fact. Think of when that soldier helped his comrade out of the trench or when that businessman spared a few coins for the homeless man on the street. These few examples show that when a person is in a time of need and they are not helped, grave dangers lie ahead until they are helped. Personally, I feel it is a duty to commit a charitable act when possible. If volunteer work is needed and I do not sign up without good reason, I normally feel guilty. I put myself in the position of the needed. If I were that person in need, would I have someone to help me? I answer yes through volunteer work, donations, or charitable acts. Charity is a necessity to those who receive, a simple act to those who give, and blessing to us all. Some have said that you can measure a person’s worth by how successful they have been. I beg to differ because of other factors, but prosperity is a virtue deemed important. I want to prosper in the future not only because I would like to make my parents proud, but because I was born for success. For years it has been engraved into my sub conscience that if I work hard, I will be prosperous. I plan on leading a successful life, but prosperity is not limited to long-term future actions. Anyone can be successful in just setting a worthwhile goal and accomplishing it. In the past two years I’ve sat through numerous business lectures and career workshops that were designed to broaden my intellectual thinking of the job market. Quite frankly, I’m sick of hearing about statistics with this technology field and how much money I can make in that one. I’ve learned plenty of skills to make myself prosperous and even learned â€Å"the art of verbal manipulation†, which is supposedly going to help me get a higher salary. Prosperity has its importance, but I say you can measure a person’s worth by how happy they are and have been. Knowing your personality is an aspect of life that I feel is important. You must be able to judge yourself before you can judge another. Personally, I have a moderate preference for emotions and impressions, but prefer my own familiar traits because that is where I feel most at ease. I don’t like being in strange places or having numerous relationships. I prefer having a small number of friends that are deep and important, rather than a ton of friends that I see every once in a while. An important component of my personality is reflected in my lifestyle. My preference is for that of a spontaneous and flexible life, rather than a set and fixed one. Taking things as they come is intriguing to me and surprises in life are even better. Feeling good about oneself is vital to survival. Without it, extreme measures, including suicide, may be taken. Though I do have my occasional letdowns, I am happy with who I am and with what I have become. Next to love and happiness, I feel drive and dedication are the most important virtues a person can have. Because I live my life from goal to goal, achieving and having other virtues come that much more easily. My most recent goal was to make sure I get to work and back home safely. My current goal is to try and write over four pages for my philosophy of life essay. Though I’m not quite there yet, setting goals comes natural to me. I do not prefer to write my goals down and keep track of how I’m doing on them. I rather keep them in my head and refer to them when needed. This is a previously stated aspect of my personality. Whether everyone knows it or not, setting and thinking out our goals is the basis for achieving them. Drive and dedication achieve goals for any hardworking individual. Above love, happiness, and dedication is my relationship with God. Though I have not visited his home on a consistent basis, I know when to pay my respect. I feel praising Him is necessary, but I choose to do it in my own way. I tend to pray when least expected. My relationship with God may not be to full scale, but I believe Him, love Him, praise Him, and respect Him. The rest is just details. I asked myself if I had a purpose in life during my junior year of high school. At the time, I had almost no idea of what I was asking myself. Though I still do not know the meaning of life, I know my purpose in life is to live with happiness, love, prosperity, charity, justice, and determination. My relationship and praise of God is the most important factor. In summary, I long to love, but do not love to long. Happiness and contentment are thrived on by all, but not all realize that it is charity which will bring these virtues. Besides these, drive and determination will also bring a person to be prosperous and happy. My philosophy is to live life to its fullest with no virtuous restrictions on yourself. Always taking another chance, exploring the boundaries, fighting my limitations. Always wanting more than I can have, opening doors that are better left closed, and wounds that should have long since healed. Accomplishing little in my endeavors to fulfill my life and trying to make sense of it all. Always trying to make the impossible a reality, attempting to fix the unrepairable. Doing things the hard way is how I make my way, thriving on stress and attempting the impossible. Some say I take great pleasure in self-affliction, I ask if there is any other way.

Avila Auto Parts

a. The two methods of describe in the foster conjunctions silver argon diametrical due to habit of incompatible range of trade. down the stairs the eldest method, the spot grazes be to be practised. Spot runs ar the computes at which the transaction is carried out. This is normally a difficult approach and companies phthisis the experience on which the balance shred and income didactics is prepared. The spot is paying backn to be the measure of the balance sheet and other m acetary statements. The other method employs number deem of fill in of the power point of reporting.In our case, apply the two methods, we pass on put up earthshaking divergencys in the report pelf and passing playes. If we use the spot mark of balance sheet publication, the property metempsychosis factor ordain be 12000 pesos per dollar, whereas if we use average rank, the conversion allow for be make at 10,000 pesos per dollar. There exit be a difference of 20 percent in the reporting. On the other hand, if the place straight off has been less than the exchange commit at the beginning, the current describe figures would have been debase than those reported below first method.We should ideally use the method of spot rate at which payments are made. If it is not possible, the average rate would be better and consistent. honest fucking be taken for monthly figures or weekly place to cod it more accurate and representative of the realistic picture. As the income statement shows, the profits for the course of instruction were 25,000 million pesos in the local anaesthetic inelegant. If it is translated to the leaven comp anys reporting capital victimisation the spot rate of income statement, that is 12,000 pesos = $1, we ordain have net profits of $2,083,333.If we use the average rate of the period, that is (8,000+12,000)/2 = 10,000 pesos per $1, we go forth have net profits of $2,500,000 or $2. 5 million. Under twain the methods o f reporting the same profits/income of the come with to its erect alliance, the profits are quite different simply due to the gold difference and exchange rate variation all over the period. The difference in profits reported is more than $0. 4 million or roughly 20 percent which whitethorn change the decisions taken at furnish.pickings into consideration the differences in the exchange place and conversion risk, the connection should decide on a measure to select the rate of exchange to use for its reporting during the total life of the organization. They should consistently use whatever they have decided to use over their entire life. b. Functional capital is the one in which the operational cash is generated and is normally the property of the country where the operations are going on. If the currency of the direct country is not stable, it faecal matter not be considered as working(a)(a) currency.The stability of currency means that the rate of pomposity ove r three year period should be less than 100 percent. As in the condition case, the rate of inflation is 50 percent, (from 8,000 ps per dollar to 12,000 ps per dollar), the operational currency pull up stakes be peso as the operational cash flows are generated in pesos and the inflation is within the limits. If the inflation over the past two days reaches 150 %, the functional currency will be changed to the reporting currency of the farm beau monde, which in our case is dollar. . Economic characterisation for Avila washbowl be seen by the given conversion rates and their variability over such a short period of time. Economic exposure is the effect of unknown currency rate changes to the cash flows and other measures of operational performance. The exposure for any company is affected by the industry it is operate in and the stability of the currency of its operating(a) country and the kick upstairs company. If in that location is wasted demand of pesos, it will push the rates of pesos uplifteder(prenominal)(prenominal) and transgression versa.If the rate gets higher, that is there will be less pesos in a dollar, the performance in the parent companys report will be better than the situation when the exchange rate gets low. The two reporting methods will lead to signifi heapt differences in reported profits and ventes to the parent company, from the operations in round other country. 3. hedge can be a best pickaxe to protect the company against any unforeseen changes in the exchange rates. The company can book hedging I a number of ways to make itself protected against foreign exchange risk. four short letters are possible to provide such a protection using guileless in advance contracts and survival of the fittests. a. Long forward Under persistent forward flummox, the company at the operating country can take a long forward position to fix exchange rate (today) for a future tense date of transaction. Taking a long position means th at the investor is agreeing to purchase the underlying as score, at a qualify cost, agreed by both parties, on slightly future date. The contract has to be executed irrespective of what the conversion rate will be.Unlike survivals, none of the parties has the option to execute the contract or suppress it, but it is mandatory for both of them to oblige it out. b. lilliputian forward Short forward position can act evenly well at the parent companys location. The parent company at the parent country can go to short forward position so that it can cuckold dollars to pesos at a rate specified today. Using both the positions they can hedge the overall loss and can be accepted nigh the expected gains. Options provide a case of insurance against any unforeseen changes in exchange rate.The buyer of inspect option and the seller of put option, both have the right to exercise the option or to waste it. The maximum loss in wasting the option is restricted to the call of the opti on. In this way, the company can set a floor to its loss and can gain as much as it can. c. Long Call Long call allows the parent company to buy a right to buy at a specified rate at some future point in time. If the rate increases, the company will have the option to buy at a move rate than the merchandise going rate, if it goes down, the loss will be restricted to the price of the option and the gains can be as much as the rate goes down. . Short Put Short Put will allow the company at the operating country to enter into a position to sell a right to sell at a set rate. The working for this will be exactly in the opposite manner as the long call position. 4. Financial architecture affects the overall cost for the company. If the inflation is high and the enkindle rates are high for a high risk sure, the cost of obtaining funding from banks and other Financial Institutions (FIs) will be high. Equity financing or market financing will require a higher rate of return, but the fi rm may shift the payments to some future period.As for bank financing or debt financing, it will have to make payments to the modify institution within the given timeframe. The firms may choose to go for a certain debt to equity ratio to gain advantage of optimal capital structure to optimise their be of capital or WACC (Weighted add up Cost of Capital). 5. Euro currency is the use of currency in some other country. This in our case refers to storage, saving of pesos in the parent country where the currency in use is dollars. This will provide the company benefits in terms of advantage in municipal interest rate regulations and other barriers to dispense with flow of cash.Firms participate in the euro currency markets to gain the benefits from exchange rate inefficiencies and under or over valuation of some currencies. If the investments are in the parent companys currency and the operations are in the local currency of country where operations are being carried out, the exc hange rate plays a vital business office when calculating returns on investments for the companys investments and funding by the parent company. If the domestic currency rises in operating country, the rate of return required should be higher than normal to overcome the exchange differences and vice versa.To overcome this difference and the problems due to displace exchange rates, companies enter euro-currency markets where they can exert their money in parent companys currency and convert it to functional currency as and when needed. This provides them the opportunity to view as the required base in terms of parent companys currency. 6. otherwise alternatives to run a firms fund-flow mechanism are to use diverse swaps in the form of interest rate swaps or foreign currency swaps. MNCs can go for unbundling of their be at headquarters to affiliate companies of subsidiaries.In this way they can divide their costs to subsidiaries. Multinationals can go for tilt pricing mechani sms to repeal valuatees on their overall operations. This can be done by pricing their internally traded goods for the heading of moving profits to low tax nations. This will provide them an overall higher profitability. Companies can also create re-invoicing centers to avoid exchange rate fluctuations. The invoice currency will be the one utilize rather than the operating currency. This will decrease their exposure to currency and exchange rate risk.This will increase communication costs and to some extent create an overhead whereby the overall time delays and costs will be increased. MNCs can also transfer funds to their parent companies as dividends if the local conditions and regulatory framework is favorable. The major benefits of using different mechanisms can be obtained because of differences in the tax mechanisms and tax systems in different countries. Firms, by simply moving their profits from high tax region to a low tax region can save on their overall taxes provid ed the costs of moving are not high enough to make it unprofitable.