Monday, September 30, 2019

The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Thirty-Eight

Bonnie didn't have her keys. She knew exactly where they were, but that didn't do her much good: they were lying on the bedside table next to Zander's neat plain single bed. She cursed and kicked at the door, tears running down her face. How was she going to get any of her stuff back? Some guy opened the front door of the building for her. â€Å"Jeez, relax,† he said, but Bonnie had already pushed past him and was running up the stairs to her room. Please let them be here, she thought, clinging to the banister, please. She had no doubt that Elena and Meredith would comfort her, would help her, no matter what she had said to them during their fight. They would help Bonnie figure out what to do. But they might be out. And she'd have no idea where to find Meredith and Elena, no idea where they spent their free time these days. How had she grown so far apart from her best friends? Bonnie wondered, wiping her hands across her cheeks, smearing away her tears and snot. Why had she treated them so badly? They were just trying to protect her. And they were right about Zander; they were so right. She snuffled miserably. When she reached the top of the stairs, Bonnie banged on their room door with her fist, hearing quick movement inside. They were home. Thank God. â€Å"Bonnie?† Meredith said, startled, when she opened the door, and then, â€Å"Oh, Bonnie,† as Bonnie threw herself, sobbing, into Meredith's arms. Meredith hugged her, tight and fierce, and, for the first time since she had jumped away from Zander and run for the fire escape, Bonnie felt safe. â€Å"What's the matter, Bonnie? What happened?† Elena was behind Meredith, peering at her anxiously, and part of Bonnie noticed that Elena's own white and startled face was marked with tears. She was interrupting something, but Bonnie couldn't focus on that now. Past Elena, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Her hair stood out around her face in a wild red cloud, her eyes were glassy, and her pale face was smeared with dirt and tears. I look, Bonnie thought with a semihysterical silent laugh, like I was chased by werewolves. â€Å"Werewolves,† she wailed as Meredith pul ed her into the room. â€Å"They're al werewolves.† â€Å"What are you – † Meredith broke off. â€Å"Bonnie, do you mean Zander and his friends? They're werewolves?† Bonnie nodded furiously, burying her face against Meredith's shoulder. Meredith pushed her back and looked careful y into her eyes. â€Å"Are you sure, Bonnie?† she asked gently. She looked to Elena, and they both turned and glanced out the window at the sky. â€Å"Did you see them change? It's not the ful moon yet.† â€Å"No,† Bonnie said. She tried to catch her breath, taking harsh sobbing gulps of air. â€Å"Zander told me. And then – oh, Meredith, it was so scary – I ran, and they chased me.† She explained what happened, on the roof and on the lawns of the col ege. Meredith and Elena looked at each other quizzical y, then back at Bonnie. â€Å"Why did he tel you?† Elena asked. â€Å"He couldn't have thought you would have a good reaction to the news; it would have been easier to keep hiding it.† Bonnie shook her head helplessly. Meredith arched an ironic eyebrow at her. â€Å"Even monsters can fal in love,† she said. â€Å"I thought you knew that, Elena.† She glanced at her hunting stave, leaning against the foot of her bed. â€Å"When the ful moon comes, now I'l know what to look for.† Bonnie stared at her in horror. â€Å"You're not going to hunt them, are you?† It was a stupid question, she knew. If Zander and his friends real y were behind the murders and disappearances on campus, Meredith had to hunt them. It was her responsibility. Al of their responsibilities, real y, because if they were the only ones who knew the truth, they were the only ones who could keep everyone else safe. But Zander, something inside her howled in pain. Not Zander†¦ â€Å"None of the attacks occurred during a ful moon,† Elena said thoughtful y, and Meredith and Bonnie both blinked at her. â€Å"That's true,† Meredith agreed, frowning as she thought back. â€Å"I don't know how we didn't realize that before. Bonnie,† she said. â€Å"Think careful y before you answer this question. You've been spending a lot of time with Zander and his friends. Did anything about them make you think they might hurt someone, real y hurt them, when they're not in wolf form?† â€Å"No!† Bonnie said automatical y. Then she stopped and thought and said, more slowly, â€Å"No, I don't think so. Zander's real y kind, I don't think he could fake that. Not al the time. They play rough, but I've never seen them fight with anyone except one another. And even with one another, they're not real y fighting, just more sort of messing around.† â€Å"We know what you mean,† Meredith said dryly. â€Å"We've seen it.† Elena tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. â€Å"The disappearances weren't during the ful moon, either,† she said thoughtful y. â€Å"Although I guess they could have been taking people and holding them prisoner, planning to kil them when they were in wolf form later, but that doesn't – I mean, I don't have much werewolf experience besides Tyler, but – it doesn't sound very wolfy to me. Too sterile, sort of.† â€Å"But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Bonnie sank down on her bed. â€Å"You think there's a chance Zander and his friends might not be the kil ers? Then who are the kil ers?† She felt bewildered. Meredith and Elena exchanged a grim glance. â€Å"You wouldn't believe some of the stuff that happens on this campus,† Elena said. â€Å"We'l fil you in.† Bonnie rubbed her face with her hands. â€Å"Zander told me he was a good werewolf,† she said. â€Å"That he didn't hurt people. Is that possible? Is there even such a thing as a good werewolf?† Meredith and Elena sat down next to her, one on each side, and wrapped their arms around her. â€Å"Maybe?† Elena said. â€Å"I real y hope so, Bonnie. For your sake.† Bonnie sighed and cuddled closer to them, resting her head on Meredith's shoulder. â€Å"I need to think about al this,† she said. â€Å"At least I'm not alone. I'm so glad I have you guys. I'm sorry we fought.† Elena and Meredith both hugged her more tightly. â€Å"You've always got us,† Elena promised. A wild hammering came at the door. Elena glanced at Bonnie, who tensed visibly on her bed but kept her hands over her face, and then at Meredith, who nodded firmly to her and climbed to her feet, reaching for her stave. It had occurred to both of them that, if Zander wanted to talk to Bonnie, he knew exactly where she lived. Elena flung open the door, and Matt tumbled in. He was wearing a long black hooded robe, and his eyes were frantic as he gasped for breath. â€Å"Matt?† she said in surprise, and looked to Meredith, who gave a tiny shrug and put her stave back down. â€Å"What's the matter? And what are you wearing?† He grabbed Elena by the shoulders, holding her too tightly. â€Å"Stefan's in danger,† he said, and she froze. â€Å"The Vitale Society – they're vampires. Stefan saved me, but he can't fight them al .† He quickly explained what happened in the secret chamber below the library, how Stefan came to his rescue, then sent him to get help. â€Å"We don't have much time,† he finished. â€Å"They're kil ing – they're changing al the pledges into vampires. I don't even know what Ethan's got planned for Stefan. We have to go back. And we need Damon.† Meredith picked up her stave again and, grim faced, was taking her satchel of weapons from her closet. Bonnie was on her feet, too, fists clenched, jaw firm. â€Å"I'l cal Damon,† Elena said, picking up her phone. Damon had dropped her off at the dorm after walking her back from James's house, but he was probably stil nearby. Stefan in danger. If he †¦ if anything happened to him, if something happened while they were apart, while he was stil hurt and it was her fault, Elena would never forgive herself. She wouldn't deserve to be forgiven. Guilt was like a knife in her stomach. How could she have hurt Stefan like that? She was attracted to Damon, sure, even loved him, but she'd never had any question that Stefan was her true love. And she had broken his heart. She'd do anything to save Stefan. She'd die for him if she had to. And, as she listened to the ringing on the other end of the line and waited for Damon to pick up, she realized that there was no question in her mind that Damon would do anything to save Stefan, too.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Who is the real Alcibiades?

According to Gribble (1999) Alcibiades is one of the most famous political people from Greece in the ancient history who came from a one of the powerful families in the ancient Greek.He is said to have been a very courageous man, ambitious but yet with bad morals Apart from being an active person in the political issues he was also talented in giving good speeches an art that he was taught by one of his great teachers who at that time was the Socrates.His life in politicsAlcibiades started his career in politics during the time of a war called the Peloponnesian war that involved the people of Sparta and Greece. In this war Alcibiades with his ambitions wanted to lead the army to continue fighting so that Greek would win over the Spartans because there were signs that the war was ending.Nicias who was representing and commanding the army in Greek had entered into peace deals with the people of Sparta. So one day some people from Sparta were sent to Athens the city of Greece to deliver a message of peace to the people of Greece going specifically through Nicias Gribble (1999).As discussed in Gribble (1999) while they were there Alcibiades through his sweet talk managed to convince them to oppose the idea of having peace between the two regions as it would only benefit Nicias. By doing all this he undermined the efforts of Athens and Sparta of wanting to make peace with the Spartans by giving false information to the people who had been sent from Sparta to negotiate with Nicias.Following the information that Sparta the war resumed with the people of Athens blaming Nicias who latter on lost political trust among the people of Athens and in effort to ensure that they maintained their powerful status that Greek was holding in the society they appointed Alcibiades to be the commander of their army starting a political career that led him to problems until his death at a war while he was still a commander.The other wars that he in participated in include the war agains t the Abydos, Chalydon and other wars that were outside the city of Athens in which his strategies were said to have succeeded in setting the enemies against the Athenians.Roles he playedAs summarized in   Gribble (1999) at the time he was the commander Alcibiades made so many enemies because of this habit of changing political stands and taking actions that cost the lives of people and some of his actions were considered not to be moral in the society.This was seen when at the start of his political life he led campaigns that were portraying Athenians as people who were so aggressive in using their power during the Peloponnesian war. He had used the Sparta people to achieve his own intentions in that manner made friends with them since they thought of him as being their true friend.In addition to that Gribble (1999) at the time Athens went to war with Sicily he was accused of disobeying the rules that had been set by the army and disobeying the other rulers which made the enemies in Athens wanting to kill him.He then ran to Sparta and from there he again incited the Spartan against the Athenians in the war that came afterwards. As an adviser to the Spartans he made them to withdraw the support that they were giving in aid for war that had just ended in Athens getting their support.Gribble (1999) he then went back to Athens by promising the people of Athens that he would facilitate a process that would ensure they get a new constitution. He also promised to take riches to them from Sparta and with all the sincerity they accepted him back. After he was taken back the military gave him a big position where he planned to undermine the commander by spreading information that the Athens military had persuaded him to return so as to bring change when he failed to fulfill his promises.How he looked as a traitorThrough all the actions that he led Alcibiades was always seen inciting many people who were against Athens. He used to draw the attention of those people by luring them through talks, using money, false promises among other favors.This made Greece to face a tough time in dealing with its enemies as given that there was someone like Alcibiades who had most of the information about Greece many of their war secrets were give out making them to be more cautious on the strategies that they were using. By doing all this evil deeds at the last minute he was disowned by the people when the war ended and he was left to the enemies who killed him Gribble (1999).

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Classical and modern day music

Classical and Modern day Music From the 12th century to the 21st century music has been vital to everyday life. Whether the music is coming from the trumpet playing an old time classical or from the beat of a rapper raping his favorite tune or song; the creativity and passion for music starts to flow out of every person who lets It. Music had changed drastically over the years. Three ways music has changed Is by adding Instruments, changing the message, and by changing the purpose.A lot of people have been exposed to music, whether it's classical or everyday modern. The basis of music has changed, since the early days of Just playing one Instrument and singing the thoughts that pop Into the singers head. Music started out with little equipment and has only progressed since. Today, music goes through a process before It's even heard. There Is so much work put Into having a song sound good. Back In the old days, music was played out of enjoyment. It came from the heart. Lassie music Is known to have a did dynamic range and will often speed up and slow down at different times. While modern music often expresses emotion through the singer, there is more of an emphasis and variation that in classical music. From classical to modern music the amount of instruments has increased tremendously. In classical and modern music the message differs in each century. Whether the people know it or not music can affect their mood and influence their behaviors as well. Music had personalities, which can express what people feel.Each song touches someone through ways like caching a life lesson or by touching your heart. Every generation has music that impacts the world by motivating people to do certain things or defines a person's personality. Each had music sums up the generation. Classical music generally gives the message of relaxation and peace. Modern music had many messages depending on the genre. There is a song for every mood. Within each century the message changes throu gh each passing mood. In modern and classical music the purpose for the songs written had varied.Classical music's purpose is generally to entertain an audience and to excite listeners emotionally and intellectually. While some modern music is developed to stimulate in similar ways, it also diverges from classical music. Whether your purpose is to dance and Jump around or to relax in bed, there are endless possibilities. Throughout the years, each music genre has been imperative to oneself. Music is what moves everyone, and without It, life would be meaningless. From and old hymn to a funky lyric; the Intentions have changed but one thing still remains.Music has and will always be a way of life to our culture. Music has transformed by adding Instruments, changing the message, and by altering the purpose. Although music has changed through each passing year; It Is still vital In how we view life today. Music starts to flow out of every person who lets it. Music had changed drasticall y over the years. Three ways music has changed is by adding instruments, changing since the early days of Just playing one instrument and singing the thoughts that pop into the singers head. Music started out with little equipment and has only progressed since.Today, music goes through a process before it's even heard. There is so much work put into having a song sound good. Back in the old days, music was played out of enjoyment. It came from the heart. Classical music is known to have a oneself. Music is what moves everyone, and without it, life would be meaningless. From and old hymn to a funky lyric; the intentions have changed but one thing still transformed by adding instruments, changing the message, and by altering the purpose. Although music has changed through each passing year; it is still vital in

Friday, September 27, 2019

The Translation of Photographic Images Into Painting Essay

The Translation of Photographic Images Into Painting - Essay Example The essay "The Translation of Photographic Images Into Painting" discusses what actually changed the set views and paradigms of artist of coming centuries was the ability to think out of the box. Such artists have given art a new dimension every time. Artists create art to communicate ideas, thoughts and feelings. They use a variety of methods such as painting, sculpting or illustration and an assortment of materials including oils, watercolours, acrylics, pastels, pencils. Artists, works may be realistic or abstract and may depict objects, people, nature or events. We are swamped by so many images, on the streets, in magazines and on the television. Artists usually create landscape paintings in one of four ways: They paint entirely on location; they rely on memory or imagination; they work from photos; or they use a combination of these source. Working from photos to create art pieces as paintings has always been an act which came under darkness due to overlapping views (and counter views too) about ethics of the profession and such other reasons. Some can say that painting taking initial source as a photograph lacks the freshness of thought and the as-it-is natural conditions. Too much reliance on photographs can result in paintings that lack breadth and are broken apart by tedious detail. But using a photograph as a mere source of reference to an idea is not discouraged at all. Rather it is very much beneficial in cases where there is no possibility of carrying painting equipment. or where there is short time between events that change the condition of the idea which has to be captured. Thus we look into the lives of various artists of mainly the twentieth century who have contributed their paintings with criticisms rolling off their backs and the praises not lowering their further elevation of imaginative journeys. "I remember the first place I went to on this trip where we were active, one of the resettlements that we built. I found that as far as I was concerned, they were impossible to photograph. Neat little rows of houses. This wasn't my idea of something fun to photograph at all. But I had the good luck to ask someone, "Where are you all from Where did they bring you from" And when he told me, I went on to a place called Scott's Run, and there it began. From there I went all through Kentucky, West Virginia, down to Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana-in other words, I covered the mine country and the cotton country. I was terribly excited about it, and did no painting at all in that time. This was it, I thought. I'm sort of a single track guy, anyway. When I'm off on photography, photography is it, and I thought this would be the career for the rest of my life."1 The deep interpretative question in Richter's art concerns less the fact that he worked with photographs than why he selected the photographs he did for Atlas, and what governed his decision to translate certain of them into paintings. There are, for example, photographs of American airplanes-Mustang Squadrons, Bombers and Phantom Interceptor planes in ghostly gray-in-gray formations. Richter was an adolescent in 1945, and lived with his family within earshot of Dresden at the time of the massive fire bombings of that year. The photograph from which Bombers was made had to have been taken as a documentary image by some official Air Force photographer, whether over Dresden or some other city. The cool of that

Thursday, September 26, 2019

International Business in the Emerging Markets Essay

International Business in the Emerging Markets - Essay Example The magnitude of this flow of capital is momentous, and although there are well-defined reasons for this trend it has caught many by surprise.† The increase in FDI investment has mostly been in East Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, regions of Europe, and Central Asia. This means Africa and other parts of the world did not receive much in terms of FDI. The effect this has on the poorer nation is that it keeps their currency low and the amount of available jobs are low as well as the economy being flat. The effect on the countries that receive investments are a higher foreign exchange reserve, more jobs, and a higher GDP. (2) China’s energy policy and its impact on developing countries in Africa and Asia. China is now the greatest energy consuming country in the world, surpassing the US based on the IEA (International Energy Agency) findings. Although Chinese officials dispute that the country is responsible for 2.25 billion tons of energy consumption , the country did admit to stockpiling oil when there is a lull in purchasing. China is also the leading gas emitter so it makes sense that China would be the largest consumer of energy. Also China spends the most amount of money on green technology. China has such a desire to dominate the oil market that is has gone against sanctions in order to invest in Iran. This means that not only are the Chinese going against what the world is trying to accomplish but also are strengthening the Iranian mindset of misinformation. Due to the fact that Chinese officials focus on controlling demand of gas by emphasizing price impacts the developing countries like Africa and Asia because the prices in these two countries are much higher than what would be in China. Why? Well first of all purchasing from Iran would lower prices but also being a major buyer in the market can allow for more pressure on the market. In Africa there is little pressure on the market for energy and Asia outside of China's consumption has a much lower energy demand. By cornering the market with the U.S, China is essentially decreasing the likelihood that Asia and Africa will ever be able to afford the energy costs. Even if these countries can afford it, are the citizens willing to pay for this consistently, or will they tire of high energy prices? The effect on Africa and some parts of Asia will be a lack of the supply of energy and therefore power outages, inability to drive cars, and issues of this nature. As a NY Times article states: â€Å"Power blackouts — â€Å"load shedding,† in utility jargon — are hardly novel in sub-Saharan Africa, where many electricity grids remain chewing-gum-and-baling-wire affairs. Even so, this year is different. Perhaps 25 of the 44 sub-Saharan nations face crippling electricity shortages, a power crisis that some experts call unprecedented. The causes are manifold: strong economic growth in some places, economic collapse in others, war, poor pl anning, population booms, high oil prices and drought have combined to leave both industry and residents short of power when many need it most.† These outages can be crippling for small businesses such as farms, and production companies. Factories would have to build another day and the company loses because they are unable to meet their obligations. (3) The drivers of globalization amid the current financial crisis. Before we can talk about globalization we must

Virgin Atlantic A Premium Brand Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Virgin Atlantic A Premium Brand - Assignment Example The airline industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. The airline industry is playing a major role towards the growth of the world economy and also helping to increase tourism activities. The concept of high quality and money worthy airline was introduced in 1984. Virgin Atlantic is world’s first luxurious airline established by the founder of Virgin Group, Richard Branson. Virgin Atlantic is headquartered in West Sussex, UK. Nowadays the company is operating globally. For example, Virgin Atlantic provides airline service in countries such as Australia, Caribbean, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Nigeria, South Africa, Dubai, and the USA. At present Virgin Atlantic Airways has a fleet of ten Airbus A330-300s, Four Airbus A340 aircraft, and five Boeings 747. They already have ordered six Airbus A380 aircraft which will be in operation from the year 2015. The company also operates with cargo flights in some countries of the world. Apart from that, the compan y has also entered the hospitality industry in 1984 and launched Virgin Holidays. Virgin Holidays tour and traveling venture that operates in the new Virgin Atlantic routes such as Orlando, Miami etc. Some of the major competitors of Virgin Atlantic are British Airways, Air France, and the Fly Emirates. Presently, the employee strength of Virgin Atlantic is around 9000 worldwide. Last financial year Virgin Atlantic earned  £46.8m revenue while their annual turnover is around  £2m. Virgin Atlantic is acknowledged globally for its excellence in services to the customers and the unique promotional strategy. Through this report, the competitive strategies and core competencies of Virgin Atlantic airline will be uncovered.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Management information system BD 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Management information system BD 1 - Essay Example According to research, there are four strategies for competitive advantage namely cost leadership, differentiation, Low-Cost focus and differentiation focus. Cost leadership entails a business being the cheapest provider of products while differentiation is about provision of unique products. Low cost focus resembles cost leadership with the difference being that it focuses on a niche market. Differentiation focus resembles low cost focus but also includes marketing a product in some unique way. Payoneer Inc. applies low cost focus and differentiation in promoting its competitive advantage. Low cost focus is performed through offering the cheapest transactional charges for global transactions. With differentiation, the company provides MasterCard services which very few banking companies in the world offer. On the other hand, Nokia Inc. applies low cost focus to deliver phone repair services and differentiation focus through provision of unique windows phones (Khosrowpour, 2006). Through the different application of technological approaches both Nokia and Payoneer have become globally recognized companies. Possible Payoneer possibilities of security breach and computer crimes include fraudulent use of MasterCard while Nokia faces that of hacking into their online systems (Sarlak & Hastiani,

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Hepatitis B Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hepatitis B - Essay Example Besides, the infant vaccination after birth would serve as a safety net against infection for infants whose mothers are not tested. Although the majority of infants receive the vaccination during one of their routine visits to health care, the strategy does not exist for adolescents and adults. Since a majority of Philadelphia residents contract the disease through irresponsible sexual behavior, it would be imperative to take care of the groups that engage in sex. Adolescents are known to engage in unprotected sex for lack of knowledge while infidelity among adults is an irresponsible sexual behavior that can to the disease. It is important to note that about 62 percent of HBV cases diagnosed in 2013 resulted from engaging in unprotected sex (Delaney 2013). In the US, for example, vaccination among adults reduced the infection rate by more than 90 percent (â€Å"MMWR† 2013). The same positive statics would be observed in the Philadelphia local

Monday, September 23, 2019

Following Military Orders That May Be Unethical Research Paper

Following Military Orders That May Be Unethical - Research Paper Example There are many legal and social standards through which an action is ethical, but these standards do not solve the contradiction that comes with the relativity in situations, individuals and societies. While soldiers pledge to obey their superior’s orders they do so in view of the uniform code of military justice and the constitution. As such, soldiers â€Å"should not† obey illegal commands. Establishing the legality or illegality of a command has over the years has raised controversial ethical issues. Under the UCMJ, articles 90 to 92 hold that willful or un-willful disobedience of lawful orders from a senior officer is a criminal offence (Mason, 2011). During war, article 90 further stipulates that such an action is punishable by death (Mason, 2011). Unlawful orders are those that are repugnant to the Constitution seeing as the constitution is the supreme law of the land. The constitution derives form societal ethics and religious doctrines. However, the constitution does not take into account all societal ethics and religious standings of a people (Mason, 2011). There are many examples of illegal or potentially unethical orders issued every day in the army and other military organizations. This paper examines two accounts of death orders. The first example is that of William Calley 1968 during the Vietnam War (Thomas, 2012). The then Second Lieutenant claimed to have received orders from his superior to open fire and subsequently kill civilians. He then passed these orders to his juniors who, like him opened fire on innocent, unarmed civilians in the absence of duress (enemy fire) (Thomas, 2012). In 1971, William received a life sentence with the charge of premeditated murder. The aftermath of the sentence aside, Lieutenant William was guilty of murder while following the orders of a superior (Thomas, 2012). With the rise of terrorism threats cases of inhumane, unconstitutional mistreatment of prisoners is on the rise. A second example is an i ncident that occurred in the year 2004 during America’s invasion of Iraq. The 343rd Quartermaster Company on 13th October refused to go on a mission as ordered by their superiors (Mason, 2011). The unit cited unsafe and insufficient equipment as their reason to disobey orders claiming that the order was a suicide mission. The consequences of their actions have negative far reaching effects on their careers. These consequences include detainment, dishonorable discharge and forfeit of pay (Mason, 2011). In 1986, the U.S army listed some values an organization should have considered to form the foundation on which ethics stems from. These values included integrity, loyalty, selflessness and duty (Mason, 2011). For the individual, the army listed courage, commitment, candor and competence. This proclamation spells out two things. The first is that the superior officer (representative of the organization) should give due consideration to ethical matters while giving orders. Second ly, the officer receiving the orders should follow them while maintaining an ethical approach. Military laws and courts hold military persons accountable if their actions are unlawful regardless of the situation (whether they were following orders from a superior or not) (Mason, 2011). There are various theories that one can apply to examine the above situations. These theories include utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics relativism, emotivism and ethical egoism. John Stuart Mill advanced Consequentialism, a

Sunday, September 22, 2019

WorldCom Essay Example for Free

WorldCom Essay This paper explores the Accounting fraud that took place at WorldCom. Three aspects of the corporate culture are discussed including WorldCom’s harsh top-down management approach, the lack of written rules or a code of conduct, and the inaccessibility of many of WorldCom’s departments. The CEO’s desire to be the #1 stock on Wall Street is also discussed. WorldCom’s inappropriate booking and releasing of accruals is explored and proper accrual accounting procedures are stated. Three aspects of whistleblowing are discussed, including saving a company from a destructive end, facing public reprisal, and potential legal effects. Arthur Andersen is then used to explore the credibility of the Accounting profession when corporate fraud is unveiled. Keywords: WorldCom, fraud, accruals, whistleblowing WorldCom The corporate culture at WorldCom was one that was very loose. Although several factors contributed to the loose and unhealthy environment at WorldCom, one of the greatest downfalls of the corporate culture was the harsh top-down management approach. Employees were advised to do as they were told without questioning management. In addition, CEO Bernard Ebbers and CFO Scott Sullivan dabbled in too many affairs that should have been handled by lower-level management. Too often they ordered overrides of basic procedures that resulted in the downfall of WorldCom. Orders were issued that resulted in the override of accounting procedures. This greatly contributed to the fraud. Another factor that contributed to the unhealthy corporate culture at WorldCom was the fact that no written rules or code of conduct existed. The CEO himself thought it was a waste of time. This paired with the harsh top-down management approach seemed to create a lack of internal control as well. There were no real company rules and managers were completely capable of overriding any rules that may have existed. The inaccessibility of other departments may have contributed to the fraud as well. With so many corporate headquarters, key personnel who may have detected the fraud sooner were not able to confirm that anything wrong was taking place. If a key manager from the finance department in Mississippi, a key manager from the human resources department in Florida, a key manager from the legal department in Washington, D. C. , and a key manager from the network operations department in Texas been together at any point in time, worked together in the same building, or even had the appropriate means to communicate (cell phones were not a hot commodity like they are today and e-mail was just starting to take flight), it is possible that WorldCom could have been saved from its fraudulent end. The CEO’s desire to be the #1 stock on Wall Street was the main source of the fraud. He was so driven to be on top that he ordered managers to engage in inappropriate accounting procedures that included maintaining a certain expense-to-revenue ratio at all costs, releasing accruals, and capitalizing expenses. Furthermore, his top leadership instructed employees about what information could and could not be disclosed with the external auditors. Employees were cursed and threatened if they disclosed anything that was perceived to be a threat to his plan of being the #1 stock on Wall Street. According to Beresford, Katzenbach, and Rogers, Jr. 2003), â€Å"WorldCom manipulated the process of adjusting accruals in three ways. First, in some cases accruals were released without any apparent analysis of whether the Company actually had excess accruals in its accounts. Thus, reported line costs were reduced (and pre-tax income increased) without any proper basis. Second, even when WorldCom had excess accruals, the Company often did not release them in the period in which they were identified. Instead, certain line cost accruals were kept as rainy day funds and released to improve reported results when managers felt they were needed. Third, WorldCom reduced reported line costs by releasing accruals that had been established for other purposes— in violation of the accounting principle that reserves created for one expense type cannot be used to offset another expense† (p. 69). According to Investopedia, â€Å"†¦economic events are recognized by matching revenues to expenses (the matching principle) at the time in which the transaction occurs rather than when payment is made (or received)† (para. 1). Thus, accruals are booked when transactions occur. Accruals are released when either payment is made or when they are evaluated and deemed to be in excess of the actual accrual. Accruals of one type should never be released to offset another type. Accruals should also be released in the period they are identified. While whistleblowing may seem like a relatively easy concept to some, it really is not. The decision between doing the easy thing and doing the right thing usually is not easy. For instance, a person could report fraudulent activity that is taking place within an organization, whether it is due to corruption, misappropriation of assets, financial statement fraud, or another type of fraud. However, such a decision could carry a great price tag. Not only could it lead to the complete destruction of a company, but it could cost other employees their benefits, their retirements, and their jobs. One of the pros of whistleblowing is the fact that a company could be saved from certain destruction, as in the case of WorldCom. It is possible that the sooner fraudulent activity is reported, the less negative the outcome could be. However, whistleblowers are often perceived as tattle tales and snitches and sometimes face public reprisal, as was the case with WorldCom’s Cynthia Cooper. Another downside is the potential legal effects of whistleblowing. According to Wikipedia, â€Å"†¦most whistleblower protection laws provide for limited make whole remedies or damages for employment losses if whistleblower retaliation is proven. However, many whistleblowers report there exists a widespread shoot the messenger mentality by corporations or government agencies accused of misconduct and in some cases whistleblowers have been subjected to criminal prosecution in reprisal for reporting wrongdoing† (Common Reactions section, 4). The consequences of whistleblowing may prove to be steep. The credibility of the Accounting profession is put in jeopardy when corporate fraud is unveiled. As a result of the WorldCom fraud, Arthur Andersen was ordered to cease practicing before the Security and Exchange Commission by August 31, 2002. According to Wikipedia, â€Å"†¦the damage to the Andersen name was so severe that as of 2010[update], it has not returned as a viable business even on a limited scale. There are over 100 civil suits pending against the firm related to its audits of Enron and other companies. In addition, its reputation was so badly tarnished that no company wanted Andersens name on an audit. Even before voluntarily surrendering its right to practice before the SEC, it had many of its state licenses revoked† (Demise section, 1). As stated by Charles Niemeier (2001), â€Å"A loss of confidence can cause even a company with solid core operations to fail. That is because the negative impact of a lack of credibility can be far greater than the sum of the misstatements in the financials† (The Dangers of Smoothing section, 7). References http://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/accrualaccounting.asp http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Andersen http://fl1.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/wsj/docs/worldcom/bdspcomm60903rpt.pdf http://www.sec.gov/news/speech/spch529.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistleblower

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Impact Of Population Growth On The Environment Environmental Sciences Essay

Impact Of Population Growth On The Environment Environmental Sciences Essay The world has been experiencing a rapid increase in human population for the past 10, 000 years. According to the most recent U.N. statistics, population has grown from several millions back in the B.C. to over 6.6 billion in the 21st century. Even though the growth rate is gradually slowing, the U.N. population Division still expect the worldwide population to very much hit 9.1 billion by 2050. We have all known for long that the human population is no doubt the chief contributor to environmental woes. The humans are the one demanding fossil fuels to power their tech-savvy lifestyles, clearing forests for agricultural use, and polluting the environment with their industrial activities. More people means more demand for natural resources either mined or drilled from below the Earths surface to be burned for energy. Assuming that each person contributes to a certain amount of the total demand, one could very much imagine the kind of strain that this 2.5 billion of additional population is going to cause to the Earth. With the population expected to rise by that phenomenal amount, environmentalist and the others are getting more concerned with whether the Earth is still able to withstand that loads of demand. We also being concerned aims to examine the causes and impacts of this issue in the report, so that solutions could be proposed to alleviate it. 1.3 Focus In our opinion, we feel that if we can solve the problem of the rising human population growth, we can also solve the environmental problems that is likely to stem from it. The explaination for this reasoning is simple and rather fundamental. The problems merely justify the need to do something about it, whereas the causes is the one that set off the problems. As mentioned earlier on, the crux to the solutions lies very much with the causes itself. Therefore, one could very well expect us to first introduce the problems in the report, before moving on to the more crucial part, its causes and solutions. 1.4 Methodology Information used for this study was mainly obtained from secondary sources such as books, online databases, U.N. publications, and other useful websites. A listing of these useful sources of information can be found at the Appendix 1 as attached in the report. Human population The world population refers to the total number of living humans on Earth at a given time. For the past 10, 000 years, the world has been experiencing a rapid increase in human population. According to the most recent U.N. statistics, population has grown from several millions back in the B.C. to over 6.6 billion in the 21st century. Even though the growth rate is gradually slowing, the U.N. Population Division still expect the worldwide population to very much hit 9.1 billion by 2050. With most of the increase in Asia and Africa, in particular, the poorer nations that have no access to proper family-planning programmes. An alarming issue Rising human population We have all known for long that the human population is no doubt the chief contributor to environmental woes. However, what little know of is that the human population is only one of the several factors that affect the environment. The extent to which population increase can be considered a problem is still reliant on other factors. One widely used formula that could help us understand what factors could actually interplayed to cause that significant impact, would be the IPAT model that John Holdren from Harvard University came up with. This model represents how the total impact on the enviroment results from the interaction among population, affluence and technoloy. An Increased population intensifies impact on the environment as more individuals take up space, use resources, and generate waste. As the population gets older it gets more affluent too, thereby demanding higher living standards to satisfy their wants. To meet the humans instatiable wants, better technology would have to be developed to better mine fossil fuels, clear old-growth forests, or fish. Assuming that everybody has to be fed, clothed, housed and hopefully supported by gainful employment. An increased population would actually means the intensification of the impact that the human population has on the Ecosystem. Hence, the problem is not only that the population is burgeoning. It is also that the usage of the resources, and environmental damages are also increasing at a phenomenol speed. Approach All of us would have known by now that a rising global population has devasting impacts on the Earth. It not only erodes the living standards of the world population, results in poverty in already poor countries, affect a countrys economy, but most importantly has a negative impact on the Ecosystem. We will in this chapter, look in depth how the rising global human population develops into a problem, and the various environmental impacts it has on the Earth. The Problem of Rising Global Human Population Urbanisation is being defined as the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. Moreover, It can also be interpreted as the movement of people from rural to urban areas with population growth equating to urban migration. The United Nations project suggested that 60% of the worlds population would live in urban areas at the end of 2030. An increased in the population residing there would lead to an increase in consumption of energy, food, water, domestic goods, and land. To accommodate to this increase in demand, more resource extraction, manufacturing, and agricultural production will have to take place. Considering the limited existing resources of an urban city, an expansion of the city would be needed for the above mentioned activities to take place. This expansion of urban areas across the landscape is something also being defined as urban sprawl. In order for urban sprawl to take place, surrounding areas adjoining the edge of the urban cities will have to be made ready. This is usually done through habitat alteration such as, deforestation for urban cities surrounded by forest/mangroves, or land reclaimation for cities corteminous with islands. Environmental Impacts From the above illustration, we can see that a rising population will not only highten the rate of human activites but will also give rise to newer problems such as urban sprawl. All of these problems will then contribute to certain environmental woes which would interplay and lead to further consequences. The following are some environmental issues that are either the direct or indirect impact of a rising global population: Depletion of natural resources Global climate change Loss of biodiversity Depletion of natural resources Depletion of natural resources refers to the over exploitation of the exhaustible group of natural resources. This group of resources comes in the form of renewable and non-renewable resources. Renewable natural resources are those that can replenish themselves in a resonable amount of time, however, it can also be depleted should the rate of usage exceed the rate of regeneration. Whereas, non-renewable resources are those that only exist in a fixed quality, and either takes up to millions of year to replace themselves or does not possess the ability to recyle themselves. As the human population rises, human activities such as urban sprawl, resource extraction, manufacturing, and agricultural production are expected to increase too. As all of these activities each demand a certain type of natural resources and energy to support them, an increase in human activities would equate to an increase in demand for these natural resources. Some of the resources that are affected as a result of them are namely, fossil fuels, land, water, and minerals. Fossil Fuels Alongside the increasing demand for petrol and diesel to power transportation, industries and farming, huge quantities of fossil fuel such as crude oil is also needed in the manufacturing of plastic-made products. With oil production likely to increase by nearly 40% from 2006 to 2030; as a result of only the increasing world energy demand of 60%. The real demand for oil is believed to be much more higher. According to British Petroleum the current world oil reserves stand at 1238 billion barrels. And present yearly world oil production stands at 31 billion barrels.  If the current rate of oil discoverage were to remain stagnant or low, oil, the primary source of fossil fuel used to produce energy might very well be depleted before 40 years (The figure as calculated with current consumption rate and the level of reserves). The following is a graph (Figure 1.0) that highlighted the increasing gap between the production rate and discoverage rate of oil supplies. Figure 1.0 (adaptedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..) Land and Water Land degradation refers to deterioration or loss of fertility or productive capacity of the soil. Urban sprawl can dramatically transform the properties of soil, causing it to lose its water permeability and ability to perform essential duties. These duties include the loss of ability to sustain soil biodiversity, crop cultivation, and the reduced effectiveness as a carbon sink. The following graph (Figure 1.1) showed the amount and types of land loss in various European cities that were the result of urban sprawl. Figure 1.1 (adaptedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) On top of all that, rainwater which falls on areas with deterioted land will also be heavily polluted by tire abrasion, dust and high concentrations of heavy metals, which when washed into rivers will degrade the hydrological system. To add insult to injury, the level of water table will also decline as deterioted land can no longer allow water to penetrate throught it. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,   If current trends continue, 90 percent of freshwater supplies will disappear by 2030. Setting all that aside, one still has to take into consideration the soaring increase in use of water for crop cultivation and human consumption. With the supply of water on the shorter end and demand for it on the rise, the UN Millenium Project, 2008a estimated that 3 billion people might face water scarcity by 2025. A remarkable increase from the current figure of 700 millions people. If nothing done about this, the Earth will very soon run out of arable land to support crop cultivation and no longer have enough safe drinking water to support the rising global human population. Minerals Minerals are the backbone of the human civilisation, they are needed in almost all sectors of industries. If we were to look into the manufacturing sector and bulding sector, some minerals used by them would be gold, silver, iron, cemet, and copper. Since there is a direct relationship between the human population and the industries, a booming population will also lead to an increase in the consumption of minerals. A good example to substantiate the direct impact a growing population would have on minerals would be the example on Spain. For years, the efforts to support the growing population in Spain, have resulted in major expansion of construction activities, mainly along the coast and around major cities. As a result, the consumption of concrete has also increased by a wide margin of 120 % since 1996, reaching a level of 51.5 million tons in 2005. Taking into account the non-renewable characteristic of minerals and the direct relationship it has with the human population. A surge in the human population might cause the limited stock of minerals to undergo depletion in the near future. Loss of biodiveristy Biodiversity may be defined as the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome or the entire Earth. Biodiversity is earths primary life support system and is a pre-condition for human survival. As population grow, develop and modify their environment, their activities inevitably affect biodiversity. To understand the impacts of human population growth on biodiversity, a study into it had been carried out in Canada. The findings reveal that human activities such as agricultural activities, urbanisation, and manufacturing are the primary causes of the decline of biodiversity in Canada. Agricultural activities Agricultural is the production of goods and food through farming. It is reported that Agriculture has had a significant effect on biodiversity because of its prevalence over the landscape. Loss of native habitat in Canada due to farming has been significant. As a result of agricultural activities, Canada lost more than 85% of shortgrass prairie, 80% of mixed-grass prairie, 85% of aspen parkland and almost its entire native tallgrass prairie. Loss of habitat, coupled with farming practises of using only a few strains genetically-engineered crop, has resulted in the endangerment of a disproportionately large number of plants and animal species in Canada. To prepare a piece of land for agricultural activities, the natural vegetation has to be first removed from it. Without the natural vegetations protection, the topsoil, a surface layer of soil that is rich in nutrients and beneficial microorganisms, can be easily eroded away by surface water, or winds. In Quebec, it is estimated that 3.4 million tonnes of soil per year are eroded by water. Soil erosion renders an area barren and unsuitable for plants that were initially growing there. To add on to that, soil that has been washed away and deposited in waterways, also destroys the fragile life forms in it. If water can carry away soil, it can also cause the runoff of pesticides and fertilizers that are applied in abundance to commercial crops, and of course the wastes of cattle and livestock. In Quebec, between 1990 and 1991, an impressive amount of 190 000 tonnes of nitrogen and 120 000 tonnes of phosphorus were applied to agricultural lands in the form fertilizers, or were present as livestock wastes. As these excess nutrients enter the lakes and rivers, Eutrophication of aquatic environment can occur; altering and degrading the biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems. With 64 out of 105 developing countries studied by the UN Food and Agriculture Ogranisation seeing their population growing at a speed faster than the food supplies, the increase in agricultural activities worldwide is imminent. Therefore, one should expect the loss of biodiversity as a result of pollutants coming from agricultural activities to swell around the globe. Urbanisation It is estimated that between 1871 and 1991, the Canadian population living in urban centers have increased from19% to  77%. To accommodate to this increase, the initial urban centres that stand on 0.7% of Canadas total area, have been expanding over the last few decades. In the twenty years spanning 1971 to 1991, the total area of the Montreal Urban Community increased from 2674 km2 in 1971 to 3509 km2, the Quebec City area increased from 907 km2 to 3150 km2, and the Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivieres became classified as urban centers. With the majority of large cities located within the St. Lawrence lowlands, a ecozone that is very biologically rich. An expanding city is bound to displace the many species that depend on that ecozone as habitat. Manufacturing In Cananda, manufacturing is the main economy in Quebec, it not only employs the most number of people, but also contribute the highest proportion of Quebecs GDP. Due to the unique nature of this sector of industry, many harmful pollutants are constantly being emited from its operations. Water-borne pollutants include metals, organic chemicals, and suspended sediments that are usually found in industrial discharges. These toxic discharges when flow into the water, can inversely affect the biota in an ecosystem by killing them, weakening them, or deterioting their ability to reproduce. As mentioned earlier on, the majority of large cities are concentrated within the St. Lawrence watershed. Therefore, any harmful discharges from the industries can quickly reach and harm the living organisms in it. Air-borne pollutants include carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and acid precipiation that can usually be found in the smoke fumes from factories and motor vehicles. It had been found out that air emissions from the Inco steel smelter in Sudbury, Ontario were directly responsible for a significant portion of the acid rain in eastern North America. Consequently, the surrounding lakes, which is home to fish, mollusk and other amphibian populations, were acidified. Since these amphibian species will not be able to survive in acidic condition, a lake hit by acid rain will result in the death of them. Furthermore, air-borne pollutants such as carbon dioxide and methane also give rise to a whole new environmental problem, which is being known as Global Climate Change. We will in the following paragraphs look into what this is all about. Global Climate Changes Global climate change refers to the change in global temperatures and precipitation over time due to natural variability or to human activity. Climate change may be limited to a specific region, or may occur across the whole Earth. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC), ever since the start of the industrial revolution, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have rose from 280 parts per million to 379 parts per million in the last 150 years. Furthermore, findings also concluded that there is a higher than 90 percent probability that human-produced greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have caused much of the observed increase in Earths temperatures over the past 50 years. While we all know that human activities were the cause of global climate changes, the main causes of the current global warming trend is actually the result of human expansion of greenhouse effect a process in which the heat leaving the Earth is being trapped by the greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases include, water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitirious oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons. On Earth, the composition of natural greenhouse has been constantly altered by human activities. Over the years, the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. On a smaller scale, the clearing of forests for agriculture, industry, and other human activities, have also resulted in an increase in the concentrations of greenhouse gases. From the relationship between the human population and humans industrial activities, it is undisputed that any increase in the human population will lead to an increase of greenhouse emissions, which will eventually accelerates the rate of global climate change. The following table summarises the regional impacts of global climate change by the IPPC: Region Impacts North America Decreasing snowpack in the western mountains; 5-20 percent increase in yields of rain-fed agriculture in some regions; increased frequency, intensity and duration of heat waves in cities that currently experience them. Latin America Gradual replacement of tropical forest by savannah in eastern Amazonia; risk of significant biodiversity loss through species extinction in many tropical areas; significant changes in water availability for human consumption, agriculture and energy generation. Europe Increased risk of inland flash floods; more frequent coastal flooding and increased erosion from storms and sea level rise; glacial retreat in mountainous areas; reduced snow cover and winter tourism; extensive species losses; reductions of crop productivity in southern Europe. Africa By 2020, between 75 and 250 million people are projected to be exposed to increased water stress; yields from rain-fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50 percent in some regions by 2020; agricultural production, including access to food, may be severely compromised. Asia Freshwater availability projected to decrease in Central, South, East and Southeast Asia by the 2050s; coastal areas will be at risk due to increased flooding; death rate from disease associated with floods and droughts expected to rise in some regions. Figure 1.2 (Adapted from: http://climate.nasa.gov/effects/) On top of all that, the global climate change also indirectly resulted in the loss of biodiversity. As the global temperature rises, crop that used to grow best at certain temperature, will not be able to adapt, and will die off eventually. On the other hand, the higher temperature will also melt the glaciers and the artic sea ice, a habitat to animals such as, polar bears and penguins. Conclusion According to U.N. population division, the worldwide population has a high likelihood of hitting 9.1 billion by 2050. From this figure, it is easy to see that even if the current world population of 6.6 billion does not increase it consumtion per capita, we will still have to use up more resources to support this higher number of population. Hence, there is an urgent need to do something about the rising global huamn population, as the devasting envrionmental effects we discussed earlier on have a direct relationship with it.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Agriculture and Forestry Machinery Industry in Canada

Agriculture and Forestry Machinery Industry in Canada General remarks: The sources should be added The way we do it is like this[1] Also, since there are now sources, I cannot check how valid are your points It is always better to talk about the movement rather than static: E.g. the point with loans. Less loans, more loans than in 2012 (2011, 2012)? What is the trend, and this trend is the result of what? (not just 2013) With agricultural land. Increasing? Decreasing? The trend. Hard to understand the main story (and I think it is more related to the loans, and cutting of subsidies than with rich harvest) I am also adding the competitive landscape from last year, so you can finish the company you didn’t know. Headlines Market for agricultural and forestry machinery grows 15% in 2013 due to increasing capacities of domestic and main import/export partner USA farms and consequently high farm incomes that encourage farmers to invest in agriculture machinery.[G1] Industry increasingly concentrated, with top 5 companies: Buhler Industries Inc., John Deere Ltd., CNH Canada Ltd., Bourgault Industries Ltd., La Coop Purdel increasing their revenue Government gives loans and insurance incentivise farmers to buy new equipment or update old machines[GL2] Domestic market grows slightly more than sales over 2013, mainly due to cost savings arising from adoption of innovative technologies[GL3] Maybe a point about cutting government subsidies Loans Something from production, like innovation trend or demand abroad for Canadien machinery ( I still didn’t get why exactly is the Canadian machinery demanded) Industry set to see 3% turnover growth in 2014 due to accelerating mechanisation and adoption of precision farming in agriculture, coupled with strong USA demand for Canadian-made machinery Market Trends The Canadas market for agricultural and forestry machinery was valued C$5.4 billion in 2013, up by astounding 15% from 2012. Year-on-year [G4]market growth was mainly attributed to the agriculture industry and its growing automation, while increasing application of innovative products such as precision farming equipment also had a positive impact. Farms sought to increase production capacity and capture the benefits of high revenue coming from high crop prices. [G5]Furthermore, major what? trends in Canada and other high-income countries included a reduction in the number but growth in the size of farms[G6], which fuelled demand for sophisticated agricultural equipment. Farm size in Canada is growing similar to other high 0 income countries, which fuels demand for sophisticated agricultural machinery. The agriculture industry was main buyer of agricultural and forestry machinery in 2013, including both purchases for investment and business purposes. There were around 200 000 farms operating in Canada in 2013, with more than 51 million hectares of agricultural land classified as dependable agricultural land [GL7]. An excellent 2013 key grains such as and oilseeds harvest in Canada was a main contributor for strong which sector performance. Consequently, net farm incomes in 2013 were as high as in 2012 , fuelling investment in capacity expansion, which led to 12% growth of agriculture sector spending for investment and business purposes. High agriculture revenue and consequent spending on agricultural and forestry machinery was a result of several key factors. Primarily, favourable weather conditions , translated in record 2013 crop production and allowed farmers to capitalise on higher crop prices, which remained high till the end of the year. In addition to that, although the number of farms in Canada is steadily falling since 2006 (taking in to perspective from 2006 to 2011 it fell 10.3% or by 24 thousand farms), they are getting bigger, which resulted in economies of scale and capital concentration. This naturally allowed greater spending on state-of-the-art agricultural equipment, adoption of precision farming, the use of new technologies to optimize agricultural yields and reduce costs. Precision farming employs innovations such as global positioning systems for vehicle and row tracking that allow farmers to use previous yield information and soil resistivity data to minimise planting overlaps.[G8] Farm credit approved 47 046 new loans in 2012-13, with average size of loan approved rising to C$162.406, giving farmers incentive to acquire new equipment. [GL9] However federal program payments, which include primarily payments made directly to agricultural sector? producers, were set to decrease from C$1.3 billion in 2012, to C$1.2 billion in 2013 and during the same 2 year period, provincial program payments were also set to decrease from C$ 1.6 to C$1.5 billion[G10]. In 2013 majority over 59% of domestic market demand was accounted for by foreign producers. Primarily from USA , which claimed 70% of all domestic market demand. [G11]Innovative technological advancements related to precision farming equipment, new advanced agriculture tractors and soil preparation machinery, backed by geographic proximity and NAFTA membership, allowed USA to remain Canadas most import partner in agricultural machinery. Meanwhile, second Canadas foreign supplier Germany, managed to increase its market share from 8% in 2012 to 9% in 2013. This can be attributed to record high farm incomes in Canada and farmers, who valued Germanys reputation as a producer of high-end agricultural machinery. This fostered demand for made-in-Germany machinery. [G12] Agricultural tractors were most demanded machinery in the market, accounting for 34% of the demand in 2013, increasing from C$1.6 billion in 2012 to C$1.8 billion by 10%, while harvesting and threshing machinery increased by 13% from C$1.3 to C$1.4 billion, which respectively accounted 26% of the demand in 2013. This increase of demand for the machinery can be explained by excellent 2012 year for farmers, who were able accumulate profit and bright expectations, that in 2013 grain production increase to 97 million tonnes, compared to 77 million tonnes, encourage farmers to plan ahead and to invest in new agricultural tractors, harvesting and threshing machinery. [G13] Production Trends In 2013 production of agriculture and forestry machinery in the Canada was C$ 4.7 billion, up 14% from previous year. Turnover of local producers was driven by reboots demand from domestic market as well as 7% growth in exports. As the result of increased agriculture volume, high net farming income and high demand for Canadian machinery in biggest export partner USA, local manufacturers ran at full capacity throughout 2013. Tight competition in the agriculture industry, led farmers[GL14] to seek cost minimisation, which could only have been most efficiently achieved using sophisticated machinery Canadian agricultural machinery industry had to offer. [GL15] Even though exports [GL16]percentage of production output fell from 53% in 2012 to 51%in 2013, exports grew by 7% from C$2.2 to C$2.4 billion. It was due to the fact that domestic demand grew faster than exports. Canadas export partners were mostly industrialised market economies where agricultural activity is capital-intensive and reliant on advanced technology. The biggest trade recipients remained USA claiming 79% of Canadas exports, due to geographic proximity and NAFTA membership, allowed Canada to remain the USAs primary import partner in agricultural equipment. As for 2013, Canadian soil preparation machinery and harvesting and threshing machinery each accounted for a third of agricultural and forestry machinery imports to the US. 2013 was a year of innovations in agricultural and forestry machinery industry[GL17] with breakthrough in precision farming. New ways at improving tillage by introducing tools capable of variable-rate tillage, vertical tillage and improved residue management, was leading innovation. Other significant areas of innovation were: equipment of smaller magnitude, directed at easier way to transport and to let tractors and planters achieve higher speed[GL18]. Decreasing number of farms, but ever expanding in size has been long lasting trend in Canada, bigger farms are capable of buying more expensive and sophisticated machinery. In addition to that, StatsCan also found a shift away from livestock-based farms to crop-based operations, such farms require more machinery to be ran efficiently than livestock-based. Naturally large corporations in machinery industry were more successful in satisfying demand for such equipment, due to high capital requirements, massive fixed costs and the importance of economies of scale. Smaller firms were able to compete in agricultural and forestry machinery industry by capitalizing their sales by offering specialised equipment such as tractor attachments to smaller farmers, who were trying to compete with bigger farmers as well. [G19] Production volume expanded by 14%, leading to stunning increase in profit by 20% over 2013, was among the largest among developed countries. Comparing to a profit margin of USA, which increased by moderate 4% but remained high, outperforming such countries as Italy, France, Germany and the UK. [GL20] Due to the rising popularity of precision-farming technologies, which started in 2011, top agriculture machinery manufacturers started to employ more professionals to create and develop more state-of-art [GL21]data hosting technologies, cloud-based applications, and other modern solutions. This translated into boost in wages, to attract best qualified personnel through 2012 and 2013. These strategies as well as 7% increase in number of employees, led to 6% increase of turnover per employee. [GL22] Competitive Landscape They all manufacture agricultural machinery? But how are they different? What kind of machinery? The industry of agricultural and forestry machinery was becoming more concentrated in production terms with five leading entities Buhler Industries Inc., John Deere Ltd., CNH Canada Ltd., Bourgault Industries Ltd., and La Coup Purdel in 2013. Majority of enterprises operated in the industry were micro-sized and small, mainly producing specialised equipment such as tractor attachments. Due to high capital requirements, massive fixed costs and the importance of economies of scale, the bigger share of turnover was captured by the largest producers. Buhler Industries Inc is headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment. Factories in Morden and Winnipeg, MB, Salem, SD, Willmar, MN and Fargo, ND, build tractors, front-end loaders, augers, compact implements and more. Buhler Industries maintains several well-stocked parts warehouses. 2007, Combine Factory Rostselmash Ltd, a major combine manufacturer located in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, acquired 80% of the common shares of Buhler Industries. With additional investment in engineering, research and development and production, the company is moving forward. The dealer / distribution network in North America remains unchanged, but the Rostselmash network of more than 200 dealers in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan now has access to the products built by Buhler Industries. 2013 marked the launch of a highly anticipated product known as the Versatile DeltaTrack. The new Versatile 260, 290 and 310, a front-wheel assist fixed frame tractor, entered production. This interim Tier 4 compliant tractor features a Cummins QSL 9.0 mated to a 16-speed powershift transmission. This new row crop tractor uses the Versatile HQ cab, the biggest cab in the agriculture industry, featuring new ergonomic controls and unmatched visibility and comfort. News? CHN Canada Ltd. is a company based in Saskatoon, Canada, which produces industrial and commercial machinery products, including farm machinery and equipment. CNH has earned a reputation for product quality and superior design in seeding, tillage and chemical application equipment. In particular, air seeding systems stand alone in terms of innovation, efficiency and effectiveness[GL23]. News? John Deere Ltd. is a company based in the Canada, which design, manufacture and distribute agricultural and construction equipment, turf and forestry equipment and additional supporting businesses Financial Services, Power Systems, Parts Services, and the Intelligent Solutions group. John Deere Ltd., future plans are to expand globally with a focus on six key areas the United States and Canada, Europe, Brazil, Russia, India, and China. News? Bourgault Industries Ltd. is a company based in the St. Brieux, Saskatchewan, Canada, which design, manufacture and distribute farm equipment. Bourgault Industries Ltd. is the world leader in air seeder technology. In 2011 company introduced Model 7950 air seeder, with four main tanks totalling 34 000 litres and full inter-tank flexibility that Bourgault air seeders are renowned for. News? Prospects The industry for agriculture and forest machinery is expected to enjoy a moderate 3% growth of turnover in 2014. The 2015 Canadian Agricultural Outlook projects that net income for Canadian farmer will continue to grow in 2014. In addition to that sizable gains realised during 2012 and 2013, and modest global demand for agriculture equipment, are anticipated to sustain demand for agricultural and forestry machinery in 2014. Talk about continuous decrease in subsidies Talk about how usa agricultural sector is projected to expand and have positive growth on exports Talk about sift towards grain farming rather than live stock, this type of farming should be requiring more machinery to process land ( my guess) can we confirm? In the medium and long term prospects for Canadas agriculture and forestry machinery producers are positive, particularly in terms of foreign opportunities. Growing demand for food and rising crop prices are set to fuel farm income worldwide and spur robust demand for advanced agricultural equipment. The necessity for cutting-edge machinery will be particularly high in regions characterised by rapid urbanisation and declining crop-land areas, as well as emerging markets in Eastern Europe and Africa, where consolidation will make capital investments more attractive and attainable. Application of new technologically-innovative farming practices, such as precision farming, is expected to fuel demand for agricultural equipment over the forecast period. which will as well drive the turnover of the industry under review. Demand for precision farming equipment is predicted to grow over the forecast period as young and open to what tech has to offer farmers continue to enter the national agriculture industry.[GL24] Competitive Landscape (2012) CNH Canada Ltd is a Canada-based subsidiary of CNH Global NV, which is majority owned by Fiat SpA. CNH manufactures and markets agricultural and construction equipment with 37 manufacturing facilities located throughout Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. In Canada the company operates a manufacturing centre in Saskatoon, SK, where it employs around 700 full-time workers. CNH Global NV operates through 11,300 dealers in approximately 170 countries and employs around 28,800 workers globally, with 9,900 in North America. Buhler Industries Inc is a Canadian company owned by Novoye Sodruzhestvo Industrial Group, which manufactures and sells agricultural equipment. Among the company’s products are tractors, self-propelled and pull-type sprayers, front-end loaders, grain augers, snow blowers, tillers, finishing mowers, feed processing equipment, seeding and tillage equipment, hay and forage equipment, among others. Buhler Industries Inc has several manufacturing plants in Morden and Winnipeg (Manitoba), Vegreville (Alberta), as well as sites in the US in Fargo (North Dakota), Salem (South Dakota) and Willmar (Minnesota). The company employs more than 1,000 workers in North America. John Deere Ltd is a Canadian subsidiary of Deere Co, which is an American company specialised in the manufacture of construction equipment, farm and turf equipment and forestry equipment. The company offers such products as loaders, combines, corn pickers, cotton and sugarcane harvesters, tillage, seeding and application equipment. It owns 19 plants in the US and Canada and plants in Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Israel, Mexico, and other countries around the world. MacDon Industries Ltd is a Canada-based company which designs, manufactures and sells harvesting equipment. Among the company’s products are self-propelled windrowers and headers, pull-types for hay, draper headers for combines and pick-up headers. MacDon Industries Ltd operates a manufacturing facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, which occupies over 600,000 square feet of building space. Bourgault Industries Ltd is a company based in Canada, which designs, manufactures and sells agricultural equipment. Among the company’s products are air seeders, air drills, tillage units, harrows, packers, fertiliser application systems, and others. [1] A Source [G1]Per ilga antraste [GL2]No companies. Unless its an important merge or news which is important to overall industry. In this case only one company news would come to head line. Not a summary list. [GL3]If its meant to be market grew more than production? I think that reasons are confusing. I can not see the numbers but it seems like a. market is driven by local demand b. production by exports and market? If yes , I agree the statement is lacks strength in logic [G4]What year? I would suggest explaining what is the difference. [G5]When? [G6]Is a new trend, still applicable to 2013? I would expect to read about it later in the txt, where a comparison is done of average farm size e.g. in year x versus 2013. [GL7]to try to give an evaluation – is what does this number represent. E.g. is it more than e.g. usa or some other big nation. In general.. [G8]Repetitive, combine withe the 2nd point Maybe clean up some facts but leave the size info. [GL9]I guess I want to see movement but simple fact of how different it is from 2012 more less would be enough. [G10]Very important point. More important than harvest, or land are. à ¯Ã‚ Ã…   SO first, cutting subidies, decond, agricultural loans. The interesting things is how come with subsidies down investment grew that much? But I guess it’s a controversy which is difficult to answer. One would expect a jump in loans,. Even then, subsidies declined 2 bil, while there is 100 000 of loans, not even close to compensate. [G11]Imports? [G12]Not sure, quite weak argument, I agree, its enough in terms of us. Unless he would be listing the companies and brands and new real products introduced. I would love toread about precision faring. Which company is has offered such farming machinery in 2013 , it would be a good illustraiont [G13]Gaun, repetitive. If you want to say it, add it above/ . I guess agree . I would say add that his buyers analises is strong enough, no need to empty talk on sectors. [GL14]Who’s [GL15]Sounds like an advertising slogan. I doubt that Canadian machinery is that special, and if it is, you have to tell what specific machinery or something is that important/demanded. [GL16]Since market is already analysed, in this case export is second most important factor to be analysed and presented in the production sector. I would doubt the analytical need to analyse export share change. Its enough to say its curtail, and it grew a little less by (something, not share) this time than local market. In the intro though always clearly state if local production is driven by export growth or local market , in this case its local market. Yet exports remain curtail as its half of revenues. [GL17]This argument needs support and examples. E.g. this this company, designed,/introduced and etc. Please expand this point. [GL18] [G19]Labiau prie market tinka I would delete it, the only interesting thing here that I found interesting is livestock-based farms to crop-based operations, this is important and should be mentioned in bueyrs. ( or agricultural analyses of the market) However, I do not see that text after that translates into explanation what it meant for producers.I would say its just a good fact to add to the positive facts of increasing size of farms, and good crop prices. [GL20]Descriptive. [GL21]ADVERTISING [GL22]GUESSING [GL23]Not a commercial. â€Å"earned a reputation for product† doesn’t fir [GL24]Not clear what and why? General remarks: The sources should be added The way we do it is like this[1] Also, since there are now sources, I cannot check how valid are your points It is always better to talk about the movement rather than static: E.g. the point with loans. Less loans, more loans than in 2012 (2011, 2012)? What is the trend, and this trend is the result of what? (not just 2013) With agricultural land. Increasing? Decreasing? The trend. Hard to understand the main story (and I think it is more related to the loans, and cutting of subsidies than with rich harvest) I am also adding the competitive landscape from last year, so you can finish the company you didn’t know. Headlines Market for agricultural and forestry machinery grows 15% in 2013 due to increasing capacities of domestic and main import/export partner USA farms and consequently high farm incomes that encourage farmers to invest in agriculture machinery.[G1] Industry increasingly concentrated, with top 5 companies: Buhler Industries Inc., John Deere Ltd., CNH Canada Ltd., Bourgault Industries Ltd., La Coop Purdel increasing their revenue Government gives loans and insurance incentivise farmers to buy new equipment or update old machines[GL2] Domestic market grows slightly more than sales over 2013, mainly due to cost savings arising from adoption of innovative technologies[GL3] Maybe a point about cutting government subsidies Loans Something from production, like innovation trend or demand abroad for Canadien machinery ( I still didn’t get why exactly is the Canadian machinery demanded) Industry set to see 3% turnover growth in 2014 due to accelerating mechanisation and adoption of precision farming in agriculture, coupled with strong USA demand for Canadian-made machinery Market Trends The Canadas market for agricultural and forestry machinery was valued C$5.4 billion in 2013, up by astounding 15% from 2012. Year-on-year [G4]market growth was mainly attributed to the agriculture industry and its growing automation, while increasing application of innovative products such as precision farming equipment also had a positive impact. Farms sought to increase production capacity and capture the benefits of high revenue coming from high crop prices. [G5]Furthermore, major what? trends in Canada and other high-income countries included a reduction in the number but growth in the size of farms[G6], which fuelled demand for sophisticated agricultural equipment. Farm size in Canada is growing similar to other high 0 income countries, which fuels demand for sophisticated agricultural machinery. The agriculture industry was main buyer of agricultural and forestry machinery in 2013, including both purchases for investment and business purposes. There were around 200 000 farms operating in Canada in 2013, with more than 51 million hectares of agricultural land classified as dependable agricultural land [GL7]. An excellent 2013 key grains such as and oilseeds harvest in Canada was a main contributor for strong which sector performance. Consequently, net farm incomes in 2013 were as high as in 2012 , fuelling investment in capacity expansion, which led to 12% growth of agriculture sector spending for investment and business purposes. High agriculture revenue and consequent spending on agricultural and forestry machinery was a result of several key factors. Primarily, favourable weather conditions , translated in record 2013 crop production and allowed farmers to capitalise on higher crop prices, which remained high till the end of the year. In addition to that, although the number of farms in Canada is steadily falling since 2006 (taking in to perspective from 2006 to 2011 it fell 10.3% or by 24 thousand farms), they are getting bigger, which resulted in economies of scale and capital concentration. This naturally allowed greater spending on state-of-the-art agricultural equipment, adoption of precision farming, the use of new technologies to optimize agricultural yields and reduce costs. Precision farming employs innovations such as global positioning systems for vehicle and row tracking that allow farmers to use previous yield information and soil resistivity data to minimise planting overlaps.[G8] Farm credit approved 47 046 new loans in 2012-13, with average size of loan approved rising to C$162.406, giving farmers incentive to acquire new equipment. [GL9] However federal program payments, which include primarily payments made directly to agricultural sector? producers, were set to decrease from C$1.3 billion in 2012, to C$1.2 billion in 2013 and during the same 2 year period, provincial program payments were also set to decrease from C$ 1.6 to C$1.5 billion[G10]. In 2013 majority over 59% of domestic market demand was accounted for by foreign producers. Primarily from USA , which claimed 70% of all domestic market demand. [G11]Innovative technological advancements related to precision farming equipment, new advanced agriculture tractors and soil preparation machinery, backed by geographic proximity and NAFTA membership, allowed USA to remain Canadas most import partner in agricultural machinery. Meanwhile, second Canadas foreign supplier Germany, managed to increase its market share from 8% in 2012 to 9% in 2013. This can be attributed to record high farm incomes in Canada and farmers, who valued Germanys reputation as a producer of high-end agricultural machinery. This fostered demand for made-in-Germany machinery. [G12] Agricultural tractors were most demanded machinery in the market, accounting for 34% of the demand in 2013, increasing from C$1.6 billion in 2012 to C$1.8 billion by 10%, while harvesting and threshing machinery increased by 13% from C$1.3 to C$1.4 billion, which respectively accounted 26% of the demand in 2013. This increase of demand for the machinery can be explained by excellent 2012 year for farmers, who were able accumulate profit and bright expectations, that in 2013 grain production increase to 97 million tonnes, compared to 77 million tonnes, encourage farmers to plan ahead and to invest in new agricultural tractors, harvesting and threshing machine

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Examples Of Charles Dickens Chthonic Journeys :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Question- In Charles Dickens autobiographical memoir Fragments of an Autobiography what are three chthonic journeys that he faces?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Charles Dickens autobiographical memoir Fragments of an Autobiography he has many chthonic journeys that he never fully recovered from. The essay starts off with Charles Dickens having to work at a blacking warehouse with a pay of six pints at the age of ten or twelve, even though he wants to go to school. His father is in jail due to money problems, which leaves the family with no money to pay their rent. As a result Charles goes to live with a friend and the rest of his family goes to live with the father in jail because they have no other place to go. He faces numerous chthonic journeys, or journeys to the underworld, including his terrible family life, his poor work conditions and low pay, which leads to money problems and his having to work even though he wants to go to school and get an education.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the essay there are countless examples as to how Dickens experienced chthonic journeys. One is that his family is in terrible condition. His father is in jail due to money problems, which then left the family with no money to pay their rent. Their father/husband borrowed money from people and never repaid them. Back in the Stinson-2 1800’s if you owed people money and couldn’t pay them back you would go to jail. With no house to live in everybody but Charles Dickens goes to live in jail with their father because they have no place to live. On the other hand Charles Dickens goes to live with friend. With all of this happening, including his family living in jail and his living away from them with a friend just crushed Dickens hopes and feelings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another chthonic journey that Charles Dickens faced was his working condition and his pay. Dickens worked at a blacking warehouse. The blacking warehouse was in terrible condition. There were rats everywhere, decaying floors and extremely small rooms. From this job he only earned six pints a week, which is very little to live on. With getting so little money he could barely buy the things that were necessary to live on. Once he bought things that he needed he had little to no extra money. He couldn’t buy any fun things to play with or extra food for a bedtime snack, which meant that at times he had have to go without food or other necessary items.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Bate Besong’s Beasts of no Nations :: Bate Besong Beasts Nations Essays

Bate Besong’s Beasts of no Nations Drama is one genre in Literature whose functionality in society cannot be under estimated. It is an active and practical genre because; there is harmony and a practical relationship between the audience and the dramatis personae. It thus imitates its society at best. From this, it is difficult to separate drama from politics; politics being a science that deals with the state and the condition of the human society. Bate Besong is one of the most renown Cameroonian playwright of English expression, besides Bole Butake, Victor Epie Ngome and John Nkemngong, who is of the younger generation of Cameroonian playwrights in English. Even then, Bate Besong’s plays have not gained impetus in the eyes of critics. But examining the content and form of Beasts of no Nations,a play he published in 1990, one can rightly conclude that Bate Besong is an experimentalist playwright and a reformer. That is, one who uses art with the hope of changing the state of affairs in his ailing Cameroonian society. It is in this light that he becomes a political writer. I defend the hypothesis here that drama and politics are inseparable. Drama does not only mirror society but plays the role of a conscientizing, since man is only a political being and not a political genius. My goal in this paper will be to assess the relationship that exists between drama and politics and its results in society. The sociological approach would be used to analyse the relationship between drama and politics in Batae Besong’s play. This approach is based on the assumption that literary works are reflections of society. Critics of the approach hold that the understanding of the actual society is very important in the understanding of the textual society. In this case a literary work becomes the product of the community. I find this approach relevant in that I am going to be dealing with a subject, which handles text and societal relationship. This paper has been structured into two broad phases: the first phase looks at drama as a genre, politics as a discipline and their relationship. The next phase looks at how Bate Besong uses the art of drama to handle some burning issues in Post-independent Cameroon Aristotle defines drama as â€Å"action†. Action results from the interaction between the dramatis personae. Through action, the audience understands the conflicts and follows closely how it is resolved. Bate Besong’s Beasts of no Nations :: Bate Besong Beasts Nations Essays Bate Besong’s Beasts of no Nations Drama is one genre in Literature whose functionality in society cannot be under estimated. It is an active and practical genre because; there is harmony and a practical relationship between the audience and the dramatis personae. It thus imitates its society at best. From this, it is difficult to separate drama from politics; politics being a science that deals with the state and the condition of the human society. Bate Besong is one of the most renown Cameroonian playwright of English expression, besides Bole Butake, Victor Epie Ngome and John Nkemngong, who is of the younger generation of Cameroonian playwrights in English. Even then, Bate Besong’s plays have not gained impetus in the eyes of critics. But examining the content and form of Beasts of no Nations,a play he published in 1990, one can rightly conclude that Bate Besong is an experimentalist playwright and a reformer. That is, one who uses art with the hope of changing the state of affairs in his ailing Cameroonian society. It is in this light that he becomes a political writer. I defend the hypothesis here that drama and politics are inseparable. Drama does not only mirror society but plays the role of a conscientizing, since man is only a political being and not a political genius. My goal in this paper will be to assess the relationship that exists between drama and politics and its results in society. The sociological approach would be used to analyse the relationship between drama and politics in Batae Besong’s play. This approach is based on the assumption that literary works are reflections of society. Critics of the approach hold that the understanding of the actual society is very important in the understanding of the textual society. In this case a literary work becomes the product of the community. I find this approach relevant in that I am going to be dealing with a subject, which handles text and societal relationship. This paper has been structured into two broad phases: the first phase looks at drama as a genre, politics as a discipline and their relationship. The next phase looks at how Bate Besong uses the art of drama to handle some burning issues in Post-independent Cameroon Aristotle defines drama as â€Å"action†. Action results from the interaction between the dramatis personae. Through action, the audience understands the conflicts and follows closely how it is resolved.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Is stress necessary to motivate us

I do not agree that stress is necessary to motivate us. I get motivation from being stress-free. I have better days when I am not stressed. I am happy and joyful, instead of angry and frustrated. When I get stressed I just am down or angry and don't want to be bothered. I have kids, and they can tell when I have a stressful day because it shows on my face. Then they are not happy and I just get more stressed then before. If people did not feel any stress their productive levels would probably be very good.Getting things done eliminates worries. If you are not stressed than you can focus on getting done what needs to be done. I think my ideal level of stress is when I am so fed up I want to explode. If I start to cry and I just feel like I can't take anymore, my stress level is very high. I try to control my stress level, and try to be a very happy person. That's how I like to be. Under no circumstances is it ever acceptable to treat coworkers or employees differently because of their differences.You should never judge a book by its cover before taking the time to read it. Our differences are what make us who we are. You and your coworkers are not going to see everything the same, so you should take in their differences, and accept them as they are. I think you should recognize coworker or employees openly. Everybody has something they do one way, and the next person does it another way. It is okay to take in others judgment, and look at it as a positive, and not a negative thought.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Boomerang Michael Lewis

He calls it the new third world because the region took a step backwards by falling into huge amounts of debt followed by riots and governmental collapse in places like Greece. There are many lessons the reader can learn from this book as long as the reader reads it with a grain Of salt and does get lost in the excessive use Of stereotypes and racial remarks that Lewis makes. Each statement he makes in the book is vital to make a correlation further on to show how culture relates to politics and economics. The most astounding cultural impact I noticed in the book hat led to bad economic decisions was that of Germany.Lewis mentions on page 137 that the German people liked to be near sit but not in it. He relates this to the reader after mentioning his visit to the German red light district of Hamburg. Lewis asserts the claims that the German people are infatuated with dirt, filth, sit, and are open in their discussion on this topic. However when you look at Germany and its financial s tatus it is fairly stable worldwide and is one of the strongest economies in Europe. It is the foundation for the European Union banking system since the Bundestag had the strongest uncial system.Germany ended up being the nation that let others borrow money and Germany also houses the offices of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. On page 145 Lewis mentions that the majority of Europe was indulging itself with loans in order to buy things that the people really didn't need. On a side note, nations tend to pick up both good and bad qualities from each other and this quality of excessive spending in a time where you don't need or have the financial means is a bad habit that Europe picked up from America.However the German people did not indulge in eying things they could not afford even though they gave loans to others who used the German's credit rating to buy expensive cars and real-estate as you saw in Iceland and Ireland. This goes back to the cultural obsession with filth; t hey were near the credit disaster but never partook in it personally. The credit boom never existed in Germany because of Germany's past. Germany was a nation which fell into hyperinflation post world war two and during that period it cost millions to buy a loaf of bread.With that past history in mind the German people has always been frugal with their money and expect the politicians to do the same. That is why any politician regardless to what party they are from will not get elected in Germany if they are not fiscally responsible. The German people will not vote for them because these values from their past have now been ingrained into their culture and have become part of their identity. That is different than over here in America where different parties have different approaches on government spending, investing and often end in stalemate or disagreement.Yet in this instance the German people gave in to the temptation and allowed their gibbers to get dirty while they stood by a nd watched. The German bank gave money to Irish real-estate barons, to Icelandic banking tycoons, American supreme borrowers etc†¦ The total losses that the German banks lost are still being added up but the book mentions that they lost 21 billion due to Iceland, 100 billion due to Ireland, 60 billion to American and billions more still needed to be totaled in Greek bonds. That means even though the German people tried to stay clean in the end the mess ended up in their laps.So while other countries misbehaved with German money the German people thought their bankers where making sane choices by giving the money in the first place. They believed that they were going to make more money for Germany and further their nation towards prosperity but instead they furthered their nation in debt. At the end Of the financial disaster Germany ended being one of the most affected nations even though its citizens and politicians didn't buy any luxurious items or invest in crazy schemes.The fact that the Germans had the strongest financial system led to their downfall since they had to put in the largest amount of money onto the European Union Rescue Fund. The money they put in the fund would for example go to the Irish government who would give that money to Irish banks who would give it to right back to the German banks for defaulted loans and interest payments. So Germany was giving itself money in a cycle that was not alleviating the root of the problem and was further perpetuating a cycle of debt.Sassy see currently in Greece with new austerity measures being debated on daily, the German people are sick of bailing out every nation for their mistakes. On the contrary if the German banks never gave those loans in the first place than places like Ireland and Iceland would have never defaulted. The fact that the German people gave money away in the first place started the problem. The more countries got loans the more other countries wanted to get in on a piece of the action.So while Germany thought it was making smart decisions with safe returns it created a monster which was going to come back and be a burden for the very system which created it. Besides the cultural aspect of the whole situation the fact that Germany was a ember of the European union also led to its demise in regards to the economic aspect of the nation. This is because when the European Union was created it had certain benchmarks other nations would have to measure up to if they wanted to get accepted into the Union.Many of these nations like Greece who had failing economies lied and falsified documents to inflate their Gap's and interest rates. All this led to a false sense of security when nations got accepted because while politicians thought the Union was getting stronger it was in reality rotting from within. The old idiom says that you are only as strong as your weakest link and in this case the European Union had a few too many weak links. The politicians all put up f acades and made their economies appear as ferocious lions when in reality they were just cowardly cats trying to milk the cash cow which is the German banks.The only reason the German people agreed to all of this is because they still feel that they have to be accepted as a people and atone for the war crimes of their predecessors and past regimes. This act of kindness by the German nation as taken for granted and led them straight into a trap which decimated their financial security. The nations of Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, and others became parasites who wanted more and more money expecting Germany to save them.This parasite- host relation is one that the German people might have to consider cutting off and simply let the European Union fail and let nations and banks go into default. Being someone who prefers limited involvement in economics like Adam Smith's invisible hand, it is time for Germany to put its invisibility cloak back on and disappear into the shadows. If Germ any continues down the same path it is On and tries to appease all the nation of Europe by giving out money it will eventually see the filth that currently occupies the streets of the new third world seep over into German soil.In this globalize world Germany needs to take a greater stand and do what's best for its sovereignty. Germany needs to remove itself from the European Union and in doing so it will cause the collapse of many nations in the region so while this suggestion sounds harsh it is in the best interest for the German people. Yet if Germany wants to remain and be the savior for the EX. it has to take a greater charge and demand that its conditions be met since Germany is the one with the money.Germany can fix the situation by trying to reduce the interest rates on the loans and try to get the borrowing nation to simply pay back the capital amount before them many any further investments in their own nation. This would lead to stagnation of many European nations because it will take them many years to pay back the billions they have lost. In doing this the GAP and growth rates of those actions will not move while Germany will be able to acquire money that belongs to it.