Saturday, August 31, 2019

Diabetes: The Growing Epidemic

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a growing global health problem that is a disease worth examining in some detail because in many respects it typifies a disease of lifestyle. Diabetes has increased since 10 years ago when it was only 30 million people affected to about 135 million today (Hjelm, et al, 2003, p. 426). By 2025, it is estimated that there will be around 300 million people all over the world who will acquire this disease (as cited in Hjelm, et al World Health Organization 1997).It seems that urbanization and industrialization seem to be the reasons that now face people of every country making them vulnerable to this risk (Hjelm, et al, 2003, p. 237). In fact it is now called a ‘new world syndrome’ because it is the effect of modernization at present (Hjelm, et al, 2003, p. 238). Diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which the body fails to regulate the level of sugar (glucose) in the blood. Blood sugar levels in most people are 50-150 mg. of glucose per 100 ml of bloo d.If a person’s blood sugar level is persistently high, serious symptoms may develop. Fortunately, nurses are in a good position to employ new research findings to fight and prevent this fatal disease. The increase in Type 2 diabetes demonstrates a disease in transition. The study therefore tries to raise awareness among nurse educators regarding the causes of the disease by reviewing the present literature and discussing implications on the content of nursing curricula especially in Great Britain and Sweden.This is all the more relevant because nurses hold strategic positions to help reduce this problem. References in recent articles were consulted, especially those published between 1985-2001 including critical analysis of contemporary literature. Findings reveal that â€Å"diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by chronic hyperglycaemia. † (Hjelm, et al, 2003, p. 220). Aside from the other findings that confirm the data already characterizing the di sease, it was known that people with DM have reduced life expectancy (Hjelm et al. 997) and there is a high risk of developing chronic complications such as microangiopathy, neuropathy and macroangiopathy.Social issues about diabetes Diabetes is socially produced, as posited by authors Liburd & Vinicor who state that Type 2 diabetes experienced by racial and ethnic majority groups in the United States needs a refocusing of the public health research and even its interventions. There needs to be further studies on how community health models can reflect the changing status and sociopolitical dynamics of contemporary urban communities (Liburd & Vinicor, 2003).Consequently, the rise in type 2 diabetes comes at the recent discovery of national and international increase in the number of obese people. There is a need to look into the different ways by which the government has intervened in the rise of diabetes among the minority groups. (Bardsley & Want 2004). Type 2 diabetes and obesity has been continuously referred to as the â€Å"diseases of modernization. † This disease has been the first to appear among the people of the Pacific Islanders, the Micronesians, Melanesians and the Polynesian ancestry.While the western medical community continuously conducts studies on diabetes in order to attain a better understanding about it, there is a need to look into the surrounding background on how this ailment came about and how it has now been recognized as fast becoming one of the most common ailments among the people across the globe. Diabetes needs to be addressed in the public health system. Illnesses that are of natural causes â€Å"can be treated by modern medical doctors, herbalists and other doctors of natural illness.While illnesses that are caused by occult forces or their agents can be treated by â€Å"using the power of a conjurer to produce and execute the correct treatment†¦Conjurers are believed to have the ability to summon a supernatural f orce, such as a devil or evil spirit, either to do harm, such as inducing an illness or to expel a disorder† On the other hand, for spiritual illnesses, they are treated through the â€Å"power of a god acting through a religious healer or medium that is required to diminish spiritual illness or induce a return to health in the character of a person believed to be suffering from spiritual illness† (Liburd & Vinicor, 2003).An example are African Americans who are stereotyped as the Black Americans, they are varied â€Å"on almost any dimension one could name† in the sense that many are low income, a growing number are in the middle and upper income categories, and quite a number are categorized as professionals. While there a number in the population who are not schooled, still others are educated in different levels and educational background. Many of them are located in the rural South, but there are increasing in numbers who are located in the urban areas in th e North and West of America.African Americans have a vast array of characteristics thus the western medical community is advised to treat black patients as an individuals. Recent finding reveal that there about 10 million Americans with diabetes. Five million of which do not know that they have this disease. There three kinds of diabetes: (1) Type 1 Diabetes, also called â€Å"juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes†. It is usually first diagnosed in children, teenagers, or young adults. The beta cells of the pancreas no longer make insulin because the body's immune system has attacked and destroyed them† This type of diabetes can be treated by taking insulin shots or using an insulin pump, proper choices of food intake, regular exercise, controlling blood pressure and cholesterol. (Liburd & Vinicor, 2003). (2) Type 2 Diabetes, is also called adult-onset or noninsulin-dependent diabetes. It is the most common form of diabetes that can be developed during early c hildhood.It is begins with â€Å"insulin resistance, a condition in which fat, muscle, and liver cells do not use insulin properly† The pancreas functions to keep up with the added demand by producing more insulin, however in time, â€Å"it loses the ability to secrete enough insulin in response to meals† The treatments applied for this type of diabetes are diabetes medicines, choosing the proper food intake, controlling blood pressure and cholesterol (Liburd & Vinicor, 2003). (3) Gestational Diabetes is usually developed among women who develop diabetes during the late stages of pregnancy.It usually goes away after the baby is born. However, a woman can possibly develop type 2 diabetes later in life if preventive measures are not done accordingly. Common symptoms associated with diabetes: Frequent urination, Extreme thirst, Extreme hunger, Dramatic weight loss with increased food intake, Weakness, fatigue, irritability, and drowsiness, Blurred vision or changes in eye sight, Tingling or numbness in the fingers, arms, legs, or feet can also be observed.In sum, cultural systems, values, customs and the environment they say may have contributory effects in the development of ailments such as diabetes in persons. In fact, medical communities make use of these elements as means of understanding the reasons why diabetes and such other ailments are common among certain cultural and ethnical groups like the African Americans. The call for creative yet continuous studies and research is highly demanded among dedicated and committed medical communities today, especially in the development of more effective medical studies.Research works done by considering the role of socioeconomic factors as well as racism, poverty, and race/ethnicity can be helpful and effective tools to widen the scope of research studies. The application of qualitative research methodology is an added tool to place objectivity in the conduct of integrative studies as it also draws a ho listic approach in understanding the context of human behavior as well as human experience of people in their environment.Most often than not these are rich sources of areas of study that make the research work effective and realistic (Bardsley & Want, 2004 p. 107). In sum, the development of Type 2 DM is socially-related. Authorities and experts need to see this and its implications in order to develop measures to educate nurses and other people in the health profession so that more concrete steps can be taken to keep more people healthy as long as possible. The management of self care in diabetic diseases involves an adaptation. Complication can arise due to social, psychological and physical consequences.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Insect: Mosquitoes

Chapter I Introduction Background of the Study Mosquitoes nowadays are a problem for us humans. Mosquitoes are attracted by skin odors and the carbon dioxide in our breath. With our climate, it is easy for us Filipinos to get attracted by mosquitoes simply because we are sweating a lot. Because of mosquito bites, we can easily get diseases like West Nile Virus, the West Nile virus is contracted when a mosquito bites a human or animal. This virus can cause fever, headache, nausea, vomiting and rash in its early stages and can lead to paralysis. Dengue Fever, a contracted type of mosquito bite mainly during the day.Especially dangerous for children, dengue fever is found primarily in the tropics. It resembles viral flu and can be fatal. Malaria, also found primarily in tropical regions, mosquitoes carrying malaria bite during the night. Symptoms of this disease include fever, chills, headache, malaise and muscle ache. And Yellow Fever, Mostly found in South America and Africa, yellow f ever resembles the symptoms of other diseases carried by mosquitoes. In addition to these flu-like symptoms, yellow fever can also cause backache and jaundice and can be fatal.The menace posted by mosquito bites have surged so much that mosquito control measurements are almost crucial to keep ourselves from contracting serious illnesses like the malaria or the West Nile Virus. Mosquito control is more significant than ever before. Infected mosquitoes are the main culprit behind the spreading of these diseases and avoiding mosquito bites is the only successful way to remain unhurt. Some Mosquitoes that carry the West Nile virus are often active at dawn and dusk, which makes them less likely to be noticed.Mosquito bites can produce allergic reactions. Itchy red bumps, for instance, are considered allergic reactions to the insect's saliva. More severe reactions include blisters, hives, bruises and intense inflammatory reactions. Our problem that we need to solve is the mosquitoes, beca use it carries the Dengue virus, which we Filipinos are aware of. As of this year, many people have died because of dengue. We want that we can help in our own way is to repel mosquito in our skin so we will not get hurt or get a bite from a mosquito. Statement of the ProblemOur main goal is to create a mosquito repellent that is eco-friendly, yet effective in repelling mosquitoes. Also, compete with the standards of the commercialized repellent. The researchers aim to answer these following questions: 1. Are the organic mosquito repellent sticks better than the commercialized repellents? 2. Is using lemongrass and catnip possible in making effective organic mosquito repellent sticks? 3. Which is more effective? Basing on the number of mosquitoes repelled and killed. (Catnip stick, lemongrass stick, or both combined. ) HypothesisThe organic mosquito repellent sticks can be a substitute to a commercialized repellent, because it is more eco-friendly and maybe less harmful to the body especially the lungs. The researchers think that it is possible to make organic mosquito repellent sticks using lemongrass and catnip, since those two agents are known to be effective ingredients in making mosquito repellents. The researchers believe that the coil with both agents is much more effective, because the effects of both agents combine is much better than just one of the catnip or lemongrass. Definition of Terms . Mosquito-repelling incense -Usually shaped into a stick, and typically made from a dried paste of pyrethrum powder. -In the study, this refers to the product that the researchers are trying to create. 2. Lemongrass -A fragrant tropical grass that yields oil that smells lemony. -This refers to the tall grass used in making the repellent sticks. 3. Catnip -A natural mosquito repellent. -One of the main ingredients of our mosquito repellent sticks. 4. Malaria -Caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, which is transmitted via the bites of infected mosquitoes. In this study, this is the disease that is common in poor countries caused by a parasite 5. Dengue Fever -A contracted type of mosquito bite mainly during the day. Especially dangerous for children, is found primarily in the tropics. -In the study, this is the virus that is widely spreading in the Philippines that we want to prevent. 6. Nepetalactone – It  is an organic compound first isolated from the plant catnip. -In the study, it is the main component of catnip that makes mosquitoes be repelled. Significance of the Study The significance of this study aims to help people prevent mosquitoes from staying in homes or schools.The researchers want to help people who get irritated by pesky mosquitoes. The researchers want to help certain people who encounter mosquitoes in their everyday life. 1. General Public a. The masses in general, since everyone needs to be protected from these insects for they are harmful to the body. 2. Campers b. These people like boy scouts and mountaineers like to stay outdoors, such as forests and mountainous areas, where there are a lot of mosquitoes. So the researchers want to help them repel mosquitoes on their camps. 3. Parents c.Parents want to prevent their children from getting bit by mosquitoes making them. Our organic mosquitoes repellent sticks will be a great help to these people 4. The Poor d. These people can’t afford to buy repellents for their homes. This will aid them, because it is easy to make and really affordable even to the poor. Scope and Limitation Our scope of the study is to make effective mosquito repellent sticks, to prevent mosquitoes from invading homes and other places. To lessen the risk of diseases caused by mosquitoes, such as Dengue Fever and Malaria.As a group we can only limit our organic repellent sticks to only prevent mosquitoes, but not to other insects. The researchers only aim to repel mosquitoes, but not to the extent that we would stop their existence. Chapter II Review of related l iterature Mosquito Coil Mosquito coil is mosquito-repelling incense, usually shaped into a spiral, and typically made from a dried paste of pyrethrum powder. The coil is usually held at the center of the spiral, suspending it in the air, or wedged by two pieces of fireproof nettings to allow continuous smoldering.Burning usually begins at the outer end of the spiral and progresses slowly toward the centre of the spiral, producing a mosquito-repellent smoke. A typical mosquito coil can measure around 15 cm in diameter and lasts up to 8 hours. Mosquito coils are widely used in Asia, Africa, and South America. Bad effects Burning mosquito coil (MC) releases various aromatic compounds like benzo pyrenes, benzo-fluoroethane and particulate matters. These chemicals have the potential to produce harmful effects on airways as demonstrated by histopathological changes in the airways of various animal models.It has been estimated that burning one MC over 8 hours produces particulate matter sm oke (as measured as PM2. 5) equivalent to around 100 cigarettes. Particulate matter pollution has been shown to increase airway hyper responsiveness and cause decrements in lung function. Mosquito The mosquitoes are a family of small, midge-like flies: the Culicidae. Although a few species are harmless or even useful to humanity, most are a nuisance because they consume blood from living vertebrates, including humans. The females of many species of mosquitoes are blood eating pests.In feeding on blood, some of them transmit extremely harmful human and livestock diseases, such as malaria. Some authorities argue accordingly that mosquitoes are the most dangerous animals on Earth. Eggs of some mosquitoes float on the water in rafts. Larvae, often called wigglers, have a soft body, a hard head and a breathing tube, or siphon, at the tip of the abdomen. Pupae are shaped like a comma, and are commonly called tumblers. Adults have delicate legs, a long proboscis and one pair of transparent wings Dengue Dengue fever, also known as break bone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus.Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles. In a small proportion of cases the disease develops into the life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever, resulting in bleeding, low levels of blood platelets and blood plasma leakage, or into dengue shock syndrome, where dangerously low blood pressure occurs. Dengue is transmitted by several species of mosquito within the genus Aedes, principally A. aegypti. The virus has four different types; infection with one type usually gives lifelong immunity to that type, but only short-term immunity to the others.Subsequent infection with a different type increases the risk of severe complications. As there is no commercially available vaccine, prevention is sought by reducing the habitat and the number of mosquitoes and limiting exposure to bites. Treatment of acute dengue is supportive, using either oral or intravenous rehydration for mild or moderate disease, and intravenous fluids and blood transfusion for more severe cases. The incidence of dengue fever has increased dramatically since the 1960s, with around 50–100 million people infected yearly.Early descriptions of the condition date from 1779, and its viral cause and the transmission were elucidated in the early 20th century. Dengue has become a global problem since the Second World War and is endemic in more than 110 countries. Apart from eliminating the mosquitoes, work is ongoing on a vaccine, as well as medication targeted directly at the virus Catnip Catnip is a perennial herb and member of the Mint family  Labiatae. It is native to Europe ; Asia, however has become naturalised in America ; Canada after being introduced.There are approximately 250 species of Catnip. The active ingredient which causes this is an essential oil called nepetalactone, which can be found in the leaves ; stem of the plant. Other constituents include Acetic Acid, Alpha and beta-nepetalactone, Citral, Nepetalactone, Geraniol, Dipentene, Citronellol, Nerol, Butyric Acid, Valeric Acid and Tannins. Catnip is also known by the following names:  Ã‚   Cataria,  Catmint, Catnep, Catrup, Cat's Heal All,  Cat’s-play, Cat's Wort, Catswort, Catwort, Chi Hsueh Tsao, Field Balm, Garden Nep, Herba Cataria, Herba Catti, Nebada, Nep.Lemongrass Lemongrass herb is a very popular plant found commonly in India and used for medicinal, food and mosquito and insect repellent products. The lemongrass oils are also used in cosmetics, soaps, perfumes, dyes and odorizes along with thousands of other products. There are many different and related types of lemongrass, all belonging to the grass family, Poaceae. East Indian and West Indian lemon grass are popular names for Cymbopogon flexuous and Cymbopogon citratus. Lemon grass is an evergreen, native to Southeast Asia, India, Myanma r, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Australia.Another type of lemongrass also used in insect repellents comes from Malaysia. The thin stems and foliage of lemon grass ranges from blue-green to gold, and the flowers are white, cream, or green. Lemongrass grows to around 8 feet in height in some cases with the majority of species tapering off at 4 feet. Lemon grass grows best in full sun and moist soil and cab be propagated by dividing the root clump into sections. Lemon grass leaves can be dried or frozen but require rehydration before use. Lemon grass is very mild, rating only a one on the hotness scale.It is mostly known as a common staple found in Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Indonesian, and Indian cooking. Lemon grass is used in curry, stir fry, soups, and marinades and it can be sauteed, mixed with soy sauce and spices, and used as a marinade. Lemongrass is particularly popular with seafood due to its distinctive lemony aroma and flavor. Effectiveness In a 2004 study presented at the Ca lifornia State Science Fair, a 25-percent lemon grass solution was tested against a commercial 15-percent Deet spray.The lemon grass brew was 51 percent effective in repelling mosquitoes, compared to an effectiveness of 81 percent for the Deet product. The study concluded that lemon grass showed promise as a partial replacement for Deet-based repellents. In a study conducted in 2010 at Maranatha Christian University, researchers compared lemon grass stem extract to citronella oil. Citronella oil proved more effective at repelling mosquitoes than the highest concentration of the lemon grass extract. Both studies reveal that while lemon grass does repel mosquitoes, it does not work as well as other products.Nepetalactone Nepetalactone is a  terpene  composed of two isoprene units, with a total of ten carbons. Its chemical structure is similar to that of the valepotriates derived from the herb valerian, which is a mild central nervous system sedative (or stimulant to some persons). The molecular formula for nepetalactone is C10H14O2. The first fully characterized methylcyclopentane monoterpenoid. Isolated from the volatile oil of catnip produced by  Nepeta cataria Nepetalactone , its cas register number is 21651-62-7.It also can be called Nepetalactone cis-trans-form ; Cyclopenta(c)pyran-1(4aH)-one, 5,6,7,7a-tetrahydro-4,7-dimethyl-, (4aS,7S,7aR)- ; Cyclopenta(c)pyran-1(4aH)-one, 5,6,7,7a-tetrahydro-4,7-dimethyl-, (4aS-(4aalpha,7alpha,7aalpha))- . It   is an organic compound first isolated from the plant catnip. Chapter III METHODOLOGY This chapter presents the project’s research design, list of materials and their quantities needed for the research, and the laboratory procedures which are the pre-lab procedure, laboratory proper, and post laboratory. Research Design This study made use of an experimental research design.The experimental and control groups were used in this study. This design is illustrated as follows. Table 3. 1 Set-up| Location| Product Used| Quantity of Mosquitoes| Set-up A| Enclosed room| Catnip Incense Stick| 10 mosquitoes| Set-up B| Enclosed room| Lemongrass Incense Stick| 10 mosquitoes| Set-up C| Enclosed room| Catnip and Lemongrass Incense Stick| 10 mosquitoes| Set-up D| Enclosed room| CommercializedIncense Stick| 10 mosquitoes| Subject of the Study -The researchers used mosquitoes as the subject to the experiment. Ten mosquitoes in each container, with a total of forty mosquitoes (Caught with the mosquito trap).Materials Needed: One (1) – Masher Four (4) – Mosquito traps Three (3) – Incense holders Ten (10) – Incense sticks Two (2) – Catnip Two (2) – Lemon Grass Four (4) – Containers of Mosquitoes One (1) – Commercialized repellent Pre-Lab Procedures: Catnip and Lemon Grass were collected by the researchers. The researchers pulverize the Catnip and Lemon Grass to extract the juices from them. The researchers then put the extracted juices into 3 containers. First with only the catnip, Second with only the lemon grass, lastly with both catnip and lemon grass in the container. Laboratory Proper Procedures:The researchers applied the juices of catnip to three incense sticks and was labeled Set-up A, lemongrass extract juice to the other three incense sticks and labeled Set-up B, and both the lemon grass extract and catnip extract juices to the remaining incense sticks and labeled Set-up C. The commercialized repellent was labeled Set-up D. The researchers applied the extract juices thoroughly by hand or by cotton swabs. The researchers then let the incense sticks rest for about 6 to 10 minutes, to let the extract juices be absorbed by the incense sticks. Post Laboratory Procedures:The researchers put the incense sticks in their respective incense holders in order. The researchers then put sample #1 in an enclosed room beside the mosquito trap. The researchers then lit up the incense sticks and released the first batch of mosqu itoes. The researchers closely observe the experiment. The researchers then waited for the incense sticks to disintegrate (15 to 20 minutes). Then the researchers do the same with the sample #2, sample #3, and to the commercialized repellent. The researchers recorded the results based on how many mosquitoes were repelled and killed.Chapter IV Presentation, Interpretation and Analysis of Data This chapter shows the presentation, interpretation and analysis of data gathered after a thorough investigation. Table 4. 1 Mosquitoes that were effectively repelled Experimental| Quantity(number of sticks)| Mosquitoes Repelled| Time Element (minutes)| Catnip| 3| 4 out of 10| 20| Lemongrass| 3| 3 out of 10| 20| Both Combined| 3| 5 out of 10| 20| The table above shows that the Incense stick with the Catnip effectively repelled 4 mosquitoes and the Incense stick with the Lemongrass only killed 3 out of 10 mosquitoes.On the other hand, the Incense stick with the Catnip and the Lemongrass combined showed the best results in this test. This shows that the Catnip and Lemongrass combined will yield better results than the Catnip and Lemon grass alone but the results of this test were unsatisfactory because only half of the mosquitoes tested were repelled effectively. Table 4. 2 Mosquitoes that were effectively killed Experimental| Quantity(number of sticks)| Mosquitoes Repelled| Time Element (minutes)| Catnip| 3| 1 out of 9| 20| Lemon Grass| 3| 1 out of 9| 20|Both Combined| 3| 3 out of 9| 20| The table shows that Catnip and Lemongrass killed only 1 out of 9 mosquitoes but when combined the product repels 3 out of 9 mosquitoes, this proves that the organic incense stick will yield better results if both Catnip and Lemongrass combined, rather than the Catnip and Lemongrass alone because it only kills 1 out of 9 mosquitoes as shown on the table. Table 4. 3 Mosquitoes that are killed by the commercialized product Experimental| Quantity(number of coils)| Mosquitoes Repelled| Time Ele ment (minutes)| Baygon| 1| 9 out of 10| 20|This table shows that the Baygon coil effectively killed 9 out of 10 mosquitoes. This proves that our incense stick with Lemongrass, Catnip or both can’t compete with a better, well known commercialized product like that of the Baygon. Baygon uses stronger chemicals unlike that of our incense stick, which uses organic plants. Chapter 5 Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendations Summary: The researchers made a mosquito coil that is organic and eco-friendly. The researchers also studied between a commercialized mosquito coil with their own mosquito repellent.The researchers also made mosquito traps for trapping mosquitoes for the researchers experiment. Their product is effective and it produced some positive results. The catnip and lemongrass combined shows the best results, based on how much mosquitoes it repelled and killed, throughout the experiment. Conclusions: Throughout the experiment, the researchers found out that the commercia lized mosquito coil is more effective than our organic mosquito repellent. The researchers found out that it is possible to make a mosquito coil using catnip and lemongrass because the two agents are an effective mosquito repellent.Out of the three mosquito coils we had made, the catnip and lemongrass combined showed the best results basing on our experiment. Recommendations: The researchers recommend the people to use natural and safe mosquito coils that can be home made. The researchers also recommend using stronger plants to use in making mosquito coil. The researchers also recommend adding scented aroma to the coils/sticks so it can be a pleasing feeling for the people who will use it. The researchers also recommend using both Catnip and Lemon Grass for making a mosquito coil because it is effective.References: From Internet: Brian, Dan. How to Make Mosquito Coils. 1999. 2013. ;http://www. ehow. com/how_12031090_make-mosquito-coils. html; NewTechBio, Inc. Lemongrass as an insect repellent. 2007. March 2013. ;http://www. newtechbio. com/articles/Lemongrass-as-an-insect-repellent. htm; Kim, Scott. Nepetalactone Chemistry. 1996. January 2012. ;http://chemistry. about. com/od/factsstructures/ig/Chemical-Structures—N/Nepetalactone. htm > Ombrello, T. (2011). Catnip. Retrieved from Wilson, Julia.Catnip: Everything You Need To Know About Catnip. 2002. 2013. ; http://www. cat-world. com. au/all-about-catnip; American Chemical Society (2001, August 28). Catnip Repels Mosquitoes More Effectively Than DEET. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 14, 2013, from ;http://www. sciencedaily. com ­14; Mosquito coil. (2013, February 26). In  Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15:12, March 14, 2013, from  ;http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Mosquito_coil;oldid=540610115; Dengue fever. (2013, March 8). In  Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.Retrieved 15:13, March 14, 2013, from  ;http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Dengue_fever;oldid=54273 6735; Mosquito. (2013, March 14). In  Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15:14, March 14, 2013, from  ;http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Mosquito;oldid =544115233; jasonf808. (Dec 11, 2008). Mosquito Trap. Retrieved March 14, 2013 from ;http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=guNOeAqVG6Q; Eartheasy. (Apr. 28, 2011). 5 easy to grow mosquito-repelling plants. Retrieved from ;http://eartheasy. com/blog/2011/04/5-easy-to-grow-mosquito-repelling-plants/;Knight, J. (2012). Alderleaf wilderness college: Nature ; wilderness survival school  . Retrieved from ;http://www. wildernesscollege. com/plants-that-repel-mosquitoes. html; Appendices: The mosquito trap that was placed in a corner. The mosquito trap that was put beside the drawer. The mosquito trap that was placed behind the door Materials used in making the lemongrass Extracted juice from lemongrass. incense. Chopped lemongrass for the extraction. Lemongrass coated incense sticks. Dried up product. Setting up the e xperiment. Lighting up of the incense.

Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

Business and society are interdependent. The wellbeing of one depends on the wellbeing on the other. Companies engaged in CSR are reporting benefits to their reputation and their bottom line. We cannot build the case for CSR solely because of its economic benefits – an ethical case must be made for companies taking responsibility for the impact of their relations with society and the environment, otherwise the foundations of CSR will be far too narrow. However, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is becoming an increasingly significant category by which a company’s reputation is evaluated. A variety of social and environmental issues across a broad spectrum of industries have recently been covered in the media – all of which directly affect a company’s reputation and all of which can be considered part of the larger CSR equation. Whether CSR is considered merely the latest trend in business management or whether it is laying the foundation for a newly advanced way of doing business, a brief overview of recent business news and corporate communications shows that CSR is certainly a relevant factor for how a company positions itself in the marketplace. CSR There is no universally agreed statement of just what CSR means and implies, and ideas on the subject are still developing. All the same, a common body of policy has now taken shape and won general approval among those who favors the approach. According to this way of thinking, a combination of recent changes on the world scene and pressures from public opinion now requires businesses to take on a new role, a newly defined mission. They should play a leading part in achieving the shared objectives of public policy and making the world a better place. In doing so, they should embrace the notion of ‘corporate citizenship’. They should run their affairs, in close conjunction with a group of different ‘stakeholders’, to pursue the common goal of ‘sustainable development’. Sustainable development is said to have three dimensions-‘economic’, ‘environmental’ and ‘social’. Hence, companies should set objectives, measure their performance, and have that performance independently audited, in relation to all three. They should aim to meet the ‘triple bottom line’, rather than focusing narrowly on profitability and shareholder value. All this applies to privately owned businesses in general and in particular to large multinational enterprises. Only by acting in this way can companies respond to ‘society’s expectations’. Making such a positive response is presented as the key to long-run commercial success for individual corporations in today’s world. This is because profits depend on reputation, which in turn depends increasingly on being seen to act in a socially responsible way. Thus taking the path of CSR will in fact be good for enterprise profitability: it will bring and sustain support and custom from outside the firm, and make for greater loyalty and keenness from its employees. To embrace corporate citizenship represents enlightened self-interest on the part of business. There is also a wider dimension, going beyond the individual corporation. The adoption of CSR by businesses generally is seen as necessary to ensure continuing public support for the private enterprise system as a whole. Corporate social responsibility Corporate social responsibility is necessarily an evolving term that does not have a standard definition or a fully recognized set of specific criteria. With the understanding that businesses play a key role on job and wealth creation in society, CSR is generally understood to be the way a company achieves a balance or integration of economic, environmental and social imperatives while at the same time addressing shareholder and stakeholder expectations. CSR is generally accepted as applying to firms wherever they operate in the domestic and global economy. The way businesses engage/involve the shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, governments, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and other stakeholders is usually a key feature of the concept. While business compliance with laws and regulations on social, environmental and economic objectives set the official level of CSR performance, CSR is often understood as involving the private sector commitments and activities that extend beyond this foundation of compliance with laws. From a progressive business perspective, CSR usually involves focusing on new opportunities as a way to respond to interrelated economic, societal and environmental demands in the marketplace. Many firms believe that this focus provides a clear competitive advantage and stimulates corporate innovation. CSR is generally seen as the business contribution to sustainable development, which has been defined as â€Å"development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs†, and is generally understood as focusing on how to achieve the integration of economic, environmental, and social imperatives. CSR also overlaps and often is synonymous with many features of other related concepts such as corporate sustainability, corporate accountability, corporate responsibility, corporate citizenship, corporate stewardship, etc. CSR commitments and activities typically address aspects of a firm’s behavior (including its policies and practices) with respect to such key elements as; health and safety, environmental protection, human rights, human resource management practices, corporate governance, community development, and consumer protection, labor protection, supplier relations, business ethics, and stakeholder rights. Corporations are motivated to involve stakeholders in their decision-making and to address societal challenges because today’s stakeholders are increasingly aware of the importance and impact of corporate decisions upon society and the environment. The stakeholders can reward or punish corporations. Corporations can be motivated to change their corporate behavior in response to the business case, which a CSR approach potentially promises. This includes: 1)Stronger financial performance and profitability (e. g. hrough eco- efficiency), 2)Improved accountability to and assessments from the investment community, 3)Enhanced employee commitment, 4)Decreased vulnerability through stronger relationships with communities, 5)Improved reputation and branding. Historical context The view that a business can have obligations that extend beyond economic roles is not new in many respects. Throughout recorded history, the roles of organizations producing goods and services for the marketplace were frequently linked with and include political, social, and/or military roles. For example, throughout the early evolutionary stages of company development in England (where organizations such as the Hudson Bay Company and the East India Company received broad mandates), there was a public policy understanding that corporations were to help achieve societal objectives such as the exploration of colonial territory, setting up settlements, providing transportation services, developing bank and financial services, etc.. During the nineteenth century, the corporation as a business form of organization evolved rapidly in the US. It took on a commercial form that spelled out responsibilities of the board of directors and management to shareholders (i. e. fiduciary duty). In this later evolutionary form, public policy frequently addressed specific social domains such as health and safety for workers, consumer protection, labour practices, environmental protection, etc. Thus, corporations responded to social responsibilities because they were obligated to comply with the law and public policy. They also responded voluntarily to market demands that reflected consumer morals and social tastes. By the mid-point of the twentieth century, business management experts such as Peter Drucker and being considered in business literature were discussing corporate social responsibility in the US. In 1970, economist Milton Friedmann outlined his view that the social responsibility of corporations is to make profits within the boundaries of societal morals and laws (but cautioned that socially responsible initiatives by corporations could lead to unfocused management directions, misallocations of resources, and reduced market competition, opportunity and choice). CSR emerged and continues to be a key business management, marketing, and accounting concern in the US, Europe, Canada, and other nations. In the last decade, CSR and related concepts such as corporate citizenship and corporate sustainability have expanded. This has perhaps occurred in response to new challenges such as those emanating from increased globalization on the agenda of business managers as well as for related stakeholder communities. It is now more a part of both the vocabulary and agenda of academics, professionals, non-governmental organizations, consumer groups, employees, suppliers, shareholders, and nvestors. Diversity of Perspectives The following summaries of perspectives of different organizations serve to indicate the diversity of views on CSR that exist in Canada and around the world. They reflect the challenges and opportunities for both the public and private sectors to effectively operationalize and align CSR between domestic, continental and international levels. They also indicate the challenges and opportunities to develop the most appropriate relationships between shareholders and other stakeholders as well as to use the optimal policy mix of legislative and voluntary instruments.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT - Essay Example In this regard, the business objectives might encompass enhancement in sales turnover, increment in profits and accomplishment of superior competitive position over chief business market competitors (Westwood, 2002). The imperative advantages of an effectual corporate plan that is initiated by different organizations are adopting as well as implementing better decisions, saving operational costs, focusing upon fulfilling long-term goals and most importantly attaining desired business targets (Chary, 2009). It has been viewed that a corporate plan may assist an organization towards attaining success in future, if it is incorporated with the significant concern of manpower planning. In this similar context, the notion of manpower planning denotes a systematic procedure of placing appropriate personnel in the suitable work or operational departments. This particular concept of manpower planning is also acknowledged as ‘Human Resource (HR) Planning’ that supports different organizations to attain their expected business targets by a considerable level. In other words, manpower planning is fundamentally described as an effective strategy for the attainment, enhancement, implementation and retention of the human resources of a specific organization (Price, 2007). In this paper, a detailed assessment of the assertion that "unless there is a corporate plan for the organization integrated with the manpower plan, manpower planning is worthless" will be taken into concern. Moreover, the valuable linkage between HR planning and the corporate plan of an organization and the different features of HR planning that must help the procedure of organizational change will also be discussed in this paper. The assertion i.e. "unless there is a corporate plan for the organization integrated with the manpower plan, manpower planning is worthless" principally depicts that the notion of manpower planning would become much beneficial for

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Global Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Global Business - Essay Example The weaknesses and threats on the other hand arise from the external environment and the business may not have any control over such. The business must therefore implement specific policies to streamline its operations with the view of maximizing profitability based on the above. PEST analysis on the other hand investigates political, economic, social and technological factors that affect the operations of the business. Table of Contents Executive summary 2 Table of Contents 3 PEST Analysis 4 PEST analysis for the newspaper industry in developed economies 5 SWOT Analysis of The Guardian 6 Strengths 6 Weakness 7 Opportunities 7 Threats 7 Field Force Analysis for the newspaper industry in the developed world 8 The Indian Newspaper industry 9 References 10 PEST Analysis PEST analysis is a management tool that analyses the macro economic factors that affect the operations of a business in any industry and market. The tool that investigates social, economic, social and technological facto rs provides a realistic survey of any market by analyzing all the potential sources of either opportunities or threats that influence the operations of the business. Political factors are fundamental since politics influence the legal factors that influence the market. ... Such present businesses with operational challenges as the populace turn against each other thus instigating looting and massive destruction of establishments. In such a country, a business may consider seeking insurance services against political violence. This way, politics creates market for other service providers while threatening others. Similarly, social, economic and technological factors also create and destroy markets thus influences the viability of a market. Technology influences both productivity and consumption of product. The prevailing technological factors will therefore influence the consumers thus creating markets for particular products and services while threatening the viability of other markets. Such social factors as religion and cultures equally influence the consumption of certain products and services thus creating potential markets for specific products while eliminating the possibility of selling particular products in such regions. The entrepreneur must therefore employ the PEST analysis continuously to align the operations of the business and the production process to the prevailing factors thus achieving the profitability objective (Homburg, Sabine & Harley, 2009). PEST analysis for the newspaper industry in developed economies Developed economies such as the United States of America have effective democratic system implying that the markets in the countries enjoy stability and peaceful environments for operations. Besides the conducive environments, the presses in the countries enjoy a degree of freedom and independence that opens the market for any willing investor. With effective leadership, the populace enjoy myriad freedoms with the governments often

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Americans with Disabilities Act Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Americans with Disabilities Act - Term Paper Example Retaining employment is extremely important for those with psychiatric disabilities because the benefits of employment are not attainable through any other activity alone. Recent plans for improving employment outcomes for people with severe mental illnesses have both practice and policy implications. For example, supported employment is an evidence-based practice (EBT) that addresses the employment provisions of Title I of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA is usually mistakenly associated with the protection limited only to individuals with physical disabilities. In response to the situation, the EEOC issued the Enforcement Guidance on the ADA and Psychiatric Disabilities on how the employment provisions of the ADA apply to persons with psychiatric disabilities. Therefore, from the critical perspective, the ADA provides adequate non-discriminatory protection for persons with psychiatric disabilities and its primary intention is not to provide unconditional protection s for people with psychiatric disabilities but rather to ensure that individuals with these disabilities do not endure unjust discrimination in the workplace. The ADA is designed specifically with t... ADA TITLE I PROHIBITING EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION The ADA is designed specifically with two essential purposes: (a) to incorporate individuals with disabilities into the mainstream of American society and (b) to protect them against disability-directed discrimination (Peterson & Aguiar, 2004). Among its five sections, Title I ensures equal access to employment opportunities including hiring, job training, promotion, or the discharge process for qualified individuals with a disability who are working in private sector workplaces with 15 or more employees. Although legislation had addressed discrimination in employment based on disability in the public sector (e.g., Section 501, 503, and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973), Title I in the ADA includes private sector employment and has more detailed terms and procedural guidelines. Terms include essential functions of the job, reasonable accommodation, undue hardship, and procedural guidelines in regard to the job application process, contractual relationships, and enforcement of Title I (Rubin & Roessler, 2001). Essential functions of the job are critical for satisfying the ADA definition for "qualified individuals with disability" with or without reasonable accommodation. To merit ADA protection under the ADA, an individual has to prove that his or her disability fits the ADA's definition of disability and that he or she has the expertise or ability to perform the essential functions of the job. Essential functions include "requisite skill, experience, education, and other jobrelated requirements of the employment position that such an individual holds or desires, and who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of such position"

Monday, August 26, 2019

Essay Questions Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 14

Questions - Essay Example rom varied functional disciplines and development processes of a product for team tasks without necessarily removing them from positions of operations. Contrary to most organizational structures, matrix management utilizes both product and functional departments to establish a dual authority system. Matrix method segments authority into two, both of project and of functional areas. Each employee is answerable to two supervisors. The first supervisor is a functional one who oversees the workers related to a particular area of function. The second supervisor must be overseeing either a specific or a temporary project. Matrix organization structure has various advantages to the organization. Sharing of experts and equipment across projects of the organization gives room for efficient use of resources. Secondly, it allows formal coordination of projects and products across all the functional departments. In addition, sharing of information is efficient because employees meet and interact with many people, enhancing speedy decision processes. Furthermore, employees enjoy motivation and self-esteem due to autonomy and self-management opportunities that matrix organization presents to them. However, matrix organization also has a few limitations that may at times make it unpopular (Gido and Clements 448). The matrix structure method poses tough forms of organization alongside complexities of its structures. It also creates tough battles and conflicts between departments since they share resources. Consequently, the management of the organization may fail to establish accountability on its resources. In such circumstances, there is easy measurement of employees’ performance leading to increased accountability. Secondly, divisional organization leads to project departmentalization hence leading to the expansion of the company. In circumstances where divisional side is subordinate to the functional side, there is an achievement of efficient labor specialization, which

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Evaluating the impact of international environmental laws on oil and Essay

Evaluating the impact of international environmental laws on oil and gas - Essay Example Recommendation(s) †¢ GEP-Oil Company must follow the principles of the International Environment law to the latter. †¢ The Company is bound to look for more advanced technologies to be able to exploit he Oil and Gas in an advanced manner. †¢ Experts in Climatic conditions should be consulted before the commencement of the drilling process. †¢ The company must compensate the inhabitants. 1. Background The main issues in the case study are that the presence of Oil and Gas plays an immense role in the economy of Russia and the welfare of the people as a whole. However, this exploration in the Arctic requires huge investments, which have prompted the Russian oil Companies to enter into an alliance with the international companies to expedite the exploration process. In light of this, the board paper has been organised into four sections. Each section analyses about an issue that pertains to exploration that is free from environmental destruction and one that depicts w hat is expected by the Russian government. The Russian environmental laws are similar to the international environment al laws in a number of ways. The Russian environmental laws also recognize that there is a need for each nation to be able to protect the environmental and at the same time each state should be given the freedom to be able to exploit their natural resources. According to principle one of the Rio Declaration, human beings are the centre of environmental concerns because they need to be able to have high quality life. The Russian environmental laws also recognize these factors and incorporate it in the principles of the law. There are also laws in the region where Russia is that are also invective of the need for the concerned stakeholders to understand the need to protect the natural resources for the sake of human beings. The arctic region in which Russia belongs, there are some environmental laws that need are very similar to international laws. The Arctic Environm ental Protection Strategy is an environmental guidance that helps nations in the arctic region to abide in within the environmental standards. Russian national laws are also similar to the international environmental laws in that they also recognize that there is an importance to protect the local waters (marine). This is in line with MarPol environmental laws and guidance that provide for the ways in which the laws must be able protect the environment. Russia is a member of the artist centre but he laws developed by the arctic centre are not abiding. The arctic centre has developed the laws and guidelines that help member states to abide within the guidelines of international laws. MarPol helps nations around the world to be able to deal with the seal pollution. The Russian environmental policy also recognizes that there is a need to protect the sea and reduce marine pollution. These laws are also in line with the Conventional of Biodiversity guides which emphasize on the need to p rotect the natural resounds especially living things. The other important factor about international law in relation to the Russian environmental law is the recognition of the need for the state to be able to protect the environmental and the need to be able to

Saturday, August 24, 2019

KapYong Battle April 1951 The Korean War Term Paper

KapYong Battle April 1951 The Korean War - Term Paper Example The battalion was not the regular army of Canada but it was sent by the Canada at relatively time of peace and its main intention was to perform the garrison duty. However, the Stone used his wartime expertise and provided training to his men and enabled them to contribute against the renewed Chinese offensive force. The Canadian battalion was then attached to the 27th British Commonwealth Infantry Brigade during which it remained engaged in different battles and skirmishes. These fights added to their confidence and they learnt to fight on the harsh and hilly terrain of Korea. They became part of the UN force and marched north in order to fight the Chinese force and North Koreans in order to remove from the South Korea. Though the Chinese were considerably greater in number as compared with the battalion but the Canadian battalion consisted of volunteers resisted and fought with them will their full potential and didn’t allowed the Chinese force to attain their war objective by overcoming the Canadian battalion. The training provided by Jim Stone and effective communication and coordination between the members of the battalion and their leaders resulted in their success in the battle. The following essay aims to examine the contribution of battalion in the war that did not had proper training and war equipment to fight against the Chinese force in the Kap’Yong battle but they succeeded to defeat the huge Chinese army. The basic objective of the essay is to examine the effectiveness of the decision of Canada not to use its regular army but to deploy the volunteers that proved to be the most effective and efficient war force sent by Canada throughout the Korean War. The battalion was equipped with some excellent attributes that allowed them to succeed against Canada. They overcame and adopted the circumstance of war and show dedicated commitment to their leader. The essay describes the initial strategies and war tactic employed by the Lieutenant Co lonel Jim Stone who struggled very hard and efficiently to accomplish his mission of defeating China and not to let it invade the city of Seoul. The decision of Canada to create special battalion for the war was a different but successful step. The battalion comprised of two third volunteers that take some unconventional moves in the war and bravely fights against the Chinese force. It has been unveiled that Canada decision of using volunteer force in the Kap’Yong battle was an important and successful war strategy that allowed the army to hold their position. Kap’Yong Battle – Historical Background The battle of Kap’Yong began on the 22nd of April and lasted till the 25th of April 1951. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army was fighting with the UN forces comprising of the forces sent by Australia, Canada and Britain. The Chinese soldiers were almost five to one UN force but the outnumbered UN force prevailed and Chinese forced had to take backward steps after the Kap’Yong battle. The Chinese were better than the UN force in many ways because they were well equipped with the war weapons and war training. They were also huge in numbers due to which it was expected that the Chinese would be able to successfully overcome the UN force at Kap’Yong but it was due to supportive contribution of the Canadian battalion that these Chinese were failed at this spot and Seoul was protected by the UN forces. The ground for the

Friday, August 23, 2019

Make a connection or disconnection between 2 readings. Name the Essay

Make a connection or disconnection between 2 readings. Name the readings and the connection and develop that idea - Essay Example The paper at hand intends to pinpoint themes, events, concepts, people and many more captivating things that make the essay. The first way in which the Carr from the ancient world portrays himself is Google for example when men ask for explanation after going through the book. Google does not seem to have dominated the essay in in his piece in terms of the content. The essay is about another book and it has a lot about each person’s future. When the boy reads the book, he finds it very interesting and decides to read another one by the same author but unfortunately, someone starts buying the books thus few units left and the only left option is online libraries. The search becomes an obsession that leads him to knowing everything about the author. This includes his love life, parentage and childhood. Carr discovers everything from the happenings of Google to the book burnings. Apart from the mystery being worth unraveling, the book is also interesting and very educative. For o ne to understand the book, it is important to understand the author. The book becomes more interesting when a man with a burnt face shadows Carr’s search. The essay by Carr instills fear to many and the more the two scenarios come in, people begin to dream with the book and it gets horrible. This continues as stories and everything begins to have the same meaning. People get the inception that a burnt face will haunt every search. People fear because of the past and this makes people hold back to unraveling the secrets of the present. Many kids, want to play the role of Carr in the contemporary world and in the process, these children become obsessed. The future is the present life, the present life makes the future therefore every secret of the present, and the shadows of the past greatly affect the future. The importance of the setting in this essay for example relates to other search. This emphasizes patriarchal violence threat just like the foreground. This is similar to threatening of the sons by the legacy of their fathers. The adopted and biological sons fear literary when trying to become real men like their fathers. The setting is also important because the sons and readers have the need to negotiate the difficult terrain of the inheritance from the parents. The occurrences of the book depict the life in the new technological and digital trend and the readers move away from the book and start a life in the country. The book is that significant. In life, every person in one way or another goes through the life that Carr went through or what the author wrote. There is love life, dreams, threatening and people try to become like their fathers and fore fathers to secure the legacy. People may not believe in supernatural but the setting of the book provides excellent materials for the purposes of literature. Stories that have ghosts as characters help in exploration of symbolic and atavistic elements in every narrative including the shadow of the wi nd. The title of the book makes one to read it to see how the wind has a shadow. Selections from into the world Jon Krakauer is telling the story of Chris McCandles who had interest in among other things recording Alexander Super tramp. The relationship between the two is that this is one person but writing under a different allows the author write what he would not be in a position to do because of fallacies. This makes the two scenes fall under the

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Eeryday life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Eeryday life - Essay Example In my turn, I have wondered whether we could possibly even approach the ideal of rationality, and I believe that what is clear is that this task is far from being easy. After all, we, humans, have a too significant heritage of irrationality to live with and this is an integral part of our nature. As a demonstration of this may serve the great number of biases in human reasoning and decision making, when for instance due to the so-called 'confirmation bias' people tend to look for and believe only that which they already have a predisposition for, and ignore evidence for the contrary. Ironically, this type of bias is one of the main mechanisms that work to maintain the enormous popularity of horoscopes in our society despite the lack of scientific evidence for their validity, and is used for the promotion of such a chancy endeavour as lottery by overemphasising very slim possibility of winning and ignoring the real possibility of losing. Now, it is not surprising that the study of approaches to problem solving and thinking is that powerful tool which can help one efficiently employ ones ability for rational thinking and effective problem solving, and in the process understand how the general concepts and theories that study them apply to our everyday life that is rife with challenges such as the need for a person to deci

Harvard Guide to Happiness, Freakonomics, Cant a Woman Be Einstein Essay Example for Free

Harvard Guide to Happiness, Freakonomics, Cant a Woman Be Einstein Essay The methods suggested from a research conducted over 10 years on 1,600 Harvard students are relevant today more than ever. The global trend of shift in workforce from manufacturing to white collar work necessitates workers obtain higher degrees of education. Individuals with higher education degree are more equipped with the capacity to better manage given tasks of the service sector employing analytical thinking. Workforce comprised of such highly educated individuals enhances competitiveness in the increasingly complex global economy. Thus the value of individual academic pursuit is critical in sustaining economic development of a nation. Assuming that students furthering their studies decide based on freewill, keeping students motivated is the key to encouraging them to pursue higher education. Basing on the results from the study, increasing interaction among the various elements within the school system such as faculty and peer-students propel students to achieve higher grades, become more intellectually engaged and increase their overall happiness. An NBER study of a group of Kenyan girls in 69 primary schools comparing those who were randomly selected to receive scholarships to those who did not receive any surprisingly concluded that greater education does not in fact lead to greater democracy. However I believe the relationship between education and democracy can either be strengthened or weakened based on the content of the education received by the citizens and how it is famed in the classroom setting. Education systems that emphasize and value freedom of expression through heated discussion among peers inevitably provide an opportunity for the students to experience democratic way of handling things. The way information was given to the young girls in Kenya and its substance may have been the reason in the failure of increased education to result in greater democracy. The essay that demonstrated that biological difference exists between male and female but does not suggest a difference in aptitude pose an important issue in the field of education. I agree that the results hint a change in the education system but I hesitate to agree with Leonard Sax in his belief that â€Å"coed schools do more harm than good†. The fact that current coed schools might not provide an environment for boys and girls to learn at the pace of their maturing brains does not necessitate those students to be educated in single-sex schools. The problem, if there is any, would lie in the lack of division of classes based on the level of each subject. Division of class in coed schools based on proficiency, for instance beginners, intermediate and advanced seems an appropriate response that effectively deals with the problem embraces outliers at the same time.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

A Critical Reading Of Allen Ginsbergs Howl English Literature Essay

A Critical Reading Of Allen Ginsbergs Howl English Literature Essay The Beat movement is a literary and social movement, which came about in the 1950s, at the end of the Second World War. The movement centred on a group of writers who isolated themselves from social conventions in a bid to gain freedom in their artistic expression and their lives. The Beat writer s incorporated various elements of jazz, religion, art, literature, and philosophy, into their works in order to create and prophesise a new vision for society. They were one of the first literary groups to focus intently on the corruption of society and move to dethatch themselves from the restrictions of traditional prose. This enabled them to become aware of the beauty of creativity and the individual and embrace freedom and spontaneity in their expression. The main writers of the Beat movement were Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs, whom not only invented an innovative style of literature, but also encouraged people to become more aware of the social constrictions of the 1950s through their literary works. Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) is frequently regarded as the poet laureate of the Beat movement. Howl , written in 1955, has been subject to both praise and criticism as a one of the main works that shaped the Beat generation . Howl was first performed by Ginsberg at a poetry reading event at the Six Gallery in San Francisco in October 1955. Several well-known East-coast writers attended the event, as well as Kerouac who is said to have beat a wine jug and shout Go! after each line of Ginsberg s Howl recital. Ginsberg s passionate and unreserved reading of the poem left Ginsberg and other in tears. The poem was accepted as one that broke the boundaries of tradition form and it led to Ginsberg becoming established as an important voice in the Beat movement. A year later, in October 1956, the poem was published within Howl and Other Poems by City Lights Books. It then became the focus of an obscenity trail against its publisher, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, which highlighted San Francisco as the leader of a revolution against the censorship of literary publishing in America and ensured Howl and Other Poems wide readership. Jazz was a very important to Ginsberg and Kerouac as it was the quintessence of their lifestyle in the mid-1940s and early 1950s when they used to frequent jazz clubs in Harlem to hear their favourite jazz musicians, such as Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. Ginsberg s poetic style was inspired by poets such as Whitman, Blake, and Rimbaud but also the rhythmic technique of bebop jazz. The word beat can be clearly associated with the poem Howl from a musical context due to the major influence of jazz on the Beat writers and a key element to their form of expression. During the early and mid-twentieth century, the dominated white middle class saw jazz, an African-American style of music, as unacceptable and seedy. However, the Beat writers were able to identify with the African-American community as they too were outcast from respectable society. In Howl , a bleak observation of modern American society is made by Ginsberg, through his highlighting of the hardship of those oppressed by society, such as the Negroes and the hipsters . The music of these minor communities is jazz, a music form which Ginsberg reveres, which can be seen when he refers to: the madman bum and angel beat in Time, unknown, yet putting down here what might be left to say in time come after death, and rose reincarnate in the ghostly clothes of jazz (67, 34). Jazz has also influenced Howl in relation to the rhythm and beat. In a bid to reject traditional form poetry, Ginsberg experimented with a method comparable to Kerouac s spontaneous stream of consciousness writing style, which was based on jazz. In writing Howl , Ginsberg used a poetic writing style which was intended to flow to a syncopated beat similar to jazz, enabling the lines of the poem to be read aloud at a shifting and improvisational tempo. The verses of the poem are therefore free form, comprising of long lines and a rhythm to match the natural breath. Ginsberg described his poem Howl to be, a jazz mass, I mean conception of rhythm not derives from jazz directly but if you listen to jazz you get the idea (). The social context of the word beat in relation to Howl is significant as regards our understanding of Ginsberg s message in the poem. Sometimes likened to the Lost Generation of the 1920s, the Beat generation was both a literary movement and a wider cultural frame of mind. The Beat writer s rejected the ideas of conformity and normality of their time and instead displayed openness to the experiences that were available outside of the confines of white middle class America. The Beat generation were rebelling against a dominant society which was desperately encouraging planned order as a reaction to the ending of WWII. The Beats strived for a deeply intellectual, spontaneous, chaotic, Dionysian way of life in order to break free of these social constraints. Howl is Ginsberg s social and political criticism of what he saw in the America of his time. The poem both addresses and discusses an audience of comprised of the minor social communities who suffer and fall to madness in dealing with and breaking free of the constraints opposed upon them by a post-war era of American society. Part I of the poem, depicts the desperation experienced by those who felt alienated due to mechanisation and the conformity with which they felt American post-WWII society demanded. The poem communicates a universal yearning to escape from confinement and oppression. Part II of Howl sets out to discover and label the sources of human misery and unhappiness. In utilising the character of Moloch, a Middle Eastern god to whom children were sacrificed by megalomaniac leaders, Ginsberg personifies the causes of social disharmony, which include materialism, government bureaucracy, conformity, and technology. Moloch essentially represents the facets of modern society which demand the costly sacrifice of individual freedom and artistic expression. The third section of Howl , entitled Part III , attempts to weigh the destruction and misery of the previous two sections by means of a personal homage to Carl Solomon, a friend of Ginsberg s. Although Ginsberg stands firm in his belief that certain aspects of American society are to blame for damaging the spirit of a generation, he also expresses an desire to reconcile with his country, which is clearly demonstrated in the line, we hug and kiss the United States under out bedsheets the United States that coughs all night and won t let us sleep (). In the Footnote to Howl , Ginsberg envisions a future of wholeness and integrity through the merging of both society and the individual. It is important to note that the Beat generation did not reject America, but protested against certain aspects of the society which they deemed as oppressive. In Howl , Ginsberg puts forward the idea of a different society, one which includes homosexuality, Negroes , jazz, and drugs as acceptable features of society. The word beat also has a spiritual, beatific significance to the poem Howl , along with the other works of the Beat writers. In Kerouac s article The Origins of the beat Generation , he states that [t]he word beat originally meant poor, down and out, deadbeat, on the bum, sad, sleeping in subways, a term he first heard from Herbert Huncke, but the term then became extended to include a spiritual association, a certain new gesture, or attitude, which I can only describe as a new more (Kerouac 61-62). The poem Howl not only protests against the crippling effect of the social conformity on soul s of the nation, but it is also a tribute to the sanctity of everything regarding the human body and psyche. This spiritual aspect to the beat is present in the previous three parts of the poem. In Howl , Ginsberg describes the best minds (including Carl Solomon and Neal Cassady) as angelheaded hipsters, and therefore providing these societal minorities with a sacredness which is set part from what the dominant society would consider as sacred or holy. In the first two lines of the Footnote to Howl , the word holy is used fifteen times in quick succession, much like a religious chant. Ginsberg uses this device to disrupt the audience from their environment, making them open to understanding the new environment of holiness which he proposes. Ginsberg then begins to identify what he sees as sacred, The skin is holy! The nose is holy! The/tongue and cock and hand and asshole holy! (Howl ). He continues to list jazz as one of these holy things, along with sacred cities such as New York, San Francisco, Paris, Seattle, and Tangiers, which serve as locations that permit the madness of the best minds to create and exist freely. The poem ends on a note of salvation for the human souls which have suffered due to societal oppression and conformity. Ginsberg prophesises that it is through their suffering and intelligent kindness of the soul (Howl 33) that they are made truly holy: Holy forgiveness! Mercy! Charity! Faith! Holy! Ours! Bodies! Suffering! Mag-/nanimity! (Howl 31-32). In conclusion, this examination of Howl and its relationship with the beat , in musical, social, and beatific terms, highlights the poem s ultimate importance to the history of American literature and society. The Beat writers proposed a society, a world, which harboured a new attitude. Collectively, they provided people with an awareness and method to free themselves of an unimaginative, suppressed society by exploring their intellect and experiencing a life worth living. Ginsberg s Howl paved the way for an improved existence of freedom from sexual and creative repression by outlining the struggle Beat generation towards the beatific.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Traits Theory Focuses On Personal Qualities And Characteristics Management Essay

Traits Theory Focuses On Personal Qualities And Characteristics Management Essay Leadership is the process of influencing others to engage in work behavior that would lead to the achievement of goals. A successful leader must provide direction and leadership to motivate his employees to accomplish essential tasks within the required time frame. Manager has to set effective policies and formulate strategies to improve firms overall performance and effectiveness. One of the theories in function of leading is Traits Theory. Traits Theory focuses on personal qualities and characteristics. Traits that are important for leadership success are self-confidence, honesty and integrity, full of ambition, flexibility and motivation. Another theory in leading function is Fiedlers Contingency Theory. Fiedlers Contingency Theory states that a firm needs to examine the work situation and seek a manager whose style is suitable for that situation. The three factors that will influence the effectiveness of leadership are leaders position power, structure of teams task, and the quality of the leader-member interpersonal relationships. Other theory in the leading function is Behavioral Theory. Behavioral theory focuses on how leaders behave when working with employees. There have two types of leadership styles which are task oriented managers and employee oriented managers. Based on Michigan Studies on leadership behavior, task oriented leader is a leader who pay close attention to an employees job and work procedures involved with that job. While employee oriented manager is leader who develops cohesive work groups and ensure employee satisfaction. Motivation is an organizations life-blood. Thus, an effective manager must have the skills of motivation. According to the Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, the manager motivate the employees by providing physiological needs for survival, safety needs, belonging needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization. A manager must have the ability of discover the employees talents and place the potential employees in the best fit position in an organization. Misplacements can cause a company substantial financial loss due to turnover, lawsuits, and loss of customers. Manager must communicate the vision with employees and invite employees to give feedback. Managers can win over employees loyalty, showing care, listening to them. Herzbergs theory categorized motivation into two factors: motivators and hygiene. Motivator factors are related with achievement, recognition, and produce job satisfaction. Hygiene factors are referring to pay, job security, and produce job dissatisfaction when hygiene needs not met. Money is a primary motivator. Special achievement incentive rewards, spot bonuses, and cash-equivalent rewards all play a role in the economic reward package. Autonomy is crucial to achieving a sense of self-worth. Autonomy strongly influences the decision of individuals to join and stay with an organization. Mr. R. Bala Krishnan Nair is the general manager of Showa Rubber Chemical Industry Incorporate. Mr. R. Bala Krishnan Nair say that the things that motivated him the most is getting the management trust, recognition and praise when achieving goals, objectives and targets sales. Issue of challenges by management and recognition through awards and incentives could also motivate him to work. Furthermore, Mr. R. Bala Krishnan Nair gives constant guidance and encourages his subordinates to talk in the meeting and training sessions. A manager has to being reasonable and accepting some useful ideas that expressed by the subordinates. He will also praise and give incentive rewards for the employees who have achieved high performance in their job. It is an important ways to rewards or recognises employees whose suggestions help improve the operation of company. Mr. R. Bala Krishnan Nair always attends companys social meetings, such as having dinners or lunch with subordinates and some other op en discussions which are better for interactions and ice- breaking. The challenges that he faces when leading his employees is he felt it is difficult to gaining respect from all the subordinates and superiors. This is because he is unable to remember all the name of his companys staff and greets to them. A manager who fails to greet employees or respond to greetings will lead to a high degree of de-motivation and disloyalty. He always feels that he is lack of knowledge of job. So, he always explores his capacity to learn something new. Moreover, another leading challenge that Mr. R. Bala Krishnan Nair faces is he has to performed strong character, leadership qualities and interpersonal skills when giving a public speaking and presentation. It is very important for a manager to made decision and judgements after analyse the idea suggested by his subordinates. This is because any misjudgement could be cause the company bankruptcy. When a decision is needed, Mr. R. Bala Krishnan Nair does not just fall into single preferred style, such as using employee oriented style. In practice, things are not that simple. Mr. R. Bala Krishnan Nair has access the Behavioural Theory in his company. He is highly emphasising the interpersonal relationship with the employees. This practice is very similar to the concept of Behavioural Theory. He always encourages his subordinates to express their own idea through meeting and he also promise rewards for the employees who has good performance. There have a number of issues that make this style difficult. The one of the problem that comes with this kind of leadership is that he is hardly to get to know the follower because he feel he do not has the time to do so. It is not such easy. But I can say is having the employee-oriented leadership will surely increase the group productivity and employees job satisfaction. Furthermore, Mr. R. Bala Krishnan Nair has access the concept of Maslows Hierarchy of Needs in his company. He has the ability to realize the employees talents and place the potential employees in the right position. He always communicates with employees about the vision, company goals, market, industry and business information and future plan, and invites employees to give feedback. This is because he knows that as a smart company will actively and continuously solicit feedback from our internal customers like employees to find out how well our company is meeting their needs. As we see it, active, risky, self-conscious, and committed learning is required in order to become the leaders demanded by todays complex and crisis-oriented environment.

Monday, August 19, 2019

David Copperfield: The Many Differences Between James Steerforth And T :: essays research papers

David Copperfield: The many differences between James Steerforth and Tommy Traddles In the novel, David Copperfield, Charles Dickens contrasts many different characters. The main two characters that he contrasts are Tommy Traddles and James Steerforth. He displays the contrast between these two characters in many different ways. The only common thing that they share is their close friendship with David. Dickens shows these differences through their looks, personalities, and the final results of their lives. For one thing, Charles Dickens contrasts these two characters through their looks. He tells the readers that James Steerforth is an extremely handsome young person whom everyone seems to adore. In every instance in the book when someone sees him for the first time, they recognize him as being very attractive. He was described as being tall and thin character. On the other hand, Traddles was pictured as being somewhat on the heavy side. He reminds the reader of the fat clumsy kid in their own school. Dickens portrays this when he says, "Poor Traddles! In a tight sky-blue suit that made his arms and legs like German sausages, or roly-poly puddings," (143). Besides being different in appearance, Charles Dickens contrasts these two characters through their personalities. From the beginning, James Steerforth leads people to believe that he is a good person. There are many instances in which he shows off his true colors. The first sign of his deceitful manner occurs when David allows Steerforth to keep his money. Steerforth uses this money to buy food for many of the students. Steerforth displays his selfishness when he insults his schoolmaster, Mr. Mell, and gets him fired. Again, Steerforth shows his stern personality again when David arrives in London, and he is given a very small room over a stable. Steerforth confronts the hotel employee, and David is given a much better room. The greatest example of Steerforth's brute personality is when he runs off with little Em'ly. Dickens tells us that Steerforth and Em'ly fought a lot and finally Steerforth leaves her, and suggests she marries Littimer. On the other hand, Tommy Traddles is a very nice person. Traddles shows his kindness by introducing David to the boys at the Salem House. Charles Dickens shows Traddles' personality when he says of him, "He was very honourable, Traddles was, and held it as a solemn duty in the boys to stand by one another" (143). Traddles is a strong-willed person. Even though he receives more punishment than anyone else at the school, he maintains his honor. Traddles is a very reserved person. He keeps many of his feelings

Sunday, August 18, 2019

The Public Education System :: Educational Learning Essays

The Public Education System Throughout my experience in the public school system, I have heard the line, â€Å"What do I need to know this for anyway?† about 1,057 times. It is not uncommon to hear students complain about the worth of their education. Regardless, there seems to be a unanimous agreement that the youth needs education to succeed in life. What is education anyway and what does schooling accomplish? In his book, â€Å"A Time to Learn† George Wood provides a definition of education as â€Å"making wise citizens and good neighbors who can think deeply and intelligently about issues of self and society, take care for and respect others, take care of their family needs, and contribute to the welfare of others† (Glickman 48). Is school necessary for developing this type of educated citizen? If not, how is it we measure success and how is school important in attaining that? The purpose of the public school system is to assure every child the natural right to an education. Currently, every state in the nation has laws requiring attendance in school (grades K-12). There are also requirements on what subjects the students must learn. Standardized testing measures every student’s ability in these required subjects and assesses all tests equally. These high-stakes tests are used to determine the student’s achievement and their progression to the next level of schooling. Statistics show that students from underprivileged families have lower test scores and are more likely to drop out then white, middle class students. When I think about it, I recall a line from a rap song about a southern black child’s education in the public school system, â€Å"I’m making 300 on my SAT’s and I am equal†. So then, why are these students, who are equal, performing so poorly in our public schools? To reach a conclusion we must examine the curriculum and standards, and their purpose. The movement toward standardization is mainly concerned with the school district’s responsibility to generate students that are proficient in basic reading, writing and math skills. These skills being the most essential for business transactions, political and professional relations and most every aspect of life in today’s society. The students are assessed indiscriminately by tests structured around what the students are expected to know. The problem is that a student’s test score varies day-to-day.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Evaluating the Historical Capital Budgeting Method Essay

Currently AES employs Project Finance Framework. Project finance tends to be used in projects with tangible assets with predictable cash flows in which construction and operating targets can be easily established through explicit contract. The key to AES projects financing lies with the precise forecasting of cash flows. In effect, the possibility of estimating cash flows with an acceptable level of uncertainty allows for allocation of risks among various interested parties. The ensuing certainty in cash flows allows for high level of leverage and enables project assets to be separated from the parent company. Let us now take a closer look at the pros and cons of the Capital Budgeting System currently in place. Principal Advantages Non-Recourse The separation of the parent company is structured through the creation of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). This SPV is the formal borrower under all loan documents so that in event of default or bankruptcy AES is not directly responsible before financial creditors. Instead, their legal claims are against the SPV assets. Maximize Leverage Currently AES seeks to finance the cost of development and construction of the project on highly leveraged basis. High leveraged in non-recourse project financing permits AES to put less in capital to put at risk permits AES to finance the project without diluting its equity investment in the project. Off-Balance Sheet Treatment AES may not be required to report any of the project debt on its balance sheet because such debt is non-recourse. Off balance sheet treatment can have the added practical benefit of helping the AES comply with covenants and restriction relating to borrowing funds contained in loan agreements to which AES is also a party. Agency Cost The agency costs of free cash flow are reduced. Management incentives are to project performance. Most importantly close monitoring by investors is facilitated. Multilateral Financial Institutions One of the four constituents that have contractual arrangement with the SPV in a typical project are the banks (an integral part group of financiers that include share holders, insurers, equipment manufacturers, export credit agencies and funds). Among these banks there are multilateral financial institutions (like IFC, CAF and etc). Presence of these institutions as financiers helps in raising capital from these institutes at lower cost and secondly it is also read as a positive sign by commercial banks. Drawbacks Projects V/S Division The company is not only expanding its geographical boundaries, but it is also diversifying its business through backward and forward integration. The current financial model does not provide the AES with the big picture, which now constitutes more number of variables that are being influenced by multiple factors due to the increase in depth and breadth of the organization. Complexity Financing of projects requires involvement of a number of parties. They can be quite complex and can be expensive to arrange. Secondly it demands greater amount of management time. Macroeconomic Risk The current methodology employed by AES for capital budgeting does not take into account the exchange rate risk. This risk will be of higher magnitude in the developing countries because of their unstable monetary and fiscal policies[2]. As we have seen that fluctuation in exchange rate has greatly hurt the AES business and they were unable to mitigate this risk as they haven’t anticipated it. This risk becomes important when the exchange rate fluctuation affects balance sheet items unequally. Thus keeping check on the foreign exchange rate requires timely adjustment of both the items of revenue and expenditure, and those of assets and liabilities in different currencies. Political Risk: This is another important factor which the current financial management system does not take into account. This will be of significant importance when it comes to investing in developing countries where frequent changes in government policies occur. Does this system make sense? The financial strategy employed by AES was historically based on project finance. This approach solely took into account those factors that minimized AES exposure to the project and achieved the most beneficial regulatory treatment thus ensuring availability of financial resources to complete the project. The model worked well for the domestic market as well as for the international operations, provided the opportunities undertook by AES were either in the sector of building and running a power plant or simply buying an existing facility and upgrading it and then operating. The underlying assumption over here was that the symmetrical and asymmetrical risks faced by the project were more or less same irrespective of its geographical location (Refer to Exhibit 3). However when AES started diversifying the breadth of its operations by incorporating other offshoots of energy related business and transforming from a cogeneration to a more utility organization with majority of expansion occurring in developing economies. This diversification of business increased the symmetrical risks like business risk, a classic example of which we see in Brazil where AES experience shortfall in demand /sales volume due to Energy Conservation Policy of Brazilian government and this had a chain effect on debt servicing capacity of the SPV as well the stock price of the parent company. Other factor that current model was not able to include was the risk of devaluation of currency in developing economies which resulted in significant losses due to the inability of the company to survive its international debt obligations. Expansion in developing economies also exposed the business to political risk where the policies change erratically with changes in government. Hence we see that the geographical diversification of business causes asymmetrical risk to increase causing bimodal behavior in the result. Project financing becomes less recommendable as a symmetrical risk becomes more manifest. This constitutes a problem for emerging countries where these risks tends to be at the forefront. Lal Pir Project Valuation Scenario 1: Pakistan In order to calculate the value of project for the Lal Pir project in Pakistan, we first need to calculate the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) using the new proposed methodology. For this we have followed the approach given in exhibit 8 of the case. The first step is to calculate the value of levered ? using the formula and information given in the case[3]. The value of the levered ? comes out to be 0. 3852 or 38. 52%, which essentially means that our project is not very highly correlated to the market return. Using this value of ? we now calculate the cost of Equity (refer Exhibit 4A). We have used the return on U. S. Treasury Bond (i. e. 4. 5%) as the risk free return in calculating the cost of equity. The cost of equity comes out to be 0. 072 and similarly, using the risk free return and the default spread (given in exhibit 7a of case) we calculate the cost of debt which comes out to be 0. 0807. It is important to note that the cost of debt and the cost of equity also need to be adjusted for the sovereign spread (0. 0990 for Pakistan). Once we have the adjusted costs of equity and capital we can now calculate the WACC for the project using the formula given in case where we essentially multiply equity and debt ratio with the adjusted costs of equity and debt respectively[4]. The WACC in this scenario comes out to be 0. 1595 or 15. 95%. However, now we need to adjust this WACC for the risks associated with doing the project in Pakistan and we do this by using Table A given in the case. We know that the total Risk Score for Pakistan is 1. 425 and since there is a linear relationship between business specific risk scores and cost of capital[5] we need to adjust our WACC by 7. 125% thus making our final WACC 23. 075%, using which we calculate our NPV (refer to Exhibit 6) from the year 2004 to 2023, and it comes out to be negative $234. 34 million. Scenario 2: USA For USA similar calculations are made to calculate the WACC (Exhibit 4B). However there are two things that are different. First we see the sovereign spread is equal to zero. Secondly, in this case we would need to calculate the business risk using the information given in exhibit 7a of the case (refer to Exhibit 5). This score comes out to be 0. 64 and using this score, our business risk comes out to be 3. 23% and adding it to our calculated value of WACC, we get our final WACC of 9. 64%. Using this we calculate our NPV for USA which comes out to be negative $ 35. 92 million (refer to Exhibit 7). Adjusted Cost of Capital and Probabilities of Real Events in Pakistan In calculating the adjusted cost of capital for Pakistan the WACC is adjusted for six common types of risks: Operational, Counterparty, Regulatory, Construction, Commodity, Currency and Legal. We can clearly see from table A given in the case that besides construction there is a probability of all these risks actually effecting the project in Pakistan. In these, the highest probability is that of currency risk and the legal risk. The adjusted cost that we have calculated is adjusted by the total risk score for Pakistan. There is a linear relationship between the total risk score and adjustment to the cost of capital, i. e. a score of 1 leads to an adjustment of 500 basis points in the WACC. When we calculate the WACC for Pakistan through traditional formula it comes out to be 15. 95%, however in order to incorporate the risk factor associated with Pakistan we need to adjust it for the Total Risk Score, which in this case is 1. 425. So we simply multiply this by 500 and we find out that we need to adjust our WACC 23. 075%. Since this 23. 075% is adjusted using the total risk score we can safely assume that it incorporates for the probability of the afro-mentioned six types of risks in WACC with respect to Pakistan. Discount Rate Adjustment: USA v/s Pakistan As mentioned earlier the discount rate is adjusted based on the total risk score of the country. This total risk score is compiled from 6 main types of risks, the probability of which varies from country to country. If we simply compare the risk scores for USA and Pakistan[6], we can see that there is a major difference between the risk profiles of both the countries. For instance, while currency, regulatory and legal risks are significantly high in Pakistan, they do not exist in the USA at all. Also we see that operational, counterparty and commodity risks are higher in USA as compared to Pakistan. Similarly when the respective WACCs of the two countries are adjusted for their risk we see that the adjusted WACC for Pakistan (23. 075%) is much higher as opposed to that of USA (9. 64%), which essentially implies that Pakistan is inherently a riskier country to invest in as opposed to the USA and any investments made in this region would have to cross a higher hurdle rate than if they were made in the US region.

Political Power Essay

‘A gets B to do something that he or she would not otherwise do’. Does this sum up the essence of political power? â€Å"Political analysis can be defined quite simply as the analysis of the nature, exercise and distribution of power.†1 This argument is criticised of being too broad, excluding almost nothing, nevertheless it is reasonable to argue that power is the central theme which lies throughout the study of politics. Therefore defining the concept of power is one of the crucial things in the study of politics consequently it is often contested and can never be agreed among the scholars. This essay will focus on so-called the ‘faces of power’ controversy in the post war period. First of all, the idea which consists of the first and basic part in interpreting power will be introduced. Then what its critiques argue and their flaws will also be discussed to draw the conclusion how far the argument ‘A gets B to do something that he or she would not otherwise do’ reflects the essence of power. The ‘faces of power’ debate was raised from different theoretical traditions and approaches to political analysis. Basically the argument is about whether the concept of power is simple and quantifiable or it is rather complicated and intuitive concept which cannot be measured. Lukes2 acknowledges that this concept can never be settled. Alternatively he accepts the broad definition of power as A’s ability to get B to do what he or she would not otherwise have done but tries to highlight 3 different ways in which A can influence B’s behaviour: decision-making, agenda-setting and thought control. The one face of power – power as decision-making was suggested by Dahl in the early post war years. The thesis put forward above was originally proposed by him and this one-dimensional view of power was significant and influential in 1950s. â€Å"Power is somehow about getting things done, and is therefore most clearly reflected in decision and how they are made.†3 For Dahl, in order to find out power relationship, three steps are needed. First, a number of decision areas are selected and then the actors involved in that decision and their interests are figured out. Finally by comparing the decisions made and the actors’ preferences, the power relationship can be revealed. In this sense power is understood as a concept which can be simplified and quantified. A clear example was shown in?Political Analysis?: Anna buys Ben’s car for à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½500 which is actually worth à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½800 and both of them are aware of the real value. In this case, Anna’s power has been exercised over Ben in terms of decision-making since this decision would not have been the case if he had an influence in the process. One of the critical assumptions here is that the actors involved are fully aware of the information. Anna could have made this deal without exerting power if Ben did not know the real value. This argument of power as a decision-making does often make sense in tripartite political system where a number of different parties exercise their influence on controversial issues. In this case it is obvious to see the frequency of a particular party’s preference coincides with the final decision. Thus, how far they have influence on decision-making can be understood in terms of their political power. However Dahl’s argument faces critical attack in a sense that it too focuses on its narrow concept of power in decision-making. First of all, since only the key decisions are studied, it raises the problem of how far we are capable of distinguishing key issues and routine issues which are often ignored. Moreover, it does not take the potential power into account. In this manner, the power which is not exerted cannot be regarded as power. For instance, some business groups would not be concerned with the welfare issues until they realise the increased burden for welfare tax. Then it might be possible for them to begin exercising their power which has not been exercised without any explicit need for it. Also as assumed from its name, it only uncovers ‘one face of power’ ignoring other circumstances â€Å"in which decisions are prevented from happening, the area of non-decision-making.†4 This gave a rise to the second face of power argument by Bachrach and Bar atz. According to their view, power should be understood as agenda-setting which is the two dimensional approach. â€Å"Power might be manifested not only in doing things but also in ensuring that things do not get done.†5 What they basically insist is that power is exercised in choosing what should be involved in formal discussion and what should not be. In other words, who holds the power needs to be understood in agenda-setting process before the actual decision-making process. In this way, they have broadened the boundary in the concept of power. This kind of approach is well shown in the liberal democratic system where parties are seen as the medium of representing a particular preference on issues. However they can actually block a certain kind of issue to be discussed by disregarding it or make an agreement not to raise the issue. It is difficult to quantify the concept of power from this approach nonetheless not impossible. Thus they agree with the one-dimensional approach in a sense that there should be observable and demonstrable evidence of power relationship between the one who exercise power and the other who are subject to the power. However â€Å"the attempt to limit the concept of non-decision-making to observable behaviour is entirely arbitrary†6 since it does not take in the case in which the subordinated do not recognise themselves as being subordinated. Consequently this problem gave a rise to the third-dimensional view introduced by Lukes. According to his argument, the basic assumption of the above two views is not quite right. What people believe as their interests does not necessarily mean their ‘real’ interests. â€Å"The ability of A to exercise power over B, not by getting B to do what he would not otherwise do, but, by ‘influencing, shaping or determining his very wants'†7 What is meant here is that power lies in shaping people’s consciousness rather than their actions. In other words, without forcing them to do something visibly it is possible to make them do regarding that as natural and beneficial for them. This can be true where people’s preferences are often influenced by social experiences such as culture, education and media and these can be manipulated by those who have the power. In this way it naturally leads to the concept of ‘false consciousness’ which reflects the idea that people are â€Å"prevented from recognizing the fact of its own exploitat ion†8 However Luke’s argument also faces severe criticism. Back in the example of Anna and Ben, the critical point is not in the fact that Anna forced Ben to do something that he would not otherwise do, but in the fact that Ben behaved in a way which is contrary to his genuine interest. This raises a problematic point that who is to know Ben’s real interests. In effect, â€Å"It is impossible to argue that people’s perceptions and preferences are a delusion, that their ‘felt’ needs are no their ‘real’ need, without a standard of truth against which to judge them.†9 In this sense this debate become meaningless since there is no scientific method which to prove and make an absolute judgement over this. Furthermore it is contested that nobody is capable of distinguishing the autonomous decision based on real interests and the one based on felt interests being manipulated from powerful. To conclude, the debate over the concept of power has been developed from the shallow one dimensional understanding to a more intuitive and complex three dimensional one. It cannot be said that the effort of developing it into more sophisticated form has always been successful. However through this process, it is true to say that the concept of power has been understood from various approaches which enabled better understanding. Nevertheless the important point to note is that the latter has never attempted to replace or deny the former approach since no single argument can define the political concept of power by its own. Rather, it has its root in the former argument and tries to make it more convincing. From this point of view, power is definitely something which enables ‘A gets B to do something that he or she would not otherwise do’. Therefore on one hand, it is possible to say that the essence of power lies in this argument to a certain extent but there can be plur al ways depending on approaches in doing so. (1,419 words) References Clegg, S.R. (1989:11) Frameworks of Power. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Hay, C. (2002:168) Political Analysis: A critical introduction. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Heywood, A. (2004:122, 124, 125, 127 and 128) Political theory: An introduction (3rd edn). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Goverde, H. et al. (eds) (2000:26) Power in Contemporary Politics. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Bibliography Clegg, S.R. (1989) Frameworks of Power. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Goodwin, B. (1997) Using political ideas (4th edn). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Goverde, H. et al. (eds) (2000) Power in Contemporary Politics. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Hay, C. (2002) Political Analysis: A critical introduction. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Heywood, A. (2004) Political theory: An introduction (3rd edn). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. McLean, I. & McMillan, A. (2003) Oxford concise dictionary of Politics (2nd edn). Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1 Hay, C. (2002:168) Political Analysis: A critical introduction. Basingstoke: Palgrave. 2 Heywood, A. (2004:122) Political theory: An introduction (3rd edn). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 3 Heywood, A. (2004:124) Political theory: An introduction (3rd edn). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 4 Heywood, A. (2004:125) Political theory: An introduction (3rd edn). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 5 Clegg, S.R. (1989:11) Frameworks of Power. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. 6 Goverde, H. et al. (eds) (2000:26) Power in Contemporary Politics. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. 7 Heywood, A. (2004:127) Political theory: An introduction (3rd edn). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 8 Heywood, A. (2004:128) Political theory: An introduction (3rd edn). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 9 Heywood, A. (2004:128) Political theory: An introduction (3rd edn)). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.