Four Freedoms

The basic idea of the four freedoms has changed drastically from the times of the 1940s to the current time we are living in now. In the 1940s, the freedoms that people were promised to receive weren’t for all people of different races and they were different from what the four freedoms had to offer the common good of society compared to our time now. In present time, people are more accepted for who they are and what race they are. Also, almost everyone in America has the privilege to enjoy the perks of what the four freedoms promises Americans.As a nation the meaning of the four freedoms has changed overtime and the people’s tolerance of each other no matter what race, skin color, or where they are from has changed the freedoms largely over a period of 60-70 years. The freedom that I think has changed the most out of the four freedoms is the freedom of speech. Back in the 1940’s racial borders would prevent black people from being taken seriously if they were t o speak out on their own opinions and the way they see things. There was still this sense of racism in the 1940’s and African-Americans were still in the struggle to get the same civil rights as the white man.Also, if a black man was ever to speak out against the government he would be punished for even saying anything. An example of this was when Martin. Luther King. Jr. spoke out his opinion and started peaceful protests that would eventually get him in trouble. He ended up being sent to jail for sharing his opinion on black civil rights. Overtime he was killed by a James Earl Ray by assassination. In our present time we’ve learned to accept what everyone has to say and it’s respect to speak out on your opinion and there are no racial barriers.An example of freedom of speech today is Barack Obama. He believed and throughout his campaign for presidency proclaimed that healthcare should be available for every American. Before in the 1940’s a black man wou ldn’t be taken seriously and a black man wouldn’t see the point of speaking out his opinion when it doesn’t matter to anyone else. In comparison from back then to this point of time the freedom of speech has changed and people have learned to be more acceptable or open to whatever anyone else has to say no matter who the person is, what color their skin is or where they are from.Everyone truly does have the right now to say however they feel in America. The freedom that I think has changed the least is the freedom of fear. In the 1940’s the whole country has a sense of togetherness since Roosevelt was trying to unite our nation to fight back against Japan and Germany. World War II inserted a sense of fear into us when they bombed Pearl Harbor and we were all scared that other countries would take over ours. Roosevelt preached that if he country all stuck together we would do just fine and win this war as long as we were all a team.Everyone in America fear ed that we would be attacked and it relates to our time now in a way. When 9’11 happened in 2001 fear struck us. We couldn’t believe that airplanes were coming down and destroying massive buildings. We never expect anything like that to happen to us and we feared, â€Å"What if we were next? † As a nation we fought back against the terrorists and captured Osama Bin Laden the leader of Al-Qaeda, the terrorist group that bombed our country, and we showed the world that America shouldn’t be messed with because we are all one big community of a billion people.The people of America put trust in our government to do the right thing and they did. Overtime things have stayed the same in our nation and the unity to keep the rights we are promised as American citizens has drove us to make our country better. As Americans we know we are in good hands with the safety that the marines, army, air force and navy give us. The freedom that I think is the most important is the freedom from want. The freedom from want is to not want anything you can’t have and not being able to have it ever.In the 1940’s the freedom from want was available to all people besides people who were segregated against. The certain groups were Japanese, African-Americans, and sometimes Jewish people. For example, Japanese people were segregated against because of the attacks on Pearl Harbor and everyone thought all Japanese people were spies. Also, African-Americans were treated wrong just because of their history as slaves and they white man thinking they’re better than them. Another group were the Jews because Jews over the history of time were blamed for anything bad ever happening.Jews were always looked down by society and it’s sad that they couldn’t get the rights they were promised to have as American citizens. In our present time everyone has the opportunity to be whoever they are trying to be. Black people earned the right to be at equal status as white people. An example is Barack Obama and his life goal. Barack Obama knew from an early age what he wanted to do and he did it. He works really hard in school, did everything that could get him to where he is now and never took a bad turn in life.Back then it was a joke to think a black man would ever be President of the United States, but he proved the world wrong. Back then you would never think these people would have these rights, but they do now and everything is for the better since everyone can earn whatever they want to do as long as they set their minds to it. The freedom that in my eyes is the least important is the freedom of religion. The freedom of religion is being able to practice any religion of your own choice.In the 1940’s people were certainly able to practice any religion they want, but some religions were frowned upon and considered against the law. An example is the Ku-Klux-Klan and their practices in the 1940s. They used to murder b lack people, Jews and people who didn’t fit in with their society. Eventually this would become a religion for this group. In the 1940’s not every religion was accepted, but still is the same now. It’s not about the spiritual thoughts of hate against different races that got them in trouble, but the things they actually did physically that made the religion frowned upon and against the law.Now people are accepting any religion that practices spiritually, but when it comes to physical or verbal practices that hurt people then it’s against the law. The government cracks down on most of these hate groups, but the thing is you can’t stop anyone from what they want to do. Times have changed, but the ability to practice any religion you want will stay the same. The four freedoms have stayed the same and changed over a series of time. We consider the freedoms the same today and they all apply strongly to this day.As a nation we have bettered our self-inte rest to fit the nation’s best interest and learned to accept each other for who we are. Every person of every race has all the same rights. There still are those people, who don’t find each other equal, but they can’t publicly speak the way they fell or they will get in trouble. The four freedoms has ensured all Americans the safety, freedom of speech, freedom to practice any religion they want, and the ability to be anyone you want to be if you strive for it. Being American has perks, but the four freedoms help us distinguish us as Americans and make us who we are.

Template for Purpose Statement

University of Phoenix Material Problem and Purpose Statement Templates Templates for Purpose Statements Below are the criteria from the checklist that show the parts required in the problem statement. Samples of a qualitative, quantitative, and mixed study problem statement are provided as examples. |Problem Statement | |1.General problem identifying need for study: The problem is ______ | |2. Specific problem proposed for research: 3 out of 5 chief executive officers are overweight and at risk for heart attack | |3. Introductory words describing methodological approach given and appropriate to the specific problem; â€Å"This qualitative or quantitative case | |study will explore or examine†¦Ã¢â‚¬  | |4.General population group identified: Chief executive officers from Fortune 500 organizations will be surveyed to determine †¦.. | Qualitative Problem Statement African American females remain drastically underrepresented in community college president positions (problem), despite the increase of African American community college presidents over the last ten years (Phelps & Taber, 1997). Only 5% of 1,220 community colleges (specific problem: encourage numbers, as that helps illustrate specific problem) have African American presidents (Phelps & Taber, 1997).African American women occupy a small percentage of Phelps’ figure of 5%. This qualitative case study (study type) will describe personal and professional perceptions experienced by 20 African American women who have achieved the role as a United States community college president. (population) The data will provide leaders information related to leadership development, mentoring, and accession strategies for  African American females interested in  community college presidential roles. Quantitative Problem StatementDepartment of the Army civilian managers and supervisors, who hold leadership positions, are perceived as not having the same leadership training and competencies as their military counterparts (problem) (Viall, 2003). A study conducted by the Army Chief of Staff reported, â€Å"There is no well developed and executed, integrated, systemic approach for civilian leader development for the Army† (Viall, 2003). The Department of the Army, however, does have equal and required civilian and officer institutional leadership training, education, and development policies in place (specific problem) (Army, 1999, para. -6-3). These policies are outlined and explained in United States Army Training and Doctrine Command Regulation 351-10, and implemented for use by civilians through the Army Civilian Training, Education and Development System. The system was implemented to provide a sequential, progressive leadership development plan that provides civilians with a career leadership-learning path equal to leadership training provided in the Officer Education System (Army, 1999, p. 22).This quantitative study (methodological approach) will utilize quantifiab le and qualifiable research methods to compare the leadership training, education, and development regulations and programs of United States Army officers to that of civilians in a large federal laboratory located in the southeastern United States, (population being studied) to determine why civilians are perceived as not having the same leadership competencies as military counterparts. Mixed Methods Problem Statement Virtual employees are becoming more prevalent in business environments.There are approximately 24 million virtual workers in the U. S. , representing 18% of the total workforce (The Dieringer Research Group, 2004), up from 19 million in 1999 (Pratt, 1999). By 2010, there may be over 40 million virtual workers in the U. S. (Jala International, Inc. , 2004). In 2001, 51% of North American companies had virtual employee programs (Wiesenfeld, 2001). In some areas, the use of virtual employees and teams â€Å"has outpaced our understanding of the dynamics and unique charac teristics† (Pauleen & Young, 2002, p. 205). general problem) Whereas virtual environments require the same basic management and leadership responsibilities, they may encumber managers when conducting individual performance feedback and employee developmental activities (Bell & Kozlowski, 2002). (specific problem) This mixed method study (type of study) will use a modification of Morrill’s (1997) Likert-type instrument with several open-ended questions to explore the patterns of perceived feedback effectiveness and best practices for communicating feedback to virtual employees.The study will electronically survey all employees in _____ division, who have been in their position for at least one year and are located throughout the continental U. S. (geographic location) to describe the degree of correlation between the virtualness of the employee and the perceived level of performance feedback, developmental feedback, trust, and leaders member exchange. The survey will col lect data to identify best practices for communicating performance and developmental feedback to virtual employees. Templates for Purpose Statements.

Examine The Advantages Some Sociologists May Finds When Using Participant Observation

Participant observation is where the researcher joins the group or community they are studying, the researcher will participate in the activities over a period of time, to do this, the researcher attempts to become accepted in order to collect more valid research and to try and see the world in the way the group does. There are two types of participant observation, Covert and Overt.Covert participant observation is where the researcher will take an undercover role in order to do research into the group they wish to study, there is normally a ‘gate keeper’ within this group that knows the researcher is there to do research, the gate keeper helps get them into the group to do this research. Overt participant observation is where the researcher takes a more open role; they openly ask the group if they will allow the researcher to study them.Interpretivists prefer participant observations as they argue that it’s the most effective way to understand the meanings people give on certain things, they also prefer it as there is a greater chance of developing their understanding further by verstehen. An advantage of covert participant observation could be that more valid research will be gained as they study is true to life when compared to overt research. With overt participant observation there can be a risk of less valid data due to the Hawthorne Effect; this is where the presence of the researcher can affect the way the participants behave.With both covert and overt participant observations rapports can be made which may lead to more valid data and data that is normally hard to reach as the group that the researcher is studying will begin to trust them. However, this can take time and can be less practical. An example of this is Eileen Barker’s study on the Unification Church, she studied the ‘Moonie’s’ over 7 years, gaining the trust of the participants, who soon saw her as a friend, thus enabling her to gain more valid and truthful research.By doing this, Barker gained verstehen meaning she could understand the feelings of the people she was studying, empathising with them; as a result she developed a further understanding of their way of life. Other practical issues with covert participant observation are that it can be hard to find a gate keeper to let the researcher into the group. Both covert and overt research are very time consuming and cost a lot, so the study must be worth the time of studying.Both covert and overt observations can be low in reliability as they are hard to replicate and get consistent results. Researchers may remember and interpret things differently thus reducing the reliability of the research even further. This tends to be more of a disadvantage with covert research as they are unable to write down everything the group being studied says as it will risk their cover and could ruin the research.With an overt role, this can be avoided as they are able to take notes in the open, and can use different types of methods such as interviews or questionnaires. Covert participant observation tends to be more unethical than overt participant observation as the researcher doesn’t ask the group for consent thus deceiving the group, the researcher may take part in illegal acts in order to maintain cover, an example of this is Patrick, he studied a gang in Glasgow over four months, during his time in the gang he was required to partake in burglaries to keep the trust of the gang.To prevent this, researchers may want to take more of an overt role, which means they have an honest and open role within the group, meaning there is no deception and they won’t have to take part in illegal acts. Positivists don’t like participant observation as it’s hard for them to gather quantitative data, so they aren’t able to generalise or see patterns or trends.

Comparative Cultures- Anthropology- Coffee Essay

Comparative Cultures- Anthropology- Coffee - Essay Example Over the years, coffee has become a profitable tradable commodity and has had great success in most parts of the world. It is bought and sold by roasters, investors and price speculators due to its demand and value. The two main cultivated species are the Robusta coffee and the Arabica coffee. Most Arabica coffee beans originate from either Latin America, eastern Africa, Arabia or Asia. Robusta coffee beans are grown in western and central Africa, many parts of Asia, and to some extent in Brazil (Wasendorf, R, 2002; p 87). In the beverage market, Coffee holds an important place and makes a majority business in the market. Many millions of people rely on coffee for living and is a very labour-intensive culture in any region of the world. The coffee industry currently has a commodity chain that involves producers, middlemen exporters, importers, roasters, and retailers before reaching the consumer. Middlemen exporters purchase the coffee below market price, keeping a high percentage for them. Large coffee estates and plantations often export their own harvests or have direct arrangements with a transnational coffee processing or distributing company. Under either arrangement, large producers can sell at prices set by the New York Coffee Exchange. Roasters have the highest profit margin in the commodity chain. Large roasters normally sell pre-packaged coffee to large retailers. Coffee reaches the consumers through cafes and specialty stores selling coffee, of which, approximately, 30% are chains, and thr ough supermarkets and traditional retail chains. Supermarkets and traditional retail chains hold about 60% of market share and are the primary channel for both specialty coffee and non-specialty coffee. Twelve billion pounds of coffee is consumed around the globe annually, and the United States alone has over 130 million coffee drinkers. The export market for coffee has been reported to have flourished in the late nineteenth century

Project Time Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Project Time Management - Research Paper Example or organizations are undertaking project management, they are feeling the pressure from the governments, policymakers, and public to finalize the project as soon as possible. In case of private organizations, there are both internal and external pressures, which force the project managers to meet deadlines and utilize the resource of time effectiveness (Sen, 2008). Many projects regarding new product development have to use time effectively so that the competitors do not come up with similar innovations before them. Therefore, the bottom line here is that time management has emerged as important determinant of project success in the 21st century. This explains why over the past few decades, great deal of literature has surfaced about project time management and its different processes stressing its importance and need (Lock, 2007; Lewis, 2007). Importance and Development As mentioned earlier that in today’s competitive business world, efficiency is the key a large proportion o f this efficiency depends upon time management. Effective time management reduces not only the costs but it may also reduce potential conflicts as well. For example, if the workers are billing you as a project manager at an hour rate, effective management may reduce the costs (Kerzner, 2009). In the same way, if the project manager takes more time than usual and then bills you as the client for greater number of hours then that may create tension and poor word of mouth advertising. The fact is that when it comes to other resources, such as building, cash, human resource, IT, and others, corporations and companies have found a way to store them and utilize them on their terms but the same is not true in case of time. Therefore, project managers have to utilize time without any delay since it... For example, Gantt charts may suit small projects but for large projects with more than 30 activities, it may become troublesome to handle. Furthermore, Gantt chart also does not communicate anything about the magnitude of different activities. Gantt charts have also received criticism for their inability to follow the 100 percent rule which the activities divided usually fail to account for 100 percent performance of the actual project either adding more elements or leaving out the existing ones (Meredith & Mantel, 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In simple words, critical path method is a time management technique in project management, which allows project managers to understand the shortest and longest time required for the completion of each project. The first step entails specifying all the individual activities concerned with the completion of the project. The second stage has to with determining the sequence of those activities (Sen, 2008). Third, in light of the sequence, at this stage, one would draw a network diagram showing the flow of activities. Fourth, at the same time, taking into account all the overlapping, at this stage, the manager would calculate the total time required for completing each activity. Fifth, the most important step is about identifying the critical path or the longest path (Portny, et al., 2007; Leach, 2005). The same is done by evaluating the four elements about each activity, which are earliest start time, earliest finish time, latest finish time , and latest start time.

GFP Mutants with Altered Mass Spectra Research Proposal - 1

GFP Mutants with Altered Mass Spectra - Research Proposal Example The green fluorescent protein (GFP), was discovered and isolated from the from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria (1). The native protein contains 238 amino acids which fold into six alpha helices and eleven beta strands forming a classical cylindrical beta sheet with anti-parallel strands. The GFP protein owes its fluorescence to the derived chromophore that is buried deep in the beta-barrel which protects interactions with the solvent. Due to its stable fluorescence, GFP has been used in biological studies as an important marker for processes like protein trafficking. Sequence data for GFP has led to the development of recombinant GFP proteins with modifications to increase the fluorescence intensity and longevity. There are many mutant GFPs with differences in absorption and emission spectra. There are enhanced GFP (EGFP) that has higher-intensity emission after blue-light excitation compared to wild-type GFP (4) (3). Another is GFPuv, a recombinant GFP with maximum emission spectra is 509nm, similar to that of wild-type GFP. GFPuv has a molecular weight of 29 kDa with three amino acid substitutions (Phe-99 to Ser, Met-153 to Thr, and Val-163 to Ala resulting in 18 times more brightness under ultra-violet (UV) light at 395nm. GFPuv is 18 times brighter than wild-type GFP. The large fluorescence of GFPuv making it suitable for experiments that require detection of changes in fluorescence. GFPuv expressed in highly expressed in E. coli is a soluble, fluorescent protein in contrast to wild-type GFP, which may be expressed in inclusion bodies as a nonfluorescent protein.

Nuclear Energy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nuclear Energy - Research Paper Example The most alarming factor concerning the rapid population growth around the world is their need to access to the resources which they use to make a living out of (Sovacool). Despite the growth and the increased demand on the natural resources by the increasing human population, these natural resources have not been appreciating in value but have been depreciating instead as the pressure is exerted on them due to increased human demands. Besides industrialization has been on the increase as well as many countries try to fight out for their survival within their niches with regard to the diminishing natural resources. The main driving force for economic development and the running of various industries around the globe is energy. This actually means that as the world’s industrial growth continues to expand, a lot of energy is required to run the industries as well as other sectors of economic productivity. It is however an amazing discovery made by the scientists concerning the p rovision of energy requirements for the increasing world populations with the diminishing trend in the natural resource endowments which is in contrary with the world population growth. This paper will look at the process of nuclear energy development around the globe and its implications for the global population. The aspect of increasing energy requirements and the need to plan adequately for the future generations with the diminishing natural resource base lead to the coining of the term sustainable development which cropped up during the earth summit in Rio De Jenairo in 1992 which aimed at striking a balance between the increasing human populations and the energy demands and call for the use of these natural resources in a sustainable manner (Wiberg). The summit, commonly known as the Rio Summit/the Rio declaration defined sustainable development as the type of development which caters for the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of the future gener ations to meet their own needs. This therefore meant that the present generation had to use her energy and other natural resources in such a way that they wouldn’t compromise the ability of the future generations to use the same resources to meet their own needs. The declaration made several countries to decide otherwise with regard to their protection of the natural resources hence the development of the nuclear energy as an alternative form to supplement and help sustain the non- renewable forms of energy such as hydro- electric energy, wood energy as well as the petroleum energy which is currently in high demand and widely used in the industrial sector but which is diminishing at a very high rate since it is non- renewable. Nuclear energy as Wiberg notes is that type of energy which is obtained by splitting the nucleus of certain radioactive atoms such as uranium, a process referred to as nuclear fission or nuclear tracking (Wiberg). The increasing demands on the requireme nts in the world has led to the overuse of the carbon related energy such as petroleum and coal energy which have only increased the extent of carbon gas emission in the atmosphere. Carbonic gas, which is known as a common and the most dangerous greenhouse gas resulting from emissions emanating from the extensive use of fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal, has immensely contributed to extensive global warming

Therapeutic management of stroke to prevent secondary events in Literature review

Therapeutic management of stroke to prevent secondary events in patients who have experienced an ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) - Literature review Example ever posited that duration of manifestation of symptoms is a major issue in ITA as in ITA, the symptoms are only kindly to be the same as what is seen in stroke in the first 24 hours or less. Writing specifically on the pathophysiology of ITA and its clinical manifestation, Iadecola and Gorelick (2012) stressed that the primary pathophysiology of the disease is the underlying heart or blood vessel disease, which manifests in several forms, including atherosclerotic vascular disease. Atherosclerotic vascular diseases have been associated with ischaemic stroke and actually considered a major cause of ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack (ITA) (Rothwell, 2011). This is because the onset of atherosclerotic vascular diseases has actually been linked with the occurrence of occlusive lesions which take place in major intracranial and extracranial arteries. Meanwhile, any form of inhabitation of supply of blood to the heart could be associated with possible breakdown in the active functioning of the brain (Adams et al., 2008). Rashid, Leonardi-Bee and Bath (2013) noted that with the onset of atherosclerotic vascular disease which is the primary pathophysiology of both stroke and ITA, the damage to lesions resulting from occlusive lesions bring about further secondary manifestations, necessary for diagnosis. As this occlusive lesions, which is a form of severely stenotic lesions occur at the major intracranial and extracranial arteries, they lead to the narrowing of small penetrating arteries of the brain and thus the cause or onset of secondary events in patients with TIA (Fayad, 2006). In relation to the current research problem, Bornstein, Silvestrelli, Caso and Parnetti (2012) found that where there pathophysiology and clinical manifestation shows clear possibility of ITA, it is very important that immediate management steps are taken to avert further secondary events, leading to stroke. This is because there is only a thin line from the transition point from

Public vs. Private Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Public vs. Private - Essay Example P 1992) It covers a great range of ideas and policies varying from the eminently reasonable to the wildly impractical.’ The debate the paper delves on is what are the programs or sectors that are currently under the governmental supervision that can be privatized and what are the pros and cons of such privatization. Let us first look at some positive and negative facts and opinions from two sources in order to gauge the depth of the subject. Michael Williams in his article on Public Vs private pay, states the flaws in the current pay structure of an employee working for the US Postal service. Pointing out this difference in California where the average salary of a CalPers employee in 2004 for was about $46000 and the average of salary of all average per capita income of all Californians was $35000. Since then he says,’ the gap has only expanded. He has proved this by stating the case of Postmaster General E Potter. â€Å"Congress will hold a hearing next month into why Postmaster General John E. Potter has gotten a nearly 40 percent pay raise since 2006 and was awarded a six-figure incentive bonus last year, even as the U.S. Postal Service faces a multibillion-dollar shortfall that threatens a day of mail delivery. ALLISON SHELLEY/THE WASHINGTON TIMES REWARDED: Postmaster General John E. Potter received a compensation package totalling more than $800,000 for fiscal 2008.†(Williams. M 2009) While the above information gives us a strong reason for privatization of the US postal service, the following facts will educate us on the public opinion of privatization. When privatization was at its full length and breadth under the Bush administration Congressman Jim Mc Dermott stated the following in one of the discussions â€Å"It has become increasingly clear that the Bush Administration cares more about big business than about the average citizen. If this trend toward privatization continues, I worry that the privacy and

Microeconomics Current events Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Microeconomics Current events - Assignment Example The decline in Colombian coffee production can be well grasped from the statistics that in the year 2006 the country produced more than 12 million pound bags of coffee and was optimistic to take this number to more than 17 million by 2014. However the catastrophe that has been illustrated so far has restricted the Colombian coffee production at nine million pounds bags in the year 2010. This displays a decline instead of much expected rise. Research has been going on to form a suitable Arabic coffee variant with indigenous qualities of Colombia that would be more resistant to pests and would be able to flourish even amidst heavy rain, however the final outcome is yet to be found. Courting this deadline in supply on one hand and rise in global demand for coffee on the other; price of the same is on a rise. The retail price of coffee coming from famous brands has risen by 25% and the figure in futures market is even higher at 85%. The consequences for the Colombian coffee and the eventual impact on global coffee market from the same are following a simple logic. First of all global warming and erratic climatic condition are mostly due to anthropocentric activities over hundred of years; especially after the industrial revolution. Secondly the decline in supply and rise in demand for the coffee (following an improvement of economic status of the population of the countries like India and China) has quite obviously resulted in a price rise in short run (excess demand). Again the scenario hovering global warming and the global climatic condition does not seem too bright in future; hence little hope is there that the production of coffee will be blessed with environmental favour once again in near future resulting in higher supply for the same.

Tocqueville's Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Tocqueville's Philosophy - Essay Example Tocqueville observes that the society’s change from a feudal aristocracy to a democracy only serves to deepen and sharpen the democratic man’s psychological state. Both the underlying equality logic and the impacts of the disintegration of the feudal aristocratic state serve to fan the anxiety that is latent in the man’s situation by contributing onto the status obsession (Tocqueville, 124). Tocqueville argues that the aristocratic period placed horizons and boundaries around and before all by linking everyone from the lowly peasant to the highly placed king in one single chain. This system served to permanently place men in both their social and historical place. This is because aristocratic men always preserve an overall historical awareness of their ancestors as well as their descendants. In this kind of society, each of the existing classes is permanently firmly limited and each subject is assigned a fixed station that is often in a hierarchical manner that serves to ensure that there will always be a person above him who will accord him the necessary protection as well as another one underneath him whose help may sometimes be required (Tocqueville 173). Democracy serves to radically impose itself, breaking the preexisting links thus freeing each and every link available. In the equality age, men do not have to contend with any preexisting boundaries instead the new system opens newly available opportunities that accord them a chance at wealth accumulation and social mobility. The French philosopher Tocqueville embarked on a very ambitious task when he decided to pen a book on Democracy in America. He gave himself this task having seen the unsuccessful attempts to have democratic governance in his native home so he wanted to gain valuable insights on how democracy works by studying a prosperous and stable democracy.

Antisocial Behaviour Essay Example for Free

Antisocial Behaviour Essay In Britain antisocial behaviour between young people is a widely argued subject in the British media. More and more Brits at the age 13-18 are dropping out of school or work-based training and refuse to return. These young people are more than likely to face criminal action possibly leading to a fine or community sentence. But when we are talking about the term â€Å"Anti-social Behaviour†, then we need to know what it exactly means. The British â€Å"crime disorder act† of 1998 describes the term n anti-social manner, that is to say, in a manner that caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons So to simplify, Antisocial behaviour is when a person is forced by his or hers environment to cause harassment to one-self or the persons surroundings, and as far as I understand the subject antisocial behaviour does not have to be of criminal nature, but it is more than likely to be so. In 2007 the percentage of 16 to 17-year-olds not in education, employment or training was 9 percent. It is exactly these young people who are the targets for becoming antisocial. So how do you make sure that these unfortunate teenagers don’t end in this so unfortunate situation and is it possible to force the teenagers to behave in a more civilised way? There are actually many suggestions for a solution to this nationwide problem. Some of them are quit controversial and are more likely to stop antisocial teenagers doing crime, than to prevent teenagers to not at all become antisocial. One of these alternative solutions is the â€Å"Mosquito† which is a sonic device that gives out a piercing noise audible only to teenagers and people in there early twenties. This device has been installed as a â€Å"yob† (slang for an antisocial person) deterrent at nearly 3,000 locations such as grocers and shopping malls across Great Britain. This Mosquito is a camouflaged speaker box not larger than shoebox and it sends out a pulse at 18 kilohertz which in the last end will give the young people acting antisocial in front of the store a terrible headache so they quickly leave the store. This method of fighting antisocial behaviour among teens has been shown very effective. In some stores in the UK crime outside the stores had dropped by 83 % since the device was installed. The device has actually earned so much respect among shopkeepers and government officials that some are considering that the Mosquito should be obligatory by law in most public places by night. So it is quite obvious to see all the positive aspects but not all are so enthusiastic. Chief constables in Britain say they are scared the Mosquito is going to infringe human rights. Authorities say that the device is indiscriminating and that people should consider the effects on the young people, because not all young people are antisocial yobs. So you can see that the meanings about the Mosquito vary quite a lot. The device is very effective against the teens that already are in the antisocial environment but the device is not at all preventive. So what could be done if you the British teenagers to not even think about becoming antisocial. The British former PM Tony Blair wants to force errant schoolchildren back to school by using dedicated truancy officers which will be deployed in the 200 schools with biggest yob and truancy problems. This plan spans over using more than ? 70m to stamp out antisocial behaviour, as well as 24,000 community support officers will also be conducting these truancy sweeps so they can force the teens back to school. The plan does also include tougher punishments to the yobs when they get caught. This is of course a very controversial method to tackle antisocial behaviour but it could be showing really effective because it is preventive and helps the teenagers in trouble before they become antisocial yobs. But of course as mentioned by opponents of the plan, the plan is so ambitious and expensive that it more looks like â€Å"a mish-mash of gimmick and spin† than an actual plan, which within realistic measures would be preventive without costing the country enormous amounts of money and labour. So here we have two very different plans which in two very different ways will deal with two very important parts of the subject antisocial behaviour among British teens. I do not think that there is any exactly solution to this very important problem in British cities, small towns and schools but of course the Mosquito has already proven its worth in more than 3,000 locations with success and has made it safer for those people being harassed by the yobs in the public. But unfortunately the Mosquito does not help educating the teens; it just makes the yobs find an other place for them to be at. The most important factor in this case is that you need to stop the antisocial behaviour in its process and not when it already has affected the young teenagers. So perhaps Tony Blair’s plan is the right way to do it, though I personally believe that the plan is way too focussed on hard punishment than in are pedagogical way. I don’t believe that tough punishment is the way of teaching youngsters today.

Environmental Sustainability Practices with ICT

Environmental Sustainability Practices with ICT MGDI60701 Implementing Environmental Sustainability Practices in Developing Countries through ICT Wordcount: 4370 (excluding references) Introduction An outstanding attributes of ICT (information and communications technology) is its crosscutting aspect and its speed, with regards to quick adaptation (Pohjola, 2003). For instance, about four decades ago television broadcasting, landline telephone and postal deliveries were the key mediators in the flow of information, but this flow of information occurred only on one direction. User-generated content was very minimal. However, in the current day and age, countries around the world have been more interconnected via several facilities of ICT and the flow of information happens in multiple directions, with very heavy influence of user-generated content especially through social media (Yin et al., 2012). ICT has not only emerged to be a significant industry on itself but has pervaded all aspects in day-to-day life. Studies have indicated that ICT has a remarkable impact on socio-economic development generally, and environmental sustainability specifically. Whereas this could be true, in developing countries such as Nigeria little research has been achieved in pinpointing the approaches through which ICT could be harnessed for environmental sustainability. There exists no consensus on the definition of developing country from the United Nations or the World Bank, and this study has adopted the definition of developing country that has been offered by Library of Congress, which is a country whereby: the majority of population makes far less income, and has significantly weaker social indicatorsand often lacks basic public services-than the population in highly-industrialized countries (LOC, 2016, p. 1).This paper is based on literature review and it investigates how ICT can be harnessed in implementing environmental sustainability practices in developing countries. Overview of environmental crisis One global reality existing today is environmental crisis. The International Telecommunications Union, a specialized agency of the United Nations, has made the affirmation that the existing increasing concern about life on planet earth is heavily influenced by the impact of humans on the environment, particularly natural environment (Schwabach, 2006). In that manner, improving resource management practices, raising awareness, getting to sustainable development as well as enhancing the environmental performance makes up the key issues which require worldwide attention. International community has asserted this point by encompassing environmental sustainability to be part of MDGs (Millennium Development Goals). Achieving environmental sustainability nonetheless demands strategies that are innovative. In light of this, awareness of the nature of environmental challenges in developing countries is a key requirement. With regards to developing countries, environmental crisis happens to be a real occurrence and the impact has been widely felt physically, economically and socially. In the Fox (2004) study assessing environmental degradation in one developing country, Tanzania, the study observed that there are big environmental disasters in that country to affect that big rivers were drying up. Practices leading to this included severe deforestation and clearance of natural vegetation for agriculture purposes. Apart from drying up of rivers and increased river sedimentation, reduced rainfall has also impacted on the health of the citizens in the region and has undermined the possibility of sustainable development. Tanzania has been shown to be requiring a number of approaches so as to address these challenges that have been posed by such an environmental crisis. Affirming a capacity of ICTs in enhancing the environmental sustainability in developing countries, ICTs have been contended to be having the capability of playing a significant role in developmental and economic sectors (Kapurubandara Lawson, 2006). Nonetheless ICT has been demonstrated to be complex and multifaceted, and its environmental impact could both be beneficial or adverse. This implies that a careful planning on how to integrate ICT in environmental sustainability practices of the developing countries is highly important. As a result of this, the following section analyses whether and how ICT can assist in delivering the environmental sustainability goal in developing countries. ICT for environmental sustainability practices in developing countries Houghton (2009) as well as Minasyan (2006) observed that an intricate relationship exists between ICT and the environment. This is due to the observation that ICTs could have both positive and negative roles with regards to the environment. Some of the positive roles have been demonstrated to be better energy efficiency, recycling and substitution for travel/transport; negative roles have been demonstrated to be energy consumption, increasing amounts of e-waste such as from discarded CRT monitors and low life cycle of the products (ITU, 2008). Being a medium for networking and information, it has been demonstrated that ICT has the capability of enabling citizens in the developing countries to adopt the role of environmental enforcement agents and alert the authorities to acts of environmental infringement. A host of important environmental aspects have been identified whereby ICT could be used and as such enhance environmental sustainability. Environmental studies The possible role of ICT in environmental sustainability practices starts with the usefulness of ICT in environmental studies. International Telecommunications Union has reiterated that ICT offers an unprecedented capability to collecting and processing environmental data which far outweighs the capability of any person and may encompass the whole terrestrial system. From the complex environment, ICT could assist in simplifying and understanding impact of mankind on environment. This can be achieved through the aid of increasingly interconnected and powerful platforms of computing which have been combined with large information databases. Moreover, ICT has been identified as a significant tool for carrying out empirical studies relating to environmental issues. It has previously been observed that new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) may represent appropriate tools to support environmental research and its transmission to policy-makers and the general public (Chiabai et al., 2013, p.89). In aggregate, using ICT to carry out environmental studies is associated with a host of economic and scientific benefits as well as having a political implication. Some of the scientific benefits have been shown to be enhanced multidisciplinary studies. Political implications of using ICT are that interface with the policy-makers can be created, and citizens can participate in the decision-making processes concerning environmental sustainability practices. Environmental observation ICT can be used for environmental observation in the developing countries (Houghton, 2009). Generally, the environmental systems are made up of terrestrial and aquatic categories. The terrestrial component is made up of forests, grasslands, mountains and so forth whereas the aquatic components is made up of marine, freshwater, wetlands and so forth. Tools of ICT that can be employed in these developing countries include remote sensing, telemetric systems among others. This observation can lead to better monitoring of the environmental practices. The e-monitoring systems can be used as environmental screening tools as well as mapping tools which offer the relevant authorities reliable data with which to highlight pollution issues, and these can then be applied for further evaluating and analysing the environmental concern. E-monitoring could offer both summary data and detailed data in the developing countries for both environmental and demographic attributes. For example, ICT has been applied in monitoring the deforestation of the Amazon forest in Brazil; satellite imagery is used in identifying deforestation and this is then mapped on a geographic information system (GIS). Data from this GIS has been made public in Brazil in recent years and this offers greater public awareness on the environmentally destructive practices. Data from this GIS has been identified to have been very instrumental in effecting policy changes in Brazil, which have included crafting, implementing and enforcing legislations for controlling deforestation, and gazetting more protected areas. It is common for forest rangers to go to areas showing deforestation activity from the satellite imagery received in combination with Global Positioning System (GPS), and then take necessary action to prevent further deforestation activity. Nonetheless some challenges have been identified in this approach: the GIS offer low resolution and thus offer only a rough identification concerning the deforested area; the Amazon is big but the rangers have limited capacity as such the data from the system is not used in real time (Hayes Rajao, 2011). Moreover, in developing countries where the internet penetration is low, radio calls and mobile telephones could be applied in reporting environmental degradation activities and for facilitating community mobilization to confront such activities. Mitigation of climate change Activities to mitigate against climate change are targeted at minimizing the negative impacts of the climate change on the environment. Several manners exist which ICTs can be applied in mitigating against environmental impacts in developing countries, such as through observation and monitoring as previous mentioned, through enabling better efficiency in utilization of resources, via dematerialization for example e-books instead of paper-printed books, through substitution for transport for example video conferencing instead of travel. A number of studies such as Patt Schrotter (2008) exist showing how ICT can assist in mitigating against climate change. Developing countries face a host of challenges with regards to providing infrastructure as the economies grow. The challenges in meeting the growing demands have been shown to be driving the investments in these developing countries towards solutions that present more energy efficiency. For example, limitations on the capacity of electricity generation and the transmission have resulted into more development of smart grid in China and India. This has led to an improved energy efficiency level and has reduced the expansion rate of the coal-powered electricity plants. These smart grids have been shown by Boccaletti et al. (2008) to have resulted into reduced carbon emissions as a result of lower use of the coal-powered plants. ICTs have played a major role in improving the efficiency in addition to controlling and managing power grids. The impact that ICT plays in the smart grids has been detailed in studies that have been issued by Bolton and Foxon (2011). With the investments in infrastructure for the next three decades taking place currently, this presents opportunities for developing countries to jump into the smart grid bandwagon, minimise power loss and gain from greater energy efficiency. For instance, in India, North Delhi Power has invested in smart grid (Balijepalli et al., 2010). However, some concerns have been raised; increased efficiency might result into more use of the ICT-enabled energy saving features, which consequently leads to more energy being used and this cancels out the previous gains. Recognizing this challenge, the government of China, has recently come up with the China Motor Systems Energy Conservation Program which would assist in meeting the targets of energy efficiency (McKane et al., 2003). Easing environmental pressure After the collection and storage of the environmental data via observation, a number of ICT tools could be used in computing and processing so as to carry out analysis. For instance, environmental modelling software as well as grid computing has been of assistance in the awareness of how the ecosystems function as well as the environmental complexities. Developing countries, especially in Africa, are highly dependent on agriculture even though the modes of farming are largely inefficient. Managing, monitoring and mapping waterways, forests and lands are some of the important actions that improve the sustainability of the environment and efficiency of practices in such countries (Longley, 2005). Geographic information systems offer significant opportunities in waterway and land management and monitoring in Africa, Himalayan region and South East Asia (Minasyan, 2006). Just like everywhere else, information is very important in making it possible for people to undertake choices that are more sustainable and get the benefits from their activities, in addition to support, awareness and education. In developing countries there are various examples on how mobile phones as well as wireless connection can offer a massive opportunity in handling environmental pressure where fixed telephone lines are not developed (World Bank, 2012). For instance, initiatives include using geographical information system in Lake Victoria of East Africa, to offer support to the management of natural resources (Scheren et al., 2000). In the Pearl River Delta of China, it is common to have an integrated ecosystem modelling, sensing and monitoring (Weng, 2001). By observing how vulnerable the rural commu nities in developing countries are, Tyler Fajber (2009) observed the significance of having information access. For instance, in the Philippines, one mobile service provider SMART partnered with Manila Observatory to offer telemetric rain gauge and telephones in areas which are prone to environmental disasters like landslides. The local farmers assess the rain gauge and submit the information to the Manila Observatory, whereas the Manila Observatory could also utilise these telephones to give the farmers early warnings (Houghton, 2010). Adaptation to climate change Offering early warnings as well as monitoring of events that are induced by climate change, such as tsunami or drought, plays a very significant role. In developing countries, ICT has enabled a number of initiatives. One example is a network that has been funded by USAID called Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). This network brings together national and regional partners in offering information concerning the arising and changing issues on food security. The FEWS NET participants in developing countries analyse and monitor the information concerning the climate so as to understand the possible threats and effects on livelihoods. After they have been identified, the FEWS NET utilizes a host of ICTs in aiding the decision makers (Verdin et al., 2005). A second example is the PreventionWeb which caters to the information demands of the community seeking disaster risk reduction. The ICT-enabled activities under PreventionWeb include tools for exchanging information. ICTs have also been utilized in coming up with impact models, that have been used by decision makers and practitioners in making predictions on the agricultural effects of the climate change. Such impact models have been used in developing countries such as South Africa, whereby it was shown that there exists a correlation between a lowered production of dry land staple and heightened historical temperature (Dube Jury, 2000); in Nigeria whereby an EPIC model was used in giving forecasts on the crop yields in the twenty first century (Adejuwon, 2008); in Egypt whereby the production of crops under the existing climatic conditions was compared with the conditions that were modelled for the year 2050 (Abdel-Gawadh et al., 2004), as well as the Thornton et al. (2009) study which mapped African regions in terms of their vulnerability to climate change. In the same manner, GIS as well as remote sensing are used by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) to investigate the patterns of rainfall in Africa and Asia. By identifying the vulnerable areas, ICTs make it possible to implement various responses, whereby information networks have a significant role to play. Technology transfer for environment sustainability practices ICTs play a key role in technology transfer for environment sustainability practices. The Bali Action Plan entailed that developed countries assist the developing countries to pursue mitigation activities appropriate to each nation with regards to sustainable development, and at the same time not compromise the growth of those countries, through a transfer of technology and finance from the developed countries. One such technology transfer is through a clearinghouse for technology information called TT:clear. This provides an internet-based platform for information sharing in order to access a number of information sources such as case studies (Houghton, 2009). An objective is in offering information that is valuable to the various stakeholders on matters related to technology transfer, in order to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The TT:clear platform targets developing countries to consider the opportunities regarding technology transfer by assisting such countries gain an awa reness of the available technologies. The platform also makes it possible to exchange views and experiences on developing and transferring technology. Another platform that exists is called GIS Development. This refers to a Geospatial Communication Network promoting the utilization of GIS applications and the GIS technology in developing countries. GIS Development aids the governments and communities in the developing countries to enhance their management capabilities, policies and productivity through facilitation of knowledge transfer. Moreover, GIS Development fosters increasing network of persons interested in geo-informatics, encouraging a scientific know-how exchange (Ramachandra Kumar, 2010). By fusing the information provided with education and research, these platforms offer experience, expertise and information touching on adapting to environmental changes. Such flows of information play significant roles in the transfer of technology into the developing countries. Planning and environmental strategy Good decision-making needs to happen using the information that is available. As such, environmental information which has been picked by observing and has been evaluated by using the technology happens to be relevant in the decision-making, planning and formulation of policies. By utilizing ICTs, such a process entails classifying a host of environmental issues (Houghton, 2009). For instance, the environmental information that can be applied in agriculture could be elicited via using ICTs. The International Telecommunications Union has argued that the monitoring systems which use ICTs could be created to predict the effect of the manmade and natural disasters in developing as well as developed countries. For example, one important tool in the environmental planning is the Environmental Impact Assessment (Hayes Rajao, 2011). A developing country seeking for loans from World Bank needs to demonstrate environmental planning which is produced via an Environmental Impact Assessment. Thi s shows that ICTs could be of assistance in this respect by, among other things, enhancing the communications between the different stakeholders in the collection of the environmental information. Apart from this stakeholder engagement, ICTs could also assist in making informed decisions, delivery of policy, learning and feedback as well as capacity building in the institutions (Ospina Heeks, 2011). The Resilience Assessment Benchmarking and Impact Toolkit (RABIT) framework One framework that can be applied is the Resilience Assessment Benchmarking and Impact Toolkit (RABIT) which has recently been used by Ospina Heeks (2016) to gauge the effect on resilience of ICTs in two developing countries, Uganda and Costa Rica. Instead of trying to be a kind of cross-country benchmarking, the RABIT framework can be applied on a country-specific basis, and it would get the specific countrys representatives to undertake a discussion on the link between ICTs and the sub-properties of resilience which are rapidity, equality, diversity and flexibility, scale, self-organization, robustness, learning and redundancy. From this, the developing country representatives can derive relevance, meaning, priority and so forth, for their specific country. This can emerge to be a productive approach forward in looking to strengthen the link between ICTs and the resilience in developing countries. The RABIT framework is especially appropriate for developing countries since they ar e most vulnerable to the impacts of stressors and external shocks, including being the first to be affected by climate change as a result of lacking mitigating infrastructure. Some of the key characteristics or markers of resilience are shown in table 1 below: Table 1: Markers of resilience according to the RABIT framework Attribute of resilience Markers Attributes that are foundational Learning Reflective thinking; Capacity building Self-organization Local leadership; Consensus-building and collaboration Robustness Institutional capacity; Physical preparedness Attributes that are enabling Equality Accountability and openness; Participation and inclusiveness Flexibility and diversity Mechanism for innovation; Decision-making that is adaptable Scale Networks that are intra-level; Networks that are multi-level Rapidity Resource mobilization; Rapid detection and assessment of issues Redundancy Functional overlap; Substitutability of resource Adapted from: Ospina Heeks (2016, p.20) The markers are equally applicable in developing countries down to the community level. The RABIT framework can be implemented through document review followed by conducting focus groups, semi-structured interviews and surveys on the communities in developing countries (Ospina Heeks, 2016). ICTs could be used to strengthen the resilience in the developing countries. In 2012, a report by the World Bank highlighted the roles that ICTs play in preventing the impacts of emergencies induced by climate change in the developing countries of Africa (World Bank, 2012). The report sought to achieve an understanding of the trends of ICTs impacts that could be existing in developing countries that had analogous structures of political economy, in relation to leveraging the ICT in the public sectors. From this World Bank report, GIS aids the local governments to identify on a map, the zones that are at flood risk, gauge the vulnerability of the community towards the floods and plan for new infrastructure that would prevent floods. Some ICTs tools used include Early Warning Systems which were used in simulating patterns of weather and predicting disasters (World Bank, 2012). In this way, ICTs can be said to have the potential of strengthening the resilience in the developing countrie s. This is also referred to as e-resilience. This can be done through improving each of the attributes of resilience as noted by (Ospina Heeks, 2011): rapidity, equality, diversity and flexibility, scale, self-organization, robustness, learning and redundancy. For instance, with regards to redundancy, mobile phones or other ICTs could be used in delivering resources whereas with regards to robustness, GIS can utilised in planning where physical defences such as dykes can be located. The future and potential challenges of using the Resilience Assessment Benchmarking and Impact Toolkit (RABIT) framework for implementing environmental sustainability practices in one developing country, Tanzania Governmental as well as non-governmental organizations in Tanzania report that some of the environmental problems in the country include unsustainable and illegal deforestation as most Tanzanians rely on firewood for energy needs; overgrazing an unsustainable management of range due to large cattle sizes putting pressure on the natural carrying capacity of the land; high levels of water and air pollution; as well as unsustainable and illegal exploitation of wildlife (Mniwasa Shauri, 2001). The RABIT framework can be applied to improve environmental sustainability practices in Tanzania. The RABIT framework helps in building resilience and this presents huge opportunities for introducing considerable and lasting changes across Tanzania with regards to environmental sustainability practices. ICTs can support the relevance of the RABIT framework in Tanzania. There is an increasing penetration of mobile phone usage in Tanzania, more than any other ICT in the country (Van Genuchten, 2012; Fox, 2004). There has also been a rise in social media use in Tanzania, and this has especially helped with the rapidity attribute of the RABIT framework. Users can generate the content on where they see environmental degradation activities. The fast pace of the uptake and penetration of mobile telephony in Tanzania has supported many breakthrough ideas in environmental sustainability, as was observed by Fox (2004). However, these developments have been accompanied by considerable challenges and potential threats to the efficacy of ICT in supporting the implementation of environmentally sustainable practices, in Tanzania. One such challenge lies in the scale and sustainability of the programs initiated. The initiatives are relatively ad-hoc and happen in individual isolated regions of Tanzania, such as the study by Fox (2004) which concentrated the initiatives in only in the regions of Usangu Catchment, Ihefu Wetland and Great Ruaha River Ecosystem. As such, thus there are very limited large-scale and sustainable ICT-supported initiatives taking place in Tanzania. In order to bring out the total potential of ICT in the country, there needs to be a new inter-regional collaboration in order to enlarge the scale of the impacts. A second challenge in Tanzania is in the pace of change of ICTs. Technology is a very dynamic concept, and one thing that might work perfectly today may be rendered obsolete in few years (Chiabai et al., 2013). For instance, mobile telephone calls have largely replaced radio calls in regions of Tanzania that had inexistent telephone landlines (Van Genuchten, 2012), and in turn mobile phone calls are increasingly being replaced by instant messaging apps such as Whatsapp (Shearman, Olomi, Patel, 2013). This has happened in a space of less than ten years, all with the aim of achieving better efficiency. Similarly, radio communication which was popular in Tanzania where landline infrastructure was non-existent has increasingly been replaced by mobile telephony (Balijepalli et al., 2010). The costs involved in replacing the obsolete ICTs could be challenging to a poor country like Tanzania, especially if incurred on a large scale. Conclusion and Recommendations The paper has observed that an intricate relationship exists between ICT and the environment. This is due to the observation that ICTs could have both positive and negative roles with regards to the environment. Some of the positive roles have been demonstrated to be better energy efficiency, recycling and substitution for travel/transport; negative roles have been demonstrated to be energy consumption, increasing amounts of e-waste such as from discarded CRT monitors and low life cycle of the products. Being a medium for networking and information, it has been demonstrated that ICT has the capability of enabling citizens in the developing countries to adopt the role of environmental enforcement agents and alert the authorities to acts of environmental infringement. A host of important environmental aspects have been identified whereby ICT could be used and as such enhance environmental sustainability. ICT plays significant role in environmental studies as it offers an unprecedented capability to collecting and processing environmental data; environmental observation through tools such as remote sensing, telemetric systems among others; mitigating climate change through activities such as developing smart grid in China and India; easing environmental pressure through environmental modelling software as well as grid computing; adaptation to climate change through tools such as Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET); technology transfer as a result of the Bali Action Plan; planning and environmental strategy through tools such as the Environmental Impact Assessment, and building resilience through rapidity, equality, diversity and flexibility, scale, self-organization, robustness, learning and redundancy. In future, the technologies that are likely to support these ICT activities in developing countries with respect to environmentally sustainable practices include mobile telephony, internet, social media, digital data, cloud computing and increasing pres ence of smartphones. Challenges lie in the scale and sustainability of the programs initiated as well as the rapidly shifting technology that may be expensive for the ICT initiatives in the long run. Moreover, ICT has been demonstrated to be complex and multifaceted, and its environmental impact could both be beneficial or adverse. ICT can assist in delivering the environmental sustainability goal in developing countries but there needs to be a new multi-national collaboration level in order to enlarge the scale of the impacts of the ICT initiatives in environmental sustainability practices. One framework that can be applied is the Resilience Assessment Benchmarking and Impact Toolkit (RABIT) which has recently been applied successfully in two developing countries. References Abdel-Gawadh, S.T., Kandil, M. and Sadek, T.M. (2004). Water scarcity prospects in Egypt 2000-2050. In Environmental Challenges in the Mediterranean 2000-2050 (pp. 187-203). Springer Netherlands. Adejuwon, J.O. (2008). Vulnerability in Nigeria: A national-level assessment. Climate Change and Vulnerability, pp. 198-217. Balijepalli, V.M., Khaparde, S.A., Gupta, R.P. and Pradeep, Y. (2010). SmartGrid initiatives and power market in India. In IEEE PES General Meeting (pp. 1-7). IEEE. Boccaletti, G., LÃ ¶ffler, M. and Oppenheim, J.M. (2008). How IT can cut carbon emissions. McKinsey Quarterly, 37, pp. 37-41. Bolton, R. and Foxon, T.J. (2011). Governing infrastructure networks for a low carbon

Differentiate Between Investment Speculation And Gambling Finance Essay

Differentiate Between Investment Speculation And Gambling Finance Essay Investment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time.[1] In contrast putting money into something with an expectation of gain without thorough analysis, without security of principal, and without security of return is gambling. Putting money into something with an expectation of gain with thorough analysis, without security of principal, and without security of return is speculation This is the ups and downs of the market. When the market experiences big swings up and down, especially down, this can make a lot of folks sick. The sicker it makes you feel the more you should look at your portfolio and adjust it so you can handle the wild swings of the market. This could mean that you invest a higher percentage of your portfolio in bonds, which are a less risky type of investment. Inflation Risk The cost of living goes up. If you invest in something that returns 2% and inflation goes up 4% then youve lost 2% of the value in your investment. My parents and parents-in-law thought they would be able to live their retirement years with $100,000.00. Back then, 1930s thru 1940s, $100,000.00 made people feel they were rich forever. Opportunity Risk Opportunity Risk is when you decide to invest in one type of investment, youre also deciding not to invest in others. So if you commit money to a certain investment and it goes down in value, youre stuck in that investment and are not able to participate in another investment that might be more attractive. This is especially apparent when you purchase your own bonds for instance. You could be stuck in a 10-year bond and you want to get out because of high interest rates. You would then be forced to sell for a loss. Its much better to invest in bond funds because the fund manager has the ability to invest in many different types of bonds. Reinvestment Risk Reinvestment Risk has to do with timed investments like CDs and bonds that you purchase yourself. A mutual fund manager has the ability to diversify a portfolio of these types of investments by selecting from a larger basket of different types of CDs and bonds to reduce the risk. Concentration Risk Diversification, Diversification, Diversification. Dont concentrate your investment dollars in one type of investment. Read my article here on Diversification. Interest Rate Risk When the Fed messes around with the interest rates moving them up and down, the markets react. The value of bonds go up when interest rates go down. The value of bonds go down when interest rates go up. Keeping a well diversified portfolio will reduce the affects the Feds have on your portfolio. Credit Risk The Credit Crunch is what weve been in lately. The financial sector has taken a hit. The financial sector includes lenders like Countrywide Bank. On another note, Im watching that sector with everyone else because it just might be getting ripe to pick. Since I write about options at this site thats how Id play it if something comes up that looks interesting. Marketability Risk Having the ability to sell you investment(s). This pertains to a low interest in stocks, bonds or CDs that you may personally own. By low interest I mean not enough buyers. This is reduced immensely if you invest in a mutual fund. Currency Translation Risk The value of the dollar goes up and down in the international market depending on what country. This is one reason why its good to just have 10% of your portfolio in the international market. Timing Risk The market goes down and you feel uncomfortable about it so you sell one of your investments that you shouldnt sell bad timing. Difference between Investment , Speculation : The main difference between speculating and investing is the amount of of risk undertaken in the trade. Typically, high-risk trades that are almost akin to gambling fall under the umbrella of speculation, whereas lower-risk investments based on fundamentals and analysis fall into the category of investing. Investors seek to generate a satisfactory return on their capital by taking on an average or below-average amount of risk. On the other hand, speculators are seeking to make abnormally high returns from bets that can go one way or the other. It should be noted that speculation is not exactly like gambling because speculators do try to make an educated decision on the direction of the trade, but the risk inherent in the trade tends to be significantly above average. The term investment is used to suggest a commitment that is relatively free from certain risk of loss.It is restricted to situations promising dependable income , relatively stable value, a modest rate of return and a relatively little chance for spectacular capital appreciation. People who seek high income yields or large capital gains are therefore said to forsake investment for speculation. Speculation differs from investment with respect to the limit of the investor i.e the period for which a person is investing and the risk-return characteristics of the investment.An investor is always interested in a good and consistent rate of return for a long period of time. However , a speculator is less interested in earning very large returns , higher than the normal rate of return , in a short time. The word speculate comes from the latin word, speculate meaning to see ahead . Speculation is a reasoned anticipation of future conditions. A speculator tries to perceive investment values ahead of the general public. It attempts to organize the relevant knowledge as a support for judgements. Infact , everything we do in this world is a speculation. One must have the courage to make decisions when the conditions are unfavorable such as panic , despair or optimism. Most successful speculators operate on a single principle of buying in underpriced markets and selling out in overpriced markets. Thus speculation is a deliberate assumption of risks in ventures , which offer the hope of commensurate gains. These expected gains might be much larger than an investment would offer.The speculation are more interested in price gains than in income. Difference between Investment and Gambling: According to most dictionaries , gambling is an art of risk taking without the knowledge of the exact nature of risk. Many people speculate heavily on the strength of tips or gossip and plunge into situation , which they do not understand. This is gambling even though the commitment is of reasonable speculative quantity. Gambling is based on tips , rumours and it is an unplanned and non-scientific act. A gambler risks more than he/she can afford. It is considered to involve the shortest time period and highest risk. Typical examples of gambling are betting on horse riding , game of cards , lottery etc.Holding shares for the duration of a stock exchange fortnightly account might be termed as speculation . but to bet on the course of the stock market over the same period with a book maker is considered to be a gambling. Difference between Gambling and Speculation Gambling and Speculation are popular among those who want to make easy money. One cannot deny that money has been ruling the world today. People always thrive to profit, and the easier it is to earn money, the better. With that mindset comes the popularity of gambling and speculation. But what might we overlook is the fact that even if these two seems to have the same goal, there is difference between gambling and speculation. Gambling If you want cash within a snap, maybe gambling can help you with that. When one say gambling, it would usually connote casinos, lotteries and slot machines. And every time you gamble, there are only two things you can expect, it is either you win, or you lose. This has been popular because you only have to spend a small amount of money for stakes that are very high. For example, in lottery, the jackpot would amount to millions of dollars, but you can bet for just a couple of bucks. Speculation If one wants to increase his chances to profit one might try to speculate. Speculation is just like investment, you initially put in a capital expecting a profit in return. This is also defined as the act of placing funds on a financial vehicle with the intention of getting satisfactory returns over an amount of time. The stock market is a widely known rendezvous for speculators. The main points of difference are as follows: Gambling and speculation are vehicles to profit easily. The probability to succeed in either gambling or speculation is undetermined. The success of a speculator would be because of his skills and knowledge while the success of a gambler would be due to his luck. Gambling can be done without thinking while speculation needs in depth study. 5. Speculation needs a lot more hard work compared to gambling Q2 : What are Financial Markets with examples? What is the difference between Money Market and Capital Market? Explain in detail one money market instrument and one capital market instrument. Ans :A financial market is a market in which people and entities can trade financial securities, commodities, and other fungible items of value at low transaction costs and at prices that reflect supply and demand. Securities include stocks and bonds, and commodities include precious metals or agricultural goods. Structure of Financial Market FINANCIAL MARKET MONEY MARKET CAPITAL MARKET DERIVATIVES MARKET EQUITY MARKET LONG TERM DEBT MARKET FUTURES MARKET OPTIONS MARKET GOVT DEBT MARKET CORPORATE DEBT MARKET SECONDARY MARKET PRIMARY MARKET Types of financial markets: Within the financial sector, the term financial markets is often used to refer just to the markets that are used to raise finance: for long term finance, the Capital markets; for short term finance, the Money markets. Hence we can say that basically there are two types of markets: Capital Market Money Market Capital markets which consist of: Stock markets : which provide financing through the issuance of shares or common stock, and enable the subsequent trading thereof. Bond markets : which provide financing through the issuance of bonds, and enable the subsequent trading thereof. Commodity markets, which facilitate the trading of commodities. Capital markets are markets that trade equity (stocks) and debt (bonds) instruments having maturities more than a year. Due to their longer maturity , these instruments experience wider price fluctuations , higher credit and interest rate risks than the money market instruments. In contrast to money markets, capital markets are used for long term investments. They provide an alternative to investment in real assets such as real estate or gold. Money markets, which provide short term debt financing and investment. Money market consists of: Certificate of deposit Treasury Bills Commercial Papers etc The need for money market arises because of the immediate cash needs of individuals , corporation and govt do not necessarily coincide with their receipts of cash. The money market enables large sum of money to be transferred quickly and at a low cots from one economic unit ( business , govt , bank etc.) to another economic unit for relatively shorter period. Difference between Money Market and Capital Market: Money market is distinguished from capital market on the basis of the maturity period, credit instruments and the institutions: Maturity Period: The money market deals in the lending and borrowing of short-term finance (i.e., for one year or less), while the capital market deals in the lending and borrowing of long-term finance (i.e., for more than one year). Credit Instruments: The main credit instruments of the money market are call money, collateral loans, acceptances, bills of exchange. On the other hand, the main instruments used in the capital market are stocks, shares, debentures, bonds, securities of the government. Nature of Credit Instruments: The credit instruments dealt with in the capital market are more heterogeneous than those in money market. Some homogeneity of credit instruments is needed for the operation of financial markets. Too much diversity creates problems for the investors. Institutions: Important institutions operating in the money market are central banks, commercial banks, acceptance houses, nonbank financial institutions, bill brokers, etc. Important institutions of the capital market are stock exchanges, commercial banks and nonbank institutions, such as insurance companies, mortgage banks, building societies, etc. Purpose of Loan: The money market meets the short-term credit needs of business; it provides working capital to the industrialists. The capital market, on the other hand, caters the long-term credit needs of the industrialists and provides fixed capital to buy land, machinery, etc. Risk: The degree of risk is small in the money market. The risk is much greater in capital market. The maturity of one year or less gives little time for a default to occur, so the risk is minimised. Risk varies both in degree and nature throughout the capital market. Basic Role: The basic role of money market is that of liquidity adjustment. The basic role of capital market is that of putting capital to work, preferably to long-term, secure and productive employment. Relation with Central Bank: The money market is closely and directly linked with central bank of the country. The capital market feels central banks influence, but mainly indirectly and through the money market. Market Regulation: In the money market, commercial banks are closely regulated. In the capital market, the institutions are not much regulated. Explanation of Treasury Bills (Money market instrument): Treasury Bills (T-Bills): Treasury Bills, one of the safest money market instruments, are short term borrowing instruments of the Central Government of the Country issued through the Central Bank (RBI in India). They are zero risk instruments, and hence the returns are not so attractive. It is available both in primary market as well as secondary market. It is a promise to pay a said sum after a specified period. T-bills are short-term securities that mature in one year or less from their issue date. They are issued with three-month, six-month and one-year maturity periods. The Central Government issues T- Bills at a price less than their face value (par value). They are issued with a promise to pay full face value on maturity. So, when the T-Bills mature, the government pays the holder its face value. The difference between the purchase price and the maturity value is the interest income earned by the purchaser of the instrument. T-Bills are issued through a bidding process at auctions. The bid can be prepared either competitively or non-competitively. In the second type of bidding, return required is not specified and the one determined at the auction is received on maturity. Whereas, in case of competitive bidding, the return required on maturity is specified in the bid. In case the return specified is too high then the T-Bill might not be issued to the bidder. At present, the Government of India issues three types of treasury bills through auctions, namely, 91-day, 182-day and 364-day. There are no treasury bills issued by State Governments. Treasury bills are available for a minimum amount of Rs.25K and in its multiples. While 91-day T-bills are auctioned every week on Wednesdays, 182-day and 364- day T-bills are auctioned every alternate week on Wednesdays. The Reserve Bank of India issues a quarterly calendar of T-bill auctions which is available at the Banks website. It also announces the exact dates of auction, the amount to be auctioned and payment dates by issuing press releases prior to every auction. Payment by allottees at the auction is required to be made by debit to their/ custodians current account. T-bills auctions are held on the Negotiated Dealing System (NDS) and the members electronically submit their bids on the system. NDS is an electronic platform for facilitating dealing in Government Securities and Money Market Inst ruments. RBI issues these instruments to absorb liquidity from the market by contracting the money supply. In banking terms, this is called Reverse Repurchase (Reverse Repo). On the other hand, when RBI purchases back these instruments at a specified date mentioned at the time of transaction, liquidity is infused in the market. This is called Repo (Repurchase) transaction Debentures ( A Capital Market Instrument): A debenture is a document which either creates a debt or acknowledges it. Debenture issued by a company is in the form of a certificate acknowledging indebtedness. The debentures are issued under the Companys Common Seal. Debentures are one of a series issued to a number of lenders. The date of repayment is specified in the debentures. Debentures are issued against a charge on the assets of the Company. Debentures holders have no right to vote at the meetings of the companies. Kinds of Debentures: (a)Bearer Debentures: They are registered and are payable to the bearer. They are negotiable instruments and are transferable by delivery. (b) Registered Debentures: They are payable to the registered holder whose name appears both on the debentures and in the Register of Debenture Holders maintained by the company. Registered Debentures can be transferred but have to be registered again. Registered Debentures are not negotiable instruments. A registered debenture contains a commitment to pay the principal sum and interest. It also has a description of the charge and a statement that it is Issued subject to the conditions endorsed therein. (c) Secured Debentures: Debentures which create a change on the assets of the company which may be fixed or floating are known as secured Debentures. The term bonds and debentures(secured) are used interchangeably in common parlance. In USA, BOND is a long term contract which is secured, whereas a debentures is an unsecured one. (d) Unsecured or Naked Debentures: Debentures which are issued without any charge on assets are insecured or naked debentures. The holders are like unsecured creditors and may see the company for the recovery of debt. (e) Redeemable Debentures: Normally debentures are issued on the condition that they shall be redeemed after a certain period. They can however, be reissued after redemption. (f) Perpetual Debentures: When debentures are irredeemable they are called perpetual. Perpetual Debentures cannot be issued in India at present. (g) Convertible Debentures: If an option is given to convert debentures into equity shares at the stated rate of exchange after a specified period, they are called convertible debentures. Convertible Debentures have become very popular in India. On conversion the holders cease to be lenders and become owners. Q3: What is the difference between Real Assets and Financial Assets? Explain in detail three non- marketable securities: Ans: Investment instruments or assets or securities are broadly classified into two categories : Financial assets and Real Assets. Real assets determine the wealth of an economy , whereas financial assets are merely claims to income generated by real assets . They are represented by paper and can also be termed as paper assets. Real Assets: A real asset is a tangible asset like gold, oil, and real estate.It has intrinsic value due to its utility. Its value is derived by virtue of what it represents.Real Assets have low correlations to traditional stocks and bonds. Because commodities have low correlations to stocks and bonds, they can be a good choice to lower your overall portfolio risk while enhancing your potential for better long-term risk-adjusted returns. A real asset is a tangible asset like gold, oil, and real estate.It has intrinsic value due to its utility. Its value is derived by virtue of what it represents.The types of real assets are as follows: Gold Oil Goodwill Trade Marks Patents Copyrights etc. Why invest in Real Assets? Real Assets have low correlations to traditional stocks and bonds. Because commodities have low correlations to stocks and bonds, they can be a good choice to lower your overall portfolio risk while enhancing your potential for better long-term risk-adjusted returns. What are financial assets Financial assets include Cash, and those assets that can be converted to cash in a reasonably short period of time one year at most, but less time in many cases. We will study the following financial assets: Cash Cash Equivalents Short Term Investments Accounts Receivable Cash and Cash Equivalents Cash is just as the word suggests. It includes cash money including paper and coins, checks and money orders to be deposited, money deposited in bank accounts that can be accessed quickly. The term liquid refers to Cash, and the ease or difficulty of converting an asset into Cash.   Cash Equivalents are highly liquid short term investments that can be turned into Cash very quickly. These include US Treasury bills, money market accounts and high grade commercial paper. When corporations need to borrow money for a very short time, they often sell commercial paper. These come due within a few months at most, and pay a higher interest rate than other investments.   Short Term Investments Short Term Investments include stocks and bonds that the company intends to hold only for a short time, and then sell and convert back to Cash. We consider it a good practice to convert unneeded cash to an investment account, where it can earn interest, dividends or show capital gains. These are shown on the balance sheet at their current market value, even if that is higher than the price paid for the investments. This is one of the few times we increase a balance sheet item above its historic cost. Accounts Receivable Companies often sell to their customers on credit. The amount the customers owe is called Accounts Receivable (AR). We would record AR at the same time the sale is made, deducting any cash paid at the time of purchase, etc. When customers pay, we subtract the payment from their accounts receivable balance.   Most companies use an Accounts Receivable Subsidiary Ledger, which is similar to the General Ledger. The subsidiary ledger contains detailed information about each customers account purchases, payments, returns, adjustments, etc. Most companies send statements at the of each month, listing the monthly transactions and ending balance due from each customer.   Difference between Real Assets and Financial Assets: With the advancement of economy , the relative importance of financial assets tends to increase . Even though the real assets differ greatly from financial assets , two forma are complementary and not competitive. The difference between real assets and financial assets can be summarised as follows: Real Assets determine the wealth of a society or economy whereas financial assets do not represent societys wealth. Real Assets contribute directly to the productive capacity of the economy while the contribution of financial assets to the productive capacity is indirect because they facilitate the transfer of funds to enterprises with attractive investment opportunities. Real assets produce goods and services whereas financial assets define the allocation of income or wealth among investors. Real assets appear only on the asset side of the balance sheet , while financial assets appear on both sides of balance sheet. Investing in real assets carries more risks than investing in paper assets. Non- Marketable Securities: Some financial assets are said to be non-marketable because they are neither transferable nor negotiable . The investors actually own these assets and cannot buy and sell them in the secondary market. Types of non-marketable securities are as follows: Bank Deposits: The most popular non-marketable assets held by an investor include deposits with the banks and their saving schemes. There are various types of deposits with banks such as current accounts, saving accounts and fixed deposits . Deposits on current account do not earn any interest whereas bank deposits earn intereest.The interest rate on these deposits vary depending upon the maturity period. Since saving accounts are deposited at regular interval, they have a fixed rate of interest.However , fixed deposits are recurring deposits with varying maturity period.Hence, the rates also vary. Features: They are best known type of investments that offers a high degree of safety on both the principal and the return on that principal. Bank deposits are highly liquid and can be encashed anytime. Loans can be raised against bank deposits. Non-Negotiable Certificate Of Deposit: Commercial banks and other financial institution offer a variety of savings certificates known as certificate of deposits (CDs). These instruments are available for various maturities. As the maturity increases , the rate of interest offered also increases. However large deposits may command higher rates , holding maturity constant . The credit risk associated with large CDs depend directly on the credit worthiness of the financial institution that issue them. Since large CDs are not insured , a CD holder may lose principal if the financial institution fails. Money Market Deposit Account: Financial Institutions offer Money Market Deposit Accounts with no interest rate ceilings.The Money Market Deposit Accounts require a minimum deposit to open. They pay competitive money market rates of interest and are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) if the issued bank is insured. Withdrawals can be made , as many times as desired , in person or through automated teller machines (ATMs). There are no limitations on the number of deposits.

The Cambrian Explosion: Proof of ID? Essay -- Biology Biological Essay

The Cambrian Explosion: Proof of ID? In our studies of Intelligent Design (ID) theory and Creation Science, I found little information that seriously challenged the theory of evolution. However, there was one event that appeared to defy the logic of Darwinian gradualism: the Cambrian Explosion. This event was presented by ID theorists as proof of design--something which science is unable to account for. Unfortunately for ID proponents, this is not the case. There are several scientific explanations for the Cambrian Explosion. I will give an account of the Cambrian Explosion, present the ID arguments relating to it, and give some scientific explanations of the event. The so called ‘Cambrian Explosion’ was a period of rapid diversification of animal life on earth. It took place approximately 550 million years ago (it bears mentioning that estimations of geological time this far back are fairly rough). There is some dispute over just how long the ‘explosion’ lasted. Scientists traditionally proposed a duration of about 30 million years (Ward and Brownlee, p. 137). However, some new evidence collected in Russia may indicate a much shorter timescale- 5 to 10 million years (Kerr 1993, p. 1274). The truly unique thing about the Cambrian Explosion was the rapid generation of extremely diverse life forms. Life is generally classified with a system going from broad to specific description. Kingdom, the broadest classification, describes whether a given specimen is plant, animal, fungi, protist, or moneran. The next most specific indicator is phylum. The phyla indicate the body design of a taxonomical specimen. Humans, along with all other species that poses a spinal ... ...ore Explosive. Science, New Series Volume 261, Issue 5126. September 3, 1993. Kerr, Richard A. Crowding Innovation out of Evolution. Science, New Series, Volume 266, Issue 5188. November 18, 1994. Kerr, Richard A. Timing Evolution’s Early Bursts. Science, New Series, Volume 267, Issue 5194. January 6, 1995. McMenamin and McMenamin. The Emergence of Animals: The Cambrian Breakthrough. Columbia University Press, New York. 1990. Ohno, Susumu. The Notion of the Cambrian Pananimalia Genome. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Volume 63, Issue 16. August 6, 1996. Ward and Brownlee. Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe. Copernicus, New York. 2000.