Environmental Pollution and Degradation Essay Example

Environmental Pollution and Degradation Paper Causes of Environmental Pollution and Degradation Poverty still remains a problem at the root Of several environmental problems. Introduction to environmental issues problems There are innumerable issues and problems faced by the environment today. Due to rapid industrialization, heavy usage of chemicals and lack of concern for the environment, today we are facing several problems. These issues should be dealt with immediately else mankind may have to face serious repercussions. Environmental degradation is a r exult of socio-economical, technological and institutional activities. Degradation occurs when Earth’s natural resources are depleted. These resources which are affected include: ; Water ; Air Soil CAUSES The causes of environmental degradation are often as complex the problems that result. The primary cause is human disturbance. The degree of the environmental impact varies with the cause, the habitat, and the plants and animals that inhabit it. There are many causes of environmental degradation. These include. Environmental changes are based on many factors including: ; arbitration ; Population growth ; Economic growth ; Intensification of agriculture Increase in energy use Causes of Environmental Pollution Increased and uncontrolled human activities like industries, transportation, agriculture, health care, dwelling, and energy generation are some of the causes of environmental pollution. Several industries like textile, steel, paper, sugar, food, petroleum, cement industries, and chemical industries and causes soil or land pollution, air pollution, and water pollution. Conclusion of environmental pollution is that the major cause for the environmental pollution is activities of humans. Industrial pollutants that causes pollution includes gases like cyanide, methane, carbon disulphide, carbon tetrachloride, hydrochloric acids, hydrogen disulphide, carbon monoxide, ammonia, and sulfur dioxide and several other liquid / solid compounds. We will write a custom essay sample on Environmental Pollution and Degradation specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Environmental Pollution and Degradation specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Environmental Pollution and Degradation specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Modern agriculture which uses large scale of pesticides and fertilizers causes soil pollution and pollution of drinking water. Vehicular traffic releasing excess amounts sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide are the major causes of air pollution especially in cities. INCREASE IN TRANSPORTATION Increased and uncontrolled human activities like industries, transportation, agriculture, health care, dwelling and energy generation are some of the causes of environmental pollution. Several industries like textile, steel, paper, sugar, food, petroleum, cement industries, and chemical industries and causes soil or land pollution, air pollution, and water pollution. Conclusion of environmental pollution is that the major cause for the environmental pollution is activities of humans. Industrial pollutants that causes pollution includes gases like cyanide, methane, carbon disulphide, carbon tetrachloride, hydrochloric acids, hydrogen disulphide, carbon monoxide, ammonia, and sulfur dioxide and several other liquid / solid compounds. Modern agriculture which uses large scale of suicides and fertilizers causes soil pollution and pollution of drinking water. Vehicular traffic releasing excess amounts sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide are the major causes of air pollution especially in cities. ; Water and air HABITAT FRAGMENTATION Habitat fragmentation carries long term environmental impacts some of which can destroy entire ecosystems. An ecosystem is a distinct unit and includes all the living and non-living elements that reside within it. Plants and animals are obvious members, but it will also include other components on which they rely on such as streams, lakes, and soils. ACID RAIN Acid rain occurs when sulfur dioxide from coal plant emissions combines with moisture present in the air. A chemical reaction creates this acid precipitation. Acid rain can acidify and pollute lakes and streams. It causes similar effects to the soil. If enough acid rain falls in a given environment, it can acidify the water or soil to a point where no life can be sustained. Plants die off. The AGRICULTURAL RUNOFF animals that depend upon them disappear. The condition of the environment deteriorates. Agricultural runoff is a deadly source of pollutants which can degrade environments,. Surface water washes over the soil and onto lakes and streams. When it does so, it carries the fertilizers and pesticides used on the farm lands into water resources. Obviously, introducing poisons into waterways will have dire consequences. Fertilizers whether or not they are organic carry equal risks. URBAN DEVELOPMENT Urban development is the primary cause of environmental degradation. As populations increased, so did the need for land for homes and farms. Wetlands were drained. Environmental degradation is one of most urgent of environmental issues. Depending upon the damage, some environments may never recover. The plants and animals that inhabited these places will be lost reeve. We do not have to look far to see the impacts of environmental degradation on our Earth. DEFORESTATION Cutting down massive forests impacts our biosphere. Deforestation, wasting resources, and pollution all add to the demise of an environmentally-sound and safe planet. For example, when trees in forests are cut down in large quantities, so that more homes can be built on the land, the birds and wildlife who lived in the forest must find a new place to live. Unfortunate Impacts of Environmental Degradation The degradation also impacts our: ; Wildlife ; Plants ; Animals ; Micro-organisms When factories produce harmful chemicals and toxic waste into bodies of water, humans suffer. Pesticides and fertilizers can also get into a region’s water system and pollute it. Drinking water is contaminated. Some residing in third-world countries are highly effected by the degradation of our planet and these unhealthy practices cause the following: ; Illnesses ; Death in children ; Death in adults POVERTY . People are finding less nutritious food to eat. Especially those around the Equator, are vulnerable to weather changes, water shortages, and arbitration. All of these factors are increasing the health and lives of hosannas. Some scientists and environmentalists are asking that non-food items and agriculture waste be used as alternative fuel for vehicles instead. LOSING EARTH’S BEAUTY AS humans dump waste products, use chemicals, and over fish in the oceans and seas, areas of beauty such as coral reefs are damaged. At times the destruction is so great that is cannot be reversed. We are killing our planet and the consequences are tremendous. How to Stop Degradation There are ways which you can help to decrease degradation in our environment. Some Of these include: ;Purchase recycled products ; Conserve water Do not litter or toss waste into inappropriate places ; Conserve energy ; Join an awareness group ; Talk with others about the impacts of environmental degradation ; Be an advocate to save our planet! Factors Affecting Nevi: Destruction of natural resources: Agricultural development and farming activities contribute, to soil erosion, land salivation and loss of nutrients. The green revolution and over exploitation of land and water resources, and use of fertilizers and pesticides have increased to many folds resulting in land degradation and water logging. Effects of Environmental Degradation: Loss Of biodiversity: The extinction of plant and animal species will heavily affect the ecosystem; it will reduce ecosystem adaptability and lead to the loss of genetic resources. Environmental changes: Global warming is the r esult of ozone depletion which is responsible for perhaps 300,000 additional cases of skin cancer a year and 1. Million cases of cataracts and may lead to increase in the risk of climatic natural disasters. Hazardous waste production: Diseases are spread by uncovered garbage and drains; the health risks from hazardous wastes are typically more localized, but often acute. Wastes affect productivity causing pollution of groundwater resources. Soil erosion has increased due to deforestation. Climate has become warmer in the deforested regions due to lack of humidity. Floods and droughts have become frequent. Pattern of rainfall has been changing. Pollution due to increased levels of chlorofluorocarbons and nitrogen oxides cause depletion of ozone layer in the stratosphere. Acid rain is the indirect impact of air pollution. Use of pesticides makes the soil toxic for plants. Large amount of organic matter causes transportation. Thermal conation caused by hot water affects migration of aquatic animals due to thermal barriers. Environmental pollution can be defined as the deleterious effects or changes that causes disturbance to the existing environment and affects the components of the environment. Find below the causes, effects, and conclusion of environmental pollution. Presence of unsafe unnatural components that causes imbalance to the ecosystems and health hazards to animals and human beings is called pollution. Pollution affects the all the components of environment that mainly includes soil (land), water, and air Effects of Environmental Pollution Health problems due to environmental pollution ranges from the skin irritations and simple vomiting to brain tumors, intestinal cancer, and other cancers, from simple fever to the fatal hepatitis, from normal throat irritation to the deadly heart diseases. Air pollution affects the human health and is associated with problems of lungs, throat, respiratory problems, cancer etc. Water pollution of water causes health problems like gastric problems in human, affects the life aquatic organism, etc. Foods that we consume are polluted due to the use of polluted water and use of pesticides, or microbial activities. Many persistent pesticides that enter into the food chain accumulate in the human and animal bodies at larger concentrations and affect the health. Soil pollution due to various hazardous solids and liquids creates imbalances to soil ecosystems and affects the vegetation and habitats of living organisms. Conclusion of environmental pollution effects is it is a major concern of human and animal health and affects the entire ecosystem. So keeping in view of effects of environmental pollution humans and government should take several measures to prevent pollution and incorporate stringent laws to prevent environmental pollution. Environmental Issues Problems Conservation of species:Conservation of water, air and the natural habitat of animals and plants to curb their extinction. Over the last fadedness several plants and animal species have become extinct which has led to a loss of biodiversity on the planet. Climate Change: Due to global warming effect the climate has changed significantly over the last century. Extreme temperatures are bringing about never before seen natural calamities like frequent draught and flooding Energy Crisis:Excessive usage of fossil fuels has led to depletion in these fuels. Usage of alternate fuel will help conserve fossil fuel. Exploitation of Natural Resources: Large scale deforestation has led to loss of vegetation. This in turn has affected rainfall, caused land degradation, soil erosion and changed the planet surface. Nuclear Issues:Usage of nuclear power has caused major changes in the climate and composition of soil, water and air. This in turn has changed the habitat for birds, animals which migrate to other places In search of a good habitat and sometimes become extinct. Radioactive Nuclear waste needs to be dealt with in a proper way so that it does not affect the environment. Overpopulation:Overpopulation is a major global environmental issue.

Critique Marcello essays

Critique Marcello essays The Selby public library has pieces from the students from the ringling school of art and design. The piece that stood out the most was a portrait by senior, Marcello Dos Santos. It was a mixed media with oils piece, the oils being very evident. It was painted on a 5 foot high, 3 feet wide canvas that made the figure more life like, not quite life size. Life size would have taken away from the distant quality the figure had. The figure was done in a greyish-blue and hunched over with it's knees to it's chest, and it's knuckles pressed against the ground to hold it's balance. The figure's side is shown looking up, which helps your eye travel up the picture plane. The pull of the figure is so strong because of the way the knukles are to the ground, the knees are pushing into the body and the head is pulling out and away from the body. Then the background is done in a maroon color that pulls your eye away from the figure but being such a deep color pushes you right back into the figure. Then the ground is done in a pea green color that is of corse the opposite of red, but close to the blue that balances out the back, middle, and foreground. The actual detail of the figure is not shown, there is indication of muscle tone which is done in a smooth manner with the oils. Only emphasizing the muscle tone is what makes it such an eye-catching figure, besides the choice in color and technique. The sort of monotone color scheme is what makes the figure and actually whole piece have a distant quality. The basic composition of a kneeling figure to the side of the picture plane is a common choice of study. But the smooth painting style, color scheme, and variations of light and dark in the muscle tone of the figure is what made this stand out from the rest. ...

The Federalist Number Ten Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Federalist Number Ten - Essay Example First strategy proposed by Madison is eliminating the causes of factions. Second, Madison provides a proposal involving controlling the effects of factions in a democratic society. Eliminating the formation of factions in the society may be in two ways. The first viable option is eliminating liberty that permits factions to form or developing similar interest. The second option is to discourage the passions and opinions in people to control the effects of factions (Hamilton, 2006). According to Madison, the causes to factions are impracticable to eliminate. Therefore, the most-feasible strategy is controlling the effects of factions in a democratic society. A minority faction in a pure democracy poses insignificant threat since it is easy to outvote and suppress it. On the contrary, the majority faction has power to control the government completely. Therefore, modification is necessary to any democracy to protect the minority from oppression by minority. According to Madison, allowing citizens to make their laws promotes the risk of promoting self-interest at the expense of public interests. In such situations, majority society members oppress the minority to their advantage (Hamilton, 2006). James Madison asserts that citizens have different self-interests, and every society forms factions that sometimes harm fellow citizens. The Articles of Confederation never controlled the adverse effects of factions on the nations effectively prompting the necessity for a new government. Madison concludes that a diverse nation ruled by the majority can thrive if it factors a fair consideration for all. Madison, J. (November 23, 1787). The Same Subject Continued: The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection. The Federalist Papers No. 10. Retrieved from

The Performance of the U.S. Economy Today Essay

The Performance of the U.S. Economy Today - Essay Example The main reason for the slow economic growth of the economy is lack of responsibility and initiatives taken by the government in reducing the expenditure. While considering the GDP rate of the country it is experienced that the overall economy should be rated as B grade. The rate of GDP decreased during the first quarter, it decreased to 0.2 and then it recovered in the second and the third quarter. The decrease in the oil prices facilitated the people to spend more which mainly accounts for two third of the gross domestic product. The government took initiatives in raising the GDP of the economy by reducing the total government spending which includes local, state and federal expenditure. The spending decreased from 39% to 35%.The decline in government spending led to the increase in GDP. The main reason behind grading the economy as B is that the economy is not performing effectively and efficiently, the corporations and the owners of the company or the businessman have become greedy, cautious and myopic. The investors instead of holding the cash for future they are engaged in hoarding the cash and utilizing the cash for short term profitability (Collins, 2015). The export and import function of the economy did not prosper. After the recovery of the financial crisis it is observed that the changes in case of both export and import are comparatively less. This resulted in the increase of trade deficit. The FED justified and explained that the labor and the market condition of the economy are improving as compared to the previous years. Although the number of investors increased during the period of recession but the amount of investment by the investors are decreasing with the due course of time. Therefore the level of investment failed to contribute towards the growth of the economy. The consumer spending is mainly measured in

Critical Perspectives on Management and Organisations Essay

Critical Perspectives on Management and Organisations - Essay Example The purpose of this paper is to highlight the groupthink implications, which could easily be pointed out as one of the reasons leading to the crisis. The decisions were either taken alone or by the group in totality, but if the decisions taken are imperfect, then outcomes have huge implications on the society. This study discusses the way in which Janis’ theory of groupthink can be linked to the space shuttle disaster. Groupthink can be described as a psychological process of the group members, where people end up taking an erroneous decision that affects them adversely. This implies that the group unanimously takes a decision, despite the existence of another correct course of action. The proponent of this theory is Irving Janis and his researches show that, at times, group of individuals takes successful decisions and at other times, they are unsuccessful. The root cause for failing to analyse the problem comes from the inability of group members to challenge the traditional understanding. This is because they feel empowered if all members agree to a certain perspective (even if it is erroneous) and fails to provide alternative, critique or a new opinion. This essay will first establish a thorough understanding of the groupthink theory and various critiques that has been proposed by other eminent researchers. The next section deals with application of the groupthink theory on the Challenger space shuttle disaster. This is followed by an alternative theory developed by Whyte in order to explain the Challenger disaster. The recommendations and conclusion are mentioned in the last section. Firstly, the managers of NASA were fully aware of flaws in the design of Morton Thiokol’s O-ring. NASA had tried to underplay the problem at hand and the managers decided to stay on schedule. There were also evidences that data, which was provided to the Group Decision Support System (GDSS) of NASA from Thiokol, had declared that it would be safe to launch the mission.

PESTEL analysis of the Chinese and German flooring industries

PESTEL analysis of the Chinese and German flooring industries Since 1979, China adopted an export-manufacturing strategy successfully following with Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. The Golden Bridge Co., Ltd is one of the beneficiaries. It was founded in 2007 with flooring as its main products. The product is of high quality by utilizing advanced technology and equipments imported from Germany and Italy. The glue and lacquer materials for production are also imported. In current stage, Golden Bridge has a total capital of 800 million RMB and exported to 35 foreign markets including the U.S., Canada, Japan and Germany. In order to help it to expand the business, our consultancy company attempt to analyze the China business environment and seek a foreign market to relocate the manufacturing of this company with proper entering and competing strategies. This essay first illustrates the business environment of flooring industry in China and German with PESTEL analysis. Then it evaluates the threats in Germany market by following Porters five-force mode l. Later a recommendation would be given on how to properly enter into the targeted country. PESTEL analysis of china market: The PESTEL analysis is used to assess the macro environment and identify the challenges Golden Bridge faced with in china market in order to make an appropriate suggestion. Political: The Chinese political system characterized as one-party communist dictatorship makes a great contribution to national stability, enabling the economy keep dynamic and sustainable. Nevertheless, when the economic system was deregulated from the command economy to market economy since 1978, the power of economic management was increasingly decentralized, raising the issue of uncoordinated development of regional economy. Currently, though the central government has made effort to alleviate the gap among different areas in terms of developing standards, provinces tend to give a priority to local profits rather than considering the integrated advancement of the whole country. Local protectionism exerts detrimental influences upon market expansion of Golden Bridge Company in nationwide and deters the establishment of a comprehensive distribution channel. Economical: China is valued as one of the most vibrant countries in terms of economic development among the world. The reform opening up in 1978 accelerated Chinas GDP growth from 362.4 billion RMB to 30 trillion RMB within a 30-year period. Moreover, in 2010, China has been the second largest economy instead of Japan whilst the value of export accounted for 10% of world. Based on these statistics, judgment can be made that manufactures in China including flooring industry may keep an optimistic attitude to their future prospects in some extent. Nonetheless, Chinese economy may suffer unpredictable circumstance in the future. Labor resource is one double-edge sword. Once being an advantage of China, abundant labor resource and economical labor price make a great contribution to progress of those labor-intensive manufacturing industries. This is also the primary reason that China flooring industry is quite profitable though China is a net importer of timber. However, as cited by AME info (2005) there is a growth in the minimum wage standard, labor may not be regard as a perpetual advantage of China if this trend continues. In Addition, appreciation of CNY since 2005 against USD may imperil the export of Golden Bridge Company (Goldstein, M. and Lardy, N., 2006). Social: It is claimed by Su and Littlefied (2001) that China is an extremely high-context country where people prefer to receive implied messages. For establishing a business in China, strong private-relationships with different stakeholders is the key to success. However, this is extremely time-consuming while the maintenance is also expensive. Potential conflicts in interest may easily erode it. Besides the relationship, corruption is another issue in China. According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, China was positioned 72nd among all 179 countries in 2008. However, damages caused by corruption may be far more hazardous than anticipated, particularly to the economic development. Corruption has been treated as a vital barrier for operating in Chinese market due to enormous back-stage expenditures as well as resulted injustice. For Golden Bridge to gain more import quotas and pay less tariff, costs may be made up of not only normal ingredients such as transporting, but also implied expense for smoothing the network. Technological: China wood flooring industry is experiencing a relatively laggard technological standard in its initial stage of development. According to Cheng and Song (2006), the level of timber utilization was 61% in 2004 with a considerable disparity with developed countries (nearly 90%). Additionally, imbalanced technological support aggravates the long-term conflicts between wood supply and demand in Chinese domestic market. In 2004, though the total domestic timber supply is 273.6 million cubic meters and exceeded the total consumption of 241.5 million cubic meters, scarcity of raw material still existed in some parts of timber manufacturing industry. Environment Legal: Chinese government proposed the Natural Forest Protection Program (NFPP) nationwide in 1998 to limit exploitation of natural forest resources. The legislation made the supply of domestic natural timber restricted. Between 1997 and 2003, natural timbers supply decreased from 32.05 million cubic meters to 12.145 million cubic meters (Cheng and Song, 2005), which was extremely insufficient to satisfy demands of the highly prosperous timber industry in China. Timer manufacturing companies in China have to depend on importing. Statistics shows that in 1997 the quantity of imported timber only occupied 23.56% of total wood consumption, while the number soared to 53.78% in 2004. The expenditure of imported timber was $33.96 higher per cubic meter compared with the price in 2007, which increased the material coast of Golden Bridge Company. PESTEL analysis of German market: Since this essay has analyzed the macro environment of the china flooring market, further looking at the political, economic, social and technological factors of the German can help advance and strength the logic of the whole assessment. Political factors: Germany is a home of secure, legal and rewarding investment. The World Economic Forum has rewarded its legal system as the most efficient and this fact has also gained international recognition. Flooring coverings are categorized according to German and EU laws and building products should be subject to the EU construction products directive and the German construction products law. The directive and law are mainly focused on environmental, health-related, material and usability sectors and most people agree that by considering the environmental restrictions, the EU can be the strictest market. Moreover, with the transnational economic environment, it is predicted by experts that the approval criteria for flooring is likely to decrease and there seems to be a limited permission of eco-labels for flooring products. Further, comprehensive incentives  are provided to both home and oversea investors by German government, individual federal states and the EU. Economic factors Germany is the largest economy in Europe and in general German is export-oriented. Since 2003, German has been the largest exporter machinery, vehicles, chemicals and household equipment, with an annual export increase of 8%. However, factors that may prevent Golden Bridge from entering into and developing itself in Germany also exist. They can be excessive dependence on euro currency, tight credit markets and an increasing rate of unemployment. Stimulus and stabilization efforts initiated in 2008 and 2009 and tax cuts introduced in Chancellor Angela MERKELs second term will increase Germanys record budget deficit, which is expected to exceed 5% of GDP in 2010. The EU required Germany to get its consolidated budget deficit below 3% of GDP until 2013. A new constitutional amendment likewise limits the federal government to structural deficits of no more than 0.35% of GDP per annum as of 2016. Technology factors: Germany is claimed to be the leading nation in high-tech development and receives high turnover accordingly. In 2007, the high-tech products exported by Germany accounted to a value of RUR 114 billion, ranked first in Europe and third worldwide. More than 27% turnover of German manufacturing factory is generated from high-tech products, compared to a European average of 19%. Social factors: Social factors also need consideration. Hofstedes analysis of Germany shows the emphasis on individualism, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance. Power distance and long-term orientation are both ranked considerably lower than the others. Germany believes in equality and equal opportunity, as well as its ability to change and adapt rapidly. Another arising issue is the social awareness of pollution, which leads Germany to use more environmental-friendly materials. Abstract for the use of five-force model: After analyzing the macro-environment of both countries, it is reasonable and necessary to apply Michel Porters five-force model in order to provide a thoroughly understanding of the German flooring market before the Golden Bridge company entering into it. According to this model, the competitiveness of an industry is influenced by such five forces and their collective strength and thus determines the ultimate profit potential of this targeting industry. These five forces covered in the analysis are competitive rivalry, supplier power, buyer power, the threat of substitution and the threat of potential new entry. However, the five-forces framework is not a set of principals per se, instead is a tool for systematically use these principals to assess the current status and likely evolution of an industry. Competitive Rivalry: The internal competitive rivalry in German flooring market seems high. There are three main reasons. First, the switching cost is low because flooring products are homogenous with little product differentiation. Another reason is that the German flooring market is saturated with a relatively low growth rate. The flooring production in 2008 suffered a 15.1% decline while the total consumption slumped for about 12.19% (FEP, 2008). Also the number of competitive companies in German flooring market and the intensity of rivalry also determine the high threats of rivalry. There are a large number of companies competing in the German flooring market and these companies are divided into three categories, they are Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), Domestic Leading Manufacturers (DLMs) and Niche Market Brands (NMBs). First of all, SMEs has the largest number in the German flooring market (Roadmap, 2010). These SMEs are often manufacturers provide low-grade flooring with low price. Their marketing strategy is just reverse to Golden Bridges. Thus Golden Bridge is suggested to treat them in an abstemious way. However, there are also a few numbers of large flooring manufacturers who operating on European and/or global base. It is suggested by German Timber (2007) that few DLMs account for the majority of the total market share. These companies usually possess strong competencies, highly recognized reputation and well-established brand image. One main rivalry is the Krono Group, who is one of the world leading producers of high-quality flooring. Founded in 1897, it has accumulated years of experience and extensive knowledge know-how. It delivers products to 80 countries worldwide while has its own production-base in 18 countries. In 2004, its production capability of flooring reached 310 million à £Ã … ½Ã‚ ¡, took up about 1/3 of the world market share with total sales revenue of 24 billion RMB. It also has an annual RD investment of 15billion RMB with over 200 scientists doing research in Krono International Laboratory. In addition, there are Niche Market Brands (NMBs) with several well-known brands like Espirt and Kaindl, holding part of the flooring market (FEP, 2007). These companies merely provide certain kinds of flooring to meet the special needs of a group of customers. Furthermore, in order to gaining competitive strength, the NMBs together with some foreign brands such as Balterio from Belgian and Vito from Austria have formed a conglomerate named Beamy International, a commercial platform allowing them to compete on both domestic and global markets (FEP, 2008). As the competition is fierce in German flooring market, Golden Bridge is suggested to adopt a niche strategy and doing effective promotion after entering the market. To explain, the original German wood flooring manufacturers already gains economy of scales and undeniably enjoy a cost advantage. Advanced distribution channel comparing with those new entrants also allows them first mover advantages. Cost disadvantage and lacking reliable cooperators are main barriers for Golden Bridge to survive in German market. Insufficient in capital determines that an aggressive expansion strategy is also irrational. However, one advantage Golden Bridge occupies is that it has been doing export business within German importers for couple of years and its products did have certain reputation in this highly competitive market. By offering additional value, Golden Bridge can efficiently differentiate itself among the rivals with a brand image of reliability, valuable, and symbol of statuses. This may help obtain sustainable brand loyalty among German customers. Threat of Substitutes: The threat of substitution refers to the extent to which different products used in place of a companys products or offered by other industrials. Flooring is not restricted on only wood but other materials such as textile and stone/ceramics are also widely used. For instance, in German market in 2008, textile took the largest raw material market share (i.e. about 37.4%) for making flooring. This is followed by stone/ceramics of 28.6%. Comparably, the laminate only had a market share of 13.9%, ranked in the third place. In terms of switching cost, the result can be distinct regarding to different objects of study. To individual consumers, there is almost no switching cost exists because choose one kind of material instead of another is just a matter of personal taste. However, this can be criticized in depth for the reasons that wood-made flooring has its own characteristics and functions that other materials may not have. To some extent and to specific customer groups, for instance, those who have fixed-decoration style, the switching cost can be relatively high. However, to large wholesalers (e.g. Beamy International) who previously dedicated in wood-made flooring, the switching cost would be extremely high, as they may lose the stable distribution channels with their current wholesalers or retailers, and also the price advantage provided by the long-term cooperative producers. This means the substitution threat is less considerable because their past investment in developing stable distribution channels with retailers and producers offers them an advantage in current market and this may make them unwilling to undertake risks of operating and competing in a new and highly competitive market. Summing up the above, it is the end-user customers that Golden Bridge should pay close attention to. First of all, it is advised that a regular customer survey to be conducted to make a comprehension of customers preferences and what they really appreciate. The company should also emphasize the exclusiveness and unique utilities of their products, making it cost more for the customers to switching to other substitutes. In the meantime, though as mentioned the future trend seems favor wood flooring industry, Golden Bridge should cause enough value that the technology development is always indeterminate. Thus in order to avoid sudden shock of new technologies that brings in comparable substitutes, Golden Bridge should invest continuously in Research and Development to keep pace with the times. Threat of New Entrants: Threat of new entrants is moderate. As put by European Commission (2001), the main barriers to enter German market include certification approval and the quality standards and label, while the incentive to enter German market depends mainly on its impeccable infrastructure system. The extensive unified intensification, which has been mentioned before in PEST Analysis of German, increase the starting investment of new entry, accordingly has negative effect on new entrants to the market. There are totally fourteen member countries of European Federation of the Parquet Industry (FEP). Under the Single European Market policy, twelve of them have reached an agreement on moving goods, service and capital freely internally, giving companies in these markets strong mobility. To put it simpler, a flooring company located in Germany for example, can either choose to develop domestically or entre into either of the other 11 member countries of EFP, in support of the unified system. Once entering into the consolidated FEP, the new members deserve this privilege with little hindrance, however, the legal entry requirement, especially for flooring companies compliance with environmental protection, is said to be quite strict in European Market, which is especially true in Ge rmany. Thus it can be expected that in order to harmonize to European standards, a large quality of funds will be needed to invest in order to fulfilling the standards ranging from environmental protection to individual healthcare. What is more, the sophisticated infrastructures that Germany possesses nationwide make the market considerably attractive to those adventurous entrepreneurs. As known to all, Germany lays in the center of the Western Europe, with large-scale transportation centers such as International airport in Frankfurt and seaport in Hamburg (ELA, 2010). Centering in a fast and efficient logistic network covering almost all the main markets in Europe, flooring companies in Germany can procure raw materials namely timber on a global scale, and reach the external markets with relatively lower transportation costs. Therefore the threats of new entrants would be moderate in German flooring market. For Golden Bridge, the corporate should create a marketing and brand image and keep customers loyalty, tie up to both suppliers and distributors. More important, it should sign a patent to protect the intellectual property of their high-tech products. Buyer Power: Buyer power, which is determined by the individual customers ability in negotiating purchase prices with suppliers, is at an intermediate level in German market basing on four crucial reasons. Firstly, according to the previous analysis, competition in the wood flooring manufacturing is largely intensified by a large amount of incumbents. Hence, purchasers are more unrestricted in choosing their suppliers with considering competitive advantages of products, and price may be a decisive factor for some customers. However, it is important to note that Wholesalers have more bargaining power than individuals. Being the large-volume buyers, they are not only main customers where companies earn profits from, but also controllers of dominant distribution channels. By stark contrast, individual customers with smaller purchase volume may be positioned less vitally in suppliers minds. Secondly, the buyer power is attenuated by the availability of substitutes of wood flooring in German market. E xcept for this category of flooring, more choices are supplied on the market. Despite competition reinforces customers bargaining power, the phenomena of demand surplus in German wood flooring alleviates this circumstance. According to the research of European Federation of the Parquet Industry (FEP), the consumption of German wood flooring is about 17.88 million square meters, while the production of German wood flooring is only about 11.04 million square meters (Slides Stats 2008). In additionally, German culture also plays a significant role in lessening customers bargaining power. The spirit of the nation, such prudence and fixation lead to a fairly strict standardization in both work and life. Germans are used to calculating a precise price based on all dimensions. Hence, they dislike dealing with situations out of their planning, enabling bargaining become very difficult. Ten percentage cut in price is the biggest range they will agree in they dealing with foreign buyers. (LeMont Schmidt, 2001). Supplier Power: Supplier Power refers the power of suppliers to drive up the prices of raw materials, supplies, equipment or inputs. Your company purchases the glue, paint and equipment, and employs labors from Germany and imports the wood from Russia. There are some crucial factors performing low supplier power of your company. Firstly, German is not used to bargaining, which is mentioned in Buyer power. Hence, it is meaningless for German suppliers to drive up the price of material and equipment. Negotiating power is weak in Russia as well. Although the nation is one of the largest wood producers, there are a large number of wood suppliers ¼Ã…’which provide a strongly competitive circumstance in Russia. Admittedly wood is a kind of nature product so that customers are sensitive to the price of wood. Because of high standard of transparency, the switching cost is low in Russia. On the other hand, many substitutes with lower expenditures are becoming increasingly prevalent such as marble, carpet, plastic flooring. High standard of substitutes threat can restrict the suppliers to drive up the price and reduce the power of suppliers. However, high labor cost strengthens the supplier power. The German labor cost is one of the highest in world. According to Common Protocol of Salary, Labor wage need be determined by the negotiation between wood flooring industry and backwards industry (Fact about Germany, 1996). Therefore, the security of labor force is quite completed. Unions are powerful to argue with unfair wage or welfare. For example, Michael Sommer, the head of the trade union federation(DGB) , claimed that is necessary to increase labors wage with the upturn of economy in 2010( Guardian ¼Ã…’2010). Supplier power and buyer power, which exert a moderate threat on Golden Bridges development in German, can be alleviated through several ways. From one aspect, to limit bargaining power of large-volume wholesalers, the company should give priority to building up a distribution network itself by developing new franchisers rather than depending on the primary channels of wholesalers. In terms of individual customers as well as challenges from substitutes, enhancing the products benefits would be the most efficient way to reduce their bargaining desire as most of affluent people value quality more important than price. From the other aspects, labor relationship, the most considerable barrier in lessening German supplier power, should be harmonized through affording sufficient welfare to employees, as well as building a relative democratic organizational culture by the company. Moreover, it is supposed that importing a few skilled workers from China would benefit the company not only by more economical labor cost, but also reducing the significant dependence on the German labor market. Limitation of the 5-forces: Porters five-force model is not perfect but based on the assumption that from the view of any one firm, all the other firms no matter whether they are supplier, competitor or buyer are threats to the profitability. However, according to Brandenberger and Nalebuffs value net theory, interactions among firms can sometimes enhance profits. Thus critics raised and attentions on cooperation are much more paid. The cooperation between the Golden Bridge Company and other foreign flooring companies will be analyzed and evaluated in the later recommendation part. Recommendation By illustrating the German macroeconomic environment and its circumstance of flooring industry, it is thought that the most recommended strategy for Golden Bridge is to build a joint venture with one or several German covering floor manufacturing enterprises, whilst maintaining the manufacturing section and primary market system in China. Joint venture can be explained as a collaborative formation among companies that each party invests parts capabilities to constitute a new enterprise, thereafter determining the distribution of ownership according to corresponding contributions. Nevertheless, two preconditions should be taken into consideration before making an alliance with German incumbents. Firstly, as a dominant barrier in Chinese market, capital insufficiency would also limit the investment ability of Golden Bridge in German to a large extent. Consequently, small-to-medium incumbents are more desirable as cooperators rather than large-scale companies in terms of ensuring a rela tively high proportion of ownership of Golden Bridge in the new joint venture. Moreover, it is imperative to illustrate compatibility of potential partners based on a number of philosophic criteria, including similar experience, common principles and agreed future target as well (Kanter, 1994). Where extremely intensive competition takes place, German market would tend to pose more threats than opportunities on the Golden Bridge if the company attempts to entirely entry the market alone. In comparison, cooperating and aligning with local companies would be a much safer and efficient measure from two aspects. First, by giving joint ventures preferential treatment, the Golden Bridge gains a good opportunity to penetrate the German market in a relatively short period with minimum risks as the company is unnecessary to expose abundant long-term investments to gain market shares in German wood flooring industry. Instead, it can utilize those important strategic assets of local cooperators such as complete distribution channels, customer relationships and brand loyalty. Moreover, Golden Bridge is still deficient at technology and management comparing with the local German companies. Through setting up a joint venture, advanced technology and managerial know-how can be more easily accessible by Golden Bridge, which is beneficial to its development in China market as well. Nevertheless, possible issues relating to joint venture cannot be neglected by the Golden Bridge. First, operational dissimilarities caused by political and economic divergence between China and German may be a vital problem for Golden Bridge. For instance, blind spots in law or financial systems will damage the corporate profits at initial stage. Additionally, cultural and managerial difference may be difficult to consolidate as different authority, reporting and decision-making patterns (Kanter, 1994), therefore leading to possible mistrust and misunderstanding between Golden Bridge and its partners. It has been widely recognized that German managers are prudent and rigid in dealing with regulations and rarely consider the influences of the network relationship, which is fairly distinct from Chinese managers conceptions. Conclusion: In conclusion, according to the PESTEL analysis, there are a number of challenges in China. These challenges can be the unbalanced market condition in china because of local protectionism and insufficient infrastructures, under-developed technology and managerial skill led to the low efficiency of timber industry in China, Natural Forest Protection Program limits the domestic nature timbers supply as well as the increasing labor cost in flooring industry due to Chinas economy prosperous. The complexity of interrelationship of different parties involved in the business environment also cannot be neglected. The PESTEL analysis of German market was further conducted to make the assessment more comprehensive. Later the consultants use five-force model to assess threat of entering the German flooring market. For instance, the competitive rivalry and threat of entry in German flooring market is extremely high. In terms of threat of substitution, it is much more complex. The supplier power and buyer power are both at an intermediate level. However, Porters model is criticized for lacking of corporation with other market players. Thus, a recommendation is made by our consultancy company for Golden Bridge to organize a joint venture and thus with other reliable and competitive companies for instance, the Beamy International. Facts about Germany. (1996). Frankfurt am Main: Società ¤ts Verlag. LeMont Schmidt, P. (2001). Die amerikanische und die deutsche Wirtschaftskultur im Vergleich: Ein Praxisbuch fà ¼r Manager. Gà ¶ttingen: Hainholz Verlag. Guardian (2010) German steel workers demand 6% wage increase http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/14/germany-angela-merkel http://www.roadmap2010.eu/wisd/pdfs/68-81.pdf http://ecotec-energiesparhaus.de/Daten/Holztechnik-Forest-and-wood-industries-in%20Germany%20at-a-glance.pdf http://www.tarkett.com/group/en/company/Tarkett-at-a-glance http://www.homeinstitute.com/types-of-flooring.htm http://news.frbiz.com/parquet_floor_once_again_leading-440481.html http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004D0275:EN:NOT

Democrats and Republicans View Points Essays -- Politics

Since the beginning of their inception the Republican and Democrats have had a great divide on their perceptions of what is best for this great nation of ours. Republicans and democrats are distinct in several ways above all in their ideas, politics and world views. Republicans seem to be known as conventional or cautious and they seem to embrace economic equity beyond any other thing. Whereas a Democrat seems to be more open minded and they stand for government supported programs. The purpose of the paper is to analyze, compare and contrast the two parties positions on the issues of same sex marriage, race based affirmative action and illegal immigration. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia â€Å"Affirmative action" means constructive periods reserved to rise the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and business from which they have been historically excluded. Fletcher (1996) stated â€Å"Affirmative Action was spiraling unpleasant as Republicans in Congress and state legislatures across the country criticized the issue†. America gives the impression to be held up with fair-mindedness as equality which increases questions in the minds of many who are not acquainted with the unique purpose of Affirmative Action. This will always be an ongoing problem throughout history but has come a long ways from the early nineteen hundreds. Racial discrimination is noticed more in schools and in the workplace. Springer (2003) reported that the New York Times surveyed a few thousand respondents and found that eighty percent of black respondents believed in affirmative action. Republicans are said to have old-fashioned american main beliefs. They trust that people who are skilled for a profession should g... ... 4 (Dec , 2003), pp. 289-311 Published by: Springer Articles Stable URL: http:// www.jstor.org/stable/3657306 Margaret E. Dorsey and Miquel Diaz- Barriga Senator Barack Obama Immigration Reform – Journals of Black Studies, Volume 38, NO. 1, The Barack Obama Phenomenon (Sep., 2007). Pp. 90-104 Published by: Sage Publications, INC.Articles Stable URL: http:// www. Jstor. Org/stable/40034404 Stoyan Zaimov Same Sex Marriage stirring Battle for the Heart and Soul of the GOP, Observers Say The Christian Post (Jan. 2012) Michael A. Fletcher Washington Post Staff Writer (Sept 18, 1996) pg. A12 http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/11/10/democrats-push-to-repeal-defense-marriage-act/ http://prospect.org/article/democrats-gay-marriage-problem-0 http://www.gop.com/2008Platform/Values.htm http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/affirmative-action/ (Apr 1, 2009)

Brain Death

Death occurs at an individual at the moment that his or her heart and lung stops functioning in such a way that they could never be restored. At the same instance, the brain function also stops. Death had been referred to as cardio respiratory death until technology altered the context death through the introduction of what was known as brain death which refers to the cessation of brain function and activity determined or measured by different test such as EEG diagnostics. Most of the time, the term brain death refers to a patient that lost brain capacity to do important function.They may sometimes be sustained by medical apparatus but is not literally dead in the physical context. However in some countries, these persons are considered dead and organs can be transplanted to some other patients who need body organs and patients who are brain alive. Thus, benefiting the society as a whole and as well as the receivers of the organ. Although the acknowledgment of brain death benefits th e community, several controversies and contradictions arise. Such conflict includes the different views regarding when the patient is to be considered brain dead, which also includes the controversies regarding PVS patients.Although new development on the fields of technology arises to be able to determine if one person is really brain dead, such as Digital Subtraction Angiography, Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT), Dynamic Computed Tomography (DCT), Magnetic Resonance Imaginary (MRI), Echo Planar MRI (EPI) and many other types of equipment, a consensus regarding the acceptance of brain death was never reached because of some ethical and cultural concerns. Such factor includes the different views and stand of the pubic regarding organ transplant.Still, the main factor against the consensus of accepting brain death is the public’s opinion and view, specially the families of the patient who were considered to be brain dead, regarding the matter. They are unlikely to accept th e burial of a breathing human or to intentionally terminate the cardio respiratory function of an individual through lethal injections or some other means. Due to several controversies regarding brain death, several policies had been made. However controversies and contradictions are still present, regarding brain death.Returning to Cardio Respiratory death will eliminate objections regarding brain death which was the original definition of death. Modern advances in medical technology are really challenging our conception of what it means to be human, to be alive. For some, the concept of Brain Death is also a form of legalizing killing.DEFINITION OF BRAIN DEATH: ROBERT BLANKStudies showed that the brain begins to die due to some several causes. One of the major causes was ageing in which there exist a gradual lost of sensory capacities in one’s brain.The higher the age of an individual means higher risk of having a decline in memory and other functions of the brain. Aging is the natural process in which brain functions declines. There are also causes which are not natural such as injuries, cancer, stoke as well as alcohol and drug abuse. However, the concept of brain death does not necessarily refers to this process of brain cell death but rather to the cessation of functions and activity of the brain as indicated by several test such as EEG diagnostics.This concept is different from what we normally regard as death. In a general sense, brain death refers to situation to which the patient was diagnosed to be unable to regain consciousness or unable to recover from his or her current state of having brain damage. When a person is considered brain dead he or she is regarded as already dead and thus, organs can be taken for transplants. Because of this definition, several controversies and contradiction occurs.In the beginning of the issue regarding brain death, several criteria were used conclude that a person was really brain dead: â€Å"(1) unreceptiv ity and unresponsiveness; (2) lack of spontaneous movements or breathing and, (3) lack of reflexes† (Blank, page 3). Due to the seriousness of the issue, there had also been acts in order to determine if the person is brain dead. The concept of brain death is still being debated up to the contemporary time even in the presence of modern technological devices such as Digital Subtraction Angiography, CAT, DCT, MRI and others.WHAT TRIGGERED THE CONTROVERSEY OVER BRAIN DEATH?The very reason for the creation of the concept of brain death was the advancement of medical technology. Although there are some machines in the field that were able to support the lungs and heart of a person, the fact that once the brain stem was seriously damaged. Spontaneous respiration could never be returned, providing a patient with no hope of recovery. Thus, the death of a person was linked to the death of certain brain function rather than to the cessation of the heart and lungs.CEREBRAL DEFINITON OF DEATHThe idea of total brain death has always been surrounded by controversies even it was accepted as the standard practice in most of the Western Nations because some argues that it cannot be referring to the death of the whole brain or the cessation of all the functions of the brain. Since the concept of the whole brain death ignores spinal cords reflexes as well as the emission of small electrical potentials measurable by the EEG continuous in some isolated brain cells. On the other hand, the cerebral death was associated to the cessation of the function of the cerebral cortex that is associated with consciousness and mental activity.Thus whenever specific higher brain functions of an individual ceases, he or she is considered cerebral dead rather than the cessation of all brain activity. The concept of equating death to cerebral death was based on the assumption that human life has no longer exist in the absence of the person’s consciousness. Thus, cerebral death focuses on the death of personhood rather than the death of the organism itself. Because of these assumptions, death gains a lot of criticism and objectivity.WHY IT IS DIFFICULT TO INSTITUTE A POLICY DEFINING PVS PATIENTS AS BRAIN DEAD?Patients with PVS have a relatively intact brain stem with the complete lost of cerebral cortical function that may be due to lack of oxygen or blood flow to the brain for about 4-6 minutes. Thus, the patient is left with a transient coma for days and weeks that sometimes also resulted in eyes-open consciousness for years. Although they have cough reactions as well as times of wakefulness and sleep because of the brain stem, they are completely unaware of themselves as well as their environments. PVS patients also experience no pain during the period.These characteristics that makes PVS patients different from permanent coma patients, patients with locked-in syndrome and irreversibly comatose are also the reason why it is difficult to institute a policy that defines PVS patients as brain dead.Summary: PETER MONAGHAN ARTICLEThe idea of referring to brain dead people as dead resulted in different views and stands taken by different groups and cultures. In the United Sates and Canada, the concept of brain was accepted and organs of people who are considered brain dead can be taken for transplant.Several countries on the other hand have different views regarding the matter specially those that that are outside the United States. Other countries have acknowledge the concept of brain death but were unwilling to view brain dead persons as dead and chose to stick to the cessation of heart and lungs as the indication of death of an individual. The differences in the views of the public regarding brain death creates several issues, controversies and as well as objections of the concept.For some, legalizing brain death is just a way of legalizing killing; others believed otherwise, mostly are professionals in the field of medicine who believed th at this concept will be able to save the lives of those persons whose brains are well functioning but are desperately in need of organ transplant. The acceptance of the whole concept of brain death is likely to produce a great development in the field of organ transplant, cloning and other medical fields. However, this would also mean changing the public’s definition of dead; disregarding mostly religious and biological beliefs of the definition of death.Medical technology developments also complicate the issues regarding brain death. Even the question of when should a person should be considered brain dead was still debatable up to the contemporary time. Still, the significance of death in the societal context still overrides medical authority when it comes to a patient known to be brain dead. One of the strongest issues that were against the concept of brain death was the difficulty of family members of a brain dead person to acknowledge the burial or even cremation of thei r love.Another issue that also arises was whether anesthesia should be used for patients that were brain dead. The concept of brain death really does create a lot of controversies and questions that remained debatable up to the present time.COUNTRIES OUTSIDE THE USAIn the United States as well as in Canada, once a person was considered to be brain dead, his or her organs can be removed for transplant. However not all the countries, because of cultural differences, does not view and accept the concept of brain death in the same way.In several European Countries, surgeons could perform the transplant unless the patient forbade it. Still, there are those countries that accepted the idea of brain death and take it into consideration, but still preferred biological death and brain dead persons are not considered dead. There are also some countries that were totally against the idea of brain death. The concept of brain death was merely a convention outside the United States and Canada. Fo r example, in Japan, it took more than 3 decades of debate before the concept of brain death was legally accepted.Still, the issue of brain death remain restricted that allowed for organ transplants. Brain Dead individuals are not considered dead unless they wish to donate their organs. Germany on the other hand first recognized the concept of brain death but reversed its recognition in 1999. Although brain death had been legally accepted in Sweden in 1980’s, the issue is still being debated. On the other hand in the early 1900’s Denmark accepted the concept of brain death but decided not to use this concept in determining if an individual is dead rather they retain the heart and lung cessation of determining death.Thus, because of different views, beliefs and norms, different countries have different approaches regarding the issue of brain death.DECISION MAKING IN OTHER SENSITVE MEDICAL AND SOCIAL ETHICAL AREASThe issue on brain death had made certain impacts when it comes to decision making of some related medical, ethical and social issues. When it comes to ethical concerns, the main question that arises is the issue of life and death. Brain Death had moved some conception of death; it is a new definition of death as some may say.Brain death is a treat to some ethical, cultural and religious beliefs as it offenses certain beliefs of society. On the other hand, brain death offers great advancement in some field such as medicines and other medical aspects. Brain death made it easier for medical personnel to decide on whether to sustain or cut off different medical apparatus that sustains the breathing of the patients. It also helps in deciding to make an organ transplant from patients that are considered brain dead. Thus, it created medical advancement especially in the filed of organ transplant, cloning and other fields.On one point, brain death can be said to help the society by providing organs from those patients who are brain alive and are capable of making a change in society. However, the issue also brings disagreement among the members of the society.TERRY SCHIAVO CASEThe Terry Schiavo Case illustrates both societal and ethical issues concerning brain death, the decision that concern individuals and groups have to make. The different views of Terry’s husband and parents brought conflicts and legal issues.The concept of brain death made it legal to cut off the apparatus or the feeding tube used by Terry. Although Terry’s parents appeals to the court to put back the feeding tube, the court had rejected this appeal. It can be said that the court accepts the fact of brain death and agrees with Terry’s husband that she would rather be dead. However it was really hard for Terry’s parents to accept that their daughter was already dead. Different doctors who had seen Terry have different views and beliefs whether Terry would be able to recover or not.Thus, it was really hard even with several de velopments in medical fields to have a consensus of whether a brain dead person can be classified dead or not.CONCLUSIONIt can really say that medical development altered our notion of death. This brings new challenges to every culture and society. Because different cultures are different, they may have different stands regarding brain death. For some, it was proper to view brain dead person as dead because of the lost of the main function or the brain was already dead.However, some argues that legalizing brain death as death is also a form unjustified killing. The issue or concept of brain death will remain controversial and objections will always arise because of the differences of every culture and individual. Thus, the consensus regarding the matter can never be accomplished.ReferencesBlank, R. (2001). Technology and death policy: redefining death. Mortality: Vol. 6.Monaghan, P. (2002, February 22). Unsettled Question on Brain Death. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Washington : Vol. 48, Iss. 24; pg. A. 14.

Anonymous – Creative Writing

The powerful low winter sun illuminated the seemingly endless road. The glass glistened like walls of diamonds; the highly polished doorknobs that led to the place of ones dreams were glowing like hot molten lava that had just erupted from the brittle and frozen pathway. The place would have been perfect if it weren't for the thick yellow lines that ran parallel with the crisp frozen pathway and the people who waltzed up and down it with no time to stop and look at the wondrous beauty, to time to stand and talk and no time to care about other people. Berny took one long deep breath of the cool refreshing air and filled his lungs with courage, for he knew he was going to need a lot of it. He stepped out onto the frost-covered pavement and immediately became one of those people. Yet secretly, he was taking in all of the smells of this beautiful street. He was secretly admiring the way the glass glistened and the doorknobs glowed. He wondered if he would ever be able to visit this wonderful place again and if so why. He reached the end of the street he loved so much. He knew this because there were now cars, vans and big red buses ploughing through the wide streets that were full of even more people that only cared about themselves. Berny started tapping his feet as he waited for the eyesore that changed the speed of the mercurial vehicles to tell him it was now safe to cross. Safely across the energetic and hectic road Berny opened the door of the inconspicuous Lexus that was parked waiting for him. As he slipped inside the nondescript, matt black box he was greeted by three men who he had never met. Although he had never met them he knew their names, well what they were called anyway. Even they probably couldn't remember their real names anymore. No one spoke as they were going through the dense traffic. The only sounds were that of buses stopping with a hiss or ambulances flying past with their sirens on; other than that there was nothing except for the heavy breathing of the three men he had the pleasure of travelling with. Whilst adjusting himself for the third time on the luxurious cream leather seta, he got a whiff of the man in front of him, the driver. He was obviously a bit of a chain smoker and it showed, as around his mouth there were wrinkles so deep Berny was sure he could see dust in the great canyons between them, or perhaps it was ash from the little white sticks he put in his mouth. He had tried to cover up the fact he was addicted to the little white sticks, by covering himself in a strong fragrance, it was too strong, he had probably got it half price in Superdrug. Berny despised cigarettes and felt no pity for the people who put them in their mouths and then complained of lung disease or some other illness caused by them. There was one reason for this; Berny's father had been a heavy smoker and died of cancer as result when Berny was still young. The only memory of his father was the strong smell created by the toxic smoke. Berny had blamed his fathers death for ruining Berny' life and getting him in to such a mess. A single tear had appeared from the bottom of his right eye. The salty liquid was stinging his eye and made it feel like he had been hit. He turned his head to the one-way window and right on cue the saturated tear ran down the harsh, bold contours of his face; over the faded ink scar he had been given by an energetic broom handle. He made no effort to stop the acidic liquid and it fell to the floor like a snow onto ice. He turned to face the person next to him; it was Knuckles, very original, so called because he had none. He was a thug and he looked like one, he had a shaved head, a prominent brow and very heavy shoulders. He looked uncomfortable in his pin-striped suit, and would have probably preferred to be wearing a leather jacket. As Berny looked at him, Knuckles' jaw twitched quite sporadically, his jaw seemed to be having a fit. Berny chose to ignore it and returned to looking out of the window. They had stopped at another ghastly set of poles with lights on when a police van containing enough policemen to storm The Ritz pulled up beside their box on wheels. This seemed to make the three men nervous, as far as Berny knew they had no reason to be, as they weren't in any trouble and hadn't done anything wrong, yet. The lights changed and the car and the threatening van went their separate ways. They were reaching the edge of the crowded and over populated city when Knuckles' phone rang. It was one of those really annoying tones Berny loathed, but everybody else seemed to love. Knuckles brought the inconspicuous brick out of his jacket pocket and put it to his ear. He did not talk, he just listened. Towards the end of the conversation, he spoke softly into the mouthpiece and said â€Å"Yes that's fine, see you tomorrow†. Berny had never heard him speak before. He had a timid but clear voice that would have been more suited to a poet rather than a football hooligan. â€Å"The plan's changed Bob† Knuckles said softly. â€Å"Where to now then?† Bob, the driver bellowed in a coarse Northern accent, which would have suited Knuckles much better than his existing one. â€Å"The barn† he replied as if he had rehearsed it. â€Å"K† was the acknowledgement he gave back. Berny sat thinking, the barn? He didn't know of any barn, was it actually a barn or was it code for something? He'd know soon enough. As they left the smog of the city behind them the eerie tension lifted also. â€Å"Alright chaps?† Al the man in the front passenger seat asked. Of all of the men he was travelling with Berny liked Al the best, he did not know why, he just did, perhaps it was because he was he was older than the other three and reminded Berny of his father. Knuckles gave a squeak that Al seemed to understand as â€Å"Everything is fine†. â€Å"Good† was Al's reassurance. â€Å"How you doing Berny? Long time no see mate† Berny didn't quite know what this meant as he had never seen Al before, he had spoke to him, many times they had spoken on the telephone and on internet chat rooms. In fact they knew each other so well it did feel like they had known each other for a very long time, they knew each other well but not too well as there were things they did not want to know about each other, these things were never discussed. â€Å"I'm fine. Still not sure what we're meant to be doing.† Replied Berny. Berny had dropped that question in as he did not want to confront Al directly about it. â€Å"We're going up North to see someone who would like to talk to you† was the answer to his cleverly disguised question. They were on a motorway now. The fields either side were empty except for the thin layer of ice that was preventing the rich soil underneath from being exposed to the harmful rays of the sun. they were going slower than the other polluting vehicles. This gave Berny a chance to get his bearings. The land was flat with small rolling hills. The clouds were lightly spread and presented no threat, allowing the powerful rays of the sun to shine off anything that was stupid enough to get in their way. Bob broke the silence â€Å"Off here Al?† â€Å"Yep† was the well thought out reply. Berny couldn't see anywhere to turn off. But Bob found the small lane and directed the car down like a heron swoops in on a fish. The lane was bordered by a hedge, which had lost all of its leaves and was now just one big mess of tangled branches. There was one on both sides. They grew over the road and touched once or trice in the middle. This place must look really beautiful in the summer or early autumn when the leaves are crisp and brown. Berny wished it wasn't winter, because now the mess of twigs were bare, they looked evil, each one trapping itself around the other starving it of the precious light there was. The peaceful little lane had now turned into a spiralling labyrinth of sharp bends and deep gully's. Berny leant to his left so he could see out of the front windscreen. Left right left again, the bends were getting closer together. Some of them you couldn't tell which way they went until the last second. Bob must have been a rally driver in a past life. Bob was now accelerating on every bend. It was as if he wanted to tip the car over. He was making it very hard for himself. Perhaps he liked a challenge. Everyone else started looking worried. It wasn't just Berny who thought Bob was taking the corners too fast. Al screamed to Bob â€Å"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?† Bob didn't hear, or didn't want to hear. He was in a trance. It was knuckles turn now â€Å"SLOW DOWN YOU'RE GANNA KILL US ALL!† This provoked no reaction either. Berny felt obliged to have a go â€Å"BOB STOP IT NOW† Bob must have heard this but it did not prompt the response they were all looking for. Instead it made Bob speed up even more. The corners were getting sharper, the speed was getting faster. There was nothing they could do except hold on and hope Bob would come to his senses. Bob was now finding it hard to see the corners. He was leaning forward. He was squinting to get a better look. His breathing was shallow and very fast. His arm started first. Then his leg, his hands and finally his neck. Bob had no hands on the wheel. He curled into a ball against the side of the car and started rocking like a pendulum going three times faster than it should. A thick froth had formed at his mouth and was now coming out of every hole on his body, including the tiny holes in his skin. Berny knew what was going to happen. He saw it first. It was a great oak. The most beautiful and overpowering tree he had ever seen. It did not feel like he had imagined it would. He was slammed into the seat in front of him. His legs hurt the most, there was a loud hiss. He was alive, well he thought he was. It was hard to tell. He looked at his legs, they were still there. He looked around him. Knuckles was covered in blood and stuck between the two seats. Berny did not even try to see if he was still alive and if he was what kind of life would he be able to live as his neck was at an angle that should b impossible to put it in. Where were Bob and Al? They weren't there, they couldn't have got out. Where they would have been sitting was now just a mess of tangled metal. The door opened first time, Berny slipped though the small inviting gap and found himself in a pool of liquid. As he inspected the liquid he found some of it was petrol and the rest a deep scarlet of red blood. Whose blood he did not know, he did not care either. The petrol and the blood did not mix, the blood sat in the centre surrounded by the strong smelling, flammable fuel. Berny pulled himself away from the wreckage. He sat in the road covered by blood and fuel. The birds sang almost as if trying to comfort him. Berny tried to take in what had happened. Was it his fault? What should he do now? Where will he go? Before he had time to answer any of those questions a face appeared in the wreckage. It was Al. He smiled and winked. His pleasant face was now a blur of deep red and pale yellows. Berny rushed over as fast as his crippled legs would take him. He was halfway when he heard it, a loud click. He was pushed back by the heat of the monstrous flames. Berny sat watching the overpowering flames take over the wreckage. He sat in his pool of fuel and blood and a single tear formed in his right eye.

Free Essays on Stevie Wonder

Instead of taking his vision, God gave Stevie Wonder the ability to create an originative inspiration; he is an undeniable genius not only in rhythm and blues category, but in soul, rock n’ roll, jazz, pop, and even in reggae. Also recognized and approved as a producer and a composer, Stevie Wonder took many elements of those musical genres and re-built and converted them into his own personal expression. Among his many ambitious works, the album called Songs in the Key of Life, released in 1976, is acknowledged as the most determined and impressive collection of songs that touches on practically every matter in this planet, and it shows some of the finest performances of his career. Stevie Wonder, a living legend, has greatly influenced the rock music in a narrow view and the modern music in a broad view, which reveals that he is not bounded within the â€Å"Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame† (1989). The album consists of two CDs. First disc starts with â€Å"Love’s in Need of Love Today† and â€Å"Have a Talk with God†, sharing that he has secure sense of faith and spiritual dedication. As the album progresses, however, the latter tracks- â€Å"Pastime Paradise† and â€Å"Village Ghetto Land†- that contain the illustrations of tough realities of life propose a clear distinction to the tenderness from the former tracks and observe the plight of the living in the past with small hope for the future. One of the most triumphant songs on Songs in the Key of Life, â€Å"Pastime Paradise† is one of Wonder’s finest recognized compositions, due to the sampling used in Coolio’s â€Å"Gangster’s Paradise,† which was the hit in the year of 1995. This song is classified as one of the first records that makes use of synthesizer strings, which in fact sound as real synthesizer strings, as a result of revolutionary effect . Not only the modest organization was incredibly successful, but is the lyrics social comments that are particularly re... Free Essays on Stevie Wonder Free Essays on Stevie Wonder Instead of taking his vision, God gave Stevie Wonder the ability to create an originative inspiration; he is an undeniable genius not only in rhythm and blues category, but in soul, rock n’ roll, jazz, pop, and even in reggae. Also recognized and approved as a producer and a composer, Stevie Wonder took many elements of those musical genres and re-built and converted them into his own personal expression. Among his many ambitious works, the album called Songs in the Key of Life, released in 1976, is acknowledged as the most determined and impressive collection of songs that touches on practically every matter in this planet, and it shows some of the finest performances of his career. Stevie Wonder, a living legend, has greatly influenced the rock music in a narrow view and the modern music in a broad view, which reveals that he is not bounded within the â€Å"Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame† (1989). The album consists of two CDs. First disc starts with â€Å"Love’s in Need of Love Today† and â€Å"Have a Talk with God†, sharing that he has secure sense of faith and spiritual dedication. As the album progresses, however, the latter tracks- â€Å"Pastime Paradise† and â€Å"Village Ghetto Land†- that contain the illustrations of tough realities of life propose a clear distinction to the tenderness from the former tracks and observe the plight of the living in the past with small hope for the future. One of the most triumphant songs on Songs in the Key of Life, â€Å"Pastime Paradise† is one of Wonder’s finest recognized compositions, due to the sampling used in Coolio’s â€Å"Gangster’s Paradise,† which was the hit in the year of 1995. This song is classified as one of the first records that makes use of synthesizer strings, which in fact sound as real synthesizer strings, as a result of revolutionary effect . Not only the modest organization was incredibly successful, but is the lyrics social comments that are particularly re... Free Essays on Stevie Wonder Stevie Wonder Born as Steveland Judkins on May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, Michingan, Wonder now prefers to be knows as Steveland Morris after his mother's married name. Placed in an incubator immediately after his birth, Wonder was given too much oxygen, causing him to suffer permanent blindness. Despite his handicap, Wonder began to learn the piano at the age of seven, and had also mastered drums and harmonica by the age of nine. After his family moved to Detroit in 1954, Wonder joined a church choir, the gospel influence on his music balanced by the R&B of Ray Charles an Sam Cooke being played on his transistor radio. Wonder was discovered in 1961 by Ronnie White of the Miracles, who also arranged an audition for him in Motown Record. Berry Gory immediately signed Wonder to the label, that led to the birth of "Little Stevie Wonder." Though, the â€Å"Little† was dropped in 1964. Wonder was placed in the care of writer/producer Clarence Paul, who supervised his early recordings. Wonder and his label hit the jackpot in 1963 with "Fingertips-Pt. 2." This made Motown quickly marketed him on a series of albums as â€Å"the 12-year-old genius† in an attempt to link him with the popularity of â€Å"the genius,† Ray Charles. In two years he became one of Motown's finest artists, recording a serious of brilliant singles for a solid nine years. Most of were he wrote himself. By the end of the 1960s, he was not only hitting the charts with his own records including: "Uptight," "Castles in the Sand," and "My Cherie Amour† but also by writing for many other Motown artists, including "It's a Shame" for the Spinners, co-writing "The Tears of a Clown† with Smokey Robinson and writing and producing the (Detroit) Spinners’ â€Å"It’s A Shame†. Instead of re-signing immediately after his contact expiration with Motown in 1971, Wonder instead recorded two full albums by himself. In his some of his lyrics, he took on racial problems and spirit...

Ethics and Professional Standards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethics and Professional Standards - Essay Example In most cases these determinants are based on moral ethics or cultural beliefs and preferences. Many cultures have different background from which they base their decisions from. With increasing global resources, organizations have realized the need of respecting and appreciating different cultures. Additionally, international organizations have find ways to fit and to operate under the required ways when venturing into different cultures rather than theirs. In some cases organizations hire employees from a set of culture in order to know more m ore about a particular culture. Others have activities which are aimed at giving back to the societies they venture their business into. In an argument by Aubry (2010) giving back to the society is perceived as the best way to appreciate a population from a different culture. In project management, culture appreciation has been sensitized in most organizations. This case mainly applies in international companies. International companies usual ly indulge projects which include explorations of resources in locations with vast cultures. For this reason international companies have to incorporate culture appreciation techniques. Many projects carried out from different cultural settings have techniques which are in line with the host culture. Organization are advised to do a prior survey to the cultural environment they tend to base their project. Aubry (2010) argues that this kind of research is conducted the same way as market research the only difference being that market research is conducted on the targeted population while cultural research is done with regards of a whole community. Most issue researched on includes issues touching on religion and culture preferences. For example, for an organization to get proper reception in the Muslim culture, they have to be very cautious in the dressing code. In many projects undertaken by international companies, the communities involved have an important role in ensuring the suc cess of a project. In an argument by Brenner (2009) communities in cultural rich locations need more than incentives to corporate in projects involving big organizations. These occurrences have seen many western countries employ native cultural ethics and professional standards to suit their investment locations. After the research on the culture of the location intended for investment, international organizations then should formulate and come up with both professional and ethical standards to help them in implementing successful projects. Coming up with professional and ethical standards is the key to any project success. This is measured by how much corporation the project will have from the community or the target consumers. In an argument by the Project Management Institute Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct (2010) many western companies invest in continents like Africa with great recognition of ten cultural tasks ahead of them. For instance in Africa project management sh ould include a great piece of adherence to the new cultures involved. Communities need to feel comfortable before being part of a business venture. Ethical standards matter most. One of the most important ethical standards is religion preferences. Some cultures have a very strong opinion towards religion. This may include the specific days of worship. In this case an organization should avoid any

Critical discussion of the roles and responsibilities of the newly Essay

Critical discussion of the roles and responsibilities of the newly qualified nurse including Patient Group Directions and its ap - Essay Example This discussion will essentially focus on the role of a newly qualified nurse in regard to delegation of responsibilities, and Patient Group Direction (PGD). Delegation in essence is the ability to pass to a willing and available second party the authority and responsibility to undertake a given task. As defined by the NPC, Patient Group Direction refers to administration or supply of licensed medicine in definite medical situations certified by a pharmacist, doctor or dentist. The essence of this study is to explore the connotations, significance and implications of these responsibilities of nurses while providing realistic and practical illustrations in professional practice. Of critical significance in health care provision are the associated professional, legal and ethical implications, of which this paper seeks to provide a comprehensive overview before arriving at a conclusive summary on prospects and professional development of a newly qualified nurse. Critical discussion on t he roles of the newly qualified nurse The transition from college to professional practice presents a dramatic shift in experience and expectations. This then demands deliberate and timely skill and psychological preparedness to make a successful transition into professional practice. ... These are prerequisites and indicators of the commitment and initiative of the nurse in both professional practice and personal development (Ellis and Abbott, 2010). In practice, a qualified nurse becomes part of intricate relationships involving colleagues, patients and the leadership of the institutions that employs them. The success of newly qualified nurses in professional and personal development is largely dependent on how the nurses handle their personal and professional relationships (Northcott, 1999). Healthcare care provision presents major responsibilities and challenges that demand not only professional competence but also excellent interpersonal abilities that enhance a mutually supportive and professionally enabling work environment (DOH, 2007). To be registered by NMC, the requirement is that a nurse be able to demonstrate the above skills and competencies with minimal supervision. It has, however, been acknowledged that newly qualified nurses may lack in practical exp erience and confidence to deal with the enormous challenges presented in health care provision (Glasper, 2010). To this end, the NMC acknowledges that new nurses should receive mentorship and supervision for at least four months in a transitional programme. The challenge faced by newly qualified nurses, as observed by Kennedy (2008), is further compounded by the unprecedented assumptions and expectations from older nurses that new nurses have what it takes in skill and expertise to meet the challenges of their new roles. Of more practical significance in a reflective and realistic perspective is that new nurses develop the ability to adopt and learn faster on the job. As acknowledged by Darley (2002), personal initiative and accountability of