Dead stars Essay

The short story, â€Å"Dead Stars† was written during the American Colonization of the Philippines, a time when the modern short story, critical essay, and free verse poetry were introduced. English was the medium of learning, and became, as well, the language of the learned. This was also the time when utilitarian literature was slowly being overshadowed by the individualistic, modern view of creating â€Å"art for art’s sake†. Dead Stars by Paz Marquez Benitez (1894-1983), which came out in the Philippines Herald in 1925. This work, the first of only two short stories published by Benitez, is considered the first modern Philippine short story. It is a story of the frustrations, confusions, and heartbreak that arise from unrequited love. INTERPRETATION Dead Stars is a story about the fickleness of Alfredo Salazar, a man in his thirties who is about to be married to a woman named Esperanza after four years of their being engaged. It begins with Alfredo staring out from the open window, who is being talked about by his father and sister regarding his marriage and his love life. We are told that he was so in love, that â€Å"at the beginning he was enthusiastic–flowers, serenades, notes, and things like that–† towards Esperanza. But his sister has observed that something has happened to him, that he was no longer aggressive and perhaps, youthful. Their father then explains that it is normal, that long-engaged people are â€Å"warm now, cool tomorrow†, that Alfredo was having his â€Å"last spurt of hot blood†. Alfredo â€Å"fell in love† with another woman in just a few weeks of his â€Å"neighboring† to the Martinez Residence, where Julia Salas stayed for her visit. Julia too, seemed to have fallen for Alfredo, but both knew that what they had was against, perhaps, morality, and was subject to the scrutiny and judgement of the society. Alfredo, being an engaged man, should not involve himself with others. But he chose to live a lie, he believed he found â€Å"youth† and â€Å"heart’s desire† up in the hills with Julia. He always reasoned that † If a man were married, why, of course, he loved his wife; if he were engaged, he could not possibly love another woman.† But then he immersed himself in an illusion, in a dream that he can possibly be with Julia despite hurting Esperanza, and of course, breaking a lot of society’s rules. In the end, in his final encounter with Julia where the girl did not seem to respond to his last show of love, there he was redeemed from that delusion, that all along he was holding on to nothing; that all along he was looking at dead stars. REFERENCES: http://melonagrace.weebly.com/dead-stars-by-paz-marquez- benitez.htmlhttp://josecarilloforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=19.0

The Birth Mark

Critical Essay 4 Close Reading â€Å"The ‘Birthmark† that was written a little over a century ago by Nathaniel Hawthorne, seems to be an early story of our modern fascination with physical flawlessness. In looking at today's society, it is simple to see that humans are fascinated with perfection. This fascination may be for physical perfection, emotional perfection, or career perfection. Unlike today's society, where flawlessness is wanted by the person directly involved, the character in this story looks for flawlessness in the one he should love without condition.The character becomes so obsessed with wanting perfection that he gives up true happiness. Thus, we can say that â€Å"The Birthmark† expresses a very profound meaning; men make an effort to change nature in order to make it more flawless than it already is. Even though â€Å"The Birthmark† by Nathaniel Hawthorne was written in the mid-1800s, its subject and ideas still play a part in todayâ€⠄¢s society. â€Å"In the late eighteenth century, where the story took place, science was still somehow associated with magic. †(1) And Aylmer's ‘science', could be called alchemy, which is somewhere between science and magic.It can be stated that Aylmer, the scientist in â€Å"The Birthmark,† is very much a result of this age of invention. Aylmer could have been a scientist or maybe even a magician. But we can definitely say he was in pursuit of control. He seeks control. The story starts off with a scientist who finds a bride. As the story continues on the freshly married couple starts to make discoveries about each other. Aylmer who is a man of perfection bases his decision to marry Georgiana believing that she is nothing but perfect. Nevertheless, his bride, Georgiana, appears to have a birthmark on her face that Aylmer wants to remove.Aylmer believes that the birth mark is a symbol of flawlessness on a beauty; On the other hand, Georgiana believes it is a b lessing. To me Aylmer made the mistake of marrying Georgiana because of perfection. In life we must understand that not everyone is perfect. Everyone has flaws including ourselves, and in this story Aylmer did not understand this. Georgiana’s birthmark on her face made her very different and special from other women. Aminadab said, â€Å"If she were my wife, I’d never part with that birth-mark† (Hawthorne 6). This quote opposes what Aylmer thinks; that the birthmark is ugly and needs to be removed.Aminadab tells Aylmer that the birthmark is unique, and he would not want to remove it because it makes her different. The birthmark has a very unique shade and shape to it, â€Å"In the usual state of her complexion- a healthy, though delicate bloom; – the mark wore a tint of deeper crimson, which imperfectly defined its shape amid the surrounding rosiness† (Hawthorne 2). Hawthorne often refers to the birthmark as the â€Å"Crimson Hand. † Not onl y is the color of the birthmark unique, but the shape is unique, as well. Not all birthmarks are crimson and look like a hand, and few people have a birthmark as unique as Georgiana did.Although Georgiana birthmark is unique, it is also a human flawlessness to Aylmer. Aylmer wanted to prove to Georgiana it was flawlessness to her face. Aylmer convincingly said, â€Å"No dearest Georgiana, you came so nearly perfect from the hand of Nature, that this slightest possible defect- which we hesitate whether to term a defect or a beauty- shocks me, as being the visible mark of earthly imperfection† (Hawthorne 2). Aylmer thinks the birthmark makes Georgiana ugly and wants to do whatever it takes to remove it from her face. Aylmer cannot stand to look at his wife with this horrible birthmark on her face.I feel as though everybody has their own beauty that’s within them that can’t be changed. I understand that nobody can change the inner or outer beauty of a person it wil l always be there no matter what changes they make or try to hide. Beauty is something unique and it shouldn’t be altered by any one, each individual has something that is beautiful about them even if there outer appearance is not so beautiful. In the end of the story we understand that the symbolism of the birth-mark had represented death because, Georgiana died at the end of the story because, Aylmer was trying to change something that was meant to be left alone.Hawthorne said,† As the last crimson tint of the birth-mark that sole token of human imperfection-faded from her cheek, the parting breath of the now perfect woman passed into the atmosphere, and her soul, lingering a moment near her husband, took its heavenward flight. † (p. 650) Had Aylmer would have accepted his wife as she was she probably wouldn’t have died of the death of his hands. So it was his fault really because, he made her felt as if her birth-mark was an ugly thing on her face. When it really was not ugly it brought her appearance out it made her even more beautiful and special.As individual we must learn sometimes to let things be, as I like to say â€Å"let and let God. We must know that everything is not meant to be change. â€Å"The Birthmark† is very psychological, rigorously dealing with the plain mind of the characters as if the portentous narrator told the story from within their mind, other than observes it from the outside. The description by a person outside of the story, other than a character from within, does not inspire the reader to understand with one character more than the other. It also allows the reader to understand the story and its characters based on how the audience feels.Using third person point of view, Hawthorne defines the characters and lets the audience to try to understand what each of them is thinking. Hawthorne wrote a great story in this story Hawthorne sends a message that we as individuals have always made every eff ort for perfection in all aspects of our life, but sometimes our own pleasant perception of it dominates the possibilities that some people will take to achieve those aspects of perfection. Whether an athlete decide to us drugs in order to be able to run faster or to hit harder, for them to be able to reach a greater level than anyone else to that unachievable goal of perfection.Better yet, surgeons who try and play God and perform plastic surgery on patients to make the patient believe and feel that they have the perfect look and smile or appearance. â€Å"The Birthmark† was a very interesting book, in that Hawthorne explores a person’s sense of perfection and how far they will go to reach it. Works Cited Booth, Alison and Kelly J. Mays. The Norton Introduction to Literature, Shorter Tenth Edition. New York, London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010. SparkNotes Editors. â€Å"SparkNote on The Birthmark. † SparkNotes. com. SparkNotes

Research and Analysis of Business Problems Paper

And Analysis of Business Problems - Research Paper Example Kellogg enjoyed higher growth rate from 2007 to 2009 and after that it had quite steady growth rate till 2011. On the other hand, General Mills had quite volatile revenue growth because revenue decreased from 2008 to 2010 and again increased in 2011. From the above table it can be said that, General Mills had higher revenue than Kellogg each of the last five years. Most recent personal decision that I have made is job preference. I have developed job preference for best suitable job for me after completing my study. As a student of business management, I would have multiple job opportunities in diverse areas of corporate sector. Most suitable options that are under my level of competence and knowledge are trainee business analyst, strategic marketing analyst and business development executive. These are the three alternative career fields for my future from numbers of major areas. Business analysis is most wide area among these three. It involves detailed analysis of all areas of a business like marketing, finance, operations, manpower management etc. Therefore, all four major areas of business management study and I can evaluate my core strength are from these four major areas and can chose that as major area in future. Second job preference is strategic marketing analysis which involves development of marketing planning for new product and service and also redesigning of existing marketing plans. This would help me to implement my marketing knowledge and develop marketing as a major area of my future career. Third job opportunity is business development executive which involves generating sales for the company by selling product and services offered by the company. This area covers organizations of all sectors and industry. It is quite tough at trainee or fresher level until some client base is developed. Therefore, most of companies ask for experienced can didates. From the most

Lifes Greatest Lesson Learned (must also include 1 direct quote from Essay

Lifes Greatest Lesson Learned (must also include 1 direct quote from book tuesdays with Morrie so reading this book is required) Read FULL Directions - Essay Example I learned from experience that there is something to the non-violent ways of many of our greatest leaders, from Martin Luther King to the Dalai Lama, that allows people to take control of their lives and to be immune from harm. I learned that non-violence is the only sane way to live. I see for instance that many on-going fights are the result of people retaliating from perceived or real hurts inflicted on them by others. I witness this daily. Each is a never-ending downward spiral of violence and pain, to the point where those fighting forget where it all started. The way to stop this is to stop retaliating. To nip it in the bud, the best policy is to not begin the cycle of hate, and to respond to negativity with its opposite. I know this is hard to practice, but in practical terms, those who are non-violent also are less likely to get into trouble with the law because they make it a policy not to harm others. They have peace in their lives, and are not afraid to go anywhere thinkin g that someone will come hurt them out of revenge. Being a peaceful person is simply the best way to live on earth (Albom, 1997). I learned too that living by the rules of love also means doing the work that we love, rather than aiming for work that gets us to a better place in terms getting ahead in life, or making more money. In a way this is a form of self-love too, to be in tune with what we really want to do, rather than allowing material considerations dictate how we are to spend our lives. I learned that when I do things out of a genuine interest and love, rather than to show off or to gain something in the short term, I do poorly. My heart is not in it, and I hurry to finish. I do not feel good about the work that I do in this spirit. I want to move on to other things right away. On the other hand, with some activities that I love, time seems to fly, and my

Advanced Portfolio Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Advanced Portfolio Management - Research Paper Example Efficient market hypothesis works on the assumption that on the average the investors have rational expectation. With available information individual investor’s reactions are random and follow a normal distribution pattern. This in turn implies that no individual investor can outperform the market on a consistent basis. Individual investors may over or under react; individual investors may outperform or underperform for a short period. But all the deviations are random in nature and will self-correct in a short period. Thus market will always be right (Copeland and Weston, 1988). Among the three forms of efficiency, the weak form efficiency hypothesizes that the current market price does not reflect fair value and only reflects the past prices. Since it does not adapt to a change in current information, the future price cannot be predicted from past or current prices. Empirical evidence does not always support weak form efficiency of a market. There have been noted differences between stock market behavior in developed and developing countries. However research findings in different markets are not universally accepted (Elango & Hussein, 2010). Many comparative studies have been done to examine performances of many different stocks and variables results have been observed (Solink, 1973; Cooper, 1982; Urrutia, 1995; Dahel & Laabas, 1999; Rao & Shankaraiah, 2003). To compare the performance of stock markets in a rapidly changing economic scenario worldwide, it was decided to check for weak form efficiency in two developed countries and in two countries belonging to Gulf Co-operation Council for a considerably long period of time in very recent past. Four countries, the names of their stock indices considered and time periods chosen given below. Every week trades take place on 5 days of the week and the other two days are excluded from the analysis. However, given that the countries have different customs,

Cooperative Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cooperative Strategies - Essay Example http://www.swlearning.com/management/hoskisson/cfa1e/powerpoint/ch10_lecture_light.ppt CA designed to take advantage of market opportunities by combining partner firms' assets in complementary ways to create a new value. These include distribution, supplier or outsourcing alliances where firms rely on upstream or downstream partners to build competitive advantage. It is formed between partners who agree to combine their resources and skills to create value in the same stage of the value chain. Focus is on long-term product development and distribution opportunities. Partners may become competitors and requires a great deal of trust between them. It is used to hedge against risk and uncertainty and it is most noticed in fast-cycle markets. Alliance may be formed to reduce the uncertainty associated with developing new product or technology standards. Allows a firm to expand into new product or market areas without completing a merger or an acquisition, it also provides some of the potential synergistic benefits of a merger or acquisition, but with less risk and greater levels of flexibility. Permits a test of whether a future merger between the partners would benefit both parties. The main purpose of Franchising is to spreads risks and uses resources, capabilities, and competencies without merging or acquiring another company. Contractual relationship concerning the franchise is developed between two parties, the franchisee and the franchisor, an alternative to pursuing growth through mergers and acquisitions. http://academic.cengage.com/resource_uploads/downloads/0324316941_57293.pptDespite of providing benefits to the firms, cooperative strategies can be

Refelction and discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Refelction and discussion - Essay Example While the major decisions and the exercise of accounting prerogatives are performed by the senior accountant, I learnt a lot about the demands of the profession by performing the regular or routine work such as executing the trial balance of the statement of financial condition or reconciling the sales balances for the month. Aside from helping in the preparation of the financial statements for the firm, I occasionally was asked to do some tasks that had to do with the individual projects which the construction firm was involved in. It happens to be a much more difficult accounting for projects rather than for the company in its entirety because projects have a budget that was drawn pursuant to the terms of the contract, and the interpretation of accounts, allocation of expenses, and reconciliation of records and activities pertaining to the project can be difficult while the project is in progress. For a short while I was assigned to other sections to gain a better grasp of the acco unting procedures involved in those areas. While the stay in each section was brief and the work I was asked to perform was only routine, my brief exposure nevertheless added to my appreciation of the manner in which the job was done and the significance of the function of the section in the overall department. There are a number of skills I developed in the course of the program, the most of important of which is the set of people skills which I needed to deal with my superiors, co-workers and team mates, and with the clients who would consult occasionally concerning the progress of the projects. I also dealt on a regular basis with staff from the other departments, coordinating with counterparts in procurement, engineering, and marketing. From this I discovered that the organisation is more than just a rigid structure that governs people. An organisation is a dynamic set of relationships among its members who interact with one another to successfully achieve the organisationâ€⠄¢s strategic goal. As mentioned, I worked under the supervision of a senior accountant. She has been in the profession for several years and with the construction company for almost the same duration. From her, I had learnt that because of the specialised knowledge which our profession implies, we are held to a higher standard of ethics than most other workers in the organisation. This is because we, as accounting and finance professionals, are relied upon by all major stakeholders who deal with the organisation, such as the management, shareholders or business owners, the government and regulators. I learnt in school that the position of an accountant or financier is imbued with trust, but it was only during the internship that I came to realise what this actually means in practice, and it is such a profound responsibility. There are other things about which I had been taught in school, but had only come to fully appreciate during the internship. I had gained a greater self-confid ence during the program and began to trust my abilities and my decisions in addressing the tasks of my job. I learnt to face clients with a greater sense of self-assuredness by understanding that the service was all about satisfying their needs in the most convenient way possible for them. I also learnt the value of team work, particularly where

Criminology (Risk & Security Management) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Criminology (Risk & Security Management) - Essay Example In the year 2004, APACS, which is the United Kingdom payments association representative of the card issuers, had introduced a new industry standard. This was done to prevent fraud relating to ‘plastic cards’. This standard made it mandatory that a microchip be embedded inside the debit and credit cards. Moreover, a 4-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN) was to be used by all the consumers in order to carry out any transactions. Henceforth, the standard was named â€Å"chip and PIN†. Formerly, the credit cards that were being used in the United Kingdom were designed like those that were used in United States. These cards had a magnetic strip which needed to be swiped through the magnetic reader. The receipt was then signed by the consumer to acknowledge the transaction. (Neal Walters, 2006) Indicators suggest that this new standard played a substantial role in cutting down the credit card fraud cases. France also used a similar technique to overcome this problem. It is said that credit card fraud cases have reduced by 80% in France now. Although, these statistics are very encouraging, there still are some problems relating to the chip and PIN system. (Neal Walters, 2006) When a card is to be used and has chip and PIN technology, the customer first has to insert the card into a card reader which can access the microchip inside it, also known as PIN pad. If the PIN pad authenticates the card, the consumer is asked to insert the 4-digit PIN. If this Pin matched with the one in the card, the transaction is completed successfully. However, the chip and PIN system may not be used over the Internet or telephones. It may also not be used in case of mail order transactions as the customer’s presence at the time of sale is required. (Neal Walters, 2006) Decline in various types of credit card fraud was observed after the introduction of chip and PIN system in United Kingdom. These types included account takeover fraud

Managing oganisational relationships Essay Example for Free

Managing oganisational relationships Essay Introduction No Organisation can hope to keep up with the fast pace of change of the world today without enthusiastically embracing change within itself. [www.thecommonwealth.org 2005] The above statement is very powerful, but one I strongly agree with, because changes are taking place everyday and if managers dont respond to these changes then the business is most likely to suffer. Managers may have little ability to prevent change, but awareness that change is coming can make it easier to deal with. If an organisation is prepared to handle an event, then many problems can be prevented or solved without difficulty. Management versus Leadership There is a continuing controversy about the differences between management and leadership. I think its obvious that a person can be a leader without being a manager and vice-versa. According to the management theorist Mary Follett: Management is the art of getting things done through people [M.Follett 1989] However, the idea that a Manager only manages people I think is over-simplified. This is because managers hold many responsibilities. I have outlined below the role of a manger: Decision Maker Are held responsible for results Have conflicting goals to achieve Need to Plan and Budget Work with and through people organise staff. Whereas, leadership is; the ability of an individual to influence, motivate and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organisation. [House et al., 1999] From the above statement I can gather that the role of a leader is to mainly to: Communicate Motivate and, Encourage employees Leadership is a managerial activity where employees work together towards achieving company goals. The difference between managers and leadership is that managers are elected to supervise the work of other people in the organisation and carry out formal duties. While, leaders influence the behaviour or actions of others. Managers value stability, order and efficiency. Meanwhile, leaders value flexibility, innovation and adaptation. Managers are concerned more about how things get done and try to get people to perform better. Whereas, leaders are concerned with what things mean to people and try to get people to agree about the most important things to be done. As you can see there are many differences between management and leadership. I believe leaders are more effective than managers, as they influence workers to achieve company targets and their leadership approach is usually very effective. At Morrisons the leadership style is very effective as the leader has many good characteristics. I have outlined these below; * Good communication skills * Is decisive * Good at delegation These characteristics help employees feel more valued as they know what is going on in the company and so try harder for the company to achieve targets. There are many approaches leaders can emphasise on: Trait approach Behaviour approach Power-Influence approach Situational approach Integrative approach There are strengths and weaknesses to each of these approaches and the approach used highly depends on the nature of the organisation and the situation they are in. I would say that at Laurens cake factory, the managers implements a behavioural approach. They are very authoritarian where they focus on power, decision making and hold authority with the leader. The management style they hold is Task Management. This is when they: * Focus on production * Expect schedules to be met * Problems arise from other peoples mistakes I dont believe, that this approach is very effective because employers dont involve employees in decision-making and dont provide opportunity for training and development. I think this would make staff feel less valued and not part of a team so, will not motivate them to perform better to achieve targets. Performance Management performance management includes activities to ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. [www.managementhelp.org 2005] Performance management can focus on performance of an organisation, a department, processes to build a product or service, employees etc. Performance management reminds us that training, strong commitment and working hard alone are not results. The major contribution of performance management is its focus on achieving results. Performance management redirects our efforts away from business and gets managers to think towards effectiveness. Recently, organisations have been faced with challenges of increasing competition from businesses across the world. This means that all businesses must choose effective strategies to remain competitive. Employees must commit to these to ensure strategies are implemented effectively. This situation has put more focus on effectiveness, to achieve results. All of the results across the organisation must continue to be aligned to achieve the overall result for the organisation to survive and thrive. It is only then that organisations can really tell if they are performing. Culture of an Organisation Every organisation has its own unique culture, based on values of the top management who direct the organisation. However, over time individuals attempt to change the culture of their organisations to fit their own preferences or changing marketplace conditions. This culture then influences the decision-making processes and effects styles of management. Mullins defines the culture of an organisation as: a collection of traditions, values, policies, beliefs and attitudes that constitute a pervasive context for everything we do and think in an organisation. [Mullins 2002] A key role for culture is to differentiate the organisation from others and provide sense of identity for its members. At Accordia the culture is very democratic as the manager delegates responsibilities on others. It is also creative and innovative because they are always open to new ideas. They build their culture around quality based upon commitment to the company as a whole. Cross Culture As a business becomes more global the need to understand cultural differences is critical to success. [M. BERGER 1996] Berger highlights the importance of cultures. I think it is essential to understand the basics of good cross-cultural relationships, because when people do things differently, they are not necessarily wrong they just dont follow this in their culture. I have drawn out a table below giving an example of how UK and France have different styles of conducting meetings: UK France Purpose of meetings is to agree actions and make decisions Acceptable to astray from agenda in discussions Stick to agenda, deviate only if new priorities emerge Purpose of meetings is to give input to decisions, not necessarily to make decisions Time conscious Dont challenge the Big Boss Defined follow-up actions are generally agreed The key decision-maker may not be at meeting People are expected to attend on time and stay through out the entire meeting Not time-conscious people come and go during meetings, there can be side discussions. Figure 1 [M. Berger 1996] As you can see there are many cultural differences. The UK and France have completely opposite managing styles. From respect and understanding people can find ways to work together based on mutual strengths. I think cultural values affect attitudes and behaviours around the world and we need to examine how one can adapt their skills to the cultural approach in which they find themselves in. Flexible Working Flexible working is the term used to describe the ability to employ people when and where required in the interests of everybody. [R. Pettinger 2002] There has been a huge movement towards flexible working over the years and Neatly Hurstfield found that: Employers were making increasing demands on all employees to become more flexible, both in working hours and in functional flexibility. [Hurstfield 1995] Flexible working involves the creation of work patterns and arrangements which are based on the need to maximise organisational output, customer and client satisfaction and staff expertise and effectiveness. I found out that there are many approaches to flexible workforce Atkinson was one of them, where he produced the flexible firm model in 1984. Diagram flexible firm I believe that this model has more relevance today because when we look at the retail sectors every employee is flexible. For example; At Woolworths they have their core managers who work contracted hours. And then all the other employees are part time workers with high flexibility hours. I think they take advantage of the functional flexibility, where they recruit more staff and create short-term contracts when sales are likely to be high, eg) Christmas. This maximises flexibility as they are getting workers in only when needed. I think the flexible firm model shows that the environment is more competitive and the need for cost effectiveness is important. I think Atkinson was well ahead of his time and predicted accurately. I consider the greatest emphasis was based on the flexibility in part time working as many retailers implement this model. Psychological Contract The term Psychological contract is; the perceptions of the two parties, employee and employer, of what their mutual obligations are towards each other. [www.adelphi-associates.co.uk] It is the psychological contract that effectively tells employees what they are required to do in order to meet their side of the agreement, and what they can expect from their job. There has been conflict in employees not commiting to their contract, but due to the changes occuring recently, employees have been persuaded to taking the contract more seriously. I have listed the changes below: The nature of jobs more employees are on part time and temporary contracts, so, functional flexibility is more popular Organisations have downsized and delayered so individual employees are carrying out more tasks. Markets, technology and products are constantly changing customers are becoming more demanding. So, quality and service standards need to be of high standards Traditional organisational structures are becoming more inflexible so, new methods of managing are required. The effect of these changes is that the ability of the business to add value, rests on employees, where they are seen as the key business drivers. Organisations that wish to succeed have to get the most out of their resources. In order to do this, employers have to know what employees expect from their work. This is where the psychological contract is used as a framework for monitoring employee attitudes. Since 1990s employees have low job security due to the impact of globalisation. This has completely changed the traditional contracts where there is no job for life. The new contract mainly focusses on fair pay and treatment and also opportunities for training and development notion of continuous learning. On this analysis, employers can no longer offer job security and this has underminded the basis of employee commitment. Conclusion To conclude, I have found out that change within an organisation is inevitable and managers need to respond to these changes for their business to remain successful. The trend towards globalisation is accelerating as foreign competition intensifies. This leads to a change in managerial responsibilities where managers must be able to understand and communicate with people from different cultures. Cultural diversity is increasing within the workforce where managers require the understanding of values, beliefs and attitudes of people from different cultures. I believe it is necessary for managers to have the understanding of building mutual relationships and have respect for diversity so they can work together without difficulties. Flexible working has also become very popular, where employers are constantly seeking flexible staff. This is so they can fully utilise their resources effectively. Organisations are familiar with the notion of high-quality staff willing to work when required. This is due to the fact that the staff, expertise and resources have to be engaged when customers and clients demand. The psychological contract enables employers to look at the welfare of employees. eg) what employees want: fair pay, continuous learning, opportunity for training and development etc. Overall, I have found out that the nature of organisations are changing with the times and both employees and employers are benefiting from these particular changes. Also, these changes have a huge impact on Managerial theories today. References Books: STREDWICK. J. (2005). An Introduction to Human Resource Management. Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann: Oxford. PETTINGER. R. (2002). Managing the Flexible Workforce. Capstone Publishing: Oxford. BERGER. M. (1996). Cross-Cultural Team Building, McGraw-Hill: London. BJERKE. B. (2001). Business Leadership and Culture. Edward Elgar: Cheltenham. MARTIN. G, KEATING. M. (2004). Managing Cross-Cultural Business Relations. Blackwell: London. MILES. R. (1975). Theories of Management: Implications for Organisation Behaviour and Development. McGraw-Hill: Oxford. WATERS. M. (1995).Globalization. Routledge: London. STREDWICK. J, ELLIS. S. (1998). Flexible Working Practices. Institue of Personnel Development: Wiltshire. YULK. G. (2002). Leadership In Organisations. Prentice Hall: New Jersey. ATCHINSON. T. (1978). Management Today. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich: New Harcourt Brace Jovanovich: New York. Web Sites: (2005). Culture of Organisations. [online]. Available at: URL:http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/learn/business/aim/culture [Accessed on 20/1/2006]. (2003). Employee Peformance Management. [online]. Available at: URL:http://www.managementhelp.org [Accessed on 20/1/2006]. (2005). Psychological Contract. [online]. Available at: URL:http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/empreltns/psycntrct/ [Accessed on 21/1/2006]. (2005). Academic leadership: Online Journal. [online]. Available at: URL:http://www.academicleadership.org/ [Accessed on 27/1/2006].

Population in India Essay Example for Free

Population in India Essay India is an extremely large country which is sometimes referred to as a subcontinent. The enormity of the population of India has been of great apprehension and concern since the 1940s. There are many reasons for this serious dilemma in India, however, many initiatives have been implemented to resolve the crisis. In the following essay I will investigate and discuss the situation.  Firstly, a significant cause of overpopulation in India is the massive death toll. In one year in India, 5 million children die and approximately half the total deaths every year are of infants under five. This horrific reality is due to disease, malnutrition and diarrhoea. Dysentery is caused by bad diets and unfit drinking water, resulting in the loss and reduction of fluid needed in the body and consequent dehydration. A large majority of children die from acute cases of diarrhoea, despite the fact that there is an injection to cure it which costs 1p. Demise because of this relatively curable illness must cease. In addition, another widespread fatal disease is T.B. which numerous children die of. The disease occurs in the lungs and consists of the sufferer loosing blood through coughing. Moreover, a major reason for the high numbers of infant mortality in India is not simply sickness of the child, but of the pregnant mother as well. If the parent is unhealthy, it is very probable that the child they produce will also have contracted illness. The monthly increase in population is 1 million. This overwhelming figure is because large families are needed to work on farms and in other jobs. However, the Indians have more offspring than they actually want or need because they realise some may not live long and ,therefore, wont have the skills to assist and help in the fields. For example, a couple may want 6 children but have 8 for good measure and in case some die. This only resolution to this problem is to reduce the death of children so that parents can feel positive that their children will not die. Subsequently to having more children than needed, many do not die as expected, accordingly, the population increases. In the 1950s the Indian population was a mere 350 million, since then, it has increased to 750 million. The population in India is so immense that for every 1 person in UK there are 12 people in India! Furthermore, another cause of the high population is the requirement of more children as labourers in the country than in the town. There are larger families in the country, because, with more people to help an increased yield is produced, ensuring a larger income, prosperity and affluence. However, if a family has less children, labourers have to be hired which costs money and therefore a reduced surplus. 300 million people dont have an education or enough to eat in India. In the countryside every man woman and child works and all the jobs are manual, because suitable and affordable implements have not yet been introduced. Because of this, boys are seen as more useful than girls because they can partake in the heavy labour. If a family does not get a boy the first time, they have more children until they get one. When a marriage happens the girl goes and lives with her in-laws which provide extra help in the fields. The more sons a family has the more successful it will be. There are also a wide variety of differences between the country and town environment. In the Indian countryside, children are a vital requirement, whereas, in towns children are not needed to do manual labour so the families are smaller. Besides this, in towns medicinal cures are available so fewer children die and parents have an improved chance of keeping themselves and their children healthy. There is a higher infant mortality in the countryside because cures are not available, although, larger families mean more money. If a family has a son they very often move to the cities and send the money they earn to their families in the country. In the city it is harder to afford so many children because food has to be purchased unlike in the countryside. There is however a much decreased infant mortality in the city as a result of accessible remedies. Ghandhigram is a charity established to help children and young mothers in the countryside. 75% of Indias population live in the countryside, where the health service is basically nonexistent. Ghandigram has presented the solution of looking after and concentrating on the health of very young children. A dramatic improvement has been seen already and the situation of children is gradually recovering. As well as health in the countryside, the organisation is also persuading many more mothers to send their children to school. Children are being educated with the incentive of free school meals provided. As a result of this a large proportion of the future generation will be healthy and educated, consequently, good jobs will be obtainable to them. In the villages where the scheme is operating feedback is very positive and Ghandhigram will hopefully create further alterations and enhanced conditions.

Budgeting Slack Kills All Benefits Of Budgeting Accounting Essay

Budgeting Slack Kills All Benefits Of Budgeting Accounting Essay In an organization when a manager is responsible for planning incomes and expenses for the a future period, they can plan income very low and expenses very high so that this amounts gets approved by senior management. The Manager basically does this thing to be sure of meeting the budget with a very low income goal, the manager should be able to achieve it and go over it. With a very high expense Budget the manager should be able to easily keep actual expenses within the Budget. If this happens the managers performance in the coming year will look very good, as it doesnt really give management any idea of what the coming year will actually look like because its not realistic. And it doesnt show the actual evaluation of the managers performance. So this is known as the Budgetary Slack. In other words the surplus that arises when managers preparing a Budget overestimates costs or underestimates revenues. Most organizations would want to eliminate budget slack but some managers may be motivated to create it to improve their performance evaluations. After realising the meaning and concept of budgetary slack then it points out the key questions like why, for what etc. for the occurrence of this concept. First of all coming to the reality check of why this phenomena is happening, it is evident that it happens due to the fraud action of the concerned manager, that is misrepresentation of the facts and figures in the budgetary report. With a budgetary slack the manager is capable enough to achieve if its showing a very low income target and by exaggerating a high expense budget he is able to hide the actual expense within the budget. thus even though a managers performance in the coming year may look good, the truth is the budget is not showing the original forecasts upon which major decisions should be taken. Mostly companies major decisions and strategies are based on their budgets to a great extent, even factors like firms growth,development,etc. Causes Of Budgetary Slack :- Budgetary Participation :- Agency theory had been used to explain budgetary participation. Magee (1980) explained that the anticipated payoff to principals was increased with access to information held by agents before preparing the budget. By participating in the budget preparation process, the agent gives the principals an opportunity to access information which allows agent to communicate or reveal some of their private information that may be incorporated into the standards or budgets, against which their performance would be evaluated (Magee, 1980;Baiman, 1982; Baiman Evans, 1983).The agents sometimes doesn,t reveal all the information which would lead to budgets with incorporated. Budgetary participation was the means by which subordinate managers influence plans and share in the decision making process with their superiors on matters that affect their areas of responsibility (Milani, 1975;Brownell, 1982a, 1982b). Budget Emphasis :- As Managers are under pressure to achieve there budgeted goals ,in this case there is a chance they would create budgeting slack. This pressure, applied from supervisors was budget emphasis. When the achievements of budgeted goals were emphasized, the normal tendency was to incorporate slack into the firms budgets. The main reason for subordinate managers efforts to build slack in their budgets was to increase their payoff chances. If subordinate managers perceived their rewards as dependent on budget attainment, they would tend to build slack into their budgets through the participation process. Therefore, budget emphasis in performance evaluation may encourage budgetary slack. Information Asymmetry :- Another factor that influences the budgetary slack building behaviour r is the degree of information asymmetry. Information asymmetry arises when the subordinate managers possess private information regarding divisions productivity, effort level, and resource requirements that is not available to the central management. This private information can be used by the subordinates to maximize their self-interest especially when the central management cannot observe the subordinate actions. Subordinates have incentives to misrepresent their private information in order to set easy to achieve budget targets . NEGATIVE SIDE OF BUDGETARY SLACK :- Even though there are positives and negatives for budgetary slack, the negative effects outweigh positive effects .Some of the negative effects are the following:- 1)During good years managers tend to depend on budgetary slack and at bad years these managers tend to convert budgetary slack to profit. That is if a manager behind the profit for the year, the manager will rely on the budgetary slack built into the budget to make the profit goal anyway. But if manager is ahead of profit for the year then the manager will use up the additional money left in the budget because of the budgetary slack built into at the beginning of the year. Thus the managers will rarely, if ever exceed the goals although they will almost always meet their goals but the meeting of the goals will not be real since the goals are not real due to budgetary slack. 2) A deliberately understated sales budget might have serious consequences in planning other activities. For instance, production might be too low; the advertising program and distribution expense budgets may be planned incorrectly; the cash flow plans might be inaccurate. WAYS TO PREVENT BUDGETARY SLACK:- Evaluation system:- Organizations can reduce budgetary slack when they stop using budget as a negative evaluative tool. For instance, instead of criticizing subordinates every time a budgeted target is not achieved, if the subordinates are allowed some discretion to exceed costs when unavoidable, there will be a lesser tendency to create budgetary slack (Smith et al, 2008, p. 460). Truth- inducing pay scheme:- A problem occurs in participative budgeting when a subordinate has private information about factors that influence his or her performance and the pay scheme is budget or standard- based. The employee has an advantage to keep away this information from superiors so that a relatively easy standard is set, thereby creating slack. To eliminate this problem, research proposes a truth- inducing pay scheme to motivate subordinates to accurately communicate private information and maximize performance, thereby reducing budgetary slack (Waller, 2002). Budgetary Participation :-Is an ideal budgetary process. Most companies deviate from this ideal budgetary process. Typically top managers initiate the budget process by issuing broad guidelines in terms of overall target profits or sales. Lower level managers are desired to prepare budgets that meet those targets. The difficulty is that the target set by top managers may be unrealistically high or may allow too much slack. If the budgets are too high and employees know they are unrealistic, motivation will suffer. If the targets allow too much slack, waste will occur. And unfortunately top management is often not in a position to know whether the targets they have set are appropriate. Admittedly, however, a pure self imposed budgeting system is not without limitations. It may lack sufficient strategic direction and lower level managers may be tempted to build into their budgets a great deal of budgetary slack. Nevertheless, because of the motivational advantages of self imposed budgets, top managers should be cautious about setting inflexible budgets. Zero-Based Budgeting:- The problem of budgetary slack is particularly acute when the prior years budget is used as the starting point for preparing the current budget.   This is called incremental budgeting. It is presumed that established levels from previous budgets are an acceptable baseline, and changes are made based on new information.   This usually means that budgeted amounts are incrementally increased.   The alternative to incremental budgeting is called zero-based budgeting. With zero-based budgeting, each expenditure taxes and fees.   This gives rise to considerable frustration in trying to control spending.   Some governmental leaders push for zero-based budgeting concepts in an attempt to filter necessary services from those that simply evolve under the incremental budgeting process. CONCLUSION:- Sometimes the slack creation increases if a tight budget is applied and the manager is expected to incur budget overruns .In othercase if managers are permitted to participate actively in the budgeting process then the chances of slack is to reduce in further stages. Truth inducing schemes also play an important role in reducing budgetary slack. Individuals are assumed to be motivated by their self-interest; therefore, managers will not always act in the best interest of the management. Because the actions that may benefit the management might not be beneficial for mangers self interest. The main issue here is how to align the managers interest with the managements interests. Some actions that the management can take in this case are, firstly to pay the manager a fixed salary if he takes the right action and impose a penalty if he contravenes. Another step could be to induce a compensation plan that links compensation with the mangers performance. These actions are expected to provide subordinate/managers with an incentive to communicate truthfully, thereby reduce budgetary slack.

My College Essay :: essays papers

My College Essay I always avoided Spencer. He was a funny kid but I couldn't stand him, continuously talking about sports and referring to himself as superman. I liked him and we actually got along well when we did spend time together, but we each had our own friends so we rarely ever hung out. When wrestling season came around we became friends again as we were both on the team. When Spencer told me that day that his brother had hung himself I felt a feeling I had never felt before in my life. Although he was not my brother, I really experienced a feeling of loss, as I have a brother and can understand a brothers love, and can hardly imagine that inconceivable agony one would endure having to experience such a horrific tragedy. I began to spend time with Spencer sheerly out of heartfelt sympathy. It wasn't as if I was such close friends with him, I just really wanted to be there for him. All I could think about was had I been Spencer, how good it would have felt to have someone to be close with and talk to about things. Spencer used to be the kid I only said "hi" to in the halls, but somehow he had become my best friend. We began to spend a lot more time together, both of us feeling like we had been best friends since the day we were born, as our personalities complimented eachother and were very similar. Spencer taught me so many things that I will use for the rest of my life. Spencer's brother was really his whole life, a best friend and an amazing brother. Coping with the loss of someone who is loved so deeply and having the ability to continue on with everyday life is something which completely amazes me. Spencer taught me that you have to make the best of your situation no matter how bad it can get. Before Spencer I would fight to alter my situation if there was a conflict with it, but with this new perspective on things, I will accept my situation and then try my absolutle hardest to make the best of it. As a person who tends to worry about things too much, now that I am always able to make the best of my situation, it makes things much easier for me to handle.

Alcohol Consumption in College :: Alcoholic Beverages Health College Essays

Alcohol Consumption in College Incomplete Paper Alcoholic beverages such as beer can cause problems for many people throughout life, but for college aged people alcohol can cause the worst. In college most people are being out on their own for the first time ever and having that freedom they have never had. Some problems caused by alcohol in college are, missing an assignment or class, or even death. Drinking a beer a day has been found healthy, but in college that is never the case. Not that everyone drinks or everyone drinks a lot but there is always that select group that will drink more nights out of a week than not. And when that group drinks they drink heavily in order to be drunk. Problems occur with many people who do drink very heavily because it impairs their ability to get things done for many hours including the ones when drinking and after. A student may not attend class the day after drinking because he or she may be to sick or just exhausted from the drinking the night before. After the student skips the first one it becomes easier and easier to skip classes, therefore it is more likely to happen over and over again. Also when skipping classes a student can miss anything from an important lecture to a test which can really hurt their grades. The final big issue is the number of students who die every year from alcohol poisoning. Alcohol poisoning is caused by excessive amounts of alcohol in the body. Some very common ways for students to get this is by doing shots of hard liqour or now the tool called a beer bong. Both involve swallowing a lot of alcohol very quickly which is very dangerous for the body, and can many times lead to being very ill or death. College is a huge part of every student's life, and there is no reason to try to ruin college or life by excessive drinking. Students need to understand there is more to life than partying or going out every night. Maybe if the school did more about educating the students on the issues of drinking there wouldn't be so many binge drinkers. If that huge paper is due in a couple days or there is class in the morning going out and partying is not going to help with either situation. alcohol to children For years, the population has been exposed to different forms of media. Newspapers, magazines, television, films, radio, and more recently the Internet are ways of promoting ideas, spreading news, and advertising products. Alcohol Consumption in College :: Alcoholic Beverages Health College Essays Alcohol Consumption in College Incomplete Paper Alcoholic beverages such as beer can cause problems for many people throughout life, but for college aged people alcohol can cause the worst. In college most people are being out on their own for the first time ever and having that freedom they have never had. Some problems caused by alcohol in college are, missing an assignment or class, or even death. Drinking a beer a day has been found healthy, but in college that is never the case. Not that everyone drinks or everyone drinks a lot but there is always that select group that will drink more nights out of a week than not. And when that group drinks they drink heavily in order to be drunk. Problems occur with many people who do drink very heavily because it impairs their ability to get things done for many hours including the ones when drinking and after. A student may not attend class the day after drinking because he or she may be to sick or just exhausted from the drinking the night before. After the student skips the first one it becomes easier and easier to skip classes, therefore it is more likely to happen over and over again. Also when skipping classes a student can miss anything from an important lecture to a test which can really hurt their grades. The final big issue is the number of students who die every year from alcohol poisoning. Alcohol poisoning is caused by excessive amounts of alcohol in the body. Some very common ways for students to get this is by doing shots of hard liqour or now the tool called a beer bong. Both involve swallowing a lot of alcohol very quickly which is very dangerous for the body, and can many times lead to being very ill or death. College is a huge part of every student's life, and there is no reason to try to ruin college or life by excessive drinking. Students need to understand there is more to life than partying or going out every night. Maybe if the school did more about educating the students on the issues of drinking there wouldn't be so many binge drinkers. If that huge paper is due in a couple days or there is class in the morning going out and partying is not going to help with either situation. alcohol to children For years, the population has been exposed to different forms of media. Newspapers, magazines, television, films, radio, and more recently the Internet are ways of promoting ideas, spreading news, and advertising products.

Product Life Cycle Essay

â€Å"The international product life cycle (PLC) theory of trade states that the location of production of certain kinds of products shifts as they go through their life cycles, which consist of four stages—introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. † There are many ins and outs when a company is putting a product into production and distribution. You must be able to assess the the impact that it is going to gain for your company, for instance when Blackberry makes new phones they have to decide what is going to be a draw for consumers from the operating system, he abilities that come with the phone from wifi connectivity, gps, instant messaging, camera capabilities, battery power and many other options that the consumer is going to inquire about in the competitive market of cell phones and cell phones manufactures, and the distribution and profitability is going to be the marker of success of the product. This is a decision that concept teams and designers must deal with when making a product; we are going to look at the company Audi a German car manufactures that has had great success with their automobile and the history s impeccable and with the impact we are going to look at the life cycle in what goes into making this car company, one of the best car makers and manufactured vehicles in the world today. â€Å"Arrival of the product’s maturity stage is evident when competitors to begin to leave the market, sales velocity is dramatically reduced, and sales volume reaches a steady state. At this point in time, mostly loyal customers purchase the product. â€Å"The Audi A4 has reached a stage of maturity that doesn’t have the onslaught of new buyers, the Audi lineup has diversified itself ith select products that offer a more entry level product that is better on gas, and has more of the financial impact with new design concepts, with wagons, coupes, smaller engines that are preserving the manufacturer’s competitive edge in the automobile industry. The A4 is still an important cog in the Audi machine, but the popularity of the A3 and, latterly, the A1 have eased the burden of expectation quite considerably. Perhaps that makes it a little easier for Audi to finesse this latest generation A4 without too much in the way of compromise. † â€Å"In the wake of the global financial and economic crisis, the drastic slump on stock arkets worldwide initially continued unabated at the start of 2009. Thanks to the many state rescue packages for the financial sector and supporting measures by leading central banks, the situation on the capital markets then stabilized towards the end of the first quarter. † So with the banks of the home country are helping to lend the finances need to invest in Audi’s financial growth and the supplement of income, generates the opportunity for the company to continue their worldwide success, of exporting one of the leading German automobiles in the world. Europe has proven to be a happy hunting ground for Audi and it now has both Mercedes and BMW looking over their shoulders. For the six-month period under review, total European sales grew 13. 5 per cent to about 382,850 cars with its SUV sales up 23. 5 per cent over the ame period last year. † So the overall positioning and product sales are being generated for the company in their home country and is having great success from the sale from their entire lineup and with the generated revenue from the public sector, the company’s growth financially is leading to the verall success of the car manufacturer. As the year progressed, the increasingly positive business indictors and initial signs of recovery in the global economy fueled sharp gains on major international stock markets. A resurgence in confidence in stock markets among market players resulted in many indices finishing the year well up. † With the public stimulation in the stock of the company they are being rewarded for the great innovation, stability and creativity they have when they are entering foreign markets and their market as well. With the financial backing the company is oing to grow and with the company growing around %24 from the previous year their products will continue to have a great international impact. â€Å"Trading groups, whether bilateral or regional, are an important influence on MNEs’ strategies. Such groups can define the size of the regional market and the rules under which companies must operate. Companies in the initial stages of foreign expansion must be aware of the regional economic groups that encompass countries with good manufacturing locations or market opportunities. For instance when you have a company that assesses the needs of their roduct in a foreign market, there is cost associated with the export of their product and with the agreements that the company has that is protected by trade agreements the company will save monies in the long run and withstand the impact of their product being sold in other markets, by sometimes having that price reduction of tax, shipping cost when building that relationship, to progress the growth in their company and in both markets of goods exported and sold. One of the factors behind the success of the brand in Jamaica, Stewart believes, is its affordability despite it being a premier brand. With the brand being sold well in the Jamaican market the bilateral agreement will have success because of the impact that the affordability in this market will have great growth for the company and Jamaica’s market as well. â€Å"In China, mobility is happening top-down. That society’s elite has long been driving full-size cars; the new, affluent middle class is now discovering smaller premium vehicles. In India, mobility is taking shape in the lower segments; the premium markets for larger vehicles is now growing continuously. † With the multilateral movement as well the company is growing in many foreign markets with nd aiding the backing of the Audi brand, that has shown great impact financially for the company and benefits in operating in these markets, reflect the %24 growth. European companies taking advantage of free trade in the Caribbean Single Market Economy (CSME) by establishing trade offices in Jamaica or distribution agreements with Jamaican companies with a view to providing your goods or services to the Caribbean Single Market Economy. † The free trade agreement offers the company to enter the Jamaican market and gain financial traction from the public, buying their cars at a affordable price, the ilateral agreement helps in terms of sales and distribution in allowing the flexibility, opportunity and growth needed for the company and as well as stimulating the Jamaican market. â€Å"Many more people in Jamaica are buying Audi motor vehicles because the brand is cool and its drivers have no class pretensions. They generally tend to be professional, well read and discerning. † â€Å"Audi will launch diesel engine options for the A8, A6, and Q5 in the U. S. within the next 24 to 30 months, according to an announcement made today by Johan de Nysschen, he president of Audi’s American division. † If you are an American you know what it means to fill up at the gas station and know that you won’t last that long on the road, until the next time that you are going to need more gas. One approach that Audi has take is going forward with producing electrical and diesel based engines so that the longevity and affordability of these vehicles will extend the product life cycle. It has been show that these to engine styles extend the life of the vehicle and with that the investment of the vehicle is more bang for the dollar to he average consumer that is looking for a quality investment, and not a stockpile of metal that will need to be resold to the dealership when the miles get high, and will take a finances will take a sharp turn because of this factor. So with that vehicles in America and worldwide not mattering if you’re talking Europe, the Caribbean Islands, China, Canada or Mexico the car maker is looking out for the investor in their vehicles and with the innovation for extended life to their products, safety and creativity in design, and luxury the auto brand maker will continue the company’s rapid growth in all markets they penetrate. Sustainable, superior financial strength is underpinned in particular by continuously optimizing process and structures, realizing reduced costs and ensuring systematic investment management. A high level of self-financing safeguards investments, preserving the ability of Audi AG to innovate and act. The aim is continue financing investment from self generated cash flow. † This will be the backbone of the company for progression and distancing itself from competitors by being able to provide luxury, innovation, and creativity for the consumer in a locations of the world that the company serves.

Media influence on Campaigns

In the recent past, there have been several debates about how media influences the behavior of the government and how they affect the political landscape in general. It has been said that mass media if it is not used appropriately, it can distort the country’s national agenda. In contemporary politics, mass media plays a key role in enlightening and informing people about politics.They are used in many nations which are seeking for liberal transition in their governments. They are mostly used to influence the public opinion on a particular issue. The media should remain neutral in political matters but this is not what happens in most countries. For example in America, media are what keep the political arena going. Now the questions arise; do media influence American politics or influence governmental behaviors? This is what exactly this paper will focus on. It will try to look for answers to these questions.Politics rely on mass media for liberal demands, information and mani pulation of ‘public opinion’. Media as it has been noted before, empowers citizens and is used to pressurize the government on specific areas that need to be changed. During the 2000 presidential election in USA, it was reportedly said that there were problems with the way the media covered and performed their duties. Some media starved voters with relevant information they needed to make informed choices (Wayne S. J., 2001)On 7th November 2000, some televisions and other types of media based in Florida lied that Al Gore had managed to win the majority of the votes in Florida which was a stronghold of republicans. It was unbelievable that Gore had won because this state was governed by Bush’s brother, Jeb. Media with all their ignorance went ahead to say that Gore was ahead of bush but this was later clarified at night by CNN which showed that bush had already scooped 52% of the votes while Al Gore had managed to get 46% of all the votes cast (Maisel L. S., 2002) This was organized by Gore and his camp to mobilize votes in the west. It was meant to deceive voters so that Gore would amass more votes. He knew very well that this would have a lot of significance to him. As media houses, you are not supposed to show one as the winner unless the uncounted votes are less than the number of votes that would make the following candidate to win. This is one way that media use to distort the perception of people. Though Gore was defeated, he refused to accept the results because he believed in what was announced before the recounting of votes.Most of the big media in the United States of America are owned by wealthy people who own big businesses. This is why they compromise the events coverage. Television can have a very big impact on some candidates for example when they give some candidates wider coverage than others. Also omissions, distortions and biasness in coverage are something that is common in USA media. In America it is very hard to get an objective report on the issue that is affecting people.Radio stations as well as TVs can be used to enlighten people. For example in 2000 November 4th, just a few days before the presidential polls, Radio 5’s late night presenter Hayes Brain   and Lehrer Will together with BBC held a program to straighten up the issues concerning polls with the help of guests and different live calls that were made. Basically, Bush and Al Gore differed in matters concerning foreign policy, health provision and educations. The above mentioned presenters enlightened people on the characters of a good leader and then they asked people who they would prefer between Al gore and Bush.In 2000 (Wire B., 2006) Bush and Al Gore were chosen as the presidential candidates for republican and democratic parties respectively in pre-primary elections. To make sure they emerged winners of their respective parties, both of them visited media houses, bought advertising spaces in the daily papers and were feat ured in news more than anyone else. There were no doubts that this publicity helped to sell their candidature. The media exposure made them the only key players in the political arena. There were others who lacked enough money to buy airtime, and good exposure to make themselves popular. These were candidates like John McCain and Bill Bradley who withdrew themselves from the race after they lost in the primary race on 7th march.Today party leaders have little influence on voters when compared with the latest communication technology like radios, internet-emails, satellites and televisions. They have realized that it is easier to campaign over this latest technology than organizing party followers at local, state, and national levels. An exposure of one candidate by the media do influence who people will voted for in elections. Some media rely on money that they earn on election campaigns. That is the money that politicians pay to media houses. So, it is very hard for them to avoid p olitics, they can do anything so long as they earn some money.In October 12, 2004 (Decierico R.E., 2002) newspaper vendors were using Mr. Jim Dickson, a lobbyist on the American Association of People with Disabilities. He was supposed to travel around the country to preach the benefits of electronic voting-torch screen voting over paper based voting. He agreed having received money from the vendors for that purpose.His organization received about 26,000 US dollars from the countries voting companies though at first he denied having received it. This was masterminded by the Elections Centre in August 2004 in a conference that was sponsored by vendors. Here the individuals were fed with propagandas by the vendors. Vendors then used him to influence the citizens on electronic based voting system instead of paper based voting system.Again media commentaries can woo voters into taking a particular political direction this is according to (Wire B., 2006 ) For example Jesus Esquivel; a col umnist for the most international online media argued that John Kerry the then aspiring candidate should with new strategies that would bring on halt all imperialistic and belligerent goals that were pursued by Bush’s government. Many people seemed to agree on this though the opinion polls reflected otherwise.It was alleged that he lagged behind because he was unable to articulate well how he differed with Bush. The question of who was to blame was posed. Was it the voters, unworkable USA war policies in Iraq or the car bombings, beheadings that were going on in Iraq? Some leading newspapers described Kelly as a drift who was incapable of selling his opinions outside USA, yet Bush according to them, Bush capable to sell because he had war policies. All these propagandas which were spread by media houses had profound effects on Kerry.In 2004, the time magazine tried to influence the presidential election in favor of Bush. It had written a story on the conversation it had betwe en Karl Rovel â€Å"scooter†, lebby, Cooper Matt and Novak R. It was something that could have affected Bush so much and therefore it was kept a secret. Cooper waited until elections were over so that he could talk to the jury and to the public at large. The results were released after Bush succeeded.During the 2004 elections, bush and Kerry received different backings from the corporations. It was revealed by Corp Watch Investigators such as live reports and current news disclosed that there were some details that co-operate media didn’t make public. These are stories involving big industries like tobacco and finance, about the sponsors, the profiles of the main donors, what and why they gave. This means that the information that reached the public was biased and manipulated.In 2000 and 2004 election, internet campaign was eminent and was used in transforming democracy in Washington D.C. Internet had a lot of influence on voters. Blogs, meet ups and forums are some of services that internet offered to the campaigners.Reference:Wayne S. J., 2001: The Road to the White House 2000: The Politics of Presidential   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Election. Bedford / St.Martins (Wads Worth)Maisel L. S., 2002: Parties and Elections in America. The Electoral Process,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rowman and Littlefield.Decierico R.E., 2002. Political Parties, Campaigns and Elections: Prentice Hall.Wire B., 2006. Lessons leaned from the 2004 Election.Wire B., 2006, April 20. Missed opportunity: Gore, Incumbency and Television in   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Election Media influence on Campaigns In the recent past, there have been several debates about how media influences the behavior of the government and how they affect the political landscape in general. It has been said that mass media if it is not used appropriately, it can distort the country’s national agenda. In contemporary politics, mass media plays a key role in enlightening and informing people about politics. They are used in many nations which are seeking for liberal transition in their governments.They are mostly used to influence the public opinion on a particular issue. The media should remain neutral in political matters but this is not what happens in most countries. For example in America, media are what keep the political arena going. Now the questions arise; do media influence American politics or influence governmental behaviors? This is what exactly this paper will focus on. It will try to look for answers to these questions.Politics rely on mass media for liberal demands, information and mani pulation of ‘public opinion’. Media as it has been noted before, empowers citizens and is used to pressurize the government on specific areas that need to be changed. During the 2000 presidential election in USA, it was reportedly said that there were problems with the way the media covered and performed their duties. Some media starved voters with relevant information they needed to make informed choices (Wayne S. J., 2001)On 7th November 2000, some televisions and other types of media based in Florida lied that Al Gore had managed to win the majority of the votes in Florida which was a stronghold of republicans. It was unbelievable that Gore had won because this state was governed by Bush’s brother, Jeb. Media with all their ignorance went ahead to say that Gore was ahead of bush but this was later clarified at night by CNN which showed that bush had already scooped 52% of the votes while Al Gore had managed to get 46% of all the votes cast (Maisel L. S., 2002) This was organized by Gore and his camp to mobilize votes in the west. It was meant to deceive voters so that Gore would amass more votes. He knew very well that this would have a lot of significance to him. As media houses, you are not supposed to show one as the winner unless the uncounted votes are less than the number of votes that would make the following candidate to win. This is one way that media use to distort the perception of people. Though Gore was defeated, he refused to accept the results because he believed in what was announced before the recounting of votes.Most of the big media in the United States of America are owned by wealthy people who own big businesses. This is why they compromise the events coverage. Television can have a very big impact on some candidates for example when they give some candidates wider coverage than others. Also omissions, distortions and biasness in coverage are something that is common in USA media. In America it is very hard to get an objective report on the issue that is affecting people.Radio stations as well as TVs can be used to enlighten people. For example in 2000 November 4th, just a few days before the presidential polls, Radio 5’s late night presenter Hayes Brain   and Lehrer Will together with BBC held a program to straighten up the issues concerning polls with the help of guests and different live calls that were made. Basically, Bush and Al Gore differed in matters concerning foreign policy, health provision and educations. The above mentioned presenters enlightened people on the characters of a good leader and then they asked people who they would prefer between Al gore and Bush.In 2000 (Wire B., 2006) Bush and Al Gore were chosen as the presidential candidates for republican and democratic parties respectively in pre-primary elections. To make sure they emerged winners of their respective parties, both of them visited media houses, bought advertising spaces in the daily papers and were feat ured in news more than anyone else. There were no doubts that this publicity helped to sell their candidature. The media exposure made them the only key players in the political arena. There were others who lacked enough money to buy airtime, and good exposure to make themselves popular. These were candidates like John McCain and Bill Bradley who withdrew themselves from the race after they lost in the primary race on 7th march.Today party leaders have little influence on voters when compared with the latest communication technology like radios, internet-emails, satellites and televisions. They have realized that it is easier to campaign over this latest technology than organizing party followers at local, state, and national levels. An exposure of one candidate by the media do influence who people will voted for in elections. Some media rely on money that they earn on election campaigns. That is the money that politicians pay to media houses. So, it is very hard for them to avoid p olitics, they can do anything so long as they earn some money.In October 12, 2004 (Decierico R.E., 2002) newspaper vendors were using Mr. Jim Dickson, a lobbyist on the American Association of People with Disabilities. He was supposed to travel around the country to preach the benefits of electronic voting-torch screen voting over paper based voting. He agreed having received money from the vendors for that purpose. His organization received about 26,000 US dollars from the countries voting companies though at first he denied having received it. This was masterminded by the Elections Centre in August 2004 in a conference that was sponsored by vendors. Here the individuals were fed with propagandas by the vendors. Vendors then used him to influence the citizens on electronic based voting system instead of paper based voting system.Again media commentaries can woo voters into taking a particular political direction this is according to (Wire B., 2006 ) For example Jesus Esquivel; a co lumnist for the most international online media argued that John Kerry the then aspiring candidate should with new strategies that would bring on halt all imperialistic and belligerent goals that were pursued by Bush’s government. Many people seemed to agree on this though the opinion polls reflected otherwise.It was alleged that he lagged behind because he was unable to articulate well how he differed with Bush. The question of who was to blame was posed. Was it the voters, unworkable USA war policies in Iraq or the car bombings, beheadings that were going on in Iraq? Some leading newspapers described Kelly as a drift who was incapable of selling his opinions outside USA, yet Bush according to them, Bush capable to sell because he had war policies. All these propagandas which were spread by media houses had profound effects on Kerry.In 2004, the time magazine tried to influence the presidential election in favor of Bush. It had written a story on the conversation it had betw een Karl Rovel â€Å"scooter†, lebby, Cooper Matt and Novak R. It was something that could have affected Bush so much and therefore it was kept a secret. Cooper waited until elections were over so that he could talk to the jury and to the public at large. The results were released after Bush succeeded.During the 2004 elections, bush and Kerry received different backings from the corporations. It was revealed by Corp Watch Investigators such as live reports and current news disclosed that there were some details that co-operate media didn’t make public. These are stories involving big industries like tobacco and finance, about the sponsors, the profiles of the main donors, what and why they gave. This means that the information that reached the public was biased and manipulated.In 2000 and 2004 election, internet campaign was eminent and was used in transforming democracy in Washington D.C. Internet had a lot of influence on voters. Blogs, meet ups and forums are some o f services that internet offered to the campaigners.Reference:Wayne S. J., 2001: The Road to the White House 2000: The Politics of Presidential   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Election. Bedford / St.Martins (Wads Worth)Maisel L. S., 2002: Parties and Elections in America. The Electoral Process,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rowman and Littlefield.Decierico R.E., 2002. Political Parties, Campaigns and Elections: Prentice Hall.Wire B., 2006. Lessons leaned from the 2004 Election.Wire B., 2006, April 20. Missed opportunity: Gore, Incumbency and Television in   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Election

Fear of the Power of Science in Frankenstein

Some readers have seen the novel as an illustration of the fear of the power of science. To what extent do you agree with this view of the novel? There are many different readings of ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley, first published in 1818. The traditional reading sees the novel being about a man getting punished by God for crossing his domain. Many different Gothic themes are used in the novel to create a sense of fear in the audience, not just in the fear of science but the fear of the power of science and the influence this power has on Victor’s character. Frankenstein’ serves as a warning to others of the power of science and creates a sense of fear in the audience. One of the key ways Shelley creates this fear is through the juxtaposing references to nature, helping to serve as a warning. In the midst of Chapter Four, when Victor is engrossed in his work, a paragraph is added describing the beauty and nature around him. Through describing the outside wo rld as ‘beautiful’, Victor is admitting that the world is already beautiful and by ignoring that, he is being ignorant.If Victor had left his house, maybe the beauty of the world could have lifted him out of his depression and stopped the future events. This sense of foreshadowing in the novel creates the sense of fear in the power placed in Victors hands; he knows he is wrapped up in his work ‘neglect the scenes around me’, and through this unhealthy obsession is left with nothing. By adding the beauty of the summer months it further highlights how obsessive Victor had become as time speeds up and months pass within a short section of the novel. The language used in ‘Frankenstein’ to describe his task is interesting to note.The opposing views throughout the novel, adds the retrospective notion towards the story, as he is telling the story having learnt his lesson. ‘If the study to which you apply yourself has a tendency to weaken your af fections and to destroy your taste†¦ then that study is certainly unlawful’. The sense that Victor has learnt from his mistake, creates the interpretation that ‘Frankenstein’ is a morality tale. Morality tales flourished in the 16th century and were often seen as personifications of good and evil usually involved in the struggle for a man’s soul. Victor, the rotagonist, can be seen as a representative of society as a whole, with Victor representing the many scientific discoveries at the time. During the 19th Century, Science was controversial as it questioned many fundamental religious beliefs such as Creation and God. Shelley uses the novel of ‘Frankenstein’ to address the problems with advancements in science and the fundamental consequences of those playing God, thus creating a sense of fear of the power that many were acquiring at the time. The setting is an important feature in Gothic literature and the fact that Victor has isolated himself is influential in the structure of the novel.Victor describes where he works as a ‘solitary chamber’ or ‘cell’ implying he has trapped himself there. This fuels his obsession in creating his ‘monster’ as he has little or no contact with the outside world. The negative description of the room where he works, ‘workshop of filthy creations’ and ‘slaughter house’, creates a dark and creepy atmosphere in the novel, with this use of darkness evident throughout and a key concept in Gothic Literature such as ‘Dracula’. The isolation he creates adds a sense of fear not only to science but a fear towards Victor as his obsession could lead to him becoming crazy.Although one could presume that a fear of science is being created, this can be argued. Many would argue that actually it is the fear of the unknown that is evident in ‘Frankenstein’. Victor is exploring something that no one has ever done and thus the path to his discovery, although with good intentions, is flawed. During the 19th Century, the new scientific discoveries were controversial with many going against Religion. The description used such as ‘fire tissue’ and ‘sizzling light’ of lightning, reflects Victors experiments with conducting electricity through organisms.During the time, Johann Willhelm Ritter, had done experiments whereby he would pass electricity from metal conductors into frog’s legs and this is referred to in the novel. Ketterer says that Shelley’s awareness and fascination with the big scientific discoveries of her day is highlighted in the 1831 version of Frankenstein, where Victor asks his father to demonstrate that lightning is electricity. The novel ‘Frankenstein; is a response to these scientific advancements acting as a warning to those playing god ‘How dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge’ creating fear in the unknown not j ust in science.Following on from the fear of the unknown, some would argue that it is also the fear of change in ‘Frankenstein’. Religion was a fundamental part of society and many believed that Science was a usurper to Religion and many would still believe that today. ‘In other studies you have gone to where others have gone before’. Unlike subjects such as History, Victor believes Science is about change and therefore oversteps the boundaries of discovery; it is the reference to the sublimeness of his task that makes this more evident. ‘In scientific pursuit there is continual food for discovery and wonder’.The fear not only in the power of science but in the ‘discovery’ is clear in ‘Frankenstein’ with continual conflict between the two. The novel describes the ultimate consequence of those attempting to cross two of Gods domains, ‘man’ and ‘God’. Victor creates the monster, which challenges the advancement of technology during the industrial revolution and thus a fear of industry and scientific advancement, not necessarily the direct fear of science. The fear of the power of science is a concept that can be seen clearly in ‘Frankenstein’.Although, it can be argued that it is the fear of the unknown or change, the real fear is in the power of Science. Victor’s obsession with science allows him to feel powerful and thus make mistakes, that when retrospectively telling the story he is able to recount and acknowledge. The power placed in Victors hands when he is able to create life, is ultimately the one to be feared. Shelley’s ability to subtly create fear through setting, language and structure is important in creating the fear of the power of science which is crucial in this Gothic text.

Critical Review of Greasy Lake

When I began reading â€Å"Greasy Lake† by T. Coraghessan Boyle, I thought these boys were exhibiting typical behavior of young-adult men and their behavior led them to trouble. Boyle kept my interest by anticipation and disgust at the boys of the boy’s behavior in this story. The narrator, who is the main character of the story, often describes himself and his friends as â€Å"bad characters† and this becomes more convincing in the story. Boyle also used Greasy Lake at not only the setting for this story but also as a character. He described the lake as â€Å"fetid and murky, the mud banks glittering with broken glass and strewn with beer cans and the charred remains of bonfires. † Greasy Lake is used as a symbol for the youth culture itself in the story and is littered by alcohol, sex and violence. When the boys first came across the greasy man at the lake, their attitudes change for a moment, all three of them are scared. When they began to fight with the man, the narrator grabbed the tire iron out of fear. Once the three of them beat him up and knock him unconscious, I think this only increased their already arrogant attitudes. When they attempt to rape the greasy man’s lady companion, I think that shows how truly pathetic each of them are, acting like â€Å"deranged brothers†. In a very disturbing way, the boys were asserting a primal physical dominance over the woman. I think Boyle’s was sending a message that there are consequences for our actions. Even though kids tend to think they’re big and bad and have it all figured out, these once cocky boys quickly became horrified once they had to face the consequences of their actions. I personally enjoyed reading â€Å"Greasy Lake† very much. The language in the story Boyle used is crude and literal, but it goes with the theme of â€Å"badness† portrayed by his characters. Boyle emphasizes the corruption of the lake by using it as a not only the setting, but also as tool to compare the narrator and the youth of the time. In the beginning, the narrator is as corrupted as the lake; though born pure and â€Å"clear† he becomes tainted by the â€Å"beer† and wildness of his culture. By ending with the beaten narrator and his friend refusing drugs and driving home, Boyle left me with a sense of for the boys that they are not really â€Å"bad characters† after all. The narrator has realized the consequences of his actions, and that he can no longer act invincible.

Financial Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Financial Management - Essay Example 2,000 liabilities and stockholders’ equity liabilities: overdraft $ 1392 Interest payable $ 4032 loan payable $ 24,000 Campbell loan payable $ 8,068 retained earnings $ 6,608 Common Stock $ 60,000 Total $ 100,068 Vertical Analysis PROFIT AND LOSS STATEMENT Company A Company B NET SALES 100% 100% COST OF GOODS SOLD 95.2% 78% GROSS PROFIT 4.8% 22% SELLING, GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATION EXPENSE 2.6% - OPERATING INCOME BEFORE IMPAIRMENT RECOVERY 2.2% - IMPAIRMENT RECOVERY 0 - Intangible asset repairment charges - 0.8% OPERATING INCOME 2.2% 3% OTHER INCOME/(EXPENSE) 0.1% CHANGE IN VALUE OF DERIVATIVE LIABILITY 0.2% - INTEREST EXPENSE 0.8% - INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES 1.6% 3.1% Income taxes 0.6% 0.9% Net income 1% 2.3% BALANCE SHEET COMPANY A COMPANY B Current Assets: Cash 1.6% 27.1% Trade accounts receivables 20.94% 17.3% Inventories 68.25% 22.9% Prepaid expenses 2.8% Deferred tax assets 1.25% - Other current assets 4.09% - Property plant and equipment 1.49% 14.5% Intangible assets - 0.8% Cash surrender value of life insurance - 10.9% Advance to suppliers, net of imputed interest 1.66% - Preferential supply agreement 0.19% - Long term financing costs, net of amortization 0.50% - Other assets - 3.7% Total assets 100% 100% Liabilities and stockholders equity: Current liabilities: Accrued salaries, wages and benefits - 2.6% Notes payable-banks 57.25% - Current maturities of mortgage payable 0.05% - Trade accounts payable 18.55% 6.2% Income tax payable 1.51% - Accrued expenses and derivative liabilities 1.51% - Dividends payable 0.008% 0.7% other accrued expenses - 0.5% Total current liabilities 78.9% 10% Deferred compensation - 4.8% Mortgage payable, net of current maturities 0.54% - Subordinated convertible debt net of unamortized discount of $2499 3.52% - Derivative liability for embedded conversion option 0.71% - Deferred taxes payable 0.07% - Stock holders equity: Common stock 0.4% 11.6% Additional paid in capital 4.42% - Retained earnings 13.0% 73.6% Accumulat ed other comprehensive loss (0.7%) 0.07% Treasury stock (1.30%) - Total liabilities and shareholder’s equity 100% 100% Cash flow statements Company A 2011 Cash flow from operating activities Net income 116.07% Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash in operating activities Depreciation and amortization 10.15% Change in value of derivative liability -20.96% Amortization of convertible note discount 7.72% Impairment recovery 0.00% Provision for doubtful debts 4.84% Deferred income taxes -13.20% Foreign exchange loss, and others -0.26% Changes in: Restricted cash 0.00% Trade account receivable -364.62% Inventories -1225.27% Other current ass

Late 20th century United States history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Late 20th century United States history - Essay Example Though not very extensive, the war indeed revealed its hidden lust for expansionism in the Puerto Rico and Cuban regions of the Caribbean islands. The then so called American interest in the independence of Cuba has been reflected numerous times throughout its international relations until very recently it happened in Afghan and Iraq. The only difference was that the new initiative is fondly called ‘war against terror’. To illustrate, the war on Afghanistan ended in killing thousands of innocents including women and children. The main aim behind the Afghan war was to trace Osama bin Laden and other high-ranking Al-Qaeda members, and ultimately uprooting the Al-Qaeda form Afghanistan. But as the world witnessed, the Americans failed in fulfilling either of them. Obviously, it is the political pressure that took the lead in planning America’s all such operations. For instance, the Democratic Party forced the president William McKinley and his government to execute t he war against Spain. Still moving forward and coming to the late 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, we notice that the arrogance in the military operations of United States has grown to its peak stage.

What are the main causes of global warming Essay

What are the main causes of global warming - Essay Example The earth’s atmosphere usually traps solar radiation, through gases such as Carbon IV oxide, methane and water vapor; these are called the greenhouse gases, which allow incoming radiation to pass through, but traps and retain the heat radiated back from the earth’s surface (Dahlman & Renwick 96). This phenomenon is called the greenhouse effect. Global warming is simply an enhanced form of the greenhouse effect, caused by a major upsurge in the greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere. The gases trap more and more radiation leading to an overall increase in the earth. For global warming to occur, a lot of factors come into play. However, scientists have concluded that human activity is the leading cause of global warming. This happens in two main ways: burning fossil fuels, which is the main cause and deforestation. When fossil fuels are extracted and burnt, they release CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Increased CO2 in the atmosphere is the biggest concern because it can last in the atmosphere for generations. Deforestation only happens to accelerate the problem further. This is because most of the cleared trees, when burnt, also release CO2. Furthermore, we know that forests require CO2 for photosynthesis. In the process, plants are able to reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. Clearing trees therefore leads to the build of carbon IV oxide, which in turn raises the earth’s temperatures. Global warming causes climate change (Dahlman & Renwick 96). This is unpredictable and mostly devastating changes in weather such as the Hurricane Sandy and other extreme climatic events such as the melting of the polar ice. These changes therefore call for all the people in the world to join hands to try to reverse and in the end eliminate this process. Among the strategies set forth to combat global warming include afforestation, which is the planting of forests where they were depleted,