Christopher Columbus Fourth and Last New World Voyage

Christopher Columbus' Fourth and Last New World Voyage On May 11, 1502, Christopher Columbus set out on his fourth and final voyage to the New World. He had four ships, and his mission was to explore uncharted areas to the west of the Caribbean, hopefully finding a passage west to the Orient. Columbus did explore parts of southern Central America, but his ships, damaged by a hurricane and termites, fell apart while he was exploring. Columbus and his men were stranded on Jamaica for about a year before being rescued. They returned to Spain in late 1504. Before the Journey Much had happened since Columbus’  daring 1492 voyage of discovery. After that historic trip, Columbus was sent back to the New World to establish a colony. Although Columbus was a gifted sailor, he was a terrible administrator, and the colony he founded on Hispaniola turned against him. After his third trip, ​he was arrested and sent back to Spain in chains. Although he was quickly freed by the king and queen, his reputation was shot. Still, the crown agreed to finance one last voyage of discovery. Preparations With royal backing, Columbus soon found four seaworthy vessels: Capitana, Gallega, Vizcaà ­na, and Santiago de Palos. His brothers Diego and Bartholomew and his son Fernando signed on, as did some veterans of his earlier trips. Columbus himself was 51 and was beginning to become known around court for being eccentric. He believed that when the Spanish united the world under Christianity (which they would do quickly with gold and wealth from the New World) that the world would end. He also tended to dress like a simple barefoot friar, not like the wealthy man he had become. Hispaniola Columbus was not welcome on the island of Hispaniola, where too many of the settlers remembered his cruel and ineffective administration. Nevertheless, he went there after first visiting Martinique and Puerto Rico. He was hoping to exchange one of his ships (the Santiago de Palos) for a quicker one. While awaiting an answer, he sent word that a storm was approaching and that the new governor (Nicols de Ovando) should delay the fleet heading for Spain. The Hurricane Ovando forced Columbus to anchor his ships in a nearby estuary and ignored his advice, sending the fleet of 28 ships on to Spain. A tremendous hurricane sank 24 of them: three returned and only one- ironically, the one containing Columbus’  personal effects that he wished to send to Spain- arrived safely. A few miles away, Columbus’  ships were badly battered, but all of them remained afloat. Across the Caribbean Once the hurricane had passed, Columbus’ small fleet set out to look for a passage west. The storms continued, and the journey was a living hell. The ships, already damaged from the hurricane, took more abuse. Eventually, they reached Central America, anchoring off the coast of Honduras on an island that many believe to be Guanaja. There they repaired the ships and took on supplies. Native Encounters While exploring Central America, Columbus had an encounter many believe to be the first with one of the major inland civilizations. Columbus’ fleet found a trading vessel, a very long, wide canoe full of goods and traders believed to be Mayan from the Yucatan. The traders carried copper tools and weapons, swords made of wood and flint, textiles, and a certain beerlike beverage made from fermented corn. Columbus, oddly enough, decided not to investigate this interesting trading civilization: instead of turning north when he hit Central America, he headed south. Central America to Jamaica Columbus continued exploring to the south  along the coasts of present-day Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. He met several native cultures, observing maize being cultivated on terraces. They also saw stone structures. They traded for food and gold whenever possible. In early 1503, the ships began to fail. In addition to the battering they had taken from one hurricane and several major storms, it was discovered that they were infested with termites. Columbus reluctantly set sail for Santo Domingo and aid, but his ships only made it as far as Santa Gloria (St. Ann’s Bay), Jamaica. A Year on Jamaica The ships could go no further. Columbus and his men did what they could, breaking the ships apart to make shelters and fortifications. They made a peace with the local natives, who brought them food. Columbus was able to get word to Ovando of his predicament, but Ovando had neither the resources nor the inclination to help him. Columbus and his men languished on Jamaica for a year, surviving storms, mutinies, and an uneasy peace with the natives. Columbus, with the help of one of his books, impressed the natives by correctly predicting an eclipse. Finally, in June 1504, two ships finally arrived to pick them up. Importance of the Fourth Voyage Columbus returned to Spain to learn that his beloved Queen Isabel was dying. Without her support, Columbus would never return to the New World. He was getting on in years at any rate, and it is a wonder that he survived the disastrous fourth voyage. He died in 1506. Columbus’ Fourth Voyage is remarkable primarily for some new exploration, mostly along the coast of Central America. It is also of interest to historians, who value the descriptions of the native cultures encountered by Columbus’ small fleet, particularly those sections concerning the Mayan traders. Some of those who were along on the fourth voyage would later go on to greater things, such as Antonio de Alaminos, a cabin boy who would later rise to pilot and explore much of the western Caribbean. Columbus’ son Fernando would later write a biography of his famous father. The Fourth Voyage was a failure by almost any standard. Many of Columbus’ men died, the ships were lost, and no passage to the west was ever found. Columbus himself would never sail again. He died convinced that he had found Asia, even if most of Europe already accepted the fact that the Americas were an unknown â€Å"New World.† Still, the fourth voyage showed better than any other Columbus’ sailing skills, fortitude, and resilience attributes that allowed him to discover the Americas in the first place. Source: Thomas, Hugh. Rivers of Gold: The Rise of the Spanish Empire, from Columbus to Magellan. New York: Random House, 2005.

Free Essays on Ethiopian Starvation

U.S.-ETHIOPIA RELATIONS U.S.-Ethiopian relations were established in 1903 and were good throughout the period prior to the Italian occupation in 1935. After World War II, these ties strengthened, on the basis of a September 1951 treaty of amity and economic relations. In 1953, two agreements were signed: a mutual defense assistance agreement, under which the U.S. agreed to furnish military equipment and training, and an accord regularizing the operations of a U.S. communication facility at Asmara. Through fiscal year 1978, the U.S. provided Ethiopia with $282 million in military assistance and $366 million in economic assistance in agriculture, education, public health, and transportation. A Peace Corps program emphasized education, and United States Information Service educational and cultural exchanges were numerous. After Ethiopia's revolution, the bilateral relationship began to cool as a result of the Derg's identification with international communism and U.S. revulsion at the Derg's murderous means of maintaining itself in power. The U.S. rebuffed Ethiopia's request for increased military assistance to intensify its fight against the Eritrean secessionist movement and to repel the Somali invasion. The International Security and Development Act of 1985 prohibited all U.S. economic assistance to Ethiopia with the exception of humanitarian disaster and emergency relief. In July 1980, the U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia was recalled at the request of the Ethiopian Government, and the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Embassy in the U.S. were headed by Charges d'Affaires. With the downfall of the Mengistu regime, U.S.-Ethiopian relations improved dramatically. Legislative restrictions on assistance to Ethiopia other than humanitarian assistance were lifted. Diplomatic relations were upgraded to the ambassadorial level in 1992. During FY 1997, the U.S. provided about $77.2 million in assistance to Ethiopia, of which $39.9 mil... Free Essays on Ethiopian Starvation Free Essays on Ethiopian Starvation U.S.-ETHIOPIA RELATIONS U.S.-Ethiopian relations were established in 1903 and were good throughout the period prior to the Italian occupation in 1935. After World War II, these ties strengthened, on the basis of a September 1951 treaty of amity and economic relations. In 1953, two agreements were signed: a mutual defense assistance agreement, under which the U.S. agreed to furnish military equipment and training, and an accord regularizing the operations of a U.S. communication facility at Asmara. Through fiscal year 1978, the U.S. provided Ethiopia with $282 million in military assistance and $366 million in economic assistance in agriculture, education, public health, and transportation. A Peace Corps program emphasized education, and United States Information Service educational and cultural exchanges were numerous. After Ethiopia's revolution, the bilateral relationship began to cool as a result of the Derg's identification with international communism and U.S. revulsion at the Derg's murderous means of maintaining itself in power. The U.S. rebuffed Ethiopia's request for increased military assistance to intensify its fight against the Eritrean secessionist movement and to repel the Somali invasion. The International Security and Development Act of 1985 prohibited all U.S. economic assistance to Ethiopia with the exception of humanitarian disaster and emergency relief. In July 1980, the U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia was recalled at the request of the Ethiopian Government, and the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Embassy in the U.S. were headed by Charges d'Affaires. With the downfall of the Mengistu regime, U.S.-Ethiopian relations improved dramatically. Legislative restrictions on assistance to Ethiopia other than humanitarian assistance were lifted. Diplomatic relations were upgraded to the ambassadorial level in 1992. During FY 1997, the U.S. provided about $77.2 million in assistance to Ethiopia, of which $39.9 mil...

Finance and Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Finance and Accounting - Essay Example The author’s claim makes it seem as if globalization was the only reason that so many people came of poverty during this timeline. I think that the author’s argument lacks an in-depth analysis of other factors that also contributed to the economic progress in these countries. For instance in China the governments’ policy to open up the economy into the free market was equally or more influential than the globalization movement at reducing poverty. Another factor that helped the people of China get out of poverty was industrialization (Xinhua, 2007). The globalization movement has helped China and India become major players in the global trade of goods and services. In 2009 China overtook Germany to become the world’s top exporter (Nytimes, 2010). I agree with the author that the use of free trade initiatives were instrumental in spurring economic activity. An argument that I thought was offensive to the reality of a country that is struggling to help its p eople out of extreme poverty was the author’s claim that the government and people of the Sub-Saharan Africa are resisting the globalization movement. If this hypothesis was true I would have liked to have seen some evidence to proof the author’s claim. Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the poorest regions in the world. The poverty rate of the region is expected to reach 38% by the year 2015 (Undp, 2012). The virtues of globalization would greatly help the people of Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa has deep issues that are limiting economic growth such as a lack of infrastructure in terms of roads, electricity, and water scarcity. The author in the article should have pointed out some of the constraints that are limiting Africa from reaping benefits from globalization instead of making the biased claim that Sub-Saharan Africa is against globalization. I thought that the author made a good argument in regards to the impact of trade barriers. Trade barriers are government imposed r estrictions on free exchange of goods and services internationally (Businessdictionary, 2012). A statement that I liked from the article was the opinion that the barriers imposed by poor countries against one another are more detrimental than those imposed by rich countries on developing nations. Developing nations have to learn that they have to work together to improve the standard of living of its people. The use of trade barriers are a constraint that lowers the total trade in the market because they make goods more expensive to acquire (Younkins, 2000). I completely agree with the author’s claim that the elimination of trade barriers benefits everyone. The elimination of trade barriers can also help the economy because it spurs job creation (Wto, 2012). An argument made by the author that has a lot of validity is the fact that the elimination of regulations would help investors and corporations act more freely and as a consequence prosperity would rise for everyone. Gove rnmental intervention is an undesirable action in a free market economy. Governments seem to believe that the best course of action during a crisis is to increase governmental intervention (Schuman, 2008). One of the cons of business regulations is that

To What Extent is it Justifiable to Deviate from Fundamental Essay

To What Extent is it Justifiable to Deviate from Fundamental Principles of Criminal Law by Creating Driving Offences of Strict Liability, in the Interests of Maintaining Road Safety - Essay Example Without an iota of doubt, it can be said that the concept of law, and for that purpose criminal law, has come to find a midpoint between these two schools of thoughts by setting principles that both give freedom to people to behave as individual beings and also protect the interest of other people. Typical examples of such rules and regulations that can be identified as directly catering for both the freedom of the bearer and the interest of the holder are driving laws on the possession of insurance and valid driver’s license by car users. Such laws are in place to ensure that as much as people have the freedom to drive any car of their choice, they also have the needed training and security that will put other road users at safety. Notwithstanding the presence of such road user laws, which have been inculcated into existing criminal laws, there are studies and case laws that suggest increases in driving offenses and road user related offenses. This essay has therefore been written to hold a debate on the justification in deviating from fundamental principles of criminal law to create driving offenses of strict liability that will be in place with the interest of maintaining road safety. There are a number of thematic legal arguments that can be developed from the question under discussion. These are considered thematic legal arguments because they seem to raise issues that could be given different legal interpretations, an analysis of which can lead to a successful conclusion on the justification of deviating from principles of criminal law by creating driving offenses of strict liability in the interest of maintaining road safety. These thematic legal arguments have thus been discussed as follows.

Compare and contrast the financial systems of two different countries. Use an institutional approach to describe the system. Comment on the impact on, and response to the GFC in each country Essay Example for Free

Compare and contrast the financial systems of two different countries. Use an institutional approach to describe the system. Comment on the impact on, and response to the GFC in each country Essay 1.0 Introduction A financial system inquires for efficient allocation of resources among the surplus and deficit units (Viney 2009) as such it encourages more savings where funds are provided for investor to invest and also ease the transactions for goods and services (Viney 2009). There are three main components in the financial systems which are the financial institutions, financial instruments and financial markets. All three types of financial system each carry different function, roles and regulations. However, financial institutions will be mainly focus in this research essay. Global Financial Crisis (GFC), also known as the ‘great recession’ occurs in the year of approximately 2007-08. GFC has caused a several impact on the economy which leads to a several collapse of the financial institutions. For instance, the collapse of Lehman Brothers, one of the major investment banks in US (Australia Bureau of Statistics 2010). Thus, the objective of this essay is to examine both financial system of the chosen countries which are United States and Australia, also the impacts and responses on the GFC in both of the chosen countries. 2.0 Compare and Contrast both Financial Systems 2.1 Central Bank The central bank of the United States (U.S.) is known as Federal Reserve System (FED) whereas the central bank of Australia is known as the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). The Federal Reserve System’s structure consist of the Board of Governors which are duly appointed by the president, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), and 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks located throughout the major states in the country (The Federal Reserve Board 2003). Banking in U.S. is regulated at both federal and state level. Unlike U.S., Australia has only one central bank which is the Reserve Bank of Australia. However, both central banks are independent within their government (Reserve Bank of Australia 2001) whereby for FED, the monetary policies decisions do not have to go through the President’s authorization, and for RBA, they have statutory authority established by an act of parliament which grants them  specific powers and obligations to carry out necessary policies (Reserve Bank of Australia 2001). On the other hand, RBA has two board, which are the reserve bank board and payment systems board (Reserve Bank of Australia 2001). The reserve bank board is responsible for monetary and banking policy whereas the payment systems board is responsible for controlling risk in the financial system, promoting the efficiency of the payments system, and promoting competition in the market for payment services, consistent with the overall stability of the financial system (Reserve Bank of Australia 2001). The role of FED is to conduct the country’s monetary policy, which includes full employment, stable prices and moderate long term interest rates as stated in the Federal Reserve Act (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 2008). Furthermore, they maintain the stability of the financial system, supervise and regulate banking institutions, provide financial services to depository institutions, and foreign official institutions. FOMC will determine the cost and availability of money and credit in the country’s economy by affecting the discount rate, reserve requirements and controlling the open market operations (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 2012). Likewise, the role of RBA is to conduct monetary policy as well, which includes the maintenance of price stability, full employment and the economic prosperity and welfare of the Australian citizens (Reserve Bank of Australia 2001). Besides that, they also set the cash rate to meet a medium term inflation target (Reserve Bank of Australia 2001). Moreover, RBA must maintain a strong financial system and efficient payments system and the issuing of the nation’s bank notes. Selected banking services are provided to the Australian government, agencies, official institutions, and a number of overseas central banks (Reserve Bank of Australia 2001). 2.2 Commercial Bank Commercial banks in the U.S. are quite similar to those of Australia whereby their main role is to act as a financial intermediary by channeling funds from agents who deposit money and lenders who needs fund and wants to borrow. These agents and lenders include households, businesses, governments and foreigners. Australia offer products and services which include balance sheet transactions and off-balance-sheet transactions (Viney 2009). For balance sheet transaction, the first purpose is to loan activity to match the available amount of deposits that they received from customers. This activity is known as assets management (Viney 2009). The second purpose is to manage their sources of funds in order to ensure that they have sufficient amount of funds available to meet the loan demand or any other form of commitments. This activity is known as liabilities management (Viney 2009). For off-balance-sheet transactions, it includes a substantial volume of business that is not recorded either an asset or liability on their balance sheet. In comparison, U.S. obtains their funds (liabilities) by issuing deposits, checking deposits, time deposits, saving deposits (Samolyk 2004). For their use of funds (assets), it includes making commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans, and by buying U.S. government and municipal bonds (Samolyk 2004). Therefore, commercial banks play an important role in funding business borrowers. The percentage of non-financial business borrowing that commercial banks fund on their balance sheets has not declined remarkably in the past five decades or so. The commercial banks in U.S. provide trade financing, foreign exchange, corporate finances and miscellaneous banking services which include currency specified credit cards, corporate checking accounts and lock boxes (Ireland n.d.). Moreover, the existence of commercial banks made reliable transfer of funds between different countries all over the world possible. Furthermore, the distribution of valuable economic and business information among clients around the world is made possible as well (Samolyk 2004). Similarly, there are basically two functions of a commercial bank in Australia. The primary functions are obviously to accept deposits from individuals, and grant loans and advances for personal or corporate purposes. The secondary functions consists of collecting and supplying business information, providing reports on the credit worthiness of customers, standing guarantee on behalf of its customers for making payments for the purchase of goods, vehicles, machinery, and so on. Besides that, they also provide customers with foreign exchange facilities; and they also provide safe deposits vaults or lockers for valuables, important documents and securities. In a nutshell, for both countries, there are several similarities in the roles of commercial banks. Commercial banks promote capital formation whereby they accept deposits from individuals and businesses, whereby these deposits are then made available to the businesses which will make use of them for industrious purposes in the country (Ireland n.d.). Moreover, they also provide short and medium term loans for entrepreneurs to invest in new enterprises or businesses. Furthermore, they also promote trade and industry since they offer the use of bank draft, bill of exchange, check, credit cards and letters of credit. In one way or another, they also influence the level of economic activity by influencing the rate of interest and the availability of credit in the market. Most importantly, they implement the monetary policy proposed by FED or RBA to bring about price stability, full employment and promote economic growth within the country. There are several sources of funds for these commercial banks. The main source would of course be from the current account deposits. However, they do have other sources as well such as demand deposits, term deposits, negotiable certificates of deposits, bills acceptance liabilities, foreign currency liabilities, loan capital and shareholders’ equity. 2.3 Non-bank Financial Institutions 2.3.1 Depository Financial Institution Depository institutions (DPI) act as a financial intermediary similar to a commercial bank, whereby its main task is to accept deposits from surplus units and then issue loans to the deficit units in the financial system (Viney 2009). The main regulator for Australia is Australia Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) whereas for U.S. is the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). As for U.S., there are about 9, 000 functional depository financial institutions in the U.S. They operate through 92, 000 branch offices located in different states (Finance Maps of World 2011). Their role is to set a benchmark for DPI in the ground of  commercial banking. The funds that are collected is used to meet the credit need of others (Finance Maps of World 2011). On the other hand, Australia’s DPI consists of three main institutions which are banks, building societies and credit unions (Reserve Bank of Australia 2001). There are a total of 171 institutions of which 55 are banks, 11 are building societies and 105 are credit unions (Reserve Bank of Australia 2001). 2.3.2 Investment banks and Merchant banks Investment banks and merchant banks primary objective is to collect funds and invest them in the market to achieve specific goals set for different types of investments (Viney 2009). There are generally two types of investment companies which are open-end or closed-end mutual funds. Open-end funds will accept new investment and trade in old ones, whereas for closed-end funds they only accept funds once and then do not take in any additional new funds. Investment companies have recently become more popular among U.S. and Australia, and have managed trillions of dollars. As for U.S. investment banks specialize in facilitating financial transactions rather than just providing finance. They have a good reputation as a financial innovator since their responsibilities includes the improvement of new financial products and services which must meet the ever changing needs of clients (Kumar, Chuppe Perttunen 1997). In contrast, investment banks and merchant banks in Australia are not considered an authorized bank but often referred to as money market corporations (Viney 2009). They do not have a depositor base to include in their assets. Therefore, they raise funds through the issues of securities from the international money and capital markets (Viney 2009). 2.3.3 Contractual savings institutions Contractual saving institutions offer contract that specify, in return for periodic payments to the institutions, and the institutions will make payments to the contract holders if any specified event occurs (Viney 2009). They include general insurance companies and superannuation funds. As for U.S., their insurance companies raise money mainly from the issuance of insurance policies and collecting annual premiums. Some might also borrow from the dept capital markets as an alternative source of funds. For superannuation funds, or more popularly known as pension funds in the U.S., they are funded by the deductions from employees’ monthly salary in addition with certain contribution by the employers (Cohen Schubert 2010). On the contrary, Australia have make it compulsory for their employees to contribute to the superannuation system (Cohen Schubert 2010) whereby for U.S., an estimated 78 million working Americans which include the sole traders, employees who work for small employers or even part timers, do not have access to a retirement fund (Cohen Schubert 2010). For U.S., it has firstly introduced as a beneficial payment of employment whereas for Australia, it was created as a comprehensive system from the start (McLennan 2000). 2.3.4 Finance companies Finance companies and general financiers are basically institutions who provide loans and charter finance to clients by borrowing funds directly from the financial market (Viney 2009). As for U.S., these institutions raise funds in the debt market by issuing securities. Therefore, they raise funds solely by issuing debt or borrowing from other institutions but not taking deposits directly (Samolyk 2004). Similarly for Australia, they raise funds by issuing commercial paper, bonds and medium-term notes (Reserve Bank of Australia 2001). 2.3.5 Unit trusts Unit trusts is formed under a trust deed, and is controlled and managed by trustee by selling units to the public as a means to raise funds whereby investors purchase units in the trust (Viney 2009). As for U.S., there are generally two types of unit trusts, one that falls under private management and another that falls under direct state authority. Their role mainly involves traditional banking activities that are related to issuance of loans and deposits. The major difference between private and state authority trust is state authority institutions obtain funds from deposits and through the sale of shares, whereas private institutions operate as an intermediaries by generating finance through providing investment opportunities to clients (Samolyk 2004). Likewise, Australia too has two different types which are public unit trusts and cash management trusts  (Viney 2009). Public unit trusts focus more on gathering investors’ funds and investing it into specific types of assets (Viney 2009). However, for cash management trusts, they focus more on trust deed which are open to the public by confining their investment to financial securities which are accessible through the short-term money market (Viney 2009). 3.0 The impact of GFC 3.1 United States The birth of the global financial crisis begin somewhere in 2008. It all started in early 2006 when the subprime mortgage market in the United States (U.S.) began to reveal an increasing rate of mortgage defaults due to the bursting of the housing bubble (Mishkin 2011). Subsequently, in late 2006, these defaults caused a decline in the U.S. housing prices after about a decade of extremely high growth statistics. Later on, the prime mortgage markets were affected as well and were showing a higher default rates by the end of 2007. Therefore, when the mortgages backing the securities began to fall in value, the value of the securities fell as well (Nielsen 2010). Looking at the fall in price of their assets, investors quickly attempt to liquidate their assets in around late 2007. Consequently, in 2008, a major financial crisis hit U.S. which led to the most severe recession since World War II. The financial crisis in the U.S. economy eventually spread to many foreign nations, affecting the global financial system, resulting in a global financial crisis (Shah 2010). The degree of the global financial crisis was so severe that some of the world’s largest financial institutions have collapsed. U.S. was no exception. History was made when one of the largest investment banks in the world, Lehman Brothers, collapsed in September 2008. Some other institutions have been vehemently bought out by their competitors at a low price, and in some cases, the governments of the richest countries in the world had no choice but to sought an expensive bail out and rescue plan to save some of the remaining large banks and financial institutions (Shah 2010). These were all done at the expense of the US taxpayers. Approximately $9.7 trillion of US taxpayers’ money alone have been spent for bailout packages and plans (Dhameja 2010). According to Bloomberg, $14.5 trillion, or about 33%, of the  value of the world’s companies have been wiped out by the crisis. Therefore, as credit became scarce and seeing an increase in the lack of confidence in the U.S. financial institutions, international banks started to increase the interest rate for inter-bank borrowing, known as the LIBOR (Mishkin 2011). Subsequently, a crash in the US stock market was observed, liquidity drying up, and employees were being laid off which cause an increase in the unemployment line (Dhameja 2010). U.S. was in a state of limbo even after eleven months since the fall of Lehman Brothers. Banks virtually stopped lending to each other. Although several proposals for stimulus packages and some bailout plans have provided some relief, it seems that there was nothing more that could be done to ease the situation (Mishkin 2011). At the same time, smaller businesses hardly had any chances for a bail out or rescue plan and more people went into bankruptcy. Additionally, there was a decline in the US imports from its major trading partners such as the European Union, Mexico and China, due to the slowdown in economic activity (Nanto 2009). Private sectors practically stopped borrowing, trade credit was also hard to obtain, and with continuous falling demand, especially investment goods and manufacturing durables like cars, export volume decreases, foreign GDP fell as well, trade volumes eventually collapsed (Dhameja 2010). Moreover, the risk premium on inter-bank borrowing which used to be close to zero, rose steeply to five per cent. Besides, the risk premium on corporate bonds rose to over six per cent. Although the US government tried to inject liquidity into the financial markets, the damage was already done (Chambers 2010). 3.2 Australia GFC has less effect on Australia as compared to other countries such as US, UK and etc. Most developed countries had suffered recessions where Australia experienced a down turn in the economy (Stevens 2009). However, there is no government’s support required by the financial institutions in such situations like capital injections or the acquisition of distressed loan portfolios (Australia Bureau of Statistics 2010). The major impact of the GFC has resulted on the loss of confidence in the household sector (Stevens 2009). This is due of the decline in the equity price causes a reduced of the household wealth (The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia 2009). Thus, this leads to an effect of low consumption and investment which resulted to a decline growth of household as they felt insecure about the capacity to spend and borrow (Australian Government n.d.). GFC has also impacted on the unemployment rate which result shown an increase of number that lead to a decrease in the economic growth (Australian Workers’ Union 2009). The part-time employment has increased which balance to a loss of full time jobs where this also effect on the working hours such as the decrease hours in work (Chesters n.d.). Certain demographic groups have been affected by the job loss. For instance, the generation Y (18-24 years) has been affected (Tanton et al. 2010). However, they remain optimistic and relied heavily on the government benefit (Tanton et al. 2010). Moreover, competition in the banking system has also been affected by the GFC (Australian Super Investment Conference 2010) which resulted on harm towards the smaller banks and non-bank intermediaries as compared to the large banks where it leads to an increase in the cost of funds (The Senate 2011). Thus, this has impact on a greater gap between the major banks and other financial institutions (Australian Super Investment Conference 2010). The collapse of the Lehman Brothers, has led to a loss of confidence towards the banks which caused a decrease on the demand for credit (Australian Super Investment Conference 2010). 4.0 The response of GFC 4.1 United States GFC had seriously impacted the United States (U.S.) as compared to other countries such as Australia where it leads to the collapse of one of the major investment banks, Lehman Brothers. Thus, plans had been made by the U.S. government in response to the impact to prevent the situations to worsen. In comparison to Australia, the financial institutions do not need government intervention to assist them such as injection of capital. Unlike U.S., the government intervene where the central banks has purchased the government debt and the troubled asset which cost US$2.5 trillion in order to raise funds in the financial institutions (Halmarick 2009). This has resulted in the largest liquidity injection done by the government. They tried to inject liquidity into banks by buying share of banks, and purchase of convertible bonds of banks, whereby the government will be paid certain amount interest and the government will be given an option to convert these bonds into equity (Nanto 2009). Furthermore, FED tried to reduce the interest rates by cutting the Fed Funds target from 5.0% in September 2007 to an extremely low 0-0.25% as at December 2008. Later on, in March 2009, Fed started a â€Å"Quantitative Easing† policy by agreeing to buy a $300 billion in Treasury bonds (Halmarick 2009). The main purpose is to lower the interest rates across the yield curve and to provide additional funds to the banks. Moreover, US tried to overcome slowdown by stimulus packages of about $10 trillion for banks and guarantees to depositors, and also enhanced public spending (Dhameja 2010). According to Bloomberg, by February 2009, the total US bailout amounted to $9.7 trillion, sufficient to pay off more than 90 per cent of America’s home mortgage and was about 70 per cent of US GDP (Halmarick 2009). In addition, President Obama signed two packages which are the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act worth $787 billion and 5.5% of GDP. The main features include an estimated $285 billion in tax reduction for individuals and businesses, unemployment benefits, extra spending for food stamps, and also health care subsidies for workers that have been laid off (Halmarick 2009). These packages positively aim to generate at least three to four million job opportunities by the end of 2010. Additionally, US tried their best to prevent more banks from failing. The first case was Fed approves financing loans arrangement for J.P. Morgan  Chase to buy over Bear Sterns in March 2008. The second case was government controlled mortgage giant Freddie Mac received $146 million to ease their situation. Next, AIG borrowed $85 billion from Fed to prevent them from failing (Halmarick 2009). However, Fed couldn’t do much to save Lehman Brothers from failing and thus they went into bankruptcy in 2008. Therefore, US government aim to strengthen the global financial institution mainly to prevent losses of capital flows due to the impact of GFC to the developing and emerging economy by agreed on the increase of funds (Australian Government n.d.). Besides, government also actively plans to purchase equity from the financial institutions to ensure there is a sufficient liquidity which enable them to conduct activities such as investment, issue loan and deposit and much more. GFC has caused a fall of confidence in the financial institutions. Thus, government had decided to guarantee all senior unsecured debt and also the non-interest bearing transaction deposit account mainly to increase the confidence losses in the financial institutions (Australian Government n.d.). 4.2 Australia Australia had prepared by implementing an effective monetary and fiscal policy in response to the economy when one of the biggest investment bank in United States (US), Lehman Brothers collapsed in September 2008. This helps to avoid the economy from slowing down and lessen the impact of Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in Australia as compared to other countries such as US, where government responded on the measurement. In order to strengthen the operation of the financial system, government has increase up to $25 billion of the issue of Commonwealth Government Securities(Britton 2008), more choices of assets provided for Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM) to invest in, together with a better lending facility of AOFM (Australian Government n.d.). In response to the recommendations of Financial Stability Forum, legislation has been introduced to establish Financial Claims Scheme (Britton 2008)  where the availability of funds is given to the depositors and general insurance policyholders when the financial institutions failed to perform (Australian Government n.d.). Besides, the bank deposits and wholesale funding is guaranteed by the government for a period of 3 years (D’Aloisio 2010). Additionally, the $10.4 billion Economic Security Strategy has been carry on as this helps to strengthen and stabilize the economy (Australian Government n.d.). This aim to provide protection to households and other financial institutions to gain back confidence lost due to GFC (Australia Bureau of Statistics 2010). Besides, First Home Owners Boost has been introduced mainly to assist the housing sector to stimulate activity which benefits the economy (Australian Government n.d.). The competition in the market of housing finance has been supported by the government through the purchase of the Residential Mortgage Backed Securities (RMBS) (Australian Government n.d.). However, a total of $840 million has been taken out by RBA from RBMS under a repurchase agreement mainly to ensure there is sufficient liquidity in the market (Britton 2008). The naked and covered of the short sale securities has been ban for a period of 30 days by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) (Helmes et al. 2009). However, a clarification of the allowable covered shares has been issued by the ASIC in concern of the set requirement (Britton 2008). A draft legislation for the covered of short sales has been released by the government and it is open for the public to comment on till 21 October 2008 (Britton 2008). Government initiated the plan of Nation Building and Jobs Plan which cost around $42 billion which was mainly to support the jobs in the country where it supported an estimated of 90,000 jobs (Sherry 2009). This help to decrease the unemployment rate and then boost the economic growth where it encourages more activities and also to increase consumption in the economy (Sherry 2009). 5.0 Conclusion In conclusion, the global financial crisis (GFC) had brought so much damage not only to U.S. and Australia, but to the entire nations’ financial system globally. Even some of the wealthiest nations saw the collapsed of its financial institutions while some had to undertake an extremely expensive bail-out package. As for U.S. they suffered more severely compared to Australia. This is because the Reserve Bank of Australia has taken measures in advance of the global financial crisis. Thus, they were not as heavily affected as compared to other countries. Therefore, U.S. should learn from Australia by implementing policies ahead of any unexpected crisis to minimize the impact and damage done to their financial system. Evidently, it is better for them to prevent and be prepared rather than solving an issue when the damage has already been done. The policies implemented should include healthy control of the discount rate, reserve requirement and also minimal inflation targeting such as two to three per cent. The right policy implementation will lead to full employment in the country, a healthy level of economic activity and international trades, which will eventually increase the country’s GDP to an optimal and desirable level. (4203 words) List of References Australia Bureau of Statistics 2010, The global financial crisis and its impact on Australia, Viewed 8 May 2012, . Australian Government n.d., Part 2: The Government’s Response to the Global Financial Crisis, Viewed 10 May 2012, . Australian Super Investment Conference 2010, The GFC and its impact on Australian capital markets, Viewed 12 May 2012, . Australian Workers’ Union 2009, The impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Australian Workers, Viewed 12 May 2012, . Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 2008, Federal Reserve Act, viewed 2 May 2012, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 2012, Federal Open Market Committee, viewed 2 May 2012, http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomc.htm. Britton, H 2008, Government response to the Global Financial Crisis, Viewed 9 May 2012, . Chambers, C 2010, ‘US financial recovery: Political regulations or a plan for the future?’, Journal of Banking Regulation, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 240-255, viewed 5 May 2012, retrieved from EBSCOhost database. Chesters, J n.d., The Global Financial Crisis in Australia, Viewed 10 May 2012, . Cohen, J Schubert, S 2010, Russell’s experience in Australia provides lessons for U.S. retirement plan sponsors, Viewed 14 May 2012, . Cook, RC 2008, Impacts of the Financial Crisis: The U.S. is becoming an Impoverished Nation, viewed 5 May 2012, . D’Aloisio, T 2010, Responding to the financial crisis: ASIC story, Viewed 8 May 2012, . Dhameja, N 2010, ‘Global Financial Crisis: Impact, Challenges Way-out’, The Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 45, no. 3, viewed 6 May 2012, retrieved from EBSCOhost database. Finance Maps of World 2011, Depository Financial Institution, Viewed 14 May 2012, . Halmarick, S 2009, ‘The Global Policy Response-The unprecedented becomes commonplace’, Colonial First State Global Asset Management, viewed 5 May 2012. Helmes, U, Henker, J Henker, T 2009, How the Australian ban on short selling during the GFC affected market quality, Viewed 11 May 2012, . Ireland, PN n.d. ‘Money, Banking, and Finacial Markets’, Department of Economics, viewed 3 May 2012, . Kumar, A, Chuppe, T Perttunen, P 1997, The Regulation of Non-Bank Financial Institutions, The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, U.S.A. McLennan, W 2000, 2000 Year Book Australia No.82, Australia Bureau of Statistics, Australia. Mishkin, FS 2011, ‘Over the Cliff: From the Subprime to the Global Financial Crisis’, Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 49-70, viewed 4 May 2012, retrieved from EBSCOhost database. Nanto, DK 2009, ‘The Global Financial Crisis: Analysis and Policy Implications’, Congressional Research Service, viewed 4 May 2012. Nielsen, RP 2010, ‘High-Leverage Finance Capitalism, the Economic Crisis, Structurally Related Ethic Issues, and Potential Reforms’, Business Ethics Quarterly, vol. 20, no. 2, pp.229-330, viewed 6 May 2012, retrieved from EBSCOhost database. Reserve Bank of Australia 2001, Financial Stability, Viewed 13 May 2012, . Reserve Bank of Australia 2001, Governance, Viewed 13 May 2012, . Samolyk, K 2004, ‘The Evolving Role of Commercial Banks in U.S. Credit Markets’, FDIC Banking Review, vol. 16, no. 2, viewed 3 May 2012, . Shah, A 2010, Global Financial Crisis, viewed 7 May 2012, . Sherry, N 2009, Australia’s policy response to the global financial crisis address to the institute of actuaries of Australia biennial convention 2009 Sydney, Viewed 10 May 2012, . Stevens, G 2009, Financial crisis developments-impact on the Australian economy, Viewed 12 May 2012, . Tanton, R, Keegan, M, Vidyattama, Y Thurecht, L 2010, The economic vitality report: the impact of the GFC on Australians, Viewed 10 May 2012, . The Federal Reserve Board 2003, The Structure of the Federal Reserve System, viewed 2 May 2012, . The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia 2009, The Global Financial Crisis and regional Australia, Viewed 11 May 2012, . The Senate 2011, Competition within the Australian banking sector, Viewed 9 May 2012, . Viney, C 2009, Financial Institutions, Instruments Markets, 6th edn, McGraw- Hill Education, Australi

Free Frankenstein Essays: The Letters and Chapters 1 & 2 :: Frankenstein essays

Frankenstein: The Letters and Chapters 1 & 2 A first impression of Walton would be to say that he is extremely ambitious. He desires to go to the North Pole to "accomplish some great purpose". He has his own theories on what should be there, and will not rest until he has proved them. This is somewhat a 'Godlike' ambition, in that he wishes to be praised for discovering something new which will benefit everyone else in the world. The language used is also very much like Old Testament, Biblical; "Heaven shower down blessings on you". The image of Walton being 'Godlike' is enhanced by this. However, he is disrespectful of his family, as he goes against his fathers "dying injunction", which had "forbidden" him from embarking on a "seafaring life". He seems to be very egocentric, and not aware of anyone else or their feelings. He is deliberately disobeying his father to pursue a personal ambition. He is leaving his sister in England, and at the end of each letter he writes that he may not see her again, "Farewell my dear, excellent Margaret", "Remember me with affection, should you never hear from me again". Each time she receives a letter from him, she will be hopeful of his return and safety, and then he writes "Shall I meet you again?". This is selfish of him, as it will worry her even more about his expedition. Again this 'Godlike' theme reoccurs as he is doing what he wants to do. Having only been educated about this passion through his own reading, he cannot really be sure of what he will discover once he reaches his destination. His beliefs that "snow and frost are banished" from the North Pole seem as eccentric as believing that the earth is flat. But of course he doesn't see it this way, he needs to prove his own theory. After failing at being a poet he doesn't want to fail as a scientist and explorer either. He is confident in his beliefs and will stop at nothing, not even employment as an "under-mate in a Greenland Whaler", to get where he wants to be, and hopefully find what he wants to discover. In the second letter, Walton writes about his desire for a friend. As he has left all his acquaintances in England, he no longer has anyone to convey theories and ideas to, "participate" in his "joy", or comfort him in times of despair.

Four Seasons Hotel Case Study Essay

A company’s strategy can be identified by figuring out what business approaches and actions the company undertakes. Thompson et al. (2009) outline the key elements to look for in the process of understanding a company’s strategy. Four Seasons’ differentiation based focused strategy is evident from the organisation’s strategic actions. Sharp’s decision to build on high-end luxury and modern amenities so as to outdo the old grand hotels (p.3, para.3) is an example of efforts to pursue new opportunities or defend against threats as well as actions to outcompete rivals, which provides basis for differentiation. By focusing on medium-sized hotels of exceptional quality with exceptional service levels (p.3, para.3), Four Seasons defines the business scale and differentiates itself from competitors through providing superior quality and service. This is one of the moves to build a competitive advantage thus outcompeting rivals. The action to go public to raise funds (p.3, para.4) is a response to changing external circumstances, which supports the business growth and paves the way for Four Seasons to be the market leader. In order to serve diverse needs of the customers, Four Seasons extends into the fields of luxury resorts (p.4, para.1) and residential properties (p.4, para.4). With such action to diversify, it enables Four Seasons to serve a market niche. An example of actions to merge or acquire rival companies is the ownership acquisition of Regent (p.4, para.2), and a strategic alliance is formed via selling stake to Prince Alwaleed (p.4, para.4). By doing so, Four Seasons improves its competitive position as the market leader. The shift of focus from ownership to management services (p.4, para.3) reflects Four Seasons’ efforts to pursue new opportunities or defend against threats and its responses to changing external conditions. The business model of Four Seasons is defined by this strategic shift. The regional management structure (p.5, para.4), the finalisation process of budget plan (p.6, para.2), the human resource management (p.8, para.3), and the recruitment policy (p.8, para.5) are examples of how functional activities are managed in Four Seasons. By optimising functional activities, it enables improved quality and customer service provided. Four Seasons’ actions to alter geographic coverage lie in its international expansion program (p.7, para.3), which enables business growth by reaching new markets and new customers. The distinctiveness of  properties that reflects the local culture (p.8, para.1) is another example of actions to diversify, which leads to differentiation. The actions to strengthen resources and capabilities that support quality and customer service improvement include the training and development programs (p.9, para.1) and the new initiatives to offer added convenience to guests (p.10, para.2). By linking the actions with the strategy, it can be summarised that a company’s strategic actions are driven by the strategy it employs (Thompson et al., 2009). Strategic Fit with External Environment Strategically relevant influences from the external environment can have a significant impact on the company’s strategy. Therefore, the strategy that the company employs must be responsive to the external environment (Thompson et al., 2009). The external environment outside Four Seasons affects its strategy in many aspects. Political The events such as the Iraq war, the September 11th attack and terrorism impact the hotel industry significantly, which lead to decreased profitability. As a response to the circumstances, Four Seasons dedicates to international expansion. Through wider geographic presence, it allows Four Seasons to make more profits in the areas that are less impacted thus enhancing the overall profitability. Amidst these challenges, Four Seasons manages to maintain its position as the market leader, which owes to its globalisation strategy. Economic As one of the largest factors that shape the strategy of Four Seasons, the economic recession pulls down the luxury hotels’ business and poses crisis for Four Seasons. It is no longer profitable to build and own hotels. As a result, Four Seasons shifts its focus from hotel ownership to hotel management services so that the financial risk is mainly borne by the hotel owners. Through management operations, Four Seasons is able to make the best use of its expertise and provide exceptional quality and service to the customers, thus gaining a competitive advantage over rivals. Social The trend of increasing international travel both in business and leisure markets creates more opportunities for the hotel industry. In order to better serve the travel needs of its existing customers and attract new international travellers, Four Seasons continues to expand its geographic coverage by adding five to seven hotels per year to key destinations, thus capitalising on the emerging opportunities. In response to the changing lifestyle of the global travellers who want personalised service, Four Seasons constantly innovates new ways to make business travel more efficient and leisure travel more enjoyable. By doing so, the differentiation strategy through superior customer service is enhanced. Technical In support of the rapid development of information technology, Four Seasons enhances its management services via operating a central reservations system, recommending information technology systems and developing certain database applications. It enables Four Seasons to be more profitable through optimised management services. Legal The nature of the leasehold agreement with three properties makes it difficult to sell the ownership and shift to management services, which results in adding losses to Four Seasons accounting. It reinforces Four Seasons’ decision to concentrate on management operations. In order to reduce the impact of these properties, Four Seasons continues to seek ways to improve the operating profitability. Environmental To follow the major trend of being environmental friendly, Four Seasons initiates recycling programs for glass, paper and other biodegradable garbage, in support of its uncompromised customer service. Such approaches help Four Seasons maintain its leadership position in luxury hotels. Strategic Fit with Internal Environment A comprehensive evaluation of a company’s resources and capabilities reveals the strengths and weaknesses in the present strategy so that adjustments and improvements can be made (Thompson et al., 2009). Four Seasons’ strategy facilitates the decision making on its internal activities in different ways. Four Seasons focuses on the market niche of luxury hotels. In order to better serve the diverse needs of the focused customers, Four Seasons extends into the fields of resorts and residential properties so that the customers who use the hotels can enjoy the same quality in resorts and residence clubs. By retaining the customer base and competing in different segments, Four Seasons is able to maintain its position as market leader. One of the strengths of Four Seasons is the attractive locations of its properties. With business and leisure travellers as the target customers, Four Seasons locates its hotels centrally in the commercial and financial districts of the world’s leading cities, while resorts and residential properties in world-class leisure destinations. It allows Four Seasons to attract more potential customers with its location advantage that are unmatched by rivals, thus gaining a competitive advantage. One major distinctive competency of Four Seasons is the exceptional customer service, which is delivered by its valuable human assets. The human resource management at Four Seasons makes sure that its employees treat the guests as they would wish to be treated. With high staff morale and high employee satisfaction, Four Seasons’ customers can expect the best possible customer service. Through the training and development programs, Four Seasons equips its employees with advanced skills and expertise. As a result, the employees are able to deliver services above desired standards while carrying out innovative solutions to solve customers’ concerns. With these highly trained and professional staffs, Four Seasons stresses ways to differentiate itself from rivals through superior customer service. The expertise in hotel management is another competitive capability of Four Seasons. In order to make the best use of its expertise, Four Seasons  concentrates on hotel management operations. To improve the operating profitability, Four Seasons engages in every aspect of the hotel operations on behalf of the owners, even before the hotel is built.

Human Population: The Overpopulation Problem and Sustainable Solutions Essay

Human society lives in the atmosphere of numerous environmental threats. However, no dangers are as threatening to humanity as those created by humans themselves. Like global warming and the extinction of animal and plant species, overpopulation has already turned into the definitive feature of the postmodern environmental reality. Few strategies have been developed to address the overpopulation issue. The positive effects of those strategies had been but few. Today, there is an urgent need to develop a global sustainable strategy that will reduce the rates of the population growth to the extent, which will allow humans to meet their present needs without compromising the needs of the future generations. Overpopulation: A Review of the Problem A wealth of literature was written about overpopulation, its causes and consequences. Gilland (2008) defines overpopulation as â€Å"relation to a country’s ability to feed its inhabitants† (p. 122). In the global contexts, overpopulation implies that the planet no longer possesses resources necessary to satisfy even the basic human needs. More often than not, the concept of overpopulation is discussed in relation to diet and food consumption patterns. For example, Gilland (2008) provides an extensive review of what a satisfactory average diet is and what nutrition problems usually indicate the presence of the overpopulation issue. Overpopulation is often equated with conditions of living that manifest through continuous imbalance between population numbers and the carrying capacity of land; and here, food and diets are fairly regarded as the basic measures of overpopulation per unit of land (Fellmann, Getis & Getis, 2007). Overpopulation is problematic because it leads to unavailability of food resources with the caloric content needed to meet individual daily requirements for energy (Fellmann, Getis & Getis, 2007). The situation with developing countries is particularly difficult, because these countries cannot meet the growing demands of the ever increasing population. Difficulties with food production, continuous poverty, climate changes and significant crop losses add their share of complexity to the issue of overpopulation. For example, Africa’s share of crop production decreased 30% between 1960 and 1990, and further 30% decrease is predicted in the next 25 years (Fellmann, Getis & Getis, 2008). These problems will widen the population-nutrition gap and will turn overpopulation into the basic cause of famines and economic scarcity (Fellmann, Getis & Getis, 2008). Overpopulation marks the beginning of the so-called â€Å"plague cycle†, which will lead to the collapse of the food supply systems and will create environmental constraints, which technologies cannot reduce (Cassis, 2004). The growing pace of technological advancement makes the problem of overpopulation even more controversial, achievements in technology lead to the growing scarcity of natural resources, especially oil and gas. The current state of overpopulation and the continuous population growth on the planet will lead to global crash of the most important supply systems (Cassis, 2004). Urban and densely-populated territories will be among the first to perceive the adverse effects of overpopulation. Their dense population and woefully inadequate sanitation provide the ideal breeding ground for diseases new and old – diseases that will, sooner or later, be carried to all parts of the world through migration and tourism† (Cassis, 2004, p. 178). The poorest parts of the world will experience the drastic consequences of resource depletion and are likely to plunge into anarchy in their fight for survival (Kaplan, 1994). With the population of roughly 6. 8 billion today and 211,000 people ad ded every day, the earth is likely to reach the 9. 2 billion point by 2050 (Johnson, 2007). Food and health systems will hardly withstand the pressure of the ever growing population. The world’s food supply per capita increased 30% between 1960 and 2000; meanwhile, the world’s oil reserves increased only 3%, and grain production increase did not exceed 2. 1% (Ehrlich & Ehrlich, 2001). Obviously, the time will come when the growing population will need to fight hard to satisfy the growing feeling of hunger. In light of these complexities, the lack of the overpopulation awareness is at least striking. Cassis (2004) is correct in that the media do little to help people better understand how overpopulation impacts the planet. Most individuals do not have any single idea about the finiteness of natural resources and do not recognize the need to preserve the environment for the future generations. However, the resource pie is far from big enough to divide it into equal pieces among everyone (Cassis, 2004). It is high time the human society reconsidered its consumption patterns and addressed the existing overpopulation concerns, before it is too late. Overpopulation: Living and Nonliving Factors and Positive and Negative Sides of the Issue Definitely, the current state of population on the planet is the result of both living and nonliving influences. The living factors of overpopulation include the growing availability of food resources (including animals), the growing resistance of the human organism to bacterial infections/ diseases, and the growing life expectancy. Among nonliving factors of overpopulation, the most important are public health improvements, the advances in human knowledge of ecology and biology, better access to nonliving resources like oil and gas, improved transportation and communication and, simultaneously, the growing social gap between different population layers. The availability of food and better human resistance to bacterial infections and diseases greatly contributed to the population growth on the planet. The past 150 years were marked with the remarkable increase in food production by farmers: between 1965 and 1985 alone, the amount of grain harvested and processed worldwide increased from 630 million tons to almost 2 billion tons (Miller, 1995). Rapid technological advancement led to the development of more sophisticated fertilizers, machinery, and new kinds of seed, which altogether sped up the expansion of agricultural production all over the world (Miller, 1995). Unfortunately, the distribution of food resources on the planet remains increasingly uneven. Meanwhile, human society continues conquering the most dangerous infections and diseases, making human organism more resistant to various kinds of living organisms. Better health is both the product of better nutrition and better medical practices. The latter are an essential nonliving component of the growing population. Really, significant improvements in medical practices and public health systems made the rapid growth of population possible and even threatening to the stability of the social order on the planet. Vaccinations, new theories of disease, better systems of food and water supply, and improved waste treatment became the basic prerequisites for the dramatic increase in human population on planet (Miller, 1995). Death rates fell sharply due to substantial progress in medical science, while birth rates, especially in the poorest areas of the planet, remained increasingly high (Miller, 1995). For many people, having more children became the symbol of healthier life (Cassis, 1994). Modern communications and the sophisticated system of transportation have created better conditions for giving birth to and bringing up children (Cassis, 1994). As a result, with time, overpopulation gradually transformed from a distant perspective into reality. Like any other issue, overpopulation has good and bad sides. Surprisingly or not, overpopulation creates a challenge the society must meet in order to survive. In this situation, people actively work to develop solutions to the most urgent food supply problems (e. . , the development of genetically modified foods). Nevertheless, negative factors of overpopulation overweigh its positive sides and include the growing scarcity of resources, environmental pollution, the failure of traditional food supply chains, and the growing population-nutrition gap. Overpopulation and the Current Sustainability Solutions The growing scarcity of food resources leads governments and social groups to propose and implement sustainable solutions t o the problem of overpopulation. Current sustainable policies cover a limited range of instruments and do not resolve the existing overpopulation controversies. In the system of overpopulation solutions, family planning and birth control occupy the central place and are based on Malthus’s theory that â€Å"all biological populations have a potential for increase that exceeds the actual rate of increase, and the resources for the support of increase are limited† (Fellman, Getis & Getis, 2007, p. 125). Indonesia was among the first to adopt a family planning program that established numerous village centers to distribute contraceptives and educate people about birth control (Pakenham, 2004). As a result, Indonesia was able to decrease its fertility rates by almost 40 percent (Pakenham, 2004). Other countries, including Thailand, Mexico, South Korea and Tunisia were able to decrease their birth rates; the dramatic decrease in birth rates ultimately led to a 33-percent increase in economic growth in East Asia (Pakenham, 2004). Chinese one-child-per-family policies received a great deal of attention (Cassis, 2004). Economies like Japan apply to complex policies of economic growth, based on the belief that economic prosperity and lower fertility rates are closely connected (Cassis, 2004). These, however, are separate attempts to resolve separate issues in separate countries. Humanity never tried to develop a complex strategy to address the most complex elements of the overpopulation problem at once.

Howard Aiken, Grace Hopper and the Mark I Computer

Howard Aiken, Grace Hopper and the Mark I Computer Howard Aiken and Grace Hopper designed the MARK series of computers at Harvard University beginning in 1944.   The Mark I   The MARK computers began with the Mark I. Imagine a giant room full of noisy, clicking metal parts, 55 feet long and eight feet high. The five-ton device contained almost 760,000 separate pieces. Used by the U.S. Navy for gunnery and ballistic calculations, the Mark I was in operation until 1959. The computer was controlled by pre-punched paper tape, and it could carry out addition, subtraction, multiplication and division functions. It could refer to previous results and had special subroutines for logarithms and trigonometric functions. It used 23 decimal place numbers. Data was stored and counted mechanically using 3,000 decimal storage wheels, 1,400 rotary dial switches and 500 miles of wire. Its electromagnetic relays classified the machine as a relay computer. All output was displayed on an electric typewriter. By todays standards, the Mark I was slow, requiring three to five seconds to accomplish a multiplication operation. Howard Aiken   Howard Aiken was born in Hoboken, New Jersey in March 1900. He was an electrical engineer and physicist who first conceived of an electro-mechanical device like the Mark I in 1937. After completing his doctorate at Harvard in 1939, Aiken stayed on to continue the computers development. IBM funded his research. Aiken headed a team of three engineers, including Grace Hopper. The Mark I was completed in 1944. Aiken completed the Mark II, an electronic computer, in 1947. He founded the Harvard Computation Laboratory that same year. He published numerous articles on electronics and switching theories and ultimately launched Aiken Industries.   Aiken loved computers, but even he had no idea of their eventual widespread appeal. Only six electronic digital computers would be required to satisfy the computing needs of the entire United States, he said in 1947. Aiken died in 1973 in St, Louis, Missouri.   Grace Hopper   Born in December 1906 in New York, Grace Hopper studied at Vassar College and Yale before she joined the Naval Reserve in 1943. In 1944, she started working with Aiken on the Harvard Mark I computer. One of Hoppers lesser-known claims to fame is that she was responsible for coining the term bug  to describe a computer fault. The original bug was a moth that caused a hardware fault in the Mark I. Hopper got rid of it and fixed the problem and was the first person to debug a computer.   She began research for the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation in 1949  where she designed an improved compiler and was part of the team which developed Flow-Matic, the first English-language data processing compiler. She invented the language APT and verified the language COBOL.   Hopper was the first computer science Man of the Year in 1969, and she received the National Medal of Technology in 1991. She died a year later, in 1992, in Arlington, Virginia.

7 Ways to Close Out the Year with a Bang

7 Ways to Close Out the Year with a Bang At this point, 2016 is old news. It’s practically Christmas, which is practically New Year’s. But in the middle of all of the celebrating (or rushing to get projects done before your office is a ghost town for the holidays), there are some small (but mighty effective) things you can do to wind the year down in style. 1. Give your network some loveIf you had a mentor or colleague who helped you get through the year, now’s the time to let that person know how thankful you are. Nothing fancy required- a heartfelt note or a small token of your thanks is all you need to bolster your professional relationship with that person. I’m a fan of baking cookies for colleagues and friends this time of year- it’s a thoughtful, homemade way to say, â€Å"I’m thinking of you at the end of a great year.† (Of course, it’s good to know if this person has any special dietary issues if you go that route†¦ you don’t want to hand someone a plate of delicious peanut butter cookies if they have a major peanut allergy.)2. Set up your network for next yearThink about people you’d like to connect with in the new year to move your career forward. If you already know them and want to get to know them better, now’s the time to reach out with a simple holiday message that includes your hope to talk more in the new year. It’s best to try to set up a concrete date for coffee, lunch, or after-work drinks in January.3.  Take care of things on your pending listOnce you’re back in the office at the beginning of January, you won’t feel like going through and cleaning up loose ends from the year before. So do it now! Go through your inbox. If you have lingering to-dos that aren’t especially time-sensitive, now’s the time to put some time aside and check them off so that they’re not still haunting you later. While you’re poking around your inbox, take stock of any mailing lists you’re on. Which ones do you really need? Keep those, and unsubscribe from the rest.4. Clean your deskJust like your email inbox and your to-do list, you probably don’t want to come back to a messy desk. I know when I rush out the door and come back to a cluttered desk, it adds stress points before my day has even begun. Do â€Å"January You† a favor, and take some time to clean off your desk. Your pens don’t all have to be pointing in the same direction with your stapler at a perfect 90 degree angle (unless you’re into that, in which case have at it), but definitely get rid of any papers you don’t need anymore and toss outdated Post-It reminders you wrote to yourself back in May. If possible, do this as early in possible in December so that you’re not time-crunched and trying to get out of the office at the end of the month.5. Brush up your resumeDid you know that January and February are the most popular months for job change s or promotions? If you think you might be in the market for a new or upgraded gig soon, now is a great time to look at your resume and add any new skills or achievements that you’ve acquired  since you last updated it.Even if you’re not planning on changing jobs, this is still a great exercise to do annually. Be prepared! You never know when an opportunity will present itself- and wouldn’t it be great to say, â€Å"Oh, here’s a copy of my up-to-the-minute resume!†6. Revise your online profilesThis is an extension of updating your resume. What’s the point in getting your it in order if everything online still reflects the slightly outdated you? Make sure your LinkedIn profile- and any other online sites where you use your professional brand- is up-to-date and ready to go for the new year.7. Get ready to improve yourselfYou’re already fabulous, but who among us couldn’t use a few positive tweaks? Identify one or two areas wher e you could use some improvement, and come up with a game plan for 2017. Sign up for classes that start in January, or figure out where in your schedule you can take an hour or two per week to work on that skill area. Thinking about that now (and getting the ball rolling on any logistics) will make it easier to get started in January, before winter inertia settles in.So even though it may seem like 2016 is running short, you still have plenty of time for these small investments that could pay big dividends in the new year.

Final Comprehensive Activity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Final Comprehensive Activity - Essay Example Interviews of approximately twelve couples will be used to create a minimum of six case studies. Secondary research will be used to support the findings of the primary research. Questionnaires will be used as a basis of understanding cultural perceptions The question of the research proposal The Anatomy of Romance is in what way do two people in a long-term relationship that is designated by the emotion of love relate to one another in order to sustain that love? Of the most unanswered questions in the human experience, the question of how people successfully navigate a relationship is one of the more prominent. Self-help books, advertising, and talk shows all make use of the topic to promote the sale of their product. However, a deconstruction of romance to examine the components that create this state can help further the understanding of the phenomenon of love. According to Marshall and Rossman (2006), a sense of ‘Should-do-ability‘, ‘Do-ability’ and ‘Want-to-do-ability’ should be examined when approaching a project. Under the ‘Should-do-ability‘ category, a researcher must decide if the research should be done. The research study on romance should be done to further the understanding of this particular human experience. The research can definitely be approached as the concept of romance is highly prevalent in the cultural experience so therefore has a capacity for ‘Do- The question that the research will attempt to answer is best answered from a narrow perspective. The participants in the study will be from a specific parameter of possible relationship types. The main assumption that has been made is that love is a valid state of emotion, but this assumption should be backed by physiological and psychological foundation. In attempting to answer the core question, it will be essential to both observe and interview those who believe they have successfully attained a consistency in the way

Conflict Diamonds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Conflict Diamonds - Essay Example Though the wars in Angola and Sierra Leone are now over and fighting in the DRC has decreased, the problem of conflict diamonds hasn't gone away as yet. Diamonds mined in certain rebel-held areas in a West African country in the midst of a volatile conflict, Cote D'Ivoire, are reaching the international diamond market. Conflict diamonds are also being smuggled into neighboring countries and exported as part of the legitimate diamond trade from Liberia. A major milestone occurred in 2003, a government-run initiative was introduced to stem the flow of conflict diamonds known as the Kimberley process. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) imposes requirements on participants to certify and ensure that shipments and selling of rough diamonds are conflict-free. The Amnesty International USA announced its support of the film production of Blood Diamond. Set against the backdrop of the chaos and civil war that enveloped 1990s Sierra Leone. It tells the story of two African men w hose fates become involved in a quest to recover a rare pink diamond that can transform their lives entirely.  The film’s curriculum guide help us survey diamond retailers despite its pledge to support the Kimberley Process and the clean Diamond Trade Act. The Diamond Industry has failed to implement the necessary policies for self-regulation. In particular, the retail sector fails to provide sufficient assurance to consumers that the diamonds they sell are conflict-free. That is why help is needed to find out how policies are being communicated at the shop level and what actions are being taken to ensure that policies are more than just rhetoric and no action. At the same time, a strong message will be sent to local jewelers that their role in diamond fueled conflict must end (Levy, 2003). Literature review Conflict diamonds, are sold to fund hostile warfare; this process mainly exists in central and western Africa. The issue of conflict diamonds first gained global exposu re in the late 1990s throughout Sierra Leone’s civil war. This brutal nine year battle was due to the desire of insurgents to control the local diamond mines as a means of wealth to help fund the war, amongst other reasons. Since then, the issue of conflict diamonds has been globally recognized and several measures have been taken to ensure the ethically sound sourcing of diamonds, boycotting the countries that sell conflict diamonds and adhering to the standards of the Kimberley Process and the Patriot Act. The Kimberley Process is an initiative that was launched in conjunction with the United Nations and the global gemstone industry to ensure the market is free of conflict diamonds. The process aims to do this by enforcing all gemstone traders and suppliers to follow a single legitimate procedure that focuses on the ethical and environmentally sound sourcing of diamonds. Since its inception in 2002 the amount of conflict diamonds in the gemstone industry has decreased drama tically from 15% to less than 1% and now today, 99.8% of the world’s diamond distributors adhere to the Kimberley process. The Patriot Act is an American law that was passed in response to the September eleventh (9/11) terrorist attacks and grants US officials more power to monitor communications and trade between countries. The prevention of laundering of money and high value gems is among the Act’s objectives. According to (Le Billon, 2006), There was a waged insurrection that