Effects of Globalisation on Brazil

Discuss the impact of globalisation on Brazil: Orientation: Globalisation refers to the integration between different countries and economies and the increased impact of international influences on all aspects of life and economic activity. Brazil is one of the fastest growing economies and superpower of South America. In the recent decade Globalisation has allowed Brazil’s economy to sustain stable economic growth, this was proven when Brazil experienced a very mild recession during the Global Financial Crisis of 2008.Due to the high levels of economic growth as well as increases in GNI per Capita Brazil’s government has also been able to implement successful macroeconomic policies that have allowed for consistent economic development. Though Brazil has benefited greatly from Globalisation they also have experienced many problems including the currency crises in the 1980-90’s which caused the country to undergo a complete economic restructure.Brazil also faces p roblems with environmental deconstruction that due to globalisation that are yet to be solved. Globalisation impact on Brazil Economically: Brazil’s failure to embrace Globalisation in the 1960’s 1970’s and 1980’s caused Brazil to be unable to fund its foreign debt and ultimately experience a currency crisis in the early 1980’s. Through the 1960’s and 1970’s successive governments sought to create a large industrial base and minimise Brazil’s dependency on imported manufactured goods.Brazil relied on foreign debt borrowing to fund this industrialisation movement but rather than increasing its economic integration the purpose of this industrialisation was for Brazil to become less heavily dependent on imports and more self sufficient; reducing reliance on the global economy and going against principals of globalisation in becoming more integrated. Due to large amount of foreign debt and Brazil’s inability to service this debt due to small amounts of export revenue Brazil’s debt servicing ratio reached 102% and, unable to service the debt Brazil’s currency depleted.For Brazil this outcome was among the most undesirable impacts of globalisation as it caused extreme volatility in Brazil’s exchange rate. From 1980 due to Brazil’s inability to repay debt, the Brazilian economy experience many exchange rate crises due to concerns that Brazil could not meet the debt repayments; this caused extreme inflation of over 1000%. Inflation was due to the rising cost of imports for Brazil as currency value fell sharply.In order to prevent/reduce the occurrence of extreme currency fluctuation and extreme inflation Brazil adopted the ‘Real Plan’ strategy in which a new currency known as the ‘real would be pegged 1 to 1 against the US dollar to control inflation. However this had to be abandoned as the currency had to once again be floated as investors pulled out of Brazi l in the wake of the East Asian financial crisis which spread to other developing nations. Brazil now continues to floats the currency relies on strong values of exports, keeping foreign debt low and consistent economic growth in order to reduce fluctuating currency.Brazil has also established a currency reserve to buy back currency and increase its price if financial speculation causes to fall to low. After embracing globalisation, Economically Brazil has greatly benefited from Globalisation as foreign direct investment (DFI) flows have allowed Brazil to become competitive in the world market. Brazil receives the highest level of FDI inflows in Latin American and the 5th highest in the world; this has led to sustained economic growth and greater economic stability.Investment by transnational corporations has helped Brazil develop telecommunications, chemical, pharmaceutical, automotive and mechanical industries. After FDI inflows falling to only 345million in 1986 due to lack of co nfidence in Brazil’s ability to repay foreign debt, Brazil’s economic situation has been consistently improving as the government strategies for industrialisation were restructured with a movement more to funding industrialisation through FDI rather than borrowing from Foreign markets. In 1996 FDI inflows had increased to 11 Billion and in 2011 FDI inflows stood at their peak of 66 Billion US dollars.Through FDI inflows employment was created as transnational corporations such as L’Oreal and FIAT group began expanding into the Brazilian market. Lowered unemployment combined with reductions in income in-equality among the people of the Brazil provided sought after government revenue. This government revenue allowed for the Brazilian government to fund national activities in the areas of transportation, industry and trade as well as energy and mining which all helped in the growth of Brazils manufacturing industry.Growth of the manufacturing industry is now the la rgest contributor to Brazil’s exports comprising of 45%. The manufacturing industry and other large industries that contribute to Brazils exports have allowed for Brazil to increase GDP levels from 385Million in 1980 to 2. 4 Trillion in 2010. Due to the efficiency of industries and economic growth, globalisation also allowed for sustained economic stability to also be achieved.This was made evident during the 2008-09 Global Financial crises where due to the integration of financial markets across the world many markets entered large recessions and therefore loss of confidence for investment Brazil only experienced a mild recession of -0. 6% growth in 2009. From this recession however growth soared to 7% the following year as market confidence was immediately restored with FDI inflows bouncing back from the reduced amount of $26 Billion to $49 Billion the following year, almost doubling.It is clear that in Brazil’s ability to embrace FDI inflows and investment by transn ational corporations have allowed Brazil to form and specialise in competitive industries such as the manufacturing industry. These industries then have the ability to sell the produced product to a world demand that has been created through improvements in technology and the breaking down of trade barriers, which are all effects of globalisation.Globalisation effect on Brazil Socially: Globalisation has also significantly affected Brazil socially. Investment into the country as well as demand for Brazil’s exported goods and services have allowed Brazil to substantially reduce income inequality and achieve economic development. As globalisation lifts economic growth rates in the Brazilian economy, it also raises the income levels of society and provides the government with greater amounts of revenue.After the Brazilian government received higher revenue due to increases in the country’s GDP, the government’s aim was to increase the quality of life among the peop le of Brazil, reducing poverty, increasing education level and increasing health and life expectancy. Programs such as the Fome Zero (zero hunger) program was widely regarded as one of the most successful government funded programs. It provided 11. 4 Million of Brazil’s poorest family’s sufficient income to be able to sustain basic needs in life.The policy was one of many that aimed or the government to reduce inequality by margining income distribution payments. Brazil has also achieved a substantial degree of progress in the economic development due to economic growth of the country through principles of globalisation. Through improvements in the government’s health care system as well as reduction in the cost of medicine as Brazilian companies begin producing pharmaceutical products of their own Brazil rank on the HDO increased from 0. 68 in 1980 to 0. 699 in 2010, mainly reflecting improvements in health care and income levels.Conversely, Brazil is still neg lecting the significant problems that globalisation has cause to the natural environment. As Brazil is still as a majority a low income country it is desperate to obtain as much foreign investment as possible in order to earn higher export revenue; because of this is engages in some economic behaviour that harms the environment. For Brazil this environment destruction occurs in the form of large scale deforestation that Brazil undertakes mainly for paper and wood chips but as well as government income received through selling rainforest/forest land.Not only does this practice allow for foreign investors to have rights to Brazils agricultural land but is also causes for many species of plants and animals to become extinct and many rainforest plants hold value due to undiscovered possible medicinal purposes. Due to the large scale deforestation that Brazil undertakes, Brazil is now the 4th largest emitter of carbon emissions in the world. The High carbon emissions add to the most seri ous environmental problem of the 21st century which is climate change.In order to reduce this environmental destruction Brazil committed in 2009 to reduce deforestation by 80% by 2020. Conclusion: It can be concluded that Brazil has become a large beneficiary of globalisation. Brazil is attracting more foreign investment, expanding its own businesses offshore, enjoying strong sustained growth in exports, in particular in the resources sector, and government policies have been effective in making sure that the macroeconomic successes of recent years are resulting in improvements in living standards for the people of Brazil.

Morality and Law

We begin this essay with a word about freedom- it is cherished by those who possess it and yearned for by those who have yet to experience it.   Nonetheless, freedom carries with it a high level of responsibility- perhaps not only to follow the letter of the law, but also to pursue one’s freedom with some level of civility or morality.   Therein lies the paradox- where should the line, if any, be drawn between morality and law.   In this essay, several controversial topics which toe the line between legality and morality will be presented and discussed in the hopes of drawing some valid conclusions about this issue.DrugsIf it is safe to say that legally prescribed and utilized drugs are accepted by all but the most staunch of religious zealots, it is also safe to say that illegally prescribed drugs, street drugs and the abuse of any drug is considered immoral, but not by all.   In some parts of the world, certain drugs that would land someone in jail in other nations a re legally and socially accepted.  Ã‚   This fact in itself brings to light an interesting perspective on the issue of morality and law- how closely related is law and morality?In the case of drugs, the relationship seems to be somewhat disjointed in some instances, because illegal drugs are quite literally one of the largest industries in the â€Å"civilized world†.   This can be interpreted as proof that everything that is illegal is not necessarily viewed as immoral as well as a clear example of the dynamic between the expression of freedom and the violation of the rights of others, for any freedom, if it harms innocent people through its exercise, needs to be reevaluated for the common good (Peach, 2002).AlcoholWhen speaking of alcohol, the very topic is in itself enigmatic; for all intents and purposes, alcohol can be classified as a drug because of its ability to alter the senses, distort perceptions, and attract the abuser into a spiral of addiction.   However, i t is considered by the vast majority of the world to be a legal drug, which is to say that it is legal for those of established age to buy, sell, and use alcohol.When left to one’s own devices, the use, purchase or sale of alcohol can be illegal; for example, the operation of motor vehicles while under the influence of alcohol is illegal, as is the sale/purchase of it to/by underage or visibly impaired individuals. Additionally, any use of alcohol is considered morally wrong by many religious/ethical groups.   Therefore, in alcohol, we see the embodiment of the morality/legality argument- some things are legal in some cases, illegal in others, but also reviled in many circles in any circumstance (Peach, 2002).ProstitutionRegarded as the world’s oldest profession, prostitution in one form or another has existed since there has been something of value for which one human being could offer sexual favors to another.   In the 21st century, we see a world where prostitut ion is legal in some nations/parts of nations, and illegal in others.   In the nations where it is legal, it would be assumed that this is so due to the moral tolerance of the masses to allow such a practice.   In a nation like the United States, where very few states allow prostitution, a moral divide exists between advocates and opponents.   Therefore, an interesting point emerges- the possibility that in many cases, societal norms dictate the letter of the law.   When the majority opposes or supports something, or takes no action either way, laws, it can be said, reflect the will of the majority itself (Peach, 2002). Pornography Pornography is yet another illustration of the will of the people to dictate the law, but with a twist- very few people publicly support pornography as something which is good for the general society, yet it is allowed to exist as something legal in many jurisdictions as long as certain universal rules are not violated, such as the use of children in pornography, abuse of innocent victims, etc.In this instance, it is likely that the tolerance of pornography as something legal, yet immoral has as much to do with the pursuit of money on the part of those who benefit financially from pornography as it does with the prurient interests of the public at large.   People who wish to have something immoral because they like it are often times more prone to ignore the bigger picture of the detriment to society that something like pornography represents. Domestic ViolenceViolence against one’s own family members is illegal/immoral in some societies, and not in others- why is this so?   The main reason is associated with religious beliefs.   In theocratic nations, where religious leaders dictate policy and law, there are those cases where the abuse of a wife by a husband, for example, is tolerated if the husband feels it necessary, whereas the abuse of children is almost universally reviled (Peach, 2002).   An interesting point emerges in this situation- the power of morality in some cases to shape the word of law.ConclusionIn this essay, we have seen that morality and law are in some cases exclusive of each other, related in others.   Still further, each of these in some situations can overpower the other due to societal norms, religion, etc.   Whatever the case, in conclusion, one point has become abundantly clear based upon this research- morality cannot always be legislated, nor will morality always make the best laws.   Perhaps the issue of freedom, which began the essay, is a fitting final word- without freedom, the human race suffers, but with it, suffering can also become rampant.   It is the responsibility of the people of the world to exercise freedom-with restraint.ReferencesPeach, L. (2002). Legislating Morality: Pluralism and Religious Identity in Lawmaking. NewYork: Oxford University Press.

Celebrity Role Models

Today’s society revolves around the lives of those we call â€Å"famous† or â€Å"celebrities†, we are more focused on the lives of these people then our own. Today’s children see Celebrities as role models, however they are seen as role models for the wrong reasons and set a bad example for children. Although not all Celebrities are bad role models, a frightening amount are. Celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber and Robin Thicke are prime examples of bad celebrity role models. Cyrus is well known for glorifying drug use and dressing inappropriately, Bieber is famous for using his money inappropriately and having several run-ins with the law and Thicke is known for his song â€Å"Blurred Lines† which hints at rape on several occasions, although they have been involved in controversies they are still seen as good people by today’s youth who seem to ignore the negatives these people portray. Celebrities seem to be involved in all kinds of controversy, Ranging from Affairs, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Driving under influence and discriminatory comments. These celebrities pose a danger to today’s youth as they start to think there are little consequences to doing these things which is not true at all. One specific celebrity that is held in high regard to thousands of young boys in England predominately is Paul Gascoigne or â€Å"Gazza†. Paul Gascoigne was an English football player who rose to fame worldwide during the 1990 World Cup held in Italy. Gascoigne’s heroic performances earned him a place in the nation’s heart and made him one of the most famous Football players in the last 100 years. However â€Å"Gazza† quickly found himself in a downwards spiral with his troubled childhood and addiction to Alcohol turning him into a mess. In 1998 he first entered sustained therapy sessions when he was admitted into Priory Hospital after a drinking session where he drank 32 shots of whisky which left him at rock bottom Since 2004 he has battled with addictions to: Cigarettes, Alcohol, Red Bull, Junk Food, Gambling and exercise. In 2008 he was taken into protective custody after he attempted suicide while drunk. On 9th July 2010 Gascoigne appeared at the scene of the tense stand-off between the police and Raoul Moat, claiming to be a friend of Raoul Moat and stating that he had brought him a can of lager, some chicken, fishing rod, a Newcastle shirt and a dressing gown. After all the controversies he has been involved in Gascoigne is still held high in the hearts of England fans and somehow is thought of as inspirational.

Colonial Latin America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Colonial Latin America - Essay Example As a function of analyzing the level of superstition that existed within the Spanish Empire of Latin America, it is necessary to realize that three distinct groups comprise the majority of cultural exchange that took place within Latin America between 1518 50. As such, these three groups are as follows: the ethnic Iberian Spanish that originally moved from the old world to the New World, the African slaves that came along with the Spanish as a means of providing the labor for the plantations and natural resource extraction in the New World, and the natives that originally occupied the New World territories Firstly, as a means of understanding the coalescence of different cultures within Latin America, it is necessary to focus on this issue from three unique standpoints. The first approach that can and should be engaged is with regards to seeking to understand superstition from standpoint of the Roman Catholic tradition; the one that was most commonly exhibited with respect to the whi te Spanish colonists of the particular regions in question. The Roman Catholic tradition necessarily engaged in understanding that a differentiation between good versus evil helps to define the world they were in. Moreover, the Spanish Inquisition, having only concluded within Spain several hundred years before colonization of the New World began, had ingrained a solid understanding within the minds of the colonists that the battle between God and the devil was very much alive and was exhibited through even minute differentiations with regards to doctrines and beliefs. A further reality with regards to the overall level of superstition that existed within the early Spanish colonials was with regards to the fact that the individuals who were first responsible for settling and colonizing this New World were in fact seaman. As such, these seafaring wanderers were perhaps the most superstitious of all individuals within the Spanish Empire; as they saw each and every occurrence as some t ype of omen or superstitious sign concerning life, death, fortune, or wealth. As such, a guiding compass of the way in which this particular group integrated with an understanding of superstition was predicated upon a very narrow view of religion and the fact that evil, Satan, or the devil could exist in any number of forms with regards to the world they interacted. As such, even though many scholars and led to believe that the Spanish stakeholders within the New World were the ones who are the least superstitious, seeking to categorize Spanish in such a way is disingenuous and ineffective as will be seen with regards to the level of superstition that pervaded the remaining two groups that are under discussion and analysis within this brief essay. Due to the fact that the individuals who initially settled these New World were perhaps the most superstitious of any socio-economic strata of the Spanish culture, it comes as no surprise that they readily adapted to the superstitions of t hose that they came in contact with. Naturally, the second group of stakeholders is referenced with respect to the many Native American populations that existed within the New World long before the Spanish ever began to colonize it. By very nature of the way in whi

Wayne Gretzky Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Wayne Gretzky - Research Paper Example Their father Walter would teach Wayne (and his brothers Keith, Brent and Glen and their friends) hockey in his home’s backyard in a rink he had made. They nicknamed the rink ‘Wally Coliseum’ and here they would skate around bottles and cans, flip pucks over scattered hockey sticks to be capable of picking up the puck again while in full flight. He advised them to skate where the puck was heading and not where it had been. Wayne would go on to join a team of ten year olds at age six, and thereby starting a trend that more often saw Wayne always playing against those older than him. His first coach, Dick Martin, observed that Wayne played better than the 10 year olds did (Morrison, 1999). By the age of ten, Wayne had scored 375 goals with 139 assists in a single season during his time with the Brantford Nadrofsky Steelers. Time went by and his game grew to attract media attention and his reputation beyond his hometown. However, with his meteoric ascent came jealousy from some quarters as he was often booed during games. By 13, he had managed over 1,000 goals. As a result of growing hostilities from his hometown and the desire from his parents to see him improve even further, he was moved to Toronto where he would play his hockey (McConnell, Terry, Pocklington, and Nye, 2009). In June 12 1978, Racers’ owner Nelson Skalbania signed the 17-year old Wayne on a seven year contract. Here, he scored his first professional goal against Dave Dryden of the Edmonton Oilers in his 5th game. His second goal came in relatively quick succession, barely four seconds later. However, many were still unconvinced of his ability. At 18, critics said he was too small, wiry and slow to make it in the NHL as he was conspicuously underweight at 160 pounds (73 kilograms) compared to the year’s NHL average of 189 pounds. In the following year, Wayne Gretzky silenced his critics by breaking

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser - Essay Example He opens by setting a scene in the desert at a place where â€Å"the mountain appears beautiful and serene† and â€Å"like the backdrop of an old Hollywood western.† (1). As he unfolds the scene, he explains that this is actually Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station , one of the most armed and heavily protected spots in the nation since it is home to the U.S. military’s spy satellite program. Yet nearly every night, someone from the station orders Domino’s pizza and has it delivered to the base’s front door. As Schlosser ends his first story with an explanation of what future archeologists might find buried in the mountain centuries from now: â€Å"Burger King wrappers, hardened crusts of Cheesy Bread, Barbeque Wing bones, and the red, white and blue of a Domino’s pizza box.† (2) This reads like a child’s bedtime story. The reader hears this beautifully described story of a mountain fortress designed to protect the nation while it sleeps. The Domino’s delivery person â€Å"winds his way up the lonely Cheyenne Mountain Road† (2) the way Little Red Riding Hood head through the forest to Grandma’s house. Then he ends it with the moral of the story: fast food tells as much about American culture as this mountain fortress, the clothes we wear, or even the Bible. The question he is asking – and will spend the rest of the book answering – is do American’s want to be defined by the lousy food they consume? By making it a story, he draws readers in to hear the answer. Another great example of Schlosser’s storytelling skills comes when he visits International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), a company that is the world leader in manufacturing fake smells and flavorings for food. Schlosser alternates here between describing the lab in vivid and exciting detail, and explaining the not-so-appealing biological processes that comprise a human being’s sense of smell and taste. First he takes

Final Exam Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Final Exam - Case Study Example 3. The Vice President of Information Technology also wanted to know what types of external and internal information would be required to develop the business plans, and how they would obtain this information. He wanted to know what types of analytical tools, methodologies and skills they would need to generate and analyze this information. 5. Finally, the CEO stated emphatically that she did not have the time to spare or the resources to devote to writing business plans that would only â€Å"gather dust on the shelves.† She asks you how you would ensure that the plans were implemented effectively. The basic concept of a strategic business plan is to determine the major goals within our organization. In doing this, it is important that we are careful to observe company policies and develop the strategies to gain the needed resources to produce successful plans and objectives in achieving new company goals. The use of a strategic business plan will help the company by providing a foundation to organize Lawrence’s current procedures and policies. The new strategies we implement should then show us how to develop ideas in planning how to effectively use those resources that we already have. In turn we should be able to use the current company policies as references to move us in the direction in which we need to be going. The unique challenge in this issue seems to come with a focus on a need to improve performance. While strategic planning, we will determine exactly which of the six products is producing the best numbers and where in nation the bulk of our profits are streaming from. In these specific areas we will continue to thrive by not only exceeding our customer’s needs but exceeding their expectations as well. Proper planning will also help us to further understand why the company has been failing to meet its market share goals. Certain cost can be reduced

A World of Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A World of Art - Essay Example Perhaps staring out from his asylum window, Van Gogh saw the world as both beautiful and lonely (p.61). Also, the tall, bold and white church in the middle gives a sense of balance and stability to the painting amongst the uncontrolled swirls, highlighting Van Gogh’s feelings of religion in the world. Sol LeWitt’s Wall Drawing No. 681 is also a masterpiece of lines but in a more controlled and logical way (p.64). The four perfect squares with precise lines in four different directions marked by dark boundaries illustrate a regular, mathematical sequence. Lewitt’s use of soothing, colorful lines emanates feelings of peace and unity. Also, the perfection and uniformity of the lines are practically instructing the viewers on how to replicate such exquisiteness themselves (p.65). Lewitt uses the most basic of lines, showing how the world abounds with beauty in the simplest of lines and strokes. Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez depicts a large room in King Philipâ€℠¢s palace with the little princess standing gracefully in the middle (p.155). She is surrounded by maids, chaperones, a dwarf and even Velazquez himself; all positioned in such a way around her allowing the viewer to take in the spaciousness of the room. Some figures are interacting with themselves while others gaze out of the painting creating a sense of movement projected beyond the boundaries of the canvas. The towering easel on the left, the dark ceiling above and the shadowed paintings behind the princess aptly reveal the length and height of the room. Also, the light shining on the figures shows how they are standing in the front, away from the dark and distant background, giving an effect of not only the vastness of space but also creating a sense of balance and uniformity. The lightness of the floor and part of the right wall in addition to the shadowy ceiling and back wall allow the eyes to travel all around the room effectively taking in the organizational space. Also, the depth of the room just doesn’t end at the rear wall, for the open doorway to the right, leads the vanishing point further back, extending the visualized space a viewer initially took in. The paintings hanging behind and to the right of the figures give a grid-like pattern to this masterpiece, reinforcing the overall spatial harmony and balance. Also, the effect of vast space is further exaggerated by Velazquez by showing a mirror in the middle of the rear wall, reflecting the King and Queen which are not even present in the room. This adds to the overall spaciousness of the painting creating a sense of space not limited to the boundaries of the canvas. Edward Hopper’s oil painting, Nighthawks, shows a few people sitting around in a brightly lit diner at night (p.510). The darkened windows and street outside lets the viewers know that it is late at night creating a sense of isolation and loneliness. The only light falling on the otherwise dull, red brick building acros s the street is from the practically empty diner called Phillies. The dark black exterior of the diner stands in stark contrast to the bright cherry red, yellow and green colors inside. This counter balance of colors creates a somber and depressing mood reminding us that even though the world is still there all around us, it is filled with intense gloom and loneliness. The light shines brightly off the metallic containers and even the bartender’

Diabetes Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Diabetes - Research Paper Example Diabetes describes a group of metabolic diseases in which the person has high blood glucose, also known as blood sugar, either because insulin production in the body is inadequate or the body’s cells do not respond properly to insulin, or both occur at the same time (Nordqvist). Furthermore, he states that people with diabetes experience frequent urination, become increasingly thirsty and hungry. The following are the major symptoms of diabetes: constant tiredness; unexplained weight loss; excessive thirst; excessive urination; excessive eating; poor wound healing; infections such as yeast infections of the genitals, skin infections and frequent urinary tract infections; altered mental status shown through agitation, unexplained irritability, inattention, extreme lethargy or confusion; and finally, blurred vision (Ferry). If a person experiences these symptoms, he or she should call a health care professional for assistance. There are many factors that contribute to oneâ€℠¢s getting diabetes, which include genetics, lifestyle, and the environment in which a person lives. Family history (genetics) is a factor in the development of diabetes but it alone does not determine the onset of the disease; moreover, some people are born with a predisposition for the disease but that environmental factors are needed to trigger the disease (Chandler). Age is also a factor in determining whether one has diabetes or whether he has the potential to have it and an example of this is in the case of juvenile diabetes which is usually diagnosed during childhood or young adulthood. Obesity is a major risk factor with eighty to ninety percent of all diabetes patients being obese. A high fat diet and extra body fat can make the liver increase the production of glucose. A lack of physical activity in addition to contributing to obesity also increases the risk of developing diabetes because during exercise, the cells in the body take in seven to twenty times more glucose tha n it does at rest. However, while genetics play an important role, an individual still has the responsibility to take very good care of their health to prevent diabetes (Stoppler). She insists that people should watch their weight and exercise more to ensure that the probability of getting the disease especially those with a genetic predisposition to do so, is greatly reduced. Furthermore, diet is also important because it helps with weight loss because there are some foods such as nuts which when consumed in small amounts provide benefits in blood sugar regulation. There are some tests available which can be used to see whether a person is at an increased risk of getting the disease and these should be done frequently to ensure that there is early detection of the disease. Smoking is harmful in many ways because it not only increases the risk of cancer and heart disease, but it also increases the risk of developing diabetes. There are numerous national organizations that conduct re search and provide information and physical referrals for cases of diabetes. A very good example is of this is Diabetes Australia, which is an Australian non–profit organization which works in partnership with diabetes consumer organizations, health professionals, educators, and researchers to minimize the

The Effectness of Nike Brand Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

The Effectness of Nike Brand Marketing - Essay Example From this study it is clear that the Nike brand name and its swoosh logo is perhaps one of the most recognizable throughout the world along with those of Coca-Cola, Disney and Microsoft. Its products are greatly performing and currently, the brand is the market leader of its industry. The most recent market report places Nike comfortably ahead of Adidas, its closest competitor, with a 36 percent global sales as opposed to the latter’s 21.8 percent. Willigan credits much of this success to the fact that Nike is a champion brand builder, with its promotional slogans like â€Å"Bo Knows,† â€Å"Just Do it’† and â€Å"There Is No Finish Line,† -among others distinctive mantras- have moved beyond advertising into popular expression, demonstrating the extent of Nike’s intrusion in many people’s consciousness and how it has evolved.As the paper outlines  Nike’s history demonstrates a development and emergence of a quintessential   company. It was started by Philip Knight in his mother’s bathroom back in 1962 with the name Blue Ribbon Sports. From then until 1971, the â€Å"start-up† company was a fledgling player in the shoe industry. The year after, however, would radically change the fate of the shoe manufacturer. When William Bowerman, then a running coach at the University of Oregon, presented to Knight how a piece of malleable rubber on a waffle iron could actually enhance running performance, Knight took this presentation to heart, and Nike was born.... (MSNBC 2008) Willigan (2009) credits much of this success to the fact that Nike is a champion brand builder, with its promotional slogans like â€Å"Bo Knows,† â€Å"Just Do it’† and â€Å"There Is No Finish Line,† -among others distinctive mantras- have moved beyond advertising into popular expression, demonstrating the extent of Nike’s intrusion in many people’s consciousness and how it has evolved. Background Nike’s history demonstrates a development and emergence of a quintessential company. It was started by Philip Knight in his mother’s bathroom back in 1962 with the name Blue Ribbon Sports. From then until 1971, the â€Å"start-up† company was a fledgling player in the shoe industry. The year after, however, would radically change the fate of the shoe manufacturer. When William Bowerman, then a running coach at the University of Oregon, presented to Knight how a piece of malleable rubber on a waffle iron could actu ally enhance running performance, Knight took this presentation to heart, and Nike was born. Pinxten and Preckler (2006) chronicled this pivotal presentation: By attaching such a cushioning piece of rubber to the sole of the shoes, they would become both lighter in weight and more durable. In twelve years sales rose from $2 million in 1972 to $919 million by 1984. (p13) From the earliest stage of Nike’s history, promotions have been a fundamental part of its operations. This is best represented by the choice of Nike – the name of the Greek winged goddess of victory – as well as the swoosh logo, which, for its part, was designed largely for aesthetic purposes. This was, according to Gereffi and Korzeniewicz (1994), an

How to Write a Briefing Document Essay Example for Free

How to Write a Briefing Document Essay The policy briefs you will write will be aimed at a particular audience, and should represent that audiences perspective and reflect its interests. Content The brief should accomplish the following: †¢ Identify the problem and convince the audience of the importance of addressing it. From their perspective, what is important and what is not important? Highlight what aspects of the status quo are relevant to the problem. This should include a full treatment of any underlying technical issues. Identify a solution. This solution should include some course of action to be taken by your audience. Doing nothing is a sometimes valid course of action. Guidelines †¢ †¢ †¢ Tie the audiences interests to the means and the end. Identify other solutions and point out why the proposed solution is better for the audience (if it is useful or relevant). Discuss your solution’s feasibility and the initial steps that can be taken, as well as obstacles to its implementation. You are encouraged to explore a wide range of solutions. Think about technology (including changing infrastructure or client-side capabilities), government regulations (including direct mandates, incentives or changes in liability), and market tools (including new markets or marketing campaigns to realign incentives). Addressing your audiences needs is as important as solving the larger problem. You should understand what it is they hope to accomplish, and what tradeoffs they would be willing to make. Attributes of a successful briefing memo †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Short: Your audience will not have an attention span for a long document. Succinct: Be brief and clear; avoid empty rhetoric and sweeping generalizations. (Such as this.) Persuasive: You are aiming to convince your audience on the best course of action. Evidence-based: Cite specifics, and use empirical data wherever possible. Accessible: Incorporate critical technical facts and trends without jargon, in a fashion understandable to a non-technical audience. Realistic: Be careful with the assumptions you make. State the important ones.

We Can Never Can Tell Essay Example for Free

We Can Never Can Tell Essay It’s funny how things always turn out different than how we expect or want them to. It becomes funny eventually but for the most part, it’s hard. In some cases, painful at first. I am always caught saying â€Å"we can never can tell†. Sometimes, it’s just my excuse and sometimes, I just like saying it because it sounds nice but there is truth to it. Whoever knows what will happen next? Whatever is â€Å"next† – the next time, next person, next tragedy, next tear, next smile. We can plan, predict, speculate, estimate†¦ but truth is, we really can never can tell. Otherwise, where’s the fun in that?†¦ is what they say. Honestly though, don’t you sometimes wish to know what’s next for you in life? Much more, where are all of these life struggles and adventures leading us to? Where am I going to end up? With who? It’s not like you want to impatiently fast-forward to the end of your life but you just want to know if in the end of all these crisis and drama, everything is going to be alfckingright just like what they always tell you when you’re shitfckin depressed. You just want to know if having to struggle today means having a bright future tomorrow or will it be a recurring struggle, or worse, an endless pit of struggle. It’s not fair nor is it right to question life and its purpose but wouldn’t that be nice? A little bit of assurance would be nice. Lucky are those who have their future stable and planned out perfectly fine even before they were born. Trust fund babies, children or relatives of influential people, political dynasties, celebrity children, children of multimillionaires, even those who were born with beautiful genes, because that actually makes their lives easier (feel free to disagree). ***Please don’t refer or send me a copy of The Purpose Driven Life because somebody already did, thank you. On a semi-irrelevant note (depending on how you comprehend it), I have learned that the lack of choices makes you a better person or to put it more rationally, makes you better at what you do. Giving yourself choices is tempting yourself to easily quit one decision and move on to the other instead of making things work; whereas when you’re stuck with only one, you have no other choice but to move forward, make it last, make it work, therefore you strive to be better. Having choices opens up opportunities for comparison, and comparison never leads to contentment and happiness, from what I know. Having a job while knowing that there are still hundreds of available other jobs will make it hard for you to value and stay in your current job (pardon my confusing sentence). You will always wonder what the others has to offer and how you could be wasting your time doing what you think you don’t deserve, instead of working hard to succeed in it and make things better. Having a girlfriend while knowing that there are still hundreds of available other girls who could be sexier and more attractive than her will make it hard for you to be faithful and contented. Especially when you’re fully aware that you’re a good-looking sonuvabitch who thinks you can have any girl you want. You will always wonder if there is someone or something better for you hence disregarding the notion that you may actually have in your hands the best choice. Am I right or am I right? Choices are fallbacks. It’s easy to quit, to let go, to turn around, to give up, to not try hard, when you know you have a fallback that conveniently catches you anytime, everytime. Contentment is inversely proportional to our number of choices (and I realized that just now). The more choices, the harder for us to be contented†¦ and happy. Feel free to disagree.

The Musculoskeletal Injury Health And Social Care Essay

The Musculoskeletal Injury Health And Social Care Essay Work related musculoskeletal disorders are a group of painful disorders of muscles, tendons, and nerves. Work activities, which are frequent and repetitive, or activities with awkward postures cause their disorders, which may be painful during, work or rest. People working in the IT sector may experience various musculoskeletal disorders. Around the world it has been shown that about 20 million people were experiencing various musculoskeletal discomforts every year. Literatures state there was a strong association between the long working hours and the musculoskeletal discomfort. Various studies has postulated that work related musculoskeletal disorders are very common in sedentary people, but no study has briefed about the prevalence of WRMSD in office workers and the soft ware professionals. The purpose of the study is to find out the prevalence of various msk disorders in software professionals. Descriptive study design, which includes 300 software professionals with not less than 1 year of work experience were selected. A self reported questionnaire was given to all the participants and asked them to fill it up. The data were later analyzed and evaluated for analysis. The study result shows the Low back pain ranks first in the WRMSD and followed by Neck pain. 1. Introduction Work related musculoskeletal injury is an injury that results from a single instantaneous exposure or multiple or prolonged exposure to the work environment leading to death, lost work time, medical treatments, work restriction, or transfer to another job. Work related musculoskeletal disorders are aggravated by work that can affects the upper limb, low back area and the lower limbs. WMSD can be defined as impairments of bodily structures such as muscles, joints, tendons, nerves and bones. The risk of male workers suffering from an MSD is 1.3 times higher than the risk to female workers: 35/100,000 compared to 27/100,000. In terms of (self-reported) work-related MSD complaints, the risk is only slightly higher among male workers (1.07 times higher). The work related musculoskeletal complains increases with age. At the age of 55 yr to 64 years the number of self reported symptoms is 1.7 times higher than the age of 25-34 yrs. Permanent disability and absenteeism is due to various musculoskeletal disorders. Computers are embodiment of modern life and being used in everyday life. IT industry reaches every facet of society. It is a Boom to the world, but long term, uninterrupted computer usage stresses the musculoskeletal system, vision and emotional equilibrium. Sitting in awkward positions or using wrong unfitted chairs in front of the computer for a longer duration may lead to chronic debilities such as stiffness, headache, and back ache. Muscle and tendons become inflamed due to prolonged period of sitting in front of the computers. Soft ware professionals use excessive force to operate key boards, keeping wrist and hand in wrong positions, undesirable work place environment repeated stress to the joints which may lead to various musculoskeletal disorders. Such micro trauma may end up in macro trauma which cause increased sickness, work absenteeism, and decreased job satisfaction. Physical factors, psychological factors and organizational factors as well as individual factors are all thought to affect the workers musculoskeletal health. Musculoskeletal complains in neck and back are very common in computer professionals and shows increasing trends. Prevalence of these musculoskeletal disorders during recent years leads to sickness absenteeism. The symptoms of the work related musculoskeletal injuries include pain, discomfort, tingling and numbness without evidence of any pathology. Human body was designed to adapt various physical stress, but repeated stress in an awkward posture potentially end up with various musculoskeletal disorders. So far there is no literature which extensively found the prevalence of self reported musculoskeletal symptoms; this study aims to find out the prevalence of various musculoskeletal disorders in software professionals. 2. Methodology Study is a descriptive study design, the study includes 300 participants from various IT sectors. The study was carried out for a duration of 6 months from the period May 2008 to October 2008. The study includes the soft ware professionals with the age group of 25-40 years, Both sex were included, IT professionals with at least 2 yrs of work experience. Professionals with msk injuries, work time more than 40 hrs per week, and desk job workers. The study excluded subjects with neurological involvement, any recent fracture, patient with multi joint pain, fibromyalgia like symptoms, professionals with congenital abnormalities, and unwilling subjects. The study uses work analysis for computer professionals questionnaire. The questionnaire was a self reported one which was created by the researchers and the questionnaire was validated by 2 senior physiotherapists and 2 senior ergonomic consultants. The questionnaire includes Demographic data as Section 1 and musculoskeletal injury data in section 2. The survey questionnaire was distributed to every individual subject. 10 subjects per day was selected and given the questionnaire and asked them to fill up. Approximately 25-30 mins were given to fill up the questionnaire. There was a clear explanation about the questionnaire was given to the employers prior to the distribution. The employers queries were cleared up simultaneously and the filled up questionnaire was collected and assigned for analysis. After collecting the questionnaire the employers were thanked for their active participation and advised to take up treatment in the outpatient department. The study was approved by institutional ethical committee. 3. Data analysis Result Percentage analysis was done using the formula. The table I shows the Demographic data Table 1 Age group (years) 25-28 29-31 32-35 36-38 39-40 No of subjects 84 77 62 47 30 Figure 1 Table 2 shows the ratio of male female subjects who participated in the study Table 2 Age group (years) 25-28 29-31 32-35 36-38 39-40 Total Male 45 42 38 32 20 177 Female 39 35 24 15 10 123 Total 84 77 62 47 30 300 Figure 2 Table 3 shows the common areas of musculoskeletal involvement Table 3 Areas Back Neck Shoulder Wrist hand Elbow Knee Others No of subjects involved 105 82 40 30 18 10 15 Figure 3 4. Result and Discussion The demographic representations of the participants are mentioned in table 1. Age group of the participants varies from 25 yrs to 40 yrs and about 30 % from 33-34 yrs, 27% from 25-27 yrs, 20% from 25-27 yrs, and 22.5% from 25-27 yrs. The gender classification was mentioned in table2. The male participants were 177and the female participants were 123. The musculoskeletal analysis was mentioned in table 3. The table shows that Low back pain ranks first of all the musculoskeletal disorders. 35 % of participants complains of back pain where as 27% of participants complains of neck pain. 14 % complains of shoulder disorders, 10% complains of wrist problems, 6% on elbow, 3% on knee, and 5% on others. The musculoskeletal injury was analyzed in percentile values shows that Low back pain shows 66% of male suffered when compared to 34% of females, the most prone age group is 29yrs -38 yrs. Neck pain is common in males with 56% and the females with 44%. The shoulder pain was 60% and 40% in male to female comparison, Wrist pain is equal in both the groups 50% each. Elbow and knee pain were shown about 56% and 60% in males where as 44% and 40% in females. This study identifies that pain related to vertebral column is the most than the peripheral region, the observation by shah et al., 1999, found next to ocular symptoms the musculoskeletal pain symptom are most common. Giri et al., 2010, stated in his study that neck pain ranges 58% in computer professionals next to ocular symptoms. Factors which includes the work procedures, use of equipments and environment that lead to various biomechanical stress on muscles, ligaments, tendons spinal nerves and disc. Multiple causes for musculoskeletal injuries may include Repetitive activity, awkward postures and maintenance of static posture for long duration. Ferreria et al.,1997, identified in a retrospective study that musculoskeletal disorders are the most common in call centre workers. Toomingas et al., 2003, conducted a year assessment for the computer users in other professionals and found that the musculoskeletal complains was more in the professionals. There is an increase in demand of computer workers in the modern office settings and working in the poor posture may lead to various musculoskeletal disorders. Carter 1994 recommended musculoskeletal discomfort are experienced by many VDT operators in telecommunication industry and that may result in chronic disability. NIOSH , 1997 studied the epidemiological view on the work related musculoskeletal disorders and found that various body parts includes neck, shoulder , elbow , back and wrist and hand are commonest area which gets frequently involved in WMSD. The physical or task related risk factors includes repetition of force, posture, vibrations, static posture and temperature are the major causative factor for WMSD. (Mc Cauley Bush 2011). There are various hypothesis describes why the software professionals are more prone to have musculoskeletal injuries. This includes 1) Long duration of sitting in awkward postures. 2) Use of wrong body mechanics during work hours 3) Poor knowledge on working atmosphere (Unaware about the seating, chair design, chair height, monitor positioning ectà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) 4) Life style modification 5) Excessive stress at work 6) Incorrect and inappropriate timing of food consumption 7) Shift work (affects sleep style, sleep cycle). The study was limited only to IT professionals and it includes both shift workers, no interventions were given to the participants. Individual problems was not identified, future studies may promote rehabilitation for the patients with musculoskeletal injuries. Other areas are not in considerations like eye, hearing, tension headache and stress. 5. Conclusion In this study we conclude that the musculoskeletal ailments are very common in software professionals and the most common ailment is Low back pain. Acknowledgement We thank my Chairman Padmashri Dr.G.Bakthavathsalam, Mrs.Vaijayanthi M. das, Director of Education, Mr.R.Prabhukumar, HRD manager, Prof.V.Mohan Gandhi, Chief physiotherapist, and Prof. S. Ramesh,MPT, Principal, K.G.College of Physiotherapy, for their continuous support and guidance for completion of this study, and lastly to all Staffs , Friends, Students of K.G.College of Health sciences for their valuable support for this study.

The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum Essay -- essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Due Date: 8th April 2005 The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum Long Essay Question 2:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Knowing about the writer of a literary text can shape significantly the way that it is read. Consider the effect of the writer’s context on your understanding of The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum. The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum is the product of a political and social genius: it is a comment on Germany and society in general and is, as its author, Heinrich Boll would have it described, â€Å"a pamphlet disguised as a novel† . It was written, not just to entertain, but above all, to criticise the society in which it was produced. It is therefore impossible to fully understand the major ideas and themes of the text, and even, to and extent, the storyline itself without some knowledge of the milieu in which it was composed. Being aware of the context in which The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum was produced intensifies the impact of the major issues which it explores (notably the detrimental effects of power abuse, language abuse, and discrimination on the basis of wealth and social standing) by forcing us to rethink the childish yet widely held belief that a novel is merely a story and inviting us to read the this text not as a fairy tale, but as a excruciatingly honest commentary on humanity and modern social values. Heinrich Boll was born towards the end of the First World War, and lived his childhood in its shadow. During this time he wrote many short stories with the background of economics and social consequences of the war. These reflected his experiences as a witness to Germany’s defeat in World War One – national humiliation, international debt due to the Treaty of Versailles, which also encompassed loss of land and foreign occupation, the political instability of the Weimar Republic, and the almost inevitable collapse of the German economy resulting in hyperinflation, unemployment and later, Great Depression of the 1930s. The shocking social, economic and political conditions in Germany eventually led to the rise of Hitler, Nazi Germany and later, to the Second World War. As a youth, Boll was conscripted into the army of the Third Rei... ...Vintage, London   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Used for quotes and textual support Butler, Michael, (N.D.) The Conscience of a Nation: Heinrich Boll, [online], retrieved April 1, 2005, from www.writing.upenn.edu   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Helpful information on Bolls life and career as a writer Class Notes   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Useful background information on West Germany and Bolls experiences with the police and press  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Corin, Chris, Fiehn, Terry, Communist Russia under Lenin and Stalin (2002), John Murray Publishers Ltd, London Background reading – helpful information on communism and western attitudes towards its rise in Russia Interwar Years – Economic Recovery, Spark Notes Online Study Guide [online], (2001), Retrieved April 3, 2005, from www.sparknotes.com Good brief overview of the years between the two World Wars – background information, useful for’ filling in the gaps’ ‘Germany’ (2003), Encyclopedia Britannica Online Reference Centre [online], Retrieved March 30, 2005 through MLC school intranet. Information on Germany in the past and present – interesting to see the positive comments made regarding freedom of the press

Abnormal Psychology Essay example -- Cultural Differences, Mental Heal

The field of abnormal psychology engages with the obscure line between normal and abnormal behaviour. This blur is as a result of the dissonance that occurs when the two terms are defined for example, when cultural perspectives are taken into consideration-where behaviour (for example sake, experiencing hallucinations) considered deviant in one population is normalcy in another. In attempt to make the field comprehensive a middle ground was determined by drawing on the common elements or patterns of â€Å"peculiar† conditions, and converging them to ascertain this definition of abnormality: behavioural, psychological, or biological dysfunctions that are atypical and unexpected in their cultural context and associated with personal distress and impairment in functioning, or increased risk of suffering, death, or pain (Barlow & Durand, 2012). In brief, this is an applied field, interested in identifying and treating individuals whose symptoms trouble them and in many cases those around them, leading to difficulties in everyday functioning. This essay aims to discuss and apply the knowledge base of abnormal psychology to the plight of Regina; her case offers a template for which to problematize the aforementioned statement about the definition of abnormality, concomitantly determine the factors that have brought about her ailment and, finally, deduce the course of action to take in an attempt to alleviate her symptoms to retain and maintain stability. Keeping in mind the real-life problems faced by Regina, one shall critically interrogate each criterion for abnormal behaviour-psychological dysfunction, personal distress and impairment in functioning that is not typical or culturally expected-and map these on to the surface characterist... ...onships between stressful life events and the onset of major depression. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 837-541. Maj, M. (2008). Delusions in major depressive disorder: Recommendations for the dsm-v. Psychopathology, 41, 1-3. doi:10.1159/00010994 Myers, D. G. (2010). Social psychology (10th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill . Solomon, D. A., Leon, A. C., Endicott, J., Coryell, W. H., Li, C., Fiedorowicz, J. G., & Keller, M. B. (2009). Empirical typology of bipolar I mood episodes. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 195, 525-530. Retrieved March 02, 2012, from http://bjp.rcpsych.org Swartz, L., de la Rey, C., Duncan, N., & Townsend, L. (2008). Psychology: An introduction (2nd ed.). Cape Town, Southern Africa: Oxford University Press.

The Telephone System :: essays research papers

The Telephone System The telephone is one of the most creative and prized inventions in the world. It has advanced from its humble beginnings to its wireless communication technology today and for the future. The inhabitants of the earth have long communicated over a distance, which has been done by shouting from one hilltop or tower to another. The word "telephone" originated from a combination of two Greek words: "tele", meaning far off, and "phone", meaning voice or sound, and became the known term for "far- speaking." A basic telephone usually contains a transmitter, that transfers the caller's voice, and a receiver, that amplifies sound from an incoming call. In the transmitter there are two common kinds of transmitters: the carbon transmitter, and the electret transmitter. The carbon transmitter uses carbon granules between metal plates called, electrodes, with one consisting of a thin diaphragm that moves by pressure from sound waves and transmits them to the carbon granules. These electrodes conduct electricity flowing through the carbon. The sound waves hit the diaphragm causing the electrical resistance of the carbon to vary. The electret transmitter is composed of a thin disk of metal-coated plastic held above a thicker, hollow metal disk. This plastic disk is electrically charged, and creates an electric field. The sound waves from the caller's voice cause the plastic disk to vibrate, changing the distance between the disks, thus changing the intensity of the electric field. These variations are translated into an electric current which travels across the telephone lines. The receiver of a telephone is composed of a flat ring of magnetic material. Underneath this magnetic ring is a coil of wire where the electric current flows. Here, the current and magnetic field from the magnet cause a diaphragm between the two to vibrate, and replicate the sounds that are transformed into electricity. The telephone is also composed of an alerter and a dial. The alerter, usually known as the ringer, alerts a person of a telephone call, created by a special frequency of electricity sent by the telephone number typed in. The dial is the region on the phone where numbers are pushed or dialed. There are two types of dialing systems; the rotary dial, and the Touch-Tone. The rotary dial is a movable circular plate with the numbers one to nine, and zero. The Touch-Tone system uses buttons that are pushed, instead of the rotary that send pulses. The telephone was said to be invented by many people. However, the first to achieve this success, although by accident, was Alexander Graham Bell. He and his associate were planning to conduct an experiment, when Mr.

Effects of Global Warming on Polar Bears Essay

No one is safe from the harsh effects of global warming. But if there is one species which suffers the most, they are the polar bears who can only survive under extremely cold climate. Although their actual population is hard to determine, they are believed to be around 20,000 to 25, 000 found throughout the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas (World Wildlife Organization). Polar bears’ habitat is almost covered by sea ice all year round (Great Bear Organization). The area is said to have a fragile ecosystem, requiring longer time to change and to recover when disrupted or damaged. However, research shows that the Arctic is most likely to be ice free between 2013 and 2040 for the first time in history. The region has been experiencing thinning of the polar ice cap due to warming of temperatures. With the melting of the ice comes the destruction of the life of the species which thrives in the Arctic. Polar bears, seals, including endangered species like walruses and whales, are forced to retreat to environment less suitable for their make up. Further, scientists fear that large amounts of melted ice enter the North Atlantic and disrupt the global current pattern. The melting of the Arctic ice also entails smaller hunting area for polar bears. Seals are their favorite and they cannot track them where the sea is unfrozen. They also eat plants, including berries, roots, and kelp, but none of these can satisfy their calorie requirement. Their body needs large amount of fats from marine animals for they are active year-round. Reduction in Arctic sea ice can lead to 67 percent loss of the entire polar bear population in 50 years (Bear Planet Organization). Though polar bears are exposed to other risks such as pollution, oil and gas exploration, legal and illegal hunting, global warming remains the biggest threat to their survival. They experience malnutrition and starvation due to habitat loss. Melting ice force them to shore before they have acquired enough fat reserves to survive the period of scarce food during the late summer and early fall. Thining ice are surface hard to walk on because they deform more easily which makes it more difficult for them to hunt for food. They also need to swim wider gaps between ice which further used up their energy and sometimes lead to drowning. Malnourished female polar bears result to lower reproductive rates and lower survival rates among cubs and juvenilles (Rosing, 2006). Thining ice make it hard for adult females to find mates. And when they do find one, the hard quest starts for a suitable maternity dens. Underground dens have tendencies to collapse or have low insulative power to provide heat for newly born cubs. Dens built on multi-year ice may experience movement that may result in longer distances for mothers and young cubs to walk when they return to seal-hunting areas. There is also a risk of disease-causing bacteria and parasites to flourish more readily in a warmer climate. In Western Huson Bay, ice breaks up earlier than it did 30 years ago during late spring season which shortens the hunting season for polar nears (National Wildlife Organization). Their population declined by 22 percent from 1987 to 2004 and their body condition is much different, weighing 60kg lighter in 2004 than in 1980 when likely pregnant female polar bears weigh around 290kg. In 2005, Alaska recorded four drowned polar bears who made longer swim than they normally do when hunting for food. Alaska also documented higher mortality rates among polar bear cubs and different denning sites for pregnant polar bears. Photos and videos of polar bears’ struggle are everywhere. In 2008, US Department of the Interior listed Polar Bears as threatened species under the Endangered Species Act and melting of the sea ice in the Arctic as the biggest danger to their survival (The Humane Society of the United States). They are the only species aside from elkhorn coral and staghorn coral to be put on the said list. However, the decision was reversed following the commercial and scientific data that they are increasing in numbers in the past 30 years. As it currently stands, the US Fish and Wildlife Service consider polar bears as threatened species meaning anytime their habitat will vanish and their status will change to endangered before they ultimately become extinct. In Canada, polar bears were recommended by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada to be placed under the list of â€Å"species of special concern†. This list allows for a management plan to be written in five years, which was criticized by World Wide Fund for Nature as being too long to make a substantive impact to habitat loss from climate change. Since their current status is threatened species, it is not too late for efforts toward saving their habitat from further degradation (Bear Planet Organization). The simplest but the best way to mitigate the effects of global warming is to stop carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Recycle and reuse products and use energy efficient appliances to cut back CO2 in the atmosphere. Polar bears deserve a chance. Works Cited Bear Planet Organization. Polar Bears and Global Warming. July 8, 2009. . Great Bear Organization. Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus). July 7, 2009. . The Humane Society of the United States. Polar Bears. July 8, 2009. . National Wildlife Organization. Polar Bear. July 8, 2009. . Rosing, Norbert. The World of the Polar Bear. NY: Firefly Books, Ltd, 2006. World Wildlife Organization. WWF: A Leader in Polar Bear Conservation. July 7, 2009. .

“Let’s Talk About Sex” Documentary Essay

James Houston put together the documentary â€Å"Let’s Talk About Sex† that highlights the differences between American’s approach to sex education and that of other countries like the Netherlands. The stereotypes, controversy, and irony all related to sex is put out in the open and discussed. Throughout the film, it is obvious that America’s ways of sex education and attitude towards sex has created a negative connotation. The Europeans have a much more open approach when it comes to the discussion of sex and started sex education at an early age. American’s, on the other hand, have a very closed approach to sex discussion and save sex education for later ages. This negative connotation and approach to education has resulted in the States having much higher rates of teen pregnancy, teen birth, and sexually transmitted infections when compared to European countries. One could say that it’s time the United States changes its approach and opinions regarding sex, sexuality, and the education behind it. Throughout the movie, there was a commonality between those who held a biased opinion on the topic of sex. Those who believed abstinence should be enforced and were against an open discussion of sexual relations were often times from the older generation. It’s the parents of teens, most teachers of sex education, and even people within the churches that held a bias. They believed that teens should not be involved in sexual activities and that it should be saved for marriage. Along with that, they stood behind the idea that the teens should not be educated about sex until later in high school and the open discussion of sex and sexuality was not proper. Kelsey’s mother was one of these biased people. She was strongly against the idea of Kelsey taking part in sexual activities until she got married and did make it easy for Kelsey to openly communicate with her about her sexual relations. For those teens that do take part in sexual activities, they are looked down upon in the greater portion of American culture because of the negative connotations that have been established here in the United States. With these biases, it has put sex into a negative category not just for the minority, being the teens, but most Americans in general. In America, sex is not something people openly talk about nor is it something that teens are â€Å"suppose† to take part in. The idea of teens taking part in sexual relations prior to marriage is greatly frowned upon and the stigma of carrying a condom has scared them away from it. An example of this, which was shared in the movie, is that in the Netherlands, carrying a condom starting in their teens is very common and encouraged. Where as in the states, if a teen were to be caught with a condom, others would view that as a sign of someone who is very promiscuous. In the movie, females thought males who carried condoms wanted nothing but sex from a girl while males thought that women who carried condoms were easy and considered sluts. This negative impact in the States has generated these stereotypes surrounding sex. The effects of these stereotypes have negative outcomes. For example, if a guy is afraid to carry a condom because of the stereotype and when it comes time for him to take part in sexual activities, he won’t be properly prepared. Without the protection, he is at risk for STIs and possibility of pregnancy in girls. This is also true vice versa with girls; they too should carry condoms, but are afraid due to the negative association. There is also a negative idea behind the discussion of sex in an open setting. Most parents in the US are afraid to talk about sex with their teens sharing both their sexual lives and discussing their teens. Because the parents are not open to it, the teens are afraid to approach their parents with sex related questions or tell them they have taken part in sexual activities. Because of this, many teens go with out proper instruction and correct information in regards to sexual activities. Where as if the parents were more open and accepting of the idea of their teens taking part in sexual activities, it would open an avenue for better knowledge and maybe even help prevent STIs, pregnancies, and other sex related issues. The minority group in â€Å"Let’s Talk About Sex† stood as US teens. These teens faced the discrimination of elder groups and negative stereotypes, but throughout the course of the movie, it showed how things are slowly changing. Several people who are often viewed as community leaders are working to properly educate teens. An example was reverend Williams, who created an open area to discuss sex related things and offer proper education. Some teachers also voiced their opinion on how they believe sex ed. should be more about sexual relations and not about human anatomy. They also believe the education should begin at younger ages when kids are going through puberty and developing sexually developing. This is one way these teens are getting the upper hand on discrimination. Another is that opening the idea of family discussions about sex and the idea of teens being involved in sexual relations. Breaking the assumption that abstinence is the only answer and opening the door to discussion, using the Netherlands as an example. By the end of the movie, Kelsey, whose mother originally frowned upon sex before marriage, was able to change her mothers mind and even talk about her sexual relations. These are just a couple of the ways the teens slowly made change, there is still a lot more to be talked about and changed. When reflecting back, I too can relate to the US teens in the documentary. I have noticed the closed door in terms of the discussion of sex and human sexuality as well as the stigmas associated with teens’ involvement in sexual activities. I do believe there is something to be said about the Netherlands approach to human sexuality and sex, especially when looking at the number of teen pregnancies and transmission of STIs compared to the much larger number in the US. We, as the United States, could benefit from a change in the atmosphere surrounding teen sex, and sex in general. Sex is a natural thing.

Pay for Time Not Worked

The average hourly rated full-time employee makes about $33,000 a year in year. Which broken down to all the time given off, only actually earns about $26,000. As for the employees which are paid through set salaries, the average Individual makes about $40,000 In which only about $33,000 Is worked productively. As we can see, we are losing out about $7,000 per employee, hourly or not. All the given non-productive is the same for all employees across the board. As you can see, this issue needs to be addressed and hence my recommendations. We have 60 employees in our corporate office.On average, we lose out on about $420,000. 00 a year. We can definitely cut back on some of these non-productive hours and start making them profitable. All employees get 10 days vacation, we can change our probation period from 90 to 120 days, and employees are not allowed to take any time off until they have successfully surpassed 6 months. Furthermore, depending on your start date with the company, we c an prorate the amount of vacation time allowed. If you commence In the months of November or December, vacation does not apply being that we go by the calendar year.In regards to holidays, we can exclude from having he day after Thanksgiving off, this would save us about $9500. 00 for this one day alone and it would increase our productivity during the holiday season which can be very beneficial in our case being that property management companies always have tenants calling into the office right before a major holiday. Moreover, company policy states that there should be 10 days of training for every department. Nevertheless, the training period of 10 days does not need to apply to everyone. I believe that some procedures can be learned in one week as opposed to two.Training policies should be adjusted depending on department and position. Anyone who Is eager to learn can do it in the allotted time and If this is not the case, other individuals need to be seeded especially If the p osition Is not entry level. Lastly, another aspect of â€Å"non-productive time† which can be reduced Is the minutes on the coffee break. There are currently two dally coffee breaks which are 15 minutes each. We can reduce them to 10 minutes or 5 minutes each and the caffeine addicts would nave no Dados to complain . We would a Know Tanat people are at tenet ease longer Duty enjoying their coffee at the same time.In conclusion, non-productive time can be educed in a manner that will benefit the company but no upset the employees at the same time. The economy right now is a tough one and no one wants to be out of a Job or get their hours cut back because we all have bills to pay every month. The proposed changes are both realistic and possible. It is Just a matter of presenting it to the employees in a manner in which they understand is needed for the company and beneficial. We can always make comparisons with other companies who have it worse than we do and this would help th em see that less non-productive time is better than no non-productive time.

Graphing a Wave Essay

Name: A vibration is a wiggle in time; a wave is a wiggle in space and time. In this exercise, you will explore that connection by transferring the motion of the second hand of a clock (a vibration, even if a slow one), to a wave. Print out the image of a clock and open the spreadsheet called Grapher. You will find both of them in the same item where you found these instructions. Use a metric ruler to measure the displacement of the tip of the second hand every five seconds. That’s the distance above or below the center line that connects the 3 and the 9. Count the number as positive if the tip is above the line (towards the 12) and negative if below (towards the six). Enter each value in the tinted boxes in the Grapher tool and it will immediately plot them for you. Then answer the questions based on your graph. 1) What is the period of this wave, that is, the time for one complete cycle, in seconds? The period of the wave is .02 seconds 2) What is the amplitude of the wave? The amplitude is .01 3) If we had started from some other initial position – say, when the second hand was on the 3 – would the period still be the same? no yes X 4) Again, if we had started when the second hand was on the 3, would the amplitude still be the same? no yes X 5) So – again, if we had started when the second hand was on the 3, what would be different? Though we are starting from a later point, the period would still be the same distance, and amplitude is reliant on the period so if the period is the same then so is the amplitude. Simply the seconds from which we start measuring would be one notch behind, so the arch of each wave would be 5 seconds earlier. 6) Using the period from question 1, find the frequency of the wave. That frequency is of course way too low for us to hear. Please round you answer to three digits, not counting the starting zero; that is, round it to four decimal places total. The frequency is .0125 Hz 7) If you had used the same picture of the same clock but had graphed the minute hand instead, what would change about the graph? Nothing would change at all. The frequency would change. The amplitude would change. X 8) If you had plotted the motion of the second hand on your watch instead of the clock that you printed out, what would change about the graph? Nothing would change at all. The frequency would change. X The amplitude would change. 9) Since you are plotting displacement on the y-axis and time on the x-axis, this is an example of a _____ graph. Snapshot X frog-on-a-post 10) Are you old enough to remember the 90’s television series Home Improvement, starring Tim Allen? He was always saying â€Å"more power† and blowing up one electric tool or appliance after another by trying to make it  work faster. Suppose that he was able to make a clock run so fast that the second hand made one full lap in only one-tenth of a second (0.10 s), and suppose that it tapped a water surface each time it reached the bottom of its motion. If the waves it produced were 4.0 cm apart, at what speed (in cm/s) would they travel? The Waves would travel 40cm/s

Leadership and Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Leadership and Change - Essay Example Although there is no universal definition of the structural behavioral interviews, these can be employed to produce strong outcomes that are similar to proven techniques such as, assessment centers and ability tests. The structural interviews can be conducted in phases, involving peer discussions and telephonic interview. The third phase or reference checking is necessary for quality purposes. Leadership is referred to the process of initiating, enabling, developing, implementing and maintaining change with the management structure of an organization, group or team. In a continuously evolving environment, the role of leaders is critical for managing and maintaining organizational performance. According to the Path Goal theory, effectiveness of a leader is greatly dependent on the circumstances wherein an individual works and the leaders tend to adopt various strategies to find the best solution so as to cope with the situation (House, 1996). Leaders exhibit different managerial styles to induce change management in an organization in order to keep pace with the radical changes occurring in the external environment. However, this fact does not explain that effective leadership is driven by subjective preferences. Along with the Path goal theory, the situational aspect of leadership is supported by Fiedler’s contingency model. The contingency model states that rigorousness in the relationship between leadership style and effectiveness can be reduced by increasing the ability of leaders to control a particular situation. The contingency model has proposed three components that influence situational favorability, namely leader-member relationship, task structure and power of the leader (Offermann, Kennedy & Wirtz, 1994). In context of the current paper, the organization in subject is Procter & Gamble, where questions regarding employee satisfaction and retention

Research paper about Gasoline crises Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

About Gasoline crises - Research Paper Example Oil is essential for all the vehicles irrespective whether it is moving on air, water or land. Though many alternative solutions have been suggested as fuel instead of oil for vehicles like solar energy, electrical energy etc, nothing evolved as a permanent and convenient option yet. The exhausting of current oil sources has created major crises in the current world as many experts believe that the available oil resources may last for maximum 30 to 40 more years considering the nature of consumption at present. This paper briefly explains gasoline crises based on the oil price variations and its impact on global economy. Oil is an essential commodity for the world’s economy. It is impossible for us to think about our body without blood. Same way oil is the blood of world economy. Any problems in occurred in this blood (oil) can cause severe damages to the body (economy). Oil is an essential commodity required everywhere, but unfortunately the oil resources are confined to some areas or regions only which made oil trade an essential economic activity in the current world. Major oil producing countries have monopolized the world market and they have varied the prices of oil as per the supply and demand theory. Around three years before the oil prices has reached an all time high of around $ 150 per barrel whereas it has come down to as low as around $ 30 per barrel recently because of global financial crisis and low demand of oil products. America is one of the topmost oil consumers in the world because of the huge amount of automobile vehicles used for different purposes in this country. Irrespective of developed, developing or underdeveloped, all the countries need oil and the oil trade has started between countries as early as the oil and automobiles were discovered. One of the rapidly growing economies in the world Brazil has reportedly engaged in a, bilateral trade of US$ 8.192 billion in 2004 with the Arab countries. (BRAZIL:

Team Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Team Communication - Essay Example Thus, members must be able to use both written and verbal communication patterns to their full advantages. The same communication media could likewise be utilized for offshore teams. Aside from those that were mentioned, team members across different countries should frequently correspond through mobile phones, sending relevant documents through facsimile, Skype, video conferencing, or other more advanced technological applications. Whatever technological advances in communication resources that are similarly available in both countries could assist in enhancing the communication process. However, there are challenges in addressing barriers of communication across offshore teams in terms of language and cultural barriers. Thus, aside from ensuring that members of offshore teams share similar understanding of the universal language, English, for instance; both parties must have some knowledge on addressing cultural disparities, especially with regards to business practices. As aptly recommended by All (2011), â€Å"team members with limited proficiency may be more comfortable communicating in writing, as they can make use of online translation services† (p. 1). Likewise, the members of offshore teams must be able to respect local times in their respective time zones and should expect correspondences to be answered in the earlist possible and accessible time frame. All, A. (2011, April 21). More Tips on Communicating with Offshore Teams. Retrieved from IT Business Edge:

Remedies to Reduce Causes of Unproductive Conflict Essay

Remedies to Reduce Causes of Unproductive Conflict - Essay Example This essay stresses that  the manager of the store, Janice, never delegates responsibilities, and does not communicate policies from the corporate headquarters. There is also an unfair distribution of merit bonuses, which reflects discrimination at the workplace. This indicates poor communication, poor delegation of responsibilities, and unfairness at the workplace which cause high level of conflict at the workplace.  According to the report findings  to reduce the causes of conflict, it is important to delegate responsibilities effectively and given junior managers an opportunity to participate in decision making. This can be achieved by providing supportive infrastructure and power structure. In terms of supportive infrastructure, the company should encourage good budgeting approach, confidentiality, value alignment, top management support, and effective feedback mechanism. The power structure should also be improved to include delegated power, disbursed decision making, and collaborative task performance.  The problem experienced at Main Street Bakeries, store seventy-five is that the top management is not supportive. Janice fails to provide fair bonuses and support at the workplace. The changes made are not communicated, and employees fail to understand the need for such changes.  Supportive infrastructure should be developed to resolve this problem. The upper management should develop values and virtues that guide responsibilities in every organizational level.

FDI attraction in Chile Affected by the Country's Socio-Economical Essay

FDI attraction in Chile Affected by the Country's Socio-Economical Inequality - Essay Example In 2006, the nominal GDP per capita of Chile was recorded as the highest in Latin America. The country however is undergoing a lot of economic inequality (Trading Economics, 2013b). The socio economic inequality is the gap between the rich and the poor. The income difference of a group of individuals, society or the residents of a country is called the socio economic inequality. The economic inequality varies by the economic structures of the countries (Mankiw, 2009). According to several economists the inequality of the distribution of wealth is very essential. This improves competition and increases the efficiency of the individuals. The wealthier individuals tend to save more and spend more which helps the economy in growing. Inequality amongst the individual also increase the social and health related problems of the individuals. The economic growth of a society is also affected (Froyen, 2009) The social inequality has a direct impact on the social cohesion of the individuals, th e population’s productivity and crime rate of the society, cultural and civic participation and economic welfare as a whole (Wessels, 2000). The analysts such as Martinez (2011) are of the view that high growth rate is no excuse for the economic inequality. According to a recent report about three million Chileans are very poor. About 500,000 of the people of the Chilean population are those who are extremely poor. The economic model of Chile and the progressive growth which the economy has shown with time is sufficiently appraisable but still the growing inequality in Chile has caught attention of various economic analysts. Chile is categorised amongst a few countries which have a worst income distribution system. The percentage of the poor population is very high in the economy (OCED, 2002a). According to OECD (2002b), Chile is a nation of population of more than 17 million people. It comes under the category of developed countries and has the worst income distribution syst em amongst those countries. Several economists are of the view that the economic system of Chile would not improve by the economic growth. To improve the economy’s income distribution the government would have to take decisions to redistribute the wealth of the individuals by placing higher taxes. Another economist was of the view that Chile must focus on economic growth and nothing else. The increase in the level of the per capita income of the individuals will surely increase the well being of the individuals. The person who is a resident of Chile and lives on less than $64,134 pesos (US$135) per month is considered to be poor. But a person who lives on less than $32,067 pesos (US$67) monthly is considered to be destitute, according to the official data (Martinez, 2011). A few of the economists are of the view that creating opportunities is a part of the economic growth. Those who are utilising that opportunity are competent. For the incompetency of the rest of the individu als it is unfair to impose taxes and burden those individuals who prove themselves and are the contributing factors fro the economy. ETHICAL FAMILY INCOME TO IMPROVE SOCIETY Felipe Kast, minister of planning for Chile called the ranking by the OECD (2002b) report â€Å"shameful for its levels of inequality.† He added that Chile has plans set in line to take the people out from extreme poverty. The government plans a program of IEF – Ethical Family Income which will use a series of bonds and cash incentives for the children

Paperless office database - Topic title Coursework

Paperless office database - Topic title - Coursework Example There is also need to reach out to the global market (Digital IEEE Software House Advertisement, 2013).Previously, it was easier due to the geographical region had to cover as compared to currently when there are no boundaries globally, and you want to reach out to them. The way to collect information about the advertisement company is to do document review of journals, books, and articles. The step is very vital because there are many people out there who have carried out research on the topic, and it is necessary to consider their opinions. Further, there would be an interview with experts in the field to get first-hand information on their experiences and trending ways of advertisements (Reeves, 2014). In addition, questionnaires will also be used to reach out to experts who are willing to help but are far thus it is not possible to interview them. There are a lot of data challenges in advertisement companies. First, there is a lot of incoming data from consumers. These data needs to be analyzed, and patterns drawn from it to make projections. The results are important in making decisions in the company. The company also needs to get real-time retrieval of information concerning their customers. It is a significant challenge with traditional means to achieve this. Thus, a relational database management system is required. Handling of varied formats of data is also inevitable (Digital Magazines House Advertisement, 2014). A database system offers a lot of flexibility in storing a lot of data with different formats. They can also handle a lot of data at the same time as compared to any traditional means. Databases further encourage validation of data, segmentation of consumers and proper organization of data in the media industry. The system wishes to achieve a number of milestones. First, is to omit manual handling of data using files and cabins by digitizing content.

Questionnaire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Questionnaire - Essay Example All fully engaged employees have a deep rooted bond with the organization and they develop feelings of loyalty, control, trust and empowerment at work. Such personnel are able to identify vital business opportunities required for growth and have the willpower of committing value added personal and emotional energies mandatory for excelling in the professional life (Sanders, 2012). For the organization, employee engagement is a crucial element as it enhances its efficiency which increases the customer satisfaction, lowers the employee turnover and boosts the productivity rate (ADP Research Institute, 2012). The questionnaire is designed to get your viewpoint about the organization’s working conditions. You are required to give honest, true and fair opinion about the following statements. In front of each statement, select the box which is an indication of your opinion related to the statement. The main purpose of all of these questions is to get an insight about the employee’s feeling about the work and value within the organization. With the help of this questionnaire, the company will be able to determine the effectiveness of employee engagement within the business and monitor the results over a period of time. ADP Research Institute. (2012). Employee satisfaction vs. Employee engagement: Are they the same thing? Retrieved February 24, 2014 from

Nursing Research websites Part 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nursing Research websites Part 2 - Essay Example gs, 4) collating all evidences and formulating recommendation, 5) putting recommendation into practice, and 6) determining the effects of the application (Oncology Nursing Society). Evidence-based medicine (EBM) and evidence-based nursing (EBN) are subsets of evidence-based practice (EBP). They both need the skill to sift among the very vast information available, and pick out which ones are important for the situation at hand. Both of them aim to alleviate the condition of the patient by planning work-up by integrating findings from appropriate studies and health professional’s expertise and patient wishes. In fact, based on the steps in EBM provided by Donald (2002) and comparing them with the steps of EBN described above, they seem to be very similar. Despite the similarities of EBM and EBN, there are differences as well. First, since physicians are primarily tasked to plan and to provide treatment and therapy to their patients, EBM mostly deals with the biomedical aspect of healthcare. For example, doctors might try to find evidence of the effectiveness of a treatment option on certain subpopulations (Donald, 2002), probably having the same demographics as the patient in hand. In effect, EBM becomes much more crucial since doctor’s decisions are more likely a matter of life and death for the patient. It allows individualization of therapy, resulting to less adverse risks and more positive outcomes during recovery. On the other hand, nurses are most likely expected to enact some of the instructions of the doctors, and to provide what McSherry described as a holistic biopsychosocial care to the patients. Distribution of meals, ensuring medicine intake, monitoring vital signs, and probably providing an environment conducive for the recovery of patients are just some of the nurses’ roles. Thus, although important, their decisions may not be as crucial as that of the doctors’, who determine what kind of foods are allowed to the patient, and what

The Role of Geology in Influencing Water Chemistry Essay Example for Free

The Role of Geology in Influencing Water Chemistry Essay Water is and remains one of the important wants of the people, animals and the nature at large. Without water, they would be no life. Water is an unusual compound which has unique physical properties, and this makes it the compound of life, yet it’s the most abundant compound in the earth’s biosphere. The chemistry of  water  deals with the fundamental chemical property and information about water. Water chemistry can elaborate in terms of the following subtitles: composition of water, Structure, and bonding, Molecular Vibration, as well as geological composition and properties of water among many other aspects of water chemistry (Krauskopf and Bird, 1994). Geology  is often responsible for how much water  filters below the zone of saturation, making the water table easy to measure. Light,  porous  rocks can hold more water than heavy,  dense  rocks. An area underlain with  pumice, a very light and porous rock, is more likely to hold a fuller aquifer and provide a clearer measurement for a water table. The water table of an area underlain with hard  granite  or  marble may be much more difficult to  assess (Krauskopf and Bird, 1994). Hypothesis: surficial geology controls the chemistry of surface waters Introduction Water quality has become one of the essential aspects in life, and it’s defined in terms of the chemical, biological and physical composition of the geological factor. The water quality of rivers, lakes and many other water source changes from one geographical location to another. This is due to difference in the geological composition of the places, i.e., the rocks beneath the earths surface are different and in turn different quality in water quality. However, various factors influence water chemistry in the world (Drever, 1982). One of such vital elements is ‘geology’. This is the science deals with the dynamics and physical history of the earths’, the rock that makes the earths crust, and the physical, chemical, and biological changes that the earth undergoes or has undergone. In other words, geology is the science entails the study of rock-solid Earth, the  rocks  of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change. This branch of scien ce is one of vital and major contributing factor in the water chemistry. In order to understand the impact of geology on the water chemistry, this paper will look into the ground water (Drever, 1982). Clear understanding of the nature of the bedrock layers of the region is essential as geology is in determining the quality and quantity of ground water that can be obtained from the underground at any given location. For example, in some parts of the earth, the bedrock consists of sedimentary layers of rocks that have profuse pore spaces between mineral grains. The rock layers can form creatively wide aquifers, or conduits for groundwater movement, that are of predictable depths, and from which apparently indefinite quantities of high-quality groundwater can be obtained. In such areas, groundwater is the clear way out for public water needs (Frape et al, 1984). Bedrock geology helps in determining the distribution and density of underground water-bearing fissures, as well as the nature  of the soils that are obtained from the rock weathering. Different types of rocks contain more or less fractures that may or may not be interconnected with each other. The degree of interconnection among fractures, and their overall ability to move water, has a great deal to do with how productive a water well will be that intersects the fractures. Different rocks also make different soils when they weather, and the type of soil influences its ability to absorb rainwater that falls on the surface, and transmit the water to bedrock fractures beneath (Cooke et al, 2012). The composition of the underground water as well as the surface water is dependent on natural factors, (geological, topographical, meteorological, hydrological, and biological) in the drainage basin and varies with seasonal differences in runoff volumes, weather conditions, and water levels. The quality is, however, affected by both natural and human influences. The most vital or importance of the natural influences is geological, hydrological and climatic, since this affects both quality and quantity of the water available. Underground water is held in the pore space of sediments such as sands or gravels or in the fissures of fractured rock such as crystalline rock and limestone. The rocky body containing the water is termed an aquifer and the upper water level in the saturated body is termed the water table. Typically, groundwater’s have a steady flow pattern. Velocity is governed mainly by the porosity and permeability of the material through which the water flows, and is often up to several orders of magnitude less than that of surface water, as a result mixing is poor (Cooke et al, 2012). The rock or sediment in an aquifer is denoted by the permeability and porosity, whereby permeability is the measure of the ease with which fluids passes through the rocks. On the other hand, porosity is the ratio of pores and fissure volume to the total volume of the rock. The chemical composition of the rocks greatly influences the chemical composition of water. The different types of aquifers explain this difference in water chemistry all over the places (John, 1990). Underground formations are three types, hard crystalline rocks, and consolidated sedimentary and unconsolidated sediments. The example of hard crystalline rocks includes granites, gneisses, quartzite’s, schist’s, and a few rocks from volcanic rocks. These rocks have little or no porosity but it is further enhanced by weathering. For example, ground water in volcanic formations in regions of recent volcanic activity is mostly inhibited with fluoride, and boron elements, which makes it unsuitable uses. Chemical properties of the bedrock greatly influence the chemical properties and water chemistry. For example, water acidity is highly determined by the drift of the bedrock geology. The following example examines the influence of bedrock and soils on water acidity. When the bedrock constitutes of carbonates, the solution of the minerals assimilates H+ ions and hence acidifying water as water percolates through the rocks. CaCO3 + H+ = Ca2+ +HCO3 this results to acidified wa ter (John, 1990). Effect of Total Dissolved Solids in Groundwater A body of saturated rocks through where water can easily move is known as an aquifer. Aquifers contain rocks such as sandstone, conglomerate, fractured limestone and unconsolidated sand and gravel which are both permeable and porous. In addition, fractured volcanic rocks, i.e. columnar basalts also make good aquifers (John, 1990). Underground water tastes dissimilar from one place to the other or else at different times of the year for several reasons. In exploring those reasons, the paper looks first consider why water from one well might be different from another well, even one that is close by. What dictates groundwater taste is the quantity and type of dissolved minerals in it. In other words, this isn’t pure water as pure water has no dissolved minerals and hence does not occur naturally. The amount and type of minerals that are dissolved in water is what gives waters their initial taste. There are different factors that control the dissolved minerals in the ground water. (I) The type of minerals, making up the aquifer, (II) the chemical state of the ground water, (III), the duration or length of time which water makes contact with the minerals and the rocks (Frape et al, 1984). As the rain water passes through different types aquifers, it results in a different chemical composition of water. Almost all groundwater comes from precipitation that soaks into the soil and passes down to the aquifers. Within the aquifer, the groundwater moves not as an underground stream, but rather seeping between and around individual soil and rock particles. Rainwater has a slightly acidic pH; therefore it tends to dissolve solid minerals in the soil and in the aquifers. Sandstone, limestone and basalt all have different minerals. Therefore it is rational to expect groundwater in contact with these different geologic materials to have different chemical compositions {factor (1) above} and therefore different tastes. In addition, the length the groundwater is in contact with the minerals, the greater the extent of its reaction with those minerals and the higher will be the content of dissolved minerals (John, 1990). The table below can be used to illustrate the effect of mineral in water hence determining water chemistry. The table illustrates typical natural water compositions, from rainwater to seawater, groundwater in different aquifers, to groundwater that has been in contact with the aquifer for different periods of time. Table 1.0 A B C D E F G H Ca 0.7 0.65 240 399 145 6.6 3.10 4530 Mg 1.1 0.14 7200 1340 54 1.1 0.7 162 Na 9.5 0.56 83500 10400 ~27 ~37 3.02 2730 K 0.11 4060 370 ~2 ~3 1.08 32.0 Bicarbonate 4 250 27 620 75 20 56 Sulfate 7.5 2.2 16400 186 60 15 1.0 1.0 Chloride 17 0.57 140000 19020 52 17 0.5 12600 Silica 0.3 48 3 21 103 16.4 8.5 TDS 38 4.7 254000 35000 665 221 35 20330 PH 5.4 7.5 6.6 6.2 6.5 Table 1; key Examples of the composition of natural water from a variety of locations and environments (all concentrations given in milligrams/liter). TDS = total dissolved solids. A dash (-) indicates that the component was not detected or the water was not analyzed for this constituent. A tilde (~) indicates that the analysis is approximate only (John, 1990). Key to the Analyses: (A) Rainwater from Menlo Park, California; (B) Average rainwater from sites in North Carolina and Virginia; (C) Great Salt Lake, Utah; (D) Average seawater; (E) Groundwater from limestone of the Supai Formation, Grand Canyon; (F) Groundwater from volcanic rocks, New Mexico; (G) Groundwater from a spring, Sierra Nevada Mountains: short residence time; (H) Groundwater from metamorphic rocks in Canada: long-residence time. Chemical State of Ground Water A large amount of the seasonal and natural water quality disparities we observe are the result of small but considerable alterations in the chemical state of groundwater. The chemical state of groundwater is generally defined in terms of parameters such as, the temperature, oxidation-reduction potential, and PH. These three factors are greatly influenced by chemical reactions between the aquifer materials and the ground water, hence changing the water chemistry in the common water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, etc. the chemical composition of the aquifer greatly controls the physical properties of water such as color, hardness, taste, odor and appearance (John, 1990). Table 1.1 Water Characteristics and Its Causes (John, 1990) Characteristics or Symptoms Cause(s) Hardness: Low suds production with soap, mineral scale developed in water heater and plumbing High concentrations of calcium and magnesium Color: Water has a color other than clear Red/Brown: iron Black: manganese or organic matter Yellow: dissolved organic matter such as tannins Taste: Metallic or mineral taste Metallic: dissolved metals such as iron and manganese Mineral taste: high concentration of common minerals such as sodium, Chloride, sulfate, calcium, etc. Odor: Musty or rotten egg smell Musty: algae or bacterial growth pipes or well Rotten egg: hydrogen sulfide Appearance: cloudy with or without color Suspended mineral matter or microorganisms Control the chemical composition of groundwater. For example, the total dissolved solids (TDS) in groundwater, largely derived from aquifer minerals that dissolve in groundwater, will change significantly as a function of temperature and PH. Temperature. At any given temperature, there is a specific concentration of a dissolved mineral constituent in the groundwater that is in contact with that mineral. The actual concentration is temperature dependent, e.g., at higher temperatures, groundwater can dissolve more of the mineral. Even changes in groundwater temperature of only 5 to 10 C can cause detectable changes in TDS (John, 1990). The Natural pH of Groundwater, The pH is a determination of the acidity of groundwater: the lower the pH value, the more acidic the water is and vice versa (a measure of the hydrogen ion (H+) availability). At a pH of 7, water is said to be neutral. Natural rainwater is slightly acidic because it combines with carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, forming carbonic acid (H2CO3) according to the reaction (1) H2O + CO2 = H2CO3. Some of the carbonic acid in the rainwater disassociates or breaks down according to the reaction (2), H2CO3 = HCO- + H+ producing bicarbonate (HCO-) and H+. This in turn reduces the PH of the rain water. In addition, the acidic water that is formed is able to dissolve more of the minerals in the aquifers hence greatly contributing to the change of water chemistry. The more amount of CO2 in the atmosphere the more acidic the water becomes (Verdonschot, 2013). Composition of the Earth’s Crust, The relative abundance of elements in the crustal material of the Earth has been a subject of much interest to chemists for many years. Although the subject of natural-water chemistry is only indirectly concerned with these averages, a knowledge of rock composition is essential to understanding the chemical composition of natural water, and it is therefore desirable to discuss the subject briefly. The Earth is generally considered to be made up of an iron-rich core surrounded by a thick mantle made up of magnesium- and iron-rich silicates and a thin outer crust made up of rather extensively reworked silicates and other minerals. Reversible and Irreversible Reactions in Water Chemistry, Many kinds of chemical reactions can be important in establishing and maintaining the composition of natural water. Concepts that are appropriate for evaluating these processes differ somewhat depending on the nature of the reactions involved. Therefore, some at tention needs to be given to reaction types here, although this cannot be a rigorous classification scheme (Verdonschot, 2013). Different types of rocks and the impact to the water chemistry There are three major types or classes of rocks, namely, sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic. The three are different from each other as they also have varying differences in terms of impact to the water chemistry. To start with, sedimentary rocks are rocks formed from particles of pebbles, shells, sand and other fragments. The different particles are brought together and hence called sediment, whereby they accumulate for a long time and in layers over a long time forming a rock (Verdonschot, 2013). Generally, sedimentary rocks are fairly soft and may in turn break or crumble easily. You can often see sand, pebbles, or stones in the rock and it are usually the only type that contains fossils. Examples of this rock type include conglomerate and limestone among many other rocks. These rocks contain a lot of minerals much of which are soluble in water. As the rain water passes through the rocks, the minerals are absorbed and in turn contributing to the changing or different water chemi stry from one region to the other. For example, carbonate-cemented sandstone that is composed largely of silica in the form of quartz might yield water containing mostly calcium and bicarbonate ions (Geology.com, 2014). One type of rocks under the class sedimentary is the chemical sedimentary rocks. This is formed when minerals dissolved in the water starts to precipitate forming a rock of minerals. However, not all minerals do precipitate and in turn become part of the water in the lakes and rivers. Many resistant sedimentary rocks are permeable and may, therefore, easily receive and transmit solutes acquired by water from some other type of rock. In the course of moving through the sedimentary formations, several kinds of alteration processes may occur that may influence the composition of the transmitted water (Verdonschot, 2013). Fig 1.0 sedimentary rock image (Geology.com, 2014) The 2nd type of rocks is the Metamorphic, these are rocks formed under the surface of the earth from the changes which are caused by intense heat and pressure. Rocks formed through this process are mostly denoted by ribbon like layers and may also have shiny crystals that grow slowly over time. A good example of this rock type includes gneiss and marble. Fig 1.1 an image of a metamorphic rock (Geology.com, 2014) Lastly, there is the ‘Igneous’. These are rocks formed when molten rock deep within the earth (magma) cools and hardens. This cooling and hardening may occur either inside the earth’s crust or else it blows up onto the earth’s surface from volcanoes (in this case, it is called lava). When the lava cools very quickly, there are no crystals form and the rock looks shiny and glasslike. Occasionally gas bubbles are ensnared in the rock all through the cooling process, leaving tiny holes and spaces in the rock (Buynevich, 2011). Examples of these rocks include basalt and obsidian. Igneous rocks consist predominantly of silicate minerals. As the solutions move through the soil and the underlying rock, the composition of the water should be expected to change. Rocks of igneous origin may be classified as extrusive or intrusive. Both the extrusive and intrusive rocks are further classified by geologists on the basis of chemical and mineral composition, texture, and other characteristics. Rocks of the same chemical and mineral composition have different names, but tend to yield similar weathering products to the water. Fig 1.2 images of an igneous rock (granite) (Geology.com, 2014) Many of the rocks in the three classes contain numerous chemicals which contribute to the defining of water chemistry in one way or another. In ground water composition, seven solutes are the most commonly found salts in metals. These seven solutes make up nearly 95 percent of all water solutes (Buynevich, 2011). These salts include calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), potassium (K), chloride (Cl), sulfate (SO4), and bicarbonate (HCO3). Sodium is derived from the dissolution of silicate minerals, such as plagioclase feldspars, which make up some of the sand and gravel that fill the water basin. Potassium is derived from the dissolution of some silicate minerals in granitic rocks and from reactions with some clay minerals. Few reactions remove these seven solutes from ground water. However, some minerals, such as calcite CaCO3, can precipitate from solution to form a solid phase (Buynevich, 2011). Conclusion The interpretation of the water chemistry data has become vital and most reliably made within the conceptual framework on the ground water system that has been derived from several additional types of hydrologic and geologic data, such as water levels, that indicate general directions of ground-water flow. One of the major aspects of the geology of the human is the fact that it helps in maintaining the quality of water supplies. This helps understand the sources of water and in turn protect them from pollution. In addition, it helps in determining the suitability for various uses such as drinking, farming among many other uses (Dissanayake Chandrajith, 2009). The chemistry of lakes, rivers, oceans, and stream water in many regions is strongly associated with the character and circulation of geologic materials in the watershed. For example, the dominance of glacial till and granitic gneiss rock in the North and East of Big Moose Lake region results in a geologically sensitive terrain distinguished by low alkalinity and chemical compositions of the surface water with only slightly modified from ambient precipitation. On the contrary, widespread deposits of substantial glacial till in the lower part of the system (e.g. Moss-Cascade Valley) allow for much infiltration of precipitation into the groundwater system where weathering reactions increase alkalinity and extensively alters water chemistry. In references to the hypothesis, ‘surficial geology controls the chemistry of surface waters’ holds true as seen in the water composition of different regions as the water chemistry and watershed being determined by the geological facto rs (Dissanayake Chandrajith, 2009). References Drever, J.I., 2000. The Geochemistry of Natural Waters. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 388p. Frape, S.K., Fritz, P., and McNutt, R.H., 1984. Water-rock interaction and chemistry of Groundwater from the Canadian Shield. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, v. 48, pp. 1617-1627. Heath, R.C., 1990. Basic Ground-Water Hydrology. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2220, 84p. Hem, J.D., 1992. Study and Interpretation of the Chemical Characteristics of Natural Water. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2254. Krauskopf, K.B., with Bird, D.K., 1994. Introduction to Geochemistry, 3 ed. McGraw-Hill, rd New York, 640p. Dissanayake, C. B., Chandrajith, R. (2009).  Introduction to medical geology: Focus on tropical environment. Berlin: Springer. Buynevich, I. V. (2011).  Geology and geoarchaeology of the Black Sea Region: Beyond the flood hypothesis. Boulder, Colo: Geological Society of America. Allanson, B. R. (1990).  Inland waters of southern Africa: An ecological perspective. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Gunn, A. M., Babbitt, B. (2001).  The impact of geology on the United States: A reference guide to benefits and hazards. Westport, Conn. [u.a.: Greenwood Press. Rost, A. L., Fritsen, C. H., Davis, C. J. (2011). Distribution of freshwater diatom Didymosphenia geminata in streams in the Sierra Nevada, USA, in relation to water chemistry and bedrock geology.  Hydrobiologia,  665(1), 157-167. Verdonschot, P. P., Spears, B. B., Feld, C. C., Brucet, S. S., Keizer-Vlek, H. H., Borja, A. A., Johnson, R. R. (2013). A comparative review of recovery processes in rivers, lakes, estuarine and coastal waters.  Hydrobiology,  704(1), 453-474. Cooke, G. M., Chao, N. L., Beheregaray, L. B. (2012). Natural selection in the water: freshwater invasion and adaptation by water colour in the Amazonian pufferfish.  Journal Of Evolutionary Biology,  25(7), 1305-1320. Dittman, J., Driscoll, C. (2009). Factors influencing changes in mercury concentrations in lake water and yellow perch ( Perca flavescens) in Adirondack lakes.  Biogeochemistry,  93(3), 179-196. Geology.com. News and Information about Geology and Earth Science. Retrieved from: http://geology.com/ John D. Hem. (1990) Study and Interpretation of the Chemical Characteristics of Natural Water. Third Edition. Department Of The Interior William P. Clark, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Dallas L. Peck, Director Source document