Comparison between Chile- Haiti Earthquakes Research Paper

Comparison between Chile- Haiti Earthquakes - Research Paper Example An earthquake is a natural occurrence that takes place when an oceanic plate collides with the land plates thus causing an impulse. The resulting impulse between the two plates is always of a higher magnitude. It is this nature of earthquake’s higher magnitude that always causes the distractions of even stronger things including buildings, vehicles, heavy machinery among others. Earthquakes have mostly been experienced in most of Latin American countries compared to other continents. Some of these countries include Haiti and Chile. These two countries experienced what has been said to be two of the greatest earthquakes among other earthquakes in other countries. These earthquakes occurred respectively in these countries within a span of a year, causing death and destruction of properties which in turn resulted to affect the countries economically. Even though the both earthquakes caused almost similar destruction, the weight of their impacts differed in the respective countrie s. Consequences of the earthquakes As it is expected that earthquakes causes a lot of destruction which in turn tends to cause negative impacts on the victims, so was the case in both Haiti and Chile as they never escaped to face its consequences. Most of the destruction and consequences experienced by both the countries were similar and the main. Even though most of the consequences and destruction experienced by these countries as a result of the earthquakes were similar, the magnitude of their effects of the government and the economy was slightly different. This difference came as e result of their economic stability. The earthquakes had a greater blow to the Haitians compared to the Chileans because Chile’s economy was better compared to Haiti, a country which is among the poorest in the world (Farmer & Joia 87). The 2010 Haiti earthquake caused a lot of destruction which subsequently affected its economy (Castanos, Heriberta & Cinna p44). Some of these distractions were: demolition of buildings including presidential palace and The United Nation Peace keeps Mission. Demolition of buildings, led to one of the major consequences since it resulted in loss of homes. It is evident that close to 105,000 homes were destroyed. Destruction of homes could also mean that individuals whose homes were destroyed with them inside perished as a result. Secondly, demolition of buildings also implies that several industries were also destroyed it is believed that most of them collapsed as a result. This also implied that individuals who were employed in these companies were forced to lose their jobs. The increased number of joblessness and closure of companies eventually affected the economy since these individuals and companies were not able to pay the revenues (Farmer & Joia 87). Another department that was also affected by the earthquake is the transportation department. Transportation became a major problem causing a lot of things to stand still. The earthquake destroyed the cranes at the nearby ports hence making it difficult for the ports to operate. This was so due to the fact that the offloading of goods became a problem even to the ships that were transporting the aid. These ships were forced to inhibit temporarily (Castanos, Heriberta & Cinna 52). These destructions at the port did not only affect the transportation of the aiding goods, they also interrupted the importation and exportation of goods in and out of the country thus affecting the economy. On the other hand, air transport was also not left behind in experiencing this problem. The air transport department especially the Airport International Toussaint L’Ouverture Airport. This airport was also damaged by the earthquake, thereby causing inconvenience since most of the planes were forced to use the nearby airport. The destruction of the airport also impacted the reduction of air travels which further thus reducing incomes and initiating loss of

Biology Discussion 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Biology Discussion 4 - Essay Example g carried out across the world to establish the role of probiotics especially of intestinal lactic acid bacteria, Lactobacillus, in enhancing immunity, aids in overcoming constipation, common cold, supports in combating cancer of colon and also to check the antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD), together with other diseases of intestine encompassing irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, lactose intolerance, to influence cholesterol levels, blood pressure, minimizing inflammation, reducing the incidence of peptic ulcers. Besides the impending advantages, probiotics are also known to portray some serious side effects encompassing lactobacillus septicemia, obesity etc ("Probiotics"). Lactobacillus is the most dominant organism in the vaginal microflora. As the vaginal microflora directly influences the establishment of infants gut microflora soon after the birth it directly implicates the kind of response child exhibits towards environmental conditions as well as allergies. Evidence suggests that diet during pregnancy may affect the establishment of vaginal microflora. During summer season the consumption of water is more as compared to the winter where consumption of rich food more of solids and heat providing food is taken in. During the course of birth the fetus passes through the vaginal canal and hence first exposure to microbial world takes place. Depending on this exposure, microbial flora in the gut gets established (Thoma et al, 2011). Probiotics mainly contains Lactobacillus besides other microbes and probably respond in a different manner towards established intestinal microflora for the children born between January and June as compared to the childr en born between July and December. Thoma, M. E., Klebanoff, M. A., Rovner, A. J., Nansel, T. R., Neggers, Y., Andrews, W. W., Schwebke, J. R. "Bacterial vaginosis is associated with variation in dietary indices". J Nutr. 141(9): 1698-704.

Self Liberation Passive Resistance And Active Resistance History Essay

Self Liberation Passive Resistance And Active Resistance History Essay The earliest form of forced labour in the West Indies was the encomienda which utilized the Neo-Indian) people and resulted in the near decimation of their entire population. This was followed by the system of white indentured labour which brought immigrants from Ireland, England and Wales. This did not last very long because of the fact that the Europeans were not accustomed to the tropical climate of the West Indies and did not survive in such harsh working conditions. This was then followed by African enslavement which brought millions of people from the coast of West Africa From the outset one notes that systems of slavery existed and predated their imposition in the Caribbean region. There were different concepts as to the duties and responsibilities of both slave and master- concept of slavery always present in almost every recorded human civilisation ( e.g. Greece, Rome, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, India, Africa ) but each differing from the other. In the British West Indies the slavery system was referred to as Chattel Slavery. This was a system whereby the slaves and their offspring were enslaved during their lifetime and were the sole property of the owner. The slaves were be bought and sold as commodities. This therefore meant that conditions were very inhumane and psychologically destructive to any human being. From the 16th Century until Emancipation in 1834 this form of slavery was made legal and supported by the British government and was implemented in their colonies. The causes for the Emancipation of slaves in the British West Indies can be interpreted in many different ways with Self Liberation (Resistance and Revolts) being at the forefront, the changing Economic climate in England at the time and The Abolitionist Movement. Each of these played an important role in the Emancipation of slavery but it was the incessant revolts which impacted the most and in the process gained recognition from entire the British population. 1.0 Self-Liberation-Passive Resistance and Active Resistance From the inception of African slavery there have been records of many forms of resistance. From the time of capture to the plantation there were forms of resistance by the African slaves. The slaves did not passively accepted slavery and it conditions. It showed that they were determined to fight for their freedom no matter what the cost was. Almost every year there was some form of revolts on the plantation in individually or in groups. There were many daily disruptions the by the slaves as forms of protest and resistance. Slave Resistance can be looked in two ways. Passive Resistance which includes the following: Running Away Most Significant form of non-violent resistance. Easy to do (Physically) A destination however was needed (Sometimes not to be found). Jamaica, Trinidad, St. Vincent, and Guyana were good territories to run away in. The Maroons were runaways who stayed runaways. They set up their own communities apart from the plantation society. The Jamaica Maroons fought two major wars with the British and won which forced the granting of their freedom with a signed treaty. In the treaty they agreed to return all runaways to their masters. Many resources were spent by the plantation owners to catch the runaway slaves. They therefore had to discourage others from trying to do it. It contained many risks trying to recapture runaway slaves. Starvation Slaves starved themselves to death. To lessen their workload. This resulted in a decline of production in the plantation and also caused the owner to lose money if the slave died. Faking Illnesses Not being able to work. Most instances the master did not care but in instances where he thought it was contagious the slave would get rest. Again this disrupted the daily activities in production and the slave still had to be fed. Go Slow This was difficult to succeed. Most times there was a potential for the slave to be whipped. It was high risk to the slaves. In a way the slaves took risks of being punished at the same time trying to form resistances against being enslaved. Sabotage Damage equipment in the factory. Burn sugar cane crop. Kill Animals This was all extremely dangerous but was accomplished. It was highly effective because it resulted in the owner losing money making production of the crop to decline. They were times slaves were put to death if found out. Cultural Retention A vested interest by the slave masters was to take away their culture resulted in dehumanizing the slaves. A practice of drumming which the slaves was an important activity in African culture and religion. It was as type of identity for the slaves. However some of the slaves still practiced it. In removing culture and religion of the slaves, other cultures developed such as a mixture of the African religion with Christianity. By doing this it showed a form of resistance by the slaves. In doing so the slaves maintained form of communication unknown to the masters which enabled their revolts to be started. Educating Oneself It was felt to be most dangerous if slaves were able to read and understand what was communicated by the masters. Being knowledgeable was considered to be dangerous to the slave master because other slaves could be educated as well. By being knowledgeable the other slaves would be informed of what is taking place such as the news of the Haitian Revolt by slaves. Most slave societies had laws banning teaching slaves to read and write. Active Resistance which includes the following: Suicide Slaves killed themselves rather than have to live in such horrible conditions. This resulted in the slave masters to lose money on their investment. . Infanticide Even though the women protected their children they were prepared to save these children from the life they lived and had endured. This meant killing their infant instead of them being born as slaves. Poisoning Most revolts were started by women slaves who tried to poison their masters. Many slave women had knowledge of poisonous plants and used it against the owners. It was always on the minds of owners being poisoned by slave women who cooked for them. Open Revolt and Rebellion It must be noted that the only successful slave revolt was in Haiti in 1804.However many revolts were attempted in the British West Indies. The slave owners controlled how things were done in the plantation the way of life of the slaves but they could never have controlled the minds of the enslaved individual who only thought was freedom. The Major Revolts in the British West Indies Barbados Rebellion in 1816 In 1816 a major rebellion broke out led by an African born slave Bussa. It was spread across one third of the island and included seventy plantations. It was properly organized by the slaves wanting their freedom and a better way of life. By the time the revolt was over a quarter of the sugar cane crop was lost. It resulted in the execution of 214 slaves and the displacement of others who were sold off or shipped out. However it did accomplished a tremendous loss of income to the plantation owners. The Demerara Rebellion in 1823 With sugar prices down slaves were pushed harder in the sugar cane fields so as to increase the production levels. This resulted in a major rebellion in 1823 in Demerara organized by Quamina and Smith. It involved about 9000 slaves. It resulted in the death and injury of many enslaved people. It must be noted that no plantation owners or their families were hurt as in previous rebellion. The Jamaica Rebellion in 1831 The island on Jamaica had a numerous rebellions a total of 16 from 1655 to 1813.However the largest one took place in 1831. It started when enslaved people demanded payment for the work been done. It was led by Samuel Sharpe and it involved 20,000 slaves who took control of over 200 estates and seized a vast amount of land. It was eventually controlled resulting in the loss of live of 200 slaves and 14 British planters. This rebellion lasted several months and took the effort of the British troops and local militia to suppress it. The impact of this rebellion made the British realised the dangers and cost of continuing slavery because this rebellion dealt a very severe blow to the economic value of the plantation system in Jamaica. Thus it can be seen the main reason more and more historians are holding firm of the view that the slaves were themselves responsible for their own freedom. The slave population had vastly outnumbered the Europeans at that time. In number there is strength and the slaves were not going to tolerate being enslaved and dehumanized without putting up a fight. Most important the plantation owners had begun living a life of fear by the high number of revolts which placed their lives in danger even though more slaves died during and after any rebellion than whites. Therefore the threat of more rebellion caused the British to change its position of continuing slavery and whether it was economically viable enough to continue with the plantation system. 2.0 The Change in Economic Policies in England Nearing the end of the 18th century the profitability of the plantation and the system of slavery was in decline. This in a way contributed to the abolition of the slave trade in 1807 which was no longer profitable. The Industrial Revolution had started in England at this time and the economy was moving to a capitalist system. Britain no longer needed good that had been produced under the plantation system and which had to be heavily subsidized by the government Factories in Manchester had begun producing and employing thousands of workers producing goods like cotton which was in heavy demand and very profitable. This rapid growth of Industrialization required huge capital and money from the slavery made was now invested heavily in new factories instead of supporting a now non profitable plantation system. Sugar from the British West Indies could not be sold on the open market in England for a profit and as a result warehouses were overstocked. This was because of the open market system which allowed sugar to be purchased from the cheapest source such as Cuba and Brazil. At the same time too France was producing beet sugar which was cheaper and of a high quality too. Previously the British had imposed heavy taxes on sugar not produced by the British plantation. In this capitalist environment it was difficult for the government to have continued with a socialist economy. In addition the constant threat of revolts by the slaves made the situation worse for the planters. The revolts which occurred resulted in loss of valuable properties such as factories and white human lives. They the plantation system were no longer important to the thriving economic progress which took place in England .The new manufactures and now middle class no longer felt obligated to support a system which no longer brought in a huge sum of money. This resulted in the plantation owners to lose whatever allies and support they had at home. 3.0 The Church, the Abolitionist Movement and Reformation in Government During this period the British experienced had a rebirth in their Christian faith and the thinking of every man being a brother of another. Therefore slavery was now thought of as being very un-Christian and resulted in the Church joining the Abolitionist movement to end slavery. This caused the Church to become actively involved in the emancipation process. The Abolitionist wanted to see the end of slavery as soon as possible and now had tremendous power in parliament with a two-third majority. The plantation now had no lobbying power in parliament. Their campaign included prominent figures such as William Wilberforce who was an MP in parliament and Thomas Buxton who succeeded him. There were also radical figures as Thomas Clarkson whose group mounted tremendous pressures on the British parliament and government. This campaign led to the passage of the Emancipation Act in 1833 and which became law on 1st August 1834. The white working class in cities such as Manchester had begun to get signed petition to end slavery. They began a campaign which soon spread rapidly joining with the Abolitionist movement. In a way these humanitarians efforts did in a way hasten the emancipation process. The average working class citizens had begun to realize that the African slaves were their brothers and started to adopt a more humane stance. It must be noted that the plantation owners were given a grant of 20 million which for compensation for the loss of property and for ending slavery. This helped to enable the plantation owners to keep their properties and control of power intact. The African slaves got absolutely nothing except their so called freedom. The now freed slaves had no money or land to survive making the process of actually having to survive extremely difficult. Conclusion

Portfolio Assessment Essay -- essays papers

Portfolio Assessment Perhaps the most prominent form of alternative assessment in use today is the student portfolio. A portfolio can be described as a â€Å"purposeful collection of student work that exhibits the student’s efforts, progress, and achievements in one or more areas of the curriculum.† Key elements of the portfolio include evidence of students’ choosing the contents of their own portfolio, specific criteria for the selection and assessment of student work, and clear evidence that the student has reflected on his or her work (Chriest & Maher, n.d.). Portfolios have been proven an effective means of student assessment in many areas of schooling, from preschool all the way through post-graduate work. Portfolio assessment has also been rendered effective in many business settings to determine the value of an employee. The advantages of portfolio assessment are many. Foremost, portfolios, when compared to written testing, provide teachers with a more complete picture of a student’s progress. Portfolios exhibit a student’s ability to problem solve and to reflect on the work that he has done. They also give students the opportunity to tangibly track their progress in a class. When implemented, portfolios can also encourage a school system to work towards a more â€Å"collaborative evaluation environment† (Curry, 2000). This indicates that the portfolios are not only tools for teachers to assess a student’s progress, but also for administrators to monitor a teacher’s classroom management. Disadvantages of portfolio assessment also exist: in many studies, â€Å"students found that keeping a portfolio contributed little to their self-awareness of strengths and weaknesses and, in some cases, that it even reinforced weakn... ...sment/alt_assessment.html This webpage lists other websites useful in alternative assessment. Resources are grouped by online location and subject. UniServe Science. (2004). Alternative strategies for science teaching and assessment. Retrieved March 7, 2004 from http://science.uniserve.edu.au/school/support/strategy.html This is an excellent resource that lists and explains not only creative alternatives to written testing but also ways to reach every student with every style of learning. Strategies outlined include virtual field trips, collaborative work, and debates. Worcester, T. (n.d.). Electronic portfolios. Retrieved April 14, 2004 from http://www.essdack.org/port/index.html This site contains information on electronic portfolios. Specifically, it includes reasons for considering, how to create, and assessment of electronic portfolios.

Career Objective

The Purpose of Studying at AIT and Career Objective For Obtaining AIT’s Master Degree I am a degree holder of Bachelor of Engineering (Information Technology) and I have a keen interest in information technology,especially in programming. During this years, I am not only working at Agricultural Mechnization Department as a Senior Assistant Engineer but also learning computer programming language. It has equipped me with stable technical skills in programming and experience with SDLC methodologies.Throughout the experience of working on different IT projects,it has established my interest in project management and I made me realized that my own career goal is to be a professional Computer Programmer or a Chief Information Officer. In our country ,many professional programmer and IT manager formed various committees and association such as Myanmar Computer Professional Association(MCPA) . The government has initiated various programs such as their Own Ministry Websites and the E -commerce system to provide strategic direction towards Myanmar’s IT development..However,these initiatives are facing issues such as lack of technology transfer due to short of IT specialists. However,I think that my existing knowledge and experience is insufficient for me to be able to achieve my goal. Hence , this is my motivation behind of my admission to your course. To be a successful Computer programmer and IT manager, rich IT knowledge and experience is critical. However,knowledge in various areas of project is also crucial.I expert that the Master in Computer Science at Asian Institute of Technology will allow me to enhance and strength my acamedic knowledge about management theories and programming methodologies. Also, through the peer to peer experience sharing to be able to familiarize myself with the challenges and difficulties that may arise during computer system management at various industries and learn how to overcome these challenges and difficulties by sha ring ideas with one another.I also strongly believe that my Master degree from AIT will give me the qualities and capability to help overcome the technology transfer obstacle in Myanmar. My graduate degree in AIT will help me become an IT specialist in the government office and in long term venture into technology management consultation to help Myanmar master the technology to compete with the developed countries that have moved on to a more advanced technology. I wish to form innovative strategies to initiate various database system ventures in the public sector.We must have built in every corner of the needs not only in economic, politic movement but also the basic communication and technology as well. We truly need the basic knowledge of 21 century’s general modern industrial’s beneficial and advantages. We must take the advantages of innovative technology in order to make some change for the better place of Myanmar. . The more we have variety educated, skillful an d professional social workers, and the better way to develop our country with respect to the basic needs.In my conclusion,today era is information and communication era. Today’s youth will be able to catch up with the technological age only if they constantly study IT technologies in accord with the modern age. These are what I am willing to do and what I am always dreaming about how to make change for my country to be a democratic one. I truly believe that AIT is the best choice to due to the excellent academic reputation and atmosphere within the university. It will be great honor for me to have an opportunity to study a leading global university like AIT.

Mitchem Lethbridge Ltd

A Introduction Mitch Leathering Ltd. Is an individual franchise of the parent company Mitch Office Corporation, which holds a contest every third year to award the franchise with the greatest Improvement In net Income. This year the Leathering franchise has won the contest, however the Halifax franchise, who had a net income to reflect higher net income numbers.The Mitch head office has asked us to look at the financial records and interview the Leathering management to determine if an audit is required because of suspect manipulations to the statements. We also have been required to suggest some improvements to the contest rules to the Imitate head office. The Leathering franchise is currently solely owned by Lisa McGovern and had been going through a tough year in 2010. At the end of the period they made many adjustments that had negative effects on the net income in the 2010 year and positive effects towards the net income of the 2011 year.These issues and the effects they had on net income will determine if there is a need for an audit. They will also help provide insight to determine any improvements that can be applied to the rules f the contest to ensure the future winners are indeed complying with the rules. Improvements would also help curb franchises towards the purpose of the contest, which is to be continually improving net income each year. After determine Mitch Leathering Ltd.Financial statement, we comment on some issues them may address, and Issues Commissions Expense At the end of the 2010 reporting period Mitch Leathering Limited decided to pay expected commissions of January 2011 to employees in December to help offset the poor sales year they Just had in 2010. This practice is neither acceptable by GAP ironically nor is it ethical in regards to the competition. Lisa has disregarded the revenue and expense recognition criteria by recognizing the commissions' expenses in one period when the sales that those commissions belong to will not be re cognized until they occur during January 2011.The Leathering division also appears to have favorably bolstered their expectations for January to $150,000. This estimate is far too high despite the upcoming discount sale, especially considering that the December sales were $90,000. That is a $60,000 increase in expected sales when there is not even a seasonal change. If the Leathering division wanted to give the employees a bonus for having a poor sales year when they expect a better year in the next period that is acceptable, but that was not the case.Lisa and Mitch Leathering decided to recognize commission's expenses that belonged to sales that were yet to occur in 2011. This influenced net income by decreasing the expenses in 2011 while the sales remained the same and vice-versa for the previous year. This increased net income by $9120 since actual sales were only $114,000 in January and they decreased net income by the full $12,000 2010. By over exaggerating the losses in 2010 a nd the revenue in 2011 the Leathering division destroys the credibility of their financial records.The representational faithfulness of Lettering's records will also come into question now and in future contests the Mitch Corporation puts on. Show below: $77,250 Inventory Write-down The Leathering division again appears to have ignored GAP principals when they wrote down inventory at the end of the 2010 period. According to inventory write- down information, when a write-down occurs is a Judgment of management, but how you write inventory down is not.When write-downs occur inventory needs to written down to Net Realizable Value, which is what the inventory is worth in the market now as opposed to when it was purchased. However, Jeff wrote inventory down to liquidation value which is what the inventory could be sold for immediately. This value is much lower that what it should have been written down to had the inventory value decreased since its purchase. Jeff also mentions in his no tes that he was not sure that they were going to be able to sell the abnormally high level of inventory in the following months.This is a contradicting statement considering that Lisa had mentioned in her notes that she had planned the bulk sale in late 2010 and had even began advertising in December. She also estimated sales to be $1 50,000 in January which would have exceeded the inventory account before the write-down. This exaggerated write-down affected net income by decreasing the value of the inventory when the sales occurred in the following period. This would have reduced the cost of goods sold expense while sales and revenues remained unchanged by the write-down.

buy custom Surveillance Technology essay

buy custom Surveillance Technology essay Surveillance technology is a form of technology that institutions and residential buildings use to monitor the movements and activities that people perform. This technology constitutes digital recording CCTV systems, Remote Surveillance Systems, Covert Cameras, Digital Video Recorders, and Multiplexers that help people monitor their properties from any point on the world. Therefore, the common purpose of surveillance technology is to provide security at homes and organizations. Surveillance technology can help individuals identify those people who do unlawful activities such as shoplifting, terrorist activities, and other types of crimes. Sometime, surveillance technology can enable parents to keep track of what their children visit over the Internet. This discussion will consider the benefits of surveillance technology to homes and institutions. Benefits of surveillance technology The primary purpose of using surveillance cameras is to prevent criminals, especially the unprincipled criminals from indulging in criminal activities such as petty thefts and robberies. People install surveillance cameras in townhouses, bungalows, apartment buildings, schools, condominiums, university campuses, stores, offices, malls, and various public places. The surveillance technology helps individuals to monitor suspicious activities; and vandalism, shoplifting, ad petty thefts, and alert the concerned security officers regarding the real-time criminal activities. Centrally manned systems, and staff monitoring cameras in large businesses and organizations can also inform state law enforcement and county officials about evolving dangerous situations. Therefore, surveillance technology assists people in exerting law and order in their societies. Surveillance technology can also enable people to conserve valuable resources on the surface of the Earth for the future generations to benefit. Sometimes, many companies would aim at making profits at the expense of environmental destruction. This happens when factories dump their effluents into water bodies without considering the long-term consequences. With the use of surveillance technology, government officials can be able to determine the amount of waste each factory produces, and how much of the waste factories throw away or process. This encourages better accountability, and the concerned officials are able to locate exactly which factories exceed the allowed amount of waste that they should emit. In the contemporary society, surveillance technology enables people to mould the future generation in a positive way. With surveillance technology, individuals are able to keep track of the interests of the younger generation, thus allowing them to filter the content that the younger generation can download from the Internet. Thiss ensures that the younger generation acquires the right information, which does not deviate from the acceptable societal standards. For instance, software engineers have designed computer software that can record down every website that individuals have visited on a computer system. This will enable parents and guardians to be aware of what their children download from the Internet. Therefore, with surveillance technology, parents can be able to save their children from sexual predators and other individuals with malicious intentions. Conclusion Therefore, surveillance technology is extremely useful in human society because it can ensure the maintenance of law and order. When people maintain law and order, a country will experience less or no crimes. Surveillance cameras prevent criminal activities such as robberies, petty thefts, shoplifting, and vandalism. With surveillance technology, factories will emit little or no waste to the environment. Parents will be able to monitor what their children visit over the Internet, thus ensure that they do not visit harmful sites. However, every technology has its own merits and demerits. For instance, there have been some misuses of surveillance technology because of the distrust among spouses. Some people use the cell phone spyware to track the calls and phone messages of their spouses. It is necessary to use surveillance technology effectively. Buy custom Surveillance Technology essay

Free Essays on Preface Compared To Job

about the leviathan. God speaks of all the fearful qualities of the leviathan to show Job that one of his creations can strike that much fear in a man then he has no business challenging God. The answer to the questions in â€Å"Preface† are found in lines 20 through 24: â€Å"It’s only... Free Essays on Preface Compared To Job Free Essays on Preface Compared To Job In comparing Edward Taylor’s â€Å"Preface† with Job 38-41 there are several similarities in structure, language and imagery, and answers to the questions being asked in each passage. In Taylor’s poem, man is questioning who is responsible for the creation; who God is. In Job 38-41, Job is questioning God because of his long suffering. God responds to Job with a series of questions for the purpose of teaching. Both passages use incredible word pictures to describe creation. God’s almighty power and presence in creation are realized in both passages. The passages both use the question format as their structure. The questions are related to creation. There are many similar questions about creation. In â€Å"Preface†, Taylor asks, â€Å"Who laid its cornerstone?† (line7). From Job 38:6 God said, â€Å"On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone ...?†. All of the questions were asked not to get an answer but to make a point or teach a lesson. By using the question format, the reader gets a sense of God’s power. Another tool used to give the reader a sense of God’s power is the language of the passages. Imagery and metaphors are used throughout the lines. One example is in â€Å"Preface†, line 14, â€Å"Who in this bowling alley bowled the sun?†. Edward Taylor uses an image that we’re familiar with to try to explain something that is hard to imagine. A familiar image can also be found in Job 38:37-38, â€Å"Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together?†. Chapter 41 of Job invokes the imagination with its words about the leviathan. God speaks of all the fearful qualities of the leviathan to show Job that one of his creations can strike that much fear in a man then he has no business challenging God. The answer to the questions in â€Å"Preface† are found in lines 20 through 24: â€Å"It’s only...

Definition of Japanese Hontou, or Really

Definition of Japanese Hontou, or Really Those of us for whom English is our first language might not realize how much we use the word really in everyday conversations. Often, someone will tell us a startling fact or make a somewhat surprising statement and the natural response is, Really? There are many ways to say the word really for speakers of Japanese. One of the most common ways is  hontou. Writing and Saying Hontou Japanese Characters: æÅ" ¬Ã¥ ½â€œÃ£â‚¬â€š (㠁 »Ã£â€šâ€œÃ£  ¨Ã£ â€ Ã£â‚¬â€š)Pronunciation of Hontou. Other Ways to Say Really? hontou ni: Really, however, there is a stronger emphasis on the ni so it tends to be a stronger version of the word in verbal and written form. Examples of really in a Japanese formal conversation are: Hontou ni hajimete desu ka? (Is it really your first time?); Hontou ni yoku nite iru! (She’s really like you!); Hontou ni sono saabisu wa tadadesuka? (So is your service really free?).hontou desu ka: Are you sure? can be used in  place of hontou in formal situations.  Hontou desu ka allows you to express more doubt when saying really? in Japanese.sou desu ka: Is that so? or Are you sure?hontoudesu: It is true, or It is a fact.honki: Really. Hon means true, and ki means spirit or state of being. Example: Honki desu ka? (Are you serious?) Resources and Further Reading â€Å"Hontou?† Nihongo De Care-Navi, Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, 2019.â€Å"Question to Teacher: HONTOU versus HONTOUNI.† Japanese From Zero, Yes Japan, 17 July 2009.

The Sociological View of Power in Egypt Research Paper

The Sociological View of Power in Egypt - Research Paper Example † The Sociological View of Power in Egypt   According to Pip (2008), the main theoretical issue in political sociology is enabling the nature of power. Social politics focuses on coercion, political correctness and influence. These have been applied to come up with the various forms of leadership. Resistance, limitation and resistance that may be encountered must be overcome for power to affect social activities. People may however rebel by forming political movement to protest against state power. This occurs when people feel that there is abuse of power and that this abuse of power deprived of their rights. Political influence entails persuading and convincing others to accept one’s views. The main types are propaganda, genocide, political correctness and manipulation of public opinion. Coercion on the other hand entails the use of force and threat. There has been abuse of political power, through dictatorship, in Egypt. This is contrasting with the sociological view of power among the citizens. Sociological view requires that state power should be decentralized and democratic. The government is expected to protect democracy in the society. If any political influence is to be made, then it has to be within the range of individual freedom and choice. However, the Egyptian government has used coercion instead of ethical influence in governing the people. The Egyptians have been forced to take in whatever the government decides for them. This opposes the sociological view of politics in which power is vested on few individuals to act on behave of the rest. At the same time, they must put into consideration the interests of the people they represent. Dictatorship has led to the deprivation of basic human rights among many citizens. For a long time, the citizens of Egypt have wanted an end of political dictatorship and come up with a political institution governed by a democratic type of leadership. Political sociology identifies three types of lead ership styles that are developed by utilizing influence, coercion or political correctness. These are charismatic, bureaucratic and traditional (Farganis, 1996). The three types of sociological powers have become a base for social movements. Citizens protest as a way of airing their views concerning them. The people want political reforms that would address their basic needs for example standards of living and unemployment. This will be achieved if the leaders have political correctness. Leaders are expected to play their roles of giving guidance and direction to the people and not oppress them. When political leaders are on the right, they must overcome resistance for them to be fully able to exercise power. This is because the society consists of people with varied interests and views. Those with extreme ideas must be forced to agree with the majority (Merton, 1968). There is lack of political correctness in Egypt. Corruption is still present in the government yet the people are a lready impatient about it. The social movements mainly emerge from marginalized youth who are trying to express their rejection of the government’s present social and political system. During the recent protests, protestors were expressing their frustrations to the government. They were complaining that the government has not heeded to their cry for the country to have some democratic reforms. The country has been ruled though oppressive

Analytical summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Analytical summary - Essay Example The article goes ahead to determine various aspects such as Australian identity, the relation between the different political systems in the country, the economy, and immigration, all in the form of debates. It addresses various perspectives include the future prospects of Asia through an engagement with Australia, while at the same time fearing that indeed there is a possibility that Australia would be left behind in a similar perspective. In making a justification of these perspectives, the authors refer to the views of different individuals including Kevin Rudd, Gough Whitlam, and the Australian Labor Prime Minister. China and Australia have indeed been great friends for long periods, even though to many, it seems as if the they have just become new friends, considering that Australia currently hosts a significant number of Chinese. The article goes ahead to address the various political situations that have c hanged over the past, with Asia and particularly China making a significant contribution in the political imagery. This puts Australia in a controversial position of manipulations by both its central geographical location as well as the ideological commitment to Asia. ‘Asia’ possesses great threat to Howard in matters of identity, considering the ease of immigration of ‘Asia’ into Australia, making Howard make an argument giving ‘Asia’ a rare opportunity to make entry and integrate into Australia. ‘Asia’ was increasingly growing economically especially China in the global markets, and therefore, Australia would significantly benefit from the perspective; however, better ties would have to be developed between ‘Asia’ and Australia. Chinese had been making entry into Australia and their significant numbers was a call for worry and hope in equal measures. The major way through which such a perspective would be achieved is by increasing the use of Asian

Artist Report Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Artist Report - Research Paper Example Approaching Noise is done in oil upon a 40 x 34 inch wood panel. The woman in the painting is a brunette with her hair pulled back into a bun. The light skinned model has her arms crossed over her chest to prevent the olive green military style shirt from falling down. She is in a subtle, serene mood as she looks towards the ground in wonderment. The model is standing in front of a whitewashed grey wall with letting and numbers upon the wall behind her. The light that falls upon the model comes from the upper right, in front of the model. The hues used in the painting show the realism that the viewer seems to be immersed in when looking at the painting. The realism shown by Kassan in this painting has a photorealistic quality to it. One could almost reach out and touch the model as though she was standing right in front of the viewer. The realism also allows us to interpret that her skin is soft and looks to be in her mid 20s wearing pink nail polish. Also, the gradation of the painting seems subtle and continuous like a person would see in real life and stark and in contrast in the same way as though a person were blocking the light from another source. There are two places in the painting that seem to flow away from the focal point of her face. Her eyes seem to bring the viewer to follower what she is looking at by going towards the bottom of the painting. Furthermore, you can also follow the flow of her hair as you see the strands of hair pulled back into the bun atop the back of her head. He uses the asymmetrical balance of the human body and draws upon the fact that not all painting has to be symmetrically balanced to be a great work of art. The words on the wall to her right seem to balance out the space taken up by the model on the left side of the painting. Approaching Noise allows the viewer to feel as though they are standing in the studio with Kassan as he is working with his subject on this particular painting with the amount of time

Cyber crime Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cyber crime - Article Example For instance, some of the malicious attacks that organizations and businesses face include cyber theft and fraud, cyber warfare, industrial espionage and hacking among others. The non-malicious attacks include misuse of access devices, human error and accidental system failures. Additionally, the article provides the costs that companies incur or may in future incur as a result of cyber crime. Moreover, some of the best practices that can limit the cyber crime, and legislations and regulations of cyber crimes are also included in the article. In my opinion, I would agree with the information provided concerning cyber crime in the article. One fact is that cyber crime is increasingly becoming an issue to most governments and its threats can be far much worse to an economy since it is a crime related to the internet; internet is one factor that an economy cannot survive without. Additionally, I would agree with what the author has indicated in the article because currently issues concerning cyber crimes are often discussed in the social media and various governments, therefore it is no doubt that whatever the author has provided is backed by so varied and valid evidences. The topic is very much important globally. Cyber threats and data privacy are factors that are currently becoming a major focus to various businesses, organizations and governments around the world. Since various sectors in the world or different nations depend so much on the internet, I think it is important to educate people on the threats that come as a result of the existence of the internet and how these threats can be limited. Failure to notify the world about this can affect the general economic growth of various nations. Certainly, the author has provided more than enough evidence with regards to cyber threats and data privacy. For instance, the author has provided valid statistics concerning the intensity of cyber

Buddhist philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Buddhist philosophy - Essay Example Another Buddhist element related to achieving the highest good is the belief that since suffering is a result of material longing and desire by eliminating material longing and desire, one can eliminate suffering and move towards achieving this highest good. While this is a simple formulation, the actual challenge of eliminating desire is extremely difficult. Craving can also be extended to include the gratification of the passions or the longing we have for an abstract sense of accomplishment of success in our earthly lives. The Second Noble Truth states that if we persist in allowing our lives to be dominated by desire and ignorance we will always be haunted by an unachievable longing and pervasive suffering. Therefore, the Buddha states that to achieve the highest good one must be guided by what is, not what is desired. One must fight against their preconditioned ways of longing and desire and accept the world and their place as it currently exists, as this is the only path to the highest good. In following these Noble Truths the individual is able to achieve the highest good or Nirvana. This is a spiritual state that transcends all traditional concerns with material existence. I recognize that I generally disagree with this ideal. To begin with, I disagree with the idea that all of life is suffering, as one might argue that such a characterization of the human condition is overly pessimistic. When Buddha developed the Four Noble Truths the Indian people faced considerable difficulties in life. Their subsistence was harder earned than we experience today, and I believe that this element of Buddhist philosophy can be seen to be a response to this challenge of existence, rather than an accurate reflection of the human condition. While all humans experience suffering, to claim that this is one

Business analytics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business analytics - Research Paper Example Imagine an organization in which the marketing department requires key reports from the technology department. Clearly, the issue of latency can be a factor that can delay essential decision making. With the boom of e-commerce, this has become even more pivotal. For many decades, companies have established itself as one of the most premiere companies internationally. Business Analytics (2014) In order to harness the growth of customers worldwide, McDonald’s has created data warehousing that has allowed the company to understand the customers, track inventory, and monitor financials. All of these components are integrated in one dashboard that has harnessed BI. A centralized information from all the sources (e.g. point-of-sale (POS) system, equipment monitoring, etc) where all sorts of information, real-time feeds and legacy information, can be monitored and analyzed in most efficient and precise way via data warehousing. Oracle ERP system, which can handle most day-to-day business functions, would serve as the hub. POS and other devices use business Analytics software to gather sales information and marketing data, which is then transferred to an Oracle database for analysis would help organizations have robust information of their business processes and assist them monitoring the progress of their business in the terms of sales, revenues, inventory management, staff allocation, location of the business in terms of which is profitable or unprofitable, and also gives them the head start to mitigate any risk.

Buddhist philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Buddhist philosophy - Essay Example Another Buddhist element related to achieving the highest good is the belief that since suffering is a result of material longing and desire by eliminating material longing and desire, one can eliminate suffering and move towards achieving this highest good. While this is a simple formulation, the actual challenge of eliminating desire is extremely difficult. Craving can also be extended to include the gratification of the passions or the longing we have for an abstract sense of accomplishment of success in our earthly lives. The Second Noble Truth states that if we persist in allowing our lives to be dominated by desire and ignorance we will always be haunted by an unachievable longing and pervasive suffering. Therefore, the Buddha states that to achieve the highest good one must be guided by what is, not what is desired. One must fight against their preconditioned ways of longing and desire and accept the world and their place as it currently exists, as this is the only path to the highest good. In following these Noble Truths the individual is able to achieve the highest good or Nirvana. This is a spiritual state that transcends all traditional concerns with material existence. I recognize that I generally disagree with this ideal. To begin with, I disagree with the idea that all of life is suffering, as one might argue that such a characterization of the human condition is overly pessimistic. When Buddha developed the Four Noble Truths the Indian people faced considerable difficulties in life. Their subsistence was harder earned than we experience today, and I believe that this element of Buddhist philosophy can be seen to be a response to this challenge of existence, rather than an accurate reflection of the human condition. While all humans experience suffering, to claim that this is one

Ability to recall from memory an event Essay Example for Free

Ability to recall from memory an event Essay A study by Loftus and Palmer (1974) into the accuracy of Eye Witness Testimony aimed to find out if changing the wording of a question could distort ones ability to recall from memory an event. They showed their participants a series of car crash videos before asking them to fill out a questionnaire. One of the most important questions included asking the participants what speed the cars were travelling at. They used an independent measures design to divide the participants into 5 conditions: Smashed, Collided, Bumped, Hit, Contacted. The results from this experiment provide good research into accuracy of eyewitness testimony because it found that by changing the wording of a question, it significantly influenced the speeds given by the participants. For example, those in the smashed condition provided the highest average of speed of 40.8mph, whilst those in the contacted conditions average were merely 31.8mph. Similarly, when called back a week later and asked if any broken glass was seen, they found that although there wasnt any present, 32% in the smashed condition said they had seen broken glass. Loftus and Palmer therefore concluded that by using the word smash it gives suggestions of strong impact and thus shows that leading questions have an impact on the accuracy of eyewitness ability to re-call situations. The strengths from this study include providing useful insight for the police so they know that when interviewing witnesses they should be aware of the way they phrase their questions to ensure the memory of the witness isnt distorted in any way. Similarly, it shows that juries should be thoughtful before accepting the validity of a witness when listening to eye witness testimonies.  On the other hand there are also weaknesses to this study. Firstly, it lacks mundane realism and ecological validity because the film shown has less emotional impact than a real life situation would and the participants knew they were about to watch a film so thus transferred their full attention to the video, whereas in real life they would be taken by surprise. Similarly, contradictory evidence from Yuille and Cutshall (1986) weakens the credibility of this study. They interviewed people that had witnessed an incident where someone was shot dead and fatally injured and found that the witnesses accounts were not influenced by the leading questions and were in fact very clear. This suggests that more intense incidents perhaps improve ability of re-call. Other psychological research into anxiety and violence tells us more about accuracy of eye witness testimony. Yerkes-Dodson Law for example believed that an increase in arousal increases performance up to a certain point, which they called optimum level. 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Lastly, there is also research into how age affects accuracy of eyewitness testimony. Studies have shown that children are more likely to get influenced if tested on eye witness testimony than adults due to things such as language ability or memory processes. Evidence into language ability comes from Goodman and Schaaf (1997) who found that the more complex the question, the less accurate the answer given by the child. This suggests that one aspect of ensuring that eyewitness testimony remains accurate is to not test the child on skills that they are not fully developed in yet e.g. complex language. This is backed by a study by Ceci et al (2000) who found that children aged between 3-4 years were more influenced by leading questions. Research into memory processes shows that children may lack detail but not accuracy when it comes to re-call, which was found by Goodman and Reed (1986). Similarly, Memon et al (2003) studied the accuracy of young and older eye witnesses found that after 35 minutes there was no difference in accuracy of identification however, after 1 week, the older generation worsened significantly more than the younger generation.  To conclude, there has been a great deal of research into the accuracy of eye witness testimony and this has shown that there are many things that influence someones ability to re-call a situation accurately. Therefore, one could say that Eye witness testimony isnt the most accurate method.

An Inquiry Into Pigou And Welfare Economics Economics Essay

An Inquiry Into Pigou And Welfare Economics Economics Essay Arthur Cecil Pigou (1877-1959) was among the last in the long line of classical economists associated with the Cambridge School. Pigou first entered Kings College, Cambridge on a Minor Scholarship in History and Modern Languages (1896). Observing his palpable brilliance, Alfred Marshall and Henry Sidgwick together encouraged him to pour his academic vigour into the study of political economy (Collard, 1981). Although significantly influenced by Henry Sidgwick, Pigou was foremost Marshalls disciple and is often considered the embodiment and extension of Marshall himself (Walker, 1989). Like Marshall, Pigou was attracted to the practical value of economics and believed the main purpose of learning economics was to be able to see through the bogus economic arguments of politicians (Champernowne, 1959: 264); he believed economics to be an instrument for social betterment not intellectual gymnastics. The numerous works by Pigou cover various fields of economic thought. Pigous marked interest in how government policy could increase national well-being? is apparent throughout his work and led him to invented much of modern public finance especially arguments and rationale for government intervention in the economy (Pressman, 1999). Furthermore, his notable contribution, Economics of Welfare (1932) occupies a unique position in the history of economic thought and has earned him recognition as the father of modern welfare economics (Groenewegen, 2003). A study into Pigous writings on the economics of welfare requires one to be selective due to the wide-ranging scope of topics that may be covered; this paper will therefore concentrate on the theoretical backbone of Pigous work and aim to analyse different critiques of his theory of welfare in Section I. Section II will consider the foundations of and influences on Pigous work and explore criticisms of a lack of originality in his writ ings. Finally, in Section III, we will investigate the Pigous position on government intervention and analyse his suggested policy prescriptions. SECTION I Welfare economics is concerned to investigate the dominant influence through which the economic welfare of the world, or of a particular country, is likely to be increased. The hope of those who pursue it is to suggest lines of action or non-action on the part of the State or of private persons that might foster such influences (Pigou 1951: 287) Welfare economics is a normative subject, distinct from positive economics. Whilst the theoretical elements of positive economics provide theorems that can be tested, normative economics and the propositions of welfare economics have altogether a very different content (Graff, 1957: 2). The difference between normative and positive theory becomes apparent when we attempt to determine whether welfare actually increases or not; analysis of a positive theory requires testing of its conclusions which are clearly observable, conversely to test a normative theory of welfare one must look to test its assumptions rather than conclusions since welfare is not an observable quantity. Thus the assumptions attached to a normative theory must be carefully and thoroughly scrutinised and the credibility of a theory of welfare depends on how realistic and relevant its assumptions are (Graff, 1957: 3). This section will, in turn analyse the major assumptions made by Pigou for the development of his co ncepts of economic welfare and national dividend which are key to his theory. Economic Welfare Pigou defined economic welfare subjectively as quantities of satisfaction or states of consciousnessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[with] psychic returns of satisfaction, (Pigou 1926: 10). Recognising that subsequent investigation into the causes that could affect welfare would be impracticable, he limits the scope of the inquiry to that part of social welfare that can be brought directly or indirectly into relation with the measuring-rod of money (Pigou 1926: 11). To justify the restrictions on his scope of elements compiling the social welfare he postulates that since a persons income is an observable money value, it could be inferred that, under certain conditions, people could enjoy a level of material welfare that could be purchased by their income (Mishan, 1969). The connection between increased income and the other elements of welfare is much harder to define therefore Pigou explicitly recognises that since economic welfare is only a part of welfare as a wholeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦so that a given change in economic welfare will seldom synchronise with an equal welfare as a whole (Pigou, 1926: 12). Thus, although a change in economic welfare may not measure the change in total welfare, it may always affect the change therefore Pigou concludes that economic welfare and total welfare are positively related (Durlauf and Blume, 2008). UTILITY DEBATE? Doesnt he assume something stupid about utility interpersonal utility or something? National Dividend The conception of the National Dividend is not an academic toy, but a practical instrument of great power designed for service in the concrete solution of social problems (Pigou, 1912: 493) In order to predict the effects of policies on material welfare at the aggregate level, an aggregate measure was required. Pigou identified the national dividend as the appropriate aggregate measure suggesting that economic causes act on the economic welfare of any country, not directly, but through the making and using of the objective counterpart of economic welfare which the economists call the national dividend (Pigou, 1926: 31). The national dividend is described as the flow of goods and services annually produced after maintaining capital intact and is a key concept for Pigous analyses of how policies or institutions affect economic welfare (Scott, 1984: 59). Pigou outlines the two criteria for detecting improvements in social welfare which reflect the importance of this key concept to his theory of welfare; firstly increases in the value of national dividend, provided the share for the poor is not thereby reduced, will result in an increase in social welfare. Secondly, transfe rs from the rich to the poor without any reduction in the national dividend will also yield higher social welfare (Pigou, 1926). Several critics have voiced opposition to Pigous definition of national dividend specifically on the issue of maintaining capital intact.  [1]  He states that if the quantity of every unit of a countrys capital stock remains unchanged over a certain period, then even is the money value has increased/decreased, the total capital stock has been exactly maintained. He argues that changes in the money value of the stock due to general price changes or changes in the rates of interest are irrelevant to the national dividend (Scott, 1984: 60). Only a decline in the physical quantity of capital has to be made good (or replaced) with new capital of the same value (provided the valuation is made when the deterioration actually takes place) and depreciation due to interest rates or price changes are irrelevant (Pigou, 1926: 46). The national income in any period is therefore the sum of consumption and gross investment minus that portion of gross investment necessary to maintain capital int act (Scott, 1984; Pigou, 1926). Myint (1948) highlights the inadequacies of transposing this concept of maintaining capital intact (which is essentially a physical level of analysis) to derive the value of capital from expected value of income yielded (essentially a subjective level of analysis) by merely making good the physical wear and tear (Myint, 1948: 174). He finds fault with the fact that depreciation (due to obsolescence  [2]  ) must be allowed for even if capital goods are in perfect condition. This issue also sparked a heated debate between Hayek (1941) and Pigou (1941) in which Hicks (1942) also intervened. Hayek attacked Pigou on this point stating, what is meant by maintaining capital intact [according to Pigou] consists in effect of the suggestion that for this purpose we should disregard obsolescence [whether it is due to foreseeable or unforeseeable causes] and require merely that such losses of value of the existing stock of capital goods be made good as are due to physical wear and tear (Haye k, 1941: 276). Hayek finds Pigous procedure neither useful theoretically nor in actual practice (Hayek, 1941: 276). The root of the disagreement lies in their different conceptions of depreciation; while Pigou maintains that only a decline in the present value of capital due to factors which affect the expected quantity is relevant whilst Hayek argues the the real problem of maintaining capital intact arises not after such losses have been made, but when the entrepreneur plans his investment (Hayek, 1941: thus a decline in expected quantity will count as depreciation regardless of whether it is due to factors affecting expected quantity or prices (Hill, 1999: 2). While Hayeks biting criticism seemingly undermines Pigous conception of national dividend, Scott (1984) contends both arguments are in fact sound and it is the purpose for which the definition is of critical importance; whilst Pigou was concerned with net social income, Hayek was referring essentially to individual people o r firms. READ HICKS ADDITION TO THE DEBATE AND ADD IN WHAT HE SAYS ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE IN PURPOSES FOR THE CONCEPT. SECTION II When a man sets out upon any course of inquiry, the object of his search may be either light or fruit either knowledge for its own sake or knowledge for the sake of good things to which it leads, (Pigou, 1926: 3) Pigou is widely considered the father of modern welfare economics and the basic concepts of early welfare theory are attributed to his work, Economics of Welfare (1926). However, there are commentators who speculate that no matter how innovative Pigou may have been, many of his major theoretical contributions to welfare analysis lacked originality and were based on pre-Marshallian concepts; ODonnell (1979) implies Henry Sidgwick is a major influence who is not attributed sufficient credit. ODonnell (1979) argues that as a firm follower of Marshall, Pigou utilised his marginal analyses of market processes. However, they differed on their beliefs in the ability of competitive markets and economic freedom to stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty; Marshall was confident that competitive markets, left alone, would lead to efficient allocation and that government intervention would create so many disincentives that it may cause more harm than good (Walker, 1989). Conversely Pigou argued that fairness is only to be achieved through extensive government intervention. Moreover, when Pigou (1926, 1928) sought to formalise the problems of market failure and the appropriate government solutions, he turned to Sigdwicks earlier propositions on government intervention. More than half a century before Pigou, Sidgwick and J. S. Mill initiated the transition from the non-interventionist approach of the classical tradition to the more interventionist orientation that characterised neoclassical welfare theory and influenced Pigous theory of welfare (Medema, 2007). Subsequently it is argued that in defining welfare and the general qualifications for a welfare criterion (wherein the similarities between basic welfare considerations of Pigou and Sidgwick are obvious), Pigou is not original (ODonnell, 1979). He was, however, genuinely innovative in introducing the terms Marginal Social Net Product (MSNP) and Marginal Private Net Product (MPNP); although Sidgwick (1897) expressed similar conclusions about divergences between private and social benefits marginal considerations were not part of his analysis and his generalised concept was not as concise as Pigous (ODonnell, 1979). Therefore, whilst Pigous contribution to welfare economics is undeniable, he is criticised for developing what is essentially a synthesis of ideas and analyses from Marshall and Sidgwick. Yet, if we again invoke the purpose for his inquiry and his beliefs about the practical use of economics, the fruits of his contribution yielded an expansive literature on not only welfare economics but also public finance and environmental economics for which he is undeniably responsible; the purpose isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦that the fabric of theory shall be a yielding garment, fitting the varied and complex reality of economic life as closely as is demanded by the criterion that the conclusions to which the theory leads shall be both useful and general (Young, 1913: 686). SECTION III The working of self-interest is generally beneficent, not because of some natural coincidence between the self-interest of each and the good of all, but because human institutions are arranged so as to compel self-interest to work in directions in which it will be beneficent (Cannan in Pigou, 1926: 130) We move now to the subject of government intervention in the economy. In his relatively unknown essay on State Action and Laissez-Faire Pigou stated the real question is not whether the State should act or not, but on what principles, in what degree and over what departments of economic life its action should be carried on (Pigou in Medema, 2009: 65). In Economics of Welfare (1926) Pigou controversially advocates the need for government intervention in the form of taxes and bounties to correct for market failures and our defective telescopic faculty. External Economies In Economics of Welfare (1926) Pigou originated the innovative theoretical distinction between social and private benefits and costs, illustrating how private production costs for a firm do not necessarily reflect total social costs of production. This analysis formed the basis for much of the analysis in modern environmental economics (Myint 1948). He states that when value of MSNP (marginal physical product of the factor as appropriated by the producer * market price of product) is greater than MSNP (total of products and services from employment of the additional factor no matter to whom they may accrue) external economies exist and the government must intervene in the market to ensure the industry contracts the optimum output may be reached and economic welfare may thus be maximised (Pigou, 1926). Coase what coase said economists have tended to overestimate the advantages of government intervention and that such intervention may not actually be desirable in certain situations? Monopolies Pigou says that monopolies are bad and that governments should intervene to make sure they dont overrun? Something like this? But people argue against that and say that this is not good and his assumptions are wrong! CONCLUSION General optimum and national dividend are major elements that constitute his theory of welfare. Section I National Dividend National Dividend and General Optimum National Dividend he outlines the national dividend which is defined as _______. Is very important because it is the measure he outlines as the aggregate indicator of welfare. Discussion Hayek criticised his conception of the national dividend because of his assumption of Maintaining capital intact stating that __________________ General Optimum and Criterion for welfare maximisation He says that anything that increases the national dividend, so long as it doesnt reduce the share going to the poor will increase total welfare and anything that increases the share of the poor so long as it doesnt affect the national dividend, will also increase welfare. Discussion Buchanan (http://www.heinonline.org.ezproxy.webfeat.lib.ed.ac.uk/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/jlecono2id=1size=2collection=journalsindex=journals/jlecono#126) outlines the difference between Pigous optimum and Paretos optimum ODonnell criticises Pigou for lack of originality, claiming that he has basically created a synthesis of Pre-Marshallian ideas and Marshallian analysis (the only thing original being his contribution of MSNP and MPNP). Myint criticises Pigou for trying to impose Marshalls physical analysis onto what should be a subjective level of analysis: since welfare theory, as argued by graff, is a normative theory. Section II External Effects Pigou basically says that private firms do not always take into account the Monopolies MONOPOLIES 6. I do not propose to say very much in this paper about the welfare economics of monopoly and imperfect competition, for this is altogether too large a subject to be capable of useful treat- ment on the scale here available. A very large part of the estab- lished theory of imperfect competition falls under the head of welfare economics, and it is actually much the strongest part of the theory which does so. Considered as a branch of positive economics, the theory of imperfect competition is even now not very convincing; the assumption that the individual producer has a clear idea of the demand curve confronting him has been justifiably questioned, and the presence of intractable elements of oligopoly in most markets has been justifiably suspected. When it is considered as a branch of welfare economics, the theory of imperfect competition has a much clearer status. Oligopoly and monopolistic competition fall into their places as reasons for the inequality between price and marginal c ost, whose consequences are then a most fertile field for study along welfare lines. It is perhaps rather to be regretted that modern theories of imperfect competition have not been cast more overtly into this form; for the general apparatus of welfare economics would have made it possible to state some of the most important pro- positions in a more guarded way than usual. Take, for example, the very important question of the optimum number of firms in an imperfectly competitive industry, which is so near the centre of modern discussion. Since (ex hypothesi) the different firms are producing products which are economicaly distinguishable, the question is one of those which falls under the heading of our third set of optimum conditions-the totl conditions; we have to ask whether a reduction in the number of products would be conducive to a movement towards the optimum. Suppose then that a particular firm is closed down. The loss involved im its cessation is measured by the compensati on which would have to be given to consumers to make up for their loss of the opportunity to consume the missing product, plus the compensation which would have to be given to producers to make up for the excess of their earnings in this use over what they could earn in other uses. The loss is therefore measured by Marshalls Surplus (Consumers Surplus 1 plus Producers Surplus). Under conditions of perfect competition, this loss is a net loss. For when the factors are transferred to other uses, they will have to be scattered about at the margins of those uses; and (since the earnings of a factor equal the value of its marginal product) the additional production made possible by the use of the factors in these new places is equal in value to the earnings of the factors (already accounted for). Under perfect competition, the marginal productivity law ensures that there is no producers surplus generated at the new margins; while, since the marginal unit of any commodity is worth no more than what is paid for it, there can be no consumers surplus either. Thus there is nothing to set against the initial loss; there cannot be a movement towards the optimum if the number of products is reduced. But if competition is imperfect, there is something to set on the other side. The earnings of a factor are now less than the value of its marginal product by an amount which varies with the degree of monopolistic exploitation; and therefore the increment to production which can be secured by using the factors at other margins is worth more than the earnings of the factors. There is a producers surplus, even at the margin, and this producers surplus may outweigh the initial loss. The general condition for a particular firm to be such that its existence is compatible with the optimum is that the sum of the consumers and producers surpluses generated by its activities must be greater than the producers surplus which would be generated by employing its factors (and exploiting them) elsewhere. The rule usually given is a special case of this general rule. If entry to the industry is free, price equals average cost, and the producers surplus generated by the firm as a whole can be neglected. If the products of the different firms are very cl ose substitutes, or merely distinguished by irrational pre- ferences, consumers surplus can perhaps be neglected as well. With these simplifications, the number of firms in an impe competitive industry is always excessive, so long as price is greater than marginal cost anywhere in the industry. (Or, if we can retain the identity of price with average cost, the number of firms is excessive until average cost is reduced to a minimum.) These, however, are simplifications; it is not always true that the number of firms in an imperfectly competitive industry is excessive, though very often it may be. Before recommending in practice a policy of shutting down redundant firms, we ought to be sure that the full condition is satisfied; and we ought to be very sure that the discarded factors will in fact be transferred to more productive uses. In a world where the most the economist can hope for is that he will be listened to occasionallY, that is not always so certain. In the absence of costs of movement the allocation of resources by competitive markets achieves universally equal marginal private net products. However, the production of ideal output requires equality of marginal social net products. Where private and social net products diverge, there is a prima facie case for reallocation of resources (Economics of welfare page 136) The Economics of Welfare Pigous major work, Wealth and Welfare (1912) and Economics of Welfare (1920), developed Alfred Marshalls concept of externalities (see Pigou, 1920), costs imposed or benefits conferred on others that are not taken into account by the person taking the action. Pigou attributed welfare gains to the greater marginal utility a dollar of income had for the poor compared to the rich; a transfer of income from rich to poor increased total utility that could also be defined as increased quality of life. Pigou also argued that welfare gains came from improving the quality of the work force through changes in the distribution of income or by improved working conditions. He argued that the existence of externalities was sufficient justification for government intervention. The reason was that if someone was creating a negative externality, such as pollution, he would engage in too much of the activity that generated the externality. Someone creating a positive externality, say, by educating himself and thus making himself more interesting to other people, would not invest enough in his education because he would not perceive the value to himself as being as great as the value to society. To discourage the activity that caused the negative externality, Pigou advocated a tax on the activity. To encourage the activity that created the positive externality, he advocated a subsidy. These are now called Pigovian (or Pigovian) taxes and subsidies. Let us now consider two excerpts that typify Pigous social policy, mentioned above: One person A, in the course of rendering some service, for which payments is made, to a second person B, incidentally also renders services or disservices to other personsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ of such sort that payment cannot be exacted from benefited parties or compensation enforced on behalf of the injured parties (Pigou 1932). It is possible for the State to remove the divergence [between private and social net product] through bounties and taxes (Pigou 1932). In the Economics of Welfare, Pigou says that his aim is to ascertain how far the free play of self-interest, acting under the existing legal system, tends to distribute the countrys resources in the way most favorable to the production of a large national dividend, and how far it is feasible for State action to improve upon natural tendencies. He starts by referring to optimistic followers of the classical economists who have argued that the value of production would be maximized if the government refrained from any interference in the economic system and the economic arrangements were those which came about naturally (Pigou 1932). Pigou goes on to say that if self-interest does promote economic welfare, it is because human institutions have been devised to make it so. He concludes: But even in the most advanced States there are failures and imperfections there are many obstacles that prevent a communitys resources from being distributed in the most efficient way. The study of these constitutes our present problem its purpose is essentially practical. It seeks to bring into clearer light some of the ways in which it now is, or eventually may become, feasible for governments to control the play of economic forces in such wise as to promote the economic welfare, and through that, the total welfare, of their citizens as a whole (Pigou 1932). Pigous thoughts are further elucidated: Some have argued that no State action is needed. But the system has performed as well as it has because of State action: Nonetheless, there are still imperfections. it might happen that costs are thrown upon people not directly concerned, through, say, uncompensated damage done to surrounding woods by sparks from railway engines. All such effects must be included-some of them will be positive, others negative elements-in reckoning up the social net product of the marginal increment of any volume of resources turned into any use or place (Pigou 1932) To illustrate this discussion further, let us consider an example: Suppose a paper mill was being planned on a certain river and an economist was given all facts about the river-in-question and told that a paper mill was to be sited so that it could discharge oxygen-consuming waste into the river. Suppose further that the economist was asked to analyze the situation, offer a policy for siting the mill, and comment on the practical aspects of adopting the policy proposal as a general rule. The first approach involves an externality analysis, where the paper mill pollutes the river, imposing an unwanted cost on society, a cost that does not enter the mill owners profit calculations. This is the problem of social cost. Following this line of inquiry, failure to consider the external cost leads to too much paper and too little environmental quality. This economist would be using an analytical framework developed by A. C. Pigou who would argue that pollution generates a social cost that should be dealt with by the central government. He would propose a system of taxes, bounties, and regulations for resolving the problem. Most likely, the economist using this framework would call for some form of effluent taxes or regulation to control the mills discharge. Pigous solution spoke of market failure and the need for a central authority to fine-tune markets so that the appropriate level of pollution would emerge. This approach called for collection of complicated and rapidly changing information, translating the information into a tax or regulation, and imposing the tax or rule on the polluter. In fact, modern environmental economics began with the work of Arthur Pigou, who developed the analysis of externalities. His name is attached to the traditional policy proposal, Pigouvian taxes on polluting activities, equal to the value of the damages. Coases alternative solution Pigous approach came under attack from Lionel Robbins and Frank Knight. The New Welfare Economics that arose in the late 1930s dispensed with much of Pigous analytical toolbox. Later, the Public Choice theorists rejected Pigous approach for its naive benevolent despot assumption. Finally, Nobel Laureate Ronald Coase demonstrated that efficient outcomes could be generated without government intervention when property rights are clearly defined. Coase presents his case in the article The Problem of Social Cost (1960). To explain this alternative let us continue with the paper mill example. There is a second approach likely taken. In this line of thinking the economist considers the paper mill and others who wish to consume or enjoy water quality as part of a competitive market where people bargain for the use of rights to scarce property. This analysis has nothing to do with polluters imposing cost on society, but everything to do with competing demands for use of an asset. If rights to the asset are defined and assigned to members of the river-basin community, then those planning to build the paper mill must bargain with the rightholders to determine just how much, if any, waste will discharge into the river. If the rights are held by the mill, then the existing communities along the river must bargain with the mill owner for rights to water quality. Again, bargaining determines the amount of discharge to the river. This approach relies on the work of Ronald Coase (1960). Using this framework, an economist might recommend a meeting of the mill owners and others who have access to the river. After organizing the parties, negotiations would ensue. If existing river users owned water-quality rights, the mill would have to buy the rights in order to discharge specified amounts of waste. If the mill had the right to pollute, existing river users would have to buy water quality from the mill, paying the mill to limit its discharges. In other words, Pigouvian taxes do embody the important principle that polluters should pay for the damages they inflict on society. But in both law and economics, a more conservative analysis has gained popularity. Legal scholar Ronald Coase argued that taxes and regulation might be unnecessary, since under some circumstances polluters and those harmed by pollution could engage in private negotiation to determine the appropriate compensation. While Pigous examples of externalities often involved simultaneous harms to large numbers of people, Coases examples tended to be localized, individual nuisances, where one persons behavior disturbed the immediate neighbors. The image of environmental externalities as localized nuisances serves to trivialize the real problems of widespread, collective threats to health and nature. Creative alternative readings of Coase have been suggested at times, but the dominant interpretation of his work has provided an intellectual basis for the retreat fr om regulation. Comparison of Pigous and Coases approaches Evidence of the record of Coases intellectual influence is seen in the count of citations to his 1960 article, which are shown in Yardley (1977). The citation data of Coases (1960) The Problem of Social Cost and Pigous (1932) The Economics of Welfare are superimposed on a count of Federal Register pages for the same years. The data mapping suggests several things. First, Pigous influence on academics seems to operate at a steady state. There is no evidence that Pigovians were responding to the growth of regulation occurring around them. The Coase citations indicate the reverse. References to his ideas seem to be a reaction to th

Stanleys Control in A Streetcar Named Desire Essay -- Control A Stree

Stanley's Control in A Streetcar Named Desire Remember what Huey Long said – Every Man is a King! - Explain how Stanley had his control, how he has had his kingship challenged and how he is trying to re-establish his control. â€Å"Remember what Huey Long said – â€Å"Every Man is a King!† Explain how Stanley had his control, how he has had his kingship challenged and how he is trying to re-establish his control. In the opening of â€Å"A Street Car Named Desire† by Tennessee Williams, we are presented with a stereotypical presentation of a husband and wife. However, during the duration of the play, we see how Stanley changes from being in control, to loosing his control and using desperate measures to regain a higher status. In Scene 1 the impression the audience gets about Stanley is that he is in control over his wife. The first time the audience sees him, he â€Å"bellows† at Stella and Stella â€Å"mildly† talks back to him, showing Stanley’s higher status. Stanley also â€Å"hurls† a meaty package at Stella, showing his masculine power that he possesses. Stella, in contrast, is the one that waits for Stanley. The first time we see Stella and Stanley together, Stanley has gone to find Stella rather than the other way round. This gives the audience the impression that Stella is almost a stay at home wife to Stanley. When Blanche and Stanley first meet, it is easy to see that Stanley feels as if he has control. He â€Å"starts to remove his shirt† in front of Blanche when he has first met her, indicating his confidence and his high status attitude. A small indication that Stanley’s â€Å"kingship† is being challenged is show in the start of Scene 2. In Scene 2, Stella takes Blanche out to a show and supper, while Stanley has ... ... then chooses Stanley, leaving Blanche to be taken away by a Doctor to a mental hospital. In the beginning of the play it is clear to see how Stanley has higher status than Stella, shown through a combination of stage directions and speech. Stanley realises that his status has been lost fairly early on in the play, and firstly believes that he must show his masculine power by hitting Stella. This is obviously the way he has solved any previous issues to do with his masculinity, as Stella says about how â€Å"Stanley’s always smashed things†. Stanley realises how this usual solution won’t work this time, so he puts his efforts into driving Blanche away. He succeeds in doing this, but it shows the audience a terrible side to Stanley. His last action to regain masculinity is an awful act with risky consequences, as Stella could have easily turned against him.

Time and Cost Estimating Techniques Essays -- Project Management Obser

Time and Cost Estimating Techniques Estimating work times provides several benefits for the project manager. It gives an idea of the level of effort required to complete a project. This information then enables the project manager to produce a realistic plan based upon that effort. Estimating also helps the project manager anticipate the budget for the project. There are many formal techniques available to estimate time and cost for activities. Please refer to the Project Management Reference Section for more details on these techniques. Anyone reviewing these estimates should understand that they are approximations, not accuracies. Although the formal techniques are very specific, most of them have the following tasks in common: * Break activities down into small pieces for easier and more accurate estimation. (WBS) * Review historical information and compare to current activities. * Include a contingency buffer for potential risks. * Solicit advice from others that have previously completed similar activities. * Identify and document the assumptions and parameters used to derive the estimates. Microsoft Project Microsoft Project is project management software. Project management software assists project managers by providing a means for organizing project information. A project manager uses the software to enter and maintain a workplan that organizes activities and details. The software calculates the scheduled dates for tasks based on the time or work requirements of each task using a calendar of working days for the project and its resources. Microsoft Project is a tool to assist project managers in creating a WBS, PERT Charts, Gantt Charts, and resource histograms. Other reports and charts are also readily available for use and customization. AIS project team members and managers should use the latest version. PERT/CPM Network analysis techniques identify early and late start and finish dates for the uncompleted portions of project activities. The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and the Critical Path Method (CPM) are examples of network analysis techniques. The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is an event-oriented technique used to show all the project tasks, dependencies, and earliest and latest start times for each task in graphical form. It is used... ...y are achieving the task goals. This type of observation can also be useful if aspects of team performance are being investigated to understand how the team members are organised and perform their tasks. Communication and conversational analysis Investigation of the patterns in the organisation of people's interaction (it would be possible to use the principle of analysing a conversation between two travellers, or one traveller and one transport enquiry office operator in real situations, in order to identify the needs for the traveller in specific contexts, what are the difficulties encountered, how a system could resolve these difficulties,... ). One of these methods is the language / action approach which considers the language as a means by which people act. Advantage of this method : it provides a complete and logical conceptual frame in order to investigate all kinds of conversation. Disadvantage of this method : many situations are characterised by subtle communication processes not taken into account by the model. There is also a difficulty in labelling an interaction and a message especially if they do not fit into the request or promise categories.

Shell Oil Company Case Study

Shell Oil Company is a worldwide group of petrochemicals and energy companies and a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell that was created in 1907. It is a  multinational gas and oil company that has its origins from Anglo-Dutch and their headquarters is in The Hague, Netherlands. Shell is one of the biggest oil and gas companies worldwide and one of the most profitable. 3% of the world’s natural gas and 2.5 of its oil is insured by Shell. The company is employing more than 80.000 people in more than 80 countries around the world and 22.000 of these employees are based in the US where they have approximately 25.000 branded gas stations. According to its revenue in 2010, (285 129 million dollars) Shell is the second largest company in the world.Shell Oil company has a wide range of activities by operating in regions such as America especially and also in the rest of the world. The activities of the company consist in exploring for and extracting crude oil and natural gas most of th e time in collaboration with international and national oil companies. They provide liquefied natural gas to customers all around the world by cooling it and also convert natural gas into liquids in order to provide cleaner burning fuels. The multinational sells daily a quantity of petrol and diesel sufficient to fuel more than 16 million cars and to furnish electricity for 34 million home globally. Shell also converts bitumen, a thick and heavy oil extracted from mined oil sands into synthetic crude oil and develops wind power with the goal of generating electricity.These activities are all part of the company’s Upstream businesses and it has interests in Europe, Asia, Middle East, Russia, Africa and Oceania. Shell also has a Downstream organization that is made up of a large number of businesses. These activities principally consist in turning crude oil into refined products, which are transported and sold worldwide for domestic, industrial, and transport purpose, fuels, bi tumen and lubricants included. Refining, Distribution and Supply are the main activities of their Manufacturing business. Shell trades crude oil, oil products, and petrochemicals first to optimize raw materials for their Manufacturing business and to supply their Marketing business. The company also has a CO2 organization in charge of coordinating the activities of the CO2 management within the company. Shell Trading’s global network includes its activities in every important energy market around the world.MANAGEMENT TEAM OF SHELLPETER VOSER:He joined Shell in 1982 after his graduation in Business Administration from the Applied Science University in Zurich. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Shell since July 2009. He had occupied many positions such as Chief Financial Officer and had also been an Executive Director of Royal Dutch Shell before being CEO and has a lot of years of experience. He has also served in other companies such as the Asea Brown Boveri. He has been CFO of Shell Europe Oil Products as well from 1999 to 2001.SIMON HENRY:He is the Chief Financial Officer of the company and at the same time a member of the board of Royal Dutch Shell. He has joined it in 1982 after his graduation in Mathematics from Cambridge University. He is also very experimented for having held several positions before his appointment as CFO. From 2004 until his appointment he was occupying the position of Executive Vice President Finance for Exploration and Production.2.0 How Shell is affected by its environment The environment in business is considered as the forces that may affect the current or coming activities of an organization. The environment in an organization includes the specific environment also known as task environment and the general environment.2.1 SPECIFIC ENVIRONMENT The specific environment or internal environment is the one that can be controlled by the business. Its components that include the customers, the suppliers, the competitors and the pressure group can directly affect the business. 2.1.1 Customers:Customer is the main point of any business. The success of any business depends on the importance given to the customers. The impact customers have on Shell vary according to the area. In some countries where people have low income the increase of the oil price that occur most of the time can be a  major problem. Most of the people can’t continually afford the gas needed for their cars because of its high price. In some countries the quality of the service that leaves to be desired is part of the main complains of Shell customers. These factors resulted in a loss of trust of the customers and had an impact on the company’s image profit.2.1.2 Suppliers:A number of various suppliers are needed in any business enterprise. Suppliers provide raw materials and components to the company. Shell suppliers are also its internal stakeholders and partners in the chain of production. Bringing petrol from the oil we ll to the petrol pump is their main duty. A lack of reliability or efficiency in this task can result in a succession of problems affecting directly the company well-being because suppliers are part of the organization’s internal environment.Shell has always been in good terms with it suppliers, but the company is nevertheless preventive concerning its supply chain. Shell has various core values that are important in the way that the company runs. Its suppliers must adapt to these values for a continuous good partnership because any lack in the supply chain could be defective to the company’s good running.2.1.3 Competitors:For a business competitors are the companies that are in the same industry and deliver same products or services to customers. Shell main competitors include Exxon Mobil, PETRONAS, Chevron and CITGO, Total. These companies represent a danger for Shell because they provide the same services and products and often with substantial discount on their pri ce. In the early 90’s Shell was the most profitable company in Europe but it had been in the process of restructuring.The main reason was that the R.O.C (Return of Capital of the company) was lagging behind Exxon the company’s main competitor. Shell had approximately 117,000 employees in 1993 and it decreased to 106,000 in 1994. The net income of the company also decreased to 36% from 1993 to 1994. All these facts occurred because of competition.2.2 GENERAL ENVIRONMENTThe general environment is also known as nonmarket environment, it is composed of the Economic, socio-cultural, political, demographic,  technologic and sometimes global factors that can affect the business performance. It includes the interactions between the firm and the government or global entities.2.2.1 Political factorsPolitical factors include the legislations of a government businesses are obliged to respect.. Government policies on Shell have a big impact on Shell Oil Company, because the produ ction’s rate in Oil business is affected by these policies. Taxes on petroleum applied in the countries where refineries are built also affect the business. Political instability of countries where Shell has its refinery can also be a factor that affects the business. In Nigeria Shell’s profit were higher than elsewhere, but the political instability that occurred in that country in the past years has really impacted the business and its profit in that particular area.2.2.2 Economic factorsFor a business the economic environment refers to the economic factors that can have an effect on the business well-being. These factors include economic systems, policies, resources, nature of economy and the economic legislation. The high unemployment rate in countries where Shell operates is an unfavorable factor. The Gross National Product Trend and the inflation rate are also factors that affect Shell Oil Company. In the last five years the joint venture of the Shell Oil Company in Nigeria has participated about more than $38million to the economy of the country, tax and royalty included and is receiving annually 95% of the profit from the company’s onshore production in the Niger Delta. This is economically affecting the business in terms of income. The corruption pertaining in Nigeria which is one of the most corrupted countries in Africa has its impacts and is preventing the company to do its business ethically.2.2.3 Socio-Cultural factorsShell is operating in almost all the parts of the world, so the company has to deal with the cultural and societal differences. Society and culture influence all the aspects of an overseas business, the business has to be aware of the opinions, feelings and attitudes in the local environment. In Nigeria most of the young people living in the delta where Shell is operating are uneducated and are living in the misery.In 1999 military  youths hijacked sixty four Shell staff and blocked all access roads. This viol ent culture of Nigerians isn’t a good factor for the company that made of this country one of its more important areas of operation. The military youths spilled the oil near the SPDC; Shell Petroleum Development Company areas. The company has been obliged to pay compensation for spoiling the environment and prevent the crash of local social infrastructure. This is one of the multiple socio-cultural factors faced by the Shell worldwide.2.2.4 Technological factorsA business enterprise in order to have competitive advantage over others has to make action plans on time to adjust with technological advancements. Aware of that Shell has over the years tried to accommodate his services according to the technological advancements. They have introduced the Shell Oil Card for payment at Shell station and this was a great innovation. But since technology isn’t available in all the regions of the world there were some drawbacks with the use of the card, for example it is not accep ted in some countries or worst people don’t have access to it. Shell is providing his services in a lot of African countries and most of the time it is in that part of the world that a consequent technological lack is noticeable.2.2.5 Environmental factorsOil companies like Shell have to take particularly care of the environment because they are using substances that can damage the environment. Shell has been accused in the recent years of pollution by farmers in the Nigerian delta where it has one of its most important operations. Even if the court has acquitted the company in that case, that event made people doubting of the social responsibility of the company.Farmer in the Nigerian Delta .3.0 How Shell adapted to the changes in its environment? 3.1 Adaptation to the changes in the specific environment3.1.1 CustomersFor customer satisfaction, speed of service is an important value that needs to be taken in account by organizations. Technology has made it easy for  busine sses to meet the customer needs in a very quick way which is connectivity. Aware of that Shell has set up the Shell Customer Lounge that is a website which makes easy the business between Shell and its customers. This service according to Peter Voser has brought a lot of satisfactions to Shell’s customers and allowed the company to handle some problems that occurred in recent years due to a lack of promptness and speed by the company. Shell is trying somehow to make the price of their services meet the income of their customers according to the area by trying to make it affordable.3.1.2 CompetitorsRelative to its competitors Shell’s performance was very weak and in order to avoid what happened in the 90’s when the company’s return on capital lagged behind Exxon the former head of the company decided to change the strategies. The company realized that the real purpose of effective planning is to change the way the decision makers think. Shell, in order to gain competitive advantage over its main competitors is implementing a strategy that others can hardly repeat. The company came up in the last years with unique skills in terms of technology and integration, and a worldwide set of opportunities for future investments. According to Peter Voser the CEO of the company, Shell’s efforts to expand its pipeline of possible energy projects are already successful and this can be a real way to get competitive advantage over the company’s competitors.3.1.3 SuppliersFor a business it is of a capital importance to develop long term and quality relationships with those taking part in the business process such as suppliers. Shell forces its suppliers to be in accordance with its business principles and core values for a good relationship and good terms of work. The company has made clear in its code of conducts report that they will stop all activities with any supplier that does not match all these qualifications. This is a way to s hift any potential changes relative to its supply chain.3.2 Adaptation to the changes in the general environment3.2.1 Adaptation to the political factorsTo face the political factors that affect its business Shell has revised its business strategies in hostile and turbulent environment particularly in Nigeria. The company made planning to be able to face any identical scenario that could occur in the future by focusing on medium term planning instead of long term planning. Shell has set up a discussion with workshops for a better interaction with the local communities in Nigeria and also pressurized their workers for radical changes in turbulent environment.3.2.2 Adaptation to the economic factorsTo adapt to the economic problems faced in certain of their operating areas, Shell has set up a lot of strategies particularly in Nigeria. The company is facing a lot of problems in that area due to the difficulty of the economy such as the taxes imposed on their business and the corruption . The head of the company said that they have to keep on making huge profit every year because the taxes and government regulations on the company are unavoidable. Shell identifies its own core values as honesty and respect for people to fight against the corruption which is affecting its activities in Nigeria. Shell communicated its anti-corruption principles by providing training programs and also made its workers aware of the importance of having legal and non-corruptive activities. The company has implemented various policies and initiatives to do its business properly without any kind of corruption, illegal or unethical practices.3.2.3 Adaptation to the socio-cultural and technologic factorsFor a company it is of a capital importance to know how to deal with the social and cultural factors in the area of operations. Shell faced a lot of socio cultural factors that affected its business in the past years. These factors had a negative impact on Shell running but the company aimin g to cover a bigger area to implement its activities is still continuing to adapt itself in hostile and violent environment like Nigeria. Since the world knows a fast technological advance businesses must know how to adapt to these changes. This can help to get a competitive advantage on others. Shell is trying to make its oil card available in regions where there is a technological backwardness such as certain parts of Africa.4.0 CONCLUSION4.1 ObjectivesKnowing that without customers a business can’t run in the long term Shell major objectives is to win and maintain customers by providing to them products and services that offer value in terms of price and quality. The company is also aiming to meet customers want value for money that is to provide the highest quality of services at competitive prices. Shell’s people knowing that this can give a quick stop to the achievement of the company’s goals are trying to find solutions to allow the use of the card everyw here in the world. Shell has various core values that are important in the way that the company runs. Its suppliers must adapt to these values for a continuous good partnership because any lack in the supply chain could be defective to the company’s good running. Shell’s main objectives are to extract and deliver oil profitably by respecting the social and environmental norms. The company is looking forward to get a bigger standard of performance and maintain their position in terms of competition in the areas they operate.4.2 RecommendationsThe company should work closer with its customers its partners and its policymakers to proceed to more sustainable use of energy. In Nigeria Shell should go further in their strategies to fight the bad impact the political and economic factors have on the company because the general environment is as important as the specific and all these factors can be really harmful to the good running of the company. Shell Group must engage res ponsibly and profitably in oil and other businesses of their choices, participate in the research of other sources of energy to keep on satisfying customer needs.