Descriptive Writing – Ayer’s Rock

As the cramped, stuffy minibus approached our destination, I could see the first rays of morning sun sparkle over the horizon. Against this blinding inferno an ominous shadow appeared. It grew as we drew nearer, the true size of it becoming clearer. Looking away briefly to swat at a fly, as I turned back I was hit by a surge of warmth as the sun rose higher. Transfixed I stared at the task before me; the other occupants of the bus seemed sombre and lifeless compared to the scenery. Glancing at my watch (5.00am) I slipped my hat over my eyes and attempted to sleep. A sudden jolt awoke me; a speed bump signalling our arrival at the monolith. The shade confused my dozing mind briefly as I looked left. Waking quickly I saw a vast expanse of orange-brown rock rising to the sky, ugly at a glance but beautiful in detail. Awe-struck, my eyes slowly surveyed the rock; tracking up I saw faint smears of colour moving towards the summit, and eventually clicked that these were people, dwarfed immensely by this foreboding thing. I managed to pull myself from my seat, grab my camera and head for this blister rising from the outback. My view had been that I was at the base of the rock already, and that my walk would be a short one, but the weathered lump continued to grow as I approached. More and more detail was becoming visible; small bushes surrounding the base from a distance were actually small trees, small cracks in the rock were the size of a block of flats, creating huge weathered tentacles reaching into the desert dust. I eventually reached the base, continually staring upwards and trying to take in the full magnitude of this place. Our groups guide appeared and gave us the go ahead to begin the climb to the summit of this red mountain. I began the climb optimistic; seeing the sloping pathway from the base made it seem an ascent of no more than 150 metres, and the help of a chain near the floor would make it short work. But as I climbed higher, I saw more pathways stretching off over the wasteland of the zenith. Already somewhat tired, I suddenly had a surge of energy and decided to press on fast. I motored up the remaining chained slope, ignoring the floods of Japanese tourists sliding slowly down. Reaching the barren plain, I saw it was not the flat desert I had imagined but was covered in deep furrows and potholes created by the millennia of exposure to the harsh outback elements. I groaned, but could now see the apex another 200 metres or so higher. The prospect of seeing the already magnificent view from that windswept pinnacle strengthened my resolve, and I set over this other worldly landscape As I continued to climb, and could see more of the pristine wilderness around me, I realised just how far from the hustle and bustle of the civilized world I was. No sound could be heard apart from the constant warm breeze whipping through the channels in the rock; after my push towards the top I had left the rest of the people heading up behind somewhat, and no other tourists had ventured this far. I had the pleasure of being completely alone to fully appreciate the beauty of my surroundings, and how disconnected from life I felt. I realised that in my mental wanderings, I had also wandered quite far, almost to the roof of this red world. The final chasm in the rock before my goal seemed nothing more than a ditch and the last few steps would be done in minutes. Rising over the final hill and out of the shadow, into the fierce morning sun was fantastic. Seeing the earth stretch out into infinity below me filled me with life. It was quite odd. Weary from the climb, I sat down to rest, still feeling this wonder that places this untouched still existed in the world. The inspiration to explore and find more of these areas of solitude was suddenly kindled in me, and started some ambitions flowing in my brain. Rested, I decided to use this short period of isolation to examine where I was. Although at a glance the summit seemed empty, on closer inspection there was life. In the pools of rainwater dotting the surface were ancient creatures, species of crustacean, with strange shrimps and strange prehistoric things I later found out were called triops; similar to the trilobites of the Mesozoic, yet still alive after the isolation on this rock. It was quite incredible; a glimpse into a life cycle that has been carrying in a single puddle for millions of years, completely ignorant of the rest of the world and completely unchanged. In the time I had been staring into the pool, my mum and sister had arrived and were admiring the view. I approached and told them about what I had seen and my amazement at this place. We explored some more, took some photos to remember what we had seen, and found the remains of a fire from an aboriginal fire, possibly hundreds of years old but preserved on this time stopping rock. Thinking of the ages that had been and gone while this single rock had stood frozen continued to amaze me. It was seen by some of the first human cultures hundreds of thousands of years ago, before dinosaurs would of swum around it during its time submerged in an ancient sea, before that who knows what might of seen it? If it could speak, what stories would it tell? Hours had passed since I first set off, and it was time to head back to the confines of the minibus. Coming back down, I didn't mind leaving as I felt as though no matter how much we are told about the world, no matter how much information we are fed through the media, television and how much our governments try to shrink our perception of the world, it is still a truly vast place that should be appreciated for its wonders and the ones it may still hold. Reaching the base again, and looking back at where I had been, I decided that I wanted to see these wonders in my lifetime.

Journal Entry for Stephen Crane’s, An Episode of War Essay

This short piece of American literature is a descriptive prose depicting a scene in the American Civil War. An unnamed lieutenant is wounded at his right arm while resting with the rest of his troops during an active battle. The story enables the readers to take part on the lieutenant’s perceptions on what is happening and how the battle was shaped and he is a participant or a victim of a battle unknown to him. The battle is fierce and tumultuous; it was able to take the innocent lives and anything on its way. All of this thinking happened while the lieutenant passed the line of the battle, while he was in search of the field hospital.  At the hospital, the wounded officer had a brief and unpleasant encounter with a surgeon who is rude and lied to him, saying that his arm will not be amputated. The story was able to envelop the soft and meek side of an army officer in a few lines of dialogue of having his right arm amputated. In the end, the lieutenant went along with the surgeon for a medical procedure but end up losing his arm. The army officer felt ashamed when he got home to his family and showing an empty sleeve. He was a victim of a war that could have been avoided and he will not have to lose his arm.

Economics of Singapore and Hong Kong Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Economics of Singapore and Hong Kong - Essay Example The Asian countries of India, China Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia are notable examples NICs and their dramatic successes in economic growth have often been referred to as the East Asian Miracle. Other Asian countries like China and India have also achieved successes in economic growth. The 'economic miracle' of these East Asian countries is however not exclusive to Asia as countries in the Americas like Chile, Brazil and Mexico have also achieved appreciably high growth rates in their economies and could thus be referred to as NICs as well. It must be said though the growth rates vary amongst all the NICs and as such some growths may be relatively higher compared to others in other NICs. Countries like China, India Singapore and Hong Kong however standout of the rest due to the rapid nature of their growth within a space of about 30 years. Also, the use of NICs is a matter of definition and as such a country like South Africa that was largely secluded f rom the international economy due to its apartheid policies may now be categorised as an NIC by some, while others may classify it as a developed country. This essay will first conduct a generalised or panoramic view of the features that underlie the development experiences of NICs before undertaking a closer look at the experiences of selected NICs. It must be said that though the development experiences may be very varied, some common cardinal features can be seen in the experiences of all NICs. Most NICs were able to achieve high growth rates by instituting market reforms that favoured exports. (Hamilton 1987) There was also a strong emphasis on value added manufacturing that changed their economies from predominantly agrarian economies into industrial and manufacturing based economies. Increased capital investments from foreign and domestic sources played a key role in the development experiences of NICs and so did the development of domestic corporations that could compete with other foreign corporations both on the domestic market and on the regional or international markets as well. (Bhagwati, 1996) Typical examples are the automotive, steel and ship building companies of Korea. Political leadership also contributed significantly to the high growths in the economies of NICs. As stated earlier, though the 'authoritarian' thesis is a disputed one, the fact that relative political stability pertained in the countries that recorded significant growths in their economies goe s to show that political leadership played a crucial role in the development experience of NICs (Combie, 2000). The next segment of this essay will undertake a closer look at economies of Hong Kong and Singapore."Singapore, a leading trading power and financial centre, is one of the quintets of trillion dollar economies of Asia. Over the past two decades, the government has been kept minimum. Still the Government bodies such as sovereign wealth fund Temasek control corporations responsible for 60% of GDP. The distinguishing characteristic of Singapore's Economy is the low level of corruption, stable prices one of the highest per capita gross domestic products (GDP) in the world. The country has open business environment and one of the

Information System Risk Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Information System Risk Management - Essay Example This is because success of the ERPs depends on many factors which include technological (Hardware and software), efficient design of processes, and utilization of human recourses. The human resources are the users of the new ERP solution. It is with this in mind that organizations should take risk management strategy that would identify and also control any ERP implementation risks. An organization at risk is exposed to potential threats. Risk management comprises of risk assessment, risk mitigation evaluation and assessment. Risk assessment is used to determine extent of the potential. Some tangible impacts of the success of a threat are thins like loss of revenue and the cost of repairing a system that has been affected (Stoneburner, 2008). Security Threats-ERP threats are real therefore it is important not only to identify the threats but also know the vulnerabilities of the system and look for ways of preventing these threats from breaching the security of the ERP system. The threats may be grouped into the types which include the following:- 3.0 Natural Threats-These are threats that are not caused by human beings. They include quakes, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, temperature extremes, and many others. Intentional Threats-The best examples of intentional threats are computer crimes or purposeful damage of property or even information. Unintentional Threats-These threats may include unauthorized or even accidental modification of the system. The best way is to study the vulnerability of the system is to identify the threats and then examine the system under those threats. 4.0 Vulnerability of the system One has to think about business transactions that can lead to losses from the information system based abuse, fraud and errors. This may lead to losses occurring when users use the system in a manner that they are not supposed to. It may either be intentional or not. Also there may be threats from intrusion and attacks from outsiders. People may steal or come across authorization credentials and try to enter the system without the knowledge of the authorities and thus jeopardize the integrity of the information contained in the system database. In addition there may also be systems abuse and fraud from the insiders. Authorized users can attempt and indeed succeed in entering into modules that they are not supposed to enter. Centralization of everything in the organization can become a performance bottleneck and also increase the ease with which people can sabotage the entire operations of the organization. One only needs to ensure that the ERP is not w orking and the organization will be on its knees unable to operate. 5.0 External Security Threats Weak Passwords- By use of dictionary attacks, intruders can guess correctly the passwords that are used in the ERP system and hence cause a malicious damage to the system or even get access to otherwise confidential data of the organization thereby compromising the integrity of the organization data. To eliminate this kind of threat, the organization should provide complex passwords and combine

The role of the CLI in modern computing operating systems Essay

The role of the CLI in modern computing operating systems - Essay Example A CLI comes with a command line interpreter that interprets the command and implements it. The command line interpreter might be running in a text terminal or in a terminal emulator windows as a remote shell. Once the command finishes execution, the output of that command might be in the form of a text displayed on the interface itself (MSCOM, 2007). The concept of CLI emerged when teletypewriter machines used to connected to computers in 1950s, and gave results on the demand as compared to other technologies such as batch based punched card inputs used during those times. After the success of the initial CLIs, next came the CRT based terminals that had the capability of interacting faster, they could display more information, and the development kept on going. Currently, the personal computers of today have all three forms of processing, i.e. batch processing, GUI and CLI. CLIs are complex, and most non-computer people prefer not to use it. This is why, it is often assumed that CLIs have become extinct and they are no longer used. However, it is not the case as CLIs continue to grow alongside the GUIs provided by Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Linux, etc. Several application also utilize the CLI and mix it with GUI to achieve better results. An example of such application software is MATLAB, and AutoCAD. Besides being embedded with different applications, all the operating systems implemented on the routers, switches, etc. for networking have CLI based operating systems. The application of CLI is when we have a large number of commands or queries available along with different options and we can give those commands faster than we can using a GUI. The command shells of various operating systems that come with Windows, Linux, Mac Os, etc. work on similar base. Some programming languages such as BASIC, Python, Forth, LISP, etc all provide a modified interactive version of command line interface. Another major application of CLI is its use in engineering and

The state and international community counterterrorism response to Essay

The state and international community counterterrorism response to [insert terrorist group] - Essay Example Thus, it is an international threat to both the foreign and local governments that wage war on terror. This factor forces the United States, alongside the international community, to take measures of executing counters to these acts of terror. The countries constitute legal establishments and law enforcement strategies to continue the fight against terrorism. Al-Qaeda is a militant Islamism organisation founded under the stewardship and overview of Osama bin Laden and Abdullah Yusuf Azzam in the town of Peshawar, based in Pakistan. Its established dates back to the Soviet War in Afghanistan, between august 1988 and late 1989, with is objective of formulation being to assist defeat the Russians (Chaliand & Blin, 2007, p. 67). Over the years, Al Qaeda grew, and today it boasts of the status of a fully pledged multinational army that is stateless. Subsequent to the Soviet War in Afghanistan, the group dispersed; nonetheless, it continued to present its displeasure and opposition to what the leaders of the group considered corrupt and foreign Islamic regimes such as the presence of United Sates in Islamic lands. During its formation, the group had a base in Sudan, but eventually resettled in Afghanistan in 1990, under the patronage of the Taliban militia. The Al Qaeda group merged and established partnerships with several other militant Isla mist organizations after its reestablishment that held views and practices similar to its visions (Gerges, 2009, p. 98). Such organizations that it merged with include the Islamic Jihad and the Islamic group of Egypt and the leaders of the group then declared holy war against the United Sates and her allies. After forming partnerships, the Al-Qaida started establishing its camps throughout the world, recruiting Muslim people into the group and training as well as equipping them with skills for fighting and carrying out the terror

Final Test Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Final Test - Essay Example The effect of this is that the reader does not receive a type of â€Å"whiplash† when dealing with the alternating topics that the author seeks to reveal. However, the general weakness of such an approach is the fact that the author does not have a broad enough subject matter in order to engage the reader with an undifferentiated narrative approach such as the one that has been employed without risking belaboring the point and losing the attention of the reader. Although the subject matter is nonetheless fascinating, it is difficult to hold on to the argumentative narrative with such a limited and shallow grip upon a narrow aspect of the subject matter. The third book, Sizwe's Test, employs a mixed style of argument that is concentric upon both rebuttal and definition. By means of employing such an approach, the author is able to engage the reader by raising key questions regarding the extent of the AIDs dilemma in S. Africa while at the same time offering a rebuttal for the m eans by which the disease is not able to be slowed or stopped to a greater degree. Rather than attempting to define the issue and argue for a given outcome, the author seeks to define the issue and then rebut the ways in which the disease has been currently handled. As a function of this, a far greater and more effective argument is drawn and the reader is able to gain valuable insight into the disease as it exists as well as attempting to understand nuances that would otherwise be obscured by much of the disinformation.

Parliamentary Sovereignty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Parliamentary Sovereignty - Essay Example The constitutional status and the political role of the judiciary have been substantially altered by the European Communities Act 1972 and the Human Rights Act 1998. When England took up the membership of the European economic committee in 1973, the authority of judiciary improved significantly.As such, the authority to assess and deny parliamentary statutes was bestowed upon the judiciary, under circumstances when the statutes were not in compliance with community law. In particular, the European Communities Act 1972 gave legal effect to the subjection of the UK to existing and future Community law. This indicated acceptance of the direct applicability and supremacy of Community law over domestic law. Consequently, the domestic courts were conferred with important powers and jurisdiction.Although parliamentary sovereignty ensures that the British parliament, can at any point of time rescind the authority of EU law, by taking drastic measures, even to the extent of withdrawing from t he EU, it is now not economically or politically viable to take such an extreme decision and face the repercussions of doing so. The European Communities Act 1972, at Section 2, enjoins that every piece of parliamentary legislation has to be construed and applied in compliance with Community law. Hence, English law has to be interpreted as being subject to the principle of supremacy of Community law.For example, in Van Gend en Loos, it was held that a new legal order had come into existence, due to the Community.

Project Managers and Functional Managers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Project Managers and Functional Managers - Essay Example Project managers have more critical leadership challenges b. Project managers have multifaceted teams c. Project manager use synthesis, functional managers use analysis IV. Skills and competencies of project managers a. Traditional skills and competencies b. Emerging skills and competencies V. Project Managers and Functional Managers There is a greater emphasis on project management techniques in the business world today. This is because of the unique value that project management brings to certain aspects of the life of the organization that includes change management, product development, and marketing. Many businesses recognize that instead of relying on the functional managers to see specific projects through, it is better to organize such aspects under project managers. A project manager is the person who heads a team that handles a specific project that has a time limit, and which has verifiable resource limits (Flannes & Levin, 2005). Project managers participate more as team leaders than as bureaucratic entities. They normally work with cross-functional teams with members picked from various backgrounds to bring diversity to the project team. A functional manager on the other hand exists to coordinate the functions of an institution on ongoing basis. Normally, a functional manager will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the department they head (Meredeth & Mantel, 2011). They tend to be in charge of departments like finance, accounts, human resource, and security, among others. It is important to note that functional managers may also serve as project managers for small-scale projects in the firm, which do not warrant the establishment of a separate project team. Normally, functional managers graduate into project managers when the need for project managers comes up in the firm. However, more and more organizations hire project managers at entry level because of the consistent nature of project operations in many companies. Most companies i n the IT and construction industries, for instance, operate under project regimes, hence they keep permanent project managers in their firms. Comparison of Project and Functional Managers There are some important similarities between project managers and functional managers. The first on is that they both manage people. More than anything else, they have a responsibility to ensure that the people under them are working towards achieving the overall aims of the organization. This makes them leaders to a varying degree in the organization. Secondly, they require technical competence in the functional role that they perform, or in the project area that they are in charge. Both types of managers need a substantial amount of appreciation of the issues that they deal with. In most firms, both managers will report to senior management of the company. Depending on the hierarchy, a project manager will more often be senior than a functional manager if the firm uses the progression described earlier. However, in other cases, these managers form part of the management team and interact t as peers. Another key characteristic that defines both project and functional managers is that they have specific tasks to accomplish. It is their role to deliver certain aspect of the organizations mandate and hence each of them answers for the tasks over which they superintend. Finally, both types of managers have resources at their disposal. The resource allocation procedures normally vary from the way departments get

True Leaders Essay Example for Free

True Leaders Essay If there ever were a great leader in the history of business and management, it would be William Edwards Deming. Deming was a visionary whose concepts of effective business leadership were decades ahead of his time. It was Deming who greatly improved industrial production in the United States during World War Two and later, ironically, in Japan where his genius was given the widespread recognition it deserved. Deming coined the term â€Å"Profound Knowledge Management† which referred to the notion that successful management is based on individuals and to be successful, individuals must always be open to change and never act in a manner that would be deemed inflexible. From this, a manager can act in a leadership role similar to Deming’s leadership module. There is, however, a significant difference between leadership and its cousins supervision and management. Supervision generally refers to the oversight of employees. Management generally refers to the oversight of company and business policy. Leadership refers to the notion that the individuals that comprise the personnel of a given company have faith and confidence in the person who is making the supervisory and managerial directives. Personnel will look up to a manager who exemplifies leadership qualities. Quality leadership will always inspire and never threaten or sanction as is the case in many supervisory or managerial styles. Are true leaders rare? Yes. The reason for this is that leadership involves a great deal of innovation (as was the case with Deming) whereas supervision/management simply requires carrying out directives. Not everyone can lead, but those who can are never forgotten.

Review of a Construction Company

Review of a Construction Company Introduction Construction industry has developed rapidly in last few dictates. Today it becomes very essential for a country for its development. It spreads from the small to the large scale construction. The most obvious thing about the construction Industry is that its products are exceedingly expensive and have a long run tendency to increase in price faster than most other goods and services. This report is presented as a means of summarizing the three different size of construction business organization (Small, Medium, and Large). Also consideration is given on introductions of organizations, explaining company background and business control procedure. ICTAD grading of the organization Specialty Grade Financial Limit (Rs. Million) Building Construction Highways Bridge Water Supply Drainage Irrigation Land Drainage Dredging Reclamation Storm Water Drainage Groynes Revetments Reclamation C1 X ≠¥ 600 C2 600 ≠¥ X > 300 C3 300 ≠¥ X > 150 C4 150 ≠¥ X > 50 C5 50 ≠¥ X > 25 C6 25 ≠¥ X > 10 C7 10 ≠¥ X > 05 C8 05 ≠¥ X > 02 C9 02 ≠¥ X C10 01 ≠¥ X (ICTAD 2008) Large Size of construction State Engineering Corporation State Engineering Corporation is one of the superb consultancy services considering the Sri Lankan construction industry. It was established in 1962 with the name of â€Å"Engineering Corporation†. By the end of 1962 name was changed as â€Å"Sri Lanka State Corporation† and currently it is known as State Engineering Corporation. This is semi government establishment, because of that most of the state project handled by this organization and also it has good reputation and popularity due to its grateful services on construction project to the client in all over the country. The head office has located No: 130, W.A.D. Ramanayake Mawatha, Colombo-02. Service provider by State Engineering corporations The Organization consists of seven main sections. Since then, it’s capability in the latest techniques of design and construction has equipped in to handle any type of construction work. Under this field, they mainly carry out following activities. Design and construction of buildings Foundation and piling works Supply installation of water supply, drainage and sewerage systems Contracting foundations for towers and erecting towers Civil engineering construction including highways, bridges, water supply projects and irrigation projects Provision of construction management services Landscaping real estate development Construction Components Consultancy Human Resource Administration Finance Division Internal Audit Division Construction, Construction Components, Consultancy and Mechanical Electrical section under profit obtained category and other Human Resource Administration, Finance Division and Internal Audit Division under public benefit category. Machine and Equipment: There are machines and equipment’s in every site which belong to State Engineering corporations. State Engineering Corporation has the financial strength to purchase what they want in construction sites. And also most of the offices are fully equipped with photo copiers, fax machines, telephones, computers etc. Reputation: State engineering corporations has gained a sound reputation over Sri Lankan society and the government. Therefore currently the government contracts and private contracts are awarded. Facilities: State Engineering corporations has extensive in-house computer facilities, an excellent technical laboratory, a well-managed stock of survey and drawing instruments, geological and soil investigation laboratories and a large fleet of vehicles to provide construction services on major engineering projects in any part of the country. They have their own batching plant and Machineries to handle any kind of job. Construction group The Construction group has two divisions. They are contracts estimation and construction division. First division is mainly handling pricing BOQ and tendering process. Second division is performing after getting the contract. It carries out all types of heavy and light civil Engineering construction and building construction work for state and private sector. Consultancy group The Consultancy group is providing a complete Consultancy services such as Architecture, civil, structural, Electrical Mechanical and quantity surveying. Organization Structure Management Style The administration of State Engineering Corporation is directly under the ministry of housing construction. There are one GM, one assistance GM, and six DGM, under control of MD and well qualified staff. This is a decentralized organization. The objective of decentralization is not only to improve the efficiency of the group, but also to furnish a sense of belonging even to non-technical staff to strive towards the wellbeing of the group. The organization structure is given in annex 1. The organization mission is to continuously advance their position of leading civil Engineering construction in the country and to build a reputation for quality speed, efficiency and reliability. To achieve their mission they are having following polices. Maintain the budgeted turnover Execute all project within time Optimize return on capital Performance of the Organization Planning, Investigation, design and construction of industrial and engineering project in public sector and with the approval of minister in private sector. Functioning as consultant to state corporations and government department for pre mentioned works. Carrying out research with a view to improving existing construction materials and techniques and methods. Training of architect, engineering, quantity surveyors and others technical staffs necessary for carrying out the construction of industrial and engineering projects. Quantity Surveying Section State Engineering Corporation consists of a separate Quantity Surveying department through it providing Quantity Surveying services. The Quantity Surveying department is mutually functioning with other section. In QS section there are 35 members work together. The chief QS as head of the section senior QS project QS are working under head. The chief QS have the authority of making decision within that field. SEC renders professional services in a Quantity Surveyor’s capacity both in pre contract and post contract stages. The SEC is one of the leading consultancy organizations in the construction Industry. Most of the time projects are obtaining because of the goodwill of the organization past performance in handling of large number of projects. In accordance with the management point of view synergy concept creates the high efficiency. So the team work is the main concept of this firm. For the concept good relationship between subordinates are very important. SEC firm there is better relationship between subordinates. State Engineering Corporation is a semi government firm and a formal organization. So the decision is coming from top level managers. Because of its higher hierarchy level, the command tasks long time to reach the bottom level of management and works. This is not an avoidable problem in a formal organization, but if top level managers and low level managers have a communication as informal they can minimize this problem. (State Engineering Corporation of Sri Lanka) Medium Size of Construction Company RN Construction The RN Constructions (Pvt) Ltd was established in 1996 and within those eight years of time it has become one of the leading contractor organizations in the Sri Lankan construction industry today. It has completed more than 150 buildings (over 3,000,000 sq.ft.) within last eight years. RN Constructions has acquired excellence in building constructions such as, Factory buildings Ware house buildings Commercial buildings Housing projects Manufacturing plants and Processing Units RN has been in a powerful position of strength, i.e., it has got a group of professionally qualified, experienced in-house staff members are possessed of the high and medium class of specialized technical positions. Also it has been equipped with large no of construction equipment, machinery and tools.  (RN Construction) Organization Structure of RN Construction Management structure of RN construction denotes simply a matrix structure and it is flat in its nature where trend toward an average number of layers as well as responsibilities are with non-management employees. The next important feature is its narrow span of control. Today it is believed such an organization design like this is more suitable to facilitate the achievements of corporate objectives and implementation of strategies. The organization structure is given in annex 2. RN construction is a recently established organization which building up a good reputation for quality outputs in the industry when compared to the other organization at its own capacity. When considering the organizational structure, it is more applicable to the organization because there is a good relationship between higher level of management and the employees at the middle and lower levels of management. It helps to motivate the employees on their works and to develop the loyalty to the organization as well. That is distinctive advantage to the organization to carry out the missions while achieving their goals in the Sri Lankan construction industry. When looking at the organization one weakness that I have identified was that lot of pants and machineries were not properly managed among each work site. Hence RN Constructions owns large no of machineries, it is an advantage to the organization to earn higher profits during the construction. But I have noticed that most of the machineries were idling at the work site without generating any output to the construction process. This will be directly affects to reduce their extra profit earnings in the long run. Therefore it is better to have a proper resource management on this area to minimize the idling and to maximize the profits in every work output. Small size of construction Company Prasadhi construction Prasadhi construction is among the most respected construction companies in the country. This construction design, finance, built and operates infrastructure and facilities with highest quality, speed and care in a sustainable manner in the most economical way. Prasadhi Construction has shown ability to complete his job no matter how big, how complex or how remote the project, Prasadhi Construction have proven competency over last 25 years. Professional Staff As an emerging company we provide more than 50 jobs including civil electrical engineers, technical officers, supervisors,Masons. Carpenters, Plumbers, Electricians, Welders, Tillers, Aluminum Fabricators Wefacilitate training programs for our employees. They are being encouragedfor higher education while working in the company. Achievements Prasadhi Construction has been rewarded as the best construction company in southern province in the year of 2006. At present we have C5 grade and our strategic plans are made to achieve C1 in building construction in 2020. Financial Capability 20 Million Permanent O.D. facility Equipment We are not encouraged to maintain a maintenance department. So in most of the cases we prefer to hire vehicles from our suppliers. But some necessary equipment such as Tipper, road roller, Concrete Mixer, Concrete Vibrator, welding plants, generators, water motors are there. Organization Structure One of most important aspect of any organization is its management structure. Prsadhi’s management structure is considerably focused on to a modern hierarchical power delegation. The above-mentioned structure consists of 7 Board of Directors including the Chairman. Prasadhi management structure forms a matrix structure and it consists of a centralized and formal authority and wide span of control. Reference to the organizational structure – (Annex-03) Competition in the construction industry often results in low profit margins. Also called long-term assets, these are holdings the business intends to keep for at least a year and that typically yield interest or dividends. Included are stocks, bonds and savings accounts earmarked for special purposes. (Jinnett 1990) Conclusion This report is based on investigate three different size of construction business organization. The constructions Professional are the parties that responsible for constructing the project. In traditional management where the owner, design professional, and contractors are separate companies, the contractor would be termed a prime contractor. The prime contractor is responsible for delivering a complete project in accordance with the contract documents. The matrix organizational structure adopted by most kind of construction head office can be regarded as the most suitable structure, when considering the scope nature of projects carried out. But the gap between the top management and employees at middle and lower levels is one of the main drawbacks observed in the site organization structure. Lack of communication in between management levels had given rise to distrust and disbelief among employees. References ICTAD. (2008). [online]. Last accessed 04 March 2014 at: http://www.ictad.lk/sub_pgs/con_registration.html [online]. Last accessed 02 March 2014 at: http://www.rnconstructions.com/strength.htm [online]. Last accessed 25 Feb 2014 at: http://www.secsl.lk/ JINNETT, Linda Pinson and Jerry (1990). BUSINESS PLAN FOR THE. Management and Planning Series,

Giovanni Da Verrazano :: essays papers

Giovanni Da Verrazano Giovanni da Verrazano was a Florentine explorer and navigator. Although he was Italian, he was employed by the kind of France to find a passage to the Pacific Ocean. The exact date of his birth and death are not known, but historians believe that he was born in 1480, and he died in 1527. In 1524, he started on a voyage and discovered Cape Fear. He is believed to have been the first European to sight the New York Bay, but it was not explored until Henry Hudson's voyage in 1609. Verrazono also explored the North Carolina coast and he visited the Chesapeake region and then northward to Nova Scotia. In fact, he explored much of the American coast line. When Giovanni was 39, he explored more of the coast, sailing his 100-ton ship Dauphine for the French. While on this mission, he discovered a "beautiful" harbor in April and gave the name Angouleme to the island that will later be called Manhattan. But Giovanni wasn't flawless. While he was still on this journey, he mistook the large body of water to the west of the Outer Banks of North Carolina for the Pacific Ocean. A map by Sebastian Munster shows the false "Sea of Verrazano." His voyages affected all men because he discovered some important lands that are vital to us today, such as Manhattan. If he had not discovered these expanses, maybe someone else who had different intentions would have found them, and then our whole American history would be different. He could have burned the lands and sold them to Australians, but he didn't. He was responsible, and returned to the King of France with pride. He set a good example for our present day explorers. We may not be searching for new lands, but there is always a new frontier to be explored. There is not a lot written about Giovanni's personal life and his personality, but from what I have read, he seemed to be an adventurous individual who just wanted to explore and discover new lands. He may be overlooked in most of the history books, but without him, America might not be what she is today. His discoveries are so important because they paved the way for future explorations. He sighted many places, and then other explorers came after him and finished his explorations. He opened a lot of doors for other men, and he does not get the credit that he

major themes of the scarlet letter :: essays research papers

Many of the major themes of The Scarlet Letter are introduced in the opening scene. Some of these themes were sin, nature's kindness to the condemned and the dreary lifestyle of puritan society. The first chapter has little action but it sets up these major themes. The tone of the whole story was set in this chapter. The opening scene of The Scarlet Letter, many major themes were introduced. One of the major themes of The Scarket Letter was sin. Much of Puritan society was based on sin. The first thing built in the town was the prison. There was a gathering outside ofthe elaborate prison. The prison was a major emphasis in the town. This was portrayed in part by "...have invariably recognized it among their earliest practical necessities to allot a portion of the virgin soil as a cemetary, and another portion as the site for the prison." The prison was the first priority for the town to build. Sin and crime was the major emphasis of the town. Sin was a major theme of The Scarlet Letter. Another major theme introduced in the forst chapter was nature's kindness to the condemned. The prison was very bleak and worn down and old. It was very unforgiving for the prisoners. The only sign of hope was a rosebush that grew near the prison. "But on one side of the porta land rooted almost on the threshhold, was a wild rosebush, covered, in this month of june, with its delicate jems, which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in, and to the condemned criminal as he came forth to his doom." Nature was the only thing kind to the condemned. This theme was very important later in the book when Dimmesdale, Hester and Pearl met in the forest. A major them in The Scarlet Letter was nature's kindness to the condomned.

The First Inhabitants of America Essay -- American America History

The First Inhabitants of America The First "Europeans" reached the Western Hemisphere in the late 15th century. Upon arrival they encountered a rich and diverse culture that had already been inhabited for thousands of years. The Europeans were completely unprepared for the people they stumbled upon. They couldn't understand cultures that were so different and exotic from their own. The discovery of the existence of anything beyond their previous experience could threaten the stability of their entire religious and social structure. Seeing the Indians as savages they made them over in their own image as quickly as possible. In doing so they overlooked the roots that attached the Indians to their fascinating past. The importance of this past is often overlooked. Most text or history books begin the story of the Americas from the first European settlement and disregard the 30,000 years of separate, preceding cultural development (Deetz 7). The going theory of the First Americans is the ever-popular land bridge hypothesis, which connected Siberia and Alaska. This is believed to have happened at least twice during the ice ages between 32,000 and 36,000 years ago and, again between 13,000 and 28,000 years ago. This repeated connection took place where the eastern and western hemispheres come the closest to one another. The best illustration that I found explaining the land bridge was the analogy made to a seesaw. On one side being the glaciers and on the other side is sea level. When the glaciers get bigger or "go up" the sea level withdraws or "goes down". Basically when all the earth's water is in the form of snow or ice sea level is lowered. At least 180 feet lower to form that Siberian land connection. Direct proof of this... ... ago, but the way it happened is still uncharted territory". The specific date of the first migration into the Americas is unknown but there was likely more than one. The new discoveries and theories presented have given us a better understanding and more possibilities for the First American then ever before. Bibliography Begley, Sharon. "The First Americans." Newsweek Fall/Win. 1991: 15-20. Begley, Sharon and Andrew Murr. "The First Americans." Newsweek 26 Apr. 1999: 50. Claiborne, Robert. "The First Americans." New York: Time-Life Books, 1973. Dixon, E. James. Quest for the origins of the First Americans. University of New Mexico Press. 1993. Nichols, Johnanna. "The First Americans." Discover Jun. 1998: 24. Owsley, Douglas. "The First Americans." Economist 24 Feb. 1998: 79. Wright, Karen. "First Americans." Discover Feb. 1999: 52.

Iran Nuclear Program

I) Introduction Iran started their nuclear program since 1979 and claimed that the purpose is â€Å"for peaceful† but the West believes that Iran is developing weapons. The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency published a report which complained that it had been unable to â€Å"provide credible assurance about the absence of undeclared material and activities in Iran† and that it continued to have â€Å"serious concerns regarding military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear program†. II) Content 1) The military force Iran wants to build deliverable nuclear weapons quickly and it may well want, at some points, to develop the bombs themselves. This is deeply worrying to Israel ( tai vi sao). _ It also alarms nearby states, which fear Iranian power and could lead some of them – Saudi Arabia, Egypt, perhaps Turkey – to seek nuclear weapons of their own. Many fear that this would make the region which is not stable much more terrible. _ The pos sibility of an Iranian bomb comes closer with every revolutions of the centrifuges in its underground enrichment plants.Israel’s director of military intelligence, General Kochavi, says that Iran has obtained 4 tones of uranium enriched to 3. 5% and another 100kg enriched to 20%. It could possibly enrich from 20% to 90% and thus, the uranium would be enough for up to four nuclear weapons. General Kochavi says that it would only take the Iranians a year to make a crude device and another one or two years to put together a nuclear warhead that would fit on a ballistic missile. _ For Israel, there is no more opportunity to effectively deal with the Iranian.Although Iran has shown some intent to return to the bargaining table with the West, little progress made in the past and Iran continues expand its uranium-enrichment capabilities with the ongoing installation of centrifuges at Natanz and Fordow, which is known as its two enrichment plant. _ Although Israel likes the use of sa nctions to make Iran stop its nuclear activities, there appears to be an implicit assumption within Irael that the military force would be required to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.Even the attack would be costly; Israel considers it to be a â€Å"price worth paying to remove what it considers to be an existential threat to the country†. ( Nuclear Fallout) 2) The Sanction It is true to say that If Iran were to gain a weapon only for its own protection, others in the region might then feel they need weapons too. â€Å"Saudi Arabia has said it will arm- and Pakistan is thought ready to supply a bomb in exchange for earlier Saudi backing of its own program. Turkey and Egypt, the regional powers, might conclude they have to join the nuclear club. † A Middle East with five nuclear powers riven by rivalry and sectarian feuds, each would have its fingers permanently twitching over the button, in the belief that the one that pressed first would be left standingà ¢â‚¬ . There’s no wonder that some people want a pre-emptive strike. However, military action is not the best solution for stopping the nuclear program in Iran. There are 3 reason why military force is not an option: First, even Israel was successful in solo missions against the weapons program of Iraq, in 1981, and Syria, in 2007; striking Iran would be much harder.Iran’s sites are spread out and some of them demand repeated hits. Iran has a number of nuclear and related missile facilities – some with hardened features- that are widely dispersed across the country, with the most well protected facilities in Iran. If an attack were designed to damage Iran’s ability to construct a nuclear weapon, it would be necessary to destroy four main targets : the uranium-enrichment halls at Natanz and Fordow; the Arak reactor and Iran’s existing stockpile of enriched uranium. All of them located in hardened area which make them difficult to be destroyed in an air launched attack.The Natanz underground plant is constructed of two-meter thick concrete walls and buried beneath estimated 10 meters soils, making it challenging target. The Fordow uranium-enrichment facility located in Tehran would be even be more difficult site for Israel to destroy since it is deeply buried in rugged mountain terrain. A successful air-launched attack on this facility would need to penetrate through a considerable volume of the mountain to collapse the facility’s interior space, which Israel munitions would struggle to achieve, and although any centrifuges operating during an attack would probably be destroyed from the ground shock, they ould be replaced relatively quickly if the facility survived and the required equipment were available. The biggest question is whether an Israel strike would have any impact on the centrifuge chamber at Fordow, said to be buried 80 meters deep. The answer is: Yes, there could be a 35% ~ 90% chance of the Israel weapon s arriving at just the right place and at least one bomb would penetrate the facility if the Israel military use the F-15Is aimed the GBU-28 and GBU-27 and repeat hit several times. But even if things went off, Iran would retain the capacity to repair and reconstitute its program.Even a successful Israel strike might thus delay Iran’s progress by only three or four years. An American attack might gain five years or even ten; it could drop more bombs on more of the sites, and much bigger bombs – its B-2s carry GBU-57, weighing almost 14 tones. An American attack thus remains a possibility, and will continue to be one up to the day Iran fields weapons. But America is unlikely to rush into a strike following an Israel mission. American has its own reason not to attack Iran now. Iran is a vast populous and sophisticated country, thus, it may have secret sites to escape.Even if all its sites are hit, Iran’s nuclear know-how cannot be bombed out of existence. Nor can its network of suppliers at home and abroad. Perhaps America could bomb Iran every few years. But how would it know when and where to strike? The fail of American strike in Iraq and Afghanistan has demonstrated that a war could raise the threat of retaliation. The idea that a bomb is the only defense against an American enemy might become stronger than ever. There’s no doubt that America prefer to wait and that is one reason why it is seeking to hold Israel back.Second, the West is implementing the sanction which is designed to get Iran stop enrichment and the nations concerned about centered on sanctions as their favored policy tool. It is true that sanctions have not achieved their strategic goal of changing Iran’s nuclear policy. Nor have they met tactical success in bringing Iran return to the negotiations nuclear program. But sanctions are helping to limit Iran’s ability to quickly assemble a nuclear weapon. Sanctions have helped to restrict Iran’s a bility to employ its advanced centrifuges in larger numbers. The UN Panel of Experts Established Pursuant to Resolution 1929 concluded in May 2011 report that Iran has difficulty producing some of the critical â€Å"choke points† items that are necessary to sustain and advance its centrifuge enrichment program. † The Panel of Experts’ also concluded that sanctions are blocking the trade of items related to nuclear and missile activity and thus slowing development of the programs. Iran’s missile program is dependent on foreign supply of items such as aluminum powder for production of fuel.Previously, Iran has been purchased the powder item from China but in recent months, Chinese have tightened controls on such exports. As a result, the sanction made Iran to change suppliers, which in turn is considered as difficulties to missile engineers. Additionally, the sanctions are restricting Iran’s ability to use the international financial system in support of illicit trade. â€Å"Following the EU decision, there is only one Europe-based financial institution – the Paris branch of Bank Tejarat – is available for use of Iran today. More importantly, Iran is unable to conduct business in either dollars or Euros. It therefore cannot repatriate payment except through barter. â€Å"As of August in 2011, Iran had over $20 billion locked up in escrow accounts in China, $3. 4 billion in India and almost $4 billion in South Korea. â€Å" Even though it is not a purpose of the sanctions to restrict Iranian trade overall, they are contributing to unemployment and inflation which are reported to be 15% in Iran. There also are reports of food shortages, hoarding and a drying up of investments.Foreign reserves are running low and the economy is becoming distorted as legitimate trade shifts to the informal sector. Iran is facing a higher cost of doing business. However, America still wants to put stricter sanction which target Iranà ¢â‚¬â„¢s central bank by penalizing any foreign financial institutions doing business with it. As a result, the European Union has imposed an embargo on Iranian oil. Iran’s economy is mostly reliant on oil and gas exports, which account for 50% ~ 70% of the government’s revenues. Thus, it is estimated that Iran’s oil exports may fall about 60% of their former level. Finally, Conclusion

Price Elasticity Essay

*** 1st November 2012 Examine whether the price elasticity of demand for rice is likely to be elastic or inelastic. Price elasticity of demand is the measure of how much of the quantity demanded changes in regards to a change in price. The PED is measured by the following formula: % Change in Quantity Demanded of the product/% Change in Price. If the PED is less than 1, the good is inelastic- indicating that there is a smaller change in quantity demand compared to the price change. When the PED is greater than 1, the good is elastic- meaning the quantity demanded will change significantly compared to a small price change.The price elasticity for rice could vary throughout several regions- but it can be argued that it is mainly inelastic because of the necessity of the product and the value the product holds in many households. However, in many regions, rice has proved to be elastic because of the number of close substitutes it has. The percentage change in price is greater than the p ercentage change in quantity demanded The percentage change in price is greater than the percentage change in quantity demanded To begin with, the price elasticity of demand for rice can be deemed inelastic.Clearly, various households consume rice on a regular basis. Research shows that rice is a staple good, or a main element in one’s diet, in â€Å"34 of the world’s countries. † With such a culture and mindset, households would unwilling to alter their demand for rice. Since rice is so commonly consumed, it is considered a necessity amongst households. Families of East-Asian descent, especially, are the largest consumers of rice- and eat rice in every meal. For instance, the price of a rice pack could be increased to $2. 50 from $2. 00; the change in price will be 25%.For a necessity product, the low reluctance of changing to another product would result in a smaller percentage change in demand- forcing the PED to be less than 1 and for rice to be inelastic. A lthough the necessity of rice does change from consumer to consumer and nation to nation, in a growing population in the East, rice has become more of a necessity than any other staple food. Since rice is engrained into cultural roots so deeply, a long-term substitute cannot be found- making the good inelastic in the short run and long run.In addition, the price elasticity can directly depend on the development of a nation. If the country is developed, and per capita incomes are high, rice will be inelastic. Since the price of rice takes up a very small proportion of the family income, the household is unlikely to change to an alternative- enforcing a lower percentage change in quantity demanded than percentage change in price. On the other hand, if the country’s economic development is low, or a low GDP per capita, the price of rice may have a significant portion of the average man’s income.As a consequence of a price change, then, the consumer will look for substitut es and alternatives for rice, as he or she will not be willing to pay that extra amount. In Bangladesh, for example, where rice is considered a staple food, the per capita income is $750USD. A bag of rice costing $24USD would be 3. 2% of an average Bangladeshi man’s salary- in contrast to an American who earns $48,450USD would spend 0. 05% of his salary in purchasing the same bag of rice. To summarize, a nation’s per capita income has a direct impact on whether or not a good such as rice is elastic or inelastic.As the price may decrease for rice, the quantity demanded might increase more significantly as buyers of the substitutes may start buying the product that has cut of its price. As the price may decrease for rice, the quantity demanded might increase more significantly as buyers of the substitutes may start buying the product that has cut of its price. However, rice can be considered elastic due to several reasons. Firstly, one particular brand of rice would have countless substitutes. There are bags of rice that are different in quality, different in quantity, different in flavor, different in place of growth, etc.When exposed to a change of price, a consumer will inevitably gain the inclination to substitute his or her initial product with an alternative that is priced lower to what the new price is of the previous good. Since the substitutes of rice are very similar to rice itself, if not the same product itself, people will be willing to change from one brand to another. The more substitutes there are for rice, in other words, the more elastic the PED will be, as the percentage change in quantity demanded will be greater than the percentage change in price.Quantity demanded, in other words, will decrease drastically if there are many substitutes, as consumers will shift from rice to the substitute product there is. If the price reduces, as well, many consumers will shift from the substitutes and consume the product that has cut of its p rice. In conclusion, although many substitutes can be found for rice, populations around the world eat rice incessantly. Since this continuous consumption has led to rice becoming a necessity, in most parts of the world a change in price will not affect the change in quantity demanded- making rice mostly inelastic.

Different Parenting Styles

There are many different ways of parenting children. Some are more favorable than others and some can even damage one’s emotional future, causing problems such as anxiety, unhappiness, and other low self-esteem issues. Although there are four distinct parenting styles, many parents are often somewhere in between a couple on the scale. My parents often took to the authoritative style, which is known currently as the most successful approach. The authoritative parent is involved in their child’s life and is accepting as well as sensitive to their needs.Sometimes, I could see my parents as being authoritarian, which is common because many parents find a kind of medium between these two styles. Unlike authoritative, the authoritarian parenting style is highly ineffective. However, there is a contrast of the severity of the authoritarian style. Authoritarian parents are portrayed as criticizing and bitter, often yelling, threatening, and habitually resorting to punishment in stead of the warm guiding ways of the authoritative parent. The authoritarian side of my upbringing was often used by my father.Although spanking is commonly frowned upon, my dad used spanking as a way to show me right from wrong, and I believe that he used the punishment in the best way it could possibly be used. I was spanked when I brought bad grades home from school, when I showed bad behavior, and especially when I lied. This punishment was used, I think, in a way of encouragement to better myself. On the other hand, my mother was the one who used the authoritative style. She began using the technique when I got older and more mature, I believe, because I could understand another’s point of view.When I did something wrong against another person, my mom would sit me down and tell me why I was wrong and how the situation appeared to the other person. The effects of different parenting styles vary from family to family, but they are often very similar. As a child, I showed a lot of the characteristics of a child of authoritarian parents, such as low self-esteem, shyness, and anger. However, as I matured, I began showing more characteristics of a child of authoritative parents.I became more social, got a higher self-esteem, and realized that my problem solving skills have increased. My best friend growing up was Allison. Her parents were a constant conversation topic for us, as they were not the best parents in the world. I guess you would call them extreme authoritarians. They utilized extreme control, insisted on absolute obedience, and constantly criticized her. Eventually, this threw her into an all-time low self-esteem, which is something that commonly occurs to children of authoritarian parents.Furthermore, she had become anxious and withdrawn. Because authoritarian parents often take on a type of psychological control, which includes behaviors that intrude on and manipulate children’s verbal expression, individuality, and attachments to p arents, Ally became defiant and angry as well. Her parents wanted to decide practically everything for her, and in the process, put down her ideas and decisions and made clear that they disapproved of her friends. Authoritarian parents often withdraw their love from their children.Ally’s parents were one of these parents. An example is how her parents had supported her decision to go to her dream college. Once she got the acceptance letter, they withdrew their blessing, along with the financial help they had promised her. She no longer has an opportunity to go to college. Another example, and major distress to her, Ally’s parents kicked her out of their house before she turned seventeen, and she has been bouncing from house to house ever since. Unlike me, because Ally’s parents were extremely authoritarian, Ally did not turn out as well.Don’t get me wrong, she was a nice, sociable girl growing up. But as she matured, she sought out love and attention in g uys. I figure that because her father never gave her the proper love or attention, she turned to various guys to find the â€Å"love† and attention she craved. As far as my relationships go, I believe that my parents did a good job with the way they acted around me. What I mean is, seeing the way my parents treated each other as equals definitely influenced my outlook on relationships in a positive way.They are a huge influence on me but I don’t exactly â€Å"hear† their voices when I am doing something they would consider unfavorable. Once in a while when I am in those situations, I do feel a bit of remorse towards what I am doing. I figure that it is from the autonomy granting and problem solving qualities of authoritative parenting. Before taking this class, I had thought very little of how I would parent my future children. I did not even know that there were different styles of parenting.When I learned about the distinct styles of child rearing, I began to think of which style my parents had used. I also started considering what style I might use. I decided that I like the way my parents raised me, contrary to my prior beliefs. I like how they balanced their parenting between authoritative and authoritarian, leaning more to the authoritative side, of course. There are a few exceptions to their style, though, that I would like to change into my own parenting style. For instance, I would like to use even more of an authoritative style than an authoritarian one, than my parents had.

Jonathan Swift- a Modest Proposal

Jonathan Swift, a celebrated name during the eighteenth century, was an economist, a writer, and a cleric who was later named Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. Although Swift took on many different roles throughout his career, the literary form of satire seemed to be his realm of expertise. Because satire flourished during the eighteenth century, Jonathan Swift is arguably one of the most influential political satirists of his time. In one of his famous essays, A Modest Proposal, Swift expresses his anger and frustration towards the oppression of the Irish by the English government.In order to gain attention from his audience, Swift proposes the outrageous thesis that the solution to Ireland’s problem of poverty is to feed children of the poor to the wealthy, aristocratic families. To whom Swift is directing his satire towards is a multifaceted question. Taking on the persona of an intellectual economist, Swift attacks England for their ignorance, criticizes th e Irish for their submissive ways, and on a deeper level, censures the reader who embodies all that disregard the cruelties of the world.Although Ireland was an autonomous kingdom during the eighteenth century, the English Parliament still exerted its power from afar. The weak social relations made it so that England overlooked the economical instability in Ireland. The anger that lies behind A Modest Proposal holds both England and Ireland dually responsible for the turmoil. This is illustrated first by dehumanizing the Irish people.The proposer compares them to livestock, referring to the women as â€Å"breeders† (Swift 342), and proposes, â€Å"a young healthy child† will serve as â€Å"a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled† (Swift 342). By doing this, Swift criticizes both the English government for merely viewing the people of Ireland as insignificant, and also attacks the Irish for allowing themselves t o be reduced to that of livestock. Children are viewed as a commodity whose â€Å"carcass† is worth â€Å"ten shillings† (Swift 343).For the wealthy, the proposer suggests that the skin of the carcass â€Å"will make admirable gloves for ladies, and fine boots for gentleman† (Swift 342). A child is regarded by many cultures as inferior, naive, and innocent. The idea of a child being marketed as an item used for economic purposes emphasizes the inhumanity inflicted on someone as helpless as a child. Here, Swift cleverly brings England’s ignorance and Ireland’s passivity to attention by using a vulnerable child as a victim. The use of dehumanization is also shown when Swift speaks of the Irish as statistical data.Regarding the â€Å"hundred and twenty thousand children already computed,† the proposer explains that, â€Å"twenty thousand may be reserved for breed† (Swift 343). Once again, [England] referring to people in a statistical, n umerical sense dismisses the individuality of a human being. Swift’s feelings of enragement with the Irish Catholics’ lack of self-respect are clearly portrayed as they too permit themselves to be classified as a number. Swift also shows that both countries are responsible for the poverty in Ireland when he censures the politics that surround the issue.In the treatise, the idea of cannibalism is used as an analogy for the oppression in Ireland. Towards the end of the essay, this is shown when the proposer remarks that â€Å"perhaps [he] could name a country which would be glad to eat up our whole nation without [this proposal]† (Swift 346). Here, Swift makes a counterargument towards the people of England who would be appalled at such a cannibalistic idea. Even in the absence of this proposal, Swift explains that England would still devour Ireland’s resources and undermines its people.This analogy is also used to attack Ireland when the treatise addresses the value of a plump child. Because this food will be expensive, Swift remarks that it should be, â€Å"very proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children† (Swift 343). In other words, the wealthy Irish landlords have already taken everything they can from the poor. Not only has England oppressed Ireland, but also the Irish have oppressed themselves.Due to the grieve-stricken conditions Ireland faces during the eighteenth century, Swift speculates that the as the children age, they either flee Ireland to â€Å"fight for the Pretender in Spain,† or â€Å"sell themselves to the Barbadoes† (Swift 341). Here, the proposer unmistakably attacks the Irish for being disloyal to â€Å"their dear native country† (Swift 341), by fighting for the English government and fleeing to America. Reading further in between the lines, one can see that Swift is also blaming England for engaging its ci tizens in military action. To let one’s country suffer while they fight or the nation that enables their poverty, illustrates a weak and cowardly nation. In the same sense, England should be reprimanded as well for using the poor to their advantage, and overlooking the poverty dilemma. In addition to Ireland’s disloyalty issue, Swift also attacks current marriage laws in place. Marriage, the proposer states, â€Å"is encouraged by rewards, or enforced by laws and penalties† (Swift 345). These rules and regulations were not only enforced by England, but â€Å"all wise nations† (Swift 345) during the eighteenth century as well.Specifically designed for absolute patriarchal power, these marriage laws were unjust in which Swift attempts to bring to the reader’s attention. Instead of this, Swift argues, â€Å"the expensiveness of pride, vanity, idleness, and gaming in our women† (Swift 346) should be stopped. Through various portrayals, it is pro ven that Swift’s treatise was not intended to only blame the British for their cruelty, but the Irish for their passivity as well. In attacking England and Ireland on equal levels, one cannot fail to recognize the satire Swift directs towards the reader.The reader serves as a representation of all mankind who blatantly disregard the fellow man in need of nourishment. Through critiquing the reader, Swift can give us a broader perspective of the inhumanity that occurs everywhere and still occurs unnoticed. In the end of his argument, Swift does offer a number of solutions that are actually rational, such as â€Å"taxing our absentees at five shillings a pound,† or â€Å"rejecting the materials and instruments that promote foreign luxury† (Swift 346).However, he dismisses these sound ideas quickly since there will never â€Å"be some hearty and sincere attempts to put them in practice† (Swift 291). Until the public makes an effort to enforce these rational p roposals, the idea of feeding children to the wealthy stands as the only logical suggestion. Next, the proposer admits that he is â€Å"not so violently bent upon my own opinion as to reject any offer proposed,† but in hearing another proposition, it must be â€Å"found equally innocent, cheap, easy, and effectual† (Swift 346).The proposer is willing to hear another proposition on the account that it addresses certain issues. This opens the reader’s eyes to the problem of poverty in Ireland as a complex one that cannot be solved with a quick solution. The significance of the issue increases and brings attention to the fact that the reader is a casualty to ignorance like all human beings. The satire that is produced by Jonathan Swift in A Modest Proposal, exemplifies many problems that seem to be overlooked and ignored.England, who enforces laws from afar, chooses to turn its head towards the growing poverty in Ireland. Ireland is equally responsible however, bec ause their passivity rears them as helpless, and thus they have not made any effort to encourage change among their people. Swift does not forget to take a stab at the reader for partaking in the same cruelties as England and Ireland. In a broader perspective, inhumanity often goes unrecognized because we as humans choose to look the other way. Swift effectively uses satire to critique three different audiences and encourage change for the better.

State Disaster Management System and Emergency Operation Center Essay

State Disaster Management System and Emergency Operation Center - Essay Example This is even without considering the effects of Hurricane Katrina from a few years ago. This essay is a brief on the operations (preparedness, emergency response and recovery) of the State Disaster Management System and the Emergency Operations Center in respect to hurricanes and flooding that usually accompanies such events. The first consideration for operations in the State Disaster Management System is optimizing it into a tiered response system that is compatible with the National Response Framework. This is not only a federal requirement (National Response Framework, 2008), but also an informed decision since the catastrophic effects of hurricanes are in many occasions beyond a state’s capacity. Cooperation between the state and the federal disaster response unit makes the response synergistic and more effective, unlike disjointed efforts. The next consideration in this essay is an early warning system and disaster preparedness. This will largely depend on effective communication and liaison which in this case will be facilitated by the state of the art Emergency Operations Center. The center will incorporate Information, Communication and Space Technologies (ICST) which bear wide-ranging applications for preempting, reducing and mitigating disaster such as hurricane and floods (Sahu, 2009). Liaising with weather forecast departments followed by efficient communication to residents will be optimized through the ICST system. The next step to consider is the emergency response in the event of a hurricane. Through the Emergency Operations Center, the extent of flooding at peak time in different geographical points will be established. This will be followed by a dynamic damage assessment since the disaster itself may be dynamic. Lastly, assessment of affected population and infrastructure will be done (ERS, 2010). This analysis will allow for a

Challenge facing the electric utility industry Scholarship Essay

Challenge facing the electric utility industry - Scholarship Essay Example As stated by the American Council For an Energy Efficient Economy, spending of various utilities in the United States has increased from $1.6 billion in 2006 to around $5.9 billion. Reserves from energy efficiency programs amounted to close to 22.9 million MWh in 2011. This was a 20% increase from 2010. Energy efficiency programs have been supported by utilities as they are cheaper than building power lines and plants. Electric sales are not increasing because many businesses and individuals are using solar panels. According to the Interstate renewable Energy Council, in 2008, photovoltaic installations increased from around 1,000 MW to 7,250 MW. These installations are reducing electric sales. Usage of solar is expected to increase as the prices are dropping. Over the years, demand growth on improved efficiency has been reducing. According to the Energy Information Administration, they expect demand to grow in the United States by 0.9% only yearly through 2040. Consumption of electricity reduced when Americas economy was in recession. Utilities in the U.S. are spending billions in new transmission lines and pollution control projects. An increase in demand growth would assist the utilities in spreading the costs across an increasing customer base. Howland, Ethan. â€Å"The four greatest challenges utilities face in 2014.† Utility Dive. 9 December 2013. Web. 10 March. 2015.

Financial management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Financial management - Assignment Example In a perfect market, it is assumed that no taxes are imposed and interest rates are derived by the market demand and supply function (Layton, Robinson & Tucker 2012, p. 895). If we consider a perfect competition in the market, an investor would be indifferent of the capital structures followed by each firm. The M&M theory suggests that in a tax-free economy, capital structure becomes irrelevant to the value of the firm. Some assumptions that the theory makes include: Investors are concerned about the returns or future cash inflows. Hence, they expect the same whether the investment is made in bonds or equity. As a result, investors would make decisions based on the firm’s value. Debt and equity components are traded in perfect markets, such that the transaction costs, taxes and bankruptcy costs are nil. Competitors, in a perfect competition market cannot set their own price for similar product offerings. Moreover, investors do not bear the burden of transaction costs leading to their indifference to moving funds from one company to the other. Keeping an eye on the above discussion, it can be concluded that investors would go for an geared company if they are interested in the investment returns. In the case provided, Aguia seems to be a more lucrative opportunity for the investors. Aguia, being a geared company will have lower cost of capital and have higher expected returns in future. Since, it was assumed and provided above that investors are only concerned about the future cash flows, a rational investor would prefer a geared firm i.e. Aguia over the un-geared firm i.e. Pomba, in our case. In addition, a rational investor can make decision on future prospects and plans of the management. Let’s assume that Pomba plans to switch toward debt financing, it might be a more attractive option compared to Aguia as it has higher profit margins comparatively. Hence, financing arrangements in a

Analysis paper for History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Analysis paper for History - Essay Example The South had more agricultural products than the North with more farm land. The South had more financial success than the North. Although the taxes were less per person in the North due to the population the North brought in more tax revenues. Congressional representation was more in the North as well. The statistics above are due to the lifestyles of both regions. Southern life revolved around plantations. Slaves, land, and agricultural goods created more revenue for the South. In the South an education was not needed to be a farmer, plantation owner, and so forth. The women also did not work or read in the South as much in the North. In the North, men and women needed education or skills to work. More men labored in the North than in the South. Slaves did the labor in the South, whereas in the North men competed for the jobs. The lifestyles were extremely different. This is reflected in the census data. The major differences between slave states and free states are education, finance, and agriculture. The workers from up North were poorer, but better educated. The slave factor gave more wealth to the Southern states, but also crippled them in the education department. Not having slaves made the Northerners have a higher literacy

Business Plan Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Plan Evaluation - Essay Example Cash flow would enable the business to determine the amount of money needed to keep the business going. To strengthen the weakest link identified, methods of control should be integrated in the business plan. For example, there should be a policy control that allocated expenditures should not go over beyond 5% of the budget. Income statement should also be included as well as the initial capital outlay so the business would know how much it would compensate before it consider itself profitable. These solutions are chosen because they would strengthen the business plan and achieve the best possible outcome. They are critical for the success of the business and ensure that results would go as plan as stated in the business plan. For example, instituting control avoid costs to overshoot could make the business inefficient and less competitive if neglected. Incorporating more financial statements such as project Income Statement would enable the company to determine if its performance is consistent to the business plan or if it is underperforming. Cash flow is critical for start-up businesses such Loco Loco Dance Club because it prevents the operation of the business to run out of cash which could make stop its

Why do women only make up 6.5% of consultant surgeons in the UK Essay

Why do women only make up 6.5% of consultant surgeons in the UK - Essay Example The idea of such a work is to find out the reasons for this, so some solutions may be suggested in order to change the present scenario. Feminine has always been regarded to have less status and power and has always been subordinate.. Perhaps due to this reason, although these sex differences in earnings, occupations, and work in the United Kingdom have decreased over the past few decades, sharp differences still persist. Like in any other profession, the women now constitute a large force in terms of number and quality in the medical profession. However, there is a certain pattern of their choices of discipline, especially when the numbers of female professionals in different specialities are considered. The greatest convergence between women and men has occurred in labor force participation (Buyske, 2005). Yet despite this increased participation-and this may help to explain the slower progress with respect to wages and occupational segregation-women, on average, devote far more time than men to housework. One medical profession is surgery, or more specifically general surgery, where particularly male predominance has been observed. As of now, as statistic indicate only 6.5% of the consultant surgeons in the United Kingdom are women. ... In this work, the answers to these questions will be attempted to be found out through evidence from literature. Broadly speaking, this research covers two areas of inquiry. The first attempts to understand the sources of sex differences in labor markets in the context of surgery as a profession without resorting to explanations based on labor market discrimination. The dominant focus would be on how family economic decision making regarding the allocation of time and human capital investment may generate the observed differences between women and men in occupations, participation, and nonmarket work. The second area of concern could be existing discrimination and male predominance that might have led to a situation where female doctors are comparatively less interested in pursuing a career in, otherwise, exciting surgery. History of Women in Medicine Historically, women doctors are simultaneously a part of medicine and have been placed outside it, and their presence in large numbers is actually a destabilizing one. Surgery as a medical profession had always been seen as a symbol of masculinity, and that rests on an opposition between women and medicine. The century long history of medicine suggests that for long western culture was patriarchal in that it did marginalise women in the profession, reluctant to accept them on the same platform, and women as doctors have faced major hostility from the so called social dominance of masculinity. In fact, for quite some time, women were banned from joining surgery. Male Oriented Power and Privilege It had been previously conventional that medical power and privilege were male oriented; the operations and status

Critically Analyse the Theoretical Conflicts Between Capital Exporting Essay

Critically Analyse the Theoretical Conflicts Between Capital Exporting Countries and Capital Importing Countries - Essay Example The end of the colonialism resulted in letting loose forces with regard to nationalism. After breaking free from the fetters of colonialism, the freshly self-governing states got restless to put an end to the economic supremacy of the previous colonial authorities present in their own respective states. It was also followed by a further restlessness with regard to a world regulation which was thought to allow them increased possibility for the regulation of their respective economies along with providing the right of entry to the international markets. The Cold War among the then existing super-supremacies gave rise to ideological disputes regarding the law. The various theories that were triggered in relation to foreign investment would be further discussed1. Theories The Classical Theory on Foreign Investment The classical theory regarding the foreign investment states that the notion of foreign investment proves to be completely advantageous for the ‘host economy’. .. . This rerouting of the capital would prove beneficial for the public of the state. The introduction of a foreign investor would typically bring in fresh technology which would have no chances of being available with respect to the host country. This scenario or aspect paves way towards technology distribution in the economy of the host country. This gives rise to fresh employment needs and without the presence of foreign investment, such employment prospects would not be triggered2. Dependency Theory The theory of dependency surfaced in the period of 1950s to be a serious response with respect to the conservative approaches towards the economic progress that materialised in the repercussion of the Second World War2. The consequences of foreign funds along with the multinational corporations (MNCs) on the host states could be drawn from the writings which were laid down by the â€Å"dependency school†. Dominant works done by this particular school entails the ontology regarding dependency like the theory of Karl Marx on development as well as underdevelopment, study conducted by Andre Gunder regarding the development as well as underdevelopment, study conducted by Paul Baran regarding the economic growth and backwardness and also the writings by Samir Amin on the subject of unequal growth4. Different countries took up the viewpoints of the dependency theory during that period like the Latin American and the East Asian countries. Among these, quite some countries agreed to the plan of import replacement and posed an aggressive approach towards the idea of foreign investment. These specific policies were noted to have damaging consequences on the economies of such countries. In the period of

Television as the Substitute Good Essay Example for Free

Television as the Substitute Good Essay Studying the conditions, it can be understood that the television set is a substitute good of the television repairmen. Meaning, if the cost of hiring repairmen goes up, the demand for television sets will rise (Piana 2005). Although this may seem counter-intuitive, it makes much more sense when the problem is closely observed. Firstly, we take only in consideration the two goods given: repairmen and television sets. It does not follow that television sets have an absolute need of repairmen for the industry to survive. When a television set breaks, hiring a repairman is not the only option. The second option is the second good itself. People have the option to simply buy a new television set. It is true that the market of repairmen is dependent on the demand for television sets but the scenario asks for the opposite. The market of television sets does not rely on the demand of repairmen. Overall, we can say that the increase of repairmen cost per hour will increase the quantity of new television sets sold. If the cost of television repairmen becomes too high, people will have the tendency to buy new sets instead of hiring repairmen. Of course, this scenario relies on the condition that other goods in the market are not considered. If we take into consideration goods that rival the television such as computers and what not, then the market for television sets may go down with the repairmen. However, the problem must be limited to the given and all other factors cannot be applied. Since television and repairmen are the only ones to be considered, then the prediction above is more or less acceptable.

Moliere’s Portrayal of Religion and Religiosity Essay Example for Free

Moliere’s Portrayal of Religion and Religiosity Essay Moliere’s Tartuffe is about a man named Tartuffe who is a beggar and holy man that was recently taken in by a Christian man named, Orgon. Tartuffe has Orgon fooled, but the entire rest of Orgon’s family sees Tartuffe as a hypocritical, self-righteous con artist. Orgon becomes obsessed with Tartuffe and would rather talk and hear about him than his own sick wife. Even though Moliere rewrote this play twice, there are many reasons that the church might still be concerned about the hypocrisy that he used toward Christianity in this play. In 1666 Tartuffe was banned, a play many found offensive because of its assault on church hypocrisy. Many people of the church could still be concerned, due to Moliere’s portrayal of Christianity and how it is almost mocked in this play. Allot of the comedy Moliere portrays is intense focus on Orgon as example of a certain kind of traditional Christian. He isn’t the ‘only’ type of Christian in this play, but the way he is portrayed is almost in a hypocritical manner. Orgon is so eager to believe Tartuffe, mainly due to the fact that Tartuffe is professing to be another type of Christian. Moliere regards the type of Christian that Tartuffe is as insane. The way mankind is portrayed on behalf of Orgon is almost as depraved as a result of Original Sin, so therefore Orgon has to be subjected, for his own good, to somewhat of a dictatorial control by divinely appointed authorities, or the King. Moliere portrays Orgon as a good Christian man, who is taken advantage of and ultimately almost loses everything because he is willing to take Tartuffe in and treat him as if he were family. The reason the church should be concerned here is the fact that Moliere portrays the way Tartuffe is insane and manipulates the good Christian man. He shows Orgon, the good Christian man as blind to all the wrong, and coming out as essentially the â€Å"loser† and the insane Christian and manipulator, Tartuffe, comes out with all of Orgon’s belongings. After reading Moliere’s Tartuffe I now can see how the church would be heavily concerned with how Moliere portrays Christianity as ‘the nice guy finishes last’ with relation to Orgon and Christianity. The church could also see the hypocrisy by the portrayal of Tartuffe as a â€Å"religious con man† or â€Å"religious fraud. †

Ecosystem Services In Human Systems Environmental Sciences Essay

Ecosystem Services In Human Systems Environmental Sciences Essay Ecosystem services in human-environment systems: What is the problem? Ecosystems deliver goods and services of enormous value to the human society (Pearce and Moran, 1994; Costanza et al., 1997; Daily, 1997). However, intensive land and water use, extraction of natural resources, and chemical emissions into the environment lead to a worldwide degradation of biodiversity and of the supporting services, provisioning services, regulating services and cultural services which ecosystems provide (Hooper et al., 2005; Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005b). On a global scale the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005b) found that 60% of global ecosystem services (ES) surveyed are currently being degraded or used unsustainably. Future scenarios are promising no relieve. Only the projected doubling of food consumption for the next 50 years (Tilman et al., 2002), in combination with the growing demand for biofuels and other biophysical products will challenge decision-makers dealing with ecosy stem management worldwide. They need to optimize ecosystems with respect to multiple needs. Climate change has even intensified the dynamics of this human-environment interaction (McCarthy et al., 2001). Ecosystem services are defined as functions of ecosystems with value for human well-being. Thus the concept of ecosystem services, establishes a relationship between ecosystem service suppliers (the producers) and demanders for ecosystem services (the beneficiaries). Those supply-demand interaction can be distinguished on three levels: i) upstream downstream relations, ii) north south relations and iii) poor rich relations. i) Because of topographical complexity and altitudinal gradients mountain ecosystems are particularly sensitive to global change compared to the lowland (Becker et al., 2007; Bugmann et al., 2007). Socio-economic vulnerability to loss of ecosystem services tends also to be higher because of generally more difficult socio-economic conditions in mountains. But also the lowlands are influenced by undesired changes in mountain areas, because of their importance for biodiversity and for providing ecosystem services. Downstream actors benefit from the supply of upstream ecosystems with respect to clean water, flood control, reduced sedimentation, scenic beauty and many more positive mountainous ecosystem services. ii) Similarly, pressure on ecosystem services is high in the south because of continuous land use change, land degradation and impacts of climate change. Until now, such damages to ecosystems services are not sufficiently taken into account in the environmental decisions along the global value chains linking consumer, retailer, processor, and producer in the north and the south. Fair trade is a first step into this direction, but global trade basically masks the constraints of regional ecosystems. To increase the ecological transparency and foster sustainable ecosystem management, the involved public and private actors need to develop, improve and use instruments for ecological assessment and management of global value chains damaging regional ecosystem services. Lately ideas have been developed for international payments for ecosystem services and international biodiversity off-sets (see for a review in German or French language Koellner and Engel, 2008b; Koellner and Engel, 2008a). iii)In both cases mentioned before the relationship between upstream-downstream and north-south are potentially equivalent to a poor-rich relationship. Especially in developing countries with weak environmental legislation and enforcement, the activities of the primary sector (agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, but also oil, gas and mining) lead to deforestation, cause severe damages to biodiversity and finally limit the capacity of ecosystems to deliver bundles of services at the landscape scale to the local people. This is especially objectionable, if biotic resources are produced unsustainably in poor countries in the south and exported to rich countries in the north with strict environmental regulation, but only for the own territory. I am not saying that global trade per se is bad for the environment, but innovative solutions are needed if the poor are affected, because they cannot buffer losses of ecosystem services with purchased human-made services. To replace missing legislation pro-poor payments for ecosystem services were discussed in the past (Landell-Mills and Porras, 2002; Duraiappah, 2006; Ravnborg et al., 2007; Bulte et al., 2008; Proctor et al., 2008; Tallis et al., 2008). To successfully manage such supply-demand relations for ecosystem services under pressure of global change requires a collaboration of science and practice. New strategies for local, regional and global management of ecosystems are necessary, which are based on ecosystem services quantification; design of finance, policy and governance systems; and the implementation of those in various biophysical and social contexts (Daily and Matson, 2008). Within this general framework the three main objectives of my habilitation thesis on Ecosystem Services in Human-Environment Systems are Part A) to model land use and its impact on biodiversity and ecosystems and their services Part B) to analyze the decision-making that drives supply and demand for ecosystem services, and Part C) to explore the ecosystem impact of the financial sector national and international payments for ecosystem services (PES) and their linkages to the financial sector. In this introduction I reflect first the recent discussion about the definition of ecosystem services. Then I develop a general framework to organize research on ecosystem services. Finally, for each of the three objectives I provide a short review of existing research and describe my contribution to fill the gap. What are ecosystem services? Much confusion about their definition. Daily (1997) and the contributing authors from natural and social sciences introduced the term and concept of ecosystem services in order to stress the dependency of human-well being on nature. This milestone work defines ecosystem services on page 3 as follows: Ecosystem services are the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems, and the species that make them up sustain and fulfill human life. They maintain biodiversity and the production of ecosystem goods, such as seafood, forage, timber, biomass fuels, natural fiber, and many pharmaceuticals, industrial products, and their precursors. (Daily, 1997, page 3). In this definition ecosystem goods and biodiversity are an output of natural functions in sensu de Groot (1992). Interestingly, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment MA (2005b) skips the distinction between tangible ecosystem goods. It defines ecosystem services broadly as the benefits people obtain from ecosystems. It does distinguish supportive services (like nutrient cycling and soil formation), provisioning services (like food, fresh water and fibers), regulating services (like erosion control or water purification), and cultural services (like provision of opportunities for recreation and spiritual or historical purposes). That means what is a good under the definition of Daily is in the MA defined as an ecosystem services. Exactly around this issue, there is currently a scientific debate ongoing (see Boyd, 2007; Boyd and Banzhaf, 2007; Wallace, 2007; Costanza, 2008; Fisher and Turner, 2008; Wallace, 2008).