English Poem Analysis Essay

In this poem, Pablo Neruda is talking about life, and how he feels that it is an insignificant business. He talks about life after death, saying that nobody keeps what they have and says that life is nothing but a ‘borrowing of bones’. The best thing he claims to have learnt from life is that one should not have too much of either joy or sadness, but experience both in equal quantities. He feels that his being happy was a punishment, a condemnation that caused him to plunge into the sorrows of others, and to share with them their sorrow. He says that he did not do this for fame or for money, but because he could not live in the shadows, the shadows of other people. He says that we can heal our own wounds by weeping and singing, but in front of us lie thousands of others who are in constant suffering. He feels that his business on earth was to fulfil his spirit, the happiness he felt with the sum of all his actions. It gave him great joy to bathe in the sea under the sun, and in the very foam of the sea, his heart which lay dying was seeped into the sand. The poet makes use of immense imagery in all his works. There is no poem written by Pablo Neruda, which is lacking imagery. It is one of the most common literary devices used by the poet. And this is one such poem where he has used various kinds of imagery to illustrate his thoughts.

Pied Beauty Analysis Essay

The title of the poem itself is a clear indication of what follows (â€Å"pied† meaning ‘of more than one colour’), a celebration of imperfection; of diversity. The poem opens with the poet praising and thanking God for spotted or dappled (imperfect) things, â€Å"Glory be to God for dappled things†. This one line alone sends the reader into contemplation—having always associated beauty with perfection, this makes one look at things from a whole new perspective; a perspective not tainted with the artificial and superficial human ideals about beauty. The poet then draws the reader’s attention to the ever-changing skies and compares them to a â€Å"brinded cow†. The poet uses a simile because, just like the cow, which is usually white with streaks of brown or black, the sky too is streaked with different colours: red, yellow, purple, blue, white and orange. And while most of us acknowledge the brilliance of the sky (â€Å"most of us† meaning those who take the time â€Å"to stop and smell the roses† as the saying goes) we rarely ever give a second thought to cows— let alone ever perceive them as an object of beauty. In our quest for ‘perfection’ we tend to overlook the earthly kind of beauty. But if perfection was the key word, then clear, blue skies should hold more appeal than cloudy, stormy ones; instead, though we might wish for one now and again, blue skies would bore us pretty soon; it is the variety that keeps us enthralled. Though the things described in the poem are normal, everyday things, it takes a poet’s eye to draw our attention to the everlasting, â€Å"real† beauty. For example, trout, which is mainly seen as a source of food, is described as something which would (or should) most definitely earn a second glance. The word ‘mole’ usually always invokes the ungainly imagery of warts, however, in â€Å"For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim†, ‘rose’ is associated with ‘moles’, banishing all thoughts of ugliness and enabling the reader to be able to see the beauty in something as common as trout. â€Å"Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings†. Here, chestnut kernels are compared to smoldering embers; the reddish-brown meat inside the chestnut, being similar to the fiery reddish-orange hue of glowing coal. However this alliteration is contradictory since ‘fresh’ chestnuts are covered with spiky, green moss and are most definitely not like coal; it is only when they are ripe, and burst open when they fall to the ground, that the insides are revealed. While until now, the author had been mainly dealing with two colours, â€Å"Finches’ wings† brings to mind a great big melting pot of vibrant hues; the black and white wings, the sun glinting off their airborne feathers, transforming this common bird into a kaleidoscope of colours; a blur. This might also mark an end to the concrete references, since from the next line, things become more general and abstract (just like how one cannot pinpoint a single colour on the finches’ wings; therefore, their reference is also perhaps a glimpse of what follows†¦). Hopkins now talks about one of the most ancient and relevant occupations: farming. Farming is one occupation which brings humans closer to nature; helps them get in touch with their humble and down-to-earth side. However, we have now started seeing it as something mechanical; lifeless. The joy and exhilaration our forefathers used to link with this has given way to routine; we have started taking it for granted, which is why the poet feels the need to thank God for â€Å"Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow and plough†(ALLITERATION), the result of a farmer’s daily toil. And though farming has changed the land and it no longer looks natural and unspoiled, it bears harvest, which gives way to joy. And now Hopkins talks about all the other trades that have brought us closer to Nature and God: â€Å"And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim†. Here the poet is also thanking God for all the little things that help us get by; things that we take for granted (when have we appreciated the fishing net, or the mining machines? ) The poet now moves on to â€Å"All things counter, original, spare, strange†; thereby effectively including every single component of nature. Here, the poet celebrates uniqueness as in â€Å"strange† or â€Å"original† and â€Å"spare† as in the context of being one of a kind, and balance in nature due to all things having an opposing creation-â€Å"counter†. This tone is continued in â€Å"Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how? ). Barely has the fact that fickleness in humans is something which is looked down upon registered, that one is hit by the realization that this very fickleness in nature is exactly what makes it so appealing in the first place. †With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim†. The poet uses these oxymorons to illustrate that it doesn’t matter if something is fast or slow, sweet or sour, because they all hold some intrinsic beauty. Here the author is once again celebrating fickleness in nature, for something which is sour, say, an unripe apple, can also be sweet, when given enough time, there are two sides to every coin ;but each form is as valuable as the other, for example, a river, in its early stage is swift and might seem exciting and alluring with its fresh water, but as it slows down, it is just as important, for now it deposits all of the goodness it carried along with it in its early stage; or take diamonds, those dazzling lumps of carbon are not any more important than graphite, which is just another form of carbon. The poet plays on all our sense by choosing these particular words. â€Å"He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change† This gives a sense of continuity, enforced by the words, â€Å"fathers-forth† the bond remains unbroken. The beauty of His creation is transitional; they do not end, but simply moves on to become something else. The concluding line â€Å"Praise him† is simply a reiteration of the first line and not in any way a reference to Christianity; â€Å"him† is simply God or whatever you would like to name the Divine Creator. The poem speaks of happiness; of finding joy in everything around you and being able to appreciate it. The usage of the hyphen in the first 3-4 lines is to link together words one would normally not associate with each other, thereby forcing the reader to revisit his views on the objects around him.

Forensic Psychology: Fitness for Duty Evaluation

The nature of fitness-for-duty evaluations is different from other psychological services in that they involve a mandatory referral to the psychologist and fitness Information Is communicated to the department Thus, specific issues of psychologist training and knowledge are crucial. Fitness for duty evaluation Police Psychologists play substantial roles In the employment and maintenance of law enforcement. A main role the psychologist plays is in the area of psychological assessment.The Fitness for duty evaluation (FED) assesses and evaluates a police officer's personality, psychology, intelligence, and overall fit for the line of work. This type of assessment Is also frequently conducted through pre-employment psychological screenings. This paper briefly addresses the pre;employment psychological screening. However, the primary focus is on the forensic psychologist's role as it applies to the FED. Pre-employment psychological screenings are designed to Identify unsuitable police can didates.Testing has become more complex over the years in order to detect Issues not easily identified In earlier standard testing. (Derrick & Chaplain, 2006). Several tests, such as the Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory (IMP) and the Inlaid Personality Inventory (PUPIL have become more utilized for this purpose over the years . Research has established that these tests, particularly the PIP, tend to be successful In predicting negative indicators for aspects such as officer performance after training (Singing, Schumacher, Gardner, &Chaplin, 1995).It has also been found that The Pl and IMP have also proven effective in detecting dishonest test answers. Importantly, it has been suggested the test detects Is best at Identifying unsophisticated deceivers while superior ones are more successful In cheating the tests (Forum &: stock, Tests such as the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R) is 993). Frequently used as a predict recruits that will perform well once on the job (Derrick & Callahan, 2006).Other research (Derrick & Callahan, 2006) suggests that the NEO PI-R Is able to foresee which recruits will perform well as officers. Some experts also believe that the NEO PI-R may be utilized in recognizing weaknesses in cleared emcee candidates Ana teen strengthening tense areas. Thanes-Tort-AU evaluations (Fades) are often in response to an officer's display of some form of questionable behavior. These behaviors may include aspects such as stress, excessive force, substance abuse, psychological disorders, depression, or family problems.The evaluation is conducted in order to determine several key factors. These include the decision as to if the officer should continue at present duty level, if treatment or intervention is needed, or if Job task modifications are necessary. The assessment typically comprises a review of the officer's records. Aspects of the record such as awards, commendations, and reprimands are measured. Additionally, individual sessions with the officer are often conducted. Interviews with family are often conducted as well.Lastly, a medical examination is frequently recommended to establish or rule out other issues affecting the officer (Bartok & Bartok, 2008) In addition to use for recruitment, Psychological tests such as The Operational Police Stress Questionnaire (Soup) and the Organizational Police Stress Questionnaire (SQ-Org) are frequently utilized to in both recruitment and to measure stress levels in active duty officers. (Macrame & Thompson, 2006). Duty-related stress is measured by the SQ-Pop and the SQ. Org measures stress that is caused from the actual law enforcement organization.The tests were designed in this way due to data that has established that these two groups are the main stress generating areas for officers. The role of the forensic psychologist as it pertains to FED is of interest to this student for several reasons. First of all, research has established that psychological servi ces play a vital role throughout law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement officials have begun to recognize and acknowledge the need for psychological services designed to deal with the unique culture among police officers. Another reason of interest is the value in psychological testing.Psychological tests can be used to assist in recruit selection as well as stress testing for current officers. Furthermore, the creation of additional and improved tools as a result of developing research and development for the purpose of improving law enforcement organizations is exciting. â€Å"Psychologists provide services, teach, and conduct research with populations and in areas only within the boundaries of their competence, based on their education, training, supervised experience, consultation, study, or professional experience† (PAP, 2002, p. 1063; Standard 2. AAA Boundaries of Competence).

Sucess and Misery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sucess and Misery - Essay Example These challenges include becoming a success or failure in terms of academic achievements or the ability of a child to become strongly involved in sports activities. (pp. 16 – 17) When a child becomes unsuccessful in either school or sports activities, they tend to develop a self-inferiority complex as they grow old even if they have very supportive parents (p. 16). There are also cases wherein some children may not experience financial problems because their parents are able to financially support his/her material needs. However, not all of these children are able to enjoy a good family life since their parents need to spend more time on career rather than spending time on them. On the contrary, some children can experience having supportive parents but failed to enjoy the benefit of having excessive monetary wealth. The childhood experience of each person has something to do with their ability to balance having a good career and a family life. Normally, children who had experienced having a good childhood and family life are the ones with a greater chance of being able to maintain a successful family life when they get married. Some people are unsuccessful when it comes to balancing a successful career and a good family life. As a result of staying focus on career growth, some people could be experiencing enormous success with his or her professional life but remains empty in terms of being able to maintain a good relationship with a special someone or build a long-term happy family (p. 3). It is not a very bad thing to become successful in business or having a stable profession. However, the consequences of spending too much time on career development is so great that we tend to lose our relationship and attachment with our love ones. As an end result, a married man can have uncontrollable family and relationship problems which may have started from the absence of regular communication and quality time with the wife and children. Eventually, a successful

Applied statistics for economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Applied statistics for economics - Essay Example Consistent with the research predictions, the study found out that standard & poor 500 indexes are more likely to release good news forecasts following larger stock price declines. Moreover, as expected there is no association between the likelihood of releasing good news forecasts and the magnitude of an exogenous stock price increase. Also to be illustrated in this report is the potential of Time-frequency Representation (TFR) techniques, for the analysis of stock markets data and compare their performances. It is for this reason that we seek to analyze the behavior of the stock market price over the period from 2002 to 2007. MAIN OBJECTIVES/BROAD PURPOSES OF THE PROJECT This report aims at investigating the following objectives; i) To investigate whether all the investors are risk averse and measure risk in terms of the standard deviation in a portfolio’s return. ii) To investigate whether all investors have a common time horizon for investment decisions (e.g., a year). iii ) To investigate whether all investors have identical subjective estimates of future returns and risks for all securities. iv) To investigate whether there exists a risk-free asset and all investors may borrow or lend an unlimited amount at the risk free nominal rate of interest. v) To investigate whether all securities are completely divisible, there are no transactions costs or differential taxes, and there are no restrictions on short-selling. vi) To investigate whether information is freely and simultaneously available to all investors. We could summarize the above by stating that all individuals are price-takers and that markets are perfectly competitive. OUTCOMES OF THE PROJECT Comparing... Applied Statistics For Economics A time series can be said to collection of data yt (t=1,2,†¦,T), with the interval between yt and yt+1 being fixed and constant. Time series analysis is the estimation of difference equations containing stochastic (error) terms (Enders 2010). Time series forecasting takes the analysis from the time series data and tries to predict what the data may be in the near future, based on what it has been in the past. This is especially important in the field of stock market investment, as traders want to make the right moves at the right times to maximize financial profit. But because there are many factors influencing the fluctuation of the stock market, creating an accurate forecast based on the analysis alone is difficult. Therefore, many approaches and models have been developed to utilize the time series analysis and provide an accurate prediction of what is to come in the stock market. Standard & Poor 500 indices are designed to reflect the U.S. equity markets and, through the mar kets, the U.S. economy. The Standard & Poor 500 index focuses on the large-cap sector of the market; however, since it includes a significant portion of the total value of the market, it also represents the market. Companies in the Standard & Poor 500 index are considered leading companies in leading industries. Comparing the mean of dly and that of dlsap, we observe that the end of week mean price for the logarithm of share price for a particular stock (denoted dly) is lower compared to the end of week mean for the logarithm of Standard & Poor 500 index.

A Problem in the Field of Finance Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A Problem in the Field of Finance - Article Example chases an appropriately customized supporting contract from a backer with an underlying result halfway related with the vulnerability in the item showcase. Therefore, ProQuest demonstrates the agreement impact by detailing the transaction transforming both gatherings in the schema of a Stackelberg diversion and value harmony. For each one diversion theoretic setting, we determine the balance result and present the similar statics. We additionally research the case in which the backer lays off her hazard from one agreement by composing an alternate contract with a second firm, and contrast contract execution and a benchmark case in which two organizations exchange specifically as opposed to through the guarantor. However some state that a comparative marvel might be found in an alternate business sector for private safe holdings, the ABCP market. This wonder does not exist, on the other hand, in business sectors for dangerous obligation, for example, the corporate security market. (Xi e, 2013) ProQuest contemplates an inventory network in which a retailer confronts an excellent newsvendor issue with a monetary demand on his ability to request stock. To offer more items, the maker groups up with a bank to offer a premium free credit program. As indicated by late industry reports give or take 80 percent of retailers and suppliers accept that coordinated effort has developed in the previous three years. Regardless of this development, notwithstanding, the practice is not far reaching, and the profits attained are frequently incremental as opposed to transformational practices. Thus, it’s still not unexpected to discover double stock property inside the same system, underused truck armadas, overabundances of quick moving stock mulling in retailer warehouses, and low on-rack accessibility of a few items in particular or say, special things. ProQuest details the association between the retailer and the producer as a Stackelberg amusement in which the maker has the

E-government benefits Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

E-government benefits - Research Paper Example Convenience is also characterized by availability of many channels brought about by e-government that enables the citizens to choose where and when to receive government services. In addition, citizens with disabilities do not have the trouble of moving from one geographical area to the other seeking government services. Secondly, e-government has simplified application processes. Yigitcanlar & Baum (2006) asserts that citizens can easily apply for government services easily. Through the government websites, a citizen can get answers to his or her question without wading through hundreds of irrelevant information. With e-government, records can be signed digitally, certified legally and delivered electronically to the appropriate locations via the internet. Information can easily be accessed using a standardized feel and look using MassCares suite applications. A MassCares suite application has enabled citizens to serve themselves because routine work of government officials has been automated. In addition, citizens can visit many government agencies with a click of the mouse. With e-government, application process has also been made simpler through single-windows and single-sign –on. Third, e-government has increased citizen’s effectiveness and efficiencies. ... Citizens have found out e-government reduces the amount of time, money as well as materials spend on seeking government services. This is because correspondence between the government officials and citizens can be done via email, shot messaging services or chat rooms. Furthermore, e-government has reduced the chances of citizens making errors in application because automation informs the user in real-time when the error occurs and allow him or her to rectify it on the spot. Effectiveness and efficiency brought about by e-government has enabled some citizens to plan better their personal and professional work. Fourth, e-government has increased democratization. Citizens can easily express their opinions on government policies and activities via online surveys or blogs. In fact, it has been established that citizens especially those who are younger participate on online discussions of political issues and are appealed by e-voting procedures. The citizens can easily exert direct and pro minent influence to legislative processes by increasing their political participation on issues affecting them. According to Roy (2004), e-government allows citizens to interact with government officials as well as politicians on major issues affecting their lives. Instant-messaging, online interactive survey, audio/video presentations and blogging will allow government officials and politicians see and understand people’s views (Alston, 2003). Fifth, e-government has increased transparency and accountability in government agencies. With e-government, citizens (voter) are allowed to get insight on how government decisions and policies are made in real time basis.

Hamlet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 16

Hamlet - Essay Example â€Å"The Murder of Gonzago† is a play directed by Hamlet as he learns from the ghost that this was his uncle Claudius who killed Hamlet’s father in order to become a king. It is aimed at replicating the events which, as Hamlet suspects, happened in reality and led to the death of his father. Subsequently, the logic behind showing this play is to reveal the guilt of Claudius by showing him circumstances that are expected to cause a particular reaction from the man: â€Å"To catch the consciousness of the king.† (Act II, Scene II) In this way, the suspense is created. As a result, Hamlet confirms his doubts and realizes that his father was killed by the new king. In this way, the plot gets its logical development and approaches to the climax. Apart from serving as a catalyst for the plot development, inclusion of the play into the play can serve the purpose of reinforcing the theme of pretending and lack of certainty, which is one of the essential themes of the given play. Throughout the play, Hamlet and Claudius are playing their roles (Hamlet acts insane and Claudius – honest and innocent) instead of being what they really are. At the same time, it is not clear whether Gertrude was loyal to her husband and whether she knew about the plans of Claudius. Furthermore, Hamlet is not sure whether the ghost he saw was saying the truth: â€Å"The spirit I have seen may be a devil.† (Act II, Scene II) Similarly, actors in â€Å"The Murder of Gonzago† are playing their roles and highlight the motif of theatricality of the life. The play within the play becomes a reflection of the real life in which people act as actors. The following can also hint on the attempts of Shakespeare to assert the importance of art and power of theatre as a whole. For instance, in Hamlet, the play within the play not only exposes the truth, but gives the prince the power and passion to revenge. In other words, actors on the stage provoke actions and make one reflect on the past and predict

International Finance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International Finance - Assignment Example For cash payments, it can sell the 90-days forward contract to buy US$ at 1.6930. At the expiry, the company will have to sell C$6,237,448 to buy the US$10,560,000. Furthermore, for the receipts the company will have to buy C$ at 1.6960 where it will be selling US$1,560,000 to buy C$919,811. Keeping in view the costs of transactions, the company can sell the 90-days forward contract to hedge the net cash flows of US$9,000,000 at bid rate of C$/US$ 1.6930. The amount payable will be C$5,316,007. ii. Money market hedge on payables will involve taking money market position to cover the future payment. Kennedy Plc can either use its own funds for the hedge or it can borrow the funds in home currency (C$) and make a short-term investment for 90 days in foreign currency. C$ borrowing rate = 3.5625% US$ deposit rate = 2.25% It needs US$10,560,000 in 90 days, therefore, the amount needed to be deposited in US$ is US$10,560,000 / (1 + (0.0225 * (90/360))) = US$10,500,932 Deposit amount in C$ = US$10,500,932/ 1.6875 = C$6,222,774 This amount can be borrowed at an annual interest rate of 3.5625%. C$ amount of loan repayment after 3 months = C$6,222,774* (1+ (0.035625 *(90/360))) = C$6,278,196 Therefore, the company would borrow C$6,222,774 at 3.5625% p.a. for 90 days. Convert the amount into US$ at spot rate of 1.6875, which will amount to US$10,500,932. Deposit this amount at US$ money market deposit rate 2.25% p.a. for 90 days. This will give the amount to be paid i.e. US$10,560,000. At the end of 90 days, Kennedy will make the loan repayment of C$6,278,196. This hedge will allow the company to fix the amount to be paid after three months. To hedge the receivables: Amount expected to be received = US$1,560,000... There are mainly three types of foreign exchange risks or exposures.This is also known as accounting risk, which a firm faces when it has subsidiary operations in other countries. When the foreign exchange movements adversely affect the translated values of assets and liabilities of the subsidiaries, it becomes an unwanted exposure for the parent company’s consolidated financial statements. This risk can be hedged by using currency futures, currency swaps etc.Transaction Exposure: This exposure is related to the future payments and receipts in foreign currency. Companies many a times limit this type of exposure by requiring the cash flows to be received and made in the home currency rather than foreign currency. Another way to minimize this risk is netting out the exposure by a lot of different currencies or only in one currency (Jacque, 1997, p.177). This is done by large corporations with significant amounts of international operations. Other techniques for alleviating short -term currency risks are currency forwards, currency futures, money market hedge, option hedge and cross hedge (Kelley, 2001, pp.32-34).Economic Exposure: This exposure is faced by corporations with large international presence and relates more with the net present value of future cash flows of a firm. The management of economic exposure involves the use of complex instruments and strategies besides the foreign exchange management (Ajami and Goddard, 2006, pp.110-111)

Gun should be ban Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gun should be ban - Essay Example However, the other school of thought suggests that gun control policies and legislations are necessary in order to lower the rate of criminal activities using guns. According to the studies the main reason behind most of the casualties in the world is hand guns. The guns should better be banned because they put everyone’s life at risk and most of the guns in the homes are the reasons of unnecessary shooting and nothing else. In one of the study of the shootings, it was revealed that in almost two third cases the shooter got the gun from someone close, a relative or a friend. Keeping a gun is not protecting people but on the other hand it is the reason behind the increasing homicides. The major aspects of this debate are the sociological, legal and ethical considerations that apply differently to the discussion. The social scientists have their own point of view and according to them the gun control policies are an effective measure taken to reduce the criminal activities that take place with the use of handguns. These regulations are very important for the social security and the wellbeing of the society. From the ethical pint of view, the citizens should be given the right to protect themselves and thus they should be allowed to bear arms. They believe that of the citizens are given the right to protect themselves; there would be no one to be harmed by criminals. However, the most important aspect to this debate is the legal point of view under which the second amendment of the US constitution is interpreted. The constitution says that every person has the right to bear arms. The psychological reason behind keeping a gun in the homes would be the feeling of ins ecurity and the need to believe oneself as powerful (Diener and Kerber, 1979). Guns are being used in most of the mass shootings. And that is the major reason why guns should be banned (Vernick 84). Studies show that the presence of guns is likely to increase the crime rate in

The Case against Tipping Essay Example for Free

The Case against Tipping Essay Pros -Promoting businesses locally or globally. -Tipping helps employees with low hourly rate positions. -Tipping is complimentary -Personal good deed Cons -Already added into gratuity -Mandatory instead of Complimentary -Expected instead of being thankful -No choice People used to be polite, and thankful especially in the act of tipping where it is common place instead of a good deed. This creates problems because what if Im low on funds this particular night. For low paying positions such as waitress or valet parking is fine but it should ultimately be the patron’s choice. If a taxi cab driver expects lump sums of tips and I believe taxi cab drivers make a good living he better not shout at me alongside a curb driving slowly for two block shouting obscenities. People should be more humble and less expectant of a choice based upon the individual I am not obligated to tip or get tipped if someone does tip me God Bless them. The consequences of Carnage as Entertainment Pros Educational programs Comedy sitcoms/TV shows and movies Recreational programs Helps visible learners Cons Less communication Strain on eyes Child exposure to violent and sexual programs Behavioral problems Television is probably one of the most used inventions of the world as far as using your eyes and ears producing emotions and such. Today there is most likely more than one television set in one household. You can find television any and everywhere from bars, restaurants, Laundromats, barber shop etc. and the list goes on. However there is a down side as entertaining and consuming it may be. We have a generation of kids who refuse or simply don’t know how to communicate through dialogue. Furthermore that leads to obese and inactive lifestyle instead of going for a jog or attend a social gathering we are too busy with our mouths and eyes open in front of the television set.

Persuading on Genetically Modified Food Essay Example for Free

Persuading on Genetically Modified Food Essay The article called Genetically Modified Foods, has a style that is use to grab an audience emotion while still putting some facts. Right away in the first paragraph you will find ethos. Per Pinstrup-Anderson plays a key role in the article, he is the H.E. Babcock Professor of Food, Nutrition and Public Policy at Cornell University. Giving Per Pinstrup-Anderson a creditability, and having the audience attention. This is the only time in the article when ethos is being used to help their argument. In the next two paragraphs, Pathos and logos are used. It shows some facts as well as getting into the audience emotion. The way this was done was by talking about helping farmers in developing countries produce more food, making it more affordable to buy food, as well as not harming the environment. It goes on to say, â€Å"Many millions of people do not have access to sufficient calories and many more suffer from micronutrient deficiencies†. Another quote is, â€Å"which avoided mass starvation and helped millions out of poverty and hunger†. Notice they never gave an exact statistic on how many people are suffering from poverty and hunger, letting the audience see that it is so many people affected, and not just a specific number. It gives it more of a feel then would be given an exact number. In the next paragraph it goes back to logos, in the paragraph it is said science is the answer to fixing the hunger. It describes action that must be taken an order to be able to start helping starving people, as well as how will science help farming, like drought tolerance, mitigation of negative climate change, and pest resistance in crops. Those are just a few of what the paragraph claims to be able to do with a little investment for the technology. The way this paragraph is phrase is by letting the audiences see the processes that have to be done in order for an action to start. That way the audiences may start to have an opinion. At the end of this article it starts to talk about how long test must be done, and how the longer we wait the more expensive food will be as well as leaving millions to die. This passage is using pathos for its persuasiveness. It’s getting the audience that deep emotion of people waiting and starving. It goes on to say that anti-science ideology and the failure of the government brought the food crisis in the first place. This paragraph points a finger to show they are right, as well as preceding to say we have to change if something is not working. In the second article of, â€Å"The Failure of Gene-Altered Crops†, Vandana Shiva is presented as the ethos in this paragraph; she is the founder of Navdanya in India which is the movement of seed keepers and organic farmers. She written many books on how genetically modified foods are failing and how they will affect us. This grabs the audience attention because she’s a strong believer on organic substance. In the next paragraph it says we need biodiversity intensification that can work with nature instead of going against it, it doesn’t give a specific details as to why. The only argument made was when Doug Gurian-Sherman of the union of concerned scientist published a studied, â€Å"Failure to Yield†. In the study it is closely evaluated on the genetically modified for 20 years to see if they would increase yield or to just see better progress. In the end it showed that the experiment failed to increase yields as well as it failed to engineer crops to be insect-resistant nor herbicide tolerance. In this paragraph it was use ethos and logos. Ethos was Doug Gurian-Sherman and his research study, â€Å"Failure to Yield†. Logos was the bits of facts that came from Doug Gurian-Sherman research study. In the next to paragraph, it is shown by the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development [IAASTD] has concluded that genetic engineering did not seem very promising in the future. IAASTD found that the small farms that based on agri-ecology would produce much more food. This paragraph had also ethos, being IAASTD. As for the logos was what IAASTD found in the 4 years on figuring out what genetic engineering could hold in the future. The article makes a lot of tactics with logos and ethos to reach the audience, giving a great amount of facts from other credited people. The next three paragraphs have ethos as well as logos. In the passages, the book, â€Å"Soil, Not Oil† is brought as an example to give that industrial monocultures are more vulnerable to climate changes since the soil kept in organic plants help keep moisture making them less likely to die in draughts. In the next passage it is brought up the false statement by genetic engineering industry that it’s only possible to respond to climate change with modified food. Vandana Shiva made a statement on crops evolved to be better resilient to climate, as well Vandana has helped create seeds for drought resistance, and flood resistance as well as salt tolerance. This give the audience the idea that genetically modified food isn’t always needed when nature can just evolve. The last two passages gets more in depth on how genetically modified food and organically produced food will take us in the future. The passage give the audience a since of the future that genetic engineer for modified food is a waste a time, it does not give a sense of food security in the future and it will cause small farmers to go dept. As for Vandana Shiva Navdanya, it is a conserving biodiversity that tries to not be wasteful in water at the same time make much more food per acre. The best article that is persuasive is the second article, â€Å"The Failure of Gene-Altered Crops. The first article was very persuasive, but it never made it secure enough to make it believable that it close to happening. It produce more emotion then logic tactics, making it very hard to determine whether it is a dream that the nation wishes to reach or something that could be accomplish for the future. Great syntax on making it very emotional with pathos, but argument stance it would be weak. The first article could have been stronger if it talked about other countries that are already doing genetically modified foods. Korea has been doing genetically modified food for years, about 20 countries including the European Union, Japan, Australia and New Zealand have already a labeling system for genetically modified foods, (Hae-Yeong Kim 132). Another good point would be to bring up Matin Qaim, â€Å"Vitamin A deficiency is a serious nutritional problem, causing multiple adverse health outcomes. Simulations for India show that Golden Rice could reduce related health problems significantly, preventing up to 40,000 child deaths every year.(552) In India Bt cotton has reduce some poverty and actually help small famers, now some in China and South Africa, Bt cotton are a first-generation of genetically modified technology. As for the second argument, many ethos and logos were presented. One being Doug Gurian-Sherman published study on how genetic industries isn’t really going anywhere, it has great facts, it was a 4 year study so it showed what was being done in long term. A lot of facts on how genetic industry is failing on making modified food was claimed, but not many on how it could do more harm as well as it would bankrupt some small farmers for even trying to use modified seeds. The plant evolving had a great way point in Gebre Egziabher, Tewolde B( The Use of Genetically Modified Crops in Agriculture and Food Production, and Their Impacts on the Environment A Developing World Perspective) â€Å"Scientists believe that species evolved from a common ancestor through competition and natural selection. They also believe that changes in genes occur in all species owing to mutation, with the probability of mutation of each gene remaining constant under the same environment†. (11) Giving this quote would remind the audience that life has a way of fixing itself and just because the technology is here does not give scientist right to use a different approach but instead try harder to help organic farming when it has been secure food source. Cite American Medical Assoc. Gebre Egziabher T. The Use of Genetically Modified Crops in Agriculture and Food Production, and Their Impacts on the Environment A Developing World Perspective. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica: Section B, Soil Plant Science [serial online]. December 2, 2003;53:8-12. Available from: Science Technology Collection, Ipswich, MA. Accessed April 27, 2012. American Medical Assoc. Hae-Yeong K, Jae-Hwan K, Mi-Hwa O. Regulation and detection methods for genetically modified foods in Korea. Pure Applied Chemistry [serial online]. January 2010;82(1):129-137. Available from: Science Technology Collection, Ipswich, MA. Accessed April 27, 2012. American Medical Assoc. Qaim M. Benefits of genetically modified crops for the poor: household income, nutrition, and health. New Biotechnology [serial online]. November 30, 2010;27(5):552-557. Available from: Science Technology Collection, Ipswich, MA. Accessed April 27, 2012.

Flash Floods In Jeddah Saudi Arabia Environmental Sciences Essay

Flash Floods In Jeddah Saudi Arabia Environmental Sciences Essay Jeddah is one of the most important cities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Located on the shore of the Red Sea, the city has a population of more than 3.5 million, and after Riyadh, is the second largest urban settlement of the country (CIA Factbook, 2010, p1). Containing the largest port on the Red Sea, it is the principal entry point for Mecca, the holiest city of the Islamic religion (CIA Factbook, 2010, p1). It acts as a conduit for millions of worshipers on their way to Mecca and is otherwise a very busy commercial centre (CIA Factbook, 2010, p1). Jeddah is also known to be among the more cosmopolitan of Saudi Arabian destinations and is home to many people from western countries, because of its sea facing location, commercial importance and international connectedness (CIA Factbook, 2010, p1). The city experienced flash floods in the last week of November in 2009 (Al-Bargi, A., 2009, p 1). The floods resulted in a veritable catastrophe as much of the city was submerged in 3 feet of water and cars were swept away and piled on top of each other (Al-Bargi, A., 2009, p 1). Appendix 1 provides some pictures of the flash floods, which illustrate the extent and enormity of damage caused. The floods, which lasted for barely a couple of days, resulted in the loss of more than a 100 lives and damaged 2 billions of dollars of property (Abumansour, W., 2009, p 1). The next few days saw the residents of the city facing the dangers of a possible epidemic because of (a) overflowing sewage from the nearby Musk Lake, which threatened to enter the city, and (b) obvious difficulties in burying the men, women, children, and animals, who had died during the floods (Abumansour, W., 2009, p 1). Western citizens were bemused by the intensity of the havoc and destruction caused by just three inches of rain in a very short span of time on November 25. A resident of Florida writes as follows: On Wednesday, my part of west-central Florida received three-to-five inches of rain. No one died, even as the result of a traffic accident. Other than a few puddles an inch or two deep, the water was gone within hours of the rains passing. My city has a population of about 52,000 people and nowhere near the financial assets of Jeddah. (Crossroads Arabia, 2010, p1) The days that followed the floods witnessed an unprecedented wave of outrage in Saudi Arabia over the incompetence of the government in preventing the floods, which assumed the overtones of a catastrophe of great magnitude in terms of loss of lives and damage to property (Alice King, 2009, p 1). The episode also resulted in severe and all round condemnation of the inefficiency of town planning in Jeddah (Alice King, 2009, p 1). Numerous accusations of corruption against government officials and members of the bureaucracy led to the suspension of numerous responsible officials and the institution of a public enquiry (Al-Sulami, 2010, p 1). Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has ordered the cases of all those accused of complicity in the November floods in Jeddah referred to the watchdog for government employees and the national prosecution body The king made it clear that crimes involving financial and administrative corruption would not be included in the list of crimes he may choose to pardon later. (Al-Sulami, 2010, p1) 1.2. Definition of Problem Recent decades have witnessed a spate of natural flood related disasters of different dimensions with varying degrees of consequential damage. Pakistan has very recently, in early August 2010, experienced floods of immense severity, which have resulted in more than 1500 deaths. The impact of the Indian Ocean Tsunami, where more than 100,000 lives were lost, will not be forgotten soon (National Geographic News, 2005, p 1). A number of cyclones damaged American cities in the recent past and caused significant damage to life and property (Borland, 2010, p 1). Environmental and ecological experts attribute the greater occurrence of such natural disasters in recent years to global warming and consequential climatic change (Castonguay, 2007, p 820). With the impact of such climatic change not expected to abate in future, national and international policy makers are working on various stratagems to protect life and property from the consequences of such environmental turbulences (Castonguay, 2007, p 820). 1.3. Purpose Governments across the world are formulating and implementing customised plans and solutions for the protection of their citizens from the wrath of nature. Such plans obviously have to essentially be bespoke in character and designed to protect against specific environmental threats (Carter, 2007, p 330). Cities in hilly areas need to be protected from the consequences of earthquakes and landslides, even as residents of habitations near rivers, dams, reservoirs and seas need to be protected from the onslaught of water (Carter, 2007, p 330). Plans to protect citizens from disasters must also essentially incorporate disaster preparation and disaster management activities before, during and after the occurrence of disasters (Carter, 2007, p 330). The Saudi Government has evidenced high levels of concern about the implementation of flood and disaster management plans in the kingdom and the overcoming of associated difficulties and restrictions (A1SaudiArabia.com, 2010, p 1). This dissertation aims to investigate the various risks that can emerge from floods in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is also proposed to study the effect of various factors that can challenge or obstruct flood management plans at Jeddah and the various plans and measures that can be implemented to overcome such challenges. 1.4. Aims and Objectives The aims and objectives of this dissertation, framed in accordance with the defined problem and the purpose of this study, are now elaborated as under. To examine the various reasons that led to the enormous havoc and destruction after the occurrence of the flash floods in Jeddah on November 25, 2009. To examine and assess the various risks that can arise for life and property in the KSA because of unsuitable and inadequate flood management practices. To study the different issues concerned with flood management as also the implications of such issues on risk management for concerned public and private agencies and for members of the population. To study and understand the various implications of planning on ecosystems with specific reference to Saudi Arabia. To recommend specific strategies, plans and measures to protect the human population, animal and plant life, and individual and organisational property, in KSA, from such challenges. 1.5. Structure This dissertation has been structured to ensure sequential progress of research findings, right from the introductory section through the literature review, the choice of appropriate research methodology, and the obtaining and analysis of data to appropriate recommendations and conclusions. The bibliography and various appendices used during the study have been placed at the end of the dissertation. 2. Literature Review This review of extant literature involves a detailed study of various aspects of floods, their reasons, their effects, and the various ways in which communities and societies are (a) trying to prevent their occurrence, (b) minimise their impact on the ecosystem, human and animal life, and individual and organisational property, and (c) deal with their aftermath. Information sources have been chosen carefully for their relevance to the Jeddah floods of 2009, and to the broader issue of flood prevention and management in Saudi Arabia. 2.1. Risks from Floods Flooding is widely accepted to be the foremost causal factor for loss of life and damage to property from natural events in numerous regions of the world (Kron, 2005, p 58-68). It is to elaborate further considered to be far more damaging than other types of natural disasters or hazards like earthquakes and fires (Kron, 2005, p 58-68). The Munich Reinsurance Company, in a study conducted in 2000, found that practically 50% of loss of life and one third of economic losses that took place due to natural disasters, occurred because of flooding (Briguglio, 2008, p 1-15). Damages from floods have been particularly severe in contemporary times (Briguglio, 2008, p 1-15). The last decade in particular has witnessed a number of flood related disasters across the world, which has resulted in widespread loss of life and damages, amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars, to property (Kron, 2005, p 58-68). Whilst countries like China and Bangladesh experience flooding with associated loss to lives and property very frequently, other countries, like Saudi Arabia, for example, rarely face floods (Kron, 2005, p 58-68). However when floods do occur in such areas, their force, impact and consequential inundation is no less severe than in flood prone regions (Briguglio, 2008, p 1-15). It is evident that all populated areas across the world face risks from flooding, even as some societies are far more vulnerable than others to flood hazards (Alexander, 2006, p 1). Again whilst some societies have come to understand the damage that can be caused by floods and have adopted suitable measures to minimise associated damage, many others continue to be caught off guard and are found to be unprepared, to a great extent, when floods occur; such inadequacies exist both in minimising the damage from such floods and in taking appropriate post disaster action (Alexander, 2006, p 1). The members of such under protected societies thus often experience far more loss to life and property than those of better prepared communities (Alexander, 2006, p 1). The rapid and progressive increase in global population has led to the need for people to settle in new and hitherto unpopulated areas, some of which are known to be prone to natural hazards (Boruff Cutter, 2007, p 24). Saudi Arabia for instance is experiencing continuous increase in its population, much of which is fuelled by the inflow of people from other nations, who come in search of employment in the oil rich and fast growing Saudi economy (Boruff Cutter, 2007, p 24). The movement of people on account of political, social and economic reasons often leads to the development of habitation in areas that could be prone to flooding events (Boruff Cutter, 2007, p 24). Floods are defined in insurance contracts as a temporary covering of land by water as a result of surface waters escaping from their normal confines or as a result of heavy precipitation. (Kron, 2005 p 58) They can be categorised into three distinct classes, namely (a) storm surges, (b) river floods and (c) flash floods (Kron, 2005, p 58-68). Apart from these three types of floods, flooding can also occur because of specific reasons like the occurrence of tsunamis, breaks in dams, rising of ground water, and glacial lake outbursts (Kron, 2005, p 58-68). Storm surges occur mainly on the coasts of big lakes, seas, and oceans (Castonguay, 2007, p 820). They have in the past been the reason for the greatest losses to life and property that have occurred because of natural water related disasters (Castonguay, 2007, p 820). Whilst developed countries are fortifying their coasts in order to minimise the damage from such occurrences, storm surges continue to be a major threat in coastal areas across the world (Castonguay, 2007, p 820). River floods occur after heavy and continuous rainfall for many days, and even weeks, over substantially large geographical regions (Changnon, 1996, p 14-32). Saturation of soil in such cases results in the inability of the ground surface to absorb water indefinitely and further rainfall results in water running directly into streams and rivers (Changnon, 1996, p 14-32). Such floods generally grow gradually, even though they can sometimes occur within short periods, and can affect very large areas, especially where land topography is flat (Changnon, 1996, p 14-32). Whilst river floods in narrow valleys lead to inundation of small strips of land alongside rivers, the depths of such inundation and velocity of water can be excessively high and lead to enormous destruction of life and property in affected areas (Changnon, 1996, p 14-32). Whilst river floods occur from river based water sources and not from seas or oceans, their effect is often greater than that of flooding caused by seas (Changnon, 1996, p 14-32). Flash floods are predominantly local events, which occur in a scattered manner at different times across the world (Briguglio, 2008, p 1-15). Such floods come about after the occurrence of intense rainfall in a short geographical area (Briguglio, 2008, p 1-15). The rate of infiltration of water into the ground in such cases is much slower than the rate of precipitation, even though the ground may not be fully saturated (Briguglio, 2008, p 1-15). Flash floods often occur very suddenly and flood waves can rush to distant but contiguous locations in very short periods (Briguglio, 2008, p 1-15). Whilst the forecasting of flash floods is very difficult because of the extremely small period between its first indication and actual occurrence and the actual period of occurrence of rainfall is short, their potential for destruction is immense (Briguglio, 2008, p 1-15). Such floods occur not just in steep terrains, where water can flow swiftly, but also in flat areas where ground slopes are to o less for the occurrence of swift storm water runoffs (Briguglio, 2008, p 1-15). Water in such situations collects on the surface in hardly noticeable depressions and in other areas like underground parking lots, basements and subways (Briguglio, 2008, p 1-15). Flooding also occurs because of water logging when widespread and continuous rains inundate large traps of land (Castonguay, 2007, p 820). 2.2. Impact of Eco Systems on Floods Environmental experts state that whilst climate change is possibly influencing the excessive rainfall that has been ravaging Asia in the last few years, the purposeful and progressive destruction of eco systems by humans is playing a greater role in the intensification of the severity of floods (Guenni, et al, 2005, p 1). Extensive deforestation, along with the conversion of wet lands to sprawling urban development and the blocking of natural drainage systems are intensifying the impact of floods (Guenni, et al, 2005, p 1). A number of environmental experts agree that whilst much of the modern day problems associated with environmental issues are being attributed to climate change, the severity of natural disasters is actually intensifying because of human destruction of natural infrastructure (Kron, 2005, p 58-68). Millions of people are building homes along flood plains and increasing garbage is blocking natural water ways (Kron, 2005, p 58-68). All across Asia, cities are experiencing unplanned growth of urban sprawls, along with poor land and waste management (Kron, 2005, p 58-68). Such developments are reducing natural protective phenomena and exposing human life and property to chances of extensive damage (Kron, 2005, p 58-68). Obtaining a true understanding of eco system services in the safeguarding of human well being is difficult because of the range of factors that can both protect and harm humans during natural disasters (Castonguay, 2007, p 820). The following table illustrates the various ways in which eco systems play important roles in flood regulation (Castonguay, 2007, p 820). Key Role of Ecosystems in Regulating Extreme Events Ecosystem Role in Flood Regulation Cultivated Crop cover provides flood protection, conditioned on good management Dry land Protection through vegetation cover; recharge of aquifers Forest Protection from floods providing flood attenuation and soil loss prevention Urban Move people away from flood-prone areas, conditioned on good urban planning Inland Waters Provide mechanisms for flood attenuation potential (wetlands, lakes, etc.) Coastal Benefits from sediment transport to the coastal zone; flood protection provided by coastal ecosystems (barrier beaches, mangroves, etc.) Marine Benefits from nutrient transport to the oceans Polar Discharge regulation to oceans in the Arctic system (freshwater provision to Arctic oceans) Mountains Regulating flood-related events (slope stability) Islands Benefits from sediment transport to oceans through floods from the mainland; aquifer recharge as main source of fresh water (Source: Guenni, et al, 2005, p 444) 2.3. Role of Spatial Planning in Flood Prevention and Control Increased vulnerability to flooding of different types is occurring across the world because of destruction of protective eco systems like mangroves, coral reefs and flood plains (Alterman, 2001, p 7-19). Disasters have been found to be higher in regions that have suffered from greater environmental degradation (Alterman, 2001, p 7-19). Many countries experience severe problems from floods at irregular but frequent intervals (Chan Parker, 1996, p 313). The traditional approach taken by such nations for reduction of flood control consists mainly of (a) measures like construction of dykes and dams, and (b) improvements to canals, channels, and drainage systems (Chan Parker, 1996, p 313). Many of such programmes have been adopted specifically for cities and demarcated agricultural areas and have involved the deployment of a limited range of engineering activities for the overcoming of flooding problems (Chan Parker, 1996, p 313). Whilst some of these solutions have proven to be useful, others have ended up in aggravating flood damage (De Cola, 2002, p 363). Many western countries are now recognising the inadequacy of flood management programmes that are solely dependent upon structural measures (De Cola, 2002, p 363). Western countries are increasingly engaging in deployment of non-structural methods for flood prevention (Comfort, 1988, p 78- 82). Such measures aim to minimise losses through controlling urban and collateral development in areas at risk from floods (Comfort, 1988, p 78- 82). Non-structural measures are by and large utilised along with a range of structural measures in order to create comprehensive systems for dealing with flood problems (Comfort, 1988, p 78- 82). Many such programmes with non-structural components have however met with partial success because of problems associated with zoning of land and relocation of people (Comfort, 1988, p 78- 82). Comprehensive flood hazard management is the most effective way to address flood control issues. It incorporates a variety of engineering, environmental protection and planning measures. It includes flood plain management, flood control maintenance activities, storm water management, shoreline management, protection of frequently flooded areas under Growth Management, watershed management, other flood hazard mitigation activities, and preparation for flood disasters where mitigation activities cannot prevent flooding. (MRSC, 2010, p1) Experts agree that spatial management, which includes both structural and non-structural measures, can significantly help in preventing and reducing the impact of natural disasters (Comfort, 1988, p 78- 82). Such planning essentially contains the following elements: Early warning system: Spatial planning will succeed only if it is based upon sound information on the region under consideration. This calls for the introduction and implementation of suitable methods for acquisition and measurement of data about environmental hazards. Risk Assessment and Mapping: The formulation of effective systems for prevention of flood related disasters depends upon the availability of comprehensive information on the causes and impact of flooding. Such systems require the creation of appropriate frameworks for assessment and evaluation of floods. Hydrological and geological information like thematic hazard maps can help significantly in reducing loss of life and property because of floods. Prevention and Reduction: Spatial planning efforts require the analysis of various inter-relationships between spatial planning and the occurrence of floods. Appropriate spatial models can be discussed and established only on the basis of results of such analysis. Risk management: Spatial planning, to be effective, needs to carefully look at various elements of infrastructure like evacuation routes and safety spaces, which can help safeguard and secure individuals during the occurrence of floods. Reconstruction: Spatial planning is of extreme importance during reconstruction after disasters, when rebuilding has to be appropriately executed in order to eliminate past inadequacies and prepare for future developments. (Comfort, 1988, p 78- 82) 2.4. Prevention, Management and Control of Flood Disasters Spatial planning, whilst extremely important for mitigation of the impact of floods is only one of a number of dimensions that have to be considered, when planning for prevention, management, and control of flood disasters. Some extremely important aspects of flood control are detailed in the following sub-sections (Haeuber Michener, 1998, p 74). 2.4.1. Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping A vulnerability analysis aims to assess the risks faced by structures and populations within flood prone areas (Guenni, et al, 2005, p 1). Such analysis assesses the potential impact of flooding by way of damage to roads, bridges, buildings and critical utilities (Guenni, et al, 2005, p 1). Vulnerability analysis is executed for different probability levels of floods and leads to the development of an elevation-damage curve (Guenni, et al, 2005, p 1). Such an analysis, by identifying high risk populations, is useful for formulation of required emergency responses in terms of evacuation and temporary shelters (Guenni, et al, 2005, p 1). A vulnerability analysis also helps in deciding acceptable risk levels and the level for which protection is essential (Guenni, et al, 2005, p 1). Mapping is closely associated with vulnerability analysis and represents a detailed definition of risk prone areas (Kaschube, 2006, p 50). Mapping is an important fundamental activity for all types of flood preparation programmes (Kaschube, 2006, p 50). With such maps often having legal implications with regard to zoning and the execution of structural and non-structural flood control actions, they must be credible and accurate (Kaschube, 2006, p 50). Such mapping by and large takes place on the frequency of flood events and along with vulnerability analysis provides a basis for all flood control measures (Kaschube, 2006, p 50). 2.4.2. Protection of Flood Prone Lands Vulnerability analysis and mapping provide vital inputs for the formulation of policies and programmes for controlling the incidence and impact of areas that are susceptible to floods (Johnson, et al, 2007, p 374). Policies and programmes for effective flood control often envisage carefully thought out controls over fresh development in flood prone areas, along with programmes for reduction of damage to existing development (Johnson, et al, 2007, p 374). Such policies are needed to limit the increasing economic and social losses that come about from floods (Johnson, et al, 2007, p 374). Flood control programmes should in the first place focus on alternate utilisation of lands facing flood risks (Krischenbaum, 2004, p 57-60). It is often better to zone such lands and use them for parks or other nature areas, rather than to think of measures to protect future development from floods (Krischenbaum, 2004, p 57-60). Zoning along with appropriate measures for flood proofing can help significantly in mitigation of damages from future floods (Lerner, 1998, p 35). However the final utility of such measures depends upon maintenance and enforcement (Lerner, 1998, p 35). Many local authorities, who are under developmental pressure, have shown tendencies to relax their stand on flood control as years pass by without the occurrence of floods (Lerner, 1998, p 35). 2.4.3. Climatological Forecasting and Geographic Information Systems Significant advances in techniques and methods for climatological forecasting have now made it a very useful tool for mitigation of flooding risks (Kotter, 2003, p 78-86). Such forecasting entails the correlation of extreme events to major alterations in ocean and atmospheric circulation patterns (Kotter, 2003, p 78-86). The identification of such patterns helps in forecasting storm activity with substantially greater accuracy than what could be done in the past (Kron, 2000, p 570-581). Climatological forecasting provides important information for improvement of emergency response readiness (Kron, 2000, p 570-581). Such forecasts are also helpful for increasing availability of reservoir storage and for building awareness of flooding potential (Kron, 2000, p 570-581). Such measures can lessen flooding severity, as and when floods occur (Kotter, 2003, p 78-86). Forecasting of extreme flooding can help local authorities in taking preventive actions such as piling up of sand bags, arrang ing for supplies of food and water, and removing high value goods (Kotter, 2003, p 78-86). Climatological forecasting helps in building public awareness of the potential impact of floods, highlighting expected public responses, and carrying out drills to assess degree of preparedness (Kron, 2000, p 570-581). Geographic Information Systems (GIS) represent software driven information and management systems that help in forecasting of water flows and in development of emergency responses (Penning-Rowsell Tapsell, 2004, p 6-38). Such systems use data from various sources, combine them suitably, and thereafter provide information for specific locations (Penning-Rowsell Tapsell, 2004, p 6-38). Data on vegetative cover is for example combined with information on soil and slope of land to assess infiltration rates for purposes of forecasting (Penning-Rowsell Tapsell, 2004, p 6-38). Climatological forecasting and geographical information systems, when used in combination, can be helpful in providing information for the taking of a range of precautionary measures for the mitigation of the impact of floods (Penning-Rowsell Tapsell, 2004, p 6-38). 2.4.4. Structural Measures Structural measures represent the undertaking of a wide range of infrastructural activities that aim to protect regions from the devastation that can be caused by floods (Munich Re, 2000, p 1-5). Such structural measures largely consist of protective infrastructural development like reservoirs for flood storage, the diversion of flood water for storage in side channels or to other water sheds, and the building of storm channels that can carry water around risk prone areas (Munich Re, 2000, p 1-5). These structural measures can be built to ensure various protection levels and can help significantly in reduction of flood damage (MRSC, 2010, p1). The construction of structural work is influenced by (a) determined standards for protection against floods, (b) costs and benefits of planned structures, and (c) the need to satisfy determined risk levels (MRSC, 2010, p1). The undertaking of protective infrastructure is important when (a) substantial infrastructure is already in place, and (b) the costs of protecting such development is expected to be substantially less than what can be expected to arise out of relocation of such infrastructure, lost economic activity, reconstruction of damaged infrastructure, or disaster relief and assistance (Pelling, 2003, p 8-23). The example of Winnipeg in Canada underlines the importance of engagement in appropriate structural measures (Pelling, 2003, p 8-23). Structural flood protection measures amounting to USD 92 million were completed for the city in the 1960s (Pelling, 2003, p 8-23). It is estimated that these structures minimised the impact of five floods that occurred since then and prevented damages that would have cost approximately USD 2 billion to repair (Pelling, 2003, p 8-23). The erection of protective infrastructure often leads to increase in developmental activities in areas that are at risk from floods, because of assumptions that such areas become safe from floods after the execution of structural measure (Hultman Bozmoski, 2006, p 25). Such assumptions can however prove to be misplaced and lead to over development with consequent increase in the vulnerability of such areas to floods. Storage dams can prove to be extremely dangerous when development in surrounding areas exceeds specified thresholds, because unanticipated levels of rainfall can lead to swift increase in water levels, thereby making emergency and evacuation responses very challenging (Hultman Bozmoski, 2006, p 25). Structural work, to be successful against flood protection, must be accompanied by systematic and established programmes for assessment, repair and maintenance, in order to maintain originally specified design capabilities. Canals, channels, and dikes, may, for example, be weakened by progressive erosion, movement of animals or erection of utility facilities. Such infrastructural work need to be subjected to carefully thought out safety programmes, in accordance with established guidelines and standards. All new construction allowed in flood prone areas should incorporate flood protection measures in order to reduce the potential for future damage (Kahn, 2005, p 271-284). Building codes should incorporate measures for reducing flood damage by ensuring that important utilities are located above expected floor levels (Kahn, 2005, p 271-284). Items that cannot be moved away easily should not be allowed to be stored in basements or ground floors (Kahn, 2005, p 271-284). Whilst allowing new development, care must be taken to ensure that such development will not lead to significant increase of flood waters and thereby increase risks to the complete area (Kahn, 2005, p 271-284). Protection of existing structures from floods is often a challenging and expensive process (Handmer, 1987, p 51-58). Some governments have related post flood disaster help to the commitment of reconstruction methods that will reduce future damages from floods (Handmer, 1987, p 51-58). Such a strategy becomes specifically useful where flooding takes place often and monetary help for disaster assistance is an integral component of disaster policies (Pielke Jr., 2000, p 5-12). Flood protection of existing structures and buildings can incorporate measures like raising the level of structures to prevent future harm, movement of utilities, alteration in use of buildings, setting up of protective walls, building of waterproof enclosures, and utilisation of materials that are resistant to water and can be restored easily after flood events (Pielke Jr., 2000, p 5-12). The relocation of existing structures to other areas that are at lesser risks from floods is also a possible, though difficult option (Newson, 1997, p 22-36). Relocation for particularly vulnerable structures may however be imperative in certain cases, despite the associated difficulties and expenses (Newson, 1997, p 22-36). Particular buildings may be at such great risk that no amount of flood proofing measures may be sufficient to ensure desired levels of safety (Newson, 1997, p 22-36). Local authorities need to be firm in such situations and ensure relocation in order to prevent extensive loss to property and life in future flood events (Newson, 1997, p 22-

Moment In Life :: essays papers

Moment In Life I was born on 6 September 1980 in Bangkok, Thailand. The first two people that can describe me the best are my father and my mother. They told me that the first time they saw me they had the happiest time in their lives because I am the first son of them. They said that I was a curious and mischievous boy. When I was six years old, I entered Chulalongkorn University Demonstration school. In this school I was taught to be polite, responsible and loved in learning. I have made many friends in this school and I have had many experiences in this school, too. I was in a student council where I learnt how to work in a group in a democratic way. I was in a volleyball team. I got the certificate of merit from this school from 1992 to 1996. When I was in grade 11, I decided to go to study aboard because I think that now we live in a globalization and we all need to know other people in other countries in different culture so that we can help one another in the future. My mother and my father agree with me so they asked my aunt that which school in the United States is appropriate for me. My aunt told me that Cranbrook school is a good school in Michigan then I applied for Cranbrook. When I was accepted I am so glad because I can be near and take care of my sister who is now studying civil engineering in the University of Michigan attaining her Ph.D. Before I came here, I promise my mother and my father that I will never make them disappointed. Now I am in Cranbrook school, I have made many friends and I gained more experiences. I am the Residential Advisor of the dorm and also one of the leader in World Club. I am so happy to be here. In the future I want to be an engineer like my father and my sister so that I can help my father in his engineering company. I want to be a civil engineer because I like Calculus, Physic, Environmental Science, drawing and when I was young I always saw my father, working on his table, calculating his plan which was my first impression with engineering. Now it is time for me to go for a higher

Sympathy in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay -- Mary Shelley Frankens

Sympathy in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein In her novel, 'Frankenstein', Mary Shelley employs many innovative literary techniques to invoke feelings of sympathy for the monster. Sympathy is created by the author both by making the readers pity the monster’s loathsome existence and by leading them to understand his violent and cruel actions. We pity the creature because of the way he is treated by mankind and we can identify with his feelings and reactions and understand why he behaves as he does. Shelley uses different narrators throughout the novel and the reader sympathises with the views of these people to differing degrees. The language used when describing the physical appearance of the monster and his feelings is very strong and evocative. The settings and motifs with which the monster is associated are very dramatic and add to our sympathy for his lonely existence. The monster’s use of rhetoric is effective and his speech is eloquent, this is a strong technique by which the reader is drawn in. Commentators have often compared the monster to Adam, or to a newborn baby, this challenges the reader’s view of him. Another technique employed by the author is to lead the reader to draw parallels between the characters of Victor Frankenstein and his creation. The novel is told from the viewpoint of various narrators, a technique explored by Emily Brontà « in Wuthering Heights, which was popular with writers in the nineteenth century. In Frankenstein, like in Wuthering Heights, the first narrator is an outsider - Robert Walton - but as the novel progresses the narrative moves in closer - to Victor, then to the monster. Each narrator contributes their own feelings and descriptions of both Victor and the mo... ...r the period that Mary Shelley was writing in – challenging the social conventions of the time. Parallels are drawn between the anguish of the monster and the grief felt by Victor Frankenstein. These strong emotions are portrayed against some of the harshest, most desolate scenery in the world. The contrast between these settings and the warm and pleasant scenes when Victor is with his friends and family only serve to emphasise the monster’s loneliness and isolation. Images of light and dark, heaven and hell, warmth and cold, fire and ice, high and low, joy and despair can be traced throughout the novel. All of these bring to mind Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’. The novel shows evidence of Mary Shelley’s interest in scientific ideas of the time, a time when the conversation of intelligent, well-educated people often turned to recent scientific developments.

Rousseau and Duty to the State Essay -- Philosophy

It is generally agreed that the great philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the artist Jacques-Louis David had played a great role in serving and supporting the French Revolution, in addition to, showing their devotion to their state and explore the notion of duty to the state each one by his own special way. The great philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau had inspired the revolution by his argument and ideas that was based on Reason. He played a great role in exploring the notion of duty to the state by providing the public with his argument in the social contract,which was frequently quoted and referred to during the early stages of the Revolution. The social contract was concerned to establish whether or not the authority of the state is legitimate. His fundamental problem is to find a way in which we can live in a state and yet remain as free as before. He explained that, this only could be achieved if the general will of the individual always coincide with the will of the state. Therefore, he had recourse to the concept of the general will, which is defined as "the general will of a group taken as a whole rather than as a collection of individuals." He tried to convince us of this by describing the difference between the state of nature and the civil state, and in effect, asking which we think is better. To be in the state of nature, would be to act on appetite and so be slavish and bad. To be in the civil state, is to act according to reason and so be noble and good. We ought constantly to bless the moment that we moved in to the civil state because this gives us the chance to be noble and good .So,says Rousseau it is in each of our interests to choose the general will .Therefore, if we think according t... ... and dimmed color of Brutus giving a broad tonal range,this tends to sharpen the impact of dramatic contrast. It seems that the formal elements of this painting are conspiring to focus our attention toward the grieved women,and to show us how brave is Brutus' decision,that he even neglect his family's sorrow and even turn his back away from his sons' bodies .He commit his decision unhesitatingly,raising the voice of duty to the state over everything else even his own flesh and blood . Finally, we can conclude and detect a lots of similarities between the ways in which Rousseau and David did explore the notion of duty to the state .Both of them believed in the great role of philosophy and art in educating the public, therefore,they used their profession successfully to express their devotion to state and serve their country,each one by his own way .

Safe Activity

Another roles to collect the team details, e. G. The amount of players, permission slips. Manager make sure everything goes to plan and everyone is okay and understand what's happening though-out the day. The manager also gives specific Job to his/her staff. Safety Officer This role is very important as they produce the risk assessment for the sport taking sports and the facility around it, to ensure that there a minimize risk of any injuries to happening whilst taking part in the physical activity.It's important to have a risk assessment in place as if an injury does happen the tournament could be shut down and the people who ran it could get sued. The safety officer is also in charge of first aid arrangements for the day. This is very important as if this is not in place then the people can get sued for not having the right equipment. For example if someone feel over and cut their knee, and a first eider wasn't on side to deal with it and it got infected, the participant could beco me Organizer The organizer is responsible for sorting out the schedule for the day and what Jobs here needs to be.E. G. Umpires, runners (get score cards), first eider. If this isn't done the tournament wouldn't run smoothly as everything/everyone would be unrecognized and not sure what going on. Another role of the organizer is to record the results. Again this need to be done correctly as if it is not then a team might have scored more goals than they have put down and could cost them a place in the ranking. Sports leader The role of the sports leaders are to check all the equipment and make sure they are safe to use and the facility is in good condition and there are no risks where artisans could get hurt.This important as if the equipment isn't check and ends up being not safe it could cause serious harm to the participants taking part. If a piece of equipment is broke or damaged it shouldn't be used or taken out of the facility by the sports leader. Coaches The role of a coach is to look after their teams from the start to end of the tournament, making sure their team players knew when they were playing. What pitch they were playing on. Where the toilets, first eider, refreshments areas SECT. They also have the responsibilities to make sure all the participants are safe and one of the participants go missing.Umpire The role of the umpire is to officiate in the games at the tournament. They need to know the knowledge of the rules and keep on top of the scoring in the tournament. The role of the official manger is to create the rules for the tournament. This needs to be done correctly so that everyone understand them and can enforce them. Another role is to officiate the tournament too, this means he needs to make sure they are, sending letters home to parents, teams available and want to take part, make sure they have a good facility, correct equipment etc.Another role of an official manger is to have the important information for each participant. For exa mple consent forms, so the participants hurt themselves then they can contact the parents/careers and explain to them what happened. Within the consent form they should ask for any medical history. You should do this is because gives a better understanding what you need to be aware of. For an example if a child has a condition such as asthma and the organizers don't know about it, the child could be in serious harm if he doesn't have a pump with him and the first aid team onto know what pump the child can have.On the form you gave the children to take home you should make it aware about being all types of clothing and footwear which would be appropriate for different weather. For example if it's hot weather, advice participants to wear sun cream and bring plenty of fluids and a hat. This is important as children can become dehydrated very easily and if drinks facilities are not on offer then dehydration could occur. You also tell the parents they no Jewelry should be warm this can b e extremely dangerous in netball. Safety of the FacilitiesWhen preparing a sports tournament, the following considerations should be Made for the facilities in which the session is to take place: Coaches and leaders must familiarize themselves and the participants with the safety and emergency procedures specific to the facility and activity A full risk assessment should be undertaken, reviewed and updated for the facility and activity DO Reviewing the Tournament Sports organizers must consider action that is preventative and is documented in the risk assessment. I'm not going to review the Netball risk assessment. Injuries, near misses and dangerous occurrencesCollect data on the type, frequency and nature of any injuries will help you to see if you risk assessment is doing its Job and minimizing the risk within the facility. Also the facility is safe and appropriate for the sports activity which is taking place. This information can be found in accident books and RIDDED document, it's also very important to write down any near misses that has happened and the reason why it dangerous, this would show good sports organizer. By looking at the risk assessment you can see that every risk has had taken action to minimize the risk.You can see hat they do have a first aid room where any injuries that have happen are delta with in that room. This is also where the accident room,Rolled is found. Suitability of group for activity and effectiveness of briefing Good sports leaders/coaches will review the effectiveness of each session taken place, to find out if their session goals where achieved and whether the activity suitable for the participant who ever taken part. Before a session you talk to everyone involve and explain what happens in case of an emergency and what the session entitles, and what happens if any rules are broken.The review should include weather the participants have understood what has been said should take place during the session and not at the en d. At the end of the session an overall review of suitability to the activity should take place. Suitability of equipment and facility. Before starting the session it's important to select the appropriate equipment for the participants who are taking part in the session plan. E. G. Children use different use football compared to adults, has different size goals and pitches. The best way to make sure you are following the correct guidelines is by the national governing body f Netball.You sure also make sure the equipment safe too, a review should be taken place during the activity so the observed the safety and suitability of the equipment. But also to observed the safety and suitable of the facility. You can see in the plan that the facility had a storage room where all the equipment go. Positive Looking back at the tournament I feel like it went well and the event overall was a success. One of the positive comments I received is that the girls enjoyed taking part and taking part in the competition.Through-out the day I went round to all the different teams to see if they needed alp with anything and to see if they were enjoying themselves. All of the girls and their coaches said yes. This made me feel like a successfully planned the event which proved a have good organization skills. The next positive comment I received was the is layout of the tournament was good, everything was very clear. E. G. The number of the court, where the toilet are SECT. This made me feel like I picked the best venue to hold the tournament. A positive out of the tournament was the umpires.They done a great Job in keeping up with play, timing the games, keeping the score and knowing the rules of the Ames throughout the day. Without the referees the event couldn't have gone ahead as no one would have refereed the games Another positive out of the tournament was the first aid available. They were very quick to react to any injuries that occurred throughout the day. This was important to eiders, we would have been stuck if there was an injury as no one would know how to deal with it. Improvements If I were to do this event again I would have more organizers to control the amount of children there was on the day of the tournament.As there were a lot of artisans and by having more organizer it would of made the day run more smoothly as I give each team a organizer to tell where they are going next and where anything is . An area I could improve on for the tournament was the refreshments. I only had one refreshment stall which was quite big, but there wasn't enough workers in there, therefore it took longer to serve people . This is important to improve so people get served and the there isn't a queue of people as this could cause someone to get a injury. For example someone pushing in the queue and end up pushing someone over and then them injuring themselves.The way I got this feedback from the tournament was a questionnaire which I gave to each team to fill out. This was a real help in finding out how people found the day and the tournament itself. Below is the results of the questionnaire. MM – Plan safe sporting activities for a range of sporting environments and DO evaluate the safety of a selected sports activity Attached on the drop box is 3 risk assessments that cover different sporting environments for this part of the assignment. The three risk assessments I done were: Sports Field Risk Assessment (rounder's) Sports hall Risk Assessment (football) Mountain biking Risk Assessment

Soft Drinks Sales New Strategies

Sales of soft drinks declined in the US in 2006 for the first time in more than two decades. Many beverages manufacturers became successful in the past and they are still at the top, but they can lose their power unless they do something to reverse the trend. In this article we’ll try to find new ways to help soft drinks manufacturers to face their biggest challenge of the century. To begin with, it would be a good idea to follow a stretching marketing strategy by producing a new line of soft drinks which would have been positioned as healthy and not fattening. Many companies introduced new products of the same line less fattening such as Fanta Zero or Pepsi Light, but consumers identify the brands of these products with fat and unhealthy drinks. However, if these manufacturers created new brands with names like Bio or Nature, a specific market segment would be directly targeted and sales would stop their decline. In addition, soft drinks companies could follow a different promotion strategy so that their products would look more fashionable and more modern. By doing this, companies would compensate their sales decrease in one segment by increasing their market share in another one. New consumers would be the ones who drink something while they are in bars or discos and new competitors would be alcohol drinks companies. This promotion strategy could consist of advertisements which relate soft drinks with nightlife with new slogans like â€Å"Welcome to the Coke side of night†. Furthermore, product placement in James Bond movies would be a great idea. If Bond changed its Martini for a coke many people would start to see soft drinks with different eyes. To conclude, we should remember that classic soft drinks market is still profitable and new strategies should try to avoid damaging classic products image. Also it’s necessary to point out that soft drink manufacturers will never be as powerful as they were before as long as consumers are demanding everyday more sophisticated and concrete products.

Military Spending in the US Essay

The majority of college students in the US today, do not know what it is like to live in a nation that is not at war, and this is no different for myself. One of my own memories in elementary school was the attack on the world trade center on 9/11. I am sure that I share that memory with many others. Throughout our lives, we have known our country to be one that is constantly fighting with another. As I grow older, I realize how surrounded we are by issues concerning our military presence in other countries. I also begin to feel the consequences of our actions as a country. Much of our politicians’ time and effort is put into figuring out how to â€Å"bring our troops home† or how to â€Å"support our troops† while still keeping taxes down. In the end it is the American public who are funding our war with our taxes as well as paying the consequences with things such as raised oil prices. For my research paper I am going to discuss American military economics; it’s effects on the American public, and our current presidential candidates’ stances on military spending. The military budget is a portion of the United States’ federal budget. It is used to pay the salaries, training, and health care of military personnel. It is also used to maintain arms, equipment, facilities, funds operations, and develops and buys new weapons. According to the Department of Defense Budget for the 2010 fiscal year, the president’s base budget for spending on overseas operations was $663. 4 billion. The 2009 U. S. military budget accounts for approximately 40% of the total global arms spending. The US’s 2012 budget is 6 to 7 times larger than the $106 billion of the military budget of China. It is greater than the next twenty largest military spenders combined. Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts claims â€Å"if we do not make reductions approximating 25 percent of the military budget starting fairly soon, it will be impossible to continue to fund an adequate level of domestic activity†. Some argue that now is not the time to cut military spending. Republican historian Robert Kagan argues, â€Å"A reduction in defense spending this year would unnerve American allies and would be taken by the world as evidence that an American retreat has begun. The increased military spending since 9/11 has stimulated the US economy to a degree. However the jobs and income that it has created is offset by the massive increase in debt created. According to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, the defense budget has increased from $432 billion in 2001 to $720 billion in 2011, an increase of around 67 percent. Increased military spending has been funded almost en tirely by borrowing. There are many reasons why the debt has grown so much since 2001. These reasons include tax cuts, increases in other government spending, and the largest postwar recession the US has experienced. However, military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have raised annual deficits by about 1 percent of GDP, a trend that is expected to continue through 2020. Since we decided to borrow money instead of increasing taxes or cutting other spending, if war spending continues as forecasted, the country can expect to have paid about $1 trillion in interest by 2020. If the investments in the military over the last decade had been made in U.  S. education, it would represent an 18. 5 percent boost in terms of capital improvements nationwide. This would finance the investments in public school facilities required to return the country’s schools to good condition. Traditionally the Republican Party has been the more inclined towards increased national security and previous presidential candidate Mitt Romney described Obama’s plan as a â€Å"hollowing out† of the military. 2012 running mates Ryan and Romney make the point that it is Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security that are the majority of the deficit. Though they are right, the American public still wants to cut spending even more than the $487 billion already cut by the Obama administration. Romney and Ryan had a plan to go in the exact opposite direction if they had won the election. They planned to boost defense spending by $100 billion, or nearly 20% in 2013. The Republican Party, otherwise known as the grand old party or GOP, traditionally follows Ronald Reagan’s stance on national defense. That stance is represented by the motto of peace through strength. Today, that means protecting America’s homeland by confronting terrorism and maintaining a defense against arising threats of nuclear power. The Republican Party is fully committed to America’s Armed Forces to make sure that they are prepared for any challenges they may need to face. While the United States is involved in various international organizations, which serve the cause of peace and posterity, the Republican Party argues that these organizations must never substitute for principled American leadership to protect our vital national interests. All of the information I gathered about the GOP’s stance on national defense was pulled directly from their official website, www. GOP. com. Current president Barack Obama has sought to end the war in Iraq and accelerate the transition in Afghanistan in part to lower defense costs. He has proposed a number of defense cuts over the next decade. Rather than following the words of a president who was in office over 20 years ago and during the cold war, the Democratic Party feels that as our threats have evolved over the years, so too should our ability to respond to them. President Obama has made significant steps to restore America’s image around the world by rebuilding strategic alliances with countries that share our values and face common threats. As far as the situation overseas, the President plans to bring home 10,000 troops by the end of this year, 33,000 by next summer, and complete the transition by 2014. Just as I did for the Republican Party, I got all of this information directly from the official website, www. democrats. org. What originally inspired my interest in this subject is when I began to notice issues such as how much our educational system is suffering across the nation. Also, with a little bit of research, I learned that the NASA budget has been cut about a billion dollars in the last three years. Yet, at the same time, the military budget is increase by about the same amount as the entire NASA budget. Maybe it’s just my nature, but I feel that it is a huge waste of time and assets to be spending most of our money fighting other countries, when we could be exploring and making discoveries for the betterment of mankind. As I mentioned earlier, the US has funded all of our wars solely on borrowing, and we have racked up quite a large amount of interest in doing so. On the other hand, a paper written by Douglas A. Camstock, Director of Innovative Partnerships Office, NASA Headquarters, and Daniel P. Lockney of Innovative Partnerships Office, NASA Headquarters, the return rate for NASA research can be as high as 32 times the initial investment. At the very lowest, they estimate that for every dollar invested in NASA, there is a return of at least seven dollars as a result of technological advances. Not only is the lack of support for research a shame for the curious minded, but it is bad fiscal planning as well. Single bombs can cost the military about one million dollars each. Here in the state of California, an average teacher’s salary is about $40,000 a year; this is one of the states with the highest averages. For the price of one bomb or missile, twenty-five teachers can be paid to work for a full year. It doesn’t take a professional economist to tell you that investing in education is well worth it. Educated adults grow up to become working, contributing members of society. Politicians seem to always be looking for ways to create jobs. What better way than for an educated individual to go out and become an entrepreneur, start a business, and hire people to work for them? A study from the University of Massachusetts in 2011 says that for every billion spent in education, about 26,700 jobs are created. Among the different departments that were researched were health care, clean energy, tax cuts, and of course education and defense. Of those five, the military had the least amount of jobs created per billion spent at 11,200 jobs. Once again, it doesn’t take an economist to recognize a poor investment. Over the course of my research paper, I learned about the details of our defense budget and military spending trends in the US as well as our overall deficit. I also found the effects that war has had on the American Public as well as on our economy. During the election I paid close attention to our current presidential candidates and their plans for our defense budget. Only the future will tell if these trends continue or whether our president will take action against our deficit and the fate of national security. I was also able to look into what sparked my interest on the topic in the first place. I got to compare our spending on the military with other departments like education and NASA research. With the President’s plan to begin our transition out of the Middle East in these upcoming years, we will see if we begin a shift to a more progressive, intellectually motivated America. As a member of our educational system as well as a proud American, I sure hope we do.