Essay on Glimmer of Hope - 1311 Words

In the darkest of places, the hardest of times, or the lowest of lows, hope can always be found. â€Å"Hope Is a Tattered Flag,† by Carl Sandburg, illustrates where hope can be found, even when it seems like all is lost. This optimistic poem focuses on the depth of hope and the many aspects of life in which it lies. The setting of the work is in America amid a time of depression and hardship during the 1930s. In these trying times, all people were struggling to find their own gleam of hope anywhere they could. Sandburg speaks to every class of people, especially appealing to the common man who faced the most hardships during this time, with his unrhymed and simple writing style. He uses images of familiar places such as steel mills and†¦show more content†¦He had a unique view on politics and literature due to his travels and hardships, but it was Lombard who changed and shaped his views that reflect in his poetry. Through the Poor Writers’ Club, he met Phili p Green Wright, a teacher who mentored Sandburg, influenced his writing styles, and helped him print his first three volumes of poetry in 1904 and 1905. After school, Sandburg found a job as a journalist for the Chicago Daily News and continued this career until more of his poetry was discovered and published in a magazine called Poetry in 1914. This led to more publications of Sandburg’s major works that consisted of four volumes of poetry, a book of children’s stories, and his landmark biography of Abraham Lincoln, published in 1926. His phenomenal collections of poetry allowed him to win two Pulitzer Prizes before his death on July 22, 1967. Carl Sandburg sets the scene of his poem during the depression of the 1930s in America. The Depression was a time where finding hope in many peoples’ daily lives was a rare occurrence. This poem displays the simple places in which one would think a beacon of hope would be unlikely to be found. Sandburg says hope can be found in nature, a simple laugh, even a superstitious symbol such as a â€Å"luckpiece in the pocket.† For steel workers, coal miners, and other laborers in America, he states that hope can be found inShow MoreRelatedA Glimmer Of Hope By William Shakespeare1818 Words   |  8 PagesAllen Chen Ms. Fill European Literature / Period 5 26 September 16 A Glimmer of Hope It is customary for a work of literature that accounts for a variety of customs and values of a society to also address religion as a quintessential part of the society. However, texts that have ancient origins and are passed down orally such as Beowulf can be unclear regarding the interpretation of religious themes. As Stevick points out, â€Å"interpretations [of Beowulf] ... sort themselves ... into opposing views†Read MoreEssay Anthem for Doomed Youth by Wilfred Owen1182 Words   |  5 Pagesall’, and there aren’t any official funerals, but they can only be mourned by releasing their ‘holy glimmers of good-byes’ and that ‘the pallor of girls brows shall be their pall’. The vast number of dead ‘cattle’ is described by Own when he says that there aren’t enough ‘candles’ to ‘speed them all’, and there aren’t any official funerals, but they can only be mourned by releasing their ‘holy glimmers of good-byes’ and that ‘the pallor of girls brows shall be their pall’. The climax in irony isRead MoreEssay on Anthem for Doomed Youth Commentary Wilfred Owen1216 Words   |  5 Pagesall, and there arent any official funerals, but they can only be mourned by releasing their ‘holy glimmers of good-byes and that ‘the pallor of girls brows shall be their pall. The vast number of dead ‘cattle is described by Own when he says that there arent enough ‘candles to ‘speed them all, and there arent any official funerals, but they can only be mourned by releasing their ‘holy glimmers of good-byes and that ‘the pallor of girls brows shall be their pall. The climax in irony is ‘ShrillRead MoreThe Slave Mentality in The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander630 Words   |  3 Pagessuccess with marketing this book if she had simply used this book as an avenue to expose the issues within the Black communities that keep the Black race as a whole rooted in a position of inferiority without offering some glimmer of hope to her readers. But I think that glimmer of hope seemed a bit idealistic. Alexander suggests that the elimination on the war on drugs, opening dialogue about the current caste system through the use of civil rights activism, and the continuation of Affirmative ActionRead MoreHail Mary by Tupac Shakur A literary Analysis1259 Words   |  6 Pagesmaintaining a small glimmer of hope. Hope that the Mother Mary may be there in the hour of his passing as she was in the hour of the death of her son when he was crucified on the cross (â€Å"meanings,† 2012). He says, â€Å"Hail Mary, catch me if I go.† Hope is then only to be followed by despair, and the cycle starts over again. We hear the repetitions of a church bell over and over, which are hauntingly dark and achieve a constant sensation of being trapped in a conflicting cycle of hope vs. despair whenRead MoreOpdivo Advertisement Analysis. Medical Commercials Are1125 Words   |  5 Pagesuse of emotional tones, symbolic visuals, and hopeful tagline, Opdivo is able to capture the interest of someone suffering with certain diseases and inform them about their product. The history of drug advertisements is a long one, and Opdivo’s â€Å"New Hope† commercial simply adds to its legacy by using the following aspects to grab their audience’s attention: the prospect of living a longer life through this drug and the happiness that follows. Opdivo, Nivolumab being the generic name, is describedRead MoreThe Juxtaposition Of Private Witt And First Sgt. Welsch918 Words   |  4 Pageswhere he is going. When the man dies, Witt lays his head on the dead man’s chest, playing the role of the angel of death, giving the viewer hope for the dead man’s soul. The contrast between Witt and Welsch here is critical. Welsch’s response to death is to try and mitigate physical pain, whereas Witt brings his dying man a transcendent experience and a hope for something beyond his life on this rock. The two meet again, both having seen death up close and personally, and Welsch confronts Witt aboutRead MoreEssay about Chrysanthemums, A Review866 Words   |  4 Pagesmore use of it than to grow her chrysanthemums. She is trapped in the Salinas Valley, where winters fog sits like a lid...and [makes] the great valley a closed pot. Her human nature has made her complacent in ordinary life, but the short glimmers of hope offered by her flowers and a passing stranger reveal that there is more to Elisa than her garden. Her environment may be keeping her inside her small garden, but inside her heart there is a longing for more. When we are first introduced toRead MoreSide Effects: Why drugs Are Poision Essay970 Words   |  4 Pagescan become one someday. I have given the start of our medication to the rise of chemistry and a glimmer of a new path can be taken in hopes that the world would finally see that the side effects of medication is more of a poison then a medication. Although there is no clear path that can be taken I have hope that humanity will get there. All that is every need in a dark times is just a glimmer of hope. Works Cited Bartlett, R. A. (2009). Real Alchemy: A primer in practical alchemy. (1 ed., VolRead MoreKate Chopin s The Awakening1522 Words   |  7 PagesLeoncà © causes the reader to sympathize with Edna due to her inability to express her thoughts. Edna’s caged existence pleases her, until she perceives she can escape the patriarchal society. Shortly after, Mademoiselle Reisz provides Edna with a glimmer of hope, sparking Edna’s desire to become strong enough to soar above the patriarchal society. After spending much of her life held within a metaphorical cage, Edna begins to test the boundaries of the society. After attempting to learn to swim all summer

The Trafficking Of Human Trafficking - 886 Words

(Attention catcher)What if somebody came into your life and guaranteed a better lifestyle, but instead you were enslaved into human trafficking? Human trafficking is when a person is abducted from their current situation and mostly likely used for sex slavery. Furthermore, did you know human trafficking increased over the years? (Listener relevance) Although you may not be as aware in your comfortable surroundings, you should always be aware of suspicious vehicles and people. Even though we enjoy the freedom of walking around carelessly, our behavior can lead to becoming exploited by traffickers. Victims of trafficking are forced into sexual slavery. (Speaker credibility) In order to understand the seriousness of this issue, we decided to do more research. (Thesis) According to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center from 2012 to present, human trafficking has gone from 2,404 to 3,107 victims. (Preview main points) Throughout this speech, you’ll understand the differenc e between prostitution and human trafficking, the history behind human trafficking, and the overall process of human trafficking. A. (Raven – 2 mins 30 secs) Many have compared human trafficking to prostitution, but prostitution is sometimes voluntary and human trafficking is involuntary. a. Human trafficking is completely an unwanted act that people are forced and dragged into. b. Prostitution is a type of sex work that requires a payment or receiving a benefit. This is where the confusion starts.Show MoreRelatedThe Trafficking Of Human Trafficking1061 Words   |  5 Pagesare approximately twenty to thirty million slaves in the world today. Unfortunately due to trafficking being a fast growing crime it is very difficult to identify and locate these organizations and victims. Although there are many groups created to support victims, not enough awareness is being made and not enough action is being applied to stop human trafficking. Sex trafficking is a form of human trafficking that has been a worldwide issue since ancient times, but regularly forgotten, due to it beingRead MoreThe Trafficking Of Human Trafficking930 Words   |  4 Pagesman. Regardless of the reasons, there are nearly 30 million victims of human trafficking globally. There are more slaves now than ever before. Trafficking of persons is not a subject that should be ignored or taken lightly. In order to fully understand the enormity of this crisis, we will examine the root causes, facts, and the impact of human trafficking throughout the world. There are several factors to why human trafficking exists: poverty, governmental instability, natural disasters, addictionRead MoreThe Trafficking Of Human Trafficking3494 Words   |  14 Pagesended, never to return, they go back and sneak into our communities in severe forms by human trafficking crimes. When humanity eliminated the phenomenon of human slavery, it returned in different pictures and forms, combining them enslaving people, through the recruitment, transportation, transfer of people by force and threat, and using and exploiting them in different ways. Among the victims of human trafficking crimes, there are those who are subjected to sexual exploitation, labor exploitationRead MoreThe Trafficking Of Human Trafficking1287 Words   |  6 PagesHuman Trafficking Human trafficking is the modernized version of slavery that involves force, fraud, and/or a type of labor in a sexual act. The United States government defines it to be â€Å"In which a sex act is forced in which the person induced has not yet been attained eighteen years of age† (National Institute of Justice). Human trafficking is a threat to all nations and promotes breakdown of families and can support organized crime. Trafficking can occur everywhere. Human trafficking and humanRead MoreHuman Trafficking And The Trafficking901 Words   |  4 PagesHuman Smuggling and trafficking continues to be a worldwide plague that has been, thus far been largely ignored by the international community. The paramount reason human trafficking and smuggling has festered and grown roots and spread globally. It started as a grassroots effort on the local level where women and girls (it affects boys as well) would be used and sold for sex. Eventually, greed and corruption tagged along for the ride and at that point the crimes became an organized enterprise. AtRead MoreThe Trafficking Of Human Trafficking Essay1752 Words   |  8 PagesIn this essay, the history of human trafficking will be examined, followed by who is affected by trafficking. Next the scope and types of exploitation will be discussed. Human trafficking is an issue that affects countries all over the world. Governments have made an effort to curb trafficking, however these efforts have been very narrowly focused. American ignorance has led to poor handling of the issues by policy makers. Finally the essay will discuss a proposed solution and set some goals forRead MoreSex Trafficking And Human Trafficking Essay1243 Words   |  5 Pages Human trafficking brings in billions of dollars into the U.S and all around the world. â€Å"The prime motive for such outrageous abuse is simple: money. In this $12 billion global business just one woman trafficked into the industrialized world can net her captors an average $67,000 a year† (Baird 2007). The laws around human trafficking are not strict and vary depending on what country it is happening in. Human trafficking is not something that is strictly foreign, itRead MoreThe Trafficking And Forms Of Human Trafficking Essay1317 Words   |  6 Pages2.1.2 The concept of Human Trafficking and forms of Human Trafficking Human trafficking is a complex phenomenon hence difficult to conceptualize (Maclnnis, 2012). Scholars, nations and international organizations have individually or collectively tried to define human trafficking and, not surprisingly, they disagree with one another. United States (US) for instance does not consider organ trade as human trafficking whereas the United Nations (UN) and Canada do (United States Department of StateRead MoreHuman Trafficking And Sex Trafficking1264 Words   |  6 PagesA challenge that I took interest in is the horrifying problem that women and young girls face as victims of human trafficking and sex slavery. Women and young girls make up 98% of victims of trafficking for exploitation. Human trafficking and sex slavery is a form of modern slavery, in which traffickers profit from the control and exploitation of others. It is a multi-billion industry. Traffickers use control of others for the purpose of engaging in sexual activities and or forcing others to provideRead MoreHuman Trafficking And Human Sex Trafficking1850 Words   |  8 Pagesof human sex trafficking come to one s mind. The United States of America is not immune to this type of horrific behavior. America is the land of the free and yet something as awful as human sex trafficking occurs in our very own backyard each and everyday. According to the Department of Homeland Security the definition of human trafficking is â€Å"modern day slavery that involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act† (â€Å"What Is Human Trafficking?†)

Life Is a Gift Free Essays

Life†¦ a four-letter word yet given with a pile of various meanings and values. It is an abstract idea that has brought into reality with every living thing. If we are to pause and sit back, thinking those days as we dwell on this earth, had it also occur to us how we live our life with? Have we ever realized how blessed we have been to get up each morning alive to face another day? Today, before we complain about what has life brought us, we should think first of those things which we may find less of value. We will write a custom essay sample on Life Is a Gift or any similar topic only for you Order Now As frequently said, â€Å"Every great thing starts from the little ones,† so why not appreciate every little thing we got? Life is precious. People are priceless. We have got life likewise; we have got people whom we can cherish our life with. Perhaps, there were times when we felt like giving up; when we were so depressed about everything that was happening, and when we thought life has been cruel to us. But, what we did not think so is the reason behind of all the misfortunes we encounter. Challenges make us wiser, our sufferings make us tougher, and our yearnings make us stronger. So, we should try not to worry if things did not turn out well the way we expect them to be. Each passing day is a treasure, a great sign that we are given another chance to live and eventually, to turn into a new leaf so we could be a better person with brighter future. These reasons are enough to make us realize the significance of life. So, when depressing thoughts seem to get us down, we should always be reminded with those beautiful things that will lift us up and be grateful with the gift of life. How to cite Life Is a Gift, Essay examples

School Bag free essay sample

My name is Milk Bear. I am a school bag. Let me tell you about my past. Early one morning, I found myself hanging in a bag shop. Suddenly, a young girl, about eight years old, walked into the shop. Her name is Michelle. She told her mother that she needed a new school bag because her previous bag had given way. So, her mother asked Michelle to choose a bag that she liked. Michelle looked at the shelf and saw me. She took me down and placed me on the counter. Suddenly, everything turned white. I did not know what was happening. I stayed in there for almost three hours. Finally, I was taken out. Then I noticed that the white place was actually a plastic bag. When I looked around, I could see lots of beautiful things. It was Michelle’s house. Then, Michelle came running towards me holding books and stuff in her hands. We will write a custom essay sample on School Bag or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page After putting everything neatly in me, I did not feel so empty. The next day, Michelle carried me to school. I met some new friends, which are bags. After using me for a few months, I had a hole at the bottom. Michelle did not want to use me anymore. She threw me into the rubbish dump. I was so sad that a tear rolled down my eye. After a few hours, I saw an old woman walking towards me. She picked me up and brought me into her house. She used a very thick cloth to sew the hole in me. Then she gave me to her grandson. His name was Melvin. They were very poor. He carried me to school every day. He used me for years. Through this experience, I have learnt something – being with a rich person is not the best, being with a caring person is the best.

Question and Career Aptitude Test free essay sample

Answer each question fully. Complete sentences are not necessary. Lesson 1 (3. 0 points) 1. What is a lifestyle? (0. 5 points) A life style is a way of living that shows the belief and opinions of a person or group 2. What is the process of earning your income sometimes called? (0. 5 points) Earning a living 3. Name at least two industries. (1. 0 points) Primary industries and manufacturing industries 4. What is an internship? (0. points) Temporary job that helps you gain work place skills 5. What is a career aptitude test? (0. 5 points) Is an exam that asks questions about thing you enjoy. Lesson 2 (3. 0 points) 1. What are classifieds? (0. 5 points) Where people can post open positions 2. What is telecommuting? (0. 5 points) is when an employee is allowed to work from a location that isn’t at the companys location 3. What information should a resume provide? (0. 5 points) Your job experiences 4. What is a cover letter? (0. 5 points) A page that is sometimes attached to a resume 5. We will write a custom essay sample on Question and Career Aptitude Test or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Name at least two finance careers. (1. 0 points) accountant risk manager Lesson 3 (3. 0 points) 1. What is pessimism? (0. 5 points) 2. What is conformity? (0. 5 points) 3. What might you consider when you’re studying the dynamics of a group? (0. 5 points) 4. What is active listening? (0. 5 points) 5. What is a stereotype? (0. 5 points) 6. What is professional development? (0. 5 points)

Making Essay Writing for High School Students Tolerable

Making Essay Writing for High School Students Tolerable Making Essay Writing for High School Students Tolerable If you want to make essay writing for high school students tolerable, it is important to understand how to write your essays better and faster. Knowing how to make essay writing go by faster, you can make completing academic assignments less painful. Making essay writing tolerable is easily done if you follow three simple steps and start reducing the amount of time it takes to finish your work. Rather than worrying about your writing assignment for weeks on end, get in some early preparation and maintain self-belief that you really can do it: Understand Your Task You want to read over your prompt first and foremost because nothing is worse than starting on an assignment only to find after a great deal of effort that you were traveling down the wrong path. As you are reading over your prompt highlight any keywords. If you need to use a dictionary to look up the meaning of words that are unfamiliar to you, try to search out the task words which are included in your prompt to indicate what things you actually need to do. Some examples of task words include compare, contrast, discuss. You want to identify the topic words which also indicate the subject such as the character of Romeo or the causes of WWII†. Finally, you want to look out for limiting words which restrict your discussion to a specific area such as during the 18th century, or chapters 1-4†. Research in a Smart Way When you are preparing, you want to be selective about the reading you complete as a part of your background research. Use sources that are accessible and relevant. As you are completing your research, you want to write down notes copiously. But as you take notes, make sure you include the information in your own words. This is particularly important. If you write down any quotes or any statistics you want to make sure you acknowledge the source; and keep track of the bibliographic information. Remember that no final product should have more than 10% direct quotes, so you need to be selective about the quotes that you use. Consider Many Ideas You want to brainstorm different ideas in response to your prompt. Write down any relevant points you can think of and make notes of quotations which come to mind as you are completing your research. Use brainstorming techniques such as mind mapping to help stimulate any lateral thinking that might jog any ideas in the back of your mind. Overall, when you have learned how to improve your writing skills and make your essay writing go by faster. Crafting papers can be much less painful when you use the skills above. As a high school student, the more tricks you have in order to expedite the writing process, the easier it will be for you to get through any writing task.

Reflective Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Reflective Paper - Assignment Example Personnel manement also dealt with labor relations. Employees were only treated as machines and were only used to get work done. Towards the end of 1940, people working in organizations realised that their feelings were affected by their working conditions and also effected their productivity. During this time personnel management approach was discarded and human relations approach was adopted. The human relations approach focussed more on the social and psychological factors such as: Working conditions Relationship between the workers and their managers Support and style of leadership of the mangers workers involvement in the decision making process The human relations approach helped to change the attitude of the managers towards the workers, they started treating the workers like human being and not just machines for the production of goods. However with the emergence of HRM people of the organization were recognized as a source of competitive advantage. HRM can therefore be terme d as a system of policies, practices, programmes, philosophies,and decisions that affect the bahavior, performance, attitude of the people of the organization so that they are satisfied, perform and contribute in achieving the objective of the organization. Human Resource Management includes practices like human resource planning, job profiling, job design, job analysis, recruitment, selection, orientation, training and development, compensation, performance management, grievance management and maintaining labor relations. Functions of HRM Figure 1: Multiple Role Of HR Functions (Amos,Ristow,Pearse, & Ristow, 2009, 10) From figure 1 we can say that an effective HR function fulfills multiple roles such as alligning its own strategies with the overall business strategies and assisting the business in organizing itself for the execution of all its strategies. It becomes very apparent from the figure that HRM plays a continuous role both in strategy formulation as well as in the impleme ntation process. The function of HR can be classified in three broad heading (Pravin, 2010,6) These are: 1. Managerial Functions 2. Operative Function 3. Strategic Function The Managerial function of HRM involves planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. Planning- It is an effective tool for determining the personnel programmes that are neccesary to achieve the organizational goals. Accurate forecasting is the is vital for the success of any plan. Planning involves establishing the goals and objectives that are to be achieved, developing the rules and procedure and determining plans and forecasting techniques. Organizing- After formulation of the plans, the organization of men and materials are done for accomplishment of the plans. Through organizing, a firm establishes its structure or hierarchy and determines the authority, accountability and responsibility of the employees in regards to the job. Organizing involves giving each member specific tasks, establishing divisions and departments, delegating and establishing channels of authority and communication and creating a system to coordinate the works of the members. Staffing- It involves the creation and maintainance of human resources through employment, training and development, benefits and industrial relations measure. It involves

Ethical Challenges and Choices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethical Challenges and Choices - Essay Example 5) defined ethics as â€Å"the systematic inquiry into man’s moral behavior with the purpose of discovering the rules that ought to govern human action and the goods that are worth seeking in human life†. These ethical standards governing the existence of human life also encompass the realm of business entities with pertinent issues affecting the Board of Directors and senior leaders of diverse organizations. It is in this regard that this essay is written with the objective of identifying ethical challenges faced by members of the Board of Directors and senior leaders in organizations through a review of two (2) contemporary articles on the subject. A description of how the issues were handled and an analysis in terms of effectiveness in handling the situation given the scenario at hand would be proffered. A feature article published in the Associations Now – Volunteer Leadership Issue entitled Ethical Tips for Volunteer Leaders written by Frank Navran discussed challenging ethical issues on governance by board members in volunteer organizations. It clarified theoretical frameworks encompassing culture, in general, focusing on ethical culture, in detail. Navran averred that â€Å"Boards of even the smallest association are being held to standards of accountability for ethical culture that originated in publicly traded companies; their members and the public appear to expect that.† (2006, par. 16) The author presented relevant elements and measures of how board members contribute to an ethical culture through a standardized ethical system properly set in the organization, an ethics oversight, and an independent assessment of ethical issues. The article stipulated that â€Å"the U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (FSGO) have detailed and incentivized the establishment of effective systems to prevent and detect legal violations. These standards have become a template for organizational ethics systems for organizations of every size and sector. At a

Globalization of China Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Globalization of China - Research Paper Example Nevertheless, while assessing the effects of globalization in the world, China offers the most classic example, owing to the way the country has been able to match the opening-up of the country to the rest of the world, with development and geographical advancement of most of its provinces, as well as the revolutionized administration and governance of corporate institutions, and the attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (Fan and Zhang, n.p.). Notwithstanding the advantages offered by globalization to China, there are several negative effects that globalization has brought about, which essentially backtracks the gains that the country had made, especially in the cultural and social value systems (Ma, n.p.). The closing of the Starbuck’s coffee house in China's former imperial palace is a good example of how globalization can bring about cultural and social transformation that are detrimental to the value-based system that a country has upheld as the core of its identity (The New York Times, n.p.). ... itors, but its presence in the Chinese museum was found to be threat to Chinese culture, thus attracting media and online protests that led to its closure (The New York Times, n.p.). China’s economy has highly been boosted by the investment of foreign firms within its economy, especially starting the early 1990s, when it implemented some of the much desired financial deregulation (Fan and Zhang, n.p.). This allowed for more entry of investment firms within the country from other foreign countries, especially from Europe and the USA, through eliminating the fixed exchange rates of its currency, thus allowing for more flexible foreign exchange transactions (Mckinnon, n.p.). Therefore, globalization has played the role of a major economic booster in China’s economy, which has in turn made it possible for the country to lift a large percentage of its population from poverty, considering that they can now have jobs that are created by the foreign investments firms in the cou ntry (Mckinnon, n.p.). The deregulation of the currency control in China served to ensure exchange stability, while also promoting aligned price-level of products, thus making it easy for foreign investment firms to gain entry into the country, whose business accounts for a huge growth of the Chinese economy. Further, through globalization, China has been able to operate highly in the technological world, through a creation of a platform through which labor can be exchanged with foreign countries (Fan and Zhang, n.p.). Despite the tight control of the internet that the Chinese government has been applying to regulate the use of the internet within the country, China is one of the largest outsourcing global hub, with many large companies outsourcing labor from China, through the application of

Factors Affecting Diabetes Management

Factors Affecting Diabetes Management REVIEW OF LITERATURE This chapter of review of literature helps focus on some of the recent literature related to diabetes. It helps throw light on the research articles relating to the knowledge, attitude and practices in diabetic patients. Further it also gives a brief account of studies related to the predictors of alternative approaches and the studies that are related to the sources that influence the usage of alternative approaches. The review is limited to the articles that were done between 1985-2014 of which some of them are quantitative and qualitative in nature. The databases through which the journals are referred include Pubmed, Springerlink, ScienceDirect, Sage, Wiley online library, Taylor Francis, Plos one, Mary Ann Liebert, American Diabetes Association, BioMedCentral (BMC) and Oxford Journals. This review helps in identifying the gaps that exist in the present literature. Knowledge, attitude and Practices amongst Diabetic adults Awareness of diabetes and diabetes care is needed for successful disease management. Low level of awareness of diabetes and its complications among patients results in poor glycemic control in Indians with diabetes. Knowledge about diabetes mellitus, appropriate attitude and practices are vital to reduce the incidence and morbidity associated with it. Obtaining information about the level of awareness about diabetes in a population is the first step in formulating a prevention program for diabetes (Mohan, Raj, Shanthirani, Datta, Unwin, Kapur, Mohan, 2005). A study from Pakistan highlighted the fact that proper education and awareness program can change the attitude of the public regarding diabetes (Badrudin, Basit, Hydrie, Hakeem, 2002) as a large gap between knowledge and attitude among the diabetes patients was found (Sivagnanam, Namasivayam, Rajasekaran, Thirumalaikolundusubramanian, Ravindranath, 2002) and proper knowledge regarding various aspects of health education program can improve the knowledge of patients and change their attitude (Mehta, Karki, Sharma, 2006). In a study that was conducted in Philippines to test the knowledge, attitude and practices among diabetic patients it was found that the overall knowledge scores are poor, with a percentage mean score of only 43%. The finding also reveal that only 1% of the 156 respondents believed that type 2 diabetes is a serious illness reflecting how most of the residents think of their condition as something to be taken lightly, this in turn had an effect on the participants practices where less than half of the respondents reported regular follow-up with their doctors (Ardeňa, Paz-Pacheco, Jimeno, Lantion-Ang, Paterno, Juban, 2010). Adequate knowledge has been associated with more adequate behavioural outcomes. In a cross-sectional study on knowledge, attitude and practices among diabetes patients about diabetes and its complications in Central Delhi, it was found that out of 170 patients 85.9% participants had the basic knowledge about the type of diabetes, about 87.6% of the participants revealed that they knew what they had to consume, while only 11.8% participants knew about normal blood sugar levels. The maximum knowledge that the participants had were about the eye problems (48.82%) and kidney problems (40%) while very little knowledge was noted for diabetic coma and stroke that results from diabetes. It was also found that the participants have a positive attitude (72.65%) that was not reflected in their practices (Singh, Khobragade, Anil, 2013). Another study done in Bijapur, Karnataka revealed the same results as the above where the positive attitude was about 60-90% among the participants and it was also found that 59.9% had poor knowledge and 24.8% had good knowledge about diabe tes. Further the study focused on the practices of the respondents where they took extra care in case they were injured and 40.7% were exercised regularly (Raj Angadi, 2011). A study that was conducted among 238 diabetes patients in Saurashtra region, Gujarat, Shah, Kamdar and Shah (2009) found despite being diagnosed with diabetes for eight years only 46% of them knew the pathophysiology of diabetes. The three main findings of the study revealed that low education about diabetes among the participants were because 40% of the participants belonged to the below poverty line, because of which they could not afford therapy or a minimum standard care. The second reason for having low knowledge was only 3% of the participants were being treated by an endocrinologist, the reason being Gujarat having very less number of endocrinologists with not even one in the Government hospital making it difficult for the poor to afford the private institutions. Third and the most important factor was the low level of education where only 10% of them were graduates and 37% of the participants were completely literate. The study also shows the attitude towards diabetes among t he participants where it was found that the participants believed that they are completely responsible for their own health indicating that if motivated and given education about diabetes they would make necessary changes in their lifestyle. A Cross-sectional study that used the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) questionnaire among the out patients in Nepal revealed that the knowledge, attitude and practice level of the participants were low (Gul, 2010; Upadhyay, Palaian, Shankar, Mishra, Pokhara, 2008). Supporting this study another recent study involving young (31-40 years) diabetic Saudi women also reported poor KAP scores (Saadia, Rushdi, Alsheha, Saeed, Rajab, 2010). Another study done in Malaysia reported that diabetic patients in a primary care centre had good knowledge and better attitude towards the care of their own disease (Ranjini, Subashini, Ling HM, 2003). Some research articles revealed that diabetic patients possess adequate knowledge and have positive attitude towards their condition and that there is no relation between the KAP and actual control of Diabetes Mellitus (Ng, Chan, Lian, Chuah, Noora, 2012). A study that was conducted by Kheir, Greer, Yousif, Geed and Okkah (2011) evaluated the knowledge, attitude, practice (KAP) and psychological status of adult Qatari patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus to study the role of these factors on the ability of the patients to manage their diabetes and to achieve desirable health outcomes. It was found that there were significant differences in the attitude and knowledge between educational levels. The study concluded that providing education and other support programs to diabetics could be more effective if the KAP of the patients are understood before conducting such programs. A study which was done in United Arab Emirates to find out the KAP in diabetic patients revealed poor knowledge among the participants. It was found that the majority of patients (72%) had a negative attitude towards having diabetes. However, only 6% expressed a ‘negative attitude’ towards the importance of DM care. The results also showed marginally significant associations between the practice score and level of education, marital status, mode of diagnosis, duration of disease, insulin use and frequency of seeing diabetes educator (Al-Maskari El-Sadig, Al-Kaabi, Afandi, Nagelkerke, Yeatts, 2013). Another research indicated that although the knowledge levels(56.14% of the respondents scored 100% in knowledge related questions) among our study participants are high, the levels of attitudes (17.5% scored above 50%) and practice (15.78% scored 100%) are lower than desirable (Saadia, Rushdi, Alsheha, Saeed, Rajab, 2010). Predictors of Alternative Approaches Various predictors have been found to play a role in an individuals behaviour to engage in alternative approaches. The studies below throws light on the recent research that has been done in this area. The demographic factor was not found to be a significant predictor of CAM usage which included age ( Nilsson, Trehn, Asplund, 2001; Singh, Raidoo, Harries, 2004). A study conducted by Mehrotra, Bajaj and Kumar (2004) shows that age was not significantly associated (p>0.1) with usage of complementary and alternative medicine. Whereas, on the contrary age was related to the usage of alternative approaches (Chang, Wallis, Tiralongo, 2007; Ogbera, Dada, Adeleye, Jewo, 2010). Adding to this, research conducted by Hasan, Ahmed, Bukhari and Loon (2009) indicated that variables such as age groups (above 50 years ), those in the 25-44 year age group (Metcalfe, Williams, Mc Chesney, Patten, Jettà ©, 2010), middle age (Bishop, Lewith, 2010; Ernst, 2000; Pirotta, Cohen, Kotsirilos, Farish, 2000) that is 46–60 years (Lee, Charn, Chew, Ng, 2004) contributed to the usage of complementary and alternative medicines. Findings from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey women reveal that middle age men reported to use complementary and alternative medicine more than younger or older individuals. Higher levels of education were associated with higher rates of use. Prevalence rates of use for each type of complementary and alternative medicine significantly increased with an individual’s income (Upchurch, Rainisch, 2013). According to Singh et al. (2004) level of education and income (Mehrotra et al., 2004) were shown not to influence the usage of Complementary and alternative medicine on the other hand in contrast to their findings education level (Bishop, Lewith, 2010; Ernst, 2000; Foltz et al., 2005; Harris, Rees, 2000; Hasan, Ahmed, Bukhari, Loon, 2009; McFarland, Bigelow, Zani, Newsom, Kaplan, 2002; Metcalfe et al., 2010; Millar, 2001; Nilsson et al., 2001; Ogbera et al., 2010; Park, 2005; Wiles, Rosenberg, 2001) and Income (Foltz et al., 2005; Hasan et al., 2009; MacLennan, Myers, Taylor, 2006; Metcalfe et al., 2010; Park, 2005., Singh et al., 2004, Thomas, Nicholl, Coleman, 2001; Wiles, Rosenberg, 2001) was found to influence the CAM usage. Research evidence also reveals that sex (Singh et al., 2004) predicts the usage of alternative therapies. Women were more likely to have used CAM services than men (Aziz, Tey, 2008; Bishop, Lewith, 2010; Ernst, 2000; Lim, Sadarangani, Chan, Heng, 2005; McFarland et al., 2002; Metcalfe et al., 2010; Millar et al., 2001; Nilsson et al., 2001; Park, 2004; Roth, Kobayashi, 2008; Vincent, Eric, Jean, Sui VL, Sian, 2007; Wiles, Rosenberg, 2001). The other predictors that were identified were the marital status (Singh et al., 2004), individuals who were currently not married or in a common law relationship (Metcalfe et al., 2010), medicine use, duration of diabetes, degree of complications and self-monitoring of blood glucose (Chang et al., 2007) and factors relating to an individual’s health status (Bishop, Lewith, 2010). In a health survey which was conducted in England the first independent predictors of 12 month Complementary and alternative medicine use were the presence of anxiety or depression, perceived low levels of social support, having a healthy diet, being female, and income that is above the national average (Hunt et al., 2010). Factors that influence Alternative Approaches People resort to alternative approached due to a number of reasons, it is important from both academic and applied perspectives to understand why such substantial numbers of people use CAM. In a study that was conducted among the Indian community in Chadsworth, South Africa, Singh et al. (2004) found that people chose Alternative medicine/ approaches because it was a natural and safe form of medical care (23.4%), secondly because modern medicine carried a risk of unwanted side effects or they had experienced side effects themselves (15.6%). They also found that more than half (51.9%) of people who use Alternative therapy did so upon advice from someone they knew or because they came across an advertisement in the local press. Similar results were found by Hasan et al. (2009) where friends were the main source of influence (32.5%) on patients with chronic diseases to use Complementary and Alternative Medicine, followed by health professionals (25.9%), family members (20.2%) advertisem ent (15.8%) and old folks or culture beliefs (4.4%). Family history (Hasan et al., 2009; Lee, Charn, Chew, Ng, 2004), poor perceived health, being recommended by social contacts who are close, holding on to strong traditional health beliefs and the perceived satisfaction with care influence the use of alternative methods (Lee et al., 2004) The way an individual perceives the illness/health influences the usage of Complementary and alternative medicine (Bishop et al., 2007; Hasan et al., 2009; Nilsson et al., 2001). People chose different treatment options depending on their perceptions of the kind, duration, cause and severity of their illness and the order in which they resort to these different options is dependent on the perceptions of illness. Perception of oneself in poor health leads to usage of alternative approaches (Bausell, Lee, Berman, 2001; Pirotta et al., 2000). Individual’s perceptions about effectiveness or the outcome of the treatment option and the perceived harm from treatment options also plays an important role in deciding the form of treatment/management (Rao, 2006). The various other reasons why people might be attracted to and use complementary and alternative medicines are because they hold beliefs that are congruent with Complementary and alternative medicine which include beliefs related to the amount of personal control/autonomy over their health (Bishop et al., 2007; Pal, 2002). Hence pro-beliefs about complementary and alternative approaches play a major role in influencing an individual to use them. Ineffectiveness (Menniti-Ippolito, Gargiulo, Bologna, Forcella, Raschetti, 2002; Sirois, 2008), having side-effects or dissatisfaction (Menniti-Ippolito et al., 2002) with allopathic/conventional medicine has led to people looking at other alternatives methods (Pal, 2002; Rao, 2006). It was also found that people value natural treatments/ holistic approaches (Sirois, 2008) which are non-toxic and hold ‘postmodern belief systems’ where the participants believe that psychological and lifestyle factors are important in the developm ent of illness (Bishop et al., 2007). Individuals who are more likely to select healthy lifestyle choices are also likely to engage proactively in other self-care (Sirois, 2008) behaviours which includes the usage of complementary and alternative approaches (Hunt et al., 2010, Nahin et al., 2007).Research evidence also shows that cost plays an important role in determining which different alternatives to choose for treating an illness (Pal, 2002; Rao, 2006). Studies have also focused on how general philosophies of life predict the usage of alternative approaches. Alternative therapies are attractive because they are seen as more compatible with patient’s values, world-view, spiritual/religious philosophy or beliefs regarding the nature and meaning of health and illness (Bishop et al., 2007; Pal, 2002; Weaver, Flannelly, Stone, Dossey, 2002). Further research has suggested that people use alternative approaches because they suffer from chronic conditions (Al-Windi, 2004; Astin, Pelletier, Marie, Haskell, 2000; Bausell et al., 2001; Menniti-Ippolito et al., 2002) which might not have been treated by conventional medicine effectively or satisfactorily or also use them as they experience psychological distress as a result of the life threatening disease and would try anything that would reduce or might offer a cure for such a condition (Bishop, Lewith, 2010; Ernst, 2000; Nilsson et al., 2001) to preserve their own health status (Furnham, Vincent, 2000, Goldstein, 2000). Mehrotra, Bajaj and Kumar (2004) found that out of 493 participants 290 (86.8%) resort to complementary and alternative medicine because they desire for the maximum and early benefit. Several specific chronic disorders such as arthritis (95%) other musculoskeletal disorders (95%) and stroke (95%) were significantly associated with CAM use (Lee et al., 200 4). In a research that was conducted with type 2 diabetes it was found that complementary and alternative medicine use was influenced by peoples beliefs, experience and their positive attitude towards the alternative approach, history of its use, having stronger health beliefs about diabetes, longer duration of diabetes, the outcome of complementary and alternative medicine in treating diabetes. It also associates the use to the persons behaviour (such as a higher degree of self-care activities by the individual) towards disease management rather than their demographic characteristics (Chang, Wallis Tiralongo, 2012). It was also found that diabetic patients used complementary and alternative approaches to improve their general well-being rather than treating diabetes itself (Arcury, 2006; Bell, 2006; Lind, Lafferty, Grembowski, Diehr, 2006). Summary of the review The review of literature highlights the level of knowledge, attitude and practices among diabetic patients indicating the importance of knowledge which affects the individual’s attitude and practices regarding management of their lifestyle and diet. Further the research evidence has also revealed a number of demographic factors that might have an effect in the usage of alternative approaches such as age, education level, socio-economic status (income) and marital status. A large number of reasons were found to influence people to use alternative approaches such as dissatisfaction or ineffectiveness of allopathic medication; friends and family members, advertisements that the individual encounters, individual’s attitude, holistic and cultural beliefs, cause, severity and duration and one’s perception of the illness, the cost of the treatment and having a chronic disease. The studies that have been done so far focus on the knowledge, attitude and practices in relat ion to managing the illness specifically with respect to diet and lifestyle modifications and it also shows the predictors and influencers of usage of complementary and alternative approaches. However, not much of research has been done integrating knowledge, attitude and practices with the usage of alternative approaches in Indian Context. Since India is a diverse country having high cultural diversity it is important to understand the influence it has on the level of knowledge, attitude and practices of the population with respect to the usage of the various other approaches that people indulge in other than allopathic medication so as to understand and provide the country with a culturally acceptable diabetes education programme.

Cloning Essay -- Clone Science Nature Wildlife Conservation Essays

Cloning Abstract The question to clone or not to clone is currently center stage of scientific debate. Since the birth of Dolly, the sheep, in 1997 the controversial question of cloning has been paramount throughout the entire globe. The question is no longer whether it can be done, but whether is should be done and to what extent. We have already cloned goats, mice, monkeys, cattle, and pigs (Cloning fact sheet). Scientists are now trying to get approval to clone humans or at least parts of them (Eccleston, CNN). All of these clonings have led to much criticism and controversy, but the latest attempt at cloning is that of endangered and possibly already extinct species in hopes of preserving them. This short paper will give a brief description of cloning and the pros and cons of preserving endangered and extinct species via means of cloning. Introduction There are different types of cloning. One type led by researchers at the Human Genome Project entails the copying of genes and parts of chromosomes in order to get enough identical genetic material to do further research, which they believe could help prevent human diseases in the future (Cloning fact sheet). Another type of cloning is called Blastomere separation, also known as twinning. In this case they split an egg (embryo), soon after it has been fertilized which results in two or more embryos, twins, containing the same exact DNA from both parents (Cloning fact sheet). However, Dolly, was cloned from only one parent. To do this, scientists must take an egg, empty out its genetic material, and replace it with genetic material from another animal by means of somatic cell nuclear transfer (Cloning fact sheet). This means that on... ...ed: Eccleston, J., Baum, M.D. 2000. Cloning complications: British plan on human embryos stirs an international debate. http://www.cnn.com/2000/fyi/news/08/29/human.cloning/index.tr.html. 3 pages. Accessed 10/26/2000. Lanza, R.P., Dresser, B.L., Damiani, P. 2000. Cloning Noah's Ark: biotechnology might offer the best way to keep some endangered species from disappearing from the planet. Scientific American. Vol. 283: 84-89. Myers, N., Mittermeier, R., Mittermeier, C.G., Da Fonseca, G.A.B., Kent, J. 2000. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature. Vol. 403: 853-858. Reaves, J. 2000. Bring back the DoDo! Brave new strides in animal cloning. Time daily. http://www.time.com/time/daily/0,2960,57207,00.html. 2 pages. Accessed 10/26/2000. Unknown. Cloning Fact Sheet. www.ornl.gov/hgmis. 3 pages. Accessed 10/26/2000.

European Law the Ordinary Legislative Procedure

n European Law the Ordinary legislative procedure is used when drafting hard law to ensure that the democratically elected representatives of the EU citizens have an equal say in appropriate areas of law making. There will be a brief analyse of the Ordinary legislative procedure and a discussion on it. European Law is very complex law , within EU law there is various different treaties which are in place. Two most significant treaties which have importance to the legislative process are The Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union.The Treaty on European Union also known as the Maastricht Treaty was signed in Maastricht 7th of February 1992 and the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union also was known as the treaty of Rome until the Treaty of Lisbon came Enforce and changed it’s name , the original Treaty of Rome was signed in 25 March 1957. These two treaties have effect on the constitute of the Union , and in effect these two d ocuments had all ready created a Federal State which was recognised by the European Court of Justice this was before the Treaty of Lisbon as put in place.Within EU there are two types of Legislation Primary and Secondary. Primary legislation is the ground rules or basis which is set out in the treaties. Secondary Legislation includes regulations, directives and decisions these are derived from the principles and objectives set out in the treaties . The EU’s standard decision-making procedure is known as ‘co-decision'. This means that the directly elected European Parliament has to approve EU legislation together with the Council.The TEU established the co-decision procedure , this provided the European Parliament with new powers of amendment and right to reject legislation. This procedure was carried on through out all the treaties , however the Treaty of Lisbon renamed the co-decision procedure to the ordinary Legislative procedure. The ordinary Legislative procedure i s highlighted in article 294 of the TFEU. The ordinary Legislative Procedure must be applied wherever the legal base provides that an act shall be adopted â€Å" in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure† (art 294 (1) TFEU. The procedure begins with the commission submitting a proposal to the European Parliament and the council. The commission also take into account since the treaty of Lisbon they must also propose this forward to the national parliaments this can be seen in protocol 1 and 2 of the TEU. The next stage is the first reading and normally the first reading is by the European parliament. First Reading The parliament decides whether or not to view the proposal which was made by the commission , the parliament then contacts the council and tells them its view of the proposal.Then there are two possibilities which can arise: If the council approves the Parliament’s position , the council , acting by qualified majority , shall adopt the act concerne d . The wording of the act will correspond to the position of the parliament ( art 294(4) TFEU);. If the Council does not approve the Parliament’s position , the Council , acting by a qualified majority ; shall adopt its position and communicate its position to the parliament and communicate its position to the parliament (art 294(5) TFEU. The Council shall inform the Parliament fully of the reasons why it adopted its own position at first reading (art 294(6 TFEU). This will obviously include reasons as to why the council has rejected the Parliament’s position. The commission shall also inform the Parliament fully of its position (art 294(6) TFEU). The first reading of legislation is very length and time consuming. When the council disapproves of the legislation instead of going straight to the commission who projected the future piece of legislation they report back to the Parliament then vice versa .This is making this process very complex as instead of doing two ste ps this could be easily completed in one ,the Council could just report back to the commission and this would make this process so much more effective This would also allow the hard law to be implemented quickly so they can take direct effect within the EU. Second Reading The Parliament has three months from their first initial contact with the council about the commissions proposal for legislation if they have not came to a decision whether or not to carry on with the proposed legislation or agree with the Councils view on it .Then the council will be deemed to adopt the act in accordance with its position Art 294(7)(a) TFEU. The Parliament can take different approaches within the three month timeframe. The Parliament can reject the Council’s perception if they do so then the act would be considered not to have been implemented. This is known as veto and prevents the bill becoming law. However in order for this procedure to take place there must be a majority vote of the com ponent members of parliament.Or they can vote an majority vote to propose the amendments of the future legislation which the council has proposed. In my opinion I think that it is beneficial that the parliament can chose to make the law veto as personally the parliament members are for the citizens of the European Union therefore as they have the power of veto then they can ensure fair and effective legislation is introduced into Europe and not just any old law which is only really benefiting members of the Council.Although in order to make the law veto there must be a majority which I personally don’t think its fair as alias are likely to stick together ie France, Germany etc normally side with each other these major European countries hold the most power in central Europe therefore this can have an major effect on the smaller countries like Malta. The smaller countries may be forced to implement law which they did not agree to , but due to the majority vote it will have to be implemented or the proposed piece of legislation which would benefit them significantly may be rejected.Once the parliament amends the piece of legislation it then has to be agreed by the European parliament members, the amendments are then sent to both the Council and the Commission. The Commission then looks over the draft piece of legislation and looks particularly at the amendments and they liaise with the parliament giving their opinion of the amendments which the parliament made. The Council has a different role in regards to the amendments.They Council does not give there opinion but merely can reject all amendments , accept all amendments , or accept some amendments and reject others. This stage is unnecessary personally because the commission has all ready give their opinion of the legislation as they came up with the idea to create the legislation and generally have a outline of what the legislation should consist of , although it does have its Also the Council has also gave their own opinion in the first reading.The Parliament has a huge work load because of this as they are continuingly asking for opinions and are constantly having to change the draft to suit the Council and Commission. This can have a huge effect to the hard law within Europe as countries can choose to opt out of specific pieces of legislation , as the Council , EP and the Commission would be continuously back and forth with opinions trying to make the law suit every member state.For example when the Treaty of Lisbon was first introduced Ireland refused to sign it and because of this it resulted in a second referendum being conducted in 2009. Also Czech Republic negotiated an opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Personally in my own opinion this is not fair allowing countries to opt out of certain pieces of legislation or treaties. This defeats the purpose of the EU being established. The European Union was created to ensure fairness , equality and satiability within Europe and try to unite Europe as one.Allowing countries to opt out is not creating a fair and equal Europe it is simply just allowing member states to do things their own way to suit themselves. Generally I believe that the majority of EU members do not take the time and consideration to review the law that is being presented to them and how this could actually benefit or effect the citizens that they are suppose to be representing at times I feel members of the EP , Commission and the Council only think about themselves and how it could effect them not the citizens.The Council must act within 3 months of receiving the amendments from the parliament. The council approves all the amendments of the Parliament acting;(i)by a qualified majority if the Commission has also accepted all the amendments; (ii) by unanimity if the commission has rejected all the amendments or (iii) by a mixture of the two if the Commission has accepted some (qualified majority) an rejec ted others (unanimity) in this case the act is deemed to have been adopted (art 294(8)(a) and 294 (9) TFEU)If the Council does not want to approve all the change in the act , then in this case the President of the Council and the President of the European Parliament must liaise with each other and come to an agreement and conduct a meeting of the Conciliation Committee within the six week time period. This is highlighted I ( art 294(8)(b) TFEU) Conciliation Committee The conciliation committee of an equal amount of members from the council and also an equal amount of members from the European parliament.There aim is to agree on the draft piece of legislation which was conducted , within the second reading and come to an agreement of how the legislation should be written. However there must be a majority vote of both the EP and Council members. The commission also takes part in the discussions and â€Å" shall take all necessary initiatives with a view to reconciling the positions o f the European Parliament and the Council† After the meeting with the Conciliation Committee there are two possibilities which could occur: The EP and Council can agree with the joint test and then the act Would be deemed to be adoptedHowever a third reading of the act may be required this is seen in Article 294 (13) & (14) TFEU. In this article it explains what the third reading consists of , according to the article it states â€Å" if , within that period , Conciliation Committee approves a joint text , the European Parliament , acting by majority of the votes cast , and the Council, acting by a qualified majority , shall each have a period of six weeks from that approval in which to adopt the act in question in accordance with the joint ext. If they fail to do so, the proposed act shall been deemed not to be adopted. Section 14 relates to the time frame the EP and Council has ; â€Å" The period of three months and six weeks referred to in this Article shall be extended by a maximum of one month and two weeks respectively at the initiative of European Parliament or the Council. This third reading yet again is simply another procedure which is not required although if both the EP and the Council cannot agree , where do you go from there? Personally I think there should be more stricter rules when creating legislation , especially when the council needs a majority vote , this is making the process a more lengthy procedure as the Council may be agreeing to adopt the law but because there is no a majority vote it has to go for a further reading. The ordinary legislation suggests in its integrity suggests a common procedure however this is not the case this , procedure is very complex and time consuming. Generally I feel this process contradicts it’s self completely.The European Parliament is demanding more powers from the Council but the Council is not willing to accept these demands. However it is made apparent in article 296 TFEU that the Parl iament can choose to make the law veto , but cannot demand for the amendments they have made to the draft to be accepted. Therefore the Parliament must either accept or reject the amendments , which completely defeats the purpose of common procedure . Once the EP makes the law veto the its back to square one again.To conclude personally I feel that the ordinary legislation procedure for European Law is very complex and contradicts its self in so many ways. Therefore I do not think it is a very effective way to create hard law as the parliament can choose to make the law veto however cannot reject all amendments , is this not just making the law negative ? The European Union was created to ensure equality and fairness within its members states I believe the EU is not fulfilling its objectives and it gives far to much power for the Council , the Council is elected members of state who were elected by majority , they are not really representing theEuropean citizens , personally I think the Parliament should have more powers as they are for the citizens. â€Å" Law of the European Union† John Fairhurst (Pearson ) 8th Ed â€Å" Law of the European Union† John Fairhurst (Pearson ) 8th Ed Art 294(7)(a) TFEU this article relates to the 2nd reading of the legislative process it states â€Å" approves the Council’s position at first reading or has not taken a decision , the act concerned shall be deemed to have been adopted in the wording which corresponds to the position of the Councils: Art 294(7)( c) TEFU. Law of the European Union† John Fairhurst (Pearson ) 8th Ed p136 art 294(8)(a) and 294 (9) TFEU. In this section of the article section (8) subsection A states â€Å" approves all amendments , the act in question shall be deemed to have been adopted. † this basically means that if the Council accepts the changes to the legislation within the second reading then it can become law and be implemented.Article 294 section 9 states that â€Å"the Council shall act unanimously on the amendments on which the commission has delivered a negative opinion† this section suggest that the Council can accept some amendments and reject others by this must be agreed by everyone. Law of the European Union† John Fairhurst (Pearson ) 8th Ed p136 Article 294 TFEU Section 8 subsection (b) – â€Å" does not approve all the amendments, the President of the Council, in the agreement with the President of the European Parliament, shall within six weeks convene a meeting of the Conciliation Committee†. Article 296(11)TFEU

Battle of Salamanca - Peninsular War Battle of Salamanca

Battle of Salamanca - Peninsular War Battle of Salamanca Battle of Salamanca - Conflict Date: The Battle of Salamanca was fought July 22, 1812, during the Peninsular War, which was part of the larger Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). Armies Commanders: British, Spanish, Portuguese Viscount Wellington51,949 men French Marshal Auguste Marmont49,647 men Battle of Salamanca - Background: Pushing into Spain in 1812, British, Portuguese, and Spanish troops under Viscount Wellington were confronted by French forces led by Marshal Auguste Marmont. Though his army was advancing, Wellington grew increasingly concerned as the size of Marmonts command steadily increased. When the French army matched and then became slightly larger than his, Wellington elected to halt the advance and began falling back towards Salamanca. Under pressure from King Joseph Bonaparte to take the offensive, Marmont began moving against Wellingtons right. Crossing the River Tormes, southeast of Salamanca, on July 21, Wellington was resolved not to fight unless under favorable circumstances. Placing some of his troops on a ridge facing east towards the river, the British commander concealed the bulk of his army in the hills to the rear. Moving across the river the same day, Marmont wished to avoid a major battle, but felt compelled to engage the enemy in some way. Early the next morning, Marmont spotted dust clouds behind the British position in the direction of Salamanca. Battle of Salamanca - The French Plan: Misinterpreting this as a sign that Wellington was retreating, Marmont devised a plan calling for the bulk of his army to move south and west to get behind the British on the ridge with the goal of cutting them off. In actuality, the dust cloud was caused by the departure of the British baggage train which had been sent towards Ciudad Rodrigo. Wellingtons army remained in place with its 3rd and 5th Divisions en route from Salamanca. As the day progressed, Wellington shifted his troops into positions facing south, but still concealed from sight by a ridge. Battle of Salamanca - An Unseen Enemy: Pushing forward, some of Marmonts men engaged the British on the ridge near the Chapel of Nostra Seà ±ora de la Peà ±a, while the bulk began the flanking movement. Moving onto a L-shaped ridge, with its angle at a height known as the Greater Arapile, Marmont positioned the divisions of Generals Maximilien Foy and Claude Ferey on the short arm of the ridge, opposite the known British position, and ordered the divisions of Generals Jean Thomià ¨res, Antoine Maucune, Antoine Brenier, and Bertrand Clausel to move along the long arm to get in the enemys rear. Three additional divisions were placed near the Greater Arapile. Marching along the ridge, the French troops were moving parallel to Wellingtons hidden men. Around 2:00 PM, Wellington observed the French movement and saw that they were becoming strung out and had their flanks exposed. Rushing to the right of his line, Wellington met General Edward Pakenhams arriving 3rd Division. Instructing him and Brigadier General Benjamin dUrbans Portuguese cavalry to strike at the head of the French column, Wellington rushed to his center and issued orders for his 4th and 5th Divisions to attack over the ridge with support from the 6th and 7th as well as two Portuguese brigades. Battle of Salamanca - Wellington Strikes: Intercepting Thomià ¨res division, the British attacked and drove back the French, killing the French commander. Down the line, Mancune, seeing British cavalry on the field, formed his division into squares to repel the horsemen. Instead, his men were assaulted by Major General James Leiths 5th Division which shattered the French lines. As Mancunes men fell back, they were attacked by Major General John Le Marchants cavalry brigade. Cutting down the French, they moved on to attack Breniers division. While their initial assault was successful, Le Marchant was killed as they pressed their attack. The French situation continued to worsen as Marmont was wounded during these early attacks and was taken from the field. This was compounded by the loss of Marmonts second-in-command, General Jean Bonnet, a short time later. While the French command was reorganized, Major General Lowry Coles 4th Division along with Portuguese troops attacked the French around the Greater Arapile. Only by massing their artillery were the French able to repel these assaults. Taking command, Clausel attempted to retrieve the situation by ordering one division to reinforce the left, while his division and Bonnets division, along with cavalry support, attacked Coles exposed left flank. Slamming into the British, they drove Coles men back and reached Wellingtons 6th Division. Seeing the danger, Marshal William Beresford shifted the 5th Division and some Portuguese troops to aid in dealing with this threat. Arriving on the scene, they were joined by the 1st and 7th Divisions which Wellington had moved to the 6ths aid. Combined, this force repelled the French assault, forcing the enemy to begin a general retreat. Fereys division attempted to cover the withdrawal but was driven off by the 6th Division. As the French retreated east towards Alba de Tormes, Wellington believed the enemy was trapped as the crossing was supposed to be guarded by Spanish troops. Unknown to the British leader, this garrison had been withdrawn and the French were able to escape. Battle of Salamanca - Aftermath: Wellingtons losses at Salamanca numbered around 4,800 killed and wounded, while the French suffered around 7,000 killed and wounded, as well as 7,000 captured. Having destroyed his principal opposition in Spain, Wellington advanced and captured Madrid on August 6. Though forced to abandon the Spanish capital later in the year as new French forces moved against him, the victory convinced the British government to continue the war in Spain. Additionally, Salamanca dispelled Wellingtons reputation that he only fought defensive battles from positions of strength and showed that he was a gifted offensive commander. Selected Sources British Battles: Battle of SalamancaPeninsular War: Battle of SalamancaNapoleon Guide: Salamanca

Angelo Buono, the Hillside Strangler

Angelo Buono, the Hillside Strangler Angelo Anthony Buono, Jr. was one of the two Hillside Stranglers responsible for the 1977 kidnap, rape, torture and murder of nine girls and young women in the hills of Los Angeles, California. His cousin, Kenneth Bianchi, was his crime partner who later testified against Buono in an effort to avoid the death penalty. The Early Years Angelo Buono, Jr. was born in Rochester, New York, on October 5, 1934. After his parents divorced in 1939, Angelo moved to Glendale, California with his mother and sister. At a very early age, Buono began showing a deep disdain for women. He verbally assaulted his mother, a behavior that later intensified towards all women he encountered. Buono was brought up as Catholic, but he showed no interest in attending church. He was also a poor student and would often skip school, knowing that his mother, who had a full-time job, could do little to control his activities. By the age of 14, Buono had been in a reformatory and was bragging about raping and sodomizing young local girls. The Italian Stallion Beginning in his late teens, Buono married and fathered several children. His wives, who were at first attracted to his macho self-proclaimed Italian Stallion style, would quickly discover that he had a deep loathing for women. He had a strong sexual drive and would physically and sexually abuse  the women in his life. Inflicting pain seemed to add to his sexual pleasure and there were times that he was so abusive, many of the women feared for their lives. Buono had a small, semi-successful car upholstery shop attached to the front of his home. This offered him seclusion, which was what he needed to act out his sexual perversions with many of the young girls in the neighborhood. It was also where his cousin, Kenneth Bianchi, came to live in 1976. A Career Jump Into Pimping Buono and Bianchi embarked on a new career as small-time pimps. Bianchi, who was more attractive than his wiry, large-nosed cousin, would lure young runaway girls to the home, then force them into prostitution, keeping them captive with threats of physical punishment. This worked until their two best girls escaped. Needing to build up their pimp business, Buono purchased a list of prostitutes from a local prostitute. When he figured out he had been scammed, Buono and Bianchi set out for revenge, but could only find the prostitutes friend, Yolanda Washington. The pair raped, tortured and murdered Washington on October 16, 1977. According to authorities, this was Buono and Bianchis first known murder. The Hillside Strangler and Bellingrath Link Over the next two months, Bianchi and Buono raped, tortured and killed another nine women ranging in ages from 12 to 28. The press named the unknown killer as the Hillside Strangler, but police were quick to suspect that more than one person was involved. After two years of hanging around his piggish cousin, Bianchi decided to return to Washington and reunite with his old girlfriend. But murder was on his mind and in January 1979, he raped and murdered Karen Mandic and Diane Wilder in Bellingrath, Washington. Almost immediately the police linked the murders to Bianchi and they brought him in for questioning.  The similarities of his crimes to those of the Hillside Strangler was enough for the detectives to join forces with the Los Angeles detectives and together they question Bianchi. Enough evidence was found in Bianchis home to charge him with the Bellingrath murders. Prosecutors decided to offer Bianchi a life sentence, instead of seeking the death penalty, if he gave full details of his crimes and the name of his partner. Bianchi agreed and Angelo Buono was arrested and charged with nine murders. The End for Buono In 1982, after two lengthy trials, Angelo Buono was found guilty of nine of ten Hillside murders and received a life sentence. Four years into serving his sentence, he married Christine Kizuka, a supervisor at the California State Department of Employee Development and a mother of three. In September 2002, Buono died of a suspected heart attack while in Calipatria State Prison. He was 67 years old. Interesting Note: In 2007, Buonos grandson, Christopher Buono, shot his grandmother, Mary Castillo, then killed himself. Castillo was married to Angelo Buono at one time and the two had five children. One of the five children was Chris father.

Ecosystem Toxic Chemical Threat Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Ecosystem Toxic Chemical Threat - Essay Example As such, human activities drive the greenhouse gas-mediated environmental effects, and only human activities can prevent the worsening of earth degradation due to these gases. Another reason why greenhouse gases should be discussed is the still ongoing debate on whether greenhouse gases caused global warming and climate change. Apparently, not all people agree that humans caused the apparent changes happening in the environment. In a website called greatglobalwarming.com, articles that disagree with either the increased global temperature or its man-made nature are collated. It discusses that unlike the findings of global warming advocates, polar bears are increasing in number, Himalayan glaciers are not melting, and global warming and climate change are actually inevitable natural occurrences. Some articles in the website even said that the government and environmental organizations only publicize an apparent human-made global warming to get more funding (â€Å"Great Global Warming : News and Truth about Global Warming†). Section Two: Address the vulnerability of the environment - ecosystem to the specific Chemical Threat 1. Is this an acute or chronic environmental threat? Greenhouse gases are chronic environmental threat. ... 2. Is this a systemic or targeted species threat? Since it affects temperature, it influences all life forms, from microorganisms to plants and animals, which exist on a specific range of temperature. This makes greenhouse gases systemic environmental threats. 3. How likely is it that the chemical will be released in sufficient amounts to do serious harm? The naturally-occurring gases contribute to climate change because the mechanisms that regulate their amounts in the atmosphere become less efficient. Although the temperature in earth started increasing since the 1800, the most rapid increase has been observed in the recent decades, most possibly due to human activity (Environmental Protection Agency). In the case of carbon dioxide, it is regulated by the carbon cycle. Despite the production of carbon dioxide by animals, the atmospheric carbon dioxide remained constant at 280 parts per million (ppm) 10, 000 years before the start of the industrial era. However, its increasing level in the atmosphere is partly attributed to industrialization that started 150 years ago, which emit the gas by biogas burning to power the machineries At that time, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased by almost 40% to 389 ppm. Since then, it continuously increases by 1.5 ppm during the 1990s, by 2.0 ppm during 2000s, and currently by 2.3 ppm, due to the increased electricity and transportation use, as well as continuing deforestation. It now causes 64% of global warming (World Meteorological Organization). Methane from landfills, coal mines, oil and gas operations, and agriculture is the second most important greenhouse gas, contributing 18% to total global warming. Similar to carbon dioxide, the industrial era marked the

Therapeutic induce hypothermia Annotated Bibliography

Therapeutic induce hypothermia - Annotated Bibliography Example However, application of therapeutic hypothermia has been credited to the great enhancement of survival rates from such sudden cardiac arrests with a huge influence on the long-term neurologically intact survival too. Further research and animal tests also point, importantly, that the earlier the hypothermia is induced, the better and higher the patient’s outcome and survival rates (Bader, 2011). Therapeutic hypothermia, also termed protective hypothermia, is a medical procedure involving reduction of a patient’s body temperature so as to help lower the chances of ischemic injury to tissues after a term of insufficient blood flow and can significantly improve the rates of long-term neurologically intact survival. This insufficient blood flow can be a result of several factors such as in the circumstance of a stroke, occlusion of an artery by an embolism, or cardiac arrest. However, in the case of cardiac arrests, the essence of use maybe debated since temperatures of 36˚C (97˚F) basically have similar effects as at the hypothermal 33˚C (91˚F) (Alzaga, Cerdan & Varon, 2006). Therapeutic hypothermia can be incited either through invasive methods or non-invasive methods. Induction by the non-invasive methods involve surface cooling with ice packs, surface cooling helmets, cool caps, application of a cold water blanket or/ and clothing directly to the patient’s skin surface. Invasive means on the other hand employ the use of a catheter placed in the inferior vena cava through the femoral vein, internal cooling methods through the infusion of cold fluids or trans-nasal evaporative cooling (Brooks, 2010). There exist five major medical conditions that therapeutic hypothermia treats effectively. These include cardiac arrest, neonatal encephalopathy, ischemic stroke, neurogenic fever (after brain trauma) and a spinal cord injury without damage. Patients who benefit more from therapeutic

Should same sex marriage remain legal in the United Kingdom Research Paper

Should same sex marriage remain legal in the United Kingdom - Research Paper Example The research will be conducted using online materials and books on Gender and Sexuality. In 2010, Wales and England were moving towards legalization of same sex marriages. Scotland was given control over its marriages but in Northern Ireland, there were no plans for such legislations. Full recognition of gays, lesbian and bisexuals same sex couples in UK began in the 1960s where same sex sexual behaviour was decriminalized. In 2005, same sex couples were able to enter into civil partnerships. Civil partnerships are indistinguishable from opposite sex marriage in terms of rights. This means that they grant the same privileges, obligations, and rights to the couples. Lee (2010, pp, 18) supported this view. According to Piercceson (2014, pp, 22-25) in 2009 public support had risen to 61%. Politicians were debating on changing the definition of marriage to allow all couples to marry. In 2011, the media reported that the government would allow gay church marriage. In 2013, there was a bill to legalise same sex marriage in England and Wales and in July 2013 the House of Lords approved the Marriage (Same sex Couples) Act. Couples of the same sex were able to register and marry and this resulted in England and Wales recognising same sex marriages. Same sex marriages should remain legal in United Kingdom to avoid violation of human rights. The United Nations of Human rights states that all rights are inherent to all human beings regardless of nationality, gender and religious views etc .Every human being has the same right to do as they please as long as it does not cause harm to another person. Same sex marriages are a matter of civil and equal rights and the decision to remain married should remain with the two individuals in the union. Most people are usually not comfortable with same sex relationships however; the dignity of such couples should be respected. Therefore, the law should remain to avoid a severe violation of

Diagnostic Assessment Essay Example for Free

Diagnostic Assessment Essay Luis is a 32-year-old male who immigrated to the U.S. when he was 14. He later became a US citizen. Although, Spanish is his native language, he speaks English extremely well. He recently returned to living with his parents after being laid off from being a semi-skilled auto worker 6 months ago. Luis is the middle of three children. He has a younger sister and older brother, his brother is away at college. Just prior to being laid off, he became involved with a young woman he claims is â€Å"the woman I’m going to marry. † He lives with his parents after being laid-off 6 months ago when he was living with friends. He was able to find a job where he works as a pizza delivery person. His mother was diagnosed with depression following the family’s move from Puerto Rico. Luis completed high school and one year of vocational training. Luis is self-referral and has concerns about his anger and impulsivity. These issues have surfaced since his returning home. Luis also wanted to know why he isn’t himself anymore. Luis stated that, â€Å"I just don’t feel like I am doing well but I don’t know why†. He reported feeling that there is really nothing bad going on in his life, yet he just feels like everything is bad. He reports that his parents are on his case because he don’t do anything other than sit around the house. His parents tell him that he needs to get himself under control. He feels like he really is not motivated to do things anymore. Luis reports that his home life finds him being harsh to his parents, especially when they make a request of him and he becomes angry over little issues. This is the same pattern he had growing up with them. He left home when he was 22-year-old to live with buddies. He frequently argues with his girlfriend. His parents attend Christian church weekly; yet, Luis only goes on some of the major holidays like Christmas and Easter. Luis reported that he was a â€Å"C† student in high school and received a certificate for skilled machinist. Luis reported that he was an okay school student but had a hard time adjusting when he first started in the States. He stated he likes what he works at and has been successful there as people tell him he does well. Luis reported that he has many friends, yet he has not been hanging out with them as much as he was before, and he don’t feel like being with his girlfriend, because he get too angry with her. He reported that he likes to watch sports on television. Luis describes himself as a good person, but don’t think he was when he was younger. Met all milestones; at time of assessment he reported his health to be within normal limits. Luis stated that he is not on any medication. His mother was diagnosed with depression following the family’s move from Puerto Rico. No history of psychiatric admissions or behavioral disorders. Luis is neatly dressed; wearing jeans and a t-shirt; he is of average height and weight. He was alert and oriented to person, place, and time. He was soft-spoken and his speech was at normal rate. Luis was very cooperative and rapport was easily established. He came to the testing session willingly to participate but reported he had one of those nights where he had trouble getting and staying asleep. On several occasions, he slumped back in his chair. He followed directions and were observed to have times of being somewhat sluggish in his responses.

Sherwood Anderson Life And Influences :: essays research papers

LaBrie 1 Sherwood Anderson's life experiences And the way they influenced how he wrote Sherwood Anderson often wrote of other people's misery in his short stories and used it in ironic ways when writing his endings. After reading several of his these stories and reading several biographies of his life, I have come to the conclusion that Anderson's life experiences greatly influence the method in which he wrote them. Also, when comparing some of his stories to his life, you will see that many of them can be closely compared to difficult times in which he went through while growing up and as a grown man. Sherwood Anderson was born into a rather impoverished circumstance in a small Ohio village named Camden. His father was a heavy drinker and had a particular hard time keeping a job. His mother was a hard working woman with strict religious beliefs and always taught her children to work as hard as they could. Anderson was the third of seven children, making his family large and hard to support. Anderson was not an exceptional student, but rather was average grade wise. He graduated grammar school and completed nine months of highschool. Anderson was forced to drop out because he needed to work for his family and bring in more income than his mother and two brothers were making. Anderson worked as a laborer in 1896- 1898, then served in the Spanish American War. He attended Wittenburg Academy in Springfield, Ohio, in 1900, then went to Chicago. In Chicago he worked at a produce warehouse, and when he was in his teens he began working as an editor for an advertising agency. In 1904 he began to display unusual talent for success in the mail- order paint business. LaBrie 4   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In addition to having financial problems Anderson also had numerous family problems. I believe that this is the reason that Anderson would use love in his stories and have his characters unable to be with that love.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Anderson was first married on May 16, 1904, to Cornelia Lane of Toledo. He fathered two sons, Robert Lane and John Sherwood, and a daughter, Marion with her. On July 27, 1916, Anderson divorced his current wife and married Tennessee Claflin Mitchell on July 31, at Chateaugay, New York. This marriage had many difficulties since Anderson and Claflin did not agree on most things such as business and family life. Because of this, they divorced in 1924, and after this Anderson married Elizabeth Prall.

Affirmative Action Essay -- Affirmative Action Essays

Affirmative action is meant to be an attempt at equality throughout society. It supposedly proposes that each person receives equal opportunities in the classroom as well as the work force. Not only would this apply to minorities but to women as well. Every sector in America would be equal and unprejudiced - or so proponents say. On the other hand, adopting affirmative action would force many employers to replace hard-working employees with those of less qualification simply due to their gender or ethnic background. Many people feel that affirmative action would be very beneficial to our society. They have many thought-inspiring arguments. Some claim that we owe blacks for what we took from them in the past. We gave them a setback in our economic system, and affirmative action would be our way of reimbursing them for time and opportunities they lost out on (Norman 50). But where should the line be drawn; how much do we do to repay people - in this case blacks - for past wrongs? Is it enough to give them equal rights, or will we give them extra opportunities to make up for those we took away? It has been argued that the black sector in America, in general, is lower in class due to their environment prior to the Civil War, but the black people of today are not those who lived then. Each person today - no matter their gender,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2 origin, race, belief, or whatever difference has the same opportunities as everyone else. In my opinion no one needs any special favors to get ahead. In this paper I will discuss some of the problems with affirmative action. These include disgruntled employees, reverse discrimination, and the negative effect on our economic status. People who are for affirmative action have many possible positive outcomes as a result of this law passing, some of which have already been implicated. The first subject I will discuss is diversity in the work place, including women and minorities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Proponents of affirmative action attempt to show that diversity in the work force has brought w... ...urface affirmative action sounds and looks good. How could giving people an opportunity to work and learn to get along be a bad   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   6 idea? But after looking deeper into this concept, it seems that the scale of benefits are still not evenly spread amongst the community. After looking at all the negative outcomes, the choice should be clear. This is obviously not the right plan to help our social and economic system and we should stop using it until we can find a better choice. Works Cited Abner, Lacy. Discrimination behind a mask. Lighthouse publishing co. Boston, 1996 Carlton, Melinda. Affirmative Action and Affirming Diversity. Public Management. Florida, 1997. Norman, Jim. Politics of the nineties: Americas Verdict on Affirmative Action is Decidedly Mixed. USA Today. June/July 1997: 49-52. Internet website. www.washingtonpost.com

Petroleum and Investment Grade Rating

Petrolera Zuata, Petrozuata C. A. case study â€Å"La Apertura† (The Opening) †¢ Target: Orinoco Belt heavy/extra heavy oil accumulation (biggest known in the world) †¢ Key Strategy: Opening Venezuelan oil sector to foreign oil companies †¢ How: Profit sharing agreements, operating service agreements, strategic joint-venture associations †¢ Ownership: PDVSA or subsidiaries contribute10 years), fixed interest rates, fewer more flexible covenants, larger amounts. – Cons: fund must be raised in a lump sum.Excess funds create a drag on earnings (negative carry) †¢ Rule 144A market (private placement market): – Pros: Like public bonds + speed, underwritten within six months – Cons: only qualified investors can invest in them Conditions needed: hot markets and investment grade rating What kind of debt to choose? †¢ The sponsors should use 144A (private bonds) to fund the deal because of the important advantages and the significant d isadvantages which can arise by using the other debt kinds. Rule 144A has big advantage of time – Markets seem to be going in the right direction (Hot markets) – What else is needed?†¦ (on the next slide: Investment grade) Investment Grade Rating †¢ Agencies look at 3 main factors: sponsors’ creditworthiness, project’s economics and Venezuela’s sovereign risk. †¢ Problem: Venezuela’s rating: S&P â€Å"B† Moody’s â€Å"Ba2† †¢ Petrozuata is strictly connected with country’s risks because it is controlled by PDVSA which is Venezuela’s state oil company and operates in Venezuela †¢ If Venezuela defaults on its debt Petrozuata will default too unless†¦ Conoco Inc. is a subsidiary of DuPont which operates worldwide and has investment grade rating †¢ Investing in Petrozuata is indirectly investing in DuPont †¢ If you invest in Petrozuata your real investment is also in Vene zuela and DuPont †¢ Petrozuata project has a very good structure and business projections †¢ Same comparables with other oil companies operating in other countries and having investment rate grading †¢ Ras Laffan example of oil company having higher rating than the country in which it operates(Qatar) In order to obtain investment grading it is very important to have DuPont in the deal †¢ If rating agencies consider the fact that Petrozuata will repay its debt although Maraven defaults on its part of debt because DuPont wants to mantain its good reputation it might obtain an investment grading †¢ If Venezuela is strictly linked to Petrozuata and has a â€Å"B† then Petrozuata should have at least a â€Å"B† rating plus a considerable bonus because the risk is diversified into DuPont †¢ Project’s base case DSCR would probably have to exceed 1. 0X †¢ Break-even point low enough so the project can cover all operating and financing costs if oil prices fall substantially Is it a good deal? †¢ We would invest in project bonds as they will likely yield a higher return compared to the 21% cost of equity. Factors that need to be considered: †¢ Hierarchy of payments is good (referred to â€Å"Cash Waterfall†) †¢ Balance Sheet and Income statement suggest PDVSA and DuPont are supposed to be solid companies †¢ Oil prices are not that volatile; fluctuating but arresting around a price between $20 and $25 per barrel (suggested nominal break-even price in 2008 $8. 3 per barrel) †¢ Lower operating costs with respect to competitors (cash operating cost around $3. 19 against industry median at $8. 55) †¢ More than enough heavy crude oil reserves to sustain the planned production according DeGolyer & MacNoughton (U. S. based oil consulting firm) †¢ Project’s design in accordance with good industry practice; complying with Venezuelan and International environmental laws as stat ed by Stone & Webster Overseas Consultants, a U. S. ngineering and consulting firm What should Conoco take into account? †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ True problem is not very favorable business environment Theoretically, if all contracts are respected and hierarchy of payments holds, the only entities bearing risks are PDVSA and DuPont with their capital investment Banks and whoever invests in project bonds according to the hierarchy of payments should be a safe investor Uncertainty in government’s future actions could be very harmful.Remember that in January 1976 the Venezuelan government nationalized the domestic oil industry and the compensation package was only 20% of market value!!! (according to foreign oil companies). Lending to Petrozuata is indirectly investing in Venezuela’s business environment and doing business with the government as PDVSA is 100% government owned, which has a non-investment grading by rating agencies †¢ What should Conoco do? Take carefully in consideration what has been mentioned †¢ Make an in depth analysis on Venezuela’s macroeconomic issues †¢ Try to revise the â€Å"Off take agreement† to be sure of having the right to buy the 104,000 BPCD at the pre-fixed price †¢ If benefits exceed these further costs then consider equity investment †¢ Otherwise the best move would be to take some other entity in the deal to diversify risks even more †¢ Personally, we would be very cautious with investing equity capital as Conoco.