Gender Differences Essay

Sexual double standard refers to gender differences in sexual freedom (Gentry, 1998). In 1960, Ira Reiss defined orthodox double standard as premarital sex prohibition on women but not on men (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). This social standard became the conditional double standard wherein females are only allowed for sexual relationship within marriage while males are not prohibited to incur sexual relationship as many as they can (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). As stereotype, society generally condones certain sexual behaviors only for male but considered as taboo for females (Gentry, 1998). From the early historical period of the Western nations, the unequal treatment between men and women regarding with sexual issues have been recorded (Haavio-Mannila and Kontula, 2003). Women were usually expected to preserve virginity upon marriage and to avoid sexual contact with any one even after legal separation or husband death (Haavio-Mannila and Kontula, 2003). This sexual inequality orientation became the traditional moral standards for both male and female groups but with strict provisions on women. Further, this inequality, according to Williams (1987), was resulted from the early conception that women are valuable property of men and an object of exchange (Haavio-Mannila and Kontula, 2003). As such, sustaining female value requires virginity preservation. In connection to this, the strict observance of chastity has been implemented within a clan for the prevention of unwanted pregnancy, preservation of family honor, and assurance of proper social-class marriage (Haavio-Mannila and Kontula, 2003). After 1960s’ and 1970s’ decades of sexual behavior liberalization, sexual double standard is deemed to be gone (Gentry, 1998). Although arguments on this matter until this present are still in existence, most researches failed to provide a strong ground for the continuous existence of sexual double standard (Gentry, 1998). In spite of this, sexual issues such as teenage pregnancy, rape, illegitimacy of birth, pre-marital relations, and even sexual-related diseases like AIDS are continuously perceived with respect to gender-based sexual attitudes (Gentry, 1998). In fact, studies on the sexual behaviors for both male and female showed the persistence and effects of double standard for both sexes (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). Literature Review During 19th century sexual differences has became the focus of scientific investigation (Haavio-Mannila and Kontula, 2003). For instance, Havelock Ellis treated women’s sexuality as weakness while the Kinsey era supported the equality of gender (Haavio-Mannila and Kontula, 2003). Nonetheless, Masters and Johnson proved the similarity in sexual response between male and female (Haavio-Mannila and Kontula, 2003). Meanwhile, the emergence of more equal opportunities for both sexes was ascribed to the socioeconomic developments (Haavio-Mannila and Kontula, 2003). At this time, equal educational opportunities for men and women have started to be provided. Moreover, increasing socioeconomic affluence and wealth have improved means and styles of living (Haavio-Mannila and Kontula, 2003). This paved the way towards sexual exploration, adaptation and revolution (Haavio-Mannila and Kontula, 2003). Gender differences in sexual behaviors, based on evolutionary psychology, are brought by human evolution. Gender differences are related with reproduction; to ensure the survival and perpetuity of species, male organisms needed to impregnate many females as they can (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). On the other hand, as explained by social learning theory, since sexually-permissive women are ostracized while men with multiple partners gained societal popularity, the society was conditioned to delimit sexual relationship of women into monogamous relationship while giving reinforcement to males having many sexual affairs (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). This notion gave way to the rise of sexual script theory that catered explanation for the sexual behavior patterns. In accordance with this theory, to abide with the traditional script, men are used to have many sexual partners while women are exclusively intended for one-partner relationship (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). However, amidst these glaring differences, studies on double standard have produced conflicting results. The differences in results for those studies were ascribed to the instruments and criteria utilized by researchers in the conduct of their study (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). In her study, Gentry (1998) failed to provide conclusive findings on traditional sexual double standard in accordance with gender-based perceptions of her respondents. Also, the respondents’ perception depended mainly on the target’s type of relationship and sexual activity. As consistent with other studies, respondents gave more positive rating on the target with below average sexual activity and in monogamous relationship (Gentry, 1998). Still, the female participants rated an assertive and liberal woman as with higher level of sexual activity (Gentry, 1998). On the other hand, the degree of assertiveness and sexual activity were not significantly associated with the concept of liberal men (Gentry, 1998). As such, it was noted that male and female participants both used social and physical attributes in their perception of a desirable individual (Gentry, 1998). Generally, male respondents relied on gender and sexual activity data in conceiving the personality of male targets and classified targets with below average sexual activity as less appealing (Gentry, 1998). However, the findings of this study did not reflect the noticeable gender bias in the university where it was conducted; the pathway towards female residence halls was named as â€Å"walk of shame† which is an insinuation against female student who spent overnight with male (Gentry, 1998). In 1982, Spreadbury reported that women respondents tended to rate the sexual behavior of women as more promiscuous than men which denoted their support towards double standard (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). Also, in 1987, when it comes to the assessment of the first sexual experience of a hypothetical case, Sprecher, Orbuch, and McKinney revealed that respondents gave negative more negative rate on female case than male case (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). In terms of preferences for a partner, in 1995, O’ Sullivan revealed that both male and female respondents less favored for a highly sex-experienced person (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). Moreover, in 1997, Sprecher, McKinney, and Regan showed that both male and female respondents preferred for a date without any sexual experience (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). Nonetheless, in 1992, Sedikides reported male respondents much preferred sexually experienced women for casual date (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). This male preference for casual date reflected the double standard among male participants. In relation to this, in 1992, Oliver and Sedikides reasoned out that male respondents choose women with more sexual experience as casual dates to gain sex experience but much preferred women without sex experience as their marriage partners (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). This is again an indication of a double standard. In the same manner, as explained by Sprecher, Orbuch, and McKinney in 1991, the refusal of female respondents with highly sex-experienced men in any relationship, implied reversed double standard (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). In their study among university women in Canada, Milhausen and Herold (1999) found that students are personally against double standard even if women’s behavior was deemed harshly than men (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). They also favored for the importance of sex, thus, rejecting one notion of double standard (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). In addition, the respondents gave negative rating for both male and female with more sex experience (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). Still, they perceived men with multiple sexual partners as exploitative, sexual predators, and manipulative (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). They also perceived that other women mostly gained criticism from other women than men due to their sexual behavior (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). Furthermore, the respondents denounced the idea of supporting either a female friend in dating with highly sex-experienced man or even a male friend dating with highly sex-experienced woman (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). This signified the discouragement for double standard. However, if the highly sex-experienced man has other positive characteristics, the respondents gave possible chance of dating with that man (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). Personality attributes take precedence in choosing a partner rather than sexual experience (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). Conversely, there were respondents that even in the presence of good personality traits in a sex-experienced man would still turn down the date (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). In line with this, women who had multiple sexual relations tended to choose men who also had multiple sexual affairs (Milhausen and Herold, 1999). The experimental investigation of Sheeran, Abrams, Spears, and Abraham in 1996, respondents perceived that female should have lower number of sexual relationship than male (Crawford and Popp, 2003). In addition, as perceived by both non-religious female and religious male, sexually active women are seldom observed (Crawford and Popp, 2003). Moreover, participants rated women who have changed sexual partner for several times in a year as more irresponsible than men of the same case (Crawford and Popp, 2003). In the same year, Sprecher and Hatfield observed that male respondents signified a double standard for both male and female in casual dating but not for male and female in a pre-engage or serious dating stage (Crawford and Popp, 2003). In a cross-cultural study, Russian students have higher tendency for traditional double standard even during the dating stage (Crawford and Popp, 2003). In contrast, higher tendency for double standards endorsed by male respondents than female respondents were observed for the United States participants than Japanese and Russian participants (Crawford and Popp, 2003). As such, in the United States, male respondents associated permissiveness more on males than females (Crawford and Popp, 2003). As a general observation, male in the United States have greater inclination towards double standards than female (Crawford and Popp, 2003). In terms of personality attributes, Morris, Young, and Jones (2000) found that Bolivian elite students, both male and female, having high self-esteem generally involved in sexual intercourse. In contrast, home self-esteem was associated with conservative sexual behaviors. Analysis and Conclusion Event though double standards may seem to vanish but its contemporary form may emerge which in turn affects human sexual behavior (Crawford and Popp, 2003). Evidences of heterosexual standards emanated from respondents as they proposed dissimilar levels of accepted sexual activity for both male and female (Crawford and Popp, 2003). Similarly, double standards may arise through the responses of the participants with regards to specific behaviors. Also, double standards can be noticed and evaluated based on the purpose of sexual activity and global measures respectively (Crawford and Popp, 2003). Meanwhile, double standards in sexual issues have been captured the attention of social and biological researchers, the studies have poor methodological designs (Marks, 2008). In relation to cognitive theories, in 2006, Marks and Fraley postulated that observations congruent with the double standard are easily encoded in mind than deviant events (Marks, 2008). For instance, a woman maligned due to extramarital affairs easily clings in the mind of the public than a woman given reinforcement because of sexual activity. Also, in 2007, they endorsed that individuals while in group, tended to support double standard than when alone because of interactions among the respondents (Marks, 2008). The social interaction among the participants may trigger cognitive functions leading to the use of stereotypes, thus, signified the tendency of the respondents to endorse double standard in public but not privately (Marks, 2008). Most of the researches conducted in this endeavor, utilized fictional approach instrumentation in eliciting respondents’ perception regarding every possible aspect of double standard; thus, failed to accurately quantify the sexual double standards in real-life basis (Marks, 2008). In this approach, hypothetical cases in the form of interview or stories will be given to the participants and allowing them to form judgments based on case specificity. However, double standard stereotypes were formed as general impression for a specific class of individuals (Marks, 2008). Hence, the purpose served by the research technique mentioned earlier was individuation not as stereotypes. In connection to this, Marks (2008) found that participants rated both males and females equally with respect to double standards on full attention basis. On the other hand, when their attention was divided, they favorably rated sexually-active men than women (Marks, 2008). Based on the results of his study, Marks (2008) reported that sexual double standard was more common than what has been suggested by previous researches. In addition, the fictional strategy in the assessment of double standard can hardly measure the extent of double standard in sexuality (Marks, 2008). Based on the abovementioned literature, socio-cultural factors shape gender stereotypes which in turn lead to the practice of double standards in sexuality. However, contemporary researches showed that sexual stereotype does not hold true for general cases (Clements-Schreiber and Rempel, 1998). For instance, McCormick (1979) reported that students generally attributed sex goal to males and sex avoidance to females but contemporary researches revealed that women initiated sex with their partners as men showed some form of resistance towards sexual intercourse. In line with this, the value given by the society to sexual double standard is a determinant of gender inequality. On the other hand, double standard may affect women positively. For example, women are prohibited for multiple sexual affairs but men are condoned for such practice. This double standard saves women from unwanted pregnancy and transmission of sexually-related diseases like HIV/AIDS and gonorrhea. Additionally, having unplanned children form different men will also be lessened; hence, causes reduction of population explosion and deterrence of its inevitable consequences such as poverty and food scarcity. Therefore, in a way or another, sexual double standard was spontaneously established through norms, mores, and traditional beliefs of the early society to regulate sexual relationship which in turn leads to a strong clan foundation. As supported by the findings of McCormick (1994), since women in general, make the crucial decision on the extent of sexual behavior in heterogeneous relationship (Milhausen and Herold, 1999), they have been the subject of the preconceived inequality in sexual relations. Hence, for a better perspective of this sexual double standard, contemporary research findings should be integrated with the historical and traditional rationale of double standard existence. In the end, the persistence or re-emergence of any sexual standards in the contemporary society will always depend on individuals themselves. References Clements-Schreiber, M. E. , Rempel, J. K. , and Desmarais, S. (1998). Women’s Sexual Pressure Tactics and Adherence to Related Attitudes: A Step Toward Prediction. The Journal of Sex Research, 35 (2), 197-205. Crawford, M. and Popp, D. (2003). Sexual Double Standards: A Review and Methodological Critique of Two Decades of Research. The Journal of Sex Research, 40 (1), 13-26. Gentry, M. (1998). The Sexual Double Standard The Influence of Number of Relationships and Level of Sexual Activity on Judgments of Women and Men. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 22, 505-511. Haavio-Mannila, E. and Kontula, O. (2003). Single and Double Standards in Finland, Estonia, and St. Petersberg. The Journal of Sex Research, 40 (1), 36-49. Marks, M. J. (2008). Evaluations of Sexually Active Men and Women Under Divided Attention: A Social Cognitive Approach to Sexual Double Standard. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 30, 84-91. Milhausen, R. R. and Herold, E. S. (1999). Does the Sexual Double Standard Still Exist? Perceptions of University Women. The Journal of Sex Research, 36(4), 361-368. Morris, J. , Young, M. , and Jones, C. (2000). Self-Esteem and Adolescent Sexual Behavior Among Students at an Elite Bolivian School. The International Electronic Journal of Health Education, 3(1), 36-43.

Brazil’s Political Factor in Business

Political factor by ashraful islam Trade Policies in political factor Brazil's economic history has been influenced remarkably by foreign trade trends and policies. Successive cycles of export booms in such commodities as sugar, gold and diamonds, rubber, and coffee played major roles in Brazilian development before World War II. In the 1930s, the collapse of coffee prices signaled a turn inward, resulting in a nascent industrialization. In succeeding decades, industrial development was fostered deliberately through restrictive trade policies, making Brazil a relatively closed economy by the mid-1960s.Only in the early 1990s did Brazil begin significant liberalization of its trade policies, and even these reforms were modest by comparison with those in a number of other Latin American nations. Government intervention in foreign trade has a long history in Brazil, reaching back to the colonial period when Portugal forbade Brazilian trade with other nations. Following independence in 1 822, Brazil opened its ports and expanded its trade with other nations, particularly Britain. Extensive government regulation of trade continued, however, with tariffs providing over half of the government's revenue before World War I.Other forms of intervention in trade included the 1906 coffee price support plan, which was a sophisticated attempt to exploit Brazil's monopolistic position in the world coffee market. Before World War II, trade policies were used mostly as a source of revenue or as a response to specific groups such as the coffee producers, rather than as a means of achieving national economic goals. In the early 1950s, Brazil began to use trade policy in a more deliberate way to promote industrialization. The forced reduction in Brazilian imports after 1929 had resulted in the first major industrial growth in Brazil, centered in Sao Paulo.Heeding this apparent lesson, policy makers in the 1950s argued that measures that deliberately reduced imports would stimulate d omestic production, thereby encouraging technological development and increasing employment in activities that were regarded as more â€Å"modern† than Brazil's traditional agricultural and extractive activities. The steep rise in world oil prices that began in late 1973 soon ended Brazil's move toward greater trade openness. The approximate balance between imports and exports in the early 1970s became an unprecedented US$4. billion deficit in 1974. Although record levels of external capital flows financed this deficit, Brazilian policy makers responded by restricting imports. In June 1974, import financing for many products was suspended, while tariff rates on more than 900 items were doubled. Over the year, restrictions were increased further, and in 1975 the government required that imports be paid for in advance with deposits that did not earn interest or any correction for inflation. On the export side, further measures were taken to promote exports, especially for manuf actures.Despite these measures, Brazil's trade balance remained in deficit for most of the 1970s. The combination of tightened import controls, real depreciation, and the fall in domestic demand induced by the restrictive macroeconomic policies of the early 1980s resulted in a sharp adjustment in Brazil's external accounts. The magnitude of the adjustment appears to have surprised even many of its proponents, both in the Brazilian government and among creditors. After 1983 the massive trade surpluses averaged more than 3 percent of GDP, compared with negative or negligible levels through most of the 1968-82 period.In 1984, as the full effects of the adjustment program were felt, exports were about double imports, and Brazil's trade surplus reached an unprecedented 6. 1 percent of GDP, far exceeding the comparable shares in other important economies such as Japan (3. 5 percent of GDP) and West Germany (3. 8 percent). By 1984 it was clear that the successful external adjustment had a domestic price, as inflation accelerated to more than 200 percent at annual rates. Trade policy consequently began to be viewed as a potential instrument for internal stabilization, with some import liberalization viewed as a potential contributor to reduced inflation.In late 1984, a number of the direct controls on imports were cut back, and the number of products on the negative list was reduced substantially. Import financing requirements were also relaxed through exemptions, and tariff surcharges were replaced by smaller additions to the legal tariff. On the administrative side, the Cacex policy of import restrictions for balance of payments purposes was reduced. Although import licenses were not abolished, their approval became a relatively routine operation, and by 1991 most licenses were being issued within five working days.The CTIC became primarily a reporting and registration agency, which had little of the discretionary power formerly exercised by Cacex. The former CPA, w hich had been far overshadowed by Cacex, was replaced by an agency coequal with the CTIC, the Technical Coordinating Office for Tariffs (Coordenadoria Tecnica de Tarifas–CTT). With the shift in emphasis in trade policy from discretionary administrative control to the automaticity of published tariffs, many of them limited by Brazil's treaty commitments, the CTT's role in formulating import policy became significantly greater than the CPA's had been.Early in 1991, the Collor de Mello government announced a series of tariff reductions to be phased in over the 1991-94 period. These were among the most far-reaching and significant reductions in Brazilian trade protection in several decades. Earlier tariff reductions often had been largely cosmetic, only reducing rates that were prohibitive to high levels that still barred many imports. The 1991 reforms went much further, and in many sectors reduced rates to about a third of their level in the early 1980s.Equally important, the re forms reduced the wide variability or dispersion of tariff rates that were once characteristic of Brazilian trade policy. The overall trend in Brazilian trade policy is clear. By the mid-1990s, Brazil had become a much more open economy than it had been a decade earlier. priorities in terms of business support Market Overview The Federative Republic of Brazil is Latin America's biggest economy and is the fifth largest country in the world in terms of land mass and population with about 192 million people.Brazil’s economy, the 6th largest in the world, grew 2. 7% in 2011. Growth slowed due to reduced demand for Brazilian exports in Europe and Asia, despite solid domestic demand and a growing middle class. During the past decade, the country has maintained macroeconomic policies that controlled inflation and promoted economic growth. Inflation was at 6. 5% in 2011, and urban unemployment reached a historic low of 6. 0%. Interest rates, though high compared to the rest of the wo rld, remained historically low at the Central Bank benchmark rate of 8. 0% as of July 2012. In 2011, the U. S. as Brazil’s largest source of imports followed by China, Argentina, Germany, and South Korea. U. S. merchandise exports to Brazil in 2011 were US$42. 9 billion, and U. S. imports from Brazil were US$31. 3 billion. Market Challenges Brazil has a large and diversified economy that offers U. S. companies many opportunities to export their goods and services, and U. S. exports are increasing rapidly. Doing business in Brazil requires intimate knowledge of the local environment, including both the explicit as well as implicit costs of doing business (referred to as the â€Å"Custo Brasil†).Such costs are often related to distribution, government procedures, employee benefits, environmental laws, and a complex tax structure. Logistics pose a particular challenge, given infrastructure limitations posed by nearly a decade of economic expansion. In addition to tariffs, U. S. companies will find a complex customs and legal system. Market Opportunities There are few, if any, sectors in Brazil that do not have excellent short term opportunities. Certain sectors of the Brazilian market have experienced higher than average growth, such as air transportation, telecoms, oil and gas, and mining.Under the second phase of the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC II), the Government of Brazil will spend R$955 billion (the equivalent of around US$470 billion) in development of the country’s energy generation and distribution system, roads, railroads, ports, and airports as well as stadiums as it prepares for the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016. Other promising areas for U. S. exports and investment include agriculture, agricultural equipment, building and construction, aerospace and aviation, electrical power, safety and security devices, environmental technologies, retail, and transportation.The Brazilian national oil company Petrobras' expans ion may represent the largest global business opportunity in the oil & gas sector until 2020. The offshore pre-salt oil deposits discovered in 2006 and 2007 are estimated to exceed 60 billion barrels in probable or recoverable reserves, and could place Brazil among the world’s top ten oil-producing countries. Petrobras anticipates that it will invest $224 billion in exploration and development through 2015. Brazil is one of the largest IT markets within the emerging economies. IT end-user spending in Brazil is expected to grow to $134 billion in 2014.The largest share of spending will be on telecom equipment, representing 72% of the market, followed by IT services at 13. 3% and computing hardware at 11. 9%. In the years leading up to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil will host several international mega-events. In 2011, Brazil hosted the World Military Games and the Pan-American Maccabi Games and in 2012, Rio de Janeiro hosted the Rio+20 global environmental su stainability conference. In 2013, Brazil will host a papal visit and the World Youth Day event as well as the soccer Confederations Cup.In 2014, twelve Brazilian cities will host the soccer World Cup. The Government of Brazil expects to invest $106 billion in the preparations for these events. These investments, which will include outlays for infrastructure, construction, transportation systems, port improvements, public security, and airport infrastructure upgrades, will present significant commercial opportunities for U. S. companies. Most of the major infrastructure upgrades will be carried out through Public-Private Partnerships under Brazil’s Growth Acceleration Program. Market Entry StrategyBrazil’s business culture relies heavily on the development of strong personal relationships. Companies need a local presence and must invest time in developing relationships in Brazil. The U. S. Commercial Service encourages U. S. companies visiting Brazil to meet one-on-one with potential partners. One of the best ways for U. S. companies to enter the Brazilian market is by participating in local trade shows or using the U. S. Commercial Service’s Gold Key Service (GKS), through which they can meet with pre-screened potential clients or partners.It is essential to work through a qualified representative or distributor when developing the Brazilian market. Some firms establish an office or joint venture in Brazil. Further discussion of these alternatives can be found in the â€Å"Marketing Products & Services† chapter. It is very difficult for U. S. companies to get involved in public sector procurement without a local Brazilian partner. Education of the workforce Despite being one of the world's most populous countries, Brazil does not have a single university ranked in the top 100 internationally.Of its college graduates, 5 percent are engineers, far below the rates of countries such as China and South Korea, according to Brazilian busin esses. Since Brazil's education system is falling short, Vale, like several other Brazilian companies, has decided to build its own. â€Å"For years, technical education was not the main focus of the government,† said Marco Dalpozzo, Vale's global human resources director. â€Å"Mining was not seen for the last 20 years as a great opportunity or a vocational business opportunity for the country. So you have professions for which Vale had to create their own entire system of education. Over the past few years, several Latin American countries have enjoyed soaring growth rates as they exported oil, minerals and agricultural products around the world. In Brazil, gross domestic product more than doubled, to $1. 3 trillion, in the five years ending in 2007, while inflation dropped to 3. 6 percent, a quarter of the 2003 level. Yet recent studies have shown that workers in Latin America have less education than those in East Asia and Eastern Europe and that the percentage of studen ts enrolled in high school is far lower than in developed countries.In Colombia, one out of every 700,000 people receive PhDs, compared with one in 5,000 in developed countries, wrote Jeffrey M. Puryear and Tamara Ortega Goodspeed in a contribution to a book published this year titled â€Å"Can Latin America Compete? † â€Å"The region's limited number of scientists and advanced degree recipients weakens the region's competitiveness by limiting countries' ability to use and generate knowledge, and to carry out research,† they wrote.For younger students, Latin American countries have focused in recent years on building schools and expanding access to public education, rather than improving the quality of that education, said Emiliana Vegas, a senior education economist at the World Bank. Teachers' pay raises are based on longevity rather than performance, and few parents are used to demanding more rigorous standards. â€Å"Most Latin American parents have less educatio n than their kids. They feel their kids are already receiving an advantage they didn't get,† said Vegas, who co-authored the book â€Å"Raising Student Learning in Latin America. In the most recent results of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's triennial tests of 15-year-olds from 57 countries, the Latin American countries that participated, including Brazil, Argentina and Colombia, consistently scored near the bottom. â€Å"It's not just that kids need to go to school, they need to learn in school,† Vegas said. Brazil – quality of port infrastructure Quality of port infrastructure, WEF (1=extremely underdeveloped to 7=well developed and efficient by international standards)Definition: Quality of Port Infrastructure measures business executives' perceptions of their country's port facilities. The rating ranges from 1 to 7, with a higher score indicating better development of port infrastructure. Source: World Economic Forum, Global Compet iveness Report |Year |Value | |2007 |2. 63 | |2008 |2. 52 | |2009 |2. 65 | |2010 |2. 94 | |2011 |2. 70 | Airports The Brazilian airport network has long been lamented as underdeveloped and poorly maintained. The network is run almost exclusively by Infraero, an authority that reports to the country? s defense ministry.In operation for 37 years, Infraero has more than 28,000 employees and contractors assisting in the management of 67 airports throughout the country. These airports handle 97 percent of all air traffic in the country, with more than 2 million takeoffs and landings and over 113 million passengers annually. 11 The company? s charge is quite difficult, considering that the airports are spread across a country the size of the contiguous United States Roadways Like the United States, Brazil is heavily dependent on its road system for transportation. However, there is great disparity in the quality of these road networks.Despite constituting 68 percent of Brazil? s transport needs, only 12 percent of the country? s 1. 6 million kilometers of roads are paved. 20 The consequence of these infrastructure deficiencies is slower and more expensive transport – costs can be up to 35 percent greater on unpaved roads. 21 This affects the booming agricultural sector greatly, as many of the goods are produced in remote locations with poor road conditions. Rail Brazil? s national rail network consists of approximately 28,000 kilometers of track, and most of it is operated by private concessionaires.These concessions have been utilized for 12 years, and the government is reviewing its concession model to make better use of the rail network. â€Å"One of the main objectives of the changes is to put abandoned or low-capacity stretches back into operation. †29 As part of the Ministry of Transport? s National Plan, Brazil will consolidate a new rail network, developing almost 12,000 additional kilometers of track. 30 These rail lines will serve areas of ag ricultural and mineral productivity and enable the increased transfer of cargo between transportation modes.Additionally, the rail lines will be implemented in planned corridors that are specifically designed to link production and consumption regions, as well as production and shipment areas (like ports). The MOT is also studying the feasibility of a corridor that will link railways from Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. Economic factors by ashraful islam Economy – overview: Characterized by large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, Brazil's economy outweighs that of all other South American countries, and Brazil is expanding its presence in world markets.Since 2003, Brazil has steadily improved its macroeconomic stability, building up foreign reserves, and reducing its debt profile by shifting its debt burden toward real denominated and domestically held instruments. In 2008, Brazil became a net external creditor and tw o ratings agencies awarded investment grade status to its debt. After strong growth in 2007 and 2008, the onset of the global financial crisis hit Brazil in 2008. Brazil experienced two quarters of recession, as global demand for Brazil's commodity-based exports dwindled and external credit dried up.However, Brazil was one of the first emerging markets to begin a recovery. In 2010, consumer and investor confidence revived and GDP growth reached 7. 5%, the highest growth rate in the past 25 years. Rising inflation led the authorities to take measures to cool the economy; these actions and the deteriorating international economic situation slowed growth to 2. 7% for 2011 as a whole, though forecasts for 2012 growth are somewhat higher. Despite slower growth in 2011, Brazil overtook the United Kingdom as the world's seventh largest economy in terms of GDP.Urban unemployment is at the historic low of 4. 7% (December 2011), and Brazil's traditionally high level of income equality has dec lined for each of the last 12 years. Brazil's high interest rates make it an attractive destination for foreign investors. Large capital inflows over the past several years have contributed to the appreciation of the currency, hurting the competitiveness of Brazilian manufacturing and leading the government to intervene in foreign exchanges markets and raise taxes on some foreign capital inflows.President Dilma ROUSSEFF has retained the previous administration's commitment to inflation targeting by the central bank, a floating exchange rate, and fiscal restraint. | | | | |Brazil Interest Rate | | |The benchmark interest rate in Brazil was last reported at 7. 25 percent. Historically, from 1999 until 2012, Brazil Interest | | |Rate averaged 16. 6 Percent reaching an all time high of 45. 00 Percent in March of 1999 and a record low of 7. 25 Percent in | | |October of 2012. In Brazil, interest rate decisions are taken by The Central Bank of Brazil's Monetary Policy Committee | | |(CO POM). The official interest rate is the Special System of Clearance and Custody rate (SELIC) which is the overnight lending | | |rate. This page includes a chart with historical data for Brazil Interest Rate. | [pic] Brazil Income Taxes 2012 Last partial update, May 2012Individual Income Tax: Brazil's individual income tax rates for 2012 are progressive, from 7. 5% to 27. 5%. Personal annual tax rates 2012 (BRL) |Income (BRL) |% | |1-18,799 |- | |18,799-28,174 |7. 5 | |28,174-37,566 |15 | |37,566-46,939 |22. 5 | |over 46,939 |27. 5 |Note: Nonresidents pay a flat 27. 5% tax on income earned in Brazil Corporate Tax: Brazil's combined corporate tax rate for 2012 is 34%. The tax consists of a basic tax of 15%. There is also a surtax of 10% for annual income of over BRL 240,000, about $ 110,000. Additonal 9% are added for social contribution on net profits. Capital Gains: Capital gains of companies are added to the regular income. Individuals: Pay 15% tax on capital gains, dividend incom e from local companies is tax exempt. Residence A foreign company is resident if incorporated in Brazil.An individual is resident when holding a permanent visa, or a temporary visa with an employment agreement, or even without an employment agreement, when staying in Brazil for more than 183 days within 12 months. Brazil Tax Deductions †¢ Losses are carried forward indefinitely. In future years only 30% of the current year taxable income can be set off against the loss. †¢ Depreciation is deducted using the straight line method. Companies working in 2 shifts can claim 150% of the standard rates, while companies working in 3 shifts are entitled to 200% of the standard rates. Companies involved in development of technical research can use accelerated depreciation for tax purpose. †¢ There is no company consolidation for tax purpose. †¢ Thin capitalisation rules relating to interest expenses are in effect in Brazil from 1. 1. 2010. Brazil Personal Credits and Deduct ions For Brazilian residents, the first annual income of BRL 18,799 is tax exempt. There is a standard monthly deduction for each dependant. Education expenses are deductible, up to a limit. Deductions are also permitted for social security payments by an employee, payments to private Brazilian pension plans, up tp a limit, and for alimony payments.Deduction of Tax at Source In Brazil tax is deducted at source from the following payments to non residents: Dividend- 0%. Interest- 15%/25%. Royalties- 15%. Services -15%/25%. Social Security The contributions by the employer and the employee are subject to to ceiling defined by law. Employer: 37. 3% of the gross salary, 28. 8% social security and 8. 5% for severance fund. Employee: 7. 65%-11% of the gross salary. The employee's payment, which is capped, is based on a â€Å"contribution salary table†, provided by the government.

Regulated Power Supply Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Regulated Power Supply - Coursework Example So what is a power supply? In the days before complicated ICs and complicated digital electronics, a simple power supply was composed of a transformer and a rectifier circuit. The transformer is where alternating current or AC voltage enters. AC voltage comes from the normal voltage from the electrical outlet at home. It carries with it alternating current and has to be transformed and rectified into direct current (DC) so that it can power up the electrical appliance. It has an input and an output. The output is the desired DC voltage for an electronic circuit which depends whether it is 6 volts or 12 volts or even higher. Since it is the heart and that it supplies the main lifeblood of an electronic system, it is easy to locate, and if one has become acquainted with it, easy to troubleshoot and repair. That is easy said than done, but in any electronic troubleshooting mastery of the block- and schematic diagrams and every detail of the circuitry will ensure a troubleshooting succes s. For electronic technicians and engineers, pinpointing the location of the power supply is as easy as troubleshooting itself. 1.1 Definition of terms 1.1.1 Transformer – A transformer is a devised used to transform voltages or current; the transformation is from higher voltage to smaller voltage (step-down transformer), or from smaller voltage to higher voltage (step-up voltage). Most electronic circuits in appliances and gadgets use step-down transformers. For example, if the power supply in our home is 220 volts or 110 volts, we are going to use a step down-transformer to transformer the higher voltage and current to 6 volts, 9 volts, or 12 volts, as the case maybe. 1.1.2 Alternating Current/Direct current (AC/DC) – The current that enters a transformer is known as alternating current (AC). This is a static current which do not respond to the needed direct current of an electronic circuit. Therefore, the AC current has to be transformed into a DC or direct current. The AC voltage/current comes from the utilities company that supplies our electrical needs at home. First, we have to compare the different types of current and be able to name the parts in it. As mentioned, there are two types of current – the alternating current and the direct current. The alternating current is not regulated – the sine waves are alternating, and this has to be rectified using a diode or diodes, with a capacitor and other filtering components, so that the circuit can produce an output of a DC current. After we have transformed the AC to DC, then we still have to regulate it to match the needed voltage and current that a particular electronic circuit needs. In our high-tech world nowadays, designs have eliminated the transformer and other analog circuits; instead, integrated (IC) circuits have replaced many of the components. 1.1.3 Rectifier Circuit A rectifier is a diode or a circuitry of diodes that transforms alternating current into direct curren t. In a simple rectifier circuit, a diode is coupled with a filter capacitor and load resister to complete the rectification process. This produces a half-wave and does not completely provide full rectification. 1.1.4 Regulator A regulator can be a transistor or an integrated circuit (IC). The purpose of a regulator is to provide a steady DC output. A well-regulated DC is needed in circuits to produce the needed output or purpose of that

BLOG2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

BLOG2 - Essay Example Rather, â€Å"fag† marks failed masculinity. If masculine in demeanor, a homosexual man is not a fag; and a fag is not necessarily homosexual. Second, both the homophobia and the fag discourse are â€Å"gendered,† practiced only by boys. (Note that the boys typically think lesbians are cool). Third, both discourses are also racial. Pascoe recurrently demonstrates how masculinity models and discursive practices differ across racial groups. The relationship between adolescent masculinity and sexuality is embedded in the spectra of the faggot. Faggots represent a penetrated Masculinity in which ‘to be penetrated is to abdicate power’. Penetrated men symbolize masculinity devoid of power, this in its contradiction, threatens both psychic and social chaos. It is precisely this spectrum of penetrated masculinity that functions as a regulatory mechanism of gender for contemporary American adolescent boys. ‘Fag’ is not necessarily a static identity attached to a particular (homosexual) boy. Fag talk and fag imitations serve as a discourse with which boys discipline themselves and each other through joking relationships. Any boy can temporarily become a fag in a given social space or interaction. This does not mean that those boys who identify as or are perceived to be homosexual are not subject to intense harassment. But becoming a fag has as much to do with failing at the masculine tasks of compete nce, heterosexual prowess and strength or an anyway revealing weakness or femininity, as it does with a sexual identity. Pascoe scrupulously delineates the boundaries of these behavioral modes among boys. She presents the exceptions to the prevalent model (e.g., religious boys, and some engaged in loving relationships). Also, she makes clear that both the dramaturgy of the fag discourse and the heterosexual claims-staking are pack behavior.

Employee Engagement (MA Human Resource Management) Coursework

Employee Engagement (MA Human Resource Management) - Coursework Example 10 6. Conclusion 12 References 1. Introduction The involvement of the specific organization in a New Global HR programme should be checked by referring primarily to the relevant evidence, meaning the literature related to this issue but also the findings of the empirical research. At the next level, the potentials of the firm to perform well in such project would be evaluated by reviewing the results of similar business projects, i.e. other projects of similar characteristics in which the firm participated, directly or indirectly. The experience of the firm’s managers in HR management plans will be also taken into consideration. It should be noted that the development of secure assumptions regarding the potential performance of the firm in such project would be rather impossible. Only estimations can be made regarding the potentials of the firm for further growth through the specific project. On the other hand, the fact that the firm has successfully entered the global market, through its subsidiaries in India and Taiwan cannot be ignored. The needs of the firm for stabilization in the international marketplace have to be taken into account for deciding whether the engagement in such plan could result to benefits or to losses for the organization. The various implications of the particular plan will be presented and evaluated using the relevant literature. Assumptions are made based on the evidence gathered on the issues under discussion. 2. Employee engagement, role in the facilitation of business purposes In order to understand the role of employee engagement within the organization, especially regarding the facilitation of the business purposes, it would be necessary to refer primarily to the context of employee engagement, i.e. its elements and its mission. The potential forms of employee engagement are presented below; based on the form of employee engagement chosen, a relevant assumption can be produced regarding the role of employee engagement in the facilitation of business purposes. Furthermore, this view will be used in order to decide whether the suggested business plan is expected to perform well – based on its alignment with the needs of the organization but also of the employees, as reflected in their engagement to the organization. In accordance with the literature published on the specific subject, employee engagement is a rather complex concept, which is quite important for the success of business projects. However, in many cases, it is ignored being considered as having just a secondary role in daily business operations. In accordance with Federman (2009) there are four levels of employee engagement: a) at the first level, no attention is given to employee engagement; the needs of the employee are ignored. A high percentage of modern organizations belong to the specific category, about 27%, as Federman (2009, p.2) notes, b) at the second level, employee engagement is considered as just an event. In the cont ext of this thought, the following assumption is developed regarding the employee engagement: employee engagement can be included in the context of an organizational restructuring, as the result of an important change in the organization, for example ‘the change of its president’ (Federman 2009, p.2); however it could not be fully implemented. This means

The Acceptance of a Multinational Philosophy of Business Research Paper

The Acceptance of a Multinational Philosophy of Business - Research Paper Example Disney should use advertising research and brand equity research, demand estimation and buyer decision research. As a basis of gaining intelligence, marketing research can be wasteful as well as useful. Besides limiting risk, marketing research is itself a genuine business risk, but one that must be undertaken. To have the best chance of success, it must be conducted by people who have a solid understanding of company needs as well as the needs of customers. It requires effective communication between top management and the research staff, and a management willing to overcome biases and predispositions in order to institute programs based on research findings (Hollensen, 2007). The utilization of computer technology, coupled with better research techniques, has greatly increased the facts available. But large masses of data can also prove to be disruptive. Managers can be inundated with facts. Marketing management is thus challenged to develop an integrated marketing information syst em to provide the intelligence and knowledge required for both short-term marketing goals and longer-range company needs, in order to eliminate unnecessary data. In addition to marketing research in any company, related manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, marketing research agencies, advertising agencies, trade associations, governmental agencies, universities, financial institutions (including banks), and chambers of commerce all provide useful research data and information for solving marketing problems. For instance, research agencies buy the data from supermarket chains and in turn sell data on the movement of food items through chain stores and their warehouses.

Proof Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Proof - Movie Review Example Proof happens to be really an extraordinary thriller that delves and elaborates on matters of heart and scholarship. The movie in a vivid manner elucidates the true ingenuity of a mathematical proof and the passion and emotion that is intertwined around it (Ross, 2011, p. 57). The hallmark of the movie is that it does succeed in creating a lifelike landscape of a university campus and the action and life inherent in it. The movie delves on its theme in a simple and lucid manner, without requiring the viewer to have any knowledge of mathematics. A Few Good Men tends to be an extraordinary movie that manages to tell a story that is both conventional and compelling, without resorting to any wastage of images or words (Valenti, 2000). The screenplay in the movie happens to be a good one that is directed with care, very much like Proof and the acting in the movie tends to commensurately support the story line. A Few Good Men indeed misses the intellectual weight of Proof, however it more than compensates for this lacking by presenting moving clashes of will marked by terrific buzz cuts. The direction of the movie is masterly that successfully manages to blend the plot and the characters to give way to a movie that really resonates with energy and passion. The crux of the movie lies in the court room drama it presents, which makes it watchable and praiseworthy. A Few Good Men has all the ingredients of a conventional Hollywood blockbuster that are an intelligent story line, loads of entertainment, and the lurking charisma of a p restigious and celebrated star cast. It goes without saying that it is very difficult to forget this movie. If Proof stands out by the dint of its emotive and intellectual capacity, if A Few Good Men comes out as a movie marked by drama, energy and passion, Chicago stands out by the worth of the incessant dazzle it accommodates that turns out to be somewhat depressing at times. The song and dance sequences in the movie rather than turning out to be spectacular actually come out as being callisthenic and too planned. The tone of the movie till the very end stands out to be facetious. Too much of razzle-dazzle in the movie may leave the audience tired and depressed, much contrary to the poignancy and focus surrounding Proof and A Few Good Men. However, each and every musical number in Chicago builds up to such a frantic scale that it may force the audience to clap. Overall the movie lacks the gravity and moral framework inherent in Proof and A Few Good Men. Hamlet is indeed an apt cin ematic version of Shakespeare’s famous play. Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet is indeed compelling and handsome that brings out this tragedy emphatically alive on the screen. Though the movie may not be perfect yet it is deeply engrossing. The plot indeed manages to bring to life the vengeance, passion, blood, gore and sweat that define the original play and thereby Hamlet is indeed unlike all the movies discussed till now. Barnagh successfully manages to enter the heart of the character and thereby portrays a character that is both roving and deep and that successfully manages to hold the audience in thrall. Hamlet unlike the other movies is a movie marked by a tremendous ambition and its budget is indeed commensurately ambitious. The movie is indeed gorgeous to look at and many of the performances in the movie are really remarkable. The Full Monty indeed supersedes Proof and A Few Good Men in terms of the setting creation which is as expected happens to be the Sheffield of t he nineties. The acting and the design departments have indeed done a wonderful job and the movie managed to be a commercial

Dissertation outline(please help me think of a title related to CSR Outline

Dissertation (please help me think of a title related to CSR with extractive industries) - Outline Example companies that are engaged in the business process of extracting materials, minerals and metals from the surface of the earth for further processing and commercial use. It has been observed under the review of literature that the extraction companies are mostly listed in the Canada and there has been an increase in the investments of these companies in both the domestic as well as the overseas markets. In recent years, the multination investment in the extraction industries like oil and gas, mining, etc. have increased at an average rate in the US and UK. On the other hand, the multinational investments in the countries of Asia and Africa as well as the developing economies have increased multiple folds. While this represe4nts a win-win situation for the multinational investors in the extraction sector and the economies that are rich in the mineral and resources as their primary industrial sector, there is a gap in the literature which suggests that the multinational companies invest ing in the extraction industries have often faced complex situation and challenges in running their business in the extraction sector (Abdel-Fatau, 2002, p.16). The review of literature suggests the Canadian financial market are the largest sources of equity capital for the mining and exploration industry and the expenditure of the Canadian based extraction industry accounts for almost 43% of the total expenditures by the companies in the extraction industry all over the globe. However, with the increasing performance of the extractive industries, the multinational investments have started flow into the developing countries. Although the extraction industries have been playing a major role in stimulating the growth of the host countries, there are several social and environmental challenges faced in their course of operations. It has been found that the extraction industries have performed the role of CSR on an increasing trend while operating in the overseas markets. In order to

Role of the US Financial System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Role of the US Financial System - Essay Example The financial system consists of two types of markets: the money markets and the capital market. The money markets are financial assets with a maturity date of one year or less. The most influential of all money market instruments which provides liquidity to the system are treasury bills. Treasury bill are 90 day maturity short term bills which pay the investors a modest interest rate for of approximately 4-5% for borrowing money to the government (Jsj, 2007).. Treasury bills are sold in the public market by investors and are considered a risk free proposition for investors since the assets is guaranteed against the US treasury reserves. The government along with the federally issued T-bill also sales other types of financial instruments in the money and capital markets. The government sells a lot of government bonds in order to finance governmental expenses such as making infrastructure improvements, capital projects, and cover emergency expenses among other uses. Bonds are sold by the federal, state, municipal government, and state agencies to acquire funds to finance their operations. The capital market takes place in stock exchanges around the world. The United States has many stock exchanges including the world most powerful exchange called the New York Stock Exchange. Another powerful exchange is the over the counter market of NASDAQ. In the stock market industry there have been a lot of mergers between international exchanges joining forces to gain power. In the floor of the stock exchange the brokers make purchases and sales of common stock, preferred stocks, futures, options, bonds among other types of financial instruments immediately after a client places an order. The stock market and the exchanges in which activity takes place are an economic market structure that is considered a perfect competition. In a perfectly competitive market the market reacts to new information immediately and

Leadership and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Leadership and Management - Essay Example Secondly issues of gender equality and gender abuse have taken place in the company which has caused the staff to show their disregard towards the other employees. Along with these cases of racial discrimination has also been reported in the company. Thirdly, the new team leader had been keeping the employees on their toes and the team members are not happy with the way she is ordering the employees at odd hours of the day. Key role players The Key role players in Malin Global are Hugo Friennes, the CEO of the company, Marina Guedeline, the head of the London Operations, Geraldine Highmore, who was newly recruited by Marina for a period of two year for looking after the administrative infrastructure of Marina Global, and Li Piung Ho who has been appointed as the team leader. All of these four people have some significance in the decision making of the company as well as in the day to day activities. Leadership Styles of the key stakeholders In the case of Malin Global the different p eople in the various positions have exhibited different style of leadership. First of all Hugo Friennes has shown a Delegative Leadership style. This is because at the time when he had decided to shift to New York he had entrusted the duty of the London office with the new employee Marina Guedeline. The CEO did not interfere into the activities of the London office when such problems arose. Therefore it is an example of delegation of the duties. On the other hand Marina has exhibited a participative leadership style (Porter and Lawler, 1968, p. 71). The London head, Marina had to handle various adverse situations in which she had always tried to discuss the issues with the concerned employees. Marina has shared the responsibility, control and decision making with the employees with whom she has been working (Bradley and Frederic, 1997, p. 337). She had not imposed any decision on the others and has tried to personally address the problems of the employees. However, Geraldine Highmor e and Li Piung Ho both have demonstrated authoritative behaviour. Geraldine has been looked upon as someone who is extremely outdated and who imposed her decisions on the others. This was the perception of the younger employees. On the other hand Li was perceived as an annoying team leader who would always call up the team members for getting the work done even when the employees would be out of office or on a holiday. This kind of work culture that Li was injecting into the organisation was also not acceptable (Carver and Scheier, 2001, p. 460). The most acceptable style out of these was the participative or the Democratic type of leadership. This is because all the employees could communicate their problems to the participative leader rather than the remaining ones. While the CEO and the Head of London Operations have shown a Transformational style, the Team lead and the Administration manager showed a Transactional style in which the employees had to accept the authority of the l eader. The authoritative attitude was not acceptable to the organisation where mostly the young people work. So a more collaborative attitude towards the employees would be appropriate for handling the different issues arising. The top management has to look into all the issues and not keep it only to one manager to handle it. Marina has shown a supportive style of management getting the employees more involved

Food Insecurities Essay Example for Free

Food Insecurities Essay Have you ever seen a person yell at his colleague or his partner, overreacting on a particular matter that has caused not only the person who got yelled at to feel annoyed, but also third parties who know about it or have witnessed the scene? For the many who do not wish to get into the mess, or has enough logic sense to not judge immediately, they will most likely give out a fair statement and try to reason out that person’s overreaction by saying he probably had a bad day or he probably has dilemma at home. However, if we take a bit closer and look closely, all of us will eventually realise that it all goes down to one matter; insecurity. Insecurities are not something new and unfamiliar to the human kind. Everyone has insecurities, regardless of whether they realise it or not. The Oxford Dictionary defines insecurity as the uncertainty or anxiety about oneself or lack of confidence. Insecurities exist in every living soul on this planet. Till today, it is still seen as a negative matter as not many have addressed this issue in proper ways using proper mediums. Most parents don’t even talk about it and shove it away when their children decide to speak up about it. Little do people know that the slightest things in life are the ones that add up to our insecurities. The amount of insecurity in a person differs from one to the other. The types of insecurities that one possesses also vary. The most common type of insecurity is physical insecurity. Let’s face it; human beings are never satisfied. Even when you have all the parts of the body needed to sustain and go through your daily routine with ease, you still beg for more. Some want healthier and shiner hair, some want to be taller, but most importantly, everyone wants something. It is not just human beings as an individual who face insecurities, but also countries and states. Currently, the world is looking at the issue of food insecurity, which is also classified as a type of insecurity. Food security may be said as the availability of food and one’s access to it. Hence, the United Nations have defined food security as all people at all times having both physical and economic access to the basic food they need. For more than 2 billion of people on this planet, they are lucky to not worry about this form of insecurity. However, we might not realise this but this matter is more complicated than it seems. Food securities may result from many different causes. It is imperative that we focus on why are the food insecure, and why are the people are food insecure. Among the most common causes of food insecurities are drought and extreme weather changes. This setback, which is very commonly faced by third world countries, usually ranges from overnight floods to droughts. In short, the climate changes faced by these countries are extreme. In most African countries, like Nigeria, droughts are not new to them. It has been a setback since the time of their ancestors; nonetheless, they are helpless at it and have no comeback on solving this matter. In many comparisons throughout time, some of the most severe food crises were all preceded by drought or by other similarly extreme weather events. These extremities result in poor and failed harvests which in turn results food scarcity and high prices of the available food. As mentioned in the Climate and Development Knowledge Network report entitled ‘Managing Climate Extremes and Disasters in the Agriculture Sectors: Lessons from the IPCC SREX Report’, such force of nature causes impacts which will include not only food insecurity, but changing productivity and livelihood patterns, economic losses, and impacts on the infrastructure. Besides that, the natural resource base for the poor and food-insecure is invariably narrow and, in many areas, fragile. With the exception of Uganda only 4 to 10 percent of the land area is classed as arable, and just a small area of land suitable for rainfed cultivation. The greatest numbers of poor people are concentrated in the arid and semi-arid ecosystems and on marginal land in the higher rainfall parts of the region. It has become axiomatic to say that poverty is one of the main causes of environmental degradation. This can be seen all too clearly in the farming of steep slopes, which takes place as an increasing population is forced to cultivate marginal land. The falling crop yields that characterize the marginal areas are a result of the loss of massive quantities of topsoil throughout the region, declining soil fertility as fallow systems are replaced by continuous cultivation, reductions in soil organic matter as manure is burnt for fuel, and shrinking holding sizes. However, the poor are also the most vulnerable to environmental degradation because they depend on he exploitation of common property resources for a greater share of their incomes than richer households do. In the rangelands, the evidence for long-term secular environmental degradation is ambiguous. The successive cyclical growth and decline of herds reflects cycles of rainfall and rangeland productivity, and is perfectly normal. As animals die in large numbers, the rangelands recover remarkably quickly. However, when there i s a major drop in the number of animals, the people who depend on them for their livelihoods also suffer. Development programmes that have sought to increase animal production on rangelands through water development and animal disease prevention have all too often failed to find, at the same time, sustainable ways of increasing animal nutrition, so the resulting increased numbers of animals may wreak havoc on the range itself. Many of the available freshwater resources are in river basins and lakes that extend beyond the boundaries of individual nations. Shared water resources include lakes Victoria, Albert, Edward, Kivu and Turkana and major rivers such as the Blue Nile, White Nile, Atbara, Awash and Shebele. The potential for developing irrigation from these sources is constrained by the problem of achieving agreement on sharing the resources and avoiding conflict. Although natural climatic factors have played their part in the process of desertification, in general, it is increased population and the related development of unsustainable production systems that have had most negative impact on the fragile natural resource base. Wood and manure have remained the main sources of domestic energy, even in urban centres. This situation has contributed to depleting the forest and range resources, resulting in an overall decrease in biomass and biodiversity, reduced water infiltration and increased runoff and soil erosion. These factors, which contribute to the impoverishment of ecosystems, have led to a vicious circle of environmental degradation, lower system resilience to erratic rainfall, decreased agricultural productivity and increased poverty and food insecurity. Not only that, the cause of food insecurity in these third world countries are also caused by the poor state of development and maintenance of roads and transport, energy sources and telecommunications in the marginal areas of countries in the Horn of Africa makes it difficult for these areas to become integrated into the national and regional economy. As with all other indicators of development, the countries of the region have some of the worst figures worldwide with respect to access to roads and water supply. A recent report suggests that, in terms of access to infrastructure, the gap between Africa and the rest of the world has widened over the past 15 years. The sparse road and communications network hampers emergency relief operations as well as the commercialization of the rural economy. The density of the road network in the countries of the region gives an idea of both how difficult it is to reach people in rural areas with services and the problems such people face in participating in the market economy. For example, in Ethiopia, every kilometre of road serves 72 km 2 and 3 000 people, compared with only 8 km 2 and 850 people in North Africa. Even after strenuous efforts by development agencies and NGOs, access to a clean water supply is still an unobtainable luxury for most rural inhabitants in the Horn. Piped systems are uncommon in rural areas and protected wells and hand pumps are the best that rural communities can expect. The burden of collecting water, as with so many other menial tasks, falls almost exclusively on women in the communities, who must spend many hours each day collecting water from unsafe sources. The statistics on access to water and sanitation reveal wide differences within the region. In three countries, namely Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, only one-quarter of the population has access to safe water, and in two others (the Sudan and Uganda) the figure is less than 50 percent. Access to sanitation is as low as 13 percent and, except for Kenya, barely exceeds 50 percent anywhere. In addition to that, the indicators of access to social services in the countries that face the setback of food insecurity are also among the lowest in the world. While the average figures are bad enough, they mask fundamental inequalities in access to services within the region. Again, rural areas, especially remote, low-potential areas are the least well served. Nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralists are the most difficult populations to provide services to and, consequently, they are invariably the ones with the poorest health services and least education. All these indicators, combined with malnutrition and poor access to safe water, have adverse consequences for productivity and for the long-term physical and cognitive development of people in the region. Also, let us not forget the fact that crop and plants as well face diseases. Diseases affecting livestock or crops can have devastating effects on food availability especially if there are no emergency back-up plans in place. For example, an epidemic of stem rust on wheat which was spreading across Africa and into Asia in 2007 caused major concern. A virulent wheat disease could destroy most of the world’s main wheat crops, leaving millions to starve. The fungus had spread from Africa to Iran and may already be in Pakistan. A different threat, on the other hand, has attacked the African continent’s second biggest crop; wheat. In 1999, 50 years since the last outbreak, a contemporary and virulent strain of stem rust attacked the Ugandan crops. Its spores then travelled to Ethiopia and Kenya, before appearing in Iran last year. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nation (FAO) has given warning to six other countries in the Central and South Asia to be prepared and keep an eye for symptoms of this new strain while scientists in the United States of America are working diligently in searching for a resistant that combats this problem. It is important that the remedy for this will be obtained quickly as in India alone; more than 50 million small-scale farmers are at risk because they depend on wheat for their food and earnings. Most importantly, we must not overlook that politics and dictatorship also play a role in food insecurity. Many do not realise that politics play a part in something as serious as this. As mentioned by Nobel Prize-winning economist Amarya Sen, â€Å"There is no such thing as an apolitical food problem. It is more often than not that the administration of the country that determines its severity, or even whether the famine will occur. If truth be told, the 20th century is full of examples of governments undermining the food security of their own nations. Let us take a look at Nigeria, Africa’s most densely inhabited state, where a legacy of corrupted governance and an economy based primarily on oil exports has left the agriculture sector significantly undermined, leaving millions of N igerians in deep hunger. True, the neighbouring countries export food to Nigeria in exchange for money, but remember; the people in these neighbouring countries need food too. And they are much poorer than those living in Nigeria. It was reported by the United Nations that thousands of children in countries neighbouring Nigeria died because of malnutrition. These kids paid the price not because of food shortage in their country, but because of food shortage in Nigeria. The distribution of food is often a political issue in most countries. The government will always give priority to urban areas and cities, since most influential and powerful families and enterprises are located there. The ruling government over and over again for generations overlooks the subsistence farmers and rural areas in general. In other words, the more rural an area, the less likely the government will pay attention to solving its needs. Whats more is that the governments of these countries would normally keep the price of basic grain at extremely low levels that subsistence farmers cannot accumulate sufficient capital to make investments to improve their production. Hence, they are prevented from getting out of their precarious situation. In addition, food has always been a political arsenal by the dictators and warlords, where they reward their supporters and deny food supplies to those areas that are against them. Under this condition, food has become more like a currency instead of a basic need that cannot be denied rights of. Food has become the money to buy support and used against the opposition. Even in Guatemala, income inequality is amongst the worst in the world, with indigenous communities at a disadvantage. In some areas, an estimated 75 percent of the children, ranging from infants to children ages six and seven years old, are severely malnourished. And this is a shocking statistic relating food scarcity coming from a country that is merely a four-hour flight away from the USA. Furthermore, it was pointed out in William Bernstein’s 2004 publication entitled ‘The Birth of Plenty’ that individuals without property will lead to starvation and it is much easier to bend the fearful and the hungry to the will of the state. If a farmer’s property can be arbitrarily threatened by the state, that power will inevitably be used to intimidate those with different political and religious opinions. It is fundamental and crucial that we understand and be aware of the consequences of this global food scarcity. The effects might be similar to the effects of malnutrition and hunger, where, at the outset, the human population will be affected greatly in the sense where stunted growth may occur. The stunting starts in when the baby is still in the mother’s womb and happens till the age of three. Once stunting happens, giving proper nutrition to these helpless children will not help in reversing the damage or improving the child’s condition. Pregnant mothers who do not receive the correct amount of nutrition needed may risk of having a higher chance of infant and child mortality later on, which is, of course, a very heartbreaking circumstance. Apart from that, severe malnutrition during one’s early childhood also leads to defects in cognitive development. Stunted individuals also have a higher chance of getting diseases and illnesses as compared to those who have not experienced stunting. It must also come to the attention that food insecurity is also associated with various developmental consequences for children in the United States. A research was conducted by Diana F. Jyoti, Edward A. Frongillo, and Sonya J. Jones to prove that food insecurity is linked to specific developmental consequences for children, and whether these consequences may be both nutritional and nonnutritional.

Valentine And Sonet Poems Essay Example for Free

Valentine And Sonet Poems Essay Same theme different historical context: The poem, Valentine, written by Carol Ann Duffy and the Sonnet XLIII, written by Elizabeth Barret Browning are both written by women and are based on the same theme, which is describing love for someone, but they are written with different historical context. Valentine is written in quite a modern way, with some very modern references, for instance by describing love as An Onion instead of a red rose or a satin heart, these are modern references which perhaps would not have been used many years ago. Whereas Sonnet XLIII is a more traditional poem, which appears to have a more romantic theme, no one would ever have thought of comparing love to such a smelly item as an onion many years ago. The Browning poem appears to have some intense descriptions of how someone is loved, for instance, I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach This appears to be showing intense passion and love, trying to relate it to such extremes of where a soul can reach. In Duffys poem, she talks more freely about love and is comparing love to an onion. She says, I give you an onion, its fierce kiss will stay on your lips, possessive and faithful; This shows that real love can leave its mark on your lips like how the taste of an onion does. This appears to be a really bizarre thing to compare love to, it is also a really unusual way of thinking, and I think that this shows how views and values of love have changed over the century. Over a century ago, love would have been described in more traditional ways such as quoting feelings in the poem, as Browning does, for instance she writes: I love thee to the level of every days most quiet need, by sun and candlelight The actual wording of Sonnet XLIII shows a more traditional language also by using words such as thee and phrases such as in my old griefs these words and phrases are not normally used in modern language now. STAGE ONE manner of the poem-relationships of poet to the reader The Valentine poem by Duffy appears to be a more informal and relaxed style of relaying the thoughts of love and it appears that the writer is trying to establish a more thoughtful way for the reader to think of love. By quoting something as unusual as an onion, which would not normally be associated with love in any particular way, it makes the reader really perhaps look at an onion in a different light, noticing that it does have an inner beauty, beyond the ugly brown skin, she quotes I give you an onion, it is a moon wrapped in a brown paper, and it promises light.. This is making to reference beauty being more than skin deep. The Sonnet XLIII by Browning is a much more structured poem and is more formal. It is not comparing love to a physical object; it describes the feeling of how much love the writer is feeling and also to what extent. The poet is trying to describe her innermost feelings to the reader and also trying to describe the extent of her love by using emotions, she writes I love thee freely.. and I love the purely.. and also a phrase beginning In my old griefs, these are personal feelings and not based on an object like the Valentine poem. Tone and atmosphere The Valentine poem has a most unusual tone to it. It is quirky in the sense that it uses a most unusual item to be associated with love. It is unique in itself for that same reason and for the way it breaks down the parts of an onion and relates that to how love can feel, it says Here. It will blind you with tears That is showing how strong the sensation of love can be and relating it to the power of an onion being able to make you cry. This poem does not try to be sensational in any way, but in its own right is sensational because it makes you think about something, which is so opposite to love and yet also as powerful as love in its own way. It says Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips forever This poem does not use the clichà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s often associated with love and this makes the poem quite unique, when you think of a love poem many people would generally think of hearts and roses amongst many other things, but not an onion! It says, Its scent will cling to your fingers, cling to your knife This is showing the intensity of love and it can sometimes take over, being quite clingy. Brownings Sonnet on the other hand is a traditional love poem, it describes feelings to the reader, it says I love thee purely, as they turn from praise. I love thee with the passion put to use The poem appears to have a desperate need to show how deep the writers love is, it seems to try to stretch to many extremes to describe this and even wants the love to get better after death, it says, Smiles, tears of all my life and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death. This is a more clichà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½d love poem, in the sense that it uses the niceties in life to describe love, it says I love thee to the level of every days most quiet need, by sun and candlelight it is also clichà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½d as it uses general emotions associated with love such as smiles and tears. STAGE 2 poetic devices In Valentine, there was clever use of an onion as an extended metaphor . The onion was compared to love in many ways, it suggested that there was a moon under the brown skin of the onion, this was making the reader thinking maybe of something beautiful lying under ugly clothing. It said that the onion would blind you with tears again this was showing and relating to how powerful an onion secretly could be and that the power of love could be as strong. It said that the fierce kiss of an onion would stay on your lips, possessive and faithful, just like the power of love can be. It also said that the scent of the onion would cling to your fingers and knife, again this shows how powerful love can be and not easy to shake off once there. It said it is the moon wrapped in brown paper, it promises light like the careful undressing of love By this the writer meant that on the outside the onion appears ordinary and quite thick skinned, but as the layers of the outer skins are peeled off, bit by bit the layers get thinner and you begin to see the inner brightness and beauty of the onion, this is trying to show that inside us all there is an inner beauty no matter if the outside is a bit tatty, you sometimes just have to peel back the layers to find it that inner beauty. The imagery that she is using here is quite a romantic type, peaceful and loving. She relates to the onions layers descending in size its platinum hoops shrink to a wedding ring Again I think here she is referring to the silvery skin inside the onion and eventually finding the right layer which is comfortable as a wedding ring this is just finding the right level inside each other that we are comfortable with. In Sonnet XLIII, Browning uses imagination and emotion as her imagery. She refers to the Sun and candlelight instead of saying day and night, quite a romantic way of writing it. She states that she loves freely, purely and with passion, these are all very emotional and deep internal feelings. She states I love thee each time to make each sentence a personal one and directed independently to the reader. Browning makes references to religion by referring to her lost saints, referring to loved ones who have passed away and also she says If God choose, I shall but love thee better after death This refers to the fact that she believes in God and the powers he has and the way he can influence your life and the fact that she believes in an afterlife and that God also can influence what happens there too! I believe that her religion gives her great strength and great beliefs and encouragement and this is shown by how she writes I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach, when feeling out of sight. For the ends of being and ideal grace I love thee to the level of every days most quiet need, by sun and candle-light There are different structures between the two poems, which reveal the different views of the poets themselves. Duffys verse has a very irregular structure for a love poem, it does have some shape and she refers to the normal things associated with love poems, but she tries to show a different side to love by comparing it to something quite absurd. I think this shows that her thoughts on love are that no one should be judged and that love should be how each individual feels it should be. Also the fact that she compares love to an onion shows that she looks at things not just on the surface, but more deeply and sees inner beauty where you would least expect it. Brownings poem on the other hand is a structured poem, which would be typical of a Victorian woman. It shows a serious side to this woman and perhaps reflects the strict idealistic way of Victorian times. It is very thoughtful and deep and emotional which perhaps shows that this woman is a romantic in the true sense that she values the idealistic way that a relationship should be.

The Earth Charter and the Environment

The Earth Charter and the Environment According to (Vilela, Soskolne and McDermott,1997), Buddhist influence the creation of the Earth Charter as an enshrined in what is a brief document that embodies the values and ethical principles necessary for the sustainability of life on earth. Move on, Virtue Ethics is a trait deemed to be morally excellent and thus is treasured as a foundation of value and good decent beings. Personal virtues are characteristics valued as promoting individual and collection of wellbeing. This essay will highlight and relate the principles in the Earth Charter to the theory of virtue ethics. Moreover, it will also elaborate on how understanding of principles could help us to address and possibly alleviate an environmental issue in the Pacific. To begin with, the Earth charter starts with a preamble, provides context and articulates its four major principles: Respect and Care for the community of life, Ecological Integrity, Social and Economic justice and Democracy, non-violence and Peace (Earth Charter, 2013). Therefore, the principles assert the basic value of the ethical system of the Charter, is that all livingbeings have intrinsic value and that human beings possess an equal inherent dignity. Each being is understood to be a â€Å"teleological center of life† The moral attitudes that logically follow from these values are enumerated in Principles 1 and 2. Principle 1 asserts respectfor life and the inherent dignity of persons, and Principle 2 asserts care â€Å"Care for the community of life with accepting, consideration, and sweetheart.† Respect and Care for life and human dignity are the two fundamental moral attitudes required by the Charter. A moral attitude is an understanding and outlook toward othe r beings that structure specific moral response sand relationships. The values of intrinsic value and dignity require the moral attitudes ofhumans (Taylor, 1986). Respect and Care for life in general and for specific manifestations of life on different levels of relationship for instance on the human level, respect and care for persons. What follows from virtue ethics are duties to respond to others in particularways? Principles pertain to rights and duties that follow from, are necessary to actualize, one’s values. These duties are codified in terms of Moral Principles. The moralprinciples are abstract expressions of forms of conduct, of moral responses to the call ofthe other, which one commits to with the adoption of a moral attitude. The moral attitudes of respect and care commit one to certain modes of conduct embodied inprinciples on each level of relationship. A central part of the articulation of the cosmopolitan (Weed and McKeown, 1998) ethics of the Earth Charter is the explication of principles on each level ofrelationship. The four categories of principles in the Charter speak to these different levels of relationship. Stand ards of character, in turn, pertain to dispositions or character traits thatpre-dispose one toward particular choices and actions. They constitute moral resources that comprise one’s moral sensibility, which enables one to act in accordance with what one understands in principle to be right. One can understand what the right thing to do isbut not have the will to do it. Dispositions pertain to the will, the character, to do what is right. A disposition is a character trait that enables one to fulfill one’s responsibility, as defined in principle. In addition, standards of character also entail capacities to respond. As Jonathon Glover posits there are two broad categories of moral capacities: restraint from doing harm and sympathy. These moral resources Are capacities and characters of consciousness and of natural human inclination that enhance our capacity to morally respond to others? Mahatma Gandhi once said that, â€Å"Mother Earth has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed.† The Earth Charter: â€Å"Once basic needs have been met, human development is about being more not having more.† To understand the principles mentioned in the Earth Charter can only be successful if people are truly concerned about the nature. Therefore, the second half of the essay wills eexplain how an understanding of specific principles in The Earth Charter could help us to address and possibly alleviate one pressing environmental issue in the Pacific. â€Å"At the Planning and Policy for Ecosystem-Based Management Forum held in January 2010, senior natural resource managers from eight Pacific Island countries recognized the following serious environmental issues: sea-level rise and coastal engineering, availability of resources and data, population and socioeconomic change, greenhouse gases and climate change, land-based pollution, livelihood of people – food and land security, invasive species, sustaining fish stocks, outdated and conflicting policies and regulations and enforcement† (SPREP, 2010). However, as the Pacific mostly relies on sea therefore the populace advance is liable for further burden on the biomes almost universally; commercial mining is worsening these effects in various cases. Overexploitation for both subsistence and commercial use has caused severe reduction of numerous important food and profitable species. Species such as trochus, crayfish and turtles though are under some form of security an d regulations are also endangered. In addition, the second principle in the Earth Charter which states Ecological Integrity has to be completely and properly understood by every begin in order to alleviate the issue of Fish Stock Depletion and Coral Reef Degradation(SPREP, 2010). As the principle suggests to Protect and restore the integrity of Earths ecological structures, with concern for biological diversity and the natural processes that sustain life. According to it, we need to adopt to all levels sustainable development plans and regulations to make environmental conservation and restoration essential to all development advantages, establish and safeguard the Mother Nature and planet reserves, including wild lands and marine areas, to protect Earths life support systems, maintain biodiversity, and preserve our natural heritage. Promote the recovery of endangered species and ecosystems. Control and eliminate non-native or genetically modified entities are dangerous to intrinsic species and the environs, and preve nt primer of such harmful organisms. Accomplish the use of renewable resources such as water, soil, forest products, and marine life in ways that do not outstrip rates of redevelopment and that protect the wellbeing of ecosystems. Manage the removal and use of non-renewable resources such as minerals and fossil fuels in ways that minimalize depletion and cause no severe environmental destruction. Therefore, if we adhere to the laws of the nature we will be able to care and respect our nature. For example, there is certain law that has been implanted to protect the marine ecosystem. The first one is the ecosystem approach — comprehensive, scientifically substantiated and integrated approach to management of human activity to identify adverse impacts on the marine ecosystem and perform efficient measures for reduction of such impacts preserving integrity and sustainability of the ecosystem (Saeima, 2010). Secondly, the Convention on Protection of Nature in the South Pacific the aim of the Convention is to preserve, exploit and develop the natural resources of the South Pacific region through careful planning and management for the benefit of present and future generations (UNCLOS, 1982). To conclude, we need to realize these goals, we must agree to live with a sense of universal responsibility, recognizing ourselves with the entire Earth community as well as our native communities. We are at once the citizens of different nations and of one biosphere in which the local and global are interconnected. Everyone bonds responsibility for the present and future wellbeing of the human family and the larger living biosphere. The soul of human harmony and relationship with all life is wired when we live with respect for the secret of being, thankfulness for the gift of life, and modesty regarding the human place in nature. Once said â€Å"For human societies to achieve a productive, healthful, and sustainable relationship with the natural world, the public and private sectors must make environmental considerations an integral part of decision making† unquoted. BIBLIOGRAPHY Athanassoulis N, Environmental issues for Pacific Island countries www.gefcoral.org//environmentalissuesforpacificislandcountries.aspx Christopher, BA., Likens, GE., Rozzi, R., Gutierrez, JR., 2008 ,Integrating Science and Society through Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research, University Press, New York Elisa, A 2008, Personhood and Animals, Keele University, United Kingdom, pp.93-175. Emily. B, Aesthetic Character and Aesthetic Integrity in Environmental Conservation. Folse, Henry J., Jr, 1993 ,The Environment and the Epistemological Lesson of Complementarity, Aron Printers, Sydney. Hardship Vulnerability are Pressing Issues for Pacific Island Countries: World Bank, March 11, 2014 www.worldbank.org//hardship-vulnerability-are-pressing-i Ralph, RA 1994, Using and Abusing Nietzsche for Environmental Ethics, UK Publishers, London. Taylor, PW 1986, Respect for Nature: A Theory of Environmental Ethics Studies inMoral, Political, and Legal Philosophy, Princeton, N.J, Princeton University Press, p. 79. Weed DL and McKeown RE, 1998, Epidemiology and virtue ethics. International Journal of Epidemiology; pp. 27: 343 1

Cage in Heaven Essay -- Personal Narrative Descriptive Essays

Cage in Heaven Process writing: This was me when I was growing up in my little world. This was my feeling of pain, sorrow, and joy during my childhood. I felt all these emotions and more growing up in the busy Hong Kong City. Looking back at my childhood, I realized why I came to the United States. I adore my father and siblings for all the hard work they have done for me to come over. I realized the warmest and only love is that of a family. Hong Kong is six million hearts beating in rhythm. This pellet of land bustles with boiling commotion. Sirens scream like tea kettles. It is modern and prosperous, just like a little New York City of the Orient. The majority of people in Hong Kong hanker to live in loft houses of 3,000 square feet facing the fascinating skyline and immense harbor. Dreams of dreamhouses push the people deeper and deeper into their hard work, including my father. But beneath the city’s captivating surface, the noise of automobiles and prosperity overpowers thousands of sorrowful stories. Since poor people cannot afford the high rent prices, they have to jostle in bed-size apartments and partitioned rooms in the cocklofts of aged buildings. As I lived in Hong Kong, I should have been satisfied to have a 500 square foot big home. But, after my father left home, I found neither the eye-catching harbor view nor a vast house to be heavenly. Instead, a bed-size apartment on top of a dilapidate d building was my firmament. I gazed at my father, sister and brother from the corner. My eyes followed their weighty pace until their laden shadows disappeared at the end of the indistinct hallway. I was still very small at that time. I could not even reach the doorknob, so how could I under... ... my father. I didn’t long for life in a big house anymore. The world under the aged building was blossomy for those materialistic people who chased modernization. That world didn’t belong to me. Another world was waiting for me. That world was the cage in heaven where I could have family warmth. Steven made a reckless move for his family. For the same reason, my father went to New York to make a better living for his family. There was no abhorrence in my heart anymore. I felt so sorry for my father, and had to apologize because I had misunderstood him for the past 15 years. I stood near the cage in heaven again, appreciating the melody made by the factories, and I forgot the hullabaloo of the city below. I took out my cell phone and called. When I heard the voice that I wished was more familiar, I shouted out, â€Å"Papa, meet you in New York City soon!†

the call of the wild Essay -- essays research papers

The Call of the Wild, on the surface, is a story about Buck, a four- year old dog that is part Shepherd and part St. Bernard. More importantly, it is a naturalistic tale about the survival of the fittest in nature. Throughout the novel, Buck proves that he is fit and can endure the law of the club, the law of the fang, and the laws of nature. Buck had been raised in California, on the ranch of Judge Miller. There he had the run of the place and was loved and pampered by all. Unfortunately, one of the judge's workers had a gambling problem and stole Buck to sell him for fifty dollars. Buck fights being tied, caged, and beaten, but his efforts only frustrate him. He is put on a train and a boat, being shipped to Alaska to be used as a sled dog. Although he is miserable on the journey, Buck learns an important lesson - the law of the club. If he does not obey, he will be beaten. In Alaska, Buck is sold to become a sled dog. Intelligent and hard working, he quickly learns to adapt to his new life. He becomes a good sled dog, working as part of the team; he also learns how to protect himself from the miserable cold, burrowing under the snow, and how to find food, stealing if necessary. He also learns he must always be alert, for there are dangers everywhere. Additionally, Buck learns the law of the whip, for if he does not obey the driver or do his fair share of pulling, he will be popped. Buck also learns the law of the fang. Unlike the domesticated dogs at Judge Miller's ...