Global Environmental Change Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Global Environmental Change - Assignment Example (Tollefson, 2009, p. 29) The arctic holds an important place in the debatable issue of maintaining life on earth in a sustainable way. However, this discussion centres on the Arctic region itself and more precisely on depleting population of the arctic Polar Bears rather than the chain effect of the susceptible artic on the rest of the world. The last hundred years have witnessed an increase in global temperature by 0.6 degree centigrade. (Jenssen, 2006, p. 78) Moreover from 1976 the rate is even higher and unmatchable by any time encompassing past thousand years. The effect of such rise in temperature is most visible through the extent of ice melting in the high and mid altitude area. In less than fifty years the snow has decreased by 10%. (Jenssen, 2006, p. 78) For the survival of a species, the survival of its habitat and food source is of utmost importance. With the rise in global temperature the extent of ice will decline in the Arctic and so will its duration of frozen state, resulting in less area for the seals to stay and breed. Seals are the most important food source of the polar bear; so any effect on their population will directly reduce the food basket of the polar bears. It has also been observed that for large mammals any change in global temperature affects the juvenile survival rate. From this point of v iew both the seal and the bear are equally exposed to risk. Therefore the bear suffers from two sides - reduced present and future food source and reduced juvenile survival rate. Again the polar bear hunts on ground (solid ice). Any reduction of ice extent will leave the bear with smaller ground to catch seals. (Jenssen, 2006, p. 78) In front of global climatic change the arctic ice plate has also undergone changes in terms of thickness and has become fractured in many places. Furthermore the ocean now freezes in later part of the year and all these in a cumulative way are depleting the habitat of polar bear. (O’Neill et al, 2008, p. 1650).

Theme of loveliness Essay Example for Free

Theme of loveliness Essay John Keats is one of the prominent Romantic poets. His life encapsulates a lot of pain and suffering due to the loss of his family members and also his unrequited love for Fanny Browne. Anything in its authentic and original form can be regarded as beauty. Similarly, for Keats beauty is synonymous with Truth. It is in this pursuit of beauty that he completely forgets his pains and sufferings and also the world around him. Thus, he transcends into an imaginary world. Keats saw beauty in truth and truth in beauty. He never escaped the realities of life in pursuit of the beautiful visions of his imagination. Infact his imaginary visions are based on reality. n these lines the poet takes the Huge cloudy symbols as a threat to his clear love, which is connoted by the phrase, nights starrd face. A clear reference to the poets beloved is witnessed as the poet asserts fair creature of an hour. Here he is focusing on the fact that life is fleeting and the physical beauty and loveliness of his beloved would not last forever, neither would his love. This shows that he is a staunch believer of the inner beauty because it is immortal and it does not need camouflage as opposed to physical beauty. An Ode is addressed directly to Fanny Brawne namely To Fanny . Keats was head over heels in love with Fanny and was also engaged to her. In this ode, the poet is filled with passion for her but he is a victim of his beloveds neglection . Keats asks Fanny if she is really true to him. This question to the beloved substantiates Keats inclination towards the idea of beauty in truth. He also attributes her beauty by using the metaphor of snowy side which signifies the purity of Fannys heart. However, in the very next line he negates himself as he thinks that Fanny is also like other women who are similar to a feather in an ocean that is tossed by wind to any direction. The analogies that the poet draws for Fanny are drawn from nature that incorporates a romantic element which is an inevitable part of his poetry.

The Anti Social Behaviour Orders Criminology Essay

The Anti Social Behaviour Orders Criminology Essay For many years the law enforcement agencies have been criticised for using ineffective methods when dealing with badly behaved youth. These criticisms have led the Tony Blair government to take an action on the issue, and as a result the Anti-Social Behaviour Orders were introduced. The Anti-Social Behaviour Orders were originally introduced by the Crime and Disorders Act in 1998( Walklate 2007). Later on the Anti-Social Behaviour Orders were supported even further by the Anti-Social Behaviour Act which was passed in 2003 (Knepper, Doak., Shapland 2009) . Anti-Social Behaviour Orders can be explained as a concurrence between the police and the young person who have committed an offence which can be classified as anti-social behaviour. Any behaviour that causes a nuisance or disturbance to the people living in and around a surrounding area can be categorized as anti-social behaviour. Specific examples of anti-social behaviour include offences such as; graffiti, vandalism and causing e xcessive noise(McEvoy, Newburn2003). The Anti-Social Behaviour Orders punish the individual who has behaved anti-socially by restricting their behaviour in one form or another. For example an Anti-Social Behaviour Order can prohibit an individual who has behaved anti-socially from returning to a certain area or shop. Therefore it can be stated that these orders are issued hoping that it will prohibit the individual in receipt of the Anti-Social Behaviour Order from committing further anti-social behaviour offences by restricting their behaviours. Anti-Social Behaviour Orders are issued by the magistrates court.( ) The burden of proof for an Anti-Social Behaviour Order to be issued should be beyond reasonable doubt. This means that the claimant has to prove that the defendant who has been arrested had been behaving anti-socially. One limitation of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders is that they are seen as a solution after an individual commits an act of anti-social behaviour. Therefore Anti-Social Behaviour Orders are designed to punish rather than to prevent anti-social behaviour in the first place. For example statistics show that young children aged between six and nine years old learn to behave anti-socially through imitating teenagers behaviours in their community who acts anti-socially. As this is clearly stated in the statistics, rather than waiting for this age group to be influenced by their elders and get issued an ASBO things like after school clubs can be encouraged to prevent those children from behaving anti-socially. On the other hand in the statistics obtained it is indicated that anti-social behaviour orders are a successful solution in the sense that a teenager with an ASBO stays out of trouble and this reduces the youth crime rate. (Millie2009) This view has also been stated by the resident in areas affected by what is viewed as yobbish and anti-social behaviour. They have reported improvements in their neighbourhood when Anti-Social Behaviour Orders have been issued to young people who have committed acts of anti-social behaviour. However issuing an Anti-Social Behaviour Order to a teenager who behaves anti-socially leads them to be labelled in their community as a trouble maker. In some sense this prevents the individual to engage in with their daily life (Home Office 2008). In very few situations the individual who have been issued an Anti-Social Behaviour Order wants to improve their standard of life. In most situations the ASBO seems to have a big and long term impact on the young individuals lives. For example according to the survey of youth offending teams issuing an Anti-Social Behaviour Order to the young individual who behaves anti-socially leads them to have mental disorder problems such as depression, suicidal problems and personality disorder. The individual who has given an Anti-Social Behaviour Order goes into depression because they cannot carry on living as they used. On the other hand other some young individuals who behave anti-socially see getting an ASBO as an honour badge. So a young pers on who has an ASBO is pursued as having a higher rank in their what is so called gang by their friends. When talking about todays society media plays a big role, and like most of the issues that concern general public, media highly affects peoples views regarding teenagers who are behaving anti-socially( Clarke 2003). This can be linked with the theory of labelling and stereotyping. The news regarding anti-social behaviour is pursued by the media subjectively rather than objectively. These subjective views are then passed onto the public through media organs such news. For example the media puts across the view that most youngsters who behave anti-socially are children who have a working class background. When this view is stated in the media it leads to stereotyping of all the working class youngsters. Pursuing this particular group as trouble makers leads them to not being given equal chances in life when compared with youngsters who are not included in this stereotyping. This is where the strain theory comes in (Treadwell 2006).The strain theory suggests that the crime is the result of individuals being blocked in terms of mainstream society from reaching certain goals and under the consequent strain they seek deviant or criminal ways to reach those goals. In a way it would fair to say that, these stereotyping views of the society leads young individuals to commit acts of anti-social behaviour. Another criticism of the Anti-social Behaviour Order is that these orders have introduced many new criminal offences. More criminal offences mean that young individuals are more likely to commit criminal offences (Squires 2008). However it is noted in the drafting of the Anti-social Behaviour Order Bill that getting only one ASBO issued for an individual does not mean they get a criminal record. This can be scored as a good point for the Anti-social behaviour Order scheme, as criminalising young people just for a minor offence will mean, they will have a bad criminal record all their lives. However if the terms of the Anti-Social Behaviour Order is broken then the individual faces a criminal conviction which can result in with an up to five years of imprisonment. One of the few positive perceptions towards the Anti-social Behaviour Orders is that they do not cost the government too much. For example if an individual who had committed an act of anti-social behaviour was to be tried and convicted by the courts instead of taking proceedings to issue an Anti-Social Behaviour Order this would cause the government to waste more of their budget on youngsters who are behaving anti-socially.(Knepper 2007) For example after the young individual was sentenced and sent into the prison, there would be additional costs to keep them in the jail such as to provide food for them. Another strength of the Anti-social Behaviour Orders is that some people see them as a fast and efficient system to resolve anti-social behaviour in the community. On the other hand others believe that Anti-social Behaviour Orders on their own is not enough to prevent a youngster from re-offending. A more effective move towards anti-social behaviour can be taken through multi-agency approach. For example once an individual is issued an Anti-social Behaviour Order they should also be sent to rehabilitation programmes to make sure that they do not re-offend. Along side of this they should be sent to do community work to improve these young people perceptions and the way they see the world. Sending these young offenders to do community work will also improve their relationships with other individuals from the community and this might be a more permanent solution than just issuing an Anti-social Behaviour Order. Although there are some positive sides to the Anti-social Behaviour Orders, it can be concluded there are more negative sides to it. Therefore it would be right to conclude that the scheme of Anti-social Behaviour Orders needs a serious reform, in order to resolve the problem of highly rising anti-social behaviour rate. Home Office (2008) Anti-Social Behaviour [online] available from http://www.asb.homeoffice.gov.uk/uploadedFiles/Members_site/Documents_and_images/About_ASB_general/EconSocialCostASB_0142.pdf [10 July2010] Clarke .D (2003) Pro-social and anti-social behaviour .Routledge Squires P. (2008) ASBO nation: the criminalisation of nuisance The Policy Press .London Knepper .P (2007) Criminology and social policy Sage London Millie .A (2009) Anti-Social Behaviour .McGraw-Hill McEvoy.K, Newburn.T (2003) Criminology, conflict resolution and restorative justice .Palgrave Macmillan Walklate. S (2007) Understanding criminology: current theoretical debates .McGraw-Hill International Knepper. P, Doak. J, Shapland .J(2009) Urban crime prevention, surveillance, and restorative justice: effects of social technologies Crc Press London Treadwell .J (2006) Criminology , Sage London

The Story of the Pineapple Essay -- Botany

The Story of the Pineapple After the discovery of America, new food plants became known to European people. The pineapple symbolizes balmy tropical lands and leisurely life on tropical islands. The pineapple, as well as other agricultural crops such as maize, potatoes, beans, peanuts, and tobacco, originated in America and were unknown to people of the old World. The story of the pineapple falls into three distinct periods. The first period precedes the discovery of America and goes back into the antiquity of South America where the pineapple is believed to have developed. There is very little information about it during this period but it is known that the pineapple was already being cultivated and widely distributed through inhabited areas of the American tropics. The second period, covering about 400 years, extends from 1493 to 1900 when Columbus first saw pineapples on the Island of Guadeloupe in the West Indies. The third period, beginning in 1900, is characterized by the industrial development of pineapple production and canning around the world, making the canned fruit available to people living in nontropical countries. Wild pineapples are still to be found in parts of tropical America in which they are small fruited, inferior in eating qualities, and extremely seedy. To eat a pineapple full of these seeds is like trying to eat one of our present day seedless fruits containing one thousand small bits of gravel. It was believed that long periods of propagation of a domesticated species would result in the plant losing its ability to produce seeds. Actually there is no scientific evidence to this belief. Seedlessness usually appears in normal seed-bearing plants as a result of a mutation in the chromosomes... ...alting ocean water for domestic and agricultural use. Future changes and techniques will help utilization of additional land areas and supply more pineapples to people. Bibliography 1. Collins, J.L., The Pineapple, Leonard Hill Books Limited, New York, 1960. 2. Cook, A. A. 1975. Diseases of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits and Nuts, Hafner Press, New York, 3. Fisher, D.V. 1976.History of Fruit Growing and Handling in United States of America and Canada, Regatta City Press LTD., Canada. 4. Fraser, S.M.S. 1931. American Fruits, orange Judd Publishing Company, Inc. New York.. 5. Hartman, H. T. 1981. Plant Science, Prentice-Hall, Inc, New Jersey. 6. Simmons, A. E. 1972. Growing Unusual Fruit, Walker and Company, New York. 7. Williams, C.N. 1979. Tree and Field Crops of the Wetter Regions of the Tropics, Longman Group Ltd.

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BIS2311 Object Oriented Analysis and Design PORTFOLIO of Individual Performance M00377969 Shanaz Fatima Middlesex University, Dubai Contents Contents2 Contents in WEB Preview3 Assignments:4 Week 1 – User Requirements 14 Marks (out of 10) =4 Week 2 – User Requirements 24 Marks (out of 10) =4 Week 3 – Use Cases 14 Marks (out of 10) =4 Week 4 – Use Cases 24 Marks (out of 10) =4 Week 5 – Use Cases 34 Marks (out of 10) =4 Week 6 – Class Diagrams 15 Marks (out of 10) =5 Week 7– Class Diagrams 25 Marks (out of 10) =5 Week 8 – Consolidation5 Marks (out of 10) =5 Week 95 Marks (out of 10) =5 Week 105Marks (out of 10) =5 Week 116 Marks (out of 10) =6 Week 126 Marks (out of 10) =6 Week 13 – Consolidation6 Marks (out of 10) =6 Week 14 – Sequence Diagrams6 Marks (out of 10) =6 Week 15 – Consolidation6 Marks (out of 10) =6 Week 16 – Consolidation7 Marks (out of 10) =7 Week 17 – Resubmission7 Marks (out of 10 ) =7 Week 18 – Resubmission7 Marks (out of 10) =7 Week 19 – Resubmission7 Marks (out of 10) =7 Week 20 – Resubmission7 Marks (out of 10) =7 Own/Additional Work and Examples:8 Contents in WEB Preview Contents Contents in WEB Preview Assignments: Week 1 – User Requirements 1 Marks (out of 10) =Week 2 – User Requirements 2 Marks (out of 10) = Week 3 – Use Cases 1 Marks (out of 10) = Week 4 – Use Cases 2 Marks (out of 10) = Week 5 – Use Cases 3 Marks (out of 10) = Week 6 – Class Diagrams 1 Marks (out of 10) = Week 7– Class Diagrams 2 Marks (out of 10) = Week 8 – Consolidation Marks (out of 10) = Week 9 Marks (out of 10) = Week 10 Marks (out of 10) = Week 11 Marks (out of 10) = Week 12 Marks (out of 10) = Week 13 – Consolidation Marks (out of 10) = Week 14 – Sequence Diagrams Marks (out of 10) = Week 15 – Consolidation Marks (out of 10) = Week 16 – Consolidation Marks (out of 10) =Wee k 17 – Resubmission Marks (out of 10) = Week 18 – Resubmission Marks (out of 10) = Week 19 – Resubmission Marks (out of 10) = Week 20 – Resubmission Marks (out of 10) = Own/Additional Work and Examples: Assignments: Week 1 – User Requirements 1 Case Study: VFS Global helps governments and embassies process travellers’ visa applications securely and efficiently. The authorities outsource the administrative tasks involved to VFS Global. Its support work allows the relevant authorities to make decisions about issuing visas more quickly and process applications more cost effectively.VFS Global manages visa application centres for the UK Border Agency in UAE, where you should submit your completed visa application form, supporting documents and biometric data. You can also email or phone (call rates apply) the VFS Global call centre if you have a general enquiry about UK visas or the visa application process. |Visa applications may be submitted a t any of the ten application centers across India and Nepal. All applications are assessed | |at The Canada High Commission, New Delhi or the Consulate General in Chandigarh. |An interview, if required, can be conveniently scheduled at the application centre. | |All information required to apply for a temporary resident visa for Canada is available on this site. Please read the | |information carefully to expedite the processing of your application. | |If you have already applied for a visa, you can Track Your Application using our visa Application Tracker service. Biometrics | |will be collected using a quick, discreet and non-intrusive process that captures a 10-digit fingerprint scan with a digital | |finger scanner. |You should ensure that their fingertips are free from any forms of decoration (henna, for example), abrasions or other | |markings, and that any facial cuts and bruises have healed or disappeared prior to providing their biometric data as these may | |affect their a bility to provide acceptable finger-scans and photographs. | |Applicant who are physically unable to provide a fingerprint scan, will have to provide a medical certificate to support their | |claim Visa applications may be submitted at any of the ten application centers acrossIndia and Nepal. All applications are | |assessed at The Canada High Commission, New Delhi or the Consulate General in Chandigarh. | |An interview, if required, can be conveniently scheduled at the application centre. | |All information required to apply for a temporary resident visa for Canada is available on this site. Please read the | |information carefully to expedite the processing of your application. | |If you have already applied for a visa, you can Track Your Application using our visa Application Tracker service. | | | | | | | | |User Requirements: | |Suha: | |Record the applicants details | |Forward applicants details to UK Embassy | |Sana: | |Track applications | |Manage appointments | |Shanaz: | |Record Biometrics data | |Schedule appointment | |Assumptions: | |For point 2 the saved data by the back office is forwarded to the UK embassy | |For point 4 the appointments are managed by the STAFF i. e confirming the appointment of the respective applicant | |For point 6 the appointments are in regards to the applicants prior to the interview. | Marks (out of 10) = Feedback Notes: Asked to elaborate on the user requirements Week 2 – User Requirements 2 BIS2311 Object Oriented Analysis and Design Assignment 2 Distinguish BetweenMethod: A means or manner of procedure, especially a regular and systematic way of accomplishing something Methodology: A  methodology  is usually a guideline system for solving a problem, with specific components such as phases, tasks, methods, techniques and tools Life Cycles: is a process of creating or altering information systems, and the models and  methodologies  that people use to develop these systems Software development proc ess: A software development process or life cycle is a structure imposed on the development of a software product. There are several models for such processes, each describing approaches to a variety of tasks or activities that take place during the process. Methodology & modeling language: A modeling language is any artificial language that can be used to express information or knowledge or systems in a structure that is defined by a consistent set of rules.The rules are used for interpretation of the meaning of components in the structure Requirements: Sana: 1. Generate membership report 2. Process payment Shanaz: 3. Generate letters 4. Archive back up Suha: 5. Scan membership card to identify member 6. Archiving expired membership record. Assumptions For point 1 the membership report is an output For point 2 is the payment is only cash or bank statement For point 3 the letter are only emails Marks (out of 10) = Feedback Notes: Was asked to write assumptions Week 3 – Use Ca ses 1 Use case: sequence of actions carried out by the system to achieve some purpose that is meaningful for an external user or system.Actor: someone who directly uses the system. Use case diagram: diagram showing use case & actors and the associations between them. Functional requirements: requirements met by the system- with the scope of the system Non functional requirements: Context: A set of scenarios in which a set of objects are involved. Marks (out of 10) = Feedback Notes: Week 4 – Use Cases 2 Marks (out of 10) = Feedback Notes: Week 5 – Use Cases 3 Marks (out of 10) = Feedback Notes: Week 6 – Class Diagrams 1 Marks (out of 10) = Feedback Notes: Week 7– Class Diagrams 2 Marks (out of 10) = Feedback Notes: Week 8 – Consolidation Marks (out of 10) = Feedback Notes: Week 9 Marks (out of 10) =Feedback Notes: Week 10 Marks (out of 10) = Feedback Notes: Week 11 Marks (out of 10) = Feedback Notes: Week 12 Marks (out of 10) = Feedback Notes: Week 13 – Consolidation Marks (out of 10) = Feedback Notes: Week 14 – Sequence Diagrams Marks (out of 10) = Feedback Notes: Week 15 – Consolidation Marks (out of 10) = Feedback Notes: Week 16 – Consolidation Marks (out of 10) = Feedback Notes: Week 17 – Resubmission Marks (out of 10) = Feedback Notes: Week 18 – Resubmission Marks (out of 10) = Feedback Notes: Week 19 – Resubmission Marks (out of 10) = Feedback Notes: Week 20 – Resubmission Marks (out of 10) = Feedback Notes: Own/Additional Work and Examples:

DURATION SENSITIVITY AND PLA IN BONDS essays

DURATION SENSITIVITY AND PLA IN BONDS essays Subject: DURATION, SENSITIVITY AND PLA IN BONDS I would like to help some of you with a general explanation on how to calculate sensitivity and PLA in bonds. Many of you may know these but I prefered to send a general message. Please disregard this CM if The market factor (what generates the risk) in a bond, is the yield (the interest rate embedded in the investment). This means that the Position Sensitivity should relate to changes in yields. This then, multiplied by the volatility of the yields, would give us the PLA associated with the bond positions (expected portential loss if the To calculate the Position Sensitivity, first of all, you should know the "modified duration" of the bonds that you are holding. Duration is defined as the equivalent tenor in a bond, expressed in of a zero coupon bond (a bond that has only one payment at maturity and This means that for example, an investor should be completely indiferent to invest in a zero coupon bond of 2.25 years than in a 4 years bond say with annual principal and interest payment) with also a 2.25 years How to calculate this duration (also known as Macaulay duration): Let's suppose this bond's cash flow: ($100 bond with 4 equal annual principal payment and 10% interest rate Let's also assume that we bought at $96 (at discount), equivalent to a Coupons Disc at 12% % on price coupon tenor (1) * (2) Ppal+ Interest in years (1) (in years)(2) 1 25+10 = 35 31.25 33% 1 0.33 2 25+ 7.5= 32.5 25.91 27% 2 0.54 3 25+ 5 = 30 21.35 22% 3 0.66 ...

Edipo Rey, y La Metamorfosis essays

Edipo Rey, y La Metamorfosis essays Las tragedias de Edipo Rey, y La Metamorfosis tienen diferencias en cuanto a las situaciones, el tiempo y muchas cosas tcnicas, pero en general, estas dos historias tienen un tema muy parecido al de cada uno. La Metamorfosis, habla sobre un joven llamado Gregorio Samsa, que es adicto al trabajo, y en una de esas mandole sus oportunidades, y lo convierte en algo insignificante a la sociedad, y finalmente lo distancia de su familia. Gregorio se preocupaba mucho de su familia en muchas maneras pero especialmente econmicamente, el trabajo le era muy importante. La historia de Edipo Rey, cuenta sobre el anticipado destino trgico de una familia. El padre de Edipo, Layo, recurre a un orculo y este le cuenta sobre su futuro. Le dice que su hijo lo iba a matar a el, y se casarà ­a con su madre (Yocasta). Layo trata de deshacerse de su hijo, pero termina crindose en otra familia, que le cuenta sobre su destino. Edipo se escapa de ellos y trata de huir de su futura vida, pero al final lo que dice el orculo se hace realidad. Al final Yocasta se suicida, y Edipo se saca los ojos y se destierra. Gregorio y Edipo son dos protagonistas que tratan de huir su propia existencia trgica e incambiable, al darse por vencidos, sufriendo el castigo mas grande de cada sociedad. Los dos personajes en su forma de ser son muy similares. Gregorio era un muy buen hijo, y soportaba a la familia. Se preocupaba ms que cualquier otro sobre el estado econmico, e iba a trabajar en mayorà ­a por ellos. Edipo tambin mantenà ­a a la familia que lo adopto y era muy bueno con ellos. Son muy dedicados al trabajo y al deber, saben lo que tienen que hacer para mantener una vida estable. Los dos le tienen un temor que esta muy cerca de ellos y que no quieren que pase. Gregorio...

PTSD Sleep Disorders and Treatment Professor Ramos Blog

PTSD Sleep Disorders and Treatment There were 69,000 troops recruited into the armed forces last year. When veterans come home a percentage have long-term effects that haunt them daily and need to be treated by medical specialists. These issues include PTSD, depression and anxiety that make it hard to function as a civilian and lead to significant health problems. Many struggle to acclimate back into society with mental and physical issues that need to be addressed and treated. Studies regarding PTSD and sleep disturbances veterans experience and some treatments available for the issue, the effects for both the veteran and their families with quality of life as well as their relationships. Insomnia may be the most common among veterans with a complaint of sleep issues. Mood and anxiety result in lack of sleep with other psychological effects. Some can fall asleep but can’t stay asleep due to nightmares or just have difficulty falling asleep. In a study done my van -Liempt (470-471), shows the demographics of veteran involved and the issues they develop after being discharged. Other factors may play a part in how anxiety or stress levels but mainly due to PTSD disrupted sleep. Pre-deployment anxiety symptoms increase the risk in developing PTSD symptoms although all remain negatively affected. If REM sleep is disturbed or fragmented, nightmares may be triggered due to PTSD and lack of rest creating mental and physical distress. It may contribute directly to the development of PTSD disrupting the beneficial process of sleep on fear distinction. Those with nightmares may talk, scream or physically move and disturb their partner or create a hostile sleeping situatio n. Exhaustion may result in lack of sleep creating strain on relationships and personal life impacted and seclusion for the severely disturbed. There is a 75% to 90% increase in risk of a low quality of life including isolation, drinking, depression, suicidal ideation, and poor coping skills with basic life stressors are obstacles that veterans have to endure and overcome to live a normal life. Several studies report that female veterans with insomnia and probable PTSD had poorer sleep quality than veterans with insomnia alone. Combat veterans and their exposure to war zones endure mental trauma but women have the added possible sexual trauma in combat areas. For the young veterans who deal with sleep disturbances the cost is great both mentally and physically over their lifetime. They can be utilized for future studies for treatments options and data to reduce risk for veterans in the future. There are limited treatments for PTSD associated sleep disturbances. One possible option is explored in auricular acupuncture as described in Heather King et al. (582-590) being successful when studied in a small group of veterans with PTSD. Acupuncture increases endogenous opioid levels and melatonin and during interaction to promote sleep. There were no negative comments when the study was concluded. With a ninety five percent approval rating among those who were question one participant replied, â€Å"My sleep significantly improved due to acupuncture. I felt better rested and helped me concentrate on my days and I performed better on my daily activities†¦.(Heather King et al. pp.587). Although it is a primary study of a non-medication form of treatment. Although there are some with other severe issues that require medication and unclear if this treatment would work for them along with medication and psychiatric intervention. Medication is the first option given to veterans who suffer from PTSD and sleep disorders. Risperidone which is an antipsychotic drug may be prescribed for the more severe cases of PTSD. In the study conducted and reported by Daniella David et al. (489-491) nightmares shifted toward less trauma-replicating allowing better sleep. It did not cure or allow the participant to sleep consistently but may have eased some of the bad dreams decreasing the nighttime awakenings. There are many variables and case by case issues with treatments among the veterans with PTSD and sleep disorders. There may be more than one treatment that is required to alleviate the symptoms they experience. All require therapy and some need a sleep study to determine if a form of life support is needed. Medication is usually administered for a diagnosis of depression, hallucinations, suicidal ideation or insomnia. It is a combination of treatments to assist the veteran in being functional in life to assume the pursuit of the â€Å"American Dream.† Our veterans deserve to live a full, well adjusted and happy life when they return home from their duty in the service. Not all of us can volunteer for such a duty or aren’t as brave as the soldiers that continue to be part of this elite group of men and women. My husband is a combat veteran and has been diagnosed with PTSD once he returned home. Sleep is definitely a variable for him and at times it can affect me as well . Medication is a daily requirement and even so there are still effects that cannot be escaped or cured. New studies need to be conducted to explore alternative options for future veterans and those who still suffer from PTSD and sleep disorders. Winding down at the end of the day by taking a bath or avoiding coffee may help but the psychological trauma is what is most disruptive. The environment where they sleep should also be appropriate to feel comfortable and safe. Short naps throughout the day may keep from feeling so exhausted at the end of the day. The mental condition will never cease to exist and can be developed in more than this specific scenario. Sleep may be the only escape and unsuccessful attempts and nightmares create more issues that contribute to self-medicating such as drugs, alcohol or suicide. The Department of Veterans Affairs offers services and assistance of no- cost to veterans for those who seek help to resolve issues they may be suffering from. Accounts from veterans willing to share can be viewed at Meet the Connection website where Justin states at a certain point he walked into a VA and stated, â€Å"I need help immediately,† (maketheconnection.net).   He speaks of his life in chaos with relationships falling apart and suicidal ideation. Those who are willing to accept help and admit there is a problem can seek it through the VA system. Many go to individual and group therapy or may record their traumatic accounts and journal about their feelings. Their strength and resilience in and out of the service is part of what makes America great. Work Cited David, Daniella, et al. â€Å"Adjunctive Risperidone Treatment and Sleep Symptoms in Combat Veterans with Chronic PTSD.† Depression and Anxiety (1091-4269), vol. 23, no. 8, Dec. 2006, pp. 489-491 Hughes, Jaime et al. â€Å"Insomnia and Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Women Veterans.† Behavioral Sleep Medicine, vol. 11, no. 4, Sept. 2013, pp. 258-274 King, Heather C., et al. â€Å"Auricular Acupuncture for Sleep Disturbances in Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. A Feasibility Study. â€Å"Military Medicine, vol. 180, no. 5, May 2015, pp. 582-590 Straus, Laura D., â€Å"Sleep and Variability in Military-Related PTSD: A Comparison to Primary Insomnia and Healthy Controls.† Journal of Traumatic Stress, vol. 28, no. 1, Feb. 2015, pp. 8-16. Van Liempt, Saskia, et al. â€Å"Impact of Impaired Sleep on the Development of PTSD Symptoms in Combat Veterans: A Prospective Longitudinal Cohort Study.† Depression and Anxiety (1091-4269), vol. 30, no. 5, May 2013, pp. 469-474. https://maketheconnection.net/symptoms/trouble-sleeping Accessed 10/2018 Photo Credits Twitter.com/VA_PTSD-Info Eopssleep.com/2014/09/11/ptsd Medicalexpress.com/news/2018-3 Green, Peter S. Post-Traumatic Sleep Disorders Are the New PTSD. Published 10/19/2015 Nature Reviews/Disease Primers PTSD. Published 8,Oct 2015 Rachel Yehuda et al.

Emily Dickinsons Poems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Emily Dickinsons Poems - Essay Example In her scheme of things "poets" head the list of what is important in life-they come before "summer" or even "the Heaven of God" Perhaps, there really isn't really any need for a list. Just "poets" are enough, because "poets" comprehend (include) the whole", whether it is the summer sun or Heaven itself. If Genesis were to be re-written, we may presume that according to Dickinson, it would be a simple statement-'God created Poetry'. Poetry is a form of art with which she is hopelessly in love with. It is far superior to prose, because the poet dwells in the realm of "possibility", and not in a prosaic (note, the origin of the word 'prosaic'!) house of mere facts. The poet's house has more windows, and superior doors. This refers to the openness of the poet to ideas, a greater openness than that possessed by the prose writer. And, finally, in "I died for Beauty", Dickinson equates Beauty and Truth-in an echoing of the sentiments of another great poet who wrote, " Beauty is truth, truth beauty" (Keats) Beauty, which is Truth, is simply something worth dying for. Dickinson's poems express the universal truth so often experienced by creative people, that the human impulse to create is powerful, and transcends all. It does not look for reward or recognition, and even scoffs at death. It is an urge, which is an end in itself, and the artist (poet) is a vehicle of the Muse to this end of creation. Works Cited Primary Sources Dickinson, Emily Verse- Emily Dickinson- Complete Poems, retrieved 11th August 2007"I died for beauty" "I dwell in possibility" American Poems "Ireckon when I count it all." Keats, John The Oxford Book of English Verse, Ode on A Grecian Urn, retrieved 11th August2007 What connections have you made between literature and everyday life Margaret Atwood's Happy Endings is an interesting essay on how literature is a reflection of real life, and how to produce a 'good' story. She does not overtly give any rules for writing; she conveys through six scenarios (A to F) how to produce an interesting work. As protagonists in our own (real) life, the scenario that we would all love to live is Scenario A-a simple uncomplicated life. Who likes problems anyway We are forced to cope with problems because they come unbidden. But while a simple and uncomplicated life makes us happy, it hardly goes to make an interesting story. Even historians' chronicles give more importance to wars and famine and revolution. A peaceful period is often dismissed with the words, 'The reign of Queen

Economy of United Kingdom Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Economy of United Kingdom - Case Study Example Services, particularly banking, insurance, and business services, account by far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to decline in importance. GDP growth slipped in 2001-03 as the global downturn, the high value of the pound, and the bursting of the "new economy" bubble hurt manufacturing and exports. Output recovered in 2004, to 3.2% growth, then slowed to 1.7% in 2005 and 2.7% in 2006. " (Exxun.com, 2007) The Economy of the United Kingdom can be classified as the "capitalist" economy. The most prominent characteristic of the capitalist economy is the control of few people on a large amount of Capital. These people are also responsible for taking important economic decisions. With the changing international circumstances the Governments of the world including United Kingdom felt the need of restricting the use of power of a specific group of people for their own commercial interests. This intervention resulted in shape of the British economy which can described as a "mixed" economy, with government playing an important role along with private enterprise. Although British people often disagree about exactly where to draw the line between their beliefs regarding, both free enterprise and government management, the mixed economy they have developed has been remarkably successful. The natural resources are considered as the most important ingredient of a nation's economic system. The United Kingdom is blessed with enormous reserves of minerals. The fertile soil and the moderate climatic conditions effectively eke the farming process.The labour plays vital role in the growth of an economy. Higher level of working population is considered as an important indicator of a progressive economy. The labour market of the U.K has always remained competitive due to an abundant supply of productive labour. A unique characteristic of the labour force is diversity. The 20th century British labour force constituted Asians and Latin Americans as the major part. This supply of the immigrants in the British job market also resulted in some periods of high unemployment. Many of these immigrants provide their services on relatively lower wages as compare to the native citizens. With the abundant supply of labour and the factors of production the economic growth multiplied increasing the chances for immigrants to find more job opportunities (Conte & Karr, 2001). British economy was facing boom before being hit by the events of 9/11. The economy had fastest growth rate and the lowest unemployment rate which was kept low for thirty years to a level of 3.8% in 2001 but after 9/11 the unemployment rate rose to 6.4% in 2003 more than a million jobs were loss lost during that period. The Government has applied different policies in order to address the issues facing the economy. Govt. has been trying to stable the economy by using cutting of taxes and lowering the interest rates, but these options are for short-term period. There are also some long-term issues to be reviewed. The U.K. economy has benefited from privatisation of industry, free market policies and the development of its oil and gas sector, the largest in the EU. (The Galt Global Review, 2007) Speeding the recovery: For the policy makers the main issue was to accelerate the

The lottery Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The lottery - Research Paper Example They are to pick a paper from the black box and whoever picks the black marked paper is doomed to die. The story narrates that Mr. Hutchinson picked the marked paper so that out of all the villagers, each member of his family was to pick from the box to determine who will finally suffer the consequences of the tradition. Tessie Hutchinson, the wife, picked the marked paper and therefore was stoned to death. This may be very barbaric but â€Å"The Lottery† speaks more genuine concerns about tradition and how people treat it, than it looks to be in this retelling of the story. It also portrays literary elements such as point of view, setting, characters, plot and role of tradition in the story which will be discussed in detail in this paper. â€Å"The Lottery† is told by a third person narrator (Cencage) whose view of the characters is limited. The storyteller is not able to tell the thoughts of the characters but efficiently narrates the story by simply identifying the c haracters and describing them, their actions or their words and facial expressions. Cencage describes the manner of narration as â€Å"detached and objective† in recounting the events of the story. ... here the story was set, this day could be seen as a day when children would go out and play gleefully outside or it would be a wonderful day for families to go walking together or have a picnic in the park. According to Cencage, the 27th could a day when the solstice, the longest day of the year, occurs. It is said that traditionally, people sacrificed humans during the solstice and so the significance of this in the story cannot be easily dismissed as it soon eventually unfolds in the story that the winner of the lottery is going to be stoned to death. In an interview with the author, she was asked about how she came up with the story and she comments, â€Å"Perhaps the effort of that last 50 yards up the hill put an edge on the story. It was a warm morning and the hill was steep† (nothbennington.org). However, behind the setting are also characters which made the story come alive. The narrative presents most of the villagers as a group and they are not identified. There are many minor characters which have been mentioned and there are also major players. However, this paper will focus on one major character, Tessie Hutchinson, who unfortunately picked the doomed marked paper that led to her death. Mrs. Hutchinson is first seen in the story running from her home, still on her house clothes. Evidently, she has been doing her household chores and has hurried to the meeting to participate in the lottery that was about to take place. She is also presented as a happy and talkative person who easily speaks her mind and feelings. However, when she â€Å"wins the lottery and is stoned to death by her fellow villagers† (Cencage), Tessie finds the courage to rally herself against the fairness of the system and the tradition. Tessie is the symbol of the rise of feminism. In a

A Reflection and Evaluation to Personal and Organizational Business Research Paper

A Reflection and Evaluation to Personal and Organizational Business Ethics - Research Paper Example Corporate organizations, or any professional organization for that matter, will always have to reach a point when improvement is needed or that the need for change should be addressed. Such scenarios happen within an organization, whether minor adjustments in policies or complete organization structure overhauls, are usually necessary so that operations or activities can progress accordingly. However, the central issue really of organizational development is all about the welfare of the individuals working within the organization, and the manner which their abilities and performance in reaching the organization’s objectives are achieved. Also taken into great consideration are the effects of the business activities to the public constituents. Many relevant issues are put into inquiry. This matter would be called as business ethics. The definition of business ethics varies greatly, but it is perhaps best described by Velazquez as â€Å"a specialized study of moral right and wrong. It concentrates on moral standards as they apply to business policies, institutions and behavior†. As changes in the economic and social environment, how should an organization’s culture and practices deal with the nature of change? If being given the mantle of leadership the head manager of a corporate organization, how would I set the standards, vision, mission and methods needed to develop a business entity that is fair, just, and balanced between profit and principles, and also maintaining integrity? This would be elaborated further on. Before everything, I must understand what are my personal ethics and standards, and try to form them as the organization’s mission and vision as well. My personal code of ethics for this company revolves around the concept care. The concept of care is usually taken into a typically altruistic point of view. The concept of care ethics tells that â€Å"we have an obligation to exercise special care toward particular persons with whom we have valuable close relationships, particularly relations of dependency† (Velazquez, 2006, p.125). Hence, my personal principle with regard to business ethics, in both the personal and organizational aspect, is that the treatment given and practiced between everyone involved in the organization is compassion and kindness. My personal mission statement encapsulates this ideal in the form of â€Å"care and share.† As a manager, I would consider developing a mission and vision statement that would encapsulate the principled ideals that I have for the company. In having a clear mission and vision, as well as having room for flexible and achievable room to adapt along the way, individuals who are part of the company will also have a clear understanding of their purpose within the organization. Mikush and Philbin (1999) point this out precisely: In effective organizations, the vision, values and mission derive from the convictions of

Wireless Deployment Plan Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Wireless Deployment Plan - Term Paper Example Both users and administrators have experienced increased value in learning institutions. The efficiency is achieved by proper deployment of the wireless network through a wireless deployment plan. A wireless network provides an ideal and effective connection given the mobility of students and the staff (Cisco, 2010). This requires a wireless deployment solution that will address the wireless network security, management, deployment, and control of deployment aspects. It is important to note that the deployment should combine the best elements of secure wireless networking and wired networking that is capable of delivering scalable secure and efficient wireless networks on low total cost. This report provides a wireless deployment plan for a higher institution of learning with one campus but with several buildings (Cisco, 2010). The wireless deployment plan provides a framework through which the network can be installed and implemented. Additionally it entails the management, maintenance and control procedures for the network. Most importantly, the plan entails the requirements to implement the wireless network. The wireless technologies that can be adopted for such a network include 802.11 Standard (Cisco, 2010). Best wireless networks are delivered through a well-planned deployment strategy. This wireless deployment plan provides the structure for the campus wide wireless network solution that will be used by both the students and the staff. The deployment plan purposely addresses the strategy of implementing the wireless network. It enhances security in the wireless network and provides management and maintenance frameworks (Brocade Communications Systems, Inc., 2010). Wireless networks are highly sensitive to overlapping frequencies therefore; the use of wireless technologies must be planned. The purpose of this deployment plan is to

Value Chain Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Value Chain Management - Essay Example This can go a long way in providing sustainability and giving them economic independence. All this has basically been accomplished by outsourcing. Developed economies with their high quality of life and wage rates, are facing problems of producing profitably locally. This is also because many tax laws and limited raw materials make it impossible to remain competitive locally. With advent of faster communication system it becomes easy to control organizations from thousands of miles away. This also helps in establishing close links with the managers working in remote ventures. Another development which has made this trend towards globalization possible is WTO. The World Trade Organization encourages free trade among countries. Previously it was not possible to import unlimited amount of good from foreign countries. With the advent of WTO it has become possible to actually outsource because WTO has abolished the quota system. Therefore corporations try to outsource as much as possible from countries where there are high levels of human resources, raw materials and energy. This automatically helps developing nations to prosper because when corporations outsource they become part of a ‘value chain’. The addition made by them to this value chain gives them their share of the profit thus bringing them income prosperity. This phenomenon has given birth to a new form of economic entities called emerging markets. The current emerging markets include Brazil, India, China, Russia, Mexico etc. This globalization also has a dark side. It is also widely believed that globalization has increased income disparities at the global level. The smaller economic corporations operating from underdeveloped countries which lacked resources to go global have found it almost impossible to survive. Their small local markets have been attacked by global corporations. The corporations achieve significant cost advantages due to

A Reflection and Evaluation to Personal and Organizational Business Research Paper

A Reflection and Evaluation to Personal and Organizational Business Ethics - Research Paper Example Corporate organizations, or any professional organization for that matter, will always have to reach a point when improvement is needed or that the need for change should be addressed. Such scenarios happen within an organization, whether minor adjustments in policies or complete organization structure overhauls, are usually necessary so that operations or activities can progress accordingly. However, the central issue really of organizational development is all about the welfare of the individuals working within the organization, and the manner which their abilities and performance in reaching the organization’s objectives are achieved. Also taken into great consideration are the effects of the business activities to the public constituents. Many relevant issues are put into inquiry. This matter would be called as business ethics. The definition of business ethics varies greatly, but it is perhaps best described by Velazquez as â€Å"a specialized study of moral right and wrong. It concentrates on moral standards as they apply to business policies, institutions and behavior†. As changes in the economic and social environment, how should an organization’s culture and practices deal with the nature of change? If being given the mantle of leadership the head manager of a corporate organization, how would I set the standards, vision, mission and methods needed to develop a business entity that is fair, just, and balanced between profit and principles, and also maintaining integrity? This would be elaborated further on. Before everything, I must understand what are my personal ethics and standards, and try to form them as the organization’s mission and vision as well. My personal code of ethics for this company revolves around the concept care. The concept of care is usually taken into a typically altruistic point of view. The concept of care ethics tells that â€Å"we have an obligation to exercise special care toward particular persons with whom we have valuable close relationships, particularly relations of dependency† (Velazquez, 2006, p.125). Hence, my personal principle with regard to business ethics, in both the personal and organizational aspect, is that the treatment given and practiced between everyone involved in the organization is compassion and kindness. My personal mission statement encapsulates this ideal in the form of â€Å"care and share.† As a manager, I would consider developing a mission and vision statement that would encapsulate the principled ideals that I have for the company. In having a clear mission and vision, as well as having room for flexible and achievable room to adapt along the way, individuals who are part of the company will also have a clear understanding of their purpose within the organization. Mikush and Philbin (1999) point this out precisely: In effective organizations, the vision, values and mission derive from the convictions of

Value Chain Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Value Chain Management - Essay Example This can go a long way in providing sustainability and giving them economic independence. All this has basically been accomplished by outsourcing. Developed economies with their high quality of life and wage rates, are facing problems of producing profitably locally. This is also because many tax laws and limited raw materials make it impossible to remain competitive locally. With advent of faster communication system it becomes easy to control organizations from thousands of miles away. This also helps in establishing close links with the managers working in remote ventures. Another development which has made this trend towards globalization possible is WTO. The World Trade Organization encourages free trade among countries. Previously it was not possible to import unlimited amount of good from foreign countries. With the advent of WTO it has become possible to actually outsource because WTO has abolished the quota system. Therefore corporations try to outsource as much as possible from countries where there are high levels of human resources, raw materials and energy. This automatically helps developing nations to prosper because when corporations outsource they become part of a ‘value chain’. The addition made by them to this value chain gives them their share of the profit thus bringing them income prosperity. This phenomenon has given birth to a new form of economic entities called emerging markets. The current emerging markets include Brazil, India, China, Russia, Mexico etc. This globalization also has a dark side. It is also widely believed that globalization has increased income disparities at the global level. The smaller economic corporations operating from underdeveloped countries which lacked resources to go global have found it almost impossible to survive. Their small local markets have been attacked by global corporations. The corporations achieve significant cost advantages due to

Online Sexual Predators Essay Example for Free

Online Sexual Predators Essay The Internet has brought a wealth of convenience and benefit to its users. Among its users though sexual predators and pedophiles that pose a very real threat to children particularly those who have unsupervised Internet usage. In addition to laws directed at protecting people from sexual predators, various taskforces from the local police to international level have been formed to deal with this rising problem. However, with every arrest made, there are new perpetrators and pornography rings to take their place. Parents are advised to keep vigilant and monitor the Internet usage of their children. People are also reminded that predators are not as easily recognizable and avoided as they may think. Online Predators: The Pedophiles Convenience and comfort†¦ These are just two things that the Internet has brought to todays modern lives. With just the click of a mouse, one can complete bank transactions, order groceries, download the latest music, connect with friends and business contacts and do all the research they need for school, work and personal use right from the comfort of their own homes. More and more people have come to depend on the Internet for most everything they do. In 2003 alone, estimates of Internet users peg about 56% of the American population as regular users of the Internet (Metzger Docter, 2003) and the numbers keep rising. The Internet has made life, work and education so convenient for quite a large number of people. Unfortunately, numbered among these people are those who utilize the Internet for more sinister and evil purposes †¦the Internet sexual predators and pedophiles. A pedophile is an adult who displays sexual preference for pre-pubescent children from age 13 and younger (Pedophilia, 2004). Sexual fantasies, fondling, sexual contact and collecting pornographic material featuring children are just a few ways pedophiles satisfy their sexual urges. While some pedophiles are content with just collecting and fantasizing with child pornography, some choose to indulge their fantasies and urges in a more serious and dangerous way. (Taylor and Quayle, 2003. p 75) For pedophiles, the Internet has become a virtual community where they can share tips, photos and videos with other pedophiles. The Internet also affords pedophiles and other sexual predators the chance to access online chat rooms and web groups that are frequented by children, teenagers, and other possible victims (Mahoney and Faulkner, 1997). The anonymity that the Internet offers its users veils the true nature and identity of the pedophile as they pretend to be children chatting up other unknowing children. An estimated 25-50% of these have already committed sexual acts with minors (Morgan, 2006. p53). Donna Rice Hughes, author of Kids Online and senior adviser to the web site Familyclick. com says that while most parents express concern about the openness of the Internet and may have an idea of the risks associated with online access, most are not aware of the degree of severity Internet threats can be for unmonitored children (Edwards, 2000. p14). Children can easily be exposed to pornographic material, not to mention be in actual contact with pedophiles through online chat rooms, peer support groups, and messaging systems (p. 14). Lt. Mike Harmony of the Bedford County Sherriffs office and member of Operation Blue Ridge Thunder, one of the nations leading task forces on crimes against children says: The exploitation of children on the Internet is a huge and growing problem. The public just doesnt realize how bad it is, (Blue Ridge Team Nabs 2002, B01) Lt. Harmony was part of the team that handled the case of a 13-year old girl whose former boyfriend pasted her picture onto a picture of a naked woman and posted it online along with her address and phone number. This attracted calls from several pornographers and pedophiles including one who threatened to come to her home and hurt her entire family if she didnt come out of state to make a home movie. Nowadays, there is a growing awareness of the very real threat that the Internet brings in the person of online predators such as pedophiles. According to an article that appeared in the August 2006 issue of Readers Digest, 1 in 5 children in computer chat rooms are engaged in conversation by a child sex abuser. Among minors between the ages of 8 to 18, 1 in 8 discover that the person they were chatting with online was an adult pretending to be much younger (Morgan, 2006. p51-52) Law enforcement groups in each state has started building up teams and file sharing systems specifically for the purpose of tracking and catching pedophiles and child pornographers. Even agencies such as the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children are helping out by setting up a database of images of those they can prove are real children (Ryan, 2004. p1). In 2004, graphic artist and child pornographer Robert Earl Smith of Eugene, Oregon was sentenced to more than 53 years in prison after pleading guilty to 42 charges including first-degree sexual abuse and sodomy involving an infant who was less than a year old (Pedophile Gets Maximum Term, 2004, p. d1). Presented as evidence against Smith were a collection of email messages he exchanged with an undercover investigator who posed as another pedophile. Smith came to the authorities attention after police in Knoxville, Tennessee were able to trace child pornography on the Internet back to Smith. A search of Smiths home revealed explicit photographs showing Smith having sex with a very young girl that were also uploaded on the Internet. At the trial, Deputy Lane County District Attorney Debra Vogt detailed how Smith encouraged the undercover investigator to abuse young children even saying how he himself abuses very young children because they cant tell on him (p. d1) Smiths defense lawyer John Halpern blamed Smiths weakening and eventual pedophilia to the wealth and accessibility of child pornography on the Internet. He further stated that prior to the Internet, Smith could not so easily have yielded to any weakness for child pornography that he might have. (p. d1) The judge in the case however didnt buy the defense. What the Law has to Say: State law enforcement units as well as the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have each put in place their own task forces and programs in dealing with online predators and pedophiles. The Department of Homeland Securitys Operation Predator alone racked up 59 arrests for child pornography in Illinois, and 17 convictions in 2004. Among those that the Operation has been able to bring to justice were Barrington swim coach Joshua Delcore; John Roth, Carys village attorney; and Lawrence Swager, a swim coach and tutor for learning-disabled students at a Crystal Lake high school (Ryan, 2004, p. 1). Since they started operations in 1996, the FBIs Innocent Images Task Force have also had chalked up an average of 20 arrests per year with the numbers continually rising according to FBI special agent Ross Rice. Among those they have arrested was Scott Wolfers, a police officer in Aurora, Illinois who was charged with two counts of possession of child pornography (p. 1).

Working Capital Versus Capital Expenditure Management Finance Essay

Working Capital Versus Capital Expenditure Management Finance Essay The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of firms capital expenditure on their working capital management. Net Liquidity Balance and Working Capital Requirement for determination of working capital requirement and developed multiple regression models. The empirical research found that organisations capital expenditure has a significant impact on working capital management. The study also found that the firms operating cash flow, which was recognized as a control variable, has a significant relationship with working capital management. Capital forecasting in a downturn environment where change is rapid. Incorporating dynamic forecasting to measure the impact of key uncertainties and risks on the portfolio of projects is crucial. The findings increase the knowledge base of working capital management and will help companies manage working capital efficiently in growing conditions associated with capital expenditure. 1.1 Working capital for accountants, investors and managers is the short-term health of a company. Working capital equals current assets minus current liabilities. Current accounts are accounts that the company collects or are due in the next year. Making a capital expenditure will have several effects on the companys working capital, depending on the transaction. However, in certain cases, there may be no impact; it is important to understand why. Corporate finance basically deals with three decisions: A) capital structure decisions, B) capital budgeting decisions, and C) working capital management decisions. Working capital management is a very important component of corporate finance since it affects the profitability and liquidity of a company. It deals with current assets and current liabilities. The decision-making process on the level of different working capital components has become frequent, repetitive, and time-consuming. Working capital management is recognized as an important concern of the financial manager due to many reasons. For one thing, a typical manufacturing firms current assets account for over half of its total assets. For a distribution company, they account for even more. The maintenance of excessive levels of current assets can easily result in a substandard return on a firms investment. However, firms with inadequate levels of current assets may incur shortages and have difficulties in smoothly maintaining day-to-day operations. Efficient working capital management involves planning and controlling current assets and current liabilities in a manner that eliminates the risk of inability to meet due short term obligations on one hand and avoids excessive investment in these assets on the other hand. Capital forecasting in a downturn environment where change is rapid. Incorporating dynamic forecasting to measure the impact of key uncertainties and risks on the portfolio of projects is crucial. Analyzing and quantifying the impact of risks and delays at project and portfolio level. Governance and control over capital expenditures, Portfolio prioritization. Determining the optimal decision making level for capital allocation decision (corporate level vs business unit level vs hybrid model). 1.2 Working Capital Estimates The analysis includes estimates of all investments required for a project. The project may require increases (or decreases) in cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, or inventory. 2.1 Capital expenditure Whenever we make an expenditure that generates a cash flow benefit for more than one year, this is a capital expenditure. Examples include the purchase of new equipment, expansion of production facilities, buying another company, acquiring new technologies, launching a research development program, etc., etc., etc. Capital expenditures often involve large cash outlays with major implications on the future values of the company. Additionally, once we commit to making a capital expenditure it is sometimes difficult to back-out. It has been found that managers spend a considerable time on day-today working of capital decisions since current assets are short-lived investments that are continually being converted into other asset types (Rao, 1989). In the case of current liabilities, the firm is responsible for paying obligations mentioned under current liabilities on a timely basis. Liquidity for the on-going firm is reliant, rather, on the operating cash flows generated by the firms assets. Corporations are looking for new ways to stimulate growth, improve financial performance, and reduce risk in todays challenging economic climate. Funds tied up in working capital can be seen as hidden reserves that can be used to fund growth strategies, such as capital expansion. Cash flows locked in stock and receivables can be freed up by understanding the determinants of working capital. Many organizations that have earned profits over the years have shown the efficient management of working capital (WCM). Broadly, industry characteristics, firm-specific characteristics, and the financial environment are recognized as determining factors of both capital expenditure and working capital. In addition to the growth, leverage, and the size of a company, type, and size of expenditures, such as finance and operating and capital expenditures, have different impacts on capital expenditure and working capital. 2.2 Portfolio Approach in Capital Budgeting Portfolio approach to achieve capital efficiency and organisational alignment can yield immediate positive cash-flow results for companies. Typically companies view capital expenditures through a cost and benefits filter that focuses largely on ROI and IRR type measures. Whilst these measures are relevant, companies that do so often do not necessarily link these to the strategy of the company. They also do not prioritise capital expenditures in terms of their effect on strategy and shareholder value. We believe that by using a portfolio approach companies could: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Increase returns on invested capital by understanding which projects contribute most to shareholder value and lie on the project efficiency frontier à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Have a holistic portfolio view of the return of the capital of the entire company à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Improve the strategic and organizational alignment of projects à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Make informed decisions on where to invest scarce cash resources. 2.3 Capital Budgeting Decisions: Stage 1: Decision Analysis Decision-making is increasingly more complex today because of uncertainty. Additionally, most capital projects will involve numerous variables and possible outcomes. For example, estimating cash flows associated with a project involves working capital requirements, project risk, tax considerations, expected rates of inflation, and disposal values. We have to understand existing markets to forecast project revenues, assess competitive impacts of the project, and determine the life cycle of the project. If our capital project involves production, we have to understand operating costs, additional overheads, capacity utilization, and start-up costs. Consequently, we can not manage capital projects by simply looking at the numbers; i.e. discounted cash flows. We must look at the entire decision and assess all relevant variables and outcomes within an analytical hierarchy. This analytical hierarchy is known as the Multiple Attribute Decision Model (MADM). Multiple attributes are involved in capital projects and each determinant in the decision needs to be weighed differently and their relationship with each other determined. Several techniques are available to arrive at a financial decision regarding a capital expenditure project. These include: the net present value method. This method discounts all cash flows to the present using a predetermined minimum acceptable rate of return as the discount rate. If the net present value is positive, the financial return on the project is greater than this minimum acceptable rate and indicates the project is economically acceptable. If the net present value is negative, the project is not acceptable on economic grounds. the internal rate of return method. The internal rate of return is defined as the discount rate that makes the net present value of a project equal to zero. It is the highest rate of interest that a company could incur to obtain funds without losing money on the project. the equivalent annual cost method. When considering alternative proposals, it may be that only costs are involved. In such situations, a choice of alternatives can be made by determining which has the lowest equivalent annual cost. Under this method, capital expenditures are converted to their equivalent annual cost and added to the annual operating costs. Equivalent annual cost is the annual amount that would repay the capital over the life of the project at a specified discount rate. It is similar to an annual, level repayment schedule for a mortgage. The alternative with the lowest total cost would be the most attractive (ignoring intangibles). the payback method. This method estimates the time taken to recover the original investment outlay. The estimated net cash flows from a proposal for each year are added until they total the original investment. The time required to recoup the investment is called the payback period. Projects with a shorter payback period are preferred to those with longer periods. the discounted payback method. The discounted payback period is the number of years for which cash inflows are required to (a) recover the amount of the investment and also (b) earn the required rate of return on the investment during that period. In this method, each years cash inflow is discounted at the required rate of return, and these present values are cumulated by year until, their sum equals, the amount invested. Projects with a shorter discounted payback period are preferable to those with longer periods. the accounting rate of return method. The accounting rate of return is a measure of the average annual income after tax over the life of a project divided by the initial investment or the average investment required to generate the income. It is important to note that this method assesses net income and not cash flows which are used in the other methods. Stage 2: Option pricing In financial management, consideration of options within capital budgeting is called contingent claims analysis or option pricing. For example, suppose you have a choice between two boiler units for your factory. Boiler A uses oil and Boiler B can use either oil or natural gas. Based on traditional approaches to capital budgeting, the least costs boiler was selected for purchase, namely Boiler A. However, if we consider option pricing Boiler B may be the best choice because we have a choice or option on what fuel we can use. Suppose we expect rising oil prices in the next five years. This will result in higher operating costs for Boiler A, but Boiler B can switch to a second fuel to better control operating costs. Consequently, we want to assess the options of capital projects. Stage3: Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Discounting refers to taking a future amount and finding its value today. Future values differ from present values because of the time value of money. Financial management recognizes the time value of money because: Inflation reduces values over time; i.e. Rs.1, 000 today will have less value five years from now due to rising prices (inflation). Uncertainty in the future; i.e. we think we will receive Rs. 1,000 five years from now, but a lot can happen over the next five years. Opportunity Costs of money; Rs. 1,000 today is worth more to us than five years from now because we can invest Rs 1,000 today and earn a return. 3.1 Quantitative Analysis and Estimates : The foundations for good capital planning are reliable forecasts of the following parameters like competitive technology, marketing opportunities, likely actions by competitors and governments, sales volumes, selling prices, operating costs, changes in working capital, taxes payable and capital costs of equipment. Effective management of capital expenditure decisions, therefore, requires that controls be designed and operated to ensure that projections are realistic at the time decisions are made. Reliable estimates and forecasts are vital to the capital investment decision. The degree of precision necessary for the estimates related to the capital expenditure decision depends on: the stage of evaluation of the project (i.e., in early stages less precision is needed), the sensitivity of the projects economics to the level of accuracy and timing of each of the elements within the estimates, and the similarity of the project to others already undertaken. 3.2 Planning Horizon of a project: It is often difficult to estimate the life of a project (i.e., its planning horizon). The criterion is the continued ability to generate satisfactory cash flows or other intangible benefits. The economic life of a project is the lesser of its physical life, technological life or product-market life. Physical Life of Project Technical life of the Project Market life of the product to be manufactured depends upon: Detailed Market Research/Study Competitive Factors Price Estimation and Determination Organisation Market Position Maintenance Property related costs Depreciation Plant Administration, Service Department Costs 4.1 Research Objectives Overall objective. The overall objective of this research study is to investigate capital expenditure on a project and consequently working capital requirement and there relationship. Working capital measured in terms of net liquidity balance and working capital requirement (WCR). Specific objectives. are to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Investigate whether there is a relationship and type of relationship between capital expenditure and the firms working capital (W.C.). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Describe the relationship between the nature of expenditure and the working capital. To investigate the impact of different factors affecting the working capital on net liquidity balance and working capital requirement. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Investigate the existing literature on working capital management to highlight the recent trends. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Understand the applicability of NLB and WCR as a measure of working capital management. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Investigate the relationship between corporate performance and working capital management. 4.2 Literature Review The chief financial officers of most companies spend most of their time and effort on day-today working capital management. Still, due to the inability of financial managers to properly plan and control the current assets and current liabilities of their companies, the failure of a large number of businesses can be attributed to the inefficient working capital management. Working capital is the most crucial input and the success or failure of an organization can be rightly attributed to the quality and efficiency in the management of working capital (WC) or net current assets (NCA). Account receivable management models and inventory management models were used in approximately 65 % of companies. The management of the working capital, stresses the need for the development of a viable system with the dual finance goals of profitability and liquidity, only such models will assist practicing financial managers in their day-to-day decision-making. Over the years, many researchers have focused on determining the optimal level of each component of working capital. It was found that the working capital literature is rather limited and that the management of short term resources is not understood too well. Thus, the consensus in academia seems to recognize the paucity of theory concerning the management of financial resources due to the inherent difficulties in the development of a working capital decision model, while accepting the normative needs for a more critical examination. The tendency of firms with low levels of current ratios to have low levels of current liabilities. 5.1 Methodology The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a very important aspect of financial management known as working capital management. The study will show the relationship of capital expenditure on firms working capital management and its impact. This chapter of the research deals with the analytical framework of data analysis, which describes the firms and variables included in the study, the distribution patterns of data, and applied statistical techniques in investigating the relationship between working capital management and capital expenditure. 6.1 Data Collection Since the study is based on financial data, the main source of data was financial statements, such as income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements of listed companies for the period from 2000 to 2005. The reason for restricting the time period to six years was that the latest data for the study was available for these years. In addition, annual reports of companies have been used in order to understand the company back ground and industry. 6.2 Sample Selection The study uses secondary data of listed companies in the stock exchange. Companies with missing data are excluded from the study. The study also excludes the financial and securities sector companies, as their financial characteristics and use of leverage are substantially different from other manufacturing companies. The working capital requirements and capital expenditure of a manufacturing organization is widely different from trading, financial and securities sector companies. 6.3 Variables In addition to identifying capital expenditure, the study undertakes the issue of identifying all factors that affect the working capital management. Most of the determinants identified in the investigation have been taken from the existing literature on working capital management. The study takes into account of all the variables discussed below. Variables, which include dependent, independent, and control variables, have been used to investigate the test hypothesis. 6.4 Independent Variables Capital expenditure (CAPEX) is identified as one of the independent variables and includes expenditures incurred by firms for acquisition and upgrading/renovating physical assets, such as land, buildings, machinery, vehicles, and equipments. Capital expenditures are added to assets account and depreciated against profits over their economic life as Deferred Revenue expenditure( DEFEREX). Capital expenditure is incurred by a company when buying new, fixed assets or in adding value to existing assets to increase their economic lives. Capital expenditure includes buying the value of assets, carriage inwards, insurance, legal costs, and all costs needed for acquiring assets ready for use. Managers pay careful attention to capital expenditure decisions, since they are very costly and irreversible. Operating expenditure (OPEX) is the cost of ongoing operations, product or system. Unlike CAPEX, firms meet OPEX continuously. Operating expenditures are written off against profit for the period. They are Revenue expenditure (REVEX) which includes salaries, wages and facilities expenses, such as rent, rates, electricity, etc. Finance expenditure (FIEX) is cost incurred on debt capital. Interest incurred on debentures, bank loan and other long term liabilities are recognized as finance expenditures. 6.5 Dependent Variables NLB = (cash and cash equivalents + short-term investment) (short-term debt + commercial paper payable + long-term debt a year term). These are considerations of the financial decisions of a company, regardless of the operation cycle. Thus, it is called as net liquid balance. WCR = (accounts receivable + inventories) (accounts payable + accrued expenses +other payable), which relate to the working cycle and are called working capital requirements. 6.6 Control Variables In addition, firms operating cash flow (OPCASH), extracted cash flow statement, growth (GRO) of the firm measured by sales, leverage measured by total long-term debt capital and divided by equity (D/E). All the above variables have relationships that affect working capital management. These relationships might vary over variables, companies and industries based on business strategy, economic environment, and financial environment. 7.1 Hypotheses Development Working capital management is traditionally rated by current ratio, quick ratio, and net working capital. According to Shulman and Cox (1985), these traditional ratios dont consider the going concern of the company and net working capital does not measure the correct value of liquidity. They classify net working capital into working capital requirement (WCR) and net liquidity balance (NLB) in order to predict the financial crisis of a company. WCR is measured in order to evaluate the management of working capital, and NLB is considered with the capability of raising and allocating capital respectively. NLB is better than traditional indicators in terms of predicting crisis and liquidity of a company. The basic purpose of this study on working capital management to evaluate the impact of capital expenditure on working capital. Thus, this study will categorize expenditure of a firm into three types: a) Operating expenditure, b) Capital (investment) expenditure, and c) Finance expenditure. However, except capital expenditure, operating and finance expenditures will be considered on accrual basis, not on the cash basis, because incurred expenditure will determine working capital management of the company. When a company has growth opportunities, it needs to acquire fixed assts (pay capital expenditure) relevant to future growth plans. Thus, incurred or expected capital expenditure is positively correlated with NLB. With growth opportunity, a company can increase the holding cash, since it manages working capital efficiently. Under such circumstances, terms to pay operation-related liabilities are lengthened and operation-related receivables can be accelerated in collection, causing less demand on working capital. Expected capital expenditure is negatively related to WCR, and firms with a higher growth rate pay more attention on the management of capital expenditure. Hypotheses A- Capital expenditure is positively related to NLB Hypotheses B- Capital expenditure is negatively related to WCR 8.1 Model Specification This study uses panel data regression analysis of cross-sectional in order to test the hypothesis. A use the pooled regression type of panel data analysis. The pooled regression, which is also called the constant coefficients model, is one in which both intercepts and slopes are constant, where the cross section from a data and time series data are pooled together in a single column, assuming that there are no significant cross section or temporal effects. The general forms of our models are:t NLB Decrease in WCR H1a= NLBit = ÃŽÂ ²0 + ÃŽÂ £ ÃŽÂ ² X + ÃŽÂ µ (1) H1b= WCRit = ÃŽÂ ²0 + ÃŽÂ £ ÃŽÂ ² X + ÃŽÂ µ (2) WCR: working capital requirement of firm I at time t; i = 1, 2,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..no. of firms NLB it: net liquidity balance of firm i at time t; i = 1, 2,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.no. of firms ÃŽÂ ²0: the intercept of equation ÃŽÂ ²i: coefficients of X it variables X it: the different independent variables for working capital management of firm i at time t t: time = 1, 2,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦,6 years. ÃŽÂ µ: the error term Specifically, when I convert the above general least squares model into my specified NLBi = ÃŽÂ ² OPEXi + ÃŽÂ ² FIEXi + ÃŽÂ ² CAEXi + ÃŽÂ ² M/Bi+ ÃŽÂ ² Gti + ÃŽÂ ² D/Ei + ÃŽÂ ² OCASH + ÃŽÂ µ (3) WCRi = ÃŽÂ ² OPEXi + ÃŽÂ ² FIEXi+ ÃŽÂ ² CAEXi + ÃŽÂ ² M/Bi+ ÃŽÂ ² Gti + ÃŽÂ ² D/Ei + ÃŽÂ ² OCASH + ÃŽÂ µ (4) Where: NLB = (cash cash equivalents + short term investments) (short term debt + commercial paper payable + Long term debt year term) WCR = (accounts receivable + inventories) (accounts payable + other payable). WCR equals net working capital NLB. ÃŽÂ ² = coefficient of regression, OPEX = operating expenditure FIEX = financial expenditure CAEX= capital expenditure M/B = market to book value ratio D/E = total debt to total assets Gt = sales growth OCASH = operating cash flow in firm ÃŽÂ µ = the error term These findings are consistent with hypothesis H1b. Operating expenditure and interest expenditure also have a positive significant relationship with working capital requirement. 9.1 Conclusions and Recommendations Working capital management attracts less attention of the management than capital budget and expenditure, capital structure in financial management in the ordinary course of business. Working capital management relates to the findings of sources of short term finance and investments in short term assets. Working capital management deals with profitability and the risk of the company. Inefficient working capital management results in over investment in working capital and reduces the profitability of the firm. On the other hand, inefficient management of working capital leads to an insufficient amount of working capital and results in financial difficulty, putting the company at risk. The optimal level of working capital, which is a trade off between risk and profitability, can be affected by both internal organizational characteristics and various outside factors. Existing literature has paid little attention to many factors that determine the working capital. This research investigated some of the factors such as capital expenditure, operating expenditure, finance expenditure, leverage, performance and operating cash flow. This research paper uses NLB and WCR as proxies for working capital in order to assess working capital management with capital expenditure and other influencing factors. Empirical results show that capital expenditure has a significant effect on working capital management. This finding will help a companys management manage working capital efficiently. The findings can be used as a benchmark for managing working capital and evaluating performance. Through this paper it was able to find out that operating cash flow has a significant impact on a companys working capital management, consistent with conclusions in previous research/literature. By conducting the same study on each business sector separately, managers can understand specific behavior of a companys working capital in relationship with capital expenditure. Since the model is a general model, it might not be able to be applied or might not give the same findings in specific business sectors. Moreover, further research can be conducted on the same topic in different countries. Working capital management policies can be compared between developing and developed countries in order to determine the correct management policies. 14) Capital expenditure decisions are very crucial and not easily reversible. Substantial amount of money is blocked in capital expenditure decisions. Hence such decisions have to be taken very carefully with a lot of deliberations.

Blakes The Songs of Innocence Essay -- Songs Innocence blake Essays

Blake's The Songs of Innocence The Songs of Innocence poems first appeared in Blake’s 1784 novel, An Island in the Moon. In 1788, Blake began to compile in earnest, the collection of Songs of Innocence. And by 1789, this original volume of plates was complete. These poems are the products of the human mind in a state of innocence, imagination, and joy; natural euphoric feelings uninhibited or tainted by the outside world. Following the completion of the Songs of Innocence plates, Blake wrote The Marriage of Heaven and Hell and it is through this dilemma of good and evil and the suffering that he witnesses on the streets of London, that he begins composing Songs of Experience. This second volume serves as a response to Songs of Innocence in that Blake is demonstrating the two polar or contrary states of the human soul and in the world that he sees around him. The images, engravings, and lyrics in Songs of Experience are much more severe, excruciating, and intense in comparison to the lighter tones of Songs o f Innocence. When we look at the poems in Songs of Innocence and Experience, we see that while Blake reveals both the light and dark aspects of the human existence, we also see that this dichotomy is not always a finite, black and white generalization. That is, Blake emphasizes that both the innocent and experienced states of the human soul are achievable at any moment, regardless of age, past actions, or station in life. This reinforces the idea that Blake’s conception of God is the power of illumination in each one of us and it is through the poetic genius that we make this discovery throughout the ongoing process of life. A comparison between poems from each volume illustrates these ideas and serves to demonstra... ...t, each of us can come to know God and understand our relationship with the universe through the discovery of our poetic genius. Blake’s methodology of channeling his spiritual energy through his work is accomplished through the combination of poetry, song, and visual art. This provides the reader with a full aesthetic experience that universally encourages the illumination of the human soul. Through his poems which identify various types of people and situations, Blake adds that this religious experience is not limited to the creative arts. In fact, he suggests that the poetic genius is attainable through focused manual labor, intellectual conversation, and philosophical reflection, among other activities. Man’s universal ability to find God through his poetic genius is Blake’s inspiration, philosophy, and theological message in Songs of Innocence and Experience.

Essay --

In Limbo reside the unbaptized and the virtuous pagans, who, though not sinful, did not accept Christ. Limbo shares many characteristics with the Asphodel Meadows; thus the guiltless damned are punished by living in a deficient form of Heaven. Without baptism ("the portal of the faith that you embrace")[6] they lacked the hope for something greater than rational minds can conceive. Limbo includes green fields and a castle with seven gates to represent the seven virtues. The castle is the dwelling place of the wisest men of antiquity, including Virgil himself, as well as the Persian polymath Avicenna. In the castle Dante meets the poets Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan; the Amazon queen Penthesilea; the mathematician Euclid; the scientist Pedanius Dioscorides; the statesman Cicero; the first doctor Hippocrates; the philosophers Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Averroes; the historical figures Lucretia, Lucius Junius Brutus, and Julius Caesar in his role as Roman general ("in his armor, f alcon-eyed");[7] mythological characters Hector, Electra, Camilla, Latinus, and Orpheus; and many othe...

An Analysis of Marquez’ The Plane of the Sleeping Beauty

The short story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez which is entitled The Plane of the Sleeping Beauty written in June 1982 may be interpreted as a depiction of our colonial history and its legacy to the world. While reading his work I find myself searching for the true individualities of the main characters. This is also what I consider to be the problematic of the story. It hopes to unveil a reality of human existence that is often rooted in our historical structures- where countries have crossed cultural boundaries and homogenized economies making some of them quite unhappy. The author presents such scenario combined with his emotions toward it through symbolisms in the guise of the character and events. Indeed the setting, characters and context of the story harmoniously created the characters’ dilemma- the discomfort of their lost identities in a continuously globalizing world with flashbacks on the impacts of colonialism and wars.I would like to focus on three aspects of the liter ary text in explaining the problematic; the setting, characters and context. The story is narrated by the author who is also one of the main characters. He is subtly confirmed Japanese though unnamed, in the latter part when he said: â€Å"Who is going to believe it,† I told myself, with my own passion exacerbated by the champagne: â€Å"Me, an elderly Japanese by now.† The other main character is a lady who is not also introduced by the author but instead referred to as the Sleeping Beauty. This is proved by the title itself and the plot which seemed to have concentrated on her or filled with her quintessence. At the beginning of the story is already a romantic description of this mysterious character:She was beautiful elastic with tender bread-colored skin and green almond eyes. Black hair long and smooth fell to her back, and she exuded an aura of antiquity that in it of itself could be Indonesian and not from the Andes. She was dressed with taste-lynx jacket, natur al silk blouse adorned with tenuous flowers, crude linen pants, and lined shoes the color of bugambillas.Also in another section of the story the author narrates:She had on her neck a chain so fine that it was all but invisible above her golden skin, perfect ears with no earring holes, rose fingernails in good health, and a smooth ring on her left hand.While both characters have no names, they suggest however nationalities that are nonetheless experiencing confusion. Nation is defined as â€Å"a group of people who share a common cultural inheritance† (Heywood 106 ). The cultural inheritance becomes the source of common identity for all the members of the group and may come in the form of language, history, poetry, music, race or ethnicity, etc. The confusion arises in the mixtures of influences that are manifested in the characters’ languages and experiences. For instance, the lady appears Indonesian to the Japanese, but may be perceived Latin American in the narratio n:She then put on her lynx jacket, walked nearly on top of me with a conventional apology in a pure Castilian straight out of the Americas, and walked off without saying goodbye†¦The lady has used other languages as well in the story like French and English.The man on the other hand exposing his knowledge of Japanese and Western forms of literature has interestingly revealed fascination over Chinese mythological beliefs- all of which present a fusion of cultures;I thought, reciting into the crest of foam from my champagne the skillful sonnet of Gerardo Diego†¦last spring I read a beautiful novel by Yasunari Kawabata concerning the ancient bourgeois of Kyoto that paid enormous sums to spend the night speculating the most stunning women of the city†¦and in;â€Å"Dammit,† I said to myself, with great scorn. â€Å"Why was I not born a Taurus?!†.The setting has more to explain actually-previously the airport then the plane. The airport signifies to me the abi lity of countries to transcend borders. In particular, the Charles de Gaulle de Paris airport as a chosen background where all succeeding events are to be witnessed somehow represents a historical moment when freedom is aspired by most regions. Especially that France is known for its love for liberty and freedom. The entire commotion as imagined by the author is a semblance of World War II whose outcomes and length were initially perceived uncertain and infinite, respectively. For instance;†¦Only then did she mention that the airport was about to close and all flights have been delayed†¦Ã¢â‚¬ As long as God desires† she said with a grin. â€Å"It was announced on the radio this morning it will be the biggest snowstorm of the year†. She was wrong. It was the biggest of the century [such is also the case during the Worl War].and in;Outside I found an unpleasant spectacle. All kinds of people were overrunning the waiting rooms, camped in the stifling corridors a nd even the stairs, and spread out on the floor with their animals, children and luggage. Since communication with the city was interrupted, the palace of transparent plastic felt like an immense capsule launched in the storm [something like missiles and ammunition]†¦ By lunchtime the collective conscience resembled a shipwreck. The lines stretched endlessly in front of the seven restaurants [the seven continents of the world]†¦ in less than three hours they had to close them down because there was nothing to eat or drink [such is the devastation on the part most especially of the colonized regions] †¦But the scenario in the so-called first class waiting rooms is different- which to me reflects the experience of those countries now known to be in the First World category. If the Sleeping Beauty was a place, it must be those places in the world which are rich in natural resources and potentials for development, yet both admired and captured by imperialists. Truly, the author was anticipating for her to belong to them, first-class nations (yet the woman isn’t to be found there) in the space described in the story as follows:In the first-class waiting room however, spring was tangible that there were live roses in the vases and canned music felt as sublime and sedative as its composers intended. Suddenly it occurred to me that this was an adequate refuge for the woman†¦But the majority of the crowd was down-to-earth men [probably symbolizing men who have succumbed to the colonizers losing their dignities] reading newspapers in English [the dominant language of the world] while their women were thinking of other men, [symbolizing patriots and true nationalists] contemplating the icy factories and the vast seed plots of Roissy devastated by lions [representing the effects of colonial past, that of economic dependence and abused laborers and farmers]†¦The man, the Japanese symbolizing the same country which chose to extend territory i nstead of being colonized by the Westerners in its Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere theme (the attempt for Japan to colonize its Asian neighbors) has indeed taken the path less traversed:â€Å"Pick a number,† she told me, â€Å"Three, four or seven†.â€Å"Four†.â€Å"You are the first one to not choose seven†.But this later has been contradicted when the man realized inside the plane when he encountered the Dutch woman’s eyeglasses, â€Å"But I retraced my steps, picked them up, and put them on her lap, suddenly thrilled that I had not chosen seat number four earlier.† What this suggests is that Japan although guided by its dreams of Asian development through Asians themselves (as shown in its fascination in the woman representing the developing countries be it South-East and East Asian, Latin American, South African, or Middle East) and its hatred in previous intruders manifested in his irritation against the fat Dutch woman (the Neth erlands also once colonized Indonesia) has failed to avoid the course of the French, German, Dutch, British and other previous colonial powers .Besides, it is quite amusing to realize that the main character could also speak and understand the now considered global language- a sign of acceptance and engagement in the globalized system. Is it the author Gabriel Garcia Marquez who is feeling the disappointment in the main character against what it represents? This may be true. What is certain however is the melancholy of the woman who as described in the narration below has resorted to a deep slumber in order to veil its passivity and discontent of the results of history:She did everything in a methodical and parsimonious manner, as if there was nothing anticipated for her since birth. Lastly, she lowered the curtain in the window, declined her seat as far back as it would go, covered herself with a blanket†¦and slept without a moment’s breath†¦for the eternal eight h ours and twelve minutes of the flight to New York.Yes, the plane is going to New York. The man, the woman, and the rest of the passengers are bound to the United States. Could this represent the fate of most countries- following the American ideals? While most of them seem to have forgotten the past, most have tried to belong to the present global order although with less analysis and a lot of difficulties to the extent of losing true identities, like the Sleeping Beauty.The author was successful in his presentation of a hopeless romantic tone with underlying themes that are both historical and political. The audience may be more interested to know that Gabriel Garcia Marquez was identified as a supporter of Latin American revolutionary movements and whose literature introduced the so-called, â€Å"magical realism†. The challenge here is really for the readers to be able to challenge the paradigm presented in the story, which beforehand must be decoded. A lot of the symbolism in the story has yet to be discovered. My interpretation here offers a new form of conflict that could only be resolved by historical, political and economic understanding and awakening.†¦because the only thing I desired in the last hour of the flight was to see her awake, even if she was infuriated, so that I could reclaim my freedom, and possibly my youth†¦Works CitedHeywood, Andrew. Politics. New York: Palgrave, 2002.Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. â€Å"The Plane of the Sleeping Beauty†. June 1982.