Lysistrata Essays - Lysistrata, Women In War, Peloponnesian War

Lysistrata Aristophanes was a "craft" comedy poet in the fourth century B.C. during the time of the Peloponnesian War. Aristophanes' usual style was to be too satirical, and suggesting the outlandish. He shows little mercy when mocking Socrates and his "new-fangled ideas" which were most likely designed to destroy the cohesiveness of society and lead to anarchy, in his play The Clouds. The most absurd and humorous of Aristophanes' comedies are those in which the main characters, the heroes of the story, are women. Smart women. One of the most famous of Aristophanes' comedies depicting powerfully effectual women is the Lysistrata, named after the female lead character of the play. It portrays Athenian Lysistrata and the women of Athens teaming up with the women of Sparta to force their husbands to end the Peloponnesian War. To make the men agree to a peace treaty, the women seized the Acropolis, where Athens' financial reserves are kept, and prevented the men from squandering them further on the war. They then beat back an attack on their position by the old men who have remained in Athens while the younger men are out on campaign. When their husbands return from battle, the women refuse to have sex with them. This sex strike, which is portrayed in a series of (badly) exaggerated and blatant sexual innuendoes, finally convinces the men of Athens and Sparta to agree to a peace treaty. The Lysistrata shows women acting bravely and even aggressively against men who seem resolved on ruining the city-state by prolonging a pointless war and excessively expending reserves stored in the Acropolis. This in turn added to the destruction of their family life by staying away from home for long stretches while on military campaign. The men would come home when they could, sexually relieve themselves, and then leave again to continue a senseless war. The women challenge the masculine role model to preserve the traditional way of life of the community. When the women become challenged themselves, they take on the masculine characteristics and attitudes and defeat the men physically, mentally but most of all strategically. Proving that neither side benefits from it, just that one side loses more than the other side. It's easy to see why fourth century B.C. Athenian women would get tired of their men leaving. Most Athenian women married in their teens and never had to be on their own, and probably wouldn't know what to do if they did land on their own. The men leave for war and some don't return because of death or whatever reasons, so now a widow finds herself on her own, probably with children, and no one to take care of her or her children. She might be able to enter her male children as a journeyman/ward to a wealthy family (who either have no male children, or most likely lost their son(s) in one of the wars) that will raise him. The widow has few prospects. If she's young and attractive enough with the right domestic skills she might be able to remarry. But her lot isn't too promising. After all, why would you want a widow, when you could get a "fresh" wife to "break-in" the way you want and start a family from your own seed? According to Lysistrata it is easier to untangling multinational politics, stop wars and fighting than the women's work of sorting out wool. If you just stop war, it's settled, but with wool all tangles must be physically labored out by hand. Women's work is never done. Lysistrata insists that women have the intelligence and judgment to make political decisions. She came by her knowledge, she says, in the traditional way: "I am a woman, and, yes, I have brains. And I'm not badly off for judgment. Nor has my education been bad, coming as it has from my listening often to the conversations of my father and the elders among the men." Lysistrata was schooled in the traditional fashion, by learning from older men. Her old-fashioned training and good sense allowed her to see what needed to be done to protect the community. Like the heroines of tragedy, Lysistrata wants to put things back to the way they were. To do that, however, she has to become a revolutionary. Ending the war would be so easy that even women could do it. Aristophanes is telling Athenian men, and Athenians should concern themselves with preserving the old ways, lest they be lost. Aristophanes (Through the eyes of the women) mocks man's inclination for

Understanding of Constitutions

Understanding of Constitutions A constitution is a set of rules that people of a certain nation have come up with and agreed upon. It is used for moral, political guidance and to govern the people.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Understanding of Constitutions specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A Constitution can be written like that of United States or unwritten like that of Britain. In every sovereign state there are laws governing their political society, limiting the powers of the administrators and their subjects. Those laws are found in the constitution showing how the state is organized in terms of administration, judiciary and legislature. Countries have different ways through which their constitution came to existence. Some of them could be due to wars revolutions, gain of independence or any other major happening in the country. Canada was a colony, which formed its constitution after independence thus there was no comprehensive document i nstead there are many acts, orders, schedules unwritten documents and principles. Constitutionalism is ideology or orientation that advocates for a constitutional government, in that, authority is derived and limited by a body of fundamental laws. Constitutionalism supports government by rule of law and not arbitrary judgment and officials in public office are bound by the constitution in their actions. This idea is associated with political theorists such as John Locke and Thomas Hobbes and has been criticized by some scholars because there are various questions that arise from it. The system supports limitation of the government using the constitution which is a set of laws made, implemented and adjudicated by same government. Canada’s constitution goes back to 1867 when Canada was formed through the British North America act but it was not until 1982 that Canada’s constitution was patriatised through the Canada act and the Constitutional act and she became completel y independent from the queen. Canada’s constitution is written but also has some parts that are unwritten. It establishes the authority of the executive, legislature and the judicial arms of the government. It gives to the different levels of government found in Canada such as federal, provincial, and municipal, powers to create and implement laws. It also highlights the civil liberties and privileges and how the constitution can be altered. Canada’s constitution is very complex because it was not created from one draft instead many pieces were put together. Guy (253) noted that â€Å"One of the main requirements of this constitution is federalism; it structures the government into two levels of authority, that is, federal and provincial.†Advertising Looking for essay on constitutional law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Guy (55) observes that â€Å"Federalism in Canada was provided in the cons titution during the confederation via the 1867 British North America Act which was renamed the constitutional act 1867 whereby, this act set out the jurisdictional powers of both the federal and provincial levels government. The provincial level governed through institutions, such as hospitals, correctional facilities, and educational institutions.† It also gave the provinces powers to impose direct taxes on these institutions and to share jurisdiction in agriculture and immigration meaning that both levels of government are allowed to create laws for these two areas. Financial management has been a major challenge for the constitution since there are no clear guidelines on what constitutes direct taxation. Section 91 of the act deals with federal powers, the first part says that powers not given to the provinces are left for the federal government, such powers are military ,navigation, census, sea, coast, fisheries, criminal law just to mention a few, this makes the federal s ystem to have a wider taxing power hence more revenue. Another issue is that the federal government has been given power over the provinces, an issue that has brought great controversy, while these powers have been used in the past they have now been superseded by a an written law convection act of 1867. Modern constitutionalism in Canada Canada being a democracy has fallen victim of the tenets of modern constitutionalism which include, human rights, rule of law, making of constitutions and separation of powers ;which involves the division of governments into the three major parts legislature, judiciary, and executive, this way the three are able to check each other to ensure constitutionalism. Rule of law is applying the constitution equally to all its subjects despite the class, race or group of origin. Some of the measures used to ensure this are habeas corpus, prevention of retroactive legislation and judicial review.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Und erstanding of Constitutions specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Constitution making process must involve public debates and discussions before the constitution is adapted. All these concepts are after one thing, which is limiting the government and respecting the supremacy of the law. Guy (76) say that â€Å"this has led to many amendments to the Canadian constitution so as to abide by this tenets, some of them are the charter of rights and freedoms, division of power between the federal and the provincial governments, recognition of the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada.† In addition it also requires the two levels of government to meet every year to address issues affecting them.† Some of the important amendments made are discussed below. The London Charter of Rights and Freedoms The Canadian charter of rights and freedoms was created on 17th April 1982 and it guarantees equality rights and freedoms. The section prohibits forms of discrimination in respect to denomination, education, race, genders. These rights are applicable to every natural person and the charter limits both the federal and the provincial governments from making laws that interfere with the rights of the people of Canada. With the introduction of the charter, there has been a drastic change in the Canadian courts, they are now more active in protecting individual rights and freedoms, they have a broader view of equality, recognize substantive equality which means that law makers and the government should ensure that laws made create a good environment for everyone despite personal attributes or group membership. This type of equality requires challenging stereotypes, though people still complain that the courts have not done enough yet to protect the individual. The rights and freedoms are; â€Å"Fundamental rights are freedoms of; belief, thought, expression, press, conscience, religion, belief, a ssembly and association.† Democratic rights; these are rights to vote, maximum duration of officials in public office, parliamentary sittings and their duration. Mobility rights such as; right to life, liberty, security, unreasonable search, freedom from detainment, right to legal counsel, rights against self-incrimination, language rights (this is use of the official languages), English and French (Guy 96). Meech lake accord Meech lake accord was a collection of amendments that had failed to be made to the Canadian constitution and was intended to persuade the government of one of its provinces Quebec to support the 1982 Canadian constitution because it had declined to do so .Advertising Looking for essay on constitutional law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More They demanded to be allowed to keep the French language and religion, give rise to the power of the clergy and be identified as distinct society by itself both geographically and in culture, the supreme court had ruled that the new constitution applied to all provinces but Quebec was in opposition. A new premier was elected in Quebec just at the same time as this argument was in place he agreed to negotiate and gave conditions that were to be followed for them to agree to the constitution. This accord was negotiated at the Meech Lake in 1987 and five modifications were made but they had to be approved by other provincial and federal legislatures to prevent change of the constitution amending formula. The accord received support from ten premiers and also national polls showed that the people were supporting it, however this changed due to the â€Å"distinct society clause†, and the people said that Quebec could not be treated differently. After many debates, meetings, commiss ions and negotiations the demands even increased to include gender, and natives’ issues in the accord. Time lapsed and polls were held and it was unsuccessful but Quebec did not change there position it hence the failure. A series of constitutional conferences were held and negotiations were made but things were still the same and this led to the Charlottetown accord. The Charlottetown accord The Charlottetown accord was comprised of proposed amendments to the constitution of Canada. The accord’s aim was to solve the disputes of power between federal and provincial jurisdiction, codification of the Canadian character and diversity, recognition of Quebec’s demands, the aboriginal self government principle, changes in the house of commons and appointment of the justices of the Supreme court which Quebec demanded that three of them be elected from the province since they were the only ones that practiced civil law. The accord unlike the previous one was presented t o the public in a referendum which was unsuccessful. The United States constitution The United States constitution is the source of all legal authority in existence in all states; it is over 200 years old. It is the shortest written constitution and was adopted on September 17th 1787 by the constitutional convention in Philadelphia. The document has been amended twenty seven times but has still remained relevant for application. The first ten amendments are called the bill of rights and are the source of the Canadian charter of rights and freedom. It is different with that of London in that, it was written as one formal document unlike that of London that is collected from different pieces and even some are unwritten (Guy 118). Political Parties, Interests and Pressure Groups A political party is a political organization with ideologies on how to run a country. The objective of these parties is to gain majority seats in parliament so as to influence legislation. They engage in polit ical rallies, nominations, electoral campaigns and national elections. They are termed as vehicles trough which political leaders gain power and get their positions in government. Political parties are essential in management of public affairs. The origin of political parties is said to be politics of the United States and its forefathers who were revolutionaries like Washington, Jefferson, Adams and Hamilton. The first parties were formed in 1796 in America’s formative years, the two groups were conflicting on how the new government was to formed, the federalists wanted a central government and supported the ratification of the constitution, industrialization, a national bank and building of roads and canals. The anti federalists in contrast wanted rights of the state in manufacturing and was opposed to the government building roads and other moneyed interests. The group evolved to be the Democratic Republican Party and ascended to power in the1800 election. The federalists achieved their objective for a constitution and after that the party weakened. After the civil war in 1812, the Democratic Republican Party was divided over the issue of who to support for the primary election. There were also other issues like slavery which brought controversies which led to some members breaking out and went to form smaller parties and among them was a major party the Whig party. It was much financed because it was led by wealthy business men. Democrats who were against slavery left the party and together with other small parties they formed the Republican Party. The two parties are still America’s major parties until today in a multiparty system in place. There are many types of parties today but the main distinction between them is cadre and mass based parties. The two forms can be found in one county, but there are also other categories such as communists, socialist, conservative and liberal. All this characteristics can sometimes be found in one party hence they are not specific. Functions of political parties Political parties are vital especially in democracies, because they aggregate and articulate the needs of the people and are avenues for political debates and discussions in the society. They draw people with similar ideologies and interests together and provide them with a means through which they can acquire political power. In addition, they provide an opposition to the government hence keeps it on its toes enabling good public service. They also educate and socialize the people about political issues and the electoral systems in order to enable the people make informed political decisions and take viable options. Another factor that determines the nature of political parties’ is political systems; the main ones are single, two parties and multi- party systems. In single systems there is only one political party which is legal and dominant, it is common in communist countries like china and Nazi Germany, position s in the party are highly valued the system is associated with tyranny and dictatorship. The two party systems have two dominant parties; plurality voting system is the major of the system existence and is mainly found in United States and Britain. The multiple system is characterized of many parties and coalition governments are common due to differences between parties. The history of Canada’s political parties The history of Canada’s political parties is traced back to when it was a colony of Britain and France. During the American Revolution loyalists migrated to Canada and a majority of them believed there was a need for a governing class which was to be comprised of the chief families and wealthy business men. After the 1812 war, there were two groups the reformers and the conservatives. The reformers opposed the ruling class idea and the special privileges they were accorded, thus they advocated for equal rights. They staged a rebellion to oppose this issue but it failed to achieve its objectives. Since then Canada has been characterized by liberalism and conservatism a factor that has shaped the country’s politics until today. Pressure groups Pressure groups are people that are organized and aim to influence the government’s decisions and policies or sometimes focus on an issue and pursue it. Pressure groups and political parties have many differences both in structure and function .Political parties focus on attaining power and maintaining it while pressure groups focus on national interest. Some promote a particular issue while others deal with issues as they come. Pressure groups influence policy formulation and implementation in various countries, they provide substantive information to the decision makers, offer campaign finance and carry out lobbying activities. Some of the successful groups in Canada fight for the rights of women, gender representation, free health care and education for the less fortunate. Currently there are pressure groups pursuing issues like, abortion, the environment, gun control, and capital punishment (Guy 148). Elections and Electoral Systems Psephology is the study of statistical analysis of elections and the word itself has its origin from the Greek language and it means ballots .The analysis uses several elements such as opinion polls, voter’s returns in previous elections, campaign finance and any statistical data about elections. The various applications used in the analysis are Gallagher index, Mackerras pendulum and the swinggometer Concepts of voluntary and compulsory voting Elections are held to determine who is best fit to govern a country among the contesting candidates. The vote of each and every citizen is very important since every vote casted determines the result of the election and hence participating in the decision making process. However it is a personal choice whether to vote or not, although in some countries people are forced to vote. There is two voting systems voluntary and compulsory, in compulsory voting citizens are forced to vote or attend a polling station on the voting day failure to which one is punished through fines, community service or even imprisonment if the first two are not done. Those that do not want to vote can go with the ballot paper or spoil it at the polling station, because the important thing is that they get to the polling station. The old and the sick are provided with mobile polling booths so that they also get a chance to vote and are assisted on how to do it. The main argument for the system is that it prevents access to the vote and prevents any factors that may make people not to vote for example employers, transport and weather. It is a measure to involve the socially disadvantaged or politically inactive, enables the population to be politically active, decreases the role of money in politics since not much campaign is done and also reduces the risk of political instability created b y charismatic leaders like Hitler. Arguments against it term it as a violation of citizen’s freedoms and may also lead to donkey voting which may affect the electoral process. The system is commonly found in Australia In voluntary voting people are allowed to vote according to their own wish, it is the system used in many countries for example the America, Canada Britain, Spain and Italy among others Electoral systems An electro system is a method by which people vote in an election or referendum, the system comprises of the rules of voting ,counting of votes and the final result. The voting system also determines the form of ballot, allowable votes and the subgroups of voting. The major voting systems are the, majority system, proportional representation also called plurality and the fast past the post voting systems. The electro system of a country affects the outcome of the election due to the rules that are used, but still the exact amount of influence is difficult to tel l since each election has its own features and dynamics. In the majority system only one representative is to be elected and that would be the most qualified personality. The system gives the big parties a greater chance to win the election while the smaller parties are marginalized, although this system also creates a stable parliamentary majority but still does not represent a pluralistic modern society. The method appears to be straightforward and simple but in the end it leads to complicated policies that are not transparent to voters and hence compromises democracy. The proportional representation method ensures that each vote made counts; it’s an hybrid of single and majority system. All parties present a list of candidates and then voters are allowed select a list hence they vote for the parties not the aspirants. The parties are then given seats according to the number of votes they get; this is because political parties’ present ideas of governance and the mor e the better since small parties gain power and it ensures democracy and proportionality, although it can lead to a weak government. Since coalitions are common, independent candidates do not also get a chance and the link of a representative and his party is lost. It is common in developed western countries like Switzerland (Guy 178). Canada 1993 Federal Election Canada federal elections are nationwide elections done to elect their leaders. The election may be called any time but a least one must be held in a span of five years and past the post system of voting is used. A federal election was held in 1993 to elect the members of the House of Commons with fourteen parties being involved in the election, it was one of Canada’s eventful elections because more than half of the electorate changed parties. The election was called by the by Prime Minister Kim Campbell when she was almost to exit office. She wanted to help her party the progressive conservative party to win in the elections but they gravely lost. Two new parties were formed leading to the division of the conservatives into: â€Å"the Bloc Quà ©bà ©cois, which gathered about half of the votes in Quebec and the Western based Reform Party which gathered about equal number of seats.† During the campaigns the Liberals were very consistent and organized in contrast to the Conservative campaign. â€Å"The Liberals came up with a manifesto, which was exceptional to the other parties’ and provided a new limited public works program and a national child care program. The Bloc Quà ©bà ©cois pledged to support interests at the federal level, by running candidates exclusively in Quebec while fighting for Quebec’s independence from Canada, they also promised to create a smaller government, lower taxes, support the North American Free Trade Agreement, and oppose the Goods and Services Tax† (Guy 145). The liberal party won because they had a strong base in the two major provin ces Quebec and Ontario. They dominated Canada’s elections for the next decade until they were greatly challenged by the sponsorship scandal and fighting within the party which reduced them to a minor party. The primaries in the United States The United states primaries is one of the initial stages in the election of their president, they are run by state and the local governments and are used to determine how many delegates each candidate will receive from the state. The two main political parties nominate the aspirants they want for president at the national conventions, the nominated candidate is then voted for by the voters, hence ensuring that the candidates are chosen by the voters’ not party leaders. There are two ways of voting in the primaries. Guy says† in open primaries, voters engage in one of the primary elections, irrespective of their party and they are not required have to make a public statement of their party choices, but they have to decide whic h primary election they want to vote in that particular election.† This way they do not have to publicly declare their choice and also it enables the candidates to get a chance to be chosen despite their political affiliation. Guy also points out that† the closed primary election system is very restrictive in terms of participation, only party members are allowed to vote, and voters can not switch parties on the primary election day†. The proponents of these system say that it enables; voters to have more power in the candidate selection process hence reducing the power of party leaders and also reduces the influence of organizations, it also enables them to intensify their campaigns and mobilize new supporters while the tiring election campaign during the primaries prepares the candidates for the competition with their opponent(s) in the general election. However, there are some critics about the system; people say that states are not true representative of the st ate and therefore advocate for a single national primary, candidates also have to spend large amounts of money for primary election campaigns before the general election campaign starts, hence creating moneyed politics, the candidates must also strive to get positive media coverage, they also have to make early relations and networks with the members of their parties to gain support for the primary elections. The system in my opinion has greater advantages than disadvantages and more countries should think of establishing it as a method of choosing their candidates (Guy 220). Conventions and debates in Canada and United States Guy says that† another characteristic of the United States presidential nominating process is a national convention which is held every four years by the parties that intend to have a candidate in the national elections†. The purpose is to elect a party nominee for the position. National conventions in Canada are the same with those of the United S tates; the only difference is that delegates to choose the party leader are elected by associations like women groups and young clubs. The conventions in both are aimed at selecting the best candidates for the job and to foster democracy. There are also debates held before the general elections involving the two final candidates of the major parties. They are not very essential but are necessary so as to enable the voters to know clearly the intentions of the candidates once they are elected and also create a chance for the candidates to challenge each other publicly. In the 1992 elections of the united states, there were three candidates, George Bush of the republican party, Bill Clinton for the Democrats and Ross Perot of the independent party. The democrats won because there had been some huge economic problems facing the country under the leadership of the republicans and people did not trust them to re-elect them again having been in office for twelve consecutive years. In that election, Democrats gained full support of the legislature, executive and both houses of US Congress, and also won the 1996 re-election. Canada 2006 Federal Election In Canada, minority governments happen when no party has managed to convincingly has garnered majority of the votes in the legislative house, thus the party with a majority seats forms the next government. However, minority governments should have backing of the other parties to remain in authority, thus they are less stable as compared to majority governments. Guy (236) states that â€Å"The current Prime Minister of Canada is Stephen Joseph Harper who is also the leader of the Conservative Party that won the 2006 federal elections whereby the party was formed after a merge of the Progressive Conservative and Canadian Alliance parties.† Harper dominated media coverage, the first weeks of the campaign and although his party faired baldly in the polls, Harpers personal polls, started to go up. To counteract this, the Liberals started propaganda against the Prime Minister, but these did not change Canadians’ perception as Harper was a popular leader. Guy (56) also noted that â€Å"The Conservatives gathered more than 38 per cent of the popular vote, an increase of seven per cent from 2004 election; while the Liberals came second with 30 per cent and the NDP third with 17.5 per cent.† Canada has much trust in their current prime minister for he has shown he is a rare leader who has even won many awards including the Presidential Gold Medallion for Humanitarianism by Bnai Brith International which has never been awarded to any one in Canada. He has also led the conservatives into forming the best government in Canada, through his desire to turn the Canadian senate into an elected rather than an appointed body. The Conservative Party won a stronger minority in the October 2008 federal election, but going by factors the party is likely to win a majority vote in the next election (G uy 345). Work Cited Guy, James. People, Politics, and Government. Ontario: Pearson Education, 2010. Print.

Topic Analysis - European Financial Crises Essay

Topic Analysis - European Financial Crises - Essay Example The origin of the global financial turmoil was the collapse of the real estate bubble in the United States, mainly the sub-primes1 mortgage market, which provided access to housing finance to almost everyone even those without the necessary guarantees. The problem was further aggravated by the securitization2 of sub-primes leading a contagion in the financial system, which resulted from massive defaults on the original loans that had been securitized (Ferguson, 2012, p. 19). There was high mistrust among commercial banks in the financial systems, which led to freezing of the interbank market, severely affecting liquidity distribution and forcing institutions to bankruptcy, both because of reduced activity in the interbank market and as financial institutions continued to sell even the good quality assets in fear of the unknown, or as a consequence of increased uncertainty. In the period 2006-2007, there was increasing panic as news of bankruptcy of firms such as Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley in the USA and Dexia in Europe, continued to stream. Some of these firms were however bailed out by the governments of the USA and Europe. In 2008-2009, the financial crisis began to hit the global economy3, introducing the first recession since the times of World War II. In EU alone, GDP went down by about 4.1% while rate of unemployment4 increased by 3.9% between 2008 and 2010 (Manfred, Griesbach, and Jung, 2011, p. 292). These were firm indicators to justify that there was indeed a heating problem that needed quicker action to resolve to avoid dire consequences. This paper will attempt to explain the Euro zone financial crisis and particularly explore the hypothesis that the â€Å"European situation has the potential to become a financial â€Å"time bomb†, which could destroy the euro as a currency, send global financial markets into a tailspin and global recession†. In doing this, the paper will address the

Ocean Life and the Impact Of Humans. An overview of the Gulf of Mexico Research Paper

Ocean Life and the Impact Of Humans. An overview of the Gulf of Mexico - Research Paper Example However, due to the crucial economic importance of aquatic resources, there has been an upsurge of human activities including tourism, mining, fishing and other industries in these habitats. These human activities have regrettably diminished ocean life through unsustainable practices such as overexploitation of the resources and introduction of pollutants. This paper explores ocean life in the Gulf of Mexico, with special focus on the effects of human activities on the diversity and conservation measures in the region. An overview of the Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico is one of the most important oceanic habitats in Northern America and has one of the richest aquatic diversity in the world. In addition, it has rich reserves of petroleum deposits making it one of the biggest oil producing regions in the world. The rich ecological diversity offers numerous social and economic opportunities, including tourism, navigation, recreation and mining of petroleum and gas that contribute sig nificantly to the gross domestic product of the United States and Mexico. The entire Mexican gulf covers an area of about 600,000 squares miles, extending from the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico to Florida Keys in the United States (Weber, Townsend and Bierce, 1992). A recent biological survey of the biodiversity in the Gulf of Mexico undertaken by GMP (2010) recorded 15,419 species that belong to 40 phyla. The marine life ranges from single cellular organisms to plants, seaweeds and fungi, in addition to a wide variety of vertebrate and invertebrates animals. The rich biodiversity is distributed across three major habitats, including the shoreline or the coast, the shallow sea and the open or deep ocean. The coastal region consists of important habitats, including beaches, sand dunes, estuaries, mangrove swamps, salt marshes and tidal flats. The gulf of Mexico coastline offers a wide range of aquatic plants including the mangrove, diverse varieties of plants and algae including turtle , manatee, shoal and widgeon grasses in addition to sargassum sea weeds. The coastline forms an important habitat for aquatic near shore animals, including corals, sea turtles, dolphins and various species of whales, fish and sharks (GMP, 2010). NOAA (2006) classifies species of animals found in the Gulf of Mexico according to the water depths that they mostly occur. From this classification, there are near shore and offshore animals. The habitat of near shore animals ranges from the estuarine waters to the edge of continental shelf and it covers a distance of less than 200 meters from the shelf edge. Offshore animals occupy deep waters that lie beyond 200 meters from the continental shelf. However, this animal distribution varies depending on the seasons because of migration between these areas for various reasons including reproduction and depending on food availability, water temperatures and strength of ocean currents (NOAA, 2006). The aquatic plants and animals in the Gulf of M exico have established important biological relationships in the ecosystem. Aquatic plants and algae are the primary food producers in the marine ecosystem providing sustenance for a wide variety of marine animals (Allan and David 2007). For instance, turtle grass in the Gulf of Mexico is common source of food to sea turtles. Through photosynthesis, the aquatic plants and algae produces oxygen that dissolves in water. The dissolved oxygen is used for respiration by the wide diversity aquatic animals in the gulf. In addition, anaerobic bacteria use the dissolved oxygen in the decomposition of organic matter in the water bodies. Similarly, aquatic animals provide the plants with carbon dioxide as a by-product of respiration

Corrections Community-Based Treatment Program - Essay

Corrections Community-Based Treatment Program - - Essay Example Psychotherapy is an interaction based form of treatment where a trained counseling professional or psychologist establishes a relationship with the client with the intents of changing the clients way of thinking. There are various forms of psychotherapy each targeting a given system. Usually, Psychotherapy has been integrated into rehabilitation programs as it targets to change the behavior of an individual (Brazà £o, Motta & Rijo, 2013). The reason I chose the psychotherapy as a correction treatment program is because of its application. One of the commonly accepted facts in dealing with juvenile crimes is most juvenile offenders commit the crime out of influence or maladaptive thinking that translates into a maladaptive behavior. Secondly, when a juvenile commits a crime and is convicted of the crimes, there is an increased possibility that they will be affected emotionally and psychologically. Psychotherapy, therefore, comes in as one of the best correction measures as it addresses all these complications associated with juvenile crimes. There are various psychological conditions that are associated with vulnerability to commit crimes. An example of such conditions is the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and compulsive disorders that are common with children (Brazà £o, Motta & Rijo, 2013). Among juvenile offenders with such conditions, psychotherapy has proven to be a reliable rehabilitative measure. Ther efore, I selected this option out of interest to learn more about it and because of its diverse application. Psychotherapy originated from an earlier form of treatment that was practiced earlier called hypnotic therapy that concentrated on the treatment of psychic. This definition was later changed as most authors felt the term was being taken in tow with hypnotism. Since then, psychotherapy has been used to mean the use of psychological or psychophysiological methods (Brazà £o, Motta & Rijo,

Restatement problem definition technique

Restatement problem definition technique Task 1 The purpose of the task is to choose one of the scenarios and to apply the Present state/Desired state, Duncker Diagram and Statement/Restatement problem definition technique. The scenario 1 is about the problem associated with the recycling of post-consumer waste. It has been observed that even in the most cooperative and environment conscious communities, bins of recyclable waste contains 10% of wrong recyclable or non-recyclable material. For disposing non-recyclable material present in recyclable bins, recycling company has to spend lot of money. The problem needs investigation from the recycling company CEOs point of view. Summary of additional information gathered Generation of waste is strongly associated to population and urbanization [1]. Improvement of existing waste management technique is a prime concern for developing countries. In past, the most inexpensive practice for disposing waste was to place it in landfills. Despite the fact that the landfills were used to manage the waste, the need for restitution of the landfills, release of toxic gases, limited accessibility of the land for the landfills etc., still remains a great challenges for metropolitan cities. The ever increasing post-consumer waste has many adverse effects on the health of people, such as pollution of underground water and soil, bad smell from landfills and release of green house gases like CO2 and CH4 [1]. The concept of 3Rs which says reduce, reuse and recycle has become a key notion for waste management. The finest way to manage waste is not to create it. Generation of waste should be minimized at household level by avoiding excess use of non-environmental friendly goods. Recycling is the also one of the best option for waste management as it offers several advantages like utilization of waste which would otherwise be dumped in landfills and also decrease in use of new resources [2]. Novel methods of sorting non-recyclable waste from recyclable should be brought in use. The production capacity of paper in Malaysia has reached up to 1,300,000 T/year [3] but it is still low as compared to the consumption of paper there. Paper mills in Malaysia are now relying on machines which can sort different grades of paper. After sorting, high quality paper can be recycled. Malaysian paper mills are saving lot of money, energy, reducing the amount of landfills, reducing incineration and above all conserving their natural resources [3]. Shutting down of Freshkills Landfills in Staten Island in 2001 has strained the city of New York to find other methods of waste management. To dispose huge amount of waste, New York City is exporting parts of its waste to Virginia and its neighboring state. Remarkable increase in disposal tipping fees in recent years has forced New York City to find other methods for waste management. Recycling provides a striking alternative as it helps in decreasing pollution, providing employments and preserving energy. Municipal Corporation in New York City is now relying on materials recovery facility (MRF). MRF collects waste, segregates wrong or non recyclable waste from recyclable waste, recycle the waste and stores it as raw material for manufacturing industry. By doing this, City of New York is saving nearly $46 million per year from the total amount it spends today for waste disposal [4]. Present state/Desired State Technique Discussion: The present state talks about the presence of wrong or non-recyclable material whereas desired state talks about maximizing companys profit by proper separation and disposal of non-recyclable waste. There is no match between the present state and the desired state. Further reworking of statements is required. Discussion: These states are matched, but there is no clear difference between the present and the desired state. Desired state somewhat solves the issue in present state i.e. company has to spend money for disposing non-recyclable waste. Actual problem is not resolved yet therefore further reworking of solution is required. Discussion There is perfect one to one mapping between present and desired state. The problem addressed in present state is completely resolved in desired state. The desired state focuses on attaining zero percent contamination in recyclable bins. Therefore, if there is no non-recyclable or wrong recyclable material in recyclable bin there is no point in disposing it and there is no cost for disposing it. These statements can therefore be considered as the best statements for actual problem. Duncker Diagram Statement-Restatement Technique Original problem statement: Bins of recyclable material contain 10% of wrong or non-recyclable material and recycling company has to spend money for its disposal. Trigger 1: Emphasizing on different words and phrases Bins of recyclable material contain 10% of wrong or non-recyclable material and recycling company has to spend money for its disposal. Is there any other way to collect waste? Bins of recyclable material contain 10% of wrong or non-recyclable material and recycling company has to spend money for its disposal. How can we reduce percentage of wrong or non-recyclable material? Bins of recyclable material contain 10% of wrong or non-recyclable material and recycling company has to spend money for its disposal. Can we make use of these wrong or non-recyclable materials? -Some materials like used polythene bags can be reused as trash bags in houses for trash cans. In this way consumer can reduce the use of non-recyclable material. Bins of recyclable material contain 10% of wrong or non-recyclable material and recycling company has to spend money for its disposal. How can we reduce cost for disposing non-recyclable waste? Trigger 2: Substituting the explicit definition Containers of reusable materials are contaminated with non-reusable materials that are in fact, expensive to dump. Trigger 3: Making opposite sentence How to make bins of recyclable material contamination free, thus company has to spend no money for its disposal? Trigger 4: Use relaxing constraints Bins of recyclable material are never contaminated and there is no cost for its disposal. This technique helps us to think in different way. It motivates to develop a method so that recycle bins never get any contamination. Trigger 5: Replacing persuasive words The problem statement implies that we obviously want zero contamination of recyclable waste so that company has to spend no money for its disposal. Thus, if we could avoid contamination at source by marking the bins and classifying non-recyclable and recyclable waste for consumers. Trigger 6: Expressing words in the form of equation This statement can be expressed in equation form: Contamination in recyclable bin is directly proportional to presence of non-recyclable material. Therefore, By replacing, proportionality sign (with proportionality constant (k). This trigger helps us in thinking in alternative way. What factors affect the value of k? How can we minimize the presence of non-recyclable material? Proper tagging of bins, classification of non-recyclable materials and recyclable materials for consumers, reducing use of non-recyclable material etc. can help in reducing contamination of recycle bins. References Moldes, Y. Cendon, M. T. Barral, â€Å"Evaluation of municipal solid waste compost as a plant growing media component, by applying mixture design,† Bioresource Technology, vol. 98, no. 16, November 2007. V. W. Y Tam, C. M. Tam, â€Å"A review on the viable technology for construction waste recycling,† Resources, Conservation and Recycling, vol. 47, no. 3, pp. 209-221, June 2006. M. O. Rahman, M. A. Hannan, E. Scavino, A. Hussain, H. Basri, â€Å"An Efficient Paper Grade Identification Method for Automatic Recyclable Waste Paper Sorting,† European Journal of Scientific Research, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 96-103, 2009. A. J. Dubanowitz, â€Å"Design of a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) For Processing the Recyclable Materials of New York Citys Municipal Solid Waste,† M.S. thesis, Dept.Earth and Environmental Eng., Columbia Univ., May 2000 [online]. Available at http://www.seas.columbia.edu/earth/dubanmrf.pdf, retrieved on 09/29/09.

The Great Expectations of Human Nature Essay -- Great Expectations Es

The Great Expectations of Human Nature Charles Dickens used Great Expectations as a forum for presenting his views of human nature. This essay will explore friendship, generosity, love, cruelty and other aspects of human nature presented by Dickens over 100 years ago. Friendship was one of the human characteristics Dickens enjoyed. Herbert was a true friend to Pip. Moving to London would have been stressful if Herbert had not eased Pip's transition into the city. Herbert informed Pip of Miss Havisham's story when no one else would tell it. When Magwitch arrived and mortified Pip, Herbert was there discuss what was to be done. Herbert was an integral part in the design and implementation of Magwitch's escape. Herbert even saved Pip's life from Orlick's powerful grasp. By associating fellowship with good characters and deeds, Dickens made it known that he admired friendships. Another human characteristic which Dickens appreciated was generosity. This trait appeared in Magwitch and Pip. Magwitch , the starved convict, was forever grateful to Pip for bringing him food in the opening of the book. Magwitch repaid Pip's kindness by opening a door to the young man's dreams. Pip suspected his dear friend, Herbert, would never become prosperous so Pip took some of the money he was receiving from Magwitch and used it as a stipend in Herbert's behalf. By doing this, Pip precipitated Herbert becoming a partner in a prosperous business. Having characters donate money and benefit from it, Dickens conveyed the goodness of generosity. To Dickens, the most noble of human characte... ...me to visit Pip in London, Pip was embarrassed to know him. If Pip "could have kept him away by paying money, [Pip] certainly would have paid money." After years of Joe's friendship and loving care, Pip thought of paying him not to visit. At the end of the novel, Pip learned what an unappreciative person he had been to Joe and asked his forgiveness. Dickens presented this piece of human nature well enough to create sympathy for Joe and all parents who receive ingratitude from their children. Dickens used his characters to convey his thoughts of human nature - good and bad. Dickens believed if he could present both sides of humanity to the public, people would try to better themselves. Dickens hated the Victorian society in which he was bound, and he turned to the pen to alter his bete noire.

Cultural diversity in a Danish MNC Essay

Introduction Workforce diversity is a complex phenomenon and a major challenge for HR managers in MNCs. The case presents a Danish MNC, Danvita (not its real name)that has committed to pursuing a diversity strategy. The essence of a diversity strategy is a commitment to providing equal opportunities for employees regardless of their gender, age, nationality, disability and political and sexual orientation. In this case our focus is on cultural diversity. Drawing on individual perceptions of Danvita employees this case explores how Danvita’s diversity strategy in relation to national culture is experienced by Danvita’s employees. Diversity as a strategic resource It has been argued that MNCs that are able to draw on a diverse mix of employees can develop a strategic advantage (Richard, 2000). This is because workforce diversity establishes the potential for diverse perspectives that in turn facilitate creative thinking and effective problem solving (Cox, 1991; Cox & Blake, 1991). Understanding and valuing diversity can enable constructive conflict resolution, reduce miscommunication and lead to lower employee turnover and result in cost savings (Robinson & Dechant, 1997). A diverse workforce that can draw on a variety of cultural insights can also have a positive impact on international marketing and sales (Blake-Beard, Finley-Hervey & Harquail, 2008; Robinson & Dechant, 1997; Cox & Blake, 1991; Cox, 1991). However, workforce diversity can also have negative effects. Some researchers have observed that groups characterized by high degrees of cultural diversity have lower levels of employee satisfaction, lower levels or performance, high levels of miscommunication, conflicts and turnover than more homogenous groups (O’Reilly, Caldwell & Barnett, 1989; Watson et al., 1993; Richard, McMillan, Chadwick & Dwyer, 2003). Diversity as perceived by organizational members The focus of this case is in on the issue of how Danvita employees experience the company’s strategy of achieving cultural diversity. ‘As with many things in life, perception is reality’claims Allen et al. (2008: 22). Individual perceptions influence the way individuals interact with their colleagues and participate in the life of organization. Based on their perceptions, organizational members participate actively or passively in the implementation of the company’s strategies as well as support or oppose organizational change. Knowledge of how organizational members perceive diversity opens a possibility for improvement if necessary. The case data were obtained by means of seventeen qualitative interviews with seven Danish and ten international employees. Their narratives, however, should not be understood separately from the environment where the stories and events take place. Thus the narratives were supplemented with direct observations of diversity trainingsessions and with documents containing the new diversity strategy, managerial speeches and company annual reports. In this way information about the social context in which the employees’ perceptions of cultural diversity are constructed and re-constructed on an everyday basis was obtained. Denmark and Danish The context in which the diversity case is unfolding contains elements of both national and organizational culture. Although there is a considerable overlap, it is important to distinguish them. Despite its commitment to diversity and inclusion of international employees the head office of Danvita is still operating in a broader context of Denmark. In Denmark historical and religious development of the society led to formation of a very particular institutional environment in which the state plays a significant role. Denmark has a well-developed welfare state that redistributes wealth and that ensures inequalities are relatively limited (Andersen and Svarer, 2007). The role of the Danish language as a uniting and protecting mechanism in Danish society must be acknowledged. Historically the Danish language is an indicator of membership of and belonging to Danish society. Its significance for inclusiveness means that it may alsofunction as a mechanism of exclusion of non-Danish speakers. This factor co-exists with Denmark’s membership of the European Union and its policy of welcoming well-qualified professionals to work in Denmark. Danvita and the HR challenges it is facing The aim is to create a culture where all employees feel valued and have the opportunity to reach their full potential(Diversity strategy, Danvita) Briefly about Danvita Danvita is the company that has been a leader in the industry in which it operates. Annual reports indicate increased profits for 2009-2011. In March 2012 Danvita had more than 32,800 employees worldwide distributed across affiliates and offices located in 75 countries. Just over 40 per cent of its employees are located in Denmark. In order to function successfully as a MNC Danvita believes that it has to attract, develop and retain competent people from any location in the world. In 2009 it started a diversity initiative. At the core of this initiative is the operational guideline for HR which states that the company will provide: â€Å"(†¦) equal opportunities to all present and future people, regardless of gender, age, race, religion, nationality, cultural and social origin, disability, political or sexual orientation and family status† (Danvita). In 2009 when diversity strategy was launched about 700 of Danvita’s employees in Denmark were foreigners. Although 68 nationalities were represented it should be noted that half of the foreign employees were from a handful of countries, the UK, the US, Germany and Sweden. The highest percentage of the international employees was among the professionals and specialists. An effort was necessary to be made to make these employees feel welcome and willing to stay. The turnover rate for international specialists was 3 times higher than that among the specialists from Denmark. These numbers do not have to be as alarming since employees change jobs and employers frequently and international employees return home after rotations and expatriation. Nevertheless, feeling welcome and happy with their working environment, international employees can contribute to higher retention rates in the organization which claims to be in need of workforce. Thus the diversity strategy was developed. The diversity strategy The current diversity strategy has an ambition that by 2014 all senior management teams will include employees of both genders and different nationalities. In pursuing this objective the company insists that all positions are filled by the best candidate. â€Å"All management teams or the senior VPs teams will have to have at least a representation of non-Danes and gender diversity. They will have to have. It is not a wishful thinking. That means implementation and they will have to do something with it.†(Respondent 2) At the end of 2011, diversity in terms of gender and nationality was reflected in 18 of the 29 senior management teams, compared with 15 of 28 at the end of 2010. Guiding principles The guiding principles of Danvita’s diversity strategy attempt to lay the foundation for equal treatment of all the organizational members. These principles highlight the strategy’s focus on providing equal opportunities and selecting the best-qualified candidates in order to attract and keep talents from all over the world. Supporting initiatives A number of supporting initiatives contribute to the creation of a culture of inclusion. There is an International Club which is run on a voluntary basis and which aims at creating a network for foreign employees. The idea is that foreign employees have the opportunity to meet in a non-work atmosphere and to experience the traditions and leisure activities of the host country. It also provides an arena to talk through their frustrations with more experienced colleagues. Corporate way of speaking about diversity Drawing on company documents we now present three company discourses on diversity. Business and business needs One discourse emphasizes the business needs of the company. Diversity is a way of dealing with these needs. The discourse portrays the company as ‘a global company’, having an ‘expanding presence in the world’. The key issue is:‘as we expand where are we going to find the people (we need)?’A representative of top management team emphasizes the current growth and success of the company which is going to be ‘even larger and more global’and articulates the need for attracting talent: ‘We want to be among the most attractive companies so that we can continue to attract – and retain – the talent we need’. The business discourse constructs diversity as the necessary attribute for sustainable growth with satisfying the needs of international recruits as the means to this end. Equality A second discourse emphasizes diversity as an expression of equality. This discourse views diversity as a product of emphasizing talent regardless of any other considerations. We need to make a greater and more systematic effort to identify women and non-Danes with leadership potential when we are filling a management position (†¦). The company will never use either negative or positive discrimination. We will always choose the best individual for a vacant position. (Interview with top management team representative Employee magazine) The discourse sees selection of the ‘best’ individuals for positions as the guiding principle with the provision of equal opportunities to all as the means to this end. In practice this means that: ‘We need to re-evaluate who it is that we are hiring’(Diversityadvisor). Inclusion The third discourse involves how the company talks about diversity as inclusion.This discourse presents inclusion as a precondition for achieving diversity: ‘Inclusion is an integral element of the diversity strategy, as this is about how to value and utilize all the differences among our people.’(Danvita Diversity strategy). While emphasizing inclusion this way of talking about diversity constructs diversity in terms of differences. In the annual report for 2008: (†¦) inclusion of men, women, locals and non-locals must be considered for succession list for all key positions. Mentorship will be offered and supportive network initiatives including expatriate networks and a ‘family-buddy’ system are being set up. (Annual report 2008) These three main corporate ways of speaking about diversity coexist in the organizational space of the company. Of the three the business discourse is the most pronounced discourse and the inclusion discourse by far the least pronounced.

Time on Your Hands

Time on Your Hands Time on Your Hands Time on Your Hands By Maeve Maddox For me, January is a time for thinking about time. The month is named for Janus, the Roman god depicted as having two faces. The double visage represents the power to see into the past and the future. Because of this attribute, Janus was the patron of beginnings. Our word time has been in the language since Old English times. It occurs in numerous idioms such as time of day, time-travel, time-keeper, time-limit, about time, and to have a good time. Before any of our British readers object to that last one as a vile Americanism, according to the OED, to have a good time ( = a time of enjoyment) was common in Eng. from c 1520 to c 1688; it was app. retained in America, whence readopted in Britain in 19th c. Another word for time, Greek khronos, has also been put to good use in English in the form of the word elements chron and chrono. Here are just a few, some more useful than others. anachronism: the erroneous reference of an event, circumstance, or custom to a wrong date. For example, Shakespeare’s plays contain numerous anachronisms. In Julius Caesar, set in Roman times, a character counts the chimes of a mechanical clock. References to clothing often indicate that Shakespeare’s actors performed in contemporary Elizabethan garb, no matter what the historical setting of the play. If you want to get really picky, here are some words to narrow down the type of anachronism you mean: parachronism: an error in chronology, esp. the placing of an event later than its real date. Metachronism has the same meaning. prochronism: an error in chronology that places an event earlier in time than its true date. The next three words are used in the study of linguistics. achronic lasting through time, or during the existing period. In linguistics the term means â€Å"pertaining to or designating a method of linguistic study concerned with the historical development of a language; historical, as opposed to descriptive or synchronic.† panchronic: designating or relating to a linguistic structure or theory that may be applied to all languages at all stages of their development. synchronic: pertaining to or designating a method of linguistic study concerned with the state of a language at one time, past or present; descriptive, as opposed to historical or diachronic. Then we have chronic lasting a long time, long-continued, lingering; said of diseases chronicle: a detailed and continuous register of events in order of time. It can also be used as a verb, to chronicle. chronobiology: the scientific study of temporal or periodic phenomena in biology. This is the word that set me off on this theme. I encountered it in a New York Times story: Dr Michael Smolensky, an expert in chronobiology (the study of the bodys natural rhythms and cycles) at the University of Texas at Houston, says that people who live in countries that are cold in winter eat more than they do in warmer seasons: â€Å"Adults typically consume 6 to 7 per cent more calories in the winter.† chronological: arranged according to time dendrochronology: the science of arranging events in the order of time by the comparative study of the annual growth rings in (ancient) timber. isochron: a line (imaginary or on a map) connecting points at which some chosen time interval has the same value. Planning a complex novel might lead a writer to make a chart with isochrons. monochronic: relating to or dating from a single period of time. pseudochronism: Obs. rare a false dating; an error in date. synchronicity: Carl Jung used this word to name the phenomenon of events which coincide in time and appear meaningfully related but have no discoverable causal connection. synchronize: To cause to be, or represent as, synchronous; to assign the same date to; to bring together events, etc. belonging to the same time. I’ll always associate this word with old movies. The plan requires each member of a group to perform separate actions at the same moment. Before initiating the plan, the leader of the good guys gives the command, â€Å"Synchronize your watches!† Some more ‘time† expressions in English: Time, Gentlemen, Please More â€Å"chron† words Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Mostly Small But Expressive InterjectionsAt Your Disposal20 Ways to Cry

William Tyndale Essay essays

William Tyndale Essay essays How has William Tyndales translation influenced all the following English translations of the Bible? In 1525, William Tyndale began to write his famous version of the scriptures. Printing had already been achieved, so Tyndale had the desire to give the people a Bible of their own, in their own language. By 1526, Tyndales version of the English Bible had been published and printed. There was great turmoil over the translation however, because the King of England, Henry VIII decreed that the translation was heresy. By this time, Tyndales English Bible translation had proven so popular that it had already been copied several times and was being read by many people. This version of the New Testament, and some of the Old Testament, was spread throughout the known world. William Tyndale did not get to see his English Bible flourish and rapidly spread worldwide. Tragically, he was strangled and burned by Henry VIII. Unfortunately, this King later realised that the translation was not heresy and began his own Church of England based on Tyndales translation. When Henry VIII realised his error, he began to make as many copies of the English Bible possible. Changing the ways of the old Roman Catholic Church, he allowed for everyone who could read, the chance to have an English Bible translat ...

Investigate and analyse the financial system of South Korea, Its level Essay

Investigate and analyse the financial system of South Korea, Its level of development,The efficiency of its financial markets,an - Essay Example South Korea established a central bank in 1950 that was given the mandate of regulating all the other banks in the country, printing and circulation of the currency in South Korea as well as making laws and regulations that would govern other financial institutions in the country. The minor banks in South Korea had a function of extending credit services to businesses and other medium and long term investment projects (pg 48). Today, the financial system of South Korea has grown and continues to improve remarkably over the years. South Korea is located in the north-eastern Asia and it is bordered by the Yellow sea to the west and Democratic Republic of Korea to the north. South Korea has four distinct seasons and in 2011, the population was estimated to be 48.75 million people with the annual growth rate in population estimated to be 0.23%. South Korea is characterized by low birth rate and high life expectancy at an average of 82 years for women and 75 years for men but the literacy levels are high with compulsory schooling for the first 9 years. This has greatly been affecting the economy of South Korea because most of the population is made up of the old people. The major religions in South Korea are Christianity, Buddhhism, Shamanism, Confucianism and Chondogyo. Politically, South Korea has a well organized government by the president, the parliament and the judiciary. Power was well laid out in the constitution that was appealed in 1987 (Kim & Black, 2004). South Korea has had a well performing investment sector especially in agriculture and other medium and long-term investments. This sector has been an integral part of the economy of South Korea and the banks even offered loans that would be channeled towards these businesses. They contributed to the growth of South Korea’s GDP that has improved though it had staggered for some time due to hard economic times that South Korea went through for some time (Lau, 1996). The depository sector of the fin ancial system has also been improved over the years where unlike the times when banks were solely owned by the government, the people have been allowed the freedom to have shares in the banking sector and the banks have started offering depository services for their customers (Lee, 2004). This has strengthened the financial system of South Korea and has ensured that there is constant growth in the sector. In the recent years, South Korea’s financial system moved from the government ownership to more widespread powers where people were allowed to participate directly through the purchase of shares. This was contributed to by the increases reforms and strategies that were geared towards attainment of stability in the financial markets. Over the past 10 years, The GDP of South Korea has experience fluctuations in GDP with a 9% growth in 2009 and 6.1% being recorded in 2010. This was due to changes in economic situations globally and changes in the level of exports in the country over the years. South Korea’s financial system has improved significantly and it has even gone ahead to sign business agreements with North Korea that are aimed at improving the exports in the country hence ensuring the country a growth in the GDP and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) (Zahid,1995). The growth of the financial institutions in South Korea have been so much affected by the aging population, strict labor laws, poor management of the institutions, underdevelopment of the

Tourism Industry Trends Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tourism Industry Trends - Essay Example Initially, most hoteliers and investors in the tourism industry thought that most consumers were not willing to pay for a premium greens service. This is major because of the high costs attached to these health-assuring services. However, if the developments in China are anything to go by, and especially considering the current environmental situation in Shanghai city, more and more consumers are even willing to pay double for the same service as long as it comes with the green concept in mind. The customers want to go green and to avoid the health hazards of living in an environment full of carbon gases and the thorny issue of the ever-increasing global warming, which has significant indices and effects in China.As such, most hoteliers in Shanghai are attracting more consumers than ever especially if the consumer realizes that they are adopting green practices. Some of the green practices adopted by these hoteliers include using the solar energy instead of coal for warming rooms and heating the water, using energy saving bulbs, recycling waste and sewerage water, and, adopting technology as a tool of communication instead of using printed papers for printing in an effort to save the trees and forests from extinction. This is major because China is the leading country in the world in industrialization, but its fast pace in industrial growth has detrimental effects on its environment. As such, the country has to conserve and guard jealously its forests reserves in order to have a countermeasure.