Disaster mitigation in Naga City

The city of Naga is located in the Isle of Luzon in the Philippines. Situated at about 377 km south of Manila, Naga City lies at the center of Camarines Sur, which is the biggest province in the Bicol region. The city has a total area of 77. 5 sq. kms. The city is located along the typhoon belt and therefore prone to tropical storms and typhoons throughout the year. It is also deemed vulnerable to floods, and earthquakes (Pineda & Buan, 1998). In the Naga City area, there are different kind of floods which periodically plays havoc in the city.Apart from floods from the major river Bicol, flash flood from Naga River too devastates the region. Besides river floods, there are periodic storm surges from the sea as well. Frequent inundation of the city and loss of agricultural land is a common phenomenon in the region. 1 Disaster management plan When natural disasters occur, the rate of survival and rescue of property would depend upon how efficient the emergency response operation is. Th e region is expanding very fast and the same trend will continue in the future as the Naga city is the center for commercial, educational, and industrial sectors in Bicol region.Disaster management plan is all the more relevant for this disaster prone city, because with tremendous growth rate, the likelihood of causality figures is expected to go up, if planned measures is not undertaken (Westen, 2007). Delayed and poor management of disaster could result in great deal of loss, both of human and property. Naga city has a much thought out disaster management and mitigation plan to cope up with the threat of natural calamities, which plagues the region (Pineda, & Buan, 1998).In seeking to ensure that their community could grow and prosper in a sustainable manner, Naga city officials sought to ensure a close link between hazard mitigation and land use planning. Following a study to determine the priority areas of attention, they crafted a strategy to manage hazards and to prevent envir onmental degradation in order to uplift the quality of urban life. A coordinated set of activity was formulated in the Naga City Disaster Management Project (NCDMP). NCDMP became the focus of the city’s evolving disaster risk management initiatives.It’s major concern was to identify risk reduction measures that could help the residents, while also promoting the importance of awareness and city planning for potential hazards that could threaten the city. As the first model city in the Philippines, Naga City used its projects to help strengthen the capacity of its citizens to develop and implement disaster mitigation standards and practices (United Nations, 2004).Diasater reduction initaitives Naga City authority realized that losses and damages to properties due to disaster 1. http://library. witpress. com/pages/PaperInfo. sp? PaperID=14311 could be avoided with proper planning, and attention towards relocating centers of. economic activity and settlements in safer area s. Through the development of community based surveys, with technical data provided by the weather service flood forecasting division, hazard mapping was carried out. In their planning for disaster risk reduction measures, the local authorities maximized the use of GIS. GIS also helped them determine which areas of the city would most likely become flooded. Accordingly, city officials targeted specific households for evacuation.After the identification of the vulnerable areas, the Naga City local authority made plans to shift the economic activities from low lying flood prone areas to elevated and less risky areas of the city. The local authority promulgated a five year developmental plan, whereby new land use laws and economic incentives have been made and new areas have been developed into growth centers. Coping strategy after Durian Durian is the fourth typhoon that hit Philippines within a span of three months. Worst hit by the typhoon was the areas near Mayon volcano, located a t the south east of Manila. The typhoon wrecked havoc in Camarines, Sur, Albay, and other provinces in the region.Termed as super typhoon, it submerged the provinces of Albay, and caused several villages near the Mayon volcano to be completed buried due to mudflows and landslides. Immediately after the typhoon, the Provincial Disaster Coordination Council (PDCC) together with pertinent agencies, and individuals initiated relief operations on war footing for the affected families. The persons affected by flood were moved to the evacuation centers and essentials and food items were distributed in a coordinated manner.The Provincial office along with regional center for health development coordinated the work of vaccination, drinking water testing, regular health assessment, deployment of environmental health sanitation team, and needed supplies of essentials and medicines. Rehabilitation of water and electricity infrastructures was implemented with speed and efficiency. 3 Conclusion T he typhoons in Philippines in 2006 wrought havoc in Naga City and nearby areas. The massive destructions caused by these typhoons were an eye opener for the authorities. The government has leant a lesson, albeit in a bitter way.Precautionary measures have been taken now on a massive scale, and not later. The typhoon Durian in Philippines could have caused less causality if there were timely intervention of the authorities to move the people of flood prone area to safer elevated area. As there is the possibility of disasters happening any time, people near the Mayon volcano have been shifted several times right after the warning of some impending disaster, which is perhaps the only way to prevent causality and loss of property. In this the city has set an example.

Factors influencing child development Essay

1.0 introduction In the study of development, nurture is defined as the environmental conditions that influence a child’s development (T. M McDevitt and J. E. Ormrod , 2010). A child’s home environment, friends with whom he spends time with, the food that he eats and the types of movies he watches — not to mention the content and or education background – are all the factors that influence his physical, social and cognitive development in both positive and negative perspective. In this paper, I will be focusing on nurture factors and how do these factors have influenced the development of the prominent figures that I have chosen which are Tun Dr. Mahathir, our very own 4th Prime Minister from Malaysia and Bill Gates, the billionaire, from United States of America. The development that I will be touching on is regarding the physical development, cognitive development as well as the language development. Read more:  Explain how children and young people’s development is influenced by a range of external factors essay 2.0 Tun Dr. Mahathir Tun Dr. Mahathir was the 4th Prime Minister of Malaysia. He is fondly known as the â€Å"Father of Modern Malaysia†. He was born on the 10th July 1925 in Seberang Perak, Alor Setar, Malaysia, but his father, Mr Mohamed B. Iskandar, only registered his date of birth on 20th December 1925. His mother’s name is Wan Mas Tempawan Bt Wan Hanafi. He is the youngest in the family and is very close to his five brothers and sisters. He got married with Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Bt Haji Mohamed Ali on 5th August 1956 and were given seven children. After I went through Tun’s background, there are two nurture factors that contributed to his development. The nurture factors are as follow: 2 2.1 Nurture factors 2.1.1 Family Family has always become the priority in an individual’s life. In my humble opinion, every success of a man lies on their family supports and values. This statement is agreed by Tun Dr. Mahathir himself whereby he believes in  family values and close family relationship (Fam, Lee, Nawarmani Balakrishnan and R. Rajendran, 2006). During his childhood, Tun and his siblings were taught to behave with discipline in everything that they do (Mahathir, 2011). His father, Mr Mohamad B. Iskandar, is the first Malay Headmaster of the Government English School in Alor Setar. Whenever Tun Dr Mahathir and his siblings came back from school, their father would go through their homework with them. Even during the holidays, their father would sit down with them, patiently tutoring them and setting a timetable for them to do reading, school work etc. He would teach them the way that he taught his students in school. Apart from that, Tun and his siblings lived in awe of their father even though he never laid a hand on them. This is because the sound of their father’s cough was enough to send them scurrying back to their books and homework (Mahathir, 2011). They all studied at the big table in the front room and will only stop for dinner. It is such discipline that Tun Dr Mahathir grew up to be a well-mannered and educated man with good values. Thus, I would say that family plays a very important role to develop a child’s cognitive development. In fact, family is the biggest influence during childhood, as the children view their parents as their role models. 3 2.1.2 Education Besides family, education also plays a vital role in the development of Tun Dr. Mahathir. Despite the informal education that he got from his own family, he also went to school to get his early education. He started schooling when he was 5 years old in a Malay School in Jalan Seberang Perak. He has the determination of wanted to have a better education than what most Malays had at that time. For that, he went to English School and passed his examination. At school, the students were not allowed to speak any languages other than English language. So with such practice, Tun Dr Mahathir developed his language development and is able to converse English language fluently. All these happened during his primary school days. After he finished his primary school, he then went to Sultan Abdul Hamid College to do his secondary education. However, during that time, the Second World War started. As a result, it was difficult for him to study and he decided to  seek for a job. So, he started his business mind and thought of something to sell. Together with his two friends, he set up a stall selling coffee and ‘Kuih’ (Malaysian cakes). He made a good business with the stall and soon was able to sell the stall for a good sum of money. This matter showed he has a good acute business sense. After selling the stall, he moved to a better location at a small complex. He then thought of selling fried bananas. He made money selling the fried bananas and also made many friends. This incident proves that, at a very young age, he is able to think, strategize, and find solution for any problems that occur. 4 Indirectly saying, Tun was exposed to cognitive skills through his own experiences not only from education but also from the business perspective. In 1945, after the Second World War ended, Tun Dr Mahathir resumed his education at Sultan Abdul Hamid College where he sat for and passed his Cambridge Examination. He did a lot of reading on political issues in his father’s huge library in school. He gained a lot of information from his reading. From here, it is proven that Tun also developed his cognitive skills by reading books especially in political issues. In school, joining extra-curricular activities was part of the system. Therefore, Tun joined the rugby club although he was not very interested in games and sports but then he found out that he quite enjoyed playing rugby (Fam, Lee, Nawarmani Balakrishnan and R. Rajendran, 2006). From here, I would say that school activities play a significant role in shaping Tun physical development such as grass motor skills, which includes running. Finally, in the year 1947, after he had gone through much experience in working, he then continued his tertiary education in medical field at the King Edward VII Medical College, Singapore. With all the skills that he got from early of his primary school up to secondary school and working experiences, I do not think Tun will face a problem in his studies especially when it comes to speaking skills and finding solution to any problems. 5 3.0 Bill Gates The way Bill Gates was brought up is different from Tun Dr. Mahathir. Unlike  Tun, his education plays a significant role in shaping his development. In contrast, after I went through Bill Gates’s biography, I found out that it is his peers that have influenced his success. He and his partner, Paul Allen, built the world’s largest software business called Microsoft. In the process, Gates became one of the richest men in the world (The Biography Channel Website, 2004). There are two nurture factors that contributed to his development. The nurture factors are as follow: 6 3.1 Nurture Factors 3.1.1 Family Bill Gates was born on 28th October 1955, in Seattle, Washington, United States of America. His real name is William Henry Gates III. His father’s name is William Henry II who works as an attorney and his mother’s name is Mary Maxwell, who works as a teacher. Bill gates grew up in an upper middle-class family with two sisters: Kristianne and Lubby (The Biography Channel Website, 2004). The Gates family atmosphere was warm and close and all three children were encouraged to be competitive and strive for excellence. It is such discipline that made him a very competitive person. For example, Bill showed early signs of competitiveness when he coordinated family athletic games at their summer house on Puget Sound (The Biography Channel Website, 2004). Bill Gates was a voracious reader when he was a child (The Biography Channel Website, 2004). He would spend most of his time by looking for information in reference books such as encyclopaedia. Gates weird behaviour made his parents more concerned of his academic achievement. Thus, he was sent to Seattle’s Lakeside School. As a result, at age 13, he blossomed in nearly all the subjects and also doing very well in drama. At a very young age, his cognitive development was trained by his family. Thus, by that kind of environment – competitive among his siblings, excel in academic field – has made him become one of the most influential persons in the globe. 7 3.1.2 Peers As I mentioned earlier, Bill Gates and his business partner, Paul Allen, both shared the same interest over computers. It is through peers that Gates  slowly developed his cognitive skills in computer field. It all started when both of them eventually met in high school when their school offered computer class for the students. Although the two were very different in their personality – Bill was feisty and combative, in contrast, Allen was more reserved and shy (The Biography Channel Website, 2004). But all in all, I believe, with such differences that have made them a good companion. At the age of 15, Bill and Allen went into business by creating â€Å"Traf-o-Data†, a computer program that monitored traffic patterns in Seattle. Believe it or not, their efforts had made a total profit of $20,000. Another big project that they had worked together was with Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS). Both of them worked days and nights until they got hired by the company. Until in the year 1975, Gates and Allen formed a partnership. This partnership was called Micro-Soft, a blend of â€Å"micro-computer† and â€Å"software†. In a child’s development, peers play a vital role in shaping any abilities or talents that a child has (Barnes. S, 2014). As for Bill Gates case, he enjoyed making friend with Paul Allen because both of them shared the same interest over computer. Plus, their interest does not even affect their achievement in academic. In fact, Bill Gates excelled in his studies. 8 4.0 Conclusion In brief, after I went through both the prominent figures’ biography, I found out that the nurture factors of a child comes hand in hand with physical development, cognitive development as well as language development . Due to the fact that both the prominent figures differ from the way they have been brought up, it is clearly evident that nurture factors do play a vital role in their development. One of the biggest nurture factors in a child’s development, I would say, is family. In social studies, family is one and the most important agents of socialization (Macionis, J.J., 2012). Through the teaching, support, surroundings and values that the family have, it will somehow and eventually determine a child development. If the family have a good background – despite the parents’ academic achievement, enough nutrition being given by the parents, etc – indirectly, a child will face zero problems in any aspects of their development. 9 REFERENCES Barnes. S. (2014). Peer Relationships, Protective Factors, and Social Skill Development in Low- Income Children. Retrieved from, http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/opus/issues/2013/fall/barnes, on April, 2014. Bill Gates (2014). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 06:35, Apr 1, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/bill-gates-9307520. Joan Fam L. H, Lee, Nawarmani Balakrishnan & R. Rajendran (2006). Tun Dr. Mahathir’s legacy: An inspirational learning experience. Kuala Lumpur: Krista Education Sdn Bhd. Macionis. J. J. (2012). Sociology. United States of America: Pearson Education, Inc. Mahathir Bin Mohamad (2011). A Doctor in the House: The Memoirs of Tun Mahathir Muhamad. Selangor : MPH Group Publishing Sdn.Bhd. T. M McDevitt &J. E. Ormrod (2010). Nature and nurture. Retrieved, April 3, 2014, from http://www.education.com/reference/article/nature-nurture/

Sociology in MMORPGs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Sociology in MMORPGs - Essay Example In this game players can create characters with different attributes, skills, and characteristics. They venture this world of theirs fighting creatures and gaining experience to achieve higher levels, obtain better abilities, and fight even harder monsters. True, it may sound easy, but people sit and play this game for many hours at a time. A large percentage of people who play EverQuest have admitted to playing for 10 hours straight, but you must remember that in MMORPG's people must put a large amount of time into it, otherwise people generally will get bored of the game. If people do not succeed and are always doing badly in the game you would think there would be no reason for them to play. People get addicted to these games very easily. There are plenty of great people to talk too, even though there are probably twice as many people you will not get along with. A lot of people lose sleep due to playing these games for and excessive amount of time. There are also people who have tried to quit these games, but have failed. Even though they just started to play one time, they had to continue after that. Do you think that these people just think they are addicted to the game though Some people say that they have gone through withdrawals trying to quit playing some of these games. One man even stretches to say "I get stressed when I have to go 24 hrs without logging on for a fix, and I wasn't able to quit when I tried. If that's not an addiction, I don't know what is." A game, an object, cannot be physically addicting. It is not a substance that alters a person's organs inside their bodies. Physical addictions are gone after detoxification, which is not the case in MMORPG's. These types of games are considered psychologically addicting. People sit down for hours playing these games, and they have so much fun they keep saying I just want to come back and play more. It can shortly begin to start running your life. A female and her boyfriend lived in an apartment in California living off of money they earned on e-bay, and all they did was sit and play EverQuest. The only reason they left the house was to go grocery shopping for food. After they lost their apartment everything started to crumble for her. The couple started to fight and they ended up braking up and moving back to their parent's houses. She tried to start socializing with people again after this, but she had hard times conforming back to society. When she was around more then one person at a time she got scared and anxious. Some people get addicted to Massive Multi Online Role Playing Games due to the self-esteem boost they get from being part of a group. They can actually achieve something that seems like a great thing, such as slaying a ferocious dragon, when all there doing is typing and clicking the mouse. A survey done on this very topic indicates that the more time spent playing the game the higher the persons self esteem was. Another part to this is a person with a low self-image. A person with a low self-image can go onto these games and, no matter what, have a character that looks amazing. They can act without fear of being ridiculed by complete strangers, and of consequences of their actions. Some people just have very stressful lives and need a way to escape reality. They sit and play games while the real life problems

Jewish philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Jewish philosophy - Essay Example The main objective of these philosophers was to revive the principles of Jewish religion. It was also realized that the course of direction of Jewish religion has to be tremendously changed with the advancement of time period to attract the new groups of people. In this context, the efforts of Jacques Derrida and Emmanuel Levinas for reviving the Judaism are noteworthy. Derrida is more cautious in explaining the meaning of Jewish philosophy in comparison to that of Levinas. It might be mainly because of the reason that he intends to convince the people that there appears some element of hesitation and undecidebility which we cannot avoid. He is more emphasizing on the truth that one cannot make Jewish religion popular by telling untruth. He is more open to reveal that the Jewish philosophy has some element of confusion and then tries to convince people that they have to accept it in its own form. In this process, he uses the word â€Å" relevant† translation which means that the translation of Jewish philosophy has to be done originally and accurately with out any deviation (Jacques derrida and Lawrence Venutti, 2001) At the same time, Derrida is skeptical about the successful implementation of new forms of non-violence. He is explaining the difficulty of implementing violence free world and his further argument was to convince people that i t has become a regular practice to experience some for of violence in the present day society. He also didn’t believe in totalism and exposes the element of suffering. He also interpreted that the affirmation of ghosts was not an ideal measure it poses a threat in the form of human violence and it obstructs the human conscience. On the other hand, Levinas concentrated on the theory that the Jewish religion can be spread effectively by way of translation, transmission and conveyance of Jewish tradition in easily understandable manner. Levinas believed in some form of implementation of non-violence in the present day

Lucas Cranachs Virgin and Child Painting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Lucas Cranachs Virgin and Child Painting - Essay Example The painting The Virgin and Child is one of his enduring masterpieces because it â€Å"demonstrates the hallmarks of the Northern European style† (Gift of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation). The Virgin and Child is marked for its â€Å"meticulous craftsmanship of colors and the precise execution of details which are signs of perfection common to Cranach’s workshop† (Gift of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation) , the austere image of the Virgin characterized by her asymmetrical humble eyes typified it as a product of his studio where he substitute the workshop’s paintings for his own, thus making the quality uneven. Just like most painters, Cranach’s paintings also evolved and his paintings for Frederick the Wise was the product of various experiments until he adopted his formal painting style when he was appointed as court painter to the Electors of Saxony at Wittenberg. His style which characterized the Virgin and the Child was Cranach’s attempt to also adapt to suit the demands of the Saxon Court (Bruce a). Technically, the painting The Virgin and Child are one of the many paintings of Cranach about the Madonna and Child. And just like the other paintings about the Madonna and Child, it is marked by the careful selection of colors where the figure â€Å"popped out† from its background due to the contrast of colors and chiaroscuro where the background appeared to be â€Å"lighter† than the foreground. In addition to contrasting light and dark colors, the combination of marked cold and warm colors in the figure emphasized a strong â€Å"character† on the figure where the red became prominently noticeable because it was a â€Å"warm color† contrasted with a â€Å"cold color† blue. The red, which also has the symbolism of the Passion’s, was emphasized for religiosity and aesthetic value as it became distinct when it was juxtaposed by the cerulean blue and deep green color of the Virgin’s garment.  

Ozone Depletion and the Ozone Hole Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Ozone Depletion and the Ozone Hole - Assignment Example this happens, is because as the sun moves across the sky, it moves through the atmosphere and this allows it to be absorbed or reflected as necessary. This will mean that the energy cannot reach the ground to warm it. Seasons are also marked with something called equinoxes and solstices. There is one in the summer an one in the winter. When people talk about the solstice it is a term that astronomers use to show which way that the Earth is tilting. When the north and south poles are tilted to the furthest point, either toward the sun or away from it, people call it the solstice. This also is the reason why there is a different between the daytime and night time hours. Every June 20 or 21 and every December 21 or 22, there will be a solstice; everyone knows this as the beginning of summer or winter (Page 2009). The equinoxes are when spring and fall begin. The spring equinox is called the vernal equinox and the fall one is called the autumnal equinox. These two tell us that the seasons are changing again. March 20 or 21 is the official Spring, and September 22 or 23 is the official fall (Page

Software Engineering Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Software Engineering - Coursework Example At the engineering phase, software is produced and it is tested at the end of this phase. The last phase entails evaluation of the project’s output before the continuation of the project to the next phase. This software development ensures that the goals of software engineering are fulfilled. This is crucial in ensuring that the software designed is easily readable and understandable. Spiral model ensures that this goal of software engineering is met through appropriate and proper documentation. The model ensures that each of the four phases is well documented and explained. This ensures that incase any change happens in the future, the change can be easily understood and it would be easy to understand what to expect from the phases that are involved in the spiral development process model (Tsui, Karam, & Bernal 2014: 123). It is important for the developed software to be easily testable thus ensuring that in the event of any error occurring, it is easier to understand and trace the origin of the error. In so doing, it is not necessary to retest the entire software again. Due to the phases that occur in the spiral model, it is easier to test each phase separately before progressing to the next phase. This ensures that the output that each phase gives is gauged separately and in the event of an error in each phase, the origin of the error can be easily traced. It is important for the software to be flexible enough to ensure that it comfortably handles all the aspects that it is meant for. Considering that the spiral process model involves various phases, the engineers ensure that each phase comes up with an output that it is required (Brambilla, Cabot, Wimmer, & Publishers 2012: 100). It enables the engineers to come up with creative software and ensures that customers are able to evaluate the output of the project before getting into the next spiral. The spiral development ensures that there is the development of the correct model because each phase is

Workers with disabilities Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Workers with disabilities - Research Paper Example The legislations aim to ensure that both the public and the private organizations accommodate the eligible and qualified disabled individuals in their system. The workers suffering from disabilities can perform well if provided with opportunities and appropriate accommodations by their employing organizations. However, there are instances of biasness and discrimination against such individuals on the basis of their disabilities. Thus, regardless of the vast economic development throughout the world and the enormous progress made in the field of anti-discrimination against individuals on the basis of their race, nationality, gender, color as well as disabilities, the workers with disabilities continue to face workplace or employment discrimination till date. The study attempts to analyze the current situation and legal precedence prevalent regarding the prevention of workplace discrimination on the base of disabilities. For this purpose, the study discusses the Federal Laws in practic e to prohibit such kind of discriminations amongst the individuals. The study also discusses the role played by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in providing a fair environment to all individuals irrespective of their disabilities. The role of the EEOC on instances of alleged discrimination by the employees has also been discussed. The study confers about the history of the formation of the prevalent federal regulations against disability discrimination. The study is significant because in spite of the numerous regulations implemented by the Government of US and enormous effort made by the Government, there is still large number of discrimination cases visible. Therefore, the study is significant to understand the past context and the present scenario of workplace discrimination against the disabled population. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 5 Workers with Disabilities Continue To Face Workplace/Employment Discrimination 6 History of the Anti-Di sability Discrimination Movement 8 Current Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination against the Disabled Workers 11 Conclusion 13 References 15 Introduction Disability is a very wide concept and hence there are various perceptions and definitions of disability. The Oxford dictionary defines disability as a â€Å"physical incapacity that is either congenital or caused by injury or disease limiting an individual’s ability to work† (Mathaphuna, 2007). The Americans with Disability Act defines disability as â€Å"a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of an individual, a record of such an impairment and being regarded as having such an impairment† (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2011). The disabled people all over the world generally face a lot of discrimination in their workplace, though they are otherwise competent in their work. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), wh ich was formed in 1965 under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, imposed laws prohibiting the discrimination by the employers amongst their employees on the basis of race, religion, nationality, color, gender, age or disability. The EEOC had enforced regulations against any kind of discrimination in hiring, promotion, dismissal, salary and all the other relevant terms as well as conditions of employment. The government of United States realized the significance of guarding the interests of the disabled people and checking unjust treatment of the disabled employees. The American with Disability Act (ADA) was hence passed in 1990, to minimize the workplace discrimination against the disabled workers. The Act banned discrimination ag

The Childhood section of Dubliners Essay Example for Free

The Childhood section of Dubliners Essay From your reading of the two stories in the Childhood section of Dubliners how is the encounter between different generations portrayed and what do you think is its role? The stories An Encounter and Sisters contain objective viewpoints about the older generation, and are told from the perspective of a young boy. There is the implication in both stories that the older generation is associated with religion which plays a paralysing role in the society of Dublin. The role of the encounter between the different age groups demonstrates the conflict of belief that occurs between young children growing up, forming their own opinions and beliefs, and their elders, who are trying to impress attitudes and traditions on them that seem unnatural to them. There is a suggestion that its role is also representative of the turmoil which Catholic Ireland found itself in during this period. The young boy, from whose perspective we see the elder generation, does not appear to hold the respect he ought to for his elders. In Sisters, the child feels bored by Old Cotter due to his endless talk about the distillery. The presence of Old Cotter and also that of the strange man in An Encounter are seen as equally undesirable by the narrator, and both are referred to in derogatory terms: Old Cotter as a tiresome old fool, and the nameless man by Mahony as a queer old josser. The children feel that they have no need for these men in their lives and it is significant that the word josser is slang meaning priest, exemplifying the disregard the boys feel towards a religion that has been imposed upon them. In addition to these two characters, in An Encounter Father Butler is a primary reason for the desire the boys feel for escape from the rebuke during the sober hours. Father Butler clearly has close connection with religion and their dislike of him once more is representative of the hostility the boys feel towards Catholicism and its effect on Dublin. The character of Father Flynn possesses a didactic role over the young boy, and we are told he taught [him] a great deal. Whether this teaching was desired by or imposed upon the narrator is not made clear but it is apparent that the priest instilled a certain amount of trepidation and awe, as well as admiration, in the boy, due to the adjectives used to describe his appearance, ancient, truculent, grey and massive, with black cavernous nostrils. The priests description is symbolic of the way in which the narrator feels about religion; one of the main roles that the encounter with the elder generation plays. The colours described are dark and intimidating, the atmosphere in his room was smoke-filled and one of lethargy, just as religion would have seemed harsh, restrictive and uninspiring. The man in An Encounter, also representing religion does not give a good impression of this central aspect of Irish society, he is perverted and contradictory in his words, he seemed to have forgotten his recent liberalismhe would whip a boy he would love that. One role of this encounter is to demonstrate the confusion that the boy feels about religion, before his eyes he sees contradiction in a religious figure, perverted and unnerving contradiction at that, which can only serve to add yet more doubt to his wavering faith. In both scenarios the narrator feels relieved when he escapes his elders whom he finds unnerving, indeed the epiphany in Sisters is the moment where he realises that he feels a sensation of freedomby his death. In the same way in An Encounter the boy seizes the first available moment to escape from the strange man, I stood up abruptlysaying that I was obliged to go. There is an urgency to get away from these mysterious characters although this is not apparent to the boy in the context of Father Flynn until he is involuntarily released by his death. Strangely, in the two stories the child feels an affinity to the elder generation and thus there is a sense of guilt due to the relief he experiences when they are absent. In Sisters the boy definitely admires the priest and despite feeling entrapped and paralysed by the religious implications attached to his role in society, there is also a certain empathy he feels towards him. The duties of the priesthood were too much for [Father Flynn] and smothered him, just as the requirements the boy must conform to in terms of religion are too demanding on his confused and inquisitive mind. In An Encounter the sense of empathy appears at the epiphany of the story, where the narrator realises that, like the man, he had always despised [Mahony] a little. This sudden, unexpected revelation that has been brought about by the unsettling words of the man demonstrates that the role of the older generation in this scenario has been to help the boy be true to himself and admit his own beliefs, which may inadvertently help him to accept his true religious feelings. The language and sentence structure used in Sisters helps to emphasise the generation gap perceived by the reader, words such as endless which imply the length of Old Cotters life as well as his boring talk, the threatening words that indicate the unapproachable appearance of Father Flynn due to his age and social significance, blackened, solemn and copious. Where the narrator describes how Father Flynn impressed his knowledge upon him, he lists the topics that he was taught, which shows not only the amount of subjects the two covered, but also symbolises the sheer length and content of the priests long life. The encounters used by Joyce in these two stories play conflicting roles, and contradiction is evident even within the same story; the boy describes a sense of anxiety to escape from his elders, yet expresses guilt at these feelings. He feels trapped by religion, yet sympathises with a priest about the constraints it makes on society, surprising as such a figure should be the embodiment of the restriction he finds it hard to abide by. The distance expressed both in terms of age and in opinion shows how the boy feels controlled by a generation he cannot relate to. This conveys a sense of paralysis affecting the younger generation of Ireland, a generation controlled by its elders and their religion, a religion which controls rather than directs its pupils. The encounters that make up such an important part of the two stories serve to demonstrate the alienation the children of Ireland feel towards their elders and their social situation: there simply is not the same strength of feeling towards religion in their lives, an empowering force on their lives and in Dublin.

Penn Square Bank & Down Corning Bankruptcy Essay Example for Free

Penn Square Bank Down Corning Bankruptcy Essay According to Norm Bowie, â€Å"sometimes being moral enhances the bottom line rather than reduces it† (Hartman, 2005, p108). Unfortunately, in the instances of Penn Square Bank and the Dow Corning bankruptcy, that may not have been the case. The following will examine the particulars of these situations and discuss the ethical issues present for each. Penn Square Bank Penn Square Bank was a small bank that played a large role in the Oklahoma banking crisis of the early 1980s. In an effort to maximize on the profits of the booming oil industry, the upper management of Penn Square Bank cut corners in several areas of its new lending division. Documentation to support million-dollar loans became lax. Collateral valuation and revenue recognition was severely over estimated without verification of the documentation to support such claims. Loan contracts were with casual deals and unspecific terms. Credit was extended based upon unverified personal letters paid for by the client. These documentation errors led to loans not properly secured (Caskey, 1985). In addition, Penn Square was more and more money, which facilitated errors in revenue recognition as the bank accepted over estimated valuation claims without requiring loan or interest payments. Thus, on paper the bank looked successful without ever possessing the funds to support its lending endeavors. Finally, credit was extended without true verification of asset valuation or proper documentation, and re-extended when the client could not produce the payments necessary to support the lofty loans (Caskey, 1985). Each of Penn Square Bank’s actions represents a form of financial statement fraud, which led to its downfall in 1982. According to Fraud Examination, there are three ways to deter financial statement fraud: (1) reduce the pressure to commit the fraud, (2) reduce the opportunity to commit the fraud, and (3) reduce the rationalization of the fraud (Wells, 2005). However, in this instance, most if not all of the fraud committed can be attributed to demanding goals set by Penn State Bank owner, Bill Jennings. As explained by Hartman, the â€Å"driving force† of â€Å"profit maximization† created a business environment to facilitate fraud (2005). Because profit was the sole motivator, documentation was inadequate, collateral valuation and revenue recognition was overstated, and credit extension was unverified and inferior. Instead,  Penn Square Bank should have considered the following measures: †¢An oversight or review board should be been established to oversee verification of credit or collateral valuation and determine the risk associated with each loan. †¢Documentation requirements should have been heavily enforced and maintained by the review board. †¢Contract and loan deals should have been regulated to the office with strict documentation requirements. †¢Disclosures should have been made regarding the lack of loan and interest payments. †¢Asset valuation and revenue recognition should have been accurately portrayed to investors, clients, and potential buyers. †¢Upper management should have established company ethical standards and enforced these standards with strict consequences for violation without exception. Unfortunately, all the measures to deter fraud that should have been considered were undermined by the owner’s overwhelming demand for success. Thus, Jennings’ need to maximize profits and increase sales created the pressure, opportunity, and rationalization to commit each action of fraud. Dow Corning Bankruptcy Dow Corning Corporation is the big name in silicone and silicone-based material production. But in 1995, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to protect itself from lawsuits regarding their silicone-based breast implants. Some advocated that the action was an effort to â€Å"avoid compensating women for their injuries† (Book review, 1996, p7). However, according to Hartman, Chapter 11 bankruptcy is intended to protect companies from creditors while it undergoes restructuring in an effort to stave off liquidation. By doing so, the company continues business, pays taxes, and provide jobs but is allowed time to reorganize to triumph over its economic hardship (Hartman, 2005). The ethical challenge is to use Chapter 11 as it is intended – as a restructuring tool to avoid losing everything – rather than file for Chapter 11 as a way of cheating its creditors out of owed money. Hartman suggests that what is ethical in regard to bankruptcy is to go beyond what the laws require and uphold the debt agreements made with creditors (Hartman, 2005). Dow Corning seemed to have that same perspective. Nine years later the company emerged from bankruptcy after settling the lawsuits for a payout of $3.3 billion over the next 15 years (Arndt, 2004). During the time under Chapter 11, the company reorganized  itself to refocus silicone production to develop fabrics, materials, and pharmaceutical products (Arndt, 2004). These sales and expanding markets will help Dow Corning to pay its debts to the 300,000 women named in the settlement (Sissell, 2004). Thus, Dow Corning is Chapter 11 bankruptcy free but still upholding its ethical obligation to the wronged party and its creditors. Although Dow Corning’s actions following the Chapter 11 emergence was ethically sound, its actions leading to the filing was anything but. Problems with Dow Corning’s silicone breast implants began as early as 1984 when they lost a lawsuit claiming the implant caused medical illness such as autoimmune disease. During the investigation for this lawsuit, lawyers found evidence showing Dow Corning executives were aware of complaints from doctors, concerns about the lack of long-term testing, and cases of the implant bursting during surgery. In addition, the study that supposedly proved the effectiveness and safety of the product revealed detrimental long-term effects on the animals under experimentation (Book review, 1996). However, throughout all the breast implant concerns, Down Corning continued to advocate the safety of their product going as far as to hire high profile and extremely expensive teams of legal and public relations specialists. In addition, allegations were present of executives attempting to destroy damning internal documents suggesting upper management was trying to cover up its liability in the claims. The 1984 lawsuit found Dow Corning guilty of fraud and deceit stating the company provided inferior and incomplete information by understating the risks to make an informed decision (Book review, 1996). More important, it revealed the unethical behavior of the executives and company as a whole.

Cultural sensitivity is a crucial factor to success

Cultural sensitivity is a crucial factor to success Due to progress in communication, transformation and technologies which have performed in development of worlds economy, people from different nations, cultures, languages and backgrounds are now communicating, meeting and doing business with each other more than ever. As there is increase in business activities between people from different nations, cultures, languages and backgrounds, companies who are operating internationally or which are going to be a global they have to concentrate on many factors to be a successful in international market. One of the significant factors among them is a culture. For the success of any business in variety of countries or regions it requires to have understanding of how cultural differences across and within nations can affect the way business is practiced. The main determinants of culture are religion, political philosophy, economical philosophy, education, language, social structure etc. Businesses have to understand and match with all this cul tural determinants, as cultural sensitivity is a crucial factor in a companys international business success. Cultural sensitivity means being aware that cultural differences and similarities exist and have an effect on values, learning and behaviour (Stafford et el. 1997). Culture is defined by many authors as collective programming of the minds that distinguishes the members of one group of people from another (international marketing page 181). It is in various forms which cover the areas such as politics, history, faith, mentality, behaviour and lifestyle. To be a successful in international markets any business must have to determine the specific role culture plays in the companys product markets. Culture may influence business success by consumer culture and business culture. In international business the situation is more difficult due to differences in culture between stakeholders and customers which may lead to different views and behaviour of people even in similar products markets. Therefore even in similar product markets across the countries it is crucial for the international marketers to understand the cultural differences and similarities exist to be a successful. CONSUMER CULTURE: Consumer culture deals with the factors determining consumer decision making and behaviour therefore to be a successful international businesses are required to understand such determinants. Social learning: Social learning is one of the important factors determining consumer decision. People may take decisions on base of what they thinks, feels and what they have learnt. Most of the learning takes place in groups of people such as family, occupational group, religious groups etc. Such learning is a result of shared knowledge and views of people from a particular group. For example generally people behave in a way of what they think and what they have learnt which may be from family or from groups of people of the same age, sex, occupation, interests, religion etc. Subcultures: Every culture has different subcultures such as religions, regions, racial groups etc. Group of people with similar values, views, habits, consumption preferences formulate subcultures. It is very important for the businesses to understand each subculture as it helps them to make the products or services according to needs of specific group. For example, In U.S., there are various subcultures depending on different ethnic, religious and regional groups. Each group in its own way influence the performance of business, consumer and buyers behaviour. For e.g., Campbells sells different flavours of tomato soup depending on region of the country. Tomato soup sold in Montana is not as spicy as that sold in Texas. Education: Education level is important for success of any business locally or internationally. From an international business perspective, education plays a vital role in determining the national competitive advantage. The main reason behind this is the availability of skilled and educated workforce is the main determinant of economic success of any country or business. International businesses can choose the location of doing business on the base of educational level of that region. For example, now a days India is a good choice of destination to outsource information technology jobs, which is result of Indian education system. International businesses can also design their marketing activities according to the level of education of particular country or region. Language: Language is one of the important characteristic of culture. It is a mean of communication which plays a crucial part in understanding the culture, values, perceptions, beliefs and attitudes of the particular region or country. Therefore language is considered as a key to establishing excellence business relationship. For example if German company is marketing their product in India, it is necessary for the company to understand or get knowledge of different Indian languages depending on regions, religious etc. and if the company fails to do that it would affect overall success of the company in that country. Religion: It is necessary for any international company to understand religious factors while doing business in any country because such factors plays a important role in determining consumer choice and view about that company. For example, In India there is a large amount of Hindus and Muslims. Therefore international company like McDonald would not be successful if they keep selling the foods containing beef and pork. To be accepted by the population of the particular region or country, it has to follow the culture in which country it is operating in. Political Philosophy: Political philosophy means system of government in particular country. Success of any international company in particular region is depends on how the political factors of that country facilitate or obstruct the business. For example: Due to the government laws some international country might be able to run the business in particular country but if the people of that country are might be encouraged to go for domestic substitutes, then it can affect the success of any international business. BUSINESS CULTURE: It deals with all cultural factors influencing business behaviour. Same as consumer culture which influence personal consumption pattern and buyer behaviour, business culture is equally important to determine accepted business behaviour. There is a significant effect of societys culture on the workplace of international business operations. Greet Hofstede has given five cultural dimensions as given below which gives better understanding about the intercultural differences within regions and between countries. Power distance: This focus on the equality or inequality between the people in society of particular country or in organisation. It indicates how society or organisation deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities. Hofstede states that high power distance cultures were found at the places that let them grow overtime into inequalities of power and wealth whereas low power distance culture were found at places that tried to lower down such inequalities as much as possible and culture of low power distance is better for smooth running and overall success of any business. Individualism Vs Collectivism: This focus on relationship between individuals and their fellows. In individualistic societies ties between members are loose whereas in collectivism it is tight. For success of any business Collectivism culture is more preferable. Uncertainty avoidance: It deals with the societys tolerance for uncertainty. It measures the level to which different cultures socialize their member to tolerate uncertain situations. Members in high uncertainty avoidance cultures requires strict laws and rules to minimise the possibilities of such situations whereas in lower uncertainty avoidance cultures, members are ready to take risks and less emotional resistance to change. Required level of uncertainty avoidance is depends on types of business though, high Level of uncertainty avoidance is preferable up to certain limit as in such culture people resist change, which is sometime not preferable for well-being of the company. Masculinity: This focus on the relationship between gender and work roles. In masculine cultures organisation makes difference between sex roles while handover particular job or task whereas Feminine culture does very less difference between sex roles. Very little difference is made between men and women in the same job. Long-term Orientation (LTO): It focuses on the level to which the culture holds the long-term orientation. High LTO shows that the country or organisation imposes long term commitment and respect for the traditions whereas in low LTO its vice-a-versa. In low LTO, change can take place much faster as traditions and commitments dont turn into barriers to change. Thus any international businesses have to follow the business culture depending on the countries they are operating in. Ethnocentric: It is the view that ones own culture is better than others. Ethnocentrism can be seen in many aspects of culturemyths, folktales, proverbs, and even language. As per ethnocentric culture, home countrys culture is used to define the culture of the whole company i.e. such companies use their domestic culture in all the countries they are operating in. This may could be unaccepted for the people and management working in different countries due to their own beliefs, values and culture which might be totally different than companys culture which could affect the success of company in other countries. Polycentric: As per the polycentric, host country culture is dominant within the MNE i.e. international companies are likely to accept culture of the countries they are operating in. Management follows the traditions, values, styles and customs of local staff. That means there is no common culture in whole company which may create a gap in its operation in different countries. However more often such companies are more likely to be accepted in any countries as companies follow the traditions, values and customs of host country. Geocentric: It indicates that instead of following home country culture or host country culture, companies formulate a hybrid culture across the company. In geocentric companies management consider organisations overall goals and plans from a wider view rather than simply follow the culture or traditions of the company. The companies which implements geocentric approach can make best possible use of its available resources and achieve the highest possible overall performance. Companies are more likely to follow geocentric culture to be a successful internationally as well as to avoid internal and external conflicts related to its operations. Thus after understanding all above different point we can understand that the cultural sensitivity is crucial for companys international business success. It is the company who decide which kind cultural sensitivity i.e. ethnocentric, polycentric or geocentric is required to be a successful international company though geocentric approach is preferable for the companies to follow as it formulate the cross-culture instead of following host or home countys culture and simply gives importance to goals of the company. Due to such kind of approach employees familiarise with both countries culture which also helps to socialise them with each other which is necessary to avoid conflicts due to the cultural gaps between the employees of different countries. This results in smooth running of operations of the company and thereby it leads company towards success. Along with the cultural sensitivity it is also important for the international companies to understand the consumer culture and business culture of the country they are operating in. Consumer culture helps companies to understand demand of the consumers of the particular country depending on different factors such as language, religion, religious, beliefs, education etc. Whereas business culture helps companies to design their operations or activities based on business culture of the country they are operating in. For e.g. If Indian company operating in UK where power distance is much lower compared to India, it has to follow the culture of UK otherwise employees are unlikely to behave or perform well which can affect the overall success of the company. Therefore companies are also required to understand consumer and business culture as it plays a crucial role in overall success of international companies.

NORTH KOREA :: essays research papers

In a discussion with the United States and China in Beijing on April 24, 2003, North Korean officials admitted for the first time that they possessed nuclear weapons. North Korean officials claim to have reprocessed and reproduced spent fuel rods and have threatened to begin exporting nuclear materials, unless the United States agrees to one-on-one talks with North Korea. Tension between the United States and North Korea have been running pretty stiff and high since early October of 2002. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly informed North Korean officials that the United States was aware that North Korea had a program that was allowing them to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons. Initially North Korea denied this, but later confirmed the veracity of the US claim.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In confirming that they had an active nuclear weapons program, they also declared the Agreed Framework agreement. The Agreed Framework signed by the United States and North Korea on October 21, 1994 in Geneva agreed that: 1.) North Korea would freeze its existing nuclear program and agree to enhanced International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. 2.) Both sides would cooperate to replace the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (D.P.R.K.) graphite-moderated reactors for related facilities with light-water (LWR) power plants. 3.) Both countries would move toward full normalization of political and economic relations. 4.) Both sides will work together for peace and security on a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. 5.) Both sides would work to strengthen the international nuclear non-proliferation regime.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Beginning in the 1960s, the Soviet Union supplied various types of missiles, nuclear power technology, and training to North Korea. China began supplying North Korea with missile technology in the 1970s. The North Korean nuclear weapons program was officially up and running with full force in the 1980s.

Tortilla Curtain Essay -- essays research papers

Tortilla Curtain: Jack Jardine Jack Jardine is a very interesting character in the story Tortilla Curtain. He has a very strong influence on Delany Mossbacher, one of the central characters in the story. His influences, along with the tragic string of events concerning Delany and Candido, produce a complete turn around in the ideals of Delany by the end of the story. At the start of the story Delany is a 'liberal humanist';, albeit a hypocritical one, but by the end of the story Delany is carrying a gun looking for Candido. It is easy for readers to categorize Jack as a cruel, cold hearted, upper class bigot considering his actions and words. I have to admit I think he comes off that way sometimes. But he also is a lot more than just that. He isn't stupid. In many ways his reasoning about illegal immigrants makes a lot of sense. Illegal immigration does hurt the economy. Illegal immigrants do take away jobs from citizens. But Jack takes it to such an extreme that it is hard for one to feel that his views of illegal immigrants and his sentiments about them are purely a result of his concern about the economy and the state. 'Don't be surprised, because this is only the beginning. We're under siege here-and there's going to be a backlash.';(pg. 146) Jack acts like citizens are in some kind of war with illegal immigrants. With sentiments like this it is hard to deny that he has a bit of paranoia. It is very interesting that he says citizens are under siege from illegal immigra...

Business Law Assignment Essay

This essay will explain the following four questions. First, would registration with the SEC be required for Dakota Gasworks securities? Second, Did Emerson violate Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and SEC Rule 10b-5? Third what theory or theories might a court use to hold Wallace liable for insider trading? Finally, under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, who would be required to certify the accuracy of financial statements filed with the SEC? Would registration with the SEC be required for Dakota Gasworks securities? Why or why not? Reliant Energy has registered securities and faces a takeover attempt, or third party tender offer, then the SEC’s tender offer rules will apply to the transaction. The filings required by these rules provide information to the public about the person making the tender offer. The company, Dakota Gasworks, is experiencing the takeover so they must file with the SEC its responses to the tender offer. These rules set time limits for the tender offer and provide some protection to shareholders. Did Emerson violate Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and SEC Rule 10b-5? Why or why not? Moreover, Emerson did violate rule 10b-5 of the Securities exchange act, in where it protects against insider trading; which is the purchase or sale by person with access to information not available to those whom with those they deal or general traders. The person passing the information of the takeover, Emerson, violated this rule by passing information that wasn’t regularly available to general traders. What theory or theories might a court use to hold Wallace liable for insider trading? Furthermore, the theory behind the prohibiting insider trading is that is undermines investor confidence in the fairness and integrity of the securities markets. The SEC claims that finding and prosecuting insider trading violations is one of its enforcement priorities, and all investors need to be aware of the danger in trading from spoken knowledge that is not  publicly known to people who base their trading on this information. Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, who would be required to certify the accuracy of financial statements filed with the SEC? Finally, the intent of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the securities laws, and for other purposes. The Act requires all financial reports to include an internal control report. This is designed to show that not only are the company’s financial data accurate, but the company has confidence in them because adequate controls are in place to safeguard financial data. Year-end financial reports must contain an assessment of the effectiveness of the internal controls. The issuer’s auditing firm is required to attest to that assessment. The auditing firm does this after reviewing controls, policies, and procedures during a Section 4040 audit, conducted along with a traditional financial audit. Under Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the CEO and CFO of public companies are required to certify the accuracy of financial statements filed with the SEC. References: 1. Miller, Roger & Jentz, Gaylord (2010) Fundamentals of Business Law: Summarized Cases 8th Edition, Cengage Learning. 2. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002. (n.d.). The Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002. Retrieved December 19, 2012 from http://www.soxlaw.com/

Novel Nicholas Nickleby Essay

Mr Squeers is one of Charles Dickens’ very vivid characters and one that plays an important role in the novel Nicholas Nickleby. He is owner and headmaster of Dotheboys Hall which is set in Greta Bridge in Yorkshire. Dotheboys Hall is a boarding school for disabled and illegitimate children. It is an all-boys school and Mr Squeers runs the school with extreme cruelty together with his wife, who is equally cruel. The children are sent there because they are disabled in some way and their families did not want them. Mr Squeers has very cunning ways and his only aims are to benefit himself. His main aim is to make money and he does this very well by being sneaky and taking short-cuts in the keeping of his school. He tries to put as little money as possible to Dotheboys Hall whilst getting as much money out as possible. Another of his objectives is to have the instant obedience that he desires. He wants a school where he has ultimate power over the boys so that when he asks something of them they do it immediately – with no question. He tries to obtain this instant obedience in school by regularly beating the boys with a cane. Mr Squeers sees his school more as a business than a school-learning environment. â€Å"This is our shop, Nickleby†. This quote shows that he is treating the school as a business because his primary objective is to make money. He does not really care about the boys’ education, just as long as he turns over a nice profit. As Mr Squeers is owner of Dotheboys Hall he decides how to teach the boys or not, as the case may be. Mr and Mrs Squeers deeply dislike all of the boys in their school, except their own children. In fact they perceive the boys as â€Å"their natural enemies†. Clearly, if they see the boys like this then they are not fit to run a school but as it is their own school, they can do as they like. Mr and Mrs Squeers both hate the boys. â€Å"The only difference between them is that Mrs Squeers wages war against the boys openly whilst Mr Squeers tries to cover his rascality†. I think Mr Squeers tries to cover his rascality because he knows that he is not treating the boys very well and should not be doing this. However, don’t be fooled! Mr Squeers hates the boys as much as his wife but Mrs Squeers doesn’t really look for an excuse to beat them – she just enjoys doing it. All of the boys at Dotheboys Hall are terrified of Mr and Mrs Squeers and live in fear of the dreaded cane which they both use to mercilessly beat them. At the Hall, the boys don’t get much freedom and think what they are told to think. They dare not argue or answer back to Mr Squeers as they are kept too weak and undernourished. It is clear that the boys are scared of him because of the amount of times and the violent manner in which Mr Squeers uses the cane.

Food Regulations Essay

1.State the administrative agency which controls the regulation. Explain why this agency and your proposed regulation interest you (briefly). Will this proposed regulation affect you or the business in which you are working? If so, how? Submit a copy of the proposed regulation along with your responses to these five questions. The proposed regulation can be submitted as either a separate Word document (.doc) or Adobe file (.pdf). This means you will submit two attachments to the Week 2 Drop box: (a) a Word document with the questions and your answers and (b) a copy of the proposed regulation you used for this assignment. (10 points) 2.Describe the proposal/change. (10 points) 3.Write the public comment that you would submit to this proposal. If the proposed regulation deadline has already passed, write the comment you would have submitted. Explain briefly what you wish to accomplish with your comment. (10 points) 4.Provide the â€Å"deadline† by which the public comment must be made. (If the date has already passed, please provide when the deadline was). (5 points) 5. Once you have submitted your comment, what will you are legally entitled to do later in the promulgation process (if you should choose to do so)? (See the textbook’s discussion of the Administrative Procedure Act.) If the proposal passes, identify and explain the five legal theories you could use in an attempt to have (any) administrative regulation declared invalid and overturned in court. Which of these challenges would be the best way to challenge the regulation you selected for this assignment if you wanted to have the regulation overturned and why? Answer all of these questions for #5 even if you are in favor of your proposed regulation. The response to question 5 should be a minimum of 2–3 paragraphs long. (15 points) 1-FDA publishes rules that establish or modify the way it regulates foods, drugs, biologics, cosmetics, radiation-emitting electronic products, and medical devices commodities close to the daily lives of all Americans. FDA rules have considerable impact on the nation’s health, industries and economy. My concern is that under the federal law, a claim that a food is intended to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent disease makes that food a drug, and is unlawful. However, federal law provides for FDA approval of a health claim, which is a statement that characterizes the relationship of any substance to a disease or health-related condition (e.g. a claim that calcium may reduce the risk of osteoporosis). Under the statutory standard for approval, the claim must be supported by significant scientific agreement. (www.iflr.msu.edu/iflr/courses/united_states_food_laws†¦) 2. The adequacy of federal oversight of food safety recently became the subject of intense media and Congressional scrutiny. The issue came to national prominence when contaminated food caused the death and illness of hundreds of people. The episode served to heighten awareness of the fact that an increasing proportion of the food consumed domestically is imported, and much of it from countries that do not have well established food safety systems. It also began to focus attention on the fact that FDA’s funding has not kept up with the responsibilities that have been heaped upon it over the past several years, and that FDA will need additional legal authority to effectively address some problem areas; they have adequate funding and resources. FDA covered the overall food safety systems of the countries, as well as their food safety systems such as specific commodity areas; i.e. seafood, including molluscan shellfish, imported meat products, vegetables and dairy products (exclu ding Grade â€Å"A† pasteurized milk products). (www.fda.gov/Food/InternationalActivities/Imports/default.htm) 3. The controversy over trans-fat offers an example of how one kind of regulation at the federal level can beget other forms of regulation at the state level. In 2006, an FDA regulation went into effect that requires listing the amount of trans-fat present in a packaged food on the label of that food. FDA did not go so far as to ban the use of trans-fat, something that some consumer groups were advocating. However, shortly after the issuance of FDA’s rule, state and local jurisdictions started stepping into the breach. A number of localities have banned the use of trans-fat in restaurant foods, and some states, such as California, have begun to follow suit. Faced with a patchwork of local requirements and the potential for adverse publicity, some major restaurant chains have reformulated their products to eliminate the use of trans-fat, however, nations wide has not complied or just finds a loophole to go around the system in avoiding such regulations. Another issue is the increasing concern of the status of federal regulation of foods and other products that contain nanomaterial. Both proponents and skeptics of nanotechnology hold the view that industry has raced ahead of regulatory authorities in bringing nanotech products to market, thereby increasing the potential for consumer injury and environmental harm. Thus, there is at least some support for stronger regulatory oversight of nanotech products in general, and of nanotech foods, including food additives and dietary supplements in specific. Recently, FDA announced that it will hold a public hearing to seek input on various aspects of its approach to regulation of nanotechnology. FDA likely will follow up on that hearing with the issuance of guidance documents specific to the product categories that it oversees. (www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/146784/Healthcare+Food†¦) 4. By law, anyone should participate in the rule-making process by commenting in writing on rules FDA proposes. FDA routinely allows the public input and carefully considers the comments when it draws up a final rule. Another way to influence the way FDA does business is to petition the agency to issue, change or cancel a regulation, or to take other action. FDA will act to implement a provision of the FDA Amendments Act of 2007 that requires FDA to establish a reportable food registry, and that requires any person who submits a registration for a food facility under the Bioterrorism Act of 2002 to also notify FDA of instances of reportable food. A reportable food is one for which there exists a reasonable probability that use of, or exposure to, the food will cause serious adverse health consequences or death, the same standard that currently applies to Class I recalls, so the practical effect of the new provision should make it mandatory for companies to notify FDA of a Class I recall situation. FDA Petitions require careful preparation by the submitter, they spends considerable time and staff resources processing petitions. Individuals sometimes submit petitions, but most come from regulated industry or consumer groups. For example, a drug company might request a change in labeling for one of its products; a food company might ask that its product be exempted from some provision of a regulation; or a consumer group might petition FDA to tighten regulation of a certain product. (RegistrarCorp.com/FDA-Food) 5. Health claims have been the subject of considerable controversy. After protracted litigation, federal courts ruled that FDA cannot impose an outright ban on claims that have some scientific support but fail to meet the statutory standard of significant scientific agreement. FDA’s strict application of the statutory standard was held to violate the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects against government infringement of speech that is not false or misleading. In response to those court decisions, FDA should develop a process for approval of qualified health claims; in order to attempt and describe the strength of the scientific evidence that supports a claim. Qualified health claims should be the subject of controversy in their own right. Some observers believe that qualified health claims are as likely to mislead as to inform consumers, and opposition to their use has grown to the point where Congressional representatives have asked FDA to stop approving them altogether. It remains to be seen how the controversy will be resolved, given that FDA’s current approach was essentially forced on it by the judiciary. (www.iflr.msu.edu/iflr/courses/united_states_food_laws) References: FDA gov Homepage – U.S Food and Drug Administration homepage; Retrieved form www.fda.gov January 19th, 2013 US FDA Food Regulations/FDA Beverage Regulations; Retrieved from www.registrarcorp.com/fda-food/index.jsp? January 20, 2013 Importing Food Products into the United States; Retrieved from www.fda.gov/Food/InternationalActivities/Imports/default.htm . January 20, 2013 United States – FDA Food Labeling Regulations; Retrieved from www.ladas.com/BULLETINS/1994/0694Bulletin/US_Food

History of organic chemistry Essay

Chemistry has been called the science of what things are. Its intent is the exploration of the nature of the materials that fabricate our physical environment, why they hold the different properties that depict them, how their atomic structure may be fathomed, and how they may be manipulated and changed. Although organic reactions have been conducted by man since the discovery of fire, the science of Organic chemistry did not develop until the turn of the eighteenth century, mainly in France at first, then in Germany, later on in England. By far the largest variety of materials that bombard us are made up of organic elements. The beginning of the Ninetieth century was also the dawn of chemistry, all organic substances were understood as all being materials produced by living organisms: wood, bone, cloth, food, medicines, and the complex substances that configure the human body. Inorganic material was believed to come from the Earth: salt, metals, and rock, just to name a few. Because of the human’s wonder of natural life, organic materials were believed to possess an enigmatic â€Å"Vital Force.† Thus organic chemistry was separated from inorganic chemistry, and it became it’s own field of science. By the turn of the Nineteenth the â€Å"Vital Force† theory was immensely discredited, but this branch of science still stayed separated from inorganic chemistry. Back when Organic chemistry was the chemistry of living matter, Professor Wohler succeeded in synthesizing in the labo†¦ The name organic chemistry came from the word organism. Prior to 1828, all organic compounds had been obtained from organisms or their remains. The scientific philosophy back then was that the synthesis of organic compounds could only be produced within living matter while inorganic compounds were synthesized from non-living matter. A theory known as â€Å"Vitalism† stated that a â€Å"vital force† from living organisms was necessary to make an organic compound. 1828, a German chemist Friedrich Wà ¶hler (1800-1882) amazed the science community by using the inorganic compound ammonium cyanate, NH4OCN to synthesize urea, H2NCONH2, an organic substance found in the urine of many animals. This led to the disappearance of the â€Å"Vitalism† theory. Today, chemists consider organic compounds to be those containing carbon and  one or more other elements, most often hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, or the halogens, but sometimes others as well. Organic chemistry is defined as the chemistry of carbon and its compounds. Organic chemistry is also known under the short-term organic. The organic chemistry as a branch of chemistry can be viewed and engaged in the carbon content. Particularly the structure, composition and the chemical reactions of carbon will be investigated. To the organic chemistry include the elements that go with the carbon compounds. Therefore we understand today as the organic chemistry, the chemistry of carbon compounds, and not focusing only on the compounds from nature. The organic chemistry is, however, also limits for inorganic chemistry. This limit is usually denied to the concept of hydrocyanic acid. The division of natural science in organic chemistry and inorganic chemistry is historical. The term â€Å"organic† was first used by Berzilius about 1810 because by then all investigated compounds derived from living organisms and in the laboratory could not be synthesized. Berzilius found it impossible to produce organic compounds from nature artificial. This theory was refuted, however, then in 1828 by the chemist Friedrich Wohler. In later times it was always more to produce organic substances synthetically, which contained all the carbon. The simplest organic compounds consist only of the elements of water and carbon. Only compounds such as carbon oxides, carbonates, carbides and cyanides are expected to inorganic compounds. Before the nineteenth century, chemists generally believed that compounds obtained from living organisms were endowed with a vital force that distinguished them from inorganic compounds. According to the concept of vitalism (vital force theory), organic matter was endowed with a â€Å"vital force†.[8] During the first half of the nineteenth century, some of the first systematic studies of organic compounds were reported. Around 1816 Michel Chevreul started a study of soaps made from various fats and alkalis. He separated the different acids that, in combination with the alkali, produced the soap. Since these were all individual compounds, he demonstrated that it was possible to make a chemical change in various fats  (which traditionally come from organic sources), producing new compounds, without â€Å"vital force†. In 1828 Friedrich Wà ¶hler produced the organic chemical urea (carbamide), a constituent of urine, from the inorganic ammonium cyanate NH4CNO, in what i s now called the Wà ¶hler synthesis. Although Wà ¶hler was always cautious about claiming that he had disproved the theory of vital force, this event has often been thought of as a turning point.[8] In 1856 William Henry Perkin, while trying to manufacture quinine, accidentally manufactured the organic dye now known as Perkin’s mauve. Through its great financial success, this discovery greatly increased interest in organic chemistry.[9] The crucial breakthrough for organic chemistry was the concept of chemical structure, developed independently and simultaneously by Friedrich August Kekulà © and Archibald Scott Couper in 1858.[10] Both men suggested that tetravalent carbon atoms could link to each other to form a carbon lattice, and that the detailed patterns of atomic bonding could be discerned by skillful interpretations of appropriate chemical reactions. The pharmaceutical industry began in the last decade of the 19th century when the manufacturing of acetylsalicylic acid (more commonly referred to as aspirin) in Germany was started by Bayer.[11] The first time a drug was systematically improved was with arsphenamine (Salvarsan). Though numerous derivatives of the dangerous toxic atoxyl were examined by Paul Ehrlich and his group, the compound with best effectiveness and toxicity characteristics was selected for production.[citation needed] Early examples of organic reactions and applications were often serendipitous. The latter half of the 19th century however witnessed systematic studies of organic compounds, Illustrative is the development of synthetic indigo. The production of indigo from plant sources dropped from 19,000 tons in 1897 to 1,000 tons by 1914 thanks to the synthetic methods developed by Adolf von Baeyer. In 2002, 17,000 tons of synthetic indigo were produced from petrochemicals.[12] In the early part of the 20th Century, polymers and enzymes were shown to be large organic molecules, and petroleum was shown to be of biological origin. The multistep synthesis of complex organic compounds is called total synthesis. Total synthesis of complex natural compounds increased in complexity to glucose and terpineol. For example, cholesterol-related compounds have opened ways to synthesize complex human hormones and their modified derivatives. Since the start of the 20th century, complexity of total syntheses has been increased to include molecules of high complexity such as lysergic acid and vitamin B12.[13] The total synthesis of vitamin B12 marked a major achievement in organic chemistry. The development of organic chemistry benefited from the discovery of petroleum and the development of the petrochemical industry. The conversion of individual compounds obtained from petroleum into different compound types by various chemical processes led to the birth of the petrochemical industry, which successfully manufactured artificial rubbers, various organic adhesives, property-modifying petroleum additives, and plastics. The majority of chemical compounds occurring in biological organisms are in fact carbon compounds, so the association between organic chemistry and biochemistry is so close that biochemistry might be regarded as in essence a branch of organic chemistry. Although the history of biochemistry might be taken to span some four centuries, fundamental understanding of the field only began to develop in the late 19th century and the actual term biochemistry was coined around the start of 20th century. Research in the field increased throughout the twentieth century, without any indication of slackening in the rate of increase, as may be verified by inspection of abstraction and indexing services such as BIOSIS Previews and Biological Abstracts, which began in the 1920s as a single annual volume, but has grown so drastically that by the end of the 20th century it was only available to the everyday user as an online electronic database.[14] The Importance of Chemistry in Everyday Life During laboratory technique 1 we learned how to separate insoluble liquids from solids by means of filtration, and how to separate a dissolved solid from a liquid by means of evaporation. I have often asked myself the importance of some of the required classes in my schedule and how they can relate to everyday life. I believe in the saying that if you don’t use it you will lose it, meaning that if the concepts I learn cannot be applied to something that I will remember on a daily basis then the possibilities of me not remembering them at all are greater. This is especially true if you’re not a science or medical major as I am not. However in this class I am discovering that things we are learning can definitely be applied to processes that my mind uses daily and procedures that are performed daily and are as close to me as my own kitchen. In pondering the idea of filtration and evaporation I begin to think of the water that I drink on a daily basis. Without even being aware of the process I have been using filtration on a daily basis. I purchased a filter for my sink a number of years ago to improve the taste of my water and get rid of what I called the (bad things) that my body didn’t need. At the time I had no idea I was making a scientific decision and using a scientific method. I had determined that the water in my house did not taste well and that the taste could be improved. Listening to others who had boasted about the success of filtered water I decided to test their hypothesis out for myself. I bought from the local hardware store a basic water filter system that could be attached to the faucet of your sink. Supposedly this water filter would remove the harmful substances from my water and improve the taste. I tested the hypothesis by first pouring myself a glass of unfiltered water and sitting it aside. I then attached my filter system and poured myself a glass of filtered water. I tasted both and observed the differences in each taste. The hypothesis was now justified in my eyes, the filtered water tasted better. I offered my hypothesis to my husband and children and allowed them to make their own observations. We all agreed that the filtered water tested better. The hypothesis had now become theory in my household. Now since this class I’ve been observing just how this filter system works. I have discovered that the residue that remains after filtering in some way affected the taste of my regular tap water. I have since learned that this residue consists of salt and other stuff that could definitely dramatically affect the test. Interestingly enough though, this filtration process didn’t start with me. Scientist years ago began to filter water for health reasons. Elements that are deadly to our human bodies (such as chloride) are filtered out daily through our elaborate water system to ensure that our water is healthy to drink. Without this process we would have entire cities dying just like the colony of Jamestown centuries ago! Wow I guess science is a necessary in my daily life, I just never knew that’s what it was called.

Atmospheric pollution

Atmospheric pollution Executive Summary Harmful gases, liquids or solids may be present in the atmosphere causing air pollution. There are however different types of pollutants of air. This paper discusses atmospheric air pollution and the resultant ecological problem, factors that lead to or that are affected by air pollution, in this regard, living and non living factors, the subsequent human impacts, considering positive and negative impacts, the current approaches taken for sustainability purposes, how such strategies may be achieved or attained, and the role of the government, society and international bodies. Introduction Air pollution is the availability of harmful substances in the atmosphere in gaseous, liquid, or solid form. Air pollution can be caused by various pollutants including: Particulate matter: this consists of aerosols in liquids, solids or gases suspended in the atmosphere due to burning of coal in industrial processes. The presence of aerosols in the air hastens the corroding and erosion of metals and building materials respectively. Inhalation of air containing particulate matter can interfere with the respiratory system of humans. This can result in cancer, asthma, bronchitis or other diseases (EPA, 2008). Sulphur oxides: these usually arise from the burning of coal and fumes from industrial processes. Due to the acid nature of the oxides, materials, human respiratory system and the vegetation end up being damaged (EPA, 2008). Carbon monoxide: this is a colourless, tasteless and odourless gas that humans have no protection against. Blood that is infiltrated with carbon monoxide carries less oxygen to other body parts. This can cause many health complications (EPA, 2008). Hydrocarbons: these are chemical compounds that contain carbon and hydrogen as the only elements. Just like carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons are also emitted by motor vehicles and emissions from industries. They result when there is partial burning of engine fuel. Under sunlight, hydro carbons form ground level ozone which is manifested in smog. Besides that, ground level ozone can irritate the eyes, damage the lungs, and cause multiple respiratory problems (EPA, 2008). Nitrogen oxides: this usually results from high temperature combustions in motor vehicles and power plants. These oxides contribute raise the acidity in the air raising precipitation and smog production. Nitrogen oxides are dangerous to humans because they cause serious illness and deaths even though the exposure to nitrogen oxides may be short (EPA, 2008). Carbon dioxide: this is a gas that is described as natural in the atmosphere. It is produced by burning substances. It is vital for living organisms. There are other air pollutants that include the following: radioactive pollutants, ammonia, chlorofluorocarbons, toxic metals (like lead, copper and cadmium) and radioactive elements. All these pose a danger to the human health (EPA, 2008). Problem Description The presence of any pollutants in the air causes air pollution. Thus, the presence of all contaminants and toxins in the atmosphere forms atmospheric pollution which is also an ecological problem. Living organisms and the entire ecosystem suffer from health and ecological problems caused by atmospheric pollution. An average person inhales 20,000 litres of air per day. By breathing, we risk taking in dangerous substances or chemicals found in the air. Air is found anywhere and everywhere. Therefore, air pollution can be found in both indoors and outdoors. Pollution of the air can cause many diseases that include; cancer, tuberculosis, emphysema, among many others. The depletion of the ozone layer causes global warming which in turn results into the melting of the icecaps in Polar Regions hence the rising of the sea levels. The air was fairly clean until the industrial revolution. With the industrial revolution, many substances stated being burnt increasing the number of pollutants in the air. The rate of air pollutio n has been on the increase since then to date resulting in the growth of the hole in ozone layer above the Antarctica. This explains why the world leaders from the G 20 are worried and calling for frequent meetings concerning the global warming (Kurylo, 2010).

International strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

International strategy - Essay Example International companies have now implemented an international strategy that can enable them to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in the global competitive markets. The core competence requires companies to build portfolios of business around shared technical or operating competencies, as well as, develop effective management processes that can enable them to enhance their core competencies. The world economy is highly interconnected; thus it is vital to implement a cooperative strategy that can enable companies to compete favorably while in an attempt to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in the competitive business world. Therefore, cooperative strategy can play considerable roles in elevating the social-economic conditions for the neighboring communities and their members. For the past decades, cooperative enterprises have successfully operated in the international markets but the ever changing technology has demanded companies to employ effective cooperative strateg y, which can enable them to achieve a competitive advantage in the global competitive market. Sustainable Competitive Advantage One of the toughest and yet most challenging aspects for most multinational companies is the issues of sustainable competitive advantage. Many multinational companies have the fervor for their innovative products and even publicize that they have no market rivalry for their products. Sustainable competition means being the leader in the market for a longer term. To market products in the global market is not sustainable; thus competitive should be taken broadly to include alternative ways that can enable human resource to solve effectively the problem of rivalry. The advantage should be measured and considerable; thus many companies lead with fuzzy terms such as lower cost of products, improved usability and many others. Therefore, the indicator of sustainable competitive advantage can be viewed through focusing varied aspects such as real intellectual prop erty, dynamic product line, dramatic cost improvements, strong focus on customers and products differentiation, as well as proven organizational team with inside relationships. Ways of Achieving Sustainable Competitive Advantage Companies operating their business in the global markets need to compete with each in various ways in order to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage in the ever increasing competitive markets. Technology is rapidly increasing and this has prompted many companies to utilize Internet and other electronic marketing aspects in order to reach many customers globally. Many of companies employing e-marketing have failed to achieve their demanding needs because of poor implementation of marketing strategy. Therefore, to achieve sustainable competitive advantage, companies should compete with each other and this is through employing effective global strategy that can enable them to achieve sustainable advantage. Many companies have become disheartened with sale s in the global market place; thus the new marketing strategies should be found as the old one becomes saturated. Companies should customize products for the demands of new markets and also determine the consumption behaviors or consumption trend of customers in the global market. The research study indicates that well managed companies have moved from emphasizing on product customizing to providing international standardized products, which are innovative, reliable, low priced and highly functional

Target Marketing for Agrium Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 19

Target Marketing for Agrium Inc - Essay Example Agrium has approximately 500 retail units in South America and the United States of America and they operate under the brand names of Crop Production Services, West Farm Services and Agroservicios Pampeanos SA (Agrium, 2012). The retail units deal directly with farmers in selling its agricultural nutrients and specialty fertilizers. Its affiliate, the Crop Production Services has the vision to be a leader in the production of agricultural inputs in all segments of its market and in doing this; it has embarked on a policy to retain talented employees in its services so as to provide high-quality services to its customers. The organization seeks to build its brand name by assisting college students to achieve higher education by paying their fees.  Through its wholesale unit, the company provides nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers to retailers who in turn sell these products to farmers. The wholesale unit, in achieving its targets, treats its customers as partners in the business and it does this through honesty and integrity in dealing with them. The company has a distribution network of over 100 supplied by thirteen production unit and these results into the timely supply of the products to their customers. The company has initiated technological devices such as Ag Tracker and loading hours to enable customers to access critical product information and operating hours of various plants of the organization.  The advanced technological unit produces specialty fertilizers and focuses on environmental sustainability (Agrium, 2012). This unit targets consumers, agricultural and horticulture market and organizations engaging in sports such as golf, due to the profession turf. In achieving its objective, the company markets and sells its products through distributors in the United States of America and Canada.

'Twitter has made a significant contribution to citizen journalism' Essay

'Twitter has made a significant contribution to citizen journalism'. Do you agree Argue your case with reference to at least 2 - Essay Example Citizen journalism has emerged as a contemporary innovation in the spectrum of journalism. To this end, it encompasses the new role played by ordinary citizens in the collection, reporting and dissemination of information (Anwar, 2012). Evidently, the efficacy of citizen journalism in reporting has been shaped due to its potential in inspiring the participation of a large target audience locally, nationally and internationally. Moreover, citizen journalism envisions a system in which persons can report pertinent issues that are relevant to an area or locality. The growth of citizen journalism has largely been influenced by technological advancement in the social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook. In reference to Twitter, it has emerged as a revolutionary social media tool whereby an increasing number of people are acting as citizen journalists. Moreover, Twitter has equally captured the attention of mainstream media houses. Consequently, an increasing number of media houses have embraced the use Twitter handles in the reporting of citizen journalistic news. To this end the plethora of media news handles dedicated to citizen journalism includes; Blottr, NowPublic, iReport for CNN, GroundReport, Demotix and many more (Rosen, 2012). According to a research finding by Infographic Labs, the popularity is evident from the 175 million tweets daily and the consequent 31 billion tweets recorded annually. Moreover, the increasing use of Twitter by citizen journalists has been spurred by several positive attributes of the social media technology. These include; its flexible posse power and high speed in sharing of information. In addition, it ensures efficiency whereby information can be received on time and edited accordingly. Furthermore, Twitters offers the luxury of simplicity, and flexibility in use by the citizen journalists. Over and above this, Twitter is a totally free social media service that is available to the majority of users (Knight Community New s Network, n.d.). To this end, Twitter has been used as a tool for citizen journalism in influencing contemporary activism, reporting on natural disasters and shaping of political landscapes. In particular, Twitter played a critical played a critical role in reporting of the political and social mandarins during the Arab Spring uprising. The Arab spring uprising that began in earnest in Tunisia and Egypt, was largely propelled by the use of social media communication via Twitter. Evidently, citizen journalists utilized Twitter in the organization of mass action protests. Moreover, mobilization and the spreading of awareness concerning the revolution were done via Twitter and Facebook. Evidently, during the Egypt revolution, 1.4 million tweets were recorded on the hashtag or search item ‘Egypt.’ Moreover, the hashtag ‘Jan 25’ recorded 1.2 million posts (Huang, 2011). A survey conducted on over 200 people during the uprising in Tunisia and Egypt revealed that they received updates via Twitter. To this end, 88% and 94% in Egypt and Tunisia respectively received information updates concerning the revolution through Twitter (Huang, 2011). Another survey during the Arab spring showed that the popularity of Twitter within the Arab world had increased astronomically. Consequently, there was a record of over two million tweets during the month of November 2010 (France-Presse, 2012). This by contrast, was a marked increase from 99,000 tweets in the month of October 2010