Managing Diversity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Managing Diversity - Assignment Example Successful organisations take pride in implementing diversity at work places and they devote some resources as well for taking care of this challenge. The changing demographics of UK further compound this challenge. There are a large number of ethnic minorities in UK, and a recent study projects that, by 2020 half of UK's population will be over-50, and a third of those between 50 and retirement age will be classified as disabled. Government of UK has also realized the need for paying more attention towards the diversity in the society and managing it. The 'Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR)' has been set up by the Equality Act 2006, which emphasizes2 that 'Equality, diversity, and respect for the human rights and dignity of every man, woman and child are core values that define our lives in Britain.' The vision for the CEHR is based on the Government's view that equality is not a minority concern - it matters to every citizen. The commission will be fully functional by October 2007. While the spirit behind this act has got an overwhelming support from HR practitioners, apprehensions3 are also expressed by many speakers during a conference on race, held in London in November 2006. while HR professionals are taking a sigh of relief that the legislative mess of dealing with 35 Acts, 52 statutory instruments and 13 codes of practice on equality issues will be over with the implementation of CEHR, there are other speakers during this conference, who believe that racial concerns will slip down the agenda once they become just one part of the body's work, as it gears up to fight discrimination on seven fronts. A survey4 of 112 HR practitioners by Personnel Today's sister publication IRS Employment Review, shows that respondents hope the CEHR will make things simpler. It is worthwhile here to note that implementation of any law in letter and spirit depends on the intentions of the organisation and how seriously it values the corporate social responsibility. Therefore CEHR will have more of a guiding and nudging role in carrying out the tasks. In fact the survey findings also point out that 81% respondents would be happy if the commission just issued advice on good practice and tools for employers, rather than carry out investigations (40%) and legal enforcement (31%). Diversity Strategy and Organisational Effectiveness The global economy has made it almost mandatory for international corporations that an effective strategy is adopted for managing the diversity. Companies are moving towards flatter organizational structures, and the global economy is allowing the movement of the workforce across national boundaries, effective interaction amongst diverse workers becomes more critical for the smooth organizational functioning. In fact now that debate has started whether the concept of 'managing diversity; forms an alternative to 'equal opportunities' based on gender bias. In the UK, human resource practitioners and academics alike are becoming more aware of the emergence of managing diversity. There is now a view that, after twenty years of the '

Business Administration Essay Example for Free

Business Administration Essay You should use this file to complete your Assessment. †¢ The first thing you need to do is save a copy of this document, either onto your computer or a disk †¢ Then work through your Assessment, remembering to save your work regularly †¢ When you’ve finished, print out a copy to keep for reference †¢ Then, go to www.vision2learn.com and send your completed Assessment to your tutor via your My Study area – make sure it is clearly marked with your name, the course title and the Unit and Assessment number. Please note that this Assessment document has 8 pages and is made up of 7 Sections. Name: Sophie Griffith-Allen Section 1 – Know the employment rights and responsibilities of the employee and employer 1. Identify four main points that would be included in a contract of employment. If possible, use an example contract to support your answer (feel free to obscure any confidential information). In a contract of employment there are certain details which need to be included about the employer and employee, such as their names. Other information that must be included are about the job itself, such as job title, date of employment, duties and responsibilities that are expected from the employee. At Morrisons a probationary period of 13 weeks is included in a contract of employment and the employees contracted hours of work per week. 2a) List three key points of legislation that affect employers in a business  environment. Health and safety Act 1974 Copyright designs and patents Act 1988- Copyright refers to laws that control the use of the work of a creator, such as an artist or author. For a copyright to apply to a piece of work it must be an original idea of their own that is put to use. Data protection Act 1998 2b) List three key points of legislation that affect employees in a business environment. †¢ Pensions- Are very important for employees as the government think that people aren’t saving enough money towards pensions, as of 2012 pensions will undergo a considerable amount of change. †¢ Pay-there is lots of legislation about employee pay. Some examples include: The Equality Act 2010 which contains measures to protect women from being paid less than men for doing the same job. †¢ The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 an Act that was introduced to prevent very low pay. †¢ Employment rights and responsibilities- ‘Employees are expected to carry out their work in a way that has regard to the safety of others. Employers are expected to abide by a range of requirements governing such aspects as providing safe machinery and equipment, carrying out regular health and safety checks, ensuring the training of employees in health and safety issues, and carrying out a risk assessment to assess the dangers of particular work activities.’ http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/business-theory/people/rights-and-responsibilities-of-employers-and-employees.html#axzz2ENr4by5I 3. Identify a range of places where a person can find information on employment rights and responsibilities. You should identify at least two internal and two external sources of information. Sources of information where a person can find information on employment  rights and responsibilities are internal sources, such as books and documents held within the organisation, informed colleagues and line managers. Another source of information is external which are found outside of an organisation, such as libraries, the government, equality and human rights commission. 4. Describe how representative bodies can support employees. Representative bodies are one of the ways that employees can receive help and support in the work place. The best known examples of representative bodies are trade unions, which are a large organisation that represent the interests of their membership, they can offer assistance through work based representatives and they will also have regional and national expertise that they can use. Union representatives have a right to paid time to help employees, some of the areas where they can support employees are health and safety, workforce agreement, pensions, information and consultation representation. 5. Briefly describe employer and employee responsibilities for equality and diversity in a business environment. You should give at least two employer responsibilities and two employee responsibilities. If possible, provide relevant equality and diversity procedures from your workplace (or place of study) to support your answer. These documents should be annotated to highlight the relevant sections. In any organisation it is important for everyone to be treated equally. Employees and employers should be treated in a fair way and to be given equal opportunities. This is why there are certain responsibilities to be followed by employees and employers to prevent discrimination, such as people who are doing the same job equally well should all be rewarded fairly. It is morally right to treat people fairly and to avoid unfair discrimination. To prevent discriminatory and unfair behaviour there have  been many laws put in place. Both employers and employees should make sure that inappropriate labelling, stereotyping and prejudice do not influence the way an organisation operates. ‘At Morrisons the issue of equality and diversity are taken very seriously. They recruit, develop and keep the most talented people regardless of gender, race, disability, age sexual orientation, religion and nationality. Morrisons is dedicated to being an equal opportunities employer and support all employees to make the best of their skills’. ‘’Our policy aims to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment. We will treat staff, potential staff and the public fairly and with dignity’’. 6. Briefly explain the benefits of making sure equality and diversity procedures are followed in a business environment. Your answer should include one benefit for the employer, one benefit for the employee and one benefit for the overall organisation. Benefits of making sure equality and diversity procedures are followed in a business environment are: Employer: Reduces the incidence of bullying and harassment. Employee: Employees will want to work harder, they feel valued, happier and more efficient. It will increase the chance of open competition for opportunities. Overall organisation: As employees are treated with equality organisations will be more successful. Helps to maintain morale and motivation of the workforce leading to increased quality of products, overall it will become more of a successful organisation. Section 2 – Understand the purpose of health, safety and security procedures  in a business environment 1. Identify employer and employee responsibilities for health, safety and security. If possible, provide relevant health, safety and security policies / documents from your workplace (or place of study) to support your answer. These documents should be annotated to highlight the relevant sections. Employers and employees in any organisation have a legal duty that the working environments are safe and secure. The health and safety Act should be followed at all times. Employer responsibilities: Are to provide a secure, healthy and safe workplace that is free from hazards recognised by the organisation. Ensure that employees have safe tools, equipment and materials. Ensure that equipment provided is always properly maintained. Employers must report any fatal accidents. Employers must provide employees with accurate training and medical examinations when required. Employees responsibilities: Are to inform employers of any hazards that have accrued in the workplace. Report job-related accidents that result to injuries and illnesses. Follow the regulations of health and safety that are set by the employer. Familiarise and obey with the organisations standards. ‘Morrisons are committed to achieving and maintaining the highest standards of health, safety and security standards across the company. All staff at Morrisons receives regular health and safety training. There are many rules that all staff at Morrisons must follow in order to prevent any harm not only to staff but to their customers as well, such as always checking floor surfaces are clean with no spillages etc. Morrisons makes sure that there are always staff present that are first aid qualified in case of any incidents or accidents that have taken place. If any accidents or incidents  did occur within Morrisons all staff recognise that they must be reported as soon as possible.’ 2. Explain the purpose of following health, safety and security procedures in a business environment. The purpose of following health, safety and security procedures in a business environment include: Ensuring the safety and welfare of the individual and others is kept at all times. Ensuring the business/organisation is following relevant legislation. 3. Describe three different ways of maintaining a safe and secure business environment. Ensuring all employees have the necessary safety equipment. Taking time to find where health, safety and security responsibilities lie. To promote a safe working environment is to make sure that safety equipment used by employees is often maintained. Workers must always wear suitable clothing given for the job. Organisations should require that each new member of staff receive and read a company handbook highlighting all safety procedures, and receive regular health and safety training. Having an employee sign a statement that he/she understands and is willing to follow all safety and regulations at all times.

Green Energy Means Renewable Energy Environmental Sciences Essay

Green Energy Means Renewable Energy Environmental Sciences Essay Green energy means renewable energy that is vast alternative for the use of fossil fuels such as petroleum. Other conventional method used to provide electricity is such as geothermal, biomass, ocean, solar, wind, hydro, hydrogen fuel cells and etc. Biomass energy is derived from the wastes and animal dung either by burning it or just leaving the wastes to lay off by itself to get biofuel or biogas. Ocean energy is gained from the sea and there are two types of them such as thermal energy and mechanical energy. Hydrogen must go through reformation process or electrolysis process to be able to use for the fuel cells to provide electricity. The objective of the project is to choose seven types of renewable energies and explain its applications and advantages in detail. 1. Introduction Green energy is sustainable energy, which means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the future[2]. These alternative energy sources are said to be not harmful to humans and environment and also arenon polluting energy sources. It basically reduces pollution and the impact on the environment that the existing energy source is causing now and in the past by conventional energy sources such as fossil fuel, coal and wood. These are non renewable energy sources, also known as the brown energy[1]. These sources are mainly used in the production of electricity, heating and fuel for boilers. They cause excessive amount of pollutants, such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, together with particles that could harm humans. These pollutants are the main contributors to the greenhouse gases that cause global warning. Brown energy are also types of sources that are typically reducing on our earth, which means it could not be re-produced to be used in future. The main aim for this study on green energy is to literate the reader on what is green energy and the importance of these energy to substitute our current conventional energy resources. These report is also to identify the main types of green energies available for the current technology practised in our world today with the history of energy development that brought to the practice of green energy. 2. Green Energy Sources of green energy come from the nature itself, being free to be harvested. They are mainly derived from the sun (solar power), wind and water. Wind turbines have been used since old times to grind grains, where the term windmill is derived from. A more expensive source would come from nuclear and bioenergy (biofuel and biogas). Nuclear power is also categorized in green energy as it does not produce greenhouse gases. Waste from nuclear power plants are problematic and dangerous to be handled as it takes hundreds to thousands of years to decay before reaching the level that is not harmful to humans, plants and the animals. But in order to completely wipe out the usage of fossil fuels to produce electricity, the number of nuclear plants has to be increased so that greenhouse gases emissions can be cut down massively.[3] Energy from sun, wind and water are continuous but inconsistent. Rainy days that could affect solar power production and droughts that would affect water levels in dams are the main drawbacks of these energy sources. As renewable energy is sometimes inconsistent, excellent storage capacity is needed to store energy that are produced. It is usually windier in the night time, but the demand would be lesser. Nuclear plants generate so much power at a particular time that they cannot be used at once. So large battery banks are required in order to mesh with the electricity system and provide a consistent power supply. 2.1 History of Energy Development The history of energy consumption of human being dates back to 3000 BC where the Mesopotamians used petroleum to caulk ships and to build roads. Coals were used during the Bronze Age to heat up iron and shape them, as well as in the Roman culture. This long history of non-renewable energy usage has urged the emergence of green energy to replace them in order to keep the future generation safe.[4] 2000 B.C. Crude oil was used to light lamps and heat up homes by the Chinese. 200 B.C. Salt produced from brine using natural gas from underground by Chinese. 600 B.C. Static Electricity found by Thales of Miletus by rubbing amber. 250 400 A.D. First water-powered Mills built by the Romans 600 A.D. Greek Fire was invented by the Persians and Arabs, a form of burning liquid used greatly in the Byzantine Empire as weapon. 500 900 A.D Windmills were built to pump water and grind grains by the Persians. Late 1500s Coal was imported greatly by US, up to 108,000 tons until the 1800s. 1700s A kite that transmitted electricity through its wet cord was found by Ben Franklin. A breakthrough in electricity discovery. 1800-1826 US had the first electric utility. Mid 1800s-1950 Wood as the primary source of fuel, but decreased after the shift back to coal. 1870-1880 Gas and alcohol using first combustion engine. First U.S. power plant to produce electricity opened (Thomas Edisons Pearl Street Station) 1888 First wind turbine generating electricity in Cleveland, Ohio. Early 1900s Geothermal used to produce electricity commercially by the Italians 1938 Nuclear Fission discovered by the Germans. 1940-1950 The Atomic Energy Act implementation and the first electricity were produced by using nuclear power. 1950s First silicon solar cell was invented (solar photovoltaic). 1960s National Environmental Policy Act and Clean Air Act in US implementation to protect the environment and reduce pollution. 1970s Department of Energy (DOE) were formed. Water from power plant was controlled with Clean Water Act in 1972. 1974 Development of renewable energy was initiated and supported by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. 1980s First wind farm built in the United States.2.2 Giga watts of power produced in California. 1990s Natural gas was used in almost 50percent of homes in US for heating. Towards the Greener Solution Till 2007, 24 states adopted policies for increasing the production of renewable energy. 2.2 Importance of Green Energy Research from scientific evidence are showing that what this present generation is doing will impact the environment in the next 50 100 years. The fact that only one earth is known by human being urges government and private sectors to find solutions to reduce pollution and having a lifestyle that is more eco-friendly. A few reasons on why green energy is important. Non renewable fossil fuels burning are causing greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen oxides are released into the atmosphere, dissolving into raindrops and causing acid rains. Acid rains damages crops, plants and forests. Aquatic organisms are also affected by this as lakes and rivers pH levels are altered. Human built structures such as steel bridges, marble statues and limestone buildings are being eroded by acid rain.[10] Figure 3 is a pie chart showing the anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. by gas type. Fossil fuels such as oil and coal are also supply that is not endless. Sooner or later the supply will vanish and unavailable for future generations. Wind, water and solar energy are constant, sustainable and 100 percent clean energy. It does not cause negative impact on environment such as pollutant and waste. This energy type is free as well. Humans would benefits in health as reduced pollutants would provide cleaner and more breathable air. Lands would be saved as waste management is not necessary. Cleaner water for domestic usage and aquatic organism a would be available. Jobs opportunity would arise in rural areas as most renewable energy plants are located far from cities. Regional development also would benefit from this.[8][9] 3. Types of Green Energy 3.1 Biomass Biomass is derived from farm wastes, animal wastes, plant oils, crops and some kind of garbage [11]. Energy that is generated from the wastes is called bio power or bioenergy [11]. Biomass can be processed further to obtain biofuels or burned directly to obtain bioenergy[11]. The energy obtained from burning the wastes can be converted into heat, electricity and mechanical energy [1]. 3.1.1 Types of biofuels Solid form its obtained from the burning of organic material such as animal wastes, wood, grain and other types of garbages [11]. Liquid form- its obtained straight from the plant and does not involves any burning of material [1]. Biodiesel can be taken as an example for this type of form. It is extracted from vegetable oils or animal fats [11]. Gas form its obtained from organic waste such as dead plant and animal wastes when the organic material breakdown naturally without the need of oxygen [12]. Biogases consist of methane that is essential in terms of natural gas [12]. 3.1.2 Application of biomass Widely used in transportation in the form of gases Electricity generation plants Gas produced from the biomass gasifier must be cleaned first before cooling it down and use it as a fuel to run an IC engine that is coupled together with the generator [13]. Heat application Biomass is used as a fuel to provide energy for the fuel-fired furnace that is often used for high end outputs such as[13 ]: Forging furnace Ovens Kilns Dryers Small boilers Direct fire process heater Re-rolling mills 3.1.3 Benefits of biomass energy Biogases that are used as fuels gives more mileage for cheaper price compared to fossil fuels Energy from biomass has got no ending to it since human throw wastes in daily basis and animals also constantly produce muck Energy gained from burning the wastes releases carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and the carbon dioxide that is released from the burning is useful for the plants in terms of photosynthesis process. Each country has their wastes in terms of plants, animals dung and garbages, these materials is available locally. This can reduce the need for foreign investors in the country thus improve the nation economically as well Biomass in mass production can reduce the increase in global temperature significantly. 3.2 Ocean energy Ocean energy is gained from the sea. There are two types of energy gained from the ocean such as thermal energy and mechanical energy [15]. Thermal energy is gained by the difference in temperature between the warmer surface of the ocean and the deep cold ocean water [15]. Mechanical energy is gained from tidal and wave that is used to rotate the turbine to provide electricity in most of the power plants available [15]. 3.2.1 Types of energy gained 3.2.2 Thermal energy The difference between the temperatures should be around 38 Degree Fahrenheit in order to build a power plant that can fully utilize this temperature difference to make energy [16]. There are 3 types of cycles involved in electricity conversion system from the heat energy such as: Closed cycle The heat at the surface of the ocean water is used to vaporize an ammonia type of fluid which has low boiling point and the vapor expands to turn the turbine to produce electricity [15]. Open cycle The sea water in this case is kept at low pressure in order to force it to boil at low temperature and the steam produced from the sea water is then used to rotate the turbine to activate the generator to produce electricity[15]. Hybrid The combination of both open and closed cycles is used to rotate the turbine in a most economical way [15] 3.2.3 Mechanical energy Tidal energy its gained as the earth rotates and the gravitational pull of the moon. The principle of tidal energy is when the tides is at high point the water is trapped in the dam and as the tides began to reach the low point, the trapped water is released to rotate the turbine at high speed to generate electricity[15]. The concept is similar to hydroelectric power plants [6]. Wave energy Existing kinetic energy from the movement of the waves is used to power up the turbine [15]. The concept is simple that the waves from the ocean comes into the chamber from the right, as the rise of the waves will force the air to release from the chamber and the released air is the one that will rotate the turbine to provide electricity as shown in the figure 1 below[16]. The higher the waves, higher are the rotation of the turbine. http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story_old/images/chap14_wave_2007.gif Application of wave energy [16] 3.3 Hydrogen and fuel cells energy Hydrogen best identified as the simplest component [18]. One proton and one electron are the sub elements inside an atom of hydrogen [18]. It has a limitation is that it doesnt appear by its own in the earth. Hydrogen atom always combined together with other elements such as water [17][18]. The molecular weight of hydrogen is 1kmol and the lightest weigh among all the other natural components available in earth. Hydrogen can be separated from hydrocarbon by heating process and this is called reformation process [18]. Electric current also used to separate hydrogen from water and the separation process is called electrolysis [18]. Fuel cells function is to convert hydrogen to electricity directly without any other processes in between [18]. Reformation of methanol, gasoline and natural gas can provide hydrogen for the usage of fuel cells [18]. Methanol can be used directly for some fuel cells without any reformation process [18]. 3.3.1 Applications of hydrogen and fuel cells NASA used liquid nitrogen as a fuel for the space shuttles and other rockets. Liquid nitrogen does not emit any harmful material after the combustion [18]. The product of the conversion by hydrogen fuel cells is pure water that is used as drinking water by the astronauts [18]. Hydrogen powered vehicles is among the growing applications of energy since hydrogen fuel cells capable of providing power for buses[21]. Fuel cells also can provide electricity for a residential housing area that is big as a traditional AC unit [21]. It can operate 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. 3.3.2 Advantages of fuel cells Efficient conversion of energy from hydrogen to electricity without any combustion taking place and the byproduct is water[19][20] The noise level created from an operation of a fuel cell relatively much more quiet than the conventional motors[20] Easier maintenance since less moving parts[20] Life span is longer than a battery since it has no memory effect when its refueled[10] The source for fuel cells are hydrogen and it is available with water[20] Can reduce the nations usage of fossil fuels since fossil fuels come at higher price than hydrogen that is naturally available in the earth [20]. 3.4 Geothermal Energy Geothermal energy is a form of thermal energy stored by generation of heat from radioactive decay of minerals occurring inside the earth (80 percent) and from the original formation of the planet (20 percent).[6] Due to the temperature differences between the earth core and surface, continuous heat transfer occurs from the core to surface. Radioactive decaying of natural materials such as uranium and potassium that occurs at the core creates a temperature reaching over 5000 degree Celsius and very high pressure.[7] This high temperature and pressure causes melting of surrounding cooler rocks and these results in the formation of magma. This magma then heats up the rocks and water in the crust which can go up tp 370 degree Celsius.[6] In the range of 10kilometers of earth surface contains heat energy that is 50000 times more than all the oil and natural gas sources in the world.[7] The typical place that usually spots geothermal activities is regions with active volcanic activities. T his usually occurs at places where the earth crust is thin enough to let the heat out. Earthquake and magma movements breaks up the rocks covering and allows water to circulate, producing natural hot springs and geysers as the heated up water reaches the surface. As these hot and pressured water forms a reservoir type of containment underground, wells are usually constructed to harvest electricity or heat. 3.4.1 Applications Steam produced from the reservoir containing pressured and hot water are usually used to power turbines in power plants that generates electricity (Steam Turbine), while other power plants uses the hot water in the reservoir to boil a working fluid that vaporizes and moves a turbine. Heat produced by hot water near to the earth surface can be directly used for heating purpose. The applications that utilizes these direct heat includes heating buildings and homes purpose, growing plants in greenhouses, drying crops, heating water at fish farms, and also in pasteurizing milk processes at milk industries. This is done by using geothermal heat pumps. There is also formation of hot dry rocks, usually 4-10kilometers from earth surface. Technologies is existing to inject cold water onto these hot dry rocks, circulating them through the cracks of the rocks and drawing back the heat from another well located at the end of the water circuit.[5] http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/images/131_geothermal_energy.gif Water pumped down through injection well and collected at production well. http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/images/ce/geopower3.gif How geothermal heat used to power turbines. 3.5 Hydropower Hydro means water, so hydropower basically is the power that derived from the force of moving water and generates electricity at damn by water falling throughout the turbines. [22] The fall of water and movement is part of a constant ordinary cycle known as water cycle. Water in the earths ocean and rivers evaporates by energy from the sun and draws it ascendant as water vapour. Once the water vapour reached the cooler air in atmosphere, it automatically abbreviates and forms as clouds. [23] Hence, the moisture fall to earth as rain and fill the water in oceans and rivers. The moving of water from higher ground to the lower ground with the gravitational force and it drives the water extremely powerful to assist generates electricity for daily usage of human being.[23] Hydropower is a one of the worlds biggest source of renewable energy and play important role or facing challenges during period of climate vary. [24] Hydropower also is considering clean energy source because it does no t release any toxins to damage the environment. [25] Figure 3.1: Water cycle diagram 3.5.1 Types of Hydropower Hydropower is primarily used to generate electricity. There are few types of hydropower which is common usage in world. Micro hydro: provide few hundred kilowatts to remote villages, homes and small industries.[26] Pumped-storage hydroelectricity: stores the water that has been pumped during low demand and generates it when demand is high.[26] Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity: it will capture the kinetic energy in rivers without using dams.[26] Conventional hydroelectricity: power comes from the potential energy of dammed and water drives the turbine to generate electricity.[27] The most common type of hydropower that has been used is conventional hydroelectricity known as hydroelectricity power plant which is uses a dam on a river to store water in a reservoir. This power station is usually placed in hill areas so can build dams easily and can obtain larger water reservoir and generate huge quantity of electricity. [28] 3.5.2 How is hydroelectricity power produced?http://cwc.gov.in/Kids%20Corner_files/hydropower.gif Figure 3.2: Simple Hydropower station diagram In hydropower station, the potential energy that stored in body of water at a given height is converted to kinetic energy which is used to rotate the turbine and produce electricity. [28] In the generation of electricity by using hydroelectric power, water is accumulated or stock up at higher level and guide descending through large pipes to lower level known as penstock. [29] Once the water reaches the end of the penstock with higher pressure it will hits and drives the turbine to create mechanical energy from kinetic energy. Turbines rotate the connected to shaft which is turn the generator and change mechanical energy to electrical energy. [9] Inside the generator there is rotor that covers by turbine. Large electromagnets are attached to the rotor located within coils of copper wires called as stator. Flow of electrons is formed in the coils of stator when a generator rotor spins the magnets. [31] This produces electricity that can be step up in voltage through the station transformers and centre cross transmission lines. Therefore, transmission line conducts electricity from hydropower plant to the distribution system. There are certain advantages and disadvantag es of using hydroelectric power station: Advantages It is constantly renewable remaining to the habitual nature of the hydrologic cycle. The water that been used for generation of electricity can be utilize for irrigation, boating and fishing, kayaking and etc. Fuel is not burned so there is minimal pollution and no waste is produced Using water to run the power plant that provided free by nature Disadvantages Only at limited places hydropower plant can be constructed. Dams are expensive to build. Possibility of dam collapsing 3.6 Solar energy Solar energy is the radiant energy emitted by the Sun that is converted into thermal or electricity energy for homes and industry usage. The amount of energy falling on the earth is given by the solar constant, but very little use has been made of solar energy. [32] Renewable and sustainable energy source such as solar energy make use of it around the world to produce electricity for number of different purpose and its use is both environmentally-friendly and cost-effective over the long term. There are varieties of technologies that have been used to take benefits of solar energy. Types of technologies such as photovoltaic system is common have been used to develop solar energy for daily and powering numerous applications. [33] Photovoltaic system (PV) is solar cells or panels directly convert sunlight into electricity. [34] The conversion of sunlight directly into electricity (DC) will be done by solar cells. Electricity from solar cells is stored in the battery for instant or future usage and where an inverter is required to change the Direct Current (DC) to Alternating Current (AC) to power the most AC appliances. [35] Photovoltaic system solar cell made of semiconducting materials that related to those used in computer chips. Once the rays are engaged by these materials, the solar energy knocks electrons loose from the atoms, via allowing the electrons to flow through the material to produce electricity. This process of converting light (photon) to electricity (voltages) is called as photovoltaic (PV) effect. [36] The simple of photovoltaic (PV) system illustrated in figure below that can explain about it.A diagram of how the components of a PV system interact with each other. Figure: Simple Photovoltaic (PV) system with components The electricity that generated can be stored or directly utilize by photovoltaic standalone system, or a huge electricity grid powered supplied by central generation plants (photovoltaic grid-tied system), or else joint with single or numerous domestic electricity generations to supply into small grid (photovoltaic hybrid system). [37] Supplying of DC and/or AC electrical load that operate independently of the electric utility grid is designed by standalone photovoltaic system. Direct-coupled system is of the simplest type of standalone photovoltaic system that the DC output of a module or array is directly connected to a DC load (figure). [38] When there is no electrical energy stored in batteries in direct-coupled system, the load can operates during the sunlight. So, common applications that used for example water pumps, ventilation fans and small circulation pumps for solar thermal water heating systems are appropriate. [38]A diagram of a stand-alone photovoltaic system. Figure: Direct coupled PV system Hybrid system only integrates more than one generating source, which may use an engine-generator, wind, or utility power as a supplementary power source. Initially the battery store is recharged by the photovoltaic system once insufficient the generator charges the batteries. Solar Hybrid System Figure: Photovoltaic hybrid system Grid tie photovoltaic system is deliberate to work with utility grid power. Direct Current (DC) power from the Photovoltaic array into Alternating Current (AC) power is converted by the inverter. AC appliances or local utility company can make use of the direct AC power.Solar Grid-Tie System Figure: Photovoltaic Grid Tie system 3.7 Wind Energy Wind energy is the renewable power or energy which comes from the air that flowing across the earths surface. Wind energy is a converted form of solar energy. [40] Wind is exist due to uneven heats of the atmosphere by sun, the irregularity of the earths landscape and rotation of the earth.[41] Movement of air from region of higher pressure level to region of lower pressure level is also known as wind. When hot air increases, the atmospheric pressure will reduce at earths exterior, and the cooler air will travel in to fill up the void. In fact, flow of wind patterns are personalized by earth landscape, vegetative cover and bodies of water. One of the fastest growing sources of electricity and fastest growing markets in the world today is wind energy because is green power, sustainable, affordable, and economic development. [42] In wind turbines there are consist of horizontal and vertical axis wind turbines been designed for rotation function. 3.7.1 How a wind energy or wind turbine is work? Terms of wind energy or else wind power illustrate the generation of mechanical power or electricity by using wind. Air has mass when it is in motion, and it contains the energy of that motion, known as kinetic energy. [40] Therefore wind turbines are usually use to harvest the kinetic energy and convert it by using inverter into utilizable which can provide electricity for home, business applications and for sale to utilities. Wind turbine also produce mechanical energy that harvested from kinetic energy to drive machinery, for instance grinding grain and pumping water, the device called as windmill or wind pump in rural place. wind energy diagram Most common method to generate electricity is by using wind turbines. Figure 1 is explaining the simple understand on working principle of wind turbines. Explanation from the figure 1, wind will turn the large turbine blades; the turning energy will spins a generator shaft and produces electricity. The electricity that produced by wind turbine is Direct Current (DC) and it cannot use because household appliances and use Alternating Current (AC). Hence, inverters connect to wind turbines to the mains power of a building and used to convert the DC electricity into useable AC electricity. [43] Small-scale of wind energy does not use inverters, as an alternative using the wind energy electricity can be charge batteries, connected to buildings main power or else connected to national power grid. [44] Advantages There are no fossil or fuels required to generate electricity [45] Wind energy does not pollute at all so does not harm environment or discharge any toxic gases[7] Wind energy directly can be used as mechanical energy[47] Disadvantages Once there is no wind, solar energy or geothermal energy use as alternative way to generate electricity [48] Need expensive storage throughout peak production time.[49] Requires large scale area to build wind farm.[49] 4. Conclusion Green energy is the only visible solution so that the future generations are not compromised

Latin American Events Analysis Essays -- Latin America Culture Movies

Latin American Events Analysis During the course of this semester, I attended many events with Latin American content. Although I both heard lectures and viewed movies, the continuity and popularity of certain recurring themes in cinema interested me the most. Among the many themes addressed, money, violence, the role and importance of women, and the evolution of government were prevalent and interconnected. Over the years, Latin America’s image has changed from a valuable source for raw goods, to a rebellious child of colonial powers, to a region struggling to cope with oppressive governments from within. At the same time that these phases have occurred, social norms have also evolved. Despite the fact that women’s roles have changed in some areas, they remain important to the society as a whole, in whatever capacity they fulfill. While nations of the region may lack ethnic, linguistic, or cultural ties, they share similar historical experiences. As such, the common use of these topics was not surp rising, because of their prominence as important topics throughout Latin American history. All of the films I saw—Cidade de Deus, La Sexta Seccià ³n, Plata Quemada, Maria, Full of Grace, and Mujeres Insumisas—feature female characters, each of whom has a different function in the individual contexts. Overall, expectations of women are high, even though the resources available to them are inadequate. Often portrayed as victims, women receive insufficient respect for all that they manage to accomplish, especially given their dismal circumstances. In the Brazilian film Cidade de Deus, Angà ©lica—the main female character—is simultaneously depicted as both powerless and powerful. She accepts gifts from Tiago, Rocket, and Benny, a... ...uments for a philharmonic band, a kitchen for the local kindergarten, a basketball court, and a church for the town. Money and poverty are obviously very prominent issues in Boqueron, as well as numerous other Latin American towns, and the men are again depicted as the breadwinners. The Latin American films that I saw this semester have many thematic ties. Among these are the importance of money, the role of women, the existence of violence, and the prevalence of corruption. The frequency of the occurrence of these topics is not coincidental, but rather a reflection of the issues and difficulties faced by many Latin American nations. Film provides a unique arena in which to address social wrongs and change, national and international dilemmas, and other topics of interest, and these movies provide connections in Latin America when they may not otherwise exist.

8 Stages of Genocide

There are 8 stages of genocide the first stage is classification. The Jewish people, homosexuals, handicapped, and gypsies were the main target for the Nazi’s. The reason why was because Adolf Hitler thought that Germany was becoming weaker because of the people who he thought were to be Genetically week. His idea of a non weak person is a person who is pale, blonde hair, and blue eyes. The second stage of Genocide is Symbolization, the Nazi soldier’s symbolized targeted people with different color triangles.The homosexuals had a pink triangle, brown triangles for gypsies, green for criminals, and red for political enemies. All of the people who were marked with triangles were targeted very easy, were harassed, but the main purpose of the coloured triangles was so they would be easy identified. The third stage of Genocide is Dehumanization, German doctors would experiment on the people they kept prisoners like animals because they were trying to find out how to make the perfect human being. The fourth stage of genocide is Organization, the way that Nazi’s prepared for theGenocide was by putting people into Ghettos for easy access. Then the weak would be moved off to be exterminated. The fifth stage of Genocide is Polarization The Jews were often told by Nazi soldiers that they were not worthy to live in normal towns so they put the Jews into Ghettos which were often dirty, disease ridden and low on food. The Nazi soldiers acted like they were greater then everyone. The sixth stage of Genocide is Preparation They prepared for genocide by splitting people up and putting them intoGhettos for easy access and making coloured triangles for easy identification and punishment. The seventh stage of Genocide is Extermination. Many people died in the holocaust inlcuding Jews, Roman, homosexuals. Around 6 million people overall died because of this Holocaust and up to 1. 5 million were kids. The last stage of Genocide is Denial Holocaust denial is the claim that the genocide never happened. It was claimed that only 2,700 people died because of World War I and that camps could not have held that many people

The Two Towers essays

The Two Towers essays The book I read was The Two Towers, Part II of The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkein. The Lord of the Rings mean Sauron, the evil lord who created the one ring and is determined to regain his ring at any cost. One of the main characters in the book is Frodo. Frodo and me are different because he is a hobbit and I am a human. Also he lives in Middle Earth and I live in present time. He is a part of a rich hobbit family and I come from a middle class Italian family. My life is non fiction and his life is fiction. Frodo and I are alike in many ways. We both like to eat many different foods. We both like lots of comfort in our lives. Both of us are very adventurous and like to go many places. Frodo and I are very loyal to our friends and family. We both are gentle to other people and things unless provoked. The Two Towers is set in medieval times and the Middle Earth. The land is full of many mysterious creatures like Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves Orcs, Goblins and Wargs. I think that the story could not take place in another time or place, because technology would be too advanced and there would not be enough forest for the story to take place. I liked this story because it was a fantasy. The things I liked most in the story were the battles. I also liked the devotion of Sam to his master Frodo and the courage of Frodo. I also liked the wizardry of Gandalf. One thing I disliked about the story was that the names were too similar and hard to pronounce. In addition, they were hard to remember because characters had more than one name like Gandalf who was also called the White Wizard, Gandalf the Grey, and Mithrandir. If I wrote a sequel to this book it would pick up from where Frodo was carried away and Sam got the ring. During the sequel Sam would save Frodo from the Orcs and find the other elves and warriors. Sam would then with the help of the elves and warriors take over the Orcs and destroy the ring that S ...

Television Advertising

Television Advertising Free Online Research Papers Television commercials are viewed by millions on a daily basis and are considered to be very influential on today’s society. Television advertisements can be used for a variety of reasons, but are mostly used as a marketing tool to attract a targeted audience to increase sales for companies or to send messages to the public. Although television commercials have grown in popularity over the years, state of the art live television recording capabilities that are offered by leading cable television providers, the heavy influence that the broadcast companies utilized is now at risk of going un-noticed. Television advertising is defined by entrepreneur.com as 10- to 60-second commercials on network television stations (entrepreneur.com). Television advertising in today’s society is used for many things. Commercials are used to send messages to consumers to increase sales for companies. Advertisements are also used by politicians to increase popularity among potential voters to gain support for their political campaigns. They are also used to increase awareness for many causes such as; animal cruelty, global warming, humanitarian efforts, as well as drug, sex and alcohol awareness. Ultimately the goal of advertising is to take one of these many ideas and market it to the population. Before television advertising the radio was the nation’s primary source of mass-marketing. All of that would change during a Dodger vs. Phillies baseball game on July 1st 1941 when United States of America would witness the first ten second television advertisement for the Bulova watch making company (bulova .com). Since then television advertisements has come a long way. With catchy slogans and popular jingles, television advertising has changed and shaped the nation. From its black white beginnings to the now colorful, sleek, visually stimulating commercials; television advertising techniques have attracted a wider variety of audiences. Race, sex and age are some of the many audiences that advertisements can target. Race is a difficult to take into consideration when it comes to targeting the population. You can run into the risk of segregating a group and possibly stereotyping as well. Pepsi has compiled a collage of images dating back from the 1960’s to the present. The images include different races enjoying activities together as well as returning from war and waving the American flag (â€Å"Race Becomes More† 2009). The advertisement portrays a visual diversity to connect to wider audiences. The effect that this new strategy of advertising has on society is believed to be shown in a positive light. Blacks and whites can enjoy activities together and no longer separated. There are some advertising techniques that are incorporated into commercials to attract gender and age specific audiences. You might see a television commercial advertising a brand new vacuum or cleaning product, but the character in the commercial is a woman and she is shown vacuuming the carpet or cleaning the house. Maybe you have seen the Axe brand commercials for deodorant. These commercials portray a male using this product and afterwards he is irresistible to woman. The techniques used in these commercials attract gender specific audiences in order to increase sales. Television advertising has increased in popularity since the 60’s until now. Commercials are a simple form of advertising because they are viewed by millions and companies sometimes only need to produce one commercial. Although it may be simple to create a television commercial, it is no longer cheap to acquire air time from broadcasting companies. The Superbowl is a nationally covered television event. The advertisements during this event are just as popular as the game itself. The price for 30 seconds of airtime during this event can reach upwards of 2.7 million dollars. Companies could see this as a sound investment due to the high viewer ratings of 90 million in population. Over the years there has been an increase in airtime for these commercials during programming as well. An hour long program in the 60’s contained an average of 51 minutes with 9 minutes of advertising. Today programming has been shortened to 42 minutes with the remainder of time as an allotment f or advertising. Television advertising has managed to obtain more airtime in order to reach the highest numbers in viewers, there are still more ways for them to get your attention. If for some reason you do not have access to a television, corporations will bring television advertising to you. To further reach more viewers, companies have invested in installing televisions in grocery stores and even gas station pumps. Convenience stores like Wal-mart have televisions suspended over the isles to advertise products that are on sale in the store and gas companies have advertisements playing while you pump your gas. There are many methods to that companies utilize to ensure they reach as many viewers as possible to increase sales. Have they come up with this new method of communicating with the population for a reason? Are viewers not interested in television commercials anymore? With features of live television recording and digital video recording offered by leading cable and satellite networks, viewers are now able to record their favorite programs and watch them at a later date and fast forward through commercials. This can pose as a threat to the future of television advertising as many viewers prefer this method to avoid those pesky commercials. However, new forms of advertising are coming around to combat possible dilemma. Banners and logos are now present at the bottom or top of the screen during programs. Sponsors and companies often utilize product placement within the programming as well. New ideas are being formed by advertising teams in order to combat the possible drop in viewer ratings during commercial breaks due to new features like live television recording devices. Television advertisements have been used by corporations to increase sales as a mass-marketing tool to reach millions of viewers on a daily basis and also by political parties to increase the likely hood of election. Marketing teams incorporate a number of techniques into the production of advertisements to attract a specific audience to a product and because it works so well the popularity of television commercials and their use has skyrocketed over the last few decades. Although they are a popular form of advertising they are threatened by new features offered by cable and satellite television providers. Digital video recorders and live television recording capabilities offer viewers the opportunity to record television programs and fast forward through commercials, exposing themselves to less commercial airtime. References MSNBC (2009, March 1). Race becomes more central to TV advertising. MSNBC. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from http://msnbc.msn.com/ id/29453960/ Research Papers on Television AdvertisingMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New Employees19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraWhere Wild and West MeetThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationHip-Hop is Art

Optical Illusions essays

Optical Illusions essays The question What is an illusion? is one that, at first glance, is strikingly simple to answer. Yet, it has eluded many a psychologist until the latter half of the twentieth century, when the workings of our psyche and the processes that underlie it became apparent to those that devoted their lives to the cause of its understanding. Upon further inspection, one realizes that optical illusions are not simply just that they consist of the misinterpretations of sensory stimuli that can be attributed to many reasons, which vary from depth cues to the context within which an image is viewed. Thus, considering the complexity and depth of such a subject matter, it becomes evident and understandable that our quest to understand perceptual illusions has been a long and arduous journey. In order to define the concept of an illusion, an idea central to our discussion, we must refer to the psychological processes of sensation and perception. Let us begin by examining the processes that concern sensation. Our bodies, and for that matter most living things, have special cells called sensory receptors. They can detect light, sound, temperature, pressure, odour, taste, pain, pressure, and balance, among other things. Most of these receptors are on or near the surface of the body such as our eyes, ears, and tongue, but some are internal. Thus, we sometimes classify feelings of pain that are generated from certain regions of the body as those resulting from such elusive, but commonplace, conditions as a toothache or a headache. Each sensory receptor detects its own special form of energy, transduces the aforementioned energy, and transmits a signal to the brain. The reception of the signal in the brain represents sensation. How the brain interprets these signals and makes them meaningful is called perception. Most of the time the interpretation of the received energy is consistent with it. Sometimes, however, our interpretation...

Domestic Violence Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Domestic Violence Issues - Essay Example the manifestations of violence within what should be a loving relationship to fully understand the horror to which victims are subjected and the need for adequate protection to be provided by both the civil and the criminal justice systems. Perpetrators and Victims Domestic violence is conceived of primarily as a problem of men's abuse of women. Although researchers have documented abuse within same sex relationships4 and although there is evidence that, in a comparatively small number of cases, women abuse men5, the available research suggests that domestic violence is overwhelmingly directed by men against women6. The prior relationship between victims and defendants is most apparent in crimes against women. Men are more likely then women to experience violent victimization. But the nature of these events differs greatly. Women are about six times more likely than men to experience violence committed by an intimate. The prior relationship between victim and offender causes particular problems for law enforcement officials in the area of domestic violence. Domestic Violence: Literary Review Violence in the context of intimate relationships encapsulates may types of abuse: emotional/psychological, physical, sexual and economic. Such abuse can occur within married, separated and divorced relationships or among single people living together or simply dating one another. Many enduring and dysfunctional aspects contribute to the violence that occurs, so it is important to examine how abusive episodes emerge within the context of the ongoing relationship. Of all the crimes reported to the British Crime Survey in 2000, more than 1 in 20 was classified as domestic violence. Survey reports of...A. Stanko (1989), 'Policing Men's Violence: An Introduction' in J. Hanmer, J. Radford and E. A. Stanko (eds), Women, Policing and Male Violence: International Perspectives, London and New York, Routledge Cook, B., David, F. & Grant, A. 1999, Victims' Needs, Victims' Rights: Policies and programs for victims of crime in Australia, Research and Public Policy Series No. 19, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra.

Discuss nature vs. nurture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Discuss nature vs. nurture - Essay Example The ‘nature versus nurture’ debate for instance is one of the binaries that offer certain perspectives explaining human attitudes and behavior. Socialization as one of the factors influencing human behavior (Berger and Luckmann 42-50) was primarily introduced by sociologists to emphasize the role of the environment and society in the formation of their self-concept and identity. In the field of psychology, behaviorism on the basis of human instincts and stimulus-response was considered to be one of the major theories that explain human nature. In analysis, in contrast with psychological theories, sociological explanations of human behavior are leaning toward the ‘nurture’ side of the debate; thus, placing psychology on the ‘nature’ side. However, through further studies and exploration of the subject, integrative theories about human behavior are also introduced. Social behaviorism pioneered by George Herbert Mead (1913) and psycho-social develo pment introduced by Erik Erikson (1950) are examples of the integrative works. In this paper, an exploration of ‘nature-nurture’ debate will be presented by examining the basis and foundations of both perspectives. The discussion about the importance of socialization in human thinking and behavior will also be analyzed. Moreover, other factors influencing and explaining human nature will be discussed to see how such matters contribute to the development of human behavior. In the process of human development, many contributing factors are regarded to be influential in one’s growth. In an extreme theoretical position, human experiences are considered to be the primary factor affecting behavior (see Schutz 32). Socialization through interaction with others influences an individual’s way of thinking about his or her reality. More importantly, interaction affects one’s idea of the self as he or she tries to situate him or herself within the context of so cial categories. In Mead’s The Social Self, he explained how interactions with individuals help us develop our self-consciousness. Socialization with others helps us realize the existence of ‘the other’ and thus, the existence of oneself (Mead 374). Through interaction, the recognition of the ‘I’ becomes possible. Through self-consciousness and the recognition of others around an individual, language becomes a necessary tool to further identify oneself. In here, communication through language is given importance as such eventually explains more about human nature; that is, explaining our uniqueness in contrast with the non-speaking animals. In Mead’s theory, the concept of ‘the social self’ (374-380) ultimately emphasizes the relation of the self to others in the social world. Though the theory is seemingly grounded on abstract concepts, Mead was able to explain his theory objectively with reference to behaviorism. Apparently, Mea d’s mature social psychology offered an example of how ideas coming from opposing arenas can be integrated in a single work (see Cook 67). To further explain human behavior, we can also observe how scholars attributes it to human ‘instincts’ and the biological and psychological state of a person. In this perspective, ‘nature’ was considered to be the primary cause of human behavior. In the field of psychology, most established theories are based on this assumption reflecting the preferred ‘objective’

Different Perspective Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Different Perspective - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that diversity means difference. Human diversity sets to explain the differences among people. The trends of diversity in the society have made the topic very imperative. Diversity has made the global market a competitive one. It has also encouraged the vivid change of the population believes. Diversity has enabled people to celebrate their different uniqueness because, in the society, there is reduced effort to fit in. People vary from one another. The subject of how people differ is unclear, and that is the reason why studies that involve individual differences are carried out. Such studies scrutinize variance, the difference between people and their central tendencies. The main aim of diversity awareness is to reveal the similarity and difference of people across varying situations. The researchers that study individual differences use genetic codes to determine the ethnic, social, sexual, and cultural differences. The methods that colle ct information for the studies range. Such methods are field studies, laboratory experiments, Principal Component Analysis, Factor Analysis and procedures of structural or multilevel modeling. The researchers identified that gender/sex and ethnicity are traits that are complex. These traits are useful because they include the social magnitude of diversity consciousness. Sexual orientation is the pattern of sexual attraction to opposite sexes or both.

Post-operative pain management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Post-operative pain management - Essay Example This paper wills address the post operative management of pain for people who have undergone total knee replacement Surgery. The resultant physiotherapy and required exercises can result in patients experiencing substantial amounts of pain. Pain signifies trauma to the body and may be as result of tissue damage from injury, surgery, and diseases. Pain causes discomfort, immobility, and various biological responses that inhibit normal functioning of the body and its management becomes a necessary tool in nursing (Alfred, 2007). After total knee cap replacement surgery, effective pain relief measures are necessary for humane reasons and to facilitate an effective postoperative recovery, which necessitates intensive physiotherapy to reduce recovery time and facilitate mobility in most patients. Different people have different tolerances for pain and it is necessary to consider the individual patients before commencing on a post operation pain relief plan. Other important considerations that must be considered include clinical factors, patient related factors, and local factors. Post operative nursing care for patients who have undergone total knee replacement may include a combination of various procedures including education, assessment of pain, pharmacological, and non-pharmacological interventions.   Pain management is deeply integrated and ingrained in medicine and is especially invaluable in patients who have undergone major and minor surgeries. Total knee replacement surgery is done to alleviate pain in the knees and is highly successful in restoring mobility. Though expensive, it is economically justifiable due to increased mobility that reduces reliance on other members of the society. The procedure results in post operative pain, which if not well managed can lead to chronic pains and disability (Eccleston, 2011). Post operative pain management practices are often hindered by costs,

Case study 5 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

5 - Case Study Example The natural environment offers luxury, a sense of rejuvenation as well as romance and intimacy that comes with hotels. The tropical gardens and spas which also used the natural environment in the treatment by use of natural herbs and spices as well as the interior designing with the same natural environment theme attracted a wide number of customers from the old to the young generation. This is in addition to the prices that are not as exorbitant as is the case with luxurious hotels. What this unique branding strategy has done is to ensure that the Banyan Tree hotel chains are relaxing and hence attract many corporate people who want pure and total relaxation in areas away from limelight but which also present a sense of security and what better places than secluded areas with a heavy hint of the nature which is relaxing. This strategy which has been maintained in all their hotel chains has contributed to the sustainability of the brand as regular high clients are maintained and they attract new customers regularly as well. 2. The Banyan Tree has experienced many crisis events and has been able to continue on a path of growth and expansion. Based on its past experiences, what key elements would you include in a plan for crisis prevention and management plan for Banyan Tree and describe why proper planning is important in today’s global environment? The hotel chain has experienced a chain of crisis such as depression in the hotel business, tsunami, stiff competition, high expenses, restrictions by some countries on importations of food and other goods among others. These crisis demands different specific elements to prevent as well as manage them. When it comes to depression in the hotel industry, nothing much can be done in this area and the only way the brand can prevent itself from going under is to have established a regular customer base where even if the hotel fails to attract new customers, it is dependent on its

Individual written analysis of case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Individual written analysis of case - Essay Example In order to generate superior value for patients, Cleveland had evaluated the requirements of the patients in the first place, restructured the organisation in order to fulfil those requirements and developed information technology (IT) system (Porter and Teisberg 1-23). Critical Components of Cleveland’s Overall Strategy. According to the case provided, the three critical components of Cleveland’s overall strategy include innovation, culture and growth. Cleveland has made innovation in several areas like medical services. A few of its innovation comprise establishing world first heart transplant by implanting artificial heart and developing first computerised information registry on cardiac diagnosis among others. Furthermore, Cleveland remained much committed towards maintaining excellent team culture with outstanding administrative and interactive abilities (Porter and Teisberg 1-23). Where Cleveland Clinic Made Most Progress? Most of the progress of Cleveland was concentrated on the area of health system, organisational structure, patient satisfaction and information technology. In order to enhance the health system, Dr. Cosgrove, the CEO of the Clinic has started to rationalise the healthcare services across the system. The objective was to deliver appropriate care at the right place for each patient. As a part of rationalisation, several activities were undertaken, for example, obstetrics were shifted to community hospitals and psychiatry facilities were focused on one community area among others. Furthermore, Cleveland also improved the health system by increasing constancy and incorporation of care paths and by developing a common medical recoding system (Porter and Teisberg 1-23). Specially mentioning, the organisational structure of Cleveland has also improved considerably. In the year 2007, Dr. Cosgrove has reorganised every healthcare

Post-operative pain management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Post-operative pain management - Essay Example This paper wills address the post operative management of pain for people who have undergone total knee replacement Surgery. The resultant physiotherapy and required exercises can result in patients experiencing substantial amounts of pain. Pain signifies trauma to the body and may be as result of tissue damage from injury, surgery, and diseases. Pain causes discomfort, immobility, and various biological responses that inhibit normal functioning of the body and its management becomes a necessary tool in nursing (Alfred, 2007). After total knee cap replacement surgery, effective pain relief measures are necessary for humane reasons and to facilitate an effective postoperative recovery, which necessitates intensive physiotherapy to reduce recovery time and facilitate mobility in most patients. Different people have different tolerances for pain and it is necessary to consider the individual patients before commencing on a post operation pain relief plan. Other important considerations that must be considered include clinical factors, patient related factors, and local factors. Post operative nursing care for patients who have undergone total knee replacement may include a combination of various procedures including education, assessment of pain, pharmacological, and non-pharmacological interventions.   Pain management is deeply integrated and ingrained in medicine and is especially invaluable in patients who have undergone major and minor surgeries. Total knee replacement surgery is done to alleviate pain in the knees and is highly successful in restoring mobility. Though expensive, it is economically justifiable due to increased mobility that reduces reliance on other members of the society. The procedure results in post operative pain, which if not well managed can lead to chronic pains and disability (Eccleston, 2011). Post operative pain management practices are often hindered by costs,

Individual written analysis of case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Individual written analysis of case - Essay Example In order to generate superior value for patients, Cleveland had evaluated the requirements of the patients in the first place, restructured the organisation in order to fulfil those requirements and developed information technology (IT) system (Porter and Teisberg 1-23). Critical Components of Cleveland’s Overall Strategy. According to the case provided, the three critical components of Cleveland’s overall strategy include innovation, culture and growth. Cleveland has made innovation in several areas like medical services. A few of its innovation comprise establishing world first heart transplant by implanting artificial heart and developing first computerised information registry on cardiac diagnosis among others. Furthermore, Cleveland remained much committed towards maintaining excellent team culture with outstanding administrative and interactive abilities (Porter and Teisberg 1-23). Where Cleveland Clinic Made Most Progress? Most of the progress of Cleveland was concentrated on the area of health system, organisational structure, patient satisfaction and information technology. In order to enhance the health system, Dr. Cosgrove, the CEO of the Clinic has started to rationalise the healthcare services across the system. The objective was to deliver appropriate care at the right place for each patient. As a part of rationalisation, several activities were undertaken, for example, obstetrics were shifted to community hospitals and psychiatry facilities were focused on one community area among others. Furthermore, Cleveland also improved the health system by increasing constancy and incorporation of care paths and by developing a common medical recoding system (Porter and Teisberg 1-23). Specially mentioning, the organisational structure of Cleveland has also improved considerably. In the year 2007, Dr. Cosgrove has reorganised every healthcare

The Story of the Flood- the Epic of Gilgamesh Essay Example for Free

The Story of the Flood- the Epic of Gilgamesh Essay You know the city Shurrupak, it stands on the banks of Euphrates? That city grew old and the gods that were in it were old. There was Anu,-lord of the firmament, their father, and warrior Enlil their counsellor, Ninurta the helper, and Ennugi watcher over canals; and with them also was Ea. In those days the world teemed, the people multiplied, the world bellowed like a wild bull, and the great god was aroused by the clamour. Enlil heard the clamour and he said to the gods in council, The uproar of mankind is intolerable and sleep is no longer possible by reason of the babel. So the gods agreed to exterminate mankind. Enlil did this, but Ea because of his oath warned me in a dream. He whispered their words to my house of reeds, Reed-house, reedhouse! Wall, O wall, hearken reed-house, wall reflect; O man of Shurrupak, son of Ubara-Tutu; tear down your house and build a boat, abandon possessions and look for life, despise worldly goods and save your soul alive. Tear down your house, I say, and build a boat. These are the measurements of the barque as you shall build her: let hex beam equal her length, let her deck be roofed like the vault that covers the abyss; then take up into the boat the seed of all living creatures.†. . . . . In the first light of dawn all my household gathered round me, the children brought pitch and the men whatever was necessary. On the fifth day I laid the keel and the ribs, then I made fast the planking. The ground-space was one acre, each side of the deck measured one hundred and twenty cubits, making a square. I built six decks below, seven in all, I divided them into nine sections with bulkheads between. I drove in wedges where needed, I saw to the punt poles, and laid in supplies. The carriers brought oil in baskets, I poured pitch into the furnace and asphalt and oil; more oil was consumed in caulking, and more again the master of the boat took into his stores. I slaughtered bullocks for the people and every day I killed sheep. I gave the shipwrights wine to drink as though it were river water, raw wine and red wine and oil and white wine. There was feasting then as -there is at the time of the New Years festival; I myself anointed my head. On the seventh day the boat was complete. . . . . . For six days and six nights the winds blew, torrent and tempest and flood overwhelmed the world, tempest and flood raged together like warring hosts. When the seventh day dawned the storm from the south subsided, the sea grew calm, the, flood was stilled; I looked at the face of the world and there was silence, all mankind was turned to clay. The surface of the sea stretched as flat as a roof-top; I opened a hatch and the light fell on my face. Then I bowed low, I sat down and I wept, the tears streamed down my face, for on every side was the waste of water. I looked for land in vain, but fourteen leagues distant there appeared a mountain, and there the boat grounded; on the mountain of Nisir the boat held fast, she held fast and did not budge . . . . When the seventh day dawned I loosed a dove and let her go. She flew away, but finding no resting-place she returned. Then I loosed a swallow, and she flew away but finding no restingplace she returned. I loosed a raven, she saw that the waters had retreated, she ate, she flew around, she cawed, and she did not come back. . . . .

How Apple Incs Strategy Is Affected After Globalization Economics Essay

How Apple Incs Strategy Is Affected After Globalization Economics Essay In this twenty first century, globalisation has an impact in every economy. World of today is considered to be united as a bunch countries with no boundaries. Raw materials from different countries are being processed in another country to manufacture goods products are being marketed in another country. It is the modern concept of the globalisation. A company goes international for so many reasons like, small domestic market, adverse government policy in home country, high demand of the product in foreign market etc. FDI across the globe had a fixed upswing with a sharp growth in the second quarter of 2008. Even it was not affected so much by financial crisis during recession in 2008. FDI is mainly originated from the advanced economy like USA.[ Peter Dicken] In this essay we have chosen famous electronic gadget manufacturer APPLE as our company, which is mainly based in USA, has expanded its production unit in EUROPE and ASIA. It is manly famous for introduction of a new age in mobile phone industry by brining iPHONE MACBOOK in pc section. Recently they have launched iPAD in the market which turn to be a great success. How their strategy has been affected when they go global by the main three factors (1.Technology.2.geography.3.goverment policies ) has been described below. TECHNOLOGY: For a product to become more acceptable by quality, implied technology of production plays an important role. Foreign direct investment prospects can be propelled to a new level if the quality of production can be retained in a cost effective manner. Hence, investment opportunity of a country is significantly influenced by its internal development, technology and growth. These intrinsic developments are always in the lamplight of MNCs and are effectively made use by them. Apple has met its investment prospects in China as this country maintains the unique work quality in assembling the inputs for final production. As a part of corporate global strategy, company has given outsourcing more importance at the same time imparting mandate high control over product integrity. When apple produce iPods in China, it is not produced in a factory owned by Apple. It is been contracted with third party to produce IPods with the specifications Apple provides. Moreover from outsourcing, Apple is sourcing quality products for assemblage from foreign countries and some even from China itself by fragmenting its supply chain very effectively. The standard of factors of production is set to meet the requirements set by Apple Inc. If the company is not successful in monitoring the strategy which is being implemented in a country, it will eventually destroy companys reputation. The subtle implementation of internationalisation strategy is been spawned in such a way that Apple products are leveraged to its maximum utility. For leveraging the products to its maximum levels, sophisticated research and development is being carried out through international investments and intrinsic ground-breaking technologies. Trade theory gives light by how much proportions the various factors of inputs needed at each stage of a production process, together with various inputs at comparative costs, influencing the investment proposal. As technology is one of the important input of production, while framing up an international strategy it has to be dealt well while investing in a foreign country. The comparative cost of the technology brought forth for production is very significant as it contributes to the international pricing strategy. The quality technology which is been generated in China holds cost advantage when it is compared to the same technology implemented in US. Advanced technology is pioneer to production of any innovative products but this technology has to be accessed in a cost effective manner to produce competitively priced product. Skilled labour is another requisite which should be considered in quality production. High cost of labour in United States of America can be a down beating fa ctor in home country which can be eliminated through foreign direct investment. Hence, advantage is been derived in the host country in terms of technology implementation through skilled labour force at low cost. Apple Incs business establishment in China is a subtle example for their tactical part in internationalisation strategy. GEOGRAPHY: The geographical dispersion means that companys activities are not concentrated to a single country rather it is dispersed between different countries. The production in foreign country can be commenced in two ways namely Merges acquisition and Greenfield investment. Greenfield investment means setting up a new plant and physical assets in the foreign country whereas Merges acquisition means merging with a foreign firm or buying existing assets in a foreign country. The cost of geographical dispersion can be of three types which is firm level, plant level and the economies of integration foregone. Almost 54% companys geographical market place is situated in United States. Final assembly of companys product is mainly done in Ireland by external vendors in California, Texas, China, Korea, etc. Manufacturing supply of many critical components is executed by sole sourced third party vendors from Taiwan, Germany, US, Germany, Korea, Netherlands etc. But main assembly part is done in China by sole sourced third party vendors. That means its production input has been divided into sub category situated in different countries. So it is an example of centralized vertical Foreign Direct investment by apple where its headquartering is situated in US. The benefit of geographical dispersion for the company is that, it is able to reduce the cost of primary input as the price for inputs varies in different locations. It also helps the company to lower operating cost and reduces the companys direct control over the production and distribution. This also helps in lowering the trade cost and enables it to capture the markets. For example, the investment decision to manufacture the products from China helps the company to have a better control over the Asian markets. Also the cost incurred in exporting the products from United States to Asian market is much lower when it is from China. The firm also enjoys economies of scale as the cost of production is less due the dispersion and the company is able to employ skilled and cheap labor. In spite of its benefits, its uncertain what negative effects will this have on the company. The diminished operational control may have an effect on the quality of the products or services or its flexibility to respond to changes. This may adversely affect the reputation of the company. Another problem is that, if the manufacturing or providing logistical services in the other country is disturbed for any causes like natural disaster, war, political issues, public health, failure in information technology system, financial crises may materially affect the companys financial condition and operation. GOVERNMENT POLICIES: The vertical foreign direct investment strategy of Apple is advantageously and manifestly framed up by the influence of political environment or trade policies that operate within the country. The supply chain is fragmented and for assemblage, the Apples input commodities are sourced from special enterprise zones of China where much of import duties and taxes are waived. The government trade policy influences the intricate supply chain management and outsourcing of the company. Apple being an American multinational propels a strategy that insulates itself from foreign exchange risks. The price the company has to pay for a specific input item in a specific country is influenced by the exchange rates of currencies at the time. The company exhibits a pattern of a good net receiver of currencies except the American dollar. As the US dollars gains strength, it will negatively affect the Apples net sales and gross margin articulated in American dollars. Financial innovations are spawned by the international financial flows. The financial innovations are greatly influenced by the monetary and fiscal policy of a government. This level of influence determines the stability of economic performance. As US government tends to maintain very low interest rates to support the demand for housing and promoting the revival of building industry, international capital flows are possible. It may result in more capital outflows and a weaker dollar. An immediate effect can be not iced in the US output as a result of more US exports. Thus for Apple, weaker dollar gives more euro earning and allows it to state an elevated profit rate to it stakeholders. [Linden 2008] Many financial innovations are spawned out from the introduction of capital flows. There is an economic significance of international financial instruments like forwards or options when Apple deals with it. July 2008 Company reports stated that the Apple inc was willing to enter into forward and option dealings of foreign currencies. This also included some strategically committed transactions, the investment company possessed in foreign subsidiaries, forecasted future cash flows etc. Evidently, practice of the company was to hedge a large number of its material foreign exchange exposures for some months. [Apple inc, 2008] The progression of this model imparts light into the strategy framed up by Apple in tackling the effect of rising prices too. A developing country like China has remarkable success in controlling the inflation. Apple has a peculiar stake in China where country exhibits success in managing its economy from extreme pressures and creating higher inflation rates. Chinese central bank put forward a straight policy in framing up the exchange rates. Till July 2005, the policy upheld was to fix the rate it levied to exchange Chinese currencies for American dollars. In this context, Apple could assertively forecast the exchange rates weeks in advance. [Apple inc, 2005] Apple endeavours to do outsourcing in the country where there is minimal legal regulations as they can maximise their profits. As the operations are mainly concentrated in China, Apple Company has got relaxation from heavy tax burdens. Vertical specialisation with internalisation keeps the production cost low at the same time company benefits from low trade cost. The company is getting more and more innovative by research and development. Proper caution is taken as the economy breeds the risk of a global financial downturn that could have disastrous effect in their business. At last , after analysing the all the factors that affects companys internationalisation foreign direct investment we can conclude Apple is truly globalised . That means it has stretched its corporate arms in such a way that we can say that for Apple the difference across countries does not matter. They have fragmented their production parts across countries sell its products all most around the world just to take the benefit of the internationalisation globalised concept. Their main strategy is to take advantage from different counties favourable condition that helps their business to gain more revenue using economics of scale. As we have discussed the main reason of their expansion of business in China are cheap labour costs, higher productivity of Chinese labour output huge demand of Asian market. They also want to take benefit from the exchange rate investment friendly government policy. It is proved from their establishment of unit in China Ireland. Their well organized gl obalised business strategy has helped them to spread their products world wide almost in every country, which is much more appreciated from the point of view of internationalisation of a company. In every of their business strategy the concept of true globalised company can be visualised.[ Peter Dicken]

Portrayal of Women in William Shakespeares Plays Essay -- Female Wome

William Shakespeare's characterization of women varies immensely from one comedy to another. In his works, Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice, and Much Ado About Nothing, he portrays both dominant and submissive women. Ultimately, Shakespeare examines the complexity of women by displaying the vast array of attitudes, emotions, and their treatment and reaction to men as well as refuting the typical subservient wife role. In Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, the difficulties of marriage and submission take center stage. When the determined Petruchio marries the domineering Katherine it sets the scene for a battle of willpower. Eventually, Petruchio successfully 'tames' Kate at the expense of losing a potentially loving and affectionate wife. In fact, Kate behaves more like a fearful puppy dog longing to please her husband than a respectable wife. Though Kate contrasts other female characters in Shakespeare?s comedies by submitting to her husband, her obedience is merely the product of an authoritative husband?s demands and threats. Her submission is merely a faà §ade of obedience. Before marriage, Kate is notorious for her ill temper and resistance towards men. A character named Grumio calls Kate, ? ?Katherine the curst,? a title for a maid, of all the worst? (Shakespeare 57). Men fear Kate because of her violent nature and unstable emotions. But after Kate is subjected to Petruc hio?s torments, she relents to him and gives in to his ways for the benefit of sustenance and sanity. In the end, Petruchio beckons Kate to teach the other wives to be subservient to their husbands. Kate explains, ?Such duty as the subject owes the prince, even such a woman oweth to her husband; and when she is forward... ...Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea, 1988. Newman, Karen. ?The Taming of the Shrew: A Modern Perspective.? The Taming of the Shrew. William Shakespeare. New York: Washington Square Press, 1992. Novy, Marianne L. ?Patriarchy and Play.? William Shakespeare?s The Taming of the Shrew. Harold Bloom ed. New York: Chelsea, 1988. Paster, Gail. ?Much Ado About Nothing: A Modern Perspective.? Much Ado About Nothing. William Shakespeare. New York: Washington Square Press, 1992. Rossiter, A.P. ?Much Ado About Nothing.? Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea, 1986. 163-176. Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. New York: Washington Square Press, 1995. ---. The Merchant of Venice. New York: Washington Square Press, 1992. ---. The Taming of the Shrew. New York: Washington Square Press, 1992.

Mark Twain :: Essays Papersw

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorn Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, was born in 1835. Twain was and still is a famous renowned writer of his time and still today. At an early age, Twain’s father died, forcing him to leave school to find a job to support his family. He was forced into â€Å"poor boys college†, into an apprenticeship at a printing press in his home town. As much as Twain didn’t like his job, he learned valuable information. While working at the printing press, he picked up good writing techniques, and learned from mistakes in bad writings. While learning in the printing press, he was also learning about life through his fathers mistakes. Twain concentrated on the importance of time. Twain felt that his father had died bankrupt from financing his money in things that failed because of bad timing. He soon learned the techniques of timing. Twain left his apprenticeship at the printing press and found another job apprenticing himself on a steam boat on the Mississippi River. Twain felt that this was valuable training and that it was the first time he really got to use his mind. Working on the steam boat made Twain become well known with nature. He also became aware of his ability as a writer and went to Navada. Twain dreamed of the riches his father never had. He often switched jobs looking for wealth. He worked a newspaper job and in gold fields, but his career was soon to be in writing. â€Å"The Lincoln of literature† is what Twain was soon called. His first famous writing was The Celebrated Jumping Frog. Twain would use personal past experiences in his writings from his boyhood, for example in his book Hannibal. Twain soon became the most famous man alive of his time, Twain, of course, gives all credit to his inner source of timing.

New Paradigms in the Study of the Civil War Essay

A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly united nation state. The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies. Civil wars since the end of World War II have lasted on average just over four years, a dramatic rise from the one-and-a-half year average of the 1900-1944 period. While the rate of emergence of new civil wars has been relatively steady since the mid-19th century, the increasing length of those wars resulted in increasing numbers of wars ongoing at any one time. For example, there were no more than five civil wars underway simultaneously in the first half of the 20th century, while over 20 concurrent civil wars were occurring at the end of the Cold War, before a significant decrease as conflicts strongly associated with the superpower rivalry came to an end. Since 1945, civil wars have resulted in the deaths of over 25 million people, as well as the forced displacement of millions more. Civil wars have further resulted in economic collapse; Somalia, Burma, Uganda and Angola are examples of nations that were considered to have promising futures before being engulfed in civil wars. Formal classification James Fearon, a scholar of civil wars at Stanford University, defines a civil war as â€Å"a violent conflict within a country fought by organized groups that aim to take power at the center or in a region, or to change government policies†. The Correlates of War, a dataset widely used by scholars of conflict, classifies civil wars as having over 1000 war-related casualties per year of conflict. This rate is a small fraction of the millions killed in the Second Sudanese Civil War and Cambodian Civil War, for example, but excludes several highly publicized conflicts, such as The Troubles of Northern Ireland and the struggle of the African National Congress in Apartheid-era South Africa. That the Party in revolt against the de jure Government possesses an organized military force, an authority responsible for its acts, acting within a determinate territory and having the means of respecting and ensuring respect for the Convention. That the legal Government is obliged to have recourse to the regular military forces against insurgents organized as military and in possession of a part of the national territory. That the de jure Government has recognized the insurgents as belligerents; or That it has claimed for itself the rights of a belligerent; or That it has accorded the insurgents recognition as belligerents for the purposes only of the present Convention; or That the dispute has been admitted to the agenda of the Security Council or the General Assembly of the United Nations as being a threat to international peace, a breach of the peace, or an act of aggression. That the insurgents have an organization purporting to have the characteristics of a State. That the insurgent civil authority exercises de facto authority over the population within a determinate portion of the national territory. That the armed forces act under the direction of an organized authority and are prepared to observe the ordinary laws of war. That the insurgent civil authority agrees to be bound by the provisions of the Convention. Causes of civil war in the Collier-Hoeffler Model Scholars investigating the cause of civil war are attracted by two opposing theories, greed versus grievance. Roughly stated: are conflicts caused by who people are, whether that be defined in terms of ethnicity, religion or other social affiliation, or do conflicts begin because it is in the economic best interests of individuals and groups to start them? Scholarly analysis supports the conclusion that economic and structural factors are more important than those of identity in predicting occurrences of civil war. A comprehensive studies of civil war was carried out by a team from the World Bank in the early 21st century. The study framework, which came to be called the Collier-Hoeffler Model, examined 78 five-year increments when civil war occurred from 1960 to 1999, as well as 1,167 five-year increments of â€Å"no civil war† for comparison, and subjected the data set to regression analysis to see the effect of various factors. The factors that were shown to have a statistically significant effect on the chance that a civil war would occur in any given five-year period were: Availability of finance A high proportion of primary commodities in national exports significantly increases the risk of a conflict. A country at â€Å"peak danger†, with commodities comprising 32% of gross domestic product, has a 22% risk of falling into civil war in a given five-year period, while a country with no primary commodity exports has a 1% risk. When disaggregated, only petroleum and non-petroleum groupings showed different results: a country with relatively low levels of dependence on petroleum exports is at slightly less risk, while a high-level of dependence on oil as an export results in slightly more risk of a civil war than national dependence on another primary commodity. The authors of the study interpreted this as being the result of the ease by which primary commodities may be extorted or captured compared to other forms of wealth, for example, it is easy to capture and control the output of a gold mine or oil field compared to a sector of garment manufacturing or hospitality services. A second source of finance is national diasporas, which can fund rebellions and insurgencies from abroad. The study found that statistically switching the size of a country’s diaspora from the smallest found in the study to the largest resulted in a sixfold increase in the chance of a civil war. Low per capita income has been proposed as a cause for grievance, prompting armed rebellion. However, for this to be true, one would expect economic inequality to also be a significant factor in rebellions, which it is not. The study therefore concluded that the economic model of opportunity cost better explained the findings. Population size The various factors contributing to the risk of civil war rise increase with population size. The risk of a civil war rises approximately proportionately with the size of a country’s population. Gleditsch et al. did not find a relationship between ethnic groups with polygyny and increased frequency of civil wars but nations having legal polygamy may have more civil wars. They argued that misogyny is a better explanation than polygyny. They found that increased women’s rights were are associated with less civil wars and that legal polygamy had no effect after women’s rights were controlled for. Duration of civil wars Ann Hironaka, author of Neverending Wars, divides the modern history of civil wars into the pre-19th century, 19th century to early 20th century, and late 20th century. In 19th-century Europe, the length of civil wars fell significantly, largely due to the nature of the conflicts as battles for the power center of the state, the strength of centralized governments, and the normally quick and decisive intervention by other states to support the government. Following World War II the duration of civil wars grew past the norm of the pre-19th century, largely due to weakness of the many postcolonial states and the intervention by major powers on both sides of conflict. The most obvious commonality to civil wars are that they occur in fragile states. Civil wars in the 19th and early 20th centuries Civil wars through the 19th century to early 20th century tended to be short; the average length of a civil war between 1900 and 1944 was one and half years. The state itself was the obvious center of authority in the majority of cases, and the civil wars were thus fought for control of the state. This meant that whoever had control of the capital and the military could normally crush resistance. If a rebellion failed to quickly seize the capital and control of the military for itself, it was normally doomed to a quick destruction. For example, the fighting associated with the 1871 Paris Commune occurred almost entirely in Paris, and ended quickly once the military sided with the government. The power of non-state actors resulted in a lower value placed on sovereignty in the 18th and 19th centuries, which further reduced the number of civil wars. For example, the pirates of the Barbary Coast were recognized as de facto states because of their military power. The Barbary pirates thus had no need to rebel against the Ottoman Empire, who were their nominal state government, to gain recognition for their sovereignty. Conversely, states such as Virginia and Massachusetts in the United States of America did not have sovereign status, but had significant political and economic independence coupled with weak federal control, reducing the incentive to secede. The two major global ideologies, monarchism and democracy, led to several civil wars. However, a bi-polar world, divided between the two ideologies, did not develop, largely due the dominance of monarchists through most of the period. The monarchists would thus normally intervene in other countries to stop democratic movements taking control and forming democratic governments, which were seen by monarchists as being both dangerous and unpredictable. The Great Powers, defined in the 1815 Congress of Vienna as the United Kingdom, Habsburg Austria, Prussia, France, and Russia, would frequently coordinate interventions in other nations’ civil wars, nearly always on the side of the incumbent government. Given the military strength of the Great Powers, these interventions were nearly always decisive and quickly ended the civil wars. There were several exceptions from the general rule of quick civil wars during this period. The American Civil War was unusual for at least two reasons: it was fought around regional identities, rather than political ideologies, and it was ended through a war of attrition, rather than over a decisive battle over control of the capital, as was the norm. The Spanish Civil War was exceptional because both sides of the war received support from intervening great powers: Germany, Italy, and Portugal supported opposition leader Francisco Franco, while France and the Soviet Union supported the government . Civil wars since 1945 In the 1990s, about twenty civil wars were occurring concurrently during an average year, a rate about ten times the historical average since the 19th century. However, the rate of new civil wars had not increased appreciably; the drastic rise in the number of ongoing wars after World War II was a result of the tripling of the average duration of civil wars to over four years. This increase was a result of the increased number of states, the fragility of states formed after 1945, the decline in interstate war, and the Cold War rivalry. Following World War II, the major European powers divested themselves of their colonies at an increasing rate: the number of ex-colonial states jumped from about 30 to almost 120 after the war. The rate of state formation leveled off in the 1980s, at which point few colonies remained. More states also meant more states in which to have long civil wars. Hironaka statistically measures the impact of the increased number of ex-colonial states as increasing the post-WWII incidence of civil wars by +165% over the pre-1945 number. While the new ex-colonial states appeared to follow the blueprint of the idealized state – centralized government, territory enclosed by defined borders, and citizenry with defined rights -, as well as accessories such as a national flag, an anthem, a seat at the United Nations and an official economic policy, they were in actuality far weaker than the Western states they were modeled after. In Western states, the structure of governments closely matched states’ actual capabilities, which had been arduously developed over centuries. The development of strong administrative structures, in particular those related to extraction of taxes, is closely associated with the intense warfare between predatory European states in the 17th and 18th centuries, or in Charles Tilly’s famous formulation: â €Å"War made the state and the state made war†. For example, the formation of the modern states of Germany and Italy in the 19th century is closely associated with the wars of expansion and consolidation led by Prussia and Sardinia, respectively. Such states are considered â€Å"weak† or â€Å"fragile†. The â€Å"strong†-â€Å"weak† categorization is not the same as â€Å"Western†-â€Å"non-Western†, as some Latin American states like Argentina and Brazil and Middle Eastern states like Egypt and Israel are considered to have â€Å"strong† administrative structures and economic infrastructure. Historically, the international community would have targeted weak states for territorial absorption or colonial domination or, alternatively, such states would fragment into pieces small enough to be effectively administered and secured by a local power. However, international norms towards sovereignty changed in the wake of WWII in ways that support and maintain the existence of weak states. Weak states are given de jure sovereignty equal to that of other states, even when they do not have de facto sovereignty or control of their own territory, including the privileges of international diplomatic recognition and an equal vote in the United Nations. Further, the international community offers development aid to weak states, which helps maintain the facade of a functioning modern state by giving the appearance that the state is capable of fulfilling its implied responsibilities of control and order. The formation of a strong international law regime and norms against territorial aggression is strongly associated with the dramatic drop in the number of interstate wars, though it has also been attributed to the effect of the Cold War or to the changing nature of economic development. Consequently, military aggression that results in territorial annexation became increasingly likely to prompt international condemnation, diplomatic censure, a reduction in international aid or the introduction of economic sanction, or, as in the case of 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, international military intervention to reverse the territorial aggression. Similarly, the international community has largely refused to recognize secessionist regions, while keeping some secessionist self-declared states such as Taiwan in diplomatic recognition limbo. While there is not a large body of academic work examining the relationship, Hironaka’s statistical study found a correlation that suggests that every major international anti-secessionist declaration increased the number of ongoing civil wars by +10%, or a total +114% from 1945 to 1997. The diplomatic and legal protection given by the international community, as well as economic support to weak governments and discouragement of secession, thus had the unintended effect of encouraging civil wars. There has been an enormous amount of international intervention in civil wars since 1945 that served to extend wars. While intervention has been practiced since the international system has existed, its nature changed substantially. It became common for both the state and opposition group to receive foreign support, allowing wars to continue well past the point when domestic resources had been exhausted. Superpowers, such as the European great powers, had always felt no compunction in intervening in civil wars that affected their interests, while distant regional powers such as the United States could declare the interventionist Monroe Doctrine of 1821 for events in its Central American â€Å"backyard†. However, the large population of weak states after 1945 allowed intervention by former colonial powers, regional powers and neighboring states who themselves often had scarce resources. On average, a civil war with interstate intervention was 300% longer than those without. When disaggregated, a civil war with intervention on only one side is 156% longer, while intervention on both sides lengthens the average civil war by an addition 92%. If one of the intervening states was a superpower, a civil war is extended a further 72%; a conflict such as the Angolan Civil War, in which there is two-sided foreign intervention, including by a superpower, would be 538% longer on average than a civil war without any international intervention. Effect of the Cold War The Cold War provided a global network of material and ideological support that perpetuated civil wars, which were mainly fought in weak ex-colonial states, rather than the relatively strong states that were aligned with the Warsaw Pact and North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In some cases, superpowers would superimpose Cold War ideology onto local conflicts, while in others local actors using Cold War ideology would attract the attention of a superpower to obtain support. Using a separate statistical evaluation than used above for interventions, civil wars that included pro- or anti-communist forces lasted 141% longer than the average non-Cold War conflict, while a Cold War civil war that attracted superpower intervention resulted in wars typically lasting over three times as long as other civil wars. Conversely, the end of the Cold War marked by the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 resulted in a reduction in the duration of Cold War civil wars of 92% or, phrased another way, a roughly ten-fold increase in the rate of resolution of Cold War civil wars. Lengthy Cold War-associated civil conflicts that ground to a halt include the wars of Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua . See also The Logic of Violence in Civil War War of Independence Wars of national liberation References