Mercury Footwear Questions

Among the first companies to offer fashionable walking, hulking and boating footwear. Its mother company decided to extend the brand by creating complementary line of apparel. Because of the poor performance, it was decided to sold. Style Logo is marked with prosperous, active and fashion-conscious lifestyle. Its main customers are not interest in its apparel. Financial performance Among the most profitable firms. Had poor performance after acquisition by WAC. Revenue contribution 42% of revenue from athletic shoes and balance from casual footwear.Revenue and operating Income were 470. Million and 60. 4 million In 2006. Revenue and EBITDA were 431. 1 million and 518 million.. Products Athletic shoes developed from high-performance footwear to athletic fashion wear. Four main segments: men's and women's athletic and casual footwear. In order to emphasizing individual products, it began to monitor styles and images from global culture Focus on smaller portfolio of classic products with longer lifestyles and could maintain simple production and supply chains.Sales channels Mainly sold in department stores, specialty retailers, wholesalers and independent distributors. Small percentage is sold through website. Department stores, specialty stores, catalogs, discount retailers and internet. Inventory management Good at inventory management in the industry. Inventory management performance is worse than the average level. Outsource Outsource manufacture in China. Outsource main materials in foreign suppliers. Advantages &Disadvantages It takes small size as its competitive disadvantages.And it faced with some problems in the consolidation of manufacturers. Price cuts and promotion in apparel line hurts operating margins but helped to the growth in sales. Sales growth is lower than the average because of there is little discount in price. We could learn that managers of GAG want to enlarge the scale of its company and gain larger market share because of the stable prof it margin. And since the revenue is almost the same, it is a good choice to merge with Mercury, which means that revenue would be doubled after acquisition.And these two companies have some similar factors, such as : (1) They could use the same sale channels after acquisition, and internet channel could be enlarged. (2) They could combine manufacturers to get a powerful bargain in suppliers. 3) The product segments are almost the same, which means that there should be little work to do after acquisition in product adjustment. (4) Thanks to the profitable ability of GAG, it is much easier to make a better financial performance of Mercury. (5) It is good for them to increase the performance of inventory management if they merge together. 6) Although their target customers are different, especially in ages, which means that style and brand are different in the very beginning, this factor could turn into an advantage for the new company could have a fully segment of customers with wider age ranges. Therefore, take into above factors into account; we think that Mercury should be an appropriate target for GAG. 2. Review the projections formulated by Little. Are they appropriate? How would In the case, we could find that Little used historical averages to assume the overhead-to-revenue ratio.However, historical data is usually useless for future. Some studies found there is little evidence that firms grew fast continued to grow fast in the next period. And sometimes there are even negative correlations between growth rates in the two periods. Besides, smaller firms tend to be more volatile than others, which we could find the same characteristics in these two firms we are talking about. And Just as we mentioned in the question 1, revenue may be doubled after acquisition, it Just fits the theory that it is difficult to maintain historical growth rates as firms double or triple in size.Therefore, based on the above analysis, we think that it is not reasonable to use hi storical data for future projections. And sometimes, analyst should be better than the historical growth. Considering that there are five main channels for analyst forecasts: firm-specific information, macroeconomic information, information revealed by competitors on future prospects, private information about the firm and public information other than earnings, we think Little could find more information from above channels to get more accurate assumption.And since performance of Mercury is poorer than the average of the industry, it is better to use industry average level for the benchmarking of Mercury when predicting, instead of a discount rate of GAG for example. And from the comparison of 2007 to 2006, we can find Ileitis's forecast need great input from GAG to support the development of Mercury, whether he has taken this into consideration? And he estimate debt/equity ratio remains the same as GAG, that is also unreasonable, for it is not possible to change that in short peri od.

Fables

Common type of story is the fable, which presents a moral, or lesson about human behavior. Fables usually feature animals behaving and speaking as humans. Among the most widely known are those from the ancient Sanskrit Pancatantra (Five Chapters), which was first written down in India perhaps 2,000 years ago. Known in Europe as The Fables of Bidpai, this collection presents animal characters in entertaining stories and poetry. Many European animal fables have at least in part descended from the Pancatantra. Among the most renowned Western fables are those attributed to Aesop, a (probably fictitious) slave from ancient Greece.One of the best-known of Aesop's stories is â€Å"The Ant and the Grasshopper,† which teaches the need to be industrious and save for the future during times of plenty. Stories that point out lessons are called fables. Nearly everyone knows the fable about the three little pigs. They leave home and go out into the world to make their fortunes. Of course, t hey have to build places in which to live. The first little pig makes his house of straw. The second little pig also takes things easily, building his house of sticks. The third little pig works hard and long to make a house of bricks—a good, sturdy house.Along comes a wolf who blows down the houses of straw and sticks and eats the two lazy little pigs. All his huffing and puffing, however, cannot blow down the house of bricks. In this fable the three little pigs show human characteristics. Two little pigs are shiftless and meet an unhappy end through their own fault. The hard-working little pig earns the reward of a good life. History of fables In very early times people told stories in which animals talk. By their actions the animals show how foolish or wise people can be. Folklore scholars think that fables probably originated among the Semitic peoples of the Middle East.The tales spread to India and then west to Greece. Many fables go back to an ancient Sanskrit collectio n from India called ‘Pancatantra' (Five Chapters). These stories were told and retold through many generations. Eventually they reached Greece. The Greeks added detail and action and made Aesop master of all the fables. The Romans translated Aesop's fables into Latin. They were translated into French in the 13th century. The first of many versions of the folktale of â€Å"Reynard the Fox† appeared in about the 12th century. Fables of Aesop’s The greatest teller of fables was Aesop (see Aesop).He was believed to be a slave in ancient Greece. His stories are simple moral lessons illustrated usually by the actions and speech of animals. Some of his best-known fables are â€Å"The Lion and the Mouse,† â€Å"The Fox and the Stork,† â€Å"The Hare and the Tortoise,† â€Å"The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing,† â€Å"The Fox and the Grapes,† â€Å"The Frogs Desiring a King,† and â€Å"The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf. † In Aesop's à ¢â‚¬Å"The Lion and the Mouse† the great, strong lion is tired of hunting. He lies down to sleep under a shady tree. A mouse runs over his face and awakens him.The angry lion is about to crush the tiny mouse with his huge paw, but the mouse begs so hard to live that the lion lets him go. Some time later the lion is caught in a hunter's trap. He roars with surprise and fury. The little mouse recognizes the roar and races to the trap. He gnaws the ropes and sets the lion free. The powerful lion is grateful for the help that his tiny friend gave him. The king of beasts thinks to himself â€Å"Sometimes the weakest can help the strongest. † Aesop's â€Å"The Fox and the Stork† shows that a tricky person does not always win. A fox invites a stork to dinner.The fox serves soup in a shallow dish. The poor stork can wet only the end of his long narrow bill in the soup. The sly fox makes false apologies and laps up all the food. The stork pretends to be satisfied and invit es the fox to dinner. When the fox comes a few days later, he finds the food served in a tall jar with a narrow neck. Down in the jar goes the stork's long bill. All the fox can do is lick his chops. This fable may have suggested the old proverb â€Å"he who laughs last laughs best. † Many proverbs and maxims are expressions of the wisdom found in fables.Some of these sayings and the fables from which they come are listed after the â€Å"History of Fables† section. Fables by La Fontaine Another great teller of fables was Jean de La Fontaine (see La Fontaine). He wrote in France in the 17th century. La Fontaine based many of his fables on those of Aesop. In the writings of both men are â€Å"The Fox and the Crow,† â€Å"The Dove and the Ant,† â€Å"The Fox and the Grapes,† â€Å"The Maid and the Pail of Milk,† and â€Å"The Fox and the Stork. † Some of La Fontaine's titles vary slightly from Aesop's. â€Å"The Fox and the Crow† tells that a fox sees a crow ith a piece of cheese in her beak settle in a tree. The fox wants the cheese. He looks up at the crow and says, â€Å"Good day, Mistress Crow. How well you look today! I feel sure that your voice must surpass that of other birds, just as your figure does. Let me hear you sing but one song so I may greet you as queen of the birds. † The crow begins to caw her best.As soon as she opens her mouth, the piece of cheese falls to the ground and is snapped up by the fox. â€Å"That will do,† he says. â€Å"That was all I wanted. In exchange for your cheese, I'll give you a piece of advice for the future. Do not trust flatterers. Another of La Fontaine's fables is â€Å"The Animals Sick of the Plague. † The lion, who is king of the beasts, asks all the animals to confess their sins. The guiltiest will be sacrificed to save the rest. The lion begins by confessing that he has â€Å"devoured an appalling number of sheep† and â€Å"the s hepherd, too. † Reynard the Fox defends the king. His plea is applauded by the lion's flatterers. Finally a poor donkey is sacrificed after he confesses that he has eaten grass on the monastery grounds. The moral of the tale is: â€Å"Thus do the courts acquit the strong and doom the weak as therefore wrong. †

Critically evaluate the value and risks of informal social networks Essay

Critically evaluate the value and risks of informal social networks (communities of practice, cross-community, boundary-spanning - Essay Example Work-based communities of practice include associations based on a profession, and can also include worker guilds that are based on expertise on specific crafts, and even teams of software people working on the same sets of technologies and platforms. The value of such communities of practice cum informal social networks have come into the fore and have gained considerable recognition among all kinds of organizations (Lesser and Stork, 2001, pp. 831-833; Wenger, 2000). Disciplines focused on learning processes and the generation of new knowledge have likewise come to focus its attention on the role of communities of practice and the role that they play in those processes, in a large array of work and social contexts. Creative work, innovation, and high-value work outputs have likewise been linked in studies and discussions on communities of practice (Amin and Roberts, 2008, pp. 353-355). ... le communication technologies and information technologies have facilitated this kind of cross-boundary social networking and collaboration, it is sometimes fraught with problems, as when differing groups jostle for power and politicize the process. These identified problems of groups fighting for control over the process of knowledge creation and innovation point to possible risks associated with the use of such informal social networks. The knowledge innovation processes can fail when different communities of practice fail to cooperate and trust each other, for instance (Hayes and Walsham, pp. 2-5). Meanwhile, because of the very substantial benefits from knowledge creation and innovation that are to be had from communities of practice, many are incentivized to look for ways to harness those benefits from various communities of practice that firms are exposed to. Including from contractor groups and other valuable third parties (Kaiser, n.d.) Meanwhile, the centrality of the concep t of communities of practice to understanding knowledge generation and knowledge innovation processes is underscored by literature that attempts to refine definitions of key concepts tied to communities of practice, while trying to situate communities of practice within several contexts. Among these contexts is the personal context. This is the context or view from the inside looking out. This is the perspective of the individual learner and knowledge generator within the community. Also among these contexts or views is from the outside looking in. These are views that situate communities of practice within broader social and cultural contexts (Handley et al., 2006, pp. 641-645). Taking a step back, the value of communities of practice in innovations based on IT, and in knowledge innovation

Modern Consumerism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Modern Consumerism - Essay Example When one need is fulfilled, there is always going to be another need that pops up requiring attention. That is just the way humans are made. Not necessarily just physical needs need to be met—but rather, the accoutrement of things which humans seem to accumulate over the years one has spent living is a perfect example of this, especially in more developed countries. Consumption is so puzzling to Campbell especially because this insatiability for things is considered an ethnocentric phenomenon, in his view.2 For example, it is considered anathema in some cultures to want things outside of what one already has—not to mention blasphemous to try to attain things for the self. Any kind of achievements that are related to one â€Å"getting ahead† in life is not the norm in small communities. Rather, it is the importance of community that encapsulates one’s decisions—not the self-promotion and self-egotistical self-centeredness that is so evident in many W estern cultures. This self-centeredness is puzzling not only because one knows one can â€Å"never have enough,† but this incessant search in the quest for one’s self-fulfillment—demonstrated in Western culture—is tantamount to blasphemy. In a small town somewhere off the beaten path, this kind of behavior would never be tolerated. This is because, in essence, in the cultures of many nations that are less-developed or not developed at all, community is a big part of who people are. These humble people who grew up with small beginnings are not willing to sell out their communities for fame. It is just not in their natures. What is in human nature, however—which apparently shows up more in Western cultures than not—is this idea of instant gratification and the search for self-actualization that is not found in many places that are rural where the people have less education and

Curriculum Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Curriculum Evaluation - Essay Example It is a sound research method which can be used in educational institutions for evaluating merit of students (Sowell, E. J., â€Å"Curriculum: An Integrative Introduction†). CIPP stands for ‘Context, Input, Process and Products’. Context implies evaluating the requirements and problems; Input relates to evaluating of the plan to address the requirement, Process is the evaluation of implementation of plan, and ultimately Product stands for the evaluation of anticipated and unexpected results (Sowell, E. J., â€Å"Curriculum: An Integrative Introduction†). There are different sights of Curriculum Evaluation standards which are to be given priority in the evolution. According to JCSEE (Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation), there are four kinds of standards for Curriculum Evaluation which are ‘Utility Criteria’, ‘Feasibility Criteria’, ‘Propriety Criteria’, and ‘Accuracy Criteria’ (Sowell, E. J., â€Å"Curriculum: An Integrative Introduction†). CIPP evaluation technique goes through certain stages. In the year 2003, Sander and Davidson had projected 11 stages for applying CIPP model. The first stage consists of assessment of school elements which are finance, human resource, competency and other resources.

Final Project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Final Project - Assignment Example With the success of their product in the local US markets, they are thinking of catering to a wider region by penetration in the bigger markets of US and global markets too. In order to do so a major study has to be undertaken while deciding about the expansion of the market. A faulty expansion step can, not only account for a dip in profits but also be a threat for the whole existence of the business. Thus, a market plan is a serious necessity for market expansion. With the question of market expansion, the most widely used method used to analyze the decision aptly is that of SWOT analysis. It is majorly done to analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the particular business proposal. In this case, SWOT analysis is required to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the organization with respect to the idea of global expansion and also the opportunities and threats it may face from the external resources while expanding their business in the global forum. Another study which would be quite handful in this project would be the Porter’s Five Force Model. The Porter’s Five Force Model mainly takes into the account the major forces which affect the functioning of the firm namely the suppliers, competitors, substitutes, barriers to entry and buyers’ powers. A thorough study is to be made regarding all these heads so that it could be well understood that whether the decision taken of expanding their business in the global markets is really viable or not (Kotler, 2009). With the progression of the case all such topics would be covered under different heads. Each and every essential detail for entering into a global market with relation to the case will be analyzed in details and probable solutions will be provided. The nature of the product is a determining factor while decision regarding market expansion is taken that too globally. In this case, the major product is that of

Summary Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Summary - Assignment Example These elements were witnessed in the movies that were created in Hollywood during the session of 1940s. He asserts that these four elements make up the best definition of film noir. Schrader states that the very first element that defines a film noir is the dillusionment that arose after the World War II and the war itself. He states that during the period of 1930s and 1940s, moviews were made for the purpose of conducting propaganda and helping people cheer up due to their sufferings of the issues of the WWII and the Depression. He states that during the early period of the 1940s, movies such as The Maltese Falcon and Laura came into existance and they were a true form of film Noir. In these films, the dillusionment experiencedby the whole nation was portrayed. These movies and the movie The Blue Tahlia represented the scenes of soilders returning back home and they have no work and women had lost tehir jobs. He further asserts that the second most element that is requried to recognize a movie as film Noir is post-war realism. He states that after the war, Americans were demanding for authencity in the media industry, they no longer wanted to see moves that were melodramatic and represnted the higher class. They wanted the real image of the society to be portrayed in the movies and wanted these movies to be about the issues that they were experiencing. Their tatse for sets even changed and they no longer wanted the actors to make movies in fake settings, they wanted them to shoot movies on the street. For exmaple: They wanted the actors to work in locations such as Norma Desmond’s mansion which was broughdown during the `957. The third element that differentiates a movie as being a film noir is that such movies used to be influenced by the Germans by a certain extent. This is because during the period of 1930s, there was an increase in the spread of Nazism and several individuals had

Addressing Challenges of Groups and Teams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Addressing Challenges of Groups and Teams - Essay Example Groups and teams, in general known as the work groups that tend to ted to subsist inside the framework of a bigger corporation along with sharing the liability for a group or team work and services, that are designed to achieve desired results. Within a lot of corporations in the world today, have groups and teams working for them round the clock expanding the policies, plans along with producing innovative goods, delivering services, in addition to implementing further major errands that control the overall performance of the corporation (Barker,2004,pg78).One of the biggest challenges for any group or team is the new situations that they are faced with each time they begin working. The challenge is to be able to alter the team member's individual attitude in relation to how something ought to work or ought to be. For instance the team members or the group members after a certain while feel that there is a set pattern of how their everyday meetings will be carried on. Although, the team and the group members should come each day with the fact in mind that they might have to deal with a new issue and event or a happening, which might as well change the course of their work. The attitude of how they will be executing these changes and adjustments is how they will be actually working in general. The second most critical challenge is to be able to schedule your work time. Evenly distributing the time of work between the tasks is a great challenge. Usually teams and groups face this challenge as the group or team has several members which might have individual time constraints. Being able to take out appropriate time within the demanding schedules of the several people caught up within the work groups as well as teams is a big challenge. Time ought to be placed aside; regularly through inspired means, to permit individuals to toil together in the direction of recognizing the general objective moreover to put into position those actions as well as frameworks to help accomplish that ambition. Working on developing fresh Skills: alongside with varying an individual's anticipation there is a want to build up innovative skills to toil as a fraction of a group or a team: paying attention, making conversation, inquiring, being tolerant, as well as gaining harmony. These group or team members spend the largest part of their daytime working together as individuals. Exchanging information. Once in a blue moon are they are given the opportunity and the time to decide matters individually, predominantly with reference to sharing information and culture. For that reason, their ability of functioning efficiently inside this kind of a situation is usually frail. The challenge is to facilitate the team and group members to discover these interrelating skills as well as to establish them in accordance to the customs of the teams or the group's responsibilities. The Conflict management is the one of the most critical challenges faced by group and team members there is no doubt in the fact that conflict management inside a group or a team needs to be a fairly formal course. The element of disagreement can be very positive for a group if it is administered suitably. By expressing disparities, the group and the team members can generate quality evaluations along with gratifying interpersonal

Hispanics in United States Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Hispanics in United States - Research Paper Example without members of a bigger, much more enigmatical word Hispano-American or Latin-American. Around 2000, 32.5 000000 Hispano-Americans settled in the U.S. consisting near about 12 % of the net crowd. In the period 1990 to 2000, the Hispano-American population grew by almost 10000000 people, accounting for 38 % of the country’s total growth of population as the decade was running. Hispano-Americans are anticipated to be the 51 % of the people between the 2000 and 2050 which will lead the Hispano-Americans being the 98 000000 by the mid century, so showing about 25 % of the net United States population and significantly more than their current population. Around 2000, Hispano-Americans were the biggest minority community already among the kids and, by 2005, Hispano-Americans outdone Blacks as the country’s largest minority community among all. (U.S. Diplomatic Mission to Germany, 1) Hispano-Americans are a wide spread community having individuals of various roots and race s. Biggest Hispano-American subcommunity in the U.S. is of the Mexican roots, in 1997, they consisted of almost 66 % of the Hispano-American crowd. Other Hispano-American sub communities came from the Central or the South of American continent are of 15 % from Puerto Rico and Cuba 9 % and 4 % consecutively lastly rest the Hispano-American nations 6 %. Of the Hispano-Americans currently living in U.S., 62 % took birth in U.S. ... Asia-Pacific Islanders were less similar than Hispano-Americans, black or white to get possessed by two native-born parents of United States. (U.S. Diplomatic Mission to Germany, 1) The Hispanic population is increasing rapidly as the days are going by in proportion to the white and black kids. As we reach 2020 it is anticipated that every fifth child will have his or her root in Hispanic origin. Recently, Hispanic kids account for every sixth child. The steadily increasing Hispanic crowd below 18 years is an attribute to the increased emigration and also to the comparatively higher fertility rate per year of Hispano-American women. (U.S. Diplomatic Mission to Germany, 1) Immigration: The Hispanic people in the U.S. is increasing fast and in coming days will turn into the biggest minority group. It is very common to walk through the roads of a city in America today and listen to Spanish words. In 1950 less than 4000000 United States civilians were found from Spanish spoken countries. Nowadays the number grew to 45000000. About 50 % of Hispanics in U.S. have migrated from Mexico. The rest 50 % migrated from various countries such as El Salvador with Dominican Republic as well as Colombia. 36% of the Hispano-Americans in the U.S. live around California. Lots of other states posses’ large Hispano-American populations, including the Texas, New York states like Illinois, Florida are in the list also where numerous Cubans escaping the Castro incumbency have set down. Most of them were illegal immigrants. However, they have now settled down well. There are numbers of Cuban Americans inside Miami so the largest newspaper of the city Miami Herald presents different versions in English as well as Spanish. (U.S. Diplomatic Mission to Germany, 1) People think about

Criminal Justice Budget Essay Example for Free

Criminal Justice Budget Essay Harris County, in Houston Texas, contains a pretty large population, and a large majority of that population classified as home owners. Harris county’s geographic size is considerably large, with a population estimate exceeding 3,935,855 peoples in 2007 (US Census Bureau, 2009). Furthermore, the percentage of Caucasians is around 73. 6%, with the Black population consisting of 18. 9%, Native Americans exceeding . 6%, Asian persons around 5. 5% and lastly the Hispanic population being around 38. 6% (US Census Bureau, 2009). The land area per 200 square miles is 1,728. Harris County’s current federal spending budget for the year of 2007 is around 21, 152, 659. When determining a budget for Harris County, one important aspect to consider is the county’s retail sales, which is around 39,358,036, displaying the current of industry and economic growth. The federal government spent over 19 billion dollars in 2003 on the war on drugs, at a rate of about 600 dollars per second (www. drugsense. org). The total amount of money spent on the war on drugs at the federal level is about 4,258,600,939, while at the state level 6,536,936,825, totaling over 10,800,600,300 dollars (www. drugsense. com). The failed war on drugs has not stopped drug usage, on the contrary, it has made criminal cartels rich by illegalizing drugs, thus giving them a product to sell, and increased not only the availability and potency of drugs, but, also their rate of usage across the country. For example, after the US has spent over 500 billion dollars to fight drugs, cocaine is now as cheap as it was when kingpin Escobar died and more heavily used, furthermore, methamphetamine, which was barley even a problem in the years following 1993, is now used by over 1. 5 million Americans and is proven to be more addictive than crack (Wells, 2007). The war on drugs has put over 500,000 people behind bars for drug crimes with no discernable effect on the drug trafficking industry, if anything; it has grown (Wells, 2007). When preparing a budget for Harris County, the most important thing that could be done is ending the failed war on drugs, which would save tax payers an estimated 12 billion dollars or more a year. Furthermore, instead of focusing a majority of the states federal budget on building more prisons begin building more universities, and residential communities. I find it interesting to note that the annual cost to tax payers in California to keep and maintain their prisons is around 10 billion per year, if this spending trend continues; California will be spending more on prisons than on universities (Abramsky, 2007). In ending the war on drugs, with the billions that would be saved, tax cuts, business incentives, and an overall increase in the standard of living for the community. Furthermore, instead of building prisons, states could build real, industry that produces’ real goods. References Wells, Ben (2007) How America Lost the War on Drugs Rolling Stone retrieved on March 16, 2009 from http://www. rollingstone. com/news/story/17438347/how_america_lost_the_war_on_drugs Abramsky, Sasha (2007) Prison Crisis: Will California Spend more on jails than Universities? Rights and Liberties retrieved on March 16, 2009 from http://www. alternet. org/rights/65868/? page=entire US Census Bureau (2009) State and County quick facts The US Census Bureau on March 16, 2009 from http://quickfacts. census. gov/qfd/states/48/48201. html Unknown Author (2009) Drug War Clock Drug Sense retrieved on March 16, 2009 from http://www. drugsense. org/wodclock. htm

Influence of Government Type on Policy Making

Influence of Government Type on Policy Making When a country has a democratic government, the process of implementing a law is extremely tedious compared to a monarchy.  In a monarchy,  the rulers word is law, and that law is enacted precisely when the ruler says it is, saving a great deal of time and work. However, the trade-off  is necessary,  especially in complex policy issues,  such as  foreign policy,  that relate  to war. When  entering conflict with  a  foreign nation,  it’s crucial for the survival of a nation. War is an extremely costly operation, one  that can cause substantial  financial damage to  a  nation. A democratic political system,  such as  in  the USA,  specifically prevents a nation  from  entering wars  for any defensive  or offensive  purpose  that is not publicly approved, because a mistake in such decision will impact the survival of a  nation. Even though there is a loss of efficiency, it ensures the survival of a nation. However, the main reason why extensive checks on policy is necessary,  is because we humans suffer from our own psychological bias.  In the book The Nudge, the author describes  Ã¢â‚¬Å"we human  can be manipulated by savvy architects of choice â€Å".  Referencing  that we human,  and  politicians  of course,  will sometimes makes incorrect decision or irrational decision based  on  psychological manipulation. A check and balance system  extensively  prevents that from happening in our government.  By making single sided and quick decisions virtually impossible from our policy making process. Despite the obvious loss  of  efficiency, this trade-off of speed for balance is essential. The framers of the American constitution knew well the results of absolute rule  and structured the nation they founded very specifically to avoid such tyranny. A somewhat clunky government is the unavoidable price of a multi-faceted government. In turn, public participation is encouraged under such a system, as people are made to feel that their efforts can make a difference, as opposed to the sense that a distant and unconcerned  monarch  will simply do as he  or she  likes regardless of public opinion and action. Using the United States as an example, the  president, head of the executive branch of government and holder of the ostensive title of â€Å"head of state,†Ã‚  has virtually no power to draft new legislation. In fact, his (or her) authority in this matter is entirely limited to effectively asking nicely for  Congress (which constitutes the legislative branch) to introduce the desired law. Political allies in the House of Representatives will certainly comply, but their opponents are sure to question and criticize the new law to within an inch of its life, insisting on amendments and modifications if they allow it to move forward at all. Assuming some agreement – often  taking a long time to  reach  and achieved only after the requisite rounds of political scheming and posturing – can be reached, essentially the entire process must be repeated in the Senate, where the unique balance of  senators may bring the bills future into question yet again. We can see that by allowing discussion and exchange between  the  Senate and  House,  the public participation in the political matter increases  as well. As each citizen  recognizes  that we elected our own policy makers,  every citizen makes a difference,  as opposed  to a monarch,  who often distances  him  or herself from the public when making public policy,  thus discouraging  public participation. One way to allow the public participation is  allowing public to form  special interest group to maintain their position in the government by lobbying  to  influence other people to support the organization’s position.  These interest groups  often testify in legislative hearings,  donate to  political candidates  (Www.opensecret.org),  and donate money to candidate or organization to lobby  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  politicians.   When special interest effects certain elite groups, the candidate of the elite group can spread their ideas to the  public  at large,  which results in  a  change  in  public opinion, thus ensuring their ideas and objective are in place in the society. Special interest group  are  formed  by groups of individuals,  and  the group’s ability to drawn in large  numbers  of citizens directly impacts the quality of policy,  because when implementing a policy, to satisfy its members,  the policy drafting procedure must ensure a common understanding of the law, must be readable (not overly complex),  and it must  achieve  the group’s social, political,  and legal objectives,  which are the criteria of a good-quality policy.  Reading) ( Think tanks are a wide range of institution that provides public policy research, advice,and analysis, while operating independently. They are non-profit  and  operate  independently  from political partiesand government. Their main goal is to help government officials  understand and make rational decisions  on different issues.  They support policy developments by  conducting research on  complex issues  with their expertise and present their extensive findings to  government officials,  such as congress and other officials. Think tanks  act  as  an intermediary  between knowledge and politicians. However, think tanks approach different issues differently. A scientific approach requires extensive testing  of  theories about the policy effects. A professional approach requires analysis of the  opportunity cost of different alternatives. And lastly a political approach requires support of  the  left or right-wing party. Although the description above summarizes different approaches  for different think tanks, the underlying  simultaneous approach requires think tanks to understand complex issues and to provide research and advice to  funders  or  political leaders  and together draft a quality policy that can reach different objective. To explain the difference between political vs economic model we can look at democracy vs communism.  To begin with, democracy is entirely a political model. In  the American sense, democracy is no economic model. It is a system in which the people at large vote upon voluntary candidates who have asked to serve as representatives in a variety of capacities, and once winning election, to decide policy as they see fit. As this structure the  administration of the country, with no necessary commentary upon economics, it is a political model. By contrast, communism is an economic model, though its nature does tend to favour a political structure. Communism is an extreme flavour of socialism that emphasizes the dignity of the common worker, who is credited with building and maintaining all human societies. As such, communism purports to establish an economy free of financial inequality, in which the workers – constituting most of the population – are all equal social partners. It is in this manner that communism can be mistaken for a political model, as such tight controls on societal resources all but require a strong centralized government to oversee distribution. But this is a consequence of communisms economic ideal, rather than a prescription. Communism is an economic model. Again, an economic model as rigid as communism tends to demand a powerful government, but ultimately it is a nations political model – not its economic model – that determines the selection of policies. This is only sensible, as policy should be set by a nations leaders – even if, as in the U.S.A  example above, those leaders are none but the people themselves – and not by directly by economic factors. I believe economic model should dictate policy making, because  economic model is  a much effective and less costly  way to  drive changes in the country.  When  we look at the  example of increase  alcohol tax  led to decrease in alcohol purchase.  We can see that economic policy  clearly influences human behaviour. Not only it decreases drunk driving accidents, it increases  productivity  and health gains. In the past we have seen example of political models in place to ban alcohol  (18th  amendment), not only it did not decrease  incentive to purchase  alcohol, it increase power, corruption within a nation  which  cause  more  social damage to a  nation.  Economic model has proven itself as the best model to drive changes in a country  and human behaviour. References Keilman, John. Higher Booze Tax a Lifesaver?  Chicago Tribune. Web. 1 Oct. 2014. Top Donor Profiles.  Center for Responsive Politics. 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 1 Oct. 2014. www.opensecrets.org>.Thaler, Richard H., and Cass R. Sunstein.  Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness. New Haven, Conn.: Yale UP, 2008. Print.

American Pie :: essays research papers

"American Pie" by Don McLean, is a very interesting song. After listening to the lyrics and the song itself, there is a meaning to this song. Each line of the lyrics has a special meaning to what Don McLean wanted to say, but in his own special way. If one was to look at each lyrics one by one, they will be able to find out the big picture of the whole song. It tells a story of Mclean's favorite performers, Buddy HOlly. American Pie was rumoured to be the name of the plane that BUddy Holly died in. In the begining of the song, he starts out saying, "A long, long time ago, I can still remember how that music made me smile. ANd i knew if I had a chance, that i could make those people dance, and maybe they'd be happy for a while." THis line is talking about how when he was a child he listened to great performers of his time and how he could do the same and make other teenagers happy with his song and make them want to dance and be merry. "But February made me shiver, with every paper I'd deliver, bad news on the doorstep. I couldnt take one more step, I can't remember if I cried when i read about his widowed bride. But something touched me deep inside, the day the music died." This line is the day back in February 3, 1959 when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper died in a plane crash. As a child, McLean was a paper boy and the news papers that were being passed that day was spreading "bad" news to everyones' doorstep and Buddy Holly's wife was pregnent when he died and later she had a miscarage. That date, was also refered to the "day music died." "Bye bye Miss American Pie, I drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry. Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye, SIgning This'll be the day that i die. THis'll be the day that i die." This is the chorus line. Miss American Pie was someone McLean had dated as a teenager. It was rumoured he was dating a Miss American candidate at the time. It is also refering to saying good by to the plane that had all three performers. The levee refers to a Movie called MIssissippi Burning, which was about three college students registering to vote as black voters, but were killded and dragged to a levee.

An Analysis of On Sitting Down To Read King Lear Once Again Essay

An Analysis of On Sitting Down To Read King Lear Once Again The poem "On Sitting Down to Read King Lear Once Again" by John Keats is a sonnet about Keats' relationship with the drama that became his idea of tragic perfection, and how it relates to his own struggle with the issues of short life and premature death. Keats uses the occasion of the rereading this play to explore his seduction by it and its influence on himself and his ways of looking at himself and his situation in spite of his negative capability. From the first few lines Keats alludes to the great romances of the previous ages as opposed to William Shakespeare's great tragedies. While it could be discerned that Keats is referring to his poem Endymion: A Poetic Romance, the underlying meaning of the lines remains. Keats writes "O golden tongued Romance, with serene lute!/ Fair plumed Syren Queen of far-away!/ Leave melodizing on this wintry day,/ Shut up thine olden pages and be mute." (Lines 1 - 4). Keats here is shutting out the idyllic romantic notions he cannot at this time cling to due to the ever present spectre of death that hangs above him. Keats forsakes the romantic here leaning instead toward the tragic, which is what he perceives his short life to be. In these opening lines Keats seems to be a desperate, and morose storyteller who forbids himself the taste of the ideal, regardless of how strong a pull romance has for him. Keats is forced to command the romance to "Shut up thine olden pages and be mute!" (4) in orde r to pull himself away from it. This shows not only the strong attraction romance holds for Keats, but also Keats' recognition of the Romance as a personified thing he can converse with and bid "Adieu!" (5). The use of ... ...ime it is clear that Keats has succeeded in accomplishing the transition of the Phoenix into immortality, as Keats still lives on over one hundred seventy five years after his death in his poetry and our memories ON SITTING DOWN TO READ KING LEAR ONCE AGAIN by John Keats O golden tongued Romance, with serene lute! Fair plumed Syren, Queen of far-away! Leave melodizing on this wintry day, Shut up thine olden pages, and be mute: Adieu! for once again the fierce dispute (5) Betwixt damnation and impassion'd clay Must I burn through; once more humbly assay The bitter-sweet of this Shakespearian fruit. Chief Poet! and ye clouds of Albion, Begetters of our deep eternal theme! (10) When through the old oak Forest I am gone, Let me not wander in a barren dream, But when I am consumed in the fire, Give me new Phoenix wings to fly at my desire.

Beowulf Papers -- English Literature Heroes Essays

Beowulf Papers A hero is a man of courage and ability who is admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. A hero is a person who does not come along very often in any time period. He is a special person, who is a step above the average person in the way that he handles any situation that may arise. This statement is very true for the time of Anglo-Saxon culture and literature. A hero was like a god and was put on a pedestal far above the others. A hero brought peace to situations that were deemed impossible and brought joy to many people. In the poem Beowulf, there is a great example of what a hero is about in this time. Beowulf is the great warrior of the Geats and he will do anything necessary to keep peace and to make a better life for his people. That is why he is described as, "The mildest of men and the gentlest, kindest to his people, and most eager for fame" (Norton, 68). Beowulf leads the Geats for fifty years of happiness and prosperity and in turn, made a name for himself that will be remembered for centuries to come. A hero always fights to win but it not unfair in battle. For example, Beowulf could have fought Grendel with a sword and made the battle much easier for himself because Grendel, "In his recklessness cares not for weapons" (Norton, 32). Beowulf would rather have a fair battle so he uses his special strength, courage and ability and he wins, like a hero does. A hero also performs tasks that are deemed impossible for others. If an average warrior gets caught in a monsters' grip, it is all over for him. Beowulf, on the other hand, has dealt with this before, and he deals with it in the battle against Grendel's mother. For example, "She groped toward him, took the warrior in her aw... ... when used properly, they can help turn a literary work from ordinary to extraordinary. Bibliography *Abrams, M.H., ed., et al. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Sixth Edition. Vol.I. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1993. *Blakelock, Jane. Online. Internet. 03/16/99. "Geoffrey Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath". Available http://www.media.wright.edu/studorgs/english20403/chaucer.html. *Geoffrey Chaucer. Online. Internet. 03/16/99. Available http://csc.calpoly.edu/~ercarlso/essays/Geoffrey Chaucer.html. *Jokinen, Anniina. Online. Internet. 03/16/99. "Geoffrey Chaucer (Ca. 1343-1400)". http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/chaucer.html. *Jones, Sam. Online. Internet. 03/16/99. "The Litrix Reading Room". Available http://www.litrix.com. *Skill, Elaine Strong. Cliffs Notes on Beowulf. Lincoln: Cliffs Notes Incorporated, 1990.

Did the Court feel that equalizing the funding between schools in Texas would make school opportunity for students equal?

In 1973, the San Antonio Independent School District filed an appeal to the United States Supreme Court to decide whether or not the state of Texas financed public education in such a way to discriminate against students living in poor school districts.The Supreme Court (1973) held that â€Å"the Texas system does not operate to the peculiar disadvantage of any suspect class.† Although such is the case, the Court also held that education â€Å"is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms† (United States Supreme Court [USSC], 1973). There are, however, factors to consider before such an equal opportunity for students to exist.While believing that education must be made available to all on equal terms, the United States Supreme Court (1973) also believed that â€Å"the history of education since the industrial revolution shows a continual struggle between two forces: the desire by members of society to have educational opportunity for all children, and t he desire of each family to provide the best education it can afford for its own children.† The Texas financial system for public schools is a â€Å"product of the state and local participation† (USSC, 1973).Half of the revenues to provide basic education were derived from state-funded programs and each district aids in financing through taxes on properties within the district's jurisdiction. The appellees claim that Texas' reliance on local property taxation discriminates poor families who reside in districts having low generation of property tax.The United States Supreme Court (1973), however, held that the state of   Texas works its system of school finances such that â€Å"While assuring a basic education for every child in the State, it permits and encourages a large measure of participation in and control of each district's schools at the local level.†It was based on the efforts â€Å"devoted to establishing a means of guaranteeing a minimum statewide ed ucational program without sacrificing the vital element of local participation† and local control means†¦ the freedom to devote more money to the education of one's children† (USSC, 1973).There is no doubt that the United States Supreme Court feel that equalizing the the funds between schools in Texas would make opportunity for students equal as well.However, it held that the financial system has already provided the basic educational requirement and does not believe that the state of Texas is not making any efforts to provide such equal opportunity in education for its students. The 1973 decision states that:â€Å"In sum, to the extent that the Texas system of school financing results in unequal expenditures between children who happen to reside in different districts, we cannot say that such disparities are the product of a system that is so irrational as to be invidiously discriminatory.Texas has acknowledged its shortcomings and has persistently endeavored â₠¬â€œ not without some success – to ameliorate the differences in levels of expenditures without sacrificing the benefits of local participation. TheTexas plan is not the result of hurried, ill-conceived legislation.It certainly is not the product of purposeful discrimination against any group or class. On the contrary, it is rooted in decades of experience in Texas and elsewhere, and in major part is the product of responsible studies by qualified people† (USSC, 1973).The United States Supreme Court (1973) believed that â€Å"the Texas plan for financing public education reflects what many educators for a half century have thought was an enlightened approach to a problem for which there is no perfect solution† in which the justices are unwilling to assume â€Å"a level of wisdom superior to that of legislators, scholars, and educational authorities in 50 States, especially where the alternatives proposed are only recently conceived and nowhere yet tested.† ReferenceUnited States Supreme Court (1973). San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez. 411 US 1

Common Themes in Orwell, Lessing, Nehru and Chamberlain’s Texts Essay

The texts by Orwell, Lessing, Nehru and Chamberlain each present clear arguments about colonialism, arguments that are delivered powerfully by the various techniques employed by each author. Taken collectively, the texts show that colonialism causes poverty and backwardness in the colonized country or countries, and that it brings about various pressures on the colonizer. In all these texts, the era of colonialism is depicted as a period wherein it is the colonizer that is the subject, acting on the colonized – an object that resists understanding and has a mind of its own. Shooting an Elephant† by George Orwell. The argument put forward in this short story is clear. In the beginning of the story, he already knows that â€Å"imperialism was an evil thing. † In the course of the story, however, this realization becomes more precise: â€Å"[W]hen the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys†¦ For it is the condition of his rule that he shall spend his life in trying to impress the ‘natives,’ and so in every crisis he has got to do what the ‘natives’ expect of him. This argument is delivered quite consistently, culminating in Orwell’s act of actually shooting the elephant. The argument is delivered powerfully because the story is about an actual situation in which the argument is demonstrated in the concrete. â€Å"No Witchcraft for Sale† by Doris Lessing. The argument made by Lessing in this story is also clear. In the first parts, this argument was made: â€Å"No one can live in Africa†¦ ithout learning very soon that there is an ancient wisdom of leaf and soil and season – and, too, perhaps the most important of all, of the darker tracts of the human mind – which is the black man’s heritage. † In a succeeding paragraph, this argument was made: â€Å"[W]hile all of them knew t hat in the bush of Africa are waiting valuable drugs locked in bark, in simple-looking leaves, in roots, it was always impossible to ever get the truth about them from the natives themselves. The argument is made consistently. While Gideon did give some plant to the scientist, it is revealed in the end that â€Å"the truth† about the healing leaves was not communicated. The argument is delivered powerfully because we are shown a clear example of healing, and then we are shown a story of a Western scientist who failed to understand this healing. â€Å"The Noble Mansion of Free India† by Jawaharlal Nehru. The argument made in this speech is clear, consistently asserted throughout the speech. Nehru draws a portrait of a country that has suffered for such a long time, a country that has succeeded and got an opportunity to move out of that suffering, and a country that is eager to succeed in moving out of that suffering. He declares: â€Å"We rejoice in that freedom, even though clouds surround us, and many of our people are sorrow-stricken and difficult problems encompass us. But freedom brings responsibilities and burdens and we have to face them in the spirit of a free and disciplined people. † The argument is delivered powerfully because the speech is quite consistent on the points it makes. I Believe in a British Empire† by Joseph Chamberlain. The argument made in this speech is also clear, supported by minor arguments made by the author. Chamberlain argues his case by eliminating other options, choosing what best suits the interest of â€Å"a British Empire† he believes in: â€Å"I believe in a British Empire, in an Empire which, though it should be its first duty to cultivate friendship with all the nations of the world, should yet, even if alone, be self-sustaining and self-sufficient, able to maintain itself against the competition of all its rivals. And I do not believe in in a Little England which shall be separated from all those to whom it would in the natural course look for support and affection, a little England which would then be dependent absolutely on the mercy of those who envy its present prosperity†¦ † The argument is delivered powerfully because the speech consistently argued from the interest of the British Empire at that time. Common Theme or Sentiment About Colonialism. The works show a common theme or sentiment about colonialism. One gets the sense, specially from Orwell and Chamberlain, that colonialism imposes certain demands on the colonizers – Orwell spells out that from the colonized, Chamberlain, that from the competitors as well. It is clear from all the works that the colonizer always thinks in terms of its own interests, while the colonized is either something foreign that resists understanding, or is eager to achieve its own independence from the colonizer. Colonialism is shown to be a period wherein it is the colonizer that acts and it is the colonized that is the receiver of that action. In all the works, we are exposed to the backwardness and poverty in which the colonized live. We are given the impression that colonialism dehumanizes both the colonized and the colonizer. These dynamics of colonialism, especially as it relates to literature, is clearly discussed in Edward W. Said’s important work, Orientalism. Commentary. I think that the themes or sentiments shared by the authors, except Chamberlain perhaps, point to arguments that are on the whole true about colonialism. There are particular features of each text that are worth highlighting: I think that Orwell, while critical of colonialism, reinforces the notion of â€Å"White man’s burden† — that the colonizer has a very important mission for the improvement of the colonized. Lessing shows how the colonizer, acting from an understanding different from that of the colonized, becomes a disrespectful, predatory presence in the life of the colonized. Nehru is too nice towards the colonize in his speech, enumerating the social effects of colonialism yet refusing to blame these on the colonizer. Chamberlain acts out from the particular interests and perspective of the colonizer. In making this paper, I realized how important it is to view things from the perspectives of various texts – more significantly, how important it is to have a general understanding (of colonialism, in this case) that locates the particular perspectives. From such a general understanding, one can make sense of the various perspectives, as well as get a general idea of how colonialism was actually experienced by those who lived through it. I appreciated the guide question, having brought out the common theme and sentiment in these texts.

Professional relationships with children Essay

Describe how to establish respectful, professional relationships with adults. The support which you will need to give other adults will be on several levels which can be remembered with the acronym PIPE. Practical: you may be working with others who are unfamiliar with the classroom or school surroundings who need help or advice finding equipment or resources. Informative: you may need to give support to people who may not have information about a particular situation, or you may be asked to prepare or write reports on specific students. Professional: you may need to support or help others with things such as planning or you may be asked if others can observe you while working with students. Emotional: it is important to support others through day-to-day events by keeping a sense of humour. The main elements to building relationships with children and adults in any situation are if others are comfortable in your company as they will be more likely to communicate effectively. If people don’t get along or feel uneasy around each other they tend to avoid each other whenever possible and so relationships don’t develop. Positive relationships don’t happen by chance they need to be thought about and ways to develop them need to be considered. The importance of adult relationships as role models for Children and Young People. When working as a professional adult with children and young people you need to remember that you should be a positive role model for the students. This means you have to show them how to relate to and communicate with others at all times through your interactions and relationships with other adults and students, it is also important that they see you behaving professionally and appropriately while in school. You build relationships with other people in school on a daily basis in numerous ways. Children and young people will always respond to positive communication and relationships from adults, this will help them want to be in school and learn more. In some cases parents  may not always agree with the school’s ethos, this shouldn’t be seen as a negative thing, this should be seen as an opportunity for the school and parents to talk and discuss what they believe is est for the student/s. Task 2 – Know how to communicate with children, young people and adults. How communication with children and young people differs across different age ranges and stages of development. Communication can be broken down into 4 different sub categories: Verbal, non-verbal, formal and informal. Depending on age children and young people will require different levels of attention when communicating. Younger children may need more reassurance especially if they have only just started school, which may result in them need more physical contact. As children grow up and become more mature they may need more help when talking through issues or reflecting on their thoughts. You need to remember to adapt vocabulary used and consider repeating what you have said when speaking with younger children to make sure they understand what you have talked about. You need to act more sensitively towards children who have communication difficulties, such as partial hearing, as they will need to take their time and feel comfortable when speaking. Some children may not be nervous when speaking so you will need to change the way in which you communicate to make sure that it suits their individual needs. If they have a speech disorder like a stammer or tourettes which can make it difficult for them, you need to allow them to take their time and not rush them. It is also important to try and not fill in words for them or guess what they are trying to say as this could add to their nervousness and may make their speech disorder worse or make them lose confidence in themselves. Additional training is a good thing to consider to help you be able to communicate effectively with the students. In some cases when children have special educational needs you may have to have additional equipment in order to communicate with each other such as hearing aids and microphones. The main differences between communicating with adults and communicating with children and young people. There can be many similarities when communicating with adults, children and young people, such as always remembering to maintain eye contact, responding to what they have said and treating them with respect. However when communicating with children and young people you also need to think about the relationship with their parent/carer and what that means in a school context. No matter how well you get on with the person you must always remember that they need to see you in a professional way and that your relationship with them will always need to be that way when in school. Whenever you communicate with children and young people you need to make sure your very clear in what you say. They rely on teachers to communicate clearly to them what is expected of them, so that they can communicate well for themselves. You should not use over complicated language which could confuse them or long lists of instructions which can make things difficult for them to grasp. As adults, you need to show children and young people how to get along and communicate with each other positively. You also need to show behaviour that you expect from them. If you can show the students that you value and respect others around you they are more likely to show the same behaviour towards adults and other students. Children copy the adult behaviour around them from an early age regardless of if its positive or negative behaviour being exhibited. By showing respect for each other when communicating with adults or children this will help young children learn and grow up with positive communication skills.

Green Houseeffect and Global Warming

Brian John ENG 102 Vicki Besaw 15 April 2013 The green house effect is happening right now at this very moment! According to our text book in physical geography; human induced burning fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal, oil and gasoline raises the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and carbon dioxide is a major contributor to the green house effect and global warming. (McKnight’s, Physical Geography, P. 75, 2011)What will happen to the Earth and its people, animals, plants, lands and oceans if we fail to successfully address the environmental issues we face today?Our global population, air quality, human health, our food supply drinking water, wild life and habitats will all be effected with global warming. What can you do to preserve and protect the environment? There are many things we can do to help our mother earth. Opposition may be the large oil, auto, and coal companies and any explanation they may give from their studies will be bias. WHAT IS GLOBAL WARMING ? Global Warming is defined as the increase of the average temperature on Earth.As the Earth is getting hotter, disasters like hurricanes, droughts and floods are getting more frequent. â€Å"Global Warming and Green House Effect† StudyMode. com. 09 2010. 09 2010 . What causes the greenhouse effect one might ask? According to the movie â€Å"An Inconvenient Truth†, Life on earth depends on energy from the sun. About 30 percent of the sunlight that beams toward Earth is deflected by the outer atmosphere and scattered back into space.The rest reaches the planet's surface and is reflected upward again as a type of slow-moving energy called infrared radiation. (movie; An Inconvenient Truth,2006) The heat caused by infrared radiation is absorbed by â€Å"greenhouse gases† such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone and methane, which slows its escape from the atmosphere. Although greenhouse gases make up only about 1 percent of the Earth's atmosphere, they regulate ou r climate by trapping heat and holding it in a kind of warm-air blanket that surrounds the planet. This phenomenon is what scientists call the â€Å"greenhouse effect. Without it, scientists estimate that the average temperature on Earth would be colder by approximately 30 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit), far too cold to sustain our current ecosystem. How do humans contribute to the greenhouse effect? In our textbook â€Å"While the greenhouse effect is an essential environmental prerequisite for life on Earth, there really can be too much of a good thing. The problems begin when human activities distort and accelerate the natural process by creating more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere than are necessary to warm the planet to an ideal temperature. Burning natural gas, coal and oil -including gasoline for automobile engines-raises the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. * Some farming practices and land-use changes increase the levels of methane and nitrous oxide . * Many factories produce long-lasting industrial gases that do not occur naturally, yet contribute significantly to the enhanced greenhouse effect and â€Å"global warming† that is currently under way. * Deforestation also contributes to global warming.Trees use carbon dioxide and give off oxygen in its place, which helps to create the optimal balance of gases in the atmosphere. As more forests are logged for timber or cut down to make way for farming, however, there are fewer trees to perform this critical function. * Population growth is another factor in global warming, because as more people use fossil fuels for heat, transportation and manufacturing the level of greenhouse gases continues to increase. As more farming occurs to feed millions of new people, more greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere. American Geophysical Union, Human Impacts on Climate, adopted by AGU Council, December 2003. ) Ultimately, more greenhouse gases means more infrared radiation trapped and he ld which gradually increases the temperature of the Earth's surface and the air in the lower atmosphere. According to the movie â€Å"The Eleventh Hour†, the average global temperature is increasing quickly. Today, the increase in the Earth's temperature is increasing with unprecedented speed. To understand just how quickly global arming is accelerating, consider this: During the entire 20th century, the average global temperature increased by about 0. 6 degrees Celsius (slightly more than 1 degree Fahrenheit). Using computer climate models, scientists estimate that by the year 2100 the average global temperature will increase by 1. 4 degrees to 5. 8 degrees Celsius (approximately 2. 5 degrees to 10. 5 degrees Fahrenheit). Not all scientists agree. While the majority of mainstream scientists agree that global warming is a serious problem that is growing steadily worse, there are some who disagree.John Christy, a professor and director of the Earth System Science Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville is a respected climatologist who argues that global warming isn't worth worrying about. Christy reached that opinion after analyzing millions of measurements from weather satellites in an effort to find a global temperature trend. He found no sign of global warming in the satellite data, and now believes that predictions of global warming by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the 21st century are incorrect.In the course stainable development I took here at the College Of Menominee Nation we watched a short 20 minute called â€Å"The Story of Stuff†. Some ways to help the environment; Live green, reduce global warming, conserve energy. (short movie â€Å"The Story Of Stuff†) Want to put more â€Å"green† in your life by saving money and reducing waste? Here is practical information about environmentally friendly food, drink, fashions, cars and cleaning products, to name a few. Make eco-friendly lifestyle choices an d buying decisions that will help sustain the environment rather than deplete it.Reducing global warming may seem like a daunting task, but if each of us makes a commitment to taking steps now, we can make a difference. For example, if every family in the United States replaced one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent, 90 billion pounds of greenhouse gases would be eliminated. Look here for more steps, big and small, that will help to reduce global warming One way to do your part to protect the environment is to make choices every day that enable you to use less energy. Here are some of the things I learned in the sustainable development class at the College of Menominee Nation.Reduce, reuse, recycle, do your part to reduce waste by choosing reusable products instead of disposables. Buying products with minimal packaging (including the economy size when that makes sense for you) will help to reduce waste. And whenever you can, recycle paper, plastic, newspaper, glass and al uminum cans. If there isn't a recycling program at your workplace, school, or in your community, ask about starting one. By recycling half of your household waste, you can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.Use less heat and air conditioning. Adding insulation to your walls and attic, and installing weather stripping or caulking around doors and windows can lower your heating costs more than 25 percent, by reducing the amount of energy you need to heat and cool your home. Turn down the heat while you're sleeping at night or away during the day, and keep temperatures moderate at all times. Setting your thermostat just 2 degrees lower in winter and higher in summer could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year. Change a light bulb.Wherever practical, replace regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. Replacing just one 60-watt incandescent light bulb with a CFL will save you $30 over the life of the bulb. CFLs also last 10 times longer than i ncandescent bulbs, use two-thirds less energy, and give off 70 percent less heat. If every U. S. family replaced one regular light bulb with a CFL, it would eliminate 90 billion pounds of greenhouse gases, the same as taking 7. 5 million cars off the road. Drive less and drive smart. Less driving means fewer emissions.Besides saving gasoline, walking and biking are great forms of exercise. Explore your community mass transit system, and check out options for carpooling to work or school. When you do drive, make sure your car is running efficiently. For example, keeping your tires properly inflated can improve your gas mileage by more than 3 percent. Every gallon of gas you save not only helps your budget; it also keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Buy energy-efficient products. When it's time to buy a new car, choose one that offers good gas mileage.Home appliances now come in a range of energy-efficient models, and compact florescent bulbs are designed to prov ide more natural-looking light while using far less energy than standard light bulbs. Avoid products that come with excess packaging, especially molded plastic and other packaging that can't be recycled. If you reduce your household garbage by 10 percent, you can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide annually. Use less hot water. Set your water heater at 120 degrees to save energy, and wrap it in an insulating blanket if it is more than 5 years old.Buy low-flow showerheads to save hot water and about 350 pounds of carbon dioxide yearly. Wash your clothes in warm or cold water to reduce your use of hot water and the energy required to produce it. That change alone can save at least 500 pounds of carbon dioxide annually in most households. Use the energy-saving settings on your dishwasher and let the dishes air-dry. Use the off switch. Save electricity and reduce global warming by turning off lights when you leave a room, and using only as much light as you need.And remember to turn off your television, video player, stereo and computer when you're not using them. It's also a good idea to turn off the water when you're not using it. While brushing your teeth, shampooing the dog or washing your car, turn off the water until you actually need it for rinsing. You'll reduce your water bill and help to conserve a vital resource. Plant a tree. If you have the means to plant a tree, start digging. During photosynthesis, trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen.They are an integral part of the natural atmospheric exchange cycle here on Earth, but there are too few of them to fully counter the increases in carbon dioxide caused by automobile traffic, manufacturing and other human activities. A single tree will absorb approximately one ton of carbon dioxide during its lifetime. Get a report card from your utility company. Many utility companies provide free home energy audits to help consumers identify areas in their homes that may not be energy effi cient. In addition, many utility companies offer rebate programs to help pay for the cost of energy-efficient upgrades. Encourage others to conserve.Share information about recycling and energy conservation with your friends, neighbors and co-workers, and take opportunities to encourage public officials to establish programs and policies that are good for the environment. ( Reducing Carbon-Based Energy Consumption through Changes in Household Behavior Thomas Dietz, Paul C. Stern, and Elke U. Weber Daedalus, Winter 2013, Vol. 142, No. 1 , Pages 78-89) These steps will take you a long way toward reducing your energy use and your monthly budget. And less energy use means less dependence on the fossil fuels that create greenhouse gases and contribute to global warming.Works Cited (McKnight’s, Physical Geography, P. 75, 2011) â€Å"Global Warming and Green House Effect† StudyMode. com. 09 2010. 09 2010 ;http://www. studymode. com/essays/Global-Warming-And-Green-House-Effect -416843. html;. (American Geophysical Union, Human Impacts on Climate, adopted by AGU Council, December 2003. ) (short movie â€Å"The Story Of Stuff†) .( Reducing Carbon-Based Energy Consumption through Changes in Household Behavior Thomas Dietz, Paul C. Stern, and Elke U. Weber Daedalus, Winter 2013, Vol. 142, No. 1 , Pages 78-89)

The Summary of African Queen Movie Applying Thomas Fosters Terms Review

The Summary of African Queen Applying Thomas Fosters Terms - Movie Review Example Charlie’s coarse behavior is intolerable, though the Sayers tolerate it in a rather stiff manner. Charlies’ behavior is considered to be a little too rough and that edges around their proper Christian and British sensibilities. My Allnut’s heavy drinking habit is regard as problematic by the Sayers (Huston and John, p. 234). Charlie warns them about the oncoming World War I which broke out between Britain and Germany. The Sayers opt to continue staying in East Africa, only to witness the Sudanese Soldiers (In East Africa) led by the Germans touch their mission village and flee the villagers. The Germans believes that this is the only way to control the natives and train them to offer military services. Due to the raiding on the village and burning of the village houses, Reverend Sayer experienced a serious shock and delirious with fever after watching what the Germans did and later passed away. Mr. Allnut returns shortly after the raid. He is informed that the Reverend has passed on and they then bury him. Mr. Allnut soon helps Sister Sayer escape from the ravaged Germans by boarding the African Queen. The ravaged missionary compound is left bare, and no person is left in the compound. Along the way, Mr. Allnut mentions to Sister Sayer how the German have a gunboat (Queen Luise) which monitors and contro l a large water body downriver where they effectively block themselves from any British attack.

Project Planning 2 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Project Planning 2 - Research Paper Example Introduction Project planning is normally stressful to human and resource managers since there are many requirements including adequate resources, skilled staff and other tools important for the project completion. Also required is the organizing and communication of the project plan, scope and procurement activities as well as the breakdown structures necessary for the success of the program. This paper contains a memo that communicates the budget situation to the team members, ways of improving underperforming team members and the action plan to bring the project back to normal. Memo To: Team members From: Mary Tranquillo, Human resource head for the team Date: March 14, 2013 Subject: Budget situation It has come to my attention that some this project of human resource of revamping the employee compensation and the package has started to develop issues. It is so unfortunate since time is not on our side since we have already lost six weeks and seems like most of the members are not dedicated. I have also noted that some of the members are not keen with deadlines, and this is contributing to the much drag in our project. As a result, our budget looks to have been depleted faster than anticipated. We must bring this budget to track as a group. I strongly feel that there is lack of motivation in the group. As a form of encouraging the team members, there will be rewards for the best individuals who will perform best. This will include contests, bonuses, time off payouts and promotions. In addition, the group will also benefit by getting a 5% share of the total profits they contribute to the company. However, appropriate measures will be taken against the poor performing members of the team since we require an energetic team who are ready to contribute to the success of the team. Best, Mary. Ways to improve an underperforming team member Compensating for results: These are the benefits to employees from the company for the efforts employed which are either moneta ry or other benefits. Compensation plans should be designed in a manner that motivates and encourages the team members. Many plans include large incentive component including bonuses, trips, cars, commissions and stock options (Andris A., Zoltners, Prabha K. et al. 2001, 269). Compensation will be an easy thing to do especially if the work done is measurable and comparable. The best team member will be determined through the measurement of the individual performance where the results are compared and the one performing best is rewarded. Other forms of reward whose nature is personal, special and also unique rewards tend to be even motivating more than cash alone. In order to determine how much a team member will be compensated, different factors will be considered. These include the contribution of the team to the total earnings of the company and the type of industry. Also benchmarking among different industries is important so as to approximate the right amount or type of compensa tion (Andris et al. 2001, 281) Improving Team Member Accountability According to Berry (2001), team work is normally beneficial to the company, but underperformance of one member is a drawback to the team and this can be worse if the members tend to hold each other accountable. If the team member fails to undertake actions that are useful to the needs of the team, then team member accountability becomes an issue of concern. There

Drama essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Drama - Essay Example Many women were still constrained in their activities by the wishes of their male relatives, whether the dominant voice belonged to the father, the oldest brother or other guardian figure or the husband. These are the issues explored in Henrik Ibsen’s play â€Å"A Doll’s House† through the character of Nora and in Susan Glaspell’s short story â€Å"Trifles.† Comparing these two characters provides insight into the various constraints women had to deal with in their physical setting, their relationships and in their position in society. In both stories, the primary action takes place within the homes of the two female characters involved and each has much to say about the women who are trapped there. Nora’s house is presented in direct reflection of the play’s title. It is a doll’s house, perfectly decorated and arranged for the display of a happy family atmosphere without going to extremes of expense. This can be discerned from Nora’s careful selection of gifts for the upcoming holiday. She tells Torvold, â€Å"they [the gifts] are very plain, but anyway she [Emmy, their little girl] will soon break them in pieces† (Act 1). Gifts for the rest of the household include a new suit for Ivar and dress lengths for the maids, all highly practical and economical. Minnie’s house, in contrast, is introduced as two women and three men, none of them residents, enter into a gloomy farm kitchen. The house is set away from the road and far from the closest neighbor. This does not necessa rily mean the house was a trap for the woman who lived in it, but Mrs. Hale tells Mrs. Peters that she stayed away because the house was gloomy and lonesome. As she mentions this, she reflects that it must have been that much harder for the woman who had to live there. This is made clear in the half-cleaned table, the bread sitting next to rather than inside

Design for United Natural Foods Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Design for United Natural Foods Inc - Essay Example The rampant global warming portrays as the biggest threat to the company’s objectives. This is due to increase in food shortage due to drought, increase in the federal government restriction on greenhouse wastes to the environment and fluctuations of oil fuel prices due to economic changes. LEED will reduce production costs by almost 50% due to the reduction power usage and the reduction of over reliance on electricity and diesel (United Natural Foods, Inc. 2014). The use of renewable energy reduces carbon dioxide emissions, thus reducing taxes on environmental pollution. The use of recycled materials to build its warehouses has increased the space by 185%, making enough room for production and storages at a cheaper cost. The reduction in lighting power by 18% helps reduce expenses (United Natural Foods, Inc. 2014). This reduction in production costs will hence increase the profit margin, making the company restore its competitive advantage. The ability to conserve the environment will improve the goodwill of the company that will be useful for successful

Challenges of ESL Students in American Universities Essay

Challenges of ESL Students in American Universities - Essay Example International students face more challenges than local students. Most of the ESL students, if not all, feel a sense of helplessness due to the lack of proficiency in the English language. Most ELS students come to the United States with some knowledge of the English language but not the culture or the college life. For international students that come to the United States after completing high school, it is especially difficult since the academic structure of colleges and universities is completely different than high school. ESL students are given strict deadlines and significantly higher standards compared to high school standards. Something must be done to accommodate international students if the assertion that the transfer learning is effective is to be considered true. â€Å"Classes for ELS students should be interactive with group discussions, role plays, and with problem-solving skills† (Sulliman 41). It is something that is not always seen in classes. The U.S history or Psychology are good examples of classes that are typically lectures followed by tests that are scheduled throughout the semester and a final paper. Crosson says that â€Å"collaborative effort is needed on the part of all staff members, teachers, and administrators to see to it that ELLs and ESL instructions are fully integrated components of the schools’ culture and curriculum† (Crosson 1). A good fit culture is very important for it to be a good fit between student and university, but ideally in a collaborative environment as discussed above.

Autobiographical Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Autobiographical Paper - Assignment Example The 1939 movie has its basis on Margaret Mitchell’s novel of a similar name published in 1936. Among the different movies that I have watched, Gone with the Wind remains the most outstanding. The impact, which the film made in my perception of life and all its challenges continue to last. Fleming’s Gone with the Wind’s most appealing aspect is its thematic approach. Despite being old and produced in 1939, the film remains influential in my life to date. It expresses the need for courage as the best way of surviving through times of crises in life. The movie’s approach to life is that it is characteristic of conflicts. In the movie, Fleming depicts conflicts in life through characters’ experience during the American Civil War period. Despite all the challenges of life, there is a need that people hold on by never giving up. The movie, therefore, emphasizes hope as a virtue that can keep people going. Fleming’s expression of the virtue of hope in life renders the movie influential in life. Based on the characters’ conduct, it is clear that determination is a sure way achieve every goal that an individual desires. Based on the movie’s themes, I established a fundamental life principle of endurance in the face of challenges after watching Fleming’s Gone with the Wind movie. The principles are invaluable to everyone regardless of gender, age, religion, or orientation in life. The movie, therefore, exceeds the limitations of time and lives on to represent the past and the present. The film explores essential characteristics of successful people by highlighting that there are always challenges along the path of all successful people. Perhaps an individual could be unaware that great leaders must learn to endure challenges that emanate from experiences. It is unprecedented that there will be a movie to remain relevant through history and inspirational to viewers in the same way as Fleming’s

To Build a Fire by Jack London why did the traveler die If you know of Essay

To Build a Fire by Jack London why did the traveler die If you know of a personal application for the life lesson shown in this story, you may briefly inclu - Essay Example The man’s errors of judgment leads to his death, whereas the only way out of it would have been to show respect to the advice by experienced people, to the laws of the nature, and to his own natural instincts instead of relying too much on artificial means of survival. London employs a strict and effective economy of words and terse plot construction to produce a powerful story replete with multiple layers of meaning. Though the unpredictable aspects of Nature play a major part in the devastation of the protagonist, the presence of a wild dog that accompanies him on his journey brings in many contrasts. The most significant among them is between the man’s estrangement from his own instincts that causes his death and the uninformed yet natural instincts of the beast that helps it survive. The characterization of the man is done deftly through references to his attitude to the excruciating cold which he understands to be fifty degrees below zero, but is in fact seventy five below zero. London describes that the absence of the sun or the tremendous cold did not make an impression on the man. It is not because he was used to it, as he is a newcomer to the place and it was his first winter. â€Å"The trouble with him was that he was without imagination† (London). He understands the extreme cold temperature on practical terms only, and tries to deal with it logically, taking for granted the man-made equipments which he hopes will protect him from the powers of Nature. The information that the temperature is in fact much below what the man understood it to be is sufficient to prepare the readers for his death. His inexperience in the terrain and his ruthlessness in discarding good advice are also explained from the beginning. However, readers are apt to hope against hope for the man’s survival, as he is depicted as giving a hearty fight till the end. The natural

Narrative (fiction) texts Essay Example for Free

Narrative (fiction) texts Essay Children should be able to distinguish narrative texts from expository ones. For a child to be familiar with each type of text means to possess sound communicational, analytical, reading, and writing skills. DQ 14 It is critical that children are able to distinguish expository texts from narrative works of writing. Generally, there are several features which make narrative and expository texts different from each other. Narrative (fiction) texts are filled with numerous sensory details. Personal experience is not a rare subject of fiction stories. Fiction literary works are usually told from a first person’s view. In many instances, the author of a fiction story will refer to personal interpretation of events and phenomena by using â€Å"I† or â€Å"we† pronouns. Expository (non-fiction) texts are primarily aimed at informing, explaining, or persuading the reader. Expository texts are not colored with emotions, being written from a non-personal (often neutrally objective) viewpoint, and carrying no sensory details. Expository texts are never written in the first person (Vacca, 1999). Children should be able to differentiate expository texts from narrative literary works. Children need these skills to read and interpret texts, to be able to search and analyze the required information, to choose a correct writing style according to the specific writing needs and circumstances (Vacca, 1999). The process of education requires using either expository or narrative information as the source of knowledge on various curriculum subjects. To understand the meaning of a word, to communicate with audiences, to acquire new information, and to use this information to achieve personal goals, children need to possess sound knowledge on what a fiction, and what a non-fiction text is. The five examples of fiction books: Louis Ehlert’s Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf; Mary Hoffman’s Amazing Grace; Jerry Stanley’s Children on the Dust Bowl; Harriette Gillem Robinet’s Children of the Fire; Marya Dasef’s Tales of a Texas Boy. The five examples of non-fiction books: DK Publishing’s Children’s History of the 20th century; Delia Ray’s A Nation Torn: The Story of How the Civil War Began; Anne Millard’s Pyramids; Aliki’s Communication; Russell Freedman’s Children of the Wild West. References Vacca, R. T. (1999). Content area reading: Literacy and learning across the curriculum. New York: Longman.

The Social Differences of the Afghanistan People Essay Example for Free

The Social Differences of the Afghanistan People Essay In Afghanistan, there are many ethnic groups among whom segregation exists. Imagine being a part of one that’s really looked down upon. The life of that person would be so cruel that nobody would be able to even imagine the misery and the pain that they have to endure. Afghanistan is a country with immense diversity due to the different ethnic groups that it has had for a very long time. Despite living in the same country for hundreds of years, they have their own ways of living and what’s interesting is that there is discrimination among them due to the social class differences that exits in the Afghanistan society today. In the novel The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseni shows through the character of Amir, Hassan and Baba that the social differences of the ethnicities (Pashtuns and Hazaras) have made huge differences in their lives and has also led to the fading away of the moral codes that have been honored in their society for a long period of time. A major factor that makes up society is the environment. It contributes a lot to what the society turns out to be and how it’s seen. The Afghan society is a big impact to the way Amir saw the world. As he grew up in Kabul, Afghanistan, he realized that all the people aren’t considered to be the same. At least that’s had the society had him thinking. Having grown up as the son of a highly respected Pashtun is considered a blessing. But Amir who spends time with Hassan who is a Hazara had a huge affect on his life. Pashtuns are socially considered to be nobility whereas Hazaras are like the peasants. For example, Amir’s public behavior and relation with Hassan was unacceptable and that always had him confused. The two of them were very close but there was always something getting in between that. When Amir says, â€Å"Never mind any of those things. Because history isn’t easy to overcome. Neither is religion. In the end, I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara, I was a Sunni and he was a Shi’a, and nothing was ever going to change that. Nothing. † (Hossenini 24). Even though Amir had a brotherly relationship with Hassan, it just wasn’t that strong because he was afraid of the way he would be look upon by the others in the community. It becomes a part of his life that he can’t avoid. One of the things that stands in between the unity of all and any kind of people is the discrimination. All it ever does is cause conflicts and makes lives miserable. For example the discrimination of the African-Americans in the 1960’s. Sadly, even today, it is adapted and exists in many regions of the world. Afghanistan happens to be one of them. In The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini does a good job of strongly showing how a Hazara’s life can be affected in Afghanistan since they are considered to be a low ranking ethnic group. In Afghanistan society, Hazrara’s were not respected. Assef was an example of someone who agreed with this. He represented the evil in the novel, as for Hassan represented loyalty and innocence. However, since Hassan was a Hazara, his whole life wasn’t easy because he always cared so much for Amir, but in return he only got hurt and humiliated. In the novel Assef, Kamal and Wali trapped Hassan in an alley. â€Å"Assef unzipped his jeans. Dropped his underwear and he positioned himself behind Hassan,† (Hosseini 75). This shows that Hassan cared for Amir liked nobody else. He would do anything for him but the fact that he was a Hazara and this incident happened, it changed their lives forever. The lives of these two boys separated because of their social differences. It shows how the social class difference can lead to such horrible things such as separation from the ones they loved. The Afghanistan society’s social class differences really changes the way that some people live their lives because when there are people divided into different levels in a society and it has been a tradition and they are required to follow it. Afghanistan is a good example of this, especially the way Khaled Hosseni portrayed it in the novel. Baba was not just rich, but also a very well known man in Kabul, He was someone strong and truly dedicated to contributing to the good of his society. He was quite known for all the good deeds he did in his life, but the novel also views how he didn’t quite live his life respecting all the moral rules. According to the Pashtunwali, the family unit much be glorified under a sacred conviction of responsibility and duty for respect of all the members (Ronna). This is one of the rules that he does not follow and this is found out when Rahim Khan calls Amir over to Pakistan and says to him, â€Å"Baba and Sanubar had Hassan† (Hossieni 222). Baba had kept his secret his whole life and it hurts him to not call Hassan his son. However, it also affected Amir because he never knew about his own brother and had pushed him away from his life when they were young. In order to keep his dignity, he lived a life of a huge life, which always made him suffer. The fact that he was ashamed of letting everyone know the truth was because she was a Hazara and he was a Pashtun. Being someone from a different ethnicity was the problem and that clung to them for their whole lives. Because of the way that Hazaras are looked upon in the society, Baba was not able to tell anyone the truth about Hassan and it always bothered him. Amir wasn’t able to tell what was right and what was wrong because of what the society had taught him and Hassan was deeply hurt as problems between him and Amir started to rise. All of these conflicts happened due to one reason, the social differences between the Pashtuns and the Hazaras. The way that their society works has completely changed the lives of many people as it shown in The Kite Runner. Works Cited Tourism, SAARC. â€Å"Ethnic Groups of Afghanistan† Afghanistan Ethnic Groups, Tribes of Afghanistan. [emailprotected] SAARC Tourism. Web. 3 Apr. 2012. Ildenfoso, Catia, Psithurism, and Anacl â€Å"For You a Thousand Times Over. † Pashtuns and Hazaras. Blogspot. com, Apr. 2008 Web. 3 Apr. 2012. Ronna, Afghan. â€Å"Pashtunwali† The Codes of Pashtunwali. [emailprotected] Ronna. Web 3 Apr. 2012.