Comparison of Odysseus and Helen as Liars

Comparison of Odysseus and Athena as liars Deception, or the act of deceiving or defrauding, is a prominent theme in the Odyssey. Though inherently dishonest, deception can be used to gain information and knowledge. Different characters (and people) use it different ways. This essay will establish that, whereas Odysseus uses deception to help him progress from Nobody back to Odysseus, king of Ithaca, Athena does so to keep her identity secret when she disguises herself. Odysseus ensures his security and protects his identity while deceiving Polyphemus, thus displaying his true cleverness.Odysseus tells Polyphemus that â€Å"Nobody is his name,† (9,365) he uses this clever deception so the other Cyclopes do not go after him after he escapes. Also, if Polyphemos knew who Odysseus really was then Polyphemos would've treated him differently. Odysseus wouldn't had received the hospitality that he did. By being his witty self, Polyphemos stated â€Å"I will eat you last† beca use he liked his cleverness which was actually his decievence. Odysseus is in sense a nobody, no one cared if he was king of Ithaca. This was his lowest point as he started to lie more in order to reconstruct his identity.In order to restore his identity, he had to continue with his lies, with that he began his Cretan lies. These Cretan lies deceived Athena, Eumaois, and Penelope. Odysseus used his first Cretan lie to Athena, who was disguised as a Shepard boy, †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. He takes pains to establish a sound character: â€Å"I have come here/with these gods that you see but leaving as much again to my children. † (13,258) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Later on he used his second Cretan lie to Eumaios, the swine herd, to gain information of what is happening at his home.He established a sympathetic character: son of a rich man and his concubine, the legitimate heirs gave him only a small portion of estate. He then condemned liars†¦.. The immediate reason is that Odysseus i s cold, and he's hinting for Eumaios to give him some more cover–which Eumaios does. It's also believe to be a test, although Eumaios has already demonstrated the kind of person he is by sharing his meager necessities with this ragged stranger and by the concern he has shown for his master's family in his determination not to let anyone arouse false hopes that will just be dashed.In particular, remember that just a page or so earlier, he has firmly forbidden the stranger to tell Penelope that he knows Odysseus is on his way home, because he has seen many other wayfarers tell her the same thing and be rewarded with a new tunic and cloak, and then leave her to be disappointed all over again. But when the stranger tells the story of how Odysseus conned another soldier out of his cloak so that the stranger could use it, Eumaios tells him that he will receive a new tunic and cloak soon, and then piles other covers over him in the meantime.Perhaps that anecdote rings so true as som ething Odysseus would have done that Eumaios is now convinced that the stranger does at least KNOW Odysseus. His third Cretan lie was to Penelope to see if she was still true to him. He pretended to be the brother of idomeneus, grandson of late king Minos. He gave a first name Aethon, and told Penelope about Odysseus, everything she wanted to hear. He told her a lengthy description of his â€Å"homeland† Crete†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Similarly to Odysseus, Athena disguises herself as a mentes†¦.And disguises herself as a mentor†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ This essay established that both Odysseus and Athena decieved in similar ways, to gain information. A†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ The many acts of deception found in The Odyssey often are used to show a character's cleverness or to show the importance placed on cleverness. Cleverness is one of the qualities that make Athena want to aid Odysseus throughout his trials. Cleverness is one of the qualities that is to inspire Odysseus to wa nt Penlope.Cleverness is what makes Penlope of value and is what makes Odysseus a hero. Deception in the Odyssey is always about appearances: Circe appears beautiful and benevolent, but is actually malicious. The men are made to appear as animals, but are actually still men in spirit and mind. Odysseus’s disguise as a beggar is much like Athene’s former disguise as a mortal; by dressing below their stations, these two are able to test the integrity of those they deceive.

Lee Kuan Yew

GFPP 2023 Politics of South-East Asia Topic: Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew Group :B Members’ Names : Chan Xin Ying 214765 Muganthini A/P Kumaran 214956 Ranjani A/P Selvarajan 214951 Teaw Zhen Sheng 215070 Lim Chia Min 214919 Leong Siew Fui 214882 Lau Shie Yin 214853 Tan Kwee Lyn 214762 Chiew Guat Ying 214929 Mehala A/P Gopalakrishan 214972 Lecturer Name : Professor Patit Paban Mishra GFPP 2023 Politics of South-East Asia Topic: Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew Group :B Members’ Names : Chan Xin Ying 214765 Muganthini A/P Kumaran 214956 Ranjani A/P Selvarajan 214951 Teaw Zhen Sheng 215070Lim Chia Min 214919 Leong Siew Fui 214882 Lau Shie Yin 214853 Tan Kwee Lyn 214762 Chiew Guat Ying 214929 Mehala A/P Gopalakrishan 214972 Lecturer Name : Professor Patit Paban Mishra Pg 1 Pg1-5 Pg 5-7 Pg 8-10 Pg 7-8 Pg 9 Pg 9-10 Pg 10-15 Pg 10-12 Pg 12-14 Pg 14-15 Pg15 Pg 15-18 Pg 18 Pg 1 Pg1-5 Pg 5-7 Pg 8-10 Pg 7-8 Pg 9 Pg 9-10 Pg 10-15 Pg 10-12 Pg 12-14 Pg 14-15 Pg15 Pg 15-18 Pg 18 Contents 1) Introduction 2) The Economy Policy Under Lee Kuan Yew 3) Creating a Clean Government in Singapore 4) Reshuffling the society, creating a fair not welfare society i) Greening Singapore ii) Many tongues, one language ii) Rule and Law iv) Fighting on Traffic Congestion 5) Regional and International Policies and Relation under Lee Kuan Yew i) ASEAN- Malaysia ii) China iii) Japan iv) United States 6) Comparison between Lee Kuan Yew and Mahathir Mohamad 7) Conclusion 8) Attachments 9) References Introduction Singapore the streets are now sparkling clean, and the city runs like clockwork. Singapore is a leading financial center, and boasts an impressive skyline that is easily recognizable. Among other things, Singapore's public transportation and education systems are consistently rated highly in international rankings.Singapore is also known as a clean and green city, and at least some of this can be attributed to Lee's tough stance against chewing gum and littering. Singapore is not o nly good in this aspects but its really good in economical wise too. Singapore’ success in economic and social development in recent decades has been due to pragmatic policies and general public acceptance of a limited government role in such areas as health, social security. Southeast Asia has developed considerably over the past half-century, but Singapore has leaped even further ahead of her much larger and well-endowed neighbors.All this credits should be directed to the prime minister of Singapore who is the great man Lee Kuan Yee. He is widely credited as the architect behind Singapore's remarkable transformation from third-world country to first in just under a generation. Lee Kuan Yew was born in Singapore on 16th September 1923, a third generation descendant of immigrants from China’s Guangdong province. He read law at Cambridge University, England. In 1954, he formed the People’s Action Party. Five years later, his party won the Singapore general elect ion and he became prime minister at 35.In November 1990, he assumed the post of senior minister. I) The Economy Policy under Lee Kuan Yew Anyone who predicted in 1965 when Singapore seperated from Malaysia that Singapore would become a financial centre would have been thought been thought mad. However, it had become a reality, till now, it is a normal sight to see the gleaming modern offices in the city centre with banks of computers linking Singapore with London, New York,Tokyo, Frankfurt, Hong Kong and other major financial centre in the world. Singapore is considered one of the world's great cities, comparable to New York, London and Hong Kong.Unlike Hong Kong, Singapore could neither ride on the reputation of the City of London, an established financial centre with its long history of international banking, nor depend on the backing of the Bank of England. In 1968, Singapore was still a third world country. Foreign bankers needed to be assured of stable social conditions, a good working and living environment, efficient infrastructure and a pool of skilled and adaptable professionals. In 1965, both Lee Kuan Yao and Goh Keng Swee had decided, soon after independence, that Singapore should not have a central bank which could issue currency and create money.Lee Kuan Yew had determined not to let Singapore dollar’s currency to lose its value against the strong currencies of the big nations such as the U. S. The MAS( Monetary Authority of Singapore) which is in charge of supervising the bank industry, has been given all the authority to issue currency notes and also keep pace with developments in financial services. Lee had to fight every inch of the way to establish in Singapore’s integrity, competence and judgment. Lee Kuan Yew made a modest start with an offshore Asian dollar market, the counterpart of the Eurodollar market .In the early years from 1968 to 1985, Singapore under the governance of Lee Kuan Yew, had managed to attract internationa l financial institutions by abolishing withholding tax on interest income earned by non-resident depositors. The economy in the 1980s under Lee Kuan Yew rested on five major sectors: the regional entreport trade; export-oriented manufacturing; petroleum refining and shipping; production of goods and services for the domestic economy; and the provision of focused services for the international market, such as banking and finance, telecommunications, and tourism.The outstanding growth of manufacturing in the 1970s and 1980s had a major impact on the economy and the society, but tended to obscure what carried over from the economic structure of the past. Singapore's economy always depended on international trade and on the sale of services. An entrepot was essentially a provider of services such as wholesaling, warehousing, sorting and processing, credit, currency exchange, risk management, ship repair and provisioning, business information, and the adjudication of commercial disputes. In this perspective, which focused on exchange and processing, the 1980s assembly of electronic components and manufacture of precision optical instruments were evolutionary steps from the nineteenth century sorting and grading of pepper and rubber. Both processes used the skills of Singaporeans to add value to commodities that were produced elsewhere and destined for consumption outside the city-state. A former colonial trading port serving the regional economies of naval Southeast Asia, Singapore in the 1990s aspired to be a â€Å"global city† serving world markets and major multinational corporations.A quarter century after independence in 1965, the city-state had become a manufacturing center with one of the highest incomes in the region and a persistent labor shortage. As one of Asia's four â€Å"little dragons† or newly industrializing economies. Singapore along with the Republic of Korea (South Korea), Taiwan, and Hong Kong was characterized by an export-oriente d economy, relatively equitable income allocation, trade surpluses with the United States and other developed countries, and a common legacy of Chinese civilization and Confucian values.The small island had no resources other than its strategic location and the skills of its nearly 2. 7 million people. In 1988 it claimed a set of economic superlatives, including the world's busiest port, the world's highest rate of annual economic growth (11 percent), and the world's highest savings rate (42 percent of income). As Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew presided over an exponential increase in Singapore's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from US$704 million in 1960 to US$38 billion in 1990. This figure currently stands at US$222 billion, or over 300 times its level in 1960.Adjusting for cost of living differences, Singapore's GDP per capita was ranked 3rd globally by the International Monetary Fund in 2010. Few countries have grown so rapidly, and Singapore's economic success has been widely hailed by international observers. The city-state Lee inherited in 1959 was very different from the Singapore of today. Another of Lee's significant contributions is his establishment of the Government Investment Corporation (GIC) of Singapore in 1981 to manage Singapore's foreign reserves. The exact size of Singapore's reserves is not known, but it is estimated to be one of the world's top ten largest in size.These reserves have allowed Singapore to defend her currency and maintain exchange rate stability even during the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-8. No bank in Singapore faltered. Lee Kuan Yew leaves behind a culture that prizes meritocracy and has no tolerance for corruption. He introduced legislation to strengthen the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), and more controversially, proposed in 1994 that the salaries of ministers and top civil servants should be linked to top professionals in the private sector to maintain a clean and honest government.Lee curr ently draws an annual salary of over US$3 million. In the 2011 Corruption Perception Index compiled by Transparency International, experts at ten independent institutions including the World Bank and Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Singapore the least corrupt country in the world. Lee Kuan Yew says a major reason for Singapore's economic achievements is its political stability. He attributes much of this to the dominant role of the People's Action Party (PAP), which he co-founded in 1954. Despite the praise lavished on Mr.Lee for his economic accomplishments, many have criticized his approach against political dissent. Singapore’s economy under Lee Kuan Yew, had been said to achieve miracle. A small country that separated from Malaysia, it had reached to be one of the larger financial centres of the world, with its foreign exchange market ranking fourth in size after London, New York and only slightly behind Tokyo. Lee Kuan Yew had lead Singapore as the high-tech leader of Southeast Asia, the commercial entrepot, the scientific centre.Singapore now plays a major role in the politics and economics of Southeast Asia and beyond. II)Creating A Clean Government in Singapore When Lee Kuan Yew’s political party took over office in 1959, the government set out to have a clean administration. Lee Kuan Yew’s government had a deep sense of mission to establish a clean and effective government. When they took the oath of office at the ceremony in the city council chamber in June 1959, Lee Kuan Yew and the rest of the parliament all wore white shirts and white slacks to symbolize purity and honesty in their personal behavior and their public life.Lee Kuan Yew’s government make sure that from the day they took office in June 1959 that every dollar in revenue would be properly accounted for and would reach the beneficiaries at the grass roots as one dollar, without being siphoned off along the way. So from the beginning, special attentions were given to the areas where discretionary powers had been exploited for personal gain and sharpened the instruments that could prevent, detect or deter such practices.The principle agency charged with this task was the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) set up by the British un 1952 in order to deal with corruption, especially at lower and middle levels of the police, hawker inspectors and land bailiffs who had to take action against the many who broke the law by occupying public roads for illegal hawking, or state land for building their squatter huts. These inspectors could either issue a summons or look the other way for an appropriate bribe. In 1960, the outdated 1937 anti-corruption law was changed and widened the definition of gratuity to include anything of value.The amendments gave wide powers to investigators, including arrest and search and investigation of bank accounts and bank books of suspected persons and their wives, children or agents. There was no need to prove that the person who received bribe was in a position to carry out the required favour. In 1960, a change was made to allow the courts to treat proof that an accused was living beyond his means or had property his income could not explain as corroborating evidence that accused had accepted or obtained a bribe.With a keen nose to the ground and the power to investigate every officer and every minister, the director of the CPIB, working from the Prime Minister’s Office, developed a justly formidable reputation for sniffing out those betraying the public trust. In 1963, it was made as compulsory for witnesses summoned by the CPIB to present themselves to give information. The maximum fine for corruption was increased from $10,000 to $100,000 in 1989. Giving false or misleading information to the CPIB became an offence subject to imprisonment and a fine up to $10,000, and the courts were empowered to confiscate the benefits derived from corruption.Corruptions used to be orga nized in large scale in certain areas. In 1971, the CPIB broke up a syndicate of over 250 mobile squad policemen who received payments ranging from S$5 to S$10 per month from lorry sides of the lorries. Those owners who refused to pay would be constantly harassed by having summonses issued against them. The Institution of Management Development’s World Competitiveness Yearbook 1997 ranked the least corrupt countries in the whole world giving 10 points as the perfect score for the country with no corruption.Singapore was ranked as the least corrupt country in Asia with a score of 9. 18 ahead of Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan. Transparency International which based in Berlin, placed Singapore in seventh place worldwide in 1998 for absence of corruption. III)Reshuffling the society: Disciplining ethnics, and creating a fair, not welfare society I) Greening Singapore After independence, Lee Kuan Yew had searched for some dramatic ways to distinguished Singapore from other Third Worl d Countries and finally he opt the path for a clean and green Singapore, as an oasis in Southeast Asia.Besides improving physical infrastructure, Lee Kuan Yew also stated the importance to improve the rough and ready ways of people. He identified the reasons of littering laid on unlicensed hawkers who sell food on the pavements and streets in total disregard of traffic. He also was alerted about the problem created by â€Å"pirate taxi† which ruined the bus services. In the 1970s, Lee Kuan Yew’s government had created many jobs and enforce the law and reclaimed the streets. Food hawkers were licensed and moved towards proper hawker center with piped water, sewers and garbage disposal.By early 1980s, nearly all hawkers were resettled. Lee Kuan Yew’s attempt on transforming Singapore into a tropical garden city was successful. Millions of trees , palms and shrubs were planted and the green eventually raised the morale of the people as well as pride for their surro undings. Children were educated in schools by getting themselves to plant trees, growing it in growth garden, and the message is brought to their parents. Singapore green society was admired by leaders of other nations such as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who greened Kuala Lumpur after Singapore’s visit. President Suharto who greens Jakarta and also President Marcos in Manila. Lee Kuan Yew had managed to clean up the Singapore River and Kallang Basin and bring fish back to water, which was a massive engineering job. Underground sewers were laid for the whole island and people were moved from 3000 backyard and cottage industry and resettled in industrial estates with sullages traps for oil and waste. Lee also deal with air and sound pollutions in Singapore, urging all factories to landscape their grounds and plant trees before they could commerce operations.From the 1970s, to save youngsters from nasty and dangerous addiction, Lee Kuan Yew took action to banned all advertising on cigarettes, â€Å"Smoke-Free Week† was launched every year. A ban on chewing gum brought Singapore much ridicule in America. Vandals stuck chewing gum onto sensors of the doors of MRT trains and services were disrupted. Soon the ban was executed, the nuisance was greatly reduced. II) Many tongues, one language Lee Kuan Yew realized that English had to be Singapore’s language of the workplace and the common language.He stated that as an international community, neither Malay, Chinese nor Tamil could be used. In order to achieve this, Lee Kuan Yew had introduced teaching three mother tongues, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil in English schools and to balance this English was also introduced in Chinese, Malay and Indian school. Malay and Indians welcomed the policy but Chinese had made an opposition stand and expressed their unhappiness to the press, particularly from Chinese language Nanyang Universiti and Ngee Ann College.As a result Lee Kuan Yew had merged both Nantah and Uni versity of Singapore to become National University of Singapore, and made all Chinese schools switch to English as their main language of instruction and Chinese as the second language. However, in order to preserve the discipline, self confidence and Confucian values that instilled in students, Lee Kuan Yew had preserve the best nine of the Chinese schools under special assistance plan or SAP.The SAP schools were provided with additional teachers to enable pupils to learn English and Chinese through special immersion programmes and successfully retained the formality, discipline and social courtesies of traditional Chinese schools. â€Å" Speak Mandarin† campaign was launched for a month every year to encourage Chinese to use Mandarin instead of dialect. III) Rule and Law Law and order provide the framework for stability and development. Trained in law, Lee Kuan Yew had imbibed the principle of equality of all before the law for the proper functioning of a society.Soon after becoming the prime minister in 1959, Lee Kuan Yew had abolished the jury system for all cases except murder. Lee Kuan Yew did not accept the theory that a criminal is a victim of the society. Lee Kuan Yew had found canning more effective than long prison terms and imposed it for crimes related to drugs, arms trafficking, rape, illegal entry into Singapore and vandalizing of public property. These measures had made for law and order in Singapore. Singapore was rated No. 1 by the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 1997, as a country where â€Å" organized crime does not impose significant costs on businesses†.The international Institute for Management Development in their World Competitiveness Yearbook 1997 also rated Singapore No. 1 for security, â€Å" where there is full confidence among people that their person and property is protected†. IV) Fighting on Traffic Congestion By 1975 traffic jams in Singapore is unbearable. Incomes were increas ing and the number of cars registered yearly was rising exponentially. To cope this problem, Lee Kuan Yew settled on a scheme whereby a person had to bid for a certificate of entitlement (COE) to use a new car for 10 years which proved effective in limiting the yearly vehicle increase to 3 percent.Lee also decided on underground mass rapid transmit (MRT) and introduced the electronic road pricing (ERP). Every vehicle now has a â€Å"smart card† at its windscreen, and the correct toll is automatically deducted every time it passes under gantries sited at strategic points in the city. Since the amount a person pays the government now depends upon how much he uses the roads, the optimum number of cars can be owned with the minimum of congestion. IV) Regional and International Policies and Relation under Lee Kuan Yew (I) ASEANSingapore had sought the understanding and support of its neighbours in enhancing stability and security in the region. Lee Kuan Yew had stated that ASEAN w ere banding together more for political objectives, stability and security other than ASEAN’s declared objectives on economic, social and cultural. Lee Kuan Yew had played a major role in ASEAN. When Australia tried to change its civil aviation rules in 1978, the Australians planned to excluded Singapore and other ASEAN capitals from airline intermediate stops.Lee Kuan Yew concluded that Boeing 747s flying from Australia to Europe would need to stop either in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok en route to London. Lee Kuan Yew set out to keep Malaysians and the Thais on their side. Lee Kuan Yew wrote to Thai Prime Minister General Kriangshak in January 1979 that Australia’s move was â€Å"blatantly protectionist† and successfully gave concessions to both Thailand and Malaysia airlines. In the end, ASEAN’s solidarity won the fight and Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew’s effort finally made Australia agreed to let Singapore Airlines retain its capacity and outing into Australia and allowed the other ASEAN airlines to increase their capacities. Lee Kuan Yew also played an active role in Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia, which Lee Kuan Yew, tried hard to persuade and ensure the United States to remain interest in the region, and managed to persuade U. S to give modest aid to the two non-communist resistance forces. Malaysia and Singapore Since Singapore’s independence from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965, the bilateral relationship between Singapore and Malaysia has been described as symbiotic and interdependent.There remains a high degree of economic and social inter-dependence between the two countries. However, mutual beneficial relationship has been marred by a number of problems that threaten this cooperation. 1) Water Issue Malaysia provides Singapore with about half its water and wants to renegotiate two agreements which date back to the 1960s. Malaysia has argued that it has a right to review the price of raw water u nder the current agreements while the Singapore Government has argued that Malaysia missed its chance to review prices in the mid-1980s.Until now, both countries still failed to resolve this issue although many round of negotiations has been done. 2) Pulau Batu Putih (Pedra Branca) Issue Pulau Batu Putih is small island rocky island located 8 miles off the eastern coast of Johor and 28 miles off the eastern coast of Singapore. It is an island which Singapore has occupied and exercised full sovereignty over for more than 130 years since the 1840s without any protest from Malaysia. In 1979, Malaysia for the first time published a new map which included the island of Pedra Branca in its territory.The dispute began in 1979 and was largely resolved by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2008, which finalized that Pedra Branca belonged to Singapore. Despite the differences in the approaches taken by both countries in resolving their bilateral issues, Malaysia and Singapore are sti ll mutually dependent on each other. The role of the leaders of Malaysia and Singapore are crucial in determining the future relations between the two countries. Efforts to nurture good relations must continue and personal contacts involving leaders and government officials of both countries must continually be encouraged. II) China When Singapore separated from Malaysia, Lee Kuan Yew had announced that Singapore would trade and relationship with all countries including China. But, Singapore realized that it was undesirable and impossible for Singapore to establish diplomatic relations with People’s Republic of China because Singapore is situated in Southeast Asia, an area surrounded by some anti-Chinese country. Firstly, Singapore abstained from voting on the Albanian Resolution because of the tense relations between its neighbor and PRC at the years between 1966 and 1970.Secondly, to maintain trading with the PRC, Singapore allows the Bank of China as the semi-official repr esentative to continue its business in Singapore. In fact, Bank of China facilitated the trade between PRC and Singapore because the trade with PRC was quite important for Singapore. However, the relation with PRC was concerned, there are marred by the Bank of China incident in which the bank was prosecuted by Singapore by failing to obey a banking law in 1969. People’s Republic of China began to pursue an active foreign policy of befriending countries in the Third World.The PRC had grown interest in the region by halt in attacking Singapore and Malaysia. It was also illustrated by exchange visit between PRC and some ASEAN countries. The exchange visits between Singapore and the PRC, notably two visits by Lee Kuan Yew to the PRC in 1976 and 1980 and one visit by Deng Xiaoping to Singapore in 1978. With this exchange visit, no doubt will also enable the two countries to have a better understanding of each other’s foreign and domestic policies.Since the PRC had expressed its desire to have diplomatic ties with ASEAN, Singapore was holding back by making known to others that it will be the last ASEAN country to do so. Lee Kuan Yew said about the timing of Singapore’s diplomatic relations with the PRC because that 75 percent of Singapore’s population is Chinese who does not subordinate Singapore’s interest in foreign policy or domestic policies. Other than that, the Singapore still face the formidable task of building a national identity for its people may dilute Singapore’s interest in establishing an embassy in PRC.According to the last census in 1970, 14. 8 percent of Chinese population came directly from China. The numbers of these people still have family ties with their kin’s in the China. So that during Deng Xiaoping’s visit to Singapore in 1978, he reiterate to Singapore about that the Chinese in Singapore were Singaporean and not overseas Chinese. Nevertheless, Singapore was more confidence in loyalt y of the citizens and has relaxed visits to PRC for Singaporeans. This confidence was also expressed by Lee Kuan Yew when he said in 1977 that people who had gone to the PRC would come back and kiss the soil of Singapore.During Lee Kuan Yew visit to China in 1980, he suggests that PRC if not instigated and incited the people to the revolution; it will tone down the support for the strain relations with ASEAN states in the future. Singapore was postponing the establishment of diplomatic ties with PRC and waiting for Indonesia. Once Indonesia re-establishes its ties with PRC, most likely the Singapore will follow suit. However Lee Kuan Yew had stated that China has the potential to realize its goal and become one of the major players in the world.If it is not deflected from its present concentration on education and economic development, China could well be the second largest, if not the largest , trading nation in the world, with greater weight and voice in international affairs. (II I) Japan During his years as prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew encourages Japan investment in Singapore. When Prime Minister Sato visited Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew had told him that publicly that Singaporeans had no inhibitions over Japan capital, technology and expertise, that Japan was set to lead the rest of Asia to greater industrialization.Later, Singapore Economic Development Board had set an office in Tokyo and Lee Kuan Yew managed to use more than three year time to persuade Seiko to build a watch factory in Singapore. Like any other Asian countries, Lee Kuan Yew treated Japan as a role model to success. Lee Kuan Yew had asked Singapore’s Public Utilities Board officials to study how Japanese could be so successful in energy saving. Lee Kuan Yew also learnt from the Japanese the importance of increasing productivity through worker-manager cooperation, and a National Productivity Board (NPB) was formed in Singapore in the year 1972.Lee Kuan Yew had sincere on the will of lear ning from the Japanese, in 1980 he had sent officials from his ministry for trade and industry to visit their counterparts in Japan’s formidable ministry for international trade and industry (MITI) which had create the course for Japan’s post-war industrial progress. MITI’s advice to Singapore’s officials that Singapore’s geographic position and environment to prepare for a possible role as a center of knowledge and information. Lee Kuan Yew took their advice to heart and redoubled Singapore’s emphasis on the teaching of sciences, mathematics and computers in all schools.The whole government administration were computerized in order to set the pace for the private sectors. ( IV) United States During Lee Kuan Yew’s era, Singapore relations with the United States were pleasant. Trade with the United States had increased substantially especially with the latter as Singapore became a supply center for the United States in its increasing i nvolvement in Indochina. By the 1980s, the United States had become Singapore’s most important trading partner and, as such, crucial to country’s welfare. Comparison between Lee Kuan Yew and Mahathir MohamadLee Kuan Yew had successfully transformed Singapore, which was once a poor, decrepit colony, into a shining, rich and modern metropolis. Dr Henry A. Kissinger had addressed Lee Kuan Yew as a seminal figure of Asia and possesses a great interest in developing his country. There’s one man who possesses similar confidence and vision in developing his own nations. Mahathir Mohammad, who had been said as the match of Lee Kuan Yew. Although both leaders’ period as Prime Minister only overlapped only for 9 years (1981-1990), both are always being compared, and known as match for each other.Over Mahathir’s 22 years as prime minister, the leader had patchy relations with Lee Kuan Yew. Both went authoritarian and want the best for their country. Despite t he achievement of Lee Kuan Yew in transforming Singapore, Mahathir Mohamad also turned the Muslim-majority Southeast Asia country, Malaysia into one of the developing world’s most successful economies. Both leaders had undeniable sucess and contributions for their very own country. Both Lee Kuan Yew and Mahathir Mohammad value and admire Japan’s success.These can be seen through Mahathir’s Look East Policy and Lee Kuan Yew’s memoir â€Å"The Singapore Stories† which praised Japan’s paradigm in catching up to the West. Both leaders tried to learn the Japanese and adopted similar measures wherever practical. However, in terms ofthe western countries especially the U. S, differences again was seen between two leaders. Lee Kuan Yew tended to gain good relations with western countries such as Australia, New Zealand, United States and Britain.Lee Kuan Yew had aligned Singapore with west since Cold War and earned friendship with Henry A. Kissinger. According to Lee, regional solidarity and international could be gained through U. S and western Europe support. Now, Singapore developed diplomatic relationship with China, but the country was still befriending the west like old days. As for Mahathir Mohamad, it was a different story. Abrasive and outspoken, Mahathir emerged as the Third World champion and Islamic spokesman by condemning the West.Mahathir's record of curbing civil liberties and his antagonism to western diplomatic interests and economic policy made his relationships with the likes of the US, Britain and Australia difficult Even though as the biggest source of the country’s foreign investment, Mahathir has always been an outspoken critic of the United States regarding many issues including the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation). Mahathir encourages modernization without taking to westernize. Even after his retirement, critics on western never stop, particularly on the United States.For instance, he had urged the world's 1. 3 billion Muslims to boycott Dutch products following the release of the anti-Islam movie Fitna by the Dutch politician Geert Wilders, it was reported on 30 March 2008. Both Lee Kuan Yew and Mahathir Mohamad had been the father of modernization of their country. Lee Kuan Yew had successfully turned Singapore from third world to first. Annual per capita income has grown from less than $1000 at the time of independence to nearly $30000 today. Singapore is the most successful and leading ahead among Southeast Asia countries.Although not as improve as Singapore, Malaysia under Mahathir’s hand, had experienced rapid modernization and economic growth, and his government initiated a series of bold infrastructure projects. For his efforts to promote the economic development of the country, Mahathir has been granted the soubriquet of Bapa Pemodenan (Father of Modernization). Mahathir had successfully introduced Malaysia to the world. By raising living standards a nd winning international acclaim, he contributed to a sense of national identity, pride and confidence among ethnically diverse Malaysians.Both Lee Kuan Yew and Mahathir Mohamed had similar vision in improving their countries. But due to different issues faced by both leaders, point of views diverse according to situation. Lee Kuan Yew who had been educated in Britain may adopted more western ways while for Mahathir who experienced Britain â€Å"divide and rule† policy, and seen Malay to be abandon behind during that time, possesses anger towards the west and sentiments for the Malays in order to lead them to better standard of living.Lee Kuan Yew, as a firm man, although known as authoritarian from some views, had gathered around himself the most brilliant minds and gain his subordinates supports, such as Goh Keng Swee. He managed to clean Singapore’s government. Mahathir, being impatient and authoritarian, had jailed opponents, sacked rivals and undermined institutio ns as he pursued his obsession with development. Being ambitious, Mahathir built the KLIA airport, Petronas Twin Towers and also started Proton consistent with his â€Å" Malaysia Boleh†( Malaysia can) propaganda.Both leaders played an important role in their country’s development and their contribution could not be measured. Conclusion Singapore’s success always ties with Lee Kuan Yew. More than forty years ago, Lee Kuan Yew transformed what was a poor, decrepit colony into a shining, rich and modern metropolis. All time surrounded by hostile powers, with his brilliant, incisive intellect, he is one of the world’s most outspoken and respected statesman. For Lee Kuan Yew, every great achievement is a dream before it becomes reality, and his vision was a state that would not simply survive but prevail by excelling.Superior intelligence, discipline and ingenuity would substitute for resources. Lee Kuan Yew summoned his compatriots to a duty they had never p reviously perceived: first to clean up their city, then to dedicate it to overcome the initial hostility of their neighbours and their own ethnic divisions by superior performance. The Singapore today is his testament. It is the high-tech leader of Southeast Asia. The contributions of Lee Kuan Yew could not be denied, this man had created what was known as impossible in the past and proved to the world, nothing would be impossible.Attachments Attachments Premier Wen Jiabao shakes hands with Singaporean Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew during a meeting on Friday in Beijing at Zhongnanhai, the headquarters of China's central authorities. The two sides discussed Sino-Singaporean relations and issues of common concern. Lee arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for an eight-day visit at the invitation of the Chinese Government. Lee Kuan Yew (middle) meets with U. S. Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen and Singapore's Ambassador to the U. S. Chan Heng Chee in 2000.Lee Kuan Yew (middle) meets with U. S. Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen and Singapore's Ambassador to the U. S. Chan Heng Chee in 2000. Lee Kuan Yew and Tunku Abdul Rahman. Lee Kuan Yew and Tunku Abdul Rahman. Lee Kuan Yew and Yitzak Rabin Lee Kuan Yew and Yitzak Rabin Lee receives the Order of Friendship from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on 15 November 2009 in Singapore. Lee receives the Order of Friendship from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on 15 November 2009 in Singapore. Lee Kuan Yew and President Obama Lee Kuan Yew and President ObamaSINGAPORE (AFP) – Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew has urged local Muslims to â€Å"be less strict on Islamic observances† to aid integration and the city-state’s nation-building process. SINGAPORE (AFP) – Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew has urged local Muslims to â€Å"be less strict on Islamic observances† to aid integration and the city-state’s nation-building process. Lee Kuan Yew and Maha thir Mohamad Lee Kuan Yew and Mahathir Mohamad President George W. Bush welcomes Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore to the Oval Office Monday, Oct. 16,2006President George W. Bush welcomes Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore to the Oval Office Monday, Oct. 16,2006 References Lee Kuan Yew. 1998. Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew: The Singapore Story. Singapore. Times Editions Pte Ltd Lee Kuan Yew. 2000. Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew: The Singpore Story ( 1965-2000) From Third World To First. Singapore. Times Media Private Limited N. Ganesan. (1999). Bilateral Tension in Post-Cold War ASEAN. Pacific Strategic Papers. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS). p. 38 Singapore Development Policies and Trends, Edited by Peter S.J. Chen, Oxford University Press 1983. Retrieved on 13th March 2012 from http://nasranrushdi9. blogspot. com/2010/09/tun-dr-mahathir-membidas-lee-kuan-yew. html Retrieved on 16th March 2012 from http://article. wn. com/view/2011/11/06/Singapores_Lee Ret rieved on 23th March 2012 from http://kickdefella. net/2011/01/ Retrieved on 25th March 2012 from http://www. singaporedemocrat. org/articlecheeWMD Retrieved on 25th March 2012 from http://english. peopledaily. com. cn/200605/13/archive. html Retrieved on 26th March 2012 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Lee_Kuan_Yew

Selective Media Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Selective Media - Lab Report Example Selective media has a limited number of microorganisms it can support in growth because the particular component inhibits most other microorganisms by either limiting their growth or production of toxic substance that inhibit growth of non-selected microbes hence appropriate in the selection of target microorganisms during diagnosis. Diagnostic procedures utilising growth characteristics of enteric microorganisms is one of the cheapest and the easiest microbiological protocol that can be adopted in any low-income laboratory or a facility with high throughput diagnostic equipments. During the diagnosis of enteric medical conditions, use of growth media in the diagnosis of microorganisms gives reliable information that guides subsequent diagnostic studies that aims at targeting a particular pathogen. However, the growth of microorganisms is a characteristic of the media used in the assessment of growth. All media do not support the growth of all pathogens. In fact, only nutrient agar can support the growth of most microorganisms. Therefore, utilising a particular media that targets an individual pathogen is a crucial phenomenon in bacterial culture laboratory practices. Media are made selective for a particular microorganism by the incorporation of growth enhancement component that targets a particular pathogen as well as growth limiting component that inhibits the growth of unwanted organisms. Such media is referred to as selective media because it either enhances or inhibits the growth. Using selecting media makes it easy to discriminate most unwanted pathogens that arise from environmental contamination and likely to give false positive diagnosis. This report assessed the growth, morphology characteristics, differential colony features of the four selected microorganisms (E. coli, Salmonella tyhimum, Shigella flecked, and Staphylococcus spp) on five selected selective media (Phenylethyl alcohol – PEA; Hektoen enteric agar- HEK;

Total quality management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Total quality management - Essay Example The meaning of quality differs depending on the circumstances and perceptions held by a consumer. Its meaning is also largely time based and equally situational. For example, quality becomes a different concept when focus is on tangible products versus the perception of a quality service. Scholars have thus given a general definition which postulates that it is a fitness for intended use. This definition says that quality is being able to meet and exceed the expectations of the customer. Deming argues that the customer’s definition of quality is the one that genuinely matters. It is thus evident that having a clear definition is not easy. The concept of zero defects is advocated by Philip Crosby. The primary objective of total quality management is to bring the number of faults or defects to zero (Nigam 113). However, Juran and Deming disagree with Crosby’s assertion that organizations should work towards having zero defects in services and products. This is on the grounds that customers have different tastes and preferences which are difficult to satisfy. Humans are not perfect and having  zero defects is not perfection. It is concerned with a commitment by employees and understanding that processes should continually be enhanced and defective systems should be reworked and reorganized from the top down.   In conclusion, quality encompasses a broad aspect that makes it difficult to settle on one definition. Meeting and continually exceeding market demands constitutes quality. Having zero defects is in itself not realizing perfection as market demands are dynamic. Quality Guru Deming postulates that catchphrases like "Zero Defects" are in fact, counterproductive and may possibly de-emphasize the customs and tools linked with continuous

Audit Engagement letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Audit Engagement letter - Essay Example The key objectives of the audit scope are to analyze whether your consolidated financial statements are true and fair, in all material respect, in line with the provisions of International Accounting Standards. The firm will conduct the audit process in line with the guidelines stated in the International Audit Standards. This will include all recommended tests on accounting records, as well as other procedures we consider necessary to facilitate us in expressing an opinion. If the opinion turns out to be something different other than unqualified, we will immediately notify your company and discuss the reasons in advance. In case we are unable to complete the audit within the stated period of 1.5 months, or have difficulties in expressing the opinion within the stated duration, we may decline to express any opinion or to issue an audit report as a result of this letter. Audit Engagement Checklist Section 1. Auditor’s Report With Regard To Auditor’s Report 2. Audit Proc edures 1. In Reference To Clients Acceptance 2. In Reference To Clients Understanding 3. In Reference To Audit Planning 4. In Reference To Fraud and Errors Considerations 5. In Reference To Internal Control Risks 6. In Reference To Work Done By Other Auditors 7. In Reference To Specialists If Used 8. In Reference To Audit Programs 9. In Reference To Audit Sampling 10. In Reference To Analytical Procedures 11. In Reference To Related Party Transactions 12. In Reference To Illegal Acts 13. In Reference To Audit Documentation 3. Working Papers 1. Significant Audit Areas 2. Cash 3. Receivables 4. Payables 5. Inventories 6. Assets 7. Liabilities 8. Business Consolidations and Combinations 4. Functional Areas 1. Human Resources 2. Key Ethical Requirements 3. Engagement Performance 5. Conclusion (Gupta, 2004. p. 44) The procedures will encompass examination of documentary evidence backing the transactions in the financial statements, physical examinations of assets, direct confirmation of payables and receivables. We will also randomly contact different customers, both creditors and debtors in reference to different assets and liabilities to provide evidence all transactions. The company will also request your company to provide written presentations from your attorneys as a section of the engagement. As we approach the end of the audit assignment, we will need different written presentations from your company about financial statements as well as other related matters (Ron and Rosario, 2007, p. 26). An audit entails testing, on an examination basis, disclosure of the financial statements, and evidence supporting the amounts. Therefore, the audit will entail judgment on the number of transactions to be tested and the target areas. We will also plan and perform the audit to attain reasonable assurance on whether the financial records are free from material misstatements and misrepresentations. This is because an audit avail reasonable assurance, and not absolute assur ance. Obtaining absolute assurance may be expensive and consuming. This is because it involves examining all transactions; it also exposes the task to material errors, which makes it difficult to detect frauds and other deliberate misrepresentations. Another reason why absolute assurance is unnecessary is because the scope does not aim at immaterial errors, illegal acts, and frauds that do not have any material change on the accounting records. This proves that the service cannot be relied on to expose errors

Green Revolution and Energy Use Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Green Revolution and Energy Use - Assignment Example Most of the energy I use is by using heating and cooling equipment, lighting and electronics devices. In order to decrease energy use I will ensure to use programmable thermostat in daily heating and cooling management at home. This will reduce the kilos of energy used by nearly  ¼. Moreover, I will also ensure to turn off electronics such as fan, television and lights whenever am leaving the house. This will gradually reduce the hours from 3-4 hours to roughly 2-3hours, when these appliances are in use. Moreover, I will ensure to unplug electronic devices such as; cell phones charges, power tools, digital cameras and computers when they are not in use so as to reduce the recharging period. I will also reduce hot water usage by taking short showers and washing clothes with cold water (Doty et al, 2007). Lastly, I would try using other energy sources that are more efficient like natural gases. I rely on electricity in three quarter of my energy use; therefore, diversifying to other sources for example gas water heaters and dryers might reduce my energy use. Since energy is significant in my day to day activities increasing its efficiency will help me save a lot. Modern technology advancement has brought about many useful changes that assist in increasing energy efficiency. For instance; modern appliances e.g. freezers, ovens, dishwashers and refrigerators, use significantly less energy and are more efficient than older appliances. Refrigerators today use less energy compared to conventional models of 2001 by approximately 40%. Therefore, I would buy modern appliances that use energy efficiently. Furthermore, since use of energy for lighting is averaging 5.5k per day, I will ensure to incorporate architectural features that reflect light into the building(Diesendorf, 2007). This will result to a reduced artificial energy use. I will also use compact fluorescent lights

Health politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Health politics - Essay Example Food firms produce large quantities of food using cheap, unhealthy ingredients, thus escalating the rates of obesity (Chung & Muntaner 2007, 89). This is the phenomenon that accounts for the ascending numbers of obese people in England. In this respect, there is need to have policies that stem the impact of this governance and economic mechanism to have a healthier nation. The White Paper attempts to find the solutions to the deep seated problem. Definition of Policies in Health Context Policies refer to the aims and objectives that a party or a government intends to achieve and uphold in the interest to the nation and its citizens. In health industry, policies are made by the government to maintain a healthy society. From 1970s, implementation and drafting of health policies has been based on preventive measures rather than curative measures as was earlier done (Chung 2007, 21). Health sector and stakeholders in the health industry have realized through rigorous studies that curativ e measures are expensive and yield no marginal benefits. Policies regarding health of the society are drafted and formulated for implementation by the government with wisdom and prudence in provision of superior health management (Erickson & Wilson 1994, 32). A health policy is usually a course of action and a method of intervention selected from among other alternatives to guide the present actions and determine future course of actions in the future. Health policies are high level general plans that embrace the overall goals and acceptable processes within the health sector. Features of Obesity Policies As this work deals with health policies in relation to obesity, it shall discuss some of the pertinent features of a policy in connection with the subject matter. Foremost, a policy must have a decision and an action. The government acknowledges the effect and degree of obesity in the society and makes a decision to curtail its negative effects. According to researches, there is a correlation between obesity and economic status of the affected people. The government acknowledges the fact that obesity is a chronic condition caused by behavioral factors (Boswell 2005, 24). In coming up with the policies to combat obesity, the government makes a decision to deploy means of nullifying all the negative externalities that accrue to social and health effects of obesity. The other feature of policy is action. The process of putting in place a policy to guide the public on issues relating to obesity is not complete with mere decision of the government to curtail obesity. The government must go a step further to take practical actions to curb obesity. The action should be geared towards reducing the costs of obesity treatment. The earlier measures and policies governments placed of curing maladies have been faced out due to their high costs (Borrell 2009, 43). Curative measures have led to elimination of infectious diseases, but not social and behavioral complications such as obesity. An action plan that attempts to provide formidable solution to prevalence of behavioral complications such as obesity involves formulation and implementation of health policy that recognizes intricacies of behavioral complications. Such a policy is geared towards making everyone custodian of his own health. It is a policy that makes everyone responsible for his health, and devolves the responsibilities of

The Hunchback of Notre Dame Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Essay Example However, in the film Hunchback of Notre Dame, there occurs classism, dictatorship, classism, discrimination due to physical appearance. Classism is common in our modern society. Our society comprises of different groups leading to the formation of classes. There occurs the middle class, high class and the low class (Cudd, 105). People in the high class have some privileges and accorded respect in the society. They are treated in a special way unlike the rest of the classes. Middle class group enjoy few privileges unlike those offered to the high-class group. The worst affected comprises the low class group. People in the low class experience various forms of discrimination and enjoy few privileges compared to the other class groups. For instance, they live in slums; have little access to social services such as proper health care, poor sanitation, often manipulated politically by people from the high-class group (Cudd, 106). Just like in the film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the king is referred as His most Christian Majesty, Louis XI. This indicates that he is highly regarded in the society and thus had massive pow er and privileges bestowed upon him (Wallace). Therefore, he belongs to the high class. Moreover, the archbishop belongs to the middle class while the kings’ subjects comprise the low class group. This group does not enjoy some of the privileges enjoyed by the king and the archbishop. Dictatorship forms another form of oppression in the society. In most societies, kings and rulers have some autonomous powers bestowed upon them. Such powers and privileges do not exist with the subjects and thus contribute to oppression. In most instances, some actions and conducts by the rulers go unquestionable since the subjects may fear victimization. Just like in the film, king Louis XI is regarded as His Most Christian Majesty thus, making him the ruler and preside over all religious functions with the

Childhood Memories Image Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Childhood Memories Image - Essay Example In this picture, two children topless are playing on the river where they are joined by two water buffalo and its calf. Behind the buffalos, there is an old man with gray hair whom may be was with the children before the buffalo entered. Perhaps the children and the old man were cleaning themselves and washing the buffalos maybe after long hours working in the field as according to Viet Nam  culture. Water buffalo help peasant farmers lessen the burden of farm work as well as their significant property. The buffalo, one big and the other small maybe its calf splashes water to a great length along the river clearly showing they have just joined the children. The drops of water cover the background of the picture and almost obscure the older man’s face. One child seems to be touching the big buffalo with his left hand while the other enjoying as depicted by facial expression. The old man behind the cows is maybe waiving or raising his left hand a coincidence with the child tou ching the cow with the left hand. This picture was taken in the river or water pond. There seems good relationship between the two animals and the children. This leads to speculation that the animals belong to the children’s family as well as the old man who may be their grandfather. The presence of the boys and the buffalo in the river depicts different cultures in the world. Although people inherit various cultures, they have been interacting with different animals both kept domestically or esthetic. The Vietnamese people and the Asian have been domesticating water buffalo for both economic and aesthetic purposes. They form part of their agricultural civilization as well as cultural values. In fact, the boys, taking â€Å"shower† with the buffalos along the river with a grown-up man looking at the happening depict complete social, cultural inheritance.

The three Narrators Essay Example for Free

The three Narrators Essay The lifeless thing that lay at my feet my candle was nearly burnt out. Frankenstein has made himself isolated by abandoning everything to create his creature. Mary Shelley develops the theme of isolation in chapter 21 when Victor Frankenstein is placed in prison; she has now physically isolated him. Frankenstein is shown as very secluded and distraught I was overcome with gloom and misery. Frankensteins closest friend had been killed so his isolation seems to be justified. Shelley used his self-pity to reflect to evoke the feeling that he is alone without a friend; no one is there to help so he goes deeper into self pity no one near me soothed me with the gentle voice of love; no dear hand supported me. Shelley portrays the monster as a misunderstood individual with caring at heart but wants retribution against Frankenstein. The monster mirrors the actions of a child that had been rejected at birth by its parents. The monster looks to the reader as being destined towards a life of isolation and depression. The monster describes himself as a poor, helpless, miserable wretch. Shelley uses these comments by the monster to evoke the feeling of sympathy and make it known to the reader that at that point in the time the monster was feeling rejected and isolated making the monster low in self-esteem leading to the statements being made. The monster also enhances the portrayal of the isolation by admitting he is desolate to the reader making more straight-forward for the reader to identify with the monster and even Mary Shelley as all the characters are related to Shelleys personal experiences during her childhood and adulthood. At the end of chapter 10 when Frankenstein and his monster meet Shelley shows the monster as someone who was willing to make friends among humans. I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone? You, my creator abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow creatures, who owe me nothing? To the reader the monster is shown as an isolated individual who has unfairly been abandoned by its father/creator. Frankenstein is shown as his father who has left him to rot therefore enforcing the effect of isolation the reader feels about the monster. The reader is then made to feel that Victor Frankenstein is to blame for the monsters feelings of isolation. Shelley used this technique to prepare the reader for the monsters narrative view and to start seeing things from the monsters perspective. In conclusion Shelley has been found to use to several narrative and literal techniques to show the feeling of isolation through all the characters. Shelley very often during the story used the scenery to reflect the emotions of the narrators within the book. The isolation within this book was one of the primary themes contributing to its gothic theme. Shelley uses things she experienced during her experience to create different situations in which isolation and sympathy were portrayed. Shelley (in the book) does not mention the word isolation however using very subtle techniques during the dialogue of the narrators and also scenery description she conveys the emotion fully to the reader about the characters within the story. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mary Shelley section.

Matalan Architecture and Infrastructural Investigation

Matalan Architecture and Infrastructural Investigation Introduction to my Organisation BLAG I chose Matalan as my organisation to undertake my report on as it was the most convenient option since I work there part time and have worked with a lot of the systems they use currently. Matalan is a well-established fashion retailer based in knowsley and has over 200 stores across the U.K (Advameg, 2017). I decided to concentrate on a single store rather than the whole business as it would be too complex and be hard to gather all the information due to the wide scale of the company and this branch is called Matalan Sefton an is located on switch island retail park which is one of the first original stores to open in the company. I decided that the store was suitable store to use with the use of various technology used and the architecture and infrastructural system suggests that there was more than enough information that could be gathered in order to write an in depth report on. Collection of information Before I started any writing of the report I made sure had permission to discuss Matalans information and explained it was for not non-profession use. I originally asked my manager which she agreed to participate. However, as Matalan are a nationwide company a lot of their IT is out sourced and the manager gave me the number of the IT department. I rang explained the situation and organised a meeting at their head office in Knowsley lucky enough this is not too far away. I made a questionnaire and brought this to the meeting where I typed the answers and the information can be found in appendix. I also discussed the stores information system infrastructure and was shown the companies system model however I had to create my own version of this and this can be found in the appendix 2. During the process of the report I was in constant contact with my manager using verbal communication and any questions I needed to ask was solved by him this was particular useful for the type of hardwar e the store had as the meeting with head office was a brief overview of all the companies stores an werent specific. Report Findings The information gathered in this part is taken from appendixes 1, 2 3.1 Hardware Software The store has company standard three HP desktop PCs all have windows 10 implemented to be able to run the latest software to manage the store. Two of the desktops are located in the back office which are connected to the fax machine and printer. Another desktop PC is situated at the customer services help desk which is the most up to date out of them all due to the refurbishment of the store they decided to replace the old PC. This desktop PC is HP Pavilion 23 q141in N4R49AA Desktop PC with processor Speed of 2.2 GHz with 8GB of RAM this machine is used at the customer service desk and is used to search for delivers and return PayPal orders. The other latest Desktop PC is HP Pavilion p6-2014 Desktop PC Product with processor speed of 2.1 GHz and 8 GB of RAM this is used for the overall management of the store and this is connected to the fax machine HP 2140 Fax. The oldest is HP Pavilion p6112p Desktop PC with 8 GB RAM and 1TB hard drive and this desktop is connected to the HP LaserJ et P2035 mono printer which is a quite old machine in comparison with the rest of the hardware this is due the lack of use. On these Desktop PCs office 365 business is installed and is used to communicate by email, store data in the cloud and use the software available such as word, PowerPoint. Matalan use HP desktops as they have a good reputation for lasting long and have a few years warranty and have the necessary platforms them to run various software. The store also has three IP Phone devices all the same model called MiVoice 5330e which is used to exchange calls, voicemails and allow to hold the call. Matalan current use POS system called torex retail j this services allows the store to monitor transactions and stock levels, reports, manages the rota and manage the overall running of the store ect. (POSmatic Software, 2017) suggests that Point of Sale system is a connection with the hardware and software for checkoutsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ where individuals transport and place the items or products they have chosen to purchase from the locationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ so that credit card processing could be more easily and securely integrated. This system saves the company time as doing it manual would take time. The system also captures details of the customers and stores them on their Matalan card and on the database, it shows what the customer has purchased on the card. For the till points Matalan also used the software peninsula for their barcodes and have installed their peninsula barcode scanners called Phoenix II on each till point to scan the barcodes of products and any promotion codes that is valid. This software stores all the current barcodes for all the products in the system with the price and recognised them once scanned. Another software Matalan uses is Numero which is used to create reports on the performance level of the store and recognize different trends in the sales. For example, it will record hourly and daily totals then create graphs where you can compare the figures to different times for instances what was the sales total for this day 1 year ago and compare whether the business is up or down. These reports are useful for head office as it allows them to compare all 217 stores and gives them an idea which ones need to improve. Matalan also uses Remote Pensoft to which is a payroll system that hosts the payrolls then Matalan can gain access to the system and processes the payroll. The system calculations the taxes for each individual from their national insurance number. 3.2 Operating systems FINISH TONIGHT According to (Capron, Mitchell, Swaminathan, 2001) An operating system is a set of programs that lies between applications software and computer hardware; it is the fundamental software that controls access to all other software and hardware resources. Matalan use several computer systems as stated previous they use windows 10 on all desktop PCs as it run the necessary software the store needs to be able to run it successfully without any major problems. They also use this the manufacturer as they offer a graduate for all the product if something goes wrong. Matalan use torex retail j as their POS system to operating the till system and have had this system since 2013 and has served them well with not too many problems and if there is there is an on-call technician to combat any issues. 3.3 Networking Facilities (Englander Engl, 2014) indicated that networking is an essential component of modern technology infrastructure, providing the ability to interconnect devices to make it possible to share resources and services, to share and exchange data and knowledge and, even communicate. Matalan networking facilities is network connected online to the store server which is then permanently connected through the Ethernet to the head office. Matalan network exchanges real time information from head office to the back-office system vice versa to maintain information for every single transaction processed, to be able to check current stock, check delivery date, and to able to keep up with the latest promotions across Matalan. This network is suitable for a huge company like Matalan which is important to have a good infrastructure as it connects all the stores to one place to distribute data and communicate fast. 3.4 Security issues FINISH TONIGHT 3.5 Legal Ethical Requirements BLAG Data protection pci compliance It code of conduct As a company Matalan, must follow certain legislations with the importantly of the data they handle with certain penalties against the business if found not to be following. The company must follow the PCI compliance which (ControlScan, 2017) states is a set of security standards designed to ensure that ALL companies that accept, process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. Matalan must be follow this compliance within all their stores as they are held liable if the business fails to follow the strict legislation and would result in the company being fined or sanctioned. Matalan lack of security would damage the customers trust in the business however Matalan currently have a strong security defend. The security solution has been invested in which is normally is issue when stores fail to follow due to the lack of budget. As Matalan store and use data they must follow the Data Protection Act which protects information held about people from being misused. According to Copyright, 2017, the Data Protection Act the information being stored must be: Obtained fairly and lawfully Used only for the purposes stated during collection Adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the intended use Accurate and up to date Not kept for longer than necessary Processed in line with your rights Subject to procedures to prevent unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction and damage to personal data Protected from transfer to an area outside the European Economic Area (EEA) unless adequate protection exists for that data 3.6 Key Areas The Key areas for the Matalan is their head office department this is where the server replies on its network. I found this out first hand as a couple of months ago I was working on the tills the whole network went down which affected the chip and pin machines and this lead to the whole companies stores not being able to process no transactions with cards. The stores only back up were to use the old manual card imprinters which is not a very effective way to trade as it was time consuming. This highlights the importantly of computer systems for organisations as they are heavily reliant on them and wouldnt be able to cope with the demand. Systems Diagram Matalan current system infrastructure works effectively as it is simple and has good connectivity. However, I think the currently system should a back-up server in case anything goes wrong. This could be a network outside the company and in an emergency, there is that network to back it up which would decrease the chances of loss of earnings due to not being to complete sales. Strengths Weaknesses of the Organisations Computer Systems FINISH TINIGHT Technological Strategies FINISH TINIGHT New Emerging Technologies When we discussed new technology, we looked at rival retailers and what they had implemented. With most of the big companies have starting to use E receipts which is an electronic receipt that emailed to the costumer once they have they purchased items. This is beneficial to not only the customer but the store itself as it saves money on printing and paper cost. It also allows Matalan to market to customers and for the customer they are less likely to lose their receipts. Contactless is the latest technology hitting the high-street shops as it makes purchasing goods a lot easier and make transactions faster however Matalan havent yet implemented it into their stores but the manager stated that there has been talk of installing it this year across all store. A similar technology that could help the company sales is Apple/Android pay which is a digital wallet allowing safe payment by phone with finger print technology. This could increase sales as if the customer hasnt got any cash/card on them they could still purchase items and follows the same benefits as contactless. Matalan have a customer card system which the customer details are on the card allowing Matalan to market to the customer through email and send promotions. They have recently brought of a smartphone app called Matalan Reward Card App to replace the card, this has helped to promote offers by having the reward card on the app allowing the customer to see if they have any vouchers, alert customer if sale and update on the latest offers. Another form of technology Matalan could introduce to store is IPad and installed them to be able to order items into store for example large items like furniture as they only sell these on the website. References Advameg. (2017). Matalan PLC company profile, information, business description, history, background information on Matalan PLC. Retrieved from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/14/Matalan-PLC.html Capron, L., Mitchell, W., Swaminathan, A. (2001). Asset divestiture following horizontal acquisitions: A dynamic view. Strategic Management Journal, 22(9) Copyright. (2017, February 1). Data protection principles. Retrieved from https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/data-protection-principles/ Englander, I., Engl, I. (2014). The architecture of computer hardware, systems software, networking: An information technology approach (5th ed.). United States: John Wiley Sons. POSmatic, I., Software, P. (2017). Point of sale (POS). Retrieved from http://www.posmatic.com/point-of-sale/what-is-point-of-sale.php http://www.conceptdraw.com/How-To-Guide/LAN-Diagrams Appendices Appendix A Questionaire Matalan Questionnaire: What Hardware is available for the store? Including any specialised resources? 3 desktops Printer Fax machine What software is available for the store to use? Retail j Retail manager Numero software peninsula software Remote Pensoft- payroll Windows pro Webmail Are there any strategies for commissioning or developing new hardware or software resources? contactless What Operating System(s) is available for the store to use? Retail java pen Why is this operating system chosen to be used in store? What networking facilities does the store have? Are there any security issues on the network? What security features do you have in place to prevent security issues? Are there any new technologies helping to benefit the store? What are the legal/ethical requirements for the store? Data protection PCI compliance It code of conduct 10. How does Matalan benefit from utilising computer systems? Help trade Quicker Productivity increase Increase sales Management Appendix B Hardware Specifications

Of Mice and Men Essay -- Of Mice and Men Essays

Of Mice and Men is a novel written by John Steinbeck. It is set in California during the great depression. The story follows two ranch hands who travel together and are very poor. Throughout the novel we witness many different philosophical references. Many different types of characters from this novel are reused in today’s society. Steinbeck also writes eloquently about the many different emotions, aspirations, and dreams of man. This novel’s title originates from Robert Burn’s poem â€Å"To a Mouse† written in 1785. Steinbeck’s book shows comparisons to this poem. One way it shows this is through the powerless and doomed fate of the mouse that has no control over what could happen to it based on its condition (â€Å"Reith†). Steinbeck had originally titled the book Something That Happened. It was originally intended to be a children’s book. This was mainly because of the childlike innocence given from the characters. It was however proven to be much more complex and adult themed than originally intended ("The Making"). In Robert Burn’s poem he wrote about how the plans and ideas of man can and do often go astray. This gave the inspiration for the theme and title to Steinbeck’s book. This shows that the best plans and thoughts can be thwarted. These plans can be destroyed by many innocent distractions. Even if the best intentions were meant, it still ends in an unpredictable way (Scarseth). Steinbeck got the inspiration to write this book in the summer of 1922 through his experience at Spreckels Sugar Company Ranch. He worked there with Filipino and Mexican labor. The landscape of the book was familiar to where he worked. He worked in an oasis type river and renamed the location to a place called Soledad which meant solitude (Hays)... ...elist John Steinbeck Has Sometimes Been Criticised as a Sentimentalist. Duncan Reith Uncovers the Bleak Political Pessimism Behind His Novel of Ranch Life During the Great Depression, Of Mice and Men." The English Review Nov. 2004: 6+. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 11 Jan. 2012. Scarseth, Thomas. "A Teachable Good Book: Of Mice and Men." Censored Books: Critical Viewpoints. Ed. Nicholas J. Karolides, Lee Burress, and John M. Kean. Scarecrow Press, 1993. 388-394. Rpt. in Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 11 Jan. 2012. "Stage and Screen." Of Mice and Men: A Kinship of Powerlessness. Charlotte Cook Hadella. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1995. 64-81. Twayne's Masterwork Studies 147. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 11 Jan. 2012. Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin, 1993.

The Tea Party Movement Essay -- Political Movement, American Social Is

The tea party has been a hot topic in the United States ever since the movement began in 2008, yet many people do not understand what exactly it is. Contrary to what some people may think, the tea party is not a true political party. It can broadly be defined as a gathering of libertarians, conservatives, and other people who want to change Washington. The common ideals of the tea party movement are cutting government spending, limiting taxes, and stopping excessive federal regulations. The most important thing one needs to know about the movement though, is that there is not a single tea party- the movement consists of hundreds of different autonomous groups, each widely varying in priorities and size. The tea party movement began as the result of conservative discontent after the presidential election in 2008. Before President Barack Obama took office, many conservatives went on online chat boards and expressed anger over the banks being bailed out and billions of their tax money being spent on government programs. As a form of protest, one individual suggested that everyone mail tea bags to their elected representative in Congress. The concept behind this idea was that what was happening to America at the time was like what had occurred in America during the colonial era. Revolutionaries had organized the Boston Tea Party because of the British policy of â€Å"taxation without representation†, and many conservatives felt as if this phrase described what the government was doing again. This was the birth of the tea party movement, and it has only greatly expanded since then. (Ed Pikington; Oct 5, 2010) Since the tea party movement is such a diverse mixture of groups, there is a large spectrum of ideals within it. Regardl... ..., P. (2010, July 14). Nasty 'Tea Party'-NAACP Racism Feud: Who's Right? Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved September 2, 2011, from SIRS Researcher. Knickerbocker, B. (2010, September 15). What is the 'Tea Party' and How is it Shaking Up American Politics? Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved September 2, 2011, from SIRS Researcher. Knickerbocker, B. (2010, September 12). Will the 'Tea Party' Take Over Congress. Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved September 2, 2011, from SIRS Researcher. Pikington, E. (2010, October 5). How the Tea Party Movement Began. In The Guardian. Retrieved September 12, 2011, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/05/us-midterm-elections-2010-tea-party-movement Sege, A. (2011, August 8). Third-Party Challenge in 2012? Not Likely, Experts Say. McClatchy-Tribune News Service. Retrieved September 2, 2011, from SIRS Researcher.

Firework Problems for Math

Fireworks  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ The Problems July 7, 2008 On the 4th of July, Vanessa watched the local fireworks with her family from their front lawn. Once the fireworks began, Vanessa’s mom said, â€Å"Wow we are really lucky that our view isn’t blocked – the bottoms of MOST of the fireworks appear right at the top of that 50 foot oak tree. † If Vanessa was 100 feet from the oak tree and 1500 feet away from the fireworks launch site, how many feet off the ground were the bottoms of MOST of the fireworks? Disregard Vanessa’s height. [pic] James’ family always puts on a big fireworks display every 4th of July. This year James got to pick out a few that were used. He decided on two 6-packs of Roman Candles, one Morton’s Mortar Kit and one Emerald City. If sales tax was 5%, based on the prices below how much change did James get back when he gave the cashier $45. 00? Express your answer in dollars and cents to the nearest cent. Roman Candles – $6. 99/ 6-pack Bottle Rockets – $7. 99/ pack Sparklers – $9. 99/ box Ground Flowers – $9. 99 Morton’s Mortar Kit – $9. 99/ kit EmeraldCity – $14. 99/ each Rain of Fire – $29. 99/ each New Yorker Salute Finale – $79. 99/ each [pic] Magda had a 4th of July party at her house. Her favorite lemonade recipe calls for 1 cup of lemon juice for every 4. 5 cups of water. If Magda followed the recipe and made 33 cups of lemonade, how many cups of lemon juice did she use?

Freshman

This can cause stress and anxiety for some people. Stress often leads to eating more and eating foods that are not as healthy. Also, if students have a hard time adjusting to college life, they may find themselves being unhappy, which could lead to drinking more and eventually gaining weight. Sometimes adjusting is extremely sad and upsetting for college freshman, which often leads to emotional eating. Exercise habits can become worse In college because students are busy and do not always have the time to worry about staying in shape.They can find themselves at class all day, studying all night, and having time to eat, but not workout. Much fewer people are student athletes in college than in high school. In high school, the teams are easier to make because it is much less competitive and more about having fun. In college, sports are intense and only a small amount of people participate in them. Therefore, these high school athletes are not getting as much exercise In college because most of them are not participating In a sport anymore, which can result In weight gain.Another cause for the freshman fifteen is the food being available at all times. College students do not have a specific time for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The dining halls are open and filled with food all day. Some students cannot handle this and end up eating much more than they should, just because it is there and it is available to them, which they are not used to. Although there are people who will still eat healthy and restrain from overeating, several people do not have that will power and will eat every time they pass by a addling hall.The causes of gaining the Irishman fifteen are common at all colleges and universities, and students need to start eating healthier, working out more, and being conscious of their health. It is clear that the freshman fifteen is a real thing. The problems that cause this weight gain can happen at any school and that is why it is so common. Although not everyone who puts on weight in college puts on exactly fifteen pounds, it is still concerning. College students, of all people, should try to stay healthy. They are developing bad habits that could last for the rest of their lives.

Institutional Affiliation

Terrorism within our borders was not something that people thought of daily if ever. Radio advertisements that instructed us on how to talk to our children about terrorist attacks, as though it were similar to a tornado warning, is not something that I anticipated in my lifetime. The atrocity that occurred on 9/11 is not something that is supposed to happen here, but it did. We are challenged by the infiltration of immigrants to our country, whether legal or illegal. Our citizens are fearful of the future attacks that are threatened and at times the very presence of the Arab population within our communities.International terrorism threatens the United States, its allies, and the world community. Defeating the terrorist enemy requires sound policies, united government effort, and international cooperation. In light of that, it is difficult to remember as you board an airplane with six Arab passengers, that we live in the â€Å"melting pot. † America was founded on freedoms, fr eedom of speech and freedom of religion, to name a few. How do we, as a country, monitor and measure our safety, while ensuring the freedoms that are afforded our citizens? How do we deal with the threat of terrorism within our own borders?Can we provide safety by simply following the laws of our country? As a senior counter-terrorism official, it is my responsibility to ensure the safety of our communities. Local law enforcement plays a critical role in enhancing the safety in communities. Communication links between local law enforcement and state and federal government will further the effectiveness of this program. It will be my responsibility to encourage local law enforcement in their fight against terrorism. We do not have the right to intrude on the religious activities of Arabs or anyone else within our communities without just cause.Defining terrorism in a country based on freedoms is a difficult task. Our country’s downfall is we have still not attempted to deal wi th or identify the causes of terrorism. We must identify the cause and the potential activities which threaten our society. The problem of terrorism–the problem of a relatively small number of violent lawbreakers who have set out to undermine our democratic way of life and seek either to blackmail the government through violence or the threat of violence to comply with their demands, or to overthrow the government entirely. We should all think about what kind of country we want to live in.To be truly patriotic means recognizing our responsibilities to uphold the democratic principles which make this the freest nation on Earth. It is important to remember that the opening words of the Constitution are `We the People' not `I the People. ‘ Being a citizen in a democracy means that you can't organize your own private army because you disagree with the actions of the democratically elected government. We need to focus on restorative justice. Restorative justice is grounded i n the focus on the harm created, not simply on the breach of law. This means that the first priority isunderstanding and responding to the needs of victims and the healing of victims. The direct victims are the primary focus, but everyone else who has been touched by the crime is also involved, including the community as a whole. To address the harm to victims, restorative justice believes that we must affirm moral responsibility and the need for accountability on the part of those who have done the harm. Restorative justice sees the past in the context of the present and the future, looking at: * what accountability is needed to address the harm to the victims; * what accountability would provide the offender the opportunity to dorestitution or reparation or whatever needs to be done to address the harm created; and * what accountability is needed for the restoration of community, including the restoration of the victim and the offender into community. Such accountability assumes t he need for safety. This involves the whole community taking responsibility for the victims as well as the offender, including seeing everyone in a human context that is broader than just the moment of the crime. Finally, restorative justice is about the engagement of all parties, including the larger community, in working towards healingthe harm and the creation of community, a community that includes both the victims and the offenders. Within our communities, it is critical that we appropriately monitor the business of individuals who have been associated or are believed to be associated with known terrorists. There are already procedures in place to monitor the actions of these individuals. It would not be appropriate to infiltrate communities on the basis of race, unless there are specific ties to known terrorists. Ethically, homeland security is responsible for the safety of all individuals within ourborders and cannot pick and choose based on race. Known terrorists, whether Am erican born or a foreign national, once captured should all receive the same treatment and rights. Recent actions of military in Iraq and elsewhere, if interpreted by the Iraqi people, may give rise to the belief that Americans are in fact the terrorists. The torture of Iraqi captives and the outright murder of innocent Iraqi civilians could lead one to believe that we are no better than Al Queda. We do not have the right to torture terrorists in order to gain information. Effective counterterrorism should take the form of prevention.We need to neutralize the terrorist organization by weakening it or making potential targets more difficult to attack. After the attacks of 9/11, an important distinction was drawn between the U. S. argument that an attack on Afghan soil was legitimate because of the Taliban's close and supportive relationship with al Qaeda and the more extended claim, that one nation could launch an attack within another nation's sovereign territory, even if there was no state support for terrorists acting within the borders.If evidence is present that a particular state has intentionally supported global terrorism and continues to do so, the case can be made for armed force to avoid future terrorist attacks within the framework of the just war tradition. A state linked to support of terrorism against another nation is engaged in a war of aggression. Any country that is the object of terrorist attacks has a right to defend itself. In effect, the case against the Taliban was not intervention for regime change but a war of self-defense against a government that was directly complicit in terrorist attacks. (Himes, 2004) The attack on Iraq does not meet the criteria of Just War.President Bush and his advisors presented a case for armed intervention in order to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Concern that enemies might use such weapons has fueled the new debate. The United States declared its willingness to initiate attacks upon adversaries it considers to be threatening. Anti-Americanism is alive and well in all parts of the world. Within our own borders, Anti-Americanism is not as widespread as is the disillusionment with our own government. It is not the foundations of America that are at issue, but the interpretation and thus application of our ability to affect the rest of the world.

American Fast Food

The most popular American fast food products are hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs and French fries. Fast food has become an important part of the American Food Culture for a long time. In fact, America is called a fast food country due to its strong fast food habits. According to some surveys, Americans spend more money on fast food than on education, new cars and computer software buying; 200 millions of Americans visit fast food restaurants weekly; nearly 90 percents of American children visit McDonald's every month. There are several reasons why this is happening. Firstly, as the industrialization and technology keep developing, Americans seem to be much busier with their life. As a result, they pay much less attention and less time for their meals. People need foods which require short time to get but still taste good. And those are exactly the characteristics that fast food has. Secondly, American culture is very individualistic. This individualism results in many people living alone at a very young age. And those who are single or living alone are more likely to rely on fast food, because they think it is simply a waste of time to spend 45 minutes cooking and cleaning for one or at most two meals for one person. Many in the average households of two, three, or four feel the same way about cooking. Thirdly, fast food is very convenient. They can be packaged and carried everywhere. In addition, you can easily find fast food chains even at mid-night. Moreover, fast food companies have even simplified the buying process by creating the drive-through restaurants, which allow customers to purchase products without leaving their cars. Next, fast food is usually cheap. It’s affordable for the consumers, especially when the economy is having a difficult time like these days. However, fast food is not good for our health. Fast food nutritional information shows that most meals contain high numbers of calories, saturated and trans-fats. In fact, you can eat all the calories your body needs for the day in one meal. Furthermore, you will actually receive very little nutrients from all of these calories. The white breads, sugars and animal fats that are packed into most fast foods contain very few vitamins and minerals. Eating these foods with tons of calories and fat on a regular basis leads to obesity. Obesity has become a big problem in America. Americans are heavier and unhealthier than ever before. This has led to millions of people suffering from threatening conditions such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, reduced bone strength and many other health elated problems. For someone who consumes these too much, it may lead to liver failure due to the high amount of fat, salts and oil in it. Too much of fast food on a regular basis can make a person overweight due to the extra calories given in those foods. It affects the concentration levels in studies and other activities too. Although fast food has a lot of bad sides, Americans can not eliminate them due to its conveniences. In short, fast food is an important part of the Food Culture; it has become a way of life for many Americans.

Alternate energy

Alternate energy – the solution to our depleting natural resources. A viable way to counter the effects of global warming. But is it really so? Every argument has its own pros and cons and we need to study both the sides before reaching on a hasty conclusion. As with all other discussions, the discussion centering around alternate energy sources has its own handful of proponents and opponents. Alternate energy sources are hailed the most due to their inexpensive and less polluting nature. Alternate energy sources are those which can be substituted for fossil fuels and include biofuels.Biofuels include among them vegetable oils, ethanol and methanol. As against fossil fuels, non renewable energy sources do not have a limited supply and hence their usage is not feared to bring about a rapid exhaustion of the resources. Careful studies of nonrenewable sources have made scientists to predict about possible exhaustion of these resources in coming century. The Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources puts an the lifetime of conventional oil to be only 32 years more, while its estimates about natural gas show that it will last 65 years more.This is one of the reasons that renewable resources are so much sought after now since the continuance of our work processes depending on these resources, is not threatened by their diminishing supply. Scientific studies have already revealed how the use of non renewable sources has proved to be hazardous to not just the environment but also the health of the population. This paper will discuss multiple sides of the issues of using these alternate energy sources. These issues are economic, ethical, social and environmental. We will discuss how the use of alternate energy sources will lead to less of global warming.In the environmental context, fossil fuels have been proven to be hazardous to nature and health. The environment is at great stake if we continue to use these fossil fuels. The combustion of fossil fuels leads to a number of pollutions ranging from water and land pollution to air pollution. It is held today that the highest amount of environmental pollution can be attributed to none other than the combustion of these fuels. The smog caused by the combustion of these fuels can not only cause human sickness but can also be dangerous to the sustainability of crops.Similarly, the release of carbon dioxide in environment form the burning of these fuels is a major cause of global warming. Many climate changes are a result of this global warming. Continued use of these fossil fuels will only aggravate the situation. The conversion of fossil fuels is another environmental problem as it results in solid waste accumulation. Another threat posed by fossil fuels is that of spill offs in seas and oceans during their delivery. This proves to be a menace to the marine life and very difficult to clean up. Biofuels in contrast do not have any such hazards attached to them.Burning biofuels rele ases carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide in lesser quantities. A model by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) shows that neat biodiesel form soya beans cut down the global warming pollution by more than 50% in comparison to conventional petroleum based diesel. Some other sources for biofuels such as algae have the potential of providing up to 90% reductions in global warming pollution. Biodiesel is also made form recycled food oil and waste products. Use of advanced technologies in future will see that the waste streams are being converted to diesel fuels.This will result in production of low carbon diesel. Biodiesel has got an edge over petroleum diesel fuel when it comes to low pollution emission. Biodiesel emit less of hydrocarbons as compared to conventional diesels and thus are environmentally safer. In environmental context then, biofuels seem to be a more viable option, by being less harmful and detrimental to environment and health. The issue of energy sources is such that now it has even got mixed with politics. In evaluating the viability of alternate energy sources, we also have to consider the political context relevant to the situation.Governments are now more than ever concerned about the dwindling supplies of fuels and hence are pushing for alternate energy sources. Before using an alternate energy source then, the political issues that need to be considered are many. One of the many aspects considered by a government before venturing into the development of any alternate energy source is the jobs and the growth provided by the fuels industry. The renewable industry is a newly developing one and has potential for growth in future. This is what the Canadian government has in mind and is one of the reasons why it is pursuing a greater use of renewable energy sources.Governments like Canada seek alternate energy source such as biofuels because they offer immense reductions in greenhouse gases (Susanne, 2007). They also provide an economical energy so urce for governments in the face of increasing petroleum prices. The basic reason however governments may consider alternate energy fuels such as these is the wish to support farming and rural communities. Hence, political issues such as consideration of population and growth and job opportunities in the alternate energy industry are some of the political aspects a government considers before opting for such a resource.The Canadian government has opted to go for biodiesels which shows that this form of energy is being sought after readily by governments and they think it as a feasible option to not only counteract the effects of global warming but also be beneficial in terms of providing job opportunities to the farmer population. If we consider the socio-economic aspect of this issue, we would see that alternate energy sources are being seen by governments as a lucrative option since governments have seen an increase in farm-products and thus that this could boost rural incomes (FA O, 2008).Hence, all the more reason to support the alternate energy source. Economically, the biofuels could prove to be fruitful for farmers in developed countries. The FAO report 2008 states that farmers of the developing countries could be supported and aided to reap the benefits of its production. If biofuels is produced in developing countries, not only will it be economically profitable for the local population but it will be a major cause for reduction in pollution. Todaro, in his book Economic development states that the most cumulative environmental degradation has been caused by the developed world.However, this trend is very much likely to reverse because of decreasing income patterns and high population growth rates in developing countries. Thus, providing the population of developing countries with a cheap substitute to fossil fuels will ensure lesser pollution created in the developing world. Keeping all these points in view, I opine that alternate energy sources are i ndeed the need of the day and promoting their use will reduce pollution and combat global warming. However, some contrasting views have also been found related to the use of biofuels.These present some problems in deciding whether to promote the use of biofuels or not. Producing biofuels requires more fossil fuel energy than is gained by the consumption of the fuel (Pimentel, 2001). Hence, it contributes to global warming and pollution too. On the political forefront, biofuels, particularly ethanol is being opposed against by the environmentalists on the grounds that promoting the use of biofuels might encourage farmers to abandon food crops and plant cash crops instead, which could then be used in producing fuel.Europe is one such region which has pursued in the past for policies favoring biofuels. However, the policy decision made in 2008, has met with strict criticism from lobbyists, citizens and environmentalists. Ethanol, one of the biofuels, then does not appear to have a stro ng foothold when it comes to political grounds. Policies to promote biofuels in regions such as Europe and U. S have met with censure and disapproval as it does not seem to be such a feasible source. Political and environmental arguments however are not the only ones to be considered.The social aspects have to be considered too. One may argue that producing biofuels will be good for society. More cash crops will be grown, with better return to society and less production of pollution. However, a study shows how the production of biofuels is actually a social tragedy for humans. To sum up, the report declares that producing biofuels is not a feasible option as it will only be disastrous for farmers, the environment, and citizens, particularly, the poor ones (Altieri & Bravo, 2007). The report gives example of U.S that how even the utilization of all soya bean and corn crops will not be enough to meet more than 12% of its gasoline’s needs and 6% of diesel needs. One-fifth of co rn harvest in U. S has already been dedicated to biofuels but this too could meet only 3% of its domestic energy demands. Is it then ethical to pursue this option when it seems to have a plethora of arguments opposing it? Apparently, there is a trade-off between the economic and environmental benefits to be reaped from the production of biofuels, against the social costs of getting the food crops being replaced by cash crops.Cheap fuel to source the industries of a country or food for feeding the population? These are the two precarious questions waiting to be answered. Through the course of the discussion of paper, we have seen how alternate energy source may prove one of the ways to combat pollution and be beneficial for the environment. However, to do so at the social cost of hungry population would be a crucial mistake. The key to this problem is maintaining a balance between the two. In the face of food crisis and rising food prices, priority should be set on solving the proble ms of food security.Developing countries, hence must not seek out so actively to promote the use of alternate energy source. Rather, their focus should be on getting the food crisis resolved. One of the FAO’s recommendations with regard to this aspect says that â€Å"policies should be developed with appropriate international coordination to ensure that the international system supports environmental sustainability goals as well as social goals for agricultural development and poverty and hunger reduction†.Hence, to achieve the goals environmental sustainability, alternate energy source i. e. biodiesels must be sought keenly but only if the social costs of doing so are not greater than the economic profitability. References: FAO report, (2008), The State of Food and Agriculture, Part I: Biofuels: Prospects, Risks and Opportunities, pp 88-90. Retrieved August 17, 2010 from http://www. foodfirst. org/node/1662 R. S. , Susanne (2010, February), Canadians backing biofuels. Retrieved August 17, 2010 from http://www. biodieselmagazine. com/article. jsp? article_id=3993 Pimentel. (2001), The limitations of biomass energy, Encyclopedia of Physical Sciences and Technology. San Diego: Academic Press,159–171 Altieri, M. A. , & Bravo, E. (March 2007), The ecological and social tragedy of crop-based biofuel production in the Americas. Retrieved August 17, 2010 from http://www. foodfirst. org/node/1662 Todaro, M. P & Smith, S. C, Economic Development, 2002, Prentice Hall