Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Writing Process Analyzing Your Audience - 1356 Words

The Writing Process The first thing to do in the writing process is to select a topic and do research on that topic. Once you’ve selected a topic and have done enough research to tentatively commit yourself, you can then go into the four phases of the writing process; I. Prewriting: Analyzing your audience, determining your purpose in writing, limiting the scope of what you will cover, and generating potential content. II. Drafting: Making a case and structuring your evidence for that case. III. Revising: Putting yourself in the place of the reader, rethinking your approach, and making changes that will improve your case. IV. Polishing: Editing and proofreading to eliminate errors and improve the coherence and the readability of your†¦show more content†¦Annotating a text with your thoughts about the authors arguments or summaries in your own words will help you understand the text, and may be useful if you need to return to it later. ( University of Sussex, 2016)1 Many students find that marking their study texts with highlighter pens or annotating them by writing in the margins helps them to concentrate, and it enhances their understanding. Just deciding what to highlight, underline or annotate encourages you to think critically and formulate your own response to the text. To use this technique, first read quickly through the text to get an overview of what it s about. Then read it more closely, pausing at the end of each paragraph to identify the main points. In the page margins you might like to add brief comments and queries as annotations. Then you decide what you want to highlight or underline to help you to recognize key points and their significance. You may decide to emphasize †¢ A sentence or word that sums up an important idea †¢ Quotations †¢ Statistics †¢ Specialized terms †¢ Important or useful data †¢ Examples or links to other ideas. You could use different colored pens to mark different kinds of information, but be careful not to highlight so much that it becomes distracting. This technique is not a replacement for making your own notes, but may form the first stage in creating diagrammatic notes (such as mind maps) as well as preparing for essays. (The

Monday, December 23, 2019

Outline Of A Business Plan - 1617 Words

Appendices Appendix A†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..Page 8 Appendix B†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..Page 9 Appendix C†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..Page 10 Appendix D†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..Page 11 Appendix E†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..Page 12 Appendix F†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..Page 13 1. Executive Summary The purpose of this business plan is to delineate my business idea and transfigure it into a successful and distinguished scrapbooking company. After searching the internet and social media, I have not come across a reputable company that will offer the same services as Happy Scrappy. Most companies will create photo books or send readymade scrap books in which customers will have to add in photos themselves. Although these companies sound similar Happy Scrappy allows customers to candidly create the scrapbook from start to finish. After comprehensive research in to the scrapbooking market, I have discovered a gap which can be undoubtedly accommodated for by Happy Scrappy. We specialise in a variety of uniquely hand crafted scrapbooks which are personalised by the customer using their own photos, and themes or colours. The business will have a range of suggested template designs however, the customer will have the ability to change or create a whole new design using the interactive website. 2. Company Description Happy Scrappy is a Handmade Personalised Scrapbook company. We will operate through an interactive website which will be one of the fundamental functions of the businessShow MoreRelatedAn Outline Of A Business Plan Essay2049 Words   |  9 PagesThat is a business plan? A business plan is a road map for a team or business and it can be used, as an eternal tool for potential customers and partners. The business plan should describe in details the entire business venture, technology behind it, the size of the target market, customers, competition, business model, team, financial needs and exit strategy. 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Sunday, December 15, 2019

Does Hong Kong Recovered from the Subprime Crisis Free Essays

Background In 2007, the soaring mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures in the United States triggered the sub-prime crisis and soon spread over the world. In this report, major causes of the sub-prime crisis and its impacts on Hong Kong’s economy will be examined. Different measures made by regulators and financial institutions to tackle this crisis will be discussed also. We will write a custom essay sample on Does Hong Kong Recovered from the Subprime Crisis or any similar topic only for you Order Now Lastly, evidence about the recovery of Hong Kong will be provided. The sub-prime crisis In 2007, the collapse of subprime mortgage-backed securities (MBSs) brought to a huge loss among mortgage lenders. Many large financial firms including New Centaury Financial Corporation and Lehman Brothers Holdings Incorporation declared bankruptcy, which resulted in a downturn in the global financial market and a series of chain reactions spreading over the world afterwards. Impact of the sub-prime crisis on the Hong Kong financial institutions After the outbreak of the subprime crisis, the Hong Kong financial market shrank along with the global economic recession. The stock market in Hong Kong declined from recorded high of 31,000 in October 2007 to 20,700 in March 2008 (Diagram 1) as investors losses their confidence and withdrew money from the market. Moreover, many banks wrote down huge amount of money for numerous sub-prime related securities. For example, HSBC wrote off US$17. 284 billion for potential losses in MBS or MBS related investments (HSBC 2008). Bank of China (Hong Kong) also wrote down HK$550m subprime-linked assets (Liu 2008). Lastly, there was a credit crunch due to the uncertainty about the amount of MBS related assets held by banks and insurance companies. As a result, many financial institutions reduced loans to each other and increased the interest rate because of high credit risk. Many new companies and corporations were unable to obtain fund to further develop and improve liquidity. Measures undertaken by the regulators and financial institutions In order to strengthen the confidence of the citizens and stabilize the banking system, the Hong Kong Deposit Protection Board strengthened and amended the Deposit Protection Scheme Bill in 2011. The 100 % deposit protection scheme of HK $100,000 was first launched in 2008. The amount of protection was increased to HK$500,000 in 2011. Besides, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has made certain measures to deal with the problem. Firstly, HKMA announced a temporary policy which allowed licensed banks to access to liquidity assistance through the Discount Window with US dollar assets and extended the duration of liquidity assistance up to three months on 30th September 2008. These measures helped to improve liquidity within the banking system and further ease pressures in the interbank market (HKMA, 2008). The Hong Kong Interbank Overnight Offered Rates dropped from 3% to 0. 3% in a few weeks time after the announcement of these measures (HKMA, 2010). Secondly, the HKMA implemented a macro stress testing of the banking sector’s vulnerability to shocks such as the sub-prime crisis. Meanwhile, HKMA used the macroeconomic credit risk models to improve the stress testing of banks’ residential mortgage loans and other loan portfolios (Carse, 2008). The objective of this testing is to help HKMA monitor the banking sector and avoid problems similar to sub-prime crisis from happening in Hong Kong. Financial institutions wrote off large amount of money and tried to raise money in the market to improve their liquidity. In 2009, HSBC announced a USD$17. 7 billion rights issue. Shareholders were offered five new ordinary shares for every 12 existing shares at a price of HK$28 per new share (HSBC, 2009). This helped HSBC to restore its capital-debt ratio and allowed it to go over bad times without government assistance. Has Hong Kong economy fully recovered? According to the statistic in 2011, the real GDP growth rate was restored to 5% from -2. % in 2009. And the unemployment rate was dropped to pre-crisis level, it decreased from 5. 4% in January 2009 to 3% in December 2011 (Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department , 2012). The supply of money is in an increasing trend as well. Both M3 and domestic credit were having a 10% increase in 2010, compared with a decrease in 2008 and 2009. And the inter-bank offered rate dropped to a very low level of 0. 09% (Hong Kong Census and Stat istics Department , 2012). These figures show that Hong Kong economy has restored gradually to pre-crisis level. However, there are certain hidden problems. Firstly, regulators worry about the inflation problem in Hong Kong after the injection of trillions of funds into the market from the Federal Reserve. Since HK dollar is linked with US dollar, the large increase in money supply in U. S dollar will in turn accelerate the inflation in Hong Kong. Secondly, the case of Lehman Brothers Mini Bond has shown that current regulations on financial products are not sufficient, small individual investors can be misled easily. Further regulations and monitoring on financial products is necessary. Lastly, after the â€Å"lesson† of subprime crisis, many people lost their belief in financial investment which as a result restricted the development of financial market in Hong Kong. To conclude, the subprime does not only cause many adverse consequences to the global financial market including Hong Kong, but also brings some hidden problems. The cooperation between government and financial institutions is vital to help Hong Kong economy recover from the sub-prime crisis. How to cite Does Hong Kong Recovered from the Subprime Crisis, Essay examples

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Art A Brief History Essay Example For Students

Art A Brief History Essay French Realism was predominately a result of great political and social disruption. We can date back to 1848 as the principal time of Realism. The revolution in France led many artists to explore the idea of presenting experiences of the life that was around them. This included many paintings of poor and average people, who were not the average subject of previous artists. Realism and Naturalism was an idea of expressing the actual world around them. This was quickly embraced by other countries including the United States and Russia. Realism was opposed to the earlier notions of Romanticism and Neoclassicism and was supported by the view and belief of scientific methods. By the mid 1860s, Edouard Manet became the unofficial leader of a group of artists which would take the French Realists tradition to a new level. These artists known as Impressionists began to paint outdoor images such as country sides, and such in an effort to record the effects of light and environment. This is the period in which nature and the reality of its colors became dominant. In my opinion, the notion of reality changes from an actual view of what is seen (Realism) towards an image which contains the artists feelings and emotions (Impressionism). Impressionism seems to pull you into the scene, to make you feel as if you are looking in instead of at the image. Post-Impressionism was on extension of Impressionism but differed in such as to utilize more geometric shapes, distort form for expressive effect and use unnatural colors. Most of the Post-Impressionism artists were actually from the Impressionist period. These artists abandoned their art form in order to create a more personal art. I feel that these artists were trying to find new ways to express themselves without being restricted of the previous styles ahead of them. I think that during this time of artistic evolution, many great strides were made in order to show ones inner self through artistic expression. The artist which most impresses me is E`douard Manet. He has spectacular paintings but aside from that, there were many controversial issues about him. His paintings seem to not just tell a story or give a little information but rather lure one in to explore what was seen to what was being felt. There seem to be a deeper more self exploring factor within his work. I believe he was the one who led the Impressionism ways and start creating art differently.

Friday, November 29, 2019

The difference between products on a number Essay Example

The difference between products on a number Essay Im going to investigate the difference between products on a number grid first Im going to draw a box round four numbers then I will find the product of top left, bottom right numbers, and then Im going to do the same with the top right, bottom right numbers in the box. Ill will then calculate the difference between these products. Not only I am going to investigate squares, but also rectangles, Ill use algebra to try and find a formula or a general rule that will give me this difference for any size shape. Im going to draw a box round four numbers then I will find the product of top left, bottom right numbers, and then Im going to do the same with the top right, bottom right numbers. 12 13 We will write a custom essay sample on The difference between products on a number specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The difference between products on a number specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The difference between products on a number specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer 22 23 The difference between 286 and 276 is 10 because 286 276 = 10 13 x 22 = 286 12 x 23 = 276 49 50 59 60 The difference between 2950 and 2940 is 10 because 2950 2940 = 10 50 x 59 = 2950 49 x 60 = 2940 5 6 15 16 The difference between 90 and 80 is 10 because 90 80 = 10 6 x 15 = 90 5 x 16 = 80 I predicted that the difference for all 22 spares will be 10, Ill do another 2 by 2 grid to confirm that my prediction is correct. 82 83 92 93 The difference between 7636 and 7626 is 10 because 7636 7626 = 10 83 x 92 = 7636 82 x 93 = 7626 This shows that my prediction is correct, that all 2 by 2 will equal to 10. 3 by 3 Im going to draw a box round nine numbers then I will find the product of top left, bottom right numbers, and then Im going to do the same with the top right, bottom right numbers. 1 2 3 11 12 13 21 22 23 The difference between 63 and 23 is 40 because 63 23 = 40. 3 x 21 = 63 1 x 23 = 23 6 7 8 16 17 18 26 27 28 The difference between 208 and 168 is 40 because 208 168 = 40. 8 x 26 = 208 6 x 28 = 168 25 26 27 35 36 37 45 46 47 The difference between 1215 and 1175 is 40 because 1215 1175 = 40 27 x 45 = 1215 25 x 47 = 1175 I predicted that the difference for all 3 by 3 spares will be 40, Ill do another 3 by 3 grid to confirm that my prediction is correct. 16 17 18 26 27 28 36 37 38 The difference between 648 and 608 is 40 because 648 608 = 40 18 x 36 = 648 16 x 38 = 608 This shows that my prediction is correct, that all 3 by 3 will equal to 30. 4 by 4 Im going to draw a box round sixteen numbers then i will find the product of top left, bottom right numbers, and then Im going to do the same with the top right, bottom right numbers. 14 15 16 17 24 25 26 27 34 35 36 37 44 45 46 47 The difference between 748 and 658 is 90 because 748 659 = 90. 17 x 44 = 748 14 x 47 = 658 24 25 26 27 34 35 36 37 44 45 46 47 54 55 56 57 The difference between 1458 and 1368 is 90 because 1458 1368 = 90. 27 x 54 = 1458 24 x 57 = 1368 55 56 57 58 65 66 67 68 75 76 77 78 85 86 87 88 The difference between 4930 and 4840 is 90 because 4930 4840 = 90. 58 x 85 = 4930 55 x 88 = 4840 I predicted that the difference for all 4 by 4 spares will be 90, Ill do another 4 by 4 grid to confirm that my prediction is correct. 51 52 53 54 61 62 63 64 71 72 73 74 81 82 83 84 The difference between 4930 and 4940 is 90 because 4930 4940 = 90. 54 x 81 = 4374 51 x 84 = 4284 This shows that my prediction is correct, that all 4 by 4 will equal to 90. 5 by 5 Im going to draw a box round twenty five numbers then I will find the product of top left, bottom right numbers, and then Im going to do the same with the top right, bottom right numbers. 1 2 3 4 5 11 12 13 14 15 21 22 23 24 25 31 32 33 34 35 41 42 43 44 45 The difference between 205 and 45 is 160 because 205 45 = 160. 5 x 41 = 205 1 x 45 = 45 55 56 57 58 59 65 66 67 68 69 75 76 77 78 79 85 86 87 88 89 95 96 97 98 99 The difference between 5605 and 5445 is 160 because 5605 5445 = 160. 59 x 95 = 5605 55 x 99 = 5445 42 43 44 45 46 52 53 54 55 56 62 63 64 65 66 72 73 74 75 76 82 83 84 85 86 The difference between 3772 and 3612 is 160 because 3772 3612 = 160. 46 x 82 = 3772 42 x 86 = 3612 I predicted that the difference for all 5 by 5 spares will be 160, Ill do another 5 by 5 grid to confirm that my prediction is correct. 35 36 37 38 39 45 46 47 48 49 55 56 57 58 59 65 66 67 68 59 75 76 77 78 79 The difference between 2925 and 2765 is 160 because 2925 2765 = 160. 39 x 75 = 2925 35 x 79 = 2765 This shows that my prediction is correct, that all 5 by 5 will equal to 160. 6 by 6 Im going to draw a box round twenty five numbers then I will find the product of top left, bottom right numbers, and then Im going to do the same with the top right, bottom right numbers. 21 22 23 24 25 26 31 32 33 34 35 36 41 42 43 44 45 46 51 52 53 54 55 56 61 62 63 64 65 66 71 72 73 74 75 76 The difference between 1846 and 1596 is 250 because 1846 1596 = 250. 26 x 71 = 1846 21 x 76 = 1596 1 2 3 4 5 6 11 12 13 14 15 16 21 22 23 24 25 26 31 32 33 34 35 36 41 42 43 44 45 46 51 52 53 54 55 56 The difference between 306 and 56 is 250 because 306 56 = 250. 6 x 51 = 306 1 x 56 = 56 33 34 35 36 37 38 43 44 45 46 47 48 53 54 55 56 57 58 63 64 65 66 67 68 73 74 75 76 77 78 83 84 85 86 87 88 The difference between 3154 and 2904 is 250 because 3154 2904 = 250. 38 x 83 = 3154 33 x 88 = 2904 I predicted that the difference for all 6 by 6 spares will be 250, Ill do another 6 by 6 grid to confirm that my prediction is correct. 14 15 16 17 18 19 24 25 26 27 28 29 34 35 36 37 38 39 44 45 46 47 48 49 54 55 56 57 58 59 64 65 66 67 68 69 The difference between 1216 and 966 is 250 because 1216 966 = 250. 19 x 64 = 1216 14 x 69 = 966

Monday, November 25, 2019

Rape of Nanking essays

Rape of Nanking essays Although many people thought that the World War II started in Europe, it actually had roots in Asia with the rape of Nanking. Between December of 1937 and March 1938, at least 369,366 Chinese civilians and prisoners of war (POWs) were slaughtered by the invading Japanese troops. An estimated 80,000 women and girls were raped; many of them were then mutilated or murdered. Thousands of victims were beheaded, burned, bayoneted, buried alive, or disemboweled. To this day the Japanese government has refused to apologize for these and other World War II atrocities, and a significant sector of Japanese society denies that they took place at all. It all started in the early 1930s when Japan began its industrial revolution. They were made up of 142,270 square miles, much of it barren, and they had to feed over 6 million mouths. What they couldnt understand and believed was unfair was the fact that other countries such as Australia and Canada have more than 3 million square miles to feed 6.5 million people each. They fought the injustice of it all since these countries werent even making the most of the land that they had like the Japanese were. The Japanese felt China their manifest destiny as America did the west many years ago. They felt they needed to free Asia and allow them to prosper, since they were considered the 3rd largest power in the world at the time. With all the new technology that Japan has now, the Japanese government found itself anxious to use it to build a better society. But there was great influence by the people to use the nations military superiority over its neighbors. They wanted to start a foreig n conquest. And so it was. Every economical and political obstacle to Japans divine mission was destroyed and the plan to free Asia was underway. In 1932, a group of naval officers launched a terrorist attack in Tokyo that killed Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi and attempte...

Friday, November 22, 2019

HISTORY - choose 1 of the questions to answer Essay - 2

HISTORY - choose 1 of the questions to answer - Essay Example It will also talk about whether the United States planned to expand its territories to Mexico during the expansionist sprit of the aged. The Mexican war, according to Hietala (p1), was an imperialistic venture by the United States. Both Mexico and the United States overestimated their affairs in 1846. Contemptuous of Mexicos administration and defense force, Polk and his consultants tried to overawe Mexican officials into surrendering California along with other provinces to the U.S. to pay outstanding debts owed to United States citizens. Mexico, for its part, went wrong in assessing its northern neighbors capability of raising and equipping a successful military (Ganguly 1). During that time, the United States and other European superpowers were seeking to build a name for themselves and their respective nations. Mexican leaders, in addition, miscalculated their country’s capability of rallying the army, the church, and the people to resist the invaders. Mexican leaders, still stung by the loss of Texas, vowed to resist further dismemberment by the United States (Hietala 1). However, in their endeavor to ave nge a previous trounce, they lost New Mexico and California. Some scholars argue that Polk intentionally goaded Mexico into war. Even though, he acted provocatively, he, in fact, hoped to realize his objectives without war (Hietala 1). The United States, on the other hand, wanted to gain control of its terrain, so they sought to capture the California and New Mexico. The bloodshed, during that time, signified failure, not success, in Polk’s strategy. Polk used the army to gain land, a move that provoked the United States. The United States had an imperialistic need, which made them buy Louisiana from Napoleon (Hietala 1). That was only the beginning. After that, they bought Virginia and then Florida. The Adams-Onis treaty is what triggered America’s greed in wanting to expand their territories. In the Oregon

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Human resources Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Human resources Management - Assignment Example RasGas also supplies LNG at home and in addition to producing LNG for export markets in the amount of 37 million tonnnes each year, RasGas also supplies about 2.0 billion cubic feet of LNG at home. RasGas also ‘manages and operates’ the ‘Hellim 1 and Hellim 2 facilities’ which together produces 1.96 billion cubic feet of liquid hellim annually. RasGas is committed to increase production with a view to meeting energy demands both at home and abroad (RasGas, 2001-2013). †¦develop, produce and sell hydrocarbaons from the world’s largest non-associated gas field in a safe and environmentally responsible manner for the welfare of the State of Qatar and the satisfaction of our customers while maximizing shareholder value (RasGas, 2001-2013A). ..The safe and reliable production and delivery of products to a worldwide portfolio of customers and the superior execution of projects and technical services for our shareholders and stakeholders (RasGas, 2001-2013A). Thus, the overall strategy of RasGas as an organization is to provide high quantity, and high quality LNG in a manner that is environmentally friendly. RasGas also emphasizes efficiency and excellence in customer service, profit maximization for shareholders and satisfaction for a wider class of stakeholders. Sustainability is at the heart of RasGas’ strategy. According to RasGas, sustainability is the key to ‘business success’ (RasGas, 2001-2013B). Sustainability is therefore built on four pillars: performance improvement through competitiveness and innovation, improving relationships with stakeholders and shareholders, maintaining integrity through high operational and business standards and sustainable practices (see Figure 1) (RasGas, 2001-2013B). RasGas’ external labour market consists of operating a ‘fleet of 27 LNG carriers under long term charter agreements with ship owners’ (RasGas, 2001-2013). This fleet of carriers include ‘conventional, Q-Flex and Q-Max

Monday, November 18, 2019

Article summary Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Article summary - Research Paper Example In addition, the findings revealed that the brain contains a neuron response that arouses a person to offer empathy to another after witnessing them in pain. Although care providers offer empathy to their patients as one way of treatment, nurses regulate their empathy to patients to avoid the traumatic effects of seeing patients in pain (Campbell-Yeo et al., 2008). The article plays an important role in educating caregivers on the effects of empathy to ailing patients as they treat them. From the study, empathy is an essential component in the management of pain. The article also sensitizes nurses to the extent of emerging evidence that empathetic aspects are uncontrollable and, thus, can render them vulnerable. In addition, the article contributes to the theoretical basis of nursing through reviewing the literature that exists on this subject, inspiring others to do more studies on it. The article contributes to nursing scientific growth through advising on the ethical behavior at work when dealing with patients in pain. Non-empathetic caregivers can now learn the behavior and better their services to

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Philosophy of Paranormal Activity and Morality

Philosophy of Paranormal Activity and Morality Haldane says that the universe is not as strange as we imagine, but it is far stranger than we can think it is. Over the years, several people have claimed to have experienced paranormal happenings with most experiences being unproven, believed entirely on word of mouth. There has always been a high debate on the topic of paranormality which may never see an ending. For instance, one of the fundamental reasons that certain phenomena are described as paranormal is that they are unexplainable and, as of yet, unproven. The term paranormal describes any event that is unexplainable and unexpected based on our current scientific knowledge  [ii]  . This means it designates experiences that lie outside the range of normal experience or outside of sciences current ability to explain or measure. Some of the types of phenomena or occurrences that are typically described as paranormal include Crypto zoology, Clairvoyance, Extra Sensory Perception (ESP), Ghosts, Apparitions or Poltergeist, Pa rapsychology, Precognition and so on. This essay will highlight various aspects of paranormality and how people get influenced by it and how it should be prevented as it is morally wrong. Everyone in this world is psychic to some degree. This is sort of inherent in all of us.  [iii]  Every person has their own personal degree of sixth sense. For example, some people have a relatively poor sixth sense sensation whereas; some people have a considerably high level of sixth sense. In fact, they are able to predict future happenings or they just sense the oncoming of a mishap. A psychic is sensitive to the electrical, magnetic and other energies emanating from the individual and known as the aura  [iv]  . What is aura? The aura is an energy field- it is our life force. Aura takes two forms -cosmic vibratory energy which is present everywhere in the universe and specific aura which sustains every human body. In this, you will learn how to use both these sources of energy.  [v]  . Psychic readings can be pretty accurate as they contain vital information of a persons life. Furthermore, a psychic also uses his natural ability to be aware of non-verbal communication that is body language, facial expression, dress sense etc. ESP or extrasensory perception is perception occurring independently of sight, hearing, or other sensory processes  [vi]  . In fact, people who have ESP (extrasensory perception) are said to be psychic. In addition, some think that a lot of people have ESP; others think it is a talent that only some have. ESP in some way; refers to telepathy. Usually, Psychic people are said to be quite convincing; such as in day to day life we have definitely seen people who are able to predict small happenings around the house or maybe the forthcoming of a particular person. Moreover, sometimes people who do posses such abilities begin to practice it on a regular basis, and also experiment it on others. They also try to earn money out of this practice because people who do not know much about physic activity get easily dragged into it. Such practices should strictly be restricted as it can cause social instability. Conning people thro ugh this method to earn money is just wrong thus, this practice should be completely banned. It is against normal human behaviour. Another aspect to paranormality is ghosts. There is also a high debate on this matter. hearing is the easiest of the five senses to deceive. Milbourne Christopher  [vii]   Ghosts (Poltergeist) in its modern definition are now associated with physical paranormal activity inside homes such as mysterious disturbances, moving of objects etc. The most common type of examples being moving or throwing of small or large furniture, loud noises or shrieks, rain of objects from around the house, odours of which the source cannot be detected etc. They have been known to have caused interference in telephones and electronic equipment, and appliances and lights on and off. They may even become full bodied or half bodied apparition. Hence, it is better to stay away from such entities that are disturbing humans. Clearly, they can be extremely dangerous. Ghosts can also cause harm to humans as they are not at peace. For instance, if we trouble them they are also going to do the same in return. Some people also call ghosts deliberately either for the fun of it or to study them better. Therefore, human beings have no right to disturb those at rest whether they exist or n ot. Ghostly experiences usually have an adverse effect on people. In fact, some even go crazy to the extent that they kill people around them, thinking that they are out to get them. There have been many cases of people who commit suicide or get into drugs. Some people deliberately call ghosts using the Ouija board also called planchette. An Ouija board can be a simple piece of paper or a delicate wooden plank with alphabets and numbers written on it. This is used to call ghosts or spirits by a group of people where they all sit around it and try to get in contact with spirits. There is a very low success rate to this. Aside from that, this can also be extremely dangerous and can lead to harmful effects. Sometimes after a successful session when one tries to send the spirit back, it just does not leave and behaves stubborn. Thus, this can be extremely dangerous for people performing this practice. Spirits sometimes do not leave the place at all, just stay there and maybe also harm people . Such practices can disturb everything around you sometimes. Therefore, it is better to stay away from such practices and not perform them as this is taking away the peace of the spirits who are at rest. The debate on the existence of such practices still has not come to a conclusion so far. However, there is a belief that this practice does actually exist. This does prove to some extent that ghosts do exist because some findings actually prove their presence using devices like EVPs. The existence of these happenings and bodies are even being studied using scientific technology. Science has progressed so well today and far today that it can accept multi dimensional reality  [viii]  . The entire scientific community has been shocked by Quantum physics due to its contrary to normally held scientific theories  [ix]  . There are tests to measure and qualify the ability for ESP (Extra Sensory Perception) that is psychic. Such as, voices of spirits recorded on site of activity are being provided as evidence. This is called Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVPs). This is used to record voices that are made in the presence of ghosts. EVPs are then used as evidence to prove the presence of ghosts. Shocking and startling facts have been revealed by people who have experienced supernatural bodily experiences. Usually people say that the first sensation of a presence is that the temperature around them drops considerably and it gets really cold. Various different kinds of sensitive machinery have been created by scientists to study this phenomenon. In fact, proofs ha ve even been found in the form of photographs. For example, it is common to see pictures taken in a church or a shabby stairway where you can see a faint figure in the background or just dust in a picture. These faint figures are normally like a hand or maybe someones face or a whole entire body. Such an instance usually has an adverse affect on the person experiencing it and also in rare cases it affects the person seeing it. As stated earlier, we see that psychic people who posses Extrasensory Perception and ghosts do exist. It is evident that ghosts actually exist as if they did not, there would not be much controversy and high debate about them. EVPs and video recordings that are genuine do prove the existence of ghosts. In some cases, these stories definitely cannot justify their existence. The proof is not enough. But, according to me the process of calling of ghosts should not be practised. This is morally wrong and also unethical at the same time. Spirits should be left at peace as we have no right to disturb them. To conclude, I feel that this practice should be banned and be conducted at all. There should be some legal action taken against the practice of the Ouija board. This might reduce instances of paranormal activity in the future. Word count: 1397

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

The Lost Generation :: essays papers

The Lost Generation During World War I, many of the men who fought were only about nineteen years young. These men experienced horrors beyond belief in a matter of years, which is ten times worse than a normal man experiences his whole life. This generation of men, from 1914-1918, who fought in a great war and lived in constant fear of their last breathe, while we enjoy parties, the freedom of being a teenager, and able just to kick back and enjoy life at its prime. This is the lost generation. As tensions grew in Europe during the early twentieth century young teenagers throughout were going to grade school and enjoying life to its fullest. Little do these children know that in a matter of years they will be fighting in one of the most gruesome wars in history. While they were in school the leaders of Europe were contemplating the thought of war and forming alliances. Many people thought that if they went to war, it would be over and done with before they knew it. The people who said this were the lucky ones; they didn't have to fight in it. The kids who did fight in it didn't know what to expect. They were taken from their sheltered homes and thrown into unimaginable chaos. World War I should never have been fought. It was because of a royal family feud that caused millions of deaths. How would one feel if one saw their best friend blown up right before their very own eyes? These kids saw their comrades choke to death because of the fatal mustard gas. They saw friends get shot in the stomach and die slowly of excruciating pain. The dead bodies were innumerable and they had to face their enemy eye to eye and then kill them. These men starved and had to fight off giant rats. Most of these men died of a cause they did not know. If you look at The Gulf War back in 1991, any intelligent person would say how easily we won. We decimated Iraq in a few weeks for two reasons; because of top grade equipment and because of excellently trained men. The men who fought in The Gulf War were between 26 and 27 years old. They were properly trained and had the audacity that younger soldiers lack. The older men also do not loose their youth. They had something that no one can take away, memories of their childhood and teenage years.

Monday, November 11, 2019

How does Shakespeare’s language portray Claudius as an intellectual Villain? Essay

Charming, Charismatic and Sympathetic. The new King of Denmark seems to possess all the equalities the citizens of Denmark were craving for in their new leader. After years of being subjected to the government of an old-fashioned King they were ready for a change, which they get in the form of Claudius. However, it is possible that beneath the veneer and gloss of the splendid King something is rotten in the state of Denmark. As the plot of â€Å"Hamlet† unfolds, we get to see behind the fai ade of the cheerful King and Queen of Denmark and discover the deceit and dishonesty that lurks in Claudius. Claudius is first presented to us in Act I Scene II. This is the first time that Claudius addresses his court, and so to his audience these first impressions are vital. He presents them with a well-rehearsed speech, using all his skill as a diplomat and politician to win over his new subjects. He dedicates the first part of his speech to remembering old King Hamlet-to his audience this would seem respectful, but I think he does this simply to cover up for his deed-by saying â€Å"how green the memory of him is† he will not be suspected to have had any part in old Hamlet’s death. This is also clever on Claudius’ part as he is aware of the unease of his position. Claudius goes on to use the term â€Å"that it us befitted†, this is clever on the Kings part as he cleverly merges the royal use with the ordinary plural. This is extremely subtle but it shows him identifying himself with his audience and the ordinary people of Denmark. Claudius also makes sure that his audience knows that it was his advisors who suggested he marry Gertrude-â€Å"Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone with this affair along for all, our thanks†. To his audience this may have been seen as a gracious act, but for Claudius it ensures a group of people whom to blame if their marriage fails, it also gives a group of advisors who the Denmark population can blame if the marriage fails. People who don’t agree with the marriage have someone other than Claudius to blame. These are just some of the examples showing Claudius’ qualities as a politician, choosing his words extremely carefully, and wining them over. We know he needs to redeem himself in this way as the Church of England and Catholic faith forbade such incestuous marriages. When Claudius uses the term ‘jointress’ he implies that Gertrude has some part in the kingdom. This means that him marrying Gertrude has safeguarded his claim to the throne. This will ensure no one else will contest his claim to the throne and he craftily lets his audience know this. Claudius gains more support by throwing meaningless but bold statements into his speech- the destruction of the agreement with Fortimbras is mainly symbolic, but to the audience it is a brave act telling them he will fight for Denmark. He knows how unpopular the war with Denmark and by quickly letting them know he is against it, he will win the people over. Claudius knows that to be successful he needs to win over Polonius, not only as an advisor but as someone he can use and trust. He does this by announcing that Polonius’ son Laertes may have his leave. Claudius uses very intimate language while talking to Laertes, firstly by addressing him as ‘thou’-a very intimate form of address, and secondly by repeating Laertes name while in conversation with him. This would show Claudius’ graciousness to the son of Polonius whom Claudius must win over. Apart from wining over Polonius, in front of the court it shows them his kindness. To add his show of warmth, Claudius publicly welcomes Hamlet as his son â€Å"But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son†. Claudius knows that wining over Hamlet is imperative, as he therefore ignores Hamlet’s rebellious comments about him and his wife-Hamlet’s mother Gertrude. Claudius also makes sure his love for Gertrude is present, he frequently uses the plural instead of the singular when he expresses his views to Hamlet-â€Å"And we beseech you to remain†. We know that Claudius’ behaviour in front of the court are just for show because of his replies to Hamlet-often intimidating as if he has no interest in what Hamlet has to say, such as Hamlet’s remark â€Å"A little more than kin and less than kind†. Claudius pretends not to hear this and then asks Hamlet why the clouds still hang on him? Claudius must know of Hamlet’s grief but pretends to know nothing of it. Another way we can tell Claudius simply puts on a show is that when talking in front of the court he calls Hamlet’s grief â€Å"Sweet and commendable† as if he understands it. In private though, he is worried about it that he calls Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. So, in this first speech he has been presented as an excellent politician, a well-spoken and kind man, but all of this seems to be a show. He has many hidden motives in his speech proving him to be very calculated. We must remember that there was much public opinion against Old Hamlet when Claudius came to power, people of Denmark were tired of the war and so Claudius didn’t need to prove himself as a man to become King. We get the feeling that anyone apart from Old Hamlet would be good. We already know from the remarks of Barnardo in Act I Scene I that Claudius has assembled a back-up fleet, ready if the negotiations with Fortinbras fail. All the evidence so far has shown Claudius to be an excellent King but a sly and crafty Man. The next time we see Claudius he is plotting against Hamlet, a demonstration that he has no intentions to talk hamlets behaviour through with him. This time Claudius uses two of Hamlet’s close friends from university-Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. He explains to them how Hamlet is â€Å"So much from th’understanding of himself†. Again, Claudius puts on a show as a â€Å"worried father figure† to bring them round despite the fact we know all of this is being done completely behind Hamlet’s back. Claudius is aware of his power over these men, and uses it to his full advantage, how can they disobey the King and Queen? Claudius’ real motive is simply to have two spies to make sure Hamlet causes no trouble for Claudius while he is away. Claudius doesn’t mention or consider the consequences for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern if they do what they are asked. Claudius’ continual use of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, despite the suspicions among them that Hamlet knows they are spies, eventually leads to their death in Act 4 Scene 7 although their death is brought about by Hamlet, it was the fact that they were spying on him that caused him to die. Claudius’ treatment of Polonius must next be examined. When Claudius finds out about Hamlets love of Ophelia, he knows he can use this to his full advantage. Indirectly, his use of Polonius leads to Polonius forcing his daughter into becoming a spy for the king, which Ophelia is reluctant to do. Polonius feels it is his duty and wants to impress the king. When Claudius is told about Polonius’ plan to use Hamlets love for Ophelia to trap him, Claudius embarrasses it, â€Å"We will try it†, unlike any other descent man who would dismiss it as deceitful. We now see that the only friends Claudius wishes to make are those who will be useful to him either as spies or informants. Although Claudius acts as if their plot to use Ophelia is a last resort, it isn’t, it is simply easier than having to talk to Hamlet himself and have a conversation as if Hamlet were his own son. In fact Claudius has made no real attempt to find out what the problem with Hamlet is. He has avoided conversing with Hamlet since when he spoke to the court. These are hardly the traits of a caring father figure. When we see Claudius in the Play scene, some argue that his redeeming quality is his conscience and regret at what he did, but Claudius’ reaction is no different to anyone else’s in that situation. He had just seen the murder that he committed portrayed to him in the form of a Play, when he was certain nobody knew about it. The reaction is probably of panic that someone knew of his foul act rather than anything else. This reaction certainly isn’t one of guilt. When Claudius says, â€Å"Give me some light, away† we know that him seeing his act again has almost made him physically ill. Claudius’ panic and guilt are short lived, immediately after the play he plots to be rid of Hamlet by sending him to England. He now knows that Hamlet knows of his offence, and his tone of voice also now changes. â€Å"I like him not, nor stands it safe with us to let his madness range†¦ and he to England shall along with you†. People argue that if any scene redeems Claudius, it is the prayer scene. Claudius does use Biblical quotations but they do not show a close study of the Bible and would have been common knowledge among anyone in a Catholic country such as Denmark. In fact the main reason for his prayer is probably fear. Anyone who committed an act like this would be sent to hell, Claudius knew this and it was therefore a last attempt at redemption. The thing that I find most staggering in his prayer is that he still wishes he could â€Å"Be pardoned and retain the offence? † This shows that if there were a choice between staying King or being pardoned, he would rather stay in power. This clearly illustrates that Claudius has no interest in being pardoned or paying for his offences. He almost believes that his choice of killing his brother was the right one. His guilty conscience is also clear, â€Å"My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent†, demonstrating that he didn’t think that his guilt would be a problem when he murdered his brother. It is only now once the play scene has brought his guilt back to him that his conscience becomes a problem and affects him. When Polonius is killed by Hamlet in act 3 Scene 4, largely due to Claudius, you would think that Claudius would stop plotting bloody deeds, however Polonius’ death has little effect on him, but Claudius walks straight from praying into plotting another murder. This time he plots the murder of Hamlet, and drags Laertes into his scheme taking full advantage of the fact Laertes is angry and seeking revenge. In plotting with Laertes, Claudius knows that his troubles with Hamlet will be over. If Claudius was able to convince Laertes to exact revenge on Hamlet for Polonius’ death, Hamlet will cause him no more grief. There is irony here, as Claudius is advising Laertes to do what Hamlet is attempting to do to Claudius. Claudius uses all his strengths to bring Laertes round to murdering Hamlet- â€Å"Was your father dear to you? † and â€Å"Revenge should have no bounds†. We must remember that all this plotting is done without Gertrude’s knowledge, he doesn’t have any trust in her, and this makes us doubt his love for her. Claudius has plenty of time to think over the plot to kill Hamlet, but even when Ophelia dies he still goes ahead and in fact he wants the deed done sooner-â€Å"We’ll put the matter to present push†. Many critics described Claudius’ intentions when he committed the murder to be for his love for Gertrude. I think it was simply the gaining of the throne and greed that drove him to it. I believe the final scene rules out the argument that Claudius committed murder because of his love for Gertrude. In the final act Claudius has set up a poisoned drink for Hamlet after the dual. It is yet another deceitful plan that has catastrophic effects. When the plan goes wrong and Gertrude goes to drink the poison, if his love were true he would have stopped her immediately. But he knows of the effects for himself if he does this and so, selfishly, he makes no attempt to stop her. He doesn’t even leave his seat; he just mutters, â€Å"It is the polish’d up. It is too late†. Claudius’ only redeeming qualities lie in the fact that he is a human being. Even when he prayed he wasn’t desperate enough for mercy to give up the throne, he plotted murders to his dying day, and he lied continuously to his wife Gertrude. I believe he would have lived on quite happily if he hadn’t been murdered at the end, indeed he was more worried about the consequences for himself if he had been found guilty of treason. Everyone Claudius befriended throughout the play died, each person somehow connected with Claudius. I think the only one person Claudius cared for was himself. He never once apologised or pleaded with Hamlet-even when he was dying. Claudius’ only redeeming feature is that he is human.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Constructing a Bridge to Link the Riverina Highway to the Hodge Island Reserve

Constructing a Bridge to Link the Riverina Highway to the Hodge Island Reserve Introduction The Murray River is one of the most important waterways in the entire Australian continent. The river is the lifeline of hundreds of thousands of people who live along its banks. This proposal presents the requirements for constructing a bridge to link the Riverina Highway to the Hodge Island Reserve. The Bridge will open up the Island for tourist activity, and in the process, it will improve the economy of New South Wales (NSW).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Constructing a Bridge to Link the Riverina Highway to the Hodge Island Reserve specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The aim of the bridge construction project is to provide tourists with a means of accessing the Hodge Island Reserve for camping and for leisure activities. The project objective is to build a 100-meter bridge to serve as the access route to the Hodge Island reserve. The rationale for the construction of this bridge is as follows. First , the Hodge Island reserve is currently uninhabited and it serves as a breeding ground for various animals. The island has the potential of employing more than 5000 people directly and indirectly if the NSW government opens it up for tourism. The Island is an ideal camping ground and can serve a mooring bay for boats. The government will not construct permanent structures on the reserve. It will identify ideal camping spots and make sites for pitching tents. This will ensure that there is minimum disturbance of the environment of the island. Figure 1: Map Showing the Proposed Location of the Hodge Island Bridge Bridge Design The Hodge Island Bridge should meet the following design constraints. First, the construction process and the final structure should not lead to major disturbance of the natural environment of the Hodge Island Reserve. The reserve serves as a breeding ground for several species of animals. Extensive damage to their habitat because of bridge construction may lea d to permanent loss of breeding grounds for these animals.Advertising Looking for report on project management? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Secondly, the bridge should avoid the riverbanks to ensure that the water way is not disturbed. Thirdly, the final design of the bridge and its access road should not disturb traffic on the Riverina Highway. The bridge should be large enough to accommodate camping trucks, and should be able to support light traffic. The bridge should also have a pedestrian walk way. Since the bridge will lead to a reserve, it will require a barrier to ensure that only authorised traffic enter the Island. The best bridge design for this project is a cable stayed suspension bridge. This will require only two supports in the waterway, and minimal works on the riverbanks. The proposed design for the is shown in Figure 2 below Figure 2: Sketch of a Cable Stayed Suspension Bridge The dimensions of the Proposed Bridge are as follows. The central span will be 100 meters, the deck spans will be 20 meters each. The width of the decks will be 5 meters to accommodate two-way traffic and a pedestrian walk way. The abutment will be 10 meters. SWOT Analysis Table 1 below presents the SWOT analysis for the bridge construction project Strengths Weaknesses The chosen bridge design is popular in Australia. This will make it easy to conduct accurate feasibility studies and impact assessments. The construction company has experience in making such bridges in many part of Australia There will be little or no disturbance to the traffic on the Riverina highway because of the proposed location of the bridge The inclusion of a barrier will promote controlled access. This will eliminate overuse and will increase the confidence of the environmental regulators in the sustainability of the reserve There will be some disturbance to the environment during construction from debris and noise . This may lead to pollution of the river water, and the death of some organisms The project will also lead to the loss of some trees and plants to make way for the embankments and the anchorage blocks. Micro ecosystems in the immediate area of the bridge will be lost. Opportunities Threats The bridge will help create 5000 jobs in the post construction phase, and another 300 jobs in the preconstruction and construction phases. This will help reduce unemployment in NSW The bridge will position NSW as a tourist destination because it will make the Hodge Island Reserve accessible to tourists The Bridge will also increase the sense of ownership of the reserve among the locals because it will enable them to enjoy its benefits There may be resistance from environmental activists who would not like to see the Island opened up for human activity. This may influence the state government The riverbanks may prove unstable because of the silt deposited during the formation of the is land. This may complicate the construction of the embankments, and may increase the cost of the project Unstable prices of construction material and the high cost of labour will also complicate the project Table 1: SWOT AnalysisAdvertising We will write a custom report sample on Constructing a Bridge to Link the Riverina Highway to the Hodge Island Reserve specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Technical Challenges This project has three main technical issues. These are the design of the bridge, the construction process, and the maintenance requirements in the post construction phase. The design of the bridge is a technical challenge because of the possibility that the riverbanks may not support the weight of the bridge. This means that extensive civil works may be necessary to ensure that the final structure is stable. The choice of a cable-stayed bridge came from the need to for minimal disturbance of the waterway. The construction process will also be technically challenging. Any construction process inevitably leads to the accumulation of debris. It is crucial for the contractors to come up with construction processes that will lead to the least accumulation of debris in the construction site. One of the options of achieving this goal is to commission a secondary site for the construction of all steel parts for later assembly. The third technical challenge associate with the project is the maintenance requirements of a cable-stayed bridge. Cable stayed bridges require regular inspection to ensure that all parts are functioning well. The bridge will have exposure to local humid conditions, as well as fluctuations in the weather patterns. The NSW government will need to appoint a maintenance contractor after the commissioning of the bridge. Economic Analysis The main costs associated with this project are as follows The Net Present Value The following calculation gives Net present Value (NPV) of the project.A dvertising Looking for report on project management? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More F = P(1+i)n Where F = Future Value P = Principal i = Interest rate (10% pa) n = number of years (5 years) The NPV for this project is $ 7649922.5 Payback Period The projected income from this project is estimated at $2,000,000 per year. The Simple Payback Period (SPP) in this case is given by F/I Where F = Future Value I = Income Therefore, SPP = F/I = 7,649,922.5/2,000,000 = 3.8 years Environmental Impacts This project will have a varied number of environmental impacts. Table 1 below provides an analysis of these impacts and the mitigation measures applicable for each case. Category Impact Mitigation Measures Direct Indirect Cumulative Cultural Impacts The arrival of tourists at the Hodge Island reserve will lead to cultural interaction between the local population and the tourists Tourists will become potential immigrants to the region if they like the environment A population surge will occur as more people join the nearby communities, leading to alterations in the local culture. A greater population will lead to more pressure on resources Stricter immigration policies to guard against a population surge Economic Impacts NSW will make money from tourist activities at the Hodge Island Reserve, and from other supporting industries such as transport, and entertainment. There will be more jobs for locals directly at the reserve and indirectly in industries supporting activities at the reserve. Jobs will be created during the construction phase of the project The increased earnings from the reserve will increase the capacity of the NSW government to take care of the reserves in its jurisdiction The GDP of NSW will increase based on earning from activities at the Hodge Island Reserve Ensure that all businesses operating in the reserve are licensed and are tax compliant Water Quality Debris from the constructions site will pollute river water. Siltation will result from the drying of concrete lumps on the river bed D ebris (concrete remains, silt from excavation works, )will affect water flow characteristics and Debris will also have an adverse short term impact on current downstream uses of the river water for the period of construction Alteration of the water quality Divert the river course during construction work on the river bed Use construction nets to catch falling debris Flora and Fauna Permanent loss of Flora and Fauna displaced by bridge Loss of breeding and nesting grounds due to changes in water flow characteristics along the river Debris may lead to death of certain species that are not tolerant to constructions waste. Loss of breeding and nesting grounds due to changes in water flow characteristics may lead to an upset of the ecological balance of the river basin, leading to further unpredictable ecological changes Permanent changes in the ecology of the river basin with greater effects being felt downstream Assess flora and fauna that will be affected and develop a response strategy based in extent of effect Table 2: Environmental Impact Assessment Risk Analysis A construction project always has a number of inherent risks. The risk management Matrix below in Table 3 presents the profiles of the risks, their assessment and management options. Risk Profile Risk Assessment and Management Category Specific Risks Sources of Risk Impact Probability Priority Actions Technical Risks Design failures Design failure can result from wrong assumptions about the conditions of the construction site. Design failures can also result from poor design skills. 5 1 5 Carry out a site assessment before the commencement of the construction Use of low quality materials This risk can occur if the suppliers of the raw materials do not provide the right kind of materials for the project 5 2 10 Procure materials from reputed firms. Test each batch delivered before committing them to the project Financial Risks Cash flow constrains Cash flow constraints can result from failure by the NSW government to remit payments in tandem with the construction schedule. This can in turn affect the overall project duration leading to an increase in overheads 1 4 4 Negotiate for large payouts Budget overshoot The project can go above budget if there is need to repeat the construction process because of poor construction material or poor applications of the materials. This risk can also occur of there is an increase in the work needed to deliver the project objectives such as the need to carry out more excavation to ensure the stability of the final structure. 2 4 8 Cost underestimation The cost of materials can change very rapidly. If this happens, then the finances of the project will be insufficient. It may also occur if the company conducts a poor project appraisal 1 5 5 Ask the NSW government to allow for fluctuations in the cost of materials for the project. Appoint a project economist to appraise the proposal to elim inate underestimation of costs. Environmental Risks Noise Pollution Construction equipment will cause noise during the construction of the project. 5 3 15 Warn the neighbor of the noise levels that will emanate from the site, and schedule all noisy activities to reduce the number of people affected by the noise Water pollution Falling debris and excavation works will lead to the pollution of the water in the river 3 5 15 Use construction nets to catch falling debris Destruction of Flora and Fauna It is necessary to cut down some trees and to clear bushes around anchorage of the bridge 3 4 12 Cut as few trees as possible Project Risks Labor unrest Labor unrest may result from poor working conditions, poor pay, or because of dangerous working conditions 2 5 10 Ensure that all workers have adequate protective apparatus while at work Negotiate with the workers for competitive rates that are within the budget estimates Ensure that workers have comfortable and predictable workin g schedules Project scope creep There will be need to construct a driveway to the bridge and one after it to access the part. These driveways are not part of the bridge construction process. 2 5 10 Ensure that the scope statement is agreed upon before the construction process starts Time (Approvals and getting supplies) This risk can occur of there are delays in approvals or the release of funds. Such delays can occur in case on an instability in the government 2 4 8 Negotiate for large payments reduce the need for approvals during the life of the project. Table 3: Risk Management Matrix Reference List FHWA 2011, Technical Manual for Design and Construction of Road Tunnels Civil Elements. Web. Karim, SBA, Berawi, MA, Yahya, IA, Abdul-Rahman, H Mohamed, O 2007, The Integration of Value and Risk Management In Infrastructure Projects: Learning from Others, Quantity Surveying International Conference., Value Management Centre (VMC), Faculty of the Built Environment, Universit y of Malaya, Kuala Lumpar. Kerzner, H 2009, Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling, 10th edn, John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken, NJ. Lingard, H Rowlinson, SM 2005, Occupational Health and Safety in Construction Project Management, Taylor Francis, Oxon. Othman, AA 2005, Value and Risk Management Protocol for Dynamic Brief Development in Construction, Emirates Journal for Engineering Research, vol 10, no. 2, pp. 23-36. Tejavibulya, P Eiamkanchanalai, S 2011, The Impacts of Opinion Leaders towards Purchase Decision Engineering under Different Types of Product Involvement, Systems Engineering Procedia, vol 2, no. 1, pp. 12-22.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Perspectives of Behaviorism by Watson, Skinner, and Tolman

Perspectives of Behaviorism by Watson, Skinner, and Tolman Introduction Psychology is one of the most diverse and interesting fields of study given the numerous developments is has gone through starting in the nineteenth century through the twentieth century and persisted in the twenty first century, now commonly known as modern-day psychology. Of all these developments, Edward Tolman, B.F. Skinner, and John Watson made important contributions to psychology and their different perspectives have found their way into modern-day psychology.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Perspectives of Behaviorism by Watson, Skinner, and Tolman specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They all studied psychology from the behaviorism perspective and even though they differed on one aspect or the other, their perspectives are rooted on behaviorism. Watson was the father of behaviorism by introducing his perspective; popularly known as, classical behaviorism. Skinner borrowed heavily from Watson but mad e some alterations here and there as each sought to establish his school of thought. Tolman holds a different view of behaviorism from that of Watson and Skinner. Deviating from the other schools of thought, behaviorists hold that, â€Å"all things which organisms do- including acting, thinking and feeling- can and should be regarded as behaviors† (Mclntyre, 2003). Due to the modification, they made on Watson’s initial behaviorist observations, Tolman, and Skinner form crucial part of neo-behaviorists as exposited in this paper as it compares and contrasts perspectives of these three great psychologists. John Watson As aforementioned, Watson was the father of behaviorism. Watson maintained that behavior resulted from motivation; that is, organisms had to be elicited to behave in a given way in response to the elicitation. In his bid to introduce and foster more objective science psychology, Watson claimed that emotions were not intrinsic, people did not just experience emotions; no, emotions were a response to provocation, later defined as stimulus. His experiments majored on proving behind every behavior, there was a stimulus. The Little Albert experiment was one of Watson’s experiments to prove his claims. Albert, a son to a laboratory worker would accompany his mother to a laboratory where he would play with reared rats for fun. In Watson’s view, the rats were stimulus to Albert’s playful behavior. Watson observed development of new behavior. The scary sound of hammer falling on a metal bar accompanied the presentation of rats to Albert to elicit his playful behavior. After seven consecutive presentations, Albert would cry every minute he saw the rats even after withdrawal of the scary sound (Watson Rayner, 1920). This showed that emotions and behaviors were a product of a stimulus and as Mclntyre (2003) notes, â€Å"This fear response ‘generalized’ to a new stimuli: Albert also showed fear (CR) when things (CS) similar to the fuzzy lab rat were presented (e.g., men with beards, dogs, fur coats, Santa Claus masks). This was Watson’s approach to behaviorism; behavior was a product of motivation. As aforementioned, his work was referred as classical conditioning and it plays a large part in modern-day psychology with Watson as the founding father.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More B.F. Skinner B.F. Skinner borrowed heavily from Watson’s perspective of behaviorism. Nevertheless, he added to what Watson had established to form the radical behaviorism school of thought. â€Å"While a graduate student, he invented the operant conditioning chamber and cumulative recorder, developed the rate of response as a critical dependent variable in psychological research, and developed a powerful, inductive, data-driven method of experimental research† (Mclntyre, 2003). The o perational conditioning gave Skinner prominence in psychology. Skinner theorizes that behavior is product of one’s environment. He integrated the issue of reinforcement in his theory by observing high chances of a given behavior were due to reinforcement. Reinforcement here means rewards whereby, a particular behavior would reoccur if rewarded but fade away in absence of rewards. Skinner’s idea of reward/reinforcement ties closely to Watson’s idea of motivation hence making them similar. This form of reinforcement is popularly known as operant conditioning in contemporary psychology. Moreover, Goodwin (2005) notes, â€Å"bulk of Skinner’s writing was directed at convincing the world that an experimental analysis of behavior is the only hope for the future welfare of the human species† (p. 394), just like Watson. Skinner differed slightly with Watson in that, â€Å"Watson argued against the use of references to mental states, and held that psycholo gy should study behavior directly, holding private events as impossible to study scientifically. Skinner rejected this position conceding the importance of thinking, feelings, and ‘inner behavior’ in his analysis† (Mclntyre, 2003). Simply put, Skinner holds that everything is behavioral, including emotions, which should be considered in behaviorism. Skinner’s theory has persisted into modern-day psychology with many contemporary psychologists using the operant conditioning extensively in their studies and research work. Controversy still exists as to whether emotions are part of behavior as Skinner indicated. Edward C. Tolman Tolman’s psychological perspective differed greatly with that of Watson and Skinner. Mclntyre (2003) posits, â€Å"although Tolman firmly behaviorist in his methodology, he was not a radical behaviorist like B.F. Skinner†. According to Tolman’s observations, learning which would result to a behavior would occur wit hout motivation or rein-forcer contrary to what Watson and Skinner had theorized. Tolman’s observation was; anything learned in one environment would be applicable in another environment, disqualifying Skinner’s views, moreover, he declared that behavior is not necessarily automatic reaction to a stimulus.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Perspectives of Behaviorism by Watson, Skinner, and Tolman specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Therefore, his perspective became cognitive theory of learning. â€Å"He thought of learning as developing from bits of knowledge and cognitions about the environment and how organisms relate to it† (Mclntyre, 2003). Tolman became famous for introducing maze as touchstone research tool. In this experiment, Tolman ‘trained’ rats to follow given pathways in a maze and observed that the food placed at the end of the maze did not dictate the rat’s learning ability directly, on the contrary this food, â€Å"merely influenced the animal’s motivation to complete the maze as quickly and accurately as possible† (Goodwin, 2005, p. 369). This observation differed with Watson and Skinner’s perspectives. Tolman termed the ability of the rats to follow the maze through learning even without food as latent learning that would be improved in presence of a reward. Nevertheless, his ideas lacked foundation because, â€Å"His research with rats in mazes did not produce much in the way of practical application. His plea for training children to have broad cognitive maps, for instance, gave little explicit guidance to parents†¦Tolman’s example seemed more like a good illustration of the dangers inherent in extrapolating too far beyond one’s data† (Goodwin, 2005, p. 373). Tolman insisted behavior resulted from goals set in learning and he lacked sufficient scientific data to qualify his assumptions and ob servations. Nevertheless, Tolman’s perspective plays key role in modern-day psychology. His cognitive intervening variables link behaviorism to cognitive psychology, an important observation, and field of study in contemporary psychology. Study of animal cognition in contemporary psychology is hinged on Tolman’s cognitive theory of learning. Therefore, Tolman differed with Watson and Skinner by denouncing the role of reinforcement or motivators in analyzing behavior. Moreover, he preferred to use mentalist variables supported by little or no scientific data. For instance, as aforementioned, his research with rats in maze lacked significant practical application in scientific studies. Comparison Watson, Skinner, and Tolman belong to the behaviorism school of thought in psychology. According to these three psychologists, behavior underscores the reason why people do things the way they do them. The only difference comes in giving details and expositing the principles und erlying behaviorism.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to Samelson (1981), these three psychologists agreed, â€Å"psychology must be a science, a fundamental principle of science is that its data must come from publicly observable phenomena and what is taken to be the subject matter of psychology, namely consciousness, does not satisfy that principle because it cannot be observed publicly† (p. 406). Therefore, Watson, Skinner, and Tolman agreed on several fundamental issues even though they differed on others. Conclusion Behaviorism school of thought in psychology owes its roots to Watson who theorized that behavior is a product of motivation and his perspective is popularly known as classical behaviorism. Skinner borrowed heavily from Watson and introduced operant conditioning, which states that behavior results from reward and environment wherein, continued rewarding of a given behavior would result to its reoccurrence while lack of reward the behavior fades away. On the other hand, Tolman, though a behaviorist, diff ered with the reward, environment, and motivation part of behavior. He argued that behavior results from learning and reward and environment has little or no effect. Nevertheless, their differences notwithstanding, Watson, Skinner, and Tolman are founding fathers of behaviorism perspective in psychology, which has found wide application in modern-day psychology. References List Goodwin, J. (2005). A History of Modern Psychology. Second Ed. New Jersey; John Wiley Sons. Mclntyre, T. (2003). The History of Behaviorism. Web. Samelson, F. (1981). Struggle for Scientific Authority: The Reception of Watsons Behaviorism,  Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 17, 399-425. Watson, J., Rayner, R. (1920). Conditioned Emotional Reactions. Retrieved from http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Watson/emotion.htm

Monday, November 4, 2019

Jean Watson's Theory of Caring Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Jean Watson's Theory of Caring - Essay Example Furthermore, she also presented a wonderful theory under the title â€Å"Carative Theory of Nursing†, where she has depicted divergent features and characteristics of nursing by paying special concentration upon the displaying sympathetic attitude towards the patients. She also authored books on the discipline, where she laid stress upon the significance of the behavior of the medical staff in the fast recovery of the patients. Watson presented his famous theory of caring in 1979, where she declares caring as an essential element to save the life of the patient. She is of the opinion that care is not confined to look after the patient under treatment according to the instructions issued by the hospital management or by the senior medical officials. On the contrary, caring contains complete code of ethics and morality in its wide scope, which includes complete involvement of the nurses in the personal, mental, physical, professional and even domestic problems of the patients fo r the creation of an amicable environment for sharing the pains and sufferings the patients are undergoing. Watson looks for the complete care of the diet and nutrition of the patient, which is not confined to the providing of diet only. Rather, a healthy and beneficial food is a must during the disease, so that the ailment could be mitigated with the use of healthy diet including fruits, meet, vegetables and nuts. It is particularly the case with the patients suffering from stomach problems and dehydration. The care of the patient with gastrointestinal disease is complex and challenging. The reasons for the complexity are varied and different for each patient. Any of these variables can affect the nutritional health of the patient, an essential element of care that supports healing, recovery, and improved quality of life. (Childs, 2006) Watson has coined the notion intentionality, where she looks for observing of sincere efforts for the cure of the patients. The nurse’s mora l commitment, intentionality, and personal use of the clinical caritas protect, enhance and potentiate human dignity, wholeness, and healing: this encourages the patient to create (or really, co-create) a meaning of a disease and treatment.† (Conway et al., 2010) Hence, if a nurse takes attending of the patients as an undue burden upon her, she would be unable to create and offer a pleasant environment to them. Consequently, the patients’ sufferings could not be mitigated while working with an iron face. On the other hand, such unpleasant environment may enhance their ailment in one way or the other. Thus, a nurse’s intentions pave the way towards the fast and unconditional convalescence of the patient. Watson also lays stress upon the strict exercising of care-giving and human values. By care-giving she simply means that the relation between the counselor and patient must be developed on the concrete foundations of trust, respect and affection, so that the patie nt could be in a position to provide the details of his illness along with the case history leading

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Management - Employee Participation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Management - Employee Participation - Essay Example Importance of Employees’ Participation One of the most important forms of employees’ participation is teamwork. According to Hodson and Sullivan (2012, p. 421), work groups have been instrumental in increasing an organization’s production for many years. Work groups consist of individuals with shared goals, who try to accomplish their goals through the development of efficient and effective organizational structure. Every work group should consist of approximately eight to ten workers who are assigned the same task. In most successful organizations, managers use employees’ teams to improve the quality of working life through the reduction of work intensity and pressure. When employees work in groups, their tasks and responsibilities, cease to feel like chores. This is because they complete tasks early; furthermore, work flows because the workers help each other (Hodson & Sullivan 2012, p. 421). The workers feel valued in high performing teams; thus, increa sing their commitment to the firm. Such teams are more productive making them contribute to the increase in the overall production of an organization (Wheelan 2010). As a means of forming the winning teams, the leaders in organizations should introduce training sessions where workers learn how to work effectively in teams. In some firms, teams are given names and the team members wear T-shirts that have their team names printed on them (Wheelan 2010). In addition, group work as a means of employees’ participation helps in increasing the performances of organizations because they promote proper use of resources. Teamwork enables the corporate leaders to allocate resources appropriately, which include the workers and other material things. Proper allocation of resources increases the performances of businesses since it helps in reducing the organization expenses through wastage. Teamwork increases the innovativeness of workers in a firm since members are always free to share th eir ideas enabling them to study new things from other affiliates. The teams also house many individuals from different backgrounds who have different ideas. The new ideas that will upgrade the team production are shared through the interaction of the members from different backgrounds. The implementation of some of the new ideas in the firm increases the production of the whole organization (Adair 2010). Moreover, teamwork makes the problem-solving process to become faster. Adair (2010) indicates that the various ideas presented by the team members enable the production of creative solutions. During problem solving, team members should be allowed to brainstorm since it helps in uncovering many answers. Teamwork increases corporate performance by upgrading the quality of work. It increases employees’ commitment because in teams, members feel like they are part of it. This enables them to own a project. Even if a task is hard, team members will always encourage each other to p roduce quality work compared to when managers dictate the work. Furthermore, teamwork develops synergy because of joint forces; thus, increasing business production (Adair 2010). Suggestion Schemes Suggestion scheme is a form of workers participation, which gives employees chances to present their ideas. Some organizations have suggestion boxes where employees put their written suggestions. To

Thursday, October 31, 2019

How Internet Shapes Contemporary Social Environment Research Paper

How Internet Shapes Contemporary Social Environment - Research Paper Example A vastly different world exists today due to the spread of Internet use which relies to a great extent on the concept of redundant networks to assure continuous connections in whatever conditions. This paper examines how computers and the Internet have changed the world environment where people increasingly rely on these two products of modern technology to do anything they want. The Internet has altered the way people work, live, transact their business, how they can bank their money, communicate with each other, socialize, research for some information and in many ways previously inconceivable just a few decades ago. One can find knowledge with just a few clicks of the mouse. However, one thing the Internet has changed in a very profound way is how it made the world a much smaller place and various cultures now become homogeneous. Instant communications have allowed people to know more about each other and various cultures around the world. Information travels very fast at the speed of light (or the connections). Language barriers are being brought down because of the Internet; it has also allowed people to learn more about the culture of far-away countries in an instant. World culture is largely defined by the mass media (multi-media such as the television, newspapers, online libraries, the Internet and pop culture such as hip-hop music) and there is now an easier intermingling of various ideas. World culture is now largely defined as instant gratification, people are unwilling to wait longer than necessary when they want something or search for some answers to nagging questions. The Internet is all about building communities (albeit online groups such as Facebook and Twitter).

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Something Beautiful Is Coming Essay Example for Free

Something Beautiful Is Coming Essay HTC was founded in 1997 by Cher Wang and her husband. Wang wanted to manufacture personal digital assistance under contact of established brands. However, the company failed to convince buyers. Instead remained focused on contract manufacturer’s mobile phones according to its customer’s strategic priorities. Cher approaches the business with the eyes of the customer. HTC had nututred contacts into valuable business relationships, creating products that combined customer-oriented design with advanced technology to cast a reputation for consistency and excellence that many industry valued and applauded. In mid 2000, HTC started making customized smart phones running on windows operating system for Deutshe Telekom and Vodafone. This proved strategically shrewd, creating potential growth without having to rely on handset manufacturers. Facts and Figures HTC started making customized smart phones running on windows operating system for Deutshe Telekom and Vodafone. This proved strategically shrewd, creating potential growth without having to rely on handset manufacturers. Under this ‘operator business model’, sales exploded, growing 100% annually, with net profits rising some 300% per annum since 2003. HTC soon became darling of the market, with share prices soaring 1000% in March 2006. Mission A customer oriented positioning that communicated its strengths and tapped into the zeitgeist of its target market- tech savvy trendy customers interested in performance and design. Strategy Business Strategy- Sustained on ‘operator business model’, proved immensely successful. Functional (Marketing) strategy- The key to its strategy was its partnership with networks such as vodafone Internet and viral marketing proved effective Sponsorship of the Columbia –HTC cycling team in 2009 ensured messaged reached millions of viewers worldwide

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Sin Tax Bills Pros And Cons Economics Essay

Sin Tax Bills Pros And Cons Economics Essay With tobaccos and cigarettes being the major cause of lung cancer death s in the Philippines, advocates are pushing to pass the Sin Tax Bill. Sin tax bill is the tax levied on any products that are notorious to be harmful like cigarettes, alcohol and even activities like gambling. In connection to this, it is said to be effective in reducing behaviour of using such. This thesis paper aims to show the pros and cons of the Sin Tax Bill reforms to the Philippine economy, presented before the Senate and the House. There were three specific sin tax reforms discussed, the Abaya Bill, Recto Bill, and the Santiago Bill. This study accentuates that the approval of the said bill has its great advantages that will help the countrys economy, but its possible disadvantages must not be neglected. Moreover, the ideas written here are not against the bill, but therefore require further analysis and revisions that are deemed helpful to the Philippine Economy. Discussion Introduction According to the World Health Organization in 2009, tobacco is responsible for 12% of male and 6% of female deaths worldwide. The Acting Chief of NCI Tobacco Control Research Brach Chief, Michele Bloch, MD, PhD said that overall around the globe, there are 41% of men that smoke and only 9% for women; also it is estimated that the total number of tobacco-related deaths will rise from 6 million today to 8  million in 2030 (Fromer, 2011). Every day, a person dies from lung cancer in the Philippines. Tobacco or cigarette is the only legal consumer product that kills half of its users when used as directed by the manufacturer. And not only cigarettes, but as well as other socially proscribed goods such as alcoholic beverages, drugs and even soft drinks (in other areas), are considered to be undesirable or harmful, and thus were levied with higher taxes compared to the original by the government in laymans term: The Sin Tax. Sin tax in modern economic terms, are externality taxes, taxes designed to reduce behaviour which is known to be harmful to society' (Gifford, 1997. p.1). It is an excise tax on which its objectives is to make consumers lose interest in buying such by imposing taxes on goods that are known to be harmful and lethal such as cigarettes and liquor or activities like gambling (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2012). Before, a Tiered Specific Tax system based on suggested retail price (srp) was put in place. Until the late Pres. Corazon Aquinos administration in 1986, reforms the tax system by changing the specific or unit-based tax to an Ad valorem Scheme, from where the price is based on the manufacturers, for cigarettes. From then on, sin tax bill was revised many times until the year 2004, where the Congress passed Republic Act No. 9334: an act increasing the tax collection; but this is widely considered to be ineffective and a watered-down law. On its implementation in January 2005, under this law, all brands of cigarettes and alcohol products are mandated to an increase in the excise tax rate every two years, up until the year 2011, where there will be specified varying rates of increases (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2012). The matter on the issuance of the new sin tax bills proposed by different officials, mainly those of Abaya, Recto and Santiago, has caught many people in between two arguments. The Department of Finance wants the sin tax bill to raise P60 billion to fund the governments universal healthcare program, especially for the care of public hospital patients with lung diseases. The bills obvious benefit on its approval is more health-related, but there are still quite a number of critics against the approval of the said bill. Why? Because there are multiple reasons as to why the sin tax bill reform must not be approved and therefore must be a subject for further and more improved revisions. Different types of Sin Tax Bills proposed A data from the American Cancer Society and World Lung Foundation says, Despite the existence of laws that limit smoking, male Filipino smokers are among the top smokers in the world occupying the ninth spot following India and China among others (Manongdo,  ¶1). In accordance to this, many government officials started passing reforms of different kinds that are to change the current sin tax bill implemented. Firstly, the approved Abaya Bill: House Bill 5727, or the Act Restructuring the Excise Tax on Alcohol and Tobacco Products states that there will be equal taxes rates to be charged to any cigarette brands. With this, there will be competition between cigarette companies. Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya agreed to amend the sin tax on tobacco products from unitary tax system to two tiers. Under substitute bill, there will be two tiers or groups for cigarettes while distilled and fermented liquor will have 3. Tier 1: Cigarette packs priced lower than 11.50php below are meted with a P12 tax on the first year and P24 on the next year; while on Tier 2: Cigarette packs priced 11.50php above are meted with P28.30 on the first year, and P30 on the second year. Indexation or increase will be 8% for every two years, until the year 2025. It has been over 15 years since a sin tax bill made it out of committee meetings in Congress. A landslide vote happened in June, where 210 lawmakers voted to pa ss the amended House Bill 5727, by Cavite Rep. Abaya. But the bill was watered down, since the bill aims to reduce consumption of tobacco and alcohol, especially among the poor, while raising additional revenues, which will be channeled to the governments health care program (Balea, 2012). According to Finance Assistance Secretary Teresa Habitan, amended version will only translate to P33 billion from the original plan of P60billion revenue. Secondly is the Recto Bill by Sen. Ralph Recto. For cigars, the current 2-tiered NRP-based structure shall be retained, but starting March 1, 2013, there shall be an increase to the ad valorem rates by more than 100 percent. Pursuant to Cathy Yamsuans report in the Philippine Daily Inquirer 2012, there will be an increase of 121 percent to hand-packed cigarettes taxes from P2.72 to P6 per pack beginning March 1, 2013, particularly in low-priced cigarettes. While mid-priced cigarettes, a 32% rise from P7.56 to a P10 tax; and high-priced cigarettes, a 17% increase from P12 to P14 tax per pack. Recto, however, presented a committee report that would raise only between P15 billion and P20 billion in additional sin taxes. Lastly is Sen. Miriam Santiagos proposed reform. Santiago said that under her bill, 85 percent of the P60 billion would be used for the government health program while the remaining 15 percent for safety nets that would ensure that tobacco farmers can shift to more lucrative crops like vegetables that have a bigger market than tobacco (Yamsuan, 2012,  ¶12). No more further discussions needed to Santiagos Bill because Juan Ponce Enrile, the current Philippine Senate President, noted that the Santiago bill is almost similar to the governments original position.  Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiagos version of the Sin Tax Bill or the Senate Bill 3249 espouses a single tier excise tax scheme for cigarettes. The version reported out by Rectos Ways and Means Committee pushes a multi-tier scheme, while the House-approved bill is a two-tier system. Advantages There are a lot to mention when we look in-depth to the possible benefits, the country may be subjected to, that will be a great help to the society. Here, there are three main points that are most likely to be emphasized. First are the sin tax bills health-related purposes and benefits. Since the real reason behind the implementation of this law is to discourage the people, especially the youth to smoke cigarettes and indulge themselves to other vices, Department of Health (DOH) said that sin tax bill is a health bill. If this is approved, many Filipino lives will be saved if this law is effective enough after its implementation. As stated by The National Youth Commission (NYC), the number of young smokers in the country had increased. Two of five Filipinos aged 13 to 15 years old consumed tobacco last year. The increase in cigarette prices may thus limit the number of young smokers (Garcia, 2012,  ¶15). On the other hand when the Laylo Research Strategies made a poll survey on ho w will Filipino smokers react if there is an increase in sin taxes, the survey results confirms what the advocates have been saying higher tobacco taxes would accomplish: discourage consumption and therefore reduce the number of Filipinos who either develop diseases or die from smoking. The Southeast Asia Initiative on Tobacco Tax says higher sin taxes can help save 140,000 to 1.3 million Filipinos. With the pending Sin Tax bill likely to affect cigarette prices, 31% of the regular smokers said they will slowly stop smoking, while 17% will stop immediately (Rappler. 2012  ¶24). In a study on Tobacco and Poverty of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2008, the annual government revenues of P23 Billion from tobacco taxes is not enough compared to the conservatively estimated P149 Billion annual economic losses due to expenses for productivity and health care costs of the top four tobacco related diseases: Cancer, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and stroke. (Manongdo, 2012). According to reports furnished, the money the government spends on tobacco-related healthcare issues is more than the revenue it gets from the taxes collected from tobacco and alcohol products. This means that the government is spending more to cure diseases chronic pulmonary diseases, heart disease, cancer, liver diseases etc. that are caused by the consumption of tobacco and alcohol (Garcia, 2012  ¶9). Secondly, with higher sin tax rates means higher government revenues. Lets say theres no existence of the sin tax bill, which means, 0% tax increase. With no tax, the government will only garner 25.4B php annually. But in consideration of the Rectos Bill, with 65% tax increase, there will 37.8B php revenue. While in Santiagos Bill, with 265% tax increase, there will be no less than 68.7B php revenue, which is by the way more than enough for the governments goal of 60B php. According to Dr. Antonio Dans, professor at the UP-College of Medicine, with the approval of 265% proposed tax increase by Santiago; chances are, smoking rates will go down to 26% from 31%.. That drop from 31% to 26% represents more than two million people stopping smoking. If you stop smoking, you will avoid death from 49 diseases that can kill you from smoking like lung cancer, coronary diseases, stroke, heart attack, chronic pulmonary diseases (Antonio, 2012,  ¶). Lastly, international smuggling of cigarettes will be lessened. According to Sen. Pia Cayetano, the Philippines has the second cheapest retail price in Asia (in terms of cigarettes). Even among the cheapest in the world, primarily because of relatively low tobacco taxes. Many other countries levied heavy amount of tax on cigarettes as part of their public health policy. Dr. Aida Yurekli, coordinator of the WHOs Tobacco-Free Initiative, says the nations low taxes on tobacco drive the foreign demand for illegal imports of cigarette from the Philippines.  He once thought the China is the main source of smuggled cigarettes, but he found out that there was a big number coming from the Philippines. Since tobacco companies are paying (low) taxes, they tend to overproduce. And an excess of 2 billion packs from the 5.4 billion packs to be produced this year, from which only 3.5 billion packs will be consumed, makes it suspicious (Merueà ±as, 2012). With the effectiveness of tax increase, Philippine cigarettes would not be any cheaper than before, and thus will discourage international smuggling, since tobacco companies will pay more taxes, and no longer will have rooms for overproduction that may end up as smuggled goods to other countries. Disadvantages Though many people, if asked, are pro-sin tax bill, due to its undeniable benefits, lawmakers, still, remain divided over the sin tax bill. Debaters tend to overlook the possible drawback, the sin tax bill, may offer to the countrys economy. Tobacco farmers are the most affected in the approval of the any bills mentioned above. La Union Rep. Victor Francisco Ortega said that many tobacco farmers were able to send their children due to their jobs in the tobacco industry. It has done more good, than evil, he said in an interview hosted by respected broadcast journalist Rappler editor-at-large Cheche Lazaro (Bisyo: A special report on Sin Tax, 2012). In the interview, Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said, The government has not provided a comprehensive program for the support services, subsidy and assistance to tobacco farmers. Tobacco farmers will not benefit from the increase of retail prices of cigarettes increase due to sin tax. Therefore, the higher sin taxes will definitely negatively affect the tobacco industry, which will result into unemployment to huge industries like Fortune Tobacco and the likes. (Bisyo: A special report on Sin Tax, 2012)   In one of the three stated bills proposed above, specifically the Abaya Bill, inequity in pricing the goods may occur. If all brands will be taxed similarly, small scale companies are at a big loss and at the worst scenario, may stop production. Abaya suggested that equality in taxes will create competition between large scale companies and local tobacco companies; but the latter will be burdened more since bigger companies are far more able in paying the demand tax levied to their products. With high taxes means less production, which will end up to less profit by the company, and later on bankruptcy. On a debate, Sen. Ralph Recto said that if they tax too much, it may kill industries, and even the cigarette industry may be burdened too much already. Revenues may be lessened due to insufficient companies producing cigarettes, from where taxes are supposedly to be collected from. Too high taxes may result in less revenue. How? One of the debaters in the senate, Mr. Manos Koukourakis said, When you apply so high tax increases, people will find alternative ways to smoke (Bisyo: A special report on Sin Tax, 2012). Consumption did not diminish; on the contrary, it has increased. At first, sin taxes will give increased revenues for the government, but in no time, it will fall drastically. Why? Because of smuggling. Taxing cigarettes and other sin products will not make people quit intousing it. Its already an addiction and this simple means of increasing retail price is not the answer. Recto said in one of his reports, the solution is not to severely tax the sin products but to ban them completely. When the price of any product rises excessively, smugglers bring in cheaper products. So instead of discouraging consumption, the very high prices actually encourage it because the smuggled products are very cheap (Cruz, 2012, 4 ¶). A House leader from the Philippine delegation warned that if ever the government would not take a second look to these proposed sin tax bills, the signing of the free trade agreement (FTA) with EU or the European Union, may be put in jeopardy. The EU expressed their continuous objection to the sin tax bill. EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht told the lawmakers that the approved House version and proposed Senate version will not pass the World Trade Organization (WTO) compliance because of unfair taxation (Luci, 2012). British American Tobacco (BAT) Philippines general manager James Michael Lafferty said, The current tax system has worked against the entry of new brands into the market  (Galang, 2012,  ¶46). Conclusion Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, one of the most vocal sin tax bill advocates said, When cigarettes and liquor are cheap, more people will use them- and so this has been the advocates standing point. The sin tax bill had been a controversial debate to the lawmakers. It made Sen. Ralph Recto, the chairman of the Senate committee, resign after numerous opposition from the Senate; he had Sen. Franklin Drilon take over his place after resignation. They even called his proposed bill a watered-down bill or ineffective. In the approval of the Sin tax bill, relations with the European Union may be affected. If ever the Philippines free trade with EU will be cut-off, our economy will lose a lot. And not only that, since Lucio Tan, a renowned business tycoon, is the owner of the biggest tobacco company in the country, the Fortune Cigarette, increasing of taxes to the sin products might be reflected to other major companies under him as well, like those of Philippine Airlines and the likes. All these factors will not increase the governments revenues, and on the other end might be the opposite. Therefore the sin tax bill has defeated its main purpose of raising revenues. Also, the argument of the pro-sin tax bill that higher taxes would discourage smokers is a mere assumption. They have not presented clear provisions and relied on surveys, which is not at all very reliable. Then again, according to Benjamin Diokno, professor of Economics at the School of Economics, UP Diliman and former secretary of budget and management undersecretary for budget operations in the Aquino 1 administration, talking about the threat of smuggling, it is real, and ignoring it would be a monumental mistake. The country has been facing a lot of smuggling cases in other products like rice, oil products, and other consumer goods continuously. And the possible addition of cigarettes to be smuggled would be a lot of work for the Bureau of Internal Revenue, which he considers weak (Diokno, 2012). But behind the drawbacks mentioned, there are a lot of other alternatives, other than taxing, that may discourage and lessen the use tobaccos and cigarettes. One suggestion is the proposal of former Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral to put graphic photographs of smokers with lung or mouth cancer on the packs of cigarettes, and they believe it should scare some of them into stopping smoking. Though most of the tobacco industries are against it, the Philippine Senate and Congress are also in debate about it. Another suggestion is the prohibition of smoking in the public, from which the Senate lose the case against tobacco companies. In the question of what would be the most effective among the proposed bills. The countries Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos currently part of this worlds emerging economies use ad valorem rates in taxing their products like tobacco and alcohol. These countries must have adopted ad valorem taxation, after learning the best practice from their foreign tax consultants. The Philippines is the only country in the region that uses specific rates  (Diokno, 2012,  ¶7). On the contrary, eeconomist and former Economic Planning Secretary Solita Collas-Monsod at a forum on Tuesday, September 18, 2012 said that the tobacco industry players are disseminating about the possible aftermaths of the proposed sin tax measure on the Philippine economy, from which she considered as all lies. She opposed all the issues discussed and declared that these are just false claims (cited from Fonbuena, 2012). But experts urge the Senate to use the proposed bill of Sen. Miriam Santiago. This, Santiago said, would help avoid the 240 deaths daily among Filipino smokers with P200-billion health costs to government. It hews much more to the actual realities and the actual principles that we want. If everybody is in favor of a sin tax bill, lets start with that sin tax bill, economics professor Solita Monsod commented to Santiagos version of the bill, from where tobacco and alcohol products projected tax revenues will be around P60 billion (cited from Chua, 2012,  ¶3). The author is not against the approval of this bill, but thus, is in favor of the amendment and better revisions of the sin tax bill. People must look not only to the possible advantage it may bring, but one should always be aware of the possible drawback it will take along its process. The benefits, the sin tax bill, will bring the Philippines is undeniable. Health-related and even revenues is a given. But the fact it has taken a long course of almost 16 years of amendment, has a reason. There are multiple reasons as to why the sin tax bill reform must not be approved and therefore must be a subject for further and more improved revisions; and this reasons must not be neglected.