Does Water Hyacinth Affect The Ph Level Environmental Sciences Essay

Invasive aquatic works species are doing a turning menace in South Africa, every bit good as the whole universe. These workss threaten the fresh water organic structures doing a broad spread debasement on the environment. This survey aims to see if Water Hyacinth can assist the environment in which it inhabits by neutralizing the pH degree of acerb H2O. As H2O jacinth is a fast turning invasive species that can be controlled by weevils and pesticides[ 1 ]which can be used to help in the purification and neutralization of South African H2O beginnings. South Africa ‘s H2O beginnings are limited and in high demand. As 76.5 % of the Earth H2O is polluted[ 2 ], this survey can enable the possibility of neutralizing acerb H2O. Purpose Does H2O jacinth affect the pH degree of H2O contaminated with an acidic pH? Research Question Water jacinth will impact the pH degree of acidic H2O as it will be tested in controlled environments where comparings between acidic and impersonal H2O can be drawn as H2O jacinth will be placed in both conditions and over clip, the pH degree of the H2O will be tested to detect the alteration of pH degree of the H2O due to the H2O jacinth. Hypothesis. Water jacinth will change the pH degree of the acerb H2O and do the H2O go more impersonal, closer to 7. Rationale This research is of import as H2O taint and pollution is a turning job in South Africa. As H2O jacinth is able to turn at rapid rates, by make up one's minding where one needs to pollenate their seeds, we can engender the works in contaminated H2O to decide the pH degrees of the H2O. The H2O degrees have a great consequence on the ecosystems in and around it so with acidic H2O, ecosystems will be destroyed and the environing home grounds and ecosystems near the H2O will be lost or destroyed. The subject is of great importance as there are terrible jobs refering imbibing H2O in the universe and this can help to repair the pollution of H2O around the universe. Literature Review This undertaking shows great importance as Water jacinth is a job on a planetary degree. The job of over population of this works causes decease of H2O life as Sun visible radiation is restricted by the H2O jacinth and therefor the workss at the underside of the dike supplying nutrient and nutrition to the life start do dice and add to the pollution as they do non have sunshine for photosynthesis. When these workss have died, the dead fish ( for illustration ) Begin to break up which adds to the pollution of the already contaminated H2O. There have been legion surveies around the universe into the usage of H2O jacinth as a pollutant proctor.[ 3 ]Water Hyacinth has been tested to detect the soaking up of arsenic, cadmium lead and many other metal compounds.[ 4 ]The workss can be tested to analyze the per centum of the compounds absorbed by looking inside the roots and roots and carry oning trials to look at the compounds absorbed by the workss while life in the solution.[ 5 ]With all workss being made up of chemical constructions, an instability of chemicals can do workss to deform and in some cases die. There have been experiments to turn out how the concentration of the chemical affects the growing of the workss. In this survey, the workss are being tested whether or non the H2O jacinth can better the pH degree of acidic H2O. Plants are really sensitive to high pH degrees – acetum and dish rinsing liquid as a old trial conducted to see the endurance of the workss at different pH degrees resulted in the decease of the workss after merely one hebdomad when placed in solutions with high pH degrees – and normal garden workss flourish at a pH degree of between 6.3 and 7.8[ 6 ]. Water jacinth is a works with easy entree and grows in specific conditions which could change the consequences as workss are sensitive to the conditions in which they grow. Beginnings of pollution are direct – pouring waste into H2O and rinsing apparels in fresh H2O streams – and indirect – leaking oil pipes and overflow from eroded lands[ 7 ]– which both add to the pollution degrees every bit good as set uping the pH degrees of the H2O as there are harmful substances being added to a sensitive ecosystem. As H2O jacinth is non autochthonal to South Africa and originated in Brazil where their ecosystems were equip to command this works and guarantee it did non take over the H2O subdivisions. South Africa ‘s H2O does non hold the methods in topographic point to get by with the passing of this works as it is choke offing up H2O ways, cut downing the rate of H2O flow and adding to the pollution of the H2O[ 8 ]. If this works could hold a positive map, it could be controlled by worlds and used for merely that map. Method I ) Label 9 little plastic bags ( 3 x control, 6 x acid ) with a lasting marker. two ) Using an electronic graduated table, weigh 24grams of fertiliser and repetition 9 times. three ) Place each 24g of fertiliser into a separate bag. four ) Using an electronic graduated table, weigh 8grams of Iron chelates and repetition 9 times. V ) Place each 8g of Iron chelates into one of the bags. I ) Topographic point 3 sets of 3 baths in an enclosed country two ) Measure 80ml of H2O and pour the H2O into each bath. three ) Draw a line with a lasting marker at the semilunar cartilage on the bath. four ) Label three of the baths Control and the other six Acid V ) Add one of each of the little plastic bags of the fertiliser and chelates to each of the harmonizing bath six ) Add 3 workss of Water Hyacinth into 3 of the bath seven ) Measure 5ml of a java solution to each of the six acidic baths iix ) Place one of each bath in a row and do 3 rows of 3 baths. nine ) Record the pH degree of each bath utilizing HP pool proving strips in the tabular array. ten ) Take images of each of the strips next to which tub it is. eleven ) Record the information one time a hebdomad for 8 hebdomads. The aggregation of the pH degree of each bath one time a hebdomad for 8 hebdomads will let one to detect the consequence of H2O jacinth on H2O with irregular pH degrees. Week 1 Bathtub pH Control Acidic 1 Acidic 2 Week 2 Bathtub pH Control Acidic 1 Acidic 2 Week 3 Bathtub pH Control Acidic 1 Acidic 2 Week 4 Bathtub pH Control Acidic 1 Acidic 2 Week 5 Bathtub pH Control Acidic 1 Acidic 2 Week 6 Bathtub pH Control Acidic 1 Acidic 2 Week 7 Bathtub pH Control Acidic 1 Acidic 2 Week 8 Bathtub pH Control Acidic 1 Acidic 2 A tabular array demoing the mean pH degrees of the three bath over eight hebdomads. Bathtubs Average pH degree Control 1 2 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 7 Week 6 Week 8 pH degree A line graph demoing the alteration in pH degree of the control bath over 8 hebdomads Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 7 Week 6 Week 8 pH degree A line graph demoing the alteration in pH degree of acidic bath 1 over 8 hebdomads Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 7 Week 6 Week 8 pH degree A line graph demoing the alteration in pH degree of acidic bath 2 over 8 hebdomads Plan for Data Analysis Using the collected information of pH degrees from each of the nine baths, after the 8 hebdomads, 3 separate line graphs can be drawn to demo the neutralization of the acidic H2O. The information will be collected from the 2nd of March to the 20th of April. Bibliography African Entomology vol. 19 No. 2 2001. J.A Coetzee hypertext transfer protocol: //www.chemistryexplained.com/Va-Z/Water-Pollution.html. Dan M. Sullivan Invasive Aquatic Plants. Lesley Henderson and Carina J Cilliers. 2002. Science direct: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0143147182900605 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.plantea.com/pH.htm

A Look at Loblaws Companies

In 1919 the first Loblaw grocery store opened in Toronto. Theodore Pringle Loblaw and J. Milton Cork had a new idea of a grocery store, one which would be fully self- serve and would offer better quality foods at lower prices. In 1978, ‘No Name’ products were introduced into Loblaw stores. These products had distinct yellow packaging, and Loblaw stores experienced an outstanding customer feedback. In 1984, ‘President’s Choice’, one of Loblaw’s own brands made its first debut in stores. Consumer feedback and satisfaction for President’s Choice products was superb and â€Å"everything from toasters to train sets† were made. Loblaw Companies has now grown to over seventy locations in Ontario alone. (Loblaw Website, Main Page) The years 2005 to 2008 were very important for Loblaw, the company underwent expansion to ultimately ensure their mission to be â€Å"Canada’s best food, (Loblaw: First Store) health and home retailer by exceeding customer expectations through innovative products at great prices. † These expansions are still taking place today. â€Å"In 2005, Loblaw Companies Limited moved closer to completing one of the largest transformations in its history. They were challenged by the size and impact of the short term costs associated with executing certain elements of the transformation. † Working facilities merged, and there were major store renovations. A new head office and Store Support Centre was established in Brampton, Ontario; which now employs 2,000 Ontarians. However, these expansions caused some setbacks. Loblaw made changes to their national systems platform and supply chain. This change disrupted the flow of its inventory and had an overall negative effect on the sales and earnings for 2005. This simplified their distribution network which made the movement of inventory much less time consuming and lead to lower costs. A capital investment program exceeding $1 billion was used to continue the expansion of â€Å"The Real Canadian Superstore† in Ontario. This money was also used to convert specific conventional stores into much larger superstores, strategically choosing the stores that reflected a growing market. A new general merchandise warehouse and distribution centre for Eastern Canada was also established. This improved the overall speed of inventory and stock from the warehouse to grocery stores. As of 2005, the Company â€Å"believe that [they] are taking the significant steps required to ensure that Loblaw continue to grow, to succeed and to provide sustainable value in a changing landscape† (Annual Report 2005, pp. 5-6). The year 2008 was not as eventful as 2005. They struggled with more setbacks, and had the ideal thought of â€Å"Making Loblaw the Best Again†. As stated in their Annual Report, â€Å"[They] continue [their] efforts to simplify and sharpen Loblaw, fix the basics that matter to customers, restore innovation, and grow Loblaw through [their] ‘Formula for Growth’†. Strategies for success continued to be built upon from the past, including finding ways to make employees’ jobs easier. This implemented more cost-effective decisions, allowing Loblaw to introduce a more diverse product line, and ultimately managed their cash more effectively. However, Loblaw underwent some new expansions in 2008, such as revamping their supply chain and IT infrastructure. They also opened four new distribution centres which made service levels greater than the past. Loblaw had noticed this new IT infrastructure system cut-down and simplified high workloads and many errors. Loblaw adopted a new and improved pricing index management system, which is currently an important component of the organization. Overall, Loblaw is having a hard time being a consistent high performing company, however they have challenged themselves and are still â€Å"making Loblaw worth switching supermarkets for† (Annual Report 2008, pp. 3-8). Structure The above diagram represents the corporate structure of Loblaw Companies Limited. It demonstrates how each specific section of the Board of Directors and Officers communicate to one another through the company. This system is used because it is unreasonable to expect that all levels of employees are able to communicate easily with every other employee and this hierarchy of labor is what allows better communication through employees. Location When analyzing the 2008 Annual Report for Loblaw Companies it is noted that across Canada there are: -609 corporate and -427 franchised stores in every province and territory in Canada -21 banners across the country -21 company and -5 third-party-operated distribution centers services their stores These numbers are constantly on the rise and have only increased steadily over the years. (Annual Report 2008, p. ) Product, Price, Promotion, and Distribution Strategies In 2005, Loblaw’s main focus was on food, health, and nutrition. They introduced a large number of new No Name and President’s Choice products, including PC Blue Menu and PC Organics, to satisfy health-conscious customers. Additionally, they introduced new lines, such as PC Mobile and Joe Fresh Style. Their key strategy was to provide â€Å"innovation, quality, value, and focus on the consumer† (Annual Report 2005, pp. 5). To reach different markets, they had four store formats to cater to customers’ needs; hard discount, warehouse clubs, conventional stores, and superstores. Loblaw had been working on remodeling the store exterior, reformatting banners, updating decor, and changing signage to give the stores a new look that will attract more consumers. In their Annual Report, it is stated that â€Å"Loblaw has a proven ability to anticipate and respond to changing consumer preferences in an increasingly competitive landscape and is committed to meeting more of the food and everyday household needs of consumers from coast to coast (Annual Report 2005, p. 11)†. Through the strategy of relationship marketing, they hope to be able to keep the customer base they have built by meeting their needs (Annual Report 2005, pp. -11) By 2008, they had brought back their slogan: ‘Worth switching supermarkets for’. They hoped to meet the expectation in their slogan through quality, value, and innovation. Loblaw wanted to make (Loblaw Cashier) the stores already in place better, instead of building new ones. They also had a focus on freshness and style. Loblaw introduced and redesigned almost 2000 products during this year, including bringing back the yellow and black colours on No Name items. While increasing their products for the health-conscious consumer, they also have products and labels for those who are eco-friendly. They want their customers to have a choice on the type of store they shop at, so they still have the four store formats. One of their strategies was to â€Å"re-establish the value advantage in the minds of consumers, and providing products and services customers can’t find anywhere else† (Annual Report 2008, p. 9) They have changed food presentations, improved the quality of their sourcing, and have over 1000 price checks weekly. A television campaign for apple crisp was able to increase its sales by 1500%. Loblaw held marketing events, a program bringing back past foods, drastically increased the amount of clothing in Joe Fresh Style, and they began a Home section. In almost 400 stores, they had a program that guaranteed certain items to always be available. Eighteen stores in Toronto had an event called ‘Back to Best’, in which they had chefs with recipe demonstrations, more meat, seafood, and produce, and they also added new signage and displays (Annual Report 2008, pp. 8 – 14) As the market became more competitive, Loblaw reached for more strategies to improve their company. In 2005 they introduced various lines, whereas in 2008 it was their strategy to focus on improving what they already had. Much of their ideas in 2005 were related to creating a new image, whereas in 2008 they brought back many ideas that were once in place decades ago, such as the slogan, past foods, and black and white packaging for the No Name brand. Still focused on low prices, innovation, quality, and the consumers, what they want is still the same, although between 2005 and 2008 they have used different strategies to meet this goal. Target Customers â€Å"Loblaw’s mission is to be Canada’s best food, health and home retailer by exceeding customer expectations through innovative products at great prices. To reach our goal, we must become a centralized, market-led organization with an unrelenting focus on our customers, our products and our stores†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Annual Report 2008, p. 3). Loblaw Companies does not specifically target an age or sex. Their target customer would involve individuals of all ages as well as those individuals with particular preference of product. Loblaw is a superstore full of products that appeal to every person and their needs. However, it may be appropriate to say that this company would not seek out approval of young children living at home, there is still advertising that is created to capture the attention of the young and in turn manipulate them into thinking that what Loblaw’s sell is the best choice for their guardians to supply for them. Although Loblaw sells the average product for the typical consumer, they also supply the general population with specialized products which draw people to their store. Some of these products may include: â€Å"Green Products† for those who are environmentally friendly, â€Å"Organic† products for those who prefer chemical free and naturally grown, â€Å"Blue Menu† products for those who are health food conscience or perhaps have health problems, and finally the standard â€Å"Club Pack† size for those who buy in bulk. Overall, Loblaw seeks out to target the general population and not one specific type of individual. Loblaw’s mission statement makes it obvious as to what their goals are, which ultimately always benefits the customer. Financial Situation Loblaw Companies Limited enjoyed a healthy year of operations back in 2005. Sales were $27 801 (all figures in millions unless otherwise stated) and operating expenses totaled to $26 400. There were two new operating expense items that were included in the 2005 figures. First, a Restructuring and Other Charges of $86 (Annual Report 2005, p. 47), after completion of detailed assessment of the Loblaw supply chain network, management approved a comprehensive plan to restructure its supply chain operations nationally. This plan is expected to reduce future operating costs, provide a smoother flow of products, better service levels to stores, and further enable the company to achieve its target operating efficiencies. Second, a proposed assessment of $40 from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) related to GST on certain products was made (Annual Report 2005, p. 48). Approximately $15 was settled in the fourth quarter, with the remainder representing management’s best estimate for potential liabilities. After interest and tax calculations, net earnings were a very respectable $746 or $2. 72 per share (Annual Report 2005, p. 38). Retained earnings increased in 2005 by $472 to $4 694. Loblaw also ended the year with a higher inventory than in previous years; this is in line with growth of sales. Loblaw engaged in corporate expansion during 2005. This reflects their increased fixed assets on their balance sheet for the year ended. Land, Building, Equipment and fixtures were primarily the assets that contributed to this growth. It should be noted Other Assets account decreased in value by a significant amount of $104 (Annual Report 2005, p. 39), most of the difference can be accounted for in the specific account labeled Franchise investments and other receivables. Loblaw Companies Limited continued their growth through 2008. With a sales figure of $30 802 (Annual Report 2008, p. 82), it is evident the management team is focused on their long term strategy of sustainability and continued growth. Loblaw is not a company to make drastic changes to their business plan and they focus on their customers and their shareholders when considering growth opportunities. They also do a tremendous job communicating their action plans in their annual reports and provide in-depth calculations through their use graphs and charts. This helps shareholders visualize Loblaw’s efforts as well as provide comparability. Growth between 2005 and 2008 was planned and consistent. Sales increased from $27 627 to $30 802 and operational costs from $26 226 to $29 756. Net earnings were respectable at $545 in 2008, lower than the 2005 figure of $746. This is because between these years Loblaw has taken on capital investment projects that required effected net earnings for the shareholder on a per share basis, including a loss of $219 in 2006 (Annual Report 2008, p. 82). Net earnings are continuing to rise in large increments from year to year. This truly indicates management at Loblaw is well established in their industry and are making calculated, well thought out investments as well increasing company value and recognition. After examining the five year summary, Working capital stood out the most. In 2005 working capital account was $210 but in 2008 the number increased significantly to $730 (Annual Report 2008, p. 82). It should be noted dividends have remained constant at 84 cents per share between 2005 and 2008. Total assets have increased during this time period, and net debt has decreased again indicating better business management. Only one figure seems to go against all the positives that the company has experienced. However, the market price had dropped from $56. 37 to $ 35. 23 which seems to be the only noticeable decline. (Annual Report 2008, pp. 82) (Loblaw Co. Ltd. Stock price over the past 5 years) Management and Human Resources Loblaw’s management board had remained quite consistent from 2005 to 2008. However, a couple of prominent changes occurred within this timeframe. In April 2008, three major positions occurred in Loblaw’s management board. These changes were implemented to benefit the company and eventually achieve greater success. A new President, a new Chief Merchandising Officer, and new Chief Financial Officer were appointed, Allan Leighton, Dalton Philips, and Robert Vaux respectively. (Loblaw Website, Management) These changes â€Å"†¦ streamlined [Loblaw’s] reporting structure and provided greater clarity and focus to roles and accountabilities throughout the Company† (Annual Report 2008, p. 5). The Human Resources Department is lead by Judy McCrie, who holds the position as Executive Vice President of Human Resources in the company. Employees are considered the ‘greatest resource’ to Loblaw. Loblaw continues to strengthen and expand its own in-store programs, including ‘The Leadership Means Business’ program and ‘The Store Managers’ Council’. These programs breed and encourage in-store leadership through the improvement of communication, leadership development, and training courses for store workers. The Leadership Means Business program focuses on â€Å"†¦ eading and engaging the men and women on the Company’s front line. † Loblaw looks to its in-store employees before looking elsewhere to hire for management positions. The Store Managers’ Council attends the Company’s management conferences every year, as senior management from many regions come together and give feedback and recommendations through consulting fellow employees. Many other off-site leadership programs are offered to store personnel that will â€Å"†¦ provide a common approach to leadership coaching, program execution and business development at the store level. † (Annual Report 2005, p. ) Ethical and Corporate Social Responsibility Practices In 2005, Loblaw Companies Limited was passionate about their social responsibilities, both ethical and corporate. They have a President’s Choice Children’s Charity, which (President’s Choice Children’s Charity) helped hundreds of disabled children in 2005. Loblaw also supports the Imagine Campaign, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Food Banks, and more. In addition to helping people, they do their best to preserve our environment through efforts in packaging, energy efficiency, environmental awareness, waste management, and management. An example of this is their use of refrigerators and lighting that are energy efficient, and they are partners with multiple agencies to have better conservation of energy. Loblaw trained and educated the staff on environmental risks. According to the company’s Code of Business Conduct, they hold â€Å"high standards of ethical conduct and business practices† (Annual Report 2005, p. 18). Loblaw has a committee to ensure this code is put into practice, and they are continually finding ways to make it better (Annual Report 2005, pp. 6-18) By 2008, Loblaw had adopted the five pillars to achieving ethical and corporate social responsibility. These are, â€Å"respect the environment, source with integrity, make a positive difference in our community, reflect our nation’s diversity, and be a great place to work† (Annual Report 2008, p. 17) During this year, they opened their first environment-friendly store, dramatically reduced the number of plastic bags used, and introduced seafood certified by the Marine Stewardship Council. Loblaw continued to have success in its President’s Choice Children’s Charity, where they also participated in KidFest. Post-secondary scholarships were given out to employees, and there was a decline in injuries. There are now surveys for employees which allows staff to give feedback on their job, manager, and the company (Annual Report 2008, pp. 16-19) Between 2005 and 2008, Loblaw has continued to expand on their efforts toward their ethical and corporate social responsibilities. They simplified and organized their goals with the five pillars, and as society becomes increasingly more aware about protecting the environment, this is reflected in the changes from 2005 to 2008. It is apparent that they are expanding on the ideas of going green, helping society, and satisfying employees. Recent Developments Recently in 2009 Loblaw Companies Limited has been on the news for several creative and initiation reasons. Reported in a press release in September 14th 2009, Loblaw â€Å"†¦is combing the country for recent graduates with a passion for food to join the Company's grad (at) Loblaw program. This national program provides recent graduates with the opportunity to kick-start their careers in a structured and supportive environment† (Yahoo Finance, September 14th). Loblaw based this initiative effort based on information from Statistic Canada, which indicate teenagers and young adults between the ages of 15 and 24 experienced an unemployment rate of 16. 8% during August 2009 (Yahoo Finance, September 14th). This is highest rate of unemployment for Canadians in that age bracket since the statistics have been kept starting in 1977. The program is 18 months in length, and during this time graduates will rotate through three areas of the company; in the first stage they will be for working at a store location for six months; second step is working with the merchandising operations department for another 6 months, then in the final stage for nine months the â€Å"†¦graduate was hired for at the onset of the program, such as store management, marketing, merchandising, supply chain, information technology, human resources or finance, where the graduates are able to apply the information and experience gained in the previous rotations† (Yahoo Finance, September 14th). In October 2009, Loblaw was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers. This prestigious recognition was granted for Loblaws â€Å"†¦efforts to attract and retain employees and create a great workplace environment. Loblaw is the only grocery retailer on the 2010 list†. Canada’s Top 100 Employers is an annual competition entering its 10th year. The competition determines which employers lead their industries in offering top work places for their employees, some of the criteria use during the evaluation process are; (1) Physical workplace, (2) Work and Atmosphere & Social, (3) Vacation & Time Off, (4) Performance (Canada’s Top 100 Employers) Management, (5)Training Skills & Development and a few others. (Yahoo Finance, October 9th). Recommendation and Conclusion Loblaw Companies Limited has received well deserved attention for their â€Å"Green† initiatives; this is a direct result of management’s effort to be perceived as a corporation that focuses on socially responsible causes. It would be very profitable for them in the long-term to maintain this. Loblaw has also been very success with the President’s Choice product’s advertisement campaign; they should definitely consider adding more product lines to their commercials. Loblaw carries a very diverse product mix, they organize their stores with many in store departments. They can reduce their costs for the short-term by opting against expansion on these. Loblaw identifies their most important resource as their employees, implementing new programs that enable them to grow their knowledge of products and company initiatives will make employees feel more connected to the Corporation and lead them to believe they have chosen the right place to work. Loblaw has grown in terms of their brand name and operational capabilities between 2005 and 2008. They are one of the leaders in their industry and continue to operate as a standard setter for customer satisfaction. A short trip to Loblaw will give any consumer the feeling that Loblaw operates very effectively and efficient, their employees are willing and able to meet customer questions and expectations and there is a sense of loyalty to the customers from management and employees. There is no doubt that Loblaw will continue its business well into the future and they will be looking to grow their business and further strengthen their influence in making the industry better as a whole.

Critically discuss how scientific paradigms influence research Coursework

Critically discuss how scientific paradigms influence research methodologies. Which of the current theoretical views & methodologies are most relevant to research within your discipline - And why - Coursework Example as its research methodology given the kind of paradigm it uses, prompting the researchers to establish first where the discipline they deal with belong. Research is an undertaking that is concerned with the exploration and understanding of social phenomena that are both academic and informative in nature. It pertains to formalized and spontaneously occurring social, psychological and cultural processes which are known as education. Research, therefore, deals educational concerns from a range of concepts and understandings of the social reality. This explains why a number of varied paradigms have been developed to explain the criteria according to the one selected and the definition of the problems awaiting the inquiry. Research methodology, on the other hand, is the inquiry strategy, which draws from the underlying assumptions to research design and data collection (Niglas 2000). Research methodology is mostly classified as either qualitative or quantitative, although there are other distinctions concerning the mode of the research. These two tend to create distinctions about the knowledge of nature and also the way data is collected and analyzed. (Rescher 2000), and finally the kind of generalizations deduced from the data. While quantitative research method tends to study natural phenomena, qualitative method inquiries into the social and cultural phenomena. This paper will inquire into the various ways in which scientific paradigms influence research methodologies, which of the current theoretical views and methodologies are most relevant within the discipline of engineering. Finally, it will also look into the reasons why the methodologies so selected are most relevant in this discipline. There are three philosophical perspectives widely accepted as paradigms in the contemporary social, management and organizational research. These paradigms include the Positivism paradigm, Interpretivism paradigm and the Critical Postmodernism paradigm. Notably, the main

Research on the Basking Shark Forming an argument to list the Basking Paper

On the Basking Shark Forming an argument to list the Basking Shark as an Endangered species (with consideration to ES - Research Paper Example The color of basking shark is typically blackish to grey-brown, grey or blue-grey above and below the body and fins, often with irregular white blotches on the underside of the head and abdomen (Compagno, 2001 from COSEWIC, 2007). Basking sharks prefer cool and temperate coastal shelf waters and are distributed worldwide. In the North Atlantic (Compagno, 2001), basking sharks are sighted in waters off countries as far south and east as Senegal, through Europe, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Canada, along the eastern seaboard of the United States and into the Gulf of Mexico. In the North Pacific, they are observed as far south and west as Japan, through to China, Alaska, British Columbia, along the western seaboard of the United States and Mexico (Compagno, 2001, from COSEWIC, 2007). Habitat requirements The habitat requirements for basking shark (Sim et al, 1997) are associated with the oceanographic events on zooplankton concentration. Fronts off headlands, around islands and in bays with strong fluctuation of water masses from tidal flow were also frequented. In a study conducted by Compagno (2001), it recorded basking shark in the epipelagic zone by aerial surveys, in pelagic driftnet fisheries and is caught in bottom trawls off the St. Lawrence River, Scotian Shelf and Scotland. Te Newfoundland Observer Program (NOP) also noted that basking sharks have been caught in trawl nets fishing in depths up to 1370m. Fifteen percent of the records from waters deeper than 1000m were also observed. Skomal (2005) suggested that basking sharks migrate to different wintering habitats. They are seen to be influenced by patterns of prey distribution, varying by depths, location, and season (COSEWIC, 2007). Observed on the habitat trends of the basking sharks is the consistency of target areas and preference for high concentration of zooplankton. This has been linked to both large and small scale oceanographic conditions that change quickly (Sims and Quayle, 1998, from COSEWIC, 20 07). Reproduction and Mortality The pairing of the basking shark (Sims et al, 2000) is perceived to occur in early summer. This is based on the observed courtship behavior which is nose to tail circling, and scarring. The gestation period of basking shark with a litter of six young is at 2.6 years (Pauly, 2002). The assumed length at birth is 1.5m. The time between successive litters may be two to three years (Compagno, 2001) and like other lamnoid sharks, the basking sharks develop embryonic ovophagy which supplies nutrients to the developing embryos (Compagno, 2001, from COSEWIC, 2007). The longevity of the basking shark is approximated at 50 years. The age of maturity is about 12 to 16 years in males and 16 to 20 years in females (UK CITES, 2002). Generally, females are presumed to mature at larger sizes than males with an estimated size at 4.6 to 6.1m in length at the stage of maturity. Yearly productivity ranges from 0.013 to 0.023 based on the methodology of Smith et al (1998) . They used age at maturity, maximum age and average fecundity. Smith et al (1998) suggested that the potential for recovery or rebound rate may be lower for basking shark when compared to other species of Pacific sharks. Pauly (2002) determined the natural mortality to be 0.068 based on the age of maturity at 18 years for female which midrange is 16 –

Runology in Scandinavia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Runology in Scandinavia - Essay Example This alphabet uses only sixteen runes, and in many cases one symbol is used to represent many sounds. Even when dealing with the Younger Futhark, there are several related but slightly different alphabets that vary by place and time. These can be roughly divided into two main types: the first is the "long-branch" or normal Younger Futhark, which are sometimes referred to as the "Danish runes". There is also a variant known as the "short-twig runes" in which the forms are simpler, also called the "Norwegian-Swedish runes". "Shorthand" versions of these futharks appeared, as did hybrid variants. What exact form was used depended on exactly what date one is looking at, and what region. By the Middle Ages, as the language changed and so did the runic alphabet. Gradually symbols were changed, and new symbols adopted, resulting in a 16-rune alphabet plus extensions. Most of the surviving Viking Age runic inscriptions come from rune-stones, which were erected as grave markers, memorials, and cenotaphs most often. By the middle ages in Scandinavia, runes came to be used occasionally to record Latin inscriptions (approximately 10% of all medieval runic inscriptions are Latin) and these usually invocations of saints or prayers. Occasionally runes are found on various wooden items such as crosses. In Bergen, Norway, 110 "ownership tags" have been found, shaped in many cases so that they can be easily attached to goods or merchandise. Several runic "business memos" have also been discovered in Bergen, usually on a wooden stick which has been whittled flat on at least one side, with the most usual type having four flat sides for inscription. Since the runes occurred in a fixed order, carpenters and construction workers used them to label wooden roof beams for churches so that they went up in the correct order. The oldest runes discovered in Norway date from 400 AD. They were based upon the 24 - rune Elder Futhark of Germanic origin. Two of the runes in the Elder Futhark, Pertra and Eoh, have never been found in any Norwegian rune text. From 550 AD to 700 AD there was a transition period between the older 24-rune Futhark and the newer 16-rune Futharks. By the end of this period, the 24-rune Futhark went completely out of use and the 16-rune Futharks had prevailed. Then, about 900 AD, the Shorttwiggs-runes were introduced from Sweden. Shortly thereafter, from 1000 AD, Futharks with more than 16 runes became more prevalent, as these were more consistent with the Latin alphabet. These types of runes were used in Norway up to 1800 AD. After the end of the Viking period the runes became more and more in common use by ordinary people. A lot of rune inscriptions from the end of 1100's, 1200's and 1300's, the so-called town runes, show that it was not only the professional scribes who wrote runes. Even the ordinary people had learned the art of reading and writing runes because runes were the most accessible tool for them and were useful in their mercantile trading. "Training sticks" have been found which were used to learn runes, showing that more people could write and read than one had previously believed. It is interesting that knowledge of runes

Analysis between eBay and Amazon.com Research Proposal

Analysis between eBay and Amazon.com - Research Proposal Example at these goods not only include books, clothes, electronics, machinery, tickets or vehicles but also the daily groceries almost completely erasing the need to go to a superstore (Borade, 2008). The massive development of the ecommerce sector owes full credit to the two giants, eBay Inc. and Amazon.com; two of the first Internet shopping companies. These websites sell all kinds of products including vehicles, equipment, machinery, clothing, toys, gadgets, computers, and books. They not only sell products directly to customers but also act as intermediates for companies such as IBM or Bed Bath & Beyond, and third parties who sell their products through these websites. Moreover, they are also affiliated with other companies; for instance, eBay is affiliated with PayPal, a global money transfer organization (History of Ecommerce, 2004). Although both eBay and Amazon are online shopping companies, their business models are quite different from each other. This is due to the fact that they were based on entirely different concepts. At the time Amazon was created, it was simply an online bookstore. Precisely speaking, the company used to sell books owned by itself. And with the passage of time, Amazon increased the variety of products sold on the website, which initially included CDs, mp3 players, and other electronic gadgets. On the other hand, eBay was initiated as an online auction company as well as a shopping website for all kinds of goods, ranging from clothes to electronics. EBay did not auction or sell products owned by itself but rather acted as an intermediary for various companies or random sellers to sell their products through the eBay website (Online Auction, 2005). However, due to the current financial crisis both companies have changed their course of action in order to survive in the Internet shopping industry. Amazon has started inviting small-scale sellers to list their products in the website, just like eBay. Meanwhile, eBay has started fixed price

Issues in Retailing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Issues in Retailing - Essay Example Apart from the above issues there are ethical issues specific to particular retailers that also have a major role to play in the development of the respective businesses. This paper makes a report on the ethical issues being faced by Tesco, a major retailer in the UK. One of the key elements that have been identified in the ethical implications of the retail industry in the UK is with respect to the issues in the supply chain management especially those encountered by them in sourcing from overseas markets. Several groups of stakeholders have evinced greater interest in this phenomenon. "This interest by the media, investors, consumers, employees, the Government and NGOs has led companies to explore how they can best control and manage the ethical implications of increased sourcing from overseas markets."2 In order to ensure that the supply chain management of the retailers is an effective social compliance model from the ethical point of view the retailers specify that the manufacturers' facilities meet the local regulations concerning the compliances or they follow the codes of conduct specified by the retailers in this connection. For monitoring this, the retailers make use of the external agencies specialized in this area or some of them even employ their own full time specialist executives. This issue can as well be related to the term 'Ethical Trading'. Though there is no consensus on the definition of ethical trade at least in the UK context ethical trading refers to sourcing of products from companies that ensure better labour and human rights standards to their workforce which are part of the social compliance. Another key element in the ethical sphere that has a close connection with the retail industry can be identified in 'Fair Trading'. Fair trade has more development oriented specific aim of "[contributing]towards change in international relations in such a way that disadvantaged producers can increase their control over their own future, have a fair and just return for their work, continuity of income and decent working conditions through sustainable development."3 Though fair trading started with increased focus on the socio economic issues, with the passage of time there has been a shift in the focus towards meeting the environmental standards. Although the Ethical Trading Initiative (UK) does not mention anything about the environmental standards, several retailers have started to monitor the environmental performance of their suppliers. "For instance, through the Assured Produce scheme used in British agriculture and supported by many multiple retailers also involved in the Ethical Trading Initiative."4 It is often stressed that the ethical trading should not only focus on the socio-economic issues but also should cover the environmental

Struggle & Survival Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Struggle & Survival - Essay Example In addition, they were the means of spreading of ideas across systems of communication. Moreover, the creation and development of European settler societies greatly transformed the lives of these people both negatively as well as positively (11). The society during the European colonization of America was an irregularly delicate structure. The establishment of European settler societies brought about changes in lifestyle for instance the issue of town living as a form of living a civilized life. Other settlers arrived in America with the hope of reinstating a structure of society that they deemed was appropriate in Western Europe. As a result, armed disagreement with the Native Americans offered a strong inducement for integration as did the occasionally threatening peculiarity of the American environment. However, shortly, the compelling forces in New World civilization acted as a prevailing corrosive on the common standards and forms of behaviour of the European settlers, both in the borders and inside the colonial cities and towns (17). The European perceptions of personal property and the adverse exploitation of the environment for commercial purposes were great deterrents to communal modes of behaviour. Nevertheless, the Indian ways of life and culture offered a resilient foundation for societal cohesion. Among African slaves, integration and cohesion occurred in terms of religious affiliations than in open struggle. In addition, there were several chances for grouping integration with the strongly administered social order of plantation, household and mine. This provided the African slaves with a good ground of interaction and modification of their behaviour. These people learned various aspects of life, which they incorporated in their daily activities (18). The collective foundation of the community remained integral in the Native American civilizations and to a smaller extent even among the

Greece Crisis Essay Example for Free

Greece Crisis Essay Years of unrestrained spending, cheap lending and failure to implement financial reforms left Greece badly exposed when the global economic downturn struck. This whisked away a curtain of partly fiddled statistics to reveal debt levels and deficits that exceeded limits set by the eurozone.Greece was living beyond its means even before it joined the euro. After it adopted the single currency, public spending soared. Public sector wages, for example, rose 50% between 1999 and 2007 far faster than in most other eurozone countries. The government also ran up big debts paying for the 2004 Athens Olympics. And while money flowed out of the governments coffers, its income was hit by widespread tax evasion. So, after years of overspending, its budget deficit the difference between spending and income spiralled out of control. Moreover, much of the borrowing was concealed, as successive Greek governments sought to meet the 3%-of-GDP cap on borrowing that is required of members of the euro. When the global financial downturn hit and Greeces hidden borrowings came to light the country was ill-prepared to cope. Debt levels reached the point where the country was no longer able to repay its loans, and was forced to ask for help from its European partners and the IMF in the form of massive loans. In the short term, however, the conditions attached to these loans have compounded Greeces woes. How big are these debts? National debt, put at â‚ ¬300 billion ($413.6 billion), is bigger than the countrys economy, with some estimates predicting it will reach 120 percent of gross domestic product in 2010. The countrys deficit how much more it spends than it takes in is 12.7 percent. So what happens now? Greeces credit rating the assessment of its ability to repay its debts has been downgraded to the lowest in the eurozone, meaning it will likely be viewed as a financial black hole by foreign investors. This leaves the country struggling to pay its bills as interest rates on existing debts rise. The Greek government of Prime Minister George Papandreou, which inherited much of the financial burden when it took office late last year, has already scrapped most of its pre-election promises and must implement harsh and unpopular spending cuts. Will this hurt the rest of Europe? Greece is already in major breach of eurozone rules on deficit management and with the financial markets betting the country will default on its debts, this reflects badly on the credibility of the euro. There are also fears that financial doubts will infect other nations at the low end of Europes economic scale, with Portugal and the Republic of Ireland coming under scrutiny. If Europe needs to resort to rescue packages involving bodies such as the International Monetary Fund, this would further damage the euros reputation and could lead to a substantial fall against other key currencies. If Greece does not repay its creditors, a dangerous precedent will have been set. This may make investors increasingly nervous about the likelihood of other highly-indebted nations, such as Italy, or those with weak economies, such as Spain, repaying their debts or even staying inside the euro. If investors stop buying bonds issued by other governments, then those governments in turn will not be able to repay their creditors a potentially disastrous vicious circle. To combat this risk, European leaders have agreed a 700bn-euro firewall to protect the rest of the eurozone from a full-blown Greek default. Moreover, if banks in the weaker eurozone countries that are already struggling to find enough capital are forced to write off even more loans they have made something that becomes more likely if the eurozone economy falls deeper into recession they will become weaker still, undermining confidence in the entire banking system. Eurozone banks may then find it even hard to borrow, and therefore to lend, potentially sparking a second credit crunch, where bank lending effectively dries up, hurting the economy further. This problem would be exacerbated by savers and investors taking money out of banks in vulnerable economies, such as Greece, Portugal and Spain, and moving it to banks in safer economies such as Germany or the Netherlands. These potential scenarios would be made immeasurably worse if Greece were to leave the euro. The country would almost certainly reintroduce the drachma, which would devalue dramatically and quickly, making it even harder for Greece to repay its debts, and setting an even worse precedent. So what is Greece doing? As already mentioned, the government has started slashing away at spending and has implemented austerity measures aimed at reducing the deficit by more than â‚ ¬10 billion ($13.7 billion). It has hiked taxes on fuel, tobacco and alcohol, raised the retirement age by two years, imposed public sector pay cuts and applied tough new tax evasion regulations. Are people happy with this? Predictably, quite the opposite and there have been warnings of resistance from various sectors of society. Workers nationwide have staged strikes closing airports, government offices, courts and schools. This industrial action is expected to continue. How are Greeces European neighbors helping? Led by Germanys Chancellor Angela Merkel, all 16 countries which make up the euro zone have agreed a rescue plan for their ailing neighbor. The package, which would only be offered as a last resort, will involve co-ordinated bilateral loans from countries inside the common currency area, as well as funds and technical assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to a joint statement on the EU Web site, a majority of the euro zone States would contribute an amount based on their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and population, in the event that Greece needed support after failing to access funds in the financial markets. This means Germany will be the main contributor, followed by France. Although the announcement did not mention any specific figure, a senior European official quoted by Reuters said that the potential package may be worth around 20 billion euro (US$26.8 billion). However any European-backed loan package requires the unanimous approval of European Union members, meaning any euro zone country would have effective veto power. By the end of 2009, as a result of a combination of international and local factors the Greek economy faced its most-severe crisis since the restoration of democracy in 1974 as the Greek government revised its deficit from a prediction of 3.7% in early 2009 and 6% in September 2009, to 12.7% of gross domestic product (GDP). In early 2010, it was revealed that through the assistance of Goldman Sachs,JP Morgan Chase and numerous other banks, financial products were developed which enabled the governments of Greece, Italy and possibly other countries to hide their borrowing. This had enabled Greek governments to spend beyond their means, while meeting the deficit targets of the European Union and the monetary union guidelines. In May 2010, the Greek government deficit was again revised and estimated to be 13.6% for the year, which was one of the highest in the world relative to GDP. Total public debt was forecast, according to some estimates, to hit 120% of GDP during 2010, As a consequence, there was a crisis in international confidence in Greeces ability to repay its sovereign debt. In order to avert such a default, in May 2010 the other Eurozone countries, and the IMF, agreed to a rescue package which involved giving Greece an immediate â‚ ¬45 billion in bail-out loans, with more funds to follow, totaling â‚ ¬110 billion. In order to secure the funding, Greece was required to adopt harsh austerity measures to bring its deficit under control. Their implementation will be monitored and evaluated by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF. On 15 November 2010 the EUs statistics body Eurostat revised the public finance and debt figure for Greece following an excessive deficit procedure methodological mission in Athens, and put Greeces 2009 government deficit at 15.4% of GDP and public debt at 126.8% of GDP making it the biggest defici t (as a percentage of GDP) amongst the EU member nations (although some have speculated that Irelands in 2010 may prove to be worse). The financial crisis – particularly the austerity package put forth by the EU and the IMF – has been met with anger by the Greek public, leading to riots and social unrest. Despite the long range of austerity measures, the government deficit has not been reduced accordingly, mainly, according to many economists, due to the subsequent recession. Consequently, the countrys debt to GDP continues to rise rapidly. The Greek public sector continues to be bloated, but the government has been reluctant to make civil servants redundancies. Immigrants are sometimes treated as scapegoats for economic problems by far-right extremists. Why should Greece Default. Contagion. Unemployment. Haircuts. Seemingly endless summits of the Troika. The news coming out of Europe continues to be bleak and at the center of the storm is Greece, a Eurozone member drowning in its sovereign debt. In the shadow of the global financial crisis of 2008, the specter of a disorderly Greek default has spooked investors and policymakers alike. Greece, a country that contributes less than 3% of Eurozone GDP, is holding the international economy hostage. The uncertainty arising from ineffectual rescue packages, prolonged negotiations, and poor implementation of austerity measures is slowing foreign investment in the EU and increasing volatility on the exchanges. Decisive action is desperately needed, but when will it come? It is in both Greece and the Eurozone’s best interest for the inevitable to take place, now, before more rescue packages tie Greece to unachievable goals in the short run. Greece should default and begin the painful process of recovery outside of the Eurozone. The Greek crisis is testing the long-term viability of the euro experiment, an integrated European fiscal and monetary union, with supranational standards for spending and taxation, a common central bank, and a common currency. Ironically, a leading motivation for the establishment of the Eurozone was to protect Europe from U.S. financial disruptions, when, in fact, the reverse scenario seems of greater concern today. With the possibility of Greece‘s sovereign debt default, banks, bondholders, and private creditors – those with high levels of exposure and counterparty risk – are on high alert and shaping (if not delaying) negotiations. The EU makes up 20% of the global economy and constitutes the largest single market by GDP. In the Eurozone alone there are roughly 320 million people, comparable to the United States. But unlike the U.S. dollar, a national currency in a Federalist system, the euro is issued in states that maintain drastically different fiscal policies. How can policymakers realistically balance the interests of economic powerhouses like France and Germany, who contribute 50 percent of Eurozone GDP, with the interests and needs of the other fifteen member-states? The challenge before policymakers is to deepen European integration – the move toward political, economic, and cultural homogeneity – in order to sustain a Eurozone, while realizing when a line needs to be drawn in order to keep the whole thing from falling apart. From a political standpoint, Greece does not appear to be adjusting with sufficient speed to justify inclusion in the zone. Its government is under siege; tax evasion is endemic across all levels of society; and people no longer trust the government due to its inept handling of the budget, most notably in the cooked books of the Papandreou government. From an economic standpoint, the longer the Eurozone waits to act, the more Greece’s balance sheet deteriorates. Since 2008, economic output has fallen by 6.5% and debt as a percent of GDP has skyrocketed from 133% to 163% on a linear projection. Interest rates will continue to go up. And culturally, it is time to accept and acknowledge the societal differ ences that give Europe its charming vibrancy. Put another way, when the Germans go to bed, the Greeks go out to dinner. Some things will likely never change in Europe and the architecture of the Eurozone needs to account for that. Is there light at the end of the tunnel for Greece? In fact, recent economic history offers some cause for optimism. In December 2001, Argentina experienced the largest default on sovereign debt the world had ever seen. Like Greece, the default had been preceded by a decade of toxic economic policies, mismanagement, and corruption. A political crisis culminating in five different presidents over the course of two weeks exacerbated the economic situation. After accepting 22 billion dollars in aid through debt reduction deals and other channels by the end of 2001, Argentina had made little progress in the way of reform. The default was disorderly and disruptive. But after drastic moves, including unpegging the Argentine peso from the U.S. dollar, and a series of post-default investments from the international community, Argentina rebounded with remarkable success. Today, you are more likely to read about the burgeoning start-up culture and innovation centers of Buenos Aires than you are about bailouts and unemployment. There is a path f orward for Greece, but the time to default is now. Of course, innovation centers won’t hurt either. Whether you should follow a particular political or economic policy depends very much on the costs and benefits of following said political or economic policy. If the costs are higher than the benefits then of course you shouldn’t be doing it: this is just standard logic. We can go further too. If you’ve got two and only two unpalatable options then you should go for the one that has the least costs, is the least painful. Which is why Greece should default altogether on its debts and leave the euro. The standard mainstream solution for a country with Greece’s problems is exactly that: if the debt is too much to pay then don’t pay it. Better that some lenders lose their money than an entire population get screwed down into poverty to pay it back. That might not be quite fair on the lenders but tough: people before profit. And this has at least been partially done with the private sector holders of Greece’s debt all taking a 70% haircut last month. It ’s the second part of the standard solution (and yes, this is the entirely standard solution, the sort of thing the IMF recommends) is to devalue the currency. For if you don’t you’ve got to have years, decades even, of grinding austerity to try to regain economic competitiveness. But, of course, being in the euro, Greece cannot do this. So Greece must leave the euro. From the other side the standard objection is that Greece is still running a large budget deficit. This means that a default cannot be done for the government will still need to borrow money just to pay the police and the pensions. So while in theory a default and devaluation would be better than grinding austerity it just cannot be one. But this is to miss the point that Felix Salmon makes: Once you strip out Greece’s debt payments, the country’s primary deficit is pretty modest — just 1% of GDP or so. There are two different budget deficits. The one where we include all the interest that has to be paid and the one where we don’t that latter being the primary deficit. So, with a default then the interest won’t be paid. And the Greek Government will then have to cut spending (or raise taxes) by 1% of GDP because they cannot borrow any more. The point here being that this is less cuts than they’re already being told they have to do. Balancing the budget without having to pay the interest will be easier than what they’re being told they have to do to stay inside the euro. And devaluation will make recovery a great deal easier than decades of internal austerity. Thus it is actually in Greece’s own interest to default on the outstanding debts and to leave the euro and devalue the New Drachma. Not that they’ll have much choice about that last of course. WHY SHOULD GREEECE NOT DEFAULT. 1. Things could get really messy. One of the biggest problems about having a country exit the Eurozone is that this feat was neither planned for, nor has ever been attempted before. Who knows what can happen? For all we know, the situation could get even messy. If Greece gets booted out of the euro zone, theyd have to revert back to using the drachma and this alone is a daunting task. The Greek government would have to make sure that this process goes through without a glitch in order to prevent a flight of capital and social unrest. Now thats a tall order considering how Greece cant seem to come up with a stable government to begin with. 2. A bank run could take place in Europe. Even if Greece manages to reintroduce the drachma, a massive capital outflow from Greece is still very likely as financial institutions and investors wont be willing to put their money in such an unstable environment. With the rest of the PIIGS nations being touted as next in line to exit the euro zone, large amounts of money are likely to flow out of these countries as well. 3. It might lead to a euro zone break-up. Economist Nouriel Roubini pointed out that, unless Portugal and Ireland are able to restructure their debt successfully, they could wind up following Greece out of the euro zone. Although he mentioned that an exit by these smaller countries probably wouldnt disrupt the entire region or the global financial market, he also remarked that the existence of the euro zone would be in jeopardy once the bigger debt-ridden countries such as Spain and Italy think of leaving. On top of that, the ECB and several euro zone countries hold a part of Greeces debt in their balance sheets, which means that a Grexit and the debt default that could follow would force them to realize large losses. And if the finances of the ECB or Germany are in shambles, who would be left to save the euro zone? 4. Another Lehman tragedy waiting to happen? Several analysts are also worried that a Grexit would eventually lead to a Greek debt default, which could result in a credit freeze similar to what happened when the Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy in 2008. At that time, banks were unable to absorb the losses and the chain of bankruptcies that followed, eventually leading to a financial crisis. This time around, another financial meltdown could take place if investors, banks, and other governments are forced to accept losses from holding Greek debt. Firewalls could collapse, banks could refuse to lend, spending could be constrained, and another global recession could be possible. Of course, Big Brother Germany is keen on preventing a full-blown crisis from happening, with analysts speculating that euro zones top economy would come up with a Grashall Plan or a Marshall Plan for Greece. Under this proposed mega-bailout package, Germany and the rest of the euro zone nations could pool billions of Euros in order to buy Greece more time. Then again, another bailout package could be accompanied by stricter austerity requirements, which Greece is neither willing nor able to carry out. With that, it seems that a Grexit isnt a matter of if, but rather a question of when.

Five Forces of Competition Essay Example for Free

Five Forces of Competition Essay Air travel has changed the way people live and experience the world today. The airline industry is a strategic sector that plays a fundamental role in the globalization of other industries since it promotes tourism, world trade, foreign investment and, therefore, leads to economic growth. However, all airlines within the industry operate in a highly dynamic environment where various legal, social, technological and economic forces interact with each other, thus influencing their decisions and actions In the industry where airlines can face severe financial distress due to oil crisis, recessions and terrorist attacks, In order to survive, as well as succeed, the business needs to assess its competitive environment and identify key factors that may influence its actions (Porter, 1998, p. 5). The airline industry is very competitive and Michael Porter’s five-forces model can be used to analyse the intensity of the competition and the profitability of this industry. Porter’s five forces model is a business unit strategy tool which is used to make an analysis of the value of an industry structure (Hubbard, 2004, pg 35). The analysis is made by the identification of 5 fundamental competitive forces. These include: Threat of new entrants is high  One of the forces identified by this model is the threat of new entrants which refers to the possibility of new competitors entering the industry and undermining the profits of the established businesses. In the world today, the airline industry is so saturated that there is hardly space for a newcomer to enter the market. The biggest for this is the cost of entry. The airline industry is one of the most expensive industries, due to the cost of buying and leasing aircrafts, safety and security measures, customer service and manpower. Other barriers to entry which will recess new comers into the airline industry include Government restrictions and high capital costs to develop new airlines. However, the entry barriers for new airlines is lower today since the Australian domestic airline market was deregulated in 1990. This has produced far greater competition than before deregulation in most markets. The deregulation has allowed Jetstar and Tiger Airways enter the market and reduce the market share for Virgin Blue and with the added competition, together with pricing freedom, means that there is a major onstraint on profitability for the airline industry. Moreover if borrowing is cheap the likelihood of more airlines entering the industry is higher. Bargaining power of Buyers is high The bargaining power of buyers is another force that can affect the competitive position of a company (Porter, 1998, p. 48). This refers to the amount of pressure customers can place on a business, thus, affecting its prices, volume and profit potential (Porter, 1998, p. 45). The various airlines flying from the Gold Coast airport are competing for the same customer, which also results in strengthening the buyer power. Individuals wishing to travel to and from the Coolangatta airport are presented with various choices when selecting an airline but price is usually the most important factor, especially for students and families. Hence, the bargaining power of customers in the airline industry is very high since they are price sensitive and search for the best deals available. Virgin Blue attracts travellers that are price sensitive by offering them low fares and those that are convenience oriented by providing them with frequent flights. Qantas on the other hand has created a frequent flyer program to create switching costs which may be a significant factor to a traveller when choosing which airline to fly with. Bargaining Power of Suppliers is high Suppliers can also exercise considerable pressure on a company by increasing prices or lowering the quality of products offered which are mainly dominated by Boeing and Airbus. The bargaining power of suppliers depends on supplier concentration, substitute supplies, switching costs, threat of forward integration and buyer information. However, other suppliers who work with the airline such as the providers of on board snacks do not have the same bargaining power as they are a larger industry which allows for Virgin Blue to have a choice over who they are purchasing from. Virgin Blue will purchase their on board snacks from the supplier which is the most economic so Virgin Blue can make a higher profit margin from the goods when they are sold. Threat of Substitutes is low for international carriers/ little higher for short distance The availability and threat of substitutes is another factor that can affect competition within the airline industry. It refers to the likelihood that customers may switch to another product or service that performs similar functions (Stahl, M, Grigsby D 1997, pg 145). Substitutes for air travel include travelling by train, bus or car to the desired destination. The degree of this threat depends on various factors such as money, convenience, time and personal preference of travellers. The competition from substitutes is affected by the ease of with which buyers can change over to a substitute. A key consideration is usually the buyers switching costs, however due to their low fare non-stop flights, Virgin Blue, Jetstar and Tiger airways can lure both price sensitive and convenience oriented travellers away from these substitutes. Competitive Rivalry is high  Industries that are very competitive generally earn low profits and returns since the cost of competition is high. The airline industry is usually characterized by the cut-throat competition that exists among the rival airlines due to its low cost nature. Since the carriers are involved in a constant struggle to take away the market share from each other, industry growth is average and as it is easy for buyers to switch between the airline companies, depending on price, the rivalry is increased. Rivalry is also high in the airline industry due to high fixed costs, as much of the cost of a flight is fixed, there is a great opportunity for airlines to sell unsold seats cheaply, which resolve in pricing wars between the airlines (Hubbard, 2004, pg 38). The airlines are continually competing against each other in terms of prices, technology, in-flight entertainment, customer services and many more areas. The net result of this competition between companies is an overall slow market growth rate. In conclusion we can understand that the airline industry is very competitive and Michael Porters five-forces model can be used to explain why the potential for returns is so low in this industry. Firstly, the threat of new companies entering the industry is high and the entry barriers are low. Secondly, the bargaining power of customers is high since they are price sensitive and search for the best deals. The third force, bargaining position of suppliers, is strong since they are concentrated and this limits the control airlines have over suppliers to reduce prices and earn higher profits. The availability and threat of substitutes is another factor that can affect a company’s competitive position. However, the degree of this threat depends on various factors such as time, money, convenience and personal preferences of travellers. The final force in Porters model is competitive rivalry between the companies within an industry. Cut-throat competition exists among the airlines and since there is a constant struggle for market share, the over all profit potential of this industry is low.

Influence of Mass Media on Teenagers

Influence of Mass Media on Teenagers Mass media plays a significant role in today’s world. It broadcasts informationas fast as possible as well provides entertainment to massive audiences. Mass Media comprises of press, television, radio, books and the Internet. Media is one of the most influential aspects of our lives. By creating a certain type of message, media can manipulate people’s attitude and opinions. Over the years, as technological advances have taken place this type of communication has become very easy and feasible to have. Almost every household now owns an internet connection, television or a cell phone etc. This has led to a widespread usage of mass media, especially among the teenagers. The fact that there was a time when the internet, television and cell phones were considered a necessity but now they seem to be more of a commodity teenagers seem addicted to pretty much explains that there is bound to be a downside to the influence mass media has on teens. The teenagers of today seem too engrossed in watching their favourite shows on television or using social media applications on their phones or computers that they are slowly losing touch with reality. They have become addicted. There are many consequences to this unhealthy addiction. One becomes lazy and does not feel the need to get up and do something productive. It leads to obesity and tiredness. It also leads to unhealthy consumption of junk or fast food. I say this from my personal experience, as I always feel the need to have pizza or chips along with a beverage when I’m watching a show or a movie. Teenagers also tend to spend hours over the internet interacting with strangers who could pose as a th reat as it is easy to fake an identity over the internet. They would very much prefer using Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr etc. instead of studying or doing an outdoor activity. Therefore, this addiction can be very destructive. â€Å"A cross sectional study was carried out in Spain in 2003 to define mass media use in teenagers (television, mobile phones, computers, Internet and video games) and to examine its influence on teenagers health and development. The data collected was based on a sample of 884 teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18 years. The sample was retrieved from high schools residing in six towns in Cantabria (Spain). The results showed that all adolescents had a television at home and 24% of the families owned four or more TV sets. The presence of mass media in teenagers’ rooms was 52.5% for TV sets, 52% for the internet, 57.8% for computers, and 38.7% for gaming consoles. The most frequently found media in their bedrooms were cassette/radio players and compac t disks with percentages of 76.8 % and 67.4 %, respectively. Furthermore, teenagers spent on average 3 hours on television on weekdays and 3.2 on weekends. They spent 0.69 hours on average on weekdays and 1.09 hours on the weekend. On internet they spent on average 0.83 hours on the weekdays and 1.15 hours on the weekend. Other results of the study showed that about 87.2 % of the teenagers owned a cell phone. The average age at which they got their first phone was 13 years old. Almost half the teenagers (46.4 %) took their mobile phones to high school and reported that they had an average of three mobile phones at home. Also most of them (82.1 %) surfed the internet but boys preferred surfing and downloading games whereas girls preferred chatting and sending e-mails. Sixty-two percent of the teenagers had been to a cybercafà © and 40.8 % had visited a pornographic website, especially boys (33.1 % of boys versus 7.7 % of girls; p Mass media is a very powerful tool to influence the minds of anyone, let alone a teenager. Teenagers are in that stage of growing up where everything around them influences them. The way they talk, dress and act depends a lot on what they are exposed to. For example, if a teenager sees his or her favourite celebrity endorsing a product which may or may not be necessary, he or she may want to buy it regardless of how useful the product is. This is a strategy many big businesses use to their advantage as they can easily sell products, even if they are of bad quality. â€Å"Advertising is a very manipulative technique to promote products. Special attention needs to be paid to advertising’s effects. Three product categories are especially important for teens’ health: cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, and food. According to the teen marketing experts, adolescents â€Å"admit that advertising is a more important trend source than DJs, VJs, movies, celebrities, or the coolest and weirdest people at school† (P, 1995). We must be alert about the effects of advertising that deliberately exploit the insecurities of adolescents and attempt to â€Å"sell† them the answers to their problems with an abundance of new products. Television is a medium people widely now have easy access to. Nowadays, there are many shows such as Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones and Da Vinci’s Demons etc. on television that glorify sex, drugs, alcohol and violence. Online streaming and downloading has made it even more convenient to watch shows and films which means that teenagers have easier access to their favourite shows that contain obscenity. This kind of exposure poses as a threat as many teenagers find sex, drugs, alcohol, smoking and violence to be â€Å"cool†. As a result, many teenagers fall prey to problem of addiction. Drugs, alcohol, smoking and sex are all termed as things that are addictive and if one develops the problem of addiction, life becomes really hard to cope with. It’s like you are moving towards your own destruction. It must be quite a challenge for adolescents not to see portrayals of alcohol in their everyday use of the media. Alcohol appears in more than 70% of prime-time televisi on shows and in 90% of the movies† (Roberts DF, Henriksen L, Christenson PG, 1999). Greater than one third of all main characters drink alcohol, but fewer than 2% are shown as having a drinking problem (N, 1987). Advertising links alcohol with a variety of benefits that appeal to teenagers such as socializing, virility, sexual attraction, romance, escape, and adventure (Atkin CK, Strasberger VC, Comstock GA (eds), 1993), and few consequences (e.g., hangovers, accidents, violence, and embarrassment). Alcohol advertising also often represents slices of life that concentrate on the drinkers and the drinking occasions rather than on the qualities of the product itself, which may be particularly appealing to teens who are using the media for ideas about how to be in the world. Video games are vastly played by the teenagers of today. The video games are highly addictive as well contain a lot of mature content. In US about 97% of the teens play video games. The local video game industry over there brings in nearly a revenue of $12 billion a year. Many studies have shown that video games with violent content are associated with violent behavior. This concern is important because most of the popular video games contain violence. The increase in aggressive behavior is partly linked to the amount of time teens spend on playing video games. (Gentile Anderson, 2003) have stated that playing video games may increase aggressive behaviour because violent acts are frequently repeated throughout the video game. This process of repetition has long been considered as an effective teaching method in strengthening learning patterns. Another study carried out in 2008 took a nationally representative sample of 1,102 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 and their parents. From the results, it was found that 97 percent of the young respondents play video games. Further divided on the basis of gender, 99 percent of boys and 94 percent of girls played video games. Half the respondents had also played a video game the previous day. This emphasizes on how frequently they are exposed to video games. Even though most parents checked the censor’s rating before permitting their child to buy it, 50 percent of boys and 14 percent of girls preferred games with â€Å"Mature† (M) or Adult-only (AO) rating, which implies a high degree of exposure to obscenity. (Irvine, 2008) This preference is due to the impact of mass media. It is slowly becoming a norm that children are exposed to such stuff at such a tender when they are learning things that shape up their personality. This is why such exposure can be damagi ng. I know people who like go to parties, and smoke just because it is something everyone does or something that you casually see on television or in video games. Since media has the ability to manipulate people’s mind and attitudes, it also influences gender stereotypes. Advertising, news industries and entertainment, usually portray men and women with stereotypes, in which women and girls are likely to be placed in disadvantaged situations, for example passive and submissive roles. This happens a lot in third world countries e.g. Pakistan. Several TV shows and commercials show women usually playing the role of a housewife while men are shown to be more career-oriented, focusing on their occupations. As a consequence, traditional gender roles and power relations have been deeply imputed in people’s sub-consciousness through the mass media which limits the development of human personalities as well as social equality. When youngsters look at advertisements, TV shows or films, they are exposed to images of stereotypical representations. This stereotyping can be seen for all ages. For example, you can see little girls playing with Barbie Dolls and Teddy bears or having tea parties while boys are shown playing with action figures. Male teenagers are usually portrayed as sporty whereas female teenagers are shown as girls who have interest in fashion. Women are more often presented in commercials doing grocery because they are seen as responsible for making daily purchases. Men commonly advertise cigarettes, cars, business productsor investments, whilewomen are shown rather in the commercials with cosmetics, shoes, bags and clothing. Another important distinction is the face-ism phenomenon inthe advertisements, which refers to showing the entire figure in case of a woman and close-up shots in case of a man (Matthews, J.L, 2007). All of this indirectly injects the idea in the minds of the people that girls and boys should be educated differently. It is typical for girls to be tender and have concerns with being beautiful and popular, while boys are encouraged to be tough and consider more about their careers than appearance. Therefore, teenage boys and girls behave and reflect as the expectation of their society and culture instead of the way they really want. If we look at the other side of the argument which talks about mass media as a positive influence on teenagers we can see that mass media is the reason why communication is now so much easier and quicker than in the past. The internet is one of the most widely used mediums nowadays. With the help of social media apps such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp etc. one can communicate with friends and family easily, especially those who live far away at a cheaper cost in comparison to making phone calls or travelling expenses. Mass media also keeps people up-to-date on events happening around the world within a short amount of time. For example, if a famous personality passed away; you will hear this immediately. Media keeps you informed. It also helps in other things like entertainment and gaining knowledge. Also Mass media is a good way to promote positive messages to teens. Since teens are immersed in media culture, it is wise to use that platform as a means to promote information and education about a variety of things that affect teenagers such as mental illnesses, sexually transmitted diseases, drug use or even suicide. â€Å"The More You Know† is an Emmy Award-winning series of Public Service Announcements(PSAs) which broadcasts on theNBCfamily of channels in the US and other locations. Even though not all of the messages given out are geared towards teens, many of these short, 90 minute commercials give messages that educate and inform teenagers of the possible consequences of certain behaviours.â€Å"The More You Know† has dealt with smoking, driving, suicide and even safe sex. Another good example is of Doves Real Beauty Campaign. With this campaign Dove has used their advertising for a greater good. Dove’s Real Beauty Campaigntargets self-esteem and has als o been selecting real women and girls in their campaigns rather than super thin models. They’ve also have taken a multi-media approach using an interactive website and in-person education to encourage girls, particularly to feel good about their bodies and appreciate themselves the way they are (Delp). Yes, media helps us cause awareness quite easily and the â€Å"The More You Know† and Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign are wonderful campaigns to raise awareness and help people with low-self-esteem but many teenagers are still widely exposed to ideal body types which are considered attractive therefore, it is hard to change their mind-set. It is important to be aware of mass media and the impact it has on teenagers, especially for parents, because they need to be aware of how it is affecting their child. If parents are more aware, they can be more understanding and helpful towards their children. The disadvantages are rather more important than the advantages because if one does not think about them then one will also not be able to come up with solutions and there can be severe consequences. Parents firstly need to realize that it is impossible to separate a teens life from media, especially in today’s world. However, parents can take the lead in restricting usage by spending more time with their teens and consistently discussing matters that are affecting mass media and teenagers. Parents should encourage their children for more outdoor activities as well limit the time their teenagers spend on the watching television and surfing the internet. Also since advertising is a very powerful tool, it could be used in a more positive way to put better influence on teenagers. Mass media has both negative and positive influences on teenagers as it can be seen from the points mentioned above. While I do not deny nor disregard the fact that mass media has indeed made lives easier, its negative influences still outweigh the positive ones in my opinion. As the famous saying goes, that everything is good in moderation. Therefore the extensive usage of mass media is now leading to more problems than the benefits it is providing us with. Bibliography Atkin CK, Strasberger VC, Comstock GA (eds). (1993). Effects of media alcohol messages on adolescent audiences. Adolescent Medicine: State of the Art Reviews, 527-541. Delp, V. (n.d.). Mass Media and Teenagers. Retrieved from Love To Know Teens: http://teens.lovetoknow.com/Mass_Media_and_Teenagers Gentile, D. A., Anderson, C. A. (2003). Violent video games: The newest media violence hazard. D. A. Gentile (Ed.), Media violence and children. Irvine, M. (2008, September 16). Survey: 97 Percent Of Children Play Video Games. Retrieved from The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/16/survey-97-percent-of-chil_n_126948.html Mass media consumption in adolescence. (2005). An Pediatr (Barc), 63, 516-525. Matthews, J.L. (2007). Hidden sexism: Facial prominence and its connections to gender and occupational status in popular print media. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 57, 515-525. N, S. (1987). Drinking, sex, and violence on television: The cultural indicators perspective. 17, 245-260. P, Z. (1995). Wise Up to Teens: Insights into Marketing and Advertising to Teenagers. Roberts DF, Henriksen L, Christenson PG. (1999). Substance use in popular movies and music. Zeiger, S. (n.d.). The Media Affects a Teens Body Image. Retrieved from Love to know teens: http://teens.lovetoknow.com/The_Effects_Media_Has_on_Teenagers_Body_Image

Stephen Hawking Essay -- essays research papers

Stephen W. Hawking Stephen W. Hawking has a mind set that is beyond today's general way thinking. His attempts to identify a grand unification theory that unites everything we know about the physical world and science far exceeds any realm of thinking that has ever graced this earth. Hawking was born on January 8, 1942 in Oxford, England. He spent most of his childhood in and around London, and was always a bit of a self-educator. He was interested in the stars, and his family used to lie out on the grass looking at the stars. His writing was appalling, and he was one of the only people at school to be issued with a copybook. He was never really good with his hands, and gave the impression of nervousness, being lanky and awkward in movement. Stephen Hawking wanted to study mathematics and physics in a university, but his father believed that there would not be any jobs in mathematics and thus Hawking took physics and chemistry, and only a bit of math. Another reason he didn't do mathematics is because when he attended University College, Oxford in 1959 they didn't do mathematics. Hawking's peers didn't really realize how intelligent he was until his second year of University. They were assigned 13 honors questions in the area of Electricity and Magnetism, and while it took his friends Derek, Gordon and Richard a week to do 2 1/2 of them, Hawking did the first 10 in 3 hours. "Because he didn't have time to finish the rest" was his reason for not completing all 13. He was a coxswain in the Boat Club, and was of course a member of the Boyle Society . At one point during his time at the University, when Hawking fell down a flight of stairs, he totally f! orgot who he was for a few minutes, but eventually he remembered who he was, where he was, and what he did last week, last month, and last year. It took 2 hours for him to remember actually falling down the stairs. Shortly after this he took a Mensa test to see if he was still bright or not and got 200 or 250: so there was no permanent damage. In his 3rd year he began to notice that his hands were less useful than before. Hawking graduated from Oxford in 1962, at the age of 20, and took a trip to Persia with a friend. During the visit he got sick and after having tests shortly after returning and going up to Cambridge to do Graduate work, he was diagnosed with Amytropic lateral sclerosis also ... ...t. A Brief History of Time was meant to explain the basic ideas of laws that govern the universe. Hawking said that "Equations are necessary if you are doing accountancy, but they are the boring part of Mathematics. Most of the interesting ideas can be conveyed by words or pictures". The book was published on April Fool's Day, 1988--6 years after he started writing it. Since then it has been translated into 30 languages, and has sold about 5.5 million copies. A film has also been made, as well as A Brief History of Time: A Readers Companion . Hawking is also a Fellow of the Royal Society. He attended the induction of Prince Charles into the Royal Society a year or two after his own induction, at which time he ran over Prince Charles' toe with his wheelchair! Hawking believes that he is no different than anyone else. He believes that science is for everybody, not just a few scientists. If ever there is a complete theory of the universe, he believes that it should be understandable by everyone and discussed by everyone. "If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason - for then we would know the mind of God." -Stephen Hawking.

Behavioral and Side Effects of Caffeine :: Coffee Caffeine Science Chemistry Research Papers

Behavioral and Side Effects of Caffeine Caffeine is the most consumed psychoactive drug in the world (Solinas et al, 2002). Caffeine has been known to have many side effects on hour external behavior and our internal physiological behavior. We use caffeine in our lives to sometimes stay awake to study or just get through the day. Caffeine decreases the blood flow to the brain by constricting the blood vessels but can also increase blood flow after continuous intake that may cause headaches (Kalat, 2004). Caffeine has a tendency to block adenosine (A1-, A2A-, A2B-, A3), which increases throughout the day to allow us to sleep and then decreases as we sleep which allows us to wake. Thus, if caffeine blocks adenosine we are unable to sleep when feeling the urge or wanting to sleep, which may cause us to decrease our caffeine intake. Caffeine acts to antagonize adenosine receptors, which then affects cell populations because it counteracts many adenosine effects. The caffeine mainly has an effect on the A2a adenosine receptors which then elevates the energy metabolism in the brain and also causes a decrease in cerebral blood flow (Cameron,et.al, 1990; Ghelardini, et.al, 1997; Nehliget.al,1992; Neuhauser-Berthold et.al, 1997). Along with caffeine affecting the adenosine it also has an effect on GABA receptors and the release of dopamine (Nehlig et.al, 1992). Caffeine not only blockades adenosine it also releases intracellular calcium, inhibits phosphodiesterases and blockade or regulatory sites of GABAa-receptors (Gupta and Gupta, 1999). Withdrawal symptoms of caffeine are headache, drowsiness, fatigue and lethargy (Gupta and Gupta, 1999). Dopamine and glutamate neurotransmission is modulated by adenosine in the striatum. Adenosine A1 in the nerve terminals inhibits dopamine and glutamate from being released. Caffeine has an effect in this system by antagonizing of adenosine, which can then stimulate neurotransmitters to release dopamine and stimulate dopamine receptors (Solinas et al, 2002). A study done on rats showed that caffeine increased extracelluar concentrations of dopamine and glutamate in the shell of the nucleus accumbens (Solinas et al, 2002). These results of dopamine and glutamate in the shell of the nucleus accumbens might be related to the psycho stimulant effects of caffeine (Solinas et al, 2002). Studies show that Dopamine2 receptors are needed for caffeine activation in the brain (Zahniseret al, 2000). Adenosine receptors, dopamine receptors and GABA have been shown in studies to be involved in

9-11 Essay

The horrific after math of the tragedy event of 9-11 still impacts the United States government and the life of the citizens living in the United States today. There are still many concerns and question about what can the United States do to help prevent a terror event from taking place again. The United States has made some massive changes in it’s security since 9-11. However, even with all the new laws and regulations some believe that there is still a need for more laws. More laws and regulations that would allow law enforcement and the government to maintain or increase the liberties they have enjoyed prior to 9-11. Today the Unites States has made an enormous improvement in technology to make it safer. With all the new technology improvements since 9-11 the United States is safer, but not as safe as it could be. Citizens living in this county know that in order to make more improvement in our homeland security, counterterrorism, or any other aspect it will require new technology. But new technology doesn’t come cheap; there is a price to pay that isn’t of monetary value, less privacy for citizens. Is the invasion of some of your privacy worth giving up for protection? What can be more important than the safety of your life? One of the marvelous improvements of technology that took place preceding the event of 9-11 was airport security. These improvements were made for the better and have yield good result. With this being said, there is still controversy surrounding the changes made, like the invasion of privacy. Transportation Security Administration performs frisk and pat downs at airports, which do not violate an individual’s constitutional rights, but, there is controversy about how far Transportation Security Administration should be able to go. Today people are told to do things like take their shoes off at airports, (add another thing security does and then put a comma with etc. after it to end the sentence) These still do not violate your constitutional rights. Would you rather have someone take off their shoes or bring a bomb or weapon onto a plane? Airport security raises a lot of concern about, â€Å"how far is too far.† There was an incident with a 90 year old lady at an airport that was ask to take off her diaper. The reason that she was asked was because it was wet and it prevented her from being search properly. Once again the thing that we are overlooking is that the matter of safety overrides everything else. Or what about in 2009, when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was found with plastic explosives hidden in his underwear at an airport. Without the new searches and frisk and pad down procedures, the plastic bomb would have been overlooked. It’s obvious that new enforcement of laws have slowed down some of the terrorism acts but there is still much more that still needs to be done. These are just some of the reasons why our government has invested 100s of millions of dollars to speed up technology machines and equipment. One of the types of data that the government gathers about citizens are cell phone records. The National Security Agency collected the phone records of millions of Verizon customers. They ordered that, â€Å"Verizon must provide the phone numbers of both parties on a call, location data, unique identifiers and the time and duration of calls. This applies to calls both within the United States and placed to an international number,† (Welsh, 2013). This is still not an invasion of privacy or constitutional rights. Let’s take some time out to think here, what could our government be doing with this information? If anything, it’s something positive; why won’t the citizens of this country trust their government? The collection of phone numbers is for our safety. We as people should have a right to know if our neighbor is plotting a terrorist attack. If you have nothing to hide, then why would you mind giving up that information to the government? What harm coul d come from phone records. The United States government is something that every citizen in this country should put his or her trust into. With the trust and support of the people we as a whole could worry less about things like bomb threats at races, shootings in school, or shootings at movie theaters. Another type of data that is collected by our government is the gathering of online data of person’s computers records. â€Å"The Internet Surveillance Program collects data from online providers including e-mail, chat services, videos, photos, stored data, file transfers, video conferencing and  log-ins,† (Savage, 2013). Even with our government monitoring these events, which take place every day in every person’s life living in America, it still remains an issue of violating privacy. Once again its comes down to that phase if you have nothing to hide let us in†¦.if you’re a good American. I’m pretty sure the government is not listening or concerned about the foolish meaningless stuff. They can less about who individuals are dating or hanging out with. The Internet Surveillance Program was establishes to catch bad guys and prevent faulty events from taking place. The information like emails, chat service, photos, etc. is private information and should remain confidential. Which the information will, our government is not going to expose this information to the public unless there is some type of suspicion or probable cause. But, even before the situation escalates to that point there would probably be an intensive investigation. We have either seen on the news or read somewhere in a paper about the Federal Bureau Investigation, National Security Agency, or one of the many other organizations being abusive to citizens. We are human, sometimes we are going to make mistakes, but nobody wants to be accused of a crime. When the government holds someone in custody then later finds out that they are innocent, the government should find some way to compensate them for their cooperation and our mistake of false accusations. I believe that we have not left the door open to wide, in my opinion, we should welcome the government into our homes. We should show our government that we are law abiding citizens and that we appreciate what they do to help maintain peace, allowing everyone to feel safer. As far as our liberty goes, we must allow some of it to erode in order to live a safer life. Our founding fathers wrote our rights, such as liberty, many years ago. But since those times, look at how things have evolved over th e past years, such as social media, cell phones, Facebook, etc. So we must also allow our laws to evolve in order to prevent conflicts, such as 9-11. When the next big incident occurs the point of views made in this argument are some issues that will once again be evaluated. Who knows when our government will take action and do what is needed in order to maintain safety and peace. As a citizen of the United States, I am willing to give up  some of my individual rights to ensure that tragic events such as 9-11 do not occur again. The top priority should be the protection and safety of every individual living in the Unites States.