Research, Samples, and Statistics

Winston Churchill Was A British Statesman - 1980 Words

Winston Churchill was born on November 30, 1874, in Dublin, Ireland. His father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a British statesman. His own father, John Spencer-Churchill, was the 7th Duke of Marlborough. Churchill’s mother, Jeanette Jerome, was a New York socialite. A socialite is somehow who is well known and thought of among the upper class for attending large social gatherings such as parties or fund-raising events on a regular basis. In the early years of Churchill’s schooling, he was quite unruly and did badly in his first two schools. In the spring of 1888, he was sent to Harrow School, which was a boarding school near London, England. After a very short time there, he joined the Rifle Corps. This action led to the beginning of his own military career. One of the first steps to becoming an official member of the British military was to pass an exam for the British Royal Military College. He took the acceptance exam three times before finally passing it. At the end of his time there, he graduated 20th out of 130 in his class and was believed to have been a solid member of the college while there. Churchill’s relationship with his parents was distant and almost based off of their own reputations, rather than him actually knowing his parents extremely well. He wrote letters to his mother while in college, begging her to visit him, but she rarely did. Duke John-Spencer Churchill passed away when Winston Churchill was only twenty-one. It’s often believedShow MoreRelatedSir Winston Churchill Of Blenheim Palace Woodstock England1571 Words   |  7 Pages Sir Winston Churchill of blenheim palace woodstock england By Jack Sherman  Winston Churchill s life had been a constant mess of events leading to his fight against Adolf Hitler s threat to own Europe. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Churchill lead a successful joined strategy with the us president and Joseph Stalin during WWII to defeat the Axis powers and create after war peace. After the breakdown of the alliance, he notified the West to the expansionist threat of the sovietsRead MoreWinston Churchill: Effective leader of Britain 845 Words   |  3 PagesWinston Churchill can be recognised as the most effective leader for his country England during World War II. There were many leaders throughout the second war some remarked as the horrible enemy while others are considered to be glorified with praise daily. Churchill in 1940 became Prime Minister and all through the war remained a dominant figure in British politics. With many speeches he inspired many citizens to remain strong across his country effectively. His strategic foresight enabled himRead MoreHow Winston Churchill Rewrote History786 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.† –Winston Churchill. Winston Churchill ended up doing just as he said he would. He wrote history. He modernized the British military, was a leading supporter for the rearmament of Britain, and put many social and domestic reforms in place. Winston Churchill’s immovable attitude against the Nazi’s lead to the eventual defeat of the Germans during WWII. He forged key alliances with the US and Russia in order to defeat the Nazis and helped to sculptRead MoreWinston Churchill : The Most Influential People Of All Time1563 Words   |  7 PagesWinston Churchill is one of the most influential people of all time. He was best known for standing up to the Germans during the Second World War. Ultimately, the British and the allied powers defeated the Germans and the axis powers with an American atomic bomb towards the Japanese. The Second World War was supposed to change everything. It changed nothing, yet it changed the world forever. Churchill cemented his legacy during World War Two where he serve d his country as the British Prime MinisterRead MoreEssay The Cold War And Truman1372 Words   |  6 PagesThe end of World War II presented an opportunity for Winston Churchill to regain some of the power and influence that the Imperialistic British Empire once possessed. Churchill took advantage of the trust and respect that the American public and President Truman shared about his character. He saw Trumans lack of political experience as an opportunity to restore British imperial authority. Winston Churchill tainted Harry Trumans beliefs and preservations about Russia, because his personal agendaRead MoreSynthesis Essay : Winston Churchill1226 Words   |  5 PagesSynthesis Essay – Winston Churchill SMSgt Brian J. Sands Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy September 10, 2014 Instructor: MSgt Travis Pyle Winston Churchill Winston Churchill was an influential leader and politician in the government of the Britain from the turn of the 20th century until his death in 1965. He was Prime Minister twice and led his country through the darkest corridors of war in a fight for its very existence. Throughout his tenure he displayed uncommon vision andRead MoreWinston Leonard Spencer Churchill s Life Essay1651 Words   |  7 PagesWinston Leonard Spencer-Churchill was born on November 30 1874 at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire to Lord Randolph Churchill, a British statesman and Jeanette Jerome, a New York socialite. Upon entering grade school, Churchill was characterized as being very independent and disobedient. After failing school twice, Churchill’s parents decided to send him to Harrow School, a boarding school located near London. While there he joined the Harrow Rifle Corps. After his third attempt at the entrance examRead MoreSir Winston Churchill s We Will Fight At The Beaches 1588 Words   |  7 Pages9th, 2015 Sir Winston Churchill’s â€Å"We Will Fight at the Beaches† Sir Winston Churchill is my favorite speaker of all times. He was a very prepared, confident and studied journalist, historian, artist, writer, (he won a Nobel Prize in Literature), an Officer of the UK army, a statesman and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Even though I did not live through World War II nor am I British, listening to his speeches on YouTube really gives me the chills. I can easily realize why he was one of the mostRead MoreEssay on Winston Churchill and His Leadership Attributes1651 Words   |  7 PagesSir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born on November 30 1874 and died on 24 January, 1965. He was the son of politician Lord Randolph Churchill and Jennie Jerome (an American). He was a direct descendant of the first Duke of Marlborough. Physically he was a small man at 5 feet tall. Churchill attended Harrow and Sandhurst. When his father died in 1895, Churchill was commissioned in the fourth hussars. He later obtained a leave and worked during the Cuban war as a reporter for the LondonRead MoreLeader Analysis: Winston Churchill2834 Words   |  12 PagesHuman Capital Doctor Joyce Russell Leader Analysis: Winston churchill by Alicia Lynch 21 February 2011 Leader Analysis: Winston Churchill Winston Churchill was arguably one of the most significant political leaders in the last century. A soldier, athlete, author, reporter, British politician, and international statesman, Churchill is best known as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940-1945. He organized and guided British resistance against Nazi Germany’s effort to subdue the

Purple Short Crabs Free Essays

Purple Shore Crabs, Hemigrapsus nudus, are small crabs that are similar in structure to true crabs. They have carapaces that are commonly found to be 4-5. 6 cm. We will write a custom essay sample on Purple Short Crabs or any similar topic only for you Order Now A distinguishing characteristic of the Purple Shore Crabs is their lack of setae. They are usually found to be dark purple, olive green or red with white or cream marks, on their carapace. Their legs match the color of their carapace but have white tipped claws. Though Purple Shore Crabs are capable of living out of water for several hours, they require moisture to survive.These crabs respire with a gill system in which they take in oxygen-rich water orally, obtaining oxygen by diffusion then expelling the excess water and carbon dioxide through their gills. They are commonly found under rocks anywhere from low-tide to mid-tide zones as well as reefs as far down as 10 metres. Purple Shore Crabs prefer an environment in which the shores are medium-energy to high-energy. When their shelters are disturbed, they tend to race towards shelters such as other rocks, ledges, holes and crevices.Purple Shore Crabs are scavangers with dietary preferences that include worms, dead organisms, molluscs, small gastropods, small crabs, algae, carrion and seaweed. The purpose of our investigation is to determine whether there is a relationship between the relative distance to the shore and the population density of Purple Shore Crabs. To determine this, 3 transects were placed perpendicular to the shoreline of Eagle Bay, Bamfield.A random number generator was used to determine 5 completely unbiased numbers. These numbers were used to establish the distance of which the quadrats were placed. For each number, 1 quadrat was placed by the top left corner of each of the 3 transects. To calculate the population density of Purple Shore Crabs, the number of Purple Shore Crabs within each quadrat was counted and recorded. To avoid re-counting of an individual crab, crabs were counted after being collected in a bucket. How to cite Purple Short Crabs, Papers

Operation Change the Deformed Smile free essay sample

The Background- What is Cleft Lip amp; Palate Cleft lip and cleft palate are birth defects that occur when a baby’s lip or mouth do not form properly. This defect also affects the nose too. These birth defects together are commonly referred to as â€Å"orofacial clefts† which happen early during pregnancy. A baby can have a cleft lip, a cleft palate, or both1. Every year over 19,000 children in Africa are born with clefts. Though completely treatable, less than half get the treatment they desperately need, and this is often because they are too poor to afford the treatment2. Two major factors that affect people with cleft lip and palate that relate to health disparities include psychosocial factors, and socio-cultural stigmas. Where there are psychosocial factors, most adolescents with cleft deformity have problems relating to self concept, peer relationships and appearance which in turn affect their self-esteem, social skills and interaction. Sometimes, the effect leads to Socio-cultural Stigma where most cannot eat or speak properly, arent allowed to attend school or hold a job. Therefore, they face very difficult lives filled with shame and isolation. In some cultures, being born with a cleft is seen as a curse. For instance in Uganda, Africa, every baby born with a cleft is given the name â€Å"Ajok† which means literally, â€Å"cursed by God. † Some newborns are killed or abandoned right after birth. The Success Story- A bold step can make a difference In 2005 while still living in Africa, I visited Loma Linda University with my wife. We were privileged to be invited to a meeting with Adventist Health International, one of LLU’s global outreach initiatives, and an organization that I worked for in Nigeria for 10 years. At the meeting we were informed that Smile Train (a global charity organization for cleft lip and palate treatment) was exploring the possibility of implementing a huge intervention in Africa but was hesitant because they had received feedback from some reliable sources that the deformity was not prevalent in the continent. As Africans we were shocked by this information at the meeting. My wife who was more enthusiastic volunteered to do more research when we returned to Africa as she was more confident of not only its existence, but wide prevalence as well. That bold step she took made her the pioneer that mobilized and identified healthcare specialists in Africa on behalf of Smile Train, LLU and AHI for a training and strategic planning workshop3. As a result, two Pan African Clefts Lips and Palate Conferences (PACCLIPS) were held in Nigeria in 2006 and 20074. Other national cleft care consortiums were also formed. By 2008, the number of successful surgeries in Africa rose from less than 500 in five years to about 4000 in ten months. Currently, Smile Train records about 12,000 free surgeries per year in Africa5. The Strategy- An instance of cultural competence and system building The secret of Smile Trains success story lies in the participatory community mobilization that was employed from the onset. This was achieved through direct interaction and awareness meetings with traditional institutions and other community networks. We contacted local village heads and social clubs to educate them on the myths and misconceptions about the birth defects which unfortunately was a taboo historically. These in turn helped to pass the new knowledge gained down to the community members. The mobilization became even more acceptable because the surgical services rendered were free. This was intentional because of the socio-economic status of most of the patients. The 2006 and 2007 conferences in Nigeria became the fora to establish a sustainable network of African health care professionals. In 2007 the Pan African Association of Cleft Lip amp; Palate (PAACLIP) was established to sustain this noble course6. Currently, Smile Train Africa has about 122 institutional partners with well over 1,000 special surgeons performing surgeries in designated centers across the continent. Conclusion Smile Trains success story provided great inspiration for me as a business administrator and my wife, who was trained as an attorney. It is one of the key factors that have edged us towards public health and social work as we are involved in today. The humble efforts of 2006 and 2007 continue to encourage us to be catalysts in Africa towards eradicating the wide health and social disparity gap in our continent. Indeed, the knowledge I acquired in the Health Disparity and Cultural Competence class will be useful tools as I prepare better for my future career in Africa. References 1. CDC Birth Defects, Facts about Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate NCBDDD. (n. d. ). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved December 10, 2012, from http://www. cdc. gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/cleftlip. html 2. Smile Train Africa. (n. d. ). Smile Train Africa. Retrieved December 10, 2012, from http://smiletrainafrica. org/about_smile_train_facts. php 3. Thio, P. K. (n. d. ). Today News Today Story. Loma Linda University. Retrieved December 10, 2012, from http://www. llu. edu/news/today/today_story. page? id=428 4. Today News Today Story. (n. d. ). Loma Linda University. Retrieved December 10, 2012, from http://www. llu. edu/news/today/today_story. page? id=1022 5. Smile Train Africa. (n. d. ). Smile Train Africa. Retrieved December 10, 2012, from http://smiletrainafrica. org/ 6. PACCLIP A « Smile Train Stories. (n. d. ). Smile Train Stories. Retrieved December 10, 2012, from http://www. smiletrainorg. wordpress. com/tag/pacclip/

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey Essay Example

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey Essay Young Adult Literature (YAL) is a genre targeted at adolescents. It reflects on issues that adolescents may experience in everyday life through scenarios, themes and language features portrayed by an adolescent protagonist. It connects with the audience through personal issues and feelings told from a viewpoint of a young adult. The novel ‘Jasper Jones’ written by Craig Silvey is a successful representation of YAL as it inflicts powerful messages of prejudice and reveal how other teens deal with the unfortunate realities of life. In YAL there are many issues that are faced in the context of a young adult this is A main issue that the characters in ‘Jasper Jones’ face is prejudice, which is an issue in everyday life from, religions, sexuality and racism. Prejudice is when humans tend to pre-judge with limited knowledge, mainly because they are different to us. Prejudice comes from the fear/ignorance of someone being better than them of different to them. This issue is placed all throughout the book, mainly with a name against Jasper Jones but also the racial prejudice attacks on Jeffery Lu’s family. It is shown when told by the protagonist of the novel that the town labels Jasper Jones as â€Å"a thief, a liar, a thug, and a truant a ferrel and an orphan an example of poor attitude.† This is a technique called cumulative listing suggesting he is corrupt in a variety of ways. Prejudice is described when it tells the audience jasper has grown up in a town where â€Å"they stick to wh at they know†. Jeffery Lu is left to face with the harsh attacks on both his parents being harmed because of their race and the war taking place at the time the novel is set in. This reflects on the conventions of YAL as the characters must face and deal with the hardship of prejudice and to be hopeful. We will write a custom essay sample on Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The context and purpose behind the author Craig Silvey was influenced by his attraction to the southern gothic fiction and from where he grew up.

English Settlers essays

English Settlers essays America was the melting pot of nations. It brought every type of person who wished for a new life to its shores and gave them opportunities, which would not have been available in their homelands. Many came poor or with money but not enough education to read and write with extreme accuracy. In the early New England colonies, education was actually available for everyone who wished to entertain the notion of it. Children could go to school where actual teachers would teach them. Older generations wouldnt have to be worried about their offspring having the same insecurities, which they now had due to their inability of furthering their minds. England provinces were not usually able to give education to their masses because they were so large, making the schools available in America seem amazing in their existence. Though it seemed like a huge perk for many, some religions disliked the wishes for the young to learn. They only wanted their religion, no others to be discussed and openly contemplated. Some of the more restrained and conservative religions thought of free knowledge to be poisonous to their brains and faith. Often prejudice and doubt stops true realization of what people want. Despite some peoples goals to remain separated from those different than them, education flourished and the fruits of knowledge bloomed extensively across the newly made colonies. With great diversity in beliefs it became easier for people to become accepting of one another, though it would take years and centuries for real prejudice to be gone from normal living. However, I personally believe this was the very beginning of the initial civil rights movement. It brought different types of people together and they were able to stand each other. True, they were all white, but it was civil rights in acceptance for the time period. ...

Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words - 1

Project Management - Essay Example Besides allotting the tasks unvaryingly among the project team members the project manager has to monitor the progress of the project on a regular basis. The remaining activities have to be scheduled depending on the current progress of the project. Such a thorough supervision will enable the project manager to ensure that the project is finished well before deadline albeit leaving the team with enough time to test the project outcome rigorously (Kerzner, 2013). It is the duty of the project manager to create a robust interconnectivity between the project team members so that information can be channelized effectively between project team members. Effective communication of information will allow the project manager to learn about the issues that arise in between the different assignment levels within the project subsequent to which they can be addressed appropriately. The project manager will also have to have foresightedness about the probable risk exposures of the project. In that way the individual will be able to make sure that proper contingency plans are at place in order to shield the project from such risks (Kelly, et al., 2013). The fundamental trait of a transformational leader is that the individual goes beyond managing just the everyday operations and makes every effort to formulate strategies that are aimed towards taking the organization, functional department and the team members to the furthest level of performance and success. Leaders following this leadership style emphasize a lot on team building, collaboration, motivation and coordination between employees at several levels of the workflow within the organization (Wang, et al., 2011). This enables transformational leaders to bring the best out of their subordinates thereby enabling them to enhance their productivity and efficiency. By doing so they are able to

Company Law methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Company Law methods - Essay Example A company will also be governed by its own Memorandum and Articles of Association. Now we'll have brief discussion about these two concepts which are considered to be the life of a company. This is the most important document in the company as it set out the constitution of a company and it is the foundation on which the structure of the company is based. In other words it may say that the identity of the company is based on this. It prescribes the name of the company, its registered office, objects and capital. It also defines the extent of its powers concerning to the matters relating to its function or otherwise. The memorandum is in fact a charter of the company. A company can exercise only such powers which are either expressly stated in the memorandum or as may be implied there from including matters incidental to the powers so conferred. A company must act within and not outside the scope of its memorandum. Any transaction which is outside the ambit of the powers of the company shall be ultra virus and void. The articles of association of a company are the internal regulations which govern the management of the internal affairs of the company. As it meant for internal affairs, the members have full control and may by resolution alter them as they think fit so long as they do not exceed the limits defined by the memorandum. In other words Articles of Association form the basis of a covenant /contract that regulates the company's internal procedure and set out the rights of the shareholders as conferred by their ownership. Contractual effect of Memorandum and Articles of Association Memorandum and Articles of the company when registered, have binding forces as they bind the company and its members to the same extent as if they have been signed by the company and its each member. In other words, the memorandum and Articles of the company when registered, bind the members to the company and the company to its members, but onin the capacity of members of the company and not in any other capacity such as directors etc. This clause is incorporated in Sec.14 (1) of the3 Company Law 1985. i.e. Sec.14 (1) of the Company law 1985 says that "Subject to the provisions of this Act, the memorandum and articles, when registered, bind the company and its members to the same extent as if they respectively had been signed and sealed by each member, and contained covenants on the part of each member to observe all the provisions of

Security Monitoring Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Security Monitoring - Research Paper Example The greatest business threat to business infrastructure may not be in the form of an attack but may well be from an internal attack. In order to have a good security system they have to have a durable and large storage infrastructure. Multiple devices are used to reduce redundantly across the various facilities. Most organization uses PUT AND CUT operations in order to guarantee durability. Applications found in internal I.T include payroll, inventory, Human resource and general ledger, while other ecommerce applications are internet sales and marketing application. Storage infrastructures are vastly sturdy, and most organizations use Amazon S3. Sturdiness objects sustained via quick mending and detection of any redundancy which has been lost. For example, Amazon web services uses Amazon S3 to provide both levels, with evasions which only allows authorized access by the bucket control list. Access control list together with the bucket a control delete and gives permission to penetrat e in certain levels. Thus, the client sustains full control in regards to who have the capability to access their data, enabling them to carry out vital actions the minute a risk is identified. ... This certification gives the declaration that AWS has set up enough controls, which operate efficiently. This helps to authenticate the obligation to provide a world class cloud computing which is secure to both internal and ecommerce I.T applications. However the platforms allow the set up solutions which meet certain requirements for particular organizations. Data has to be transferred; most organizations store their data in an elastic Block store in various physical locations as part of services with no extra charge. Organization use simple database to prevent unauthorized access. The domain level controls which are provided by a simple database APIs which only allow an access which has been authorized by the domain creator. In order to have access to the database the data has to be controlled by the client (Martin p 246). All subscribe have full access of the system once she/he is authenticated a self-regulating access control listing which maps the domain to their respective to user controls. Encrypting data before sending it is another method used by the organization to safeguard data which is sensitive. In order, to save data from internal applications and other ecommerce applications, I would suggest that internal applications should operate in different databases to ensure that they do not share the same database. This will safeguard internal data against the third party, using firewalls would assist in preventing penetrates and hackers form organizations database. The rationale behind security in Internal and external applications is to have all the data secured and also ensure that clients who purchase goods online conduct secured transactions. In conclusion, web services are created to achieve set designs, which entails

Life Cycle Assessment Of Laptops And Printed Notes Engineering Essay

Life Cycle Assessment Of Laptops And Printed Notes Engineering Essay For the last few years, the society had started to use electronic devices for reading instead of using printed paper especially for university students. However, the paper is still used for printing and other usage. Paper is one of the main causes of global warming as trees will be cut down and processed into wood as wood is the main ingredient of producing paper. Without trees, there will be less photosynthesis phenomena occurring to reduce carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is produced by human activities such as breathing, power generation, combustion etc. To reduce the cutting of trees, several electronic devices have been introduced to replace the paper used for several purposes. 1.2 Life Cycle Assessment Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a method used to analyze the impacts caused by products and services to the environment surrounding. It is used to study the life cycle from the extraction of raw materials, processing, transport, use, reuse, recycling or disposal of the products and services. There are four stages in LCA which includes goal identification, life cycle inventory, impact analysis and improvement analysis. LCA is used to identify and analyze the input and output of materials, energy and waste emissions in solid, liquid and gaseous state in order to make the improvement from the environmental impacts determined. (Life cycle assessment n.d) 2. Goal and scope definition 2.1 Goal of this study The goal of this study is to compare the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of the service between reading printed lecture notes and reading lecture notes on the laptop. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of printed and computer document as learning materials for an undergraduate engineering student of Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus is conducted. The LCA of this study is done by the undergraduate Civil Engineering students of Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus. The results of this study is based on the two reports titled Scanning Life Cycle Assessment of Printed and E-paper Documents based on the iRex Digital Reader by Sebastiaan Deetman and Ingrid Odegard in March 2009 and Life Cycle Assessment of a Laptop Computer and its Contribution to Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Anh Hoang, Wei li Tseng, Shekar Viswanathan and Howard Evans. The study will compare the environment impacts of the printed paper and laptop. 2.2 Scope of this study Scope of this study consists of function and functional units. Function of the product will be analyzed and functional units will be included in this study is used to make comparison of the services and the LCA of the laptop. 2.2.1 Function Laptop can be useful in reading lecture notes and making notes in a document files. These are the functions that will be analyzed. However, laptop can also be used to read online newspaper, journals, magazine and for doing assignments. These functions will not be included in this study but they can definitely help in reducing the environment impacts. The use of Microsoft Office software in laptop enables students to make own notes and read lecture notes for e-paper and printed documents. This function has made the comparison between computer documents and printed paper viable. In this report, it is assumed that the time taken for a student to download lecture notes from the BlackBoard System used by Swinburne University of Technology into the computer is the same. Therefore, it can be excluded from this study because initially, both alternatives need to use this function. Besides, the wireless connection in Swinburne University should be neglected as both printed notes and e-notes require the wireless connection to download the lecture notes from the BlackBoard System. 2.2.2 Product System a. Manufacturing The manufacturing and assembly of components for the laptop including packaging result in releasing greenhouse gases. b. Distribution To distribute the laptop to retails, transportation of the laptop is included in this study. The greenhouse gases also will be released through the transports used. c. Use The usage of the laptop will be four years equivalent to the four years course. The total usage of laptop including lecture, tutorial and self-study per unit for one week is included in this study. So, the laptop usage for one year can be calculated. d. End of life End of life in this study is about recycling a laptop that can no longer be used or function anymore. The laptop will be recycled under the US recycling requirements. 2.2.3 Functional Unit The functional unit of LCA is to study the service of the paper used for printing notes for a student which is four years as the engineering courses for Swinburne University of Technology takes four years to complete. However, the laptop is assumed to replace all the printed notes in this study throughout the four years course. The assumptions of the laptop and printed paper that need to be taken into the consideration in this study are as shown as below. Assumptions: 1. The life span of the laptop and printer are four years as engineering courses take four years. 2. Plug is used for laptop for all the time instead of using battery. 3. Laser printer is used for printing. 4. Wooden uncoated paper is used for printing. 5. The printed paper is in greyscale. 2.2.4 Impact Categories In this study, the laptop usage and the printed paper are compared to analyze the data of greenhouse gas emission for both alternatives which contributes to Global Warming Potential (GWP). 3. Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) In this report, the data collected are the manufacturing, distribution, use and end-of-life of a standard laptop. The CO2-e emission of each stage are also calculated and included in the report. 3.1 Inventory of Laptop Computer 3.1.1 Manufacturing It includes the manufacturing and assembly of components as well as manufacturing and assembly of laptop which comes with packaging. On the whole, the greenhouse gas emission is approximately 160 kg CO2-e which is obtained from the graph on a report entitled Carbon Footprint of a Typical Business Laptop from Dell which is written by Markus Stutz (2010). 3.1.2 Distribution Transportation of laptop by all means to assembly locations and distributed to local retails, including transportation to customers themselves. For this report, the greenhouse gas emission of distribution of laptop is approximately 50 kg CO2-e (Stutz 2010) following the US region. However, the transportation may vary with region. So the emissions will vary as well but not much difference. 3.1.3 Use The life span of the laptop is estimated to be four years which is assumed to be used for the whole four years course of engineering students of Swinburne University Sarawak. One laptop is used by one student only. It is assumed that for one week, the total usage (hours) of laptop is 28 hours inclusive of 3 hours lecture, 2 hours tutorial and 2 hours of self-study per unit. There are four units altogether so 7 hours multiply by 4 equals to 28 hours. Assuming two semesters which consists of 32 weeks (inclusive of exam weeks) are equivalent to one year, the total hours is 896 hours. Hence, for four years, the total hour is 3584 hours. To calculate the power consumption and greenhouse gas emission, the mode taken into consideration is Active mode. Based on the report written by the students of National University entitled Life Cycle Assessment of a Laptop Computer and its Contribution to Greenhouse Gas Emissions, the electricity used for average Active mode is 0.032 kWh. The power consu mption is tabulated in the table below. Electricity Used (kWh) Hours for 4 Years Power consumed (kWh) Active (Average) 0.032 3584 114.69 Based on the report too, the formula is converted to kWh. Hence, the greenhouse gas emission for usage is equal to 45.88 kg CO2-e. 3.1.4 End-of-life Once the laptop can no longer be used or it is unable to function anymore, the laptop will be sent for recycling. Sometimes laptops can be reformatted but it will not perform as well as before. Hence, according to Stutz 2010, it is assumed that 75 percent of the laptop will be recycled under the US recycling requirements. So, the greenhouse gas emission of -30 kg CO2-e is obtained. Stages Kg CO2-e released Manufacturing 160 Distribution 50 Use 45.88 End of life -30 Total 225.88 Table 1: The CO2e emission for laptop 3.2 Print Alternative Other alternative is that, the lecture notes, tutorial sheet and solutions can be printed out for study. The significant part which manipulates the GWP value is the type of paper used for printing. In this inventory, woodfree uncoated paper will be used to print out the lecture notes as well as tutorial questions. The GWP of manufacturing, distribution, use, end-of-life stage was taken from the LCA done by the ecoinvent for the inventory of the print alternative. 3.2.1 The use of printer A laser printer is used to print all the lecture notes and tutorial exercises. According to the report of LCA done by the student of University of Technology in Delft, they are using the process description of Ecoinvent database, which includes the life-time of printer, energy use during 3 different operational modes(active, stand-by and off), the print speed and average paper consumption. These numbers were all converted to an average inventory for an hour of printer use, as summarized in Table 4 below [Lehmann, 2007]. Process/part description Amount (per hour of printer use) Unit Ecoinvent name Electricity use 0.0402 kWh Electricity, low voltage, production UCTE Printing paper 0.214 kg Paper, woodfree, uncoated, at regional storage [RER] Laser Printer Scenario 1: Scenario 2: piece piece Printer laserjet, b/w, at plant [GLO] Toner 0.0644 kg Toner, black, used for printing [RER] Transport 0.0215 tkm Transport, freight, rail[RER] Table 1: The usage of printer and papers per hour In table 4, the usage of printer, paper and toner was converted to per hour usage. This is because Ecoinvent database recorded the lifetime of a printer is about four years. However, the usage of the laserjet printer will not be operating twenty four hours per day for four years. Therefore, the inventory is converted to per hour determination. 3.2.2 Paper Uncoated woodfree paper is the type of paper that we used most for printing. The dataset of the production and distribution of the type of paper is based on the Ecoinvent database. And according to the database, the uncoated woodfree paper contains at least 90% of fibres in the form of chemical pulp. Calculation: The estimation of paper used in 4 years. The approximate number of paper used for 1 chapter=15 sheets There total chapters for 1 subject= 8 chapters Subjects in 1 semester= 4 Semesters in 1 year=2 There are approximately 960 sheets of paper used in one year. And one student will consumed approximately 3840 sheets of paper in four years time. Paper disposal There are three types of paper disposal flows are defined in Ecoinvent, they are: Â · [G139] disposal, paper, 11.2% water, to municipal incineration [CH] Â · [G449] disposal, paper, 11.2% water, to sanitary landfill [CH] Â · [G1984] paper, recycling, with deinking, at plant [RER] The first two processes, however, differ from the third. The disposal processes have economic outflow the service of the disposal of 1 kg of the paper, as what is expected. A physical mass of recycled paper is the output for the recycling flow. According to Ecoinvent, there isnt recycling paper service and recycling gives out recycled paper as output. This means that the printer not only provide service of printing, but also produce recycled paper. Part of the total process to the recycled paper and part of the total process to the use of printer were allocated. This means that the environmental impacts of recycling the paper as waste are taken into account. 4.0 Impact Assessment This stage is to assess the impacts will affect on human health and the environment associated with energy and raw material inputs and environmental releases quantified by the inventory. We have done the impact assessment for the category of global warming potential (GWP). From the result, we do a comparison of CO2-equivalent between the laptop and printed paper. 4.1 Break-even Point: GWP Break-even point is when the GWP of both alternatives is the same occur. This can determine which alternative is more sustainable to the environment. When the GWP of both alternatives meets at this point, their emission is equal. After that, based on different situation, which ever goes higher is considered as not sustainable. GWP (kg CO2 equivalents) Print Alternative Scenario 1 Printing 3840 pages for four years Printing with woodfree uncoated paper 13.53 Laptop 225.88 Table: GWP values (in CO2-eq) of printed notes and laptop usage. From the table above, the relationship between the print alternative and laptop computer between two scenarios was assumed. After that, it can generate the graph as seen in figure below. Figure: From the figure, the impact assigned to the laptop computer remains constant as it is used daily for reading and studying. The graph shows the GWP of print alternative is much lower than the laptop computer. The break-even point is too far that it is probably about 70000 prints for four years. 5.0 Improvement Analysis Based on the research done, the usage of e-paper (laptops) still releases quite a high amount of CO2e which leads to Global Warming Potential. Hence, a few improvements to reduce emissions should be done. Improvements that could be done are as follows: Optimization of electricity usage when manufacturing laptops Minimize the number of transportation of laptops by distributing as many laptops as possible delivery process Turn off laptop when it is not used (i.e when taking a break from studying lecture notes) Purchasing laptops which has Energy Star label. Energy Star is a program by US government which helps to protect environment using superior energy efficiency. (Energy Star n.d.) Public awareness give talks on managing electricity and power usage In order to reduce the effect of global warming potential for paper, improvement can be done in the ways of: Conserving paper by printing on the both sides of the paper. Select to print what is really needed. Print only a few pages that are needed instead of the whole book. Recycle the used paper and use sustainable paper too. Return the empty printing cartridges to the supplier for recycling. 6.0 Conclusion From the life cycle assessment, we have compared the carbon dioxide equivalent of a laptop and paper for four years. It is shown that the CO2-e of a laptop is higher than paper. In other words, print alternative is a better choice to reduce the environmental impacts. It is more environmental friendly to study the lecture slides by printing paper instead of using laptop as paper emits less CO2e. The results above can only be applied to study lecture notes, not for office use and others.

College Admissions Essay: My Days as a Gardener :: College Admissions Essays

My Days as a Gardener    'Mom, how do you make a garden?'    'You plant seeds. You can buy them at the nursery.'    'Can I plant a garden?'    Now this is the kind of question a mother wants to hear from her children. Not 'Can I play on the interstate?' or 'If I eat this will I die?' Something, instead, wholesome and good. An activity that not only teaches, but puts fresh produce on her table.    It was decided, then, that planting a garden would be my summer project. My mother and I planned for it to be located behind our garage, in a sunny area of our otherwise shady backyard. With my mom's help, I planted an assortment of vegetables: tomatoes, onions, potatoes ('A potato is a tuber.' 'It's a what?'), and green beans.    I later understood that gardening is generally associated with a life of leisure, with relaxation. For me, it was a competition. I'd ask my seedlings, 'Who's growing the fastest?' 'Who's the tallest?' Fearing bad karma, I tried to stay impartial, lest a subconscious preference for green beans would cause me to water them more often, while dumping bleach on the onions. Every night I'd give my parents an update on rates of growth, any signs of produce, and my never-realized irrigation plans.    One day my mother told me that some of the tomatoes were ready to be picked. We went out back, snagged a few of the plumper offerings, and that evening had salads.    Every other bite earned an accolade. 'Mmm. These tomatoes really are delicious.' 'There's just nothing like fresh tomatoes. Mmm.' 'I think we can quit saving for his college; he's a natural migrant worker.' Whatever that meant, it sounded promising. I told my family that they needn't worry: the garden was in full-swing, and that meant more fresh produce was on the way.       About a week later a tornado razed a better part of North Houston. It brought rain. It brought hail. It upended cars; it flooded houses. And in its trail it left fallen branches and trees, and removed, in whole, one tiny tomato-onion-potato-and-green-bean garden located behind my garage.

Past Exam Paper

The current liability section of the company's Balance Sheet on 30 June 2011 should show: a. Bank Loan $100,000. b. Bank Loan $500,000. c. Bank Loan $500,000, Interest Payable $50,000. d. Bank Loan $1 00,000; Interest Payable $50,000. e. Bank Loan $1 00,000; Interest Payable $20,000. 4. Ham Ltd is about to issue $30 Million of debentures with a 7% coupon rate in the public debt market. On the date of issue the market rate of interest is 6%. How much should Ham expect to receive for the issue of debentures (excluding any transaction cost). a. $30 million b. More than $30 million c.Less than $30 million d. $31 million e. The answer cannot be determined from the information given Page 1 of 18 ACCT 7101: Accounting- Final Examination, Second Semester, 2011 5. Segregation of duties involves: a. Ensuring that only employees with appropriate accounting qualifications work in the accounting department. b. Physically protecting sensitive assets. c. Providing each staff member with an individu al password. d. Ensuring payments are only made when accompanied by appropriate authorized documentation. e. Separating record-keeping from handling of assets. 6.When pperforming bank reconciliation, the ending balance on the Bank Statement should be adjusted for which of the following items to obtain the correct Cash at Bank balance? a. Dishonoured (NSF) cheques. b. Unpresented cheques. c. Errors made by the accountant. d. Interest received by the bank. e. All of the above. 7. Truckie Ltd uses the perpetual inventory system. inventory? b. Dr Accounts Receivable, Cr Sales revenue. How should it record a credit sale of a. Dr COGS, Cr Inventory; Dr Accounts Receivable, Cr Sales revenue. c. Dr Inventory, Cr COGS; Dr Accounts Receivable, Cr Sales revenue

THE EFFECTS OF ALTITUDE ON HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY Essays - Oxygen

THE EFFECTS OF ALTITUDE ON HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY Essays - Oxygen THE EFFECTS OF ALTITUDE ON HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY Changes in altitude have a profound effect on the human body. The body attempts to maintain a state of homeostasis or balance to ensure the optimal operating environment for its complex chemical systems. Any change from this homeostasis is a change away from the optimal operating environment. The body attempts to correct this imbalance. One such imbalance is the effect of increasing altitude on the body's ability to provide adequate oxygen to be utilized in cellular respiration. With an increase in elevation, a typical occurrence when climbing mountains, the body is forced to respond in various ways to the changes in external environment. Foremost of these changes is the diminished ability to obtain oxygen from the atmosphere. If the adaptive responses to this stressor are inadequate the performance of body systems may decline dramatically. If prolonged the results can be serious or even fatal. In looking at the effect of altitude on body functioning we first must understand what occurs in the external environment at higher elevations and then observe the important changes that occur in the internal environment of the body in response. HIGH ALTITUDE In discussing altitude change and its effect on the body mountaineers generally define altitude according to the scale of high (8,000 - 12,000 feet), very high (12,000 - 18,000 feet), and extremely high (18,000+ feet), (Hubble, 1995). A common misperception of the change in external environment with increased altitude is that there is decreased oxygen. This is not correct as the concentration of oxygen at sea level is about 21% and stays relatively unchanged until over 50,000 feet (Johnson, 1988). What is really happening is that the atmospheric pressure is decreasing and subsequently the amount of oxygen available in a single breath of air is significantly less. At sea level the barometric pressure averages 760 mmHg while at 12,000 feet it is only 483 mmHg. This decrease in total atmospheric pressure means that there are 40% fewer oxygen molecules per breath at this altitude compared to sea level (Princeton, 1995). HUMAN RESPIRATORY SYSTEM The human respiratory system is responsible for bringing oxygen into the body and transferring it to the cells where it can be utilized for cellular activities. It also removes carbon dioxide from the body. The respiratory system draws air initially either through the mouth or nasal passages. Both of these passages join behind the hard palate to form the pharynx. At the base of the pharynx are two openings. One, the esophagus, leads to the digestive system while the other, the glottis, leads to the lungs. The epiglottis covers the glottis when swallowing so that food does not enter the lungs. When the epiglottis is not covering the opening to the lungs air may pass freely into and out of the trachea. The trachea sometimes called the "windpipe" branches into two bronchi which in turn lead to a lung. Once in the lung the bronchi branch many times into smaller bronchioles which eventually terminate in small sacs called alveoli. It is in the alveoli that the actual transfer of oxygen to the blood takes place. The alveoli are shaped like inflated sacs and exchange gas through a membrane. The passage of oxygen into the blood and carbon dioxide out of the blood is dependent on three major factors: 1) the partial pressure of the gases, 2) the area of the pulmonary surface, and 3) the thickness of the membrane (Gerking, 1969). The membranes in the alveoli provide a large surface area for the free exchange of gases. The typical thickness of the pulmonary membrane is less than the thickness of a red blood cell. The pulmonary surface and the thickness of the alveolar membranes are not directly affected by a change in altitude. The partial pressure of oxygen, however, is directly related to altitude and affects gas transfer in the alveoli. GAS TRANSFER To understand gas transfer it is important to first understand something about the behavior of gases. Each gas in our atmosphere exerts its own pressure and acts independently of the others. Hence the term partial pressure refers to the contribution of each gas to the entire pressure of the atmosphere. The average pressure of the atmosphere at sea level is approximately 760 mmHg. This means that the pressure is great enough to support a column of mercury (Hg) 760 mm high. To figure the partial pressure of oxygen you start with the percentage of oxygen present in the atmosphere which is about 20%. Thus oxygen will constitute 20% of the total atmospheric pressure

Youth -the Bearers of Change Essay Example

Youth Youth -the Bearers of Change Essay Youth -the Bearers of Change Essay Human history has witnessed many innovations, technological progress, and revolutions. Youth is the first to bring such a change. Youth is the greatest wealth and strength of any country. Who can forget the great sacrifices made by the youth in the Freedom struggle of India? The soldiers at boundaries fight for security of their nation without being selfish . Steve Jobs , the founder of the APPLE and the NeXT (who was an undergraduate ) is the great example of youths intelligence .Youth have played central and leading role in recent revolutions in Tunisia ,Egypt and other Arab countries . The Marathi newspaper Maharashtra Times has awarded Adhik Kadam, Chairperson Of Borderless World Foundation It works for the children in Jammu and Kashmir. These show youths awareness towards their social and political responsibilities. Mark Zuckerberg has discovered the most famous social networking site , Facebook and Mr. Uday Kumar from IIT ,Bombay gave new symbolic identification to Indian Rupee (: ).Examples tell us about the great potential of youth. In India, the movement of the Lokapal Bill led by Anna Hazare succeeded due to the participation of youth from the whole country and also from the world. Indian Constitution has given Right to Vote to its every citizen. Not only about voting, but also youth must contest elections and give well-educated and qualified representatives to the People Of India . Really, youth is the ray of hope for the transforming the political scene of India and making it more and more transparent.In last decade, India was facing the problem of ’brain-drain . But now their is a trend of brain-gain’. This trend is the positive sign for developing India. Youth is working for betterment of villages as well as for achieving the scientific, economic, social, technological, etc. growth of nation. Truly, youth is the keystone in making India superpower in 2020’. Therefore, the future of any nation lies in the hands of its youth. Th e quality of its youth determines the kind of future, the nation will have.If we want to ensure a bright future for our country, we first need to empower our youth. The right kind of education is key for it . Unless we mold the tremendous energy of youth in right direction, it can become destructive and dangerous for nation. It is well said that change is never complete. Hence, years after years, generations after generations, and centuries after centuries change is the only constant . And youth is the soul for every change and every transformation .

BHS 420 Mod 1 SLP (Quantitative Reasoning) Essay

BHS 420 Mod 1 SLP (Quantitative Reasoning) - Essay Example mental health, with one author asserting that a â€Å"remarkable transformation has been witnessed in public mental health services over the past thirty years" (Vega & Murphy, 1990, p. 1). I picked the topics listed above because they are four areas of significant research in the scientific community, and I am confident that I will be able to locate a large amount of books, articles, and clinical studies so as to find enough that will provide both strong and weak examples of good research methods and quantitative reasoning. For example, in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, it was found that â€Å"Iraqi Gulf War (GW) veteran refugees or those who fled the Hussein regime and were subsequently granted refugee stated by the United States are at high risk for the same mental health maladies that afflict U.S. GW veterans (Jamil, Nassar-Mcmillan & Lambert, 2004, p. 295). I find it interesting that both the combat veterans and the refugees from the regime find themselves in the same position. The intricacies of the human brain, and all of the scientific studies performed so far, indicate that there is still much to learn in this area of study. The same is true for the other topics noted above. Given my interest in the human mind and the ongoing research in mental health studies, I believe one of these topics will be both interesting and informative. I look forward to the opportunity to do further research. Jamil, H., Nassar-McMillan, S.C. (2004). The Aftermath of the gulf War: Mental Health Issues among Iraqi gulf War Veteran Refugees in the United States. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 26, (4),

Arbitration Process Versus Litigation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Arbitration Process Versus Litigation - Essay Example The law that regulates actual arbitration procedure, next to the specific law or rules that arbitral tribunal has to use in the matter and finally law for recognition and enforcement of the decision of the arbitral tribunal, known as an arbitration award. The laws governing arbitration proceedings may be same but it is not necessarily so always. Since most of the international arbitration take place in a neutral country to which neither the arbitrating parties belong. So the law of the proceedings, as applied to the matter of the case and known as substantive or applied law, may be different from the law of enforcement of the award. For example, an arbitral tribunal sitting in England will have English law for a place of arbitration but may need to apply New York law as substantive law1. Compared to the courts of law, arbitration is a â€Å"primitive’ way to resolve the issues which is simple because of less formality and expense. The person deciding the dispute has the qualification that he is accepted for arbitration by two parties.2 For example, two merchants disputing over damage to their goods would turn to and accept the judgment of a third, fellow merchant. Actually such had been a community practice to maintain peace and harmony among members of business community3. Why International Arbitration? The answer may come from the fact that sometimes the national law is not sufficient to resolve disputes between warring parties. For e.g. A corporation based in the USA contracts another in Germany. The contract is for setting up a power plant in Egypt with any disputes to be arbitrated in London. Now, if a dispute arises and one of the party refuses to arbitrate or the losing party refuses to carry out the award. No national law can resolve the dispute in such case and is an International treaty was necessary to link the national laws and respecting the award (see footnote 1 p. 4).

Identtifying a Nation's Possibilities. Costa Rica Essay

Identtifying a Nation's Possibilities. Costa Rica - Essay Example In 1969, a constitutional amendment was adopted to limit to a single term the length of a President’s and Legislators tenure. This prohibition was however overturned in April 2003 effectively paving the way for the President to seek a second term. In that election, Oscar Arias Sanchez received 40% of the popular vote. The next elections are slated for February 2010. Costa Rica has a unicameral Legislative Assembly. The assembly at full seating has fifty-seven (57) members. The members are elected by direct popular vote to a single four-year term. The Legislature writes and enacts laws for the country. Elections into the Costa Rica Legislative Assembly were held in 5 February 2006, the next scheduled polls are to be in 2010. Costa Rica does not have provincial legislature, they were abolished in 1998. The Costa Rican Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Costa Rica highest court is the Corte Suprema or Supreme Court. The court is composed of twenty-two (22) elected Justices. The Justices are elected by for renewable eight-year terms. The terms are only renewable by the Legislative Assembly. Costa Rica’s legal system is based on Spanish civil law. There is judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court. Costa Rica is also a signatory of the International Criminal Justice jurisdiction. Although Costa Rica has no military; the Federal Government maintains a domestic Police force and an armed National Guard. President Jose Figueres Ferrer abolished the army in after the 1948 civil war. The abolition became an act of the constitution in 1949. Current President Oscar Arias Sanchez declared December 1 as the Military abolition day. Costa Rica’s political parties are very ideological with nationalist, progressive, libertarian, socialist and leftist agendas. The leading parties include Citizen Action Party (PAC), Costa Rican Renovation Party (PRC), Democratic Force Party (PFD), General Union Party ( PUGEN),

Sustainability and the Balanced Scorecard Essay Example for Free

Sustainability and the Balanced Scorecard Essay Practices that are good for the environment and society may appear to have a negative impact on corporate profitability, but use of the balance scorecard can result in a clearer picture of the relationship among sustainable practices, corporate strategies, and profitability. This article explores three ways that sustainable practices can be incorporated into BSC and discusses issues that should be considered when selecting sustainability related measures, targets, and goals. It also examines ways to enhance both internal and external reporting of sustainability-related performance. Adopting green operating practices is certainly good for the environment, yet the implications of such practices for a business’s profitability may be viewed as both positive and negative. On one hand, by contributing to product differentiation in the market- place and enhancing organizational image to investors and customers (both current and potential), green practices may increase a company’s profitability. On the other hand, green practices may actually reduce profitability because of extra costs that result from implementation and continuation of sustainable practices. For example, installing solar panels on a building may lower monthly electricity bills, but, concomitantly, the reduced electricity bills may be more than offset by the high purchase and installation costs associated with the panels. The sustainability concept now runs rampant in business literature, but, unfortunately, there is no agreed- upon definition of sustainability or its underlying tenets. â€Å"Sustainable† or â€Å"green† practices will be found throughout the operations of a business. These practices can be included in the design features of an organization’s buildings, vendor  selection in the supply chain, production of goods and provision of services, and packaging features and distribution elements of those products and services, and the practices will be a significant consideration in a product’s ultimate disposal. The BSC typically reflect four interrelated perspectives of a company: financial, customer, international business prowess, and learning and growth. Each perspective has a series of performance measures, targets, and goals that reflect the firm’s long-term strategies. The financial perspective takes the viewpoint of the company shareholders and typically uses traditional financial measures such as operating cash flows, return on investment, and changes in operating income over time. The customer perspective addresses product and firm differentiation strategies as well as value creation from the viewpoint of the organizations client base. The international business processes perspective includes measures of the efficiency and the effectiveness of the firms operations. The learning and growth perspective focuses on the creation of organizational value through employees and innovative practices. The first method is to add a fifth perspective to the BSC. It may be the simplest approach for companies that want to emphasize sustainability as a key corporate value or a critical strategy. The sustainability perspective consists of social and environmental performance indicators that link with the other four BSC dimensions and highlights the importance of social, environmental, and economic responsibility as a corporate goal. This approach could allow management to establish less definitive measurements without compromising organizational aggregation. The second approach is sustainability-balanced scorecard (SBSC). A separate SBSC is an appropriate for many companies such as those existing BSC but want to measure or integrate sustainability without the disruption and cost of adopting a full-scale BSC. SBSC include the following four perspectives: sustainability, stakeholders, processes and learning. The sustainability perspective would emphasize the triple bottom line of economic prosperity, environmental quality, and social justice. The stakeholder perspective would  incorporate measures of business ethics, labor practices, and impact on society. The processes perspective would focus on specific organizational external and internal processes products, tools, and systems. The learning perspective would stress organizational synergy, training, and research and development. A strength of the SBSC is that a well-defined corporate sustainability strategy is not essential to its development. The third is integrating sustainability measures throughout the four perspectives. Management has to both define the metrics that are important in measuring progress towards organizational sustainability objectives, and how sustainability (or lack thereof) will affect the future. Incorporating new measures are important the firms financial well being as customer satisfaction, manufacturing cycle efficiency, and patent-generating research and development. The integration method also works well for companies that have adopted a more all-encompassing definition of sustainable practices that includes environmental, health, and social aspects. This article relates to accounting class because of the topics covered such as sustainability, triple bottom reports, return on investment, and balanced scorecard. The article concludes with developing sustainability metrics. These provide tangible guidance to how the strategies implemented help create shareholder value. There are three ways that sustainable practices can be incorporated into the balanced scorecard: adding a fifth perspective to the BSC, a sustainability-balanced scorecard, and integrating sustainability measures throughout the four perspectives. My perspective is, I know how important it is to be not only more â€Å"green† today, but as cost effective as possible. The three methods don’t look too complicated to be implemented. The article states at the end that companies are being pressured by stakeholders to become more transparent, and such transparency is becoming the norm rather than the exception. The 2008 KPMG international survey of corporate responsibility reporting found that, in 2008, nearly 80% of the worlds largest 250 companies issued some type of responsibility report. These responsibility reports included governance, ethical, environmental and social issues. It is now more important than ever to go green.

Report of Strategic Management Process practiced at Jusco

Report of Strategic Management Process practiced at Jusco The strategic management process aims at delineating the organizations strategy. It is defined as the process by which managers make a choice of a set of strategies for the organization to achieve efficient functioning and higher accomplishments. It is a continuous process that appraises the business and industries where organization is involved, evaluates its competitors, defines targets to meet all the present and future challenges and finally assesses each strategy periodically  [1]  . Strategic management is a particular course of action that is meant to achieve a corporate goal. By and large, the owners, founders of the company take the first step of the process. They lay down the structure responsible for carrying out several functions such as providing direction and guidance to the employees, setting up measurable goals with defined time spans and designated duties. Planning, budgeting, acquiring resources, maintaining resources and using follow-up techniques to resolve key issues are key elements for managers to know in the strategic management process. Strategic planning came into being years ago as an alternative to then popular tradition of long-range planning. Long-range planning was based on pooling historical data and several market assumptions to chart the direction that an organization should take. Strategic planning on the other hand is more leadership driven and vision-based; leaders decide on principles that guide the organization toward established goals  [2]  . Strategic management process is defined by four major steps which can be defined as follows  [3]  : Environmental Scanning-  Environmental scanning refers to a process of collecting, scrutinizing and providing information for strategic purposes, analysing the internal and external factors influencing the organization. After gathering the required data, management evaluates it on a continuous basis and strives to improve its resource database. Strategy Formulation-  Strategy formulation is the process of deciding best course of action for accomplishing organizational objectives and hence achieving organizational purpose. After conducting environment scanning, managers at this stage formulate corporate, business and functional strategies. Strategy Implementation-  Strategy implementation implies making the strategy work as intended or putting the organizations chosen strategy into action. Strategy implementation encompasses designing the organizations structure, distributing resources, developing decision making process, and managing human resources. Strategy Evaluation-  Strategy evaluation is the final step of strategy management process. The key strategy evaluation activities are: appraising internal and external factors that are the root of present strategies, measuring performance, and taking remedial / corrective actions. Evaluation makes sure that the organizational strategy as well as its implementation meets the organizational objectives. These components are chronologically carried steps while creating a new strategic management plan. Firms with existing plan in use revert to these steps as per the situations requirement, so as to make essential changes. Components of Strategic Management Process Components of Strategic Management Process 1.1 Environmental Scanning: Internal External Environment Organizational environment consists of both external and internal factors which need to be continually monitored to determine development and forecasts of factors that will influence organizational success.  Environmental scanning refers to possession and utilization of information about occasions, patterns, trends, and relationships within an organizations internal and external environment  [4]  . It helps the managers to decide the future path of the organization. Scanning must comprehensively identify the threats and opportunities existing in the environment such that efficient strategy which takes advantage of the opportunities and minimize the threats can be formulated. Internal analysis of the environment  is the first step of environment scanning. This primarily includes interaction of employees with other employees, management, manager interaction with other managers and shareholders, access to natural resources, brand awareness, organizational structure, main staff, operational potential, etc  [5]  . Internal environment analysis helps identify strengths and weaknesses within the organization. Most commonly used instruments used for assessment include interviews, surveys, discussions etc. While in  external analysis, three correlated environment are studied and analysed Immediate / Industry environment National environment Broader socio-economic environment / Macro-environment Examining the  industry environment  involves survey of the competitive structure of the organizations industry, emphasising competitive position of the organization with respect to its main rivals. This includes assessment of the nature, stage, dynamics, history of the industry and the effect of globalisation on competition within the industry. Analysing the  national environment  involves appraisal of efficacy of national framework in achieving competitive advantage in the global environment  [6]  . Macro-environment  analysis includes exploring macro-economic, social, government, legal, technological and international factors that may influence the environment. The analysis of organizations external environment reveals opportunities and threats for the organization  [7]  . As business becomes more competitive, external environment fluctuates rapidly hence, information from external environment adds crucial elements to the effectiveness of long-term goals and strategies. It becomes indispensable to identify competitors moves and actions in the dynamic environment such that organizations can amend their core competencies and internal environment as per external environment. Strategic managers must not only recognize the present state of the environment and their industry but also be able to predict its future positions. 1.2 Strategy Formulation Strategy formulation refers to the process of choosing the most appropriate course of action for the realization of organizational goals and objectives to fulfil organizational vision.  The process of strategy formulation involves six main steps which can rationally be followed in the following order  [8]  : Setting Organizations objectives   The key component of any strategy statement is to set the long-term objectives of the organization. Objectives specify the desired end state while strategy stresses upon the means of achieving it. Strategy encompasses both fixation of objectives and definition of the medium to be used to realize those objectives. Thus, strategy is an extensive word which is based on manner of deployment of resources to achieve desired goals. While fixing the organizational objectives, it is essential that the factors which influence the selection of objectives must be analysed before the selection of objectives. Evaluating the Organizational Environment   The next step is to evaluate the general economic and industrial environment in which the organization operates highlighting its competitive position. This generally involves a qualitative and quantitative review of organizations existing product line.  [9]  The aim is to ensure that factors important for competitive success in the market can be discovered such that management can identify and exploit its strengths and weaknesses against those of its competitors. Setting Quantitative Targets   In this step, an organization must fix desired quantitative target values for certain objectives. The idea behind this is to compare with long term customers, so as to evaluate the contribution that might be made by various product zones or operating departments. Aiming in context with the divisional plans   In this step, the contributions made by each department, division, product category within the organization is identified and accordingly strategic planning is done for each sub-unit. This requires a careful analysis of macroeconomic trends. Performance Analysis   Performance analysis includes discovering and analysing the gap between the planned and desired performance. A critical evaluation of the organizations past performance, present condition and the desired future conditions must be done by the organization. This critical evaluation identifies the degree of gap that persists between the actual reality and the long-term aspirations of the organization. An attempt is made by the organization to estimate its probable future condition if the current trends persist. Choice of Strategy   This is the ultimate step in Strategy Formulation where the best course of action is selected after considering organizational goals, organizational strengths, potential and limitations as well as the external opportunities. 1.3 Strategy Implementation Strategy implementation is the translation of chosen strategy into organizational action so as to achieve strategic goals and objectives. Strategy implementation is also defined as the manner in which an organization should develop, utilize, and amalgamate organizational structure, control systems, and culture to follow strategies that lead to competitive advantage and a better performance. Organizational structure allocates special value developing tasks and roles to the employees and states how these tasks and roles can be correlated so as maximize efficiency, quality, and customer satisfaction-the pillars of competitive advantage  [10]  . But, organizational structure is not sufficient in itself to motivate the employees. An organizational control system is also required. This control system equips managers with motivational incentives for employees as well as feedback on employees and organizational performance. Organizational culture refers to the specialized collection of values, attitudes, norms and beliefs shared by organizational members and groups. Following are the main  steps in implementing a strategy  [11]  : Developing an organization having potential of carrying out strategy successfully Disbursement of abundant resources to strategy-essential activities Creating strategy-encouraging policies Employing best policies and programs for constant improvement Linking reward structure to accomplishment of results Making use of strategic leadership Excellently formulated strategies fail if not properly implemented. Also, it is essential to possess stability between strategy and each organizational dimension such as organizational structure, reward structure, resource-allocation process, etc to ensure efficient strategy implementation. Strategy implementation poses a threat to many managers and employees in an organization as new power relationships are predicted and achieved. New groups (formal as well as informal) are formed whose values, attitudes, beliefs and concerns may not be known. With the change in power and status roles, the managers and employees may employ confrontation behaviour  [12]  . Following are the main differences between Strategy Formulation and Strategy Implementation  [13]   Strategy Formulation Strategy Implementation Strategy Formulation includes planning and decision-making involved in developing organizations strategic goals and plans. Strategy Implementation involves all those means related to executing the strategic plans. In short, Strategy Formulation is  placing the Forces before the action. In short, Strategy Implementation is  managing forces during the action. Strategy Formulation is an  Entrepreneurial Activity  based on strategic decision-making Strategic Implementation is mainly an  Administrative Task  based on strategic and operational decisions Strategy Formulation emphasizes on  effectiveness. Strategy Implementation emphasizes on  efficiency. Strategy Formulation is a  rational process. Strategy Implementation is basically an  operational process. Strategy Formulation requires co-ordination among few individuals. Strategy Implementation requires co-ordination among many individuals. Strategy Formulation requires a great deal of  initiative and logical skills. Strategy Implementation requires specific  motivational and leadership traits. Strategic Formulation precedes Strategy Implementation. Strategy Implementation follows Strategy Formulation. 1.4 Strategy Evaluation Strategic Evaluation is the final phase of  strategic management. Strategy Evaluation throws light on the efficiency and effectiveness of the comprehensive plans in achieving the desired results as stated during strategy formulation. The management assesses the validity of current strategy in existing environment with respect to dynamic socio-economic, political and technological innovations. The significance of strategy evaluation lies in its capacity to co-ordinate the task performed by managers, groups, departments etc, through control of performance. Strategic Evaluation is significant because of various factors such as developing inputs for new strategic planning, the urge for feedback, appraisal and reward, development of the strategic management process, judging the validity of strategic choice etc  [14]  . The process of Strategy Evaluation consists of following steps  [15]  : Fixing benchmark of performance   While fixing the benchmark, strategists answer questions such as what benchmarks to set, how to set them and how to express them. In order to determine the benchmark performance to be set, it is essential to discover the special requirements for performing the main task. The performance indicator that best identify and express the special requirements might then be determined to be used for evaluation. The organization can use both quantitative and qualitative criteria for comprehensive assessment of performance. Quantitative criteria include determination of net profit, ROI, earning per share, cost of production, rate of employee turnover etc. Among the Qualitative factors are subjective evaluating factors such as skills and competencies, risk taking potential, flexibility etc. Measurement of performance   The standard performance is a bench mark with which the actual performance is compared. The reporting and communication system help in measuring the performance. If appropriate means are available for measuring the performance and if the standards are set in the right manner, strategy evaluation becomes easier. But various factors such as managers contribution are difficult to measure. Similarly divisional performance is sometimes difficult to measure as compared to individual performance. Thus, variable objectives must be created against which measurement of performance can be done. The measurement must be done at right time for evaluation to meet its purpose. For measuring the performance, financial statements like balance sheet, profit and loss account must be prepared on an annual basis. Analysing Variance   While measuring the actual performance and comparing it with standard performance there may be variances which are further analysed. The strategists must mention the degree of tolerance limits between which the variance between actual and standard performance may be accepted. The positive deviation indicates a better performance but it is quite unusual exceeding the target always. The negative deviation is an issue of concern because it indicates a shortfall in performance. Thus in this case the strategists must discover the causes of deviation and must take corrective action to overcome it. Taking Corrective Action   Once the deviation in performance is identified, it is essential to plan for a corrective action. If the performance is consistently less than the desired performance, the strategists must carry a detailed analysis of the factors responsible for such performance. If the strategists discover that the organizational potential does not match with the performance requirements, then the standards must be lowered. Another rare and drastic corrective action is reformulating the strategy which requires going back to the process of strategic management, reframing of plans according to new resource allocation trend and consequent means going to the beginning point of strategic management process. 2. Strategic Planning Vs Strategic Thinking There has been a lot of research done on strategic planning and strategic thinking but seldom is the contrast explained well enough. Strategic thinking is about coming up with the next big idea. This is not the sole responsibility of any one person. Everybody in the organization from the salesperson who suddenly discovers an untapped market for the product to the business level head who can come up with product modifications and product innovations should ideally be a part of strategic planning process. This process involves intuition and understanding about the process. The outcome more often than not is a vision of direction and not a concrete plan. The strategic planning is a natural progression step after this as explained below. Strategic Planning is articulation, elaboration of strategies that already exist. Planning essentially breaks down an idea or a broad vision into smaller more concrete and clear steps that can be implemented almost automatically. Formal planning is very analytical and depends on rearrangement of established strategies, products and structures. Too much reliance on planning impedes organizational change. We then begin to experience only incremental changes and will miss out on many good opportunities. As a result people have become disillusioned with Planning. Also planning tends to impose too many restrictions on the working of lower level managers by defining everything very precisely. These factors along with the ones listed below led to downfall of strategic planning in its current form. Deterministic Framework Planning borders on being an exact science. It assumes many simplifying assumptions which generally do not hold true in real life. The planning process requires estimates within a very narrow band for it to have any considerable accuracy. But in todays fast changing world it is the one luxury that we do not have. There are too many factors that are changing ranging from technological breakthroughs to governmental regulations to entry of new and powerful competitors. The Silo Syndrome Strategic Planning was generally carried out in the management by exception mode. The top management basically got information from the ground level and developed strategies without consulting anybody at the ground level. This approach generally lacked the soft insights that people in the field develop when they deal with the product which are far more valuable than general theories espoused by the management. The other drawback was the resistance it faced from the lower levels of the organization. They felt that these decisions were being forced on them by the top management and did not like the autocratic form of decision making. Formalization Fallacy Formalization implies a rational sequence from analysis through administrative procedure to eventual action. But good strategies are not always formulated in that order. Most of the radical ideas were stumbled upon by accident. Many times we try things and those experiments that work gradually converge into viable patterns that become strategies. Formal procedures will never be able to predict discontinuities or create novel strategies. These shortcomings led to the decline in popularity for the practice in this form. 2.1 Modus Operandi Based on the above discussion we can broadly divide strategy formulation into two parts namely strategic thinking and strategic planning. The business level managers are ideally positioned to take up the role of strategic thinking because they have the access to soft information from informal sources mostly like grapevine, informal talks with the people on the field. They also have the suitable authority derived from their position to take decisions and provide directions. Once the rough plan has been outlined the planners can take over. This method has some distinct advantages. The planner has the analytical tools and the abilities to give proper shape and form to the outline. The manager also does not generally have the time to break down a plan into finer and actionable sub-plans. 2.2 Advantages of highly evolved plans A well articulated plan can ensure coordination among the various parties involved. This will also help clarifying the roles, responsibilities and interdependencies present. These plans can also be used to gain tangible support from outsiders. Written plans can also be used to inform financiers, government and other stakeholders about the current state of the company. 2.3 Roles of Planners Strategy Finders It is basically the responsibility of the mangers to find out and formulate new strategies. Planners can help the mangers in this regard. Planners can snoop around places to find patterns while eliminating the noise from the data. They could discover new ways of doing things like finding out new markets and also coming up with new products for the existing markets. Analysts Planners also have the responsibility of carrying out analyses of specific issues. Planners are an obvious choice for studying hard data and ensuring that managers consider the results in strategy-making process. This may include industry analyses, competitive analyses, and internal analyses among other things. Catalysts When the planners are donning the role of catalysts they are not a part of the decision making process but they ensure that the right kind of people line managers, business level managers are in charge of this process. Planners in this role help mangers get out of ruts and help them think out of the box. This could be achieved by challenging the conventional wisdom and practices by asking uncomfortable questions about the status quo. Overall strategic management is a process by which the managers along with planners come up with new ideas that help the firms chart their future course of action and stay ahead of the curve. 3. Strategy Development Process at JUSCO The Strategic Planning Process (SPP) at JUSCO is led by the Managing Director along with Senior Leadership Team (SLT), the purpose of which is to collectively establish directions for future success through: Evolving analysis-based Long Term/Short Term plans Setting measurable goals Setting review mechanism to monitor progress and take corrective action SPP has a flow which is aimed at ensuring focus and action ability of strategy. SPP is an enterprise level process comprising of four basic steps: Plan-Develop-Deploy-Review (shown in figure on next page along with the key steps, participants, outputs and timelines). The process includes revisiting Vision, identification of Strategic Direction / Challenges / Advantages / Objectives and Long Term / Short Term plans followed by deployment through Balanced Score Card (BSC) and review. It is supported by data / information gathering and analysis including comparisons with benchmarks / competitors / past performance / targets. Strategy development is a continuous process with strategic directions being reviewed by the Board. In order to formalize directions, SPP is followed annually with inputs, schedule and participation across levels. SPP utilizes inputs from promoters expectations, external environment, other stakeholders, strategic challenges and advantages identified by each businesses / functions, aspirations for each business, process reviews and feedback of internal and external assessments. Through collective discussion in strategy workshops involving SLT, corporate level strategic challenges and advantages are identified. Challenges posed to the organization by various stakeholders are identified collectively in the strategic planning sessions. From the list, strategic challenges are identified which are likely to exert most decisive influence on companys future success. Principle Success Factors (PSF) are then identified which can help the company overcome the strategic challenges. From list of PSFs, competitive differentiators, strategic advantages, core competencies and likely future core competencies. As part of SPP, formulated strategy is syndicated with strategic advisors, consultants and sectorial experts. Strategy is also presented to the Board for its inputs and approval. This brings external perspective, utilizes market standards and helps in validation of potential blind spots identified during SPP. Short-term and long-term planning horizons are 1 year and 4 years respectively. JUSCOs major businesses (Water Services, Power Services, Municipal Solid Waste Management, etc.) are primarily in domain of government and semi government bodies. Reforms have begun in these sectors and are expected to translate into business opportunities. In such a reforming sector, a 4-year time frame allows appropriate assessment of ever-changing market and evolving regulations. First years plan of 4-year horizon is the short term plan, which forms the basis for Annual Business Plan (ABP), thus integrating short-term and long-term planning horizons. These time horizons are reviewed continuously for their adequacy in addressing needs of planning process. SPP has undergone several rounds of Evaluation Improvement (EI) based on the changing environment and needs of the organization. 4. Inputs to Strategic Planning Process Environment Analysis: Environment scanning is done throughout the year, which incorporates analysis conducted by businesses/functions and discussions in reviews. Performance reviews, ABP sessions and Business Excellence assessment feedback help in identifying industry attractiveness, companys SWOT and competitors strength and weaknesses which are used to modify strategies, BSCs and targets. SPP captures information on various factors from internal as well as external sources. Strengths and weaknesses: Gaps in capabilities of resources are assessed to identify training and development, recruitment and organization change needs, IT initiatives, new business opportunities, procurement of equipment, etc. JUSCOs major strength lies in its ability to manage water on river-to-river basis, its understanding of municipal water market which helps in taking risk in emerging market and bidding competitively, urban power distribution and Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management. These strengths are used in SPP to identify competitive position leading to direction for growth. Changes in Regulatory Environment: The sectors JUSCO operates in are expected to be under continuous regulatory scrutiny at all times. Interaction with regulatory bodies and consultants, participation in conferences, legal and internal audits help in identifying statutory shifts and legal requirements and ensuring compliance. At the business levels, changes in regulations are closely monitored to enable quick reaction. Opportunities and threats: SPP captures information on emerging opportunities and threats while deciding strategic challenges and accordingly plans are made for timely preparation of organization and capturing these opportunities. Opportunities arising out of reforms in power sector had been exploited by JUSCO previously by acquiring license for Saraikela-Kharsawan district as first parallel power distributor in the country and more such future endeavors are planned. Major shift in Markets Customer preferences: These are identified through interaction with potential customers during business development, industry meets, conferences, customer satisfaction surveys, customer feedbacks, etc. Analysis of marketplace shifts provides inputs for innovating business models, identifying strategic objectives and Long Term/Short Term plans e.g. identifying partners, targeting new market segments and geographies, etc. PPM and SWOT analysis deal with customer, market needs, expectations and opportunities. At business/ functional level, inputs from Customer Complaint Handling Process (CCHP), Customer Satisfaction Survey (CSS) and Customer Visit Report (CVR) are used to evaluate and improve operational effectiveness parameters like cycle time, response time and service quality and also to align capabilities like IT system, HR skills, etc. Major shift in Competitive Environment: As integral part of SPP, information on competition is captured through internal market surveys, win loss analysis, various professional bodies, conferences, publications etc. Information is analyzed to assess competitive strengths, weaknesses, strategies and capabilities and prepare pricing and positioning strategies. This information is also utilized to identify new opportunities and partnership requirements. Major Technological shifts: At corporate level, SPP utilizes analysis of technological shifts to enhance competitiveness, improve services, and identify partnership and competency needs. Recent significant shifts in technologies have been reuse of waste water and desalination of sea water for potable needs. At business/functional level current performance is evaluated for potential improvements through technological up gradation. IT infrastructure improvement/up gradation is based on scalability, responsiveness, accessibility, productivity improvement, etc. Human resource capabilities: HR strengths and weaknesses are evaluated through analysis of employee mix, engagement survey results, leadership perception survey results, skill gap, attrition, etc. Redeploying resources, creation of bench strength, Rewa

Japan: 1945 conflicts and internal politics Essay -- essays research p

Discuss the occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1952. What effects did the purges have on political and business leadership in Japan and to what degree did this action have on the continuity or discontinuity between pre-war and post-war elites? What actions led SCAP to â€Å"reverse† its policies from around 1948? What were the aims and goals of the occupation forces? The occupation of Japan began in August 1945 and ended in April 1952. General MacArthur was the first Supreme Commander. The entire operation was for the most part carried out by the United States. Japan in essence lost all the territory obtained after 1894. The remnants of Japan's war machine were gone, and war crime trials were held. Approximately 500 military officers committed suicide shortly after Japan surrendered, and hundreds more were executed for committing war crimes. The Emperor was not declared a war criminal. A new constitution went into effect in 1947: The emperor lost all political and military power, and was solely the symbol of the state. Universal suffrage was introduced and human rights were now guaranteed. Japan was also forbidden to lead a war again or to maintain an army. MacArthur also intended to break up power concentrations by dissolving the zaibatsu and other large companies, and by decentralizing the education system and the police. In a land reform, concentrations in land ownership were removed. During the first half of the occupation, Japan's media was subject to rigid censorship of any anti-American statements and controversial topics. The co-operation between the Japanese and the Allied powers worked relatively well. Critics began to grow when the United States acted according to self-interests in the Cold War. The United States reintroduced the persecution of the communists, stationed even more troops in Japan, and wanted Japan to establish its own self defense force despite the anti-war article in the constitution. Many aspects of the occupation's so called "reverse course" were welcomed by conservative Japanese politicians. With the peace treaty that went into effect in 1952, the occupation ended. Discuss the significant features of post-war Japan that has lead Japan to become on of the leading industrial nations of the world. Emphasize the economic activities of the 1960’s and 1970’s. After the end of World War II, Japan's economy was a disaster, ... ...opment priorities and scale down its commitments. However, the signing of this arrangement mirrored the desire on both sides to advance relations. In April 1978, a disagreement involving the incursion of armed Chinese fishing boats into the waters off the Senkaku Islands, a collection of barren islets north of Taiwan and south of the Ryukyu Islands, flared up and endangered the developing momentum toward a continuation of peace treaty talks. Self-control on both sides led to an agreeable solution. Talks on the peace treaty were resumed in July, and an arrangement was reached in August on a compromise version of the antihegemony clause. The Treaty of Peace and Friendship was signed on August 12 and came into effect October 23, 1978. Thus, common strategic concerns, as well as economic interests, held the two nations together. Until the late 1970s, China appeared more alarmed than Japan about the Soviet military buildup in Asia. But as the Soviet Union increasingly sought to impede strategic cooperation among Japan, the United States, and possibly China, in part by stepped-up intimidation of Japan, the Nakasone government became more concerned about the Soviet military buildup.

Personal Imaginitive Coursework

I trekked slowly across scorching sands; the beach was bare and inert, the searing sun too much for most, who took refuge in the shade. My mouth parched and dry, I licked my lips; my sweat tasted too salty. I dragged my unwilling limbs further along. In the background I could hear weary birds groaning under the sun,s ruthless blaze, they seemed to be circling me slowly, waiting to pounce. The vast, clear waters seemed lifeless, there were no amiable waves; there were not even small ripples. The ever present fish had decided to seek safe haven in the ocean's limitless shelters. I felt alone, secluded and dejected. I gently closed my eyes: Where was it? Would she be there? Was I late? These questions overwhelmed me. I quickly opened my eyes. In the distance stood a very small and trivial hut, I could barely make out any significant detail, however I knew it was where I needed to be. I started walking, with a new found energy, towards it ignoring the surroundings. The hot and heavy sand baked my bare feet subsequently causing me great pain. The humid and muggy air caused my eyes to water as I focused all my attention on the hut. As I got closer to the hut I could make out its finer details; it seemed a battered old construction with little in terms of modern architecture. The substandard paint that covered its cheap bricks was peeling at the far edges. The decayed wooden panels had lost their pristine newness long ago and had now become antiques that belonged in a museum of a desolate town. The ocean's rage was reflected in its rotting foundations. The hut had seen it all over the decades. She was already there and I was late. On viewing the fetid diving suits I was shocked. The suit was muddy and grimy. Its surface was no-longer new; it was instead coated in a thick layer of mire that had partially dried making the suit rigid. Reluctantly I put it on. Its tough fabric caused my skin to itch frantically. I ignored all of this as much as I could by focusing my thoughts elsewhere. For what seemed like an eternity I had played with the thought of being deep underwater: Would I feel crushed under the weight of the ocean? Would I run out of oxygen and suffer an excruciating death? I had my questions and I was soon going to find out the answers to them. The old engine roared deafeningly behind us as we travelled out to sea. I could feel its uneven vibrations running through me, adding to the nervousness I was keeping concealed inside. The beach was a distant memory and the heat no longer seemed to exist. I looked over at my diving partner. I could tell from the look in her eyes that she was as anxious as I was. We stopped in the middle of a vast ocean, the coast was no longer visible; we were alone. The suns powerful reflection dazzled all around us. We put on our goggles and set up our tanks. As soon as we had done this we positioned ourselves on the edge of the boat. I closed my eyes, ready, and dropped into the blue world beneath. It was like going to sleep and waking up in a surreal dream. It can only be described as illusory. I felt completely different; my whole body felt tranquil, sharing a unity with the ocean. I followed her deeper and deeper into the ocean's depths; every thing I saw was new to me. I saw a shoal of sapphire coloured fish swimming by swiftly beneath me. Their presence created a gap in my mind; I wanted to find out more about the ocean and its colourful inhabitants. After several more minutes of diving down we reached the bed. It was littered with coral. A diver will never find two corals exactly alike. It is in this mysterious and irregular aura which makes coral of significant beauty. It was very difficult to examine what was amongst the coral as light was partially absent there. The sand on the bed was in a wave-like pattern. Around me there were various fish swimming around almost purposefully, fish were appearing and disappearing every few seconds. There appeared to be small dwellings where groups of fish congregated amongst themselves. It seemed as if the fish had their own society, distant from the human world. I felt a gentle palm rest on my shoulder. She was pointing apologetically to the surface. It was clear that neither of us wanted to leave. We rose much quicker than we had descended; the oceans upward thrust almost throwing us out of its territory. As we approached the surface, I felt as if I had got to known the ocean and appreciate its hidden wonders. We surfaced and climbed onto the boat. I felt sad; as if I had left a part of me behind.