Obesity in China

Obesity in China? From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search A McDonald's Chinese New Year meal. American fast-food outlets have been blamed for the increase in obesity in China. [1] Obesity in China is a major health concern according to the WHO, with overall rates of obesity below 5% in the country, but greater than 20% in some cities. [2] This is a dramatic change from times when China experienced famine as a result from ineffective agriculturalization plans such as the Great Leap Forward. 3] Currently, obesity in China is mostly confined to the cities where fast food culture and globalization have taken over, in comparison to poorer rural areas. Despite this concentration of obesity, the sheer size of China's population means that over one fifth of all one billion obese people in the world come from China. [4] Contents   [hide]   * 1 Issues * 2 Response and prospects * 3 Action and Policy * 4 See also * 5 References * 6 Further reading * 7 External link s| [edit] IssuesStatistics from the Chinese Health Ministry have revealed that urban Chinese boys age 6 are 2. 5  inches taller and 6. 6 pounds heavier on average than Chinese city boys 30 years ago. A leading child-health researcher, Ji Chengye, has stated that, â€Å"China has entered the era of obesity. The speed of growth is shocking. â€Å"[1] Economic expansion and the increase in living standards as a result has seen food intake increase on average in the cities and the growth of automation and transport has seen less physical labor.Rapid motorization has drastically reduced levels of cycling and walking in China. A 2002 report has revealed a direct correspondence between ownership of motorized transport by households in China and increasing obesity related problems in children and adults. [5] The introduction of processed foods through globalisation in China and the problem of obesity is a recent phenomenon, as only 45 years ago the country faced starvation during the le adership of Mao Zedong. [1] However while malnutrition has been mostly ended in cities today, millions of rural poor, especially in rural estern China are still a far cry from the problem facing the cities. [1] The problem is affecting the young generations although some sources indicate the problem is worse with those between 35 and 59 where more than half are now overweight in cities, a figure similar to that in industrialised countries. [6] However, they state that the younger generations are increasingly at risk. Today, 8% of 10- to 12-year-olds in China's cities are considered obese and an additional 15% are overweight, according to Chinese Ministry of Education. 1] Similarly, A 2006 study conducted by University of Southern California found that the average body fat of Hong Kong Children was 21 percent, an alarmingly high number. [7] [edit] Response and prospects A KFC outlet in Hohhot, China According to Wang Longde, the Chinese vice health minister, the problem is that the p opulation does not have enough awareness and lacks knowledge of nutrition and what constitutes a reasonable diet. [8] The government is attempting to reduce the problem with building more playgrounds and passing a law with requires students to exercise or play sports for an hour a day at school. 1] Chen Chunming, an expert at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has warned against the rapid growth of American fast-food outlets in China saying, â€Å"Don't take children to eat fast food like McDonald's and KFC. â€Å"[1] De-emphasis on sports also plays an important part in the rise of obesity in China. Many Chinese people look at the way they advance in life is getting a better education so they can get a better job. The heavy emphasis on schoolwork and the pressure to do so much into that direction keeps children away from play and from physical activity. 7] Fat farms, where children try to sweat off their excess weight have grown since the 1990s. In 2000, 100 mi llion people were reported to suffer from high blood pressure and 26 million with diabetes. These figures were expected to double within a decade, with doctors warning that obesity could become China's biggest health threat for future generations. [6][9] [edit] Action and Policy Due to the current cultural views on obesity there is a significant need for anti-obesity education.Obesity is often associated with prosperity, thus there is a need for a widespread attitude shift to decrease the current rising rates. Perhaps resulting from the famines of generations past, food, specifically high-fat foods, are now seen as a luxurious item. With growing incomes in Chinese society, families are not able to afford these unhealthy but highly desired foods resulting in increasing rates of consumption of high-fat diets. [10] As a major contributor to the spread of obesity, these high-fat diets are creating a major public health problem across the country.There are currently a few initiatives in place that could help combat this problem, but because of its magnitude, it is likely that more improvements are needed. The Chinese Nutrition Society[1] is providing nutrition education by creating dietary guidelines to help consumers make more healthy lifestyle choices. These guidelines become useful in assisting the population in adopting healthy eating habits which can be an important preventative measure against obesity. Additionally, the Chinese government is currently mandating programs in schools to deal with the growing problem of obesity in the younger generations. Eat Smart at School† is a campaign that was launched during the 2006-2007 school year, which aims to cultivate healthy eating practices to promote lifestyle changes in the educational setting. This program is also an important key in teaching healthy lifestyle strategies that can promote long-term changes in these children’s lives. [2] Localizing community based interventions could help address the large, diverse population in China. China is currently trying to utilize community based interventions through The National Plan of Action for Nutrition in China[3].This demonstrates an extensive framework organizing food-based policies relating to the country’s nutrition and health issues. Some of the policies work towards promoting healthy diets and lifestyles while also providing incentives to food growers. Implementing nationwide social programs on public nutrition through mass media, public campaigns and community based promotions are potentially effective mediums towards combating obesity in China. China’s centralized government has a unique ability to make rapid policy changes where they can enforce public nutrition policy and regulate food supply.The rapid growing market of fast food chains is a huge contributor to the increase in obesity rates in China. Potentially, a price policy could be a strategic model for raising the price on â€Å"unhealthy† food s in an attempt to shift food consumption patterns to accomplish health objectives and reduce the consumption of high fat foods. Through price policy, China can focus on controlling the external influence of international products on traditional Chinese dietary patterns and help manage the obesity trends and patterns due to the increase of Westernized foods and fast food chainsObesity in China: Waistlines are Expanding Twice as Fast as GDP : China is experiencing a record high obesity rate, which means millions are becoming obese each year. , â€Å" † by Sky Patterson Date Published: 04/08/2011 Photo by ernop. Used under Creative Commons. In the U. S, we’re used to hearing about our massive weight crisis – with more than 74 percent of adults age 15 and older classified as overweight, the American culture and media landscape have become fixated on finding new diets, procedures, and lifestyle changes to address the dilemma.But what is rapidly becoming apparent is that we are not the only country coping with our expanding waistlines. In China, the prevalence of being overweight is actually dramatically outpacing the growth of its GDP. According to the World Bank, China’s US $4. 99 trillion GDP in 2009 was a remarkable 181 percent increase from its 2005 GDP (US $2. 75 trillion). The number of obese people in China is growing even faster. There are nearly 100 million obese people in China today, more than five times the number in 2005, when 18 million were obese. The definition of being overweight is having a body mass index of 25 or greater.According to the World Health Organization’s Global Info Database, for those ages 15 and older, 45 percent of males in China and 32 percent of females were overweight, or an average of 38. 5 percent of the 2010 population. This is a sharp increase from the 2002 statistic of 25 percent. With an overweight percentage of 38 percent and rising, mainland China is home to a staggering 380 million-p lus people with weight problems. And studies show that the problem is becoming increasingly prevalent among youth, and may largely define urban China’s near-term future.Robert Girandola, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Southern California, conducted a 2006 study, titled â€Å"Prevalence of Obesity and Body Composition in Hong Kong Children,† researching the body fat percentage of 3,000 nine-year-olds. He found that the average body fat of these children was 21 percent, an alarmingly high number. â€Å"These are pre-pubertal [children], and pre-pubertal you should not see numbers like that,† says Girandola. He also added that the problem will only grow worse as these children start to develop symptoms of the chronic diseases associated with obesity, including diabetes and high blood pressure.In addition to diabetes and high blood pressure, other serious health implications related to obesity include a higher risk of cancer, heart disease and diabe tes. The latter disease is rapidly becoming more prominent in China. A March 2010 New England Journal of Medicine study estimated that 9. 7 percent of the country’s population has diabetes, a figure that is close to that of the U. S. at 11 percent; another American Diabetes Association study found similar rates in both countries. Also notable is that of these diabetes cases in China, 60. 7 percent went undiagnosed.The majority of these cases are Type II late onset diabetes, which is directly correlated with being overweight; obesity has been found to contribute to approximately 55 percent of Type II diabetes cases. Source: American Diabetes Association, The Associated Press Paul French, co-author of the recent book Fat China, which chronicles the growing problem of obesity in China, claims that the actual diabetes rate may be as high as 16 percent, with 150 million additional people categorized as pre-diabetic, putting them at a high risk for developing Type II diabetes. Ther e are people in China who say with acupuncture and traditional medicine you can cure diabetes, but there is no proof of that either,† says French. â€Å"Diabetes is something that once you’ve got it, you’ve got it and you have to manage it the rest of your life. † According to a 1992 China National Nutrition Survey, the percentage of men and women classified as overweight, or with a BMI greater than 24, was 17. 4 percent. The government agenda at that time was to gauge the prevalence of underweight individuals, but what they found at the other end of the spectrum ended up being a surprising trend that has continued ever since.The same survey conducted 10 years later in 2002 showed that 29 percent of individuals were overweight, a 66. 7 percent increase. | | What is causing the Chinese population to grow overweight at such an alarming rate? Contrary to the U. S. where obesity is concentrated more heavily among poorer people, China’s obesity problem i s largely defined by what French terms a â€Å"wealth-deficit† problem. Specifically, the richer you get, the fatter you are. In rural China, the prevalence of being overweight and having diabetes is naturally lower. However, in the cities, a larger number of people own cars and televisions.Not only are these luxuries symbols of wealth, but they also greatly decrease physical activity, resulting in higher rates of obesity and diabetes in urban areas. Athena Foong, an epidemiology researcher at the University of Southern California’s Institute for Global Health explains, â€Å"It’s a very communal thing in Asia, if you see someone having that, you want to have that too; so if they’re telling you that, we just enjoyed a super duper meal at McDonald’s and that becomes a fanciful thing to do, you want to do it too. † But what about physical activity and sports in China?Peaking during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China has been making large strides on the international sports front. However, among the general population, this is not necessarily the case. As French says, â€Å"With the Olympics in China, rather than encouraging more people to take part in sport, it basically sent out the message that sport was an elite activity, and if you play sports, you better win gold medals; the idea of just a bunch of kids running around playing games was considered a waste of time. † Foong also adds that this de-emphasis on sports and physical activity starts from childhood, and carries on to later life. The only way people look at the way you advance in life is getting a better education so you can get a better job, and sports is not considered a job. † Parents may dote on their only children, but they also hold them to high academic standards in order to achieve a better life. â€Å"It’s not that they want to force their kids into going to school, and then doing these extra school classes, and on the weekends havi ng a tutor,† explains Foong. â€Å"It’s just the pressure to do so much into that direction and away from play, from physical activity, from all that. This emphasis on schoolwork at the expense of play and organized sports parallels the rise in obesity in China. Foong adds that it is not merely as simple as telling parents, â€Å"You guys can just stop worrying too much about getting good grades because that’s the path that everyone’s already on; that train has already left the station. † Two or three generations ago, China suffered a nutrition challenge. Many people suffered malnutrition, went hungry and were underweight. Fast-forward to the present and conditions are swiftly becoming the opposite.In China’s larger cities, where roads were once exclusively filled with bikes, cars pack the streets 24 hours a day. And in addition to having more cars, city streets are also now lined with fast food restaurants, the ubiquity of which is one caus e of obesity in China. It is easy to find a local McDonald’s, Pizza Hut or Starbucks ready to serve up fast food to the masses. In fact, Yum Brands, the parent company of fast food leaders such as McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and KFC, opened more than 500 restaurants in China in 2009, and expects to one day have more than 20,000 restaurants there.Source: National statistical offices, Euromonitor International Alongside China’s meteoric economic rise and fast food market growth in the last two decades, the lifestyle of the Chinese people has changed dramatically. For example, aside from a greater array of food options, the Chinese are indulging their children because state policy has shrunk family sizes while economic progress has given urban families higher disposable incomes. Families and their children have become less active. These various changes have led to an equally fast climb in modern health problems.Obesity is a plague facing the developed world that leads to other complications such as diabetes and hypertension, which place an enormous pressure on the healthcare system. And in China, much like the rest of the world, the problem is only growing. What are ordinary Chinese doing to solve the problem of growing waistlines? Put simply, not much. Or at least not much that seems to be working. Says French, â€Å"The three things that people are doing at the moment, none of these things are particularly sensible. Those three main things are unreasonable fat camps, which provide limited results for children using contrived and sometimes dangerous methods, unregulated and ineffective slimming pills that eliminate mainly body water, and cosmetic surgery – which treats the symptoms but not the problem. Solving the problem is not merely a matter of execution and practicality, but also a cultural and social one as well. One change that must take place is that people need to find ways to eat more healthily, especially since it is difficult to exercise enough to work off certain foods.However, this is a lot easier said than done when the Chinese affinity for Western fast food brands is increasing, and on the flip side, Western companies are increasingly eager to tap into the Chinese market. Taking on a more active lifestyle is another important measure to help mitigate the problem. â€Å"The solution is very simple,† says Girandola. â€Å"People have to be more active. Is that going to happen? I doubt it. People are not going to go back to bicycles again, not when they basically have a car. † So what can one expect from China in the near future?There are many possible solutions, but when the public cares more about eating tasty and convenient food, climbing the socioeconomic ladder and relishing newfound wealth, nothing will come easily. Fast food is also not going to disappear. One example of this is a new trend that has emerged in Hong Kong, dubbed â€Å"McWeddings,† wherein local McDonald’s restaurants provide wedding reception services to young couples. Over the long term, in is also necessary to make school curriculum changes in schools to promote healthy habits. The key largely lies in children, who may be more able to pick up and maintain healthy habits than adults. Once you get overweight, it’s very hard to suddenly turn it around,† explains Girandola. â€Å"That’s why you got to solve it beforehand; people have to be proactive rather than reactive. †Ã‚   As China rapidly modernizes, it will inevitably encounter the problems that first-world countries face. Unfortunately, the arduous path to relieving China’s overweight problem and ensuing health issues will not be nearly as smooth as the road that got it there. Sky Patterson is a senior at the University of Southern California majoring in East Asian Languages and C

Operations Management Comparison: DHL and FedEx Essay

Introduction Business logistics solutions have come a long way since the utilization of the postal system for business purposes during the Industrial Revolution. Its importance in achieving company goals of efficiency and profitability for the current corporate industries as well as several others can be pointed out as an evidence of the evolution of business logistics in the past years. During the peacetime era shortly right after the Second World War marked for the emergence of various forms of businesses and thereby increasing as well the need for faster and efficient logistics solutions that will satisfy the needs of these emerging industries. This signaled the surfacing of companies that specifically provide business logistics solutions with the primary goal of enabling companies meet their respective corporate objectives and thereby creating a particular industry in itself. Through the years, the range of services that these logistics companies offer grew from simple overnight parcel deliveries to sore sophisticated and complex services along with the ever increasing demands of the market which could substantiate the current market situations of our time (Averbook, 2005). In this particular service industry, a couple of firms that predominantly provide business logistics solutions to certain businesses came into view as industry leaders. Both of these service providers offer their clients a wide range of services that cater to a specific purpose and need. The evolution that has been evident in the industry can specifically be attributed to these service providers: Federal Express and DHL. Comparison of Company Mission Statements One specific reason as to how both business logistics solution providers, DHL and FedEx has reached their status as industry leaders among various firms that are also engaged in the same line of business is because of their commitment in proving services that caters specifically to every needs of their clients. For instance, what started out as an undergraduate thesis at Yale University came out to become a company of â€Å"firsts† this line of business. Federal Express which has changed its name into FedEx that most of us know of today, officially started out operations in 1973 delivering parcels from New York to Florida (â€Å"FedEx History†, 2006). FedEx’s mission statement states that the company will revolutionize global business practices that will define speed and reliability. Federal Express, through the years, did just that. The company’s particular ability to provide high value-added supply chain, as well as effective packages that also covers the transportation while relating information and business itself through specific operating companies. This was coupled with the assurance to every market segment they serve of the highest degree of quality in services. This has caused the development of harmonious relationships between its company clients and partners without sacrificing the issue of safety in its processes. Another American service provider, DHL, has pretty much the same mission statements as that of FedEx which aims primarily to aid their clients in achieving high quality and swift services that could improve company performance (â€Å"Press Release†, 2006). DHL attributes this to their expertise and knowledge of both local and global customer needs and demands. This emphasis on the significance of culture helps DHL provide an outstanding service in all levels of business specifications. Furthermore, one thing unique about DHL’s mission statement is the inclusion of concern not only for their clients and partners but as well as for the environment and their employees. This signifies the particular social responsibility that the company adheres itself to. Corporate Strategy Comparisons Corporate strategies employed by both companies also played a major role in establishing itself into the service providers that they are nowadays. For instance, these strategies have defined industry standards that were proved to become the benchmark other similar business logistic solutions providers’ offer for their clients (â€Å"Financial Results†, 2006). For the part of DHL, the company’s primary commitment to communities wherein their work is defined has helped a lot in increasing company services. Their advertisements that particularly emphasize on the knowledge of local traditions and beliefs have proven to be effective that even FedEx ran a similar advertisement about the same concept. The execution of such particular concept is necessary since the nature of the business is basically done in a cross country approach. Additionally, the promotion of DHL’s employees’ social commitment caps off the intent of the company to become a holistic service provider whose concerns stretch out not only for profits but also for social consciousness (â€Å"DHL Company History†, 2005). On the other hand, FedEx’s corporate strategy involves an array of techniques that they have well utilized over the years that they used to their own advantage. These strategies are designed to be implemented simultaneously along with other operating management standpoints. First up is the ability of FedEx to work and operate independently. This particular characteristic of FedEx focuses on their independent network sources which are being utilized to cope up with the changing preferences of their clients. A perfect example of this starts with the selection of the name itself that also connotes the tendency of its clients being patriotic. Specifically, the word â€Å"federal† appeals to a variety of clients who could easily attach the company name with the system of governance. Second is the capability of the firm to compete collectively by uniting as one organization that works for one objective under one name. For instance, FedEx has only one advertising agency that they hire so as to consolidate advertisements and reduce costs. Another tactic that they instituted in their organization is the strategic choice of headquarters which is in Memphis, Tennessee. The location of the city makes it possible for the service provider to be able to reach out to several cities in such a short span of time. The capability of FedEx to collectively tackle the market is also one of the major reasons why the firm has been a trend-setter in most aspects of the business. As a matter of fact, recent company acquisitions that FedEx made provided an avenue for the company to expand its services into a variety of offerings. The services that they offered significantly grew from the traditional overnight parcel deliveries up to 3PL logistics, express mail services, and e-commerce among others. This proves the point that the existence of both service providers improved and redefined the efficiency of the service industry for it tailored itself to the changing demands and preferences of the market which is at the same time adept with the current market trends. Last thing is the ability of FedEx to manage its resources collaboratively. As one of their publicity goes, the FedEx team works together to sustain loyal relationships among themselves and instill in them the camaraderie that is inherent with a group. This particular strategy is quite important so as to create a harmonious working environment wherein cooperation and helping out to each other is pretty evident. Company Goals and Values Both FedEx and DHL exhibit a considerable array of company goals that could deemed be useful for all the aspects of the business not mention the ability to tap all elements that makes the firms existence possible. FedEx to be particular revolves its company values around the major stakeholders that are involved with the business. Number one here is the people, clients who greatly influence the operations management of the firm and also the primary reason for the existence of the company. Second is the service whose maintenance of high quality affects the perception of the general public which is pivotal in achieving company objectives. Innovation comes in third wherein the needs of the clients are constantly kept in mind in devising new services which could in turn inspire or improve the way we live. Fourth is the maintenance of company integrity in the management of operations and other aspects of the business with the use of appropriate behaviors towards the company’s clientele as well as their co-workers. Last is the protection of company loyalty both of the market as well as in the workplace in the belief that this would earn the company the necessary respect that it deserves. On the last note, DHL envisions itself as the service provider of choice when it comes to express mail services and overall logistics network (DHL, 2006). At the same time, it aims to lead the industry in the provision of high standard quality services and at the same time being a favorably profitable business entity. Finally, to satisfy expectations of their stakeholders in reference to their performance in the ethical, social and environmental fields, concluding that the existence of both service providers do not only concern a small fraction but the whole components of the business as a whole. Averbook, J. (2005). Linking Performance to Corporate Missions Retrieved December 13, 2006, from http://www. wpsmag. com/content/templates/wps_article. asp? articleid=146&zoneid=19 DHL. (2006). DHL Mission, Vision, and Values. Retrieved December 13, 2006, from http://www. dhl. com/publish/etc/medialib/g0/downloads/general. Par. 0028. File. tmp/vision. pdf DHL Company History. (2005). Retrieved December 13, 2006, from http://www. dhl. com/publish/g0/en/about/history/history2. high. html FedEx History. (2006). FedEx Express. Financial Results. (2006). Retrieved December 13, 2006, from http://www. fedex. com/us/investorrelations/downloads/annualreport/2004annualreport_financials. pdf? link=4 Geneveive. (2005). Famous Quotations. Retrieved December 13, 2006, from http://www. famous-quotations. com/forum/forum_posts. asp? TID=193&PN=6 Press Release. (2006). Retrieved December 13, 2006, from http://www. dhl-usa. com/about/pr/PRDetail. asp? nav=AboutAirborne/CompanyInfo/PressReleases&seq=262.

Identity in the Novel Deadly Unna

How does Blacky’s identity change with the death of Dumby Red? The novel Deadly Unna by Phillip Gwyne, addresses many issues including racism and identity. This book provides the opportunity to look at how friendship can change the way people view themselves and others throughout. Deadly Unna the main character, Blacky confronts issues such as racism, conformity and identity as part of growing up as a teenager in the port. Before Blacky became friends with Dumby, he went along with the crowd and conformed to the way the rest of the Port operated.Blacky is portrayed as a boy who doesn’t like to get in peoples way. He has different views about the Aborigines’, than the people in the port, but feels as if he has to conform to the way everyone else thinks to fit in. When Blacky and Dumby meet for the first time he automatically labels him as a ‘Nunga’ and jumps straight to conclusions about him because that is the way he has been brought up. His dad call s him a ‘gutless wonder which doesn’t really help his confidence and courage to stand up for what he believes in.However when Blacky gets to know Dumby, he is drawn to how confident and sure he is of himself. Blacky is jealous at first of how confident Dumby is and his ‘killer smile’. The people in the port have many racist beliefs toward Aborigines’. Even though Dumby was the best player, Arks still put Mark Arks at the top of the team list. ‘Top of the list was Mark Arks. The next name down was Dumby Red’s. ’ Most rumors come from the front pub. They are stories people have of what they think Aboriginals are like (e. g. the point sign full of bullet holes).The Aboriginals get treated unjustly in the community and the only time they are represented is when everyone comes together for the footy matches. When Dumby saves Blacky from the Thumper, Blacky really starts to like Dumby, but he doesn’t show it because he thinks he has to conform to what everyone else thinks ‘So I stopped hating Dumby’s guts. Except I still acted like I did. I was used to it, I suppose. It was easier to stay like that. ’ Blacky and Dumby become friends, and Blacky realizes the divide between the races is worse than what he originally thought.After Dumby dies Blacky decides to take action. He is fed up with the injustice in the town. He becomes confident enough about his identity not to conform and starts to stand up for what is right. An example of this is when he gathers all his siblings and goes to the bridge to get rid of the ‘BOONGS PISS OFF’ graffiti. This is a powerful moment in the story because it shows how Blacky is finally opening up and taking action on something he believes is wrong. He stops conforming to every ones’ views and attends Dumby’s funeral against what his father says.He realises what the Point is really like and that the Aboriginals are really nice normal people. Blacky wants to do something about the towns racist views, and feels uncomfortable to be part of it. By the end of the novel Blacky has faced very real problems such as conformity, racism and identity and has overcome major obstacles as part of growing up. Blacky becomes more confident and sure of who he is. Dumby changed his way of thinking, but Blacky took the action and started to believe in himself and have the courage fight for his beliefs.

Essay/proposal for job application Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

/proposal for job application - Essay Example What matters to me most is the person for whom my efforts will be. I have had quite a chance to do team work and devotion to my team is something that has been a common feature of my work with companies so far. While working as an administrative assistant, translator, IT manager and quality control engineer for director of a medical center, I have displayed excellent work ethics and dedication. I am to date in the good books of the director and he can produce a powerful recommendation on my request if and when needed. From my previous place of work as a logistics specialist, I would like to mention as an example of my working skills, the most demanding project I had there. I was working with three parties, being in charge of more than 10 million dollars of equipment. During the project, feeling committed and responsible for success of the team, I disregarded the customer service hours, making myself available literally 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until the project completion. During emergency conditions, by adherence to the policy, creative thinking, mutual trust, leadership and negotiation skills, I attempted to provide world-class service with much success. Switching over to accounting, I have prepared financial records for archiving, which included validation, correction and data recovery. For weekly financial reports, I used something similar to Six Sigma techniques to decrease the processing time from one to two days to less than two or three hours. Personally admiring your work, supporting it will all my heart and hoping to support you with deeds over my lifetime; I pray that you see a certain advantage in this, which I am sure is shared by all people you work with. I would like to be a member of your team. First of all, I should probably mention that I am studying for Ph.D. in Physics right now. Conveniently, my

Closing case #2 Chap 6 Zillow Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Closing #2 Chap 6 Zillow - Case Study Example Business intelligence at Zillow allows managers to make better decisions that are beneficial to the company. In Zillow, Zestimate values allow them to use data mining features for spotting trends across property valuations hence creating new products for their customers. Through this technology, they are able to see accurate Zestimate values and allow users to find homes that are for sale and rent based on monthly payment they can afford. Through business intelligence, Zillow launched new products aimed at changing the manner in which Americans shop mortgages by allowing borrowers to use their new mortgage marketplace to get custom loan quotes from lenders without giving their details. The marketing department at Zillow can easily use data mart to release a new product by taking advantage of databases that are stored in details. Through their data warehousing systems, they can store the same information in aggregated form more suited to support decision-making process. The warehouse can then be used to compile information from internal databases and external databases through extraction, transformation, and loading during launching of new products. Accurate information is of great importance to Zillow since they need such information to make accurate choices on how they intend to run their business. Any information that is not accurate misleads the managers as they make their daily choices that can eventually lead to reduced profits in the business. All information needed by Zillow should be complete to ensure that there is no value lacking in the information provided. Incomplete information can also lead the management in making wrong decisions that can eventually bring the company down. Zillow needs information that is ever flowing at a constant speed as they are availed so that they become useful to the management. Inconsistency of information can disrupt the decision-making process that would in

Local Practices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Local Practices - Essay Example In addition, since time and opportunity permitted, one was able to share a traditional meal with them which would also be duly reported. As required, the following aspects were also monitored: language, family organization, reasons for being in their present locality, and traditional health remedies. Interview with African American Family Within the local neighborhood, one had the opportunity to interview a traditional African American family, particularly the grandmother who was more than willing to answer some questions about local health practices. From what has been relayed, the grandmother asserted that most of her grandchildren have exhibited tendencies of being prone to catching influenza and upper respiratory infection. Likewise, she also relayed the other common illnesses manifested among other family members (including the parents of the children) are cardiovascular or heart problem, hypertension, and diabetes. When asked what health problems she, herself, suffers, she answ ered that she is currently suffering from diabetes and hypertension. Likewise, her son, who is the head of the family, also exhibits some tendencies to be overweight or obese. One was also invited for a meal (lunch) as the grandmother with little grandchildren had a fair share of fried foods: chicken, salted pork chops and heaping serving of mashed potato. The grandmother had a side salad of green lettuce, cabbage and tomatoes with mustard; of which, the grandchildren hardly touched. During the meal, the grandmother was a generous hostess who offered everything on the table and replete with stories of yesteryears. She uses the traditional African American language of the prominent Black slang. It is funny to listen how she was able to imbibe contemporary culture’s language by listening to young African Americans within her neighborhood. She said that the whole family had been in the local neighborhood since she was a little girl. She narrated how she met her husband from the same community and thus, opted to stay put, raise her five children and now, her grandchildren in the same residential area. When asked how they address illnesses in the family, she responded by saying that for her grandchildren’s fever, coughs or flu, she gives the traditional over-the-counter drugs that she had known to use for years. When fever persists, she brings her grandchildren to the local community hospital for check-up. They said none of the family members have any health insurance coverage and thus, makes it difficult for them to rely on frequent visits to the doctor. For her hypertension and diabetes, she said that she does not take any regular medication and relies solely on some occasional boiling of herbs, which had been referred to her by friends, relatives, or neighbors. Likewise, she confessed that due to her old age, she also suffers some vision problems, maybe also due and confounded by her diabetes. However, she also disclosed that she has not consulted any physician to address her vision problems. Comparative Analysis When comparing what has been relayed by the African American grandmother who was interviewed, one is convinced that

Family Divorce ( You Must use research it from a feminist perspective) Paper

Family Divorce ( You Must use it from a feminist perspective) - Research Paper Example The same case is replicated in Europe where the rates of divorce have been on the increase in the recent decades and is expected to escalate even further in the coming years. It is such disturbing trends that have prompted studies into understanding the effects and possible interventions of divorce. The feminist perspective on divorce revolves around the ways in which women’s positions at divorce systematically differ from men’s positions. Although the current labour force trends indicate an increase in women participation, Carbone (1994) says there is no corresponding rise in the fathers’ domestic contributions. In fact, women still endure the burden of child rearing. In a nutshell, therefore, a feminist perspective is concerned about the implications of divorce not only on the lives of women but also on the lives of children. Divorce has a huge impact on the family for the simple reason that it breaks the bonds that were once responsible for bringing the family together. On the part of children, Carbone (1994) says divorce brings the feelings of being unwanted and loss of trust to the parents. On the part of the fathers, divorce leads to loss of finances, emotional stress following loss of family and having to start again and loss of parental responsibility. With regards to the mothers, divorce leads to financial stress and emotional stress just to mention a few. Sometimes these effects deteriorate even to the extended families. Divorce shams serious concerns on the family, in particular, the well-being of the children. Although the adults are also affected by divorce, the children bear the brunt of it all. The divorce causes psychological, physical and socio-economic problems onto the affected families. This is in contrast to families that do not experience divorce. Wallerstein (1991) identifies persistent loneliness as a major consequence of divorce on children. He cited a study in

To create a binding agreement the acceptance must occur, and that Research Paper

To create a binding agreement the acceptance must occur, and that 'acceptance' must be final and absolutely unconditional - Research Paper Example A contract legally binds the signees of the contract to the terms spelt out in the contract. A breach of the terms spelt out in the contract makes an individual who is party to the contract to be liable to prosecution by law. Acceptance is an element of contracts that should be featured in a contract for it to be legally binding. This paper aims at highlighting acceptance under Australian contractual law and how it impacts on businesses and the judicial system in the country. Contractual acceptance is characterized by a party in the contract agreeing to the terms and conditions of the offer that is proposed by the other party. A contract is not formalized until the party being proposed to, accepts the offer at hand. The contract can then be termed as legally binding after the offer has been accepted. A contract can also not be formalized until all the negotiations regarding the terms and conditions of the contract have been finalized. Acceptance can be defined as an unqualified assen t to all terms of the offer for example, when a buyer makes an offer to the seller of which the seller accepts the offer from the buyer (SINGH & KAUR, 2011:120). Acceptance in contract formation includes the arrival at a consensus between the parties involved on the terms and conditions defining the contract. For acceptance to be realized, an offer by one of the parties involved in the contract should be proposed. This creates the opportunity to for the other member analyse the offer and present their judgment by accepting the offer or agreeing in an unqualified way. This means that offeree assents the offer but on condition that some of his terms are also accepted by the offeror (SINGH & KAUR, 2011:185). An offer must be distinguished from an invitation to deal because it involves testing for intent from the party making the statement. It depends on whether the response would result to an agreement or simply translate to further negotiations. An example of this scenario is a court case between the Great Britain Pharmaceutical Society v Boots in which the English court of appeal provided emphasis on the commercial influence and classification of the conduct as an offer (SINGH & KAUR, 2011:190). A contract is formed when an offer by one individual is accepted by the other party involved in the negotiations. An offer can be made to one person, a class of persons or to the whole world as long as the specifics of the terms and conditions of the offer are clearly defined for all parties involved. An offer is part and parcel of acceptance because it determines the realisation of acceptance depending on the terms of the offer. Thus, an offer is a definite promise to be bound to, provided the terms of the offer are accepted. This means that acceptance is realised when the precise terms of the offer have been accepted. If the precise terms of an offer are not accepted, then it means that the offer is still under negotiations, and it cannot be said that the acceptance s tage has been reached and finalised. Negotiations indicate that the basic elements of which acceptance is part of, have not been met, and therefore negotiations are ongoing. An offer can be withdrawn before it is accepted, but it requires the offer or to inform the other party about the withdrawal of the offer. This makes it possible to avoid a binding contract because the

Evaluation 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evaluation 4 - Essay Example ments projected against EBP and consequently suggesting possible reactions by practitioners, the study focused more on the critics from postmodernist movements. The sampling procedure adopted in the study is study is based on the level of fierceness of the critics who reason that EBP are actually detrimental to patient as they are flawed. The study is therefore purely set on available literature and therefore more of study on literature as against primary study. The study found that though the study of EBP faces critical limitation in evidence, critical thinking is inherent in supporting professionalism in nursing practice. Professional nursing manager are encouraged not to abandon EBP but involve critical thinking while embracing it. This study findings provide very strong support in the need to have critical thinking while adopting EBP in nursing. Evaluation on literature however would have presented a major challenge through biasness while it has the positive of being more comprehensive in information. Various factors were measured and the data collected and these were sources of nurse knowledge for their practice, barriers to achievement of evidence based practice as well as personal rating in capacity to deliver the evidence-based practices. These study findings provide very strong support in the need to adopt new approaches to nurses’ management roles especially with the junior nurses who feel inferior to the seniors. The main weakness in the study was the relatively low response rate of 42% and which would have meant increased risk of biasness. In studying the experience of nurses practicing in acute nursing care, qualitative descriptive design is adopted. Interview method was used in collecting the data from a sample of about 20 practicing nurses. The study involves four acute-care hospital within South East Florida with distinction on for profits and non-profit hospital. The criteria used for the choice of the hospital were the criteria of having

What's in a Name Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

What's in a Name - Essay Example Such a move is described as customer driven since it puts the interests of the customer at the fore front. According to the articles history, most celebrities have found it difficult to find a suitable name for their children. This has made them to adopt funny names that may have an impact in the child’s life. By capitalizing on this situation, Maryanna expects to serve new parents who are unable to come up with good names. In overall, parents and new born are her target market. Maryanna would receive a lot of competition from companies that manufacture baby care products. It is evident that such companies have their own name experts who are charged with the responsibility of naming baby products. Baby products are always required to be in sync with catchy names. Such names may form clues to parents on how to name their children (Osborn, 2009, p.245). By being able to name children on their own, the parents won’t need those services of Maryanna thereby threatening her business. There are other companies that specialize in naming celebrity children. Such companies pose a great challenge to Maryanna since they are engaged in the same line of business. Such situations may lead to one of them diversifying into other fields thereby incurring unwanted costs (Osborn, 2009,

Concussions Case Study Essay Example for Free

Concussions Case Study Essay With all the excitement sports in our country and even around the world bring, some horrific injuries occur due to the competiveness of each participant. The human body can only take so much, and seems like a big target when competition is involved between two or more teams. An injury that has evolved the most out of all the injuries that can occur to someone is the concussion. According to the National Athletic Trainers Association and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, concussions in athletes is becoming the most common injury found compared to some other sports related injury. In the past, if you got hit in the head really hard you went out till your headache went away then you went back in the game. Nobody back then realized how much damage that hard hit to the head really did to you, or how long you should stay out for and recover. Due to advances in technology we now realize our philosophy â€Å"rub some dirt on it† or â€Å"shake it off† especially when it comes to head injuries is something you should never do. Due to improvements in technology and our scientist we are starting to realize and go deeper into how severe a concussion is or traumatic brain injury (TBI). By definition, a concussion occurs when there is a rapid acceleration or deceleration of the head. The brain moves or rotates inside the skull and different parts of it move against each other. Symptoms include headaches, confusion, amnesia and sensitivity to light or noise and can last days, weeks or months. According to the article â€Å"The Science of Hard Knocks† when this mild to severe blow to the head occurs what happens is the brain jiggles inside of the skull reorganizing blood flow. This causes no physical symptoms you can see so doctors can only depend on the information the athlete tells them. This is a huge problem because athletes being as competitive as they are, they may get cleared to play again and still have a concussion. According to the article â€Å"The Science of Hard Knocks†, A ton of concussions are being missed. And a ton of people are being allowed to go back not having fully recovered, says Robert Cantu, a concussion expert and chairman of the department of surgery at Emerson Hospital. Due to this some rules in and restrictions have been put in place by the NCAA on concussions that every head coach and athletic trainer must follow, but the main rule is if an athlete even shows the slightest sign of having a concussion they must sit out the for the entire event and must sit out at least a week before returning. Not only has this rule decreased the number of concussions but it has given the opportunity for athletes to recover fully from a concussion. There is really only one way to treat a concussion, the article â€Å"The Science of hard knocks† states that the only accepted treatment right now for a concussion is to rest the brain. This means no contact sports, no exercise, and no strenuous thinking, all in which are very difficult for your typical college athlete not to do. A big thing that many scientist and neurologist are studying now is the differences concussions have on men vs. women. The number of women participating in sports grew from 1.9 million to 3.2 million between 1990 and 2010. With an increase of participation in sports comes an increase in injuries, including concussion, and a need to understand its effects. Evidence is mounting that women, who are more likely than men to suffer a sports-related concussion, also have more severe symptoms in the days immediately fol lowing the injury. Though men go through a series of big hits, especially in the National Hockey League who is under intense pressure to come up with rule changes to reduce the number of concussions, also known as mild traumatic brain injuries, which have been linked to dementia later in life, studies show that men are less prone to get a concussion because of how long men have been playing sports and hitting our head. According to Dave Elemberrg within the past 100 years, our bodies and brains have adapted to the big hits. But, because women are so new to sports, women are three times more likely than men to suffer a sports-related concussion, says Tracey Covassin, a Canadian researcher at Michigan State University. The reason why women seem to get more concussion than men is not because they are less athletic Covassin says, but because she suspects that female athletes are getting more concussions because they are stronger, faster and more aggressive than in the past. â€Å"Women are also more likel y to be honest about their symptoms, she says, since unlike their male counterparts, they  dont risk losing lucrative professional contracts if they are injured.† Concussions have been overlooked by many people for a very long time. Because of this, some athletes have paid the price and now have to live with the consequences of not letting a traumatic brain injury heal properly. Due to our improvements in technology, rules and regulations set by the NCAA on this issue, and hard work done by scientist and neurologist we now have a better grasp on how serious a concussion or, a traumatic brain injury can be. It is safe to say that there is need for a more widespread understanding of the potentially dangerous impart of concussions in sports

Hilton Hotel Differentiation Essay Example for Free

Hilton Hotel Differentiation Essay Hilton Hotels is one of the biggest players in the US lodging industry. It contributes to about 9% of the total rooms in US lodging market. It has presence in over 78 countries with more than 2500 hotels. Lodging industry is highly capital intensive industry, so to reduce capital expenditure Hilton Hotels opted for self-owned Hotels as well as franchising model with the real estate owners. One of the key features of lodging industry is low switching costs for customers. There is very little margin to differentiate from the major competitors in the industry which include Marriott international, IHG, Accor etc. Key success factor in lodging market is quality of service one provides. Hilton Hotels are highly focused about their service level by providing excellent care to the customers. Traditionally, standardization of service delivery operations has been one of the very difficult tasks in the industry as one has to operate in different geographies. To resolve this issue and to maintain consistent service delivery across different hotels they installed an integrated technology infrastructure called OnQ. CRM system built over OnQ helped the firm to provide excellent service to the customers and provide competitive advantage over its competitors. OnQ facilitated the firm’s CRM (Customer Really Matters) initiative at each customer touch point. Reason for successful implementation of CRM * The major organizational factor that facilitated the CRM initiative is that the firm had the same technology platform and distribution footprint throughout the brand. * Sharing the risk with the hotel owners and avoiding separate technology charges encouraged the owners to adopt the CRM system. * Moreover its focus on delivering efficient service to customers also laid the foundation among the people for the acceptance of CRM initiative. Issue faced in CRM Implementation The major problem during the implementation of CRM initiative was the delivery of consistent services across each brand event after the CRM systems were in place. This was mainly due to the large number of diversified hotels in the chain across the globe Issues resolved by CRM package * With the help of CRM along with recognition of the customer providing personal services was also possible. This helps in tailoring the experience according to customer needs and creating a long term relationship. For eg. Rooms can be pre-assigned and prepared according to customer preferences. * It was also possible to classify customers along different levels (Gold, Diamond etc.) and providing them with differential services. Tiered system allowed the hotels to prioritize pre-assignment and service delivery by identifying most valuable guests. This results in improving efficiency of service by focusing more on most valuable customers. * To maintain brand name uniform services are to be maintained across the hotel chain. With centralized OnQ infrastructure, it became possible for Hilton Hotels to replicate their services across the various hotels across the globe. * The CRM systems helped the company in differentiating its service as well as optimizing some of the activities which lead to the reduction in operational costs. For eg. OnQ Reservation used data from the CRM, allows the agent to access callers’ personal dossier and update their preferences. This helped in reducing the call time as well as promoted the cross selling. Another example is having information prior to arrival of customer helped the firm in maintaining efficiencies especially during later in the evenings when less staff is available. * It also helped in service recovery. If a client had some problem during the last visit, identifying the problem helped in responding better next time. * The SALT (Satisfaction and Loyalty Tracking) survey helped in getting essential feedback from the customers. * Monitoring of the various brands across the chain for quality assurance also became easy. It also enabled the firm to open new hotels at a faster pace and consistently deliver the same service. Summary of Analysis CRM system implementation at Hilton hotels provided with various benefits in term of improved services, cost reduction improved efficiency. Maintenance cost of CRM system is low as compared to the overall revenue of the firm. Currently Hilton Hostels are able to leverage CRM system better than competitors. They still need to search for further options available in improving service using CRM.

Cause And Effects Of Soil Erosion

Cause And Effects Of Soil Erosion The Latin word erodere,meaning to gnaw away is the origin of the word erosion (Roose, 1996). Soil Erosion is the physical removal of topsoil by various agents, including falling raindrops, water flowing over the soil profile and gravitational pull (Lal 1990). The Soil Science Society of America defines erosion as the wearing away of the land surface by running water, wind, ice or other geological agents, including such processes as gravitational creep (SCSA, 1982). Physical erosion involves the detachment and transportation of insoluble soil particles (sand, silt and organic matter). Removal of soluble material as dissolved substances is called chemical erosion and this maybe caused by surface runoff or subsurface flow where the water moves from one layer to another within the soil profile (Lal 1990). According to ASCE, 1975, the physical processes in soil erosion include detachment of soil particles, their transportation and subsequent deposition of soil sediments downslope by raindrop impact and runoff over the soil surface. Rainfall is the most important detaching agent (Morgan and Davidson 1986; Lal, 1990) followed by overland flow in entraining soil particles (Lal 1990). The process of soil erosion occurs in three main steps, detachment of soil particles, transportation and deposition of soil particles downslope by raindrop impact and runoff over the soil surface (ASCE 1975; Morgan and Davidson, 1986, Lal 1990) followed by overland flow in entraining soil particles (Lal, 1990). Soil erosion reduces soil productivity by physical loss of topsoil, reduction in rooting depth and loss of water. In contrast soil, soil depletion means loss or decline of soil fertility due to crop removal or removal of nutrients by eluviations from water passing through the soil profile (Lal, 1990). Sedimentation however, causes off site effects like degradation of basins, accumulation of silts in water reservoirs and burial of low-lying productive areas and other problems (Lal, 1990). Sediments is the main cause of pollution and eutrophication (Lal, 1990). According to Lal 1990, soil degradation may be caused by accelerated soil erosion, depletion through intensive land use , deterioration in soil structure, changes in soil pH, leaching, salt accumulation, build up of toxic elelments such as aluminum or zinc, excessive inundation leading to reduced soil conditions and poor aeration. Soil Erosion is the most serious and least reversible form of land degradation (Lal, 1977; El-Swaify, Dangler and Amstrong, 1982). Soil erosion and soil loss , according to Lal (1990) have adverse effects on agriculture because they deplete the soils productivity and diminish the resourse base. 2.2 Soil Erosion Process Geologic erosion can be caused by a number of natural agents including rainfall, flowing water and ice, wind and the the mass movement of soil bodies under the action of gravity which cause the loosened or dissolved earthy and rock materials to be removed from a place and eventually deposited to a new location (Lal,1990; Morgan and Davidson, 1986). The Soil Science Society of America (SCSA, 1982) described geologic erosion as the normal or natural erosion caused by geologic processes acting over long periods and resulting in the wearing away of mountains, the building up of flood plains, coastal plains. Etc. The slow and constructive natural soil erosion process has been significantly accelerated by human activities of poor farming practices, overgrazing, ground clearing for construction, logging and mining (Lo, 1990). Accelerated erosion not only affects the soil but also the environment and is the primary cause of soil degradation (Lal, 1990). Agriculture has been identified as th e primary cause of accelerated soil erosion (Pimentel, 1976). 2.3 Soil Characteristics in the Tropics Extremes of climate and wide variety of parent materials cause great contrast of soil properties in the tropics from soils in other temperate regions. In the tropics soils are highly variable and diverse like the vegetation (Sanchez and Buoi, 1975; Van Wambeke, 1992). The main soil types are alfisols, oxisols, ultisols and inceptisols (El-Swaify, 1990). Tropical soils low in weatherable minerals and basic cations (sodium, calcium, magnesium, and potassium) resulted from continuous weathering of parent materials (Lo, 1990). The ability of these soils to keep plant nutrients is largely dependent on the humus content found in plant biomass and the organic matter (Rose,1993). The inactivity of soil mineral constituents (kaolin and sesquioxides) in these soils, causes deficiency in crop nutrients, lowers the capacity to retain basic cations, limits active relationship with organic matter and excessively immobilizes phosphates and related anions, a condition which are highly toxic to plant roots (Lo, 1990). Crop production in tropical soils are constrained by primarily aluminum- derived soil acidity and infertility but generally their physical properties are favourable (El-Swaify, 1990). Tropic soils have moderate to high permeability under natural conditions, but susceptible to slaking and development of impermeable crust upon action of raindrops and as a result runoff increases with continuous cultivation (Lal, 1982). This crusting cause insignificant reduction of filtration rate, increasing water runoff which leads to acceleration of soil erosion (Falayl and Lal, 1979). It is important to note however that heavy and intense rains cause severe erosion in the tropics (Morgan, 1974; Wilkinson 1975; Amezquita and Forsythe, 1975; Lal 1976; Aina, Lal and Taylor, 1977; Bois, 1978; Sheng 1982). 2.4 Soil Erosion on Steep Slope According to Lal 1990, Steeplands refer to lands with a slope gradient greater than 20%. It is important to note however that flat undulating lands have a great potential for crop production and agricultural development. Due to the possibility of soil erosion and the problem of mechanization, the steep areas are considered marginal for agriculture production (Lal, 1990). The difficult topography in steepland agriculture restricts mechanizations of operations thus, reducing all agricultural activities (land preparation, cultivation and harvesting), limiting the farmer in scale and efficiency. Inputs such as fertilizer and pesticides have to be carried manually by the farmer. As a resulted they are used scarcely. Observably any increase in the use of these agricultural inputs will result in decline in he farmers profits from the generally lower agricultural field (Benvenuti, 1988). For all these reasons steepland farmers tend to concentrate in high value crop production of limited scale (Ahmad, 1987; Ahmad 1990). It is important to note however that farmers prefer steepslopes due to cultural hand cultivation, planting and harvesting can be done in an upright fashion (Williams and Walter, 1988). Futher more subsistence farmers are found on steep slopes because of more favourable environmental conditions such as lower temperatures, reduced diseases and h igher reliability of rainfall. (Hurni, 1988). In the tropics, removal of forest vegetation causes excessive leaching and accelerated soil nutrient loss. Being highly weathered soil types , their contained minerals generally have poor ability to retain sorbed nutrients against leaching. Clay soils with high residualmiron contents are considered superior in resistance to runoff caused soil erosion; thus, soils emanated from basic igneous rocks and red soils developed from calcareous rocks are strongly aggregated due to the cementing property of iron oxides, hence, soil erosion is expected to be less than for most other soils. Also soils developed from fragmentary volcanic materials with andic properties are resistant to soil erosion (Sheng, 1986; Ahmad, 1987; Ahmad, 1990; Lal, 1990). Soils formed from shales, schists, phyillites and sandstones are considered highly erodible. Soils produced from these rocks are high in both sand or silt fraction, and clay minerals and iron oxides are generally insufficient as cementing agents for a stable-structured soil. These parent materials are generally rich in muscovite occurring in all soil particle-size fractions. Micah-rich soils are weak-structured, and thus raindrops can easily dislodged the weak aggregates, while the clay fraction dispersed in water. The resulting mica flakes settling on their flat axes in the water film on the soil surface causes soil crusting. The formation of soil crusts further restricts water entry into the soil (Ahmad and Robin, 1971; Sumner, 1995), resulting to disposal of a much greater volume of runoff water, a condition which leads to further disintegration of soil aggregates and transport of colloidal soil material (Ahmad, 1987; Ahmad 1990). Soil crust restricts gaseous exchange leading to anaerobic soil conditions, denitrification, toxic effects due to ethylene production, and mechanical impedance to seedling emergence (Ahmad 1987; Ahmad, 1990). Steep slope cultivation can cause certain instability in the ecological system with both onsite and offsite detrimental impacts (El-Swaify, Garnier and Lo, 1987). Soil, climate, land use and farming systems affect the extent and the degree of severity of soil erosion. However, regardless of soil and climatic conditions, intensively used steeplands in densely populated regions experience severe soil erosion problem. Land use influences the degree of severity of soil erosion on steeplands. Uncontrollable grazing or over grazing, exensive and abusive cultivation, diversified cropping are responsible for severe soil erosion in unprotected arable lands (Roose, 1988; Liao et al 1988). Ahmad (1987;1990) reportd soil loss of approximately 120 t0 180 tonnes per hectare in Tobago Trinidad. In Australia, annual soil loss of 200 t/ha to 328 t/ha has ben reported from sloping sugar cane plantations in central and north Queensland (Sallaway, 1979; Mathews and Makepeace 1981). There are two types of soil erosion associated with the Caribbean region, land slipping and gullying. Land slipping is a manifestation of mass movement associated with steepland agriculture and the severity being strongly influenced by the parent materials. Land clearing (example deforestation) and crop production can influence land slipping particularly in the early portion of the wet season when the cleared soil wets faster due to saturation of the soil above rock. Serious dislocations, crop loss and destruction of any mechanical anti erosion devices can result from this form of mass movements. Due to drastic changes in hydrological conditions experienced by land naturally prone already to slipping and cleared for agriculture for the first time land slippage would be of common experience (Ahmad 1987; Ahmad 1990). Gullying is another common form of soil erosion that occurs on steep land bcause of the terrain involved. This is more common on sandy soils, volcanic soils and vertisols, which are all porous materials. Soils easily attain saturated conditions upon the rapid entry of water, consequently breaking the material and ultimately, leading to the formation of gullies. Agricultural activities enables this soil erosion in steeplands by allowing rapid soil wetting upon the start of the wet season. Farming activities though unsuitably oriented field boundaries, foot tracks and the lack of provision for disposal of surface water are some main causes of gullying, even on soils not prone to this tpe of steepland soil erosion (Ahmad 1987;Ahmad 1990). Since steeplands are traditionally considered marginal for agricultural crop production, most research on soil erosion and soil conservation has been done on either flat land or rolling land with a maximum slope of about 20%'(Lal, 1988). 2.5 Factors Affecting Soil Erosion The causes of soil erosion have been intensively discussed during the past 40 years. Soil erosion is a natural process that is enhanced by human activity (Richter, 1998) and occurs in all landscapes and under different land uses. In addition to human activities, soil erosion processes are also caused by morphometric characteristics of the land surface, the erosive forces of rainfall and the erodibility of soils and soil surfaces. When rainwater reaches the soil surface it will either enter the soil or run off. Runoff occurs when the rainfall intensity exceeds the infiltration capacity of the soil. Water erosion is the result of the dispersion action of rain drops, the transporting power of water and also the vulnerability of the soil to dispersion and movement (Baver and Gardner, 1972). The effects of soil erosion is also classified: definition of gullies and explanation of gully development is given by Morgan (1996), as well as Hudson (1995) who additionally focuses on individual cases of the development of gullies. Toy et al (2002) give detailed definitions of soil erosion features and processes such as sheet erosion and inter-rill erosion, rill erosion, as well as ephemeral and permanent gully erosion. Rill erodibility depends both directly and indirectly on soil properties such as bulk density, organic carbon and clay content, clay mineralogy, cations in the exchange complex, soil pH and experimental conditions such as moisture content, aging of prewetted soil and quality of eroding water (Rapp,1998). Govers (1990) found that runoff erosion resisitance of a loamy material was extremely sensitive to variation in the initial moisture content and to a lesser extent to changes in bulk density. The process of water erosion can be separated into two components, rill and interrill erosion (Young and Onstad, 1978). Interrill erosion (sheet erosion) is mainly caused by raindrop impact and removes soil in a thin almost imperceptible layer (Foster, 1989). In interril erosion the flow of water is generally unconfined, except between soil clods and covers much of the soil surface. As the velocity of flow increases the water incises into the soil and rills forms (Evans,1980). Rill erosion begins when the eroding capacity of the flow at some point exceeds the ability of the soil particles to resistant detachment by flow (Meyer cited by Rapp, 1998). Soil is detached by headcut advance from knickpoints (De Ploey, 1989; Bryan, 1990), rill slide sloughing and hydraulic shear stress (Foster cited by Rapp, 1998) as well as by slumping by undercutting of side walls and scour hole formation (Van Liew and Saxton, 1983). These processes are usually combined into a detachment prediction equation as a function of average shear stress (Foster cited by Rapp, 1998). When the rills develop in the landscape, a three to five fold increase in the soil loss commonly occurs (Moss, Green and Hutka 1982 and Meyer and Harmon 1984). 2.5.1 Vegetative Factors The effects of vegetation can be classified into three catergories: The interception of raindrops by the canopy (DHuyvetter, 1985). Two effects are associated with this. Firstly, part of the intercepted water will evaporate from the leaves and stems and thus reduce runoff. Secondly, when raindrops strike the vegetation, the energy of the drops is dissipated and there is no direct impact on the soil surface. The interception percentage depends on the type of crop, the growth stage and the number of plants per unit area. A well distributed, close growing surface vegetative cover will slow down the rate at which water flows down the slope and will also reduce concentration of water (DHuyvetter, 1985). As a result, it will decrease the erosive action of running water. There is also the effect of roots and biological activity on the formation of stable aggregrates, which results in a stable soil structure and increased infiltration that reduces runoff and decreases erosion (DHuyvetter, 1985). Increased permeability also reduces erosion as a result of in increased water percolation due to better drainage. Stables aggregrates in the topsoil also counteract crusting. 2.5.2 Rainfall Factors Raindrop size, shape, duration of a storm and wind speed interactions controls the erosive power of rainfall (DHuyvetter, 1985). The erosivity of rainfall is expressed in terms of kinetic energy and is affected by various factors. According to Wischmeier and Smith (1965), the intensity of rainfall is closely related tot e kinetic energy, according to the regression equation E = 1.213 + 0.890 log I Where E = the kinetic energy (kg.m/m2.mm) I = rainfall intensity (mm/h) Raindrop size, distribution and shape all influence the energy momentum of a rainstorm. Laws and Parson (1943) reported an increase in median drop size with increase in rain intensity. The relationship between mean drop size (D50) and rainfall is given by: D50:2.23 I 0.182 (inch per hour). The median size of rain drops increases with low and medium intensity fall, but declines slightly for high intensity rainfall (Gerrard, 1981). The kinetic energy of an rainfall event is also related to the velocity of the raindrops at the time of impact with the soil (DHuyvetter, 1985). The distance through which the rain drop must fall to maintain terminal velocity is a function of drop size. The kinetic energy of a rainstorm is related to the terminal velocity according to the equation: Ek = IV2/2 Where Ek = energy of the rain storm I = Intensity V= Velocity of raindrop before impact Ellison (1945) developed an equation showing that the relationship between the soil detached, terminal velocity, drop diameter and rainfall intensity: E = KV4.33 d1.07 I0.63 Where E = relative amount of soil detached K = soil constant V = velocity of raindrops (ft/sec) d = diameter of raindrops (mm) I = rainfall intensity 2.5.2.1 Effect of rainfall intensity on runoff and soil loss According to Morgan (1995), soil loss is closely related to rainfall partly through the detaching power of raindrops striking the soil surface and the contribution of rain to runoff. If rainfall intensity is less than the infiltration capacity of the soil, no surface runoff occurs and the infiltration rate would equal the rainfall intensity (Horton, 1945) as sited by Morgan (1995). If the rainfall intensity exceeds the infiltration capacity, the infiltration rate equals the infiltration capacity and the excess rainfall forms surface runoff. According to Morgan (1995), when the soil is unsaturated, the soil matric potential is negative and water is held in the capillaries due to matrics suction. For this reason, under saturated conditions sands may produce runoff very quickly although their infiltration capacity is not exceeded by the rainfall intensity. Intensity partially controls hydraulic conductivity, increasing the rainfall intensity may cause conductivity to rise so that although runoff may have formed rapidly at relatively low rainfall intensity, higher rainfall intensities do not always produce greater runoff (Morgan, 1995). This mechanism explains the reason why infiltration rates sometimes increase with rainfall intensities (Nassif and Wilson, 1975). 2.5.3 Soil Factors According to Baver et al, (1972), the effect of soil properties on water erosion can be in two ways : Firstly, certain properties determine the rate at which rainfall enters the soil. Secondly, some properties affect the resistance of the soil against dispersion and erosion during rainfall and runoff. The particle size distribution is an important soil property with regards to erodibility. Generally it is found that erodible soils have a low clay content (DHuyvetter, 1985). Soils with more than 35% clay are often regarded as being cohesive and having stable aggregates which are resistant to dispersion by raindrops (Evans, 1980). Evans also stated that sands and coarse loamy sands are not easily eroded by water due to its high infiltration rate. In contrast soils with a high silt or fine sand fraction are very erodible. Erodibility of soil increases with the proportion of aggregates less than 0.5mm (Bryan, 1974). Factors which contribute to aggregate stability include organic matter content, root secretions, mucilaginous gels formed by break down of organic matter, the binding of particles by sesquioxides and the presence of a high Ca concentration on the exchange sites of the colloids instead of a high sodium content (DHuyvetter, 1985). The depth of erosion is determined by the soil profile (Evans, 1980). According to Evans soil horizons below the A horizon or plough layer are often more compact and less erodible. The texture and chemical composition of the sub surface horizon can also have an adverse effect. Normally deep gullies can be cut if the parent material is unconsolidated. If resistant bedrock is near the surface only rills will develop. Soil rich in surface stones are less susceptible to erosion (Lamb, 1950 and Evans, 1980). Stones protect the soil against erosion and also increase the infiltration of the flowing water into the soil. The antecedent soil moisture and the surface roughness are both regarded by Evans (1980) as important soil factors affecting erosion. The ability of a soil to accept rainfall depends on the moisture content at the time of the rainfall event. 2.5.3.1 Factors affecting aggregate stability Soil structure is determined by the shape and size distribution of aggregates. Aggregrate size and strengthe determine the physical properties of a soil and its susceptibility to breakdown due to water forces. Their stability will have a decisive effect on soil physical properties (Lynch and Bragg, 1985). The main binding materials giving stable aggregates in air dry state are the glueing agents in organic matter (Chaney and Swift, 1984; Tisdale and Oades, 1982) and sesquioxides (Goldberg and Glaubic, 1987). 2.5.3.1.1 Aluminium and Iron Oxides The soil used by Kemper and Koch (1966) contained relatively little free iron, although it did contribute to aggregrate stability. Their data show a sharp increase of free iron from 1 to 3%. Goldberg and Glaubic (1987) concluded that Al-oxides were more effective than Fe-oxides in stabilizing soil structure. Al-oxides have a greater proportion of sub-micrometer size particles in a sheet form as opposed to the spherical form of Fe-particles. Shainberg, Singer and Janitzky (1987) compared the effect of aluminium and iron oxides on the hydraulic conductivity of a sandy soil. 2.5.3.1.2 Organic Matter Organic matter can bind soil particles together into stable soil aggregates. The stabilizing effect of organic matter is well documented. Little detailed information is available on the organic matter content required to sufficiently strengthen aggregates with ESP values greater than 5 or 7, and containing illite or montmorrillionite, so as to prevent their dispersion in water (Smith, 1990). High humus content makes the soil less susceptible to the unfavourable influence of sodium (Van den Berg, De Boer, Van der Malen, Verhoeven, Westerhof and Zuur, 1953). Kemper and Koch (1966) also found that aggregate stability increased with an increase in the organic matter content of soils. A maximum increase of aggregate stability was found with up to 2% organic matter, after which aggregate stability increased very little with further increases in organic matter content. 2.5.3 Slope Factors Slope characteristics are important in determining the amount of runoff and erosion ( DHuyvetter, 1985). As slope gradient increases, runoff and erosion usually increases (Stern, 1990). At low slopes due to the low overland flow velocities, detachment of soil particles from the soil surface into the water layer is due to detachment alone (Stern, 1990). Additionally, at low slope gradients, particles are splashed into the air in random directions unlike the case with steeply sloping land where down slope splash occurs (Watson and Laflen, 1985). As slope gradient increases, the ability for surface runoff to entrain and transport sediments increases rapidly until the entrainment by the surface runoff becomes dominant contributing to sediment transport (Stern, 1990). Foster , Meyer and Onstad (1976) presented a conceptual model that showed that at lower slopes, interill transport determined erosion, while at steeper slopes, raindrop detachment determined it. Th uniform bed characteristics of sheet flow transport tend to be replaced by channels because of instability and turbulent flow effects (Moss, Green and Hutka, 1982). There are many empirical relationships relating soil transport by surface wash to slope length and slope gradient. Zingg (1940) showed that erosion varied according to the equation: S = X1.6 tanB1.4 Where S = soil transport cm/yr X = slope length (m) B = slope gradient (%) Studies conducted by Gerrard (1981), showed that plane and convex slopes did not differ significantly in the amount of soil lost by surface runoff, but concave slopes were less eroded. Some researchers such as Zingg (1940) and Mc Cool et al (1987) indicated that soil erosion increases exponentially with increase in slope gradient. The relationship is indicated after Zing (1940) by: E = aSb where E is the soil erosion, S is the slope gradient (%) and a and b are empirical constants. The value of b ranges from 1.35 to 2.0. The other relationship between erosion and slope gradient for inter-rill erosion is given by Mc Cool et al (1987) E = a sin b Q+C Q is the slope angle in degrees A,b and C are empirical constants. However, even if the effect of slope gradient on erosion is well recognized, several studies indicate that the power relationship between slope gradient and soil loss over predicts interrill erosion rate by as much as two or more times (Torri, 1996;Fox and Bryan, 1999), and the relationship is better described as linear. 2.8 Soil Erosion Impacts 2.8.1 Soil Physical Properties Progressive soil erosion increases the magnitude of soil related constraints for crop production. These constraints can be physical, chemical and biological. The important physical constraints caused by erosion are reduced rooting depth, loss of soil water storing capacity (Schertz et al 1984; Sertsu, 2000), crusting and soil compaction and hardening of plinthite (Lal, 1988). Erosion also results in the loss of clay colloids due to preferential removal of fine particles from the soil surface (Fullen and Brandsma, 1995). The loss of clay influences soil tilth and consistency. Exposed subsoil is often of massive structure and harder consistency than the aggregated surface soil (Lal, 1988). Development of rills and gullies may change the micro-relief that may make use of farming machinery difficult. Another effect of erosion is that the manangement and timing of farm operations. 2.8.2 Soil Chemical Properties Soil erosion reduces the fertility status of soils (Morgan, 1986; Williams et al., 1990). Soil chemical constraints and nutritional problems related to soil erosion include low CEC, low plant nutrients (NPK) and trace elements (Lal, 1988; Fullen and Brandsma, 1995). Massy et al (1953) reported an average loss of 192 kg of organic matter, 10.6 kg of N and 1.8kg per ha on a Winsconsin soils with 11% slope. Sharpley and Smith (1990) reported that the mean annual loss of total P in runoff from P fertilized watersheds is equivalent to an average of 15%, 12% and 32% of the annual fertilizer P applied to wheat, mixed crop grass and peanut sorghum rotation practices respectively. Researchers (Massy et al 1953; Lal, 1975) have also reported extensive loss of N in eroded sediments. 2.8.3 Productivity Quantifying the effects on crop yields is a difficult task. It involves the evaluation of interactions between soil properties, crop characteristics and climate. The effects are also cumulative and not observed until long after accelerated erosion begins. The degree of soil erosions effects on crop yield depends on soil profile characteristics and management systems. It is difficult to establish a direct relationship between rates of soil erosion and erosion induced soil degradation on the one hand and crop yield on the other (Lal, 1988). It is well known that soil erosion can reduce crop yields through loss of nutrients, structural degradation and reduce of depth and water holding capacity (Timilin et al, 1986; Lal,1988). Loss of production in eroded soil further degrades its productivity which in turn accelerates soil erosion. The cumulative effect observed over a long period of time may lead to irreversible loss of productivity in shallow soils with hardened plinthite or in soils that respond to expensive management and additional inputs (Lal,1988). 2.8.4 Off Site Effects of Soil Erosion. Effects of erosion include siltation of rivers, crop failure at low lying areas due to flooding, pollution of waterbodies due to the various chemicals brought by the runoff from different areas. Several studies reported the significance of the off site effects of soil erosion on land degradation (eg. Wall and ven Den,1987; Lo, 1990; Robertson and Colletti, 1994; Petkovic et al, 1999) Rainwater washes away materials that originate from fertilizers and various biocides (fungicides, insecticides, herbicides and pesticides) which are applied in large concentrations. They reappear in greatr quantities in the hydrosphere polluting and contaminating the water environment (Zachar,1982;Withers, and Lord, 2002; Verstraeten and Poesen, 2002). Chemical pollution of water mainly by organic matter from farm fields causes rapid eutrophication in waterways (Zachar, 1982;Zakova et al, 1993; Lijklema, 1995). 2.8.5 Soil Erosion Models Modelling soil erosion is the process of mathematically describing soil particle detachment, transport and deposition on land surfaces (Nearing et al, 1994). Erosion models are used as predictive tools for assessing soil loss and project planning. They can also be used for understanding erosion processes and their impacts (Nearing et al 1994). There are three main types of models, empirical or statistical models, conceptual models and physically based models (Morgan 1995, Nearing et al 1994, Merritt et al 2003). It is important to note however that there is no sharp difference among them. 2.8.5.1 Physically Based Models These models are based on solving fundamental physical equations describing stream flow and sediment and associated nutrient generations in a specific catchment (Merritt et al ., 2003). They are developed to predict the spatial distribution of runoff and sediment over land surfaces during individual storms in addition to total runoff and soil loss (Morgan, 1995). Physically based models are also called process based models (Morgan, 1995) as they rely on empirical equations to determine erosion processes. These models use a particular differential equation known as the continuity equation which is a statement of conservation of matter as it moves through space over time. The common physically based models used in water quality studies and erosion include : The Areal Non-Point Source Watershed Environment Response Simulation (ANSWERS) (Beasley et al., 1980), Chemical Runoff and Erosion from Agricultural Management Systems (CREAMS) (Knisel, 1980), Griffith University Erosion System Temp late (GUEST) (Misra and Rose, 1996), European Soil Erosion Model (EUROSEM) (Morgan, 1998), Productivity, Erosion and Runoff, Functions to Evaluate Conservation Techniques (PERFECT) (Littleboy et al., 1992) and Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) (Laflen et al., 1991). 2.8.5.2 Empirical Mode

For Money or Love Essay example -- Literary Analysis, Jane Austen

Women of the 1800’s where very limited to what they could do in life; especially the women of the upper and middle class. They where expected to do nothing more than marry and to marry well. If they could not do this the life that they faced was very grim. It would be a life of spinsterhood and being care for by other family members or working as a governess for some upper class family. Jane Austen in her book Pride and Prejudice shows the reader the important of marrying and hopefully marrying well but also how important it is marry for love. Jane Austen was born in1775 and the world that she grows up in was one that was very limited for women. Jane was very lucky in the fact that her parents knew how important an education was for all children. She was sent to school but she received most of her education at home from the book in her father’s library. From David Nokes’s book â€Å"Jane Austen a Life† he tells us that Jane† had determined that whatever her fait might be she would not indulge the role of charming female imbecile.†(103) and she was not willing to marry someone she did not love. In her book, she shows us many different characters and how they go about the whole game of marriage. There are five relationships in the book that we will look at, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins, Lydia and Wickham, Jane and Bingley, and Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. Mrs. Bennett is described in the book as being a women of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper. (3) She was a women with five daughters and her goal in life was to see them all married and hopefully married well. In understanding Pride and Prejudice, Debra Teachman suggests that â€Å"Mrs. Bennet does not have the... ...s not have very many options in life and that by marry him she would bring security to her mother and sisters but she is not willing to marry without being in love. If all she wanted was to marry for money she would have accepted Mr. Darcy first proposal instead of telling him â€Å"that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.† For Darcy and Elizabeth to fall in love it takes time and the understanding of each other charter before they both can look be on their own Pride and Prejudice that they might have. Jane Austen is trying to show us that marriage is more that a business deal and that one should not just look to the good manners or appetence of another. That marriage with love is domed to be unhappy and that does not take a lot of money to find happiness. I believe that she put a lot of herself in to the charter Elizabeth.

How Does Shakespeare Show a Change in Lady Macbeth :: William Shakespeare

Lady Macbeth is an extremely ambitious woman and wants more than anything for her husband, Macbeth, to be the next King of Scotland. When King Duncan announces that his son, Malcolm, is to be the next King, Duncan’s murder is planned. Lady Macbeth’s crucial role in the play is to persuade Macbeth to carry out the murder of Duncan. In the beginning she is ambitious, controlling and strong. However as the plot concludes there is an extreme change in her character and personality which surprises the audience. Lady Macbeth’s guilt eventually becomes too much for her to handle which leads to her death. We are first introduced to Lady Macbeth at the beginning of Act 1, scene 5, through the letter that Macbeth sends her. This shows her to be his, ‘dearest partner of greatness’ and that he has no secrets from her. The witches’ prophecies intensify her ambitions for her husband, to be the King of Scotland. Lady Macbeth is the one who encourages him to kill the king and she not only encourages him, she makes all the plans herself. We see how clever she is and how she understands her husband well, she knows he has great ambitions, but she also knows that he is honourable and mentally weak: â€Å"yet I do fear thy nature, it is too full o’th milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great. Art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it.† She also knows that she will have to use all her powers of persuasion to control and manipulate Macbeth into the murder. The audience is left in no doubt about Lady Macbeth’s determination when she asks the spirits to make her masculine ‘unsex me here’ and make her completely evil: â€Å"And fill me from the crown to the toe topfull of the direst cruelty, make thick my blood, Stop up th’access and passage remorse† She also asks them to give her the strength to kill Duncan, she just wants to get on and do it without feeling guilty. At the end of the scene she takes full control of the situation, and Macbeth seems glad to let her have the responsibility. In Act 1, scene7 she really excel’s herself in how far she will go to manipulate Macbeth, to get her way. He not prepared for her rage when he announces his change of heart. How Does Shakespeare Show a Change in Lady Macbeth :: William Shakespeare Lady Macbeth is an extremely ambitious woman and wants more than anything for her husband, Macbeth, to be the next King of Scotland. When King Duncan announces that his son, Malcolm, is to be the next King, Duncan’s murder is planned. Lady Macbeth’s crucial role in the play is to persuade Macbeth to carry out the murder of Duncan. In the beginning she is ambitious, controlling and strong. However as the plot concludes there is an extreme change in her character and personality which surprises the audience. Lady Macbeth’s guilt eventually becomes too much for her to handle which leads to her death. We are first introduced to Lady Macbeth at the beginning of Act 1, scene 5, through the letter that Macbeth sends her. This shows her to be his, ‘dearest partner of greatness’ and that he has no secrets from her. The witches’ prophecies intensify her ambitions for her husband, to be the King of Scotland. Lady Macbeth is the one who encourages him to kill the king and she not only encourages him, she makes all the plans herself. We see how clever she is and how she understands her husband well, she knows he has great ambitions, but she also knows that he is honourable and mentally weak: â€Å"yet I do fear thy nature, it is too full o’th milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great. Art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it.† She also knows that she will have to use all her powers of persuasion to control and manipulate Macbeth into the murder. The audience is left in no doubt about Lady Macbeth’s determination when she asks the spirits to make her masculine ‘unsex me here’ and make her completely evil: â€Å"And fill me from the crown to the toe topfull of the direst cruelty, make thick my blood, Stop up th’access and passage remorse† She also asks them to give her the strength to kill Duncan, she just wants to get on and do it without feeling guilty. At the end of the scene she takes full control of the situation, and Macbeth seems glad to let her have the responsibility. In Act 1, scene7 she really excel’s herself in how far she will go to manipulate Macbeth, to get her way. He not prepared for her rage when he announces his change of heart.

Human Domination :: Essays Papers

Human Domination Humans have changed nature in many ways since their existence on the earth. Some of these changes were good, but many were not. People have made the world easier for themselves to live in, but harder for other animals. In â€Å"Buffalo Gals, Won’t You Come Out Tonight† by Ursula Le Guin, the main theme was the domination of the world by the human race. Gal experienced firsthand how the animals lived before the humans took over. Chickadee explained to her â€Å"When we lived together it was all one place. But now the new people (humans) live apart. They weigh down on our place, they press on it, draw it, suck it, eat it, eat holes in it, crowd it out†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Le Guin 43) Myra also saw how humans had forced the animals into isolation. She saw the wickedness of human nature when the farmers shot at Coyote on sight, and then set a trap to poison her. Since the Neolithic Revolution, humans have domesticated animals. The positive effects of this are that the animals are fed and kept clean. Despite this, the animals must sacrifice their freedom as wild creatures. For example, cows were kept and bred to provide milk, food, and clothing. Chickens must live in small coops and lay eggs; only to have their babies stolen from them and cooked for breakfast. Horses are forced to bare a human’s weight on their backs, and carry the human where he or she pleases. In â€Å"Buffalo Gals† Horse said that his kind were used to bring the â€Å"new people† to the animals’ land (Le Guin 37). These domesticated animals had no free will and were virtually slaves to humans throughout history. Animals today can be trained for specific tasks, such as a Seeing Eye dog or a talking parrot. Dogs are kept by homeowners for protection and used by law enforcement to sniff out drugs or bombs. This type of human-animal relationship onl y benefits the people; the animals’ abilities are just being taken advantage of. Another form of domestication is the pet. Humans have kept pets for many years and the pets are usually better cared for than a cow or flock of chickens. One reason is to train the animal for a specific task, such as a Seeing Eye dog or a talking parrot. Another reason to keep a pet is companionship. Someone who is lonely or disturbed may find emotional comfort in owning and taking care of an animal.