National Federation of Independent Business v Sebelius Essay

Life was different back in the 1880s. The telephone had just been invented, James Garfield was president, and doctors used heroin and cocaine as medicine. Alas, many doctors knew very little about medicine. Oftentimes unsafe and unsterile practices were used on patients. The NY Times reports that, â€Å"At least a dozen medical experts probed the President [Garfield]’s wound, often with unsterilized metal instruments or bare hands, as was common at the time. Historians agree that massive infection, which resulted from unsterile practices, contributed to Garfield’s death. One man suggested that they turn the president upside down and see if the bullet would just fall out. † Because of their usual lack of success, doctors did not charge very much for their services; it was very affordable most of the time, even for middle class families. However, as time and technology progressed, the cost of healthcare and medical instruments dramatically rose. In his â€Å"New Deal† package, President Roosevelt proposed a state-run healthcare system with compulsory health insurance for state residents, but states could choose whether to participate. The federal government would provide some subsidies and set minimum standards that the state had to adhere by. While the proposal did not pass, the idea of universal healthcare coverage for everyone stuck. Since Roosevelt, every single Democratic President elected into office has attempted to pass a version of universal health care, but none have achieved the feat. That is, until President Obama was sworn into office in January 2009. In his 2008 presidential campaign, he made healthcare reform a central issue. Both parties adopted their version of reform, but since Democrats held a majority in the House and the Senate at the time, their version was the one that passed. On March 23rd, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (dubbed by many Republicans as â€Å"ObamaCare†). According to the White House, it claims four key components of the law: stronger consumer rights and protections (which includes a ban on lifetime limits, a ban on denying children health insurance based on pre-existing conditions, and a ban on coverage cancellations), more affordable coverage (Private insurers must provide justification for double-digit increases in premiums), better access to care (Preventative screenings for cancer are now free), and stronger Medicare (Provides relief to seniors who cannot afford prescription drugs). Since insurance companies are required to provide care, it makes sense to buy insurance only when you need it. In other words, wait until you get sick to buy insurance, because they cannot turn you down. In order to combat this, the law includes an individual mandate, which requires anyone that can afford it to buy health insurance, or pay a penalty to the IRS. In essence, this is the part of the law that pays for it all. This is also the section many Republicans hate. In their philosophy, the government cannot force someone to buy something they may or may not need. They argued that this law was unconstitutional, and they sued in federal court to have the law nullified. There were three cases overall: one from the states (Florida v. U. S. Dept. of Health and Human Svcs. ), one from the federal government (U. S. Dept. of Health and Human Svcs. v. Florida), and one from the National Federation of Independent Business (Nat’l Fed. of Independent Bus. v. Sebelius). Due to conflicting rulings from the lower courts in different jurisdictions, the Supreme Court decided to hear the case to settle the differences. From March 26th to March 28th, 2012, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments from both sides. On the first day, the court heard argument over whether the Tax Anti-Injunction Act passed into law in 1867 barred the Supreme Court from even making a decision in this case. The Tax Anti-Injunction Act says, â€Å"No suit for the purpose of restraining the assessment or collection of any tax shall be maintained in any court by any person, whether or not such person is the person against whom such tax was assessed. † Basically, it means that you cannot sue the government for a tax you believe is unfair, until you have already paid that tax. This was passed into law to prevent people from filing lawsuits against the government to avoid paying taxes. Potentially, this could mean that no one can challenge the constitutionality of the ACA (Affordable Care Act) until someone has actually paid the penalty. At the earliest, they could sue on April 15th, 2015. The Supreme Court held that since Congress specifically labeled the consequences of the mandate as a penalty rather than a tax, the Anti-Injunction Act did not apply to this case, and that the court had the authority to hear the arguments. On the second day, the court heard arguments over whether the ndividual mandate component of the ACA fell under the constitutional powers of Congress. There were two arguments from the Solicitor General’s side (the ones supporting the constitutionality of the ACA): the ACA was constitutional under the commerce clause, and that the ACA was constitutional under the taxing power of Congress. The states (the ones claiming the ACA is unconstitutional) argued that Congress could not create commerce for it to regulate, and that the law described the consequences of the mandate a â€Å"penalty†, therefore it is not a tax. On the third day, the court heard arguments on the severability of the law. They questioned whether the ACA could survive if the court struck down the individual mandate. In the end, in a 5-4 decision, the court upheld the individual mandate component of the ACA as a valid exercise of the taxing power of Congress. They concluded that a financial penalty for not buying something constituted a non-direct tax. Because it is a non-direct tax, it is not required to be apportioned among the several states. The justices that voted for the constitutionality of the law are the four liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, and the conservative Chief Justice John Roberts. The justices that voted against the constitutionality of the law are the other four conservative justices: Anthony Kennedy, Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas. John Roberts was the key swing vote. When asked why he voted for a law he is personally against, Chief Justice John Roberts responded, â€Å"The Framers created a Federal Government of limited powers, and assigned to this Court the duty of enforcing those limits. The Court does so today. But the Court does not express an opinion on the wisdom of the Affordable Care Act. Under the Constitution, that judgment is reserved to the people. In my opinion, I applaud the decision of the Court. From the beginning, I thought the penalty was a tax; I assumed it was called a penalty for political purposes. People would not like the idea of a tax increase. In reality, the penalty is collected in the same manner as a tax, so there are no real differences between the two. I have also gained a newfound respect for Chief Justice John Roberts. I think it is commendable to put the law in front of your personal beliefs. He has done exactly what is expected of a Supreme Court justice. If I were a Supreme Court justice, I would have made he same decision that he and the four liberal justices made. There are two types of consequences this law holds: political and provisional. The provisional consequences of the law are the ones directly stated in the law: a ban on lifetime limits, Medicaid expansion, etc. The political consequences of this law are not explicitly stated, however they can be inferred and speculated upon. There are three major political consequences. The first consequence is that Obama can claim a major victory. He can now say his law withstood a Supreme Court challenge and passed the constitutionality test. A defeat would have been bad for the administration and the campaign. Instead, he has a chance to re-energize his base and reinstate the flow of campaign cash. The second consequence is that now that the law is no longer a legal issue, it becomes a campaign issue. Both Obama and Romney must sell voters on Obamacare. The court ruling could have stir a shift in public opinion among independent voters, and both candidates must appeal to this shift. Obama will insist this law was the right thing to do, while Romney will propose a new healthcare reform bill. The third consequence is that the ruling will enrage Republicans and make them more eager to vote for Romney so he can repeal the law. Voter turnout is expected to be lower than it was in 2008, and anything that can increase the turnout will be beneficial for Romney. This law and its subsequent legal challenge have major political consequences. Whether you live in the 1880s or in the present day, chances are you will need health care at some point in your life. Ever since President Roosevelt proposed universal health care back in the 1930s, many politicians have tried to pass it into law. Until the ACA, it was considered politically impossible; the idea just did not appeal to voters. The law has withstood a major legal challenge, and it will be up to Obama and Romney to convince independent voters that their version of healthcare reform is the best. If Obama wins the election, in 2014 everyone that can afford it must buy health insurance, whether they want to or not. If they don’t, they will pay a tax equivalent to 1% of their income. If Romney wins the election, he will try to repeal the ACA and replace it with a reform package of his own. Only time will tell what will happen.

Brazil vs. Costa Rica Essay

With the growing global concern for the environment, new products, industries, and sustainable practices have emerged across a number of industries. The industry of tourism on an international and domestic scale is no different. Over the past few decades, the global tourism industry has witnessed an immense increase in travel based on environmentally sound practices, devised to be sustainable . Travellers are becoming increasingly interested in natural environments, cultures, and adventures. For this new market segment activities such as wilderness viewing, wildlife observation and hiking/trekking opportunities have become more popular to a wider base of customers within the tourism and travel industry . This new form of tourism, also known as ecotourism, has also become an integral part of a number of country’s environmental and economic practices . According to Rual Goueva in his article Managing the Ecotourism Industry in Latin America:Challenges and Opportunities, ecotourism is a specific kind of tourism that â€Å"fosters, promotes, and acts as a catalyst for environmental protection †. It is in his view that ecotourism strategies must pay a great deal of attention to the following: (1) economic development, (2) environmental protection, (3) cultural protection, (4) social development and, (5) political development. As a more sustainable form of tourism, ecotourism offers an alternative and highly effective means for developing and developed economies to blend their economies into the global economy and often â€Å"provides incentives to establish sustainable development strategies †. In summary, ecotourism should concentrate on efforts to maximize the benefits of tourism while minimizing the environmental, economic, political, social, and cultural impacts of tourism. Additionally, policies have to be devised to optimize the allocation of resources from ecoturism revenues to preserve and sustain the resource base. It is, however, important to note the lack of a homogeneous definition of eco-tourism activities within the tourism industry and thus difficult to assess its impacts. Under their functional definition, the World Tourism Organization/OMT concluded in 1998 that ecotourism represents about 2 to 4 percent of total global tourism. However, this percentage is estimated to be much larger as the industry has grown almost exponentially in the past few years and the share of ecotourism broadly defined as tourists that travel to observe and enjoy nature has been expanding steadily during the last decade. Another source with a similar functional definition, the International Ecotourism Society (TIES), estimated that ecotourism is expanding by 20% annually, compared with 7% expansion for the tourism industry as a whole. The specific segment of ecotourism generated around USD 154 billion in revenues for the year 2000 . Continuing, TIES also estimates that between 40%-60% of travel around the world is nature-related and that between 20%-40% of tourists are specifically wildlife related tourists . Furthermore, it should be noted that this segment of tourism can have profound affects on a nation’s economy. It has been noted that ecotourism is primarily led by supply side economics rather than demand. In other words, the quality of the ecotourism experience is positively correlated to the level of environmental protection the local ecosystem enjoys. Ecotourism is therefore classified as a normal good or service. Additionally, it is critical that eco-ventures pay specific attention to the level of environmental disturbance and disruption that ecological and social systems can sustain . As it has been noted, any level of interaction and/or intervention with a local ecosystem may have environmental impacts, which must be minimized in order to preserve the nature being enjoyed via ecotourism . As the effects of tourism within natural and/or preserved areas can hinder or help a specific ecosystem, many policy makers around the world are paying much more attention to the regulation of natural areas. Several countries that are trying to find a compromise between economic development and environmental protection are becoming the leaders in Ecotourism. Countries that are rich in natural resources but that are not yet implementing sustainable development strategies are being encouraged to promote activities such as ecotourism . Ecotourism must be approached as a part of a number of initiatives to protect local ecosystems. At the macro level, a nation pursuing ecotourism should include as many federal, state, and local agencies as possible. It has also been noted that ecotourism must be a part of the country overall economic development and growth as well . This paper was intented to examine the economic, environmental and social aspects of two countries currently participating in the industry of ecotourism, Costa Rica and Brazil. However before an analysis can begin, it is necessary to review the formation of ecotourim in each country and examine how, when, and why ecotourism came about. Costa Rica is known as country with rich and robust biodiversity. However, in the past few decades, it has experienced an increase in amount of deforestation within the country . Like a number of developing countries, such as Brazil, Costa Rica has been steadily loosing its lush forests to agricultural uses. Between 1950 and 1990, it was estimated that the country lost about half of its total forest cover due to agricultural development . Furthermore, b the early to mid 1990s, only about 6 percent of the country’s land area (not including parks and nationally recognized protected areas) remained in intact primary forest . However, this rapid decline in forest covering has slowed in recent years with the growth of an internationally renowned national park system; which has preserved over 10 percent of the country’s total primary forests . As of today, Costa Rica has secured land throughout the country for over 25 national parks, reserves, and wildlife refuges for endangered species (as shown in Figure 1. 1, adopted from SOURCE). Along with the government’s formal protection of the land, ecotourism has been said to hinder the rate of deforestation as well. Ecotourism in Costa Rica began in the mid-1980s as a way to stop the deforestation and to generate needed foreign exchange for the economy. Tourism in general in Costa Rica has been one of the most dynamic sectors of the economy. In 1992 tourism earnings totaled $421 million, making it the second largest foreign exchange earner after bananas. Moreover, ecotourism has been rapidly expanding as well accounting for 36 percent of net tourism earnings in 1989. In sum, according to Stacy Small, Production Editor of Caribbean Travel and Life Magazine, â€Å"Costa Rica’s tourism industry has been increasing in size for many years now, and one reason for this upsurge is the appeal of and demand for ecotourism† . Costa Rica has been promoting and expanding its ecotourism industry. The Environmental Secretariat and the Costa Rican Tourism Institute have become largely responsible for the development and coordination of ecotourism policies in the country . Due to a high level of governmental involvement and the formation of societal institutions such as The Environmental Secretariat, Costa Rica has become the primary example of country in Latin America with a successful ecotourism industry. Their rich ecosystem, accounting for an outstanding 5% of the world’s biodiversity, offers the country a natural competitive advantage in the industry . Additionally, ecotourism has become the main motivation for tourists within the country. In the early 1980s, an estimated 370,000 tourists traveled to the country of Costa Rica. By 2002, about 1. 1 million tourists arrived in Costa Rica, with the vast majority, 830,000 people, being ecotourists or individuals participating in nature related travel . The ectourism sector of Costa Rica has become quite diverse, from bird watching to volcano climbing and kayaking. To date, Costa Rica has approximately 25% of its territory under governmental protection, 1. million hectares, with 12% of its territory composed of national parks and privately owned reserves . It should also be noted that the private reserves of Costa Rica utilized for ecotourism are the areas that develop and generate the most income. Take for example the Monteverde Biological Preserve, the habitat of the exotic golden toad, has become famous worldwide and is internationally recognized as one of the best areas of ecotourism in Latin America. Over the last two decades, the Monteverde reserve has earned more income than all other national parks combined with its main source of financing coming from admission fees and grants . Rara Avis is another private reserve that has turned to ecotourism. Rara Avis was opened in 1983, and contains 3,000 acres of primary and secondary forest. It borders on the Braulio Cariilo National Park and the Zona Protetora La Selva, a research station. Private banks financed Rara Avis, and it was the first of its kind in the country. Rara Avis has shown that ecotourism can become a profitable way to manage tropical forest resources. However, in more recent years, Costa Rica has witnessed detrimental side effects of overcrowding in its forest reserves as a result of increased ecotourism. Take for instance the increasingly popular Manuel Antonio Park. Heavy interest in this area has led developers to overbuild, which has threatened the diverse monkey population and other wildlife in the park. On the other hand, ecotourism has been a successful strategy for Cost Rica. Due to its consistency in approach, Costa Rica has successfully promoted an environmentally sound ecotourism industry over the past few decades. Additionally, ecotourism has had an inclusive macroeconomic strategy that benefits local communities, generates jobs as well as revenues, and has inspired further research in the areas of ecology and biodiversity. As a whole, Costa Rica offers a panoramic and pristine view of exactly how ecotourism can benefit a soceity, local communities, and the environment. Beginning of ecotourism in Brazil Ecotourism was first introduced in Brazil, on the governamental level, in 1985, when the Brazilian Institute of Tourism (Embratur) started its Ecological Tourism project. The first intention to put things in order was made in 1987 by creating the National Technical Commission, consisting of experts from both the Brazilian Institute for the Enviroment and Renovable Natural Resources (Ibama) and Embratur. The main goal of the commission was to monitor the Ecological Tourism project, as a reaction on ecotourism observed at that time, which was little organized and not at all sustainable. Although, the efforts made by govermnent were not sufficient to end with barriers between theory and practice of ecotourism. The principal problem was the lack of a unified concept of a segment, i. e. no existing criteria, regulation and incentives that would direct firms and investors and the government itself to promote and use effectively the natural assets of a country, and to protect them at the same time. As a consequence, the ecotourism in Brazil used to be an activity without any mark of order and very confused, where the main objective was to generate a profit, totally ignoring its other aspects, like socioeconomic and environmental benefits for the country. The brazilian ecotourism in the late 80s and early 90s was more likely the regular tourism which used the ecologic aspect just to sell better. Environmental experts referred to it as an â€Å"eco-opportunismâ€Å". Creating legal framework for ecotourism In 1994, a workgroup of experts of all ministries involved (Ministry of Environment, Imdustry, Commerce and Tourism) met in Goias Velho, Goias, to create a document â€Å"Directives for National Ecotourism Policyâ€Å". With this document, they set a legal framework for ecotourism in Brazil, which was defined: Ecotourism is a segment of tourism activity which uses, in a sustainable way, natural and cultural assets, incentives their conservation and looks for a creation of an ervironmental consciousness throught the interpretation of an environment and promoting the welfare of communities involved at the same time. This definition and all the other directives were created with favourable to a profitable tourism connected to environmental and cultural peculiarities of Brazil. The effort was made to assure growth of this particular branch of tourism all over Brazil, with the following criteria what ecotourism should do: -Provide better life conditions for communities in the areas of ecotourism. -Promote valuation of the environment -Create wealth and promote employment To make an opportunity to learn about natural and cultural assets in order to promote knowledge of new generations. Another important decision was made at the meeting – the government should start to cooperate with various NGOs and, together, educate prospective employers in the sector of ecotourism. The opinions of NGOs were often accepted by government in the process of building adequate infrastructure to promote sustainable growth of ecotourism in Brazil. Setting the principles Last but not least, the main concerns regarding ecotourism in Brazil were defined and published as a list of actions recommended to promote the sector in the whole country. : 1. Regulation of ecotourism – The necessity of its own legal framework, harmonized with both state and federal laws. 2. Institutional Interaction – Intensification of exchanging information and experience between governamental institutions and private sector. 3. Human Resources Creation – Education and training of personnel to work in an area of ecotourism. 4. Quality control – Creation of tools for observation, evaluation and improvement of ecotourism including both public and private sector. 5. Distribution of information – Creation of a database with the access for all national and various international institutions involved, including indicators monitoring the evolution of ecotourism. 6. Incentives to develop ecotourism – Promotion and stimulation of economic activity in the sector together with infrastructure in order to provide high quality services, especially in priority ecotourism destinations. . Information for tourists – providing the tourists knowledge about the destination they visit to make them respect the local environment. 8. Participation of communities – Make people living in major ecotourism destinations participate in the sector and modify their lifestyle to increase sustainability of the area. With the help of mentioned governamental regulation and cooperation between state instituti ons and many NGOs, the ecotourism grew by 15 % a year until 2000, while the tourism as a whole only grew 3 % anually. There were created ecotourism destinations in all brazilian states and the rigorous control has contributed to a sustainability of the sector and to protection of natural assets of Brazil. Costa Rica – Present part The tourism boom in Costa Rica began in 1987 (Crist Inman, 1997) with the number of visitors up from 329,000 in 1988, through 1 million in 1999, to 1. 9 million foreign visitors in 2007, allowing the country to earn US $1. 9 billion in that year (World Tourism Barometer, 2008). By 2002, about 1. 1 million tourists arrived in Costa Rica, with about 830,000 of them being ecotourists (Saenz, 2001). Thus, tourism in Costa Rica has since 1999 been one of Costa Rica’s most important industries exemplified by the fact that it earns more foreign exchange than traditional commodities such as pineapples, banana and coffee combined (Departamento de Estadisticas ICT (2006) (need statistics on that ). In 2001, ecotourism accounted for an annual growth rate of 20-30 percent (Dasenbruck, 2001). Today, being the nation’s principal industry, ecotourism contributes an estimated US $825mn to the economy annually as well as a 19 % increase in the number of tourists visiting in 2005 (â€Å"Ecotourism can be good business! , 2006). Economic impact The Travel ; Tourism industry in Costa Rica encompasses transport, accommodation, catering, recreation and services for visitors. Below are presented some macroeconomic indicators in relation to the industry. GDP The Travel ;Tourism industry is expected to contribute directly 5. 3% to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2008 (CRC778. 8 bn or US$1,466. 2 mn), rising in nominal terms to CRC2,005. 5 bn or US$2,639. 2 mn (5. 8% of total) by 2018. Additionally, according to WTTC the real growth of T;T in Costa Rica is forecasted to see a real rise of 1,2 % (US$ 3,769) in the economy GDP in 2008. Moreover, real GDP growth is expected to grow at an average of 4,7 % per annum over the coming 10 years. Employment The T;T economy contribution to employment is expected to rise from 258. 000 jobs in 2008, which represents 13,1 % of total employment, or 1 in every 7. 6 jobs to 359. 000 representing 14,4 % of total employment or 1 in every 6. 9 jobs by 2018 (WTTC, 2008). Visitor exports Export earnings from international and visitors are expected to generate 17,1 % of total exports (US $ 2,270,8 mn) in 2008 growing, in nominal terms, to 16,8 % (US$ 4,369,3 mn) of total exports in 2018 (WTTC, 2008). Investment Travel ; Tourism Capital Investment is estimated at CRC515. 0 bn, US$969. 5 mn or 15. 1 % of total investment in year 2008. By 2018, this should reach CRC1,225. 1 bn, US$1,612. 2 mn or 15. 6 % of total (WTTC, 2008). Foreign investment has had a major role to play in the development of the Costa Rican ecotourism industry. It was both politically and financially supported by the IMF, The World Bank and USAID. For instance, in 2001 the World Bank approved a US $40 mn loan of which most of it focused on ecotourism (Dasenbruck, 2001). Given that Costa Rica has a solid credit rating with international lenders along with international support from the abovementioned institutions gives the country a degree of financial stability in handling substantial costs in the development of the ecotourism industry. Government Government Travel ; Tourism operating expenditures in Costa Rica in 2008 are expected to total CRC122. 9 bn (US$231. 3 mn), or 6. 2% of total government spending. In 2018, this spending is forecast to total CRC396. 1 bn (US$521. 3 mn), or a 6. 4% share (WTTC, 2008). I’ll add more here about government institutions and initiatives, laws, regulations†¦. Ecotourism and the environment Behind ecotourism lies the idea of preserving a nation’s natural resources while profiting from them (Dasenbruck, 2001). Similarly to Brazil, ecotourism is overall considered to be beneficial to the environment compared to conventional forms of tourism e. g. mass tourism, exemplified by Cancun in Mexico with 4,000 room hotel resorts. One of the reasons that ecotourism in Costa Rica enjoys such high importance economically is because there exists a strong environmental lobby based in the â€Å"green industry† (Dasenbruck, 2001. This lobby recognizes the long-term benefits of aintaining an environmentally friendly image and therefore it supports most of the government’s conservation initiatives. Some, however, argue that ecotourism is an oxymoron, since travel at its base is detrimental to the environment. Airplane fossil fuels and the pollution coming from jet airplanes are used as examples of evidence, that international travel and environmental protection are mutually exclusive by nature (Dasenbruck, 2002). Ecotourism in Brazil Current Growth Brazilian ecotourism began to grow exponentially after the country woke up to its eco-potential during the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Still, ecotourism in Brazil continues to grow at a rapid pace. While the tourism industry overall grows at a rate of 3% annually, ecotourism is up by 15%. Other areas such as the city of Bonito are experiencing bigger growths of 20-30%. (Planeta) Furthermore, it is estimated that by the year 2010, ecotourism could make up as much as 50% of the travel industry according to Dorival Bruni, president of the non-profit Biosphere society. Considering that one of the largest ecotourism destinations in the world is the Amazon, this estimate is considerably probable. It is estimated by the World Tourism Organization that ecotourism may represent 2-4% of the world’s tourism. In 2000, ecotourism accounted for 10% of Brazilian tourism revenues (Bioesfera, 2001). The next three economic markers show Brazil’s travel and tourism industry’s contribution toward total GDP, employment, and exports. GDP The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) research findings reported that the Travel & Tourism industry is expected to contribute directly 2. 5% to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2008 BRL 70. 6 or US$36. 1bn), rising in nominal terms to BRL157. bn or US$53. 2bn(2. 6% of total) by 2018 (WTTC). Employment Brazil’s Travel & Tourism Economy employment is estimated at 5,500,000 jobs in 2008, 5. 9% of total employment, or 1 in every 16. 9 jobs. By 2018, this should total 7,634,000 jobs, 6. 6% of total employment, or 1 in every 15. 2 jobs (WTTC). Exports Export earnings from international visitors and tourism goods are expected to gener ate 5. 9% of total exports (BRL22. 5 bn or US$11. 5 bn) in 2008, growing (nominal terms) to BRL65. 4 bn or US$22. 1 bn (5. 4% of total) in 2018 (WTTC). Ecotourism and the environment One of the core benefits of ecotourism is the sustainability of the environment thus; ecotourism is an economically productive way to protect Brazil’s natural wonders. Consequently, Brazil’s continued growth of ecotourism is also generating a positive social impact. Local skilled and semi-skilled populations are benefiting the most from this current growth. According to Joao Mireilles Filho, president of the Peabiru Ecotourism Institute and of the Brazilian Ecotourism Institute (IEB), one of the most visited regions in Brazil for ecotourism is the Pantanal region, which is a vast series of wetlands in the upper Paraguay River Basin. The capital of this region, a town called Bonito is the main launching spot for ecotourists. Socially, Bonito accounts for about 2,000 jobs in the sector out of a population of less than 20,000 people. (Planeta) Investments As ecotourism continues to grow, it will provide investment opportunities for private and foreign investors who see the value in this industry. One region of such potential is The Ribeira de Iguape River, one of the most important rivers in the Brazilian southeastern state of Sao Paulo. The Ribeira de Iguape Valley is known for its complex geology and natural riches with a number of limestone caves and important mineral resources. Currently it is still characterized by poverty and underdevelopment however; ecotourism in the region has now a US$ 15 million financing – US$ 9 million from the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) and US$ 6 million from the government of Sao Paulo for improvement in infra-structure, training and organization. The Monetary International Fund (MIF) provided a $1. 7 million grant to improve the quality and competitiveness of small to medium sized enterprises in the tourist sector. By the year 2010, more than 5,000 firms are in the tourist sector are expected to pursue certification. It is estimated that ecotourism will receive a considerable amount of this grant. (IDB) In February 2006, the IDB approved a loan of $9 million toward improvements in infrastructure, including highways and productive systems in the Atlantic Forest region of the state of Sao Paolo. This project will benefit six parks which will benefit by retaining their visitors and acquiring financial sustainability while protecting their natural wonders. Opportunities One of the biggest areas of opportunity for Brazil is the Amazon region. This region is home to some 20 million people and is known for the biological diversity of its ecosystem and the great diversity of flora and fauna. It has the potential to become one of the largest ecotourism attractions in the world. As a matter of fact, it is 98 times larger than Costa Rica. Unfortunately in 2000 it only earned US400 million in exports which is less than half of Costa Rica’s total revenues during that time. This equates to a meager . 05% of the world’s ecotourism revenues in 2000. One of the biggest challenges facing this region is the lack of infrastructure such as energy power, communication, and transportation. The government taken some steps to ameliorate the situation by launching PROECOTUR (The Program of Development of Eco-Tourism in the Amazon) with the help of the IDB to develop and improve the infrastructure of selected areas in the region. It includes surveying best practices for ecotourism, financing ecotourism projects, developing tourist infrastructure, and assisting investors with technological and financial aid (SCA). Since deforestation has already affected large areas of the Amazon, Proecotur should bring more visitors to the region as well as sustainable revenue. Another project launched was the Poles project by the tourist and travel agency Embrateur in conjunction with the Ecotourism institute in an effort to establish guidelines for the development of ecotourism poles around the country. Brazil vs. Costa Rica Ecotourism in Brazil is still underdeveloped especially in the Amazon region which has tremendous upward potential in terms of providing a greater source of income on both a local and a national level for the Brazilian economy. In exploring various economic, political, and social factors that influence the ability of these countries to expand their ecotourism market, Costa seems to have the better position. In terms of GDP contribution relative to each country’s national economy, Costa Rica 13. 5% doubles Brazil’s 6. 2% indicating that there is significant room for growth for Brazil due to its tremendous size. Consequently, Costa Rica’s employment as well as exports are also incrementally higher at 13. 1% vs. 5. 9% and 17. 1% and 5. 9% respectively. On the other hand, Brazil has a much higher potential in terms of growth largely due to its untapped Amazon region. In terms of Real Growth, Brazil’s future looks bright. In 2008, Brazil is forecast to see Real Growth of 6. 7% in terms of Direct Industry GDP. Nominally, this represents an increase of US$36bn. With regards to Direct Industry Employment, an increase of 6. 4% is expected which means an additional 2,279,000 jobs will be generated. In contrast, Costa Rica is expected to see a Real Growth of -1. 5% in terms of Direct Industry GDP (in nominal terms US$1,466,000mn) and -3. 9% decrease in Direct Industry Employment. Brazil will be able to handle such growth but will need to have a collaborative effort nationally if they want to sustain their current growth. The government certainly plays an important role in the development of ecotourism in Brazil. They must provide the overall policy environment to permit development to proceed along an orderly path, and should welcome the involvement of other sectors. Furthermore, there is a need to teach policy makers the importance of ecotourism as a viable financial profit sanctuary so that policies reflect social and environmental concerns as well as market realities. Next, effective certification programs should be implemented to ensure adequate information of products and services is given to the public. Educating consumers and raising awareness on the importance to protect the national environment should stimulate demand for socially and environmentally friendly products that ecotourism provides. Lastly, significant improvement of Brazil’s logistic resources such as roads, electric power and infrastructure in the Amazon region will be quintessential for the sustainability of Brazil’s ecotourism industry.

Strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 6

Strategic management - Essay Example After enumerating the internal and external business affairs of Lego, the essay emphasizes the drawbacks of the company and finds ways through which it may overcome its negativities. 1. Which stage of the industry life cycle is the Toy industry in? How has that affected Lego’s ability to gain market share? This is the period of globalization and liberalization when almost all the industries in the market are booming. International trade is at its zenith, when most of the business firms are enjoying the benefits of the growing market. Consumerism has become the catchphrase of the world economy in 21st century. Income levels of the developed economies are augmenting and the developing economies are emerging with high growth rates. At this stage per capita income levels of almost all the open economies in the world are improving. With the improvements in standard of living, the aggregate demand for luxuries and comforts has enhanced. Life cycle models are not only common to the l iving beings but also associate with industries. Even an industry begins, grows, becomes mature and finally collapse with time. This is not because an industry has life but because an industry’s existence depends on the consumers whose taste and preference changes with time. The toy industry is at its peak of life cycle, where more than thousand companies operate in the industry with high turnovers and revenues. In United States the industry generates high revenue of about $20 billion (Little & King Co., 2010). Top popular toy companies are Lego, Mattle, Hasbro etc. A big segment of the industry comprises of the game making companies like Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. This industry manufactures a wide variety of toys like non-electric toys, children vehicles, preschool toys, stuffed animals, art & crafts, dolls etc. Toys are not only sources of entertainment for the children but also serve as basic academic tools to develop memory skills in them. Lego is a popular toy manufac turing company in Denmark, the headquarters of the company is in Billund. The company mainly engages in the manufacture of construction toys. The Lego bricks are generally colourful and can be used to make various types of toy cars or buildings. The growth of the toy industry has generated several positive externalities for Lego. The Lego group has exhibited unremitting growth since the last few years and the rates of growth have always been in double digits. The world’s best market for Lego bricks is U.S. Lego toys are marketed in more than 130 countries in the world. The company has a club of its loyal customers that comprises almost 4.2 million members. Today it can be hypothesized that on an average each individual in earth has approximately 80 Lego bricks to play with. Over the years more than 600 billion Lego elements have been manufactured (Lego, 2012). Figure 1: Lego House (Source: Lego, 2012) Producing bright and colourful bricks as toys, Lego have introduced a revol utionary change in the world of toys, where children may explore their creativity. The main driving force of the company is to encourage creative opportunities for all children.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Our idea is to create a toy that prepares the child for life, appeals to the imagination and develops the creative urge and joy of creation that are the driving force in every human being†. The demand for Lego toys is increasing with time; accordingly the quantity of toy manufactured is also increasing. Figure 2: Experience

McDonalds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

McDonalds - Essay Example They use renewable resources and quality control over the industry, which is done through random checks and random audits. The main weakness is the media backlash. On operations, the industry has on line and onsite kiosk job application systems and is the second largest employer in the U.S. on the marketing, sales the products are of high quality, and the industry promotes health and wellness campaign and product offerings and does a lot of consumer and market research. The company also makes promotions such as the Coca Cola endorsement promotion. Their services have a high accuracy and done in a clean environment and often accompanied with friendly customer service. However, the industry lacks employee apathy and some customers complain of dissatisfaction (Collier 2010). As is with other companies McDonalds relies on its resources for its capabilities and core competencies to be able to create value through this, McDonalds claims to have capabilities including its own employees and the training experiences provided to them. A global food vision and a stable of full time chefs in studios, which are located in Hong Kong, Munich, and Chicago, are some of the resources that are combined to form the firm’s product innovation capability. To make all this work is dependent on the firm’s organizational structure. McDonalds uses its resources to focus on being a better instead of concentrating on being big and this has been evident since the McDonald is becoming better through creating value for customers. Any strategies that the firm chooses must be based on its resources. The McDonalds uses its skills on human resources to lay a foundation of producing a number of new products to serve local customers. To implement a strategy the managers int egrate or combine different resources so that the firm is able to complete tasks. From the importance of resources, managers complete an internal analysis (Hess 2010). The McDonalds

English CASE 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

English CASE 4 - Essay Example Her husband being a highly repute physician by profession, constantly ignores her and never believes that she is sick (Jeffrey, 1985, p.64). He calls it a "temporary nervous  depression† and explained that it is a kind of mild hysteria that she was going through. He communicates the same thing to all their relatives and friends and Gilman’s brother himself was a renowned physician who agrees with his brother-in-law. Thus everyone believed that she is fine and doesn’t require any further treatment. She used to lead a confined life. She was never allowed to work until she gets well again. She spent her days in the company of the tonics, exercise, and journeys. She wished to take up some work and firmly believed that if a work gives pleasure and satisfaction to a person then it also aids in the fast recovery process of the person. But Gilman was not allowed to work. The narrator further mentioned that she didn’t like her room which had a single window rather she liked a room downstairs, but her husband paid no attention to her. Gilman started to feel obsessed with the yellow wall paper in her room. The wall paper made her depressed and she was gradually drifting into psychosis. It was evident from her words where she says, â€Å"Sometimes I think there are a great many women behind, and sometimes only one, and she crawls around fast, and her crawling shakes it all over†. Her thoughts connected her to the wall paper in a strange way. She hated the patterns of the wallpaper but still she felt attracted towards it. She even mentions in her journal her child’s nanny Mary who took perfect care of their baby. The narrator’s obsession regarding the wall paper grows and at a certain point of time she starts discovering faint and creeping structure behind the wallpaper’s pattern. During the night she could clearly see a lady behind the bars within the patterns of the wallpaper. She didn’t inform anyone about t hose images and structures she could see. She had become paranoid and believed that neither her husband John nor his sister Jennie would be able to find out the images which she can see as they are not deeply interested in the wall paper as she herself is. Her hallucinations made her think that the woman behind the bars is shaking those bars strongly to get rid of the obstacle. She started seeing several other women behind the pattern of the wallpaper. These images made her to strip down the wallpapers. Gradually at the end of the story we can find that the narrator turns into an obsessed person affected by psychosis. She refused to recognize her husband even and crept all over the ground (Stetson, 1892). The entire story is a tragic narration of events experienced by a confined woman. From the standpoint of a woman it can be stated that the entire journal is an outcry of Gilman where she constantly strives to be free and to go outside of the boundaries. In other words, Gilmanâ€⠄¢s journal represents the American society of those days which considered women as an object which has got no wishes, desires or ambitions. Women were treated during those days as a showpiece to be presented in front of the outsiders and then again to decorate her and place her within the showcase. The statement â€Å"

Qualitative General Depression Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Qualitative General Depression - Essay Example The purpose of our study was to investigate adolescent’s experiences with depression: how depression affected their relationship, their academic performance, their behavior with family members as well as treatment they have received. A comparison was then made on how qualitative study investigates the experience of depression compared to quantitative study in the following aspects. Data collection This survey involved Semi structured interviews of fifteen young adults who had been diagnosed with and treated for the major depression disorder between the ages of 15-19. When collecting data, two approaches were used: qualitative and quantitative research. Quantitative approach on the experience of depression applied more easily than qualitative research. It involved sampling the fifteen teenagers and the interview was audio taped for further reference. When collecting this data, the findings were summarized as follows: all the fifteen adolescents experienced significant factors i n their family concurrent with the time of their first episode e.g. hatred and been neglected, all the fifteen adolescents were not involved in planning or even involved in treatment during their hospitalization, depression caused these teenagers’ broken relationships and traditional school setting did not help the teenagers in dealing with depression hence the great impact. Data collected in quantitative research was hard and numerical. ... It can also be used in studying human behavior and the social world which is inhabited by human beings. Qualitative research helps us to adequately answer the question why? E.g. why things are the way they are in our social world. For example in our study, we were able to answer the question why depression has caused many broken relationships between these teenagers. The answer was that, the public as well as the private schools did not help these participants to recognize or even manage their depression. They were not even involved in planning nor were they kept involved of their treatment during their hospitalization hence this had a great impact on their relationships. Qualitative data collection describes tests and examines cause and effect relationship e.g. it shows a relationship between depression and family systems. Data collected shows us that there has been a dying relationship between the family members and the depressed adolescent as a result of behaviors’ which ar e associated with depression e.g. smoking. Quantitative methods of data collection produce legitimate scientific answers and this can be seen as hard data. On the other hand, qualitative data collection produce soft data, which is seen as inadequate in providing answers and in trying to generate any, change (Strauss, & Corbin, 2000) Sample recruitment When sampling, the sampling procedures in each case are complex hence must meet the criteria of the data collection strategy. A sample in both qualitative and quantitative approaches is required which is a representative of the large group. We sampled the fifteen teenagers and this was a representative of the large population of the depressed adolescents in most of our societies today. Sampling in this case is recommended since it becomes

Andy Warhols Installation of Shoes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Andy Warhols Installation of Shoes - Essay Example The essay "Andy Warhol’s Installation of Shoes" states the famous installation, Installation of Shoes, of Andy Warhol. The artist in question used this collection to tell people that not only the finest examples of art should be presented, but ordinary things as well. I find this particularly interesting and inspiring since it opens a completely new perspective on what is art: from then on every object that is found in reality could be presented as a work of art. I think that the goals which were originally set by Warhol correspond to my own goal, namely allowing people to develop a different, more accurate understanding of what art is. Speaking of what makes the collection that I present personal, I might suggest that I often use squishy toys to deal with some stress that I am exposed to. That is why these toys and this collection means to me a lot: it is almost a silent witness of all stress that I have endured in my life. One might suggest that because of this the memories that are attached to work are negative; however, the situation is quite the opposite: thought I experienced stress every time it touched a squishy toy, I felt a relief from it when I put it away. That is why the memories are quite good. As it has already been mentioned the major influence on my work is Andy Warhol’s Installation of shoes. The process of making my art work was simple: I make boxed out of color paper and attached them together by the sided. Afterwards, I placed a squishy toy inside of each box.

Business proposal for opening a new Apple store in Chile Research

Business for opening a new Apple store in Chile - Research Proposal Example According to Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report published in 2012, Chile depends heavily on its exports of metals and the business environment faces lack of competitive pressure which can bring innovation. The report has also pointed out that domestic companies in the country adopt innovation by importing technologies. However, according to report published by Budde Comm Research Company in 2012, penetration of mobile phone market is highest in Chile in comparison to other Latin American countries such as Peru, Brazil etc. Budde Comm (2012) has also identified three major players in Chilean mobile market such as Telefà ³nica’s Movistar, Amà ©rica Mà ³vil’s Claro and Almendral’s Entel. However, these companies can be identified as telecom connection providers. Therefore, Apple will not face direct competition from these above mentioned telecom operators, but it is advisable to decision makers to select a network service provide r partner prior to opening shop in Chile. Subtel is the telecom regulator in Chile which has recently auctioned 2.5 to 4 GHz band among telecom operators, so Apple can enter the Chilean mobile market by offering Smartphone equipped with 43G network. Although currently there is an Apple store in Chile, Apple does not export its Smartphone to local retailers. According to Heim (2011), Apple has never tried to open online shop or retail store in Chile because the company has never perceived Chilean mobile market as an important one. Heim (2011) has reported that local retailers sell Apple iPhone in the price range of $750 to $1750, while they export it at 10% to 15% lower price. Central Intelligence Agency (2012) has reported that per-capita income of Chilean people is $18,400 which is more than per capita income of Brazil, Peru and other important countries of Latin America. Hence, there are opportunities for opening Apple store in Chile which will offer highly priced Smartphone to cu stomers. Next section of the study will discuss the competitive environment of Chilean mobile phone market. Competitive Environment According to Petrazzini and Hilbert (2002), Nokia is the market leader in Chile but recent study has shown that market position of Nokia has been perturbed the rise of demand for Smartphones by Apple and Samsung. According to the OECD (2012) report, lack of administrative and legal proceeding has created challenge for foreign companies to enter the Chile market. Regional problems like counterfeits of patent, lack of infrastructure to support the road transport based logistics, irregular government policy regarding foreign investment, political tension between parties will definitely create problems for Apple while opening stores in Chile. However, in 2011, Chillean government established Fondo Capital Abe program in order to ease the credit facility to entrepreneurs and foreign companies. Apart from this, there Apple needs to use the guideline mentioned by Subtel in order to find the suitable carrier. However, the mobile manufacturing industry is fragmented, and competitive pressure will be low for Apple. In Chile, Samsung and Nokia will be two major competitors for Apple. Euro Monitor International (2012) has reported that Samsung is the market leader in general mobile phone market with 32% of retail market penetration but when it comes to Smartphone sales, Apple’s iPhone is the market leader with 29% market share. In Chilean mobile phone market, major competitors for Apple will be Samsung, Nokia and Research in Motion. Hence, it can be recommended that Apple should export its Smartphone to Chile as a short term strategy to penetrate. Then it should think about establishment of its own retail store backed by research

Consumerism and the loss of identity in the Middle East (Dubai and Essay

Consumerism and the loss of identity in the Middle East (Dubai and Doha) - Essay Example This paper seeks to identify how consumerism has affected the lives of the people and the paper focuses on exploring the concept of consumerism as it has developed in recent years in the Middle East. Globalization as a phenomenon is also studied to determine how the economic progression of the Middle Eastern countries has encouraged a culture of consumerism. The result is a change in cultural and social perceptions and this change is closely related to the consumerist culture which seems to have transformed traditional identities in the Middle East. The focus of this research is also on the consumerist culture pertaining to women and their compulsive buying behavior. Some of the works I have referred to include Consumption by Robert Bocock which explores the history of consumerism and The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf, a work that addresses the situation of women in terms of beauty and how it has been used as a marketing tool and created an obsession with physical appearance. This essay explores the concept of consumerism and its relationship with social trends and perceptions and highlights the extensive marketing networks that define consumption patterns. The relationship between capitalistic consumption and cultural traditional identities is also explored to study religious, psychological, political and social dimensions in the Middle East. Consumption in its economic term refers to consumers buying and using the things they ‘need’. However as explored in Consumption by Robert Bocock, there has been a shift in the way consumption is defined. Consumption is founded on the basis of a need and a constant sense of incompleteness that is compensated with material things. This is because consumers desire the â€Å"unattainable- that is the satiation of all their desires.† Constant consumption itself should not be seen as a consumption of material things, but a consumption of

Aristotles Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Aristotles Politics - Essay Example As Swanson and Corbin (2009) maintain, â€Å"His critical analysis of things political and intellectual emanates from a perspective that sees a necessary and objective linkage between politics and ethics.† (Swanson and Corbin, 1) Therefore, it is important to recognize that one of the essential factors contributing to the universal approval of this work is that it establishes the connection between politics and ethics. In a careful analysis of this classic work by Aristotle, it becomes lucid that it is one of the best examples of philosophical writings on the relationship between politics and ethics and it deals with various crucial aspects of politics. Aristotle is also explicit and clear about the qualities of people who rule the state, the people who are ruled (citizen), and the merits and demerits of different types of government. A profound exploration of Aristotle’s Politics confirms that Aristotle is highly effective and convincing in proving that politics is the fundamental feature of human beings and that no human being can neglect the prime role of politics. In other words, Aristotle’s Politics establishes that man is essentially a political animal, and this is one of the best explanations of human nature. Therefore, Aristotle underlines the fact that politics is ultimately linked to man’s basic nature. According to him, â€Å"it is evident that the state is a creation of nature, and that man is by nature a political animal. And he who by nature and not by mere accident is without a state, is either a bad man or above humanity.

Specialised Cells in Human Biology Essay Example for Free

Specialised Cells in Human Biology Essay â€Å"The cells in your body are tiny-a row of about forty would fit into 1mm. But although they are too small to see with the naked eye their complexity is remarkable. A single cell can be thought of as an organised chemical system, separated from its disorganised surroundings by a membrane† (Boyle et al 1999) First here is a brief summary of major eukaryotic organelles and their structures. The nucleus is the largest and most prominent organelle in the cell. It is usually spherical and about 10um in diameter. It contains the DNA and chromosomes and carries information that allows the cell to divide and carry out its cellular processes. Almost all eukaryote cells have a nucleus. The nucleolus is located in the nucleus it is 1-2 um. Its function is to manufacture ribosomes. The ribosomes are found either free in the cytoplasm or attached to the rough endoplasmic reticulum R. E. R, They are 20nm in size and their function is to synthesise the protein in the cell. The cell surface membrane controls the entry and exit of substances in and out of the cell. It is partially permeable. It separates’ the cells contents from the external environment. It is a double layer of phospholipid molecules around 7-10nm thick. Cytoplasm is a jelly like substance that fills the cell it is around 80% water. This is where cell activities occur and most chemical reactions take place. Organelles are suspended in it. The R. E. R. occurs throughout the cytoplasm, it has an extensive membrane network. Its function is to isolate and transport newly synthesised proteins. The mitochondrion is numerous in cytoplasm and there are usually up to 1000per cell. Its function is aerobic respiration and synthesises most of the A. T. P. for the cell. The smooth endoplasmic reticulum S. E. R. is found in small patches in the cytoplasm, they vary in size and their function is to synthesise lipids and steroids. The muscle cells (see figure 1) that are found in the muscles that move the bones at joints in the skeleton. These cells allow for movement like walking or running. The skeletal muscle is made up of specialised cells also referred to as muscle fibres. These cells are long and thin, these elongated cells are tubular in appearance. The cells contain several nuclei for the cell to contract and relax the muscle; the cell needs many nuclei as the nucleus contains the DNA the genetic information that carries the instructions for making each protein i. e. the first step in making proteins takes place in the nuclei. The actual building of the proteins takes place in the sarcoplasm otherwise known as the cytoplasm. There is lots of mitochondria in the cell this because it is needed foe aerobic respiration to create the A. T. P. energy that is needed for the muscle to contract and relax. It is surrounded by the cell membrane or the sarcolemma, filled with sarcoplasm. The sarcoplasm contains many thread like fibres known as myofibrils. These run along the length if the muscle fibres parallel. The sarcoplasmic retilum that is around each myofibril consists of a network of tubes that contain calcium ions these play a major role in bringing about muscle movement. The neurone is the functional unit of the nervous system. They form connections with other neurones. They can carry electrical impulses in one direction; receiving and transmitting information. The thicker the insulation the faster the electrical impulses travel. They are found in the brain or the spinal cord. They are long and thin in fact they are the longest cell in the body. They vary in shape and size depending on their position and function. The neurones running down your leg can be over one metre long. Although all neurones have a similar basic structure, see figure 2 which shows the structure of a typical motor neurone. It transmits signals to muscle fibres. The cell body contains cytoplasm, a large nucleus which is found at the end of the cell and other organelles. Coming off the cell body are as many as 200 thread like dendrites that make the area of the cell body larger, these allow many connections to be made to other neurones and one long limb called an axon. The dendrites bring impulses into the cell body while the axon brings impulses away to connect with other neurones or with effectors such as glands or muscles. A significant feature of a neurone is that their cell bodies contain nissi granules; these work to be a maintenance system that monitors the cell. They are also the site of protein synthesis in the cell. The axoplasm or the cytoplasm extends throughout the cell into the dendrites, synoptic bulbs, cell body and axon. Materials reach different parts of the neurone by axoplasmic transport. Most human cells are microscopic. The largest cell in the human body is the egg cell or the ova. This is just visible with the naked eye. It needs to be bigger than other cells as it needs the space to store food reserves. It is large in diameter at 0. 2mm and has a large cytoplasm this is packed with food reserves which allow the cell to divide before it implants in to the nucleus. It has a large nucleus (see figure 3) this is because it contains all the genetic material of the cell including all of the DNA, 23 chromosomes and all of the information necessary to make a complete human being in just nine months. .The egg cell is surrounded by several layers of cells and the complete unit is called a follicle. The production of egg cells oogenesis takes place within the ovaries of the developing female fetus. At birth a girl already has two million. These fuse with the male gametes called spermatozoa or sperm in a process known as fertilisation. The resulting cell the zygote develops inside the uterus nourished by the placenta into a new individual. The sperm (see figure 4) has a large nucleus; this is because it contains digestive enzymes it also contains the 21 chromosomes that must be delivered to the egg in order for the complete 42 chromosomes to be in the zygote, it also contains chemicals to penetrate the egg and carries genetic information. The sperm has many mitochondria this is because it needs a lot of energy for its long swim to the egg. It has a long tail called a flagellum that is a modified cilium that it uses for swimming to the egg cell. It is one of 50-200 million sperm that attempt the journey to the egg cell but only one can make it and fertilise the egg cell. When the sperm reaches the egg cell; digestive enzymes that are found on the tip of the sperm head are released when the bag splits releasing the enzymes which digest a pathway through any remaining follicle cells and the zona pellucida. Fertilisation has begun.

Assessment Of The German Political System Politics Essay

Assessment Of The German Political System Politics Essay Germanys current form of government democratic federal republic parliamentary system. Federal republic of Germany originated in 1945 but was not the government for all of Germany till it was united in 1990. It comprises of 16 states after the merger of the West and the East government of Germany following constitution GRUNDGESETZ of the West Germany. The president is a only a position to nominate the Chancellor who is the head of the government. In turn the chancellor recommends or dismiss members of the federal cabinet who help him in the governing of the country. The country is divided into sixteen states who are represented by Bundesrat occupying an total number of sixty-nine seats. All constitutional initiatives must first be sent to bundesrat and must pass by 2/3rd votes. The Bundestag is the federal assembly which is directly elected by the citizens which consists of 614 seats. The legal body is the Federal constitutional court which makes the supreme court decisions. Germany political influence over foreign business: Germany while giving a strong global boast to numerous international businesses faces many challenges of overcoming its post-writschaftwunder state and also struggling with high tax rates and unemployment. After the world war the government forced companies to invest in one and other which led to companies too compile a long time planning yielding low profits. Late in 2002 Germanys parliament ended the capital gain and cross holding giving freedom to companies to invest freely. Ever since the countrys growth has been significant to a position of business leader. Germany political risk and expropriation: Germany has stable government with minimum political risk for international business, the corruption level in the country is very low. The policies of the government provide little risk to business expropriation. The judicial system upholds the law and is fair with the foreign business. There seizer of assets and property by the government has not to be feared without a compensation or post-uninfected. Although eminent laws do exist specifically article 14 paragraph 3 of German law which discusses basic rights of property which apply to both individuals and businesses. The law states that expropriation shall only be permissible for the public good and it may only be ordered by or pursuant to a law that determined by establishing an equitable balance between the public interest and the interests of those affected. German laws provide property protection laws and by the European union. The European union treaty allows violation of the laws can be brought to European court of justice. Even though the country has booming business overall its economy is suffering. The main reason being that the small and medium industries are not prospering its people are more of a saver than spending which is the main reason hurting the economy. Later in 2003 France and Germany supported the USA in the campaign against Iraq hoping it would boost the economy. This strategy was based upon the theory of Broken Window fallacy by Henry Hazlitts Economy but it failed. Over all the war brought down the economy. Germany has always been a proud country not allowing other countries to boss them or interfere in their politics after their loss in the world war II they renewed their ideas and moved to a more political and business module allowing them to gain status in trade control and even government sanctioned control over businesses. Assessing the German politics Germany does have companies and business it protects but on the whole it is safe environment for international business and investment. Leading the economy in the European union its political system is open to international business and investors. As in all Germany has low political risk. Germanys legal system Germanys legal structure: Germanys legal structure starts with the constitution known as the basic law which holds two major function it insures the rights of the individuals as well as establishes the bodies of government for the land. The traditional system Germany follows is know as the civil law system, there no precedent set by the judicial rule. The civil law follows a system of codes which consists of five civil, civil procedure, commercial, and criminal procedure these code are further divided into five books which includes the general part, obligations, properties, family, and inheritance. The judicial system has to also obey the laws set up by the European union as it is part of the organization. The courts are divided into three category the ordinary courts, the specialized courts, and the constitutional court the highest court in each category is called federal court. The federal court of justice also know as Bundesgerichtshf is the last court of appeal for a review. The federal constitutional co urt also know as bundesverfassungsgericht only hears matters dealing with constitutional rights. The constitutional court is divided into two divisions dealing with two different halves of the constitution. German laws: German tax law is a very complicated and constantly changing and but Germany has many tax deduction laws which help but it only depends on the companies tax advisors knowledge and loyalty. The tax includes social insurance, a wage tax and a solidarity tax. Ten percent of the writing on taxation is on Germany tax laws. The social tax is equivalent to twenty one percent of the total taxable income which pays for the healthcare and social services. The employer must pay the social tax that matches the amount the employee pays to the government as well. The wage tax is based on the income the personal and it is divided into three ranges. The deduction on these taxes vary and complicated and it mainly helps the rich who are able to meet the requirement. Which is why the government is criticized for its taxation law. Germany has a strong employee biased law and is called Employee protection law. The act requires the employees to be given safe and healthy work environment, limited physical labor. Expecting and nursing mothers are protected by the maternity protection act, and provides fully paid material leave before the due date. The government has strict laws against child labor, those under 15 and older attending full time schooling are prohibited from employment. The hours of work act has a strict requirement of safety and health protection and the average time they are allowed to work a day. But there are no laws on minimum wages instead it is written in the contract. All the employees should be treated equally and discrimination on the basses of sex, cast, religion and color are prohibited by law. Laws on the termination are extensive, there should be a minimum of six to seven months notice before termination. Germany being a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development an organization made up of thirty countries resolving economic, environment and social issues. These countries are striving for a free market economy to bring up the living standards, financial stability, employment and other needs. And in 1997 these countries signed a convention, introducing a law in there judicial system The Act of Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Official in International Business in September of 1998 but it came in action in February 1999. Ever since bribery of foreign public official became a criminal offence before which only domestic bribery was considered an offence. Hence companies who deducted bribes on taxes were cracked down and where punishable by law. Germany has one of the strict laws on market restriction especially when it comes soliciting activities such as telemarketing which can only be carried out if the companies have prior consent. In general German legal system is stable and safe for international businesses to transpire without fear. And it also protect human rights to the fullest and gives freedom to invest globally. Germanys Economic market Germanys economy: During the second world war Germanys inflation ran uncontrolled due to Hitler imposing price controls which lead to an inflation in the economy with some sectors of the economy failing. After the war the country suffered a full economical crisis with the prices of goods frozen and the excess of printed money for the war there was sever shortage of good with food being the most. The economy was reduced to a bartering system. To ascertain there was no threat to the country the government substantially weakened the industrial power which included the shutting down the building of planes, ships and ammunitions which where the driving force of German economy before the war started. The Marshall plan helped Germany in monetary and psychology support however the monetary support of dollar was not enough and with currency Reichsmark worthless, the grate economic miracle or Wirtchafswunder was mainly due to the reform in currency. Many economists in the country addressed the reform in the currency and in 1948 they introduced the Deutsche Mark and along with it they reduced taxes and lifted the price controls. With these reforms Germany in several years had rebuilt its economy and had advanced to become the third largest economy in the world. Even with all this Germany miraculous period it has many natural reasons in deceleration of the economy the main reason being the countries service sector of industries was not as good as the manufacturing sector which overall lowers the competitiveness in the global market. And second being the slow accumulation of capital as the country has reached its peak in production, the third factor being the drop in job market due to the shock and the increase in the oil prices. Due these factors reforms are being made in the laws and the constant growth in the GDP and world demand of German goods remaining firm reforms are to be made to keep the countries output growth. The country has experienced a stage where unemployment had reached a record high due to poor economy and harsh winters causing construction and production to stand still. Each country has an way to calculate there unemployment Germany follows the European foundation for the improvement of living and working condition accordi ng to it the number of people registered as unemployed as a percentage of the total number of people in employment and seeing employment. But presently due to the strong global economy and other factors the unemployment has reduced. Germanys travel and tourism has grown significantly in recent years due to the low prices of visiting and staying in Germany it has become one of the most visited sites in Europe. As of 2003 Germanys service industry has brought 7% of the total GDP. Majority of the tourist are from the US, united kingdom, Switzerland, Belgium, France, and Italy. The German automobile industry has been one of its pride industries. The industry is one of the highest employers of the population. However the automobile industry being the highest income it is considered the lowest environmental friendly as Germany has done little in the development of eco-friendly vehicles. Germany is a promising country for private investors since the reforms in the government which diversified portfolios, tax reforms, maximizing shareholder value and other political changes. The credit system in Germany has similar operations as US and other countries. The banking system in Germany is one of the biggest in the world since the formation of the European union it follows the rules and regulation of the European central bank. From 2001 Germany has replaced its Deuteche mark to Euro. Germanys Social-Culture When someone travels to a new environment even if they do not know their language their body language speaks at lot for them. So it is essential to know the opposite parties culture before you make a mistake. Like some body language in your culture may mean good but in others it may mean bad like how you greet, or how you sit, or how you wave these all have different meaning in different languages. In some countries their culture and their speaking include a lot of hand signals during such time you should be very careful. For example a wave in Germany during a business meeting is not accepted as good while it may mean differently to you, or if it is a birthday a person should not wish him before the date as it is considered bad in Germany. Such small differences may hinder or cause difficulties in your business on the long rum. Even though Germany has reformed its ideas to permit its business culture but their rigid formal and to the point business styles is still the same as the old ways of the national socialism beliefs. Germany has a very unique business culture which they follow even with their wide globalization. Due to these cultures it is a fact that products of a German production under a German manager is said to have a high quality. There companies and managers use quality and responsiveness and dedication to maintain and produce quality goods. All of these are possible because they are good planners and their workers proceed according to the agenda planed for them. Germany has one of the best health care systems in the world and are fare to all its citizens. There insurance options include three government, private and a combination of both and majority being covered by the government. Each of the insurance in available to citizens on the amount of earnings per annum. German is the official language of Germany and Austria, the Hoch Deutsch is the formal German spoken and taught. The language has similarities to English and Dutch languages. Germany since long has had a major problem of racism, the racial violence is one of the major factor in attacks on individuals since the time of Adolf Hitler who was a against Jews but now it ahs taken a new form racism against color and creed . Germanys Technology Germany is one of the most advanced country in the world in technology. Germany has a law called The German Digital Signature Law to enforce high security technical standards. Siemens home and office and the Polyapply are Germanys leading communication devices. these help companies to increase engineering productivity and to meet the world demands. Polymer electronics which are the application of ambient intelligence same as Rf communications have come a long way. Every country may have technology but the cost of for such high technology cannot be owned all countries but Germany has all these and that is why its one of the worlds leading in technology. Even the health care system is to advanced that some are not found in most parts of the world. Conclusion After considering all the factors of the country Germany is one of the best countries in the world for international business. Having a stable political system, the third best economy with strict laws giving equal justice cultural freedom and on of the best technology. Germany having a central geographical position and part of the European market it is considered a center for international businesses. The country is the world leader in exporting goods. The main factor for Germanys success in the global market is its government who have supported in the development, research and studies in various fields of the market. Currently one of Germanys critical international business involves European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company which is a merger of European union aeronautical companies.

Relationship Between The Sublime And The Beautiful Philosophy Essay

Relationship Between The Sublime And The Beautiful Philosophy Essay Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten is a very significant figure in the philosophy of aesthetics, as he invented the word aesthetic as we know it in the modern day. Baumgarten defined aesthetics thus creating a science of taste. Initially, in his first critique, the Critique of Pure Reason (1781), Kant rejected Baumgartens account that aesthetic judgement is a form of taste. However, in the Critique of Judgement (1790), it is evident that Kant changed his mind, as it can be seen in his third critique that he indeed was influenced by Baumgarten, as he says that aesthetic judgement is a judgement of taste. This essay will begin by looking into a general account of Kants view on aesthetics, which will lead to examining his third critique the Critique of Judgement looking at the first book: Analytic of the Beautiful, of the first section: Analytic of Aesthetic Judgement, of Part I: Critique of Aesthetic Judgement. This will then lead to what Kant describes as the four moments of aesthetic judgement disinterestedness, universality, purposiveness and necessity. The essay will then discuss Kants notion of the sublime, looking at the main difference between beauty and the sublime and the types of sublime. This will then lead to the relationship between the sublime and the beautiful according to Kant and then will conclude by examining some criticisms of Kants aesthetic judgement. For Kant, there are two forms of the aesthetic the beautiful and the sublime. Although, Kants Critique of Judgement (CoJ) is the main source of his view on aesthetics, he also published another work on the topic in 1764 Observations on Feeling of the Beautiful and the Sublime, however, this is considered to be more interested in psychology rather than aesthetics (Kelly, 1998: 27). Douglas Burnham states in his book An Introduction to Kants The aesthetic judgement is the focal point in Kants third critique. It can be found that he began looking at judgement in the Aesthetic judgements are essentially judgements of taste according to Kant. The judgement of taste is aesthetic (Kant, 1790 in Cahn and Meskin, 2008: 131). When he says judgements of taste, he does not mean taste in sense of eating, but taste in the sense of whether someone has good or bad taste in something. There are four aspects of taste, which are as follows: quality, quantity, relation of the purpose and satisfaction of the object. These four aspects through which Kant expresses his aesthetic judgments are known as his Four Moments, which are most commonly known as: 1. Disinterest 2. Universality 3. Purposiveness 4. Necessity. Kant describes aesthetic judgements firstly as disinterested, saying that it only disinterested pleasure that can ground aesthetic judgements. There are three types of satisfaction in disinterest the agreeable, the beautiful and the good. The agreeable is subjective and so not universal; the beautiful is subjective yet demands that others agree and the good is objective but is based on concepts. Kant argues that it is only in the beautiful that we can be free and disinterested (Wenzel, 2005: 142). Kant begins his account of disinterestedness by defining what interest is ). There are two types of interest one is by sensation (in the agreeable) and the other by concepts (in the good). Sensation has got to do with the existence of a thing. When something exists we can feel it this is a common notion for everyone as we all say if we can feel ourselves pinching ourselves then we are not dreaming it is real (Burnham, 2000: 51). Burnham (ibid: 52) goes on to say that . This is indeed a Kantian claim, as Kants notion of disinterest is that of dismissing any interest when judging a thing beautiful. Aesthetic judgements are free from such interests. To be disinterested when judging art, means that interest is and as mentioned before, free from interest. Pure aesthetic judgements are unconcerned with the real existence of the object (Crowther, 2007: 68). Disinterest is at its most basic definition, an attempt to judge something beautiful, however remaining impartial while doing so. Kant talks about pleasure throughout his account of the beautiful, and to judge something aesthetically, a person is gaining a pleasure in something that they are disinterested in. Something must exist for it to be judged aesthetically, however, the judgement itself is a mental experience. As Burnham (2000: 52) says, it is the thing itself that is being judged, through the experiencing of it. This again is reminiscent of Kants notion of the thing in itself in his transcendental philosophy. (Kant, 1790 in Cahn and Meskin, 2008: 134). The second of Kants Four Moments is that of universality. Kant claims that in being disinterested about pleasure if the beautiful object, one can claim universal validity to judgement. As can be seen from the quote above, Kant says that a judgement is universal apart from concepts (ibid). Universality is not based on any concepts. If the judgement has concepts then it is suggesting that beauty is the property of the object (which it often is expressed as) that is being judged and this is not the case. Kant argues that subjective judgements are not universal, for example, if I said that the taste of chocolate pleases me and somebody else said that they did not like chocolate, then both of these are individual responses and both are correct. I do not expect everybody to like chocolate; neither does the other person think that everyone will not like chocolate just because they do not like it. Thus, subjective judgements are not universal. Obje ctive judgements are universal, however. Taking chocolate as an example once more, if one was to say that chocolate was sweet in relation to it containing a lot of sugar and another person said it is not, then it is evident that they are not aware of what the other meant; as it is a universal fact that chocolate is sweet (again in relation to it being full of sugar) (Burnham, 2000: 46-47). Therefore, aesthetic judgements are like objective judgments in the fact that they are both universal. However, being sweet is a property of chocolate and beauty according to Kant, is not a property of any object. Kant overcomes this obstacle of beauty becoming a property of the object by using as if. Kant acknowledges that each individual has their own taste , however, he states that and as mentioned earlier, judging the beautiful is a different story. Following on from saying that each person has their own taste, he says that: This is a notion he repeats throughout defining and explaining universality (in ibid: 134-135) and it is how he surmounts the idea of beauty being a property of an object he says it is as if it is a property of an object, not actually the property of the object! So to sum up universality, when someone is judging something to be beautiful, they expect that when making this judgement, that when it is judged by others, they are expected to judge it beautiful also and gain pleasure in it (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2005). Kants third moment is that of purposiveness (or finality or end, as Kant uses in his CoJ). Kant defines this moment There are three types of purpose: external, definite and internal. External purpose is if the purpose does what it is supposed to do. Definite purpose is what the purpose is meant to do and internal purpose is what the purpose is meant to be like. In this moment, Kant is trying to portray that things are judged to be beautiful if they are perceived to have a purpose, but not a particular purpose otherwise, the beautiful is something that is purposivenss without purpose. Kant is keeping with the no concept (from universality) here as the purpose of an object is the concept to which it was manufactured (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2005). An example of this third moment would be that of nature. Beauty in nature appears to be purposive, however it is of no use to us and it is for this reason that the beauty of nature is pleasurable to us (ibid). The fourth and final of Kants Four Moments, is that of necessity. The following is how Kant describes the importance of necessity in his CoJ: Satisfaction of encountering a beautiful object is what Kant calls a necessary pleasure and hence (universality coming into play again here) a pleasure of all perceivers of it. Aesthetic judgements must be necessary according to Kant. Along with necessity comes common sense, however, Kant does not mean common sense in the normal everyday meaning of the phrase, he means the actual senses that we all have (Burnham, 2000: 55) taste, touch, hearing, sight and smell. Hence, the sense of pleasure that one gets from judging something beautiful is that common sense. Necessity is again linked to universality in that the as if concept comes into play again in his fourth moment. As if in necessity is linked to that of the condition of necessity. The condition of necessity is what it is saying about the people who are judging an object beautiful. As Burnham (2000: 57) states, For Kant, the beautiful is not the only form of the aesthetic the other is the sublime. The Concise Oxford Dictionary (year: 1214), It is this awe that differentiates the beautiful from the sublime. The sublime is something that is beyond beauty. Kant defines the sublime as . Kant divides the sublime into two types the mathematical and the dynamical (ibid)). The mathematical is concerned with when we encounter vast, extensive, large objects size is the key component here we cannot get our heads around something that is so monumentally extensive. Because of its size, we cannot grasp it sensibly and so it brings about a terror within us. We cannot take it all in at once so it becomes too overwhelming (Burnham, 2000: 91). It contains feelings of exhilaration and being overwhelmed. Take the example of a violent storm; if I am frightened by the storm, this inevitably leads to an interest in saving myself. Once I have expressed an interest, then I cannot experience the sublime as the s ublime, like the beautiful, involves disinterestedness. It is so great in size that we cannot comprehend it as it almost becomes so vast that our imagination runs away with itself (McCloskey, 1987: 98). The dynamical sublime relates to power. It concerns our experience of the mighty, the powerful, dangerous objects or phenomena which we regard from a position of safety. Take again the example of a violent storm a natural disaster. When we see something like this violent storm we know that it can crush and overpower us, however, we as rational beings can summon up enough moral courage to resist the terror and fear that the storm gave rise to. Summoning up this moral courage is something that only a rational being can do. Because we are experiencing the storm from a safe distance, we know that we are safe so that interest of saving ourselves does not exist and thus we can experience the sublime. For Kant, the sublime is essentially something we experience (influence of Heidegger here). The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich, is probably the best painting that represents Kants idea of the sublime. As can be seen below, Friedrich used nature to portray the sublime. The painting illustrates a man standing alone, looking out onto vast scenery of thick fog covering a mountain range, observing it from a position of safety suggests that this image is that of the dynamical sublime. Kant begins his Analytic of the Sublime (Book II of The Critique of Aesthetic Judgement) with the similarities between the beautiful and the sublime. What can be seen first is evident both are aesthetic judgements. Both involve disinterested pleasure; that is when making an aesthetic judgement, the person judging must remain impartial while judging the object beautiful; the sublime in the case of dynamical sublime, taking the example of the storm again, when experiencing the storm from a safe distance where the person knows no harm can be done to themselves, they can view the sheer effect that the storm is having and thus experience the sublime. Both the beautiful and the sublime also have a universal aspect to them the force of the storm and looking at its impact from afar, should indeed have the same effect on everyone. However, it can be established that the third moment purposiveness is not in common to the two types of the aesthetic. As Burnham (2000: 90) mentions, Kant desc ribes pleasure in the introduction to the CoJ, as However, the sublime does not allow an achievement of an end. Kants aesthetics has been criticised by many a philosopher since. Gadamer (who was highly influenced by Heidegger) criticised that Kants aesthetics was ultimately subjectivist. Gadamer stresses that Kants aesthetics is not linked to a proper knowledge. Gadamer says that Kant limits his aesthetic judgement to mere experience of the pleasurable. He says that by limiting our experience through the four moments, it does not challenge us enough in making the judgements  [1]  . Many critics have also tried to criticise Kant on what disinterested pleasure actually is. It has also been criticised that Kants notion of the aesthetic judgement say nothing about art as a developing concept. This essay has examined Kants four moments of aesthetic judgement of the beautiful, looking at aesthetic judgements as being made by a person who must remain impartial and not interested in the object of judgement; seeing all aesthetic judgements as universal, that is that if an aesthetic judgement is made then everyone will agree. Each aesthetic judgement is made with purposive but without an end in sight and all aesthetic judgements are necessary. It has then gone on to discuss the sublime, looking at the two types of sublime the mathematical and the dynamical; the mathematical concerning that which is so extensive in size, it overcomes us and the dynamical being that we are observing something very powerful from a position of safety and so are able to experience the sublime. The essay then looks into the relationship that the sublime and the beautiful have by looking at the similarities and differences that are in each; similarities being that they are both forms of the aesthetic , they are both reflective judgements, they both involve disinterestedness and are both universal. This essay has concluded by looking at a few criticisms of Kants aesthetics looking at Gadamer (and Heidegger) who thought that Kants view on the aesthetic was too subjectivist and has also looked at how Kants aesthetics shows nothing of how art in the aesthetic judgement as a developing concept. It is evident that Kant indeed influenced many aesthetic philosophers after him as his aesthetic theory can be seen in many a philosopher of art since then, both of influence and criticism.

Did the Mayan Civilization Collapse as a Result of Drought? Essay

Ever since the collapse of the once powerful Maya civilization, people have been trying to find out what caused it. Authors of the article, "“Climate and the Collapse of Maya Civilization”", which include Gerald Haug, Detlef GÃ ¼nther, Larry Peterson, Daniel Sigman, Konrad Hughen, and Beat Aeschlimann propose a theory that the Mayans collapsed because of an extended dry period between 760 and 910 A.D. These scientists set out find the answer as to why the Maya civilization collapsed. This question is fairly popular and is often times answered by an extended drought, but they wanted to find geologic evidence of what the climate was like in the same time period hoping that there is an obvious link between the two. This question may be simple and straightforward, but this was different than using records that paleoclimatologists have been using which record data for the past millennia. These authors were trying to record climate for a short time period which until recently has been assumed to be unchanging for the last 6000 years. The authors used sediment sequences from two holes drilled in the Cariaco Basin. These sediments were rapidly deposited and were estimated at 30cm per thousand years. They used bulk titanium (Ti) content as a recorder to get an index of the regional hydrologic conditions. High Ti content indicates wet conditions while lower Ti indicates dryer conditions. The authors' results showed Ti content were the lowest between 500 and 200 yr B.P. They also found higher Ti content between 1070 and 850 yr B.P. In addition, the authors found Ti levels were of intermediate value before the sharp rise at approximately 1070 yr B.P.(930 A.D.). The authors also used a radiocarbon age control... ...nce Archaeology can not fully explain the decline of the Maya civilization, the data recorded from the sediment cores by the authors of this article can be used for the hypothesis that drought ultimately led to the demise of the civilization. Not only does the data collected show the evidence of multiple droughts during an already dry period called the Terminal Classic Collapse period, but this data can also be aligned with archaeological data of this time period. The authors can use this archaeological data to support their hypothesis that peak regional drought during an extended period of reduced precipitation ed to the the end of the Maya civilization. Work Cited Larry C. Peterson and Gerald H. Haug "Climate and the Collapse of Maya Civilization" http://www.columbia.edu/itc/sipa/envp/louchouarn/courses/Clim-Wat/Wat/Drought-MayanCollapse(AmerSci05).pdf

Pain :: essays research papers

Pain, an acute mental or emotional discomfort, is experienced by everyone many times during the course of his or her lives. This discomfort to a person may be the result of slipping on a patch of ice on the sidewalk, or may be the result of working hard on ones homework. Whatever the cause, precautions can be taken to avoid pain, like wearing a helmet while bicycling, but painful situations pop up all the time. Pain during the coarse of ones life is inevitable. Misery, mental suffering or extreme bodily suffering or discomfort: extreme unhappiness, may not be present for everyone, and is more easily avoided than pain. Misery usually occurs when many things go wrong, or if one major thing in someone’s life goes wrong. These things are meaningful and the misery involved is optional. An example of this could be someone who goes to school, but doesn’t work, fails, and consequently ends up without a job, and feels miserable. This situation could have been avoided, if the person had worked hard at school. This demonstrates the fact that misery can be due to major losses or failures. Therefore even though insignificant causes of pain are inevitable, the things that mean the most can be maintained, and misery is optional. Pain can in some ways be prevented, with the help of preventative measures like wearing a seat belt in a car, a wearing a helmet and pads before going out biking. Even though these measures are applied, there are some things that cannot be controlled, and luck also plays a factor in a person encountering pain. First of all, every time a person goes outside there is a chance that an accident will occur. If someone looses control of their car on black ice, hits a tree and gets injured it really is not their fault. One could say that this could be avoided by not driving in winter, but this isn’t possible. People are active, and as long as they are active there is always an element of risk involved. If one makes dinner they may get burned, but food is needed for the person’s survival. People take risks all the time and pain is somewhat inevitable at different degrees. Some people have a high tolerance for pain and seem to take more risks. Others are more cautious, but the element of pain is always a factor. Generally people are more susceptible to smaller sources of pain, because they take small risks, however people are more careful when confronted with serious pain, like the fact that someone may wear a