Succubus Shadows Chapter 3

I worked until closing that night and didn't get home until around ten. To my surprise, I found Roman on the couch eating a bowl of cereal while the cats competed for who could take up the most attention on his lap. Honestly, they seemed to love him more than me lately. It was a betrayal of Caesarean proportions. â€Å"What are you doing here?† I asked, sitting on the armchair opposite him. I noticed then that the last of the party untidiness had been cleaned. Somehow, I suspected mentioning that would result in him never cleaning again. â€Å"I figured you'd be out chasing Jerome's succubus.† Roman stifled a yawn and set the empty bowl on the coffee table. Immediately, both cats sprang off his lap to get to the residual milk. â€Å"I'm on break. Been following her all day, though.† â€Å"And?† My natural curiosity aside, I was uneasy about the idea of Jerome's authority being called into question. The arch-demon might annoy me sometimes, but I had no desire for a new boss. We'd come dangerously close to a leadership change when he'd been summoned, and I hadn't been impressed with any of the candidates. â€Å"And it was incredibly boring. You're much more fun to stalk. She went shopping for most of the day. I didn't even know stores would let you take that much shit into dressing rooms. Then, she picked up a guy at a bar, and, well, you can figure out the rest.† I rather liked the idea of Roman suffering while Simone had sex. â€Å"Figured your voyeuristic tendencies would be into that kind of pornographic display.† He made a face. â€Å"It wasn't good porn. It was like the nasty, kinky porn they keep in the back of the store. The kind of stuff that only really sick people go after.† â€Å"So no clandestine meetings to report to Jerome?† â€Å"Nope.† â€Å"Makes sense, I guess.† I stretched out and put my feet out on the table. With Doug incapacitated, I'd spent a rare day on registers, standing more than I usually did anymore. Unless I was mistaken, Roman's eyes lingered on my legs before returning to my face. â€Å"If she didn't see any immortal action today, she'd have nothing to tell on.† â€Å"Not until tonight, at least.† â€Å"Tonight?† â€Å"How scattered are you? Peter and Cody are having one of their things tonight.† â€Å"Oh, man. I forgot.† Peter loved to throw dinners and get-togethers and seemed unconcerned that I'd just had a major party of my own. As a nocturnal creature, his soirees always took place late at night. â€Å"And Simone's going?† â€Å"Yup. Mei's with her now, and I'll relieve her at Peter's.† â€Å"So you'll be there in spirit, if not in person.† â€Å"Something like that.† He smiled at my joke, and for the first time since he'd returned to town, I saw a genuinely amused sparkle in those teal eyes. It reminded me a bit of the witty, gallant guy I used to date. It also occurred to me that this was a rare non-antagonistic conversation for us. It was almost†¦normal. Misunderstanding my silence, he gave me a wary look. â€Å"You aren't thinking of wussing out, are you? Your day couldn't have been that hard.† I actually had been thinking of wussing out. After yesterday's drama and now my regret over yielding to Maddie, I wasn't sure I was up for my immortal friends' zany hijinks. â€Å"Come on,† Roman said. â€Å"Simone is so boring. And I don't even mean her activities. She's just bland. If you're not there to entertain me, I don't know what I'll do.† â€Å"Are you saying the rest of my friends aren't entertaining?† â€Å"They pale in comparison.† I finally agreed to go. Although, it wouldn't have surprised me if his interest in me making an appearance was just to bum a ride. Nonetheless, I was in a good mood as I headed over to Capitol Hill. It was a little weird having Roman with me and not with me. To continue his spying, he'd gone invisible and without signature. It was like having a ghost in my car. As usual, I was one of the last to arrive. The Three Amigos – Peter, Cody, and Hugh – were there, dressed in their usual attire now, rather than historically accurate costumes. That meant a perfectly coordinated sweater vest and slacks for Peter, jeans and a T-shirt for Cody, and business casual for Hugh. I held the door open a little longer than usual, to facilitate Roman sweeping in after me. From there, I took it on faith that he was hanging out. As soon as he let us in, Peter scurried back to his kitchen without a word. Simone was there too. She sat on the loveseat, long legs perfectly crossed and hands resting on her knees. Her body was slim with respectably sized breasts, clad in a black skirt and silvery silk blouse. Her hair was – unsurprisingly – long and blond. Most succubi seemed to think blond was a sure-fire way to get guys in bed. I considered that attitude a sign of inexperience. I'd been a brunette – albeit one with gold highlights – for a while and never had trouble scoring action. Hugh sat next to her, wearing the flirtatious face that was standard for him when it came to wooing women into bed. Simone regarded him with a polite smile, one she turned on me when I entered. She stood up and held out her hand. Her immortal signature smelled like violets and put me in mind of moonlight and cello music. â€Å"You must be Georgina,† she said. â€Å"Nice to meet you.† She kept that same polite expression, and I could tell it wasn't faked. It also wasn't mischievous or overly charming. Likewise, she bore none of the open hostility succubi had around each other, or even the sugar-coated passive aggressiveness that was also common among us. She was just averagely nice. She was†¦bland. â€Å"You too,† I said. I turned to Cody as I tried to identify the scents coming from the kitchen. â€Å"What's for dinner?† â€Å"Shepherd's pie.† I waited for the joke, but none came. â€Å"That's not Peter's usual style.† He was a great cook but tended to stray toward filet mignon or scallops. Cody nodded. â€Å"He was watching a documentary on the British Isles earlier, and it inspired him.† â€Å"Well, I've got nothing against it,† I said, sitting on the arm of the couch. â€Å"I guess we should just be grateful he didn't decide to make blood pudding.† â€Å"In Australia, they have a variant of shepherd's pie that has potatoes on the top and the bottom,† Simone said out of nowhere. â€Å"They call it potato pie.† Several seconds of silence followed. Her comment wasn't entirely off-topic, but it was just odd – particularly since she didn't deliver it in a smug, know-it-all voice that you found among people who always won at Trivial Pursuit. It was just a statement of fact. It also wasn't very interesting. â€Å"Huh,† I said at last, voice deadpan. â€Å"Good to know the name's accurate. It'll avoid any embarrassing confusion that might occur at dinner. God only knows how many wacky mishaps have happened when people ordered sweetmeats.† Cody choked a little on his beer, but Hugh gave Simone a high-beam smile. â€Å"That's fascinating. Are you a cook?† â€Å"No,† she said. Nothing more. Peter popped back in just then with a vodka gimlet for me. After last night's showdown with Doug, I'd vowed to lay off for a while – like, a few days. I suddenly decided I might need a drink after all. Peter glanced around with a small frown. â€Å"This is it? I'd kind of hoped Jerome might come.† Our boss used to hang out with us quite a bit but had been avoiding social events since his summoning. â€Å"I think he's got some business to take care of,† I said. I honestly had no clue, but I kind of hoped my vague allusion would trigger a reaction in Simone. It didn't. Peter put on a good spread as always, his kitchen table immaculately set, along with cabernet sauvignon to complement the shepherd's pie. I noted that Guinness might be a better pairing, but he ignored me. â€Å"Where are you from?† I asked Simone. â€Å"You're here on vacation, right?† She nodded, delicately lifting her fork. She'd cut her pie into perfect one-inch-sized cubes. It was enough to rival Peter's obsessive compulsion. â€Å"I'm from Charleston,† she said. â€Å"I'll probably stay for a week. Maybe two if my archdemon will let me. Seattle's nice.† â€Å"I've heard Charleston's nice too,† said Hugh. He apparently hadn't given up on getting laid tonight. â€Å"It was founded in 1670,† she said by way of answer. That weird silence followed again. â€Å"Were you there at the time?† I asked. â€Å"No.† We ate without further conversation. At least, we did until dessert arrived and Cody turned his attention to me. â€Å"So, are you going to help me or not?† I'd been pondering how Simone ever managed to score guys and if her use of adjectives expanded beyond â€Å"nice.† Cody's question blindsided me. â€Å"What?† â€Å"With Gabrielle. Remember? Last night?† Right. Bookstore Gabrielle who was only into Goth and vampire guys. â€Å"I didn't promise you I would, did I?† I asked uneasily. There were too many memory gaps from that party. â€Å"No, but if you were a friend, you would. Besides, aren't you some kind of love expert?† â€Å"For myself.† â€Å"And if memory serves,† said Hugh, â€Å"she's not even really good at that.† I shot him a glare. â€Å"You have to give me something,† said Cody. â€Å"I need to see her again†¦need something to talk to her about†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I'd thought his infatuation with Gabrielle had been alcohol induced last night – seriously, was there anything alcohol couldn't be blamed for? – but that look of puppy dog love was still in his eyes. I'd known Cody a few years and had never seen this kind of reaction from him. I'd never seen it from Peter either, but my friends and I had secretly decided long ago that he was just asexual. If vampires had been capable of reproduction, he would have done it amoeba-style. I racked my brain. â€Å"I saw her reading The Seattle Sinner the other day on her break.† â€Å"What's that?† Cody asked. â€Å"It's our local industrial-Goth-fetish-horror-S-angst underground newspaper,† said Peter. We all turned and stared at him. â€Å"So I've heard,† he added hastily. I glanced back at Cody with a shrug. â€Å"It's a start. We've got it in the store.† â€Å"Are you guys done with the boring love stuff?† a voice suddenly asked. â€Å"It's time to get onto the real action.† The new voice made me jump, and then I felt the familiar crystalline aura signaling an angel's presence. Carter materialized in the one empty chair at the table – Peter had set for six, hoping Jerome would show. Seattle's worst dressed angel sat back in the chair, arms crossed over his chest and expression typically sardonic. His jeans and flannel shirt looked like they'd gone through a wood chipper, but the cashmere knit hat resting on his shoulder-length blond hair was pristine. It had been a gift from me, and I couldn't help a smile. Carter's gray eyes glinted with amusement when he noticed me. Hanging out with an angel might be weird in some hellish circles, but it had become pretty standard in our group. We were used to Carter's comings and goings, as well as his cryptic – and often infuriating – remarks. He was the closest Jerome had to a best friend and always had a particular interest in me and my love life. He'd let up a little since the recent debacle with Seth. Carter might be commonplace to us – but not to Simone. Her blue eyes went wide when he appeared, her face completely transforming. She leaned over the table, and unless I was mistaken, her neckline had gotten a little lower since my arrival. She shook Carter's hand. â€Å"I don't think we've met,† she said. â€Å"I'm Simone.† â€Å"Carter,† he replied, eyes still amused. â€Å"Simone's visiting from Charleston,† I said. â€Å"It was founded in 1670.† Carter's smile twitched a little. â€Å"So I've heard.† â€Å"You should visit,† she said. â€Å"I'd love to show you around. It's very nice.† I exchanged astonished looks with Peter, Cody, and Hugh. Simone's bland demeanor hadn't lit up exactly, but she'd suddenly become 2 percent more interesting. She wasn't infatuated with Carter the way Cody was with Gabrielle. She was just trying to bag an angel. Good luck with that, I thought. That was ballsy for any succubus. Certainly angels fell because of love and sex – Jerome was living proof – and I'd even witnessed it once. But Carter? If ever there was a staunchly resistant being, it was him. Except when it came to chain-smoking and hard liquor, of course. Yes, things with Simone had definitely gotten more interesting. â€Å"Sure,† said Carter. â€Å"I bet you could show me all sorts of places off the beaten path.† â€Å"Absolutely,† she replied. â€Å"You know, there's an inn there that George Washington had dinner at once.† I rolled my eyes. I doubted there was any part of Charleston she could show Carter that he didn't know about. Carter had been around to watch cities like Babylon and Troy rise and fall. For all I knew, he'd personally helped take down Sodom and Gomorrah. â€Å"So what kind of action did you have in mind?† I asked Carter. As entertaining as Simone's pathetic flirtation might be, I wasn't sure I was up to American History 101 tonight. â€Å"I am not playing ‘Have You Ever' again.† â€Å"Better,† he said. Out of nowhere, Carter produced Pictionary. And when I say out of nowhere, I meant it. â€Å"No,† said Hugh. â€Å"I spent years perfecting my illegible doctor's signature. I've totally lost any artistic aptitude whatsoever.† â€Å"I love Pictionary,† said Simone. â€Å"I think I have some things to do,† I added. I felt a shove on my shoulder and glanced around in surprise, seeing nothing. Then, I knew. Roman apparently still wanted me to entertain him. I sighed. â€Å"But I can stay for a little while.† â€Å"Great. That settles it,† said Carter. He turned to Peter. â€Å"You got an easel?† Of course Peter did. Why, I had no clue, but after he'd bought a Roomba and a Betamax player, I'd learned not to ask questions. We split into teams: me, Cody, and Hugh against the others. I went first. The card I drew was â€Å"Watergate.† â€Å"Oh, come on,† I said. â€Å"This is ridiculous.† â€Å"Don't whine,† said Carter, his grin annoyingly smug. â€Å"We all take a random chance here.† They started the timer. I drew some remedial waves that immediately got a â€Å"Water!† from Cody. That was promising. Then, I drew what I hoped looked like a wall with a door in it. Apparently, I did too good a job. â€Å"Wall,† said Hugh. â€Å"Door,† said Cody. I added some vertical lines to the door to emphasize the gate aspect. After a moment's thought, I drew a plus sign between the water and wall to show their connection. â€Å"Aqueduct,† said Cody. â€Å"A bridge over troubled water,† guessed Hugh. â€Å"Oh my God,† I groaned. Unsurprisingly, my time ran out before my teammates could figure it out, though not before they guessed â€Å"Hoover Dam† and â€Å"Hans Brinker.† With a groan, I flounced onto the couch. The other team then got a shot at it. â€Å"Watergate,† said Carter right away. Hugh turned on me, face incredulous. â€Å"Why didn't you just draw a gate?† Simone went after me, and I hoped she'd get â€Å"Cuban Missile Crisis† or â€Å"Bohr's Law.† The timer started, and she drew a circle with lines radiating out from it. â€Å"Sun,† said Peter immediately. â€Å"Right!† she said. I glared at Carter. â€Å"You. Are. Cheating.† â€Å"And you're a bad loser,† he replied. We played for another hour, but after my team got â€Å"Oncology,† â€Å"The Devil and Daniel Webster,† and â€Å"War of 1812,† and theirs got â€Å"Heart,† â€Å"Flower,† and â€Å"Smile,† I decided to go home. At the door, I heard a wistful sigh in my ear. â€Å"You're on your own,† I growled to Roman in an undertone. I left amid protests about being a bad sport and considered myself lucky when Carter said they were going to play Jenga next. The drive back to West Seattle was quiet this time of night, and after parking underneath my building, I was happy to see that today's unseasonable heat still hung in the air. Being so close to the water had cooled it slightly, bringing it to a perfect nighttime temperature. On impulse, I walked across the street to the beach, which was actually more like a park: grassy with only a few feet of sand. In Seattle, there were few places that offered much more. Still, I loved the water and the soft sounds of waves against the shore. A light breeze stirred my hair, and those costly glittering lights shone in the distance. I'd moved here partially to get away from Queen Anne and its regular proximity to Seth, but also because the ocean always brought back memories of my mortal youth. Puget Sound was a far cry from the warm Mediterranean waters I'd grown up near, but it soothed something within me nonetheless. That comfort was bittersweet, of course, but it was an unfortunate tendency of mortals and immortals alike to gravitate toward things we knew would cause us pain. The water was enchanting, glittering in both moonlight and street light. I stared off at a lit ferry moving toward Bain-bridge Island, then returned my gaze to the lapping waves before me. They seemed to be choreographed into a dance, an alluring pattern that urged me to join in. I might not be able to draw, but dancing was an art I'd carried from my mortal days. The water beckoned, and I could almost hear the music it danced to. It was intoxicating, filled with warmth and love that promised to ease that constant dull ache in my chest, the ache I'd carried since losing Seth†¦. It wasn't until I was calf-deep in water that I realized what I had done. My high heels were sinking into the sand, and warm day or no, the water was still at a low temperature, its icy touch seeping into my skin. The world, which had before seemed dreamy and hazy, now snapped into sharp relief, no longer an inviting dance that promised comfort and pleasure. Fear sent my heart racing, and I hastily backed up, something that wasn't easy as the sand wrapped around my heels. I finally stepped out of them and reached down, pulling them up from the water and walking back to the shore barefoot. I stared out at the sound a few moments more, startled at how much it now scared me. How far would I have walked in? I didn't know and didn't want to think about it too hard. I turned and hastily headed toward my condo, oblivious to the rough asphalt against my feet. It wasn't until I was safely back in my living room – having locked the door behind me – that I felt some measure of safety. Aubrey walked up to me, sniffing my ankles and then licking the salty water that still clung to them. I'd had one drink almost two hours ago, a drink that had long metabolized out of my system. This had been no buzzed delusion – neither had last night's sleepwalking or near-balcony jump. I sat on my couch, arms wrapped around me. Everything around me seemed a threat. â€Å"Roman?† I asked aloud. â€Å"Are you here?† My only answer was silence. He was still out with Simone and probably wouldn't be back the rest of the night. I was astonished at how suddenly and desperately I wished he were here. My condo seemed lonely and ominous. Water had splashed against my dress, and I changed out of it, swapping it for the soft comfort of pajamas. I decided then that I wouldn't sleep. I'd wait in the living room for Roman. I needed to tell him what had happened. I needed him to guard my sleep. Yet, somewhere around four, my own fatigue overcame me. I stretched out along the couch, both cats curled against me, and gradually lost track of the infomercial on TV. When I woke, it was late morning, and sunlight warmed my skin. Roman was still gone. I hadn't been able to wait him out, but I was still on the couch. For now, that was the best I could hope for.

Corporate Social Responsibility & Wal-Mart

An overview of Wal-Mart. In 2005, parts of Louisiana had the worst flooding on record. Thousands of people's lives were in danger and millions of Americans watched in horror as thousands of Americans were lying in the street without the essentials of life, some were clinging to roof tops, and lying in the streets without food, clothing or shelter. Wal-Mart saw the need to step in and help and reach out. † Inspired by its role in helping Katrina victims, Wal-Mart looked at the impact a company its size could have throughout the world on a daily basis if it embraced corporate social responsibility† (CSR). Ferdinand p. 1) Recently, Haiti and Chili were hit with devastating earthquakes. Who is responsible to help? Wal-Mart felt socially responsible to help. Each business is responsible for having a code of conduct and acting in accordance of its economics, commercial and social goals. Ethical standards should be a part of all businesses. The goal is to practice ethical behavi or and always have an intention to being honest, fair and truthful. This is being socially responsible.Social Responsibility is: â€Å"Obligation of an organization's management towards the welfare and interests of the society which provides it the environment and resources to survive and flourish, and which is affected by the organization's actions and policies† (Business dictionary). Walmart has accepted social responsibility as a part of its organization. It has worked very hard in the past several years to show how it is not just responsible for its employees, but it is also socially responsible to help a society that needs its products and services on many levels.Jag will explain the policies and procedures of social responsibility. Wal-Mart's mission statement: â€Å"Saving people money, so they can live better† speaks to the value that Walmart places in corporate social responsibility. Walmart has a philosophy of operating globally while giving back locally. Acc ording to Wal-Mart's corporate website, Walmart provides â€Å"financial and volunteer support to more than 100,000 charitable and community-focused organizations†. The Walmart Foundation was developed to help support large and small organizations with programs that serve on state and national levels.In addition to monetary giving and in-kind donations, Walmart has set responsible sourcing initiatives with its global suppliers to create meaningful and positive change, both environmentally and socially. For example, Walmart is requiring â€Å"all direct import suppliers to source 95 percent of their production from factories that receive one of two highest audit ratings for social and environmental practices. † Furthermore, Walmart uses an approach called â€Å"Sustainability 360† which is a business strategy developed to minimize waste, increase efficiency and find ways to support communities and suppliers that make the business successful.This approach involves redesigning its stores to be more energy efficient and produce lower greenhouse gas emissions, reducing its carbon footprint from its fleet of trucks, reducing plastic bag waste by offering reusable bags, encouraging suppliers to develop more environmentally friendly packaging of products to help reduce waste, and even training its Ethical Sourcing auditors to be tasked with supplier development, or special investigation functions. Furthermore, Walmart carries energy efficient products that are good for the environment, and ultimately help consumers save on energy bills.These products are featured in weekly promotions to help create awareness and educate on energy efficiency. For a company the size of Walmart, the need to be socially responsible is vital is sustaining business. Work Referenced: Business Dictionary. (2010) Social Responsibility. Retrieved December 6, 2010, from http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/social-responsibility. html Ferdinand, A. (2007) Wal-Mart d etermined to lead in Corporate responsibility. Retrieved December 6, 2010, http://www. mccombs. utexas. edu/news/pressreleases/Blackwell07. asp

College tuition Essay

College tuition soars, but aid grows along with it, students are paying up to 9% more to attend school. It is said that the lifetime earnings of a college graduate is at 1 million more than the overall earnings of someone with only a high school diploma. So in the end something good is coming out of spending the money to graduate from college. How are the students affected and how may it affect schools, why is tuition increasing, and what are the colleges doing with the revenues they receive. Students are affected by this increase because they are forced to take out larger loans, work full time or may even have to take fewer classes. They face opportunity costs because they are willing to sacrifice working for school hoping that school will help them more in the end. This increase not only affects the student, but the parents as well, that means that taxpayers are subsidizing a smaller share of the cost of their state universities, while students and their parents are paying an even larger slice. State funding now accounts for about 36% of revenues at public colleges, down from 45% in 1980, while tuition accounts for 19% of state university revenue, up from 13% twenty years ago. Tuition, room and board, plus the cost of books transportation and other expenses have all increased. States have been warned for months of big tuition increases because falling state revenues have forced them to cut the subsidies they provide their public universities. Colleges both public and private attribute rising tuition because of increase in faculty salaries and rising technology also construction costs. Students want better computer labs, high speed internet connections, lavish dormitories, and high tech fitness centers somebody has to pay for these accommodations after all there is â€Å"no free lunch†. Tuition at public colleges just took its biggest jump in a quarter century. Tuition at four-year public colleges and universities is up to 9. 6% from a year ago, or about seven times the rate of inflation. Private college tuition increased by 5. 8% and tuition at community colleges where laid off workers go for retraining during a weak economy. Increased by 7. 9%. Private college tuition rose to an average $18,273 but combined with living costs, books and transportation, that comes to a total of 27, 677 a year, community colleges remained the higher education bargain at 1,735 but when other costs are added, even they total $10, 458. College tuition soars, but aid grows along with it students are paying up to 9% more to attend school. Prices may be going up for tuition, but it seems like its for a good cause when the money is used to improve campus living and student well being. Students and parents may be paying an extra 7-9%, but financial aid has also increased to those who really need financial assistance. The price jumps for four year public colleges was an increase of 9. 6%, four year private college 5. 8%, and community college7. 9% these increases could be accredited to the increase of staff. Hopefully when the students graduate, they will make all the money back they spent, and plus more.

Humanity sammary 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Humanity sammary 1 - Essay Example She prays to Artemis, asking to be killed so that she could be with Odysseus in the Underworld. Penelope’s cries wakes up Odysseus, who prays to Zeus to give him a sign, and was reciprocated with a bang of thunder from Zeus. Odysseus asks for another sign and this time, one of Odysseus maids asks that this be the suitors last day. These signs were enough to encourage Odysseus to avenge himself on the suitors. Telemakhos gets up and the house springs to life as he puts on his full array. Eurykleia tells the maids to clean the house and fetch water for a feast day. Men went inside, bringing firewood, while the swineherd brings pigs, and the goatherd and two shepherds bring goats. Melanthios insults the beggar, who is actually Odysseus, but Odysseus restrains himself from fighting back. Philoitios was much kinder as he extends a warm welcome to the beggar saying that he reminds him of his master, Odysseus. Philoitios mentions that he also wants the suitors to be gone because they were making excessive demands on his cattle. The beggar tells him that Odysseus will soon come to kill them and to this, Philoitios replies that Odysseus can count on his help. Meanwhile, the suitors plot to kill Telemakhos, when an eagle with a dove in its talons flies by and so they drop the plan. Telemakhos seats Odysseus alone and warns the suitors to keep their hands and tongues to themselves. However, Athena prompts the suitors to continue abusing Odysseus and so Ktesippos throws a cow’s foot which did not hit Odysseus. Telemekhos becomes angry and threatens Ktesippos and the other suitors. The suitors conceded and agreed not to make fun of the beggar anymore. Then, Agelaos tells Telemakhos to talk with his mother and encourage her to marry one of them. Telemakhos says that he does encourage his mother but cannot force her. To this, the suitors burst out with laughter. Then, Theoklymenos the visionary tells

Principles of Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Principles of Human Resource Management - Essay Example The current labor market in the UK has grown steadily in accordance with the employment rate and the number of people employed from the years of 1995 to 2008 according to the Labor force survey published in the Blue book 2008. The office of National Statistics 2008 reports, "Employment tends to react to changes in out put with a lag because of the costs of hiring and firing workers. Therefore, it is not surprising that weaker output growth has not caused large falls in employment. Moreover, in the first instance, employers can vary labor input through the number of hours worked, rather than laying off workers." The construction industry today in the United Kingdom consists of over 250 000 firms employing over 2.1 million people. This huge work force is spread over a multitude of namely construction materials and products suppliers and producers, contractors, sub- contractors, professionals, advisors and construction clients. The United Kingdom construction output contributes 8.2% to the GVA (Gross Value Added) of the EU nations, which is the second largest. Below is the trend in the UK labor market represented in a graph. The graph, derived from figures published in the Blue Book 2008 reveal the labor employed in thousands across industries from the Year 1999 until 2007. It is a depiction of the Labor force trend in the UK. The graph showing an upward tren... Source: Fig 2.5 Pg 104 Blue book 2008 The above graph reflects a trend that has been steadily climbing over the years. However, the recent economic turmoil and the rise in the inflation have led to a complete crash of the housing industry affecting construction as a business and the employment in turn. The Olympics 2012 that proposes massive opportunities for this industry does not seem to stir or spur vibrant business in this sector as the people's daily reports "Builders of the 2012 Olympics facilities will have to compete for skilled workers due to a shortage in the labor market, according to Financial Times on Thursday. Construction Skills, a council established by the government to ensure that the industry has enough qualified workers, estimates that building for the Olympics will create 33,500 extra construction jobs over the next years. The peak year for employment would be 2010 when 7,500 workers would be needed, the council said. The construction industry forecast it needed 88,000 new recruits a year even before the Olympics were awarded to London." The above report indicates a shortage of labor in the UK for the construction business. Here's another report from the 'Thomson Financial' explaining the situation even more. The British construction industry has shown a"meek response" towards bidding for London 2012 Olympics projects which in turn could lead to a failure to achieve best value for money on the games, a group of British MPs said Wednesday. In a report, the committee said the 2012 games "represent a massive challenge for the construction industry". "The scale of the programme is twice that of Heathrow's recently opened Terminal 5, but must be delivered in half the time. It will use between

-Factors influencing on tourist's purchasing decision Essay

-Factors influencing on tourist's purchasing decision - Essay Example In applying this approach, the authors were able to establish that the 9/11 attacks significantly affected the tourists’ decisions in their travel plans (Arana and Leon, 2008). I understand from the study that tourists’ decisions were filled with anxiety mostly triggered by terrorist shock. Profits also declined because of terrorist considerations for tourists. The purchasing prospects were however improved in terms of quality of tourism products, especially the quality of the urban environment (Arana and Leon, 2008). Improvements in tourist decisions to travel were however improved after six to twelve months after terrorist events. The importance of therefore reducing the number of terrorist attacks is therefore an important consideration in tourist’s purchasing decisions. Moreover, where the potential for avoiding any terror risks is low, the impact on tourist decisions is high. Thereby, the tourist would again likely avoid the tourist destination (Arana and Leon, 2008). For which reason, continuous bomb attacks in Israel’s coffeeshops affected tourist’s decisions to choose Israel as a destination. There was a constant and persistent risk for being killed by a terrorist bomb in Israel, and so the decisions for avoidance were high among tourists. The image associated with the terrorist attacks also affected tourist behaviour, leading to avoidance tendencies on destinations with a high Islamic population (Arana and Leon, 2008). This study was able to establish specific concepts about tourist behaviour in relation to terrorism and terrorist attacks. In the current age where the biggest threat to national security is terrorism, tourists have become understandably wary of places with these significant and blatant threats. The September 11 attacks exhibited a significant impact on tourist behaviour, but the impact has been temporary. However, the more persistent said attacks become, the more cautious tourists also

Planting and maintaining trees in tough sites Term Paper

Planting and maintaining trees in tough sites - Term Paper Example One of the main researches that were made by this field was the identification and recognition of the characteristics of land that make it tough for trees plantation. A number of characteristics have been identified that make a land a ‘tough site’. CHARACTERISTICS OF TOUGH SITES: 1. POORLY DRAINED SOIL: The drainage of the soil is the main category to consider the toughness of a site for plantation purposes. A site is said to contain well-drained soil if it is capable of draining column of water of 24-inch in 24 hours or less. A test for this purpose is conducted through digging a 24-inch deep hole in the land and filling it with water. It is then examined whether the water is drained in 24 hours or not. If the water is not fully drained even after 24 hours, the soil is deemed to be poorly drained. 2. DROUGHTY SOILS: The soil is said to be droughty soil if the drainage rate is very high and a 24-inch water column is drained in very few minutes. The content of organic mat ter is also very less in droughty soils, sometimes lesser than 1%. This can be calculated by a laboratory test. 3. ALKALINE SOIL: The alkalinity of soil is also considered to determine the toughness of a site. A soil with higher value of PH (PH>7.0) is considered to be alkaline. It is important to note here that most of the trees grow better in acidic soil with PH

Urbanization of Human Population Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Urbanization of Human Population - Essay Example Human beings exceed in capacity than any other community of animals. The behavior of human beings is now compared to those of insects. The speed in growth of human population is not appreciated because it is becoming detrimental. Before the year 1850, there was no community that was urbanized until the year 1900 when Great Britain was recognized as an urbanized community. Currently all industrial countries are urbanized, and they have a rapid population growth (Davis, 5). The world as a whole is not fully urbanized, but it will be in recent years. Even the most urbanized countries show some signs of rural origins, and this is a sign of rapid urbanization. The entire impacts of man’s organic and social revolution can only be guessed. Urbanization is the total population living in urban cities. It is incorrect to assume urbanization to be the growth of cities. The movie industrial revolution shows that cities can grow without urbanization as long as rural population grows at a greater rate (Palmer). The movie also shows people have a misconception of the term urbanization because growth of cities and urbanization has occurred together. It is therefore, important to differentiate the two terms. For instance, the most advanced countries are experiencing growth in urban population yet their population is diminishing. The process of urbanization that involves concentration of human beings in cities has a beginning, and an end but the development of cities has no end. The major difference between a rural village and an urban c ommunity is their system of operation, which changes from one nation to another. The movie power and the people describe the major problem as not identifying the floor of urbanization, but it is identifying the boundaries that define an urban area. The people living within a certain political boundary (John, 15) determined the population of a city. The urban population in advanced countries has been spilling over political boundaries. The outward spread of the population made based on political boundaries does not offer a precise estimate of the city population since it exaggerates rural population. It is a major concern that many years between the emergences of small cities with that of urbanized city. It is also curious that places where urbanization originated are not the places that gave rise to major cities of the past. On the contrary, these places are known to have had low urbanization growth. Northern areas of Europe were very rural in the medieval period that it was difficu lt to understand urbanization. The nonurban nature of towns erased the parasitic culture of towns that eventually provided a basis for revolution. The adverse conditions that were a predicament for the age to come were low production in medieval agriculture in the acre and man term. The other reason was the feudal social system. The first reason implied that towns could not develop on local agriculture alone, and they needed to trade and manufacture items for trading. The second reason meant that they could not gain political dominance over their neighborhood. Therefore, it was rational for them to specialize in commerce and manufacture items for trading. Artisans were given houses in towns because they manufactured commodities and controlled prices of products. There was competition between towns that resulted in specialization

Nutrition, Physical Activity and Weight Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Nutrition, Physical Activity and Weight - Essay Example From this study it is clear that  evidence based messages to promote healthy nutrition in adolescents should target food groups, snacks, meals, fast food and beverages. Teenagers should ensure that their diet contains a variety of foods such as grains, meat, poultry, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, and nuts to accommodate their growth requirements of minerals, vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Daily 5 servings of fruits and vegetables are recommended.This paper highlights that energy dense-nutrient poor foods such as fried potato chips, biscuits and cakes lead to a lower intake of fruits and vegetables and are more likely to be associated with consumption of other energy dense-nutrient poor foods like colas. Energy drinks and soft drinks should be consumed in limited quantity because of their high caffeine and sugar content. Current research suggests that reducing consumption of sugar sweetened and carbonated drinks can help in obesity prevention. Instead, water in take should be increased. They should be taught to read the labels before consuming packaged and processed foods regarding calories, fat and sodium content of the product and choose accordingly and wisely. Also, difference in home cooked and processed food can be explained and reasons for ‘eating out’ analysed.  Adolescents should be explained about the benefits of staying physically active and how it can be achieved. Teenagers should be encouraged to take part in sports and other physical activities at school.

Health and Safety Program Essay Example for Free

Health and Safety Program Essay With the aim to align with the standards set by the OSHA and ensure employee safety and protection, the company has decided to create a (1) formal safety program for employees and (2) reduce workers’ compensation cost. Given such changes, the company shall elaborate on important guidelines and information needed by each employee to actively avail of such incentives. The next section will highlight the coverage of such amenities and benefits Workers’ Compensation and Safety The creation of the workers’ compensation and safety plan seeks to ensure a fair practice among the employers and the employees with the aim of creating compromise between two parties in each ones needs. The following are included in the overall program: 1. Rehabilitation of Injured Employee 2. Insurance Coverage 3. Cost Allocation Workers Compensation Insurance With the formalization of compensation policies, the company will provide insurance to its employees based on the following: a. the company will use self-insurance as its form of option b. the determinant for premium rates shall be computed based on a manual rating and shall be determined by the Manager of Health and Safety Please note that casual employees (part-time) and contractors subcontractors are not subject to such changes. Coverage of Insurance and Safety Benefits The company will compensate workers and shoulder the expenses of employees who fit in the following categories: (1) Out of Employment Injuries, (2) Injuries during course of employment, (3) temporary disability and (4) permanent disability. With such initiative in mind, the company seeks to extend its arm towards its employees and wishes to assure each one that their welfare is taken care of. For the benefit of the workers and the growth of the company.

Samsung Organisational Structure

Samsung Organisational Structure Samsung was named by Lee Byung-chul, founder of Samsung Electronics when he established the Samsung Trading Company on March, 1938. Sam in Samsung is defined as strong, abundant and big; while Sung means high and bright. (Chnag, J. H., 2010) Interestingly, Samsungs origin was not involving electronics. Initially, Chairman Lee set up a trade export company in Korea that sold fish, vegetables, and fruit to China. Start from 1958, Samsung began to expand into other industries such as media, financial, ship building and chemicals and Samsung Electronics was established under subsidiary of Samsung Group in 1969. (Samsung History) The company then expanded to semiconductor business and became the first chip-making facilities in the country during that time. Samsung Electronics focused on four areas which are digital media, semiconductor, telecommunication network and LCD digital appliances. (Wikipedia, 2012) In 1993, the lightest mobile phone of its era was developed. (Samsung History) Fin ally, it surpassed Sony to become worlds twentieth-largest and most popular brand. Samsung was the worlds largest manufacturer of OLEDs with 40% market share worlds wide and 90% share of global AMOLED market. More than 600 American patents and 2800 international patent are owned by Samsung Electronics in 2006 that makes it as the largest owner of AMOLED technology patents. The company also became the second-largest mobile-phone maker beating Motorola in 2007 for the first time. In 2009, it became worlds largest technology company overtaking Hewlett-Packard measure by sales. In 2010, it produces 30 nm-class DRAMs and 20 nm-class NAND flashes which were the first time in the world. At 2011, it is the worlds largest mobile phone maker and second-largest semiconductor chip maker. Samsung Electronics became the largest smartphone vendor due to sales of Galaxy SII and Galaxy Note devices. (Wikipedia, 2012) Contents: Mechanistic organization is a bureaucratic organization which adheres to the chain-of-command principle, with each person controlled and supervised by one superior. The structure of this organization is taller than organic organization. Also, many rules are developed and the decision making process is centralized. Each employee has fixed duties and the communication channels are formalized in such rigid hierarchical relationship. Samsung Electronics is a type of mechanistic organizational structure because it has rigid hierarchical relationships. Figure 1 and figure 2 show the chain of command in the company, which extending from upper organizational levels to lower level that clarifies who reports to whom. Figure 2 shows that there are lots of departments under the control of Chief Executive Office. Employees have their fixed duties in respective department. For instance, employees who are specialized in producing chips are working under chips manufacturer whereas employees who are highly skilled in producing mobile phones are working under mobile phone manufacturer. (Robbins, DeCenzo, and Coulter, 2012) These two figures also clearly show that Samsung Electronics is composed of tall organizational structure. All of the powerful authorities are held by the top management of the company which is Lee Kun Hee , the chairman of the Samsung Electronics with the help of the Office of Secretaries and sometimes referred to as emperor management or dictatorship. (Chang, S. J., 2008) Office of Secretaries helped chairman to control an d direct the individual affiliates. Their main function are finance and accounting, auditing, planning, public relations, and human resource management, including the hiring and firing of all executives within the organization. Even the important strategic decision and sizable investment decision have to be examined by the office first. The percentage of decision made by the chairman is 20%; by Office of Secretaries is 40%; by affiliate presidents is 40%.(Chang, S. J., 2008)In other word, all of the important decisions are decided by the chairman, Office of Secretaries and affiliate presidents. As such, Samsung Electronics implement centralized decision authority. The communication channel of Samsung Electronics is formalized. Formalization describes how an organizations jobs are standardized and the extent to which employee behavior is guided by rules and procedures. This element makes the process of succession routine and regular. Thus, there will be minimal disturbance to an organization function if there are people being replaced. In Samsung, the personnel function is under CFO while CFO reports to and receives orders from CEO. (Chang, S. J., 2008) For instance, when the company needs to make an investment, the proposal is written by the related business unit. Then, the proposal is reviewed by the finance department, which is then passed to finance team of Office of Secretaries after CFO reports the proposal to CEO. Finally, the proposal is approved by Office of Secretaries and Chairman. (Chang, S. J., 2008) Many rules could be found in Samsung Electronics and this match with the characteristic of mechanistic organization. According to Samsung Electronics Global Code of Conduct, all the employees should follow the codes and the business principles to comply with laws and ethical practices as well as to express their commitment to social responsibility. (Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. [SECL], 2006) The global code of conduct is served as behavioral guidelines and judgmental standards for the employees, which encompass the elimination of nationality or gender discrimination, transparent disclosure of business information, customer information protection and partner collaboration. For example, according to principle 2-2-2 from the Global Code of Conduct, the company will ensure that any proprietary information acquired through its business activities shall be recorded and safely kept and managed as intellectual property. In 2011, zero-tolerance principle was declared in all cases of miscondu ct and unethical business on Law Day. All employees and executives have to sign a pledge of compliance to agree of taking responsibility for any violation or misconduct. (Soung, S. S., Eui, H. J., Dae, S. P., Jin, Y. L. Yun, J. S., 2012) Planning: Planning includes defining goals, establishing strategy, and developing plans to coordinate activities. In Samsung, their vision is set by the top management that is Inspire the world, create the future. This vision 2020 shows that their commitment in inspiring the world by improving their three key strengths which are New Technology, Innovative Products, Creative Solutions and also promotes Samsung Electronics core network which are industry, partners and employees with the effort to contribute a better world and with lot of experiences for all. Besides, Samsung also aims to achieve one of the top five brands in the world by 2020 and established three strategic approaches in management which are creativity, partnership and talent. (Vision, 1995-2012) Leading: Leading includes motivating employees, directing the activities of others, selecting the most effective communication channel, and resolving conflicts. Office of Secretaries takes the leading role in Samsung as they carry out coordination whenever there are conflicts happen. (Chnag, J. H., 2010) However, the synergies may be created via involuntary cooperation or fiat as the business units have to accept its resolution. (Chang, S. J., 2008) Also, the Secretarial Offices spread company philosophy and improve business coordination and information, which are shared among affiliates. (Chnag, J. H., 2010) The employees of this company are motivated by the philosophy of living by strong values is the key to good business. Those values encompass people, excellence, change, integrity and co-prosperity, together with the Samsung code of conduct are the radical for them to make every decision. (About Samsung, 1995-2012) Organizing: Organizing includes determining what tasks are to be done, who is to do them, how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom, and who will make the decisions. Samsung Electronics has a strong business division structure that is managed independently by business unit managers. The company is divided into five sectors, which are Digital Media, Semiconductors, Telecommunications, Digital Appliances and LCDs. Within these sectors, there are 13 Global Business Managers (GBM) who responsible to organize the firm along major product divisions in terms of personnel, sales, and production within their respective divisions. (Chang, S. J., 2008) Employees are divided according to their specialize and skills into different tasks to increase work output. (Robbins et al., 2012) Any proposal of investment that is written by GBM should be reviewed by the finance department, followed by CFO. Then, CFO reports to CEO. Finally, the proposal is approved by Office of Secretaries and Chairman. (Chan g, S. J., 2008) Controlling: Controlling includes monitoring performance, comparing it with goals, and correcting any significant deviations. In Samsung, the overall performances of BOD, CEO and employees are controlled by Audit Committee, which has a broad range of audit right from top to bottom. (Ethics Management, 1995-2008) For example, they have the right to inquire about financial reports from the BOD and employees at any time, the right to claim to suspend illegal activity of the company BOD member, the right to call a general shareholders meeting and so on. There are also separate audit teams that under the direct control of CEO with the responsible of encouraging employees to adhere to the practice of management by ethics. (Ethics Management, 1995-2008) A) What seem to be the most important things leading to the success of the Samsung Electronics? To be successful, Samsung Electronics is going global. Samsung Electronics is pushing the Galaxy S smartphone to challenge Apple Inc.s iPhone and narrow the gap with leader Nokia Oyj. It helped Samsung Electronics quadruple annual revenue to139 trillion won ($ 116 million) in the 10 years that ended in 2009. Samsung Electronics shares rose 10-fold during that time. (Lee, Y., 2010) Also, Samsung Electronics has the good planning skills as they able to see the business opportunity in the industry and set the particular goals to pursue. They able to spot the areas, which are small but growing fast. (Samsung, 2011) Such areas that spotted by Samsung are capital-intensive. Thus, it is difficult for their rivals to keep up. First, Samsung will tiptoe into the technology in the industry to get familiar with it. Then, they will wait for the suitable moment that the window of opportunity opens. For example, in 2001, Samsung catch the opportunity of rapid growth of the liquid-crystal displays that cause the dive of the price. They turned the liquid-crystal displays into televisions. (Samsung, 2011) Samsung Electronics is innovative in software and David Yoffie, a professor at Havard Business School in Boston said Leading radical innovation in the technology world today requires strength in software, not just hardware. (Lee, Y., 2010). Samsung Electronics has grown by studying their rivals to improve manufacturing and design. Samsung electronics also hired a group of Japanese Design Consultant to evaluate Samsung designers. Besides, their experienced designers are sent to work abroad in diverse industries. By doing this, Samsung design strategy could involve several initiatives and they began to implement a global brand communication strategy. As new technologies are being constantly introduced to the market, Samsung engineers strive to understand what customers need ahead of competitors and adjust their thinking to develop original and innovative products that will meet those needs as well as new technologies to lead the future market. Thus, the new markets had pioneered contin uously by them. (Samsung Electronics: Success By Design, 2008) B) What do you see as the major challenges facing by Samsung Electronics over the next five years? The major challenge that will be faced by Samsung Electronics over the next five years is how to build a stronger and better global brand. This is why the Samsungs global marketing director need to assess in how to build the global brand reputation of the company further and upgrade the companys worldwide brand image to compete with Apple brand which has dominated the market share especially in Western Europe. The challenge of Samsungs marketing director is the branding strategies in global markets and the marketing team has to examine the organizational dynamics to develop a stronger global brand that recognized by worldwide. Another challenge that will be faced by Samsung Electronics is the competition over the market share especially in smart phone. In this fast paced economic conditions, Samsung need to continue produce more and more of the smart phone with improved version and attractive design to meet with the rapid economic growth. The company needs to invest and introduce more of the new technology and incorporate the software and application into the new gadgets so that it will not lose out to another competitor. Innovation and creativity are important in this to attract the gadget lover and if the company fails to come out with a new and appealing product, they will be overcome by another competitor such as Apple, HTC or Nokia. Findings: Samsung electronics have a centralized structure making the top management own the authorities and powers over all the important decisions. This make the decision making process fast and swift and can carry out quickly. In this way, organization is more efficient as implementation of any plans, ideas or policies can be carried out quickly without any delay and this is very important especially to deal with the fast paced economic and competition in market. This is supported by a study in journal by Choong Y.Lee. (Choong, Y. L., 2012) However, overly centralization in organization is also not good for the company. All of the important decisions are made by the top management while the middle and first line management cannot voice out their opinions but to follow the order of the top. If the decision made by the top management is incorrect, it can affect the company business and thus lowering the company profits. Therefore, a good leadership is important to lead the company. This is su pported by the professor Chang Sea-Jin which stated there is no guarantee that good leader will sustain and even they can make mistake as well in his book review. (Chang, S. J., 2008) Samsung Electronics are having hierarchical management structure which reflects the importance of seniority in the Korean culture. The hierarchical structure brings synergy when things are going well but could potentially be disastrous if one part of the process goes away from planned. (Kim, J.C., 2012) This is supported by Professor John Kotter in his article Havard Business Review that hierarchical organizational are often inflexible. Hierarchical organization work in standardized processes but does not useful in dynamic environments. They are slow to react to new opportunities, which often require transformative change. (Basu, C., 2012) Also, according to researchers G.M. Stalker and T. Burns, mechanistic organizations use hierarchical top-down structures while organic organizations use more flexible structures and work best in fluid and unpredictable business climates.ÂÂ  Organic structures depend on personal interactions rather than a formal chain of command that allow the organization to respond quickly and effectively to changing circumstances in ways that the hierarchical structure cannot. Samsung Electronics should make it business to understand such structure so that it can have the benefits of both. (Thompson, S., 2012) Samsung Electronics has many rules and regulations that are governed by the top managers of the organization. When the top managers are unable to control the lower-level activities, they themselves will substitute the rules and regulations. Since they have the authority to hire and fire the executives and employees in the organization anytime, the employees have to accept the tasks given by the managers and follow whatever they said. Employees are constantly observed and monitored by top managers during their working period to ensure that they are not making any mistakes or violating the rules. Consequently, fatigue are accumulated when employees are working under such great pressures that known as organizational fatigue. Moreover, employees of Samsung Electronics have to comply the Global Code of Conduct, which consists of a number of principles. (SECL, 2006) For instance, under principle 1-4-1, it stated that employees shall not attribute their personal political opinions and conduct to the company, or cause such opinions or conduct to be attributed to the company. Besides, principle 2-4-3 showed that the company will not allow its officers and employees, while in office, to act as number of boards of company with conflicts of interest or participate in competitive business activities. (SECL, 2006) There are still a large amount of rules and principles that the employees should comply with and that can be referred from the Global Code of Conduct, 2006. The management of Samsung Electronics is known as fear-based management. The employees have to be loyal to their company in order to stay in the company. However, organizational fatigue will bring negative effects to the company. If the employees or executives are dismissed against their wills for any reasons by the top managers such as the chairman or the Office of Secretaries, their anger will lead to their betrayal and loss their loyalty. (Chang, S. J., 2008) There were several cases on which the employees of Samsung Electronics tried to sell the proprietary technologies to Samsungs competitors and to other companies. (Chang, S. J., 2008) Conclusion: In a nutshell, Samsung Electronics has a mechanistic organizational structure as it has rigid hierarchical relationships and tall organizational structure. In the company, each employee has fixed duties and they have to follow lots of rules. Also, the decision making process is centralized and the communication channel is formalized. In Samsung, the goals or visions are planned by the top management. Office of Secretaries takes the leading role as they responsible to solve the conflicts as well as help the chairman to control and direct the individual affiliates. Besides, they also spread the company philosophy to motivate the employees. Samsung Electronics is divided into Digital Media, Semiconductors, Telecommunications, Digital Appliances and LCDs, which are managed by business unit managers. The overall performances of Samsung Electronics organization are controlled by Audit Committee. In this assignment, we have learned the characteristics of the two types of organizational structures, which are mechanistic organization and organic organization that concern the work specialization, departmentalization, authority and responsible, centralization and decentralization, span of control and formalization. After analyzing these factors and searching all the related information of Samsung Electronics, we could conclude that this company is a mechanistic organization. Thus, our analyzing ability could be strengthen when carry out this assignment. Besides, we have a better understanding to recognize and differentiate these two organization models. Furthermore, more knowledge about this company could be gained during the research.

Sex Differences In The Brain Psychology Essay

Sex Differences In The Brain Psychology Essay There has been ongoing debate and research on the differences between the male and female brain by endless amounts of researches. According to a few researches (Leonard et al., 2009), not much has been researched to show a sex difference in terms of behavioural. While many or some still believe that women and men think and act the same, there are actually some differences in each others brains that show otherwise. According to one Geary (1998), the development of sex differences are through sexual selection which relates to sex hormones and also sex differences in the brain. The main debate on this particular topic would be that both gender are equal in terms of thought , skills and life strengths. There also have been arguments giving theories that women and somewhat better than men in certain skills while men are better in certain skills than women. Some may question the importance of undergoing research on this debate but it is of utter most importance to discover the strength and weakness of both genders in order to achieve a better living environment. It can be seen in both male and female that there are differences between the brains through their behaviour, personality traits and life skills and their much stronger abilities. In terms of abilities, it can be seen in their visuospatial, verbal and quantitative abilities. This is shown through ones individual behaviour. For males, an example would be in terms of their visuospatial abilities which include object rotation (Nisbett et al., 2012). In other words, it is where they are able to imagine how an object would appear when rotated (Quinn Liben, 2012). Example would be in a particular subject requiring imagining object rotation in Video Games. Men are more likely to be able to create a game faster compared to women because of this particular ability and that may be the reason why men are usually the hunters. For there is a need of visuospatial abilities in hunting, which might explain this phenomena. As for women, they are more likely to score higher in verbal abilities such a s speech fluency and memory abilities (Nisbett et al., 2012). This may be the reason why women have a higher tendency to be giving speeches in any form without compromise. Although we may say that there are no differences, it is already shown through some research that differences among men and women can be seen. Besides that, there is another individual difference between both men and women which would be in terms of intelligence of different fields. The structure and organization of both male and female brains are similar but through deeper inspection, it can be seen that some parts of the brain between the male and female are differ from one another (Giedd, Castellanos, Rajapakse, Vaituzis, Rapoport, 1997). Another individual difference which can be seen would be aggression. Men tend to be more aggressive than women in terms of how they show it. It shows that men tend to be direct with their aggression. But as for women, they tend to show their aggression indirectly. A good example would be through gossips, straight forward remarks and many more. This shows that their aggression would be through words rather than physical harm. Before this there were arguments on why the treatment between men and women are different where men were treated much better than women in terms of given opportuni ties. This would lead to the idea of stereotyping between men and women. Although it shows that there are differences, the action of splitting both gender into their own groups might lead them to stereotyping and it wouldnt be healthy for both genders. In some way, through these research, it can be said explained that there is a difference between both genders but to some extent. These research act as guidelines in terms of assigning work or tasks depending on their strongest ability and knowing their limitations might help increase the chances of a better performance in a group, team or taskforce. There are also debates going around about effects of cultural differences upon the sex differences of the brain. In the opinion of Baron-Cohen (2005) culture and socialization has a part in affecting the male and female brain in terms of strengthening a certain area, for example their systematic side for the guys and emphatic side for the girls. But there are a few studies on infancy which strongly suggests that biological factors play an important role in developing a persons brain. According to Neisser et al. (1996), the influence on behaviour of postnatal and prenatal hormones are there, which also includes influence on cognition and personality and character of a male and female. It is said that sex hormones has an effect on human cognition in life, which might explain the why older women have better fluency in their verbal abilities (Wolf Kirschbaum, 2002, as cited in Nisbett et al., 2012). This is because a higher estrogen levels effect the verbal abilities of a person. As for males, if one were to be born with IHH (Idiopathic Hypogonadotrophic Hypogonadism), they would most likely have small testes which would explain why they would be doing badly in the more spatial parts when it comes to systemizing a task compared to normal males. Besides that, a male with AI (Androgen Insensitivity) Syndrome, they would also be doing worse in systemizing compared a normal male. Through the few research stated above, it can be seen that hormones play a big role in developing both female and male brains. There is an assumption or conclusion where there are absolutely no sex differences in the brain between both male and female (Jensen, 1998 as cited in Nisbett et al., 2012). There are some researches who supported this conclusion by conducting a 42 mental ability test (Johnson Bouchard, 2007, as cited in Nisbett et al., 2012). It is said that there are no differences between the sexes yet a contradicting statement says however, several test showed a difference between male and female (Nisbett et al., 2012). This may be caused by certain limitations faced by the experimenter during the time of research for different periods of time use different method. Some better than the other due to the increasing development in research method as time passes. Besides that, there are research that says that there are sex differences in behaviour. And a research supports that saying there was very little evidence to support the fact that there are sex differences in behaviour (Chiarello et al., 2 009). Little can be said about the behaviour as one could easily be influenced by the environment that they have been raised in. But in the way of thought and certain skill set, it can be seen there is a difference in the brain between both male and female. There are new theories that have been brought to light at this time period. One of them would be the empathizing-systemizing (E-S) theory. This theory states that the female brain tends to be more stronger in terms of empathy while the male brains are more towards the understanding and building of systems (Baron-Cohen, 2005). To further understand this, we must know the meaning of empathizing and systemizing. Empathizing helps a person able to source out someone elses emotions and thoughts while being able to interpret it to give the right emotional response. These people usually try to find out how a person feels rather than what they are doing thus making them more sensitive and able to care for them well. As for systemizing, it is the motivation or drive to explore and analyze the system, to be able to think out of the box and see the unseen, imagining possibilities by just looking at one shape and how it would turn out to be once it has been completed. They are able to figure out the workings of the system, but sometimes using the rules as guidelines. Through this theory, it can be said that, a person, may it be male or female, has a certain type of brain. There are three categories in this brain type. The first would be a stronger empathizing ability than systemizing which is labelled as brain type E. The following one would be a stronger ability in systemizing, which is labelled as brain type S. It can also be known as the male brain because the majority gender that has this type of brains would be the male compared to the female. The last one would be the strong ability in both empathizing and systemizing. This is labelled as a balanced brain which falls under category brain type B. Through this research, it can be seen there is a significance difference between the male and female brain in certain areas. In terms of verbal abilities, women score higher in this section of the research while men score higher in visuospatial abilities and quantitative abilities. Although this research is ongoing and never ending as new theories and findings will come out, there is no harm in applying what has been found into the world today. For example would be at work. Certain work can be divided among different gender workers depending on their strongest ability. Some may be given the task to increase their knowledge and ability in that field. By doing so, there is a possibility of increasing productivity, teamwork, communication and development of the company and employees. There has to be a certain level of equality to avoid stereotyping from happening in the workplace. In schools it is better not to split genders and have only gender based education as it may bring harm to b oth male and female in terms of mental and psychological factors. This may make boys and girls stereotyping one another once they leave school. As this topic falls in the area of cognitive psychology and neuropsychology, it can help us learn more about each gender. This could benefit everyone in the long run and also avoid any thoughts of stereotyping or sexism among both genders in the working and studying environment. As a conclusion, through this research, it can be seen that there are sex differences in the brain between both genders but only in certain areas. The strengths of one gender might differ from the other. The study of sex differences in the brain may continue and the debate will go on. As this progresses, new theories and finding will come to light. The influence of external sources like the environment in which a person has grown also effects the differences in the brain. Besides that, biological factors would also greatly effect the development of a persons brain. Applying this into our current situation might help in future developments and also it could end the thought of stereotyping another gender. Furthermore, the rapid development of new technologies could help us understand more of these differences in the future and maybe the society would change and be more open to allowing the application of these research into our daily lives.

Java vs C :: Essays Papers

Java vs C1 Java or C++ – Which is Better for Businesses? Today, the world is changing fast in many ways, and the most rapid change that is seen within our society is technology. It is imperative that businesses stay on top of what is new and how they can better their company’s outlook by presenting their information in the fastest and most reliable ways. With the two major computer programming languages of today, C++ and Java, which is better for businesses to be able to acquire such speed and consistency? For years, C++ (C Plus Plus) has dominated the business market place for many different companies and has allowed many computer programmers to obtain vast amounts of knowledge and experience since 1972 when it was first developed by Dennis Ritchie of AT&T Bell Laboratories (Lambert / Nance Page 16). It has been in use for almost thirty years – not to mention the years before when it’s precursor C was developed and commonly used also – and has made a great impact on the development of software for business’ across the world. It has become a second nature programming language to those that use it and have been forced to stay with C++. The programming language C++ can be used in many ways. It has exploded into the gaming community allowing PC game programmers to have access to a stabile, yet powerful, programming language, utilizing as little code as possible. It has also been used in other commercial software, such as word processors, audio players, screen savers, and other computer desktop tools. Recently C++ has made its way into the Internet community. For over ten years, business’ have used C++ for their Internet needs, for example, sending and receiving important data pertaining to their business across the Internet and allowing it to quickly and safely reach the other end of communication and all in one piece. With the high demands of today’s Internet users, whether it be an online shopper or one that desires to seek information on a certain topic, it is essential that the information can be sent from the user, to the server, and then back again as swiftly as possible and with utmost dependability†¦ all, of course, without the loss of security. It has been this reason that C++ has stayed on top of the business world, allowing for speed, stability, security, and ease of use all for one computer programming language.

James Fenimore Cooper Essay -- essays research papers

James Fenimore Cooper was one of the pioneers in American novel writing. Cooper used the life and things he had experienced and turned them into best-selling novels that have held up throughout the years. He became famous with the publication of the wilderness adventures. Along with the success these books brought, so to came some criticism. To truly understand Coopers books you have to delve deeply into them and know from where he got the ideas for the stories. James Fenimore Cooper was born in Burlington, New Jersey on September 15th 1789 (â€Å"James Fenimore Cooper,† American Eras, n.p.). He was the eleventh child of William Cooper and Elizabeth Fenimore Cooper, whom he would later adopt part of his name from. His father was a land speculator, judge and Federalist politician (â€Å"James Fenimore Cooper†, DISCovering Biography, n.p.). In the early years of Fenimore Cooper’s life the family relocated from Burlington to the wilderness of Ostego Lake, New York. There, William Cooper built Ostego hall and developed the surrounding area as Cooperstown (â€Å"JFC†, DISCovering Biography, n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1803 James Fenimore Cooper entered Yale at the tender age of thirteen years. However his immaturity proved to be consequential as he was expelled for blowing up a classmate’s door with gunpowder (â€Å"JFC†, DISCovering Biography, n.p.). After his expulsion, presumably as a consequence for his actions, Cooper joined the Navy and sailed aboard the Stirling. On the ship he was witness to many adventures such as pursuit by pirates and British impressments of U.S. sailors (JFC, DISCovering Biography, n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In December of 1809 William Cooper died. However upon his death, he left James Cooper a large sum of money ($50,000). This money did not all go into Cooper’s pocket as he had to use some of it to care for his siblings (JFC, DISCovering Biography, n.p.). In May of the next year James would request a twelve-month break from the Navy to tend to family business. In his time from the Navy, Cooper met Susan Augusta DeLancey, the daughter of a country squire. They would marry on January 1, 1811 (JFC, DISCovering Biography, n.p.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cooper was an avid reader in his early adulthood. After reading a few pages of Jane Austen’s Precaution, he threw the book down in disgust and is claimed to have said, â€Å"I coul... ...Criticism (210). Maulsby disagrees that the story fails to arrive at a conclusion. To him, Deerslayer is the account of a mission undertaken by a hero and the mission is completed in the end. It was good to see someone defend against Twains critical attacks on Coopers style (Maulsby, 210-211).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In all of Coopers books there is a very vivid depiction of the surroundings writes W.C. Brownell in Nineteenth Century Literary Criticism (214). The setting really becomes part of the stories that wouldn’t be the same if there were a remotely different setting. Cooper had extensive exposure in the two types of settings he wrote in, wilderness and nautical, which probably facilitated the process of describing the surroundings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To think that James Fenimore Cooper was an always cheerful, always upbeat man who wrote well received novels would be incorrect. He managed to insult people on both sides of the Atlantic and still achieve stardom. Cooper was disliked by the common person and the author alike; despite the way people disliked Cooper the man, they could not attack his novels as he was considered the first great American Novelist.

Daniel Orozco’s “Orientation”

The new employee is unimportant in Daniel Orozco’s â€Å"Orientation† The short story â€Å"Orientation† by Daniel Orozco is a unique story. Orozco never introduces the narrator or the audience. The story appears to be, just as the title specifies, an orientation for a person entering a new job. The story, however, delves deep into the lives of several employees throughout the story. The lives of these employees and their interactions become the most important part of Orozco’s work and the main character that is being spoken to becomes an unimportant observer in an intricate atmosphere. The story is told in the first person voice.The narrator is talking to one particular person; He refers to this character in the second person voice. â€Å"This is your phone. † The narrator is talking directly to the new employee, the main character. The main character never speaks. It is implied that dialogue exists. â€Å"That was a good question. Feel free to as k questions. † The narrator has acknowledged that the listener has asked a question. The reader never actually sees the question that the listener asks, though. Instead, the narrator rephrases the listener’s question and repeats it back to him. By having the narrator do this, Orozco makes the listener less important.His/her dialogue is not even important enough to include in the text and must be repeated by the narrator in order to be included in the story. However, contradictory to the listener’s seemed unimportance, the narrator urges the listener to ask more questions. The specific job that the listener is being oriented to is not important to the story, either. The setting is a generic office atmosphere. â€Å"These are the offices and these are the cubicles. † By using this stereotypical and conventional setting, Orozco makes the things that happen to individual employees even more outrageous.The outrageous events create a contrasting tone. The typica l office orientation situation is invaded by shocking situations such as Amanda Pierce’s. Pierce’s husband â€Å"subjects her to an escalating array of painful and humiliating sex games. † Describing very personal aspects of an employee’s life creates a very uncomfortable feeling in this situation. This type of information is not supposed to be talked about in an office setting. Adding to the inappropriateness of the information, this could very well be the first meeting between the narrator and the listener.It is highly unusual to speak of sexual escapades in a business setting alone, and it could be very embarrassing to either party. Because it is possible that this is the first meeting between the narrator and the listener, the narrator does not know how comfortable the listener will be with the information, and is risking embarrassing the listener by divulging it. The narrator keeps a professional air about him, which makes the information that he is giving seem very important. The narrator makes no sexual comments about Pierce’s situation; he merely states what her husband does to her.The narrator also speaks frankly of what the listener can and cannot do â€Å"There are no personal phone calls allowed. † The narrator goes on to tell the consequences of doing something that is prohibited. â€Å"If you make an emergency phone call without asking, you may be let go. † This straightforward method of speaking also creates a professional feeling, which adds to the contrast in the story between the professional feeling and the uncomfortable, mysterious feeling. The blunt detail used by the narrator adds to the uncomfortable, painful sense of the work environment. â€Å"Anika Bloom’s left palm began to bleed.She fell into a trance, stared into her hand, and told Barry Hacker when and how his wife would die. † The details make the employees’ lives seem surreal. The reader is told that Anika Blo om’s palm begins to bleed, but the reason for the blood is not given. The blood is the only important detail because it signifies pain and suffering. Other words such as â€Å"fell† and â€Å"stare† create a distanced, unstable feeling. Even more disturbing is the line that signifies when someone will die. Orozco painfully jolts the reader back to reality, the office setting, no matter how disturbing the described experiences of an employee have been.This is evident in the passage about Kevin Howard, the serial killer. The carnage inflicted is precise: the angle and direction of the incisions; the layering of skin and muscle tissue; the rearrangement of the visceral organs; and so on. Kevin Howard does not let any of this interfere with his work. He is, in fact, our fastest typist. The disturbing description of the serial killer is recited without any waver whatsoever away from the intent only to divulge information. The narrator makes no personal comment and ex presses no opinion about Howard.After the narrator has given the information to the listener, the narrator leads the train of thought right back to the work environment. The idea of a horrible mass murderer is interrupted by his typing ability. This continued contrast now goes past unstable and borders on psychotic. The far-fetched is made believable only because of the narrator’s complete professional facade. By itself, speaking of a mass murderer’s typing ability does seem psychotic, but the narrator has so completely described every aspect of the listener’s new surroundings that any individual part of the surrounding does not seem overly important.The characters are merely present and described as they are. This description does not affect any character, so there is no real action to be deemed unusual, unstable, or psychotic. The description is the only important part of the story. Orozco uses both a professional tone and a dark, uncomfortable-feeling descrip tion to create a highly contrasting reality between the work setting and each character’s personal life.

Computer in Life Essay

What do you think of when you hear the word ‘computer’? Do you think of technology? Or maybe one of the ways to get on Facebook which I am sure many of you are thinking right now or you might even imagine a boring office full of screens and keys with people typing frantically in front of. All of those visions are correct, but first let’s take a look at the history of several inventions that led the creation of computers which has dramatically changed the world of technology. The first machine that was invented, which worked like a computer, was a gear-powered German device dubbed the Calculating Clock created by Wilhelm Schickard in 1623. It operated by pulling or pushing rods set inside a glass case. 20 years later, in 1640s, a similar device known as a Pascaline was invented and became famous dramatically.. In 1944, the Harvard Mark-1 computer was completed. That computer was approximately similar to a modern computer, but it was a large calculator driven by a camshaft with no stored programs. This massive computer filled a large room and was a joint effort between Harvard University and IBM. Personally, I believe that one of the most important inventions in my life has always been a computer. I was raised in this technological world where computers are a necessity. Computers dramatically transform my life in terms of education. They acknowledge me with the events that happen around the world, which I think are extremely important to learn. They give me an efficient, convenient and cozy way of work and study. Computers do not just provide me with education or learning experiences, but they are also one of the means of entertainment and globalization. They provide me with leisure time watching movies online or listening to music. According to me, it is one of the most relaxing ways to release the stress from studying and working day and night. Also in terms of globalization, with the aid of computers, I can visualize and make conversations with my long distance family and friends. They assist me in keeping relations with my family and friends, even though I am extremely far from them. I, as a student, strongly believe that computers are extremely important in terms of education as I mentioned before. Before computers were invented, I (you were born after computers were invented) as well as everyone else relied on books to provide them with educational knowledge. Now that computers are available, I never search through hundreds of pages of books. I can just surf the Internet in the blink of an eye to research for learning information. If I need to type anything or write an essay, I have easy access to my Microsoft word or Notepad in which I can also save the information and open it whenever I desire to and if I make any errors typing, it provides me with the correct word or information. Isn’t that amazing? It’s like a human sitting in the back of the computer screen reading my essay and correcting it of any mistakes I may make. Furthermore, the computers also assist me when it comes to math, such as math problems like logarithms, sine, cosine, and tangent can be awfully difficult to calculate and may take students a long time to do so manually. Luckily, with the help of computers, students may turn a five-minute problem into a one-minute problem. Computers have also made a major impact in the business field. They have gained importance as they have increased the productivity and efficiency of workload. Large amounts of data in the personal lives as well as in business and industrial sectors are stored on computers. Overall, as I provided you with all the benefits of computers, according to me, computers are one of the necessities in today’s technological world. In today’s world, it is almost impossible to think that one can survive without computers. They have become a gadget of almost daily use for people of every age. With the computer industry growing rapidly, the computer technology has also brought about a revolution of laptops and palmtops replacing the desktop, which are still popular in many of the industries. With the reduction in size, it has become quite easy to carry the computers and use them to the fullest. Computers are extremely helpful in terms of education, entertainment, globalization, etc. People might think that there might be negative aspects to the inventions of computers, but as far as I am concerned, I do not believe that the statement is true. The computers have had numerous positive effects and they will continue to do so in the future as well.

Environment and Global Warming Essay

Global warming has been a major problem for the last one decade or so all over the world. The climate is changing and the temperatures on the earth surface are warming up as a result of increase in amount of green house gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. Global warming is defined as an increase in the average earth’s temperatures which as result leads to a change in the overall global climate. The impacts of global warming are quite diverse and they include ecosystem instability, a rise in sea level, increase in pests and diseases, health problems, loss of environmental beauty due to extreme weather conditions such as floods, hurricanes and so fourth (Abarbanel et al. , 2002, 22-23, 57-63). Global warming has been found to be mainly caused by human activities resulting from over reliance on fossil fuels as a source of energy which increase the green house gases emissions into the atmosphere. Research has also shown another side of global warming whereby, air pollutants emitted by fossil fuels are responsible for making clouds to reflect more sun’s rays back to the space. This effect is known as global dimming and it leads to less light reaching the earth surface. This global dimming is responsible for causing droughts due to lack of rain especially in the Northern Hemisphere and it also camouflages the actual effects of global warming leading to their underestimation (Abbot et al. , 2000, 159-176). The effects of global warming on the environment are very dangerous and expensive and all the governments in the world agree that something must be done. In this respect, the united nations have come up with a framework convention on climate change which is responsible for coming up with agreements such as the Kyoto protocol among others. The Kyoto protocol is an international agreement passed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate (UNFCCC) back in 1994 which was aimed at addressing global warming and climate change issues all over the world. This agreement sets targets for all the industrialised nations in the world which they are expected to abide by in order to reduce the amount of green house gases emitted by those industries located in the respective nations. This protocol is considered as the greatest agreement reached by members of the United Nations which is bound to protect the environment and ensure sustainable development. How a national policy can help to address a global problem. National policies have a great role to play in tackling major national and global challenges such as climate change, globalisation, sustainable energy needs and so forth. The solutions to such problems require innovations which are able to see beyond the problem awareness and come up with solutions aimed at lessening their environmental and economic impacts on a long term basis. Such issues more often than not require the implementation of a national policy which will address the problem both nationally and internationally. A policy is meant to ensure that the problem is addressed from a central point of view and that all the concerned parties are speaking in one voice. An example of a global problem which is currently causing major concerns in the whole world is global warming. Although its effects are largely felt in the industrialised countries, the overall effects of climate change are evident in all nations because the pollutions emitted in one part of the globe quickly disperse to all other parts of the globe (Hay 2002). With growing concern on this problem of global warming and carbon pollution, a national policy for sustainable development is essential to address this problem and come up with rules and regulations aimed at controlling the emission of carbon pollutants and other green house gases into the atmosphere. To effectively address the effects of global warming and climate changes, all the world governments must come up with national environmental policies, efficient technological strategies and invent new sources of energy which are cleaner and more sustainable. Unlike common environmental policies such as the ones set by the United Nations and other world organisations, national policies created by individual countries focused towards addressing a certain global problem are bound to be more effective because such measures are bound to achieve abatements which are in line with the national interests at the lowest national costs possible. For instance, to address the issue of global warming, Australia has come up with a three-pillar national policy aimed at reducing the amount of pollutants released to the atmosphere by its industries and as a result, the government has had to make some economic reforms which are favourable to its economic stability in order to accommodate this policy (Miller & Tyler, 1987, 19-23). Australia’s national policy in addressing global warming Australia has been vulnerable to climate changes and severe repercussions of problems associated with poorly designed policies aimed at addressing this issue. An intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report in 2007 indicating that the Australia’s average climate is expected to change by about five degrees by the year 2070 due to the high rate of emission of GHGs in the country unless the government finds a quick and lasting solution to this global threat (Steger et al. , 2004, 33-46). Such a temperature change is bound to affect the ecosystems, energy resources, population health, agriculture, tourism as well as other sectors of the nation’s economy. Some of this effects to human beings and ecosystems are already being felt due to an increase of about 0. 9 degrees in the annual average temperatures. This effects prompted the government to facilitate the Garnaut climate change review in June and ratification of the Kyoto protocol on 3rd Dec 2007 as a way of demonstrating the government’s commitment to addressing the global warming and climate change all over the world. By agreeing to the Kyoto protocol, the Australian government has expressed willingness to pay the price for carbon reduction as a way of dealing with global warming. The Garnaut review focused on examining the climate change and its effect on the nation’s economy and has come up with policies and policy frameworks aimed at improving sustainable development. The draft report produced after this review presented a detailed examination of the climate change and its implications on Australia as a single nation. Following the Garnaut draft report indicating that the impacts of global warming and climate change in Australia are expected to be greater than those experienced in the other developed countries, the government has decided to come up with a climate change policy to ensure a safer society, a more stable economy and less climate changes in the future. This policy is focused on addressing three major issues. That is; †¢ Reducing the amount of green house gases emitted by industries in the country. †¢ Adapting to those impacts of climate changes which can not be reversed or changed. †¢ Contributing to the achievement of a global solution to the problem of global warming. (Milutin, 2003, 42-56) The Australian government using this policy has introduced an emission trading scheme and a framework for carbon reduction which will help to reduce the GHGs emission by up to 60 percent by the year 2050. A reduction in the national GHGs emission will put Australia in a better position to influence the international communities in working towards a low carbon environment (Julian, 2003, 495-503). In addition, the Australian government is committed to promoting an industrial policy aimed at facilitating investment in cleaner, greener and more sustainable energy resources and increasing the economic opportunities in the country. This industry policy has helped to develop comprehensive strategies which include local content rules and purchasing policies to provide long term solutions to climate change (Derek, 2002, 115-120). According to the environmental policies set by the Australian government, the environmental standards for its industries are set very high in order to restrict them from releasing pollutants to the atmosphere (Migeotte, 2002, 519-520). The Australia’s domestic policies are bound to affect the international credibility and the ability to acquire a global solution to global warming. The long term national target which is meant to reduce the emissions by about 60 percent before the year 2050 places the total global effort and carbon pollution schemes in a better position to achieving a solution to the worldwide problem and thus, this national policy is a step in the right direction. Conclusion Global warming presents a great environmental, social and economic challenge which requires urgent attention from governments all over the globe. The Australian government has done a lot to show that it is committed to eliminating this global problem through establishment of an environmental policy and ratification of the Kyoto protocols established by the United nations framework convention on climate change. This has greatly assisted the country to reduce the amount of GHGs emission and carbon pollutants into the atmosphere leading to a cleaner environment and it has helped to address the global problem at large. This shows that the use of well implemented comprehensive national policies can help to adequately address global problems such as global warming. References Abarbanel, Albert, and Thomas McCluskey (2002). â€Å"Is the World Getting Warmer? † Saturday Evening Post, 1 July, pp. 22-23, 57-63. Abbot, Charles G. , and F. E. Fowle, Jr. (2000). â€Å"Income and Outgo of Heat from the Earth, and the Dependence of Its Temperature Thereon. † Annals of the Astrophysical Observatory (Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC) 2: 159-176. Miller, G. Tyler Jr. , 1987. Living in the Environment. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 19-23. Steger, Will and Bowermaster, Jon, 2004. Saving the Earth. New York: Bryon Preiss, 33-46. Adem, Julian (2003). â€Å"Experiments Aiming at Monthly and Seasonal Numerical Weather Prediction. † Monthly Weather Review 93: 495-503. Ager, Derek (2002). The New Catastrophism: The Importance of the Rare Event in Geological History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 115-120. Migeotte, M. V. (2002). â€Å"Spectroscopic Evidence of Methane in the Earth’s Atmosphere. † Physical Review 73: 519-20. Milankovitch, Milutin (2003). Canon of Insolation and the Ice Age Problem. Belgrade: Koniglich Serbische Akademie, 42-56.