Spirituality Media Log Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Spirituality Media Log - Article Example Understanding that Bipolar disorder is a serious illness that can affect all aspects of your life should be a positive motivating factor for taking your medicine as prescribed by a physician. Alcohol recovery can be difficult and dispiriting. Having another illness added can make it even more so. View the help you receive from your bipolar medication as a new start that can sustain your continuing alcohol recovery. Approaching the end of life is something that we all will face. There are many ways that families deal with end of life issues. Each family and their loved one that is facing the end of life have unique needs. There are resources within and beyond the family that can help meet these needs. Often, individuals nearing the end of life are concerned that those they leave behind will not remember them. As one nears the end of life, it is a good opportunity to share stories and memories with the family that has brought all of the participants joy. This can help assure everyone involved that memories will continue even after the afflicted person is deceased. Outside agencies such as hospice organizations can help to tend to the physical and emotional concerns of the dying. Sometimes caring for the sick can be a physically and emotionally draining process for the family. Home nursing and hospice care can help relieve some of these burdens. Psychotherapy is a very broad term and can be use in many different ways. Many different practitioners espouse various methods of communication and therapy. All of these practitioners and doctors have the same goal, however. This goal is improved mental health for the patient. Patients in psychotherapy can feel that the doctor or the therapist is the key to them overcoming their troubles. While the therapist is vital to the process, real healing must come from within. Finding the spiritual in psychotherapy is a great way to help enhance the healing experience. Spirituality allows

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake & Sanaysay Essay Example for Free

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake Sanaysay Essay A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, generally an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions(including detonations of underwater nuclear devices), landslides, glacier calvings, meteorite impacts and other disturbances above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami.[3] Tsunami waves do not resemble normal sea waves, because their wavelength is far longer. Rather than appearing as a breaking wave, a tsunami may instead initially resemble a rapidly rising tide, and for this reason they are often referred to as tidal waves. Tsunamis generally consist of a series of waves with periods ranging from minutes to hours, arriving in a so-called wave train.[4] Wave heights of tens of metres can be generated by large events. Although the impact of tsunamis is limited to coastal areas, their destructive power can be enormous and they can affect entire ocean basins; the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was among the deadliest natural disasters in human history with over 230,000 people killed in 14 countries bordering the Indian Ocean. The Greek historian Thucydides suggested in his late 5th century BC, History of the Peloponnesian War, that tsunamis were related to submarine earthquakes,[5][6] but the understanding of a tsunamis nature remained slim until the 20th century and much remains unknown. Major areas of current research include trying to determine why some large earthquakes do not generate tsunamis while other smaller ones do; trying to accurately forecast the passage of tsunamis across the oceans; and also to forecast how tsunami waves would interact with specific shorelines. A tsunami is a series of ocean waves that sends surges of water, sometimes reaching heights of over 100 feet (30.5 meters), onto land. These walls of water can cause widespread destruction when they crash ashore. Tsunami are waves caused by sudden movement of the ocean due to earthquakes, landslides on the sea floor, land slumping into the ocean, large volcanic eruptions or meteorite impact in the ocean. Earthquakes Most tsunami are caused by large earthquakes on the seafloor when slabs of rock move past each other suddenly, causing the overlying water to move. The  resulting waves move away from the source of the earthquake event. Landslides Underwater landslides can cause tsunami as can terrestrial land which slumps into the ocean. View our landslide generation animation which demonstrates how a landslide induces a tsunami. Volcanic eruptions Less common are tsunami initiated by volcanic eruptions. These occur in several ways: destructive collapse of coastal, island and underwater volcanoes which result in massive landslides pyroclastic flows, which are dense mixtures of hot blocks, pumice, ash and gas, plunging down volcanic slopes into the ocean and pushing water outwards a caldera volcano collapsing after an eruption causing overlying water to drop suddenly. An earthquake is the shaking of the earth that occurs after pieces of the crust of the Earth suddenly shift. The term earthquake describes the sudden slip on a fault and includes the ground shaking and radiating seismic energy that is caused by the slip. Volcanic activity, or other geologic processes, may cause stress changes in the earth that can also result in an earthquake. Earthquakes can occur anywhere in the world although some areas of the globe are more likely to experience an earthquake than others. Earthquakes occur in all types of weather, in all climate zones, in all seasons of the year, and at any time of day making it impossible to predict with any certainty when an earthquake is likely to occur. The best seismologists (scientists who study earthquakes) can do is to look at the historical record of earthquake activity for any geographical area and use this data to calculate the probability of an earthquake occurring in the future. Earthquake prediction is still in the future. A tsunami is a series of sea waves that can be caused by earthquakes or landslides at or beneath the sea floor. The displacement of the sea floor that occurs during certain large submarine earthquakes and landslides causes displacement of large volumes of the sea water above it producing large, fast moving waves. When a coast line experiences a tsunami it can be due to an earthquake near the coast or due to a quake occurring in a distant part of the ocean. Coastal areas may experience little or no damage from an  earthquake but can be devastated by the resulting tsunami. 2010 Haiti Earthquake Haiti suffered one of the largest earthquakes in more than 200 years in 2010. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake was centered about 10 miles from Port-au-Prince and set off a swarm of tsunamis that killed three people and destroyed several homes. The waves were averaged to be about 10 feet high. 2010 Sumatra Earthquake/Tsunami he October 2010 Sumatra earthquake occurred on the same fault as the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. The second time wasnt as disastrous but there was still substantial damage. This time around the earthquake was 7.7 on the Richter scale and developed a tsunami that struck the Mentawai Islands. The tsunami, which had a wave of 9 feet, destroyed many of the villages on the island. It displaced more than 20,000 people and reportedly killed 435. 2010 Chile Earthquake/Tsunami A 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck Chile on February 27, 2010 with intense shaking that lasted for about three minutes. It triggered a tsunami that destroyed several coastal towns in south-central Chile. The tsunami raced through the Pacific Ocean that 53 countries had to post warning, though there was little damage as it moved past Hawaii, Australia and Japan. The death toll was 521 victims. 2011 Tohoku Earthquake/Tsunami The 9.0-magnitude megathrust earthquake that hit the Tohoku region of Japan on March 11, 2011 was the largest earthquake to have ever hit the country. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan even called it the toughest and most difficult crisis for Japan since the end of World War II. The tsunami that traveled along the Pacific coast of Japans northern islands was measured to be at least 9.8 feet high. Entire towns and cities were swept away and about 5,692 are said to be dead, with 9,522 missing and 2,409 injured. 1771 Great Yaeyama Tsunami On April 24, 1771, the Yaeyama Great Earthquake caused the formation of the 1771 Great Yaeyama Tsunami. The tsunami hit both the Ishigaki and Miyakojima Island of Japan and killed a total of 12,000 people. Agriculture was severely damaged and the population decreased about one-third of what it was. The tsunami at Ishigaki reportedly reached a height of 262 feet. 1792 Mount Unzen The 1792 eruption of Mount Unzen in western Kyushu, Japan is the most deadliest volcanic eruption ever in Japan. It caused a megatsunami that reached up to 330 feet and killed 15,030 people. 1896 Meiji-Sanriku Earthquake The 1896 Meiji-Sanriku earthquake hit Japan on a day when the country was celebrating both the return of soldiers from the Sinto Japanese War and a Shinto holiday. The 7.2 magnitude earthquake that took place was small but the tsunami that struck the coast of Sanriku 35 minutes later was much greater. Waves as high as 125 feet were measured and nearly 9,000 homes were destroyed. 22,070 were reported dead and an unusually high count of victims with fractured skulls and broken or missing limbs. Hawaii also suffered some destruction from the tsunami as waves of 30 feet were measured there. 1868 Arica Earthquake/Tsunami The estimated 8.5 to 9.0 magnitude earthquake near Arica (then part of Peru, now part of Chile) in 1868 nearly destroyed all of Arica and its surrounding cities. The tsunami it produced almost completely destroyed the port city of Pisco. It also caused some damage in Hawaii, New Zealand and Japan. About 25,674 casualties were reported. Aug. 27, 1883: Eruptions from the Krakatoa volcano fueled a tsunami that drowned 36,000 people in the Indonesian Islands of western Java and southern Sumatra. The strength of the waves pushed coral blocks as large as 600 tons onto the shore. June 15, 1896: Waves as high as 100 feet (30 meters), spawned by an earthquake, swept the east coast of Japan. Some 27,000 people died. April 1, 1946: The April Fools tsunami, triggered by an earthquake in Alaska, killed 159 people, mostly in Hawaii. July 9, 1958:Regarded as the largest recorded in modern times, the tsunami in Lituya Bay, Alaska was caused by a landslide triggered by an 8.3 magnitude earthquake. Waves reached a height of 1,720 feet (576  meters) in the bay, but because the area is relatively isolated and in a unique geologic setting the tsunami did not cause much damage elsewhere. It sank a single boat, killing two fishermen. May 22, 1960: The largest recorded earthquake, magnitude 8.6 in Chile, created a tsunami that hit the Chilean coast within 15 minutes. The surge, up to 75 feet (25 meters) high, killed an estimated 1,500 people in Chile and Hawaii. March 27, 1964: The Alaskan Good Friday earthquake, magnitude between 8.4, spawned a 201-foot (67-meter) tsunami in the Valdez Inlet. It traveled at over 400 mph, killing more than 120 people. Ten of the deaths occurred in Crescent City, in northern California, which saw waves as high as 20 feet (6.3 meters). Aug. 23, 1976: tsunami in the southwest Philippines killed 8,000 on the heels of an earthquake. July 17, 1998:A magnitude 7.1 earthquake generated a tsunami in Papua New Guinea that quickly killed 2,200. Dec. 26, 2004: A colossal earthquake with a magnitude between 9.1 and 9.3 shook Indonesia and killed an estimated 230,000 people, most due to the tsunami and the lack of aid afterward, coupled with deviating and unsanitary conditions. The quake was named the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, and the tsunami has become known as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Those waves traveled the globe – as far as Nova Scotia and Peru. March 11, 2011: A massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck northern Japan, triggering tsunamis that reportedly swept up cars, buildings and other debris. The Japan Meteorological Society has forecast more major tsunamis in the area, with some expected to reach more than 30 feet (10 m) off the coast of Hokkaido, Japans second largest island. A tsunami was also generated off the coast of Hawaii, one that could cause damage along the coastlines of all islands in the state of Hawaii, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. Tsunami warnings are in effect across Hawaii as well.

Texting and Cell Phone Essays -- young poeple, homework, communication

The question of young people and cell phone use and texting causing young people to be less able to concentrate and focus has always been a difficult one to answer. Technology gives teenagers so much but includes many drawbacks. Cell phone use and texting has it’s advantages such as teachers embracing tech,uses for educational purposes, and easy to use;however,some drawbacks are as socializing,time away from homework,and bad communication skills. The first advantage would be teachers embracing tech in the classroom.Teachers embrace tech as a teaching tool in a way the students will understand.According to Eric board when students took an assignment of translating passages of Othello into other dialects,some students used the texting dialect,†resulting in some very interesting dialogue between lago and othello.The kind of technology teachers are embracing on are high tech calculators,Ipads,smartboards,and a variety of sites.Today’s high tech calculators don’t just calculate certain equations but also graph equations,how to find the greatest common factor,and even get a larger view or smaller view of the graph.The use of ipads in the classroom is useful for both the teacher and the student. For the students the ipad can give them some hints on the problem their solving and maybe even keep a record of their grades that certain student has so they can easily check up on them at any time. While for the teachers they can easily set up tests and quizzes and even grade assignments quickly and effecently.Although some teachers still use regular boards,most teachers use smart boards to teach. These boards are like ordinary boards except these are controlled by remote control pen.By just clicking on the board questions can be written... ...d to spell the word â€Å"love†and spelled it â€Å"l-u-v† the person who asked is shocked that he knows how to spell a word in text form rather than the way it’s supposed to be spelled correctly. Causes are a major concerns especially when it comes to cell phone use and texting although they can go both ways for good things or bad things.In the future,maybe there will be safety regulations for cellphones and texting so young people can concentrate more on their future but for know the Younger Generation has it’s own say in the tech world then the Older Generations. Works Cited Alice G. Walton,Science Proves that Cellphones are Annoying and Distracting,3/13/13,1-6.print. Russell A.Sabella,Cell Phones,texting,and Cell Phone distractions,4/29/2010,Education.com,1/10/14. Greg Graham,Cell phones in classroom?No! Students need to pay attention,9/21/10,pbs.com,1/9/14

Talkshow on Rom Whittaker

Romulus Whitaker was only four years old when he caught his first snake in the country estate that he shared with his mother and sister in northern New York State. It was the beginning of a fascination with reptiles and a journey to conserve nature. Although born in the United States in 1943, Rom Whitaker grew up in India where he nurtured his passion for reptiles exploring the wild as a student in a boarding school up in the mountains in south India. Dr. Whitaker is one of India's leading herpetologists and conservationists. His efforts have helped to put numerous endangered wildlife on the conservation map.The world-renowned herpetologist and author is changing perceptions of reptiles through his innovative work while championing the cause for conservation of India’s rich biodiversity. (He’s 69) In an exclusive interview Romulus Whitaker shares some of his thoughts and interesting experience through the course of his work. 1. What is it about reptiles that got you fas cinated about them? My love affair with reptiles began before my ‘age of reason', in fact I was catching and keeping snakes at the tender age of 5 years at Hoosick, NY I found my first snake, a Dekay's snake and I was hooked.I Kept a terrarium full of local snakes and when I was seven I moved to India, the land of snakes. Over the years my interest broadened to all herps. 2. Were your parents or friends influential in your decision to go into herpetology as a profession? My mother in particular was very supportive of my ‘unusual' interest and bought me books by Pope, Ditmars etc. 3. Where is your favorite herping spot in the world? I guess my best place in Agumbe, Karnataka State, near the west coast of India, where we have one of our research stations. 4.What herp in the wild still gives you chills and sends your excitement levels through the roof? What herp is at the top of your list to find in the wild? I guess the king cobra tops the list but I get great pleasure in seeing any of the wonderful herps we have here in the wild. Well, having found a lot of species in a lot of places I guess it's just the mere idea of finding ‘new' species, which I've never seen in the wild, which excites me. 5. Aside from the conservation programs you’ve set-up, do you keep any herps as personal pets?Nope, no herp pets. We live on an 11 acre farm with Russells vipers, cobras, kraits, saw-scaled vipers, rat snakes, trinket snakes, vine snakes and so on, so there are rarely ‘dull' moments here. 6. What’s the best avenue people can help your conservation trusts and efforts? People can donate out right of course but perhaps more of them might be interested in coming over to India on a ‘paying volunteer' program which allows people to stay on site and do work to help keep the research and general work going, bringing their own special inputs. 7.Any advice for students looking to get into the herpetological field? Handling venomous snakes? I think the best way is to attach yourself to an existing herp program in any capacity just to get that experience and to work with people who are obviously doing it right and learning from them. 8. Do you think the increase of interest in the herp-keeping hobby has helped or hindered reptile & amphibian conservation? I can't say much about the herp keeping hobby, I know that it should be done responsibly and people should learn and know where their animals are coming from.If most of the herps on the market are from captive bred stocks fine, but taking them from the wild can be a fatal rip-off and that has hammered several species worldwide. 9. What are some of the most fascinating aspects of your job as a Reptile Expert? Every day is a fascinating experience, simply because so little is yet known about reptiles, as compared with more ‘obvious' creatures like birds and butterflies. Perhaps most interesting of all is the fact that once you have studied and been close to reptil es long enough, you realize that they too are complex beings with individual personalities, some nice and some not so nice.Venomous snakes have their tremendous killing power yet they are timid and shy and want nothing more than to stay clear of horribly dangerous human beings. I don’t have dull moments except for when I have to go into the awful city to do some chore like renew my driver's license! 10. In the course of your career, you must have had several close and dangerous encounters with crocs, komodo dragons and snakes. Is there any incident that stands out in your mind which left you completely speechless? It's kind of hard to say which experiences stand out as being exciting and memorable, in my kind of life excitement is never far away.Perhaps the incident that sticks in my mind is the first time I encountered a king cobra. It was in Agumbe (where we now have a research station) and I saw the black tail of a large snake disappearing into the bushes. Thinking it was a large, harmless rat snake I did what any snake hunter would do, I leaped on it. I managed to grab the tail and in my now prone position I looked up to see the hood of a large king cobra spread over me and a pair of not so friendly eyes glaring down at me. I needed no more encouragement and quickly released the king cobra's tail and rolled out of the way.Luckily the snake didn't want to tangle with me any more than I wanted to tangle with it and it slid away into the forest. Phew! 11. What are the challenges you have faced to dispel some of the misconceptions people have about reptiles? The main challenge is to get people to realize that their old folk tales and beliefs about snakes are usually wrong and that the reality of snakes and other reptiles is of course much more interesting than these old tales. People have a tendency to think that wild animals are ‘out to get them' when actually it's just the opposite. 2. Do you think there is adequate support / assistance for cons ervation of reptiles today or more can be done? How? Certainly reptiles are still not too high in the popularity charts and there is always a need for understanding the misunderstood creatures that we share the planet with. More media exposure to the facts about reptiles, their usefulness to us in controlling rodents and cleaning the waterways (in the case of crocs) and controlling harmful insects in the case of lizards, will certainly help their plight. 13.What do you hope people will take away from your work and films on reptiles? Is there anything you would like to do in the future? Well, I know people are not going to start hugging reptiles overnight, but I do feel we are making headway by writing, making films and bringing people to the Madras Crocodile Bank and teaching them about the wonders of the reptile world. What will I do in future? Probably just what I'm doing right now. One project is to promote research on snake venoms and the perfection of the anti-venom serum again st snakebite in India. All good fun!

Analysis of ‘The Truman’s Show’ in search of reality Essay

The film, The Truman Show, is a fiction movie that has been created to help the human search for reality in what apparently seems real. It shows that many times, people are absorbed in an unreal environment thinking that they are indeed in the reality. Media is to blame for making false impressions of the environment. The film depicts Truman as a person who has been entangled in a false environment and is trying hard to discover the truth. In other words, this film is intended to bring to the attention the many times that we get absorbed in situations that we cannot derive any real meaning. It challenges people to wake up and search for the true meaning and not become captives of falsehood. The film depicts Truman Burbank as a person who is born in a fake world. The environment that surrounds him is that of actors. It is in a big dome decked enclosure that is fitted with high-tech simulations of the sky and the sun. The wind and rain are also simulated. They are under the control of the director of the show. Apparently, Truman does not realize that he is in a simulated world initially. Moreover, he has no idea that he is in a television studio from which people all over the world can watch him in his normal behavior as he carries on with his normal activities. However, all the situations that he finds himself in have been staged and, therefore, lack a true meaning in the real world. However, with time Truman realizes that he is in a simulated environment. He is made to discover the false surrounds he is in by the help of Sylvia, who was intended to be his wife in the artificial world. He comes to know that staged events and scenes fill his life. He then begins to plan a way of escaping to the real world. He tries all means to escape but does not succeed immediately. That is because of two major barriers. One barrier is that he has been made a victim of fear by the director of the show has he controls his world. He has been made to fear travelling by water because his father had supposedly died while fishing. Truman is informed that travelling by water was dangerous at the time, and it was safer to stay at home. Secondly, obstacles have been placed in his way such that he cannot escape easily. He is unable to arrange for flights. Traffic jams that are also staged hinder him from travelling. Therefore, he does not manage to escape easily at first. Later on, Truman devices a way to escape and finally manages to escape to the real world. The first step in his escape is that he manages to overcome his fear. He sails in the water despite the many attempts by the director to enclose him from attempting such a move. Truman discovers a door marked â€Å"Exit† and he manages to escape completely to the real world. The escape is praised by the audience as an act of courage and triumphant. He meets with Sylvia, and they reunite. That marks the end of the artificial world created on falsehood and a new beginning in the world of reality. The Truman Show has significance in ordinary lives. It depicts how people live under the false beliefs painted by the media. Truman’s discovery that he had been living in the fallacy can be compared to how people realize that media creates only illusions that do not depict the reality. However, just as Truman was unable to get out of the fake world easily, people are reluctant to break away from the false impressions created by the media. Moreover, Truman had been absorbed into the fake world just as many people find themselves hooked by the illusions created in the media. Truman is a character used to show how people get absorbed into the fake world that is created by the media. Usually, people do not notice the impact of the illusions that they absorb have on their lives. Many live in a fantasy. However, later on, they realize how impractical the life created by the media is as compared to the real world. As such, some try to find a way out of the bondage with the media. While some of them succeed in getting out, others remain as slaves of the media. Media critics act to sensitize people on the negative side of the media just like Sylvia helped Truman to discover that he was leaving in a fake world. The film, The Truman Show, is a fiction movie that has been created to help the human search for reality in what apparently seems real. It shows that many times, people are absorbed in an unreal environment thinking that they are indeed in the reality. Media is to blame for making false impressions of the environment. The film depicts Truman as a person who has been entangled in a false environment and is trying hard to discover the truth. In other words, this film is intended to bring to the attention the many times that we get absorbed in situations that we cannot derive any real meaning. It challenges people to wake up and search for the true meaning and not become captives of falsehood. The film depicts Truman Burbank as a person who is born in a fake world. The environment that surrounds him is that of actors. It is in a big dome decked enclosure that is fitted with high-tech simulations of the sky and the sun. The wind and rain are also simulated. They are under the control of the director of the show. Apparently, Truman does not realize that he is in a simulated world initially. Moreover, he has no idea that he is in a television studio from which people all over the world can watch him in his normal behavior as he carries on with his normal activities. However, all the situations that he finds himself in have been staged and, therefore, lack a true meaning in the real world. However, with time Truman realizes that he is in a simulated environment. He is made to discover the false surrounds he is in by the help of Sylvia, who was intended to be his wife in the artificial world. He comes to know that staged events and scenes fill his life. He then begins to plan a way of escaping to the real world. He tries all means to escape but does not succeed immediately. That is because of two major barriers. One barrier is that he has been made a victim of fear by the director of the show has he controls his world. He has been made to fear travelling by water because his father had supposedly died while fishing. Truman is informed that travelling by water was dangerous at the time, and it was safer to stay at home. Secondly, obstacles have been placed in his way such that he cannot escape easily. He is unable to arrange for flights. Traffic jams that are also staged hinder him from travelling. Therefore, he does not manage to escape easily at first. Later on, Truman devices a way to escape and finally manages to escape to the real world. The first step in his escape is that he manages to overcome his fear. He sails in the water despite the many attempts by the director to enclose him from attempting such a move. Truman discovers a door marked â€Å"Exit† and he manages to escape completely to the real world. The escape is praised by the audience as an act of courage and triumphant. He meets with Sylvia, and they reunite. That marks the end of the artificial world created on falsehood and a new beginning in the world of reality. The Truman Show has significance in ordinary lives. It depicts how people live under the false beliefs painted by the media. Truman’s discovery that he had been living in the fallacy can be compared to how people realize that media creates only illusions that do not depict the reality. However, just as Truman was unable to get out of the fake world easily, people are reluctant to break away from the false impressions created by the media. Moreover, Truman had been absorbed into the fake world just as many people find themselves hooked by the illusions created in the media. Truman is a character used to show how people get absorbed into the fake world that is created by the media. Usually, people do not notice the impact of the illusions that they absorb have on their lives. Many live in a fantasy. However, later on, they realize how impractical the life created by the media is as compared to the real world. As such, some try to find a way out of the bondage with the media. While some of them succeed in getting out, others remain as slaves of the media. Media critics act to sensitize people on the negative side of the media just like Sylvia helped Truman to discover that he was leaving in a fake world. Reference The Truman Show (1998). Directed by Peter Weir. Source document

Goddess of the Truck Drivers Essays

Goddess of the Truck Drivers Essays Goddess of the Truck Drivers Essay Goddess of the Truck Drivers Essay A hero is a person who has heroic qualities or performs heroic acts and is regarded as a role model. A hero is a person who inspires us, and one person that really inspires me is my mother. She works really hard. Mom is a person who likes to smile all the time. Wherever clients enter to the restaurant, they see her shiny smile giving good vibes around. She has light brown curly hair, brown eyes, she is short and super energetic. Presently, she is living in a small town called ‘Curauma’ in the city of Valparaiso, Chile. My mother inspires me in the way that she can fall several times, but she knows how to stand up fast and perfectly. In the past, she did not have various opportunities, how ever, she made her dreams come true, such as becoming a chef, and owning a restaurant. She taught me that I have to be brave, smile, and be friendly to people, but most importantly, she taught me how to be respectful and always be humble no matter what. I amgrate ful that I resemble her personality, moreover proud to say that my mother is my hero. Carmen Lucero, my mother, is the owner of the restaurant ‘House Lunch’ in Chile . My mom works and lives there. Every morning, she wakes up at 7 oclock to start to serve the truck drivers who are going to have lunch early because they have to load up their trucks cities far away from Valparaiso. My mom has mass energy like a nuclear plant. Her energy never runs out. She can be working 12 hours straight and wake up next day at 7 oclock waiting for the clients. My hero’s hobby is to play soccer.She plays soccer in a soccer team in Valparaiso. She likes to spend her free time going to the soccer field and play with her friends. My mom is one of the greatest female soccer players. She runs super fast around the field without stop for the whole match. Hence, her nick name on the field became ‘The Atom Ant’. Her eyes are light brown like honey, her skinny legs are like Madonna’s. Never old, n :

Friedrich Nietzsche - The Abyss essays

Friedrich Nietzsche - The Abyss essays He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you. In this statement, Nietzsche is expressing the familiar occurrence of being absorbed by fears, darkness, and even our own thoughts. In life, people often find themselves confronted with situations in which they must face certain evils in their life. This quote advises that if you choose to resist these evils, you should take care that you do not become evil yourself. The second part of the quote explains how this is possible. The abyss gazing back at you means that when you begin to know something that is in essences different than yourself; you take a part of it with you and allow it to alter you. Whoever or whatever this enemy may be to you, conveniently allows you to ignore your own inner capacity for evil. Those who cannot see the evil in themselves, project it outwards. If you wish for enlightenment, be prepared to know ever ything evil as well. If you spend all of your time caring about what the things in life that cannot change, you will eventually ask yourself, "What are you doing?" And you will come to the conclusion that there is no answer. A common theme in philosophy is the loss of individuality in the desire to gain power and wealth. I believe this is what Nietzsche is referring to when creating the metaphor of the abyss. Translating Nietzsche quote into a real issues raised by todays culture is a modern interpretation of the abyss as a conformation to society. This understanding of the quote corresponds with Nietzsches background and beliefs as an existential nihilist. "The mind is everything. What you think you become." -Buddha This quote can be translated to many aspects of our lives, but in this case I believe it relates to Nietzsches quote in that whatever we involve ourselves fully with, there is no escaping the consequences...

10 Geographic Facts About Sichuan Province, China

10 Geographic Facts About Sichuan Province, China Sichuan is the second largest of Chinas 23 provinces based on its land area of 187,260 square miles (485,000 sq km). It is located in southwestern China adjacent to the countrys largest province, Qinghai. Sichuans capital city is Chengdu and as of 2007, the province had a population of 87,250,000 people. Sichuan is an important province to China because of its abundant agricultural resources which include such Chinese staples as rice and wheat. Sichuan is also rich in mineral resources and is one of Chinas main industrial centers. The following is a list of ten things to know about Sichuan Province: 1) Human settlement of Sichuan Province is believed to date back to the 15th century B.C.E. In the 9th century B.C.E., Shu (what is present-day Chengdu) and Ba (todays Chongqing City) grew to become the largest kingdoms in the region. 2) Shu and Ba were subsequently destroyed by the Qin Dynasty and by the 3rd century B.C.E., the area was developed with sophisticated irrigation systems and dams which ended seasonal flooding of the region. As a result, Sichuan became the agricultural center of China at the time. 3) Because of Sichuans location as a basin surrounded by mountains and the presence of the Yangtze River, the area also became an important military center throughout much of Chinas history. In addition, several different dynasties ruled the area; among them are the Jin Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty. 4) An important note about Sichuan Province is that its borders have remained mostly unchanged for the last 500 years. The largest changes occurred in 1955 when Xikang became a part of Sichuan and in 1997 when the city of Chongqing broke away to form a part of the Chongqing Municipality. 5) Today Sichuan is divided into eighteen prefecture-level cities and three independent prefectures. A prefecture-level city is one that is below a province but ranks higher than a county for administrative structure. An independent prefecture is an area that has a majority of ethnic minorities or is historically important for ethnic minorities. 6) Sichuan Province is within the Sichuan basin and is surrounded by the Himalayas to the west, the Qinling Range to the east and the mountainous parts of Yunnan Province to the south. The area is also active geologically and the Longmen Shan Fault runs through part of the province. 7) In May 2008, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake occurred in Sichuan Province. Its epicenter was in the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. The earthquake killed over 70,000 people and numerous schools, hospitals and factories collapsed. Following the earthquake in June 2008, severe flooding from a lake formed by a landslide during the earthquake occurred in low-lying areas that had already been significantly damaged. In April 2010, the region was again impacted by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck neighboring Qinghai Province. 8) Sichuan Province has a varied climate with a subtropical monsoon in its eastern portions and Chengdu. This region experiences warm to hot summers and short, cool winters. It is also typically very cloudy in the winters. The western part of Sichuan Province has a climate affected by the mountains and high altitude. It is very cold in the winter and mild in the summer. The southern part of the province is subtropical. 9) Most of Sichuan Provinces population is Han Chinese. However, there is a significant population of minorities such as Tibetans, Yi, Qiang, and Naxi in the province as well. Sichuan was Chinas most populous province until 1997 when Chongqing was separated from it. 10) Sichuan Province is famous for its biodiversity and the area is home to the famous Giant Panda Sanctuaries which consist of seven different nature reserves and nine scenic parks. These sanctuaries are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and are home to more than 30% of the worlds endangered giant pandas. The sites are also home to other endangered species such as the red panda, the snow leopard, and the clouded leopard. ReferencesNew York Times. (2009, May 6). Earthquake in China - Sichuan Province - News - The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/news/science/topics/earthquakes/sichuan_province_china/index.html Wikipedia. (2010, April 18). Sichuan - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan Wikipedia. (2009, December 23). Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan_Giant_Panda_Sanctuaries

Impacts of Cystic Fibrosis Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Impacts of Cystic Fibrosis - Coursework Example The impacts and effects of Cystic Fibrosis at Prenatal Care extend to both the expectant mother and the unborn baby. During the pregnancy, a mother may pass the Cystic Fibrosis gene to the baby. This blockage interferes with the production of insulin thus, results to the Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. The secretion of the digestive enzymes from the pancreas is also terminated by CF, leading to a dysfunctional digestive system. This situation causes malnutrition to the mother and the fetus. Shortly after the childbirth, the intestines of the baby may be blocked, a condition known as Meconium ileus (Mayer, 2012). In the occupational considerations, CF can easily lead to incapacitation of an individual. Since CF causes malnutrition by tampering with the digestion, one may not have the required energy to perform his or duties. Such individuals may experience weakness and dizziness. Besides, Cystic Fibrosis results into diabetes mellitus which require regular medical check ups. The bacterial infection of the lungs causes frequent coughing. All these effects may render an individual incapable of doing certain jobs. Furthermore, a CF ill individual is at high risk of injury at work due to the weak nature of the body. To cope with this condition, one requires constant medical advice and food supplements. For the expectant CF mothers, the supplements of folic acid and vitamin A will be of great help. Above all, these patients need to be well educated on their condition and the management.

Ancient Mexico and the Spanish Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ancient Mexico and the Spanish - Essay Example On the other hand, the political control and power of the Spanish even before they came to conquer new world in the 1500s was invested in military personnel who were qualified in terms of leadership skills and prowess to fight. This is thus the reason it was not so hard for the Aztec rulers to welcome the Spanish due to their lack of leadership skills and wisdom. According to history, there are three major reasons that led to the defeat of the Aztec by the Spanish in not only a short span of time but also by a very small number of Spanish people. These reasons include but are not limited to: technology, disease and religion (Pohl, 2005). As discussed earlier, the technology of the Aztec and that of the Spanish was incompatible. The technology used by the Aztec was naà ¯ve, ancient and could not stand a chance with the modern technology of the Spanish. This is especially so with fighting technological gear. The Spanish therefore easily used their horses, guns, cannons and qualified military to fight the unqualified, sword-fighting Aztec soldiers. The Aztec people were religious individuals who related everything in their life with religion including sickness, death and success. As a result of their many gods, they thought the Spanish were one of their gods and hence welcomed them in their empire and exposed them to their lifestyle and once the Spanish had learnt enough about the Aztec people, they easily conquered them without using much military force or personnel. The Spanish brought with them diseases like measles when they came in 1519 to Aztec. Since the Aztec people had no developed technology in medicine and relied on herbal doctors who had no idea what measles what or even how to cure it, many Aztecs died of the disease and the remaining were too weak to fight the conquers hence it was easy for the Spanish to defeat them. The

Healthcare Law Chapter 3-4 Contracts, Intentional Torts, and Assignment

Healthcare Law Chapter 3-4 Contracts, Intentional Torts, and Negligence - Assignment Example Adherence to the contract and acting within the health care laws provided leads to better patient services provision and better patient outcome at the end of the care. The laws provide a framework that guides the health care providers to provide care with the use of their best appropriate skills in the management of the patients. Moreover, the laws act as a cushion to the physician or patient in cases where one of them decides to take an undesired eventuality to court. It is of essence to be conscious of the fact that appropriate patient care is a superior goal above everything during the care of patients. At the same time, I will follow the entire step provided in the law when sealing a contract with the patient. The other two laws on negligence and torts guide me on the way to behave when dealing with patient. With the knowledge on what they entail I will have to follow them for the better outcome of the patient health

MHE509 - Emergency Planning and Methodology Module 3 - SLP Essay

MHE509 - Emergency Planning and Methodology Module 3 - SLP - Essay Example This emergency management and disaster preparedness plan is developed to save the lives and assets of the Barnard college student’s society in the situations of emergencies. This also protects the arranged operation of the college society throughout disasters. This policy will also facilitate in to manage and deploy the right help, manpower and resources in the occurrence of a disaster. For the critical analyses of the emergency or disaster management plan for the Barnard college I have reviewed the whole report and tried to find out the main weak points and flaws that are present in this emergency or disaster management policy. From the section onward I will discuss these points in detail. As we study the mission statement of the Barnard College’s emergency or disaster management plan or policy then we will be able to perceive lot of weaknesses in the better management of any critical situation. Here I will elaborate few of them. The main weakness I have perceived is about the handling of that situation. Here this emergency or disaster management plan it is mentioned that in case of any disaster situation will be assessed and then the necessary resources will be made available for that situation to address the emergency. As I perceive this is not feasible in state of emergency because at the time of emergency we have very short time to handle the situation. Assessment and planning at that time will take time and we would not be able to handle the situation properly. In this disaster management policy the main flaw is the lack of preplanning for all type of critical situation. There is a strong need of preplanning for all the types of situation in case of any mishap. So we can say that the Barnard College needs more established preplanning for better handling of the situation and circumstances. The weakness and failure of the emergency or disaster management plan is the lack of the enough

Reading response 8 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reading response 8 - Assignment Example The author builds his hypothesis that some characteristics of modern language might seem to be â€Å"fossils† of the previous stages of evolution. Jackendoff’s explanation of the use of symbols is presented in a complex manner where the actual purpose of the author is lost, according to me. He gives examples of different words uttered by a child and cites literature as the background of his discussion. He mentions that at a very early stage a child can distinguish between proper and common nouns. He then switches suddenly to use of situational one word and also single word answers which he perceives as â€Å"fossils† of the â€Å"one-word stage† of evolution of language. However the main essence of expression without syntax and yet symbolic meaning is not clearly expressed especially when he compares with the systematic yes and no utterances. In certain instances the author himself does not seem to be clear about the reality and it is more of an opinion based approach when he thinks that the learning process of apes is like children initiating habit of reading and is quite effortful in nature. However one keen and realistic observation he makes here is the distinction between grammar and vocabulary learning. A person with good vocabulary might have lesser sense of grammar. The ability to imitate plays the important role here and here the author’s inference shows clarity and logical deduction. The author brings up an interesting topic of word order which might affect the essence of communication. He however does not explain this more simplistically with the help of grammar and syntax. It is difficult to understand what the author is trying to point out in this section. Is he trying to say that communication or expression should follow grammar in modern system of language? He even brings in the cases of special children to whom learning signs is the only option to express them. So is grammar necessary when symbolic expressions or

MHE509 - Emergency Planning and Methodology Module 3 - SLP Essay

MHE509 - Emergency Planning and Methodology Module 3 - SLP - Essay Example This emergency management and disaster preparedness plan is developed to save the lives and assets of the Barnard college student’s society in the situations of emergencies. This also protects the arranged operation of the college society throughout disasters. This policy will also facilitate in to manage and deploy the right help, manpower and resources in the occurrence of a disaster. For the critical analyses of the emergency or disaster management plan for the Barnard college I have reviewed the whole report and tried to find out the main weak points and flaws that are present in this emergency or disaster management policy. From the section onward I will discuss these points in detail. As we study the mission statement of the Barnard College’s emergency or disaster management plan or policy then we will be able to perceive lot of weaknesses in the better management of any critical situation. Here I will elaborate few of them. The main weakness I have perceived is about the handling of that situation. Here this emergency or disaster management plan it is mentioned that in case of any disaster situation will be assessed and then the necessary resources will be made available for that situation to address the emergency. As I perceive this is not feasible in state of emergency because at the time of emergency we have very short time to handle the situation. Assessment and planning at that time will take time and we would not be able to handle the situation properly. In this disaster management policy the main flaw is the lack of preplanning for all type of critical situation. There is a strong need of preplanning for all the types of situation in case of any mishap. So we can say that the Barnard College needs more established preplanning for better handling of the situation and circumstances. The weakness and failure of the emergency or disaster management plan is the lack of the enough

To what extent is development a political process versus a technical Essay

To what extent is development a political process versus a technical or economic one - Essay Example The evaluation of the developmental process and the aspect of economic contribution in the social change shall be studied within the context of the role of the United Nations in measuring human development. Defining Development: Before understanding the nature of the human developmental aspects such as economics and politics, it is significant to note the actual definition of development. The definition of human development introduces the debate with the help of different terms. As per the definition of development published by the United Nations, report states that development is a process to enable an environment for nation where they can live long, healthy and creative lives (Frey and Monroe, 1983). The definition allows better understanding of the fact that people can live happily if they are provided with the basic necessity. It should be noted that a human cannot live without making enough earning that will allow him to gain better lifestyle for himself and family. So this note s that the social change within a society can be brought to allow equal opportunity among members of society (Szirmai, 2005). Development among different societies is undertaken in order to provide better income rates to the members so that they are able to select the best for their lives (Rowe, 2009). The political and economic development that has gained a great deal of focus of researchers is now debated because of the political aspects (Willis, 2005). In other words, it could be said that development is a process which needs governmental authorities and economists to work together to bring better changes. The main purpose of the economic activities and cross-borders business ventures is to allow countries to develop and maximize profits (Lewis and Kallab, 1986). This profit making natures of business world allows developing countries to fight against inequality and increasing measures of poverty. As evident from the definition of development, inequality can be reduced if in case poverty’s overall measure within a society is reduced by large (Desai and Potter, 2008). The above noted relationship map of the economical and political development can also be understood in the context of poverty. The measure that most of the politicians set up would be the increased economical opportunities for the poor people. The effective strategic planning is done by politicians to ensure that the measure of inequality is reduced by large. This can be indirectly related to the economical efficiency of the society (Sen, 1999). The central idea of the development is that different institutions of a society provide quickened form of human development. It should be noted that politics and economics are two very important institutions of a society (Desai and Potter, 2008). The functions performed by different institutions of the society are able to make better changes when they are indirectly connected to each other. The need of the hour is to determine the extent to which the development process underlines the elements of political institutions or economical politician. In other words, it can be said that politicians and economists need to understand as to what aspects can surely bring a better and quick paced human development (Escobar, 1995). The political policy framework can allow business authorities to undergo deals and ventures providing majority of people to get better jobs and become stable in their daily

Religious belief and organizations Essay Example for Free

Religious belief and organizations Essay Gender issues are a great importance in contemporary society and culture. Although they concern both men and women at present, gender studies are still mainly focused on women because women have been voiceless for so long. Feminism see religion as a product of patriarchy as it only serves the interest of men. Jean holm argues that all religion preaches equality but they do not practice it. This argument derived from her study of cotemporary religions which showed that women are subordinated to the role of men as they do not have a part to play in many religions. For example, in Japanese religions, the women arrange and organize public rituals, but only the men can take part in it. Thus showing devalued and important women are within religious organizations. A Marxist feminist DeBeauvoir believes that there must be a religion for women because if women have their own religion, they cannot be oppressed. So therefore, they have created a feminine bible, where everything is equal between both sexes. Sociologists such as Stark believe that women are physically deprived as they suffer more life crisis than men; so therefore, women are more likely to turn to God as someone that can help them. DeBeauvoir reinforces this statement by saying that religion gives a divine guardian that they long for and gives them hope for a better future in a sexless heaven. Meaning that religion gives women false consciousnesses by making them believe that women would be rewarded in heaven for their sufferings on earth and a heaven where theres equality. However, Saadawi disagrees with the statement that religious teachings are the cause of the oppression and exploitation that women suffer, but blames the patriarchal system. She states that men have literally distorted religion especially in Islam, to socially control women and to serve their own interest, so religion isnt the cause but the interpretation of it by men. Leila Badawi also sees Islam as positive as women have a choice over the three types of Islam and they get to keep their own names. Therefore Islam is not as strict and controlling as members of society put it out to be. Helen Watson justifies this by stating that wearing the veil is a political choice and wearing a veil can be seen as a positive thing to some women. This is because after interviewing some muslin women, Badawi came to a conclusion that muslin women are trying to take a stand against western culture. This is revealed when the women said that wearing the veil makes her proud of her religion and that it felt liberating to have freedom of movement as they can communicate with members of society without being on show. Sociologist Said, says that the west the west have created an orientalist discourse, justifying domination. So therefore, not all religions oppress and exploit women because some women do have a choice on certain things. An example would be Judaism as some women are now allowed to become rabbis and seikheism is now into equality and argues that women have choices.

Examining The Corporate Culture And Values Of McDonalds Corporation

Examining The Corporate Culture And Values Of McDonalds Corporation Introduction McDonalds corporation is the worlds most recognised and largest provider of foodservice serving millions of customers daily around the world and operates more than 30,000 restaurants in more than 120 countries. It was initiated in 1940 with a restaurant opened by brothers Mac and Dick Donalds in California. After since its incorporation in 1955, McDonalds has sold more than 100 billion hamburgers. McDonalds team of experienced managers, high ranking operating system, global infrastructure and one of the well recognized brand names in the world. It is the biggest fast food retailer capturing the whole world. It has initiated Hamburger University where the assistant managers and the mangers are trained. McDonalds corporate culture is based on shared value system and maintains standardised quality process to ensure same quality and reduction in lead time. McDonalds has the vision to be the best employer in each community in the world. The restaurants are run either by franchise, or as c orporate itself. This paper attempts to define the organisational structure and shortcomings in its operations. The operational structure is the system of the operation of an organisation i.e. the values, beliefs and policies. There are some shortcomings which poise as a thread to achieve its goal and work effectively. The organisational problems of McDonalds have been disturbing the activities to be carried out by the organisation effectively. The policy of McDonalds is to promote an working environments which is free from unlawful discriminations. The study will include the causes underlying the problem and the alternatives available to the organisation along with the recommendation for the future. www.bized.com,mcdonalds/mcindex, Retrieved from : Business source complete database Corporate culture and values of McDonalds Corporation McDonalds corporate strategy is to do the right things and provide the best to the customers and community they serve, and the employees of the organisation. McDonalds has a strong corporate culture and supportive about the global youth employment. In McDonalds every procedure has a very particular rules and regulations of how it should be carried out. It tries to provide best support to its employees. It is dedicated to provide the customers unique level of quality, cleanliness, value and service. They are in the believe that well trained team will serve the best by working together and , so they are committed with people and encourages team building and team work. McDonalds sets out all aspects of business with integrity and honesty. They believe in celebrating the achievement and are strived for new higher goals and its accomplishments. They are highly committed to customers expectation and satisfaction. They are directed to convert awareness into action. The Goal of McDonalds is to have people within the organisation to work to better performance and living to reach their full potential. They have performance based rewards for the employees which provide a platform for the workers to deliver the best to the day to day activities. They believe in balance of work as higher burden of time and work pressure will deteriorate the performance of the employees. They have proper and specific roles and responsibly mentioned for each employees of the workforce. McDonalds have systematic Nick Hopkings,www.docstoc.com, organisational structure of McDonalds(2006) Retrieved from: improving customer focus through organisational structure rules to follow and are inclined towards good health. The following are experienced in the organisation:- Fast customer service. Free from error occurrence. Decision making is simple. Facilities are well maintained. The premises of the restaurants are clean. Well built teams and effective team work with specified work. Standards are based on value, quality and cleanliness. Full control on the every link of the supply chain Food safety is the important consideration of the company Performance based rewards and better scope for promotions on the basis of performance. Organisational problems and causes underlying the problems: McDonalds has also some organisational problems which led it to criticism in its operations. Organisational problems provide a thread to operate smoothly in its activities and poise a difficulty in maintaining quality and performances. The following are the organisational problems and the underlying causes www.mcdonalds.com/us, our story , our values ,Retrieved from : Business source complete database McDonalds is blamed for excessive packaging waste. The main cause of this is due to unplanned packaging design and in accurate way of handling it. Centralised authority is maintained in McDonalds. All the decisions are made by the higher level management and the lower level and crew members have to follow it which created a bridge of gap among various level of management. Strict procedure and employees must focus on how things to be carried out which discouraged many employees as they were unable to communicate their feedback and difficulties. The team lacks motivation to the performance due to strict rules and no feedback process. The team lacks ability as they are allowed to work under fixed guidelines as skills and capabilities all differs. McDonalds is often blamed for obesity and high in calories food. Horizontal division of labour as each task of the employees is specified and the more compliance on the final product which creates boredom among the employees which will lead to decrease in performance. Interiors and the look should be changed as it has been quite a long they have not uninitiated any new look. www.bized.com,mcdonalds/mcindex, Retrieved from : Business source complete database Alternatives and recommendations for the problems arising in the organisation Vertical decision making should be facilitate in the organization which will encourage communication among the various levels in the organisation Decentralised organisational structure should be maintained so that the lower level management should be able to communicate and express their ideas freely. The crew members will feel their importance to the organisation and will play a vital role in improving the performance. The organisation should follow work hard and play hard culture. This will lead to more employee participation through more involvement and decrement in risk taking. Increase in delegation of responsibility to subordinates must be initiated which will encourage higher performance by the employees Negative attention should be stopped to attract i.e. no hormones , no chemicals etc Should be more focused into customer care Should not be associated with globalisation and corporate greed Make the interiors more attractive by introducing more attractive uniforms for employees, new themes etc. Better and improvements in community relations should be started. Each restaurants should be allowed to adapt to its own local area which will encourage better selling and attractions from the locality Take more risk by adding new food items in the menu Rotation of employees works tasks so that they get trained in various sections like finance and accounting. Should try to go organic and provide more healthy food i.e. less in calories etc Conclusion McDonalds has strong corporate values and the industry where it is operating is highly competitive. To maintain the customer value and satisfaction it must improve on the products they are offering. McDonalds should initiate with new product line or new items in the menu so customers are not bored with same items and also maintain the quality of the products it has been serving. The interiors and design should be given a new look to attract new generation and new customers also the old customers feel the speciality about it.

NHS Acceptance Essay :: College Admissions Essays

NHS Acceptance Essay The standards for entrance into the National Honor Society are scholarship, leadership, character, and service. Through this paper I will strive to prove that I possess all of these qualities, and moreover, that I am qualified for entrance into an organization as prestigious as the National Honor Society. Over the past four years as a scholar, I believe that I have demonstrated all of these characteristics. That I have the scholarly ability required to be a NHS member is indicated simply by the fact that I was nominated for entrance into the NHS in the first place, though since I get the impression that more than this is required, I will point out that I have consistently made the honor roll every quarter during my years in both High- and Middle-school. Also, my involvement in the school's "Jets TEAMS" (Test of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science) team during my Junior year functions as an indicator of my scholarship. Jets TEAMS is an intense, annual competition in which s chools send 8 of their strongest students to compete against other schools in a nationwide contest. During my Junior year I was fortunate enough to be selected as one of the eight students (only 3 of whom were Juniors) who would go to the competition, and through our team's efforts, we were able to come in first in the state of Connecticut, earning recognition not just for ourselves, but for the town of Granby as well. Through my involvement in Jets TEAMS and my solid academic record, I feel that I have demonstrated the scholarship required for entrance into the National Honor Society. It is difficult to narrow things down to a single situation in which I have demonstrated leadership qualities to the extent that is required for entrance into the NHS, but for the purposes of this paper (and the sake of brevity), I will focus on my past involvement in the "People to People: Student Ambassador Program." People to People is a nationally recognized organization which sends groups of Amer ican students to foreign countries where they can learn about another culture by experiencing it firsthand. Their itinerary also stresses the development of leadership skills and the importance of teamwork. Through my involvement in this program, aside from learning a lot about a foreign culture (I traveled to Australia for 3 weeks), I also learned a great deal about the responsibilities and obligations that go along with being a leader. NHS Acceptance Essay :: College Admissions Essays NHS Acceptance Essay The standards for entrance into the National Honor Society are scholarship, leadership, character, and service. Through this paper I will strive to prove that I possess all of these qualities, and moreover, that I am qualified for entrance into an organization as prestigious as the National Honor Society. Over the past four years as a scholar, I believe that I have demonstrated all of these characteristics. That I have the scholarly ability required to be a NHS member is indicated simply by the fact that I was nominated for entrance into the NHS in the first place, though since I get the impression that more than this is required, I will point out that I have consistently made the honor roll every quarter during my years in both High- and Middle-school. Also, my involvement in the school's "Jets TEAMS" (Test of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science) team during my Junior year functions as an indicator of my scholarship. Jets TEAMS is an intense, annual competition in which s chools send 8 of their strongest students to compete against other schools in a nationwide contest. During my Junior year I was fortunate enough to be selected as one of the eight students (only 3 of whom were Juniors) who would go to the competition, and through our team's efforts, we were able to come in first in the state of Connecticut, earning recognition not just for ourselves, but for the town of Granby as well. Through my involvement in Jets TEAMS and my solid academic record, I feel that I have demonstrated the scholarship required for entrance into the National Honor Society. It is difficult to narrow things down to a single situation in which I have demonstrated leadership qualities to the extent that is required for entrance into the NHS, but for the purposes of this paper (and the sake of brevity), I will focus on my past involvement in the "People to People: Student Ambassador Program." People to People is a nationally recognized organization which sends groups of Amer ican students to foreign countries where they can learn about another culture by experiencing it firsthand. Their itinerary also stresses the development of leadership skills and the importance of teamwork. Through my involvement in this program, aside from learning a lot about a foreign culture (I traveled to Australia for 3 weeks), I also learned a great deal about the responsibilities and obligations that go along with being a leader.

Refusing to Be a Victim Essay

The Virginia Tech Massacre was one of the deadliest shooting incidents by a single gunman (MSNC). With a bright future ahead, Reema Samaha was an 18 year-old freshman on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. Physically beautiful, excellent academic performance, proud of her Lebanese culture, future graduate of international studies and a minor in French, talented contemporary dancer, full of life, but a killer decided to end her life on April 16, 2007 (â€Å"We Remember: biographies†). She was murdered among 32 other students and staff. She was trapped in her French class with no gun with which to protect herself. Guns on campus should be allowed based on â€Å"the right to bear arms† authorized in the United States Constitution, the increasing violence on campus, the impossible mission to protect all the students by campus police, and the â€Å"Gun-Free Zone† sticker that attracts the killers. The second amend ment under the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution has protected the right of the people to keep and bear arms since 1791 (Head). It protects an individual’s right to possess and use a firearm for lawful purposes, such as self-defense. It is unlawful to bear arms to participate in a militia or to use for unlawful purposes. If somebody enters my property without invitation, it is my right, under the second amendment, to use a gun against a trespasser. One of the foundations that you acquire when you are a mother is to protect your loved ones at any cost if somebody attacks them. In the face of economic distress and the resulting risk for violence, the ability to protect oneself as allowed under the Constitution is increasingly important and must not be abridged. One example of that violence is sexual assaults on college campuses where nine occur each day. Also, there were 16 sniper victims at the University of Texas at Austin in 1966, 32 at Virginia Tech in 2007, five at Northern Illinois University in 2008, one at Virginia Tech in 2011, and three at San Jose State University in 2011 (â€Å"Infopleaseâ⠂¬ )†¦ What protection did the schools offer? The only option for the victim is to play dead or huddle under a desk hoping that the killer will not shoot them. Unfortunately, there is currently no alternative to simply hiding and praying that the bad guy will give you grace. Protecting all the students is an impossible mission for universities. Campus officials have introduced several responses to the problem of campus crime. Campus police, text  message alerts and cameras are all excellent ideas that improve responsiveness, but responsiveness is not the same as readiness. Text messages are unsuccessful, police are spread out across huge campuses and cameras have proven ineffective. Universities are open environments with indiscernible boundaries and few procedures to prevent or deal with a calamitous event. Colleges cannot guarantee protection or eliminate armed assaults. It is unrealistic to expect colleges to provide airport-like security with perimeter enforcement, metal detectors, armed guards, bag inspections and pat downs. Therefore, any institutions that cannot provide protection for their visitors must not deprive students of the ability to protect themselves. The â€Å"Free-Gun Zone† does not achieve its desired purpose. In fact, â€Å"Gun-Free Zone† sign attracts killers. Congress adopted the Gun-Free School Zones Act in 1990, prohibiting the possession of firearms in posted areas (â€Å"School Law†). Laws have never influenced criminal behavior because criminals, by their characters, do not respect laws. So a sticker on the campus doors stating â€Å"No guns allowed† is merely ironic in the face of tragedy. To the criminal, it means that this campus is a safe zone where victims are unable to protect themselves — a paradise zone for a killer! He is sure to succeed in his mission to kill with little risk to himself! The â€Å"Gun-Free Zone† sticker screams â€Å"Easy Targets Here.† One basis of opposition to guns on campus focuses on the presumed danger of young people, who are less mature, possessing guns. Some fear that during a party, a quarrel with friends could lead to use of a gun to resolve a disagreement. However, a student would be required to apply for a license in order to carry a gun, which requires a comprehensive FBI criminal background check, fingerprinting, classroom instruction and live-fire certification (â€Å"eHow†). The traini ng is designed, in part, to cause the student with a concealed weapon to be careful. Licensing is available to applicants who are 21 years of age or older, thus more mature. Another argument of opposition emphasizes the possibility of violence increasing with concealed weapons on campus, as if the mere presence of a weapon will increase violence. However, the benefit of having concealed weapons allowed on campus is proven by the fact that 26 colleges and universities, in Utah and in Colorado, a total70 campuses, currently allowing concealed carry on campus have not been a single report of shootouts, accidents or heated conflicts. In fact, rather  than causing crime as feared, Colorado State University’s crime rate has declined steadily since allowing concealed carry weapons. Allowing concealed weapons does not increase risk. To the contrary, it presents an advantage; it reduces crime and violence. Statistics and fact repudiate the fallacy that concealed weapons on campus will increase violence. In fact, guns should be permitted on campus due to the constitutional right to bear arms, growing violence on campus, the unmanageable job for the campus police to protect the students and staff, and the attractiveness of the Gun-free zone to malefactors. It should not stop there. High school teachers should be allowed to carry a weapon. As a future French teacher, I don’t want to die as a victim, but as a brave little soldier who will fight for my life and those of my students whom I would have in my charge. No one has the right to end a life of a living being for nothing. But many lives will be terminated before a policy is put in place to stop the rampage. The campus and other public places shouldn’t allow us to revoke our right as citizens to protect ourselves. Reema Ramage’s parents would have loved to see her graduate from Virginia Tech, to be there for her wedding day, to hold her first child. But, a foolish man decided to kill these dreams. Sadly, no one was allowed to stop him. Reema has the right to live. Works Cited .MSNC, â€Å"Worst U.S. shooting ever kills 33 on Va. campus.† (2007): n. page. Print. . .†Virginia Tech.† We Remember: biographies. N.p., 2007. Web. 3 Apr 2012. . .Head, Tom. â€Å"The Second Amendment.† About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Apr 2012. . .†Time Line of Worldwide School Shootings.† Infoplease. Pearson Education, 2012. Web. 3 Apr 2012. . .†California’s Gun-Free School Zone Act .† School Law. N.p., 2012. Web. 3 Apr 2012. . . â€Å"How to Get a Permit to Carry a Concealed Weapon in Texas.† eHow. N.p., 2012. Web. 3 Apr 2012. .

Hopkins Winhover Analysis

Who is God? Gerard Hopkins spent his life finding the answer through his poetry and exploring the nature around him. In Gerard Hopkins' poem â€Å"The Windhover† there is a representational allusion to Christ and Jesus. The speaker praises the Lord by praising what he takes as a symbol for Christ. Throughout the poem the speaker symbolizes Christ's glory by the way the falcon reacts to the air, how it maneuvers and even characteristic traits of the falcon species. The poem uses alliteration, internal rhyming, compound metaphors, elliptical grammar and complex threads of connotation. One could only appreciate the glory of the Lord more after interpreting the poem. The poem is almost impossible to understand without good background knowledge about Hopkins’s ideas and his odd words. There are many words of the Anglo-Saxon origin like rung (past tense of ‘ring’), minion, dauphin, and chevalier. There are also unusual combinations like â€Å"dapple-dawn-drawn†, which is an image of the bird. The last stanza is particularly complex because of the associatively linked words related to Christ and his sacrifice. Finally, the grammar is also odd; actually the poem does not follow any traditional grammar and structure. In short, the poem can be discussed as a sonnet because it has some of the features of the typical sonnet, but it must be called a modified sonnet adapted to a different kind of subject, word-game and music. The poem is therefore the thanksgiving to Christ. It is a hymn that is romantic in form but religious in theme. When the poet sees the beautiful bird, he is reminded of Christ and becomes thankful and appreciative of him. The poem’s theme is therefore related to the poet’s praise of Christ rather than being about the bird. Hopkins has mixed his romantic fascination with the nature and his religious favor of gratitude towards God for giving us a beautiful nature. The beauty of nature is illustrated by his attention that is suddenly drawn by the scene of a bird flying in the sky. He describes a bird which he saw flying in the sky that morning. Like in a romantic poem, he remembers the experience to express his feelings. That morning, the speaker had been out at dawn. From the excited description in the poem, we can infer that the speaker was probably in the field. This admirer of Christ brings the image of Christ’s wounds, pain and sacrifice. This suggests that he always remembers and becomes thankful to Christ. The poem is subtitled â€Å"To Christ our Lord† because the falcon reminds him of Christ. The speaker continuously hails one of God's most stunning creatures, the falcon. He is flabbergasted at the magnificence of the windhover's flight. He wonders at its colorful feathers and the sheer speed of its flight. His tone suggests that he is in awe. He is observing something equivalent to the second coming of Jesus or angels walking among regular men. He throws out a barrage of visual imagery to describe the windhover and still does not seem to come close to its real magnificence. He wonders how such a creature could exist but is eventually just filled with glee in knowing the fact that it does exist. In the first stanza the speaker states that he spotted the morning's minion as if to suggest that the falcon was somehow less important to the morning. He suggests that there is some sort of royal hierarchy by using words that recall images of sovereignty. He describes the different tricks of the bird’s flight. The second stanza takes a different stance on things. The windhover is out maneuvering when it smoothly and suddenly dives. The speaker is scared for the birds' safety but is pleasantly surprised when the bird is lifted by a huge wind. One can say that in times of foolish pleasure he can fall but Christ will always be there to lift him back up. Christ is the cushion needed for even a temporary fall from grace. Stanza three uses a stream of descriptive words to denote the dignity of such a creature. In the animal kingdom it would be considered king of the roost. The speaker calls the windhover a chevalier meaning knight or in other words a savior. Christ is also considered a savior. The speaker compares the bird and Christ with the hard work of the plow that creates a channel and displays the wet soil underneath and burned embers that shine red-gold when split open and burn with fire. That is directly omparable to the assumption that the speaker was living a dark life until the Lord stirred up his liveliness, split open his dark shell and helped him to shine with a new vigor for life. Christ could be seen in nature in the windhover's existence. He is symbolized in all the actions of the falcon and also represented in its characteristics. The speaker praises the Lord by his amazed praise and represented in its characteristics . The speaker praises the Lord by his amazed praise and appreciation. Christ does exists in even the smaller details in life and all we have to do is observe them periodically to know that Christ lives on.

Indian Agriculture Essay

Indian agriculture had reached the stage of development and maturity much before the now advanced countries of the world embarked upon the path of progress. There was a proper balance between agriculture and industry and both flourished hand in hand. This situation continued till the middle of the 18th century. The interference from the alien British govt. destroyed the balance and the economy of the country was badly shattered. Therefore Indian agriculture in the pre-independence period can be correctly described as a â€Å"subsistence† occupation. It was only after the advent of planning (more precisely the advent of the green revolution in 1966) that the farmers started adopting agriculture on a commercial basis. THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURE IN INDIAN ECONOMY 1. Share in national income: at the time of the First World War, agriculture contributed two-thirds of the national income. After the initiation of planning in India, the share of agriculture has persistently declined due to the development of the secondary and the tertiary sectors. At 1999-2000 prices, the share of agriculture in GDP at factor cost was 27. see more:non farm activities 3% in 1999-2000 and 21. 7% in 2005-2006. 2. Largest employment providing sector: in 1951, 69. 5% of the working population was engaged in agriculture. This percentage fell to 66. 9% in 1991 and to 56. 7% in 2001. 3. Provision of food surplus to the expanding population: the ninth Five Year Plan set a target of increasing the food grains production from a level of 199. 4 million tonnes in 1996-97 to 300 million tonnes by 2007-08 to meet the consumption requirement of India’s estimated population of more than a billion. 4. Contribution to capital formation: since agriculture happens to be the largest industry in India, it can play an important role in pushing up the rate of capital formation. The policies advocated are: a) Transfer of labor and capital from farm to non-farm activities. b) Taxation of agriculture in such a way that the burden on agriculture is greater than the governmental services provided to agriculture. c) Turning the terms of trade against agriculture b imposing price controls on agricultural products, taxation or the use of multiple exchange rates that discriminate against agriculture. 5. Providing raw materials to industries: agriculture provides raw materials to various industries of national importance, like, sugar industry, jute industry, cotton textile industry, etc. 6. Market for industrial products: since more than two-thirds of the population of India lives in rural areas, increased rural purchasing power is a valuable stimulus to industrial development. 7. Importance in international trade: for a number of years, cotton textiles, jute and tea accounted for more than 50% of export earnings of the country. With economic progress and consequent diversification of production base, the share of agricultural goods in total exports has consistently fallen. It fell from 44. 2% in 1960-61to 10. 2% in 2005-06. A growing surplus of agricultural produce is needed in the country to: i) Increase supply of food and agricultural raw materials at non-inflationary prices. ii) Widen the domestic market for industrial goods through increased purchasing power within the rural sector. iii) Facilitate inter-sectoral transfers of capital needed for industrial development (including infrastructure) iv) Increase foreign exchange earnings through agricultural exports. THE NATURE OF INDIA’S AGRICULTURE At the time of independence, India’s agriculture was in a state of backwardness. Productivity per hectare and per worker was extremely low. The techniques employed were age-old and traditional. Because of low productivity, agriculture merely provided ‘subsistence’ to the farmers and had not become ‘commercialized’. Approximately 45% of the total consumption of the farmers came from their own production in 1951-52. This highlights the low importance of money in the village economy. These reveal that Indian agriculture was backward and qualitatively traditional in nature on the eve of the First Five Year Plan. Some of the causes responsible for the above state of affairs are listed below: 1. Feudal relations of production: at the time of independence, three types of land tenure systems existed in the country-zamindari, mahalwari and ryotwari. Approximately 57% area of the country was under the zamindar system, ryotwari came second with 38% and mahalwari was restricted to only 5%. 2. Usurious capital and rural indebtedness. 3. Labor market dualism: because of the excessive pressure of population on land, wages in the agricultural sector tend to be considerably lower as compared to the modern (industrial) sector. This leads to a labor market dualism. Low wages in the agricultural sector lead to low per-capita income and this, in turn, results in low labor productivity. 4. Outmoded farming techniques. 5. Fluctuations and instability in crop output: even now, approximately 60% of gross cropped area continues to depend on rainfall. Therefore nature continues to play a major role in determining the role of agricultural production. 6. Diversities in the agricultural sector and the problem of generalization: different regions exhibit entirely different characteristics so that no one plan can be conceived for all agricultural regions of the country. CROPPING PATTERN IN INDIA By crop pattern, we mean the proportion of area of different crops at a point of time, changes in this distribution over a period of time and factors determining this change in distribution. Cropping pattern in India is determined mainly natural factors like rainfall, climate and soil conditions. However, technological conditions have also played an important part. Some significant facts about the cropping pattern in India are summarized below: 1. Food crops including cereals, millets, pulses, vegetables and fruits cover nearly three-fourths of total cropped area. Of the total area under food grains, a large proportion is occupied by cereals. Of the total area of 121. 9 million hectares under food grains in2005-2006, the share of cereals was 99. 5 million hectares (i. e. , 81. 6%) 2. Rice is the most important food grain crop in India. 2005-0 6 it was grown on 43. 5 million hectares, which amounted to 34. 7% of total area under food grains. This shows that rice is grown on more than one-third of the total area under food grains. 3. The second important crop in India is wheat. In 2005-06 wheat was grown on 26. 6million hectares, which comes to 21. 8% of the area under food grains. 4. The combined area under jowar, bajra and maize declined in percentage from 28. 6% in 1950-51 to 21. 4% in 2005-06. 5. Area under oilseeds was 10. 7 million hectares in 1950-51 and 19millio hectares in 1985-86. To achieve self-sufficiency in edible oils, the govt. launched a no. of programs in 1980s. As a result of these programs, area under oilseeds increased rapidly to 26. 2 million hectares in 1998-99. In 2005-06, area under oilseeds rose to 27. 7 million hectares. 6. In commercial crops, the area under sugarcane increased from 1. 8 million hectares in 1950-51 to 4. 2 million hectares in 2005-06. The area under jute increased from 0. 6 million hectares in 1950-51 to 0. 8 million hectares in 2005-06. Area under cotton rose from5. 9 million hectares in 1950-51 to 8. 9 in 2005-06. TRENDS IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY Agricultural production has two components- food grains and non food grains. In the index no. of agricultural production, the weights assigned to food grains and non food grains are62. 9 and 37. 1 respectively. The most important component in the food grains category is rice (weight 29. 7), followed by wheat (weight 14. 5). In non food grains category, oilseeds constitute the most important group (weight 12. 6). Sugarcane carries a weight of 8. 1 while cotton carries a weight of 4. 4. As far as food grains output is concerned, the total production increased from 50. 8 million tonnes in 1950-51 to 187. 0 million tonnes in the eighth plan, and further to 202. 9 million tonnes in the ninth plan. However, because of draught conditions in the first year of the tenth plan, 2002-03, the food grains output declined to 174. 8 million tones but again rose to 213. 2 million tonnes in 2003-04. However in 2004-05, it fell to 198. 4 million tonnes and stood at 208. 3 million tonnes in 2005-06. In the non food grains group, jute and cotton show slow and halting progress in both the periods. However, the production of oilseeds rose considerably in the latter half of the 1980s and certain years of the 1990s. It increased from 12. 7 million tonnes in 1987-88 to 27. 7 million tonnes in 2005-06. Production of cotton rose from 8. 4 million bales in the seventh plan to 19. 6 million bales in 2005-06. Sugarcane registered a more or less steady growth during the entire period 1950-51 to 2002-03, but its production fell sharply in 2003-04 and 2004-05. However, in 2005-06, it bounced back to touch 278. 4 million tonnes. Over the period 1950-51 to 2005-06, yield per hectare of all food grains has increased by more than three times from 552 kgs per hectare in 1950-51 to 1,708 kgs per hectare in 2005-06. Most significant increase has been recorded by wheat with its yield increasing from 655 kgs per hectare in 1950-51 to 2,607 kgs per hectare in 2005-06. While the productivity of maize has increased significantly during recent years, the productivity of jowar and bajra has increased relatively slowly. Productivity of pulses was only 585 kgs per hectare in 2005-06 which was only slightly higher than the productivity in 1960-61. A comparison of productivity levels of Indian agriculture with the levels in other countries shows how low the productivity in Indian agriculture is. India happens to be one of the largest growers and producers of most of the agricultural crops, but ranks very low in terms of yield. For instance, it has the largest area under rice and wheat in the world and the second largest producer of these crops. However, in terms of productivity, its rank is only 52nd in the world in rice and 38th in wheat. Not only is productivity in Indian agriculture lower than that in other countries, it is much lower than the potential. The causes of low productivity in Indian agriculture can be divided in the following three categories: I. General causes. 1. Social environment: it is said that the Indian farmer is illiterate, superstitious, conservative and unresponsive to new and modern agricultural techniques. The social environment of the villages is often stated to be an obstacle in agricultural development. 2. Pressure of population on land: this is partly responsible for the sub-division and the fragmentation of the land holdings. Productivity on small and uneconomic holdings is low. 3. Land degradation: almost 43% of land suffers from high degradation resulting in 33-67% yield loss while 5% is so damaged that it is rendered unusable. II. Institutional causes. 1. Land tenure system: in this land tenure system, it is difficult to increase productivity through technological progress. Land reforms should precede technical changes. 2. Lack of credit and marketing facilities: Indian farmers continue to produce the same output even at more attractive prices. On account of lack o marketing facilities or non-availability of loans on fair interest rates, the cultivators are not able to invest the requisite resources in agriculture. This keeps the level of productivity low. 3. Uneconomic holdings: most of the holdings are not extremely small; they’re also fragmented into a no. of tiny plots so that cultivation can be carried on them only by labor intensive ways. This results in low productivity. III. Technical causes. 1. Outmoded agricultural techniques: most of the Indian farmers still use outmoded techniques. Wooden ploughs and bullocks are still used by majority farmers. Use of fertilizers and HYV seeds are very limited. Indian agriculture is traditional. 2. Inadequate irrigational facilities: almost 60% of the gross cropped area depends on rains. Rainfall is often insufficient, uncertain & irregular. Thus productivity is low in areas depending wholly on rainfall. Even in areas having irrigational facilities, potential is not fully utilized because of defective management. Also with the ever rising cost of irrigation, small farmers can’t make use of the irrigational facilities. Following are some of the measures to increase productivity: 1. Implementation of land reforms: even though the land reforms have been introduced in India in the post-independence period, the results from it are pretty unsatisfactory. Therefore special efforts have to be made by the State to implement those reforms forcefully. Unless this is done, the tiller won’t have any incentive to invest in land and adopt new agricultural techniques. Thus, land reforms are the foremost necessity. 2. Integrated management of land & water resources: almost half of country’s soil is degraded. There’s a huge loss due to water-logging, salinization and human induced water erosion. This proves the urgency of the integrated & efficient management of our land and water resources. 3. Improved seeds: this play an important role in increasing productivity. E. g. :- HYV of wheat in Punjab, Haryana & U. P. therefore the farmers should be educated in the methods of sowing, manuring and irrigating the new HYV seeds. 4. Fertilizers: improved variety of seeds requires heavy doses of fertilizers. Indian farmers use only a tenth of the required amount. Use of fertilizers in ample quantities can push up the productivity. 5. Irrigation: use of improved seeds & fertilizers require proper irrigational facilities. It can also make multiple cropping possible in many areas & thus increase the productivity. 6. Plant protection: most of the countryside farmers are unaware of the medicines and insecticides to face the challenge posed by diseases & insects. The govt. should maintain its own technical staff to carry out the spraying of pesticides & insecticides at nominal rates. 7. Farm mechanization: it is generally maintained through farm mechanization, agricultural production can be increased. It results in increase in productivity of land & labor, reduction in costs, saving of time & increase in economic surplus. 8. Provision of credit & market facilities: use of improved seeds, fertilizers, irrigational facilities, pesticides, machinery, etc. requires substantial money resources which small farmers don’t possess. Thus it is necessary to strengthen the credit-cooperative sector. The commercial banks should be encouraged to lend more to small farmers. Cooperative marketing societies should be promoted to ensure better prices to small farmers. THE GREEN REVOLUTION A team of experts sponsored by the Ford Foundation was invited by the Government of India in the latter half of the second Five Year Plan to suggest ways and means to increase agricultural production and productivity. This necessity arose out of the need to increase agricultural production in the ace of continuing stagnation of production on one hand, and rapidly increasing demand on the other. On the basis of the recommendations of this team, the govt. introduced an intensive development program in seven districts selected from seven states in 1960 and this program was named Intensive Area Development Program (IADP). A district selected under IADP was required to possess qualities such as assured water supply, minimum hazards (like floods, drainage problems, acute soil conservation problem, etc), well developed village institutions and maximum potentialities for increasing agricultural production within a short span of time. The seven districts selected were West Godavari in Andhra Pradesh, Shahabad in Bihar, Raipur in Madhya Pradesh, Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, Ludhiana in Punjab, Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh and Pali in Rajasthan—the first four were selected for rice, the next two for wheat and the last one for millets. This program was later extended to remaining states also by selecting one district from each state for intensive development. In October 1965, the net was widened and 114 districts were selected for intensive development and the program labeled as Intensive Agricultural Areas Program (IAAP). The period of mid-1960s was very significant from the point of view of agriculture. New high-yielding varieties of wheat were developed in Mexico by Prof. Norman Borlaug and his associates and adopted by a number of countries. These high yielding variety of seeds required proper irrigation facilities and extensive use of fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides. This new â€Å"agricultural strategy† was put into practice for the first time in India in the kharif season of 1966 and was termed High-Yielding Varieties Program (HYVP). This program was introduced in the form of a packaged program since it depended crucially on regular and adequate irrigation, fertilizers, high-yielding varieties of seeds, pesticides and insecticides. Initially it was implemented in a total area of 1. 89 million hectares. In 1998-99, total area under HYVP was 78. 4 million hectares. This was 62. 6% of the total area under food grains (data for later years are not available). IMPACT OF GREEN REVOLUTION Throughout the period of the green revolution, population was increasing at a rate of over 2% p. a, constantly pressing on the margin of cultivation of traditional agriculture. I. Impacts on agricultural production: As a result of new agricultural strategy, food grains output increased substantially from 81. 0 million tonnes in the third Plan to 208. 3 million tonnes in 2005-06. HYVP was restricted to only five crops-wheat, rice, jowar, bajra and maize. Therefore, non-food grains were excluded from the ambit of the new strategy. The production of wheat increased from 11. 1 million tonnes in the third plan to 69. 5 million tonnes in 2005-06. The overall contribution of wheat increased from 13% in 1950-51 to 33. 4% in 2005-06. Thus, wheat has remained the mainstay of the green revolution over the years. The average annual production of rice rose from 35. 1million tonnes in the third plan to 91. 0 million tonnes in 2005-06. The production of course cereals-jowar, bajra and maize-continues to remain static or has moved very slowly upwards. As far as pulses are concerned, their production was 11. 7 million tonnes in second plan, which rose to 13. 1 million tonnes in 2005-06. But even this is less than the requirement of pulses in India estimated at 17 million tonnes. The bulk of vegetable oil production in India is derived from nine cultivated oilseeds, namely, groundnut, mustard, sesame, safflower, nigerseed, soyabean, sunflower-forming the edible group-and linseed and castorseed forming the inedible group. The total production of oilseeds averaged 8. 3 million tonnes in the fourth plan and 11. 4 million tonnes in the sixth plan. To achieve self-sufficiency in edible oils, the govt. launched a series of measures towards the end of the sixth plan and the seventh plan. As a result of these, the average annual production of oilseeds rose from 11. 4 million tonnes in the sixth plan to 24. 7 million tonnes in 1998-99. This is also termed as the â€Å"yellow revolution†. II. Economic impacts of the green revolution i. Crop areas under HYV seeds needed more water, fertilizers, pesticides and certain other chemicals. This spurred the growth of the local manufacturing sector. Such industrial growth created new jobs and contributed to the country’s GDP. ii. The increase in irrigation created a need for new dams to harness monsoon water. The water stored was used to create hydro-electric power. This in turn boosted industrial growth and improved the quality of life of the villagers. iii. India paid back all the loans it had taken from the World Bank and all its affiliates for the purpose of green revolution. This improved India’s credit worthiness in the eyes of the lending agencies. III. Impact on labor absorption The adoption of new technology has reduced labor absorption in agriculture. In a large number of states, especially in those regions where there was abundant availability of labor, the growth of output was too slow to generate adequate employment opportunities. In high growth rate regions, labor was not plentiful and wage rate was high. The sudden rise in demand for labor in these areas induced mechanization and labor saving practices in general. Also, the HYVP is basically a land saving technology. By increasing the yield per acre, the new technology makes it possible to increase food production out of a given amount of land. This tends to increase the demand for labor. On the other hand, mechanized processes tend to reduce the demand for labor. In addition, the very dynamic possibility of increasing yields may itself encourage mechanization and in turn decreases the employment of labor. In recent years, a significant development in the pattern of rural labor absorption has been a shift away from crop production and into rural non-farm activities like agro-processing industries and other rural industries. IV. Political impacts of the green revolution India transformed itself from a starving nation to an exporter of food. This earned admiration for India in the committee of nations, especially in the third world. The green revolution was one factor that made Mrs. Indira Gandhi (1917-1984) and her party, the Indian National Congress, very powerful political force in India. [BOX: HIMACHAL PRADESH TOPS AGAIN IN IMPLEMENTATION OF 20 POINT PROGRAMMNE 17th July 2009 :Himachal Pradesh has done it once again. Yes, it has maintained the first position in the implementation of Twenty-Point Programme amongst all the States in the Country by attaining 92 percent achievement up to February during the financial year 2008-09, the last but one month of the financial year. This achievement is two percent more than the Gujarat, four percent Uttrakhand and five percent Andhra Pradesh the four top States that had been ranked in the implementation of this programme. The main thrust of the Twenty Point Programme is poverty alleviation, employment generation housing, education, family welfare & health, protection of environment and other schemes having a bearing on the quality of life, especially in rural areas. Under Employment Generation Programme, 8, 17,364 job cards have been issued in the State during the period thereby generating employment of 1. 54 crore man days by giving wages worth Rs. 171 crore . Under Individual Swaranjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojna percent achievement of the State had been 517 as 8619 individual swarojgars have been assisted against a target of 1886 fixed for the year. Karnataka follows Himachal Pradesh in it whose percent achievements are 470. This speaks about tremendous performance of the State. Under Swaranjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojna the achievement of the State is 318 percent. As many as 3486 individual ST Swarojgaries and 5612 individual women swarojgaries have been assisted from April, 2008 to February 2009 under this scheme. ] AGRICULTURAL FINANCE AND MARKETING Agriculture is an unorganized profession. Its success and failure depends, o a large extent, on climatic factors. Further, it’s not always possible to distinguish between productive and unproductive loans of the farmers. Because of these factors, banks did not show much interest in advancing loans to agriculture and allied activities for a long time and farmers were forced to depend on money-lenders and mahajans. NEED FOR AGRICULTURAL FINANCE Credit needs of the farmers can be examined from two different angles: i) On the basis of time : Agricultural credit needs of the farmers can be further classified into three categories:- a. Short term loans are required for the purchase of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, feeds and fodder of livestock, etc. the period of such loans is less than 15 months. Main agencies of granting of short term loans are the moneylenders and co-operative societies. b. Medium term loans are generally obtained for the purchase of cattle, small agricultural implements; repair and construction of wells, etc. the period of such loans extend from 15 months to 5 years. These loans are generally provided by moneylenders, relative of farmers, co-operative societies and commercial banks. c. Long term loans are required for effecting permanent improvements on land; repayment of old wells, etc. The period of such loans extends beyond 5 years. Such loans are normally taken from Primary Co-operative Agricultural and Rural Development Banks (PCARDBs). ii) On the basis of purpose : Agricultural needs of the farmers can be further classified into the following categories: a. Under productive needs we can include all credit requirements which directly affect agricultural productivity. b. Farmers often require loans for consumption as well. Most of the farmers do not have sufficient income to sustain themselves. Therefore they have to take loans for meeting their consumption needs. Institutional credit agencies do not provide loans for consumption purposes. Accordingly, farmers are forced to fall back upon moneylenders. c. In addition to consumption, farmers also require loans for a multiplicity of other unproductive purposes. Since institutional agencies do not grant credit for such unproductive purposes, farmers have to seek assistance from moneylenders and mahajans. SOURCES OF AGRICULTURAL FINANCE AND THEIR RELATIVE IMPORTANCE Sources of agricultural finance can be divided into two categories: 1. Non-institutional sources 2. Institutional sources The non-institutional sources are the following- * Moneylenders * Relatives * Traders * Commission agents * Landlords The institutional sources comprise the Co-operatives, Scheduled Commercial Banks and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs). As far as co-operatives are concerned, the Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACSs) provide mainly short and medium term goals and PCARDBs long term loans to agriculture. The Commercial Banks, including RRBs provide both short and medium term loans for agriculture and allied activities. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is the apex institution at the national level for agricultural credit and provides refinance assistance tot eh agencies mentioned above. The Reserve Bank of India, as the central bank of the country, plays a crucial role in this sphere by giving overall direction to rural credit and financial support to NABARD for its operations. The first institution established and promoted was the institution of co-operative credit societies. By the end of 1976, there emerged three separate institutions for providing rural credit, which is often described, as the multi-agency approach. In 1982, NABARD was set up. India now has a wide network of rural finance institutions (RFIs). There are more than 30,000 commercial bank branches, 14,000 regional rural banks and about 1,00,000 rural credit co-operatives. As a result of the efforts undertaken by the govt., the share of non-institutional sources in rural credit, which was as high as 92. 7% in 1951, fell to 38. 9% in 2002. The share of moneylenders fell from 71. 6% in 1951 to 26. 8% in 2002. The share of institutional sources in rural credit rose correspondingly from 7. 3% in 1951 to 61. 1% in 2002. NATIONAL BANK FOR AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (NABARD) The most important development in the field of rural credit has been the setting up of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in July 1982. It took over from Reserve Bank of India all the functions that the layer performed in the field of rural credit. NABARD is now the apex bank for rural credit. And therefore, it doesn’t deal directly with farmers and other rural people. It grants assistance to them through the co-operative banks, commercial banks, RRBs, etc. NABARD’s credit to State Co-operative banks, State Governments and RRBs outstanding in 2004-05 was Rs. 8,577 crore which rose to Rs. 12,763 crore in 2005-06.