Relationship between entrepreneruship

Discuss the relationship between entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development. What role do creativity and problem solving play in this relationship? Refer to both theories and examples from the business world to support your discussion. Since last century, entrepreneurship and innovation have been heavily discussed. Entrepreneurs create new business and provide the Job opportunities to society as well as promote the economic development.However, with the increasing global economic competition, normal entrepreneurship becomes less competitiveness, government committed to develop innovative entrepreneurship in recent years Cukier, 2006). Therefore, the relationship between innovation and entrepreneurship becomes one of the most significant topics in the business field. Economists do a large number of researches to explore the connection between entrepreneurship and innovation as well as the position they related in economic development.During the process of exploring, a consi derable amount of definitions are put forward by experts based on their research knowledge and the analysis of entrepreneurs developed in recent decades. This essay will list the definitions put forward by ifferent economists, then support the ideas that innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development are deeply connected and interacted. Finally, combine with the experience of university group entrepreneurship project, attempt to explain importance role that the creativity and problem solving played in this process.Definition of the innovation and entrepreneurship is colored by different economists according to their observation, research and knowledge. From the innovation perspective, one of the most important definitions is related to the Joseph Schumpeter, a pioneer of the innovation management, who put forward a theory ccording to his early studying. Schumpeter (1934) defines innovation as the combination of new goods, new methods of production, the opening of new markets, the conquest of new sources of supply and the carrying out of a new organization of any industry.Jocabs (2007) list several definitions in her article based on her study: Peter Drucker believed that innovation is a process that change and creates a new dimension of performance; Jose Campos, director of the Center for Rapid Innovation considered that innovation is kind of the ability to which can deliver value to a ustomer; David Schmittlen has a deeper opinion, he believed that product is not the only factor innovation related, the processes and approaches to the marketplace is where innovation occur.All these definitions have their limitations and emphasizes, but with the change of the social and economic environment, innovation may have a wider meaning such as Regins Cabral mentioned in his opinion which connect the innovation with the network. From the entrepreneurship perspective, the word â€Å"entrepreneurship† related to many meanings. In the second volume of The Isol ated State (1850) provided by Johann von Thunen, he defined the entrepreneurship as a way which earns profits after cutting over all the expenses such as payments to capital, labor and insurance, and needs to take unpredictable risk.Risk part in this theory was supported by Frank Knight, and he believed the only risk that leads to profit is a unique uncertainty resulting from an exercise of ultimate responsibility which in its very nature cannot be insured nor capitalized nor salaried† (Knight, 1921). Joseph Schumpeter is one of the most influential economists in the history. His theory of entrepreneurship heavily ased on his innovation theory and roughly experienced three stages. In the early stage of his studying, his notion of entrepreneurship emphasized newness and innovation, and aimed at encouraging economic development (1928).Later, with more research had been done; Schumpeter gave up the risk-taking, one of the characteristics of entrepreneurship which is agreed by von Thunen and Knight. In the 1940s, Schumpeter's work on entrepreneurship became broader. In this period, he was no longer limited by original theory, but discussed several types of the entrepreneurs and extended the meaning of entrepreneurship. Another very important definition in history was made by Ludwing von Mises and Friedrich von Hayek.Ludwing von Mises (1963) has different ideas with Schumpeter by stated entrepreneurship involves anticipations of uncertain events rather than innovations. The reason why he said that is because there is a belief that entrepreneur gain profits by correctly anticipating the market and providing the products to customer before the competition driven by a desire for money. The definitions of the innovation and entrepreneurship are of variety, but viewpoint about the relationship between them is quite similar.Peter Drucker mentioned that entrepreneurship and innovation is companion terms, innovation is a tool that entrepreneurship can take advantage of. From the perspective of entrepreneurship, Schumpeter (1928, 1939) mentions that entrepreneurship as the source of the innovation and innovation as the engine of economic development, which emphasize the many attributes and motivation of the entrepreneur. This is an idea which was a leading though, many economist after Schumpeter agree with this idea.From the innovation perspective, economists such as Pretorius and Millard strongly supported he theory which considered a significant innovation is usually the basis of the successful entrepreneurial venture. Consider the opinions above all; innovation and entrepreneurship are deeply interacting with each other. For example, McDonalds' analyzed the marketplace and consumers' need; design the new production lines and new methods trained staff. According to the definitions listed before, due to McDonald's creative new marketplace and consumer, and combine with the improving of the management, it is entrepreneurship.In addition, cause t he increasing global economic competition, government as well as individual oncentrate more on the innovative entrepreneurship. Evidences shows that government of The European Union, United States and countries in Asia all published policies to support, lead and value the innovative entrepreneurship due to the large contributions it comes in the future (Cukier 2006). The relationship between innovation and economic growth is closely connected and the relationship between them is mutual. On the one hand, innovation is a source of economic development.According to the Schumpeter (1942), who considered the innovation activity of entrepreneur of a process which provide a creative ‘destruction rocess' by causing sustain disturbances to an economic system in equilibrium, and create new opportunities to economic. It means that innovation encourages the changes of economy system and creates opportunities which are beneficial to economic development. Peter Drucker is one of the influen tial economists, stated that the innovation is the central issue in economic prosperity.He listed five principles of innovation and the first one is the innovation beginning with analysis of the opportunities, starting from the small entrepreneurs and aiming at market leadership. In addition, a large amount of the empirical work showed evidence to ndicate that the level of the technological innovation do large contribute to economic performance, both at the companies and industry aspects. Economic development also creates a suitable environment for innovation. A high level economic development is conducive to innovation.The Global Innovative Index, which is established by INSEAD Business School and World Business, it measures the world's best and worst performing economies with measurement of innovation. It also evaluate the nation's strengths and weaknesses in their economic development environment especially policies and practices related to innovation. United States, Israel and S witzerland are top three countries. All of these countries have a common strength which is the positive environment for innovation, especially in United States. Government policies are firmly support the development of innovation.For example, Silicon Valley in California, which is the typical example to indicate government policies are essential fact to stimulate innovation. Similar to innovation and economic development, it is widely believed that entrepreneurship and economic development influence each other deeply. Entrepreneurship is beneficial for economic development. Entrepreneurship in the early twentieth century, according to the statement of Cipolla (1981) and Lazonick (1991), plays an essential role in the long-term economic. The contribution to the growth of economy was attributed to entrepreneurs.They seek for new opportunities, diversified the productions and develop a new market. With the change of the economic environment, in middle of the twentieth century, entrepre neurship lost its superiority, however, in the recent decades, with the revolution of the knowledge and technologies; it encouraged the development of entrepreneurship thinking Oovanovic, 1982; Audretsch, 1995). In the perspective of the economic development, entrepreneurs not only create new market but also provide the new ideas to marketplace, and promote the economic growth through a process of fierce competition.However, not all kinds of entrepreneurship are effective for economic development. According to the research by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), there are two kinds of entrepreneurship. One is â€Å"necessity entrepreneurship† and the other is â€Å"opportunity entrepreneurship†. Necessity entrepreneurship nas a negative ettect on economic development. A typical example of it is that after the fall of Berlin Wall, any workers in socialist countries found them had no options but work for themselves, this necessity entrepreneurship caused several years of negative GDP growth.On the contrary, opportunity entrepreneurship could lead to an economic development. Based on the statistics collected from the eleven countries, entrepreneurship which has multiple opportunities could lead to economic development (Asc, 2006). For one country, due to the fact that different countries have different economic development level, government should fgure out what kind the entrepreneurship is and develop opportunity entrepreneurship. For individuals, it is essential to analyze the opportunities and potential market before starting an enterprise.Creativity and problem solving cannot be ignored in the relationship among the entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development. Creativity is an essential characteristic in the problem solving process and it is usually defined as a process though which invention occurs something new comes into existence (Herbert et al. , 1999), and they also regard creativity as the starting point of the innovation. Ana lyzing creativity from the entrepreneurship direction, in past several decades, esearchers did a great deal studies to explore the position of creativity in the process of the development of entrepreneurship.Shaw (1996) mentions that opportunity is the first step that entrepreneurship pursued and creativity is the key point to identify business opportunity (Hills and Shrader 1998). Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla also said that no problem means no opportunity, no solution and no company. Therefore, due to the significant position in the entrepreneurial process, creativity is the soul of entrepreneurship (Morris and Kuratko, 2002). Since nnovation, entrepreneurship and economic development is closely connected, creativity is the fundamental of the whole relationship.In university, Entrepreneurship and Business is one of the most important modules which students need to major in. group project is the significant concept to help students to understand entrepreneurship and essential pos ition that creativity in problem solving process. Kirkham, Mosey and Binks (2009) state that the process of problem can be three steps: define, discover and determine. The project started from defines a problem, and then use the creativity thinking to discovery a large amount of olutions. Finally, determine the most effective solution.This process is what the entrepreneurship usually does in their commercial field. Identifying a problem in business, then analyze the business opportunities and use creativity thinking to find potential solutions in the marketplace, eventually decide the most effective way to establish an enterprise. To sum up, entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development are deeply connected. Definition of innovation and entrepreneurship various from people to people, but all these leads to a conclusion that innovation and entrepreneurship are ompanies terms.Innovation is the basis of the entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship as the source of innovation. In a ddition, in the process of economic development, all evidences show innovation promotes the economic development and an environment which support by government policies encourages the innovation as well. Entrepreneurship benefit to economic development, although only opportunity entrepreneurship has a positive effect to economy. Though the analysis of creativity and problem solving, recognize the importance role it play in the economic development. words: 1896

Love between People Essay

In the novel The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks, love is portrayed in many ways. By looking at the characters, Taylor McAden, Kyle Holton, Denise Holton and Mitch Kindle, it is clear that love is inevitable and although they try to ignore fate, it will be very difficult to overcome. This is shown through the lives of Kyle and Denise, Taylor and Denise, and Mitch and Taylor. The characters in the novel all reveal the theme of being rescued by love; as a result it proves that although there are people who try to ignore their fate, there are those who are willing to follow their fate, knowing that there will many difficult obstacles to overcome. Kyle and Denise are one of the many characters in the novel The Rescue to help portray the theme of love through their relationship with one other and their actions towards each other. Denise helps to reveal the theme throughout the novel with many different characters. Denise reveals the theme of love through her son Kyle, by the way she interacts with him, and this is also known, when Denise is thinking, â€Å"You’ve got to help me find my baby! He’s only four.† (Sparks 22). This quote states that Denise has a very close relationship with her son, Kyle and she cares very deeply for his well-being. This quote also states that since Denise is very concerned about finding her child, that she is a mother who has a special bond with her child and that she is a parent who is willing to do anything for her child. Kyle also helps to reveal the theme through his actions and words. This is known, when Kyle says, â€Å"I wuff you, Money† which is translated into â€Å"I love you, Mommy† (274). This quote states that Kyle indeed, loves his mother very much, because saying you love somebody, is the most precious thing you can say to somebody. The quote also states that Kyle is expressing his feelings and emotions to his mom, who he loves very much. Both Kyle and Denise help to portray the theme of love towards each other; this is also portrayed between the relationship between Denise and Taylor. Denise and Taylor are also one of the many characters who help to uncover the theme of love. They help to uncover the theme of love in their relationship towards each other sexually, and verbally. Denise bares the theme of love towards Taylor, by the way that they interact with each other, and their sexual relationship. This is known when Taylor tells Denise, â€Å"I care about you more than I ever cared about anyone† (269). This quotation states that Taylor really cares for Denise, and that he wants to let her know that he is there for her. Denise helps to reveal the theme, when she shows Taylor that she loves him and cares for him, when she gives him a kiss (278). That states that both Denise and Taylor have a deeper relationship, where the theme of love is expressed between the two of them more. Taylor and Denise both add on to help reveal that the theme of the novel is love. This is also portrayed through the relationship between Mitch and Taylor. Taylor and Mitch are another set of characters that help to reveal the theme of love through their relationship. The author helps to uncover the theme of love, through the relationship statues of the two males. This is known, when Mitch tells Taylor, â€Å"I’ll always forgive you Taylor†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (236) this states that Mitch loves Taylor so much that he is willing to forgive him no matter what he does. It also states that their relationship is very strong and that they are always there for one another. Taylor also helps to reveal the theme of love, when he says, â€Å"Mitch was like a brother to me† (246). This quote states that Taylor loves Mitch so much, that he considers Mitch as his brother; as part o his family. This proves that the author reveals the message through the characters, so that the readers can have a better understanding of what the theme is going to be, or about. In the novel The Rescue, the characters show that love is inevitable, and no matter what they try to do, it will always be there, and that there is no way to avoid it. Although love exists in the world, there are people in this world who will try to avoid their fate. It is inevitable, because there will always be love surrounding us, and no matter how hard we try to push it away and ignore it, it will always find its way back to us.

My Teacher, My Hero Essay

When talking about our own teachers and mentors, anyone would be glad to thank them, especially those who are successful and those who learned a great lesson from them. But, are teachers really that great? Aren’t they just a bunch of people teaching everyday? The people who are always giving a lot of homeworks and projects, making our life hard? Teachers are great. They teach us in all ways they could. They guide us through different challenges. They act as light when we’re on darkness. They’re affection strengthens students. They’re patience are unbelievable. For even though, we, students are acting childishly, they forgive us. They’re like a second mom to us. And especially, they love us like a true mother. Once, when I was still young, I had a very kind and loving teacher. And for me, she was the reason why I am here in my spot today. She was the building block of my knowledge. She’s my teacher on kindergarten. She’s strict, yes, but still very affectionate. She was the one who discovered I’m myopic. After discovering this, she told it to my mom and I was able to see the world clearly. She was also the one who always guides me through everything. She taught me how to read, write, count, and how to be strong in every circumstance I face. She taught me how to meet friends. I learned many lessons from her. She always taps my head whenever I learned something new. And in that small gesture, I know how much her affection is for me. She’s a person whom I can ask help from anytime I want. She’s a person willing to help a lost child to make her a successful one. And I’m very thankful to her. She was like my hero once and I know she’ll forever be one. Thanks to her, my parents discovered I’m myopic. Thanks to her, I learned how to make new friends. Thanks to her, I’ve been a good girl. Thanks to her, I learned how to eat veggies. And especially thanks to her, for being my hero, who saves me from any circumstance that surrounds me. I owe her so much yet all I can do is to thank her, to study hard, and to become a successful person someday, for her to be proud of me. If not because of you, I won’t be here where I am today. Thank you My Teacher, My Hero! I salute you, and I will always do.

Corporate law assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Corporate law - Assignment Example The constitution that governed the partnership changed and a fresh partnership was created between MGM and Pitgate. Mr. James still held a substantial share (49 percent) in their mining lease, which was still being used in the MGM and Pitgate partnership. The late Mr. James’ interest of the estate is represented by the Public Trustee since they had been appointed managers and receivers of the partnership between MGM and Mr. James and trustees of a numbers of the properties. Finally, Mr. and Mrs. Meyer directed MGM and were responds of the action. The legal issues to be determined with regards to the MDLA 415 were the entitlement of the assets benefits and whether this entitlement lies exclusively with Mr. Meyers. There were other issues such as the application for the license in paragraph 17 and also in paragraph 35 about the constructive trust, whether Mr. Meyer is entitled to the benefit of the license when the application was made by a reasonably rouge agent of the partnership and whether the entitlement is held on constructive trust. Also, in the first paragraph, we can see that major questions were asked as to whether or not certain plant and equipments were properties of the partnership and also whether Mr. Meyer was totally entitle to the benefit of the application for a Mineral Development License. It also wanted to establish whether the mining lease, though not officially held in the name of the partners, was the subject of the partnership activity. The respondent argued that no time did he ever treat Mr. James’ interest in the MDLA 295 as part of the partnership business and sought to explain why it was it was listed by him as an asset of the partnership in reference of correspondence to the applicants when asked to list partnership property upon the winding up of the partnership. The explanation given in paragraph 34 is that when he listed the asset, which had potential value to the Chillagoe Perlite partnership business venture as an

Kantian Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Kantian Argument - Essay Example Budeau and Marshal Bedau and Cassell Budeau and marshal hold that the death penalty is morally wrong regardless of the crime committed by the offender. Both opponents of the death penalty have suggested that when analyzing whether a certain crime fit a given punishment, one must look at the impact of the punishment. This includes both the criminal and the society at large (Bedau and Cassell 118). The two argue out that capital punishment creates biased sense of security within the society. Community members feel better in the knowledge that the capital punishment is an option for a severe crime regardless of whether it is applied or not. According to Kant’s framework of ethics (to persons), capital punishment reduces the worth of the criminal who is also is a human being. He further states that the rightness or wrongness of an action is determined, not by the consequences, but by their ability to fulfill our duty. Kant argued that the only intrinsic good thing is a good will ( Bedan 100). An action can only be judged to be good if it fulfills its duty to the moral law. Kant, unlike Pojman, held that particular types of actions (including murder and the death sentence) were extremely prohibited. Before acting, he proposes that there are two issues one need to ponder first. The first is whether everyone will act the same way you act, and whether one’s actions are in contravention to the goals of human beings. With respect to the theory of utilitarianism, individuals ought to undertake an action because it will produce the most happiness than any other action. The act that the morally right action, the action in which everybody has a moral duty to do, is the one that maximizes utility. Utility comprises happiness, well-being, and welfare. Everybody’s happiness counts equally, thus death sentence should be the last option, provided it is the action that provides the most happiness in the end (Bedau and Cassell 159). Pojman Pojman is one of the m ajor proponents of capital punishment. His views strongly suggest that the death sentence acknowledges the offender’s right and worth as a person. This is because it entails treating him as fully responsible for his actions (Bedan 188). Pojman sets out to offer an argument in favor of Capital Punishment as morally right. He builds upon Kantian’s proposition on the importance of an equal penalty for a wrong committed. He accepts the fundamental position that the availability of the death sentence is critical with respect to the argument of justice. He reinforces his argument a critical premise. This proposition holds that a person cannot enjoy their right to life when they have denied the deceased theirs. Provided that our society treats people as free agents and autonomous, capital offenders are required to bear responsibility for their action. The option of an equivalent punishment for an equivalent crime supports the responsibility of nature and government as a citiz enry. MyView Death penalty presents a form of barbaric form of punishment as it is the ultimate denial of human rights. Capital punishment presents a cold-blooded and premeditated killing of human beings by the state. It is not morally correct that the degrading and human punishment be carried out in the name of justice. This is because, as a form of the application of justice, it breaches the right to life as provided in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Amnesty international is

You can decide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

You can decide - Essay Example The zoo also provides a detailed history of their origin. The following is a detailed report of my visit. The first stop was at the Safari Park Lemur Walk that provides an impressive exhibit of the promisian Lemur whose scientific name is Lumeniformes. A belief history about their origin indicates that they are from Madagascar. The park officially started conservation in 1963 .There is a total of five ring tailed Lemurs in the exhibit. The Lemur is very small and one might think it is a squirrel, a cat or a dog but it the smallest primate ever. It resembles a fox with its snout and it has a hairless nose which is usually wet this adapts it to be a good sniffer.it has a smooth fur which was gray for some and others had a red fur they varied with colour.The tails of the Lemurs are not PREHENSILE . The tails are long and unique with black and white rings. They have five digits on the FRONT and HIND LIMBS and bright round eyes. For the first ten minutes, the Lemurs were grooming each using an elongated nail on the second toe. They also used their finely spaced teeth. They communicated with sounds that were similar to the mewing of a cat. Physical signals like facial expressions are rare to the Lemurs lack facial muscles like most primates. In the next five minutes, something interesting came up the zookeeper kept some food in the cage that included some biscuit a vegetable and fruits. The Lemurs were using their tails to communicate to each about the food.one would hold up their tail and the other four would take note of it. After a few minutes, they all ran toward where the food was. The tail is also a tool of communication by the lemurs. The rest of the time, the lemurs’ were sun bathing and grooming. The troop had only one male, the reason to that is because a powerful female dominates them and they chase men from their troop. I went to the Monkey Trail in the Lost Forest as my second destination.

Biotechnology (microbial fuel cells) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Biotechnology (microbial fuel cells) - Essay Example 16.298 g of this component was added to 5.395 g of sodium phosphate monobasic monohydrate whose molecular weight was137.99 g/mol. Ammonium ferrous sulphate (for the COD test) was also prepared as was done in the first three experiments. The final concentration of this reagent was 0.025 M, whereas the final volume was 2 litres. The prepared solution was kept in the refrigerator ready for use. Synthetic wastewater, LB broth, and sucrose solution were covered with aluminium foil and tape indicator. Prior to autoclaving the solutions, the caps of the containers were loosened to improve the efficacy of the process. Microbial (Shewanella) culture was made by aseptically transferring some cells from an eppendorf to the fresh growth medium. 4 micro litre of Shewanella was transferred into 100 ml of LB broth at room temperature. After that, the microorganisms were then incubated at 37 0C with continuous shaking for 24 hours at 150 rpm. After 24 hours, it was observed that the previously transparent LB had changed to a cloudy and opaque solution. That was an indication that the active microorganisms grew in the culture. The culture was subsequently refrigerated. Four H-type MFCs were prepared as was previously done using two similar copies of Duran glass bottles, external metal clips, cation exchange membranes and two rubber gaskets. A membrane was used to divide the two chambers, which were slightly asymmetric, by squeezing the membrane between the two chambers. Two chambers divided by a membrane. The chambers were slightly asymmetric, and the membrane was squeezed between two glass chambers. New graphite plates were used as anode and cathode electrodes, whereas the second and third experiments had used old electrodes, which had to be washed before reusing. The electrodes in this experiment had a different shape from the ones in experiment one. The anode was placed in the centre of the anodic

Schools can Help Prevent Childhood Obesity Essay

Schools can Help Prevent Childhood Obesity - Essay Example School cafeterias are obliged to offer healthy food choices. This is the underlying principle of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), started in 1946. The federal school lunch and breakfast program caters to twenty-nine million school children daily and aims to provide nutritionally balanced meals at a cost of seven million a year to taxpayers (Fried and Simon, 1492). 99% of all public schools and 83% of private schools participate in the program which reimburses the cost of the breakfast and lunch and provides commodity supplies (Leviton, 43). The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides dietary guidelines and nutritional standards for schools in implementing the NSLP. Based on recommendations made by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, the NSLP aims to â€Å"enhance the diet and health of school children, and help mitigate the childhood obesity trend† (USDA web site). Schools are required to increase the availability of fruits, vegetables, whole gra ins and low-fat milk and reduce the levels of sodium and saturated fats. The ‘Farm to School’ program attempts to bring fresh, locally produced food into school cafeterias and introduce children to farms, gardening, and cooking. In theory, all schools under the NSLP provide balanced nutritional meals. However, the reality is different: a 2009 study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that 94 percent of school lunches failed to meet the USDA’s regulatory standards regarding the sodium or total fat standards. Dana Woldow, a mother who is a volunteer in her children’s school nutrition committee, says, â€Å"In the school cafeteria you could buy soda, potato chips, snack cakes, corndogs, French fries, apple turnovers, ice cream --you know, carnival food† (Christensen). This is largely because frozen and processed foods are cheaper than fresh or organic produce and the NSLP is under-funded. Schools also procure pre-cooked food as they do not have kitchens. It is clear that there is much room for improvement in school cafeteria’s ability to provide a nutritious diet for all students. The healthy food offerings in school cafeterias are significantly off-set by the availability of ‘competitive food.’ This term refers to foods of little nutritional value which compete with the NSLP funded school breakfast and

EC 417 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

EC 417 - Essay Example He stresses the point that economists and the World Bank which he represent, have great concerns about improved standards of living for poor countries which would enable people in villages like Gulvera to live better. This Easterly (2002) indicates would prevent them from being hungry and diseased. He indicates that increases in GDP per capita would translate into rising income for the poor, lifting them out of poverty. Easterly (2002) then uses the situation in Lahore to look at a number of problems facing the poorest countries compared to the richest. These include infant mortality, diseases and nutritional deficiencies. Easterly (2002) also provides an explanation of the higher infant mortality rates and provides information on the low cost per dose of oral rehydration and vaccination that would prevent these deaths and diseases; and exclaimed that despite the low cost, the extent of poverty is significant. Easterly (2002) sought to emphasize the point that wealth has positive imp lications for one’s health and indicates that findings suggest a relationship between infant mortality and economic growth which implies that the high death rate of infants in Africa in 1990 could have been prevented if the standards of living in was just a little higher than it was. In terms of assessing the poorest of the poor the Easterly points to how they are treated in the poorest countries of the world by the poor themselves and how they are described. Some of the countries mentioned are Tombouctou, commonly referred to as Timbuktu in Mali which is one of the poorest countries in the world and where a 1987 survey showed that 41% of children die before reaching age five. Easterly (2002) also gives some startling statistics on the calorie intake of the poorest 5th countries and the richest 5th countries, and notes the absence of famine in the richest countries while a 1/4th of the poorest countries faced famines in the last three decades. Easterly also looked at the oppr ession of the poor worldwide, child labor which is ignored in 88% of the countries, child prostitution and the oppression of women which takes many forms including wife beating in Jamaica. Easterly (2002) then provides a definition of poverty as: â€Å"that part of the population with incomes below $1 per day†. Easterly (2002) stresses the point that a fast growth rate will lead to fast poverty reduction as economic contraction goes along with increased poverty. Easterly (2002) also gave examples of poverty increasing significantly with severe recession in countries in West Africa as well as the effects of economic growth and economic contractions in Asia. Easterly also points to World Bank statistics that found that a change in the average income of a society led to a proportionate change in the poorest 20% of the population and suggests that the poor could improve their standard of living through the redistribution of income and economic growth. In concluding the Chapter Ea sterly points to the quest of improving the welfare of poor and re-emphasizes the importance of this to the next generation. Chapter 2 – Aid for Investment Easterly starts with a quote, this time from Shakespeare’s â€Å"Two Gentlemen of Verona† as to how something becomes a habit. The focus this time was on

TRADOC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

TRADOC - Essay Example Indeed, it must be realized that in order to realize its mission, there must be a proper integration of the activities of TRADOC. Considering that the mission of the Command revolves around training, it is imperative to note that this training is geared towards creating effective formations that can help address the overall mission objectives of the US Army (TRADOC 2012) . TRADOC also has an objective of ensuring the Army is guided through doctrine. This is a very important objective especially in the disciplined forces. It is often realized that many people in the Army fail to understand much of the doctrine that guide their operations. In this respects, challenges often abound. In line with TRADOC’s missions of designing a capable and versatile US Army, this objective is definitely a proper way of ensuring the compliance with the law. TRADOC also seeks to develop very adaptive leaders both drawn from soldiers and civilians. Indeed, as a training unit, TRADOC seeks to transfo rm not only the army but civilians as well. It therefore extends its training in order to create a population that understands and appreciates the important role of the Army. Through proper leadership, it is expected that the mission of TRADOC will be achieved across the board as people will share much of the information obtained from the Command. As a training Command, the core objective of TRADOC is therefore to recruit and train solders and to provide various ways that support unit training. In this respect, TRADOC oversees Army school across the country which train over 500,000 soldiers and service members yearly. The training is always made to reflect the changing times and this call for much innovation and agility. In this case, the trainees are always suited to serve in both times of peace and war. All these objectives outlined above certainly have various measures to ensure they are effectively achieved. With respect to building and integrating the various formations, one me asurement aspect can be a united and cohesive Army and proper coexistence between the Army and the civilians. It is often realized that a lack of integration of the various units presents many challenges in administration. Such a measurement would therefore be effective in gauging the effectiveness of the training in this respect. As regards civilian training, one measurement metric can involve conducting a survey on the civilians to determine whether they understand the imperatives of Army training and the need to appreciate the role of the Army in the society. Lastly, with respect to overall training, measurement is achieved by the quality of the various Army commands and whether they realize their particular objectives. For instance their performance in war or in peacetime activities such as natural calamities can effectively provide an insight on their effectiveness DePuy, W. E., (Swain, Gilmore & Conway, 2000). Considering that the focus of TRADOC is essentially training, the e xpected level of performance or target is the lack of any challenges in operations with respect to the various formations. On civilian training, the target is the achievement is a cohesive coexistence between the solders and the civilians. In terms of general training, the target is professionalism and excellence in terms of performance at all times (King & Demsey, 2008). In order to ensure a successful

Rewrite Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Rewrite Response - Essay Example established, for example, â€Å"†¦A common assumption in the United States is that women are innately more nurturing than men, and men more aggressive than women†(3). This assumption broadens people’s way of thinking in relation to their environment. In addition, Ore is successful in making me understnad the intensity of ethnocentrism among different cultures. It is indeed true that the society plays a role in establishing these social constructs, which in turn shapes or view and thinking, by selecting what we believe is right and wrong. In my opinion, I agree with Ore on the issue of institution’s influence on sex and gender. For instance, the belief that men should work and women should be homemakers. However, I disagree with this belief as it undermines women in work place, especially when women CEOs don’t receive the same amount as men CEOs. My favorite part was in reading â€Å"Doing Gender,† by West and Zimmerman. It is fascinating to see how they give an example of a child looking at a photo of a man in a suit with a â€Å"pee-pee.† I believe this explains why private parts should not be displayed to the public. However, I did not clearly understand the connection between dressing and gender, because in the contemporary society, sexual orientation is based on what one puts on. Although, I feel that the society is not at liberty to criticize anyone who dresses in reverse with their gender

Eating Disorder Research Paper Essay Example for Free

Eating Disorder Research Paper Essay Media and society are often looked at as a source of daily entertainment, gossip and news. Every day, people are constantly exposed to thousands of images of glamour, beauty, celebrities, and much more. The media is so compelling that it has the power to change what people believe in. The images that are shown repeatedly make a way into teenagers mind and they want to be a part of what the media shows. Teens feel the need to change their body to look a certain way and be like someone else. But a fact unknown to teenagers is that even celebrities’ body are not perfect. The most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. People with anorexia have a huge fear of gaining weight and a change in their body shape and size (â€Å"Eating Disorders†). Anorexia has been characterized as a â€Å"rich white girl† disorder because most anorectics are white and about three-quarters of them come from households at the middle income level or above (Davidson and Fundukian). Bulimia on the other hand is when a person eats large amount of food over a short period of time then later performs activities to try to burn the calories off. Binging is the most common symptom of bulimia and it is often done when trying to get rid of the food eaten. Bulimia is thought to affect around 1% to 5% of teenage American girls and up to 3% will be bulimic at some point in their life (Arnold and Walsh 30). Studies show that â€Å"media exposure has a direct impact on disorder symptoms and indirect effects through gender role endorsement, ideal-body stereotype internalization and body satisfaction. † The covers of magazines display pictures of both men and women whose images are offered as near perfection in society. â€Å"Research has shown that even brief exposure to ads showing highly attractive models results in decreased satisfaction with ones own appearance† (McMurray). Teenagers should know that celebrities are not magically beautiful and thin, they are made to look that way. â€Å"Today’s culture is unique in that the media is a far more powerful presence than ever before† (Derenne and Bersin). The media has been named as a causative factor for body dissatisfaction, which promotes unrealistic standards of female beauty and show images that create and reinforce cultural definitions of attractiveness. (Qtd. in Wexler). The media opens the door of eating disorders to teenagers and brainwashes them into thinking that being thin is important and necessary. The media needs to be very careful in the messages that they give to teenagers regarding body image. Dr. Bond says how â€Å"the media should be more responsible in not publishing pictures of very thin models and celebrities because young people wish to emulate them. Eating disorders are not going away, if anything they are becoming more common (Thinspiration? ). Advertisements everywhere continually expose the notion that losing weight will make people happier. Advertisements that show thin celebrities reach out to individuals telling them what they can be or become if they were thin. By looking at these advertisements, women start to feel insecure about the way they look. The NEDA reports that â€Å"women’s magazines contained 10. 5 times more advertisements and articles promoting diet and weight loss then were found in men’s magazines. It also reports that a study of 4,294 network television commercials revealed that one out of every 3. 8 commercials conveyed some sort of attractiveness message of what is or is not attractive† (Qtd. In Wexler). Many women frequently compare their bodies to those around them and the body images on advertisements lowers their self-esteem. The advertisements of celebrities affects the stereotypical idea of an ideal body which leads to eating disorders (Stice et al 5). Online, there are websites that promote anorexia. Teens with anorexia can then put up pictures of their skinny bodies for other anorectics to see and feel encouraged by. They feature pictures of celebrities such Keira Knightley and Victoria Beckham that promote 400-500 calories a day diet. In a year alone more than 500,000 people visited the sites and a 2011 EU survey found more than one in five six-to 11-year olds had been exposed to one or more sites with these â€Å"harmful content† (Thinspiration? . Teens who are anorexic feel that having an eating disorder is not a bad thing. They look upon each other for support, telling each other secrets of losing weight. The quote â€Å"Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels† by Kate Moss is popular among these pro-anorexia websites (Wardrop). TV shows also send the message to be thin to whoever watches them. Disney Channel, which attracts millions of viewers, especially the young, made fun of eating disorder and actually promoted the idea of being thin. In the show Shake It Up, someone stated â€Å"I could just eat you guys up, you know, if I ate† (â€Å"Party It Up†). In another Disney show, So Random, a conversation goes on where one character tells another â€Å"Angus only eats one full meal a day† to which Angus replies â€Å"My agent’s always on me about looking my best (Colbie Caillat). Disney thinks about eating disorders as a joke which is not dangerous. For many kids, the people on Disney are their role models, and if kids see their role models not eating, they are going to think that it is okay to not eat. Also if Disney encourages the idea of not eating that kids will do the same thing. Demi Lovato who battled an eating disorder attacked Disney about these risky messages that they send to kids. Experts say that Lovato opened the Pandora’s Box about the dangerous effects television shows can have on the negative body image of young women (â€Å"Disney Pop Star†). Even in other TV shows, the overweight characters are most likely portrayed as lazy and the one with no friends, while thin characters are successful and popular. This also sends a message that in order to be successful in life a person has to be thin. Teenagers feel pressured into looking the way society wants them to look like. Everywhere they go, they see posters of celebrities enhanced to look â€Å"perfect. Society thinks that if someone does not look a certain way then it is not acceptable and that they should change how their body looks. From a young age, women are given the message that in order to be happy, they must be thin. Thousands of teenage girl starve themselves to attain what the fashion industry considers to be the â€Å"ideal† figure (Thompson). Society has become obsessive and prejudiced when it comes to body image. Society and media work together to get that one message across to teens today; to be thin. New diets come out every month and media spends money trying to advertise them and get celebrity endorsements. In stores, the front pages of magazines show that one celebrity that everyone looks up too. How they talk about that one diet that â€Å"changed their life† and made them â€Å"happy† again. Teens think that if these celebrities can be skinny, then why can’t they? Teens spend their times looking at websites and magazines that tell them how to be skinny. By constantly portraying â€Å"perfect† bodies in the media, it promotes unhealthy eating that can sometimes lead to death (â€Å"Disney Pop Star†). Even today, dolls like Barbie send that message to young girl to be thin. The Barbie doll is a stereotype of a woman with no flaws and a perfect body who gets to be whatever she wants. Girls who play with Barbie feel the need to look and act like her. The traditional Barbie is known for her 40-18-32 measurements (Young) which would be unproportional on human bodies (Grey). If Barbie were real, she would be 59 tall and weigh 110 pounds, about 35 pounds below the minimum healthy weight for a woman of that size (McMurray). Barbie helps to perpetuate an ideal of materialism, beauty, and being thin is happiness and since a young age, the desire to be thin is recognized by girls everywhere. But eating disorders doesn’t just affect women, it affects men also. In a study by Harvard researchers, 25% of 3,000 adults had anorexia or bulimia and 40% of binge eaters were men (Boodman). Just like women, men also feel pressured into looking a certain way. In school, boys are told to be healthy if they want to keep playing a sport. But that habit can become something more dangerous. â€Å"Studies show that gay males particularly place a higher calculation on thinness than heterosexual males, with a level of concern for thinness almost equal to that of the typical heterosexual female† (Anderson, Cohn, and Holbrook 41). Because of this many men might be afraid about coming out to the world about their eating disorder. Some people think of an eating disorder as more of a woman thing and â€Å"psychological tests for eating disorders are biased towards diagnosing women† (Anderson, Cohn, and Holbrook 41). Eating disorders are also common in the entertainment business. Celebrities and models are also under pressure to look their best. The average model weighs 23% less than the average woman and fit the category of being anorexic (Thompson). Models go through plastic surgery and photos are air-brushed before going to print. The body type and images are unobtainable to the average individual and the constant force of these images on society makes teens believe that they should be. Many celebrities and models who feel that an eating disorder is something more dangerous than what everyone else seems have come out and talked about that issues. Even celebrities who once had an eating disorder spend time educating others and telling them that it is okay to get help. In 1992 after the news about Princess Diana being bulimic was released, there was a significant increase in the number of bulimia diagnoses. This effect then came known as the â€Å"Diana Effect† (Celebrities Who Battled Eating Disorders). Just like how Lucy Grealy states in her memoir Autobiography of a Face, Beauty, as defined by society at large, seemed to be only about who was best at looking like everyone else (187) it looks like that concept has not changed since that time. In today’s society everything is about being thin and trying to look like a model or a celebrity. Teenagers try to do everything to make themselves how society wants it but in the end they just destroy themselves. Society and media think of an eating disorder as a joke but it is a disease; a disease that has the power to take the lives of both women and men. For anybody out there who thinks that an eating disorder is not a big deal then they are wrong. People, especially the media, should know that the message they send out to teens is wrong; everything is not just about being thin. Simply by the media bringing out the concept that being beautiful and thin is necessary for a successful life is wrong. Having to look like a model to be accepted in society is wrong. All these messages have a huge negative effect on teenagers and they think down of themselves just because they do not think they are â€Å"right† for society. The fake advertisements that are shown is just another step for teens to developing a dangerous and deadly addiction that is called an eating disorder. â€Å"I think we look at society and we look at every ad that out there and everything that tells us how we’re supposed to look, and how we’re supposed to live, and how we’re supposed to be instead of saying ‘Is that how really I feel? ’, ‘Is that really what I want to do? ’, and ‘Is that really how I want to live? ’† (Ellen DeGeneres).

Effects Of Mangrove Destruction In Mumbai Environmental Sciences Essay

Effects Of Mangrove Destruction In Mumbai Environmental Sciences Essay Rapid expansion of urban spaces has caused pressure on fragile ecosystem of the city. Uneven growth of various regions has made migration a serious challenge. Increasing population growth of metropolitan has created concretization of island city and clearing of vital floral resources. Thousands of people from various parts of the country come to Mumbai every month. Around 43 per cent of citys population considered to be migrant. The predominant migrants are of rural origin, coming from various parts of the country, with two-third to three-fourths of all migrants belonging to this category. There are migrants from other countries as well but these have been less than one per cent since 1981 (Census; 2001). This trend migration is a Destruction of mangrove that was the habitat of several species of fishes have combined to leave the citys fisher folk of around 50,075 (Marine Fisheries Census; 2005) gasping for survival. Among various reasons economic factors have been the major cause for migration to Mumbai. About 69 per cent of males stated that employment was the main motive behind their movement. The data show that the rate of migrants in search for better employment has been higher in the late 1990s. Social reasons such as marriage and accompanying the family con stituted about 90 per cent of female migration. (Singh 2001) Population pressure is continuously increasing in the coastal area, so because of this expanding population mangrove is facing significant pressure of destruction. Mangroves have been cleared and degraded on an alarming scale during the past four decades (Valiela et al., 2001; Wilkie and Fortuna, 2003; Duke et al., 2007), yet they remain an important source of wood and food products and provide vitally important environmental services for coastal communities throughout the tropics (Balmford et al., 2002). Climate and Rainfall Kolis of Mumbai Kolis are the traditional fishing community of Mumbai and are the original inhabitants of the island city. Fishing is still the main source of their livelihood. The interesting fact is that, Mumbai is derived from the Koli word, Mumba, which means goddess of water. Several records reveal that Kolis have been found in Mumbai from early times. Dr. Gerson da Cunha in the book Origin of Mumbai describes old Mumbai as the desolate islet of the Mumbai Koli fishermen. The Kolis are reported to have occupied the land in A.D. 1138 The Koli community has several subcastes, the prominent ones are Koli kolis, Mangela Kolis, Mahadeo kolis, Suryawanshi kolis, Vaity kolis, Koli Christians. Kolis are divided into two occupational classes; Dolkars Vatsad Dolkars are usually rich compared to Vatsad among Kolis. Dolkars practice fishing on large scale Vatsads, who are a poor class of fishermen usually in the employ of the richer members of the community. Men are mostly engaged in fishing while, women take care of housing activities and selling of fish in the local market. Lot of their daily activities depend on the fishing season and tidal movement. Koli is the main language spoken by the community, Marathi is another frequently used language among Kolis. What are Mangroves? Mangroves are a group of trees, palms, shrubs, vines and ferns that share a common ability to live in waterlogged saline soil. These plants have developed unusual adaptations to the unique environmental conditions in which they are found. Mangrove can be typically refered to an individual species. Terms such as mangrove ecosystem, mangrove forest, mangrove community and mangrove swamp are used interchangeably to describe the entire mangrove community (Smithsonian Inst. 1996). There are around 80 species of mangroves found throughout the world (Saenger et al., 1983). Mostly they occur within tropical and subtropical coastal areas subjected to tidal impact. Tidal area can be interpreted to mean a shoreline inundated by the extremes of tides, or it can more widely refer to river-bank communities where tides cause some fluctuation in water level but no change in salinity (Tomlinson, 1986). There are mainly two types of mangrove; exclusive and non-exclusive. Exclusive mangroves are the largest group, comprising around 60 species (Saenger et al., 1983). These mangroves are confined to intertidal areas. Rest 20 species are referred as non-exclusive. Non-exclusive mangroves differ from the exclusive mangrove in the sense that these grow preferably in drier and more terrestrial areas. Features of Mangrove Mangrove Distribution Mangrove forests comprise up to 50 species of woody halophytes restricted to sheltered saline tidal areas, and once occupied around 75% of tropical coasts and inlets (Ellison 1997). Mangroves are the plats of tropical sheltered shores. Mangroves are found throughout the world between latitudes 32 °N and 38 °S. The upper and lower limits of this range are determined by temperature (Chapman, 1976; Tomlinson, 1986). Source: (Source: ENVIS, 2008) Mangrove Distribution in India According to the Government of India, the total area of the mangroves in India was around at 6,740 sq. Km. this covered about 7% of the world mangroves (Krishnamurthy, 1987) and about 8% of the Indian coastline (Untawale, 1987). But recent 2005 data of Survey of India, Dehradun shows an extent of 4,445 sq. km. mangrove areas in India. Out of the total acreage, 57% of the mangroves are found on the East Coast, 23% on the west coast and the remaining 20% on Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Table: State/UT wise Mangrove Cover Mangrove Cover Assessment 2001(Area in sq. km.) SL No. State/UT Dense Open Total % of Geographical Area 1 Andhra Pradesh 14 319 333 0.12 2 Goa 5 0 5 0.14 3 Gujrat 184 727 911 0.46 4 Karnataka 2 0 2 0.001 5 Maharahstra 90 28 118 0.04 6 Orissa 194 25 219 1.39 7 Tamil Nadu 10 13 23 0.02 8 West Bengal 1651 430 2081 2.34 9 Andaman and Nicobar 709 80 789 9.56 10 Pondichery 0 1 1 0.21 Total 2859 1623 4482 0.14 (Source: ENVIS, 2008) Mangrove Distribution in Maharashtra Maharashtra has 720 km long coastline, which has various characteristic features of beaches and rocky cliffs flanked by estuaries and patches of mangroves. Maharashtra coastal zone extends between the latitude 15 52N and 20 10N and longitude 72 10E and 73 10E and falls under five districts of Thane, Mumbai, Sindhudurg, Raigad, Ratnagiri. The mangroves of Maharashtra are the most diverse among the west coast and according to the Forest Survey of India (FSI) covered 116 sq. km in 2003. The area under mangroves in Maharashtra was 200 sq. km. in 1972-75, which reduced to 108 sq. km. in 1997. Mangroves of Mumbai Mangrove along the coast of Mumbai always faced the challenge of various anthropogenic activities over the decade. In early nineties around 37 sq.km. Of mangrove existed in Mumbai, mostly in Versova, Gorai, Mahim creek, Thane and Ghodbunder. Some sparsely covered patches of mangrove are also found in Bandra, Colaba, Mahul and Malabar Hill. The most commonly occurring species of mangrove in Mumbai is Avicennia marina, this covers the almost 60 per cent of species diversity. The characteristic feature of Avicennia marina makes it tolerable for high salinity area. This species also tolerates pollution including heavy metals such as lead, mercury and chromium. Table: Some of the commonly found mangroves in Mumbai (Source: Kulkarni, 2007) Temperature Mangroves mostly occur in areas where the average temperature of the coldest month is higher than 20 °C and the seasonal range does not exceed 10 °C. Lower temperature and frost also limits the growth and distribution of mangrove (Tomlinson, 1986). Rainfall Coastal areas which receive ample amount of rainfall, heavy runoff and seepage into the intertidal zone from the hinterland are most suitable for mangrove. These areas receive extensive sedimentation which provides huge quantity of nutrients, which in turn are favourable for mangrove growth (Tomlinson, 1986). Importance of Mangrove Multifaceted importance of mangrove has been realised in recent times but its ecological importance is known to scientific community since hundreds of years. Importance of mangrove can be broadly classified under following heads: Ecological Importance Mangroves are considered to be the most productive natural ecosystem throughout the world. Mangrove ecosystem comprise of numerous varieties of flora and fauna. Mangrove forest consist of seventy taxonomically diverse tree, shrub, palm and fern species under twenty-seven genera, twenty families, and nine orders that share a suite of convergent adaptations to saline, anoxic habitats (e.g. Tomlinson, 1986; Stewart Popp, 1987; Ball, 1988; Duke et al, 1998). Economic Importance Mangroves provide a vast range of wood and non-wood forest products which are of good economic value such as timber, fuel wood, medicine, thatch, honey, fodder, charcoal etc. Legislative Framework for Conservation and Management of Mangrove in India The Indian Forest Act, 1927: Provide protection to flora and fauna. The Indian Forest Act has been applied to the mangrove forest of the Sundarbans, which have been declared as a Reserved Area. The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Provide protection to flora and fauna. Although they do not specifically mention mangroves, these acts can also apply to the conservation of the flora and fauna of mangrove ecosystem. The Forest Conservation Act, 1980: States that No forest area shall be diverted for any non-forestry purpose without prior approval of the Government of India. This act has proved very effective in preventing diversion of mangrove forest area for non-forestry purpose. Coast Guard Act, 1978: The concern for Marine and Coastal waters has led to formation of a special force, The act stipulate that Cost guard should combat oil pollution beyond 5 km in the sea and perform surveillance duty against international dumping of oil or waste by ship/tanker. The Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986: It has a crucial role in the Conservation and Management of mangrove ecosystem. It declares a Coastal Regulation Zone notified in 1991, in which industrial and other activities such as discharge of untreated water and effluents, dumping of waste and land reclamation are restricted in order to protect the Coastal environment. Condition of Mangrove in Coastal Regulation Zone It is stipulated that in case of mangrove with an area of 1000 sq.m or more, would be classified as CRZ with a buffer zone of at least 50 m Mangrove is a tropical tree growing, along the coast and requires saline water for its growth. Expert in this field say that mangrove are very important along the coast for breaking of tides and it is valuable resources having several direct uses. Hence proper the protection of mangrove is very important. (Chauhan, 2004) Prohibited Activities in the Coastal Regulation Zone (a) Setting of new industries and expansion of existing industries (except those directly related to waterfront or directly needing for shore facilities). (b) Manufacture, handling, storage or disposal of hazardous substances. (c) Setting up and expansion of fish processing units including warehousing (d) Discharge of untreated wastes and effluents from industries, cities and other human settlements. (e) Dumping of cities and town wastes for the purpose of land filling. (f) Dumping of ash or any wastes from thermal power station. (g) Land reclamation bunding or disturbing the natural course of seawater with similar obstructions except those required for control of coastal erosion. (h) Mining of sands, rocks and others sub strain materials except other minerals not available outside the CRZ areas. (i) Construction activities in ecologically sensitive areas. (j) Any construction activities between the Low Tide line and high tide line except in permitted areas. (k) Dressing or altering of sand dunes, hills natural features including landscape changes. Regulation of Permissible Activities in Coastal Regulation Zone 1. Clearance shall be given for any activities within the CRZ if it requires waterfronts and fore shore facilities. 2. The following activities will require environmental clearance from Ministry of Environment and Forest Govt. of India. a) Construction activities related to defence requirements for which fore shore facilities are required (e.g. Jetties etc.). b) Operational constructions for ports and harbours and lighthouses requiring water frontage Jetty, waves quays etc. c) Thermal Power Plants (only foreshore facilities for transport of raw materials for intake of cooling water and out fall for discharge of treated waste water). d) All other activities with investment exceeding rupees Five Crores. 3. a) The Coastal states and Union territory Administration shall prepare Coastal Zone Management Plans at the earliest and approval be taken from Central Govt. in the Ministry of Forest and Environment. b) Within the Framework of such approval plans the State Govt./U.T. Administration or local Authorities shall regulate all development and activities within the Coastal Regulation Zone. Violation of Coastal Regulation Zone has been seen in various parts of Mumbai Metropolitan region. Several environmental activists have raised the voice against these violations. Coastal area is vital to the prosperity of country and usually most productive areas, supporting a wealth of marine resources. With rapid industrialization, urbanization, resultant pollutions and depleting resources along the coast have resulted in degradation of coastal ecosystem and diminishing the living resources. Environmentally effective coastal zone management requires accurate, up to date and comprehensive scientific data on which policy decision can be used. Mangrove Destruction and its Impact Importance of mangrove has been recognised by various stakeholders of the society viz. scientists, government, local populations of biotic and socioeconomic services. Accurate estimates of global deforestation rates of mangroves are not available; its well-known environmental and socioeconomic impacts are observed and increasingly documented in coastal communities that depend directly on mangroves, and in upland communities with economic links to the coast. The primary cause of destruction throughout the world is clear cutting, illegal dumping and reclamation; these are carried for the purpose of agricultural activities, aquaculture, urban expansion, and resort development and have threatened the majority of mangrove ecosystem. This destruction exacerbating economic stress of largely low-income, fast growing local population, who are driven to exploit mangroves despite clear signs of degradation. Mangrove forests are a source of livelihood for thousands of coastal communities in developing countries worldwide; these communities traditionally harvest fish, shrimp, timber, non-timber forest Products, and fuel wood from them. The importance of the mangrove ecosystem transcends provisioning services and includes regulatory, ecological, cultural, and aesthetic services. However, these services are diminishing globally, most especially the provisioning service, and this is putting the livelihoods of coastal communities at risk and increasing their vulnerability to tropical storms and surges. These trends are the outcome of mounting anthropogenic activities such as brackish water aquaculture, mangrove forest clearing for infrastructure development and varied levels of harvesting for subsistence. Because of these pressures, mangroves in coastal tropical developing countries are being degraded; for instance, 20-30% of mangrove forests have been lost in West-Central Africa since 1980 (UNEP-WCMC, 2007). Mangrove and Fishing Linkages Between Mangrove and Fishing Fishes and invertebrates use estuarine and inshore habitats in a number of ways: some are only occasional visitors; some use them only at certain life stages, whereas others reside permanently in the estuaries (Lenanton Potter 1987, Potter et al. 1990, Potter Hyndes 1999, Whitfield 1999). There are various groups of fishes and invertebrates which show distinct association with mangrove. Fishes which are found occasionally in estuaries are termed as marine stragglers (Potter Hyndes 1999, Whitfield 1999) and these stragglers have least dependence on estuaries. There are species which uses estuaries and inshore regions for significant time period especially during juvenile stage only. In some marine species juveniles are only found in mangroves and these are termed as mangrove dependent species; e.g., banana prawn P. merguiensis (Staples et al. 1985, Vance et al. 1996). Catadromous species travel between fresh and marine water also use mangrove habitats at certain life stages e.g., barramundi Lates calcarifer (Russell Garrett 1983). Some species spend their entire life cycle in estuaries and are termed as true estuarine species. The importance of mangrove for sustaining production of fishery in coastal ecosystem is a widely held paradigm that mangroves act as important nursery sites for fisheries species. The function of mangroves as nursery sites is widely accepted (e.g., Blaber 2000, Kathiresan Bingham 2001) and this paradigm is used for important management decisions on habitat conservation and restoration of mangrove (Beck et al. 2001). There are also theories that states; area of mangrove habitat in an estuary translates to the secondary production and catch of commercial fisheries (Baran 1999). There are clear cases of example which depict the correlation between the magnitude of commercial finfish catches and the extent of mangroves. For example, in the Philippines, a positive, but weak, correlation was found between mangrove area and the catch of four families of commercial fish (Paw Chua 1991). Freshwater Mangrove Marine Freshwater Mangrove Marine Figure Number of fish and shrimp species occurring in freshwater, marine and mangrove ecosystem showing higher species diversity in the mangroves (Islam Haque 2005). Mangrove as nursery site for fishes: Mangroves and estuaries share characteristic features such as shallow water, reduced wave action, high organic content in the sediment, high primary production and protection from predators, which may all contribute to their role as nurseries. Nursery areas for fishes have been regarded as any areas inhabited by the juveniles, often with the adults living in separate habitats. But, this definition of nursery is challenged by Beck et al, (2001); he proposes a different picture of fish nurseries a habitat is a nursery for juveniles of a particular species if its contribution per unit area to the production of individuals that recruit to adult populations is greater, on average, than production from other habitats in which juveniles occur. According to this definition nursery is that part of habitat area of juvenile which are most productive in terms of supply of recruits to adult populations and, therefore, to fisheries. Based on the reproductive pattern and its association with the mangrove fishes can be classified into following four categories: a) Regular spawners The spawning activity of the species occurs regularly in the mangrove. The species are not necessarily resident in the region, but they always use it to spawn. e.g. S. rastrifer, B. Ronchus b) Occasional spawners The spawning activity in the mangrove is merely occasional. This region can be used to spawn, but there is no evidence that a great number of individuals in this group of species use it. These species are not as abundant in the mangrove as those of regular spawners. e.g. C. parallelus, C. edentulus c) Matures in system The spawning activity of the species does not occur in the mangrove, but this region is frequented regularly during the final phase of maturation. e.g. I. Parvipinnis d) Do not mature in system The spawning activity does not occur in the mangrove, and the gonadal maturation, if present, does not occur in many individual. e.g. P. corvinaeformis, P. brasiliensis The exact role of mangroves as nurseries are not well understood but a number of hypotheses have been proposed to explain this role (Robertson Blaber 1992, Blaber 2000). The three main hypotheses are that mangroves provide juveniles with (1) Refuge from predators Numerous piscivorous fish enter mangrove during the high tide period (Blaber et al. 1989, Vance et al. 1996) thus smaller fishes escape their predators by entering in mangrove. This is attributed by various factors structural complexity of submerged vegetation, shallow water and turbidity can give significant refuges from predators, especially for small, mobile animals (Robertson Duke 1987, Robertson Blaber 1992). Mangroves provide the protection from prey by structural complexity as mangrove habitat is very complex structurally because of pneumatophores and fallen debris (leaves, branches and logs), prop roots, buttresses and branches. These structures provide protection in various ways: by reducing prey visibility, by lowering encounter rate of prey and predator, and by limiting the ability of predator to search for and capture prey (Rà ¶nnbà ¤ck et al. 1999). Shallow water condition does not favour the entry of large predators thus providing another form of refuse for small fishes and crustaceans (Boesch Turner 1984, Blaber 2000). It has been observed at various places that small fishes and prawns moved into more shallow waters while larger predatory fishes remained in deeper water at the fringes of the mangroves. High turbidity and shade beneath the mangrove canopy decreases the underwater visibility. The turbid and shaded water often found around mangroves may therefore provide an additional refuge from visual predators (Blaber Blaber 1980, Whitfield 1999). Juvenile fishes get attracted to turbid areas and may use the turbidity gradient to locate nursery areas. Abundances of some fish species have been found to be higher in areas of higher turbidity (Blaber 2000). Figure: Conceptual schematic diagram of the nutrient and energy fluxes in self-sustained mangrove ecosystem and the interaction of mangrove with adjacent freshwater and offshore marine ecosystem. (Source: Islam Haque, 2005) (2) Abundance of food Nutrient content and primary productivity are usually very high in mangrove area and food availability is more for fishes and crustaceans than any other coastal habitats. Nutrient comes to the mangrove system from upstream and from seaward and they are concentrated in mangrove area by trapping. Primary productivity in the mangrove forest itself attributed to several sources including epiphytes, phytoplankton, mangrove trees, and benthic microalgae (Rà ¶nnbà ¤ck 1999). Various fishes consume most of their feed when they come to the mangrove area. Primary productivity in mangrove forest forms the basis of a food web supplying abundant and varied trophic resources to higher consumers (Baran Hambrey 1998). Mangrove forest produce litter throughput the year, they have the ability to produce large quantities of litter, ranging from 10,000 to 14,000 kg dry weight/ ha/ year (Hamilton and Snedaker, 1984). Most creatures are unable to assimilate this directly and require bacterial enrichment before consumption. However, sesarmid crabs can directly consume mangrove litter and/or store 30-80% of the litterfall (Rà ¶nnbà ¤ck 1999). These crabs are eaten by fishes, creating a pathway for mangrove nutrients to enter food webs. (3) Shelter from physical disturbances Mangrove habitat is the area of low current, where impact of coastal tide gets reduced. This provides the small juvenile fishes benign physical environment to settle. Mangrove presence increases the residence time of water, especially in flat, wide mangroves with complex waterways (Wolanski Ridd 1986). The juveniles of few species of crustaceans, such as banana prawns Penaeus merguiensis and P. indicus ), are found exclusively in mangrove ecosystem (Staples et al. 1985, Vance et al. 1998, Rà ¶nnbà ¤ck et al. 2002) and are described as highly mangrove-dependent. It has been established from various studies that about two third of worlds fish and shellfish harvest are directly linked to estuarine habitat (Robertson Blaber 1992). Rà ¶nnbà ¤ck (1999) listed the proportion of mangrove-related species in fisheries in various parts of the world: Geographical Location % of fishes dependent on mangrove Fiji 60 Florida 80 India 60 Eastern Australia 70 Malacca Strait 49 Southeast Asian countries Fish 30 (Prawn 100%) Malaysia 32 Philippines 72 Products of Mangrove Ecosystem (Source: Saenger et al, 1983) Mangroves of Mumbai Mangrove Destruction Various studies confirm the destruction of mangrove throughout the globe and in particular have focused on estimating the total area cleared, rate of clearing, loss of sediments and erosion (Hatcher et al. 1989, Valiela et al. 2001, Alongi 2002). Figure: Proportion of existing global mangrove areas and areas in the South and Southeast Asia (Source: Islam Haque, 2005)

The Impact Of Climate Change On Cambodia

The Impact Of Climate Change On Cambodia Cambodia is one of the countries on the mainland of Southeast Asia. Cambodia is 181,035 square kilometer in total area, and the total number of population is nearly 14 million in 2008. Cambodia shares the border with the three countries in Asia such as Thailand, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, and Socialist of Vietnam and about 6400 kilometer in total border. Actually, 80 percent of the total populations are farmers. They grow crops, especially rice paddy, for daily use in the families and sale the surplus products to the market places to earn money for the future needs. Besides the doing agriculture, people are usually work for other people either in the rural or in the urban to make money for the families. These kinds of jobs are commonly about building, garment sectors, electricians and so on. In addition, Cambodia is one of the countries has the tropical monsoon in the region in which classify the climate in Cambodia into two different seasons respectively, the dry season and the rainy or wet season. Actually, the dry season in Cambodia commonly starts from the month of November to the month of April; and the rainy or wet season start from the month of May until the month of October, to which provide easy going for Cambodian people in doing agriculture. In fact, they can do the agriculture more than one per year. However, since there was a change in climate, most of fields in Cambodia were not usable for growing such a crop, rice paddy. Actually, in order to make it easier, we should firstly understand what the term of climate change is. The answer is that climate change is one of the most concerning global issues that have severe impacts on human securities. It is truly a long term change of climate in a specific areal or locations or we can say that climate change is the increasing of temperature on the earth that we commonly cannot see through our naked eyes. Obviously, such a dangerous issue, global warming, is not take place incidentally. There are always the factors that encourage or facilitate it to take place. In order to make this topic easier, I would raise two major factors that cause to the changing of climate; those factors are the humans activities and from the natural activities. First of all, all humans activities always affect to the environment either on the large scale or in the small scale. For example, greenhouses gases are the major actor that cause to the to the change climate. What is a greenhouse gas? Greenhouse gas is gas that happened by the construction of greenhouse. Actually, the people who are living in the cold areas have not access to grow crops and vegetable as usual. Therefore, the constructions of greenhouses are inevitable for them. Scientifically, the greenhouses are built to trap the suns heat for growing crops. Obviously, not all the heat that trapped by the greenhouse returns to the atmosphere. Therefore, it keeps warm in the houses, and it is usable for growing crops. However, these kinds of heat will lead to change of climate or called global warming. Another factor that humans activities cause to the change of climate is the wealthy of the people. Actually, when people become wealthier, they would change their behavior of consumpt ion of goods or services to the new products to facilitate their daily living standard. For a real example, in order to make lives more comfortable, people use modern equipment such as refrigerators, air conditioners, and cool agents, and so on. Actually, these kinds of equipment are the main factors that exploit to the environment because of the chemical substances inside are dangerous to the environment that we usually called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). It is actually the main substance that exploits the ozone layer. What is ozone layer? Scientifically, the ozone layer is layer that can be found in the atmosphere about 30 kilometers above the earth surface. It plays a very crucial role in keeping the earth not so hot, for most of Ultra Violet (UV) is absorbed by the ozone layer. Therefore, the temperature on the earth surface will be cool. In contrast, what will happen if the ozone layer is exploited? Scientifically, when ozone layer is lost, the large amount of Ultraviolet will g o directly to the earth. Therefore, the temperature will be increasing on the earth. Another factor that people do affect to the climate change is through the cutting a large amount of the tree or we call deforestation. As we can see that, forest is the main actor and plays a very significant role in keeping temperature on earth cool. Actually, most of the carbon dioxide (CO2), a main actor in increasing the temperature, is usually absorbed by the trees, and the trees convert such a bad substance to Oxygen (O2) to which useful for human beings. Moreover, forest also plays a very important role in balancing the number of carbon dioxide. However what will happen when a large about of the forest is cut down? Actually, when the number of population increases, their demands for daily lives also increase. Therefore, they have to cut down the forest for building house, to make land usable for growing crops. Scientifically, when the trees were cut or burned down, the carbon dioxide will immediately go back to the atmosphere. Obviously, Carbon dioxide is the main actor that h elps accelerate the processing of trapping the suns heat. When there is a large amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the temperature will be hotter and hotter. The second major factor that cause to the climate change is through the natural activities. First of all, I would raise the case of forest fire. Forest fire sometimes happen when the temperature in the forest is hot or when there is lightning. Scientifically, Carbon dioxide is easily backed to the atmosphere when there is getting involved with the fire. Obviously, forest fire may take long time, so the number of Carbon dioxide that releases to the atmosphere will be larger. Therefore, the temperature on the earth will gradually increase. Another factor that cause to the climate change is the eruption of volcanoes. When there is eruption, the environment in the region will be polluted. In fact, the smoke from the eruption consists of toxic substances that affects to the environment such as gases, carbon dioxide, and sulphur oxide and aerosol. Most interestingly, climate change has severe impact on human being around the world, especially for the people living in the developing countries. Obviously, for most the developing countries like Cambodia is not a main factor that cause to the climate change. However, Cambodia is still affected by the changing of climate on the same level as the main contributors. Specifically, Cambodian people are facing some problems under climate change. First of all, people in some provinces in Cambodia have no access to grow crops, especially rice paddy. There are drought and flood in the provinces to which delay people from growing crops. For example, Kampong Speu is one of the provinces in Cambodia that experienced in drought. People find it hard in growing any kind of crops because of the drought. It was difficult to plough the field because the soil is too dry. At the same time, the land became unusable, infertile, for crops to grow. Therefore, a large number of people immigrated to the city to look for jobs. Some people immigrated to the third countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, and currently Korea to earn for the families that are waiting for their money. Another example that affected by the climate change is that for some provinces such as Prey Veng and Kampong Cham experienced in flooding. In fact, people in these two provinces usually do the agriculture during the rainy season, in September of the year. Because there was flood in the rice field for long time, people late in practicing in agriculture. Therefore, they have to wait until water become lower. Obviously, the late of doing agriculture may cause many problems for the farmers such as there is not enough water for the rice to grow, there are pests that eat and exploit the rice stalk and the field becomes infertile. As a result, many people immigrated from the provinces to work in the city. Actually, when large numbers of people keep going to the city, it would make the city unstable and difficult for the government to take control. Similarly, climate change also affected to the human security in Cambodia for a few consequences. First, most Cambodian people, especially to the young people under the age of five, are affected by the diseases. Obviously, most of Cambodian people, especially the people who are living in the rural areas, are depending on the water from the nature sources such as rivers, lakes, ponds, and stream and so on. When there is a changing in climate, it causes the quality water in those sources become shallow the water become more polluted. When people took the water to use for cooking, drinking, and washing, they were affected by this factor, especially for the young people, because they had a weak anti-bacterial system in their bodies. Moreover, one of the most serious diseases that have severe impact on the young people was diarrhea. Statistically from the Ministry of Health of Cambodia, around 12,500 Cambodian people die per year. Because of the bad impact of the climate change in Cambodia, both state and non-state actors have found out new strategies and solutions in reducing the serious effects of the climate change. First, non-state actors are playing a very crucial role in fighting against the climate change. Actually, there are a few strategies that non-state actor such as NGOs practicing to reduce the climate changes effects. Initially, NGOs are trying to promote education system for the poor people who are living in the rural areas in Cambodia. They believe that educational system is key role that help people escape from the poverty. When people become literate, they will stop cutting down the forest. They will change their perception of cutting down forest and think about important factors of forest for lives for lives to live harmoniously, for it helps reducing the effects of climate change. At the same time, they may look for other jobs that can also make money for their families such as ecotourism. Another strategy that NGOs in Cambodia help reducing the effects of climate change, they promote reforestation for people living in the rural areas. Actually, if people want to cut down a tree, they have to grow another to for the future use. When the people keeping practicing this strategy, there will be a stability of forest in Cambodia and climate change will gradually be reduced. Similarly, Royal Government of Cambodia is trying very hard in looking for the solution that can deal with the effect of climate change on Cambodia citizens. First thing that the government of Cambodia uses to reduce the effects of climate change is conservation of forest. They try to keep the amount of forest cover to about 60 percent by promoting on both private and public institutions to reforestation. It is one of the affective ways to cope with the expansion of the climate change. Second, the government keeps their eyes on community forestry. Obviously, community forestry helps preventing from any kind of illegal deforestation and land enlargement activities. Finally, in order to make the awareness of Cambodian people, especially for younger generation, the government of Cambodia has inserted the subject of climate change to the formal study subjects. The government wants people to be aware of the climate change and what are the strategies that help protect the environment. In conclusion, climate change totally affected to everyone one round the world. Although a country such as Cambodia was not the main contributor to the climate change, the effects of climate change still affected on Cambodia on the level as the main contributor once. The climate change causes the rice fields in Cambodia became infertile and did not usable for growing rice. Also, a large number of people moved from the rural areas into the city to look for any job to support their families. Moreover, diseases were taken place under the effects of climate change. However, climate change was immediately responded by the two actors, state and non-state actors, NGOs. Both played very important role in reducing the effects of climate change respectively. Finally, if these two main actors standstill on their commitment, I optimistically believe that the word climate change will gradually be eliminated and the environment will be as normal as the ancient time before there was getting involve by word climate change.

Anti Death Penalty Essay -- essays research papers fc

Disasters in Death Introduction I. Roosevelt Collins, a black man in Alabama, was convicted of rape, sentenced to death, and executed in 1937. Roosevelt testified that the â€Å"victim† who was white had consented to sex, which caused a near-riot in the courtroom. The all-white jury deliberated for only FOUR minutes. Later interviews with several jurors revealed that although they believed the act was consensual, they also thought that he deserved death simply for â€Å"messin’ around† with a white woman. Even the judge, off the record, admitted his belief that Roosevelt was telling the truth, QUOTE: â€Å"An innocent man went to his death.† Horace Dunkins was executed on July 17, 1989. His attorney never told the jury he was mentally retarded, with an IQ estimated at 65. When newspapers reported this several years later, one juror told the press she would not have voted for the death penalty had she known of his retardation. The accomplice to this crime w as given a life sentence. II. Everyone has their own opinion of the Death Penalty. The problem is, most United States citizens do not have the facts. As long as the death penalty is a form of punishment, we all should be aware of this information†¦the correct information, and not just what crime the â€Å"Dead Man Walking† committed. III. Myself, Chandra, Steve, and Geoff have done extensive research on the subject of corporal punishment and will discuss those findings with you today. IV. The Death Penalty is a costly, immoral, and imperfect form of punishment. Before Americans chant â€Å"Death† for a moral wrong, we should make sure that we are right. V. Today we will discuss some of the problems with the death penalty, solutions and alternatives to it, and even give you a glimpse into how our future America will be if we continue this immoral deterrent. Chandra will share with us three of the major problems with the death penalty. Steve will discuss some soluti ons and alternatives to corporal punishment. Finally, Geoff will give us some insight how the death penalty has failed as a deterrent and will continue to poison our lives in the future and what we can do to change things. Transition: Chandra will begin by explaining three major concerns with the death penalty. Body of Speech I. First Main Point (Need-Problem): The Death Penalty has three major problems: the cost, immoral issues, and erroneous executions. a. Supporting ... ...h this†¦According to a webpage from ACLU Marquis de Lafayette, speaking to the French Chamber of Deputies in 1830, years after having witnessed the executions of the French Revolution said this†¦ "I shall ask for the abolition of the punishment of death until I have the infallibility of human judgment demonstrated to me." I couldn’t have said it better than that. Bibliography References: Alternatives to the Death Penalty. [Online}. www.cuadp.org/altern.htm. (1998). Amnesty International USA. [Online]. Amnesty International Inc. www.amnesty-usa.org/abolish/index.html. (1999, November 23). Appeals Unlimited. [Online]. Appeals Unlimited/AUSoft. www.appeals.com/ deathpenalty.html. Campaign to End the Death Penalty. [Online]. www.nodeathpenalty.org/fivereasons.html. (1999, October 1). Economics of Capital Punishment, The. [Online]. www.mindspring.com/~ phporter/econ.html. (1999). Death Penalty Focus. (1999, April 24). Cost of the Death Penalty and Myths and Facts. [Online]. www.deathpenalty.org. (version on November 18, 1999). Illinois Wrongful Capital Murder Convictions. [Online]. www.sun.soci.niu.edu/~critcrim/wrong/illmurder.html. (1999, February). Word Count: 1622

Searle’s Solution to the Missing Object Problem :: Searle Philosophy Philosophical Essays

Let us imagine that to play a joke on her new friend Suzy, Jenny tells her all about her cocker spaniel. Jenny tells Suzy that her dog’s name is Sally, that Sally has long blonde hair, and that she loves to eat table scraps. The only problem is that Sally does not really exist  ¾ but Jenny doesn’t tell this to Suzy. Because of this, Suzy forms all sorts of beliefs about Jenny’s cocker spaniel. She believes that it is named Sally, that it has long blonde hair and loves to eat table scraps, and perhaps a few other beliefs. She also forms desires regarding the dog  ¾ she wants to meet Sally, to play fetch with her, and to buy her a doggie treat. Suzy, therefore, has many beliefs and desires regarding Sally the cocker spaniel  ¾ and all of this in spite of the fact that Sally does not really exist at all. In orchestrating this prank, Jenny thought she was merely playing a simple trick on her friend. But in succeeding at this, she has brought about a s ignificant philosophical dilemma. If Sally the cocker spaniel does not exist, then what are all of Suzy’s beliefs and desires about? This is the problem of â€Å"objectless directedness.† Mental states like believing and desiring are understood to be directed at things; they are intentional states, and every intentional state must have an intentional object. If I have a belief that Michael Jordan is the best basketball player of all time, or that Bush is a good wartime President, then these are beliefs about, respectively, Michael Jordan and George Bush. If I have a desire to meet the Pope, or to have a hamburger, then these desires are directed at the Pope and a hamburger, respectively. But in Suzy’s case, the supposed intentional object of her beliefs and desires  ¾ Sally the cocker spaniel  ¾ turned out not to exist at all. So did the beliefs and desires have an intentional object at all? And if so, what was it? In addressing this problem, this paper will explicate and argue for a solution given by John Searle in his book, Intentionality. After briefly

Miranda is an American short story, which was published in 1988

â€Å"Miranda† is an American short story, which was published in 1988. It points up the conflicts that might arise when a young girl finds out that she is pregnant. In addition to the obligatory section B, I will in my essay incorporate a short analysis of the text. The main character's name is â€Å"Miranda† as the title of the story. Miranda is an 18 year old girl who, in the beginning of the story, lives at home by her parents in Los Angeles, California. The story starts the day before she leaves for College in Boston. As the story progresses Miranda's feelings are changing. In the beginning of the story she seems like a well-balanced girl. She has everything: freedom, a great boyfriend and understanding parents. She seems like any other teenage girl. But as she finds out she is pregnant, she is slowly changing. She gets more and more sceptical towards her surroundings and the whole thing with the pregnancy is not easy for her either. She also becomes more serious and melancholic, because she learns more about life; about what is consists of. Holly is Miranda's friend and roommate in Boston. She is a year older than Miranda and a more free-minded kind of girl who tries to get Miranda to see things from her point of view. She is a girl who just wants to have fun and not necessarily always thinks of the consequences of her actions. That shows when she often sleeps with her new friend Brian on week nights, and then subsequently gets visited by her boyfriend Tom in the weekends. Holly's role in the story is to put Miranda into a situation where she has to choose, to tell the reader what kind of girl Miranda is; what her values are. That seems pretty obvious when Miranda says that she wants to be owned, and that she will marry Michael. (p. 4, l. 95) Holly represents the common opinion and she is the contrast to Miranda. When Miranda comes home to her parents, they are having a conversation about her pregnancy with her and Michael. Their reaction reflects the society they live in and they are, surprisingly, more than understanding and sympathizing – or so it would seem. As a true product of their environment, they strongly advise Miranda to get an abortion. Miranda's parents do not want a daughter who does not study and therefore cannot get an education. As her mother says, she will end up as a dumb little house-wife. (p. 5, l. 147) They want her to have an abortion, so she does not end up in misery. That is not only best for her and Michael, but also for the unborn child. Miranda is mortified at the thought of killing her child. She does not care about the hardships – she is willing to accept the responsibility of the child and raise it. When her parents realise that they are not reaching Miranda, they turn to Michael in an effort to influence him. Michael is young and at school, just the same as Miranda, and although he loves her and accepts the responsibility of the child, he is thinking of his future as well as. When he first heard the news, he soon talked about marriage, because he felt that it was the right thing to do. On the other hand Michael is relieved that her parents are trying to talk her out of it, because he realized that he is not ready to be a father. Michael knows he cannot forsake the baby, otherwise he would scar Miranda. He cannot look Miranda in the eyes; probably because he feels ashamed and guilty about the whole situation. Michael is hurting Miranda when he acts the way he does. She can see that his eyes are full of relief and gratitude when her parents come to the rescue for him. In a sense they buy Michael because they know that if he wont help raise the child, neither will Miranda. Unfortunately, Michael soon realises his mistake – by giving up on the baby, he is also giving up on Miranda. You could say that the choice was between Miranda and the child, or Michael and his future. â€Å"†¦ She looked at Michael. He looked at her, guilty, ashamed (p. 6, l. 195)†¦ He had both won and lost, and his unhappy face struggled to endure both. p. 6, l. 197) The central theme in this short story is teenage pregnancy and the worries and difficulties it brings along with it. The decision to have an abortion or not is a very complicated, because it brings up intense feelings and moral questions, and this often place people in difficult situations. Miranda is an example of a girl who has a lot of thoughts after becoming pregnant. She truly wants to have the baby, but ends up giving in to the fight with her parents. Miranda falls under the traditional values of what is â€Å"the right thing to do,† but at the same time she abandons her chance for happiness. That leads us to another theme in the story: Society's view on success and happiness. Today, the ultimate idea of success is to please ourselves first, get that major degree and job – then plan a family and a future. Miranda sees it all more simply; she has a baby, she is willing to take responsibility, and plans her future along a different path than society wants for her. Every so often you have to listen to your heart, in order to make yourself happy. Maybe that means going against everyone you know and all you've been taught, but sometimes, that is the only way to be happy.