Monday, November 25, 2019

The Death of Emperor Montezuma

The Death of Emperor Montezuma In November of 1519, Spanish invaders led by Hernan Cortes arrived in Tenochtitlan, the capital city of the Mexica (Aztecs). They were welcomed by Montezuma, the mighty Tlatoani (emperor) of his people. Seven months later, Montezuma was dead, possibly at the hands of his own people. What happened to the Emperor of the Aztecs? Montezuma II Xocoyotzà ­n, Emperor of the Aztecs Montezuma had been selected to be Tlatoani (the word means speaker) in 1502, the maximum leader of his people: his grandfather, father and two uncles had also been tlatoque (plural of tlatoani). From 1502 to 1519, Montezuma had proven himself to be an able leader in war, politics, religion, and diplomacy. He had maintained and expanded the empire and was lord of lands stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Hundreds of conquered vassal tribes sent the Aztecs goods, food, weapons, and even slaves and captured warriors for sacrifice. Cortes and the Invasion of Mexico In 1519, Hernan Cortes and 600 Spanish conquistadors landed on Mexicos Gulf coast, establishing a base near the present-day city of Veracruz. They began slowly making their way inland, collecting intelligence through Cortes interpreter/mistress Doà ±a Marina (Malinche). They befriended disgruntled vassals of the Mexica and made an important alliance with the Tlaxcalans, bitter enemies of the Aztecs. They arrived in Tenochtitlan in November and were initially welcomed by Montezuma and his top officials. Capture of Montezuma The wealth of Tenochtitlan was astounding, and Cortes and his lieutenants began plotting how to take the city. Most of their plans involved capturing Montezuma and holding him until more reinforcements could arrive to secure the city. On November 14, 1519, they got the excuse they needed. A Spanish garrison left on the coast had been attacked by some representatives of the Mexica and several of them were killed. Cortes arranged a meeting with Montezuma, accused him of planning the attack, and took him into custody. Amazingly, Montezuma agreed, provided he be able to tell the story that he had voluntarily accompanied the Spanish back to the palace where they were lodged. Montezuma Captive Montezuma was still allowed to see his advisors and participate in his religious duties, but only with Cortes permission. He taught Cortes and his lieutenants to play traditional Mexica games and even took them hunting outside of the city. Montezuma seemed to develop a sort of Stockholm Syndrome, in which he befriended and sympathized with his captor, Cortes: when his nephew Cacama, lord of Texcoco, plotted against the Spanish, Montezuma heard of it and informed Cortes, who took Cacama prisoner. Meanwhile, the Spanish continually badgered Montezuma for more and more gold. The Mexica generally valued brilliant feathers more than gold, so much of the gold in the city was handed over to the Spanish. Montezuma even ordered the vassal states of the Mexica to send gold, and the Spaniards amassed an unheard-of fortune: it is estimated that by May they had collected eight tons of gold and silver. Massacre of Toxcatl and Return of Cortes In May of 1520, Cortes had to go to the coast with as many soldiers as he could spare to deal with an army led by Panfilo de Narvaez. Unbeknownst to Cortes, Montezuma had entered into a secret correspondence with Narvez and had ordered his coastal vassals to support him. When Cortes found out, he was furious, greatly straining his relationship with Montezuma. Cortes left his lieutenant Pedro de Alvarado in charge of Montezuma, other royal captives and the city of Tenochtitlan. Once Cortes was gone, the people of Tenochtitlan became restless, and Alvarado heard of a plot to murder the Spanish. He ordered his men to attack during the festival of Toxcatl on May 20, 1520. Thousands of unarmed Mexica, most of the members of the nobility, were slaughtered. Alvarado also ordered the murder of several important lords held in captivity, including Cacama. The people of Tenochtitlan were furious and attacked the Spaniards, forcing them to barricade themselves inside the Palace of Axaycatl. Cortes defeated Narvaez in battle and added his men to his own. On June 24, this larger army returned to Tenochtitlan and was able to reinforce Alvarado and his embattled men. Death of Montezuma Cortes returned to a palace under siege. Cortes could not restore order, and the Spanish were starving, as the market had closed. Cortes ordered Montezuma to reopen the market, but the emperor said that he could not because he was a captive and no one listened to his orders anymore. He suggested that if Cortes freed his brother Cuitlahuac, also held prisoner, he might be able to get the markets to reopen. Cortes let Cuitlahuac go, but instead of reopening the market, the warlike prince organized an even fiercer attack on the barricaded Spaniards.   Unable to restore order, Cortes had a reluctant Montezuma hauled to the roof of the palace, where he pleaded with his people to stop attacking the Spanish. Enraged, the people of Tenochtitlan threw stones and spears at Montezuma, who was badly wounded before the Spanish were able to bring him back inside the palace. According to Spanish accounts, two or three days later, on June 29, Montezuma died of his wounds. He spoke to Cortes before dying and asked him to take care of his surviving children. According to native accounts, Montezuma survived his wounds but was murdered by the Spanish when it became clear that he was of no further use to them. It is impossible to determine today exactly how Montezuma died. Aftermath of Montezuma's Death With Montezuma dead, Cortes realized that there was no way he could hold the city. On June 30, 1520, Cortes and his men tried to sneak out of Tenochtitlan under cover of darkness. They were spotted, however, and wave after wave of fierce Mexica warriors attacked the Spaniards fleeing over the Tacuba causeway. About six hundred Spaniards (roughly half of Cortes army) were killed, along with most of his horses. Two of Montezumas children - which Cortes had just promised to protect - were slain alongside the Spaniards.  Some Spaniards were captured alive and sacrificed to the Aztec gods. Nearly all of the treasure was gone as well. The Spanish referred to this disastrous retreat as the Night of Sorrows. A few months later, reinforced by more conquistadors and Tlaxcalans, the Spanish would re-take the city, this time for good. Five centuries after his death, many modern Mexicans still blame Montezuma for poor leadership which led to the fall of the Aztec Empire. The circumstances of his captivity and death have much to do with this. Had Montezuma refused to allow himself to be taken captive, history would most likely have been very different. Most modern Mexicans have little respect for Montezuma, preferring the two leaders who came after him, Cuitlahuac and Cuauhtà ©moc, both of whom fought the Spanish fiercely. Sources Diaz del Castillo, Bernal. . Trans., ed. J.M. Cohen. 1576. London, Penguin Books, 1963. Hassig, Ross. Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control. Norman and London: University of Oklahoma Press, 1988. Levy, Buddy. New York: Bantam, 2008. Thomas, Hugh . New York: Touchstone, 1993.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Social Responsibility and the Community Research Paper

Social Responsibility and the Community - Research Paper Example Notably, corporate social responsibility promotes the reputation of the company and creates a competitive advantage. In the modern world, organizations are under pressure to practice corporate social responsibility while still making profits. Indeed, it has become an expectation for all organizations to be ethically and socially responsible for the benefit of the organization and the society (ISO, 2010). This paper will research and write an analysis of Starbucks social actions in the community. Analysis Starbucks Coffee Company is the leading coffee retailer, roaster, and brand of specialty coffee in the world. Starbucks originated from Seattle, USA, but today it operates in over 60 countries with more than 18,000 stores. Starbucks specializes in premium and sell salads, books, gifts, warm and cold beverages, and other accessories. Due to its wide market network, high quality of its products, and the wide range of products, Starbucks commands a significant market presence where it h as the largest customer base in the coffee other blend- drinks industry. As a result, it interacts with many societies and therefore influences their lives. Therefore, there is need for a corporate social responsibility strategy to guide the operations of Starbucks Coffee Company all over the world. ... Indeed, it is clear from the organization’s website that Starbucks adopted various corporate social responsibility strategies with a view of achieving its mission statement. Specifically, the corporate social responsibility strategies adopted by Starbucks includes the 2000 partnership with Conservation International aimed at creating ethical coffee-sourcing guidelines (Bruhn-Hansen, 2012) and the formulation of the Starbucks Foundation. Moreover, Starbucks seeks to be accountable to all Starbucks stakeholders and making social investments in origin countries as well as minimizing their environmental impact. Additionally, the organization participates in the Global Month of Service. There are various pros and cons to the application of the respective corporate social responsibility strategies adopted by Starbucks Coffee Company. For example, the 2000 partnership with Conservation International aimed at creating ethical coffee-sourcing guidelines derives notable pros and cons. I n this strategy, Starbucks boosts the lives of farmers by purchasing at outright prices, signing long-term contracts, and buying directly from farms and cooperatives (Starbucks Corporation, 2013). This equally ensures sustainable supply of high-quality coffee to the organization. Moreover, through the Ecologic Enterprise Ventures and the CI Foundation, Starbucks avails credit facilities to farmers (Starbucks, 2001). Nevertheless, an outright price and long-term contracts hinders the farmer from enjoying better prices from other companies in the near future. More so, there is a risk to the repayment of the loans given to the farmers. On the other hand, the partnership allows Starbucks to give financial incentives and rewards to coffee suppliers who conserve the environmental and demonstrate

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Decision Making Tools Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Decision Making Tools - Assignment Example According to the research findings, it can, therefore, be said that quote (year) mentioned that the advantage with working with decision-making tools is that they ensure that the approach to decision making is always systematic. It also ensures that the one taking the decision can at least be guaranteed of a certain degree of an outcome, especially when a particular tool proves to be effective for a particular kind of decision (quote). So far in this course, there have been the utilization and use of a number of decision-making tools, all of which have been applied in different scenarios to solve identified problems. In this paper, a toolbox of techniques and analysis tools is constructed. Quote (year) referred to techniques and analysis tools simply as decision tools as they help in easing the whole decision-making process. The toolbox is, therefore, a simple collection of organized tools in a way that makes it possible to use each tool in solving a peculiar problem. When making the decision, there are several tools that can be used to satisfy different goals. One important thing about each of these tools is that they tend to solve one kind of problem or situation better than others (quote). Knowing this, the decision matrix is created by considering a number of factors or scenarios that can arise in any typical decision-making process. Based on differences in the factors, there is a weighting given to each of them. Then after, each decision-making tool is scored against one of the factors. When using the decision matrix for regular personal decisions, quote (year) advised on the need to have an un-weighted matrix before a weighted one. This makes it easier to bring out the key scoring that is done for each tool and how it fits each factor. Table one below is an example of four major decision-making tools may be scored against five major factors when taking the decision.

Monday, November 18, 2019

Exploratory essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Exploratory - Essay Example I have taken information from other primary and secondary resources to demonstrate that consumption of organic food has more advantages to human health, the environment and the economy than consumption of GM food; but before I had amassed this knowledge, I was already of the opinion that consuming organic food is better that consuming GM food. This view was formed by my own personal experience; I had purchased some GM strawberries and although they were very large and looked perfect in appearance as compared to the smaller and oddly shaped organic strawberries, they were tasteless compared to the sweeter organic strawberries. I had also known that organic food does not use chemicals such as pesticides or tamper with the genes of food as is the case with GM food, so I assumed that eating organic food would be much safer. Though this seems like a biased view, I did conduct the research and examined many articles on both GM and organic food to find out if my preconceived notions about t he benefits of organic food were true. The information I found did actually corroborate my assumptions about organic and GM food, and so, my research question remains that consuming organic food is more advantageous because it tastes better than, is more environmentally friendly than, is safer to human health than, and better at promoting local economy than, consumption of GM food. 1. Part 2: What I have learned so far about my subject (the search). 2. Chait, n.p Chait, Jennifer. "8 Reasons Why Consumers Should Buy Organic Food."Http://organic.about.com/. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 July 2013. . 3. Organic food is better than GM food since eating it is tasty, safe and does not contain any chemicals. Also, its production minimizes risk to the environment, since it does not pollute water bodies like production of GM food does, and neither does its farming techniques result in soil erosion and damage to the land. 4. (a) Chait demonstrates that not only is consumption of organic food

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Analysis of online auction site ebid

Analysis of online auction site ebid EBid is an online auction website, which was cofounded by Mark Wilkinson and Gary Sewell in December 1998 in UK. They did not take the normal approach of putting huge amount of capital initially to establish the business, they built their site backwards by building a self sufficient auction site which would attract and retain customers. The initial version of EBid went on air in January 1999. EBid now operates in more than 20 countries including UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Austria, Belgium, India Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Netherland, Denmark, Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden, Singapore and South Africa. It lists to buyers in other 100 countries as well. EBid has its own online payment service PPPay, which deals in paying Euros and Pounds Shillings. But this is not restrictive as EBid also accepts payment through PayPal and Google Checkout. PPPay.com is simple and comparatively secure which makes EBid a safe marketplaces on the virtual world for everyone including individuals, small and big companies equally. The closest competitor of EBid is Ebay, OnlineAuctions, Oztion etc. In a recent online auction review EBid stood second, closing behind EBay. EBid is often termed as the best Ebay alternative. EBid has numerous auction goods in more than 3,500 product categories, which includes music, collectibles, clothing, jewellery, electronics, games and antiques etc. EBids search capability lets its customers find items in their own region or check globally the choice of items they are interested in. There is a Wanted feature which allows buyers to post a free advertisement and list the acceptable price. Sellers can then bid for the same with the given requirements. Membership level EBid offers three membership levels to their customers. Buyers: There is no membership fee. It is free of cost to join EBid and buy there. Seller: It is free to join and list on the auction. And if the product put on the auction is sold off, a minimal of 3% of the final value is charged. Sellers are required to give their credit or debit card verification for safety purposes. Seller Plus: It is the membership based on subscription which charges the seller with a recurring fee every 73090 days or 365 days. EBid also offers a lifetime membership which is a onetime charge of  £49.99. Seller Plus members can open five shops for no charge. They can also list a free auction of which the final fee is none. And for gallery type auction 2% fee is charged. Seller Plus+ members can use a type of software called the Bulk lister spread sheet which list many items at the same time, also there is software called as Ninja Lister in which you can use EBids cross-platform. Registration and upgrading A registration form is to be filled up by the users to register as buyers at EBid. For upgrading to SELLER or SELLER+ a security subscription is to be purchased. Upgrade Fees SELLER  : Rs. 0.00 SELLER+ : 7 Day Rs. 59.00 30 Day Rs. 210.00 90 Day Rs. 510.00 365 Day Rs. 1800.00 Lifetime Rs. 2000.00 (Refer to appendix Figure 1) Buddy programs and affiliations An affiliate program is a system in which a customer advertise EBid at their emails or their websites etc, and then if someone joins EBid then it pays the introducer a amount of $2.00 /  £1.00. The EBid Buddy Points program is a Loyalty Card system. The customer can earn and accumulate points during his bidding or selling, they can be used everywhere at the site. Once the invited people join 1 point per person is awarded to the customer. If they then upgrade to SELLER another point will be earned, and if they upgrade to Seller+ 2 points will be earned. The buddy points then can be later used in different buddy auctions. Points are also available via the following trigger points  [1]  . Referring a Buddy = 1 points Buddy SELLER Upgrade = 2 points Buddy SELLER+ Upgrade = 5 points Making a Bid Meeting Reserve = 0.5% of reserve price (max 5 points) Purchasing via Winning Bid = 1.0% of final bid (max 5 points) Purchasing Using BuyNow = 1.0% of BuyNow price (max 5 points) Receiving Positive Feedback = 0.5% of final bid OR BuyNow price (max 5 points) Online Auction Business Model There are several business models associated with online auction model namely business to consumer (B2C), consumer to consumer (C2C), business to business (B2B), business to government (B2G), and government to public (G2P). EBid adopts a customer-to-customer business model, as it allows direct interaction of customers. A customer to customer interaction is defined as the interaction of n customers that affects the value, demand and credibility of a desired good. It avoids medalling of a business firm/company etc in between the two customers. In Customer-to-customer markets the website facilitates a platform where customers can sell goods to each other. EBid has globalised and centralized customer-to-customer trade. The most primal such customer interaction were seen in flea markets, garage sales etc. Online auction sites have given it a new global edge to it. On one single platform buyers and sellers can find the items and transact for the best deal. Listing an item on EBid is free of cost but they charge a nominal of 3% fee on the final sale price. At the end of an auction, EBid notifies the winning buyer through given e-mail that he has won the auction. It also contact the seller via email to report the winner and the final price of the auction. Then it is upto the buyer and seller how to complete the transaction independently. EBid doesnt charge buyers any fee to shop and place bids, so it makes money by charging fees from sellers. Advantages The middleman concept is removed. The customers are benefited more by the elimination. Large number of bidders and sellers As the online auctions are open to all, many people who have saleable product go online to sell, which increases the number of bidders too. Time barrier there is no time constraints as anyone can sell or purchase at any hour of the day. Due to globalisation people from different countries interact with each other to transact. It offers wider range of products and services. Price factor prices at such sites are negotiable and the goods sold are cheaper. In such business model there is a lot of cost cutting, inevitable cost such as inventory cost, distribution, sales etc are deleted. Customer Value Proposition EBid has not kept any buyers fee, this encourages more buyers to participate. Whereas in other auction site there is a minimum buyers fee too. There is no listing fee too, sellers can put the goods up on auction without any charges, and this strategy gets many sellers to get involved. There is a nominal 3% fee charge on final sale value, which is not comparatively much. The buddy point system makes EBid more interactive and fun to use. EBid provides a lot of incentive such as special bidding by buddy points etc, this lets customer become more enthusiastic. Revenue Model As mentioned earlier EBid earns through final sale value that is 3 %. There is another way of EBid earning, it is through their subscription based membership called as SELLER Plus. Not all the auctions are opened for regular seller; there are some which are held only for seller plus members exclusively. EBid charges a fee based on membership validity. There are some fee charged by EBid from customer who wants to highlight their or customise their bidding. A table of the list of charges have been given below. Estimated market price of EBid.net is 1,366,632 USD. And its annual revenue for the last year was calculated as 683,316 USD. (Refer to appendix Figure 2) (Refer to appendix Figure 3) (Refer to appendix Figure 4) Competitors EBids main competitor is online auction giant EBay. Then comes onlineauctions, OZtions, overstock etc. Ebid is often termed as best ebay alternative. It has better price options, free bidding, free joining and free shop to boot. It offers English as well as dutch auctions. EBid has got buddy point system which let users invite more people. Finding a item in EBid is also not a problem, they have excellent navigation system. The photo gallery is also of good size and quality. EBid has an excellent customer support. Their FAQs cover all the major problem faced by the user. EBid has got easy payment options such as PPPay, PayPal, and google checkout. EBid has been made googles official product partner which gives it an edge. Summary Ebid is a well established online auction company which is growing at a fast rate. It offers some commendable features like; numerous auctions in over thousands of categories, very powerful search functioning, simple payment options, user friendliness, different range of auction types and no hidden cost. There are some improvisations needed in the field of their promotional activities. EBid can generate better revenues if they start selling their web space for advertisements and it will help them grow their network. Their wanted section is still not well defined and should be made more visible to the customers by more promotions. Figure : Account types Figure : Traffic Rank and number of visitors. Figure : Revenue system Figure : Unique visitor count

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Ethics Of Cheating Essay -- essays research papers

Cheaters Never Win, Oh wait they do†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦they’re Cheaters Cheating is defined in the dictionary as, to deceive by trickery; swindle, however the dictionary fails to tell you if it is right or wrong to cheat. People have many different beliefs when it comes to cheating; some think its fine to do while others completely disapprove. I intend to show the different beliefs, from different perspectives of people, and also intend on proving which beliefs have the strongest and weakest arguments. An ethical egoist could argue that we have an obligation to cheat. Ethical egoists maintain the belief that we should act selfishly. We should do things that we believe in our self-interest, which is our own genuine interest. Egoist would cheat to benefit themselves, they believe that their own interest receives much more weight than everyone else’s interest. Egoist realize that we are solely responsible for their own lives, therefore if cheating would benefit their lives then cheating is acceptable. If we did not cheat it would bring possible misfortune to our lives. However, it could also be argued by ethical egoist that we do not have an obligation to cheat. Egoist would agree that morality is about overcoming our selfishness and living our life with positive concern for the well being of others. Cheating is not looking at the well being of others, but rather doing the complete opposite. Unless everyone in the country had the answers to the test, then it would be considered good to ch...

Monday, November 11, 2019

Being a Rich and Fabulous CEO Essay

CIMB Wealth Advisors (CWA) was incorporated in 1990. Since then, they have becoming among the top ranking in the wealth management and financial service industry. It provides a complete financial system with comprehensive solutions for wealth management for their client. On June 6 2013, CWA team successfully carried out a career talk for the student of INTI International University & College, Subang Jaya. Everyone can take part in this career talk especially to those who taking business course. The talk started at about 2:30pm with the master of ceremonies by one of our college student. She gave us a short background of the talk later. The MC then introduced the Vice president of CWA, John Lau. He started to explain to us the topic of the talk. The title of the talk was â€Å"Being a Rich and Fabulous CEO†. The purpose that having this talk with everyone is telling us the way and tips to become a successful CEO although just a normal business man. Firstly, he explain to us what’s CWA helping to us. He also let us know how much income that every level class of worker or manager earning every year. Beside that, he told us need to set a goal for our future. Instead, he let us know what attitude and personality that every successful person that must have. For example, do not order others people doing something else, but the best one is listens to the comment or feedback and do something on it. Every successful CEO or leader must listen to others in order to let other people to listen on you. Become a CEO was a dream of every human, but dream without action, dreams still remains dreams. The speech was finish in 35mins. After that, we having the â€Å"role playing game†. We separated to few small groups. The rules was create a new company with one CEO. CEO must be chosen in one of us inside the group. Then, we have to create a new plan for our company. Beside of that, the plan must be persuade the judges to sign up for our plan. The power of teamwork has shown when we giving our best idea to each other. The ability and the spirit of leadership are important for group or maybe a company. This talk help us a lot in what are the ways we need to do when we graduated and also planning our future from now on. There is no such thing as a free lunch, so we must start from the low.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Written Report Essay

Written Report Essay Written Report Essay Elsa Pham-Minh Evaluation of the argument Group Minds by Doris Lessing 1. Provide a short summary Doris Lessing’s Group Minds talks about the fact that human nature belongs to groups. Throughout the entire essay, Doris Lessing talks about critical thinking. What she means by critical thinking is the ability to think for ourselves and to disagree. According to Lessing, being able to think critically also means that we are educated and have our own opinions. She talks about critical thinking, because the government has a different definition of it. Indeed, the government wants us to believe that we are free-minded and independent thinkers, when in reality they just want us to obey to their rules, to agree with them and therefore stay uneducated. Indeed, Lessing believes that the educational systems of the Western World see themselves as being â€Å"free to do as I will†, but in reality, it is through psychological and sociological experiments reveal that â€Å"we are group animals†. Humans want to belong to a group, because most people do not want to be alone and they are afraid of being outsiders. Doris also talks about the individualists who, â€Å"stubbornly insist on telling the truth as they see it, but most give in to the majority opinion, obey the atmosphere† (Lessing 1). Furthermore, Doris talks about the fact that we all have a lot of information about ourselves, but we do not use it to improve ourselves, which is the general idea behind her essays. It is in this essay that Doris Lessing claims that the problem is not belonging to groups, because humans need companionship, but in not understanding the social laws that drive groups (Lessing 1). Indeed â€Å"it is the hardest thing in the world to maintain an individual dissident opinion, as a member of a group† (Lessing 1). 2. Determine the view or views the argument is opposing. In Group Minds, Doris Lessing mainly opposes the idea that people think they are free minds as it is not true. She argues that intellectuals with a reputation are no better than anyone else, which she proves with an experiment she conducted herself. She believes that the government is abusing its power and that it claims to be democratic when it is false. Although Lessing opposes the ideas rather than the practices of the government, she argues that the government withholds information about the human behavior from educational systems in order to keep people’s obedience to â€Å"slogans, rhetoric, leaders, and group emotions† (Lessing 6). She also claims that it needs to be taught to children, because ‘in the last fifty or so years, the human race has become aware of a great deal of information about its mechanisms; how it behaves, how it must behave under certain circumstances. If this is to be useful, you must learn to contemplate these rules calmly† (Lessing 6). Lessing believes this would never happen, because those in power seek to stay in power by foreclosing access to â€Å"hard information† regarding human behaviour. 3. Determine the soundness of the argument To support her argument, Doris Lessing uses multiple experiments as evidence, which raises the issue in a serious manner.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

The Fighting Against Environmental Degradation

The Fighting Against Environmental Degradation The economic growth witnessed in the 20th century was accompanied by extremely high levels of environmental degradation (Smith, Harggroves Desha, 2010). This form of degradation was so significant that the existence of the planet was endangered.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on The Fighting Against Environmental Degradation specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As a result, several countries started revising their economic development strategies by including environmental preservation (Smith, Harggroves Desha, 2010). Several international organizations also came into play in order to enhance the protection of the environment. This led to the emergence of decoupling of economic growth and fighting against environmental degradation as potential ways of advancing the planet towards a sustainable future. Several measures have been devised in order to attain the aforementioned strategies. Generally, these strategies targ et economic growth without causing physical degradation of the environment. It also ensures sustainability of both the environment and overall economy (OECD, 2001). Several measures have been initiated so as to enhance decoupling of environmental degradation as well as economic development. For instance, the overuse of natural resources with the desire to advance economic development is the initial area that requires attention (Volker, 2013). Both the public and private economic development investors need to develop new ways of resource utilization that will ensure environmental sustainability (Smith, Harggroves Desha, 2010). One of the best known initiatives is the ‘green economy’ movement. The latter targets mutual benefits that may be both economical and environmental in nature. Through this focus, the three pillars of sustainability namely the society, environment, and the economy are observed (Smith, Harggroves Desha, 2010).Advertising Looking for term pa per on ecology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In order to boost the effectiveness of the aforementioned pillars, countries across the world have developed policies and laws that ensure strict adherence to the environmental initiatives (OECD, 2001). These policies are meant to enhance continued economic development without degrading the environment. International organizations such as UNEP have stipulated the maximum amount of natural resources that are to be used annually across the world. The latter aims at regulating the use of resources such as water, materials, and energy (Taoisearch Kenny, 2010). This organization also ensures that natural resources are not depleted as a result of economic development. Initiatives such as the green belt movement target reforestation as an environmental conservation initiative. This initiative advocates for planting of trees as part of infrastructural development and environmental pre servation. The green energy initiative also asserts that it is vital to use materials that are renewable in the generation of energy. Furthermore, the initiative has proposed several non-toxic ways of producing energy (Volker, 2013). Moreover, the initiative aims at minimizing carbon emissions which are usually generated as byproducts in the energy generation processes. The use of green energy sources such as solar and wind energy have proved to be more sustainable especially in regards to economic development. The manufacturing industries are also expected to employ production processes that minimize the release of toxic substances into the environment (Taoisearch Kenny, 2010). The processes should employ technological skills that hinder emission of industrial by-products.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on The Fighting Against Environmental Degradation specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The waste products should be biodegradable and have insignificant harm to the ecosystem (OECD, 2012). The use of more refined industrial manufacturing processes that have minimal wastes is one effective way of ensuring that such wastes are not released to the environment. The industrial products are also being evaluated on the levels of toxins deposited in the immediate environment. Regulations are currently in place to minimize release of non-biodegradable substances into the environment (OECD, 2012). In cases where such products are a necessity for economic stability, recycling is usually encouraged so that such wastes do not end up in the environment. Therefore, industries are encouraged to produce market and environment-friendly products. This is a business policy that targets a sustainable business environment (Taoisearch Kenny, 2010). References OECD (2001). The Transition to Sustainable Development: Are We Making Progress in Decoupling Economic Growth from Environmental Degradation? Web. OECD (2012). Ways to Decouple Economic Growth From Environmental Degradation. Web. Smith, M. H., Harggroves, K. C., Desha, C. (2010). Cents and Sustainability: Securing Our Common Future by Decoupling Economic Growth from Environmental Pressures. London: Routledge.Advertising Looking for term paper on ecology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Taoisearch, A., Kenny, E. (2010). Our Sustainable Future: A Framework For Sustainable Development For Ireland. Web. Volker, M. (2013). Lose Less Instead of Win More: The Failure of Decoupling and Perspectives for Competition in a Degrowth Economy. Environmental Values, 22(1), 43-57.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Developing Education in Saudi Arabia Research Paper

Developing Education in Saudi Arabia - Research Paper Example Religion trained in this way is also a mandatory subject for all university learners. As a result, Saudi Arabian youths lack the education and methodological skills the private sector requires" (Al-Ahmed, 2010). This Education System has stifled analytical thought, and as a result, the education curriculum does not favor advancement and resourcefulness; both of which are important to the development. This education system also focuses on the Arabic language so much that the English language is not giving any importance; thus the students find it difficult learning in the English language, in higher education. Therefore, something needs to be done to change the focus of education from the traditional Saudi techniques of memorization and rote education mainly in religious teachings in Arabic towards encouraging students to analyze and issue-solve as well as creating a worldlier and vocationally based literacy system that can only be taught in English. For this to be achieved, the Engli sh language needs to be mastered first. Company background (Al-wahhab, 1970) says that in Saudi Arabia, children aged 3–5 years go to kindergarten. On the other hand, attendance of nursery schools is not mandatory for enrollment of first grade of primary schools. Pre-schools are not part of the official education system. Some privately owned nurseries have come up with technical and financial help from the government. In accordance to Saudi Arabia’s government data, 100,714 children (51,364 males and 49,350 females) were in pre-primary education in 2007. The average enrollment rate was 10.8% in total; 11.1% boys and 10.4% girls according to UNESCO. This shows that there... This paper stresses that effective learner centered methods of teaching usually has positive results in student outcome. Teaching the English language in both primary and secondary will give a positive result if technology is used. Research indicates that computer technology can help support learning and is especially useful in developing the higher-order skills of critical thinking. This report makes a conclusion that this suggests that students can benefit from technology-enhanced collaborative learning methods and the interactive learning process. The integration of technology in teaching the English language and all other subjects in the English language will make the learning process interesting; in that the learners will be intrigued and eager to use technology in learning. The curriculum will be installed in the computers in the English language; to enable learners do private studies and practice reading on computers that will help in pronunciation and spelling even without the help of the teacher. Technology will also help fasten the realization of improving students’ results in higher education and other levels of education, as well. I would recommend for all recommendations of this report to be implemented immediately so as rectify the situation in the country’s higher education. The author of the paper says that the changes will also affe ct the general performance of all other subjects in they are followed in the teaching of the various subjects. There is a need for change, in the educational system, in Saudi Arabia.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Benefits and Limitations of Economic Analyses of Entrepreneurial Essay

Benefits and Limitations of Economic Analyses of Entrepreneurial Behaviour - Essay Example The researcher states that entrepreneurship consists in undertaking those activities which are generally not conducted in usual business routine. However, the entrepreneurial behavior in any country can be affected by economic analyses of a particular nation. The efficacy of entrepreneur improves if certain economic contexts such as political or governmental interference are less in a country. Several economists have defined the term ‘entrepreneur’ and their behavior in an economy. In economic theories, the knowledge of selection and decision making is essential for successful entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs demonstrate individual qualities which let certain persons make innovative decisions whose impact can be experienced in the long run. In every country, the entrepreneurial behavior is influenced by the suitability and setup of proper business foundations. For instance, political environment, economic environment, marketing aspects and technological aspects can significa ntly impact on the behavior of entrepreneurs. A stable, expectable and well-organized business environment with the strong governing system generally facilitates entrepreneurs to take innovative decisions. Entrepreneurs positively react to the environmental opportunities which in turn is related to economic analysis, because it can help to measure the benefits of opportunities identified. One of the most significant tasks of entrepreneurs is to discover and take advantage of opportunities. Opportunities for entrepreneurs can be defined by those environmental circumstances where products and services can be traded for the higher rate than the cost of production. Entrepreneurs typically decide when to utilize a market in order to support the discovery, and when to create a business to assist in facilitating the discovery. These decisions typically depend on the economic analyses of a country such as technological environment, marketing environment, and political environment. Before an entrepreneur earns revenue from an opportunity, he/she first analyze the worth of the opportunity. According to the discovery theory, there are two major assumptions which impact on entrepreneurial behavior.