business in asia Essay -- essays research papers

DOING BUSINESS IN SINGAPORE BACKGROUND Founded as a British trading colony in 1819, Singapore joined Malaysia in 1963, but withdrew two years later and gained its independence. It subsequently became one of the world’s most prosperous countries, with strong international trading links, (its port is one of the world’s busiest) and with a per capita GDP above that of the leading nations of Western Europe. Singapore is located in the South-eastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia. Because of this strategic location, Singapore has been known as a trading center almost continuously since the 7th Century, when it was a Sumatran seaport called Temasek. Singapore has probably gone through more changes in the last 30 years than any other country in the world. Family life is particularly important to Asians. The socialization of children within the family creates powerful patterns, which will remain with your counterpart for life. You will be dealing with the families of your customers, employees, bankers, and other business counterparts. Singapore was settled originally by male immigrants seeking work. Because they left their extended families behind, most families in Singapore consist of only one or two generations. Today, Singapore is a modern multiracial state. Seventy seven percent of the population is Chinese; fifteen percent is Malay; six percent Indian or Pakistani; and two percent European. Singapore has four official languages: Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, and English. The national language is Malay and English is the primary business language. The three Asian cultures of Singapore, Malay, Indian, and Chinese, have been influenced by Western culture since the arrival of Portuguese traders in the Sixteenth Century. By the time the British dominated the island, some three hundred years later, local Asians were feeling the full brunt of western imperialism. Its aggressive mercantile spirit and confident Christianity left certain marks, such as the use of English for business. GOVERMENT Singapore is one of the world’s few city-states. A city-state is a small self-governed country, primarily dependent upon the commercial activity of a single city. City-states were common in the ancient world and the Middle Ages. Today only a few survive: Monaco, San Marino, and Singapore. The political history of Singapore is closely intertwined with the person o... ...gether with Asian talent, could help solve this problem. Movies could also be made in Mandarin, which is widely spoken throughout North and Southeast Asia. Singapore just launched Channel U, a new television channel in Mandarin, hoping to attract millions of viewers who speak that language. A substantial amount of young viewers in Singapore are bilingual and want more television shows in English and Mandarin, which means this audience would probably embrace movies in either language. Competition in Singapore is scarce. A small company with adequate funding could be able to make movies that appeal to an extensive market. Why do business in Singapore? Singapore is an attractive base for an Asian corporate headquarters because people speak English; it is less costly than Tokyo or Taipei and it does not have the political problems of Hong Kong. Singapore offers manufacturing corporations well-trained labor at reasonable wages. For traders it offers a free port. For international financiers the island provides a location, which bridges the time gap between business hours of major world stock exchanges. Finally, the government actively encourages foreign trade and investment.

Ezra pound’s poem Essay

As far as linguistics is concerned with the study of human language. And as it is known for anyone who is specialised in the field, it is divided into branches that consist of semantics which is the study of meaning at the level of words and concepts, at the second stage comes semiotics which means the use of symbols ,images to convey meaning, and thirdly we have pragmatics where meaning is understood through the context. So our attempt in this essay is the study of Ezra Pound’s poem ‘The Garden ‘from three perspectives, semantically, semiotically and pragmatically. â€Å"The Garden† is a free verse poem written by Ezra Pound. It was first published in 1913 in the collection â€Å"Poetry: A Magazine of Verse†, then as part of his collection â€Å"Lustra† in 1916. The poem is comprised of four stanzas.(Alexander). When reading the poem at a first glance the reader may notice that Pound is describing a young woman who has been born into the wealth of society and has grown up isolated from it. In the first stanza the poet compares the young woman to a softy length. Then the silk is loose, much like the young woman who seem to be lost. Next, the poet refers to the woman’s mental state. â€Å"She is dying piece-meal of a sort of emotional anaemia†. So, anaemia is a condition to feel weak and tired and suggests the lack of vitality. In the second stanza, the poet is referring to a number of lower class children ‘rabble fifthly, sturdy, unkillable infants of the very poor†. Besides, the following line states that â€Å"they shall inherit the earth â€Å"which refers to the aristocratic category in Britain. Ezra Pound then makes a direct referencing to the woman’s excessive boredom when he says â€Å"her boredom is exquisite and excessive â€Å". Thus, the poem ends with the women’s desire to speak to somebody. In other words, Ezra Pound uses a number of literary techniques such as: symbols, simile and metaphor. At the beginning of the poem we can remark that the poet uses a SIMILE, the very first line † like a skein of loose silk blown against a wall†, the poet here compares one of the poem’s protagonists ( the young lady ) to an exquisite material which is silk.†. The image of the silk blowing up against a wall is pregnant, somehow, with a  power which only grows the more familiar the image becomes.† (Sarah, Tuesday, March 1, 2011) . Therefore, throughout the poem we learn that the woman, who is the basis of the comparison, is one of noble youth walking along a path in Kensington Gardens. Pound ends the stanza with a metaphor, this time directed at the woman’s mental state. â€Å"She is dying piece-meal, of a sort of emotional anaemia†. In more specific term, anaemia is a condition in which red blood cells in your body are lacking, causing the sufferer to feel weak and tired. So that, in the poem the protagonist appears to feel totally tired of her position. The woman is also described as emotionally anaemic which suggests the death of the upper class. Stanza two introduces the â€Å"rabble† of the lower class. So, these three lines symbolise the dying aristocracy by the contrast to the â€Å"unkillable infants of the very poor†. For instance, the use of paradox in semiotic terms is stated in the forth stanza. Yet, the intensive desire of the lonely woman to speak to someone is morally and socially unacceptable for a woman of noble status to associate with anyone outside her own class. As far as the pragmatic interpretation is concerned, the poet came to evoke his hidden messages. The title itself â€Å"The Garden† may refer to the biblical belief â€Å"The Garden of Eden†. Furthermore, pound uses many words that have a hidden meaning such as† Anaemia† .This latter, suggests the death of the upper class. Moreover, in the third stanza the phrase â€Å"In her is the end of breeding† there’s a nice double meaning here. â€Å"The end of breeding† because she lacks the vitality to produce another generation, and so her class of people will die out, but also because she shows the result of elegance. The next line states that â€Å"They shall inherit the earth†. Here, the poet is referring to the fall of aristocracy in Britain at that time, when contrasted with the increase of the lower classes. Then, â€Å"The â€Å"exquisite and excessive† boredom is that carried by generation upon generation of women who are familiar with the sound of men’s hearts shattering† (Alexander) .So, the forth stanza handle the fear of the woman and therefore the indiscretion must be committed ‘I will commit that indiscretion’. To sum up, we may say that this poem is talking about a young woman who has been born into the wealth of society. And has grown up isolated from it. She  has absolutely everything and yet she longs for something more. She is bored of being proper and feels just like a shadow. For instance, the analysis of the poem into three different perspectives (semantic, semtiotic and pragmatic) allows us to go further in order to understand a poem from different angles. BIBLIOGRAPHIE Alexander, T. (n.d.). _Comment on Ezra Pound’s poem_. Retrieved from http://www.helium.com/items/2260126-poetry-analysis-the-garden-by-ezra-pound Sarah, J. (Tuesday, March 1, 2011). _Talking about poems just for the pleasure of it._ Froula, Christine. A Guide to Ezra Pound’s Selected Poems. New York Doubleday & Co., Inc.

Importance Of High School Sports

?Many people do not realize the importance of high school sports; let me tell a story. There were two completely different kids that went to the same high school. One of them participated in high school sports from Fall to Spring. This kid kept up with his grades and kept busy with sports and homework. The other kid did not participate in any kind of school sports. The kid who didn’t play any sports went home after school every day, so instead of playing sports or doing homework in the free time available, he had to find something else to keep busy. Having all this free time led trouble.There is no need to go into more depth in the story; the point is that people do not realize that high school sports are a crucial part of being a good student and becoming a successful adult. â€Å"The evidence supporting sports participation for young people is overwhelming†¦ It has the power to combat everything from racism to low self-image, to the high-school drop-out rate† (Ca stle). One of the many benefits of playing high school athletics is that the Student has to sign a code of conduct that will keep the student athlete responsible for his or her actions.â€Å"1) Use or possession of tobacco products. 2) Being present more than 5 minutes at a function where alcohol and/or drugs are being consumed/used or have been consumed or used. 3) Use or possession of intoxicating beverages and illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia. 4) Committing unlawful acts that have or could have resulted in a misdemeanor or higher penalty. 5) Serious and/or repeated violation of school rules. 6) Serious and/or repeated unsportsmanlike conduct. † This is a list of the rules that must be strictly followed in order to participate in a sports team at Nooksack Valley High School.If any of these rules are broken during season the athlete is penalized by being ineligible to play for 60% of the season. If the code is violated during the off-season, the penalty is disqualificatio n for 40% of the season. Athletes that take their sport seriously, and hope to move on to a collegiate level know that missing 40% to 60% percent of a season will hurt their chances of being scouted substantially. The risk taken by breaking the athletic code is not worth losing a chance of a scholarship to continue playing a sport a student loves at a competitive level.The Sumner School District has a great way of explaining the code of conduct to the community. â€Å"This activities code is designed to establish a reasonable, high standard for participants in co-curricular activities that empower our participants to make appropriate decisions, rather than to be punitive and deny access to such activities. Co-curricular activities are a privilege and completely voluntary. Along with this privilege comes the expectation of a higher standard of behavior and conduct.Participants in these activities are considered to be in positions of leadership representing themselves, their families , the team, school, district and community† (Sumner Athletics). This brief blurb from the Sumner Athletics Code of Conduct represents the higher standard athletes, actors, singers, dancers, and all participants of extracurricular activities are held to. Being involved in sports does not only reflect the athlete, but is a representation of the entire student body and staff members.The responsibility of athletes to uphold this good reputation is one of the main reasons student athletes are proven to perform better in school, and stay out of trouble. Being a student athlete in high school does not only keep the student responsible, it also provides physical activity for students who have been sitting in the classroom all day. Not only does physical activity contribute to a healthy body weight and prevention of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, but also shows astounding benefits in academic performance and lowering depression.Penny McCullagh, a psychologist, found in her research that exercise has the ability to work like an anti-depressant. McCullagh states, â€Å"The most common treatments for depression, for example, are psychotherapy or medication. Psychologists have found that exercise is a third successful alternative† (McCullagh). The article states the best results to help depression comes when a combination of exercise and psychotherapy happens together. The physical exercise from sports also helps brain function.â€Å"According to a study done by the Department of Exercise Science at the University of Georgia, even briefly exercising for 20 minutes facilitates information processing and memory functions† (Physical Exercise for Brain Health). Just the exercise alone from sports is already helping with depression, brain functions, or just staying fit and in shape. There are many studies with evidence to support the benefit exercise has in the classroom. â€Å"Researchers at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan tracked the grade s and exercise habits of 266 undergraduates.It was found that students who regularly participate in vigorous physical activity had higher G. P. A. ’s† (Parker-Pope). Regular exercise has a tremendous effect on the brain, especially in the high school years when it is still developing. Along with these benefits, being part of a sports team influences attitudes on and off the court or field. Student athletes are proven to have a stronger sense of leadership, motivation, and work ethic than their peers who do not participate in after school activities. Belonging to a team or club creates a drive in students to succeed in all aspects of life.Many Americans today are suffering from being obese or overweight. According to the American Heart Association, â€Å"23. 9 million children ages 2 to 19 are overweight or obese; 33. 0% of boys and 30. 4% of girls† (Overweight & Obesity – 2013 Statistical Fact Sheet). That means almost two thirds of all the Americans are a t an unhealthy weight. According to Centers for Disease Control, obesity brings in $147 billion in healthcare costs per year. There are many different causes for obesity such as stress, inactivity, and depression.There is one simple solution to decrease the amount of obese adults and children in America. Playing sports helps with all three of the problems. Habits are formed at a young age, so if sports are a part of a lifestyle as a young child, they will most likely be a part of their future. When some people think about exercise, they instantly think boring, tedious, painful workouts in an over packed gym. What most people don’t know is that exercise can be fun! All it takes is the motivation to get off the couch. Exercising with others increases the chance that you will stick with it.Sports teams are the ultimate example of this. When a support system is built in, with the drive to not let your teammates down, the motivation to be physically fit comes naturally. People arg ue that playing sports leaves no time for homework. However, there is a system at Nooksack Valley High School called study table. Study table is an hour long class where any missing homework can be complete before school. This system was made to give extra help to kids that are failing classes while playing sports. Nooksack Valley’s athletic director, Tom Harmon, checks the grades of each student athlete every Sunday.If any students are failing a class a study table is assigned each morning for the entire week. If the student is failing more than one class then they are not allowed to participate in any games or tournaments held that week. The phrase â€Å"student before athlete† is commonly used among coaches and staff members. Being a successful student is far more important than making touchdowns or scoring goals. Student first, athlete second is the only way to ensure students are prepared for higher education or entering the work force after graduation.Some people may argue that high school sports need to be cut due to lack of funding. Personally, I think without the opportunity to participate in sports students will lack the development of very important life skills. From experience, players can say that being a member of a high school sports team has taught them how to work hard for what they want, how to step up and be a leader, and how to communicate with others and be a team player. These skills and personality traits are all things that future employers are looking for when making hiring decisions.Managers know that people who have grown up being involved in sports teams and clubs are trained to work well with others, and have a strong work ethic. Marty Brounstein lists ten qualities of an effective team player as the ability to demonstrate reliability, communicate constructively, listen actively, function as an active participant, share openly and willingly, exhibit flexibility, show commitment, work as a problem solver, and, finally, treat others with respect and support. â€Å"Team players with commitment look beyond their own piece of the work and care about the team's overall work.In the end, their commitment is about winning — not in the sports sense of beating your opponent but about seeing the team succeed and knowing they have contributed to this success. Winning as a team is one of the great motivators of employee performance. Good team players have and show this motivation† (Brounstein). In conclusion, being actively involved in high school sports shows success on and off the court or field as well as in future career choices. Participation in sports teams is not only beneficial while in high school but in all stages of life.Skills learned from coaches and teammates can be applied in meeting new friends in college, at job interviews, and in many other instances. â€Å"We have data indicating sports and other extracurricular activities do better than academic classes in teaching leadershi p, teamwork, time management and other skills crucial for success in the workplace† (Mathews). While some may say that high school athletics need to be cut because the money spent on them could be put to better use, the evidence of many studies proves this statement to be false.Without the opportunity to be a part of a team or club, students lose out on a great learning experience that acts as a foundation for the rest of their lives. The ability to manage being a successful student as well as a good athlete takes a special skill that is developed during the high school years. There needs to be a balance between academic and athletic commitment. A student’s high school career cannot only be based on one or the other. It needs a combination of the two in order for the student to reach full potential.Michael Jordan is one of the most inspiring athletes to kids around the world. He often stems his success back to his experiences with high school sports. I believe it is sto ries like his that demonstrate the importance of being involved in sports teams, and the life lessons that are learned throughout the experience. A famous quote from Jordan states, â€Å"I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. † Importance of High School Sports Many people do not realize the importance of high school sports; let me tell a story. There were two completely different kids that went to the same high school. One of them participated in high school sports from Fall to Spring. This kid kept up with his grades and kept busy with sports and homework. The other kid did not participate in any kind of school sports. The kid who didn’t play any sports went home after school every day, so instead of playing sports or doing homework in the free time available, he had to find something else to keep busy. Having all this free time led trouble.There is no need to go into more depth in the story; the point is that people do not realize that high school sports are a crucial part of being a good student and becoming a successful adult. â€Å"The evidence supporting sports participation for young people is overwhelming†¦ It has the power to combat everything from racism to low self-image, to the high-school drop-out rate† (Cas tle). One of the many benefits of playing high school athletics is that the Student has to sign a code of conduct that will keep the student athlete responsible for his or her actions.â€Å"1)Use or possession of tobacco products. 2) Being present more than 5 minutes at a function where alcohol and/or drugs are being consumed/used or have been consumed or used. 3) Use or possession of intoxicating beverages and illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia. 4) Committing unlawful acts that have or could have resulted in a misdemeanor or higher penalty. 5) Serious and/or repeated violation of school rules. 6) Serious and/or repeated unsportsmanlike conduct. † This is a list of the rules that must be strictly followed in order to participate in a sports team at Nooksack Valley High School.If any of these rules are broken during season the athlete is penalized by being ineligible to play for 60% of the season. If the code is violated during the off-season, the penalty is disqualification for 40% of the season. Athletes that take their sport seriously, and hope to move on to a collegiate level know that missing 40% to 60% percent of a season will hurt their chances of being scouted substantially. The risk taken by breaking the athletic code is not worth losing a chance of a scholarship to continue playing a sport a student loves at a competitive level.The Sumner School District has a great way of explaining the code of conduct to the community. â€Å"This activities code is designed to establish a reasonable, high standard for participants in co-curricular activities that empower our participants to make appropriate decisions, rather than to be punitive and deny access to such activities. Co-curricular activities are a privilege and completely voluntary. Along with this privilege comes the expectation of a higher standard of behavior and conduct.Participants in these activities are considered to be in positions of leadership representing themselves, their families, the team, school, district and community† (Sumner Athletics). This brief blurb from the Sumner Athletics Code of Conduct represents the higher standard athletes, actors, singers, dancers, and all participants of extracurricular activities are held to. Being involved in sports does not only reflect the athlete, but is a representation of the entire student body and staff members.The responsibility of athletes to uphold this good reputation is one of the main reasons student athletes are proven to perform better in school, and stay out of trouble. Being a student athlete in high school does not only keep the student responsible, it also provides physical activity for students who have been sitting in the classroom all day. Not only does physical activity contribute to a healthy body weight and prevention of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, but also shows astounding benefits in academic performance and lowering depression.Penny McCullagh, a psychologist, found in her research t hat exercise has the ability to work like an anti-depressant. McCullagh states, â€Å"The most common treatments for depression, for example, are psychotherapy or medication. Psychologists have found that exercise is a third successful alternative† (McCullagh). The article states the best results to help depression comes when a combination of exercise and psychotherapy happens together. The physical exercise from sports also helps brain function.â€Å"According to a study done by the Department of Exercise Science at the University of Georgia, even briefly exercising for 20 minutes facilitates information processing and memory functions† (Physical Exercise for Brain Health). Just the exercise alone from sports is already helping with depression, brain functions, or just staying fit and in shape. There are many studies with evidence to support the benefit exercise has in the classroom. â€Å"Researchers at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan tracked the grades and exercise habits of 266 undergraduates.It was found that students who regularly participate in vigorous physical activity had higher G. P. A. ’s† (Parker-Pope). Regular exercise has a tremendous effect on the brain, especially in the high school years when it is still developing. Along with these benefits, being part of a sports team influences attitudes on and off the court or field. Student athletes are proven to have a stronger sense of leadership, motivation, and work ethic than their peers who do not participate in after school activities. Belonging to a team or club creates a drive in students to succeed in all aspects of life.Many Americans today are suffering from being obese or overweight. According to the American Heart Association, â€Å"23. 9 million children ages 2 to 19 are overweight or obese; 33. 0% of boys and 30. 4% of girls† (Overweight & Obesity – 2013 Statistical Fact Sheet). That means almost two thirds of all the Americans are at an unhealthy weight. According to Centers for Disease Control, obesity brings in $147 billion in healthcare costs per year. There are many different causes for obesity such as stress, inactivity, and depression.There is one simple solution to decrease the amount of obese adults and children in America. Playing sports helps with all three of the problems. Habits are formed at a young age, so if sports are a part of a lifestyle as a young child, they will most likely be a part of their future. When some people think about exercise, they instantly think boring, tedious, painful workouts in an over packed gym. What most people don’t know is that exercise can be fun! All it takes is the motivation to get off the couch. Exercising with others increases the chance that you will stick with it.Sports teams are the ultimate example of this. When a support system is built in, with the drive to not let your teammates down, the motivation to be physically fit comes naturally. People argue that playing sports leaves no time for homework. However, there is a system at Nooksack Valley High School called study table. Study table is an hour long class where any missing homework can be complete before school. This system was made to give extra help to kids that are failing classes while playing sports. Nooksack Valley’s athletic director, Tom Harmon, checks the grades of each student athlete every Sunday.If any students are failing a class a study table is assigned each morning for the entire week. If the student is failing more than one class then they are not allowed to participate in any games or tournaments held that week. The phrase â€Å"student before athlete† is commonly used among coaches and staff members. Being a successful student is far more important than making touchdowns or scoring goals. Student first, athlete second is the only way to ensure students are prepared for higher education or entering the work force after graduation.Some people m ay argue that high school sports need to be cut due to lack of funding. Personally, I think without the opportunity to participate in sports students will lack the development of very important life skills. From experience, players can say that being a member of a high school sports team has taught them how to work hard for what they want, how to step up and be a leader, and how to communicate with others and be a team player. These skills and personality traits are all things that future employers are looking for when making hiring decisions.Managers know that people who have grown up being involved in sports teams and clubs are trained to work well with others, and have a strong work ethic. Marty Brounstein lists ten qualities of an effective team player as the ability to demonstrate reliability, communicate constructively, listen actively, function as an active participant, share openly and willingly, exhibit flexibility, show commitment, work as a problem solver, and, finally, t reat others with respect and support. â€Å"Team players with commitment look beyond their own piece of the work and care about the team's overall work.In the end, their commitment is about winning — not in the sports sense of beating your opponent but about seeing the team succeed and knowing they have contributed to this success. Winning as a team is one of the great motivators of employee performance. Good team players have and show this motivation† (Brounstein). In conclusion, being actively involved in high school sports shows success on and off the court or field as well as in future career choices. Participation in sports teams is not only beneficial while in high school but in all stages of life.Skills learned from coaches and teammates can be applied in meeting new friends in college, at job interviews, and in many other instances. â€Å"We have data indicating sports and other extracurricular activities do better than academic classes in teaching leadership, teamwork, time management and other skills crucial for success in the workplace† (Mathews). While some may say that high school athletics need to be cut because the money spent on them could be put to better use, the evidence of many studies proves this statement to be false.Without the opportunity to be a part of a team or club, students lose out on a great learning experience that acts as a foundation for the rest of their lives. The ability to manage being a successful student as well as a good athlete takes a special skill that is developed during the high school years. There needs to be a balance between academic and athletic commitment. A student’s high school career cannot only be based on one or the other. It needs a combination of the two in order for the student to reach full potential.Michael Jordan is one of the most inspiring athletes to kids around the world. He often stems his success back to his experiences with high school sports. I believe it is stori es like his that demonstrate the importance of being involved in sports teams, and the life lessons that are learned throughout the experience. A famous quote from Jordan states, â€Å"I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. †

Interm Acct Essay

1. What is the defining distinction between for-profit businesses and not-for-profit, including governments? What are the implications of this distinction for financial reporting? Governments and not-for-profits provide services that are targeted to groups of constituents who advocate a political or social cause or who carry out research or other activities for the betterment of society. The objectives of governments and not-for-profits cannot generally e expressed in dollars and cents and are often ambiguous. Government and not-for-profit have relationships (unlike with a business) with the parties providing their resources. 2. Why is the budget a far more important document in both governments and not-for-profits than it is in businesses? Revenues and expenditures are controlled or strongly influenced through the budgetary process. 3. What is meant by â€Å"interperiod equity†? What is its consequences for financial reporting? The term interperiod equity is the concept that emphasizes that entities should not transfer costs eve to future years, let alone future generations. 4. Why may the â€Å"matching concept† be less relevant for governments and not-for-profits than it is for businesses? 5. What is the significance for financial reporting of the many restrictions that are placed upon a government’s resources? 6. Why is it difficult to develop accounting principles that are appropriate for governments within the same category and even more difficult to develop them for governments within different categories? 7. What is the significance for financial reporting of a government’s power to tax? How does it affect the government’s overall financial strength? 8. Why has it proven especially difficult to establish accounting principles that enable governments to satisfy all three elements of GASB’s first objective of financial reporting in a single statement of revenue and expenditures or balance sheet?

AMID fears about climate change, the world's future looks gloomy. Yet Essay

AMID fears about climate change, the world's future looks gloomy. Yet there is another worry - our booming population - Essay Example this respect, he notes that currently, the world has more than seven billion people, and that every year, about 80 million individuals are added to the statistic. Attenborourgh (2009) notes that the world has a carrying capacity beyond which it cannot sustain a growing human population. Taking note of this factor, he believes that the way to go in respect of ensuring that the world remains sustainable is taking responsibility for our growth in populations such as by using contraceptives. This paper analyses Attenborourgh’s views in light of past studies and professional views. Real Climate (2014) notes that there are several indications that human activities have contributed to the high levels of carbon dioxide in the environment. In this respect, he notes that over the last 15 decades, the concentrations of carbon dioxide on earth haves grown from about 280 to 380 ppm (parts per million). This state of affairs has come in place as a function of such activities as clearing and burning of forested land and burning fossil fuels which are commonplace events ever since the industrial revolution. The Royal Society (2014) concurs with Real Climate in regard to human contribution to climate change. The Society states that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by more than 40% since the industrial revolution began, most of this rise having occurred since 1970. These levels are higher than have been seen in the last 650,000 years according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (BBC 2007). Some of the evidences that show that climate change is a reality today include the decline in Arctic sea ice and the increase in the average temperature of the earth (global warming). Worth noting is that the average temperature of the earth’s surface has increased by roughly 0.8 Â °C since 1900 (The Royal Society 2014). Although this figure seems small, experts are quick to warn on its significance on human life, flora and fauna.

Passage Identification and Explication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Passage Identification and Explication - Essay Example What reverses may attend the remainder is in the hand of Providence; but, if they arrive, the reflection on past happiness enjoy'd ought to help his bearing them with more resignation. To Temperance he ascribes his long-continued health, and what is still left to him of a good constitution; to Industry and Frugality, the early easiness of his circumstances and acquisition of his fortune, with all that knowledge that enabled him to be a useful citizen, and obtained for him some degree of reputation among the learned; to Sincerity and Justice, the confidence of his country, and the honorable employs it conferred upon him; and to the joint influence of the whole mass of the virtues, even in the imperfect state he was able to acquire them, all that evenness of temper, and that cheerfulness in conversation, which makes his company still sought for, and agreeable even to his younger acquaintance.†Ã‚  Telling the story of his life, Franklin desired to share the precious lessons he gai ned in his journey from being a hard-working man to the simplicity of his life amidst his many achievements. Being one among the founding fathers of the United States, Franklin influenced the nation which until this time reflects the virtues he taught his countrymen, loving the luxuries of freedom, being able to improve oneself in proportion to an individual’s efforts and determination. Writing his autobiography was not merely telling his achievements but was directed to the learning of his biological son as well as his American sons from the virtues he himself learned from other people as he dealt with them, disciplining himself to embrace what he considers are virtuous, becoming an example to his people. As to virtue, this could be a... The researcher states that Thoreau presented his ideas strongly first, by getting the attention of his audience through questions just as he did in the verse that was extracted from his controversial essay, founded from a fact that is equally or even more controversial. Though all forms of government one way or another prove to have unjust laws, the essayist particularly spoke about the democratic United States of America which presented to him the absurdity of human laws. Through his questions, he thus then encourages his audiences to think about how they should react, whether they obey the laws, change them or violate them all at once because if the laws were right. These questions, though rude they may appear to an individual, should be reconsidered as to how one should react. Thoreau sought the meaning of life in this adventure he imposed upon himself, fearing to die and find out that he never lived but that he wanted all of what life could offer, enjoy them all and in the end, s ay to himself, he lived life to the fullest. He considered himself a god in his own Olympus that he found in Walden Pond, able to reign in his small world and not dictated by other people, their laws and other influences that could hinder the life he considers effectual. It is then concluded that the personality of the philosopher reflects the freedom one enjoys in the land of the free, enabling a person to live as he desires as long as he is not going against any law and endanger others in the process.

Questions of the Philosophy Ideas Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Questions of the Philosophy Ideas - Assignment Example This means that a human has very limited and concise knowledge, wisdom and morality and no matter how much one tries to grasp all the knowledge, it is not possible as a person to absorb everything. Thus, Socrates believes that irrespective of all the knowledge he possesses, he still does not know anything. This leads to self-questioning and judging one's self whether what we assume is actually true or just a vague illusion. Nothing was completely pure and perfect for Socrates. He believed that there was more to explore. Another perspective can be that Socrates was so ignorant that through this statement he meant that he at least he knew something if not everything (Miles 165) This is a very contradictory statement, and it is quite difficult to ascertain what he really wanted to convey; personally I think that he knew a lot and wanted to learn more. 2. What did Descartes mean when he said, â€Å"I think, therefore I am.† "I Think Therefore I Am" is a very renowned quotation or one of the most popular phrases ever said. This phrase was written by famous Rene Descartes in the 1600s in his book Meditations II. Earlier in his first book Meditations I, he completely destructed the belief of anything that occurred. He justified his statement by saying that there was not any way to be certain about his thoughts which were apparently mistaken or misleading, which is the misconception of human beings. Few examples he gave were that one cannot change the fact that there is a supreme power that exists and which plays and tricks the human brain or the very common optically seen illusions that baffle the human brain. Later in his book the Meditations II, he states that there is only a singular thing he can be sure of - that he is present. His justification lay in the fact that the ambiguity of certainty was due to the thoughts which were deluded. Deluded thoughts, if there are any, thoughts apparently do exist, and Descartes is a person who thinks that he exists. â₠¬Å"I think, therefore I am† is the initial and the most accurate statement which states itself to those who take philosophy in a very systematic manner: one should initially know what thought, existence and certainty are, and that one needs to exist in order to think. But we have so many ways of gaining knowledge that we do not know what exactly would enumerate us (Ariew 306). 3. What is the primary goal of Vipassana meditation? How is this goal achieved? The primary goal and the purpose of Vipassana meditation is the internal purification of the mind. It is apparently the most top level of enlightenment. True nature is the entire form of mind-matter theory. The reason of this meditation is to see the world as it is without being judgmental about it. Vipassana meditation focuses on the basic goal required to build in a composed targeted approach of the self and the surrounding world (Dockett 25).