How Investment in Management Consultancy Can Represent Value for an Essay

How Investment in Management Consultancy Can Represent Value for an Organization - Essay Example The researcher states that an organization may choose to employ management consultant’s services for several reasons and they include consultants specialized expertise access and gaining advice from external sources. The exposure of consultancy firms, as well as their close relationship with several organizations, has resulted in such firms to be well vast with the best possible practices in the industry. However, the application of these consultancy practices from a given organization and transferring them to another can be limited by the particular nature of the situation in question. Consultants are also charged with the responsibility of offering management change assistance in different organizations, coaching skills development, strategy development, technology implementation or operational services improvements. In most cases, management consultants often introduce their own frameworks or property methodologies to assist them in identifying issues and serve as recommend ation basis for more efficient and effective means of conducting their work tasks. Several approaches can be applied by different consultants and can be regarded as being as existing somewhere within a continuum having a prescriptive strategy on one side as well as a facilitative strategy at the other side. When it comes to expert approach, the consultant assumes the expert’s role and offers expert assistance or advice to their clients. In this approach, the consultant is more and collaborates more with the client compared to the case of facilitative approach. In the facilitative approach, the consultant has less focus on the technical or specific expert knowledge leaving most of the consultation process to itself. The facilitative approach is in some cases referred to as the consulting process following its focus on the consultation process In the recent past, most consulting firms have assumed a matrix structure in which a single axis is used to describe a function of the b usiness or the consulting type like operations, strategy, executive leadership, technology, sales and talent management. The second axis focuses on an industry like gas, oil, retail and automotive. These matrix forms together with consultants taking part in either of the matrix cells like a consultant can focus fully on retail industry operation while another consultant focuses on the improvement of the process in the same industry. The main aim of the consultancy is to introduce value in an organization through understanding the intervention choices in relation to the most appreciated intervention style. In an effort to achieve the desired value within an organization, consultants may occupy several positions within a continuum from those led by experts, those that are centered on clients and to both nondirective and directives. Heated debates have come up in relation to continuum position ranges between those that refer to themselves as coaches, mentors, advisors, counselors, cons ultants, and facilitators. Despite the debates, each of the above-mentioned roles needs a specific set of skills, knowledge, and behavior making them related disciplines. Consultants who introduce the desired value to an organization are the consultants who stand out as being the most effective and are considered as to be having the ability to carry out different roles within the required time and are able to move from a client to the other without mixing up their responsibilities.

Classes in the Kite Runner Essay Example for Free

Classes in the Kite Runner Essay â€Å"Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns. It always has been, always will be. We are the true Afghans, the pure Afghans, not this Flat-Nose here. † This is the start of the tension between the two distinct social classes on pages 40-43 within the novel, The Kite Runner. The author’s purpose for placing this scene within the novel is to show the relationship held between the Hazara Tribe, and the Pashtun tribe, within Afghanistan. The scene in the book allows the reader to begin to understand the tension between the tribes, which fuels the story. Due to the research I completed on the tribes within Afghanistan, I can sharpen my knowledge and interpret the scene in the novel better. While researching, I discovered that the Hazaras have Mongol Characteristics. As a result of this, I was able to understand the scene better, when Assef called Hassan a â€Å"Flat-Nose. † The reason that Assef Called Hassan this, was to poke fun at his Mongol Characteristics, such as having a flat nose. In the same manner, Assef states, â€Å"how can you talk to him, play with him, let him touch you? † Through my research, I was able to learn that it was rare for Pashtuns to play with Hazaras. Hazaras are of a much lower class than Pashtuns, and are treated poorly. Within the scene, there are three apparent literary terms—parallel, imagery and diction. Parallel is used when â€Å"Hasan [holds] the slinghshot pointed directly at Assef’s face. † Hassan uses his slingshot in this scene, to fight Assef, and Hassan’s son uses a slingshot to hurt Assef towards the end of the book. Additionally, the author uses imagery, to show the intense tension between the boys. When Hassan pulls the slingshot, â€Å"his hand [trembles] with the strain of the pulled elastic band and beads of sweat [erupt] on his brow. † This imagery allows you to realize the amount of stress, and tension Hassan must undergo. Finally, the author uses diction, when he describes the actions of the characters, including when he states, â€Å"he made a sweeping, grandiose gesture with his hands. † The diction such as sweeping, and grandiose, allows the reader to fully understand what Assef is trying to convey. There are two main ideas within the scene; they are the ideas of Assef hating Amir and Hassan, and Hassan protecting Amir. Based on the key idea of Hassan protecting Amir, the theme of love appears. Amir uses his slingshot, and does everything that he can to protect Amir, display his love towards him.

Horatio in Shakespeares Hamlet Essay -- Custom Essays Hamlet

Horatio in Hamlet      Ã‚   In Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, the closest friend of the hero is a fellow-student from Wittenberg (Granville-Barker 93), an intelligent and understanding young man by the name of Horatio. This essay seeks to carefully present his character.    Marchette Chute in â€Å"The Story Told in Hamlet† describes Horatio’s part in the opening scene of the play:    The story opens in the cold and dark of a winter night in Denmark, while the guard is being changed on the battlements of the royal castle of Elsinore. For two nights in succession, just as the bell strikes the hour of one, a ghost has appeared on the battlements, a figure dressed in complete armor and with a face like that of the dead king of Denmark, Hamlet’s father. A young man named Horatio, who is a school friend of Hamlet, has been told of the apparition and cannot believe it, and one of the officers has brought him there in the night so that he can see it for himself. The hour comes, and the ghost walks. (35)    Horatio, frightened, futilely confronts the ghost:    What art thou that usurp'st this time of night,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Together with that fair and warlike form   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In which the majesty of buried Denmark   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Did sometimes march? by heaven I charge thee, speak! (1.1)    Maynard Mack in â€Å"The World of Hamlet† maintains that Horatio’s words to the spirit â€Å"are subsequently seen to have reached beyond their contexts. . . (244). So Horatio and Marcellus exit the ramparts of Elsinore intending to enlist the aid of Hamlet, who is home from school. Hamlet is dejected by the â€Å"o’erhasty marriage† of his mother to his uncle less than two months after the funeral of Hamlet’s father (Gordon 128). Soon Horatio and Ma... ... Frank Cass & Co., Ltd., 1964. p.14-16. http://www.freehomepages.com/hamlet/other/essayson.htm#demag-ess N. pag.    Pitt, Angela. â€Å"Women in Shakespeare’s Tragedies.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Rpt. from Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html    West, Rebecca. â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957.    Wilkie, Brian and James Hurt. â€Å"Shakespeare.† Literature of the Western World. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.   

Is Religion Just a Joke? Essay -- Religion Religious Essays

Is Religion Just a Joke? Driving with my friend to the movies one evening last winter we discovered a group of people bundled up and picketing by The Safari movie theatre in Moorhead.à  My friend and I didn’t know what movie we wanted to watch, but these protesters made up our mind.à  We decided to see the movie â€Å"Dogma† because that was the very movie these outraged people were boycotting.à  Sometimes people carry their religion to the point where it has an adverse effect on people.à  This was the case that evening. As we watched â€Å"Dogma,† my friend and I laughed hysterically.à  It wasn’t nearly as bad as the protestors suggested.à  The view the â€Å"outraged Christians† and I seemed to disagree on was they took the movie literally, whereas I personally took it as mere fiction.à  In my opinion, it was just another religious comedy to bring the sometimes-scary topic of â€Å"religion† down to a point that seems more human in the eyes of the average American today. By making the topic of religion humorous, we as a society can take a look at the different aspects of this complicated and controversial issue.à  What is ethically right or wrong has been seen in many issues such as cloning, euthanasia, and abortion.à  Religion, along with these other issues, is often hard to confront.à  With the aid of movies, such as â€Å"Dogma† and â€Å"Keeping the Faith,† we are able to delve into the issue of religion more easily.à  Let us now take a look at these two movies.à  â€Å"Keeping the Faith† starts with a priest, Brian Finn, played by Edward Norton, telling his complicated story to the local bartender in New York who thinks he’s heard it all already.à  Brian tells of a childhood friendship between himself, Jake Schram, and a girl named Anna Reilly.à  The three... ...ck Jesus, a thirteenth apostle played by Chris Rock who was written out of the bible because he was black (having a black savior is okay, but not a black apostle), Mary not being a virgin, after all, â€Å"Do you think Joseph would stay around if he wasn’t getting any?,† and God being a woman.à  Anyone who would take these humorous and outrageous suggestions literally is more of a joke than this movie.à  In my opinion, a movie is just a movie and nothing more, other than to bring into focus a difficult subject matter.à  Therefore, funny movies about religion actually help viewers think critically about religion.à  The protestors seemed to want to make the religious comedy genre be blasphemy on God, where that is not what the movie was trying to do.à  Which brings out the question: Who is making religion a joke?à  -The movies? -Or the people carrying their religion too far?

Longitudinal Analysis Using Panel Data for Assessing Seasonality Effects on the Food Security Situation in Tajikistan 2005 Hbs

Issue: Longitudinal analysis using panel data for assessing seasonality effects on the food security situation in Tajikistan 2005 HBS Tajikistan: Longitudinal analysis using panel data for assessing seasonality effects on the food security situation in Tajikistan 2005 HBS RAMASAWMY, Seevalingum FAO Statistics Division, Rome. Italy Household income and expenditure survey (HIES) usually collects food data from households at only one period which may refer to one week, two weeks or one month. Most HIES extend the field work over the entire period of one year to account for any seasonal effects of household expenditure particularly food consumption. The survey estimates assume seasonal effects cancelled out in large groups of households but not at the level of the individual household. Thus, the inter-household variation estimated on the basis of such data would tend to include the seasonal effects. However, the Tajikistan Household Budget Survey (HBS) presents a particular characteristic that it collects expenditure and income data from the same household over a long period of time. The longitudinal design survey accounts for all variations including the seasonal effects when analysed over the months of the yearly period. This paper presents some trend analysis of food security statistics derived from the 2005 Tajikistan household panel monthly food consumption data collected from the sample of 925 households and evaluate the impact of the variability of the distribution of the food consumption in the food security statistics estimates. Keywords: Food consumption data, Food security statistics, Panel data, Dietary energy consumption, Food Deprivation, Critical food poverty, Coefficient of variation. Acknowledgements: FAO (Statistics Division and Food Security Information for Action Programme) for technical assistance and the European Community for financial support. 1. BACKGROUND Tajikistan is a landlocked country, largely mountainous and sparsely inhabited, 90 percent is mountainous and the total area splits the country into four regions (Oblasts) and one independent city, the national capital Dushanbe. Only seven percent of the land area is arable; cotton and wheat are the main important crops. Aluminium is the major country resource together with other limited mineral resources such as silver, gold, uranium, and tungsten. With abundant water resources, it possesses much hydropower facilities which are however not well distributed among its population. The civil war (1992-97) severely damaged the already weak economic infrastructure and caused a sharp decline in industrial and agricultural production. While Tajikistan has experienced steady economic growth since 1997, nearly two-thirds of the population continues to live in poverty. Economic growth reached 10. percent in 2004 but dropped to eight percent in 2005 and to 7 percent in 2006. Tajikistan's economic situation, however, remains fragile due to uneven implementation of structural reforms, weak governance, widespread unemployment, and the external debt burden. Unemployment is officially estimated at 30 percent, while the figure is likely to be much higher. Lack of alternative sources of livelihoods continue to exacerb ate household food insecurity and results in under-employment in the agricultural sector, while a large number of young men seasonally or definitely migrate for employment in other CIS countries. There is a high mobility of the working population to Russia, where more than half a million of the population are currently working. The 2007 Tajikistan population was about seven million; nearly 70 percent live in rural areas. The annual population growth is about 2 percent. 2. OBJECTIVES, METHODS AND DATA The paper analyses the trends of food security statistics derived from the monthly and quarterly food consumption data of the Tajikistan 2005 HBS. It also evaluates the trend variations of inequality measures of dietary energy onsumption due to other factors such as income and area of residence and their effects on the measurement of food deprivation. The Tajikistan State Committee of Statistics has been conducting household budget survey (HBS) based on the Soviet methodology collecting household consumption expenditure from a fixed sample of households over time. A nationally representative sample of 925 households was selected from the 2000 population census data frame using th e multi-stage stratification. Rural and urban areas together with criteria of mountains, valley, uplands, lowlands and country borders on the north and south were accounted for. The households were selected at the last stage using the available administrative data with regard to the composition of the household. Household detailed expenditure including food and income data are collected using daily records from the same 925 households over years since January 2000. Each household receives a monthly incentive equivalent to one dollar in local currency. The Tajikistan HBS collected consumption and expenditure data from 925 households over the year using eight different types of questionnaires which enable the collection of complementary expenditure data on a daily, monthly and quarterly basis. Food data are recorded in detail, – stock at the start of the month for each food item, purchases, own production, transfers, (aid, gifts, etc. ) during the month on a daily basis, and closing stock at the end of the month. Income is also collected by sources on a daily and monthly basis. SCS uses a detailed nutrient conversion table covering dietary energy, protein, fat and carbohydrate values for computing nutrient values. The Tajikistan 2005 HBS monthly food consumption data together with the household income were analysed using the FAO statistical procedures of the food security statistics module (FSSM). The paper compares the food security statistics (FSS) estimates from the two sets of data namely the twelve sets of monthly food consumption data and the quarterly aggregated data of the 925 households. The food consumption in terms of dietary energy and expenditure are examined together with the dietary energy unit value at the national level and by the four main regions, Dushanbe, RPR, Sogd and Chatlon and by income quintiles. The inequality measure of food assess is studied in much details to evaluate the variation of area of residence and income over the months of 2005. Measures of prevalence of hunger, food deprivation and critical food poverty are also discussed. Lastly the food expenditure share of total consumption and the diet diversity are compared for the two sets of data. 3. FOOD SECURITY STATISTICS DERIVED USING THE LONGITUDINAL APPROACH. a. Dietary energy consumption The average daily dietary energy consumption (DEC) of the Tajik was 2150 kcal in 2005. The DEC by regions and income levels showed wide fluctuations over the months of the year 2005 as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 below. The population of the capital city Dushanbe and RPR regions had lower DEC levels than the national level during all the months of the year. These two regions had low food production as Dushanbe is the capital city and RPR is the region of aluminium ores and had to rely on food imports from other local regions or imports from neighbouring countries. However, Sogd, the industrial region and Chatlon, the cotton and wheat growing region had DEC higher than the national level almost all the months of the year. These two regions have good food availability as they contain the largest cropping areas cultivating crops such as potatoes, barley, melons, etc. Figure 1: Trends of DEC by Regions Figure 2: Trends of DEC by Income levels |[pic] |[pic] | Analysing the DEC by daily per person income quintiles showed a gradual increasing in the overall monthly level of dietary energy consumption from the lowest to the highest income population groups. The population of the three lowest income groups had DEC below the national minimum dietary energy requirement (MDER) of 1880 kcal/person/day during all the months of the year. Those of the two highest income quintiles had DEC well above the national average DEC. The fluctuations in the DEC of the four lowest income groups over the months were small and less irregular than those observed among regions. However, the highest income population group had more pronounced fluctuations which kept increasing over the months with peaks in March and October. The dietary energy consumption among the Tajik population related more to income levels than place of residence. The levels of DEC for the population of the first four income quintiles did not differ greatly in magnitude. The average daily per person income ranged from 0. 91 Somoni for the lowest quintile to 1. 91 Somoni for the fourth one while the highest quintile had a much higher average of 3. 20 Somoni. This group of high income population which were present in all the four regions may probably influence those observed fluctuations. March and October 2005 were the two months registering high peaks in dietary energy consumption, probably linked to national socio-cultural or religious events. More than 90 percent of Tajiks are Sunnis and were most probably fasting in October 2005 which was the month of Ramadan in Tajikistan. It is a well known fact that during that special religious month, there is a high acquisition and consumption of food in terms of both quality and quantities particularly among the high income levels households. In addition, there is much sharing of food among the community with a large part of food given away by households and at the same time received by other households. However, the recording of such data on food transfers did not take place, thus leaving its effect unknown. b. Food expenditure The national average daily per person monetary values of the food expenditure fluctuated over the months of the year with the lowest value (1. 12 Somoni) in February and the highest value (1. 68) in October when there was that overall high level of consumption. The analysis by regions showed that the population of Dushanbe had a relatively low level of dietary energy consumption, but food expenditure higher than the national level indicating that prices in the capital city were higher than in other parts of Tajikistan probably due to a high importation of food products from other regions or countries. The industrial region of Sogd showed a high level of food expenditure ranging from 1. 17 to 1. 61 Somoni slightly higher than the average food spending in Dushanbe. The population of RPR had the overall lowest food expenditure (Figures 3). Figure 4 shows the monthly trends of food expenditure by income levels. Again the hierarchical differences from highest to lowest income quintile are clearly observed. Food expenditures for the population of the three lowest income quintiles were lower than the national level for all the months of the year. The amount of money spent on food remained at almost the same levels, but with an increase in October followed by a decrease in November and another increase in December probably due with the end of the year celebrations events. The population of the highest income quintile had increasingly high food expenditures with peaks in the three last months of the year of 2005. Figure 3: Trends of food expenses by Regions Figure 4: Trends of food expenses by Income levels |[pic] |[pic] | Figure 4 shows the monthly trends of food expenditure by income levels. Again the hierarchical differences from highest to lowest income quintile are clearly observed. Food expenditures for the population of the three lowest income quintiles were lower than the national level for all the months of the year. The amount of money spent on food remained at almost the same levels, but with an increase in October followed by a decrease in November and another increase in December probably due with the end of the year celebrations events. The population of the highest income quintile had increasingly high food expenditures with peaks in the three last months of the year of 2005. c. Dietary unit value The national average dietary unit value was 0. 57 Somoni per 1000 kcal. This value varied from 0. 55 Somoni for the months of February and March to 0. 63 Somoni in December. The population of the capital city Dushanbe had the highest dietary energy unit value over all months of the year of 2005, paying abnormal high values in the months of January (0. 71 Somoni) and October (0. 75 Somoni). Population of Sogd had also a high overall dietary energy unit value which increased slowly over the months of 2005 (see Figure 5). It is surprising to note that the dietary unit value fell in all regions in the month of November before going up again in December. This could probably be due to a fall in food prices resulting in a surplus of food items on the market due to the end of the religious month of October. Figure 5: Dietary energy unit value by Regions Figure 6: Dietary energy unit value Income levels |[pic] |[pic] | The dietary energy unit value showed marked increasing patterns over the months of the year when analysed by income levels with again a drop in the values in November followed by an increase in December. The lowest quintile population had an overall yearly dietary energy unit value of 0. 49 Somoni compared to a value of 0. 66 Somoni for the highest income quintile. d. Diet Diversity The share of total calories of nutrients in total calories of dietary energy showed a protein deficiency diet when compared to the WHO norms (Figure 7). The share contribution of protein was around nine percent, while the |Figure 7: Share (%) of nutrients in total calories and WHO guidelines | |WHO minimum and maximum values are 10 and 15 percent respectively. The| | |share contribution of fats was within the WHO norms, but the share | | |contribution of carbohydrates (70 percent) was more towards the | | |maximum value of 75 percent. Consumption of protein food sources such| | |as pulses, fish, meat or dairy products were very low. | | | |[pic] | The regional analysis of the share of protein calorie contribution to total calories is given in Figure 8 and showed large and uneven variations were observed among the regions over the months of the year. The population of Dushanbe were more protein deficient (almost below 9 percent in all months except July to September) than other regions while the population of RPR had relatively, though still deficient, higher protein consumption. There were two months (July and September) when there was increasing protein consumption in all regions probably due to availability of protein rich food products coming from the harvest seasons. There was no clear difference in the level of protein consumption among population groups of different income levels over the months of the year (Figure 9), except that all income groups showed the same increasing patterns over the months of July and September, before falling down in October. This situation could be the due to the scarcity of high protein food products on the Tajikistan markets or highly prohibitive selling prices if available. Figure 8: Share of protein calorie by Regions Figure 9: Share of protein calorie by Income levels |[pic] |[pic] | e. Inequality. The distribution of dietary energy consumption is assumed to be lognormal and its variance is a function of the Coefficient of Variation (CVx). This CVx includes income and biological sources of variations of dietary energy consumption and is a measure of access to food. The biological variation (CVr) accounts for factors such as sex age composition, body weight and physical activity of household members. The CVr is estimated as a value of 20 percent. |Figure 10: CV of dietary energy consumption due to income by 2005 quarters and |Figure 10 gives the inequality of food access due to income | |months |computed for groups of households classified according to the | | |income deciles. The national CVx of dietary energy consumption| | |(DEC) on yearly basis had a value of 30 percent which included| | |a value of 22 percent corresponding to the CV of DEC due to | | |income. The CVx values estimated for quarterly data differed | | |marginally from the yearly CVx. The estimated monthly CVx was | | |less than the yearly CVx, except for the months of October and| | |November. |[pic] | | A striking observation is that the monthly inequality measures of DEC due to income were in most cases (except the three last months) less than the quarterly or yearly values which are inflated with other variations due to inter household, seasonal (within quarter) and other non random factors. Those variations were analysed using the available 2005 longitudinal food data with between household factors of area of residence and income using a linear model of the log of dietary energy consumption with repeated measures (months). The analysis of variance results are shown below. |[pic] |The variation estimates in the rightmost column have been | | |converted to the original dietary energy consumption scale for| | |better understanding. As expected area of residence (rural and| | |urban) and income levels (deciles) were significant sources of| | |the between household variation (standard deviation of 2062 | | |Kcal/ person/ day). This variation reflects sources of | | |variations not included in the model, the random variation and| | |the undesirable variation due to sampling design and | | |instrumental errors. The within sources of variation were | | |significant in time (months) and time within area of residence| | |and time within income levels. | The within household variation (standard deviation of 608 Kcal/person/day) was smaller than the between household variation. However there is a significant source of variation due to seasonality. In this study one should take into account that the between household variation estimates may be over-estimated as result of the sampling design. This study does not address on this design effect on the variation between households. In commonly used household survey design where the household reference period is of one month or less and households are allocated over a one-year survey period the sources of the within variation (month, month within area, month within income and error) is added to the survey estimates. This means that in NHS considering random allocation throughout the year add variation to the between household CV and hence over-estimate the prevalence of food deprivation. f. Food deprivation. The longitudinal data of Tajikistan 2005 HBS was also analysed by comparing the food deprivation over the four quarters to study the food consumption distribution and any improvement in the level of undernourishment over the one year period. Four percent of the population had moved out from the food deprived population over the year due to a 2 percent increase in the average daily dietary energy consumption and a three percent point decrease in the coefficient of variation (CV) due to income from 31 to 28 percent. The MDER of 1880 kcal/person/day was the same for both quarters. Movements of population from food deprived population were observed in both urban and rural areas by two and six percent respectively. There were marginal increases in DEC were noted in both urban and rural areas, but the later registered a significant 5 percentage point decrease in the CV due to income. While there were significant improvements among the population of the three lowest income quintiles, there were small set backs for the populations of the two highest quintiles groups due mainly to an around 2 percent fall in their dietary energy consumption (Figures 11 and 12). Figure 11: Food deprivation (%) by RegionsFigure 12: Food deprivation (%) by Income levels |[pic] |[pic] | The prevalence of food critical poverty which measures food income deprivation showed a marginal fall of 1 percentage point at national level from quarter one to quarter 4 of the year 2005 (Figure 13). Figure 13: Food critical poverty (%) by quarters of 2005 national and sub national levels |[pic] | | | |The prevalence of critical food poverty fluctuated over the four | | |quarters of the year. There was a high prevalence of food poverty | | |in the second quarter at the national and sub national levels. It | | |then fell in the following quarters. However, food critical | | |poverty in urban areas was higher than rural areas due to the food| | |availability at lower prices. g. Depth or Intensity of Food Inadequacy Figures 14 and 15 below show the depth of food poverty with relation to the MDER over the four quarters of the year, at the national and sub national levels and by income levels respectively. The Figures show that urban areas which had a low DEC had a higher food deficit than the national and rural areas. The food deficit was less in the fourth quarter at the national level and in urban and rural areas. This was also true for the income levels due to the high level of DEC observed as from October 2005. There was a general high food deficit during the third quarter in almost all the regional or economic population groupings and the high income group witnessed a food deficit of about 150 kcal/person/day. Figure 14: Food deficit (Kcal) to MDER Regions Figure 15: Food deficit (Kcal) to MDER Income levels |[pic] |[pic] | h. Food share The share of food expenditure to total consumption expenditure estimated from the annual household data at national level was 69 percent. The share of food expenditure at national level showed an erratic trend over the four quarters of the year 2005. From a level of 68. 4 percent in the first quarter, it increased to 69. 6 percent, fell down to 65 percent in the third quarter and rose to 65. 3 percent in the last quarter. The same patterns occurred in urban and rural areas, but with higher magnitude in rural areas and lower values for urban areas (figure 18). However, the food share showed a decreasing trend over the four quarters with increasing income levels with a high food share (80 percent) among the population of the low income group to about 50 percent for those of the highest income group. The second quarter had the maximum food share in most of the population groupings (Figure 19) which could be a period of harvest of some food crops. Figure 16: Food expenditure share by Region Figure 17: Food expenditure share by Income levels |[pic] |[pic] | Figures 18 and 19 illustrate the share of dietary energy consumption by food sources at national and sub-national levels and by income levels respectively for the four quarters of 2005. Purchase was almost the only source of dietary energy consumption for the population of the urban regions, while own production food constituted a significant share of DEC to the order of about 40 percent in most of the other population groupings. There was little variation in own production contribution between the quarters, apart from some high share in quarters one and four for the high income level groups, probably due to the harvesting season. Figure 19: Share of DEC by food sources & Figure 18: Share of DEC by food sources & Regions Income levels |[pic] |[pic] | 4. CONCLUSION The analysis of the longitudinal food consumption data of Tajikistan 2005 HBS provides some useful and pertinent characteristics of food security statistics: †¢ Food deprivation differed by seasons and by income levels. †¢ Food consumption is seasonal and is influenced by national ocio-religious events. †¢ Food demand was high in high income levels during specific periods. †¢ Dietary energy unit value differed with seasons and income levels. †¢ Diet consumption of nutrients was affected over the seasons. †¢ Food consumption from purchases were not affected by seasons while that from own production varied over the months of the year. †¢ There was a seasonal affect on the diet consumption of nutrients †¢ Food inequality or access measures were low when estimated with monthly data and the use of more aggregated d ata caused overestimation. The intensity of hunger differed by season and income levels †¢ Food share varied with seasons and level of income. REFERENCES 1. FAO (2003). Methodology for the measurement of food deprivation. Statistics Division, Food Security Statistics. Rome. Available at the Metadata of the Food Security Statistics webpage http://www. fao. org/faostat/foodsecurity/index_en. htm 2. FAO (2006). Food Security Statistics Module, Step 1 – Processing User Manual, Step 2 – Analysis User Manual and Step 3 – Reports User Manual, FAO July 2006. . Sibrian R Ramasawmy S and Mernies J (2007). Measuring hunger at sub national levels from household surveys using the FAO approach: MANUAL. FAO Statistics Division Working Paper Series No. ESS/ESSA/005e. Available at the webpage. http://www. fao. org/es/ess/faostat/foodsecurity/Papers_en. htm . 4. Tajikistan Food Insecurity Assessment report derived from the food consumption data of Tajikistan 2005 HBS, Dushan be August 2007. http://www. stat. tj/english/home. htm[pic]

Consumerist society Essays

Consumerist society Essays Consumerist society Essay Consumerist society Essay The current generation is mainly comprised of disenfranchised youth who fear work but love the expensive lifestyle. The generation derives their values and status from those brands that they consume or their outer selves that they put on a show for to make other jealous. They are brought up as TV watching generation who binge watch but love quick money. The generation is not ready to pursue the meaningful job or work for their money. They are quick to spend on the next flashy designer clothes beyond their means but have a stinking attitude towards work. Generation Y and Millennial are test subjects in a marketing lab who are subjected to the consumerism advanced by the corporations. The problems with this generation are that they do not think of wealth building but consumption. They do not think about the next generation or the generation to come but their generations only. They are not only selfish spends who would consume more than they can afford, but also willing to blow up their meager salaries on flashy products just to appear fab(ulous). While not specific to any ethnic group or race, the generation fabulous are caught in the rigmarole of spending their future not knowing that they are being railroaded by the corporation that sells to them the fabulous lifestyle only to make the companies rich. The millennial, generation-Y and generation -X are all affecting by the spending but are not willing to work hard. With each generation, the work ethics is lacking, and everyone wants to be an internet sensation or telegram celebrity as the corporation that owns the media companies sell the deals of instant gratification from internet stardom. The problems is that with the technological advancement, people are increasing developing shorter attention span and the graduation rates may be high, but most of the current generation are not interested in gaining academic success, a bite of the internet fame. It is increasingly becoming hard to identify graduates under the age of 30 and fewer people are graduating. This means that most of the current internet celebrities and generation fabulous will be waiting tables and working at a gas station when the internet fame is gone and them nothing to spend because they never learned to earn, and invest or save. It is becoming increasingly difficult to understand Consumerism, Capitalism and Advertisements With the corporations selling the fabulous life, everyone wants to look flashy but trashy. Nobody wants to work hard as everyone is rushing to beat the daily deadline to appear flashy. Most f eh current generation are focused on appearing happy, while they are not happy. Nobody wants to be conscious enough to understand that they are living in a world created by the corporation to enslave them into spending money that they do not have and indulge in lifestyles that cannot sustain. The instant gratification the get from spending lasts less than one week, and this is why youths can spend on $2000 on Jordans instead of paying their college fees. Some youth spend over $4000 on designer perfumes that they are almost homeless. It is because consumption has become a disease ailing the entire generation. There are iconic films, the showbiz, and the social media preach opulence, and fame, but they do not teach how to make money and save. After five years, the corporations would still be selling gas and owning hotels where the current consumers will work. The materialistic indulgence currently being portrayed by the excessively consumerist society is currently fueling the ultimate downfall of the current generation into disgrace and blue-collar jobs that they never wanted to do. In conclusion, the youth should note that underneath their internet glamor, sensation, fame, and extravagance, lays the ugly side of disenfranchisement, frustration, and poverty if they do not learn how to save and invest in education or some income earning activities.

San Manuel Bueno, Mártir

San Manuel Bueno, Mrtir Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo was one of the first Spanish writers of the 20th century, who concentrated on the perspective of a man with his passion, desires, and hope and the world itself. This writer tried to analyze the idea of faith in the society. One of his last works was San Manuel Bueno, Mrtir, a novel that represented Unamuno’s thoughts and beliefs. This story is about a parish priest, Don Manuel Bueno, who suddenly loses his faith because of immoral modern world, and the Carballinos, a Spanish family. Angela and Lzaro Carballino, and their mother are attracted by Manuel’s ideas about faith, Christianity, and the life after death. San Manuel Bueno, Mrtir may be considered as a kind of tool used by Unamuno to reproduce his own philosophical ideas.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on San Manuel Bueno, Mrtir specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The narrator of this story is Angela Carballino. She gets her ed ucation outside the village, where her mother lives. The mother is a catholic woman, who tries to teach her daughter about the faith and love to people. In this small village with its lake and magnificent mountains, there is one priest, Don Manuel, who aims at helping people and making them happier and free. By some reasons, Angela is attracted by the village, the priest, and his ideas. One day, her brother, Lzaro, returns to the village. Lzaro is characterized by strong unbelieving in God, faith, and any religion in general. The only purpose of his arrival to the village is to take his mother and sister to the larger, progressive city. However, all his dreams are broke down after his mother’s death. There is one promise that she asks her son to do – to pray for her. Lzaro cannot but keep his promise, that makes him contact with Don Manuel. In a short period of time, Lzaro realizes that Don Manuel does not resemble any other priest he have met before. The idea that th ere is no life after death is not inherent to priests, this is what makes Don Manuel interesting to Lzaro. The main idea that Don Manuel wants to explain to Lzaro is the following: there is no life after death. However, people should not know this terrible truth, and priest’s purpose is to hide this terrible truth in order to make all people happier during their lives. Such idea attracts Lzaro a lot. He makes a decision to covert to Christianity and visit all Don Manuel’s masses in order to become his best disciple. Angela cannot comprehend how people who do not believe in the life after death may teach and help other people, and provide them with the necessary support. One of the most interesting aspects of this story is that Don Manuel does believe in God. He tells that when a person dies, he sees the God’s face, however, this person will not be admitted to the heaven, as it is promised. Another not less interesting thing about this novel is that Unamuno decid es to take the role of God in this story. He is the creator of all characters, he rules all of them and decides when and how each person should die. One of the characters, Augusto Perez, decides to commit suicide and rebel against the creator who rules everybody’s destiny. Before his death, he sees the creator, the author of this story, and gets to know that he is just a fiction character. Now, it is his time to disappear in the mist and be forgotten by the others, and nothing can be changed. Augusto’s attempt to rebel against the writer is his gross mistake, and he needs to be punished. The story ends tragically. Don Manuel has some problems with his health, which suddenly lead him to death. Lzaro, his devoted student, dies soon after him. The idea that Don Manuel scarifies his own life for other people’s happiness makes Lzaro respect and follow each step taken by his teacher. Angela is the only character, who is left. Now, her faith and all moral principles, s he has known before, was broken. She cannot understand how such a blind faith may lead to such a tragic end. She is at loss and no one can help to find the way. This Spanish philosopher and great writer, Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo, influenced considerably the development of the literature of the 20th century. His bright ideas about non-existence of the life after death and that our lives are controlled by someone else were unique for literature of those times. Not every person wants to comprehend that his/her destiny is in the hands of someone. Advertising Looking for report on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Everyone wants to control his/her own life independently. After I read this book, I cannot but think whether all my actions have been already written by someone, and I can do nothing to change my life. Of course, such ideas are just my impressions from the book. It is really great that there are such masterpieces, like San Manuel Bueno, Mrtir, that make the reader think about his/her own destiny and the role in this world.

Ford Essays - Dearborn, Michigan, Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford

Ford Essays - Dearborn, Michigan, Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford Ford Concept car today They can start out as simple as a dream, or a sketch on a napkin during lunch. But by the time you see them, vehicles from Ford Motor Company have been designed and tested to look and perform their best. Here are some stories that chronicle that process. Concept Cars From the Model T to the latest futuristic designs, the engineers at Ford have a long history of design innovation. Here you can get a glimpse of some of the latest visions of the cars of the future. Technology Keeping up to date with current technology is essential to ensuring reliability and safety. See how Ford puts cutting edge developments to work on important issues like Y2K compliance. Driven by Research All great innovations begin with a strong commitment to research. Meet the people behind some of our better ideas and visit places like the Ford Research Laboratory, where exciting new strides are being made in the technology that drives your car. On the Road Today Ford's commitment to the latest research and technology is evident in the cars you see on the road today. Find out more about the cars you want to drive. Best seller tomorrow Innovative solutions to keep you safe and secure. Of all the things we transport in our vehicles, the most important are our children. See what Ford is doing to help keep them safe. Learning to drive remains one of the biggest rites-of-passage for our youth. Read about some of the ways Ford is helping to train the next generation of drivers. When used correctly, they're one of the best safety devices on your vehicle. This section will answer a lot of your questions and explain how air bags work. Buckling up and making sure kids are properly restrained in the rear seat are two important ways you can help keep everyone safe. Here are some other ways Ford is helping to do the same. Dedicated to providing ingenious environmental solutions The new millennium is filled with exciting opportunities and challenges. For automotive manufacturers and their customers, there is no greater challenge than following a path that respects both the bottom line and the environment These are just a few of the ideas that ford motor company tries to keep in mind when producing their cars. Because of this they have seen overall increased sales and increases in production. They have recently purchased Volvo Ford started its production in Detroit Michigan in 1907, when Henry Ford produced the first Model T. It was a huge success and since that day Ford has been the largest car manufacture in the world Bibliography From Fords Website

Faculty of Business Environment and Society Essay - 5

Faculty of Business Environment and Society - Essay Example Understanding different cultures play a role in ensuring that the managers understand the dynamics of managing a business in a different environment with different organisational culture (Adamou, 2014). On the other hand, language barrier is another factor that international managers need to consider when operating beyond international borders. Developing an extensive knowledge of different foreign languages is important for international managers in terms of improving communications when working with different teams in different regions globally. Understanding foreign languages is necessary for international managers in terms of ensuring projects are completed on time. Communication between managers and project teams is critical in ensuring that work is done in an efficient and proper manner. In addition, acquisition other languages help international managers to accommodate the needs of workers and that of the locals. In a globalised business environment, multinational companies are found in different regions across the globe. Consequently, establishing a multinational company in a foreign land requires international managers to establish a cordial relationship with the locals an d including their governments. In essence, understanding the needs of the locals and how their governments operates assist international managers to come up with strategies suitable for operating in different business environments across the world (Adamou, 2014). The demanding role of international managers requires adaptability, flexibility, open-mindedness, making friends and acquisition of foreign languages to operate efficiently in a globalised business arena. International managers need to be more adaptable in terms of ensuring that they move the international organisations they manage in the right direction. The global business environment today is competitive with many international organisations competing for

Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 14

Case Study - Essay Example ed start-up company, the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) should be well equipped to handle a myriad of challenges and security threats posed by using online transactions. Companies like American Express, Visa, Discover, JCB, and MasterCard among others have experienced information security threats thus the new company should employ mechanisms that should protect information from both internal and external threats. The medium-sized credit card company needs to employ several mechanisms to ensure its customers and their private information remains safe and confidential. There have been cases of credit card frauds that have led to provision of guidelines to help in securing credit cards; for instance, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) that helps in securing credit cards data. Cyber-criminals careless users, disgruntled former and current employees present major challenges in handling network security especially the experts that target the system with aim of disrupting the normal company operations. There are major advancements that the company needs to perform to ensure cyber threats are kept at bay. Berry (2013) pinpoints several fundamentals that the company should focus on while offering its credit card services to its customers. For the company to be secure, it has to carry out the following tasks: There are vulnerabilities that are exploited by cyber criminals mostly in the operating systems, web browsers, browser plug-ins and software applications among other avenues. The company gadgets and computers that are frequently used should be kept updated thus reducing chances of them being exploited by cyber-criminals. Programs such as Adobe Acrobat, Flash, Oracle, Java, Microsoft Internet Explorer and other MS programs should be kept updated as they are mostly used during credit card usage. Using strong passwords for the cards enhances protection of the customer’s information. Cyber attackers use the loopholes of weak

How do Robinson Crusoe's reactions to various characters or groups Essay

How do Robinson Crusoe's reactions to various characters or groups throughout the novel explain European attitudes - Essay Example The venturing personality of Robinson Crusoe depicts Europeans’ great desire in to adventure the globe and thus bring the corresponding expansion which is not easy to achieve in civilized society like America. Thus as a result Crusoe turns out to be violent and engaged in attacks in order to achieve his desires. This illustrates the Europeans colonization of the Americans so that they can enforce their policies on them despite their civilization. Moreover, Crusoe slowly learns to assert himself to people in a land where he does not belong and becomes more assertive to an extent of attacking traders. This shows the Europeans colonization when they would assert their policies in other countries and remain authoritative than the natives. In the novel Defoe presents Crusoe at first as a violent person which boosts his exploration as well as development. This character portrays the violent attitude of the Europeans towards their colonies in the native America and in Africa. Crusoe goes against his parents’ advice of not going to the sea hence this shows how violent and determined he is just like the Europeans in the colonies. Crusoe’s inhuman and violent character towards African slaves shows how the Europeans were pessimistic of African people and how they were contempt about them. He engages in slave trade which shows how Europeans are inhuman towards Africans. The immoral nature of Robinson is also of concern in this novel as suggested by Defoe and Chalmers . For instance he and his friend Friday they attack the feasting cannibals. This in particular depicts the Europeans as immoral people who do not value the well being of other people especially the Africans. The fact that Crusoe sold Xury, one of hi s best friends, portrays him as a betrayer. This is a reflection of how Europe treated other countries by inventing them and takes control of everything. For instance in Africa, the Europeans would take away their land and use the land owners as their own slaves. Crusoe’s belief in his personal superiority over the slaves and this illustrates the Europeans superiority over their colonies. The European countries considered themselves as superior than any other country in the native America, America and in Africa hence the colonization. Robinson Crusoe’s strong belief in Christianity is portrayed by his ability to remain a protestant despite living a state dominated by catholic. This is reflective of the Europeans’ spread of Christianity in most parts of the world including African and American states. The Europeans viewed people from these countries as far from God and that they engaged in unchristian life and that is why they were suffering. This is further illu strated by Robinson’s action of converting Friday to Christianity. Thus the novel portrays the rules of claims of the aspect of the relation between Christianity and England. Robinson’s hardworking trait is portrayed in this novel in various ways which also reflect the attitude of Europeans towards other countries. For instance Robinson never gave a second thought to any business venture. This is reflecti

Financial statement analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Financial statement analysis - Essay Example This implies that the firm has less liquidity as compared to the industry generally. However, both ratios are below the Third quartile and therefore there are companies in the industry with higher liquidity ratios than S&S Air. The company may therefore have less predictable cash flows and less access to short-term borrowing (Fridson, & Alvarez, F., 2002). A quick ratio of 0.37 is slightly higher than the industry median and this has the meaning that S&S has about the same value of inventory as the Current Liabilities. Since the company has about the same inventory as the industry median, its inventory to current liabilities ratio is more or less the same as the median for the industry. The turnover ratios as compared to the industry median are all higher and even higher than the upper quartile. This implies the efficiency of S&S Air than the whole of the industry. On the other hand, the leverage ratios are all below the industry median depicting that the firm is less dependent on debt than related companies are. In addition, the Profit Margin for the company is equal to that of the industry median while the ROA and the ROE are all above the industry median as well as the lower quartile. In short, the performance of the airline is good despite the liquidity ratios indicating that close monitoring is necessary in its operations. Using ROA of 10.61% and the retention ratio, we will be able to get the internal growth rate. The constant b= $9,233,930/$1,845,242 = 5.004; Using the internal growth rate equation: Internal growth rate = (0.1061 Ãâ€" 5.004) / [1 – (0.1061 Ãâ€" 5.004)] =113.18%. we go further to find the sustainability growth rate using ROE of 19.31% as follows; Sustainable growth rate = (0.1931 Ãâ€" 5.004) / [1 – (0.1931 Ãâ€" 5.004)] = 28.65. Without outside financing of any sort, the company is able to achieve a growth rate of 113.18% and the growth rate would even be enormously higher when it gets funding externally (Robinson,

Computer Network Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Computer Network Security - Essay Example It is now considered as a fundamental fact that if an application is connected and operates on the network, it can be exploited and compromised. Organizations are keen to build a layered defense of protection to counter cyber threats from internal and external entities. Likewise, there is a requirement to constantly monitor live traffic from and to the World Wide Web, remote connections, the real-time interaction of users to applications, Internet gateways and client interactions with the applications. Code reviews are essential, as patches from vendors must be tested first before implementation into the live environment. However, for effective implementation of patches, patch management practices must be documented and standardized. Likewise, there are effective tools available for performing effective patch management. Secondly, configuration management also plays an essential role in ensuring security for mission-critical aviation applications. For instance, if a faulty hardware c omponent is replaced with the new one, it is important to address issues with hardware compatibility, as any malfunctioned device may introduce the vulnerability. Thirdly, change management procedures must also be documented and approved by the respective application owners prior to any changes to the application. For instance, change request form requiring any changes within the application can be approved and documented for ensuring no vulnerable spots in the architecture and infrastructure. All the identified attack interfaces must be addressed by taking the following factors into consideration (Mitigating security threats by minimizing software attack surfaces.2008): Uninstall and prevent unnecessary features Default utilities and programs that are installed within the operating systems must be utilized (If required) Strong access management by user authentication Remove all default passwords on the application server

Financial statement analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Financial statement analysis - Essay Example This implies that the firm has less liquidity as compared to the industry generally. However, both ratios are below the Third quartile and therefore there are companies in the industry with higher liquidity ratios than S&S Air. The company may therefore have less predictable cash flows and less access to short-term borrowing (Fridson, & Alvarez, F., 2002). A quick ratio of 0.37 is slightly higher than the industry median and this has the meaning that S&S has about the same value of inventory as the Current Liabilities. Since the company has about the same inventory as the industry median, its inventory to current liabilities ratio is more or less the same as the median for the industry. The turnover ratios as compared to the industry median are all higher and even higher than the upper quartile. This implies the efficiency of S&S Air than the whole of the industry. On the other hand, the leverage ratios are all below the industry median depicting that the firm is less dependent on debt than related companies are. In addition, the Profit Margin for the company is equal to that of the industry median while the ROA and the ROE are all above the industry median as well as the lower quartile. In short, the performance of the airline is good despite the liquidity ratios indicating that close monitoring is necessary in its operations. Using ROA of 10.61% and the retention ratio, we will be able to get the internal growth rate. The constant b= $9,233,930/$1,845,242 = 5.004; Using the internal growth rate equation: Internal growth rate = (0.1061 Ãâ€" 5.004) / [1 – (0.1061 Ãâ€" 5.004)] =113.18%. we go further to find the sustainability growth rate using ROE of 19.31% as follows; Sustainable growth rate = (0.1931 Ãâ€" 5.004) / [1 – (0.1931 Ãâ€" 5.004)] = 28.65. Without outside financing of any sort, the company is able to achieve a growth rate of 113.18% and the growth rate would even be enormously higher when it gets funding externally (Robinson,

Malcolm X and Julius Caesar Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Malcolm X and Julius Caesar - Assignment Example His father, also called Gaius Julius Caesar, was governor of the province of Asia while his mother, Aurelia Cotta, was from an influential family (Fuller 9). He got the privileged education and as a child, under his father’s watchful eye he would drive a goat chariot, pretending to be a triumphant general, perhaps an early pointer to the triumphs that would later define his adult life. Rome was ruled by such families and from an early age, the young Caesar could have been indoctrinated with the idea that his role in life was to pursue the highest political ambitions and carry on the family name. Malcolm X – born Malcolm Little – on the other hand, was born into a family on the lower ranks of the socioeconomic spectrum. His mother, Louise Norton Little, was a housewife who spent her time taking care of the family’s eight children while his father was a Baptist pastor and civil rights protester. The young Malcolm, therefore, did not have a cozy childhood the which Caesar had. One begins to see how these two men would grow to embrace the causes and have the approaches to life around them that they had in their later lives – one seeking to conquer and the other seeking to be free. Events, however, begin to shape these two lives that started out so different towards a common destiny of greatness. Both Ceasar and Malcolm X grew up in turbulent environments. The background would help give them the steely determination and ruthless ambition which they would later use to advance their respective causes. Caesar’s formative years were a time of turmoil in the Roman Republic; there were several wars from 91 BC to 82 BC. Roman politics was highly polarized. Caesar’s father suddenly died when the young Caesar was in his teens and was forced to be head of the family. He needed a guide and someone to protect him, especially from the then dictator, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who did not like the Caesar family. He found this in the p erson of his distinguished uncle, Gaius Marius, who had achieved a position of immense importance in Roman politics and warfare. Marius was regarded as a champion of the underprivileged of Italy and with his guidance Caesar became a confident young man (Fuller 15). From around 82 BC to 80 BC, though, the dictator, Sulla, began to rid Rome of his enemies and Caesar was among the individuals targeted. Marius had died by now and Caesar was left vulnerable to Sulla’s reign of terror. The environment was so hostile, and he fled Rome to Asia Minor. Malcolm X, too, grew up in a particularly hostile environment. It was at a time when racial discrimination was at its height. His father’s civil rights activism encouraged death intimidation from the white supremacist group, Black Legion, making them migrate twice before Malcolm’s fourth birthday (Biography 1). It is noted in his biography on his official website that in 1929, Malcolm's family home in Michigan was burned by arsonists, and two years later â€Å"†¦Earl’s body was found lying across the town’s trolley tracks† (1). Malcolm and his other siblings were split up amongst various foster homes and orphanages. Hostility would remain with both Malcolm and Caesar even in their adult lives as public figures and eventually lead to their assassination.  Ã‚  

Experience The Arts Essay Example for Free

Experience The Arts Essay Art has a huge impact in making our lives endlessly rich. I cant imagine, only for a moment, a world without art in light of the fact that art have such an effect on design from our most loved features. Moreover, art invigorates distinctive parts of our brains to make us giggle or prompt us to uproar, with an entire range of feelings in the middle. Art also provides for us an approach to be inventive and convey what needs be. For some individuals, art is the whole reason they get up in the morning. You could say, art is something that makes us more mindful and balanced people. Then again, it is such an expansive piece of our regular lives that we might scarcely even stop to consider. Our shoes could be look as art, as well as our clothing. General all utilitarian configuration is art. Art normally includes correspondence. Ostensibly, specialists need individuals with whom they can impart their observations. At the point when Art and people associate, numerous conceivable outcomes emerge. As an admirer of the specialty of dance it has dependably been something I delighted in viewing or enjoyed as an adolescent. In spite of the fact that dance was a sublime past time I never feel in adoration with it until I encountered another manifestation of workmanship called praise dancing. Praise Dance is a type of formal or profound dance, it is a manifestation of move in which the attention is on love. Acclaim dance experts utilize their bodies to help express the expression and soul of God. Praise Dance is actually considered by numerous places of worship to be a satisfactory manifestation of Christian articulation, as well as being regularly utilized before  assemblies to make energizing and enthusiastic environments. In some cases praise dance can be a piece of a greater generation in which a whole story is told. Praise dance, rather than different manifestations of love move, is commonly performed to a much quicker and energetic music rhythm. The dancers express the music by waving their arms over their heads, applauding uncontrollably, influencing their bodies, and moving their heads to the mu sic. It can also be an interpretation of delight that uses the human body to extend, which are express with both their bodies and their confronts, illuminating their gathering of people with the delight they feel inside their souls. When praise dance is my presence my body would shivers; while tears role down my eyes, on the grounds that they were hitting the dance floor with such power, and the message they were yielding was compelling. Besides, the entertainers were serving and worshiping through move and welcoming the crowd to give love to the lord. Praise dance definitely have to be the most excellent critical experience of art I have ever felt on the grounds that it brought me into an alternate measurement, one where I had an otherworldly involvement with a higher force. Therefore, I will always cherish those moments, since it was truly the most true, genuine, and most alive experience I have had in my life. Praise dance is in fact extraordinary, enthusiasm and daring, for one self to express an unforgiving approach to acquire art it really bring out art in undiscovered spots. I am truly convinced and idealistic that praise dance will attract individuals in a great big form of art, which would inspires, encourages and uplifts humanity all around the world. Reference: Sporre, D. J. (2013). Reality Through the Arts (8th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. www.thepraisedancelife.com

Factors Affecting Millennium Development Goals Progress

Factors Affecting Millennium Development Goals Progress Abstract Water and sanitation is a global canker facing the most world population especially in Africa. Policy makers anticipate 80 billion Euros are needed every year to provide basic sanitation to the rural poor to ease poverty, therefore the need to get an in depth view of sanitation lagging behind is paramount. This paper aims to assess the factors causing the slow of progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals(MDG) in low-income countries. The pace are due to inadequate infrastructure systems, skilled labour constraints, insufficient political will and growth of population. It will review current studies in the sector and analyse various constraints that jeopardise the achievement of the sanitation development precisely Ghana. In this review article, published journals, reports, conferences are observed. As a results of the above review factors that is hampering MDG sanitation for Goal 7, it was concluded that policy framework should be put in place whereas government and dono r organisations enforced and invest more in sanitation. The research should assist in the development process in an optimised way of addressing water and sanitation issues and allow better understanding of environmental differing that is triggering the success of MDGs. Keywords Millennium Development Goals ; Ghana; Factors affecting water and sanitation development 1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Currently, 2.6 billion people in the world has no access to adequate sanitation(Marion W.jenkins ,2007) and 1.1 billion lack safe drinking water . (Water Aid,2008)representing to two fifth of the world population, leading up to range of diseases like cholera, a devastating cause of child deaths(Marion W. 2007). In Asia 675 million people are without improved drinking water sources and in sub-Sahara Africa, only 36% has no access to basic sanitation (Christine L. And Richard D.2006).The ability of low-income countries to productively solicit external support to scale –up aid is the major confronting issue today. As vast number of international organisations on the verged to address the problem in developing world whiles envisaging the need for every humanity to have access to basic sanitation, Ghana as part of the sub Saharan Africa will not be able to achieve the MDGs (DFID,2006). UNICEF The World Summit on Sustainable Development(WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002 adopted an international sanitation target to halve the number of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015.This target now transform its self for water supply in support of the Millennium Development Goal of ensuring environmental sustainability(WELL,2003). Considering figures above, indicates the progress and geographic areas of where water and sanitation has covered as of the year 2002.The enormity of the constraints comes with the acknowledgement that poor state of infrastructure impediments are the cause of not achieving the MDGs(refer to appendix2 ) because 50% of the population cannot access improved services serving as an issue(Antonio E.2005), (UN,2007).William Easterly,2008 argued that the MDG are unfair to Africa because MDGs are poorly and arbitrarily designed to measure progress against poverty and deprivation, and that their design makes Africa looks worse than it really was. Most importan tly, another article stated the need for external donors to increase funding although infrastructure systems is another challenging(hlsp, 2009).Contrary the (UNDP,2008) report reveal that lack of framework made monitory difficult to measure and therefore data availability in other cases was unpredictable for the reason been poor system of infrastructure in some countries for collecting appropriate statistics. Empirically, programmes in sanitation in developing countries has been fruitful and yielding results (Marion W. Jenkins and Beth Scott,2007) yet there is an overwhelming number of people who keep on installing latrines or toilet facilities in their homes without subsidy from donors to improved sanitation. Moreover, the global climate change that policy makers have been preaching, the impact in Africa where water crisis is escalating and water table been high especially in the region of Tamale where is terribly hard to drill a sunken borehole a get water even if there is then is possible it may contained 40% of salt(REVSODEP/SIMAVI,2003). Other studies have shown that climate change is a challenge to the success of the MDG(United Nations Economic and social council,2007). A number of studies have reported MDG trend progress of sanitation in Ghana as shown in (appendix1 and appendix 5) shows a series of attainable indicators how Ghana is progressing even though comments regarding poor infrastructure systems exist (Christine L. And Richard D.,2006) which tends to propel the success of sanitation projects in the developing nations . Similar findings have been made via (UN ,2006)department of economic and social affairs. However, most of these studies were based on different country orientations and gross domestic product(GDP) performance raised at the time the survey was made. As such, Aid scaling –up(Peter S.Heller,2005) to the overriding . International Journal on environment resource public health in Zambia 2006 found that lack of well staffed healt h care facilities, electricity, portable water, roads, adequate transportation and communication facilities contributed immensely to not meeting the sanitation target quiet apart from the political instability of other African region. This analysis is similar to less development of in local and national institutions in south Africa(Neville,G.2003) although south Africa is progressing well as compare to Ghana and others. The following Other objectives will enable us dig out further factors. To make a literature review of MDG in sanitation and evaluate current technology options used. Identify factors seen in other studies. To develop, discuss and analyse data. Make recommendations/strategy for promoting sanitation development. 1.2 Ghana The republic of Ghana is a country in west Africa with a population of about 22.1 million people(iicd,2007).The country was the first sub-saharan Africa country to obtain independence from colonial rules on the 6th of march 1957.Despite the country rich in natural resources such as cocoa, gold, timber, bauxite, salt and lately the discovered crude oil, the country is still in perennial sunk with water and sanitation diseases. After colonial rule the country is divided into 10 different regions which include, Northern region-Tamale, Bolgatanga, upper west region, Ashanti region, Volta region, Brong ahafo region, Central region, Eastern region, Greater Accra and western region(see appendix8) . In Ghana rural population who have access to safe water in 2005 stood at 54%, rural population with access to household latrine 25%, urban population with access to safe water 78% whiles 45% of urban citizens can boost of household latrine(WELL,2004). 2. Skilled labour constraints It has been observed that for the Millennium Development Goal to achieve the set target in the sector of water and sanitation the human resources are vital. Shortages of skilled persons (World bank report,2005), (Lancet,2004)affect the health systems as indicative to progress of the MDGs.Erica User in 2005 indicated that international migration is associated with the non achievement of the MDG which seems to be increasing alarming and no resourceful person to deliver sustained latrines. The general conception that the success of MDG 2015 will be met only when african government invest more in sanitation(Arne B. And Abebe S. 2006) than they do now can be in approperiate in some countries without the necessary manpower skill needed. Conventionally, it will also interest the international community to realiseing the poverty nature in developing countries are more than the recoarse (IWA,2008)and therefore should be examine in different perspective way, progress has been hampered by popul ation growth, unbattled HIV/AIDS, wide spread poverty.The view supported by working policy No.45 of (Goerge Essegbey et al 2007) who discovered that innovation in water and sanitation systems were made but was beyond the capacity of of the local people. Unlike in Kumasi a population of 19% of Ghana population census 2000 where technical drawings were made by a consultants for a contractor to implement the work and due to lack of skills required to execute the Ventilated improvement project with respect to the design specifications ,errors were degenerated due to the fact that local people incorporated bamboo sticks in the facility leading to unsuccessful work done. Comparing the situation in Asia to Ghana,(Ljiljana and Ram,2006) in 32nd WEDC international conference in Sri lanka vividly said institutional capacity building can been noticed as the most hindering factor for MDGs. Professional such as engineers who are knowlegeable, skillful and are suppose to assist Non governmental o rganisation and community based organisations in advocating and trainning the latter were seen non available. Again, sanitation projects were constructed in Nepal as shown in the figure3 below similarly described by (JMP ,2008)is a latrine constructed without a slab cover can be considered unimproved. The latrine was contracted to unskilled contractor without the trainee. Moreover, (Maguire,1990) arguable said Lack of knowledge of lower cost technologies and use of technologies in appropriate for developing countries was given in 1988 as one of the obstacles to decade success. 3. Political will Some studies have shown knowledgeablly that lack of political (appendix 11) williness contributed to the slow progress of water and sanitation development in the south(Trocaire,2005),(IWA,2006), (macho ventura,2008). In Ghana for example,Rural areas and small towns had benefited from cross-subsides on water made possible higher tariffs in larger urban areas. But in preparing for privatisation, the government has eliminated such subsidisation by separating out the more lucrative urban water services. This jeopardised the financial sustainability of rural services(UNDP,2007) policy research brief illustrated. On the other hand, this was been carried due to two or more reasons after the implementation of the scheme and as developing change comeby some policy of government will need to change in order not to cause future catastrophe in the long run. Although Subsides need to be provided in oder to promote equitable access to utility services. Some utilitties have introduce life line tari ffs in which minimal levels of utility services are provided free or at a low cost. Essentially, the UNSGAB,2008 undeniably illustrate that 12% of sub-saharan africa national health budget is spend only in providing sanitation and related health services and 50% of the hospital beds are occupied for the same reason. However, experts predicts by 2015 2.1 billion people will still lack sanitation especially in sub-sahara africa untill 2076 (ENS,2008) news. In contrast, some sub saharan African leaders invest a lot of funds in the area of infrastructure and services in water and sanitation primarily into public sectors with other development partners even though these funds are decreasing for various reasons and the share commercial is financing is still very low. The Ghana water and Sewerage Coporation(GWSC), a public utility charged with the responsibility, among others, of achieving self financing status however due to lack of political will by the government over the years to institute adequate tariffs devastated the finances of the GWSC(George Akosa,1995).This situation ,coupled with the general declined of Ghana economy,resulted in most of the operational water supply projects being in a poor state of repair of lacking the installed capacity to provide adequate service.We will probably say the government does invest is only the population in Africa growing leading the people in an extreme poverty from 44.6% to 46.4% as shown in ap pendix 4,10. Furthermore, Ghana is reported to be on track to meet the target of halving poverty by 2015(UNESC,2008) it is yet uncertain if sanitation will be met. There is an improvement in the HIV but the deadlock is still unmet in basic sanitation.USAID argued that should the current progress continue as it is now only water and sanitation in all countries will be met by 2015 whiles (UN News Center,2008)secretary general Ban Ki Mo affirm lack of political will will be the biggest obtacle to imrpoving sanitation on world water day. (vandemoortele,2002) ,considering the perceptions incurr by similar reports and journals that government investment is far less.(Ekow.E,2008)demonstrated that special issue of energy policy on energy in Africa with case studies on Zambia, etc explained at least the political will of many governments to improve the quality and quantity of energy services as a prerequisite for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. More significantly, unwill giness of government or political interest in sanitation per say,J.Edgardo campos and sanjay pradhan(2007) found that tackling corruption in the water and sanitation sector in some part of Africa was the primary reason for the MDGs not been on target as stipulated. Osumanu Issaka Kanton in Ghana mentioned African governments, like most countries in the developing world, face daunting tasks in their attempts to provide effective and equitable water and sanitation services for their ever increasing urban population,the paper however, contrasted that since the early 1990s the government of Ghana and many local authorities have entered into various public-private partnerships in urban water and sanitation using Tamale as a case studies where private has done nothing invigorated public sector not have achieved and therefore concluded that there can be no sustainable improvement in water and sanitation provision without political commitment, stakeholder ownership and strong support for co mmunity driven initiatives(2008) 4.Over population Poulation change seen as the major propeling factor for the MDGs in developing country with regards to water and sanitation(UNWPP,2005), (ENS,2008). fig 8 shows summary in the graph. The data from these graph was available from mainly from the estimates an medium variant. USAID monitoring report for 2006 MDGs, for instance, found that family planning practice will enhance the unmet MDGs to achieve the Goals by reducing the size of the targetted population groups which will then lowering the costs of meeting the MDGs in Sub-saharan Africa. Fig 9 table I.1 illustrates the report survey.Untill recently, (Esmarie Swanepoel,2008) publised article detailing africa falling behind on millennium development goals-UN as the proportion of people in sub saharan africa living below poverty decreased from 55.7% in 1990, to 50.3% in 2005. However, because of the population growth, the number of people in the region living in extreme poverty, grew by 100 million over the period. Using the below proj ections, the author (Dr.Jean –C. 2006 ) and others have reported distinct effect population growth has on Sub-sahara in terms of unsafe drinking water and sanitation in meeting the MDGs by the anticipated or stipulated year. Factually, the world health organisation (WHO,2004) annual assessment report substaintiate by saying that the world is on track to meet the drinking water target, but sub-sahara africa lags behind and conflict and political instability is a contributory factor with high rate of population growth and low priority given to water and sanitation will be a mirage. The paper concluded that whats more is the reason been the breakdown of water supply systems in rural africa is of high rates. One of the effective approaches shown to be accetable and helping the progress process drawn by the paper was decentralising responsibility and ownership and providing a choice of service level to communties based on their willingness and ability to pay.Urban population growt h was estimated to increased in growth in developing countries from 1.9 billion to 3.9 billion 2030, averaging 3.2% per year which is a major challenge for achieving MDG sanitation(UNESCO IHE,2007). The diagramme in fig 8 and fig9 indicates the percentage of the population living in major cities. The arguement goes to intensify the fact that water supply and sanitation will be an acute shorter for a decades to come. Source :UNICEF(data online) 5. Conclusion In short this paper looks at the slow progress of Millennium Development Goals with focus in developing countries especially sub saharan africa with respect to water and sanitation and various factors affecting the progress.The article then went further in reviewing various studies and literature presented by authors , analysing other views in the subject area and detailing sanitation situation in the case of Ghana. It was found that the systems of infrastructure has made it difficult for the MDGs team to montior effectively the progress and concrete availability of data was inevitable for correlation in knowing the exact people in sub saharan africa that are not covered as far as water and sanitation is concern. Governments interest in investing much funds in sanitary projects was seen lagging other projects in Africa even like health sectors was seen stampeding such as water sector was progressing steadily as compared to specifically sanitation due to high poverty in some countries and HIV/AIDS among others demanding. Therefore,the was the need for donor organisations to increase aid for the developing world. High population growth and inapproperiate use of low technologies were another contributory constraints in achieving the MDG since the number of populates in african countries was increased drastically by a substantial amount with diseases and malnutrion been high among children 0-5 years of age and rising in birth was due to either unexpected pregnancy or unaware or misapplication of farmily planning medicine at their possession. Skilled labour constraints therefore was one of the impediments that contributed tremendously bad towards the goals of the MDG in wardly due to the fact that skilled migrates leave the developing countries not only for better salaries and rumerations but virtue of better health care systems in developed world. In some cases institutional capacity building was seen as vital challenge for the MDGs in africa which some where in Asia for example Nepal it was much the same similarity. However, despite various studies been carried out by viable institutions and authors with different methods of approaches in addressing the Millennium Development Goals in water and sanitation, the plans has little consistency between different countries , thus making it difficult for policy makers to measure and track progress and so therefore Septentie appraisal of attitudes of stakeholders to the factors limiting progress to MDG. Acknowledgements The Author wish to acknowledge other writers for their assidious and great workdone and for the support provided by Dr.John Williams of Portsmouth University. It is also our pledge to send our sincere gratitude for the University Liberians for their kind gesture and contributions towards and during the literature review session. 8. Reference Summary of reference; JOURNALS PLUS PDFs REPORTS FROM INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS : GOVERNMENT WEBSITES and ICE TWO BOOKS : Marion W. Jenkins and Beth Scott(2007). Behavioural indicators of household decision-making and demand for sanitation and potential gains from social marketing in Ghana. Journal of Social science and medicine,64(2007),2427-2442. Frederick Dubee (2008): Water Aid International-water Aids key facts statistics http://www.clubofrome.org/eng/meetings/winterthur_2008/presentations/Prof_Frederick_Dubee_Wateraid.pdf Christine L. Moe and Richard D. Rheingans (2006). Global challenges in water, sanitation and health. Journal of water and health Vol .04 DFID (2009) factsheets: water and sanitation //www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/mdg-factsheets/water-factsheet-2006.pdf Rebecca S. Et al(2003), Sanitation and the poor: WELL Resource centre Network for water sanitation and environment Health. www.Iboro.ac.uk/WELL Antonio E.(2005),World bank and universite libre de bruxelles: Draft working paper comments welcome. What do we know about sub-saharan africas infrastructure and the impact of its 1990,reform? Vol.4 William Easterly(2007)Global Economy and development working paper 14. How the Millennium Development Goals are unfair to Africa http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2007/11_poverty_easterly/11_poverty_easterly.pdf Mark Pearson,(2009)hlsp institute, technical report paper. Achieving the MDGs:at what cost? http://www.dfidhealthrc.org/what_new/macroecon_health_PearsonFeb09.pdf UNDP(2008).The Millennium Development Goals report: End poverty millennium development goals,make it happen.http://www.undp.org/publications/MDG_Report_2008_En.pdf Peter S.Heller(2005) IMF working paper WP/05/180. Pity the Finance minister issues in managing a substantial Scaling up of Aids Flows. www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2005/wp05180.pdf DESA,(2006).International symposium on international migration and development. Journal number UN/POP/MIG/SYMP/2006/04: International migration and the achievement of MDGs in Africa http://www.uneca.org/sdd/documents/P04_ECA.pdf IICD(2007) Ghana population. www.iicd.org/countries/ghana WEDC,(2004). WELL country note1.1. The poverty millennium development Goal:what water,sanitation and hygiene can do in Ghana. www.Iboro.ac.uk/well/resources/publications/country%20notes/CN1.%20ghana.htm Book: J.Edgardo Campos and Sanjay Pradhan(2007). The many faces of corruption tackling corruption in the water and sanitation sector in Africa-starting dialogue.publish 2007 by world bank. Osumanu Kanton,(2008). Environmental management vol.42 pages 102-110 published july 2008. By springer 233 spring st.New york, Ny10013 USA. Esmarie S.(2008). Africa falling behind UN millennium Goals-UN http://www.polity.org.za/article/africa-falling-behind-on-millennium-development-goals-un-2008-09-12 Dr.Jean et al(2006), powerpoint presentation. The effects of population growth on the achievement of the MDG on child mortality in Urban sub-saharan Africa. www.app-popdevrh.org.uk/publication%20hearings/evidence/jc%20fotso%20oral%20evidence%20paper.ppt Arne B.and Abebe S. (2006). Economic comission of Africa ,policies for growth and poverty reduction in africa:How to reach the Millennium Development Goals. http://www.uneca.org/prsp/cairo/documents/Theme1_Growth.pdf IWA(2008),Global:world water day messages predict MDG problems for Africa. http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=news133 George Essegbey et al (2007),Assessment of community water and sanitation in Ghana. ATPS Working paper series No.45. published by the aAfrican technology Policy studies network. http://www.atpsnet.org/pubs/workingpaper/Working%20Paper%20Series%2045.pdf Ljiljana and Ram(2006). Sustainable Development of water resources , water supply and environmental sanitation. Capacity needs to achieve the UN MDG target 10 in Asia http://wedc.lboro.ac.uk/publications/pdfs/32/Rodic-Weirsma.pdf JMP (2008), Core questions on drinking water and sanitation for household surveys. http://www.wssinfo.org/pdf/WHO_2008_Core_Questions.pdf D.P.Maguire(1990). Appropriate development for basic needs. Institution of Civil engineers published by thomas Telford 1991,london p.145water and sanitation Khatri K.B and Vairavamoorthy K. (2007), UNESCO-IHE institute for water education. Challenges for urban water supply and sanitation in the developing countries -Discussion Draft paper.Published in Delft Netherlands www.unescoihe.org/content/download/1016/11873/file/9.paper%20urbanisation%20kala% 20draft.pdf Emmanuel Ekow Asmah(2008). Assessing the links between energy services and the MDGs:Isa MAMs application for Ghana possible? An interim paper presented at the CSAE conference 2008 on Economic Development in Africa at St. Catherines College, Oxford. Trocaire(2005)Dublin. The MDGs:A critical discussion. Trocaire development review ,dublin 2005,pp.43-56 ISSN 0790-9403 http://www.nuigalway.ie/dern/documents/tdr_2005_mdg_a_critical_discussion.pdf UNDP(2007),Policy research brief. Privatising Basic utilities in sub-saharan Africa: The MDG impact. No.3 http://www.undp-povertycentre.org/pub/IPCPolicyResearchBrief3.pdf George Akosa(1995), Efficiency of water-supply and sanitation projects in Ghana. Journal of infrastructure systems vol. 1 paper No. 6118. USAID(2006). Making the case for U.S. International family planning assistance. The contribution of fulfilling the unmet need for family planning. http://www.jhsph.edu/gatesinstitute/_pdf/policy_practice/Papers/MakingtheCase.pdf Erica Usher(2005).The millennium Development Goals and Migration. International organisation for migration research series NO.20 http://www.iom.int/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/published_docs/serial_publications/mrs20.pdf Jan vandemoortele (2002), Are the MDGs Feasible? United Nations Development Programme Bureau for Development Policy. http://www.socialwatch.org/en/acercaDe/beirut/documentos/VANDERMOORTELE.pdf UN(2007).UN news center, UN mark world water day with calls for integrated management of vital resource. http://www.un.org/apps/news/storyAr.asp?NewsID=21951Cr=waterCr1= WHO/UNICEF(2004).Meeting the MDG drinking water and sanitation target: A mid-term assessment of progress. http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/monitoring/jmp04.pdf Khatri K.B. (2007) UNESCO-IHE institute for water Education. Challenges for urban water supply and sanitation in developing countries. Discussion draft paper. www.unesco-ihe.org/content/download/1016/11873/file/9.paper%20isation%20kala%20.pdf Health and Poverty All over the world, the cost of health care is usually quite high. Poor families have worse health conditions than those with higher incomes. Health is paramount for poor people and in most instances, their very environment is a threat to them. Improving environmental conditions including providing water, sanitation and solid waste management services is basic to the creation of sustainable livelihoods and the elimination of poverty. Water related diseases like guinea worm and trachoma still plague portions of West Africa. A person suffering from guinea worm looses a lot of productive farm time which reduces their income. Ghana is currently one of the leading guinea worm endemic countries in the world. Lack of political will biggest obstacle to improving sanitation – Secretary-General 22 March 2008 – A lack of political will remains the greatest obstacle to efforts to drastically reduce the number of people without access to basic sanitation and clean, running water, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, calling on the international community to take firmer and faster steps to tackle the problem. If we take up the challenge, the positive impact will reverberate far beyond better access to clean water, Mr. Ban said in a message to mark World Water Day, which is celebrated today. This years Day also coincides with the International Year of Sanitation. Every dollar invested in water and sanitation yields an estimate seven dollars worth of productive activity. And that comes on top of the immeasurable gains in cutting poverty, improving health and raising living standards. The Secretary-General described it as unconscionable that a child dies on average every 20 seconds because of sub-standard sanitation conditions – a situation endured by an estimated 2.6 billion people worldwide, or more than a third of the global population – that are preventable. Poor sanitation combines with a lack of safe drinking water and inadequate hygiene to contribute to the terrible global death toll. Those who survive face diminished chances of living a healthy and productive existence. Children, especially girls, are forced to stay out of school, while hygiene-related diseases keep adults from engaging in productive work. Halving the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation is one of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) devised at a global leaders summit in 2000, but the world is far behind the pace to achieve that by the target date of 2015, Mr. Ban said. Experts predict that by 2015, 2.1 billion people will still lack basic sanitation. At the present rate, sub-Saharan Africa will not reach the target until 2076. This years World Water Day also coincides with the International Year of Sanitation. Population growth, widespread poverty and insufficient investment are among the key obstacles, but the Secretary-General noted that the biggest culprit is the lack of political will. Events are being held around the world this weekend to highlight World Water Day, including the staging of a public toilet queue demonstration to raise awareness about the sanitation crisis around the globe. A similar event was held in New Yorks Central Park on Thursday. Wold bank graphic showing the failure of Africa to meet the MDGs.

Edgar Allan Poe :: essays research papers

Edgar Allan Poe Poe, Edgar Allan, known as a poet and critic but most famous as the first master of the short-story form, especially tales of the mysterious and macabre. The literary merits of Poe's writings have been debated since his death, but his works have remained popular and many major American and European writers have professed their artistic debt to him. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Poe was orphaned in his early childhood and was raised by John Allan, a successful businessman of Richmond, Virginia. Taken by the Allan family to England at the age of six, Poe was placed in a private school. Upon returning to the United States in 1820, he continued to study in private schools. He attended the University of Virginia for a year, but in 1827 his foster father, displeased by the young man's drinking and gambling, refused to pay his debts and forced him to work as a clerk. Poe, disliking his new duties intensely, quit the job, thus estranging Allan, and went to Boston. There his first book, Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827), was published anonymously. Shortly afterward Poe enlisted in the U.S. Army and served a two-year term. In 1829 his second volume of verse, Al Aaraaf, was published, and he effected a reconciliation with Allan, who secured him an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy. After only a few months at the academy Poe was dismissed for neglect of duty, and his foster father disowned him permanently. Poe's third book, Poems, appeared in 1831, and the following year he moved to Baltimore, where he lived with his aunt and her 11-year-old daughter, Virginia Clemm. The following year his tale â€Å"A MS. Found in a Bottle† won a contest sponsored by the Baltimore Saturday Visitor. From 1835 to 1837 Poe