Airport Security Essays

Airport Security Essays Airport Security Essay Airport Security Essay The section of fatherland security has spent $ 40 billion reconstructing the air power security system since September 11. 2001. Since so airdrome security has changed drastically. changed the whole world’s attitude towards airport security. The terrorist onslaught besides showed the full universe how easy the old system was to pull strings and how much betterment airdromes need before they can genuinely be considered secure. The onslaughts forced the air hose industry to regenerate and beef up their focal point on security. Many airdromes in the U. S. have introduced cultural profiling since September 11. 2001 and the grounds shows this method has helped better airdrome security. The suspects who have since 9/11/01 been picked up are at least largely Arabs ( Gale Airport Security. Opposing Point of views Online Collection ) . Security cheques are non intended to abash or harm anybody ; they are a necessary safeguard to protect all riders including Muslims. Not merely does the TSA maintain an oculus on air hose security around the Earth. but besides they have many different beds of security in our nation’s airdromes. The newest and most polemically is the full organic structure scanner. These x-ray machines strip a individual down to their birthday suit. Airport screeners are now federal employees. Peoples are now holding to wait longer to be able to go through thru security line to look into in. many travellers get pulled aside for full organic structure hunts. There are 40 active full organic structure scanners at 19 different airdromes. by the terminal of the twelvemonth functionaries would wish 500 in topographic point. Today forty five 1000s employees are working as passenger’s screeners in more than four 100 airdromes around the state. Our top precedence is the safety of the going public. and TSA invariably strives to research and implement new engineerings that enhance security and strengthen privateness protections for the going public . ( TSA Takes Next Steps to Further Enhance Passenger Privacy. ) Though airport security was enforced. there was another incident. On Christmas December 25. 2009. a 23 twelvemonth old Nigerian named Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to explode explosives aboard a Northwest Airlines flight going from Amsterdam to Detroit. Michigan. Abdulmutallab had hidden fictile explosives in his underclothes. which had gone undetected during the rider testing procedure. Abdulmutallab had besides been identified as holding connexion to the terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda less than two months before the attempted bombardment. and his ain male parent had contacted the American embassy in Nigeria to warn them of his son’s extremist beliefs. The lone ground the bombardment Failed was because abdulmutallab did non decently trip the device. and other riders aboard the plane subdued him. Two hebdomads after that incident Obama disposal mandated excess scrutiny- including full organic structure glib downs- for people winging into the United States from 14 largely Moslem states. Under the new regulations. all citizens of Afghanistan. Algeria. Lebanon. Libya. Iraq. Nigeria. Pakistan. Saudi Arabia. Somalia and Yemen must have a rap down and an excess cheque of their carry-on bags before get oning a plane edge for the united provinces. functionaries said. Citizens of Cuba. Iran. Sudan and Syria- states considered state patrons of terrorism ( Airport Security January 6. 2010 ) . Airlines are still responsible for look intoing rider information against government-issued ticker lists intended to flag potentially unsafe travellers. Two of the lists are frequently referred to as the No-Fly ( Airport Security January 6. 2010 ) list. are the Terrorist Watch List . ( Airport Security January 6. 2010 ) and travellers looking on these lists are capable to more elaborate hunt or in the instance of the No Fly list. are denied the ability to go. We should appreciate that the airdrome security is doing our trip safe and unafraid. Any incommodiousness people feel is unimportant compared with salvaging lives by forestalling terrorist onslaughts.

Free Essays on Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson Marilyn Manson: Pushing the 1st Amendment Marilyn Manson is a name that has been a thorn in the side of society as a moral and ethical issue for the parents and kids of the generation â€Å"X†. He is one of the most controversial artists in the world today, one who chooses to express himself in a way that provokes in the most extreme methods possible. His methods are bizarre and shunned by most of society, as it cannot fathom what he is trying to accomplish. However, further research into his life and beliefs will explain that he is sending a very strong message to the world. A message that is firmly protect by the First Amendment in the American Constitution. This freedom has unleashed a number of technical issues, as well as indirect damage done by the people who would interpret his message incorrectly. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of association (assembly). It also protects the rights of citizens to worship as they plea se and the right not to be forced to support someone else’s religion. The First Amendment also provides for the right to assemble and to demand a change in government policies. (Bill of Rights, Encarta 1999 CDROM). Manson uses this freedom fully, getting his message across by any means possible, mainly to the younger generation. These younger generations are more accepting of his attitude and beliefs, partly due to the fact that teens are more susceptible to mass persuasion and are easily confused. This has helped Manson conjure up a large loyal following of disgruntled teens that are called â€Å"Mansonites.† How Manson gets his message across has been the center of controversy revolving around the US ever since Manson’s rise to stardom. His moral, ethical and religious actions have been questioned repeatedly. His ethics may be a representation of how disorientated American society has become in the late 1990s. Alternatively, Manson may simply... Free Essays on Marilyn Manson Free Essays on Marilyn Manson Marilyn Manson Marilyn Manson: Pushing the 1st Amendment Marilyn Manson is a name that has been a thorn in the side of society as a moral and ethical issue for the parents and kids of the generation â€Å"X†. He is one of the most controversial artists in the world today, one who chooses to express himself in a way that provokes in the most extreme methods possible. His methods are bizarre and shunned by most of society, as it cannot fathom what he is trying to accomplish. However, further research into his life and beliefs will explain that he is sending a very strong message to the world. A message that is firmly protect by the First Amendment in the American Constitution. This freedom has unleashed a number of technical issues, as well as indirect damage done by the people who would interpret his message incorrectly. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of association (assembly). It also protects the rights of citizens to worship as they plea se and the right not to be forced to support someone else’s religion. The First Amendment also provides for the right to assemble and to demand a change in government policies. (Bill of Rights, Encarta 1999 CDROM). Manson uses this freedom fully, getting his message across by any means possible, mainly to the younger generation. These younger generations are more accepting of his attitude and beliefs, partly due to the fact that teens are more susceptible to mass persuasion and are easily confused. This has helped Manson conjure up a large loyal following of disgruntled teens that are called â€Å"Mansonites.† How Manson gets his message across has been the center of controversy revolving around the US ever since Manson’s rise to stardom. His moral, ethical and religious actions have been questioned repeatedly. His ethics may be a representation of how disorientated American society has become in the late 1990s. Alternatively, Manson may simply...

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE - Essay Example Womens roles were limited to that of a homemaker, where she took care of her children and husband without any complains what so ever. Education during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century was not a state organized or centrally controlled affair. It was run mainly by the churches in the locality or by charitable organizations where children of the middle and upper classes were not sent for education. At this time class distinction was at its peak, great stress being laid on family wealth and powerful connections. Children of the affluent class were imparted education at the privacy of their homes and women were mostly taught lessons that would help them to run their future homes, like practical lessons related to cookery, sewing, singing, dancing and religious classes. Teaching Greek and Latin were a privilege kept mainly for the boys and the very few grammar schools that did exist did not admit girls. Well known educational institutions like the Eton, Oxford and Cambridge were special facilities reserved for the boys only. Higher education was seen as a completely masculine domain were women dared not to enter. Young men who wanted to further themselves in the social milieu opted for the church, law or the army. Women saw the scope of social advancement and wealth acquisition only through marriages and their social upbringing were aimed at this. With not much of a career and no political rights as such, higher education for women was not even considered an option during those times. The patriarchal nature is aptly shown in the starting lines of â€Å"Pride and Prejudice†, as Jane Austen tells us in a satirical tone â€Å"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife† (Austen, p.1). In this famous novel Austen paints a wonderful picture of the social fabric of the late eighteenth century England.

The Effects of Depression and Antidepressants on Sexual Health and the Research Paper

The Effects of Depression and Antidepressants on Sexual Health and the Sexual Response Cycle - Research Paper Example Knowledge of the terminology commonly used in sexual and mental health studies is crucial for the study of the interrelationship between the two. The physiology of sexual functioning can be best described through the sexual response cycle which is divided into four phases i.e. desire, excitement, orgasm and resolution. The sexual response cycle is regulated by a multi-component system involving endocrine glands, autonomic nervous system, sex hormones and neurotransmitters which intimates the relationship between sexual health and mental health. Sexual dysfunction refers to problems experienced during any of the phases of the sexual response cycle hence preventing an individual from obtaining satisfaction from sexual activity. Statistics present on sexual dysfunction indicate that about 41% of women and 34% of men in the general population experienced various manifestations of sexual problems ranging from diminished libido, vaginal dryness, erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation and anorgasmia (Outhoff, 2009). Further breakdown of the epidemiology reveals that 35% of women and 16% of men experience inhibited sexual desire; 10-20% of men experience premature ejaculation while a further 35% experience erectile dysfunction. The prevalence of orgasm problems among women is 5-15% (Baldwin et al. 2003). Among the several causes of sexual disorders, discovery of a link with psychopathology stands out with sexual dysfunction being a common symptom among depressed individuals as indicated by the fact that sexual dysfunction occurs in only 26% of normal individuals while it stands at 45% of depression cases. Widespread use of antidepressant medications also led to the realization that such drugs had an adverse effect on sexual functioning with several experimental studies confirming this (Jespersen, 2006). The strong link between depression, antidepressants and sexual dysfunction alongside the grave statistics of sexual problems are the considerations that informed t his study. Undertaking this study is important as more knowledge on the link between the two needs to be generated through experimental, meta-analytical and review approaches and the research findings communicated to medical practitioners especially with the growing importance of evidence-based practice. Such research findings have the potential of influencing the prescription and treatment decisions for depression. This study will undertake to review literature from experimental studies into the effects of depression and antidepressant medications on the sexual response cycle after which the implications of the study findings on sexual health intervention research and policy will be discussed. The approach of the literature review will be through analyzing information from experimental research into the issue with focus given to work from the turn of the millennium so as to get up-to-date findings on the subject. Each study will be analyzed in terms of research topic theory, the me thod undertaken for the research and finally the research findings and conclusions arrived at by the researchers. Review of Literature Peng et al. (2006) undertook a study to find out the relationship between physiological and psychological factors with sexual dysfu

Retail atmospherics are quite well studied but are poorly explained Essay

Retail atmospherics are quite well studied but are poorly explained - Essay Example Before examining the claim that retail atmospherics are thoroughly studied but not stated well, we need to define what is meant by retail atmospherics. According to Kotler (1974), it is the effort to design buying environments to produce specific emotional effects in the buyer that enhances his purchase probability. A renewed interest was created in retail atmospherics through the caricature reporting by the Wall Street Journal showing a bank manager asking a customer’s opinion on the background music, which the manager has boasted of selecting himself. Such complex decisions as presenting background music are made irrationally in retail ambience. It gives the impression that no serious thought is given on creating retail atmospherics to provide a memorable experience to customers in the retail industry. Such decisions if taken rationally and thoughtfully can create a positive impact on customer perceptions of service quality, purchase, and consumption behaviour (Chebat & Dube , 2000). Developing of a customer experience has become very crucial with the importance given to the purchase of commodities. Expectations from retail managers have increased to create an environment of understanding in creating the atmospheric resources for providing the desired customer experience. Challenges in the retail atmospheric research lie in understanding the psychology of consumer reactions on the one hand and the functional requirements and planning at the firm level to provide that experience to the customers on the other hand (Chebat & Dube, 2000). Babin and Attaway (2000) have specifically worked on developing a reliable mechanism tool to innovatively measure the customers’ behavioural outcomes. Customer spending is directly impressed by a store’s capacity to create value that benefits the customer. It was found that environmentally inspired emotions affect relative spending by the customer. Their research indicates that customer behaviour can be induc ed by developing the right retail atmosphere. The value of shopping through the relationship of the customer behaviour with the retail environment provided by the retailer is justified. Research has been done on the relation between shopping behaviour and environmental factors via transformations in emotional feelings. Shoppers’ behaviour was examined through fixed time and changing time during a simulated shopping test. It included listening experience of different but familiar music provided to the shoppers. Later on shoppers’ outlook on shopping time, their mental state and product appraisal were recorded, which indicated that shoppers spent long hours while listening to favourite music, which was their perception but actually they spent long hours shopping when listening to not-popular music. Limited actual shopping times in the known music scenario were associated with increased awareness. Longer assumed shopping hours by the shoppers in popular music listening ex perience were associated to unmeasured cognitive factors. Mental states of the shoppers played a part in taking a purchase decision on a product but these impressions were not directly associated to the playing of music (Yalch and Spangenberg, 2000). Research by Turley and Milliman (2000)) also shows that impact of music is not positive and good always. Their review shows weakness of the theoretical base. Majority of customer emotion measures depend on store type. Functional and job-oriented environments are related with lower levels of pleasure and arousal-related emotions, which provides an alternative to Mehrabian and Russel (1974)) model on environmental psychology. By changing the store design and settings, emotional shopping results can be

Competition law in Nigeria

Competition law in Nigeria INTRODUCTION SCOPE OF THESIS The area of Competition law in Nigeria remains an area of law that has not been fully tapped. Currently, there is no competition law operating in Nigeria and although there has been a bill, it is yet to be passed to law. The ongoing lack of a competition law regime has quite predictably led to price-fixing, excessive pricing of products , market concentration as well as domination being the order of the day, all to the detriment of the consumer. The primary objective of this thesis therefore, is to discover the value of introducing Competition law in Nigeria and indeed a sector specific Competition Law to the Nigerian Communications Industry. The theses will begin by examining the global significance of Nigeria and the position of Nigeria as a developing economy. This research further seeks to examine the state of the Nigerian telecommunications industry and the steps that have been taken by the Nigerian Government towards the opening up of the telecommunications industry in Nigeria. The thesis will also look at both the arguments for and against the introduction of a competition law in Nigeria and a specific competition law in the telecommunications industry which forms the main focus of this research. The present situation in Nigeria can be likened to a market where all the telecommunications providers provide their services at the same price, a price that always seems to be a little higher week after week, In such a case, what might have happened is that the telecommunications providers have formed cartels so that they can force up prices and make large profits. If such is the case, it is the welfare of the customers that suffers because of the lack of competition. Competition issues in various sectors of the economy are handled by other regulatory regimes such as The Special Trade and Malpractices Investigation panel, standards organisation of Nigeria, Nigerian Civil Aviation authority, Securities and Exchange commission, Central Bank of Nigeria, and of particular importance to this thesis, The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) which is the national regulatory authority for the telecommunications industry in Nigeria. The question that arises however is whether the regulations set out by the NCC are sufficient to promote and preserve competition. This thesis will analyse the position of the NCC as a regulator of the Nigerian telecommunications industry. RATIONALE AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY In carrying out this research, the author will rely on a collection of theories, comparative study of the Law in different jurisdictions and Interviews with various individuals who have experience in this field. Primary and secondary sources of information will be used to collect and analyze data to come to a viable conclusion. The primary sources which the author will utilize include authoritative materials of the law such as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, statutes and legislations in force, official publications and judicial decisions relating to competition law, telecommunications law and Privatization in Nigeria. Books, journals, articles, dictionaries, periodicals, newspapers, The Federal Competition Bill and internet documents will constitute secondary sources of information. These are materials which pertain to law but are not themselves authoritative records of legal rules. A comparative study of competition law systems in other jurisdictions will also form a part of the study. In order to make this thesis logical, the author will sketch headings and arrange materials to accommodate research findings. Headings and cross headings will not only assist to readily identify where a particular point has been dealt with, it will also make the theses flow in a logical way and keep the readers interested. Because the area of law to being researched in this thesis is relatively young in Nigeria, it is necessary to perform foundation research and as such, secondary sources of research will be highly relied upon in this thesis. Challenges of Research Methodology: It is widely accepted that competition authorities in developed and developing countries alike encounter challenges and obstacles in their effort to promote competition and enforce their various competition laws. While the challenges faced are similar in nature their degrees vary across countries. It has been observed that Developing countries such as Nigeria do not generally place the implementation and administration of competition law on their priority lists. They are generally of the mind that it is like giving a silk tie to a hungry child. However, with the changing global landscape, trade barriers being removed and markets becoming more integrated, developing countries find themselves in the situation in which they now have no choice but to institute the relevant legislation. The implementation of institutional reform that the developed countries took several decades to accomplish is now being thrust upon developing countries which do not have the luxury of time, the requisite skill or the resources. In the same vein, in carrying out research on competition law in the Nigerian telecommunications industry, the author came across various research challenges. The main challenge has been the inability to get research materials. This is due to the fact that the area of research is still in its infant stage in Nigeria as a result there is not enough written material on it. Further, it is a very contentious and political issue as a result; companies, institutions and individuals who have access to necessary material or information are not willing to release information. The Bureaucratic nature of Nigerian Institutions also posed as a major challenge to this research. This is because there are many levels of management, much paperwork and impersonal officials working to a fixed routine who seem to find it difficult to provide necessary information or give necessary interviews which would be advantageous to this research paper. The unstable state of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) which operated monopoly status in the Nigerian Telecommunications industry for a long time also proved to be a challenge in getting research information. This is because as management of NITEL changed, the operations change and this makes it difficult to get information on previous happenings in the company. Other challenges faced by the author in the research process came in the telephone interview process. This is because some people do not have telephones or do not have their telephone numbers listed. People also often dislike intrusion of a call to their homes and never have time for a telephone interview at work. Also telephone interviews need to be relatively short or people get impatient or feel imposed on. The use of the internet as a form of research also came with its own challenges some of which include accuracy and reliability of information obtained from online sources and difficulties in verifying a writers credentials. COUNTRY PROFILE AND GLOBAL SIGNIFICANCE OF NIGERIA The Federal Republic of Nigeria consists of 36 states and 774 local governments administrations. The Capital city is Abuja, located in the Federal Capital Territory and it is geographically situated in the middle of the Country. Nigeria has a population of over 148 million making it the largest market in sub-Saharan Africa with reasonably skilled and potential manpower for efficient and effective management of investment projects within the country. Nigeria is a regional power and it is listed among the Next eleven economies Nigeria is a nation blessed with an abundance of natural and mineral resources as well as renewable energy sources. Its oil reserves make Nigeria in the league of the top ten petroleum rich nations, and by far the most affluent in Africa. Nigeria is a member of the organisation of petroleum exporting nations which makes it significant to the world at large. The petroleum industry in Nigeria has brought unprecedented changes in the Nigerian economy, particularly in the past five decades when it replaced agriculture as the cornerstone of the Nigerian economy and contributes the lion share of in the nations gross domestic product, accounting for the bulk of federal government revenue and foreign exchange earnings. The Nigerian economy can be described as most promising. Nigeria has however been long hobbled by political instability, corruption, inadequate infrastructure, and poor macroeconomic management. Nigerias former military rulers failed to diversify the economy away from its overdependence on the capital-intensive oil sector, which provides 95% of foreign exchange earnings and about 80% of budgetary revenues. Following the signing of an IMF stand-by agreement in August 2000, Nigeria received a debt-restructuring deal from the Paris Club and a $1 billion credit from the IMF, both contingent on economic reforms. Nigeria has a mixed economy which accommodates all; individuals, corporate organisations and government agencies to invest in almost all economic activities. Over the last decade, the Nigerian government has introduced some economic measures such as liberalisation and privatisation of sectors that had been monopolies, with the purpose of introducing competition, wealth creation and encouraging foreign investors. In 2003, the Nigerian government instituted the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS), a domestically designed and run program modelled on the IMFs Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility for fiscal and monetary management[4]. NEEDS focused on four key strategies; poverty reduction, wealth creation, employment generation and value re-orientation. The initiative has recorded remarkable achievements, meeting most of its targets, and in some instances surpassing them. In November 2005, Nigeria won Paris Club approval for a debt-relief deal that eliminated $18 billion of debt in exchange for $12 billion in payments a total package worth $30 billion of Nigerias total $37 billion external debt. The deal requires Nigeria to be subject to stringent IMF reviews. OVERVIEW OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY The telecommunications industry forms a major infrastructural requirement for any meaningful economic development to take place in a country. The importance of a robust telecommunications infrastructure cannot be over emphasized as it is pertinent to economic growth, and constitutes a significant portion of the worlds economy. This chapter discusses the historical and present state of the global telecommunications industry with particular focus on Nigeria. The Chapter will consider the policy approach to deregulation of the Nigerian telecommunications industry, as well as provide an overview of the evolution of the Nigerian telecommunications industry from the colonial times to full liberalisation as is the position now Over the last one hundred and thirty (130) years, the global telecommunications industry has experienced an unprecedented growth from an almost unnoticed analogue telephony to a modern digital mobile communication with billions of subscribers worldwide. This is evident in the Europe and Latin American telecommunications market worth â‚ ¬424bn in 2007, with mobile services accounting for 51%. The Evolution of the Global Telecommunications Industry The African telecommunications market being the fastest growing telecoms market in the world plays host to the next wave of global competition. In 2006 alone, mobile companies signed up about 60 million new subscribers across the continent, as many people as the entire population of the United Kingdom. Africas unique infrastructure challenges have made telecommunications (particularly mobile phones) an indispensable business and social tool. Despite impressive recent growth in telecommunications, penetration rates in Africa remain relatively low, thereby suggesting a large underlying potential market in this populous continent. It is expected that 260 million new subscribers will be added across Africa by 2014, nearly equal to the present population of the entire United States of America. THE NIGERIAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY In consonance with the global trend in the telecommunications industry, Nigeria shares a similar success story over the past 130 years of navigating its telecommunications operations. The figure below shows incremental successes achieved within the Nigeria telecoms industry. The Evolution of the Nigerian Telecommunications Industry HISTORY OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN NIGERIA Telecommunications facilities came into being in 1886 by the colonial administration. The initial purpose was merely to carry out administrative duties as opposed to the provision of socio economic development for the country. Thus, the introduction of public telegraph services connecting Lagos by submarine cable along the west coast of Africa to Ghana, Sierra-Leone, Gambia and on to England was more important than an efficient telecommunications network. Subsequently, as at 1960 when Nigeria gained her independence, there were only 18,724 telephone lines available for a population estimated at 40 million people. This translated to a tele-density of about 0.5 telephone lines per 1,000 people. The telephone network consisted of 121 exchanges out of which 116 were of the manual (magneto) type and only 5 were automatic. Since independence, there have been a number of development plans for the expansion and modernisation of the telecommunications networks and services. Most of these plans were not fully implemented. After the Nigerian Independence in 1965 and up until 1985, the telecommunications industry was divided into: The department of Posts and Telecommunications (P T) and The Nigerian External Telecommunications (NET) Limited, P T took charge of the internal network while NET overlooked the external telecommunications services and provided the gateway to the outside world. By the end of 1985, the installed switching capacity was about 200,000 lines as against the planned target of about 460,000. All the exchanges were analogue, and telephone penetration remained poor equal to 1 telephone line to 440 inhabitants, well below the target of 1 telephone line to 100 inhabitants recommended by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for developing countries. The quality of service was largely unsatisfactory, the telephone was unreliable, congested, expensive and customer unfriendly. These unsatisfactory services led to the split of P T in January 1985, it was divided into Postal Division and Telecommunications Divisions. The telecommunications division was merged with NET to form Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL),a limited liability Company, while the Postal Division was reconstituted into another organisation called the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST). NITEL On establishment, NITEL became the national operator for telecommunications services in Nigeria. Although efforts are being made to privatise NITEL, and indeed there was a recent privatisation attempt where by 51% equity stake of NITEL was sold to core investors, this privatisation attempt was reversed and NITEL remains wholly owned by the Government of Nigeria. NITEL was set up to reverse the defects which characterised telecommunications development from independence up until 1984[11]. Its main objective was to harmonise the co ordination of the external and internal telecommunications services, rationalise investments in telecommunications development and provide easy access, efficient and affordable services. The historical key businesses of NITEL include fixed telephony services including international, internet, payphone and interconnection; Long distance carrier including fixed international calls and satellite services; cellular, including all cellular activity carried out within M-Tel. After the inception of NITEL,little progress was made in the development of the telecommunications industry and it was still characterised with poor management, lack of accountability and transparency and inefficiency. At this time, NITEL occupied a monopoly status and being owned by the Government, this resulted in its having a weak infrastructure base, high unmet demand, Lines concentrated in selected urban areas, slow growth of subscriber base and limited investment into the telecommunications sector. In order to tackle these short comings, and in line with what obtains in several developed nations, The Government of Nigeria identified that Liberalisation of the Telecommunications market was essential for rapid network growth. Private sector participation was essential for attracting financial resources, innovation and new technology. The industry was thus deregulated through the establishment of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) by Decree No. 75 of 1992. The NCC has since approved almost 200 operating licenses for private providers of various telecommunications services, including internet services providers, which of course has in turn generated a high demand for telecommunications equipment, accessories, consultancy and technical partnerships. In addition, NITEL has approved various private firms to be connected to its switching systems so as to provide more lines (with greater efficiency and service) and thus act as a buffer for the grossly inadequate NITEL services. Despite all these efforts, it was quite clear that there was a dire need for the Nigerian Government to be more pro-active about improving telecommunications. As such, in 2000, the NCC awarded licenses for Global System of Mobile Communications (GSM) to NITEL by auction to two preferred bidders Econet Wireless Nigeria Limited and MTN Nigeria Limited. The licenses were bought at almost US$240million dollars, the highest amounts ever paid for such licenses in the world. The GSM technology has completely overshadowed NITELs land lines, as the demand is high for them due to efficiency, despite the astronomical tariffs its consumers are subjected to. These cumulative events eventually spurred the NCC, through the Bureau of Public Enterprises (its secretariat) to seek to privatise NITEL by requesting for Core investors to acquire controlling interest in the entity and manage its day to day activities. The privatization of NITEL has always been shrouded in controversies and politics. Many people are of the view that the Federal Government has not shown enough seriousness or sincerity in the many attempts to sell the telecommunications company. The first attempt in 2002 to privatise NITEL could not materialise due to the failure of Investment International Limited (ILL) of Britain to pay the $1.317 billion it offered for the 31 per cent shares of the company. ILL paid up the mandatory 10 per cent deposit, but was unable to make up the balance by the end of several deadline Periods, thereby derailing the process. Another attempt was made in 2003 with the engagement of a Dutch company, called Pentascope to manage NITEL and put it on sound footing preparatory to its sale. This one also collapsed. In the third attempt, Orascomm of Egypt offered $256.43 million for 51 per cent shares of NITEL. This offer was considered ridiculously low, and, so the government cancelled the deal. This has been the story of the efforts to privatize this big and potentially rich government-owned telecommunications firm. One deal that stood out was the Pentascope agreement. While Pentascope was expected to revitalize NITEL, Pentascope ended up not only ruining the company but it mounting up huge debts for the company as well. In particular, when Pentascope took over NITEL in March 2003, NITEL had about N17.7 billion in its coffers. However about a year later when its agreement with NITEL was terminated, it had left NITEL with a debt burden of N38 billion and a reduction in the number of functional land lines from 455,000 to 288,000. It therefore seems correct to state that the singular error of picking Pentascope as the management consultant to NITEL in 2003 is largely responsible for the pitiable condition the company finds itself in today. In 2006, 51 per cent equity in NITEL was sold to another company, Transnational Corporation[16], (TRANSCORP), for US $ 500 million. However, this process also failed to turn around the operator as TRANSCORP has been unable to raise the money to overcome the many problems of NITEL. The Nigerian government holds 49% of NITEL. The government however, wants Transcorp to sell 27% of Nitel to a new investor, which would then purchase a further 24% from the government to take control. This new core investor was scheduled to take over in February 2009; however this has not yet happened. In the meantime, the NCC has awarded a second national carrier license to Globacom Nigeria Limited, the only company out of three who expressed an Interest that was able to come up with the US$20 million 10% deposit of the Auction price requested by the NCC. Government was of the belief that a second National carrier would offer much needed competition to NITEL. Globacom has since commenced operations and as of today, it has the third highest subscriber network in the Country. POLICY APPROACH TO DEREGULATION AND PRIVATIZATION Liberalisation and privatisation It was only a matter of time before it became clear to Nigerian policy-makers that a shift in its policies was required. The over-regulation of the economy had become unhelpful, the economy was anaemic, and the Government had trouble keeping up with subventions to State owned enterprises, many of whom, at any rate, were inefficiently and unprofitably run. For SOEs in the telecommunication sector such as NITEL, the implications of its inefficiency for the entire economy were very far-reaching as it contributed to the retardation of the countrys overall industrial development. The merits of a deregulated economy were thus too overpowering for the Nigerian Government to ignore: much-needed foreign direct investment was to be attracted, bringing in tow the required technology, management and technical skills that would not only boost the economy but would transform the SOEs. To achieve this, however, it was obvious that radical legal reforms would have to be undertaken. Following the collapse of communism and apartheid, more countries joined the race for foreign investors. Investment climates therefore needed to be competitive. Before then, through the indigenisation policy pursued since the early 1970s, foreign investors in Nigeria had to contend with ceding a portion of their business to local investors. The real challenge, however, lay in removing regulation and monopoly so that foreign investors could have a level playing field. What followed was a rash of laws designed to facilitate foreign direct investment in Nigeria. Significant among these reforms was the repeal of the Nigerian Enterprises Promotions Decree 1989 (under which the indigenisation policy was sustained), and in its place came the Nigerian Investment Promotion Decree No.16, 1995 which made it possible for an enterprise to be 100 per cent owned by foreign investors. Also, the Exchange Control Act 1990 under which foreign investors required the approval of the Minister of Finance in order to transfer profits abroad was repealed in favour of the Foreign Exchange Decree No.15, 1995 that guaranteed free transfer of capital. The Companies Act 1968 was also repealed in favour of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990, a more comprehensive and forward-looking company code. Against these reforms, Nigeria began its gradual journey towards deregulation, privatisation and a free market economy. However, as the free market was a model that had never previously been applied in Nigeria, its handlers had trouble grappling with it, and this led to the initial efforts being short-lived.This was followed by another privatisation law, the Bureau of Public Enterprises Decree, 1993. Privatization In every great monarchy in Europe, the sale of crown lands will produce a very large sum of money, which if applied to the payment of public debts, would deliver from mortgage a much greater revenue than any which those lands have ever afforded to the crownWhen the crown lands become private property, they will in the course of a few years become well improved and well cultivated ADAM SMITH, WEALTH OF NATIONS (1776). The term privatization is used to describe a range of different policy initiatives designed to alter the balance between the public and private sectors. It commonly refers to the transfer of ownership and control of enterprise from the state to the private sector.This may occur in various ways, such as, the sale of all or part of the privatized companys equity to the public, or the sale of the company as a complete entity. It may also take the form of joint ventures, where the private sector will invest in a public enterprise Privatization as a tool for economic management came about in the early 1970s when Chile became the first country to turn public businesses to private operators. Since then, over 140 countries have embraced privatization as a route to economic growth and prosperity. In the process of privatization, more investible capital has been injected into the various economies through local and foreign investors to the benefit of the country at large. In the process, funds that would have been committed to the maintenance of otherwise inefficient enterprises have been freed into more productive sectors of the economy. Privatization in Nigeria Privatization in Nigeria was formally introduced by the Privatization and Commercialization Act of 1988[25], This Act set up the Technical Committee on Privatization and Commercialization (TCPC) with a mandate to privatize 111 public enterprises and commercialize 34 others. In 1993, having privatized 88 out of the 111 enterprises listed in the decree, the TCPC concluded its assignment and submitted a final report. Based on the recommendation of the TCPC, the Federal Military Government promulgated the Bureau for Public Enterprises Act of 1993, which repealed the 1988 Act and set up the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE) to implement the privatization program in Nigeria. As at May 1999 the Federal Government investment in these public enterprises was in the region of US$100 billion. In spite of these massive investments, however, public enterprises have failed to perform the functions and attain the objectives for which they were set up. The gross failure of these enterprises to live up to expectations is partly responsible for the current move towards economic liberalization, competition and privatization. The philosophy behind privatization in Nigeria therefore is to restructure and rationalize the public sector not only to lessen the dominance of unproductive investments in the sector but also to initiate the process of gradual cession to the private sector of public enterprises which are believed to be better operated by the private sector. It is also expected that the privatization programme will provide the channel for reintegrating Nigeria back into the global economy as a platform to attract foreign direct investment in an open, fair and transparent manner. THE ENABLING PRIVATISATION LAWS Public Enterprises (Privatisation and Commercialisation) Act 1999 provides the enabling legislation for the implementation of the privatization and commercialization programme. This Act created the National Council on Privatization (NCP) whose functions include: making policies on privatization and commercialization; determining the modalities for privatization and advising the government accordingly; determining the timing of privatization for particular enterprises; approving the prices for shares and the appointment of privatization advisers; ensuring that commercialized public enterprises are managed in accordance with sound commercial principles and prudent financial practices; and Interfacing between the public enterprises and the supervising ministries in order to ensure effective monitoring and safeguarding of the managerial autonomy of the public enterprises. The 1999 Act also established the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) as the secretariat of the National Council on Privatization. The functions of the bureau include among others to do the following: implement the councils policies on privatization and commercialization; prepare public enterprises approved by the council for privatization and commercialization; advise the council on capital restructuring needs of enterprises to be privatized; ensure financial discipline and accountability of commercialized enterprises; make recommendations to the council in the appointment of consultants, advisers, investment bankers, issuing houses, stockbrokers, solicitors, trustees, accountants, and other professionals required for the purpose of either privatization or commercialization; and Ensure the success of privatization and commercialization implementation through monitoring and evaluation. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 Nigerian laws dealing with the issues of privatization do not exist in a vacuum. It is part of the body of laws governing the transfer and acquisition of property in Nigeria. The most fundamental legal document in Nigeria is the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999. Under sections 43 and 44 of the Constitution, the right of the individual to own movable and immovable property is guaranteed by the Constitution. As a corollary to this guarantee, these properties cannot be acquired by the Government without the payment of compensation. The issue that has been discussed very frequently is whether the guarantees protect the sale of shares. This depends on whether the shares are movable property under the Constitution. It has been argued that since shares are choses in action they are not strictly so called movable property. They are special specie; consequently they are not protected under the Constitution. If this argument prevails it means that if a NEW Government which does not share the philosophy of the recent Governments ascends to power, it can reacquire the shares which it had disposed off through privatisation without any obligation to pay compensation for the share. At present the position of the Constitution should not create any serious alarm because, Under the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission Act, Decree No. 16 1995 (the law enacted to encourage inflow of investments in Nigeria) the Government of Nigeria guarantees expressly that no compulsory acquisition of enterprises and interests shall take place in Nigeria. This clearly includes chooses in action. Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Decree 1995 A major factor which provided a catalyst for the privatization process was the need to attract foreign investment. The commanding height of the economy theory had failed to attract investments. The oil boom had disappeared and it was necessary to augment national revenue through foreign investment. The laws governing the allocation of foreign exchange had to be adapted in such a manner as to make it very attractive to the foreign investor. Consistent with this spirit of liberalization and privatization of the economy the rules

Ethical Issues in Nursing

Critical Thinking Critical Thinking Critical Thinking is based on clever thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do. Critical thinking is an analytical thinking that’s help in order to solve problems which occur on an everyday basic. Understanding how to figure out a resolution in order to solve a problem is a very great technique in all areas of life. Which is helpful in everyday living, for example school. While attending college I’ll be taking classes in order to become a Register nurse. This gives me an opportunity to use my thinking skills in new ways.Also critical thinking will help me to have a better view and understanding of material and the capability to perform and succeed in classes. Having the knowledge of critical thinking can help in many different careers. As for nursing, critical thinking plays a very important part in your work. Problem solving and decision making are two of the most essential common thinking processes used in nursing. So it’s very important to identify facts and evidence from opinions keeping a open mind while being a creative problem solver.For example, I use to work at this nursing home and we were having issues with not knowing if residents were having bowel movements. My director of nursing was trying to come up with an idea on what to do. That when I got an idea a BM chart! I had to think it out before I presented it to my director. Finally when I had it all fine points I presented it to her and it worked. That made me believe you can success by staying focus and open minded. You have to try new things in order to see what works. If you don’t try it you will never know.Remember to challenge all information unless it provides you with facts and evidences. Ethical Behavior Ethical behavior is a standard I hold for myself honesty and accountability, and how you treat others in all walked of life. Like the golden rule you treat other as you want to be treated. I live by that rule I do people like I want to be done. I feel like you get further in life having a positive attitude toward others. As for me I work in a hospital so that rule really applies. I’m dealing with all kinds of people, sicknesses and even death.This helps me to relate and have a better understanding toward the patients, families and coworker feeling. Even companies have ethical behavior that’s expected of you and what’s not when hiring an employee. Reflection Reflecting back over the steps it took me in order to write this paper. First off I was totally unsure about what I wanted to write, so I then began to think about the word critical thinking and what it means. That’s when I began to jock things down that I wanted to write in my paper. Finally I got me a cup of coffee sat in front of my computer and began typing.Last but not least I’ve been proof reading over and over, adding and subtracting words and sentences until I had my final essay. Quote â€Å" In order to get the most out of life, everyone needs to develop rational life plan that â€Å"would be chosen by him with full deliberative rationality, that is, with full awareness of the relevant facts and after a careful consideration of the consequences. ( Rawls, 1929-2002, p. 13) Reference Boss, A. J. (2012). Think critical thinking and logic skills for everyday (2nd ed. ). New York: New York.

The Importance of Cultural Diversity in the Classroom

Schools are the topographic points where the kids shape their personalities and behaviour. Like a kid who shapes his or her personal mentality, even the school will be shaped by diverse cultural patterns and values of the society. In kernel, schools besides reflect the bing norms of the society for which they set up. Interrelated and closely bonded beliefs and values are really common the civilization of the schooling. In this chapter, an effort was made to associate the basic political orientation that underlines the civilization in the US with many nucleus values and beliefs. In add-on, a nexus was made to associate the basic political orientation as a agency of unwraping the deeper significance of civilization. Child raising is a really meaningful attack that one can utilize to uncover the deeper significance of the civilization. Rearing kids in a schoolroom has a strong nexus with the implicit in civilization of diverse cultural groups. Several writers in the yesteryear have tried to explicate what childrearing is, particularly in the context of bing cultural patterns. Almost all writers believe that childrearing is a mirror of different cultural political orientations along with patterns and values of different civilizations. Ogbu ( Ogbu, 1981 ) believes that parents prepare their kids for the society and the universe as they know and see it. Society can easy act upon and determine our schools. The nucleus values and patterns of the society are some of the critical factors that shape our schools. Educators, pupils and parents may ne'er understand the deeper significance of civilization within the atmosphere of school acquisition. Traditional definitions of civilization given by celebrated anthropologists may non be sufficient for planing and put to deathing school larning experiences that are so common in culturally different scenes. In this subdivision, we will handle objectifying civilization as the basic measure in the procedure of planing and building a simple and feasible definition of civilization. This simple working definition will assist us streamline be aftering school larning experiences among different people.What is exteriorizing civilization?A simple depersonalisation procedure that helps us in carry oning critical scrutiny of the political orientations that support accepted and acknowledged societal behaviour and cultural patterns. Political orientations and beliefs can reflect different facets of deep significance of civilization. Schools are the acquisition c entres that besides reflect the cultural norms of a larger sized society. Deeper significance of the civilization can besides be revealed through inspecting and measuring political orientations and any interrelated beliefs and values. One can besides uncover the deep significance of civilization by including communicating among parents, instructors and pupils, and different societal interaction forms, every bit good as childrearing methods and patterns.The Culture of Practice in a Fighting SchoolEvery instructor is different. Each one of them has ain ideological stance and apprehension of civilization. In fact, these two point of views shape how they see school course of study, larning procedure, teaching method and societal context that allow larning in school. In nutshell, the manner and mode in which a instructor understands the civilization influences in the school, will finally act upon his or her ability to supply meaningful and productive acquisition experiences to the pupils . This chapter will supply two chief benefits: It provides you a solid basis to grok cultural diverseness in a schoolroom ; It besides helps you larn how to learn traditionally underserved pupils, who come from diverse and experiential backgrounds. Hollins ( Hollins, 2006 ) reported about an attack, which was identified as a structured duologue, playing an of import tool to help change over the civilization of pattern followed in a low acting school. In such schools, instructors besides learned how to learn traditionally underserved urban pupils. The first portion of this chapter presents you the survey as reported by Hollins. On the other manus, the 2nd subdivision of this chapter deals with the things that instructors learned in their schoolroom, in the signifier of a construction that is planned at unwraping the deeper significance of civilization within the atmosphere of a school. The most critical constituents of this model are: Culturally mediated knowledge and Culturally mediated direction The chief end of this dedicated treatment is to convey an consciousness of the civilization of pattern in really low executing urban schools. This expertness will authorise you to measure your ain advancement as a dedicated schoolroom instructor and shun possible scenarios where you will be introduced unconsciously to the prevailing pattern of civilization.What is a structured duologue?It is an intricate procedure of acquisition, where all instructors come together in a survey group styled format, to discourse and larn more about their schoolroom duologues. In the procedure of carry oning a series of duologues, instructors can depict the unique successes and particular challenges they encounter in their schoolrooms along with groundss and testimonies from each of the take parting instructor. The most important benefit of a structured duologue procedure is the instructor ‘s ability to larn from other on different methods that can assist in bettering schoolroom patterns and pupil larning results.Identifying a Developmental TrajectoryHollins ( Hollins, 2006 ) besides worked on developing a developmental flight for alterations in the civilization of patterns in many of the underperforming urban schools. This flight involved three places and three markers. The places were: A Natal or initial civilization identified in many of the underperforming schools merely at the induction of the survey. A transitional place, when old patterns and values were replaced or changed with new 1s by the participating instructors A transformed civilization, where all take parting instructors adapted new and fresh values, patterns and perceptual experiences On the other manus, three of import markers suggested for alterations in the instructor ‘s civilization of patterns are: Teachers ‘ perceived perceptual experiences and sentiments about pupils, Teachers ‘ perceived perceptual experiences and sentiments about direction and Interrelationship among different instructorsLearning more about different placesThe natal place is a simple, yet effectual attack to structured duologue. The instructors of a school articulation as a group, in low acting schools, to keep a shortage point of view of their pupils to concentrate on a figure of issues like: Lack of accomplishments, cognition and information among pupils A sensed negative position of a pupil ‘s conditions of life An attitude that parents demo disinterest in their kids ‘s instruction In fact, every schoolroom is bound to take to differences in larning results. These differences could be due to a figure of grounds like: Student ‘s attempt and dedication towards surveies, Intelligence, accomplishments and perceived smarting Family ‘s societal position in the society In a natal place, instructors may or may non see each other ‘s schoolroom or they may or may non speak to each other sing their instruction methods. In fact, schoolroom direction delivered by instructors was private and confidential. School governments ensured that new instructor inductees were officially socialized into this new civilization. Following, will be the transitional place. During this place, instructors may ne'er speak negative about a pupil. However, it is rather hard to recognize similar results with all the instructional attacks used by the instructors. This issue resulted in a serious treatment about the bing relationship between the learning attack and the student-learning result. Dialogues about single instruction patterns veered towards personal, although single instructors were careful about presuming duty for larning result among pupils. Senior instructors started giving better attending to the initiation of new instructors by puting up informal and personal mentoring Sessionss. These Sessionss ever included proviso of counsel and aid about learning methods and attacks. On the other manus, transformational place is the last place that emerges during the 3rd twelvemonth of the survey. The positive facet of this place was that instructors ever talked positive about their pupils. In fact, positive result was the most important benefit of this place. With the induction of this place, instructors talked more about: The information pupils know and understand What should they cognize more about What instructional methods appeal them the most Teachers besides found clip to discourse many other issues like: The bing relationship among learning methods and attacks Properties of the pupil community Learning results and consequences Teachers become more antiphonal by taking full duties for their pupil ‘s acquisition results. Teachers besides start speaking more about their pupils ‘ strengths, failings and other related issues. In fact, everyone in the pubic knew about what pupils are making and how they are executing. Teachers took each other ‘s suggestions earnestly, visited other ‘s schoolrooms and subsequently assumed full duty for their ain schoolroom actions. All senior instructors started taking extra duties about the new inductee instructors. Hollins ( Hollins, 2006 ) presented the construct of developmental flight that is closely related to the typology topic discussed in Chapter I. The flight and typology discussed here gives you three of import places with associating classs of indexs for gestating learning methods. When you compare places and indexs in the typology highlighted erstwhile in the first chapter of the book, with those of Hollins ‘ , many similarities may be between the indexs, across many places in the typology and the flight. For illustration, You can detect that the Type I instructors mentioned in the typology are about similar to the instructors that were mentioned in the natal place, particularly in the flight on indexs for instructors ‘ point of view on pupils and direction. On the other manus, many indexs in the transformational place lying on the developmental flight and in the Type III in the sphere of typology indicate towards the application of a instructor ‘s cognition and consciousness about: The intricate relationship between many pupil properties and experiences Instructional and learning patterns adapted by the instructor Learning result as a meaningful support for learning that is productive and consequence oriented. As mentioned elsewhere in the book, a structured duologue is an efficient tool for helping the complete transmutation of a community of learning pattern and patterns of single instructors. If you are a get downing instructor, who is merely get downing to interact with your pupils, you can utilize this tool to better your learning methods and patterns. The typology and the flight are really good to instructors, old or new, in many different ways. The term typology is descriptive ; it tries to explicate the perceptual place, and response of instructors who are hired to learn in K-12 schools. It is a really convenient tool for analysis, rating and self-contemplation for planned personal growing. On the other manus, developmental flight means the transmutation of the pattern of civilization in an underperforming school with that of a acquisition community that focuses on heightening pupil larning results. Tip: When you recognize different indexs of place in a civilization of pattern followed in a school, you can easy understand how to interact and discourse with co-workers and in what mode you can supervise and measure your ain single growing after take parting in a community of pattern. Both flight and typology are really good to instructors in many ways. However, the typology theoretical account presented before in the first chapter, merely detected the basic features of instructor ‘s perceptual experience and patterns along the lines of three places, and it did non supply a construction for groking the bing relationship between different civilization and school patterns. Hence, the balance portion of this chapter will supply a platform for understanding the bing association between scholar ‘s cultural backgrounds, schoolroom acquisition manner and larning results.Cultural Diversity in a ClassroomThis class model will supply you a theoretical position for culling cognition base from other chapters and clarify the construction to help application to pattern. The chief constructs embedded in the model will give a broader significance for turn uping self-identity within the scopes of a culturally diverse society for Making an enquiry into pupils cultural and experiential background, Undoing sensitive elements from purposeful larning for pupils who from diverse communities and survey in simple and secondary schools The other aim of this chapter is to do clear the bing relationship between civilization, knowledge, pedagogical patterns and many larning results. The implicit in construction for groking cultural diverseness in a typical schoolroom consists of two major parts, viz. : Culturally intervened knowledge and Culturally intervened direction The former refers to the mode in which a pupil ‘s encephalon, memory constructions and critical rational procedures enhance, support and develop within a given cultural context. On the other manus, the latter includes a figure of of import constituents like culturally intervened knowledge and prized cognition and accomplishments in school course of study and culturally right societal scenarios for larning experience ( see Table 7.2 ) . Bransford, Brown, and Cocking ( 1999 ) pointed out that, â€Å" all acquisition involves transfer from old experiences † ( p. 56 ) . The monumental work of Piaget and Vygptsky provides a theoretical land for understanding cultural diverseness in a schoolroom. This theory draws on available information processing to explicate different structural constituents among different civilizations, knowledge, and teaching method and learning experience for different cultural backgrounds. Note that you can happen structural constituents among the take parting persons and groups, who are analyzing under different school scenes. On the other manus, civilization is alone and dynamic with changeless alterations and alterations.Journal ActivityHow make you manage a culturally diverse schoolroom? Explain how you want to learn and develop your kids, particularly in the context of bing cultural patterns. Explain how you will develop an ability to supply meaningful and productive acquisition experiences to the pupils, who are analyzing in a culturally fighting school. Differentiate between culturally mediated knowledge and culturally mediated direction. Explain your program of action to do structural duologue a success.Pause and ReflectAs a instructor, why do believe that a structured duologue is an efficient tool for helping the complete transmutation of a community of learning pattern and patterns of single instructors. Supply grounds for your statement. What are the possibl e constrictions and possible jobs that are likely to harvest up, when you are utilizing structured duologues? Think of some schemes and programs to utilize different perceptual experiences.

10 California Geography Facts

10 California Geography Facts California  is a state located in the western United States. It is the largest state in the union based on its population of over 35 million and it is the third largest state (behind Alaska and Texas) by land area. California is bordered to the north by Oregon, to the east by Nevada, to the southeast by Arizona, to the south by Mexico and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Californias nickname is the Golden State. The state of California is most well known for its large cities, varied topography, favorable climate, and large economy. As such, Californias population has grown quickly over the past decades and it continues to grow today via both immigration from foreign countries and movement from other states. Basic Facts Capital: SacramentoPopulation: 38,292,687 (January 2009 estimate)Largest Cities: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Long Beach, Fresno, Sacramento, and OaklandArea: 155,959 square miles (403,934 sq km)Highest Point: Mount Whitney at 14,494 feet (4,418 m)Lowest Point: Death Valley at -282 feet (-86 m) Geographic Facts About California The following is a list of ten geographic facts to know about the state of California: 1) California was one of the most diverse regions for Native American in the United States with around 70 independent tribes prior to the arrival of persons from other areas in the 1500s. The first explorer of the California coast was the Portuguese explorer Joo Rodrigues Cabrilho in 1542. 2) Throughout the rest of the 1500s, the Spanish explored Californias coast and eventually established 21 missions in what was known as Alta California. In 1821, The Mexican War of Independence allowed Mexico and California to become independent of Spain. Following this independence, Alta California remained as a northern province of Mexico. 3) In 1846, the Mexican-American War broke out and following the end of the war, Alta California became a U.S. territory. By the 1850s, California had a large population as a result of the Gold Rush and on September 9, 1850, California was admitted into the United States. 4) Today, California is the most populous state in the U.S. For reference, Californias population is over 39 million people, making it roughly the same as the entire country of Canada. Illegal immigration is also a problem in California and in 2010, around 7.3% of the population was made up of illegal immigrants. 5) Most of Californias population is clustered within one of three major metropolitan areas. These include the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area, Southern California extending from Los Angeles to San Diego and Central Valley cities stretching from Sacramento to Stockton and Modesto. 6) California has varied topography that includes mountain ranges like the Sierra Nevada that run south to north along the eastern border of the state and the Tehachapi Mountains in Southern California. The state also has famous valleys like the agriculturally productive Central Valley and the wine-growing Napa Valley. 7) Central California is divided into two regions by its major river systems. The Sacramento River, which begins flowing near Mount Shasta in northern California, provides water to both the northern part of the state and the Sacramento Valley. The San Joaquin River forms the watershed for the San Joaquin Valley, another agriculturally productive region of the state. The two rivers then join to form the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta system which is a major water supplier for the state, a water transit hub, and an incredibly biodiverse region. 8) Most of Californias climate is considered Mediterranean with warm to hot dry summers and mild wet winters. Cities located closer to the Pacific coast feature a maritime climate with cool foggy summers, while the Central Valley and other inland locations can become very hot in the summer. For example, San Franciscos average July high temperature is 68 °F (20 °C) while Sacramentos is 94 °F (34 °C). California also has desert regions like Death Valley and very cold climates in the higher mountain areas. 9) California is highly active geologically as it is located within the Pacific Ring of Fire. Many large faults such as the San Andreas run throughout the state making a large portion of it, including the Los Angeles and San Francisco metropolitan areas, prone to earthquakes. A portion of the volcanic Cascade Mountain Range also extends into northern California and Mount Shasta and Mount Lassen are active volcanoes in the area. Drought, wildfire, landslides, and flooding are other natural disasters common in California. 10) Californias economy is responsible for about 13% of the gross domestic product for the entire United States. Computers and electronic products are Californias largest export, while tourism, agriculture and other manufacturing industries make up a large part of the states economy.

Free Essays on The Reason

The myth of a "classless" American society coupled with social stratification impedes race relations in the U.S. far more than any racial differences. The never ending struggle of the "have-nots" to become one of the "haves" produces a frustration and feeling of oppression that acts as a catalyst for spawning racial tensions. Minorities see the majority of wealth in the hands of the white population and feel that the wealth is unevenly distributed. Whites hear of government programs for minorities and feel as if they are lazy or just looking for a handout. This occurs and stereotypes are formed. Combine all of this with the United States system of "dual welfare"and the perfect environment for racial strife is created. In our "classless"society of false hope the working class and poor are continually seeking opportunities to excel that just aren't there. They have been led to believe that intelligence and ambition are key contributors to one's success. This belief lays blame on the un successful themselves, even if they do possess ambition and intelligence. These people are in a never ending cycle of struggle, followed by minimal rewards, which eventually produces a frustration that sometimes leads to desperate measures. Cornell West expands on this with the following statement : ". . . homicidal assaults by young black men on one another are only the most obvious signs of this empty quest for pleasure, property, and power" (Race and Racism p.123). This statement shows the extremes one will go to in his "empty quest" for a better life. This is not only happening 2 to blacks by blacks. It is happening to all races by all races. People hear of events like these and categorize them as a racial crime or a racially motivated crime just because the victims may be of a different race. As West's statement demonstrates the killings occur as a means to an end, the end being a better life. In our ever diversifying melting pot of a country, same race... Free Essays on The Reason Free Essays on The Reason The myth of a "classless" American society coupled with social stratification impedes race relations in the U.S. far more than any racial differences. The never ending struggle of the "have-nots" to become one of the "haves" produces a frustration and feeling of oppression that acts as a catalyst for spawning racial tensions. Minorities see the majority of wealth in the hands of the white population and feel that the wealth is unevenly distributed. Whites hear of government programs for minorities and feel as if they are lazy or just looking for a handout. This occurs and stereotypes are formed. Combine all of this with the United States system of "dual welfare"and the perfect environment for racial strife is created. In our "classless"society of false hope the working class and poor are continually seeking opportunities to excel that just aren't there. They have been led to believe that intelligence and ambition are key contributors to one's success. This belief lays blame on the un successful themselves, even if they do possess ambition and intelligence. These people are in a never ending cycle of struggle, followed by minimal rewards, which eventually produces a frustration that sometimes leads to desperate measures. Cornell West expands on this with the following statement : ". . . homicidal assaults by young black men on one another are only the most obvious signs of this empty quest for pleasure, property, and power" (Race and Racism p.123). This statement shows the extremes one will go to in his "empty quest" for a better life. This is not only happening 2 to blacks by blacks. It is happening to all races by all races. People hear of events like these and categorize them as a racial crime or a racially motivated crime just because the victims may be of a different race. As West's statement demonstrates the killings occur as a means to an end, the end being a better life. In our ever diversifying melting pot of a country, same race...

Strategy Briefing Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Strategy Briefing Paper - Essay Example According to Nishino (1996), there is rapid expansion in the automobile industry around the world because of the growth in the demand of passenger vehicles and the overall increase in the demand for cheaper automobile components. Governments continue to make efforts in encouraging the growth of the industry in their countries. The demand for high quality vehicles is increasing because of the growth of the population of the middle class population in many countries making the purchase of a vehicle to become a sign of financial accomplishment (Goldberg 1995). As pointed by Berry, Levinsohn & Pakes (1995) the increase in the demand for automobile components has built pressure on automotive producing companies to look for alternatives of reducing the cost of production and embrace more economic methods of production. Through the process of globalisation of the world economy, governments and trade organisations continue to encourage lowering of tariffs and reduction in trade restrictions. This continues to make the industry more competitive as each international car manufacturing company has equal access to the market. Each company is therefore expanding its production to enhance their presence in the world (Orsato & Wells 2007). The focus is mostly on the supply of vehicles that meet the expectation of consumers and at the lowest costs. Apart from cost, the major focus is also on air pollution, energy efficiency and brand meaning (Kolk & Pinkse 2004). The company should come up with models that are more efficient in terms of fuel consumption and low emission of carbon dioxide to match the current demands of customers and enhance the reputation of its brands all over the world. The company has successfully been applying the culture of acquiring other players in the industry as a means of growing and expanding its operations. To enhance the rate of growth, the

The Recent Economic Downturn in the UK Assignment

The Recent Economic Downturn in the UK - Assignment Example Meetup Group had organized the networking event in Croydon Park Hotel, London on 15th May 2012. Guests were advised to reach within 6:30 PM and settle in the lounge of the hotel where the event started sharp at 7 PM. Â  Meetup Group is a company commenced by a group of like-minded people from London who believe that it is the world’s largest networking event organizer. The company is recognized for providing assistance to local groups for organizing events related to business or any other discussions regarding the improvement of communities. Meetup believes that people can develop or change their surrounding world by participating in events that involve groups of delegates or professionals who intend to share their priceless experiences1. Â  Most of the professionals invited by the Meetup Group were present at the event. There were Directors and HR personnel from Swift Creations, Technical Director from Allis, Designers and Photographers from Seek Creative and many more high ranked professionals from over 100 companies. The opportunity to meet Ashley Jones, Chief Technician of Seek Creative helped me in developing contacts with the organization. HR manager, Gary Hopes employed at Swift Creations also had a long conversation about the emerging issues related to the new generation workforce2. Â  The conversations among professionals from various sectors have developed interests in generating knowledge regarding the difficulties faced by the high ranked managers in terms of workforce allocations. In this regards, it was agreed by me and Ashley Jones that Seek Company will in future think about working with my company with regards to its printing operations.