Ford Motor Company: Organizational Agility Essay

Ford Motor Company has recently experienced a problem with regard to a fraudulent e-mail which notifies consumers that the company has chosen them as the winner of a Ford Edge Jeep and that they can claim their prize after they have deposited a certain amount in a bank account. The company immediately issued a statement within a few days saying that the notifications are not from the company and that the e-mails are scams designed to acquire personal information from unwary individuals, especially from the consumers of Ford Motors. Moreover, the company released a public statement claiming that the company is not in any way connected with the e-mails circulating over the internet inasmuch as the company has not granted either authority or permission to use the name of the company, its trademark and its intellectual properties in order to engage in such a scam. The company noted that the e-mails may be a form of â€Å"phishing† activity, and advised the consumers to simply delete the message and avoid replying. In terms of demonstrating environmental responsiveness, the Ford Motor Company has formulated a way in order to reduce greenhouse gases used in painting vehicles by as much as 15 percent. The new paint technology is not only â€Å"environmentally sound† but also efficient in terms of cost such that painted automobiles are more durable and look more beautiful than before. The technology used is a combination of â€Å"advanced chemical formulation of high-solids† with a â€Å"three-wet application process† which uses paint shop that is more earth-friendly as compared to traditional vehicle paints. Apart from the reduction in CO2 emissions from the painting of vehicles, the new paint technology also boasts the benefit of a decrease in VOCs or volatile organic compounds by as much as 10 percent. The company states that it can save money in the production of the vehicles and lessen the completion of painting an automobile by a fifth of the total time previously estimated. More importantly, there is also a great reduction in the amount of conventional paint used in the painting process. Even if the Ford Motor Company has already used the new painting technology, the company is still gathering data for wider application. The monitoring of the automobiles over the next year will give the company more data which will enable them to gather â€Å"long-term rollout plans† for the pioneering paint technology that they have developed. In fact, the company has already won international acclaim in France for the new paint technology. The concepts of Total Quality Management apply to the Ford Motor Company in terms of how it handles the current environmental requirements in the industry. Instead of abandoning or taking a step back from the automobile industry, the company opted to stay ahead of the rest by developing tools which will meet the environmental demands of the time. The ability to manage the company efficiently and effectively in such a pressing circumstance is equally significant to the ability to enact the company visions and progress on them through time. The company acts by not resorting to isolated departments in handling the issue at hand. Rather, the company makes the full use of its structured departments in order to arrive at a better approach in providing the suitable method to address the environmental issues typically attributed to automobile companies. That is, Ford Motor Company’s efforts to develop the new paint technology incorporated the input coming from the production department to the conception department. Post-production departments also share a role in assessing the actual impacts of the new paint technology which allows for the acquisition and accumulation of new data which can be used as basis for great improvements in the future.

Graduation Speech

First of all, I would like to thank you all for coming to our graduation. What this ceremony is, is a celebration of a major accomplishment in our lives, the accomplishment of achieving an education. For many of us it has taken a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get here, so today is our reward for the long hours we devoted to reading, writing, and researching, for the stress of taking difficult tests, and for the difficulties we have had to overcome. Though this ceremony recognizes OUR efforts in this accomplishment, it also recognizes and pays homage to the dedication of our parents. Today is the return on the work they invested in us through patient teaching and parenting. We would not have been able to accomplish this much without their help. Their guidance has allowed us to grow into men and woman of character, capable of doing great things. This ceremony is also both an end, and a beginning. It is the end of childhood, of a period of growing and maturing. But, it is also the beginning of a new chapter in our lives, one that is full of the promise of what we may accomplish. While I have the time I want to address the accomplishments of the past as well as the promise and potential of the future. Graduating is our accomplishment, but we wouldn’t have made it here if it wasn’t for the heroic efforts of our parents. They are the ones who chose to add to their titles of parent, homemaker, and provider, the title of teacher, and with that the responsibility of educating us. They voluntarily took on this extra responsibility, because they felt that personally seeing to our education was best for us, so at the expense of their free time, and perhaps just a bit of their sanity, they decided to home school us. It was this dedication to giving us the best education possible that has brought us here. Whenever we struggled in school, whenever we didn’t understand, they did what it took to help us learn, usually, that meant spending even more of the precious little free time they had not already sacrificed to homeschooling, to teaching and relearning every subject that they hated to do when they were in school. When we were frustrated and on the verge of throwing our textbooks across the room, they where the ones who came and spoke the encouraging words that motivated us to overcome whatever trouble we encountered. As our teachers, they taught us much, but as our parents they taught us even more. Along with giving us lessons in math and science, they have constantly taught us lessons in values. By their example, we have learned to walk with integrity and faith, showing character in all that we do. They have shown us that there is no limit to what we can accomplish when we work diligently and patiently. These values will stay with us longer than anything else that we have learned. No matter where we go, no matter what we do, they will be there to help guide us. With graduation ends our journey through high school. For many of us, it’s been a long, rough road to get here. Difficulties have come in the form of poor health and injury. Some of us have struggled financially, and all of us have faced the pressure of difficult classes. These trials have not made us bitter, they have not crushed our spirit, but they have helped shape us. Often it turns out that difficulty, strife, and stress are ingredients of strength, for instance steel is one of the most reliable and durable materials known to man. To make steel, iron ore is heated to a temperature of over one-thousand degrees Celsius, but because of that incredible heat, it becomes strong. It can then be made into almost anything: bridges, skyscrapers, ships, airplanes, tools, machines, even works of art. From the incredible heat it is subjected to, it gains the strength that allows it to be used to anything. The challenges we have faced have strengthened us like the heat strengthens steel. From our adversity, we have learned to overcome, to meet hardship with hard work, hopelessness with faith, and to be unyielding in all of our values. Now we stand here, as adults preparing to walk out into the world, ready to shape our future, and no matter what path we take in life I know that we will never forget the life lessons that have been taught to us, they will enable us to be successful in all of our endeavors. We are ready to become students with an open mind and a hunger for knowledge, pursuing truth with the aid of the wisdom and discernment impressed upon us by our parent’s teachings, or to become workers ready to excel at our jobs because of the examples set before us in diligence and discipline by our parents and role models. Yes, for us the future looks bright! Graduation Speech First of all, I would like to thank you all for coming to our graduation. What this ceremony is, is a celebration of a major accomplishment in our lives, the accomplishment of achieving an education. For many of us it has taken a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get here, so today is our reward for the long hours we devoted to reading, writing, and researching, for the stress of taking difficult tests, and for the difficulties we have had to overcome. Though this ceremony recognizes OUR efforts in this accomplishment, it also recognizes and pays homage to the dedication of our parents. Today is the return on the work they invested in us through patient teaching and parenting. We would not have been able to accomplish this much without their help. Their guidance has allowed us to grow into men and woman of character, capable of doing great things. This ceremony is also both an end, and a beginning. It is the end of childhood, of a period of growing and maturing. But, it is also the beginning of a new chapter in our lives, one that is full of the promise of what we may accomplish. While I have the time I want to address the accomplishments of the past as well as the promise and potential of the future. Graduating is our accomplishment, but we wouldn’t have made it here if it wasn’t for the heroic efforts of our parents. They are the ones who chose to add to their titles of parent, homemaker, and provider, the title of teacher, and with that the responsibility of educating us. They voluntarily took on this extra responsibility, because they felt that personally seeing to our education was best for us, so at the expense of their free time, and perhaps just a bit of their sanity, they decided to home school us. It was this dedication to giving us the best education possible that has brought us here. Whenever we struggled in school, whenever we didn’t understand, they did what it took to help us learn, usually, that meant spending even more of the precious little free time they had not already sacrificed to homeschooling, to teaching and relearning every subject that they hated to do when they were in school. When we were frustrated and on the verge of throwing our textbooks across the room, they where the ones who came and spoke the encouraging words that motivated us to overcome whatever trouble we encountered. As our teachers, they taught us much, but as our parents they taught us even more. Along with giving us lessons in math and science, they have constantly taught us lessons in values. By their example, we have learned to walk with integrity and faith, showing character in all that we do. They have shown us that there is no limit to what we can accomplish when we work diligently and patiently. These values will stay with us longer than anything else that we have learned. No matter where we go, no matter what we do, they will be there to help guide us. With graduation ends our journey through high school. For many of us, it’s been a long, rough road to get here. Difficulties have come in the form of poor health and injury. Some of us have struggled financially, and all of us have faced the pressure of difficult classes. These trials have not made us bitter, they have not crushed our spirit, but they have helped shape us. Often it turns out that difficulty, strife, and stress are ingredients of strength, for instance steel is one of the most reliable and durable materials known to man. To make steel, iron ore is heated to a temperature of over one-thousand degrees Celsius, but because of that incredible heat, it becomes strong. It can then be made into almost anything: bridges, skyscrapers, ships, airplanes, tools, machines, even works of art. From the incredible heat it is subjected to, it gains the strength that allows it to be used to anything. The challenges we have faced have strengthened us like the heat strengthens steel. From our adversity, we have learned to overcome, to meet hardship with hard work, hopelessness with faith, and to be unyielding in all of our values. Now we stand here, as adults preparing to walk out into the world, ready to shape our future, and no matter what path we take in life I know that we will never forget the life lessons that have been taught to us, they will enable us to be successful in all of our endeavors. We are ready to become students with an open mind and a hunger for knowledge, pursuing truth with the aid of the wisdom and discernment impressed upon us by our parent’s teachings, or to become workers ready to excel at our jobs because of the examples set before us in diligence and discipline by our parents and role models. Yes, for us the future looks bright!

Accounting Sustainability and Reporting.

Sustainability refers to striking out a balance between present needs and the future needs and accordingly making out a decision for consumption of the resources. In the context of development or consumption of resources, the sustainability means consuming resources responsibly by taking the future needs into consideration (Schaltegger, Bennett, & Burritt, 2006). The business organizations consume scarce environmental resource, few of which are difficult to be restored. Therefore, these organizations should assume a sense of responsibility to use the scarce environmental resources in an effective and efficient manner. The regulators around the world are now being actively engaged in framing the rules and regulations to achieve sustainability in the developments. Major steps at the global level are being taken to enhance the sustainable business developments. In this regard, one of the major steps taken by the regulators is compelling the business organizations to adopt sustainability accounting and reporting practices (Schaltegger, Bennett, & Burritt, 2006). Sustainability accounting and reporting practices are directed to report the steps taken by the companies towards sustainability issues. The companies have been mandated by the government regulations to contribute towards the environment and society for promoting sustainability (Brockett & Rezaee, 2012). The concept of corporate social responsibility emerged which requires the companies to contribute towards the development of society and the environment. The sustainability accounting is a broad concept that provide for aligning the sustainability initiatives with the organizational strategies. Sustainability accounting not only involves reporting on the sustainability initiatives, but it also involves evaluation of the risks and threats to the environment and measurement of the company’s performance from environmental perspective. The issues of sustainability are being considered at the international level requiring the firms to adopt these practices. The adoption of sustaina ble business practices is considered beneficial not for a firm only but for the overall economic environment at the global level (Brockett & Rezaee, 2012). The report presented here is aimed at exploring the significance of sustainability accounting and reporting practices in the overall economic development of a country. In order to achieve this aim, the report will address the following objectives: This research report covers a comprehensive literature review to gather the views of existing literatures on sustainability accounting and reporting. Further, the report takes on data analysis on the subject matter of the research to find out actual impact on the corporations and economy. In this regard, the report precisely describes the methodology used to collect and analyze the data. Further, a discussion taking the view of existing literatures and the findings of the data analysis has been carried out followed by a concise conclusion being drawn.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The literature review section of the entire research report is very crucial. In this section, the researcher gets the knowledge of existing literatures on the subject matter of research, which is necessary to understand the foundation of the research (Jesson, 2011). Further, the review of literature also boosts up the confidence of the researcher by providing a strong foundation for data collection and analysis. The current research focuses on sustainability accounting and reporting, thus, the review of existing literatures focuses around this topic. In order to carry out the review of literatures appropriately, the entire subject matter has been bifurcated into different heads as discussed below. According to Soderstrom (2013), traditionally, the accounting and reporting practices in the firms could be found to be focusing on communicating the financial information and operational data to the stakeholders. However, the process of accounting and reporting has undergone a severe change to include the reporting on the sustainability issues. Over the last two decades, a drastic change in the approaches of reporting to the stakeholders has been witnessed (Soderstrom, 2013). The government regulations made it compulsory for the corporations to report on the corporate sustainability in their annual reports. The origin of sustainability reporting can be traced in way back 1960s and 1970s; however, the popularity was very less. As per the survey conducted by one of the world’s largest accounting firms, â€Å"Earns & Young†, only 1% of the 500 fortune companies were found to be reporting on the social and environmental sustainability in the mid 1970s in the United States (Soderstrom, 2013). According to Zu (2008), in the mid 1990s, triple bottom line reporting was introduced to promote sustainability (Zu, 2008). The triple bottom line model of reporting was primarily aimed at balancing the three crucial aspects of the business such as society, environment, and profitability. This model provided that the business should not only concentrate on the profits, but equal emphasis should also be given to the social and environmental aspects. Further, the triple bottom line reporting model also claims that the profitability of the company automatically increases when proper balance between the needs of shareholders, society, and the environment is maintained. This model greatly emphasized the role of society and environment in building the firm’s business and enhancing the firm’s value in the long run (Zu, 2008). Further, in the year 1997, the Global Reporting Initiative, a non-profit organization was founded, which provided for guidelines in regard to sustainability accounting and reporting by the firms (GRI, 2008). It was the increased need for sustainability that laid the establishment of Global Reporting Initiative in the last 1990s. According to Gupta & Mason (2014), the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) provides reporting frameworks which assist the corporations in complying with the legal reporting requirements in regard to sustainability. Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) has issued G3 guidelines which cover three core areas of sustainability such as economic, social, and environment. Gupta & Mason (2014), further state that reporting under the G3 guidelines helps the corporations enhance transparency and goodwill in the market which ultimately affects the worth of the company positively (Gupta & Mason, 2014).  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Daizy & Das (2014), Sustainability reporting has become part of the strategic decision making in the firms. Both, management as well as other stakeholders such as shareholders, society, and the government are benefited in some or other way by the sustainability reporting practices. The primary reason for sustainability reporting is to ensure that the efforts made by the corporations towards sustainability are measured and communicated to the stakeholders (Daizy & Das, 2014). Further, in the views of Daizy & Das (2014), the companies can improve their operational efficiency and ensure growth in the shareholder’s value in the long run by implementing and maintaining the sustainability reporting practices. Thus, apart from being a regulatory requirement, the sustainability reporting is also crucial for the long term growth (Daizy & Das, 2014). Further, sustainability reporting assists the management in analyzing the non financial factors and finding out impact of those factors on the firm’s profitability. In the present scenario, it has been really pertinent to measure and evaluate the impact of non financial factors such as society and environment on the financial performance of the firm (Daizy & Das, 2014). It is compulsory for the firms to continually contribute towards the social and environmental sustainability and assess its impact on the firm’s financial performance. This assessment can be carried out with the help of structured data which is prepared through the sustainability accounting and reporting practices. Therefore, sustainability accounting and reporting plays a crucial role in analysis and decision making, whether it is being done by the management for internal purposes or by the shareholders (Daizy & Das, 2014).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The sustainability reporting has become part and parcel of financial reporting for most of the corporations in the 21 st century (CPA, 2013). The adoption of sustainability reporting has been promoted not only because regulators made is obligatory, but more due to its enduring advantages. The sustainability reporting provides benefits to all type of companies and in particular the large corporations are benefited in the form of enhanced shareholder’s confidence, improved goodwill in the market, and improved operational efficiency. Further, there are many other indirect advantages of adopting the sustainability reporting practices, for example, savings in resource consumption, cost reduction, waste reduction, and improved relationship with regulatory bodies (CPA, 2013).   As per Faisal, Tower, & Rusmin (2012), about 250 companies from all over the world have adopted the corporate sustainability reporting practices and providing a separate report on the social and environmental initiatives (Faisal, Tower, & Rusmin, 2012). The large corporations and particularly the companies listed on the stock exchanges are being more complaint in regard to sustainability reporting than the smaller companies. The authors further state that though the sustainability reporting is increasing at the global level, but it is still imbalanced. It is perceived that the adoption of sustainability reporting adds additional burden on the smaller firms and thus, it has not been made obligatory for them in most of the countries. However, the bigger firms (listed companies) are quite capable to bear that additional burden and also the fact that these firms consume the environmental and economic resources at the large scale and affect the bigger part of the society, leads to making the adoption of sustainability reporting practices compulsory for them (Faisal, Tower, & Rusmin, 2012). Though adoption of sustainability reporting practices is advantageous for the firms but at the same it is challenging also. According to Faisal, Tower, & Rusmin (2012), the first key challenge in implanting the sustainability reporting effectively is identification of the needs of target audience. The sustainability reports are prepared to provide information on the approach followed by the company towards the social and environmental issues. The key challenge is to decide a standard format so that the information is communicated to the target audience in the best manner. However, challenges in this area are to some extent lessened by the guidelines provided by GRI. Further, the firms also struggle in measuring and evaluating the impact of its activities on the society and the environment precisely. It is quite a subjective matter to measure and evaluate the impact of firm’s activities on the social lives and the environment Faisal, Tower, & Rusmin (2012). Despite these challenges, the firms are adopting the sustainability reporting practices all over the world. According to OECD (2008), 120 companies out of total 500 have adopted the sustainability reporting and these numbers are expected to increase further in future. However, the popularity of sustainability reporting is increasing rapidly in Australia, but comparing it at the global level, it seems that improvements are still needed (OECD, 2008). There is a need to make strong efforts by the regulators, government, and the corporations to make sustainability reporting widespread in the country. The regulator has to consider that making the sustainability reporting obligatory for only listed companies would not be enough. The small and medium sized firms should also be encouraged to come forward and adopt the best sustainability reporting practices (OECD, 2008).  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Vasile et al. (2016), the sustainability reporting fixes responsibility on the companies to make legitimate efforts towards development of society, environment, and the overall economy. There are various aspects which could be put into discussion to assess the impact of sustainability reporting on the economy. These aspects are improvement in living standards of the people, savings in the consumption of scarce natural resources, and improvement in firm’s long term profitability. Vasile et al. (2016), further state that development of the society and environment are the elements of economy development, thus, if the efforts are made to improve the society or the environment, the economy will automatically be affected positively (Vasile et al., 2016). According to Higgins (2013), the sustainability and economic development are interdependent on each other. The gross domestic product indicates economic growth. If a country chases high growth in the GDP, it would require increasing the production quantities at a large scale (Higgins, 2013). The increase in production of goods would entail consumption of resources at the large scale. The consumption of resources at a rapid pace is dangerous for the sustainability. Therefore, the need to strike out a balance between the desired economic growth and the consumption of resources in a sustainable manner is essential. Further states that balancing the current economic growth and the consumption of the resources is crucial for long run survival of the economy (Higgins, 2013).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The reporting on sustainability issues has raised awareness in the business firms to save wastage of resources. The reduction in wastage of resources enhances the profitability of the firms which in turn increases the economic growth positively (Higgins, 2013). Further, as part of the sustainability efforts, the business firms are also contributing significantly for improving the societies. The contribution of the firms in this direction is critical to rise up the living standard of the people. Further, the improvement in the living standard is crucial for the overall economic growth. Thus, it could be said that the sustainability efforts made by the firms are essential for the overall improvement in the economic conditions of not only a country but at the global level (Higgins, 2013). In the views of Daly (2014), the economic development in the sustainable manner could be slow but it will be study and long last. The sustainability gives an impression that the resources are not to be used heedlessly (Daly, 2014). The firms are required to keep the needs of future in mind while consuming environmental resources. The consideration of future needs leads to consumption of the resources in a responsible manner which might lead to slow growth. However, the growth may be slow but it would be study. Consuming resources in this manner, the firm will be able to sustain its business for longer term which would ultimately affect its value positively (Daly, 2014).     Ã‚   The views of authors on sustainability accounting and reporting have been analyzed in this section. The literatures were reviewed with the objective of finding out the impact of sustainability accounting and reporting practices on the overall economic development of a country. In this regard, many authors provided their views on the reasons for evolution of the sustainability accounting and reporting practices. Some of the authors stated that it has become a mandatory requirement and few of them stated that sustainability accounting and reporting practices affects the value of the firm positively in the long run. Further, review of literatures reveal that though the adoption of sustainability reporting benefits the firm but it is quite a challenging task. However, the implantation of sustainability reporting could be vital for the overall economic development sustainability.  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   A systematic approach is adopted in conducting a research which involves application of appropriate methodology to collect the required data and apply the data analysis tools. The tools and techniques applied in the research for data collection could be scientific requiring application of principles of statics (Olsen, 2011). The selection of appropriate data collection methods and the analytical tools is critical for completing the research in an effective manner. There are two main categories of data collection methods such as primary and secondary. The primary data collection methods comprises of the methods such as survey and interview. Further, the secondary data collection methods comprises of the methods such as review of the documents and observations (Olsen, 2011). It has been observed that the secondary data collection methods are suited the best in the case of qualitative researches. The research carried out in this report aims at exploring the impact of accounting sustainability and reporting practices on the overall economic development (Lapan, Quartaroli, & Riemer, 2011). The research is qualitative in nature, thus, the secondary data collection methods have been applied. For the purpose of this research, the data has been collected through study of books, journal, reports of regulatory authorities and the government. In this regard, it has been ensured that the data collected is latest; therefore, the books, journals, and the reports of the regulatory authorities of the latest years have been referred for data collection (Lapan, Quartaroli, & Riemer, 2011). The data collection was organized in three categories such as reasons for adoption of sustainability accounting and reporting by the firms, impact on the firm’s value of sustainability reporting, and its impact on the overall economy (Lapan, Quartaroli, & Riemer, 2011). The data collected in regard to reasons for adoption of sustainability reporting practices relates to identification of the key drivers of sustainability. Further, the data collected in regard to impact on the firm’s value covers the profitability and net worth of the firm’s before and after the adoption of sustainability reporting. Further, in regard to evaluation of impact on the overall economy, the data relates to macro economic factors such as gross domestic product, standard of living, poverty levels, and reductions in the carbon emissions (Lapan, Quartaroli, & Riemer, 2011).     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The data collection process has been carried out ethically and in an effective manner so that all the required information could be gathered. There certain limitations of the secondary data, which are required to be made explicit so as to assist the readers in drawing conclusions (Ary et al., 2013). The secondary data is prone to the risk of inappropriateness and there exists lack of control on preparation of the secondary data. Thus, effectiveness of the research carried out based on the secondary data depends upon the accuracy of the data. Further, the ethical concerns in regard to the use of secondary have been adhered to carefully. Proper referencing and citations have been given in the report wherever considered necessary to give credit to the authors whose data is used (Ary et al., 2013).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The research report presented here has main goal of finding out the impact of sustainability reporting on the economy of a country. In order to achieve this goal, it has been considered pertinent to find out the reasons for adoption of the sustainability reporting practices. The sustainability reporting provides value addition to the firm in various ways .There are countless parameters which can be used to assess the value added by sustainability reporting as shown in the figure given below: Figure 1: Value Added by Sustainability Reporting (EY, 2013) From the figure show above, it could be observed that there are various areas which are positively affected by adoption of sustainability reporting practices. It could be observed that more than 40% of the total surveyed companies consider that improved reputation is the major factor which drives the adoption of sustainability reporting practices (EY, 2013). The adoption of sustainability reporting practices enhances the confidence of investors and consumers which helps in building reputation in the market. Further, there were more than 35% companies which claimed that sustainability reporting is crucial in increasing the employee loyalty. Employee’s loyalty is very important for the firms to achieve the targets on time and succeed in the market. Further, few companies also found increase in the consumer loyalty due to adoption of the sustainability reporting (EY, 2013). Further, the sustainability reporting also helped the firms to make their strategies stronger in terms of long run business and refine their visions. Further, there were observed around 25% companies which claimed that achieving reduction in wastage of the natural resources was one of the primary reasons for promotion of sustainability reporting (EY, 2013). The other commonly accepted factors which laid the adoption of sustainability reporting were improved relationship with the regulatory bodies, reduced long term risk, enhanced long term profitability (EY, 2013). Due the above discussed factors, the sustainability reporting has been adopted by various firms world-wide. The following chart shows the growth in sustainability reporting adoption from to year 2000 to 2011: Figure 2: Growth in Sustainability Reporting (EY, 2013) From the chart presented above, it could be observed that there has been a complete transformation since the year 2008. The increase in the number of companies adopting sustainability reporting practices has been enormous from the year 2008 to 2011. Within a period of 3-4 years, the number of companies complying with the sustainability reporting guidelines (issued by GRI) has increased to a significant level (EY, 2013). Further, data has been collected and analyzed to find out the impact of sustainability reporting on the firm’s profitability and its value. The firms perceive that consuming resources optimally keeping the future needs in mind will help them build better tomorrow. Further, the reduction in cost and risk and increase in reputation and quality are expected to lead the firm on the path of high profitability in the long run. The implementation of the sustainability accounting and reporting practices increases the legal compliances and it also put additional burden on the firm in terms of new manpower. Further, the benefits of sustainability reporting accrue over the years in the long run. Therefore, in the short run, the impact on profitability of the firm employing sustainability reporting practices may be adverse, but it would be positive in the long run.  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The data analysis conducted NWOBU (2015) reveals that there exists a positive correlation between the profit after tax and sustainability reporting index. The profit after tax depicts profitability of the company while the score on sustainability index indicates the compliance level of the firm with sustainability reporting requirements. Thus, a positive correlation between profit after tax and sustainability index is the indicative of the fact that with the increased compliance of sustainability reporting, the firm’s experience increase in their profitability. The research of NWOBU (2015) reveals that correlation between profit after tax and the sustainability index is 0.281, which is low positive correlation. The correlation of 0.281 implies that increase in sustainability index would entail increase in the profit after tax, but the increase in profitability might at the low rate (NWOBU, 2015). Further, the correlation between shareholder’s fund and sustainability index was also analyzed. The correlation between these two factors was found to be 0.183, which can again be categorized as positive and low (NWOBU, 2015). Thus, the interpretation would remain as it was before in case of profit after tax. Therefore, the increase in sustainability index would entail increase in the shareholder’s fund. It is to be noted that the shareholder’s fund represents the value of a firm. Thus, it could be articulated that with the increase in sustainability index, the value of the firm increases. However, the increase might be at very slow rate (NWOBU, 2015). After analyzing the impact of sustainability reporting on the firm’s profitability and its value, it is essential to observe the changes in the macro economic factors due to adoption of sustainability reporting practices (Talberth, 2010). In this regard, it is considered crucial to analyze the gross domestic product, standards living of the people, and poverty level. It is argued that sustainable business practices may cause reduction in the overall gross domestic product of the country. The reduction in GDP may be caused due to reduction the production level caused by decrease in the consumption of the environmental resources. For example, if the mining companies decrease the exploration of minerals, the production level of commodities will go down affecting the gross domestic product adversely. However, due to recent shift in the economic and environmental conditions, the gross domestic product is no longer considered to be reliable measure of well being of an economy. The p erformance on sustainability indices is taking place of gross domestic product now a day (Talberth, 2010). Further, the improvement in the sustainability practices also implies contribution to the society at a large scale. The firms working in the economy make combined efforts to raise the living standard of the people. Further, with the rise in the living standard of the people, the poverty level automatically goes down. Therefore, it could be inferred that the improvements in the sustainability reporting enable the economy to stabilize and grow in a sustainable manner (Talberth, 2010).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The research carried out in this report addresses the crucial matter which relates to adoption of sustainability accounting and reporting practices by the firms operating in the economy. The aim of this research is to explore that whether the sustainability accounting and reporting is essential for the economy or not. In order to achieve the aim, the activities of the research are bounded by three objectives. The literature review has been carried out around these three objectives and the data analysis has also been conducted by keeping the three identified objectives in the centerfield. The articulation of the reviews of various authors reveals that promotion of sustainability accounting and reporting is really important for the well being of the overall economy (Daly, 2014). The authors state that there are various factors which make the firms to adopt the sustainability reporting. The improvement in the market reputation of the firm is one of the most crucial factors in that regard. The views of the authors reveal that firm’s reputation is improved to a great extent when it complies with the sustainability reporting guidelines. Further, the data analysis also supports this view of the authors. The analysis of data findings reveals that most of the companies consider the market reputation as one of the essential factor in adoption of the sustainability reporting practices (EY, 2013). Further, there have been identified few other factors as well such as customer loyalty, operational efficiency, and regulatory compliances. These factors also make the firm to comply with the sustainability accounting and reporting practices. In regard to the impact on firm’s financial performance, the authors state that the adoption of the sustainability reporting affects it positively in the long run. However, in the short run there may be adverse effect due to high compliance cost at the beginning. Further, the findings of the data analysis also support this view of the authors. The data analysis depicts that the sustainability reporting and the firm’s financial performance are positively correlated. This implies that the financial performance of the firms which comply with the sustainability reporting practices is found to be better than the firms not complying with it. Further, it has also been explored that the firm’s value (shareholder’s equity) is also affected positively by the adoption of sustainability reporting practices (EY, 2013). In regard to impact on the overall economy, the authors have stated that sustainability accounting and reporting is necessary to achieve economic development in a sustainable manner (Higgins, 2013). Further, the data gathered from the secondary sources also supports this view of the authors. The findings of the data analysis reveal that adoption of sustainability in the operations leads to contribution by the firms towards social and environmental causes. The firms contribute at the large scale to save the scarce environmental resources and to raise the living standard of the people. Further, the protection of the natural resources is very critical from the view point of sustainability.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The report presented here presents a research study on the sustainability accounting and reporting. The primary aim of the research is to explore the impact of sustainability accounting and reporting on the overall economy of a country. In this regard, it has been considered essential to find out the impact of sustainability reporting on a particular company and then on the overall economy. Based on the findings of the report, it can be concluded that the sustainability reporting is essential for the long term economic development. The articulations drawn from the literature review bring out the fact that sustainability reporting has become crucial for the firms to survive and thrive in the market. The recent developments in the areas of social and environmental sustainability are admirable. The regulators from all over the world are making collective efforts to make the business sustainable and futuristic. The survey report of EY discloses that there has been observed a significant increase in the number of firms adopting the sustainability reporting practices since the year 2008. From the findings of data analysis, it could be articulated that the increased awareness and the enduring advantages of sustainability is pushing the firms to opt for the best sustainability accounting and reporting practices. The major advantages of sustainability reporting have been identified as the improvements in the firm’s reputation, enhancement in the investor’s confidence, employee’s loyalty, and consumers trust. Further, the company is also able build a good rapport with the governmental regulatory authorities. However, there certain challenges which the firms have to while implementing the sustainability accounting and reporting practices. Among various such challenges, the high operating cost and administrative problems are the major ones. Though, there are challenges, but the benefits of sustainability accounting and reporting are enduring, therefore, the firms have to make effort to implement it. Further, it was observed that sustainability reporting is also essential to raise the standard of living of the society and the maintaining a proper balance between the present and future needs. From the findings of the research, it could be inferred that maintaining a proper balance is crucial for long term economic developments. The sustainability in operations not only improves the financial performance of the firm but it also enhances its value. Further, the overall economy is affected in a positive manner which is the center point of the sustainability accounting and reporting. Schaltegger, S., Bennett, M., & Burritt, R. 2006. Sustainability Accounting and Reporting. Springer Science & Business Media. Brockett, A. & Rezaee, Z. 2012. Corporate Sustainability: Integrating Performance and Reporting. John Wiley & Sons. Jesson, J. 2011. Doing Your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques. London: SAGE. Soderstrom, N. 2013. Sustainability reporting: past, present, and trends for the future. Retrieved February 07, 2017, from https://www.insights.unimelb.edu.au/vol13/04_Soderstrom.html Zu, L. 2008. Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Restructuring and Firm's Performance: Empirical Evidence from Chinese Enterprises. Springer Science & Business Media. GRI. 2008. Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Report. Retrieved February 07, 2017, from https://www.globalreporting.org/resourcelibrary/GRI-Sustainability-Report-2007-2008.pdf Gupta, A. & Mason, M. 2014. Transparency in Global Environmental Governance: Critical Perspectives. MIT Press. Daizy & Das, N. 2014. Sustainability reporting framework: comparative analysis of global reporting initiatives and Dow Jones sustainability index. International Journal of Science, Environment, 3(1), pp. 55-66. Faisal, F., Tower, G., & Rusmin, R. 2012. Legitimizing Corporate Sustainability Reporting Throughout the World. Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal, 6(2), pp. 19-34. CPA. 2013. Sustainability Reporting: Practices, Performance, and Potential. Retrieved February 08, 2017, from https://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/~/media/corporate/allfiles/document/professional-resources/sustainability/sustainability-reporting-practice-performance-potential.pdf OECD. 2008. OECD Environmental Performance Reviews OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Australia 2007. OECD Publishing. Vasile, J., Andrei, Nicolo, & Domenico. 2016. Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Investments in the Green Economy. IGI Global. Higgins, K.L. 2013. Economic growth and sustainability – are they mutually exclusive? Retrieved February 08, 2017, from https://www.elsevier.com/connect/economic-growth-and-sustainability-are-they-mutually-exclusive Daly, H.E. 2014. Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development. Beacon Press. Olsen, W. 2011. Data collection: key debates and methods in social research. SAGE. Ary, D., Jacobs, L.C., Sorensen, C.K., and Walker, D. 2013. Introduction to research in education. Cengage Learning. Lapan, S.D., Quartaroli, M.T. &Riemer, F.J. 2011. Qualitative Research: An Introduction to Methods and Designs. John Wiley & Sons. NWOBU, O. 2015. The Relationship between Corporate Sustainability Reporting and Profitability and Shareholders Fund in Nigerian Banks. The Journal of Accounting and Management, 5(3). Talberth, J. 2010. Measuring What Matters: GDP, Ecosystems and the Environment. Retrieved February 08, 2017, from https://www.wri.org/blog/2010/04/measuring-what-matters-gdp-ecosystems-and-environment

First topic is (Arrest Discretion) & the second is (The war on Drugs) Essay

First topic is (Arrest Discretion) & the second is (The war on Drugs) - Essay Example The guardian was his fifty-two year old grandmother who was his legal guardian because his mother was unfit to take care of her children. The juvenile has not lived with his guardian for a year. He was a drug dealer and was drunk when he attempted to enter his grandmother’s home. His grandmother commenced to hit him because he displayed disorderly conduct, calling her a â€Å"bitch.† A police officer was called to her home. Since her grandson was under eighteen, the grandmother could have been legally arrested because she was guilty of assault, physical child abuse, and neglect, but based on the circumstances, the juvenile was told not to come back to the home. In this case, arrest discretion was used to determine if arresting the grandmother was proper. Police officers use arrest discretion in many situations. When an officer does not want to make an arrest, he or she does not make an attempt to threaten the person. When an officer is at the end of his or her shift, the officer knows that he or she will not see the person again. However, when the officer wants to make an arrest, the officer picks a person out of the group who is usually rude and places them under arrest. Regardless of departmental regulations, officers frequently use arrest discretion techniques when deciding who should be placed under arrest. Police officers play a detrimental part in the fight against illegal drugs. Drugs existed long before people were arrested for drugs. Jails are filled with people who have been caught with drugs. However, police officers should practice police management in an effort to fight the war on drugs, which would reduce the number of arrests and the costs for imprisonment. Drugs are compared to the affects of alcohol in the 1830’s, which caused immoral activities and a need for laws banning its distribution. However, the problem is not the drug itself. It is the violent consequence from its distribution and sell. The drug

Recycling trash in azerbaijan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Recycling trash in azerbaijan - Essay Example Eurasian Recycling LLC will seek to resolve this issue by taking in waste from towns at nominal fees and making recycled products from it. If the company is able to address this problem, the independent waste collectors will pay the premium price, as they will have to negotiate with the company. The company has two value propositions for end user consumers of compost or recycled trash and municipalities. For the municipalities, the company will offer budget-saving and cost-effective services that will help in addressing problems of waste disposal in Ganja City and its environs. In addition, for the end users, it will provide a valuable revitalization of the soil in terms of tillage, water retention, structural stability, and porosity (Stevens et al 17). Therefore, by acquiring trash from the municipalities around Ganja, the company will recycle and compost it for the customers to buy at a profit. The market niche for the product is the organic soil enrichment market with most farmers still using inorganic fertilizers. These include farmers and nursery owners, as well as resident landscapers. There is room for growth in the organic soil enhancement market as more farmers move away from chemical fertilizers (Stevens et al 17). Eurasia Recycling LLC’s major product is r ecycled household organic waste to be used in farms, while the major service involves offering municipalities around Ganja City alternative ways to dispose of organic household waste that is collected around the city. The waste collection service is not perishable because there will always be waste, while the eventual product is not perishable either because agriculture is the economic backbone of Azerbaijan (Stevens et al 17). In addition, the product is responding to trends in the market, which is organic farming, and will hold for the foreseeable

Essay 3 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

3 - Essay Example In the environment, particularly one such as an island, most of the ecological niches are usually unoccupied. In the new ecosystem, the species have to evolve and adapt first if they want to survive. In the process of adapting, the species may change so much that in the end it becomes a different species. This is when the species is said to be going through convergent evolution. Convergent evolution refers to the process where unrelated species evolve into similar uniqueness the due to environmental pressures (Wilson 100). Therefore, the process of adaptive radiation takes place when the new species has to evolve so as to make use of the available ecological niches. It is crucial to note that adaptive radiation occurs when the species are under high pressure in the new environment. It is also crucial to note that when adaptive radiation occurs speciation does not take place consciously (Wilson 118). In speciation process, new species are formed. Animals in the new environment are never conscious when adapting into new species. Additionally, in the environment, evolutionary development of adaptive radiation only occurs mostly in animals and a few times in plants. This is because plants do not disperse in new environments like the

Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 18

Research Paper Example There are several risks factors that have a strong influence over the global business among which some of the risks includes terrorism and violence. Apart from that, there are some other factors that have a strong ability to affect business such as Political and social activist. It has been noticed through the time that terrorism and violence bring the eminent impact on the business. It has been discussed in the book by making use of different examples that terrorism and violence have direct and indirect impacts on the business in terms of trade flow. There are several reasons due to which terrorist target business. Terrorists target the visible companies in order to get media’s attention. When a company gets attacked, it directly disrupts its economic process and production that directly or indirectly influence the different areas of the country. However, business can also influence by political or social activist. It can bring diverse impacts on the global market it can affe ct the any global business in different forms such as through, product boycott, and statements to the press, regulatory enforcement and different Internet campaigns. There are different examples have been discussed below that justify the above concept of risk in business. Terrorism enforces different effects on the business and economy of the county and the similar incident has been noted in Nigeria. Northern Nigeria has faced the similar incidents of terror and violence with a very great intensity. It has influenced Nigeria in different terms such as Foreign Exchange earnings, balance of payment, financial market, economic condition and tourism. The main aim behind the terrorism in Nigeria is to ruin the stability and security forces such as by intimidating people, and their targeted places include school, shopping centers, cafeterias and restaurants in Nigeria. It particularly denotes that terrorism is a serious threat to the country interest, and

Introduction to Finance - coursework Research Paper

Introduction to Finance - coursework - Research Paper Example ary if the interest rate in the market goes down to 5 % the investor will try more n more to get a hold on organization's bond since your bond is paying higher interest rates than that prevailing in the market. Therefore the bond prices will go up. Bondprices = (60000 / 2 ) x {1 - (1+ .05 / 2 )-2x15 } / ( .05 / 2) + 1,000,000 / ( 1 + .05 / 2 )2 x 15 = 1104651.463 > 1000,000 (par value) if the bond's prices for a company are going higher It will add value to the name of the company and the stock prices will also go up for such a company f) The Expected rate of reurn = dividend yield + capital gain (Bearly & Myers, 2001) Dividend yield = next dividend payment / current price of the stock = Do x (1 + g) / price of the stock Here, Do = last dividend payment = 3.21 g = 7% price of stock = 75.529 Dividend yield = Do x (1 + g) / price of the stock = 3.21 x (1+ .07) / 75.529 = .04547 Capital gain yield = (P1 - Po) / Po = (73 - 75.529 ) / 75.529 = -0.0334 rate of reurn = 0.04547 - 0.0334 = 0.1199 = 11.99% f) the current valuue of stock: Po = Do (1+g)/(Ks-g) Po = 3.21(1+.07)/(0.1199-.07) Po = 68.83. Recommendations Currently the bonds of the company are being traded at $874,420. this price is very much below the par value of the stock . the bond has a coupon rate of 6% attached to it while the current interest rate prevailing in the market is 7.4152%. the company is offering an interest that is below the prevailing interest rate and hence the investors find a low interest in company's bond which is resulting in the decline of price. "If overall interest rates in the market later fall, prices of existing, higher interest-rate bonds generally will rise. That's because the existing bonds are more attractive to buyers than new, lower interest-rate...Therefore the bond prices will go up. Currently the bonds of the company are being traded at $874,420. this price is very much below the par value of the stock . the bond has a coupon rate of 6% attached to it while the current interest rate prevailing in the market is 7.4152%. the company is offering an interest that is below the prevailing interest rate and hence the investors find a low interest in company's bond which is resulting in the decline of price. "If overall interest rates in the market later fall, prices of existing, higher interest-rate bonds generally will rise. That's because the existing bonds are more attractive to buyers than new, lower interest-rate bonds and, as a result, are typically offered at higher prices (seligman, 2007)". This debt through bonds make the firm risky since it is covering 50% of the total rrquirement by APEX. APEX requires a total financing of $2,000,000 and the bond are issued for $1,000,000. Covering half of your financing requirement through debt exposes the organization to greater risk and reduces the credibility of investors towards organization. Mr. Thinkard should wait for time when the interest rates in the market falls below the coupon rate on bonds. this will cause increase in bond price and Mr.

Letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Letter - Essay Example I have had considerable experience as a Human Resource Associate from two leading companies in Saudi Arabia. It was a great experience for me to have worked in the Human Resources management wing in Sabco Company, Saudi Arabia in 2006-2007. My responsibilities in the company consisted of recruiting and staffing logistics, performance management and improvement of tracking systems, employee orientation, development, and training logistics and recordkeeping. I made sure that theses HR tasks are completed on time and to expectations in the company. I was also involved in human Resources management and marketing in STC Company, Saudi Arabia in 2008 -2009. My duties in the company included receiving calls and fax on a computer, making and cancelling appointments and explaining some information for the customers. These two years has improved my ability to effectively respond to and interact with all levels of organizational staff. I have also developed remarkable competencies that include excellent presentation/facilitation, organizational, analytical, interpersonal and written/oral communication skills. I am convinced that I possess considerable skills that are required for the job.

Literature review Walkable Streets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Literature review Walkable Streets - Essay Example Walkable streets are actually shared spaces. They are actually designed for all types of people irrespective of being on foot, cars, on wheelchairs, or even bicycles. A walkable street actually makes you have the urge to step outside. This means that there are interesting things like trees, people, apartment buildings and homes as you move along. A walkable street is the one that does not make you feel like you are risking your life when crossing it. This is because it has sidewalks, lighting, curb ramps, benches, and signals that will all aid you while crossing it. In summary, a walkable street would lead to any destination that you want to go (Urban Ecology, 2011).Many communities are actually embracing the mobility of pedestrians as a substitute to reducing dependency on automobiles. This shift is attributed to the fact that dependency on automobiles is ecologically unsustainable because of increased pollution, and also reduced walking diminishes social interaction and mixing of p opulations (Pivo, Gary, & Fisher, 2010). According to Hutarabat Lo (2009) he argues that there are several ways that can make a place walkable. Sidewalks should be erected where there are sidewalk gaps with priority being given to those areas that encourage walking like schools, stations of transit, stadiums, and around congested public areas. Moreover, certain obstructions like utility poles and posts can actually decrease the walkable width of the sidewalk. Proper lighting and maintenance of the side walk is to be sustained so as to reduce obstructions, encourage walking, and improve safety. In addition, another way of making the sidewalks safer is by implementing buffers because they absorb carbon dioxide from automobile emissions and also aiding in water drainage. Making of crosswalks is safer and a key component to walkability. Curb extensions decrease the radii of corners of the curb at various intersections. Moreover, curb extensions calm the traffic and also decrease the dis tance pedestrians have to cross. While on the streets with parking, the curb extensions allow pedestrians to see the oncoming traffic better where they would otherwise be forced to walk into the street to see past the parked cars. The zebra crossings or striped crosswalks also provide safer avenues for crossing because they provide better visibility for both the pedestrians and drivers (Zehner, 2012). Walkable streets in relationship with public transit A walkable street must contain a relatively large number of friendly pedestrians. This is because many people are of the belief that the different physical street designs features are sufficient enough to create walkability. The best designed streets are actually not walkable if we walk in them. On the other hand, streets that are poorly designed are memorably walkable if it contains a large number of people. Very little is more enjoyable and attractive to humans than an inherently vibrant, festive place filled with blissful and soci able people (Nozzi, 2011). Whether driving,

Captain My Captain by Walt Whitman Essay Example for Free

Captain My Captain by Walt Whitman Essay This poem filled my mind with great memories snd make think of my loved ones who are now Angels. I am still feeling the connection. In my opinion, I can say that peopleare physically dead be we can keep them in our mind alive as long as we want them to be part of our lives. Father and I had different character. We had the same interest such as reading, watching news, assisting on conference-debates. We had the same taste but we were hardly shared our opinion. This was because of me, I was very shy when I was a teenager. That makes our relationship† very special† and I miss it deeply. We did many things together that help us to become good friend such as driving. When I was 19 year old, my captain taught to drive and new situations always make me bit nervous, and my first drive was no exception. Things were not quite easy for me, but my captain was very patient. This driving session brought us very close to each other because I could not avoid him like I used to do before. I had at least 6 hours a week for my driving lesson. My late father there for me every time I needed him. When I started the University, he was driving me to school like a little girl who starts a kindergarden. I was not the only child in the house but I was so special. Life then was stress free because everything has been taking care of me. My only sadness is that my son will never meet his grandfather spending time together, playing around, but I know even from Heaven he is watching over us. He is now my angel and he is very proud of me because I am following his paths.

The Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident Essay Example for Free

The Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident Essay Abstract The Fukushima nuclear accident triggered a large-scale nuclear leak, which has had an immeasurable impact on the global ecological environment. This article addresses, in depth, features of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident: during the incident, the impact of the incident, and aspects of the aftermath. Through an analysis of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident, certain referential and significant aspects of the nuclear industry are clear. Introduction: In a strong earthquake, which occurred on the afternoon of March 11, 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan was severely damaged; this led to a leakage of radioactive substances, causing considerable concern around the world. In recent years the promotion of a low-carbon economy has resulted in nuclear power plants being seen as one of the best producers of low-carbon energy; the accident has raised Governments’ concern. A study of the impact of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident on the surrounding environment, as well as how great significance in promoting the development of a global nuclear future. [1] 1. The Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant: the whole story. The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant used the early BWR (Boiling Water Reactor), the standard was low, and had technical defects; poor security was the cause of the accident. The main reason for the accident was the design of the nuclear power plant which did not take into account the double impact of a powerful earthquake and consequential tsunami. In fact, the earthquake did not completely destroy the nuclear power plant; it was the tsunami that followed that destroyed the emergency diesel generators, and caused the whole plant to lose all its internal and external AC power supply. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor used water as a coolant and moderator, but the water was boiling in the reactor and changed into steam in the turbine generator. The tsunami led to the loss of the emergency power supply, and the failure of the necessary cooling of the reactor after shutdown. This led to an elevated temperature and a pressure increase; for safety it had to release the steam to release the pressure. The loss of coolant, which it could not efficiently replace, resulted in part or all of the fuel being exposed. BWR steam with radioactive substances were discharged directly through the pressure vessel dry well and then released into the atmosphere. Due to the loss of power, reactor waste heat could not find an appropriate way to escape and the temperature of the core fuel rose causing the shell zirconium to react with steam to produce hydrogen. The hydrogen was released into the plant, and continued to accumulate, finally leading to the explosion in the plant. After the accident, the core melted and was destroyed; this then led to a further expansion of nuclear contamination. [1] 2. The Fukushima Nuclear Effect on Humans Physicist Kirby Kemper, from Florida State University, said that if there was a complete nuclear reactor core melt-down, some of the most radioactive substances, such as uranium and other heavy metals, would drop to the bottom of the pressure vessel, these substance would not be emitted into the atmosphere, and could, by nuclear radiation clean-up personnel, be special process cleaned. However, some of the radioactive chemical substances would be released, fourth grain of sand size particle morphology, these substances include iodine-131, strontium-90, and cesium-137. These are a great threat to the human body, because these radioactive substances can imitate the elements required by the human body’s natural tissue components, such as radioactive iodine-131, and easily enter into the body’s tissues and organs. Radioactive iodine under certain conditions can be rapidly dispersed in the air and water. However, iodine-131‘s half-life is only eight days, which means that in a few months it will completely decay. Radioactive iodine can be dispersed through the air to the human body; it can be deposited on grass which is then eaten by cows. The cows then produce contaminated dairy products and through this transmit it into the human food chain. It may also be deposited on the leaves of vegetables or in seafood and fresh water also for human dietary consumption. [1,2] The half life of strontium-90 is 29.1 years, and due to its chemical properties being similar to calcium, is often found in human bones and teeth. In the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident, there was a large amount of strontium- 90 released into the air, and deposited in the former Soviet Union, Scandinavia and other regions. Strontium-90 goes into the human body through food and drinking water, much of its intake is often associated with bone disease, bone and soft tissue tumors and leukemia. [2,3,4] The half–life of Cesium-137 is 30 years, another high risk substance which is released from a nuclear reactor core and often in the body through food and water intake, or by entering the body through the respiratory organs. A body, which is exposed to Cesium-137, will have an increased risk of cancer. [2,3,4] 3. The Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant and Ecological Problems The Fukushima nuclear power plant accident caused huge ecological environmental hazards; in general it caused pollution. (1) Air Pollution Air causes the spread of nuclear radiation. However, the concentration of radioactive material released into the atmosphere will gradually be diluted with increased distance. It is not biologically transmitted, it is physically spread. Radioactive nuclear substances are spread through atmospheric circulation and dispersion, with attenuation according to the laws of nature. [5] Following the explosion of Unit 1 of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, at around 11.00am on March 14, there was a second hydrogen explosion; this time it occurred in Unit 3. This was followed, at about 6:00am on the 15th, by an explosion in Unit 2, where the reactor vessel was damaged more seriously in two days than compare to the consequences of the explosion of Unit 1. According to monitoring, under the influence of atmospheric movement, the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant released radioactive substances on the 15th more than 20 times the normal standard. This indicates that the explosion caused pollution of the atmosphere and affected the ecological environment of neighboring countries; with atmospheric circulation, these radioactive elements were carried outside of Japan. [5,6] (2) Water Pollution The ground water near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant’s Units 1 and 2 nuclear reactors saw the concentration of radioactive iodine and radioactive cesium surge a number of times, which no doubt contributed to the groundwater pollution. Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant radioactive material continues to flow into the ocean where marine life will be threatened. According to The New York Times, reported that researchers who extracted water samples near the nuclear power plants detected cesium-137 and iodine-131 radioisotope concentration, suggesting that the nuclear leakage accident had caused marine pollution. [7] (3) Soil Pollution Japan’s Kyodo News quoted a Japan Atomic Power Environmental Preparedness Agency expert reporting that in a 600 square km northwest region soil near the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, the radioactive cesium activity was 1.48 million per square meter Becquerel, reaching the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion mandatory evacuation standards. This is data obtained by the Japanese Government Commission on Nuclear Energy Research. At the nuclear power plant in the northwest region most severely affected after the Fukushima Unit 1 nuclear power plant accident, the Japanese government evacuated about 80,000 people from the vicinity. Earlier, the Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, said that the date the people will be able to return their homes will not be earlier than the beginning of the next year. [8,9] (4) Food Chain Contamination University of Florida chemical oceanographer and environmental radioactivity expert, Bill Burnett, said that although iodine’s half-life is only eight days in the short term, there is no doubt that the radiation will be a threat and have an impact on the survival of marine life. But the greater potential impact of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant leakage is from that of cesium, because the decay time of cesium up to 30 years. If marine animals’ intake irradiated plants and small prey, then the marine food chain will be contaminated. Particularly noteworthy, is the fact that algae and other plants quickly absorb iodine. Previous studies have shown that toxic metal and radiation interactions suppress the immune system of vertebrates, causing them to be more susceptible to disease. Consequently, the extent of potential damage to the environment and human health is great. [10] In addition, nuclear power plants and other power plants discharge waste heat. The laws of thermodynamics indicate that the conversion efficiency of thermal energy cannot be 100%. Whether the use coal or solar system, the result will be the same. Modern coal or oil power plant efficiency is up to 40%, the efficiency of nuclear power plants is currently only 33%. Coal power stations release 15% of waste heat through the chimney, and 45% of the water heat from the cooling water discharge. However, 67% of nuclear power plant waste heat is from the cooling water discharged into rivers or sea water. The rising water temperatures caused by this has a significant impact on aquatic life. If the water temperature is too high, it will cause the death of fish, and accelerate the growth of algae, causing the water to lack oxygen. [10] 4. Conclusion Nuclear power is a clean energy source, under normal operation the power plant emissions of radioactive radiation is not large, in fact the radioactive substances emitted by coal-fired power stations is said to be much higher than nuclear power stations. Ultimately, there is no energy that can be said to be absolutely safe and clean. In accepting an energy choice, it is necessary, firstly, to rationally face security risks. Secondly, reactor technology and security is under a process of development. The problems faced by nuclear power plants, through the Fukushima incident, are a very important reference point for nuclear power to improve its security program. For example, nuclear power plants should not be placed in an earthquake zone, particularly not on a fracture layer. The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant design, while taking the impact of earthquakes into account, ignored the impact of a consequential tsunami. The nuclear power plant disaster illustrates the need to take multiple natural disasters into account. Furthermore, nuclear power plant design needs to attach importance to the development of emergency plans rationality and feasibility in the event of an accident. With a belief in continuing scientific and technological progress, the security of nuclear power plants of the future should continue to improve. [11,12] References [1] Fukushima: What happened – and what needs to be done. BBC. 10 April 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011. [2]Takenaka, Kiyoshi (12 March 2011). Japans TEPCO preparing to release radiation from second reactor. Reuters. Retrieved 12 March 2011. [3]Radiation levels spike at Japanese nuclear plant. CNN. 15 March 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2011 [4]Frank N. von Hippel (September/October 2011 vol. 67 no. 5). The radiological and psychological consequences of the Fukushima Daiichi accident. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. pp. 27–36. [5]Hydrogen explosions Fukushima nuclear plant: what happened? Unit 1 nuclear power plant Fukushima Pressure. TEPCO. Retrieved 8 April 2011. [6]3 nuclear reactors melted down after quake, Japan confirms. CNN. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011. [7]Radioactive water from Japan nuclear plant leaks in sea. BBC News. 2 April 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011. [8]Timeline: Japan power plant crisis. BBC News. 13 March 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2011. [9]Japans unfolding disaster bigger than Chernobyl'. New Zealand Herald. 2 April 2011. [10] â€Å"Fukushima. Radioactive Cesium Contmination of Japan’s Food Chain.† 3 August, 2012. [11]Fukushima faced 14-metre tsunami. World Nuclear News. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2011. [12]Justin McCurry. Japan raises nuclear alert level to seven. The Guardian. 12 April 2011

The Study Of Solubility Equilibrium

The Study Of Solubility Equilibrium The first part of this experiment aims to determine the solubility product constant of potassium hydrogen tartrate in water, and thereby determine how the enthalpy and entropy change of the dissolution reaction, according to the equilibrium KHC4H4O6 (s) Ġº K+ (aq) + HC4H4O6- (aq) (1), changes with temperature. The second part of this experiment aims to examine the common ion effect through determination of the Ksp of KHC4H4O6 in potassium nitrate (KNO3) solution for varying K+ concentrations. Results I. Titrating 25.0cm3 of KHC4H4O6 solution with 0.07415M NaOH solution with phenolphthalein indicator gave the following results To determine Ksp at 302.15K: Amount of NaOH used = Average volume of NaOH used 0.07415M = 13.35 10-3 0.07415 = 9.899 10-4 mol = Amount of HC4H4O6- reacted Total volume of the solution = Average volume of NaOH used + 25.0 cm3 of HC4H4O6- solution = 13.35 + 25.0 = 38.35 cm3 Since [K+] = [HC4H4O6-], Ksp = [K+][HC4H4O6-] = [HC4H4O6-]2 = 0.25812 = 6.662-10-4 Table 1: Solubility product constant of potassium hydrogen tartrate at various temperatures Temperature / K Average VNaOH used / cm3 Amount of NaOH used / mol Amount of HC4H4O6- reacted / mol [HC4H4O6-] / mol dm-3 Solubility of HC4H4O6-/ mol dm-3 Ksp ln Ksp 1/T / K-1 282.5 6.65 0.0004931 0.004931 0.01558 0.01558 0.0002427 -8.324 0.003540 292 9.25 0.0006869 0.006869 0.02003 0.02003 0.0004010 -7.821 0.003425 302 13.35 0.0009899 0.009899 0.02581 0.02581 0.0006663 -7.314 0.003311 311.5 18.35 0.001361 0.01361 0.03139 0.03139 0.0009852 -6.923 0.003210 322.5 26.65 0.001976 0.01976 0.03826 0.03826 0.001464 -6.527 0.003101 Given that ΔG °reaction = ΔH °reaction TΔS °reaction - (2) and ΔG °reaction = RT ln K - (3), combining the two equations and rearranging gives us the linear function: - (4) Using the data obtained in this experiment to plot this linear function gives Graph 1 shown below: Graph 1: Linear curve of ln Ksp against 1/T Equation of line -ln Ksp = 4113(1/T) + 6.264 =- 4113 ΔH °reaction =- (- 4113 8.314) =+34 195 J mol-1 (4s.f.) =+34.195 kJ mol-1 Uncertainty (standard deviation) =  ± 105.3 8.314 =  ± 875.5 ΔH °reaction = + 34 195  ± 875.5 J mol-1 =6.264 ΔS °reaction =6.264 8.314 =+52.08 J K-1 mol-1 (4s.f.) Uncertainty (standard deviation) = ± 0.3497 8.314 =  ± 2.907 ΔS °reaction = + 52.08  ± 2.907 J K-1 mol-1 ΔG °reaction = [+ 34 195 T (+ 52.08)] J mol-1 Solubility of HC4H4O6- and Ksp increases with increasing temperature, and a positive ΔH °r value shows that the dissolution of KHC4H4O6 is an endothermic process. Since the magnitude of ΔS °r is smaller than that of ΔH °r, ΔG °r is always positive in the temperature range of 282.5K to 322.5K, as carried out in this experiment. This indicates that the dissolution of KHC4H4O6 is always non-spontaneous for this temperature range, and hence KHC4H4O6 is a sparingly soluble salt. II. Titration of KHC4H4O6 in KNO3 solutions of different concentrations with 0.07413M NaOH solution with phenolphthalein indicator at room temperature to observe the common ion effect gave the following results To determine the Ksp and solubility of HC4H4O6- at room temperature when [KNO3] = 0.01M: Amount of K+ from KNO3 = 0.01 70 10-3 = 7.00-10-4 mol Amount of NaOH used = 11.45 10-3 0.07413 = 8.508 10-4 mol = Amount of HC4H4O6- reacted Total amount of K+ = (7.00-10-4) + (8.508 10-4) = 1.55 10-3 mol Total volume = 25.0 + 11.45 = 36.45 cm3 [K+]total = Ksp = Table 2: Solubility product constant of potassium hydrogen tartrate at various potassium nitrate concentrations T / K [KNO3] / M Average volume of NaOH used / cm3 Amount of NaOH / mol Amount of HC4H4O6- reacted / mol Total amount of K+ / mol [K+]total / mol dm-3 Solubility of HC4H4O6- / mol dm-3 Ksp 301 0.01 11.45 0.0008509 0.0008509 0.001551 0.04255 0.02334 0.0009932 301 0.02 10.35 0.0007691 0.0007691 0.002169 0.06136 0.02176 0.001335 302 0.03 9.50 0.0007059 0.0007059 0.002806 0.08133 0.02046 0.001664 302 0.04 8.60 0.0006391 0.0006391 0.003439 0.1024 0.01902 0.001947 Graph 2: Graph of solubility of KHC4H4O6 (M) against [K+]total (M) The data obtained in this part of the experiment shows that solubility of HC4H4O6- decreases with increasing total K+ concentration for a given temperature (302K). This is due to the common ion effect the presence of the common ion K+ suppresses the dissociation of KHC4H4O6 according to (1), since K+ concentration is greater than the equilibrium KHC4H4O6 concentration. The greater the K+ concentration, the lesser the extent of dissociation of KHC4H4O6, and hence the less soluble HC4H4O6- is in water. Discussion The solubility of a substance is the amount of the substance dissolved in 1 L of its saturated solution for a given temperature. Ksp on the other hand, is the product of the ion concentrations raised to their respective powers on the dissolution equilibrium equation, and is constant for a given temperature. Since the dissolution of KHC4H4O6 is an endothermic process, when temperature increases, the forward reaction is favoured to absorb the excess heat. This causes Ksp values to increase with increasing temperature, as observed, since concentration of products, i.e. [K+] and [HC4H4O6-], increases. The heat absorbed is used to overcome solute-solute and solvent-solvent interactions, such that solute-solvent interactions can form during the dissolution process. Also, as a solid dissolves, entropy of the system is increased, since the greater number of liquid particles increases disorderliness. Hence as temperature increases, ΔG °r will be increasingly negative, indicating that the dissolution of KHC4H4O6 gets increasingly spontaneous as temperature increases. In this experiment, ΔH °r and ΔS °r are assumed to be insignificantly dependent on temperature. ΔrH(T2) = ΔrH(T1) + (T2-T1) ΔrCp - (5) (Atkins, 2006) From Kirchhoffs law (5), ΔrH is dependent on temperature, assuming that constant-pressure heat capacities (Cp) is independent of temperature. For the above assumption to hold true, ΔrCp should be insignificant, i.e. (Cp) of the products and reactants should have approximately equal values. Since Cp is affected by how much of a substance there is in the solution the greater the number of particles, the greater the amount of heat energy needed to raise the overall temperature of the solution by 1K and the KHC4H4O6 solution used in titration is saturated, the amount of substance in the solution can be approximated to be the same. Thus, Cp of the products and reactants can be approximated to be the same, and hence ΔrCp is minimum. Similarly, since ΔS °r is dependent on Cp as well, we can assume it to be insignificantly dependent on temperature as well. For the above argument to hold true, the KHC4H4O6 solution used in titration must be saturated, and steps to ensure this should be taken one, continual swirling of the solution before filtration to ensure all solid has been dissolved; two, maintaining supposed temperature of the solution immediately before filtering, since the saturated solution is filtered in small portions; three, apparatus used to contain the filtrate must be dry such that the saturated solution is not diluted by the presence of any water. General titration techniques were also employed, such as rinsing apparatus with the solutions that they are to contain to ensure no contamination and accurate concentrations, as well as keeping the amount of phenolphthalein indicator, a weak acid, to a minimum, to prevent the lowering of the pH of the solution, which results in more than the required amount of NaOH needed to react with the saturated KHC4H4O6 solution. For Section 1 of this experiment, comparing experimental and literature Ksp values gives the following At approximately 302K: Literature value of solubility of KHC4H4O6 in water = 7.3693 103 kgsalt/kgwater (Lopes, 2001) Literature Ksp value = [(7.3693 103 gsalt/mlwater) à · (188.1772 g mol-1)]2 = (39.161 10-3 mol L-1)2 = 1.534 10-3 Experimental Ksp value (Section 1) = 6.663 10-4 Mean Ksp value (Section 2) = 1.485 10-3 The literature Ksp value in Section 1 of this experiment was 2.302 times higher than that of the experimental Ksp value at 302K. Besides, since Ksp is only dependent on temperature, Ksp values at the same temperature should be constant and independent of concentrations. The mean Ksp value obtained in the Section 2 of this experiment, however, was 2.229 times greater than that obtained in Section 1 of this experiment, though it only had a 3.300% difference from the literature Ksp value. The abnormally low Ksp value obtained in Section 1 of this experiment indicates less than expected K+ and HC4H4O6- concentrations in the solution, and can stem from either the effect of a deviation from temperature, or from the solution being unsaturated. However, the data obtained in this experiment showed an accurate trend expected of Ksp values for increasing temperature, hence eliminating temperature deviation as a possible source of error. Furthermore, this trend also reflects expected solubility trends, and is sufficient in demonstrating the aims of this experiment. Conclusion The aims of this experiment have been met, as shown by the increasing trend of Ksp values for increasing temperature, as well as the decreasing solubility of HC4H4O6- in water for increasing K+ concentration, due to the common ion effect. These combined prove that Ksp is only dependent on temperature, given that care has been taken to ensure a saturated solution when carrying out the experiment.

Apoxyomenos and the Role of Athletics in Ancient Greek Culture :: Essays Papers

Apoxyomenos and the Role of Athletics in Ancient Greek Culture According to Marilyn Stokstad, "the visual arts are among the most sophisticated forms of human communication, at once shaping and being shaped by their social context (xxxviii)." As this quote implies, artistic pieces invariably are a reflection of the culture in which they were created. Thus, art is a potent means of deciphering the values and belief systems of ancient societies. Apoxyomenos (330 BCE), or The Scraper, created by the sculptor Lysippos, is an enduring testament to the importance ascribed to athletics by the citizens of ancient Greece. Artistically, Apoxyomenos deviates from the standard Classical representation of male athletes. The majority of Classical sculptors portrayed athletes actively engaged in competition. However, this figure is gazing into the distance while removing oil and dirt from his body using a strigil (Stokstad, 165). This practice was commonly associated with athletes in ancient Greece and, thereby, communicated to the viewer that this was a piece pertaining to athletics. Athletics were an expression of the philosophical, religious and civic values that were at the very heart of Greek culture. In the world of the ancient Greeks, well-educated individuals were expected to be balanced mentally, spiritually, and physically (http://www.mediaconcero.com/olympic/olympia/ideal_o.php, September 27, 2004). It was felt that athletics aided in the creation of such an individual. Athletic events during this period were not simply displays of physical prowess, but an integration of the facets of Greek culture. Education and intellectual discourse were accessories to athletic events. During competitions, spectators would engage in lectures and philosophic conversations concerning current events and other scholarly subjects. In fact, the Greek word for "gymnasium" was the same as the Greek word for "school (http://www.mediaconcerto.com/olympic/olympia/ideal_o.php, September 27, 2004)." Athletic events became a center of learning and exchange of ideas in Greek civilization. Athletic events at this time were also closely related to the religious beliefs and practices of the Greek citizens. Each competition was devoted to a specific pagan god. For example, the patron of the Olympics was Zeus. The Greeks believed that the physical strength and ability of athletes was a direct gift from the gods (http://www.meiaconcerto.com/olympic/olympia/ideal_o.php, September 27, 2004). Therefore, each athlete competed not only in honor of his city-state, but also in honor of the gods. Civic implications were also apparent in ancient Greek athletics. The ancient world was one of constant conflict and political turmoil, and it was necessary for each city-state to possess a strong military in order to preserve their autonomy. Apoxyomenos and the Role of Athletics in Ancient Greek Culture :: Essays Papers Apoxyomenos and the Role of Athletics in Ancient Greek Culture According to Marilyn Stokstad, "the visual arts are among the most sophisticated forms of human communication, at once shaping and being shaped by their social context (xxxviii)." As this quote implies, artistic pieces invariably are a reflection of the culture in which they were created. Thus, art is a potent means of deciphering the values and belief systems of ancient societies. Apoxyomenos (330 BCE), or The Scraper, created by the sculptor Lysippos, is an enduring testament to the importance ascribed to athletics by the citizens of ancient Greece. Artistically, Apoxyomenos deviates from the standard Classical representation of male athletes. The majority of Classical sculptors portrayed athletes actively engaged in competition. However, this figure is gazing into the distance while removing oil and dirt from his body using a strigil (Stokstad, 165). This practice was commonly associated with athletes in ancient Greece and, thereby, communicated to the viewer that this was a piece pertaining to athletics. Athletics were an expression of the philosophical, religious and civic values that were at the very heart of Greek culture. In the world of the ancient Greeks, well-educated individuals were expected to be balanced mentally, spiritually, and physically (http://www.mediaconcero.com/olympic/olympia/ideal_o.php, September 27, 2004). It was felt that athletics aided in the creation of such an individual. Athletic events during this period were not simply displays of physical prowess, but an integration of the facets of Greek culture. Education and intellectual discourse were accessories to athletic events. During competitions, spectators would engage in lectures and philosophic conversations concerning current events and other scholarly subjects. In fact, the Greek word for "gymnasium" was the same as the Greek word for "school (http://www.mediaconcerto.com/olympic/olympia/ideal_o.php, September 27, 2004)." Athletic events became a center of learning and exchange of ideas in Greek civilization. Athletic events at this time were also closely related to the religious beliefs and practices of the Greek citizens. Each competition was devoted to a specific pagan god. For example, the patron of the Olympics was Zeus. The Greeks believed that the physical strength and ability of athletes was a direct gift from the gods (http://www.meiaconcerto.com/olympic/olympia/ideal_o.php, September 27, 2004). Therefore, each athlete competed not only in honor of his city-state, but also in honor of the gods. Civic implications were also apparent in ancient Greek athletics. The ancient world was one of constant conflict and political turmoil, and it was necessary for each city-state to possess a strong military in order to preserve their autonomy.

Freely Choosing Between the Divided House Essay -- Literary Analysis,

One of the many questions that are raised in the discussion of the freedom of the will is the reason why we as humans do not love and have turned away from the highest good. According to Augustine’s philosophy, the chains or bonds of bad habits are self-forged by our divided will, also referred to as the divided house. In Book XII of â€Å"City of God† Augustine declares it pointless to look for the cause of the evil will. For the cause, he argues, is â€Å"deficient,† not â€Å"efficient.† Before I can discuss the issues of the divided will, I will explain what Augustine means by â€Å"deficient† as opposed to† efficient† cause as the cause of the divided will. Often times, actions are analyzed by rational explanation or causal explanation. Rational explanation attempts to explain an action by the goals a person might have in his mind at the moment. Causal explanation attempts to find the cause for that particular action. Augustine thinks it is pointless to find the cause of the evil will. Perhaps we should take into account Augustine’s view about The First Sin, when the defection of the bad angels first happened. â€Å"In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth†¦ And God saw that it was good† (NRSV, Genesis 1). If the Bible states that God created everything good because He is good, then evil, according to Augustine, is the absence of good and does not have any positive being--- defective and lack some perfection. The verb â€Å"defect† means to abandon allegiance to something. Its reason follows the noun â€Å"defect† which means to lack some perfection. One might suggests that an evil wi ll must cause an evil act or choice. Augustine argues that there is no efficient natural cause of an evil will rather the lack of some goodness--- a matter ... ...e is living in "Truth." True Happiness as Reward for Rightly Ordered Love In agreement with Augustine, I believe that like happiness, virtue can only be given by God. Virtue is rightly ordered love. Jesus’ two commandments: love God above all and love your neighbor as yourself, indicates that we should love the most what is objectively the best. Pride is a perverse kind of self-love and also a feature of the will. Pride was the reason why Satan freely willing to choose himself over God. In redemption, Jesus Christ, a model of humility, was the Second Adam who because of grace sacrifices Himself to bear and forgive humans of sins. I believe that we can choose to will good or to will evil. To freely will the love of the highest good means to willingly love God above all. In having this rightly ordered love, God gives the gift of true happiness in the afterlife .

Active Directory User Groups Implementation :: Active Directory (AD) Implementation

Active Directory User Groups Implementation Synopsis of Proposal Subsequent to the Active Directory (AD) implementation discussion, this proposal addresses possible user accounts and group organizations for Riordan Manufacturing. This document discusses user and group accounts available through AD, and addresses possible implementation plans for the parent domain of riordanmanufacturing.com. These plans could also be implemented in the child domains for the four Riordan facilities, though addressing the actual implementations for those sites falls beyond the scope of this document. Users and Groups AD recognizes several types of accounts. User accounts refer to individual system users. Groups refer to user groupings based on function, need, department, or any number of criteria set by the company and/or the system administrator. User accounts fall into two categories: domain user accounts and local user accounts. Local user accounts define users to local computers with resource access restricted to resources associated with that local computer. Local user accounts cannot access any other resources within the domain. Domain user accounts contain information that defines users to the domain, AD stores this information, and the information is replicated to the domain controller. User groups further set and assign permissions for security and access to domain resources. Local groups represent a collection of local users on a single server or computer, with permissions assigned only to resources associated with that single server or computer. Domain local groups represent a collection of domain user accounts or groups specific to the local domain, with permissions to access resources specific to the local domain. Global groups also contain user accounts or groups from the local domain, but these groups’ permission can define access to all domains within the AD tree. Universal groups can contain users from any domain in the AD tree, with permissions set accordingly. Group Configuration and Nesting Presuming Riordan follows the multiple domain design previously discussed, a good strategy for Riordan would be to incorporate domain local groups, global groups, and universal groups. Universal groups would be reserved for widely-used groups that are fairly static in nature. In order to provide the most flexible user and group configurations, allowing for network growth and reducing the number of permission assignments, the following provides a guideline for groups and group nesting: Â § Global groups – organized based on administrative needs

English leaving cert comprehension Essay

Write a personal essay in which you explore the storytelling evident in music and song and its impact on you as a listener. Music; The art or science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion. There are many things in the world that I am mildly passionate about, including sports such as golf and swimming, animals, family, friends and school. But there is only one thing that I am extremely passionate about and that is music. There is something about music and how it can have such a significant effect on my everyday life. Music is something everyone hears at least once a day. Our world is filled by music. I have a great passion for music. It provides me with satisfaction that I don’t really find in other activities. Listening to it disconnects me from the outside world and releases some stresses in life. When I’m tense or when my other activities drain all my energy, I can just retire to my room, plug in my headphones and just listen to my favourite songs. I believe music has the ability to change any persons mood. It can be used to let out anger, sadness and happiness. The specific song I listen to can affect how I feel, it may make me cry, laugh, or even feel angry. Throughout history, people have used song to convey their messages. Songs are a powerful way to get your message across. They are our fears, our desires, our hopes, our dreams, our losses, our celebrations, our memories and our experiences. Each and every one of them are a story. The stories musicians tell and the themes that they communicate through music have a long lasting effect on the audience. Musicians and composers have the unique opportunity and responsibility to portray their stories that can empower and enable their listeners and fans to believe and relate to their own personal experiences. Take the National anthems for instance, singing ones National Anthem may it be in a stadium, hall or even at school has the absolute power to reinforce the feeling of pride and accomplishment of that nation. It has the ability to bond every single person of that nation together. When people are representing their country and singing their national anthem anyone can notice the power of emotion it bestows on them. National Anthems are a portrayal of a countries history and culture and it presents their ambitions for the future. To some extent, a songwriter can be seen as a storyteller, singing about their experiences or feelings. Most songs revolve around a certain theme, such as friendships, love, pain, etc. Each song tells a different story, love songs can either be about falling in love or breaking up. Rap is a powerful example of how storytelling can be evident in music and song. Rappers are famous for rapping about an event that has happened to them or something they feel strongly about. Marshall Bruce Mathers, known by his stage name Eminem world wide is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and rapper. Eminem bases the majority of his songs on his family, in particular his daughter Hailie, drug issues and legal troubles. One of Eminem’s songs that has the most effect on me his is song Mockingbird. I feel Eminem was referring to the book ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ where the mockingbird portrayed someone who is innocent but is a victim of circumstance and prejudice. In this song, Eminem’s daughter Hailie is the mockingbird as an innocent young girl, but she is unfortunately a victim because of the harsh circumstances surrounding the situation between her parents. Eminem blames himself for Hailies situation and he tries to comfort her telling her that he will always be there for her even when ‘mommys not there’. I know sometimes things may not always make sense to you right now But hey,  what daddy always tell you? Straighten up little soldier Stiffen up that upper lip What you crying about? You got me I feel that the words to this song hold a strong and emotional effect on me and I would presume that it would have the same effect to anyone else listening to it. Eminem is only one example of a particular artist that has a storytelling aspect in his songs that have an impact on me. I could name many more also, but I just want to end in saying I know music will always be important in my life because of how it has the power to change any mood.