The 8 Best GRE Prep Books of 2019

Why Oil Act Different Kinds Of Roles - 1160 Words

Introduction Oil is widely used a kind of fuel in people’s daily lives, and a kind of unit of currencies. People build a building, they need oil to start the machines and cars that transport the industrial materials. Almost everything can be related to oil. Why oil act different kinds of roles in modern society? About Oil Oil is a kind of thick, dark brown liquid. There is a large amount of oil stored in parts of the upper crust. It is a mixture that consists of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights including alkanes , cycloalkanes , aromatic and other organic compounds. Two theories about how oil was produced have been widely spread, one is biogenic deposit, the other is petrochemical, though more scientists agree the biogenic one.†¦show more content†¦There are a lot of different between different regional oil, for example, the viscosity, the freezing point (30 to -60 degrees Celsius), boiling point (over 500 degrees Celsius). It can be dissolved in a variety of organic solvents , insoluble in water, but it can form an emulsion with water. Experienced workers can distinguish oil from different regions by the composition and appearance. Oil is regarded as the world s most important energy, even some people agree that oil is the blood stream of the world economy. In 2012, 88% of oil is used as fuel, the other 12% is used as raw material for the chemical industry. From the geographical knowledge, the world s oceans cover 360 million square kilometers, about 2.4 times compared with the land. Continental shelf and continental slope cover about 55 million square kilometers, equivalent to the total land area of sedimentary basins. It has proven that a quarter of oil resources on the Earth is buried in the seabed; therefore, it can be predicted that there will be more people working in the ocean for oil resources instead of land in the future. Oil’s Yesterday In the 5th century AD,oil fields dug by human hands appeared in the capital of Persian Empire (Susa) appe. Oil was also used in the Middle East war. In the famous book Iliad ,traditionally attributed to Homer, it described that the Troy who tried to light the

Why did pollock’s art work no.5 (1948) sell for $140million in 2006 Free Essays

Introduction I chose to write about this topic mainly because I have always been interested in why some art works can be so expensive. I have decided to break my essay down into four sections: how does any artist get a price for their art work – in other words how did Pollock’s work get on the art market, how Pollock got such a high price for his work, why a 1948 painting and why the painting got sold for an extraordinary amount in 2006. After Reading the text from M. We will write a custom essay sample on Why did pollock’s art work no.5 (1948) sell for $140million in 2006? or any similar topic only for you Order Now Carter â€Å"Framing Art† I got a better understanding of why M. Carter stated â€Å"Clearly has nothing to do with the value of the materials that it is made of, or the value of the labor†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I could see exactly where he was coming from and I agree with his text. By the time I had read the whole text by M. Carter, he had fully justified himself as to why there are differences in the art market prices, reasons due to the key periods of an artist’s work, the issues of the artist’s involvement in the making, their physical status and as well as the situation of the art market. Even just taking the word â€Å"Commodity† from the title of â€Å"Framing Art† to me is art that is not purely an expression of the artist’s ideas but instead is tailored in its own subject matter and style to appeal and attract to a specific commercial art. I think for artists get a price for their artwork they must first of all be in the art market. The art market will first of all determine the value as well as the reputation of the artist. I believe the pricing is mostly determined by the law of supply and the demand and I think most artists usually have a big supply and little or no demand. I myself as a Fine Art artist think about pricing my own art work most of the time it involves me visiting art galleries on a regular basis to find out where my art work fits in to the current art work. I believe that the art world has its trends in the same way fashion does and also that it is not so much about the rarity of the artists work but much more of popularity. An artists work whose is warm will be likely to get much higher prices at an auction. Also an auction track record is another important reason why artists obtain high prices. This gives an indication of what the market is willing to pay. Paul Jackson Pollock was born on January the 28th in 1912 and since then his painting work was controversial over his short lifetime. Jackson Pollock was an American painter well known for his role in the abstract expressionist movement. Pollock painted all through his lifetime and was well known for it. He literally invented the drip painting technique, which changed the course of modern art history. â€Å"The painting was done on an 8’x4’ sheet of fibreboard with thick amounts of brown and yellow paint drizzled on top of it, forming a nest like appearance†. The person who sold his no.5 painting was David Geffen and the person who bought the painting was David Martinez in 2006. This painting was the highest price paid for a piece of art work for a contemporary painting. Taken from archives of AskART it was stated that Jackson Pollock was dubbed â€Å"Jack the Dripper† (Time magazine 1956) for his revolutionary technique of gestural painting that freed generations of American artists from academic strictures. He used dissonant, garish colours, and applied paint with energetic circular motions to large canvases so that his work exuded physical energy.† When I was doing some research about Jackson Pollock and his curators I watched an interesting short video from the Museum Of Modern Art October 3 – April 11, 2011 taken from Abstract Expressionist New York. The video explained the work of Pollock, described when looking at his work- the way his paintings make you feel as if you are in the painting i.e. the movement, Pollock’s energy in his artwork, objects embedded in his paintings, what he did that was extreme in terms of the painting tradition. The short video then described the story of Pollock and his wife Lee. He asked h er â€Å"is this a painting?† and by this Pollock himself was not sure what he himself had made. He departed himself from using a brush and making brush stokes instead would use wooden tips of brushes to fling or drip his paintings across the canvas with other objects and materials. There are no ends of adjectives you could use. I have been to galleries and museums before to look at the artwork of Pollock and when I look at his work I feel a lot of movement like people are dancing in a crowd and with all the drips and splatters in many contrasting colours. M. Carter talks and explains a lot of important things in his text. He gives an explanation and says â€Å"Artists in contemporary society rarely avail themselves of naturally occurring materials but are dependant upon intermediate technologies to provide the materials which are subsequently utilised to construct the Art object†. Further on in his text he defines the meaning of work and labour. After making a distinction between the two he explains that â€Å"So even before artistic production commences the artist- producer is confronted by the necessity of having type of financial resource in order to begin†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦still on the same topic he concludes with â€Å"We can summarise these basic conditions of artistic production in the following way: Any consideration of Art production must always bear these elementary conditions in mind because they clearly demonstrate that right from the moment of inception (and despite the myths and ideologies that surround notions of artistic creation), Art is embedded in intricate and collective networks of differential types of work, all of which are forms of labour and all of which therefore require considerable sums of money being expanded in order to maintain the conditions of artistic production.† In the next topic M. Carter went into detail on the topic of use value and exchange value. He first of all makes a distinction between the use value of an object and its exchange value, this generally explains how it takes place. By doing this he uses an example of a tin soup in terms of an Art object. â€Å"The exchange value of an object refers to a different dimension and may be initially grasped by the term price, or how much money will be required in order to buy the can of soup†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ The result of this â€Å"putting a price on its head† is that the economic value of an object can now be expressed in the form of a monetary value. Pollock got such a high price for his No.5 painting because it was a masterpiece of Abstract Expressionism which combined a balanced composition of paint in several splatters, lines, shapes, a combination of colours and abstract forms. This masterpiece painting was the most expensive and important piece of art when it was sold for $140 million in 2006. Up until today Pollock is still known and remembered as a â€Å"pioneer of Abstract Expressionism†. Even Clement Greenberg once described Pollock as the â€Å"most original contemporary easel painter under forty†. I think that because of Pollock’s status in the Art market and contributions in the abstract movement his few paintings that are left could probably rise in value and maybe even more than his No.5, 1948 painting. I watched another video on the MoMA Multimedia website and this one was called â€Å"Contemporary Artists onAbstract Impressionists†. The short video explained how Pollock wanted to change the dimension of what art was all about. His paintings weren’t representations of physical landscapes but more of the dimension of the mind and material as to what it can do. There are no people or faces in the paintings, they are totally non objective abstract paintings. I think they are all somehow encompassing. Anything you see is in the painting, there is no definitive thing in his artwork that anybody can see better or worse than another person looking at the piece, so in other words it is an experience looking at the painting. Pollock and his wife Lee Krasner both made an attempt in the mid 20th century to help artists break free from the traditional art approach and art customs. Around that time and up till today there is still an appreciation for art and I believe the value for art would have continued to rise and rise. I also believe that for Pollock’s painting to have sold for the amount of $140 million just shows that the status of people compared to back then have changed. Nowadays people References, Bibliographies Websites Askart.com – biography of Jackson Pollock Artobservations.com/Jacksonpollock http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._5,_1948 M. Carter, â€Å"The Work Of Art as Commodity†, from Framing Art (Sydney, 1990), pp.95-123 http://www.moma.org/explore/multimedia/videos http://www.arthistory.net/artists/jacksonpollock/jacksonpollock1.html How to cite Why did pollock’s art work no.5 (1948) sell for $140million in 2006?, Essay examples

Context of Corporate Finance and Profit Maximization †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Context of Corporate Finance and Ethics. Answer: Introduction In the context of corporate finance, a companys success is measured by the shareholders wealth. It has gained paramount importance in the current scenario as it leads to goodwill of the organization. The extent to which the shareholders are enriched is often termed as shareholder value maximization. In direct terms it refers to the dividends paid to the shareholders and the capital appreciation, but indirectly it involves a lot of factors like management actions and strategic analysis on areas like cost of capital, etc that indicates the amounts the shareholders would have earned if they had themselves invested the amounts in assets bearing similar risks. Therefore, stakeholders are primarily concerned with the organization that provides a huge wealth maximization (Hemmer Labro, 2008). As the level of competition is increasing on one hand and the significance on shareholder value maximization is highlighted, on the other hand, it is becoming increasingly difficult for companies to o perate both viable and ethically. Here comes the distinction between doing well and doing good. As the drive for fast money has led to a number of corporate scams, various laws and regulations have been introduced during the recent years to ensure the ethical performance of the corporate houses. From time to time there have been scandals that have jolted the corporate arena and such problems occurred either due to the flaws in the ethical standards or due to the lust for the creation of wealth. It has been noted that the lust for the creation of wealth leads to deterioration of service and more emphasis is done on the concept of money making (Benabou Tirole, 2010). These conflicts are discussed with the help of cases and situations of ethical dilemma faced by companies. It is, therefore, imperative that the company must operate in a manner that creates shareholder wealth and looks after the ethics too. Is Value Maximization always ethical? The prime goal of the management is to increase the profit by maximization of profits. Wealth maximization of the shareholder and profit maximization must go hand in hand. The discussion from the past indicates that the manager should contain immense attention on the shareholder wealth maximization. It is important for the firm to entertain the customers, suppliers and other stakeholders as if it fails to take a step in this regard then it might fail in the attempt. Value maximization must be stressed upon with immense concern as it generates goodwill for the business and leads to benefits over a period of time (Carol et. al, 2016). While most companies run businesses ethically, there are a few others that resort to unethical practices. In the lust of creation of wealth, many corporations try to break the ethical ground. There have been many instances when the companies tried to break their ethical stand to earn wealth. However, the same cannot be considered as ethical. The line between doing profitable business and doing ethical business is very thin, the line sometimes gets crossed by companies in their efforts to maximize profits (Patterson, 2000). A CEOs job is to maximize the revenue streams for shareholders demanding higher Return on Investment but again the balance between the cost of pushing for profits and being an ethical organization has to be weighed. With the increasing transparency, shareholders are becoming more knowledgeable towards the ethical considerations of the companies. In the long run, it can be seen that most profitable companies have run on ethical practices during their formative years (Paradise Rogoff, 2009). Thus ethics play an integral part and usually create a positive image and reputation for the company. A company that runs the operation on an ethical ground helps to earn a positive image and attracts the stakeholders. Shareholder wealth gets maximized automatically as investors wish to invest in such companies. The number of stakeholders associated with the company gives an impression of the wealth maximization of the company (Bhattacharya Sen, 2010). Thus it can be concluded that due to companies resorting to unethical practices, shareholder wealth maximization is not always ethical, companies resorting to ethical practices have a longer standing than unethical companies. The bottom line is that value maximization is not always ethical but there are ethical ways of achieving value maximization in the practical sense. Hence, it is the duty of the managers to drive the company in the correct path and create a situation that will help to deliver as per the prediction. Wealth maximization must be the objective but should not be done at the cost of other factors. The managers must ensure implementation of strong ethical standards that helps in creating a positive environment where the operations are in tune to the regulatory framework (Kruger, 2015). It helps to maximize wealth and even serves the stakeholders at large. Conflict between doing well and doing good Doing well indicates that the company is performing in line with the applicable laws and regulations with adequate professional knowledge, experience, and expertise. The public will accept this work due to high quality and excellence. Monetary considerations are high and shareholder gains are also appreciable. Therefore, doing well is a positive scenario for the company as it indicates a strong performance. Doing good need not be always for monetary consideration as the intention to benefit the society and the community at large takes a primary place. The intentions are noble with a motive to set things right in the society (Edwards, 2015). Thus there is more focus on corporate social responsibility and sustainable business wherein profit motive is not primary. Thus the conflict here is that profit is the primary motive in doing well whereas service is the primary motive for doing good. Conflicts arise in business practices that are aimed at profit maximization. It is about making money and making a change in the society. The trade-offs and struggles between doing well and doing good have to be weighed (Rebel, 2016). The interests are not the same in both cases, making it difficult to face the challenges that lie ahead. It is a comparison between socially responsible organizations and a few irresponsible ones (Albuquerque et. al, 2013). It is also similar to the comparison between the profit making decisions and demands of social transformations. In the midst of these conflicts, the current and practical scenario is indicative that markets are having a significant role to play in the social change. There is no threshold for increasing the happiness or well-being of the individuals in the society, but providing a basic minimum income level i n line with the increasing inflation and general price index should be the motive in both the cases. Thus there are conflicts between doing well and doing good with reference to the way businesses are run and a number of profits generated. Government regulations tilting towards Doing Good in case of Conflicts A company is a separate legal entity and the board of management is a functioning body appointed by the shareholders for looking after the day to day affairs of the business. But with the increasing greed of the Board and shareholders, companies have resorted to fraudulent and illegitimate ways of earning fast money which has given rise to a few important legislations; the most specific ones are the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Dodd-Frank Act (Blokhin, 2015). With the due passage of time, there has been an immense change in the ethical standard of the company and this has been done considering the objective of wealth maximization. Therefore, rules and regulations have been framed so that the investors are not duped. Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed in the year 2002 to protect the investors from fraudulent accounting and reporting by corporations. There are strict mandates with reference to financial disclosures and adequacy of internal controls. Management certifications are obtained on all significant areas like the accuracy of financial statements thus strengthening the corporate oversight. Investors need to know that the financial information they are relying upon is truthful and verified by independent third parties. Disclosures relating to off-balance sheet items and obligations, significant financial matters are also in place (Rebel, 2016). There are costly implications like penalties in the form of fines and also imprisonment for the violations. Sarbanes-Oxley Act was a major landmark and it came into operation after a long list of scandals (Kacperczyk, 2009). It stresses to provide a boost to the audit committees, the establishment of internal control tests, financial statement accuracy, et c. Further, it stresses penalties when it comes to fraud and even provides how the firms should operate. The main stress of the act is to strengthen the audit committee and changes the financial scenario significantly. Dodd-Frank Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was enacted in the year 2010. The great recession led to financial losses and risky market performance. The Act aimed to make financial systems more accountable and transparent, to prevent institutions from becoming too big to fail and to end the government bailouts funded by taxpayers and to end the risky and abusive financial practices (Mangena, 2007). There are monitoring and restructuring of companies that have become financially risky or weak. Thus the efficiency and accuracy of companies are enhanced. It can be thus seen that in both these regulations mandatory provisions with reference to ethical business, financial transparency and disclosures are enacted and there are strict provisions on violation of the same. Profit maximization is not the motive of these acts and thus it is tilted towards doing good rather than doing well in business (Donius, 2010). A case for the interrelationship of ethical decision making by corporate management and the profitability of the firm A company under the brand name, Honeywell Ltd. Successfully brands itself as an ethical and sustainable organization in the footwear and related accessories industry. Their Code of conduct specifies the requirements of various laws and regulations and the certifications to meet the minimum obligations regarding labor working conditions, environment safety, etc. They are working actively and closely with organizations like UNICEF to prevent child labor and also effectively tackle issues to ensure that there is no hoarding of natural resources (Bertilsson, 2017). Due to these factors, it is being widely recognized as a nature nurturing brand with significance for ethics and sustainability. But as the size of the organization develops, it is fairly a difficult task to operate ethically in all areas; among different countries and cultures. As business expansion is primarily aimed at profits maximization, off late it has violated a few of its own drafted laws and regulations by employing child labor in a few areas and growing racial discrimination among employees. Fingers were being pointed out at the Management and the Union was not allowed in the factories. This growing unrest led to the downsizing and slashing of employees (Denning, 2011). Apart from this, a few of the employee benefits were withdrawn which leads to a poor morale in the workplace. This can have devastating results. It is unethical to slash the employee expenses in an attempt to increase profits, but corporations resort to this method as it is quick, effective and proven. Apart from this, marketing and advertisements play an important role in a companys success. But in an attempt to maximize profits, companies often struggle with what is ethically right and wrong. In this case, too, Honeywell had targeted children in advertisements to attract customers and used unethical marketing strategies to draw customers. Lawsuits have been filed by a few consumers in response to the false claims made during the marketing. Adhering to environmental laws and regulations often proves to be costly with the growing size of the business. In this case, too, Honeywell wanted to grow its profits due to which it was increasing pollution and making unauthorized use of the natural resources. The claims made by the company were that environmental laws penalize only excessive environmental damage and not moderate or mild damage (Bertilsson, 2017). Quality is one significant area where the company can compromise to increase its profits by still selling the products at the same price (Julia Elizabeth, 2010). But as the customers become aware that Honeywell has crossed the line and entered into unethical business, it is a loss of trust, reputation and market share for the company. It leads to slow growth and reduced revenue (Bauer Hann, 2010). Therefore, it is a clear-cut indication that the stakeholders need to be given due weight so that the company can retain the old ones and attract the new ones. The compromise in quality can happen but to a certain extent because after it is exposed it becomes for the company to operate in the same manner. Thus the difference between doing well and doing good business is noticed. As long as Honeywell Ltd. Was operating locally, it was doing good business but once it went for global expansion, it shifted to doing business well in the drive to increase profits. In such cases of dilemma and interrelationship between doing well and doing good, corporations have to think long term and shun the idea of short-term profitability. The corporations must vouch for the profit in the long run. The long run scenario must be looked upon as it drives the overall momentum of the business. However, if the company stress upon profitability in the short run then it is bound to make a hasty decision and engage in activities that might not go well with the functioning of the company and ruin the overall goodwill (Patterson, 2000). A lot of companies stand out as examples of having done good business and yet being successful over years (Hong Kacperczyk, 2009). It is not possible for a company to remain in the doing well or doing good compartment throughout its existence as these are interrelated and companies tend to swing between these two on a situational basis. Thus there has to be a trade-off and a balance with corporations striving to do good business mos t of the time. Conclusion From the above analysis and discussion, it can be concluded that the incorporation of the concept of ethics is a complex and tricky matter, profit maximization is seen as a motivator. The major stress is on the concept of ethics because an organization with improper ethics finds it difficult to sustain for long. As ethics and profit maximization have to co-exist, the success of this interrelationship depends upon the profit potential of ethics. Companies are willing to act ethically as long as it satisfies its other goals of cost reduction and increasing profitability. Being branded as an ethical organization is a competitive advantage for the company which will ultimately lead to higher profits and shareholder value maximization provided there are the time and patience to wait for the same both by the shareholders and the company. An ethical company tends to have a positive image and enjoy a strong goodwill. Therefore, the company should stress on ethical standards and the recent up dates in the field of corporate governance have provided an apt example that corporate governance is the need of the hour. An unethical business will not be able to sustain in the long run. References Albuquerque, R, Durnev, A, Koskinen, Y 2013, Corporate social responsibility and firm risk: theory and empirical evidence, Boston University. Benabou, R Tirole, R 2010, Individual and Corporatefinance Social responsibility, Ecnomica vol.11, pp. 1-19 Bauer, R Hann, D 2010, Corporate environmental management and credit risk, Maastricht University. Kruger, P 2015, Corporate goodness and shareholder wealth, Journal of Financial economics, pp. 304-329 Bhattacharya, Du S Sen S, CB 2010, Maximizing business returns to corporate social responsibility (CSR): The role of CSR communication, Management Review vol. 12, no. 8, pp. 19-26 Hong, H Kacperczyk, M 2009, The price of sin: the effects of social norms on markets, Journal of Financial Economics, pp. 35-66 Kacperczyk, A 2009, With greater power comes greater responsibility? Takeover protection and corporate attention to stakeholders, Strategic Management vol. 30, pp. 251285. Carol, A.A, Brad, P, Prakash J. S, Jodi Y 2016, Exploring the implications of integrated reporting for social investment (disclosures), The British Accounting and finance Review, vol. 48, no. 3, pp. 283296 Hemmer, T Labro, E 2008, On the optimal relation between the properties of managerial and financial reporting systems, Journal of Accounting Research, vol. 46, pp. 12091240. Paradise, R Rogoff, B 2009, Side by Side: Learning by Observing and Pitching In, Ethos, vol. 37, pp. 102138 Mangena, M 2007, Disclosure, Corporate Governance and Foreign Share Ownership on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, Journal of International Financial Management and Accounting, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 53- 85 Blokhin, A 2015, What impact did the Sarbanes-Oxley Act have on corporate governance in the United States? viewed 20 May 2017 https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/052815/what-impact-did-sarbanesoxley-act-have-corporate-governance-united-states.asp Denning, S 2011, The Dumbest Idea In The World: Maximizing Shareholder Value, viewed 20 May 2017 https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/11/28/maximizing-shareholder-value-the-dumbest-idea-in-the-world/#228705852287 Julia, S.K Elizabeth C. R 2010, Conflict Between Doing Well And Doing Good? Capital Budgeting Case Study Coors, Journal of Business Case Studies, vol. 6, no.6, pp. 123-130 Patterson, T 2000, Doing Well Doing Good, viewed 20 May 2017 https://shorensteincenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/soft_news_and_critical_journalism_2000.pdf Edwards, M 2015, Why its time to say goodbye to doing good and doing well, viewed 20 May 2017 https://www.opendemocracy.net/transformation/michael-edwards/why-it-s-time-to-say-goodbye-to-doing-good-and-doing-well Rebel 2016, Responsible Business and Profit Maximisation, viewed 20 May 2017 https://www.responsiblebusiness.eu/display/rebwp2/Responsible+Business+and+Profit+MaximisationBertilsson, J 2017, The slippery relationship between brand ethic and profit, viewed 20 May 2017 https://www.ephemerajournal.org/contribution/slippery-relationship-between-brand-ethic-and-profit Donius, B 2010, Profit Maximization - Ethics = The Goldman Standard, viewed 20 May 2017, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-donius/profit-maximization---eth_b_553605.html

In The Society Today, It Is Very Common For One To Spend His Or Her Ti

In the society today, it is very common for one to spend his or her time reading. In those types of readings, science fiction stories are one of the most common readings among many people. Science fiction, unlike any other literature, has very unique characteristics. The definition of science fiction is "fiction dealing principally with the impact of actual or imagined science on society or individuals having a science factor as an essential orienting component." (Webster's Pg 1045) This means science fiction stories are based on dreams, hopes and fears of people in the society. Science fiction stories are characterized by the styles and methods. One of the most common methods of science fiction is prophetic extrapolation. Prophetic extrapolation is passages that science fiction writers focus on the " development of science"(Science fiction III, Pg X) instead of "science of today,"(Science fiction III, Pg X) such as sociology, biology, psychology or any kind of science. Prophetic ext rapolation is the most important element of science fiction stories. It is what makes science fiction. The story of The War Of The World, by H. G. Wells, is a classical example of a science fiction story. Wells uses his imagination and the creativity to create the conflict between Earth and Mars. In the story, he introduces unknown creatures and the machines by using prophetic extrapolation. For examples, first, in the passage from chapter two he explains Martian's star ship. He writes, " The uncovered part had the appearance of a huge cylinder, caked over and its out-line softened thick scaly dun-colored incrustation." (The War Of The World, Pg 11) Wells create the star ship from his imagination and able to give readers a good image that it is something round object by the word choices. Second example is from chapter three, where Wells explain the appearance of Martians. In the passage he explains, "Two large dark-colored eyes were reading me steadfastly. The mass that framed them, the head of the thing was round, and had, one might say, face. There was a mouth under the eyes, the li pless brim of which quivered and panted, and dropped saliva. The whole creature heaved and pulsated convulsively." (The War Of The World, Pg 21) From this passage, because his well explanation, readers could receive unpleasant image of how Martian looks like. Last example is from the passage about heat ray in chapter five. It said, "Suddenly there was a flash of light, and a quantity of luminous greenish smoke came out of the pit in three distinct puffs, which drove up, one after the other, straight into the still air." (The War Of The World, Pg25) Wells vividly explains what took main character by surprised as if it really happened. As a reader, one is aware that these things do not exist. However, as a interesting point, although none of these things exist in the real world, it seems as if these creations exist for readers. It is because Wells' well use of prophetic extrapolation. When Wells explains about his creations from imagination, he gives examples based on the facts of soc iety or science. It makes easer for readers to relate to the story. Because of Wells' examples, imaginations of the story become live and vivid and realistic. In the story of The War Of The World, by H. G. Wells, prophetic extrapolation was used well, and that is what made this story wonderful and exciting. There are many different types of science fiction writers today. They all have different styles or methods in each story. However, all the science fiction writers have one thing in common. . It is called prophetic extrapolation. Many science fiction writers use their imaginations, creativities and use "number of different sources and apply in a number of fields" (Hand Out. Pg X) to make dreams, hopes, and fears come true in the stories. It is truly the unique characteristics of science fiction. Bibliography Work cited 1. James Gun. Science Fiction Volume 3. eds White Wolf Publishing. Clarkson, GA: 2. Webster, Merriam. Webster's Collegiate Dictionary Tenth Edition. Springfield MA:1996. 3. Wells H. G. The War Of The World Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010: 1988.

Can I get a refund on my car Professor Ramos Blog

Can I get a refund on my car My story all begins in April on a cold rainy day.   My parents were driving to Los Angeles to see my grandma, when my parents pulled off the freeway many exits too early, my mom said â€Å"I need to use the restroom. I will be quick.†   We all knew that was going to be true. So me and my best friend walked around the parking lot while both my parents went in to the dealer to use the restroom. While I was walking around I was thinking of the day I would get one for myself.   My parents came out and as we all started walking back to the car to leave, my dad said â€Å"Look Aryanna†. I turned my head and seen my dad filming me so then I looked at my mom and she had a box in her hand. My eyes started to water and she handed me the box.   I opened it and there were keys. There it was a brand new 2016 Honda Civic with huge balloons and a big red bow. All was well, I had just got a car but there was a couple problems.   I didn’t have a license, although I did have my permit. Yet there was still a bigger problem as I looked around my new car and noticed that my car was a manual transmission.   I couldn’t even drive an automatic yet and now I got a manual, great what a bother. So now I had a great obstacle ahead of me. So the next day my parents took me to an empty abandoned parking lot in San Bernardino and arked my new car there.   My mom and dad got out of the car and told me to get out and go in the driver seat, so I did. My dad went in the passenger and my mom wanted no business with me and driving a car so she sat on the planter that was there.   And it here it all goes, I know what type of a teacher my father is. He’s the loud, aggressive and annoyed type of teacher. So the easy part was putting on the seat belt, everything else was a struggle. Just to turn on the car I had to push in the clutch and brake.   There were three pedals one clutch, one brake and the gas pedal. At the time I could not tell you which is which. Once I did, I pushed them both in and started it up and then took my feet off and that was the first time I stalled my car. Here we go again, my dad saying in his calm voice†try again†.   So I start it up and look at him for my next instructions. He tells me to put it in the 1st gear, he told me â€Å"drag the stick up to where it says one†. So I did and his next instruction was â€Å"let your foot off the clutch a little, then off the brake and start to press the gas a little†. I let go of the brake and I started rolling back and slammed on the brakes! This was only about 10 minutes in and I had now gave myself and my dad whiplash.   My mom is laughing on the sidelines and my dad telling me to try it again. So here I go, I try again.   I take my foot off the brake and press the gas. I go nowhere, I have to take my foot off the clutch some.   Although I did it too much and I stalled again. I tried it again, I still stalled again, this happens several times before I am even able to make it further.   Stalling every couple minutes after about 3 hours of struggling, I finally got the hang of it and I was starting to get up to 15 mph in the parking lot and it was now time to shift gears.   I hear my dad saying â€Å"only push in the clutch and put it into 2nd gear and let go of the clutch and press the gas again. So my car shook but it stayed on. I continued for about another hour and got the flow of how to drive my car. Now at this point, in the next day I assumed we would go back to the parking lot and continue to practice.   I was very much so wrong, my parents got in my car and told me to drive to Oak Glen which is about an hour drive from where I live.   Just to turn everything off it was pouring down raining. So not only have I not drove on a street, I have never drove a stick shift for a long period of time.   I now had to drive in the rain. Can I get a refund on my car ?My driving was rough but I drove my family there and back home safely.   To this day I continue to be a safe driver. I still have my same car and I still continue to stall on harder streets with big hills on occasions.   I drive my manual as well as others manual vehicles as well I have gotten that comfortable to that point. And since my parents got me that car and were determined to teach me how to drive a manual they abled me to get the job that I have today as a Valet Attendant.   Knowing this trait has brung so much more fun to my driving experience. This was how I learned how to drive and I will forever be thankful. Can I get a refund on my car ?

Cross-Cultural Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cross-Cultural Interview - Essay Example Besides, Locke introduced an innovative model which consists of 10 elements to have deeper understanding on multiculturalism. Thesis statement: Can one prove the predictability of Don C Locke’s model through a structured interview with a member of minority population in the United States. The structured interview with a member from minority population pointed out by Locke in the text proves the credibility of the theory. Besides, the interviewee selected for the interview was a member of African American community. Don C. Locke opines that: â€Å"The African American population has undergone significant changes† (Locke, 1998) the African American minorities consists of a well knit community with growth and development. The questionnaire (see appendix-1) prepared for the interview consists of the model pointed out by Locke. The findings derived from the interview exposes the past of African Americans and their present condition in American society. In addition, the findings are to be evaluated with a futuristic outlook. The main findings of the interview are pointed out below. The first question asked was related to Acculturation and the multicultural characteristics of African Americans. The answer proves that the African Americans are capable to assimilate themselves into the American society. As the American society is an amalgam of multiracial, multicultural and multilingual factors, there is high chance for a minority race to accept the same as the part of their culture. The second question was related to the poverty and economic concerns. The interviewee made clear that he and his family face problems related to housing, employment and educational opportunities. The African American community faces certain economic and social problems especially on employment and higher education. The third question was related to the history of oppression which chained the African American community for centuries in the

The impact of privatisation on port efficiency Coursework

The impact of privatisation on port efficiency - Coursework Example For instance, at a macroeconomic level, port efficiency has been discovered to be an integral element in determining a country’s global competitiveness and trade prospects because it make exportation cheaper and thus, making the country’s products competitive in international markets (Culline, 2010; Park and De 2004). For this reason, governments are recognising the imperativeness of port efficiency both at the macro and micro economic levels and have started taking radical measures such as privatisation to improve their performance. This literature review examines the impact of privatisation on the efficiency of ports by examining empirical evidence and theoretical framework. In academic studies, the concept of efficiency has been used to evaluate the performance. In port literature, Wang and Knox (2011); Talley (2009) discusses three types of port efficiency, which include technical, overall and allocative efficiency. Technical efficiency is achieving the greatest productivity at the least cost possible while allocative efficiency is the production of goods and services that are demanded by customers. On the other hand, overall efficiency is the efficiency achieved when both allocative and technical efficiency are maximised and exist. For the purpose of this literature, all types of efficiency will be considered to determine the impact privatisation has on the efficiency of ports. According to Baird (2002), public ports are perceived to be inefficient because they are managed by government hierarchies and thus, suffer from disincentivisation, lack of clarity in operational responsibility and corporate objectives, goals displacement and excessive ministerial intervention (Demirel, Cullinane and Haralambides, 2011). Thus, as much as the role of the public in management of port facilities is inevitable and remains significant, it is imperative to recognise that privatisation of port facilities helps overcome the limitations of traditional,

Are Maya archaeologists justified in their condemnation of Gibsons Essay

Are Maya archaeologists justified in their condemnation of Gibsons movie Apocalypto - Essay Example However with the release of the film, there was created a huge controversy; with the native Americans, social activists, and various archaeologists working on Mayan civilization, protesting the representation of the Mayan people in this movie â€Å"as violent and depraved† (ibid). In his defense Mel Gibson had commented that this movie is not really historical, and uses the Mayan civilization as â€Å"merely the backdrop [that was required for representing] civilizations and what undermines them† (Johnson, 2005). In my article I will explore the controversy that started at the time of the release of the movie, and review the various commentaries and statements made by the archaeologists at this time about the inaccuracies that were evident in the movie. My article will also do a brief review of the movie, and study the Mayan civilization, to understand the misrepresentations that were supposedly made in this film. After exploring and analyzing the various facts and info rmation surrounding this controversy, I will finally come to a conclusion as to whether the Maya archaeologists are really justified in their condemnation of the movie Apocalypto. A brief review of the movie: The movie starts with the above given quote by Durant, allegorically referring to the fall of the Mayan empire at the hands of the Spaniards. Directed by Mel Gibson, this movie stars Rudy Youngblood as the male protagonist (whose screen name is Jaguar Paw), and it purportedly depicts the last phase of the Mayan civilization. The movie is set in the 16th century pre Columbian era; before the Spanish invasion had conquered and destroyed evidences of this ancient Native American civilization. At the start of the movie we find Jaguar Paw hunting in the forests along with his father Flint Sky (village head) and other members of his tribe. Here they meet a group of fleeing refugees, whose lands had been ravaged by their enemies, and their state of distress and fear leave a strong

The Reflections Of Caribbean Poetry English Literature Essay

The Reflections Of Caribbean Poetry English Literature Essay As a collective group, the Caribbean people celebrate an eclectic melding of the differences inherent in our ancestry with an appreciation of the influences wrought upon us by the history of the islands, and our development may be chronicled through an examination of the poetry and poetic styles of the poets who seek to give a voice to the diverse, yet collective identity of the Caribbean throughout our growth. The poetry of the region reflects the distinct composite factors which characterize the evolution of the people and the Caribbean islands: the difference is evident in the persons who composed the poems, the subject matter, form, style, the target audience, and the ideological interests which were served. Initially, in the eighteenth century, at one end of the spectrum there were poets who ascribed to the scribal traditions of the English verse as it had developed by that period. These poets hailed from the white master class and dealt primarily with a glorification of the adventure of colonization in the Caribbean. The target audience was the imperial Motherland England, and by extension the other European nations. The pattern of the poems followed the blank verse, pastoral modes, personification, and a poetic diction consistent with the European poets of the era, such as Milton. The subject matter praised an idealized notion of the natural beauty of the Caribbean islands as in Weekes Barbados (1754): When frequent Rains, and gentle Showrs descend, / To cheer the Earth, and Natures self revive, / A second Paradise appears! the Isle / Thro-out, one beauteous Garden seems; (Burnett [1986], 102). The poems therefore are typified by a grandiose, eloquent style, liberally interspersed wi th classical allusions which celebrated the supposed grandeur of the West Indies. Singleton, in his A General Description of the West Indian Islands (1767), illustrates this feature: There hollow noises, murmuring thro the vault, / Surprize the listning er; whilst from the deeps / The hoarse Cerberean yell dreadful ascends, / Three times full-echod from the distant hills. (106). Juxtaposed with the idyllic Caribbean scenes described, these poets, such as Weekes in Barbados (1754), represent in their works a form of superficial humane concern for the slaves, coupled with an acceptance of slavery as the ultimate lot of the slave: Close watch, ye Drivers! Your work-hating Gang, / And mark their Labours with a careful Eye; / But spare your cruel, and ungenrous Stripes! / They sure are Men, tho Slaves, and colourd Black; (102). The poems celebration of the grandeur of the tropics [italics mine] is really a celebration of the supposed grandeur of British colonialism in the Caribbean. In m ost cases the poems work to uphold the slave-based socio-political system of the West Indian plantation society. (Baugh, 227-228). At the other end of the spectrum, there are the anonymous, simple expressions of the black slaves their folk songs, ballads, chants and work songs which articulate their observations and emotions while enduring the slavery experience. For example, there is the poignant lament: If me want for go in a Ebo, / Me cant go there! / Since dem tief me from a Guinea, / Me cant go there! (3). In a frustrated tone, wracked with displacement and restriction of movement, the poem solemnizes the plea of the slave while voicing the collective strife of the slaves on the islands. Markedly contrasting with the poetry of the scribal tradition, the poetry of the presumably uneducated Negro slave appeared to be fresh, insightful and engaging in its simplicity. The poems celebrated the oral traditions of the Africans and were imbued with a creative potential which was forged from the melding of the English and West African languages. Thus, even though the poems were written primarily in English, there were distinct African qualities (for example, the folksong tradition), which was only enhanced by the combining of the European ballad tradition: Guinea Corn, I long to see you / Guinea Corn, I long to plant you / Guinea Corn, I long to mould you (4). Significant to note is that the poets focus is on the Guinea Corn of hie native homeland, and not on the sugarcane of the plantations which exploited his labour. Topically, the slave would not have thought to romanticize the natural beauty of the islands in which they now lived under such persecution. Rather, focal points of their poems may have been entrenched in the desire to retain their native identities and in finding ways of re-defining their identities in the new context of the Caribbean. While it stands to reason that the dichotomy shown here epitomizes the expected disparity of thought and should, in fact, highlight the distinctions among the Caribbean people, the evolution of the Caribbean towards the abolition of slavery gave birth to an innovative poetic voice, one which emerged as a spokesperson chronicling the debacle of the slave trade and the slave experience: Was there no mercy, mother of the slave! No friendly hand to succor and to save, While commerce thus thy captive tribes oppressd, And lowering vengeance lingerd oer the west? Yes, Africa! Beneath the strangers rodà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦From isle to isle the welcome tidings ran; The slave that heard them started into man: Like Peter, sleeping in his chains, he lay, The angel came, his night was turnd to day; Arise! his fetters fell, his slumbers flee; He wakes to life, he springs to liberty. (Montgomery [1807], 1-5, 76-77). This poetic voice also interwove the African oral tradition into the fabric of the European poetic form, creating a new composite form which, for the first time, attempted to bridge the gap between the Standard English language and the language of the slaves. In his pioneer attempt, Moretons Ballad (1790) is an example of this: Altho a slave me is born and bred, / My skin is black, not yellow: (Burnett, 112). With this initial foray into the experimental Creole art form, the fact that poets of Caucasian descent were willing to both pen and publish poems in this native dialect spoke loudly to the impending communal focus of poetry in the Caribbean isles, and by extension, the duality of distinct peoples writing for the same purpose: to record a shared history and to give a unique voice to Caribbean literary works. That is not to say that all poems written in this time period were imbued with a humane outlook on the Africans. Many poets who were members of the privileged class ventured into this field, using the local vernacular in their scribal works, however the intent of poets such as Cordle and Mc Turk was a humorous depiction of the everyday life of the African in an attempt to appease the target audience which was still predominantly European. A prime example of Mc Turks use of the vernacular to poke fun at the African people can be seen in his poem, Query (1899): Da Backra one fo go a hebben? / Da Backra one fo raise like lebben? / Da wa a-we po Negah do? / Make a-we no fo raise up too? (13). It may be noted however, that poets such as Mac Dermot, whose work displayed a Tennysonian sound and feel, as was inevitable due to continued reliance on European form, in Cuba (1950s), showed the redemptive power of Caribbean unity: But we like lovers twain / Are one in joy and pain, (132). The poets and poems of this era depicted, in essence, informative social history documents, however their depiction did not negate the fact that, inevitably, two distinct histories were being interwoven through the medium of the poetry which was written. Without openly acknowledging the fact, the poets became a part of the discourse of history that they shared with historians and travel writers (Baugh, 230). The veer towards the vernacular in poetry which still embodied European forms, and also now American forms in the writing, was extremely valuable as a reflection of social realities which no longer distinguished between the people who populated the Caribbean islands, but rather reflected the shared nature of the their heritage. This fact became more noticeable as the Caribbean and its people continued to evolve. The turn of the century was earmarked by poets such as Claude Mc Kay and Una Marson, whose poetic content highlighted the didactic shift towards a focus on black consciou sness and, in Marsons work, a predominantly feminist interpretation of the social relations of the era. Although his later works were penned entirely in Standard English and exhibited the lineage of Milton and Wordsworth, the protest sonnets of Mc Kay, such as If We Must Die reflected both the black United States American situation and the Caribbean situation of the time; the racial theme is engaged poignantly, connecting the Black diaspora and speaking for the Black community generally, rather than singularly from the Caribbean perspective: If we must die, O let us nobly die, / So that our precious blood may not be shed / In vain; then even the monsters we defy / Shall be constrained to honour us, though dead! (Burnett, 144). If one examines Mc Kays Creole poetry, there is, in contrast to earlier works by Cordle and Mc Turk in which the African man was patronized, a definitive consciousness of the black people: I born right don beneat de clack / (You ugly brute, you tun you back?) / Don tink dat Im a come-aroun / I born right way in panish Town. (Brown, 7). The new female consciousness presented by Marson was also linked to black awareness on a holistic level. This black awareness fuses with class consciousness in Marsons simple diction and syntax, while her rhyme draws heavily from the Blues tradition of the American poetic form: I like me black face / And me kinky hair. / I like me black face / And me kinky hair. / But nobody leves dem, / I jes dont tink its fair. (Burnett, 158). What was seen to emerge was poets working conjointly to produce a new West Indian poetic tradition. Thematically the poets wrote in the context of the changing sociopolitical consciousness, exhibiting a new level of seriousness, characterized by a nationalistic slant, an exploration of the social realities of the time, and profoundly proclaiming a search for a shared Caribbean identity. The poems which grew out of the early to mid-twentieth century gave more attention to the search for a unique voice and although typified by derivations from the modern English and American poets of the time, for example, Auden, Eliot and Pound, there was a decided split from the European tradition. Nowhere does this split show itself to be more evident than in the secular works of Louise Bennett. Written entirely in the Jamaican Creole, Bennetts work legitimized the Creole in a way that no-one elses had as yet. Employing the primarily dramatic monologue, interspersed intermittently with the short narrative form, and with heavy reliance on the oral traditions, Bennett engages the reader vicariously in the grassroots wisdom of her personae. Her sharply probing yet objective eye exposes the naÃÆ' ¯vetà © of the Caribbean people. Her tone which is sometimes chastising, is at all times, even in the midst of her reliance on comedy as a medium of exposition, satirical as she figuratively holds up a mirror to societys foibles. Her ideas dwell on the peoples articulation of self and their place in the history of the Caribbean. Distinguishing identity becomes an inevitable condition as the people define themselves. In her works, for example, Colonization in Reverse, the reader can see how Bennett acts as a reporter and commentator on an event of both historical significance and psychological interest to the Caribbean people the exodus of Caribbean nationals to England during the post-war period: Wat a joyful news, Miss Mattie, I feel like me heart gwine burs Jamaica people colonizing Englan in reverseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Oonoo see how life is funny, Oonoo see de tunabout? Jamaica live fe box bread Out a English people moutà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Brown, 32). The delivery is characterized by a high degree of verbal and gestural expressiveness however the irony and counter-irony of the situation chronicle the poem. The dialect which is used as the medium of delivery serves mainly to highlight the unfolding drama of West Indian consciousness as the speaker debates the issue of a counter-colonization of England, and the West Indian nationals search for an identifiable history. To many of the West Indian poets such as Bennett, the tradition of English poetic form which was inherited as a part of our colonial history became progressively constrained and oppressive as the islands and their people moved towards self-realization. The need for a Caribbean poetry which encapsulated the essence of the Caribbean peoples shared history and drive towards progress and self-actualiaztion became the fore-runner of thematic influence for the poets topics. The desire for a poetry which spoke of, to and for West Indians was begun by poets like Bennett and realized in poets such as Derek Walcott and (Edward) Kamau Brathwaite. Their poems expressed a possibility for the creation of a new Caribbean world differentiated by its very divergence from Europe and America. Walcotts vision essentially delineates the social realities which have to be transformed in order for a new world vision to transcend into reality. His poetry reinvented the Caribbean landscape through the languag e which defined the qualities of the Caribbean life and people. The vision, which was also influenced by the plight of the Middle Passage extends to all races that comprised the Caribbean. Walcotts poetry did not highlight distinctions among the people, rather when he speaks of race he refers to all Caribbean people, and this vision further extends to embrace all human suffering and the need for survival. The Native Americans tragedy served only to deepen his concern for the Black diaspora, his outrage and lament not singularly focused on the Cherokee Trail of Tears nor the Gulag Archipelago, but a lament for the injustice of all systems of abuse and slavery which prioritized the financial gain of the enterprise above the inhumanities inflicted on the individual. Walcotts poetry can be said to subsume the whole history of grief inherited by the Caribbean people. History itself, for him, becomes a centrally comprehensive theme, such that the gnarled, sea-almond trees on any Atlantic- facing Caribbean coast represent for the poet the resiliency of the people, their capacity to endure, and to build a culture out of a common catastrophe: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦their leaves broad dialect a coarse, / enduring sound / they shared together. (Walcott, 23). Brathwaite shared Walcotts vision as he clearly established [a] single-minded pursuit of an alternative tradition for West Indian poetry. He grounded it in the retrieval and recognition of African cultures and of communal knowledge lost or submerged in the Middle Passageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Baugh, 255): à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦memories trunked up in a dark attic, he stumps up the stares of our windows, he stares, stares he squats on the tips of our language black burr of conundrums eye corner of ghosts, ancient his- tories; (Brathwaite, 165). For Brathwaite, his poetry utilizes black musical expressions from both sides of the Atlantic and combines them with black vernacular and Standard English to re-enact or evoke significant moments of Black experience. His goal may be seen as to renew a sense of community and shared purpose among the dispersed African peoples. Brathwaites poems are simultaneously a lament and a celebration of the black diaspora, his heroes and speakers composites of all the changing faces and voices of the new Caribbean. Renewal and community emerge as the desired home out of a legacy of exile and fragmented identity. For both Walcott and Brathwaite, their representations of contemporary society resound with the understanding of the colonial legacy bequeathed to the Caribbean people. The latter half of the Twentieth Century heralded the emergence of yet another poetic voice. This voice was that of the West Indian feminist who sought to establish the importance of the contribution of the female figure in the West Indian community. Poets such as Merle Collins and Lorna Goodison spoke out forthrightly against male-dominated power structures and engaged questions of the womans role in issues of history, class and race. Goodisons poetry for example resonates with a deep sense of history, generates a sense of creativity and focuses on the multi-dimensional roles of women in the society, sharing with Brathwaite and Walcott that vibrant sense of identity evident in her works which characteristically display Caribbean and African-American people music within a social and native consciousness that this type of music includes: Mother, there is the stone on the hearts of some women and men something like an onyx, cabochon-cut, which hung on the wearer seeds bad dreams. Speaking for the small dreamers of this earth, plagued with nightmares, yearning for healing dreams we want the stone to move. (Goodison, 4). Poems such as this encapsulate the breadth of the female form, claiming the womans place as the cultural regenerator of the people. Also extending the range of artistic use of the oral tradition into the current century, infusing it with the urgency of new, deprived generations and speaking the language of the street, the poetry of poets such as Linton Kwesi Johnson gained new popularity as dub poetry, a poetry which could trace its lineage to the oral inventiveness of the tenement yards and ghettos. However, although the poetry is at times interspersed with impressions of violence, it affirms the deep cultural significance and identification of the Caribbean people with social protest: dem is awftin decried an denied dem is awftin ridiculed an doungraded dem is sometimes kangratulated an celebrated dem is sometimes suprised an elated but as yu mite have already guess dem is awftin foun wantin more or less dus spoke di wizen wans af ole dis is a story nevvah told (Brown, 274). The writers explored here are not all of one and the same generation. Nonetheless they identify in crucial ways the Caribbeans origins; their sense of location is creatively problematic and their postcolonial sensibility appears uneasily chronicled. However the idea of a divided immigrant to the Caribbean does not hold true. Rather, one can literally trace the development of the Caribbean, and its continuing development, through the voice which these poets give to their works of art. There is a specially defined relationship of the Caribbean national to his home and identity, however multi-faceted it may appear to be. His colonial redefinition is still incomplete but the process, however delayed, is inevitable. Poets of the West Indies, through their thematic content, their use of language, their adaptation of form and their ability to acquire a target audience which was, in effect, a locally appreciative entourage, all shared in the singular rhetoric which captured the shared experi ence of the Caribbean people and gave to the islands a unique form of identity. As Eric Roach notes in his poem Love Over-grows a Rock (1992), the hope for the Caribbean peoples future lies summarily in transcending insularity through a shared regional identity and dream: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦So, from my private hillock / In Atlantic I join cry: / Come, seine the archipelago; / Disdain the sea; gather the islands hills / Into the blue horizons of our love. (Rohlehr, 284).

How Does Arthur Miller Expect :: essays research papers

Question: “And so I mourn him-I admit it-with a certain…alarm'; How does Arthur Miller expect us to react to the death of Eddie Carbone? In your opinion, does he succeed? Eddie Carbone, the family guy, not wanting any trouble, just wanting his niece, in more ways than one. Eddie was a family man, he kept his home nice and he looked after all his family and friends, there was a great respect for him and he was loved by many. Even the people against him, had to love him. He was popular among his friends and colleagues and he was sociable, going bowling with his friends is what his spare time was devoted to, that and his family. Eddie’s view of his family was loving, he tried to give them everything, and he tried to hold them together, he was the glue that made them stick together when trouble came. There was only one thing that could dissolve the, the arrival of the two brothers. - When Eddie dies, the audience is expected to feel sympathetic and upset for the loss of the main character. Alfieri enhances this feeling with words, in his final speech. ‘I think I will love him more than all my sensible clients’ This makes me think that Eddie wasn’t stupid, and he wasn’t a fool, he was just oblivious to the fact that Catherine was going to grow up, to love others but him, he couldn’t understand why this had to happen. Alfieri has a great deal of respect for Eddie, like the other characters in the play. When Eddie is killed by Marco in a fit of rage, he lies, dying in Beatrice’s arms, only then, does he realize what he’s got, and that’s Beatrice. He shows this by saying; ‘My B.!’ These are Eddie’s last words.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Act one, Alfieri shares his view of Red Hook. How it used to be a violent town, with lots of fights and deaths, but over the years it has got more pleasant. People look out for each other. ‘I no longer keep a pistol in my filing cabinet.’ Alfieri says this at the start of the play, he used to because he got violent clients, the one way to defend himself was to also have a weapon. But as the town got nicer and more people cared for each other, he found that he didn’t need it and he could trust the people who came to see him.

The Impact of the Current Regulatory Framework on Water Quality in Ireland

Lecturer: Aisling O’Gorman Waste Process Management Lecturer: Aisling O’Gorman Waste Process Management 08 Fall 08 Fall Submission Date: 11/10/2012 Word Count: 2387 Submission Date: 11/10/2012 Word Count: 2387 The Impact of the Current Regulatory Framework on Water Quality in Ireland: Maria McShaneThe Impact of the Current Regulatory Framework on Water Quality in Ireland: Maria McShane Introduction Based on the evaluation of various reports, papers, documents, regulations and legislation from numerous agencies, departments, directives and bodies it can be seen that although â€Å"on paper† major changes have been made so as to improve the quality of water in Ireland, realistically the amendments do not match up.This being that progress has been slow and minimal when compared to the reform of regulations and legislation and the introduction of the Water Framework Directive. Considering the key importance of water as a natural resource both to society and habitats alike it will be argued that although the intention is there to improve the quality of water in Ireland (and there have been some improvements) as an overall, actual major physical improvements to the water quality has yet to be seen.Report Firstly the Water Framework Directive will be examined to highlight its purpose, current status and goals for the future and how it fits into impacting Irelands water quality. The WFD was set up by the EU â€Å"in response to the increasing threat of pollution and the increasing demand from the public for cleaner rivers, lakes and beaches† (The Eu Water Framework Directive. [online] Available at: [Accessed on 08/10/12]). According to the Water Framework Directives’ website, their aims are to â€Å"protect/enhance all waters (surface, ground and coastal waters), achieve â€Å"good status† for all waters by December 2015, manage water bodies based on river basins (or catchments), involve the public and streamline legislationâ € 1 (The Eu Water Framework Directive. [online] Available at: [Accessed on 08/10/12]).In order to achieve these goals a timetable for implementation of the directive was created, starting from its transposition into Irish Legislation by the European Communities (Water Policy) Regulations 2003, (Statutory Instrument 722) on 22nd December 2003 (European Communities (Water Policy) Regulations 2003, (Statutory Instrument 722). (The Eu Water Framework Directive. [online] Available at: [Accessed on 08/10/12]). From the 22nd December 2003 to the 22nd June 2009 no Programmes of Measures were actually implemented in order to beneficially impact Irelands water quality by the WFD.Instead the WFD established (June 2004) and characterised (December 2004) Irelands River Basin Districts, submitted a National Summary Report on the characterisation of the RBDs to the European Commission (March 2005), developed classification systems for surface water and groundwater (June 2006), established and m aintained appropriate Monitoring Programmes (June 2006), prepared and published a work programme and timetable for the production of River Basin Management Plans (RBMP) (June 2006), identified the significant water management issues in each river basin (June 2007), drafted RBMPs and allowed six months for written comment (June 2008), and finally established environmental objectives and final Programmes of Measures and developed RBMPs for implementation (June 2009), (Water Framework Directive, [2005]). Although this research and reporting is a vital function of improving Irelands water quality, the timeframe in which this has been done means that physical progress has been hindered. The actual recovery progress made to Irelands water quality can be seen in various Environmental Protection Agency reports. According to the EPA’s Water Quality in Ireland Report of 2007-2009, between 1987 and 1990, 77. 3, 12. 0, 9. 7 and 0. % surveyed river channel length were unpolluted, slightly polluted, moderately polluted and seriously polluted respectively. By the 2001-2003 report the percentage of unpolluted rivers had dropped from 77. 3% to 69. 3% which is significant, in addition to this the percentage surveyed of seriously polluted rivers had risen from 0. 4% to 0. 6%, slight and moderate pollution had also risen by 5. 9 and 2. 6 percent respectively. By the 2007-2009 report the percentage of surveyed river that remained unpolluted had dropped again to 68. 9%, slight pollution had also risen to 20. 7%. Fortunately moderate and seriously polluted waters had seen a drop from 12. 3 and 0. 6 to 10. 0 and 0. 4 percent respectively (M. McGarrigle et al. [2009).Considering that the water quality of rivers for the 2001-2003 recording period was healthier than the 2007-2009 recording period, even though the 2001-2003 period coincides with the implementation of the WFD, highlights that for a period of six years that the WFD was in effect Irelands river water quality declined . This corroborates to the argument that yes the WFD has carried out reports, monitoring programs and drafted plans all well and good, but without any actual meaningful actions taken, what good is the WFD at all? This is not to say that the WFD has not done anything positive, for example since its introduction â€Å"the percentage of channel surveyed classified as seriously polluted has decreased to 0. 4 percent compared with the previous period when 0. 5 percent was seriously polluted† (M. McGarrigle et al. [2009]).It cannot be stressed enough that in order to improve the quality of water in Ireland research and reporting is fundamental, however the point being made is that pencil pushing and fiddling around writing reports and documents will not recuperate Irelands water systems. Six years is a very long timeframe for an EU commissioned directive to take no feasible action other than talk about and plan what it’s going to do and then expect to reach its target of ret urning all waters to â€Å"good status† by December 2015. To emphasise the case that without acting and merely focusing on the bureaucratic side of things the WFD has impeded its own progress, citing’s from the South Western River Basin Management Plan (2009-2015) report will be looked at.It states, â€Å"municipal wastewater discharge is one of the two most important sources of pollution in Irish rivers, accounting for 38% of the number of polluted river sites recorded (the other source being agricultural activities)† (South Western River Basin District [2010]). This is not new news, this has been known for quite some time and â€Å"the two top sectors responsible for the pollution of Irish rivers are municipal and agriculture† has even been quoted in the 1991-1993 EPA water quality in Ireland report. To add to this the Nitrates Directive was set up in 1991 for the â€Å"protection of waters against pollution by nitrates from agricultural sources† (Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, The Nitrates Directive. [online] Available at: http://www. nviron. ie/en/Environment/Water/WaterQuality/NitratesDirective/ [Accessed on 08/10/12]). This directive actually implemented legislation that â€Å"required the avoidance of practices by farmers which create a risk of causing pollution to water courses and provide for inspections by local authorities. They also provided for strengthened enforcement provisions and for better farmyard management. They included provisions relating to times of the year, weather and soil conditions when the application of fertilisers is permitted, the minimum setback distances from water sources for the application of fertilisers and minimum storage capacity for manures†. Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, The Nitrates Directive. [online] Available at: http://www. environ. ie/en/Environment/Water/WaterQuality/NitratesDirective/ [Accessed on 08/10/12]). Why then is the SWRBD reporting that agriculture is the second biggest cause of pollution to Irish rivers, number one when this has long been known and number two when measures have already been put in place a long time ago to address this problem? To add to this they also quoted â€Å"The main objective in relation to wastewater is to meet the requirements of the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations (2001-2010) in full† (South Western River Basin District [2010]). Not to be crude, but are they for real?This is common sense, these regulations have been in place since 2001, and yes they would have been modified over the years but how in 2010 when this report came out can meeting these regulations still be just an objective? To highlight further the WFDs failure to have a significant positive impact on the quality of Irish water a recent EPA report on the assessment of aquatic ecosystem responses to POM’s intended to improve water quality in Ireland was released. Acco rding to this report, â€Å"results presented suggest that many existing POMs have proven or are proving ineffective in raising BWQ (biological water quality) and restoring ecological functioning† (D. Taylor et al. [2012]). An example of this can be seen in the â€Å"strategic replacement of 10% of septic tank systems in part of the Blackwater catchment in CO. Armagh† (D. Taylor et al. [2012]).The report showed that overall, prior and subsequent to the replacement of the septic tank systems phosphorous loads remained largely the same. In conjunction with this result, â€Å"in other parts of the Blackwater, the replacement and upgrading of septic tank systems had no significant phosphorous concentration effects, despite the implementation of additional POMs aimed at reducing phosphorous inputs from point and diffuse sources† (D. Taylor et al. [2012]). The report goes on to say that some of the â€Å"potential reasons why the implementation of POMs have had limit ed success include the delayed, incomplete or uneven application of measures† (D. Taylor et al. [2012]).This only solidifies the argument that the WFD spent too much time thinking about what to do, and then what measures they did put in place, for the most part either took too long to do so or did not implement the measure properly in order to meet their 2015 deadline. Which follows now onto a report that was released in July 2010 on behalf of the WFD entitled â€Å"Final River Basin Management Plans Background Documentation, Alternative Objectives: Approach to Extended Deadlines†, its main purpose, to focus on certain cases that require an extension past the 2015 deadline (kind of defeats the purpose of the WFD if they are admitting defeat five years before the deadline). Under section 4. 0 ‘Agriculture’ of this report, one of the cases for exclusion is nitrate losses from agriculture to groundwaters. The reason for this, â€Å"Scientific data indicates s tatus recovery extends beyond 2015. â€Å"Recovery of elevated nitrate levels in groundwater bodies is expected to take place in approximately 20 years even with full implementation of the Good Agricultural Practice regulations (Fenton et al, in press). So yes, while it is known that the natural recovery of a water system takes substantial time, with technology today could the WFD not invest in developing nitrate removal techniques such as, layered double hydroxides which â€Å"are of interest because of the potential to use LDHs to remove agrochemicals from polluted water, reducing the likelihood of eutrophication† (Wikipedia. org, Layered Double Hydroxins. [online] Available at: [Accessed on 08/10/2012]). Another case looked at in this report is wastewater discharges from some treatment plants.The reason for the exemption, a technical/practical constraint, it states â€Å"The time required to plan and design upgrades to treatment plants and to achieve approvals and licen sing means it is not technically possible to achieve good status in 2015,† the action applied is to leave â€Å"Local Authorities to upgrade plants through the Water Services Investment Programme† meaning that funding is one of the reasons that there will be a delay in the overhaul of wastewater treatment plants in Ireland. Unsurprisingly, according to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government website â€Å"with the changed economic climate and the finalisation of the first cycle of River Basin Management Plans, the new programme aims to prioritise projects that target environmental compliance issues† (Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, Water Services Investment Programme. online] Available at: http://www. environ. ie/en/Environment/Water/WaterServices/WaterServicesInvestmentProgramme/ [Accessed on 08/10/2012]). This here shown lack of initiative by the Government and the WFD by not investing in technology that can help recover Irish waters allows the development of this last argument. In a very recent position paper entitled â€Å"Reform of the Water Sector in Ireland† carried out by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government it was highlighted that â€Å"water services cost over â‚ ¬1. 2 billion to run in 2010, of which operational costs amounted to some â‚ ¬715 million, with capital expenditure of over â‚ ¬500 million†.The paper goes on to tell of the impending establishment of the state company ‘Irish Water’ â€Å"that will take over the water investment and maintenance programmes of the 34 county and city councils with the key aim of supervising and accelerating the pace of delivery of planned investments needed to upgrade the State’s water and sewerage networks† (Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, [2012]). This state company intends on funding its investments and programmes via water charges paid for by Irish householders. Despite the fact that Ireland is in a recession and its people are struggling as it is financially, the fact remains that Ireland is the only country in the OECD that does not pay for its water use (Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, [2012]).It states, â€Å"Our capacity to fund the future capital investment requirements from the exchequer is severally constrained. The Government’s plan for Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2012-16 shows a decline in exchequer capital investment in water and waste water services from â‚ ¬435 million in 2011 to â‚ ¬371 million in 2012 and a further decline to â‚ ¬296 million by 2014† (Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, [2012]). This is one of the reasons why Irish Water is a good idea as it will actually fund the necessary wastewater treatment plant changes that need to be done in order to tackle some of Irelands water pollution issues while als o effectively reducing the amount of treated potable water wasted everyday by Irish households.So to sum up, yes, introducing the WFD has had a positive impact as it has lead to developments in implementations that will help to recover the quality of Irelands waters, however the main argument being made in this paper is that they failed on several points. Firstly they spent too much time on the bureaucratic side of things, six years to be exact figuring out what the problems were and where, when a lot of them were obvious, had been known about and reported on several years previously and many had already been addressed. Secondly, a lot of POMs that were implemented were done so either to late or not properly, meaning that a lot of them have not lead to any significant positive changes.Finally where the WFD failed was a lack of investment into developing technologies that might help accelerate the return of Irish waters to their natural state, and a huge time lag into implementing wa ter charges so as to invest into Irelands infrastructure regarding wastewater treatment. Overall time here is what has been wasted, as for every day that no action is taken is another day when Irelands water and habitats suffer. Nature does not and can not wait for the pencil pushers. References 1. The Eu Water Framework Directive. [online] Available at: [Accessed on 08/10/12] 2. Water Framework Directive, [2005].The Characterisation and Analysis of Ireland’s River Basin Districts, National Summary Report. Ireland 3. Environmental Protection Agency, M. McGarrigle et al. [2009]. Water Quality in Ireland. Ireland 4. South Western River Basin District, [2010] South Western River Basin Management Plan. Ireland 5. Environmental Protection Agency, [1993] Water Quality in Ireland. Ireland 6. Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, The Nitrates Directive. [online] Available at: http://www. environ. ie/en/Environment/Water/WaterQuality/NitratesDirective/ [Accessed o n 08/10/12]). 7. Environmental Protection Agency, D. Taylor et al. [2012] Water Quality and the Aquatic Environment STRIVE Report 91. Ireland 8.Lag Time: A Methodology For The Estimation Of Vertical, Horizontal Travel & Flushing Timescales To Nitrate Threshold Concentrations In Irish Aquifers Fenton et al under review 9. Wikipedia. org, Layered Double Hydroxins. [online] Available at: [Accessed on 08/10/2012]. 10. Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, Water Services Investment Programme. [online] Available at: http://www. environ. ie/en/Environment/Water/WaterServices/WaterServicesInvestmentProgramme/ [Accessed on 08/10/2012]). 11. Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, [2012] Reform of the Water Sector in Ireland. Ireland The Impact of the Current Regulatory Framework on Water Quality in Ireland Lecturer: Aisling O’Gorman Waste Process Management Lecturer: Aisling O’Gorman Waste Process Management 08 Fall 08 Fall Submission Date: 11/10/2012 Word Count: 2387 Submission Date: 11/10/2012 Word Count: 2387 The Impact of the Current Regulatory Framework on Water Quality in Ireland: Maria McShaneThe Impact of the Current Regulatory Framework on Water Quality in Ireland: Maria McShane Introduction Based on the evaluation of various reports, papers, documents, regulations and legislation from numerous agencies, departments, directives and bodies it can be seen that although â€Å"on paper† major changes have been made so as to improve the quality of water in Ireland, realistically the amendments do not match up.This being that progress has been slow and minimal when compared to the reform of regulations and legislation and the introduction of the Water Framework Directive. Considering the key importance of water as a natural resource both to society and habitats alike it will be argued that although the intention is there to improve the quality of water in Ireland (and there have been some improvements) as an overall, actual major physical improvements to the water quality has yet to be seen.Report Firstly the Water Framework Directive will be examined to highlight its purpose, current status and goals for the future and how it fits into impacting Irelands water quality. The WFD was set up by the EU â€Å"in response to the increasing threat of pollution and the increasing demand from the public for cleaner rivers, lakes and beaches† (The Eu Water Framework Directive. [online] Available at: [Accessed on 08/10/12]). According to the Water Framework Directives’ website, their aims are to â€Å"protect/enhance all waters (surface, ground and coastal waters), achieve â€Å"good status† for all waters by December 2015, manage water bodies based on river basins (or catchments), involve the public and streamline legislationâ € 1 (The Eu Water Framework Directive. [online] Available at: [Accessed on 08/10/12]).In order to achieve these goals a timetable for implementation of the directive was created, starting from its transposition into Irish Legislation by the European Communities (Water Policy) Regulations 2003, (Statutory Instrument 722) on 22nd December 2003 (European Communities (Water Policy) Regulations 2003, (Statutory Instrument 722). (The Eu Water Framework Directive. [online] Available at: [Accessed on 08/10/12]). From the 22nd December 2003 to the 22nd June 2009 no Programmes of Measures were actually implemented in order to beneficially impact Irelands water quality by the WFD.Instead the WFD established (June 2004) and characterised (December 2004) Irelands River Basin Districts, submitted a National Summary Report on the characterisation of the RBDs to the European Commission (March 2005), developed classification systems for surface water and groundwater (June 2006), established and m aintained appropriate Monitoring Programmes (June 2006), prepared and published a work programme and timetable for the production of River Basin Management Plans (RBMP) (June 2006), identified the significant water management issues in each river basin (June 2007), drafted RBMPs and allowed six months for written comment (June 2008), and finally established environmental objectives and final Programmes of Measures and developed RBMPs for implementation (June 2009), (Water Framework Directive, [2005]). Although this research and reporting is a vital function of improving Irelands water quality, the timeframe in which this has been done means that physical progress has been hindered. The actual recovery progress made to Irelands water quality can be seen in various Environmental Protection Agency reports. According to the EPA’s Water Quality in Ireland Report of 2007-2009, between 1987 and 1990, 77. 3, 12. 0, 9. 7 and 0. % surveyed river channel length were unpolluted, slightly polluted, moderately polluted and seriously polluted respectively. By the 2001-2003 report the percentage of unpolluted rivers had dropped from 77. 3% to 69. 3% which is significant, in addition to this the percentage surveyed of seriously polluted rivers had risen from 0. 4% to 0. 6%, slight and moderate pollution had also risen by 5. 9 and 2. 6 percent respectively. By the 2007-2009 report the percentage of surveyed river that remained unpolluted had dropped again to 68. 9%, slight pollution had also risen to 20. 7%. Fortunately moderate and seriously polluted waters had seen a drop from 12. 3 and 0. 6 to 10. 0 and 0. 4 percent respectively (M. McGarrigle et al. [2009).Considering that the water quality of rivers for the 2001-2003 recording period was healthier than the 2007-2009 recording period, even though the 2001-2003 period coincides with the implementation of the WFD, highlights that for a period of six years that the WFD was in effect Irelands river water quality declined . This corroborates to the argument that yes the WFD has carried out reports, monitoring programs and drafted plans all well and good, but without any actual meaningful actions taken, what good is the WFD at all? This is not to say that the WFD has not done anything positive, for example since its introduction â€Å"the percentage of channel surveyed classified as seriously polluted has decreased to 0. 4 percent compared with the previous period when 0. 5 percent was seriously polluted† (M. McGarrigle et al. [2009]).It cannot be stressed enough that in order to improve the quality of water in Ireland research and reporting is fundamental, however the point being made is that pencil pushing and fiddling around writing reports and documents will not recuperate Irelands water systems. Six years is a very long timeframe for an EU commissioned directive to take no feasible action other than talk about and plan what it’s going to do and then expect to reach its target of ret urning all waters to â€Å"good status† by December 2015. To emphasise the case that without acting and merely focusing on the bureaucratic side of things the WFD has impeded its own progress, citing’s from the South Western River Basin Management Plan (2009-2015) report will be looked at.It states, â€Å"municipal wastewater discharge is one of the two most important sources of pollution in Irish rivers, accounting for 38% of the number of polluted river sites recorded (the other source being agricultural activities)† (South Western River Basin District [2010]). This is not new news, this has been known for quite some time and â€Å"the two top sectors responsible for the pollution of Irish rivers are municipal and agriculture† has even been quoted in the 1991-1993 EPA water quality in Ireland report. To add to this the Nitrates Directive was set up in 1991 for the â€Å"protection of waters against pollution by nitrates from agricultural sources† (Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, The Nitrates Directive. [online] Available at: http://www. nviron. ie/en/Environment/Water/WaterQuality/NitratesDirective/ [Accessed on 08/10/12]). This directive actually implemented legislation that â€Å"required the avoidance of practices by farmers which create a risk of causing pollution to water courses and provide for inspections by local authorities. They also provided for strengthened enforcement provisions and for better farmyard management. They included provisions relating to times of the year, weather and soil conditions when the application of fertilisers is permitted, the minimum setback distances from water sources for the application of fertilisers and minimum storage capacity for manures†. Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, The Nitrates Directive. [online] Available at: http://www. environ. ie/en/Environment/Water/WaterQuality/NitratesDirective/ [Accessed on 08/10/12]). Why then is the SWRBD reporting that agriculture is the second biggest cause of pollution to Irish rivers, number one when this has long been known and number two when measures have already been put in place a long time ago to address this problem? To add to this they also quoted â€Å"The main objective in relation to wastewater is to meet the requirements of the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations (2001-2010) in full† (South Western River Basin District [2010]). Not to be crude, but are they for real?This is common sense, these regulations have been in place since 2001, and yes they would have been modified over the years but how in 2010 when this report came out can meeting these regulations still be just an objective? To highlight further the WFDs failure to have a significant positive impact on the quality of Irish water a recent EPA report on the assessment of aquatic ecosystem responses to POM’s intended to improve water quality in Ireland was released. Acco rding to this report, â€Å"results presented suggest that many existing POMs have proven or are proving ineffective in raising BWQ (biological water quality) and restoring ecological functioning† (D. Taylor et al. [2012]). An example of this can be seen in the â€Å"strategic replacement of 10% of septic tank systems in part of the Blackwater catchment in CO. Armagh† (D. Taylor et al. [2012]).The report showed that overall, prior and subsequent to the replacement of the septic tank systems phosphorous loads remained largely the same. In conjunction with this result, â€Å"in other parts of the Blackwater, the replacement and upgrading of septic tank systems had no significant phosphorous concentration effects, despite the implementation of additional POMs aimed at reducing phosphorous inputs from point and diffuse sources† (D. Taylor et al. [2012]). The report goes on to say that some of the â€Å"potential reasons why the implementation of POMs have had limit ed success include the delayed, incomplete or uneven application of measures† (D. Taylor et al. [2012]).This only solidifies the argument that the WFD spent too much time thinking about what to do, and then what measures they did put in place, for the most part either took too long to do so or did not implement the measure properly in order to meet their 2015 deadline. Which follows now onto a report that was released in July 2010 on behalf of the WFD entitled â€Å"Final River Basin Management Plans Background Documentation, Alternative Objectives: Approach to Extended Deadlines†, its main purpose, to focus on certain cases that require an extension past the 2015 deadline (kind of defeats the purpose of the WFD if they are admitting defeat five years before the deadline). Under section 4. 0 ‘Agriculture’ of this report, one of the cases for exclusion is nitrate losses from agriculture to groundwaters. The reason for this, â€Å"Scientific data indicates s tatus recovery extends beyond 2015. â€Å"Recovery of elevated nitrate levels in groundwater bodies is expected to take place in approximately 20 years even with full implementation of the Good Agricultural Practice regulations (Fenton et al, in press). So yes, while it is known that the natural recovery of a water system takes substantial time, with technology today could the WFD not invest in developing nitrate removal techniques such as, layered double hydroxides which â€Å"are of interest because of the potential to use LDHs to remove agrochemicals from polluted water, reducing the likelihood of eutrophication† (Wikipedia. org, Layered Double Hydroxins. [online] Available at: [Accessed on 08/10/2012]). Another case looked at in this report is wastewater discharges from some treatment plants.The reason for the exemption, a technical/practical constraint, it states â€Å"The time required to plan and design upgrades to treatment plants and to achieve approvals and licen sing means it is not technically possible to achieve good status in 2015,† the action applied is to leave â€Å"Local Authorities to upgrade plants through the Water Services Investment Programme† meaning that funding is one of the reasons that there will be a delay in the overhaul of wastewater treatment plants in Ireland. Unsurprisingly, according to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government website â€Å"with the changed economic climate and the finalisation of the first cycle of River Basin Management Plans, the new programme aims to prioritise projects that target environmental compliance issues† (Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, Water Services Investment Programme. online] Available at: http://www. environ. ie/en/Environment/Water/WaterServices/WaterServicesInvestmentProgramme/ [Accessed on 08/10/2012]). This here shown lack of initiative by the Government and the WFD by not investing in technology that can help recover Irish waters allows the development of this last argument. In a very recent position paper entitled â€Å"Reform of the Water Sector in Ireland† carried out by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government it was highlighted that â€Å"water services cost over â‚ ¬1. 2 billion to run in 2010, of which operational costs amounted to some â‚ ¬715 million, with capital expenditure of over â‚ ¬500 million†.The paper goes on to tell of the impending establishment of the state company ‘Irish Water’ â€Å"that will take over the water investment and maintenance programmes of the 34 county and city councils with the key aim of supervising and accelerating the pace of delivery of planned investments needed to upgrade the State’s water and sewerage networks† (Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, [2012]). This state company intends on funding its investments and programmes via water charges paid for by Irish householders. Despite the fact that Ireland is in a recession and its people are struggling as it is financially, the fact remains that Ireland is the only country in the OECD that does not pay for its water use (Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, [2012]).It states, â€Å"Our capacity to fund the future capital investment requirements from the exchequer is severally constrained. The Government’s plan for Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2012-16 shows a decline in exchequer capital investment in water and waste water services from â‚ ¬435 million in 2011 to â‚ ¬371 million in 2012 and a further decline to â‚ ¬296 million by 2014† (Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, [2012]). This is one of the reasons why Irish Water is a good idea as it will actually fund the necessary wastewater treatment plant changes that need to be done in order to tackle some of Irelands water pollution issues while als o effectively reducing the amount of treated potable water wasted everyday by Irish households.So to sum up, yes, introducing the WFD has had a positive impact as it has lead to developments in implementations that will help to recover the quality of Irelands waters, however the main argument being made in this paper is that they failed on several points. Firstly they spent too much time on the bureaucratic side of things, six years to be exact figuring out what the problems were and where, when a lot of them were obvious, had been known about and reported on several years previously and many had already been addressed. Secondly, a lot of POMs that were implemented were done so either to late or not properly, meaning that a lot of them have not lead to any significant positive changes.Finally where the WFD failed was a lack of investment into developing technologies that might help accelerate the return of Irish waters to their natural state, and a huge time lag into implementing wa ter charges so as to invest into Irelands infrastructure regarding wastewater treatment. Overall time here is what has been wasted, as for every day that no action is taken is another day when Irelands water and habitats suffer. Nature does not and can not wait for the pencil pushers. References 1. The Eu Water Framework Directive. [online] Available at: [Accessed on 08/10/12] 2. Water Framework Directive, [2005].The Characterisation and Analysis of Ireland’s River Basin Districts, National Summary Report. Ireland 3. Environmental Protection Agency, M. McGarrigle et al. [2009]. Water Quality in Ireland. Ireland 4. South Western River Basin District, [2010] South Western River Basin Management Plan. Ireland 5. Environmental Protection Agency, [1993] Water Quality in Ireland. Ireland 6. Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, The Nitrates Directive. [online] Available at: http://www. environ. ie/en/Environment/Water/WaterQuality/NitratesDirective/ [Accessed o n 08/10/12]). 7. Environmental Protection Agency, D. Taylor et al. [2012] Water Quality and the Aquatic Environment STRIVE Report 91. Ireland 8.Lag Time: A Methodology For The Estimation Of Vertical, Horizontal Travel & Flushing Timescales To Nitrate Threshold Concentrations In Irish Aquifers Fenton et al under review 9. Wikipedia. org, Layered Double Hydroxins. [online] Available at: [Accessed on 08/10/2012]. 10. Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, Water Services Investment Programme. [online] Available at: http://www. environ. ie/en/Environment/Water/WaterServices/WaterServicesInvestmentProgramme/ [Accessed on 08/10/2012]). 11. Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, [2012] Reform of the Water Sector in Ireland. Ireland