Walt Disney as a leader

Walt Disney as a Leader Throughout the years, in the field of entertainment there are very few people who have captured the eye of the public and made a name themselves. Walt Disney achieved this and much more, his name became a renowned brand and his success to the form of amusement parks around the world and iconic movies that continued to be passed down to be watched for generations, immortalizing his creations into the childhood of millions. Walt Disney presented himself as a leader for pioneering the world of animation into our day to day forms of entertainment.His imagination ead him to go beyond the limits of a simple cartoonist. He dreamt of a much larger picture and he knew his creativity could bring something great to this world. Through his ambitious and creative nature he created whole worlds and characters with stories for us to fall in love with. His stubborn attitude and his optimism motivated cartoonist and animators alike, to aspire great goals in their careers despi te what anyone else states against you. Walt Disney had always had big aspirations no matter how impossible it may have seemed he always worked his hardest to reach his goals.His ambition motivated him to do the unthinkable, even when his ideas failed him he kept looking at the big picture. This mode of thinking lead him to want to â€Å"be the first person to create a full length animated This was in 1933 and at the time this goal seemed outrageous, no one believed it would succeed and that he would go bankrupt like in many of his other attempts at animation. But Walt Disney ignored these thoughts and stayed true to his vision, he hired only the most skilled cartoonists and began his four year project. All the while ignoring the warnings about his imminent failure.Four years later his first full length production, â€Å"Snow white and the Seven Dwarfs† was released in 1937. It became a sensation and the success spurred on Walt Disney's imagination into creating more films s uch as â€Å"Bambi,† â€Å"Cinderella,† â€Å"101 Dalmatians,† â€Å"Alice in Wonderland,† â€Å"The Lion King,†(Warfield) and the list goes on. Walt Disney's ambition motivated him to reach his goal despite the criticism, and if he hadn't where would we be without these iconic movies? Creativity was one of Disney's many strong suits, his imagination lead to many conic creations that added a new level into the entertainment field.Walt Disney was a pioneer and innovator, â€Å"and the professor of one of the most fertile and unique imaginations the world has ever known. † (Brad) Hi creative mind set was one of the main factors that lead to his great success. Having always had an artistic interest, since he was Just a young boy he drew cartoons for his school newspaper and at times, when invited to, told stories to the class by drawing them out on the chalkboards in his classroom. His creativity grew in his studios, in the early days of is car eer it was located in his garage.He grew fond of three mice that he latter took in as pets, â€Å"he had a particular favorite who inspired the cartoon character Mickey Mouse. † (Kraws) His imagination lead him to create one of the most iconic characters in the entertainment field. Mickey Mouse forever characterized as the face for Disney's name, one ot the greatest creations he made, torever immortalizing his brand and his future accomplishments. He also had an impulsive nature about him that often times turned to stubbornness when trying to bring his next vision to reality.During his production of â€Å"Mary Poppins†, it was originally meant to be a movie with only real actors. But Disney was struck with this idea of merging animation along with the real people, and idea every involved in the production, including the actors found absurd. Many objected the idea claiming it to be â€Å"too high of risk. â€Å"(lMDb) This time Walt Disney was not ignoring the words o f Just critics but his own co-workers and partners. He went ahead and added the animation to film despite the words of his team. The film was released in 1964 generating yet another wave of success in the Walt Disney Studios.Walt Disney's impulsive and stubborn nature could be viewed as one of his flaws but it often was that impulse to pursue the goals set by his imagination that fueled his stubborn nature to reach his goal despite of anyone's advice. And that impulse usually lead to great creations that ended in success. Though optimism is not something that comes naturally to most people, Disney had an incredible way of seeing the â€Å"light at the end of the tunnel† even in his darkest situations. Such as his early attempted projects like â€Å"The Alice Comedies† which ended when he â€Å"and his company Laugh-O-Grams went bankrupt. Brad) Even having to face his past failure Disney still aimed to achieve greatness and he never let the negative parts of his life c loud these ideals. His views on life was always bright and challenges never seemed to faze him. Other parts of Disney's life were not as easy to get over, â€Å"probably the most painful time of Walt's private life, was the accidental death of his mother in 1938. † Once â€Å"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs† was released Walt and his brother Roy Disney, bought a home for their parents closer to their studio, but unfortunately less than a month later Disney's mother died ofAsphyxiation due to a faulty furnace. (Brad) The accident haunted Disney for years but he continued on with his animations despite his grief and still believed life would get better. His optimistic attitude during the darkest of times motivated thousand of cartoonists and animators to persevere and make them believe in Disney could do it so could they. Throughout the challenged Walt Disney had faced, his ambition led him to achieve impossible goals, his creativity allowed him to imagine captivating st ories, his stubbornness stuck him to his ideals and his optimism go him through the greatest challenges.A true inspiration for aspiring cartoonist, animators and entertainers alike that greatness can be achieved with perseverance and motivation. He taught the world that creativity should be embraced and that imagination is a gift that can lead the world to achieve seemingly impossible goals. Few men have made such a mark on the world, and most not as memorable as Walt Disney. In his words, â€Å"we keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. † (Rosenbaum) Walt Disney, a true leader and pioneer to the creative imagination.

The Silence Game

3a) What is the benefit to the child of the ‘Silence game’? (500 words) Constant noise can create irritability, frustration, confusion, and even sleepiness. Everyone needs moments of peace to rest our bodies and to listen to our thoughts. Dr. Montessori says that a deeper level of awareness and sensitivity to noise can help is to enter into a â€Å"more refined and subtle world†. Montessori therefore came up with the â€Å"Silence Game† or â€Å"The Exercise of Silence†. Dr. Montessori created the Silence Game while working with children who were partially deaf. She observed that their hearing improved when they were able to listen carefully for sounds. Standing at the back of the room with the children facing away from her, Dr. Montessori quietly called out the name of each child. When the children heard her call their name, they would quietly walk to where she stood. Silence has become one of the best known characteristics of the Montessori Method. It has been adopted in many schools and has succeeded in bringing to them something of the Montessori spirit. (Montessori, 1988). After the Silence Game children become more obedient, sweet, and gentle. Dr Montessori also realized that after such an exercise the soul of the child has its spiritual rewards. In the Montessori Classroom, the Silence Game is played to help children develop not only a higher level of self-discipline, but to acclimatize children to the world around them. Many adults and children take for granted the sounds around them. And in our fast paced world, few of us stop to â€Å"smell the roses† let alone take the time to quietly listen and reflect. The Silence Game takes practice. Young children and those who are not yet normalized have relatively short attention spans and find it ever so difficult to remain still and quiet for more than 20-30 seconds. With practice, attention spans lengthen and children learn to relax, absorb, and appreciate the world around them. During the Silence lesson, the children in the class can choose to participate in the making of the silence. In order to â€Å"make silence†, the child must have self control, they must become aware of everything in their bodies that can move, and they must want to cooperate with those who are silent around them. But before the children can even play the game, the child must have developed good coordination of movement, they must have a strong will, they must have a great awareness of themselves and of others, and they must have experienced some silence before. When the children do create silence, they will not only have experienced a moment of peace and tranquility, but they will want to play it over and over again. The Direct purpose of the Silence game is to build the child’s awareness and sensitivities to the noise around him and the noise he creates. The indirect aim is to create a sense of awareness of their bodies and building up balance. Dr. Montessori believed that the silence game was like a religious experience for children. It is important not to break off the game abruptly. The end result is a calm and peaceful atmosphere. Everyone feels rested after the experience.

Exxon Mobil and Environment

Author Login Encyclopedia of Earth Search Top of Form [pic][pic] Bottom of Form †¢ Earthportal †¢ Earthnews †¢ Encyclopedia of Earth †¢ Forum EoE Pages o Home o About the EoE o Editorial Board o International Advisory Board o FAQs o EoE for Educators o Contribute to the EoE o Support the EoE o Contact the EoE o Find Us Here o RSS o Reviews o Awards and Honors †¢ [pic] Solutions Journal [pic] Browse the EoE o Titles (A-Z) o Author o Topics o Topic Editor o Content Partners o Content Sources o eBooks o Environmental Classics o Collections †¢ [pic] †¢ [pic] †¢ [pic] Exxon Valdez oil spill Table of Contents | |1 Introduction | |2 Events leading up to the spill | |3 The behavior of the oil | |4 Countermeasures and Mitigation | |4. 1 Control of the oil spill at sea | |4. 2 Shoreline treatment | |5 Economic impacts | |6 How much oil remains? |7 Ecosystem response to the spill | |7. 1 Acute Mortality | |7. 2 Long-term impacts | |7. 3 State of recove ry | |8 Legal responsibility of ExxonMobil | |8. 1 Criminal Settlement | |8. 1. 1 Plea Agreement | |8. 1. Criminal Restitution | |8. 2 Civil Settlement | |9 The response of ExxonMobil | |10 Lessons learned from the spill | |11 Further Reading | | | |[pic] | [pic] Contributing Author: Cutler J.Cleveland (other articles) Content Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (other articles) Article Topics: Pollution and Energy This article has been reviewed and approved by the following Topic Editor: Peter Saundry (other articles) Last Updated: August 26, 2008 [pic] Introduction On March 24, 1989, the tanker Exxon Valdez, en route from Valdez, Alaska to Los Angeles, California, ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The vessel was traveling outside normal shipping lanes in an attempt to avoid ice.Within six hours of the grounding, the Exxon Valdez spilled approximately 10. 9 million gallons of its 53 million gallon cargo of Prudhoe Bay crude oil. Eight of the eleven tanks on board were damaged. The oil would eventually impact over 1,100 miles of non-continuous coastline in Alaska, making the Exxon Valdez the largest oil spill to date in U. S. waters. The response to the Exxon Valdez involved more personnel and equipment over a longer period of time than did any other spill in U. S. history.Logistical problems in providing fuel, meals, berthing, response equipment, waste management and other resources were one of the largest challenges to response management. At the height of the response, more than 11,000 personnel, 1,400 vessels and 85 aircraft were involved in the cleanup. [pic] [pic] The Exxon Valdez aground on Bligh Reef. (Source: NOAA) Shoreline cleanup began in April of 1989 and continued until September of 1989 for the first year of the response. The response effort continued in 990 and 1991 with cleanup in the summer months, and limited shoreline monitoring in the winter months. Fate and effects monitoring by state and Fed eral agencies are ongoing. The images that the world saw on television and descriptions they heard on the radio that spring were of heavily oiled shorelines, dead and dying wildlife, and thousands of workers mobilized to clean beaches. These images reflected what many people felt was a severe environmental insult to a relatively pristine, ecologically important area that was home to many species of wildlife endangered elsewhere.In the weeks and months that followed, the oil spread over a wide area in Prince William Sound and beyond, resulting in an unprecedented response and cleanup—in fact, the largest oil spill cleanup ever mobilized. Many local, state, federal, and private agencies and groups took part in the effort. Even today, scientists continue to study the affected shorelines to understand how an ecosystem like Prince William Sound responds to, and recovers from, an incident like the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Events leading up to the spillThe Exxon Valdez departed from the Trans Alaska Pipeline terminal at 9:12 pm, March 23, 1989. William Murphy, an expert ship's pilot hired to maneuver the 986-foot vessel through the Valdez Narrows, was in control of the wheelhouse. At his side was the captain of the vessel, Joe Hazelwood. Helmsman Harry Claar was steering. After passing through Valdez Narrows, pilot Murphy left the vessel and Captain Hazelwood took over the wheelhouse. The Exxon Valdez encountered icebergs in the shipping lanes and Captain Hazelwood ordered Claar to take the Exxon Valdez out of the shipping lanes to go around the ice.He then handed over control of the wheelhouse to Third Mate Gregory Cousins with precise instructions to turn back into the shipping lanes when the tanker reached a certain point. At that time, Claar was replaced by Helmsman Robert Kagan. For reasons that remain unclear, Cousins and Kagan failed to make the turn back into the shipping lanes and the ship ran aground on Bligh Reef at 12:04 a. m. , March 24, 1989. Capt ain Hazelwood was in his quarters at the time.The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the accident and determined five probable causes of the grounding: (1) The third mate failed to properly maneuver the vessel, possibly due to fatigue and excessive workload; (2) the master failed to provide a proper navigation watch, possibly due to impairment from alcohol; (3) Exxon Shipping Company failed to supervise the master and provide a rested and sufficient crew for the Exxon Valdez; (4) the U. S. Coast Guard failed to provide an effective vessel traffic system; and (5) effective pilot and escort services were lacking.The behavior of the oil [pic] [pic] The oil slick (blue areas) eventually extended 470 miles southwest from Bligh Reef. The spill area eventually totaled 11,000 square miles. (Source: Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council) Prudhoe Bay crude oil has an API gravity of 27. 0, and a pour point of 0 degrees Celcius. The bulk of the oil spilled from the Exxon Valdez was released within 6 hours of the ship's grounding. The general trend of the oil was south and west from the point of origin. For the first few days after the spill, most of the oil was in a large concentrated patch near Bligh Island.On March 26, a storm, which generated winds of over 70 mph in Prince William Sound, weathered much of the oil, changing it into mousse and tarballs, and distributed it over a large area. By March 30, the oil extended 90 miles from the spill site. Ultimately, from Bligh Reef, the spill stretched 470 miles southwest to the village of Chignik on the Alaska Peninsula. Approximately 1,300 miles of shoreline were oiled. 200 miles were heavily or moderately oiled (obvious impact); 1,100 miles were lightly or very lightly oiled (light sheen or occasional tarballs). The spill region contains more than 9,000 miles of shoreline.In addition to the storm of March 26, the spill occurred at a time of year when the spring tidal fluctuations were nearly 18 feet. This t ended to deposit the oil onto shorelines above the normal zone of wave action. The diversity in shoreline types in the affected areas led to varied oiling conditions. In some cases, oil was present on sheer rock faces making access and cleanup difficult, or rocky beaches with grain size anywhere from coarse sand to boulders, where the oil could percolate to a sub-surface level. The spill affected both sheltered and exposed (to high wave/weather action) shorelines.Once oil landed on a shoreline it could be floated off at the next high tide, carried to and deposited in a different location, making the tracking of oil migration and shoreline impact very difficult. This migration ended by mid-summer 1989, and the remaining cleanup dealt with oiled shorelines, rather than oil in the water. Cleanup operations continued during the summer months of 1990 and 1991. By 1990, surface oil, where it existed, had become significantly weathered. Sub-surface oil, on the other hand, was in many cases much less weathered and still in a liquid state. The liquid sub-surface oil could give off a sheen when disturbed.Cleanup in 1991 concentrated on the remaining reduced quantities of surface and sub-surface oil. Countermeasures and Mitigation Control of the oil spill at sea The Alyeska Pipeline Service Company was immediately notified of the incident and sent a tug to the site to assist in stabilizing the vessel. At the time of the incident, the Alyeska spill response barge was out of service being re-outfitted. It arrived on scene by 1500 on 24 March. Alyeska was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the incident; by March 25, Exxon had assumed full responsibility for the spill and cleanup effort. [pic] [pic] The Exxon Valdez surrounded by a containment boom. Source: Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council) Deployment of boom around the vessel was complete within 35 hours of the grounding. Exxon conducted successful dispersant test applications on March 25 and 26 and was granted permissio n on March 26 to apply dispersants to the oil slick. Due to the large storm that began the evening of March 26, much of the oil turned into mousse. As dispersants aren't generally able to dissipate oil in the form of mousse, it was no longer practical to use dispersants on floating oil during this response. On the evening of March 25, a test in-situ burn of oil on water was conducted.Approximately 15,000 to 30,000 gallons of oil were collected using 3M Fire Boom towed behind two fishing vessels in a U-shaped configuration, and ignited. The oil burned for a total of 75 minutes and was reduced to approximately 300 gallons of residue that could be collected easily. It was estimated that the efficiency of this test burn was 98 percent or better. Again, continued in-situ burning was not possible because of the change in the oil's state after the storm of March 26. Five dispersant trials took place between March 25 and March 28, but by March 29 the Regional Response Team (RRT) decided tha t dispersants were no longer feasible.Because there was not enough equipment to protect all the shorelines that could be impacted, Federal, state and local agencies collaborated to establish shoreline protection priorities. The agencies decided that fish hatcheries and salmon streams had the highest priority; accordingly, containment booms were deployed to protect these areas. Five fish hatcheries in Prince William Sound and two in the Gulf of Alaska were boomed, with the largest amount of boom deployed at the Sawmill Bay hatchery in Prince William Sound.At the height of containment efforts, it is estimated that a total of 100 miles of boom was deployed. Almost all the types of boom available on the market were used and tested during the spill response. Due to the size of the spill, it was necessary to employ inexperienced workers to deploy and tend booms, and this led to some boom being incorrectly used or handled, and sometimes damaged. Some boom sank because of improper deploymen t, infrequent tending, or leakage and/or inadequacy in the buoyancy system. Other problems included fabric tears in boom due to debris, and tearing at anchorage points from wave action.In some cases, ballast chains were ripped off during boom recovery if the boom was lifted by the chain. One estimate suggests that 50 percent of the damage to larger boom came during boom recovery. For self-inflating booms, it was important to keep the inflation valves above the water during deployment so that the boom did not become filled with water and have to be replaced. Aerial surveillance was used to direct the deployment of booms and skimmers for open water oil recovery. Visual overflight observations as well as ultraviolet/infrared (UV/IR) surveys were used by the USCG and Exxon to track the floating oil.Satellite imagery was also tested as a method to track oil but was not very useful because of the infrequency of satellite passes over Prince William Sound (every 7 to 8 days), cloud cover, a nd lengthy turn around time for results. The primary means of open water oil recovery was with skimmers. In general, most skimmers became less effective once the oil had spread, emulsified and mixed with debris. To save time, it was most practical to keep skimmer offloading equipment and oil storage barges near the skimmers. The most used skimmers during the response were the Marco sorbent lifting-belt skimmers that were supplied by the U.S. Navy. Once oil became viscous, the sorbent part of the skimmer was removed and the conveyor belt alone was sufficient to pull the oil up the ramp. The pump that came with the skimmer had difficulty offloading viscous oil, so that other vacuum equipment was used to unload the collected oil. The Marco skimmers were generally not used close to shore because they draw between three and four feet. In general, the paddle belt and rope mop skimmers were the most useful for recovery of oil from the shoreline. The skimmers were placed on self-propelled b arges with a shallow draft.Sorbents were used to recover oil in cases where mechanical means were less practical. The drawback to sorbents was that they were labor intensive and generated additional solid waste. Sorbent boom was used to collect sheen between primary and secondary layers of offshore boom, and to collect sheen released from the beach during tidal flooding. Pompoms were useful for picking up small amounts of weathered oil. Towing of sorbent boom in a zigzag or circular fashion behind a boat was used to collect oil and was more efficient than towing the boom in a straight line.Sorbent booms made of rolled pads were more effective than booms made of individual particles because these absorbed less water and were stronger, and did not break into many small particles if they came apart. Early on in the response, storage space for recovered oil was in short supply. To combat the storage space problem, water was decanted from skimmers or tanks into a boomed area before offlo ading. As a result, the remaining viscous oil mixture was difficult to offload, the process sometimes taking up to 6 to 8 hours. High-capacity skimmer offloading pumps, in particular grain pumps, were the most useful in transferring viscous oil.The oil remaining on the Exxon Valdez, was completely offloaded by the end of the first week in April 1989. After offloading operations were completed, the tanker was towed to a location 25 miles from Naked Island in Prince William Sound for temporary repairs. Later in the summer of 1989, the vessel was brought to California for further repairs. Shoreline treatment Shoreline assessment was a prerequisite for the implementation of any beach cleanup. Assessment provided geomorphological, biological, archaeological and oiling information that was used for the development of site specific treatment strategies.Cleanup operations were scheduled around specific activities such as seal haulout activity, seal pupping, eagle nesting, fish spawning, fis hing seasons, and other significant events as much as possible. [pic] [pic] Shoreline treatment from the Exxon Valdez spill. (Source: Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council) In 1989, hoses spraying seawater were used to flush oil from shorelines. The released oil was then trapped with offshore boom, and removed using skimmers, vacuum trucks (useful for thick layers of oil) and boom (sorbent, snare, pompoms).For hard to reach areas, or locations with weathered oil, heated seawater was used to flush oil from the shoreline. Converted vessels and barges were used for beach washing operations. It would take several days to outfit a conventional barge with the equipment needed to heat and pump the water. Smaller vessels that were used for beach washing early in the spill were re-outfitted for bioremediation later in the response. Along with the large-scale beach washing, manual cleanup, raking and tilling the beaches, oily debris pickup, enhanced bioremediation and spot washing were used to cleanup the oil.In some locations, oil was thick enough to be picked up with shovels and buckets. In addition, mechanical methods were used on a few sites, including the use of bulldozers to relocate or remove the contaminated beach surfaces. Mechanical rock washing machines, which were manufactured for the spill, were not used to clean contaminated rocks and return them to the beach. Oiled storm berm was mechanically relocated in some cases so that these areas, which normally would not receive much wave action, would be more exposed and cleaned by natural processes.If the oiling in the berm was significant or persistent it was tilled to free the oil or washed to optimize the cleaning. Recommendations were made to restrict the movement of berm to the upper third of the beach to ensure its return to the original location. [pic] [pic] Beach washing. (Source: Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council) Beach applications of dispersants were tried in several locations. Corexit 7664 was a pplied on Ingot Island, followed by a warm water wash. No significant change in oil cover or the physical state of the oil was observed as a result of the treatment. Some ecological impacts were observed in the treated areas.It appeared that the effects were largely due to the intensive washing more than to the use of Corexit 7664, and were evident in intertidal epibenthic macrobiota. In addition, the dispersant BP1100X was applied to a test area on Knight Island. Toxicology studies indicated that the upper and lower intertidal biota were different from pre-application communities the day after dispersant application, and returned to pre-treatment levels after seven days. In May of 1989, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Exxon conducted bioremediation trials at two test sites on Knight Island in Prince William Sound.On the basis of these tests and other trials later in the summer, Exxon recommended the use of the bioremediation enhancement agents, Inipol (Inipol EA P22—manufactured by Elf Aquitaine of France) and Customblen (Customblen 28-8-0 —manufactured by Sierra Chemicals of California), and subsequently treated over 70 miles of shoreline in Prince William Sound with these agents. Winter monitoring of the effects of bioremediation consisted of surveys of more than 20 beaches in Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska.These studies determined that oil degradation had been enhanced on the shorelines monitored, but some debate existed over whether bioremediation was solely, or even largely, responsible. Cleanup operations in 1989 ceased by the end of September. All parties involved in the response agreed that continuation of cleanup into the Alaskan winter would jeopardize the safety of cleanup crews. In addition, it was speculated that the winter storms in Alaska could significantly remove oil from shorelines, including sub-surface oil.By the end of the 1989 cleanup, more than 25,000 tons of oiled waste and several hundred thousand barrels of oil/liquid waste were collected and disposed of in landfills. Cleanup in 1990 began in April and ended in September. Surveys in the spring of 1990 showed that oiling conditions had been reduced or changed over the winter. Surface oil in 1990 was significantly weathered but sub-surface oil was relatively fresh in some locations. Cleanup techniques in 1990 focused more on manual methods of treatment such as hand wiping and spot washing as well as bioremediation.Mechanical equipment was used on a few sites. Bioremediation was more extensive in 1990, with 378 of the 587 shoreline segments treated that year receiving bioremediation application. In general, Inipol was applied in cases where surface oiling existed and Customblen slow release pellets were preferred for treating beaches with sub-surface oiling. Generally, beaches were given one to three treatments over several months. Concern over the possible toxicity of Inipol led to recommendations for application of o nly Customblen on some sites.By the spring of 1991, the scope of the cleanup effort was greatly reduced. Manual cleanup, bioremediation, and very limited use of mechanical equipment were employed. Cleanup took place from May of 1991 through July of 1991. An important observation that resulted from the Exxon Valdez oil spill was that natural cleaning processes, on both sheltered and exposed beaches, were in many cases very effective at degrading oil. It took longer for some sections of shoreline to recover from some of the invasive cleaning methods (hot water flushing in particular) than from the oiling itself.Economic impacts The State of Alaska funded a several studies of the short term economic impact of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. [pic] [pic] Recreational fishing in Alaska. (Source: Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council) 1. Recreational Sport Fishing Losses. This loss was estimated based on the impacts of the spill on sport fishing activity. One must consider the impact on the n umber of anglers, the number of sport fishing trips, the areas fished, the species fished for, and the length of these trips.For 1989 the loss was estimated to be between $0 and $580 million dollars; for 1990 the range was $3. 6 million $50. 5 million dollars. 2. Tourism Losses. The spill caused both negative and positive effects. The major negative effects were: 1. Decreased resident and non-resident vacation/pleasure visitor traffic in the spill-affected areas due to lack of available visitor services (accommodations, charter boats, air taxis). 2. Severe labor shortage in the visitor industry throughout the state due to traditional service industry workers seeking high-paying spill clean-up jobs. 3.Fifty-nine percent of businesses in the most affected areas reported spill-related cancellations and 16% reported business was less than expected due to the spill. The principle positive impact was strong spill-related business in some areas and in certain businesses such as hotels, tax is, car/RV rentals and boat charters. 1. Existence value. Economists tried to estimate the damage to so-called non-use or existence value of the Prince William Sound region in the wake of the spill. This is an attempt top measure what cannot be observed in the market: the value to the public of a pristine Prince William Sound.They estimated existence value using contingent valuation, a survey approach designed to create the missing market for public goods by determining what people would be willing to pay (WTP) for specified changes in the quantity or quality of such goods or, more rarely, what they would be willing to accept (WTA) in compensation for well-specified degradations in the provision of these goods. The results suggest an aggrragete loss of $4. 9 to $7. 2 billion dollars. In effect, these amounts reflect the public's willingness to pay to prevent another Exxon Valdez type oil spill given the scenario posed. . Replacement costs of birds and mammals. These costs include th e relocation, replacement and rehabilitation for some of the shorebirds, seabirds and the marine and terrestrial mammals that may have suffered injury or were destroyed in the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The values range from $20,000 to $300,000 dollars per marine mammal (sea otters, whales, seal lions, seals), $125 to $500 dollars per terrestrial animal (bears, river otters, mink, deer), and $170 to $6,000 dollars for seabirds and eagles. How much oil remains?Based on the areas that were studied in the aftermath of the spill, scientists made estimates of the ultimate fate of the oil. A 2001 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) study surveyed 96 sites along 8,000 miles of coastline. [pic] [pic] A pit dug on a Prince William Sound beach in 2001 revealing oil in the sediments. (Source: NOAA) The survey distinguished between surface and buried oil. Buried or subsurface oil is of greater concern than surface oil. Subsurface oil can remain dormant for many years before bein g dispersed and is more liquid, still toxic, and may become biologically available.A disturbance event such as burrowing animals or a severe storm reworks the beach and can reintroduce unweathered oil into the water. Results of the summer shoreline survey showed that the oil remaining on the surface of beaches in Prince William Sound is weathered and mostly hardened into an asphalt-like layer. The toxic components of this type of surface oil are not as readily available to biota, although some softer forms do cause sheens in tide pools. The survey indicates a total area of approximately 20 acres of shoreline in Prince William Sound are still contaminated with oil.Oil was found at 58 percent of the 91 sites assessed and is estimated to have the linear equivalent of 5. 8 km of contaminated shoreline. In addition to the estimated area of remaining oiled beach, several other important points were evident: 1. Surface oil was determined to be not a good indicator of subsurface oil. 2. Twe nty subsurface pits were classified as heavily oiled. Oil saturated all of the interstitial spaces and was extremely repugnant. These â€Å"worst case† pits exhibited an oil mixture that resembled oil encountered in 1989 a few weeks after the spill—highly odiferous, lightly weathered, and very fluid. 3.Subsurface oil was also found at a lower tide height than expected (between 0 and 6 feet), in contrast to the surface oil, which was found mostly at the highest levels of the beach. This is significant, because the pits with the most oil were found low in the intertidal zone, closest to the zone of biological production, and indicate that the survey estimates are conservative at best. Ecosystem response to the spill Recovery is a very difficult term to define and measure for a complex ecosystem such as Prince William Sound. If you ask a fisherman from Kodiak Island, a villager from the town of Valdez, an Exxon engineer, or a NOAA iologist, you are likely to receive such different answers that you may wonder if they heard the same question. In particular, disagreements exist between Exxon and government-funded scientists, and unknowns persist, especially in understanding how multiple processes combine to drive observed dynamics. Despite this, there are some things known with a high degree of certainty: oil persisted beyond a decade in surprising amounts and in toxic forms, was sufficiently bioavailable to induce chronic biological exposures, and had long-term impacts at the population level.Three major pathways of long-term impacts emerge: (1) chronic persistence of oil, biological exposures, and population impacts to species closely associated with shallow sediments; (2) delayed population impacts of sublethal doses compromising health, growth, and reproduction; and (3) indirect effects of trophic and interaction cascades, all of which transmit impacts well beyond the acute-phase mortality. Acute Mortality [pic] [pic] Sea birds killed by the Exxon Valdez oil spill. (Source: NOAA) Marine mammals and seabirds are at great risk from floating oil because they have routine contact with the sea surface.Oiling of fur or feathers causes loss of insulating capacity and can lead to death from hypothermia, smothering, drowning, and ingestion of toxic hydrocabons. Scientists estimate mass mortalities of 1000 to 2800 sea otters, 302 harbor seals, and unprecedented numbers of seabird deaths estimated at 250,000 in the days immediately after the oil spill. Mass mortality also occurred among macroalgae and benthic invertebrates on oiled shores from a combination of chemical toxicity, smothering, and physical displacement from the habitat by pressurized wash-water applied after the spill.Long-term impacts The persistent nature of oil in sediments produce chronic, long-term exposure risks from some species. For example, chronic exposures for years after the spill to oil persisting in sedimentary refuges were evident from biomarkers in fish, se a otters, and seaducks intimately associated with sediments for egg laying or foraging. These chronic exposures enhanced mortality for years. Indirect effects can be as important as direct exposure.Cascading indirect effects are delayed in operation because they are mediated through changes in an intermediary. Perhaps the two generally most influential types of indirect interactions are: (1) trophic cascades in which predators reduce abundance of their prey, which in turn releases the prey’s food species from control; and (2) provision of biogenic habitat by organisms that serve as or create important physical structure in the environment. [pic] [pic] A healthy stand of rockweed (Fucus gardneri) growing on a boulder in Prince William Sound. Source: NOAA) Scientists have found that indirect interactions lengthened the recovery process on rocky shorelines for a decade or more. Dramatic initial loss of cover by the most important biogenic habitat provider, the rockweed Fucus gar dneri, triggered a cascade of indirect impacts. Freeing of space on the rocks and the losses of important grazing (limpets and periwinkles) and predatory (whelks) gastropods combined to promote initial blooms of ephemeral green algae in 1989 and 1990 and an opportunistic barnacle, Chthamalus dalli, in 1991.Absence of structural algal canopy led to declines in associated invertebrates and inhibited recovery of Fucus itself, whose recruits avoid desiccation under the protective cover of the adult plants. Those Fucus plants that subsequently settled on tests of Chthamalus dalli became dislodged during storms because of the structural instability of the attachment of this opportunistic barnacle. After apparent recovery of Fucus, previously oiled shores exhibited another mass rockweed mortality in 1994, a cyclic instability probably caused by simultaneous senility of a single-aged stand.The importance of indirect interactions in rocky shore communities is well established, and the genera l sequence of succession on rocky intertidal shores extending over a decade after the Exxon Valdez oil spill closely resembles the dynamics after the Torrey Canyon oil spill in the UK. State of recovery The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council published a study in 2004 to assess the state of the resources injured by the spill. Fifteen years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, it is clear that some fish and wildlife species injured by the spill have not fully recovered.It is less clear, however, what role oil plays in the inability of some populations to bounce back. An ecosystem is dynamic — ever changing — and continues its natural cycles and fluctuations at the same time that it struggles with the impacts of spilled oil. As time passes, separating natural change from oil-spill impacts becomes more and more difficult. The Trustee Council recognizes 30 resources or species as injured by the spill. Depending on their status as of 2002, these have been placed in one of f ive categories: Not RecoveringThese resources are showing little or no clear improvement since spill injuries occurred: Common loon Cormorants (3 species), Harbor seal, Harlequin duck, Pacific herring, Pigeon guillemot Recovery unknown Limited data on life history or extent of injury is available. Current research is either inconclusive or not complete: Cutthroat trout, Dolly Varden, Kittlitz’s murrelet, Rockfish Subtidal communities [pic] [pic] Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). (Source: NOAA) Recovered Recovery objectives have been met: Archaeological resources, Bald eagle, Black oystercatcher, Common murre, Pink salmon, River otter, Sockeye salmon RecoveringClams, Wilderness Areas, Intertidal communities, Killer whale (AB pod), Marbled murrelet, Mussels, Sea otter, Sediments Human uses Human services that depend on natural resources were also injured by the spill. These services are each categorized as â€Å"recovering† until the resources they depend on are fully recovered: Commercial fishing, Passive use, Recreation and tourism, Subsistence Prior to the Exxon Valdez oil spill, there was no baseline date available for the abundant number of species existing in Prince William Sound.Because of this lack of data, numbers of oil spill-related casualties and recovery rates have been difficult to determine. Legal responsibility of ExxonMobil The settlement among the State of Alaska, the U. S. government and Exxon was approved by the U. S. District Court on Oct. 9, 1991. It resolved various criminal charges against Exxon as well as civil claims brought by the federal and state governments for recovery of natural resource damages resulting from the oil spill.The settlement was comprised of criminal and civil settlements with Exxon, as well as a civil settlement with Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. Criminal Settlement Plea Agreement Exxon was fined $150 million, the largest fine ever imposed for an environmental crime. The court forgave $125 milli on of that fine in recognition of Exxon's cooperation in cleaning up the spill and paying certain private claims. Of the remaining $25 million, $12 million went to the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund and $13 million went to the national Victims of Crime Fund.Criminal Restitution As restitution for the injuries caused to the fish, wildlife, and lands of the spill region, Exxon agreed to pay $100 million. This money was divided evenly between the federal and state governments. Civil Settlement Exxon agreed to pay $900 million in ten annual installments. The final payment was received in Sept. 2001. The settlement contains a â€Å"reopener window† between Sept. 1, 2002 and Sept. 1, 2006, during which the state and federal governments may make a claim for up to an additional $100 million.The funds must be used to restore resources that suffered a substantial loss or decline as a result of the oil spill, the injuries to which could not have been known or anticipated by t he six trustees from any information in their possession or reasonably available to any of them at the time of the settlement (Sept. 25, 1991). The response of ExxonMobil [pic] [pic] Exxon logo. ExxonMobil acknowledged that the Exxon Valdez oil spill was a tragic accident that the company deeply regrets. Exxon notes that company took immediate responsibility for the spill, cleaned it up, and voluntarily compensated those who claimed direct damages.ExxonMobil paid $300 million immediately and voluntarily to more than 11,000 Alaskans and businesses affected by the Valdez spill. In addition, the company paid $2. 2 billion on the cleanup of Prince William Sound, staying with the cleanup from 1989 to 1992, when the State of Alaska and the U. S. Coast Guard declared the cleanup complete. And, as noted above, ExxonMobil also has paid $1 billion in settlements with the state and federal governments. That money is being used for environmental studies and conservation programs for Prince Will iam Sound.ExxonMobil hired its own scientists to study the impacts of the spill, and they come to different conclusions than many of the results published by government agencies and peer-reviewed academic journals. Exxon's scientists acknowledge the lingering pockets of oil in the sediments, but they argue that they do not pose a serious risk. It is their position that that there are now no species in Prince William Sound in trouble due to the impact of the 1989 oil spill, and that the data strongly support the position of a fully recovered Prince William Sound ecosystem.Lessons learned from the spill The scientists who monitored the oiled parts of Prince William Sound wanted to study the shoreline’s ecological recovery after an environmental disaster like the Exxon Valdez spill, and then use those lessons to better respond to future oil spills. Right now, their task is still incomplete. However, some of their findings have changed the way they think about cleaning up oil spi lls, and about how ecosystems respond to such disturbances. Following are some examples of what they have learned: 1.Clean-up attempts can be more damaging than the oil itself, with impacts recurring as long as clean-up (including both chemical and physical methods) continues. Because of the pervasiveness of strong biological interactions in rocky intertidal and kelp forest communities, cascades of delayed, indirect impacts (especially of trophic cascades and biogenic habitat loss) expand the scope of injury well beyond the initial direct losses and thereby also delay recoveries. 2.Oil that penetrates deeply into beaches can remain relatively fresh for years and can later come back to the surface and affect nearby animals. In addition, oil degrades at varying rates depending on environment, with subsurface sediments physically protected from disturbance, oxygenation, and photolysis retaining contamination by only partially weathered oil for years. 3. Rocky rubble shores should be of high priority for protection and cleanup because oil tends to penetrate deep and weather very slowly in these habitats, prolonging the harmful effects of the oil when it leaches out. . Oil effects to sea birds and mammals also are substantial (independent of means of insulation) over the long-term through interactions between natural environmental stressors and compromised health of exposed animals, through chronic toxic exposure from ingesting contaminated prey or during foraging around persistent sedimentary pools of oil, and through disruption of vital social functions (caregiving or reproduction) in socially organized species. 5.Long-term exposure of fish embryos to weathered oil at parts per billion (ppb) concentrations has population consequences through indirect effects on growth, deformities, and behavior with long-term consequences on mortality and reproduction. The Exxon Valdez also triggered major improvements in oil spill prevention and response planning. 1. The U. S. C oast Guard now monitors fully-laden tankers via satellite as they pass through Valdez Narrows, cruise by Bligh Island, and exit Prince William Sound at Hinchinbrook Entrance. In 1989, the Coast Guard watched the tankers only through Valdez Narrows and Valdez Arm. . Two escort vessels accompany each tanker while passing through the entire Sound. They not only watch over the tankers, but are capable of assisting them in the event of an emergency, such as a loss of power or loss of rudder control. Fifteen years ago, there was only one escort vessel through Valdez Narrows. 3. Specially trained marine pilots, with considerable experience in Prince William Sound, board tankers from their new pilot station at Bligh Reef and are aboard the ship for 25 miles out of the 70-mile transit through the Sound.Weather criteria for safe navigation are firmly established. 4. Congress enacted legislation requiring that all tankers in Prince William Sound be double-hulled by the year 2015. It is estimat ed that if the Exxon Valdez had had a double-hull structure, the amount of the spill would have been reduced by more than half. There are presently three double-hulled and twelve double-bottomed tankers moving oil through Prince William Sound. Two more Endeavor class tankers are under construction by ConocoPhillips, their expected induction into service is 2004 and 2005. . Contingency planning for oil spills in Prince William Sound must now include a scenario for a spill of 12. 6 million gallons. Drills are held in the Sound each year. 6. The combined ability of skimming systems to remove oil from the water is now 10 times greater than it was in 1989, with equipment in place capable of recovering over 300,000 barrels of oil in 72 hours. 7. Even if oil could have been skimmed up in 1989, there was no place to put the oil-water mix. Today, seven barges are available with a capacity to hold 818,000 barrels of recovered oil. . There are now 40 miles of containment boom in Prince William Sound, seven times the amount available at the time of the Exxon Valdez spill. 9. Dispersants are now stockpiled for use and systems are in place to apply them from helicopters, airplanes, and boats. Further Reading †¢ Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: How Much Oil Remains? †¢ Alaska Oil Spill Commission. 1990. Spill, the wreck of the Exxon Valdez: implications for safe transportation of oil (Final report). Juneau, AK. †¢ National Transportation Safety Board. 1990.Marine Accident Report: Grounding of the U. S. Tankship Exxon Valdez: on Bligh Reef, Prince William Sound, near Valdez, Alaska, March 24, 1989. Washington, D. C. : NTSB. NTSB/MAR-90/04. 255 p. †¢ Peterson, Charles H. , Stanley D. Rice, Jeffrey W. Short, Daniel Esler, James L. Bodkin, Brenda E. Ballachey, David B. Irons. 2003. Long-Term Ecosystem Response to the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. Science 302: 2082-2086. |Disclaimer: This article is taken wholly from, or contains in formation that was originally published by, the | |National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Topic editors and authors for the Encyclopedia of Earth may have | |edited its content or added new information. The use of information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric | |Administration should not be construed as support for or endorsement by that organization for any new information | |added by EoE personnel, or for any editing of the original content. | Citation Cleveland, Cutler (Contributing Author); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Content source); Peter Saundry (Topic Editor). 2008. Exxon Valdez oil spill. † In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D. C. : Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth August 17, 2006; Last revised August 26, 2008; Retrieved March 28, 2010]. Editing this Article We invite all scientists, environmental prof essionals and science attentive individuals to help improve this article and the EoE by clicking here EDIT CITE EMAIL PRINT NCSE Boston University M1 Digital UniverseUnless otherwise noted, all text is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Neutrality Policy Supported by the Environmental Information Coalition and the National Council for Science and the Environment. Unless otherwise noted, all text is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license. Please see the Encyclopedia of Earth's website for Terms of Use information. Supported by the Environmental Information Coalition and the National Council for Science and the Environment. [pic][pic]

Torture in Extreme Emergencies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Torture in Extreme Emergencies - Essay Example A third viewpoint has arisen recently which combines views of both the groups and debates that torture can in some extreme emergencies be morally justified, however it should not be legalized or institutionalized. As per the definition of torture, it involves some practices like using electric shocks, cutting some body parts, using a hot iron, administrating severe pain, depriving of food, water and sleep for days together or beating. All this includes physically assaulting a person by the torturer by having control over the person. The person who is being tortured is defenseless and also not agreeable to such assault. Apart from these, extreme mental assault can also be considered torture. However, the extent of it and consent of the person being tortured to brand the assault as torture is well arguable. On the other hand, it might be argued that some cases of intentional infliction of extreme mental suffering on non-consenting, defenseless persons are cases of torture, whereas some instances are not. According to an article on Torture by Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy published in February, 2006, "In various national and international laws, e.g. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (United Nations 1984 - see Other Internet Resources), a distinction is made between torture and inhumane treatment, albeit torture is a species of inhumane treatment. Such a distinction needs to be made. For one thing, some treatment, e.g. flogging, might be inhumane without being sufficiently extreme to count as torture. For another thing, some inhumane treatment does not involve physical suffering to any great extent and is therefore not torture, properly speaking (albeit, the treatment in question may be as morally bad as, or even morally worse than, torture). Some forms of the infliction of mental suffering are a case in point, as are some forms of morally degrading treatment, for example causing a prisoner to pretend to have sex with an animal." (Unknown author, Torture, 2006) Though the main reason for torture is to break the victim's will, the other reasons for torture according to the above-mentioned U.N. Convention list them as to get a confession for a crime, to gather some information; to force a person or a group of people to behave in a way desired by the torturer as well as to punish for the crime.   Now the question arises on why torture is considered as wrong. Torture includes two aspects which are morally wrong as it involves administrating acute physical assault which is done intentionally on another person as well as it is administered on a fellow human being involving intentional, substantial curtailment of individual autonomy.   Authorities in the field feel that torture is worse than killing. According to Michael Davis,"Both torture and (premature) death are very great evils but, if one is a greater evil than the other, it is certainly torture" (Davis, Michael, 2005: 165), and David Sussman feels, "Yet while there is a very strong moral presumption against both killing and torturing a human being, it seems that we take the presumption against torture to be even greater than that against homicide" (Sussman, David, 2005: 15).  

Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Operations Management - Essay Example The employees would be subjected to training in the plant’s headquarters in Turin and then posted to the Greenfield site at Melfi to enhance the structure the factory. The new factory appears to be the assembly of the cars (Lanzara and Patriotta, 2007). Increased level of productivity levels; the results of the design conduct test; the organization reinstated by the employees appears an assumed basis of car manufacturing activities. This meant that the plant was assumed to have everything it needed at the snap of a finger. Later on the Fiat short term goals starts bearing fruits as the production levels increases. Fiat and its competitors know that the road to success begins for the company; as ten years down the line the company still recorded high levels of productivity and corporate success (Ciravegna and Maielli, 2011). Reduced industrial actions and stress level amongst the employees; the company success history gave it a name, the Melfi model. The organization encountere d a fall in April 2004; the break down appears prompted by the strikes, which paralysed the plant’s operation for a number of weeks (Heizer and Render, 2010). The plants, throughout, its operational years have never experienced such a situation. The strike significantly affected the plant as it received media coverage, these pauses as a danger to the future dealings of the firm. The strike sent mixed messages to individuals’ heads as the individuals seek to establish the root of the strike. Some ended up doubting the praised Fiat’s design strategy meant for Melfi factory. The field survey analysis suggested that the strike could have been a product of the repetitive application of generative pattern termed as the method and practice of (dis) assembling (DA) (Lanzara and Patriotta, 2007). Introducing a challenging and reducing process repetition among employees; the D/A patterns facilitated the reproduction of the factory’s undertakings and the repetitive works knowledge program that lead to monotony of work coupled with all the disadvantages accompanied by the reasoning. The results were tension and strenuous behavior within the employees; this led to clash and amendments of the factory’s institution process (Lanzara and Patriotta, 2007). How Did Fiat Redesign The Process And What Were The Elementary Technical Units. The use of integrated organization model; Melfi plants appears as the initiators of conversion to a fresh work setting working on the principle of minimum costs and maximum profits. The factory later divided its operations into four operation units (OU). The process appears responsible to the different stages involved in the production process. The processes include stamping body welding painting and assembly (Lanzara and Patriotta, 2007). The operation units were disintegrated further into several elementary technical units (UTE). At standard, the UTE contained between 80-100 employees and their supervisors. The UTE spill over to three shifts is the production structure of the incorporated factory. Whenever the system notes any faults in the structure the managements should be able to attribute the fault to a certain group of individuals or team (UTE) in a certain department. The task required an authoritative human agent with the ability to enforce or postpone the permit. This means what the machine cannot perform a human being is placed at

Movie the Italian Job (2003) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Movie the Italian Job (2003) - Essay Example The job was always successful without a drawback until one of the group member Steve (Edward Norton) gets greedy. He blows Bridger away, leaving the others for al fresco fish chow beneath an alpine lake. Only one person is more marked than Croker and that's the Bridger's daughter, safecracking specialist Stella (Charlize Theron). Still soggy, Croker and the lads return to LA where they enlist her services to take back the gold, and more importantly, stick it to Steve. According to Hamblin (2009), Charlie Crocker (Mark Wahlberg), and his group of thieves pulled off the crime of a lifetime by stealing a safe which was filled with gold bricks of thirty-five million dollars. But in this event, the thing that did not go according to his plan was the possibility of double cross by his own group members. And being cheated by his own group members his main aim was to take revenge of his mentor’s (Donald Sutherland) death. According to his review there are lots of similarities between the movies of 1969 and 2003. Both the characters Charlie Crocker and John Bridger are from the original movie of 1969. In a few cases the action scenes of this movie with three minis are same as the old one. There are similarities were in the moves used in the fights, such as traffic jams as well as in case of chases in a drain. (Hamblin, 2009, 290). The movie The Italian Job of 2003 is a smart funny movie with full of entertainment. Between the action scenes featuring wild boat rides through the canals of Venice, chase scenes involving the coolest little cars on wheels, and an intricately planned act of revenge lies a film filled with some great dialogue and smart acting by all the actors. According to Murray (nd), the movie starts off with a good and highly educated group of thieves pulling off the perfect heist, stealing huge amounts of gold from a strict guarded place in Venice. Till that point, everything was according to the plan, but one group pulls a double cross and therefo re taking out John Bridger (Donald Sutherland), and brains behind the entire group, forced to split up the group vows revenge on traitor Steve (Edward Norton). According to him the movie, takes off on a riotous ride over and under Downtown Los Angeles. The most important point associated with this film that stand out from the standard heist film of 1969, is mainly the attractive choice of casting of the movie, to match the character with actor for even the most minor player. â€Å"The Italian Job† works because all of the actors are totally believable. According to the report published in BBC by Stella Papmichael, the main difference with this movie and the original movie is adds wallop lacking in the original version. In the new movie the revenge adds wallop which is occasionally destabilized by Mark Wahlberg's cosmic anti-presence. In this new version of the movie, Charlize Theron is the key behind driving this movie forward , taking the wheel with quiet confidence. Accordi ng to Papmichael, It's just a shame the flirty cat-and-mouse game between Stella and Steve heads up a cul-de-sac to give way for Croker..The culminating 'big job', with a trio of Mini Coopers incongruously zipping through LA gridlock, has all the audacious mischief of its progenitor. The difference is you don't have to endure an hour of dull cockney banter

Comparison of ICT and Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Comparison of ICT and Education - Essay Example The interest in information and communications technology (ICT) swept the latter part of the twentieth century when technological advances grew at a massive rate. It is not, therefore, surprising that institutions like education have rushed towards technologies with open arms, and sometimes unprepared for it (Murphy, Walker and Webb, 2001). It is only until recently that challenges related to implementing ICT in education have caught the attention of researchers and academics. Studies, albeit seemingly retrospective in nature, remain promising in how it may be able to successfully make use of ICT in education. Is ICT in education effective, and if so, what makes it effective? These are the two primary questions that Skyler et al (2005) and McCarthy (2009) endeavored to answer in their research studies. The former team of researchers sought to find out if there are significant differences in student responses on a special education class that was delivered in three ways: traditional classroom, online classroom, and class-in-a-box using multimedia CD-ROMs (Skyler et al, 2005). McCarthy (2009), on the other hand, evaluated the use of WebCT in e-learning using Bloom’s taxonomy. Bloom’s taxonomy is often used for evaluation of students’ learning in traditional classrooms, and McCarthy (2009) applied this concept in e-learning. Generally, both articles examine the usefulness and effectiveness of ICT in education, but this is achieved through differences in the focus of the studies, which consequently direct the type of methodology used and the data collected. It would be go od to note that Skyler’s (2005) study in 2005 was used, among others, as a springboard for the McCarthy’s study in 2009. The 2005 study by Skyler et al. used pre-test, post-test and survey questionnaires to gather to examine if there were significant changes in the achievements and satisfaction of students taught in the three different settings mentioned above.

Ethical Dilema on Abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethical Dilema on Abortion - Essay Example Numerous states in the United States of America have been locked into a fierce debate over the issue of abortion being legalized. However, disregarding the legality of this act, it is essential to focus on the morality of the issue as well. Abortion has many trade-offs that involve a variety of values including a sense of where people come from. While the use of the right to abort can be legalized, the legality of the issue does not hold as much weight since this requires the elimination of some form of human life. Instead, one also needs to focus on the â€Å"ethical dilemma on abortion† (Ethics Score Board). Before understanding the different theories that surround this moral debate, it is necessary that the definition of abortion be stated. The definition tends to include two meanings: to give premature birth before the fetus is able to form a life of its own, which may be because of a miscarriage or spontaneous abortion, and the other includes the woman’s terminatio n of a pregnancy intentionally. Various feminist and pro-choice groups often regard the intentional abortion as a choice that the woman in question can make for herself. The trend for abortion is on the rise, which includes a variety of reasons. Nevertheless, according to a famous philosopher, Judith Jarvis Thomson, every individual has a right to live, and this right is also extended to the fetus. Therefore, in a way abortion is taking away that right. However, what about the right of the woman to control her own body? Hence, this is a central debate (Butts and Rich 73). The paper, henceforth, addresses the various theories that consider abortion as something not morally permissible for a variety of reasons. Analysis of various theories is essential in order to defend this argument. The pro-life view, which is opposite to the pro-choice view (those who support that abortion is every woman’s reproductive right), puts much weight on the fact that the fetus should be understood as a human being. Such groups also state that life begins at the time of conception, which means that killing a living being is murder and morally impermissible. Unless there is harm to the life of the mother, the fetus needs protection. The pro-life view also includes a variety of religious scholars as well, who quote passages from the scriptures to put forth their argument of pro-life. In Exodus 21:12, the verse states that anyone who murders anyone else should also be put to death. The group also considers the abortion of fetus to be included in this, because fundamentally, the fetus has gained life. This is also illustrated in the verse from Luke 1:41 in the New Testament â€Å"the baby in my womb leaped for joy,† which sheds light on the idea that since the baby leaped, it is very much alive (Butts and Mirch 75). And this â€Å"right to live† is also supported by the philosophical stance of Immanuel Kant and the Divine Command Theory. When it comes to understandi ng moral and religious issues, Divine Command Theory is perhaps the best. According to Cowan and Spiegel, the divine command theory is able to â€Å"provide sufficiently clear moral direction and an adequate sense of duty† (qtd. In Dunstan). This theory considers abortion to be against religion and morality because God does not support it, which has been supported by the verses quoted above. Additionally, a situation from the biblical scripture Exodus 21:22-24 has also been analyzed to state that abortion is wrong. The situation included a woman suffering a miscarriage because of two men arguing. Although this was an abortion, the scripture condemns the loss of life because as Cowan and Spiegel say, â€Å"The life of an unborn child is as valuable as that of an adult,† according to Christian belief (qtd. in Dunstan). There are verses which illustrate that life was bestowed on the fetus from the moment of conception, and God has ordained the entire life of that unborn f etus. Therefore, these precious unborn babies also

To what extend the bretton woods institutions have functioned to make Essay

To what extend the bretton woods institutions have functioned to make the world economy less prosperous and less stable - Essay Example Global financial institutions were put up such as the World Bank (WB), International Monetary Fund, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The ideas behind Bretton Woods were open and free markets to prevent trade blocs. Before World War II, countries competed against each other in an unhealthy manner in economic nationalism. Trade discrimination resulted in few countries getting rich while countries that did not belong to blocs were left out of the bandwagon. This paper will discuss how institutions of the Bretton Woods Conference, namely the World Bank (WB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the successor to the GATT which is the World Trade Organization failed their mandates of improving the international economic order. The present economic order is based on a biased system in which strong nations imposed their preferences on other countries. The number of trade disputes pending at various arbitration bodies a re ominously increasing. These arbitration courts are perceived as favouring stronger nations in interpreting WTO rules although all members are bound to abide by the rules. The noble idea that free trade and open markets will raise the living standards of everybody, in the concept of â€Å"a rising tide raises all boats,† did not happen. Richer nations deal with weaker neighbouring countries by bilateral trade agreements (BTA) and free trade agreements (FTA) like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Asean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA). These agreements practice discrimination by the grant of most-favoured nation status (MFN) to countries in exchange for political or diplomatic considerations. These agreements violate the non-discrimination rule in the WTO charter. Discussion The great Industrial Revolution took place in imperial England 200 years ago. Foremost among these inventions was the steam engine. This propell ed many industries such as coal mining and the iron ore and steel industries. A number of factors made England the right environment for which the Industrial Revolution took place. It has a primitive form of capitalism (in lieu of the existing feudal system in much of Europe back then), a melting pot of the greatest minds at that time which discussed novel ideas, the rise of the manufacturing and textile industries and efficient ways of raising relatively-cheap capital at that time (at 5% only versus 20%-30% in Europe). England was the right fertile ground for capitalism. Karl Marx himself believed England favoured the growth of capitalism because it had all the ingredients. Its novelty as an economic system was attractive to many sectors because England had an excess population which needed to be re-deployed from farms. Capitalism provided the saving grace for the government because people can be employed in factories in large urban areas by capitalists. The old feudal system gave way to new ways in the creation of wealth through manufacturing and exports. Capitalism became entrenched with the right combination of political and social changes (Hindess & Hirst, 1975:288). The Industrial Revolution and capitalism are being discussed here to give the reader an overview of today’s global order which is based on the economic system of capitalism. Before

Lower Alcohol age to 18 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Lower Alcohol age to 18 - Research Paper Example ss endorsed a law in 1964 obliging states to increase their MLDA to 21 or lose sizeable federal subsidies to construct and develop their public roads (10). All states had satisfied this provision by 1988 (14). But the question is, was the decision to raise MLDA to 21 an effective one? Or, should MLDA be lowered to 18? This paper tries to answer these two major questions. The purpose of the MLDA is to lower alcohol consumption and its related predicaments among adolescents. As mentioned above, in the 1970s, a movement toward lowering the legal drinking age to 18 started in the U.S., presenting numerous natural studies. As an outcome of research findings showing that road accidents among adolescents escalated after lowering of MLDA, a civic attempt was initiated demanding states to increase MLDA to 21 (14). The raise in MLDA throughout different states again presented scholars/analysts with a large number of natural studies to evaluate impacts of these policy reforms on alcohol use and associated dilemmas among adolescents (4). In spite of the long history of alcohol consumption laws, the deliberation over MLDA persists. A fraction of this deliberation is whether MLDA of 21 is truly capable of mitigating alcohol-related problems (10). This deliberation is especially important to college campuses or universities for most students on numerous college grounds are below 21 years old. A number of college officials claim that the MLDA of 21 has brought more setbacks on college grounds. However, research findings show that a higher MLDA leads to less alcohol-related problems among adolescents and the age-21 law saves roughly 1,000 young lives annually (13, p. 213). What is interesting is that the impact of the MLDA of 21 is taking place with no or little implementation. A widespread belief among critics of a raised MLDA is that due to the fact that large numbers of teenagers still buy and consume alcohol, an age-21 law is ineffective (13). Yet, according to (9), findings

Rappaccinis Daughter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Rappaccinis Daughter - Essay Example Furthermore it is observed that generally women are physically weaker than men that has led to an imbalance in power throughout the history of mankind, this can also be seen in â€Å"Rappaccini’s Daughter† and the control of her father over her. As Homas and Zaitzow also state that, â€Å"men and women are socialized from birth into gender-specific roles based on social definitions of masculinity and femininity†¦women are expected to be weak, dependent, passive, emotional, noncompetitive and subservient† (184). A similar behavior is also observed towards Beatrice as well throughout the course of the story may it be in Beatrice’s relationship with her Giovanni or her father or her suffering because of Baglioni’s poison. Throughout the story Rappaccini treats her daughter as his property or better yet as a specimen for his experiments. Moreover according to Baglioni Rappaccini, Cares infinitely more for science than for mankind. His patients are interesting to him only as subjects for some new experiment. He would sacrifice human life, his own among the rest, or whatever else was dearest to him, for the sake of adding so much as a grain of mustard seed to the great heap of his accumulated knowledge (). These lines aptly illustrates Rappaccini’s obsession with his experiments and hints on the fact that her daughter might be a part of his experiments which is later confirmed in the story. If the reasons for such manipulation are delved deeper, then the readers infer that since no one could question him for his actions in those times because daughters were considered as the responsibility of their fathers hence that gave him the right to decide her fate and he got away with his machinations. This also explains Rappaccini’s actions of choosing Giovanni as his future son-in-law as well as a new experiment because he thought he was making the best decision for his daughter. As the girl states, â€Å"But my father,- -he has united us in this fearful sympathy† (). Then again it is also interesting to note the manner in which the women of those times were brought up i.e. they were taught to be docile and made the sacrificing souls for all times. As it is also apparent from the lines when she says, â€Å"Yes; spurn me, tread upon me, kill me! Oh, what is death after such words as thine† (). Although she realizes it was her father’s Machiavellian plotting that has poisoned Giovanni for life yet she asks for death rather than either confronting her father or letting Giovanni confront him. Moreover the title of the story also suggests the nameless existence of the daughter who is known as Rappaccini’s daughter rather than being given a name. This anonymity in the title also symbolizes the mind set of that society where women were properties who were owned rather than individuals. Moreover it is interesting to note that there is a constant power struggle going on between Rap paccini and Baglioni as well as Rappaccini and Giovanni while their pawn in this game of power struggle is Beatrice. As it is observed that in the former’s case Baglioni suggests to use the antidote to save Beatrice without her consent and although it is not actually stated in the story yet the readers can infer that one of the reasons that Baglioni interferes is that he wants to unveil Rappaccini’s practice and assure that his position as a professor is secure. As it is mentioned in the text that he says, â€Å"Rappaccini is said to have instructed her deeply in his science, and that, young and beautiful as fame reports her, she is already qualified to fill a professor's chair. Perchance her father destines her for mine!†

Scope of Practice for Regisers Nurses Essay Example for Free

Scope of Practice for Regisers Nurses Essay The Regulation states that registrants of CRNBC may practise nursing. Nursing is defined as the health profession in which a person provides the following services: †¢ Health care for promoting, maintaining and restoring health †¢ Prevention, treatment and palliation of illness and injury, primarily by assessing health status, planning and implementing interventions, and coordinating health services This definition does not refer to evaluation, but neither does it exclude it. Evaluation is, of course, an important part of nursing practice. The Regulation does not refer to education, administration and research in the scope of practice statement for nurses or any other health professionals in B. C. However, CRNBC’s Professional Standards make it clear that clinical practice, education, administration and research are all considered part of the practice of registered nursing. College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia 5 Scope of Practice

Economic Growth Models and Standards of Living

Economic Growth Models and Standards of Living Essay which examines: 1) Whether economic growth models can explain (and if so to what extent) international variation in the standard of living, and; 2) Whether there is economic convergence, that is, whether poor countries tend to grow faster than rich countries. Introduction Economic is an important factor in the development of every country. For countries, economics symbolize national power. Economic growth brings high income, consumptions and investment and reduces the poverty. Many countries which were poor are becoming rich and powerful because of economic growth. Thats why people devote themselves to study economic growth. In Macro-economics, there are some economic growth theories, such as, classical growth theory, neo-classical growth theory and endogenous growth theory. Classical growth theory emphasizes the free market, which called invisible hand. An increase in GDP will increase the population. In long run, due to the limits of resource GDP and population will decrease. This theory consists of the views of Adam Smith, David Ricardo and Karl Marx. Neo-classical theory mostly relies on Solow model which states labour, capital and technology affect economic growth. Endogenous growth theory which primarily developed by Paul Romer and Robert Lucas expresses technology is exogenous factor and policies and institutions can influence growth. Different countries have different standard of living. This difference makes people in rich countries have better welfare, public institutions, goods and service. Nevertheless, nowadays, many poor countries also focus on economic growth. This essay will analyse different poor and rich countries GDP, real GDP and other data which explains the relationship between economic growth model and international variation in the standard of living and economic convergence. Theoretical Framework Robert M. Solow, an American economist, who was also a recipient of the John Bates Clark Medal in 1961 and the Nobel Memorial Prize Laureate in Economic Sciences in 1987, is best known for his endeavours on the hypothesis of economic growth. The Solow-Swan Neo-Classical Growth Model is an exogenous growth model where Solow isolated figures in economic growth into boosts in inputs, such as labour and capital, and technical progress and prompts to the steady state equilibrium of the economy. Solow model is an exogenous growth model of long-run economic growth. Three factors: technology, capital accumulation and labour force that drive economic growth. The model attempts to explain long-run economic growth by looking at the rate of saving [s], population growth [n] and technological progress = steady state. It assumes a standard neoclassical production function with decreasing returns to capital (and labour). Given these assumptions, Solow demonstrates that with variable specialised coefficient there would be a propensity for the capital-labour ratio to change itself through time towards balance proportion in his model. (Solow, 1970) Figure 1: Solow growth model diagram (Commons.wikimedia.org, 2017) Whether the initial ratio of labour to capital is more, then labour and output would grow slowly than capital and vice versa. This growth analysis is convergent to equilibrium path the steady state to begin with any capital-labour ratio. Given exogenous s, n and g (rate of tech progress) and a Cobb-Douglas production function: Figure 2: Solow model derivation (Weil, Mankiw and Romer, 1992) According to Mankiw, Romer and Weil, s (savings) and n (population growth) determine steady-state level of income per capita [(f(k*)] ={(n+ÃŽÂ ´)/s} k*). Steady state capital-labour ratio related positively to rate of saving and negatively to rate of population growth. (Weil, Mankiw and Romer, 1992) MRW paper (1992) analyses that an Augmented Solow Model which includes accumulation of human and physical capital provides an excellent definition of the cross-country data. As long as any given rate of human capital accumulation, higher s or lower n leads to higher f(k*) and thus a higher level of H*. Human capital accumulation may be correlated with s and n, leading to omitted variable bias. Figure 3: Production Function (Weil, Mankiw and Romer, 1992) Using cross-country data, study finds s and n affect income in directions predicted by Solow, however; it does not correctly predict magnitude, effect on saving and income growth is large, the Solow model cannot account for international differences in income. Moreover, assumes omitted variables exist (human capital accumulation physical capital), estimated impacts of saving and labour force growth much larger than model predicted. Equation for income as a function of the rate of investment in physical capital, the rate of population growth and the level of human capital: Figure 4: Equation for income (Weil, Mankiw and Romer, 1992) The major part of the cross-country development literature that alludes to the Solow model has utilised a determination where international differences in the capital-output ratio are due to steady-state differences in output per person for a constant level of technology. The MRW paper shows that Solow model does not predict convergence and does not explain long run differences in growth rates, it predicts that income per capita in a given country converges to steady-state value of the country. (Weil, Mankiw and Romer, 1992) The Solow growth model correctly predicts the directions of S and N, but it does not correctly predicts the magnitudes. Convergence is slower in the augmented Solow model than in the textbook Solow model. Differences in saving, education, and population growth should explain cross country variation, but it can also explain most of the international variation. Over time there will be further inclusion of other variables as well as population growth, saving and human capital which will explain the cross-country differences, for example: tax policies, education policies, tastes for children and political stability. ANALYSIS Empirical Analysis Mankiw, Romer and Weils study explored determinants of standard of living in relation to the Solow growth model by investigating the following dimensions (Mankiw, Romer and Weil, 1992): Higher saving rate countries results in higher real income. Highly populated countries result in lower real income. (Assuming g and ÃŽÂ ´ are constant across countries). The effect of savings and population growth on real income forms the basis of the principle speculation of the Solow growth model. Recall, the computed steady state income per capita is: where ÃŽÂ ± is the capital share in income and indicates an income per capita elasticity in terms of the savings rate of approximately 0.5, and an elasticity in terms of population growth or (n + g + ÃŽÂ ´) of approximately -0.5. One of the main assumptions here is that g improvement with respect to technological progress, is constant across countries. As this improvement is not country accurate it is assumed that g is constant. Another assumption is the rate of depreciation ÃŽÂ ´ to be constant across countries as well mainly due to the lack of data in relation to variation of depreciation rates across countries. We will assume as value of g + n equal to 0.05, which is same assumption made by Mankiw, Romer and Weil in their paper (1992).ÂÂ   In the computed steady state of income per capita equation, the term A (0) illustrates various factors such as institution, technology, resources, climate and since these factors varies across countries, we must equate it: , where corresponds to country-specific shocks and is a constant. (Mankiw, Romer and Weil, 1992) Thus, by taking the log of the computed steady state income per capita equation at a given time- t, becomes the following: Like Mankiw, Romer and Weil, we need to assume that s and n are independent of the term . In other words, the average share of real investment in real GDP and the average population growth rate of a given country is independent to country-specific shocks. Based on this assumption, by accounting for the Ordinary Least Squares method, the values of coefficients of the fundamental equation can be estimated. Mankiw, Romer and Weil illustrated three reasoning for the independence assumption, that is, where s and n are independent of the term . (1992) First, savings and population growth rate are considered endogenous variables in any economic growth model. Second, according to Mankiw, Romer and Weil, many economists have presented casual verdicts regarding the association between savings, income and population growth. Third, as the model speculated the value as well as the signs of the coefficients of savings and population growth, the OLS method will allow testing for salient biases. Recall, in the right model the coefficients or elasticities of Y/L are approximately 0.5 with respect to s and approximately -0.5 with respect to (n + g + ÃŽÂ ´). Now, the joint null hypothesis for testing the model is- the Solow growth model and identifying assumptions are accurate. And the alternate joint hypothesis is- the Solow growth model and the identifying assumptions are inaccurate. If, the magnitudes of the elasticities are dissimilar to approximate values of the identifying assumption then we reject the null hypothesis. This would also mean that the Solow growth model is inaccurate and cannot account for variation in income across countries with respect to savings and population growth. H0 = The Solow growth model and the identifying assumptions are accurate. Ha = The Solow growth model and the identifying assumptions are in accurate. By running the Ordinary Least Squares method on the fundamental equation stated above, we fit a regression line that will estimate the coefficients of s and (n + g + ÃŽÂ ´). Reporting from Mankiw, Romer and Weil (1992), conditional convergence is an occurrence that the Solow growth model can speculate by limiting or controlling the factors of the steady state. Recall, the following equation will be used to run regression in order to determine for conditional convergence without human capital: Data, Empirical Methodology and Definition of Variables The data collected from the World Bank Organisation, Penn World Tables and the U.K. Data Service comprises of one dependent variable and two independent variables. The dependent variable is the log of GDP per capita and the independent variables are- log of average share of real investment in real GDP and log of average rate of growth of the working age population (15 years 64 years). The sample size is; n = 162 and the data is a cross-sectional data for the year 2007 and 1970 separately. A subsample of the data is also tested this subsample refers to the countries which form a part of the Sub-Sahara Africa region. The sample size of the subsample data is 30. (Refer to Appendix A) The following variables of the whole sample data are the following: Real GDP per capita for 1970 and 2007 respectively (Y/L: real GDP divided by the population in 1970 and 2007 respectively) Average growth rate of GDP per worker for the period 1970-2007 (Growth GDP/Worker: computed as ((GDP/Worker07)/(GDP/Worker70))(1/37) 1 ) Growth rate of population during the period from 1970 to 2007 (n: computed as ((population07/population70))(1/37) 1 ) Average investment share of real GDP per capita during the periods 1970 and 2007. (Sk: percentage share of real GDP per capita) A multivariable regression examination will be carried out on the fundamental equation stated above and a restricted regression will be carried on the same equation in order to estimate the magnitudes and signs of the coefficients of s and (n + g + ÃŽÂ ´) using Ordinary Least Squares. The OLS method does this by minimizing the difference between the observed values and the speculated values which are forecasted by the linear approximation of the data. This method is used by economists and analysts to test economic models, econometric models, and hypothesis testing using real world data. (Koutun and Karabona, 2013) The software Microsoft Excel is used to run regression analysis on the data. The Excel output will comprise of a 95% lower and upper bound confidence, in addition to the standard errors (s.e.e.), adjusted R2 and p-values which are of importance to us. A restricted regression analysis will be performed on the fundamental equation. The restricted equations without human capital is the following: ÂÂ   (without human capital) In the restricted regression analysis, the mean of the F-statistics will be accounted for as this will help us gauge whether the fit of the restricted equation is notably or not notably dissimilar from the not restricted equation. We anticipate values of both the equation to be similar, thereby the equations should also be similar, and then we can conclude by not rejecting the null hypothesis. The R2 is also known as the Coefficient of Determination which is a measure of the Goodness of Fit which describes how efficiently a model fits all the observation in a sample and can be used to predict values based on the model. The adjusted R2 is useful to check whether the addition of a variable in a model is enhancing or disrupting the model. The fit ranges from 0 to 1, and the value approaching 1 indicates a good fit. (Koutun and Karabona, 2013) The variables that are defined in Table 1 will be used in the regression analysis. Variable Definition Natural log of real GDP per capital in 2007. Natural log of average investment share of real GDP per capita during the periods 1970 and 2007. Natural log of average growth rate of GDP per worker for the period 1970-2007. The sum of technological growth and depreciation equal to 0.05. Population growth rate. Technological growth (exogenous) Capital depreciation rate. Empirical Results One of the main principles of the neoclassical Solow growth model is that a certain country attains its steady-state level of income per capita at a point where the savings rate is higher while the population growth rates, technological growth rates and depreciation of capital rates are lower. Hence, based on this principle, from the regression estimation, the following is anticipated regarding the coefficients: Positive Savings Rate coefficient. Negative (n + g + ) coefficient. Values of the coefficient ln(s) and ln(n + g + ÃŽÂ ´) should be equal in magnitude and opposite in signs. Recall, that both, the basic Solow Growth Model as well as the extended Solow Growth model are estimated by regressing the natural logarithm of real GDP per capital in 2007 to the natural logarithm of average investment share of real GDP, which is also the considered the savings rate, and the population growth rate. The estimation outcomes of the basic Solow growth model are documented in Table 2.ÂÂ   Refer to Appendix B, C, D and E. In both the samples, the coefficient of savings rate and the coefficient of the sum of population growth rates, technological advancement rates and depreciation rate have signs as anticipated. Accounting for the t-test, we also find that, in the Sub-Sahara Africa countries sample, at 5% level of significance, the savings rate that is the coefficient of ln is highly statistically significant. However, for the sample the coefficient of ln(n + g + ÃŽÂ ´) is not statistically significant. For the whole sample, both the coefficients of the estimates are not statistically significant at 5% level of significance. In addition, as per Mankiw, Romer and Weil (1992), the coefficient of the restricted regression estimate should be equal to the coefficient of ln(s) in the unrestricted estimation, holds true for both the samples in our estimation. An assertion made by the Solow growth model, which is that differences in technology accounts for the cross-country differences in labor productivity or income per capita is refuted by the regression estimated for both the samples. Notice that the Adjusted R2is approximately equal to 0.303 and 0.272 for the whole sample of countries and the Sub-Sahara Africa countries respectively. The small value of the Adjusted R2 suggests that the assertion made by the Solow model is contradicted, as most of differences in income per capita is explained by both the variables in this case. This small value of the coefficient of determination could also be due to the exclusion of some important variables in the sample data. In the steady state of income per capita, implied ÃŽÂ ± which refers to the capital share in income has a value of 0.489 and 0.488 for the whole sample and the Sub-Sahara African countries sample respectively. These values are appreciably close to the predicted values of incom e per capita elasticities which is equally to 0.5 and -0.5. Hence, the model does not significantly refute the speculation that capital share in income should be approximately one third. The regression of real GDP per capital for 2007 on average share of real investment in real GDP and population growth rate can, to a great extent, rationalize the variation in real GDP per capital i.e. income. However, as the implied ÃŽÂ ± values are not significantly high as well as not equal to predicted value of being equal to one third i.e. 0.33, one cannot conclusively conclude that the basic Solow growth model is highly successful. Absolute Convergence Model: According to the convergence theory the per capita income of richer economies is likely to grow at a slower rate in comparison poorer countries. This phenomenon can be attributed to the strength of the capital diminishing returns which is stronger in developing countries, like Brazil, India, Senegal and Mexico, in comparison to developed countries like Canada, Denmark, France, New Zealand and Australia. Based on this model, income is most likely to be negatively related with growth in income at time zero during the period of the sample, 1970-2007. We anticipate the sign of the logarithm of real GDP per worker to be negative and a high regression coefficient. Table 3: Test for Absolute Convergence. Refer to Appendix F and G The coefficient of the natural logarithm of income per worker for the whole sample has a negative sign as predicted, which is support of the convergence theory, however, in the Sub-Sahara countries sample, is does not have negative sign, in contradiction to the convergence theory. The positive coefficient of the income per worker variable for Sub-Sahara countries could also indicate while doing the test of the convergence theory, the sample needs to include some developed countries, unlike the sample of Sub-Sahara countries, in which most of the countries are either developing or underdeveloped, the support for the convergence theory cannot be tested entirely using this sample of countries. In addition, the low coefficient value of the whole sample, that is, -0.0607 also suggests that this value is not entirely statistically significant. The coefficient of determination is low in both the sample, which also indicates a weak goodness of fit for this estimation. Graph 1: Unconditional Convergence, the Whole Sample. Graph 2: Unconditional Convergence, Sub-Sahara Africa In Graph 1 and Graph 2, the x-axis represents the logarithm of real GDP per worker in 1970 while the y-axis represents the growth in income per worker during the period 1970-2007. The graphs are plotted to indicate the existence or non-existence of unconditional convergence in the whole sample of countries and the countries in the Sub-Sahara Africa sample countries. To conclude the presence of unconditional convergence we anticipate a downward-slopping trend line from left to right. Graph 1 exhibits a downward slopping trend line indicated by the black solid-dotted line which is support of the presence of convergence in the sample of countries. However, Graph 2, exhibited an upward slopping line, which is against the convergence theory. Conditional Convergence: Without Human Capital The regression coefficients are estimated by reviewing the equation (1.2); we regress the difference in the logarithm of real GDP per capita during the period 1970 to 2007 on the logarithm of real GDP per capita in 1970, also considering the savings rate and the population growth rate in the equation.ÂÂ   The sign of the coefficients is as anticipated- the savings coefficient is positive while the population growth coefficient is negative. The coefficients of the income level in 1970, the savings rate and the population growth rate are significant for both the samples. Table 4: Test for Conditional Convergence without human capital. Refer to Appendix H and I. In absolute values, the coefficient on population growth rate is greater than the coefficient on savings rate, indicating that the lower income per capita needs to spread over a larger population thereby reducing income per capita itself. Conclusion Under the principle of neoclassical Solow growth model, the regression estimation of the whole sample and Sub-Sahara we found that at 5% level of significance, the coefficient of ln(s) is highly significant while ln(n + g + ÃŽÂ ´) is not significant in Sub-Sahara and in whole sample, coefficients are both not significant. The small value of Adjusted R2 states the assertion of Solow model is contradicted. Additionally, in the steady state of income per capita, implied ÃŽÂ ± which is closed to the predicted value indicate the model does not strongly contradict the speculation that capital share in income is approximately equal to 1/3. Although the regression of real GDP in 2007 rationalizes the variance, the hypothesis, the basic Solow model which is significant successful cannot be verified because of implied ÃŽÂ ±. With regard to convergence, based on convergence theory, we calculate the logarithm of real GDP per worker. The whole sample supports the convergence while Sub-Sa hara rejects the convergence. However, the coefficient of the whole sample which is low indicates the value of coefficient is not significant. Under unconditional convergence graph, the coefficient prove the weak goodness of fit for estimation. Setting a condition of convergence, which is without human capital, the coefficients of the income level in 1970, the savings rate and the population growth rate are significant. Word Number: 3281 Bibliography Commons.wikimedia.org. (2017). File:Solow growth model1.png Wikimedia Commons. [online] Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Solow_growth_model1.png [Last Accessed 20 Mar. 2017]. Koutun, Alina and Patrick Karabona. An Empirical Study Of The Solow Growth Model. MALARDALENS HOGSKOLA ESKILSTUNA VASTERAS. N.p., 2013. Web. [Last Accessed 9 Mar. 2017]. Mankiw, G. N., Romer, D., Weil, D. N. (1992, May). A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 107(2), 407-437 Solow, R. (1970). Growth theory: an exposition. 1st ed. Oxford: Clarendon, pp. Appendix A: Appendix B: Regression, the Whole Sample Appendix C: Restricted Regression, the Whole Sample Appendix D: Regression, Sub-Sahara Africa Appendix E: Restricted Regression, Sub-Sahara Africa Appendix F: Unconditional Convergence Test, the Whole Sample Appendix G: Unconditional Convergence Test, Sub-Sahara Africa Appendix H: Conditional Convergence Test, the Whole Sample Appendix I: Conditional Convergence Test, Sub-Sahara Africa