Feeding 9 Billion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Feeding 9 Billion - Essay Example Various sources through which greenhouse gases are emitted include trains, airplanes, cars, trucks and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission from factories among others. Currently, agriculture is determined to be the prime factor responsible for global warming due to augmented emission of methane and carbon dioxide. Additionally, agriculture is one of the major factors accountable for global warming for growing demand of food (Nationalgeographic, 2014). Global warming has been adversely affecting the environmental conditions of the earth owing to increased temperature along with changing climatic scenario. Presently, agriculture is considered to be the leading factor accountable for global warming due to increased food requirement for the growing population. Agricultural activities have been emitting greenhouse gases in an increased manner in the form of methane gases from cattle as well as rice farms. Fertilized fields are also identified to release nitrous oxide and additionally, carbon dioxide is released from deforestation of rain forest for raising livestock and growing crops. Agriculture is required to be provided with adequate water supplies for farming operations. Contextually, farming operations are one of the prime sources of water polluter as rivers, coastal ecosystems and fragile lakes are polluted with manure as well as fertilizers. In this regard, agriculture has been recognized to adversely affect biodiversity owing to deforestation and extinction of wildlife (Brown & Sovacool, 2011; Mohr, 2005). Contextually, agriculture poses diverse challenges and threats for the environment due to increased population rate and growing demand of food. Subsequently, agriculture is used in an imminences manner to meet the growing demand for food by the augmented pollution. In this respect, in order to meet the increased food demand of the global population, agricultural

Analyze an online article called Does Gender Matter by Ben.A Barres Essay

Analyze an online article called Does Gender Matter by Ben.A Barres - Essay Example First it acts as the backdrop. He argues that women are not pursuing sciences in academics mainly because of discrimination unlike what Lawrence and the others have based their argument on; that, women fail to advance in sciences due to difference in instinctive inability between men and women. This paper addresses the common expressed forms of discriminations that women go through and the risks that the writer takes in addressing this issue. Risks taken by writers to prove the impacts of female discriminations are far-fetched. Ben Bares refers to the before said hypothesis as, ``Larry summer hypothesis†.   He based his argument on that, a part from the major social factors that might make women to hate sciences and mathematics from a tender age, there is still slight evidence that there exists difference in gender abilities in mathematics which are innate or which are slightly relevant to lack of progression of women in sciences.   He explains that it is a fact that the society assumes that the women are less innately able in comparison to men. He further says this assumption is the foremost reason  why women are slow in progressing in sciences and mathematics. Ben Bares in rejecting the hypothesis by Lawrence Summers, Bares takes a great risk because he has to prove that it is not scientifically proven and there is no data supporting such claims. This he does warning that he dies not intent to battle with men or turn them into villains as  expressed in the quote, â€Å"I have no desire to make men into villain.† Bares take this risk so that he could protect the female gender in the society because in the past years it has faced much discrimination and there is no one who stood to protect their desires. This risk pays off well because it brought a great debate which has been discussed for months turning to years making him famous in protecting women in the society. Even before anybody could think of importance of studying the issue of

Mediation in Indian Legal System Essay Example for Free

Mediation in Indian Legal System Essay There are as many 3. 2 crore cases pending in our courts . The number of pending cases may be due to many loop holes in our legal system , these loop holes are known to us but some of them cannot be dealt with because of stringent laws , moreover to face them and to reduce the number a new thing came into being known as ADR ( Alternate Dispute Resolution ) system which as the name suggests is an alternative system to the commonly followed litigation system which is time consuming and sometimes doesn’t provide a common judgment which may be in favor of both the parties. Therefore an act came up in year 1996 known as ADR act 1996 which empowered with a parallel legal alternative which was followed In the U. S. A. Implementation of ADR in India: The implementation of Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms as a means to achieve speedy disposal of justice is a crucial issue. The sea-change from using litigation as a tool to resolve disputes to using Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms such as conciliation and mediation to provide speedy justice is a change that cannot be easily achieved. The first step had been taken in India way back in 1940 when the first Arbitration Act was passed. However, due to a lot of loop-holes and problems in the legislation, the provisions could not fully implemented. However, many years later in 1996, The Arbitration and Conciliation Act was passed which was based on the UNCITRAL model, as already discussed in the previous section of the paper. The amendments to this Act were also made taking into account the various opinions of the leading corporates and businessmen who utilise this Act the most. Sufficient provisions have been created and amended in the area of Lok Adalats in order to help the rural and commoner segments to make most use of this unique Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism in India. Therefore, today the provisions in India sufficiently provide for Alternative Dispute Resolution. However, its implementation has been restricted to just large corporates or big business firms. Lok Adalats, though a very old concept in Indian Society, has not been implemented to its utmost level. People still opt for litigation in many spheres due to a lot of drawbacks. Provisions made by the legislators need to be utilised. This utilisation can take place only when a definite procedure to incerase the implementation of ADR is followed. In order to have such an implementation programme, it is necessary to analyse what the problems are and rectify them. Mahatma Gandhi had put in correct words as : â€Å"I had learnt the true picture of law. I had learnt to find out the better side of human nature and to enter mens heart. I realised that the true function of a lawyer was to unite parties riven as under. The lesson was so indelibly burnt into me that a large part of my time during the twenty years of my practice as a lawyer was occupied in bringing about private compromised of hundred of cases. I lost nothing thereby-not even money-certainly not my soul. † The Idea behind finding an alternate was to provide if not greater but equal form of justice. Certain things were kept in mind like a)it should provide equality and be fair b) it should same as judgments based on ethics c) it should be within the law framework of the country d) and it should be able to come up with remedies which a litigative system doesn’t provides. Further one cannot deny the fact that many pitfalls in the Indian Legal System such as delay in justice,expense on drafting , rigitidy of rules and limited participation of parties are few flaws. Every litigant expects to be hared by the judge but due to the rigidity norms its delayed however the rigidity is necessary to maintain the probity of the judicial process. Natural justice as a matter of principle demands judges to hear both the parties in presence of eachother, if it is not than its anathema. Mediation on the other hand is a process in which a person cannot be judgemental but a fecilitator who is just and views underlying issues who helps in communication between two parties and reach a common solution. He however can furnish a report on his mediation and then forward it to the judiciary. This process involves meeting the parties separately and also together . The matter is discussed and accordingly a common solution is found out which of the benefit to both the parties. The mediator understands the source of conflict between the parties and within the parameters of laws suggests them a solution thus creation new ideas. These are advised to the parties and its further for them to accept it. Besides that in mediation process one understands the situation of the other and accordingly reach the conclusion. In the Indian legal system the adversarial nature of our lawyers which involve confliction views are necessary adjunct to effort of the court to investigate facts. But here an individual client feels marginalized in the presentation of his viewpoints by his lawyer before the court as litigants who contest in person give vent to their emotion,opinions,perceptions and interests. Thus mediation calls for in person involvement of a person so that his views are expressed and his emotions. interests, concerns, receive empathy and process is practical. Always judicial remedies are not geared to accommodate. Mediation provides a real alternative as mediation outcomes are less likely to be evaded and parties look beyond the formal confines of a legal dispute. Some cases are not be dealt in conventional court setting such as business and personal relationship where confidentiality is an important aspect. Therefore they require mediation .

Understanding The Context Of Securitization Theory Philosophy Essay

Understanding The Context Of Securitization Theory Philosophy Essay Over the last decade, contemporary security studies witnessed a fundamental attempt by various social constructivist approaches to re-conceptualize the traditional notion of security as a perception of objective threat, and redefine the theoretical agenda of security studies. One of the most influential and eminent analytical frameworks among these approaches, the securitization theory, developed by Barry Buzan, Ole Waever, and their associates from what came to be later known as the Copenhagen School, based the meaning of security upon the socially constructed practice among actors. The core hypothesis of the Copenhagen School rests with the designation of securitization as a discoursive process through which an intersubjective understanding is constructed within a political community to treat something as an existential threat to a valued referent object, and to enable a call for urgent and exceptional measures to deal with the threat.  [1]   Thus, successful securitization encompasses three inextricable components existential threats, emergency action, and effects on inter-unit relations by breaking free of rules.  [2]  This, however, leads to an epistemological dilemma of whether the main purpose of securitization theory is to focus on the speech act as a creative force of security or to relate the establishment of security articulations to the context in which an interplay of the securitizing actor and a relevant audience takes its place. In other words, the enduring problem in the analytical framework of the securitization theory is what or who decisively invokes the move beyond the sphere of normal politics the speech act itself or the context in which relevant actors interacts. Consequently, this theoretical problem triggered two distinct interpretations of securitization theory. The first interpretation adhered to a rather internalist reading of securitization claiming that the security can be understood as a self-referential activity,  [3]  while the second standpoint, labeled externalist, correctly pointed out that the Copenhagen School generally put aside the contextual aspects in the analytical framework of the securitization theory, and in contrast proposed a conception of security as an intersubjective process  [4]  . The internalist point of view, narrowly based on the poststructuralist reading of securitization, is focused on the speech act event, and is anchored in the notion of a performativity, i.e. a result of the securitization is determined by the power of the act itself. In contrast, the externalist perspective rests with a more complex understanding of the securitization as a process of interactions between the audience and the secu ritizing actor through which a meaning of security is brought to existence. In particular, the former assert that the determinant power inherent in the discourse creates an exceptionality modus, whereas the latter link the effects of securitization to the context in which an interplay between the securitizing actor and a relevant audience occurs. The internalist understanding of the securitization theory rests with Waevers interpretation in Securitization and Desecuritization where it is, by drawing on John L. Austins concept of performative utterances,  [5]  claimed that the mere utterance of security is more than just saying or portraying an event, but performing an action that moves an issue beyond normal politics.  [6]  Whether this utterance of security is related to a particular context in which a stimulus triggers a response is irrelevant for the internalists. Contrary to the externalist argument that the communication between the agency and a respective audience enables the endowment of extraordinary measures, the internalists downplay the role of the context to the performative force of the speech act to impose an extraordinary situation and create a security. In particular, by referring to Derridas claim that there is nothing outside the text, the internalist understanding of the securitization concludes tha t the indeterminate nature of a speech act itself has a power to create new circumstances in a broader social framework. More specifically, it is not the sender-responder relation that bears authority in imposing the exceptional conditions, as the externalists suggest, but rather it is about the very nature of the performative speech act that constitutes not only new meaning, but also the social actors and reality.  [7]   However, this particular perspective on the determinacy of the situation by merely uttering the speech act has two shortcomings. Firstly, given the nature of the performative act which is in the internalist notion solely regarded as the language-discoursive framework, one can argue that this is only one means through which the meaning of security is constructed. More specifically, the speech act of securitization cannot be reducible to verbal phrases or rhetoric, because what portrays something or someone as an existential threat is a broader performative act composed of different contextual and symbolic patterns that increase the overall effectiveness of an appeal for emergency measures. As Michael Williams shrewdly notes, the television images of 9/11 destruction, casualties and human suffering have considerably contributed to the dominant perceptions of security and to a construction of a necessary response to an existential threat.  [8]  Secondly, it is not the utterance of p erformative act that creates a meaning of security, but rather the routinized practices of the bureaucratic machinery and professional managers of unease applied to various issue areas that allow the act to urge an embracement of extraordinary measures.  [9]  In particular, surveillance practice, the control of borders or immigration policy is an ultimate aim behind the use of language by networks of security professionals that generate specific meaning of (in) security. Related to the second shortcoming, the externalist reading of securitization contributes to the debate by adding a social and political context in which the practice is exercised by relevant structures. In general, by referring to the concepts of the audience and the facilitating conditions suggested by Buzan et al. (1998) in Security: A New Framework for Analysis, the externalist understanding transfers the creation of the meaning from the speech act to the intersubjective level of analysis. Thus, rather than reducing the securitization to a discoursive event, the externalist understanding draws on a broader conception-a dynamics between the securitizing actor initiating the speech act, and a relevant audience accepting or refusing it.  [10]  The interpretation and depiction of the existential threat are, in other words, negotiated between the actor and a respective audience. Nevertheless, although the speech act is enacted and introduced by the authoritative actor, it is the au dience in this relationship that decides whether the discourse will be accepted as an appropriate narrative.  [11]  In addition, following the concept of facilitating conditions the exceptionalist logic infers that the possibility of a successful securitization act will depend on whether the audience recognizes the conventional procedures within the performative act, and whether the securitizing actor holds a position of authority.  [12]   Nevertheless, both concepts (the audience and the facilitating conditions) are theoretically underdeveloped leaving many epistemological gaps in the analytical framework of the securitization. Firstly, even if one identifies a relevant audience, the question remains why and how the receivers will react to the utterance of the act. Although coercion or brute force may in general be effective, in order to maintain credibility the securitizing actor will particularly need to identify his/her move beyond normal politics with the audiences values, norms, interests and feelings. Thus the content of the performative message would need to be contingent upon the moral justification corresponding to what is generally perceived as legitimate by the audience, and upon the approval of the legal authority.  [13]  Yet, it still remains unclear what constitutes the broader socio-political basis for the securitizing actor to claim authority to impose measures and for the audience to conform to th e language of the act. However, the concept of facilitating conditions is a rather objectivist, to the extent that it posits the discoursive process inside the exogenously given actor-audience structure and at the same time it is static, in terms of reducing a securitization to a mere event dependent on the stimulus-response pattern. To comprehensively grasp the essence of the securitization, one therefore needs to move beyond both internalist and externalist understanding and analyze the audiences expectations, the actors authority and a meaning of the speech act as embedded in social relations of meaning and power that constitutes both actors and speech acts.  [14]   The seemingly unavoidable gap between the two understandings may be bridged through the internalist-externalist distinction developed by Holger Stritzel who seeks to establish a context in which the actor, an audience and the speech act are embedded as mutually constitutive and non-separable relations. The context in this view is constituted of two dimensions: social-linguistic, referring to the networks of constitutive rules and narratives that surround a single linguistic act and socio-political, i.e. structures from which the power to influence the process of constructing meaning is derived  [15]  . Consequently, the power connectedness of the three elements of securitization is interlinked with the two dimensions through the constitution of three forces of securitization: the performative force of the speech act (internalist), its embeddedness in the existing discourse (externalist) and the positional power of actors who shape the meaning (internalist-externalist).  [16]  What Stritzel effectively achieves with his analytical framework is three-fold: firstly, the moving from the given meaning of the threat to the meaning generated by the dynamic social interactions; secondly, the interrelatedness between the text of the speech act and the discoursive practices add a missing part to the internalist notion of the speech act as an utterance itself; finally, the power position of the actor that underpins his/her authority departs from both the inclusive nature of the linguistic concept of power outlined by the internalist reading, and the exogenously defined relationship between the actor and the audience proposed by the externalist understanding of securitization. In conclusion, the epistemological division between the internalist and the externalist view, as shrewdly suggested by Stritzel, may be bypassed through the establishment of interconnectidness between the language act and actors/audience within the mutually constitutive social context. Nevertheless, the dilemma about which element decisively constitutes the security persists within the securitization theory. As McDonald effectively put it, the incoherence within the existing analytical framework of securitization theory will lead to the downplay of either the performative effects of the speech act or the inter-subjective nature of security.  [17]  Therefore, a closer focus on different empirical cases may provide useful insights into the problematic of the speech act-actor-audience triangle, and moreover contribute to the analytical framework of securitization theory.

Narrative in the Chronicles of a Death Foretold Essay -- essays resear

Narrative in the Chronicles of a death foretold The novel consists of a detailed history of the circumstances of the murder taken by the narrator, a journalist and former friend of the victim, twenty-seven years after the incident in question. The long range effects of this murder on the citizens of the town in which it occurs, and their unspoken involvement in the crime itself, are revealed in the course of the narrator’s history. The novel tells the story of the narrator's return to the Colombian town to resolve the details of the murder. First person narration throughout, narrator himself is like a detective, exploring ideas, comments. The story itself is based on a real occurrence, but the novel, while seemingly journalistic, uses unreliable information as often as it presents the reader with the facts of the murder. He does not ever clarify whether or not Santiago Nasar was guilty of the crime he died for. It is not given whether Santiago was really d 1 who took Angela’s virginity. In addition, the novel does not "chronicle" the events as the title leads the reader to expect that it will-the narrative shifts between the past and the present. Because the novel does not answer many questions, it accurately shows the reader how confusing all of the events surrounding the murder were when it occurred. It is a novel tat makes d reader think because the reader has to put all d aspects of murder together bit by bit continuously while reading thus keeping him engrossed in d story. In real life, nobody is ever sure whether the crime had taken place or not. Different people will have different angles of viewing d same crime. The same is true for the narrator he tries to gather as much info as possible about d killing fm ... ...stion of guilt. The town knows that the vicario boys are guilty. Somehow they still have a viable defense. The boys claim that they did these things to get back the honor that Nasar had stolen from them. The Vicario brothers' belief that their sister was done wrong was brought upon by this honor, along with racial and social tension. The dangerous path of both honor and religious faith caused Santiago's untimely death. This was seen as good reason by the town, but it is clear that the boys still have to answer to God. In full, Marquez questions the motive of society. Maybe he is saying that one should stop worshiping something simply because is in front of him and put more faith in his beliefs. Stop putting so much emphasis on a single event and focus on the whole. After all, all of the single events in our lives will eventually lead up to one single moment.

Afghanistan :: essays research papers

Afghanistan BACKGROUND:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Afghanistan was subdued and occupied by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (U.S.S.R. i.e. Russia) in 1979. Subsequently in ten years, anti-communist forces provided and trained by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan assisted in the removal of the Soviet power. As the fighting resumed, a fundamentalist Islamic movement referred to as the Taliban managed to seize most of the country. Under their ascendancy, the country of Afghanistan became extremely improvished and suffered from a fallen governmental infrastructure. GEOGRAPHY:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Afghanistan is situated in southern Asia, northwest of Pakistan; east of Iran. It possesses a total land area of 647,500 sq. km. In it’s comparative aspect, Afghanistan is slightly smaller than Texas. Bordering countries such as China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan surrounds it. The land is less than 12% arable. 46% of the land consists of permanent pastures and 3% are occupied with forests and woodlands. Mostly rugged mountains and plains in the north and southwest portion of the country make up it’s terrain. Afghanistan is susceptible to natural hazards such as damaging earthquakes, floods, and droughts. This country has a seasonal climate of arid and semiarid air. They experience cold winters and hot summers. Current environmental issues involve soil degradation, overgrazing, deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials), and desertification. This country has e stablished international environment agreements to deter marine dumping and nuclear testing, in addition to the implementation of environmental modification and preservation of it’s endangered species. PEOPLE:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Afghanistan possess a population of 26,818,057 (July 2001 est.) This number consists of 42% under the age of 14, 55% classified between the ages of 15 and 64, and 3% over the age of 65. As of 2001, this country has seen a population growth rate of 3.5%, but this rate exhibits the continuous return of refugees from Iran. The life expectancy of the Afghan people is about 46 years of existence. Afghanistan occupies a multitude of ethnic cultures and groups such as Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, and Uzbek. Most people of this country adopt the religion of Islam with 84% practicing as Sunni Muslims and 15% as Shi’a Muslims. The languages of this country are in a variation of Pashtu, Afghan Persian, Turkic, and much of them in bilingualism. Illiteracy is the prevalent impediment among the Afghan people with only 31% of the population capable of reading and writing.

Investment Analysis and Lockheed Tri Star

Investment Analysis and Lockheed Tri Star Group effort Total points: 100 (Course grade 25%) This case comprises four serially numbered stand-alone problems and the fifth one appears with the title of Lockheed Tri-Star. You are required to offer your calculations of values as indicated below. In addition to the calculations, write a brief summary of your findings in about 100 words for each problem. 1) Rainbow Products20 points | Machine Purchase| Machine plus service contract| Enhanced Machine| Payback period| 7 Years| 7. 78 Years| 7. 65 Years| NPV| ($945. 8)| $2,500. 00| $15,000. 00| IRR| 11. 49%| 12. 86%| 15. 43%| Decision (Yes/No)| NO| YES| YES| We would advise Rainbow Products to not purchase the paint-mixing equipment unless they decided take on the additional $500 per year expenditure to service the machine, or decided to reinvest 20% of the yearly cost savings back into new machine parts. Either of the last two options would benefit the company, unlike the first option, as the y provide both a positive Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) greater than the Cost of Capital.Although the last two options have longer Payback Periods than the first option, using Payback Period to make a determination in this example is not suitable because of the shortcomings of the method. 2) Concession Stand20 points Criteria| Add a new window| Update Equipment| New Stand| Rent| Any other option? – Wildcard – Add a New Window AND Update Existing Equipment| NPV ($)| $25,461. 91| $2,514. 18| $34,825. 76| $28,469. 88| $27,976. 08| NPV Rank – No WildcardNPV Rank – Wildcard| 34| 45| 11| 22| 3| IRR (%)| 34. 2%| 18. 01%| 31. 21%| 1207. 61%| 28. 10%| IRR Rank – No WildcardIRR Rank – Wildcard| 22| 45| 33| 11| 4| MIRR (%)| 26 . 77%| 16. 90%| 24. 82%| 255. 21%| 23. 01%| MIRR Rank – No WildcardMIRR Rank – Wildcard| 22| 45| 33| 11| 4| It would be in the best interest of the Concession Stand to either Build a New Stand, or Rent a Larger Stand. Under the NPV method, Building a New Stand would be the most beneficial option, with the Rent choice being the second best option.Under the IRR and MIRR methods, the Rent choice would be a clear favorite while the Building a New Stand choice would be the third most beneficial option. Their choice in which action to take would depend upon which methodology best aligned with their operational goals, although NPV is a more commonly used and trusted approach than IRR because of several issues that can derail IRR calculations. 3) MBATech, Inc. 20 points Alternative| Cost to the city ($)| Increase IRR to 25%| $122,103|Give 2-year payback| $256,522| NPV of $75,000 (at 20% discount)| $112,666| ARR of 40%| $173,913| Although the cost to the city could vary depending upon the timing of the subsidy payments due to the time value of money, our calculated costs reflect immediate payment of the subsidy during the initial investment period. With that said, the city w ould be wise in pursuing the NPV of $75,000 method as the cost of this method would be the least expensive of the four alternatives.An upfront payment to MBA Tech, Inc. , from the city, for $112,666 would be sufficient in pushing the NPV of the project to the $75,000 limit. The city should avoid the 2-year payback method if at all possible as this would have the greatest cost by a substantial margin. 4) Valu-Added Industries, Inc. 10 points NPV of the project| $100,000| Number of shares to be issued| 1,000| Price per share| $110. 00| By issuing 1,000 shares to the public at $10. 0 per share, Valu-Added Industries will be financing the entire project through investors. This action will also indicate to current stockholders that the future market value of the shares of stock of the company should be higher in value. With no further information, it would appear that both Valu-Added Industries, and their stockholders, would benefit from the organization taking on this opportunity, and t hat the value of the company would only increase by doing so. ) Lockheed Tri Star30 points At planned production levels of 210 units, what was the true value of the Tri star program? | ($584,048,126)| At planned production levels of 300 units, what was the true value of the Tri star program? | ($274,381,683)| At planned production levels of 323 units, what was the true value of the Tri star program? | ($206,205,933)| At what sales volume would the program reach true break even? | About 388|