Hrm Practices in South Asia Essays

Hrm Practices in South Asia Essays Hrm Practices in South Asia Essay Hrm Practices in South Asia Essay South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities (see below), also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east. Topographically, it is dominated by the Indian Plate, which rises above sea level as the Indian subcontinent south of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush. South Asia is surrounded (clockwise, from west) by Western Asia, Central Asia, Eastern Asia, Southeastern Asia and the Indian Ocean. According to the United Nations geographical region classification, Southern Asia comprises the countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Afghanistan, Iran and Sri Lanka. By other definitions and interpretations (see below), Myanmar and Tibet are also sometimes included in the region of South Asia. South Asia is home to well over one fifth of the worlds population, making it both the most populous and most densely populated geographical region in the world. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is an economic cooperation organization in the region. South America Backgorund Using survey data from the Americas Barometer by the Latin American Public Opinion Project at Vanderbilt, Corral concluded that â€Å"happiness in Latin America and the Caribbean is related to economic factors as well as social, political and demographic factors. At least within this region, economic development at the national levels explains different levels of life satisfaction among citizens in the region. † Corral found that economic factors- income and perceptions of the individual and national situations- bear a positive correlation with levels of life satisfaction. It is no surprise, then, that survey respondents in earthquake-ravaged Haiti, the poorest country in the region, ranked the lowest on the life satisfaction index at 35. 4 percent. But, most people in the rest of Latin America see themselves as happy. Brazil led the pack at 71. 6 percent, followed by Costa Rica (67. 7 percent), Venezuela (65. 6 percent) and Panama (65. 1 percent), with Trinidad Tobago and Honduras tied at 63. 3 percent. Jamaica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Belize and Peru are all above 50 percent. For the region as a whole, perception of individual economic conditions is by far the strongest predictor of individual happiness, Corral found. Those with better economic profiles are happier. A person’s subjective view of his wealth was more influential on his satisfaction level than an objective measure of wealth. â€Å"It is possible that this relationship is driven by dual causality,† Corral wrote. â€Å"A perceived positive economic situation increases happiness, and as well, happy people tend to perceive better economic situations. Marriage has a positive but not significant effect on life satisfaction among the region’s citizens, Corral found. Churchgoers and those who are surrounded by people they trust register high levels of satisfaction. Women, the elderly, young adults, the better educated and those who live in large cities likewise express high levels of happiness. Having children and being unemployed weigh negatively on individual satisfaction. Co untry People values, Business Tradition, Etiquette Business Culture of South Asia Historically, South Asia is an agricultural country with a very small industrial sector employing about 40 percent of the active labor force. Smallness of industrial sector may seem to be congenial to the development of a healthy industrial relationship but this could not be realized even within a period of fifty-eight years of the country’s independence. While some of the reasons of this failure are historical and traditional cultural background, many are in fact attributable to the poor management system and legal system concerning industrial relations in the country. Usually trade unions are organized mostly on the basis of political, regional and even personal loyalties which was encouraged by the capitalists who often had restored to the policy of buying a fraction of the union or putting up one of their own to divide the union movement by extending some â€Å"under the table favors† to a group of union leaders. In addition, the system of HRM in South Asia is largely due to its own business heritage and traditional historical realities. In fact, historic forces shape HRM practices in that society, and largely influence the efficient HRM system of a society along with other things. Thus to make a correct assessment about human resource management system and practices in South Asia, it is necessary to make a through investigation into the development of Muslim and Hindu employer and employees and entrepreneurship in various phases of history and culture. The above situation as it stands suggests that, as a class of each group does not belong to a highly motivated and committed entrepreneurial class. The easiest explanation rationalizing this situation is, as often quoted, British colonial rule of two centuries in the past are responsible for this. Apparently, the explanation seems to be sensible and logical. However, this needs further explanation and demands clarification and comprehension. It is understandable that the colonial powers ( British rule) did not in their own interest encourage the growth of a significant industrial and efficient HRM practices base in this part of the subcontinent ( India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) and the deadlocks were created by them towards the development of effective HRM system in the area. The overall supply of competent management personnel, their profiles, and culture to which they belong and under which they work, also has significant impacts on the features and practices of HRM system in South Asia national culture. In general, to learn the expertise of building an effective HRM practices is very important for the attainment of an industrial efficiency, but most South Asian managers are traditionalistic. They tend to resist changes and develop participation within boss and subordinates. South Asia managers do not believe in the development of human resources, and they believe that machines are more important than humans. Several empirical studies (Read, 1962; Negahndi and Reiman, 1973) conclude that increased participation leads to improvement in several of organizational effectiveness. However, it should be noted that the closeness of relationship between participation and overall organizational effectives depends on the quality of its human resources. As suggested above, when a large complex organization is more participative minded and more decentralized most of the decisions are made at unit level. In this kind of organization, managerial employees need more technical management skill and knowledge. Top management in large organizations has neither the time nor expertise to make such decisions for unit level (Price, 1968). Properly trained managers and employees of participative organizations can overcome communication problems, make effective decisions at the point of action, and thus contribute to the achievement of more firm effectiveness. Business Culture of Latin America First, the high Power Distance (PD) that Hofstede noted in most Latin American countries has important ramifications. In practical terms, high PD means that social courtesies and formality are more important in Latin America than in the U. S. Latin American managers are expected to be more gracious and respectful than their U. S. counterparts, and the hierarchy is more noticeable For instance, while U. S. managers generally call employees by their first names, it is much more common in Latin America for managers to call employees senorita Martinez or senor Ramirez. Also, people in the Latin American workplace tend to use usted (Ud. , the formal â€Å"you,† rather than tu, the informal, â€Å"you,† when addressing others, and this applies to both supervisors and lower-level employees. When two members of the executive board converse privately, they may call each other â€Å"Jorge† and â€Å"Ana,† but in front of employees they are likely to switch to calling each other â€Å"senor Zapata† and â€Å"senora Gomez. † Finally, Latin American managers typically dress more formally than their U. S. counterparts, and are less likely to work beside their employees and â€Å"get their hands dirty. In addition to courtesy and formality, it is important to note how a high PD rating affects the way meetings are organized. One Mexican manager commented that meetings in Latin America are typically not thought of as a way for supervisors and employees to exchange ideas. Instead, information flows primarily from the top down in meetings. In other words, it would generally be considered inappropriate and disrespectful in Latin America for an employee to correct a supervisor or make a suggestion in front of other employees. At meetings, supervisors expect subordinates to listen attentively, more than offering input. Similarly, participatory management styles and employee empowerment are unfamiliar to most Latin Americans, and in many cases are perceived as neither helpful nor desirable. In some instances, global companies have successfully implemented these kinds of managerial techniques in Latin American subsidiaries, but in other cases attempts to solicit employee input and involve workers in decision-making have been met with hostility. One American manager of a factory in Guadalajara, Mexico was told point blank by the head of a local labor union to stop involving employees in decision-making and asking for their opinions. He told her pointedly, â€Å"You are in charge. You make the decisions! † The deference afforded to managers often has an impact on attitudes toward formal rules and regulations in Latin America. Persons in authority are more likely to be obeyed than a written policy, because of the respect they are given and the position they occupy. This attitude contrasts with the U. S. where most people tend to believe that rules should be applied impartially and without exception, in order to ensure fairness and justice. It is likely to observe all these results of high PD when you visit Latin America, but as one prepare to go to Nicaragua, keep in mind a principle presented earlier: variance within a culture. While Hofstede does not provide Cultural Dimension ratings for Nicaragua, the numbers for Ni caragua’s neighbors are fascinating: Panama and Guatemala both score 95 on PD, and are among the most hierarchical societies in the world, but Costa Rica scores only 35, which is a lower PD rating than even the U. S. earned. For that reason, it is important to be sensitive to how hierarchies play out in Nicaragua specifically. In addition to PD, it is important to mention the low Individuality (IND) rating that predominates in Latin America. In the workplace, low IND means employees tend to value harmony and good relationships more than personal advancement, and are expected to be loyal, hard-working, and willing to do whatever they are asked to do. In return for their hard work and loyalty, Latin American workers generally expect their employers to be loyal to them as well. Because of the group orientation, the employer-worker relationship tends to be more paternal in Latin America than in the U. S. Latin American firms typically treat employees as a sort of extended family, which often involves a wider range of benefits, such as subsidized or free lunches, more inclusive medical coverage, and holiday bonuses. It has already been pointed out that most Hispanic countries score very high on Uncertainty Avoidance (UA), which suggests that most Latin Americans prefer security and avoiding risk. This may help explain why technology is not as prevalent in Latin America as in the U. S. To be sure, poverty is part of the picture, but Latin Americans tend to be less enamored of technology for technology’s sake than many Americans. Due in part to the high UA rating, many Latin Americans perceive less of a need to upgrade, modernize, and replace old technology with cutting edge products. This may affect a given entrepreneur’s attitudes toward technological upgrades, adopting new computing systems, etc. One notable exception to this principle is the use of cell phones- due to infrastructure and bureaucratic issues associated with land lines, there are more cell phones in most Latin American countries than land lines. Lastly, the importance of family and personal relationships also impacts the workplace. For example, it is more common in Latin America to seek employment with family members, hire family members, and look to the family for help in times of need. In addition, many Latin Americans feel more comfortable doing business with people they know personally, and developing that relationship is often considered an essential first step. Americans who try to move things along more quickly and â€Å"get to the point† may become frustrated and/or offend Latin Americans. South Asian HRM Practices Recruitment and Selection

Legal Citation †Citing Cases with The Bluebook

Legal Citation – Citing Cases with The Bluebook Legal Citation – Citing Cases with The Bluebook The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation has long been used as a legal citation style guide in the US. Other systems have been introduced in recent years, but if you’re a law student you’ll almost certainly encounter Bluebook-style citations at some point. In this post, we provide an â€Å"anatomy† of a Bluebook case citation to make sure you can reference legal sources clearly and correctly in your written work. Basic Citation Format The basic citation format for a legal case in Bluebook referencing consists of four principle elements (the parties’ names, the case citation, the court and the year of the ruling): Parties’ Names Case Citation Court Year of Decision DeBoer v. Snyder, 973 F. Supp. 2d 757 (E.D. Mich 2014). Citations will appear in the main body of your text or in a footnote immediately following the relevant passage (accompanied by a signal where appropriate). In the rest of this post, we’ll look more closely at each of the above elements. Parties’ Names The parties’ names are the title of the case, so should be italicized and separated from the rest of the citation with a comma. The case name should also be shortened using approved abbreviations. Case Citation The case citation usually incorporates the volume number of the report where the case was published, the abbreviated reporter identification and the first page of the case. In DeBoer v. Snyder, the case citation can be broken down as follows: Volume Number Reporter Page Number 973 F. Supp. 2d 757 This indicates that the case is reported in volume 973 of the Federal Supplement, Second Series, starting on page 757. Alternatively, if available, a medium-neutral citation can be given. Court Year The ruling court and year of decision should be included in parentheses after the case citation. The name of the court is abbreviated here (e.g., â€Å"Eastern District Michigan† becomes just â€Å"E.D. Mich†). If you’re using a medium-neutral citation or another form of case citation that already mentions the ruling court and/or year of decision, it isn’t necessary to duplicate it here. Parentheticals Further to the above, Bluebook referencing allows for inclusion of a second set of parentheticals after the court/year to provide additional information. Usually, this will be either substantive information or detail regarding the weight of the authority: 1. Substantive Information Information provided to clarify the relevance of a citation, either via a direct quotation of the passage in question or a brief explanation. Explanatory phrases should begin with an â€Å"-ing† verb. 2. Weight of Authority This concerns the precedential value of the cited case, including factors such as the relevance of the authority (e.g., whether the ruling was en banc, per curiam, etc.) or other cases cited to support the decision.

How to Use a Wood Material in Computer Hard Disk Drives Essay

How to Use a Wood Material in Computer Hard Disk Drives - Essay Example Therefore, coming up with new and easily available materials for the manufacture of hard disks would lower the cost of their installation. This report aims at coming up with a hard disk made up of wood materials. The report will commence by outlining the main parts of the device, as well as their main functions. Further, the choice of materials for each part of the appliance will be discussed. This will be tackled in two broad areas of the usage of wood currently where the same can be utilised to come up with efficient and effective hard disks. The report will conclude with a highlight of the importance of the use of wood in the manufacture of hard disks and the recommendation for the same. Breakdown of the Main Parts of the Hard Disk and the Main Function of Each The hard disk is made up of various components for data storage. Every computer possesses a hard drive; a majority of computer users are not much familiar with the hard disk and its composition. It is the brain of the compu ter and contains the following parts: (a) Heads or the Head Stack Assembly This part of the hard disk is very crucial in the sense that it magnetically reads and writes data to the platters that are in an incredible high-speed motion. This is done in extremely precise positions to achieve its function (Rubtsov, 2009). The heads can be termed as the eyes of the drive and float slightly higher from the platters approximately one micron. It is a sensitive, precise instrument and is generally the most frequent cause of hard drive malfunction (Braun 2009). (b) Spindle The spindle is highly crucial in rotating the platters at a certain speed that is measured in revolutions per minute (RPM). According to The Computer Technology Documentation Project, modern spindles have been modified to move at speeds as high as 4800 and 7200 rotations per minute. This is expected to be higher in the future with innovations to enhance the seek speed: this is the amount of time it takes the hard disk to se arch for a certain area of data. With growing file sizes and the speed of transfer, like a crucial part of computing, the platter must spin extremely fast (Rubtsov, 2009). (c) Platters Platters are found at the centre of the hard disk to hold all data on the hard disk. A hard disk may have one or more platters depending on the intended capacity. They are round with holes in the centre similar to a record used on a record player. In cases of a platter having a motor, it holds the platter together and rotates it at a certain speed measured in revolutions per minute (Braun 2009). The result is the creation of air pressure that lifts the read of write heads of the platters. The platters are very effective in holding the hard drive’s information and their sensitivity is very high (Rubtsov, 2009). A number of drives have contained more than one platter while others have only one. In cases of a drive having multiple platters, the spacing between them is consequently very precise, an d in case of misalignment, the data on the drive is mostly lost forever. (d) Electronics The green circuitry found at the bottom of the hard drive is the electronics board. It constitutes of all the electronic resistors, capacitors, and other bits holding the parts in place (Osborne, 2010.). Their function is the provision of connection with the rest of the computer and contains information referred to as firmware that informs the hard drive on how to

Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 107

Journal - Essay Example Other interventions included training the teachers and the parents about the importance of the early intervention programs for the development of the children between 0 and five years. The government took up the responsibility of providing scholarships for students with disabilities by sponsoring ten male students to work in the transition service with Beacon College of Florida. Specifically, the development service has five core elements, which are the Foundation of self-discovery, academic exploration, a preview of campus life, the Florida experience, and post program follow up in Saudi Arabia. The main challenge for the program is conducting interviews about the personal experience for the families who have children with autism. I learn from this presentation that the government of Saudi Arabia has taken an active initiative in establishing programs focus on the disabled’s needs. Mental and physical disability is a major challenge for the families and the patients as they have trouble in their lives. However, interventional programs are paramount in empowering the families and victims, as they are a means of liberation. The success of the program demonstrates that infirmity is not inability because when given a chance, even the disabled can use their skills and talent to change the

What Is Meant by a Whats More B Essay Example for Free

What Is Meant by a Whats More B Essay When the phrase â€Å"A, What’s More B, comes to mind one may quickly think of the word parallelism.† Parallelism is the joining together of related ideas to form a complete thought† (Fields, 2008). Additionally, parallelism relates to the written communication between the phrases of poetic lines which are found in certain books of the Bible. Many examples of parallelism are found in the books of Proverbs and Psalms. When one completes a parallelism it is then referred to as a line. Each of these lines must include at least two or more poetic phrases and or colons. â€Å"Lines in this case are referred to as bi-colon and tri-colon, the first colon is referred to as â€Å"A† and the next line is referred to as â€Å"B,† generally, the second phrase carries the first thought forward in a more detailed way. Today’s understood pattern of interpretation is A, what’s more B† (Longman, 2010).According to Fields, (2008), â€Å"The number of lines in a thought unit is determined by the lexical (meaning) content of the lines.† Referring back to the question at hand which is; â€Å"What is meant by the phrase â€Å"A† What’s More â€Å"B†? This phrase is simply a pattern used to interpret. One may quickly reference this fact by reading some of the poetry that is written in Hebrew Bibles. A few examples of the usage of this biblical poetry patterns are listed below. My first example comes from the book of Psal ms. â€Å"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path† (Psalms 119:105). This verse can easily be written in parallel form such as; your word is; 1.A lamp to my feet 2.A light for my path In this example notice that the word lamp and light are paralleled as are the words my feet and my path are. My next example comes from the book of Proverbs, â€Å"My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart† (Proverbs 3:1). This verse may be written in parallel form as follows; 1. My son, do not forget my teaching 2. But keep my commands in your heart In this verse we see that the words my teachings are paralleled to the words my commands. â€Å"Poetry is the type of literature which uses concentration literary devices to embellish the author’s message in a way that is memorable† (Fields, 2008). In conclusion, the author of this paper has explained to the best of her knowledge what is meant by the phrase, â€Å"What is Meant by â€Å"A† What’s More â€Å"B,† as well as has given a few examples of verses from the Bible broken down into parallelism as they refer to the connection of the different poetic lines. References Benner, J. (1999) â€Å"An Introduction to Ancient Hebrew† Retrieved on September 12, 2013 from: http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/1_introduction.html Fields, M. (2008) â€Å"Hebrews for the Rest of Us† Grand Rapids Mi. Zondervan Longman, T (2010), â€Å"How to Read Psalms† Retrieved on September 12, 2013 from; http://www.scribd.com/doc/27582639/Tremper-Longman-How-to-Read-the-Psalms

Robert E. Lee :: essays research papers

Condi Rice: the Warrior Princess Condi Rice is the top leading female African-American politician to hold a high-ranking and influential position in the United States government today. From her lengthy and experienced background, Rice has established herself among the elite in Washington, D.C. Her commitment to the foreign policy of this great nation has proven very strong over the many years that she has worked for the government. With the confidence of President Bush behind her, Rice has and will continue to lead the front for peaceful relations with different nations to spread democracy and human rights. In 1954, Rice was born in Birmingham, Alabama the year before the civil rights movement would take place. Going up in a brutally racist environment, little Condi, who enjoyed reading books and playing the piano, didn’t let the violence affect her. Even though the pain and suffering that surrounded her was immense, she did not let it prevent her from making her dreams come true. For Condi Rice, her best area in government is dealing with foreign relations. A perfect example of Condi Rice’s keen intellect of foreign policy would be her knowledge of the Soviet Union during the final years of the Cold War. When the Soviet Union collapsed, human rights in that region were to be changed forever. People gained the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to vote. Rice firmly believes â€Å"nothing improved human rights as much as the collapse of Soviet power.† With the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States had now become the world’s only superpower. We benefited greatly in this peaceful victory. â€Å"American values are universal. Their triumph is most assuredly easier when the international balance of power favors those who believe in them. But sometimes that favorable balance of power takes time to achieve, both internationally and within a country,† said best by Rice. She is referring to strong countries that do n ot need to isolate themselves such as the Soviet Union did during the Cold War. Other powerful states need to join the peaceful global community.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After her successful term in office as the National Security Advisor for the first Bush administration, Rice was nominated to become the Secretary of State for the second Bush administration. During the ceremony when she was sworn in, â€Å"the new secretary spoke of the need to work in partnership with allies and others around the world ‘putting the tools of diplomacy to work to unite, strengthen and widen the community of democracies.

Last two hundred years Essay

The 19th and 20th centuries are very rich about inventions that changed our lives. The automobile is one of those inventions changed people’s lives. Short after its invention automobile became a necessity in daily life more than being luxury or a symbol of nobility. Today the numbers of cars are close to half of earth’s population. Almost every family in developed countries owns a car. The automobile has had the greatest effects on our lives in last two hundred years because it is a necessity, it has an important effect on the world economy and it affects our lives directly. There are some reasons why automobiles become a necessity in today’s life which of those reasons are being the cheapest, fastest and easiest way to travel when compared against other inventions like planes, ships or trains. Before the invention of automobiles humanity used to travel with domestic animals, which cause more expanses than, cars do in today’s conditions. A traveler has to pay great amounts of money to travel from one town to another to the animals’ owner also if someone owns his own animal it will probably costs much more because he has to feed and look after that animal. Even today when compared against planes, ships or trains; the automobile is still the cheapest way to travel. The automobile is also the fastest way to travel when compared to old traveling methods. For example horse back riding from France to Germany will take months while driving the same distance with a car will take a day or less. The last important thing that made automobile a necessity is it’s being the easiest way of traveling and transportation. Traveling with automobiles gives people freedom of going wherever they want; only thing they have to do is to have wish of going and the money to afford an automobile’s expanses. The automobile gives a freedom of traveling which other traveling methods do not offer. Trains are limited with the rails whereas planes are also limited with aerostations but cars can reach everywhere roads reach and even far. Today automobile is a necessity like sleeping or eating. The busses people go their work with, the lorries that people transport their goods, the ambulances that saves people’s lives and lots uncountable more examples there are which shows us how necessary automobiles are. As a result a necessity is something that affects people’s lives deeply. Without cars it will be impossible to the things we do in daily life like traveling, transporti ng and reaching. Another important point that makes the automobile effect on people’s life is its effect on world economy with the automobile industry and its subsidiary industries like car accessories. Today almost every developed country’s economy is based on the automobile industry while developing countries depend on the automobile industry also. A large rate of world trade is about automobiles. For instance there are big car companies in both Europe and USA that has big factories in which millions of people work. This causes a great income for the world economy and keeps it running. Because economies depend on and based on the automobile, people’s lives are depended on automobile and this is why this invention affects human’s lives too much. Peoples are depended on the automobile economically because lots of people’s job involves cars, lorries, trucks or buses and also lot of people’s job is to produce vehicle. For those reasons the automobile affects peoples lives too much as an economic support, it is what people earn their lives from. The last and the most important reason why the automobile affect people’s lives are because it affects their lives with its side effects like; pollution, accidents, transportation and automobile based lifestyles. All kinds of automobiles are based on the same principle, which is the creation of energy by using petrol and its side products. As a result automobiles produce harmful gases and release them through the air people breathe. Automobiles pollute the air and are a danger for all living creatures with the air pollution it causes. In addition to air pollution automobile also causes sound pollution with the sound of horns and motors, which depress people and create negative social effects on them. Because automobile is the fastest way to achieve somewhere, the wrong use of it causes accidents resulting with injuries or even deaths. As a result deaths and injuries cause incorrigible social effects like depression and suicide because it affects people negatively. With the automobile, transportation becomes easier and more common. That created an enormous effect on trade, which also means an enormous effect on people’s lives because it affects economy with this way, which means an affect on the way people, earns their lives. The last direct effect the automobile created on people’s lives is that some lives are based on the automobile passion. For example car and motor racers,  Harley Davidson cycles collectors, Chevrolet fans and lots more. Because of those reasons the automobile is a piece of people’s lives that affects them directly with a lot of reasons. In conclusion the automobile has had the greatest effect on people’s lives because it become a piece of their life with its usage and effects. It is the invention that gave man freedom of traveling wherever he wants, it changed his life and it is a necessity of life for him. In today’s world cars save people’s time, power and even lives. The automobiles allow people to reach places quickly, lorries, trucks carry their goods and finally ambulances save lives. All those create enormous effects on people’s lives.

Comment and Compare the Boscastle and Pakistan Floods Essay

During the 2010 monsoon season (July and August), Pakistan experienced the worst floods recorded in its history. Heavy rainfall caused flash floods in the north and north-western regions of the country. The subsequent run-off created a southward moving mass of water approximately the size of the United Kingdom. The flood waters travelled downstream through Punjab and Sindh until they reached the Arabian Sea. Many of the main tributaries feeding into the Indus River were also flooded, further inundating agricultural lands. In total, some 20 million people were displaced and 50,000 square km were submerged, while standing crops, infrastructure and land were damaged extensively. The extent of the destruction caused by the 2010 floods is hard to comprehend. The floods impacted seventy-eight districts, resulting in the deaths of over 1900 people with at least another 2900 injured. In the areas receiving flood-waters 70% of the roads and bridges were swept away. More than 10,000 schools and 500 hospitals were destroyed or damaged, as were about 1.6 million homes. In a relatively short period of time, millions of Pakistanis who were already having a difficult time making a living before the floods found themselves homeless and unsure of how to survive. The losses were largest for crops with direct damage to 2.1 million hectares of standing Kharif crops (crops that are sown in the rainy season) – mainly cotton, rice, sugarcane and vegetables; one million tonnes of food and seed stocks were lost along with a large number of on-farm water channels and wells. Livestock were decimated during the flash floods in the hilly areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while grazing animals and poultry were also lost in the plains area. In all, approximately 200,000 livestock (including cows, sheep, buffalo, goats and donkeys) were initially confirmed dead, with the total rising somewhat over time. Of immediate concern was the increased risk of outbreaks of contagious diseases due to unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation and personal hygiene, food insecurity,lack of shelter, overcrowding and decreased access to health care. In late August 2010, over 450,000 cases of dysentery and other diseases were reported, and some 3.5 million children were considered at risk of contracting water-borne diseases including diarrhoea and cholera. Three rivers – the Valency, Jordan and Paradise – converge on the small, tourist village of Boscastle on the Cornish coast. The majority of the damage caused by the flash flood on 16th August 2004, 52 years after the catastrophe that was the Lynmouth flood, was attributable to the Valency. In total, an input of 3 million tonnes of water was added to a tiny drainage basin, whose size was just 40 square kilometres. Attention must be paid not just to the total volume of rain but also the intensity with which it fell. 185mm arrived in just five hours, the majority falling in the first two hours. Under such conditions, infiltration was virtually impossible, with the rate of precipitation greatly exceeding the infiltration capacity of any soil type. The soils were already saturated from previous rainfall earlier in the week, encouraging surface run-off to begin even sooner. The three river valleys are very steep and narrow; a broader floodplain would have helped to soak up ex cess water and to reduce energy more effectively through an increased hydraulic radius. The settlement of Boscastle was allowed to develop on a narrow flood plain on the west coast of England, where rainfall is often high. The rainfall of August 2004 hit at the worst time of year, when the settlement population doubled to 2,000 as tourists arrived. Much higher levels of motor vehicle damage were also experienced as a result of this temporary population increase. In addition, shops were carrying greater levels of stock than at other times of the year. Although new flood defences were set to be built in October of that year, work had not yet started. Overall, excellent emergency services and Environment Agency response meant no lives were lost. However, due to the constantly changing nature of the tourist population, it took a long time to clearly establish that there had been no fatalities. Most shops stayed shut for the rest of the season and the bad publicity reduced tourist numbers during the following years, resulting in a negative multiplier effect for the entire lo cal community. In addition, the effect spread beyond Boscastle – other settlements along the river were perceived to be at risk by tourists. Boscastle businesses could claim compensation from their insurance companies (claims for ‘disruption to trading’ in Boscastle amounted to  £15m). However, others businesses elsewhere in Cornwall could not, even though they too may have suffered reduced trade in the following years. This became a cause for concern, with tourism accounting for 30% of Cornwall’s GDP and tourists spending up to  £1 billion throughout the county. Shared amenities such as Boscastle village green were now covered with silt and up-ended cars. There were serious costs for a small community with a seasonal employment problem, due to its over-reliance on summer tourism. There was also irreplaceable loss of historical artefacts; The ‘Witch Museum’ – which was fifty years old and received 50,000 visitors a year – saw some of its unique contents damaged. Infrastructure disruption was another major problem; both bridges in Boscastle were destroyed and sections of r oad swept away. Telephone, water, electricity and gas supplies were all immediately interrupted. People found the value of their homes permanently reduced, now that Boscastle was associated with a serious flood risk. It has been suggested that values were halved. In some instances it took six months before properties were sufficiently repaired for homeowners to permanently return. This was one of the worst problems that flood victims faced: they could not physically return to their homes even when the floodwaters receded. In some cases, the historic character of the houses in Boscastle caused extra problems. Six properties were destroyed outright; most others required between  £15,000 and  £30,000 for repairs. Insurance companies reimbursed most people however some home and car owners did not receive compensation because (a) they lacked appropriate insurance cover or (b) they found that they were not entitled to payment because insurers regarded this unusual event as an ‘Act of God’. It is difficult to compare these two floods, which both caused significant damage, but the scale to which this happened varied tremendously; one occurred in a small, sleepy Cornish village while the other tormented a whole country. The numbers involved also differed; there were thankfully no deaths in the Boscastle flood (one resident suffered a heart attack but that was the extent of the casualties), whereas there were over 1500 people killed in Pakistan with millions more left homeless and in danger of starvation and waterborne diseases. The cost of the clean up for a small village like Boscastle was great enough; that for the already heavily indebted, poverty-stricken Pakistan was impossibly high. The greatest similarity is the physical geography of the land which didn’t allow for adequate drainage of the affected areas. Pakistan is essentially split down the middle with the western side of the country all at least 300m above sea level whereas the eastern half is low lying farmland/floodplains. This meant that the excess surface runoff caused by the high levels of rainfall simply followed the gradient of the land and flooded the lower lying east. Boscastle is in an even worse position as it is sitting at the bottom of a valley so the water came from both sides, converging at the village where the already swollen rivers simultaneously burst their banks. Another similarity was the high levels of rainfall immediately preceeding the floods which meant that the subsequent rainfall was unable to infiltrate the already saturated ground.

Spanish Place Names in the U.S.

Spanish Place Names in the U.S. Much of the United States was once part of Mexico, and Spanish explorers were among the first non-indigenous people to explore much of what is now the U.S. So wed expect that an abundance of places would have names coming from Spanish - and indeed thats the case. There are too many Spanish place names to list here, but here are some of the most well-known: U.S. State Names from Spanish California - The original California was a fictional place in the 16th-century book Las sergas de Esplandin by Garci Rodrà ­guez Ordà ³Ãƒ ±ez de Montalvo. Colorado - This is the past participle of colorar, which means to give something color, such as by dyeing. The participle, however, specifically refers to red, such as red earth. Florida - Probably a shortened form of pascua florida, literally meaning flowered holy day, referring to Easter. Montana - The name is an anglicized version of montaà ±a, the word for mountain. The word probably comes from the days when mining was a leading industry in the region, as the states motto is Oro y plata, meaning Gold and silver. Its too bad the à ± of the spelling wasnt retained; it would have been cool to have a state name with a letter not in the English  alphabet. New Mexico  - The Spanish  Mà ©xico  or  Mà ©jico  came from the name of an Aztec god. Texas - The Spanish borrowed this word, spelled Tejas in Spanish, from indigenous residents of the area. It relates to the idea of friendship. Tejas, although not used that way here, also can refer to roof tiles. Key Takeaways: Spanish Language Place Names Spanish-language place names abound in the United States in part because its history includes Spanish colonization and exploration.Many of the Spanish place names in the U.S. have been anglicized, such as by changing à ± to n and by dropping the accent marks from accented vowels.Many of the Spanish names are derived from the names of Roman Catholic saints and beliefs. Other U.S. Place Names From Spanish Alcatraz (California) - From alcatraces, meaning gannets (birds similar to pelicans). Arroyo Grande (California) - An arroyo is a stream. Boca Raton (Florida) - The literal meaning of boca ratà ³n is mouses mouth, a term applied to a sea inlet. Cape Canaveral (Florida) - From caà ±averal, a place where canes grow. Conejos River (Colorado) - Conejos means rabbits. District of Columbia; Columbia River (Oregon and Washington) - These and many other place names honor Christopher Columbus (Cristobal Colà ³n in Spanish), the Italian-Spanish explorer. El Paso (Texas) - A mountain pass is a paso; the city is on a historically major route through the Rocky Mountains. Fresno (California) - Spanish for ash tree. Galveston (Texas) - Named after Bernardo de Glvez, a Spanish general. Grand Canyon (and other canyons) - The English canyon comes from the Spanish caà ±Ãƒ ³n. The Spanish word can also mean cannon, pipe or tube, but only its geological meaning became part of English. Key West (Florida) - This may not look like a Spanish name, but it is in fact an anglicized version of the original Spanish name, Cayo Hueso, meaning Bone Key. A key or cayo is a reef or low island; that word originally came from Taino, an indigenous Caribbean language. Spanish speakers and maps still refer to the city and key as Cayo Hueso. Las Cruces (New Mexico) - Meaning the crosses, named for a burial site. Las Vegas - Means the meadows. Los Angeles - Spanish for the angels. Los Gatos (California) - Meaning the cats, for the cats that once roamed in the region. Madre de Dios Island (Alaska) - The Spanish means mother of God. The island, which is in Trocadero (meaning trader) Bay, was named by Galician explorer Francisco Antonio Mourelle de la Rà ºa. Merced (California) - The Spanish word for mercy. Mesa (Arizona) - Mesa, Spanish for table, came to be applied to a type of flat-topped geological formation. Nevada - A past participle meaning covered with snow, from nevar, meaning to snow. The word is also used for the name of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. A sierra is a saw, and the name came to be applied to a jagged range of mountains. Nogales (Arizona) - It means walnut trees. Rio Grande (Texas) - Rà ­o grande means large river. Sacramento - Spanish for sacrament, a type of ceremony practised in Catholic (and many other Christian) churches. Sangre de Cristo Mountains - The Spanish means blood of Christ; the name is said to come from blood-red glow of the setting sun. San _____ and Santa _____ (California and elsewhere) - Almost all the city names beginning with San or Santa - among them San Francisco, Santa Barbara, San Antonio, San Luis Obispo, San Jose, Santa Fe and Santa Cruz - come from Spanish. Both words are shortened forms of  santo,  the word for saint or holy. Sonoran Desert (California and Arizona) - Sonora is possibly a corruption of seà ±ora, referring to a woman. Strait of Juan de Fuca (Washington state) - Named after the Spanish version of Greek explorer Ioannis Phokass name. Phokas was part of a Spanish expedition. Toledo (Ohio) - Possibly named after the city in Spain.

How to Treat Postpositive Adjectives

How to Treat Postpositive Adjectives How to Treat Postpositive Adjectives How to Treat Postpositive Adjectives By Mark Nichol Nearly a thousand years ago, the Norman Conquest had a profound effect not only on the English nation but also on the English language. One of the manifestations of this event is the survival of the postpositive adjective. In many languages, including French, a modifying word follows the word it modifies, such as in the phrase ressource naturelle (â€Å"natural resources†). Because of Norman French’s influence on law, politics, and other matters sovereign, we still sometimes use this form in the mongrel melange that is the English language. Thus â€Å"attorney general† (as well as â€Å"secretary general† and â€Å"postmaster general†), which refers not to a military rank but to the office holder’s generic scope of responsibility. Thus court-martial, which literally pertains to a court of a martial, or warlike, nature but practically applies to a military court in wartime or peacetime. Thus â€Å"heir apparent† and knight-errant, artifacts of feudal system. (Note that compound form is inconsistent: Open compounds prevail, but some hyphenated forms persist. When in doubt, look the term up. If certain, look the term up anyway.) This form reaches even into the quotidian vocabulary of business, with â€Å"accounts payable† and â€Å"accounts receivable,† as well as â€Å"notary public,† and in terms that apply to government but have entered general use, such as â€Å"body politic.† There’s even a pair of ordinary words that sometimes take postpositive adjectives in some contexts; I used one earlier in this post, in the phrase â€Å"matters sovereign.† Another is things, as in â€Å"things unsaid.† And how are such terms pluralized? Generally as shown in the first two examples in the paragraph above the noun, not the adjective, logically takes the plural form: for example, â€Å"attorneys general† (but attorney-generals in British English), courts-martial, and â€Å"notaries public.† The same is true of mother-in-law and like terms, the plural form of which is rendered mothers-in-law, and similar constructions such as â€Å"editor in chief† (sometimes hyphenated, though that style is outmoded), right-of-way, and sergeant-at-arms (pluralized as â€Å"editors in chief,† rights-of-way, and sergeants-at-arms, respectively). Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Does "Mr" Take a Period?Writing Styles (with Examples)

The 5 most important ideas of politics and US government Essay

The 5 most important ideas of politics and US government - Essay Example An individual has the innate tendency to resist all that obstruct one’s liberty. The connotation of liberty is so vast that it defies definition. Each one sees a new horizon of liberty. For the American people the concept of liberty is supreme as it stands to protect the essential dignity of an individual. Dr. Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel Prize winning poet, describes the concept of liberty in his beautiful poem â€Å"Where the Mind is Without Fear.† He writes, â€Å" Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high, where knowledge is free, where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls, where words come out from the depth of truth, where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection, where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way, into the dreary desert sand of dead habit, where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action, into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake. † (Tagore, n. p.) This is fantastic explanation about the concept of liberty. In the context of American history, the concept of liberty has undergone many changes as per the demands of time. Each advocate of liberty takes a different line of argument as to its potency and desires to outsmart the previous definitions. Ernest Hemingway in his Autobiography writes â€Å"[†¦.] the loss of liberty anywhere in the world is a threat to liberty everywhere† (Hemingway†¦).... They are born in poverty. Live in poverty and just walk up to the grave in poverty. The African-Americans(slaves) survived only because they had a chance to work(just one aspect of liberty) though on a meager or no salary. Schumacher, E.F in his book â€Å"Small is Beautiful† writesâ€Å"[†¦]the chances to work is the greatest of all needs, and even poorly paid and relatively unproductive work is better than idleness†( 161).This was the position when the practice of slavery was legal in America. After the abolition of slavery, when African-Americans took to education, they began to comprehend the meaning of liberty. Prior to that, in the land of tyranny how could the African American think of equality? Isaiah Berlin in his book â€Å"Liberty: Incorporating Four Essays on Liberty† writes â€Å"It is interesting, but perhaps irrelevant, historical question at what date, and in what circumstances, the notion of individual liberty in this sense first became exp licit in the West†(p.32, 33).Liberty does not mean people should do what they want to do, but they should do what they are expected to do. Liberty is an individual prerogative subject to the liberty (rights) of others. It is a carefully balanced walk and not a carefree race. It is to act with caution, always minding the fact that rights go with duties and responsibilities. Limited Governance The source of the power for the government is the willingness of the people to make and unmake it. The people cannot dethrone the government in power at will, and yet the people of America are supreme and the government itself is limited to the power given to it by them. The Government of

International Negotiation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Negotiation - Essay Example The most successful battle for the Americans during this war happened in New Orleans - months after the Treaty of Ghent, signed in Belgium, had brought the war to a close. There was no satellite phone, no telegram that could travel from Belgium to New Orleans in time to head off the bloody battle. Another factor that kept diplomatic efforts to broker peace agreements at a minimum was the fact that technological constraints kept wars from spreading to engulf entire halves of the globe - or the whole word itself. Cannons, muskets and swords could not cause noxious clouds of gas to pass over entire civilian populations, and neighboring countries or cultures would only sparingly jump in to assist their neighbors. The Industrial Age, starting in Europe in the 1800's, and the development of significantly entangling networks of treaties of protection, wherein major powers promised to support one another in the event of attack, made the prospect of continent-wide, or even worldwide conflict, more of a possibility after the middle of the nineteenth century. When American President Theodore Roosevelt brokered a peace agreement that settled the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, he was honored the next year with the Nobel Peace Prize (Bailey and Kennedy, p. 628). The very fact that such a priz e existed showed the changing sensibilities of the world, namely that war anywhere in the world was a danger to the rest of the world. In the years In the years since Theodore Roosevelt, the world has undergone two wars that basically dragged in every major world power. The first of these conflicts introduced the world to biological warfare, in the form of the deadly mustard gas that would later be outlawed. The second of these finally ended with another military innovation: the nuclear bomb. It has been argued that a bomb of this nature is the only weapon that would have kept the Japanese population from fighting, civilian by civilian, exacting huge casualties from the Allied troops before surrendering. Even so, the arrival of the nuclear bomb signaled the end of the widespread war, because the final weapon was so awful in its power that it served as a deterrent. And so organizations like the United Nations sprang up in the second half of the twentieth century, with the goal of keeping regional conflicts from becoming continental, or even global ones. There have been situations where international, third-party at tempts at solving conflicts were successful, but there have been many more that only bogged the problem down and made it last longer. One of the most problematic regional conflicts of the twentieth century was the struggle over apartheid in South Africa. While the British had created the colonial Union of South Africa in 1910, the policy known as apartheid was not implemented until 1948. In the intervening years, the African natives had faced restrictions that were common to all indigenous peoples under colonial rule. When the Afrikaner leader D.F. Malan took power in 1948, his government passed some laws that mandated that blacks live in certain areas, have identification on them at all times, and denied several basic civil rights to blacks (Sanctions against South Africa). This change in law escaped international attention, in part because of the vast distance between South