Best Place To Live

Where is the best place to grow up and why? We can easily become biased and unwaveringly think the U. S. , but what do we really know about different countries and their cultures, or how they affect us developmentally? There are many factors to take into consideration such as life expectancy, standard of living, and education. That is why Sweden is ranked number one on the Children’s Index ranking, making the country the best place to grow up! Children in Sweden are among the few in the world who are safe from abuse as they are well protected by the law from slapping, smacking, pinching, hair-pulling, whipping, or any form of abuse.It is considered a criminal offense to beat a child. By comparison, in the United States alone, by the time a child is 2 years old, nine in ten parents have engaged in some sort of abuse and more than half of parents have slapped or spanked their children and one-third of parents have pushed, grabbed or shoved their children (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). These forms of abuse have a great impact on children as abused children show a high incidence of personal and social problems, low performance levels in school and low self-esteem.Typically, abused children are less attached to their parents, less intimate with friends, tend to withdraw and have the tendencies to become more aggressive and angry (Moylan et al. , 2010). Later on, they are at a greater risk for delinquency, risky sexual behavior and substance abuse (Sousa et al. , 2011). Swedish law ensures that children are protected and their rights are defended. These laws help to minimize and decrease the number of abused children, protecting them not only physically, but mentally and developmentally. Sweden uses some of its tax money to make sure children are looked after properly.As with most families, both parents work and children are in day care. In Sweden, day care is free and each set of parents receive 480 days of paid parental leave per child t o stay home with their children until the age of 8! This offers a two- fold advantage for both parents and children. Studies have reported several positive aspects of day care. Some studies show that children in day care are more social, tend to share their toys, display self-confidence and are more outgoing. Results also conclude that children in day care score higher in cognitive skills than those who are at home.(Belsky et al. ,2007).There are some limitations within these case studies but the fact remains that many families need to place their children in day care which can be very costly. Providing paid parental leave also gives parents the opportunity to stay home with their children to continue the emotional bond while establishing secure attachment. Most parental leave is taken by mothers, but fathers are spending an increasing amount of time at home with their children. The more sensitive the father is to the child, the stronger the attachment. (Lucassen et al. , 2011).From preschool onwards, children are encouraged to think independently and the Swedish tradition of preschool emphasizes the importance of play in a child’s development and learning. At preschool the emphasis is on play. In many countries, including the US and the UK, there is a drive towards setting goals and assessing the progress of preschoolers but the Swedish system focuses more on basic values such as playing together and consideration for others. Play helps children develop motor skills and coordination. It also contributes to social development as children learn to share, take turns, and begin to engage in creative play.Piaget identified different kinds of play, characterized by cognitive complexity to include functional play, symbolic play, constructive play, and formal games (Rathus, 162). The preschool in Sweden not only holds to play in education but also to fantasy and creativity. The quality of pretend play is connected with preschoolers’ academic performance later on, and their social skills (Russ, 2006 Stagnitti st al. , 2000). Exercise is vital to a child’s development and reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.Physically active children have a better self- esteem and coping mechanisms yet most children in the U. S. are not physically fit. Keeping fit and enjoying the great outdoors are very much part of Swedish culture and schools shut for a week’s â€Å"sports vacation† in February each year, when many families head north to ski as children play outside at every opportunity, even in the depths of winter. Children being protect, enjoying good health, free education, and an active social life contribute to Sweden finishing first in The Children’s’ Well- Being Index and convince me that Sweden is the best place to grow up.

Mfecane Debates

Julian Cobbing against ‘The mfecane’ Has the mfecane a future? In recent times historians known as â€Å"Africanists† revived the topic of the mfecane in the early 1960s and it was well exploited and was also used to justify certain aspects of Apatheid. The word ‘mfecane’ is a characterised product of the South African liberal history that is used by the Apartheid regime state to legitimate South Africa's racially and unequal land division. In the 1970s the mfecane has become the most widely used terms in south African history and historical literature . inding the original meaning of mfecane could somehow be merely impossible reason being from on angle the mfecane was the Nguni diaspora which from the early 1820s which took Nguni raiding communities such as Ndebele, the Ngoni and Gaza and over more southern regional parts of south-central Africa which reach as far as Lake Tanzania. Astonishingly some of the selective use or the actual invention of ev idence has produced the myth of an internally-induced process known as the black-on-black destruction centring on Shaka Zulu.A re-evaluating from the ‘battles’ of Dithakong and Mbolompo suggests very different ideas and enables us to decipher the motives of subsequent historiographical amnesias and knowledge. After about 1810 the black peoples of southern Africa were caught between intensifying and converging imperialistic thrusts: one to supply the Cape Colony with labour; another, at Delagoa Bay, to supply slaves particularly to the Brazilian sugar plantations. The flight of the Ngwane from the Mzinyathi inland to the Caledon was, it is argued, a response to slaving.But they ran directly into the colonial raiding-grounds north of the Orange. The (missionary-led) raid on the still unidentified ‘Mantatees’ (not a reference to MaNtatisi) at Dithakong in 1823 was one of innumerable Griqua raids for slaves to counter a shortage of labour among the Cape settler s after the British expansionist wars of 1811 to 1820. Similar Griqua raids forced the Ngwane south from the Caledon into the Transkei. Here, at Mbolompo in 1828, the Ngwane were attacked yet again, this time by a British army seeking ‘free’ labour after the reorganisation of the Cape's labour-procurement system in July 1828.The British claim that they were parrying a Zulu invasion is exposed as propaganda, and the connexions between the campaign and the white-instigated murder of Shaka are shown. In short, the African societies did not generate the regional violence on their own. Rather, were caught within the European net and were soon transformed over lengthen periods in reaction to the attentions of external plunderers. The core misrepresentations and false understandings of ‘the mfecane’ are thereby revealed; the term, and the concept, should be abandoned.A closely related, though different, mfecane centres on the perspectives on the Zululanders and th e figured mindset of Shaka. many of those in Zulu cultures and trditionalised South Africans has come to a conclusion become a revolutionary process internal to Nguni society which leads to the development of the ibutho and the tributary mode of production. Shaka is seen as a heroic figure providing a positive historical example in South African history and created a sense of self-respect for black citizens in South Africa today.But inside these wider definitions another mfecane there are more specifically referring to the impact of Nguni raiders (the Nedbele, Hlubi and Ngwane) on the Sotho west of the Drakensberg. The mfecane encompassed many great fields of African self-destruction which extended from the Limpopo all the way to Orange. It has allegedly depopulated vast areas of what had become the Orange Free State, the Transvaal and, with the aid of the Zulu, Natal, which thus lay empty for white expansion. At the time many Africans dispersed and survivors clustered together and within a period of time formed enclave states of Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana.A term known as the ‘general distribution of white and Bantu landownership' in South Africa was soon established. On these African-created foundations rose the Bantustans or Homelands of twentieth-century Southern Africa. Contradictions coexist within mfecane theories with contrasts sand the definitions of timing. As an era of history the latter 1trans-orangian' mfecane begins in about 1820 and ends in either 1828 with the departure of the Ngwane, or it had ended in the early mid-1830s with the arrival of the French missionaries and later followed by the Boers.The Zulu-centred mfecane on the other hand begins with the career of Dingiswayo at the end of the eighteenth century and continues until the end of the Zulu kingdom which ended in 1879. Sub continental mfecane does continue until the 1890s. In short, I would say there is no one definition of the mfecane. It can be referred to people, to an e ra or to a process of internal development. It could be destructive, constructive; anti-African; pro-African; geographically narrow, or sub continental. Not all of these ontradictions can be resolved as a whole, but there is a need for answers and its existence requires an explanation, since their origins of the mfecane are by now very much buried in the heart of South African historiography. Firstly, my mission of this essay is attend to the origins of the mfecane, how it started and give brief overviews and backgrounds between those who played a very important role in the era of Shaka Zulu and the period of the mfecane. My intentions are also to unravel the development within the mfecane as it has been handed down in South African historiography.Many writers have had a hand in creating the mfecane. The poor taste of the dish derives from the poor quality of the initial ingredients. In the second part, I suggest some lines of attack on the pillars of mfecane mythology, and leave it to the reader to decide whether the concept is worth salvaging. Julian Cobbing known best as a being against the mfecane and the critical analysis of south African history, he also had he’s own point of the subjects of who the important characters like Shaka Zulu had and the effects, whether he did or did not control the southern part of Africa or whether he played a minor role in the mfecane era.The the evolution between the ibutho amongst the Ngune, the wars between Zulu and the Ndwandwe traditions, and the rise of the Zulu kingdom are half a century after Bryant, had made integral to the mfecane. Shaka becomes a hero and Mzilikazi a creative state-builder. ‘The movement as awhole' has also expanded to bring in Swaziland and the career of Mswati,Gazaland and the careers of the Soshangane and Mzila, as well as the Ngonistates of Mbelwa and Mpezeni. The validity of both these conceptual and the geographical expansions with their linkage to the original concepts of the mfecane has so far still remained unremarked.As to the linkage of the mfecane to ‘an understanding of the contemporary Situation of the' Omer-Cooper's analysis is (unsurprisingly)subjective. It is also highly contradictory. In the one direction, ‘the traditions towards the Mfecane have retained their fascination because they provide a bulwark of self-respect, a shield against the cripplingof inferiority, encouraged by the structure of white dominated society. ‘ Whereas in the other, ‘the battles and massacres of the Mfecane being accounted for the general distribution of white andBantu landownership [in South Africa today]. This is the latter that a few Africans would claim and accept. Omer-Cooper's two claims for the mfecane have in turn underpinnedwo incompatible to the mfecane traditions in the 1970s. The more liberal part of the various traditions is located mainly within in Europe, the United States and inThe South African English-speaking universities. There are list historians of Africa who have adopted ideas of Omer-Cooperof the mfecane as a positive revolutionary idea.Before 1966,and the publication of Zulu Aftermath general text books on African History had not yet Pick up the mfecane. By 1970 it was being integrating virtually all of them. July's over simplifications are typical. ‘The driving force,' he wrote, ‘was land hunger caused by population pressure among migrating cattle keepers and the vehicle was the military outburst known as the Zulu Mfecane. ‘ In 1969 Leonard Thompson discussed a concept known as the difaqane in the influential Oxford History of South Africa. W. F. Lye has built an academic career on the mfecane.He wavers between Ellenberger's older version in which Matiwane and Mzilikazi are denigrated and the newer one in which they are talented state-builders. R. Kent Rasmussen in an analysis of the early Ndebele state describes the state as an unambiguously positive manner. In the 1960s and 1970s the mfecane was updated. Inside South Africa it was adapted to explain the origins, if not the Creation of the black homelands and societies, at a time when South Africans badlyNeeded all the help they could get in justifying this processes both to an international audience and to their own up and upcoming generations.At the same time, bizarrely, historians mainly outside South Africa,not having noticed the use in which the mfecane was being put south of the Limpopo and hitched the mfecane to an alternative history that is stressed the glories of the Africa’s past and attempted to provide for Africans self-respect, defences against European suggestions that the African past was sterile, barbaric and static. Racist interpretations have been shielded from view by the Africanist one. The result must surely bewilder any student who attempts to definite mfecane with any concise coherence. Niyaaz Nell History Assignment: Mfecane Debate Tutor: Ayanda DL4

Cultural Boundaries Essay

Youth culture has been studied from several ideological perspectives on assumptions that they are ‘not isolated and untouched by the surrounding culture’ (Keyes, 2000). This notion has lead researchers to assume that youth culture is not part of ‘growing up’, but a phenomenon that occurs as a precipitation of the social, political, cultural and ideological factors. There is not one monolithic youth culture that defines all young people. Popular youth culture embraces a diversity of sub-cultures or â€Å"tribes† such as skaters, druggies, snobs, band geeks, Satanists, Jesus freaks, techno-goths, computer dweebs, blacks, Latinos and white trash. Groups distinguish themselves by dress, style, music, body modification practices, race, ethnicity, and language. (Hines, 1999) Thus a researcher, who intends to study the ethnic, racial, political, cultural, sociological or linguistic aspect of a subculture, often ends up in analysing one of the factors and tend to romanticise or over-politicise these aspects. Thornton’s study on club cultures and Nava’s treatise on youth and consumerism are good examples in this genre. The debates on how best to conceptualise both the structural and cultural transitions of young people remains a central issue in the sociology of youth. In these debates cultural approaches have been criticised for neglecting the role of social divisions and status inequalities in lifestyle ‘choices’ (Bennett 2002). The cultural night lives of young people have provided fertile ground for social researchers. There have been explorations of the character and division of dance scenes (Thornton 1995), the relationship between femininities, women’s clubbing experiences and feminism (Pini 1997a, 1997b), clubbing experiences (Malbon 1999) and the relationship between drug use and clubbing (Henderson 1993; Merchant & Macdonald 1994; Forsyth 1997). What has not been studied so well is how people become clubbers, what practices this entails, what kind of young people invest in this lifestyle, what resources are required to do so, whether this process is gendered as well as if and how this experience has impacted on their sense of identity. Earlier studies portrayed Rave culture as being a social arena where social divisions were put aside and anyone and everyone mixed together (Henderson 1993; Merchant & Macdonald 1994). Yet, more recent studies suggest that distinctions do operate between ‘mainstream’ and ‘hip’ club scenes (Thornton 1995), that ‘nightlife provision exploits existing cleavages in the youth population, and segregates young adults into particular spaces and places’ (Hollands 2002, p. 153). Given this it seems important to unpack further the nature of boundaries: the divisions between ‘us and them’: the boundary work that we do and how boundaries are constituted in social interaction. Thornton asserts ‘club cultures are taste cultures’, but as she also points out, practices of distinction do not just involve taste and cultural hierarchies are numerous (1995, p. 3). What other practices of distinction are involved in identification and differentiation processes, both within and between club scenes? It seems unlikely that these processes and practices are wholly elective. Young people’s experiences of clubbing, their lifestyle ‘choices’, need to be contextualised and conceptualised in such a way that recognise that some young people are more able than others to engage in particular styles of life, and consumer and cultural activities, such as clubbing. Boundaries are about both the individual and the collective, notions not new to youth research. Willis (1978) suggested that ‘becoming’ a hippie or a bike boy involved not only cultural knowledge, but also a process of developing group sensibilities, and these sensibilities could be used to identify and differientiate one group from another. The notion of ‘becoming’ is a way of exploring both individual and group processes (Becker 1991): how young people learn to use ‘recreational’ drugs, learn particular practices, affiliate with a culture, lifestyle or social group and invest in additional forms of identification, as well as encounter cultural barriers that constrain participation and processes of ‘becoming’. Symbolic interactionist theories would suggest that notions of what and who you are, as well as what and who you are not, only become meaningful and significant through interaction with others. When social anthropological and symbolic interactionist conceptualisations of boundaries are brought together they can help us understand how people come to form into collective groups, groups that construct shared meanings through interaction. Symbolic boundaries, group life or how ‘people do things together’ (Becker 1986), are interactional resources that groups draw upon to create their own boundaries. These notions offer a fruitful way to explore the relationship between the individual and the group, and the divisions between ‘us and them’ found in the empirical studies exploring the cultural night-lives of young people. Moreover, it may be that identifying as and ‘becoming a clubber’ may only acquire meaning in relation to and in contrast to those who do not identify as or become ‘clubbers’.

Financial And Accounting Challenges Faced By Businesses From Emerging Research Proposal

Financial And Accounting Challenges Faced By Businesses From Emerging Markets In Meeting International Accounting Standards. Companies In Azerbaijan - Research Proposal Example Countries like South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand etc were among the first to adopt IFRS. The countries of The European Union (EU) are now required to follow IFRS. Emerging economies like China, Azerbaijan etc. adopted IFRS. China had given January 2007 as deadline for implementing IFRS. Gradually all the countries in the world will adopt the financial reporting standard. USA and Canada are also getting prepared for the adoption (Barry and Jermakowicz, 2010, pp.1-2). Many businesses which are not required to adopt IFRS and are not publicly held are still implementing IFRS in their accounting. This is because a common standard of accounting followed all over the world will facilitate free flow of capital. If an investor of UAS, for example, wants to invest in a company in China he will need to examine the financial statement of the company. If the company prepares its financial statement using same methods as that is followed in the investor’s country it will be easier fo r the investor to understand the financial position of the company. Therefore using an international standard like IFRS for preparing financial statements will win investors confidence (Barry and Jermakowicz, 2010, pp. 2). However adoption of IFRS is not totally hassle free. Companies going through the transition from old methods to IFRS specified methods face many challenges. It will be seen later in this work that there are many challenges which an entity face in adopting a new standard of accounting and financial report preparation. Emerging economies like China nd Azerbaijan have also implemented IFRS partially of wholly. But companies of these countries have faced or still facing problems caused by the transition from old system to the new system. The government of Azerbaijan had given a deadline of January 2008 to its Public Interest Entities for implementing IFRS in their accounting. The small enterprises of the country required to implement National Accounting Standard, whic h is formulated based on the principles of IFRS, before January 2006 (Republic of Azerbaijan Accounting Law, 2004 Article 8,9,10 and 17). Therefore, to find out the challenges faced by businesses in emerging economies, studies on companies in Azerbaijan will be helpful. There are many companies in Azerbaijan which already have converted to new system, but there are still some companies which are yet to implement the new standard. This makes the country an interesting place for this study. Preliminary Review of the Literature: In the conversion process from old accounting system to the new accounting system in Azerbaijan, different parties related to accounting, auditing and reporting face some problems. A report prepared by Yev (2009) has discussed these problems in details. The cost involved in adopting IFRS or IAS or the NAS in accounting is considerable one. Companies must bear the cost of training of their accounting personnel. The introduction of the IFRS in the accounting syst em could result in change in the financial position of the company. The financial position of a company determined by following the previous accounting system and the financial position determined by the new accounting system might differ as a result of change in procedures, roles and obligations. This will result in volatility and difficulties in decision making. The complex nature of IFRS standard could be a problem too. Another problem that accounting personnel face is: the new standard demand change in thinking. The new reporting is not just about bookkeeping and reporting; it involves thinking and judgments of the accountants. Companies have to do a separate accounting for tax accounting because IFRS or IAS and tax rule follow

Classic Airlines Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Classic Airlines - Assignment Example Classic Airlines has enjoyed the benefits of participating in an oligopoly marketplace. In an oligopoly there are few companies that control the entire market. The purpose of this paper is to find a solution to solve the problems at Classic Airline using a nine step problem solving process. Step 1) Describe the Situation Classic Airlines is operating in an industry that has seen a long term reduction in business as a consequence of the catastrophic events of 9/11. Since that terrorist attack the industry has seen a steep rise in operating costs associated with security measures. The volatile petroleum marketplace has made fuel cost the highest cost factor in the airline closely followed by employee costs. As a consequence of external and internal factors Classic Airlines had seen its profitability declined tremendously. Last year the net profit margin of the company was a diminutive 0.11%. The net margin of the company is 2.29% below the industry standard (Dun & Bradsteet, 2011). The marketing department at Classic Airlines is in a complete disaster. One of the largest indicators of failure in the department is reflected in the results of its customer rewards program. The customer rewards program at Classic Airlines experience a 19% reduction in its total members and a 21% reduction in the frequency of purchases by those customers. Customer retention is imperative for the success of a business enterprise. The 80/20 rule states that 80% of business comes from 20% of a company’s customers. The loyalty of the customer has declined significantly which will hurt the ability of the company to stay profitable in the long term. There are internal problems occurring within the human resources of the company. Employee morale is at the lowest point it has ever been in the history of the company. Employee morale is important because when morale goes down so does the productivity of the workers. The worries from the staff are justified and legitimate. One of the vice -presidents, Doug Sheffin who is also a union member, is concerned about the company’s ability to meet its current and future obligations with the employees in the future months. He realizes that the firm may incur into operating losses soon if the firm is not able to turn things around. The company’s ability to pay its short term obligations can be measured by its current ratio (Kennon, 2011). Step 2) Define the Problem    Classic Airlines faces some serious problems that require immediate attention since the future of the company is at stake. Due to the decreasing profitability of the company and the fact the company cannot reduce prices any lower to spur demand the company’s Board of Directors has mandated a 15% cost reduction across all departments within a timeframe of 18 months. The situation is so delicate that if the company does not meet the cost reduction mandate the firm faces the possibility of bankruptcy. The most recent indicator that clearly dem onstrates the firm’s declining performance is the 20% reduction in the customer rewards programs in terms of both number of participants and frequency of purchases by the remaining customers. Step 3) End State Goals The company has several end state goals the firm must achieve. One of those goals is to increase the profitability of the company to reach the industry standard of 2.4% net margin within 18 months. A second end state goal of Classic

In Whose Jurisdiction Is the Creation of a Judicial Precedent Assignment

In Whose Jurisdiction Is the Creation of a Judicial Precedent - Assignment Example Delegated legislation refers to laws made by a body or an entity other than the parliament. The body must, however, derive its legislative authority from parliament through an act of parliament known as parent act. An example of a delegated legislation is a set of city bylaws formulated by local authorities. The local authorities are authorized by parliament to make bylaws for regulations in their council’s jurisdictions. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the judicial structure. Its functions include hearing appellate cases from the court of appeal. Its jurisdiction also extends to appeals from the high court and covers both civil and criminal cases. The golden rule is a statutory interpretation rule in which the courts deviate from the literal meaning of words of a statute to ensure that the interpretation of the statute is reasonable and consistent. The case of Lewis v Hilaire et al 1970 15 WIR 192 is an example of an application of the golden rule. A directive is an order from an international body to its member countries requiring the members to adjust their domestic laws. Working time directive is an example of a directive from the European Union. Advantages and disadvantages of lawmaking through Westminster parliament. Legislations made through the Westminster parliament, the parliamentary system that exists in Britain has a number of advantages. The parliament’s House of Commons is composed of elected members from all parts of the country, a feature that makes its legislative process representative of the people’s opinions. This makes parliamentary legislation a democratic process because it gives people an opportunity to making lawmaking. The sources of parliamentary legislation, which include bills from members of parliament also mean that citizens have an avenue of instituting legislations through their members of parliament in private member bills. Similarly, citizen’s opinions can be used to draft ‘government-sponsored’ bills. Parliamentary legislation is, therefore, a democratic process.

Energy and society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Energy and society - Essay Example In order to combat these problems, several possible solutions have been offered key among them being the allocation of more land area to these renewable resources in order to maximize production, population centers should also be established close to these land areas to provide the much needed manpower needing Long distance transmission mechanisms of this renewable energy should also be introduced in order to make the most of more available resources in order to curb the deficit of electricity both locally and in the country as a whole. Stakeholders in the energy sector should also set up extensive energy storage facilities to ensure availability of this renewable electricity regardless of any weather fluctuations. These weather fluctuations should be forecast on a minute-by-minute basis to predict up and down movements of the renewable resources. Several states have come up with Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) which require a percentage of the electricity produced in the area to be produced from renewable resources. The federal policymakers also propose the inception of national RPS to enhance the

Final Examination Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Final Examination - Assignment Example Employee X and employee Y. It say that employee X are bad employee that are not motivated by the job they are doing and need coercion to work productively. Most managers will not have incentives for employees falling in category X instead they use coercion. On the other side employee Y have natural liking of their job and little motivation can double their productivity. Other theories such as Maslow hierarchy of need indicate the progressive need of motivation. As one motivation is satisfied it means a lot to productivity and reenergize for another achievement. All motivation theories address one outcome in there explanation aspect of motivation. On the same note, every theory has a role and every theory has one way or the other that can be used by a manager to increase the productivity in the company. A good example is the comparative picture that the theory of Maslow and that of McGregor when viewed in unison they draw. On commonality, they all share one fabric: the fabric of motivation. However there approach is different. On one hand the of X and Y which is a school of thought of McGregor explains that there exist two types of employee one who is self-initiated, self-motivated and work productively under supervision and coercion. Such employee is grouped as an employee Y. In real sense such an employee could be following the ladder of hierarchy postulated by Maslow being motivated at every stage. After achieving on physiological need the self-motivation of moving to safety need arises and on and on till the self-actualization is achiev ed. Consequently, the two theory fit together. On the other side, an employee who is fixated on one step of Maslow theory tend to be frustrated or retrogress to the lower hierarchy for the purposes of feeling satisfied. These employees tend to fit in category X according to McGregor. Many other theories have a commonality point of view. Public employee determine

Animal testing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Animal testing - Essay Example The same government that recommended safety medical test using animals has now provided a contradictory law against animal use in the scientific experiments. Animal rights activists and ecologists have ganged up to protect the welfare of animals by all means. After experiencing the suffering of a frog during a dissection practice lesson in high school, the urge to re-evaluate the consequences of animal testing was unavoidable. The hypothesis of this paper is that animal testing is an unethical practice that should be replaced with alternative medical research procedures. Activists such as Abbot have commended the efforts of the European Centre for Validation of Alternative Methods that will liberate animals from their current burden. By taking a multi-point view, this essay aims at evaluating the pros and cons of animal testing from a neutral ground to expose in black and white the nature of this procedure. Consequently, the readers of this paper will experience an unbiased conclusio n based on the real matters in the animal research practice. Animal Testing in Medical Research My concern for animal testing started right from my high school experience when the anatomy class was required, as part of the curriculum, to dissect a frog and analyze it. I could not figure out the reason for the excitement that the anatomy students displayed throughout the whole experience. I was keen to observe the discomfort of the frog during the dissection process and I realized that animals too, just like human beings, are sensitive to pain. When the entire process was complete, it was the happiness of every student to finally relieve the frog from this torture. Later, I came to learn that the procedure of dissecting a frog was conducted for every anatomy class, not only in my high school, but in most other institutions in the world. In addition, I learnt that animals have been used for a long time not only for dissection but also as test subjects for almost every medicine that hu man beings consume today. This experience of frog dissection in high school has a direct connection with the widespread practice of animal testing that has all along seen animals under experimentation. Although animal experimentation has its own benefits in the medical sector, it is a great source of animal suffering, which should also be a concern for any civilized nation. The complexity of this situation can only be resolved if various dimensions of this issue are carefully evaluated. Animal experimentation is a scientific procedure that has grown slowly but consistently since the evolution of scientific research. The underlying fact is that physiologists in the 17th century saw animal research as a new platform to advance the biological and medical knowledge. This scientific procedure emerged when the scientists identified unique similarity between the toxicology effects of drugs in both humans and animals. Rowan, a writer of the scientist magazine, points out that although the d egree of the effects varied in the two species, scientists found that these differences were minimal and could not hinder the adoption of this procedure. Their concern was to find a testing method that would provide empirical and statistical evidence without subjecting human beings to any harm. The argument was that the human species have the highest priority when it comes to medical research. In these

Global Fashion insights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Global Fashion insights - Essay Example The essay "Global Fashion insights" analyzes the fashion insights. Included also in the visual display are the different roles that each group member plays in the general success of the project in this fashion design class. The visual display also details the design of the project including recommendations and future improvements that are t be adjusted. An all dying process is included in the visual display that will be presented o the viewer on this trade fair show. The process of sewing together the different elements of the project are also included in the visual display. For our project, our group was also going to need a table for the purposes of setting up the stage for presentation. I detailed the design of the table in the visual display of the company. Last but not least, in included he names of the various sources of help that our group sort after. Parody is a local company that is composed of a team of students with the aim of providing tank tops to the various customers h at are in need f t. To enhance the group’s work, in set up a video to display the various elements that are indeed critical to the success of this project in the trade show. Visual display of this product is critical to the success of this project since it makes it easier to explain and distribute the video material to a wider audience. This visual display begins y detailing the name of or group members, the name of the project, he purpose of the project, the target group for our project, the source of raw materials for our project.

Colonial reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Colonial reflection - Essay Example Branch argues that colonial expansion was key to the formation of territorial states by presenting theorization of the interaction between colonies and metro-poles and highlights the significance of ideas and practices of political authority and structure. Branch asserts that sovereign statehood and the practices of international relations had their origin or were influenced by Europe by building upon many theories. Some of the theories that support this argument include historical sociology regarding the origin of European statehood that argues that European state system is exclusively internal to the European continent. Branch is right in his argument because European expansion of colonial powers and the competition among different forms of European rule ended up in sovereign state since every rule wanted to control at least a territory they conquered. The objective of the colonialists was to exercise their power in the places they conquered and this favored well the system of sovereign state. I concur with Branch that system of sovereign state spread to different parts of the world because of direct colonial imposition and imitation thus implying that practices and ideas of the modern states originated from colonial world. Practices that were used during the colonial period have been reflected in the modern states even though they were adopted as a conscious response to the perceived novelty of extra-European expansion. However, this argument has been challenged in many ways such as the need to incorporate extra-European dynamics in arguing the case and the challenges that may be faced in applying the European experience to other parts of the world. It can be argued that European influence in state building cannot be ignored because Europe greatly dominated the world and therefore it was easy for them to impose either directly or indirectly their own ideas of state building. Process of colonial reflection

A Literature Review About Mecication Errors Essay Example for Free

A Literature Review About Mecication Errors Essay Introduction An error rate of 5% is acceptable in most industries, however, in the health care industry; one single error can result in death. (Berntsen, 2004, p5) This paper discusses medication errors in relation to pharmacology and drug treatment. It will summarize three academic peer reviewed journal articles, followed by general information in relation to medication errors, the impact of medication errors on client care, strategies to prevent medication errors  and conclude with the relationship to nursing. Summary of Articles Related to Medication Errors. The first article is by Karin Berntsen, 2004, and is entitled How Far Has Health Care Come Since To Err is Human? Exploring Use of Medical Error Data. This is a review of what changes have been made since a medication error report written by the Institute of Medicine was published in 1999. This article depicts how the health care system has changed since this 1999 report was written, and how the information was utilized for our benefit. They concluded that in the USA, medical errors were one of the top 8 leading causes of death. They reported the cost for these errors was between $17 Billion to $29 billion dollars. Until a new report is completed, health care providers will be unaware whether their goals in increasing patient safety were accomplished. The article finalizes that there has been progress in regards to prevention of medication errors and health care leaders feel passionate about increasing patient safety. (Berntsen 2004) The second article is by William N. Kelly, 2004, and is titled Medication Errors: Lessons Learned and Actions Needed and highlights the death of a one year old child who was diagnosed with cancer. She subsequently died, not from the cancer, but from receiving an incorrect dosage of a drug that she was being treated with. This report indicates that medications are systematically checked and balanced and errors are usually caught before a drug is administered to a patient. The article states that problems are not being solved in a timely manner since the industry has been putting band aids on problems that need major surgery.(Kelly 2004). In conclusion, the article questions whether or not they are taking the right approach in preventing errors. Many people are trying to fix this problem however; errors are still made too frequently. (Kelly 2004) The final article is by Rosemary M. Preston, 2004, and is titled Drug Errors and Patient Safety: A Need for Change in Practice. This article presents that errors continue to happen for many reasons. It concentrates upon calculations errors, lack of knowledge of drugs, over/under dosing drugs,  interactions with drugs and food, and legalities regarding drug administration. It also presents recommendations to minimize the risk of drug errors with good communication and honesty. The article closes by stating that nurses should never estimate the skills needed for safe administration of medicines. (Preston 2004) Key aspects: medication errors and their causes. To understand the impact that medication errors have on a patient, we have to understand what a medication error is. According to Health Canada online, a medication error is defined as: Any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer. Such events may be related to professional practice, health care products, procedures, and systems, including prescribing; order communication; product labelling, packaging, and nomenclature; compounding; dispensing; distribution; administration; education; monitoring; and use. [Developed for use by the National Coordinating Council on Medication Error Reporting and Prevention]( http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/index.html) Medication errors occur for a variety of reasons. An error can affect all areas of a health care facility from health care management, staff, physicians, pharmacy and especially patients. Studies have indicated that errors will usually occur when the staff demonstrates signs of fatigue, stress, are over-worked or encounter frequent interruptions and distractions. When physicians display bad handwriting, ineffective communication with patients, and do not educate staff and patients effectively, a medication error is more likely to happen. Poor management can result in more medication errors when there is an emphasis on volume, over service quality. This results in inadequate staffing and disorganization. Medication errors affect all components of the health care environment. (http://www.napra.org/docs/0/95/157-/166.asp) Impact on client care. As disturbing as it sounds, one miniscule error can result in a patients injury or can even lead to their death. According to the American Journal of Medicine, statistics reveal that more than two million American hospitalized patients suffered a serious adverse drug reaction in relation to injury within the 12-month period and, of these, over 100,000 died as a result. http://www4.nationalacademies.org/news) Death and injury is a sad reality to any single error. The government established six rights of drug administration to prevent medication errors and ensure accuracy. These six rights include: Right drug, right dose, Right client, right route, right time and right documentation. (Kozier Erb 2004) Injuries that result from a medication error are called adverse drug events. Usually, these unpleasant effects can be eliminated and injury can be avoided. However, every drug produces harmful side effects, but the severities of these effects vary from individual to individual. These side effects also depend on the drug and the dose given. (Kozier Erb 2004) Health care professionals must report all errors and are accountable for their actions. No matter how insignificant, nurses are taught to document and report all mistakes. When statistics show what types of errors are made, an analysis can be done. This analysis can be used to plan ways to prevent them medication errors. (Berntsen, 2004)When a nurse does not report a mistake, the probability that it will happen again will increase. Medication errors have a huge impact on client care. They can result in death, injury, and result in unwanted effects of drugs. It is our responsibility as nurses to comply with the clients six rights of drug administration, to prevent errors from taking place. Strategies to prevent medication errors. There are many efficient ways to prevent nurses from making an error. To ensure patient safety in all aspects of client care, nurses are taught to think critically, and to problem solve. Nurses use critical thinking to ensure safe, knowledgeable, nursing performance and they must be able to keep up with updated health facts by constantly educating themselves with new information. (Kozier Erb 2004) Critical thinking assists in the prevention of medication errors. The six rights in drug administration help prevent medication errors from occurring. It is important to maintain the highest standards of practice of these rights for a drug to be prepared properly. Failure to adhere to any one of these rights will definitely result in a medication error. (Clayton Stock, 2004) Take your time when preparing medications and research any unknown drugs. Rushing should be avoided when preparing, administering and reading medication labels. Proper research must be done before an unfamiliar drug is administered it to a client. Even when in a rushed emergency situation, drugs should be looked at carefully to know the correct concentration and name of the drug, to prevent injury. (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/index.html) Labels should be read carefully and accurately. Before a drug is given to a patient, three checks should be done to ensure you are giving the proper drug and dose. In a situation where you are unsure of a drug order, you are expected to refuse the order and clarify it by law. If an individual is unfamiliar with a particular drug, the drug should not be given. (http://www.napra.org/docs/0/95/157-/166.asp) When a label is unclear, do not try not to examine the drug order yourself. Do not ask an associate, or ask for anyone elses interpretation of the drug. To get the correct information, contact the individual who ordered the drug to clarify the label. In order to decrease the chances of error, verify all unclear hand writing, abbreviations, decimal points, decimal places and dosages. (http://www.napra.org/docs/0/95/157-/166.asp) Use of dosage abbreviations should not be used to avoid drug miscalculations. Dosage abbreviations are misinterpreted more often, than any other type of abbreviation. Using standardized abbreviations, would assist in preventing misinterpretation of abbreviations. (Preston 2004) A drug check should be done three times prior to the administration of a drug. The drug label should correspond with the physicians orders. The three checks should be done; Before removing the drug from the shelf or dosage cart, before preparing or measuring the actual prescribed dose, and before replacing the drug on the shelf or before opening a unit dose container, just before administering a dose to a patient. (Clayton Stock, 2004) Do not make assumptions regarding drugs. Physicians, pharmacists, make mistakes and other parts of the health system may be flawed. For example, when documentation shows the patient has no drug allergy, it is wrongful to assume the patient will have no adverse reaction to a new drug. This could result in detrimental results to a clients health. Therefore no assumptions should ever me made. (http://www.ismp.org-/ToolsAllina-Orientation.html) A quiet environment for preparing medications will prevent prescription errors from occurring. Sometimes, nurses are repeatedly interrupted when preparing a medication. Distractions interfere with processing information and decision making. Errors will least likely occur when preparations are done when there are no distractions. (http://www.ismp.org-/ToolsAllina-Orientation.html) When preventing errors, staff must be certain all dosage calculations are correct and clarified. It may be beneficial to ask a colleague to assist you in checking doses, to minimize the chance of miscalculations. Other suggestions to minimize error include; making pre-calculated conversion cards, always use a leading zero before a decimal, never use a zero after the decimal and include indications whenever possible. Miscalculations are preventable if proper methods of inspecting calculations are used. (Preston  2004, p.72) Assess for the effects of drugs to avoid harming a client. A client must be assessed before and after a drug is given. For instance, before giving an oral medication, assess whether the client can swallow or feels nauseated. An appropriate follow up should be done after a medication is administered. It is important to check if the client experienced the desired effect of the drug. Significant abnormal responses to drug should be reported to the physician. (Kozier Erb 2004) Conclusion. To finalize this assignment, medication errors are mistakes that can cause harm to patients and can even result in death. The articles that have been summarized illustrate situations where medication errors have occurred and review what the health care industry is doing to prevent errors. A medication error is preventable and errors can be caused by a variety of reasons. This paper has discussed the impact medication errors have on client care and strategies of how to prevent errors from occurring. As a nurse, this knowledge will assist me in keeping beneficence a priority for client care. References Clayton, Bruce D., BS, RPh, PharmD, and Yvonne N. Stock, MS, BSN, RN. Basic Pharmacology for Nurses. 13th ed. United States of America: Mosby, 2004. Government of Canada Online. (2004, Summer). Retrieved July 18, 2004, from Health Canada Web site: (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/index.html) Kelly, William N. Medication Errors. Professional Safety 49: 35. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Assiniboine Community College. 22 July 2004 . Government of Canada Online. (2004, Summer). Retrieved July 18, 2004, from Health Canada Web site: (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/index.html) Kozier Erb, Barbara, et al. Fundamentals of Nursing. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. Minimizing Medication Errors. (n.d.). In NAPRA: National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities. Retrieved July 17, 2004, from NAPRA: National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities Web site: http://www.napra.org/docs/0/95/157/166.asp Preston, Rosemary M. Drug errors and patients safety: the need for a change in practice. British Journal of Nursing (BJN) 13: 72. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Assiniboine Community College. 22 July 2004 .

A Market Entry Proposal Into Japan Marketing Essay

A Market Entry Proposal Into Japan Marketing Essay With more than 16 million members in the United States and Canada, Netflix.com Inc. is the worlds largest online service company for streaming movies and TV-series over the Internet and sending DVDs by mail.    Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in California, Netflix.com operated as an Internet-based unlimited rental subscription service for movies in DVD format. As a simple online DVD rental service, Netflix.com provided same-day shipping with customers receiving their DVDs within two or three days for sale or a rental period of seven days. In February 2010 Netflix.com became the number one ecommerce company for customers satisfaction  [2]  .   Over the past decade, Netflix.com has revolutionized the way of renting movies for people: with few simple clicks, members can stream movies online, watch them via devices on TV or have it the classic way: receive a DVD within one business day and watch it on TV without worrying about due dates and late fees. Company Background The DVD format, introduced into the market in 1997, was able to store a high quality copy of an entire feature film on a single five-inch disc. Even with the risk of not many Americans owning a DVD-Player by that time, Hastings and Randolph could see the potential of the disc replacing the videotape. Taking advantage of the newly introduced DVD and the small size and light weight of the discs, they could ship the DVDs cheaper than VHS-Tapes. After reaching its economics of scale in September 1999, NetFlix introduced the subscription plan for its customers. With a monthly fee of $15.99, customers could rent four DVDs at the same time with the possibility of renting a new one each time they return a title and put themselves on a queue list if a desired DVD was not available. In December 2000, revenue sharing agreements were made with Warner Home Video and Columbia Tri-Star. NetFlix got a better price for large amounts of DVDs in exchange for a percentage of their rental receipts with the movie studios. Soon after, Dreamworks and Artisan signed up as well. After attaining a subscription figure of 500.000 in February 2002, NetFlix went public and sold 5.5 million shares in late May, raising a more than expected amount of $82.5 million fund. In conjunction with its IPO, the company changed the name to Netflix, Inc with a lower case F. As Netflix gained more success and media attention, competition started to form.  [3]   With the constant growing of subscribers, Netflix announced in January 2008 to provide unlimited movie streaming for their more than 7 million members without any additional fee.  [4]  Ã‚  Subscribers could watch unlimited movies or TV Series on their PC. In 2010, Netflix announced partnerships with Funai, Panasonic, Sanyo, Sharp and Toshiba to provide customers to view their streaming content via a device on TV.  [5]   Netflix announced its expansion to Canada on September 22nd 2010, initially offering its streaming service outside the US. Netflix Canadian members can instantly watch movies and popular shows right on their TVs via Nintendos Wii, Sonys PS3 game console, and coming later this fall, Microsofts Xbox 360, as well as models from Sharp, VIZIO, Haier and Best Buys Insignia brand. Plus, they can instantly watch via Apples iPhone or iPad and on PCs and Macs.  [6]   Market Research Targeting Country and Market Conditions The rationale for exporting is to reach new customers and to use economies of scale. Netflix already has some international experience from when they entered the Canadian market. So we think Netflix is ready for the next step; to go overseas. The main reason for targeting the Japanese market is that Japan is the second biggest film entertainment market in the world after the United States of America  [7]  . What this shows is that there are enough potential customers for the streaming and DVD rental service.    The internet speed in Japan is 61 megabits per second, nearly 30 times faster than the broadband speed in the US  [8]  . Therefore the buffering before the customer can watch a movie or program will be short.   This will help satisfy the streaming subscribers expectation to watch the program immediately.    Japan also has a high internet penetration rate of 78%, which is nearly 100 million potential customers for the Netflix on-demand video streaming  [9]  . Paid streaming is not yet well-established in Japan  [10]  . There are a few webpages but they offer streaming for a higher price than Netflix. If the streaming business increases, Netflix has a good chance to be number one in Japan, especially if Netflix is able to bring the good quality service and cheap price to Japan that they offer in the USA.   However, there will be more competition soon; Apple, YouTube and Yahoo announced that they will enter the streaming business, and Netflix should expect more Japanese companies to enter the market as well. The systematic governmental factors can also be valuated as positive. The economy is stable even though Japan is struggling with the deflation of the 1990s. The market segment of video streaming is expected to grow strongly. Japan has a functional legal system and the Japanese law about illegal downloads has changed and was put into effect in January 2010  [11]  . Even though the law is still not very strict, it may be enough to catch those who download and stream illegally, and convert them into legal users as our future customers. The Japanese infrastructure is one of the best in the world. This is positive for the DVD rental service. It would be possible to deliver the DVD quickly like in the USA.   Furthermore, Netflix can expect that the percentage of Japanese households, who have a DVD or Blue Ray player, is higher than in other countries  [12]  . Another reason to invest in Japan is that the new Blue Ray format is growing strongly in Japan.   The market share of Blue Ray recorders exceeded 50 percent for DVD recorders in unit terms  [13]  . So there would be a possibility to benefit from that trend and offer more Blue Ray discs than other established Japanese DVD rental companies. Netflix probably cannot deliver DVDs all over the country, but a strategy could be to start the DVD rental business in just the two centers of Kanto and Kansai. The competition in the DVD market is very high in Japan. There are already some established companies like Posren and Tsatuya discas. These companies offer the same service like Netflix (DVDs by mail). A possibility to enter the market could be to introduce the Netflix service with unlimited DVDs and no due date. Netflix Strategic Options for entering the Japanese market When we considered Netflix entering the Japanese market, we mainly contemplated four options of entry: a greenfield strategy, a joint venture strategy, an acquisition strategy and buying shares of a Japanese company. All those options are called equity modes, i.e. ways of entering a foreign market that involves the use of equity  [14]  . Greenfield Strategy One foreign entry option for Netflix is to establish greenfield operations, i.e. start up the business in Japan from scratch by building storage facilities and offices on its own  [15]  . The greenfield strategy, if successful, gives Netflix a complete control of the business since it is wholly owned by the firm, and with no involvement with other actors, the firm has a good protection of its proprietary technology and know-how  [16]  . It is also a very favorable option if Netflix wishes to coordinate global actions from its U.S. headquarter  [17]  . This is also something that they are familiar since they entered the Canadian market in this way. However the cultural distance between USA and Japan might cause big problems in the Japanese market, especially in the start-up phase. Although appealing, greenfield operations are associated with high development costs, and if Netflix wishes to offer their customers rental DVDs for home delivery it would make them face problems such as locating storage facilities and delivery partners. The high resource commitment would, as in the case of wholly owned subsidiaries, serve as an exit barrier and result in a loss of flexibility  [18]  . This would be a both time-consuming and costly process, which would delay Netflix entry. The industry-based view suggests that a firms performance is a result of the firms actions in response to the industry structure. In this perspective, the intensity of rivalry among competitors (one of Porters five forces) is directly affected by how many competitors there are in the industry. The fewer competitors in an industry, the more unlikely the rivalry explodes into e.g. frequent price wars, since the competitors will be mutually interdependent. If Netflix would have chosen to enter the Japanese market by a greenfield operation, it would obviously increase the rivalry in the industry which would make the business more difficult for the competitors as well as for Netflix itself. This would probably be even more difficult to handle for Netflix than for the other participants due to the heavy investments it already has to manage related to the entry on the market. Furthermore, the central coordination that the greenfield option enables, could be an advantage as well as a disadvantage. Lack of local knowledge in the management or different ideas and priorities might cause fractions between the American part and the foreign located part of the firm.    Entering a foreign market involves many challenges and difficulties to overcome. Netflix needs to have extensive knowledge of the Japanese market dynamics and the consumer behaviour to be able to arrange its business. This knowledge is difficult to acquire without being a part of the market. The greenfield option would probably be a disadvantage to Netflix in terms of market knowledge relative to its competitors. Majority stake in Japanese Company and Joint Ventures If Netflix were to invest in a Japanese company through majority stake, this strategy would enable the Netflix to learn from and take advantage of the firm-specific capabilities that the Japanese firm possesses. The drawback of this strategy is, compared to wholly owned subsidiaries, that Netflix would not have full control of the Japanese subsidiary  [19]  . Overall, the advantages and disadvantages of partially owned subsidiaries like this are the same as for joint ventures. The option of performing a joint venture includes the possibility of sharing risks and profit with a local company. This creates a certain bit of safety against losses if the venture, in this case in Japan, does not prove to be profitable. Furthermore the local company can contribute with knowledge about the market which otherwise might be difficult to get hold of. The downside of joint ventures is that the different cultures and goals of the MNE and local company can cause conflicts and cause difficulties in operational control. These problems in controlling the foreign subsidiary can cause difficulties in global coordination. Acquisition Strategy An acquisition is an example of an equity mode, which results in a wholly owned subsidiary (WOS). This option of entry is a question of purchasing one of the already existing media home entertainment firms. By purchasing an existing firm, Netflix would obviously eliminate one of its competitors in the Japanese market. This consideration alone is appealing since, compared to the greenfield option where a firm is added to the market, Netflix would instead become one of the actors that is already a participant on the market. Establishing a WOS through acquisition could yield the same advantages as the greenfield option (control, protection and coordination abilities), but it also offers a fast entry. By eliminating a competitor, Netflix would not have to deal with costly e.g. marketing activities to introduce themselves to the market and convince potential customers to choose them. Furthermore, if Netflix chooses to acquire a partner that has a similar business model it would make the transition to the Japanese market smoother. An option is also to acquire a competitor that focuses on rental DVDs only and not online, with this they would receive knowledge about the Japanese customer, get access to existing customers, acquire already functioning storage facilities and delivery services and use their knowledge in streaming to start up a similar homepage in Japan. By purchasing a Japanese competitor Netflix might be able to avoid some vital obstacles of entrance, e.g. parts of the liability of foreignness. Since the Japanese firm is already a known Japanese firm which the inhabitants are familiar with, Netflix may not be perceived, by the Japanese customers, as a foreign firm. The acquisition also gives Netflix needed and desired knowledge about the Japanese market and consumer behaviour. Our recommendation Foreign entry decisions should be based on several strategic considerations including Porters five forces. Our analysis of Netflix entry options into the Japanese market is the acquisition of a pure DVD rental company for the DVD rental service and complement this with a Greenfield strategy for the online streaming service. Although this strategy is costly, it has the most favourable impact on the market structure and dynamics. Netflix would get hold of a delivery spots in attractive locations and take advantage of already established relationships, storage facilities and perhaps most important, they would get a knowledge about the Japanese consumer. Since, Netflix already is a late entrant in the DVD rental market, it is important for the firm to carry out a fast and extensive entry in order to show its competitors and market as a whole that it is committed to its venture. Marketing Decisions Falling under the umbrella of E-commerce and operating as a business-to-consumer (B2C) company Netflix had to develop unique marketing strategies in order to become successful in the American market. The core marketing strategy at Netflix in fact, the company strategy overall is to provide a great customer experience. We dont want our customers liking the service; we really want them loving it.  [20]  Being an E-commerce company Netflix uses marketing and advertising methods such as intense online banner ads, television commercials, and ads before the start of movie trailers during the pre-show time in theaters. Netflix executives claim that While our paid channels such as television and direct response vehicles like direct mail, online banners and search engines like Google and yahoo work extremely hard for us, word-of-mouth is our best channel. Its a combination of costing the least and performing the best. You cant over-invest in it.  [21]  Ã‚  Historically consumers i n the Japanese market are known to be very critical and selective. They demand superior quality, premium customer service, and top of the line after sales service even when they purchase second tier products. Netflix can use this to their advantage with their overall business competency and must make their capabilities aware to consumers as they market their service in Japan. The incredible ease and convenience of renting movies online and having them delivered to your home or even being able to stream and watch them online from your computer anywhere is universal in its appeal. Netflix aims to make enjoying movies easy and to put the joy back into watching them. Netflix even applies the strategy of marketing to the emotions of its consumers and can do the same in the Japanese Market. The Netflix logo and trademark incorporates the color red and when the company sends rental movies to consumers home they arrive in red disc sleeves. The color red embodies the red carpet and curtains in a movie theater. Red is a wonderful color to evoke the emotional response around movies and the color red is extremely important in Japanese culture. The color is seen in the Japanese Flag representing the sun and is synonymous with certain ancient deities and symbolism in Japanese Buddhism and Japanese Shintoism.  [22]  Ã‚   The Four Ps   Product, Price, Promotion and Place are extremely important for marketing in terms of Netflix entering the Japanese Market. Netflix already has a unique product and service but there are current competitors who offer similar services in the Market. Netflix could aim at niche markets if they wish to try out the Japanese market before full direct investment. Another strategy would be to team with a current player in the market to build the brand awareness for Netflix. An acquisition would allow Netflix to learn about the market and gain the necessary valuable information for long term growth of the company in a foreign market. Netflix has always been a low price and high quality option for people wishing to rent movies on high frequency levels. Netflix offers the promotion of a free one-month trial for consumers and pricing options start at low as $8 equipped with ability to stream TV shows and movies online and also one DVD at a time sent to your door. It would not be hard or expe nsive for Netflix to establish web servers and domains online in Japan to introduce themselves to Japanese consumers. The rapid growth and technological advancements of the Japanese market will allow Netflix to have advanced and unique distribution channels. Currently in America subscribers of Netflix can also stream and download movies on popular Japanese video game consoles such as the Nintendo Wii and the Sony PlayStation 3. In Japan many people purchase theses devices and if Netflix can successfully enter and navigate the waters of the Japanese market they can easily incorporate the video console channel into their overall distribution channels because of the already well established relationship in the US market.    stream_plus_dvd Promotion In order to make a successful Japanese market entrance, effective advertisement is crucial. We now suggest the strategy with following the steps of objective setting, resource about the market idiosyncrasies, message decision, and media decisions. The familiarity of the brand Netflix in Japan is yet trivial. So we suggest setting the objective in the short and long term, respectively. Considering that foreigners are more aware of the brand than Japanese customers and that Netflix stores outnumbering movie resource which are less accessible in traditional Japanese movie rentals, we set the short term perspective target to be the foreign residents in Japan. According to the 2009 report by Japans National Statistical Office, the number of registered foreigners doubled in 10 years. Taken a closer look, the number of Philippines and Americans, the two English-speaking nationalities, could be our major target.   So a niche strategy could be to enter the movie streaming market, with focus on movies in English with Spanish and Japanese subtitles to get a customer basis and then to expand the Netflix business to Japanese movies and programs. So Netflix could first use the same English webpage like in the United States and Canada, bef ore introducing a Japanese page. An important step would be to sign contracts with Japanese movie studios, in order to get the right to have Japanese movies in the collection.   Since the English-speaking customers are the ones who are familiar with the brand name Netflix, in addition to spending the budget on running the traditional advertisements (television, newspapers and such), we could use the Word of Mouth strategy. The 2009 report and Newsjapan mention additional information that the occupation of the foreigners, specifically the Americans and the British, are mostly businessman registered in the big cities such as Tokyo and Osaka, or related to the United States Forces Japan in Okinawa.  [23]  Ã‚  For the residents in Tokyo and Osaka, we should spread the words by getting cooperation with the Registry and the famous Japanese language center where foreigners mostly go to study Japanese in relatively cheap price, called Volunteer Japanese Class. In Okinawa, we can use the local English newspaper and run the commercial in the US army network. The Japanese market is in the top three in the world. Among the advanced countries, Japan has the least gap in spending habits and house incomes nationally, which means that most of the Japanese consumers can afford recreational services. Japanese customers have tendencies to be exceptionally aware of the name of the brand. More expensive it is, more likely they will favor it.  [24]   Since Netflixs previous advertisement in the US were online banners, we should consider the fact the accessibility to the Internet in Japan recently proved to be 64%, ranking 16th in the world.  [25]  Ã‚  Based on these facts, we should accentuate the partnership Netflix has with Panasonic and Toshiba making the brand even more recognized. As for deciding the media, we should use both the internet banner and the newspaper, including TV commercials. According to the Dae hyung Jong, KOTRA Regional manager in Nagoya, reports that the TV commercial expense has increased 12% compared to last year, when the Internet commercial expense remained steady yet, but expected to rise in the near future.  [26]   Most of the marketing budget should be spent on printing newspaper flyers, since the number of subscribers of newspapers in Japan is high. Among the five top nationwide distributed papers, the best suggestion would be the Sankei newspaper. Although it ranks fifth, the subscribers of Sankei are considered to be the frontiers in the Japanese consumer market. Their income level is considered quite high and the Sankei have the highest circulation rate in Osaka, where most of the foreigners are populated. It will be the best choice for Netflix, being able to aim both targets.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Conclusion A Netflix move to Japan could prove to be very successful if the company is able to establish its brand image and build its brand awareness in the japan market in a fairly quick time. We have concluded that this can be done if Netflix is able to acquire existing firms in order to use their distributions channels to reach customers and enhance its overall market presence. The effort to focus on various niche markets in Japan will also greatly aid Netflix in this transition.   Superior promotion strategies such as a one-month free trail and one free movie rental with the purchase of a video game aimed at console players in hopes that in the near future they will use our service to stream movies to their video games will support its efforts. Even with its various avenues for marking and advertising such as, promotions, television commercials, and internet adds, Netflix greatest advertising tool will be word of mouth. The word of mouth advertising will be derived from Netflix superior customer service and after sales service. These are a must for obtaing success in a rough Japan market.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   References

All the Kings Men :: essays research papers

The entire King’s Men   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All the King’s Men, written by Robert Penn Warren, is set deep in the south during the 1930’s. This is a story of the rise and fall of a political titan. Willie Stark comes from poverty to become the governor of his state. He forces his enemies into submission by blackmails, repeated threats, and bullies them. He creates a series of liberal reforms that lay heavy tax burdens on the rich and lifts the money issue off of the poor farmers. His foil character Sam MacMurfee persistently searches for way to ruin the career of Willie Starks. Sam MacMurfee has thugs and powerful political allies deep in his pockets. The two characters remind the reader of corrupt figures in politics such as the famous Boss Tweed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Willie Stark’s right-hand man is Jack Burden. He left his eloquent and polite family to work with Willie. Jack is an extremely intelligent historical researcher that uses his abilities to dig up dirt on Willie’s enemies. Willie uses the secrets to blackmail his enemies into his submission. Often corrupt political figures indirectly pay off other individuals to do the â€Å"dirty work† and blackmail their enemies. Although Willie Starks may have been acting corruptly for a good purpose it was still illegal and wrong.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Willie asks Jack to search for secrets on a father figure from his child hood. Judge Irwin was a father figure in Jack’s life as a child. In this situation, Jack’s motivation and responsibility to himself is questioned. Jack discovers that Judge Irwin accepted a bribe and Governor Stanton covers the bribe up. The blackmail influences the suicide of Judge Irwin, makes Adam Stanton accept the position as head of the hospital that Willie is building, and Anne Stanton begins an affair with Willlie. Adam murders Willie when he finds out about Willie and Anne. This horrific event lead to Jack’s retiring from politics forever.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The death of Willie Starks and the circumstances force Jack to rethink the way he thinks. He rethinks a belief that no one can ever be responsible for the evil actions of another individual over time. In a way Jack feels responsible for Willie’s death. Jack eventually marries Anne Stanton and he feels orthodox about his decision to marry her. Jack restarts his long lost hobby of working on a book about Cass Mastern.

The Coca Plant :: Botany

The Coca Plant Erythroxylum coca Lamark is a tropical shrub of the order Geraniales and the family Erythroxylaceae. Two tropical genera of the dicotyledons totaling approximately 250 species of trees and shrubs compose this family. Family characteristics are alternate, undivided, lobeless, toothless leaves, and small flowers in clusters from the leaf axils with persistent calyces with five lobes or sepals, five petals often with appendages, ten persistent stamens united at their bases, and three styles. The fruits are small drupes. (see Everett, 1981and Angiosperms in Brittanica Online) The name Erythroxylum comes from the Greek erythros, red, and xylon wood. Lamarck described the species E. coca in 1786. (Plowman,1982) Distribution Erythroxylum coca is cultivated in Africa, northern South America, southeast Asia, and Taiwan. It grows from 2-4m (8 feet) tall. The plants thrive best in hot, damp situations, such as the clearing of forests, but the leaves most preferred are obtained in drier locations, such as on the sides of hills. (Boucher) The Plants are found mainly in relatively small areas of Peru and Bolivia, the major producing countries. The upper Huallaga Valley, along a tributary of the Amazon in Peru, produces 60% of the world's coca. In Bolivia, the crop traditionally was grown on steep eastern slopes of the Yungas region of the Andes Mountains at elevations of 1000 to 2000 meters. However, in recent decades, the lower-elevation Chapare Valley overtook the Yungas in production, and cultivation is now expanding into lowland rain forests. (see "Coca" in Britannica Online) History & Traditional Uses Archaeological evidence indicates that coca was domesticated by 1500 BC. In pre-Columbian times, coca was a major element of the economy (Hastdorf, 1987). Andean peasants and miners traditionally have consumed coca by sucking wads of leaves, keeping them in their cheeks for hours at a time. Often the coca is combined with chalk or ash, which helps dissolve the alkaloids into saliva. Coca chewing reduces hunger pain, and workers say the leaves give them strength and endurance to work for many hours at high altitudes, often in extreme cold. Some of the healthiest and hardest-working Indians on the Colombian Amazon the Yukunas consume enormous amounts of coca leaves daily, but this not a problem as they have time to raise their crops, hunt, fish and supply their food. (Linales) Perhaps the most ancient use of coca in South America is its employment in various shaman practices and religious rituals.

GCSE War Poem :: English Literature

GCSE War Poem â€Å"The Charge of the Light Brigade† and â€Å"For the Fallen†, are both poems about war. â€Å"The Charge of the Light Brigade† written by Alfred Tennyson on 14th November 1854, describes an event in the Crimean war. Britain and France were concerned that Russia may power southwards, so they attacked Russia at Balaclava. â€Å"For the Fallen,† was written by Laurence Binyon on September 1914, during the war with the intention of showing the reader the reality of war, in particular, Binyon takes a non-biased approach, demonstrating positive and negative consequences, of dying for one’s country. The two poems are similar because in both, the soldiers are brave and prepared when going to war and portray the soldiers as heroes. The differences are â€Å"For the Fallen† was written in the past tense and â€Å"Charge of the Light Brigade† is written in the present. In addition, Tennyson’s poem has a lot of action in it but Binyon’s poem is a view of soldiers after they die. â€Å"The Charge of the Light Brigade† is about 600 men who charged into an ambush of Russian and Cossack cannons. This happened because the commander mistook orders and told the men to charge into the Russian main base. Over two-thirds of the soldiers die, while in the midst of battle. Binyon’s poem is about men who all die in war. Binyon compares their lives to what they would be like if they had lived and how their deaths are regarded by other people. The first stanza of Tennyson’s poem creates an image of horses galloping forward: â€Å"Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward† Repetition reflects exhaustion because it is laborious. The next line tells the reader that the Light Brigade are the ones who are going to be defeated: â€Å"All in the valley of death†, By using a metaphor, which exaggerates a point, Tennyson is emphasising the fact that they are going to lose. The poet shows how he feels towards the soldiers. He is feeling bravery and stupidity for the Light Brigade. Bravery because no soldier turned back and rode away and no one questioned the command, â€Å"Charge for the guns†. He shows the stupidity by repeating â€Å"Valley of death†, because the soldiers are riding to death and Tennyson is commenting on the lack of questioning to an irrational command. In stanza three, the Light Brigade are in the peak of battle. Repetition of â€Å"Cannon† all around them creates a picture of an ambush. In the next two lines the cannons are firing fiercely. Tennyson uses alliteration to emphasize the impact the cannons are having. â€Å"Stormed at with shot ad shell†

The Development of New Testament Canon

Describe the development of New Testament Canon in period of time studied (35 marks) The New Testament Canon is described by Princeton Online Dictionary as, â€Å"a collection of books accepted as Holy Scripture – the books of the Bible recognized by any Christian church as genuine and inspired. † Basically the Canon is a selection of books used by the Church for public worship and also the books which the Church acknowledge as inspired scripture normative for faith and practice.The term (the Greek ‘kanon’ means ‘reed’, which went on to mean ‘measuring rod’ and then finally the list written in the column) was coined by Christians, but the idea is found in Jewish sources – Rabbinic Judaism recognizes the twenty-four books of the Masoretic Text, commonly called the Hebrew Bible. Evidence suggests that the process of canonization occurred between 200 BC and AD 50, while the formation of the Christian Canon was not until the fir st and second centuries. These canonical books have been developed through debate and agreement by the religious authorities of their respective faiths.During the first and second centuries, there was not a Canon of Scripture set down as it is today; originally the information was passed by oral tradition, until they were written down as it became clearer that eye witnesses would all grow old and pass away. Firstly, it was the four Synoptic Gospels, and then around 85 AD, Paul’s letters were collected. However at this stage there was no sense of a Canon of Scripture, which is a closed list (which is books that cannot be added or removed).Marcion of Sinope was the first well-known heretic in the history of the early church, and he was the first Christian leader in recorded history to propose and delineate a canon (about 140 AD) which included 10 epistles from St. Paul as well as parts of the Gospel of Luke which today is known as the Gospel of Marcion – he famously atta cked the Gospel of Luke with a penknife, and left only the parts he agreed with. This dividing of the books was viewed as a heresy, and so the church felt they had to organize the books in the right way to defend Christianity.In the first and second century, the early church accepted the Hebrew canon of Scripture as authoritative, and this was an influence on the formation of the New Testament canon. The church felt that because they regularly read the Old Testament within worship, they needed to make a link to the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles. Surely these were authoritative enough to be included? Indeed, the teaching of Jesus was respected as much as the Old Testament, the Apostles writings too, especially after their death. Gradually, the term ‘Scriptures’ was used to group these books together.In 153 AD, Justin Martyr confirmed that the Gospels were read in the services in Rome, along with the Old Testament prophets, â€Å"†¦ the memoirs of the Apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits†¦ †. The main criterion to be included in the canon was apostolicity, and to gain this the books had to be written by or ‘sponsored’ by an Apostle, contain Christ-honoring content compatible with oral tradition and contain spiritually fruitful use of the books within the church from the Apostolic age onwards.Firstly, Paul’s letters were brought together at the end of the first century, and then the four synoptic gospels were added fifty years later. However John’s gospel took longer to be accepted, particularly by the Gnostics and then the Montanists. Papias, the Bishop of Hierapolis in 130 AD, witnessed the Apostolic credentials of the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, and near the end of the second century, Irenaeus spoke of the apostolic origins of all four when he said, â€Å"Matthew published his gospel among the Hebrews in their own tongue†¦Mark, the disciple and interpret er of Peter, himself handed down to us in writing the substance of Peter’s preaching. Luke, the follower of Paul, set down in a book the gospel preached by his teacher. Then John, the disciple of the Lord, who also leaned on his breast, himself produced his gospel†. In 200 AD, a canon list from this period was created and is now known as the Muratorian canon. It includes all the books accepted as Scripture by the Church at Rome, which includes the gospels, Acts, thirteen of Paul’s epistles, 1st and 2nd John, Jude and Revelation.Wright says, â€Å"Hebrews is missing altogether which is surprising since it was used by Clement of Rome a century earlier. † However he explains how it was not accepted in the West, probably due to doubts about who wrote it were brought forth by Montanist use. At this period, it was generally accepted that all New Testament books were included, except James, 2nd Peter, 2nd and 3rd John, Jude, Hebrews and Revelation (which was only partially excluded, as its apostolic origins were questioned).Within the third and fourth century, the position of the canon was strengthened. Apostolic Fathers, such as Tertullian, Clement and Origen all used the New Testament scriptures regularly in doctrinal discussion, and often commented on the books themselves. Eusebius tells us that the only books still disputed at the beginning of the fourth century were James, 2nd Peter, 2nd and 3rd John and Jude. â€Å"†¦ we must set in the first place the Holy quaternoin of the Gospels; which are followed by the book the Acts of the Apostles.After this, we must reckon the epistles of Paul; following which we must pronounce genuine the extant forms epistle of John, and likewise the epistle of Peter. After these we must place, if it really seems right, the Apocalypse of John†¦ there is the extant the epistle of James, and that of Jude; and the second epistle of Peter; and the second and third of John†¦ † However not e verybody agreed with the New Testament Canon – in the late second century, there was the production of several ‘acts’ of the Apostles which were not recorded in Acts.Furthermore, a number of ‘gospels’ appeared which included the childhood of Jesus, or the life of Pilate. However these were mainly imaginative and some originated from fringe Christian groups’ ideas, such as Docetists. However Irenaeus ruled out the possibility of there being more than four gospels by saying, â€Å"since†¦ there are four zones of the world in which we live, and four principal winds†¦ it is fitting that she (she church) should have four pillars, breathing incorruption on every side and vivifying men afresh. These ‘gospels’ included the gospels of Peter, Thomas and Matthias, and the Acts of Andrew and John. Eusebius said of the spurious writings, â€Å"none of these has been deemed worthy of any kind of mention in a treatise by a single mem ber of successive generations of churchmen; and the character of the style is also far removed from the apostolic manner, and the thought and purport of their contents is so absolutely out of the harmony with true orthodoxy as to establish the fact that they are certainly the forgeries of heretics†¦ To conclude, it is easy to see how the New Testament Canon developed over a period of four centuries. The canon list set out in detail in the Easter letter of Athanasius in 367 AD contains the 27 books to the exclusion of all others, however certain books such as Shepherd of Hermas and the Didache were permitted for private reading. Thus, while there was a good measure of debate in the Early Church over the New Testament canon, the major writings were accepted by almost all Christians by the middle of the third century.

Genetic Engineering Is Beneficial to Mankind

GENETIC ENGINEERING IS BENEFICIAL TO MANKIND We, Homo sapiens (and every other organism on the planet), become what we are on the basis of the genes we inherit from our parents at the time of our birth. Whether you are tall, short, dark, dusky or fair, have great hair, good health – everything depends on these genes. Earlier these genes were believed to be ‘tamper proof' and they could not be manipulated. But the human brain and contemporary science does not deem anything as impossible. Thus, we came up with a concept called genetic engineering.Genetic engineering refers to the process of directly tackling an organism's genes. Molecular cloning and transformation is used in genetic engineering for changing the structure and nature of genes. This technology has brought about a sea change in farming and in human genetics. GE in Human itself The first and one of the most prominent genetic engineering pros is that genetic disorders can be prevented by identifying those genes which cause these diseases in people. The use of genetic engineering to prevent diseases is called gene therapy.This can be extremely advantageous especially when women screen their unborn babies for genetic defects. If there is a chance that the baby can have genetic defects, it can prepare the mother and the doctors before and after the baby delivered. In advanced cases, those problem genes can be corrected. In addition to that, infectious diseases can be controlled and effectively dealt with by implanting genes which code for the antiviral proteins particular to each antigen. Humans can be developed or formed to reflect desirable characteristics.It is being said, theoretically though that this process can drastically change human genomes. This would facilitate in helping people regrow their limbs and other organs. In addition to this, people can be made stronger, faster and smarter, by using genetic engineering in the future. In other cases, if a gene exists in nature which can be good for human beings, it can be ingested in human cells. Soon a possibility of human cloning with the help of human genetics cannot be ruled out. GE in animalsPlants and animals can be genetically engineered to make products useful for us. The great example of this is diary animals. Sheep, goats and cows produce a lot of milk. Biologists found that the expression of genes for the major milk proteins is under the control of a promoter. This promoter is a sequence of DNA that causes the adjacent genes to be expressed in the mammary gland. It is called the lactoglobulin promoter. This sets up a really nice opportunity for using genetic engineering.You could take the gene you want expressed in milk and put it into a DNA vector. Then you put this vector into a sheep egg cell. If you do this, the egg can then be developed in the laboratory for a couple of days until it becomes an embryo. You can insert the embryo into a mother and the offspring that are born are sheep that would make milk which contains this extra protein. This was actually behind the reason for cloning Dolly the sheep. GE in Plants Plants can be genetically engineered to make useful products.Genetically engineering a plant is a lot easier than animals. We don’t need to inject into the fertilized egg of a plant. We can take any plant cell grown in a laboratory, put the vector in, and then grow the plant up from that cell. In agriculture, too start off with different crops, genetic engineering can culminate in alteration of the DNA structure of the original crop. This will increase the growth rate of the plant along with its immunity, and resistance towards diseases caused by pathogens and parasites.These factors in turn will be amongst the most important benefits of genetic engineering when it comes to crops. These genetically modified foods could increase the food resources to satisfy everyone's hunger. This would be done by genetically modified crops for better productivity. These crops could be genetically modified to resist pests, fight bacterial and fungal infections or have great nutritional value. These are just a few benefits of genetic engineering. I’m sure more are coming in the future, as we discover more and more about genes and proteins.

Motivation and Organizational Culture

3 Motivation and Organizational Culture Tawny Christensen HCA 250 March 14, 2013 Darlene Tomlinson Motivation and Organizational Culture Assignment In any given business or workplace environment the employees that work there should be the most valued assets. Research has shown that personnel who are happy and taken care of are much more productive than those who are not, therefore establishing a more pleasing work atmosphere. That being said, business leaders and managers alike play an extremely important role in workplace psychology.According to our text, leadership is the process of leading a group and influencing its members to achieve common goals. All managers are leaders (Robbins, DeCenzo, and Coulter, 2011). In today’s society more managers are leading through empowerment by allowing team members to be involved in the decision making process. More and more employees â€Å"are developing budgets, scheduling workloads, controlling inventories, solving quality problems, a nd engaging in similar activities that until very recently were viewed exclusively as part of the manager’s job,† (Robbins, DeCenzo, and Coulter, 2011).As mentioned earlier, research has shown that employees who are pleased are far more beneficial than employees who are not. There are many things that managers can do to ensure that their employees feel valued, and remain satisfied. First of all, it is important that managers avoid using intimidation. To intimidate means to make nervous, or instill fear. In some cases an individual can take advantage of their title and turn in to an authoritarian. In a sense this means that the big guys squash the little guys. Employees

Oil and Global Warming in Saudi Arabia Essay

Oil has been identified as a very important resource; it provides a lot of significant benefits to mankind. It is used for numerous purposes such as transportation, heating, electricity production, and industrial applications. It has a high energy density which makes it an efficient fuel source plus the fact that it is fairly easy to transport and store. Its versatility is of great importance, and this is proven by being by most valuable commodity in world trade (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003,). According to Doyle, it is estimated that two billion dollars switch hands in petroleum transactions, making it the world’s first trillion dollar industry (cited in O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003). Oil is very profitable for corporations as well as for governments since oil taxes generate a lot of income. Oil is important for the national economic viability of Saudi Arabia as it accounts for more than 80 percent of total national exports. Other countries that are dependent on the oil business are Libya, Kuwait, Iran, and Venezuela (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003). Environmental Effects of Oil Oil transport, refining, exploration, drilling, and extraction have had negative effects on the environment, but much attention has recently been focused on the negative environmental impacts of the use of oil. It is widely believed that burning fossil fuels contribute to global warming since carbon dioxide, an abundant greenhouse gas, is produced as oil is burned. Findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicate that around three quarters of total carbon dioxide emissions come from fossil fuel use (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003). To be able to fully understand the how oil use affects global warming, it is necessary to get a clear understanding of the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon. Imagine a greenhouse and that is just how the greenhouse effect works. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and ozone trap heat thereby slowing its escape from the atmosphere. The dramatic increase in the release of greenhouse gases has brought about an abnormal increase in the average world temperature already estimated at around 1 percent at the turn of the century. However, without the greenhouse effect, the Earth would be too cold to sustain the currently thriving ecosystems (West, 2008b). Due to the fact that oil is a widely used resource and that oil produces significant amounts of carbon dioxide as it â€Å"generates roughly 30 percent more carbon dioxide from every unit of energy produced,† it can be inferred that dependence on oil has extensively contributed to global warming (Barry & Frankland, 2001, p. 362). Importance of Oil to Saudi Arabia In all parts of the world, oil is considered as an important resource especially in modern life. â€Å"Any measures to reduce oil consumption were hampered by powerful opposition of certain governments and inter-governmental organizations† (Barry & Frankland, 2001, p. 362). Oil is particularly of great importance especially to members of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) since it constitutes a great part of the income of member countries. Saudi Arabia is a member of the OPEC including Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. Saudi Arabia may be considered as the most important oil producer since it produces large amounts of oil as it accounts for 13 percent of the world’s total oil output. It makes up 35 percent of the OPEC’s total oil production in 1991. Saudi Arabia has also been identified as the â€Å"swing producer† of oil since it has the capacity to affect the level of supply and demand as well as affect international oil prices. Oil is important to Saudi Arabian economy as figures in 1991 pointed out that oil accounted for 73 percent of the country’s revenues. 90 percent of total oil exports in 1991 come from Saudi Aramco (Country Studies). However, data from Beyond Petroleum Statistical Review of World Energy shows that despite the knowledge of the implication of oil in global warming, the consumption still increased—the 3163. 5 million tonnes consumed in 1992 jumped to 3462. 4 in 1999 (Beyond Petroleum, 2008). Carbon Dioxide and Climate Change Despite the great number of proponents pointing to global warming as a real environmental threat, Idso and Idso (2008) indicate that it is â€Å"highly unlikely† that increases in carbon dioxide emissions will lead to global warming. They cited numerous arguments that would disestablish the link between the global warming and greenhouse gas emissions. They primarily indicated that there is a â€Å"weak short-term correlation† between carbon dioxide and temperature increase. Thus, the emissions may not be the likely cause of any warming that is being experienced or will be experienced. Even as both temperature and carbon dioxide emissions have increased, this does not necessarily mean that the two are interrelated. To identify a clear causal relationship, the presumed cause must precede the presumed effect. Several cycles of increase and decrease must also be present in order to make a concrete judgment that the two factors indeed affect each other. They also indicated that â€Å"a strong negative climatic feedback† will prevent any catastrophic warming from manifesting. These play a major role in the planet’s climate system but are totally ignored by scientists lobbying for the existence of global warming. They cited numerous other factors that would disprove the existence of global warming. II. Saudi Arabia The Oil Industry The Saudi Arabia landscape is characterized by the presence of several multi-million dollars worth of infrastructure created to support the oil production capability of the country. These infrastructures are costly investments made by different companies. The effort to contain the emission of carbon dioxide from oil manufacturing and processing sources has different impacts, particularly in economics. Another â€Å"important issue concerns taxes and duties on oil products consumed in oil-importing countries as well as environmental taxes and duties on emissions of carbon dioxide, aimed at curbing oil demand and potentially harming oil exporters’ revenues† (Noreng, 2006, p. 16). Oil production felt a decline. In 2002, daily oil production in Saudi Arabia was 8,928 thousand barrels, and this steadily climbed to 11,114 thousand barrels in 2005. However, this dropped to 10,853 and 10,413 thousand barrels in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Last year, Saudi Arabia’s total oil output dropped by 440,000 barrels per day and is the largest decline in the world last year. In addition, the whole of the Middle East produced 25,176 thousand barrels daily in 2007. The Middle East is also the world’s largest oil producer and holds the highest share in the world’s remaining oil reserves at 21. 3 percent with 264. 2 thousand million barrels. In measuring oil consumption, Saudi Arabia does not consume as much with 2,154 thousand barrels daily. The United States is the largest oil consumer with a consumption rate 20,698 thousand barrels per day (Beyond Petroleum [BP], 2008). Saudi Aramco and the Environment Saudi Aramco or Arabian-American Oil Company, which is based in Saudi Arabia, is the world largest oil company. It produces the most quantity of oil and also leads the count with its oil reserves. It has 102 oil and gas fields within its grasp as of the middle part of 2007. Its oil reserves amount to 259. 9 billion barrels and it produces 8. 9 million barrels per day. Its oil exports for the year 2006 amount to 2,541,692,569 barrels (Country Studies, 2008). Saudi Aramco has unveiled that it would help fight global warming through cutting carbon dioxide emission in the oil and gas business. Experts indicated that persuading Saudi Aramco to fight against global warming is a big step forward since it is the world’s largest oil producer. Saudi Aramco president and Chief Executive Officer Abdallah Jum’ah told a panel from 163 nations in a meeting in Germany about expanding the Kyoto Protocol that â€Å"the petroleum industry should actively engage in policy debate on climate change as well as play an active role in developing and implementing carbon management technologies† (Hammond, 2006, n. p. ). He clearly indicated that national oil players such as Saudi Aramco can make great contributions in forwarding anti-climate change efforts. During the meeting, Robert Socolow from Princeton University also indicated that 40 percent of the increase in carbon dioxide emissions comes from the oil industry. He also indicated that the oil industry is the major cause of global warming. Aramco officials also stated that research and development effort have already leaned towards removing or reducing carbon dioxide omissions coming from oil (Hammond, 2006). Saudi Aramco has expressed that it cares for the environment such that it has an Environment Protection Department that provides leadership on environmental issues and its operations are always environmentally responsible. Saudi Aramco considers the environment as a basic responsibility and a company commitment. The company has developed a variety of operational requirement that give consideration to environmental impacts such as â€Å"sanitary codes, project environmental assessments, air and water quality standards, occupational health regulations, hazardous material communication guidelines, waste management procedures, and vital oil spill contingency plans† (Saudi Aramco, 2008). The Environmental Impacts of Oil Oil has always been an environmental issue. From searching for oil, refining it and until its usage, it is always regarded as an environmental threat. Oil exploration and drilling are the first phases in the oil life cycle. It is also referred to as the â€Å"upstream phase† (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003, p. 593). Drilling and extracting oil affect the natural ecosystems, human health, as well as local cultures. It does not matter if the drilling is on-shore or off-shore; the effects are just the same. The physical modifications in the environment caused by oil exploration, drilling, and extraction are so devastating that they could be more harmful than a large oil spill. The more devastating effects of these are â€Å"deforestation, ecosystem destruction, chemical contamination of land and water, long-term harm to animal populations (particularly to migratory birds and marine mammals), human health, safety risks for neighboring communities and oil industry workers, and displacement of indigenous communities† (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003, p. 593-594). Oil exploration requires heavy equipment, and moving these equipment results in deforestation and erosion. Mobile rigs used for temporary drillings can reach weights of over two million pounds. On the other hand, drillings make use of large amounts of water and also contaminate it in the process. It is released afterwards which leads to the contamination of land. Exploration and extraction have also been known to produce large volumes of drilling wastes and associated wastes. In addition, oil processes make use of a waste pit where chemicals and other wastes from the oil process are being dumped. Exposure of these oil pits is a threat to aquifers as well as to animals and birds. They can mistake the pits for water holes, therefore engorging themselves in chemical waste. Exploration, drilling, and extraction also lead to a variety of health risks for humans. These risks may arise from radioactive materials that have surfaced from drilling as well as the bioaccumulation of oil, mercury, and other hazardous elements in animals that are consumed by humans (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003). Oil Spill Threat In order for oil to be delivered to different parts of the world, oil transport is necessary, and the main mode of oil transport is through oil tankers. However, moving oil using pipelines is becoming vastly popular. Oil currently accounts for half of all sea cargo and oil pipelines now spread more compared to railroads. Oil transport has also led to an environmental threat known as oil spills. Large oil spills receive much attention particularly because of media coverage; however, small cumulative spills go undocumented and measuring the amount of oil spillage from these proves to be significant. Accidents have been known to occur at all segments of transport as well as at each point of transfer. Also, since the 1960s, at least one large-scale oil spill has been documented every year (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003). Ocean transport of crude oil and petroleum products accounted for 3,000 gallons spilled per billion ton-miles in 1983 and nearly 8,000 gallons per billion ton-miles in 1984. Pipeline spills contributed less than 100 gallons per billion ton-miles for both years. (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003, p. 599) Oil spills have also been known to occur during extractions. A 2002 estimate by the National Academy of Sciences indicated that 38,000 tons of petroleum hydrocarbons from oil and gas operations were released into the world’s oceans (O’Rourke & Connolly, 2003, p. 595). Saudi Aramco Oil Spill Contingency Plan Saudi Aramco has always been responsible in handling oil spills such that it has developed a contingency plan against to help counter oil spills. Saudi Aramco’s first focus on handling oil spills is being self-sufficient. It â€Å"built specialized oil spill recovery and containment vessels, and purchased equipment and materials to combat spills† (Zaindin, 1996, p. 2). In 1989, it even designated a committee to review and assess the anti-oil spill capabilities of the company. The task force made recommendations which were called the Global Oil Spill Contingency Plan which (1) â€Å"establish[ed] an oil spill policy for [the company’s] worldwide operations,† (2) â€Å"direct[ed] Saudi Aramco and its affiliates to join major cooperatives and assign[ed] regional responsibility for oil spills† and (3) â€Å"require[d] the development, implementation, and maintenance of regional and owned tanker oil spill plans† (Zaindin, 1996, p. 2-3). Saudi Aramco has also established an Oil Spill Committee in 1990 and this committee instituted a policy for the prevention and cleanup of oil spills resulting from the company’s operations. The Global Oil Spill Coordination Group was created to put into action and coordinate company activities that address the oil spills. If an oil spill takes place, a Regional Oil Spill Coordinator cleans the oil spill with the aid of an Oil Spill Response Team. The director takes care of the spill and is responsible for safe and efficient control, cleanup operations, disposal, restoration, as well as documentation processes. The response team is always ready as they receive special regular trainings (Zaindin, 1996, p. 3-4). Equipment that could effectively handle small to medium-sized oil spills have been stationed at the vicinity of the Red Sea and in case of any large oil spills, additional resources will be brought to immediately address the threat. Saudi Aramco has also inked ties with organizations that provide cooperative assistance in case of oil spill, namely, the Oil Spill Response (OSR) Ltd. based in England, Clean Caribbean Cooperative (CCC), Marine Preservation Association (MPA), Marine Industry Repsonse Group (MIRG), and the Gulf Area Oil Companies Mutual Aid Organization (GAOCMAO) (Zaindin, 1996, p. 4). III. Involvement Saudi Arabia and Japan Saudi Arabia has been involved in a lot of international treaties. One of these treaties was signed with Japan when both countries, among other things, acknowledged the importance of the stability of the world oil market as well as the importance of adopting security measures against global warming (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, 2007). Both sides reaffirmed the importance of the stability of the world oil market. The Japanese side expressed its appreciation and understanding for the Saudi Arabia’s balanced oil policy, which is a secure and reliable source for providing oil supplies to the international markets in general, and to the Japanese market in particular†¦while stressing the significance to further promote bilateral cooperation in energy, based upon mutually complementary relationship between Saudi Arabia, with its largest hydrocarbon resource in the world, and Japan, with its advanced energy-related technologies. The Saudi side expressed its intention to continue to assure stable oil supply to Japan, and the Japanese side expressed its appreciation for this (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, 2007). Both sides [also] decided that the international community should adopt appropriate measures against a possible global warming, based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities as stated in the international agreements on climate change. In this regard, the Japanese side expressed its willingness to develop its cooperation in both levels of government and private sectors to promote the clean development mechanism (CDM) that contributes to combating the possible global warming as well as achieving sustainable developments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Both sides reaffirmed the importance of the roles of the private sectors in both countries for promoting CDM projects (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, 2007). Saudi Arabia should use the power of the law, as well as submit to the rule of international law, in order for efforts versus global warming to be successful. â€Å"Law plays an important role in environmental protection at both the international and the national levels† (Chopra, Leemans, & Kumar, 2005, p. 41). However, a drawback to this concept is the fact that Saudi Arabia itself shows signs of not being fully amenable to the stipulations of several international agreements and international laws on global warming. â€Å"Some OPEC countries (e. g. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait) also opposed the FCCC (Framework Convention on Climate Change) for fear of its potential impact on the price of crude oil† (Alexander & Fairbridge, 1999, p. 637). The Clean Air Act and Addressing Global Warming The Clean Air Act is a law that has been passed by some countries in a hope to control air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Numerous developed countries such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom have adopted such laws and even some third world countries have done so. Saudi Arabia has yet to adopt such a law. In the United States, the Clean Air Act is a federal law which means that its coverage spans the whole country and it has been an effective tool in regulating greenhouse gas emissions. The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) plays a crucial role in regulating processes regarding the law such as setting limits on certain air pollutants. The Clean Air Act which resulted in reduced air pollution has improved human health as well as the status of the environment. Since 1970, the six common air pollutants have been reduced to 50 percent while air toxics from large industries including oil refineries have been reduced by 70 percent. Additionally, new cars are 90 percent cleaner and are expected to be a lot cleaner in the future. Ozone depleting chemicals such as CFC’s have also ceased production. This all happened while the economy prospered and energy and vehicle use increased (EPA, 2008). The same benefits could possibly be reaped if Saudi Arabia would adopt the same policies. The 2007 Climate Change Performance Index indicated that Saudi Arabia is at the bottom of the list when it comes to addressing global warming followed by the United States, China and Malaysia. Sweden, Britain and Denmark were identified as the countries that have been doing the most to prevent further global warming. Nevertheless, the report indicated that what Sweden, Britain and Denmark are doing are not enough to prevent further climate change. IV. Organizations Different organizations and alliances take part in addressing global warming, like the Kyoto Protocol and the WTO. While Saudi Arabia is an active international player, it is not always in agreement with the rest of the group. Referring to the act of non compliance to the Protocol’s instituted policies, Grosse (2005) stated that â€Å"Saudi Arabia has been among the non-Annex I countries that have been particular to the Protocol† (p. 155). â€Å"The issue of subsidies favoring the coal, nuclear renewables sector has been raised by Saudi Arabia in the WTO’s Committee on Trade and Environment,† according to Yamin and Depledge (2004, p. 256), in reaction to the WTO policies. The Kyoto Protocol The Kyoto Protocol is one doctrine that binds nations that have ratified it to help fight against global warming by reducing their emissions of six greenhouse gases, namely, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, HFC’s and PFC’s. It was instituted in Kyoto, Japan on December 1997 and was opened for ratification on March 16 of the succeeding year. The main goal of the Kyoto Protocol is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 5. 2 percent below the 1990 greenhouse gas emission levels from 2008 to 2012. Countries that have bound themselves to the protocol must adopt certain policies and strategies in order to meet the specified emission targets. However, the protocol has been subject to a lot of debate because it exempts developing countries, such as China and India as well as Saudi Arabia, from having emissions cuts. The United States refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol because of the exemption of the developing countries. US President George W. Bush also stated that they will not sign the protocol because it does not bind developing countries and that it would be harmful to the US economy (West, 2008a). Late in 2004, the government of Saudi Arabia has approved of the Kyoto Protocol, but being a developing country, Saudi Arabia is not bound to adopt any cuts on greenhouse emissions although it is expected that the Saudi Arabian government will suffer huge financial losses as the developed countries approve the protocol. According to Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi, the government will have accumulated losses amounting to $19 billion by 2010 because of the policies that the developed nations will adopt in order to reduce their emissions to meet the specified targets (Planet Ark, 2004). Carbon Capture and Storage Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is one approach that scientists are looking at which could probably help mitigate global warming. It has been regarded that CCS will reduce the costs associated with mitigating climate change as well as provide flexibility in attaining greenhouse gas reduction goals. CCS makes use of new technology. It collects and concentrates the carbon dioxide produced in industrial and energy related sources and transports it to a storage location where it will be kept away from the atmosphere. This would allow the use of fossil fuels such as oil with a minimum level of greenhouse emissions (Metz, Davidson, de Coninck, Loos, & Meyer, 2005). Geological storage is one form of CCS. It is done by injecting carbon dioxide in dense form into rock formations underground. Porous rock formations have great potential in storing carbon dioxide. Such rock formations may include those that previously hold oil and natural gas. This kind of carbon storage is already being used in three industrial sites, namely, the Sleipnir Project in the North Sea, the Weyburn Project in Canada and the In Salah Project based in Nigeria. Moreover, 30 megatons of carbon dioxide per year is injected for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). This is mostly in Texas and the United States. This system of carbon capture and storage makes use of almost the same technology used for the exploration and production of gas (Metz, et al. , 2005). Geological storage may however be associated with some risks. Leakage from stored carbon dioxide may provide certain risks which are classified as either global risks or local risks. Global risk is identified as the release of carbon dioxide which will have significant effects on global warming. On the other hand, carbon dioxide leakage may also expose humans, ecosystems and groundwater to certain risks. These are the local risks (Metz, et al. , 2005). Annex 1 shows an overview of geological storage. Annex 1: Overview of Geological Storage Another type of carbon storage is ocean storage. It is done by injecting captured carbon dioxide at depths of greater than 1,000 m. under the ocean. This would isolate the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for centuries. Consequently, the stored carbon dioxide will become part of the global carbon cycle. However, just like geological storage, ocean storage also has certain risks such that it can cause a great deal of harm. Studies have indicated that animals have been found with reduced rates of calcification, reproduction, growth, circulatory oxygen supply and mobility, and even an increased mortality rate. Annex 2 shows detailed information on Ocean Storage (Metz, et al. , 2005). Annex 2: Overview of Ocean Storage Mineral carbonation and industrial use is yet another form of carbon capture and storage. Mineral carbonation makes use of converting carbon dioxide into solid inorganic carbonates through some form of chemical reaction. Mineral carbonation is actually a natural earthly process called â€Å"weathering† but human intervention needs to hasten this process since it is too slow to become a viable carbon storage system. Industrial use involves using carbon dioxide â€Å"directly or as a feedstock for production of various carbon-containing chemicals† (IPCC, __, p. 39). Industrial use makes use of chemical and biological processes wherein carbon dioxide is utilized as a reactant. The industrial use of carbon dioxide can help keep carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere by instead diverting it into a â€Å"carbon chemical pool†, but this measure will only be of great benefit to preventing climate change if there is a significant amount of carbon dioxide taken away from the atmosphere. Refer to Annex 3 for more detailed information (Metz, et al. , 2005). Annex 3: Mineral Carbonation and Industrial Use Saudi Arabia and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have expressed support with the development of this technology. Norway also demonstrated great interest with Carbon Capture and Storage technology. Norwegian Oil and Energy Minister Aaslaug Haga has requested the support of the Saudi Arabian government in the development of CCS to which Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi responded eagerly. Dagens Naeringsliv quoted al Naimi saying that â€Å"both Saudi Arabia and Norway are concerned about the environment and want to reduce emissions with all possible means. CO2 capture and storage is an excellent way to reduce emissions† (Acher, 2008, n. p. ). These countries want carbon capture technology included in the Clean Development Mechanism so that industrialized countries can cooperate to help advance this technology (Acher, 2008). According to the European Technology Platform on Zero Emission Fossil Fuel Power Plants, it is the lack of funding which impales research on carbon capture which then limits its potential (Kanter, 2008). The King of Saudi Arabia announced that the Saudi Arabian government will shell out 300 million USD for research on climate change, and this includes Carbon Capture and Storage technology. Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates also made an assurance that each of them will be giving $150 million each tom support the Saudi Arabian endeavor (OPEC, 2007). Saudi Arabia shelling out that huge an amount of money for climate change research would indicate that the kingdom is now giving attention to climate change. The World Trade Organization Saudi Arabia is now also a part of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and has recently signed a bilateral trade agreement with the United States. The trade agreement came at a good time since Saudi Arabian imports have experienced a decline. The WTO has become a sign of respect and acceptance for Saudi Arabia particularly because it is the only GCC country and the largest oil producer (Zahid, 2005). Saudi Arabia initially did not join GATT, the WTO’s predecessor global trade agreement because oil, its sole export at the time, was not part of GATT (still not part of WTO). Later, as the Kingdom developed its downstream oil and petrochemical capacity, joining WTO became a key imperative in order to protect its exports from inordinate tariffs by mature, high-cost producer countries. (Zahid, 2005) For new aspirants at the WTO, rules may be harsh such that they will need to sign bilateral agreements with any member country that requests it, and the terms will have to be extended to other member countries. Afterwards, a multilateral agreement should be inked with all member countries before being admitted into the WTO (Zahid, 2005). According to Zahid, the WTO had some negative impacts on Saudi Arabia but the WTO may be likened to a medicine. â€Å"It is painful to swallow but it eventually makes you better† (Zahid, 2005, n. p. ). In the short term, the WTO will hurt Saudi Arabia, but in the long run, the Saudi Arabian economy will prosper because of the WTO such that there will be increased transparency, protection of copyrights, rule of law, and foreign investment. Saudi Arabia’s exports will also have access to WTO member countries (Zahid, 2005). The full impact of WTO will be a long and unfolding story for the country. We still need to know the details of the final agreement. WTO has given other countries long implementation periods and many exceptions. Also, we have to see what the final Saudi offer is in terms of tariffs, sectors, binding rates, etc. With this report, we start a series on what the WTO means for Saudi Arabia. (Zahid, 2005) On one point of view, it is regarded that the WTO can enforce better greenhouse gas reductions compared to the Kyoto Protocol. Peter Franklin of the Guardian proposes the: Negotiat[ion of] a successor to Kyoto and then let the WTO enforce it. Nations that failed to meet their carbon targets would have a proportionate tariff slapped on their imports. Such a system could even be used to deal with countries that refused to sign up to the new agreement. The WTO would unilaterally impose a target on each non-signatory nation, with their excess carbon emissions and consequent penalties being assessed in absentia. The export-led economies of China, India and other key Kyoto absentees would be particularly susceptible to such pressure (Franklin, 2006). The Kyoto Protocol has no fangs and this could be filled in by the WTO as those who do not approve of reducing greenhouse targets will have to suffer some consequences from the WTO. This could however be treated as a disrespect to a country’s sovereignty. In the long run, since the WTO would attract more foreign investment, foreign investments will also be encouraged in developing alternative, renewable energy solutions in Saudi Arabia. Consequently, CCS can thrive from a commercial point of view as the awareness of climate change would trigger interest in forwarding this technology for economic gains. The WTO system encourages a good government, which in turn will help in framing policies for increased participation in anti-climate change efforts. V. Problems and Solutions The planet’s worsening climate condition is partly the doing of the industrial cities in Saudi Arabia, from where carbon dioxide emissions from oil manufacturing and processing come from. The investment of Saudi Arabia in finding solutions for the problems posed by global warming is research and resources. Countries like Saudi Arabia allocate funds for studies. It focuses its studies on oil-related aspects of global warming management. It is important for countries to sponsor studies so that they can get first hand information about global warming and its implications. â€Å"Nations should foster the continued development of these epistemic communities not only to stimulate new avenues of research, but also to help create greater opportunities for consensus building and coordinated action† (Lee, 1995, p. 14). In reducing carbon dioxide emissions coming from oil, there are a variety of methods that could be adopted. One is eliminating subsidies to prevent increase in consumption levels. Simply saving up on energy use can help alleviate greenhouse emissions. Resorting to renewable energy sources provides great potential in dealing with this environmental threat since these renewable energy sources produce no amount of emissions whatsoever. For countries like Saud