Business and Economic Forecasting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Business and Economic Forecasting - Essay Example The appropriate model is estimated and a one to four step forecasting is undertaken to determine the appropriateness of the model. We consider the price index of the Rio Tinto, the 5 day weekly stock price for the period 31st December 1999 to 31st December 2007 is used and the following chart summarizes the price index for the period. From the above table it is evident that for the period 2000 to 2004 the price remained relatively stable deviating by small margins, however for the period 2005 to 2007 there was an increase in prices by larger margins. The following is an analysis of the Rio Tinto returns. According to Woodridge (2006) dynamic heteroskedasticity can appear in regressions with no dynamic, in a regression if the Gauss Markov assumption holds then the estimators are BLUE (best linear unbiased estimator). However even when the homoskedasticity assumption that the error terms variance is constant across observations holds there could be still other forms of heteroskedasticity that may arise, heteroskedasticity can be tested using the white test or the Breusch pagan test. The following chart shows a case of homoskedasticity and heteroskedasticity: From the above diagrams assuming that the 45 degree line is the fitted regression model, then the first diagram shows a case where as x increases the mean of y increases but the variance of y around its mean remains constant over time, for the second diagram a case where as x increases the mean of y increases and the variance of y around its mean does not remain constant and this shows heteroskedasticity. There are a number of consequences of heteroskedasticity and they include the fact that: Estimators are still linear functions of the independent variable The estimators are not biased Estimators no longer have minimum variance therefore are not efficient The estimated variance of the estimators is biased because the formula to estimate them could over state or under state the true variance The hypothesis test of the significance is unreliable given that the estimated variance is biased. As a result Engel (1982) suggested the ARCH model that would consider a conditional error term variance that takes into consideration past error terms and this was the ARCH model. The ARCH and GARSH model are appropriate models that can be used in modeling financial data that exhibit volatility clustering, volatility clustering refers to a trend that shows that small increases or declines are followed by small increases or declines and that large increases or declines are followed by large increases or declines. From our price data chart it is evident that for the period 2000 to 2004 small increases and declines are followed by small increases or declines, however for the period 2005 and 2007 large increases are followed by large increases. This means that the ARCH and GARSH model are appropriate in estimating an appropriate model. The following chart summarizes the returns mean, kurtosis and

The Great Gatsby - Significance of Title Essay Example for Free

The Great Gatsby Significance of Title Essay The meaning of the word great is ambiguous before reading the novel The Great Gatsby. It can imply that Gatsby is a superb individual, or it can mean great in the sense of a misfortune. It is only after reading the novel that the reader is able to perceive that the novels title is ironic and that many of the themes of the story help develop this great character of Gatsby. Irony is the key to understanding F. Scott Fitzgeralds title, The Great Gatsby. Many of the themes of this novel seem to mock Jay Gatsbys greatness. Some of these themes can even be taken on a more social level to include society in general and imply their prominence as well. Gatsby symbolizes the state of idealism that had been a common ideal of society when the novel had been published. His ideal life centered on money, greed, and carelessness that characterize living the ideally reckless life. This theme implies two different meanings to the title of the novel. The first is an implication that the social values of the times were terrible, thus bringing out the greatness of the tragedy. The second is more of a sarcastic connotation. Fitzgerald may have been trying to show the reader just how great the great Gatsby was through the use of irony. For example, it is quite ironic that a person with so much wealth and fame would continue to partake in the illegal bootlegging and give numerous parties in search of a married woman when there are hundreds of women dying to see him. Thus, the ironic meaning of the novels title can be derived through the analysis of the true greatness of Gatsby: a moral failure who is only a success in the eyes of other downfallen individuals of society. In conclusion, meaning of the title, The Great Gatsby, is fully derived after reading and understanding themes brought forward in the story. After this analysis of the themes is performed, the connotation of the novels title can be regarded as either a sarcastic presentation of irony, or a representation of the downfall of Gatsby, that resulted from his emphasis on materialism and wealth.

Immunisation Infection Disease

Immunisation Infection Disease Immunisation has been continually confirmed in both research trials and in the field to be one of the most successful medical interventions we have to avert disease. As Mims et al (2004: 513) outlines, the rationale of immunisation is simple: to provoke a primed status so that on initial contact with the applicable infection a quick and successful secondary immune response will be induced, leading to the avoidance of disease. A vital part of immunisation programs is the production of ‘herd immunity-that is an increase in the populations overall immunity status to the point that successful transmission cannot occur due to a lack of susceptible individuals. According to Rogers et al (1995), opposition in this field arose as early as the 19th century when vaccination was first introduced in Europe. There were instant objections on religious grounds and doubts about the effectiveness of vaccines were also articulated along with the rights of the individual to refuse immunisation. P resent-day objections to mass child immunisation reverberate these early apprehensions. Below an overview is given of the sociological factors associated with non or under immunised children in developed countries. How these factors combine to explain this immunisation status is additionally discussed along with suggestions of potential efforts to increase immunisation uptake rates. A number of studies (Brynley et al 2001 Turner et al 2003) conducted in developed countries have identified many sociological factors that are associated with low immunisation uptake among children. Primarily these factors include unemployment, low or high maternal education, single parent status, overseas birth or late birth order and low socio-economic status. In addition to these primary factors other reasons for reduced immunisation uptake are associated with immunisation myths, inadequate service provision or access, child gender/age, late commencement of immunisation and maternal mental instability. A childs low immunisation status may be the result of one or a combination of the above interacting factors. There are a variety of myths circulating in the community with regards to immunisation. Begg and Nicoll(1994) noted some common myths that include: â€Å"a child with allergies should not be immunised, children taking antibiotics shouldnt be vaccinated and immunisation is now unnecessary.† Although most myths have a tangible basis with traceable origins all myths should be disregarded on scientific grounds. According to Begg and Nicoll most immunisation myths emerge due to the ignorance of health professionals compounded by the propagation of conflicting material. The media has been quick to take advantage of the professions ignorance, predominantly where there are questionsabout the risks coupled with immunisation. Hall (2001) thus puts forward that parents who are unresolved about child vaccination may receive medical advice which is uncertain, while receiving from those in opposition to immunisation strongly argued and seemingly well researched information. A great deal of the controversy surrounding immunisation appeals to parents deep-founded regard for the wellbeing of their children and their trepidation principally of injections. Hall also suggested that parents may have difficulty in conveying their concerns to health professionals, and these concerns may induce parents to lean towards arguments against immunisation. Such arguments endow parents who have immunisation reservations with rationale to oppose vaccinating of their children. Low education can greatly disadvantage a mother making decisions concerning immunisation. Forrest et al (1998) mentioned that such a mother may not be able to read or properly comprehend vaccination information and thus not base decisions regarding their infants health on scientific evidence. The parental response therefore to a childs immediate distress may outweigh their attitude towards future benefits from vaccination. Those struggling due to a language barrier, particularly migrants and those of ethnic origin may also encounter similar difficulties. Conversely Rogers et al (1995) explains that people with high education usually choose to oppose vaccination for other reasons. These parents rational is multifaceted being deduced from a mixture of world views held about healing, the environment, holism and responsibilities of parenting combined with the reading of scientific and alternative literature which cast doubts on the effectiveness of immunisation. Lack of education may also be a barrier to individuals who are unemployed or of low socio-economic status (SES) due to the above reasons. As evident in a study conducted by Li and Taylor (1993), this may be further compounded by low financial position. With a high proportion of the unemployed or those of low SES living in temporary housing, especially in inner city districts, it may be hard for health professionals to keep track of immunisation records and provide reminders about necessary appointments. Those with low income as described by Hull et al (2001) may also not have use of a vehicle making it difficult to access immunisation services; this is a particular problem for those who live in rural areas and can lead to incomplete immunisation in infants. Children from large families and of late birth order or those of single parents have also been found by studies conducted by Hull et al (2001) and Li and Taylor (1993), to have lower immunisation uptake. Hull et al noted that single parents may encounter greater difficulties in both organising periods off work and have monetary limitations that increase the difficulty in accessing immunisation services. Likewise as discussed by Li and Taylor, parents with many children may find it hard to access immunisation services due to busy schedules or transportation issues. Moreover parents of large families may have had previous adverse immunisation experiences with elder siblings and thus their caution or opposition to vaccination is reflected in the lack of immunisation among younger siblings. Harrington et al (2000) suggested that adverse immunisation experiences are associated with the combination of crammed clinics, long waiting times, inconvenient hours and trouble acquiring an appointm ent. Additionally many mothers undergo emotional distress due to the knowledge that they are party to the pain inflicted on their infant as a result of vaccination. This perhaps is integrated in the opinion articulated by some parents that health centre immunisation is intolerably forceful and callous due to the lack of compassion shown by health professionals; with evidence revealed in the study conducted by Harington et al, that mothers prefer to have their infant vaccinated by general practitioner, in a ratio of >4:1, with the pre-existing relationship helpful during immunisation visits. A study conducted on factors associated with low immunisation uptake (Hull et al 2001) also demonstrated a strong association between late immunisation commencement and low overall immunisation uptake. A late commencement of immunisation may echo a parents attitude to vaccination or reflect a lack of knowledge regarding immunisation as a whole or its schedule. Hull et al also noted that illness is the primary cause for late commencement with many parents believing that there is an increased risk coupled to vaccination during this time. The decision to vaccinate may be further confused by dissenting personal attitudes towards vaccination. Similarly a study conducted by Turner et al (2003) found that women suffering from mental health problems including depression and anxiety, several months after birth were between 3 and 5 times more likely to have commenced the immunisation schedule late or not at all. Mothers with mental instability may find the seemingly normal tasks associated wit h motherhood difficult. With the maintenance of a normal day a challenge the importance of immunisation may be decreased. Gender can also affect immunisation uptake however as illustrated by Markuzzi et al (1997), this is dependant on the specific disease to which vaccination may confer protection. For example Markuzzi et al noted that in the UK it has until recently been considered that boys do not require vaccination against rubella. Therefore the live attenuated vaccine was only administered to adolescent girls to protect them from developing the disease while pregnant and transmitting it to the foetus resulting in congenital rubella syndrome. Consent is an additional problem which may affect vaccination rates, especially for overseas visitors or those from minority ethnic groups who may not understand the language of the country in which they now reside. Even with parental consent (Forrest et al 1998) a child cannot be vaccinated unless they are willing. Vandermeulen et al 2007 notes that adolescents are particularly hard age group to reach as many have a poor perception of risk leading to a greater fear of the initial pain of immunisation than the associated disease. Deferral of appointments for seemingly inadequate reasons such as social commitments also hinders this age bracket. Although in Australia national immunisation coverage levels may surpass 90 percent (Childhood Immunisation Coverage 2007), there is a considerably lower level of protection among certain subgroups of the population. These pockets of under vaccinated individuals make the population susceptible to major outbreaks. As further suggested by Childhood Immunisation Coverage, monitoring the coverage at smaller geographic levels helps ensure that these impending pockets of children are recognised by target interventions and decrease the threat of potential disease outbreaks. Additional efforts to boost immunisation rates in the community should thus focus on increasing service accessibility. As recommended by Forrest et al (1998) and Li and Taylor (1993) this could be achieved via facilitating immunisation session times that parents find easy to attend, the use of mobile vans or other home vaccination methods and the provision of opportunistic immunisations when children appear at hospitals, general practices or health clinics for different reasons. Moreover Li and Taylor also note that attempts should be made to enhance the services provided by health care clinics by the extension of crà ¨che facilities for siblings and the continual education of health providers. This education should focus upon details concerning new vaccinations and current circulatory immunization myths, including there rebuttal. As advised by Harrington et al 2000, health practitioners should also be further encouraged to listen and treat parents concerns seriously . In addition to the education of health practitioners, efforts to increase immunisation uptake should include community education. Enhanced community immunisation education could be achieved, as suggested by Harrington et al, by the increased provision of information packages that are culturally appropriate in a variety of languages to expectant mothers.Furthermore television campaigns depicting children with various diseases could co unteract various immunisation myths by forcing parents to understand to painful reality of potential outbreaks as a result of vaccination opposition. In addition to the above, Turner et al (2003) notes that postnatal strategies aimed at increasing mother psychosocial health should better their immunisation patterns for their infants. As a public health measure, immunisation has had a significant role in decreasing the burden of disease. It is of public health concern to increase immunisation uptake rates, as this decreases the possibility of disease transmission, and hence complications arising from infectious disease outbreaks. It is therefore vital that equity is aspired to via efforts to increase vaccination rates among target subgroups that are affected by the sociological factors discussed above. Bibliography (1-11) 1.A Markuzzi US, R Weitkunat and G Meyer Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination rates in Munich school-beginners. Sozial-und Praventivmedizin. 1997;42(3):1. 2.A Rogers DP, I Guest, D Stone and P Menzel. The Pros and Cons of Immunisation. Health Care Analysis. 1995;3:100-4. 3.B Hull PMaGS. Factors associated with low uptake of measles and pertussis vaccines- an ecologic study based on the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. 2001;25(5):405-10. 4.C Mims HD, R Goering, I Roitt, D Wakelin and M Zuckerman. Medical Microbiology. Mosby, editor.: Mosby-Year Book Europe; 2004. 5.C Turner FBaPOR. Mothers health post-partum and their patterns of seeking vaccination for their infants. International Journal of Nursing Practice. 2003;9(2):120. 6.C Vandermeulen MR, H Theeten, P Van Damme and K Hoppenbrouwers. Vaccination coverage and sociodemographic determinants of measles-mumps-rubella vaccination in three different age groups. European Journal of Pediatrics. 2007:103-8. 7.Hall R. Myths and Realities: Responding to arguments against immunisation. In: Care CDHA, editor. third ed; 2001. p. 1-3. 8.Hull B. Childhood Immunisation Coverage. 2007 [updated 2007; cited]; Available from: http://www.ncirs.usyd.edu.au/research/r-acir-3rdquart.html. 9.J Forrest MBaPM. Factors influencing vaccination uptake. Current Australian research on the behavioural, social and demographic factors influencing immunisation; 1998; Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children. 1998. p. 1-2. 10.Nicoll NBaA. Myths in Medicine: Immunisation. Journal [serial on the Internet]. Date. 11.P Harrington CWaFS. Low immunisation uptake: Is the process the problem? J Epidemial Community Health. 2000(54):394 400.

Do I Look Fat? Essay -- essays research papers fc

Do I Look Fat? How many calories does it have? I can’t eat that it’s too fattening. Do I look fat? I wish I had her body. How many times can we listen to woman say the same thing over and over again? How many times can we (as women) think these things about ourselves? It is words and phrases like these that seem to plague the minds of over 7 million women across the United States (Eating Disorders in the USA). Why is it that so many woman have such a preoccupation with the way their body’s look? Why is it that the shape of a woman’s body determines how her high self- esteem is? These are questions that have been with out answers for many years. This in not the way it should be, but this is how it is. So many woman are concerned with they way they look. So concerned, that it often begins to interfere with their physical and mental health, causing them to develop sever eating disorders. Why is it like this, and who or what is to blame? This is where the controversies start . There is overwhelming evidence and many reasons to believe that â€Å"today’s society† is the one to blame in this case. Sadly enough, women are given the message that in order to obtain happiness and success, they must have the perfect body. Growing older in today's society is much different for women than it is for men. If a man's body changes or his hair starts to turn gray, he is considered to be "distinguished". If a woman's body changes and her hair starts to turn gray, she is considered to be "letting herself go". Eating disorders often become a woman's way of escaping the daily pressures of life. In turn, woman begin to feel guilty for eating, because of the pressures that society has bestowed upon them (Psychiatric Times, 1999) Many people are under the impression that eating disorders only affect teenage girls. Unfortunately, more and more women are developing eating disorders well into their twenties, thirties, forties, and beyond. The onset of such eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia, and compulsive eating can occur at any time in a person's life (National Association). There are no biological causes for these disorders, however there are many aspects of society that seem to have strong influences on women who develop eating disorders. The media is high on the list as being one of the negative influences on women, and may be one of the main reasons why wom... ...reat deal of pressure to be thin which is why so many develop some kind of eating disorder. Women need to take a stand and stop trying to live up to the standards that society has set. For starters, women need to stop buying fashion magazines and diet products. Most importantly, women need to remember that weight is nothing but a number, and has absolutely nothing to do with intellectual ability. So, to all the woman out there who have ever had any doubt about there inner beauty (or outer beauty) I say this- â€Å"There nothing wrong with wanting to be healthy and wanting to feel good, but we are going to be running this country some day, and we can’t let not let the shape of our body get in the way of the wonderful things we can do.† Women need to live their lives, happy, healthy, and confident. Hopefully, society will soon realize how truly amazing women really are. Works Cited Eating Disorders in the USA, http://www.edap.org/edinfo/stats.html Miller, M.D., Merry N., and Pumariega, M.D. Andrà ©s. â€Å"Culture and Eating Disorders.† Psychiatric Times February 1999, Vol. XVI, Issue 2 National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, http://www.anad.org/facts.htm.

Last Sacrifice Chapter Twelve

DIMITRI AND I BOTH FROZE as the shock of that name hit us. Sydney, glancing between our faces, gave us a dry smile. â€Å"I take it you know who that is?' â€Å"Of course,' I exclaimed. â€Å"She was my teacher. She went crazy and turned Strigoi.' Sydney nodded. â€Å"I know.' My eyes widened further. â€Å"Shes not †¦ she's not the one who had an affair with Lissa's dad, is she?' Oh dear God. That would be one of the most unexpected developments in the rollercoaster that was my life. I couldn't even begin to process the effects of that. â€Å"Not likely,' she said. â€Å"The account was opened several years before she was added as the beneficiary–which was right when she turned eighteen. So, if we're assuming the account was created around the time the baby was born, then she would have been way too young. Sonya's probably a relative.' My earlier astonishment was giving way to excitement, and I could see the same thing happening to Dimitri. â€Å"You must have records about her family,' he said. â€Å"Or if not, some Moroi probably does. Who's close to Sonya? Does she have a sister?' Sydney shook her head. â€Å"No. That'd be an obvious choice, though. Unfortunately, she has other family–tons of it. Her parents both came from giant families, so she has lots of cousins. Even some of her aunts are the right age.' â€Å"We can look them up, right?' I asked. A thrill of anticipation was running through me. I honestly hadn't expected this much information. True, it was small, but it was something. If Sonya Karp was related to Eric's mistress, that had to be something we could track. â€Å"There's a lot of them.' Sydney shrugged. â€Å"I mean, yeah, we could. It'd take a long time to find everyone's life history, and even then–especially if this was covered up enough–we'd have a hard time finding out if any of them is the woman we're looking for. Or even if any of them know who she is.' Dimitri's voice was low and thoughtful when he spoke. â€Å"One person knows who Jane Doe is.' Sydney and I both looked at him expectantly. â€Å"Sonya Karp,' he replied. I threw up my hands. â€Å"Yeah, but we can't talk to her. She's a lost cause. Mikhail Tanner spent over a year hunting her and couldn't find her. If he can't, then we're not going to be able to.' Dimitri turned away from me and stared out the window. His brown eyes filled with sorrow, his thoughts momentarily far away from us. I didn't entirely understand what was happening, but that peaceful moment in the library–where Dimitri had smiled and shared in the daydream of an ordinary life–had vanished. And not just the moment. That Dimitri had vanished. He was back in his fierce mode, carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders again. At last, he sighed and looked back at me. â€Å"That's because Mikhail didn't have the right connections.' â€Å"Mikhail was her boyfriend,' I pointed out. â€Å"He had more connections than anyone else.' Dimitri didn't acknowledge my comment. Instead, he grew pensive again. I could see turmoil behind his eyes, some inner war. At last, it must have been decided. â€Å"Does your phone have reception out here?' he asked her. She nodded, reaching into her purse and handing him her phone. He held it a moment, looking like it caused him total agony to touch it. At last, with another sigh, he stood up and headed for the door. Sydney and I exchanged questioning looks and then both followed him. She lagged behind me, having to toss cash on the table and grab her laptop. I emerged outside just as Dimitri finished dialing a number and put the phone to his ear. Sydney joined us, and a moment later, the person on the other end of the line must have answered. â€Å"Boris?' asked Dimitri. That was all I understood because the rest was a string of rapid Russian. A strange sensation spread over me as he spoke. I was confused, lost because of the language †¦ but there was more than that. I felt chilled. My pulse raced with fear. That voice †¦ I knew that voice. It was his voice and yet not his voice. It was the voice of my nightmares, a voice of coldness and cruelty. Dimitri was playing Strigoi. Well, â€Å"playing' was really too gentle of a word. Pretending was a better way to describe it. Whatever it was, it was pretty damned convincing. Beside me, Sydney frowned, but I didn't think she was experiencing what I was. She had never known him as Strigoi. She didn't have those horrible memories. His change in demeanor had to be obvious, but as I glanced at her face, I realized she was focused on following the conversation. I'd forgotten she knew Russian. â€Å"What's he saying?' I whispered. Her frowned deepened, either from the conversation or me distracting her. â€Å"He †¦ he sounds like he's talking to someone he hasn't spoken to in a while. Dimitri's accusing this person of slacking off while he's been away.' She fell silent, continuing her own mental translation. At one point, Dimitri's voice rose in anger, and both Sydney and I flinched. I turned to her questioningly. â€Å"He's mad about having his authority questioned. I can't tell, but now †¦ it sounds like the other person's groveling.' I wanted to know every word, but it had to be hard for her to translate to me and listen at the same time. Dimitri's voice returned to normal levels–though still filled with that terrible menace–and among the flurry of words, I heard â€Å"Sonya Karp' and â€Å"Montana.' â€Å"He's asking about Ms. Kar–Sonya?' I murmured. She hadn't been my teacher for a long time. I might as well call her Sonya now. â€Å"Yeah,' said Sydney, eyes still on Dimitri. â€Å"He's asking–er, telling–this person to locate someone else and see if he can find Sonya. This person †¦' She paused to listen again. â€Å"This person he's asking about sounds like he knows a lot of people in the area she was last seen in.' I knew â€Å"people' in this context meant â€Å"Strigoi.' Dimitri had risen quickly in their ranks, asserting his will and power over others. Most Strigoi operated solo, rarely working in groups, but even the lone ones recognized threats and more dominant Strigoi. Dimitri was working his contacts, just as he'd said earlier. If any Strigoi had heard about his transformation–and believed it–they wouldn't have been able to pass the news quickly, not with their disorganization. As it was, Dimitri was already having to play leapfrog to find sources who knew other sources who might know Sonya's location. Dimitri grew loud and angry again, his voice becoming–if possible–more sinister. I suddenly felt trapped, and even Sydney looked scared now. She swallowed. â€Å"He's telling this guy that if he doesn't get answers by tomorrow night, Dimitri's going to find him and rip him apart and †¦' Sydney didn't bother finishing. Her eyes were wide. â€Å"Use your imagination. It's pretty terrible.' I decided then that I was kind of glad I hadn't heard all of the conversation in English. When Dimitri finished the call and returned Sydney's phone, that mask of malice melted from his face. Once again, he was my Dimitri, Dimitri the dhampir. Dejection and despair radiated off him, and he slumped against the cafe's wall, staring upward into the sky. I knew what he was doing. He was trying to calm himself, seize control of the emotions that had to be warring within him. He'd just done something that might give us clues we needed †¦ but it had been at a terrible cost to himself. My fingers twitched. I wanted to put a comforting arm around him or at least pat his shoulder so he'd know he wasn't alone. But, I held back, suspecting he wouldn't like it. At last, he turned his gaze back to us. He'd regained his control–at least on the outside. â€Å"I've sent someone to ask about her,' he said wearily. â€Å"It might not work out. Strigoi are hardly the type to keep a database. But they do occasionally keep an eye on one another, if only for their own self-preservation. We'll find out soon if there are any hits.' â€Å"I †¦ wow. Thank you,'I said, fumbling at the words. I knew he needed no thanks, but it felt necessary to me. He nodded. â€Å"We should get back to the Keepers †¦ unless you think this is a safe place to stay?' â€Å"I'd rather stay off civilized radar,' said Sydney, moving toward the truck. â€Å"Besides, I want my car keys back.' The ride back felt ten times longer. Dimitri's mood filled up the whole cabin, almost suffocating us with its despair. Even Sydney could feel it. She'd let him drive again, and I couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing. Would the road distract him from his Strigoi torment? Or would his agony distract him from the road and put us off in a ditch? Fortunately, we made it back safe and sound and found two of the Keepers waiting for us in the lot, a Moroi woman and a human guy who both looked fierce. I still couldn't shake the strangeness of both races being battle-ready. I wondered if these two were a couple. Back in the camp, we found the communal bonfire ablaze and people sitting out around it, some eating and some just socializing. I'd learned at breakfast that the fire was always there for those who wanted to bond but that plenty of families kept to their own households as well. We went back to Raymond's house, but only Sarah and Joshua were there. She was cleaning up dishes, and he sat restlessly in a chair. As soon as he caught sight of me at the door, he sprang up, radiant smile on high-beam again. â€Å"Rose! You're back. We were starting to worry †¦ I mean, not that anything had happened to you–not with your skills–but that maybe you'd just left us.' â€Å"Not without our car,' said Sydney, placing the truck keys on the table. The CR-Vs were sitting there already, and relief flooded her face as she snatched them up. Sarah offered us leftovers, which we declined, having stocked up on snack food at Rubysville's gas station. â€Å"Well,' she said, â€Å"if you're not going to eat, you might as well join the others out at the fire. Jess McHale might sing tonight if they can get her to drink enough, and drunk or sober, that woman has the finest voice I've ever heard.' I briefly met Dimitri and Sydney's eyes. I admit, I was a little curious to see how this wilderness group partied it up, even though moonshine and folk songs weren't really my first choice of entertainment. Dimitri still wore that haunted look from the phone call. I had a suspicion he would have been content to isolate himself in our room, but when Sydney said she'd go to the fire, his response came automatically: â€Å"I'll go too.' I knew instantly what he was doing. His Strigoi days tormented him. Talking to Strigoi tormented him. And maybe–no, certainly–he wanted to hide away and try to block it all out, but he was Dimitri. Dimitri protected those who needed it, and even if listening to fireside songs wasn't exactly life-threatening, it was still a semi-dangerous situation for a civilian like Sydney. He couldn't allow that. Plus, he knew Sydney would feel safer with both of us nearby. I started to say I'd join them, but Joshua spoke before I could. â€Å"Do you still want to see my cave? There's a little light left outside. You'll get a better view that way than if we have to use a torch.' I'd forgotten about my last conversation with Joshua and started to decline his offer. But then, something flashed in Dimitri's eyes, something disapproving. So. He didn't want me going off with some young, good-looking guy. Was it legitimate concern about the Keepers? Was it jealousy? No, surely not the latter. We'd established–many, many times–that Dimitri wanted no romantic connection with me. He'd even stood up for Adrian earlier. Was this some kind of ex-boyfriend thing? Back in Rubysville, I'd believed Dimitri and I could be friends, but that wouldn't happen if he thought he could control me and my love life. I'd known girls with exes like that. I wouldn't be one. I could hang out with whomever I wanted. â€Å"Sure,' I said. Dimitri's expression darkened. â€Å"I'd love to.' Joshua and I headed off, leaving the others behind. I knew part of my decision was to prove my independence. Dimitri had said we were equals, yet he'd made an awful lot of decisions in this escape plan without me. It was nice to feel like I had the upper hand for a change, and besides, I liked Joshua and was kind of curious to learn more about how his people lived. I don't think Sydney wanted me to leave, but Dimitri would look after her. As Joshua and I walked, we passed plenty of Keepers out and about. Just like earlier, I received a fair amount of stares. Rather than lead us down the road to where his father lived, Joshua took me around the small mountain. It was still good-sized, but after living near the Rockies, everything in the Appalachians seemed â€Å"small' to me. I guess I was a mountain snob. Still, the mountain extended quite a ways, and we moved farther and farther from the Keepers' main settlement. The forest grew thicker, the light growing scarce as the sun finally began sinking into the horizon. â€Å"I'm kind of on the outskirts,' Joshua said apologetically. â€Å"We keep growing and growing, and there's not much room in the town's center.' I thought â€Å"town' was an optimistic term but didn't say so. Yeah. I was definitely a snob. â€Å"But the caves keep going, so there's still space.' â€Å"Are they natural?' I asked. â€Å"Some are. Some are abandoned mining caves.' â€Å"It's pretty out here,' I said. I liked all the deciduous trees. I might be homesick for Montana, but the wide leaves here were a neat contrast to pine needles. â€Å"And hey, at least you get lots of privacy, right?' â€Å"True.' He smiled. â€Å"I figured you'd think it was †¦ I don't know. Too rustic. Or savage. You probably think we all are.' His observation startled me. Most of the Keepers had been so fiercely defensive of their way of life that I hadn't thought anyone would even think an outsider would question it–or that any Keeper would care if we did. â€Å"It's just different,' I said diplomatically. â€Å"A lot different from what I'm used to.' I felt a flash of homesickness for all the people and places I was now cut off from. Lissa. Adrian. Our other friends. Court. St. Vladimir's. I shook the feeling off quickly. I had no time to mope and could at least check on Lissa later. â€Å"I've been to human towns,' continued Joshua. â€Å"And other places the Tainted live. I can see why you'd like them.' He turned a bit sheepish. â€Å"I wouldn't mind electricity.' â€Å"Why don't you guys use it?' â€Å"We would if we could. We're just too far out, and no one really knows we're here anyway. The lily-people say it's better for hiding us.' It hadn't occurred to me that they simply endured these conditions because they were forced to in order to conceal themselves. I wondered how many of their choices came from clinging to the so-called old ways †¦ and how much was influenced by the Alchemists. â€Å"Here we are,' said Joshua, pulling me from my musings. He gestured to a dark hole at ground level. The opening was big enough for an adult to enter. â€Å"Nice,' I said. I'd noticed earlier that some of the caves were set higher into the mountains and had watched their residents either climb the rock bare-handed or use homemade ladders. An easy-access doorway seemed luxurious. Joshua looked surprised at my praise. â€Å"Really?' â€Å"Really.' We'd ended up losing too much daylight. He paused to light a torch, and then I followed him inside. We had to duck a little at first, but as we went deeper into the cave, the ceiling slowly expanded and opened up into a wide, rounded space. The floor was hard-packed dirt, the stone walls rough and jagged. This was a natural cave, but I could pick out the efforts made to civilize it. The floor had been cleaned and leveled, and I saw some stones and rocks in a corner that looked like they'd been gathered up to clear space. A couple pieces of furniture had already been moved in: a narrow wooden chair and a mattress that looked like it could barely hold one person. â€Å"You probably think it's small,' said Joshua. It was true, but it was actually bigger than my dorm room at St. Vladimir's. â€Å"Well †¦ yeah, but I mean, how old are you?' â€Å"Eighteen.' â€Å"Same as me,' I said. This seemed to make him pretty happy. â€Å"Having your own, um, cave at eighteen is pretty cool.' It would have been cooler still with electricity, Internet, and plumbing, but there was no need to bring that up. His blue eyes practically shone. I couldn't help but notice what a pretty contrast they made against his tanned skin. I dismissed the thought immediately. I wasn't here for a boyfriend. But apparently, I was the only one who believed that. Joshua suddenly took a step forward. â€Å"You can stay if you want,' he said. â€Å"The other Tainted would never find you here. We could get married, and then when we had kids, we could build a loft like my parents' and–‘ The word married had me moving toward the entrance as shocked and panicked as I would be by a Strigoi attack. Except, I usually had fair warning before those. â€Å"Whoa, whoa, slow down.' No. I hadn't seen a proposal coming. â€Å"We just met!' Thankfully, he didn't come closer. â€Å"I know, but sometimes that's how it is.' â€Å"What, marriages between people who hardly know each other?' I asked incredulously. â€Å"Sure. Happens all the time. And seriously, just in this short of time, I already know I like you. You're amazing. You're beautiful and obviously a good fighter. And the way you carry yourself †¦' He shook his head, awe on his face. â€Å"I've never seen anything like it.' I wished he wasn't so cute and nice. Having creepy guys profess their adoration was a lot easier to deal with than one you liked. I remembered Sydney saying I was a hot commodity here. Scorching was more like it, apparently. â€Å"Joshua, I really like you, but,' I added hastily, seeing hope fill his features, â€Å"I'm too young to get married.' He frowned. â€Å"Didn't you say you were eighteen?' Okay. Age was probably not a good argument around here. I'd seen how young people had kids back in Dimitri's home-town. In a place like this, they probably had child marriages. I tried another angle. â€Å"I don't even know if I want to get married.' This didn't faze him. He nodded in understanding. â€Å"That's smart. We could live together first, see how we get along.' His serious expression turned back into a smile. â€Å"But I'm pretty easygoing. I'd let you win every argument.' I couldn't help it. I laughed. â€Å"Well, then, I'm going to have to win this one and tell you I'm just not ready for †¦ any of it. Besides, I'm already involved with someone.' â€Å"Dimitri?' â€Å"No. Another guy. He's back at the Tainted Court.' I couldn't even believe I was saying that. Joshua frowned. â€Å"Why isn't he here protecting you then?' â€Å"Because †¦ that's not how he is. And I can take care of myself.' I'd never liked the assumption that I needed rescuing. â€Å"And look, even if he wasn't in the picture, I'm leaving soon anyway. It would never work out between you and me.' â€Å"I understand.' Joshua looked disappointed but seemed to be taking the rejection okay. â€Å"Maybe when you've got everything sorted out, you'll come back.' I started to tell him not to wait for me and that he should just marry someone else (despite how ridiculous it was at his age), but then I realized that was a pointless comment. In Joshua's fantasies, he could probably marry someone else now and then add me on to his harem later, like Sarah and Paulette. So, I just simply said, â€Å"Maybe.' Groping for a change in subject, I searched for anything to distract us. My eyes fell on the chair and a leafy pattern carved into it. â€Å"That's really neat.' â€Å"Thanks,' he said, walking over. To my relief, he didn't pursue the earlier topic. He ran his hand lovingly over the ornately carved wood. The design looked like braided leaves. â€Å"I did it myself.' â€Å"Really?' I asked in true surprise. â€Å"That †¦ that's amazing.' â€Å"If you like it †¦' His hand moved, and I feared there was a kiss or embrace coming. Instead, he reached into his shirt pocket and produced a finely carved wooden bracelet. It was a simple, sinuous design, the true marvel being how narrow and delicate it was to all be one piece. The wood had been polished to brilliance. â€Å"Here.' He handed me the bracelet. â€Å"This is for me?' I ran my finger along the smooth edge. â€Å"If you want it. I made it while you were out today. So you'll remember me after you leave.' I hesitated, wondering if accepting this would be encouraging him. No, I decided. I'd made my views on teenage marriage clear, and anyway, he looked so nervous, I couldn't stand the thought of hurting his feelings. I slipped it onto my wrist. â€Å"Of course I'll remember. Thank you.' From the happy look on his face, taking the bracelet made up for my earlier refusal. He showed me a few more details around the cave and then followed my suggestion to join the others at the fire. We could hear the music echoing through the trees long before we made it back, and while it was hardly my style, there was something warm and friendly about this community's way of life. I'd never been to summer camp, but I imagined this was what it'd be like. Sydney and Dimitri sat near the group's edge. They were quiet and watchful, but everyone else sang, clapped, and talked. Again, I was stunned at how easily dhampirs, humans, and Moroi could all be involved with one another. Mixed couples were everywhere, and one–a human and Moroi–were openly making out. Every so often, when he kissed her neck, he'd also bite and take some blood. I had to glance away. I turned back toward my friends. Sydney noticed me and looked relieved. Dimitri's expression was unreadable. Like always, the others' eyes followed my movement, and to my surprise, I saw open jealousy on some of the guys' faces. I hoped they didn't think Joshua and I had been off getting naked in the cave. That was hardly the reputation I wanted to leave behind. â€Å"I have to talk to Sydney,' I told him over the noise. I decided it'd be best to keep my distance before any rumors started, and truthfully, Sydney looked like she wanted me by her side. Joshua nodded, and I turned away. I'd taken two steps when a fist suddenly came right toward my face. I'd had no defenses up and just barely had the presence of mind to turn my head and catch the blow on my cheek, rather than end up with a broken nose. After the initial surprise, all my training kicked in. I quickly sidestepped out of the line of attack and put my body into a fighter's stance. The music and singing stopped, and I turned to face my attacker. Angeline. She stood in a way similar to my own, fists clenched and eyes completely honed in on me. â€Å"Okay,' she said. â€Å"It's time to find out how tough you really are.' What it was time for was someone–say, like, a parent–to come and drag her off and punish her for punching guests. Amazingly, no one moved or tried to stop her. No–that wasn't quite true. One person stood up. Dimitri had sprung to action the instant he saw me in danger. I expected him to come pull Angeline away, but a group of Keepers hastily moved to his side, saying something to him that I couldn't hear. They didn't try to physically restrain him, but whatever they said, it kept him where he stood. I would have demanded to know what they'd told him, but Angeline was coming at me again. It looked like I was on my own. Angeline was short, even for a dhampir, but her whole body was packed with strength. She was pretty fast too, though not fast enough to get that second hit in on me. I neatly dodged it and kept my distance, not wanting to go on the offensive with this girl. She could probably do a fair amount of damage in a fight, but there was a sloppy– no, more like rough–edge to it. She was a scrapper, someone who'd done a lot of brawling but without any formal training. â€Å"Are you insane?' I exclaimed, moving out of the way of another assault. â€Å"Stop this. I don't want to hurt you.' â€Å"Sure,' she said. â€Å"That's what you want everyone to think, right? If you don't actually have to fight, then they'll all go on believing those marks are real.' â€Å"They are real!' The insinuation that I'd faked my tattoos sparked my temper, but I refused to get drawn into this ridiculous scuffle. â€Å"Prove it,' she said, coming at me again. â€Å"Prove you're who you say you are.' It was like a dance, keeping away from her. I could have done it all night, and a few dismayed cries from the crowd demanded we â€Å"get on with it.' â€Å"I don't have to prove anything,' I told her. â€Å"It's a lie then.' Her breathing was heavy now. She was working a lot harder than me. â€Å"Everything you Tainted do is a lie.' â€Å"Not true,' I said. Why was Dimitri letting this go on? Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of him, and so help me, he was smiling. Meanwhile, Angeline was still continuing her tirade as she tried to hit me. â€Å"You all lie. You're all weak. Especially your â€Å"royals.' They're the worst of all.' â€Å"You don't know them at all. You don't know anything about them.' She might be able to carry on a conversation, but I could see her growing increasingly frustrated. If not for the fact I was pretty sure she'd hit me in the back, I would have taken the noble approach and simply walked away. â€Å"I know enough,' she said. â€Å"I know they're selfish and spoiled and don't do anything for themselves. They don't care about anyone else. They're all the same.' I actually agreed with Angeline about some royals but didn't like the generalization. â€Å"Don't talk about things you don't understand,' I snapped. â€Å"They're not all like that.' â€Å"They are,' she said, pleased to see me angry. â€Å"I wish they were all dead.' It was hardly enough to push me into offense mode, but the comment did cloud my thoughts enough that I let her get through my guard, just a little. I never would have let that happen with a Strigoi, but I'd underestimated this wild girl. Her leg snaked out just enough to hit my knee, and it was like tossing a spark into gasoline. Everything exploded. With that hit, I stumbled slightly, and she pushed her advantage. My battle instincts took over, and I had no choice but to strike back before she could hit me. People began cheering now that the fight was â€Å"really going.' I was on offense, trying to subdue her, meaning the physical contact had jumped up exponentially. I was still better than her, no doubt, but in trying to get to her, I put myself in her range. She landed a few blows on me, nothing serious, before I was able to tackle her to the ground. I expected that to be the end, but she pushed back against me before I could fully restrain her. We rolled over, and she tried to take the dominant position. I couldn't allow that and managed a punch on the side of her face that was a lot harder than the earlier one. I thought that would be the end of the fight. My hit had knocked her off me, and I started to stand, but then that little bitch grabbed my hair and jerked me back down. I twisted out of her hold–though I'm pretty sure she took some hair away with her–and this time managed to fully pin her, throwing all my weight and strength into it as I pressed down. I knew it had to be painful but didn't really care. She'd started it. Besides, this skirmish had gone beyond defense. Pulling someone's hair was just playing dirty. Angeline made a few more attempts to break away, but when it became clear she couldn't, those around us began whistling and cheering. A few moments later, that dark and furious look vanished from Angeline's face, replaced by resignation. I eyed her warily, not about to let down my guard. â€Å"Fine,' she said. â€Å"I guess it's okay. Go ahead.' â€Å"Huh? What's okay?' I demanded. â€Å"It's okay if you marry my brother.'

Early History Of Judaism Essays - Land Of Israel, Free Essays

Early History Of Judaism Essays - Land Of Israel, Free Essays Early History of Judaism It has been argued that Judaism can be seen not only as a single religion, but as a group of similar religions. It has also been pointed-out that through all the trials and tribulations that Judaism has suffered through, that there have been common themes that have proven omni-pervasive. Any institution with roots as ancient and varied as the religion of the Jews is bound to have a few variations, especially when most of its history takes place in the political and theological hot spot of the Middle East. In this discussion, many facets of Judaism will be examined, primarily in the three temporal subdivisions labeled the Tribal / Pre-Monarchy Period, the Divided Monarchy, and the Hasmonean / Maccabean and Roman Era. Among all the time periods where the religion has been split, these three seem to be the most representative of the forces responsible. As for a common thread seen throughout all Judiasms, the area of focus here is the place associated with the religion : Jerusalem. This topic will be covered in detail first, and then the multiple Judaism arguments will be presented. In this way, it is possible to keep a common focus in mind when reading about all the other situations in which the religion has found itself. A brief conclusion follows the discussion. A Place to Call Home No other religion has ever been so attached to its birthplace as Judaism. Perhaps this is because Jews have been exiled and restricted from this place for most of their history. Jerusalem is not only home to Judaism, but to the Muslim and Christian religions as well. Historically this has made it quite a busy place for the various groups. Jerusalem is where the temple of the Jews once stood; the only place on the whole Earth where one could leave the confines of day to day life and get closer to God. In 586 BCE when the temple was destroyed, no Jew would have denied Jerusalem as being the geographic center of the religion. From that point on, the Jewish people have migrated around the world, but not one of them forgets the fact that Jerusalem is where it all began. It is truly a sacred place, and helps to define what Judaism means to many people; a common thread to run through all the various splinters of the religion and help hold them together. Even today, as the Jewish people have their precious Jerusalem back (through the help of other nations and their politics) there is great conflict and emotion surrounding it. Other nations and people in the area feel that they should be in control of the renowned city, and the Jews deny fervently any attempt to wrestle it from their occupation. It is true that there is no temple in Jeruslaem today, nor are all the Jews in the world rushing to get back there. But it is apparent that the city represents more to the religion of Judaism than a mere place to live and work. The city of Jerusalem is a spiritual epicenter, and throughout Judaism?s long and varied history, this single fact has never changed. Tribal / Pre-Monarchy Judaism?s roots lie far back in the beginnings of recorded history. The religion did not spring into existence exactly as it is known today, rather it was pushed and prodded by various environmental factors along the way. One of the first major influences on the religion was the Canaanite nation. Various theories exist as to how and when the people that would later be called Jews entered into this civilization. But regardless of how they ultimately got there, these pioneers of the new faith were subjected to many of the ideas and prejudices of the time. Any new society that finds itself in an existing social situation, can do no more than to try and integrate into that framework. And this is exactly what the Jews did. Early Judaism worshipped multiple gods. One of these gods was known as Ba?al, and was generally thought-of as a ?statue god? with certain limitations on his power. The other primary deity was called YHWH (or Yahweh) and enjoyed a much more mysterious and illusive reputation. He was very numinous,

What Is The UAE Law About Taxes Accounting Essay Essays

What Is The UAE Law About Taxes Accounting Essay Essays What Is The UAE Law About Taxes Accounting Essay Essay What Is The UAE Law About Taxes Accounting Essay Essay What is the UAE jurisprudence about revenue enhancements? Are at that place any sectors subjected to revenue enhancements? If yes which sectors? The National Tax of UAE is about holding no existent in the state ; instead the Federal authorities provides an authorization to every Emirate to set up their ain revenue enhancements. No revenue enhancement is levied on the personal income or personal capital additions, Federal Corporate revenue enhancements are besides about negligible, the lone sectors such as oil, gas and petrochemical companies, and residential and commercial renters are levied to pay corporate income revenue enhancement and belongings revenue enhancement severally. No VAT is levied on the services nevertheless service revenue enhancement is indictable on accessing eating houses and hotel services ( Taxes in United Arab Emirates ) . Question 2: Companies making concern in or seeking to set up concern in the UAE have benefits. State five benefits. Answer: Assorted benefits of making concern in UAE are as follows: UAE economic system is really diverse economic system which provides assorted concern options through accessing such economic chances. It is the cardinal point of assorted trade and commercialism centres which provides a huge exposure to the international market. The state has really low revenue enhancements. Effective Technical support through modernisation. Favorable economic, political, concern and legal environment ( Benefits of making Business in UAE ) . Question 3: What is the difference between the following concern entities established in the UAE? Representative and Branch offices Public A ; Private Joint Stock Companies Answer: Representative and Branch Offices: Representative offices are allowed for the limited selling of goods and services holding the foreign patents while the Branch Offices are permitted to set up the foreign concern in UAE so as to bring forth some specific corporate traffics with their patent entities. Public A ; Private Joint Stock Companies: The capital of public joint stock companies is entirely divided into common stock holding equal valley while private joint stock companies can non merchandise their stock publically ( James R. Hagerty, 2008 ) . Question 4: Why is the private sector in GCC to a great extent dependent on migratory workers? States 2 grounds Answer: Private sector in GCC to a great extent dependent on migrators because of following grounds: Public sectors are largely occupied by the occupant citizen and to remain in the state of UAE, aliens should be employed as per the jurisprudence of the state. Thus most of the private sector occupations are occupied by the aliens and migrators. Due to Working Visa jurisprudence of the state, the migrators accepted to work at low rewards so that they have right to remain within the state and therefore private sector in GCC states employ migrators at low rewards ( Baldwin-Edwards, 2012 ) . Question 5: State 3 UAE labor Torahs. Answer: As per the Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 amended by Federal Law Nos21 of 1981, 15 of 1985, and jurisprudence of 1986, following are the portion of UAE Labor Laws: Employment Contract: As per the UAE Labor Law, two types of employment contracts are allowable: Limited employment Contracts holding specific period of completion and Unlimited Employment Contract which complete the employment term of office on the want of either party. Probation Time period: The probation period harmonizing to Labor jurisprudence can non be more than 6 months and during such period employer or employee can end the employment contract. Working hours: The working hours prescribed for an grownup employee is eight hours per twenty-four hours or 48 hours per hebdomad ( Labour Law in UAE ) . Question 6: It is expected more GCC adult females will fall in work force in the hereafter. What sort of challenges will companies confront? Answer: The prospective challenges faced by the companies due the adult females work force are as follows: Talent Management: One of the biggest challenges for the companies due to adult females work force is the direction of gifted pool of employees. They need to implement a comprehensive attack for the enlisting, choice, preparation and development and the keeping of the employees as per the Islamic norms. They have to better the soft and proficient accomplishments of adult females. Trouble in Accessing the Recognition: The female headed concern organisations are non likely to acquire easy loans and recognition from the market due to the deficiency of marketability accomplishments of adult females. Lack of Full Time Workers: Womans in GCC work force are unable to supply their services on the full clip footing. Resistance towards Change: Womans employees are more resisted towards the organisational alterations ( Ramez Shehadi ) . Question 7: Flexible employment has been credited with lending to three chief macroeconomics benefits in the GCC. What are they? Answer: Flexible employment helps in the part of three cardinal macroeconomics advantages in the GCC: Increasing the workeraa‚Â ¬a„?s engagement in direction: Flexible employment helps in the engagement of more and more workers in the employment sector. Decrease the rate of unemployment: Flexible employment includes offering best inducements to the employees which leads to actuating the inactive people to fall in the work force and therefore reduces structural unemployment. Addition in the general concern legerity: It helps in keeping the legerity of the concern by offering them assorted tools to react towards economic rhythms impeccably ( Haddad, 2010 ) . Question 8: When was the rule of corporate administration introduced in the UAE and for what grounds? State 2 grounds. Answer: Initially, The Corporate Governance was regulated under the UAE Commercial Law 1984 which binds national companies merely. In 2007, SCA expand the ordinance of corporate administration to the joint stock companies established in UAE or any other company which is listed in the security market of UAE. Amendment made by the Ministerial Resolution No. 518 of 2009 which established new Code for corporate regulation and subject criterions that comes into action on 30 November 2009. The grounds for debut of the corporate administration in the state are as follows: The planetary Financial Crisis in 2000, awakened the authorities to compel rigorous administration regulations in the companies of the state. To guarantee the greater efficiency and mentoring in both the capital markets of UAE ( Zawawi, 2011 ) . Question 9: There is physiological opposition in GCC to the issue of corporate administration for a figure of grounds. State two grounds. Answer: The physiological ground behind the opposition of GCC towards the corporate administration issue is as follows: The small inducement against the alteration: The opposition towards the corporate administration of GCC was the utmost force per unit area on the traditional concern households of Gulf part that they were non precisely motivated by the regulators to implement the constructions of corporate administration. Absence of the effectual administration theoretical account: One of the grounds behind the opposition of GCC towards the corporate administration is the absence of appropriate administration theoretical account at the degree of authorities deprive assorted private concern organisations to implement it ( Making Good Governance Good Business in the Gulf, 2010 ) . Question 10: What are the benefits GCC companies can deduce from good corporate administration? Answer: The benefits of good corporate administration to GCC companies are as follows: Best use of capital through decrease in overall cost of capital. Effective direction of external market force per unit areas which leads to sustainable development. Proper reconciliation in the fiscal statements consequences in divergence of the shareholderaa‚Â ¬a„?s involvement. Assurance of the sustainability of the company. Effective resolution and direction of administration issues in the company. Accomplishment of augmented operational results. Increase the profitableness and marketability of the company which leads to heighten its trade name image and trade name equity ( Nadgrodkiewicz, 2009 ) . Question 11: How communicating engineerings change the GCC? State 2 benefits. Answer: Communications Technology is basically the emerging sector in the GCC and is revolutionising the society into cognition powered society. Large organisations are besides comprehensive attack towards its use on strategic every bit good as operational facets of the concern. The revolution has brought in for the society with several driving benefits ( a ) High velocity cyberspace connexions, nomadic computer science and web presence across GCC. ( B ) Increased usage of modern-day engineerings such as informations storage, radio and web security ( Murtaza, 2008 ) . Question 12: How much cyberspace users do GCC states have? Which state has the highest cyberspace use? Answer: The GCC states have overall around 4 million cyberspace users and about 2.5 million of desktop users by doing the internet incursion every bit good as Personal computer incursion of 10 % and 8 % severally. These are the corporate figures and separately it has been determined that the UAE and Bahrain have the highest cyberspace use, with female population top in cyberspace usage in GCC. The market expects a steady growing in internet incursion to about 15-20 % in the following twosome of old ages ( GCC Information Society ) . Question 13: UAE follows the International fiscal Coverage criterions ( IFRS ) . What does IFRS intend? Answer: IFRS, International Financial Reporting Standards has brought into execution by the cardinal bank of the UAE with consequence from the twelvemonth 2001. The IFRS has been adopted owing to the broad usage of International Accounting Standards ( IAS ) globally for the intent of keeping histories to Bankss and other fiscal establishments across the universe. IFRS are fundamentally established set of criterions based on regulations for executing specific interventions while fiscal coverage. This is good due to increasing growing if international concern ( What is IFRS? ) . Question 14: Harmonizing to gulf intelligence article why do GCC states need to modify IFRS to an Islamic format? Answer: GCC Countries are ought to modify the format of IFRS with that to an Islamic format in order to follow and purely adhere to different positions of Islamic Financial Accounting. This is due to the fact that several historical grounds and spiritual differences are associated with Islamic format that calls for different demands for accounting in comparing to that of Western accounting systems. And hence this has been implemented with several exclusions and supplementations ( DORE, 2007 ) . Question 15: Harmonizing to Khaleej times, Gulf states to rush up development of the accounting industry and transparence. What is a manner of increasing transparence in the fiscal study? Answer: Among all of the GCC states, UAE has been emerged as a fiscal centre to run into the transparence rankings of other established markets across the Earth. And hence, Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority conducted in-depth scrutiny of companiesaa‚Â ¬a„? fiscal places to accomplish higher transparence. For accomplishment of transparence in such a volatile market, there is a demand for globally accepted accounting criterions for better revelation of fiscal statements for the intent of comparing across markets and industries globally, finally leting investors to take educated determinations ( John, 2009 ) .

Sula Analytical Essay

Sula Analytical Essay Sula Analytical Essay Ms Cherry 11/10/12 English 8 Sula Analytical Essay Everywhere in the world setting plays a huge part in a person’s behavior, view on things and perspective on life. Daily things that go around anyone’s neighborhood affects them every day even if they don’t notice it whether it’s immediate or long term. In the book Sula setting affects the way that two characters (Jude and Sula) in the book react to other characters in the book as well as how they survive and get by the struggles during that time. The setting affected the way Jude would be able to earn money for himself and his family. For Sula the setting affected the way she’d be able to commute and survive around the neighborhood, she faced lots of criticism and distractions which wasn’t good for her in the long run. Setting affects everything you do in your life as long as you’re residing there and that was proven in the novel Sula by Toni Morrison. One main reason that Jude was affected by setting was because he wasn’t able to obtain a certain job because of his skin color. His environment and surroundings didn’t allow him to get that opportunity and that upset him. If he was to live in an area where black people were appreciated or wanted at that time it’d make it much easier for him to obtain that job and do what he planned on doing which explains how important a person’s setting plays into their life. Sula’s setting affected her simply because women were looked down on during this time and Sula’s decisions around the town weren’t making it any easier

See instructions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

See instructions - Essay Example According to John Elkington, the best framework to measure performance and maintain sustainability in organization is the triple bottom line. The triple bottom line is defined as the accounting framework and structure which consist of three parts such as financial, ecological and social. Several businesses has implemented triple bottom line framework within the organization to evaluate and estimate its performance. John Elkington coined the triple bottle line which takes in to account the environmental and social performance of organization. Three measures of triple bottom line introduced by Elkington include people, planet and profit. In case of people, it includes favourable and reasonable business performs. According to the theory of triple bottom line, planet can be measured by the lessening of environmental effect and usage of sustainable environmental performs. The profit of organization can be measured by evaluation of economic value which is formed by the business. Elkington argued that it is vital for organization to change their focal point on finance to the environmental, economic and social impact of the company. The prime purpose of the project is to provide detailed analysis about the concept of the triple bottom line. Furthermore, the paper also discussed about the complications of measuring environmental and social influences towards a business. In 1994, John Elkington coined the triple bottom line. The argument of Elkington is that every organization should be prepared to measure three bottom lines such as profit, planet and people. The triple bottom line is defined as the implementation of actions and policies to measure the environmental, social and financial effect on organization (Adrian, 2000, p.18). Moreover, this framework helps to regulate the feasibility of organization for being sustainable. There is no secret that the environment of business and world is altering. Therefore, it is vital

Web Site Evaluation Criteria Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Web Site Evaluation Criteria - Assignment Example than the rest. Similarly, one needs to design a web site keeping in view the effectiveness & usefulness of the web site as also the appeal. This is so because in many cases the appeal of the web site determines the success and usually gets the maximum number of hits from visitors. In the current paper, it is proposed to evaluate one such web site on the basis of certain aspects and criterion that will be used to determine the effectiveness and appeal of these various features. The web site that is proposed to be evaluated is unique in its own sense in that it plays a crucial role by attempting to teach ancient Vedic philosophy to members of the younger generation using modern digital media techniques. For designing this web site, a lot of attention has been provided towards using requisite animation techniques that are known to draw young minds. Basically, the web site will be evaluated for a set of seven criteria that will be used to prove the web site's worthiness. All these factors that have been assessed will be discussed one by one in detail: Accuracy of Web Documents: The first aspect that will be used to assess the web site happens to be the level of accuracy that is maintained in the web sites. This part of the evaluation will determine whether the author who wrote the web page would be available for contact. The purpose for having published the document, as also the reason for producing it should be elucidated. Lastly, it is also deemed appropriate to determine whether the person is qualified to write this document.Firstly, the web site hosts an online forum wherein all those people who posts their messages would be able to see each other's contact details through the use of hyperlinks. This is shown in the figure following this paragraph. Secondly, the reason for having designed and produced this web site is to provide the younger generation an alternate medium to imbibe philosophical thinking in them so as to enable them to follow the righteous path. The author of this web site has been studying Vedic literature sin ce a long time and is well-versed with its teachings. In addition, the author happens to be a graduate student in Digital Media production, which would imply that he is aware of the latest animation techniques. All these capabilities on the part of the author simply point towards the fact that he is a right person to take up the job.Fig: The online Forum. Authority of web documents: under the authority of the web documents, it is to be ascertained whether the person who published the web site is different from the Webmaster (Deitel & Deitel, 2006). Therefore, this part aims at establishing the credentials of the creator of the web site. The domain that currently plays host to the web pages of the site under study also need a mention in this section. To be specific, the URL (uniform Resource locator) of the web site that currently supplies the web pages on demand is to be mentioned here.For the present web site, the author is responsible for maintaining the website (therefore, he is the site's Webmaster). The web site has been hosted under the domain name-http://www.rupinpatel.co.uk/vv/. Objectivity of Web Documents: by evaluating the objectivity of the web site, it is meant that the goals/objectives for designing the web page are being discussed under this section (McDougall Littell, 2006). It will also be noted whether the information in the web page is posted in a detailed fashion. Whether the author has tried to express any views/opinions would also be discussed (LaJean Humphries, 2005). This is because the web page could be biased, usually with the

Police as Crime-fighters Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Police as Crime-fighters - Essay Example Absolute transparency in policing is a pipe dream and it might endanger the operational efficiency of the police. At the same time to leave, police activities totally unleashed can vitiate the very purpose of a police service. The task of combining the right degree of control over the police with sufficient elbowroom for them to achieve operational efficiency is a feat and a few countries have achieved this formidable task. The police performance, the world over, has not only failed to achieve this delicate balance, but has, in many countries, totally lost the focus of citizen centered service. The sense of security that the citizens in a country feel is an incalculable asset. However, this sense security in most countries has become a mirage. In many countries the guardians of civil security, themselves are often the ringleaders of an undesirable criminal nexus. This paper analyses the complex problem of analyzing the police activity in modern times. The study has accepted the compl exity of the problem and would like to offer an integrated approach to remedy the problem of policing relying on the strength of knowledge gained over the years. Various disciplines like Sociology, Psychology, Politics, Philosophy etc will aid in our search for a solution. However, the ultimate force in this attempt is the civil sense of the citizens of a country and their will to build a just society. The important question that lies at the core of developing any adequate measure of police performance is for citizens and their elected representatives to decide what it is that is intrinsically valuable, or what it is that we as a political community value in the activities and operations of a public police department. (Braga and Moore, 2004) The Historical Evolution of the Police Force The idea of modern police force has evolved over many years. However the basic mission of the primitive police and the modern are the same, the mission of keeping public order by enforcing the rules of civil conduct has not changed much in the conceptual level. Like so many noble gifts to the world, the idea of modern police force is a British product. The man behind the organizational set up of modern police force is Sir Robert Peel, the founder and leader of the Conservative party. However, the idea of policing the country is somewhat old. The Praetorian Guard of ancient Rome is the rudimentary form of the modern police. The Romans achieved a sophisticated system of law enforcement. This remained in force until the disintegration of the empire. With advent of Middle Ages and the manorial system, the policing job was the responsibility of the local nobles. The nobles appointed officials called the constables. They carried out the law. The constable's duties included arresting and keeping away forcefully the criminals. For a long time the constables were voluntary citizens, who were not paid anything. In the passage of time, this became burdensome. By the middle of 16th century, the rich citizens often sought the help of paid helpers. Soon this practice became widespread and the quality of policing by these constables came down. The French Monarch King Louis XIV kept a small police group consisting of forty inspectors who

Argument Essay Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Argument Assignment - Essay Example Speaking of the latter, there are campuses today that are experiencing problems brought about by crows. One of which would be that it serves as a distraction for students from class as crows bring fear to some while curiosity to others. Instead of listening in class, students tend to talk about crows and some just want to leave the room into a safer place. Second problem of which would be that some crows get into the food of the students and eat them. They also get into the cafeteria which may pose a threat to the cleanliness of the food being served. Third, some crows have the tendency of attacking kids when they think their actions are provoking or harming them. Lastly, the overall hygiene of the campus is being sacrificed because of the fecal matter that the crows drop along the hallways. This can again result to the increase of viruses that may result to sickness. With all these said, there is indeed a need to provide a solution for these very valid problems, that when not immediately acted upon would cause bigger problems for the school and its students. A good way to start solving this problem would be to set aside a fund that would allow the depopulation of crows. One of which would be to set up scare crows which will repel them from staying in the campuses. There is also a more practical way of visually repelling them such as by setting up mirrors in the area that when hit by the sun will reflect a light that will make it hard for crows to see. Indeed, though crow depopulation is not really a common problem that we would be familiarly spending money on, I strongly believe that funding a solution to it is a must. This is because the presence of crows in the campus has a lot of repercussions. First, it could affect the credibility and the effectiveness of the school towards the learning of students because they get distracted by them. If this happens, it would cost the school more to have these students transfer to

Freedom and Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Freedom and Justice - Essay Example How affordable is higher education for Americans? What sorts of conflicts has higher education produced? These questions and many more will be addressed and applied to a holistic analysis of higher education in the United States. Conflict theory evolved from Marxism and focuses on what it perceives are inherent conflicts within society. Marxists perceive conflict to be endemic when resources are scarce and argue that our social system – capitalism – is the most unequal system when it comes to resource allocation and distribution. Private property, capital and social classes are all important characteristics of an inegalitarian society. An unequal division of labour and class exploitation is said to lead to conflict according to this theory (Wallerstein, 1974). A Conflict Theorist would immediately point out the inequalities surrounding higher education in the United States and would argue that higher education promotes class difference and exploitation of the masses. Seeing higher education as a tool for upward social mobility, Conflict Theorists would assert that the lack of accessibility of higher education in the United States maintains the unequal status between social classes, ensuring tha t the wealthy remain wealthy and the poor in America remain poor. Conflict Theorists point out that exorbitant costs to attend colleges and universities ensure that only the wealthy can access higher education and thus reaps the benefit of having a Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree or PhD. Affordability, or lack thereof, essentially promotes the existing class structure to the detriment of the greater society. The implication is a society stratified by class and educational attainment. Those without access to the elite ivory towers of America’s universities and colleges will forever remain in the bottom rung of society. Conflict will exist between those who have the means to attend university and those who do

Current Issues In Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Current Issues In Finance - Essay Example According to the theory of capital structure, the major features of the conception constitute with maximum return with minimum risk, flexibility in resource allocation, adequate liquidity, conservation of reserves, balanced capital flow and leverage, which accumulatively helps in assisting the smooth flow of finances stimulating the overall business operations. It is in this context that according to the theorem presented by Modigliani & Miller, there are various factors on which the managerial decision of configuring an appropriate capital structure is depended (Kumar & Sharma, 1998). The objective of this paper is to discuss about the importance of capital structure with reference to the financial configuration of a Hong Kong based real estate company named Henderson Land Development Company Pvt. Ltd. With this concern, the paper will also attempt to examine the utilisation and importance of capital structure from a generalised points of view narrowing towards its implications on t he company. Modigliani & Miller’s theorem towards capital structure will also be taken into account for the purpose of this study. Description of Capital Structure Capital structure can be defined as the framework or planned method through which a company attempts to control its allocation as well as flow of finances in its operational process mitigating financial interruptions by a considerable extent. According to the theory presented by Modigliani & Miller, capital structure represents the general distinction between leverage and equity describing the conditions under which a firm’s value can prevail unaffected due to the financial decisions taken by the management (Villamil, 2005). It is worth mentioning that from a generalised point of view, it has often assumed that equity propositions and leverage functions of any organisation is highly affected with its financial decisions, both in the short-run and in the long-run as well. As stated by Baker & Martin (2011), à ¢â‚¬Å"capital structure refers to the sources of financing employed by the firm† (pp. 1). It is in this context that there are various available options which are generally availed by organisations to accumulate the required amount of capital or funding for the smooth execution of its organisational operations in the long run. Contextually, the decisions, taken by the organisations in order to accredit its capital structure, have often been witnessed to have a crucial impact over its competencies and the financial risks probably faced by the firm in its long run performances (Baker & Martin, 2011). Although the capital structure related decisions taken by organisations have been frequently considered as one of the major reasons to face noteworthy consequences, especially in the post economic crisis period, the formulation of the capital structure has also been identified to have considerable positive impacts on a company’s financial affairs. Contextually, the major feat ures of capital structure are identified as profitability, flexibility, control and solvency. Profitability can be defined as the process of utilising maximum resources in the business process engaging minimum cost which subsequently gives rise to the profit ratio. In the similar context, flexibility can be discussed as the process in which the capital stru

Argument Essay Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Argument Assignment - Essay Example Speaking of the latter, there are campuses today that are experiencing problems brought about by crows. One of which would be that it serves as a distraction for students from class as crows bring fear to some while curiosity to others. Instead of listening in class, students tend to talk about crows and some just want to leave the room into a safer place. Second problem of which would be that some crows get into the food of the students and eat them. They also get into the cafeteria which may pose a threat to the cleanliness of the food being served. Third, some crows have the tendency of attacking kids when they think their actions are provoking or harming them. Lastly, the overall hygiene of the campus is being sacrificed because of the fecal matter that the crows drop along the hallways. This can again result to the increase of viruses that may result to sickness. With all these said, there is indeed a need to provide a solution for these very valid problems, that when not immediately acted upon would cause bigger problems for the school and its students. A good way to start solving this problem would be to set aside a fund that would allow the depopulation of crows. One of which would be to set up scare crows which will repel them from staying in the campuses. There is also a more practical way of visually repelling them such as by setting up mirrors in the area that when hit by the sun will reflect a light that will make it hard for crows to see. Indeed, though crow depopulation is not really a common problem that we would be familiarly spending money on, I strongly believe that funding a solution to it is a must. This is because the presence of crows in the campus has a lot of repercussions. First, it could affect the credibility and the effectiveness of the school towards the learning of students because they get distracted by them. If this happens, it would cost the school more to have these students transfer to

Current Issues In Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Current Issues In Finance - Essay Example According to the theory of capital structure, the major features of the conception constitute with maximum return with minimum risk, flexibility in resource allocation, adequate liquidity, conservation of reserves, balanced capital flow and leverage, which accumulatively helps in assisting the smooth flow of finances stimulating the overall business operations. It is in this context that according to the theorem presented by Modigliani & Miller, there are various factors on which the managerial decision of configuring an appropriate capital structure is depended (Kumar & Sharma, 1998). The objective of this paper is to discuss about the importance of capital structure with reference to the financial configuration of a Hong Kong based real estate company named Henderson Land Development Company Pvt. Ltd. With this concern, the paper will also attempt to examine the utilisation and importance of capital structure from a generalised points of view narrowing towards its implications on t he company. Modigliani & Miller’s theorem towards capital structure will also be taken into account for the purpose of this study. Description of Capital Structure Capital structure can be defined as the framework or planned method through which a company attempts to control its allocation as well as flow of finances in its operational process mitigating financial interruptions by a considerable extent. According to the theory presented by Modigliani & Miller, capital structure represents the general distinction between leverage and equity describing the conditions under which a firm’s value can prevail unaffected due to the financial decisions taken by the management (Villamil, 2005). It is worth mentioning that from a generalised point of view, it has often assumed that equity propositions and leverage functions of any organisation is highly affected with its financial decisions, both in the short-run and in the long-run as well. As stated by Baker & Martin (2011), à ¢â‚¬Å"capital structure refers to the sources of financing employed by the firm† (pp. 1). It is in this context that there are various available options which are generally availed by organisations to accumulate the required amount of capital or funding for the smooth execution of its organisational operations in the long run. Contextually, the decisions, taken by the organisations in order to accredit its capital structure, have often been witnessed to have a crucial impact over its competencies and the financial risks probably faced by the firm in its long run performances (Baker & Martin, 2011). Although the capital structure related decisions taken by organisations have been frequently considered as one of the major reasons to face noteworthy consequences, especially in the post economic crisis period, the formulation of the capital structure has also been identified to have considerable positive impacts on a company’s financial affairs. Contextually, the major feat ures of capital structure are identified as profitability, flexibility, control and solvency. Profitability can be defined as the process of utilising maximum resources in the business process engaging minimum cost which subsequently gives rise to the profit ratio. In the similar context, flexibility can be discussed as the process in which the capital stru

Interrelationships with Culture and Visual Entertainmen Essay Example for Free

Interrelationships with Culture and Visual Entertainmen Essay Culture and visual entertainment media have an interrelationship with each other such as film and television. As the years go by and more and more television shows and movies have been created they have in my opinion become of a reflection of our cultural times. Society is watching the films and television and seeing that they can relate to what they are watching which then they are able to take away a message. People can see visual instead of having to read to learn which can give them a different perspective that they may not have thought of on their own. As people view the visual entertainment they and see what is being influenced from the way people act, dress, talk, and so forth since it is what is shaping our culture. The Brady Bunch is an example of how families were starting to see that families can merge together and become one family, the outfits and hairstyles were being mimicked by people in everyday life. I remember watching this show thinking how â€Å"cool† is it to have two families merge together. This showed that the social influences of visual entertainment media can be positive. People can still watch visual media that is been out dated but still learn about American culture with such shows. Another example is â€Å"The Breakfast Club† this movie is a classic and still very relevant to how our American culture is shaped. In this movie they look at individuals and show that even though we are from all walks of life such as a jock, nerd, snob, shy, and criminal that we all have similarities in the end if we stop and take a moment to see. I Love Lucy† was a huge influence on visual entertainment people wanted to have the grace, the silliness, and could also see that they lived modestly which made it relate to society. Visual media can be negative as well a positive influence on social behavior. When we view visual entertainment I would say majority want to emulate the celebrities that they are viewing which can be negative or positive depending on that moment. People want to fit in society and with visual entertainment that can shape them in to something different. I remember during the eighty’s all of the shows and movies I watch were all the underdog wins in the end and I felt that this is what I want I want to be the underdog the stand along and befriends with everyone. Guess what I was that person I still am that person as well as I take up for the underdog and befriend everyone as well as treat everyone with respect no matter what. I can thank â€Å"Sixteen Candles, Full House, The Breakfast Club, The Outsiders, and I Love Lucy† were all visual entertainment that made me who I am as well as a lot of others.

Transit Oriented Development Tod Construction Essay

Transit Oriented Development Tod Construction Essay Transit-oriented development refers to a design of the area to maximize the access to so as the use of public transport to achieve sustainable transportation, and the sustainable transportation can help achieve sustainable society as a whole. Sustainable transportation is encouraged by promoting compact development around the major public facilities, improving the pedestrian walking experience, and increasing the accessibility to the public transit. It often incorporates the features to encourage transit ridership. TOD is a strategy to deal with dense population and it is a development to integrate with the transit system. A TOD neighborhood typically has a center with a transit station or stop of public transport, such as bus stop and railway station, surrounded by relatively high-density development with progressively lower density development spreading outward from the center. (Online wikipedia, 2012) High density population with mixed land use within short distance, TOD aims that people can access to place more easily with shorter time which would require less vehicle travel, save energy and emit less pollutants. Planning for compact growth of an area, rather than letting it sprawl out, has the potential to greatly increase the quality of the environment. It prevents problems of traffic congestion and the environmental degradation associated with urban sprawl. TOD contains specific features that are designed to encourage public transport use and differentiate the development from urban sprawl. Examples of these features include (Renne, 2009) the neighborhood is designed for cycling and walking, with adequate facilities and attractive street conditions. The streets have good connectivity and tracffic calming features to control vehicle traffic speeds, such as narrow streets. Mixed-use development is found that includes shops, schools and other public services, and a variety of housing types and prices, within each neighborhood. Efficient parking management to reduce the amount of land devoted to parking compared with conventional development and to take advantage of the parking cost savings associated with reduced automobile use. Transit stops and stations are convenient, comfortable and secure. (New urbanism) Implementation As discussed by Newman (2009), some strategic planning frameworks are needed as a set of policy tools to help implementing TOD. He suggests four strategic planning tools (Newman, in Curtis, 2009, p. 13): 1. A strategic policy framework that asserts where centers need to occur and at what kind of density and mix; 2. A strategic policy framework that links centers with a rapid transit base, almost invariably electric rail; 3. A statutory planning base that requires development to occur at the necessary density and design in each center, preferably facilitated by a specialized development agency, and 4. A public-private funding mechanism that enables the transit and the TOD to be built or refurbished through a linkage between the transit and the centers it will service. An area is created based on a set of urban design standard and zoning guidelines with a dense population and transit system. Increasingly, regional planning techniques are being used to control and shape of growth into compact, high-density, mixed-use neighborhoods, villages, towns, and cities, forming a hierarchy. Compact development provides sufficient population and demand to support transit system with a dense network coverage. TODs generally are located within a radius of 400-800 meters or up to 15-minute walk from a transit stop, it increases the location efficiency so people can walk and bike to take transit as it is considered as an appropriate scale for pedestrians. By improving the pedestrian walking experience and increasing the accessibility to the public transit, more people will take public transit and reduce the flow of automobiles. The area becomes an attractive and cohesive mixed-use area with commercial, retail and residential uses as self-sustaining. Many cities have faced the challenges of getting the right residential density because the density tends to be very low. Especially in the North America where people often rely on driving vehicles as their main transport mode, the higher-density residential development near transit system can limits the negative impacts to the environment. But TOD is suitable in Hong Kong, given the high density of population, it is able to support the development in transit system and develop the transit network into a comprehensive coverage with high accessibility. Hong Kong as an example of TOD Hong Kong has a total land area of 1098km2 and a population of 7 million in 2012. (Census Statistics Department, 2012) The land supply is scarce and residential use is dense. Worse still, large proportion of the land is hilly. While a certain portion of the land has been designated as country parks and catchment areas for reservoirs, much of the land are not feasible for development. With the rapid economic development, urban area in Hong Kong expands in a uncontrollable manner to the countryside which can be regarded as urban sprawl. This has created lots of unpleasant problems. To control urban sprawl and better utilize the limited land resource in Hong Kong, new towns are developed to relocate the soaring population and design them into a self-sustaining community with mixed land use. New town development with TOD is an appropriate planning strategy to deal with the dense population in Hong Kong. In early 1970s, the government implemented the New Town Development Programme in which new towns were planned to be served by railway linking to the urban area, for example, the New Towns such as Tai Po and Fanling in Northeast served by East Railway. Since the introduction of the Third Comprehensive Transport Study in 1999, the Government began to take a proactive role in integrating land use and railway development. Railway would form the backbone of the future passenger transport network. Railway stations would synchronize with land use development and become the hubs for transport interchanges. Some places were chosen to develop into new towns as the first planning tool mentioned above. New towns are designed to house a dense population with the sufficient provision of public facilities such as schools and shopping malls, and mixed land use. The new towns are developed into densely-populated area, we can know from the figures shown in the table below. New towns Time of development Population (in persons) Population density (persons/km2) Tsuen Wan 1959 774000 32300 Sha Tin 1973 630000 18000 Tuen Mun 1973 488500 25710 Tseung Kwan O 1982 350000 34800 Tin Shui Wai 1987 270000 63000 The buildings in new town are high rise and constitute a number of estates to concentrate the people, so stops and stations can be built to link them up and for more efficient transport. The housing estates are in various types, including public housing, private housing and so on at different price as choices to the residents. Cycling and walking lane are designed to improve the pedestrian experience and increase the accessibility to the public transit. Mixed land use with public facilities are developed based on the threshold of the goods and services to provide, many lower order goods and services can be found to make new towns self-maintaining, such as daily necessities and primary and secondary education. For example, Tin Shui Wai is a new town with many high rise buildings to house a very high density of population with the transit system of light railway among itself, Tuen Mun and Yuen Long, and West railway connected to urban areas. For the second planning tool, the area is designed with a transit base. The compact growth of new towns can support every station of railway system and develop as a TOD neighborhood. Each new town is accessible nowadays by different lines in mass transit system. http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/getting_around/images/MTR_routemap_510.jpgLook at the map of MTR, we can see most of the area can be reached by taking railway. The railway network is dense and covers most of the dense populated area in Hong Kong. Populous area in daytime, Mongkok, Tsim Sha Tsui and Central, populous area in nighttime, Tin Shui wai, Tuen Mun and Shatin, all are linked by the railway system. The distance between every station is close, people can take railway to any destinations, and the walking distance from home to the stations is not long, within the radius of 15-minute walk. The development of transit system and the new towns should be synchronized, the new town development was failed in the past decades when the land use and transit development were not synchronized. Tseung Kwan O line (completed in August 2002) and Ma On Shan Rail (completed in 2004) were constructed after two areas have been densely populated, the inaccessibility hinders the development of two places. These are the examples of the lack of co-ordination between the land use development and transit system. The third and fourth tools are the development in a center is preferably facilitated by a specialized development agency or funded by public or private mechanism. It can be illustrated by the example of Taikoo Shing as one of the first successful TODs was Taikoo Shing by Swire Properties Limited (Swire). The development started in 1970s when the MTR Island Line was not yet in operation. When the Island Line started to operate in 1985 plus the opening of the East Harbour Crossing Tunnel in 1989, Swire realized the land use development is profitable from MTR system. In order to capture the impacts of mass transit system, development in Taikoo Shing has been diversifying in land use with retail, office, commercial and residential functions, and leisure amenities, such as a large shopping mall called City Plaza. As a result of the New Town Development Programme, a major railway in the New Territories has linked with the Hong Kong Island line; more housing developments including private housing grew along the major railway arteries. The closer distance to the MTR stations, the denser the residential development. And as the population increases, development also expands to meet the demand. TODs are thus well developed in Hong Kong. Benefits of TOD More intensive mixed-use development allows an increase in walking and bicycling within the neighborhood, when a transit connection is added to the mix then auto-free travel to other parts of the metropolitan area become more feasible. Less automobile use means less consumption of fossil fuels, less air pollution, and lower the spending on transportation. (Reconnecting America) When the characteristics of a particular place are recognized as supportive of lower personal transportation costs, the monetary benefits can be captured by both individuals (in the form of greater mortgage borrowing power) and the community (in the form of lower development costs stemming from reduced need to build expensive parking). In short, transit-oriented development can be a central part of a development paradigm that is more environmentally and socially sustainable, and that contributes to higher quality of life. Moreover, existing historic neighborhoods are being preserved and enhanced by the proximity of more diverse housing, shopping and entertainment choices, and the increases in traffic are minimal. Conclusion The railway transit system is under extension and Hong Kong population is surging, believing that Hong Kong is continue to develop at a fast pace. The development of TOD is beneficial to Hong Kong in the sense that sustainable transportation can be achieved.