Philosophy of Media Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Philosophy of Media Ethics - Essay Example I will also seek to dispel the notion that a conflict of interests develops between social science which is based on generalized information and natural sciences which focus on specifics. Roll-Hansen has argued that while the press is designed to provide independent opinion based on reliable information and well supported knowledge, discrepancy can be created based on political expediency. Hansen has focused on the need for basing reports on, "reliable knowledge" which he implies to be, "strongly confirmed by empirical investigations" and also corroborated by, "other well established knowledge". He also dwells on the need for complete knowledge and basing reports on the whole truth as is expected from witnesses during trials. In the second part of my exegesis I will dwell on how the specific events denoted by Hansen of acid rain and lifting the ban on whale hunting were not misrepresented by the media but were the result of relative ignorance of implications and that the biases had crept in due to external interests rather than representation of falsehood. Hansen feels that the media does not provide accurate information and tends to support public assumptions. Hansen cites two examples to support this hypothesis. The first is the alarm in Norway based on media reports of extensive damage to forests due to acid rain in Germany and Central Europe with reports of, "yellowing, loss of needles and gradual thinning of the tree crown with death ensuing". This created public alarm of, "forest death". Scientists at the Norwegian Institute for Forest Research (NISK) held that the threat of damage to forests due to acid rain supported by the minister of environment was, "over dramatized" and there was no reason to panic. A press conference organized by the NISK to provide balanced information of the case did not receive much attention as journalists felt it lacked a good story and they were, "disappointed". The danger of acid rain to Norwegian forests thus became firmly entrenched in public opinion. A book, "If Trees could Cry" was published with support from the Norwegian ministry of environment, prefaced by the minister who criticized the role of scientists at the NISK. Evidence that the damage could have occurred due to causes such as drought, untimely frost, fungi and so on was ignored. Public opinion was so strong, that NISK scientists fell silent and some even supported the theory, falling prey to opposition which was proving, "strenuous in the long run and not conducive to procuring economic support". Hansen feels that the journalists themselves were, "caught in bias producing mechanisms" and consistently ignored substantial facts. I feel that this argument over states the case that n ewspapers can form and sustain public opinion independently. The second case quoted is that of wide spread condemnation of the Norwegian government for permitting resumption of commercial hunting of minke whales in 1992. The charter of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) denotes that a balance between conservation and interest of the whaling industry should be maintained. The protests arose based on depletion of stocks and a stronger argument as per

Inequality in British Schools Essay Example for Free

Inequality in British Schools Essay The educational system is one of the most influential institutions in society as it provides young people with a vast amount of knowledge, attitudes and skills. These are acquired formally through set lessons or informally through the ‘hidden curriculum’ which provides the unofficial and unplanned consequences of school experience. Social Inequality is one of the major preoccupations of sociology. The relationship between inequality and education has been studied for many years. Although it seems obvious that educational success is simply down to an individual’s capabilities and motivation, sociological research shows that the inequalities in social class, gender and race and ethnicity have had a huge influence in the differential achievement within British schooling. The development of the educational system in Britain was first put in place to secure equal educational opportunities for all young people, however despite these efforts, sociological evidence states that not all children with the same ability achieve the same success. Some sociologists, such as Charles Murray have contended with the idea that genetic intellectual potential determines an individual’s performance in school. This idea is rejected by the conflict theorist’s as they believe social class to be one of the main factors that determine whether a child is successful at school or not, as there are major differences between the levels of achievement of those that are part of the working social class and those apart of the middle class. (Macionis. J, Plummer.K, 2008) One of the main explanations for this is material deprivation. Working class families are financially in a worse position than those of the middle class and therefore are not able to make the most of their educational opportunities. As they are living in poorer housing conditions they may not have the space at home to be able to complete their schoolwork with full concentration. The lack of financial funds means that many families will not be able to provide their children with the necessities needed to fully develop within education, for example a household computer, sports equipment, or even money for school trips. It may be financially difficult for parents on a low income to support their children in higher education as well. Although student grants have been put in place, many children avoid higher education as they worry about the debt or travel costs. It also more likely for those from a working class  background to be managing education with a part time job, such as paper rounds or shop work, this can cause conflict between the amount of time available for work and the amount of time spent on studying. (Browne. K, 2005) Research suggests that it is not only factors outside of the school that can effect achievement; there are also factors inside the school that have an impact on a child’s educational experiences. Teachers have been known to take into account things such as a child’s standard of behaviour, dress, speech and their social class and background and this reflects how teachers treat particular individuals within the classroom. Teachers are often part of the middle class and the children that share the same values and standards are likely to be seen as ‘brighter’ than those with working class values. The working class have a different focus on their values, attitudes and their lifestyle in soc iety. This often works as a barrier to the success of the working class. The blame for underachievement is often focused in the direction of the family and community. These material and cultural conditions put working class children at a disadvantage when it comes to achievement in schools. Many of these factors, which have no relation to biological potential, have contributed to the educational class divide in Britain. Sociologist Robert.K.Merton was credited for the term ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ which focuses on a teacher’s attitude towards a pupil, for example if a pupil is labelled as bright and is encouraged and praised by the teacher, the child will feel self-confident and will strive for success. On the other hand if the teacher labels a pupil as ‘un co-operative’ or from a ‘poor’ background, this can cause low self-esteem and the pupil will be likely to fail to achieve much success. The Neo Marxist’s perspective on class stratification in Britain claims that schools create a ‘false class consciousness’ so it seems that they promote equal opportunities for all, but they really reproduce a capitalist division of labour, preparing young people for class-determined careers in the labour market. Willis (1977) accepts the Marxist’s view on education being closely linked to the needs of the capitalist’s system; however he does not agree with the idea of there being a direct link between education and the economy. (Macionis. J, Plummer.K, 2008) His study found that â€Å"poorer children often grow up in environments where people see little hope of upward social mobility and rebel against the system rather than trying to  conform with in. In such an environment adults often discourage rather than encourage success at school.† (Macionis. J, Plummer.K, 2008) Social class is not the only inequality in Britain’s schooling. So ciologists have also found a link between gender and academic success. Until the late 1980’s there was high concern about the underachievement of girls. Societies had been structured to consider schooling more important for males than for females. Although the gap in gender inequality has narrowed in Britain, many women still study traditionally feminine subjects, such as literature whilst men are more likely to study subjects that are seen to be more masculine like engineering. (Macionis. J, Plummer.K, 2008) Sue Sharpe in a 1976 survey called ‘just like a girl’ discovered that the priorities of young girls were ‘love, marriage, husbands, children and then jobs and careers, more or less in that order’. When she repeated her research in 1994, she found that the order had changed to ‘having a job, career and being able to support themselves before having a family.’ (Browne. K, 2005) Weiner (1995) has argued that teachers have more forcefully challenged stereotypes since the 1980’s and sexist images have been removed from learning materials, which could be the reason for the changes in girl’s attitudes towards their own education. The increase in incentives for girls to gain qu alifications has been due to a number of reasons, one of them being the women’s movement that managed to achieve a great deal of success in challenging traditional stereotypes for women’s roles in society. Many women now look past traditional roles, such as housewives and mothers and are motivated to gain independence and to do well in their careers. Women on average work hard during their time at school and are more motivated to do well. They put more effort into their presentation as they give up more time to do their school work. (Browne. K, 2005) It is clear that there have been major changes in the gender perception of girls in Britain’s schools and the inequalities between males and females has become less and less. Although certain traditional gender perceptions exist through subject choice, females now have more equal opportunities to gain knowledge within the classroom and achieve success. However in modern day society the tables have now turned and there has been a sudden ‘moral panic’ over the underachievement of boys. (Weiner, Arnot and David 1997) Swann (1992) found that boys dominated class discussion by often acting inappropriately and interrupting, whereas girls  are known to have a more laid back attitude within the classroom and are praised for their abilities to listen and co-operate, which leads to the teacher having a more positive view to girls within the class, helping to produce the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ of girls greater achievement levels. (Holborn.M and Langley.P, 2002) Mitsos and Browne accept that boys are under-achieving and suggest that it is because men are culturally encouraged to appear macho and tough in society and these types of behaviours take place within the classroom and distract from learning. They also believe that the decline in manual work may result in the working class boys losing motivation as it is getting harder and harder to find jobs. Although these reasons seem valid, sociologists believe that more research has to be done within this area. (Holborn.M and Langley.P, 2002) More recent studies on education and gender have come away from the simple ‘differential achievement’ and now take into account a lot more processes within schools. The active role of the pupil is seen to create gender relationships and the way in which children form ideas on identities is seen to have a bigger impact. We have discussed social class and gender inequalities within Britain’s schools; however we are still to look into ethni city and race and the effects this has on differential achievement within schools. Many children from ethnic minority backgrounds tend to not do as well as other members of the population when it comes to education. Similar to the working class issues as majority of ethnic minority groups are part of the working class they face a series of disadvantages in social conditions, such as poor housing conditions and higher rates of unemployment within their home, which can cause a disadvantage in the chances of success. (Macionis. J, Plummer.K, 2008) Ethnic minorities are also at a disadvantage in school as they often suffer from isolation or racism from other pupils or are even discriminated against from teachers. Although, all schools in Britain are now legally obliged to have an anti-racist policy and teachers are now trained in equality legislation, research in secondary schools has shown conflict between white teachers and African Caribbean pupils. Stereotypes of African Caribbean young males have caused teachers to have more positive expectations of other ethnic mi nority groups, more than others. This explains the high level of black exclusions from schools and also explains why most permanent exclusions are down to disobedience of some sort, for  example pupils refusing to conform to school rules or being verbally abusive to teachers. The Labelling of certain pupils can cause them to comply with what is expected of them, for example disruptive behaviour and therefore leads to major effects on achievement. Phoenix (2001) conducted numerous studies identifying racism in schools; some suggest teachers discriminate against black and South Asian students, treating them in stereotypical ways. (Holborn.M and Langley.P, 2002) Racism can cause ethnic minorities to feel in some ways rejected from society and therefore racism within schools can cause young people to feel rejected from school as well, which can lead to prevention of achievement as individuals are not able to work to their full potential as they are not happy and comfortable in the school environment. Not all sociologists agree with the inequalities of ethnic minorities in schools. Taylor (1981) argues that the emphasis on faults in the education system should be treated with some degree of caution. Teachers do not necessarily behave in ways that reflect negative stereotypes of ethnic minority groups according to Taylor and that many teachers consider ethnic equality within schools to be of a high level of importance. (Holborn.M and Langley.P, 2002) There is enough evidence to link differential achievement with inequalities within Britain’s schools. Social class and ethnic inequalities effect the education and success of some pupils to some extent. Although, there have been developments and improvements on equality in society as a whole including educational institutions, there is still a long way to go before all individuals can be provided with equal opportunities of success. There are still clear class divisions within Britain’s schools as the working class are constantly at a disadvantage which prevents them from achieving to their full potential. Ethnic minority groups have very similar issues that need to be addressed in order for equal opportunities to evolve. However, there have been drastic changes in gender equality in schools and females and males are now being treated equally within the classroom. These changes have occurred within the whole of society as traditional gender stereotypes have been broken. These changes have had positive results as females now strive to achieve success. Referencing Browne, K., 2005. An introduction to sociology. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Polity Press Holborn, M., Langley, P., 2002. Sociology Themes and Perspectives. Fulham: Collins Macionis, J.J., Plummer, K., 2008. Sociology. 4th ed. Essex: Pearson Moore, S., Aiken, D., Chapman, S., 2006. Sociology A2. 2nd ed. Fulham: Collins Girls and Education (online) Available at: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/girls_education.htm Assessed on 07/06/2012

Flood Stories in Epic of Gilgamesh and the Genesis Flood of the Christian Bible :: Epic Gilgamesh essays

Comparison of the Flood Stories in Gilgamesh and the Bible   Ã‚   The two stories closely parallel each other, though Gilgamesh was written down before 2000 BCE and the version in Genesis was compiled ca. 400 BCE. Biblical writers probably knew of the much older myth but revised it so that it fit with their own history and worldview. They intended it to fit with their own mythology. Despite the many similarities between the two stories, this difference in intention is revealed in a number of motifs that distinguish the biblical story from the ancient myth:   Gilgamesh   Genesis   1. Flood is caused by the fickle nature of the gods We are told in 11.1 lines 14-17 that the gods who were reclining at Shuruppak, "up the constant Euphrates," sent the flood by "intent."   1. Flood is sent by God to destroy his creation, which has become corrupt and evil The humans are so wicked and evil that "it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart" (Gen. 6:6). He says,"I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth. . . " (Gen. 6:7)   2. On earth one can still find demi-gods and great heroes, like Gilgamesh This is a Golden Age, like that described by Hesiod, when heroes walked the earth and humans and gods commingled.   2. Earth once had giants and heroes, but they became part of the evil These "giants in the earth" (Gen. 6:4) were the sons of God and of the daughters of men, but they were only men of renown in the old days (Gen. 6:4). There is no Golden Age at the time of the flood. 3. One good man is saved (Utnapishtim), who obeys the god's orders to build a boat   Ea warns Utnapishtim (11.1 lns. 26ff.) to build a covered boat to save himself and the "seed of all [he'll] need" (11.1 ln. 34), to "Reject the corpse-like stench of wealth" (11.1 ln. 28) and live a charitable life of moderation. U. agrees to do this to "honor god" (l1.1 n. 39), but he will tell people he does so because Enlil hates him and he must flee by boat to where Enlil waits to kill him.

Edgar Allen Poe :: Biography

Many people label Edgar Allen Poe a horror writer, plain and simple others refer to Poe as the father of the detective story, but over all he ´s one Americas greatest writers. His ability of expressing the world in gothic ways, really captures the reader ´s attention. Even though he lead a tough life and was known as a sadistic drug addict and alcoholic, he still managed to produce great pieces of literature. Three of his greatest works were The Tell Tale heart, The Fall of the House Usher, and The Raven. All of these are very known troughout the world and are considered three of Poe ´s greatest pieces. He was born in Boston on January 19, 1809, his parents, regular members of Federal street theater, named him Edgar Poe. Shortly before his mother's death in Richmond, Virginia on December 8, 1811, his father abandoned the family. John Allen, a wealthy tobacco merchant in Richmond, brought Poe into the family (at his wife's request), and gave him the middle name Allen as a baptismal name, though he never formally adopted him. Even though Allen ´s treatment toward Poe is not exactly known, we know that Allen never treated Poe with sensitivity. In 1815, the Allen family moved to England on business. There, Poe entered the Manor-House School in Stoke-Newington, a London suburb. This school taught him the gothic architecture and historical landscape of the region made a deep imprint on his youthful imagination, which would effect his adult writings (Levin, 14). The Allens left England in June 1820, and arrived in Richmond on August 2. Here, Poe entered the English and Classical School o f Joseph H. Clarke, a graduate of Trinity College in Dublin. On February 14, 1826, Poe entered the University of Virginia. Though he spent more time gambling and drinking than studying, he won top honors in French and Latin. On May 26, 1827, Poe enlisted in the US Army under the name Edgar A. Perry. He joined Battery H of the 1st Artillery, then stationed at Fort Independence. While Poe served there, Calvin F.S. Thomas printed Poe's first book, Tamerlane and Other Poems, a slim volume, which failed to earn any fame or money. Poe then visited Baltimore, and arranged for the printing of another slim volume, entitled Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems. Then, Allen obtained an appointment for him as a cadet, so on July 1, 1830 he entered West Point Military Academy, making his residence at No.

Is Media Biased or Unbiased?

Year 1998 stuns our nation and naturally the whole world with the sensational news of the year: Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky. But there is another story linked to it. It’s about Newsweek’s Michael Isikoff who happens to be the first reporter to get hold of information on Clinton’s affair with Monica, but to his utter disappointment, even though he has evidence to his claim, his editors refuse to print his story. Somehow Matt Drudge, Internet political gossip columnist, gets hold of it and offers a package of two scoops; the Lewinsky affair and Newsweek cover up.(Grimes, Online Edition) Now the question arises why Newsweek editors refuse to expose the scandalous story of the year? Is it fear of President’s power or is there some kind of alliance with him? Is in a democratic nation like America Media is so biased? I will try to espouse the following question in context to the various media reports that has been appearing since last seven to e ight years and how the biased reporting is being openly covered by various media outlets?Eric Alterman, a cultural critic and an author of ‘What Liberal Media’, gives the answer to this question? â€Å"The current historical moment in American Journalism is hardly a happy one. Journalists trying to do honest work are finding themselves under siege from several sides simultaneously. Corporate conglomerates increasingly view journalism as â€Å"software†, valuable only insofar as it contributes to the bottom line. In the mad pursuit for audience and advertisers, the quality of the news itself becomes degraded, leading journalists to alternating fits of self-loathing and self-pity.Meanwhile, they face an administration with a commitment to secrecy unmatched in modern U.S history. And to top it all, conservative organizations and media outlets lie in wait, eager to pounce on any journalist who tries to give voice to almost any uncomfortable truth about influential A merican institutions (in other words, to behave as an honest reporter) throwing out the old but effective accusation of â€Å"liberal bias† in order to protect powerful from scrutiny†. (Alterman, Online Edition: 4)It is absolutely true if we delve into the current scenario; journalists are finding themselves under pressure from political leaders, police officials and dignitaries forcing them to churn out the news items according to their needs and aspirations.   And it is so surprising to hear that even media outlets are themselves using journalists as objects of their own desires, giving the truth but molding it into the fashion of the influential American institutions.Yet, another story that is making us ponder into the depth of bias reporting in media is the continuous statements of President Bush after September 11, 2001 attacks on World Trade Center. In his fifty minutes speech in a press conference in March 2003, he mentions fourteen times of the connection of a lQaeda and Iraq with the attacks of Sept. 11, 2003. Still no body questions him even though CIA hasn’t put forward any evidence that states any links of AlQaeda with the Iraq attacks.Brent Cunningham, a professor of Journalism, goes to the extent of saying that it appears as President himself has hinted them to write on this subject to justify his action because reporting on aftermath of war even before it occurs is difficult and speculative. (Cunningham, Online Edition) This shows journalists are being molded to meet the needs of politicians. In Oct. 2001, CNN chairman, Walter Isaacson, during a war in Afghanistan sends a memo to his foreign correspondents implicitly stating,   â€Å"to balance reports of Afghan casualties or hardship,† with reminders to viewers that this was, after all, in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept 11.† (Cunningham, Online Edition)But we should not ignore this fact also that the story, which is biased for one can be unbiased f or the other. It’s a most controversial subject in the arena of the journalism world of today because the essence and the nature of the news demand its peculiar perspective. In other words, Journalists carry the stories according to the situation and circumstances in which incidents are unfolding. If any murder has taken place, and the police gets a clue of the murderer, but its not yet proved, journalists can run the story in the following manner as for e.g. â€Å"In a day light on the streets of New Oakland, a man was found murdered.Further investigations revealed that a middle aged man Michael is supposed to be man behind this gruesome murder.† Though no concrete proof has been found out yet the name of Michael appears. The appearance of this name only in print or in electronic media can damage his reputation. But Journalists have to give what they have been told by the police or what they have seen in front of their eyes. This is just one aspect of the bias reporti ng that Journalists can go into or being alleged of having entered into but there is one another angle also of bias reporting. Liberals too are accusing media of being pro conservatives and this question has been under debate thousand times and is still being under continuous discussions.Studies conducted by Media Matters for America reveals, â€Å"Sixty percent of the nation's daily newspapers print more conservative syndicated columnists every week than progressive syndicated columnists. In a given week, nationally syndicated progressive columnists are published in newspapers with a combined total circulation of 125 million. Conservative columnists, on the other hand, are published in newspapers with a combined total circulation of more than 152 million.†(Media Matters For America, Online Edition) Many columnists or reporters have been fired or disciplined because they go ahead with their stories criticizing republicans and placing them in poor light for sake of propagandiz ing for the Democrats.Many cases have also come to light when whole program is stopped from airing because one group or party doesn’t want it to be aired. On 30th April 2004, Sinclair Broadcast Group prohibits its affiliates from airing the Nightline program in which Ted Koppel recites the names of 721 U.S. women and servicemen killed in the Iraq War. This act deprives viewers in eight cities of their right to information and the reason he gives is, â€Å"program appears to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq.† (Rothschild, Online Edition)This is one of the biggest examples of disservice to the viewers and came to be known as rightwing media bias as lamented by Democrats. Even he orders his news personnel to read patriotic statements at its Baltimore station in support of President Bush after September 11. This is all because he shares a great rapport and friendship with President Bush. In this way, they try to hide the facts from public to justify the decision of Bush to invade Iraq.Hereby, one question comes to the forefront? If we allege Media undertaking bias reporting, then is there any infringement to the right to information and right to express views? Every human being has been enshrined the right to express views and right to information in a democratic set up. If we go by this statement then no news and no views expressed by reporters shall be termed as biased but this is happening and the answer to this is simple. If any report or a story appearing in media infringes personal rights or harms some ones reputation and if some story of national interest is fulfilling the interests of any personal party or organization or person belonging to higher authoritative level is termed as Biased.In 2001, the very next day after the attacks on World Trade Center, Ann Coulter, syndicated columnist spurs out her anguish through her words â€Å"we should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity.† This is nothing else than the extreme case of bias reporting increasing the chances of religious disturbances and religious warfare. (Washington Monthly, Online edition)But all in all, everything is not bad in this world; there are several media outlets that are delivering unbiased news and views taking national interest into consideration. As Cunningham also states that, â€Å"but must mainstream reporters by and large are not ideological warriors. They are imperfect people performing a difficult job that is crucial to society.Letting them write what they know and encouraging them to dig toward some deeper understanding of thing is not biased, it is essential. Reporters should be free, as Daniel Bice says, to â€Å"call it as we see it, but not to be committed one side or the other.† Their professional values make them, Herbert Grans argues, akin reformers, and they should embrace that aspect of what they do, not hide it for fear of being slapped with a bias charge. And when actual bias seeps in–as it surely will–the self-policing the newsroom must be vigorous.† (Cunningham, Online Edition)Eric Alterman hits hard at the way reporters are filing the news and are being treated as software and are being used according to the whims of the powerful but Cunningham in a quite positive note encourages the reporters to carry on their duty without any fear and with full freedom and choice. Journalism is the noblest profession and people look at media to express their views and grievances. Media is voice of the people, by the people and for the people therefore media need to write the stories in a responsible way taking the sensitivity and the interest of the masses into view.WORKS CITEDAlterman, Eric. â€Å"What Liberal Media?† The Nation. Internet   (February 24, 2003) Available: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20030224/alterman2/4, 25 November 2007.Cunningham, Brent. â€Å"Rethinking Objective Journalism† Columbia Journalism Review July 8, 2003. Internet (2004) Available: http://www.environmentwriter.org/scienceandthenews/docs/cunningham.htm,25 November 2007.Grimes, Linda Sue. â€Å"Media Bias† bellaonline.com Internet. Available: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art32136.asp, 25 November 2007.Media Matters For America. â€Å"Black and White and Re(a)d All Over: The Conservative Advantage in Syndicated Op-Ed Columns† mediamatters.org Internet. Available: http://mediamatters.org/reports/oped/ 25 November 2007.Rothschild, Matthew. â€Å"This is Media Bias† The Progressive (Saturday, May 1, 2004) Available: http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0501-03.htm, 25 November 2007.Washington Monthly. â€Å"The Wisdom of Ann Coulter† washingtonminthly.com Internet (October 2001) Available: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0111.coulterwisdom.html,25 November 2007

Enviornment and Engineering essays

Enviornment and Engineering essays In Earth in the Balance, Vice President Al Gore said the rescue of the environment the central organizing principle for civilization. In the past 150 years, earths resources have been abused and people do not know how to deal with the effects of not treating the earth right. In Educating for the Environment: Higher Educations Challenge of the Next Century, David W. Orr states that people now being educated must learn how to take care of the planet: keep the population stabilized, deal with the diminishing ozone layer, protect natural forests, and natural resources, etc. They have to do this all at the same time while they decrease social, ethnic and racial conflicts. The young must, understand the differences between what is good for the earth and not. They must make wiser choices then the generations before. Educators should reform the schools to better teach the kids how to deal with the problems with environment. But educators still educate the young, like there is nothing wrong with the planet. People think that technology would help the environmental problems, it may, but the beginning of the problem starts in the mind of the person. It is how the person thinks and feels about the earth. So people must be taught in the mind so they would understand how to take care of the environment. It is ironic that all the colleges and universities know about all these environmental problems, and do anything about it. Why dont people with higher education teach the young as soon as possible? There are three primary reasons: 1) People think that the smallest random fact about something means nothing, but really, it is part of a really big picture. So people must be educated on these small facts about the environment. 2) Professors are scared to speak out these problems. Professors talk amongst themselves about planetary problems and dont tell students about it. ...

Important Tips For Personal Statements

Important Tips For Personal Statements As someone who has written many personal statements for college applications, I know firsthand how mind-numbing and frustrating the process can be. That is why I would like to take this opportunity offer some suggestions and writing tips for personal statements. Hopefully after reading the following paragraphs, the idea of writing a personal statement for your college of choice wont seem so intimidating. In my opinion, the most important tip for writing personal statements is to give yourself plenty of time. Allowing several weeks or even months in which to write your essay means that you can afford to take your time and compose an excellent composition. The worst thing you can do is wait until the last minute to write your personal statement. Doing so will almost guarantee frustration, disappointment, and a mediocre final product. Another excellent tip that I advise when writing your personal statement is to create many drafts. As each draft of your personal statement is most likely an improvement on the last, it cant hurt to write as many drafts as possible until you are absolutely satisfied with your paper. Then, after you feel you cannot make any more corrections, send your personal statement to a professional editor for final polishing. Although the above tips might seem elementary, committing to them will drastically improve the overall quality of your paper. If you would like some more tips for personal statements or if you would like additional information on college admissions essays, please dont hesitate to access the link provided. This link will direct you to an excellent online resource for admissions essays.

Organic (Biological) Weathering Explained

Organic (Biological) Weathering Explained Organic weathering, also called bioweathering or biological weathering, is the general name for biological processes of weathering that break down rocks. This includes the physical penetration and growth of roots and digging activities of animals (bioturbation), as well as the action of lichens and moss on various minerals.   How Organic Weathering Fits Into the Larger Geological Picture Weathering is a process by which surface rock breaks down. Erosion is a process by which weathered rock is moved by natural forces such as wind, waves, water, and ice. There are three types of weathering: Physical or mechanical weathering (for example, water gets into cracks in rock and then freezes, pushing against the rock from the inside);Chemical weathering (for example, oxygen interacts with iron in rocks, causing the iron to turn to rust and thus weakening the rock)Organic or biological weathering (for example, the roots of a tree grow into boulders in the soil and splitting the boulders apart over time) While these different types of weathering can be described as different from one another, they also work together. For example, tree roots may split boulders more easily because the rocks have been weakened as a result of chemical or physical weathering.   Plant-Related Biological Weathering Tree roots, because of their size, cause a significant amount of biological weathering. But even much smaller plant-related actions can weather rocks. For example: Weeds pushing through road surfaces or cracks in boulders can expand gaps in the rock. These gaps fill with water. When the water freezes, the roads or boulders crack. Lichen (fungi and algae living together in a symbiotic relationship) can cause a great deal of weathering. Chemicals produced by fungi can break down the minerals in rocks. Algae consume the minerals. As this process of breakdown and consumption continues, rocks start to develop holes.  As described above, holes in rocks are vulnerable to physical weathering caused by the freeze/melt cycle. Animal-Related Biological Weathering Animal interactions with rock can cause significant weathering. As with plants, animals can set the stage for further physical and chemical weathering. For example: Tiny burrowing animals secrete acids or scrape their way into rock to create rocky burrows. This process weakens the rock and actually starts the weathering process.Larger animals leave feces or urine on rock. The chemicals in animal waste can corrode minerals in rock.Larger burrowing animals shift and move rock, creating spaces where water can accumulate and freeze. Human-Related Biological Weathering Human beings have a dramatic weathering effect. Even a simple path in the woods has an impact on the soil and rocks that make up the path. Major changes affected by humans include: Construction moving, scoring, and smashing rock for construction of buildings and transportation systemsMining massive projects involve stripping entire hillsides or making major changes to or removing rock from under the surface of the EarthAgriculture in addition to moving rocks to make farming possible, human beings also change the composition of the soil through fertilization and application of herbicides.

Heroes and Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Heroes and Culture - Essay Example But the way these heroes have affected the present cultures is different. They have ignited in people the will and power to be like them and fight for their rights. Today, people imitate them and follow their ideals. Obviously, no one will go to war but people do indulge in a silent war waged through the ideals of their heroes and proper channeling of plans. Today, heroes inspire people to bring about a desired change and fight against terrorism to save mankind. The name of the hero, Beowulf, is accepted as the title of a poem, originally untitled. The greatest surviving old English poem, in a volume of the Cottonian collection now placed in the British museum, London, known as Vitellius A XV. Beowulf a warrior at heart was a young nobleman of Geatas. (a people who lived in southern Sweden}.The main deeds of his bravery depict court life, social and moral problems of the layman. The legendary Geatish Hero killed two super natural demons, Grendel and Grendel's mother, who in human form, were terrorizing the court of Hrothgar, a Danish monarch. The other event depicts the killing of a dragon that was guarding a treasure since three hundred years. He died himself while pursuing this noble deed since Beowulf belonged to the inherited Germanic heroic traditions. ... The ethical values he transpired are manifest by the Germanic code of loyalty to the chief and tribe and vengeance to enemies. The critics see Beowulf as the champion of goodness and light against the forces of evil darkness. His sacrificial death is not seen as tragic but as a fitting end of a great hero's life. Role he played in inspiring others to imitate him Beowulf has inspired heroes in laymen to sacrifice for their people and to gain earthly joy. He has inspired goodness in many and also the common man to wake up from their deep slumber and take a stand. He has inspired heroes in a nation of the then cowardly people. Today, in the 21st century the age old tale has once again brought into light since Beowulf is now an epic movie about to be released soon. The legend has come alive and will inspire many yet again. Wolverine Wolverine is a fictional character and a superhero created by writer Len Wein, artist John Romita and illustrator Herb Trimpe. Recently, the character of Wolverine was refreshed by the movie X-men's writer Chris Claremont. Wolverine's catch phrase describes his character best; "I'm the best there is at what I do, but what I do isn't very nice." Wloverine is a mutant with animal keen senses and incrdible physical capabilities. He has the power to recover from his wounds supernaturally. Using the Weapon X with the indestructible metal alloy adamantium, Wolverine has long razor sharp nails. He is a master at martial arts as well. Deeds Wolverine has a long confusing history but the character gained limelight when it was included in the popular X-men series. He is a super hero who kills evil and especially goes against authoirty of all kinds. His deeds basically depict cunningness, sharpness, quickness and fearlessnes. These qualities

Fitness Tracking Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fitness Tracking Study - Essay Example   As a person goes throughout their daily activities, the Fitbit logs this information. It logs data such as the estimated calories burned, the number of steps covered (distance covered), and the duration of sleep of its user. Many scientific studies have been done to ascertain the reliability and accuracy of the Fitbit. Mikel (2014) opines that the Fitbit was highly accurate in determining the number of steps taken by an individual.   However, Fitbit is not accurate when determining and measuring the distance covered.   Furthermore, it is not reliable in counting a number of calories burned.Each student in the fitness tracking study was required to collect data over a four-day period. The period of collection of data was not concurrent. The students were to collect data on the activity and food, which included continuing with their normal diet, free living and conducting a specified exercise treatment condition.   The data obtained by each and group was compared to the class data. The self-assessment aspect of this study interests me the most. My interest is peaked due to the opportunity of calculating one's overall health fitness.   Materials and Methods  The fitness tracking study follows a precise procedure to come up with data and figures from the Fitbit. The first step of the study begins with students wearing the Fitbit for four days in a twenty-four-hour cycle. The students log their food intake and sleep schedule in the databases.

How technolgy and information system asserts commercial and industrial Essay

How technolgy and information system asserts commercial and industrial trade - Essay Example technologies and how these in unison with each other form the rationale for the exact basis of the changing business trends, ever so often adopted fads and so on and so forth. (Fitzgerald, 2000) It is quite possible to think of the changing technological regimes in the context of present day business scenarios but when one looks at them from a global standpoint, the ideology related with the technological market can be nothing else but considered flawed in the real sense of the word. For this not to happen, one needs to study the technological angles that are set in individual countries and then categorize them with the regional or on a broader context, continental basis. After this has happened, one could go on and introduce the respective technology on a worldwide footing. All this needs proper understanding of business insights, foreseeable changes in the related scheme of things and a general know-how with regards to the strategies, tactics and activities that an industrial trade or commerce entity would entail whilst keeping in mind the entire business perspective. Technology is advancing at a rapid speed and due to this factor, the business perspectives need to be aligned with these regimes so that in the end there is a complete mesh between the technological advancements and the manner in which they are exploited upon by the commerce and industrial circles, both at the client side as well as the ones who are designing for it, i.e., the advertising agency. (Streeter, 2000) The changes have happened not only on the scientific advancements’ side but also at the forefront of business scenarios which have seemingly changed their stance towar ds the improved and enhanced technologies with the passage of time. However this requires a special effort from the people who are at the helm of affairs within the commerce and industrial circles relating that with the technological settings since this aligning is so very vital to the overall effect and the consequences

Check fax Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Check fax - Essay Example the commodities produced are alike and because of this cause there is Promotion, marketing or publicity. Though it is not possible for a firm to be perfect model of perfect competition but there are some that are nearer for example; Stock Market, as there are lots of purchasers and vendors, no obstructions to entry and the good is not differentiated. (Mahanty, p. 264) There is absolute sovereignty of admission of new firms into the Market. Firms already operating in the market are not capable to prevent new firms enter the business. Starting a business takes time, therefore freedom of entry concerns in the long run. An extension of this assumption is that there is complete factor mobility in the long run. If earnings are elevated than somewhere else, resources will be liberally attracted into that business. Similarly if wages are elevated than for comparable labor somewhere else, employees will liberally shift into that business and will face no hurdles. (Schnaars, p. 31) If the firm’s average cost (AC) curve (which incorporates normal profit) hangs beneath the firm’s average revenue (AR) curve, the firm will make abnormal profit. Abnormal profit for each unit at Q1 is the vertical gap amid AR and AC at Q1. Entire abnormal profit is shown by the rectangle P1ABC in Figure 1.1. There is also a situation when the firm cannot earn a profit at any level of production. This condition would arise if the firms AC curve were on top of the AR curve at each and every point. This is shown in figure 1.2, where the industry price is P2.In this situation, the position where MC curve intersects MR curve signifies the loss minimizing position .The total of loss is represented by the rectangle P2FED. (Parkin, p. 240) Pricing with no market control (perfect competition) is resolute in the industry (Market) by the meeting point of supply and demand. At this price the firm countenances a flat

Public Realtions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Public Realtions - Essay Example In case of any issues arising, the businesses have to ensure that the specialists are using their expert knowledge and skills of communications to deal with the stakeholders to maintain the healthy relationships. Usually the need for specialists arises when businesses go through controversial issues (Travis, 2013). McDonalds is a multinational fast food restaurant and apparently the world’s largest hamburger sellers. McDonalds operate in more than 119 countries and serve up to 68 million customers every day. A survey of their recipes in 2004 in United States showed that they use trans-fat, artificial sweeteners and petro chemicals in their products. This was a controversial issue since it said to harm the lives of the customers. Trans-fat is used to enhance the taste of their meals and make it addicting for the customer so that he spends more money on McDonald meals. The food containing trans-fat can damage DNA, arteries, bad cholesterol and raises the risk of coronary heart d iseases. This issue was a major reason why McDonalds sales and market image was affected. Many controversies still exist today and campaigns are done to ban products that include trans-fat. Moreover, the United States governments started many campaigns in 2004 and 2005 demanding the fast food restaurants to reduce the use of trans-fats in their products and stop risking the lives of customers. By the 2007, many of the state governments had signed the regulation for the ban of trans-fats and made it a law to cease the products made in trans-fat oil. This issue had major implications on the organization and the society at large (Sriramesh, 2003). Due to the campaigns about trans-fats, many people in the United States had started knowing about the harms that trans-fat is likely to cause to the health. Thus, having revealed that McDonalds uses trans-fats in their products, the customers were furious and the organization delivered a negative image that they had to control before it hit t heir sales and profits. Since trans-fats were used in products which were consumed by the customers, they were the stakeholders largely affected by this issue. Because of this many customers stopped eating McDonalds and shifted to other competitive brands. McDonalds would not only lose their customers to their competitors, but also suffer loss in sales revenue and profits (Kincheloe, 2002). The implications of this issue to the other stakeholders would also be great. Since the market value and business image will be affected, many of the investors would refuse to invest in the business which is likely to go into losses because of this controversial issue. Moreover, the suppliers would also focus on other profitable organizations to supply their goods. The employees are an important part of the business and it is wrong to say that they would not be affected by this issue. The employees will be affected in an indirect way. Since this issue involves the government regulations, the empl oyee’s jobs would be threatened and insecure. Working in an organization undergoing an ethical controversy can also have a bad impact on the career of the employee. Most employees would avoid working in such an organization. It is at this time when the business needs its specialized managers and experts to deal with the stakeholders in order to retain their trust in the business. Usually a large scale business such as McDonalds would

Check fax Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Check fax - Essay Example the commodities produced are alike and because of this cause there is Promotion, marketing or publicity. Though it is not possible for a firm to be perfect model of perfect competition but there are some that are nearer for example; Stock Market, as there are lots of purchasers and vendors, no obstructions to entry and the good is not differentiated. (Mahanty, p. 264) There is absolute sovereignty of admission of new firms into the Market. Firms already operating in the market are not capable to prevent new firms enter the business. Starting a business takes time, therefore freedom of entry concerns in the long run. An extension of this assumption is that there is complete factor mobility in the long run. If earnings are elevated than somewhere else, resources will be liberally attracted into that business. Similarly if wages are elevated than for comparable labor somewhere else, employees will liberally shift into that business and will face no hurdles. (Schnaars, p. 31) If the firm’s average cost (AC) curve (which incorporates normal profit) hangs beneath the firm’s average revenue (AR) curve, the firm will make abnormal profit. Abnormal profit for each unit at Q1 is the vertical gap amid AR and AC at Q1. Entire abnormal profit is shown by the rectangle P1ABC in Figure 1.1. There is also a situation when the firm cannot earn a profit at any level of production. This condition would arise if the firms AC curve were on top of the AR curve at each and every point. This is shown in figure 1.2, where the industry price is P2.In this situation, the position where MC curve intersects MR curve signifies the loss minimizing position .The total of loss is represented by the rectangle P2FED. (Parkin, p. 240) Pricing with no market control (perfect competition) is resolute in the industry (Market) by the meeting point of supply and demand. At this price the firm countenances a flat

Museum Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Museum Paper - Essay Example There are various writings on the coffin that indicate of the mummy’s social identity as a fertility god. The major aspect of the writing is the prayer that ensures that Irethorrou is supposed to receive meals that entail of â€Å"good and pure things† to achieve its eternity. The lineage of Irethorrou is outlined on the coffin, and tis includes of the Akhimim city. Based on the information written on the coffin, we note that Irethorrou was a wardrobe-priest, responsible for caring for the god’s statue. This means that the Egyptians purified the statue, cleaned it adnd clothed it on a daily schedule. The major aim of Irethorrou was to specialize in fumeal rituals, since he was a servant of the funerary duty Osiris-Sokar. The mummy boy is wrapped in linen and it has amulets made of stones. They are positioned strategically at crucial points on the swaddling linen. It is important to note that the positioning of the amulets in the linen layer close to the body is described to posses’ magical effects that are connected to the Egyptian belief in resurrection. The amulets are placed on the Mummy in a manner that enables individuals to realize the traditions associated with the treatment of the head. These aim at reawakening and reanimating the body. We note that there are amulets placed on the right eye of Irethorrou, and they have direct associations with the atef god. The deities are situated together with a belief that they will work in a speeded and secure manner to ensure that Irethorrou resurrects. However, we note that the life and death of Irethorrou is not indicated however, it is estimated that the mummy lived to be around forty to fifty years. The cause of his death is not identified although various bumps on its back skin characterize the infection of a deadly disease. The Cantor Arts Center is an art collection center that entails of different works from the entire globe. The collections usually

America’s cause Essay Example for Free

America’s cause Essay But he calmly proceeded to act his part, pretending not the least bothered by the gut-wrenching ride over a swirling sea. The following day he received this message from the Navy Department: â€Å"Dear Mr. Wayne- we are pleased to record this latest addition to naval lore. To the immortal expression, ‘damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead,’ we now add your own memorable words, ‘get me out of this son of a bitch! ’†(Wayne168-169). Wayne spoke the American language well. Once, asked by a reporter about his rumored plan to run for president, Wayne said, â€Å"Bullshit. † When asked to give a definite comment, Wayne told him to use the word. The following day, this news item appeared: â€Å"When Mr. Wayne was questioned about the possibility of running for national office, he replied ‘Bt! †(Wayne 162). Americans responded to John Wayne in a manner different from other stars of his generation. Other actors simply shed off their screen personae after the lights went off; not so Wayne. Although little was written about his private life (marriage, romantic affairs) until after his death, his public life was an open book that maintained and reinforced the John Wayne mystique. He was a natural treasure who was loved and respected. In 1979 he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. In 1998, an Army RAH-66 helicopter was named â€Å"Duke† in his honor. He wore a POW bracelet to show his sympathy with the fighting men in Viet Nam. Speaking extemporaneously before a subcommittee hearing in connection with the bill for the Congressional Gold Medal, Maureen O’Hara Blair, Wayne’s co-star in The Quiet Man, spoke for Wayne: â€Å"He is, believe me, the United States of America. He is a man that has a code of beliefs that he sticks with. He believes in individual responsibility and honor. † Said Reagan of Wayne: I never saw Duke display hatred toward those who scorned him. Oh, he could use some pretty salty language, but he would not tolerate pettiness and hate. He was human all right: he drank enough whiskey to float a PT boat, though he never drank on the job. . . he was virtually always the first to arrive on the set and the last to leave. World War II helped to define what John Wayne stood for. Unable to join the Navy due to an old football injury, his age (34), and being a father of four, Wayne did his part in the war by making movies about America’s fighting men. He appeared minus his horse and six-shooter in memorable films like the Fighting Seabees, Flying Tigers, Reunion in France, They Were Expendable, and Back to Bataan. The 1949 film Sands of Iwo Jima earned Wayne his first Oscar nomination. These films did not have the nauseating gore and graphic violence of present-day war movies, but they exalted the heroism of ordinary men, and people related to them well. Wayne had made it a point not to accept any role that was un-American or tended to denigrate the United States or the American tradition. At a time when he was nearly bankrupt, Wayne bankrolled, starred in, and directed the epic The Alamo, which had been his dream project of many years. In it, playing the role of Davy Crockett, he described the defenders’ role as they waited for the approaching battle with Santa Anna: â€Å"There’s right and there’s wrong. You got to do one or the other. You do the one and you’re living. You do the other and you may be walking around, but you’re as dead as a beaver hat. † As Crockett, he voiced out the timeless yearning of the Texans for independence: â€Å"It means people can live free, talk free, go or come, buy or sell, be drunk or sober, however they choose. † John Wayne did not win on Oscar for The Alamo (except for Best Sound) although it received six nominations, but people came in droves to see the movie. Besides his classic westerns and war pictures, The Alamo is one of his lasting legacies. John Wayne is often equated with conservatism. He was the product of an age when Americans were proud of their heritage, conscious of their country’s new role as a world power and sincerely believed in the righteousness of America’s cause. He was born when Theodore Roosevelt was president, a man who believed in Manifest Destiny and was wont to â€Å"speak softly, but carry a big stick. † Wayne belonged to a generation yet untouched by pangs of national self-doubt, unstricken by remorse over purported wrongs committed by the white man against the natives, the blacks, the Vietnamese, the American youth who were being sent to die in remote battlefields. This was the turbulent 60’s, an age when young Americans were seduced by flower power, discovered new ideologies, adopted a libertarian attitude and opposed any kind of war. In a nation divided by war, John Wayne was seemingly a lonely figure as young Americans felt shame for everything America ever did in the course of her ascent to world dominance. A friend of Senators Barry Goldwater and Joe McCarthy, and former President Ronald Reagan, John Wayne was Republican to the core. Against the weakening of American resolve, John Wayne’s tenacious adherence to the American tradition of duty and honor could only be seen as naivete – sprung from the good guy–bad guy scenarios in his celluloid world. From the 40’s to the 60’s, the Left made inroads in school campuses where teach-ins became common, swaying many of the youth to the new ideology, and threatening to undermine the foundations of the country’s democratic system. Due to its potentials for propaganda, the movie industry was targeted and there were rumors that some Hollywood figures had embraced socialism. In 1944, Wayne helped found the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, in the company of other giants like Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Walt Disney, and Robert Taylor. He later became president of the association for two terms. He was outspoken against the communist threat. He was mistaken for an archconservative and accused of blackballing movie personalities who refused to cooperate in Congressional hearings, although he never testified, nor did he blackball anybody (Wayne 55). His being perceived as a staunch anti-communist even gave rise to rumors that the late Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin plotted to have him murdered (Soviet Dictator).

The Importance Of Capital Gearing Finance Essay

The Importance Of Capital Gearing Finance Essay Financing and investment are two major decision areas for a company. In the financial decision, the company concerns with determining the best capital structure. There are only two ways that a business can raise money debt or equity. With the right option, the business can minimize its cost and maximize company value. Bos and Fetherston (1993) described that determining debt and equity is an important financial decision faced by companies. The relationship between debt and equity is considered as capital gearing. Hence, in this report, the gearing ratio and its influence to WACC, company value and shareholder wealth will be assessed through the two major theories. Capital Gearing Capital gearing is a term describing the relationship between debt funding and equity funding in a company (Financial Management, 2007). The simplest formula for gearing ratio = (%) For example, ABC Ltd has  £1,000 of debt and  £2,500 of total assets. Thus, capital gearing of this company is: = 40% According to NGFL Wales Business Studies (2009), a company with high gearing is the one who has most of the funding coming from borrowing. It leads to reduced profits available to shareholders because of the increase in interest rate. Moreover, if interest rate increases, the financial costs of business will also go up, thereby total costs of business will rise. However, if a company has a high gearing, it is not really a bad thing. The company may need more money for their expansion activities, taking the opportunity to invest by borrowing at low rates. By using capital from borrowing, the company can take advantage of tax shields. A company with low gearing is the one who has most of the funding coming from investment of shareholders. It proves that the company is developing through reinvestment of profits, minimizing risk (NGFL Wales Business Studies, 2009). For example, in 2009, Apple Inc had Total debt/equity also known as gearing ratio at 0% (ADVFN, 2010). However, low gearing may indicate that the company is not aggressive enough to survive, and may not be seeking opportunities for growth (Pham, 2009). Thus, according to Accounting for Management (n.d.), the importance level of capital gearing is subject to various views. Effects upon WACC, company value and shareholder wealth Debt and equity Debt and equity are the two major sources of funds for a company. So, using of debt and equity proportions are the measurement tools for capital structure. (Glen and Pinto, 1998) In fact, cost of debt is generally less expensive than cost of equity. Nemethy (2010) provided two major reasons for that. Firstly, debt is a secured loan, which may be seized by the lender when the borrower cannot payment their loans. Meanwhile, equity is an unsecured loan because the shareholder cannot seize anything, they only have the right to vote at a shareholders meeting. Thus, an unsecured loan has to a higher interest rate than a secured loan. In other words, cost of equity is expensive than cost of debt. Secondly, Nemethy (2010) said that when the company issues debt in the form of bonds, they pay interest out to their investors, this interest has to be deducted by taxation. It is also called the debt tax shield. Conversely, when the company issues equity, they pay out dividends. These dividends represent corporate income, and they are subject to double taxation: one time by corporation and another time by shareholders. Thereby, the cost of debt is less than the cost of equity. With the two major reasons above, virtually all companies prefer to use debt than equity. However, the increase of debt leads to the increase of risks because when the company borrows money, they would be dependent on the lenders. UoS (2007) stated that a highly geared company may also experience difficulties in attracting fund from investors, who are not attracted by the risks involved in a high-geared company. At that time, the market price of the companys shares will fall. So, the company should choose debt or equity, and the influence of capital gearing to WACC, company value and shareholder wealth. We will assess this problem based on the two theories. The traditional view Modigliani and Miller The traditional view The traditional view of capital structure theory, based on observation and intuition, suggests that an optimum capital structure exists (Cornelius, 2002). In other words, the capital structure of a company has effected on the cost of capital. The more debt in the capital structure of a company, the lower of WACC is. The weighted-average cost of capital (WACC) represents the overall cost of capital for a company, incorporating the costs of equity, debt and preference share capital, weighted according to the proportion of each source of finance within the business (Cornelius, 2002). The formula to calculate WACC: WACC = [ x ] + [ x ] For example, a company has an issued share capital of 1,000 ordinary  £1 shares. The company wants to buy two machines with the price of a machine as  £1,000. As mentioned above, cost of debt is generally less expensive than cost of equity, so, we can assume that cost of debt = 15% and cost of equity = 20%. To buy two machines, the company needs to have  £1,000 for the second machine. There are two options for the company. Option 1: Issuing share (ungeared company) It means that the company will have 2,000 shares in total with  £1 per share. â‚ ¬Ã‚ ¢ Total equity = 2,000 x  £1 =  £2,000 = Total assets = 0% = 20% x = 20% Option 2: Borrowing (geared company) In this option, the company has  £1,000 from initial issuing shares and  £1,000 from borrowing with 15% of interest. â‚ ¬Ã‚ ¢ Total debt = Total equity =  £1,000 Total assets = Total debt + Total equity = 1,000 + 1,000 =  £2,000 = = 0.5 or 50% = [15% x ] + [20% x ] = 0.075 + 0.1 = 0.175 or 17.5% It is clear that when the gearing capital of a company increases, its WACC will decrease. According to Watson and Head (2006), the market value of a company is equal to the present value of its future cash flows discounted by its WACC. Market value of a company = Thus, when WACC of the company decreases, assuming that other factors are constant, the market value of the company increases, in other words, the company value and shareholder wealth increase. The traditional view is usually represented as follows. According to UoS (2007), from all equity financing, WACC first declines because debt financing is cheaper. At higher level of debt (beyond X), cost of equity increases because of higher risks out weights the advantage of cheaper debt financing. Hence after X, the WACC will rise. X will be the optimal debt ratio, where the company will minimize its cost of capital and the company value is maximized. In conclusion, gearing capital is very important because it effects to WACC, company value and shareholder wealth of a company. Modigliani and Miller view In 1958, American academics France Modigliani and Merton Miller (MM), presented a radically different view of capital structure theory. They demonstrated that two companies with identical investments would have the same value, regardless of their gearing capital (Cornelius, 2002). As a result, there is no optimal capital structure for a company. MMs propositions can be presented as follows. MMs proposition (without tax) UoS (2007, p.274) argued that with the same size and the same level of business risks of two companies: one company was ungeared company, another one was geared company. The value of an ungeared company equals value of equity in an identical geared company plus value of borrowings in an identical geared company. Therefore, the only factors that influence the value of a company are risk and return. Returns required by shareholders as reward for risk, , will increase at a constant rate as gearing increases due to the perceived increased financial risk. The rising would exactly offset the benefit of the additional cheaper debt in order for the WACC to remain constant. Lenders have security for their debt so they will not feel at risk whatever the level of gearing; therefore, is constant (ACCA F9 Financial Management: Study Text, 2009). This can be shown as a graph. The WACC, the total value of the company and shareholder wealth are constant and unaffected by gearing levels. No optimal capital structure exists. For instance, there are two companies with the same size and the same level of business risk: one company was ungeared company, another one was geared company. One machine got back  £200 profit yearly. The data of the two companies as follows. Ungeared Company Geared Company Share capital  £1,000  £1,000 Debt  £1,000 Machines 1 2 EPS at  £200 profit level 0.20p 0.25p If the investor in an ungeared company borrows  £1,000 at 15% interest, after buying the second machine, that company has the profit =  £200 x 2 =  £400. â‚ ¬Ã‚ ¢ EPS = = 0.4 p After receiving dividends from ungeared company, that investor has to pay interest for the lender with 15% interest per  £1. Hence, the actual return that investor can receive = 0.4 [15% x 1] = 0.25 p. This is the same return as that expected by shareholder in geared company and it had been created entirely by the ungeared shareholder. Therefore, in this proposition, capital gearing does not effect to the WACC, company value and shareholder wealth. MMs proposition (with tax) Because interest is tax-deductible, the use of debt finance gives rise to a tax saving (Cornelius, 2002). In 1963, MM developed a second version to take account of taxation. MM argued that the value of a geared company was the value of ungeared company plus the present value of any tax shield generated by using debt finance. = + T With:: The value of geared company : The value of ungeared company : The market value of debt T: Corporate tax rate With tax, MM view can be represented as below. According to ACCA F9FM (2009, p.1111), remains constant whatever the level of gearing. Likely as MMs proposition without tax, increases as gearing levels increase to reflect additional perceived financial risk. Because interest on debt is tax-deductible, WACC will fall when gearing increases. And: = x [1 ] = + (1 T) ( ) : cost of equity in an ungeared company : cost of equity in a geared company : cost of debt , : market value of debt and equity in the geared company T: corporate tax rate For example, considering two companies, one ungeared and another geared, both of the same size and level of business risk. Ungeared Company Geared Company  £  £ EBIT 1,000 1,000 Interest (200) PBT 1,000 800 Corporation Tax @25% (250) (200) Dividends 750 600 Returns to the investors Equity 750 600 Debt 200 750 800 Suppose that the business risk of the two companies requires a return of 10% and the return required by the debt holders in geared company is 5%, locking at the table above, tax relief on debt interest (also known as tax shield) in geared company = 800 750 =  £50 For ungeared company Market value of ungeared company will be the market value of equity. It will be the dividend capitalized at the equity holders required rate of return. = 750/0.1 =  £7,500 = 10% For geared company Market value of the equity of geared company is determined by the equity shareholders analysis of their net operating income into its constituent parts and the capitalization of those elements at appropriate rates = [ ] = ] =  £4,500 Market value of debt is determined by the debt holders capitalizing their interest at their required rate of return. = =  £4,000 â‚ ¬Ã‚ ¢ Total market value of geared company = 4,500 + 4,000 =  £8,500 According to MMs proposition with tax, it has: = + T = 7,500 + (4,000 x 25%) =  £8,500 Cost of equity in a geared company: = = = 13.33% = 5% x (1 25%) = 3.75% â‚ ¬Ã‚ ¢ = 13.33% x + 3.75% x = 8.82% According to MMs proposition: = x [1 ] = 10% x [1 ] = 8.82% And = + (1 T) ( ) = 10% + (1 25%) (10% 5%) (4,000/4,500) = 13.33% as per the dividend valuation model above. Thus, under MM theory with tax, there is an optimal gearing level at 100% debt in the capital structure. This is not true in practice because companies do not gear up to 100%. In his research, Cornelius (2002) argued that, in the real world, companies do not raise their gearing ratios to such extreme levels because the high levels of gearing may lead to higher risk of liquidation. Hence, for this proposition, there is no optimal gearing structure, in other words, WACC, company value and shareholder wealth do not depend on the level of capital gearing. The drawback of the two theories According to UoS (2007), both of the two theories may seem to be based on unrealistic assumptions. For traditional view, they ignored taxation, companies have complete choice between debt equity finance, and can change this decision quickly and without cost. It is impossible in the real world. The company could change their decision but it has cost and not quickly. For MM, it was built with assumptions that no transaction costs and individuals or corporations can borrow money at the same rate. In fact, individuals and companies cannot borrow at the same rate, since companies usually have a higher credit rating. Therefore, personal debt usually costs more than corporate debt and is riskier. Moreover, the theory does not mention the issue of bankruptcy costs and other agency costs, as well as personal income tax. Conclusion In conclusion, according to traditional view, gearing capital is very important because the changing of gear may lead to changes of WACC as well as company value and shareholder wealth. If gearing capital increases, WACC will fall. It leads to the increase of profits, in other words, company value will increases. Theoretically, there is an optimal capital structure, in which, the company will minimize its cost of capital and the company value is maximized. In fact, it hasnt found an optimal capital structure yet. Conversely, based on MM theory, it argued that the two companies with the same size and the same level of business risk would have the same value. It does not depend on their gearing. In other words, the level of capital gearing is not quite important for WACC, company value and shareholder wealth. Part B: Explain then critically compare and contrast two investment appraisal techniques indicating their merits and limitations in aiding the sound financial management of a company Introduction Nowadays, investing is very important for a company to survive. According to UoS (2007, p.63) an investment involves the outflow of cash at a point in time in order to obtain benefits in the future. Companies make these investment decisions in order to increase the value of the firm and maximizing shareholders wealth. However, funds are limited, thereby, companies cannot invest in all projects, they must choose between alternative investments. There are four commonly techniques for appraising capital investment projects. Payback Accounting rate of return (ARR) Net present value (NPV) also known as Discounted Cash Flow or DCF Internal rate of return (IRR) also known as Discounted Cash Flow technique In this report, we will look at payback and NPV as two investment appraisal techniques to find out how they can inform future projects, their merits and limitations, and which technique the company would prefer. Explanation of two investment appraisal techniques Payback Payback is the number of years required to recover the original cash flow outlay investment in a project (Brealey, Myers and Marcus, 2001). If the cash flows are constant, the formula is: Payback period = If the cash flows are not constant, the calculation must be in cumulative form. The payback is a commonly used method of evaluating investment proposals. Among alternative investments, the company should decide to invest in the project which payback period is shorter, in other words, this is a project which can recover the initial investment quicker (Ross et al., 2007). For example, ABC Ltd has two projects A and B which cash flows as follows. Year Cash flows from Project A ( £) Cash flows from Project B ( £) 0 (100,000) (100,000) 1 10,000 20,000 2 30,000 20,000 3 40,000 30,000 4 20,000 20,000 5 30,000 50,000 Using cumulative form, we have: Year Cash flows from Project A ( £) Cumulative ( £) Cash flows from Project B ( £) Cumulative ( £) 0 (100,000) (100,000) 1 10,000 (90,000) 20,000 (80,000) 2 30,000 (60,000) 20,000 (60,000) 3 40,000 (20,000) 30,000 (30,000) 4 20,000 0 20,000 (10,000) 5 30,000 30,000 50,000 40,000 It is clearly that after 4 years, project A has recovered all original investment and it will begin making the profit for the company from the firth year, so payback period of project A is 4 years. As for project B, after 5 years, the original investment has recovered and it also generates  £40,000 of profits, so the payback period of this project is: Payback period of project B = 4 + = 4.2 years Thus, following the rule of payback period method, ABC Ltd should invest into project A because payback period of project A is shorter than project B. It means that the company can recover the original investment quicker if they decide to invest into project A. Net present value (NPV) Based on Professional Management Education (2010), The net present value (NPV) method is the classic economic method of evaluating the investment proposals. It is discounted cash flow technique that explicitly recognizes the time value of money. It correctly postulates that cash flows arising at different time periods differ in value and are comparable only when their equivalents present values are found out. The formula to calculate NPV is: NPV = Initial Investment + = Initial Investment + With r is the rate of interest It should be made clear that the acceptance rule using the net present value (NPV) method is to accept the investment project if NPV is positive, to reject it if NPV is negative and consider accepting the project when NPV is zero. For instance, using the same data with example above, in additional, the original proposal of ABC Ltd uses a discount rate of 10%. Using discounted cash flow technique to the present value, we have: Year Cash flows from Project A ( £) Present value ( £) Cash flows from Project B ( £) Present value ( £) 0 (100,000) (100,000) (100,000) (100,000) 1 10,000 9,091 20,000 18,182 2 30,000 24,793 20,000 16,529 3 40,000 30,052 30,000 22,539 4 20,000 13,660 20,000 13,660 5 30,000 18,628 50,000 31,046 NPV NPV (A) = -3,776 NPV (B) = 1,956 > 0 Because NPV of project A is negative and that of project B is positive, in accordance with the acceptance rule, ABC Ltd should choose project B to invest because this project will bring more profits. Analyzing of two investment appraisal techniques Compare and contrast In every company, payback period and NPV are very important to evaluate the value of a proposed project before investing on it. Both of two investment appraisal techniques can measure the sustainability and value of long-term projects. From that, the company can make sound financial decisions. (DifferenceBetween.net, 2010) Regarding calculate technique, payback period is used to calculate a period within which the initial investment of a project is recovered (UoS, 2007). It is equal to the initial net investment divided by annual expected cash flows. For example, a company wants to invest  £10,000 in a new project and they expect to have annual cash flows of  £2,000, so the payback period of this project will be = 10,000/2,000 = 5 years. The shorter the payback period, the better investment is. A long payback period means that the investment will be locked up for a long time, thereby this project is relatively ineffective. Meanwhile, net present value (NPV) uses the time value of money to appraise long-term projects. According to UoS (2007), NPV uses the opportunity cost of capital to discount the flows of cash in and out, over the life of a project to give their value at the present day. NPV method focuses on the present value (PV) because NPV equates to the sum of present values of individual cash flows. For example, a project invests  £1,000 and it will bring cash flows of  £2,000 in the next year, so PV of  £2,000 = 2000/(1+0.1) =  £1,818 with discount rate of 10%. Thus, the NPV of this project = -1000 + 1,818 =  £818. When choosing between alternative investments, NPV can help to define the project with highest present value, and also apply the acceptance rule of NPV, if NPV>0 accept the investment, if NPV Ross et al. (2007) stated that NPV method removes the time element in weighing alternative investment, while payback period focuses on the time required to recover the initial investment. From that, payback period method does not assess the time value of cash, inflation, financial risks, etc. as opposed to NPV, which measures the investments profitability. In addition, although payback period method indicates the acceptable period of investment, it does not take into account what will happen after the payback period and their impact on total incomes of this project. But it is contrary to NPV. Thereby, NPV will provide better decisions than payback when the company makes capital investments. In fact, companies use more often NPV than payback period method. Merits and limitations Merits The most significant merit of payback period is that it is simple to understand and easy to calculate than other appraisal investment techniques (UoS, 2007). Comparing with NPV method, payback method uses fewer costs and less analysts time than NPV. For this method, an investor can have more favorable short term effects on earnings per share by setting up a shorter standard payback period. Professional Management Education (2010) believed that payback period can control investment risks because the longer it takes to recover the initial investment, the more uncertainties there will be during the recovery period. In addition, payback method focuses on the time to recover of the initial investment, so it gives an insight into the liquidity of the project. The shorter payback period, the higher liquidity is. On the other hand, Brealey et al. (2001) stated that NPV is more accurate and efficient as it uses cash flow, not earnings and results in investment decisions that add value. By discounting the flows, NPV can create the comparison between alternative investments, and then, making right capital decisions. NPV method is always consistent with the long-term objective of the shareholder value maximization. We can say that this is the greatest merit of this method. Limitations Payback Consider XYZ Ltd with two projects A and B. It has the same three years payback period, whose flows are as follows. Year Cash flows from Project A ( £) Cumulative ( £) Cash flows from Project B ( £) Cumulative ( £) 0 (100,000) (100,000) (100,000) (100,000) 1 20,000 (80,000) 50,000 (50,000) 2 30,000 (50,000) 30,000 (20,000) 3 50,000 0 20,000 0 4 30,000 30,000 100,000 100,000 Payback Period (Year) 3 3 Ross et al. (2007) stated that the first limitation of payback method is the timing of cash flows within the payback period. Looking at the table above, from year 1 to year 3, the cash flows of project A increase from  £20,000 to  £50,000, while the cash flows of project B decrease from  £50,000 to  £20,000. Because the large cash flow of  £50,000 comes earlier with project B, its NPV must be higher. However, as mentioned above, the payback periods of the two projects are identical. Thus, the problem with the payback period is that it does not consider the timing of the cash flows within payback period. It also shows that the payback method is inferior to NPV because NPV method discounts the cash flows properly. The second limitation is payment after the payback period (Ross et al., 2007). Lets consider projects A and B in the same three years payback period, project B is clearly preferred because it has a cash flow of  £100,000 in the fourth year. Thus, a problem here is that payback method ignores all cash flows occurring after the payback period. For the short-term orientation of the payback method, some valuable long-term projects may be rejected. NPV method does not encounter this problem because this method uses all the cash flows of the project. Because of the first two limitations, the payback method cannot maximize shareholders wealth. According to UoS (2007), the payback period method ignores inflation and discriminates against large capital-intensive infrastructure projects with long times, because it only focuses on the earliest time to recover the initial investment. Net present value (NPV) NPV is the true measure of an investments profitability. But, in practice, it still has some problems. The first limitation of NPV method is cash flow estimation (Professional Management Education, 2010). The NPV method is easy to use if forecasted cash flows are known. However, it is quite difficult to obtain the estimates of cash flows due to uncertainty. The second limitation of NPV is unrealistic assumptions (UoS, 2007). Under NPV method, there is a single market rate of interest for both borrowing lending and an individual can borrow or lend any amount of money at that rate. It is unrealistic, in practice, the interest rate for borrowing and lending is different and everyone has to follow the interest rate for each kind. For example, for Vietnam market in 2011, the interest rate for borrowing at 9% and for lending at 17% per year (Trading Economics, 2012). NPV also ignores transaction costs or taxes. Conclusion In a survey carried out by Graham and Harvey (2001), it was found that 74.9% of respondent companies use net present value (NPV) and 56.7% use payback period method when they appraise the investment projects. It means that in fact, NPV method is used more than payback period method. Techniques % Always or Almost Always Internal Rate of Return (IRR) 75.6 Net present value (NPV) 74.9 Payback period 56.7 Accounting rate of return 30.3 Source: Graham and Harvey, The theory and practice of corporate finance: Evidence from the Field, Journal of Financial Economics 60 (2001), based on a survey of 392 CFOs According to the survey of Graham Harvey (2001) and Sandahl (2003), payback period method is often used in small size companies. The major reason for this can be that payback period method is more simple, cheaper and easier to calculate. Small companies are only interested in the shortest time to recover initial investment because they often lack the source for fund. Moreover, the complexity of the other investment appraisal methods is always a barrier for the small company. However, net present value (NPV) is often used in medium and large size companies (Graham and Harvey, 2001). The major reason for this can be that these companies are interested in the profitability and time value of money than the payback period. They have the source of funds and consider maximizing shareholders wealth as their long-term objective.

Investigate Osmosis :: GCSE Biology Osmosis Coursework

Investigate Osmosis Aim:To investigate osmosis. The student is going to see what happens to the weight of a potato when it is placed into different solutions of sodium chlorides and water. Prediction: The student predicts that potato placed in distilled water will undergo a gain in weight and potato placed in salt solution will lose weight. Potato placed in mixed concentration will have no change in its weight. This prediction has been made using scientific knowledge of the special type of diffusion known as osmosis. In osmosis, each individual cell is surrounded by a cell membrane. The cell membrane allows small molecules to pass through it, but not large ones. Osmosis is the movement of water molecules from an area of high concentration (weak solution) to an area of low water concentration (strong solution) through a partially permeable membrane. Water moves in both directions to try and make the concentrations inside and outside of the cell even. If there is more movement one way, it is said that there is a net movement of water into the area where there is less water. If the potato is placed into distilled water, the concentration of water outside of the cell will be greater than the concentration of water inside the cell. There will be a net movement of water from the area of high concentration to the area of low concentration and as a result of this the cell will contain more water, it will become turgid and weigh more than it did when it had a smaller concentration of water. If the potato is placed into a salt solution the concentration of water will be greater inside the cell than outside, osmosis will take place and the water will once again move from the area of high concentration (inside the cell) to the area of low concentration (outside the cell). This will cause the potato to lose weight as it loses its water. If the potato is placed in a mixed solution then the concentrations inside and outside of the cell should be equal, the water molecules will move by osmosis but the concentrations will remain equal. Apparatus: - 125ml of 1ml sodium chloride solution. - 125ml distilled water. - 15 cylinders of potato each weighing 5.3g. - 15 beakers (150ml). - 2 measuring cylinders (50ml) - 2 potato borers (one large one small). - 1 set of digital weighing scales. - 1 calculator - 1 small scalpel - 1 stop clock Method: The student will use a potato borer to cut out 15 cylinders of potato to the same size and weigh them, the weights will be recorded in the table of results (each piece of potato should be the same

Process Safety Management in the Oil and Gas Industry

Abstract This paper provides a discussion of process safety management applied to the global oil and gas industry. The importance of maintaining regular risk assessments and environmental impact assessments has been indicated upon the completion of this research. The focus of the study is on integrating different management tools, such as EIA and HSE-MS, to evaluate the potential risks pertaining to development projects in the oil and gas industry. In addition, the report explores specific lessons learned from the defence industry, indicating that HSE management systems may be effectively applied to the oil and gas industry as well. Introduction The occurrence of various incidents and hazards occurring in the oil and gas industry is quite frequent, thereby necessitating the adoption of effective and reliable measures to mitigate such risks (Ovind and Sneve, 2004). It has been argued that Health, Safety and Environment Management Systems (HSE-MS) have a positive impact on the functioning of global oil and gas companies considering the high level of accuracy of assessments provided by this management tool (Bergh et al., 2014). The objective of the present report is to explore the feasibility of process safety management in the oil and gas industry. Process Safety Management in the Oil and Gas Industry Significant aspects can be learned in improving human factors in the oil and gas industry from industries, such as aviation, nuclear power and defence. However, the oil and gas industry demonstrates specific challenges that can make it difficult to apply design process and standards that have led to positive results in other industries (Ramirez et al., 2013). The development of various processes and standards has adhered to meet the needs emerging in the global oil and gas industry. Scientific research extensively focuses on the psychology of how irrationality and cognitive biases may lead to inadequate risk assessment and improper decision-making processes. Thus, the necessity to create practical and simple solutions is urgent than ever (Bergh et al., 2014). The introduction of Health, Safety and Environment Management Systems (HSE-MS) is important part of this process. Basic elements of HSE-MS include commitment to appropriate leadership practices, setting of clear goals and objectives, and undertaking strict risk evaluation and control procedures (Ash, 2010). When organisations in the oil and gas industry adhere to these aspects of their overall management, positive results can be expected in the long term. Communication among all divisions of organisations should be ensured in order to meet the expectations of all stakeholders in the industry. Management should provide commitment and personal involvement in health, safety and the environment as a whole (Zimolong and Elke, 2006). A proper expectation that could be indicated relates to setting a personal example of following major HSE rules. The decisions that could be made should consider aspects of quality, cost, morale, and production. In the process of introducing HSE principles in the oil and gas industry, it should be pointed out that allocation of resources should be done effectively in an attempt to carry out some of the most important functions of HSE. The development of local HSE policies should be in line with corporate objectives and standard as relating to the oil and gas industry (Ramirez et al., 2013). Setting objectives for continuous improvement should be the focal point of introducing such policies. All levels of management should be involved in similar processes to achieve optimal efficiency and productivity. In addition, certain objectives should be developed to mitigate risk within organisations operating in the oil and gas industry. The stage of risk evaluation and management should be consistently introduced in oil and gas companies in order to adhere to major HSE management guidelines that may contribute to decreasing the risk of incidents in this industry (Zimolong and Elke, 2006). This step i s associated with the establishment of a proper methodology that outlines acute and chronic hazards including their perceived effects. Moreover, it is important to conduct flexible hazard assessments at the design, development and operating stages. The application of risk management tools may significantly facilitate the process of achieving of the set policy objectives. It has been identified that an effective legislative programme requires three essential dimensions: powerful and well-resources regulations, setting accountability parameters to drive appropriate behaviours in the industry, and ensuring solid industry support (Berg et al., 2014). The globalisation of HSE issues for the oil and gas industry should be explored in order to demonstrate a process of setting high standards of performance in the field. In 2011, the European Commission released a series of legislative proposals to guarantee offshore safety (Ramirez et al., 2013). The focus on preserving the natural environment has been properly maintained. HSE policies are expected to cover oil spill and emergency response preparedness, quality assurance and management systems. The utmost goal of similar initiatives is to ensure a healthy and safe environment for employees in oil and gas companies as well as for residents of different countries (Ash, 2010). The conduct of particular operations from the oil and gas industry should be done with the consideration of strict professional standards for safety. In fact, the safety of employees should be taken into consideration as well as the environment and economic values. In general, oil and gas companies are committed to developing of proper systems for monitoring of their technical facilities and plants. The occurrence of various incidents in the industry, such as the Macondo incident, the US Department of the Interior undertook drastic measures in 2011 to mitigate risks in this sector (Haight, 2013). Two new agencies were created to monitor a series of operations and activities in the Gulf of Mexico, as these are the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management (BOEM). In addition, the Department was responsible for issuing new and more effective regulations to address the specific roles and functioning of these two agencies (Bergh et al., 2014). Product specifications along with emission controls and climate change programmes have contributed to the development of proper and highly effective HSE systems. It can be suggested that these aspects can have a significant impact on the production and profitability of different products introduced by oil and gas companies. Moreover, there are certain environmental laws that require organisations that operate in this industry to restore all areas in which particular incidents or unauthorised release of various hazardous materials have taken place. It can be anticipated that HSE laws and regulations can have a rather positive impact on the operations of oil and gas companies (Zimolong and Elke, 2006). However, it may be challenging to indicate what would be the potential future effects of certain legislations adopted in the context of the global oil and gas industry. There may be risks associated with HSE costs and liabilities, which may be evident in the activities of global oil and gas companies. Thus, such organisations recognise the importance of implementing solid HSE standards and management tools to facilitate the accomplishment of certain outcomes (Ash, 2010). One of the legislative frameworks that provide substantial information on applying HSE standards in the oil and gas industry is the IADC HSE Case Guidelines. These guidelines â€Å"provide a framework for developing an integrate health, safety and environmental management system for use in reducing the risks associated with offshore and onshore drilling activities† (International Association of Drilling Contractors, 2014). The significant of the guidelines reflects in the adoption of high standards that can help in increasing global health, safety and environmental awareness in relation to the oil and gas industry. The worldwide acceptance of the guidelines in countries such as Australia, Canada, South Africa and Cuba implies their universal applicability to solve emerging challenges in the respective industry (Ash, 2010). The need to assist regulatory authorities around the world may contribute to the delivery of standards and principles that are closely tailored to correspon d to the needs of oil and gas companies. Emphasis is put on reassuring that the most proper industry practices have been implemented in terms of health, safety and environmental concerns. Lessons from the Nuclear Power of the Defence Industry Thus, the focus can be shifted to learning important lessons from the nuclear power of the defence industry. One of the crucial lessons learned so far is that of interaction considering that different legislations throughout the world may demonstrate the adoption of similar approaches to mitigate risks in the oil and gas industry (Bergh et al., 2014). Interaction emerging at all stages of the assessments is important to make sure that all needs of the stakeholders in the industry are met. Another lesson that can be learned from the defence industry and applied to the oil and gas industry relates to access to information. It is essential to understand that particular parts of the development projects may contain classified information (Zimolong and Elke, 2006). Such details may be significant in the process of carrying out the intended assessment procedures. Timing also is a valuable lesson that can be drawn from the defence industry in terms of focussing on all points during the proj ect planning stage. It should be initially noted that assessments involving EIA and HSE-MS tools serve as an adequate decision support system that should be available in a timely manner. Analysis of Human Failure Contribution to Process Risk In order to gain understanding of human reliability and accident causation, it is important to focus on various HSE management tools including HAZID, HEMP and HAZOP. One of the most powerful tools for the identification of major hazards and risks, which can be implemented in the global oil and gas industry, is HAZID (Ovind and Sneve, 2004). Its use is recommended to be done early to demonstrate greater precision and accuracy of results. The key benefits of HAZID include fast identification and correction of potential deviations, providing records of hazards to avoid and mitigate further risks in the global oil and gas industry (Rausand, 2013). The method actually represents a design-enabling tool used to enhance the HSE parameters in particular projects. Furthermore, the Hazards and Effects Management Process (HEMP) was designed to present a highly structured approach to analysing various hazards in the life cycle pertaining to installation processes in the industry. This method refers to a three-day session in which participants are provided with significant information on risk management and essential HEMP principles, including HEMP’s role in the HSE management systems (Bergh et al., 2014). The management tool identified as HAZOP has been also found useful in identifying and mitigating risks pertaining to the global oil and gas industry. The initial use of this instrument has been considered for the proper identification of hazards through flowsheets and diagrams. It also implements safety audit after several months of operation (Rausand, 2013). Specific procedures considered by oil and gas companies refer to determining the precise degree of hazard and expected change as well as a consideration of the worst case accident th at may occur as a result of the modification. In addition, the management tool requires the appointment of a competent, qualified person to comply with the strict requirements for HAZOP (Ramirez et al., 2013). Case Study of Operating Events at Commercial Nuclear Power Plants However, it is important to focus on the aspects of human failure contribution to process risk as applicable to various events that take place at power plants. The main tools that have been implemented to identify safety events, in which human failure contribution to process risk was investigated, refer to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Accident Sequence Precursor (ASP) Program and the Human Performance Events Database (HPED). Events in this case were selected on the basis of SPAR analyses that contributed to a proper estimation of human errors that eventually increased risks to the completion of these events (Rausand, 2013). In addition, different human error categories and subcategories have been identified to demonstrate greater accuracy of findings. The formation of categories took place in line with their frequency of occurrence (Gertman et al., 2001). Major categories included command, control, resource allocation, operator actions, communications, design deficiencies, design change testing, configuration management, as well as procedures of maintenance and monitoring of various work processes (Zimolong and Elke, 2006). It has been argued that human failure substantially contributed to process risk in relation to operating events. For instance, seven human errors have been identified to contribute to the emergence of numerous event failures in the identified power plants. Another challenge that has been observed in this case study referred to the lack of attention to recurrent problems (Ash, 2010). In fact, the lack of attention and care to recurrent problems was estimated in approximately 41% of the operating events (Gertman et al., 2001). Such inattention mostly related to improper NRC inspection findings, industry notices, and vendor notices. Operating with known design deficiencies also created certain problems at the commercial nuclear power plants. Human failure was evident in the inability or error to follow plant and industry trends as well as provide timely responses to industry notices (Ramirez et al., 2013). Active human errors were identified as quite problematic pertaining to command and control and resource allocation failures, amounting to almost 28%. For instance, it has been indicated that command and control between Oconee Unit 2 1992 and Keowee hydroelectric station turned out to compromise or challenge the response from the plant (Gertman et al., 2001). The tasks performed by Keowee staff seemed to have affected emergency power at Oconee without receiving proper notifications from control room management. This is a clear example of how human failure contributed to increased risks of operating events. In this relation, it is essential to separate human actions in pre-initiator categories and post-initiator categories (Rausand, 2013). Pre-initiator actions are recognised as actions that may affect the availability of systems and elements associated with the response to incidents. Such actions mostly include errors in restoring particular systems after maintenance procedures at the plants (Zimolong and Elke, 2006). Post-initiator human actions represent a type of responses to incidents occurring in the power plants, as they may be also recovery actions in terms of restoring certain failed systems. It can be suggested that latent human errors mostly suppose a direct relation with pre-initiator human actions, as they are further related to numerous failures in the system. Therefore, it can be concluded that the results obtained from this case study indicated that human performance contributed essentially to increasing risks in analysed operating events (Bergh et al., 2014). Human failures to correct known problems have been frequently identified along with errors made during design and maintenance activities at commercial nuclear power plants. Thus, the results of this case study demonstrate that multiple errors occurring in operating events contribute to the so-called probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) basic events which are evident in SPAR models (Gertman et al., 2001). Importance of EIA and HSE-MS In order to improve practice of the oil and gas industry, the introduction of HSE management systems should take place in line with the integration of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). It is essential to clarify that EIA is defined as a process by which a project’s impact on the environment is measured (Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, 2013). In case the likely effects are identified as unacceptable, professionals in the field are responsible for developing effective mitigation strategies to reduce such a perceived negative impact. Thus, EIA is a crucial tool used in managing the complex interrelations between development and the environment (Rausand, 2013). The examination of the environmental consequences of development actions is done in a structured manner based on multidisciplinary approaches applicable to the global oil and gas industry. The integration of EIA and HSE-MS tools may adequately facilitate the functioning of oil and gas com panies. The primary goal of these management tools is to ensure strict compliance with relevant legislations and standards in the field of operation (Bergh et al., 2014). It is of crucial importance that all HSE hazards are identified and handled in a timely manner. Their systemic assessment is a proper step towards ensuring that all criteria for adequate performance have been met. The integration of these assessments allows for accurate procedures implemented in the context of risk management for oil and gas companies worldwide. For instance, it may be indicated that various development projects that involve the use of radioactive material and nuclear fuel represent serious risks and hazards, which should be extensively assessed through the frameworks of EIA and HSE-MS (Abaza et al., 2004). Global oil and gas companies are held responsible for ensuring that all dimensions pertaining to human health, environment and security are thoroughly considered prior to the accomplishment of particular projects. Thus, importance is placed on risk assessment and environmental impact assessment of planned activities in the oil and gas industry (Rausand, 2013). As a result, such organisations are committed to improve their internal procedures that play a key role in conducting risk assessment and environmental impact assessment. In this context, a viable measure would be to screen all nuclear safety project proposals to ensure that such assessment procedures are done appropriately. Additional requirements for compliance may be specified by the authorities in particular countries in which oil and gas companies operate (Ash, 2010). International measures should be constantly improved in relation to the integration of EIA and HSE-MS measures (Zimolong and Elke, 2006). This aspect may lead to extensive support for initiating a co-ordinated international action to demonstrate high-quality environmental impact assessment and risk assessment pertaining to projects developed in the oil and gas industry. An overall risk assessment is fundamental in order to ensure that all development projects are completed in a cost-efficient and secure manner. These aspects should be considered in the process of setting certain priorities in the operation of oil and gas companies (Ramirez et al., 2013). Such thorough assessments may direct efforts to generate necessary funds for the completion of more urgent tasks in the industry. Conclusion In conclusion, this paper provided a relevant exploration of process safety management in the global oil and gas industry. Specific arguments have been introduced in order to emphasise the important role of HSE-MS tools, which combined with EIA, may contribute to greater efficiency and safety of work practices in oil and gas companies around the world (Rausand, 2013). The paper focuses on discussing the effectiveness of HSE management systems. In addition, human failure contribution was analysed as related to process risk evident at operating events in commercial nuclear power plants. Another aspect outlined in the report included the integration of EIA and HSE-MS tools that may lead to better recognition and maintenance of risks identified in the oil and gas industry (Bergh et al., 2014). In conclusion, providing accurate assessments is associated with the delivery of positive outcomes in this industry. References Abaza, H., Bisset, R. and Sadler, B. (2004). ‘Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment: Towards an Integrated Approach’. UNEP [online]. 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