Paricutin(Volcano) essays

Paricutin(Volcano) essays Paricutin, also known as the wonder of the cornfield, is the most recent volcano to form in the Western Hemisphere. Paricutin is a part of the Mexican volcanic belt, which extends 1,200 km from west to east, from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea. The volcanic activity here is related to the Middle American Trench, a subduction zone near Mexicos Pacific coast. Paricutin stands near the city of Uruapan in southwestern Mexico, about two hundred miles west of Mexico City. It received its name from the village of Paricutin. This volcano is rare because scientists were able to watch the birth, growth, and the death of it. Geologists from many parts of the world came to study this vast volcanic event and from then on it was under constant observation. Also along with scientists, many people from all around the world came to observe it. The knowledge gained by these scientists greatly expanded our understanding of volcanism and of cone formation. Three weeks before the eruption, the people near Paricutin village heard the rumbling noises that resembled thunder, but they were confused because the skies were clear and there were no clouds. These noises were associated with earthquakes at depth near Paricutin. The Paricutin volcano is a type of volcano called a cinder cone. The common order of events for a cinder cone volcano is eruption, formation of the cone and crater, and then a lava flow. The eruption that created Paricutin began in a cornfield on February 20, 1943 and continued through 1952 from a crack in the earth. A farmer, Dionisio Pulido, and his wife witnessed this happen. They said they saw the earth crack before-them and smoke rise that smelled like a rotten egg. Most of the explosive activity was during the first year of the eruption when the cone grew to 1,100 feet and lava rose to about fifty feet above the crater's rim. The cone continued to grow for another eight years. M...

Lenski and 5 different societies essays

Lenski and 5 different societies essays Jean and Gerhard Lenski, in their theory of sociocultural evolution, describe five different types of societies, separated by their technologies. They are the hunting and gathering societies, the horticultural and pastoral societies, the agrarian societies, the industrial societies, and the post-industrial societies. Which of these societies would I prefer? I will argue that the post-industrial society is favorable to the other four societies. Compared to the post-industrial society, an individual in the hunting and gathering society consumes a great deal of time, energy, and thought, collecting and hunting for food. Most of these societies today generally live in marginal areas where resources are scarce, so life for the hunter and gatherer seems more oriented toward mere survival. The natural elements can be harsh, for example, in the Arctic where the Inuit live. In the post-industrial society, food is easily available, allowing more time to focus on other interests. Life expectancy is also very low compared to the post industrial society. Technology is minimal in the hunting and gathering society, which again relates back to the need for expending time and energy finding food. Technology in medicine is also primitive for hunters and gatherers. If I, or someone I cared for, develops a pendicitis, for example, this would be easily treatable in the post-industrial society, death would be rare. In the hunting and gathering society, likely I or my cared-one would suffer pain and eventually die. The hunting and gathering society certainly has its benefits. Equality is great and social stratification is low, opposed to the post-industrial society. I feel that the costs, however, outweigh these benefits. As with the hunting and gathering societies, the horticultural and pastoral societies do not afford as much time for leisure as does the post-industrial society. Production of food in the horticulturist socie...

The Balanced Scorecard Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Balanced Scorecard - Essay Example Who and how it is being promoted today, how it is being used to link employee performance to organizational strategy, and how successful have the companies been who have adopted the Scorecard as a performance measurement and strategy implementation tool in the long-term. This study will answer these questions. "What you measure is what you get" is an often-heard phrase, which emphasizes the importance of performance measurement to the success of an organization. Performance measurement can be defined as the quantification of either a process output or the activities that constitute that process. An effective set of performance measures should have the following characteristics: (a) communicate and summarize those critical activities necessary to meet customer requirements, (b) reflect outputs of processes and outcomes (how customers value the outputs), (c) be comprehensive, and (d) provide feedback to the organization (Atkinson, Waterhouse, & Wells, 1997). Selecting the proper performance measures is one of the key challenges facing management (Ittner & Larcker, 1998), yet it is perhaps the most misunderstood and difficult aspect of a management control systems (Atkinson, Waterhouse et al., 1997). Performance measures can be financial or non-financial. Financial (or traditional) performance measures are dollar value measures produced by the organization's accounting system. Examples of financial measures would include return on investment, return on equity, operating margin, unit cost, or cost variances. Non-financial performance measures are typically derived from outside the accounting system. Examples of non-financial measures include customer satisfaction measures, manufacturing cycle time, new product introductions, R&D productivity, market growth, and market share. Observers have noted that performance measurement has gained added significance, because organizations are faced with the twin challenges of adapting to new rules of competition and responding to the rapid changes often taking place in the marketplace (Stivers & Joyce, 2000). The factors driving this evolution are the opportunities and formidable challenges of escalating globalization, the increasing transparency of manager actions, the need to develop intangible assets to sustain competitive advantage, the escalating pace of technological change, an increase in competition among firms, and the rise of process change initiatives such as TQM (Malina & Selto, 2001). The right measures correctly linked to the organization's strategy gives managers and employees the guidance they need to act appropriately (Kaplan & Norton, 1996). This conclusion is echoed by a survey of executives indicating that performance measurement is critical in translating a business strategy into results (Lingle & Schiemann, 1996). Performance measures designed outside of the strategic planning process creates potential for disconnect. The reason performance measurement systems fail to live up to expectations is commonly attributed to this disconnect (Atkinson, Waterhouse et al., 1997). Traditional accounting-based performance measures, with their one-dimensional focus on financial results, have been criticized as not being up to the task faced by modern organizations. The sense is that financial performa

Agricultural Development Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Agricultural Development - Assignment Example An ongoing debate about the integration of farmers' empirical knowledge in agricultural development was sought to be answered by studying soil fertility management strategies in the Jos Plateau of Nigeria. The paper of Pasquini and Alexander (2005) tried to illustrate how farmers collectively can acquire considerable and detailed knowledge, which can be supported by scientific explanations.Since time immemorial, the idea that local people could have something to contribute to development is not always considered. Some scholars and scientists often put down local, indigenous knowledge. Often, they dismiss it as 'primitive', 'unscientific' and 'wrong'. Thus, they assigned themselves of 'educating' rural people, using a top-down, transfer-of-technology approach (Okali et al. 1994; Scoones and Thompson 1994a; Sillitoe 2002). Fortunately, Pasquini and Alexander (2005) mentioned that this perspective was challenged with a populist approach that viewed indigenous technical knowledge as a va luable, untapped source, and believed that it had to be 'incorporated' into formal research extension and practices in order to make agricultural development more sustainable.In the late 1980s-early 1990s, a thorough research in the Jos Plateau, Nigeria congruently examined how the knowledge and management of soil fertility by local farmers could be integrated in the development of a viable strategy for the maintenance of soil fertility (Phillips-Howard and Kidd 1991). As a previous site of tin mining since the beginning of the twentieth century, farming systems have been agitated about 320 km2 of cultivable land, much of which was needed for food production, because of the growing population (Alexander and Kidd 2000). In 1949, a series of trials was established to find the best way of restoring the mined land to agriculture, but after three years of trials, the Mines Land Reclamation Unit declared that it was impractical and uneconomic to raise the fertility of the degraded soil to the point that it would be able to sustain traditional arable agriculture (Alexander 1996). Local farmers were unaware of this opinion and continued with their informal reclamation strategy, which proved successful in raising significantly the nutrient status of the soils (Alexander and Kidd 2000). Thus, Phillips-Howard and Kidd (1991) showed that farmers had extensive and detailed knowledge of a variety of traditional (in Hausa: takin gargajiya) and modern (takin zamani) fertilizers, being able to differentiate between them according to their perceived characteristics and usefulness. Inorganic fertilizers are 'modern' fertilizers, whereas various livestock manures and waste ash are classified as traditional fertilizers. In fact, the key to the reclamation strategy was that farmers applied a combination of inorganic fertilizers, different types of animal manure and urban waste ash (Alexander 1996). Also, urban waste ash was regarded as valuable by the farmers, and for this reason one of the conclusions Phillips-Howard and Kidd (1991) came to was that further investigation of the characteristics and supply of this material (tokan bola) (and other unfamiliar fertilizers such as egret manure--kashin balbela) would be worthwhile. Research carried out in the 2000/2001 dry farming se ason (from September through to May) aimed to provide an appreciation of the role played by urban refuse ash, while highlighting the risks attached to its use. Thus, Pasquini and Alexander (2005) have to identify

Feudalism Study Essay Example for Free

Feudalism Study Essay There is no specific start or end date when it comes to feudalism in Germany or anywhere. It is best to say that feudalism in Europe occurred during the period known as the High Middle Ages. Classical feudalism occurred around the 10th century. The height of feudalism was during the 11th century and flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries. The decline started in the 13th century and continued until about the 15th century. Feudalism had its strong and weak points. Its strong points include things like a safer society, if compared to the late Roman empire and to Barbaric invasions. Feudalism divided people who lived to fight from quiet people, who did not want to be involved in wars. Wars were more diffused but seldom involving civilians. They were a problem between nobles. There was more social security; people were linked to their land or work. Somebody could not take land from somebody else without a good reason. The taxes were much lower than that of the late Roman Empire, and nothing if compared to today. The weak points of feudalism were that people were linked to their role; a noble would always have to be a noble, a knight would always be ready to fight, a peasant could no nothing more than to be a peasant. Feudalism went away slowly in Germany. The rise of powerful monarchs in France, Spain, and England broke down local organization. Another disruptive force was the increase of communication, which broke down the isolated manor, assisted the rise of towns, and facilitated the emergence of the burgess class. This process was greatly accelerated in the 14th cent. and did much to destroy the feudal classifications of society. The system broke down gradually. It persisted in Germany until 1848. Many relics of feudalism still persist, and its influence remains on the institutions of Western Europe.

Slavery :: Slavery Essays

True or false: â€Å"Slavery was the immediate fomenting cause of the Civil War.† The answer is false. Slavery was a cause of the Civil War, but not the cause. Slavery was just one of the issues that added to the unjust state rights that led to the secession of the Southern states and ultimately the American Civil War. The three major events that made the southern states feel that they were getting the short end of the bargains were: the Compromise of 1850, the Missouri Compromise and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. These three documents were examples of the unfairness of the Southern state rights.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before Missouri became a state it was believed by the southern states that it would be admitted as a slave state. To the South’s surprise and dismay, Republican Representative James Tallmadge of New York proposed an amendment that would prohibit the importation of slaves and ultimately bring about the emancipation of all slaves born in Missouri. The free state-slave state ratio had been equal and admitting Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state would keep it equal. The bill passed the House but failed to pass the Senate. It was rearranged to hold a clause that said instead of prohibiting slavery in Missouri, slavery was forbidden in all of the remaining land from the Louisiana Purchase. Even with this exception to Missouri, the South was enraged at the idea that they lacked the power to decide for themselves if a state was free or open to slavery.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Missouri Compromise gave birth to feelings of resent between the North and the South. Those wounds had salt poured on them so to speak when the Compromise of 1850 was passed. The Compromise goaded the hostility between the North and the South concerning the question of the extension of slavery in all directions. The anti-slavery Republicans favored the proposal made in the Wilmot Proviso to exclude slavery form all the lands acquired from Mexico. While the South assumed that this land was theirs for he taking and strongly opposed this plan.

The Uniform Commercial Code

The Uniform Commercial Code By Wesley Shropshire Abstract The Uniform Commercial Code has many requirements and laws that govern it not only in trading within our country but also in trading internationally. It has been brought into question if we as a nation need to make some serious changes or update some of the laws when it comes to trading internationally. If we leave it like it is then many problems can arise and make most big business discouraged or even stop trading internationally altogether. With this being the case it makes it very hard when deciding what the effect the U. C. C. as on international commerce and there will be many factors brought up on to which side it leans toward. The Uniform Commercial Code The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), a comprehensive code addressing most aspects of commercial law, is generally viewed as one of the most important developments in American law. The UCC text and draft revisions are written by experts in commercial law and submitted as drafts for approval to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (now referred to as the Uniform Law Commissioners), in collaboration with the American Law Institute. (Uniform Commercial Code, (n. . ). Attorneys, which are the Commissioners include federal and state judges also including law professors and legislators, are able to practice law throughout the U. S. These organizations decide and meet on whether to send drafts back for revision or if they should endorse them. Most of the time it does not involve only one revision but after deciding to endorse them the states are forced to adopt these rules by the Uniform Law Commissioners. Since the Uniform Commercial Code, which is a model code, does not always have jurisdiction in a legal effect unless the legislatures as statutes enact them. Domestic transaction† means a transaction other than an international transaction. â€Å"International transaction† means a transaction that bears a reasonable relation to a country other than the United States. (UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE, (n. d). Computers and technology has grown rapidly over the past fifteen years, and this has enhanced the growth of financial markets globally which has led to around the clock trading in foreign exchange, financial instruments, and securities. Services and goods in international trade have also grown in speed and volume.Since the growth and change in technology settlements of payments in these transactions has sped up how fast they can receive these payments. Because of this money is being moved around the world faster than ever before. The economic significance of national boundaries to large corporations and financial institutions is being reduced. These trends in transactions, payments, and transnational operation of corporations have led to commercial pressure for greater certainty and uniformity in the law governing international transactions. (The Effect of Uniform Commercial Code, (n. . ). In thes e international transactions you have to worry about more jurisdiction laws taking place. Rules of private international laws will be the deciding factor into which jurisdiction laws that will be enforced. When it comes to commercial interests many are against this grey area of unknown and look for certainty in which legal rules in these international transactions to reduce and correctly measure the legal risks they may be taking. They also are pushing for the unvarying of these rules throughout jurisdictions in order to lower compliance costs.Because of the pressure for more uniformity and certainty in international transactions and the legal rules they are governed by, the private international law rules are being added to too bring together the legal rules at hand in international conventions to be foreseen across the nations. There has been little to no attention paid to what these international laws represent and I think and the United States should make it a part of their laws . With this being said pressure is rising on responsibilities of state and federal governments to fit these international developments and should deserve more attention than what they are receiving.The Uniform Commercial Code will reach a point where the process will need to be revised and when it takes place it will put these processes to the test. Because of failure in the enactment process there has been a lot of doubt on the uniform law process and its vitality, and this has caused even more doubt that changes can be made on an international level. If the United States ratified all existing conventions and implemented those treaties on a federal level, a good portion of the Uniform Commercial Code would be preempted (Amelia H. Boss, (n. d. The Future of the Uniform Commercial Code Process in an Increasingly International World), and if this happened the Uniform Commercial Code as a whole would be brought into serious questioning. References Uniform Commercial Code, (n. d. ) Retr ieved from http://law. duke. edu UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE, (n. d) Retrieved from http://www. law. cornell. edu The Effect of Uniform Commercial Code, (n. d. ) Retrieved from http://digitalcommons. lmu. edu Amelia H. Boss, (n. d. ) The Future of the Uniform Commercial Code Process in an Increasingly International World