A critical evaluation of contemporary leadership skills required for a Essay - 1

A critical evaluation of contemporary leadership skills required for a large multi-department organisation. 2,000 words - Essay Example Making decisions and implementing those in organisations is the responsibility of the managers and leaders. Organisations are facing intense challenge in the global market and they are supposed to create more strategies to increase compatibility. In the current study, contemporary leadership skills are critically evaluated on the basis of the multidepartment organisation. Globalised business activities are increasing competition among different firms. Multidepartment firms consist of employees from different backgrounds, so managers face various complexities in order to implement strategies among the team members. Therefore, leaders must implement cross cultural development strategies and increase interaction among the employees. According to Pinnington (2011), trustworthiness is one of the important factors of developing leaders. Some leaders think that trust among the employees will help in merging decisions and strategies for operations of employees. Leaders must treat the employees equally. Such trait of the leaders will remove workplace fatigue among the employees and they will feel more valued2. Dennis (2014) stated that humble behaviour is expected from the leaders so that they can guide employees and discuss strategic goals. However, ego and arrogance of leaders or managers will create complicacy in leading their peoples in multiple departments of the organisation. Dion (2012) has argued that leaders must communicate with the employees and team members to identify problems and develop solutions. Fluent communication will help leaders to reduce the gap between employees and management. Leaders must be activist in nature so that they can present a feasible solution to any problem faced by the organisations3. Allio (2012) stated that analytical skills are required to manage people or team members and different circumstances faced by a multi department firms4. Leaders are taking initiative

A Road to Life Movie Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

A Road to Life Movie Summary - Essay Example The movie concentrates upon the activities of the orphan children, who are kept and looked after with proper care and concern in a rehabilitation camp. The movie shows that the camp commission provides them with comforts and trains them to learn various technical skills under an affectionate, nurturing and congenial environment, which is helpful for the socialization of the orphan boys; as a result a large number of boys learn how to behave like civilized persons while interacting with other members of society. Nevertheless, two of the boys keep on deviating from the rules and regulations, and commit the crimes, which create much disturbance and annoyance in the locality. It clearly demonstrates the bitter fact that there certainly exist some people in every society, which have natural inclination towards committing crimes.Since it was the age of black and white films, the director has sought support from shades, shadows and dark colors. For instance, the evening and night scenes of the camp life have been supported with the same techniques. Moreover, being the first sound film, the director has also applied the written words on the screen in order to demonstrate various areas and situations going to be displayed in the movie. The words appear on the screen in order to guide the audience in respect of the location, where the specific part of movie is being established. In addition, close and remote camera skills can also be witnessed in order to show distance between different characters. and objects and places as well. Establishing shot technique has been exercised in Zighan’s catching the shoes stolen by the deviant boy at the railway station. In addition, close up technique has been applied in order to reveal the face expressions and body language of the characters. The film takes the audience from one place to the other through the wonderful application of cross-cuts technique. For instance, the scene showing the main characters standing and wanderin g at the railway st

Complexity of the Concept of the Sacred

Complexity of the Concept of the Sacred Understanding the concept of the Sacred is a complex phenomenon. Assess keeping in mind over 4000 years of the sacred. Since the beginning of Humanity, Man has been trying to make sense of the world around itself, trying to fill in the pieces to questions it does not know the answer to. The human journey can be seen as a quest a search for knowledge, comfort and ultimately for understanding. Perhaps the greatest of humanities question have involved faith and the notion of a divine god/being. Beliefs about god have traveled a long road to todays understanding of the notion of God, the divine and sacred. God as a work in progress began first with the many gods of the polytheistic faith systems, with each god having limited domain of power and responsibility. For early human beings, such gods felt familiar and relatable. They didnt see a big gulf between the divine and the real, this is what made it so approachable, understandable and ultimately follow able. The concept of sacred was simply something that was beyond normal (Armstrong, 1993). According to Stormonth Phelp (1896) the word Sacred is derived from the Latin origin word Sacer, which means dedicated or consecrated to the higher beings i.e. gods or anything divine. The word is often used interchangeably with Holy; however there are minor differences with the concept of holiness in that it is primarily used in relation to relationships and persons, while sacred is used in relation to happenings, places or objects (McCann, 2008). This need for completion has led to various mythos to have formed over the years, culminating in the concepts of the Sacred/Profane dichotomy aptly explained by French Sociologist Emile Durkheim. The sacred is the boundless spirit of the religious and divine experience. Religions throughout their history have included very mixed beliefs and manifestations of those beliefs, but they all have something quite universal and explicit, regardless of their nature, through which the religious experience is differentiated from all others and that is that the sacred is something above and beyond the believers. Therefore, the sacred is highly subjective in its nature and Bastide concisely put it: if I were to give a definition of the sacred, it would cross my subjectivity, my own experience of the sacred and not a general definition (Desroche Bastide, 1974). To begin understanding the concept of the Sacred, it is best to understand what is considered Sacred and what is considered Profane. In Durkheims theory of Religion, both these concepts are the central tenant. The Sacred, according to Durkheim is an ideal, something that transcends everyday existence and is both awe-inspiring as well as fear inducing, and something potentially dangerous as well as extra-ordinary. Sacred in his view refers to things that have been set apart by man as requiring special religious treatment and veneration. One key point to note is that Sacred can be anything, from the earth to the moon, a bird, an animal, a rock, a tree to a god. The sacredness comes from a community marking them as such and once they have been established as a sacred, they are embodied in religious practices, sentiments and beliefs. The profane, on the other hand is anything that is simply ordinary, it embraces practices, persons and ideas that are in the end seen with everyday mundane attitudes of familiarity, utility and commonness. Both the sacred and profane are highly interrelated due to the extreme levels of emotions they invoke in the people that believe in them and according the Durkheim, the concept of Sacred and the profane varies amongst society to society (Durkheim, 1974). Durkheim expanded upon his notions and expressed religion as a management of the sacred, the means by which a system is generated to warrant the execution of the sacred in the community. Various sociological theories suggest that at the centre of any religion is the sacred and religion is nothing but a social phenomenon in its origin, content and purpose (Desroche Bastide, 1974). Sosis Alcorta (2003) are major proponents of the adaptive value theory of religion, having somewhat similar views as Durkheim, stating that religion evolved to enhance cohesion and cooperation between groups. Membership in a group setting allowed for a greater chance of survival and reproduction as well as advancement as a group. They also suggested that the costly-signaling theory suggested why rituals were such a major part of religious practice, stating that it was to ward of those trying to cheat the system i.e. be part of the group without offering anything of value. The reason why understanding the Sacred is such a complex phenomenon, is that the Sacred is highly subjective in its nature, malleable to suit the purpose of its time and context. Whenever a natural disaster occurred, such as an earthquake, flood, drought, the older civilizations took it to god/s being angry and their primitive understanding of nature took to slaughter being a worthy sacrifice to please the deities, resulting in the ending of their suffering. As our technologies advance, so does our understanding of nature and with it a steady decline in the extreme acts humans once used to do. However, humans, being the product of an evolutionary engine, are still quite prone to carrying out irrational behavior so as long as they believe and have faith in the sacred (Shermer, 1997). Armstrong (1993) was also quite clear in her works, stating that after having looked at over 4000 years of recorded human history that the notion of god was never unchanging, with what people considered god, going from polytheistic to monotheistic to atheistic, depended upon a multitude of factors. Today there are 12 classical world religions, those included in most religious definitions namely; BahaI, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism and Zoroastrinism, however if one was to delve further in, they would note that these twelve within themselves include numerous sects and factions with their adherents considering different things as sacred i.e. what might be sacred for a Shia Muslim, might not be for a Sunni Muslim etc. In todays information age of the 21st century where knowledge is expanding at an explosive rate, the words used to define ones understanding of the sacred is ever expanding, with countless expansion in our understanding of human consciousness and with religions ever changing due to the changing socio-political landscape, there is very little doubt that the notion of what is sacred is and always will remain a complex phenomenon. References: Desroche, H. (1975). Religion (Sociologie de la). La grande encyclopedie, 16th vol.. Paris: Libr. Larousse. Durkheim, E. (1974). Regulile metodei sociologice. BucureÃ…Å ¸ti: Ed. Ã…Å ¾tiinÃ…Â £ifică. Armstrong, K. (1993). A History of God. Ballatine Books Stormonth, J Phelp, P.H (1895). A Dictionary of the English Language, Blackwood sons. Retrieved March 19th, 2017 from https://books.google.com.pk/books/about/A_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language.html?id=NmogAQAAMAAJredir_esc=y McCann, C. (2008). New Paths Toward the Sacred Thus, Paulist Press Shermer, M. (1997). Why people believe weird things: Pseudoscience, superstition, and other confusions of our time. New York: W.H. Freeman. Sosis, R.; Alcorta, C. (2003). Signaling, solidarity, and the sacred: the evolution of religious behavior. Evolutionary Anthropology

Speech On Black Panthers :: American History

The purpose of the speech I will give today is to make you folks trust government less, any government. (tell them about Canada) I. How much do you guys know about the civil rights era? Well today I will tell you some startling news about the black panthers, one of the people that gave their life for the cause, and Cointelpro, the FBI program that killed him. II. I am not an expert, but have am in love with the topic. I. The Black Panther Party. A. The Black Panther Party was originally named The Black Panther Party for Self-defense. 1. The Black Panther Party was founded by Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, and Richard Aoki in October 1966. 2. The name came from a voting drive that was organized. Alabama law required that there is an emblem for illiterate voters, so the mascot for Clark Collage was chosen. 3. They started out in the California bay area as a reaction to the growing crooked cops, blacks not having rights, and the war in Vietnam. 4. They did not fallow passive protest like Martian Luther king; instead they modeled themselves after the Black Nationalism preached by Malcolm X. Also they separated from non-violence and took up arms, being influenced by Robert F. Williams book Negroes with Guns. 5. After Getting out of prison for an assault charge Huey P. Newton returned to Oakland city collage in 1965. He and Bobby Seale grew dissatisfied with the inertia of the Afro-American Association. They began to feel more and more that the political and social climate at the time called for militancy. B. The Black panthers created the ten point program and platform. 1. The program was a list of needs for the survival and advancement in the United States 2. One Survival Program was called "Breakfast for Kids." This program was one of the most effective, it began from a church in San Francisco and spread, the program fed thousands of children throughout the party's history 3. Other services offered were: Clothing, classes about politics and economics, medical clinics, and lessons on self defense. 4. The first draft was adopted in 1966 and went through several revisions the last being finished in 1972, near the end of the Black Panther Party. 5. The Ten Point Program was also adopted by White Panther Party, The Young Lords Party, and The Brown Berets.

Quotes for Zorba the Greek

Journal Entry #1 Quote: â€Å"the only way to save yourself is to endeavor to save others? † Page: 5 In life there are times when people cannot only focus on themselves. In order to move on, and fulfill life’s destiny you must help those that surround you. One cannot truly understand who they are and why they were brought to earth unless they consider helping those around them. Helping others teaches you to become more understanding patient, and sympathetic toward others. You initially free yourself of any conflict between others and help them as well. Journal Entry #2 Quote: â€Å"I’d believe in God, and I’d believe in the devil, too† Page: 54 God is considered a supernatural creator and overseer of the universe, while the devil is considered a powerful entity and the epitome of all things evil. Life is never completely perfect; there will always be a glimpse of evil. In order to believe in God you have to believe there is a devil. When I first saw these words I was taken a back; how can one believe in God yet still follow the devil. I then realized that though the God and Devil are completely opposites they both combine to make on just like the yin and yang. Journal Entry #3 Quote: â€Å"I felt once more how simple and frugal a thing is happiness† Page: 80 Today in the 21st century we are easily amused by what money can buy us even if it costs a fortune. Yet when you take a break from all the money spending and spend time with friends, nature, and family it is easy to see that you can find happiness everywhere especially the smallest things. You do not have to be economically viable in order to find happiness. Journal Entry # 4 Quote: â€Å"Woe to him who wants to please others! † Page: 182 Today in the 21st century we would read this quote as ‘warning to him who wants to please others. ’ Too often does one get teased upon for helping those in need. This quote further proves that when one person tries to please everyone they get overwhelmed with despair. Another way to read this is that when you constantly try to please others you never help yourself or make yourself happy so you continuously thrust sadness upon yourself. Journal Entry # 5 Quote: â€Å"That’s the road to take; find the absolute rhythm and following it with absolute trust. † Page: 233 As teenagers we are always told that everyone has a talent, when we grow older everyone tells us to pick a job that will support you financially. Sometimes ones talent will not support you financially such as an artist, photographer, or dancer. Yet this quote tells us to find our talent find something we like to do and stick with it. In other words go with your gut feeling. Zorba the Greek Poem: Narrator’s perspective Night had fallen, The sky was pitch – black. Thinking to myself It’s over. God is no longer with us. Laying down in a bunk next to a man, Once a complete stranger is now considered family. I was afraid of finding myself alone one evening I lay down in my new bed, reflecting on my new life. I remember the books and how they comforted me, I remember my precious Friend. Never shall I forget the last moment we shared. Whenever I happened to dream of a better world I imagined myself in the hands of my friend surrounded by life. Awakened from such a beautiful lie, I tell myself don’t let your self be overcome by lies. To believe meant I was weak. Everyday I knew an adventure was waiting for me. The nights were unbearable. Every night was filled with silence. Silence that broke my heart. Night. It was my time to think, To think of my books and my friend. To think of Zorba, and our spontaneous friendship. Most of all to think of what I will become. Night had fallen The sky was pitch – black Laying in a bunk next to a man, Thinking to myself. I am no longer who I used to be. I am no longer the awkward bookworm.

Cuba’s Environmental Problems

When socialism was introduced to Cuba, the idea was that it would be more eco-friendly than capitalism. Instead, the Revolution to quickly controlled two major factors that eventually led to environmental problems in developing countries: population growth and poverty. Contributing to the issue of poverty in Cuba are the financial, economic and commercial blockades imposed by the United States. In order to preserve the environment in Cuba and combat these issues, serious action was necessary. The amount of environmental damage falls into two categories: a) small-scale environmental destruction committed by individuals through illegal hunting, deforestation, dumping of waste into aquatic ecosystems, etc. ; or b) large-scale environmental destruction resulting from major projects and industries approved by governmental agencies and owned by international companies, like hotel chains and mining companies after the Special Period, and agriculture before the Special Period†. [1] The opportunity for Cuba to protect its environment came after the fall of the Soviet Union and the strengthening of the US blockade in 1990. This period, referred to as the Special Period (1990-2000), witnessed a decrease in many environmentally damaging activities both by choice and by necessity, but also resulted in many decisions to resuscitate the Cuban economy. After the Earth Summit in 1992, following Fidel Castro’s speech regarding the condition of the environment on a global scale, Cuba designed and implemented a variety of programs, administrative structures, and public awareness activities to promote sound environmental management and sustainable development. What is most important is the damage that ahs already been done and the efforts to reverse these conditions. Currently, there are many efforts to bring the Cuban environment to a sustainable level. When the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe ended trade and financial relationships with Cuba, the island was forced to make severe adjustments. The emergency measures implemented by the Cuban government aimed at preventing the total economic collapse of the regime, have been referred to by the leadership as the â€Å"special period in peacetime. † This Special Period brought about â€Å"the creation of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA) in 1994 [which] provided an important impetus for environmental policy and management on a national scale. †[2] In 1995 the National Environmental Strategy (EAN) was designed, but was not approved by the government until 1997. Since then the EAN â€Å"is the guiding document of Cuban environmental policy, establishing the principles upon which the national environmental efforts are based. †[3] The strategy identifies the main environmental issues in Cuba and proposes ideas and various methods to prevent, solve or minimize these problems. The strategy goals are to improve environmental protection and the use of natural resources in an attempt to meet sustainable social and economic development objectives. Evaluations of Cuba's environmental record in comparison with Eastern European records shows â€Å"that environmental deterioration in Cuba over more than three decades of socialist rule responded to specific conditions not usually found in developing countries†¦ but were present in the former Soviet Union and the former Eastern European socialist countries. [4] As a result of this, Kirwin Shaffer states that: Consequently, central planning ignored local environmental concerns. Also, the absence of private ownership and the lack of citizen input in decision making meant that all decisions affecting the local level were made with regard to how they fit with the overall national plan. Results and impacts at the local level were secondary. Which leads to these conclusions: Cuban agricultural and industrial development following the Soviet models have had similar consequences for water, soil and air pollution as found in Europe. 5] The current Cuban stance that attempts to blame the USSR for these effects in Cuba benefits Cuba’s political system because it takes the blame away from the state, but it is not served by the historical record. The glorified â€Å"greening† of Cuba during the 1990s has beneficial impacts over the short term, but, according to Diaz-Briquets and Perez-Lopez, economic costs and turns toward a development model based on tourism may soon erode those short-term gains. Cuba's pollution and contamination problems are widespread, and not completely the result of Soviet-style development projects. Yet, there is no doubt that many of the current environmental problems in Cuba result mainly from sovietization of the Cuban economy. Soil erosion and soil degradation are the main problems in agriculture. These problems started primarily due to the intensification of mechanized agriculture and the use of petrochemical herbicides and pesticides. [6] Agriculture is just one of the many environmental issues the island faces. In terms of the land, â€Å"the harm caused by permanent crops to these lands is primarily due to a lack of crop rotation causing soil depletion, poor agro-technical management and insufficient fertility measures. †[7] In 1970 La zafra de los diez millones, took place, in which the Cuban government attempted to break all historic sugar production records by producing a ten million ton sugar harvest. [8] The government fell short of their goal by two tons, but by this point the damage was already done. Because crops take so much nutrients from the land, farmers alternate crops each year to allow the land to recover. During la zafra de los diez millones crops were not alternated which took a heavy toll on the land. In Cuba, poorly designed and implemented agricultural development policies have been a major contributor to the degradation of the country’s soils: Soil degradation continued apace with the agricultural practices that came to prevail in Cuba during the first half of the twentieth century as more and more virgin islands were brought under sugarcane and livestock production. There is mounting evidence that the pace of soil deterioration intensified during the second half of the century, principally because of the widespread adoption of modern agricultural practices, particularly from the 1960s to the late 1980s. As in the Soviet Union and other socialist economies, the collectivization of the rural sector was regarded as necessary for achieving the goals of a centrally planned command economy. Collectivization would make possible economies of scale and bring the advantages of mechanization and modern scientific agriculture. 9] After the collectivization of land agrarian reforms were implemented to return the land to the state and to its’ citizens. But this shift in land ownership could have major environmental implications, especially after the fall of the Soviet Union. After the Soviets left Cuba, Cuban farming suffered a shortage of imported agricultural goods; leaving Cuban farmers to use traditional farming practices and some more modern techniques (such as rip irrigation) that are more environmentally friendly: The post-Soviet agricultural model is less dependent on imported agricultural practices that had been abandoned for their alleged backwardness: the large-scale use of beasts of burden, increased reliance on organic fertilizers and biological pest controls, the abandonment of marginal soils that had been brought under cultivation and made productive only by the intensive use of agricultural inputs, and a shift of urban labor to the countryside. [10] According to Diaz-Briquets and Perez-Lopez, more important than this change in agricultural practices, is that transferring the control of lands to farmers who are closely tied it, â€Å"and whose economic well-being will depend on the stewardship of the natural resource base, there is the expectation that the trend of soil deterioration†¦. may at least be slowed down†¦. [but] it is too early tell how successful the new agricultural policies will be. †[11] At this point, many of Cuba’s natural resources are in danger of extinction. Because Cuba has exported sugarcane as its main commodity, sugarcane has replaced natural flora and fauna. There was a time before 1959 when over 30 different kinds of bananas grew on the island, but most of the banana trees have been replaced by sugarcane. Cuba’s crops and animals have been affected by pests and diseases introduced from abroad; coastal pollution and excessive hunting also present severe threats to wildlife populations. [12] Water aquifers have been contaminated by pollutants (and saltwater on the coasts) and their levels are declining due to nearly unrestricted use. Similarly, waterflows reaching the coasts are also highly contaminated, which constantly hurts coral reefs and breeding grounds. Dam and reservoir construction has hurt coastal lagoons and mangroves: Cuba’s fresh water system (rivers/lakes/aquifers) has very serious problems. Under Castro’s policy of voluntad hidraulica, which called for not a single drop of fresh water to â€Å"be lost† to the ocean, the government has built over 1,000 large and small dams throughout the entire island, covering 1. 4% of Cuba’s territory. Although the benefits to Cuban agriculture are clear in terms of increased irrigated land (close to 1 million hectares), the ecological effect has been quite negative in terms of lowering the water’s oxygen level and increasing salinity. Dams have also blocked the dispersal of sediment and fresh water runoff over mangrove areas, contributing to a 30% average reduction of mangrove coverage and biodiversity loss[13] In fact, â€Å"the bays of Cuba are some of the most polluted in the world. Industrial, agricultural and human discharges into the sea, as well as deforestation for strip mining, have contributed to the pollution. [14] Water diversion to reservoirs is linked to the â€Å"virtual destruction of the oyster bed and major decline in the fish catch in the Casilda coastal region of southern Santa Clara Province. †[15] These factors, along with the excessive use of aquifer waters and wells used for sugar and citrus irrigation are contributing to the salinization of the water in Cuba. â€Å"Extensive water logging of coastal aquifers has lead to salinization and soil erosion. It has been estimated in 1991 that 600,000 ha have light to modest salinization levels, while the remainder show high levels of salinization. [16] The main source of water pollution lies in the industrial facilities, warehouses, and workshops and service entities located around the bay. Fifty-three industrial facilities are located in the immediate proximity of the bay, and another 84 industries produce waste that indirectly discharges into the bay through tributary streams. [17] These industrial areas include the port and the nickel industries that add to the contamination of the water supply. The port activity itself is also one of the major sources of contamination for the bay. It is estimated that the ships served in the port generate 150,000 tons of refuse per year. 18] Deforestation is also a factor contributing to the poor state of Cuba’s environment. Forests have not suffered nearly as much as the land, with conservation efforts bringing Cuba's forests back to their 1945 levels, but conservation of forests has not meant saving all woodlands. One of the main problems environmentalists have with deforestation in Cuba is the fact that many of the available estimates regarding how much of the original forest cover remained before the revolution are based on rough figures made by observers with no credible statistical information. According to Eudel Eduardo Cepero: The irrational use of forests has become common practice under the Castro regime. As no current data are available on the actual total area of cover forest, the value of Cuba’s forest resources is unknown. Most of the remaining natural forests are in poor condition from being overexploited. An average of 200 forest fires occur each year, affecting some 5,000 hectares of forest. Reforestation has been precarious, due to poor quality seeds, a low survival rate of plantings, and a narrow range of forest species utilized. 19] The National Environmental Strategy offers statistics to support Cepero’s claims by offering statistical information, but not listing sources to verify its facts; it also states that the forests in Cuba have grown over the last few years, but that there is still much work to be done with regards to improving the forest cover in Cuba: Although the forest cover has increased constantly in the recent years – in th e last 43 years increasing to a total coverage of 2, 696, 587. 9 hectares, bringing us to a forested index of 24. 54% in 2005 – after-effects still persist from years of irrational exploitation of Cuban forests which practically eradicated our most valuable woodland resources†¦. Problems persist with the quality of most native forests as a consequence of prior mismanagement and exploitation – particularly in the most important watersheds. Problems also exist in the nation’s seedbed sources, which do not meet productivity or quality expectations. In addition, a lack of updated forest management plans, insufficient silviculture of forested areas, and insufficiencies and deficiencies in management plans continue to present challenges[20] The EAN suggests that more work be done to investigate invasive plant species that re threatening the native plants. It says that the survival rate of tree plantations and the success rate of trees growing to full maturity have improved over the last few years, but that the numbers are still substantially low when compared to the anticipated numbers. Also, the range of forest species used in â€Å"forestry activities† has been inadequate. Also suffering from the effects of sovietization and the special period is the biological diversity of the island. â€Å"A substantial, unquantified loss of biodiversity exists, due, among other reasons, to improper management of certain ecosystems, the application of intensive farming, the marketing of endangered species, as well as conditions making it easy for important genetic resources to leave the countryâ€Å". 21] Coral reefs, mangroves, the original forest (which used to cover most of the island) and rainforests are ecosystems that are suffering in Cuba. According to the EAN, the leading causes of this loss of biodiversity are: [1] Changes, fragmentation, or destruction of habitat/ecosystems/landscapes due primarily to changes in land use and inadequate practices employed in fishing, harvest, and agricultural soil preparation, among others. Overexploitation of resources, for example fishing and forestry resources. [3] Degradation and contamination of soils, water, and the atmosphere. 4] Introduction of exotic invasive species that displace or affect the functioning of ecosystems and native species. [5]Insufficient regulatory and control mechanisms to prevent and punish illegal activities, including unlawful hunting and fishing, trade in threatened species and other natural resources. [6]Climate change and the resulting intensification of dry periods, the incidence of torrential rains, temperature increase, sea level rise, in addition to the intensity and frequency of extreme natural disasters such as hurricanes. [7] Forest fires. [22] The EAN lists the goals it wishes to achieve and the necessary steps that should be taken in order to achieve these goals. Among these goals are increasing the amount of forest coverage to 26. 7% of national territory; have one million hectares of forest maintained by the National System of Criterion and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management; complete National Forestry Planning in 2007; reduce amount of lands affected by forest fires; 69% of forest cover used as a buffer to protect coastal areas, soils, water and conservation forests; management program for invasive plant species. 23] Before the Special Period much of the air pollution in Cuba was the result of its’ dependence on Soviet and Eastern European vehicles and factories that were contaminating the air: Urban pollution, could be partly traced to Cuba’s extreme reliance on inefficient and highly contaminating Soviet and Eastern European-built vehicles and factories. In the agricultural sector, a practice that resulted in much environmental damage was the promotion of Sovietstyle, large-scale state farm production model based on widespread mechanization, heavy chemical inputs (e. . , fertilizers and herbicides), and extensive irrigation[24] Air pollution in Cuba has increased significantly in the years since the Soviets left the island. â€Å" The absence of mitigation measures for emissions, inadequate control measures on the levels of noise generated by different activities, scarce information about the harmful effects on health and social behavior, the poor technical state of transport, and a lack of standards for emissions are also present. [25] There are few environmental reports available to the public that are based on analytical information that is collected systematically in the field and processed in laboratories. Cuban scientists state that: The two main sources of sulfuric gases within the city limits are the old thermal power plants of Tallapiedra in the Old Havana neighborhood and the Antonio Maceo plant in Regla, across the Bay of Havana. In both of these neighborhoods they recorded the highest level of environmental pollution, measuring up to 7. milligrams of sulfides per square decimeter per day at the Tallapiedra Power Plant†¦. Three secondary sources in the metallurgic, chemical and construction ind ustries were also associated with air pollution, all of them located in the environs of Havana Bay. [26] The Ministry of Public Health, better endowed for this purpose than other branches of government, has produced or published few precise documents dealing with health conditions and environmental degradation. Sulfur oxides, undesirable residues of combustion that are produced mostly in power plants when sulfur-rich fuels are burned, create respiratory problems and cause acid rain. Cuba replaced part of the vanished Soviet fuel imports of the late 1980s with domestic crude containing roughly six percent sulfur. It is used mostly in power plants and to run cement factories. [27] Diaz-Briquets and Perez-Lopez point out that the means of transportation in Cuba are getting old and, due to poor maintenance and inadequate resources to obtain parts, they are polluting and becoming harmful to the environment. Their conclusion is that â€Å"As long as the economic crisis continues, Cuba will not be able to modernize its fleet of cars, trucks, and buses (other than for those few vehicles serving the tourist industry)†. [28] If the Cuban government would allow media to spread environmental education to the citizens of Cuba and to the rest of the world, not only would it help efforts within Cuba to protect and improve the environment but it would also help efforts to improve the environment on a global level. The strategy points out that Article 27 of the Constitution of the Republic says: The state protects the nation’s environment and natural resources and recognizes their close relationship with sustainable economic and social development to make human life more rational and to ensure the survival, well being and security of present and future generations. It is the responsibility of proper governmental agencies to apply this policy. It is the duty of the citizens to contribute to the protection of the water, atmosphere, and the conservation of soil, wild flora and fauna and all the rich potential of nature. [29] Since Cuba has declared a national sovereignty over its natural resources and is actively working to restore and protect them, the state must also exercise rights over the country’s environment and resources. Similarly, Cuba must develop a national tendency towards â€Å"integrated natural resource management, commercial environmental management, and urban environmental management as fundamental traits of Cuban environmental management. †[30] The current embargo the United States has placed on Cuba keeps the island from growing economically. Which means that , since the economy is not changing or being stimulated, the people of Cuba are suffering. Meaning, because man poor, urban people cannot afford daily necessities, they resort to alternate ways to get everyday goods; even if it means depleting the natural resources. With the current government in Cuba and the restrictions caused by the embargo, it is hard to think that the Cuban environment will improve much in the next decade or two; but the National Environmental Strategy offers hope to the idea that Cuba’s environment will improve. The â€Å"National Environment Strategy 2007-2010† is dedicated to improving the environmental conditions of Cuba and finding a way to meet sustainable social and economic development goals. The eradication of extreme poverty is an achievement rooted in the very foundations of the revolutionary process. Achieving this is essential to the pursuit of environmental sustainability, first and foremost because extreme poverty cannot coexist with a healthy environment. The solution to this challenge is one of the principal achievements that Cuba can effectively show to the world. 31] The future of environmental reforms in Cuba will be influenced by a variety of cultural, economic, social, and political factors. Ultimate success or failure, however, will likely depend more on thorough laws, money, human capital, public involvement in environmental decision making, use of incentive-based tools, and international support. Strong environmental laws are a necessary foundation for sustaina ble development, but success will only occur with the continuing political will to implement and enforce them.

Gun Rights, Gun Control, and Frequently Asked Questions

Gun Rights, Gun Control, and Frequently Asked Questions After nearly every instance of gun violence, talk of new gun control measures heats up. Here we will answer a number of the most frequently asked questions about guns and gun control and a conservative take on why conservatives oppose most new gun control measures. Many Conservatives want to allow school staff to be armed. Wouldn’t allowing guns in schools increase the chance of gun violence? The argument that letting certain trained and certified school officials carry guns will create a â€Å"dangerous† situation is without merit. After all, President Obamas own children go to an elite school with an armed security detail and the school itself has over a dozen guards, mostly made up of trained police officers. Given the elite nature of the school, it is likely that they are armed as well. Of course, there is the reality that we live in a â€Å"do-as-I-say† world where elite politicians send their kids to elite (and armed!) private schools on one hand while doing everything in their power to prevent the lower and middle class from doing the same, sentencing children to time in failing public schools. Beyond the hypocrisy of the ruling elites, gun control advocates argue that the presence of guns could force the escalation of a teacher-student argument into a dangerous situation. I’m not sure why escalation would be limited to a â€Å"gun.† If a school official was driven to the point of drawing a gun, what prevents them from losing it without a gun and attack students in a different way? Wouldn’t they just find a different weapon? Yet there does not appear to be an epidemic of crazy teachers violently attacking students. If our teachers are deranged, then what would stop them from bringing a gun to school even if it were a â€Å"gun free zone†? But this doesn’t happen. Responsible gun owners are rarely the problem with guns. This doesn’t mean we should arm every teacher. In reality, the need for a school official to take action is rare, despite what the media has us believe. But it might be nice in case they were needed. We are told to blame the person and not the gun, but then some argue to blame â€Å"Hollywood† instead. How does that make sense? Advertisers pay millions of dollars to run 30-second television ads and place products predominantly in movies and entertainment programming. Athletes, actors, and singers sign multi-million dollar endorsement deals to publicly support products. Why would a soda company pay for a popular TV character to simply drink from their can during a television show if it had no effect on consumer behavior? (And note that the â€Å"key demographic† for advertising is 18-34 year-old males because they are the most likely to be influenced such advertising.) It’s illegal to run a 30 second television commercial selling cigarettes because it might make kids want to smoke cigarettes. And television shows – and even car commercials – often come with a warning to â€Å"not try this at home.† Why? Because they know people will. Oh, and they will do it regardless of the warning. Now, this is not to say that Hollywood is at fault. But there is a dangerous element when you inundate and desensitize to violence an entire segment of the population. Mix the culture with a person with mental illness and it can become a dangerous situation. Ultimately, individuals are responsible. But we can’t on one hand say that the culture has no effect on behavior when we all know that is not the case. What responsibility does the NRA have in gun control? The NRA supports and teaches responsible gun ownership to people of all ages. They teach classes on gun safety, self-defense, and proper gun usage techniques. They do not promote violence. In fact, they speak out against the entertainment culture that regularly promotes guns and gun violence in a glorified manner. I’d also guess that the problem with gun violence is not among people who are members of the NRA. After all, if they were, we would hear about it. Why does it seem the conservatives’ solution to every gun-related problem is â€Å"more guns†? That can be answered simply by asking another question: Where does crime and mass shooting tragedies happen most frequently? Not surprisingly, in â€Å"gun-free zones.† Notice that mass shooters never head to a police station in hoped of killing or terrorizing people. No, they head to â€Å"gun-free zone† schools or movie theatres with â€Å"no firearms† signs posted everywhere. Criminals will always take the path of least resistance. If a criminal drove upon two streets, one where guns were outlawed and the other were it was mandatory every house had a gun owner, which neighborhood will the criminal rob? It can also be true that a law that mandates gun ownership – yet where no-one in the neighborhood actually owns a gun – can prevent crime as the robber doesn’t know who does and who does not own a gun. And perhaps a school that not only drops the â€Å"gun-free† premise but teaches classes on gun safety and has a shooting range will not be high on a deranged person’s list to go to. But again, it’s also important to stress that such occurrences are very rare in the first place.