Essay --

The 1960’s was a period of war, governmental issues, and an outing to the moon. For some it was a tempestuous time loaded up with disarray, while for other people, it was a quiet, prosperous time. For my granddad, Robert Mammini, it was an incredible time where he would settle down, start a family, and experience a most important decade. He was hitched in 1961 at 24 years old to my grandmother, Mary Mammini. During this decade his family extended and he had three kids. His originally conceived Kim, my mother was conceived in 1962, trailed by my uncle in 1964 and later my auntie in 1966. He and my grandma lived in Concord, California only a few squares from Clayton Valley High School. It’s strange to think they lived a short ways from where I live at this point. With my grandma’s hands full with three messes with it was dependent upon my grandpa to be the working man. He worked at James Nelson Company, a blasting warming and cooling organization, in San Francisco where he made great wages and was given extraordinary advantages. With the great compensation my granddad had the option to handily bear the cost of a fresh out of the box new home evaluated at $22,000, which included 3 beds and 2 showers. This decade was the beginning of a long ride for the Mammini family loaded up with mind boggling world occasions that we will never encounter again. The sixties was 10 years loaded up with major political discussions that influenced the whole nation. When the sixties came around we were in the most fierce piece of the Cold War, a time of military and political strain between the United States and the Soviet Union. As Dwight Eisenhower concluded the fifties it was the ideal opportunity for another president to grab hold of the rules. As the nation surrounded probably the nearest political decision in history it was up to Democratic competitor, John F. Kennedy to contend agains... ...ed a mind-blowing remainder. My granddad revealed to me that the sixties were probably the greatest long periods of his life. He wedded the adoration for his life toward the start of the decade and by its’ last scarcely any years he had three delightful kids that would all proceed to live upbeat lives. The decade had a few close to calamities however none of them appeared. Generally the sixties was an incredible time for America. The individuals were glad, innovation was progressing, and the economy was blasting. It was additionally a period where it at long last resembled the U.S. was at long last pulling in front of the Soviet Union. We defused an emergency that constrained the Soviets to remain down during the Cuban Missile Crisis. They may have beaten us into placing a man into space, however we won the last fight when we arrived on the moon. The sixties no uncertainty had their lows, however they were exceeded by all the highs they carried with them. Exposition - The 1960’s was a period of war, governmental issues, and an outing to the moon. For some it was a fierce time loaded up with disorder, while for other people, it was a serene, prosperous time. For my granddad, Robert Mammini, it was a mind-blowing time where he would settle down, start a family, and experience a most important decade. He was hitched in 1961 at 24 years old to my grandmother, Mary Mammini. During this decade his family extended and he had three kids. His initially conceived Kim, my mother was conceived in 1962, trailed by my uncle in 1964 and later my auntie in 1966. He and my grandma lived in Concord, California only a few squares from Clayton Valley High School. It’s unusual to think they lived a little ways from where I live at this point. With my grandma’s hands full with three messes with it was dependent upon my grandpa to be the working man. He worked at James Nelson Company, a blasting warming and cooling organization, in San Francisco whe re he made great wages and was given extraordinary advantages. With the great compensation my granddad had the option to effortlessly bear the cost of a fresh out of the plastic new home evaluated at $22,000, which included 3 beds and 2 showers. This decade was the beginning of a long ride for the Mammini family loaded up with unfathomable world occasions that we will never encounter again. The sixties was 10 years loaded up with major political discussions that influenced the whole nation. When the sixties came around we were in the most violent piece of the Cold War, a period of military and political pressure between the United States and the Soviet Union. As Dwight Eisenhower concluded the fifties it was the ideal opportunity for another president to grab hold of the rules. As the nation surrounded perhaps the nearest political race in history it was up to Democratic competitor, John F. Kennedy to contend agains... ...ed an incredible remainder. My granddad disclosed to me that the sixties were the absolute greatest long stretches of his life. He wedded the adoration for his life toward the start of the decade and by its’ last hardly any years he had three excellent youngsters that would all proceed to live glad lives. The decade had a few close to fiascos yet none of them appeared. By and large the sixties was an extraordinary time for America. The individuals were glad, innovation was moving, and the economy was blasting. It was likewise a period where it at long last resembled the U.S. was at last pulling in front of the Soviet Union. We defused an emergency that constrained the Soviets to remain down during the Cuban Missile Crisis. They may have beaten us into placing a man into space, yet we won the last fight when we arrived on the moon. The sixties no uncertainty had their lows, yet they were exceeded by all the highs they carried with them.

Pro-Form - Definition and Examples in English Grammar

Stars in English Grammar Star structure is a word or expression that can replace another word (or word gathering) in a sentence. The way toward subbing star structures for different words is called proformation. In English, the most widely recognized ace structures are pronouns, yet different words, (for example, here, there, thus, not, and do) can likewise work as master forms.â The genius structure is the alluding word in a sentence; the word or word bunch that is alluded to is the predecessor. Models and Observations: My grandma began strolling five miles every day when she was sixty. Shes 97 now, and we dont know where the damnation she is.  (American humorist Ellen DeGeneres)Our father ...returned the morning and disclosed to us he had discovered lodgings, thus we went there. They were east of the harbor, off Lot Street, at the rear of a house which had seen better days. (Margaret Atwood, Alias Grace. McClelland Stewart, 1996)One day in English class I passed Bill Hilgendorff a note. I love you, the note said. He collapsed it up and looked straight ahead. At that point I murmured to him that he could carry on with as long as he can remember long and nobody could ever cherish him as I did. I thought this was an astonishing and brave and powerful thing to do. (Tereze Glã ¼ck, May You Live in Interesting Times. College of Iowa Press, 1995)We had offers to play in Hong Kong, and I generally needed to go there, yet I wouldnt consent to do it since it wasnt going to add any more benefit to the tour. (Johnny Ramone, Commando: The Autobiography of Johnny Ramone. Abrams, 2012) At the point when the tzar was situated, every other person sat, thus did we. (L. E. Modesitt, Jr., Ghost of the White Nights. Tor Books, 2001)Boldly, Stein jumps from her short history of open source to the eventual fate of Canadian federalism. One may have anticipated that her should build up her contention toward situation IV, however lamentably she did not. (Ruth Hubbard and Gilles Paquet, The Black Hole of Public Administration. College of Ottawa Press, 2010)Im glad for the numerous ways youre developing, and I trust you are, too. (Fred Rogers, Dear Mr. Rogers. Penguin, 1996) Rogers, Does It Ever Rain in Your Neighborhood?: Letters to Mr.People happily blended the otherworldly and the unremarkable, and I did as well. (Gwendolyn M. Parker, Trespassing: My Sojourn in the Halls of Privilege. Houghton Mifflin, 1997) So and Not as Pro-Formsâ In some cases ace structures speak to less plainly recognizable constituents: (6) He may choose to go along with us one week from now, yet I dont think so.(7) Speaker A: Will he go along with us next week?Speaker B: I would like to think not. In (6) the qualifier so speaks to the former statement yet with a suitable difference in administrator: . . . be that as it may, I dont figure he will go along with us one week from now. In (7), the modifier not speaks to the entire of the previous condition yet transforms it into a negative proclamation: . . . I trust he won't go along with us next week. (Carl Bache, Mastering English: An Advanced Grammar for Non-Native and Native Speakers. Walter de Gruyter, 1997) Do as a Pro-Form Do is utilized as an expert structure when the predicate itself and all the supplements which tail it are omitted (Jack hurt himself getting water, and Jill did, as well). On the off chance that another assistant is available, the genius structure do is less normal (Has Jack harmed himself? Truly, he has; additionally, Yes, he has done . . .). Note that the professional structure do isn't a similar lexeme as the assistant do; the last has just the structures do, does, did while the ace structure has these just as done and doing. (Stephan Gramley and Kurt-Michael Ptzold, A Survey of Modern English, second ed. Routledge, 2004)

Networking It is, by and Large, who you Know

Networking It is, by and Large, who you Know The Importance of Networking and How to do it at University The Importance of Networking and How to do it at University For many people, the term ‘networking’ conjures up images of contrived meetings and forced interactions. Making a friend is an authentic, organic experience, but networking involves a much more conscious self-interest. ‘How can this person help me?’ sounds like an inherently selfish question to ask oneself. What is networking at university and college? But networking is about establishing relationships with people that may also include a genuine friendship which are nonetheless based on understanding, respect, and a mutual benefit. While it may feel slightly odd to attend seminars and events and approach complete strangers for the sole purpose of finding people who might be of use to you at some point in the future, forming strategic relationships and alliances is a part of life, and, like it or not, a large part of professional and financial success. Below are some of the most important things to understand about networking while at school. Networking events are for networking For some, especially those who crave authentic experiences, networking events (whether organized by a particular faculty, campus-wide, or altogether independent from the university or college) can seem like a daunting process. You walk up to someone you potentially have never met before, extend your hand, and introduce yourself fully knowing that you are appraising their usefulness to you, and they are doing the same on the other end. You need to put this discomfort in the back of your mind. Everyone at the event knows what you are there for. You are trying to make interpersonal connections that will help you. If you find someone you want to include in your professional network, and they are receptive, then it is important to create that relationship as there is potential value for both parties. Establish a goal for your networking event A LinkedIn article entitled “How to Nail Your Next Networking Event in 5 Easy Steps” has setting a goal as the first, and prerequisite step for all networking functions. Go into your networking event with a clear idea of how many people you want to talk to, and how many new connections you would like to add to your network. It helps to set a goal before beginning any kind of networking event because it makes the task seem less daunting. Successfully navigating a multi-hour networking event full of hundreds of people can feel like the most intimidating task of your life. Instead, set your parameters before beginning. Ask yourself how many people you would like to meet. If the networking opportunity offers a list of all attendees, along with their credentials, hobbies, interest, and previous work/academic experience, do your homework before going so that you can strike up a more genuine, more authentic conversation with the people you would like to talk to. At an event with over 200 attendees, you are likely only going to want to talk to a handful of them anyways. Listen before you speak When meeting someone for the first time, whether it be a professional connection, or a friendship, many people want to make a great, first impression. You want to make a good impression on the person you’re talking to, which, in part, means communicating and advertising the good qualities you bring to the table. While it is important to do this well, and to do it without sounding arrogant, or full of bravado, it is equally, if not more important to understand that networking at university and college involves a healthy amount of listening. A 2018 Forbes article entitled “To Communicate Well, Listen First” claims that in order to even hope to have a fruitful conversation with someone (or a group of people), you must first understand their needs and concerns in order to then respond with something that will resonate with them. Simply jumping into your sales pitch, or spiel about what you bring to the table, or why someone should give you the time of day means you will likely end up talking past the person. Furthermore, networking often implies talking to people you know very little about. If you want to form any kind of a personal connection with the individuals you are talking to, really listening to what they have to say will allow you to come up with much more thoughtful responses to their statements and questions. A common mistake made by people who do not understand the art of conversation is using the time when they are not speaking, and should be listening, to go over what they are dying to say themselves. If you are on the edge of your seat waiting to blurt out what’s on your mind, it will likely show. The value of a professional network Ask any successful person you know whether it’s a friend, a relative, or a boss and most, if not all of them will undoubtedly credit their social and professional network with opening the door to opportunities. You hear people talk frequently about their “shot,” and who gave it to them someone who recognized their talent or value, and provided them with an opportunity to demonstrate what they were made of. Most successful people, if they are entirely honest with themselves, can trace their current success back to both their talent, as well as their strategic network of friends, contacts, and associates. They also know how to communicate their value to other people which involves being able to write and design a stellar resume and personal statements. Networking does not come natural to a great many people, but its value and necessity is understood by everyone who has used it to bolster their professional and social lives. Before any networking event, you should already understand what you bring to the table, and how you are going to let the world know. If, on the other hand, you need help marketing yourself, or understanding how to highlight and advertise your positive qualities, contact Homework Help Global, and let us help put together a self-marketing plan that will let you nail networking at university and college. References: Brenner, D. (2018). “To Communicate Well, Listen First.” Forbes. Retrieved from: #6d6fb85232a9 Frank, J. (2015). “How to Nail Your Next Networking Event in 5 Easy Steps.” LinkedIn. Retrieved from: how-nail-your-next-networking-event-5-easy-steps-judy-frank Networking It is, by and Large, who you Know The Importance of Networking and How to do it at University The Importance of Networking and How to do it at University For many people, the term ‘networking’ conjures up images of contrived meetings and forced interactions. Making a friend is an authentic, organic experience, but networking involves a much more conscious self-interest. ‘How can this person help me?’ sounds like an inherently selfish question to ask oneself. What is networking at university and college? But networking is about establishing relationships with people that may also include a genuine friendship which are nonetheless based on understanding, respect, and a mutual benefit. While it may feel slightly odd to attend seminars and events and approach complete strangers for the sole purpose of finding people who might be of use to you at some point in the future, forming strategic relationships and alliances is a part of life, and, like it or not, a large part of professional and financial success. Below are some of the most important things to understand about networking while at school. Networking events are for networking For some, especially those who crave authentic experiences, networking events (whether organized by a particular faculty, campus-wide, or altogether independent from the university or college) can seem like a daunting process. You walk up to someone you potentially have never met before, extend your hand, and introduce yourself fully knowing that you are appraising their usefulness to you, and they are doing the same on the other end. You need to put this discomfort in the back of your mind. Everyone at the event knows what you are there for. You are trying to make interpersonal connections that will help you. If you find someone you want to include in your professional network, and they are receptive, then it is important to create that relationship as there is potential value for both parties. Establish a goal for your networking event A LinkedIn article entitled “How to Nail Your Next Networking Event in 5 Easy Steps” has setting a goal as the first, and prerequisite step for all networking functions. Go into your networking event with a clear idea of how many people you want to talk to, and how many new connections you would like to add to your network. It helps to set a goal before beginning any kind of networking event because it makes the task seem less daunting. Successfully navigating a multi-hour networking event full of hundreds of people can feel like the most intimidating task of your life. Instead, set your parameters before beginning. Ask yourself how many people you would like to meet. If the networking opportunity offers a list of all attendees, along with their credentials, hobbies, interest, and previous work/academic experience, do your homework before going so that you can strike up a more genuine, more authentic conversation with the people you would like to talk to. At an event with over 200 attendees, you are likely only going to want to talk to a handful of them anyways. Listen before you speak When meeting someone for the first time, whether it be a professional connection, or a friendship, many people want to make a great, first impression. You want to make a good impression on the person you’re talking to, which, in part, means communicating and advertising the good qualities you bring to the table. While it is important to do this well, and to do it without sounding arrogant, or full of bravado, it is equally, if not more important to understand that networking at university and college involves a healthy amount of listening. A 2018 Forbes article entitled “To Communicate Well, Listen First” claims that in order to even hope to have a fruitful conversation with someone (or a group of people), you must first understand their needs and concerns in order to then respond with something that will resonate with them. Simply jumping into your sales pitch, or spiel about what you bring to the table, or why someone should give you the time of day means you will likely end up talking past the person. Furthermore, networking often implies talking to people you know very little about. If you want to form any kind of a personal connection with the individuals you are talking to, really listening to what they have to say will allow you to come up with much more thoughtful responses to their statements and questions. A common mistake made by people who do not understand the art of conversation is using the time when they are not speaking, and should be listening, to go over what they are dying to say themselves. If you are on the edge of your seat waiting to blurt out what’s on your mind, it will likely show. The value of a professional network Ask any successful person you know whether it’s a friend, a relative, or a boss and most, if not all of them will undoubtedly credit their social and professional network with opening the door to opportunities. You hear people talk frequently about their “shot,” and who gave it to them someone who recognized their talent or value, and provided them with an opportunity to demonstrate what they were made of. Most successful people, if they are entirely honest with themselves, can trace their current success back to both their talent, as well as their strategic network of friends, contacts, and associates. They also know how to communicate their value to other people which involves being able to write and design a stellar resume and personal statements. Networking does not come natural to a great many people, but its value and necessity is understood by everyone who has used it to bolster their professional and social lives. Before any networking event, you should already understand what you bring to the table, and how you are going to let the world know. If, on the other hand, you need help marketing yourself, or understanding how to highlight and advertise your positive qualities, contact Homework Help Global, and let us help put together a self-marketing plan that will let you nail networking at university and college. References: Brenner, D. (2018). “To Communicate Well, Listen First.” Forbes. Retrieved from: #6d6fb85232a9 Frank, J. (2015). “How to Nail Your Next Networking Event in 5 Easy Steps.” LinkedIn. Retrieved from: how-nail-your-next-networking-event-5-easy-steps-judy-frank

Relationship Between Ethnic Minority And Women And The...

This study examines the relationship between ethnic minority and women and the level of traits that they have in common with Antisocial Personality disorder, compared to Caucasian males. It was hypothesized that ethnic minority women would show equal if not more of these behaviors when compared to Caucasian males. The findings showed a statistical significance in that African-American females showed an equal ability to be just as violent and lack in empathy as much as Caucasian males. Latinas were statistically significant to display more violence and lack of empathy than Caucasian males. Introduction Sociopaths have continued to be an interesting phenomenon to the outside world. What most people don’t know is that sociopaths usually suffer from some spectrum of Antisocial Personality Disorder. According to Grohol (2016), Differences Between a Psychopath vs. Sociopath, sociopath and psychopath are both categorized as antisocial personality disorders. Deceit and manipulation are the main features to this personality disorder. An associate professor of Psychology and Neuroscience from the University of New Mexico, and a District Judge from Denver, Colorado, stated in The Criminal Psychopath: History, Neuroscience, Treatment, and Economics, that individuals with psychopathic personality have a disproportionate impact on the criminal justice system (Kiehl and Hoffman, 2011). Psychopaths are 20 to 25 times more likely than non-psychopaths to be in prison and areShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Enzo Colombo s Article Reflections On Race, Diversity, And The Crossroads Of Multiculturalism 865 Words   |  4 PagesEveryday, we as human beings see men and women of different races and colors going about life. Some of these people are celebrities, our coworkers, and friends. People that are of different ethnic diversity than white Europeans are seen as the minority. 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Stereotyping: beliefs about social groups * Stereotyping is the belief about social groups in terms of the traits or characteristics that they are deemed to share * Stereotypes are cognitiveframeworks that influence the processes of social information * Gender stereotypes concern the traits possessed by females and males that distinguish the two genders. * Women are perceived as high on warmth but low on competence * Woman are low in status * Men are perceived as decisiveRead MoreStuck With Low Self Esteem759 Words   |  4 Pagesthe individual maintains health and wealth. Although men have higher levels of self esteem than women, gender is still not a defining factor as both men and women show increases in self esteem from adolescence to midlife and decreases in old age. Where patterns are not the same are ethnicity. self esteem levels for members of ethnic minority groups are not similar to those of majority group members. 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The Incarceration Rate Of State And Federal Prisons

For several decades there has been a considerable increase incarceration rate in state and federal prisons. This is due to the public demanding more castigatory laws along with harsher sentencing policies. In the United State there 2.3 million people are incarcerated in prisons and jails which make the United States the lead in the incarceration rate (Wright, 2010). Truth in sentencing law made it essential that offenders serve a significant portion of the prison sentenced handed down by the court before he or she can be considered or eligible for release. Policies implemented before reduced the quantity of time an offender served on a sentence, such as parole board release, goodtime, and earned-time are constrained or get rid of under†¦show more content†¦This study found that even though a lot of states interacted the Truth in Sentence laws there was limited Federal pressure on State Truth in Sentence guidelines. Instead, state reforms naturally pre-dated the Federal leg islation or were implemented in small increments adjusting to practices that already existed. What s more, the study concluded that State Truth in Sentence usually augmented the anticipated duration of time to be served however, these augmentations were rarely the most important contributor to the increase in prison population. However, changes in crime rates, prison admissions and arrests were the most influential (Rosich Kane, n.d.) The Urban Institute Study also studied the effect of a variety of Truth in Sentence reforms that were put into practices in the States for the period of the early-to mid-1990’s on their prison population. The study conducted a quantitative examination of crime, arrest, population, and corrections data from seven States that focused on whether State Truth in Sentence reform actually paved the road to changes in punishments for offenders who were violent and also increased the prison population. The study found that possibility of a prison admission given arrest for serious violent offenses did not automatically increase. However, the use of incarceration augmented in four States, but diminished in the other three. But, there was an increase in expected stay depending on the severity of punishment for serious

Urbanisation Is Sea Free Essays

SE1101E Group Essay Rural-Urban migration, or â€Å"urbanization†, has led to a better life for a majority of Southeast Asians. To what extent is this true? Discuss your answer using examples from at least three different Southeast Asian societies to illustrate your points. ____ Introduction For the longest time, Singaporeans lived in a relative urban oasis – coined, praised and awarded as the ‘Garden City’. We will write a custom essay sample on Urbanisation Is Sea or any similar topic only for you Order Now Even so, in the last 2 years, Singaporeans have experienced the stress of continued urbanization, created primarily through migration. This stress has been manifested physically as inadequate infrastructure, socially as rising xenophobia and politically as rising discontentment, leading to the long-ruling People’s Action Party to face its worst electoral performance since independence in 1965. It is this backdrop that propelled our group to comparatively examine the urbanization experiences of three of Southeast Asia’s largest countries, and evaluate the outcomes. Firstly and most importantly, it is important to delineate the two key terms – â€Å"rural-urban migration† and â€Å"urbanization†. While â€Å"rural-urban migration† is a subset of â€Å"urbanization†, urbanization as a process is far more encompassing, as Terry McGee has noted to include the expansion and encroachment of urban regions into formerly rural areas through land-use conversion practices. For the scope of this essay, we will limit our arguments to the process of â€Å"rural-urban migration†. The process of migration is simply defined by Zelinsky as â€Å"a permanent or semipermanent change of residence†. Petersen offers a sociological perspective, defining migration as â€Å"a spatial transfer from one social unit or neighbourhood to another†. Extending these, rural-urban migration can be broadly defined as the movement of people from rural home locations to urban locations, which results in socio-economic impacts for â€Å"both the origin and destination societies†. This includes circulatory migration, where rural migrants return to their home location after a period in the urban location, and permanent relocation from the rural location to the urban location. Further to this, to achieve a manageable scope of discussion, we have elected to focus on (domestic) rural-urban migration, where the rural and urban locations are located within the same country, as opposed to the processes of transnational (and regional) rural-urban migration. In this essay, we will argue that while the process of rural-urban migration has created a better life for some, it has not necessarily created a better life for the majority of Southeast Asians especially when evaluated on a holistic level. Specifically, we will use the case studies of Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines to support our argument. These three countries were selected as their combined populations of over 400 million, consist a majority 65 per cent of Southeast Asia’s 620 million people, in addition to their relative comparative congruence within the extremely diverse Southeast Asian region. Secondly, this essay strives not to be an ideological critique of the processes of â€Å"rural-urban migration† and â€Å"urbanization† but rather, serve as a comparative exposition on the impacts of rural-urban migration in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines and provide an objective evaluation of whether this process has created a â€Å"better life† for the â€Å"majority of Southeast Asians†. Aptly congruent, Tjitoherijanto and Hasmi describe urbanization as an expression of â€Å"people’s desire for a better life† and â€Å"must be recognized as a natural modern process by which humans attempt to improve their welfare†. The central themes of what is â€Å"a better life†, has rural-urban migration created it and for whom, form the framework of our discussion. Case Study: The Philippines In our first case study, we analyze the Philippines. The state of urbanization in the Philippines is comparatively the most advanced of the three case studies, with 33 highly urbanized cities and 4 surpassing the 1 illion-population mark. While the 2010 census depicts the state of urbanization in the Philippines, it does not describe the flow of domestic rural-urban migration. From 1970 to 1990, the percentage of the Philippine population identified as â€Å"urban† surged from 36% to 52%, which further increased to 59% by 2000. Not all of this growth can be attributed to rural-urban migration. In fact, 47. 2% is actually due to reclassification of formerly rural areas as urban and natural urbanite population growth. While explicit data is sparse, Hugo provides a basis to assume that the remaining and majority 52% of this urban growth, is likely due to rural-urban migration. In tandem with rising urbanization, cursory economic indicators also rose. GDP increased from USD 6. 6 billion in 1960 to USD 199. 5 billion by 2010. Even with considerable population growth, GDP per capita also grew during the same period, from USD 692 to USD 1,383. Nakanishi forwards that the rural sector conditions in the Philippines, where peasants do not own their land, are â€Å"insupportable† and conditions in the city, though not the best, are an improvement. Knight and Song, who compute the Philippine’s urban-to-rural income ratio to be 2. 26, give further credence to the possibility, that perhaps, rural-urban migration might create a better economical life for rural migrants, and for all Filipinos too. These quantitative indicators are, however, quickly problematized as overly simplistic. To begin, consider the Gini coefficient, which measures the inequality of income distribution. For the Philippines, this stood at 0. 46 in 2010; the income share held by the top 10% was 36% while the income share held by the bottom 10% was only 2%. This significantly unequal distribution of income evidences that the benefits associated with economic growth has not reached and has not benefitted a vast majority of Filipinos. Also, counterintuitively, higher income levels in urban areas do not actually lead to economic improvement on all accounts, as the Harris-Todaro model establishes. Simply put, the wage differential between the urban and rural areas (2. 26 in the case of the Philippines) compels rural populations to igrate to urban areas despite urban unemployment which further, and continually, increases unemployment, as long as urban wage levels continue to exceed that of rural areas. This thesis holds true in the Philippines context, where even as unemployment rates rose from 5% in 1980 to 11% by 2000, rural-urban migration continued to rise. This self-perpetuating cycle is particularly significant as it confirms that rural-urban migration, far from leading to a better life, actually results in the opposite. Rising unemplo yment creates further problems. One is the creation of urban slums, where the poorest rural migrants generally live. In fact, from 2000 to 2006, urban slums grew at a rate of 3. 5%, faster than the urban population growth rate of 2. 3%. This evidences that rural-urban migration (which generates the majority of urban population growth) creates negative socioeconomic ripple effects, which compound with time, noting that rural-urban migration began in the 1960s in the Philippines. In Manila alone today, 35% of the 12 million population live in slums. Urban slums, which are â€Å"characterized by poor sanitation, overcrowded and crude habitation, inadequate water supply, hazardous location and insecurity of tenure†, have been recognized to lead to widespread environmental degradation. Most prominently, the lack of proper sanitation and sewerage services in slums contaminate citywide and nationwide water supplies, creating over 38 million cases of life-threatening diarrhea in the Philippines every year. This is despite the percentage of urban population with access to sanitation in the Philippines increasing from 69% in 1990 to 79% in 2010. This contradiction recalls Ulrich Beck’s pithy quote â€Å"smog is democratic†; that environmental impacts (linked to rural-urban migration and its ensuing employment) created by a small segment of the population can degrade the quality of life for a significant majority, in a ripple-like effect. However, ripple effects can work both ways, and in a positive sense too. One common example is that of the increased literacy rate as a result of rural-urban migration. From 1980 to 2000, the literacy rate increased from 84% to 93%. The literature is clear; generally speaking, a higher literacy ate and education level are two of the most significant positive externalities of rural-urban migration. The causation link between rural-urban migration and literacy is primarily due to the higher accessibility of schools in urban regions, which allow rural migrants in urban centers to more readily access schooling. This causation is however, problematic in the Philippines, where there is no wide disparity in literacy rates between rural and urban areas that would support such a causation thesis. The primary school net attendance rate in rural areas was only marginally lower at 86%, compared to 89% in urban areas. Some theorists have hypothesized that a strong historical cultural emphasis on education in the Philippines is one reason for this comparative equality in literacy rates in both urban and rural areas. Regardless, the lack of causation between rural-urban migration and literacy rates in the Philippines, further evidences that rural-urban migration, has not led to a â€Å"better life† for a significant majority of Filipinos. The discussion thus far surfaces a most important facet of the discussion – that of policy responses to rural-urban migration. It is apparent that the impacts created by the process of rural-urban migration might not be as deterministic as Harris and Todaro implied (their simplifying assumptions have been widely critiqued). It is crucial to note that the impact of the rural-urban migration process, whether positive or negative, is molded through the lens of government policy responses. In the case of the Phillipines, the indicator of increasing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, was contradicted by a highly unequal distribution of income and rising unemployment. Policy intervention is thus required to equalize this. Also, the formations of slums are not a direct result of rural-urban migration but due to inept city planning and a lack of sufficient public housing, again demonstrating the collision between policy and process as fundamental to our discussion on the impacts of rural-urban migration. In sum, one last indicator, mentioned in passing at the beginning of this case study, of increased life expectancy, exemplifies one of the themes stated at the outset – what constitutes a better life? Does increased life expectancy constitute a â€Å"better life†, or just a longer one? Based on the evidence presented, we are inclined to think it is the latter. While Philippines represent a country in a highly urbanized state, Thailand represents one on the other spectrum. As such, our next case study will examine the rural-urban migration pattern in Thailand. When we analyze the rural-urban migration of Thailand, we can roughly translate it to the rural-urban migration to Bangkok. This is due to Bangkok’s dominance and influence in the country’s political and economical landscape. The size distribution of cities in a country roughly abides to the â€Å"rank-size rule†: The second largest city is half the size of the first largest city and the third largest city is half the size of the second. In Thailand’s case however, the second largest city is a mere 6% the size of Bangkok. As such, it is not an overstatement to describe Thailand as a one-city state. Thus in this case study, we will examine the urban landscape with reference to Bangkok as a comparison. Thailand’s urbanization rate is at a low 38% , significantly lower than their peers such as Indonesia (53%) and Malaysia (71%) (percentage not accurate as of 2012. Need comparison and citation). This figure has stalled since 2007, only changing by 0. 8% between 2002 and 2009. This is because Bangkok has stopped growing. In fact, it has shrank by 1% between 2007 and 2009. As of late, Thailand’s urbanization trends began shifting away from Bangkok to the peripheral provinces such as Songkhla; Nakhon Si Thammarat and Surat Thani. As such, while the top 10 cities in the vicinity of Bangkok grew collectively by 17%, a 1% decrease in Bangkok has dropped that urbanization growth to a mere 0. 8%. These reflect how this single city is able to impact the country’s economy. As such we shall analyze the impact of urbanization by using Bangkok as our case study. The growth of Bangkok brings about social and economical progress, with economical taking priority. National income statistics from the NESDB have shown that though contributing a mere 15. 8 per cent of total population in 1988, Bangkok and its vicinity generated more than 50 per cent of the gross domestic product. Socially, the Bangkok and its neighboring region has enjoyed better health care (2. 12 hospital beds per residents, compared with 0. 38 per 1,000 residents in Sri Saket, the poorest province of Thailand. and higher access to water (About 12 percent compared with 1. 2 percent in North, 1. 4 percent in the South, and 0. 9 percent in the North-east. ) While the figures reflect an improvement in the quality of life, this may not translate into an improvement for the people. There exist an overlying assumption that there would be a trickle down effect to benefit the less well off. Dr. Puey, a famous Thai economist observed otherwise. Thailand’s pursuit of economic growth has widened the rich-poor disparity where urbanized regions in Thailand have experienced economic benefits at the expense of villages. Furthermore, it is alleged that there has been a social tension within the rural community between the few who have benefitted and the majority who have not. Critics of these distributions of wealth have blamed the monopoly of capitalism from emerging corporations in finance and banking centered in Bangkok. On October 14, 1973, a student led uprising threw the exploitation of rural villagers in the spot light, highlighting the dissent over the rich-poor divide. Furthermore, Thailand has traded a social benefit for a social problem. As Bangkok swelled as the only go-to urban destination in the 1970s, Bangkok’s infrastructure failed to expand at the same pace as its growing population. Overpopulation and congestion were frequent social issues that the government had to address. The high influx also led to pollution, and by consequence, disease. As such, it may be argued that while the urban population enjoyed better health care services, there was also a higher propensity to get sick due to more frequent interactions and mass pollutions. As such, while the face value of urbanization reveals measurable benefits, the real value actually shows a decrease. This aforementioned issue indicates a situation where rural-urban migration works too well. Bangkok grew haphazardly without an official city plan until 1992, a growth necessitated by Economic interest. Accompanied by poor city planning is its poor infrastructure of roads, leading to massive traffic jams. BBC has ranked Bangkok as having one of the top ten worst traffic jams in the world. For residents in this urban landscape, such issues have become so commonplace that they have come to accept these problems as part of their everyday lives. The process of rural-urban migration, at least until 2007, has played the role of an instigator that negatively impacted the lives of those living in the urban landscape. Hence, rural-urban migration has its pros and cons. However, while it is important to weigh the different opportunities offered due to rural urban migration, we should also consider how these citizens perceive these opportunities offered and whether they consider themselves better off. Here lies the paradox. Both rural and urban parties perceive themselves as beneficiaries to the rural urban migration. A collection of data from six rural villages in the Nong Muun Than and Phon Muang communes revealed that villagers overwhelmingly felt that they had came up on top compared to their urban counterparts. Villages were perceived to be better in terms of standard of living, the friendliness, the working conditions and the environment to raise children although they conceded that urban areas posed a better environment to specialize. On the contrary, urban areas felt that they benefitted from better facilities, higher pay and wider job opportunities. As such, while visible problems exist in both rural and urban states, they remain predominantly contented. This approach, however, comes with its own associated problems. It fails to recognize social identity which compels participants to be more biased towards their own home society, and it also assumes all Thais are well-informed of the opportunities and problems offered in both societies. For example, villagers in a rural area may be contented with life, but they may still be unable to comprehend the benefits urban areas provide. Their contentment hence lies in their simplicity of thought rather than the effect of rural-urban migration. As such, we turn our attention to more obvious indicators while still taking account, albeit more cautiously, people’s perception of such benefits. Recognizing the growing rural-urban divide, the 9th developmental plan of Thailand explicitly tackles such rural-urban linkages in the country. Longitudinal studies on migration patterns conducted by the Nang Rong Project and Kanchanburi Demographic Surveillance System (KDSS) were used to evaluate emerging problems faced by Thailand. It concluded that economical pull factors were the main cause of migration towards urban areas, although their search for financial stability came with a string attached. According to the DFG Bangkok Migrant Survey, (2010), 67 percent of migrants reported an improvement in living conditions since leaving rural areas while 60 percent of migrants reported stable income. However, 70 percent of migrants do not possess a written work contract and 80 percent of respondents have no insurance at all. Most of these migrants consist of family members forced to find work in urban areas due to rural poverty and hence migration was influenced not out of choice but rather that of necessity. As such, although they travel to urban regions in search of better prospects, their nature of travel is necessitated for survival and their trip comes with little or no social safety net. Another issue they face is not simply acquiring employment, but rather quality employment. 70 percent of migrants earn less than 300 bahts (or $8) a day. While these still represents an increase in pay as compared to their rural counterparts, they also face a higher cost of living in an urban environment and therefor tend to spend more. Hence, most migrants aimed for quality employment, but only a mere 2 percent earn around 2. 3% fall in this category. To summarize, economical growth only represents the net value earned ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Terry Mc Gee – The Spatiality of Urbanization, The Policy Challenges of Mega-Urban and Desakota Regions of Southeast Asia- Published by Penerbit Lestari, Univeriti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor Darul Ehsan, 2009. 2 ]. The Hypothesis of the Mobility Transition Author(s): Wilbur Zelinsky Reviewed work(s): Source: Geographical Review, Vol. 61, No. 2 (Apr. , 1971), pp. 219-249 Published by: American Geographical Society Stable URL: http://www. jstor. org/stable/213996 [ 3 ]. Migration and s plit households: a comparison of sole, couple, and family migrants in Beijing, China C Cindy Fan, Mingjie Sun, Environment and Planning A 2011, volume 43, pages 2164 ^ 2185 [ 4 ]. William Petersen: A General Typology of Migration, Amer. Sociol. Rev. , Vol. 23, 1958, pp. 246-266. [ 5 ]. Devasahayam makes a compelling study of these processes hrough the lens of remittances. Making Remittances Work in Southeast Asia By Theresa W. Devasahayam in http://www. iseas. edu. sg/documents/publication/ISEAS%20Perspective_09nov12. pdf [ 6 ]. https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/wfbExt/region_eas. html [ 8 ]. http://www. census. gov. ph/content/2010-census-population-and-housing-reveals-philippine-population-9234-million [ 9 ]. Flieger, W. 1995. The Philippine population: 1980-90. Paper prepared for Conference on Population, Development and Environment, Program on Population, East- West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U. S. A. [ 10 ]. http://www. nscb. gov. ph/pressreleases/2004/30Jan04_urban. asp [ 11 ]. The Book [ 12 ]. Hugo, G. (1999), Demographic Perspectives on Urban Development in Asia at the Turn of the Century, in: Brotchie, J. , Newton, P. , Hall, P. and Dickey, J. (eds. ), East West Perspective on 21st Century Urban Development, Alder- shot, UK: Ashgate. [ 13 ]. World Bank Statistics [ 14 ]. Nakanishi (1996), Comparative Study of Informal Labour Markets in the Urbanisation Process: The Philippines and Thailand, The Developing Economies, 34(4): 470-96. [ 15 ]. Knight, J. and Song, L. 2002, 2nd ed. ), The Rural-Urban Divide – Eco- nomic Disparities and Interactions in China, Oxford: Oxford University Press. [ 16 ]. World Bank [ 17 ]. World Bank [ 18 ]. Source Needed [ 19 ]. http://www. irinnews. org/Report/89348/PHILIPPINES-Slum-populations-brace-for-storm-season [ 20 ]. according to Marife M. Ballesteros. [ 21 ]. World Bank [ 22 ]. http://www. epdc. org/sites/default/files/documents/P hilippines_coreusaid. pdf [ 23 ]. SCB Insight 2010, Looking beyond Bangkok: The urban consumer and urbanization in thailand) by SBS Economic intelligence sector [ 24 ]. ttp://urbantimes. co/2012/08/the-outcomes-of-rapid-urbanization-in-thailand/ [ 25 ]. SCB Insight 2010, Looking beyond Bangkok: The urban consumer and urbanization in thailand) by SBS Economic intelligence sector [ 26 ]. http://www. scb. co. th/eic/doc/en/insight/SCB%20Insight%20Dec%202010%20Eng. pdf [ 27 ]. http://archive. unu. edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu11ee/uu11ee0z. htm [ 28 ]. http://archive. unu. edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu11ee/uu11ee0z. htm [ 29 ]. Economic Development and rural-urban Disparities in Thailand by Prasert Yamklinfung*, Southeast Asian Studies vol 25, no. , page 342 [ 30 ]. http://archive. unu. edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu11ee/uu11ee0z. htm [ 31 ]. http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/magazine-19716687 [ 32 ]. Rural – Urban mobility in Thailand: A decision-making approach by Theodore D. Fuller, Paul Lightf oot and Peerasit Kamnuansilpa [ 33 ]. Rural – Urban mobility in Thailand: A decision-making approach by Theodore D. Fuller, Paul Lightfoot and Peerasit Kamnuansilpa [ 34 ]. http://econstor. eu/bitstream/10419/48316/1/4_amare. pdf (page 7) [ 35 ]. http://econstor. eu/bitstream/10419/48316/1/4_amare. pdf (Page 17) How to cite Urbanisation Is Sea, Papers

Accounting Sustainability and Reporting.

Question: Discuss about the Accounting Sustainability and Reporting. Answer: Introduction Sustainability refers to striking out a balance between present needs and the future needs and accordingly making out a decision for consumption of the resources. In the context of development or consumption of resources, the sustainability means consuming resources responsibly by taking the future needs into consideration (Schaltegger, Bennett, Burritt, 2006). The business organizations consume scarce environmental resource, few of which are difficult to be restored. Therefore, these organizations should assume a sense of responsibility to use the scarce environmental resources in an effective and efficient manner. The regulators around the world are now being actively engaged in framing the rules and regulations to achieve sustainability in the developments. Major steps at the global level are being taken to enhance the sustainable business developments. In this regard, one of the major steps taken by the regulators is compelling the business organizations to adopt sustainability accounting and reporting practices (Schaltegger, Bennett, Burritt, 2006). Sustainability accounting and reporting practices are directed to report the steps taken by the companies towards sustainability issues. The companies have been mandated by the government regulations to contribute towards the environment and society for promoting sustainability (Brockett Rezaee, 2012). The concept of corporate social responsibility emerged which requires the companies to contribute towards the development of society and the environment. The sustainability accounting is a broad concept that provide for aligning the sustainability initiatives with the organizational strategies. Sustainability accounting not only involves reporting on the sustainability initiatives, but it also involves evaluation of the risks and threats to the environment and measurement of the companys performance from environmental perspective. The issues of sustainability are being considered at the international level requiring the firms to adopt these practices. The adoption of sustainable busin ess practices is considered beneficial not for a firm only but for the overall economic environment at the global level (Brockett Rezaee, 2012). The report presented here is aimed at exploring the significance of sustainability accounting and reporting practices in the overall economic development of a country. In order to achieve this aim, the report will address the following objectives: Examining the needs of sustainability accounting and reporting practices for the corporations and overall economy. Examining the value additions made to the corporations by the sustainability accounting and reporting practices (Brockett Rezaee, 2012). Exploring the impact of adoption of sustainability accounting and reporting practices on the overall economy of a country (Brockett Rezaee, 2012). This research report covers a comprehensive literature review to gather the views of existing literatures on sustainability accounting and reporting. Further, the report takes on data analysis on the subject matter of the research to find out actual impact on the corporations and economy. In this regard, the report precisely describes the methodology used to collect and analyze the data. Further, a discussion taking the view of existing literatures and the findings of the data analysis has been carried out followed by a concise conclusion being drawn. Literature Review The literature review section of the entire research report is very crucial. In this section, the researcher gets the knowledge of existing literatures on the subject matter of research, which is necessary to understand the foundation of the research (Jesson, 2011). Further, the review of literature also boosts up the confidence of the researcher by providing a strong foundation for data collection and analysis. The current research focuses on sustainability accounting and reporting, thus, the review of existing literatures focuses around this topic. In order to carry out the review of literatures appropriately, the entire subject matter has been bifurcated into different heads as discussed below. Reasons for Evolution of Sustainability Reporting and Accounting Practices According to Soderstrom (2013), traditionally, the accounting and reporting practices in the firms could be found to be focusing on communicating the financial information and operational data to the stakeholders. However, the process of accounting and reporting has undergone a severe change to include the reporting on the sustainability issues. Over the last two decades, a drastic change in the approaches of reporting to the stakeholders has been witnessed (Soderstrom, 2013). The government regulations made it compulsory for the corporations to report on the corporate sustainability in their annual reports. The origin of sustainability reporting can be traced in way back 1960s and 1970s; however, the popularity was very less. As per the survey conducted by one of the worlds largest accounting firms, Earns Young, only 1% of the 500 fortune companies were found to be reporting on the social and environmental sustainability in the mid 1970s in the United States (Soderstrom, 2013). According to Zu (2008), in the mid 1990s, triple bottom line reporting was introduced to promote sustainability (Zu, 2008). The triple bottom line model of reporting was primarily aimed at balancing the three crucial aspects of the business such as society, environment, and profitability. This model provided that the business should not only concentrate on the profits, but equal emphasis should also be given to the social and environmental aspects. Further, the triple bottom line reporting model also claims that the profitability of the company automatically increases when proper balance between the needs of shareholders, society, and the environment is maintained. This model greatly emphasized the role of society and environment in building the firms business and enhancing the firms value in the long run (Zu, 2008). Further, in the year 1997, the Global Reporting Initiative, a non-profit organization was founded, which provided for guidelines in regard to sustainability accounting and reporting by the firms (GRI, 2008). It was the increased need for sustainability that laid the establishment of Global Reporting Initiative in the last 1990s. According to Gupta Mason (2014), the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) provides reporting frameworks which assist the corporations in complying with the legal reporting requirements in regard to sustainability. Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) has issued G3 guidelines which cover three core areas of sustainability such as economic, social, and environment. Gupta Mason (2014), further state that reporting under the G3 guidelines helps the corporations enhance transparency and goodwill in the market which ultimately affects the worth of the company positively (Gupta Mason, 2014). According to Daizy Das (2014), Sustainability reporting has become part of the strategic decision making in the firms. Both, management as well as other stakeholders such as shareholders, society, and the government are benefited in some or other way by the sustainability reporting practices. The primary reason for sustainability reporting is to ensure that the efforts made by the corporations towards sustainability are measured and communicated to the stakeholders (Daizy Das, 2014). Further, in the views of Daizy Das (2014), the companies can improve their operational efficiency and ensure growth in the shareholders value in the long run by implementing and maintaining the sustainability reporting practices. Thus, apart from being a regulatory requirement, the sustainability reporting is also crucial for the long term growth (Daizy Das, 2014). Further, sustainability reporting assists the management in analyzing the non financial factors and finding out impact of those factors on the firms profitability. In the present scenario, it has been really pertinent to measure and evaluate the impact of non financial factors such as society and environment on the financial performance of the firm (Daizy Das, 2014). It is compulsory for the firms to continually contribute towards the social and environmental sustainability and assess its impact on the firms financial performance. This assessment can be carried out with the help of structured data which is prepared through the sustainability accounting and reporting practices. Therefore, sustainability accounting and reporting plays a crucial role in analysis and decision making, whether it is being done by the management for internal purposes or by the shareholders (Daizy Das, 2014). Adoption of Sustainability Reporting and Accounting Practices by the Corporations The sustainability reporting has become part and parcel of financial reporting for most of the corporations in the 21st century (CPA, 2013). The adoption of sustainability reporting has been promoted not only because regulators made is obligatory, but more due to its enduring advantages. The sustainability reporting provides benefits to all type of companies and in particular the large corporations are benefited in the form of enhanced shareholders confidence, improved goodwill in the market, and improved operational efficiency. Further, there are many other indirect advantages of adopting the sustainability reporting practices, for example, savings in resource consumption, cost reduction, waste reduction, and improved relationship with regulatory bodies (CPA, 2013). As per Faisal, Tower, Rusmin (2012), about 250 companies from all over the world have adopted the corporate sustainability reporting practices and providing a separate report on the social and environmental initiatives (Faisal, Tower, Rusmin, 2012). The large corporations and particularly the companies listed on the stock exchanges are being more complaint in regard to sustainability reporting than the smaller companies. The authors further state that though the sustainability reporting is increasing at the global level, but it is still imbalanced. It is perceived that the adoption of sustainability reporting adds additional burden on the smaller firms and thus, it has not been made obligatory for them in most of the countries. However, the bigger firms (listed companies) are quite capable to bear that additional burden and also the fact that these firms consume the environmental and economic resources at the large scale and affect the bigger part of the society, leads to making th e adoption of sustainability reporting practices compulsory for them (Faisal, Tower, Rusmin, 2012). Though adoption of sustainability reporting practices is advantageous for the firms but at the same it is challenging also. According to Faisal, Tower, Rusmin (2012), the first key challenge in implanting the sustainability reporting effectively is identification of the needs of target audience. The sustainability reports are prepared to provide information on the approach followed by the company towards the social and environmental issues. The key challenge is to decide a standard format so that the information is communicated to the target audience in the best manner. However, challenges in this area are to some extent lessened by the guidelines provided by GRI. Further, the firms also struggle in measuring and evaluating the impact of its activities on the society and the environment precisely. It is quite a subjective matter to measure and evaluate the impact of firms activities on the social lives and the environment Faisal, Tower, Rusmin (2012). Despite these challenges, the firms are adopting the sustainability reporting practices all over the world. According to OECD (2008), 120 companies out of total 500 have adopted the sustainability reporting and these numbers are expected to increase further in future. However, the popularity of sustainability reporting is increasing rapidly in Australia, but comparing it at the global level, it seems that improvements are still needed (OECD, 2008). There is a need to make strong efforts by the regulators, government, and the corporations to make sustainability reporting widespread in the country. The regulator has to consider that making the sustainability reporting obligatory for only listed companies would not be enough. The small and medium sized firms should also be encouraged to come forward and adopt the best sustainability reporting practices (OECD, 2008). Changes at the Macro Economic Level after Adoption of Sustainability Reporting and Accounting Practices According to Vasile et al. (2016), the sustainability reporting fixes responsibility on the companies to make legitimate efforts towards development of society, environment, and the overall economy. There are various aspects which could be put into discussion to assess the impact of sustainability reporting on the economy. These aspects are improvement in living standards of the people, savings in the consumption of scarce natural resources, and improvement in firms long term profitability. Vasile et al. (2016), further state that development of the society and environment are the elements of economy development, thus, if the efforts are made to improve the society or the environment, the economy will automatically be affected positively (Vasile et al., 2016). According to Higgins (2013), the sustainability and economic development are interdependent on each other. The gross domestic product indicates economic growth. If a country chases high growth in the GDP, it would require increasing the production quantities at a large scale (Higgins, 2013). The increase in production of goods would entail consumption of resources at the large scale. The consumption of resources at a rapid pace is dangerous for the sustainability. Therefore, the need to strike out a balance between the desired economic growth and the consumption of resources in a sustainable manner is essential. Further states that balancing the current economic growth and the consumption of the resources is crucial for long run survival of the economy (Higgins, 2013). The reporting on sustainability issues has raised awareness in the business firms to save wastage of resources. The reduction in wastage of resources enhances the profitability of the firms which in turn increases the economic growth positively (Higgins, 2013). Further, as part of the sustainability efforts, the business firms are also contributing significantly for improving the societies. The contribution of the firms in this direction is critical to rise up the living standard of the people. Further, the improvement in the living standard is crucial for the overall economic growth. Thus, it could be said that the sustainability efforts made by the firms are essential for the overall improvement in the economic conditions of not only a country but at the global level (Higgins, 2013). In the views of Daly (2014), the economic development in the sustainable manner could be slow but it will be study and long last. The sustainability gives an impression that the resources are not to be used heedlessly (Daly, 2014). The firms are required to keep the needs of future in mind while consuming environmental resources. The consideration of future needs leads to consumption of the resources in a responsible manner which might lead to slow growth. However, the growth may be slow but it would be study. Consuming resources in this manner, the firm will be able to sustain its business for longer term which would ultimately affect its value positively (Daly, 2014). Summary The views of authors on sustainability accounting and reporting have been analyzed in this section. The literatures were reviewed with the objective of finding out the impact of sustainability accounting and reporting practices on the overall economic development of a country. In this regard, many authors provided their views on the reasons for evolution of the sustainability accounting and reporting practices. Some of the authors stated that it has become a mandatory requirement and few of them stated that sustainability accounting and reporting practices affects the value of the firm positively in the long run. Further, review of literatures reveal that though the adoption of sustainability reporting benefits the firm but it is quite a challenging task. However, the implantation of sustainability reporting could be vital for the overall economic development sustainability. Methodology A systematic approach is adopted in conducting a research which involves application of appropriate methodology to collect the required data and apply the data analysis tools. The tools and techniques applied in the research for data collection could be scientific requiring application of principles of statics (Olsen, 2011). The selection of appropriate data collection methods and the analytical tools is critical for completing the research in an effective manner. There are two main categories of data collection methods such as primary and secondary. The primary data collection methods comprises of the methods such as survey and interview. Further, the secondary data collection methods comprises of the methods such as review of the documents and observations (Olsen, 2011). It has been observed that the secondary data collection methods are suited the best in the case of qualitative researches. The research carried out in this report aims at exploring the impact of accounting sustainability and reporting practices on the overall economic development (Lapan, Quartaroli, Riemer, 2011). The research is qualitative in nature, thus, the secondary data collection methods have been applied. For the purpose of this research, the data has been collected through study of books, journal, reports of regulatory authorities and the government. In this regard, it has been ensured that the data collected is latest; therefore, the books, journals, and the reports of the regulatory authorities of the latest years have been referred for data collection (Lapan, Quartaroli, Riemer, 2011). The data collection was organized in three categories such as reasons for adoption of sustainability accounting and reporting by the firms, impact on the firms value of sustainability reporting, and its impact on the overall economy (Lapan, Quartaroli, Riemer, 2011). The data collected in regard to reasons for adoption of sustainability reporting practices relates to identification of the key drivers of sustainability. Further, the data collected in regard to impact on the firms value covers the profitability and net worth of the firms before and after the adoption of sustainability reporting. Further, in regard to evaluation of impact on the overall economy, the data relates to macro economic factors such as gross domestic product, standard of living, poverty levels, and reductions in the carbon emissions (Lapan, Quartaroli, Riemer, 2011). The data collection process has been carried out ethically and in an effective manner so that all the required information could be gathered. There certain limitations of the secondary data, which are required to be made explicit so as to assist the readers in drawing conclusions (Ary et al., 2013). The secondary data is prone to the risk of inappropriateness and there exists lack of control on preparation of the secondary data. Thus, effectiveness of the research carried out based on the secondary data depends upon the accuracy of the data. Further, the ethical concerns in regard to the use of secondary have been adhered to carefully. Proper referencing and citations have been given in the report wherever considered necessary to give credit to the authors whose data is used (Ary et al., 2013). Data Analysis and Findings The research report presented here has main goal of finding out the impact of sustainability reporting on the economy of a country. In order to achieve this goal, it has been considered pertinent to find out the reasons for adoption of the sustainability reporting practices. The sustainability reporting provides value addition to the firm in various ways .There are countless parameters which can be used to assess the value added by sustainability reporting as shown in the figure given below: Figure 1: Value Added by Sustainability Reporting (EY, 2013) From the figure show above, it could be observed that there are various areas which are positively affected by adoption of sustainability reporting practices. It could be observed that more than 40% of the total surveyed companies consider that improved reputation is the major factor which drives the adoption of sustainability reporting practices (EY, 2013). The adoption of sustainability reporting practices enhances the confidence of investors and consumers which helps in building reputation in the market. Further, there were more than 35% companies which claimed that sustainability reporting is crucial in increasing the employee loyalty. Employees loyalty is very important for the firms to achieve the targets on time and succeed in the market. Further, few companies also found increase in the consumer loyalty due to adoption of the sustainability reporting (EY, 2013). Further, the sustainability reporting also helped the firms to make their strategies stronger in terms of long run business and refine their visions. Further, there were observed around 25% companies which claimed that achieving reduction in wastage of the natural resources was one of the primary reasons for promotion of sustainability reporting (EY, 2013). The other commonly accepted factors which laid the adoption of sustainability reporting were improved relationship with the regulatory bodies, reduced long term risk, enhanced long term profitability (EY, 2013). Due the above discussed factors, the sustainability reporting has been adopted by various firms world-wide. The following chart shows the growth in sustainability reporting adoption from to year 2000 to 2011: Figure 2: Growth in Sustainability Reporting (EY, 2013) From the chart presented above, it could be observed that there has been a complete transformation since the year 2008. The increase in the number of companies adopting sustainability reporting practices has been enormous from the year 2008 to 2011. Within a period of 3-4 years, the number of companies complying with the sustainability reporting guidelines (issued by GRI) has increased to a significant level (EY, 2013). Further, data has been collected and analyzed to find out the impact of sustainability reporting on the firms profitability and its value. The firms perceive that consuming resources optimally keeping the future needs in mind will help them build better tomorrow. Further, the reduction in cost and risk and increase in reputation and quality are expected to lead the firm on the path of high profitability in the long run. The implementation of the sustainability accounting and reporting practices increases the legal compliances and it also put additional burden on the firm in terms of new manpower. Further, the benefits of sustainability reporting accrue over the years in the long run. Therefore, in the short run, the impact on profitability of the firm employing sustainability reporting practices may be adverse, but it would be positive in the long run. The data analysis conducted NWOBU (2015) reveals that there exists a positive correlation between the profit after tax and sustainability reporting index. The profit after tax depicts profitability of the company while the score on sustainability index indicates the compliance level of the firm with sustainability reporting requirements. Thus, a positive correlation between profit after tax and sustainability index is the indicative of the fact that with the increased compliance of sustainability reporting, the firms experience increase in their profitability. The research of NWOBU (2015) reveals that correlation between profit after tax and the sustainability index is 0.281, which is low positive correlation. The correlation of 0.281 implies that increase in sustainability index would entail increase in the profit after tax, but the increase in profitability might at the low rate (NWOBU, 2015). Further, the correlation between shareholders fund and sustainability index was also analyzed. The correlation between these two factors was found to be 0.183, which can again be categorized as positive and low (NWOBU, 2015). Thus, the interpretation would remain as it was before in case of profit after tax. Therefore, the increase in sustainability index would entail increase in the shareholders fund. It is to be noted that the shareholders fund represents the value of a firm. Thus, it could be articulated that with the increase in sustainability index, the value of the firm increases. However, the increase might be at very slow rate (NWOBU, 2015). After analyzing the impact of sustainability reporting on the firms profitability and its value, it is essential to observe the changes in the macro economic factors due to adoption of sustainability reporting practices (Talberth, 2010). In this regard, it is considered crucial to analyze the gross domestic product, standards living of the people, and poverty level. It is argued that sustainable business practices may cause reduction in the overall gross domestic product of the country. The reduction in GDP may be caused due to reduction the production level caused by decrease in the consumption of the environmental resources. For example, if the mining companies decrease the exploration of minerals, the production level of commodities will go down affecting the gross domestic product adversely. However, due to recent shift in the economic and environmental conditions, the gross domestic product is no longer considered to be reliable measure of well being of an economy. The performan ce on sustainability indices is taking place of gross domestic product now a day (Talberth, 2010). Further, the improvement in the sustainability practices also implies contribution to the society at a large scale. The firms working in the economy make combined efforts to raise the living standard of the people. Further, with the rise in the living standard of the people, the poverty level automatically goes down. Therefore, it could be inferred that the improvements in the sustainability reporting enable the economy to stabilize and grow in a sustainable manner (Talberth, 2010). Discussion The research carried out in this report addresses the crucial matter which relates to adoption of sustainability accounting and reporting practices by the firms operating in the economy. The aim of this research is to explore that whether the sustainability accounting and reporting is essential for the economy or not. In order to achieve the aim, the activities of the research are bounded by three objectives. The literature review has been carried out around these three objectives and the data analysis has also been conducted by keeping the three identified objectives in the centerfield. The articulation of the reviews of various authors reveals that promotion of sustainability accounting and reporting is really important for the well being of the overall economy (Daly, 2014). The authors state that there are various factors which make the firms to adopt the sustainability reporting. The improvement in the market reputation of the firm is one of the most crucial factors in that regard. The views of the authors reveal that firms reputation is improved to a great extent when it complies with the sustainability reporting guidelines. Further, the data analysis also supports this view of the authors. The analysis of data findings reveals that most of the companies consider the market reputation as one of the essential factor in adoption of the sustainability reporting practices (EY, 2013). Further, there have been identified few other factors as well such as customer loyalty, operational efficiency, and regulatory compliances. These factors also make the firm to comply with the sustainability accounting and reporting practices. In regard to the impact on firms financial performance, the authors state that the adoption of the sustainability reporting affects it positively in the long run. However, in the short run there may be adverse effect due to high compliance cost at the beginning. Further, the findings of the data analysis also support this view of the authors. The data analysis depicts that the sustainability reporting and the firms financial performance are positively correlated. This implies that the financial performance of the firms which comply with the sustainability reporting practices is found to be better than the firms not complying with it. Further, it has also been explored that the firms value (shareholders equity) is also affected positively by the adoption of sustainability reporting practices (EY, 2013). In regard to impact on the overall economy, the authors have stated that sustainability accounting and reporting is necessary to achieve economic development in a sustainable manner (Higgins, 2013). Further, the data gathered from the secondary sources also supports this view of the authors. The findings of the data analysis reveal that adoption of sustainability in the operations leads to contribution by the firms towards social and environmental causes. The firms contribute at the large scale to save the scarce environmental resources and to raise the living standard of the people. Further, the protection of the natural resources is very critical from the view point of sustainability. Conclusion The report presented here presents a research study on the sustainability accounting and reporting. The primary aim of the research is to explore the impact of sustainability accounting and reporting on the overall economy of a country. In this regard, it has been considered essential to find out the impact of sustainability reporting on a particular company and then on the overall economy. Based on the findings of the report, it can be concluded that the sustainability reporting is essential for the long term economic development. The articulations drawn from the literature review bring out the fact that sustainability reporting has become crucial for the firms to survive and thrive in the market. The recent developments in the areas of social and environmental sustainability are admirable. The regulators from all over the world are making collective efforts to make the business sustainable and futuristic. The survey report of EY discloses that there has been observed a significant increase in the number of firms adopting the sustainability reporting practices since the year 2008. From the findings of data analysis, it could be articulated that the increased awareness and the enduring advantages of sustainability is pushing the firms to opt for the best sustainability accounting and reporting practices. The major advantages of sustainability reporting have been identified as the improvements in the firms reputation, enhancement in the investors confidence, employees loyalty, and consumers trust. Further, the company is also able build a good rapport with the governmental regulatory authorities. However, there certain challenges which the firms have to while implementing the sustainability accounting and reporting practices. Among various such challenges, the high operating cost and administrative problems are the major ones. Though, there are challenges, but the benefits of sustainability accounting and reporting are enduring, therefore, the firms have to make effort to implement it. Further, it was observed that sustainability reporting is also essential to raise the standard of living of the society and the maintaining a proper balance between the present and future needs. From the findings of the research, it could be inferred that maintaining a proper balance is crucial for long term economic developments. The sustainability in operations not only improves the financial performance of the firm but it also enhances its value. Further, the overall economy is affected in a positive manner which is the center point of the sustainability accounting and reporting. References Schaltegger, S., Bennett, M., Burritt, R. 2006. Sustainability Accounting and Reporting. Springer Science Business Media. Brockett, A. Rezaee, Z. 2012. Corporate Sustainability: Integrating Performance and Reporting. John Wiley Sons. Jesson, J. 2011. Doing Your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques. London: SAGE. Soderstrom, N. 2013. Sustainability reporting: past, present, and trends for the future. Retrieved February 07, 2017, from https://www.insights.unimelb.edu.au/vol13/04_Soderstrom.html Zu, L. 2008. Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Restructuring and Firm's Performance: Empirical Evidence from Chinese Enterprises. Springer Science Business Media. GRI. 2008. Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Report. Retrieved February 07, 2017, from https://www.globalreporting.org/resourcelibrary/GRI-Sustainability-Report-2007-2008.pdf Gupta, A. Mason, M. 2014. Transparency in Global Environmental Governance: Critical Perspectives. MIT Press. Daizy Das, N. 2014. Sustainability reporting framework: comparative analysis of global reporting initiatives and Dow Jones sustainability index. International Journal of Science, Environment, 3(1), pp. 55-66. Faisal, F., Tower, G., Rusmin, R. 2012. Legitimizing Corporate Sustainability Reporting Throughout the World. Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal, 6(2), pp. 19-34. CPA. 2013. Sustainability Reporting: Practices, Performance, and Potential. Retrieved February 08, 2017, from https://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/~/media/corporate/allfiles/document/professional-resources/sustainability/sustainability-reporting-practice-performance-potential.pdf OECD. 2008. OECD Environmental Performance Reviews OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Australia 2007. OECD Publishing. Vasile, J., Andrei, Nicolo, Domenico. 2016. Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Investments in the Green Economy. IGI Global. Higgins, K.L. 2013. Economic growth and sustainability are they mutually exclusive? Retrieved February 08, 2017, from https://www.elsevier.com/connect/economic-growth-and-sustainability-are-they-mutually-exclusive Daly, H.E. 2014. Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development. Beacon Press. Olsen, W. 2011. Data collection: key debates and methods in social research. SAGE. Ary, D., Jacobs, L.C., Sorensen, C.K., and Walker, D. 2013. Introduction to research in education. Cengage Learning. Lapan, S.D., Quartaroli, M.T. Riemer, F.J. 2011. Qualitative Research: An Introduction to Methods and Designs. John Wiley Sons. 2013. Value of Sustainability reporting. Retrieved February 08, 2017, from https://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/EY_-Value_of_sustainability_reporting/%24FILE/EY-Value-of-Sustainability-Reporting.pdf NWOBU, O. 2015. The Relationship between Corporate Sustainability Reporting and Profitability and Shareholders Fund in Nigerian Banks. The Journal of Accounting and Management, 5(3). Talberth, J. 2010. Measuring What Matters: GDP, Ecosystems and the Environment. Retrieved February 08, 2017, from https://www.wri.org/blog/2010/04/measuring-what-matters-gdp-ecosystems-and-environment

Promoting Literacy to Students The Challenges and the Solutions

The issue of literacy among students has gained considerable topicality since recently. Because of its provoking matter and the challenging problems, it is worth researching. With the help of efficient solutions, literacy among students can be increased. Thus, basing the research on the theory of phonetic awareness, one can presume that the roots of low literacy rates are going to be found and that the most efficient means of improving literacy rates are going to be found.Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on Promoting Literacy to Students: The Challenges and the Solutions specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Hence, the purpose of the given study is to define the major obstacles which prevent modern teaching from providing efficient knowledge about the language and the way it works. In addition, the study aims at searching for the probable solutions for the given issue and raising the literacy levels among people, as w ell as finding the ways to establish the means to teach the required rules of the English language in future efficiently. It is worth mentioning that the given research is based on solid theoretical basis and makes efficient use of the relevant sources. The research focuses on the ideas offered by National Institute for Literacy (2011) in the book Put reading first: The research building blocks for teaching children to read. Explaining the basics about the way people acquire the necessary literacy skills, the book provides an all-embracing overview of the practices which are required to make people more literate. According to the results of the research conducted by the National Institute for Literacy, it is necessary to teach the basic literacy skills at a very early age; hence, a very specific solution concerning the ideas for a training program for young children are going to be suggested. However, the other source used in the given research should also be given credit to for its extensive descriptions of the ways in which literacy can be enhanced. In his book Literacy: Help students construct their meaning, Cooper (2011) offers a large set of various practices which can lead to a considerable increase in literacy level. With the help of the colorful descriptions and striking examples, the author shows the way a child’s brain works, thus, helping to develop the which activities will enhance the students’ literacy. At present, the hypothesis for the given research concerns the active promotion of phonetic awareness. Once enhancing the students’ knowledge on phonetics, a teacher can expect an increase in literacy levels. The research is going to be designed in such a way so that the design of certain activities based on a corresponding theory should be supported with a real-life evidence (e.g., opinion polls held among teachers and the statistic data on the students’ efficiency).Advertising Looking for proposal on education? L et's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, it must be added that the research also has its limitations. Since the issue concerns the general level of literacy, the specifics of each child are not going to be taken into consideration. However, average data will still be of great help in offering solutions for the problem. Thus, it can be considered that the given research is going to be rather significant, since the issue presented above is a serious problem for the modern society. Once learning how to encourage children to read more, thus, learning more about various aspects of written language subconsciously, people will be able to pass to a different level of social development, creating the society where people are going to learn the basic principles of literacy since their early childhood. Reference List Cooper, J. D., et al. (2011) Literacy: Help students construct their meaning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Cengage Learning. National Inst itute for Literacy. (2011). Put reading first: The research building blocks  for teaching children to read. Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and U. S. Department of Education. Retrieved from: https://www.nichd.nih.gov/ This proposal on Promoting Literacy to Students: The Challenges and the Solutions was written and submitted by user Jul1us to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Heathly Eating, Obesity and Food Industry essay

Heathly Eating, Obesity and Food Industry essay Heathly Eating, Obesity and Food Industry essay Heathly Eating, Obesity and Food Industry essayObesity is one of the major health problems nowadays. In general, obesity is defined as the excessive accumulation of fat and obesity is defined as abnormal accumulation of fat. According to the norms of WHO, the measure for the relationship of weight and height is body mass index (BMI) which is calculated as the relation of weight (in kg) divided by the square of height (in sq.  m.) (White 100). According to WHO, persons who have BMI of 25 and more are considered to be overweight and persons whose BMI is 30 or more are obese (White 100). Excess weight and obesity have multiple negative consequences such as cardiovascular diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, diabetes, etc.Scientists started speaking about the epidemics of obesity when the number of obese and overweight people started rapidly increasing. Since 1980, the rate of obese and overweight people in the world almost doubled (White 99). In 2008, approximately 35% of all adults w ere overweight (Rigby 4207). Furthermore, the majority of people (65%) live in the regions where excess weight and obesity cause more deaths than malnutrition and underweight (Rigby 4207). There are many factors contributing to obesity, but the main causes of it are the decrease in physical activity and the increase of high-calorie foods. An important role in preventing obesity belongs to healthy eating and the choice of the right products. However, modern food industry offers many preprocessed, high-calorie and carbohydrate-rich foods. The purpose of this essay is to discuss three essays devoted to the problems of obesity, healthy eating and food industry and to illustrate that food industry is one of the major causes of the obesity epidemics in the modern world.The first essay explored in this paper is the study Food access and obesity by Martin White. According to White, one of the important causes of obesity is the availability of retailed foods and their accessibility (p.99). W hite reviews the studies devoted to social patterns of dietary intake and their relationships with retailing. It is notable that obesity correlates with low socioeconomic status. There might be different reasons of such correlation: the impact of local food choice on the diet, the impact of prices on the diet, the availability of healthier products, etc. White emphasizes the results confirmed by several studies: the availability of healthier products in supermarkets is higher than in convenience stores and local stores (White 101). This fact might partially explain the relationship between poor dietary habits and low socioeconomic status. Indeed, traveling to supermarkets and stores with better choice of products requires a car, and low-income households might not have a car or find it too expensive to travel such distances to purchase products.One more factor which influences dietary habits is eating ready-prepared food. It was determined that there were more fast-food restaurants that restaurants with healthier options in low-income areas (White 103). Furthermore, low-income households are likely to choose less expensive ready meals, which are commonly less healthy (White 103). Therefore, White claims that although there are no studies directly showing the relationship between food industry, food retailing and obesity, the combination of socioeconomic factors and retail patterns contributes to the development of obesity, especially in low-income areas.The second essay by Charles Marwick is named Food industry obfuscates healthy eating message. In this essay, Marwick shows how food companies erode the key idea of the health messages promoted by the U.S. government eating less. While the key to healthy weight is eating less (taking in less calories), food companies encourage customers to make their choice. The slogans in advertisements of food companies are modified in such a way that the message to eat less is removed, and instead the message to choose other foods is promoted. For example, the call of healthcare professionals to reduce the intake of sugar was transformed into the message choose beverages and foods that limit your intake of sugar under the pressure of sugar industry companies (Marwick 121). Marwick illustrates how the pressure of business lobbyists affects the information exchange and media coverage of important food-related questions. He argues that the contact between regulatory agencies, researchers and the society should not be mediated by businesses, since the latter tend to obfuscate certain messages in order to avoid losses. Due to the conflicts of interest between food industry and healthcare institutions, the protection of health of U.S. citizens might be under threat.The author of the third essay, Eating and obesity the new world disorder, Neville Rigby, explores the onset of obesity epidemic and various factors contributing to the increase of obesity. Among the major factors mentioned by Rigby there are fund amental shifts in the nature of a typical human diet, the dominance of agribusiness corporations, new paradigms of consumption centered around foods combining sugars and fats. Rigby also points out that less evident factors might be the major causes of the obesity epidemic epigenetics, environmental pollutants which mimic hormones and other biological causes.Rigby, like Marwick, also criticizes the advertising used by food companies which encourages consumers to choose a balanced diet (while still eating non-healthy products). Furthermore, Rigby emphasizes that the interests of food companies are against public health, obesity prevention and other disease prevention. What is clear is that the failure to implement effective measures to improve dietary health makes it certain that the obesity epidemic will remain one of the biggest threats to health in the 21st century (Rigby 4209).The key thesis of this paper is the following: food industry is one of the major causes of the obesity epidemics, and it is necessary to undertake actions at the international level in order to prevent further damage to public health and to stop the worldwide increase of obesity. Human brain evolved during the time when foods rich with fat and sugar were rare and when food was not so readily available. As a result, human beings tended to label foods with high concentration of fat and/or sugar as tasty. Currently the lifestyle of human beings has changed, and it is possible to get access to food when needed. However, a large number of foods is not healthy in the sense that these foods are very high-calorie. The instincts claim that these foods should be eaten first, and the sales of high-calorie foods soar. In reality, food companies are readily exploiting the associations of human brain to increase profits regardless of the impact of such food choice on public health.Furthermore, food companies tend to erode the messages of healthcare institutions (Marwick 121) and disrupt the releva nce of research studies by funding research studies with the results favorable for food companies. In this way, food companies are discrediting the scientific community and affect the mechanisms of protecting public health. Food and agricultural corporations tend to crowd out independent farmers who do not use aggressive agricultural technologies from the market; as a result, consumers are forced to purchase genetically modified foods, foods with nitrates and other chemical compounds. In addition, the expansion of fast-food companies and the limited choice of healthy food products in smaller retail stores leads to further deterioration of dietary choices, especially among low-income people.Therefore, it is possible to conclude that food and agricultural companies have a negative impact on public health and significantly contribute to the epidemics of obesity which is taking place worldwide. It is necessary to adopt international regulations preventing food companies from aggressive practices and to combine these regulations with educating consumers about healthy dietary habits and the dangers of obesity.