Effects Of Deforestation :: essays research papers

Effects of Deforestation The subject of deforestation and the effects that it has on the environment have been heavily debated for a long time; particularly over the last few years. Governments and large lumber companies see large profits in the mass deforestation of forests and state that their actions are having few, if any, harmful effects on the environment. Most people disagree with this and think that the environmental effects are devastating and will become irreversibly disastrous in the very near future. Whether or not the pros outweigh the cons will be hotly debated for years to come but the fact is that deforestation is harmful to the environment and leads to declining wildlife populations, drastic changes in climate and loss of soil. The loss of forests means the loss of habitats for many species. Current statistics show that as many as 100 species become extinct every day with a large portion being attributed to deforestation (Delfgaauw, 1996). "Edge effects" are the destruction or degradation of natural habitat that occur on the fringes of fragmented forests. The effects for the animals include greater exposure to the elements (wind, rain etc†¦), other non-forest animals and humans (Dunbar, 1993). This unnatural extinction of species endangers the world's food supply, threatens many human resources and has profound implications for biological diversity. Another negative environmental impact of deforestation is that it causes climate changes all over the world. As we learned in elementary school, plant life is essential to life on earth as it produces much of the oxygen that is required for humans and other organisms to breathe. The massive destruction of trees negatively effects the quantity and quality of the air we breathe which has direct repercussions on the quantity and quality of life among both humans and animals alike. With this reduced amount of vital plant life comes the increase of carbon dioxide levels in the earth's atmosphere. With these increased levels of CO-2 come unnatural changes in weather patterns both locally and globally. "The removal of forests would cause rainfall to decline more than 26%. The average temperature of soil will rise and a decline of 30% in the amount of moisture will evaporate into the atmosphere" (Delfgaauw, 1996). This leads to the global warming phenomenon which is also directly related to the declining amounts of forest areas on the earth. Soil erosion caused by deforestation is also a major concern among even the most amateur environmentalists: "When rain falls, some may sink to the ground, some may run off the surface of the land, and flowing down towards the rivers and some may evaporate.

Ford Motor Company and Penske Logistics Case Study Essay

Abstract In this case study I would highlight the importance of Penske Logistics to Ford Motor Company, one of the world’s largest automotive manufacturers. Penske has a good reputation and are highly valuable in the logistics field. They are very famous in using a process that identifies and removes errors efficiently with a set of tools that increases productivity in the business called Six Sigma. Penske had many challenges to overcome like developing and implementing and operate a centralized logistics network, also streamline supplier and carrier operations to improve performance and accountability, and finally provide a real time supply chain and financial visibility. Some of the solutions for the decentralized network, was to established 10 distribution centers, 1,200 trailers ship to and from the distribution centers per day with most trucks operate at 95% capacity and reduce plant inventory by 15%. To improve performance Penske trained 1,500 suppliers on a set of procedures in the logistic aspect, also they came up with carrier requirements for performance. Penske established strict accountability procedures for real time visibility of delivery status and routing schedules for the supply chain procedures. For financial visibility, they created a new freight billing system to capture logistics costs. In addition to all of this problems and solutions, Penske wants to be the leader provider of logistics management to Ford Motor Company to be well known out there in the business and to create long lasting alliances for their future benefit. Ford is an enormous company that owns different car brands in today’s market. Lincoln, Mercury, Land Rover, Aston Martin and Volvo make part of an alliance that is run by Ford. Ford was in big trouble with their decentralized logistic operations because they had 20 North American assembly plants run by 20 different logistic management operations. It was a complete mess because aside from all the other important car brands joining they didn’t have any control over their daily operations decreasing funds for material handling and transportation. Ford hired Penske to become a centralized operation run by only one company and not 20 different companies. This will increase both velocity and visibility throughout the network and reduce supply chain products. Penske would manage all 19 assembly plants as well as seven stamping pants. Penske develop a new logistics program called the Penske Logistics Center emphasizing in four different core components: Establish inbound Origin Distribution Centers, reduce premium freight costs, real time visibility of shipments, schedule and orders and improve freight billing and claim processing. After this plan was accepted and processed Penske/Ford started working together to achieve the best for the production of the motor company. They started evaluating the current network design and find out that this plan needed to be changed since it was being inefficient allowing excessive inventory increasing storage costs at plant level. To centralize transportation and distribution centers Penske created 10 ODCs for the purpose of having a central delivery point for suppliers. With this in effect shipments would now be cross-docked into trailers at the ODCs and loads would be delivered on a schedule basis instead of delivering half empty trucks. For carrier and premium freight management Penske goal was to maximize carrier service and minimize carrier costs. Since there were more strict requirements for carriers they would now have to meet safety, technological and equipment specifications, provide experience and certified drivers and most importantly show proven experience of on time delivery and pickups for the customer satisfaction. Carriers would now have a 15 minute window for on time delivery and pickup, also a manager will be on site for proper handling and order accuracy. Now with the new Carrier Rating System in effect all incidents would be recorded in the book and corrective actions for carriers would be in effect as well as carriers that have too many discrepancies in incidents would have a low carrier rating decreasing their chances on participating on future bids. Penske implemented new and advance information technology solutions, but one that caught my attention was the fact that drivers will now be provided with PDA scanners and an electronic driver log to process the claims faster and order receipts. Also every truck need to have satellite communications and engine monitoring systems for load tracking, delivery of individual parts is also scanned by using new innovative cross-dock scanners. With all of this new features developed and the centralized approach working the financial part needed to be clear as mud. Penske would provide drivers with an easy and simple set of procedures for accounting purposes. With the new Freight Billing System Ford can now tell which plant is producing less or which one is producing the most. 700 inbound and 500 outbound trailers move in and out Ford ODCs per day with most loads carrying at 95% capacity, unused docking space is being extremely high resulting in a 15% inventory reduction. The supply chain with the suppliers is now better and the new Carrier Rating System has put carriers in a dark spot by now increasing their service and getting better everyday so that they don’t get a low carrier rating for future bids or future references for other Motor Companies. With ODCs monitoring shipments in and out Ford can now see the overall supply chain costs per plant in case they need to cut expenses in the future they can shorten one plant and leave 19 more to generate revenue. The Penske Logistics center is also a success providing a single point of contact instead of 20 different points for logistics purposes. Penske not only work for their benefit to grow as a company but they have shorten expenses to Ford by reducing six ODCs and leaving four in full capacity so that new assembly plants can be created for production purposes. Ford has honored Penske with many awards like the Q1award which is the highest recognition of superior supplier quality. Recently in May 11, 2012 The European Logistics Association also honored this two companies for the European Logistics Award Excellence. I think that this case study was a definite success not only for Ford Motor Company, but for Penske Logistics. They both worked together and in only 18 months they have done major improvements to the automotive industry that the competition would follow and perform effectively. Penske with 40+ years as a logistic provider would now be a prestigious company that not only the automotive industry will want but the industrial, retail, electrical and many more industries will like to have on their side. I learned that the importance of the Six Sigma concept is really important for a company technological advancements in productivity and competency. Reducing errors to zero and making a complete and perfect order is crucial for centralized operations and to maintain streamline operations. I also learned that without logistics goods or in this case cars can’t be transport it is almost impossible to send a car overseas without the proper tracking, communications and on time delivery and pickup. In a nut shell, I think that only leaving four open for full capacity is a mistake because assembly plants will be more increasing the demand, but on the other hand it decreased expenses and generate revenue. REFERENCES Penske Logistics Providers (2013, January). Ford Motor Company: Six Sigma initiatives streamline operations. Retrieved from http:// www.penskelogistics.com/casestudies/ford2.html SharonVille Organizations (2011, January). Penske Logistics engineering supply chains delivering business results. Retrieved from http://www.sharonville.org/econ/pdf/Presentation/Penske%20Logistics.pdf

Representation of ethics in the stage dramas of Pakistan Essay

It is a sad reality that : vulgarity and obscenity has corrupted our theaters as commercialization has become their main motive , this paper discusses these issues. Stage dramas are related to our society and culture, they were the part of our society and will remain, however modern changes have taken place . Dances and vulgar comments have no positive impact on our society and they fail to depict our culture. Background Indrasabha In 1855, the enactment of the play Indrasabha (the Heavenly Court of Indra) written by Agha Hasan Amanat Ali in the courtyard of the last Nawab of Oudh, Wajid Ali Shah, marked the beginning of Urdu theatre. The drama dealt with the love story between a fairy and a prince. The Nawab, who was a Kathak dancer and had written theses on stage techniques, composed some of the songs and choreographed the dances for the play. It was a huge success. Its characters (Sabaz Pari (Green Fairy), Kala Deo (Black Devil) and Lal Deo (Red Devil)) live on as a part of the vocabulary of the South Asia. Post Independence theater Pakistani literature The distinct voice of Pakistani literature came soon after the Partition of India in 1947. Since there were many cultural similarities, Urdu and English Literature was inherited by this new state. Over due course, a literature which was somewhat uniquely Pakistani has emerged in every province. Initially the plays were all about the independence and the atrocities committed on the Muslims by the Hindus and Sikhs but this gradually began to change and the current trend is specifically Pakistani venturing into many different genres. Saadat Hasan Manto Main article: Saadat Hasan Manto Manto is arguably the most influential Urdu writer of the 20th century. He was one of the most controversial as well. His work is comparable with D. H. Lawrence. This comparison is made because like Lawrence he also wrote about the topics considered social taboos of his Society. He addressed topics ranging from the socio-economic injustice prevailing in pre- and post-colonial South Asia; he stirred up quite a fury when he wrote about controversial topics of love, sex, incest, prostitution and the typical hypocrisy of a traditional South Asian male. In dealing with these topics, he wasn’t careful to conceal any of the facts and clearly showed the true state of affairs. His short stories were often intricately structured, with vivid satire and a good sense of humor. Manto was a well known film writer of the Indian cinema and was making good money. He however, chose to abandon his lucrative career and migrated to Pakistan. In the seven years that Manto lived in Lahore he continuously struggled for survival. However, he proved to be a productive individual who gave some of his best writings to the literary world regardless of his domestic situation. It was in Lahore that he wrote many of his best known works. Manto was primarily known for his short stories of the South Asia, great literature out of the events relating to the Partition of India. The literature, which came out of the period that followed, is considered to have been progressive in its tone and spirit. According to several critics it had not only evolved its own identity, but also had played a significant role in documenting the hardships and hopes of Pakistan in the latter part of the 20th century. Manto also wrote plays and many of his stories have been successfully adapted for the stage. Some of his characters have become legends in the minds of theatregoers. Farrukh Nigar Aziz The daughter of Abdul Aziz Falakpaima, Farrukh Nigar Aziz was a known literary figure even before the partition. She and her sisters were educated along liberal styles of education. These women received opportunities that were somewhat of a rarity in their day. Formal education for Muslim women and having a career in the arts or performing arts was considered to be unrespectable. Types of theatre The general complaint in conservative circles is that commercial theatre is lowbrow and thrives on obscene dialogue and dances. The fact is that at least three departments are tasked with monitoring the activities of commercial theatre. From the Punjab Arts Council, which is responsible for vetting the scripts to District Coordination Officers, who are authorized to monitor the screening of plays, to the Home Department that actually takes action against producers, directors, artistes and theatre owners, the dice is loaded against entertainment at every step. † Local theatre Commercial theatre is surviving this accusation and, in some cases, even thriving this shows that people want entertainment and are prepared to watch plays despite the hazards of doing so. Just like any demand and supply situation, since there is a demand there will be a supply. The arrival of commercial theatre in Lahore was in the early 1980s. The joint efforts of Naheed Khanum, Amanullah, Mastana and Baboo Baral ushered in the art the lively dialogues and innovative style was like a breath of fresh air for the citizens. The initial venue for the staging of these plays was Alhamra but a replacement venue had to be sought once Alhamra closed down for renovations in 1981-1982. Each and every script has to be cleared by the Punjab Arts Council (PAC). Lahore has five private (Tamaseel, Mehfil, Naz, Crown and Alfalah) and a government theatre (Alhamra). The moral brigade’s claims of vulgarity and calls for closure of commercial theatre have become common in Gujranwala, Faislabad, Multan and Sahiwal. Most of the complaints originate from a small community of zealots while the majority of people enjoy the performances. In Lahore, most of the audience come from other cities. The theatres are packed on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. A stage play usually runs for 16 days and earns around two million rupees in that time. Tickets cost from Rs. 200 to Rs. 1,000. Training institutions Punjab Lok Rahs Main article: Punjab Lok Rahs  Punjab Lok Rahs started working as an independent alternative theater group in 1986. The group has seen a number of upheavals both internal and external during its history. On average, the group has held a performance every fortnight since its creation. It started as a group of young men and women, primarily students, that was concerned with the military oppression of arts and cultural activities in Pakistan. The group cherished a society that has gender equity and democratic values, respects all humans and offers equal economic opportunities to all. Rahs believes in organized and conscious efforts to realize this dream. Theater is its medium. Rahs’ experience in the art of theater is very deep as well. From staging classical epics to quick response street skits and from working out foreign adaptations to improvising ones with community and from performing at overseas festivals to villages and urban slums, Rahs has touched upon a host of issues. Rahs’ canvas is very wide and diverse as it has dealt with subjects like child marriage and women’s right to marry of their free will and staged plays against arms race and military dictatorship. Besides experimentation and experience, Rahs has learned theater from its gurus like Badal Sarkar. Its members have received training from many institutions in other countries. The group has imparted theater training to a number of civil society organizations as well. It has supported scores of other organizations by performing for the communities with which they work. Rahs draws inspiration from Punjab’s indigenous theater tradition. Its name ‘Rahs’ is the Punjabi word for local form of theater and its logo shows the basic props of this theater. The group aims to marry the tradition with modern techniques and concepts and make it an effective tool in the hands of organizations working for social change. Rahs performs plays only in the mother language of its audience – the people of Punjab. The group believes that the mother language lies at the heart of the issue of cultural identity. The group not only performs but also trains other dramatic societies and community organizations to do theater as an art and use it as an effective tool of communication. The Rafi Peer Theater workshop is named after ‘Rafi Peer’ one of the pioneers and founders of Modern Urdu and Punjabi Drama in the Ind-Pak Subcontinent. The Theater workshop was founded in 1974 by Salmaan Peerzada and his brothers Usmaan Imraan Sadaan Faizaan and his sisters Kausar and Tasneem Peerzada. The Theater Workshop’s aim was to bring social and cultural change through the Arts. The theater workshops first Production was ‘Culture Culture’. An avant grade theater experiment for its time. It was an effort at creating original contemporary drama in Pakistan. The Play was Performed both in Lahore and Karachi. It was Created and Directd by Salmaan Peerzada, Starring Kursheed Shahid, Perin Cooper,Salman Shahid, Rubina Saigol, Imraan Peerzada and Samina Peerzada. Over past three decades the Rafi Peer theater workshop has produced diverse and amazing body of work in Drama, Puppetry, Dance, Music, besides this it hosts four major Art Festivals. Rafi Peer theater workshop has done enormous service for performing Arts in Pakistan, by supporting Artists and the Arts.

The Fifteenth Amendment

The Fifteenth Amendment (Amendment XV) to the United States Constitution prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote-based on that citizen's â€Å"race, color, or previous condition of servitude†. It was ratified on February 3, 1870, as the third and last of the Reconstruction Amendments.In the final years of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction Era that followed, Congress repeatedly debated the rights of the millions of black former slaves. By 1869, amendments had been passed to abolish slavery and provide citizenship and equal protection under the laws, but the narrow election of Ulysses S. Grant to the presidency in 1868 convinced a majority of Republicans that protecting the franchise of black voters was important for the party's future. After rejecting more sweeping versions of a suffrage amendment, Congress proposed a compromise amendment banning franchise restrictions on the basis of race, color, or previous servitude on February 26, 1869.The amendment survived a difficult ratification fight and was adopted on March 30, 1870.United States Supreme Court decisions in the late nineteenth century interpreted the amendment narrowly, and by 1910, most black voters in the South faced obstacles such as poll taxes and literacy tests, from which white voters were exempted by grandfather clauses. A system of whites-only primaries and violent reprisals by groups such as the Ku Klux Klan also suppressed black participation.In the twentieth century, the Court interpreted the amendment more broadly, striking down grandfather clauses in Guinn v. United States (1915) and dismantling the white primary system in the â€Å"Texas primary cases† (1927–1953).Along with later measures such as the Twenty-fourth Amendment, which forbade poll taxes in federal elections, and Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections (1966), which forbade poll taxes in state elections, these decisions significantly increased bl ack participation in the American political system.

Andy Warhol's Pop Art Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Andy Warhol's Pop Art - Research Paper Example The paper "Andy Warhol's Pop Art" states the primary sources of Andy Warhol's pop art. The world of fashion in New York and internationally were interwoven with the fine art crowd of museums. Artists, models, young actors and actresses, musicians, and all manner of up and coming celebrities were pictured in Andy Warhol’s diary. Warhol’s language is like gossip when he describes the scenes, scandals, cliques, and conversations that occur in his presence involving some of the most famous names in pop culture. Mick Jagger, Bianca Jagger, Halston, Basquiat, Lou Reed, Nico, and others are favorites as he attends parties on the Upper East Side of Manhattan featuring all of the wealth and luxury of the entertainment world. Warhol clearly understood the path to celebrity and struggled to achieve that in his life. Hacket writes: â€Å"Every night, celebrities of the art, fashion, music, and ‘underground’ filmmaking crowds jammed themselves into favorite corners of the back room at Max’s and monitored each other’s clothes, makeup, wit, and love interests while they received ‘exchange’ celebrities from out of town—directors and producers from Europe or Hollywood—and waited to be taken away from ‘all this’ (New York notoriety) and put into ‘all that’. Andy’s art hung on the wall.† Thus, if every artist must be supported and reflective of a larger culture, than Warhol’s closest identity is to this Upper East Side Manhattan and Greenwich Village crowd of young bohemians, artists, models, and actresses., all of whom shared the career goals of Warhol of attaining celebrity status through their self-expression. Warhol’s art becomes more â€Å"universal† and American when it symbolizes a superficial culture, pop culture, where everybody has 15 minutes of fame. Fame is an integral part of art and art history as it is known in modern times, because if an artist is not famous, his or her work will not be printed, distributed, and known. If the artist is not famous, it will have no influence on other artists and vanish, no matter its beauty or technical excellence. Warhol’s art is conceptual and uses silk-screens of sampled images taken from photographs, or copied from print and television advertisements. Warhol himself may only paint a few details of

The Rise and Fall of Solyndra Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Rise and Fall of Solyndra - Research Paper Example A firm uses its particular strengths to compete in the marketplace while seeking to minimize the effect of its weaknesses. The case of Solyndra, the solar panel manufacturer, is unique because it was the only company in the solar panel manufacturing industry of the USA that relied on silicon based technology. The Formation of Solyndra Solyndra was founded in 2005 by Dr. Christian Gronet and had its headquarters in Fremont, California. The company manufactured cylindrical panels of CIGS (copper-indium-gallium-diselenide) based thin film solar cells which, as it was believed, represented a superior technology having certain advantages over conventionally produced solar cells. Thus, the company hoped to have created its own niche within the industry. The sales revenues for 2009 and 2010 were $100 million and $140 million respectively, before a peculiar set of circumstances forced the company to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 in 2011. The company claimed to have set up 1000 systems all around the world (The Solyndra Website, 2011). The Emergence of Legal and Other Issues Solyndra has been a company that was touted to be a success story exemplifying the usefulness of the Obama Administration’s green energy plan for the nation. The founder of the company was replaced by Bernie Harrison, an Intel veteran as CEO in September 2009. The company resorted to lobbying and had contributed a sizeable sum to the Obama campaign. Small wonder then- that out of 143 companies applying for a Federal loan, Solyndra was the first to receive a sum of $527 million from the Federal Financing Bank, under conditional guarantee from the US Department of Energy. By that time, it had already spent about $1.8 million lobbying for this cause. Further investigations have revealed that due to Chinese solar panels flooding the US markets, the company had been unable to compete effectively and had been forced to sell many of its products at below the cost of production. Moreover, as t he cost of silicon plummeted in the world market, it became more and more difficult to make a profit. It appeared that the company had chosen the wrong silicon based technology to make its products and was now bearing the brunt of this mistake. Controversies Surrounding the Company Ethical considerations notwithstanding, one might have expected that the loan from the Obama Administration would be used to correct an already worsening situation and that the company would try to claw its way of the abyss it had fallen into. Sadly, this was never the case. Investigations by the FBI and newspaper reports by the Washington Post and others have revealed that company executives and top management went on a spending spree following the approval of the loan. However, weakening demand in the light of competition from Chinese firms such as Yingli and Suntech was cited as a worry. Solyndra’s new plant was built from the proceeds of the loan and another $198 million from private investors. At the time of taking the loan, the company had promised to create at least 3000 jobs in the construction and solar manufacturing industries, of which 1000 would be US based. But it all came to nothing and Solyndra was forced to file for bankruptcy

Discription Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Discription - Essay Example The pumping of the heart is controlled by the Sino atrial (SA) node that is located in the posterior wall of the right atrium(Heart 1995). 2. The valves: there are two types of valves the Atrioventricular valves (located in the middle of the heart between the ventricle and the atria) of two types the tricuspid on the right and mitral/cuspid on the left and the Semilunar valves of two types pulmonary and the aortic valve. The functions of the valve is too prevent the backflow of blood to the chambers. 3. The vessels: There are four main vessels in the heart; the vena cava divided into superior and inferior, the pulmonary artery, the pulmonary vein and the aorta. The functions of veins is to covey blood from and to the heart. The heart is divided into four chambers: the top two chambers are known as the atriums and the bottom two chambers are called ventricles. Importantly, the atriums both contract at the same time same as the two ventricles(Heart 1995). First and foremost, deoxygenated blood enters the heart via the superior and the inferior vena cava into the right atrium. The right atrium contracts and forces the blood to rush into the right ventricle through the tricuspid valve. Consequently, when the right ventricle contracts, the deoxygenated blood is pumped into both lungs through the pulmonary arterypast the semi lunar valves(Heart 1995). The process continuesas the blood is returned from the lungs via the pulmonary veins wherethe oxygenated blood is delivered to the left atrium. When the atrium contracts the blood is rushed through the valves into the left ventricle, thestrongest and most muscular portion of the heart.When the left ventricle contracts, blood is rushed through the aort a: he aorta is the main artery leaving the heart (Lewis 1925). Through this process, oxygenated blood is now taken throughout