The Hate U Give By Angie Thomas - 1402 Words

Young adult literature such as The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, emphasizes teenagers using both their actions and their voices to overcome injustices such as racial inequality and police brutality. Racial inequality and police brutality is discussed greatly throughout The Hate U Give, due to the difficulties the protagonist, Starr Carter, endures when her best friend, Khalil, is killed because of him being African American and situated in an unsafe neighborhood. Starr embraces an inner conflict with herself in regards to speaking up and taking action against the presented injustices she constantly faces. The author, Laura M. Robinson, of Girlness and Guyness: Gender Trouble in Young Adult Literature thoroughly explains why adolescents are†¦show more content†¦The feeling of being judged for the experiences an individual faces can be detrimental to the person s personality by that these experiences result in you trying to become someone you are not so that you hide what socie ty feels is your flaw, your race. Starr lives in two completely separate worlds, Garden Heights and the area surrounding Williamson High School. These two worlds hinders Starr’s ability to voice her opinions and thoughts about anything because in both of these areas there is this fear of overstepping boundaries. Overstepping boundaries in either area causes an individual to become threatened, for example, in Garden Heights, Starr silences herself whenever she is around gang members because she is frightened that the gang members will harm both her and her family for her opinions. Starr silences herself when she is at Williamson High School, especially since she is one out of the few African Americans that attends there, because her opinion is outnumbered by the majority of the population who are either ignorant about the issues that affects Starr’s race or cares less to even hear issues that occurs to others beside them. Starr’s race had contributed to this fear of her speaking out because there was this idea that minorities, AfricanShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Angie Thomass The Hate U Give786 Words   |  4 Pagescreatives is New York Times best-selling author Angie Thomas. Her debut novel, The Hate U Give is inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. The riveting tale is about a 16-year-old named Starr who witnesses her childhood friend get killed by a cop. As Starr navigates the two worlds she lives in — her poor neighborhood and her affluent private school — she struggles with the effects of witnessing the death of a childhood friend. Not only is The Hate U Give a timely message in today’s society, but it’s

Willy Loman as Coward in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman

Willy Loman as Coward in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman Everybody feels the penetrating presence of fear throughout life. However, people’s reactions to this fear separate the brave souls from the cowards. Mark Twain once said, Courage is resistance to fear; mastery of fear, not absence of fear (Twain 6). In Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman fears rejection by his son, Biff, and the business world. His fears master him, creating in him a fantasy world of life as it was eighteen years ago. Willy’s avoidance of reality and his suicide show his cowardice. However, the emphasis he puts on financial success prevents him from realizing the consequences that his suicide would create. Willy’s refusal to face†¦show more content†¦Willy believes that his family will appreciate the twenty thousand dollars insurance money they will receive as a result of his death. However, his motives involve more than helping with finances. Willy thinks his funeral will prove his greatness to Biff. In a daydream, Willy tells his brother, Ben, That funeral will be massive! . . . He’ll see what I am, Ben! He’s in for a shock, that boy! (Miller 1275). Willy disregards the fact that establishing a relationship with Biff will affect him more than money. His cowardice causes him to believe that suicide is the only way to gain his son’s respect. Throughout the play, Willy’s ideas of happiness prevent him from realizing that his acts are cowardly. To him, financial success embodies happiness. His comparisons of himself to others show his idealizations. Mainly, he idolizes Ben, who walked into Africa at age seventeen and walked out four years later as a wealthy man. Willy also compares himself to Dave Singleman, a salesman he met on the road early in his career. Dave prospered as a salesman even at age eighty-four. Willy asks his boss, Howard, What could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at the age of eighty-four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people? (Miller 1251). Due to his belief that money creates happiness, Willy feels that money will mend the brokenShow MoreRelated Willy Loman Died a Coward in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman880 Words   |  4 PagesWilly Loman Died a Coward in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman   Ã‚   In his early sixties he knows his business as well as he ever did. But the unsubstantial things have become decisive; the spring has gone from his step, the smile from his face and the heartiness from his personality. He is through. The phantom of his life has caught up with him. As literally as Mr. Miller can say it, dust turns to dust. Suddenly, there is nothing (Internet 1). 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At this critical point in Willie’s existence, his oldest son Biff has returned home for a visit, and Willie’s old desire for his son to be a traditional success in life is rekindled. But the old tensionsRead MoreWilly Loman : the Tragedy of the American Dream2717 Words   |  11 PagesWilly Loman : The Tragedy of the American Dream Prosperity, job security, hard work and family union are some of the concepts that involve the American Dream, generally speaking. Some people think this dream is something automatically granted; or in contrast, as in the story Death of a Salesman written by Arthur Miller, as something that has to be achieved in order to be successful in life. The play takes issues with those in America who place too much stress on material gain, instead ofRead MoreUnethical Dreams in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gasby1930 Words   |  8 Pagescame in. 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Strategic Human Resource Management Operations

Question: Discuss about the Strategic Human Resource Managementfor Operations. Answer: Introduction Accenture is a global management consulting and professional services company that provides consultancy services to its clients in the field of technology, strategy, operations, etc. The company is a part of the Fortune Global 500 company and has an approximate workforce of 394,000 employees as of 2016. In a recent tide of events, the company decided to put an end to its performance reviews and bring a massive change in its internal operations. The reason for dropping the performance reviews is that the system of reviews failed to fulfil its objective of promoting better staff performance. The firm plans to switch to a system in which all the employees will receive regular feedback from their superiors. Is Dropping the Performance Reviews a Good Idea for Accenture? As discussed above, Accenture is one of the worlds top companies with a lot of capabilities in the consultancy sector. The company has been developing technological solutions for its clients that have helped its clients in increasing their performance levels and becoming more competitive. The company is so efficient in its field that 82% of the employees at Accenture say that their workplace is great. Further, 89% of the employees working at Accenture feel that the management is competent at running the business while 88% of the employees feel that the management is honest and ethical in its business practice (Accenture, n.d.). Therefore, the decision taken by the management to switch to a new performance management system is definitely a calculated move and must have a reason behind it. The decision to drop the performance reviews at Accenture is a great idea for the company because: First of all, the company came to realize that the system, which the company was using to measure the performance of its employees, was not successful as it failed to fulfil its sole objective of promoting better staff performance. It has been found that sometimes, the system of measuring performance can be dysfunctional and can cause greater harm to the performance levels of a company than the benefits of an efficient performance management system (Spekla Verbeeten, 2014). Secondly, the firm itself had doubts related with the efficiency of the system and wanted to switch to a more fluid system of measuring performance that would include receiving regular feedback from the superiors. Thirdly, the company also discovered that the performance review system that it had been using in the past was resulting in a wastage of a lot of important resources. Conducting annual appraisals required a lot of time, money and the entire workforce had to put in a lot of efforts to make it happen. Thu s, this system of performance reviews was getting far beyond the reach of the management and it was becoming difficult for the management to manage such a complex system. Fourthly, the company realised itself the the system of performance reviews was dysfunctional in itself. A system that comprises of forcing rankings along some distribution curve could not be efficient because it might foster a negative feeling amongst those employees who had contributed a lot of their efforts towards the achievement of the organisational goals and objectives throughout the year (Klikauer, 2016). The company also believes that it should place its trust in the employees that it had recruited in the first place and should not undertake strategies where their efforts are reviewed again and again. Rather, the management at Accenture wants to provide freedom, authority and delegation to innovate to all the employees because the company itself has recruited the best possible fits for filling up its workp lace. On the overall, the decision of the company to drop its ongoing system of performance management is a good yet strong decision even though it might involve bringing about a major change in the entire organisation. It is very important for a global company like Accenture to discover redundancies in its operations and human resource management and remove them so that it can minimise its operational costs and can avoid wastage of important resources, which will ultimately help the company in becoming more competitive and efficient. Future Impacts of the Change on the Company Accenture has planned to take a very bold move that will make the entire organisation go through a major makeover that will definitely have some impacts on the company in the future. The company has valid reasons that are forcing it to undertake such a major step and undertaking such a step might also allow the company to bring down its operational costs and save a lot of resources that were earlier being directed towards the performance management system. Although, the results might be in favour of the company to a certain extent, the company might face a number of problems in the longer run that can cost the company more than it is intended to save through its bold move. The issues that might end up increasing the cost of the company because of the change being introduced are discussed below: First of all, a lack of performance ratings can result into decreased job engagement amongst the employees. For an organisation to perform better, it is a must that the employees of the company are engaged in their work and measuring their performance along with an appraisal system is one of the best ways to keep them engaged. The move of Accenture to drop its system of performance rating might reduce the level of employee engagement in the company and bring down the overall productivity and efficiency of the company in the longer run (Adler, et al., 2016). Secondly, another major benefit of having performance ratings and performance appraisals is that it provides an exceptional framework for the company that helps it in analysing the lacking skills in the employees. Using performance measurement systems, companies are able to diagnose the areas where its employees lack competencies and are required to be trained or developed in those areas in order to improve their efficiency. If th e company drops its performance measurement system altogether, it might not be able to assess the training and development needs of its employees in the near future and will lose the ability to continuously increase the competencies of its workforce. Thirdly, many employees are themselves in favour of performance management systems as performance ratings by the management allows them to assess their competencies and compare their performances with benchmarks fixed by themselves. In absence of a performance measurement system, the employees might not be able to identify the areas where they need to improve and might lose interest in their jobs (Chatterji, Durand, Levine, Touboul, 2016). Fourthly, another major benefit of analysing the performance of the employees is that it helps the management in succession planning. It becomes easier for the management to identify employees that have the potential to take up higher positions in the organisation in the future using a system that me asures their performances. In absence of a performance rating system, it might become difficult for the management to identify the employees having the right potential to move up in the organisational hierarchy and the company might also face difficulties in fulfilling its human resource demands internally. Lastly, a major issue that the management might face is related to the motivation level amongst the employees. One of the reasons why organisations use performance management systems is to keep the employees motivated by associating the system with some kind of rewards, such as increase in pay, promotion, etc. but in absence of a performance management system, the employees might feel demotivated and show a decline in the performance level (Gomes Romo, 2014). The above mentioned issues can definitely result in a decline in the overall productivity and efficiency of the company and the organisation might end up paying more than the costs that it intended to save by dropping its performance measurement system. Recommendations for Future Performance measurement Performance management system is a necessary evil that every company has to execute to manage its human resources appropriately. Though performance management systems are time consuming and require a lot of resources but they are also very important from the perspective of human resource management. Therefore, the company should not give up on performance ratings or management altogether as it might cause some serious issues in the near future. some recommendations that the company can use to monitor, assess and improve the performance of its employees effectively is discussed below: 360-Degree Performance Review: As evident from the case itself, the company wants to drop its performance management system and switch to a system where it can evaluate the performance of its employees on the basis of their individual role and performance. Thus, a 360-degree performance review will be one of the best options for the company. In a 360-degree performance feedback system is a process in which employees receive anonymous and confidential feedback about their performance from people who are around them. In such a system, all people i.e. managers, peers, juniors, etc. provide a performance feedback (Karkouliana, Assakera, Hallakb, 2016). In a system where an employees superiors, colleagues, subordinates and even customers provide feedback about the performance of an employee, the results obtained are better and have a higher accuracy. Some advantages of a 360-degree feedback system are discussed below: It will allow the company to have a performance feedback of an employee that is more accurate and reliable (Aggarwal, Sundar, Thakur, 2013) It provides an excellent framework for the employees that can help them in increasing self-awareness as it provides a detailed account of their strengths and weaknesses (Buckingham Goodall, 2015) Using a 360 degree feedback system will also allow the company to continue to assess the training and development needs of the employees even if it drops its system of performance ratings A 360 degree feedback system will provide multiply rated feedback about the employees that would allow the employees to uncover blind spots in their behaviour. A 360 degree feedback system is a relatively new concept that a lot of business organisations have started to implement in their workplace because of its potential to improve their system of performance measurement. This system has a greater efficiency than the traditional performance management systems and also require less resources for executing it. Thus, Accenture can also assess the potential of this system in accordance with its workplace conditions and replace its previous performance management system with a 360 degree feedback system in order to achieve better end results. Conclusion Accenture is one of the top global companies in the world and has been able to achieve this success because of its efficient management techniques and a high performing workforce. The decision of the company to put an end to its time and resource consuming performance management system that was not helping the company in achieving its primary objective of boosting employee performance is definitely a calculated move but the lack of a performance management system might have some serious implications for the company in the longer run. Therefore, the management of the company should definitely come up with a simpler and a more effective performance management system, such as 360 degree feedback, so that it can increase its overall efficiency and can become more competent. Bibliography Accenture. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2017, from reviews.greatplacetowork.com: https://reviews.greatplacetowork.com/accenture Spekla, R. F., Verbeeten, F. H. (2014, June 02). The use of performance measurement systems in the public sector: Effects on performance. Management Accounting Research, 25(2), 131-146. Klikauer, T. (2016, October 19). Eight fatal flaws of performance management. Chatterji, A. K., Durand, R., Levine, D. I., Touboul, S. (2016, August). Do ratings of firms converge? Implications for managers, investors and strategy researchers. Strategic Management Journal, 37(8), 1597-1614. Adler, S., Campion, M., Colquitt, A., Grubb, A., Kevin Murphy, R. O.-K., Pulakos, E. D. (2016, June). Getting Rid of Performance Ratings: Genius or Folly? A Debate. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 9(2), 219-252. Gomes, J., Romo, M. (2014). Advantages And Limitations Of Performance Measurement Tools: The Balanced Scorecard. Smith, M., Bititci, U. S. (2016). Interplay between performance measurement and management, employee engagement and performance . International Journal of Operations and Production Management. Karkouliana, S., Assakera, G., Hallakb, R. (2016, May 5). An empirical study of 360-degree feedback, organizational justice, and firm sustainability. Journal of Business Research, 69(5). Aggarwal, A., Sundar, G., Thakur, M. (2013, February 2013). Techniques of Performance Appraisal-A Review. International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology, 2(3). Buckingham, M., Goodall, A. (2015, April). Reinventing Performance Management. Harvard Business Review. Mone, E. M., London, M. (2014). Employee Engagement Through Effective Performance Management: A Practical Guide For Managers.

Life of Pi Preparation Questions free essay sample

Life of Pi: Yann Martel Analytical questions for holiday work. 1. Read the book carefully and respond to the following question. 2. Some questions will only make sense to students who have already read the book. Students reading it for the first time should leave spaces in order to develop responses after your reading and during class. 3. Also, make sure that you develop a list of question as you read so you can move beyond being the passive reader to the actively involved reader. You will be given a knowledge test on the novel during the first week of Term 3 so be prepared!!!! Author’s Note (remember that this is the fictional persona created by Martel) 1. What is the writer/author’s intent in this section? 2. Describe the author’s character. Give specific examples to support your interpretation. 3. What is the relevance of the reference to Kierkergaard? (research this philosopher) 4. What is the significance of the reference to the French colonization of Pondicherry? 5. We will write a custom essay sample on Life of Pi Preparation Questions or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page What will supposedly make the author believe in God? 6. Consider the significance of the word â€Å"bamboozle† within the context of this novel. Part 1: Toronto and Pondicherry Chapter 1 * Consider the significances of Pi’s double major in Zoology and Religious studies? * In what ways does Patel allude to his suffering and the influence that suffering has had on him. Many of Pi’s anecdotes relate to human’s cruelty to each other. * How does the description of the survival of the three toed sloth foreshadow other events in the story? * Consider the significance of Pi’s loyalty to both India and Canada. * Discuss his memory of Richard Parker Chapter 2 1. Why is this chapter written in italics? How is Pi depicted at this stage in his life? Chapter 3 1. What is the significance of Pi’s name and how is swimming connected to the survival story? Chapter 4 1. Discuss Pi’s fascination with animal behaviour and interaction and the similarities he draws between humans. 2. Why does he think that animals are better off in a zoo? Chapter 5 1. What is a Sihk? p. 20 (research the religion) 2. Discuss 4 p. 20 3. What does Pi’s focus on his name tell us about his character and what possible significance can this name have in relation to the main ideas in the novel? Chapter 6 1. Why is the author focussing on Pi’s present preoccupation with food? 2. What is the â€Å"siege† of Leningrad†? p. 25 Chapter 7 1. Research Mendel and Darwin p. 26 Why are they relevant in this story 2. How is Mr. Kumar’s atheism expressed? 3. What is Pi’s response to agnostics? p. 28 Chapter 8 1. Discuss Pi’s comments re the danger of animals and the cruelty of humans. 2. What is anthropomorphism? 3. What lesson does Mr Patel teach Ravi and Pi and why? Chapter 9 1. How does this chapter foreshadow the training of Richard Parker? Chapter 10 1. How does Pi’s anecdote about the escaped animal link to Richard Parker? 2. Discuss the significance of Pi’s description of madness. Chapter 11 * What is the relevance of this chapter? Chapter 12 * Why does the writer refer to Pi’s preferences in food? Chapter 13 14 1. What does Pi’s description of lion taming add to our understanding of the deeper issues in this story? . Chapter 15 1. What is significant about the descriptions of religious images in Pi’s house Chapter 16 1. Discuss Pi’s religious development. Complete some research on the Hindu religion. . Chapter 17 1. Discuss Pi’s fascination with the Christian religion. Chapter 18, 19 20 1. .Discuss Pi’s introduction and consequent responses to the Islamic religion. Chapter 21 1. Discuss the nature of the author’s reflections on Pi’s experiences of religion. Chapter 22 1. . What is the relevance in this brief chapter of Pi’s reflection on atheists and agnostics? Chapter 23 1. What different views of god are explored in this section and why? 2. What does Pi mean at the end of this chapter, â€Å"That was my introduction to interfaith dialogue†? p 70. Chapter 24 25, 1. What is Ravi’s humorous suggestion in this very brief paragraph and what dimension does it add to the focus on religions in this novel? 2. Discuss Pi’s response to all of the faiths he has explored. Chapter 26, 27 28 1. . How do Pi’s parents cope with his request to be baptised? 2. What is Pi’s response to his baptism? Chapter 29 1. Discuss the rhetorical questions at the start of this chapter and the ways in which Pi and Ravi respond to the family’s emigration. 2. Discuss the political upheaval and the reasons that Pi’s parent wish to move away from their homeland. Chapter 30 1. What is the purpose for this brief response to the realisation that Pi has a wife? Chapter 31 1. What is the narrative purpose of this encounter between Pi’s atheist science teacher, Mr Kumar and Mr Kumar the Muslim baker? Chapter 32 1. What is the point of the story of Methuselah and the mouse? Chapter 33 1. Why has the writer included this short piece on Pi’s family photographs? Chapter 34 1. Discuss Pi’s interpretation of Westerners in this chapter that focuses on selling the animals and moving the zoo Chapter 35 1. Pi is sixteen years old when he and his family move to Canada. What are his reflections on this? Chapter 36 1. Discuss the reason that the narrator is surprised that Pi has two children. Part 2: The Pacific Ocean Chapter 37 1. Why does Pi feel ambivalent about saving Richard parker? 2. What is meant by â€Å"truly I was to be the next goat†?. p. 99 Chapter 38 1. Discuss Pi’s account of the night the ship sank. 2. What does the ship’s crew do to Pi and why? Chapter 39, 40 41 1. Discuss pi’s responses to his predicament and to his companions on the lifeboat Chapter 42 1. What is the narrative purpose for the inclusion of the demise of Orange Juice? Chapter 43, 44 45 1. Why is the Hyena the worst threat to Pi? 2. Why is Pi afraid? 3. Why does Pi think he will be rescued? Chapter 46 1. Why is the animals’ suffering described so graphically and at times dispassionately? Chapter 47 1. What has Pi discovered by the end of this chapter?. Chapter 48 1. Discuss the significance of Richard Parker’s name. Chapter 49, 50 51 1. What is Pi’s response when he discovers Richard Parker? Chapter52 1. Discuss the significance of the list. Chapter 53, 54 55 1. How does Pi plan to ensure his survival? 2. What is the nature of his plans to get rid of Richard parker? 3. What is meant by †if you wage a war of attrition, you will lose it! †p. 161 Chapter 56, 57, 58, 59 60 1. Discuss the significance of Pi’s statement, â€Å"Only fear can defeat life. † P. 161 2. What is â€Å"Prusten†? p. 163 . Discuss Pi’s new plan and why he is grateful for Richard parker. 4. Discuss Pi’s spiritual revelation. p. 177 Chapter 61, 62, 63, 64, 65 1. What does pi discover about fishing? 2. How long has Pi been at sea at this stage and what his his one key to survival? p. 192 3. What does Pi discover about solar sills? 4. What happens to P i’s skin and his clothes? Chapter66 67 1. Discuss Pi’s transformation from being a vegetarian to eating for survival. Chapter 68 1. In what ways are Pi and Richard Parker like animals in a zoo? Chapter 69 1. How are Pi’s memories of the past generated? Chapter70 1. What is the significance of the description of killing the turtle? Chapter 71, 72, 73 74, 75, 76 77 1. How does Pi train Richard Parker? 2. What does Pi wish he had? 3. How has hunger changed Pi? Chapter 78 1. What does Pi mean by the â€Å"worst pair of opposites† and why? p. 217 Chapter 79 1. Why does this chapter focus on pi’s distress about catching sharks? Chapter 80 81 What does Pi mean by â€Å"I had won†? p. 222 Chapter 82. 1. What does Pi state is the worst form of suffering that he has endured at sea? Chapter 83 1. . What does Pi lose in his chapter? 2. What fortunately is not damaged? Chapter 84. Discuss the significance of Pi’s descriptions of eating the bird Chapter 85. 1. According to Pi, when one is faced with continual terror they are replaced with numbness and completely give up. Chapter 86. 1. How does Pi feel about Richard Parker at the end of this chapter? Chapter 87. 1. What does Pi mean by â€Å"One of my favourite methods of escape was what amounts to gentle asphyxiation†? p. 236 Chapter 88 1. How does Pi attempt to communicate in this part of his journey? Chapter 89 1. . Why does Pi touch Richard Parker for the first time? Chapter 90 1. To what extent is Pi’s suffering mental and physical? . Who is the â€Å"voice†? 3. Discuss the significance of the last sentence, â€Å" something in me died then that has never come back. † P. 253 Chapter 91 1. Why could Pi never find the true identity of the visitor? 2. Discuss the significance of Pi’s confession. p. 256 Chapter 92 1. Discuss the island and its effects on Pi and Richard Parker. 2. Why does Pi decide to leave the island? 3. Why is this chapter so much longer than the others? Chapter 93 1. Why does Pi maintain his faith? Chapter 94 1. What is the significance of, â€Å"I wept like a child†? p. 285 Part 3: Benito Juarez Infirmary , Tomaltan, Mexico Chapter 95 1. Discus the significance of this chapter in italics. Chapters 96, 97 98 1. Discuss Pi’s story as presented in this section. Chapter 99. Note that this is one of the longer chapters 1. Why don’t the Japanese officials believe Pi’ story? 2. What does pi mean by, â€Å"I know what you want. You want a story that won’t surprise you. That will confirm what you already know. That won’t make you see higher or further or differently. †? 3. What is Pi’s response to the version that the Japanese choose to believe? Chapter 100 1. Discuss the significance of Mr Okamoto’s letter.

Company Profile Kia Lim Berhad Essays

Company Profile Kia Lim Berhad Essays Company Profile Kia Lim Berhad Essay Company Profile Kia Lim Berhad Essay Kia Lim Berhad was set up as the holding company of Syarikat Kia Lim Kilang Batu Bata Sdn Bhd (SKL) and Kangkar Raya Batu Bata Sdn Bhd (KRBB) bricks manufacturers, which had been operating since 1973. SKL has set up a fully automated plant employing German technology. It was incorporated in Malaysia on 8 May 1995 as public limited company and listed in the KLSE Main Board (Industrial Products) on 29 May 1996. Commercial production commenced in mid 1999. KRBB installed a second plant in late 1991, which is fully automated and capable of producing common, block and facing bricks. The Group has diversified its range of products to include clay-roofing tiles, facing bricks and pavers. The Groups products are exported to regional markets like Singapore, Japan, Taiwan and Qatar. Kian Joo Can Factory Berhad Kian Joo Can Factory Berhad is manufacturer and distributor of tin cans and 2-piece aluminium beverage cans. They also produced polyethelene terephalate products, corrugated fibreboard cartons, provision of engineering services, letting of property, provision of share registration and provided management services. Kim Hin Industry Berhad The Company (KHI), which is Kuching-based, started operations in 1975 as a small-scale manufacturer of clay bricks. In 1979 it ceased this activity and ventured into the manufacture of mosaic tiles. It changes its name from Kim Hin Industry Sdn Bhd to present form on conversion. From a single production line, the Company now has three factories with 24 production lines. Today, KHI is one of Malaysias largest integrated ceramics manufacturers. The Group is a fully integrated manufacturer of wall, floor and homogeneous tiles, with installed production capacity of 19m sq m p.a. The Group has invested approximately RM266m in state-of-the-art Italian tile manufacturing plant and equipment. Kris Components Berhad Kris Components Bhd was incorporated on 9 September 1975 in Malaysia as a private limited company but converted to a public company on 2 November in year 1995. Its principal activities are manufacturing and stamping of precision metal parts and anodizing high-end cosmetic surface-finishing metal parts. YTL Cement Berhad YTL Cement Berhad listed on KLSE Second Board on September 6, 1993 and transferred to Main Board (Industrial Products) on June 26, 1997. It is incorporated on 29 January 1977 in Malaysia as a private limited company and converted into a public limited company on 4 May 1992. It change its name from Buildcon Sdn Bhd to Buildcon Bhd on conversion and to YTL Cement Bhd on 26, February in year 1997. The Company manufactures and supplies ready-mixed concrete to the construction industry. The Groups operations are located in Westport, Selangor, Bukit Sagu, Pahang and Pasir Gudang, Johor. Body of Contents Company Analysis Kia Lim Berhad Refer to Table 1, common-size analysis of capital structure shows that the liabilities constitute 76% and equity 24% of the companys financing in 2001 compare with 30% of total liabilities and 70% equity in the companys financing in 1996. Debt ratio and total to debt equity ratio increases sharply in 2001 compare to the previous years. In 2001, the company financed its assets approximately 72% of its debt. It was supported when the trend index of long-term liabilities (391.926%) exceeds its current liabilities (308.003%) and shareholders equity (55.331%) ( refer to Table 2). From Table 2, we can see that cash and bank balances decreases sharply from 99.356% to 2.813%. Yet the companys the companys cash flow adequacy ratio is 0.745, which is less than 1. This implies that the internal cash sources in the company were insufficient to maintain its dividend and current operating growth levels. There is a need for the company to seek for external financing in order to fulfill the requirement of the company. Table 3 shows the financial ratios of Kia Lim Berhad, which indicates that the company is facing liquidity needs. The current ratio of the company dropped over the past 5 years and the inventory turnover decreases. Kia Lim Berhads return on invested capital showed unfavorable level, where every unit of invested capital generates less profits to the company from 1998 onwards. The return on common equity also decreases over the past 5 years. The growth rate is decreasing, which the SEGR drop from 0.062% in Year 1997 to 0.185% in Year 2001. This can be seen from Table 1, which total equity capital is 28% in 2001 compare to 70% in 1996. This indicates that when the indebtedness of the company reaches a risky point, the more financial leverage the company has. The company sales show an average declining trend, which it decreases sharply in Year 2000 (-32.084%) and rebound to 100.529% in Year 2001. The forecasted sales for the next year are RM 32062120.43, which the sales are dropping and the companys net profit is forecasted to decline in Year 2003. The dollar of amount earned on behalf of each share decreases from RM 0.08 (1998) to RM 0.04 (1999) and further decreases to nil. This means there is no earning generate for each share of the company. Similar behavior was found in dividends yield, in which it decreases from 3.14 in year 1997 to 1.58 in year 1999. Kian Joo Can Factory Berhad From Table 4, we can conclude that the highest proportion of total liabilities and equity to total equity capital, are recorded in year 1999. As an overall, the average of total liabilities and total equity constitutes 41.6% and 78.37% each year of Kian Joos financing. Besides that, Table 5 reveals the trend of selected accounts, which year 1996 as the base year. The highest record of net income is in year 1997, which is 80.839%. However, the performance of Kian Joo Can Factory in year 1999 is worsening due to the net income earned are decrease for two consecutive years. A tremendous drop in net income in year 2000, which is almost 44.8% less than previous year reflect the company is overcapacity and may attract the new competitors enter into this industry. In year 1998, we can see that the trends of almost all the account selected are downturn because financial crisis occur in that year. Over these five years, the average of sales is 22.18%. Since the inventory growth is more than sales growth over the 5 years period, the company has more funds to invest in inventory. By reviewing Table 6, we find out the return on invested capital is in increasing trend except for year 1997 and 1998. The highest ratio is in year 1997. A large portion variability of the return on common equity of this company is due to changes in return on assets. Notice that the sustainable equity growth ratio, which relative to the prior year is shrink over the four years period except for year 2001. However, the average of this measurement over the five years period is 0.36%. For the debt ratio, there is a sudden drop between year 1998 and 1999 due to 23.6% increase in long term debts. The total debt to equity ratio record the highest amount in year 1998 due to the economic crisis and the company increase their credit line. In year 2000, there is a sudden drop from RM2 dividends yield to RM1.52. After year 1999, earnings per share are decrease for two consecutive years. This is because reducing in net profit over the years. There is an improvement in PE ratio except the year 20 01. Since economic recession in year 1998, the company must sell their stock in higher price, that is RM28.3 in order to get RM1 earnings. The forecasted sales of this company for year 2003 are RM473, 509,169, which is 1.17% less compare with previous year. However, net income is expected increase 5.97%, which is from RM28, 220,000 raise to RM29, 904,528. In summary, the company will performed better in year 2003 since the forecasted net income is higher. Kim Hin Industry Berhad Table 7 shows a common size analysis of capital structure for Kim Hin Industry Berhad. For year 1996, liabilities constitute 16.702% and this percentage decreases to 0.099% in year 2000, which indicates that the obligations of Kim Hin Industry are reducing. However, in year 2001, this amount increases 0.015% to 0.114%. From the table, it shows the shareholders equity of Kim Hin industry Berhad is stable over years. The reserve of this company reaches its peak in year 1998. This may be due to the economic crisis that makes the company to increase their reserve in the bank to face the contingency in the future. From Table 8, we can see that cash and bank balances increase the most in year 2001 (2492.699%) if compared with the other short-term assets. This indicates that Kim Hin Industry Berhads liquidity needs is improving over the year. Although long term asset and long term liability show a downturn from year to year, they are still remained above the level of total long term assets based on year 1996. From here we can see that sales growth are faster than the inventory growth. This is a good sign for Kim Hin Industry Berhad. This may be due to the better inventory system in this company. Net income shows a rising trend over these six consecutive years except in year 1998, the net income decreased 33.954% if compared with year 1996. Besides, account receivables are growing faster than the sales (118.975% versus 110.042%), this is suggestive for a more aggressive credit policy. After doing the time series forecasting of the value of sales and net income in year 2003, we predict that both categories will be in a decreasing trend, which reach an amount of RM 15,561,322.19 for net income and RM 150,277,952 of sales. From Table 9, the value of cash flow adequacy ratio (CFAR), which is 1.01606, indicates that this company is able to cover these cash without a need for external financing. The debt ratio of this company over five years is decreasing from year to year. This implies that the portion of assets that are being financed by the creditors are keep on dropping. Furthermore, the debt to equity is decreasing from year 1997 (0.352044 times) to 2001 (0.161399 times). The highest ROCE over these five business-operating years is in year 1997 which yield an amount of 27.8%. The growth rate is decreasing, which shows by the SEGR, from 25.03% in year 1997 to -5.827% in year 1998. After year 1998, the growth rate increase steadily from year 1999 (7.116%) to 2001(11.35%). Although the companys earning per share decreases from 0.18 in year 1997 to 0.05 in year 2001, the dividend yield increases from 0.53 in year 1997 to 0.98 in year 2001. In year 1998, dividend yield comes to it highest point of 3.23 which designates that the selling price of each share, the company will get RM 3.23 dividend in return. The PE ratios of Kim Hin Industry Berhad fluctuate over time. The highest PE ratio among these five years is in year 2000, which yields that the company should sell its share for RM 27.90 in order to earn RM 1.00. Kris Components Berhad Table 10 shows a common-size analysis of capital structure for Kris Components Berhad. For year 2001, liabilities constitute 52.1% and equity 47.9% of Kriss financing, while long term liabilities equal l2.41%. Total liabilities is increase from 22.44% in year 1997 to 52.1% in year 2001, whereas total equity capital has decreased from 77.56% to 47.9%. This shows that there is a greater likelihood of insolvency in company since the higher the proportion of debt, the larger the interest charges and debt repayment. Table 11 shows the trend index of selected accounts of Kris Components Berhad. The cash and cash balances was decrease dramatically from 864% in year 2000 to 530.3% in year 2001, whereas inventory is increase substantially from 639.3% to 1049.8%. This shows that the company has more funds invested in inventory in year 2001. However, the inventory growth is less than sales growth from year 1998 to year 2001. Net income is in an increasing trend except from year 1999 to 2000. Therefore, we have forecasted the sales and net income using regression model for year 2003. As the result, estimated sales in 2003 is RM 484,523,776.2 while the estimated net income is RM46,118,828.51. Refer to Table 12, the total debt to equity ratio shows an increasing trend during the 5 years period. This indicates the proportion of the companys capital that derived from debt is larger compared to other sources of capital. The total debt to equity ratio in year 2001 (108.475%) shows that the likelihood of insolvency in the company is greater especially during periods of earnings decline. The debt ratio of the company also increases over the 5 years period. It shows the portion of assets that is financed by creditors is increase from year to year. The return on invested capital ratio is fluctuated over the 5 years period. It shows 12.43% in 1999 indicates the company is able to attract financing compare with previous year. Kriss higher return on common shareholders equity as compared to its return on invested capital reflects the favourable effects of financial leverage. That is, Kris is successfully trading on the equity. Kriss cash flow adequacy ratio for the five-year period is 0.364, implying that funds generated from operations are insufficient to maintain dividends and current operating growth levels and there is a need for external financing. Kris sustainable equity growth rate in year 2001 is 12.14% compare with 10.01% in year 2000, markedly improve relative to prior years. This indicates better future growth in sales and earning. The year 2001 net income of RM19.771 million and dividend of RM 3.711 million leave sufficient funds for reinvestment and internally financed growth. While earnings per share increase from RM0.20 in year 1998 to RM0.42 in year 2001, the PE ratio was fluctuate during that period. Dividend yield was decline. Declining in dividend yield is attributable mainly to increase in PE ratio. YTL Cement Berhad Refer to Table 13, the company total liabilities decreased since 1999 with 65.1% compare to 36.36% (2002). Besides that, the overall total shareholders equity fluctuates each year with a moderate high percentage (63.64%) in 2002. The total debt to equity ratio is decreased from year 1999 to 2002. There is a sudden decreased of almost 70% from 186.506% in 1999 to 57.139% in 2002. Table 14 indicates that the sales and the net income of the company was in good condition for 4 consecutive years with an increment from 79% (1999) to 188% (2002) and net income increased from 21% (1999) to 438% (2002). In addition, we have forecasted the sales and net income using regression model for year 2003. As the result, estimated sales for year 2003 slightly decrease with the amount of RM 382,055,745.50 compare to 2002 with the amount of RM 422,639,071 while there is a rise in estimated net income for 2003 with RM7,454,009.69 (refer to Appendix). From the short-term liquidity ratio of YTL Cement Berhad, we analyze the companys inventory turnover. From Table 14, we can see that the companys inventory turnover increased over 4 consecutive years from year 1999 to 2002. We can also see that there is a sudden increased of almost 50% in 2000 due to an increased in YTL Cement Berhads sales from 109% in 2000 to 188% in 2002. This shows that there is effectiveness in managing inventory by YTL Cement Bhd. Besides that, CFAR for YTL Cement Berhad for 5 years period is 2.33 (refer to Table15). This ratio indicates that the company is able to cover cash needs without a need for external financing. The return on invested capital (ROIC) is increased from year 2000 to 2002. This is cause by the increment in the net income of the company over the past 3 years. Similar to ROIC, return on common equity (ROCE) of the company also increased. This is cause by the rise of the net income of the company over the past 3 years from 113% (2000) to 438% (2002) (refer to Table14). Sustainable equity growth rate (SEGR) recognizes the internal growth for YTL Cement Bhd depends on both earnings retention and return earned on earnings retained. There is an improvement on SEGR for 5 consecutive years from 1998 to 2002 after a sudden drop from 13.52% in 1997 to 1.58% in 1998 due to the occurrence of financial crisis (refer to Table15). From the view of financial market measures, YTL Cement Berhad EPS increased for 4 consecutive years from 0.03 in 1999 to 0.479 in 2002. This shows that the company earnings had improved over the periods. The company had lower PE ratio during year 2002, 2001, 2000 compare with the previous 3 years. This is good for the company. The company highest DY (5.12) was in 1998 compare to other years (refer to Table 15).

Queensland, Australia Geography

Queensland, Australia Geography Population: 4,516,361 (June 2010 estimate)Capital: BrisbaneBordering States: Northern Territory, South Australia, New South WalesLand Area: 668,207 square miles (1,730,648 sq km)Highest Point: Mount Bartle Frere at 5,321 feet (1,622 m)Queensland is a state located in the northeastern part of Australia. It is one of the countrys six states and it is the second largest in area behind Western Australia. Queensland is bordered by Australias Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales and has coastlines along the Coral Sea and the Pacific Ocean. In addition, the Tropic of Capricorn crosses through the state. The capital of Queensland is Brisbane. Queensland is most well-known for its warm climate, varying landscapes and coastline and as such, it is one of the most popular tourist areas in Australia.Most recently, Queensland has been in the news due to severe flooding that occurred in early January 2011 and late 2010. The presence of La Nià ±a is said to have been the cause of the flooding. According to CNN, the 2010 spring was Australias wettest in history. The flooding impacted hundreds of thousands of people all over the state. The central and southern parts of the state, including Brisbane, were hit the hardest.The following is a list of ten more geographic facts about Queensland:1) Queensland, like much of Australia has a long history. It is believed that the region making up the state today was originally settled by native Australians or Torres Strait Islanders between 40,000 and 65,000 years ago.2) The first Europeans to explore Queensland were Dutch, Portuguese and French navigators and in 1770, Captain James Cook explorer the region. In 1859, Queensland became a self governing colony after splitting from New South Wales and in 1901, it became an Australian state.3) For much of its history, Queensland was one of the fastest growing states in Australia. Today Queensland has a population of 4,516,361 (as of July 2010). Due to its large land area, the state has a low population density with about 6.7 people per square mile (2.6 people per square kilometer). In addition, less than 50% of Queenslands population lives in its capital and largest city, Brisbane.4) Queenslands government is part of a constitutional monarchy and as such it has a Governor who is appointed by Queen Elizabeth II. The Governor of Queensland has executive power over the state and is responsible for representing the state to the Queen. In addition the Governor appoints the Premier who serves as the head of government for the state. Queenslands legislative branch is made up of the unicameral Queensland Parliament, while the states judicial system is composed of the Supreme Court and the District Court.5) Queensland has a growing economy that is based mainly on tourism, mining and agriculture. The main agricultural products from the state are bananas, pineapples and peanuts and the processing of these as well as other fruits and vegetables make up a sizeable portion of Queenslands economy.6) Tourism is also a major part of Queenslands economy because of its cities, v aried landscapes and coastline. In addition, the 1,600 mile (2,600 km) Great Barrier Reef is located off of Queenslands coast. Other tourist destinations in the state include the Gold Coast, Fraser Island and the Sunshine Coast.7) Queensland covers an area of 668,207 square miles (1,730,648 sq km) and it part of it extends to be the northernmost part of Australia (map). This area, which also includes several islands, is about 22.5% of the total area of the Australian continent. Queensland shares land borders with the Northern Territory, New South Wales and South Australia and much of its coastline is along the Coral Sea. The state is also divided into nine different regions (map).8) Queensland has a varied topography that consists of islands, mountain ranges and coastal plains. Its largest island is Fraser Island with an area of 710 square miles (1,840 sq km). Fraser Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it has many different ecosystems which include rainforests, mangrove forests and areas of sand dunes. East ern Queensland is mountainous as the Great Dividing Range runs through this area. The highest point in Queensland is Mount Bartle Frere at 5,321 feet (1,622 m).9) In addition to Fraser Island, Queensland has a number of other areas that are protected as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These include the Great Barrier Reef, the Wet Tropics of Queensland and the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia. Queensland also has 226 national parks and three state marine parks.10) The climate of Queensland varies throughout the state but generally inland there are hot, dry summers and mild winters, while the coastal areas have warm, temperate weather year round. The coastal regions are also the wettest areas in Queensland. The states capital and largest city, Brisbane, which is located on the coast has an average July low temperature of 50ËšF (10ËšC) and an average January high temperature of 86ËšF (30ËšC).To learn more about Queensland, visit the states official website.ReferencesMiller, Brandon. (5 January 2011). Flooding in Australia Fueled by Cyclone, La Nina. CNN. Retri eved from: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/01/04/australia.flooding.cause/index.htmlWikipedia.org. (13 January 2011). Queensland - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QueenslandWikipedia.org. (11 January 2011). Geography of Queensland - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Queensland

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 79

Summary - Essay Example Rituals are well established form of cultural practices or ceremonies that mark a certain social rite in the society. Although modernity or globalization has contributed to some changes in the African societies, many African societies are still attached to cultural practices, traditions and customary issues. Cultural, traditional and ritual practices are widespread in African societies. The Ndebele people are well known for being artistic people because of artistic creativity and decorations of their homestead. Their historical perspective focuses on the ritualistic practices especially male and female initiation and marriage as well as religious practices or beliefs (Sian Tiley-Nel par.1). The Ndebele people are famous because of creativity in art, traditional practices and religious beliefs. They practice male and female initiation ceremonies known as ingoma or wela and iqhude or ukuthombisa respectively. Marriage ceremony is significant to them, and their ancestors, influences their daily practices. The African coming-of –age rituals are viewed as consisting of three main stages, which includes separation from the society, transcription period and reincorporation into community (Hipple par.3). The first phase involves taking boys and girls into the forest, which is notable for ritual activities. The second phase of transition involves initiating learning activities and training boys and girls on significant skills that will help them to participate in the society. For instance, the Krobo of Ghana trains girls for three weeks on various issues such as ways of dancing and art of seduction, female behaviors in the society and the domestic core skills. However, the initial process for girls in the Senufo of Ivory Coast takes a period of seven or eight years. The third phase reincorporation into society, which is the last phase for African coming of age rituals. This stage involves varied ordeals and tests that are usually painful. The

Learning the Research Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Learning the Research Process - Essay Example These citations appeared in academic journals, for example: American Sociological Society Journal (for statistical modelling), then, Psychological Society Papers, and in Family Concerns and Related Calculations chapter of San-Francisco Academic Review named Family Problems: Ways of "Nuclear" Improvement. In the article named King and Kitchener paper they used so much variables that it is only possible for me to articulate/find out very few of them. For instance, there were presented variables of children reducing for the rich families across the world, especially post-informational one, and variables dealing with constantly increasing birth rate in developing countries. I think an author drawn an axample from Indonesia reality to find out that it is quite evident that in this country rich families began to have less children than families with unconvenient rate of incomes. There were raised data from family sphere: 70 percents of Indonesian low-rate income families have approximately 120 percents of all children that were born in 2012. So there were collected data from low- and high-rate of incomes middle class families in Indonesia: with an assistance of statistical models, statistical procedures, and hypotheses that were tested. Accordingly, there were used such procedures: direct and indirectcalculating, numerical encoding, variables separation, and also statistical quantification and qualification. Of course they were specified primarily as null and alternate, but this was authors hypothesis that low-rate Indonesian families will obviously will be increased concerning their chilrden unproportional quantity. I have just stated that he revealed some intercorrelations exists, based on direct statistical considerations, between rate of income and children quantity in the local community, and also there could be found out

Future of Bioenergy Essay Example for Free

Future of Bioenergy Essay In moving towards the modern era, there are many things and aspects should be taken into account to guarantee that a country is in a stable condition and progress without investing too much money in the certain sectors. So, to ensure that the development of a country can run smoothly, the government needs to control the financial resources well and also they need to make sure the necessary resources provided to the public are adequate and meet the needs of the people in that country. One of the best ways to achieve the mission of creating a developing country in terms of economic development and environmentally friendly is by using the renewable energy systems where it can use to support the energy resources that cannot be renewed plus the amount of it, is getting reduced from time to time. By applying this good alternative method, it can save a million of money and leads the country to the Green Energy living way. There are large quantities of renewable energy resources that can be found in Ireland, but just part of these resources already been discovered and commercialized well in Ireland. To reduce the dependency on imported fuels, fossil fuels like oil, coal and natural gas and also reducing harmful greenhouse emission, sustainable alternative is recommended. â€Å"Renewable Energy,† 2012) As one of the easiest and best renewable energy to accommodate this strategy is by develop the Bioenergy as it can be a good resource to supply alternative energy and supply a significant proportion of the energy needs as well as provide a momentous proportion of energy needs, generate many public benefits for the country together with environmental enrichment, augmented variety of renewable alternatives and also regional economic development benefits. Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland or formally known as SEAI play a good role in this production. They do develop the renewable energy industry in Ireland by playing a leading role of transforming Ireland into a society based on sustainable energy structures, technologies and practices. (â€Å"About Us New,† 2012) Bio-Energy Bio-Energy is referring to the cellular material from living or dead organisms. It is an extensive resource and it can be divided into wastes and purpose grown material like so; I.  Waste streams including a small amount of forestry and related industries, recycled wood, agricultural residues and agrifood effluents, manures, the organic fraction of municipal solid waste, separated household waste and sewage slush. II. Purpose grown energy crops including short rotation forestry, Miscanthus grass, etc. (â€Å"Briefing Note on Biomass,†2002) The EU Directive on Sustainable Electricity from RES (where they do the promotion of electricity produced from renewable energy sources in the internal electricity market 2000/0116 (COD), 2001. defines biomass as including the biodegradable fraction of products, wastes and residues from agriculture (including vegetal and animal substances), forestry and related industries, as well as the biodegradable fraction of industrial and municipal waste. (â€Å"Briefing Note on Biomass,†2002) It is perhaps worth noting here, in terms of the cross scattered nature of biomass as noted above, that The European Council Directive on Landfill of Waste (1999) requires Member States to formulate a strategy in favor of reducing the amount of biodegradable waste going to landfill. Under the Directive, landfill gas will have to be collected from all landfills receiving biodegradable waste and it will use to produce energy or be burned. Irish targets outlined by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) over a fifteen year time-scale include a 65% reduction in biodegradable wastes consigned to landfill, as well as an 80% reduction in methane emissions from landfill. Therefore, this directive points towards the increased utilization of landfill gas for energy in the near term while at the same time restricting its potential as a long term source of energy. Currently, there are few of the agencies who concern about the challenges that we face in our new era regarding to the reduction of non-renewable energy sources like coal, oil and natural gases. Lots of the strategic plan has already come out on upgrading the energy usage and also in consuming the renewable energy sources from the natural resources which are still available in our surroundings. By focusing more seriously in a few sources that have a great potential to cover up the non-renewable energy resource and also it has a better opportunity to become a great supplier in the renewable energy sources industry, Republic of Ireland come out with their own strategies. Plus, there are fewer of challenges that almost of the countries need to face it right now including Ireland. For example, they need to be struggling with the climate changes and the increasing of greenhouse gas emission which is one of the big issues among public, government of Ireland need to face with the rising of energy costs as they also facing with the falling competitiveness among the other countries because of the currency of the Euro is falling down. Other than that, they also depend more with the imported oil and other fossil fuels with the security of supply should be noted. From these things happens, it makes the life more complicated and tough. So, from here it leads the Ireland to move into the other step which is closer to making this country as one of the environmental safely places to live by developing the Bioenergy industry as one of the best alternative way to overcome those problems stated. As Ireland have a strong strategy and well arranged future planning to carry out the energy from a certain resources like agriculture wastes and recycled products, it can lead the country to achieve the best environment with a green environmental friendly. Based on the Bio-Energy Roadmap published by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), Bio-Energy will be one the fundamental and essential element that will contribute more to Ireland’s future energy requirements and needs together provide significant economic and environmental benefits. From the words of Chief Executive Officer of SEAI; Prof. J Owen Lewis, he wrote that ; Ireland already has an active Bioenergy sector, with increasing use in industry, transport and in our homes. This is just the beginning. Much of the energy and climate debate focuses on short term goals, as it should. However, energy is a long term issue involving infrastructure and investment decisions with far-reaching consequences. There is, I believe, growing understanding of the changes we are facing and of the need to start acting now. I also think many people realize that, far from being purely a risk or a challenge, this process of change is a huge opportunity for Ireland. An export-oriented high value sector will find plenty of markets seeking to solve the same energy issues we face here in Ireland. Ireland is well-placed to be a leader in Bioenergy, but we must act if we are to secure this position. (J. Owen Lewis, 2010) So from the statement stated, it proves that Bioenergy got a great potential to be developed and build up more seriously. The point of view is how can we get into it in achieving the mission and goal as it is one of the best ways in Ireland to support the non-renewable energy in this country. The government and people should start to think it more seriously because of the non-renewable resources is not increasing from time to time but it will decrease from the next becoming years. From the diagram below, it shows that how the graph of the total energy primary demand scenario in Ireland that keeps increasing from 2010 to 2050 and this data are based on the data collection from 2010, 2020 NREAP; 2050 SEAI Bioenergy Roadmap. Diagram 1 : The total of Bioenergy demand scenario for an 80% reduction in CO2 emission by 2050. (2010, 2020 NREAP; 2050 SEAI Bioenergy Roadmap) Table 1 : The percentage of Bioenergy demand according to the sector provided in Ireland. (2010, 2020 NREAP; 2050 SEAI Bioenergy Roadmap) Based on the chart and and also the table shown above, we can see that the high demand of the Bioenergy industry is giving a positive responds and data. The value of the demand keeps increasing from year to year till it achieve a first phase of 2020 and at 2050, it shows that the percentage of every sector is attaining more than 20% of demand. From the explanation taken in the Bioenergy Roadmap 2010 – 2050, the bioenergy demand to 2050 has been forecast using specialist in-house modelling, with the impact of technology development considered to determine the primary bioenergy demand. The main goal of the 2050 model is to indicate the challenge and the need for an action if we are attending to achieve the internationality discussed of 80% reduction in CO2 emissions to curb global warming. What is presented in the Bioenergy Roadmap is just one possible scenario of how we can approach this challenge, and the contribution of bioenergy (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), 2010). There are few of key findings and conclusions that have been highlight in the planning of developing bioenergy industry in future, such as; I. Bioenergy have a good quality potential in being one of the best indigenously energy resources for the national country that can be use in providing necessity energy to the country until 2050 especially related with the few of sector like transportation, electricity generation and also heat. II. There are more than 3500ktoe of original resources that can be obtained for Bioenergy supply chain by 2050. III. Bioenergy is highly suitable for the inclusion of the national distribution energy network. IV. Bioenergy industry has a most excellent role in perpetuating rural area development and improvement of employment. V.  There will be more than 11 Mt of CO2 that can be reduced or abated every year. VI. Existing resources can be enhance rapidly through the policies and actions across energy, waste, forestry, agriculture and RDD. VII. Allocation of bioenergy can be maximized by giving full support and investing in research and innovation in developing the various of bioenergy technologies and processes. VIII. A complete established energy infrastructure will be minimized a cost of competitive bioenergy sector distribution and allocation. IX. Bioenergy industry will be supported in developing best practicing of management for energy purposes. X. Develop the existing systems of bioenergy that can maximize the utilization of available bio-mass. (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), 2010) By referring to the key findings stated in the SEAI Bioenergy Roadmap 2010 – 2050, the aims and missions in making the Bioenergy industry as one of the best potential alternatives that can support the existing non-renewable energy resources can be fully achieve if we can see the high potential of Bioenergy in the future and give full cooperation and support to realize it in the upcoming few years. So, let give full effort and show our support in making the Bioenergy industry as one of the best alternative way to accommodate the existing resources that from day to day it keep decreasing. Best strategies should BE come out and take over this problems, so that it can be realize in future for our own community purposes.

Robert Penn Warren: Distinguished American Writer and Poet :: Biography Biographies Essays

Robert Penn Warren: Distinguished American Writer and Poet Robert Penn Warren, born in Guthrie, Kentucky in 1905, was one of the twentieth century's most eminent American writers. He was a distinguished novelist and poet, literary critic, essayist, short story writer, and coeditor of numerous textbooks. He was also a founding editor of The Southern Review, a journal of literary criticism and political thought. The primary influences on Robert Warren's career as a poet were probably his Kentucky boyhood, and his relationships with his father and his maternal grandfather. As a boy, Warren spent many hours on his grandfather's farm, absorbing stories of the Civil War and the local tobacco wars between growers and wholesalers, the subject of his first novel, Night Riders. His grandfather, Thomas Gabriel Penn, had been a calvary officer in the Civil War and was well-read in both military history and poetry, which he sometimes recited for Robert. Robert's father was a banker who had once had aspirations to become a lawyer and a poet. Because of economic troubles, and his responsibility for a family of half-brothers and sisters when his father died, Robert Franklin Warren forsook his literary ambitions and devoted himself to more lucrative businesses. Robert Warren did not always have ambitions to become a writer, in fact, one of his earlier dreams was to become an adventurer on the high seas. This fantasy might have indeed come about, for his father intended to get him an appointment to Annapolis, had it not been for a childhood accident in which he lost sight in one of his eyes. Warren was an outstanding student but there were also many books at home, and he savored reading. His father at one time aspired to be a poet. His grandfather Penn, with whom he spent much time when he was young, was an exceptional storyteller and greatly influenced young Red. But both of these men whom he loved had in some sense failed to achieve. By contrast, Warren was determined to achieve, to be successful. During his college years at Vanderbilt, the sense of being physically maimed, as well as the fear sympathetic blindness in his remaining good eye became almost unbearable. At Vanderbilt University he met Allen Tate, John Crowe Ransom, Donald Davidson, and others interested in poetry. As part of The Fugitives, a private group that met off campus, he delved deeply into poetry, and his first poems were published in their short-lived quarterly. Warren had a remarkable capacity for friendship, and he was in touch with these men all of their lives. For years Tate was "first critic" of his poetry.

What Makes A Leader

What Makes a Leader In this article we explore what makes a great leader and what groups and levels of skills are needed to be a great leader. Daniel Coleman writes about Emotional Intelligence, how It Is evaluated, and the Importance of Emotional Intelligence for effectiveness of an affective leader. Everyone is born with certain levels of skills that can be strengthened with persistence, practice and feedback from colleagues and coaches. Mr.. Coleman preformed over the course of an entire year focusing on how emotional Intelligences operates In the workplace.They examined the relationship teen both effective performance and emotional intelligence especially in leadership roles. The 5 groups of skills are listed as follows: self-awareness, self- regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills, which I will be discussing. Companies hire trained psychologists to develop â€Å"competency models† to aid in identifying, training, and promoting of individuals with these groups o f skills. These individuals are those who can recognize their strengths, weaknesses, drives, values and impact on others who know that one needs to control or redirect disruptive Impulses and moods to be an effective leader.Having relishing achievement for own sake and are considerate to other peoples emotional make up by using the rapport built with others to move them in the desired direction. Daniel Coleman distinguishes what makes a great leader from the average one. The five in one secret to success allows you to maximize your leadership skills. Emotional Intelligence benefits you at every level of business giving you the necessary tools most Important to building the right foundation to a solid future and taking the right direction to ensuring a success in your business venture.Take advantage and use your emotional Intelligence to show how capable and effective you can truly be. Self-awareness in the aspect of big business allocates one resources, strong and weak to use to bes t impact the goals set forward. People with high self-awareness recognize how their feelings affect them, others, and Job performance. Having high self-awareness allows one to make critical decisions that need to be made in order for deadlines to be met and to save future conflict that could have been avoided.Knowing the time and place for things is a good example of having good self- wariness, without it you could potentially ruin a first impression and hinder Impending possible business endeavors. To enhance emotional intelligence companies are altering their training to include the limbic system. This allows for people to break old behavioral habits and establish new ones. It is key to focus that ones emotional intelligence can only come from sincere desire and resolute effort.Once your self-awareness is up to par you will be able to see your Impact on others and see how malleable the people around you really are. Your self-confidence gives o a desire for constructive criticism t o better yourself day by day. 1 OFF redirect any disruptive emotions or any impulses that could spawn from a heated altercation with a fellow employee. Biological impulses guide our everyday emotions, we can never get rid of them, but we can control them. This allows one to pick and choose their words carefully not being tempted to kick the chair or flip the desk.People who can control their emotions are often seen as stiff and dispassionate. With self-regulation, patience is vital and will prove faithful when it comes to your integrity and trustworthiness. With time, you become and grow more comfortable with ambiguity and change thus having a stronger grasp on your emotional intelligence. When looking at the aspect of leadership, one with a good head on their shoulders not eager to Jump to make irrational decisions before first going through all of the possible solutions to the problem.This ensures that the best potential outcome will be explored and evaluated to best serve its pur pose helping business run as it should and keeping employees content with the workplace. Motivation or inspirational words are that should be followed with ambitious work. When being driven to achieve for only the sake of achievement and accomplishing the task at hand is the only thing on your mind. Taking the passion for the quality and the challenges that come with completing any new task.Being the most optimistic when staring down at a ticking time bomb knowing exactly what must be done and with tender touch in some cases that create the most success. The passion that you hold for the very things you do on a daily basis, anywhere from work itself or for any new challenges that spark your interest. This challenge gives you unflagging energy to improve on your current status in every aspect of life. Optimism will bring you far in life with the regards to having patience for the right thing to take its place and take us to where we need to be.Stressing over every little thing will o nly slow you down and make you look like less of a professional. Instead of blaming countless other individuals, taking accountability for your actions and stepping up to learn from this experience and apply it to the work place can cause engineer a turn-around. Empathy or ability to consider others feelings when making a decision in the work lace can save you a lot of time and stress from you saying or doing something without fully thinking it through and it turns out if you would of Just thought that through and been a little less selfish you could of seen the bigger picture.With this trait not only will you be improving your work portfolio so you will be developing the ability to develop others by attracting talent by the expertise that you need for a competitive firm. When in the workplace, one doesn't have two many second chances or second first impressions'. Understanding proper etiquette and the ability to be insensitive to cross-cultural differences could make or break a cli ents approval.It is very important to make sure you know every subtle detail about your client to avoid risking potential failure and ending a potential venture before it even starts. One thing in our culture could mean something completely and totally opposite in someone else's and when you think your conveying the correct platform, in reality you are not on the same page as your client due to lack of preparedness due to poor Social skills are the ability to manage relationships to move people in the direction hat is crucial to the development of the company.Being a leader with good social skills one must be effective in leading change, persuasive, extensive networking, and experience in the leading and building of teams. This allows for the leader to manage what exactly they would want their company to adopt to better the future of the enterprise. With the correct social skills, it will ensure that your ability to persuade allies in other divisions to possibly help fund potential endeavors.Even if your social skills are lacking, there is always room to better your own social skills and evolve into he social butterfly that you always intended to be but never had the right force to push you. Once you have found common ground you can build a rapport and take your business to higher levels. Socially skilled people tend to have a vast amount of acquaintances and have the capabilities of finding common ground with all types of people. People who tend to achieve usually are optimistic including times of setbacks or failures.In conclusion, we are shown that everyone has the skills available to potentially be great leaders but that not everyone has the balanced set or capability to reach the Roth needed so we see that as an individual it takes more than Just one trait to be a great leader but it takes five individual characteristics that make up emotional intelligence that allows us to think before we speak and act making sure that we represent ourselves the way that resembles the characteristics that would make company blush and be glad they have you at their business.Conduct yourself with self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills and you will have the perfect concoction to making a great leader out of yourself and others around you.

Psychology Perspectives: Columbine Massacre

Perspectives of Psychology: Understanding the Columbine Massacre In Psychology, there are perspectives and approaches that are looked into when trying to understand how the intricate human mind works. These perspectives are respectfully derived from different ideas and time periods, exemplifying different ways of thinking. These perspectives include: sociocultural, biopsychological, psychodynamic, behaviorism, cognitive, and humanism. These approaches are critically essential in solving something as serious as murder, or simply even why someone acts the way they do.There are many instances where there will be shocking news stories about people committing murders—people that are so unexpected to do such harm. However, when the six perspectives are properly enforced, we can infer and comprehend the situation and reasoning. These handy tactics and knowledge help us understand the underlying core reasons for even the most bizarre and deadliest cases such as the Columbine High Scho ol Massacre. This massacre is the world’s deadliest high school shooting that was embarked by two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.The pair initially intended to kill thousands of students, however the bomb did not go off as planned. Unfortunately, the malicious killers managed to kill twelve students, one teacher, and greatly injured 21 helpless students. Not only did they engage in such acts, but once they were satisfied with their spree, they committed suicide. This tragic event was greatly televised as it forced schools around the country to enforce strict laws of security.The unbelievable acts of Eric and Dylan left everyone with many questions as to why these seemingly normal students would take the lives of so many, and also themselves. However, we begin to understand how deceiving looks can be as we deeply examine past the superficial surface of these two killers. A modern perspective in psychology is the sociocultural perspective, which accordingly comb ines two fields of study: social psychology, which is the study of social roles, actions, relationships; and cultural psychology, which is the study of cultural norms, values, and expectations.These are closely tied due to the fact that they are both about the effect that people have on one another, either individually or in a larger group as a broad culture (Peplau&Taylor, 1997). In short, First of all, sociocultural is a modern approach where culture, race, genders, and backgrounds are studied closely to better understand behavior. This sociocultural perspective is evident in this case, because according to psychologists, Kimmel and Mahler, the two shooters were white males who did not project the male gender roles other students possessed.According to USA Today, the shooters, Harris and Klebold, were seen as outcasts due to their unusual behavior and inability to conform to society. Harris and Klebold allegedly created a website on how to commit crimes varying from theft to somet hing as dangerous as bomb explosions. Both Kleboid and Harris were victims of bullying. I am driven to believe their unacceptance to society and perhaps their culture, enticed them to go on a killing spree. Also, I believe the violent messages sent by heavy metal music, violent televised movies and shows, and other subcultures also served as a factor for the massacre.More often than not, psychologists ponder on whether chemical imbalances can really affect the way a person acts and thinks, and how it can affect their lifestyle. This perspective is known as the biopsychological perspective. This perspective is also fairly modern, as it focuses on influences of hormones, brain sructures and chemicals, and diesaease. This being said, this approach is strictly thought that human and animal behavior is seen as a result from events going on inside the body (Ciccarelli, 2012). According to journalist, Dave Cullen of the New York Times, Dylan Kleboid was diagnosed with depression.The biolog ical approach can be well implied in this situation because as stated earlier, his chemical imbalances acted as a hindrance in his life, creating more reason and desire to kill others, and also kill himself. The next theory is categorized as a less-modern perspective as it goes all the way back to the Victorian Era. This approach is based on Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychodynamic, which focuses on the role of the unconscious mind and its influence on conscious behavior, early childhood experiences, development of sense of self, and other motivations. Ciccarelli, 2012). In other words, this theory states that humans have an unconscious mind in which we repress all of our threatening urges and desires into. In effect of repressing urges, it creates nervous disorders. This approach greatly stresses the importance of early childhood experiences. I firmly believe that both boys, especially Klebold, repressed their urges and thoughts which created a dramatic lash-out. According to New York Times, Klebold had come from a very well educated family that had very high expectations for him.His childhood had been constricted to studying and since he was exposed to such lifestyle at such a young age, he grew accustomed to better his education. Kleboid showed no obvious signs of danger to his family, as he valued how he appeared to his parents. However though, he had a great drinking problem which caused major aggression. Harris, Klebold’s good friend, was greatly interested in creating bombs. His childhood was not like Klebold’s—his family was not as forceful of his studies, or close. Harris was diagnosed with depression—leading him to have suicidal thoughts.According to At the time of his death, he had unbelievable Luvox levels in his system. According to psychiatrist, Peter Breggin, these medications very likely have contributed to Harris's actions. Harris had been meticulously planning bombings but did not have the means of creating o ne. That is where his good friend and brains of the pair, Klebold, comes into play. The two boys’ lives are well exemplified and reinforced by the psychodynamic approach, as their childhood seemed to shape their lives as they grew older. The next approach is the behavioral perspective.This perspective is based on the early work of Watson and Skinner. Behaviorism concludes that the science of behavior must be directly seen and observed to be validated. This being said, we must ignore â€Å"consciousness† and focus on observable behavior. This approach is shown by the pair because both boys had been convicted of breaking into a van and stealing computers. According to Wikipedia. org, after breaking into the van, Harris blogged: â€Å"Why shouldn't we, the gods, have the right to break into a van that some mother***** left in the middle of nowhere?! This clearly shows the behavior of the boys that can be observed, not inferred. This behavior is very violent, and it is cl ear that the boys show no remorse or guilt for their wrong-doings. Another less modern approach would be the cognitive approach. This approach focuses on memory, intelligence, perception, thought processes, problem solving, language, and learning (Cicarelli, 2012). This perspective can be applied to Harris and Kleboid’s sitatuation by looking into their background and how that affects their thought processes and learning skills.As mentioned earlier, Kleboid was clearly bright. He was capable of creating bombs (although the bombings were unsuccessful) and devising a master plan. He carefully planned out the steps of what was happening. How can we be so sure? According to Time Magazine, Kleboid and Harris had been writing their step by step ways of creating a bomb. Not only so, but they clearly showed intent of killing thousands of students. I believe that this shows the boys had planned out a meticulous plan, also acknowledging the consequences, therefore decided to kill thems elves at the very end.At last, we have the Humanistic approach. This approach focuses on human potential, free will, and responsibility. This approach is sought to highlight human values and self-actualization. Humanism proposes that the deeds we do in life are not driven by childhood experiences, influences, cultural background, genetics, or chemical imbalances; but rather, it is driven by our will to be defined as a good or bad person. This perspective focuses on our underlying core values solely as individuals. This perspective can best be shown through the level of intellect the boys have.According to The Guardian, the boys have shown academic proficiency for a good part of their high school career. They were gifted in computer work, and were in charge of technical duties for school plays. With this being said, I believe the boys understood that their behavior is solely determined by their own will to be the type of person they aspire to be. Needless to say, I believe the boys w ere greatly influenced by their cultural background and society, but however, I also strongly believe Kleboid and Harris were intelligent enough to make their own decisions—engaging in good or bad behavior, reflecting their human values.Psychology is a very broad subject filled with endless questions and theories. These perspectives, however, are greatly established and used on a day-by-day basis by not only psychologists, but investigators and sociologists as well. These perspectives help to understand and widen our knowledge of humans and animals. The six perspectives are all derived from different time periods—varying from modern to not-so-modern theories and ideas. The perspectives help address problems and help widen critical thinking abilities, as well as understanding everyday behavior.

Free Essays on Review Of May God Have Mercy By John Tucker

May God have Mercy by John C. Tucker gives an account of the story of Roger Coleman, a Virginia man tried and executed for the 1981 rape and murder of nineteen year old Wanda McCoy. This book gave a very in depth, detailed review of every aspect of the crime, trials, and events that led to the execution of Roger Coleman. Even as the most staunch, conservative, pro prosecution reader you can’t help but to second guess the decision to execute Coleman. Reasonable doubt as to whether he committed the murder is established through the police investigation and subsequent trials. At the very least Coleman should have received a life sentence due to all the inconsistencies in the prosecution’s theory on what happened on that dreadful night. Brad McCoy arrived home from work shortly after eleven PM on March 10, 1981 when he found his wife brutally raped and murdered on the floor of their spare bedroom. Brad called his father and asked him to come over to the house. Brad, impatient, then ran down the street to his father’s house. At 11:21 the police received a phone call from McCoy about the murder. Brad’s father Hezzie McCoy estimated that ten minutes had passed from the time he received Brad’s initial phone call to when he placed the call to the police. The police and medical examiner arrived and said that Wanda had just been killed recently because the blood was still warm and wet. Virginia State Police special agent Jack Davidson took over the investigation into the crime. Wanda’s sister Trish and husband Roger Coleman were frequent visitors to the McCoy house. According to friends of Wanda’s, Coleman was one of a few men she would have let into the house. The McCoy family provided a couple of names to Davidson of people they thought may have committed the crimes including Wanda’s former husband and a man Brad McCoy had a recent argument with. Coleman had a previous rape conviction involving a... Free Essays on Review Of May God Have Mercy By John Tucker Free Essays on Review Of May God Have Mercy By John Tucker May God have Mercy by John C. Tucker gives an account of the story of Roger Coleman, a Virginia man tried and executed for the 1981 rape and murder of nineteen year old Wanda McCoy. This book gave a very in depth, detailed review of every aspect of the crime, trials, and events that led to the execution of Roger Coleman. Even as the most staunch, conservative, pro prosecution reader you can’t help but to second guess the decision to execute Coleman. Reasonable doubt as to whether he committed the murder is established through the police investigation and subsequent trials. At the very least Coleman should have received a life sentence due to all the inconsistencies in the prosecution’s theory on what happened on that dreadful night. Brad McCoy arrived home from work shortly after eleven PM on March 10, 1981 when he found his wife brutally raped and murdered on the floor of their spare bedroom. Brad called his father and asked him to come over to the house. Brad, impatient, then ran down the street to his father’s house. At 11:21 the police received a phone call from McCoy about the murder. Brad’s father Hezzie McCoy estimated that ten minutes had passed from the time he received Brad’s initial phone call to when he placed the call to the police. The police and medical examiner arrived and said that Wanda had just been killed recently because the blood was still warm and wet. Virginia State Police special agent Jack Davidson took over the investigation into the crime. Wanda’s sister Trish and husband Roger Coleman were frequent visitors to the McCoy house. According to friends of Wanda’s, Coleman was one of a few men she would have let into the house. The McCoy family provided a couple of names to Davidson of people they thought may have committed the crimes including Wanda’s former husband and a man Brad McCoy had a recent argument with. Coleman had a previous rape conviction involving a...

An Introductory History of Zambia

An Introductory History of Zambia The indigenous hunter-gatherer occupants of Zambia began to be displaced or absorbed by more advanced migrating tribes about 2,000 years ago. The major waves of Bantu-speaking immigrants began in the 15th century, with the greatest influx between the late 17th and early 19th centuries. They came primarily from the Luba and Lunda tribes of southern Democratic Republic of Congo and northern Angola Escaping the Mfecane In the 19th century, there was an additional influx by Ngoni peoples from the south escaping the Mfecane. By the latter part of that century, the various peoples of Zambia were largely established in the areas they currently occupy. David Livingstone at the Zambezi Except for an occasional Portuguese explorer, the area lay untouched by Europeans for centuries. After the mid-19th century, it was penetrated by Western explorers, missionaries, and traders. David Livingstone, in 1855, was the first European to see the magnificent waterfalls on the Zambezi River. He named the falls after Queen Victoria, and the Zambian town near the falls is named after him. Northern Rhodesia a British Protectorate In 1888, Cecil Rhodes, spearheading British commercial and political interests in Central Africa, obtained a mineral rights concession from local chiefs. In the same year, Northern and Southern Rhodesia (now Zambia and Zimbabwe, respectively) were proclaimed a British sphere of influence. Southern Rhodesia was annexed formally and granted self-government in 1923, and the administration of Northern Rhodesia was transferred to the British colonial office in 1924 as a protectorate. A Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland In 1953, both Rhodesias were joined with Nyasaland (now Malawi) to form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Northern Rhodesia was the center of much of the turmoil and crisis that characterized the federation in its last years. At the core of the controversy were insistent African demands for greater participation in government and European fears of losing political control. The Road to Independence A two-stage election held in October and December 1962 resulted in an African majority in the legislative council and an uneasy coalition between the two African nationalist parties. The council passed resolutions calling for Northern Rhodesias secession from the federation and demanding full internal self-government under a new constitution and a new national assembly based on a broader, more democratic franchise. A Troubled Start for the Republic of Zambia On December 31, 1963, the federation was dissolved, and Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia on October 24, 1964. At independence, despite its considerable mineral wealth, Zambia faced major challenges. Domestically, there were few trained and educated Zambians capable of running the government, and the economy was largely dependent on foreign expertise. Surrounded by Oppression Three of Zambias neighbors – Southern Rhodesia and the Portuguese colonies of Mozambique and Angola- remained under white-dominated rule. Rhodesias white-ruled government unilaterally declared independence in 1965. In addition, Zambia shared a border with South African-controlled South-West Africa (now Namibia). Zambias sympathies lay with forces opposing colonial or white-dominated rule, particularly in Southern Rhodesia. Supporting Nationalist Movements in Southern Africa During the next decade, it actively supported movements such as the Union for the Total Liberation of Angola (UNITA), the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU), the African National Congress of South Africa (ANC), and the South-West Africa Peoples Organization (SWAPO). The Struggle Against Poverty Conflicts with Rhodesia resulted in the closing of Zambias borders with that country and severe problems with international transport and power supply. However, the Kariba hydroelectric station on the Zambezi River provided sufficient capacity to satisfy the countrys requirements for electricity. A railroad to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam, built with Chinese assistance, reduced Zambian dependence on railroad lines south to South Africa and west through an increasingly troubled Angola. By the late 1970s, Mozambique and Angola had attained independence from Portugal. Zimbabwe achieved independence in accordance with the 1979 Lancaster House agreement, but Zambias problems were not solved. Civil war in the former Portuguese colonies generated refugees and caused continuing transportation problems. The Benguela Railroad, which extended west through Angola, was essentially closed to traffic from Zambia by the late 1970s. Zambias strong support for the ANC, which had its external headquarters in Lusaka, created security problems as South Africa raided ANC targets in Zambia. In the mid-1970s, the price of copper, Zambias principal export, suffered a severe decline worldwide. Zambia turned to foreign and international lenders for relief, but as copper prices remained depressed, it became increasingly difficult to service its growing debt. By the mid-1990s, despite limited debt relief, Zambias per capita foreign debt remained among the highest in the world. Source Text from Public Domain material, US Department of State Background Notes.