Reflective evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflective evaluation - Essay Example There are quite a number of occasions when I wanted to tell more to drive a point across, but the time allotment is not enough to allow me to do that. Another problem that rose from this is knowing what to include or omit in the presentation slides. I had to use other means of presenting data. For this particular report, I used tables extensively to give the results of my literature review and interview. However, pictures, charts and graphs are also commonly used in compressing many messages in a smaller space. However, it is better to have a lot to omit than having less to include. As I look back to how I prepared for and delivered this presentation, I now realize that it is better to come overprepared. It gives me added boost of confidence in the delivery of the report, as well as in answering questions from the members of the audience. Whenever presentations are to be given, research is vital. Acquiring sufficient knowledge is required to be able to discuss the points adequately. However, sufficiency of information does not only depend on quantity, but also on their quality. This means that the information should come from reliable sources, which are experts in the field in question. In this particular presentation, I felt that I have researched many and various journal articles to sufficiently support the points that I want to drive at.

Multimedia assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Multimedia - Assignment Example Adobe Soundbooth is audio editing software. The user can create and edit multiple tasks in the program to edit an audio track. The software was not very popular due to its complex interface and usability. The software releases were stopped in 2011 and Adobe Audition has replaced it. Adobe Flash is animation software. User can use this software to animate text, still images and graphics designed on other software programs. Adobe Flash is commonly used in web advertisement, games etc. Autodesk Maya is platform to create animated 3D videos. It can also be used to create powerful animation, modeling and simulated videos. Companies are using Maya to create animated films, simulated videos for schools and other professional environment and games etc. 1. Interactive and static multimedia objects have also revolutionized the Anatomy. Tools discussed above are widely used to create effective educational demos and animated videos to show how there anatomy can be used and employed.

Political System of Pakistan

Political System of Pakistan INTRODUCTION The current system of government in Pakistan is a mixed, â€Å"hybrid† form of government with elements from the parliamentary as well as the presidential systems. The country initially had a parliamentary form of government, it shifted to a presidential one with the 1962 constitution but later reverted back to a parliamentary one according to the current 1973 constitution. However, the various amendments and modifications to the constitutional provisions carried out by political leaders over the years have left a democratic, parliamentary government only in paper. The question that this paper, thus, attempts to answer is that, is a pure parliamentary form of government suitable for Pakistan? To find a proper conclusion to the aforementioned question, the essay will explore the shortfalls of the current system and compare the two forms of government i.e. Parliamentary and Presidential, in order to suggest the better suited government structures of the two. In order to do this India, with its similarities to Pakistan in terms of shared history and culture, is taken as an example for Pakistan along with instances of the two types of democratic government systems prevalent in other countries. While the arguments for Parliamentary and Presidential forms of governments may draw inspiration from their practical application in India and elsewhere but these examples will be implied and not necessarily always mentioned explicitly. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The research for this paper comprised primarily of review of works by established professionals and academics in the field. Most of the research was limited to consultation of print and online sources for access to published material on the relevant topic. The starting point of analysis was with examination of the text containing reviews of the current system of government structure in Pakistan, its flaws and the eventual inefficiencies it has led to. Various journal articles and books were consulted for a variety of perspectives on the debate regarding the suitable system of government for Pakistan. Along with consultation of material for analysis of government structure of various countries, especially India and the South Asian region in particular, online journals were looked upon for comparative perspectives on the suitable government structure and their merits and demerits. Although the research is limited to a select few academics and professionals in the field, it allows for a sample of the general prevalent views on the issue since both sides of the debate have been looked at. LITERATURE REVIEW A large majority of literature on the topic is either about the shortfalls of the current mixed government of Pakistan or it highlights how the presidential system of government is better suited for the country. What is needed, however, is a detailed comparison of the two systems and not just analysis of any one of the systems with regards to Pakistan. Material by foreign academics and professionals looks at the Pakistani political system in comparison to their own and focuses on the inadequacies of the Pakistani system. The following reviewed literature comprises of a small sample of previously conducted study and analyses on the subject under discussion. Khalid Sayeed (1967), in his book ‘The Political System of Pakistan, explained the chronological progression of events leading up to the constitution of 1962 and the provisions it made regarding the system of governance to be put in practice in Pakistan. Regarding the 1962 constitution, the author (Sayeed, 1967) was of the view that the constitution severely curtailed the powers of the parliament and reduced the country to a distorted version of a presidential government. The author provided a favorable opinion about the parliamentary form of government, provided that it is actually in its truly democratic form (Sayeed, 1967, pp. 83). Although the author has given his opinion with support through illustrative historical examples but the author has failed to mention, explicitly, the merits or demerits of either of the systems of government and his clear choice of the either of the two. The authors arguments seemed to reflect a leaning towards the parliamentary system but he does not clearly highlight his choice, leaving the audience a little ambiguous about his perspective. In the book entitled ‘Government of Pakistan, Parmatma Sharan (1975) gave an outsiders opinion regarding the system of government present in Pakistan with comparison to their home country, Indias government system. The author has sounded alarms regarding the high centralization of the government in Pakistan throughout the years ever since its independence. The author has said that this should be countered since a weaker leadership can, and has shown in actuality, the perils of a weak decision-making power in times of need (Sharan, 1975, pp. 150). Ahmed Shuja Pasha (1995), in his account of the scenario of the Pakistani politics, was of the view that people themselves are largely responsible for choosing the ‘wrong leaders as their democratic representatives. Pasha (1995, pp. 281-287) believed that the inefficiencies present in the political system of Pakistan are largely due to the fact that people associate democracy with one particular person who takes advantage of the situation and manipulates their powerful position for their own gains. Pashas (1995) views were a little biased as he does not consider the constant shuffling of the regime as much of a problem for the lack of people getting accustomed to the workings of a democracy. The authors views were favorable for the military as he finds the military having the most disciplined set up during the times it came into power in the country (Pasha, 1995, pp. 189-190). In an attempt to contextualize the latest Musharraf-led military coup in Pakistan, Sohail Mahmood (2001) tried to consider the factors that have led to the demise of true democracy in the country. He was of the view that regardless of the fact that the country is under parliamentary or presidential regime, the country has never truly been a democratic country because of the highly centralized nature of governance (Mahmood, 2001, pp. 7). The author also discussed the current semi-parliamentary system of Pakistan in comparison with a more presidential system like governance. He analyzed the merits and demerits of both (Mahmood, 2001, pp.128-129). Although the author presented a fairly balanced view about the situation, he merely referenced historical political situations as chronological facts without his opinions being clear regarding them. The autho,r Udaya N. Shukla, in his essay â€Å"Parliamentary Control over Government Policies in India† (1990) looked at the parliamentary system as a British legacy. The shortcomings in this system experienced in South Asia (by India as well as Pakistan) are attributed to the centralization and the lack of proper literate population to understand the exact nuts and bolts of a parliamentary government (Shukla, 1990). The author should consider that this leads to the political elite to manipulate the situation and also he should outline the kind of political elite that could benefit by the ignorance of the population regarding the system. This is important because it allows the audience to contextualize the problems that plague the current parliamentary form of government. Furthermore, it is not possible to make an absolute, decisive conclusion on the issue since access to every study and detailed research has not been possible and limited numbers of past discourses have been examined for the current analysis. ANALYSIS Pakistan, according to its constitution, is a ‘federal republic (Constitution of Pakistan 1973, Article 1(1)). This means that Pakistan is a country where several autonomous states have come together under a federation, the states being the self-governing provinces and the federal capital, Islamabad, being the centralizing federal authority. Being a republic, Pakistani government is a government where majority of the power vests among the larger body of citizens and where there is a head of state but that is not a monarch, the head of state is democratically elected, directly or indirectly (Merriam-Webster, 2011). The Constitution of Pakistan calls for a democratically elected government where the legislative authority is vested in the Parliament and the executive is led by the President (Constitution of Pakistan 1973, Objectives Resolution). The origins of the sort of power division proposed by the 1973 Constitution can be found in the ‘Separation of Powers doctrine proposed by Montesquieu (Anon. web). The Montesquieu doctrine called for division of the powers to govern a country with three proper divisions i.e. Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. Checks and Balances on all three of them by each other were proposed to ensure that every government instrument carried upon its tasks without infringing upon other institutions. However, the system of mixed government at present in Pakistan where the President, in paper is ceremonial, but in reality is a political affiliate of a particular party and where the Prime Minister is not only the leader of the Legislative body but also the head o f the Council of Ministers which is the Executive body, is not properly following the ‘Separation of Powers. Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, the fourth Prime Minister of Pakistan, has even been quoted calling the 1965 government one that is â€Å"a government of the President, by the President and for the President† (Sayeed, 1967, pp. 105), there is a similar situation at present as well. This is a problem for the country since the population has not even been accustomed to the concept of a proper parliamentary democracy that was introduced initially, now the highly distorted form of government is the product of and also leads to further irresponsible decision-making by the countrys leadership, centralization of all important government policy matters and hegemony of the few. These inefficiencies have also been reflected in the political parties of Pakistan and their working. Being a heterogeneous society, Pakistan, like other developing countries with people from a diverse background, for instance India, Pakistan also needs the participation of a larger number of people in the political life in order to break the shackles of domination that the political elite are keeping an overwhelming majority bound in (Kohli, 1994, pp. 90). The form of government and the design of party politics prevalent at present in the country is a major road block towards a liberal democratic Pakistan where all adults are actually empowered and educated enough to voice their opinions. Party politics is dominated by a handful of feudal families which share the government between them. This leads to a centralized system of decision making in the country regarding national and international matters which does not necessarily effectively reflect the majoritys opinion and keeps the ascendancy of the few (Kohli, 1994; Sayeed, 1967). Pakistan has also been suffering from bad governance owing to high centralization of the command (Sharan, 1975; Sayeed, 1977; Mahmood, 2001). This centralization of the decision making further conforms to Atul Kohlis (1994) comments regarding the increased hegemony of the richer, more dominant political elite. With increased concentration of powers not only does one person or office become uncontrollably powerful but there is an increased chance of the irresponsible and corrupt usage of that power (Mahmood, 2001). In Pakistans case if the Prime Minister or the President is leading the Legislative body as well as the Executive they themselves are the ones making any new laws and regulations and ensuring their adherence by the general public, this becomes a case similar to the British Monarchy where the crown is above the law (De, 1991, pp. 246). A situation like this leads to chaos when that particular person does not remain in their position anymore and since there has been no power sharing and none of the other institutions have contributed to the decision making process so nobody is ready to completely assume responsibility automatically upon the vacation of the office. Ahmed S. Pasha (1995) also sounded off similar comments when he mentioned that the population associated democracy with one person and the exit of that person caused chaos and disruption in the functioning of the government. In order to clear up the mess of the mixed system and completely evolve into a more efficient form of governance it is necessary to understand both the systems of government Parliamentary and Presidential. The Parliamentary form of government has been labeled by most as a direct descendent of Monarchy. While a monarch comes into power by a dynastic succession, the head of state in a parliamentary form of government is democratically elected through the concept of universal suffrage (Philip. 2007, pp. 42). The existence of political parties is crucial for a parliamentary form of government. For a true parliamentary democracy, S.C. Stokes (1999, pp.263) said that political parties are an essential component and there is no removing them. However, the present party system does not seem capable enough to accommodate the essence of a liberal democracy where any number of people from any background can represent their group. Thus, for establishing an effective liberal parliamentary democracy political parties need to be truly democratic themselves (Mahmood, 2001). This measure may also effectively solve the issue of centralization of power in the hands of a few since with a democratic setup of the parties more people from diverse backgrounds can participate in the party politics. Another feature of the parliamentary system is that the division of powers is often blurred; this again alludes to the Monarchical roots of the parliamentary system of government. However, lack of strong division of power does not mean lack of power sharing. Even in a parliamentary system there can be more decentralized decision making with powers vested in various echelons of the government. This can be seen in United Kingdom where although the final decision approving authority is with the executive the Crown, the decision-making power is highly differentiated with the House of Commons and the House of Lords being involved in the legislative process. On the other hand, the Presidential system of government is based strictly on the doctrine of ‘Separation of Powers and the Head of the State the President, is elected directly by the population along with the core legislative body (Philip. 2007. pp. 39). Both the systems have their own merits and demerits but for a heterogeneous society like Pakistan where strong ethic affiliations play a central role in the populations trust in their representative, a parliamentary system is rather more effective because the direct election of the Head of State in Pakistan is definitely not a suitable option as larger population areas are more likely to have their candidates elected to the office every time. Moreover, as Ahmed Shuja Pasha (1995) argued that most of Pakistans problems of electing the ‘wrong candidate are associated with the lack of awareness regarding the best candidate by the general voters. The Presidential system calls for the election of one particular person and implementation of such a system in Pakistan would not change the status quo of re-election of the same feudal leaders. In a true form of Parliamentary system where political parties are truly democratic themselves, this would allow for parties to choose better candidates for election and helping the largely illiterate Pakistani population in electing deserving representatives. Accountability of a ‘non-deserving candidates election will be, in such a system, done once that person has been elected to the Parliament. The lack of capability of such a person would soon be exposed in a truly parliamentary system and this would lead to damaging of the political partys image so they would be wary of choos ing those who are not capable. Another favorable argument for a parliamentary government system is that it allows for electing the government once, unlike a presidential system where the governments are to be elected in two steps; once the congress and then the president (Mehta, 1994; Mahmood, 2001; Philip, 2007). This may lead to instances, in a presidential system, where the president is of a different political ideology than the majority of the congress. In such a situation passing legislation would be a torturously slow task. While Sohail Mahmood (2001) was of the view that slowing down legislation is the goal for a country like Pakistan, in fact a quicker paced legislative process would be required for the country once it adopts the true democratic form of Parliamentary government. This quicker paced legislative process would be favored because this way reforms and legislation favored by the public can be enacted quickly which would be very slow if a Presidential system is adopted.. One point that defendants of the Presidential system make is that it brings the leaders closer to the people and this way the population can decide the best person they feel that can govern them (Philip, 2007, pp.45). However, in Pakistan this is actually a disadvantage since charismatic leadership is often overshadowed by the feudal hegemony maintained by the ruling elite. A pure parliamentary system can at least allow more people to compete alongside the ruling elite and may be they even give them an opportunity to be a part of the government. CONCLUSION The question of the form of government is extremely important for Pakistan because the form of government intended by the constitution is a parliamentary form of democracy (Constitution of Pakistan 1973, Preamble). This already establishes that all administrative and political aspects of governance will be dealt with according to the general provisions of a parliamentary democratic government. An important aspect to be discussed here is that parliamentary democracy itself is the ideal form because of a long history of the success rate of a parliamentary democracy as compared to a presidential one. JosÃÆ' © Cheibub and Fernando Limongi (2002, pp. 152) have reported that most forms of parliamentary democracies have survived over a longer period of time unlike a presidential form which has fallen prey to a dictators hands numerous times. Although in the current system even the president is part of one of those families, in the long term once a true liberal democratic regime has been established in the country the hegemony of the few might be effectively destroyed and the president will work as merely a ceremonial head of state, as can be seen in India. Regulation of political parties is also important and legislation to enforce certain measures, like in-party elections, should be introduced. Whatever the final outcome may be, it is quite welcome that the current government has at least intended to move away from the present mixed system to a more parliamentary form of government. The incumbent Prime Minister of Pakistan has been reported to have resolved to make sure necessary steps are taken to start the process of this transition (Daily Times, 2008; VOA News, 2010). It is suggested to the current government that decentralization of decision-making and clean-up process within the political parties be taken as the first steps to start the journey towards a pure parliamentary democracy for Pakistan.

The Psychological Impact of War and Peacekeeping Essay -- Psychologica

Comparing ‘Suspicious Minds at Risk? The Role of Meaning in Processing War, Peacekeeping Experiences’ and ‘Nationalism, Internationalism, and Perceived UN Irrelevance: Mediators of Relationships between Authoritarianism and Support for Military Aggression as Part of the War on Terror’ and How Many Casualties Are Too Many? Proportional Reasoning in the Valuation of Military and Civilian Lives War is one of the unfortunate constants of human history, fought for various reasons. One has to wonder how much human beings can dehumanize the enemy, or their own soldiers with simple propaganda. How much distress and suspicion can lead to soldiers having a hard to readjusting to normal life? How easy it is to see one’s own country as the ultimate moral good, and all means to show it are legitimate, and anyone who speaks out is irrelevant? There are studies over this, but one wonder how well were they done, and how they compare to each other. The journal, ‘Suspicious Minds at Risk? The Role of Meaning in Processing War and Peacekeeping Experiences’, wanted to see correlation of age, meaning as comprehensibility, perceived threat, personal significance, intrusion/avoidance with quality of life.(Shok et al. 2011) They hypothesized that age and perceived threat has a positive correlation with meaning as comprehensibility and meaning as personal significance and that both of these in turn had positive correlation with quality of life and a negative correlation with intrusion/avoidance. Perceived threat was also hypothesized to have a positive correlation with intrusion/avoidance, which had a negative correlation with quality of life. (Shok et al. 2011) It was a cross sectional correlational study, who used Dutch veterans who had been ... ...ers experiencing war and their state mind prior to it. Works Cited Friedrich, J., & Dood, T. L. (2009). How Many Casualties Are Too Many? Proportional Reasoning in the Valuation of Military and Civilian Lives. Journal Of Applied Social Psychology, 39(11), 2541-2569. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2009.00537.x Crowson, H. (2009). Nationalism, Internationalism, and Perceived UN Irrelevanc Mediators of Relationships Between Authoritarianism and Support for Military Aggression as Part of the War on Terror. Journal Of Applied Social Psychology, 39(5), 1137-1162. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2009.00475.x Schok, M. L., Kleber, R. J., Lensvelt-Mulders, G. M., Elands, M., & Weerts, J. (2011). Suspicious Minds at Risk? The Role of Meaning in Processing War and Peacekeeping Experiences. Journal Of Applied Social Psychology, 41(1), 61-81. doi:10.1111/j.1559 1816.2010.00702.x

Education: Receiving or Claiming? Essay

In Adrienne Rich’s â€Å"Claiming an Education† Rich presents the argument of claiming an education. In the United States claiming an education often seems far-fetched. Education is not free and not for everyone, or is it? Claiming an education sounds a lot like taking what’s rightfully yours. Do you receive an education for society or does society present it for a student to take? Rich seems to think that education is presented for those willing to claim it. â€Å"The first thing I want to say to you who are students, is that you cannot afford to think of being here to receive an education; you will do much better to think of yourselves as being here to claim one.† (Rich) Perception is everything when entering the world of education. This powerful quote from Rich’s article sets the stage for any student’s performance in their education career. Receiving is thought as a collaboration process. Rich explains that receiving is to come into posse ssion of or provided to someone in a receptacle manor. The concept of learning involves one how is willing to teach and one who is willing to learn. If a professor is willing to teach, it’s still up to the student to learn. Learning is a matter of taking advantage of the resources provided. Rich relates the majority of her article to women’s education. Women have the odds against them in our society. Society tells them to be mothers and homemakers and not pursue their education to the fullest. This may be because in our society the man is thought of to be the provider by working to provide for his family. In order to provide to the fullest in our society, it requires a higher level of education. Education provides the natural incentive of making more money by gaining trust from employers. This trust comes from the employee investing in his or her own education. Rich seems to go against the grain and show her women audience that they should claim what is rightfully theirs. Rich explains that there has been in increase in women seeking out their education but not giving back what was rightfully given to them. â€Å"We still see very few women in the upper levels in faculty and administration†. (Rich) Rich explains that even all women colleges are ran by men. This seems interesting because Rich is encouraging women to claim their education. Claiming something from my perspective means  to take and not look back. Receiving means that someone may have to given something they have away. If women were teachers and administrators, women would feel better about receiving an education from another woman. Would receiving an education be appropriate for this idea? Rich’s argument is summed up when she informs the reader that the idea of claiming an education can be embraced by any sex, race, color or creed. â€Å"Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking and naming for you; it means learning to respect and use your own brains and instincts; hence, grappling with hard work†. (Rich) Education is not for everyone but it is there for the ones willing to take it. Rich provokes her reader by letting telling them to dicover their own jurney to education. We live in a society that embraces abstract thinking and making something out of nothing. Rich’s article is even reflected in this day and age. Our society is full of inventors and inovators. Making something out of nothing is what are you is good at. Finding answers to complex yet interesting problems become a compeitive challenge for most. With the wave of an internet society and and creative clulture, Rich’s abstract idea of claiming in education almost seems like common knownledge now. The you are seeing education as an opportunity rather than a trap. If the finitial element was taken out of the equation, their would be even more oppotunites for students to claim their education. I took advantage of my opportunity when it was presented to me five years ago. I was at loss for a crareer and I h ad just changed my life. Durning this time I made a decision to take a look at all the negitive things that were consuming my life. I had just gotten sober and needed to reenvent myself. I had tons of negitive beliefs about education. I thought I was not smart enough, too old, I thought I didn’t have enough money and that it was not the right time for me. All those negitive and passive thoughts got in the way of me putting off my education. This was not the case when a friend suggested that I could utilize my own expierence to help others. I stated to take classes in psychology and counseling. I wanted to be of service to others stuggling with the same issues I once had struggled with. I claimed my education by taking one class at a time untill I felt comfortable with a full load of cources. I received a few good grades and it helped me change my beiliefs on my education. I had such low self esteem when it came to accademics. I used to hate letting other students grade my  work in fear that they wou ld think that I was remedial. I also hated working in groups because I feared that other students would judge me. It took time for me to feel comfortable with my abilities. Once I finally felt comfortable, the thoughts of furthering my education seemed endless. I don’t think anyone gave me my education. I saw the opportunity and took advatage of it. I feel that reciving an education takes some loss of self will. If there was only one type of school or subject I would feel that I’m receiving an education and not claiming it. There are so many subjects and avenues a student can take. I claimed my education in socilogy and counseling. I blended all the subjects together to make my own education. All of the subjects were presented to me so I just calimed the ones that I wanted. Rich’s article put a whole new prespective on my thoughts about the education system. I feel that everyone should be able to claim their education without being questioned or persuated in any way. Women in particualar have a hard time with this in are society. I feel that not much has chaged since the time Rich wrote her article till now. Women still are not seen as equals in the field of higher education. There are not to many women professors or deens. I think our society has a lot to do with it. Women are expected to have many of the same interests. There seems to be a lot of pressure for women to get in the field of cosmotology or fashion design. Advertizing makes it look apealing and desireable to them. Even telavion shows display powerful women in theres areas. They never show powerful women in congress or in the medical field. If our society glorified those areas of study for women, we would see a lot more women in college. Rich provided a great argument. I deffintly agree with her idea about claimig an education. Although in our country not all education is free. Some education pthas are hard to claim without money. Typicicly you don’t see many doctors who come from poverty. I still question why that is. Is it because people who come from poverty are not as capable as people who are not? Or is it because they don’t have the fintial recources to receive their higher education? An education is there if one chooses to take it. No one is going to hand out an education. It takes the willingness to learn and the sacrafic to succeed. Education is not for everyone but it is for anyone. Women and men of all races and ages should consider claiming their education. Rich’s artial is a great inspiration to anyone seeking knowedge.  Rich reinforces that one should not listen to what other say and do what makes you happy. The next time someone askes me where I went to school at I’m going to say, I claimed my education at San Bernardino Valley College. Works Cited Rich, Adrienne. â€Å"Claiming an Education.† The Common Women(1977).

How successful can the management of fragile environments can be?

How successful can the management of fragile environments be, given the constant and increasing demand for their exploitation? A fragile environment is an area where the flora and fauna have adapted to a specific climate and evolved to occupy many different niches due to extremely high competition for resources. Furthermore due to the constant abiotic conditions, specialisation and symbiotic relationships have occurred to such a degree that even the slightest ecological or environmental disruption cannot be accommodated, meaning individual habitats and ecosystems can be easily destroyed.This combination of specialisation and interdependence increases the overall fragility and vulnerability of this biome Fragile environments can be exploited in different ways, and for different reasons. For example the Amazon Rainforest, an equatorial tropical rainforest biome, has been significantly exploited for its agricultural potential and natural resources; cattle ranching, soya bean and palm oi l plantations, mining and timber. The most significant consequence of these forms of exploitation is deforestation.There are many management strategies to combat deforestation, popular choices are; legislation, ecotourism, selective logging and various tree regeneration schemes. In this essay I will assess the extent to which these management schemes are successful in terms of sustainability and environmental effectiveness, in light of inevitable increasing anthropogenic pressures on tropical biomes around the world. Firstly it is important to identify how fragile environments are exploited and for what gain. If we look at the Amazon Rainforest, one of the major forms of exploitation is land for cattle ranching.Vast expanses of the rainforest are deforested to make way for grassland to rear cattle. This form of exploitation was responsible for 80% of all Amazonian deforestation in 2009, due to the ever increasing global demand for beef as a new wave of middle classes emerge from dev eloping nations with a first world diet. Large soya bean plantations run by major agricultural TNC’s like Cargill in the Amazon increase its land for plantations at rates of 1. 3 million hectares every year. Brazil is one of the world’s top producers of soya bean.The expansion of this market is driven by low transportation costs from improved infrastructure (both in and out of the Amazon) and increasing international demands for livestock feed where China is one of the main consumers, due to rapid economic growth (9% annually) and high demand from its emerging middle classes. The creation of huge mechanised soy monocultures has already been the sole cause of 21 million hectares of deforested rainforest in Brazil and 80 million hectares from the Amazon as a whole, since the early 1970’s.While these industries stated above as well as mining and logging have contributed to 240,000km2 of deforestation in the Amazon, the hunting for bush meat by native Amazonian trib es has put considerable pressure on rainforest fauna. Since the late 1990’s Brazilian Amazon local people consume between 2. 2 to 5. 4 million primates each year. This process is unsustainable as the primates reproduce at a much slower rate than they are consumed. Moreover some of these primates are endangered, meaning reproduction is inherently slower.There is often a conflict of interests between the exploitation and conservation of fragile environments. Thus in order for a fragile environment to be managed successfully a balance must be established. However, in reality this can be difficult to achieve. It is often the case that many countries depend on natural resources from fragile environments for income and trade on the global markets thus making fragile environments an integral part of their economy. This is the case with many LEDC’s, who are reluctant to stop exploiting their activities for fear it will result in economic decline and slower development.In Brazi l for example, much of the mining industry that takes place in the Amazon brought in $9 billion to the country in 2006. Moreover it can be a misunderstanding that most people, who exploit fragile environments like through mining in the Amazon, are doing so out of choice. As most locals have no other viable alternative to generate income for their families. Furthermore indigenous peoples often receive little education regarding global affairs and may not recognise the need for conservation. In addition it is rare that a single fragile environment is endemic to one country, as they often span over several territories.A good example is the Amazon rainforest which lies within Brazil, holding 60% of the forest, Peru 13%, Columbia 10% and with Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana also holding small amounts. This makes it difficult to establish a uniform strategy across the whole are, and made harder still by low funds available for conservation in many of these countries.One of the more popular forms of conservation management is conservation reserves that protect biodiversity and ensure its population lives  sustainably with their environment. One example of such a scheme is the Central Amazon Conservation complex in the Brazilian Amazon. Established in 2003, it brings together four reserves in the Amazon; Jau National Park, Anavilhanas Ecological Station, Mamiraua Reserve and Amana reserve, a total area of 49,000 km2. Sustainable development reserves have protected areas from developments that could have seriously damaged the CACC. Dams, pipelines, mines and commercial logging projects have all been prevented from entering the area.These reserves have improved biodiversity and caused a 100% increase in the black caiman population, and a 300% increase in the pirarucu fish. Economic Alternatives Programs promote sustainable activities whereby local people who make goods from the forest’s natural resources can sell directly to buye rs without going through ‘middle men’ who charge a commission. Thus ensuring a decent income, preventing any local farmers giving up land to major commercial agricultural firms, where the land is likely to be deforested and indigenous communities displaced.Overall the economics alternative program has reduced poverty, increasing household incomes by 50-99%. However this protecting such a large area can be difficult. The vastness of the area means it is majorly understaffed, thus making the control and regulation of illegal activities difficult. Only 100 volunteer guards and 150 employed members of staff are present in the Amana and Mariraua reserves – combined area of 2,490,000 hectares of land. The size of the protected areas and the number of staff available makes it is very difficult to prevent access into the reserves.In Jau National park, an area of 2,272,000 hectares, there’re only 4 permanent members of staff. Thus fish and turtle poaching remains a n unresolved problem. As populations increase around peripheral settlements, more stress is put on it to satisfy the demands of the populations, for example many towns in the heart of the rainforest suffer from intensive poaching of primates and manatees. Overall it may seem that despite efforts, and indeed success, of implementing such conservation schemes, may decrease in effectiveness following growing demand for the Amazons resources from increasing population pressure.Ecotourism is also a popular way of generating income for the local people as well as promoting conservation. It is a popular method of generating income in developing countries without billion dollar investments. Local people can act as guides or be providers of transport and accommodation – creating a source of income. The environmental low impact theme and conservation awareness can potentially bring in public and private investment. In addition it is a more environmentally friendly form of employment co mpared to other occupations such as logging and commercial agriculture.Plus if the country makes the economic transition from a manufacture to service sector economy, the government will have an indirect economic incentive to conserve the environment through promoting ecotourism. Ecotourism has already proved to be an economic, environmental and social success. For example, Costa Rica has been pumping in US$1. 6 million annually since 2000 from ecotourism, resulting in jobs for local people and 25% of its land under government protection. GNP per capita rose from $1500-$2000 between 1978 and 1992.The village of Tortuguero, Costa Rica, a satellite settlement to the Talamancan national park took a survey which indicated that 88% were highly satisfied with the multiplier effects from ecotourism in the park; such as local employment empowerment and government funding into building eco lodges on old farmland in the village; attracting tourists to spend in their local economy. However, th ere are cases where ecotourism has not benefitted the local community or the country as a whole.It is often the case that an ecotourism service is provided by an international agent, whereby revenue is repatriated overseas, away from the local community. Moreover even if the service is provided by host nation companies, the jobs can be seasonal, menial and in most cases, low paid. The influx of wealth and foreign exchange can shift political and economic conditions to make the country or area dependant on tourism as opposed to domestic economic practises. This induces a degree of instability to the industry, making it vulnerable to sudden economic change, such as the global financial crisis in 2008.This can create a lack of demand and subsequent economic decline in the area and ultimately forcing the local population into occupations that unsustainably exploit natural resources. In conclusion, it is can be said with a degree of confidence that most schemes are beneficial to an exten t. Land which is protected, conserved and managed sustainably outweighs the possible environmental damage that can occur due to poor management and lack of funding towards the scheme. Moreover it is the schemes which involve the local community that have the biggest potential to be successful.Managing the environment whereby its inhabitants are able to reap the full economic benefits of its natural resources allows; growth, development and investment into the local economy – Thus resulting in a self-sustaining operation. However, as world population is not yet set to peak until 2050, the pressure on the environment and demand for resources is only set to increase. It is also worth noting that in the light of possible changes to our global climate system in the coming decades there will be an even greater threat to the Earth’s fragile environments.With the effects of anthropogenic induced climate change causing more extreme weather, the constant abiotic factors that hav e shaped our fragile environments across the globe face a deadly, permanent change. If we are to preserve any type of fragile environment at all, it could be argued that a universal effort to reduce our carbon footprint would be the most successful long term scheme to ensure the survival of the Earth’s biodiversity.

First essay in Lang

First essay in Lang First essay in Lang The feeling I got from the first essay in AP Lang, was not exactly ecstatic. I was confused about how to start the essay since there was no format for me to begin with, and I was pressured by the time limit and completely forgot to plan for my essay. By the time that I noticed that my whole essay was a complete mess, I had already used half of my time up. I had no composition or theme, and the ideas were all over the place instead of in a certain area of the essay. Obviously by the way I was explaining my time while writing the essay, I felt pressured and confused mostly. Truthfully I feel I like probably that I got probably a 3 or 2 in an essay rank. I actually enjoyed the content of the passage but when it came to the topic I was confused about what exactly it was telling me to write about. Personally, I’m not too sure that I actually wrote about the right topic. Since I was unsure of the topic, I was unsure throughout most of the writing which had a negative impact on my w riting. My essay probably sounds unsure and not too neat or coordinated. But since the passage was interesting, I enjoyed reading the passage but was in shock while writing. When I read over my essay in the end I figured that I did really badly. As I figured, the first essay in AP Lang was not exactly something I did too great on, and I probably never want to go back and remember the moment while I was writing in confusion. I was lost and had no idea what I was doing during the whole time I was