My Hobby- Kayaking Essay

Ladies and gentlemen, I have come here to talk to you about one of my hobbies, kayaking. A common misconception is that a kayak is the same as a canoe, but this is not the case. There are a number of differences between a kayak and a canoe, the main difference is that in a kayak, you are enclosed, unlike in a canoe, whose cockpit is much like a boat. Also, a kayak is normally for one person only and a canoe is for a number of people. Finally, in general, a canoe has only one paddle. While a kayak has two that are joined together with one shaft. The word kayak means â€Å"hunter’s boat†. The kayak was developed by cultures in the arctic of North America for hunting. To these people, the kayak meant survival. Without it they couldn’t get food. There wasn’t much time for recreation. To obtain food they used kayaks to hunt in extremely harsh conditions. Archaeologists have found evidence that indicates kayaks to be at least 4000 years old. Hunting in a kayak was very dangerous. Sometimes a wounded animal wound attack the kayak, and walrus and whales were especially dangerous when injured. Occasionally the harpoon line would tangle and damage the kayak. Because the escaping normally was so hazardous, these people became quite proficient in the â€Å"Eskimo Roll† (where if you get flipped upside down, this is called capsizing, you flip yourself up again instead of exiting the kayak). The reason for this is that in emergencies, exiting the kayak into the water was very perilous; the animal that they were trying to hunt could be even more dangerous if they were attacked while inside of the water. Rolls that are thought of as tricks now were based on actual survival techniques. The hunter may have been hurt by a wounded animal or have their hand tangled in the harpoon line, and therefore the Eskimo roll is essential to avoid drowning These paddlers used jackets made from waterproof skins and seal intestines. Today, these waterproofs are also used as well, they are called cagoules,  but they are fortunately made of fabric! I like kayaking because it gives you a sense of freedom. The fresh air and water can be very refreshing and relaxing. A great thing about kayaking is its great diversity. The number of things that you can do and the many ways that you can do it is overwhelming. You can go with as many or as little people as you want. You can go in almost any weather as long as you wrap up warm in colder circumstances. You can do tricks such as the Eskimo roll. You can race your friends and even play games such as bulldog. Finally you can go on long sightseeing tours. The scenery is frequently breathtaking, you can get close to wildlife such fish swimming and it is not uncommon to see the adorable sight of a duck and a line of chicks following its mother. There is a large sense of satisfaction when you get better or learn something new. Today, these hunters have replaced their kayaks with motorboats, but kayaking has become a very popular form of recreation in other parts of the world. Today’s kayaks are mainly made of plastic and wood. Their design runs from small white-water boats to 20 foot long touring kayaks that can carry several week’s provisions. The reasons we paddle may have changed, but the kayak remains a quiet, efficient and fun means of transportation whose design has stood the test of time. Thank you for listening

Managing Oil Wealth: An Exploration Of Lessons Emerging Oil Nations Can Learn From Norway And Uk

Abstract Several oil producing and exporting countries have fallen under the pitfalls of the resource curse phenomena and the â€Å"Dutch disease’. Research studies have explored extensively in this area with most studies taking the view that resource rich countries experience slow economic growth compared to resource poor countries. Contrary to what should constitute common sense, countries that are endowed with abundant natural resources experience unbalanced economic growth compared to countries with fewer resources Against this popular view, this proposal seeks to demonstrate how emerging economies in Africa can escape the resource curse. In particular, the proposal seeks to demonstrate how oil wealth management policies of Norway and UK can assist emerging oil nations like Ghana and Uganda to manage their natural resources. The paper identifies important literature sources which will be reviewed and outlines the methodological framework that will be used. The paper also identifies some of the limitations to its research approach and highlights ways in which reliability, validity and research limitations are to be addressed. Introduction The impact of natural resources on economic and social development of a nation has been a controversial discussion for decades. Whilst oil exploration is associated with wealth creation and economic development, the nexus between oil, conflict and democratic failures is widely documented in literature (Basedau & Lay 2009). Despite evidence that oil exploration can act as a catalyst for development, many of the resource-rich countries have not benefited from oil production but have instead experienced great poverty and unstable living conditions, a phenomenon known as the ‘resource curse’. Nigeria and Angola are prime examples of the resource curse. Despite being the largest oil producers in Africa and despite generating higher revenues from oil booms, Angola and Nigeria still remain amongst the poorest countries in the world. The natural endowment in both of these nations has not been positively correlated with economic growth and social progress (Andre 2010). In Angola, for instance, majority of its population still live in extreme poverty, living on less than $2 per day (Hammond 2011). Similarly in Nigeria, despite having explored substantial oil for 50 years, oil production has not translated to substantial socioeconomic development and poverty rate remain extremely high with majority of the population living on less than US$1 per day (Muller 2010). In fact, the current poverty rate of 50% in Nigeria far exceeds that before the oil boom (35%) (Mahler 2010). Further, oil exploration in Nigeria has led to chronic internal instability and violent conflicts (Muller 2010). Recently, Uganda discovered commercially viable oil deposits in the Albertine Graben region which will see the country joining the club of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) (Bainomugisha et al. 2006). The discovery of oil in Uganda has raised hopes that the country will generate substantial growth from the oil revenues and escape the fangs of biting poverty. Similarly, in December 2010, Ghana joined the ranks of oil exporting countries. Just last year, the average oil production in Ghana was reported at 68,000bbl per day (Kapela 2012). This production is expected to continue over the next 20 years. Problem statement With the emerging countries such as Uganda and Ghana positioning themselves to join the club of oil producing and exporting countries (OPEC), it remains unclear whether the pitfalls that have faced may of the resource-rich countries in Africa will similarly affect these economies. How can the emerging economies leverage their oil wealth to become economic stars without succumbing to the pitfalls of the ‘resource curse’(Bainomugisha et al. 2006). Whilst the availability of commercially viable oil resources may present these economies with an opportunity to boost their growth and reduce the biting fangs of poverty; the nexus between oil exploration and conflict and governance issues is widely documented. Can Ghana and Uganda find a way out of the resource curseHow would these economies address issues of governance, accountability and transparency which have seen resources in many of the oil producing nations in Africa becoming a curse instead of a blessingThese are some of the questions that linger in the minds of many people especially considering that countries like Angola, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea have not been able to escape the resource curse (Bainomugisha et al. 2006) Research aims/ objectives: The specific objectives of this study will be as follows: To explore the potential challenges new oil nations such as Ghana and Uganda might face in oil and gas wealth management To critically examine and evaluate the oil wealth management policies of Norway and UK. To study the differences and similarities of the petroleum policies of Norway and UK. Literature review A number of research studies have explored extensively in the area of resource curse. Before examining some of these studies, it is worthwhile to first consider the resource curse thesis and explain what is meant by the popular ‘Dutch disease’. As such the literature will first begin with a description of the resource curse phenomena and the so called ‘Dutch disease’. This shall be followed by an analysis of transparency and accountability, good governance, revenue management and fiscal policies which have enabled Norwegian government to limit the ‘dutch disease effects and to build a competent national oil industry. Resource curse and the Dutch disease The two terms ‘resource curse’ and the ‘Dutch disease’ are somewhat related. Both presumably arise from resource riches but take on different forms. On the one hand, resource curse refers to a phenomenon in which countries that are rich in natural resources tend to experience slow growth despite their abundant and rich resources. Contrary to what should constitute common sense, countries that are endowed with abundant natural resources experience unbalanced economic growth compared to countries with fewer resources (Cotet & Tsui 2009). On the other hand, the Dutch disease is a term used by scholars to describe a phenomenon in which exports of the resource result in a rapid contraction in the non-resource traded goods sector (Larsen 2004). In essence, the ‘Dutch disease’ describes a situation where in export of natural resources bring about appreciation in real exchange rate which make exportation of non-natural resource commodities difficult (Andre 2010). This has been particularly the case in Angola where oil exploration has led to the reallocation of productive factors and an appreciation in real exchange rate. As a result, most of the sectors have either declined or stagnated with exception of the oil sector. A large volume of literature have explored on the resource curse phenomenon, often linking the extraction of natural resources to conflicts, corruption, civil war and economic decline. For example, studies by Humphreys (2005), Ross (2006) and Fearon (2005) have found natural resources as providing both finance and motive for armed conflict. Auty (2001) also points out that resource rich countries have since the 1960s underperformed in terms of economic growth, often being outperformed by the resource-poor countries by a considerable margin. Similar findings have been reported by Sachs & Warner (2001), Gylfason et al. (1999) and Leite & Weidmann (1999). Recently, a study by Neumayer (2004) which explored on the relationship between natural resource abundance and economic growth, with growth measured in terms of ‘genuine income’ (GDP less the depreciation of natural capital), produced the same results. Studies by Ross (2006), Fearson (2005) and Humphreys (2005) have similarly provided evidence supporting the resource curse thesis. Indeed a large number of authors have shown that the resource curse thesis is a demonstrable empirical fact. This thesis has become a popular view and is even encountered in the popular press. Scholars have widely acknowledged this view as a fact. Rather than critically exploring this causal relationship further to determine other variables that may be shaping this relationship, most of the scholars have instead researched the various ways through which the decline in growth is manifest (Cotet & Tsui 2009). As such, there exist relatively fewer studies that dispute the resource curse hypothesis. Against the popular view, this proposal argues that nothing is inherently cursed about oil and that oil exploration does not have to take a grim picture as has been the case in the past. The UK and Norway have responsibly managed their oil exploration activities and bore sustainable, fully integrated economies and stable welfare societies (Bainomugisha et al. 2006). Similarly, it is possible for Uganda and Ghana to avoid the so-called resource curse and to translate their oil discovery into sustainable gains. Transparency and accountability Corruption is without doubt a huge problem that has continued to hinder growth and development in resource rich countries. It is central in explaining the resource curse phenomena. Two prominent contributions by Mehlum et al. (2006) and Robinson et al. (2006) point out to corruption as key issue, in the form of rent seeking and patronage. However, there is an emerging consensus that transparency and accountability can help curb corruption and other dysfunctions of resource-rich developing countries (Kolstad & Wiig 2008). A number of initiatives have been undertaken to improve transparency and accountability in resource rich countries. For example, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) has been developed to increase transparency in revenues generated from extractive industries such as oil and minerals (Kolstad & Wiig 2008). Other initiatives include the Transparency obligation initiative of the EU, and The IMF Guide on Resource Revenue Transparency. The proposal, however, does not seek to elaborate on these initiatives in detail as it is beyond the scope of study. Whilst there is strong empirical evidence pointing to the relationship between transparency and less corruption, it should be recognized that transparency on its own is not sufficient to address the resource curse. The effect of transparency on corruption is in fact conditional on education (Kolstad & Wiig 2008). At an individual country level, it is difficult to illustrate the conditional effect of transparency. However, if we a draw comparison between countries such Angola and Liberia, it becomes easier. Both countries have become more transparent following the end of the civil wars. Despite being transparent, the level of corruption has only been reduced in Liberia, as measured by the Kaufmann control of corruption index (Kolstad & Wiig 2008). Angola, on the other hand, has not seen any significant improvements. Furthermore, transparency may not necessarily address issues of corruption and may instead further exacerbate this problem. For example, whilst transparency makes it possible to identify corrupt officials, it can as well make it easier to identify relevant officials that may be bribed. That is, it reveals to potential bribers persons who can be contacted in order to acquire an unfair advantage. The identification effect may thus dominate the detection effect thereby further exacerbating problems of corruption. Whilst transparency is one of the ways through which countries can avoid the resource curse, at present, there exist no systematic studies exploring the relative impact of transparency in comparison to other feasible policies (Kolstad & Wiig 2008). Whether transparency is more appropriate to other policy alternatives thus remains an issue for further research. Good governance The issue of transparency and accountability is closely tied with good governance. Recent studies exploring the resource curse phenomena have stressed the importance of having in place good governance to ensure transformation of resource rents into favourable development outcomes. In particular, two prominent contributions see good governance as key to avoiding the resource curse. According to Mehlum et al (2006), resource rents tend to draw skilled workforce out of productive activities and into rent-seeking. As such, the key to addressing this problem is to increase attractiveness of the productive sector by having in place good institutions. Sharing a somewhat similar view, Robinson et al. (2006) argues that patronage is the main cause of resource curse. Hence, they suggest that the key to avoiding it is putting in place institutions that will limit the government’s ability to distribute public sector positions to political supporters. Revenue management Democracy is yet another issue of great importance. Studies by Ross (2001) and Aslasken (2007) have shown that oil hinders democracy. These authors have attributed this hindrance to the rentier effect. Since governments have control over substantial revenues from oil booms, they can hinder democracy through patronage, that is, by providing its supporters with certain advantages such as public sector positions. In order to address the resource curse, there is need for proper management and optimal use of revenues. Natural resources are exhaustible in nature and as such may be rendered obsolete. Measurements of permanent income thus have to take account of these characteristics. Spending must be based on present value of expected revenues, having taken into consideration uncertainty of the prices and the time of resource depletion (Kolstad & Wiig 2008). In other words, revenues ought to be saved and properly managed to ensure a permanent stream of income. Fiscal policies Fiscal policies also have an important role to play in addressing the problem of resource curse and the â€Å"Dutch disease† which can be minimized through decoupling of fiscal policy from revenue fluctuations. This is made possible through containment of fiscal spending, inflation and containment of nominal exchange rate appreciation (Coutinho 2011). Norway is a prime example of a country that has benefited from its fiscal policies. To avoid overspending its oil revenues, Norway adopted fiscal guidelines in 2001. Norway’s fiscal guidelines include a rule that ensures that the central government’s non-oil structural deficit is within 4% of the expected real return on Petroleum Fund assets (Coutinho 2011). This conservative approach which the Norwegian government has taken has enabled it to counter the uncertainty of its oil wealth. As pointed out by Jafarov & Moriyama (2005), Norwegian’s oil revenue policy has enabled the country to limit the Dutch disease effects by protecting the non-resource sectors from the impact of fluctuations in petroleum prices. Whilst the Norwegian oil policy could be regarded as a prime example of a successful policy framework, Humphrey & Sandbu (2007) have pointed out that the institutional restrictions imposed by Norway’s fund on policy makers are weak and may not be effective in environments with weak institutional framework. Nonetheless, the Norwegian oil policy has enabled the country to built a competent national oil industry which has been well-managed up to date (Ryggvik 2010). UK and Norway as oil and gas countries. The UK and Norway are prime examples of countries which have successfully managed their natural resource wealth. In particular Norway, which is currently the second largest export of oil across the world, shows no symptoms of a resource abundance curse. However, one factor that may be pointed out that differentiates the experience of Norway from the other oil producing countries is the timing of natural resource discovery. Unlike many other OPEC countries, the discovery of oil occurred at a time when Norway was already a developed country (Mehboob 2012). Nonetheless, the Norwegian government has successfully managed its natural resources, escaping the resource curse which has afflicted many of the OPEC countries. In fact, Norway was ranked as number one in the democracy index by a recent UK economic intelligence report. This decision was based on a number of criteria including transparency, accountability, election freedom and fairness, influence of foreign powers and ability to implement policies (Campbell 2012). Voluminous research has also shown that good policies and good governance have been central to the success of Norwegian oil sector. From this lengthy literature survey, two observations can be made. First, whilst there is strong evidence pointing to the association between natural resource abundance and adverse outcomes on the economy, the evidence is by no means conclusive. The second observation is that there are no adequate accounts for the role of social forces or political environments in shaping development outcomes. Research has tended to take a reductionist approach, explaining development performance solely in terms of the size and a country’s endowment of the natural resources. Although a consensus is emerging that the relationship between a country’s resource wealth and development outcomes may be shaped by certain political and social variables; scholars have tended to ignore these variables and instead taken the view that resource rich countries experience slow growth compared to resource poor countries. Contrary to this view, this proposal demonstrates how emerging economies in Africa can escape the resource curse which has afflicted many of the petro-countries. Whilst there is strong evidence linking the ‘resource curse theorem’ with poor development outcomes in many of the resource rich countries in Africa, emerging economies such as Uganda and Ghana can avoid this phenomena by ensuring good governance, transparency and accountability, effective revenue management and implementing fiscal policies that would help build competent national oil industries. The UK and Norway are prime examples of countries that have successfully managed their oil wealth. Emerging economies can learn from these two countries. Research questions This research study seeks to address the following research questions: How can new and emerging oil nations ensure realization of oil and gas policies to avoid the resource curse How can the oil wealth management policies of Norway and UK assist emerging oil nations like Ghana and Uganda Research methodology Research strategy/Approach Whether one is familiar with a dissertation topic or not, it is important to have in a place a research strategy that will help the researcher to collect the necessary data for analysis. In this regard, a research strategy is a methodological approach that is taken by the researcher to investigate a particular research issue. As defined by Saunders et al. (2009), it is a general plan that guides the researcher in investigating a particular research issue. In a similar vein, Bryman (2008) defines research strategy as â€Å"a general orientation to the conduct of research† (pp698). Saunders et al. (2009) further states that a particular strategy has to be selected based on research objectives and questions, extent of existing knowledge about the topic under study, time and availability of resources, and the philosophical underpinnings of the researcher ( Saunders et al. 2009, p.600). Based on this criterion, different research strategies may be employed by the researcher. Whilst there are various research strategies, Saunders et al (2009) and Yin (2003) acknowledge that a large overlap exists among these strategies. As such, of great importance would be to select the most advantageous strategy. Among the most commonly used research strategies are survey, experiment, case study, ethnography, grounded theory, cross sectional studies and participative inquiry among others. The proposed dissertation seeks to employ a case study research strategy. While examining the overall emerging economies in Africa, the study will devote particular focus to Uganda and Ghana as the case studies. Rationale for selecting case study research approach According to Robson (2002), a case study research strategy refers to a research strategy that involves an observed investigation of a particular phenomenon within a real life context (Robson 2002: p.178). Case study is considered ideal for the proposed dissertation as it allows the researcher to focus on the specific context, and for in-depth investigation of the issue at hand. Further, Case study research has been preferred over other research strategies as the research questions take the form of ‘how’. This research study has been developed to answer to the research questions: 1. how can new and emerging oil nations ensure realization of oil and gas policies to avoid the resource curse2. How can the oil wealth management policies of Norway and UK assist emerging oil nations like Ghana and Uganda? It is evident that the research questions predominantly consist of ‘how’ type of research questions, hence suited for a case study research. Chetty (1996) also points out that case study research is important as it leads to the observation of new insights that would otherwise not have emerged with other research strategies such as surveys. The qualitative case study will explore the oil and gas management policies and theories in Norway and UK, and examine how emerging nations, particularly Uganda and Ghana, can learn from these countries which have built competent oil sectors. The case study strategy is expected to capture the complexity surrounding management of oil wealth in these emerging economies. Qualitative method A number of scholars have differentiated between qualitative and quantitative research. One of the key issues that have been used to draw distinction between the two is the nature of data. With quantitative research method, the data is hard, objective and standardized. But with qualitative method, the data is rich and deep (Corbetta 2003). Bickman et al. (1998) and Maxwell (1998) have further added interactivity as one of the features of qualitative research. The nature of data needed for the proposed dissertation is rich and deep. The richness of the information is necessary in order to identify the current management practices employed by Norway and the UK in the management of their oil wealth which will then be reflected in designing an applicable management model for emerging countries such as Uganda and Ghana. Data collection The research question: ‘how can new and emerging oil nations ensure realization of oil and gas policies to avoid the resource curse?’ requires an extensive amount of investigation. As such in-depth interviewing is deemed more appropriate for this study. Interviews will be used as the primary source of collecting data. Interviews will be conduct with key informants in Norway and the UK who will shed a light on the policies governing the management of oil and provide an explanation as to how these economies have been able to escape the resource curse phenomena and the ‘Dutch disease’. The interviewees will comprise of key informants in the oil industry such as the local leaders and policy practitioners, international and national diplomats, and policy drivers in transnational agencies, consultants and experts in the oil industry. A total of 30 respondents will be interviewed. Further, a desk study will be conduct to supplement the primary data. This will involve collecting secondary qualitative data which will be derived from previous research studies. Both documentary and on-line material related to the research topic will be reviewed. The secondary qualitative data will be obtained from archival documents, official government publications, policy papers, statistical data and several other publications including books and academic journals. Peer reviewed journals will include the European Economic Review, Journal of Peace Research, Cyprus Economic Policy Review, Journal of Conflict Resolution, The Economic Journal, and Journal of Development Economics among others. This secondary information will supplement the primary data collected and improve accuracy and validity of the research findings. Data analysis The data obtained from in-depth interviews is rich in detail, contextually laden and subjective. Such data must be reworked or reduced to represent major themes that describe the phenomenon under study. As such, thematic analysis has been chosen as the main approach to analyzing the qualitative data in the proposed in dissertation. As defined by Saunders et al. (2009), thematic analysis refers to quantitative content analysis that involves the identification of patterns and themes within data. Thematic analysis is particularly common with qualitative research. It involves identification of a number of emerging themes which reflect the textual data. Whilst it may sound easy, thematic analysis require the researcher to be familiar with their data in order to provide insightful analysis. Data familiarization is thus key to thematic analysis. Limitations of qualitative research Whilst positive that research objectives of this research can be achieved, there certain challenges that may be encountered with the methodological approach. As pointed out by Bryman (2004), qualitative findings tend to rely much on researchers often unsystematic views on what is important and significant, and research findings may be influenced by the researcher’s biases. Moreover, the findings obtained from a qualitative case study may not be generalizable given the set of few respondents. The scope of qualitative research is often limited to single cases and as such, it becomes difficult to generalize the findings. Also, respondents may choose to provide false information which may affect the accuracy of the findings. Despite these criticisms, qualitative research has been chosen as the research approach in the present study. Generalizability, validity and reliability The researcher will avoid the bias associated with qualitative research by deliberately seeking data from various sources including official government documents, policy papers and other relevant secondary sources. This secondary information will be used to supplement the findings obtained from the primary interviews. Ethical considerations A number of ethical issues may arise with interviews with key informants. Given the secrecy of information of this nature, some participants may not be at liberty to reveal certain sensitive information. However, the researcher assured the participant about confidentiality of their information. Another ethical concern relates to the issue of utilizing secondary sources without the author’s permission. To address this concern, the researcher is going to acknowledge the contributions made by the original authors of the secondary sources in the proposed dissertation. Conclusion Clearly, we have seen that many resource rich countries especially the African countries such as Nigeria and Angola have suffered from ‘resource curse’ and the ‘Dutch disease’. Despite being the largest oil producers, these resource rich countries still remain at amongst the poorest in the world. Their natural endowment has not been positively correlated with economic growth and social progress. We’ve also seen a close and strong link between ‘resource curse’ and corruption, bad governance, lack of accountability and transparency, poor revenue management and poor fiscal policies. On a lighter note, we’ve seen some of the resource rich countries which have been able to escape the ‘resource curse’ and ‘Dutch disease’. We’ve seen that the UK and Norway have successfully managed their natural resources. This is explained by the fact that they have pursued good policies in some areas and have enjoyed the advantages of having resource rent. However, we’ve noted that unlike many other OPEC countries, the discovery of oil occurred at a time when Norway was already a developed country. This perhaps point to the differentiated experience in the management of oil wealth between Norway and other oil producing countries. Nonetheless, we argue that the emerging economies such as Ghana and Uganda can learn from Norway and the UK, and leverage their oil wealth in order to emerge as economic stars without succumbing to pitfalls of the resource curse. Clearly, this research is of paramount importance and would contribute significantly to the management of natural resources. Resource requirement To successfully execute this dissertation, the researcher intends to use a variety of secondary sources. In particular, articles and academic journals would inform this analysis. The internet, online-library and computers would aid in the data collection and analysis. There is a plethora of literature on management of oil wealth. The dissertation will thus be based on a critical review of published literature such as journals, articles, and textbooks. In addition, the researcher intends to review press releases, government documents and annual work plans such as the 2012 Work Plan of Environmental Management in the Oil and Gas Sector. This would ensure that the dissertation is consistent, professional and of the highest quality. Given the great deal of research conducted on this topic, the researcher is positive the dissertation will be successfully accomplished without much cost or future hindrance. Further, frantic efforts and time would be devoted towards analyzing the published literature and augmenting it with the primary data collected. Timetable/ Gantt chart Activity September October November December January weeks 12341234123412341234 A review of prior studies and any relevant literature draft of the literature review research design and strategy Design of interview questions Communication with key informants and scheduling of interviews Interviews with key informants Data collection Data analysis (Thematic analysis) composition of the draft of the project submit to tutor for the revision final check of the data and accuracy of the written project final submission Reference Andre, G., 2010. The management of the Angolan oil revenues: are there any chances to change course of the ‘resource curse’University of Dundee Aslaksen, S., 2007. Oil, democracy and country fixed effects. Mimeo, Department of Economics, Trondheim: Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Auty, R. M., 2001. ‘The Political Economy of Resource-Driven Growth’. European Economic Review, 45 (4-6): 839-846. Bainomugisha, A., kivengyere, H. and Tusasirwe, B., 2006. Escaping the oil curse and making poverty history: a review of the oil and gas policy and legal framework for Uganda. ACODE Policy Research Series, No. 20 Basedau, M. and Lay, J., 2009. ‘Resource curse or rentier peaceThe ambigous effects of oil wealth and oil dependence on violent conflict’. Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 46 (6), pp.757-775 Bickman, L., Rog, D. J., and Hedrick, T. E. 1998. â€Å"Applied Research Design: A Practical Approach† in Bickman and Rog., D.J., (eds.) Handbook of Applied Social Research Methods, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage publications. Bryman, A., 2008. Social research methods, 4th edition, Oxford, Oxford University Press. Burnham, P. and Gilliand, L., K., Grant, W. and Layton-Henry, Z., 2008. Research methods in politics. 2. ed., Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke. Campbell, 2012. A tale of two petro-states: Norway manages its oil wealth much better than Canada does. 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Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A., 2009. Research methods for business students, 5th ed., Harlow, Pearson Education. Yin, R. K., 2003. Case study research: Design and methods, 3rd edition, London, SAGE Publications.

Non Humans and Graphics‏ Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Non Humans and Graphics† - Essay Example Which is vry tru. Howvr it is anothr mattr that natural slction and cultural slction, that will ultimatly dcid on th "popularity" of an art don't function in th sam way. Anyhow How can w rmov th cultural bias or th human bias that w hav in our art forms .Answrs in Artificial Lif: Artificial lif may b dfind as "A fild of study dvotd to undrstanding lif by attmpting to driv gnral thoris undrlying biological phnomna, and rcrating ths dynamics in othr physical mdia - such as computrs - making thm accssibl to nw kinds of xprimntal manipulation and tsting. This scintific rsarch links biology and computr scinc."1 Most of th A-Lif simulations today can not b considrd truly aliv, as thy still can not show som proprtis of truly aliv systms and also that thy hav considrabl human bias in dsign. Howvr thr ar two viws that hav xistd on th whol ida of Artificial Lif and th xtnt it can go. Strong A-Lif is xactly th rvrs. John Von Numann onc rmarkd "lif is a procss which can b abstractd away from any particular mdium". In rcnt tims cologist Tom Ray dclard that his computr simulation Tirra was not a simulation of lif but a synthsis of lif. In Tirra, computr programms compt for CPU tim and accss to th main mmory. Ths programs ar also volvabl, can rplicat, mutat and rcombin. . . Today graphic dsign is rcognizd through th mass production of publications, advrtising, and printd litratur, but during th Mdival and Rnaissanc Tims, graphic dsign was still at its roots. DurinG th lat5600S it5was m@nUsCripps tha showd5arlY Hints5of gap)c drign and tipogPa0hic ,mNtc, but baaus of th% Prgd%ctign and5b2atO2 of th xt, th5manuscri0ts wr still v2y5duah cNnsi$rd an art. n o"dr5to undrstand this possibility it is ncssary to look at th procss in which manuscripts and othr publications wr cratd from 680-1500 C, how w distinguish graphic dsign, how w distinguish art, and how w undrstand thm as two compltly diffrnt forms of xprssion and communication. 2 In ordr to undrstand it's plac during th Mdival and Rnaissanc tims, it is important to undrstand what w dfin as graphic dsign and what w dfin as art. Rfrring to Malcolm Barnard's svral points in Grapic Dsign as Coemunication, graphic dsign is a unitrsally visual languag that can b mass producd and clarly communicats an ida, product, oC campaign in a "'forthright' and 'plain' fashion" (Barnard 163). Art on th othr hand is supposd to b th xact opposit; not univrsal, basd on intrprtation, cratd as a product of and by th xprssion of th artist (not a clint), and ambiguous. With ths dfinitions said, it is important to now discuss graphic dsign and art's plac during th Mdival and naissanc Tims. Starting in th lat 600s,5manusCrIpts wr prodUcd by monks or Fujs and wr eaD iThr "y ! 3ingl5artist or a5group. At5this Ti,, any f/rm of tXt that5was cratd was dmN5bx (and. This wittn languag5cAf graphically B cAtgorizd as Fodhic, And mor spciFicalli th5f/Ft Styl can5b rfRrd5to as sCriPtoRi5m Du to tH fact5tha5svral or oN

Wealth and Poverty in US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Wealth and Poverty in US - Essay Example Whether through being discovered for unknown talents, creating the next big invention, or because of a lottery win that will fill the coffers, every American might become one of the lucky many who become over night sensations and bath in champagne every night, except for one small problem – there is no truth in the myth. The land of opportunity has become a land of obstacles, mostly thrown in front of the middle class by those who see that their own profits will suffer if they support legislation that will empower the middle class once again and begin the process of lifting the lower classes out of their struggle and poverty. There was a point in Western life where working a descent job was possible from merely a secondary education and from that job it was possible to have cars, a house, and a one income family. Somewhere in the disparities that have come between pay and the cost of living this is not possible anymore. The world turned from one in which the struggle of the wo rker was turned around by unions to one which was turned back on itself so that the disparity between the very wealthy and the worker once again left hard working people drowning in debt and despair. It is not clear exactly when this shift began. It is clear that somewhere along the way workers were taught they would not likely be workers for very long and that in supporting the wealthier 1% they were in effect protecting themselves for the time when they would become a member of that elite group. The worker of the 21st century is just on his or her stopping point before great wealth comes or a shot at celebrity will propel them to a point where tax incentives of the rich will be theirs to enjoy. The worker is no longer respected for their ethic but driven down by insinuations that they are just not trying as hard as the rest of their peers. The story from recent history that best describes the problem of believing in the dream of becoming rich is described by the emergence of the R epublican supported character of Joe the Plumber from the 2008 Presidential Campaign. Wurzelbacher and Tabback wrote a book on Joe the Plumber about how he represented the average working class individual as he asked a question of President Obama before he won the race for President during his journey to Ohio. Joe the Plumber is described as â€Å"an American folk hero and the ultimate icon for the American class† (Wurzelbacher and Tabback 1). Joe created a scenario that padded his question with ideas about how the tax program that then Candidate Obama had in mind would affect him if he bought the company that he intended to buy. President Obama answered the question by showing him how the tax rates were intended to preserve the income of the workers, just like Joe, while providing for tax cuts for small businesses that made fewer than $250,000.00 per year. Joe felt this was not a good deal for him, despite how his realistic position was fully supported by the tax program. Ho wever, the question that he asked was predicated on the idea that he was going to purchase a company that would bring in between $250,000.00 and $280,000.00 per year. The fact was that ‘Joe’ was in no financial position to buy the company and as of the date of his question was not going to find the funds any time soon. While he was catapulted to fame and began to become a part of the political machine, in essence finding that pie in the sky dream, he was still one in a million. He was being used in order to create the idea that what is good for the wealthy is good for the working class and the poor

Business Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 33

Business Ethics - Essay Example Therefore, Jack was right to take the pill if this decision does not affect other classmates’ decisions. Although the libertarians view seems appropriate for Jack’s situation, there are a couple of negative implications that can be associated with the decision (Clarke 15). For instance, if Jack chooses to take the pill, it could get his friend in trouble. This is owing to the fact that individuals are not allowed to share prescription drugs as they may a negative impact on the health of other individuals. If Jack decided to take the pill and got a negative reaction, his friend could have gotten in trouble. This shows how the libertarian view could have had a negative implication on both parties. Jack’s decision to take the pill could have given him an unfair advantage over his classmates. Taking the pill could have enabled him to study for longer hours and concentrate more (Clarke 20). This is not only unethical but unfair to the other students. A competition is said to be fair if the students have equal opportunities to study and focus. It can therefore be concluded that taking the pill could have given Jack an unfair advantage over his classmates. Jack is therefore advised not to take the pill. Jack’s decision to take the pill compromised the reputation of the class and the institution. This is because if his actions were reported to the appropriate authorities, this could have cast a shadow of doubt on the learning process in the class and the institution. Jack’s decision could have also influenced the overall performance in class (Clarke 36). The performance of the class is characterized by a normal curve. If Jack takes the pill and it impacts his performance, there will be a disruption in the normal distribution curve. He is thereby advised not to take the pill from his classmate. In summary, the above

THE RISE OF ISLAM Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

THE RISE OF ISLAM - Term Paper Example 14 Introduction Islam and Christianity are two of the largest and independent religions in the world. They both use technology and modern means of communication in order to preach and propagate. Members of these religious groups are surrounded with all the temptations of material things: technology, gadgets, the internet, fast-paced communication, transportation faster than the speed of sound, and above all money. These things are not evil per se but they should be able to detect temptation because they can be tools of the devil to entice man to sin. Where were these things some centuries ago? Islam was born and grew out of the polytheism practices at the time the prophet Muhammad was beginning to ponder upon his existence. It was also during those times when the prophet was bored of the technology and materialism of the time. Will there emerge another religion in the midst of all these? There are signs of evil hold over the things we take for granted. Is it true that Islam is a sham of Christianity? Let us take a brief history of Islam before we hear the apologist’s responses. This essay is about Islam and Christianity. First of all, Christianity came ahead of Islam and in fact many of the beliefs and principles preached by the prophet Muhammad were taken from the Bible and Christian teachings. ... The explanations that the apologists offered were that Islam was a Christian heretical doctrine, God Judge Islam because of the inadequacy of the church, and Islam was not real but was a wicked sham of Christianity. Background The beginning and growth of Islam is one of the most remarkable religious phenomena in the history of man’s quest to believe in a Supreme Being and to know the meaning of life and religion. It is still considered a young religion with about 1.2 billion followers. Islam is the religion of countries that stretch from North Africa to Southeast Asia and to smaller Muslim communities across the globe.1 At the time before the birth of Islam, Arabia was cut off from neighbouring civilizations. The peninsula was characterized by diverse landscapes and mountain ranges which created different ecosystems. During the birth of Muhammad, much of Arabia was subjected to foreign influences such as political, economic and cultural. Christianity was one of these influence s.2 Muhammad whose official name in the Muslim world is Prophet Muhammad ibn Abd Allah was born in 570AD in Mecca or what is called Saudi Arabia today. He was orphaned at an early age but at a young age he was already searching for the truth of his own existence. He married a rich widow at the age of 25 and it was also at this age that he started to search for God and the meaning of life. He got some answers through dreams. He found solitude as an escape from the demands of city life. He did not like the practice of polytheism at that time, so he would often find refuge in caves. It was believed that the angel Gabriel appeared to him in a dream while he was seeking refuge at Mt. Hira. The angel Gabriel asked him to

Management Factors of Professional Success Assignment

Management Factors of Professional Success - Assignment Example A leader who shows no concern over the company’s performance will lead to its failure since almost all employees will follow his path and attitudes. On the other hand, a leader who shows concern will replicate similar traits and attributes among the employees. Though leaders have different styles of leadership, their activities immensely affect the operations of the organization. For instance, treating the employees nicely in anniversaries, taking them occasionally for lunch shows that one appreciates the work of the employees and how significant they are to the success of the organization. In essence, this shows that the manager or the leader values the employees (Daft 418). On the other hand, whenever the leaders delegate duties and decision making responsibilities to the employees, it shows that the leader believes in them. Therefore, the employees will have the autonomy to make decisions on how to accomplish the company’s objectives (Daft 419). It is, therefore, essential to note that the traits, activities, and decisions of the top leaders have an impact on the activities that take place in an organization.The statement â€Å"high versus low-quality leadership has a bigger impact on a firm’s performance than business en vironment† is mostly false. The situational variables within the environment perform differently according to the styles of leadership employed by the leader. For instance, the personnel in an organization have varying performance levels as according to the different leadership styles (Daft 418-420). For instance, individuals with low task readiness and skills will require a different leadership style than that of the highly skilled and competent employees. Employs with low skills and work readiness will highly depend on a directive leadership style where they will be given guidelines and direction on how to accomplish tasks and responsibilities within the organization. With this approach, the company’s performance will be solely depended on the leadership style. In this case, the leader explains decisions and issues the workers with a chance to ask questions and attain clarity on comprehending their responsibilities. On the other hand, competent and skilled workers mak e the leadership style insignificant or redundant. This is because these employees know how to perform their tasks and do not require a leader who initiates structure or who directs them on what to do.

Summary and Opinion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Summary and Opinion - Essay Example It is reported that most of these people have failed to get jobs, attempt after attempt, even for reasons such as over-qualification (Fish, 2014). After the recession, economists argue that however much the economy improved and more (re)gained employment status as a result, it has not done so sufficiently to completely tackle the unemployment situation. John Mitchell blames this retarded growth on Congress with their standoffs over the debt ceiling, expiration of the payroll tax cut and the sequestration induced federal spending cuts. Traditionally, an unemployment benefit last 26 weeks but this period was extended by Congress during the recession of 2008 when many unemployed people found it difficult to find new jobs. Many of these unemployed people depended on these benefits for their daily livelihoods until they were informed that the benefits were being halted henceforth, leading to strained lifestyles and severe public outcry. Jennifer Taub, for example, is now accepting help fr om the extended family against her wishes while Caroline Trude-Rede has since resorted into selling off her valued possessions in order to sustain herself. The House and Congress continued to debate on the extension of unemployment payments in January, 2014 but failed to vote as they recessed for the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. This move and dalliance has furthered uproar with the President being accused of not doing enough to renew long-term unemployment benefits (Fish, 2014). In my opinion, the skyrocketing unemployment rates is a major concern in the United States and one that must be dealt with promptly and with the seriousness it deserves by the government if its far-reaching effects are to be checked. The economy must be improved to ensure creation of more employment opportunities and care for the retired and unemployed. In the meantime, the government must not regard the unemployment

Communication - Upward Distortion Research Paper

Communication - Upward Distortion - Research Paper Example Hence instead of giving accurate information to the top management, employees often pass distorted information to the seniors/boss which often referred as the upward distortion of information in the organizational world. â€Å"It has long been recognized that employees are prone to distort the messages they transmit upwards, with deleterious effects on general climate issues and overall organizational functioning† (Tourish & Robson p.18). This paper analyses different aspects of upward distortion of information in organizational world. Distortion is anything that contributes to alterations in meanings as messages move through the organization. Distortions can occur for a variety of reasons, due to â€Å"load, message direction, channel usage, and the very composition of the [communication] networks themselves. It is no exaggeration to say that distortion is inevitable and unavoidable (Durden) As mentioned earlier, information is always passing from bottom to top (from employe es to management) and from top to bottom (from management to employees) in an organization. Moreover information exchange can take place horizontally also (between the employees). ... When the employees distort some information while communicating with their employers; it is termed as upward distortion. Same way while employers distort some information, it is termed as downward distortion. â€Å"Distortion of upward communication negatively related to the level of security and positively related to achievement needs; also positively related to the heteronomous organizational climate and negatively related to an autonomous climate† (Athanassiades). In other words, whenever an employee feels insecurity in passing certain information to the top, he will try to distort or twist it. Same way, whenever an employee likes to get some benefits from the organization, he will try to distort the information. Distortion of information occurs when the employees or the employer wants to protect their interests. For example, suppose a sales executive was heavily criticized by an important client of an organization for the delayed delivery of a product or service. In such c ases, the executive will never pass such information to his manager or boss. In other words the fear of consequences forced the employee to distort the information. He will inform his manager that the client was extremely satisfied by the product or service delivered. He will never say anything about the delays caused in the delivery and the subsequent unhappiness developed by the client. If the executive passes the information about the delayed delivery of the product or service to his manager, he will sometimes get punishments from the top. At the same time, if the executive was ready to provide such information, the manager could have taken measures to cool down the temper of the frustrated or unhappy client. It is quite possible that the client may rely on other product or service providers

Pop Art and Fashion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Pop Art and Fashion - Essay Example Art has been very influential in the past years. Art is wide and does not only involve paintings, sculptures, photography and film-making. It can also be defined as skill and imagination overuse in order to create different aesthetic objects, surroundings and experiences that are shared to different individuals in the society. And from the ancient days art has continued to develop in a gradual manner. Among the development in art is the introduction of what is known as pop art. It is known to be popular culture’s art and its characteristic is that it has optimism sense. Most artists have been greatly influenced by this and majority of them have interpreted pop art in their own way. Among those influenced by Pop art is lady Gaga who is perceived to be one of the famous pop singer and song writer. She is known to have unique fashion taste. As a result, her fashion designer created several designs that mainly have the artist’s style association. Through this, today’ s generation has been influenced greatly into appreciating art as a significant element of human life. In today’s society pop art has made tremendous influence on different kinds of fashions. In order to be able to fully understand the contemporary art it is important to look back and appreciate all the individuals of the past generation who remained focused and persistent in making this kind of art possible. It is amazing how most artists were able to customize different things that they came across in life. They were able to apply art in everything.

The Effects of Space Exploration on Modern Society Essay Example for Free

The Effects of Space Exploration on Modern Society Essay Space exploration has been increasing greatly in the last 50 years. It has allowed us to understand the greatness of the universe and the endless possibilities it offers us. Our planet, Earth, is inhabited by approximately 6 billion humans. This is well over our natural carrying capacity (the amount of resources there are to sustain our population) but with techniques such as farming, we have manipulated our resources to provide us with enough food, but alternate solutions are needed. The Cold War was when the space exploration significantly advanced, with the political competition between U. S.A and the U.S.S.R., where the two nations invested highly on technologies to see who could win the space-race. Artificial satellites, a man made device that orbits around Earth or other planets, came along at about 1951, when the Russians launched Sputnik 1 into orbit around Earth. Since then, satellites have developed technologically and now they are so widely used, that almost everyones benefiting from them in everyday life. Through space exploration, a lot has been learnt about Earth and space. When the Hubble Space Telescope was fully operational in 1993, it allowed us to observe our galaxy in ways that were impossible from Earth. Orbiting observatories such as the Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) and the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) also contributed to the study of the stars, galaxies and the structure of the universe. These have all brought back images of previously unknown galaxies and stars, and also have increased our awareness of black holes. Several probes have been sent out from Earth, and collected information about the atmospheres of the planets in our solar system. Scientist and environmentalists have learnt a great deal about our planet. With the help of satellites, they can now easily find facts about deforestation, pollution, global warming and climates, giving mankind a broader understanding of our own planet. Space exploration has brought countless benefits to the people. Through the research of NASA , space exploration has indirectly provided us with Compact discs, special UV protection suits for people who can not be exposed to the sun and metal alloys which are now used for aeroplanes, sports equipment and trains. I believe that satellites have been the greatest compensation from the money invested in space exploration. There are currently over 2,200  operational satellites orbiting the Earth, most of them, profiting the people. There are three types of satellites; GPSs, Reconnaissance and Telecommunication satellites. Reconnaissance satellites are the ones that orbit most closely to the Earth, and are equipped with high resolution cameras. More sophisticated Reconnaissance satellites are the spy cameras, which can capture full motion pictures of the Earth. These types of satellites are also sometimes integrated with special sensors for heat, infra-red and ultra-violet; these have very beneficial utilities such as for meteorology. Meteorological satellites have given us the ability to predict weather like never before. Not only is it used for people to know the future temperatures, its also very useful for navigational purposes for ships and aeroplanes, whos pilots can now travel through a safer routes. Another fantastic technology that satellites have given us is the GPS (Global Positioning System). The GPS provides the user with accurate information of their latitude, longitude and velocity, and it was initially designed for military use, but the commerce has found various new applications for the GPS. If a car fitted with the GPS was to be stolen, the company can constantly monitor the location of the vehicle. Some police cars now have GPSs, so in future emergencies, the station would be able to contact the closest police vehicle via radio. Telecommunication satellites communicate by sending each other communicational signals, and therefore being able to send them to any part of the world. Mobile phones, modern television and the internet all depend on telecommunication satellites. Third world countries very probably will oppose space exploration. The rich, who can invest, will only make more money exploring space, increasing the bridge between the poor; while the money could be invested on the development of our own Earth. Other who oppose space exploration could argue that the possible dangers that the unexplored space holds for us, could lead to deaths and losses if not approached with caution. The U.S. governments spends billions of Dollars annually on space exploration. While some of it is a true necessity (i.e. satellites maintenance), I believe that it is mostly avoidable. The money spent on research of other planets could be redirected the problems in our world. Why  go searching for more space, when there is plenty to do here? However, I believe that just the possible future advantages outweigh the drawbacks. Space exploration is a promising solution to the upcoming threat of over population. With the estimated figure of 9 billion humans on earth by the next three decades, mankind needs to find additional resources elsewhere. On the other hand, people may believe that controlling the population is a more viable solution than trying to support its increasing numbers. Space exploration has also provided us with technologies that save lives, such as the prediction of natural hazards such as hurricanes and typhoons. Space exploration has already modified our life styles, simplifying complicated tasks and automating long tedious work. I believe that space exploration should definitely continue. Space holds danger, asteroids have hit earth before, and they will again. Without the ability to reach out across space, the chance to save ourselves might not exist. Space allows us to expand and succeed. Thats one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

Book Review on Imagining India Essay Example for Free

Book Review on Imagining India Essay Monday morning, it is chaos. Despite its pristine new metro and expanding highways, the city can barely contain the morning hubbub, the swarm of people all trying to get somewhere. By the time I reach Kaushik Basus home—set a little apart from the highway, on a quiet street that is empty except for a single, lazy cow who stops in front of the car, in no hurry to move—I am very late, a little grimy, but exhilarated. Kaushik and I chat about how the crowds in the city look completely different compared to, say, two decades ago. Then, you would see people lounging near tea shops, reading the morning paper late into the afternoon, puffing languorously at their beedis and generally shooting the breeze. But as India has changed— bursting forth as one of the worlds fastest-growing countries—so has the scene on the street. And as Kaushik points out, it is this new restlessness, the hum and thrum of its people, that is the sound of Indias economic engine today. Kaushik is the author of a number of books on India and teaches economics at Cornell, and his take on Indias growth—of a country driven by human capital—is now well accepted. Indias position as the worlds go-to destination for talent is hardly surprising; we may have been short on various things at various times, but we have always had plenty of people. The crowded tumult of our cities is something I experience every day as I navigate my way to our Bangalore office through a dense crowd that overflows from the footpaths and on to the road—of software engineers waiting at bus stops, groups of women in colourful saris, on their way to their jobs 38 at the garment factories that line the road, men in construction hats heading towards the semi-completed highway. And then there are the people milling around the cars, hawking magaz ines and pirated versions of the latest best-sellers. * Looking around, I think that if people are the engine of Indias growth, our economy has only just begun to rev up. But to the demographic experts of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Indias population made the country quite simply a disaster of epic proportions. Paul Ehlrichs visit to Delhi in 1966 forms the opening of his book The Population Bomb, and his shock as he describes Indias crowds is palpable: People eating, people washing, people sleeping . . . people visiting, arguing and screaming . . . people clinging to buses . . . people, people, people. But in the last two decades, this depressing vision of Indias population as an overwhelming burden has been turned on its head. With growth, our human capital has emerged as a vibrant source of workers and consumers not just for India, but also for the global economy. But this change in our attitudes has not come easily. Since independence, India struggled for decades with policies that tried to put the lid on its surging population. It is only recently that the country has been able to look its billion in the eye and consider its advantages. MILLIONS ON AN ANTHILL For most of the twentieth century, people both within and outside India viewed us through a lens that was distinctly Malthusian. As a poor and extremely crowded part of the world, we seemed to vindicate Thomas Malthuss uniquely despondent vision—that great population growth inevitably led to great famine and despair. The time that Thomas Malthus, writer, amateur economist and clergyman (the enduring term history gave him would be the gloomy parson), lived in may have greatly influenced his theory on population. Nineteenth-century England was seeing very high birth rates, with families having children by the bakers dozen. Malthus— who, as the second of eight children, was himself part of the population explosion he bemoaned—predicted in his An Essay on *Tbe Alchemist, Liars Poker and (Tom Friedman would be delighted) The World Is Flat have been perennial favourites for Indian pirates. the Principle of Population that the unprecedented increases in population would lead to a cycle of famines, of epidemics, and sickly seasons. India in particular seemed to be speedily bearing down the path that Malthus predicted. On our shores, famine was a regular visitor. We endured thirty hunger famines* between 1770 and 1950— plagues during which entire provinces saw a third of their population disappear, and the countryside was covered with the bleached bones of the millions dead.1 By the mid twentieth century, neo-Malthusian prophets were sounding the alarm on the disastrous population growth in India and China, and predicted that the impact of such growth would be felt around the world. Their apocalyptic scenarios helped justify draconian approaches to birth control. Policies recommending sterilization of the unfit and the disabled, and the killing of defective babies gained the air of respectable theory. 2 Indias increasing dependence on food aid from the developed world due to domestic shortages also fuelled the panic around its population growth—in 1960 India had consumed one-eighth of the United States total wheat production, and by 1966 this had grown to onefourth. Consequently, if you were an adult in the 1950s and 1960s and followed the news, it was entirely plausible to believe that the endgame for humanity was just round the corner; you may also have believed that this catastrophe was the making of some overly fecund Indians. Nehru, observing the hand-wringing, remarked that the Western world was getting frightened at the prospect of the masses of Asia becoming vaster and vaster, and swarming all over the place. And it is true that Indians of this generation had a cultural affinity for big families, even among the middle class—every long holiday during my childhood was spent at my grandparents house with my cousins, and a family photo from that time has a hundred people crammed into the frame. Indian families were big enough to be your *Amartya Sen and others have pointed out, however, that while these famines may have seemed to be the consequence of a country that was both poor and overpopulated, they were in fact triggered partly by trade policies and the lack of infrastructure. Lord Lytton exported wheat from India at the height of the 1876-78 famine, and the lack of connectivity across the country affected transportation of grain to affected areas. Main social circle—most people did not mingle extensively outside family weddings, celebrations and visits to each others homes. The growing global worries around our population growth created immense pressure on India to impose some sort of control on our birth rates, and we became the first developing country to initiate a family planning programme. But our early family planning policies had an unusual emphasis on self-control.3 In part this was influenced by leaders such as Gandhi, who preached abstinence; in an interesting departure from his usual policy of non-violence, he had said, Wives should fight off their husbands with force, if necessary. This focus on abstinence and self-restraint continued with independent Indias first health minister, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, who was in the odd position of being at the helm of a family planning programme while opposing family planning in principle.4 As a result Indian policy during this decade emphasized the rhythm method. Rural India was targeted for raising awareness of the method, and one villager remarked of its success, They talked of the rhythm method to people who didnt know the calendar. Then they gave us rosaries of coloured beads . . . at night, people couldnt tell the red bead for dont from the green for go ahead. 5 Not surprisingly, Indias population continued to grow through the 1950s and 1960s, as fertility remained stubbornly high even while infant mortality and death rates fell rapidly. This was despite the massive awareness-building efforts around family planning that the government undertook. I still remember the small family songs on the radio and the walls of our cities, the sides of buses and trucks were papered with posters that featured happy (and small) cartoon families, and slogans like Us Two, Ours Two. And yet, each census release made it clear that our population numbers continued to relentlessly soar, and we despaired over a graph that was climbing too high, too fast. SNIP, SNIP As the global panic around population growth surged, the Indian and Chinese governments began executing white-knuckle measures of family planning in the 1960s. Our house is on fire, Dr S. Chandrasekhar, minister of health and family planning, said in 1968. If we focused more on sterilization, he added, We can get the blaze under control. By the 1970s, programmes and targets for sterilization of citizens were set up for Indian states. There was even a vasectomy clinic set up at the Victoria Terminus rail station in Bombay, to cater to the passenger traffic flowing through. 7 But no matter how Indian governments tried to promote sterilization with incentives and sops, the number of people willing to undergo the procedure did not go up. Indias poor wanted children—and especially sons—as economic security. State efforts to persuade citizens into sterilization backfired in unexpected ways—as when many people across rural India refused to have the anti-tuberculosis BCG, Bacillus Calmette-Guerin, injections because of a rumour that BCG stood for birth control government.8 In 1975, however, Indira Gandhi announced the Emergency, which suspended democratic rights and elections and endowed her with new powers of persuasion, so to speak. The Indian government morphed into a frighteningly sycophantic group, there to do the bidding of the prime minister and her son Sanjay—the same hotheaded young man who had described the Cabinet ministers as ignorant buffoons, thought his mother a ditherer and regarded the Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos his role model.9 In the winter of 1976, I, along with some of my fellow IIT Bombay students, had arrived on the festival circuit in Delhi to participate in the student debates and quizzes (yes, I was an inveterate nerd). It meant going from college to college for competitions, from Hindu to St Stephens to Miranda House to IIT Delhi. Most of us from the sylvan, secluded campus of IIT Bombay were not as politically aware as the Delhi students—the only elections we followed were those for the ITT hostels and student body. But in the Delhi of the Emergency years, sitting around campfires, one heard the whispered tales of Emergency-era atrocities, and of one particular outrage—nasbandi. Sanjay, who had discovered a taste and talent for authoritarianism with the Emergency, had made sterilization—specifically male sterilization or nasbandi— his pet project. The sterilization measures that were introduced came to be known as the Sanjay Effect—a combination, as the demographer Ashish Bose put it to me, of coercion, cruelty, corruption and cooked figures. Ashish notes that incentives to undergo the sterilization procedure included laws that required a sterilization certificate before government permits and rural credit could be granted. Children of parents with more than three children found that schools refused them admission, and prisoners did not get parole until they went under the knife. And some government departments persuaded their more reluctant employees to undergo the procedure by threatening them with charges of embezzlement.* The steep sterilization targets for state governments meant that people were often rounded up like sheep and take n to family planning clinics. For instance, one journalist witnessed municipal police in the small town of Barsi, Maharashtra, dragging several hundred peasants visiting Barsi on market day off the streets. They drove these men in two garbage trucks to the local family planning clinic, where beefy orderlies held them down while they were given vasectomies.10 This scene repeated itself time and again, across the country. It was difficult to trust the sterlization figures the government released since there was so much pressure on the states for results. Nevertheless, the Emergency-era sterilization programme, Ashish notes, may have achieved nearly two-thirds of its target—eight million sterilizations. But democracy soon hit back with a stunning blow. When Indira Gandhi called for elections in 1977—ignoring Sanjays protests, much to his ire11—the Congress was immediately tossed out of power. The nasbandi programme was the last gasp of coercive family planning in India on a large scale, and it became political suicide to implement similar policies. The Janata Party government that followed Indira even changed the label of the programme to avoid the stigma it carried, and family planning became family welfare. While sterilization programmes have occasionally reappeared across states, they have been mostly voluntary, with the focus on incentives to undergo the procedure, f *Asoka Bandarage describes the target fever in Indias sterilization programmes, which gave rise to speed doctors who competed against each other to perform the most number of operations every day, often under ghastly, unhygienic conditions. One celebrated figure was the Indian gynaecologist P.V. Mehta, who entered the Guinness Book of World Records for sterilizing more than 350,000 people in a decade—he claimed that he could perform forty sterilizations in an hour. tThese sweeteners for the procedure have at times been very strange and a little suspect, such as Uttar Pradeshs guns for sterilisation policy in 2004, under which scheme Indians purchasing firearms or seeking gun licences were told they would be fast-tracked if they could round up volunteers for sterilization. A district in Madhya Pradesh also made a similar guns for vasectomies offer to its residents in 2008.

Idiopathic parkinsons disease

Idiopathic parkinsons disease Introduction: Idiopathic Parkinsons disease (IPD) is a movement disorder associated with loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and the development of Lewy bodies. A reduction in normal striatal dopamine levels of 80% or more results in the cardinal symptoms of IPD, namely bradykinesia, rigidity, rest tremors and postural instability (1). Although the motor symptoms of Parkinsons disease are well defined, the non-motor features of this disorder are under-recognized and, consequently, undertreated. Non-motor symptoms and their management have been recognised by the UK National Institute for Clinical Excellence as an important unmet need in IPD (2). Results from a recent international survey show that up to 62% of non-motor symptoms of IPD, such as apathy, pain, sexual difficulties, bowel, urinary incontinence, and sleep disorders might remain undeclared to health-care professionals because patients are either embarrassed or unaware that the symptoms are linked to IPD (3). Results from early studies suggested that urinary dysfunction (UD) affects between 37% and 70% of individuals with IPD (4). However, many of these studies may have overestimated the prevalence of UD since they were published prior to the recognition of multiple system atrophy (MSA) as a separate disease entity. In addition, many studies recruited patients with symptomatic bladder dysfunction from tertiary referral centers. The use of non-validated questionnaires and the inclusion of patients with other forms of Parkinsonism such as cerebrovascular Parkinsonism may have led to further bias (5). More recent studies, using accepted diagnostic criteria for IPD, have found the prevalence of UD to be between 27% and 39%. When compared to a control group the relative risk of bladder symptoms in IPD is 2-fold (6). The aim of this work is to evaluate the urinary symptoms at different stages of IPD severity and its relation to urodynamic tests. Patients and methods: This study was conducted on 57 patients with probable IPD attending Urology and Neurology departments, Tanta University Hospital for evaluations of the lower urinary tract symptoms. ALL patients were subjected to, history taking including International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), physical examination and neurological examinations. IPD patients were stratified into 5 stages according to Hoehn Yahr disability stages (7). The IPSS questionnaire was administrated to each patient by one of us to help the patient understand the questionnaire. All men underwent digital rectal examinations and pelvic ultrasonography to exclude prostatic hyperplasia. Eight patients diagnosed with prostatic hyperplasia were excluded from the study. All patients (49 patients) were subjected to urodynamic studies. Statistical analysis: Data are presented as mean  ± SD. Analysis was performed with SPSS statistical package version 12 (SPSS, USA). For statistical purpose the disease severity stages were divided into mild (stages 1 and 2 HY), moderate (stage 3 HY) and severe (stages 4 and 5 HY). Results: Demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients; This study was carried on 49 patients with probable IPD, 31 male patients and 18 female patients, their age ranged from 56-73 years (mean 63.73 ±7.21 years).The duration of illness was 4-11 years (mean 7.81 ±3.27 years).According to Hoehn and Yaher classification of Parkinsons disease disability stage, we had 4,10,29,5,1 patients distributed into stages 1 to 5 respectively. The number of patients in stage 3 was higher than other stages; this may be due to few lower urinary symptoms in early stage of the disease and severe motor and psychiatric symptoms that affect daily life activities in advanced stages. Antiparkinsonian drugs received by the patients were levodopa (41patients), dopamine agonists (39 patients) and anticholinergics (24 patients). Lower urinary tract symptoms; The most frequent symptoms of lower urinary tract dysfunctions were symptoms due to storage disorder which include nocturia (77.5%), urgency (36.7%) and frequency (32.6%) (Table 1). The IPSS index scores; The total IPSS scores and irritative index scores were correlated significantly with disease severity while obstructive index scores did not (Table 2). Also, there was significant correlation between total IPSS score and quality of life score (Table 3). Urodynamic parameters; In this study, we found 33 (67.3%) patients with detrusor hyperreflexia, 6 (12.2%) patients with hyporeflexia, 10 (20.4%) patients with normal detrusor function (Table 4). Volume at initial desire to void and maximum bladder capacity (urodynamic parameters associated with filling phase) were correlated with disease severity while detrusor pressure and post-void residual urine(urodynamic parameters associated with voiding phase) did not (Table 5).There was significant correlation between irritative symptoms score index and volume at initial desire to void and maximum bladder capacity meanwhile the obstructive symptoms score index had no significant relations with any of urodynamic parameters (Table 6). Antiparkinsonian drugs; The patients were divided into 2 groups, one group was taking anticholinergic drugs (24 patients) plus Levodopa or dopamine agonists, the second group was taking Levodopa and dopamine agonists(25 patients). There was no significant difference between the 2 groups as regard the mean of urodynamic parameters (Table 7). Table 1. Frequency of the of lower urinary tract symptoms of IPD patients Symptoms Patients NO % Nocturia 38 77.5 Urgency 18 36.7 Frequency 16 32.6 Incomplete emptying 4 8.1 Intermittency 3 6.1 Weak stream 1 2 Table 2. Total, irritative, and obstructive symptom indexes of IPSS at each stage of disease severity Stages of disease severity No Pts Mean IPSS ±SD Irritative obstructive total Mild(stages 1,2) 14 6.3 ±2.1 1.4 ±1.2 7.6 ±2.4 Moderate(stage 3) 29 7.9 ±3.2 3.3 ±2.6 11.2 ±4.5 Severe(stages 4,5) 6 10.4 ±2.7 6.2 ±3.5 16.6 ±5.1 One-way ANOVA P =0.001 Table 3. Correlation between IPSS and Quality of life scores at different stages of disease severity Stages of disease severity Total I-PSS mean ±SD Quality of life score mean ±SD Mild (stages 1,2) 7.6 ±2.4 2.8 ±1.9 Moderate (stage 3) 11.2 ±4.5 3.7 ±1.4 Severe (stages 4,5) 16.6 ±5.1 5.2 ±1.1 One-way ANOVA P=0.003 Table 4. The frequency of urodynamic findings in IPD patients Stages of HY No. Pts Normal Hyperreflexia Hyporeflexia 1 4 3 1 0 2 10 3 7 0 3 29 4 20 5 4 5 0 4 1 5 1 0 1 0 Total No. (%) 49 10(20.4) 33(67.3) 6(12.2) Table 5. Urodynamic parameters at different stages of severity of IPD Stages of disease severity Volume at initial desire to void (mean ±SD)(ml.) Maximum bladder capacity (mean ±SD)(ml.) Maximum void phase. detrusor pressure (mean ±SD)(cm.water) Post-void residual urine volume. (mean ±SD)(ml.) Mild (14Pts) 115 ± 28 195 ± 60 55 ± 15 13 ± 12 Moderate (29Pts) 95 ± 25 191 ± 59 57 ± 20 20 ± 18 Severe (6Pts) 89 ± 20 184 ± 56 59 ± 25 22 ±20 One-way ANOVA P=0.006 Table 6. Correlation between urodynamic parameters and IPSS scores Urodynamic parameters Irritative score Obstructive score R P r P Initial void desire vol. 0.95 0.001 0.92 0.35 Max Bladder capacity 0.76 0.04 0.68 0.27 Detruser pressure 0.96 0.24 0.89 0.17 Post residual Urine Vol. 0.89 0.43 0.94 0.06 Table 7. Correlation between urodynamic parameters (storage phase parameters) and antiparkisonian drugs Urodynamic parameters Anticholinergic drug group N0=24 Non anticholinergic drug group No=25 P Initial void desire vol. 102 ±27 97 ±25 ≠¥0.05 Max Bladder capacity 192 ±58 188 ±56 ≠¥0.05 Discussion: Urinary dysfunction in IPD is most frequently caused byurinary storage problems, rather than voiding dysfunction, and manifest as an overactive bladder (8). In the current study, the most prevailing urinary symptom in IPD, was nocturia (up to 77.5%), followed by urgency (36.7%) and frequency (32.6%) and these results are going with previous studies (9, 10). These may lead to urinary incontinence, which may be in part functional if immobility or poor manual dexterity complicates the situation. Since many patients with IPD have a disturbed sleep pattern and nocturnal polyuria, the actual prevalence of definite nocturia may be overestimated (12). In this study, the most striking finding of bladder dysfunction in IPD patients is detrusor hyperreflexia, which is reported in 67.3% of symptomatic patients whereas detrusor hyporeflexia is reported in 12.2% of IPD patients and normal bladder function in 20.4%. Another study which evaluated voiding function in IPD found that 67% had detrusor hyperreflexia, 16% had hyporeflexia, 9% had detrusor hypereflexia with impaired contractile function, 3% had hyperreflexia with detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia and only 6% had normal detrusor functions (11). Dopaminergic mechanisms are thought to play a central role in normal micturition control and dysfunction of these may lead to detrusor overactivity. Dopaminergic neurons have both inhibitory and stimulatory effects on micturition acting via D1 and D2 receptors respectively. Such neurons are of particular abundance in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNC) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the midbrain. The most widely accepted theory is that the basal ganglia inhibits the micturition reflex in the ‘normal situation via D1 receptors, and that cell depletion in the SNC in IPD, results in loss of this D1-mediated inhibition and consequently detrusor overactivity (12). However, 12.2% of our patients had hyporeflexia which may be explained possibly by drugs especially anticholinergic and dopammiergic drugs which can inhibit bladder function and impairment of autonomic nervous system in advanced IPD. In this study, both pathological urodynamic parameters, volume at initial desire to void and maximum bladder capacity decreased with disease severity. These findings can be explained by detrusor hyperactivity. In contrast, other studies showed that post-void residual urine volume increased with disease severity (13, 14). This finding was not fully understood, but this was explained on the assumption that with advanced disease process, long standing hyperreflexia may eventually lead to impairment of bladder contractility together with the hypokinesia of pelvic floor muscles resulting in bladder outlet obstruction with consequent increase in post-void residual urine volume (13, 14). Others believe that they may be secondary to anticholinergics, obstructive uropathy, or point to the presence of multiple system atrophy (15). Because many IPD patients are on multiple drug therapy, which can inhibit bladder function, the current study, demonstrated that the mean of urodynamic parameters did not differ in patients who did or did not receive anticholinergics or dopaminergic drugs, which suggests that it is part of the IPD itself. These results are going with that of Araki et al. (11), who found no difference in the mean of urodynamic parameters among patients on different antiparkinsonian drugs (11). On the other hand, many studies showed conflicting results(16-18)that some suggest cortical dysfunction (18) or a possible implication of nondopaminergic lesions in the occurrence of bladder dysfunction in IPD (16). Lower urinary tract symptoms quantified by IPSS showed that irritative symptoms index score correlated with disease severity and with detrusor overactivity that was manifested urodynamically by decrease in volume at initial desire to void and maximum bladder capacity(storage phase) whereas the obstructive symptoms index score did not correlate with disease severity nor urodynamic parameters. In contrast, some other studies show that, irritative symptoms index score correlated with detrusor overactivity and obstructive symptoms index score correlated with voiding underactivity. Additionally, both irritative and obstructive symptom index scores increased with disease severity (13, 21).This discrepancy between the present study and other studies may be explained by fewer numbers of patients in advanced disease stage and the patients evaluated under multiple drugs therapy in advanced disease. In conclusion, most of the patients with IPD suffer from urological disorder; most commonly is detrusor hyperactivity which results in irritative urinary symptoms that correlate well with disease severity. These disabling symptoms significantly affect quality of life of IPD patients. References: 1-Clarke C. Parkinsons disease in practice. 2nd ed. London: Royal Society of Medicine Press Ltd; 2006 2-Chaudhuri KR, Healy D, Schapira AHV. The non motor symptoms of Parkinsons disease. Diagnosis and management. Lancet Neurol 2006; 5: 235-45. 3-Mitra T, Naidu Y, Martinez-Martin P, et al. The non declaration of non motor symptoms of Parkinsons disease to healthcare professionals. An international survey using the NMSQuest. 6th International Congress on Mental Dysfunctions and other Non-motor Features in Parkinsons disease and Related Disorders. Dresden October, 2008. Park Related DisordersP0II: 161. 4-Andersen J. Disturbances of bladder and urethral function in Parkinsons disease. International Urol and Nephrol 1985;17:35-41. 5.Blackett H, Walker R, Wood B. Urinary dysfunction in Parkinsons disease: a review. Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2009 Feb;15(2):81-7. 6- Hobson P, Islam W, Roberts S, Adhiyman V, Meara J. The risk of bladder and autonomic dysfunction in a community cohort of Parkinsons disease patients and normal controls. Parkinsonism Related Disorders 2003; 10:67-71. 7-Gelb DJ, Oliver E, Gilman S. Diagnostic criteria for Parkinson disease. Arch Neurol 1999;56:33-39. 8-Eckhardt MD, van Venrooij GE, Boon TA; Symptoms and quality of life versus age, prostate volume, and urodynamic parameters in 565 strictly selected men with lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Urology 2001 Apr; 57(4):695-700. 9-Hoehn MM, Yahr MD. Parkinsonism: onset, progression and mortality. Neurology 1967; 17: 427. 10-Defreitas GA, Lemack GE, Zimmern PE, Dewey RB, Roehrborn CG, OSuilleabhain PE. Distinguishing neurogenic from non-neurogenic detrusor overactivity: A urodynamic assessment of lower urinary tract symptoms in patients with and without Parkinsons disease. Urology2003 Oct;62(4):651-5. 11-Araki I, Kuno S. Assessment of voiding dysfunction in Parkinsons disease by the international prostate symptom score. J Neurol Neurosurg and Psych 2000;68:429-433. 12- Porter B, Walker R. The night time problems facing Parkinsons patients. CME J Geriat Med 2007;8:99-103. 13- Araki I, Kitahara M, Oida T, Kuno S. Voiding dysfunction and Parkinsons disease: urodynamic abnormalities and urinary symptoms. J Urol2000 Nov;164(5):1640-3. 14-Seki S, Igawa Y, Kaidoh K, Ishizuka O, Nishizawa O, Andersson KE. Role of dopamine D1 and D1 receptors in the micturition reflex in conscious rats. Neurourol Urody2001; 20:105-13. 15-Yoshimura N, Mizuta E, Yoshida O, Kuno S. Therapeutic effects of dopamine D1/D2 receptor agonists on detrusor hyperreflexia in MPTP lesioned parkinsonian cynomoglogous monkeys. J Pharmacol Exper Therap 1998;286(1):228-233. 16-Pavlakis AJ, Siroky MB, Goldstein I and Krane RJ. Neurourologic findings in Parkinsons disease. J Urol 1983; 129:80-83. 17-Stocchi F, Carbone A, Inghilleri, et al. Urodynamic and neurophysiological evaluation in Parkinsons disease and multiple systems atrophy. J Neurol Neurosurg Psych 1997;62:507-11. 18-Wing K, Werdelin L, Nielson K, Stimpel H. Effects of dopaminergic treatment on bladder function in Parkinsons disease. Neurourol Urodyn 2004;23:689-96. 19-Aranda B, Cramer P. Effects of apomorphine and L-dopa on the Parkinsonian bladder. Neurourol Urodyn 1993;12:203-209. 20-Christmas TJ, Chapple CR, Lees AJ, Kempster PA, Frankel JP, Stern GM. Role of subcutaneous apomorphine in parkinsonian voiding dysfunction. Lancet1988 Dec 24-31;2(8626-8627):1451-1453. 21- Dubow JS. Autonomic dysfunction in Parkinsons disease. Dis Mon 2007;53:265-274.

Franz Kafkas Judgement :: Kafka Judgement Essays

Franz Kafka's Judgement    This short story of Franz Kafka is really a challenging one to interpret but apparently there are some contextual clues that enables us to draw some logical conclusions out of the story. Firstly, we should handle this story in terms of human relationships; there are 3 kind of relationships represented in the story. The first is the relationship between George (the main character of the story) and his friend in Russia; the second is George's relationship with his fiancà ©e and the third is his relationship with his father. Each exposition of these relationships contradicts with the persons involved in. That is, while George is devoted to writing to a friend whom he hasn't seen for 3 years, he doesn't write about important events. George tracks himself as a lonely character throughout the story so he may be trying to share his loneliness with a friend, but he has his fiancà ©e near him as well. However, we aren't informed enough about how close their relationship is in th at they are engaged only for a month. Then, we witness an extraordinary relationship of a father and a son. George and his father are like strangers to one another partly because his father is like a brutal shadow on him limiting his life. Only after her mom is dead that his father becomes less aggressive and gives him chance at their family business to put forward new plans and expand the business.    Then we should handle the problem of the judgement. What kind of a judgemant is this? The judgement of the father to sentence his son to death or George's own judgement to free himself from the burden of such a restricted life with a dreadful and unloving father left behind after his mom's death though his life standards are high. Here, we should take a look at the characters in depth to better interpret the story. There is round characterization of George who is represented as the main figure in the story. He is a young merchant running a family business with his widowed father. He and his father must be living in a wealthy neighborhood as it says in the story that they live in a graceful house along the bank of a river with maids in it.

Power and Betrayal in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Essay

Scott Fitzgerald was a writer who desired his readers to be able to hear, feel, and see his work. He made it his goal to be able to make readers think and keep asking questions using imagery and symbolism. The Great Gatsby was not just about the changes that occurred during the Jazz Age, but it was also about America’s corrupted society which was full of betrayal and money-hungry citizens. It was the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg that overlooked all the corruption that occurred throughout the Valley of Ashes. It was the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg that serves as a symbol of higher power who witnesses everything from betrayal to chaos in Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. We encounter the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg in the valley of ashes, the desolated land between West Egg and New York. The vulgar eyes of Dr. Eckleburg have become something to intertwine with the Valley of Ashes to many critics and readers. The setting of where the billboard is located makes it seem as if it is not significant. However it is also the location of the billboard that explains how the eyes overlook both New York and West Egg since it is between it. The valley of ashes is exactly what its name sounds like. Scott Fitzgerald described it as: About half-way between West Egg and New York the motor road hastily joins the railroad and runs beside it for a quarter of a mile, so as to shrink away from a certain desolate area of land. This is a valley of ashes---a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens, where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air. Occasionally a line of grey cars cr... ...haracter percipient enough to comprehend Gatsby’s greatness and who rock pneumonia to pay homage to the man who has given them so much – not exoterically but esoterically.† (Savage 74) In other words, they both appreciated all the things they have received, learned, or gained from Gatsby. In return, they both were there for him through the end. Gatsby was more than the neighbor who was rich and threw parties, but he was also a friend†¦a human being. Work Cited Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2013. Print.