The Gathering Essay Example for Free

The Gathering Essay This essay is an analysis of the novel ‘The Gathering’ by Isobelle Carmody. The novel is about good and evil, inner struggle, human nature, conformity and individuality, friendship and cooperation. The main group character is Nathanial and he is in a teenager group, called ‘The Chain’. The people in the group are Nathanial, Nissa, Lallie, Seth, Danny and Indian. Nathanial is a new boy to the school because he and his mother have been moving frequently since his parents were divorced. Their house is in the seaside town of Cheshunt, but Nathanial doesn’t like it because it sits in the town’s bitter wind and abattoir stench, as the primary reasons. This essay will discuss how Isobelle Carcomdy successfully constructs Nathanial to represent a marginalised teenager who the reader feels sympathy for. Nathanial is 15 years old. He and his mother move to Cheshunt and he goes to the Three North School, where it is the most evil things were has taken place. He likes ‘The Chain’ member Nissa. He is trying to find the idea of fighting the darkness and ‘The Circle’ are praising witchcraft however he feels so isolated and lonely in the new school he is happy to join. Nissa, she is hardened and guarded wild orphan girl because her heart broken as a young girl of her desirable mother’s many boyfriends, she become claim to be in love with her and then rejected and humiliate her, on page 182 she said ‘ I made a vow to myself then, that I’d never love anyone again. Not like that. From then on, I relied on nobody and took care of myself. She get viciously and emotionally damaged and never let anybody remotely attached to her. In the story she is the sword of the strength. Frank, his name is Indian, he is a young man with a pony tail, page 158 he said ‘I don’t fight back because I deserve to be hurt. It is because of Jenny. That’s my punishment. ’ Before he bears over the brain damage his younger sister many years ago, so he is the bowl of healing. Seth, he is the least central member of the Chain he is a hopeless alcoholic and emotionally weak in chapter 18 he is unrequitedly in love with Nissa, he is attempts to commit suicide, he is the eye seeks. Seth’s father is the head of the Cheshunt Police Division and reports to Mr. Karle. Seth is not the same side and the power with his father and join the Dark but at the last minute redeems himself and forgiveness of the chain. To conclude, this essay has discussed Isobelle Carmody is a person who wrote the reality war, it set the time and place are real in the novel it discussed what is good and evil, like Nathanial he make this character successful because it brings out when he moved to another new place and have a good start with evil versus good but he never give up and try to learn many things with other people.

Impact of Globalization on International Conflicts

Impact of Globalization on International Conflicts Introduction Globalization is a process that relies upon strategies internationally with the aim of expanding business operations on the face of the world. This is with the help of global communications, which have been made possible due to advancements in technology, developments in the political front, socioeconomic, and the environment. Another definition to globalization is cross-border interactions being intensified and countries depending on one another. This definition shades light on how the international system has changed. Relationships have changed in individual states due to depending on one another and whatever events are ongoing outside their boundaries are more likely to have an impact within their territories. In this paper, we shall look at the conflicts and how different nations are embracing globalization to help root out these conflicts, (Holm and SÃ ¸rensen, 1995).[1] Global change is a rapid process and it is hard to keep track of the new and many developments. Nevertheless, trends are observable and they all add up to globalization. Currently, there is a contradiction in globalization being in full force and the global governance processes that are in existence have insufficient power, the scope and an authority, which ensures that a certain direction is followed, as well as regulations that all lead to beneficial results for all parties involved. Thus, more often than not, globalization does not offer equal effects and it is disruptive. New challenges also have rose in institutions (the public ones), which become less autonomous and are weak in their support. The process of globalization is turbulent, as analysts have found out. In addition, it may be touted as representing a rational economy, however, there is a dark side to it. Critics have always brought out the side of globalization that runs soley on economic power. In addition, it favors the western cultures and their corporations, which puts a lot of communities and jobs at risk. Rich countries have an exploitative nature; they harness cheap labor from countries that are poorer. This creates threats to the environment and does not uphold the principles of democracy and/or social stability. This is through plunging political institutions of the nation into unavoidable forces of change in the economy. Moreover, quite a volume of essays highlight that globalization is uneven, (Holm and SÃ ¸rensen, 1995). This can be analyzed in terms of its processes as well as its effects. It results in concentrations and deprivations which, on average, encompass a well defined structure of power. Globalization creates conflicts, which, on one end, focus on cultural issues as well as identity, and on the other, the issues are primarily economic. From historical archives, social change can be closely associated with the ever-rising levels of conflict. Sorokin did a study, which explored this, largely, (1937: 409-475). His study encompassed twelve countries and it showed to what extent what he refers to as social strife was at its greatest in eras when a certain society was involved in a change that was significant (for example, religion). Such a moment of change is transitional and it cannot pass by without it being muddled in conflicts of values and interests. There is also the paradox of reflectivity. Analysts say that increased reflectivity comes from effects of rapid changes. These changes emanate from societies from all over the world. These rapid changes in turn contribute to incidences of conflict. There is also the effect of globalization in terms of identity. Basically, globalization seeks to homogenize people but it is also a fact that it increases social heterogeneity as an awareness. There are quite a number of groups whose identity rests upon race and ethnicity, religion, and language. These groups have used media in a global sense to voice their discontent. At the end of cold war, ethnic revival was unleashed. It goes without saying that cold war was a conflict [2]among states and it propagated the primal need for a national identity in a worldwide society. During the 1990s, this notion was weakened by globalization. It was less effective in ensuring that people complied or being able to integrate a society nationwide. This means that minorities are better off in reasserting their identity in reference to cultural forces of hegemony. These minorities therefore identify the state as not being a reliable promoter and protector of their interests (which are domestic in natu re). They see the state as collaborating more with external forces (Scholte, 1997). Therefore, in the 1990s, we can argue that conflict is not primarily found between and among states, but rather, the state and its groups. In this case, we can comfortably say that globalization has helped root out conflicts between states but resulted in creating conflicts within the state itself. In the economic world, globalization compels businesses to embrace diverse strategies in relation to the new trend of ideas so as to bring on average the rights and interests of a person and the entire community. This makes the businesses have a competitive front in the world. This also gives business leaders, management, and labor a significant change. This is through accepting the contribution of workers and that of the government so that company strategies and policies are developed and implemented. In this case, globalization has reduced conflicts. It enables companies from different countries to share ideas, transact business together, make dealerships, et al. however, it should be noted that some companies may decide to undertake competition. Either way, it is healthy. Businesses will be motivated to embrace new ideas, strategies, and policies. The reduction of risks can be done through diversification. Companies will be involved with financial institutions internationally and thus making partnerships with businesses locally and with other nations. The process of globalization also increases the dire need for knowledge on the differences of culture between countries as well as the culture of the corporate world. Employers from time to time send their experts to other countries so that they can build subsidiaries and/or support the ones that are already in existence, (Beaverstock, 2012). For a successful subsidiary, language skills are fundamental, so are the influences of the sub culture, the styles of communications of which they are different, societal behaviors. This points out to the fact that in terms of economy, globalization does not create a conflict, it deals away with any conflict that is present. In the economic front, there is what Schumpeter refers to as ‘creative destruction’, (1942: 84). Firms are catapulted into innovation because of competition; surely, a firm cannot just look at its competitors embracing new ideas while it is just stagnant. Innovation here involves both products and the process of production. On the other hand, industries and regions can undergo destruction or marginalization. This is because competitors may become more innovative in a certain area and take lead. In an economy, that has become globalized, national boundaries and distances have diminished, (Ake, 1995: 26). This is because the many obstacles have been done away with thus ensuring market access. Cost of transaction has been reduced significantly as well as the time [3]and distance being compressed and this refers to the international transactions. Several changes have been brought about by globalization. They include trade dynamics, flow of capital, and technology transfer. Markets and production present in different countries have made these countries depend on one another. International competition, as said earlier, is increasing in intensity and in turn increases the strategic interactions across the border. This further makes the various business enterprises to organize and structure themselves into transnational networks. Globalization is characterized by increasing interdependence on various levels. For example, foreign direct investment goes hand in hand with technology t ransfer and the knowhow. It also includes the flow of capital, which is in form of international loans, equity, profit repatriation, et al. this facilitates the export of goods and services from countries that are investing. In this case, also, globalization has brought countries together to a united economic front. The aim is to develop interdependent business across different countries. It is due to globalization that we have trade blocs, (Sorensen, 2004). Members in the same block undertake transactions as it were within their national boundaries. However, we can note that the countries outside this trade bloc suffer from what is called trade diversion. This country will not be able to get the benefits the countries within the bloc are getting. It is from this trade ties that conflicts arise. A country may feel sidelined and thus any ties to the countries in the trade bloc may be severed. Conclusion Globalization by definition is a process, which relies on international strategies while aiming to expand businesses globally. The goal of globalization in this case is to give organizations an upper hand in competition through lowering costs, increased number of products as well as services and customers. Globalization has an hand in conflict creation as well as conflict resolution. In the economic arena, globalization has unified various economies and countries. International trade is now a possibility and countries depend on one another. Cross border costs when conducting trade have been lifted and transport and communication between countries conducting trade have been improved. Borrowing of ideas for implementation in other countries has also resulted because of globalization. New businesses have been started in other countries and this is because there are set policies and strategies. In addition, for businesses to be global, knowledge and language skills come in handy to under standing a foreign market and knowing the consumer needs. Globalization also enhances cultural diversity. People from different ethnic groups, big and small, have a worldwide audience for their cultural values and beliefs. Lastly, international trade may be facilitated by globalization, however, due to the emergence of trade blocs, some countries are left out. This is trade diversion and it may create a conflict between countries in a trade bloc and those without. This means, therefore, that globalization increases and reduces conflicts in the international system at the same time. However, the larger part it plays is to reduce conflicts or resolve them. Reference List Ake, C. 1995. The new world order: a view from Africa. In Holm, Hans-Henrik and SÃ ¸rensen, Georg Eds., Whose World Order: Uneven Globalization and the End of the Cold War, Boulder: West view. Beaverstock, J. V. (2012). Highly skilles international labour migration and worldcities:expatriates, executives and entrepreneurs. In B. Derruder, M. Hoyler, P. J. Taylor, F.Witlox, International Handbook of Globalisation and World cities (pp. 240-249). Cheltenham, Uk: Edward Elgar Publication Ltd. Scholte, Jan Aart. 1997. constructions of collective identity in a time of globalisation.http://nexxus.com.cwru.edu/amjdc/papers/76. Schumpeter, Joseph. 1942. Capitalism, socialism and democracy. New York: Harper. Sorensen, G. (2004).The transformation of the state – beyond the myth of retreat;Palgrave Macmillan. Sorokin, P.A. 1937. Social and cultural dynamics, vol III, fluctuations of social relationships, war and revolution. New York: America Books Co. Holm, Hans-Henrik and Georg SÃ ¸rensen. 1995. Introduction: what has changed. In Holm and SÃ ¸rensen, Whose World Order: Uneven Globalization and the End of the Cold War. Boulder: West view. [1] Holm, Hans-Henrik and Georg SÃ ¸rensen. 1995. Introduction: what has changed. In Holm and SÃ ¸rensen, Whose World Order: Uneven Globalization and the End of the Cold War. Boulder: West view. [2] Sorokin, P.A. 1937. Social and cultural dynamics, Vol. III, fluctuations of social relationships, war and revolution. New York: America Books Co. Scholte, Jan Aart. 1997. Constructions of collective identity in a time of globalization.http://nexxus.com.cwru.edu/amjdc/papers/76. [3] Sorensen, G. (2004).The transformation of the state – beyond the myth of retreat;Palgrave Macmillan

digital divide :: essays research papers fc

In this new era of booming technology and endless possibilities of what cyber space brings to our fingertips, leads us to question whether it depresses our economic and social stature. Over half the United States is now enjoying the online capabilities , while millions of people all over the world join the online community every year. With many businesses and schools relying on the Internet, it is important as basic phone service. Cell phones, computers, and plasma televisions are all taking us forward. But is this not a wellness for our society?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First, we must look at the importance the Internet means for the industrializing and developing society. Technology is definitely a boost to an economy in any nation. In a society that lacks the skills of technological advances, might leap the country economically. With the Internet, nations who weren’t well educated or behind in knowledge will greatly improve with the added IT. Whether it is medical, political, or social countries will profit from the technology. The Internet Age is growing; I believe you will see more unity between nations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In many ways we are tying to break the digital divide in our own nation. In February 2000, President Clinton proposed a new plan to help bridge the digital divide. Offering two billion dollar tax break to private companies, new teacher IT training programs, and Community Technology Centers in low-income neighborhoods . I believe the digital divide will fade over time. Technology will adapt to society not the other way around. The Internet is going the same route that telephones and television went. The Westernized cultures are breaking the digital divide every day. Nevertheless in countries not well educated the bridge will be harder to break driven issues such as poverty. Technology is propelling us into a new age of information.

Pip in Charles Dickens Great Expectations Essay example -- Great Expec

Pip in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations After reading the compelling ‘Great Expectations’ by the famous writer Charles Dickens, I can gather that it is based upon his own psychological insight to life. He makes connections in relation to a specific character or event in the storyline, which were critical in his own expectations. Also Dickens moulds his selection of characters very well into the desired settings he’d created, that matched what he knew only too well throughout his childhood. ‘Great Expectations’ not only satires the issues of Victorian society, yet centres on the rites of passage that marks an important change in a person’s life. Dickens’ issue of contentment is something that concerns many human beings; this is what Pip wants most. However he never really accomplishes this until the closing stages of the book. So what exactly is contentment? The dictionary defines it as a ‘peace of mind’, where the person is ‘satisfied with things as they are.’ Therefore contentment means to be happy and in Pip’s case, happy with his life. The purpose of ‘Great Expectations’ is how contentment is achieved, with it being linked to Jeremy Bentham’s answer of this. Bentham was a well-known philosopher and he said: ‘humans strive to achieve self-fulfilment through the seeking of pleasure and the avoidance of pain.’ Dickens relates this to Pip, in the sense that Pip wants to become a gentleman, who need not work and who can avoid the certain stresses of life. Dickens’ early life is reflected by his main character in the novel. Through Pip, he presents a young and innocent boy, who changes his aspirations whilst growing up. Pip is often indirected by the themes of identity, love, money and class when ... ...elates Pip’s struggles to the ones he faced in his own life, in order to achieve contentment such as family problems, debt and education. Problems like these are overcome by sticking to a moral set of values, dispelling all the materialistic values which in the end leave a person unhappy. There is a clear message in the novel that the best way to achieve contentment is to live your life and learn from the positive and negative experiences of it. You must listen to the people who are close to you and their advice that they give, because this was one of Pip’s downfalls. Even though ‘Great Expectations’ was written almost two centuries ago; we as readers know how to achieve contentment with our own lives, by controlling and getting rid of our fantasies and phobias whilst being aware that wealth and higher class doesn’t necessarily mean a better way of life.

Solutions to the Cape Town electricity cost problem

Introduction It is a known fact that the cost of electricity is incising at a dramatic graduated table. The City of Cape Town Electricity Department anticipates that the monetary value of electricity would hold perchance quadrupled ( 415 % ) between 2006/2007-2015/2016 ( City of Cape Town 2014 ) . At the minute electricity is traveling up by an norm of 19 % a twelvemonth ( South African Tourism, 2014 ) . Therefore salvaging electricity isn’t merely a sort act to maintain the universe viridity but instead assist one salvage their difficult earned Rands. The money which is being saved can besides be put towards medium and long term ends in assisting one save electricity. A few simple actions is all it can take to cut down the sum of electricity you use. After roll uping a spider graph, our extended research on current ingestion of 10, The Mills, was legible and easy to see what contraptions contributed the most to our electricity measure. These contraptions were chiefly found within the kitchen ( electric refrigerator, range and boiler ) as the level consists of 3 people who all cook separately for themselves. The other chief subscriber is the geyser. A list of betterments have been written up ordered in short term which for a pupil would be the imitate and free alterations they can do to their life manner, along with medium and long term alterations that can assist better their electricity ingestion.Short term investing Internet Explorer. The no cost optionAll these options listed below are immediate short term declarations that involve R0 but are simply a simple behavior alteration. Many geysers are set to the temperature of 70Â ° Celsius ; nevertheless one can turn the temperature of the geyser down to 60Â ° Celsius and still bask a nice hot shower and at the same clip salvage 5 % on your electricity measure ( City of Cape Town, 2014 ) . By cut downing the temperature less energy ( electricity ) is consumed. Turning the geyser off during the twenty-four hours when you are non at place besides helps salvage electricity ( Jones, 2012:4 ) . Using less hot H2O can besides assist cut down electricity ingestion, for illustration taking short showers alternatively of bathing. Fill the boiler with the right sum of H2O needed ( State of California, 2013 ) . This may be seen as a surprise to many but use the dish washer and allow the dishes air dry alternatively of rinsing dishes by manus ( City of Cape Town, 2014 ) . However for this to be effectual the dish washer must be filled to its maximal capacity. Last use cold H2O where possible when making the wash, the lavation machine uses 90 % of its energy heating the H2O, by rinsing your apparels at 30-40Â °C one can salvage 4 % ( uSwitch, 2014 ) . Be a speedy chef and utilize the microwave for cooking alternatively of the range or oven as it uses about two-thirds less energy than the range ( State of California, 2013 ) . However if one must utilize the oven, cook a few repasts to acquire the most out of holding your oven on and if the range must be used, fit the pot size to the right home base on the range ( Grosvendor, 2012:25 ) . Filling up the electric refrigerator can besides assist one save electricity for holding the electric refrigerator full keeps the electric refrigerator from warming up excessively fast when the door is opened, leting the electric refrigerator to work less to maintain cool ( uSwitch, 2014 ) . If you are still utilizing the normal incandescent bulbs, exchange the visible radiations off when you leave the room. Switch over the Wi-Fi router off when it is non, hence at dark and when you leave for work in the forenoon. In standby manner contraptions can frequently pull up to 20 % of electricity therefore it is best advised to exchanging contraptions and equipment away at the wall ( City of Cape Town 2014 ) . One can salvage a batch more electricity by making this instead than go forthing contraption on standby manner which we frequently do. If you are up to re puting linear redstem storksbills and dismaies everyday so an option is turning off designated stopper switches on the chief switch board. This will assist you save electricity as no contraptions will be on standby or pulling unneeded energy.Medium term investings ( under R1000 )A good start would be to put in efficient illuming. Replacing all the old incandescent bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Lamps ( CFLs ) can assist salvage electricity as they use 75 % less power ( City of Cape Town 2014 ) . LEDs are even more effectual and efficient than CFLs and last 130 times longer ( Jones, 2012:16 ) . However they are more expensive. There is still t he option of turning visible radiations of when you exit the room to assist salvage electricity. Receiving hot H2O consumes 40 % of the electrical measure at the terminal of every month ( The SEO Company, 2014 ) . Within an hr a geysers temperature will drop 1Â °C and energy is invariably needed to reheat the geysers H2O ( City of Cape Town 2014 ) . On mean the geyser turns on 25-30 times a twenty-four hours to keep its original heat ( The SEO Company, 2014 ) . A average term investing can be insulating the geyser with a geyser cover along with 3meters of the geysers plumbing pipes. By insulating the geyser heat loss through the steel shell is reduced, the hot H2O is kept hotter for longer ( Grosvendor, 2012:35 ) . This consequences in the geyser non turning on every bit often as it would to heat H2O up. By put ining a geyser cover the energy usage can be reduced to about half of its old ingestion. Installing an efficient shower caput can besides assist cut down electricity costs. By cut downing the sum of hot H2O needed for a shower, money can be saved by necessitating less electricity to heat up the H2O ( The SEO Company, 2014 ) . By looking at this tabular array it is apparent that a shower caput can cut down electricity ingestion.Ordinary Shower HeadFlow RateWater Savings LitresElectricity SavingsskWhMonetary SavingssRands15 liters per minute37 800873R 887.8018 liters per minute45 3601 053R 1 053.3620 liters per minute50 4001 170R 1 170.40Formulated by utilizing info given on: The SEO Company 2014. Salvaging energy.SEO. [ Online ] . Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //savingenergy.co.za/saving. [ 25 February 2014 ] .Long term investingsInstalling a geyser timer can assist cut down electricity ingestion on the geyser. The simple device is programmed by you which controls the clip in which the geyser turns on and off ( The SEO Company, 2014 ) . As antecedently mentioned the geyser turns on every clip it needs to set to its original heat or eat H2O up. The timer is designed to command the geysers behaviours. The geyser can be set to be turned off during the dark and come back on during the early hours of the forenoon and back off when everyone is at work and out the house. Installing dual glazing on Windowss can assist cut up to 50 % of heat loss ; this will assist in winter as one can cut down the sum of electrical warming contraptions that consume a batch of electricity ( U.S Department of Energy 2014 ) . Replacing electrical kitchen contraption with gas contraptions ( gas range, oven and kettle ) could be an alternate to cut down electricity ingestion. A heat pump is a device that uses a little sum of energy to travel heat from one location to another. They are by and large used to draw heat out of the land or air to heat up a house ( The SEO Company, 2014 ) . The procedure can besides be reversed and alternatively of warming, it can assist chill the house. A heat pump besides offers one a manner to utilize electricity expeditiously when heating H2O. Installing a solar geyser or solar panels for the house can assist cut down 1s electricity measure along with all the above accommodations ( Oxlade, 2013:28 ) . Fun and Freaky Facts:City of Cape Town, 2014 Leaving a computing machine proctor on nightlong can blow every bit much energy as doing 800 A4 photocopies. Overfilling an electric boiler can blow adequate energy to run a Television set for 26 hours. Lighting an empty life room or bed room overnight, can blow adequate energy to do 1000 cups of tea. Televisions, DVD machines, Laptops, computing machine and picture machines left on ‘Stand-By’ continue to utilize at least half the sum of electricity they use when they are turned on. Mentions: City of Cape Town 2014. Energy salvaging tips.City of Cape Town. [ Online ] . Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.capetown.gov.za/en/EnvironmentalResourceManagement/tips/Pages/EnergySavingTips.aspx. [ 25 February 2014 ] . City of Cape Town 2014. Exceed 10 best ways to salvage electricity.City of Cape Town. [ Online ] . Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.capetown.gov.za/EN/ENVIRONMENTALRESOURCEMANAGEMENT/ENERGYEFFICIENCY/Pages/Top10BestWaysToSaveElectricity.aspx. [ 25 February 2014 ] . Grosvendor, M. 2012.Energy-Saving Tips For Dummie.America: John Wiley & A ; Sons. Jones, E. 2012.Energy Saving Tips. London: Amazon Oxlade, C. 2013.Electricity. London: Raintree. South African Tourism 2014. Electricity. South Africa Inspiring New Things. [ Online ] . Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.southafrica.net/za/en/travel-tips/entry/travel-tip-electricity. [ 25 February 2014 ] . State Government of Victoria 2014. Exceed 10 ways to salvage power. Switch over on. [ Online ] . Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.switchon.vic.gov.au/how-can-i-take-charge-of-my-power-bill/top-10-ways-to-save-power. [ 25 February 2014 ] . State of California 2013. Summer Time Energy-Saving Tips.Consumer Energy Centre. [ Online ] . Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.consumerenergycenter.org/tips/summer.html. [ 25 February 2014 ] . The International Energy Agency. 2005.Salvaging Electricity in a Hurry: Covering with Temporary Shortfalls in Electricity Supplies. America: OECD Publishing. The SEO Company 2014. Salvaging energy.SEO. [ Online ] . Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //savingenergy.co.za/saving. [ 25 February 2014 ] . U.S Department of Energy 2014. Energy Savers Guide: Tips on Salvaging Money and Energy at Home.U.S Department of Energy.[ Online ] . Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //energy.gov/energysaver/articles/energy-savers-guide-tips-saving-money-and-energy-home. [ 25 February 2014 ] . uSwitch 2014. 19 free energy salvaging tips. uSwitch. [ Online ] . Available: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.uswitch.com/energy-saving/guides/free-energy-saving-tips/ . [ 25 February 2014 ] .

Recent Corporate Scandals in Malaysia Essay

Air-freight firm Transmile Group Berhad hit the business news headline for the wrong reason in 2007. The share price suffered turbulence when it was revealed that auditors of Deloitte & Touche were unable to substantiate the accounts of year 2006. The fraud was discovered after a special audit conducted by Moores Rowland Risk Management Sdn. Bhd. , stating that the company has been overstating its revenue between the periods of 2005-2007 to reduce the net loss shown in its financial statements and total overstatement being RM 530 million. Transmile had recorded revenues which were actually companies that were set up by its former CEO Gan Boon Aun. Share price plummeted from its RM14. 40 high to just RM0. 37 as of 2nd of September, wiping out RM 1. 2 billion gains of the last two years in its market capitalisation. The company is now classified as a PN-17 status company, given to companies that are under financial distress. The current board of directors has now filed a writ of summons and statement of claim in the Kuala Lumpur High Court against its former CEO. Next to the Transmile fiasco is the government funded regional industrial park called Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ). Initially, the project was to be modelled after the successful Dubai-based Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) which offered extensive manufacturing and distribution facilities. The scandal began when the project had cost overruns of up to RM3. 5 billion and the land where the PKFZ is built on was bought over from another private company owned by a politician at an exorbitant amount. Jafza was responsible to manage PKFZ pulled out, citing â€Å"strategic purposes† as a reason, but following after, a local daily newspaper soon uncovered that Jafza pulled out due to red tape, political interference and many other reasons. The Malaysian Government then engaged the services of PriceWaterhouseCoopers to conduct an independent audit on PKFZ and its findings led to the arrest of Datin Paduka O. C. Phang, former Port Klang Authority general manager and several other politicians by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. As seen in two cases above, corporate scandals have managed to delude its way around many watchful eyes, mainly due to existence of agency conflict whereby insufficient actions were taken to ensure transparent reporting. In Transmile’s scandal it is obvious that there is manipulation of related party transactions by former CEO Gan Boon Aun and clearly involved conflict of interest intended to be concealed by falsifying records. Related party transactions refer to the expropriation of the company’s assets by controlling shareholders or insiders resulting in impact on corporate governance and minority shareholders, whereby the company receives less net benefit from a related party transaction than could have been obtained from a transaction with an unrelated similitude. On the other hand, PKFZ similarly involved related party transactions and asset shifting, leading to personal gains and political pressure. Jafza’s initial transactions and then pulling out was a series of actions evidently pertain the existence of motives against the interest of the company. The poor financial management by directors vitally contributed to the leeway for fraud, as management should strongly reinforce company regulations on reporting transparency. Distinctive lack of corporate governance resulted in these occurrence of fraud. Due to the absence of such, there are lack of rules and processes or laws by which the company should have abided as to assure veracious operation, regulation and control of business. Weak corporate governance allowed unmonitored transactions leading to personal gains at the expense of the company’s interest, along with unenforced proper disclosure of conflict of interest. The absence of good corporate governance allows the tolerance of corporate abuses hence possibility of fraud to occur should be effaced by imposition of laws and regulations to enforce corporate governance.

Choice and Real Life Product Essay

Abstract: In the lab that was conducted, students were supposed to examine the tendencies of fruit flies, specifically Drosophila’s, to move toward or away from important stimuli that aide in their survival, also known as taxis. Another objective for this lab was to identify the patterns and relationships between environmental factors and a living organism. Students are supposed to use two bottles to allow the flies to choose which side they want to go to, depending on what substances they are attracted to more. Fruit flies are not attracted to fruits; rather they are attracted to the rotting fruit. Problem: In this lab, students are studying the behavior of animals, ethology, and the factors that contribute to the way they behave. Do certain environmental factors behave as a stimulus to animals? Hypothesis: If the fruit flies were given choices on which substance they are most attracted to, they there wouldn’t be any preference to any over the other. Materials & Procedures: Material: In this experiment, the we used: tape, 2 water bottles, scissors, 6 different cotton balls, 1 chamber, about 20 fruit flies, water, lime water, banana, vanilla extract, and ammonia. Procedure: Cut the bottom ends off of two water bottles, and tape them together. I labeled each cap with letter â€Å"A† and â€Å"B.† I then inserted the fruit flies in through one end. For each new substance, we dropped a few drops of it onto the cotton balls. We observed the fruit flies for about 5 minutes, undisturbed, and then counted the flies at each end. We repeated these stepped for each new substance being exposed to the flies. Data/Results Table 1. Fruit Fly Choices |Trail 1 |Trail 2 |Trail 3 |Trail 4 | Limewater |Water |Ammonia |Limewater |Vanilla |Banana |Limewater |Banana | |13 |1 |0 |3 |7 |13 |5 |20 | | Questions: 1. Did the flies demonstrate a chemotaxis in relation to any of the substances you chose? Be specific. Chemotaxis is a movement in response to the presence of a chemical stimulus. The flies demonstrated a chemotaxis to the vanilla, lime water, and banana. For each trail, the flies either went one way or the other in response to the substance they preferred. 2. Which substances had the greatest positive and negative chemotactic response? Through the trailing, it is evident that some of the substances had positive and negative responses. In this lab that was conducted, the vanilla extract and banana had the strongest positive responses, while ammonia and water had the most negative responses. Ammonia killed all of the fruit flies that were inside the choice chambers. 3. Describe some possible reason for their preferences? Some possible reasons for their preferences are that they mostly are, however, attracted to fruit. Most of them like the smell of the fruit, and in this case the banana because it rots quickly. 4. What other factors might affect whether or not the fruit flies moved from one part of your choice chamber to another? 5. How can you apply this lab to a real world setting? How might fruit fly preference translate to a real life product? This lab can be  applied to the real world setting not only shown through fruit flies, but also with humans. The fruit fly preference can translate to a real life product by, for say in a restaurant they wouldn’t stay where the ketchups or what have it, but it would be near the garbage area devouring over the rotting food. Conclusion: From this experiment, the behaviors of fruit flies were observed and investigated. Through the sampling of different substance in the choice chambers, it was found that the flies found the banana more desirable than the others and moved towards that side more quickly. This proved the hypothesis that was stated was incorrect. Although, we did make an error; in the trail with ammonia, we added a prodigious amount, which therefore led to the mass killing of the fruit flies causing us to use new ones for the other substances.