Nature or nurture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nature or support - Essay Example In spite of the fact that at present, established researchers has steered the result towards ‘nature’, a continuous discussion contends that condition is the fundamental factor impacting sexual orientation personalities of individuals. This end is drawn from crafted by Michael Kimmel, a humanist who educates at the University of New York at Stony Brook. Aside from having composed on sexual orientation all in all and men specifically, in â€Å"‘Bros before Hos’: The Guy Code†, Kimmel manages issues of manliness. He accepts that youngsters are associated into their gatherings and addition thoughts of manliness from the environmental factors around them. Studies which have been directed by James O’Neill, formative therapist at the University of Connecticut and social analyst, Joseph Pleck have demonstrated how little the mingling impacts on young men have changed throughout the years. Kimmel calls attention to how men fit in with masculizing impac ts and saw manly conduct since they are on edge to make sure about the endorsement of other men. In the expressions of writer David Mamet, ladies are seen have such a â€Å"low place on the social stepping stool of this nation that its pointless to characterize yourself regarding a woman†. Young men will in general relate to their dads and more established male friends and receive standards of conduct viewed as â€Å"masculine† so as to win the endorsement of other men. Freud has advanced the view that a basic piece of the way toward characterizing male sex distinguish is the partition of a kid from his mom and close recognizable proof with his dad. Manliness is subsequently accomplished through â€Å"repudiation, disassociation and afterward identification.† To help this contention, therapists, for example, Michael Thompson, James Gabarrino and Dan Kindlon likewise repeat that a culture of mercilessness is made wherein little fellows are effectively disheartene d from crying or indicating their feelings. Applying Pollack’s sees, a little fellow would be pushed through the impacts from different guys in his general condition to effectively build up the â€Å"mask of manliness, which is basically an aloof, apathetic front wherein denying their own passionate needs shapes a basic piece of confining of sexual orientation personality of the young men. Interestingly with Kimmel, Hanna Rosin is less sure about the effect of mingling impacts and the earth on the advancement of sexual orientation personality. In the â€Å"A Boy’ Life†, Rosin focuses to the way that the troubles transgender kids understanding, seem to have been exacerbated by parental guilty pleasure. These kids take on pretending at an early age †ordinarily the job of the other gender †and persevere with it. The essayist likewise maps the ongoing distraction with science in the zone of human personality and the hypotheses of sexual orientation as a s ocial develop. Both Rosin and Kimmel offer an upsetting perspective on the inspiration of companions, guardians, networks and experts. These individuals engaged with the exchange of sex characters, in which a blend of dread of dismissal, a requirement for commonality and friend endorsement, and expert aspiration prompts a resolute thought. Guardians, driven by dread of their children’s dismissal by society and steady social assertion

Controversy Analysis, fracking, air pollution, gasland, Essay

Contention Analysis, fracking, air contamination, gasland, - Essay Example Also, because of the mischief and harm to the condition that fracking infers, it will be the proposal of this creator that fracking ought to at last be suspended until a methods for asset extraction that isn't so horrendously harming to the earth is found. Fracking itself is a procedure whereby a liquid is infused underneath the surface layer of rock and silt to pressurize fundamental locales of rocks to make gaps inside these layers with the goal that the caught stores of oil or flammable gas may discover their way into pockets and in this manner be extricated through traditional methods (Rijke 14). As was examined in Gasland, because of the way that boring another well so as to tap pockets of assets is wasteful and unsafe to the earth, numerous asset extraction specialists have gone to fracking as a speedy method to help solidify a locales gas/oil assets and make these agreeable to quick and rather effortless extraction process. The procedure itself does anyway have its exceptional downsides (Clean Air and Natural Gas 1). These one of a kind disadvantages will obviously be connected in further detail the procedure areas of this examination. One of the primary disadvantages to fracking, that was referenced in Gasland is obviously the natural impacts that fracking involves. In spite of the fact that there is a significant level of contradiction on the real ecological harm that fracking causes, it tends to be comprehended that paying little mind to one’s specific perspective on the circumstance fracking can possibly release any of a large group of negative natural externalities (Adgate 81) Some of these include: ill-advised removal of waste water, generally trustworthiness of pipeline framework and danger of victories due to over weight, influences of having liquid water invade various layers of subsurface stone and dregs and subsequently diffuse through these polluting until now immaculate examples with key components and contaminants from the other subs urface sedimentary layers, and the drawn out impacts to wellbeing and security of the drinking water gracefully because of the procedure itself (Weinhold 278). Since this procedure itself is exceptionally harming to the neighborhood condition, various adversaries, this creator notwithstanding, have raised their voice with respect to looking to suspend the procedure uncertainly (The Case for a Ban on Fracking 1). This comprehension doesn't involve a helpful degree of concurrence with the narrative film Gasland; rather it is comprehended in this specific way because of the host of contrary ramifications that it involves for the earth just as the soundness of the individuals influenced by it. Because of the issues that have been recorded above in this investigation just as the way that so little is as yet known in regards to the drawn out outcomes that fracking essentially involves, it is to the greatest advantage of all required to try to carry such a training to an untimely end as a methods for rescuing what is left of our delicate condition and biological systems (Porter 1). All things considered, the peruser can rapidly deduce that the procedure of fracking likely involves

Residence Hall Life Versus Apartment Life

Residence Hall Life Versus Apartment Life When you are a Freshman in college, all you want is to live in an apartment. Once you live in an apartment, all you want are free meals and dorm necessities. There are definitely pros and cons to both dorm and apartment living. So, before you sign your lease for next Fall, lets talk about it. Meals in the Residence Halls Cooking your own dinner is the best way to feel like you are adulting. But believe me, paying for groceries, taking the time to prepare the meal, and having to do dishes after gets old. In the residence halls, your meals are paid for in advance, prepared for you, and your dishes magically do themselves. This is definitely one of the biggest pros to residence hall life. On the other hand, cooking your own meals allows for much healthier options. Amenities Residence halls have the best amenities: pool tables, dining halls, security, gyms, music rooms, etc. Many apartments do not. And if they do, you will certainly pay the price. Included amenities can tack on large sums to any rent payment. And on top of rent, you will likely have to pay for your water and electricity, too. Independence, or a lack thereof Granted, there is something to be said about apartment living. It really does force you to grow up and fend for yourself. Plus, you wont have an RA telling you to quiet down (though your neighbors might). Moving from a residence hall to an apartment taught me how to manage my time and money, which really pushed me toward adulthood. When push comes to shove, deciding whether to live in a residence hall or an apartment is a decision only you can make. Price wise, they come out to a close total. As you can see, there are pros and cons to both residence hall style and apartment living. So, which will you choose? Rachel Class of 2020 I am studying Middle Grades Education with concentrations in Social Sciences and Literacy in the College of Education. Although I now reside in Champaign, I am originally from Vernon Hills, a Northwest suburb of Chicago.

Business Value of Good Corporate Governance Essay Online For Free - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 11 Words: 3210 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? Recently, there are some studies about the influence of corporate governance mechanisms on bond rating and yield done by the investigators such likes the impact of default risk, risk between the management and providers of capital, misallocation of funds and so on. It is very important to view these valuable papers because it guides us in our study as well to do better and learn from previous error. In our study on the affects of bond yield, we compare the effectiveness of alternative methods done by the previously papers so that we can proceed our study appropriately and systematically. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Business Value of Good Corporate Governance Essay Online For Free" essay for you Create order Thus, we will find out some relevant research reports, journals, books, reading materials and so on from different ideals and expertise about the bond yields and it ratings. The following are divided into few sections. The first section discussed the general theories that related to corporate governance and yields and bond ratings. Next, empirical model used in previous studies are discussed. In the third section it discussed the empirical evidence on the effect of corporate governance on bond yields and bond ratings. These are several general ideas that were obtained from authors of prior studies about the corporate governance, yields, and bond ratings. All of the idea from prior study will lead in this study and result can be compared since this study is about Malaysian listed companies while some other studies are about other countries. Lastly, it concludes the literature reviews in overall. Each of the literature review are summarize into table form on the end of this chapter. 2.2 Theoretical Framework 2.2.1 Theory Corporate governance encompasses a broad spectrum of mechanisms intended to mitigate agency risk by increasing the monitoring of managements actions, limiting managers opportunistic behavior, and improving the quality of firms information flows (Zulkufly and Hafiz, 2010). Bhojraj and Sengupta (2003) states debt yield and ratings are essentially determined by the probability that the firm will not be able to meet its obligations and by the degree of protection afforded to the lenders in such an event. Norliza et al. (2009) study states that there are three type of relationship between yields and bond price which are (1) coupon yield which referred to interest paid to the bondholder as a percentage of bond par value, namely coupon rate of the bond; (2) current yield which being measured by the annual coupon income divided by bonds market price; and (3) yield to maturity (YTM) which provide more comprehensive measurement of the bond or return by estimating the total amount of in come for the entire period of bond holdings. 2.2.2 Models Bhojraj and Sengupta (2003) in their study calculated approximately the effect of corporate governance on yields and bond ratings over the period of 1991-1996 with 1005 samples of industrial bond which collected from Warga Fixed Income Database. There are two general model functions have been applied in his study which are: Bond Ratings = f (governance variables, control variables); (1) Bond Yields = f (governance variables, control variables). (2) Model one above is use for testing the effect of governance variables on bond ratings and model two is use to testing the effect of corporate governance variables on bond yields. The governance yields and bond ratings variables in Bhojraj and Sengupta (2003) study are as follow: INST the percentage of the companys common stock held by institutions. INST have positively related to bond ratings but negatively related to bond yields. Result is consistent with INST having a favorable impact on default risk. OUTDIR the perce ntage of the board of directors who are not also officer of the firm. Result is consistent with OUTDIR having a favorable impact on default risk. OUTDIR have positive relations with bond ratings and negatively related to bond yields. INST5 the percentage of the companys common stock held by the five largest institutional owner of the firm. INST5 have negative relations with bond ratings and positively related to bond yields. BLOCK the total percentage of companys stock held by institutions owning 5% or more of the companys stock. BLOCK have negative relations with bond ratings and positively related to bond yields. The control variables are as follow: YIELD yield to maturity on bond issue minus yield to maturity on government Treasury bond of similar maturity. RATING ordinal variable taking on value from 1 to 6 representing Moodys bond rating B or below, Ba, Baa, A, Aa, and Aaa, respectively. LSIZE log of the size of issue. LSIZE have inversely related to bond yiel ds and positively associated with credit ratings. MATUR years to maturity. Bond with longer maturity is expected to have a higher yields and lower ratings because of their greater risk exposure. LSIZE have negatively related to bond ratings and positively related to bond yields. CALL the ratio of the days to first call dividend by the days to maturity. 1 represented no call while 0 represent callable from the date of issue. CALL will negatively associate with bond yields and positively associated with Moodys ratings. SENIOR 1 if the debt is senior and 0 otherwise. Senior debt is expected to be associated with lower yields and higher bond ratings. SENIOR have positively related to bond ratings and negatively related to bond yields. SINK 1 if the debt has sinking fund and 0 otherwise. Sinking fund provisions reduce default risk so that this should be negatively associated with bond yields and positively associated with bond ratings. DE book value of long term debt divid ed by the market value of common equity at the end of year t. firm with higher debt to equity ratio are expected to have a higher yields and lower ratings. DE have negatively related to bond ratings and positively related to bond yields. MARGIN income before extraordinary items divided by total assets of year t. firms with higher profit margin are expected to enjoy lower yields and higher ratings. MARGIN have positively related to bond ratings and negatively related to bond yields. ASSET total assets at the end of year t. Larger firms are expected to enjoy a lower YIELD and higher RATING because of their lower market risk. ASSET have positively related to bond ratings and negatively related to bond yields. MKBK market value of common equity divided by the book of common equity at the end of year t. firms with higher MKBK represented high growth firms that could be associated with greater risk. This suggests MKBK have a positively associated with bond yields and negatively a ssociated with credit ratings. CUMRET cumulative daily stock return over year t; CUMRET capture the stock price performance of the firm over a period. This would be positively associated with future expected cash flows of the firm, which suggest a lower default risk. BETA market beta calculated using daily stock returns over period t; BETA captures the systematic risk of the firm, which is expected to be positively associated with default risk. This suggest that BETA would positively associated with YIELD and negatively associated with RATING. Bhojraj and Sengupta (2003) study using few tests which are Ordered Probit Regression, where it used ratings as dependent variable; next, they used OLS regression to test the effect of corporate governance mechanisms on bond yields; 3SLS regression also been used and the result show that YIELD in the INST regression is negatively and statistically significant at 0.01 level. On the other hand, Norliza et al. (2009), also have study regarding yield spreads but macroeconomic variables such as Consumer Price Index (CPI), interest rate (IR), Industry Production Index (IPI) and Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) have been used. Their data consists of monthly observation since January 2001 to December 2008, with a total 149 Malaysian Government Securities data and 238 Corporate Bond (CB) data. All of the data are collected from Economics Report and the Bank Negara website. The model of their study is as follow: (3) Result from the long run equation show that there is negative relationship between Corporate Bond yield spread and KLCI, IPI and IR and positive relationship between Corporate Bond yield spread and CPI. On the other hand, result from granger causality show that the relationship suggests that the movement of KLCI, CPI and IPI can be used as a useful and reliable indicator to predict IR. The presence of unidirectional causality effect from IPI to corporate bond implies that the economic growth as mea sured by IPI Granger cause yield spread. Lastly, Ziebart and Reiter (1992) also study regarding bond yields and bond ratings. There study consists of 189 new industrial binds issued between February 1981 and February 1985. The result for their study show that the used of simultaneous equation modeling result in the ability to conclude that financial information affects bond ratings, and bond ratings directly affect the bond yields, that financial information indirectly affect bond yields through the link to bond ratings, and that financial information also directly affect bond yields. The model use in Ziebart and Reiter (1992) study are as follow: (4) (5) The variables used to proxy for issue characteristics, macroeconomic conditions and financial information with the explanation of their expected signs of the model are the following: (4.1) (5.1) OFYLD offering yield on the new issue RATE Moodys or Standard Poors bond rating Issue characteristics: S FMAT Years to maturity (adjusted for sinking fund provision). Have positive relations with OFYLD. SF Presence of a sinking fund agreement (0,1). Positively related to OFYLD. SUB Subordinate status (0,1). Positively related to OFYLD and negatively related to RATE. LPER Natural log of term of call or refunding protection. Negatively related to OFYLD DFYLD Difference between offering yield and the yield to first call or refunding date. Negatively related to OFYLD. DISC original issue discount (0,1). Positively related to OFYLD. ISSUE Natural log of issue size. Negative relationship with OFYLD. Macroeconomic conditions: MOOD Index of consumer sentiment. Have a negative relation with OFYLD. TYIELD Average level of U.S. Treasury issues with 10-year or longer maturity dates. Have a positive relationship with OFYLD Financial information: BETA Value Line beta. Positively related to OFYLD and negatively related to RATE. COV Interest coverage ratio: interest expense/ income before interest and taxes. Positively related to OFYLD but negatively related to RATE. TO Turnover ratio: net income/total asset. Negatively related to OFYLD but positively related to RATE. DE Debt to equity ratio: long term debt/market value of common equity. Positively related to OFYLD but negatively related to RATE. SIZE Natural log of total assets. Positively related to RATE. 2.3 Empirical Evidence Concept of corporate governance describe as referring to corporate decision making and control particularly the structure of the board and its working procedure since corporate governance describe as which the government of company; the director is responsible to its electorate; the shareholders (Kim and Rasiah, 2010). Corporate governance also stated as a set of rule and procedure by Kim and Rasiah (2010) where it is use to ensure the managers do their indeed employ by the principles of value based management. Result of Bhojraj and Sengupta (2003) study show that firm with larger institutional ownership enjoy higher bond ratings and lower bond yields after controlling for other potential determinants of ratings and yields. When institutional ownership gets concentrated, firm will face a lower ratings and higher bond yields while when firm have a greater percentage of outside directors on the board are found to have higher ratings and lower bond yields (Bhojraj and Sengupta, 200 3). Norliza et al (2009) find that investors with higher risk tolerance may consider increasing their investments in this investment during economic uncertainty such as indicated by increasing CPI and decrease in IPI while during economic turmoil, investor may benefit from higher yield spread due to the increase of risk premium. This study shows that interest rate is one of the major factors that determine bond yield spread. It does also conclude that the higher the yields given by the corporate bonds as a mean to compensate for the instruments risk exposure. According to Bhojraj Sengupta (2003), small changes in debt yields could lead to large shifts in capital allocation, therefore, this study explore the influence of corporate governance mechanism on bond ratings and yield. Governance mechanism can reduce default risk by migrating agency costs and monitoring managerial performance and by reducing information asymmetry between the firm and the leaders (Bhojraj Sengupta, 20 03). Klock et al. (2005) compute bond ratings using a conversion process in which AAA-rated bonds are assigned a value of 22 and D-rated bonds a value of 1. For example, a firm with an A+ rating from SP would receive a score of 18 (Liu and Jiraporn, 2010). SP credit ratings are following in Liu and Jiraporn (2010) study because prior research argues that the SP ratings reflect the overall credit worthiness of the firm. Bhojraj and Sengupta (2003) find that institutional ownership is an important determinant of credit ratings and yield spreads. According to Ziebart and Reiter (1992), yields model typically model the bond yields as a function of macroeconomic conditions, issues characteristics and default measurements; where this default risk usually represented by bond ratings. On the other hand, when governance mechanism reduces the agency risk, firm with stronger governance should be associated with the superior bond ratings and lower yields (Bhojraj and Sengupta, 2003). Besi des, their study also proves that governance mechanisms can help to reduce the information risk by inducing the firm to disclose information in a timely manner. Skaife et al. (2006) study proved that weak governance can result in firms incurring higher debt financing costs. While in Sengupta (1998) study find out that there is a negative relationship between firms disclosure quality ratings and the cost of debt financing as reflected in realized yields on new debt issues. This also proved by Ziebart and Reiter (1992) where price reactions to the changes of ratings may indicate the market inefficiency or may indicate that the bond rating agency have access to important nonpublic sources of information. Bhojraj and Sengupta (2003) study show that firms with a higher percentage of outside directors on the board and with greater institutional ownership enjoy lower bond yields and higher ratings on their new debt issues. On the other hand, Skaife et al. (2006) study show that firms wi th stronger shareholder rights have higher share values and enjoy a lower cost of equity capital. Beside, their study also posit that if governance is weak, the firms distribution of future cash flows will shift downward relative to what it would be with more effective governance. Ziebart and Reiter (1992) also prove that bond ratings and bond yields are negatively correlated where higher the yields are required by investors to compensate for the risk of investing in the lower rates bonds. Prior studies on corporate governance tend to focus on one attribute of governance, e.g., board independence, as opposed to studying a broad set of governance attributes intended to protect stakeholders claims to firms resources (Bhojraj and Sengupta, 2003). Germane to bondholder interests, Bhojraj and Sengupta study posit that firms with a greater proportion of outside directors on the board provide better monitoring of management actions. Thus, bondholders face less agency risks vis-a` -vis m anagement. They posit that this, in turn, will lead to higher bond ratings and lower debt yields. Consistent with this conjecture, they find that firms with a higher proportion of non-officer directors enjoy lower bond yields and higher ratings on new bond issues (Skaide et al., 2006). Sulong and Nor (2010) study is motivated to provide an evidence on the effectiveness of monitoring and control mechanisms through dividend, types of ownership structure, and board governance on firm value during post-reform period in Malaysia. Therefore, it can be said that corporate governance mechanisms exist to protect and enhance the interests of shareholders, as well as to protect the interests of minority shareholders against managers and controlling shareholders (Sulong and Nor, 2010). Ponnu (2008) affirmed that companies with better corporate governance have a better operating performance than those companies with poor corporate governance which was concurrent with the view that better gove rnance firms might have more efficient operations, resulting in higher expected returns and therefore, good corporate governance helps to generate investors goodwill and confidence. Our direct measure of the cost of bond financing is Yield Spread, defined as the difference between the at-issue yield spread of the bond and a U.S. Treasury bond with comparable maturity, measured in basis points. This measure has been widely used in the literature to capture the ex-ante cost of debt (Liu and Jiraporn, 2010; Bhojraj and Sengupta, 2003). In this paper, they attempt to investigate how bondholders assess the quality of the bond issues given that they can observe the power structure of the issuing firms. The separation of roles between CEO and board Chairman also has been recommended by the MCCG 2001. In contrast to the majority of prior studies that mostly focus on developed markets such as US and UK, but Sulong and Nor (2010) study are utilizes the non-financial Malaysian listed fir ms panel dataset for a large firms sample during the post-reform period taken by Malaysian capital market regulators. Furthermore, the firms listed on Bursa Malaysia are relatively smaller and more growth oriented compared to those in the developed market. Koehn and Ueng (2005) study find out that companies that have a weaker boards will performed poorly and this will due to less profitable and reported earning with a higher volatility than firm that characterized as having a stronger corporate governance. They also stated out that institutional investors believed that best practice of corporate governance will benefits shareholders over a long haul. This also proves by Bushman study who stated that governance is posited to get weaker as the proposition of inside directors increases. The weaker position of governance will give a greater managerial power over the boards which lead to a higher incidence of backdating executive stock options. On the other hand, in Liu and Jirapor n (2010) study, they show that by controlling CEO characteristic, CEO pay slice have a negative effect on credit ratings and positive effect on yield spreads. They find out that institutional ownership is the most important tools to determine the credit ratings and yield spreads. Hence, they conclude that the stronger CEO power is associated with a higher cost of bond financing and lower credit ratings. Overall, CEO power will has a significant yield increasing effect on the cost of bond financing (Liu and Jiraporn, 2010). 2.4 Concluding Remarks Based on overall review that been done, many author are using panel data since few country or company and few years been study together to find out the effect of corporate governance on bond yields and bond ratings; relationship between bond yields and bond ratings; institutional relationship with bond yields and bond ratings. The tests that have been use in almost all of the study are Correlations, OLS regression, descriptive statistic and causalities tests. Finding from most of the researchers are almost the same since most of the variables are being use in few study are the same. Mostly of the review findings show that bond ratings and bond yields have an inverse relationship where when bond ratings are high, bond yields will be lower. Since corporate governance become more popular in today business world, therefore, there are many researcher studies about corporate governance in Malaysia which started after the Asian Financial Crisis in 2007 due to weak corporate governan ce in the corporations. Although this is the case, but half of the literature review in this study are based on other countries study like United States to have a similar view on corporate governance between Malaysia and other countries.

The process of preparing and delivering our team’s presentation Free Essays

string(81) " This section addresses the approaches that were used to motivate group members\." Abstract In any organizational or institutional setting, teamwork is usually instrumental in meeting departmental or organizational objectives. Even with the benefits that are associated with groups or teamwork, there are several challenges that may hinder attainment of the set objectives. This paper presents the process that was involved in the preparation and delivery of our group presentation. We will write a custom essay sample on The process of preparing and delivering our team’s presentation or any similar topic only for you Order Now It discusses the stages of development that the group went through, highlighting the exercises that were undertaken at each stage. With reference to group motivation theory, it addresses the approaches that were used during the group exercise to motivate members to contribute towards the exercise. It has also presented the competencies that group members developed in the course of the group exercise. Introduction This paper provides an overview of the processes involved in the preparation and delivery of our team presentation. It relates the group work process to theories and literature on organizational behavioural theory that can be used to explain dynamics in group and teamwork. The main concepts to be covered in this paper include group and team development, motivation and learning at work. Group development is defined as the stages that groups undergo, from creation of the group to accomplishment of the assigned task (Bonebright, 2010). Motivation, which is a vital determinant of productivity, refers to the approaches used to trigger a desire in an individual to be more dedicated to the accomplishment of their tasks (Sachau, 2007). Learning at work, or team learning, is the attainment of skills by individuals in the course of the group task (Zellmer-Bruhn Gibson, 2006). Group and Team Development This are the stages through which undergo from assembling team members to attainment of the set objective. There are different models that can be used to describe the process or group development. One of the widely used models is Bruce Tuckman’s four-stage model formulated in 1965, which divides the development process into four stages. These are forming, storming, norming and performing (Egolf Chester, 2013). Whereas some teams undergo all these stages in group development, some end at the norming stage, which was also the case with our team. This section relates the development of our group with reference to Tuckman’s four-stage model. According to Bonebright (2010), the forming stage involves creating an understanding of one’s team members. It is also characterized by the desire of individual team members to be accepted as part of the larger group (Hill Parsons, 2014). In our team, this stage of group development involved activities that could enable us to work together and be more productive. Team members spent time interacting and knowing about each other so as to eliminate the tension that could prevent them from effectively working together. This stage also involved the appointment of the group leader, setting of ground rules and agreeing upon the meeting schedules. Conflicts were minimal at this stage, which can be attributed to the fact that challenges associated with teamwork had not yet arisen. The second stage in group development is storming. This is the stage where different ideas or opinions are presented by group members for consideration (Garfield Dennis, 2012). It is highly likely for group members to present conflicting opinions, which also triggers rivalry and tension within the group. Whereas conflicts might be considered as being adverse towards attainment of the team’s objectives, constructive conflicts provide a chance for group members to select the appropriate options to pursue in addressing the task at hand (Fleishman et al., 2008; De Wit et al., 2012). This is the most critical stage in group development, and issues have to be resolved before moving to the next stage (Egolf Chester, 2013). Referring to the process of delivering our team’s presentation, some of the conflicts that arose included the theories to incorporate in the presentation or the sources to be used. For instance, I questioned why the group leader insisted on using books as our main sources, yet peer reviewed journals that were readily available in the college library database could also be used to compliment books. Other group members also questioned why they could not use any source they come across on the internet. However, these conflicts were minor and short lived. The third stage is of group developing is referred to as norming (Egolf Chester, 2013). After the conflicts have been resolved in the storming stage, the effectiveness of the team begins to increase, trust among team members grows and the individual differences are appreciated (Garfield Dennis, 2012). This was the final stage of development for our group. For the functionality of the team, some group members stopped persisting with their ideas for the sake of avoiding conflict. There was also an increased cohesion among members, and as opposed to conflicting opinions that characterized the storming stage, team members showed support for each other, and provided constructive feedback for each others’ contribution to the team. The fourth stage of group development is referred to as productivity. According to Egolf and Chester (2013), not all groups progress to this stage. Our group did not get to this stage based on the fact that the task that was to be accomplished was short- term. In summary, the developments that took place in our group, as well as the issues that characterized them, closely relate to Tuckman’s four stage model (forming, storming norming and performance). The fact that the group exercise was short-term meant that the group development did not progress to the performance stage, but the objective of the team was met. Group Motivation Motivation in teamwork incorporates all the efforts that are made by team members to increase the cohesion and levels of productivity of the entire team (Wright et al., 2012). With reference to Hertzberg’s dual factor theory of motivation, there is a set of factors that increases the productivity of individuals in accomplishing their tasks. There is also another separate set of factors that cause dissatisfaction and thus, limit individual productivity (Sachau, 2007). This section addresses the approaches that were used to motivate group members. You read "The process of preparing and delivering our team’s presentation" in category "Essay examples" In group work, one of the motivation approaches is through ensuring effective communication among all people within the group (Dunin-Keplicz Verbrugge, 2011). In group work, responsibilities are divided into smaller tasks and assigned to members depending on their competence. Given that all these sub-tasks contribute towards the attainment of the overall team objective, it is necessary for all team members to communicate about the progress of their respective tasks. This will avoid situations where some members unknowingly derail, or fail to complete their tasks within the agreed upon time limits (Lencioni, 2012). During the preparation and delivery of our group presentation, we ensured that communication between us was effective. This was done by requesting all group members to provide their phone numbers and email addresses. We also followed each other on social media platforms. This ensured that if there was a breakdown in one communication channel, there was always another viabl e objective. When handling group tasks, it is vital to schedule regular meetings in consideration of the responsibilities of all group members. This ensures that every group member is available during the meeting (Dunin-Keplicz Verbrugge, 2011). Regular meetings also allow for close consultations between group members in case some group members hit a snag in completing the tasks that they have been assigned (Lencioni, 2012). Most of the members in our team were dedicated and never skipped meetings. Whereas there were team members who easily handled the tasks that they had been allocated, there are some who found it quite challenging to accomplish their tasks. We understood the fact that there are some people who are quicker than others in accomplishing their assigned tasks than others is common. Thus, instead of reprimanding them, we took to the initiative to ensure that group members who had a challenge in completing their tasks were assisted to complete them. Motivation in teamwork also entails making everybody feel like they valuable members (Hill Parsons, 2014). For instance, if a decision is to be made about a project, the opinions of all group members have to be considered. This encourages constructive debates, which are vital for rational decision making. The group members’ motivation to deliver may be adversely affected if major decisions are only made by a section of the team, which may also lead to groupthink. Groupthink is a common phenomenon in teamwork where the fear of conflicts, or desire for group conformity and harmony, causes other group members to agree with decisions made by others. This is regardless of whether they are suitable or not (De Wit et al., 2012). During our group work, all members were allowed to actively engage in discussions and every opinion presented was listened to. Even though it was not possible to implement incorporate all members’ opinions in decision making, reasons why some opinions were considered over others was also clearly explained to all group members. Our team was culturally diverse, and included people from both genders. Therefore, tasks were distributed in consideration of this diversity. Different approaches were used to motivate group members. However, even with the efforts that were made to optimize the productivity of every group member, there were some individuals who failed to attend group meetings without good reasons. Regardless of these drawbacks, the rest of the team worked diligently to the completion of the project. Learning at Work Learning at work refers to the skills and competencies that members of a team learn as they collectively accomplish a task (Zellmer-Bruhn Gibson, 2006). Typically, the abilities of each individual in the team will vary, with each being more competent in some areas, less competent in others In this regard team members learn from each other through sharing knowledge so as to compliment one another’s skills (Dunin-Keplicz Verbrugge, 2011). This section discusses the process of team learning within the group during the exercise. Team members have to ensure that they have created strong relationships and trust amongst themselves to facilitate team learning. Failure to create a team environment that allows members to learn from one another may undermine the attainment of the overall team objective (Lencioni, 2012). Learning at work or team leaning can be made possible through observations, dialogue and reflection (Hill Parsons, 2014). Team members should be willing to enable those who are not as competent as they are in certain aspects that are vital to the accomplishment of the team’s objective to improve. Likewise, team members who lack some competencies ought to take the initiative to learn through observation or asking for assistance (Zellmer-Bruhn Gibson, 2006). One of the models that can be used to understand team leaning is the action-learning cycle (Coghlan Rigg, 2012). Action learning is a continuous learning process, where individuals from their own experiences and actions, as well as those of other members of their team. Through their own experience, people learn to avoid repeating mistakes they did and continue to improve their competencies in certain disciplines. The action-learning cycle was designed to enable individuals to draw lessons from their experiences by making analytical reflections of their actions (Pedler ?Abbott, 2013). This means that lessons from past experiences can guide present actions, while lessons learnt from the current experience can be used to guide future actions. In the course of the preparation and delivery of our group presentation, team members learnt from each other in different ways. Based on the relationship that had been developed between team members, dialogue was one of the most used approaches for team learning. Group members were willing to share information with others to improve each other’s levels of competence. For instance, one two of our team members were competent in using different data analysis approaches so as to come up with relevant conclusions on the research topic. In addition to this, while most of us were comfortable with the basic function of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, one of the team members and I, were more competent with the more advanced options. Therefore, we spent some time during meetings learning from and teaching each other. Learning took different approaches, which included reflections and observations. Even though some of the competencies that were learnt were not improved to the extent that perfection was attained, most of the group members had improved their skills in one aspect or other. I improved my confidence and public speaking skills through the mock presentations that were held by the group in preparation for the final presentation to a larger audience.. All team members also learnt several concepts that could enable them to be more productive members of teams in future. In summary, the group exercise was instrumental in developing some competencies that every group member lacked. As mentioned, different approaches were used in learning or teaching each other about different concepts that were challenging for different group members. Conclusion The capability of an individual to be a productive member of a team is one of the vital competencies that are required for success in any aspect of life. In the preparation and delivery of our group presentation, several characteristics of groups, which relate to organizational behavioural theory, were identified. This paper has presented an overview of the factors that characterized the team working process. One of these is the process through which the ram developed through the formation, storming and norming stages. Based on the fact that the group assignment was short-term, we did not get into the performance stage. The motivation factors that contributed towards the achievement of the overall team goal have also been presented in this paper. Ways in which different group members leant from each other to improve their competencies in several areas have also been addressed in this paper. Whereas the group task was successfully accomplished, some of the few drawbacks that affected the research have also been presented. References Bonebright, D.A., 2010. 40 years of storming: a historical review of Tuckman’s model of small group development. Human Resource Development International, 13(1), pp.111-20. Coghlan, D. Rigg, C., 2012. Action learning as praxis in learning and changing. Research in Organizational Change and Development, 20, pp.59-89. De Wit, F.R.C., Greer, L.L. Jehn, K.A., 2012. The Paradox of Intragroup Conflict. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97, pp.360-90. Dunin-Keplicz, B. Verbrugge, R?., 2011. Teamwork in Multi-Agent Systems: A Formal Approach. New Jersey: John Wiley Sons. Egolf, D. Chester, S., 2013. Forming Storming Norming Performing. Bloomington: IUniverse. Fleishman, R., O’Leary, R?. Gerard, ?C., 2008. Recent Developments in Conflict Resolution and Collaboration. London: Emerald Group Publishing. Garfield, M.J. Dennis, A.R., 2012. Toward an Integrated Model of Group Development: Disruption of Routines by Technology-Induced Change. Journal of Management Information Systems, 29(3), pp.43-86. Hill, F. Parsons, L?., 2014. Teamwork in the Management of Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. New Jersey: Routledge. Lencioni, P., 2012. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: Intact Teams Participant Workbook. San Francisco: Pfeiffer. Miner, J.B., 2005. Organizational Behavior: Essential theories of motivation and leadership. New York: M.E. Sharpe. Pedler, M. ?Abbott, C., 2013. Facilitating Action Learning: A Practitioner’S Guide. Berkshire: McGraw-Hill International. Sachau, D.A., 2007. Resurrecting the motivation-hygiene theory: Herzberg and the positive psychology movement. Human Resource Development Review, 6(4), pp.377-93. Wright, B.E., Moynihan, D.P. Pandey, S.K., 2012. Pulling the Levers: Transformational Leadership, Public Service, Motivation, and Mission Valence. Public Administration Review, 72(2), p.206–215. Zellmer-Bruhn, M. Gibson, C., 2006. Multinational organization context: Implications for team learning and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 49(3), pp.501-18. How to cite The process of preparing and delivering our team’s presentation, Essay examples

Art Of War free essay sample

The long-awaited new release from Bone Thugs-n-Harmony has come. Their fourth album, a double CD, shows once again Bones excellent ability to produce music. Despite the recent loss of Eazy-E (the men who gave the four thugs their first chance at rappin), the thugs have managed to produce, with the help of D.J. U-Neek, a new smash album. The four thugs second album Creepin on a Come up, was a hit, and then the third album, E.1999 Eternal, went triple platinum, proving this new album is sure to be a hit. It shows a lot of different styles of rap, one song featuring 2-Pac, and in most songs, Flesh-N-Bone, the fifth thug who left the group, returned to sing with them. Director of the group D.J. U-Neek, also shows his rapping talent. Of course there is still that fast lyrical action with serious bass. As usual with Bone, the more you listen, the more you love it. We will write a custom essay sample on Art Of War or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This double CD is a great buy and is worth adding to your collection. It features everything from slow rap to that fast, knock-your-socks-off music that Bone is so well known for. Expect to see this release a chart-topping smash hit, once again for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony

Six Elements of Theatre Essays - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity

Six Elements of Theatre Two different roles I play in my day-to-day life include loving mother and dedicated hard working employee. These two are the most prominent roles that influence and impact my actions and reactions to situations and conversations. The following are six elements of the theatre and how my roles are incorporated: Actor~ Any mother will tell you that it is a full-time job to be a mother. That is most certainly true under normal circumstances, but even more in my life situation. I am a single parent of a child with Autism/Asperger Syndrome, ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and ODD (oppositional defiant disorder) named Lance, so not only am I his full-time mother but I am my child advocate for his unique and individual needs in all aspects of his life. Parenting a child with disabilities presents challenges that can be difficult and straining even on a strong family, but when you are presented these challenges by yourself if when you realize what you are made of and how strong one can really be. My life goal is helping my child have a fulfilling and meaningful life and with that my day-to-day activities reflect that. Our lives are extremely structured to help with stability and transitioning. Same with a job, my weeks are planed out with schedules, instructions and of course I allow time for the unexpected. In this role of my life, my act is to direct the course of my son and I lead. Having a lifestyle that is so organized and structured had definitely played a part in my work ethic as well. I would consider myself to be a truly dedicated and hard working employee and often going above and beyond. Currently I am the Accounts Payable Clerk at the hospital in my home town. Since I have been there I have streamlined many aspects for the accounts payable system and revamped forms and procedures to make them more user-friendly and relevant. I really take the process as a whole into prospective and also take the time to understand other departments that are directly affected by accounts payable so that I can positively update processes and procedures. In this role of my life, my act is to perform at the high standard I can in my work environment so that it will only positively impact my future. Audience~ As a mother my audience ends to primarily be my son and immediate family. How I communicate with my son tends to be simple, positive and easy non-verbal communication, where as with the rest of my family I can use more complex communication. My audience at work includes, but not limited to co-workers, vendors and customers/patients. My communication with my work audience is more formal and professional then in my everyday personal life. It is important for me to speak clearly and distinctly while maintaining a positive attitude and non-verbal communication in my work environment because it helps with effectiveness and reciprocation. Stage~ Home is my primary stage when it comes to being a loving mother. My stage can change at any point throughout the day depending on where we are such as doctor appointments, friends/family homes, etc. My stage tends to be more informal and comfortable in nature. The hospital is my stage at work. It is professional in nature and doesn?t vary much from day-to-day. Script~ You would think that with me trying to be so organized and structured in my home life as a single mother that my life script would be pretty predictable, it is anything but. I am very organized and structured so that it can help me with the unpredictable. Having a special child like Lance it is more like the unpredictable is about the only thing to predict. Considering my work environment, my script is fairly routine. The first thing I look at when I get to work is the new invoices I have received in my in-box. I then code the invoices by department and expense type. While doing this I make sure there are no discrepancies or anything out of the ordinary before they get sent to department supervisors for approval. Invoices I have received back from departmental approval I then enter into the accounts

Virgin train crash Essay Example

Virgin train crash Essay Example Virgin train crash Essay Virgin train crash Essay On Friday 23 February 2007 a virgin train going from London to Glasgow derailed and crashed at grayrigg, near Kendal killing one individual and wounding five. The company in the imperativeness conference was positive, complimentary and dignified. It is common phenomenon the different attack of an issue from different journalists in magazines, newspapers or even Television and wireless programmes. This subject is really of import. I searched in 4 different beginnings: a ) communicatemagazine.co.uk B ) en.wikinews.org degree Celsius ) mediaroom.virgintrains.co.uk vitamin D ) books.google.gr A ) Communicatemagazine.co.uk ( 2009 ) In this article defines that Sir Richard Branson turned a potentially reputation-damaging incident into an illustration of best pattern crisis communications. During a PR conference, the independent editor Simon kellner described Branson s handing of the crisis as genius PR He besides added that Branson took the narrative off from being an institutional and public catastrophe and made it on about the gallantry of the train driver The article describes the good communicating of the company with the media with efficiency and accurate manner. It says that the president of the company was really emotional but did nt take the clang as his company s mistake. He even made the driver of the train as a hero. He besides point that if the train was older the accident would be worst with more deceases and more hurts. He even commended web rail for being dignified in accepting duty for the accident. B ) Wikinews.org ( 2007 ) In this article the writer talk more about the incident that the statements of the company and other factors. The articles focus more to the 180 people that was onboard, the clip that the incident occurs and how many were the hurts. Include some statement of constabulary A train has crashed between Oxenholme and Tebay, but that is all we know at the minute. We have got two autos going at that place now and local constabularies are go toing , some statement of ambulance At the minute, we have studies of assorted hurts, from leg hurts to endorse hurts and caput hurts, runing from child to rather serious From the deliverance squad besides It s our apprehension there are a figure of people injured on the train. We think there are legion hurts and a statement merely of the president of virgin company that says that he come from his vacations to the site and did a imperativeness conference. He stated that virgin train Pendolino was built like a armored combat vehicle and believed t he path was to fault. He besides praised the train driver that tried to halt the train alternatively of go forthing the cockpit. C ) Virgintrains.co.uk ( 2007 ) Here we have the official articles and statements of the virgin company. The imperativeness office foremost introduces the accident on 24 February at 2 oclock and province that they investigate the grounds of the accident. Later on with a new imperativeness release they praised the driver and his astonishing occupation Mr Sir Richards said. He assumes that the train was built like a armored combat vehicle and it is the safer train you can be in. He besides states that he went to the infirmaries and saw some physicians and people that were in the train. After 2 yearss the driver negotiations about the accident but he do nt state anything about it in the same it. He province merely the support from the company during the accident, He besides states his unhappiness about the one dead and the hurts. At the same twenty-four hours the laminitis of virgin rail group makes some more statements. He says that the probes move rapidly, that his greater concern is the people that are in the inf irmaries. He speak about some more hints during the accident and at last he province that they are non the 1s that must be blamed. D ) Michael Regester, A ; Judy Larkin ( 2008 ) In this article we have the full narrative and all the statements. They talk about the accident but focal point on the probe besides, he acquire a clear position off the factors that caused the accident. Sir Richard Branson took his hat off to Network rail for accepting the duty for the accident. He besides said It is non for us to fault but instead work closely to guarantee that this neer happens once more. He was careful non to knock Network rail, therefore keeping their working relationship. The writers province that he would hold significantly perpetuated what is perceived to be a national job alternatively of railroad care. The writers criticise laminitiss crisis technique that was rather good, The fact that he left a household vacation to see the clang and his hailing of the train driver as a here touches the human calamity. They besides say The now good documented hardiness of the trains used by Virgin, coupled with Branson s superb stakeholder relation direction, has meant t hat Virgin clients have non been deterred. Decision We have four articles speaking about the same accident. Some of them are rather common. The first one except the description makes some remarks about the laminitis of Virgin and it appears the laminitis as intelligent and with good crisis techniques. The 4th bash besides the same, plus have a deeper image of the accident with more elements and statements. The 3rd one, the official imperativeness of the company talks about the accident and provinces their company crisis policy that they have nil to make with the accident and they should nt be blamed. They talk rather retaining and they try to be supportive. In the 2nd article the writer does nt travel in inside informations and he remains more in the narrative of the makes. It seems more an information beginning and nil more. The credibleness of the office imperativeness and from the book seems more accurate, the first is the official releases of the company and the 2nd a good overall research for the accident. The writers seem to co gnize really good the incident. The 3rd article credibleness exists because its general information that released. In the first article the writer seems believable for the information but he expresses his sentiment besides. All four articles helped me to hold a more general attack in the issue. Some of them provided me with extra information and some with debris information. After understanding what those four articles say, one think that I know rather good the issue. Communicatemagazine.co.uk ( 2009, June 29 ) . Masters of catastrophes: Virgin trains. Retrieved November 10, 2009, from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.communicatemagazine.co.uk/index.php? option=com_content A ; view=article A ; id=326: masters-of-disasters A ; catid=44: currentissue A ; Itemid=113 Wikinews.org ( 2007, February 23 ) . Virgin Train clangs in England. Retrieved November 10, 2009 from hypertext transfer protocol: //en.wikinews.org/wiki/Virgin_Train_crashes_in_England Virgintrains.co.uk ( 2007, February 26 ) . Grayrigg derailment statement from virgin trains ( 1 ) A ; ( 2 ) . Retrieved November 10, 2009 from hypertext transfer protocol: //mediaroom.virgintrains.co.uk/2007_02_01_archive.html Virgintrains.co.uk ( 2007, February 26 ) . Brave train driver praised by Sir Richard Branson. Retrieved November 10, 2009 from hypertext transfer protocol: //mediaroom.virgintrains.co.uk/2007_02_01_archive.html Virgintrains.co.uk ( 2007, February 26 ) . Statement from Iain Bl ack, driver at virgin trains. Retrieved November 10, 2009 from hypertext transfer protocol: //mediaroom.virgintrains.co.uk/2007_02_01_archive.html Virgintrains.co.uk ( 2007, February 26 ) . Virgin Trains welcome prompt publication of Rail Accident Investigation Branch s initial study on Grayrigg derailment. Retrieved November 10, 2009 from hypertext transfer protocol: //mediaroom.virgintrains.co.uk/2007_02_01_archive.html Michael Regester, A ; Judy Larkin ( 2008 ) . Risk Issues and Crisis Management in Public Relations: CASE STUDY: VIRGIN TRAIN CRASH ( pp 188, 190, 191 )

Leadership Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 7

Leadership - Research Paper Example Personal principles and skills acquired in development by a leader will determine the ability to show others the way. In most public sector administrations, the leaders take control of what the junior workers do in their jobs or even what the customers want. Some of them are full of corruption in making vial decisions (To Kill a Mocking Bird 01:41:03). Most of the leaders in this sector also consider their directive to be the best and employee should not in any way do the job in another way. Such practices have made junior employees to lose touch with the management hindering collaborative work design. There is always a barrier between management and junior employees in the workplaces. In addition, most of those finding themselves in the public areas are not motivated in doing their work. Most do the work because of the salary and economic security. This kind of practice cannot allow most of the employees in the public sector to become productive. It also affects the relationship between employees of different units and ranks. As Howard places it, a relationship in the work place is better than the profit. The public servants should also consider serving their customers betternot only by valuing the returns they get. In solution for these cultures in the public administration system, several leadership changes have to take place in the work place. Most of the changes might involve deviation from the current practices like the way Howard Behar changed the management of Starbucks. To change these practices top leaders in the public administration system should take initiative in leading as an example. Developing these leadership skills might seem easy but practicing them proves to be hard for most of the leaders. Working at the middle level management in a public service comes with many challenges. In reality,one person may give orders to some

Black Feminist Thought Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Black Feminist Thought - Essay Example Black feminism thought refers to a contemplation which argues that class oppression, racism and sexism are inextricably bound as one. Black feminist thought can as well be described as an idea meant to show that women should all be treated equally and fairly regardless of race and sex. The manner in which all these three issues relate to each other is referred to as intersectionality. There are forms of feminism that strive to do away with class and sexism but tend to ignore race. In this case, discrimination against people especially women through racial foundation is high. Combahee River collective is a union which supported the black women by arguing that their liberation would do away with sexism, racism and oppression of class. From research in the past, it is clear that black women experienced oppression from the black women giving the impression that they could not live with the whites without having issues among them (Carby, 1982, 92). Alice Walker is one among many women who has contributed to fighting for rights of women by forming a movement that supports their rights. This movement was known as Alice Walker’s Womanism.... This is not the case with the white women as this is not how they are positioned. With this in mind, it is clear that black women are not treated fairly. There are black feminist organizations that have been formed since long ago but they have faced many challenges. These challenges faced are mainly implicated by other Black Nationalist political unions or white women. This is yet another factor showing that black women have had a rough time with the white ones in the past (Collins, 1990, 85). The main reason as to why this organisation was oppressed by other larger organizations is because most members moved from the large organisation joining it. The other reason explaining why the black women were oppressed is the stereotype that was attributed to them. In this case, sex was the main issue as black women were referred to as whores and bulldaggers. This is one issue giving a clear impression that they were considered to be useful in the society (Davis, 1981, 56). At this point it w as even more serious because black men were involved in oppressing them as well. At this point they did not face oppression from the whites only but also from the blacks. The blacks who oppressed the ladies in this case were men. There are three main challenges that black women had to face from the whites and these larger unions. These challenges are: i. Prove to their fellow black women that feminism was not for the white women only. ii. They had to make the white women share power with them equally which they had to do it by force. iii. They had to fight misogynist propensities of Black Nationalism. Over the years, many feminist movements and

The Unsustainable To Sustainable Development Environmental Sciences Essay

The Unsustainable To Sustainable Development Environmental Sciences Essay From Unsustainable to Sustainable development; Urban problems related to energy; Water conservation, rainwater harvesting, watershed management, Resettlement and rehabilitation of people; its problems and concerns. Case Studies; Environmental ethics: Issues and possible solutions; Climate change, global warming, acid rain, ozone layer depletion, nuclear accidents and holocaust. Case Studies; Wasteland reclamation; Consumerism and waste products; Environment Protection Act; Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act; Water (Prevention and control of Pollution) Act; Wildlife Protection Act; Forest Conservation Act; Issues involved in enforcement of environmental legislation; Public awareness. 6.1 Unsustainable to Sustainable development Sustainable development is not a new concept. It means living in harmony with the nature in full recognition of the needs of all other species. It is no just the survival of the fittest, we must help even the weakest of the species to survive because each species has a role to play that is ultimately beneficial to the earth and all its human population. Our forefathers preached us the need to coexist with the environment in a balanced manner. The needs of the people in different parts of the world may be different, but our dependence on the Nature is similar. The most important thing to remember is that we have only one earth and if we destroy it by our actions, our children will not have a place to live. The first comprehensive definition of sustainable development was given by the Brundtland Commission in 1987: Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. [Brundtland, G (ed) (1987). Our Common Future: The World Commission on Environment and Development, Oxford: Oxford University Press]. Any development activity can be sustainable, if it is .. a dynamic process which enables all people to realize their potential, and to improve their quality of life, in ways which simultaneously protect and enhance the Earths life support systems. (Forum for the Future, Annual Report 2000). In short, if we care for the comfort of the present generation only and do not think of the needs of the future generations, and we damage the environment by various development activities, these activities will be termed as unsustainable. In taking every action, small or big, the possible damages to the environment must be given full consideration and the action must not leave behind a degraded environment. Technically, sustainable development is defined as a path of development in which no permanent and irreparable damage is done to the environment and the resources are kept intact for the future generations. The earth has everything for each generation, but it depends on the proper use. The present generation can survive very well on the resources available, but they must also leave behind enough resources for the future generations. It is necessary that a sustainable development path do not have any negative factor that is responsible for causing adverse impacts on the environmen t. A sustainable development programme is friendly to the ecosystem in all respects and has the capacity to absorb abrupt changes of the present and the future. Sustainable development has also a strong element of socio-political development. Thus, sustainable development programme must have equal concern for all sections of the society with a balanced economic development and environmental protection. The programme should have a log-term view of future consequences of any action taken today. In short, sustainable development has become the cornerstone of development planning today and has also become a principal tool of negotiation in international aid packages to the countries. The sustainable development can be broadly classified into three different kinds, viz., environmental sustainability (no permanent damage to the environment), economic sustainability (economy remains stable with equitable sharing of resources) and sociopolitical sustainability (maintaining social harmony and political stability). Historical milestones The Brundtland Commission, formally the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), known by the name of its Chair Gro Harlem Brundtland, was convened by the United Nations in 1983. The commission was created to address growing concern about the accelerating deterioration of the human environment and natural resources and the consequences of that deterioration for economic and social development. In establishing the commission, the UN General Assembly recognized that environmental problems were global in nature and determined that it was in the common interest of all nations to establish policies for sustainable development. The Commission was asked to focus mainly on the following: To propose long-term environmental strategies for achieving sustainable development to the year 2000 and beyond; To recommend ways in which concern for the environment may be translated into greater co-operation among developing countries and between countries at different stages of economic and social development and lead to the achievement of common and mutually supportive objectives which take account of the interrelationships between people, resources, environment and development; To consider ways and means by which the international community can deal more effectively with environmental concerns, in the light of the other recommendations in its report; To help to define shared perceptions of long-term environmental issues and of the appropriate efforts needed to deal successfully with the problems of protecting and enhancing the environment, and a long-term agenda for action during the coming decades. The need to protect and enhance the human environment within a common framework and principles led to the Brundtland Report and subsequently, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), more commonly known as the Earth Summit, took place in Rio de Janeiro, in 1992. This conference was designed to help governments to rethink economic development and find ways to stop pollution and the destruction of natural resources. The conference documents included: Rio Declaration on Environment and Development United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Statement of Forest Principles Agenda 21 Agenda 21 and Sustainable Development At the Earth Summit in 1992, an agenda on worldwide sustainable development was formulated. This agenda, known as the Agenda 21, is a blueprint on how to make development socially, economically and environmentally sustainable into the next century. It addresses economic and development issues and the conservation and management of the worlds resources. The implementation of Agenda 21 has been made the responsibility of Governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), industry and also the general public. Agenda 21 provides a global framework for tackling global environmental problems like climate change, ozone depletion, biodiversity loss, desertification and deforestation. The Earth Summit was followed by a conference in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002 where the stakeholders from international institutions and corporations to national, regional and local governments have accepted that the principle of sustainable development will be at the core of all policy making. A few of the areas highlighted by the Agenda 21 are: (i) Combating Poverty. Poverty and environmental degradation are directly related to one another and it is imperative on the part of the governments that they should focus on poverty alleviation in order to protect the environment. The national programmes should aim at sustainable use of resources and should enable the poor to earn a living without destroying the environment. It is envisaged that the people should have a say in the development process and that local groups should be involved in the planning and execution of anti-poverty programmes. In this way, the people will become a party to sustainable development and environmental protection. (ii) Changing Consumption Patterns. Agenda 21 calls for a change in the existing patterns of production and consumption so that the damages to the environment may be minimized. For this purpose, the industrialized countries have been asked to play a leading role. National programmes should give more emphasis to more efficient production processes so that emissions and waste generation are brought down to minimum. All processes of production and consumption should conform to the principle of sustainable development i.e. no harm to the environment. The Governments should discourage all production processes which are not environment-friendly and should levy taxes on goods that are produced through such processes. The use of eco-labels on appliances should be encouraged and efforts should be made to raise public awareness on energy efficiency and recycling of wastes. (iii) Population and Human Health. The rapidly increasing population has created much pressure on natural resources, employment, social and health services. Sustainable development is not possible if the population is not appropriately controlled. Agenda 21 calls for the governments to adopt measures that take into account the links between population dynamics and sustainability, and identify carrying capacities. Poor health is often a result of poverty, especially in developing countries. Agenda 21 recommends that every national health programme should provide for the development of basic health care facilities with emphasis on training of doctors, nurses and other personnel, strengthen immunization programmes to control communicable diseases, and provide specific healthcare measures for the most vulnerable groups, including infants, women and indigenous peoples. (iv) Human Settlements. Migration towards the urban centers has been continuously increasing and the towns and cities are overcrowded with people. Slums have expanded and basic facilities such as supply of clean drinking water, sanitation and sewerage facilities, healthy living conditions, etc., are becoming scarce. Traffic congestion, poor air quality, waste dumping and unhygienic conditions have multiplied in most cities. Agenda 21 calls for appropriate urban renewal projects and transportation strategies, the provision of access to land, and credit and low cost building materials for the poor. Migration to big cities can be reduced only by improving living conditions and employment opportunities in rural areas and Agenda 21 lays stress on the development of the rural areas. (v) Atmospheric Protection. The atmosphere can be protected by reducing emissions to it. For this purpose, Agenda 21 calls for action in the energy production sector, transport and industry, through the promotion and development of energy efficient programmes, regional energy plans, public-awareness campaigns of environmentally sound energy systems, and research into more fuel-efficient transport systems. (vi) Ecosystems. Ecosystem conservation and protection is considered as a major item in sustainable development. For this purpose, Agenda 21 calls for governments, business houses and NGOs to introduce programmes of afforestation, reforestation, and sustainable land use and water resource management. The education programmes should be reoriented towards environmentally sustainable resource management. (vii) Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development. While agriculture should yield enough food for the rising population, the farming practices should not lead to land erosion, desertification and deforestation. Current methods of farming, particularly in developing countries, should be carefully examined and unhealthy practices should be discontinued. Agenda 21 urges the development of long-term land conservation and rehabilitation programmes, by encouraging people to invest for the future through land ownership. (viii) Conservation of Biological Diversity and Management of Biotechnology. Habitat destruction, over-harvesting, pollution and introduction of foreign species are recognized as the main factors behind loss of biodiversity. Agenda 21 calls for governments to undertake national biodiversity assessment programmes and formulate strategies to conserve the existing biological diversity without further damage. (ix) Protecting and Managing the Oceans and Fresh Water. Agenda 21 calls for nations to develop policies, which address unsustainable fishing practices, the creation of marine protection zones, and the surveillance and enforcement of fisheries regulations. The agenda further requires that the National water management practices are integrated into economic and social policies. Agenda 21 sets 2025 as the realistic target date for ensuring universal water supplies, and to develop low-cost services, which can be built and maintained at the community level. (x) Managing Wastes. Agenda 21 calls for an international strategy to manage the production and disposal of wastes, including hazardous waste, solid waste and sewage, and radioactive waste. Governments should encourage and assist industry in achieving cleaner production technologies, and promote changes in lifestyles, production and consumption, through recycling and fund public education initiatives. Countries, which generate nuclear waste, should adopt an integrated approach to the safe management, transportation, storage and disposal of radioactive wastes. (xi) Implementing Sustainable Development. All nations will have to make political, social and economic commitments to ensure that the Agenda 21 can be properly implemented and that necessary resources are available for the same. The Agenda asks international funding organizations such as the International Development Association and the Global Environment Facility to help developing countries in meeting additional expenses in implementing all measures required for sustainable development. Developed countries should help promote the transfer of technology to developing countries. It is necessary to monitor the implementation of Agenda 21. Laws should be enacted to secure a balance between the needs for development and environmental protection. The main objectives should include: international standards in environmental protection taking into account the different situations and abilities of individual countries; review of all environmental laws making them more effective; and measures to avoid or settle international disputes. Meeting the aims and objectives of Agenda 21 within the time frame established by the 1992 Earth Summit will pose great social, economic and technological difficulties, both for developing and developed nations. The development that has been witnessed during the 20th century has brought unprecedented changes to biodiversity, the atmosphere and global climate. These are to be reversed. The new challenge for todays society is to ensure that future development and the use of the Earths resources is managed in a sustainable way, and in every action, the quality of life is preserved for generations of the 21st century and beyond. For sustainable development, human population growth has to be controlled. Otherwise, no invention and development in science and technology will be able to prevent irreversible degradation of the natural environment and to alleviate continued poverty in large parts of the world. The natural and social sciences will be crucial in developing new options for limiting population growth, protecting the natural environment, and improving the quality of human life. These should be the perspectives in all short and long term planning for all governments so that the challenges of the present and the future can be adequately addressed. 6.2 Urban problems related to energy use With massive urbanization occurring on a global scale, the state of the environment and human health in the cities of the world has become a prime concern. It is estimated that by the year 2025, over five thousand million people will be living in the cities. In the developing countries of the world, already more than 200 cities have populations of one million or more. Living in cities has many positive benefits, such as increased job opportunities and better access to essential services and facilities. However, many environmental, health and development problems have reached near-crisis dimensions in cities all over the world. Urban growth has exposed populations to serious environmental hazards and has outstripped the capacity of municipal and local governments to provide even basic amenities (water, sanitation, power) and essential health services. Millions of people in the urban areas of developing countries are living under life- and health-threatening conditions. Cities have a s ignificant impact on the broader hinterland and global environment and the fate of cities will have a major influence on the fate of nations and of the planet. Poverty and health Despite the unprecedented creation of wealth worldwide in the past two decades, the number of people living in absolute poverty is growing steadily. Poverty remains the number one killer, with the poor bearing a disproportionate share of the global burden of ill health. The poor live in unsafe and overcrowded housing, often in semi-urban and urban slums, with practically no access to safe water or to sewerage. These people are also exposed to pollution, traffic and industrial and other risks at home, at work or in their communities, much more than the wealthy people living in the same cities. They have insufficient food that too of poor quality from the point of nutrition. Even in rich countries, the poor suffer worse health than do the better off. Children are particularly affected in the poorest regions of the world, one in five children dies before his or her first birthday, mostly from environment-related diseases such as acute respiratory infections, diarrhea and malaria. Not only are children more heavily and frequently exposed to threats to their health in the environment, but also they are more vulnerable to the ill effects on health. For example, in the USA and parts of Europe, lead poisoning illustrates the unequal burden of risk borne by poor inner-city children, who are more heavily exposed to sources of lead in and around the home and are also more affected by the toxicity of lead. Energy consumption Compared to the rural areas, people in towns and cities consume large amount of energy. For example, the old type of Indian houses were made of wood, mud and unburnt bricks which required very little temperature adjustments and consequently very little energy was required for heating and cooling. The present buildings in towns and cities are mostly made of concrete, cement, steel, aluminium, marble, well-burnt bricks and glass. These materials are energy intensive and the houses made with them require a lot of power to keep them comfortable during the winter and the summer and also for lighting and decoration. The process of manufacture of these materials also consumes enormous amount of energy in different forms. At earlier times, people used fuel wood or charcoal in kitchens for making food and also in the living rooms for heating. This did not create any environmental problem such as that of smoke because the houses had separate kitchens at a distance from the main living quarters and the houses were tall having provision of chimneys. This is no longer possible in todays housing blocks where the living quarters are not separated from the kitchens; the RCC structure does not allow having tall roofs and also chimneys. Therefore the fuel type has to be changed as otherwise there will be serious smoke and associated health problems. Kerosene replaced firewood and charcoal as the favourite fuel for the urban homes. Later kerosene gave way to natural gas and electricity during the 1970s. The dependence on firewood has continued in the rural areas particularly for people living in the far-flung areas of the foothills and the forests. Newer tools of comfort came to be used in the urban centers. The use of electric fans during the summer has become a common practice but the effluent has gone for air-conditioning in their houses. As the houses have become almost like glass towers and since glass is a very bad conductor of heat, this has created problem of large temperature difference between outside and inside of a house requiring much energy to be spent on air-conditioning. Additional energy need has become necessary for running the lifts and operating a large number of other gadgets of modern life The other major urban energy need is for transport. The towns and cities are roaming with buses, trucks, cars, two- and three-wheelers all of which depend on fossil fuels, namely petrol and diesel. The number of vehicles has increased at a very fast rate during the last few years despite the higher price of fuel. Small, narrow and improperly maintained roads and overcrowding have further aggravated the problem. Traffic congestion has become a serious problem in all urban areas. Slower moving vehicles burn more fuel and thereby the energy efficiency is further reduced. This has also given rise to problems of carbon monoxide pollution, smog and other environmental problems affecting peoples health particularly through various respiratory diseases. Time has come to design an efficient public transport system, which will lead to substantial energy saving, minimize congestion and reduce pollution problems. 6.3 Water conservation, rainwater harvesting, and watershed management All living organisms need water, plants use it in photosynthesis, humans and other animals drink it, and aquatic plants and animals live in it. Water also plays an important part in many natural and human processes and is a critical component of countless physical and chemical reactions. It also supports many economic activities. The amount of water in the world has remained constant. In fact, water hasnt changed in amount or nature for millions of years. It just keeps cycling and recycling from atmosphere to earth and back again. Freshwater is a precious resource as it makes up less than 3% of the earths total water resources. Because freshwater is so limited and plays such a key role in world health, economies, and environmental stability, it must be conserved and used in a sustainable manner. The efficient use of water implies doing more with less. Efficiencies can be gained in all sectors, including agriculture, municipal, domestic, and industry. Central to a successful water conservation program are an understanding of The water resource itself (baseline data and monitoring) How, when, and why water is used (water audits and metering) The full cost of providing water of suitable quality and disposing of wastewater Alternative water-efficient technologies, processes, and practices Attitudes and values related to water and the environment. Public education and awareness are necessary in implementing water conservation. However, they may need to be supplemented by appropriate legislation and regulations and economic incentives and disincentives, including consumption-based pricing. Demand for more water has been very common. This demand can be reduced by careful planning. This involves the following measures: More-efficient irrigation systems Drought-resistant cultivars and crop rotations More-efficient livestock watering systems Water metering and charging for water Use of effluent and wastewater for irrigation Household water conservation. The water resources have to be carefully managed through the following steps: Dividing water resources into various divisions for effective supply Laying a network of supply pipelines Building reservoirs for storing water Increasing water availability through groundwater extraction Treatment of wastewaters and making arrangement for their reuse Reducing losses through seepage and evaporation. Managing Excess Water. Sometimes, more water is available than the actual need. In such cases, the management of the excess water can be achieved by taking it to deficient areas through drainage: Many agricultural areas are low lying or located in flood plains and require drainage to be profitable. Good drainage improves plant growth and crop productivity, helps to reduce soil salinity and erosion, and allows farmers a wider selection of crops and a longer growing season, all of which help to reduce the costs of production. There are two types of artificial drainage system: surface and subsurface. Surface systems may contribute to declining water quality in watercourses by releasing drainage water containing sediments, nutrients, and chemicals. Subsurface systems release substances that leach through the soil, such as nitrate, pesticides, and bacteria. Drainage systems can also alter the environment by draining wetlands, removing riparian zones, increasing runoff, and changing a regions hydrology. Proper design and maintenance of drainage systems may alleviate some of these effects, but lost riparian and wetland systems are usually difficult and expensive to replace. On-farm drainage systems are not able to handle large volumes of stormwater received from developed uplands. Properly designed regional drainage systems may be needed to protect lowland agricultural areas. Even so, damage from major floods cannot always be prevented. Maintaining Reliable Water Supplies A sufficient supply of good quality water is needed for agricultural activities such as irrigation and livestock watering, as well as for domestic, municipal, industrial, recreational, and other uses. Water needs to be conserved for the lean periods such as drought. Droughts are very common but difficult to predict. They occur most often in dry regions, but other regions may also have shorter, less serious periods of drought. Drought threatens both crop and livestock production. With the potential threat of global warming and increasing trends in population, urbanization, and consumptive use, the impacts of drought can become more serious. The development of storage reservoirs is essential for maintaining adequate year-round supplies, particularly during the dry season. Groundwater is an important source of water and although the groundwater level goes down during the dry season, sufficient water can be extracted for meeting different needs. Sustainable use of groundwater resources depends on withdrawing water at rates that do not exceed recharge rates. Deep aquifers recharged only by water filtering through overlying materials are particularly at risk of over-withdrawals. Measures have been taken throughout the world for reuse of wastewater at least for irrigation and other non-drinking uses. An adequate supply of good-quality water available round the year is essential for all human activities. Concerns continue to mount regarding the availability of water as demands and competition for water grow in all sectors of society. Management of water supplies must consider all competing uses of water, including those associated with agriculture, industry, municipalities, recreation, and aquatic ecosystems. Drought Drought is a prolonged period of abnormally dry weather that depletes water resources. Because most human activities and ecosystems are dependent on reliable and adequate water resources, the impacts of drought are far reaching. Drought affects our lives by Putting stress on water and food supplies Degrading the environment through poorer water quality and more forest fires, soil erosion, and insect infestations Affecting the economy by reducing the capacity for agricultural production, power generation, transportation, and manufacturing, Causing soil moisture deficit in farmland soils and thereby threatening both crop and livestock production resulting in severe financial losses to farmers. Global warming scenarios predict that unless the warming is controlled, the frequency and severity of drought will increase and the occurrence will be unpredictable with respect to time and location. Three basic types of drought may occur separately or simultaneously: Meteorological drought occurs when precipitation is significantly below normal over a long period. Agricultural drought occurs when low soil moisture and scarce water supplies stunt crop growth, reduce crop yields, and endanger livestock. Hydrological drought occurs when a lengthy meteorological drought causes a sharp drop in the levels of groundwater, rivers, and lakes. The timing of a drought may determine its effects. For example, summer drought usually causes more problems because it coincides with the time of highest water demand. It is to be noted that drought is the result of several factors such as Below normal precipitation Extended hot dry air Already low soil moisture. Because of this complexity, a large range of climatic and hydrological variables are needed to monitor and detect drought, including temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, stream flows, and water supply conditions. The serious impacts of drought call for an integrated effort from the physical, biological, and social sciences to develop effective responses. Surface water management Surface water management requires effective measures to control the extremes of floods and droughts, while maintaining a reliable water supply to meet the basic needs of human life and the demands of economic development. Because of the high degree of variability of precipitation, water storage is a must to provide a year-round supply of water. The storage in the form of reservoirs, dams, dugouts, and natural lakes has been a common practice. A significant challenge to water managers is locating surface water supplies relative to that of water users. Water users (domestic, municipal, agricultural, and industrial) usually require a number of resources and services and are not always located near the water sources. Providing a reliable supply of water to users often requires distribution networks consisting of canals and pipelines. Wetlands Wetlands are areas saturated with water for long enough to significantly alter soil and vegetation and promote aquatic processes. The five main types of wetlands-bogs, fens, swamps, marshes, and shallow water-are characterized by A seasonal or permanent covering of shallow water A water table at or near the surface for most of the growing season Saturated organic soils, or peat, the productivity of which depends on the nutrient status and the pH of the site Water-loving plants, such as cattails, rushes, reeds, sedges, dogwood, willows, and cedars. Wetlands provide a number of environmental benefits, i.e. they provide habitat for wildlife, improve water quality by serving as biological filters and mechanical settling and filtering ponds, which help to remove impurities from the water, recharge groundwater, augment low flow in watercourses, serve as a buffer against drought, reduce the risk and damage of flooding by storing large volumes of water during heavy rainfall, rapid thaws, or runoff events, and stabilize shorelines. The other important services rendered by wetlan

Grammar Practice Test

| | | I. Identify the clause elements in the following sentences (20 points, 2 point for each blank). 1. Saturn is one of the most beautiful planets to look at through a telescope because of the many rings that surround it. A. Complement:_______________________________________________________ B. Adverbial:________________________________________________________ 2. The boy scouts teach their members an â€Å"Outdoor Code† before they camp. A. Direct Object:_______________________________________________________ B. Indirect Object:______________________________________________________ 3.The direction a hurricane’s spiral moves is counterclockwise. A. Subject:____________________________________________________________ B. Complement :_______________________________________________________ 4. These criminals might have been guilty of murder. A. Predicate Verb: _____________________________________________________ B. Complement: ______________________________________________ ________ 5. Hurricane winds can blow as fast as 180 miles (290 kilometers) an hour. A. Predicate Verb: ____________________________________________________ B.Adverbial:_______________________________________________________ | | | II. Choose the best answer from the four choices marked A,B,C and D (80 points, 2 point for each multiple-choice question). 1. Recently, he has lost all his _____ at cards. A. wages and saving B. wages and saving C. wage and savings D. wages and savings. 2. That magnificent _____ temple was constructed by the Chinese. A. eight-centuries-old B. old-eight-centuries C. eight-century’s-old D. eight-century-old 3. Why is there _______ traffic on the streets in February than in May?A. fewer B. less C. little D. fewer 4. The students spent ________ their time working in the field. A. both B. most C. more D. half 5. There is a truck ____ the classroom. A. in the front of B. in front of C. in front D. at the front of 6. â€Å"What is he? † â€Å"He is _____. † A. a poet and novelist B. a poet and a novelist C. poet and novelist D. the poet and novelist 7. I am determined to go there ____ instead of taking a bus. A. on the foot B. on foot C. by foot D. on two feet 8. ___ Air and Space Museum has the highest attendance record of all the museums. A. A B. An C. The D. / 9. I don’t take John’s pen because I don’t like ____. A. that pen of his B. that his pen C. his that pen D. that pen of him 10. Our home is finer than ____. A. yours and him B. your’s or his C. you and he D. yours and his 11. We consider ____ logical that not all plants can be put into practice. A. it B. that C. what D. which 12. It is a pity that ____ of her two husband has been capable of understanding her. A. either B. neither C. both D. each 13.It is one thing to enjoy listening to good music, but it is quite ____ to perform skillfully yourself. A. any other B. another C. other thing D. some other. 14. At least he was there in ti me to tell his adventures to Jim while Jim did ____ of the work. A. three-fourths B. three-fourth C. threes-fourths D. threes-fourth 15. The wheels of the old wagon are nearly ____ those of a modern car. A. three times the size of B. three times size of C. three times D. threes times the sizes of 16. He ____ on me his own ideas about the novel. A. composed B. proposed C. imposed D. pposed 17. At the present system, state enterprises ____ all profits to the government. A. turn down B. turn up C. turn out D. turn in 18. Very few scientists ____ completely new answers to the world’s problem. A. come up with B. come round C. come out D. come up to 19. Important people don’t often have much free time as their work ____ all their time. A. takes away B. takes over C. takes up D. takes in 20. This article ____ more attention to the problem of cultural interference in foreign language teaching and leaning. A. cares for B. allows for C. applies for D. alls for 21. When a fire __ __ at the National Exhibition in London, at least ten priceless paintings were completely destroyed. A. broke off B. broke down C. broke out D. broke up 22. He got word that a delegation____. A. soon has arrived B. soon arrived C. is soon going to arrive D. would soon arrive 23. It has been about 7 years since they _____. A. got married B. got marry C. get married D. have married 24. He left home in the 1970s and ____ heard of since. A. hadn’t been B. wasn’t C. not has been D. has not been 25. He ____ TV when I dropped in last night. A. as watching B. had watch C. watched D. have been watching 26. If one ____ by vanity, he will be very particular about other’s clothing and appearance. A. overcomes B. will be overcome C. is overcome D. has been overcome 27. By promoting more even income distribution in a developing country, a lower birth rate would ____. A. be achieved B. achieved C achieve D. be achieving 28. It is important that the hotel receptionist ____ that guests are registered correctly. A. has made sure B. must make sure C. made sure D. make sure 29. Had he worked harder, he ____ the exams.A. must have got through B. would get through C. would have got through D. could get through. 30. I don’t mind ____ the decision as long as it is not too late. A. you to delay B. your delaying making C. your delaying to make D. you delay to make. 31. The Dream of the Red Chamber is said ____ into dozens of languages in the last decade. A. to have been translated B. to translate C. to be translated D. to have translated 32. Silver is the best conductor of electricity, copper ____ it closely. A. followed B. to following C. following D. eing followed 33. All things ____, the planned trip will have to be called off. A. considered B. be considered C. considering D. having considered 34. It was essential that the application forms ____ back before the deadline. A. must be sent B. be sent C. would be sent D. were sent 35. ____ for your laziness, you could have finished the assignment by now. A. Had it not been B. Weren’t it C. It were not D. Had it been not 36. The suggestion that the mayor ____ the prizes was accepted by everyone. A. would present B. present C. ought to present D. presents 37.I don’t think it advisable that Tome ____ to the job since he has no experience. A. is assigned B. be assigned C. will be assigned D. has been assigned 38. ____ such a good chance, he planned to learn more. A. To be given B. Having been given C. Having given D. Giving 39. I wish I ____ longer this morning, but I had to get up and come to class. A. could have slept B. should have slept C. slept D. have slept 40. It’s already 5 o’clock now. Don’t you think it’s time ____? A. we are going home B. we went home C. we go home D. we can go home. ———————–