Managing Risks in Oil and Gas Companies

Managing Risks in Oil and Gas Companies Introduction Oil and gas companies face a variety of risks in the process of their operations. Many occurrences that happen outside a company may have an effect on the firm and the financial decisions that it makes. Changes in interest rates, prices of oil, and exchange rates among others are likely to alter the financial decisions of a firm. It is therefore imperative for firms to ensure that no potential economic changes pose a threat to their business.Advertising We will write a custom dissertation sample on Managing Risks in Oil and Gas Companies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to Taylor and Kathleen (2013, p. 80), corporate financial managers are charged with the responsibility of ensuring that any past, current, and future fluctuations will not affect the economic standing of the firm. McShane and Anil (2011, p. 641) affirm that companies use various risk management tools known as derivatives to manage risks. The tool used should caution the firm from negative impacts of various risks that may happen in its environment. According to Smistad and Igor (2012, p. 46), in western Canada, oil companies apply future derivatives to buy certain goods or services at a price that is agreed upon today. Chanmeka et al. (2012, p. 259) argue that some companies make use of options where a firm gains the right to sell or buy certain goods or services at a certain price in the future. McShane and Anil (2011, 641) confirm that risk information is crucial to investors and the entrepreneurs themselves. The oil and gas industry is likely to face various risks. For example, political risks, geological risks, price risks, supply and demand risks, and cost risks amongst others. This paper will discuss risk management in various gas and oil companies presenting a detailed literature review of risks in general followed by a detailed discussion of the in the oil and gas firms. Risks The subject of risks is quite pivotal w hen it comes to the running of various organisations. Companies need to be aware of the possible or rather potential risks that they are likely to encounter in a bid to develop mechanisms of mitigating them in real time once they occur to ensure continued operation rather than untimely closure of such firms due to their failure to take the necessary precautionary measures. Various risks are likely to affect different investments. Such risks include political risks, price fluctuations, and changes in supply and demand, natural calamities, geological risks, economic recessions, and government control risks amongst others. Entrepreneurship is a risky undertaking and every entrepreneur has to risk some of these factors and get into business.Advertising Looking for dissertation on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to Taylor and Kathleen (2013, p. 83), in the world of business, general risks af fect literary every company in business though at varying intensities. Risks have various implications on business depending on the level of their impacts and predisposition of a particular business on them. In some instances, risks may lead to complete loss of business. For example, if a business is exposed to fire and explosives risks, it can be completely wiped out in case of an accident. However, McShane and Anil (2011, p. 641) affirm that some of the risks affect all businesses in their every day affairs, for example supply and demand risk, price risks, and government regulations. Businesses have little or no control on some risks such as natural calamity risks, for instance earthquakes and floods. Nevertheless, it is important for a business to devise ways and methods of detecting, assessing, and mitigating the risks. Oil and Gas Companies Oil and gas companies provide a working illustration of the subject of risks that is under scrutiny based on the various risks they encount er in their everyday business affairs. From the point of extracting oil and gas, processing it into finished products to transportation, warehousing, and retailing, the whole business is a risk. These companies encounter various types of risks in their line of business. Chanmeka et al. (2012, p. 259) assert that risks affect almost every firm in business and are likely to affect the oil and gas industry more than any other firm. According to Helman (2013, p. 62), the oil and gas industry faces tight regulations on how to conduct its business. Such regulations include rules on how oil and gas are extracted from the source, regulations on where they can be extracted and where extraction cannot be done, and regulations of the period in which extraction of oil and gas can be done. The government has the upper hand in such regulations since oil business is lucrative. In fact, the political wrangles that affect most countries that have oil and gas resources revolve around the control of o il wells by the government. Countries such as Sudan and Southern Sudan have been in conflict due to control of oil wells.Advertising We will write a custom dissertation sample on Managing Risks in Oil and Gas Companies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Such political wrangles have also been witnessed in Kuwait and Nigeria. Whenever there are political wrangles in the control of oil and gas, the companies that invest in such nations face higher economic and political risks. Haselip and Martà ­nez (2011, p. 1) argue that politics of regionalism, equitable distribution of national resources, and resource distribution also affect oil and gas regulation. In some cases, the laws governing extraction, processing, and distribution of oil and gases in different states may vary. Antonsen, Kari, and Jarl (2012, 2001) reveal that it is more risky to carryout oil and gas business in dependence on foreign deposits without standardisation. In the o il and gas industry, some companies that show interest are likely to invest in any part of the world where the oil and gas field has a sheer disregard of the political climate of the country. According to Helman (2013, p. 63), if the host country nationalises the industry, foreign investors are likely to suffer loss. Politics of that kind of nation may also change to favour certain investors or category of investors where the foreign investor may not be considered. Antonsen, Kari, and Jarl (2012, p. 2001) argue that some economies will attract investors to begin the process of extraction. Nevertheless, once the process of extraction is complete and the oil and business industry becomes lucrative, politicians, activists, and government officials enact laws to enable the government to leap more from the industry. An investor who puts his or her resources in such an industry is therefore likely to suffer loss. Political risk in oil industry is a major threat to the stability of the sec tor. It is even more risky to invest in the oil and gas industry in some developing countries. In some of the developing countries with plenty of oil and gas such as Libya and Sudan in Africa, the countries are under poor political leadership thus posing a great risk to investors in the industry. Whenever there is a political turmoil in various nations, oil tankers are targeted due to the high flammability of oil. In addition, Dumaine (2013, p. 102) affirms that oil and gas industries demand tight security and surveillance even in small quantities such as in China. It would therefore mean that, when there is political instability in a county, the rate of insecurity goes down. Consequently, the risk on the industry goes up.Advertising Looking for dissertation on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Wilkinson and Roland (2013, p. 118) assert that the process of gas and oil exploitation has also become very risky especially with the current dynamics. For instance, drilling of oil is happening in very dangerous environments such as oceans. Extraction in such areas increases the risks that oil and gas industries have to incur in the process of extraction, refining, distribution, and marketing. Smistad and Igor (2011, p. 91) affirm that there has also been an increase in the level of unconventional methods of oil and gas extraction. Out of such unconventional methods of mining, some potential oil and gas mines have been poorly exploited or destroyed. In fact, some of these procedures have been used to extract oil and gas in places where it would have proved impracticable. According to Smistad and Igor (2012, p. 46), gas and oil extraction companies involve themselves in great risks by investing a lot of finances and other resources in extraction. Some companies have incurred much c ost in the process of extracting gas and oil only to find minimal deposits than they had estimated. It is therefore risky ventures for a company to be sure that geologists and rock experts have enough evidence of the presence of oil or gas in a certain area. According to Smistad and Igor (2011, p. 91), it is also risky for the extraction company to hire specialists such as geologists in oil in the process of investigating the presence oil or gas in a certain field and then fail to realise the targeted amount of oil or gas. Oil and gas extraction, processing, marketing, and distribution constitute a business that aims at obtaining profits. The prices in the oil and gas markets must therefore be able to sustain the industry in a profitable way. Fluctuation in oil and market prices is a risk factor to the industry. No one can predict what the prices of oil or gas will be when the process of extraction will be completed. Mehemed, Kamal, Kieran, and Kong (2012, p. 201) argue that compani es in this industry therefore undertake a risk in extracting and purifying the gas without clear future market prices for their products. In several instances, oil and gas extraction companies have undergone the whole process of geological tests and drilling despite their ending up without the projected product. In such cases, unless the gas and oil extraction company is insured, it suffers a big loss. The nature of oil and gas market has been fluctuating over the years. According to Chen and Jevons (1993, p. 667), fluctuation of oil and gas prices poses a great risk to the stakeholders in the industry. Supply and demand issue is a limitation to the oil and gas industry. Venturing into oil and gas industry involves investing huge capital. The operations involved in extracting oil and gas are very expensive and extraction companies have to invest in the process. However, such companies may not be aware of the trend that prices of gas and oil will take in the future. Wood (2011, p. 11 3) affirms that demand and supply keep on changing. When the supply of gas in the world market goes high, the prices go down thus increasing the risk of incurring heavy losses. Oil and gas industry also experiences imbalances when prices of oil go up. In most cases, when the prices of oil and gases hike, large warehouses hoard the commodities. Okeefe and Doris (2013, p. 158) argue that hoarding increases the risk of loss of customers on retailers and local wholesalers since the commodity does not reach the target consumer. Such suppliers are also at the risk of being compromised of inconsistency by their customers. Mohanty and Mohan (2011, p. 165) argue that it is also very hard to predict the production rates of gas and oil in various states especially with a nation with many states such as the U.S. Kendrick (2012, p. 61) affirms that unpredictability of productivity increases the risk of price fluctuation in the oil and gas industry. In addition, Andersson, Sudhir, and Zafar (2009 , p. 440) reveal that, whenever there is a financial crisis in a country or a region, for example, the American crisis or the European crisis of 2007, supply and demand of oil and gas also change. Financial crisis increases the risk of reduced purchasing power. Hence, the affected country experiences low demand for oil and gases. Wood (2011, p. 113) point out that the economic crisis increases the risk of low supply and demand due to its ability to reduce the capital base of a nation. When a country has a low capital base, it is limited in its operations. Donaldson and Schoemaker (2013, p. 24) argue that the macroeconomic position of the industry can also increase the risk of demand and supply. Macroeconomic power of every industry dictates the success of business under it. The oil and gas industry experiences huge operational costs. Okeefe and Doris (2013, p. 158) argue that all the other risk factors involved in the oil and gas industry drain into operational costs. Mohanty and Mo han (2011, p. 165) argue that, when the regulations set by political leaders and governments of a particular nation are very tight, the operation cost goes up. Tight regulations make the process of extracting, processing, and distributing gas and oil more extensive and hence expensive. Wilkinson and Roland (2013, p. 118) posit that the operations that are involved in the process of oil mining and gas harvesting determine the level of operations risks that a firm is likely to incur. The operations involved in drilling are also extensive and expensive. Mehemed, Kamal, Kieran, and Kong, (2012, p. 201) establish that the process of drilling is coupled with many limitations, for instance, bad weather, poor soils and other geological factors, inaccessibility, and technological problems. Such problems increase the operations cost. When the operations cost hikes, the industry becomes disfranchised. Different producers set their own market prices to overcome their cost of production. Accordi ng to Donaldson and Schoemaker (2013, p. 24), variation in the cost of production makes it difficult for nations of the world to set standard oil and gas prices. In fact, some industries incur a double or triple cost of production compared to others. It is out of such variations that oil and gas prices have become very competitive in the market. According to Robb (2012, p. 756), industries that have been in the line of production for many years incur lesser risks than new industries. Managing Risks- Risk Identification, Risk Assessment, and Risk Control The oil and gas industry is a risk-prone industry. Various uncertainties go along these risks such as the risk of exploration, demand and supply risk, crude price uncertainty, and product line risk. According to Robb (2012, p. 756), the oil and gas industry is one of the risky ventures. Hence, to prevent the danger that the industry poses, there should be the need to manage it. Sarkar (2012, p. 28) affirms that management of risks al so ensures that the small industries and the upcoming ones become commercially viable. In addition, there are technological risks such as â€Å"cyber threats of Stuxnet virus, which also target lucrative oil and gas industry† (Sudhir, and Zafar 2009, p. 440). These and many other risks in oil and gas industry necessitate the need for risk management. Consequently, various methods of risk management have been put in place to mitigate risks in this industry. Risk Identification Oil and gas companies have invested in information access control and management. Such risk management strategies involve identifying and accessing the right information at all time when it is very necessary. Information management has been a great source of risk in the oil and gas industry. Oil and gas companies have therefore put in place mechanisms to harvest policy information, process it, and use it gainfully. According to Andersson, Sudhir, and Zafar (2009, p. 440), information harvesting, processi ng, and management reduce the risk of operations. When companies access the right information before investment, they are able to reduce compliance risks. The company can use future derivative to organise how it will acquire various goods and services in the future at a certain price. Sarkar (2012, p. 28) affirms that speedy exchange of information across the industry enables investors to make the right information. Classified information and access to the information systems of oil and gas companies has also been highly controlled. Risk Assessment Modern technology aids in the reduction of variation in governance-risk-compliance. Technology is also an efficient tool in the reduction of operational risk. According to Akhibi (2012, p. 6), the use of real time monitoring technology enables the oil and gas companies to improve the availability of the commodity to customers, reduce operational costs, avoid conflicts with the society and the regulatory authorities, and reduce the risk of demand and supply. Dumaine (2013, p. 102), affirms that oil and gas companies are adopting condition-based monitoring in risk management, which involves positioning various sensors to measure and record the prevailing environmental conditions such as vibration and temperatures (Pinheiro 2011, p. 34). Such sensors enable the oil and gas companies to detect equipment failure in real time. In fact, Srivastava and Gupta (2010, p. 407) assert that the devices are sophisticated to ensure that alert devices either sound the alarm or give work orders to the operations department. Wimalasiri et al. (2010, p. 49) affirm that sensors have enabled many oil companies to avoid the risk of losing billions of money in spillage and leakages. Some oil and gas companies have set up strategic teams to manage any eventuality such as equipment failure and fire outbreaks. Schroeder and Jan (2007, p. 0.1) point out that fire departments are also connected to sensors in order to enable quick response to ev entualities and occurrences. Wimalasiri et al. (2010, 49) argue that predictive maintenance enables the industry to realise when there is the need to purchase certain equipments before the actual damage is done. Various modern technology devices are put in place to detect wear-and-tear and obsoleteness of equipments in the oil industry. Qian, Yulin, and Gonzalez (2012, p. 859) observe that, whenever the devices sense that a gas tank or an oil tank is not up to the set standards, the necessary alert message is sent to the maintenance department for replacement. Srivastava and Gupta (2010, p. 407) affirm that the sensor is also able to compare and analyse the level of functionality of every device in the firm and or give the right report on each. Pinheiro (2011, p. 34) observes that such quick reactions enable the firm to avoid health risks. Risks Control Oil and gas companies have to deal with the increased compliance and regulations facing the industry today. For example, according to Molokwu, Barreria, and Boris (2013, p. 2), in South Africa, tight requirements of reporting on all operations and events of minor accidents and incidents have been an expensive venture for the industry. There are also tight regulations on drilling operations. Oil and gas companies have therefore put in place mechanisms to ensure that the checklist for all regulations is complied with as the government of the area dictates (Chan 2011, p. 341). Such compliance includes registration of the company, authorisation for drilling, construction of the industry, reliability in maintenance of structures such as oil wells, and the ability to remain in the market as a competitive industry (Khan 2010, p. 157). According to Haselip and Martà ­nez (2011, p. 1), politics in a certain nation or state can play a role in the oil and gas industry. The major role that political forces play in the oil and gas industry is to regulate prices. Politicians are opinion leaders who largely become policy mak ers. Oil and gas industries have therefore put in place mechanisms to work with government in price regulations and policy control. The gas and oil companies have to deal with various environmental and health risk compliance processes. The oil and gas industry also faces the risk of geological inadequacy. In most of the nations and states, the reserve of oil and gas is already tapped out. The risk has also spread in nations that have been exploiting their reserves since they are also in the process of being fully exploited. According to Andersen and Aamnes (2012, p. 2010), companies have therefore put in place methods of ensuring that they comply with the health regulations in their area of investment. Oil is a pollutant to the environment in a double way especially when not well handled. According to Perunović and Jelena (2012, p. 130), the risk of oil spillage in water, for example, during mining or transportation in the sea has been greatly reduced through modern technology. Sophisticated mining methods have been employed to ensure no oil spillage during mining. In fact, Perunović and Jelena (2012, p. 130) affirm that modern water vessels have also been adopted in transporting oil through the sea. Khan (2010, p. 157) posits that employees’ health and safety have also been a risk issue in the oil and gas industry. Oil and gas prices are another risk that investors in this industry face. Chen and Jevons (1993, p. 667) argue that prices dictate whether a venture into extracting oil or gas is to be feasible or not. When geological limitations are high, the price risk of extracting oil or gas goes high. Oil and gas companies have therefore ensured high safety standards to employees through education and trainings. According to Molokwu, Barreria, and Boris (2013, p. 2), employees are taught how to protect themselves, how to behave while in the extraction site or in the storage and distribution site, and even how to manage eventualities such as fire outbreaks. Chan (2011, p. 341) reveal that oil and gas companies have also ensured that the community living near the mines and storage areas are also informed on management of fire and spillage. According to Hayes and Hopkins (2012, p. 145), oil and gas companies have also made use of resource centres that are set within the industries. Various minds gather in the resource centres to exchange ideas on the problems facing the industry. Schroeder and Jan (2007, p. 0.1) affirm that, unlike in the past when orders came from managers, engineers in today’s industry meet and exchange knowledge on various problems that their firms face. Hayes and Hopkins (2012, p. 145) assert that, with the meeting of engineering experts from various departments, the right solutions are likely to be realised to eliminate various risks facing oil and gas industries for example the geological and price fluctuation risks. The experts will come up with recommendations on the right measures that the ind ustry should take to avoid risks. Such decisions and recommendations majorly include modification, technological adaptations, planning, and maintenance. With the modern advancement in information technology, cyber crime and information system hacking has posed another risk to the oil and gas industry. According to Akhibi (2012, p. 6), in Nigeria, oil and gas companies have therefore put in place cyber security designs and technologies to mitigate the risk. In oil and gas industries, information system security has been highly integrated with people, processes, data, and systems. Such ventures secure the system to ensure accountability on the side of the operators. Qian, Yulin, and Gonzalez (2012, p. 859) argue that information security also ensures continuous surveillance of the internet protocol openings and filtration of information before it gains access to the main information system of the company. Importance of Managing Risks specifically in Oil and Gas Companies Based on the information already presented concerning risks and their repercussions if not mitigated, it becomes clear on the need to manage risks by all organisations, leave alone the oil and gas companies. Such risks reduce the ability of the firm to predict the course of business. The oil and gas industry faces various difficulties and tight monitoring by many authorities. Investing in the oil industry is also a very risky venture. In this light of probability of loss in the oil and gas industries, this paper highlights various importance of risk mitigation. Every derivative that oil and gas industries put in place should aim at risk mitigation. The derivatives that a firm takes should be aimed at cautioning the industry from the past, current, and future risks. Kendrick (2012, p. 61) asserts that risk management in oil and gas industries ensures that there is proper compliance with the regulations of the authorities in their place of business. Insuring the business against various risks also enables the company to have confidence and security in trade. Such regulations should also be adhered to avoid the risk of regulations and compliance. According to Andersen and Aamnes (2012, p. 2010), managing risks in the oil and gas industry enables the companies to have clear visibility of the current position and the future of the firm. Such a goal can be attained by venturing into future derivatives. The industry should sign for future trading ventures at certain prices with certain companies. Conclusion In conclusion, every business venture is exposed to various risks. Consequently, every business has to put in place various mechanisms to identify, monitor, assess, and control risks. Private enterprise is generally a risky venture. However, as discussed, the oil and gas company is bound to face more risks than any other business. The major risks that affect oil and gas companies include geological risks, political risks, government regulations, and compliance risks, price flu ctuation, demand and supply, and natural calamities risk. Oil and gas companies have therefore invested heavily in various risk mitigation measures. Such measures include risk identification, risk assessment, and risk monitoring and control. It is important to manage risks in every business venture. Risks can result in complete loss of business. They can lead to conflicts with the authorities and the communities in the business environment. It is therefore important to comply with the regulatory measures put in place by the regulatory authorities. Insuring the business against various risks is also an important step in risk mitigation. References Akhibi, O 2012, ‘Risk Management An Essential Ingredient in Nigerian Oil and Gas Construction Projects Delivery’, PM World Today, vol. 14 no. 3, p. 6. Andersen, S Aamnes, M 2012, ‘Risk analysis and risk management approaches applied to the petroleum industry and their applicability to IO concepts’, Safety Science , vol. 50 no. 10, pp. 2010-2019. Andersson, R, Sudhir, C, Zafar, K 2009, ‘Effects of Cutbacks in the United States Oil and Gas Industry on Employee Attitudes: An Empirical Study’, International Journal of Management, vol. 26 no.3, pp. 400-411. Antonsen, S, Kari, S, Jarl, R 2012, ‘The role of standardisation in safety management – A case study of a major oil gas company’, Safety Science, vol. 50 no. 10, pp. 2001-2009. Chan, M 2011, ‘Fatigue: the most critical accident risk in the oil and gas construction’, Construction Management Economics, vol. 29 no. 4, pp. 341-353. Chanmeka, A, Thomas, S, Caldas, C, Mulva, S 2012, ‘Assessing key factors impacting the performance and productivity of oil and gas projects in Alberta’, Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 39 no. 3, pp. 259-270. Chen, K Jevons, C 1993, ‘Financial Ratios and Corporate Endurance: A Case of the Oil and Gas Industry’, Contemporary Accounti ng Research, vol. 9 no. 2, pp. 667-694. Dumaine, B 2013, ‘Fracking Comes To China’, Fortune, vol. 167 no.6, p. 102. Donaldson, T Schoemaker, P 2013, ‘Self-Inflicted Industry Wounds: Early Warning Signals and Pelican Gambits’, California Management Review, vol. 55 no. 2, pp. 24-45. Haselip, J Martà ­nez, R 2011, ‘Perus Amazonian oil and gas industry: risks, interests and the politics of grievance surrounding the development of block 76, Madre de Dios’, International Development Planning Review, vol. 33 no. 1, pp. 1-26. Hayes, J Hopkins, A 2012, ‘Deepwater Horizon - lessons for the pipeline Industry’, Journal of Pipeline Engineering, vol. 11 no. 3, pp. 145-153. Helman, C 2013, ‘The Worlds Biggest Gusher’, Forbes, vol. 191 no. 3, pp. 62-68. Kendrick, V 2012, ‘Safety Management in the Oil Gas Industry’, EHS Today, vol. 5 no. 8, pp. 61-62. Khan, M 2010, ‘Effects of Human Resource Management Practice s on Organisational Performance An Empirical Study of Oil and Gas Industry in Pakistan’, European Journal of Economics, Finance Administrative Sciences, vol. 1 no. 24, pp. 157-175. McShane, M Anil, N 2011, ‘Rustambekov, Elzotbek (2011). Does Enterprise Risk Management Increase Firm Value?’, Journal of Accounting, Auditing Finance, vol. 26 no. 4, pp. 641-658. Mehemed, E et al. 2012, ‘The Quantity and Quality of Environmental Disclosure in Annual Reports of National Oil and Gas Companies in Middle East and North Africa’, International Journal of Economics Finance, vol. 4 no. 10, pp. 201-217. Molokwu, V, Barreria, J, Boris, U 2013, ‘Entrepreneurial orientation and corporate governance structures at the firm level in the South African oil and gas industry’, South African Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 11 no. 1, pp. 1-15. Mohanty, S Mohan, N 2011, ‘Oil Risk Exposure: The Case of the U.S. Oil and Gas Sector’, Fi nancial Review, vol. 46 no. 1, pp. 165-191. Okeefe, B Doris, B 2013, ‘The Unseen hand That Moves the Worlds Oil’, Fortune, vol. 167 no. 4, p. 158. Perunović, Z Jelena, V 2012, ‘Environmental Regulation and Innovation Dynamics in the Oil Tanker Industry’, California Management Review, vol. 55 no. 1, pp. 130-148. Pinheiro, A 2011, ‘Assessing Risk: A Simplified Methodology for Prejob Planning in Oil Gas Production’, Professional Safety’, vol. 56 no. 9, pp. 34-41. Qian, Ying, Yulin, C, Gonzalez, J 2012, ‘Managing information security risks during new technology adoption’, Computers Security, vol. 31 no. 8, pp. 859-869. Robb, M 2012, ‘Human factors engineering in oil and gas a review of industry guidance’, Work, vol. 41 no. 1, pp. 752-762. Sarkar, A 2012, ‘Impact of Total Cost Management on Financial Performance: An Empirical Study of Selected Public Sector Oil and Gas Companies in India’, Jour nal of Institute of Public Enterprise, vol. 35 no. 3/4, pp. 28-39. Smistad, R Igor, P 2012, ‘Hedging, Hedge Accounting and Speculation: Evidence from Canadian Oil And Gas Companies’, Global Journal of Business Research (GJBR), vol. 6 no.3, pp. 49-62. Smistad, R Igor, P 2011, ‘Hedging, Hedge Accounting and Speculation: Exploratory Study Based On A Sample Of Western Canadian Oil And Gas’, Global Conference on Business Finance Proceedings’, vol. 6 no. 2, pp. 91-104. Schroeder, B Jan, J 2007, ‘Why Traditional Risk Management Fails in the Oil and Gas Sector: Empirical Front-Line Evidence and Effective Solutions’, AACE International Transactions, vol. 1 no. 2, pp. 01.1-01.6. Srivastava, A Gupta, J 2010, ‘New methodologies for security risk assessment of oil and gas industry’, Process Safety Environmental Protection: Transactions of the Institution of Chemical Engineers Part B, vol. 88 no. 6, pp. 407-412. Taylor, M Kathleen, B 2013, ‘Managing Risks In The Volatile Energy Industry’, RMA Journal, vol. 95 no. 6, pp. 80-84. Wilkinson, A Roland, K 2013, ‘Living In the Futures’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 91 no. 5, pp. 118-127. 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The 4 Best Free VIN Check Sites

The 4 Best Free VIN Check Sites SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Imagine this: You’ve been saving up to buy a new car for months. You finally find the perfect vehicle and drive it home, only to get a call a few days later. The car was stolen, and you now need to deal with a police investigation. Obviously, this scenario is extreme, but it’s not unheard of for consumers to have issues purchasing new or used cars. One way to cut down on potential problems when purchasing a car is to run a VIN report to check out the vehicle’s history before you buy it. In this article, I’ll explain what a VIN number is, why it’s important, and how to run a free VIN check through the National Insurance Crime Bureau. I’ll also review other options for free VIN reports and discuss whether or not you should pay money for a more detailed VIN report when purchasing a car. What’s a VIN Number? A VIN number is an identifying code that’s associated with a specific automobile. A VIN number is made up of 17 characters (numbers and letters) that act as the vehicle’s fingerprint. No two automobiles have the same VIN number, so you can use a VIN number to track a specific vehicle’s history, registrations, and more. You can find a car’s VIN number by looking on the driver’s side of the vehicle, either at the corner of the vehicle where the windshield meets the dashboard or on the doorpost of the driver’s side front door. You can also find a VIN number on a vehicle’s insurance card, title, and registration. Why Should I Check the VIN Number When Buying a Car? If you’re planning to buy a car (new or used), it’s important to run at least a free VIN report on the car’s VIN number to get a better understanding of its history. Running a free VIN check on the car will pull up its basic history, including information on previous claims of theft and/or accidents. You’ll want to run a VIN check when purchasing a car to make sure that the car is legally available for purchase and that it’s in good enough condition to drive. A VIN check will pull up any significant claims that have been made about the car. These include information about if the car was ever stolen and if it was ever subject to serious damage, such as flood, fire, or accident damage. Reputable car dealerships will often provide you with a copy of the VIN report for the car you’re looking to purchase, free of charge. Your salesman will likely review the report with you, noting the number of owners, any accidents or claims reported on the car, and any other issues of note, such as recalls or leftover warranties. If you’re buying a car from a dealership that doesn’t offer a free VIN check, or purchasing from a private party, you’ll want to run a free VIN report on your own to check for theft records and major accidents. Depending on the circumstances, you may also want to pay for a more detailed VIN report. I’ll discuss when to purchase a detailed VIN report in a later section. How to Use the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s Free VIN Check The National Insurance Crime Bureau is a great resource for running a free VIN lookup search to check for theft and total loss records. In this section, I’ll talk you through how to use the NICB as a resource to check the history of an automobile. The first thing you need to run a free VIN lookup at NCIB is the VIN number of the vehicle you’re looking up. As I mentioned earlier, you can find a vehicle’s VIN number on the driver’s side of the car, either where the dashboard meets the window, or in the driver’s side door. After you have the VIN number in question, go to the NICB VinCheck page and enter the VIN number where it says â€Å"Step 1.† Check the box to agree to the terms and conditions of use in â€Å"Step 2.† Enter the verification code that appears in the box for â€Å"Step 3,† then hit â€Å"search.† You’ll be taken to a page that displays the results of your free VIN lookup. You’ll receive information about the vehicle’s theft and total loss records. A theft record indicates that the car has been marked as stolen at some point in its history, while a total loss record means that the car has been damaged and marked as a loss in an accident, flood, or fire. If your VIN number shows that the vehicle has not been identified, as shown in the above screenshot, that means that the vehicle has never been stolen or had any significant damage that would signify a total loss, e.g., the car's been declared totaled. The vehicle will only be listed in this database if theft or loss records have been generated. If your vehicle shows that there’s a record for either theft or total loss, you’ll want to do more research to find out the exact details of the situation to determine if the vehicle is suitable for purchase. Other Free VIN Check Options You can get a free VIN check from a number of other sites as well. In general, these sites offer more detailed VIN reports than that of the National Insurance Crime Bureau. You can also pay at each of these sites to upgrade your VIN check and receive more information about the car you're purchasing. #1: CarFax CarFax is known as a leader in provided detailed VIN reports to consumers. In fact, many car dealerships will show you the CarFax report for the vehicle you’re looking to purchase. While the most detailed CarFax reports cost money, you can get a basic VIN report on used cars listed on CarFax’s website for free. These reports show accidents reported, owner history, usage information, and service history. #2: Research.com Research.com provides the most comprehensive free VIN report, offering extensive details about the vehicle’s inspection and performance records, safety ratings, warranty, and more. It will also tell you when and where the vehicle has been listed for sale, as well as its sale price. #3: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offers a VIN lookup that gives you information about the car’s make and model, so you can know if it’s under any recall orders. Knowing about recall orders will help you decide if the car is safe to drive and if it’s facing any lengthy or costly repairs. Should You Pay for a More Detailed VIN Report? When should you pay for a more detailed VIN report? Well, a lot of it depends on how much detail you want to know about your car’s history. In general, it’s a good idea to purchase a detailed VIN report if you’re buying a used car and you can’t get one for free from the dealership or individual you’re working with. More detailed VIN reports are fairly cheap - $39.99 to check a single VIN number on CarFax, or $59.99 if you want to check a bundle of five different VIN numbers. Detailed VIN reports go into much more depth about the overall condition of the vehicle. For instance, CarFax’s detailed VIN reports offer comprehensive information about recalls, repairs, dates and times of servicing, and an overall evaluation of the vehicle’s condition. Knowing the vehicle’s condition is important for two reasons. First, it helps ensure that you’re purchasing a car that’ll actually run for you. Second, it lets you know if you’re paying a fair price for the car. Learning about a previous owner’s service records is important as well, as it shows that the car has been properly maintained. Likewise, learning about recalls and warranty information can save you money on repairs and routine service in the long run. If you’re purchasing a new car, you probably don’t need a detailed VIN report, as it won’t tell you much information about the car, since a new car won’t have any ownership or accident records. Review: How to Check a VIN Number for Free A VIN number is like a car’s fingerprint- you can look it up to learn about the car’s history. When purchasing a car, it’s important to run at least a free VIN check to lookup the car’s history and ensure that it doesn’t have any open theft or total loss records. You can also pay for more detailed VIN reports that offer information on a car’s service and ownership history, as well as detailed information about the car’s value.

A Study in Ethics - What's you ethical style Essay

A Study in Ethics - What's you ethical style - Essay Example izations are trying to maintain effective workplace environment and significant collaborative workplace environment in order to ensure effective workplace performance. In addition to this, several leading organizations are trying to develop a multicultural workforce in order to ensure effective knowledge sharing within the workforce. Therefore, any kind of harsh and critical step can change the entire environment of the workplace as it can develop several types of critical workplace conflicts. However, ethics of care can help the organizations to increase the motivation level of the team members. Leadership style of Steve Jobs can be considered as democratic leadership style. He used to implement visionary leadership trait within the workplace under the democratic leadership style in order to increase the level of creativity and motivation among the employees. He always implemented ethics of care during the strategy development and decision making process. Therefore, it is clear that ethics of care and responsibility cannot affect the leadership style of a leader. It is true that ethics of care and responsibility can be considered as the characteristics of women rather than men. Women always try to be kind and sympathetic and motivate the employees or team members to get the work done. It is highly important for a manager or a leader within an organization to implement leadership style according to the nature and demand of the workplace situation. It can help the organization to provide effective solution to the developed challenges and issues. This particular attitude or be havior or characteristic of an individual can help him or her to undertake and implement situational approach that can be termed as most right or appropriate approach in the management style (O’Brien, 2013). In addition to this, reflection of ethic of care or responsibility in the leadership style of a manager or a team leader within an organization can help to adopt and implement flexible

Computer Systems Security Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Computer Systems Security - Term Paper Example This document proposes how paperwork in Kingswood, Inc. can be replaced by an automated system. The document aims to examine the security mechanisms incorporated to ensure managers, coordinators and volunteers benefit from an automated system. This document includes methods of collecting data, costs and schedule for completion of the evaluation and qualification. Problem Statement Storage of information is handled at both the finance and administration departments. This is done in spring files and counter books (Kush, 2003). These are the departments that the proposed system aims to help and address its issues. The proposal aims in helping the Hospice manage its data better as it fulfills its core mandate. Patients’ accommodation Information is the main operation handled by Kingswood, Inc. The proposed automated system aims to ensure that the management workflow goes well as it seeks to ensure fewer repetitions and reduced time in processing of information (Baugh, Sue, & Rober t, 1995). Objectives The proposed system exhibits the following objectives: 1. Ensuring that its patient data is handled with confidentiality and absolute consistency. 2. Improve the general coordination within the entire hospice team and offices through storage of information in a common database. 3. ... 6. The automated system aims in dealing with the security needs of the entire Kingswood, Inc. management. This would be achieved through equipping the computers with encrypted passwords, and having backup data in case of a fire. 7. Being able to search, sort and delete information quickly and in an organized way. Technology used Distributed System Technologies Distributed objects would be used in the context of communications between systems within the facility as well as exchanging data within the external branches. Use of XML tools would allow companies to try and give orders through customized web interfaces. Service Oriented Architectures would be used with the purpose of going paperless. Therefore, Kingswood, Inc. communication with other systems running on any possible stage would be enhanced. The LAN Network Topology The four facilities and central office establish the need for five LAN setup. Each of the facility will be have an internet Service provider to provide them with an internet connection, having each a centralized hub or router at each location for easier management of all systems. In order to support portability in notebook laptops, the hub will support IEEE 802.11g wireless standards. The D- Link Wireless Router fits this need with several ports, up to five, being $70. Using Wi-Fi router as a central access point for each area reduces the number of failure points to the internet connection. Social Media Social media employ web and mobile based forms of technology to support interactive dialogue. It takes many different forms including magazines, internet, social blogs, social networks, wikis, podcasts and many others. Mobile Social Media This media can be used on mobile devices. In comparison to the past traditional media,

Animal Farm Essay Example for Free

Animal Farm Essay Animal Farm by George Orwell is an allegory written in 1943. It was also made into a TV film version in 1999 directed by John Stephenson, produced by Greg Smith and Robert Halmi and distributed by Hallmark Films. Animal Farm is a deceitfully simple story about a group of farm animals who are tired of living in a dystopia caused by humans. They rebel and create their own way of life, only to find themselves back in a dystopia caused by animals. The film follows the plot line of the novel closely but changes some major details. While the film and the novel Animal Farm are basically one in the same and have similar plot lines, the film had less detail, while the novel was thoroughly detailed. The differences between the film and the novel were points of view, exposition and major plots. Orwell tells the story of Animal Farm through a third person, omniscient point of view. The narrator is never involved in the action of the story, but knows everything. This point of view allows readers to see into the minds of the characters and understand their motivations. The film is told by a narrator, a character in the novel, Jessie. It explains the film in a way that she sees everything occurring. It also stops most of the dialogue between the animals and they don’t really talk like they do in the novel. Another difference between the novel and film is the exposition, which gives background information on the plot. In the novel, some of the events that occur in Animal Farm’s exposition play important roles later on in the novel. In the novels exposition, Orwell describes many of the animals that are important to the novel. In the films exposition, very little time is spent on developing the characters of the important animals. Also, the song Beasts of England is not sung in the exposition, unlike the novel, this song plays a very pivotal role later on in the novel. In the film, they don’t know the characters very well and the animals don’t really sing it, they hum it. This takes away from the mood of the song. The movie is merely an adaptation of the novel into film, so almost all the events that take place in the novel will take place in the film. Another difference between the novel and film is the major plot differences. The novel and film follow the same plot line but there are some major differences. In the novel, Old Major died about 3 days after his speech from natural causes. While in the film, Mr. Jones shoots Old Major minutes after his speech, while they’re reciting the Beasts of England song. In the novel, all of the animals could speak while in the film it was arrated by Jessie which cut the dialogue of most of the animals. The end of the film and novel differ greatly. In the novel, the animals are sadly dominated by Napolean. But in the film they somehow overthrow his power and finally bond together for another attempt at a utopia. The film covered major ideas but missed some details, characters, and small stuff that made the novel so interesting. It’s quite apparent that there are many significant differences between Animal Farm the novel and the film. There are a number of differences between the use of point of view, the exposition, and the major plots. Animal Farm is a simple story about a group of farm animals who overthrew their human dictators and their animal counterpart who dictated them also. The novel was very detailed and had many characters which made it very interesting. While the film had less details, and characters which made it a little dull, and boring. These are my comparisons of the film and novel called Animal Farm.

History and Concepts of Boundaries Essays -- essays research papers

Chapter 1 – History and Concepts of Boundaries Principal 2: A suveyor creates land boundary lines. These created lines, which are separate and distinct from property lines, are determined by legal principals and law. Boundaries: The line that separates two adjoining land parcels as determined by legal descriptions. Land boundaries can be marked by hedges, fences, monument, or not at all A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The law determines what boundaries are; facts determine where boundaries are located. B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A boundary exists because the law permits it to exist. Boundary lines are invisible, yet once created, they have legal authority. C.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Boundaries of a parcel are created by the original surveyor through measurements and writings. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A closed boundary describes a claim of right to a property interest for which any person can make a claim of possession. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Once the original boundary is created and described, legally, that description remains in effect forever. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the federal statutes, as well as common case law, those lines remain fixed in perpetuity from the time the first property rights are conveyed. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Usually, to have a boundary created that boundary must have terminal points or corners. a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Corners and monuments are not the same. 1) Corner: Is a calculated point (theory). 2) Monument: Is a physical object on the ground that marks a corner (physical). 3) Corners carry the same legal dignity as monuments. D.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A resurvey should do the following: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Identify the existing conditions of the boundary lines at conveyence. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Identify the condition of the original corner monuments. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Redefine the definition of the courses (bearing/distance) in more modern terms. The Role of the Surveyor and the Law A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The role of the surveyor should include the following: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Create original boundaries of a parcel through measurements and writings. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The surveyor is also the person who retraces the boundaries created originally and creates new evidence for future su... ... of the land, whether or not mentioned in the conveyance. 4)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Easement in Gross: Attaches to a person, not a particular parcel of land. f)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Creating an easement. 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Express conveyence through a deed or will. A)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most popular way to create a deed. B)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Easement Deeds: Those deeds that describe and convey an easement strictly without deeding a tract of land. C)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The deed must describe correctly interest conveyed and must comply with all formalities required for the transfer of land. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Implication (implied easements) A)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the general rule of law, when an owner of a tract of land conveys part of it to another, the owner is said to grant with it, by implication, all easements that apparent and obvious and that are reasonably necessary for the fair enjoyment of the land granted. B)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Implied easements are often sought in litigation when there is no apparent right-of-way to a land locked parcel. 3)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Why does the world exist

All throughout our lives we are told to dream. We know that dreams don't necessarily reflect reality, but they serve as a powerful source of inspiration which can sometimes allow us to change our realities. The reason why dreams are so important to us is because they allow us to experience situations that are beyond what could occur in real life. But how can we be sure that our thoughts and dreams don't directly influence reality? Or that â€Å"reality', as we commonly understand it, isn't real?The answers to these questions are mind-bogglingly complex as they challenge us to magine concepts that should be impossible to comprehend by entities inhabiting our combination of three spatial dimensions and one temporal dimension. The resultant ontological debate can be generally grouped into realist and anti-realist positions. Realism is the philosophical school of thought that suggests the existence of an objective reality with which we communally interact.Within realism there are differ ent perspectives that can be argued that deal with varying degrees of correlation between our perception of reality and the true objective form of reality. These different branches of realism stem from different fundamental beliefs egarding the nature of this relationship. So-called â€Å"naive realism† , also known as direct realism, is the belief that our senses accurately detect mind-independent reality therefore our perceptions of reality correlate directly with the form of the objective reality.Another form of realism known as â€Å"scientific realism† takes a different approach by assuming that the universe exists in a way that can be described by science (the ability to describe an object through science verifies its existence) and that scientific objects and knowledge exist independently of the mind. On the opposite side of the spectrum we have â€Å"anti-realism† which challenges the existence of an objective existence or reality. Ann-realists with resp ect to objective reality hold the belief that a mind-independent world does not exist and everything we experience or perceive is simply a construct of our subjective consciousness.Having been born into an era where technology reigns king, it could be said that I'm predisposed to siding with scientific realism, as the manner by which I Judge a theorys validity is inevitably linked to scientific methods (probability, etc.. ). The igitalization of the world has resulted in a generation that places great faith in numbers and causality, where for an answer or explanation to be considered correct it requires causal proof.Computers have shown that everything can be deconstructed into mathematics, and as such it is easy to assume that because something can be defined by science, that the scientific definition is the correct definition. For example a living creature can be expressed as a series of functions describing its size, shape and even personality, but this does not mean that the liv ing creature is simply a construct of numbers. At a glance, scientific realism seems difficult to refute. Explanations are derived from logical reasoning processes that seek to demonstrate causality.In the world of science, everything is bound by universal rules and laws that are consistent. Unfortunately, this is also where the argument breaks down for me. Scientific realism relies on the assumption that science is objective and can accurately represent true reality, however the validity scientific inquiry as a mind-independent construct is not guaranteed. Science tells us that our conscience is a product of physical processes. Assuming that science is orrect, this would necessitate a pre-existing physical construct or at least the genetic coding for a construct from which we produce our theories.Essentially we would be limited to making â€Å"discoveries† within a predefined scheme, meaning scientific inquiry is a biased mechanism of measuring reality since the method of di scovery is restricted to what our brain is capable of processing. Thus, theories that are scientifically correct force us to reject the notion of the absolute validity of science. When compared with scientific realism, naive realism's foundation in the human senses seems like an oversimplification stemming from hubris. The fundamental assumption of naive realism is that reality exists for humanity.This is not explicitly stated in a description of direct realism philosophy, but the argument that humans see the world exactly as it is almost implies that reality was created for our experience. It is no secret that humans have limited abilities through which to perceive the world. First of all, we rely on only five major sensory mechanisms (seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting). And of these five mechanisms, in comparison to other species, human sensory abilities are extremely poor.The mechanism we rely on the most is our sense of sight. However, not only are humans confronted w ith ocular issues such as macular degeneration or cataracts, but even if our eyes were to be completely free of defect, we would still be limited to seeing the world through the detection of visible light (a tiny range of frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum). Notice that the aforementioned limitations deal strictly with the mechanisms of the eyeball itself and do not include issues that can arise from errors mental processing.The more we delve into the limitations of our perception, the more credence I grant to the idea of a world that exists very ifferently from the way we believe it to, which would have to be defined through a â€Å"higher†, more objective mechanism than our senses alone. I acknowledge that my line of reasoning in dismissing naive realism is flawed as the underlying assumption deals with the improbability that the error-prone human condition could sufficiently detect a large enough portion of true reality to be considered a viable explanation.The co ncept of nothing existing is difficult to ponder as we have no foundation from which to base a mental picture. Normally when trying to imagine nothingness, the ind tends to begin with blackness since blackness (the absence of light) is generally how we think of emptiness or nothingness. Unfortunately we generally run into the same issue as when trying to picture the concept of â€Å"infinity' where we can only envision â€Å"more†, rather than absolute â€Å"infinity'.Though our assumption of the color of nothingness does not directly imply that our reasoning about the form of nothingness is flawed, the fact that we envision nothing as black belies the correlational bias from which we are founding our notions. The anti-real position suggesting that only our consciousness exists is made all the more difficult to ontemplate due to the inability to picture nothingness as it prevents us from being able to use relative reasoning (there is no benchmark to relate to).For this reas on, arguments about the form of non-existence are more easily substantiated by logical means. In Jim Holt's book Why does the World Exist? , he refers to the question, â€Å"Why is there Somethin g? Ratner than Nothing? ‘ and then describes the theories or explanations for why there might actually be Nothing, rather than Something. He does an extensive Job explaining the different ways of conceptualizing Nothing, and it s from these explanations that I came up with my own pro-ex nihilo theory.While I still contend that all theories regarding genesis are impossible to definitely prove, I propose that we are in a constant state of Nothingness, but the form of Nothingness which we experience is Something (reality). For this to be possible, our Something would either have to be Nothing already, or be in a form that is reducible to Nothing. Similar to the Infinite Parallel Universes theory, I am drawn to arguments where Something and Nothing exist simultaneously, as this eliminate s entire fields of debate as to whether Something or Nothing came first.

A Clean and Well-Lighted Place

â€Å"A Clean and Well-Lighted Place† Analysis Does one's purpose in life diminish after there is nothing left in life to look forward to? In Ernest Hemingway’s short story, â€Å"A Clean and Well-Lighted Place,† this question is addressed in terms of the four main themes of existentialism: existence precedes essence, absurdity, anxiety or angst, and nothingness. The author does this by creating a story in which all of these themes are featured individually.Existentialism is â€Å"a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one’s acts. † The most prominent theme of existentialism is that of nothingness. This is featured in the story through the old waiter when he comes to the conclusion that without motivation to live, one wanders in a world of nothingness . This story highlights issues like depression, isolation, aging and anguish, but are all centered on the theme of existentialism.One of the themes of existentialism is, existence precedes essence. In other words, an independently acting and responsible conscious person is more important than the labels, and stereotypes that the individual falls under. This can be found within the first interaction in the story, between the two waiters. They are talking about the old man that is perpetually drinking his life away. The young waiter is judging the old man based on how much money he has, how old he is, and that he is deaf. The young waiter is unable to understand why he should try to kill himself, when he has money.However, the old waiter is constantly defending the old man like, â€Å"‘Not always, This old man is clean. He drinks without spilling. Even now, drunk. Look at him. ’† The old waiter is focusing more on how the old man conducts himself, rather than looki ng at his features, and income to judge him. The next theme of existentialism is that of anxiety or angst. This is a feeling of dread, which is not directed to an object, but of the nothingness of human existence. A person that cannot find their purpose in life or is unable to define themselves would feel this dread.This pertains to the story, because this is what the old man drinking at the cafe is feeling. The first example of this is the soldier that is mentioned. He doesn’t recognize nothingness, rather he tries to find something that gives his life purpose, like joining the service. But, he is still left with a sense of nothingness, so he tries to find meaning in the act of sexual gratification. In the opening lines of the story, the two waiters discuss how the old man tried to kill himself. When asked why he tried to commit suicide, one waiter replied, â€Å"‘He was in despair’ ‘What about? ‘Nothing. ’† The old waiter understands w hy this old man tried to commit suicide. The theme of anxiety can be applied to another part of this story, and that is why the old man chose to stay at the cafe and not go home and drink out of a bottle. The clean and bright cafes are the only reason that the old man is able to get through the night, without collapsing into despair. Absurdity is the idea that there is no meaning to life outside of the meaning that an individual gives it. Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician and philosopher states, When I consider the short duration of my life, swallowed up in the eternity before and after, and the little space I fill, and even can see, engulfed in the infinite immensity of space of which I am ignorant, and which knows me not, I am frightened, and am astonished at being here rather than there, why now rather than then† (Gormley 1). This theme can be seen in the story from the conversations between the two waiters. To the young waiter money and material satisfaction is everyth ing. The young waiter is also portrayed as in a constant hurry.He wants to be home with his wife, while the old waiter is content to sit in the cafe. The old waiter believes life to be absurd, and his short time on earth isn’t going to alter anyone’s life. The final theme of existentialism is the idea of nothingness. For many existentialists religion is absurd, because these religions fail to reflect existence. They are in fact part of someone’s essence, because people can be classified as a Christian or a Jew. This idea is bleak, and suggests that there is nothing but a void after death. This is part of the reason that many existentialists suffer from depression and insomnia.The understanding there is nothing structuring one’s world, it becomes very daunting. This is the reason that the old man and old waiter search for refuge in a well-lighted place, because for people like themselves, this is the only escape from the lonely and dark night. When the old waiter starts to recite the Lord’s prayer, he replaces most of the nouns with â€Å"nada,† or â€Å"nothing† in Spanish, this reflects the atheist view that many existentialists share. They believe that there is nothing after death, but only a void. Understanding that Hemingway actually ended his own life gives this story another meaning.In the final part of this story, the old man gives up his search of his own clean and well-lighted place, and resigns to go home and lie in his bed. He admits he suffers from insomnia, and justifies it to himself by stating, â€Å"Many must have it. † This could be Hemingway’s way of showing pity to his readers who, like him, cannot bear the emptiness. Hemingway gives the reader the bare minimum of information, leaving the reader no way to understand â€Å"nada† and existential depression. However, he offers the reader an escape from this pain of â€Å"nada. † In order to survive with dignity, one ha s to find a â€Å"clean and well-lighted† place of their own.

20 Essay Topics on Nutrition What Is On-Point These Days

20 Essay Topics on Nutrition What Is On-Point These Days If you still face some difficulties with making up a catchy investigation paper topic, you’ll find that some options below may be appealing for investigation as they reveal the leading directions in the nutrition science. Have a look at the provided nutrition essay topics in this article to have an idea of what would be on-point to discuss in your own piece of writing. Proper Nutrition as a Vital Element of Enhancing Physical Exercising Productivity Genetic Predisposition to Obesity or Is the Fat Travelling Through Generations? Proper Nutrition as a Popular Method of Rehabilitation the Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases Statistical Analysis of Cases of Anorexia and the Growing Popularity of Such a Style of Life Among Teenagers Recommended Nutrition Plans for People Who Are Fighting Post Alcohol Abuse Syndrome Psychological Paradigm of Obesity and How Our Brain Tells Us to Eat More and More The Age of Coffee Makes People Become More Dependent on Stimulants. Healthy Solution Options. Criteria for Organic Food Growing And Its Comparison with Non-Organic Variation in Terms of Usefulness for Health Selection of Nutrition Supplements for the Most Optimal Effect on Health Means of Organizing Personal Diet for Rapid Weight Loss and to Avoid Undesired Side Effects The Food That Feeds the Brain – Research on Food That Is Helping the Students to Be More Productive Means of Maintaining Decent Level of Nutrition in Marginal Layers of Society Speculations on Body Index Max and Its Medical Value for Maintaining Proper Weight Chemical Medication for Losing Fat – The Process of Burning Fat in the Body Unbalanced Nutrition Leads to Numerous Psychotic Disorders – Statistical Analysis The Means of Teaching Nutrition Basics Starting with Early Age The Role of Protein for Energy Synthesis and the Lack of It in Modern Food Products The Increase of Antioxidants in Commercial Food as Part of the Program for Increasing National Health Level Regular Water Management as a Part of Maintaining Proper Level of Hydration and Its Positive Impact on Health The Classification of Food Allergies and How to Control the Symptoms Appearance by Proper Nutrition Please, use the topics above as a fine source of inspiration and modify them in the most comfortable manner by narrowing down or investigating some peculiar aspects of the given issues supporting them with interesting facts. As a result, you will manage to come up with both actual and interesting writing project that will have scientific value and become an informative manifestation of your knowledge. Sample Essay: Battling Against Obesity among Children Fatty degeneration among kids occurs more and more often in the USA. Investigators state that the third part of all American children suffers from this health issue. Usually, 95% body-mass index is considered as obesity, although according to the doctors this amount can be critical for health. Parents knowing the reasons and caring about their kids’ obesity have more chances to help the children. Usually, the reason of obesity is the mismatch between calories consumption and their spending. Besides, it may be influenced by a variety of reasons, like lifestyle or genetics, etc. Poor diet is reason number one. If the child consumes too much food containing fat or sugar, then there are all the chances to gain the weight. Candies, fizzy drinks, and fast food are popular nowadays and children eat a lot of them. On the other hand, children are dependent on the â€Å"bad treats† like canned pasta, frozen food, salty snacks, etc. Some families can’t buy meat, fish, fresh fruits, and vegetables. All this contributes to weight gain. Lack of exercise is another cause of fatty degeneration. The rule is simple: if you train, then you burn calories; if you don’t train, then calories are being stored. This scheme works for people of all ages, and children are not the exception. It’s better when the child has an active way of life and is engaged not in sport only, but, for example, active games on the playground. Kids with health issues and bad genetics are also in danger zone. If the child has relatives who suffer from overweight or similar illnesses, he or she is more likely to be obese. Besides, some pills may also become the reason of obesity. On the other hand, if the child suffers from overweight, then there are more chances of appearing the health problems like asthma, heart diseases, diabetes, sleep disorders, etc. Not all the problems come from the body, some of them come from the mind. Kids suffering from poor self-esteem, depression or some stressful events have more chances of obesity. It can be simply explained – they eat their feelings. Fatty degeneration also may be caused by budget and family atmosphere. Children from families with small income don’t have a well-balanced diet, besides ignored or abused kids tend to become obese. Children with overweight usually suffer from various emotional issues: depression, apathy, low confidence, lack of nutrition elements, etc. Many kids with obesity bear the mockery of their agemates and abuse harmful food. Both issues are hard enough to struggle and require proper intrusion and thorough support. To treat obesity effectively, the treatment methods should be applied on regular basis. There are several effective ways of curing child obesity: establishing proper eating habits, engaging in a diet, overcoming stress factors with the help of specialists, protecting children from destructive environments, etc. Children obesity can’t be left without proper cure, otherwise, it may lead to serious health issues in adult age (high cholesterol, diabetes, heart diseases, etc.). Support of parents or teachers and proper education may help children stay healthy. Besides, there are various associations which help both parents and children with treatment, support, and information. Reference: O’Neill Learning Center(2009-2010). Discipline-Specific Writing Guide: Nutrition. In consultation with Jill Hamilton-Reeves, FCNS Dept.  https://www.stkate.edu/pdfs/writing-in-nutrition.pdf Hannah Gardiner(2017). Special Report: 2017 Nutrition Trends What to Watch Out For.  nutritioninsight.com/news/Special-Report-2017-Nutrition-Trends-What-to-Watch-Out-For.html?type=article Lucy Gunn (2018). Sports nutrition mainstreams: A key theme at Vitafoods Europe 2018.  nutritioninsight.com/news/sports-nutrition-mainstreams-a-key-theme-at-vitafoods-europe-2018.html Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020 Eight Edition. https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/. Dehghan, M., Akhtar-Danesh, N., Merchant, A.T. (2005). Childhood obesity, prevalence and prevention. Nutrition Journal, 4:24.  https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/1475-2891-4-24

Incomplete Dominance vs Codominance Whats the Difference

Incomplete Dominance vs Codominance What's the Difference SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are you studying genetics but don’t understand the codominance vs. incomplete dominance differences? What’s the difference between incomplete dominance and codominance? Why is it important to know? In this guide, we explain what incomplete dominance and codominance are, as well as how they’re different, using real-world examples to make these terms clear and easy to understand. What Is Incomplete Dominance? What Is Codominance? What is the difference between codominance and incomplete dominance? Before we get into comparing them, let’s first explain what incomplete dominance and codominance are. They are both important terms to know when studying genetics and inheritance patterns. Incomplete dominance and codominance are both types of inheritance where one allele (a form of a gene) isn’t completely dominant over the other allele. This results in a new phenotype (the physical characteristics of an individual). Incomplete Dominance Incomplete dominance is when there is a blending of the two alleles that results in a third phenotype that doesn’t look like either of the parents. The classic example is when a white flower and red flower are crossed. With incomplete dominance, all their offspring would be solid pink flowers, a completely new phenotype. You don’t see either of the parent phenotypes (i.e. white or red) in the offspring. Two common examples of incomplete dominance are height and hair color. Offspring will likely not have the exact same height or hair color as one of their parents but will often have a blend between the two parent’s phenotypes. Codominance In codominance, both alleles are expressed together in the offspring. If we cross a red flower and white flower that have a codominance inheritance pattern, the offspring would be flowers with red and white patches on them. Unlike incomplete dominance, where the two parent phenotypes are blended together into a new phenotype, in codominance, both parent phenotypes show up together on the offspring. The most common example of codominance is the AB blood type. If a person with A type blood and a person with B type blood have a child, that child could have type AB blood where both phenotypes are fully expressed. Examples of Incomplete Dominance and Codominance When comparing codominance vs. incomplete dominance, it can be useful to see visuals of how they pass their genes onto their offspring. Below are three Punnett squares, two for incomplete dominance and one for codominance. Incomplete Dominance In the Punnett square below we are crossing a pure red flower (RR) with a pure white flower (rr). Under incomplete dominance, all of their offspring would be pink (Rr). Under the complete dominance type of inheritance (the type of inheritance you probably first studied when learning about genetics), all the offspring would be red flowers, since the red allele would be completely dominant over the white allele. However, as mentioned above, with incomplete dominance, the two parent phenotypes are blended together in the offspring. RR: red rr: white Rr: pink What happens when you cross two pink (Rr) flowers? Half the offspring would be pink (Rr), a quarter would be red (RR), and a quarter would be white (rr) as you can see in the Punnett square below. When the two alleles are the same, either RR or rr, incomplete dominance doesn’t matter since there is no blending of different alleles. It’s only when an individual has two different alleles (like Rr) that incomplete dominance comes into play. Codominance For our codominance example, let’s say we’re crossing cows that have codominance inheritance rules for their coat color. Cows with the genotype BB are completely black, those with the genotype WW are completely white, and when they are crossed, cows with the genotype BW have black and white spots across their body. (When doing a cross that follows codominance inheritance patterns, all capital letters are usually used to represent the alleles to show no allele is dominant over the other.) By now, you can probably tell that if you were to cross a pure black cow with a pure white one, all the offspring would have black and white spots since they’d all have the BW genotype. Below is a Punnett square showing what happens when you cross a pure black cow (BB) with a black and white spotted cow (BW). BB: black WW: white BW: black and white spots From the Punnett square, you can see that half of the offspring will be pure black, and the other half will have black and white spots. Summary: What Is the Difference Between Incomplete Dominance and Codominance? Incomplete dominance and codominance are two types of genetic inheritance, and while both are variants on the standard dominant/recessive traits, it’s important to know the difference between incomplete dominance and codominance. Incomplete dominance is when the phenotypes of the two parents blend together to create a new phenotype for their offspring. An example is a white flower and a red flower producing pink flowers. Codominance is when the two parent phenotypes are expressed together in the offspring. An example is a white flower and a red flower producing offspring with red and white patches. Being able to explain the difference between incomplete dominance and codominance will help you understand different inheritance patterns and be able to answer genetics questions (especially = incomplete dominance vs. codominance questions) much more easily.

Contemporary Issues in Financial Services Essay - 2

Contemporary Issues in Financial Services - Essay Example This paper will, therefore, identify and discuss some of the key and contemporary issues that have emerged in the financial services sector. The main aim will be to bring into focus some of the key issues in the nature and functionality of financial systems that continue to influence the economy and other financial service operations. To begin, it has been noted that the financial systems in the contemporary society have increasingly been associated with a linkage to overall economic conditions of nations. This will be discussed in the section that follows. Links between the Financial System and the Real Economy The relationship between a financial system and the real economy can be clearly understood in three components. They include the composition of aggregate demand, level of aggregate demand and allocation of resources. Composition of Aggregate Demand The financial system plays an important role in the economy in various ways. At the beginning, one should mention aggregate deman ds in relation to the total expenditure of goods and services of an economy for a specified period for a specified price (McEachern, 2011). The financial system of an economy has a bearing on the way its aggregate demand is constituted. One of the ways it influences economic dynamism is in the way it acts as a facilitator of lending on the one hand and borrowing on the other. Since scarcity is one of the great hindrances to economic growth, by providing a means of obtaining extra resources to offset deficits, the financial sector is therefore a good linkage to economic growth (Burton and Brown, 2009). In effect, the financial sector plays a direct role in the effective planning of expenditure independent of an individual or organization’s present income. A good example is the way creditors or lending institutions are able to store wealth for future consumption through giving out at certain levels of interest whereas borrowers are able to acquire finances to make purchases in advance of income. The result of positive influence of a well regulated and efficient financial system will lead to a relatively higher investment rate than that of consumption in the given economy. Since economic growth relies on investment levels, a financial system is, therefore, a necessary component of the economy. Level of Aggregate Demand Financial development levels may also have an influence on the level of aggregate demand. The level of agreement is subject to the rate of flow of the finances or money in the financial system. A high flow, or otherwise referred to as velocity, is a great determinant of the level of aggregate demand. In a financial system, individuals or lending institutions may decide to retain the cash they have at their disposal as a result of taking precautions for speculative purposes or by having them in solid assets. As a result, the flow or velocity of finances may be lowered as a consequence of decreased liquidity. On the other hand, a well function ing financial system that is able to effectively produce a range of assets that are liquid in nature may help reduce the amounts held by the said parties in the financial markets. The resultant effect will be that of increased velocity of money in the economy which is healthy for economic growth enhancement. The level of aggreg