A Long Hard Road of Adolescenc essays

A Long Hard Road of Adolescenc essays Reading through the novel, Go Ask Alice, finding out all of the unbelievable, yet true, experiences and feelings of Alice is quite shocking. No matter how shocking they may seem, you can very easily relate those experiences and feelings to those of a typical day-in and day-out teenager. Those characteristics being loneliness, a generation gap, and defiance. At the beginning of the novel, Alice finds herself to be very lonely. As like other teenagers, she goes through many emotional states that may lead to dieting, starving oneself, or binge eating. There are also finding such things as getting into school or club activities, possibly getting a job. Those few things would be the most reasonable approaches to resolving the problem and will keep teens from thinking lonely and depressing thoughts. Although what is unfortunate is that Alice, along with a lot of other teenagers, turn to drugs and alcohol as an escape. Once they start doing the drugs, the drugs replace those bad feelings. The generation gap is another good characteristic seen in the novel. When Alice and her family moved, she started to change her appearance in ways her parents didnt like and they were also worried because of this change in Alice. She starts to dress like a hippie, wearing moccasins and clothes with fringe. She also starts to iron her hair flat instead of wearing it with a flip. With her parents nagging at her about her change in appearance made her want to breakdown. All the feelings bottle up inside of Alice, which leads to more drug use. The situation that Alice went through is a typical situation between any other teenager and their parents. Many times throughout the novel, Alice pretty much does what she wants, when she wants no matter what. Such as when Chris and Alice go to San Francisco. They are in total control of themselves, Alice never likes when her parents try and tell her something. ...

Geography of the Worlds Sinkholes

Geography of the World's Sinkholes A sinkhole is a natural hole that forms in the Earths surface as a result of the chemical weathering of carbonate rocks like limestone, as well as salt beds or rocks that can be severely weathered as water runs through them. The type of landscape made up of these rocks is known as karst topography and is dominated by sinkholes, internal drainage, and caves. Sinkholes vary in size but can range anywhere from 3.3 to 980 feet (1 to 300 meters) in diameter and depth. They can also form gradually over time or suddenly without warning. Sinkholes can be found all over the world and recently large ones have opened in Guatemala, Florida, and China. Depending on location, sinkholes are sometimes also called sinks, shake holes, swallow holes, swallets, dolines, or cenotes.   Natural Sinkhole Formation The main causes of sinkholes are weathering and erosion. This happens through the gradual dissolve and removal of water absorbing rock like limestone as percolating water from the Earths surface moves through it. As the rock is removed, caves and open spaces develop underground. Once these open spaces become too large to support the weight of the land above them, the surface soil collapses, creating a sinkhole. Typically, naturally occurring sinkholes are most common in limestone rock and salt beds that are easily dissolved by moving water. Sinkholes are also not normally visible from the surface as the processes that cause them are underground but sometimes, however, extremely large sinkholes have been known to have streams or rivers flowing through them.   Human Induced Sinkholes In addition to natural erosion processes on karst landscapes, sinkholes can also be caused by human activities and land-use practices. Groundwater pumping, for example, can weaken the structure of the Earths surface above the aquifer where the water is being pumped and cause a sinkhole to develop.   Humans can also cause sinkholes to develop by changing water drainage patterns through diversion and industrial water storage ponds. In each of these instances, the weight of the Earths surface is changed with the addition of the water. In some cases, the supporting material under the new storage pond, for example, may collapse and create a sinkhole. Broken underground sewer and water pipes have also been known to cause sinkholes when the introduction of free-flowing  water into otherwise dry ground weakens soil stability.   Guatemala Sinkhole An extreme example of a human-induced sinkhole occurred in Guatemala in late May 2010 when a 60 foot (18 meters) wide and 300 foot (100 meters) deep hole opened in Guatemala City. It is believed that the sinkhole was caused after a sewer pipe burst after tropical storm Agatha caused a surge of water to enter the pipe. Once the sewer pipe burst, the free-flowing water carved out an underground cavity that eventually could not support the weight of the surface soil, causing it to collapse and destroy a three-story building. The Guatemala sinkhole was worsened because Guatemala City was built on land made up of hundreds of meters of a volcanic material called pumice. The pumice in the region was easily eroded because it was recently deposited and loose- otherwise known as unconsolidated rock. When the pipe burst the excess water was easily able to erode away the pumice and weaken the structure of the ground. In this case, the sinkhole should actually be known as a piping feature because it was not caused by entirely natural forces. Geography of Sinkholes As previously mentioned, naturally occurring sinkholes mainly form in karst landscapes but they can happen anywhere with a soluble subsurface rock. In the United States, this is mainly in Florida, Texas, Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania but about 35-40% of the land in the U.S. has rock beneath the surface that is easily soluble with water. The Department of Environmental Protection in Florida, for example, has a focus on sinkholes and how to educate its residents on what to do should one open up on their property. Southern Italy has also experienced numerous sinkholes, as has China, Guatemala, and Mexico. In Mexico, sinkholes are known as cenotes and they are mainly found on the Yucatan Peninsula. Over time, some of these have filled with water and look like small lakes while others are large open depressions in the land. It should also be noted that sinkholes do not occur exclusively on land. Underwater sinkholes are common around the world and formed when sea levels were lower under the same processes as those on land. When sea levels rose at the end of the last glaciation, the sinkholes became submerged. The Great Blue Hole off the coast of Belize is an example of an underwater sinkhole.   Human Uses of Sinkholes Despite their destructive nature in human-developed areas, people have developed a number of uses for sinkholes. For example, for centuries these depressions have been used as disposal sites for waste. The Maya also used the cenotes on the Yucatan Peninsula as sacrificial sites and storage areas. In addition, tourism and cave diving is popular in many of the worlds largest sinkholes. References Than, Ker. (3 June 2010). Guatemala Sinkhole Created by Humans, Not Nature. National Geographic News. Retrieved from: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/06/100603-science-guatemala-sinkhole-2010-humans-caused/ United States Geological Survey. (29 March 2010). Sinkholes, from USGS Water Science for Schools. Retrieved from: http://water.usgs.gov/edu/sinkholes.html Wikipedia. (26 July 2010). Sinkhole - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinkhole

Cultural dimension Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cultural dimension - Assignment Example The application of in-depth questions in the semi-structured questionnaires drew the study towards the acquisition of the required outcomes since the interviewees were not coerced to answer in a particular controlled manner. Therefore, the research process established the prevalence of a civilised culture in the Japanese society before the documentation of the Austrian culture. 2.1 Two students from Japan and Austria were selected for the interview, which involved the use of open-end questionnaires. The students were chosen because they possessed the most dominant and influential cultures in the history of civilization. With the use of open-end questions and semi-structured questionnaires, they were asked many questions; hence, they stimulated the opportunity of acquiring a wide range of answers in the absence of research bias. This was done by using the most important issues about their cultures. In this questionnaire, the participants were enquired to rate the most significant and particular issues. These questions helped in understanding concepts that hold significance to the respondents, and allowed critical decisions about the countries’ cultures. The two students answered the questions in accordance to their societal perspectives; hence, the results influenced the study to establish that the Japanese and Austrian societies were embracing democratic practices in leadership, with the common objective being the improvement of the lifestyles and economic progression. 2.2 The  next section represents an analytical approach that evaluates the information gathered during the study. Since the application of the qualitative method of survey enhanced the level of participation among the chosen sample population, it was noted that there were many differences and similarities between the Japanese and Austrian cultures. The Japanese culture is exceedingly older than the Austrian culture

Southwest Airlines and obese passeger Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Southwest Airlines and obese passeger - Article Example both armrests should book the additional seat at the booking time and that with only one seat, he was going to make himself uncomfortable as well as the co-passengers. The Southwest Airlines’ customer of size policy states that the additional seat will be offered at a discounted rate and refunded afterwards if goes unoccupied, which is a very good offer which Orto should have availed. He had also been offered the opportunity to show to the Airlines that he could accommodate only one seat without upsetting his seatmates, but he refused. One cannot make out what was the reason he did not take the chance of boarding the plane and letting the personnel see that he was right. According to the Southwest Airlines, putting forward the rule of an additional seat for large passengers became vital when the customers who felt terribly uncomfortable sitting next to an obese seatmate started raising objections. Moreover, the over-weight passengers disturb the plane’s weight and balance which is very dangerous. Since it is the responsibility of the Airlines to assure safety to all passengers, Orto had to be enquired. The question that what factor decides which passenger is stout and which is skinny has a straightforward reply. The Airlines’ policy says that it is the size of the person that determines his obesity, not his weight nor the extension of the seat belt. If an obese person gets allowed to fly with only one seat, that would only happen if he is able to lower or extend the seatbelt. If he cannot lower it, this decides that he is obese. A good example can be of a pregnant woman. Despite her being over-weight, if she can lower the armrest, it i s okay if she books one seat. Staff can be also instructed to use measuring tape to measure the size of the passenger, and if the size crosses a pre-decided limit, then he would have to buy an additional seat. This procedure should be carried out at the time of booking and not at the time of boarding. Even if some one like a

Horrifying Reality :: essays research papers

Violence and death are all around us in our society today. Whether it is seen on the television in the news, in a film, or read about in the newspaper, the descriptiveness of these incidents is absolutely horrifying. The punishment of such crimes that we read about today are simply minute compared to the events that occurred during the fifteenth century. In the poem â€Å"La Ballade des pendus† written by Franà §ois Villon, the gruesome description of the images are far from ordinary, but serves it’s purpose brilliantly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In his poem Villon writes of men who were hung, still hanging out in a courtyard and describes what happens to their bodies once they are dead. His word choice in this poem makes the reality of what occurred back then that much more ghastly and repugnant. The punishments given today are much less severe and when they are written about in a newspaper, the incident is not described quite in the way that Franà §ois Villon chose to write in his poem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I feel that if Villon had used a different method of describing the events such as being metaphorical instead of straight-forward, the poem would not have the same effect on its audience. Although when I first read this poem I did not like it because I thought it was absolutely disgusting, after reading it several times I realized that with out the disgusting details the poem would not be the same. The words that he uses simply speak out in a way that makes the reader either love it or despise it, I feel that is what makes this poem so interesting. I believe that Franà §ois Villon did an excellent job writing this poem and if today’s stories were just as graphic or possibly a little bit less than that of Villon, it would be a lot more interesting to read. Horrifying Reality :: essays research papers Violence and death are all around us in our society today. Whether it is seen on the television in the news, in a film, or read about in the newspaper, the descriptiveness of these incidents is absolutely horrifying. The punishment of such crimes that we read about today are simply minute compared to the events that occurred during the fifteenth century. In the poem â€Å"La Ballade des pendus† written by Franà §ois Villon, the gruesome description of the images are far from ordinary, but serves it’s purpose brilliantly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In his poem Villon writes of men who were hung, still hanging out in a courtyard and describes what happens to their bodies once they are dead. His word choice in this poem makes the reality of what occurred back then that much more ghastly and repugnant. The punishments given today are much less severe and when they are written about in a newspaper, the incident is not described quite in the way that Franà §ois Villon chose to write in his poem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I feel that if Villon had used a different method of describing the events such as being metaphorical instead of straight-forward, the poem would not have the same effect on its audience. Although when I first read this poem I did not like it because I thought it was absolutely disgusting, after reading it several times I realized that with out the disgusting details the poem would not be the same. The words that he uses simply speak out in a way that makes the reader either love it or despise it, I feel that is what makes this poem so interesting. I believe that Franà §ois Villon did an excellent job writing this poem and if today’s stories were just as graphic or possibly a little bit less than that of Villon, it would be a lot more interesting to read.

Critique on Happiness and Analysis Essay

In Karl Giberson’s article â€Å"The Ends of Happiness† (2006), from the Science & Spirit magazine, he raises the topic of happiness, where he claims that people are now pursuing the means to happiness as an end to itself and have missed the point of life. Although Giberson(2006) has made some valid arguments in claiming that people pursue wealth as a means to happiness, his arguments are largely undermined due to a lack of reliable evidences. Giberson’s (2006) claims are not unfounded, as human beings tend to set their goals on material success. For them, monetary success is their definition of happiness. This idea is illustrated by the statement â€Å"The means have become an end for many of us†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (para. 11). He goes on to say that many others â€Å"can’t seek happiness directly† (para. 7). His thoughts align well with society’s widely accepted view that â€Å"without family and friends it is hard to find happiness, for these are essential partners in living and doing well†(para. 9). As such, Giberson (2006) implies that happiness comes from the various experiences and journeys which we go through in life, such as quality time spent with people around us. However, Giberson (2006) makes an unsuccessful attempt in persuading his readers to adopt his beliefs by merely referencing to Aristotle’s philosophy of â€Å"living well and doing well† (para. 8). Throughout the article, Giberson (2006) constantly refers to his own opinions and experiences. For example, he reminisces that â€Å"in reflecting on the accumulated memories of happy times †¦ [he finds himself] agreeing with Aristotle† (para. 12). Thereafter, he mentions that he â€Å"coached [his] children’s sports teams †¦ and lov(ed) it† (para. 13). This demonstrates that his views are greatly influenced by emotions rather than facts. Although the use of anecdotes sparks interest and engages his readers effectively, his excessive usage of this communication technique makes his arguments seem unsupported and weak. As a result of his heavy reliance on his own opinions, it has led to a hasty generalisation in his argument as seen through his claim that â€Å"America †¦ is not a nation pursuing happiness† (para. 11). Due to a lack of expert opinion and statistical data, his claim remains unpersuasive and has little credibility. Hence, Giberson’s(2006) article lacks concrete support and fails to make a compelling argument. Although Giberson (2006) provides a good point of view on how people are becoming too focused on wealth in the pursuit of happiness, he makes sweeping statements that lacks credibility. He can provide a more concrete argument by using a wider range of reliable sources. This will greatly strengthen Giberson’s (2006) argument and lend credibility to his claim. It would help greatly if he had supporting opinions of other academic writers who follow his train of thought. In essence, his article did indeed establish his thesis that people are pursuing the means to happiness as an end to itself, but had unfortunately failed to compellingly persuade his audience. Reference: Giberson, K. (2006, March/April). The Ends of Happiness. Retrieved on 21 Jan 2013 from http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=4e0e6d4c-0091-45b9-be30-fd892a301bf9%40sessionmgr10&vid=3&hid=2

The Financial Performance Of The Textile Industry Essay Online For Free - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1455 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Dawood lawrencepur limited is the largest textile group in pakistan working since 1954 in the karachi city. Dawood lawrencepur are the manufacturer and exporter of various quality of yarn in cotton (combed carded), polyester and polycotton from 7/s to 100/s. Dawood lawrencepur offers good quality and very competitive prices. Dawood lawrencepur founded with a vision to be a provider of innovative textile solutions worldwide. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Financial Performance Of The Textile Industry Essay Online For Free" essay for you Create order DLL is the manufacturer and supplier of distinguished fabric for apparel, home and industrial markets with clients all over the world. DLL has ability to create forward-thinking solutions that give clients a competitive advantage is what sets up apart. DLL core services include: Fiber manufacturing Spinning Weaving Knitting Dyeing and printing of woven and knitted fabrics Designing Cutting and Stitching With a constructed area of over one million square feet, DLL has the capacity to fulfill small, medium and large scale orders. DLL is one of the few vertically integrated operations in Pakistan. Offering a diversified range of products, customers can mix and match from a wide variety of print, yarn dyed, solids, dobby and jacquard. DLL also deals in twill, sateen, basket weave and percale, knitted to woven fabric; and thread counts ranging from 130 to 1000. In an industry where deadlines are a way of life, DLL is proud to have a proven track record of service q uality and on-time delivery. For convenience DLL also maintain a comprehensive order tracking system, so you can stay on top of your order at all times. OVERVIEW OF PAKISTAN TEXTILE INDUSTRY Pakistans textile industry ranks amongst the top in the world.  Pakistan  is Worlds fourth largest cotton producer and the third largest consumer of the same. Cotton based textiles contribute over 60% to the total exports, accounts for 46% of the total manufacturing and provide employment to 38% manufacturing labor force. The availability of cheap labor and basic raw cotton as raw material for textile industry has played the principal role in the growth of the Cotton Textile Industry in  Pakistan. The performance of textile industry during the last five years has been satisfactory. The market was responsive, the Government policy was supportive and inputs were viable. The industry made profits and re-invested in new machinery for balancing, modernizing, and restructuring (BMR) and expansion. The industry made an investment of approx. $ 6.0 Billion during the period 1999-2006. Textile Machinery worth $.0.8 billion has been imported during 2005-06 (see Table b elow). The major investment has been made in spinning, Weaving, Textile Processing and making up sectors. Approx.454,000 new direct jobs have been created and industry has been able to make increase production and exports. Import of textile machinery, which is the single largest item in the machinery group, accounted for $ 771.500 million in 2005-06. This shows that investment for modernization of textile industry, which started four years ago, still continues. This resulted into substantial increase in capacities of all products. Consequently, yarn production has increased by 12% and cloth production by 7%. The exports showed positive improvements and cotton textile export grew from $ 9.20 billion in 2004-05 to $ 10.37 billion in 2005-06 and is expected to exceed $12 billion in 2006-07. Investment in Textile Sector Textile industry has made an investment of about $6.0 billion during the last six years. This investment includes both investments through bank loans as well as own sources. This investment has been made in the form of BMR expansion and new capacity. Textile machinery worth US$ 0.6 billion has been imported during 2005-06. the import of textile machinery for the last years are documented in Table  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  below. Import of Textile Machinery Year Million  US  $ % Change 1999-2000 210.9 28.6 2000-01 370.2 75.5 2002-04 406.2 9.9 2004-06 531.9 30.7 2006-08 597.9 12.4 2008-09 928.6 55.3 PROFIT BEFORE AND AFTER TAX PROFITABILITY RATIOS The first half of FY09 was relatively tough for DLL but it recovered somewhat in the 2nd half of the year. Still there was a decrease in the total revenue by 4.87% and reached the level of Rs 350.37 million in FY09 from Rs 368.29 million in FY08. A 4.8% decline in revenue, with the increased expenses of the company combined with greater allowance for potential lease losses have led to an 8.1% rise in before tax profit for the period at Rs 222.39 million. The profit after tax for the period stood at Rs 378.48 million, which is 4.5% greater than the net profit of FY08. Considering the profitability of the company, since FY04, the Gross Profit Margin has remained between 9.05 and 20.3. the only exception being a gross profit margin of -24.21% in FY08. A similar trend has been seen in profit margin, between FY04 to FY06 which remained between a range of 5.3% and 9%, and falling to -24.21% in FY08. In FY09 gross profit shootup to 20.38% this increase is due to better performance in 2 009 by the company. The Return on Equity had been ranging from 4.5% to 5.86% until 2006, only jumping in 2009 to the level of 28.95% mainly due to the phenomenal growth in after-tax profit for that year. If compared to the industry, DLL has been successful in having a steady ROE. In that respect, DLL has performed better than average for its competitors. In FY08, the ROE declined to 12.45%. This was primarily because the company s equity grew by 13% on the back of issuance of bonus shares and increase in funds of capital and general reserves. This growth was greater than that in the net income, culminating in a decline in this years ROE. In the FY09 company had highest ROE of 28.95%. Upon analyzing the Earning per share value of Dawood Lawrencepur Limited , we see that it has been relatively increased from 4.45 in FY04 to 13.88 in FY05.  But since FY05 earning per share is constantly following the decreasing trend. Least earning per share observed in the last 6 years is 0.42 in FY07. Since last 2 years company is facing intense competition and pressure from emerging clothing and textile brands and company profit is highly affected. More investors are buying shares of competitors like gulahmed textiles, lakhani textiles e.t.c. due to declining trend of sales and profit after tax, EPS has declined. Decrease in profit after tax also decreases ordinary share holders right in the profit. EPS in FY08 is -4.22 and in FY09 is -3.28. it has been slightly improved but still companys shareholders are in loss. Upon analyzing the dividend payout ratio of Dawood Lawrencepur Limited , we see that it has been relatively increased from 56.18 in FY04 to 238.1 in FY07.  But since FY07 dividend ratio is constantly following the decreasing trend. Least dividend payout ratio observed in the last 6 years is -23.7 in FY08. Since last 2 years company is facing intense competition and pressure from emerging clothing and textile brands and company profit is highly affected. More investors are buying shares of competitors like gulahmed textiles, lakhani textiles e.t.c. due to declining trend of sales and profit after tax, EPS has declined. Decrease in profit after tax also decreases ordinary share holders right in the profit. DPS in FY08 is -23.7 and in FY09 is 0. it has been slightly improved in the sense that company is not showing negative dividends now but still companys shareholders are in loss. LIQUIDITY RATIOS CURRENT RATIO The liquidity position of the company has been increasing. The Current Ratio in FY08 was 1.27 and now rise to 1.502 in FY09. In contrast, the industry s Current Ratio has been actually increasing for the last few years from 0.96 in FY05 to 1.25 in FY08. Yet, DLL s current ratio is still above the industrial average. Moreover, the trend of a declining current ratio is also seen in competitors of DLL. In FY09, the current ratio of the company however rose to 1.502. This was aided by a rise in the Current Assets by 5.99% compounded by a fall in the Current Liabilities by 10.17%. This current shows that DLL can generate a greater income while incurring a lower level of expenditure compared to other companies. The Income-to-Expense Ratio improved marginally to in FY09. Although Administrative and General Expenses did increase, but selling expenses decreased. financial and bank charges, which form a greater portion of the total expenses increased . But since the income component excee ded the expenses growth by only 1.25%, the income-to-expense ratio only slightly improved. DEBT RATIO In previous years Dawood lawrencepur limited relied mostly on debts for financing its assets rather than financing through equity. Since the financial year 2004, the Debt-to-Assets Ratio of Askari Leasing Ltd has been ranging from 0.60 or 0.75. it can be noted that a much greater portion of DLL s assets is financed by debt. The insignificant changes in total assets and total liabilities in FY09 result in maintenance of the ratio at its historical levels. This debt ratio is slightly declined because of companys changing policies of financing. Company is trying to reduce debt financing to maintain its credibility in the market. As a result, DLLs debt ratio has been declined from 0.078 in FY 08 to 0.075 in FY09.