High School and Personality Traits Essay

Directions: Read the following questions and write the answers on a separate sheet of paper. Include the question as part of your response. Use COMPLETE sentences—do not use fragments or incomplete thoughts. Use DETAIL in your responses. â€Å"None, nothing, I don’t know, etc.† are inadequate responses. Your goal is to give me as much information about yourself as possible! 1. Who was your English teacher last year? Describe both your successes and difficulties in the class. 2. What is your full name? Are you named after someone in your family? 3. When and where were you born? How old are you now? 4. Describe three members of your immediate family—be specific by detailing names, ages, physical characteristics, and personality traits. 5. In what places have you lived? 6. Who is your best friend and why is that the case? Describe him/her—be specific by detailing names, ages, physical characteristics, personality traits. 7. Describe any pets you have/have had/desire to have. If you could be any animal, what would you be and why? 8. Describe what you like to do in your spare time, and on weekends. 9. What is your favorite TV program(s)? Why? What kind of music do you like? 10. Where have you traveled or would like to travel? Describe what draws you to that particular place and why. 11. Describe your particular talents. What do you do well? 12. Do you want to go to college? Which one? What career do you hope to pursue when you are an adult? Why? What are you doing now to prepare yourself for these goals? 13. What do you like best about school? What do you like least about school? 14. What extracurricular activities are you involved in at school or outside of school? 15. Describe any other interesting aspect(s) of yourself. CLASS COPY!DO NOT WRITE ON THIS! Detailed Biography Directions: Read the following questions and write the answers on a separate sheet of paper. Include the question as part of your response. Use COMPLETE sentences—do not use fragments or incomplete thoughts. Use DETAIL in your responses. â€Å"None, nothing, I don’t know, etc.† are inadequate responses. Your goal is to give me as much information about yourself as possible! 1. Who was your English teacher last year? Describe both your successes and difficulties in the class. 2. What is your full name? Are you named after someone in your family? 3. When and where were you born? How old are you now? 4. Describe three members of your immediate family—be specific by detailing names, ages, physical characteristics, and personality traits. 5. In what places have you lived? 6. Who is your best friend and why is that the case? Describe him/her—be specific by detailing names, ages, physical characteristics, personality traits. 7. Describe any pets you have/have had/desire to have. If you could be any animal, what would you be and why? 8. Describe what you like to do in your spare time, and on weekends. 9. What is your favorite TV program(s)? Why? What kind of music do you like? 10. Where have you traveled or would like to travel? Describe what draws you to that particular place and why. 11. Describe your particular talents. What do you do well? 12. Do you want to go to college? Which one? What career do you hope to pursue when you are an adult? Why? What are you doing now to prepare yourself for these goals? 13. What do you like best about school? What do you like least about school? 14. What extracurricular activities are you involved in at school or outside of school? 15. Describe any other interesting aspect(s) of yourself.

Compare Death Essay

Tony Harrison’s â€Å"From Long Distance† is poem about how death has caused him and his father to grieve. Death is approached through the grief of the family and the past tense in the poem. Charles Tennyson Turner’s â€Å"On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book† is a sonnet about the beauty of a dead fly’s corpse and how death can happen at any time. Death is approached through the ‘book’ and how death is unpredictable. The similarities and differences between the poems are in the diction, rhyme and rhythm. In â€Å"From Long Distance† Tony Harrison conveys death through diction. At the start Harrison describes how the father â€Å"kept her slippers warming by the gas†. This evokes a warm atmosphere because the father is doing something nice. However Harrison writes that â€Å"my mother was already two years dead†. The adverb â€Å"already† conveys the passing of time and shows that even while the father was doing something nice for his dead wife; it is irrational to do it for â€Å"two years† and evokes a negative atmosphere because the father is emotionally stressed. Furthermore the father â€Å"put you off an hour to give him time to clear away her things†. Harrison is conveying his disappointment in the father as the father is too wound up in grief. However Harrison says â€Å"I believe in life and death and that is all† which describes how there is no afterlife but this statement is quite emotionless which makes it sound quite false. Right afterwards this is justified through â€Å"you haven’t both gone shopping†. This suggests that both parents are dead likewise with â€Å"disconnected number I still call†. Harrison conveys that he is still grieving for his dead parents just like his father. Death is approached in â€Å"From Long Distance† through death causing people to show grief in irrational ways. In â€Å"On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book†, Charles Tennyson Turner conveys death through imagery and diction. Turner portrays the corpse of the fly as being a â€Å"fair monument† and having â€Å"wings gleam out†. This image is very angelic and positive which conveys how the fly left a beautiful mark in the book. However this is ironic as flies are usually horrible and hated creatures. From this Turner writes â€Å"The pearl is by us day by day† which conveys how death can happen at any time. Furthermore Turner uses â€Å"The Book will close upon us† to portray the Book as being ‘death’ and is certain that you can’t escape it and it will eventually close. Lastly Turner writes that the â€Å"closing book may stop our vital breath, Yet leave no lustre on our page of death†. Turner conveys to the reader that when we die we don’t leave a positive mark on the world unlike that of the fly. Turner approaches deat h as serious matter and that it can happen any time. There are many similarities and differences between the poems â€Å"From Long Distance† and â€Å"On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book† in rhyme, diction and rhythm. The rhyme in â€Å"From Long Distance† changes in the last stanza to emphasize that Harrison has let his emotions give way and show that he is still grieving for his dead parents. Likewise in â€Å"On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book† the first eight lines of the sonnet have a regular pattern but the rhyme scheme changes in the last six lines which emphasizes how humans’ corpses are different to those of flies and also that death is unpredictable through the change in rhyme scheme. The diction in â€Å"From Long Distance† is positive because of the father’s actions. However Harrison uses words such as â€Å"blight†, â€Å"crime† and â€Å"rusted† which are all negative and create a barrier between the father and Harrison. In â€Å"On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book† the diction for the first eight lines is positive when describing the beauty of the dead fly however in the last six lines it is a lot more serious which conveys the importance of the subject of death and how we need to make a mark in the world. Both poems have iambic pentameter which gives a regular rhythm and flow. In â€Å"From Long Distance† this flow gives the effect of time passing which emphasizes how death is hard to cope with. In â€Å"On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book† the flow emphasizes the seriousness of death to show that it is important. These similarities and differences convey death through not being able to cope w ith death and how people could die anytime. The poems â€Å"From Long Distance† by Tony Harrison and â€Å"On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book† by Charles Tennyson Turner approach death through the similarities and differences in diction, rhyme and rhythm. Harrison conveys to the reader that we should learn to cope with death and not hide out emotions. Turner conveys to the reader that we should make the most out of our life as death can happen at any time.

Data Collection Relating to Personal Information and Purchase Behaviours †a Consumer Perspective

Data collection relating to personal information and purchase behaviours – a consumer perspective. Every individual to a certain percentage values their privacy. Differentiating factors amongst various individuals could be their cultural background, social environment, literacy and general awareness amongst others. Advancements in technology leading to development of secret cameras for instantaneous photographs, discount cards that store your purchase information, and scanners, have also contributed to this invasion of privacy. Database marketing assist marketers to record actual purchase behaviours of customers and hence help them monitor and tailor their promotions towards the customer’s interests. Also on the internet a customer is required to fill in certain information before they can make their purchases online. This in turn forms the basis of data capturing by the retailers; these information could be sold to marketers for their promotion purposes. Sheehan and Hoy, (2000) suggests that if customers are compensated for the use of their data, it could make them see the infringement in another way, and they may not likely term it as a privacy invasion. Such is in the case of discount cards which are data capturing instruments, but give customer a certain percentage of discount to compensate for their unknowing loss of anonymity. Consumer demography and correlation with privacy concerns Many researches carried out on this topic, though limited has shown some interesting views. The findings of Wang and Petrison (1993) for example and some other researchers are summarised below: – older people showed more concern about financial privacy than younger ones; – younger people were more aware that their data were being collected than older people – younger ones were more concerned about the benefits they would derive from giving out such information; – coloured people were less concerned; – inner city residents were less concerned; lower than average income earners were less concerned about their privacy information, but paid more attention to the compensation attached; – high income earners have more awareness and are more concerned about their privacy; – females exhibit more concern than males about their consumer privacy issues. (Graeff & Harmon, 2002). Many people find it quite easier to produce many demographic data such as age, marital status, occupation and education than to produce that which deals with the ir finances, health and criminal records. But this also depends on to whom the information is revealed and how it would be used. For example, if you are opening a checking/loan account with BankPHB plc where I work, you may be required to give details of your financial statement, personal income/pay slip, a utility bill showing evidence of your residence, your social security number or national identification number as the case may be, your health/life insurance policy and so many more in case you want access to a loan. Data of such private information could be given out to law enforcement agencies should the individual be suspected of having any involvement in money laundering or other criminal offences. Usually medical records are produced by job applicants at the point of entry for screening purposes. Consumer behaviour as regards online purchases and privacy. On internet purchases many people do not feel comfortable giving out their credit card details online, while some are just not bothered about it, but research has shown that less than a quarter of internet users feel insecure with credit card online purchases and more people prefer to use it in stores, or for telephone purchases (Graeff & Harmon, 2002). Most people do not know how their data is used and even when they do know, it seldom influences their purchasing behaviour, especially if they are high income earners, such that they still go about their normal purchasing. Consumers feel they ought to be informed and have control on how marketers use information about their buying habits; some also feel that government should regulate such uses (Graeff & Harmon, 2002). Although legal sanctions for misuse of consumer information are now in place, many marketers still ignore this and continue the practise. But it is inevitable that marketers must put a balance between their quest for information from market researches and making their customers feel comfortable doing business with them. Thearling (1998) in his work on data mining technology condemns the violation of the customer’s right to privacy of his information. For instance if you give your details solely for the purpose of making a credit card purchase and it is used for any other secondary purpose such as data mining, then it is a serious offence. The primary purpose of data collection must be clearly understood by the customer, with an option to opt out of the disclosure of such data in place. He gave an example of the CVS drug store who continually called customers up when their subscription was due for the use of Elensys. Obviously they got the data through data mining of patients’ medical data from hospitals or previous purchases. Personally, I feel this issue should be deeply addressed and should be sanctionable to make consumers more comfortable doing their businesses without fear of losing their privacy. References: Graeff, T. R. and Harmon S. (2002) Collecting and using personal data: Consumers’ awareness and concerns. Journal of Consumer Marketing. Vol. 19 No. 4 pp302-318. Available from: http://www. emeraldinsight. com. ezproxy. liv. c. uk/0736-3761. htm Accessed: September 10, 2009. Thearling, K. (1998) Data Mining and Piracy: A conflict in the making? Available online from: http://www. thearling. com/text/dsstar/privacy. htm/ Accessed 16th September 2009. Sheehan, K. B. and Hoy, M. G. (2000), â€Å"Dimensions of privacy concern among online consumers†. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing. Vol. 19 No. 1. pp 62-73. Wang, P. and Petrison, L. A. (1993), â€Å"Direct marketi ng activities and personal privacy†. Journal of Direct Marketing. Vol. 7 No. 1, pp 7-19.

Ethics Harassment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Ethics Harassment - Essay Example In today's world, organisations and workplaces have become extremely diversified and have adopted varied stance s in terms of job processes and the general outlook. What is striking in such a scenario, is the prevalence of organizational or work ethics. Ethics has evolved to become an important aspect fo organizational functioning, since it deals with the self-esteem and the very importance attached to employees in an organisation. Is it but well known, that an employee is the building block of an organisation and the importance attached to ethics in today's organisations are a reflection of the same. In today's workplaces, harassment has become a very repetitive occurrence, with cases being reported every now and then. The various forms of harassment range that come under the purview have increased by the day, with sexual harassment topping the list. The issue came to the fore-front, in the 1970s and ever since, a number of committees, benches and organisations have come into the picture, to outline the relationship between work ethics and harassment. Sexual harassment as an abuse of power has become front-page news in the U.S. business press. Recently, BusinessWeek detailed the sexual harassment endured by salespeople at the U.S. subsidiary of Astra AB, a major Swedish pharmaceutical firm (Maremont 1996). This harassment was perpetrated by people at the highest levels of the organization and salespeople who did not comply found life at the firm extremely difficult. The attention to workplace sexual harassment generally focuses on harassment of employees by others within the same firm. [Insights into Sexual Harassment of Salespeople by Customers: The Role of Gender and Customer Power Leslie M, Fine, C. David Shepherd and Susan L. Josephs] When workplaces become diversified and new parameters of work assessment emerge, it is important to maintain workplace ethics. However, when cases of favourtism and sexual harassment emerge, it certainly goes against what is legally permissive in the ethical nature of actions in workplaces. It becomes difficult when talented individuals are put down, on account of the sexual favours received from other quarters. Besides this, when bosses do harass their subordinates and the like, it goes against moral codes of conduct. Organisational Behaviour is often considered at four different levels. Individual Behaviour, which deals with the single fundamental unit of the organisation, talks about the individualistic perspective. It revolves around an individual's perceptions, actions, notions, temperament and contribution to the organisation. At a higher plane, we have the Group Dynamics, that involves interactions of a group. It is inclusive of team work and team-bonding, while also delving into the nature of interactions, inter-group interactions, departmentalization and the like. An organisation can also be demarcated in terms of the diverse processes and the clubbing of

An Event in My Life that has One Cause with Three Results Essay

An Event in My Life that has One Cause with Three Results - Essay Example According to the paper, as the author declares "shortly after joining my first grade in school, my parents started to experience challenges in their marriage and after a period of not more than ten months, they filled a divorce case and were separated. This event was quite traumatizing to me and especially because I had never lived separately from my parents and had never imagined having parents who could not communicate effectively or even share a common ground on issues concerning my life. This event affected me psychologically and endured stress for a long time before being able to manage the condition. From this event, three types of stress each with particular consequences can be identified in relation to what happened to me afterwards. To begin with, an acute stress can be drawn from the immediate responses that could be identified in my routine schedule. Acute stress is the most common form of stress that is experienced by majority of people. This type of stress is highly mana geable and does not cause a lot of damage to a person if addressed soon. In the case of troubled parenthood from my parents, I started experiencing pressure to coordinate many issues in my life. Firstly, I began to worry about the fate of my parents’ relationship after I noted that they were quarrelling frequently. In addition, it was a little challenging to have proper concentration in classroom especially in the morning lectures because of bad emotional experiences at home. Although after a short while I could concentrate in classroom work, the morning quarrels by my parents at home made me to be more worried and hence poor concentration at school.The second result of the event can generally be classified as chronic stress. Normally, the person involved gives up in search of a solution and can continuously be worn out by the stress. Ideally, short lived stress is beneficial to humans because it enables their body to respond to issues that require a lot of energy and immedia te response. "

Who are the main actors and stakeholders in US-Mexican drug problem Essay

Who are the main actors and stakeholders in US-Mexican drug problem - Essay Example The toll of drug-war related deaths has reached 28,228 since January 2007, as based on data analysed by the University of San-Diego Trans-Border Institute taken from Agencia Reforma news group. It is a war fought with the help of 45,000 soldiers and 5,000 federal forces in 18 states where trafficking groups are trying to get access to the US market for selling drugs as there is total prohibition on the sale of drugs in the US. There has been recurrent flow of arms to the South while cartel-linked crime has been heading towards North (LAT 2010). One of the main stakeholders in the drug trafficking, the US, is not recognising the ill-effects of the war between the illicit stakeholders and the active players, namely the Mexican government, the US government and the press waging a collective war against the traffickers. In stead of rebuking Hillary Clinton on her remarks that violence in Mexico has grown to such proportions as total insurgency, the President Obama should pay urgent attention to the happenings by calling a meeting to discuss the repercussions of increasing violence with the members of his national security team and outside experts (Carpenter 2010). Other actors and stakeholders in the US-Mexican drug problem include the media reporters bravely involved in covering the activities of drug cartels. Drug mafia has waged a counter-war against reporters killing more than 30 journalists since 2006. Working conditions for reporters are not better than they are facing in countries like Iraq, Sudan and Afghanistan. Media has been forced there to play the role of a silent spectator by not prominently covering the activities of drug mafia. The intimidation of the media has crossed the limits to the extent that in one of the editorials El Diario, the main newspaper in Ciudad Juarez, the centre of violence in Mexico’s drug war, has sought advice from traffickers on what to publish and what not after the traffickers killed one of

Persuade Your Employer That You Deserve a Raise Essay

Persuade Your Employer That You Deserve a Raise - Essay Example I was indeed workaholic. Working for late hours even after the fixed office hours was a trend which was rarely seen in American companies. Admittedly, it was the sincerity and passion I had toward my work that kept me boosted always. The task of recruiting hardware engineers for the iPhone and iPad projects were the most challenging and voluminous task in the whole span of my professional life. In many of the days, I was the only one who remained after the office hours and managed the extensive documentation works of the human resource department. I travelled through technology institutes to find young, vibrant and innovative engineers, of design, hardware and software for the successful accomplishment of the projects. It is clear that my diplomacy was beneficial for the company to persuade engineers and designers from other IT giants like Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo etc to work with Apple. And my expertise in computer programming was a surplus advantage for the company, for I got t he duty of supervising the iOS for iPhone and iPad. It must be noted that it was when many officers in the C level disagreed to supervise the immense task of supervising the development of iOS that I had to take up the responsibility. All this makes me upright to stately say that I played a substantial part in the successful completion of the iPhone project in 2007 as the HR manager as well as a software developer. I believe I have been loyal to my superiors in the company right from the day I joined Apple; and I have always been friendly with my colleagues too. I was always appreciated by my superiors in the HR department and my contributions and suggestions to the research and development wing was always well-considered. Our CEO Mr. Steve Jobs was always ready to listen to our opinions and suggestions. It is a unique feature in Apple that even though I am an employee in the HR department, my expertise in computer programming was also considered and exposure was given to me in the software development section. Such an easy and liberal working environment makes Apple a professional’s dream. The only thing that disappointed me in Apple is that there has been no change in my position and no additions to my salary apart from the usual annual increments. I have completed 10 years in Apple by now, and I am one of the well-qualified employees in the human resources wing. I graduated in business administration specializing in HR as well as computer science from the prestigious Harvard University. I was a topper in the university and that’s the reason for which Apple recruited me directly from the campus. It was my efforts that provided Apple a handsome amount of savings by taking up market analysis within the company instead of outsourcing it to external analyzers. This step was found exorbitantly helpful in maintaining a good position in the stock markets constantly throughout the financial years. Though I have such long stories of success to speak abo ut from the course of my work at Apple, I feel I never received a raise that I deserved while comparing with my track record at Apple. And I had to see many who were less academically qualified than I moving to higher positions in the firm. Apple had been always known as an employer who carefully listens to the concerns of its employees. Today Apple is the leading brand

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Assignment - Essay Example The act dictates and enforces two major responsibilities to any authority, which are to deny or confirm the availability of information whenever required. Whenever the authority admits to having the information as required, the act requires that the authority confer access to the information to any person in need of it. However, there are exceptions to the access of information with certain groups of persons being accorded full rights to accessing the information while some having some restrictions and subject to test by public interest. The act is driven by basic objectives and principles which include maximizing openness, ability to present information in a more open and comprehensive manner as well maintaining an up to date register or inventory system for the available information. Moreover, the act requires absolute observance of the commercial confidentiality of the public, prompt response as well as maintains the lowest costs possible in dispatching the information; informatio n to be provided free wherever possible2. Public tendering process is often a procedural process, which involves among other process the placement of the tenders’ information for interested contractors to apply. This has lead to devising of the tendering mechanisms such as the competitive tendering and the negotiated procedures of procurement by both the private as well as the public domain besides the open and the closed tendering procedures. The public procurement often involves customized discussions that involves many bidders and, applied in complex procurement procedures. The competitive dialogue method3 is characterized of two basic stages where the contracting authority starts by advertising the opportunities. Interested participants apply and gives the information through which the contracting authority determine the competitiveness of the applicants for the contracts and thus few of the qualified applicants are shortlisted for the second phase which is the actual com petitive dialogue. The dialogue entails thorough discussions with the shortlisted participants and the contracting authority stops to engage when it is assured of proposals that will meet its requirements. After the dialogue, the authority then invites tenders for the contract and the evaluation of the tenders stick to the formula of most economically advantageous. On the other hand, negotiated procedures involve the negotiation of procurement by procurer (contracting authority) and the potential bidders where the most cost effective bidders get the contract award4. The competitive dialogue pass through the two stages as with the prior procedure with the difference notable in that within the negotiated procedures the contracting authority requires proposals from the shortlisted participants before engaging in negotiations. In the analysis of procurement through competitive dialogue as well as the negotiation procedures, the most outstanding thing is that both the procurer and the su pplier has information that the other has not and is important for the tendering process to be efficient as well as successful. The success of the negotiated as well as the competitive dialogue procurement procedures rest on the ability for the parties involved to use the information at hand convincingly to win the contract award. The two procedures therefore run hand in hand and

SUMMARY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

SUMMARY - Essay Example Petersen also notes the students have problems with their listening skills. Native Americans speak quickly and fluently, and with vocabularies, but the international students lack a background on such complex terms. Listening then becomes difficult if they cannot follow and understand what lecturers and other students are saying (Petersen). The international students also shy away from speaking in front of others. They are aware of their problems in pronunciation, fluency, intonation, and word stress. They know they cannot fully understand what others say and cannot express what they mean correctly. Their participation in class, therefore, becomes limited. The author, Lissa Petersen, also indicates that the students have problems in reading comprehension, using idioms and grammar. If, however, the students can apply Benjamin Bloom’s strategy of thinking, they can overcome some of the problems. Lastly, Petersen points at rhetorical differences as another hindrance to effective learning by the international students. American academic writing features several differences with other cultures. Although most of the international students are taught English grammar in their countries, the teaching is not up to the American standards. Their English can, therefore, seem to be illogical and disorganized, but is acceptable in another culture

The Canterbury Tales Literary Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Canterbury Tales Literary Analysis - Essay Example rough the eye of the narrator, who is a pilgrim himself, apparently ready to appreciate his companions for their worthiness, and also record their condition, their array, and their social degree: â€Å"To telle yow al the condicioun/Of ech of hem, so as it semed me,/And whiche they weren, and of what degree,/And eek in what array that they were inne;† The narrator took his â€Å"tyme and space† to relate his story which means that that he has considered his subjects for a period before putting their descriptions on paper, and his portrayals derive as much from his observation as his individual perceptions and opinions regarding the characters. The characters are described in order of their social rank: the military estate represented by the Knight and the Squire is followed by the clerical estates depicted through the Prioress, the Monk, the Friar and the Parson; and then by the laity represented by the wealthy Franklin to the poor Plowman; the upper middle class is followed by a lower one and the rascals at the end. The pilgrims include: a knight, a squire, a yeoman, a prioress, a second nun, the nuns priest, a monk, a friar, a merchant, a clerk, a sergeant of law, a franklin, a haberdasher, a carpenter, a weaver, a dyer, a tapestry weaver, a cook, a shipman, a doctor of physic, a wife of Bath, a parson, a plowman, a miller, a manciple, a reeve, a summoner, a pardoner, the host and the narrator himself. The number of professions depicted are representative of various sections of the society, and Chaucer presents a rich tableau of his times. The narrator is conscious of the social differences.He respects them, and in his description of the clothing, the accessories, and glimpses of behavior conjures up a wide array of characters. The Canterbury Tales was Chaucers attempt at realism in an era when most of the writers of his time were still engaged with larger-than life heroes; his character live, breathe drink and crack jokes as in real life, and Chaucer

Phantom Time Theory Essay Example for Free

Phantom Time Theory Essay There are a few German scholars who believe that a 300 year time period was just written in the history books, without actually existing. The gap in history has been coined the Phantom Time Theory or Phantom Time Hypothesis. Although it is not a very widely accepted theory, there is a fair amount of evidence to back it up. Time itself has very many definitions, the historical records of the time don’t coincide, and astronomy and dendrochronology can’t definitively prove the theory wrong. What exactly is time? One of time’s many definitions is â€Å"the system of those sequential relations that any event has to any other, as past, present, or future; indefinite and continuous duration regarded as that in which events succeed one another,† (Time 784) Basically, this means the order of events occurred in relation to each other. Since there are numerous other definitions time is very subjective and who is to say that time even really exists. Different countries have different calendars and started counting years at other various times. For example, the Islam calendar started in the year we know as 622 AD. Niemitz asks â€Å"How was it possible to insert this phantom time into history? †(8), which has no easy answers. One might respond in a way as to say that we made a mistake when changing from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. If that were to be the case, then how would it have been a 300 year oversight? Maybe, the switch in calendars may just be a small part of the problem; could it have been the start of the falsified history? If so, then where else could the gap have come from? Most of the historical documents of the time seem to have either been falsified or just don’t exist. For example, Heribert Illig believes â€Å"†¦Charlemagne was a fictional character,† (Bellows 1). If Charlemagne was a made-up figure in history, than what else has been made up about that era? Maybe all of it has been fictionalized by some mass conspirators, or maybe certain documents of the time have just been translated incorrectly and certain historical feats did not actually happen. Also, there are large gaps in historical documents like â€Å"†¦the doctrine of faith, especially the gap in the evolution of theory and meaning of purgatory†¦,† (Bellows 3). With gaps in historical documents like this, it leaves a doubt in the mind of anybody that ponders the existence of this time period. If there are gaps in historical documents like this, then maybe there are gaps in the history itself, as well. John states in his narrative that â€Å"Often, historiography just consisted of archiving anything at all†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (John 5). So, maybe most of the history as we think we know is nothing but false assumptions. But, this whole theory is built on the word maybe. Other scholars might give Illig more respect for his findings if he could come up with more specific answers that tell both sides of the story. Astronomy is neutral, for the most part, when it comes to the Phantom Time Theory. For example, Beaufort writes â€Å"Ultimate evidence against Illigs hypothesis, based solely on historical solar eclipses can possibly not be found,† (Beaufort 25). So, if solar eclipses can’t prove the theory wrong, then what can? Methods like Dendrochronology, carbon dating, might hold the answer. Unfortunately, â€Å"Despite of calibration a high degree†¦antique period typically up to +/-150 years,† (Beaufort 26). This leaves us once again with no definitive answer on the validity of the hypothesis. At the moment, there is no scientific way to prove the theory valid or invalid, but maybe, some day in the near or possibly distant future, there will be a way to accurately pinpoint the dates when certain historical events happened to put this talk of the theory being a â€Å"conspiracy† to bed. 300 years of our history may just have been thought up in someone’s head and written in the history books, or maybe it is true. There are a few things for certain though: time is very subjective and we could be living in any time period imaginable, depending on when you start counting years. Some historical documentation of the era has been proven to be forged, so we can never distinguish what has actually happened in history and what some writer of a history book just made it up. Lastly, astronomy and dendrochronology don’t give a definitive answer to the questions of when exactly these historical events happened. So, maybe this theory is just some wild thought a few German scholars had, but maybe, in the coming years more and more evidence to prove the theory valid may come out and these crazy scholars would look like geniuses.

William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 129 Essay Example for Free

William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 129 Essay William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 129 is a classic Shakespearian Sonnet from his distinguished collection published in 1609. The Shakespearean Sonnet is unquestionably the most intellectual and dramatic of poetic forms and, when written well, is a masterpiece not only of poetic talent but intellectual talent as well. Like the majority of sonnets, Sonnet 129 has fourteen lines and is organized into an octave followed by a sestet; or more in depth, three quatrains followed by a heroic couplet. However, there is one thing about this poem that does not follow the traditional cookie cutter model of a Shakespearean Sonnet. The distinctiveness is that this particular sonnet does not have the volta or thematic turn which generally shifts the mood or thematic direction, the topic of discussion and the mood in which it is written remains the same. There are, of course, other sonnets that Shakespeare wrote that also do not have a volta. The words of this poem discuss the issue of sex and lustful desire and the negative effects that they have on humanity. Shakespeare artistically puts the issue into three categories: lust as a longing for future pleasure, lust as it is consummated in the present, and finally, lust as it is remembered after the pleasurable experience, when it becomes a source of shame. These three categories are organized flawlessly into the three Sicilian Quatrains of the sonnet which all lead up to the heroic or rhyming couplet at the end. These final two closing lines fundamentally state that everyone in the world knows everything that has been said very well, they know and have experienced the consequences of lustful desires; and yet, no one knows well enough to stay away from this magnificent experience that leads us to a state of suffering. The meter of this sonnet follows the traditional guiding principles by using iambic pentameter. Therefore, for the most part, each line is divided into five feet and each of these feet are made up of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one. However, there are some exceptions within the sonnet that deserve mentioning. The very first foot of the first line, â€Å"Th’expense,† has to be read in this way, as opposed to â€Å"the expense,† in order to preserve the iambic rhythm of the sonnet from the very beginning. Lines three and four of the first quatrain are essentially an angry list of what lust is. The word cruel, in line four, produces an interesting effect. Shakespeare could have chosen an obvious two syllable word, but he did not do such a thing, that would be too easy. He chooses a word that fulfills the iambic rhythm, but in effect, disrupts it and works against it. Rhyme, when done appropriately, produces an effect that free verse simply does not match and cannot reproduce. When being used by a professional such as Shakespeare, rhyme is not just about being appealing, proper or elegant; it directs the reader’s ear and mind, strengthening thought and thematic ideas. The rhyme scheme within Sonnet 129 is rather common. The first quatrain is ABAB, the second is CDCD, the third is EFEF, and finally, the couplet at the end is GG. The most important attribute of the Shakespearean Sonnet is it’s rhyme scheme, rather than the meter. This is because the essence of the Shakespearean Sonnet is in its sense of drama. The rhyme scheme, because of the way it directs the ear, reinforces the dramatic feel of the sonnet and enhances the To conclude, Sonnet 129 is not exactly the most original in form, meter, rhythm or rhyme; nevertheless, it has a very thought-provoking subject matter and presents an enlightening notion that is left to be pondered upon by all.

Growth And Evolution Of Petroleum Industry In India Commerce Essay

Growth And Evolution Of Petroleum Industry In India Commerce Essay The MBA programmed provides student with a fundamental knowledge of business and organizational functions and activities as well as an exposure to strategic thinking of management. As a part of the curriculum we have prepared a comprehensive project report on petroleum industry. The theoretical knowledge is used only when are apply in our practical study. This report contains a brief about the petroleum industry playing a vital role in the growth of Indian economy. The whole project was accomplished in very systematic manner starting from collection of information through visiting various websites, books, magazines etc and than analyses it in a proper and suitable way. This report aims to provide information regarding the current position of petroleum industry in India. Its growth, challenges and issues in highly competitive market by adopting liberalization and globalization polices which are affecting the Indian economy particularly in petroleum sector. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We would like to thank all the people who have helped us for making this project possible. Firstly we would like to appreciate the tradition of our institute, J.H.P.C.M.T which encourages such activities. We would also like to thank Dr. M.R.Parekh director of J.H.PATEL COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY for providing help whenever required. We grateful acknowledgments the value guidance and useful suggestion offered by our faculty guide Miss Jenita Patel. Finally we also thankful all our friends to helped us directly and indirectly in our project. We have also devoted with our best possible effort to complete the project. Declaration We Thakkar Nikita, Makwana Snehal hereby declare that the COMPREHENSIVE PROJECT REPORT entitled Petroleum Industry in is a result of our own work and our indebtedness to other work publications, references, if any, have been duly acknowledged. Place: (Signature) Date: (Name of Student) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The project titled as Petroleum Industry has been undertaken with an objective of analyzing the economic growth in the india market its role for the development of the country. It represents Indias energy needs and is the most valuable public as well as private enterprise. As a collective result of private sector and public sector refinery investments in the recentpast, India will become known by 2012 as Asias largest refined product exporter, surpassing Singapore. India will stay one of Asias two largest refined product exporters for the anticipated future. India is suddenly become a global petroleum producing center because of having increasing the depth of product flows and strengthening supply chains especially clean transport fuels and for high-end industrial product. It also have far-reaching implications for regional product markets. The business of Indias large scale export oriented refining sector marks the increase of rate of a basic shift in the design of global refining in which growing economies increasingly look to production hubs in Asia and the Middle East to supply incremental refined product demand. Growth and Evolution of Petroleum Industry in India The petroleum industry is include the global processes of extraction, exploration, refining, transporting (often by pipelines and oil tankers), and marketing petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are gasoline (petrol) and fuel oil. Petroleum (oil) is also the raw material for many chemical products, including solvents, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, fertilizers, and plastics. The origin of the Indian oil gas industry can be traced back to the late 19th century, when oil was first struck at Digboi in Assam in 1889.In view of the significance of the gas oil sector for overall economic growth, the Government of India announced in1954 that petroleum would be the core sector industry. 1954, petroleum exploration production activity was controlled by the government-owned National Oil Companies (NOCs), namely Oil India Private Ltd (OIL) and Oil Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).Indias refining capacity has more than trebled in the last 13 years. Reliance Industry is the first refinery industry in Jamnagar in 1999, India has an installed capacity of around 193.5 million tpa in April, 2011. The growth is likely to continue with refining capacities expected to touch 255 million tpa by 2012-13 and 302 million tpa by 2017-18, with a slew of projects announced by both the private and public sector. Today, private sector accounts for 76.5 million tpa (around 39.5 per cent) and public sector oil companies account for close to 117 million tpa (around 60.5 per cent). There has been a healthy growth in Indias petroleum refining capacity in the last five years, is as described by the given table below:- Domestic crude oil production [million tpa] 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 (Provisional) Total consumption 113.2 120.7 128.9 133.6 138.2 Products from indigenous crude 26.6 28.4 28.2 27.0 27.2 Indigenous crude processing 28.3 30.2 30.0 28.8 28.9 Products from fractionators 4.2 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.4 Total indigenous production 30.8 32.4 32.3 31.2 31.6 Import dependence (%) 72.8 73.2 75.0 76.7 77.2 Self-sufficiency (%) 27.2 27.0 25.0 23.3 22.8 The capacity utilization of Indian refiners for the last few years is described in the table. Indian refiners have also operated at higher operating rates or capacity utilization compared to their regional/global peers implying efficiency in operations. But, import of Indias refining industry is growing, as the domestic crude oil production is stable at around 30 million tpa for the last few years. Generally, GDP growth rates and petroleum product consumption are linked. But, in our case, factors like availability of better roads, more fuel efficient vehicles, improvements in mass urban transport modes and increased availability of natural gas for industrial sector contributed to more moderate growth in recent times. Indian refineries are clocking higher Gross Refining Margins compared to regional benchmarks a clear sign for competitiveness in refining operations. If all the planned projects materialize, India will have an exportable surplus petroleum product of around 100 million tpa by 2012 and 140 million. Product profile This section provides a brief description of the technology and production process. An understanding of these issues is critical as it helps understand industry structure. Crude oil is a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons chemical compounds consisting roughly of six parts of carbon and one of hydrogen, both of which are fuels; it generally also carries small quantities of salts sulphur, oxygen, metals and nitrogen. The principal products obtained from the crude oil are:- Petrol:- Petrol is used to fuel internal combustion engines, mainly vehicular. It is early use as a killer of lice and their eggs has completely disappeared. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG):- LPG is mostly a combination of propane and butane. It is heavier than air, and liquefies under pressure. It is used as a household cooking fuel, vehicular fuel and refrigerant; 4 million vehicles are estimated to be powered by LPG in the world. Kerosene:- Kerosene is also known as paraffin, is used as an illuminant and cooking fuel in India and other poor countries, and as a space heating fuel in industrial countries. Jet fuel:- It is used in jet planes, is closely akin to kerosene. Naphtha:- Naphtha is used to make additives for high-octane petrol, and to make polymeric plastics and urea, a nitrogenous fertilizer. Lubricating oil:- It is consists of greases and viscous oils used to lubricate moving parts in automobiles, industry, railway engines and carriages and marine engines. Petroleum coke:- It is mostly used as fuel, but is also used to make dry cell batteries and electrodes. High-speed diesel oil:- It is used in engines running at 750 revolutions per minute (rpm) or more. It is mostly used in diesel-powered vehicles. Light diesel:- It is used in the diesel engines running at lower speed mainly irrigation pumps and generation sets. Furnace oil:- It is made by diluting residual fuel oil from refining with middle distillates such as diesel oil. It is used in bunkers, boilers, furnaces, heaters, or as fertilizer feedstock. Demand determination of the Industry Petroleum industry in the country has undergone major transformation in the past several years. The country is now net exporter of petroleum products. Globalization of Indian economy along with high international oil prices which are a pass-through in the bulk sector has induced improvement in energy efficiency and shift of demand from liquid to natural gas (LNG). Further, improvement in road infrastructure and better vehicles has had a sobering effect on the demand for road transportation fuels. Low demand in transport fuels like HSD and MS is also due to factors like expansion of city gas distribution networks i.e. CNG. Demand determination factors:- The Demand determination factors are based on mainly two approaches. Top-down Approach and Bottom-up Approach. Top-down Approach: Overall energy requirements with share of different fuels in the primary commercial energy basket by linking GDP with energy elasticity. Bottom-up Approach: End use approach considering the impact of different parameters. While assessing the requirements factors like impact of Metro rail, CNG expansion, impact of high oil prices, conservation/efficiency improvement issues, aviation policy of the Government, Railways freight policy, growth of passenger and cargo traffic, fleet expansion plan of airlines, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) road construction projects, construction of freight corridor, electrification plans of railway tracks vehicle population growth, impact of gas, technological improvements in engine designs, improved fuel efficiency, impact of auto LPG etc. have been measured. The demand of gas is continues to be influenced by the cost economics vis-à  -vis alternative fuels pertaining to each of the end use sectors in India. The power and fertilizer is also the dynamics of these sectors. Currently the consumption of natural gas is shared by the fertilizer and power sector to the tune of 29% and 40% respectively. The power sector is one of the continuous major consumer of natural gas. There has set target of 70,000 generation s forecasted by he ministry of power for the next 5 year period ending 2012. The industry like Petrochemicals/Refineries and Internal Consumption sectors are estimates that the annual economic growth rate of about 7%. Similarly, the iron/steel sector is also estimates same rate for economic growth. Currently the demand for petroleum product is 131.8 MMT in 2011-12 which will increased by 160.2 in 2016-17. The demand for petroleum product is also depend on the availability of the different products like petrol diesel kerosene naphtha etc. Their prices are the main factor of determining demand of these products. The petroleum refineries must considered the price parity and export parity which considered the change in price of petroleum products which depend on the past experience. Players in the Industry The various competitors are available in the petroleum industry which including the government and private sector. most of the petroleum companies are huge operations and with billion dollar balance sheet. The oil and gas production and distribution is dominated by government owned companies which are heavily regulated excepting for Reliance Industries. After liberalizing the operations of the companies like Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) run billions of   dollars in losses as they are forced to sell petroleum products at below their cost. The polices of government are mostly informal compensating these companies through money transfers and bonds. some government companies like OIL India, ONGC and GAIL which operates in the production and have to bear less of the subsidy burden have grown and performed very well. In the private sector companies like Aban Great Offshore, Essar and Reliance have managed to grow rapidly as well with changeable degrees of success. Here is the list of the major petroleum Companies in India:- Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL):- The IOCL covers the whole hydrocarbon value chain from, pipeline transportation, marketing of petroleum products to exploration production of crude oil gas, marketing of natural gas, petrochemicals and refining. The sales turn over of Indian oil was Rs 271,074 corer and profits of Rs. 10,221 corer in 2009-10. Indian oils cross-country network of crude oil and product pipelines across 10,899 km and the largest in the country, meets the crucial energy needs of the consumers in an economical, environment and efficient manner. GAIL India:- GAIL (India) Limited, is Indias Natural Gas company, integrating all aspects of the Natural Gas value chain right from discovery to marketing. It emphasizes on clean fuel industrialization, creating a square of green energy corridors that connect major consumption centers with major gas fields in India. GAIL is growing its business to become a player in the International market. The companys revenue earned in 2009-10 was Rs 24,000 corer with net profit of 11%. It is a well managed fast growing company with high competitive barriers in India. Reliance  Industries:- It is Indias largest private petroleum company. The company achieving the remarkable growth in the last decade and is diversifying into Retail. In market top more than $30 billion it is Indias most valued company. It is also highly petroleum exporting company of India. The company is one of the largest oil refining and petrochemical complexes in the world at Jamnagar. Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL):- it is the major distribution of petroleum, cooking gas and diesel in the Indian market. The companys revenue of Rs 36,000 corer and net profit of 0.5%. due to the government control The company suffer low margins and terrible stock price performance. Which forces the company to sell the product at below the cost? Even after the liberalization with increased global crude prices increasing the losses very much. The company produces a various range of products, from petrochemicals and solvents to aircraft fuel and specialty lubricants and markets them to several international and domestic airlines and hundreds of industries. Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL):- The company operates the largest refinery in the country producing Oils of international standards. This Refinery accounts for 40% of the Indias total Oil production. The company has two major refineries producing a large variety of petroleum fuels specialties. one in Mumbai and the other in Vishakhapatnam. Its huge marketing network consists of its zonal regional offices facilitated by a supply distribution infrastructure comprising terminals, aviation service stations, retail outlets, pipeline networks and LPG distributorships. The companys market share accounts for about 20% and 10% of the nations refining capacity. The company revenue earned was Rs 34,000 corer and net profit margin of 0.65% in 2010. ONGC Corporation:- The company ranks 3rd in petroleum Exploration Production industry. It produces 803 Million Metric Tones of crude and 485 Billion Cubic Meters of Natural Gas from 111 fields. It is the biggest multinational company with 40 oil and gas projects in 15 countries. The company earned Rs. 20,000 corer with net profit margin of 34% in 2010. NGC holds the largest share of hydrocarbon in India contributes over 79% of Indians oil and gas production. Distribution channel of the industry The petroleum distribution segment is rapidly adopting different kinds of supply chain solution. From crude oil selection to petroleum product distribution at the retail outlet it is chain with many links. The refining margins, the lead time associated with fundamental functions like product trading and crude buying unpredictability in oil prices make the entire process challenging. Implementation of these solution on a wide spread installations, however, is what the world is watching, as vast petroleum companies fight to chain the business. The petroleum industry has a vital need for both integration and implementation skills for taking the best value out of the differ distribution channel available. Underground, the gas station is quite modern. The tanks for super unleaded and for regular (the midgrade fuel) are larger than the normal tanks. Each tank is equipped with an electronic level check that conveys real time information about its status through a cable to the stations management system and then to the main inventory management system for the oil company whose products the gas station markets. The travels from the distribution channel push to demand pull is taking place in the section, where once the challenge was in getting the best deals on buying crude, the focus is shifting to give customer what he wants. The petroleum business is separated into refining and distribution segments. The focuses more on the distribution segment. There is a specific change to focus in the industry toward the distribution segment. The big oil companies have started monitoring the inventories of crude oil or any other petroleum products. The issues at the refining level are: which products to make in what quantity? Which crude to use? Which units to run? While the issues at the customer facing end or at the gas station are basic, namely run outs refines. The important functions within the distribution channel are optimization across alternative means of transportation, demand forecasting, replenishment method to avoid retains/run outs finally scheduling, which sequences the dispatch. Marketing and Distribution of Petroleum Products in India:- The public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) which include Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) are primarily responsible for the marketing and distribution of petroleum products in India. With the opening of retail sector for the private players, Shell, Essar and Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) have also entered the retail marketing related to petroleum products. The marketing and distribution infrastructure in the petroleum sector include liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distributorships, petrol/diesel stations, lubricants and greases outlets IOCL is the market leader in terms of marketing and distribution of petroleum products. Retail outlets in India:- The number of retail outlets (ROs) in India has increased from 31,650 in April 2006 to 40,819 in January 2011. IOCL has the widest network of ROs across India with 19,057 ROs as in January 2011. The number of LPG distributors in India has increased to 9,686 as in 2010 from 6,477 in 20011. Indias Navratna oil marketing companies Indian Oil, BPCL and HPCL- are set to report another quarter of heavy losses as they have failed to get compensation from the government for selling fuels below cost. The three oil marketing companies (OMCs) sell diesel, LPG for domestic use and kerosene through public distribution system at prices that are substantially below their costs, in accordance with the permission of their majority shareholder. In return, a small part of their losses is made good by discounts from upstream like ONGC and Oil India. The larger share of losses is made good by the government. During the June 12 quarter, the three oil marketers together had posted an unique net loss of .Rs40,536 corer as the dues from government did not arrive. The company is expecting most of the demand for Piped natural gas to come from domestic and commercial consumer sector. Limitation on subsidized LPG cylinders is expected to be a boon for its Piped natural gas business. Consumers might come forward to get a Piped natural gas connection as its rates would be economical compared to LPG cylinders. The running cost of Piped natural gas would be about 10 percent less than the cost of LPG. Piped natural gas is safer and more eco-friendly fuel for the user. As oil marketing companies move advance forcefully to decrease their distribution channels for LPG cylinders, the next few months will certainly prove trying for consumers. Currently, oil companies in India are going through a tough task of maintaining positive margins in a very unstable market of crude prices and increasing distribution cost. Oil companies also need to be prepared for active pricing scenarios for the coming future. Hence, the immediate need is to have a complete real time visibility of sales and inventory for perfect demand forecasts. Integration of different systems and different data to provide single consistent view and information to the oil company management thus forming a strong foundation for effective decision making. Key issues and current trends Issues in petroleum industries:- The global economy is a dynamic and ever-growing one in spite of the high cost of energy. This in turn is forging the demand for petrochemicals. The strong growth in demand is not backed by a sufficient supply so the cost is still to come down. Operating rates of major petrochemical product segments are very high presently. Problems faced by the India petrochemical industry:- The manufacturing units mostly use outdated format of technology and are not able to produce optimally There is a requirement for the modernization of equipments Excise duty on synthetic fiber should be rationalized Anticipation of reservation on Small Scale Units Plastic waste to be recycled and the littering habits to be discouraged India requires advantage on feedstock, so the import cost has to be brought down The industry should have access to the primary amenities of infrastructure One of the big issues is the difficulty in predicting the advance price, which will succeed in the market in the future months. Some indications are of course available with the futures prices prevailing in the exchanges. Some companies hedge their margins or crude prices by doing paper trading. The forward price is a vital input in the optimization process and can actually make the model for a particular product maximization based on its price. Current trends in petroleum industry Petroleum has proven to be the most flexible fuel source ever discovered, situated at the core of the modern industrial economy. While the industry is strong, it is subject to some very significant stresses:- à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Industry consolidation (24 mergers and acquisitions since 1997) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Global industrial expansion resulting in increased petroleum demand à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Tight supplies of economically extractable oil à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Political instability and terrorism à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ High per-barrel price that accelerates development of alternative energies à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Safety and the need to protect workers in hostile environments à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Speed required to establish a presence in new markets à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Need to spread infrastructure risk among competitors These stressors are causing oil companies to change the way they do business. From their cooperation with competitors to their massive investments in technology, from a renewed focus on safety and the environment to serious investigation of alternative fuels, these firms are reshaping the industry. How they manage these changes also influences how they view their real estate holdings and how they house the scientists and engineers who play a vital role in this transformation. The challenges oil and gas companies face are having a significant impact on how they view their real estate holdings and what kind of workplaces they provide their employees. These are important issues since many companies in this sector have vast real estate holdings. More and more these companies are managing these holdings from an enterprise-wide perspective, running their facilities like any other part of the business. They are realizing that facilities and furnishings can be a strategic tool for achieving the organizations business goals. That focus has several implications for the workplace. Petroleum includes all petroleum-based products, such as gasoline, oil, diesel fuel, kerosene, refined cleaners, and solvents. Organizations involved in upstream (exploring and extracting) and downstream activities (refining and marketing) for these petroleum products are among some of the most profitable companies in the world. Whether they are involved in upstream or downstream activities, whether they are public corporations or state-owned companies, players in the oil industry must operate within the context of significant issues and major trends that are shaping the long-term outlook for oil. Oil companies public corporations and state and non-state-owned enterprises are faced with increasing demand for petroleum products due to global industrial expansion. On the one hand, labors to get the conservative oil (produced from underground hydrocarbon reservoirs by means of production wells) have prompted oil companies to invest ever more heavily in technology and equipment. On the other, these firms have increased investments in producing unusual oil, including oil sands, shale oil, and extra heavy crude oil, some of which require additional processing to produce artificial crude. To spread the risk of investing in costly technology, equipment, and processes firms are entering into joint-venture relationships designed to spread infrastructure risk among competitors in order for the entire industry to remain healthy. In some cases, firms have required mergers or acquisitions in order to expand resources for highly technical exploration and advanced production. . Other changes on the energy scene, particularly increasing prices for both oil and gas, are prompting several companies to take a broader view of their business. They are transforming themselves through investments in alternative energy sources, including solar, wind, biomass, geothermal energy, and fuel cell technology. The realization that alternative fuels and renewable energy technologies will play an increasingly important role as a bridge between the current focus on hydrocarbons and the clean, cheap promise of hydrogen has prompted many oil companies to invest heavily in these areas. Using technology to boost productivity The technology that oil companies provide their employees is principal perimeter, especially where operational efficiencies can be obtained. Management requires solid standard metrics in order to justify investing in technology. India has steadily established itself in the core of the international production of petrochemical and petrochemical related products in the present state of affairs. With the economic growth cycle slowing down in the United States, the Asian developing nations, especially India, would preferably stand in the global petrochemical market as a producer of these products. This is one of the major challenges facing India petrochemical industry. PESTEL analysis PESTEL analysis stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal analysis and describes a framework of macro-environmental factors used in the environmental component of  strategic management. It is a part of the external analysis when conducting strategic analysis and gives an overview of the different macro environmental factors that the company has to take into consideration. Political:- Political factors are degree to government intervenes in the economy. Specifically, political factors include areas such as tax policy, labor   law, law, trade, tariffs, and political stability. Political factors may also consist of goods and services which the government wants to provide or be provided and those that the government does not want to be provided. Besides, governments have great authority on the health education, and infrastructure of   a nation. Economical:- Economic factors include growth, interest, exchange  and the inflation. These factors have major impacts on how businesses run and make decisions. For example, interest rates affect a firms  cost of  capital and therefore to what degree a business grows and expands. Exchange rates affect the costs of exporting goods and the supply and price of imported goods in an economy. Social:- Social factors include the cultural aspects and include health consciousness,  population growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes and emphasis on safety. Trends in social factors affect the demand for a companys products and how that company operates. For example, an old population may imply a smaller and less willing workforce (thus increasing the cost of labor). Moreover; companies may change a variety of management strategies to adapt to these social trends (such as recruiting older workers). Technological:- Technological factors include ecological and environmental aspects, such as RD activity, automation, technology incentives and the rate of  technological change. They can find out  barriers to entry, minimum efficient production level and influence outsourcing decisions. In addition, technological shifts can affect costs, quality, and lead to innovation. Environmental:- Environmental factors include weather, climate. Additionally, increasing awareness to climate change is affecting how companies operate and the products they offer it is both creating new markets and diminishing or destroying existing ones. Legal:- Legal factors include discrimination, consumer, antitrust, employment law, and health. These factors can affect how a company operates, its costs, and the demand for its products. Conclusion Crude oil is one of the most necessitated worldwide required commodities. Any smallest amount fluctuation in crude oil prices can have both direct and indirect pressure on the economy of the countries. The instability of crude oil prices group many companies away. Therefore, prices have been regularly and closely monito

Economies of Spain and Germany Essay -- essays papers

Economies of Spain and Germany Economy of Germany Germany’s Economic System the Federal Republic of Germany’s economy has now flourished despite its harsh times that have been faced throughout the decades. Most people know about Germany from its historic involvement in World War II; its successful campaign to unite East and West with the successful collapse of the Berlin Wall; and its world class development and production of automobiles. Unfortunately, what most people don’t know is that Germany continues to fight an uphill battle in keeping its established ranking among the world’s most important economic powers. A historic look back at Germany shows that after its fall in World War II, it needed a massive rebuilding in order regain its status that it once held. Various events took place that helped it re-climb the pedestal ladder. The year 1948 brought a currency reform that was the turning point for economic reform. There was a continuous economic growth each year for Western Germany, but the strict, conservative ways of East Germany’s communist rule still slowed true growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). To make matters worse, the whole country experienced a significant drop in its GDP, causing a recession from 1976 through to 1985. There was a growth again for the next eight years before a major down ward spiral began in 1992. Germany’s early ‘90s spiral was attributed to the reunification of the country between 1989 and 1990. Once the two countries formed their one republic, the economy took its major tumble. Economists have figured this to be true because West Germany continued to evolve with industrial and technological breakthroughs and standards, while the communist East Germany adhered to traditional, unproductive ways that in some cases dated back to the 1940s and World War II times. So instead of combining to form an economic powerhouse, the GDP tumbled and caused a massive surge to restructure and work began to regain the decades of reform that were no longer noticeable. The Republic formed after reunification consists of 16 states, which is still looked at and measured as East and West Germany. Despite all of these states following the established free-market economy, there is still a noticeable gap between the economies of the two sections. German government assistance of nearly $100 billion annually has h... ...rld Fact Book. January 12, 2000 Spain http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html World Bank Group. January 12, 2000 http://www.worldbank.org/html/schools/regions/eca/spain.htm Tradeport. January 12, 2000. http://www.tradeport.org/ts/countries/spain/trends.html The Economy of Spain. January 12, 2000 http://www.travelnet.co.il/espagne/menu/TheEconomyOfSpain.htm Clements, John, ed. Clements’ Encyclopedia of World Governments. Dallas, TX: Political Research, 1996. Culturegrams 1995. Brigham Young University: David M. Kennedy Center for International Study, 1998. German Economy. http://www.cnnfn.com â€Å"Germany.† Encyclopedia Britanica. 1997 edition. CIA World Fact Book. January 12, 2000 Germany http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html Turner, Barry, ed. Statesman’s Yearbook 1998-1999. New York, NY: Macmillan Reference, 1998. United States Department of State. Germany. Background Notes. Washington, DC: Department of State, 1995. Country Data. January 12, 2000 http://www.worldbank.org/data/countrydata/countrydata.html World Bank Group. January 12, 2000 http://www.worldbank.org/html/schools/regions/eca/germany.htm

Kidnapped :: Free Essays Online

Kidnapped Kidnapped: Being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the Year 1751 was written by Robert Louis Stevenson. Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1850. As a child growing up Stevenson was extremely sick and suffered from severe respiratory ailments which continually interrupted his schooling. As he grew up his relationship with his parents became more and more difficult. His father expected Robert to follow the family profession and become an engineer. Stevenson agreed to study law but rarely attended classes and studied literature instead. Motivated by his love for adventure and need for a climate that suited his health needs Stevenson was continually traveling. In the 1870’s he traveled to France making money off of essays and travel books. There he met Fanny Osbourne, a married American he soon fell in love with. Stevenson followed Fanny to California to arrange for her divorce and soon after the newly married couple moved back to Europe During the 1880’s Stevenson wrote the novels that would make him famous. Treasure Island was the first book to set him off on his literary career in 1883. This book although written for a boys magazine is said to be more for an adult audience; that’s how most of Stevenson’s books are, filled with romantic adventure and a grim reality. In 1886, Stevenson wrote two novels, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, one of his most famous works, and Kidnapped. Although received highly by the critics Kidnapped was overshadowed by Jekyll and Hyde in the public’s eye. Kidnapped is a story with fictional characters woven around true incidents. David Balfour is orphaned at nineteen and sent to his uncle to gain his inheritance. As he travels across the country to get to his uncle’s estate he learns that the people curse his name. When he gets to his uncle’s house instead of being greeted with a warm family welcome, his Uncle Ebenezer shuns him away. David refuses to leave and demands his inheritance and his uncle finally decides to take him in.

Film Essays - Comparison of the Movie, Life is Beautiful and the Bible

A Comparison of the Film, Life is Beautiful and the Bible Many elements of the film Life is Beautiful can compare to the Bible. For example, Guido, the main character, acts as a Christ figure in that he saves his son, Joshua from the evils of the Holocaust. Another example that compares with the Bible is the tank that is promised to Joshua. Finally, Guido’s death eventually saves Joshua from his own death. Such examples in the movie are comparable to examples in the Bible. In the film, Guido is a Christ figure to his son. During their imprisonment in the concentration camp, Guido explains things to his son in a way that shelters his son from the reality of what is happening. Guido loves his son and he protects his son from being hurt, even if doing so involved breaking rules and getting in trouble himself. In such a way did Jesus Christ love his followers. Jesus suffered to protect His people. Jesus loved his followers and was not selfish toward them. He always did what was right for the well being of His people, even when it was considered wrong or unla...

Differences Between at and Tce on Corporate Governance

Explain the similarities and differences between AT and TCE on corporate governance and criticize AT using TCE’s perspective Both AT and TCE share considerably the same assumption, they believe that market mechanism will not work all the time because of bounded rationality, opportunism, and moral hazard. The two theories also believe that there is no perfect contract and both rely endogenously on the board of director as a control instrument. Even though AT and TCE both share these similarities, they analyze them from different perspectives. The unit of analysis in AT is individual level, while it is transaction in TCE. The focal cost of AT is the residual loss that causes from bounded rationality, opportunism, and moral hazard, while it is maladaptation of governance structure in TCE. Furthermore, the focal contractual concern of AT is ex ante, while it is ex post in TCE. AT focuses on relationship between principals (shareholders) and agents (CEO). Due to the fact that the principals want to maximize their return, while the agents want to maximize their wealth, power, and prestige, so the interests of the two parties are not aligned. The agents are able to fulfill their interests without necessary fulfilling the principals’. To guard against such bounded rationality, opportunism, and moral hazard from the agent, board of director is appointed to link the imperfect relationship between principals and agents. The board of director has the right to monitor, ramify, and sanction the decision of the agent to fiduciary protect the principals’ interest. Apart from appointing the board of director, nexus of contracts is utilized to provide ex ante incentive alignment and minimize inefficiencies in the contractual structure of the firm that arise form the unaligned interests. TCE focuses on the alignment of the governance structure in order to minimize the transaction cost as much as possible. Its focal contractual concern is ex post governance structure so they strive to reduce the transactions cost by integration rather than focusing on incentives. TCE also assume bounded rationality, opportunism, and moral hazard as AT, but TCE focuses on transaction level instead of individual level. Apart from the assumptions of bounded rationality, opportunism, and moral hazard, two variables must be concerned in order to decide the appropriate governance structure. These variables are namely uncertainty, and asset specificity. The level of uncertainty is dependant on the length of the transaction and often is a part of bounded rationality. Longer length of transaction often leads to higher uncertainty. Asset specificity, contrary to uncertainty, is better for longer length of transaction. This is due to the reason that, the transactions cost is lower in a higher specific asset. If the level of asset specificity and uncertainty are high in both parties, vertical integration is suitable in minimizing the transactions cost, but if the level of uncertainty is low while the asset specificity is high in both parties, long term contract is more suitable. Board of director also exists in TCE, but for different purpose than in AT. The role of the board of director in TCE is to safeguard the firm against financial lost from by financially look after the firm rather than monitoring the agents’ behavior.

Orapronobis Case Study Essay

Vigilantes, rebels, ordinary citizens and the government – this is what the film consists of with dry barren lands, unpaved roads and small town as the setting. This is a situation where peace and freedom is difficult to achieve. Nowadays, we are already modernized, living lives in the city and not wondering if this still occurs. Us teens do not really bother what’s with other parts of the country, we only live in a small world, mostly in cyber world but only focusing on entertainment and fun. But does the scene shown in the film really present today? In the story, it was Marcos’ regime when the foreign priest was shot by the so-called orapronobis just because of complaining on what they are doing. At the time martial law ended, our country became democratic and people were non-violent with the lead of Corazon Aquino. That is what everyone thought. But the film just showed me that it is not. It is just orapronobis had been considered vigilantes so the church and the government do not really interfere with their laws and acts even they still kill innocent people. Innocent or rebel, it is still not right to just arrest someone without any proof who they really are as a citizen. Many families had suffered for the loss of a relative especially Jimmy who had been an ex-priest, ex-rebel and advocate for Human Rights, whom his ex-girlfriend back then together with his son got inhumanely killed by Commander Kontra. Now, this moment where Aquino is our president, we do not focus about this matter. We are too busy minding our own lives. There are no news reports about this. But after I had watched the film, I feel a little upset with how our government works. They are too much busy making our country as wealthy as possible not thinking on some poor rural areas where groups such as orapronobis still exist and many men, women and children were brutally killed. I personally did not think that this is still happening but as I had heard on the forum done after the film showing, it really is. It is just media cannot reach this poor areas as well as the government. But it is not right. One’s life is still a life, and it is important. Many lives need justice and these instances needed to stop. I know it is difficult but as this kind of show had been watched by every citizen, there might be some changes. So this must be spread to everyone to make a change!

The Human Lives Depending on Technologies

As we approach the new millenium, it has become obvious that more than ever before, we need technology. And yet every new technology places new demands upon us creating new forms of frustration and stress. We can not live with it, but we can not live without it. If we fail to conform ourselves, will we remain the ignorant victims of the computer age? Will we become its slave? This is the focus of this paper. We have learned from our readings that the Luddites learned about the technology that was being abused in their time. They worked on the cotton gin machines and were skilled technicians. They understood that it was not the power of a useful machine they were fighting but the power of those who mismanaged it. The same can be said for the management of computer technology. There is not doubt that computer technology has become central to the operation of global multinationals, financial markets, security surveillance, and as well as everyday life. There is little we can do with a computer interface device that will preserve our identity. Governments acting as a global police force protecting us from ourselves can easily monitor the electronic trail of commands and transactions. Perhaps the Luddites could see farther into the future than anyone suspected. With regards to the downfall of technology and the role it would play on people's lives, as they became dependent upon technology for survival. Let's take for example the huge technological dilemma of the fast approaching twenty-first century; the issues surrounding Y2K. It has been feared that people's lives will be totally devastated, as the technology they have grown to depend on will suddenly fail them on January 1, 2000. It is thought by many that all of the technology that we have come to depend upon for survival will cease to function successfully. The cars which we depend on for travel, the coffee we depend on to start our day, the electronically controlled furnaces we depend on for heat, and the elevators we depend on to bring us to work will suddenly fail us all together. Even the traffic lights will become chaotic as the computers that control them will be tricked into believing it is January 1, 1900. Even the great mastermind computer programmers of our time could not think of anything more than a band-aid solution to the transportation problem. It appears that the Transportation Department of the City of Calgary will solve their traffic light dilemma by tricking the computer system that controls the traffic lights into believing it is January 1, 1972. Obviously this band-aid solution will not solve all problems, as this will still be a problem for the next generation of transportation programmers. It appears as the New Millenium fast approaches we need to return to an age that does not depend on technology for survival. People are concerned that since no technology is reliable enough to survive the Y2K dilemma that we will have to return to the ways of our ancestors for survival during this time of technological uncertainty. Heaven forbid if we could not get a fresh loaf of bread from our technologically advanced breadmakers. Information technology is a valuable extension of our power of perception and reasoning, but when we rely on it exclusively it has a debilitating effect. When we were first confronted with this new technology it absorbed all of our human resources in order to learn and adapt to the magnitude of this new technology. Many of us overextend ourselves and become obsessive allowing computers to consume all of our attention; therefore, losing our perspective of reality and purpose. If this remains the permanent attitude resulting in the overextension of our own resources, which this technology was meant to serve, then we have become the servants of this technology.

How is the national and international tourism helping Spain overcome Essay

Spain is one of the countries in the world that has been severely affected by the global economic crisis originated in 2008. It is the country with the greatest number of unemployed citizens in all Europe. Its rate of unemployment reached an all time high of 26. 9% in May 2013. The European Union is worried about this situation, and has therefore forced the Spanish Government to apply some strict cut backs to their economy in order to decrease its high public deficit. These measures are mostly affecting public labor force, who realized they don’t have sufficient income to last them through the month. In addition, college students, mainly those who study architecture, engineering and medicine, have realized that there is not a promising professional career that can be developed in Spain. Since the beginning of the economic crisis, more than 300,000 young Spanish citizens have left the country in order to find a job in markets overseas. All these negative aspects of the country’s critical situation are bringing Spain forward to be a candidate of receiving a bailout from the European Union. Despite being in this delicate position, it is not all about negative figures in Spain. There is one sector of the Spanish economy that is helping the country to come back on track: tourism. The purpose of this report is to find out how tourism is helping Spain to recover from the economic decline. I have divided the findings into two sections: First, I will explain the importance of tourism in Spain. Second, I will describe the general changes in both international and national tourism, without analyzing the monetary effects in the economy. Third, I will provide information about the economical consequences that these changes are having in the reactivation of the Spanish economy. Findings 1- Importance of Tourism in the Spanish Economy Spain, behind France, the United States and China, is one of the top world destinations to go on vacation. Its 7,876 kilometers of beautiful beaches, pleasant weather and 44 world heritage monuments, position the country as the 4th country in the world to receive the highest number of international tourists. In terms of revenues, the country is ranked in second position right after the United States (Butler, 2013). According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), tourism represented a total contribution of 15. 2 % of Spain’s Gross Domestic Product in 2012. In other developed countries, such as the United States, France and China, tourism represented a 8. 6%, 9. 7% and 9. 3% of their respective 2012 GDP (2013). This shows that, despite receiving more tourists than Spain, these countries’ economic lives are less affected and determined by the changes that might take place in the tourism sector. The Government of Spain knows how crucial tourism is for the performance of the country’s economy and gives this sector high importance. As a touristic oriented country, Spain has 47 airports, 2,000 km of commuter rail trains and 2,900 km of high-speed rail network (Butler, 2013). These elements make Spain one of the countries with the best transportation system in the world. This advantage of Spain facilitates the arrival of international tourists and the transportation of national tourists all over the country. In addition, as I mentioned before, one of Spain’s biggest problems is its increasing rate of unemployment. The WTTC published that travel and tourism directly supported 894,000 jobs in Spain. This means that 5. 2% of workers were related to this specific sector of the economy (2013). All the figures I just pointed out reflect the positive and remarkable impact of tourism in Spain’s economy. Now, I am going to present some more detailed information about the changes in the national and international tourism, and the consequences of these changes relating them to the fact that tourism is the main force that is helping Spain to overcome this fragile situation. 2- Changes in Tourism in Spain Since the beginning of the global economic crisis, tourism in Spain has changed in many ways. Not only has it influenced the amount of foreigners’ visits to Spain, but it has also affected the domestic conception of going on vacation. Changes in International Tourism As I said in the Introduction, Spain received more than 57 million tourists during 2012, which means it had a year-over-year growth of 2. 7%. The countries that contributed the most to this growth are France, Germany and Russia. In addition, some Nordic and Asiatic countries also collaborated on it (Institute of Touristic Studies of Spain [ITE], 2013). The main positive elements of the Spanish economy come from the foreign sector. It is important to point out that the total nights international tourists stayed in Spain increased by 2. 3% in 2012. Looking at the low rates of unemployment in France, Germany, United Kingdom and Russia, it can be deduced that these countries are performing economically better than Spain. This means that foreigners, who have not been as affected as the Spaniards by the economic crisis, have enough income and are willing to go on vacation outside of their home countries. The Institute of Touristic Studies from Spain, assures that Spanish tourism has become more competitive in the last few years. By analyzing the changes in prices and the value of the currency compared to other countries, this Institute has used the Competitiveness Trend in Tourism Ratio to measure the performance of the country. It has arrived to the conclusion that, due to the low prices compared with other countries from the European Union, Spain has achieved a beneficial position to attract international tourists to the country (2013). Changes in National Tourism As well as the international, national tourism has experienced many changes during the past few years. National tourism in Spain closed the year 2012 with 158,9 millions domestic trips. It is important to highlight that 9 out of 10 of Spanish citizens’ trips were effectuated inside the country. Due to the difficult economic situation that many Spaniards are experiencing, travelling to other countries decreased by 4. 8% in 2012 (ITE, 2013). This new setting where saving money is the main concern for Spanish citizens, has helped new forms of travelling to arise in the Spanish touristic sector. Even thought Spain has always been seen as a â€Å"sun and beach† destination, Antonio Villanueva Cuevas, Doctor at the Castilla-La Mancha University, explains that news forms of travelling such as rural, cultural and natural tourism are becoming popular between Spaniards that are looking to travel with minimum expenses (2012). In addition, those who still prefer going to the beach have found their way to get cheap options by either going during low season or taking last minute deals. 3- How are These Changes Having a Positive Impact in the Spanish Economy? Since tourism in Spain represents a large part of its Gross Domestic Product, this sector of the economy will have a considerable impact on the country’s economy performance. The growths of international and national tourism have helped the country to stay â€Å"economically alive† (Barreira, 2013). Positive Impact from International Tourism In relation to the international tourism, Spain is the 4th country in the world to receive the highest number of tourists. More than 57 million tourists visited Spain in 2012. Moreover, there was a high new record of 56 billion Euros reached in spent by international tourists in Spain. The growth of the number of international tourists that visited Spain in 2012 helped the country’s economy by contributing â‚ ¬57. 1 billion to the GDP (ITE, 2013). Even though Spain’s GDP fell by 1. 3% in 2012, the growth of the international tourism made the GDP experience a shorter descent. Another positive impact of the international tourism is the fact that the number of workers hired in the tourism sector increased by 0. 6% in 2012 (World Travel and Tourism Council [WTTC], 2013). It might be seen as an insignificant growth, but, taking into account that the general rate of unemployment increased to 26% in 2013, any contribution has an important meaning for the reactivation of the country’s economy. International tourism also caused the growth of capital investment by 7. 4% to â‚ ¬14. 8 billion in 2012 (WTTC, 2013). In addition, the fact that prices in Spain are low compared to other countries in the European Union, makes Spain more attractive to receive investments and be chosen as a holiday destination. All these positive consequences of the international tourism in the Spanish economy are helping the country to achieve the goal of not seeing Spain as a burden for the European Union. The recuperation of the country’s economy will be determined by the growth of GDP, decrease of unemployment rate and increase in foreign investments in the country. All these aspects are represented by the good performance of Spain’s international tourism. Positive Impact from National Tourism Even though national tourism has not shown as many positive figures as the international one, it is helping the country to improve economically. As I explained before, a large number of Spaniards can’t afford to travel to another country during vacation. They decide to stay in the country, and look for new cheap ways of travelling. Spaniards are starting to purchase last minute deals, and to travel during low season periods. Even thought the number of national trips decreased by 1. 2% in 2012, Spain registered a growth of 22% in national tourism from 2008 to 2012 from 130 to 158. 9 million national trips (ITE, 2013). It can be deduced from this, that national tourism has had an overall positive performance during the Spanish recession. The fact that Spaniards choose national rather than international destinations makes them invest money in their own country’s economy. Moreover, even thought national tourism slightly decreased in 2012, new sectors of the Spanish national tourism have showed positive figures during the last few years. Juan Pulido and Pablo Garcia, members of the economics department at University of Jaen in Spain, explain that the rural sector of the Spanish national tourism has increased by 7. 5% in the last 10 years. Since Spaniards don’t want to spend too much money during vacation, they decide to stay in the country and look for new attractions. Spaniards spent a total of â‚ ¬18,046 million in rural destinations during 2011 (2011). Rural tourism is affecting positively the economy by activating some unusual tourism destinations, and giving them the opportunity to create a new emerging business in Spain. The increasing importance of this new way of tourism creates jobs and activates the economy of certain domestic areas. These new ways of doing tourism are making Spaniards stay in their country during their holidays, invest money in the national market, and contribute to the reactivation of the country’s economy. Key Points Spain is one of the countries that have been affected the most by the global economic crisis originated in 2008. However, there are several facts that explain how tourism is helping Spain to overcome this situation: Tourism represented a total contribution of 15. 2 % of Spain’s Gross Domestic Product in 2012. Tourism has a great impact in the performance of the Spanish economy. Spain has received more than 57 million international tourists during 2012, which mean it had a year-over-year growth of 2. 7%. There was a high new record of 56 billion Euros reached in spent by these international tourists that visited Spain in 2012. The number of workers hired in the Spanish tourism sector increased by 0. 6% in 2012. International tourism has also caused the growth of capital investment by 7. 4% to â‚ ¬14. 8 billion in Spain during 2012. Spain registered a growth of 22% in national tourism from 2008 to 2012, from 130 to 158. 9 million national trips. The fact that Spaniards are choosing national rather than international destinations makes Spaniards invest more money in the domestic economy. The rural sector of the Spanish national tourism has increased by 7. 5% in the last 10 years. This has created a new sector of tourism that creates jobs and gives opportunities to local areas to develop an emerging business. Conclusion The overall situation is perfectly described in an article written by Victor Barreira (2013), a journalist who works for El Pais, the most sold newspaper in Spain, which says: The national GDP fell by 1. 3% in 2012, unemployment raised to 26%, the bailout petition to the European Union was still active†¦ however, tourism is staying as a life-jacket to which Spain can keep held in order to ride out of the storm. It points out that the economic situation of Spain has affected the country in an extremely negative way. However, tourism has been the most important sector of the economy that has shown positive figures and has helped the country to better deal with the economic situation. It is important for the Spanish Government to keep working on the improvement of the country’s touristic attractions and promote Spain as a holiday destination. References Barreira, V. (2013, January 16). Espana registro en 2012 el tercer mejor ano de la historia en llegada de turistas [Spain registered in 2012 the third best year in history in arrival of tourists]. El Pais. Butler, M. (2013, February 27). Spain as an international tourist destination [Electronic version]. Atlas of the brands. Institute of Touristic Studies of Spain. (2013). Balance del turismo ano 2012 [Tourism balance year 2012]. Retrieved October 13, 2013, from www. iet. tourspain. es Pulido, P. , & Cardenas,P. (2011). El Turismo rural en Espana [The rural Tourism in Spain]. Asociacion de Geografos Espanoles. Villanueva, A. (2012). Las nuevas formas de turismo como instrumento para lograr un desarrollo sostenible e integrador [The new forms of tourism as a tool to reach a sostenible and integrative development]. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. World Travel and Tourism Council. (2013). Travel and Tourism, the economic impact 2013 in Spain. Scowsill, D.