The Alliance System and the New Imperialism essays

The Alliance System and the New Imperialism expositions During the nineteenth and twentieth century a bounty of progress was happening inside the world as far as the holding and authoritative of partnership frameworks. France would rapidly interlace itself with various nations so as to structure collusions to offer a type of security, quality, and riches for the nations in the partnership just as themselves. Simultaneously, there was a race for the domain, which would pick up fuel through expansionism of different domains. Moreover, significant settler exercises would happen. Through dread and worry for security, quality, and riches provincial possessions would increment. The blend of these components and the authoritative of the nations through unions would in the long run help lead to the singular nations contribution in World War I (WWI) and the thinking France had a few distinct collusions with different nations. France was a extraordinary partner and had the monetary, political, and military qualities that demonstrated valuable in the fight against Germany and Austria-Hungary. France indeed, even had a mystery coalition with Italy that prompted Italy helping France in the war against Germany and Austria-Hungary. There were different coalitions like the Franco-Russian Alliance of 1892 this understanding was shaped with Russia. In the Franco-Russian understanding, if Germany or its partner Italy were to assault France, Russia would go to the guide and shield France. The equivalent thing applies to Russia if the situation happened for them. The following understanding was the Entente Cordiale of 1904, which assisted with completion strife between Great Britain and France. This understanding not the slightest bit made Extraordinary Britain or France a union with one another, or power Great Britain to submit backing to Russia. This was a greater amount of an understanding than genuine formal coalition; be that as it may, the Triple Entente of 1907 changed the first collusion of the Entente Cordiale of 1904 and included Russia. Presently they were the Triple Understanding and remained in opposi... <!

Computer Ethics Essay Sample

PC Ethics Essay Sample PC Ethics Essay PC morals involves practices, qualities, and strategies that standard the procedure of access and utilization of registering innovation and the connecting disciplines without mutilating the ethical convictions and estimations of individuals or the whole network. It is an idea in morals that predominantly center around the moral issues and difficulties that outcome from the utilization of PCs and methodologies to control them. PC morals significantly authorize the execution of moral registering systems and use of the figuring materials and blueprints the necessary techniques that control unapproved move of advanced substance. The control additionally assists with limiting other deceptive procedures, for example, encroaching copyrights just as trademarks. The significant viewpoints that identify with PC morals for the most part base on cases in regards to the utilization of the web, for instance, protection and client communications with programming, sites and other associated administrations. The normal parts of a PC morals are, for example, protection concerns, the licensed innovation rights, and the effect of PCs on the general public. Individual information is fundamental while participating in any business and consequently accessible to others just as associations. Security should, accordingly, be maintained to ensure this individual data through a procedure called encryption. Protection involves the c apacity of a person to settle on regenerative and individual choices with no obstruction that is, opportunity from any type of reconnaissance. PC morals portrays data innovation and the best approach to investigate this innovation to the clients. PC morals additionally diagram the difficulties of running program and equipment because of abuse by the clients. The cutting edge society relies inconceivably upon the PC systems to use the social and business life and in this manner there ejects both individual and social moral concerns. Absence of PCs would end the vast majority of the businesses today. Be that as it may, the greater part of the electronic correspondence among people and organizations, for example, don't ensure any protection and security. At first, when the PC innovation was built up, there was a nonappearance of moral measures with respect to their utilization which brought about difficulties. Nonetheless, the conversation in PC morals brought an agreement and had tackled the PC related issues. A portion of the rules in regards to PC morals direct that one isn't permitted to utilize a PC to hurt others as it i s profoundly deceptive. It is in this way shameless for one to get to and mutilate different people’s records. PC morals additionally directs that one ought not meddle with another person’s work and along these lines spreading and creating PC infections to others is viewed as untrustworthy. Nosing about documents that don't have a place with you implies attacking different people’s protection and this is like break into others people’s rooms which are viewed as exploitative. Utilizing PCs to take or sign into others records, bank or organization is like burglary along these lines ethical.It is against PC morals to utilize PCs to manage bogus observer against somebody or duplicate any product without paying for it first. No individual is permitted to get to different people’s assets without being approved to do as such and appropriating someone else’s scholarly yield is against the instructions of PC morals. It is moral for one to consider the outcomes of any program they compose and people are urged to consider PCs in an expansive social point of view. PC mo rals direct that each individual should utilize a PC such that upgrades regard and thought to guarantee wellbeing and fulfillment. Right now, we live in a period where PCs are unfathomably utilized, and pretty much every individual gets an opportunity to investigate the web before they begin their proper instruction. Along these lines, PCs can be depicted as electronic gadgets that are human-made with the point of expanding government assistance and accommodation, without any considerations procedure inside in regards to moral activities.

Start Growth Hacking What, Why and How

Start Growth Hacking What, Why and How © Shutterstock.com | alphaspiritAs an entrepreneur or marketer, you may have heard about “Growth Hacking” and are keen to know what it is all about. In this article, you’ll learn 1) what growth hacking is, 2) some growth hacking strategies, and 3) examples of growth hacking.WHAT IS GROWTH HACKING?HistoryThe credit for coining the term “Growth Hacker” goes to Sean Ellis, who used it in a blog post in 2010. Sean Ellis is the CEO and maker of Qualaroo and a start-up investor in Silicon Valley. Though it may be a new term, it is being used more and more by technology marketers. A lot of the tactics utilized in growth hacking have been present for a long time.Sean was forced to come up with the new term because of his frustration when he was recruiting replacements for himself.Sean had assisted some internet companies in achieving considerable growth. Of those companies, a few were in possession of an IPO. In spite of all this, Sean was the go-to man for the valley whenever the y wanted to expand their user base. He would receive payment and equity in return for his services.In essence, Sean’s role turned into a one-man growth shop, establishing processes, mindsets and systems that could be safeguarded following his departure. Ultimately, he would turn over the keys for his growth machine to another person, and he would proceed off into the sunset. That’s what his plan was and that’s where the problems began.In his search for a replacement, he would frequently receive résumés that were not relevant. The résumés listed marketing degrees and marketing experience but still lacked something. Sean was aware that the type of strategies he utilized was not a representation of the conventional playbook utilized by traditional marketers. In addition, if the hires were given responsibility, they would not be an appropriate fit.The focus of a traditional marketer is quite broad and though his skill set is highly valuable, it is not as essential in the teeth ing days of a startup’s life. The initial period of a startup does not require someone to develop and supervise a marketing team or set up a strategic marketing plan to accomplish corporate aims or supervise outside vendors or engage in a lot of the other jobs that marketers are expected to do.In the early phase of a startup, one thing that is definitely required is “growth.”Sean wanted marketers. He got them. So Sean modified what it was he asked for. His watershed blog post was entitled “Find a Growth Hacker for Your Startup.” Thus the phrase “growth hacker” came into being. Andrew Chen made the term available to a bigger audience in a blog with the title “Growth Hacker is the new VP Marketing.” In this blog post, he defined the phrase and utilized Airbnb’s incorporation of Craigslist as example.What is Growth Hacking? Who is a Growth Hacker?In his post, Sean Ellis defined a growth hacker as a person for whom the real north is growth. Everything the person does is closely evaluated by its possible effect on scalable growth.According to Andrew Chen, growth hackers are a blend of coders and marketers. They are the ones who view the conventional question of how to win customers for their product with these answers â€" landing pages, A/B tests, email deliverability, open graph and viral factors.Aaron Ginn provided another definition for growth hacker in 2012 on TechCrunch. According to his definition, growth hacking is a mindset of data, curiosity and creativity. The key characteristic that a growth hacker possesses is creativity. He looks beyond SEO or AdWords for distribution. This marketing professional looks for a tactic within the constraints of a repeatable yet scalable technique for growth, inspired by data but driven by product. He lives at the point of intersection of product, data and marketing. The ultimate objective of all growth hackers is to develop a self-perpetuating marketing machine with the ability to reach millions on its own.Other more elaborate definitions/discussions pertaining to growth hacker/growth hacking are given below:In the era of Web 2.0, growth hacking came to be known as the modern method to reach a market and propagate an idea. In contrast to classical marketing which is usually an interruption to the day, the method of “growth hacking” calls for “pull.” The growth hacker comprehends user behavior and offers value immediately to convince. He makes messaging an essential aspect of the “thoughts” and “lives” of users. He leverages across disciplines, collecting insights from gamification and behavioral economics to determine the right message to attract users or bring them to the company’s side.Growth hacking is a kind of marketing that utilizes creative campaigns, analytics, social media and organic PR to acquire exposure for a brand. The approach has gained popularity owing to its low expense innovative approach when compared to conventional methods â€" particularly f or tech start-ups who don’t want to or are unable to finance marketing campaigns associated with a huge budget.The growth hacker is an IT expert who utilizes elements of market research and marketing, in addition to technical and technology strategies, to offer marketing solutions to employers or clients. Here, the utilization of the word “hacking” suggests a utilization of technology and logic processes toward a particular end aim, in this case, retention of customers and sales.Growth hacking blends engineering principles with marketing principles to develop more precise marketing tactics.Whether or not you have a limited budget for marketing, growth hacking will help you tap into innovative and non-traditional techniques of gaining exposure and therefore triggering growth.GROWTH HACKING STRATEGIESLet’s look at some ways to practice growth hacking. © Flickr | Bill RiceBegin a BlogA blog is a necessary tool in the toolbox of a growth hacker. That doesn’t mean you must stop with a blog. What is required is an all-out content marketing effort. The fuel of growth hacking is content. Whether you opt for blogging, infographics, SlideShare or Instagram, content is important.The more adept you are at developing content, promoting it and maintaining an amount of content, the more skilled you’d be at growth hacking. The customers of today want content. Whether or not they decide to convert depends on the content they read.Harvest Email AddressesThe social media rage is exaggerated. The top lead generation technique is email. Email is associated with three times more active users when compared to all users of social media taken together. It is also 40 times more powerful than Twitter and Facebook, has a purchase potential three times that of social media and attracts 17 percent higher orders. Email continues to grow even though it is quite an old digital marketing medium.An easy way to expand your email list is to provide your website with an email opt-in form. Alternatively, you can utilize a pop-up for utmost email harvesting.Influencer MarketingInfluencer Marketing is a term that refers to targeting an entity within your niche or industry, an entity that has already proved itself as an authority and already gained a huge audience that has faith in it. © Flickr | Stefano MaggiInfluencer Marketing is a great strategy to utilize to get ahead. It helps you to effectively forego all the slow-moving aspects of SEO and social media marketing.Wondering how to apply this in real-time? Suppose you were marketing a self-improvement website. Your target may be a major influencer associated with that field, such as Dave Asprey or Tim Ferriss. After you find your target, engage in any of the following:Design content which you feel would suit their audience after which, you share the content with them;Show yourself willing to work for them;Sponsor them.Whichever step you choose of the three, your objective is to get them to name your brand in interactions with their huge audience, or post your link. By getting them to do so, you will get exposure to many hundreds or thousands of people with just one post, possibly getting yourself an immense number of fans and subscribers overnight.The great thing about influencer marketing is that you don’t have to develop your own audience. With hardly any effort on your part, you gain from direct access to the influencer’s audience.Social Marketing with Fantastic ContentFor the most part, content marketing has to do with slow burn. The majority of marketers utilize this strategy to gradually develop an increased following and more credibility with their audience. After establishing a reputation for themselves as experts and thought leaders, they would find themselves in a suitable position to begin selling things.As an alternative, social bookmarking may be blended with content marketing so as to get immediate outcomes. To get this done, you have to think of a distinct concept for a blog post or article. Preferably, you need to know which target audience you are aiming at when you write. You should be aware of how to attract that target audience.The title of your content should have an emotional hook. It should guarantee something different/unique from other websites.Utilize Scalab le TacticsBegin small, whichever tactic you wish to execute. The tactics that become popular gain speed on their own and take you to better conversion rates. The important thing to remember is to ensure you are in possession of the infrastructure required to accommodate growth to prevent back-end difficulties from decelerating the momentum.Social media businesses are a fantastic example of scalable efforts with the latent ability to skyrocket to great heights. Facebook began small, but utilized various tactics including sharing techniques, in addition to a model for recruiting new engineers, for the upkeep of the platform, and to create a scalable and viable plan that provided sustenance for its growth.Double-Sided ReferralsAfter it came out, DropBox had to deal with a major problem: their early pay-per-click test had a colossal $233-388 expenditure per asset for each new customer. However their life time value (LTV) was $99. At that point, they executed a referral program. The prog ram involved inviting a friend so that both gained from additional free space.The outcome: a hundred thousand registered users increased to 4 million registered users in the span of only 15 months. The percentage of increase was a whopping 3900 percent.Smallest Number of Landing PagesMinimal landing pages are a fantastic solution for single-action programs such as capturing email addresses. The information offers endless possibilities such as putting them on an email drip bandwagon.The most important benefit of minimal landing pages is that they are highly useful for quick iteration. If development of the desired landing page requires considerably less time than that of a long form page, your iteration rate and A/B testing would soar.Post on Product HuntRyan Hoover may have started Product Hunt as a side project never expecting it to become one of the biggest startups in 2014, but it did. Product Hunt brings out interesting, new products each year. If your product gets featured on t he daily list, you can expect a considerable outcome on your starting user base. The number could potentially be in the range of several thousand users.There’s more. Should your product be interesting enough and you lucky enough, major influencers and the press would share it with their corresponding audiences, increasing the number by at least 10 times.Comprehend Your Data WellThe focus of growth hacking is obsessively on data. Data is the guide in the growth-hacking milieu. It is essential that you comprehend Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), multi-variate testing, LTVs, CACs (Customer Acquisition Costs), viral coefficients and other kinds of jargony metrics.An increasing number of analytics establishments are streamlining and bringing out data through methods that provide food to the growth-hacking engine. Aggregate data on its own, is somewhat worthless. From the time you begin to really comprehend your data, you would be in a better position to start growth hacking.Data is n ot necessarily about numbers. It is information. You require customer information (kissmetrics), customer acquisition data (colibr.io) and content performance information (Buzzsumo) in addition to other actionable data.Only Google Analytics is not enough anymore. Go a bit deeper by utilizing an analytics platform that comprehends your data in actionable modes.EXAMPLES OF GROWTH HACKINGAirbnbThis website assists with vacation leasing between peers. Airbnb has expanded into a billion-dollar business. In the beginning, it utilized a potent email campaign in the initial growth hacking stage which aided in propelling the website to the next stage of success. This was followed by another brilliant move having to do with Craigslist spam. The website utilized Craigslist to locate listings of houses available for rent and approached the renters, trying to convince them to put up their ads on Airbnb instead. This step quickly helped the website gain thousands of users. In addition, the networ k became viral almost immediately. It can thus be seen that you cannot underestimate how much you can gain from leveraging an already-existing network. However, do keep in mind that you would not want to overlap with an establishment that is presently in close competition with you.TwitterWhen Twitter initially began, it had plenty of quick publicity. Thousands of people were signing up and sharing with their friends through social networks and blogs. However, continued utilization of the product, in due course, was not permanent. Twitter’s large audience seemed to sign up, fiddle with their account for a small number of days never to log into their account again. The company then made a decision to invest in their very product rather than trying to convince their users to return by way of special offers.The social media platform started performing comprehensive testing on the interface and user experience, followed by reconstruction of the whole system on the basis of information they collected from the tests.Twitter was able to learn many diverse things with respect to its users â€" one thing being that if users, on their first ever day on Twitter chose 5 to 10 accounts to follow, there was a far greater possibility of them becoming long-term users. The reason for this is that once they’ve chosen accounts that appeal to them, there is more investment in their account from their side.Those users who signed in without communications with others logged off without seeing the value latent in the network. Twitter went on altering their system so as to assist users with immediately getting personal benefit from their Twitter account and rapidly witnessed a considerable soar in success.FacebookThis social media giant utilized email notifications to inform people when a person known to them included them in a tag in a photo. With approximately 75 percent click-through rates, it is quite obvious how this masterly utilization of must-see-my-face frame of mind and h uman curiosity brought great gains for the platform. Image credit:  Flickr | Bill Rice under Attribution 2.0 Generic, Flickr | Stefano Maggi under Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic.

GUERRERO Surname Meaning and Origin

The  Guerrero surname is thought to have originated as a nickname which described either a soldier who had returned home from the war or an aggressive individual. Derived from the word guerre, meaning war. Guerrero is the 54th most common Hispanic surname. Surname Origin:  Spanish, Portuguese, Italian Alternate Surname Spellings:  GUERERRO, GUERRE, GUIERRE, LAGUERRE, GUERRA, GUERRERO, GUERREIRO, GUERRI and GUERRIERO. See also, the English WARR or WARRE. Famous People with the Surname GUERRERO Eddie Guerrero - famous American wrestler, part of the famed Guerrero wrestling family.Vladimir Guerrero - Major League Baseball player from the Dominican Republic.Vicente Guerrero – Second president of Mexico Where do People with the GUERRERO Surname Live? According to World Names PublicProfiler,  the majority of individuals with the Guerrero surname live in Spain, followed by concentrations in Argentina, the United States, France, and Switzerland. Public Profiler doesnt include information from all countries, however, including Mexico and Venezuela. Forebears marks Guerrero as the 456th most common surname in the world found most prevalently in Mexico. Based on the percentage of the population with the surname, Guerrero is most common in Guam (ranked 16th), followed by Ecuador (23rd), Mexico (43rd), Spain (47th), the Dominican Republic (49th) and Colombia (52nd). Genealogy Resources for the Surname GUERRERO 100 Common Hispanic Surnames Their MeaningsGarcia, Martinez, Rodriguez, Lopez, Hernandez... Are you one of the millions of people sporting one of these top 100 common Hispanic last names? The Guererro DNA ProjectThis ancestral y-DNA testing project is open to any male with any spelling of the Guerrero surname interested in combining DNA testing with traditional family history research to sort out Guerrero ancestral lines. GeneaNet - Guerrero RecordsGeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Guerrero surname, with a concentration on records and families from France, Spain, and other European countries. GUERRERO Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Guerrero surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Guerrero query. FamilySearch - GUERRERO GenealogyAccess over 2 million free historical records and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Guerrero surname and its variations on this free genealogy website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. GUERRERO Surname Family Mailing ListsRootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the Guerrero surname. DistantCousin.com - GUERRERO Genealogy Family HistoryExplore free databases and genealogy links for the last name Guerrero. The Guerrero Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse family trees and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the last name Guerrero from the website of Genealogy Today.----------------------- References: ï » ¿Surname Meanings OriginsCottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998.Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003.Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997.Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Symptoms And Treatment Of Hiv / Aids - 1531 Words

Human immunodeficiency virus, also referred to as HIV, is a virus that weakens the body’s immune system which restricts it from fighting infectious diseases (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2016). HIV can be transmitted through body fluids such as blood, semen, breast milk, or sexual contact (CDC, 2016). There are three stages as HIV progresses; the first stage takes place within the first month it is acquired. These early symptoms are often confused with a cold as they include fatigue, headache, rash, and sore throat (CDC, 2016). If HIV is left untreated, it becomes more severe and advances to the last stage known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). As the disease progresses, patients being experiencing†¦show more content†¦Population African-American males are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS across the United States. According to the CDC (2016), African-Americans accounted for 40% of everyone living with HIV. This community, howev er, constitutes of 12% of the total population (Siddiqi, Hu, Hall, 2015). Furthermore, 31% of this community has never been tested for HIV, increasing the likelihood of transmission (Siddiqi, Hu, Hall, 2015). In 2015, out of 17,670 newly identified cases amongst African-Americans, more than half were men. In recent years, diagnoses of African-American men has continued to increase by nearly 25% (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). The age group that is mostly affected by new cases are between 20 to 29 years old (Siddiqi, Hu, Hall, 2015). Mortality rates are equally as high; 53% of deaths due to HIV are African-Americans (CDC, 2017). In 2012, Florida reported the highest mortality rate of African-Americans with HIV, while Idaho reported none (Siddiqi, Hu, Hall, 2015). States with the highest rates of mortality include California, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. Moreover, death rates are alarmingly high amongst African-American men over the age of 55. Sexual Orientation Rates of HIV/AIDS amongst gay and bisexual African-American men are increasingly higher than in heterosexual males. Across all gay and bisexual men, African-Americans accounted for the highest rates, 39% (CDC, 2017).Show MoreRelatedSymptoms And Treatment Of Hiv / Aids1789 Words   |  8 PagesTHESIS: Those diagnosed with HIV encounter a litany of complications other than a physical issue, many suffer from mental health illnesses. Many diagnosed with HIV deny the fact that they have this physical issue, resulting in insane mental health. Under the coping section, UCSF leans towards the emotional response to accepting the fact of carrying HIV. Dealing with HIV provides stress and disturbia towards being active, and seeking help. â€Å"Worldwide, 34 million people are HIV positive, 23.8 million orRead MoreThe Disease Hiv / Aids964 Words   |  4 PagesMs.Bertelsen Biology (honors)Period 6 3/24/17 The Disease HIV/AIDS The disease HIV first appeared in Africa in the 1800’s. It originated from a chimpanzee and was likely transmitted to humans when the chimpanzee was hunted down for food and the hunters came into contact with the infected blood. The disease became an epidemic around the 1970’s and has since affected the lives of many people worldwide (aids.gov, what is HIV/AIDS). HIV is also known as human immunodeficiency virus and it is aRead MoreAIDS Essay examples1537 Words   |  7 PagesResearch Paper: AIDS Did you know that in the United States of America the sixth leading cause of death in people from their mid 20’s through their mid 40’s is AIDS (Zuger, 2010)? AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and is a disease derived from the virus known as Human Immunodeficiency Virus. The immune system gets broken down when someone has AIDS and it is basically the highest form of HIV. When a person has HIV, the CD4 cells get infected and start to deteriorate and once theRead MoreHiv / Aids And Its Effects On Society1500 Words   |  6 PagesHuman Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome), and is the most advanced stage of HIV infection. AIDS HIV/AIDS deteriorates a person s ability to fight infections. It can be transmitted through direct contact of a mucous member or the bloodstream with a bodily fluid containing HIV, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, preseminal fluid and breast milk and through unprotec ted sex and needle sharing. An HIV test checks finding. Medications mayRead MoreHiv And The Human Body1175 Words   |  5 PagesStates alone, 1.1 million people are living with HIV. Additional people become sick, but people continue to spread the virus to others. Do people even know what HIV is? Do they know what this virus does to their body? Such questions make it necessary to examine what can be done. What is HIV; how do people get HIV; and what is being done to help them? HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Humans are the only beings that can get this infection. The HIV infection can find and attack a significantRead MoreHiv / Aids : The Virus And Its Effect On Human1547 Words   |  7 Pages HIV/AIDS: The Virus and Its Effect on Human Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome), and is the most advanced stage of HIV infection. AIDS HIV/AIDS deteriorates a person s ability to fight infections. It is contracted through unprotected sex or needle sharing. An HIV test checks finding. Medications may subdue the virus and delay the onset of AIDS. HIV/AIDS has had a great impact on society, both as an illness and as a source clear-sightednessRead MoreHiv / Aids : The Virus And Its Effect On Human1501 Words   |  7 PagesHIV/AIDS: The Virus and Its Effect on Human HIV stands for (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). This virus causes AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome), and it means the person is in the most advanced stages of HIV infection. AIDS HIV/AIDS deteriorates a person s ability to fight infections. It can be transmitted through direct contact of a mucous member or the bloodstream with a bodily fluid containing HIV, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, preseminal fluid and breast milk and through unprotectedRead MoreHIV and Aids are something that have been a major problem in a large part of the world for many1400 Words   |  6 PagesHIV and Aids are something that have been a major problem in a large part of the world for many years. These viruses have destroyed many families and have taken many people’s lives. There are many different ways for a person to receive the virus. As of today, there is still no cure for these horrible diseases. Until scientists and doctors are able to find a medicine that can cure them, many pe ople will continue to be affected by these diseases. This research paper will break down each virusRead MoreHiv Stands For Human Immunodeficiency Virus. This Is A898 Words   |  4 PagesHIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. This is a sexually transmitted disease that will eventually morph itself into a disease known as AIDS, which stands for acquired immunodeficiency. HIV breaks down the immune system where it becomes extremely difficult to fight diseases that attack the body. Though HIV is most commonly transferred sexually, other way like through contact with infected blood, or from a mother to a baby through child birth, and if that doesn’t do it then the person who isRead MoreCD4 Cells Essay846 Words   |  4 Pagescells are targets for contracting HIV as a transmembrane protein that is part of the virus has a high affinity for CD4 cells, this protein is gp41 (Coico, Sunshine, 2009, P. 269). Dendritic cells, CD4+ T cells, and macrophages all contain CD4 and th erefore, are targeted by HIV. Another glycoprotein that is introduced by HIV is gp120. Gp120 and gp41 are bound to each other and, once gp41 is bound to the CD4 molecule, gp120 binds to a second molecule, allowing HIV to invade the cell (Coico, Sunshine

Rich Man, Poor Man Resources On Globalization Summary Free Essays

According to Carol Hammond and Robert Grosse, Globalization has become the motto of the 21st century. We are becoming more aware people’s ideas, world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of cultures. Globalization has opened many opportunities for other countries to explore new and different things. We will write a custom essay sample on Rich Man, Poor Man: Resources On Globalization Summary or any similar topic only for you Order Now Globalization has increased interconnectedness among many countries most notably in the areas of economics, politics, and culture. People throughout the world have embraced the sharing of ideas and ideas? We have seen globalization to be a positive and negative influence. We may consider it to be negative because activist oppose it at the World Trade Organization and International meetings. Companies are as open to their counterparts in other countries. This results in transferring the quality of their product to other countries, thereby increasing the chances of depreciation in terms of quality. On the positive side, globalization brings in popular products from over the world. Resources of different countries are used for producing goods and services they are able to do most efficiently. Another negative aspect of globalization is language. As â€Å"globalization† increases, so does the loss of human languages. People find it easier to conduct business and communicate with those outside their own culture if they speak more widely used languages like Chinese, Hindi, Spanish or Russian. Children are not being educated in languages spoken by a limited number of people. As fewer people use local languages, they gradually die out. With the increase of English becoming the mainstream language in other countries, people start to lose their national identity. People begin to drift away from their national identity because of adaptation of new ideas. Globalization has also affected other countries’ national sovereignty. Firms decide where to distribute their products and what knowledge and supplies to send across national borders without the consent of the government they are sending it to. In addition, the Internet, which is an important part of Globalization, spreads information like wildfire resulting in people having new viewpoints and leading to subgroups within a country. Such websites like amazon. com has helped threaten countries national sovereignty by selling goods and other products online. Also foreign products are being more common throughout the world in stores like Sears, JC Penney, and Wal-Mart. Instead of globalization bringing people to together through various aspects of the world we have began to form different group identities. The more we define ourselves towards our roles the world becomes more individualized. Like Canada, Quebec, and Indonesia these countries are resulting to person-states and independent states. This will continue to happen as long as the need for services and and products are needed. How to cite Rich Man, Poor Man: Resources On Globalization Summary, Papers

Public Budgeting and Financial Management †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Public Budgeting and Financial Management. Answer: Introduction Commercial banking was not vulnerable to disturbances until recently. The growth of expectations of the corporate users and with the growing technological trends there has been great changes. With the help of digitalization the banks are improving their bank end processes which are assisting them to streamline the basic operations. The technological growth is helping in faster settlements and is taking over the paper based transactions. Commercial banking has already evolved and is expected to grow at a faster rate in the coming years. In our discussion below we will discuss such technological advancements and the ethical issues involved if any (Adelaja, 2015). In order to make a significant progress, the banking system decided to adopt modern technology for making the system run smoothly and efficiently. The banking system in US in the recent times has shown its concern for technological advancement in the country. There was a huge investment of $30 billion made by this sector to improve in the technological fields (Bierman Smidt, 2010). Earlier, there was a retraction on interstate banking and branches but in the recent times of the developing banking era it was observed that there were additions in this also. It was not easy to procure a new technology without a proper knowledge and experiences. It was also difficult for the people working in this sector to adapt to these immediate changes. Not all banks have been able to adapt new technologies; some are still making an effort to do so. Some banking institutions are making continuous efforts to adopt and learn about the new technologies such as Base II and Check 21. The small financial institutions mainly adopt the technologies that are tested and try to make advancement with the help of it whereas the large financial institutions are concerned more with the security. In order to match the high standards of large financial institutions and the high quality services provided by them, the small banks use the tested technology. It is necessary to provide a good quality service to retain the existing customers as well as to invite new customers. The most widely and commonly banking system that has been adopted by most of the financial institutions is known as cloud computing system. This system has helped the banking system to reduce the cost, improve online systems and has also helped in providing mobile banking services to the customers. The facilities that are provides by financial institutions with the help of this technology are as follows: It has helped in improving the service provided to the customers. Improvement in the risk management. Increased speed of transactions. The operations and strategies have become strengthened. Improving the stability and economic growth by transforming the cost structure. Earlier it was observed that the banks were encouraged by the regulatory authorities to make technological advancements which will result into capitalisation and operational efficiency (Dayananda, Irons, Harrison, Herbohn, Rowland, 2008). Australian financial institution The financial system is laying great importance in bringing certain significant changes. These changes relate to adoption of new technologies that has been invented, the ways that can prevent failure in the banking systems, reduction of manual work, and expansion in the online system. Such changes clearly shows that there will be a complete different banking system in the future which will be more improved and advanced when compared with the present (Menifield, 2014) . It has been observed that there is a huge capital generation because of high profits earned, the strong performance by the assets and stability in the non performing assets over the months. There has been a great transformation in the services provided. These advancements have reduced the cost of services, transfers and storage of information etc. There has been a more complex but well functioned and well managed systems that is managed by highly qualified and intellectual people (Peterson Fabozzi, 2012) . The improved web services, wireless networking and the internet approach has shown a significant improvement in the banking services. . The banks are not only concerned with the adoption of new technology but at the same time it is also trying to get the benefits at the lowest cost possible and also strengthening the systems that it has set up The online banking system has made the life of the customers easier. It saves their time and helps them to carry transactions from anywhere at any time with maximum security. The facilities provided by them are bill payments, online payments, online fund transfer, checking their account balances and also solving the queries of the customers (Rivenbark, Vogt, Marlowe, 2009). There is also a facility of mobile banking in which the customers are provided with the details of their balance and the transactions carried out through messages. If there is any transaction made from their account, they immediately get a notification on their phone. There is a huge security provided to customers while making any transactions online, hence the banks have introduced a system of one time password without which the transaction cannot be completed. Several ethical perspectives in relation to online banking and electronic cards facilities can be divided into the following categories (Seitz Ellison, 2009): Privacy: the banks should keep all the details of the customers stored safely and carefully. Such information should be encrypted properly so the no one can carry out any kind of fraudulent activities with the help of such information. Ownership: The banks should see that no other person other than the account holder is carrying out any kind of online transaction with that particular account. It should keep a proper check on the IP address as well as the security password before permitting any transaction. Ethical social issues Although, online banking has been greatly encouraged by the people but there still a lies a threat of securities in the minds of the customers (Fridson Alvarez, 2012). Banks has provided various banking services that have made the life of customers more easier but still there is a scope of improvement by the banking system in regards to keeping the information of the customers safe and secure. The issues can be both of legal as well as morale. In the recent times, there has been improvement in the technology as well as their has been new methods found by people of exploiting them. So, in order to provide a hassle free service the banks should try to eliminate the vulnerability that is present. There should be a legal requirement and also a declaration that would state that the bank will keep a check that the customers information is not leaked to anyone, not even to the government. It is the duty of the bank to keep the money safe and if there is any loss to the customer because of such activity then it should be reimbursed (Ittelson, 2009). Thus, we can conclude that it is the duty of government and people to safeguard the wealth of the people. Conclusion The growing advancement in the banking system has not only made the life of people easier it has also helped in the economic stability and economic growth of the country. However, this will continue only when the services provided by the banking institutions are free from ethical issues. It is core responsibility of the government as well as banks to keep the wealth of the people secured and protect them from getting exploited. If such issues are resolved then there will be definitely a huge progress in the country (McLaney Adril, 2016) References Adelaja, T. (2015). Capital Budgeting: Investment Appraisal Techniques Under Certainty. Chicago: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform . Bierman, H., Smidt, S. (2010). The Capital Budgeting Decision. Boston: Routledge. Dayananda, D., Irons, R., Harrison, S., Herbohn, J., Rowland, P. (2008). Capital Budgeting: Financial Appraisal of Investment Projects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Fridson, M., Alvarez, F. (2012). Financial Statement Analysis: A Practitioner's Guide. New York: John Wiley Sons. Ittelson, T. (2009). Financial Statements: A Step-by-Step Guide to Understanding and Creating Financial Reports. Franklin Lakes, N.J.: Career Press. McLaney, E., Adril, D. P. (2016). Accounting and Finance: An Introduction. United Kingdom: Pearson. Menifield, C. E. (2014). The Basics of Public Budgeting and Financial Management: A Handbook for Academics and Practitioners. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America. Peterson, P. P., Fabozzi, F. J. (2012). Capital Budgeting. New York, NY: Wiley. Rivenbark, W. C., Vogt, J., Marlowe, J. (2009). Capital Budgeting and Finance: A Guide for Local Governments. Washington, D.C.: ICMA Press. Seitz, N., Ellison, M. (2009). Capital Budgeting and Long-Term Financing Decisions. New York: Thomson Learning.

Georgia Okeeffe Essays (1340 words) - Humanities, Culture, Feminism

Georgia O'keeffe Georgia OKeeffe was an artist of world renown but a person of mysterious character. She lived a unique life which was not accepted as moral by most people. She surrounded herself with artistic, creative minds and carefully selected her friends and confidants. Events in her youth influenced her actions and artwork for almost 100 years. OKeeffe moved about the country, a lover of travel who never was satiated. She came from an eccentric family with mixed ethnic heritage, and the women around her were strong and self- confident. Her life was an epic tale, worthy of retelling. On November 15, 1887, Georgia was second born of seven children to Ida and Francis OKeeffe. Living in rural Wisconsin, her father came from a typical Irish Catholic matriarchy, where mothers word was final. Ida OKeeffe was an ambitious woman whose dream of becoming a doctor was laid to rest...by her marriage to the tenant farmer Frank...in a loveless union (Hogrefe 13). Perhaps it was the stifling of her ambition that led Ida to treat Georgia so badly. As a young girl, the artist was described as precocious, mentally mature, and queen of the castle, whether it be in relation to her siblings or fellow students in the studio. Either way, her mother was generally a cold person who offered little affection to her oldest daughter, even going so far as to lock her in the back room, alone, when company came. Thus, Georgia turned to a close relationship with her father. The family knew that Georgia was Franks favorite, and he took her on excursions and gave her special privileges. All this came with consequences, though. It is a widely accepted fact that she was sexually abused by her father, older brother, or both, which accounts for many of OKeeffes unorthodox behaviors throughout her life. For example, in boarding school she was known to kiss and touch her female classmates frequently. When enrolled in classes at the Art Students League in New York City, she ran, terrified, out of a figure drawing class where stood a male nude model. In all her years, Georgia surrounded herself with ineffectual males who were frequently homosexual. Perhaps she liked them because they posed no threat to her. On the other hand, she adored her female counterparts, having friendships with some and sexual relationships with others. She was even known to sit in a shed at the Stieglitz summer home in Lake George, NY, and paint naked for hours. Sometimes her young niece would make art at her side, and it is uncertain whether there were romantic relations between them. It was clear that Georgias unusual upbringing led to an unusual lifestyle, in any case. Ida seemed to want a somewhat normal life for her children, and insisted they be brought up Protestant, but the only private school in the area was Catholic. The OKeeffes could only afford to send one child at a time, and rotated public and private education yearly. Georgia had many memories of being taught by strict and severe nuns. She received art instruction beginning in her youth and thus began a legacy of creative genius. OKeeffes first interaction with the masters like Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, and others was by copying famous works. This practice was widely used and encouraged in art schools all over the world. Then she met a teacher who instructed her in the Dow Method. Instead of copying the works of others, [it] advocated that students produce original artwork from the beginning of their instruction.(Hogrefe 25). Alon Bement taught Georgia most of the concepts she would ever use or apply in her artwork. This was the summer of 1912 at the University of Virginia. After this, Georgia took up a teaching position in Amarillo, Texas, an area she found to be paradisiacal. She was an excellent teacher, well- liked, and always kept her students interested. The Texan landscape was like nothing she had ever seen before, with skies and plains stretching out further than the mind could fathom. The places she saw in the West inspired her, and she could never escape it for very long without feeling a strong sense of longing. It was from there that she drew most of the objects, images and memories which she put in her paintings. She lived out west for a significant portion of her life because things were simpler and most people did not ask too many questions. One of OKeeffes friends from art

The Tax Burdens on Tobacco Products is Shared Between Consumers and Producers

The Tax Burdens on Tobacco Products is Shared Between Consumers and Producers Free Online Research Papers â€Å"The tax burdens of sin taxes on tobacco products is shared equally between consumers and producers† This statement is arguably incorrect. In this piece of information I am going to explain why the statement given is not true and I will show, with illustrations that producers pay less or even no tax than the final consumer. Included in this information are concepts that will be explained and applied to show the truth of this statement and how each of these concepts relates to the tax burdens of sin taxes. Briefly, this information will consist of a theoretical framework, an analysis and a conclusion where I will conclude that, according to research, consumers carry out the tax burdens of sin taxes. At the end of it all will be a bibliography, a list of resources I have used to gain data and have processed it to receive information to prove my argument correct. Sin taxes are negative externalities which are products like cigarettes and alcohol that are not beneficial to society or a person1. Everything we can buy includes a price, a cost and a producer and what their cost is. Also it leads to a concept of demand and supply3. Basically, demand is just a relationship between the quantity of a good that consumers plan to buy and the price of the good when every other influence on a buyers’ plan stay the same. Supply on the other hand is also just a relationship between the quantity of a good that producers, not consumers, plan to sell and not to buy and the price of the good when all other influences on sellers’ plans remain the same. There is a demand and supply for almost any sellable product. But when there is too much demand, the product could lead to a black market; this is an illegal way of getting an item through a much higher price. Other concepts to be introduced are the price elasticity of demand, elasticity, which includes inelasticity, unit elasticity and elasticity itself. Firstly, the price elasticity of demand, this is a unit-free measure of the responsiveness of a quantity demanded of a good to a fluctuation in price. The price elasticity of demand is calculated as follows: Price elasticity of demand = percentage change in quantity demanded / percentage change in price. To calculate this we need to know the quantity demanded at different prices. Furthermore, inelasticity refers to inelastic demand which is a demand with price elasticity 0 and 1. A good has an inelastic demand when the percentage change in quantity demanded is less than the percentage change in price: P D 0 Q A good can also have unit elasticity. This is a demand with a price elasticity of 1 which means that the percentage change in quantity demanded is equal to the percentage change in price: P 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 Q Then there is the elastic demand, now this is a demand with a price elasticity greater than 1. Therefore every other thing remains constant. This occurs when the percentage change in quantity demanded exceeds the percentage change in price. P 0 Q With the price elasticity of demand comes perfectly elastic demand and perfectly inelastic demand. Perfectly elastic demand is when its size is infinity which means that the smallest increase possible will cause an infinitely elastic large decrease in quantity demanded and perfectly inelastic demand is when the size is zero, the quantity demanded is the same at any price. Cross elasticity of demand is a method of how reactive is the demand for a good subjected to a change in the price of a substitute or a complement, example: tea for coffee. It is calculated as follows: Cross elasticity of demand = percentage change in quantity demanded / percentage change in price of substitute or complement. P ? Price of the substitute rises. And the opposite direction when the price decreases. 0 Q The curve moves outward if the substitute’s price increases, therefore it is positive cross elasticity. There are 4 relationships and are best described as perfect substitutes, substitutes, independent and complements. Perfect substitutes are infinite when the smallest increase in price of 1 good causes an infinite large increase in the quantity demanded of that item. Substitutes, when positive, but less than infinity occur when the price of an item increases, the quantity demanded of the other item also increases. They are independent when the size is 0 which means that the quantity demanded of 1 good remains constant whether the price increases or decreases. Complements however are less than 0, meaning that the quantity demanded of 1 item decreases when the price of the other increases. Income elasticity of demand refers to how responsive is the demand for a good or service subjected to a fluctuation in income when everything else is constant. For a normal good, income elastic, when it is bigger than 1, the percentage increases in the quantity demanded is greater than the percentage increase in income. While income inelastic for a normal good when it is less than 1 but bigger than 0, simply means that the percentage increase in quantity demanded is less than the percentage increase in income. Lastly, negative income elastic for an inferior good, which is less than 0, explains that when the income increases, the quantity demanded decreases. Now, moving onto the elasticity of supply. What the elasticity of supply does is to measure how responsive is the quantity supplied subjected to a change in the price of a good when everything else remains the same. It is however calculated as follows: Price elasticity of supply = percentage change in quantity supplied / percentage change in price. Perfectly inelastic supply is when the size is 0, this means that the quantity that is supplied is the same regardless of price: P S1 0 Q Perfectly elastic supply is when the size is infinite, the small increase in price causes an infinite big increase in the quantity supplied: P 0 Q These are just concept graphs to gain an understanding of the elasticity of supply. Tax incidence is the one concept that has a majority part involved with sin taxes. Tax incidence is and I quote: â€Å"the division of the burden of a tax between the buyer and the seller† This is a typical illustration and representation of the result of a tax increase on cigarettes: P S + tax S D 0 Q The point reaches new equilibrium and therefore will elasticity have a role in this change. The graph of perfect elasticity: P S + tax S Q Now that we gain an understanding of elasticity and tax incidence, it is important to know how the one affects the other. It is the tax incidence that affects elasticity. But how? If the price of cigarettes increase because sin tax has increased, some people would stop smoking because of this and some will stay constant in their smoking because it is a habit and some would just reduce by a small amount. Therefore the person that carries on smoking regardless of the price has a perfectly inelastic demand for that good whilst the person that reduces smoking has unit elastic demand. With this information we can see that tax incidence does have an effect on elasticity. According to the statement given, it is stated that the sin taxes on tobacco products are shared equally between consumers and producers. The tax can be shared partly between the consumer and producer but not equally. Therefore I disagree with this statement because if the government increases the tax on cigarettes, the price paid by the consumer can rise by the full amount and therefore pays the entire tax or by a lesser amount or nothing at all. If it’s the lesser amount, it will be partly paid by buyer and seller. If the consumers’ price does not change then the tax falls completely on the seller. To also prove my argument, according to the article, â€Å"smokers cough up† from the financial mail, 24th October 2008, it is stated that it is not the sellers of sin products that foot the tax bill, it is the consumers2. Also an approximately 52 percent of tax is paid by the consumer alone on cigarettes and 43 percent tax is paid on alcohol. Since it is not environmentally friendly to smoke, government could have increased the tax to try and make people not to pay and quit smoking. This is also where we involve the rich and the poor. The poor cannot afford it and therefore slack down or quit smoking while the rich carry on smoking; they are a good example of perfectly inelastic demand. Therefore I conclude that the above statement is incorrect because due to tax incidence and elasticity, it clearly illustrates that the final consumer is the one that pays most of the tax burdens of sin taxes on tobacco products. It will never be shared equally between producer and consumer because, the more inelastic the demand for a good, the larger the share of the sin tax pushed to the consumer, also including reasons such as environmental issues that can occur and that the sellers will want to maintain their profit margin. References: 1) investopedia.com/terms/s/sin_tax.asp 2) â€Å"Smokers cough up† Financial mail, 24th October 2008 3) PARKIN, POWELL and MATHEWS(Economics,2008) Bibliography: Economics 7th edition, 2008 o Parkin, Powell and Matthews Economics for South African students second editor o Philip Mohr, Louis Fourie and associates Economics X-kit, 2009 o Pearson, Maskew Miller Longman Grade 12 Economics o Exam study guide o Human, Van Zyl and Cele Google. 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Technology Versus Humanity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Technology Versus Humanity - Research Paper Example It was the period when electronics were missing portability. This breakthrough opened horizons for the music industry and was a revolutionary product. This trend is reminiscent of the revolution the iPod bought to the entertainment industry. It was the time when computers or digital content of any type was almost nonexistent for everyday consumers. Everything was done manually and the efficiency of every system was accordingly slow. Movies were exclusive to cinemas and the world depended on conventional televisions with now forgotten Video Cassette Recorder (VCR) for their home entertainment. For the year 1978, the Walkman was equivalent to the launch of a revolutionary product introducing its own category; just like the year 2010 is known as the year of the iPad (Francoeur 1).  With the development of new technology over time, our productive capabilities as well as our lifestyle have changed. We may not realize the transition because we have been a part of it and passing along wit h every development. But if we take a look down the memory lane and remember our lifestyles decades ago, we realize that we have come a long way and changed without realizing much. Technology has not only improved in entertainment sector as with the development from a Sony Walkman to smart phones we use today, but this change can be applied to every field. Resultantly, our lifestyles have changed with technology. We have more options to choose as to how we spend our leisure time and how we can improve our efficiency in work. This increase in efficiency has accelerated the rate of our learning and developing new technologies and innovations in every sector. Health, education, military and every field that we look at has come a long way. With the technology we have changed and the way we interact with each other has changed as well. The technology has improved our lifestyles in some ways; however, it has negative effects as well. These effects are not minor and they have changed us gr adually over time. We may not realize it, but this change in our behavior is at a very large scale. We can only comprehend the magnitude by comparing it with our values decades ago. Some of the negative effects of technology are highlighted; Technology has improved communications. Mobile phones has given us the capability to call our friends and loved ones any time we want. It provides us with limited interaction with our friends. Video calling is available through our mobile devices and computers. The technology has no doubt provided us with easy access to each other at all times. Our devices are our connection with the world. It all sounds good in theory and has made things easier. But, in reality our devices have replaced our friends. We only meet and interact with our contacts through our devices. The need for physical interaction has become a low priority. Physical interactions have reduced and our devices are our new best friends. We now prefer to stay at our homes and spend t ime with our entertainment systems. As a result, our social activities and interactions have changed and are being affected in a negative way. Face to face communication has decreased and has negative effect on our societies and behavior. Lack of this interaction has decreased personal growth. As per Wier, personalities have started to change over time and we see increase in numbers of introvert human beings (184). This is simply due to the fact that we need social interactions for our

Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 5

Operations Management - Essay Example Market segmentation process involves the identification and grouping of similar needs of the market. Segmentation than helps the marketing team in devising better marketing plan for different groups and better satisfying their needs. Derby Castle is a historical monument of UK. The marketing team has the task of inviting attention of more and more people towards the interesting features of this castle so that they feel like visiting this monument again and again. This will help in good revenue generation and will help in the maintenance of this castle. It is highly likely that different set of people come here with different purposes. For example a team of school children would love to play in the sprawling green lawns the whole day while a research scholar will spend his day in studying the architecture and other historical features. Visitors to Derby Castle can be categorized as;†¢Ã‚  Researchers: This segment prefers to learn about the historical facts, architectural features etc. †¢Ã‚  Students: This segment too could be here on a learning mission or may just be here on a picnic tour. But the ‘learning’ needs of students are vastly different from ‘research’ needs of researchers.†¢Ã‚  Art Lovers: This segment is more interested in the artistic features of Derby castle.†¢Ã‚  Young Couple: Youth desirous of spending some solitary moments in the company of their chosen ones can make use good use of the gardens of the Castle.General tourists happen to be on a sightseeing spree. For them attractive features i.e.

Management Of Urban Green Spaces Environmental Sciences Essay

Management Of Urban Green Spaces Environmental Sciences Essay In recent decades there has been an increase in urbanisation and urban sprawl, which has resulted in a decline of green spaces, especially in urban areas. Urban green spaces include parks, play areas, areas specifically intended for recreational use, private gardens, and urban woodlands. More generally, they are areas of land that consist of permeable surfaces such as grass, trees and soil (Dunnett et al 2002). Increasing urbanisation contributes towards a degradation of the natural environment, as developments are overtaking rural areas at an increasingly rapid rate. Furthermore, this will have an impact on climate change, as less green space increases the effects of global warming, and other environmental issues, such as a higher risk of flooding due to lack of green space. This causes social problems as less green space creates health problems. This leads to economic problems, for instance, it is expensive to recover from disasters such as flooding. Therefore careful and sustainab le management of urban green spaces is especially important for social, environmental and economic reasons. The aim of the following essay is to discuss critically the environmental, economic and social aspects of managing urban green spaces. In order to achieve this aim the essay will be split into three main sections. Section one will look at the characteristics of the environmental problem and who is affected by them, linking this into how environmental problems create economic problems. Section two will look at what is and what could be done to address these problems, such as new forms of green spaces. It will also look at the economic aspects of these courses of action and the economic valuation of urban green spaces. It will argue that making a city greener can increase its economic performance, and lead to sustainable economic growth. However, the final part of the essay will challenge this, arguing that creating urban green spaces may not be the best solution for economic sustainability. Finally, the conclusions reached are that there needs to be a well managed balance of green and built areas in cities for sustained economic growth. Market failures in the urban land market Today we realise that we must protect networks of open space (Benedict and McMahon 2002:3). Regarding natural resource use, market forces determine the choices people make. However, resources such as urban green spaces do not have securely enforced or defined property rights which cause a lack of markets. Therefore, environmental resources cannot be directly traded in an open market, which leads to externality problems. Thus, due to market failures the full costs of urbanisation are not represented in the private costs (Panayotou 2000). The structure of the market means the private costs of using environmental resources, such green spaces, is zero (Gwartney et al 2000). Therefore producers have no incentive to protect environmental resources (Cropper and Griffiths 1994). To illustrate this problem of environmental externalities Pigou (2009) used the example of a company who builds a factory in a residential area and thus destroys some of the amenities of the neighbouring sites. The result is that the company sells its products at a lower price than the full costs felt by th e society. Consequently, as a result of these market failures there has been a rapid increase of urbanisation and urban sprawl without efficient land-use planning, and conservation of green spaces. Nationally, urban areas consist of approximately 14% green space (Comber et al 2008). However, the United Nations in 2001 estimated that in Europe the level of urbanisation will increase to almost 80% by 2015, which will result in a further loss of urban green spaces (cited in Tzoulasa et al 2007). Environmental amenities are usually ignored by urban planners, resulting in a shrinking of urban green spaces as they have gradually been taken over by urban development (Kong et al 2007). This level of urban growth presents challenges for tackling environmental issues such as climate change and biodiversity (Tzoulasa et al 2007). Less green space increases the effects of global warming, which is especially important in cities where the mean pollution levels are higher. Urbanisation replaces green spaces with impermeable built surfaces which causes negative environmental effects as green spaces provide rainwater interception and infiltration, evaporative cooling and shading functions (Gill et al 2007). Furthermore, urban areas can be up to 7 °c hotter than the surrounding countryside (Hilliam 2010). The concentration of buildings and paved surfaces creates higher temperatures, which is known as the heat island effect (Dunnett et al 2002). Furthermore, built environments restrict wind flow which in turn restricts the dispersal of pollutants, resulting in even higher air-pollution levels (Morancho 2003). It is important to tackle these issues as in 2003, during the Eur opean summer heat wave, 35,000 lives were lost (Gill et al 2007). Moreover, tackling environmental issues in urban areas is increasingly important as in 2001 nearly eight of every ten people in the United Kingdom lived in urban areas (Pointer 2005:46). Consequently, a higher population and an increase of built surfaces, means urban areas are where climate change impacts will be mostly felt (Gill et al 2007). This also has economic impacts as a lack of green space can increase the costs of public infrastructure and services such as, flood control and storm water management (Goode 2006). Furthermore, a lack of green spaces was often seen to be the main motive for people leaving the city, as they moved to the urban fringe for more green space (Van-Herzele and Wiedemann 2003). The result is economic decline as people move out of urban areas, which creates lower property values, attracting less wealthy people. This makes it hard to secure investment or attract and retain business in the area. A lack of green space also has negative impacts on tourism as fewer people will want to visit the area (Crompton 2001). Furthermore, a lack of green space creates health issues which are costly for the economy as an unhealthy society increases the costs of health care to UK tax payers (Mell 2008). There is a shortage of green space for example; in Greater Manchester the proportion of tree cover is fairly low, with an average of 12% cover, and 16% in urbanised Greater Manchester (Gill et al 2007). The next part of the essay will discuss how to tackle these environmental and economic problems. Solution to the problem Urban green spaces have many benefits which can be divided into market benefits and non-market benefits. Non-market benefits fall into three categories: use, option and existence value. Option value occurs when the future benefits are uncertain and depletion of the resource is irreversible. Existence value refers to the knowing the resource exists, and use value is from the direct use of the resource. Total value is the sum of all three. Thus, urban green spaces have existence value, and direct use value, such as recreational use. Furthermore, urban green spaces create consumer surplus, as the cost of using urban green spaces is usually free (Goodstein 2010). These benefits highlight the need to protect urban green spaces. Moreover, the issues discussed above further raise the need for protection and allocation of urban green spaces. In 2004-2005 local authorities in the UK spent an estimated  £700 million on renovating and maintaining urban green spaces (Comber et al 2008). Furthermore, Londons draft Climate Change Adaptation Strategy in 2010 (online), proposes that there is a need to increase the citys green spaces by creating small parks, which will help to absorb rain on wet days and cool the city on hot days (Bulkeley and Betsill 2003). Urban green spaces can also help to reduce pollution and act as sinks for carbon dioxide which is a major contributor to global warming (Dunnett et al 2002). In cities, gardens and parks absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which mainly come from private vehicles (Morancho 2003). Vegetation reduces air pollution by absorbing pollutants in the air, and by intercepting particulate matter. Hence the pollution of a car driven 60 miles per day can be offset by only 20 trees. Green spaces also reduce the urban heat island effect by shading heat absorbing surfaces and through evapotranspirational (ET) cooling. Evidence has shown vegetation can lower wall surface temperatures by up to 17 °C (McPherson 1994). This will ensure economic sustainability as less money will be needed to recover from natural disasters and climate change impacts. Thus, green spaces are multifunctional, as regenerating a park may increase tourism and reduce pollution levels (Hilliam 2010, Goode 2006). In a congested environment, existence of greenery within residential zones will improve air quality. This creates social benefits from direct use such as recreation and health benefits as a higher proportion of green space and less air pollution is associated with better population health (Popham and Mitchel 2007). This results in economic sustainability as healthier communities work longer hours, take less sick days and cost less money in health benefits (Goode 2006). Bird (2004 cited in Tzoulasa et al 2007) found that if people live closer to green space then they are more likely to undertake physical activity, which would save the UKs National Health Service up to  £1.8million a year. Moreover, inactivity in children often results in inactive adults, which costs the economy approximately  £8.2billion (Tzoulasa et al 2007). Therefore, protecting and creating green spaces ensures there is economic sustainability through a healthier society (Amati and Taylor 2010). Urban green spaces can act as catalysts for wider economic benefits, such as increases in property prices, attracting and retaining businesses and attracting tourists to urban areas. This is a key part of the solution for economic growth as urban green spaces makes cities more desirable and this can result in local economic stimulation (Dunnett et al 2002). Green amenities attract the highly skilled, who pursue a higher standard of living and quality of life, Florida (2002) describes how green spaces can attract creative class workers and the businesses that hire them. Employers locate in areas where the skilled want to live and this further attracts skilled workers, high-end restaurants and retail stores. Therefore, urban green spaces can raise a citys economic growth. Cities with more skilled workers experience an increase in population, house price and wages. Additionally, people who are highly educated will also be more likely to support investments for environmental protection a nd are usually willing to pay higher prices for environmental quality. Furthermore, a greener city will also have an insurance against recessions as the city remains attractive and people still want to live there. This will pull other industries into the area over time. Therefore, it is important to protect existing urban green spaces. Londons Green Belt is an example of an attempt to reduce development in order to improve the environment by restricting housing supply (Kahn 2006). The Mayor of London has also set targets to plant 10,000 more street trees by 2012, and enhance up to 1,000 hectares of green space (Environmental Agency 2010). This will help to build a good reputation of the area, which enables the community to grow economically, without damaging the environment, and simultaneously creating a desirable place to live for present and future generations (Benedict and McMahon 2002). Additionally, new methods, such as green roofs have been developed to increase green space in urban areas. Green roofs are the roof of a building that is covered by vegetation, the most common being turf roofs. They have several purposes which are similar to urban green space in general such as cooling the heat island effect and absorbing rainwater. They also provide insulation and create habitats for wildlife. The benefits can therefore be divided into private and public benefits. Private economic benefits include saving energy cost and an increase in roof life. Public benefits include storm-water management (Dunnett and Kingsbury 2004). Green roofs are particularly useful in cities that are dense with large populations such as London or Tokyo. London now has a green roof policy and other cities and areas in the UK are developing similar approaches to developing green roofs. However, currently there is only one green roof in Manchester; therefore there is a need to create more green spaces in the form of green roofs (Carter and Fowler 2008). These trends raise the need for green space protection and allocation, which in turn requires estimation of the value of green spaces (Kong et al 2007). Due to their lack of values expressed in monetary terms, green spaces are often not considered in cost-benefit analyses of urban planning policies. Furthermore, it is the failure of the market system, as discussed above, which creates the need for economic measures to value environmental services and guide policymaking (Freeman 1993). Several methods have been developed to value non-market amenities such as the travel cost method, the contingent valuation method (CVM) and the hedonic pricing models. The hedonic pricing method uses house prices to quantify environmental amenities by how much consumers are willing to pay. The hedonic pricing model is a revealed preference method and is based actual behaviour in the market. Properties have many characteristics which reflect the selling prices such as housing structure, neighbourhood and environmental amenities. The monetary value of each characteristic is calculated by observing the differences in the market price of housing sharing the same attributes. Once all the characteristics are collected the next step is to measure the portion of the property price for each characteristic (Boyle and Kiel 2001). By using the hedonic pricing method the value of green spaces can be estimated from actual behaviour in the market (Kong et al 2007). Hedonic valuation can also be applied to retail situations as people are willing to pay about ten percent more for products in greener shopping areas (Miller and Wise 2004:90). The value of urban green spaces can also be an important factor for affecting property prices. There is evidence which suggests urban green spaces can have a positive impact on house prices. There is usually a shortage of land in urban areas, and therefore proximity to urban green spaces has a positive impact on property values, while proximity to negative impacts such as highways reduces property values, as it is desirable to live close to a park, especially in city centres where demand for land is high (Tajima 2003). The demand for a property increases which raises the price of those properties. Numerous studies have shown that property values are typically 8-20 percent more expensive if they are located near a park (Crompton 2000). Therefore, in dense urban areas the value of nearby parks and green space can be one of the key selling points and a stronger feature than lot itself (Tajima 2003). Furthermore, Morancho (2003) found in Spain that for every 100m further away from a gree n area there was a drop of approximately à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1800 in the housing price. Therefore, to reduce the impact of urbanisation, and to ensure economic growth, allocation of new and protection of existing urban green spaces is required (Kong et al 2007). However, the value open space is contextual as it rises with increased income. Open space is considered a luxury good, as demand for open space increases as income rises. Hence, the willingness to pay for environmental quality is highly elastic with respect to income (Anderson and West 2006). Urban green spaces in isolation will not increase economic growth However, not all green spaces are equally beneficial. To ensure that urban green spaces enhance economic growth, they must be well maintained, safe and secure. In recent decades there has been a decline in the quality of urban green spaces in England. This can be linked to the declining budgets for local authorities over the past 20 to 25 years (Dunnett et al 2002). This has a negative economic effect as green spaces that are dangerous or unmanaged are likely to decrease the value of nearby homes, which would lead to economic decline (Crompton 2001). Furthermore, if green spaces are perceived to be overgrown or unmanaged this may have a negative effect on peoples well-being by increasing anxiety caused by fear of crime (Tzoulasa et al 2007). Research shows that open spaces which are most highly valued are those which enhance the qualities of urban life and offer a variety of opportunities (Burgess et al 1988). If there is a lack of facilities or the area is in poor condition then peo ple are less likely to use it. Furthermore, lower-income suburban areas usually have a larger proportion of poor-quality green space. Thus, even if green spaces are in large quantities, but are of poor quality then economic and health benefits are not felt by the population (Popham and Mitchel 2007). Additionally, if green spaces are poorly managed so that they become inaccessible, then less people will use them, especially the elderly or people with disabilities. Therefore, quality as well as quantity of green space is a key factor. Moreover, McConnell and Walls (2005) argue for the importance of distinguishing between different types of open space. The value of green spaces depends on its usage for example, whether it is a well managed park or an open field. Barker (2003) also reported that the value of open space depends strongly on its location and use, for instance, green space in the urban core was valued higher than greenbelt land. Anderson and West (2006:782) show that the v alue of open space depends on the type of open space, how far away it from the house and the neighbourhood characteristics. They found that sales price rises with proximity to the nearest golf course and falls the closer a home is to the nearest cemetery. Furthermore, the net result of restricting housing supply is that prices are driven up. This results in poverty magnets in areas with low property prices, resulting in a segregation of the poor and urban social problems. For example, Glasgow has lost population over time, and relative poverty has grown. Therefore, Londons pursuit to a greener city could further increase house prices and it could be argued that a city can become too green when economic growth is damaged. An upward pressure on house prices could have a negative impact on some residents and first time buyers as it would squeeze out the poorer renters and new immigrants (Kahn 2006). The result of this limited supply would not lead to economic sustainability as it would limit economic growth. Therefore, green spaces will not necessarily lead to a sustained economic growth nationally, but only benefits certain regions (Kahn 2006). It is often the wealthier people who benefit most, as studies have shown that vegetation and tree cover is lower in residential areas with higher levels of socioeconomic deprivation. Therefore only certain areas benefit as less wealthy areas might not be able to afford to maintain new green spaces (Pauleit et al 2005). Additionally, an increased economic wealth will also increase the values of losses; making the cost to restore damages after a disaster much greater (Shaw et al 2007). Furthermore, conserving green spaces may restrict the supply of valued goods, such as housing, shops, offices or private open space, resulting in economic decline. This results in distributional effects as those landowners who can build get an increase in their asset value, whereas those unable to develop will experience a reduction in asset values. Part of the market failure associated with urbanisation is the increase in land prices imposed on existing inhabitants by additional workers. Furthermore, policies of containment, such as greenbelts, may increase energy use as commuters move out bey ond the greenbelt which results in longer commuter journeys. Therefore, it could be argued that policy in the UK restricts urban growth which leads to higher costs and welfare losses. Hence land regulation can have adverse economic effects as it diverts resources from other growth activities. Therefore the solution maybe not regulating land markets but regulating or taxing energy markets (Cheshire 2009). Conclusion To conclude, this essay has highlighted the environmental problem of urbanisation, explaining how this is a result of market failures. It has also shown how this can lead to economic problems. This essay then goes on to argue that a solution would be preserving, maintaining and developing new green spaces in urban areas. It goes on to explain the environmental, social and economic benefits of urban green spaces. It also highlights the hedonic pricing method, which shows how urban green spaces can be valued. It also argues that green spaces create economic benefits by increasing property values. However, the latter part of the essay challenges this, arguing that not all green spaces is equally beneficial. It also argues that preserving green spaces could also have a negative impact as the cost of land increases further, resulting in large increase in house prices. Therefore, it is important to maintain urban green spaces for the many environmental, economic and social benefits. However, this cannot be in isolation as for green spaces to be beneficial they must be well maintained and managed. Furthermore if too much green space is protected then this could have negative impacts overall. Therefore, urban land policies need to ensure green space is well managed in order to achieve the maximum benefits. Furthermore, methods other than land protections could also be used, such as taxing energy use. Word Count: 3554

Chapter 22 Owl Post Again

â€Å"Harry!† Hermione was tugging at his sleeve, staring at her watch. â€Å"We've got exactly ten minutes to get back down to the hospital wing without anybody seeing us — before Dumbledore locks the door –â€Å" â€Å"Okay,† said Harry, wrenching his gaze from the sky, â€Å"let's go†¦.† They slipped through the doorway behind them and down a tightly spiraling stone staircase. As they reached the bottom of it, they heard voices. They flattened themselves against the wall and listened. It sounded like Fudge and Snape. They were walking quickly along the corridor at the foot of the staircase. â€Å"†¦ only hope Dumbledore's not going to make difficulties,† Snape was saying. â€Å"The Kiss will be performed immediately?† â€Å"As soon as Macnair returns with the Dementors. This whole Black affair has been highly embarrassing. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to informing the Daily Prophet that we've got him at last†¦. I daresay they'll want to interview you, Snape†¦ and once young Harry's back in his right mind, I expect he'll want to tell the Prophet exactly how you saved him†¦.† Harry clenched his teeth. He caught a glimpse of Snape's smirk as he and Fudge passed Harry and Hermione's hiding place. Their footsteps died away. Harry and Hermione waited a few moments to make sure they'd really gone, then started to run in the opposite direction. Down one staircase, then another, along a new corridor — then they heard a cackling ahead. â€Å"Peeves!† Harry muttered, grabbing Hermione's wrist. â€Å"In here!† They tore into a deserted classroom to their left just in time. Peeves seemed to be bouncing along the corridor in boisterous good spirits, laughing his head off. â€Å"Oh, he's horrible,† whispered Hermione, her ear to the door. â€Å"I bet he's all excited because the Dementors are going to finish off Sirius†¦.† She checked her watch. â€Å"Three minutes, Harry!† They waited until Peeves's gloating voice had faded into the distance, then slid back out of the room and broke into a run again. â€Å"Hermione — what'll happen — if we don't get back inside before Dumbledore locks the door?† Harry panted. â€Å"I don't want to think about it!† Hermione moaned, checking her watch again. â€Å"One minute!† They had reached the end of the corridor with the hospital wing entrance. â€Å"Okay — I can hear Dumbledore,† said Hermione tensely. â€Å"Come on, Harry!† They crept along the corridor. The door opened. Dumbledore's back appeared. â€Å"I am going to lock you in,† they heard him saying. â€Å"it is five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck.† Dumbledore backed out of the room, closed the door, and took out his wand to magically lock it. Panicking, Harry and Hermione ran forward. Dumbledore looked up, and a wide smile appeared under the long silver mustache. â€Å"Well?† he said quietly. â€Å"We did it!† said Harry breathlessly. â€Å"Sirius has gone, on Buckbeak†¦.† Dumbledore beamed at them. â€Å"Well done. I think –† He listened intently for any sound within the hospital wing. â€Å"Yes, I think you've gone too — get inside — I'll lock you in –â€Å" Harry and Hermione slipped back inside the dormitory. It was empty except for Ron, who was still lying motionless in the end bed. As the lock clicked behind them, Harry and Hermione crept back to their own beds, Hermione tucking the Time-Turner back under her robes. A moment later, Madam Pomfrey came striding back out of her office. â€Å"Did I hear the headmaster leaving? Am I allowed to look after my patients now?† She was in a very bad mood. Harry and Hermione thought it best to accept their chocolate quietly. Madam Pomfrey stood over them, making sure they ate it. But Harry could hardly swallow. He and Hermione were waiting, listening, their nerves jangling†¦. And then, as they both took a fourth piece of chocolate from Madam Pomfrey, they heard a distant roar of fury echoing from somewhere above them†¦. â€Å"What was that?† said Madam Pomfrey in alarm. Now they could hear angry voices, growing louder and louder. Madam Pomfrey was staring at the door. â€Å"Really — they'll wake everybody up! What do they think they're doing?† Harry was trying to hear what the voices were saying. They were drawing nearer — â€Å"He must have Disapparated, Severus. We should have left somebody in the room with him. When this gets out –â€Å" â€Å"HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE!† Snape roared, now very close at hand. â€Å"YOU CAN'T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS — HAS — SOMETHING — TO — DO — WITH — POTTER!† â€Å"Severus — be reasonable — Harry has been locked up –â€Å" BAM. The door of the hospital wing burst open. Fudge, Snape, and Dumbledore came striding into the ward. Dumbledore alone looked calm. Indeed, he looked as though he was quite enjoying himself. Fudge appeared angry. But Snape was beside himself. â€Å"OUT WITH IT, POTTER!† he bellowed. â€Å"WHAT DID YOU DO?† â€Å"Professor Snape!† shrieked Madam Pomfrey. â€Å"Control yourself!† â€Å"See here, Snape, be reasonable,† said Fudge. â€Å"This door's been locked, we just saw –â€Å" â€Å"THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!† Snape howled, pointing at Harry and Hermione. His face was twisted; spit was flying from his mouth. â€Å"Calm down, man!† Fudge barked. â€Å"You're talking nonsense!† â€Å"YOU DON'T KNOW POTTER!† shrieked Snape. â€Å"HE DID IT, I KNOW HE DID IT –â€Å" â€Å"That will do, Severus,† said Dumbledore quietly. â€Å"Think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?† â€Å"Of course not!† said Madam Pomfrey, bristling. â€Å"I would have heard them!† â€Å"Well, there you have it, Severus,† said Dumbledore calmly. â€Å"Unless you are suggesting that Harry and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further.† Snape stood there, seething, staring from Fudge, who looked thoroughly shocked at his behavior, to Dumbledore, whose eyes were twinkling behind his glasses. Snape whirled about, robes swishing behind him, and stormed out of the ward. â€Å"Fellow seems quite unbalanced,† said Fudge, staring after him. â€Å"I'd watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore.† â€Å"Oh, he's not unbalanced,† said Dumbledore quietly. â€Å"He's just suffered a severe disappointment.† â€Å"He's not the only one!† puffed Fudge. â€Å"The Daily Prophet's going to have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers yet again! All it needs now is for the story of that Hippogriff's escape to get out, and I'll be a laughingstock! Well†¦ I'd better go and notify the Ministry†¦..† â€Å"And the Dementors?† said Dumbledore. â€Å"They'll be removed from the school, I trust?† â€Å"Oh yes, they'll have to go,† said Fudge, running his fingers distractedly through his hair. â€Å"Never dreamed they'd attempt to administer the Kiss on an innocent boy†¦ Completely out of control†¦ no, I'll have them packed off back to Azkaban tonight †¦ Perhaps we should think about dragons at the school entrance†¦.† â€Å"Hagrid would like that,† said Dumbledore, smiling at Harry and Hermione. As he and Fudge left the dormitory, Madam Pomfrey hurried to the door and locked it again. Muttering angrily to herself, she headed back to her office. There was a low moan from the other end of the ward. Ron had woken up. They could see him sitting up, rubbing his head, looking around. â€Å"What — what happened?† he groaned. â€Å"Harry? Why are we in here? Where's Sirius? Where's Lupin? What's going on?† Harry and Hermione looked at each other. â€Å"You explain,† said Harry, helping himself to some more chocolate. When Harry, Ron, and Hermione left the hospital wing at noon the next day, it was to find an almost deserted castle. The sweltering, heat and the end of the exams meant that everyone was taking full advantage of another Hogsmeade visit. Neither Ron nor Hermione felt like going, however, so they and Harry wandered onto the grounds, still talking about the extraordinary events of the previous night and wondering where Sirius and Buckbeak were now. Sitting near the lake, watching the giant squid waving its tentacles lazily above the water, Harry lost the thread of the conversation as he looked across to the opposite bank. The stag had galloped toward him from there just last night†¦. A shadow fell across them and they looked up to see a very bleary-eyed Hagrid, mopping his sweaty face with one of his tablecloth-sized handkerchiefs and beaming down at them. â€Å"Know I shouldn' feel happy, after wha' happened las' night,† he said. â€Å"I mean, Black escapin' again, an, everythin' — but guess what?† â€Å"What?† they said, pretending to look curious. â€Å"Beaky! He escaped! He's free! Bin celebratin' all night!† â€Å"That's wonderful!† said Hermione, giving Ron a reproving look because he looked as though he was close to laughing. â€Å"Yeah†¦ can't've tied him up properly,† said Hagrid, gazing happily out over the grounds. â€Å"I was worried this mornin', mind†¦ thought he mighta met Professor Lupin on the grounds, but Lupin says he never ate anythin' las' night†¦.† â€Å"What?† said Harry quickly. â€Å"Blimey, haven' yeh heard?† said Hagrid, his smile fading a little. He lowered his voice, even though there was nobody in sight. â€Å"Er — Snape told all the Slytherins this mornin'†¦. Thought everyone'd know by now†¦ Professor Lupin's a werewolf, see. An' he was loose on the grounds las' night†¦. He's packin' now, o' course.† â€Å"He's packing?† said Harry, alarmed. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Leavin', isn' he?† said Hagrid, looking surprised that Harry had to ask. â€Å"Resigned firs' thing this mornin'. Says he can't risk it happenin again.† Harry scrambled to his feet. â€Å"I'm going to see him,† he said to Ron and Hermione. â€Å"But if he's resigned –â€Å" â€Å"?C doesn't sound like there's anything we can do –â€Å" â€Å"I don't care. I still want to see him. I'll meet you back here.† Lupin's office door was open. He had already packed most of his things. The Grindylow's empty tank stood next to his battered old suitcase, which was open and nearly full. Lupin was bending over something on his desk and looked up only when Harry knocked on the door. â€Å"I saw you coming,† said Lupin, smiling. He pointed to the parchment he had been poring over. It was the Marauder's Map. â€Å"I just saw Hagrid,† said Harry. â€Å"And he said you'd resigned. It's not true, is it?† â€Å"I'm afraid it is,† said Lupin. He started opening his desk drawers and taking out the contents. â€Å"Why?† said Harry. â€Å"The Ministry of Magic don't think you were helping Sirius, do they?† Lupin crossed to the door and closed it behind Harry. â€Å"No. Professor Dumbledore managed to convince Fudge that I was trying to save your lives.† He sighed. â€Å"That was the final straw for Severus. I think the loss of the Order of Merlin hit him hard. So he — er — accidentally let slip that I am a werewolf this morning at breakfast.† â€Å"You're not leaving just because of that!† said Harry. Lupin smiled wryly. â€Å"This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving from parents†¦. They will not want a werewolf teaching their children, Harry. And after last night, I see their point. I could have bitten any of you†¦. That must never happen again.† â€Å"You're the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had!† said Harry. â€Å"Don't go!† Lupin shook his head and didn't speak. He carried on emptying his drawers. Then, while Harry was trying to think of a good argument to make him stay, Lupin said, â€Å"From what the headmaster told me this morning, you saved a lot of lives last night, Harry. If I'm proud of anything I've done this year, it's how much you've learned†¦. Tell me about your Patronus.† â€Å"How d'you know about that?† said Harry, distracted. â€Å"What else could have driven the Dementors back?† Harry told Lupin what had happened. When he'd finished, Lupin was smiling again. â€Å"Yes, your father was always a stag when he transformed,† he said. â€Å"You guessed right†¦ that's why we called him Prongs.† Lupin threw his last few books into his case, closed the desk drawers, and turned to look at Harry. â€Å"Here — I brought this from the Shrieking Shack last night,† he said, handing Harry back the Invisibility Cloak. â€Å"And†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He hesitated, then held out the Marauder's Map too. â€Å"I am no longer your teacher, so I don't feel guilty about giving you back this as well. It's no use to me, and I daresay you, Ron, and Hermione will find uses for it.† Harry took the map and grinned. â€Å"You told me Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs would've wanted to lure me out of school†¦ you said they'd have thought it was funny.† â€Å"And so we would have,† said Lupin, now reaching down to close his case. â€Å"I have no hesitation in saying that James would have been highly disappointed if his son had never found any of the secret passages out of the castle.† There was a knock on the door. Harry hastily stuffed the Marauder's Map and the Invisibility Cloak into his pocket. It was Professor Dumbledore. He didn't look surprised to see Harry there. â€Å"Your carriage is at the gates, Remus,† he said. â€Å"Thank You, Headmaster.† Lupin picked up his old suitcase and the empty Grindylow tank. â€Å"Well — good-bye, Harry,† he said, smiling. â€Å"It has been a real pleasure teaching you. I feel sure we'll meet again sometime. Headmaster, there is no need to see me to the gates, I can manage†¦.† Harry had the impression that Lupin wanted to leave as quickly as possible. â€Å"Good-bye, then, Remus,† said Dumbledore soberly. Lupin shifted the Grindylow tank slightly so that he and Dumbledore could shake hands. Then, with a final nod to Harry and a swift smile, Lupin left the office. Harry sat down in his vacated chair, staring glumly at the floor. He heard the door close and looked up. Dumbledore was still there. â€Å"Why so miserable, Harry?† he said quietly. â€Å"You should be very proud of yourself after last night.† â€Å"It didn't make any difference,† said Harry bitterly. â€Å"Pettigrew got away.† â€Å"Didn't make any difference?† said Dumbledore quietly, â€Å"It made all the difference in the world, Harry. You helped uncover the truth. You saved an innocent man from a terrible fate.† Terrible. Something stirred in Harry's memory. Greater and more terrible than ever before†¦ Professor Trelawney's prediction! â€Å"Professor Dumbledore — yesterday, when I was having my Divination exam, Professor Trelawney went very — very strange.† â€Å"Indeed?† said Dumbledore. â€Å"Er — stranger than usual, you mean?† â€Å"Yes†¦ her voice went all deep and her eyes rolled and she said †¦ she said Voldemort's servant was going to set out to return to him before midnight†¦. She said the servant would help him come back to power.† Harry stared up at Dumbledore. â€Å"And then she sort of became normal again, and she couldn't remember anything she'd said. Was it — was she making a real prediction?† Dumbledore looked mildly impressed. â€Å"Do you know, Harry, I think she might have been.† he said thoughtfully. â€Å"Who'd have thought it? That brings her total of real predictions up to two. I should offer her a pay raise†¦.† â€Å"But –† Harry looked at him, aghast. How could Dumbledore take this so calmly? â€Å"But — I stopped Sirius and Professor Lupin from killing Pettigrew! That makes it my fault if Voldemort comes back!† â€Å"It does not,† said Dumbledore quietly. â€Å"Hasn't your experience with the Time-Turner taught you anything, Harry? The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed†¦. Professor Trelawney, bless her, is living proof of that†¦. You did a very noble thing, in saving Pettigrew's life.† â€Å"But if he helps Voldemort back to power†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Pettigrew owes his life to you. You have sent Voldemort a deputy who is in your debt†¦. When one wizard saves another wizard's life, it creates a certain bond between them†¦ and I'm much mistaken if Voldemort wants his servant in the debt of Harry Potter.† â€Å"I don't want a connection with Pettigrew!† said Harry. â€Å"He betrayed my parents!† â€Å"This is magic at its deepest, its most impenetrable, Harry. But trust me†¦ the time may come when you will be very glad you saved Pettigrew's life.† Harry couldn't imagine when that would be. Dumbledore looked as though he knew what Harry was thinking. â€Å"I knew your father very well, both at Hogwarts and later, Harry,† he said gently. â€Å"He would have saved Pettigrew too, I am sure of it.† Harry looked up at him. Dumbledore wouldn't laugh — he could tell Dumbledore†¦ â€Å"I thought it was my dad who'd conjured my Patronus. I mean, when I saw myself across the lake †¦ I thought I was seeing him.† â€Å"An easy mistake to make,† said Dumbledore softly. â€Å"I expect you'll tire of hearing it, but you do look extraordinarily like James. Except for the eyes†¦ you have your mother's eyes.† Harry shook his head. â€Å"It was stupid, thinking it was him,† he muttered. â€Å"I mean, I knew he was dead.† â€Å"You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don't recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself most plainly when you have need of him. How else could you produce that particular Patronus? Prongs rode again last night.† It took a moment for Harry to realize what Dumblefore had said. â€Å"Last night Sirius told me all about how they became Animagi,† said Dumbledore, smiling. â€Å"An extraordinary achievement — not least, keeping it quiet from me. And then I remembered the most unusual form your Patronus took, when it charged Mr. Malfoy down at your Quidditch match against Ravenclaw. You know, Harry, in a way, you did see your father last night†¦. You found him inside yourself.† And Dumbledore left the office, leaving Harry to his very confused thoughts. Nobody at Hogwarts now knew the truth of what had happened the night that Sirius, Buckbeak, and Pettigrew had vanished except Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Professor Dumbledore. As the end of term approached, Harry heard many different theories about what had really happened, but none of them came close to the truth. Malfoy was furious about Buckbeak. He was convinced that Hagrid had found a way of smuggling the Hippogriff to safety, and seemed outraged that he and his father had been outwitted by a gamekeeper. Percy Weasley, meanwhile, had much to say on the subject of Sirius's escape. â€Å"If I manage to get into the Ministry, I'll have a lot of proposals to make about Magical Law Enforcement!† he told the only person who would listen — his girlfriend, Penelope. Though the weather was perfect, though the atmosphere was so cheerful, though he knew they had achieved the near impossible in helping Sirius to freedom, Harry had never approached the end of a school year in worse spirits. He certainly wasn't the only one who was sorry to see Professor Lupin go. The whole of Harry's Defense Against the Dark Arts class was miserable about his resignation. â€Å"Wonder what they'll give us next year?† said Seamus Finnigan gloomily. â€Å"Maybe a vampire,† suggested Dean Thomas hopefully. It wasn't only Professor Lupin's departure that was weighing on Harry's mind. He couldn't help thinking a lot about Professor Trelawney's prediction. He kept wondering where Pettigrew was now, whether he had sought sanctuary with Voldemort yet. But the thing that was lowering Harry's spirits most of all was the prospect of returning to the Dursleys. For maybe half an hour, a glorious half hour, he had believed he would be living with Sirius from now on†¦his parents' best friend†¦It would have been the next best thing to having his own father back. And while no news of Sirius was definitely good news, because it meant he had successfully gone into hiding, Harry couldn't help feeling miserable when he thought of the home he might have had, and the fact that it was now impossible. The exam results came out on the last day of term. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had passed every subject. Harry was amazed that he had got through Potions. He had a shrewd suspicion that Dumbledore might have stepped in to stop Snape failing him on purpose. Snape's behavior toward Harry over the past week had been quite alarming. Harry wouldn't have thought it possible that Snape's dislike for him could increase, but it certainly had. A muscle twitched unpleasantly at the corner of Snape's thin mouth every time he looked at Harry, and he was constantly flexing his fingers, as though itching to place them around Harry's throat. Percy had got his top-grade N.E.W.T.s; Fred and George had scraped a handful of O.W.L.s each. Gryffindor House, meanwhile, largely thanks to their spectacular performance in the Quidditch Cup, had won the House championship for the third year running. This meant that the end of term feast took place amid decorations of scarlet and gold, and that the Gryffindor table was the noisiest of the lot, as everybody celebrated. Even Harry managed to forget about the journey back to the Dursleys the next day as he ate, drank, talked, and laughed with the rest. As the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station the next morning, Hermione gave Harry and Ron some surprising news. â€Å"I went to see Professor McGonagall this morning, just before breakfast. I've decided to drop Muggle Studies.† â€Å"But you passed your exam with three hundred and twenty percent!† said Ron. â€Å"I know,† sighed Hermione, â€Å"but I can't stand another year like this one. That Time-Turner, it was driving me mad. I've handed it in. Without Muggle Studies and Divination, I'll be able to have a normal schedule again.† â€Å"I still can't believe you didn't tell us about it,† said Ron grumpily. â€Å"We're supposed to be your friends.† â€Å"I promised I wouldn't tell anyone,† said Hermione severely. She looked around at Harry, who was watching Hogwarts disappear from view behind a mountain. Two whole months before he'd see it again†¦. â€Å"Oh, cheer up, Harry!† said Hermione sadly. â€Å"I'm okay,† said Harry quickly. â€Å"Just thinking about the holidays.† â€Å"Yeah, I've been thinking about them too,† said Ron. â€Å"Harry, you've got to come and stay with us. I'll fix it up with Mum and Dad, then I'll call you. I know how to use a fellytone now –â€Å" â€Å"A telephone, Ron,† said Hermione. â€Å"Honestly, you should take Muggle Studies next year†¦.† Ron ignored her. â€Å"It's the Quidditch World Cup this summer! How about it, Harry? Come and stay, and we'll go and see it! Dad can usually get tickets from work.† This proposal had the effect of cheering Harry up a great deal. â€Å"Yeah†¦ I bet the Dursleys'd be pleased to let me come†¦ especially after what I did to Aunt Marge†¦.† Feeling considerably more cheerful, Harry joined Ron and Hermione in several games of Exploding Snap, and when the witch with the tea cart arrived, he bought himself a very large lunch, though nothing with chocolate in it. But it was late in the afternoon before the thing that made him truly happy turned up†¦. â€Å"Harry,† said Hermione suddenly, peering over his shoulder. â€Å"What's that thing outside your window?† Harry turned to look outside. Something very small and gray was bobbing in and out of sight beyond the glass. He stood up for a better look and saw that it was a tiny owl, carrying a letter that was much too big for it. The owl was so small, in fact, that it kept tumbling over in the air, buffeted this way and that in the train's slipstream. Harry quickly pulled down the window, stretched out his arm, and caught it. It felt like a very fluffy Snitch. He brought it carefully inside. The owl dropped its letter onto Harry's seat and began zooming around their compartment, apparently very pleased with itself for accomplishing its task. Hedwig clicked her beak with a sort of dignified disapproval. Crookshanks sat up in his seat, following the owl with his great yellow eyes. Ron, noticing this, snatched the owl safely out of harm's way. Harry picked up the letter. It was addressed to him. He ripped open the letter, and shouted, â€Å"It's from Sirius!† â€Å"What?† said Ron and Hermione excitedly. â€Å"Read it aloud!† Dear Harry, I hope this finds you before you reach your aunt and uncle. I don't know whether they're used to owl post. Buckbeak and I are in hiding. I won't tell you where, in case this owl falls into the wrong hands. I have some doubt about his reliability, but he is the best I could find, and he did seem eager for the job. I believe the Dementors are still searching for me, but they haven't a hope of finding me here. I am planning to allow some Muggles to glimpse me soon, a long way from Hogwarts, so that the security on the castle will be lifted. There is something I never got around to telling you during our brief meeting. It was I who sent you the Firebolt — â€Å"Ha!† said Hermione triumphantly. â€Å"See! I told you it was from him!† â€Å"Yes, but he hadn't jinxed it, had he?† said Ron. â€Å"Ouch!† The tiny owl now hooting happily in his hand, had nibbled one of his fingers in what it seemed to think was an affectionate way. ?C Crookshanks took the order to the Owl Office for me. I used your name but told them to take the gold from my own Gringotts vault. Please consider it as thirteen birthdays' worth of presents from your godfather. I would also like to apologize for the fright I think I gave you that night last year when you left your uncle's house. I had only hoped to get a glimpse of you before starting my journey north, but I think the sight of me alarmed you. I am enclosing something else for you, which I think will make your next year at Hogwarts more enjoyable. If ever you need me, send word. Your owl will find me. I'll write again soon. Sirius Harry looked eagerly inside the envelope. There was another piece of parchment in there. He read it through quickly and felt suddenly as warm and contented as though he'd swallowed a bottle of hot butterbeer in one gulp. I, Sirius Black, Harry Potter's godfather, hereby give him permission to visit Hogsmeade on weekends. â€Å"That'll be good enough for Dumbledore!† said Harry happily. He looked back at Sirius's letter. â€Å"Hang on, there's a PS†¦.† I thought your friend Ron might like to keep this owl, as it's my fault he no longer has a rat. Ron's eyes widened. The minute owl was still hooting excitedly. â€Å"Keep him?† he said uncertainly. He looked closely at the owl for a moment; then, to Harry's and Hermione's great surprise, he held him out for Crookshanks to sniff. â€Å"What do you reckon?† Ron asked the cat. â€Å"Definitely an owl?† Crookshanks purred. â€Å"That's good enough for me,† said Ron happily. â€Å"He's mine.† Harry read and reread the letter from Sirius all the way back into King's Cross station. It was still clutched tightly in his hand as he, Ron, and Hermione stepped back through the barrier of platform nine and three-quarters. Harry spotted Uncle Vernon at once. He was standing a good distance from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, eyeing them suspiciously, and when Mrs. Weasley hugged Harry in greeting, his worst suspicions about them seemed confirmed. â€Å"I'll call about the World Cup!† Ron yelled after Harry as Harry bid him and Hermione good-bye, then wheeled the trolley bearing his trunk and Hedwig's cage toward Uncle Vernon, who greeted him in his usual fashion. â€Å"What's that?† he snarled, staring at the envelope Harry was still clutching in his hand. â€Å"If it's another form for me to sign, you've got another –â€Å" â€Å"It's not,† said Harry cheerfully. â€Å"It's a letter from my godfather.† â€Å"Godfather?† sputtered Uncle Vernon. â€Å"You haven't got a godfather!† â€Å"Yes, I have,† said Harry brightly. â€Å"He was my mum and dad's best friend. He's a convicted murderer, but he's broken out of wizard prison and he's on the run. He likes to keep in touch with me, though †¦ keep up with my news †¦ check if I'm happy †¦Ã¢â‚¬  And, grinning broadly at the look of horror on Uncle Vernon's face, Harry set off toward the station exit, Hedwig rattling along in front of him, for what looked like a much better summer than the last.