Delaware Ecological and Economic Sustainability

Delaware Ecological and Economic Sustainability Title of Grant: Ecological and economic sustainability in water, energy, and food in Delawares changing coastal climate Theme Name: Social, Economic and Policy Dimensions. A) Status and overview. Overarching statement (2-3 lines; max five sentences) The social, economic, and policy dimension team propose research, educational, and outreach activities that seek to solve what has be called the last mile problem -whereby technological solutions are developed that seem promising, but unless coupled with ethical guidelines, guided by insights from behavioral science, and supported with empirical data from behavioral science and user-friendly decision support tools, an effective policy solution is never developed, and last mile is never crossed. To support these efforts we will measure peoples attitudes and willingness to pay (WTP) for improving water, energy, and food systems in a changing climate in the State of Delaware. This research will be complemented with interdisciplinary work with natural and physical scientist to develop an estimate of the costs associated with improving the States water quality and protecting its coastal recreational amenities, so that policy makers and stakeholders can develop cost-effective tools and app roaches to these problems. B) Research and Education program Measuring costs and benefits of improving water quality Solving the last mile problem requires information about the costs and benefits of alternative strategies to develop more sustainable water, energy, and food systems. Survey tools and experimental approaches will be used to measure both the costs and benefits of improving water quality while creating more resilient food and energy systems. For example, research has identified beneficial management practices (BMPs) for urban, suburban, and agricultural landscapes that improve water quality by reducing soil and nutrient loss, but improvements will only occur if people are willing to use these BMPs. To promote adoption of beneficial practices, financial incentives are commonly offered through environmental programs funded by federal and state agencies. Distributing scarce funds cost-effectively is often a priority for these agencies, but their ability to do so is frequently limited by a lack of data about the costs and benefits of alternative pollution abatement strategies. If these data are available, low participation from landowners can still limit cost-effectiveness of these programs. Measuring costs The social dimensions team will construct marginal cost curves for multiple strategies that could enhance water quality, including programs that promote the use of urban and suburban BMPs (e.g., use of green fertilizers, native grass restoration, septic tank repair) and agricultural BMPs (e.g., use of green fertilizers, cover crops, application of electro-chemical techniques to reduce nitrogen pollutions). The marginal cost curves will inform policymakers about the unit costs and total costs of abating nonpoint source pollution from lawns and farms using these practices. Results can inform policymakers about the relative cost-effectiveness of projects that improve water quality. Constructing the marginal cost curves will require data on the biophysical benefits of these practices as well as landowner willingness to use beneficial BMPs. Estimates about biophysical benefits, like the reduction of phosphorus and nitrogen export to nearby waterways, will be determined will be drawn from the literature. The social dimensions team will build upon two novel experimental designs developed by the Center for Experimental Applied Economics that quantifies the costs of BMP adoption and assesses landowners attitudes and willingness to adopt agricultural and lawn practices that can improve water quality. The Agricultural Values, Innovation and Stewardship Enhancement (AgVISE) project engages farmers in an auction in a field experiment setting that evaluates the attitudes and WTP to adopt new BMPs, such as new green fertilizers or removal of excess nutrients through novel phosphorus filters. The Homeowner Values, Innovation and Stewardship Enhancement (HomeVISE) project engages homeowners, renters, and residents of homeowner associations in nutrient management decisions and evaluates both the adoption and the dis-adoption of technologies designed to protect water. A survey tool will be distributed through the VISE programs to identify barriers and deterrents to adoption of BMPs, such as tran saction costs of participation, and to understand how environmental attitudes and beliefs affect participation in programs that offer financial incentives to promote BMP use. These VISE projects can be applied to assess a variety of technologies and educational messages in a wide range of settings throughout the state. Since costs of pollution abatement are a function of landowner and producer preferences, the proposed research will also analyze how programs can be designed using behavioral science to increase program participation by providing people with information that may change their knowledge or perceptions of environmental challenges. This information about the environmental challenges will be drawn from the other themes of this research. We will determine if information can change the marginal cost curves of BMP programs and generate more cost-effective program outcomes by affecting peoples willingness to participation in conservation programs and the incentive payments that they require to adopt new BMPs. Research into policy or behavioral nudges that work to improve people behavior and resolve critically important problems facing the state of Delaware will have meaning from a regional, national, and international perspective. Measuring benefits Several economic valuation projects will be conducted as part of this proposal. These studies would provide analyses needed to improve decision making over the states water resources and lead to balance in policy formation. First, we propose a statewide household survey to value water quality improvements on the states rivers, streams, ponds, and estuaries. This would follow conventional stated preference techniques and economic modeling to elicit willingness to pay for improvements in water quality for drinking, recreation and other uses. Household would learn about water resources in the state in the survey and be asked to vote in hypothetical referenda on water quality improvements. A second project would target recreation uses of Delawares Inland Bays such as fishing, crabbing, boating, swimming, etc. in a revealed preference survey. We would document the extent of the different recreation use of the bays and infer values for the different uses. In addition, we model how the uses might change with water quality improvements along with economic values associated with those changes. Economic benefits will also be tested using field experiments that explore consumers WTP purchase foods that provide direct water quality benefits such as oysters and edible seaweed. Despite its coastal nature and history, Delaware is the only coastal state that does not have an active oyster aquaculture industry. Funding will expand recent collaborative efforts between DSU and UD researchers to foster this industry. D) Seed Funding and emerging areas Consortium on Social Dimension Research Funding from this EPSCoR Rii4 proposal will enable the development of a novel consortium of amongst Wesley College, Delaware Technical Community College, Delaware State University, and the University of Delaware to foster undergraduate social dimension research related to this proposals water, energy, and food themes. The Center for Experimental Applied Economics (CEAE) to expand its novel work in behavioral and experimental experiments to undergraduate research in this consortium via the development of a novel one-year sequence of courses that will be taught yearly at the undergraduate level in application of experimental methods. The first semester will focus on the methods and application of behavioral and experimental economics to water, energy, and food themes. Experimental methods will include randomized controlled trials (RCTs). RCTs are quickly becoming the gold standard of social science research and the cornerstone of evidence-based policy. The second semester will engage students in applying these methods explore to behavioral and policy issues related to water, energy, and food issues. Seed funding will be available to researchers and students to enable them to conduct initial experimental studies. Funded internships will be available for the most promising students (selected by competition) to continue their research during the subsequent summer. Seed funding is requested to build the internal research capacity of faculty at Wesley and DSU, to facilitate the coordination of undergraduate expertise, such as computer programming at DelTech, to support instruction at the University of Delaware, and to facilitate the project and develop a curriculum and partnership amongst the institutions to ensure the programs sustainability after the grant period expires. Policy Decision Support Tools[H1] Decision support tools will be developed to integrate knowledge generated by the natural, physical, and social science teams and the environmental sensors to inform policymakers and stakeholders about water, energy, and food systems in Delaware. Interactive geographic interfaces will provide stakeholders with information about the current status of these systems and predictions about how these conditions would change given different climate scenarios. Users will be able to toggle between multiple map layers to view biophysical, social, and economic data about water, energy, and food systems. This tool will help policymakers and stakeholders understand the various benefits, costs, and trade-offs that are involved with various actions and also help policy makers make cost-effective decisions that help them develop evidence-based policy. H) Partnerships (research competitiveness, commercialization, economic development) As described previously, we will develop a novel consortium of amongst Wesley College, Delaware Technical Community College, Delaware State University, and the University of Delaware to foster undergraduate social dimension research related to this proposals water, energy, and food themes. This consortium will be supported by the national Center for Behavioral Experimental Agri-Environmental Research (CBEAR) that is co-headquartered at the University of Delaware. CBEAR regularly engages with officials at the state, regional, national, and international level to facilitate behavioral and experimental economics research related to water, agriculture, and energy. The research will be valablue to the agricultural industry in the Delaware, estimated to be worth $8 billion each year, which is currently facing costly regulation due to water quality concerns that affect the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. By developing cost-effective mechanism to address these water quality concerns can help sustain the agricultural industry in the state for decades to come. The work will also foster the nascent industry in the production of green seafood such as oysters and edible seaweed, industries that offer increased food production, economic development, and enhanced environmental quality. F) Sustainability Plan The proposed educational partnership on behavioral and experimental economics will be sustained after the life of the grant through an integration of this program into the curriculums of the various institutions. This project will position Delaware well for securing future federal funding to support innovative research in the pre-proposals focus area. For instance, the emphasis on experimental methods for research is consistent with the Office of Management and Budgets Memorandum M-13-17 (2013) that outlines President Obamas evidence based policy agenda and encourages agency proposals that utilize randomized controlled trials or careful quasi-experimental techniques to measure the effect of interventions on important policy outcomes (p. 3). Additionally, in September 2015, President Obama made an Executive Order which encourages federal agencies to incorporate insights from the behavioral sciences to design better government programs. This emphasis has recently been supported by the development of bipartisan Evidence-Based Policymaking Commission Act sponsored by Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senator Patty Murry (D-WA) that was signed into law by President Obama in March, 2016. Furthermore, presidenti al candidate Hillary Clinton has indicated a desire to continue this emphasis on behavioral science and evidence-based policy, if elected in November 2016. The proposed research and one-year course sequence in behavioral and experimental economics will include seed money to support new research related to water, energy, and food issues. Promising results from these studies will be used to solicit larger, external grants. The Center for Experimental Applied Economics (CEAE) will help facilitate grants that catalyze the use of experimental economics methods in interdisciplinary research related to food, energy, and water. CEAE is skilled in this raising external funds. It has raised more than $18 million (not including the current EPSCoR Rii3 funds) over the past three years and developed two nationally-recognized USDA Centers of Excellence. [H1]The idea of developing Policy Decision Support Tools could be quite compelling from the perspective of pulling together the various themes of the project and making a broader impact on the State of Delaware. If we want to go in this direction, we will need to flush this out further and consider what new capacities can be added as part of this grant as, to my knowledge, we currently dont have all of this capacity inside the existing grouo.

Porphyria’s Lover, My Last Duchess and The Laboratory Essay -- Robert

Porphyria’s Lover, My Last Duchess and The Laboratory In this essay I hope to prove that Robert Browning’s murder mystery poems are fulfilled with intrigue and excitement. I also hope to prove that in his poems he creates vivid characters and uses poetic techniques to expose a world of madness and wickedness. To show that the statements above are true I will be writing about the characters, the poetic features in each poem and the madness and wickedness in each poem. This essay will include three of Robert Browning’s poems; they are Porphyria’s Lover, My Last Duchess and The Laboratory. Robert Browning was born on the seventh of May in eighteen twelve in Camberwell a suburb of London. He was the first child of Robert and Sarah Anna Browning. His mother was an accomplished pianist and his Father was a clerk in the Bank of England. Robert Browning was largely self-taught. He was an extremely bright child and a voracious reader. By the time he was fourteen he had learned Latin, Greek, French and Italian. He attended the University of London in eighteen twenty eight but left in discontent to pursue his reading at his own pace. In eighteen forty six he married Elizabeth Barrett and moved to Florence, Italy. He moved back to London in eighteen sixty one but spent his final years with his only son back in Italy. He died in eighteen eighty nine and is buried in Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey. He wrote his first poem ‘Pauline’ in eighteen thirty three. Browning wrote during the romantic era in the nineteenth century. In this era romantic poets such as Robert Browning wrote about dramatic events in unusual ways, using different ideas and forms. All of Browning’s poems are dramatic monologues; he was the fir... ... the poison to be attractive so when it is horrible it is more of a shock. ‘The colour’s too grim. Why not soft phial’s, enticing, dim? Let it brighten her drink, let her turn it and stir, and try it and taste, ere she fix and prefer’. She also shows her wickedness again in the fact that she wants her lover’s mistress to die in pain with him watching her die. I enjoyed all three of the poems but I especially liked reading and studying The Laboratory because I thought it was interesting the way someone could have such a cold attitude to killing someone and actually be eager to do so. All three poems were written as dramatic monologues and they were all about a lover or husband killing their lover or wife because of stupid reasons. I enjoyed the way the poem was written because you felt like you were actually there and they were speaking to you. Porphyria’s Lover, My Last Duchess and The Laboratory Essay -- Robert Porphyria’s Lover, My Last Duchess and The Laboratory In this essay I hope to prove that Robert Browning’s murder mystery poems are fulfilled with intrigue and excitement. I also hope to prove that in his poems he creates vivid characters and uses poetic techniques to expose a world of madness and wickedness. To show that the statements above are true I will be writing about the characters, the poetic features in each poem and the madness and wickedness in each poem. This essay will include three of Robert Browning’s poems; they are Porphyria’s Lover, My Last Duchess and The Laboratory. Robert Browning was born on the seventh of May in eighteen twelve in Camberwell a suburb of London. He was the first child of Robert and Sarah Anna Browning. His mother was an accomplished pianist and his Father was a clerk in the Bank of England. Robert Browning was largely self-taught. He was an extremely bright child and a voracious reader. By the time he was fourteen he had learned Latin, Greek, French and Italian. He attended the University of London in eighteen twenty eight but left in discontent to pursue his reading at his own pace. In eighteen forty six he married Elizabeth Barrett and moved to Florence, Italy. He moved back to London in eighteen sixty one but spent his final years with his only son back in Italy. He died in eighteen eighty nine and is buried in Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey. He wrote his first poem ‘Pauline’ in eighteen thirty three. Browning wrote during the romantic era in the nineteenth century. In this era romantic poets such as Robert Browning wrote about dramatic events in unusual ways, using different ideas and forms. All of Browning’s poems are dramatic monologues; he was the fir... ... the poison to be attractive so when it is horrible it is more of a shock. ‘The colour’s too grim. Why not soft phial’s, enticing, dim? Let it brighten her drink, let her turn it and stir, and try it and taste, ere she fix and prefer’. She also shows her wickedness again in the fact that she wants her lover’s mistress to die in pain with him watching her die. I enjoyed all three of the poems but I especially liked reading and studying The Laboratory because I thought it was interesting the way someone could have such a cold attitude to killing someone and actually be eager to do so. All three poems were written as dramatic monologues and they were all about a lover or husband killing their lover or wife because of stupid reasons. I enjoyed the way the poem was written because you felt like you were actually there and they were speaking to you.

Chartism: Working Class and National Political Movement

TMA 02 Task 1 In the history block, you learned about three explanations for Chartism’s support – a reaction to economic pressure, national political movement and an inclusive cultural community. What evidence is there in the extract above of three explanations for Chartism’s support that you learned about in the history chapter of Y180, and which, if any, is stressed most strongly by the speaker? Part 1 In no more than 200 words, write a plan for this essay Introduction: 1. Explain the background and context of the extract 2.This essay will consider the evidence for Chartism’s support in terms of economic pressure, popular radicalism, and cultural inclusiveness 3. It will argue all three factors contributed to Chartism’s support but political focus is dominant Economic pressure: 1. 1837-42 were periods of economic downturn, Chartism attracted support by addressing economic circumstances – mention class legislations 2. Manufacturing populatio n under-represented in the electoral system 3. Mention Asa Briggs, secondary source 1, who highlights the significance of economic circumstances A national political movement: 1.Indicate how Chartism was built on pre-existing support for electoral reform 2. State the popular proposed class legislation changes 3. Use primary source 6 to show the heritage of popular radicalism and the public’s want for reform 4. Mention the use and importance of political language 5. Back up this view with Stedman Jones, secondary source 2 Cultural incisiveness: 1. Chartism welcomed those that were excluded from power in every other way – the working class 2. Mention Ellen Yeo, secondary source 3 to support this 3. Ideal of power to the people Conclusion: 1. Evidence for all 3 factors 2.Final reflection – political movement is most stressed 200 words Part 2 Write the essay, using no more than 800 words. In this essay I shall consider how all three explanations contributed to Chart ism’s support and which factor can be seen as the most dominant. The speech made by an unknown speaker in 1839 is a primary source of information from the Northern Star newspaper, the ‘main voice in print’ (P. 107) of Chartism, and therefore we cannot be sure of its reliability. The motive exists to exaggerate the audiences’ size and enthusiasm, numbers of ‘between 5,000 and 12,000’ (Background) and comments such as ‘loud cheering’ (L. 2) could have been fabricated. The report was published in Chartism’s early years, a time of economic recession and social tension when the Whig party held power. The extract highlights the audiences’ economic circumstances making some references to inclusivity, however I believe political focus is the key theme. To begin with I shall consider economic pressure. Paragraph four of the extract focuses on this factor, the speaker makes several remarks which relate to and evidences the aud ience’s poverty such as ‘ragged clothing’, ‘insufficiency of food’, and ‘insufferable despair’.Chartism attracted support by instilling hopefulness that if democracy was put into practice, people’s economic anguish would lessen, namely that the Poor Law of 1834 would be discarded and taxes reduced. Chartism became an established movement due to a structural transfer in the economy from agriculture to manufacturing; the working classes in these industrial areas were under-represented. Manufacturing industries were prevalent in York and the surrounding areas therefore these economic factors would be close to the audience’s hearts.Briggs, secondary source 1, supports this view by arguing manufacturing communities displayed the strongest support whilst rural areas showed considerably less. The explanation of Chartism being a national political movement is strongly evidenced in the extract. The speaker expresses many political i deas, talking of an end to the established church, as well as addressing class legislations such as opposition to the Poor Law. The speaker states, ‘abolish the army, dash the navy’ (L. 48) ‘crush the church by law established, obliterate the debt from the national ledger, restore republicanism, establish equality’ (L. 50–L. 51).These are long established ideals of popular radicalism which evidences the movement’s political diversity and shows Chartism was able to draw on pre-existing radical support for democratic reform. An account from the Morning Chronicle, primary source 6, shows a flag used during the procession which carried the National Petition to Parliament sporting the phrase ‘we require justice before charity’ (p125). This proposes demonstrators would not be happy with an ‘economic hand-out’ (p126) instead wanting acknowledgment of their political rights; this paper was pro-Whigs so has reason to downplay anti-government protests so may be reliable.Chartist’s had their own political language and this is strong evidence for Chartism being a political movement, the extract uses such language to encourage listeners support, for example, ‘these evils chiefly of a political and social cast arise from one source – class legislation’ (L. 20-L. 21). Steadman Jones, secondary source 2, supports this notion by stating ‘the growth and decline of Chartism was a function of its capacity to persuade its constituency to interpret distress or discontent within the terms of its political language’ (p. 37).Evidence for Chartism been an inclusive cultural community also exists in the extract. The movement did not adhere to the times’ hierarchical style of society as it allowed anybody to join, the speaker demonstrates the movement’s inclusiveness by addressing women who were often excluded from politics, ‘I am glad to meet the brave men and fa ir women of York’ (L. 10). Chartism was all-embracing of the working classes; six working men were deliberated included on the committee that discussed the People’s Charter. The speaker addresses this group several times with ‘Working men’ (L. ), ‘Honourable gentlemen, I mean by this name the working class only’ (L. 17), and ‘the labouring class, are regarded as a cipher in importance’ (L. 22-L. 23). Ellen Yeo, secondary source 3, states the working classes were quite capable of creating their own politics just as they were proficient manufacturers in the economy. Chartism’s ideal of giving power to the people already occurred within the movement as it gave people a political voice, the National Petition’s allowed people whose opinion was rarely consulted by Parliament to put down their signature with a feeling of power and pride.Evidence for all three explanations for Chartism’s support exists in the extract. However I personally conclude that the main focus and draw of support was the movement’s political goals as the speech uses political language to acquire agitators and fight for electoral reform. Many political issues are also addressed not just male suffrage, evidence for economic and cultural factors are present too. I believe that economic slumps increased support as protestors could voice their resentment of suffering, and inclusiveness helped to provide this voice, yet it was the political focus that gave hope for change. 00 words Task 2 Write no more than 150 words for this task. Part 1 Briefly write down two or three pieces of feedback from your tutor on TMA 01. My tutor’s feedback on TMA01 included encouraging remarks regarding the structure and format of my work; I also received good comments on my referencing skills. However it was felt that I only just achieved the learning outcome of producing a relevant, reasoned answer. How have you used that feedback in preparing for TMA 02?Positive feedback showed that my work has a good structure with a clear introduction, main body and conclusion; I have therefore ensured that I did the same for TMA02. I also made sure to reference and use quotation marks around the phrases I included from the materials. In order to avoid unclear sentences in the essay I have studied material on both the Y180 and the BBC, ‘Skillswise' website. This helped improve my sentence construction, grammar and punctuation, and ultimately the flow of my writing. Feedback proved helpful as it meant I made a conscious effort to keep my sentences short so they remain crisp in meaning.

Dan-Erik Nilsson: A Research Paper

How truly complex and remarkable structures such as the human eye could evolve has almost always been one of the direst questions that have puzzled biologists around the world. We know that human sight relies on the ability of our eye to be able to form a clear and focused image on the retina. There are many researchers who have studied this issue, most of which who have suggested that prior to the evolution of the lens, there was a â€Å"regulatory link between two tiers of genres, those that would later become responsible for controlling lens development, and those that would help give the lens its special physical properties†¦it is†¦This combination of genes which appears to have then been selected in an early vertebrae during the evolution of its visual system, giving rise to the lens† (Current Biology, 2005). The history of research on this matter is long and extensive, and although there are really no evolutionary biologists known better than Charles Darwin, wh o stated that â€Å"To suppose that the eye, with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree† (Ridley, 2004). There are also many other evolutionary biologists who must be taken into consideration here, one in particular to be referenced in this report, Dan-Erik Nilsson.When it comes to a subject such as evolutionary biology, there are plenty of critics and skeptics that are present in this regards. Through natural selection, there have been many very different types of eyes which have emerged in evolutionary history in general, and for instance Darwin, who was one of the first truly recognized, acknowledged from the start that â€Å"the eye would have been a difficult case for his new theory to explain. Difficult, but not impossi ble.Scientists have come up with scenarios through which the first eye-like structure, a light-sensitive pigmented spot on the skin, could have gone through changes and complexities to form the human eye, with its many parts and astounding abilities† (Evolution Library, 2007). Biologists in general use the range of less complex light sensitive structures that exist in living species today in order to come to hypotheses regarding the various evolutionary stages that eyes may have gone through over time.One evolutionary biologist in general who has sparked much controversy, especially regarding the issue of the evolution of the eye, is Dan-Erik Nilsson. I chose this individual to focus on for this assignment because he has been so renowned and recognized in terms of his contributions to this matter. Specifically, his major contribution to evolution was his demonstration that a primitive optical sense organ could â€Å"evolve into a complex human-like eye within a reasonable per iod (less than a million years) simply through small mutations and natural selection† (Nilsson, 1994). His demonstration involves discussing how the complex human eye could have possibly evolved through natural selection acting on certain and specific, small variations.He began with a simple patch of light sensitive cells, from which his model evolves until a clear image is produced as a result. Nilsson found that â€Å"eyes corresponding to every stage in this sequence have been found in existing living sequences. The existence of this range of less complex light-sensitive structures supports scientists’ hypotheses about how complex eyes like ours could evolve. The first animals with anything resembling an eye lived about 550 million years ago. And, according to one scientist’s calculations, only 364,000 years would have been needed for a camera-like eye to evolve from a light-sensitive patch† (Evolution Library, 2004).It was found from his discoveries th at every change had to confer at least some sort of survival advantage, regardless of how slight each change actually was. Eventually from this what Nilsson found was that eventually the light-sensitive spot evolved into a retina, which is the known term for the layer of cells and pigment at the back of the human eye. Then, â€Å"Over time a lens formed at the front of the eye. It could have arisen as a double-layered transplant tissue containing increasing amounts of liquid that gave it the convex curvature of the human eye† (Evolution Library, 2007).I agree with Nilsson’s views because he shows in all of his work how much time and consideration he has put into the matter and he has solid, concrete proof behind every one of his theories. His life in retrospect also solidifies him as an intelligent, reliable evolutionary biologist, and also his work involving Darwin’s theories, as Nilsson and fellow evolutionary biologists worked to basically disprove many of hi s known theories. In particular they simulated a model of the eye to find out how difficult evolution really is. Nilsson allowed the shape of the model eye to change at random, in steps of no more than 1% change at a time.â€Å"The model eye then evolved in the computer, with each new generation formed from the optically superior eyes in the previous generation; changes that made the optics worse were rejected, as selection would reject them in nature†¦The work illustrates the value of building models to test our institutions† (Ridley, 2004). Nilsson’s research has absolutely had a great and significant impact on the field of evolutionary biology because his theories have all been so new and innovative and incredibly sufficient of proving that there is in fact an evolution of the eye.Overall from this report we can conclude a number of things, in particular that over his life Dan-Erik Nilsson made some seriously significant contributions to the field through his w ork in the evolution of the eye theories, and this is not only on his own but in accompaniment with other evolutionary biologists as well.ReferencesCurrent Biology, Vol. 15, Pages 1684-1689, September 20, 2006. DOI10.1016/j.cub.2005.08.046Evolution Library. (2007). Evolution of the Eye. Retrieved September 21, 2007, fromhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/01/1/l_011_01.htmlNilsson, Dan-E. (1994). â€Å"Beware of Pseudo-Science: A Response to David Berlinkski’s Attackon my Calculation of how Long it Takes for an Eye to Evolve†. Talk Reason. Dan-Erik Nilsson: A Research Paper How truly complex and remarkable structures such as the human eye could evolve has almost always been one of the direst questions that have puzzled biologists around the world. We know that human sight relies on the ability of our eye to be able to form a clear and focused image on the retina. There are many researchers who have studied this issue, most of which who have suggested that prior to the evolution of the lens, there was a â€Å"regulatory link between two tiers of genres, those that would later become responsible for controlling lens development, and those that would help give the lens its special physical properties†¦it is†¦This combination of genes which appears to have then been selected in an early vertebrae during the evolution of its visual system, giving rise to the lens† (Current Biology, 2005).The history of research on this matter is long and extensive, and although there are really no evolutionary biologists known better than Charles Darwin, who stated that â€Å"To suppose that the eye, with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree† (Ridley, 2004). There are also many other evolutionary biologists who must be taken into consideration here, one in particular to be referenced in this report, Dan-Erik Nilsson.When it comes to a subject such as evolutionary biology, there are plenty of critics and skeptics that are present in this regards. Through natural selection, there have been many very different types of eyes which have emerged in evolutionary history in general, and for instance Darwin, who was one of the first truly recognized, acknowledged from the start that â€Å"the eye would have been a difficult case for his new theory to explain. Difficult, but not impossib le. Scientists have come up with scenarios through which the first eye-like structure, a light-sensitive pigmented spot on the skin, could have gone through changes and complexities to form the human eye, with its many parts and astounding abilities† (Evolution Library, 2007). Biologists in general use the range of less complex light sensitive structures that exist in living species today in order to come to hypotheses regarding the various evolutionary stages that eyes may have gone through over time.One evolutionary biologist in general who has sparked much controversy, especially regarding the issue of the evolution of the eye, is Dan-Erik Nilsson. I chose this individual to focus on for this assignment because he has been so renowned and recognized in terms of his contributions to this matter. Specifically, his major contribution to evolution was his demonstration that a primitive optical sense organ could â€Å"evolve into a complex human-like eye within a reasonable per iod (less than a million years) simply through small mutations and natural selection† (Nilsson, 1994). His demonstration involves discussing how the complex human eye could have possibly evolved through natural selection acting on certain and specific, small variations.He began with a simple patch of light sensitive cells, from which his model evolves until a clear image is produced as a result. Nilsson found that â€Å"eyes corresponding to every stage in this sequence have been found in existing living sequences. The existence of this range of less complex light-sensitive structures supports scientists’ hypotheses about how complex eyes like ours could evolve. The first animals with anything resembling an eye lived about 550 million years ago.And, according to one scientist’s calculations, only 364,000 years would have been needed for a camera-like eye to evolve from a light-sensitive patch† (Evolution Library, 2004). It was found from his discoveries th at every change had to confer at least some sort of survival advantage, regardless of how slight each change actually was. Eventually from this what Nilsson found was that eventually the light-sensitive spot evolved into a retina, which is the known term for the layer of cells and pigment at the back of the human eye. Then, â€Å"Over time a lens formed at the front of the eye. It could have arisen as a double-layered transplant tissue containing increasing amounts of liquid that gave it the convex curvature of the human eye† (Evolution Library, 2007).I agree with Nilsson’s views because he shows in all of his work how much time and consideration he has put into the matter and he has solid, concrete proof behind every one of his theories. His life in retrospect also solidifies him as an intelligent, reliable evolutionary biologist, and also his work involving Darwin’s theories, as Nilsson and fellow evolutionary biologists worked to basically disprove many of hi s known theories. In particular they simulated a model of the eye to find out how difficult evolution really is. Nilsson allowed the shape of the model eye to change at random, in steps of no more than 1% change at a time.â€Å"The model eye then evolved in the computer, with each new generation formed from the optically superior eyes in the previous generation; changes that made the optics worse were rejected, as selection would reject them in nature†¦The work illustrates the value of building models to test our institutions† (Ridley, 2004). Nilsson’s research has absolutely had a great and significant impact on the field of evolutionary biology because his theories have all been so new and innovative and incredibly sufficient of proving that there is in fact an evolution of the eye.Overall from this report we can conclude a number of things, in particular that over his life Dan-Erik Nilsson made some seriously significant contributions to the field through his w ork in the evolution of the eye theories, and this is not only on his own but in accompaniment with other evolutionary biologists as well.ReferencesCurrent Biology, Vol. 15, Pages 1684-1689, September 20, 2006. DOI10.1016/j.cub.2005.08.046Evolution Library. (2007). Evolution of the Eye. Retrieved September 21, 2007, fromhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/01/1/l_011_01.htmlNilsson, Dan-E. (1994). â€Å"Beware of Pseudo-Science: A Response to David Berlinkski’s Attackon my Calculation of how Long it Takes for an Eye to Evolve†. Talk Reason.Ridley, M. (2004). Evolution of the Eye. Retrieved September 21, 2007, fromhttp://www.blackwellpublishing.com/ridley/a-z/Evolution_of_the_eye.asp

Deposit Mobilization Essay

INTRODUCTION 1.1 Study Background For the development of any country, the financial sector of that country is responsible and must be strong. The financial sector is vast field, which comprises of banks, cooperatives, insurance companies, financial companies, stock exchange, foreign exchange markets, mutual funds etc. These institutions collect idle and scattered money from the general public and finally invest in different enterprises of national economy that consequently help in reducing poverty, increase in life style of people, increase employment opportunities and thereby developing the society and country as a whole. Thus, today’s concept, the financial institutions and commercial banks has become one of the bases for the measuring level of economic development of nation. Commercial banks are the main source which motivates people to save their earnings. Bank deals in accepting the saving of people in the form of deposit collection and invest it in the productive area. They give the loan to the people against real and financial assets. They transfer monetary sources from savers to users. In other words, they are intermediate between lender and receiver of fund they mobilize the depositor fund. Whereas in Nepal the role of joint venture banks are still to be realized as an essentials machine of mobilizing internal saving through various banking schemes in the economy. Hence, to uplift the backward economic condition of the country, the process of capital accumulation, among other prerequisites should be expedited. This project report has been prepared as an output of the researcher’s internship experience in Nepal Credit and Commerce Bank Limited. Nepal Credit and Commerce Bank Ltd. (NCC Bank) formally registered as Nepal- Bank of Ceylon Ltd. Commenced its operation on 14th October, 1996 as a Joint Venture with Bank of Ceylon, Srilanka. It was the first private sector bank with the largest authorized capital of NRS. 1000 million. The Head Office of the Bank is located at Siddhartha Nagar, Rupandehi, the birthplace of LORD BUDDHA, while its corporate office is placed at Bagbazar, Kathmandu. 1.2 Statement of the Problem Nepal is underdeveloped country and rapid economic development is the basic need of the country. Development by its means is not possible within a short period and it takes a long time for the proper development of a country, it has to build up infrastructure. In Nepal, the process of development started only after 1956 A. D. when the first five year plan came into practice. Capital in fact, plays the leading role for the economic development of a country. But in Nepal, there is shortage of capital. There are various sources of accumulating capital internal and external sources. Under external sources: aid, grants and loans are the main sources. In internal sources: accumulating capital, taxes, public enterprises, public debt are the popular in our country. But due to underdevelopment, poverty, lack of banking knowledge the desired capital for the development of the country cannot be accumulated from those internal sources. So, it can be said that in Nepal’s present situation bank deposit is dependable and permanent sources of capital accumulation. The need of deposit mobilization for economic development of a country is no more to question. But we are facing an acute problem of resources mobilization. We have 32 commercial banks in Nepal which are very much considered to be vital financial institution to mobilize domestic resources. 1.3 Objective of the Study The objective of the study is to examine relationship between the amount of total deposit and amount of total credit granted by the bank. The main objectives of the study are: * To analyze the relationship between deposits and loans and advances. * To analyze the effectiveness of deposit mobilization of the bank. * To examine how far the interest rates of deposits have positive relationship with the deposit collection of the bank. * To measure the impact of interest rates of loan on the credit extended by the bank. * To draw suggestions and recommendations to the concerned bank for the further improvement. 1.4 Significance of the Study Banks and other financial institutions play important role to increase economic standard for the development of the country. Economic development becomes slow if there are incomplete and unfair banking facilities. Especially commercial banks provide different economic and technical facilities to the people who involve in business activities. Commercial banks play major role in collection of scared small savings form depositors and transfer these funds into productive sectors for the economic development. Mainly this study covers the deposit and credit position of commercial bank (NCC), so it helps to reveal the financial position of bank and study occupies an important role in the series of the studies on commercial bank. The significances of the study are: * Important to know how well the bank is utilizing its deposits. * Important to policy formulator and also be useful for academic professionals, students particularly those involves in commerce, CA and financial institutions to formulate policies and plans on the basis of the performance of the bank. * Important to the management party of the bank for the evaluation of the performance of their bank and comparison with other banks. * Important for the investors, customers (depositors, loan takers) and personnel of bank to take various decisions regarding deposits and loan advances. * This study will be equally important to the others who are interested to know about the area. It may encourage to researcher to research further. 1.5 Relevance of the Study Currently, banks are gaining the stakeholders’ belief through their efficient management and professional services and playing an eminent role in the economy. The deposit mobilization for the bank is tough job. So, the study is focused on how the deposits are mobilized by the bank. The study attempts to interlink the financial performance and the deposit mobilization of the bank. The study is expected to be useful to different stakeholders as: 1. The study is expected to be useful to the shareholders as they can analyze the risk relating to credit. 2. The study is expected to be useful to the management bodies of the bank to improve the operations of the bank to add more value to its service 3. The study is expected to be useful to the government body, NRB for further research is the area to formulate and implement new policies and regulations. 4. The study is expected to be useful to the other stakeholders to know the practices made over the deposit mobilization by the bank 5. The study is expected to be useful to analyzes the internal strengths and weaknesses of the bank 6. The study is expected to be useful to anyone who is conducting a bank survey in the related topic. 1.6 Research Questions The study intends to reveal the following issues of deposit mobilization practices by the bank: 1. What is the relationship between deposit and loans and advances? 2. What is the effectiveness of deposit mobilization of the bank? 3. How far the interest rates of deposits have positive relationship with the deposit collection of the bank? 4. What is the increasing or decreasing trend of deposit mobilization of the bank? 1.7 Limitations of the Study As every research has its own limitation, this study is not biased. The research is done for the partial fulfillment of MBA. Therefore, this study has some limitations, which are listed below: * This research study largely depends on the secondary data like annual reports (Profit and Loss Account, Balance Sheet and Financial Statements). * The study is based on only financial and statistical tools and technology. * The study mainly based on last five years data (2003 to 2008) that are not enough for the statistical calculation and cannot be generalized for entire financial sectors. 1. 8 Organization of the Report Chapter one deals with the general background of the study and the major issues which has governed the overall study, chapter two deals with the nature of Nepal’s banking industry and challenges of banking sector in Nepal, chapter three deals with the qualitative aspect of Nepal Credit and Commerce Bank Limited which gives the introduction of major products and services provided by NCC Bank and new innovative products recently launched by NCC Bank, chapter four deals with presentation and analysis of data and Finally chapter five deals with the findings of the study and the recommendations which have been given to the bank for improving its deposit mobilization. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE 2.1Review of Literature Deposit is the sum of money lodged with a bank, discount house or other financial institution. Deposit is nothing more than the assets of an individual which is given to the bank for safe-keeping with an obligation to get something (interest) from it. To a bank these deposits are liabilities. Commercial bank Act 2031 (1974) defines â€Å"Deposits† as the amount deposited in a current, savings or fixed accounts of a bank or financial institution. The deposits are subject to withdrawals by means of cheque on a short notice by customers. There are several restrictions on these deposits, regarding the amount of deposit, number of withdrawal etc. These are considered more as investments and hence they earn some interest. The rate of interest varies depending on the nature of the deposits. The bank attracts deposits from customers by offering different rates of interest and different kinds of facilities. Though the bank plays an important role in influencing the customer to save and open deposit accounts with it, it is ultimately the customer who decides whether s/he should deposit his surplus funds in current deposit a/c, saving deposits or fixed/time deposit a/c. Bank deposits arise in two ways. When the banker receives cash, it credits the customer’s account, it is known as a primary or a simple deposit. People deposit cash in the banking system and thereby convert one form of money, cash, into another form, bank money. They prefer to keep their money in deposit accounts and issue cheques against them to their creditors. Deposits also arise when customers are granted accommodation in the form of loans. When a bank grants a loan to a customer it doesn’t usually pay cash but simply credits the customers account with the amount of loan. Of course, there is nothing that prevents the borrower from withdrawing the entire amount of borrowing in cash but quite often s/he retains the amount with the bank as deposit. CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY To solve the research problems, few systematic ways are adopted to collect the required data and information. Research methodology refers to the various sequential steps that are to be adopted by a researcher during the course of studying the problem with certain objectives. It shows overall research method from the theoretical aspects to the collection and analysis of the data. This study covers quantitative methodology in a greater extent and also uses the descriptive part based on both technical and logical aspect. This study tries to perform a well designed, quantitative and qualitative research in a very clear and direct way by using both financial and statistical tools. 3.1 Research Design This study is based on a descriptive research design and follows an analytical approach. To achieve the study objectives, the required data are collected from secondary and primary sources and analyzed through the use of different financial and statistical tools. 3.2 Research Tools In order to collect the data, the researcher had visited the bank as an intern for 8 weeks of time period. The tools that are used for the study is through direct observation at the time of internship, and discussions with the officers of the bank in concerned department. 3.3 Data Collection Method The methods of collecting data are primary and secondary. Primary data includes personal observation, informal talk and also interview with officers whereas Secondary data includes Annual report of the bank, published and unpublished documents etc. 3.4 Data Analysis Tools The processed data were analyzed and tested with the financial tools i.e. Ratio Analysis, Trend Analysis, graphs whereas Statistical tools are Karl Pearson’s Coefficient of Correlation Analysis, Probable Error (P.E) and Hypothesis Testing. BIBLIOGRAPHY Books * Annual Report of NCC Bank limited 2003/04 – 2007/08. * Kathmandu Frontier Associates (KFA), Professional Banking Course references. * Levin R. I and Rubin D.S. (2008), â€Å"Statistics for Management (7th Ed.)†, Pearson Prentice Hall. New Delhi * Sharma, Pushkar Kumar and Chaudhary, Arun Kumar (2058), â€Å"Statistical Methods†, Kathmandu: Khanal Books Prakashan. * Van Horne, C. James (2005), â€Å"Financial Management and Policy†, (12th Ed.), Pearson Prentice Hall, New Delhi. Websites www.nrb.gov.np www.google.com www.wikipedia.com www.nccbank.com.np

Uncle Tom s Cabin By Harriet Beecher Stowe - 1760 Words

Harriet Beecher Stowe was born in June 14, 1811 in Lichfield, CT and was the sixth of her family’s eleven children. Beecher’s parents taught their children that their primary life goal was to make their mark. All seven sons became ministers, Isabella (the youngest) founded the National Women’s Suffrage Association, and Harriet revealed the horrifying truths and dissolved the social injustice of slavery. During her 85 years Beecher published thirty novels, but her bestselling book Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Harriet Beecher Stowe s Life) is what penned her name into the pages of history. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published in 1852 and is essential to the huge amount of tension prior to the war. This book depicts the typical â€Å"African American†¦show more content†¦Frederick Douglass through his gift of speaking, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Harriet Jacobs advanced the humanization of slaves through their down-to-earth writings. Through their writings and outreach, these authors had gained the attention of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States. According to The Black History Bulletin, these two met three times while Lincoln was in office. The first meeting took place 8 months prior to the Emancipation Proclamation and they discussed methods to end slavery and allow black men to serve in the Union ranks. Their second meeting occurred on August 25, 1864 to discuss covert efforts to free slaves if Lincoln failed to be reelected. The third and final meeting occurred as friends 6 weeks prior to Lincoln’s assassination (Black History B ulletin). Despite the friendship Douglass and Lincoln would eventually share, they began as remote acquaintances. Lincoln campaigned with great fervor and Douglass critiqued Lincoln’s political stances at every opportunity before the Emancipation Declaration. The President’s inability to vindicate a side in the desegregation battle caused Douglass to become irate. In 1861 Lincoln said: I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so (Black History Bulletin). Lincoln previously voiced to Douglass that he required a Union victory

Coaching and Mentoring - 1989 Words

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