Insider Trading Essay Example for Free

Insider Trading Essay Our era aptly has been styled, and well may be remembered as, the age of information. Francis Bacon recognized nearly 400 years ago that knowledge is power, (Nickels ,McHugh 2011) â€Å"Insider trading is an unethical activity in which insiders use private company information to further their own fortunes or those of their families or friends†. Pg.101 Insider trading is a term that includes both legal and illegal conduct. The legal version is when corporate insiders—officers, directors, and employees—buy and sell stock in their own companies. Illegal insider trading refers generally to buying or selling a security, in breach of a fiduciary duty or other relationship of trust and confidence, while in possession of material, nonpublic information about the security. (Agnello Donnelley 1975) Stated if every member of a community has unlimited access to the resources of the community, then the communitys resources soon will be used up unless they happen to be available in infinite supply. The system of private ownership of assets, by contrast, effectively can use the price system to ration the assets in such a way as to preserve them properly and to benefit all members of the community. pg. 521 The Insider Trading Debate Arthur Levitt stated in 1998 that more Americans were investing in the stock market than ever before and Americans had almost twice as much money invested in the stock market as in commercial banks. The illegal version of insider trading most of us think of; is the type of insider trading that achieved wide-spread in the 1980’s with the SECs civil cases and the United States Department of Justices criminal cases against Michael Milken and Ivan Boesky which inspired even Hollywoods imagination with the movie Wall Street. It is the trading that takes place when those privileged with confidential information about important events use the special advantage of that knowledge to reap profits or avoid losses on the stock market, to the detriment of the source of the information and to the typical investors who buy or sell their stock without the advantage of inside information. According to ( Manne 1966) â€Å"Some argue that insider trading is a legitimate form of compensation for corporate employees, permitting lower salaries that, in turn, benefit shareholders. It provides an incentive to innovation, some argue, by promising huge rewards for developing a plan or product that will lead to a precipitous rise in the stock†. (Easterbrook 1985). Found that â€Å"Members of the legal community denounce the practice of insider trading. They view insider trading as an unethical abuse of power by corporate officers and directors. people who have invested resources to develop their human capital to better assimilate information, or corporate officers and directors are always going to have superior access to information†. The case of USA vs Raj Rajaratnam An excellent example referring to insider trading would be the Raj Rajaratnam incident. (Belczyk U.S. Attorney’s Office 2011). A federal jury in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York found that Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam orchestrated the largest hedge fund insider trading case in US history and convicted Rajaratnam on all 14 counts of insider trading including; five counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and nine counts of committing securities fraud from 2003 to March 2009. In just over 18th months, this office has charged 47 individuals with insider trading crimes; Rajaratnam is the 35 person to be convicted. On Oct. 2011 Rajaratnam was sentenced to 11 years in prison In addition to his prison term, Rajaratnam was sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $53,816,434 and a $10 million fine. RAJARATNAM will surrender to authorities on November 28, 2011. (Richey 2011) On Janu ary 20, 2011 Danielle Chiesi was arrested in 2009 along with Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam. After pleading guilty in connection with the case and was accused of communicating non-public information about IBM Corporation, Advanced Microdevices (AMD) and Sun Microsystems (now Sun-Oracle) in 2008 and 2009 to her superiors at New Castle Funds LLC, a Manhattan-based investment advisory company formerly part of Bear Stearns. Danielle was accused of using the information to reap more than $4 million in illegal profits for New Castle. Danielle Chiesi admitted to exploiting her access to valuable non-public information to reap $1.7 million in illegal gains. By sharing and conspiring to trade on inside information, Chiesi compromised the companies she sold out and distorted the market for their stocks. (Richey 2011) Former IBM senior vice president Robert Moffat was sentenced to six months in prison in September and ordered him to pay a $50,000 fine for his role in the scheme after pleading guilty in March 2010. Former Intel Capital executive Rajiv Goel pleaded guilty to insider trading charges in February 2010. Rajaratnam, Chiesi, Goel and Moffat were arrested in October 19, 2009 and charged along with two other individuals and two business entities with insider trading. The complaint alleged that the individuals provided Galleon Group and another hedge fund with material nonpublic information about several corporations upon which the funds traded, generating $25 million in illicit gain. References Agnello Donnelley, Property Rights and EJjiciency in the Oyster Industry, 18 J.L. ECON. (1975) pg. 521 Easterbrook, Insider Trading as an Agency Problem, in PRINCIPALS AND AGENTS: THE STRUCTURE OF BUSINESS (Pratt Zeckhauser eds. 1985). Pg. 330 Henry B. Manne, Insider Trading and the Stock Market (1966) (insider trading increases market efficiency because it produces desirable incentives on corporate managers). Retrieved from: http://www.sec.gov/news/speech/speecharchive/1966speech.shtml Jaclyn Belczyk U.S. ATTORNEYS OFFICE(2011) May 11, 2011. Retrieved from: http://jurist.org/paperchase/2011/05/us-hedge-fund-founder-convicted-of-insider-trading.php Jurist Legal News Research (2011): Jaclyn Belczyk, Daniel Richey Retrieved from: http://jurist.org Testimony of Arthur Levitt Concerning Appropriation for Fiscal Year 1999; March 19, 1998 Before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary of the Senate Committee Appropriations. Retrieved from: http://www.sec.gov/news/speech/speecharchive/1998/spch221.htm Understanding Business Nickels, McHugh, McHugh pg. 101 United States Attorney Southern District of New York (2011), U.S. ATTORNEYS OFFICE ELLEN DAVIS, CARLY SULLIVAN,JERIKA RICHARDSON,EDELI RIVERAPUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE: Retrieved from: http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/May11/rajaratnamrajverdictpr.pd

How do the films address and represent indian national identity?

How do the films address and represent indian national identity? Its a fairly well-known fact that the Indian film industry is the most active in the world, producing more number of movies each year than any other (including Hollywood). Few of those films, however, reach the international market. Occasionally, however, a worthwhile picture causes enough people to take notice that it becomes a favourite on the international film festival circuit. The movie Roja (1992) and Bombay (1995) directed by Mani Rathnam crossed the National boundaries. Roja (1992) and Bombay (1995), which deals Kashmir terrorism and the riots in Bombay after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya by Hindu fundamentalists. Roja (1992), a patriotic love story against the backdrop of Kashmir terrorism, was dubbed from Tamil language and released in Hindi and other languages became a huge success all over the nation. The movie depicts a serious theme of ‘National Integration after the war between India and Pakistan on a territorial dispute in Kashmir borders. The local militants group of Islamist in Pakistan who seek to claim Kashmir initiated the war. The movie created an awareness of growing terrorism in Kashmir borders. Mani Rathnam was critically acclaimed for the theme chosen (National Integration) after its release. Roja revolves around one Mans love for his motherland and a wifes unfailing love for her husband. Rishi Kumar (Aravind swamy) is the lead (character) in the movie. Mani Rathnam films focus not much on individual characters but on complex plots and events of history. Roja won the national award for the best film and is regularly screened on Indian state television following Independ ence Day promoting â€Å"National integration†. It was a turning point in Indian cinema to portray a different genre with delicate music. The story line is about how a girl, who never crossed her village boundaries managed to bring her husband back from the terrorists trap in Kashmir. The message conveyed through the movie is wanted â€Å"peace† between the borders of India and Pakistan. Mani Ratnam always in his movie addresses the historical events of the nation that created any social difficulty. I will be analysing Roja, how it address the Indian national identity with key factors glorified in the movie. The movie was shot at different locations, southern and northern parts in India but the thrilling part was at Kashmir mountains where the terrorists set up their plot. The characters in the movie are well presented. The hero (Rishi) in negating his given religious identity in the first instance he embraces the terrorists leader saying hum ‘‘koi nahi hain† (we are none) but then he claims a name saying â€Å"hum sirf Indian hain† (we are Indians). It is also a kind of melodrama with a message of â€Å"National Integration† in it. (Ravi S.Vasudevan, 1996). The music of the film added success through emphasizing different Indian culture and the music was drawn on folklore, example in a song, gang of ladies singing and dancing with traditional Indian village costume depicting the National Identity. Much of Roja is set in Kashmir, which was formerly used as the major location for romance in Hindi movies, drawing on its association of earthly paradise, but which features rarely now because of political unrest and terrorism. One of the most memorable scene from the film is when the hero, Rishi, is taunted by his captors, Kashmiri separatists, who burn the Indian flag, where Rishi throws himself on it and catches fire, to the words of a song by the nationalist Tamil poet Subramania Bharathi â€Å"India is dearer to me than life† evoked the patriotism to intense. Music of the film represents the culture identities of different locations. The camera movements were glorifying especially in the chase scene where the hero Rishi (Aravind Swamy) tries to flee from the place where he was abducted by the terrorists. Cinematography of the film has been a major credit in representing the Indian National Identity through picturising the different geographical entity. It was watching thriller putting ourselves in the situation. Roja was well received by the audience in spite of some critical findings as it signifies peaceful relations between the two countries. The film turned to be huge success even catching the attention of international audience tapping into the growing fear of terrorists attacks across the world. Mani Rathnam second film Bombay (1995), has a central narrative of an inter communal marriage between a South Indian male and a Muslim girl in India, marked it as the most anxiously awaited film to be released. The board of censor and public response to the film were controversial after its release. The movie was dubbed from Tamil (south Indian) language to other different languages to spread the message of â€Å"unity† among the Indian religions across the nation. Bombay (1995) is a film based on communal riots, provoked by the demolition of the Babri Masjid (Mosque) by Hindu fundamentalist in December 1992. Mani Rathnam the director of Bombay has revolutionized the Indian Film Industry with technically strong films that are beautifully visualised conveying some kind of social message in it. It was the first film to portray the Muslim victims of the Bombay riots sympathetically. He sees his work as plea for peace between Hindu and Muslim. Instead, however it brought a permanently brewing conflict back to boil. He consulted Hindu majorities and Muslim minorities in this research. I believe that Mani Rathnam is concerned very much about the social issues happening across the country, that he gave a movie Bombay and a message in it. Indian audience come to theatre looking for some entertainment, so the movie is portrayed with social representations relied on melodrama and music. Religious conflict has addressed the national identity in film Bombay. The film Bombay begins as a romantic drama depicting the growing love between a Hindu man (Aravind swamy) and a Muslim woman (Manisha koirala). Bombay was an inspiration on the history of events that happened in December 1992. The Hindu fundamentalists around India, who demanded the building of a temple at Ramas (Indian god) birthday place in Ayodhya, on a site then occupied by the a mosque was demolished, which initiated the (Bombay riots).(Dwyer Rachel,2006). I will analyse the production, reception, theme and the national identity that the movie exemplify. The characters of the film are given great importance specifically, shekhar (Arvind swamy) a student studying journalism in Bombay and shaila banu(Manisha koirala) a Muslim schoolgirl in the village. Eventually, they both fall in love. The marriage proposal was denied by both the parents because of religious conflict. Shekhar with shaila elope to Bombay, where they start a new life away from their parents. Although Bombay and Roja solicit quite different sentiments, both arise from a similar subjectivity that of a hero presented with the characteristics notations of professional identity, cosmopolitan, ideological humanism, rationalism, and marginalization of religion. Although the film was about Bombay, it was shot in constructed sets at Madras. The art director Thotta Tharani constructed small town sets of Bombay in limited production value that looked like Bombay. Inspired by the documentation and re-creation of the Vietnam war, Rajiv Menon the cinematographer took for his models of ‘Apocalypse Now'( 1979 ) and the ‘Killing Fields (1984 ) to convey a heightened sense of reality in Bombay that was horrifying yet to be ‘stunning and beautiful (Lalitha Gopalan, 2005, p.21). The music by A.R Rahman was extraordinarily moving and the back ground score was emotionally evoking the sense of patriotism. The songs were beautifully picturised across South India and they portray different culture. Especially the song ‘Kannalanae/with my eyes depicts the Indian tradition of celebrating a marriage ceremony. Most of the Bollywood cinemas contain elements of music, comedy and melodrama, as the tradition and culture in India posses it. The film was set to be released in 1994 but a series of events involving the Board of Censors in Bombay and Madras, sensitivity to reminding Muslim of the campaign against them appears to underlie the censor boards deletion of the following visuals of the Babri Masjid and its demolition. The protests from two communal groups and the instructions from police delayed the film release until April 1995. Political and religious entity portrays the identity of the nation state. Bombay did not receive a warm welcome from the audience; instead several forms of protest were raised. The Muslim community started sending letters to editors of newspaper and many theatres were ransacked. Director Rathnam has shown great courage in making this picture (bombs were thrown at his house after its release), showing the aversion towards the subject. Later the movie was a great success in spite of chaos happening all over the country. The movie crossed the National boundaries and gained some international recognition. Bombay brings out the climax scene very well showing a human chain symbolically denoting the end of riots and reunites that still remains memorable. The film thereby sets out a symbolic representation of a common enough past, present and future logic. The film is an appeal for unity and peace in Hindu and Muslim within the nation. Roja and Bombay are the films which engaged with contemporary issues about Indian nation state. There is a suggestion here that the films vision of bringing to an end of antagonism nevertheless entails the reproduction of difference. The film projects a transcendent secular modernity and national identity square with its production. These films offered a universal identification to Indian cinema. Broadly speaking Nation can defined in seven ways in Indian subcontinent. They are Ancient civilization entity, composite culture, political entity, religious entity, geographical territorial entity and unity of Nation. Roja and Bombay is composed of all these entities represent the National Identity. Robert Pascals Theory on Icy Moons | Analysis Robert Pascals Theory on Icy Moons | Analysis In Robert Pascals research article, Physiochemical Requirements Inferred for Chemical Self-Organization Hardly Support an Emergence of Life in the Deep Oceans of Icy Moons, Pascal presents different hypotheses of the formation of life on icy moons compared to life on Earth. Liquid water, free energy, and organic matter are the three essential components to start the origin of life. In addition, the complexity of the environment and the structure of the entity itself are also essential to the formation of life. On these icy moons, Pascal states that there would have been an event which was highly unlikely, taking place to combine these components. These events are considered, because our knowledge of astrobiology is only limited within the parameters of Earth. On icy moons, life will be significantly simpler than of life on Earth due to the insufficiency of the components used to start the origins of life. The first component is liquid water, water plays a major role in creating life on Earth and most of the living organisms on Earth grow in wet environments. The properties of water being a solvent and to be able to dissolve mostly everything allow organisms to evolve in different environments. The second component is organic matter which is present in minerals. Organic matter is combined together with water and energy in a long process to help the entity grow its structure. The third component is energy which allows an endergonic reaction to take place to create a chemical reaction with water and organic matter. Kinetic barriers are also formed by existing energy around the entity which depends on the temperature in the environment during the origin of life process allowing system to maintain its equilibrium state and further evolve. In addition, the entity must be capable of reproducing itself leading to the evolution of the entity. The second law of thermodynamics is applied to demonstrate how the entity maintains its equilibrium state coupled with a form of stability, called dynamic kinetic stability (Robert Pascal, 2016) which enables the entity to reproduce itself towards an irreversible stage. Considering all theories and conclusions researchers have come to, Pascal states that the final parameters which determine how the origin of life will be formed is the covalent bonds of the entity relative to the liquid water around it, the temperature of the environment where the entity resides, liquid water, and an energy source equivalent to light. The origin of life of different extra-terrestrial systems depends on the complexity of the evolution of the entity and the complexity of its environment. The oceans on Jupiter and Saturns icy moons have a significantly lower temperature environment compared to the Earth, with no light or alternative energy source that would reach the entity to start any kinetic irreversibility leading to a conclusion that an event that was highly unlikely would have taken place to start the origin of life process in the oceans of the icy moons. It is believed that on the icy moons, chemical gradients are contained between the crust and the ocean which meets the criteria of the origin of life on Earth. Pascal uses the knowledge of astrobiology within the parameters of Earth to present three hypotheses about how life would form on these icy moons. The first hypothesis is called panspermia, which is the theory of the origin of life would have originated from microorganisms from outer space, which upon reaching a suitable environment, is able to initiate life. The second hypothesis considered entities that have experienced conditions that would allow the entity to take in liquid water through the environment and solar energy by exchanges through the atmosphere. The second hypothesis was deemed incompatible as the time duration of the process would be too short for the process of chemiosmosis. The third hypothesis was the subduction process in the ocean which would have activated chemicals capable of feeding the chemical protometabolisms. This shows that including the present day knowledge of astrobiology and the origin of life process, the origin of life process in the oceans of icy m oons must also include an event that would be highly unlikely of taking place as the formation of life on different extra-terrestrial systems depend on the complexity of its environment and the evolution of the entity itself. In Pascals Physiochemical Requirements Inferred for Chemical Self-Organization Hardly Support an Emergence of Life in the Deep Oceans of Icy Moons, the information in the hypotheses about the formation of life on icy moons are limited, because our knowledge of astrobiology is only limited within the parameters of Earth. Reference List Earth, P., Panspermia, H. and Panspermia, R. (2017). PANSPERMIA THEORY origin of life on Earth directed panspermia lithopanspermia meteorites Panspermia Theory. [online] Panspermia-theory.com. Available at: http://www.panspermia-theory.com/ [Accessed 20 Mar. 2017]. Khan Academy. (2017) Khan Academy, [online] Available at: https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/history-of-life-on-earth/history-life-on-earth/a/hypotheses-about-the-origins-of-life [Accessed 20 Mar. 2017].

are you a good leader? :: essays research papers

Are you a good leader? A good leader must be articulate so he can understand everyone he leads. A good leader must also be strong minded so he can convince people to do what is right for the group. Last but not least you must be intelligent to one, know what is right for the group and two to back up your other two traits. The best leaders are articulate, strong minded, and intelligent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A good leader must be articulate, in order to reach all the different types of people in the group. Someone who can speak well can convince all the people of the group to do as you wish. One who speaks well can impose their thoughts on the group. Also, someone who does not speak well is less likely to be listened to than someone that does speak well. One who speaks well will benefit the group the most.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although you must be articulate, you must also be strong-minded to back up you statements. Being strong-minded can help to convince people to do as you would like. If someone can keep a group under control they can keep everyone working and bettering the group, and this takes a strong-minded person. If one is strong minded they could keep everyone on task and getting along. And most importantly a strong-minded person can keep himself on task.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To be a good leader you must be strong-minded, but more importantly you have to be intelligent. Someone who is smart can back up his or her statements with fact. If someone is intelligent people are more likely to listen to their ideas before someone who is less intelligent. If one is intelligent they have the ability to instruct a group properly. And if one is intelligent they can organize all of the groups projects better the a less intelligent person.

Is The Illegalization Of Marijuana Valid? :: pot should be legal

Is The Illegalization of Marijuana Valid? The debate over the legalization of Cannabis sativa, more commonly known as marijuana, has been one of the most heated controversies ever to occur in the United States. Its use as a medicine has existed for thousands of years in many countries world wide and is documented as far back as 2700 BC in ancient Chinese writings. When someone says ganja, cannabis, bung, dope, grass, rasta, or weed, they are talking about the same subject: marijuana. Marijuana should be legalized because the government could earn money from taxes on its sale, its value to the medical world outweighs its abuse potential, and because of its importance to the paper and clothing industries. This action should be taken despite efforts made by groups which say marijuana is a harmful drug which will increase crime rates and lead users to other more dangerous substances. The actual story behind the legislature passed against marijuana is quite surprising. According to Jack Herer, author of The Emperor Wears No Clothes, the acts bringing about the demise of hemp were part of a large conspiracy involving DuPont, Harry J. Anslinger, commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), and many other influential industrial leaders such as William Randolph Hearst and Andrew Mellon. Herer notes that the Marijuana Tax Act, which passed in 1937, coincidentally occurred just as the decoricator machine was invented. With this invention, hemp would have been able to take over competing industries almost instantaneously. According to Popular Mechanics, "10,000 acres devoted to hemp will produce as much paper as 40,000 acres of average [forest] pulp land." William Hearst owned enormous timber acreage so his interest in preventing the growth of hemp can be easily explained. Competition from hemp would have easily driven the Hearst paper-manufacturing company out of business and significantly lowered the value of his land. Herer even suggests popularizing the term "marijuana" was a strategy Hearst used in order to create fear in the American public. Herer says "The first step in creating hysteria was to introduce the element of fear of the unknown by using a word that no one had ever heard of before... 'marijuana'". DuPont's involvement in the anti-hemp campaign can also be explained with great ease. At this time, DuPont was patenting a new sulfuric acid process for producing wood-pulp paper. According to the company's own records, wood-pulp products ultimately accounted for more than 80% of all DuPont's railroad car loadings for the 50 years the Marijuana Tax Act was passed. It should also be said that two years before the prohibitive hemp tax in 1937, DuPont developed

Transcendentalism: The Philosophy Of The Mind Essay -- essays researc

Transcendentalism: The Philosophy of the Mind Transcendentalism is the view that the basic truth of the universe lies beyond the knowledge obtained from the senses, a knowledge that transcendentalists regard as the mere appearance of things (Adventures 162). Transcendentalists believe the mind is where ideas are formed. The transcendentalist ideas of God, man, and the universe were not all original, but were a combination of other philosophies and religions. One of the major questions of philosophy is "What is the nature of the universe?" Immanuel Kant was one of the major Transcendentalists of his time. One of the major questions he asked was, "What is knowledge, and how is it possible?" Transcendentalists believe that one really only knows personal experiences, and that one can not know the universe which exists. Kant came to the conclusion that there are two universes, one of experience, called the "Phenomenal Universe", and the other the "Noumenal Universe", the one of reason. The first is scientific and the other practical (Frost 42). Transcendentalists think there is a dimension of depth in everything that exists. They also think the spirit is what controls your physical side (Halverson 431). Some transcendentalists say the world has no beginning in time, everything takes place according to the laws of nature. The same people think there is not necessarily an absolute Being who causes the world to be (Frost 42). Transcendentalists think nature is a product of the mind, and without the mind nature would not exist (Santayana 42). These ideas come from the Romantic traditions which originated in England. The Romantics believed in spiritual unity of all forms of being, with God, humanity, and nature sharing a universal soul (Adventures 208). Transcendentalists came to the conclusion that good and evil were things only man could control. Their belief of man is that man is part of the universe of objects and things. His knowledge is confined to ideas. He is able to reason, and he can form ideas of the outer world of God, freedom, and immortality (Frost 53). Immanuel Kant said, "Always act in such a way that the maxim determining your conduct might as well become a universal law; act as though you can will that everybody sh... ... a bowl with many crevices and depressions in it's contour. When one pours water into the bowl, it takes the shape of the bowl, filling all the crevices. In the same way the environment pours impressions into the mind and they are received by the mind and shaped according to the nature of this mind (Frost 257). Some transcendentalists think all minds are alike. They say all minds have certain categories such as totality, unity, plurality, and reality. Transcendentalists believe knowledge is limited to the combined role of sensibility and understanding, both of which are concerned with sense and experience, though in different ways (Hakim 98). They also think knowledge is universal (Frost 258). Some transcendentalists think the ideas are of the mind and cannot be applied to a world outside of the mind. They believe ideas are a result of the kind of thinking organ which people have, and are determined by it's nature. Transcendentalism is a combination of beliefs, some of which are from other religions and other people and their philosophies. It is a belief that there is another way knowledge is obtained, not only from the senses, but also from the mind.

Hot Wet Equatorial Climate

THE HOT, WET EQUATORIAL CLIMATE Distribution -Is found between 5 ° and 10 °N and S of the equator. Its greatest extent is found in the lowlands of the Amazon, Congo D. R, Malaysia and the East Indies. -Further away from the equator, the influence on the on-shore Trade Winds gives rise to a modified type of equatorial climate with the Monsoon influences. -Within the tropics, the equatorial highlands have a distinctively cooler climate, modified by altitude such as the Cameron highlands, northern Andes and Kenyan highlands in East AfricaMap CLIMATE 1. Temperature – The most outstanding feature of an equatorial climate is its great uniformity of temperature through out the year – The mean annual temperatures are always around 27 °C with very little variation. -there is no winter. -cloudiness and precipitation help to moderate the daily temperature so that even at the equator itself the climate is bearable. -regular land and sea breezes also assist in maintaining a tr uly equable climate. -the diurnal range is small and so is the annual range.Figures below illustrate the rhythm of climate experienced in two different equatorial regions, one on lowland (Kuala Lumpur) and the other on the highland (Bogota). Kuala Lumpur Month JFMAMJJASOND Temp( °C)262627272727262626262627 Rainfall (mm)170170236279216127104157185274257231 Annual precipitation 2 413mm Annual temperature range 1 °C (27 °C – 26 °C) Bogota Month JFMAMJJASOND Temp( °C)141415151414141414141414 Rainfall (mm)948912424416581668474213224142 Annual precipitation 1 610mm Annual temperature range 1 °C (15 °C – 14 °C) 2. Rainfall – Rainfall is heavy, between 1 524mm and 2 540mm and well distributed throughout the year. There is no month without rain. There are two periods of maximum rainfall, April and October which occur shortly after the equinoxes. The double rainfall peaks coinciding with the equinoxes are a characteristic feature of equatorial climates not found in any other type of climate. -Due to great heat in the equatorial belt mornings are bright and sunny. There is much evaporation and convection air currents are set up, followed by heavy downpours of convectional rains in the afternoon from the towering cumulonimbus clouds. -Besides the convectional rainfall, mountainous regions also experience much Orographic or relief rainfall.In addition, there are some intermittent showers from cyclonic atmospheric disturbances caused by the convergence of air currents in the doldrums. -The relative humidity is constantly high (over80%) making one feel sticky and uncomfortable. NATURAL VEGETATION -Equatorial region support a luxuriant type of dense vegetation –the tropical rain forest- because of heavy rainfall and uniform temperature. -In the Amazon lowlands, the forest is so dense and so complete that a special term ‘Selvas’ is used. 1. A great variety of vegetation -The equatorial vegetation comprises a multitude of evergreen trees that yield tropical hardwood e. . mahogany, ebony, greenheart, cabinet woods and dyewoods. -There are smaller palm trees, climbing plants like lianas or rattan which may be hundred of metres long and epiphytic and parasitic plants that live on other plants. -Under the trees grow a wide variety of creepers, ferns, orchids and lalang 2. A distinct layer arrangement .-From the air, the tropical rain forest appears like a thick canopy of foliage. All plants struggle upwards for sunlight resulting in a peculiar later arrangement. -The tallest trees attain a height of 45m with dense undergrowth that can tolerate shade. 3. Multiple species Trees of equatorial rainforest are not found in pure stands of a single species like in the temperate where forests where only a few species occur in a particular area. This has made timber exploitation to be difficult. 4. Forest clearings -Many parts of the virgin tropical rainforests have been cleared either for lumbering or shifting c ultivation. When these clearings are abandoned, less luxuriant secondary forests, called belukar in Malaysia, spring up. -These are characterised by short trees and very dense undergrowth. Mangrove forests thrive in the coastal areas and brackish swamps. LIFE AND DEVELOPMENTThe equatorial regions are generally sparsely populated. In the forests most primitive people live as hunters and collectors and the more advanced ones practice shifting cultivation. Food is so abundant in such a habitat that many people worry very little the life of the next day. There are numerous animals, birds and reptiles and can be hunted to serve the needs of the community. Crops grown include manioc (tapioca), yams, maize, bananas and groundnuts. Plantation agriculture is also practised widely with the outstanding crop, rubber. Malaysia and Indonesia are the leading producers of rubber.Another tropical crop is cocoa, which is more extensively cultivated in West Africa in Ghana and Ivory Coast. Other crops include oil palm, cocoanuts, coffee, tea, tobacco, spices, bananas, pineapples, etc. FACTORS AFFECTING DEVELOPMENT †¢Equatorial climate and health: excessive heat and humidity expose human beings to sunstroke and to such diseases as malaria and yellow fever. †¢Prevalence of bacteria and insect pests. †¢Jungle hinders development and maintenance. †¢Rapid deterioration of tropical soil. †¢Difficulties in lumbering and live stock farming. †¢Poor pasture.

Opponents of Globalization Essay

Globalization is a dream that any idealist would want but developing countries have been paying the price for capitalism. International trade may be reaping profits for rich countries but it also destroys cultural identity and further impoverishes Third World countries. It is inevitable that globalization would homogenize people. To be able to market their goods, multi-national corporations need to create â€Å"the same values, the same tastes and use the same advertising† (Turning Point Project, 2002, para. 3). Participating in global markets also requires adapting to the language of the key players. A factual example is when â€Å"an advisory commission to the late Japanese Prime Minister Obuchi suggested that English be adopted as the second official language of Japan† (Kawai, 2003, para. 1). Altering the language of a people can directly make a nation lose its identity. These efforts drown local tastes from which domestic industries rely on therefore causing the collapse of national businesses which can cause further poverty. To be able to play in the international arena, developing countries rely on loans from global financial entities to sustain productivity. â€Å"Third World countries mortgage their future by selling off irreplaceable capital-their natural resources (Suzuki, 2003, p. 96). In fact, Brazil has chosen to allow the destruction of the Amazon forests to pay off their loans. Perseverance to pay the debts also pushes these poor countries to grow a certain crop as compared to their natural tendency to plant the different basic food to meet the needs of their population. The shift of land away from local food crops decreases the supply and increases the price, thus further impoverishing the people (Gore, 2006, p. 54) . These debts are therefore purpose-defying. The world is beautiful because of cultural diversity and each nation needs to protects its natural resources. Globalization poses a threat to the impoverished and should be controlled before it further destroys lives.