The integration of the philosophical foundations of human rights Thesis

The integration of the philosophical foundations of human rights - Thesis Example Since the traditional period, the practical or rather the political arguments with regards to human rights have been provided with due concern, apparently more than the philosophist or the theoretical explanations. One such significance behind providing comparatively lesser significance towards philosophical explanations concerning human rights can be identified as the complex presentation of the related theories. Since the philosophist have presented the theories related to human rights in multi-dimensional perspectives, it becomes quite difficult to apply its assumptions critically linking with the practical or political arguments. Thus, effort needs to be made in order to minimise the complexities in the philosophical views of human rights with the intention to reduce challenge in terms of implementation (Freeman, â€Å"The Philosophical Foundation of Human Rights†). There must be integration between the theoretical views as well as the practical views in order to gain a comprehensive perspective related to human rights However, this integration can prove to be highly complicated in order to present a comprehensive explanation of the conception from both the perspective of political and philosophical. It is in this context that the activists who are under pressure to rescue individual from impending injustice tends to pay low priority towards the theoretical views rendering comparatively greater emphasis towards philosophist theories when weighed against the notion presented by politicians to emphasise over practical arguments proportionately by a large extent. However, those approaching the philosophers, for developing an in depth understanding of the theoretical perspective regarding human rights, might be disappointed owing to the fact that theoretical or philosophical arguments are uncertain (Freeman, â€Å"The Philosophical Foundation of H uman Rights†). The

Renaissance (1300-1650), the Industrial Revolution Essay Example for Free

Renaissance (1300-1650), the Industrial Revolution Essay Throughout history, slavery has played a very prominent role in shaping the worlds societies and economies. Across three time periods in particular, slavery throughout the world has notable similarities and differences in areas such as the status of slavery, the way slavery influenced society, and the motivation for a civilization to practice slavery. These time periods are the Renaissance (1300-1650), the Industrial Revolution (1700-1900), and World Wars I and II (1914-1945). Renaissance The time period known today as the Renaissance was, as its name means, a â€Å"rebirth† of Greco-Roman values. It was a reaction against the Dark Ages and stood in stark contrast to the medieval time period before it. The practice of slavery was no exception. Whereas slavery had fizzled out during the Dark Ages, it was instituted again during the Renaissance. Slavery in the Renaissance began in Spain, and for a while the Spanish played the primary part in the slave market. Soon, though, slavery spread to the other parts of Europe. This was especially true with the case of the Italian city-states in which the Renaissance boomed. As the Renaissance grew in Italy and as the city-states expanded, slavery became more and more widespread until Italy became a main user of slaves (Hooker). In contrast to slavery in the later periods of the Industrial Revolution and the two World Wars which is explained later in this essay, slavery in the Renaissance was not solely based on race, but mostly religion (at least in Europe; another type of slavery was practiced in America during the Renaissance, as explained later). Europe and Africa at that time was divided between Christians and Muslims, and so slavery in nations dominated by either religion was based on captured people from the other religion. In other words, in the Renaissance, Christians mostly enslaved Muslims and Muslims mostly enslaved Christians. In the case of the Italian Renaissance, Muslims slaves came from â€Å"Spain, North Africa, Crete, the Balkans, and the Ottoman Empire† (Hooker). The vast majority of slaves at the beginning of the Renaissance were white (Hooker). But as the Renaissance progressed, black slaves began to be used more and more widely. In the beginning of the Renaissance, these African slaves were acquired through Arabs in North Africa, who also held them as slaves. When the Portuguese started exploring the African coast, they participated in a black slave market, shipping slaves to the Americas and back to Europe (Guild). El Mina was the first slave trading post set up by the Portuguese on the West Coast (â€Å"Gold Coast†) of Africa (Guild). Thanks to enslaved Africans, the Portuguese were especially successful in their plantations in the islands off the west coast of Africa known as the Cape Verde, where they transported many of the Africans they enslaved to work in plantations there (Gascoigne). While most slaves in the Industrial Revolution did hard labor in fields, most slaves in the Renaissance were domestic slaves. This means that they did work in the home, doing duties for their masters around the house. Rich people in the cities almost always had one or more slaves. Instead of the brutal, inhumane treatment of slaves common in the Industrial Revolution, slave-owners during the Renaissance commonly integrated their slaves into the family. In both the Industrial Revolution and the Renaissance, masters claimed all rights for their slaves; they did with them what they willed. Therefore, there arises the similarity between all three time periods in that commonly the slaves were used as sex slaves, although sex slaves in the World Wars were used mostly just for sex, not for hard labor. When masters in the Renaissance had an illegitimate child with a slave, the child was not a slave but was free (Hooker). However, when a child was born to a slave and its master in the Industrial Revolution, the child became a slave like its mother (â€Å"Master-Slave†¦). While most slaves were domestic in the Renaissance, another form of slavery was surfacing, slaves used for cheap labor in plantations. In the Renaissance, slaves were starting to be used in plantations, mostly in America, but also in plantations in Italy and off the coast of Africa (Gascoigne). So, in both the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution, at least some slaves were used for hard labor. The Portuguese were the first to put slaves to work in plantations, and slaves soon came to be used on plantations in the Americas by nations such as Spain, Holland, France, England, and the Netherlands. The first slaves they enslaved in these colonies were the native peoples, but soon, the native population began to dwindle. Since Portugal had been exploring the coast of Africa and since Africa had a booming population of people, Africans became the people they predominantly enslaved (Guild). Thus, racial slavery was started. Blacks came to be viewed as lower than human, and this view spread to all the nations which came to have plantations in America. Millions of blacks were imported to plantations for sugar, spices, tobacco, coffee, etc. during the span of the Renaissance (Hornsby). Industrial Revolution Slavery went through many changes during the course of the Industrial Revolution. At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, slavery on plantations that had developed in the Renaissance continued to grow in the Americas. With the success of the plantations in America, what is known as the triangular trade began to form, and this trade majorly affected the world’s economies and prosperity. This system of trade is known as the triangular trade because the directions of travel for the trade were in the shape of a triangle—from Europe to Africa to the Americas and back to Europe. Items such as weapons, liquor, jewelry, and products made from cotton were taken to Africa from Europe and traded for slaves. These were loaded on ships and taken to the Americas. Conditions in the ships were horrible. Thousands of slaves were chained in very tight spaces in the ships. Disease permeated the hold where slaves were kept. Slaves laid in their own excrement and urine, and were fed barely anything. Many slaves died or committed suicide—an average of 16% of slaves. When the horrible trip was over, the remaining slaves were auctioned and sold in slave markets to plantation owners in the Americas. The products made in the plantations, such as tobacco, coffee, sugar, spices, and molasses which could be made into rum were then shipped to Europe, completing the trade system. The British were the primary traders in this system, but other nations participated (Gascoigne). Slavery greatly affected the Industrial Revolution. It made it possible to create and grow products in a shorter period of time and for less money. All the master had to do was to provide food, which he have very little of, so slaves provided very cheap labor. In the case of America, slaves operated the new inventions such as the cotton gin to make cotton products easier. This greatly affected the economy of America. The prosperity in the South boomed as agriculture continued to see success. This cotton industry and therefore the textile industrial majorly drove the Industrial Revolution in America. It became the primary export and cash crop. Hundreds of thousands of slaves were imported until 1808, when the American slave trade was banned. Still, hundreds of thousands of slaves were moved across America to the South and West to work on cotton plantations. These plantations and slavery in general brought in a huge profit for the American people. A similarity between slavery in the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution can be seen here—both used slavery as a catalyst for economies (â€Å"Africans.. †). But a difference is that most slaves in the Renaissance were domestic slaves in homes and were considered part of the family (Hooker). However, most slaves in the Industrial Revolution were plantation slaves and were considered less than human and were subjected to incredibly harsh treatment by their masters. However, near the Industrial Revolution, there was more of an awareness of the brutalities of slavery and more of a movement to stop it than the Renaissance. The final time period that will be discussed in this essay is the World Wars from 1914 to 1945. World Wars Forms of slavery used during World Wars I and II from 1914 to 1945 were very different from slavery before it and slavery after it. The wars during this period of history had a huge impact on all aspects of society, and so the status of slavery and the motivation for slavery was largely based on the huge wars taking place. During World War I and the time after it before World War II, outright slave traffic continued to be curbed in the areas of the world still practicing slavery. The slave trade still continued underground between countries in eastern Africa, especially Ethiopia, and the Middle East, especially Arabia. Throughout this period before World War II, there were outrages about revealed underground slave trades with enslaved Africans in Liberia and the Congo, and enslaved Native Americans in northern Peru (â€Å"Slavery†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). Joseph Stalin was the dictator of the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953. During his regime, millions of people were forced to work in labor camps. This was in accordance with the USSR’s Labor Code, which stated that all citizens must labor for the government. Prisoners, enemies of the state, and other convicts were sent to do hard manual labor in Siberia during this time. Citizens were accused of being enemies of the government and sent to work without a trial and without much grounds at all. Like in the Renaissance and Industrial Revolution, Stalin used his massive free labor force to build up the Soviet Union’s economy and to industrialize the nation. Labor projects included building roads and railroads, building houses and power plants, mining, cutting trees, working in fields, etc. The workers were given nothing but food. One third of all the workers died from the poor environment in which they worked and from starvation and the cold. They were brutally treated on unjust bases. Therefore, this â€Å"corrective labor,† as it was called, is really slavery at its core. World War II was the instigation of several other types of slavery, also, such as POW slavery, Holocaust slavery, and sexual slavery. Nazi Germany captured enemy civilians and soldiers and brutally enslaved them to fill the gaps in the workforce. Much of the weaponry made by the Germans during World War II was made by slaves. One manufacturing company alone – Krupp—held 100,000 slaves by the end of the war. Many of these slaves died from exhaustion, starvation, and lack of basic necessities. They were kept in stables like livestock. Those that didn’t die were forced to work in German factories and farms. In 1944, Germany held 9. 5 million slaves—7 million civilians and 2. 5 million captured soldiers. Russian women that the Germans captured were held as domestic slaves, and Russian adolescents that the Germans captured were apprenticed to German businessmen. Not only were the Germans notorious for their brutal system of slavery for prisoners of war, but even worse, they enslaved innocent Jews and other â€Å"undesirable† people during the Holocaust. As a method of exterminating them, these people were sent to labor camps where they were treated even worse than the prisoners of war. Children from 6-years-old up were forced to work in these camps. Slaves mined, built weapons, sewed, etc. Slaves there were driven to work too hard in tight spaces with the poorest of living conditions. They had poor and meager food rations and a shortage of shelter and clothing. Loads of people died from diseases such as tuberculosis, from being overworked, from the cold, and from starvation. Their corpses were systematically burned in huge crematoriums (Sylvester – everything above). The fact that there were scandals about slavery and labor camps during the time period of the World Wars indicates a similarity and difference between this time period and the Renaissance/ Industrial Revolution. A similarity is that all three time periods had some forms of slavery to enhance nations’ economies and extract resources. But a difference is that slavery in the World Wars was looked down upon and was underground, whereas it was not in the Renaissance. But there lies a similarity between the World Wars and the Industrial Revolution, in that in both, measures were enacted to end slavery and the slave trade. However, World War II had labor camps for prisoners of war and specific races, which had never been done before. It also had sexual slavery, which though it had been practiced before, never to the extent it was carried out in World War II. Some captured slaves in the World Wars were used as domestic slaves, as they were in the Renaissance. But in the World Wars, there was not the worldwide slave trade there was in the Renaissance and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Part 222 Introduction The 18th century English poet William Cowper’s poem, â€Å"Pity for Poor Africans,† accurately portrays the world’s mindset throughout history about slavery. A line from that poem reads, â€Å"I pity them [slaves] greatly, but I must be mum, for how could we do without sugar and rum? † This sums up much of the world’s motivation for millennia for slavery. Throughout history, slavery has been a way to easily derive resources and produce goods. It has played a very prominent role in shaping the worlds societies and economies. Though it may have struck a chord with peoples’ consciences, the world did not know how else to get luxuries and how to live without them, and so the world allowed this horrific practice to go on. This essay details more of how slavery was used as an economic stimulus, how the world finally took action against it, and what forms of it still were used after this action took place. Across three time periods in particular, slavery throughout the world has notable similarities and differences in areas such as the status of slavery, the way slavery influenced society, and the motivation for a civilization to practice slavery. These time periods are the Renaissance (1300-1650), the Industrial Revolution (1700-1900), and World Wars I and II (1914-1945). Conclusion As one can clearly see, slavery has been a major factor in affecting and molding the world’s economies and societies throughout all of history. It has gone through major changes, affecting the world as a whole, especially in three time periods, namely, the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, and World Wars I and II. Throughout all three and under many names, it was used as cheap labor to easily produce goods and advance civilizations’ economies. This slavery did, and it played a massive role in getting the world to where it is today. Without slavery, America might not have been industrialized or industrialized as quickly. Without slavery, we would not have the manufactured goods we have today. However, I am by no means condoning slavery; if slavery had not been practiced, millions of innocent, beautiful people would have lived their lives in freedom and would not have been torn away from their homeland, families, and livelihood to go labor without profit for people who abused and beat them. The Civil War would have been largely prevented if it weren’t for slavery. Though slavery was mostly domestic in the Renaissance, this does not make it any better. Also, the plantation slave emerged in that time period, and the triangular trade between Europe, Africa, and the Americas continued well into the Industrial Revolution. Men achieved luxury through the pain and misery of others. Thankfully, mankind realized, though later than it should have been, how deplorable this system was. Finally, they put an end to it through abolitionist movements that spread throughout the world at the end of the Industrial Revolution. Yet, slavery continued in several other forms into the 20th century. Throughout the time period of the World Wars, labor camps emerged. Though these were seen as punishment for criminals and war prisoners, they were slavery at root, used to industrialize and make transportation routes, weaponry, etc. These labor camps were even used against innocent Jews and other â€Å"undesirables† during the Holocaust. Unbeknownst to the world for a time, even outright and brutal slavery was still used as exemplified by King Leopold of Belgium. Sexual slavery is another often overlooked form of slavery that had been carried out through past time periods like the Renaissance and Industrial Revolution but that was executed en masse by the Japanese during World War II. Still today, the pernicious act of slavery continues to be practiced, though concealed to the world, in underdeveloped countries of the world. Let us hope that mankind’s conscience continues to overshadow its greed and that slavery continues to be fought until it is completely wiped out the whole world over.

Attitudes to Risk and Entrepreneurship

Attitudes to Risk and Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship, as defined by Stevenson (1983) â€Å"†¦ is the pursuit of opportunity beyond the resources you currently control†. Stevenson and Gumpert (1985, pp. 85-94) advise that the preceding definition represents both the individual as well as the society that he or she is embedded in as he or she identifies an opportunity they desire to pursue, and as an entrepreneur they thus must seek the resources from the broader society. The approach to entrepreneurship as voiced by Stevenson and Gumpert (1985, pp. 85-94) builds upon earlier scholars such as Schumpeter (1934) who identified the context of the interaction of the individual and wider society. The title of Schumpeter’s (1934) work â€Å"The Theory of Economic Development† could almost be suited to a title for entrepreneurship, as Harper (2003, p. 1) advises that one of the prominent features â€Å"†¦ of a competitive enterprise economy is the ability of people continually to seek out and seize opportunities for profitable new activities in local and world markets†. That statement mirrors the definition of entrepreneurship as put forth by Stevenson and Gumpert (1985, pp. 85-94). French economist Say, around 1800 stated that the entrepreneur â€Å"†¦shifts economic resources out of an area of lower and into an area of higher productivity and greater yield† (Dracker, 1985, p. 21). However, starting a new venture does not necessarily constitute entrepreneurship, and is not limited to new and or small businesses. Dracker (1985, p. 22) advises that entrepreneurship is indeed being practiced by all sizes of companies and corporations, and said activity represents the creation of something new, or different, and or the change / transmutation of value. As such, Dracker (1985, pp. 21) cites McDonald’s, which is an example of entrepreneurship. And while its product did not represent anything new, the management concepts, techniques, standardization of the product, the process of designing systems and tools, the understanding of the work that needed to be done, and devising working and training techniques to transmit this to others is what defines it as being entrepreneurial (Dracker, 1985, p.21). He also uses General Electric as an example in that the company’sâ€Å"†¦ long history of starting new entrepreneurial businesses from scratch, and raising them into sizable industries† is another example of this process (Dracker, 1985, p. 23), as well as Marks and Spencer of the United Kingdom. Sheller (2006) advises that â€Å"Entrepreneurship is a delicate organism†, continuing that â€Å"It needs the right environment to flourish†. Welsh (2003, p. 4) elaborates on Sheller’s (2006) view by stating: 1. Entrepreneurship flourishes in communities where resources are mobile, 2. Entrepreneurship is greater when successful members of a community reinvest excess capital in the projects of other community members, 3. Entrepreneurship flourishes in communities in which the success of other community members is celebrated rather than derided, and 4. Entrepreneurship is greater in communities that see change as positive rather than negative.† Given the risk taking nature of entrepreneurs, an examination of the context of this word is deemed as an important consideration before delving into the examination of the attitudes to risk and entrepreneurship. Inherent in the analysis of an entrepreneurial environment is risk, but, as stated by Culp (2001. 3) â€Å"Risk is everywhere†. Burt (2001) advises that â€Å"risk is the probability that an event will occur† and is â€Å"†¦ often used to express the probability that particular outcome will happen following a particular exposure† and also denotes the probability, or possibility of a loss. However, there are differing views and attitudes regarding risk, just as there are regarding entrepreneurship. These facets shall be examined herein, equating the various attitudes and approaches to these two areas. Chapter 1 – Introduction Implicit in understanding the context of attitudes to risk and entrepreneurship, are the words that constitute this examination. The simplistic nature of the statement belies the striations inherent in the different contexts. Follendore (2002) in commenting on that fact that words carry meaning, also states that words also can limit potential meanings. As shown by the preceding brief exploration of entrepreneurship and risk, these words have a broader dimension that one usually associates with them in general conversation, and or use. Termed linguistics, the meaning of words represents the context in which they are used in combination with other words and permits us to communicate with one another (Hill, 1969, p. 3). The character of the word stock of English has its roots in the Germanic tribes of the preromantic era and consists of French, Italian and other languages that have been incorporated into the body of words utilized by English speakers (Leith, 1997, p. 62). The foregoing is important in understanding that the word dictionary is 1. â€Å"A reference book containing an alphabetical list of words, with information given for each word †¦Ã¢â‚¬  that 3. Lists â€Å"†¦words or other linguistics items in a particular category †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Houghton Mifflin, 2007). Its etymology stems from Medieval Latin dictinrium, and from Latin diction, which is a derivative of diction (Houghton Mifflin, 2007). The weakness of the English language lies in its lexical ambiguity. Lin and Ahrens (2001) provide a further understanding of the importance of words that in most instances have multiple meanings, thus the phrase lexical ambiguity. They go on to add that â€Å"†¦ multiple meanings associated with †¦ (words) †¦ can be etymologically associated†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The words utilized in the title of this examination fall into the category of words that have â€Å"†¦ greater number of meanings †¦Ã¢â‚¬  thus they are â€Å"†¦ recognized faster than words with few meanings† (Lin and Ahrens, 2001). Dictionary meanings, as stated by Lin and Ahrens (2001) are the form that is usually preferred by researchers as a result of their having standardized meanings â€Å"†¦ comprehensive, and easy to obtain†. However, semantically speaking, the meaning of the words attitudes, risk and entrepreneurship change depending upon the context, thus variables are added as a result of using these words in combination, further compounding the equation. As borne out by the limited exploration of meanings for entrepreurship and risk. Thus in exploring the attitudes to the preceding, this examination shall explore these combinations and seek to find common linkages to result in an understanding of the foregoing. Chapter 2 – Attitude The context of this examination, which represents an exploration into the ‘Attitudes to risk and entrepreneurship’, embodies looking at the relationships of these words to define the phrase and bring out its meanings. It is the context in which these words reside, as well as the implications thus resulting, represent the underlying precepts that provide for a broad field of interpretations and thus variants. In beginning with the word ‘attitudes’, Houghton Mifflin (2007) defines its â€Å"1. A position of the body or manner of carrying oneself, 2. a. Astute of mind or a feeling; disposition, 2. b. An arrogant or hostile state of mind or disposition, 3. The orientation of an air or spacecraft relative to a reference †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Its etymology is French, from the Italian word ‘attitudinal, which was adopted from late Latin‘aptitd’ (Houghton Mifflin, 2007). Schneider (2006) advises that the word ‘attitudes’ consists of two components. One represents belief, and the other represents feeling (Schneider, 2006). Beliefs are a mental concept association that are usually â€Å"†¦ associated with an identity †¦ and as Dr. Schneider (2006) states, â€Å"†¦ are often stereotypical†. He continues that these stereotypical beliefs are usually stemmed in the â€Å"†¦ socio demographic differences of a person †¦ (as well as their) †¦ personal experience†. Thus, based upon the context as well as usage, ‘attitudes’ brings with it the usage context as formulated within an individual’s historical framework as well. These historical preconceptions, however slight, represent influencing factors acting upon the individual as they mentally traverse through their personal feelings, and beliefs regarding the word sets that follow, thus triggering other memory concepts, feelings and beliefs. Schneider (2006), refers to Sheriff in discussing ‘norm formation which represents the prevailing understanding(s) associated with a particular word in contemporary common usage. We as individuals have grown through experiences, associations, and circumstances in our environments as impacted upon by family, friends, acquaintances, and our abilities to cope, to develop personalities as well as thinking patterns that are the outgrowth of these variables. We see the environment, filter out what isn’t relevant, evaluate what remains, then process this information through our individual self-images â€Å"†¦ and / or sets of expectations, and /or personal characteristics, motivational factors and life experiences †¦and then we respond with either â€Å"†¦ reflective or spontaneous behaviour†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Rice University, 2003). The preceding would appear in a diagram as follows: Figure 1 – Individual Environmental Perceptions (Rice University, 2003) The next step in the process is the examination of individualbehavior in the context of two individuals as an interaction. Such can consist of one of three types of interactions, as represented by superior to subordinate, leader to peers, and leader to boss (Rice University, 2003). The importance of these distinctions is that such interactions often tend to influence, impact, change, and or colour person’s perceptions, and or processing thus causing them to arrive at differing conceptualizations. Figure 2 – Individual Environmental Perceptions in a Two Party Relationship (Rice University, 2003) Under Figure 2, it illustrates the interactive effects of environmental perceptions in a two-party relationship, and how the images of Individual A can impact upon the perceptions of Individual B. Another facet of how external influences can impact upon an individual’s thinking has been put forward by Janis (1972, pp. 15-30) who states that groupthink is the psychological drive for consensus at any costs which suppresses disagreement, and thus prevents the appraisal of potential alternatives in decision making groups. Thus, an individual in a bank will have a completely different set of mental references that will occur when he or she hears the word risk, than will an entrepreneur. In a limited and distant way, the preceding represents a variant of groupthink, or the thinking adopted by an individual as represented by being part of a group or enterprise. The symptoms can be mild to strong based upon the degree of adaptation, position and or other factors, and can fall into any of the following categorizations (Janis, 1972, pp. 174-195, 242-258): 1. Negative Outcomes The examination of only a few alternatives, Not being critical of the ideas of others, Failure to examine alternatives early, Failure to seek expert opinion, Being very selective in terms of gathering information, Failure to have contingency plans, 2. Symptoms An illusion of invulnerability, The rationalization of poor decisions, A belief in the morality of the group, The sharing of stereotypes that guide the decision process, The exercising of direct pressure on others, Failure to express true feelings, The maintenance of the illusion of unanimity, The use of what are termed mind guards to protect others in the group from receiving or evaluating negative information 3. Solutions The utilization of a policy forming group that thus reports to a larger group, thus forcing or bringing wider thinking latitudes into the equation, Having the leaders remain impartial, The utilization of differing policy groups to accomplish different tasks, The division of individuals into groups and then a discussion on differences to open up potential alternatives and additional thinking, Having discussions in sub groups that report back, The utilization of a Devil’s advocate to call into question all of the ideas raised by the group, Holding second meetings to provide another opportunity for other courses of action The idea of the preceding is to help minimize preconceived notions, ideas, and approaches to open them up to a broader field of discussion, ideas, alternatives, and possibilities. The foregoing is applied in individual situations by the individual taking the time for reflective thinking away for the instant pressures of now or of another’s influence. Chapter 3 Risk The Houghton Mifflin (2007) dictionary defines risk as â€Å" 1. The possibility of suffering harm or loss; danger, 2. A factor, thing, element, or course involving uncertain danger; a hazard †¦Ã¢â‚¬ . It, risk, represents a concept that carries with it the potential for a negative outcome or less that desired outcome that can potentially arise from a specific, desired or combination of actions in the present or sometime in the future (Douglas, 1992, pp. 102-105). Viscose (1998, p. 5)advises that â€Å"Individual risk perceptions are often in error †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ,explaining that â€Å"†¦ people make mistakes with respect to how they perceive risk and behave in the presence of uncertainty†. Douglas(1992, p. 102) states that it has been a long held belief that individuals are risk averse, which is based upon â€Å"†¦ the theory of rationale choice †¦ (that) †¦ assumes that the individual will always choose according to his own self-interest †¦Ã¢ €  which are choices, thus a factor of rational behaviour. Adams (1995, p. 1) simplifies the understanding of risk by personalizing it in order for us to gain aclearer perspective. He states that each and every one of us is â€Å"†¦ a true risk expert †¦Ã¢â‚¬  in that â€Å"†¦ we have been trained by practice and experience in the management of risk† (Adams, 1995, p. 1). Risk represents something that we as human being learn in infancy, starting with our trial and error processes representing learning how to crawl, walk, and then talk (Adams, 1995, p. 1). He adds to Douglas’ (1992, p.102) statement that individuals are risk averse as he points out the example of that although we as child tend to act out of â€Å"†¦ curiosity and a need for excitement †¦ (we are ) †¦ curbed by †¦ â€Å" our sense of danger (Adams, 1995, p. 1). The importance of investigating the components and foundations of risk as a part of the equation of this examination is crucial to the examination of attitudes, risk and entrepreneurship in that one needs the foundation of the theories, and usages attributed to these words and concepts. Risk, as a function of perceived uncertainty and dangerous also subject to prevailing public views, experience factors and acceptance. By any account, taking a flight in a piece of metal whose outer skin is thin, with the entire container flexing while one travels at speeds in excess of 400 km would not only sound risky to those born in ancient Rome, it would be viewed as insane. Thus risk is a changing variable based upon our degrees of exposure, the exposure of others, and its place in what we subscribe to as normal routines. Risk taking for one used to making investments, such as a financier, stock trader or venture capitalist, whose circle of acquaintances, friends, upbringing, and experiences is less than it is for a doctor, lawyer, cab driver or railroad engineer, as they lack the exposure, and mental familiarity that underpins uncertainty, and how to deal with it. The foregoing represents the third of Starr’s (1969, pp. 1234) three laws describing behavioural phenomena â€Å"†¦ 3. The acceptable level of risk is inversely related to the number of persons exposed to that risk†. The other two segments of this law are (1969, p. 1238): â€Å"1. The public is willing to accept voluntary risks about 1,000 times greater than involuntary risks. 2. The acceptability of risks appears to be roughly proportional to the third power of the benefits† Starr’s (1969, p. 1238) three putative laws however have not gained wide spread acceptance with risk specialists on all grounds, however there are those who agree with his assertion that there is a relationship between risk acceptability ad benefits. Otway and Chen(1975, pp. 76-80) however found that through a replication of the analysis that the resulting data did not support Starr’s (1969, p.1238) assertion in qualitative formulations, and instead found that individuals were indeed willing to accept high involuntary risks with large benefits. Despite the findings of Otway and Chen (1975, pp.76-80) the jury is still out regarding Starr’s (1969, p. 1238) three putative laws. And while we have been discussing risk as on an individual basis, risk exists in all forms, thus the exploration of it in institutions also has relevance as it is still a human facet. Culp (2001, p. 15) advises that we find it â€Å"†¦ tempting to associate definition of risk with measures of risk, such as the variance of returns on some asset† or in order mathematical means. Culp (2001, p.15) asserts that risk can be shown through mathematical formulas to that†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ make sense in illustrative purposes†, adding that â€Å"Risk is concept, not a particular statistical construct†. In further exploring risk, Culp (2001, p. 15) adds that attempting to glean an understanding of risk â€Å"†¦ at the conceptual level †¦Ã¢â‚¬  is a daunting task. He states that there is a tendency to use terms such as interest rate risk, maturity, accident, credit and so forth, which have their applications, and adds that the conceptualization of the â€Å"†¦ definition of risk varies with the perspective† (Culp, 2001, p. 15). Thus, he offers perspectives on how risk can be defined, and the relationships between them. Firstly, Culp (2001, p. 15) offers what he terms the â€Å"event-driven definition of risk† which works on the principle of â€Å"†¦ the type of event that can result in a loss†, such as a flood or earthquake. The second type of risk Culp (2001, p. 16) defines is ‘market risk’ thatâ€Å"†¦ arises from the event of a change in some market determined asset price, reference rate or index†. He explains that ‘delta represents the value that is the â€Å"exposure that deteriorates as a result of the price, or value of some risk factor changes†, with â€Å"‘gamma’ as the risk that delta will change when the value of an underlying risk factor changes â€Å"and ‘rho as the â€Å"risk that the interest rates used to discount future cash flows in present value calculations will change and impose unexpected losses on the firm (Culp, 2001, p. 17). Culp (2001, p. 18)defines ‘liquid risk’ as that which †Å"occurs in the event that cash flows, and current balances are insufficient to cover cash outflow requirements†, and ‘credit risk’. The other types of risk Culp (2001,pp. 18-22) defines are ‘operational risk’, and ‘legal risk’, with other risks representing a broad array of items such as intellectual risk, customer loss risk, and supply chain risks as a few examples. In equating risk with the subject of this examination, risk aversion represents the division of risk that is associated with individuals. Culp (2001, p. 34) refers to this as â€Å"†¦. the shape of a utility function dictating the degree to which an individual is risk-averse, risk-neutral, or risk-loving†. Barrett (1993, p. 2) states that inside of these risk categories is what he terms the ‘disaster threshold ‘whereby one engages in behaviour that includes risk only when it does not touch their threshold of misfortune beyond which they will not goes such would †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ be experienced as a disaster†. He adds that when individuals have a preference for â€Å"†¦ risk-aversion †¦ (it) †¦ displaces the preference for rational decision making† (Barrett, 1993, p. 79).Under this type of thinking the rule is â€Å"†¦ to take as few risks as incompatible with the perception of opportunities, and to expect corresponding attitude i n others† (Barrett, 1993, p. 79). Lane and Cheek (2000) conducted a study on risk-aversion examining theâ€Å"†¦ role of contingencies and experimental context in human decision-making†. They subjected twelve individuals to â€Å"†¦ a series of conditions that provided response alternatives of a small, high-probability reinforce (non-risky alternative), or a larger, low probability reinforce (risky alternative)†. The range of therein forcer probabilities and amounts were utilized via a discrete trial design that had repeated trials conducted in multiple sessions. In comparing the results with prior data it was found that the subjects in the study â€Å"†¦ displayed a strong preference for the non-risky response alternative, even when doing so resulted in lost earnings† (Lane and Cheek, 2000). These results support decision, and risk models that emphasize the subjective as opposed to mathematically expected value of reinforces, and â€Å"†¦ the data highlight the important role of reinforcement contingencies, and context in risk-taking behaviour† (Lane and Cheek, 2000). Risk, as explained by Adams (1995), Viscose (1998),Douglas (1992), Starr (1969), and others is inherent in any choice that involves probabilistic outcomes. Lane and Cheek (2000) found that inâ€Å"†¦ contexts with two or more response alternatives, both the probability, and size of each alternative presumably influence decisions†. Lawrence (1992) concurs with Lane and Cheek (2000) in that the choice of decision making that occurs under uncertainty usually includes options of selecting, and or choosing to use an informational system, and a set of probable messages that take in current decisions. Under this type of thinking the rule is â€Å"†¦ to take as few risks as incompatible with the perception of opportunities, and to expect corresponding attitude in others† Barrett (1993, p. 79) whereby the taking of as few risks as possible is the preference in compatibility with opportunity perception, and the corresponding attitude of others. Hahnemann and Tversky (1979, pp. 341-350), Silberberg et al (1988, pp.187-195), and Slavic and Lichtenstein (1968, pp. 1-17) all conducted studies in risk aversion, and noted the tendency toward a mild approaching conditions as represented by gain versus no-gain. Hahnemann andTversky (1979, pp. 341-350) found that under some conditionsâ€Å"†¦equivalent outcomes with real, and hypothetical outcomes, but results from other studies are not so straightforward, and suggest that there may be differences in subjects’ decision making when real payoff contingencies are implemented†. Slavic (1969) found â€Å"†¦ when choices were hypothetical, subjects maximized gains and discounted the probability of loss, but were more risk averse under conditions in which they actually played out their choices†. In equating risk as a variable of simply participating as opposed to gain and or loss Reuchlin and Frankel (1969, pp. 444-449) found that in the utilization of gambling situations that contained no payoffs, the individuals involved in the study were indifferent to the response they selected, but when the probabilities of winning, and losing were introduced whereby monetary gains, and or losses were involved, they were real sensitive to the choices made. The understanding of why people make decisions in situations whereby an alternative is the better choice based upon some attributes of values and in others the alternative is better based upon some other attribute represents a problem of preferential choice, and judgment in psychology. Castellan (1993, p. 20) advises that in general, when people are â€Å"†¦faced with more complex decision problems involving many alternatives, people often adopt simplifying strategies that are much more selective in the use of information†. He continues thatâ€Å"†¦strategies adopted tend to be non-compensatory, in that excellent values on some attributes cannot compensate for poor values on other attributes† (Castellan, 1993, p. 20). He elaborates on the foregoing by making reference to a number of job applicants with basically the same qualifications, however, the interviewer might decide that a published article background is a determining factor which he utilizes to aid in the decision process. The preceding represents a simplification strategy for getting through, and or making a decision, which is termed heuristics for choice, which can change based upon the conditions. Tversky ( 1972, pp. 281-299) referred to such a strategy as an elimination-by-aspects process. Heuristics such as the equal weighting rule, majority of confirming dimensions, and lexicographic represent differing methods for simplifying processing in the making of choices(Castellan, 1993, p. 20). The preceding represents a factor of risk as individuals work through their own history and experience base as well as any applicable organizational or society rules in reaching a risk based decision. The equal weighting strategy simplifies the decision making process by virtue of ignoring information concerning the relative importance of each attribute (Castellan, 1993, p. 21). In the confirming decisions heuristic, the general process entails the processing of pairs of alternatives whereby â€Å"†¦values for each of the two alternatives are compared on each attribute, and the alternative with a majority of winning (better) attribute values is retained †¦.† (Castellan, 1993, p.21). In this manner â€Å"†¦processing is simplified by requiring only ordinal judgments of which alternative is better on an attribute, rather than assessments of the degree to which one alternative is better than the other †¦ (thereby the) †¦ process of pairwise comparison is repeated until all alternatives have been evaluated, and the final winning alternative identified† (Castellan, 1993, p. 21). In the final heuristic, lexicographic choice works by â€Å"†¦first determining the most important attribute, and then examining the values of all alternatives on that attribute. The alternative with the best value on the most important attribute is selected† (Castellan, 1993, p. 21). In cases of ties, the second most important attribute is considered and the process repeated until the decision making tie is eliminated. The foregoing are aspects in risk decision making that some individuals use in arriving at their choices, and are usually reserved for more long term risk analysis decision making such as investment, business decisions, long term purchases of higher monetary value and so forth. These types of risk taking processes are also associated with entrepreneurs. Chapter 4 – Entrepreneurship The Houghton Mifflin dictionary (2007) defines entrepreneur as â€Å"Adperson who organizes, operates and assumes the risk for a business venture†. An entrepreneur represents an individual who is usually of high aptitude, who possesses certain characteristics that are found in only a small portion of people in general, who pioneers change(Quick MBA, 2007). The more popular definition that is thought of by society when this word is mentioned, is of a person who wants to work for themselves. The origin of entrepreneur is French, based on the word ‘entreprendre, which means ‘to undertake’. Entrepreneurship represents the practice of beginning new companies, and or organizations as usually represented by a new business as a result of new opportunities that have, or are presenting themselves. Such naturally entails elements of risk. The equation of risk in entrepreneurship is represented by the spectre of failure, which can beat result of a multitude of business, supply, sales, market condition, financing, timing, competitive, new innovations, cost, locale, another problems that are all interweaved to result in a complex series of risks that must be examined, explored, decided upon, and dealt with correctly to minimize failure, which does not necessarily translate into success. Stevenson (1983), as previously referred to, describes entrepreneurship represents â€Å"†¦ the pursuit of opportunity beyond the resources you currently control†, which he further amplifies with Gumpert (Stevenson and Gumpert, 1985, pp. 85-94) that entrepreneurship represents both the individual as well as the society that he or she is embedded in as he or she identifies an opportunity they desire to pursue and as an entrepreneur they thus must seek the resources from the broader society. Given all of the research, and studies devoted to entrepreneurship no universal theory has been generated, as various disciplines have their â€Å"†¦own unique way of viewing entrepreneurship which remains relatively unaffected by the perspectives of other disciplines †¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Gartner, 2001). All of the foregoing have been engaged in as a part of the purpose of this study, which is to equate attitudes toward risk and entrepreneurship. The three critical words that comprise this examination have extremely broad interpretations as well as context that are dependent upon when, and how they are used. For Dracker (1985,p. 28) entrepreneurship is about risk. But his view does not take the skew of said risk being negative or positive, but rather that risk is inherent with the concept as it, risk, is inherent with business in general, simply that entrepreneurial risk is a different form. Thus, the attitudes concerning risk and entrepreneurship are individual and dependent upon the prevailing social circle, or societal views that can take on any the differing contextual concepts of any of the words in arriving at a mental conceptualization of what these words mean in combination. He describes entrepreneurship as â€Å"†¦ ‘risky’ mainly because so few of the so-called entrepreneurs know what they are doing(Dracker, 1985, p. 29). And continues that they â€Å"†¦ lack the methodology†¦ (and) †¦violate elementary and well known rules (Dracker, 1985, p.29). Thus Dracker (1985) is seemingly saying that the high degree of complexity inherent in entrepreneurship, as either demands or requires an individual who is usually of high aptitude, who possess certain characteristics that are found in only a small portion of people in general, who pioneers change (, 2007). The attention being devoted to an examination of entrepreurship is deemed as an important part of the risk attitude equation in that like risk, and attitude, it, entrepreurship, entails a large number of variants in how they are viewed contextually. Dracker (1985, p. 30) aids in providing clarity by advising that entrepreneurship requires innovation, as it â€Å"†¦ is the specific instrument †¦Ã¢â‚¬  of the process. It represents the factor â€Å"†¦that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Dracker, 1985, p. 30). He explains that innovationâ€Å"†¦ creates a resource †¦Ã¢â‚¬  and that a resource represents something that has no value until a need, and use is found for it, and thus endows it with an economic value (Dracker, 1985, p. 30). To illustrate, he points to various plants, rock, and minerals that went unused for centuries until a use were found for them. Owing to this view, Dracker (1985, p.33) advises that innovation represents an economic term, in this context, as opposed to a social or technical one. He adds that it, innovation, â€Å"†¦can be defined the way J. B. Say defined entrepreneurship, as changing the yield of resources † as well as being â€Å"†¦ defined in demand terms rather than in supply terms, that is, as changing the value and satisfaction obtained from resources by the consumer †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Dracker, 1985, p. 33). Francis and Demirep (2006) address the issue of entrepreneurship in the context of â€Å"Wealth, Entrepreneurship and Occupational Experience â€Å"citing that as a factor of the probability of becoming an entrepreneur, one is likely to be male, a member of the Caucasian race, in the upper middle age bracket, and married. They cite that the theoretical aspects of the preceding profile represent facets such as risk aversion, along with entrepreneurial ability, as mentioned by Dracker (1985, p. 30) â€Å"†¦and the desire to be one’s own boss† (

Free Essays on Homers Odyssey: Odysseus as a Lonely Traveler :: Homer Odyssey Essays

Odysseus as a Lonely Traveler in Odyssey In Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus represents a traveler in life who is destined to make this journey alone, despite those who aid him, oppose him, or in some way interfered with his destiny. Gods and immortals alike aid him when it suits them, or fromsome feeling they have for him. Some gods and immortals also made Odysseuis's journey as difficult as possible. Some also switched loyalties and arn't very reliable. The Odyssey shows that even though some believe people can make it through life "goin at it alone," eventually people need the help of others. People need to help each other through life, for no one can ahieve anything alone. Athena helps Odysseuis because she chose him as a favorite, and as her champion. She is determined that her "hero" goes home in victory. Despite Zeus' warning, Athena defies her father and gives subtle helps to Odyssuis when he needs it. "This is the work of the Plunderer, Athene, who makes me what she will, for she has power, now like a begger, now again a youth in fair attire (157)." Here Odysseus refers to how Athene made him look like a begger in order to protect his identity, for she wanted him to succeed. Athene's fellow god Hermes helped Odysseus to defeat Circes. Hermes told Odysseuis about the plant that would prevent him from being spelled into submission. "Where are you going, hapless man, along the hills alone, ignorant of the land?" (96). At the request of the other gods, Hermes gives Odysseus the help he needs. Ordinaraly, Hermes would do no such thing, but because more powerful gods had told him to do so, he had to. Another that helped Odysseus greatly was Alcinous. He kindly took care of Odysseus even though he had no idea who it was. He even held a festival for Odysseus. Then after hearing Odysseus' tale, Alcinous offered a ship to take him home. Unlike the gods, Alcinous did not do it for his own sake, but because he felt compassion towards Odysseuis. Alcinous represents the kind stranger that sees a man's need and knowing that he can provide the need, does so gladly. There must be a balance of forces that affect Odyssus. Just as there are some that help him, there are those who oppose him, chief among them being Posidon.

Different Types of Soils in India Essay

1. Black soils The principal region of black soils is the Deccan plateau and its periphery extending from 8 °45’to 26o north latitude and 68o to 83o45†² east longitude. They are formed from Deccan basalt trap rocks and occur in areas under the monsoon climate, mostly of semi-arid and sub-humid types. The overall climate of black soil region may be described as hot and dry summer, 40-100 cm rainfall per annum, mild to moderate winters and annual temperature ranges from 24-30o centigrade, mean maximum temperature during April-May ranges from 36~42 °C arid mean minimum temperature during winter ranges from 15-24 ° centigrade. Semi-arid to sub-humid, tropical to sub-tropical monsoon type climate with alternate dry and wet periods and calcification (formation of calcium carbonate) are favourable to the formation of black soils. The soils are characterised by dark grey to black colour with 35-60% clay, neutral to slightly alkaline reaction, high swelling and shrinkage, plasticity, deep cracks during summer and poor status of organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus. Impeded drainage and low permeability are the major problems. Black soils. are divided into shallow black soil of a depth of 30-50 cms, medium black soils of 50-120 cm and deep black soils of more than 120 centimeters. The natural vegetation comprises dry deciduous species, viz palas (Butes frondoss), sisam (Dalbergia sisu), neem (Azadirachta indica) and teak (Tectona grandis). Cotton, sugarcane, groundnut, millets, maize, pulses, safflower are the common crops grown on these soils. Because of their inherent drainage problem, they are prone to salinity and sodicity under irrigated conditions unless proper drainage is ensured. Because of its high water retaining capacity, rainfed crops like minor millets, pulses like horse gram are vegetables of different types and citrus fruits can also be grown. These soils are also known as regurs, nullah regadi (a telugu word meaning black clay) and black cotton soils as cotton was the major crop grown in these soils. 2. Red soils These soils are derived from granite, gneiss and other metamorphic rocks. These soils are formed under well drained condition. The climate is semi-arid tropical with mean annual temperature of 25 °C and mean annual rainfall from 75-100 cm. The soils are higher textured, friable structure and contains low soluble salts. They are slightly acidic to slightly alkaline, well drained with moderate permeability. They are generally poor in nitrogen, phosphorus, lime, humus etc. In this soil, lime concretions and free carbonates are absent. The red colour is due to the higher degree of hydration of the fericoxide in the soils. On uplands, they are gravelly sandy or stony and porous and light coloured on which food crops like bajra can be grown. On the lower plains and valleys, they are dark, coloured fertile loams, irrigated crops like maize, wheat, pulses, potatoes, fruits, millets etc can be grown. These soils have also been found under forest vegetation. Sometimes they found along with black soils (side by side) and also yellow soils (red and yellow soils). Excessive gravelliness, surface crust formation and susceptibility to erosion due to high slopes are some of the problems in these soils which can be overcome by adopting suitable measures. Morphologically the red soils can be divided into red loams which have a cloddy structure and argillaceous soil and red earths with loose friable top soil rich in sesquioxide type of minerals. 3. Laterites and lateritic soils Laterite is a geological term and means literally a rock. The laterites and lateritic soils have been loosely used in the same sense. The lateritic soils are enriched with oxides of iron and aluminium, under the conditions of high rainfall with alternate dry and wet periods. During rainfall silica is leached downwards and iron and aluminium oxides remains in the top layers. Laterites are usually shallow and gravelly at higher lands, but are very deep loam to clay soils in the valleys where good paddy crops are produced. Higher landy soils are poor in nutrient status where as lower level soils are dark and richer in nutrients and organic matter. All lateritic soils are poor in calcium, magnesium, nitrogen, phosphorus and potash. They are generally well drained and porous. The soil reaction is more on the acidic side. On laterites, as already mentioned, rice is grown at lower elevations and at higher elevations, tea, coffee, cinchona, rubber and cashewnut can be grown under good soil management conditions. On the whole, laterites are poor in fertility and readily respond to manuring and good cultivation. Based on the climate lateritic soils are grouped into high rainfall areas with strongly and weakly expressed dry season and humid zones with pronounced dry & wet periods. 4. Alluvial soils Alluvial soils, cover the largest area in India (approximately 7 lakh km2) and these are the most important soils from agricultural point of view. The main features of alluvial soils have been derived as silt deposition laid down by the Indian river systems like the Indus, the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the rivers like Narmada, Tapti: Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery. These rivers carry the products of weathering of rocks constituting the mountains and deposit them along their path as they flow down the plain land towards the sea. Geologically, the alluvium is divided into recent alluvium which is known as Khadar and old alluvium, as bhangar. The newer alluvium is sandy and light coloured whereas older alluvium is more clayey, dark coloured and contains lime concretions. The soils have a wide range in soil characteristics viz. acid to alkaline sandy to clay, normal to saline, sodic and calcareous, shallow to very deep. The climate ranges from arid to humid s ub-tropical. The following groupings of alluvial soils may be recognised: alluvial soils (Khadar, bhangar and highly calcareous), deltaic alluvium, coastal alluvium, coastal sands, calcareous sierocomic and grey-brown soils. a. Alluvial soils The alluvial soils occuring in the Indo-Gangetic plains and the Brahmaputra valley cover a large area. The soils are transported and deposited by the rivers from the parent material. The rivers are the Ganga, Jamuna, Brahmaputra and their tributaries. The soils are deep and hard pans in the subsoil are calcareous (made of calcium carbonate) and acidic. These are deficient in nitrogen, phosphorous and humus, but not in potash and lime. These soils are fertile amongst all the soils of India. They produce a wide variety of crops like rice, wheat, sugarcane, jute and potato. They are distributed mainly in the northern, north-western and north-eastern parts of our country. b. Deltaic alluvial soils They are formed from sediments carried by rivers and deposited in the mouths of rivers joining the sea. The deltas of the Ganga, Brahmaputra, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery are the most important ones. In Gujarat, the deltaic alluvial soils which are sandy loam to clay loam are locally called Goradu soils. The Godavari and Krishna rivers pass through basaltic region having black soils and these soils are dark and fine textured. The Cauvery delta soils are significantly clayey and Ganga delta soils show high accumulation of organic matter, as in the Sunderbans of West Bengal, due to swampy vegetation. These soils are fertile and grow a wide variety of crops suited to climatic conditions. c. Coastal alluvium Soils developed on coastal alluvium are found along, the sea coasts. Soils are dark coloured, coarse textured and poor in fertility. Some soils are saline due to the inundation of sea water. Such soils in the Konkan coast of Maharashtra are called Khar soils. d. Coastal sands Sandy soils occur prominently in the coastal area of Tanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, along the Kerala coast, Bapatla in Guntur distrjct of Andhra Pradesh and Puri district in Orissa. If sandy soils are not saline, plantation crops like coconut, cashew and casuarina can be taken up for cultivation. Other soils under alluvium are calcareous sierozomes and grey brown soils. Calcareous sierozomes can be seen in the desertic region of Haryana and Punjab. The word ‘sierozem† denotes a group of soils having a brownish-grey surface horizon with a sub-layer of carbonates which is developed under mixed shrub vegetation in a-temperate to cool, arid climate. Grey-brown soils as the name itself indicates its nature, can be found in, desert soils of Rajasthan. 5. Desert soils In the north-western part of India, desert soils occur over an area of 0.29 million hecta,res, which includes a major part of Rajasthan, south of Haryana and Punjab and northern part of Gujarat. Rainfall ranges from less than 10 cms to 50 cms, mostly contributed during monsoon season. The region consists of sand dunes and undulating sandy plains. The temperature regime is very high throughout the year and a maximum of 50-60 °C is recorded during summer. Due to high temperature organic-matter built up is very low. The soils in the plains are mostly derived from alluvium and are pale brown to brown to yellow brown and fine sandy to loamy fine sand and are structureless. The clay contents low and presence of alkaline earth carbonates is an important feature. The nitrate nitrogen and phosphorus makes the desert soils fertile and productive under proper moisture supply. By increasing the water holding capacity, the productivity of the soils can be increased which involve s addition of organic matter and clay. 6. Tarai soils The word â€Å"tarai† is a hindi word, which means moist. Thus, i is a wet regime having high water table. Tarai soils are foot hii soils and extend in strips of varying widths at the foot of Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar-Pradesh, Bihar and West-Bengal. Soils under the natural conditions are thickly vegetated and swampy. Several types of grasses and trees from the native vegetation on removal of which the soils become highly productive. The soils are formed from the materials that are washed down by the erosion of mountains. They are alluvial origin. High soil moisture content all through the year results in luxuriant vegetation dominated by tall grasses. They are neutral to slightly alkaline with significant amounts of organic matter. The texture varies from sandy loam to silty loam. Generally, these soils are fertile and by providing proper drainage, the productivity can be increased.

Pronoun Definition and Examples

Pronoun Definition and Examples In English grammar, a pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun, noun phrase, or noun clause. The pronoun is one of the traditional  parts of speech. A pronoun can function as a subject, object, or complement in a sentence. Unlike nouns, pronouns rarely allow modification. Pronouns are a closed word class in English: new members rarely enter the language. To understand how to recognize and correctly use pronouns, it can be helpful to review the types of pronouns that exist in English. Demonstrative Pronouns A  demonstrative  pronoun points to a particular  noun  or to the noun it replaces. These pronouns can indicate items in space or time, and they can be either singular or plural, says  Ginger Software. When used to represent a thing or things, demonstrative pronouns can be either near or far in distance or time, says the online grammar, punctuation, and spelling checker, offering these examples: Near in time or distance:  this, theseFar in time or distance:  that, those There are three basic rules for using demonstrative pronouns: They always identify nouns, such as: I can’t believe this. The writer does not know what this  is, but it exists.They often describe animals, places, or things but  they can also describe people, such as:  This  sounds like Mary singing.They stand alone, distinguishing them from demonstrative adjectives, which qualify (or modify) nouns. Demonstrative pronouns can be used in place of a noun, so long as the noun being replaced can be understood from the pronoun’s context: This  was my mother’s ring.These  are nice shoes, but they look uncomfortable.None  of these answers is correct. Indefinite Pronouns An indefinite pronoun refers to an unspecified or unidentified person or thing. Put another way, an indefinite pronoun doesnt have an  antecedent. Indefinite pronouns include  quantifiers  (some, any, enough, several, many, or much);  universals  (all, both, every, or  each); and  partitives  (any, anyone, anybody, either, neither, no, nobody, some, or  someone). For example: Everyone  did as  he  pleased.Both  of us match the donation.Some coffee  is  left. Many of the indefinite pronouns can function as  determiners. Interrogative Pronouns The term  interrogative pronoun  refers to a  pronoun  that introduces a  question. These words are also called a  pronominal interrogative. Related terms include  interrogative,  wh-word, and  question word, although these terms are usually not defined in precisely the same way.  In English,  who, whom, whose, which,  and  what  commonly function as interrogative pronouns, for example: Even if you do learn to speak correct English,  whom  are you going to speak it to?- Clarence Darrow When immediately followed by a  noun,  whose, which, and  what  function as  determiners  or interrogative adjectives.  When they start a question, interrogative pronouns  have no antecedent, because  what they refer to is precisely what the question is trying to find out. Reflexive Pronouns A  reflexive pronoun  ends  in  -self  or  -selves  and is  used as an  object  to refer to a previously named  noun  or pronoun in a sentence. It can also simply be called a  reflexive. Reflexive pronouns usually follow  verbs  or  prepositions. For example: Good breeding consists of concealing how much we think of  ourselves  and how little we think of the other person.-  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Mark Twain Reflexive pronouns, which have the forms  myself, ourselves, yourself, yourselves, himself, herself, itself, oneself, and  themselves, are essential to the meaning of a sentence. Intensive Pronouns An  intensive pronoun  ends in  -self  or  -selves  and emphasizes its  antecedent. It is also known as an  intensive reflexive pronoun. Intensive pronouns often appear as  appositives  after  nouns  or other pronouns, for example: He wondered, as he had many times wondered before, whether he  himself  was a lunatic.- George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four Intensive pronouns have the same forms as  reflexive pronouns:  myself, ourselves, yourself, yourselves, himself, herself, itself, oneself, and  themselves. Unlike reflexive pronouns, intensive pronouns are not essential to the basic meaning of a sentence. Personal Pronouns A  personal pronoun  refers to a particular person, group, or thing. Like all pronouns, personal pronouns can take the place of  nouns  and  noun phrases. These are the personal pronouns in English: First-person singular:  I  ( subject), me (object)First-person plural:  we  (subject), us (object)Second-person singular and plural:  you  (subject  and  object)Third-person singular:  he, she, it  (subject),  him, her, it  (object)Third-person plural:  they  (subject),  them  (object) Note that personal pronouns  inflect  for  case  to show whether they are serving as  subjects  of clauses or as  objects  of verbs or prepositions. All the personal pronouns except  you  have distinct forms indicating  number, either  singular  or  plural. Only the third-person singular pronouns have distinct forms indicating  gender: masculine (he, him), feminine (she, her), and neuter (it). A personal pronoun (such as  they) that can refer to both masculine and feminine entities is called a  generic pronoun. Possessive Pronouns A possessive pronoun can take the place of a  noun phrase  to show ownership, as in, This phone is  mine. The  weak  possessives (also called  possessive determiners) function as  determiners  in front of  nouns, as in, My  phone is broken. The weak possessives are  my, your, his, her, its, our, and  their. In contrast, the  strong  (or  absolute)  possessive pronouns  stand on their own:  mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours,  and  theirs. The strong possessive is a type of  independent genitive. A possessive pronoun never takes an  apostrophe. Reciprocal Pronouns A reciprocal pronoun expresses a mutual action or relationship. In English, the reciprocal pronouns are  each other  and  one another, as in this example: Leadership and learning are indispensable to  each other.- John F. Kennedy, in a speech prepared for delivery on the day of his  assassination, Nov. 22, 1963 Some  usage  guides insist that  each other  should be used to refer to two people or things, and  one another  to more than two. Relative Pronouns A  relative pronoun  introduces an  adjective clause  (also called a  relative clause), as in: Spaghetti at her table,  which  was offered at least three times a week, was a mysterious red, white, and brown concoction.- Maya Angelou, Mom Me Mom The standard relative pronouns in English are  which, that, who, whom,  and  whose.  Who  and  whom  refer only to people.  Which  refers to things, qualities, and ideas- never to people.  That  and  whose  refer to people, things, qualities, and ideas. Source What is a Demonstrative Pronoun? Ginger Software, 2019.