Haiti Earthquake

Haiti Earthquake is one of the significant events that happened in 2010. The 7. 0 magnitude earthquake strikes Haiti on 13th January 2010, Wednesday. It destroyed Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince and many other residences. This 5th deadliest earthquake in the world killed over 100,000 Haitians and left many homeless or seriously injured. The dead were even buried in mass graves. Humanitarian aid, rescue and medical teams from all over the world gave their utmost help to Haiti immediately. On 22nd January, the search for survivors was then finally called off. Haiti Earthquake is caused mainly by natural causes. Haiti Earthquake occurred along the boundary between the Caribbean and North American plates. Therefore, according to a geophysicist, the two plates moved past each other and generated huge release of energy, causing the Haiti Earthquake. Not only the natural causes, Haiti’s location and environment also contributed to the earthquake. Based on research, 60% of Haiti’s buildings were unsound and Haiti often faced recurrent disasters like cyclone. Haiti also faced political instability as it is one of the poorest country in the western hemisphere and do not have good communication systems, ports and building style for earthquake resistance. Social causes like the schools and hospitals being unresilient to the earthquake and unprepared also caused the serious damage of Haiti. The Haiti Earthquake created a huge impact on Haiti’s economy. Haiti’s government had to spend approximately $7. 2 billion to $13. 2 billion on the rebuild of infrastructure. The earthquake also disrupted Haiti’s trade as the roads and ports were destroyed or strewn with dead bodies. Buildings, including the president's palace and tax headquarters, were reduced to rubbles. Children were seen digging into the sea of corpses to look for their parents and the injured were pleading in vain for medical help. The worst thing was the main prison had collapsed, thus inmates escaped and brought greater danger to all Haitians. Countries from all over the world helped in giving aid to Haiti. For example, The UNISDR cooperated with Bill Clinton to build disaster risk reduction tools for Haiti. This helped to reduce the impact of future disasters that might happen to Haiti. Singapore’s government came up with US$50,000 for the Haitians. However, Singapore did not do much other than giving a mere amount of US$50,000. The government’s initial decision to send rescue teams to Haiti was also cancelled as they felt that it was too late and they could not make useful contributions. This made me felt disappointed s even Indonesia sent aid worth US$22 million and a team of volunteers to help out in Haiti. China was even among the first at the scene with sniffer dogs, medics and monitoring equipment. Not only that, teens from all over the world also helped out. Singapore students from Canberra Secondary School and Dunman High helped to raise funds for Haitians and gave to charity, Mercy Relief and also organized donation drives. City Harvest Church and CityCare organi sation even send two medical teams to Haiti. For every purchase made in shops like Espirit, a donation of US$1 was also given to Haiti. Famous Hollywood stars like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie even went to Haiti personally to care for the Haitians and donated US$1 million to Doctor Without Borders. Judging from above, I personally think that the best solution is the building of disaster-risk tools. This will lessen the impact caused by disasters in the long run. Other solutions are also important but they were only temporary solutions. However, I felt that most importantly was to educate the Haitians on natural disasters as Haiti is very vulnerable to it. By continuously giving help to them, it is not an absolute solution. Perhaps countries who have faced these problems before could teach them the precautions to be taken, ways to calm down and act quickly but steadily when faced with disasters. Based on research, the supposedly more destructive Chilean Earthquake suffered lesser casualties than the Haiti Earthquake as they were well-prepared. The care and concern shown by everyone in the world would make the Haitians feel warm. The medical help provided by the medical and rescue teams were what Haitians needed the most. With the donations of many countries, Haitians definitely regained hope on rebuilding their homeland back. Haiti Earthquake Hope for children of Haiti On January 12 2010 a devastating tragedy occurred in our world. The beautiful country of Haiti was struck by a 7. 0 magnitude earthquake that changed the country and the lives of people living in Haiti. This earthquake stuck Haiti before five pm and was centred about 10 miles south east of port – au – prince which is the capital city of Haiti. This earthquake is known as one of most powerful earthquakes of the century, that it was felt in eastern parts of Cuba. Prior to the earthquake, the people of Haiti are living eighty percent under the poverty line(Curler, 2010). In results of the earthquake in Haiti, Haiti has been left in poorer economic condition than before. Due to this natural disaster many innocent lives were taken away. The number of casualties kept increasing as the bodies of children were being discovered under the destroyed rumble. The death total at greater than 220 000 people after the earthquake(save the children federation, 2010). Prior to the earthquake Haiti already struggled with 15 of its children population already orphaned or abandoned. This earthquake has caused orphanages to overflow with children with lack of supplies and materials to care for them. They need clothing, food shelter and all the basics necessities to care for them. This tragedy was traumatizing to children because they are so innocent and have less understanding of what’s happened. Hundreds of thousands of children have been displaced which is likely to have increased their sense of anxiety and fear, especially as aftershocks continue and buildings, including schools, continue to collapse( save the children federation , 2010). Many lives have been saved, as well as many bodies recovered from the rubble. Although there were various doctors and rescue teams who flew to Port-au-Prince to aid the victims of the tragedy, aid did not reach those who were in dire need of it. The aftermath of the earthquake was not the only problem for the Haitians of Port-au -Prince. Port-au-Prince's main prison was destructed by the earthquake leaving almost 4, 000 inmates, who survived the earthquake, roaming the streets â€Å"Rescue commander for Dominican Republic, Delfin Antonio Rodriguez stated, Our biggest problem is security Yesterday they tried to hijack some of our trucks. Today we were barely able to work in some places because of that. There's looting and people with guns out there, because this country is very poor and people are desperate†(Rayner 2010). Rescuers had even been ordered to stop working when the night fell because of fear of being attacked. Children have been profoundly affected by the events they have witnessed and Seeing and feeling buildings collapse, familiar faces dead and piled up around what used to be a neighbourhood and never seeing loved ones again. Haiti may seem far away for many but they are us, our human race, in need. Please give generously to our cause. Resources Rayner, G (2010). Haiti earthquake, death toll may hit 200,000. Retrieved march 25, 2010, from http://www. telegraph. co. uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/haiti/7003057/Haiti-earthquake-death-toll-may-hit-200000. html Simon, M & Edvige ,J (2010). 7. 0 quake hits Haiti, serious loss of life. Retrieved March 25, 2010, from http://www. cnn. om/2010/WORLD/americas/01/12/haiti. earthquake/index. html Curly, R (2010). Information and Resources on the Port Au Prince, Haiti Earthquake . Retrieved March 25, 2010, from http://gocaribbean. about. com/od/haiti/qt/Haitiearthquakeoverview2. htm Save the children federation inc(2010). Haiti Earthquake Children in Emergency . Retrieved March 25, 2010, from http://www. savethechildren. org/emergencies/latin-america-caribbean/haiti/earthquake-10/haiti-earthquake-children-in-emergency. html

The Poplar Field Analysis

It has been said that â€Å"Cowper’s life was tormented by a set of symptoms, habits, and fears which his poetry in many places reflects†¦we consider that Cowper turned to poetry for reasons intimately connected with the torment of his life at times became for him. † (Feingold Para. ) William Cowper utilizes setting in his poem â€Å"The Poplar Field† to represent his reflections on the passage of time; we go on a journey with Cowper to visit the past, present, and future of the speaker and the journey is warped around different landmarks in speaker’s life and represented by the effects of aging, not only of the speaker, but on the poplar field as well. In lines 5-6, we walk with the speaker as he reminisces twelve years in the past, where he first had the opportunity to gather a glimpse of the poplar field.We are able to see the setting come to life, where the trees and the young speaker grew together on the bank. The past represents a time for the s peaker that was precious to him- his youth, a time of little responsibility where he lacked accountability for his actions. Cowper utilizes a dance between the past and present to show a reflection of the passage of time as one of the first significant underlying themes for the speaker. From this experience with his past, we are able to see his childhood and what the speaker is missing from the past to the present.The poplar field brings many memories of shade and comfort for the speaker but it is short-lived as we begin to see Cowper bring the speaker back to reality in lines 7-12, and the speaker begins to see the remains from the poplar trees that once shaded him from the blazing sun, now lying leafless and lifeless on the ground (line 7). We are now able to see as Cowper ties us to the reality of what the speaker is seeing in his present moment and the brutal setting that is laid before him.The speaker is brought back to a harsh reality where the blackbirds have fled to a new re treat (line 9) and because the trees are no longer there to shade them, the only part of the tree that remains is a stump for the speaker to sit on (line 12) as he stares into the dismay of the trees having been chopped down and lying in the grass (line 7). This setting represents maturing, going through mid-life, and the beginning of the aging process for the speaker.The trees having been cut down represents a cruel reality for the speaker, his childhood is now over and instead of having others to care for him, he now has to become the one taking care of others. The present day is barren of splendor, and just as the speaker is sitting at the top of the devastation of his once favorite field of trees, he sits on top of all of the devastation of what is known as his life: the poor decisions, the what-ifs, and all of the neglected opportunities in the past, present, and future that he will miss because of the immoral judgments he made in the past.This juxtaposition shows the speaker i s now in the dominant position, he can no longer enjoy the dominancy of the tree’s protection and shade (line 8), but he is now responsible for all of the mistakes he made in life, and this is where Cowper begins to fast forward us to the future in lines 13-20, where the speaker will soon face not only old age but also his own inevitable death. Cowper begins to show us that the speaker is aging and his life will soon be over, he will die, and just like the trees, his last and final setting will be in the ground.The speaker says, â€Å"My fugitive years are all hasting away† (line 13)†¦ he is no longer a young sprout, he is getting old, and his younger days of living freely are quickly disappearing. â€Å"Ere another such grove shall arise in its stead. †(Line 16) We can see the new trees will be planted to replace the old trees that he once loved, in a similar sense, new people will rise up and replace the speaker, and he is trying to figure out how he will leave his mark on the world after he is long gone.The speaker soon begins to realize that once he is dying and after his death, he will no longer be in control of his surroundings and he will be at mercy of the generation after him. Just as his last breath is taken out of the world, somewhere there will be someone else’s first breath being taken in, and the circle of life and death will continue. William Cowper exploited three major settings to represent the speaker’s reflections on the passage of time. We embarked on a voyage through the recollections of the speaker’s past, in to experiencing his present day pain and skipped on to his worries of the future.We see as Cowper takes us on each journey; the past with beautiful bold trees full of leaves and shade for a young juvenile who was full of life, to the present day where the trees are felled, cut down to a stump upon which an aging man rest upon and reminisces of the golden days, and finally we are able to fast forward to the future and see a impending field full of new poplar trees, and a new generation rising up to replace the old which have died out. We walk with Cowper step to step and explore what comes to be known as the circle of existence and extinction.Works Cited Cowper, William. â€Å"The Poplar Field. † Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Robert Zweig. 10th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2012. 722. Print. Feingold, Richard. â€Å"William Cowper: State, Society, and Countryside. †Ã‚  Nature and Society: Later Eighteenth-Century Uses of the Pastoral and Georgic. Rutgers University Press, 1978. 121-153. Rpt. in  Poetry Criticism. Ed. David M. Galens. Vol. 40. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Literature Resource Center. Web. 13 Nov. 2012.

Importance of Educational Essay for Students

The LA Times recently ran an article on the decline of field trips in schools, especially since the establishment of No Child Left Behind. Under scrutiny and being analyzed for revision, the No Child Left Behind act has been accused of forcing teachers to focus on preparation for standardized tests at the expense of the overall learning experience. In essence, they will be so busy teaching the children to memorize facts that they will fail to teach them to learn. The article in the Times, written by Seema Mehta, suggests that funding for field trips has declined due to the focus on standardized learning. The teachers featured in the article worry that the educational experience suffers with the decline in field trips.According to the article, there are groups who have recognized the decline and, believing field trips to still be a valuable component to a child's education, have found ways around the problem. Museums have tailored and enhanced their exhibits to comply so well with the standardized requirements that administrators are more willing to include the trips into their schedules. Target was also moved to action, creating a grant program for educators for the purpose of field trips.Perhaps the first and best intervention for this dilemma will be for parents and educators to continue to champion the value of extra-classroom experience for a child's learning environment. If field trips continue to decline in the elementary levels, perhaps educational tours at the secondary and college level will gain momentum. My first trip out of the country was to Colombia, South America, one year after graduating from high school. Possibly the most reluctant student on the journey, I believe now I had the most to learn. That trip awakened me to life in a way I had never imagined. The unfamiliar sights and sounds stirred my senses

2 Questions about The Road Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

2 Questions about The Road - Essay Example The sun is permanently hidden behind the clouds, as are the moon and stars. Everything, everywhere has been burned, turning the world into black and grey underneath a ‘sullen’ light that casts only feeble shadows at its peak. There are no animals, no plants and very few people. What life does survive is scarce and desperate, willing to commit atrocities upon one another for the simple necessity of food or clean water. â€Å"The world shrinking down about a raw core of parsible entities. The names of things slowly following those things into oblivion. Colors. The names of birds. Things to eat. Finally the names of things one believed to be true. More fragile than he would have thought† (McCarthy 75). The bond between the father and son is thus predicated on surviving in this very harsh environment where all they have is each other and the knowledge still stored in the father’s mind from the time before the disaster. The man is forced to adapt to an entirely foreign world despite all his conceptions of a better place while his son is enlightened by his father’s confusion. The man’s reluctance to accept the reality before him forces him to feel pity for the young son. This is obvious in the touching scene when he finds the can of Coke. â€Å"[H]e put his thumbnail under the aluminum clip on the top of the can and opened it. He leaned his nose to the slight fizz coming from the can and then handed it to the boy. †¦ You drink it †¦ It’s because I won’t ever get to drink another one, isn’t it?† (McCarthy 20). As the man comes to realize, the world he remembers will never be anything more than a fantasy world to his son, a place of unrealizable possibilities for which the son must ultimately pity the father for having lost. Although the man and the boy consider themselves the good guys, defenders of the old knowledge and the bonds of enlightenment, there are also

Microeconomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Microeconomics - Essay Example The worst thing about monopoly is that the seller gets market command by which he may exploit the customers either by charging high rate or sacrificing product quality. Though, monopoly is not a good thing in the market, it cannot be avoided from the market. Suppose, when the seller has a monopoly over certain resources which are used for producing a particular item such as oil, minerals etc. Sometimes, when a seller is equipped with a unique skill, which others in the same industry lack. In certain occasions, monopoly is legally attained for the patent or copy right for a product/service. Government also allows certain organisation to have sole power over certain product/service by legislation. One such organisation is what this paper is going to discuss about. Indian Railway comes under the department of Indian Government, which came into being in1853. It is the world’s second largest rail network. All the rail operations are managed by the state-owned Indian Railways, which fall under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Railways. Rail transport is one of the common modes of the transport for large population of the country. Its network spreads across 28 states and 3 union territories with limited services to places like Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. (Indian Railways, para. 4) It is the second largest commercial employer in the world and has more than 1.54 million employees and runs as many as 11,000 trains daily. (Official web site of Indian Railway). It has been assisting the growth of Indian economy directly and indirectly since its inception. During the many ups and downs of the country’s economy in the past, railway has been an integrating force to stabilize the economy and maintain economic growth of the country. Indian Railway is not a private corporate body. It operates under the Railway Department of Ministry of Railways of Government of India. But, in the recent times it is striving to attain the professionalism in

Audit Engagement letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Audit Engagement letter - Essay Example The key objectives of the audit scope are to analyze whether your consolidated financial statements are true and fair, in all material respect, in line with the provisions of International Accounting Standards. The firm will conduct the audit process in line with the guidelines stated in the International Audit Standards. This will include all recommended tests on accounting records, as well as other procedures we consider necessary to facilitate us in expressing an opinion. If the opinion turns out to be something different other than unqualified, we will immediately notify your company and discuss the reasons in advance. In case we are unable to complete the audit within the stated period of 1.5 months, or have difficulties in expressing the opinion within the stated duration, we may decline to express any opinion or to issue an audit report as a result of this letter. Audit Engagement Checklist Section 1. Auditor’s Report With Regard To Auditor’s Report 2. Audit Proc edures 1. In Reference To Clients Acceptance 2. In Reference To Clients Understanding 3. In Reference To Audit Planning 4. In Reference To Fraud and Errors Considerations 5. In Reference To Internal Control Risks 6. In Reference To Work Done By Other Auditors 7. In Reference To Specialists If Used 8. In Reference To Audit Programs 9. In Reference To Audit Sampling 10. In Reference To Analytical Procedures 11. In Reference To Related Party Transactions 12. In Reference To Illegal Acts 13. In Reference To Audit Documentation 3. Working Papers 1. Significant Audit Areas 2. Cash 3. Receivables 4. Payables 5. Inventories 6. Assets 7. Liabilities 8. Business Consolidations and Combinations 4. Functional Areas 1. Human Resources 2. Key Ethical Requirements 3. Engagement Performance 5. Conclusion (Gupta, 2004. p. 44) The procedures will encompass examination of documentary evidence backing the transactions in the financial statements, physical examinations of assets, direct confirmation of payables and receivables. We will also randomly contact different customers, both creditors and debtors in reference to different assets and liabilities to provide evidence all transactions. The company will also request your company to provide written presentations from your attorneys as a section of the engagement. As we approach the end of the audit assignment, we will need different written presentations from your company about financial statements as well as other related matters (Ron and Rosario, 2007, p. 26). An audit entails testing, on an examination basis, disclosure of the financial statements, and evidence supporting the amounts. Therefore, the audit will entail judgment on the number of transactions to be tested and the target areas. We will also plan and perform the audit to attain reasonable assurance on whether the financial records are free from material misstatements and misrepresentations. This is because an audit avail reasonable assurance, and not absolute assur ance. Obtaining absolute assurance may be expensive and consuming. This is because it involves examining all transactions; it also exposes the task to material errors, which makes it difficult to detect frauds and other deliberate misrepresentations. Another reason why absolute assurance is unnecessary is because the scope does not aim at immaterial errors, illegal acts, and frauds that do not have any material change on the accounting records. This proves that the service cannot be relied on to expose errors

Housing Bussinees Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Housing Bussinees Report - Essay Example Corresponding findings are discussed prior to assessing the CHA Corporate Strategy and Business Plan.   Part I talks about the principles and procedures of SWOT Analysis, and how they should have been applied to CHA. Part 2 discusses the purpose of SWOT Analysis as it relates to CHA and why it was difficult for CHA to serve the purposes of a comprehensive and accurate strategy. Part 3 gives an assessment of the weaknesses based on the facts in CHA’s Corporate Strategy and Business Plan. And Part IV gives the Roles of the Board in order to have a comprehensive SWOT analysis and to successfully utilize results in preparing a more accurate strategy and set of plans. Part I An Explanation of the Method known as SWOT Analysis One of the alternative planning tools of management in different levels involves formulating pertinent questions to be included in a set of questionnaires that will identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities of the business organization, and Threa ts to its future performance. These questionnaires should be for the Stakeholders and/or their official representatives in the Board of Directors. From the response to questionnaires and also based on known information about the company and the industry, the management should be able to identify company strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and threats. This is known as the SWOT Analysis. The main objective of such a tool is to be able to formulate clearly defined, effective strategies that will aim to achieve desired objectives. Strategic planning should therefore follow SWOT Analysis. A diagram below summarizes the interrelated processes. Questionnaires All Board Members representing Stakeholders should answer questions. Performance of SWOT Analysis Strategic Planning Achievement of Desired Objectives, Goals, Purposes, Mission, Vision Through Optimum Performance As can be seen from the diagram, management uses the findings gathered from questionnaires distributed t o the Stakeholders, analyzes them, and develops a logical plan for the company to realize objectives. Contents of the questionnaires should consider all the External Factors that have an impact on the organization and all the Internal Factors (from within the organization). Value of Questionnaires Because the recipient and respondents to questionnaires will be the Stakeholders or the representatives in the Board, their views will be the key resources to be used in determining how the organization will go about achieving objectives and towards which direction. Questionnaires should ask Stakeholders about their awareness of the present status of the organization of which they are a part, an awareness of some history concerning how the company reached its present status, their description of the business (What is it ?) and what should it be, their insights about where the business should be headed, and how they think the business can become the way they want it to be. Sample questions about internal factors that would be related to the recent performance of the organization, are shown in the attached. One book entitled â€Å"Strategic Planning† by the Strategic Planning Society (2006) emphasized that â€Å"There are no magic formulas; each organization will be different. So getting the questions right is crucial to success.† The questionnaires should strive to be exhaustive in order to extract adequate and substantial