Large Corporations Essay Example for Free

Large Corporations Essay Large corporations such as Wal-Mart or Home Depot often come under criticism for putting mom-and-pop shops out of business. While this may be a valid criticism, the consumers neglect to realize that they play the biggest part in shutting these businesses down. Consumers across the country are always looking for the best deals or the lowest prices, and in most cases the larger corporations are where products can be found at the lowest price. Many small business owners and the populations of small towns dislike large corporations moving into the area because they believe it negatively effects the local economy. In reality, we should embrace large corporations moving into our communities because they boost the local economy, they lower prices on products we use every day, and they create hundreds of jobs. Some believe that large corporations harm the local economy. While this is true in some cases, studies have shown that placing a Wal-Mart in an area actually increased sales for businesses in or around the area. In a study conducted in 2002 by Jim Simmons, a retired University of Toronto geography professor, the professor states: â€Å"We tried to see if there was a substantial sales decline in the nearby areas, but it was difficult to find,† said Mr. Simmons. â€Å"We couldnt find any situation where people lost sales or went out of business.† (Shaw, H. 2002). This is just one of the many findings from the study. In an effort to further boost the local economies of the areas new Wal-marts are opened in, Wal-Mart has implemented a Locally Grown program that has been enacted since 2008. Pam Kohn, who is a senior vice president and general grocery merchandise manager, had this to say about the program. At Walmart we are committed to increasing our locally grown offerings and the number of local small farms we work with. Through this program we are able to cut shipping costs and decrease food miles, but most importantly we are offering our customers an opportunity to support their local farmers without worrying about the impact on their wallets. (Economics Week, 2008) This means that not only are they benefitting the stores around the area, but also the farmers in the area as well. This leads to a stronger local economy, and ultimately a thriving community. Stores like Wal-Mart are famous for keeping their prices so low. This is one reason why they are able to maintain a grip on the consumers of an area. They accomplish this by keeping the cost to produce and transport the goods low. In January, a study by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. found that, â€Å"an individual family could save $589 a year on groceries by shopping at a supercenter. Overall, shoppers could save $3.76 billion in merchandise nationwide.† (Blazier, A, 2004) A major reason they can keep prices lower than mom-and-pop run businesses is their ability to buy merchandise in bulk. Buying in bulk works the same way it does for a consumer. The more of a product that is purchased, the less the cost is per unit. Consumers see this every day when they go to stores like Sam’s Club or Costco. When they buy their merchandise in bulk, they are able to offer it to the consumer at a lower price. (Kale, 2011) This is what could eventually drive the mom-and-pop owned businesses out of the area, and draw a negative criticism from the public. The interesting thing about this criticism is that the public complains about Wal-Mart driving these smaller businesses out, yet continue to shop at the Wal-Mart to save money. It would seem as though all that would be needed to be done would be to stop shopping at Wal-Mart and start shopping at the locally owned businesses. On the topic of jobs, there is a general increase in the availability of jobs after a large corporation moves in. Going back to the Wal-Mart example, a study was conducted to show how Wal-Mart affected job creation. In a study conducted by University of Missouri-Columbia professor Emek Basker, Wal-Mart creates a net value of 50 jobs more than it â€Å"destroys.† In her study, she presents these findings: â€Å"I find that immediately after entry, retail employment in the county increases by approximately 100 jobs; this figure declines by half over the next five years as some small and medium-sized retail establishments close. Wholesale employment declines by approximately 20 jobs over five years. Restaurant employment increases slightly; there is no change in employment in manufacturing or in automobile dealerships and service stations.† (Basker, 2005) In addition to the new jobs that are created, most Wal-Mart employees can enroll in health benefit programs, whether part time or full time workers. This means that smaller communities where health insurance options may have been limited will now have jobs where health insurance is a benefit. Also the low income families who can not afford pricey health insurance have the opportunity to receive benefits. Another benefit of having a Wal-Mart move into a community is the money it brings into the area. As with all businesses, large corporations have to pay taxes that go to local governments in the area they operate. In a bi-monthly publishing by the Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics, Mitch Renkow writes, â€Å"Wal-Mart generates substantial sales tax and property tax revenues for the county in which it locates. This could potentially be of great benefit to the fiscal well-being of the local government in the town or county where the Wal-Mart is located.† (Renkow, 2005) This means that there is more money being generated for local spending, With all of the business that Wal-Mart can do, that is that much more money for the local area, much more than any mom-and-pop shops could provide. We should embrace bigger corporations moving into the area because it ultimately creates a stronger local economy. These corporations bring in products from around the world to communities that would have never gotten a chance to purchase them. They also keep the prices low so that low income families can afford them. Through job creation, slashing prices, and the attention to the area that comes with a big store such as Wal-Mart, it can be said that local economies benefit from these new stores opening in the area. WORKS CITED: Shaw, H. (2002). Wal-mart boosts local economies: Study: Finding shows retail behemoth benefits neighbouring stores. National Post. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/329926525?accountid=32521 Sailee, Kale (2011) How Does Walmart Keep Its Prices So Low? Retrieved from: http://www.business-online-news.com/how-does-walmart-keep-its-prices-so-low.html Blazier, A. (2004, Apr 15). Study concludes Wal-Mart creates more jobs than Retail chain chases away. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/464131659?accountid=32521 Matthews, C. (2012, 07). Ten Ways Wal-Mart Changed the World. Retrieved from http://business.time.com/2012/07/02/ten-ways-walmart-changed-the-world/#ixzz2IYS1yFFm Renkow, M. (2005). N.C. State Economist. Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics. retrieved from: www.ag-econ.ncsu.edu/VIRTUAL_LIBRARY/ECONOMIST/novdec05.pdf Basker, Emek, (2005) Job Creation or Destruction? Labor-Market Effects of Wal-Mart Expansion. Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 87, No. 1, February 2005. retrieved from SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=371102 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.371102

Analysing Helicopter Landing Gear

Analysing Helicopter Landing Gear The Landing gear, an important part of a helicopter, assists the helicopter to land. So, when the helicopter is in land condition, the landing gear should withstand the whole weight of the helicopter. Apart from this, it should also withstand the thrust while landing operation is on. The landing gear of a helicopter can be of three types: Skid type Wheel type The skid type landing gear is the simplest one and cheaper to manufacture. Some skids allow the helicopter to land even on water. If the helicopter need to land on hard surfaces (like runway) regularly, then some special kinds of shoe need to be attached to the skid. The shoe can be replaced upon wearing. The most commercial helicopter has the skid type landing gear. The wheel type landing gear is little complicated and costlier as compared to the skid types but the wheel type landing gear gives easier ground handling and advantageous while rough and crush landing. In our case, we have to design a landing gear suitable for landing on an air craft carrier. The landing condition can become really bad due to the vertical motion of the aircraft carrier. Considering this severe landing condition I have chosen to go ahead with the wheel type landing gear for this assignment. I have used ADAMS/View for creating the design models, ADAMS/Vibration for running the vibration analysis and ADAMS post processing for analyzing and plotting the results. Design of Landing Gear Mechanism Research on Existing Landing Gear From the earlier days of the aviation history, many concepts of the landing gears are used. I will explain few of them here: Landing gear with leaf springs: The uses of aluminum leaf springs are possible for the very light weight helicopter (around 300kg). The design looks attractive. Fig.1: Showing the concept of aluminum spring landing gear The concept of the heavy duty composite leaf spring is being experimented by some of the commercial aircraft manufacturer including AIRBUS. The main advantage of leaf spring concept is its reduced part count. Landing gear with shock absorber: Most commercial applications use shock absorbers for the design of the landing gears. Fig.2: Showing a typical shock absorber based landing gear design Based on the numbers and the positions of the tires, this type of landing gears are typically classified in nine configurations as shown in the below figure (fig.3). Fig.3: Showing classifications of shock based landing gear I have used the Twin configuration of tires for each of the landing gears and used total of three landing gears in my final design. However, before selecting the final design, I have studied one concept with two twin configuration landing gears at rear and one single configuration landing gear at front as well. Design Inputs Few of the design inputs were given along with the assignment and for others, either I googled out from the manufacturers specifications or assumed. All together I have used the following design inputs: Weight of the helicopter = 5126 Kg Length of the helicopter = 15.16 m Spacing between the two rear landing gear = 2.5 m Spacing between the front and the rear landing gear = 5 m Youngs modulus of steel = 2.7E11 N/m2 Density of steel = 7801 kg/m3 Poissons ratio of steel = 0.29 Youngs modulus of rubber = 5E6N/m2 Density of steel = 1100 kg/m3 Poissons ratio of steel = 0.3 Possible design options After doing the preliminary study of the existing available designs, two aspects had come to my mind before proceeding further: one, covering all the assignment tasks and two, simplicity. I was looking for coming out few design concepts, which are good enough to cover all the assignment tasks and simple enough to finish the assignment in time. And I came out with the following two concepts: Design option -1: In this concept, I have used two twin-configured rear landing gears and one single-configured front landing gear. Fig.4: Showing a real life example of the Design option-1 The three landing gears (one front and two rears) are connected to a triangular top frame made up of steel. The top steel frame in turn is bolted with the fuselage. Design option-2: In the second concept, I have used three twin landing gears. One, in front and two are at rear. Please not that I have used two wheels (twin) in front (in design option-1, I have used a single nose wheel in front). The three landing gears are connected with the triangular top frame. The top frame is bolted with the fuselage. Creations of the ADAM models ADAMS is a tool, develop by MSC and used extensively for simulating different types of mechanisms. It has different modules, out of which I have used the ADAMS/View here. I also used the ADAMS Vibration plug-in for simulating the action of the ocean waves on the stationary helicopter on the aircraft carrier. I have used the block option for creating the base (aircraft carrier platform), torus option for creating the wheels , the link option to create the axels, cylinder option to create the top frame (which will be bolted to the fuselage) and the spring option for creating the shock absorber springs . Also, I have made used of the options like point, contacts, joint, force, input channel and output channel. How? I will explain in details little later, while explaining each of the design concepts separately. Fig.5: Showing MSC ADAMS tools ADAMS model for the design option-1 Start ADAMS/View. In the main toolbox right click the Rigid body and click the Point to create the points each at the wheel centers, at the three vertex of the frame, at the top left corner of the base. Again in the main tool box, right click the Rigid body bar and click the Box to create the base. Click on the Torus of the Rigid Body bar to create all the five wheels. Click on the Link of the rigid body bar to create the three axels. Click on the Cylinder of the Rigid body bar to create all the three sides of the top frame. Use the Merge two bodies of the rigid body bar to merge all the three sides of the top frame into one. Under Joint bar, select Revolute to connect the wheels with the respective axels. Under Forces bar, select Translational Spring-Damper to connect the axels and the respective vertices of the triangular top frame. Create sliding joints between the base and back ground and between the top frame and back ground. Under Forces bar, select Contact to create the contact between the wheels and base. Finally, the design option-1 ADAMS model should look like below: Fig.6: showing the ADAMS model of design option-1 ADAMS model for the design option-2 Following the similar procedure as described for creating the ADAMS model for design option-1, I have created the Design option-2 (with twin in front). The ADAMS model of the design option-2 looks like below: Fig.7: Showing the ADAMS model of design option-2 Comparisons of the design options After finishing the ADAMS model for both the design concepts, I run the Normal landing analysis on both design option models. The data used for the Normal landing analysis for both the design options are as below: Vertical descent speed of the top frame = 0.5 m/sec Vertical upward speed of the base = 0 m/sec Spring Stiffness coefficient= 30 N/mm Spring damping coefficient =1 Ns/mm Spring preload = 17000 N I got the following results: Fig.8: Showing the acceleration plot of the top triangular frame for Design option-1 and the Design option-2. The above plot (fig.8) is showing that the acceleration of the top frame for the design option-1 is higher than that for the design option-2. Fig.9: Showing the Z-direction reaction force plot of the joint between the top frame and the back ground (space) for Design option-1 and the Design option-2. The above plot (fig.9) is showing that the design concept-1 is producing lots of Z- direction force, the force that can affect the stability of the helicopter. So, on the basis of the above analysis, I have chosen the Design option-2 for further study. Results and Calculations Spring Calculations Sprung mass = 5126 kg Maximum acceptable acceleration = 0.3 m/s2 Preload on each spring = 5126*(9.81+0.3)/3 = 17274 N Dynamic Analysis Results Normal landing Normal landing analysis is performed based on the following conditions: Vertical descent speed of the top frame = 0.5 m/sec Vertical upward speed of the base = 0 m/sec Spring Stiffness coefficient= 30 N/mm, 50 N/mm, 70 N/mm Spring damping coefficient =1 Ns/mm Spring preload = 17274 N Fig.10: Showing normal landing analysis of the design option-2 for different spring rate Hard landing Hard landing analysis is performed based on the following conditions: Vertical descent speed of the top frame = 3 m/sec Vertical upward speed of the base = 3 m/sec Spring Stiffness coefficient= 30 N/mm, 50 N/mm, 70 N/mm Spring damping coefficient =1 Ns/mm Spring preload = 17274 N Fig.11: Showing hard landing analysis of the design option-2 for different spring rate Crush landing Crush landing analysis is performed based on the following conditions: Vertical approach speed of the top frame = 15 m/sec Vertical upward speed of the base = 0 m/sec Spring Stiffness coefficient= 30 N/mm, 50 N/mm, 70 N/mm Spring damping coefficient =1 Ns/mm Spring preload = 17274 N Fig.12: Showing crush landing analysis of the design option-2 for different spring rate The acceptance criteria of the above analysis are as follow: Normal landing: Minimum acceleration Hard landing: 50 m/sec2 Crush landing: 300 m/sec2 In order to fulfill all the acceptance criteria, I have chosen the spring stiffness as 30 N/mm and proceed further for the vibration analysis. Vibration Analysis Results Fig.13: Showing frequency response of the design option-2 The pick of the frequency response curve is indicating the resonance frequency, which is around 2.5 Hz for our case. Fig.14: Showing PSD plot of the design option-2 The above plot is showing the transmitted power from all the inputs used in the analysis as a function of the frequency. Again, the pick (2.5 Hz) is showing the resonating frequency here. Discussion Task 1 For the Task-1 , I have developed two design options (as shown in section 3.1 and 3.2) and compare the two design options on the basis of normal landing analysis (section 3.3). The result has shown that the design option-2 is better in terms of acceleration and z-direction reaction force. Hence I have selected the design option-2 for the further study. Task 2 For the task-2 , I have run the normal, hard and crush landing analysis (section 4.2) on the design option-2 for different spring stiffness and choose the best spring stiffness to ensure that all the acceptance criteria is met. Task 3 For Task-3, I run the vibration analysis for the design option-2 (section-4.3) and find out the resonating frequency for the mechanism on response to the sea wave. Task 4 For the task-4, I have discussed (section 3) how I have used the ADAMS/View for creating the ADAMS model and also, I have discussed how I simulate the mechanism. Conclusion The emphasis is given to come out with a simple but reasonably good landing gear mechanism, which will be able to pass all the test conditions specified in the assignment. The hand calculations are used for selecting the spring preload however, the selection of the spring stiffness is done on the basis of hit and trial. ADAMS/View and ADAMS Vibration plug-in are used for the whole analysis for getting the quick and easily interpretable results. I believe that the design of the mechanism can be further improved by incorporating the torsion springs along with the compression springs.

OBriens Things They Carried Essay: An American Nightmare

History has shaped every country and their people, in particular negative experiences like the Holocaust in Nazi-Germany or the Vietnam war, involving the United States in a grueling controversy from 1964 until 1975. The author Tim O'Brian confronts an American audience in his short stories "The Things They Carried" with the inhumane consequences of political and military power decisions by rewriting history from a subjective,individual point of view. Thus he forces the audience to take a stand, to ask questions, to get morally and ethically involved. The narrative structure of the "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" and "How to Tell a True War Story" contains two levels, the first on being a discourse about the characters of Vietnam stories. The "I", the narrator, introduces 'Rat' Kiley as his source for the narrative that follows. He characterizes stories about war as "strange", "swirling back and forth across the border between trivia and bedlam, the mad and mundane". The stories have a life of their own, reality is not absolute, not final. With this image he describes the ambiguity of war itself, the normality that turns into insanity, he summarizes the narrative about Mary Ann Bell and her experiences with the war. The narrator clearly states the purposes of these stories, he is not interested in factual truths about the war, he openly questions the reliability of his source: "Rat had a reputation for exaggeration and overstatement". He wants the audience to "feel exactly what he felt", an emotional experience, a subjective app roach. The second narrative level tells the story about Mary Ann Bell, the "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong". The narrator, probably the author, retells Rat's story in his own words, so that t... ...ositive as well as its negative accomplishments. But how is this to be done, how do we deal with history personally and politically? Ths author Tim O'Brian gives us one answer in "How to Tell a True War Story" on page 69: "You can tell a true war story if it embarrasses you. It you don't care for obscenity, you don't care for the truth; if you don't care for the truth, watch how you vote. Send guys to war, they come home talking dirty". In other words if you don't want war watch how you vote. The connotation of this statement is far reaching, it naturally places responsibility on the American government for having participated in the war, but it foremost appeals to the american public to take responsibility and to use this history, this story to create a better future. Works Cited: O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried.New York: Penguin Books USA Inc., 1990.

Changing the Drinking Age to 18 Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Essa

Young teens all get a bad rep when it comes to drinking alcohol. Especially college students that are considered â€Å"binge drinkers†. When in reality a nation wide survey of students at 168 colleges and university’s found some interesting things about the underage corrupt youth. 93% of all students have never received a lower grade in a class because of drinking too much. 98% of all college students say that they have never gotten into trouble from an administrator from excessive drinking. While the media continually gives the under twenty one community a bad rep, in reality they are continually practicing safe drinking habits and in some cases not drinking at all. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse by the Institute for Social Research of the University of Michigan, the proportion of non-drinkers in the U.S. just reached a record breaking all time high. The point is that college students drink less than what most people think and are in reality res ponsible drinkers. So what can be done to change the drinking law to eighteen again? These underage students continually spite the law and show that they can handle the responsibility. It is silly to overlook this and maintain a blind law such as the current drinking law. The first step into taking this law and changing it back to eighteen is to start at home and inform the children at a young age the harms and hazards of alcohol. It is not something to take lightly and it can lead to many life long problems. However I feel if this is taught at an early age and drinking is looked at as a privileged rather than a right it will be abused and rather something that will not be taking for granted. This will make drinking in small portions more commonplace and drinking in an excessive manner a rarity. Drinking would no longer be a big deal. Young children start off learning the dangers of drinking and would eventually start drinking at family events like they do in other foreign countries. These countries do this and do not have a major drinking problem in their society. By the time these children get to the age of 18 it will be legal to purchase and legally drink and it will not be a big deal because they have been taught responsible drinking from the start. This is an obvious start to fixing and changing this law, however it would be difficult to change the social and family traditions of A... ... that it is morally wrong to let eighteen year olds to drink legally. They would also argue that more and more deaths would happen due to this law being changed. When in reality if you follow these steps, teach young children at a young age to drink moderately and responsibly, add more harsher penalties to the drinking and driving laws and make defensive driving courses mandatory to graduate in high school, and to finally make a â€Å"permit† for under twenty one drinkers as a test to see exactly how it affects the society. All in all the age of eighteen is thought to be old enough to make such big decisions as getting married and joining the army to defend the country. It would at least show that this country has confidence in the eighteen year olds to be responsible with this new law and to not abuse the power. It would make a uniform â€Å"legal age†. This simplicity in itself will make checking I.D.’s less of a problem. This law needs to be changed and ev eryone knows it. This is a reasonable proposal to try something that has never been tried before and I think that the lawmakers are scared that it would work and it would just make them look foolish for not thinking of it on their own.

On Korea Essay -- South North Korea Essays

On Korea Throughout most of its history, Korea has existed as one country with a rich culture and history. Then in the 1940's, Korea was controlled by Japan. World War II broke out, and the Allies defeated the Axis powers. The country of Korea was divided into two parts -- the north and the south. The north was occupied by communist Russian forces and the south by American troops. The dividing line was the 38th parallel(see map). In 1950, a civil war began between the two Koreas, further separating them. Both countries have since established totally different ways of life that include government, economics, and lifestyles. As a result of all that has transpired and recent incidents, it would appear to be highly improbable that there will be a united Korea in the near future. The known history of Korea dates back thousands of years before Christ. It was a nation with a common heritage, language, and ethnicity. Due to Japan's role in World War II and the fact that Japan had occupied Korea, the country was divided. Many Koreans had been displaced by Japanese colonization and others by the establishment of the 38th parallel border line. Korea was not an axis power. It is difficult to understand why Korea would have to be divided as was Germany.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At first, Korea was supposed to be unified with a multilateral administration. But the cold war changed the United States' mission to unilateral containment of the spread of Soviet communism. Supported by the Soviets, North Korea attacked South Korea in June of 1950. The South Koreans pushed into North Korea with American aid. But the Soviet Union, helped the North Koreans to push the South Koreans back . "During the bitterly destructive Korean War, the entire peninsula was devastated. Some three million of its population were killed and more than ten million were left homeless and jobless." (History in modern) Stalemate resulted in 1953 in terms of land gain. The 38th parallel remained the dividing line. The Korean War did not resolve anything, allowing problems to continue up to today. After that time Soviet influence in the North diminished with the Chinese taking their place. Throughout the Korean War period, Koreans were trying to adjust to the changes in their lives from Japan's colonization forward. As a result of the 46-year separation, North and South Korea have grown ... ...ral population.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When considering the present tense situation, it is important to consider geographical and political data about Korea. The Korean peninsula is about the size of Minnesota. There are about 20 million people in the North and around 40 in the South. The divided country has been in a state of civil war for the past 46 years. The peninsula is surrounded by China, Russia, and Japan. The United States has kept troops in South Korea throughout that time period. . Both countries have received massive support from the super powers. The North is communistic and the South is capitalistic The cold war that has ended in Europe has not ceased in Asia. "Conjure up a present in which more than a million soldiers confront each other across a Mason-Dixon line, armed to the teeth with the latest equipment; the line is so firm that nothing crosses it†¦" (The 2 Koreas, &^$^*%) The latest equipment includes bombers, nuclear weapons, chemical warfare, naval vessels, etc. Given recent divisive situations, the potential for all-out warfare to develop between the two Koreas has increased. Reunification, as in Germany, becomes more difficult with each passing day.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   p

Role of Roman Legions in Republic and the Empire

The role of Roman legions in creating the republic first and then the empire has been widely acknowledged. Legions emerged from the early Roman army which was composed of levied citizens and developed into a full fledged force with a modern infantry and well organized cavalry. (McCall, 2002). The first person to conscript soldiers into legions to the advantage of the state was Servius Tullius. By introducing the census, Tullius made it incumbent for all youth to be organized in various classes based on their income and also made it incumbent for them to join the army as a mark of being Roman citizens. This tradition of use of the legions for political consolidation has thus been the hallmark of the rise of the republic as well as the empire. In Rome service in the legion was considered mandatory. This naturally led to correlation of the legion with the republic as the concept emerged over the years by consolidation of the state. For the purposes of distinguishing between classes, the recruits were divided into five classes based on their income as each soldier had to acquire his own arm and equipment. Thus citizenship and legionnaire were both concomitant thereby laying strong linkages between the republic and the legions which were exploited over a period. The legions remained conscripted and were recalled as on required basis during the Republic thereby indicating that these were transient and to be fully exploited for sponsoring the aim of the head of the state. After the Marian reforms which were brought in at the end of the 2nd century BC, the legion was professionalized by Gaius Marius. This was done by him to enlarge the legions and enable fielding larger armies. Politically too this was important as in a Republic the state had the duty to provide jobs to people, for which legions were considered to be most appropriate organizations, once again highlighting an utilitarian trend. Assimilation of the Italian soldiers in Roman legions and grant of citizenship was also a Marian initiative thereby enhancing the numbers as well as the power of the state. The ingrained manipulative streak of the masters of the legion would be more than evident in these measures. This professionalizing also led to a realization that the legions could play an important political role and hence all governors were proscribed from leaving their province with the legions to prevent precipitation of a crisis in other states. Just such a crisis precipitated the civil wars when Caesar broke the rule crossing with his legion into Italy. The civil wars saw the end of the republic and beginning of the Empire led by Augustus in 27 BC. The legions once again were very effectively used by both Antony and Augustus the ultimate victor of the civil war which led to the establishment of the Roman empire. Once having won the war though Augustus reduced the number of legions as he was finding it difficult to sustain the force. Politically it was not expedient to have many legions which could challenge the authority of the emperor at any given time. Augustus and then his successors would not however totally abandon the concept, but only added new legions as required by the circumstances and disbanded these when no longer required by the needs of the empire, thereby once again denoting how they successfully exploited the legions for the purposes of the state. Reference 1.Mccall, Jeremiah B. (2002). The Cavalry of the Roman Republic: Cavalry Combat and Elite Reputations in the Middle and Late Republic. New York : Routledge.

Human consumption: and its effect on the environment Essay

The environment is a very important in human existence as it is basically all that surrounds us. Our environment is a complex phenomenon that consists of the climate, geography and other natural resources in the environment. The human life basically depends on healthy produce and the balanced environmental conditions. The environment however could affect humans physically spiritually and culturally. In today’s ever growing society, it is important that we take care of our environment in order to have a healthy and balanced environment. Humans are known to solely depend on earth’s resources such as; oil, forests, water, energy and others. These resources however, get limited in time and humans are known to largely consume them. There are some negative and positive effects on the environment caused by humans. In terms of negative effects, the depletion of the ozone layer, pollution and overconsumption are some examples of how humans affect the environment. However, there are some positive effects which benefits the environment such as—conservation of wild life. The environment today, has been affected by various factors, which benefits the environment and negative factors, which damage the environment and cause severe damage to it. Several discussions have been made on human consumptions and what effects they have on the environment. This essay will be set in three parts that will assess human consumption and the various ways in which it affects  the environment. The first part of the essay will focus on the negative and positive effects human consumption has on the environment and secondly this essay will discuss over consumption of natural resources, and thirdly this essay will address various solutions in which to address this problem and help the environment and all of earth’s resources to give a more balanced and healthier environment. THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF HUMAN CONSUMPTION ON THE ENVIRONMENT As mentioned earlier, there are many ways in which the environment is affected negatively by humans. One of these ways is through pollution. Pollution is basically regarded as unwanted substances that are harmful and contaminating the environment. Pollution is a very important issue when addressing the environments and its factors. There are various types of pollution, such as; air pollution, water pollution, land pollution and others. Air pollution is when there are unwanted, harmful substances in the air which have poisonous effects. These substances are very dangerous and when ingested could cause diseases such as cancer and bronchitis, which are deadly to both man and animals alike. â€Å"Pollutants are harmful chemical or physical substances released into the atmosphere, a water source, the soil or a component of the biosphere† (Saier, 2006:205) Particle pollutants when released in the air are very lethal, and could cause severe damage to the human body. Air pollution does not only affect humans but it also affects the environment, for example, the depletion of the ozone layer is caused by harmful toxins that are released into the air. Water pollution however, is the contamination of water bodies in the ecosystem such as rivers, lakes, oceans and others. This mostly occurs, when pollutants are released into the water bodies and this could be very dangerous to man, animals and other living creatures in the environment. Water much like air, is very needed in other for the environment to be balanced. Another example of pollution is land pollution which is the deposition of solid or liquid waste material on land. This is also very harmful to the environment, especially when the garbage disposed is not separated into re-usable and recyclable waste. Lands that are contaminated as a result of pollution are known to be very problematic to the human respiratory system. Pollution is a very serious matter that needs to be taken into further considerations, especially since it is done  mostly by humans. There is no question that humans are incapable of destroying the environment and although a lot has changed in the generation, much has not. Humans still contaminate their air, water supplies and land by disposing hazardous materials and thereby destroying natural habitats. It is important we take the matter of pollution seriously and properly take care of our environment, because we still continue to populate the earth at an increasing rate. (Pierce et al., 1998) There also some positive factors of human’s in our environment. These positive effects are very beneficial to the environment as it properly sets it in balance. One of the ways in which humans are impacting the environment positively is by protecting endangered species. Nearly most endangered species are now being bred in protective areas. Species such as the Chinese giant pandas is an example of endangered species that are carefully being bred in protective areas to keep them from going to extinct. OVERCONSUMPTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES Overconsumption of natural resources has become a growing trend, especially in the industrialized nations. Overconsumption which is the act of using something to the excess is mostly done in western industrialized nations. â€Å"The necessity of preventing environmentally disrupting effects of affluent consumption in modern industrial societies has been recently addressed in a vast body of literature on ‘sustainable consumption’† (Cogoy, 2010:460)Natural resources such as materials, water and energy are very essential in the environment because they are the basis of our existence on earth. These resources are gradually decreasing due to humans’ constant consumption of these resources. Our climate is changing, species are becoming extinct, fish and forests are shrinking due to the damages that are imposed on our environment by humans. â€Å"..Overconsumption of natural resources is portrayed as a major threat to the sustainability of the world’s envi ronmental systems.† (Brown et al., 2000). Overconsumption which is regarded as the excessive used of goods and services is perceived as a means of personal happiness, status and success. However, in an environmental context, it is the excessive use of natural resources. It is known that humans today extract and use more 50% more natural resources than only 30 years ago. This consumption from humans, is a way of trying to  aspire to achieve happiness through the use of goods produced from materials that are deemed â€Å"plentiful† and resourceful. (The European Environment [SOER], 2010). There are ways in which we can avoid over consumption of natural resources in order to continue to thrive on earth. These ways include; changing our lifestyles and making it more sustainable so that we are able to protect our ecosystem and natural resources. It is important we characterize the problem of overconsumption and start a debate about resource use and its environmental impacts around the world. If humans were to continually consume resources wastefully, in order to follow self-interested motives, then natural resources in the environment would be reduced and future consumption will be undermined and resources are very likely to slowly deplete. Solutions Asserting that â€Å"human influence on the planet has increased faster than human population,† Joel Cohen elaborated on the concept of human carrying capacity. Though carrying capacity is ultimately determined by natural constraints, Cohen stressed the role of human choices about lifestyle and consumption in determining how many people the earth can sustain within those constraints. Emphasizing the role of economics, Donald Ludwig contended that the real problem with human population growth is not biological, but societal. Ludwig asserted that a fundamental conflict exists between economics and ecology; economists believe growth to be essential, leading to increased consumption, while ecologists say growth is inherently limited. Reaffirming Ludwig’s opinion about the importance of economics, William Rees introduced the concept of the ecological footprint, a model that puts the economy inside the ecosphere, intrinsically imposing limits on growth based on availability of resources. The ecological footprint recognizes the interplay of economics and ecology by measuring not just the natural resources a place uses of its own, but those consumed from other countries. Though it is Gretchen Daily’s opinion that â€Å"people have difficulty looking beyond their own discipline for solutions,† she stressed the importance of crossing both societal and economic boundaries in exploring the issue of human population growth. Daily believes that not only  must scientists cooperate with others, but cooperation within the sciences is essential; scientists worldwide must begin to share information. Bibliography Cogoy, M. (2010). Consumption, time and the environment. Review of Economics of the Household, 8(4), 459-477. Saier, M. (2006). Pollution. Environmentalist, 26(3), 205-209. Peirce, J., Weiner, Ruth F, Vesilind, P. Aarne, & ScienceDirect. (1998.). Environmental Pollution and Control. Burlington: Butterworth-Heinemann. Brown, Paul M, & Cameron, Linda D. (2000). What can be done to reduce overconsumption? Ecological Economics, 32(1), 27-41.