Tragedies While Climbing Mount Everest Are Caused by Human Error Essay

Tragedies While Climbing Mount Everest Are Caused by Human Error Especially in terrible weather, every second counts while nearing the top of Mount Everest on an expedition. A step in the wrong place or a rope hooked to the wrong crag may send a climber falling thousands of feet into a deep crevasse. Turning an oxygen level the wrong way may leave the air non-breathable to a climber after a few short minutes. These errors happen every season on Everest, no matter what the conditions are. Whether errors in judgement or just simple mistakes, accidents on Mount Everest are caused by human error. During pushes up the mountain, it is easy for climbers to make subtle decisions that may have grave consequences later on the hike. The climb in May 1996 provides a good example of an accumulation of such mistakes. The most obvious lapse in judgement appeared when the guides of the Adventure Consultants and Mountain Madness expeditions, Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, respectively, did not force climbers who had not reached the summit to turn around at the designated time. Fischer passed a few of his clients while descending but allowed them to continue to the top. The final client reached the summit at 4:00 P.M., a full two hours after the designated turn-around time. Unfortunately for those climbers who kept pressing for the peak, a storm arrived around 4:30 P.M. and caused blizzard conditions. If climbers had retreated by 2:00 P.M., they may have had a much better chance to survive. Other climbers later speculated that the two guides wanted to give those who had previously climbed to just short of the summit time to reach the top on the 1996 attempt; unfortunately, the reinforced push cost those clients their lives. Even the Sherpas, who were renowned for their experience and knowledge of climbing Everest, made costly errors that led to even more tragedy in the spring of 1996. During the morning of the ascent, sirdar Ang Dorje refused to fix the ropes for the other climbers because Sherpas from the Mountain Madness team were not willing to help and "apparently, he was tired of doing more than his fair share." (ITA, 183-4) Ultimately, four climbers had to advance in front of the groups and create paths, resulting in the loss of valuable time for all parties involved. Meanwhile, at Camp Four the Sherpas designated by Rob Hall to help in the case of any emergen... ... because he believed Scott Fischer would have benefited from the publicity of getting such a celebrity to the top of the peak. Lopsang reasoned, "Scott wants all members to go to summit, and I am thinking Sandy will be weakest member...so I will take her first" (qtd. in ITA, 178). The task left Lopsang visibly exhausted for the majority of the climb after that point. Without exerting that much physical effort, Lopsang may have been able to help other climbers during the tragedy. He could have shown his devotion to Fischer by escorting him down the mountain when the guide became too weak to move on his own. Because of his inability to help on the descent, Lopsang contributed to the amount of human error that occurred on the peak. Human error, including lapses of judgement and simple physical mistakes, causes the tragedies on Mount Everest to occur. The horrible timing of the blizzard in 1996 took many of the climbers in the Mountain Madness and Adventure Consultants expeditions by surprise. Unfortunately, the climbers would have had a much better chance of being safe at Camp Four during the blizzard if they had followed their own predetermined plans while ascending the mountain.

A Little Literature: Reading, Writing, Argument Essay

â€Å"A Little Literature: Reading, Writing, Argument† is a book that spans across multiple genres of literature and allows the reader to get a taste of classical and contemporary issues regarding the different values of society and how they evolve amongst secondary cultures (Barnet). The man to send rain clouds, by Leslie Marmon Silko â€Å"The man to send rain clouds† was originally published in the late 1960’s. The story revolves around the culture of the native Indians and the significance of culture in every day domestic life. The story presents to the reader how external influences impinge on these domestic values and customs, and how these external influences continue to do so as time passes by. Using the characters of the Catholics and the Pueblos, Leslie Marmon Silko has narrated how an evolving culture is considered to be a fading culture and how the people of that culture attempt to keep it alive in its original form through their actions and preferences. This is a story about an old man and his grandsons and their wives. It begins with the death of the old man, the story implies, that the old man and his grandsons were shepherds and farmers. The old man being left to tend to the sheep dies peacefully under the shade of the tree. The grandsons when discover that he has died, they adorn his face with paint symbols similar to that of the native Indian rain makers. Then this group heads on home. However in the entire story, there is a lack of emotion and expression on the grandson’s part. The only emotion that can be ascertained is that of interest and anticipation on the grandson Leon. Leon seems to see the old man’s death as a means to send them rain, which also brings to mind the fact that perhaps the town was suffering the drought season. Anyhow the old man is buried without any religious preliminaries mandatory for a Christian burial, with the exception of the sprinkling of Holy Water on the old man’s body, which Leon insists on, giving the excuse that by doing this the old man will never feel thirst. However even though the Priest insists on full religious ceremony, the grandsons take no heed and proceed without. However when the old man is buried Holy water is sprinkled on his body and grave. At this point Leon exclaims that his grandfather will be able to send rain. From the above story, comes forth an in depth view of common town life that hold secret beliefs of the Native Indians and their power of Indian magic. In this case it seems that the grandsons are in a way almost excited by the fact, that their grandfather will be able to initiate rain for the town. Or rather they presented their dead grandfather as a sacrifice to the rain maker. It is for this reason that they paint his face with symbols and lines and bury the Christian parishioner without any rightful Christian rights. â€Å"Only approved Indians can play: Made in USA†, by Jack Forbes This historic piece of penmanship was published in 1979 and like all the other works of literature in the book â€Å"A Little Literature: Reading, Writing, Argument†, this too takes the reader In â€Å"Only approved Indians can play: Made in USA†, Jack Forbes writes about American Indians and how the modern day American society chooses to interact with them. Forbes has used characters of Indian descent to show how Indian Americans learn to visualize the change they long for even when it cannot be attained. Unique and struggling, the characters introduce the reader to the wide array of Indian American lifestyles. â€Å"The two†, by Gloria Naylor In Gloria Naylor’s, â€Å"The Two†, we see a metaphorical approach towards the sensitivities in the relationships of life. For instance, the yellow mist is observed to be a metaphor that presents to the reader the countless complicated and interrelated intricacies that swarm the lesbian couple. The Oriental Contingent, by Diana Chang Many books, articles and stories have been written about the influences of a culture upon a society or that of a society on a culture however few have been written about people of the same culture learning to live in a foreign country. One such is â€Å"The Original Contingent† by Diana Chang. The â€Å"Original Contingent† was published in 1989. In the â€Å"Oriental Contingent†, Diana Chang brings to light the ways in which the Asian populace measures up and compares each other. â€Å"The Original Contingent† achieves its purpose by taking us through a journey of two young women as they both consider each other to be of a better native heritage than the other. By portraying the two women pushed apart by the extent to which they have absorbed the cultural concept of being Chinese and having a Chinese heritage, the Original Contingent explores how the Chinese American culture evolves horizontally within the community and is passed down vertically. â€Å"Who’s Irish†, by Gish Jen â€Å"Who’s Irish† was first published in June 2000 by Vintage Publishers. Writer Gish Jen has been acclaimed by many critics to be an Asian American Writer with an east coast sense of culture and heritage. It is common knowledge that the process of migrating to America and often causes collisions in cultural respects and lead to much confusion. â€Å"Who’s Irish† by Gish Jen centers around the slow and painful process that people more than often have to go through after migrating to another land. Highly fascinating is the way Gish Jen has used a rare blend of Chinese and Irish cultures to demonstrate her point of view. â€Å"Who’s Irish† explores some of the most important avenues of the significance given to culture in the modern day society and how the process of transformation and adaption of culture influences the people directly as well as indirectly. â€Å"The lesson†, by Toni Cade Bambara Toni Cade Bambara’s â€Å"The Lesson† speaks about more than racial and economic inequalities but highlights a related subject that has been rarely given its due importance. Toni Cade Bambara speaks of beyond the injustice of life where man learns the importance of being willing to learn new things. Toni Cade Bambara uses his lead character in â€Å"The lesson† to portray the tendency people have to resist letting the process of learning shape their minds, yet choose to let the process take effect in their subconscious. At times, as Bambara shows us, the process takes place at an even higher level when we tend to accept the knowledge we are given but we choose not to show that we have accepted our error. By showing a stubborn little young girls journey through the process of learning and realization, Bambara speaks of how we learn new things as we live and how we choose to defend our pride as we learn that our perceptions of the reality we live in may be wrong. Works Cited Barnet, Sylvan. A Little Literature: Reading, Writing, Argument. Longman, 2006. A Little Literature: Reading, Writing, Argument Essay â€Å"A Little Literature: Reading, Writing, Argument† is a book that spans across multiple genres of literature and allows the reader to get a taste of classical and contemporary issues regarding the different values of society and how they evolve amongst secondary cultures (Barnet). The man to send rain clouds, by Leslie Marmon Silko â€Å"The man to send rain clouds† was originally published in the late 1960’s. The story revolves around the culture of the native Indians and the significance of culture in every day domestic life. The story presents to the reader how external influences impinge on these domestic values and customs, and how these external influences continue to do so as time passes by. Using the characters of the Catholics and the Pueblos, Leslie Marmon Silko has narrated how an evolving culture is considered to be a fading culture and how the people of that culture attempt to keep it alive in its original form through their actions and preferences. This is a story about an old man and his grandsons and their wives. It begins with the death of the old man, the story implies, that the old man and his grandsons were shepherds and farmers. The old man being left to tend to the sheep dies peacefully under the shade of the tree. The grandsons when discover that he has died, they adorn his face with paint symbols similar to that of the native Indian rain makers. Then this group heads on home. However in the entire story, there is a lack of emotion and expression on the grandson’s part. The only emotion that can be ascertained is that of interest and anticipation on the grandson Leon. Leon seems to see the old man’s death as a means to send them rain, which also brings to mind the fact that perhaps the town was suffering the drought season. Anyhow the old man is buried without any religious preliminaries mandatory for a Christian burial, with the exception of the sprinkling of Holy Water on the old man’s body, which Leon insists on, giving the excuse that by doing this the old man will never feel thirst. However even though the Priest insists on full religious ceremony, the grandsons take no heed and proceed without. However when the old man is buried Holy water is sprinkled on his body and grave. At this point Leon exclaims that his grandfather will be able to send rain. From the above story, comes forth an in depth view of common town life that hold secret beliefs of the Native Indians and their power of Indian magic. In this case it seems that the grandsons are in a way almost excited by the fact, that their grandfather will be able to initiate rain for the town. Or rather they presented their dead grandfather as a sacrifice to the rain maker. It is for this reason that they paint his face with symbols and lines and bury the Christian parishioner without any rightful Christian rights. â€Å"Only approved Indians can play: Made in USA†, by Jack Forbes This historic piece of penmanship was published in 1979 and like all the other works of literature in the book â€Å"A Little Literature: Reading, Writing, Argument†, this too takes the reader In â€Å"Only approved Indians can play: Made in USA†, Jack Forbes writes about American Indians and how the modern day American society chooses to interact with them. Forbes has used characters of Indian descent to show how Indian Americans learn to visualize the change they long for even when it cannot be attained. Unique and struggling, the characters introduce the reader to the wide array of Indian American lifestyles. â€Å"The two†, by Gloria Naylor In Gloria Naylor’s, â€Å"The Two†, we see a metaphorical approach towards the sensitivities in the relationships of life. For instance, the yellow mist is observed to be a metaphor that presents to the reader the countless complicated and interrelated intricacies that swarm the lesbian couple. The Oriental Contingent, by Diana Chang Many books, articles and stories have been written about the influences of a culture upon a society or that of a society on a culture however few have been written about people of the same culture learning to live in a foreign country. One such is â€Å"The Original Contingent† by Diana Chang. The â€Å"Original Contingent† was published in 1989. In the â€Å"Oriental Contingent†, Diana Chang brings to light the ways in which the Asian populace measures up and compares each other. â€Å"The Original Contingent† achieves its purpose by taking us through a journey of two young women as they both consider each other to be of a better native heritage than the other. By portraying the two women pushed apart by the extent to which they have absorbed the cultural concept of being Chinese and having a Chinese heritage, the Original Contingent explores how the Chinese American culture evolves horizontally within the community and is passed down vertically. â€Å"Who’s Irish†, by Gish Jen â€Å"Who’s Irish† was first published in June 2000 by Vintage Publishers. Writer Gish Jen has been acclaimed by many critics to be an Asian American Writer with an east coast sense of culture and heritage. It is common knowledge that the process of migrating to America and often causes collisions in cultural respects and lead to much confusion. â€Å"Who’s Irish† by Gish Jen centers around the slow and painful process that people more than often have to go through after migrating to another land. Highly fascinating is the way Gish Jen has used a rare blend of Chinese and Irish cultures to demonstrate her point of view. â€Å"Who’s Irish† explores some of the most important avenues of the significance given to culture in the modern day society and how the process of transformation and adaption of culture influences the people directly as well as indirectly. â€Å"The lesson†, by Toni Cade Bambara Toni Cade Bambara’s â€Å"The Lesson† speaks about more than racial and economic inequalities but highlights a related subject that has been rarely given its due importance. Toni Cade Bambara speaks of beyond the injustice of life where man learns the importance of being willing to learn new things. Toni Cade Bambara uses his lead character in â€Å"The lesson† to portray the tendency people have to resist letting the process of learning shape their minds, yet choose to let the process take effect in their subconscious. At times, as Bambara shows us, the process takes place at an even higher level when we tend to accept the knowledge we are given but we choose not to show that we have accepted our error. By showing a stubborn little young girls journey through the process of learning and realization, Bambara speaks of how we learn new things as we live and how we choose to defend our pride as we learn that our perceptions of the reality we live in may be wrong. Works Cited Barnet, Sylvan. A Little Literature: Reading, Writing, Argument. Longman, 2006.

Bone Marrow Structure, Function, Diseases and More

Review Of The Remembered Village - 1189 Words

Book Review Of Mysoore Narsimhachar Srinivas’ â€Å"The Remembered Village† by Ashmik Pratik Roll No.142241006 M.A. Development Studies [Dept.:-HSS] Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IIT-G) The Remembered Village by M.N.Srinivas was first published in 1976.From then till date, it has been deemed as a classic for sociologists and social anthropologists alike. In this book, he deals in details the social nuances and social dynamics of the various castes, genders and religion in a village called Rampura in the Mysore area in Karnataka state in Modern India. The naming of the book has an incredible story attached to it. All three copies of his work was burnt in a fire and so he had to redo hi work based on reminiscences and burnt fragments of his work, hence the name â€Å"The Remembered Village†. The novel like fluidity of these 365 odd pages of this first hand ethnographic report is like an exotic vicarious journey that one experiences rather than labyrinthine ordeal. It is like a romantic story of meeting a village, falling in love with it , learning a lot from it, then moving on as one does in life yet still get reminded of its nuances every time in life. The book is precisely divided into three distinct parts. The first three chapters of the books tells us a lot and it precisely sets the base for further penetration. Srinivas elaborates to us us how he selected Rampura, selfishly and partially as an emotional desire to uncover his own origins and also because it fit mostShow MoreRelatedThe Lottery By Shirley Jackson811 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones†. During 1948, promptly world war II ,â€Å"The Lottery† was published by Shirley Jackson. The story was true expression of Jackson’s genuine thoughts about human beings and their heinous competence in an annual village event for corn harvest . First, her used to word symbolized main point of the story. Second, Jackson was inspired by few historical events happened in the past andRead MoreWitchcraft Hysteria Of Salem, Massachusetts891 Words   |  4 Pagessplit up into two distinctly separate settlements. The village of Salem was characterized by farmers who depended heavily, if not exclusively, on agriculture for their livelihoods. The town of Salem, as it was situated on the water, was comprised primarily of well-off merchants. The two technically made up the same town, but it was as if there was a boundary line separating them. This divide was not just one of housing; the incomes of the village and the town were vastly different. The town inhabitantsRead MoreMemoirs of a Geisha Review1273 Words   |  6 PagesBook Review   in History 2 Memoirs of a Geisha Date: January 6, 2011 Summary Well done! I couldn’t say more. This is one of the greatest master pieces ever written. 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As a result, Okonkwo is ashamed of his father and becomes an overly ambitious and aggressive man who despises anything that reminds him of his father. In Umuofia; a clan of nine villages that lies deep in Igbo land where Unoka lives, it is expected that a father teach his children right from wrong. Unoka did not upload this tradition with his son Okonkwo. Okonkwo relies on his own analysis of what defines a good man, and to himRead MoreChild of the Dark written by Carolina Maria De Jesus Essay1336 Words   |  6 PagesJesus, is â€Å"A desperate, terrifying outcry from the slums of Sau Paulo† says Newsweek. Testimony written by Victor Montejo is referred to as a â€Å"clear storytelling voice that makes it chillingly human.† Says San Francisco Sun. After reading theses reviews, neither piece of literature, written about 30 years apart gave me any disappointment during reading, besides the disappointment in how humans can treat other humans in such a horrendous way. The books can both be referred to as diaries or journalsRead MoreThings Fall Apart and Chapter1699 Words   |  7 Pagesmen in his village. 2. Page #______ How did Okonkwo bring honor to his village as a young man? 3. Page #______ What other achievements make him an important man? 4. Page #______ Why does Okonkwo have no patience with his own father, Unoka? 5. Page #______ What good qualities does Unoka have, that his son fails to appreciate? Chapter Two 1. Page #______ How does Okonkwo reaffirm his greatness as a warrior to the people of his village? Read MorePlot And Themes Of Madam Bovary1127 Words   |  5 PagesINTRODUCTION TO THE AUTHOR Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) was a French writer best remembered for his debut novel madam Bovary. Flaubert, as a author, was notoriously a compulsive, avoiding such techniques as clichà © and finding â€Å"le mot juste† (â€Å"the right word†). Flaubert was born in Rouen, the son of a doctor. author began writing as a toddler and was educated at the lyceumin Rouen. In 1840, he emotional to Paris so as to review law, however found the town distasteful. one in every ofthe few folks he metRead MoreGrave of the Fireflies -------- My Personal Reactions1582 Words   |  7 Pagesin a sudden burst of desperation, cries out: Where am I supposed to get food? These two questions stabbed my heart like spears the moment I heard them. These are questions that never really need to be answered but they nevertheless need to be remembered. In the last scene, the ghost of Setsuko lays sleeping comfortably in the lap of her older brother, while he gazes at the night sky over the skyline of a fully modernized city. As one critic elaborates on this last shot, and here I quote, TheyRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Ramona 1689 Words   |  7 PagesLuiseà ±o tribe members in the book. In the introduction we get a comparison of Alessandro and his t ribe members. Jackson introduces Alessandro and wrote, â€Å"No wonder Alessandro seemed to be the more ignorant and thoughtless young men and women of his village, a cold and distant lad. He was made old before his time. He was carrying in his heart burdens which they knew nothing† (Jackson 53). She is reinforcing the point that Alessandro is different from the normal ignorant and thoughtless members of his

The Debate Over Global Warming Essay - 1249 Words

As the threat posed by global warming continues to mount, there has been much debate over how to stem the rise in global temperatures. Nearly all experts agree that the primary driver of global warming has been human activity. Over the last century and a half, human activity has released immense amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, altering the Earth’s climate. Yet, although there is a pressing need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, it is impossible to advocate a return to pre-electric, preindustrial times. Modern life depends of the flow of power, and although we must wean ourselves off of fossil fuels, we must have an alternative source of energy. Although green, renewable energy sources like wind and solar have been hailed as the technologies of the future, they are not yet mature enough to shoulder the burden of being our sole source of energy. Until renewable energy technology advances sufficiently, natural gas can serve as an effective bridge fuel, lessening the toll we are taking on the environment while ensuring that we can meet our energy needs. As fuel sources, solar and wind power seem to be ideal. They are abundant, renewable, and green. Although these are certainly valid points, they do not tell the entire story. While wind and solar energy are indeed abundant, as they are readily accessible nearly everywhere, they are also intermittent. The wind does not always blow and the sun does not always shine. Without someShow MoreRelatedThe Debate Over Global Warming1499 Words   |  6 PagesThe global warming debate has been at the top of the list for environmentalists increasingly over the last twenty years. The controversy of global warming is either considered due to human activity or natural causes. Although the earth’s climate and temperatures have changed, that does not mean it is humanly caused. Despite the pretense linking the association between man and global warming, which is heavily s upported by consensus of scientists, eco-sensitive politicians, and the effort to restrictRead MoreThe Debate over Global Warming1406 Words   |  6 Pagesindustry and production of this age, our population releases environmentally harmful substances like greenhouse gases into the air every day. In recent decades’ findings, these substances have been found to trap heat in the atmosphere over time, contributing to global warming. To cut these emissions completely would bankrupt the world’s struggling, industry-dependent economy. Knowing that this isn’t a threat that will peak in our life time or even the next generation’s causes political progression to moveRead MoreThe Debate Over Global Warming1063 Words   |  5 Pagesclimate change debate has been ongoing for nearly thirty years now, the debate is over the causation(s) of global warming. 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Below i will focus on how politics are lacking in effort to stop global warming between the huge oil companies having more influence over the government, toRead MoreThe Debate Over Global Warming1159 Words   |  5 Pages The date is 450 years into the future. The calendar reads March 1st, 2465. The world is much different than how it was 400, 500 years ago. Your know those warnings scientists have been crying out for years about global warming? Well, they were true, and their effects were much more severe than anticipated†¦ Johanna is 15 years old. She lives in Kansas City, but this Kansas isn’t the one that our readers from the past may know. This Kansas is more like an island, surrounded by water on all sidesRead MoreGlobal Warming: Fallacy or Truth Essays1142 Words   |  5 PagesOver 35 years ago, climatologist Wally Broecker coined the term global warming in a paper outlining the trends that he was noticing with temperature and C02 levels (Stefan). 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Overview of Global Warming A. Signs of global warming a. Support b. Skepticism II. Effects of Global Warming A. Contributors to global a. Manmade b. Natural Summary Abstract The information found in this paper is designed to raiseRead MoreHuman Activity Is Responsible For Our Current Warming Trend1598 Words   |  7 PagesHumans Are To Blame The biggest problem with climate change today is the debate on whether or not human activity is responsible for our current warming trend. According to Jonathon Schuldt (2014:219), around 99.7% of climatologists agree that man-made climate change is a reality, while only 40% of Americans believe that humans are the main driver. This is because we live in societies in which, thanks largely to the internet, everyone is free to express an opinion. On the issue of climate change

Mass Media and Its Influence Free Essays

Mass Media and Its Influence Spoken, written, or broadcast communication whose medium may include television, radio, advertising, movies, newspapers, magazines, books, cell phones and the Internet becomes a mass media that affects our society’s perception of ourselves and others and influences the structures of our society as well as the reactions of the individual. Americans perceive the political, economic, class, educational, and other structures of American society because of, by, and through the media. The American understanding of these structures within its society as well as those structures outside of the United States are manipulated and directed by the media. We will write a custom essay sample on Mass Media and Its Influence or any similar topic only for you Order Now Similarly, the media influences the perceptions of individuals within American society by what and how the media is communicating. The media communicates and influences through the key motivators of our society today: sexual, monetary, and violent images. The most widespread form of this communication media is television, followed by the Internet. With the increased use of computers and multi-media cell phones, the Internet is on the road to exceeding the television as a communication media. How these media venues affect the world in which they operate shows how far and how deep the communications can reach, the speed in which the messages are delivered and accepted, the cultural impact that is experienced. Media has converted individual communication into group communication and has allowed for wonderful advances in civilization. Through mass communication, people groups, organizations, governments, and nations have found the media for the spread of information in business and industry, education, politics, technology and science, medicine and healthcare, weather and climate, and all levels of culture. It is in technology that the media’s most obvious advancements are visible. In addition, the widespread distribution of information has allowed the world to respond to natural disasters, political oppression and exploitation, and in mass multi-national cultural events. In the area of culture, sex is not only a physical motivation in individuals, both male and female; it is also psychological motivation of people. Although, people express it in different cultures differently, the basic human need for sexual expression is one of basics of marketing and advertisement. It motivates sales and sales are best motivated in mass fashion for mass return on investment in massive profits via mass media. All forms of media use the basic instinct to identify a product for sale and manipulate the individual’s perception to cause him or her to identify their individual sexuality with the product. Everyone wants to be sexy, attractive, wanted, desirable, in demand, and therefore, powerful. People will buy whatever they believe or perceive will provide this to them. Similarly, another motivator of power is violence. Whether the perpetrator-the inflictor, or the violated-the victim, there is no doubt about how powerful violence is. It also motivates sales indirectly through the marketing and advertisement of products supporting violent venues such as horror and R-rated films and television shows, sporting events such as boxing, wrestling, and football, war coverage, and the 11 o’clock news shows. The mass media clearly shows that violence motivates power and power motivates violence. The most vulnerable segment of society to the images and messages of mass media are America’s youth. Young people are in a stage of life where they want acceptance by their peers, they want to be desired and loved, and they hope to be successful and powerful. They also seek to explore and express some of the same human motivations as the mature citizen: sex, violence, and power. The children and teenagers of America find all of these elements on the TV. In fact, as Arthur Asa Berger states, â€Å"the amount of time young people spend â€Å"media multi-tasking† has increased from 16% to 26% of media time, the actual amount of time devoted to media use has remained steady, at under just 6 1/2 hours per day (going from 6:19 to 6:21) 0r 44 1/2 hours per week (http://kff. org/entmedia/entmedia030509nr. cfm) (Berger, 12). Television and its self-directed version, cable, allow for the mass influence of these elements in both positive and negative ways. The positive aspects of violence and competition within the socially accepted structures of competitive youth sports and athletics promoted on TV and in video games and equally, in the fashion, dance, and young love seen in sitcoms, movies, and MTV music videos. Conversely, the use of junk foods, cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol combined with irresponsible, casual sex, excessive and explicit violence dominate much of the negative influence of media on America’s youth. Joseph Dominic concludes, â€Å"that youngsters that are heavy TV viewers would display a pattern of beliefs and perceptions consistent with media portrayals (Dominick, 446). Regarding violence in mass media, again the young are exposed to a culture of violence reflected in the media. How the media sells or promotes those perceptions is the â€Å"reality† of the media. From a war somewhere in the world to the wars in someone’s home, the media directs the interpretation of what is necessary, correct, moral, and immoral. From what is happening, is not happening, should happen, might and will happen, and what is and is not the cost the media influences our realities and reactions. This has resulted in Saturday morning cartoons that are as full of shootings, stabbings, explosions, and other forms of violence as is CSI or the nightly news; it has resulted in video games like Grand Theft Auto that allow children to be pretend drug lords, gang members, and pimps; it has promoted murder and abuse as entertainment for the masses. In the case of American youth, the effects of media violence on the developing mind and values of children and the personalities and beliefs of those children are increasingly negative. Aggressive behavior, lawlessness, and distorted views of reality are becoming commonplace among the children of today and mass media is one of the greatest influences. As these children mature into teenagers and young adults, the media blurs the realities of war in their minds and makes entertainment out of both virtual war games and actual wars on this earth. â€Å"More speci? ally, research provides strong evidence that in the short term, exposure to media violence causes increases in children’s, adolescents’, and young adults’ physically and verbally aggressive behavior, as well as in aggression-related variables (such as aggressive thoughts and emotions) that are theoretically linked to aggressive and violent behavior (Anderson et al, 104). The young people of the United Stat es are an identified and targeted demographic of the advertisement industry due to their large discretionary income from family and employment and due to their lack of experience and nowledge combined with an almost insatiable need to experiment and acquire. The use of sex and violence to market to America’s youth, epitomized in the overwhelming success of the book and television series about teenage vampires, Twilight, has become a multi-billion dollar, multi-media industry. The media creates and promotes the ideal image of what is beautiful, desirable and sexy and what are the characteristics of a successful and power person, usually psychological and/or physical violence. Because these two instincts are so universal, primal, and strong, they are almost irresistible advertising vehicles. However, if sex and violence are the vehicles, money is the fuel. Consequently, the purpose of marketing and advertisement is to sell and make money. Mass media sells the belief to a person, young or old, that he or she can attain the characteristics of power, if they can buy the products that the powerful and violent own. It sells them on the belief that they can attain the characteristics of the sexy, if they can buy the products that makes one attractive and desirable–all as they are presented in the movies, TV, Internet or other media. The estimated revenue of all forms of mass media is in the 100’s of billions of dollars. The cost of reality in relation to these perceptions is often much more expensive. An example of some of the more costly areas of influence is in the area of politics. In this area, political offices and careers both are promoted and destroyed. The media has a great influence over public opinion. The media has a huge influence over public opinion as can be seen by the use of opinion polls that it controls and manipulates. The use of polls and news coverage by the media can affect, positively or negatively, candidates and their ideas that, in turn, can change the political control of the nation. In addition, media control shapes the way people see their realities and it has a tremendous impact on our society. The War on Terrorism is a clear example of media influence on American society that resulted in the war in Iraq to stop weapons of mass destruction that did not exist in reality. This example shows how media can use information that is not real to create another reality it chooses. Because media is so powerful, it is owned by the powerful. In the United States, six corporations own 95% of all media nd the money they make are proof of their power: 2009 revenues of General Electric, $157 billion; Walt Disney, $36. 1 billion; News Corp. , $30. 4 billion; Time Warner, $25. 8 billion; Viacom, $13. 6 billion; and CBS, $13 billion (Freepress. net). â€Å"We find that media firms nearly universally have ownership structures with large controlling shareholders and that these shareholders are either families or governments. This evidence is broadly consistent with the ideas that there is large amenity potential (control benefits) associated with owning media–be it political influence or fame† (Djankov et al, 373). What this control costs American citizens in their freedoms and democracy cannot be calculated. In conclusion, the control of the media and its impact on American society, both positively and negatively, is important to the quality of our lives and to the freedoms we believe in. The media appears to be some huge, uncontrollable monster, but in reality, it is made of people just like our government is made of people and our country is made of people. Corporations, companies, governments, media are all people. Therefore, if the negative impacts and influences of media are to be controlled and limited, these people need to be challenged. In order to challenge these people’s influence and control through the media, we must challenge what the media is selling, be it sexual, violent, moneymaking or otherwise. We must begin with ourselves and exercise our control over what we are buying. References Anderson, Craig A. , Leonard Berkowitz, Edward Donnerstein, L. Rowell Huesmann, James D. Johnson, Daniel Linz, Neil M. Malamuth, and Ellen Wartella. â€Å"The Influence of Media Violence on Youth†. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, Vol. 4, No. 3, Dec. 2003. 81-110. Berger, Arthur Asa. 2007. Media and Society: a critical perspective, 2nd ed. (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Inc. ) Djankov, Simon, Caralee McLiesh, Tatiana Nenova, and Andrew Shleifer. 2003. â€Å"Who Owns the Media? † The Journal of Law and Economics. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ) 27 Dec. 2010. Dominick, Joseph R. 2010. The Dynamics of Mass Communication: media in transition, 11th ed. (New York, NY: McGraw -Hill) Freepress. net. 2009. (Florence, MA: Free Press and the Free Press How to cite Mass Media and Its Influence, Papers

Fundamentals of Corporate Finance

Question: Discuss about the Fundamentals of Corporate Finance. Answer: As per the most recent statement of cash flows, the following information can be derived (Aura Energy, 2015). The net cash inflow from operating activities in FY2015 amounts to -$ 2,493,886. The net cash inflow from financing activities in FY2015 amounts to $ 2,879.083 The net cash inflow from investing activities in FY2015 amounts to -$ 3,285. Net increase/(decrease) in cash = Sum of all the above cash flows = -2,493,886 + 2,879.083 - 3,285 = $ 381,912 Cash position of the company Aura Energy Based on the cash flow statement for the last two years, it can be inferred that while cash position at the end of FY2014 was critical but there has been an improvement in the cash position at the end of FY2015. This is apparent from the fact that net increase in cash at the end of FY2014 was -$1,457,089 as compared to the net increase in cash at the end of FY2015 which stood at $ 381,912. However, having said that considering the quantum of cash outflow at the operating, the cash position of the company still needs further improvement so as to reach a comfortable position (Aura Energy, 2015). This can be understood from the following. The current cash balance at the end of FY2015 stands at $ 943,011 and it is significant lesser than the operational cash outflow in each of the years FY2014 and FY2015. Thus, this implies that with the current cash balance also, the company would need to arrange for additional financing sources. From the cash flow statement corresponding to FY2014 and FY2015, it is apparent in the year FY2014, $ 234,943 was raised through equity financing while in the year FY2015, $ 3,065, 806 was raised through equity financing (Aura Energy, 2015). As a result, equity financing cannot be continued as the company does not seem to generate any profit at the moment. Thus, equity financing cannot be pursued in this manner and has to be used sparingly. Besides, debt financing also seems improbable as the company lacks any fixed assets to provide comfort to the lenders and also the entity is not profit making at the moment and it seems this trend is going to continue in the near future (Parrino et. al., 2 014). As a result, it is imperative that the company in the near future should make robust efforts to minimise the negative operational cash inflows and gradually look to bring out a successful product before the company experiences severe cash crunch and thereby might have to wind up. Hence, to prevent this, it is imperative that the company should look for sustainable long term financing in case the project gestation period is longer (Aura Energy, 2015). References Aura Energy 2015, Annual Report-FY2015, Available online from https://www.auraenergy.com.au/investor/Reports/Annual%20Reports/Annual%20Report%202015%20.pdf (Accessed on May 20, 2016) Parrino, R, Kidwell, D, Yong, A, Morkel-Kingsbury, D Murray, EK 2014, Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, 2nd Australasian edn, John Wiley and Sons, Milton