The Sports Card And Memorabilia Market Essays - Trading Cards

The sports card and memorabilia market The sports card and memorabilia market is as lucrative as ever in our culture today. The number of sports card and memorabilia stores, however, has never recovered since the backlash of the late 1980's and early 1990's. My business plan is to open ED'S SPORTS CARD The store-front will cost $400 per month. The sports card market has a year-round appeal but also has fluctuations by month. The height of business is found in November and December (holiday time) as well as in March and April (when the baseball season gets underway). An advantage to this business is the extremely low amount of advertising money needed. By accessing the Internet (through a $2500 computer and $20 per month America OnLine service), a card and memorabilia store can have virtually all the advertising they can put on-line at no extra cost. A webpage (through a provider like GeoCities or Angelfire) is free and posting in Usenet groups or on AOL's "Card Collector's Corner" is also free. All you have to pay is the monthly service charge. An advantage of using the Internet for this business is the profit margin. It is not uncommon to find cards on the Internet selling for 10% to 40% of it's actual value (i.e. a $100 card can be found for $10 to $40), or "pre-order" buys on upcoming products to be way below the market price (i.e. a $67 pre-order on a box that will sell for $110 wholesale). This enables the business owner to turn over inventory at a price that the consumer finds reasonable (under it's "value") and the businessman finds profitable. Start-up costs are pretty low for this business also. I figured that I can start a business for under $8,000 and maintain it for about $1,500 a month. This includes showcases, the previously mentioned computer, inventory, rent, advertising, supplies, and utilities. The average daily expense for maintaining the store is under $50 a day. What I have not figured into the amount to start-up this business is a sign outside the store. Many baseball card shop owners have told me that their sign was free! This was done by contacting one of the major card companies (Topps, Fleer, Upper Deck, or Pinnacle) and placing their corporate logo on the sign. I have been ivolved in this industry as a collector since 1985. I have been a part-time dealer since 1995. An average month as a part-time dealer (8 card shows and on-line transactions throughout the month), results in about $2,000 worth of sales and $420 worth of expenses (8 card shows times $50 per show, plus $20 for America OnLine). If my store doubled this pace (which would be still be slow for a full-time card store), it would take a little over four months to break even and it would make over $23,000 in profit in it's first year. The chart attached shows how this was figured. This business may not seem very profitable according to the figures I have provided, but these are low-end estimates. Many companies like L.J. Sands, Co. provide baseball card portfolios (like stock portfolios) for high-dollar investors. This involves finding cards of Hall of Fame caliber players that are undervalued and waiting for them to rise in value. A good example of this today is Ken Griffey Jr of the Seattle Mariners. His rookie card (1989 Upper Deck, card number 1) is valued at $70.00, in the past four years it has never been valued under $65.00, but as of April 25th he has 13 homeruns and is on pace to break Roger Maris' single-season record (61 in 1961). If this happens, the Griffey Jr card will soar to a new value. This will not be unprecedented. When Jose Canseco became the first player to hit 40 homeruns and steal 40 stolen bases in one season, his 1986 Donruss rookie card soared from $7 to $150, currently the card is available at $12. Two years ago, whe! n Cal Ripken Jr broke Lou Gehrig's "Ironman" streak of 2,130 consecutive games his rookie card (1982 Topps Traded) went from $150 to $300.

How to Revise, Edit and Proofread Your Writing

How to Revise, Edit and Proofread Your Writing How to Revise, Edit and Proofread Your Writing How to Revise, Edit and Proofread Your Writing By Ali Hale Whatever sort of writing you do, it’s important to revise and edit your work – especially if you write academic essays, or articles or short stories that you’ll be submitting to editors. However much time you took over the piece on the first draft, you’ll always find a few mistakes to correct. This is the method that I’ve used for years when writing essays or short stories, to ensure they’re as good as possible before a lecturer or editor gets to see them! Do nothing (for a day or two) Set your work aside for a period of time – don’t hit ‘Save’ on the first draft then start again straight away on the second pass. You’ll come to the work afresh if you leave it alone for a while. As Michael said in Write First, Edit Later: Let your writing sit for a while. It may make more sense if you sleep on it. Or, it may make less sense after you have slept on it. At least you’ll know which. For essays, try to allow at least a day. Short stories can sometimes need longer – your mind will carry on mulling over the ideas whilst you’re doing other things. And many novelists advise putting your novel aside for at least a month before starting the revision process. Revision Read over your whole piece quite quickly. Circle any typos and mistakes that you spot, but concentrate on overall flow. If its an essay, check for any gaps in logic or any sides of the argument you might have missed. If its a short story, do any passages drag – or go too fast? Print out the first draft, and read through the whole thing, concentrating on the overall flow of the piece. Circle any typos or mistakes that you notice, but focus on the big picture. If it’s an essay, are there any logical missteps, points you’ve not backed up, or angles to the argument that you’ve missed? If it’s fiction, do any scenes drag or go too fast, and are there any plot holes or inconsistencies of characterisation? This is the stage to sort out any big problems. I often rewrite the whole thing (especially when working on fiction), starting afresh with a blank document on the computer. If you’re better than me at getting it right first time, you may not need to do that – but you could find yourself cutting out whole paragraphs, adding in new material, and changing the direction of the piece. After you’ve done this, you might want to ask a friend, classmate or colleague to read the piece. Tell them not to look for tiny errors like typos or clumsy sentences at this stage: ask whether they think it’s broadly OK, or if they have any reservations about the overall direction of the article or story. Editing and proofreading Once you’ve sorted out the big picture, you can start fixing any individual sentences and words. Again, it’s a good idea to print out the document and do this on paper: I find I miss errors on screen (especially typos which are valid words, such as â€Å"they’re† for â€Å"their†). Look out for: Typos and misspellings (a good tip here is to read backwards! You’ll go much more slowly, focussing on every individual word). Clumsy sentences and confusing or misleading phrasing (try reading your work aloud). Unnecessary words (check for the ones in Five Words You Can Cut). Commonly misused or confused words (there’s a whole list of these in the Misused Words category). If you’re not 100% sure about a spelling, double-check with a dictionary: try Merriam-Webster for clear, succinct definitions. When you can’t quite find the right word, using a thesaurus can help (again, Merriam-Webster is good). Do you have a great tip for revising and editing your work? Or do you have a horror story about an occasion when you handed in a first draft with a glaring error..? Share your experiences in the comments below! Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Homograph ExamplesExpanded and Extended50 Synonyms for â€Å"Villain†

Strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Strategic management - Essay Example It is the hope of this author that such an analysis will help to engage the reader with a clear and definitive understanding of how the associated business strategies in question impact upon the day-to-day decision-making structure, mission, and a general understanding of how the firm sees itself within its competitive environment (Singh, 2011). In short, the general perception that must be attained is with regards to the fact that a business strategy in and of itself is capable of differentiating a firm in almost the same degree and extent that different products or services differentiate one firm from another. In so much, even though Walmart and Microsoft are mega-corporations that garner a massive degree of profits each and every quarter, the products and services that they sell are nearly as diverse as the business strategy by which they operate (Mithas et al, 2013). Naturally, with respect to Walmart, the business strategy that is engaged with is that of a low-cost provider stra tegy. With this ultimately entails is a situation in which the key targets that Walmart seeks to leverage our with regards to price sensitivity, extreme price competition, segmentation within markets, the optimization of economies of scale, emphasis upon bargaining power, focusing upon low costs of input, offering incentives, reducing material, personnel, and shipping costs, vertical integration, and a variety of other tools to accomplish such an end (Rong et al, 2013). In such a way, a nearly continual emphasis is made upon seeking to cut each and every available cost corner to provide the minimum price to the consumer; due to the fact that without such a continual war on prices, the ultimate appeal that the firm is able to generate would necessarily be non-existent. Comparatively, Microsoft - although one of the most profitable firms within his United States - pursues quite a different business strategy entirely. Accordingly, Microsoft pursues what is known as a broad differentiat ion strategy (Rumelt, 2011). Such a type of strategy is often employed by firms that seek to target a diverse range of need and preference, value conscious consumers, premium price products, and buyers who might be loyal to a particular brand. As a function of such a complex and interwoven level of needs and targets such an approach must take, it should be the understanding of the reader that this broad differentiation strategy is effective for many types of firms (Bharadwaj et al, 2013). In such a way, the strategic inputs that are available to a firm or business that seeks to engage with a broad differentiation strategy are as follows: special water availability, customer service, marketing intensity, defensive strategies, continuous improvement an organization, constant value signaling, uninterrupted product availability, as well as unique tangible and intangible benefits. Due to the fact that this is something of a â€Å"catch all† strategy, it can be understood that a ve ry high number of firms, both small and large, integrate with this very approach (Bradley et al, 2011). Although it may be tempting to believe that the likes of Microsoft or Walmart have achieved their degree of success based upon the fact that they had leveraged

TMA1 Revised Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

TMA1 Revised - Essay Example s it, his transgression - of lending fire to the humans he is credited with having created - was punished by Zeus in the form of a notoriously cruel curse. Prometheus would be bound to a rock in the Caucasus and an eagle would eat his liver all day; whatever had been consumed during the day would regenerate overnight and the eagle would be back the next day, continuing this cycle of torture ad infinitum. Prometheus was finally freed from this curse by Zeus’s son, the hero Heracles, and was later allowed to regain his position as god, though still bound by a symbolic ring and a piece of the rock he was tied to as a reminder of his punishment (Grimal 1996). The poet Hesiod’s account of the Prometheus myth in his Theogony is considered one of its most authoritative versions. In his version, the story of Prometheus’s first notable deception of Zeus - the incident where Prometheus disguises the ox bones with fat and the flesh with the ox hide and fools Zeus into choosing the apparently valuable but actually worthless bones - is described in clearly partisan terms. Prometheus is referred to as â€Å"devious and wily† while Zeus is called â€Å"far-seeing† and his wisdom is repeatedly praised - â€Å"Zeus, whose wisdom is immortal†; â€Å"Zeus in his wisdom† and so on. (Morford and Lenardon 2003). We are also told in this version that Zeus â€Å"was not unaware of this [Prometheus’s] trick.† The illustration Atlas and Prometheus, from a 6th century BCE engraving on a Laconian cup, is also interesting in its suggestions (Morford and Lenardon 2003). Atlas is pictured as looking on helplessly, while his brother, Prometheus, is attacked by the eagle. Prometheus is seen tied to a column and Atlas with the weight of the skies on his shoulder. There is also a snake on the extreme left which appears to be attacking Atlas. The representation of both these tormented Titans in the same panel emphasizes the might and wrath of Zeus and may have been a common image among

Ganga River Pollution In India Environmental Sciences Essay

Ganga River Pollution In India Environmental Sciences Essay All of us have seen a river large or small, either flowing through our town, or somewhere else. Rivers are nothing more than surface water flowing down from a higher altitude to a lower altitude due to the pull of gravity. One river might have its source in a glacier, another in a spring or a lake. Rivers carry dissolved minerals, organic compounds, small grains of sand, gravel, and other material as they flow downstream. Rivers begin as small streams, which grow wider as smaller streams and rivers join them along their course across the land. Eventually they flow into seas or oceans. Unfortunately most of the worlds major rivers are heavily polluted. The pollution of environment is the gift of the industrial revolution. Prior to this the agrarian cultures created significant environmental deterioration in the form of soil erosion- through deforestation and overgrazing. The environmental degradation is a by product of modern civilization. There has been a steady deterioration in the quality of water of Indian rivers over several decades. Indias fourteen major, 55 minor and several hundred small rivers receive millions of litres of sewage, industrial and agricultural wastes. Most of these rivers have been rendered to the level of sewage flowing drains. There are serious water quality problems in the cities, towns and villages using these waters. Water borne diseases are rampant, fisheries are on decline, and even cattle are not spared from the onslaught of pollution. According to World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) five rivers in Asia serving over 870 million people are among the most threatened in the world, as dams, water extraction and climate change all take their toll. The Ganges, Indus, Yangtze, Salween-Nu and Mekong-Lancang rivers make up half of the WWFs top ten most threatened river basins. India has a large number of rivers that are lifelines for the millions living along their banks. These rivers can be categorized into four groups: 1.Rivers that flow down from the Himalayas and are supplied by melting snow and glaciers. This is why these are perennial, that is, they never dry up during the year. 2. The Deccan Plateau Rivers, which depend on rainfall for their water. 3. The coastal rivers, especially those on the west coast, which are short and do not retain water throughout the year. 4. The rivers in the inland drainage basin of west Rajasthan, which depend on the rains. These rivers normally drain towards silt lakes or flow into the sand. River Ganga (Ganges) of India has been held in high esteem since time immemorial and Hindus from all over the world cherish the idea of a holy dip in the river under the faith that by doing so they will get rid of their sins of life. More than 400 million people live along the Ganges River. An estimated 2,000,000 persons ritually bathe daily in the river. Historically also, Ganga is the most important river of the country and beyond doubt is closely connected with the history of civilization as can be noticed from the location of the ancient cities of Hardwar, Prayag, Kashi and Patliputra at its bank. To millions of people it is sustainer of life through multitude of canal system and irrigation of the wasting load. Hundreds of the villages and even the big cities depend for their drinking water on this river. It is believed, a fact which has also been observed, that the water of Ganga never decays even for months and years when water of other rivers and agencies begins to develop bac teria and fungi within a couple of days. This self purification characteristic of Ganga is the key to the holiness and sanctity of its water. The combination of bacteriophages and large populations of people bathing in the river have apparently produced a self-purification effect, in which water-borne bacteria such as dysentery and cholera are killed off, preventing large-scale epidemics. The river also has an unusual ability to retain dissolved oxygen. With growing civilization and population all over how long Ganga will retain its self purification characteristics only time can judge.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   SOURCES: The Gangotri   Glacier, a vast expanse of ice five miles by fifteen, at the foothills of the Himalayas (14000 ft) in North Uttar Pradesh is the source of Bhagirathi, which joins with Alaknanda (origins nearby) to form Ganga at the craggy canyon-carved town of Devprayag. Interestingly, the sources of Indus and the Brahmaputra are also geographically fairly close; the former goes through Himachal Pradesh and fans out through Punjab and Sind (Pakistan) into the Arabian Sea. The latter courses for most of its tremendous length under various names through Tibet/China, never far from the Nepal or Indian borders, and then takes a sharp turn near the northeastern tip of India, gathers momentum through Assam before joining the major stream of the Ganga near Dacca in Bangladesh to become the mighty Padma, river of joy and sorrow for much of Bangladesh. From Devprayag to the Bay of Bengal and the vast  Sunderbans delta, the Ganga flows some 1550 miles, passing (and giving life to) some of t he most populous cities of India, including Kanpur (2 million), Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, and Calcutta (14 million). The largest tributary to the Ganga is the Ghaghara, which meets it before Patna, in Bihar, bearing much of the Himalayan glacier melt from Northern Nepal. The Gandak, which comes from near Katmandu, is another big Himalayan tributary. Other important rivers that merge with the Ganga are the Son, which originates in the hills of Madhya Pradesh, the Gomti which flows past Lucknow. Previous Work: A number of investigations have been carried out on the physiochemical and biological characters of the Ganga. Lakshminarayana (1965) published a series of papers reporting the results of studies carried out at Varanasi during the period between March, 1957 and March, 1958. it was observed by him that the values of the most of the parameters decreased during rainy season while no marked variation was observed during winters and summers. In the same year Chakraborty et.al. (1965) from Kanpur reported the water quality of Ganga at J.K. Rayons water intake point and at Golaghat and Bhairoghat pumping stations situated at the upstream of the river. It was concluded that the water quality gradually deteriorated as it passes from Bhairoghat pumping station to the J.K. Rayon water intake point in summers because in this stretch the river received waste waters from number of sewage drains.   A year later Saxena et.al. (1966) made a systematic survey of the chemical quantity of Ganga at Kanpur. According to the study, the biological oxygen demand, i.e. B.O.D. varied from 5.3ppm (minimum) in winter to 16.0ppm (maximum) in summer. The chloride ranged between 9.2 and 12.7 ppm and the river was found to be alkaline in nature except in rainy season. He concluded that the tanneries significantly increased the pollution load of river as they discharge huge amounts of effluents containing organic wastes and heavy metals. It was further reported that forty five tanneries, ten textile mills and several other industrial units discharged 37.15 million gallon per day of waste water generating BOD load of approximately 61630 Kg/day. Subsequently Agarwal et.al. (1976) studied the bacteriological population of the river water and concluded that addition of untreated waste and sewage was responsible for the presence of pathogenic organisms posing threat to the residents of the Varanasi city. Hydrobiological features of the river Ganga was studied by   Pahwa and Mehrotra (1966). The authors studied a stretch of 1090 kms. of river Ganga extending from Kanpur in west to Rajmahal, in Jharkhand state, in the east. They reported that the turbidity was maximum (1100-2170 ppm) in monsoon and minimum ( less than100 ppm) during January to June. The pH of the river water ranged between 7.45 (minimum) during June to August and 8.30 (maximum) during January to May. The dissolved oxygen, i.e. D.O. count ranged from 5.0 to 10.5 ppm with maximum values during January and February. While the minimum values were recorded in monsoon. Bhargava (1982) in a survey of total length of the river Ganga found that quality index was far above the prescribed limit at Kanpur. He further found that the Ganga water was having unusually fast regenerating capacity by bringing down B.O.D. owing to the presence of large amount of well adopted micro-organisms. According to the research Ganga is rich in polymers excreted by various species of bacteria. These polymers being excellent coagulants remove turbidity by coagulation, setting the suspended particles at the sewage discharge point. At the 1981 session of Indian Science Congress at Varanasi, scientists expressed concern at the growing pollution in the river Ganga in presence of the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi who inaugurated the session. At her instance, Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, the then member, Planning Commission asked the Central Board for Preventation and Control of Water Pollution, New Delhi to conduct studies on the state of the river Ganga. In collaboration with the State Pollution Control Boards of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal and the centre for study of Man and Environment Kolkata (Calcutta), studies were conducted on the Sources of pollution including all human activities, land use pattern and water quality of the river at selected sites during 1981-82 and report entitled Basin, sub-basin inventory of water pollution in the Ganga basin part-II was published in 1984. according to this report sewage of 27 class I cities and towns and effluents from 137 major industries were the main source of pollution of the river. In addition cremation of dead human bodies and dumping of carcasses aggrevated the pollution of the river. It was Chandra (1981) who conducted studies on the pollution status of river Ganga at Allahabad, pointed out that industries manufacturing nitrogenous fertilizers have significant role in polluting the river water.   Study carried out in 1986-87 on physico-chemical properties of river Ganga water at Buxar (Unnao) clearly revealed that extent of pollution varied in different seasons. Usually all the 23 parameters studied showed high values in summer and lower during monsoons except turbidity which was high in rainy season. Values of BOD, COD, DO and H2S were recorded high than the tolerance limits. Study on water quality of river Ganga at Kalakankar (Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh) revealed that even at such a remote and undisturbed place like Kalakankar the river water was not safe for drinking and bathing. It was also noted that the river showed an alkaline trend throughout the course of study. According to the research done by Mehrotra (1990), the various sources responsible for pollution of the river in Varanasi city are domestic sewage effluents of the industries, burning of dead bodies at the ghats, use of detergents, insecticides and pesticides used in agriculture. Study revealed the presence of toxic metals like   mercury ( 65 to 520ppb), Lead( less than 10 to 800 ppm), chromium (less than 10 to 200 ppm) and nickel (less than 10 to 130 ppm) in the sediments of Ganga river at Varanasi city.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Upstream from Varanasi, one of the major pilgrimage sites along the river, the water is comparatively pure, having a low  Biochemical oxygen demand  and fecal coliform count. Studies conducted in 1983 on water samples taken from the right bank of the Ganga at Patna confirm that  escheria coli  (E.Coli.), fecal streptococci and vibrio cholerae organisms die two to three times faster in the Ganga than in water taken from the rivers Son and Gandak and from dug wells and tube wells in the same area. The chemical pollution of the river Ganga in Patna city in Bihar state has been found somewhat alarming beside the storm drain, especially in the regions like Rajapur, Mandiri and Krishnaghat. According to the report published in a book by Mr. U.K. Sinha (1986), the concentration of iron is higher in sediments collected from 10 metres along the bank at Mandiri region. The concentration of all the toxic metals i.e copper, zinc, nickel and cobalt are higher in all the sediments collected from near the storm drain and diminishes towards mid-region of the river. The concentration of zinc is highest in the sediments collected from near the Mandiri storm drain, Antaghat storm drain and Krishnaghat storm drain. The concentration of copper is highest in the sediments collected from near the Krishnaghat storm drain suggesting the presence copper due to utensil work being done in Thatheri Bazar and hospital wastes also, said report. Present situation: For some time now, this romantic view of the Ganges has collided with Indias grim realities. During the past three decades, the countrys explosive growth (at nearly 1.2 billion people, Indias population is second only to Chinas), industrialization and rapid urbanization have put unyielding pressure on the sacred stream. Ganga, the most sacred of rivers for Hindus, has become polluted for some years now. But a recent study by Uttarakhand Environment Conservation and Pollution Control Board says that the level of pollution in the holy river has reached alarming proportions. Things have come to such a pass that the Ganga water is at present not fit just for drinking and bathing but has become unusable even for agricultural purposes. As per the UECPCB study, while the level of coliform present in water should be below 50 for drinking purposes, less than 500 for bathing and below 5000 for agricultural use-the present level of coliform in Ganga at Haridwar has reached 5500. Based on the level of coliform, dissolved oxygen and biochemical oxygen, the study put the water in A, B, C and D categories. While A category is considered fit for drinking, B for bathing, C for agriculture and D is for excessive pollution level. Since the Ganga waters at Haridwar have more than 5000 coliform and even the level of dissolved oxygen and biochemical oxygen doesnt conform the prescribed standards, it has been put in the D category. According to the study, the main cause of high level of coliform in Ganga is due to disposal of human faeces, urine and sewage directly into the river from its starting point in Gaumukh till it reaches Haridwar via Rishikesh. Nearly 89 million litres of sewage is daily disposed into Ganga from the 12 municipal towns that fall along its route till Haridwar. The amount of sewage disposed into the river increases during the Char Dham Yatra season when nearly 15 lakh pilgrims visit the state between May and October each year. Apart from sewage disposal of half-burnt human bodies at Haridwar and hazardous medical waste from the base hospital at Srinagar due to absence of an incinerator are also adding to pollution levels in the Ganga. The result has been the gradual killing of one of Indias most treasured resources. One stretch of the Yamuna River, the Ganges main tributary, has been devoid of all aquatic creatures for at least a decade. In Varanasi, Indias most sacred city, the coliform bacterial count is at least 3,000 times higher than the standard established as safe by the United Nations world Health   Organization.  Ã‚  Coliform  are rod-shaped bacteria that are normally found in the colons of humans and animals and become a serious contaminant when found in the food or water supply. A study by Environmental Biology Laboratory, Department pf Zoology, Patna University, showed the presence of mercury in the Ganga river in Varanasi city. According to the study, annual mean concentration of mercury in the river water was 0.00023 ppm. The concentration ranged from NT (not traceable) to 0.00191 ppm. Study done by Indian Toxicological Research Centre (ITRC), Lucknow during 1986-1992 showed maximum annual concentration of mercury in the Ganga river water at Rishikesh, Allahabad district and Dakshineswar as 0.081, 0.043 and 0.012 ppb respectively. Ganga river at Varanasi was found well within the maximum permissible standard of 0.001 ppm prescribed for drinking water by the World Health Organization. The mercury studied in the Ganga river could be traced in biotic as well as abiotic components of the river at the study site. The Hindu devotees take bath in the river where mercury was detected in 28%, 44%,75%, 96%, 42% and 89% of the river water, sediment, benthic fauna, fish, soil and vegetation samples respectively. Though mercury contamination of the river water has not reached an alarming extent, its presence in the river system is worrisome. In the study annual mean concentration of the metal in the sediments was 0.067 ppm. Sediments constitute a major pool of mercury in fresh water. As Ganga enters the Varanasi city, Hinduisms sacred river contains 60,000 faecal coliform bacteria per 100 millilitres, 120 times more than is considered safe for bathing. Four miles downstream, with inputs from 24 gushing sewers and 60,000 pilgrim-bathers, the concentration is 3,000 times over the safety limit. In places, the Ganges becomes black and septic. Corpses, of semi-cremated adults or enshrouded babies, drift slowly by. The tannery industry mushrooming in North India has converted the Ganga River into a dumping ground. The tanning industry discharges different types of waste into the environment, primarily in the form of liquid effluents containing organic matters, chromium, sulphide ammonium and other salts. As per an estimate, about 80-90% of the tanneries use chromium as a tanning agent. Of this, the hides take up only 50-70%, while the rest is discharged as effluent. Pollution becomes acute when tanneries are concentrated in clusters in small area like Kanpur. Consequently, the Leather-tanning sector is included in the Red category of industries due to the potential adverse environmental impact caused by tannery wastes. Highly polluted sediments are adversely affecting the ecological functioning of rivers due to heavy metal mobilization from urban areas into biosphere. Distribution of heavy metals in sediments of the river Ganga and its tributaries have been carried out by several workers. Monitoring of Ganga River from Rishikesh to Varanasi indicated that Kannauj to Kanpur and Varanasi are the most polluted stretches of the river Ganga . Analysis of upstream and down stream water and sediment revealed a 10-fold increase in chromium level.

Land Opportunity

The American West was viewed as a land of opportunity and success for many people of different racial and financial backgrounds during the time between 1865 to 1890. However, the extent of success from the opportunity varied on multiple factors. For the homesteader, opportunity was based upon good weather conditions and hard work but mostly only large scale corporations succeeded. Mining provided little for the average miner; large mining industries profited instead.. At some point West was the land of opportunity and at the same time it was not a land of opportunity for Native American Indians and Minorities.The Homestead Act of 1862 was one of the most significant and enduring events in the westward expansion of the United States. It gave 160 acres of western land to anyone who promised to work the land for five years. This encouraged many immigrants to come to the United States and help settle the West. But the land was too arid for a homesteader to manage 160 acres. Life was hard in the west because of the harsh environment. They had sand storm and droughts, made impossible for farmers to farm. Very few actually made it work and managed to keep their homesteads.Opportunity was unpredictable for the average person, corporations benefited largely from the West (i. e. railroads). When the Transcontinental Railroad was finished in 1869, railroad tycoons realized the opportunity for railroad exploitation and then a railroad boom followed the economic recovery in 1878. Expansion of the railroads brought trade, settlers, and towns. Mining also played a major role during that time period. Gold, Silver, Lead, Copper, Zinc were traded with other countries which helped our nation’s economy.Ethnocentrism was the root of the problem for Native Americans and contributed their downfall and their loss of land and livelihood. Indians were pushed off their native lands onto reservations. Immigrants struggled to reach equal work standards and pay as whites. In conclusi on, at some point American West land helped build up United States economy. Railroad made it easier for people to travel and to trade with other countries easily. But Homestead Act made it impossible for people to farm because of the the bad soil.

Prevention Of Elderly Abuse Neglect And Exploitation Essay

There is a growing concern over elderly abuse, neglect and exploitation as it has been lately estimated that its occurrence has increased over the past few decades.   The first reported estimate of elderly abuse stated that approximately 3% of elderly individuals in the United States have been abused (Pillemer and Finkelhor, 1988), which may be equated to approximately 2.5 million elderly individuals. Elderly abuse is closely linked to medical problems such as physical injuries, mental health disorders, poor management of chronic illnesses and disabilities.   The effects of elder abuse have been determined to be damaging.   Most of the abused elderly people are often brought to the emergency room for immediate medical attention for physical injuries.   A recent study conducted by Shields et al. (2004) over a 10-year period has indicated that more than 50% of deaths among the elderly are due to homicidal acts, while a 25% of the deaths were possibly due to elderly neglect.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Amidst the increasing number of elderly individuals being abused and neglected, there is an insufficiency of reaction amongst medical practitioners, including physicians and clinicians.   It has been estimated that only 2 to 10% of cases of elderly abuse are actually reported to the appropriate authorities.   These cases of elderly abuse involve physical and psychological abuse as well as financial exploitation. Neglect is also another condition that an elderly individual goes through yet is left unable to report such hardship to the appropriate agencies concerned.   Specific risk factors have been determined to be strongly associated with elderly abuse, including living with other people, as well as impairment of the elderly individual’s functional ability.   In addition, depression and excessive alcohol consumption also strongly influence the occurrence of elderly abuse.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A promising prevention strategy for elderly abuse, neglect and exploitation would then be to impose mandatory reporting of cases of abuse in tandem with annual or biannual monitoring of the conditions of an elderly individual.   Such mandatory act of reporting would thus put the people who are responsible for the care of an elderly individual to be responsible for any physical, mental, social or financial burdens that the elderly individual would experience. The people involved with the care of the elderly individual would include the children of the elderly person, as well as the physician, counselor and therapist of the elderly person.   It would also be good if the amount of time spent by each person with the elderly individual were determined, so that it would be easier to determine who spends the most time with the elderly individual.   Another method that could be incorporated into the mandatory reporting of elderly abuse is to conduct interviews with the elderly individual in order to determine if he has succumbed to memory loss or not. If the elderly individual is still cognitive enough to interactive with the interviewing officer, it would be helpful to ask the elderly individual if he is aware whether he still keeps some of his financial resources in his bank or some other place.   It would also be helpful if the elderly individual knew approximately how much money and other valuable items such as jewelry, real estate properties and automobiles he has so that there is an estimate of the resources the individual has.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The comprehensive interview of the elderly individual should thus be conducted every year in order to monitor how the elderly person if doing as time goes by.   In addition, the interview will also provide the social worker or any other interviewing official of the government to determine that conditions of the place where the elderly individual is living.   The medical records of the elderly individual should also be checked every year in order to determine whether the physical and mental condition of the elderly individual has been maintained or is deteriorating.   Should the condition of the elderly individual be deteriorating, the main cause of this change of condition should be investigated in order to prevent further damage to the physical and mental health of the elderly individual.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The intense monitoring of elderly individual may be tedious, costly and time-consuming, yet it protects these senior citizens from further abuse and neglect.   Time has shown that mandatory reporting of elderly abuse is not as effective as expected because most of the medical professionals do not participate or are not serious enough in reporting such conditions and the elderly people will continue to suffer.   The tandem implementation of mandatory reporting of elderly abuse with regular monitoring of the conditions of an elderly individual thus seems more feasible in protecting the health of elderly individuals. In addition, the regular monitoring of elderly individuals lessens the burden of physicians in reporting abuse and neglect of these senior citizens.   This proposed prevention strategy also provides a way for elderly individuals to speak out for themselves if they still can.   It is actually helpful and enlightening if the elderly individuals are given the opportunity to express their concerns, issues and problems with regards to their senior lives.   Should this proposed strategy be tested and later implemented, it may be possible to save more elderly individuals from unnecessary pain, depression and exploitation.   These seniors deserve to spend the rest of their lives in peace and harmony. References Kennedy RD (2005):   Elder abuse and neglect: the experience, knowledge, and attitudes of primary care physicians. Fam. Med. 37:481-5. Pillemer K and Finkelhor D (1988):   The prevalence of elder abuse: A random sample survey. Gerontologist.   28:51-7. Shields LB, Hunsaker DM, Hunsaker JC (2004):   Abuse and neglect: A ten-year review of mortality and morbidity in our elders in a large metropolitan area. J. Forensic Sci. 49:122-127.