Impact of UK reservoirs on the surrounding environment Dissertation

Impact of UK reservoirs on the surrounding environment - Dissertation Example The paper tells that over the last 25 years, the â€Å"freeboard and spillway arrangements† for reservoirs in the UK have been based on the unit hydrograph rainfall-runoff and losses model. The model was used to obtain the design of the events of flood that would enable to determine whether the prevailing arrangements might convene the floods. The characteristics of drainage such as the area of the basin, the basin shape, the type of soil, use of the land, drainage density and drainage network topology, and the rainfall characteristics that include duration of the rainfall, its intensity, its distribution and direction are the different factors that might affect the shape of the hydrograph. The unit hydrograph model was established in the year 1975. However in the recent years, the model has been revitalized and hence replaced with the ReFH or Revitalized Flood Hydrograph Model that comprises three significant components – the loss, routine and baseflow models. The seas onality of the floods is also measured through this model such that factors of seasonal corrections are applied to the estimates of the flood designs and conditions with the purpose of meeting the floods. The Reservoirs Act 1975 led the responsibility of the law to protect the reservoirs in the UK. Approximately 25000 cu m of water is held by the UK reservoirs and the Act covers around 2500 reservoirs under its framework. England, Wales and Scotland are under the purview of this Act. However, the Act does not cover the reservoirs across the Northern Ireland. Undertakers, Enforcement Authorities, Qualified Civil Engineers, and the Secretary of the State are the four major persons or organizations in charge under the Act who have the different responsibilities in regard to the protection of the UK reservoirs. The undertakers are referred to the owners of the reservoirs and thus have the most significant responsibility for the reservoir’s safety. The role of the enforcement authorities comprises monitoring the performance of the undertakers. The design and supervision of the constructions of the reservoirs focusing on the safety issue are the responsibilities of the qualified engineers. The Secretary of State is in charge of supervising the activities of the other three major persons or organizations (The British Dam Society, 2010). It is in the last five years that the risks arising out from the reservoirs have been considered significantly as a matter of c oncern. The risk factors have arisen as a result of the uncontrolled discharge of water from the reservoirs threatening the lives of the heavily populated regions where the reservoirs are located in the UK. The reservoir safety legislation was introduced in the year 1930. Since then such disastrous incidents have not occurred. However, there have been several incidents that could have taken several lives (Morris, Hewlett & Elliott, n.d., p.3). Not only are the risks associated with such reservoirs, but also several advantages and disadvantages and impacts are associated related to the surrounding environment that might occur as a result of the constructions and use of the reservoirs in the UK. The present study focuses on the impacts that UK reservoirs have on its surrounding environment. The following figure represents the overall reservoir stocks in England and Wales between 1996-2005: Figure 1: Overall Reservoir Stocks in England and Wales 1996-2005 (Water Levels, 2007). 2. Liter ature Review: For a better understanding of the literature relating to the impact of reservoirs in the UK on the surrounding community it would be significant to gain a proper understanding of reservoirs and their function in the society. This will allow for

The Colbert Show, Culture and Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Colbert Show, Culture and Politics - Essay Example Research by Amarasingam revealed that, numerous television programs follow the same format in reviewing top news stories as well as analyzing politicians and the media through satires (15).Symbolically, my document explores the effects of the Colbert show in today’s culture. In addition, the document highlights numerous ways in which the elite have used the show to sway people towards varied opinions and its impact on the views. Research by Schiller has postulated that, the Colbert show has profoundly influenced on people’s culture (Schiller 15). It asserts that, the Colbert show play two critical roles in communication. Research by Amarasingam postulated that, the Colbert show transmits information by objectively reporting news hence transmitting information to the masses without including external viewpoints. Significantly, the show disseminates information in packaged formats across vast distances. Notably, the show employs numerous ritualistic viewpoints of communic ation in presenting its message. Accordingly, it places its communication in a cultural context. Particularly, it subjectively report news in numerous ways in order to portray its information. Consequently, the Colbert show integrates numerous cultural viewpoints in its reporting of news. Therefore, it creates an element of a community amongst its audience. Additionally, the show creates change on the value views of the audience. For instance, the cheering of the audience during the report on the segments illuminates the community’s feelings. In addition, due its excitable attitudes in is reporting, the show creates numerous feeling of passion hence causing deeper emotional connections with its reporting news events. Moreover, the show pushes limits on journalism and gives the audience a critical look on prevalent affairs in the society. Jones’ research revealed that, Colbert comedy has significantly influenced our daily culture (Jones 115). For instance, it has mobili zed its viewers to participate in numerous activities such as voting; especially the time 100 online polls (Jones 117). Consequently, its impacts have significantly enhanced international markets. In response, numerous entrepreneurs have embraced the show for its intrinsic worth. It has also engaged its viewers in numerous projects that demonstrate figurative resistance and questioning the authorities. For instance, some people have created remixes of the Colbert’s show content, while others have propagated its neologisms. Moreover, numerous viewers have helped the Colbert in formulating new neologisms. Politically, the Colbert show has significantly altered numerous opinions of various people’s. Accordingly, various elite use it to sway the masses towards numerous opinions. For instance, its partisan message has profoundly influenced American politics. The Colbert support politicians regardless of their party allegiances. In addition, the character betrays his conserv ative ideologies for the sake of his personal achievements (Schiller, 21). Symbolically, he celebrated the victorious success of the Democrats during the 2006 elections. As an ultra-conservative, he should have been disappointed at the results, but instead, he celebrated. Significantly, this marks a turning point in American politics. Additionally, the show explores myriad ways on how people can restore sanity and fear.

Strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 19

Strategic management - Essay Example People of Stockholm are relatively proactive when they are charged to pay fees for using the roads because of their awareness over increasing degree of emissions. The same cannot be said to be true for the people of Delhi. A topic becomes interesting when it is on a burning issue of interest to all stakeholders. Increasing degree of emissions in the air has reached threatening levels from the increasing vehicular traffic and emissions of gases, harmful for all human beings. When a comparison is made between such cities, which are not parallel in the matter of advancement, the topic becomes more interesting and relevant. Although Delhi is the capital city of India and one of the leading developed cities in the matter of infrastructure development, yet its comparison with Stockholm, the capital as well as the largest city of Sweden, is inclined to show gaps in transport policies, adopted by these two cities’ governments. The major theme of this topic, as acknowledged by the authors, is that more than planning and functioning of the sophistication in transport means, the politics of sustainable transport plays a decisive role on the urban planning of these two cities and to highlight the differenc es of major transport functions and operations in these two cities, although similarities also exist in both cities’ urban development projects. The introduction includes two tables at the outset. Both the tables analyse the data of the two cities on the parameters of population, area, population density, household size and gross per capita income. One thing that comes to sharp notice is the time period of the data that begins from the year 2003 although the article print year is 2010. When it comes to statistical comparison of data, in my view, data should not be older than five years for the writing of such articles. One gets a blurred view when Delhi is

Ethical dilemmas are everywhere in finance Research Paper

Ethical dilemmas are everywhere in finance - Research Paper Example An interesting aspect of this dilemma is to understand what is considered ethical and what is not. Finance by its very nature propagates the theory of maximization of profits. Why would anyone culminate a financial transaction if there was nothing to gain out of it? Now to decide how much to earn and by what means to earn is the most interesting facet of this dilemma. In theory, an organization is considered to be an entity that works for the benefit of its shareholders. The employees of the firm are thus assumed to be the representatives of this entity. They work on the various financial models to look for avenues which have minimum risk and maximum return. The financial theory also states that people are averse to taking risk. Hence, an investment in a risky proposition would mean that the investor is expecting an above average return. Riskier the proposition, higher the return expected. But the amount of risk to be taken is something that the investor needs to understand. Another concept in financial management is that of the Net Present Value (NPV). A firm should invest only in those assets or projects which have a positive NPV. All these concepts are interlinked with the fact that ethical dilemmas will continue to haunt the stakeholders at all points of decision making while running an organization. The various theories of finance can tell what the best options to maximize returns are, but ethics relate to the means that are used to achieve those ends. This is the most important aspect of this topic. The figures used in finance require an ethical basis to produce positive and sustainable results. Let us see how this dilemma exists in the present market. Discussion of Financial irregularities that lead to the recent global crisis (Kolb 2010) One of the stark examples of financial irregularity and unethical activities can be seen in the recent financial crisis of 2008 which is considered to be the biggest financial depression since the depression of 1930â₠¬â„¢s. This has been attributed to the emergence of complicated financial instruments called CDOs which are traded through investment banks. Investment banks, unlike the normal banks which give out loans and have adequate deposits to cover them, do not need to keep any deposits. They collect all the mortgage backed securities (MBS) and sell them to investors after securitization. Kolb (2010) explains the process of lending that takes place in the mortgage market in the figure below. The figure shows the origin to distribute model (OTD) which was being applied in the industry before the financial crisis occurred. As per this model, the originators of the loans were not there holders unlike in the normal banking loans scenario. Ethical dilemmas at borrower level (Kolb 2010 and Stich n.d) Kolb (2010) observed that most of the borrowers never had any intentions of paying their principal amounts. Ethical issues cropped at all the links in the model. The first level of unethical financial dealing started at the borrowers level itself. In a normal banking scenario a borrower has access to only those loans and interest rates which are commensurate with the risk he has been associated with by the lender ( the banker in this case). However, in the OTD model, the originator of the loan gives the borrower options of varied interest rates and EMI payments by overlooking their actual credit worthiness because the originator is

Effect of Credit Crunch on Banking Sector in the UK Dissertation

Effect of Credit Crunch on Banking Sector in the UK - Dissertation Example 33 Figure 1.2: UK Banking Sector - Northern Rock Example 34 Figure 1.3: Business and Financial Services Growth Relative to Overall UK GDP Growth 35 Introduction The origin of the credit crunch was in the US in the year 2007. Several evidences proved that UK had also been affected due to the credit crunch (Ball & Et. Al., 2009). This report will analyse several aspects regarding the impacts of the credit crunch on the UK banking sector. General Statement The report will be dealing with the impacts of the credit crunch on the UK. It is a broad aspect hence the topic has been specified through restricting its focus only on the banking sector. Therefore, the prime research statement undertakes the analysis of the impact of credit crunch on the banking sector. Specific Statements In order to draw the ultimate findings of the research statements, the following specific statements will be evaluated ‘The Credit Crunch Explained’ ‘Credit Crunch — Banks Stop Lendingâ €™ ‘Banking Sector Timeline - From Credit Crunch to Present Day’ ‘Bankers Made 'Astonishing Mess'’ ‘UK Banking Regulation’ Requirement for Further Investigation The scope of study is huge as it encompasses the entire banking sector of the UK. Due to the constraint of time, it might not be possible to conduct an immense research. The study can be more concrete if increased number of real evidences could be included. Moreover, views of the managers or the finance managers of the banks in the UK can be taken into consideration to acquire the in-depth analysis of the topic. It is evident that the impact of credit crunch will not have similar implications to the big and small banks. Therefore, it can be stated that there is a further scope of investigating the differences of the impact in between the... The origin of the credit crunch was in the US in the year 2007. Several evidences proved that UK had also been affected due to the credit crunch. This report will analyse several aspects regarding the impacts of the credit crunch on the UK banking sector. The report will be dealing with the impacts of the credit crunch on the UK. It is a broad aspect hence the topic has been specified through restricting its focus only on the banking sector. Therefore, the prime research statement undertakes the analysis of the impact of credit crunch on the banking sector. The scope of study is huge as it encompasses the entire banking sector of the UK. Due to the constraint of time, it might not be possible to conduct an immense research. The study can be more concrete if increased number of real evidences could be included. Moreover, views of the managers or the finance managers of the banks in the UK can be taken into consideration to acquire the in-depth analysis of the topic. It is evident that the impact of credit crunch will not have similar implications to the big and small banks. Therefore, it can be stated that there is a further scope of investigating the differences of the impact in between the smaller and the bigger banks. The primary objective of the project is to determine the impact of the credit crunch in the banking sector of the UK. The concept of the credit crunch is related with the banking sector as it is based on the lending procedure. It indicates that basic concepts are needed to be conceptualised.

A Vision of Collaboration and Scholarly Community Research Paper

A Vision of Collaboration and Scholarly Community - Research Paper Example All stakeholders, including representatives of the parents, teachers, administration, the board members, and the educational leaders should develop a mutual consensus to develop a shared vision statement. For example, a survey should be conducted to know the demands and vision of the parents. In the survey, the parents should reveal what they want from the educational institute, as well as their viewpoints about the learning environment. Similarly, teachers’ representatives should also be interviewed to know their viewpoints about the creation of an interactive teaching and learning environment, as well as to get their viewpoints about the ultimate goal of the institute. Moreover, the board members should also reveal what they want to achieve and the ways to achieve those goals. For example, if they want to move the institute to the top ranks and through providing quality education to the students, then their vision statement should read like ‘To be the premier provider of education through the highest quality of learning and teaching standards’. After knowing the viewpoints of all stakeholders, a focused group discussion should be arranged in which the educational leader should put forward the viewpoints of all stakeholders on the table for discussion, analysis, and creation of a shared vision on which all stakeholders should agree. This is the way through which an educational leader can be successful in creating a shared vision among the stakeholders of the institute.

First native women Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

First native women - Essay Example The basis for Lavell and Bedard for their claim of discrimination was how Aboriginal women would lose their Indian status when a non-Indian or a non-registered Indian married them. In addition, it meant that Lavell’s children would be deprived of their Indian status. Lavell argued that Section 12 (1) (b) discriminated the women gender, and the sections should be repealed, in relation to the 1960 Bill of Rights (5). Lavell’s case was the first that dealt with discrimination because of sex. Because of these discriminatory sections, many Indian women were denied their heritage, and not by the will, but because of an archaic law. Lavell did not like how the acts that were set to govern the Indian reserves were being operated, whereby it stated who is not and who is acknowledged as an Indian. Lavell was furious about how the Indian Act allowed the male Indian, who happened to marry out retained their status and were able to pass it on to their non-Indian wives and to their c hildren. The male Indian wives, even though they sometimes did not have First Nation ancestry; they were entitled to full status. The result of the discriminatory sections was the practical ostracism of more than ninety thousand women, their children and their spouses from their societies and traditional homelands (Lavell 7). It caused great emotional, psychological and economic suffering to the affected people. Lavell was not pleased with this outcome because when she married she was sent a notice submitting that she was no longer identified as an Indian as stated in Section 12 (1) (b) of the Indian Act. It is because she was a no native who had married David Lavell a native. These grave effects for enfranchised First Nation women made Lavell go to court to challenge the Indian Act. Lavell’s claim was supported by Bedard, who joined her in 1973 when she appealed for her case after losing it at trial. Lavell had lost her case on the basis that the Canadian Bill of right