Thursday, September 12, 2019

Market Analysis of the Natural Gas industry in Mexico Case Study

Market Analysis of the Natural Gas industry in Mexico - Case Study Example research is to provide a brief overview of the current stage of the natural gas industry in Mexico and to analyze the potential effects of the recent economic reforms for the private industry. According to the EIA estimates, Mexico is one of the four leaders in shale gas reserves. By 2013 Mexico’s natural gas reserves have reached 488bn cubic metres (Mexico Oil & Gas Report, 2014). Even though the natural gas production in Mexico has grown almost by 50% since 2000, demand for this natural resource also has grown significantly (by 80% since 2000) (Seelke et al., 2014). Natural gas in Mexico is mainly consumed for the national electricity generation and for oil operations support. The figure 1 visually illustrates that the increase of production scales still fail to satisfy current demand for natural gas. According to the Congressional Research Service, Mexico’s gas reserves are on the decline and fail to satisfy local demand because of underinvestment in exploration of the natural gas resources. Due to continuously rising demand of natural gas, Mexico relies heavily on the import of natural gas from the US. Thus, for example, in 2000, Mexico imported about 100% of its natural gas imports. However, by 2006, the country has diversified the range of countries-importers of the natural gas, and began to import liquefied natural gas from Peru, Qatar, and Nigeria (Seelke et al., 2014, 2014). There are three liquefied natural gas import terminals in Mexico: one on the Atlantic side and two terminals on the Pacific side (Seelke et al., 2014, 2014). The experts believe that the natural gas reserves have potential for growth and forecast that it will reach 500 bn cubic metres by 2018 and 505 bn cubic metres by 2023 (Mexico Oil & Gas Report, 2014). Partially this positive forecasts are referred to the Pemex’s activities in relation to deepwater natural gas exploration, and, partially, as a result of expected increase of private sector participation in result of new

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Arabic ceramics art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Arabic ceramics art - Essay Example over, most cultures remain principally noted for their ceramics such as Chinese, Greek, Mayan, Persian, Korean, and Japanese cultures as well as contemporary western cultures. Islamic art refers to the art of civilization grounded on the Islamic religion. Arab Muslims launched a series of conquests in the 600s and combined all countries they conquered into a unitary civilization. Initially, Arabs themselves had minimal art; however, amid the conquests, the Arabs came into contact with flourishing ceramic art of Persia, Syria, and Egypt (Savory 89). The blending of the cultural influences yielded a distinctive form of Arabic ceramic art prominent between the years 800 and 1700. Arab artists developed many techniques, the bulk of which remain still in use today. For instance, Arabs engraved pots into a slip, or an earthly coating under the glaze. The engraving mainly displayed religious symbols in calligraphy, and in some instances planted their famed gold stamps right to the exterior of the slip. After the engraving, the ceramic art designers would add many layers consisting of transparent glazes (Ali 106). Another magnificent method that Arabic artists employed in ceramics included encompassed painting with a metallic pigment, mainly on a white or blue glaze (Savory 90). This technique is referred to as luster painting. Luster painting persisted into the early medieval era, with increased designs of animals and humans incorporated into final pieces. Another form of ceramic work emanating from early medieval era encompasses fritware that created pieces resembling Chinese porcelain (Ali 107). All through the late, medieval and late Arabic periods, pottery continued to imitate Chinese designs with ceramic designs becoming more advanced with time. Right from the 8th to 18th centuries, glazed ceramics were a prominent part of Islamic art, especially in the shape of elaborate pottery prominent in dynamic Persian and Egyptian pre-Islamic traditions (Ali 108). The

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Reducing Secondhand Smoke on Children Research Paper - 4

Reducing Secondhand Smoke on Children - Research Paper Example So the one sure shot and authentic way of curtailing second hand smoke in the case of children is to convince the adults and guardians to quit smoking. Once the parents and guardians quit smoking it automatically removes the source of secondhand smoke at home and in the family car where the children are most vulnerable of catching on secondhand smoke and fumes (Harutyunyan et al., 2013). If this is not possible than the second best option is to request the family members and people in general not to smoke at home and in the family car (Harutyunyan et al., 2013). Besides the parents need to make it a point to assure that the people who take care of children like babysitters and nannies do not smoke around children. The others possible place where children could get exposed to secondhand smoke are the places, including the public places where smoking is allowed (Gordon, Friel, & McGranachan, 2012). Any child visiting such a place, including say a public space is poised to get exposed to secondhand smoke. So parents and guardians should look to it that they do not visit such places with their children where smoking is allowed. Keeping children away from public places where smoking is allowed is one salient way of cutting the secondhand smoke on children (Stosic, Milutinovic, Lazarevic, Blagojevic, & Tadic, 2012). This includes choosing such restaurants and recreational places which are smoke free or where smoking is not allowed (Stoic et al., 2012). This also tends to include such indoor places where smoking is allowed and where children are more likely to get exposed to secondhand smoking. It is a known fact that secondhand smoke causes greater harm when it is inhaled at such places which are c losed or are not well ventilated. The parents and guardians do need to understand the fact that secondhand smoke is utterly hazardous and could wreck havoc on the health and well being of

Monday, September 9, 2019

Failure on a Grand Scale Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Failure on a Grand Scale - Essay Example Overall, the effort itself was a failure because of the way the objectives were carried out. Rampant corruption instilled enmity in the people unnecessarily, the focus on political rather than economic restructuring was vengeful as well as counterproductive, and the naivet of the new electorate set the stage for their unwitting participation in a process that would establish segregation and second-class citizenship for the next nine decades. Corruption. Under the methodology employed by the framers of Reconstruction, there were four demographic groups which emerged in the South: The white southerners, the Freedmen (former slaves), the Scalawags (southerners loyal to the North), and Carpetbaggers (Northerners who moved to the region) (Wikipedia 1). The white southerners were largely excluded from power by the military governors, and the Scalawags joined with the Carpetbaggers to restructure the governmental and economic systems. As in any case where there is absolute power and a vengeance mentality, exploitation became the norm. In the political processes, the Scalawags and Carpetbaggers engaged in collusion to reform every office from state governors to local commissioners. Using the power of the military and the consent of the new electorate, the entire area was destabilized to the point of requiring martial law for the majority of the period; and that didn't even stop the violence against both blacks and whites. In te rms of the economic corruption, the situation was even worse as the economic resources of the South were siphoned off into corporations run by Northerners. The Northern commercial interests formed links with their like-minded political associates and created, under color of law, one of the biggest lootings in history. Seeing the homeland violated by the Carpetbaggers and their corporate lackeys, the predictable response of the southern whites was anger, resentment, violence and, ultimately, institutional segregation. Political Focus. A second contributor to the failure of reconstruction was the fact that legislators in Washington chose to focus their attention on the political infrastructure of the states as well as the voting rights of the Freedmen. This approach reflected the political environment in the newly-reunited nation's capitol, where there was a power struggle between those who wanted a moderate implementation of Reconstruction and those who took a more radical view. The radicals won the fight handily, and the result was a political restructuring that disenfranchised almost every office holder in the South along with their former constituency. Rather than taking an economic development approach, which would have resulted in a stabilization of southern society, the top-down reformation only addressed the issue of who was in charge. Unfortunately, those newly elected officials were much more concerned with punishing the South than with transitioning it back into the Union. Had Congress u ndertaken policies of self-determination and economic development, Reconstruction might have succeeded in bringing the states back together without the socialized hatred between the southern whites and everyone else. Nave Electorate. A final consideration in the

Insurance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Insurance - Essay Example A certain level of risk is assumed to be accepted given the risk appetite of the management relating to a particular risk. Risk limitation is considered as the blend of risk acceptance and avoidance such that the company designs its portfolio of risk components and considers as to which risk component needs to be accepted or avoided. Risk transfer is the most common risk management technique such that the risk component is transferred to third party. The most common example is insurance in which the risk is transferred to insurance company against the premiums that the insurance company charges from the business. For different home styles, the most appropriate policy is the special policy called as HO-3. This policy insures all main perils except earthquake, flood, nuclear accident and war. Through insurance coverage, one gets deep coverage up to 100% of the replacement cost of home. The home content that insurer generally covers is between 50 to 75% of the property’s value. As far as the tax implications are concerned on obtaining an insurance policy of any type, it is important to note that any loan obtained to purchase the insurance policy is not regarded as taxable income. However, in case of lapse of policy or the surrender of the policy in favor of the insurer, the amount of loan becomes taxable and it will entitle the policyholder to pay tax on the loan amount. Similarly, if the interest paid on that loan is from out of pocket, it will not be tax deductible and thus result in higher tax consequences. As far as the personal finance plan is concerned, in short-term, insurance on automobile, cellular phone etc. will be needed as these things are frequently replaced with the newer models or versions etc. For medium-terms based needs, insurance policies such as health/disability or home policies will be preferred. For long-terms insurance needs, life insurance policies will be included in the financial plan. Savings and

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Bombs Bursting in Air Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Bombs Bursting in Air - Assignment Example But we still hear the â€Å"bombs† going off in our lives and we are afraid or lost because of what is going on. Rather than shielding us from reality, our parents and teachers should instead help us understand why these â€Å"bombs† go off in some peoples lives and not in others. The importance of these life lessons cannot be stressed enough and just like the essay explains, our parents and other adults will no longer be able to shield us from that reality. So the question that we should ask ourselves is â€Å"how young is too young to understand lifes realities?†. In the modern age of the internet and 24/7 news media, the innocence of young people is stolen faster than parents can cover up the situations. Perhaps the time has come for parents to acknowledge that the children of today, if spoken to and explained to in a proper manner, can actually prove to be far more mature than their parents and teachers actually think they

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Global Poverty Essay Example for Free

Global Poverty Essay To be born into poverty without a choice is possibly one of the greatest misfortunes that any person can be victimized with. According to Howard Hubbard author of Fighting Poverty to Build Peace, â€Å"An estimated 1.4 billion people live in extreme poverty, defined as living on less than $1.25 a day.† It leaves a person with a huge challenge of survival and an extremely difficult task of creating a better future for themselves. To understand the implications of poverty across the world, one needs to first thoroughly understand its definition. It is often difficult to establish what the definition of poverty is, because, being poor, differs dramatically across countries all around the world. According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) poverty is defined in two different ways, human poverty and income poverty.[1] The definition of poverty from a human development point of view means â€Å"the denial of choices and opportunities most basic to human development to lead a long, healthy, creative life and to enjoy a decent standard of living, freedom, self-esteem and respect of others,† Alters pg 1. According to UNDP human poverty is more than income poverty. In many of the poorest nations across the world people die everyday due to poverty. Poverty proves to be one of main problems that plague the global society. I will discuss the different kinds of poverty, the causes and solutions of poverty in the global society. In the global society, poverty makes itself prominent in a variety of categories depending on each individual economy. [2]The World Bank facts for world poverty reveals that, a higher number of people live in poverty than previously thought and this number is increasing day by day. This is the main reason why in most nations today inequality is on a high and this gap is continuously rising. It is difficult to measure national poverty lines across nations because the different classes have different percentage of income that is to be spent on food. In some of the most underdeveloped and poorest economies of the world such as Sub-Saharan Africa, Afghanistan and Haiti people live in widespread poverty and dire living conditions .[3] According to the United Nations list of least developed countries in 2009, 33 were in Africa, 15 in Asia and 1 was in Latin America.[4] In other areas such as much of Europe and the United States poverty exists, but the gap of comparison is very large in comparison to a county like Angola. Poverty creates a division among  nations. That division has been growing now for a century or more. Poor countries are most often sidelined by the richer and more developed ones. This was the case of the colonization of countries like India by the British. Rich and powerful countries have the advantage of modern technology and arms to subdue the poorer ones. Although the United Nations has started helping poor countries they often feel indebted and dependent on their charity provider. The causes of poverty are many, however some of the main reasons that contribute to poverty in the world are: unemployment, lack of education, illiteracy, natural disasters and violence. The combination of all these factors can make any nation poor. This high level of inequality certainly affects the social cohesion and leads to problems such as increasing crime and violence. It is a matter of fact that effect of poverty is being transferred from generation to generation. Poor people are often dejected and unwell, and due to that they’re unable to work.[5] The World Bank estimates that poverty has held at around 25 percent of the population since the mid-1990s. And because of population growth, the number of poor actually increased to around 128 million in the early 2000s. The countries adversely affected by poverty do not progress, as the there is a little room for the development of the population. The social and cultural factors of a nation impact the economic situation of a country. The reasons for poverty differ based on the culture and the social system within a nation. People throughout the world are subjected to poverty, whether it’s due to illiteracy, unemployment and or a family history issue. A history of poverty in the family leads to many physical as well as mental problems. Poor parents do not have the resources to get their children educated. This results in the children having to deal with a lot of obstacles when trying to get jobs. The discrimination is felt acutely by them as they do not have the required skills to cope. Most often such poverty also leads to abuse. This sometimes results in bad habits in some families, like smoking, drinking and drugs. â€Å"Improving the access of the poor to assets and services will help the m share in, and contribute to, economic growth,† says Jaime Saavedra and Omar Arias author of Stuck in a Rut. The environment in the form of natural disasters plays a significant role in the cause of  increasing poverty in less developed nations. According to Akin Mabogunje the author of Poverty and Environmental Degradation: Challenges Within the Global Economy, â€Å"In many developing countries, inadequate attention is given to environmental management in areas occupied by the poor, and therefore, they are exposed to numerous environmental hazards.† When a country is affected by many different natural disasters including earthquakes, droughts, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions, windstorms, and forest fires it completely devastates the poor and greatly diminishes their chances of escaping poverty. [6] According to the World Bank two billion people have been affected by Natural Disasters since the mid 1990’s. [7] In addition, people in countries that are engaged in some kind of conflict or war whether the countries are developed or developing typically experience some kind of economic hardship.[8] Armed conflict often makes countries that have a high number of poor much worse. War and conflict often results in a refugee status for many of the most impoverished people in the world. This results in basic denial of human rights such as the right to seek legal employment which further diminishes impoverished condition.[9] All over the world people suffer the consequences of poverty. It is often seen the effects of poverty is not improving and is continually passed on from generation to generation. This vicious cycle results in families concentrating on what is happening in the current moment, not focusing on the future or on how to better their own lives. People around the world that suffer from poverty concentrate on the basic element of survival like the need for food and shelter. Often making future plans to change the cycle of poverty from generation to generation to become unimportant when a family doesn’t have access to food, water or a place to sleep. [10]Democracy starts at home, but the scope, and consequences, of global economic decisions often extend far beyond national borders. The consequences of poverty include lack of opportunities, physical and mental illness, drug abuse and physical abuse, homelessness and illiteracy and lack of educational development, etc. Poverty is the most prevailing problem in the world. In today’s society we see that the richer are becoming richer, while the poor continually suffer  from increasing poverty. The problem not only lies with the people, but also with the government. The government corruption is the leading problem in the most of the countries, where the funds raised for the benefit of the poor are being used in an illegal and often detrimental way. The government must manage the economic system efficiently and use the funds in appropriate way to solve the issue of poverty. Currently as the poverty has become a world problem, the countries should form a union and think for a common solution against this problem. They should take the aid of all the ways to motivate the people to come out of the poverty. The governments can seek help of volunteers to educate and provide the knowledge on health, sanitation and many other factors, where poor families can easily relate to. On a global level, organizations like the United Nations need to put in place mandatory policy regarding solutions to poverty. Some of these recommendations include: create poverty-focused foreign assistance programs that focus of poverty reduction and creating government accountability for poverty. In addition, create policies that focus on reform of trade and agricultural policies to help with sustainable development and protect small farmers and business owners. The United Nations needs to provide political and financial support that fuel peacekeeping missions to reduce violence that impoverishes many nations around the world. Lastly, governments need to promote continual peacekeeping efforts to areas that suffer from continual conflict and poverty to promote sustainable development. [11] One of the main solutions to reduce poverty is education and literacy. As illiteracy and education are highly interrelated, people must choose to overcome the illiteracy in the world. As the knowledge increases, the access to employment also increases and use of technology also makes the people more self-sufficient. [12]Education also enables the poor and disadvantaged in society to escape poverty through their own efforts, that is, to counter irreversibility’s and poverty traps. People who attain a higher level of education are much less likely to take part in the working poor, opposed to those who have a lower level of education. [13]Human development is now part of the equation, meaning that education, health, life expectancy, and other indicators of well-being are given greater attention. Focusing on immediate issues and directly on your own domestic problems will diminish poverty across the world and open up possibilities of planning for the  future. In order for the global society to prosper we need to take notice of ideas like investments in agriculture, healthcare, and education. This idea for global development will create an effective change in the long run.[14] Poverty and population growth are very much interrelated. By reducing these two problems improvements can be made in health and the whole well being of society. A goal of the international community as a whole is to improve general health by ensuring sufficient nutrition. [15] In 2004, President Musharraf of Pakistan said that population growth was the main factor retarding economic growth, poverty alleviation, and action on joblessness.† Since the population growth keeps increasing the demands for natural resources keeps rising beyond the means of supporting the current population. According to the article Critical links: Population, Health, and the Environment, ninety-nine percent of world population growth is occurring in less developed countries. This means we need reduce global population growth by creating laws that focus on social policy that will encourage smaller families for less developed impoverished nations that cannot sustain large population growth. This policy will reduce the fertility rate, and help slow the growth of the global populations. For example according to Lester Brown’s article Can We Build A Sustainable Economy, â€Å"Iran, facing both land, hunger and water scarcity, now limits public subsidies for housing, health care, and insurance to three children per family. In Peru, President Alberto Fujimori, who was elected overwhelmingly to his second five-year term in a predominantly Catholic country, said in his inaugural address in August 1995 that he wanted to provide better access to family-planning services for poor women.â₠¬  Being born into poverty is the worst disadvantage that any human can be at. Combating poverty will take a unified effort on the part of all the worlds nations, especially the ones who are at the helm of international affairs. Organizations like the United Nations will have to be at the forefront and lead the way for the others to emulate. Alongside poverty, well also have to focus on the population growth and pool in efforts to stem it. Although the problem of world poverty is a one of biblical proportions, it is not insurmountable, and it too can be tackled. But it would require perhaps the greatest coordinated effort that mankind has ever witnessed in its history. Such a well organized coordinated effort would not be possible if there is a  lack of consciousness on a global level. But the basic problem with human kind is that, they restrict their concern to themselves only, without caring much for those who are the victim of a poorer luck. Even if we start taking care of poverty, then we only care about our won nations, instead of dealing it on a global level. But all of us should remember that poverty is inhuman and is not constricted to any particular nation. Therefore it would be our duty to stop such inhuman treatment of human race and become less selfish so that we can deal with a serious issue like poverty on a global level. Bibliography Hubbard, Howard J. Fighting Poverty to Build Peace. America. 09 Feb. 2009: 11. eLibrary. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. De Souza, Roger-Mark; Williams, John S; Meyerson, Frederick A B. Critical links: Population, health, and the environment. Population Bulletin. 01 Sep. 2003: 2. eLibrary. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. Kent, Mary M; Haub, Carl. Global Demographic Divide. Population Bulletin. 01 Dec. 2005: 3. eLibrary. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. Lester R. Brown. We Can Build a Sustainable Economy. Futurist 30. (1996) eLibrary. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. Mabogunje, Akin L. Poverty and environmental degradation: Challenges within the global economy. Environment 1(2002):8. eLibrary. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. Saavedra, Jaime; Arias, Omar S. Stuck in a Rut. Finance Development. 01 Dec. 2005: 18. eLibrary. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. Alters, Sandra M. World Poverty. Detroit, MI: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Anderson, Judith. Ending Poverty and Hunger. Mankato, MN: Sea-To-Sea Publications, 2010. Print. Shah, Anup. â€Å"Causes of Poverty.† Global Issues, Updated: 28 Nov. 2010. Accessed: 14 Dec. 2010. 9 Hertel, Shareen. The private side of global governance. Journal of International Affairs. 01 Oct. 2003: 41. eLibrary. Web. 15 Dec. 2010. Shalendra D. Sharma The Promise of Monterrey: Meeting the Millennium Development Goals. World Policy Journal 3(2004):51. eLibrary. Web. 15 Dec. 2010. Lancaster, Carol. The New Face of Development. Current History. 01 Jan. 2008: 36. eLibrary. Web. 15 Dec. 2010.