International Studies Essays World Population

International Studies Essays World Population World Population One of the most influential writers on the topic of balance of population and resources was Thomas Malthus. Malthus believed that throughout history a segment of every human population seemed doomed to poverty. He explains in his An Essay on the Principle of Population, that population growth generally preceded expansion of the populations resources, in particular the primary resource of food because population, if unchecked, increases at a geometric rate (i.e. 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc.), whereas the food-supply grows at an arithmetic rate (i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc.). Fortunately, most of Malthuss predictions have been proven wrong by the worlds ingenuity (Wikipedia, 2008). Historical World Population When viewed against human history, population growth is a fairly recent phenomenon (see Figure 1). Prior to 1 AD, the worlds population growth was very slow with most estimates showing population in 1 AD around 300 million. From 1 AD it took about 1600 years for the worlds population to double to 600 million. By 1750, estimates show the population had grown to about 800 million people. In 1800 the estimated population grew to 1 billion people resulting in a doubling rate of approximately 200 years. Since 1750, the worlds population has grown at an unprecedented rate. In 1900 the worlds population estimate was 1.7 billion people, nearly doubling the population just 100 years earlier (Raleigh, 1999). Prior to 1750 high birth rates were tempered by relatively high death rates with occasional catastrophic death rates from war, famines, and infectious diseases. Infectious diseases such as bubonic plague and tuberculosis took a serious toll on Europes population between the 6th and 14th centuries. When the bubonic plague struck England in 1348, the countries population dropped 20 percent in just three years. During this period Englands life expectancy of over 30 years dropped to just 18 years. Population growth in Europe was also controlled through self imposed social restrictions on procreation as a response to the availability of economic resources (Raleigh, 1999). Europe finally broke the demographic stalemate in the mid 18th century when they ended the near equilibrium birth and death rates. The disappearance of some of the great killer diseases resulted in greater longevity and thus higher populations. Improved health measures, medical advances, improved sanitation, personal hygiene, and living standards throughout the 9th century brought even greater longevity. Improved longevity was countered by a desire for smaller families and the growing use of abortion and contraception (Raleigh, 1999). Although the demographic transition to what is typical in developed countries (long-living family with limited number of children) took nearly two centuries, the transition in developing countries has occurred over just the last 50 years as advanced public health and prevention technologies have been shared world-wide. Although fertility declines have occurred in developing countries they have been slower than the population gains through greater longevity, resulting in tremendous population growth over the past two centuries. By 1900 the worlds population took 65 years to double; by 1930 the doubling rate was 45 years; and by 1960, the doubling rate was 40 years. In the year 2000, there were an estimated 6 billion people on the earth, the last 50 years of which saw more population added to the earth than in the whole known history of the world to that point (Raleigh, 1999). Current World Population According to the United Nations, the worlds population growth peaked in the 1980s with small declines in growth occurring throughout the 1990s. But even with those declines, the world adds approximately 78 million people to the population every year. Until the 1970s the fertility rate was fairly constant at 5 births per woman. The fertility rate has fallen drastically since then with the current fertility rate of approximately 3 births per woman. Although all high fertility countries fertility rates are declining they still vary from 1.2 births per woman in some European countries to over 6 for some African women (United Nations, 2007). Globally, 132 million babies are born each year and 52 million people die, approximately 20 percent of which are ages 5 and younger. According to the World Health Organization, about one-third of deaths are due to infectious and parasitic diseases, one-third are due to circulatory diseases, and 12% are due to cancer (Raleigh, 1999). Projected World Growth Although fertility rates have declined over prior decades, the high fertility rates of the past have resulted in a large population that has entered the reproductive years of their lives. Because of this large population, the number of births world-wide is not expected to decline until approximately 2025 resulting in unavoidable growth throughout the next 50 years. The future fertility rate will then determine the worlds population growth (Raleigh, 1999). There are five main sources of projected world population growth. The United Nations Population Division produces the most widely used compilation of current and past estimates of population size, age structure, and birth and death rates. The United States Census Bureau produces its own baseline data, although its estimates are not completely independent from those of the UN. A third source, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) uses baseline data on population size, total fertility rates, and life expectancies from the Population Reference Bureau. The fourth source, the Population Reference Bureau bases its estimates on the work of the UN, and independent consideration of other sources including official country statistics, the Council of Europe, and the U.S. Census Bureau. The fifth source is the World Bank, whose projections are generally used for planning and managing projects. Even though each of these organizations uses slightly different methodologie s, makes different assumptions about future demographic trends, and begins with slightly different estimates of current population size their population projections fall within a relatively small band for the next 50 years (see Figure  2) (Population Reference Bureau, 2001) Figure 3 shows a summary of global population projections from three of the major sources. The middle or most likely scenarios from the UN, IIASA, and the U.S. Census Bureau are similar that they differ by about 10% in 2050 and 9% in 2100. The UN projects the least amount of growth, reaching approximately 8.9 billion in 2050. IIASA projects the most growth, reaching approximately 9.9 billion in the same year. The USCB projects a population of approximately 9.3 billion in 2050. The 2100 population projections follow a similar pattern with IIASA projecting a global population declining 10.4 billion in 2100 after peaking in 2080. The UN projects a smaller population of approximately 9.5 billion in 2100, but one that is still growing slowly (ONeill, 2001). It is obvious from looking at Figure 3 that each of these organizations uses different assumptions in their scenarios. Primary assumptions that are used in each of these organizations projections include birth rate, death rate, and demographic transition (migration) scenarios. In developing countries, the primary driver of the projections is the fertility or birth rate. Since fertility rates are currently higher in developing countries than they are in developed countries a big decline in fertility rates in developing countries can have a drastic impact on the resulting population estimate. Migration is a primary driver in scenarios with more developed countries since birth and death rates nearly cancel each other out (ONeill, 2001). Projections of global population growth differ less between the different institutions than do projections at the country level. Differences in assumptions and results at the country and region level often cancel each other when aggregated to global levels. In some cases, agreement in projections of population size masks large differences in underlying assumptions with offsetting effects, such as a scenario in a region with high fertility rate and high death rate and a competing scenario with a low fertility rate and a low death rate (ONeill, 2001). One of the major diseases that will likely impact population growth models over the next several decades is HIV/AIDS. Although the disease isnt of the same scale as some of the pre-industrial age diseases, it is having a huge impact on mortality in some regions of the world. Of the 52 million deaths that occur each year, approximately 2.1 million are from AIDS. USAIDS estimates that 33.2 million people with HIV and 2.5 million new cases every year. Since the disease impacts people in the prime of their reproductive life and has such a large impact in some regions of the world most models attempt to account for this disease (UNAIDS, 2007). Projected Demographics One of the biggest results of the population growth is simply that there will be a larger population that needs a place to live and food to eat. Another result is the continued trend toward increasing urbanization. The UN projects that nearly all of the population growth will occur in urban areas with the number of urban dwellers expecting to pass rural dwellers in 2008. In the next couple of decades the number of rural dwellers is expecting to start declining (United Nations, 2007). There will also be a higher concentration of people in less developed countries. Nearly half of the babies born into the world are born in only six countries India (22%), China (11%), Pakistan (4%), Nigeria (4%), Indonesia (4%) and Bangladesh (3%) (Chamie, 2005). By 2050, the populations of over 50 countries are expected to decline, including some well developed countries. The three largest countries projected to loose people (Russian Federation, Ukraine, and Japan) are expected to decline by a combined 67 million people (Chamie, 2005). It is projected that by 2050, every major region of the world, except Africa, will be at or below replacement fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman. Today, 65 countries, accounting for 43% of world population, have fertility rates at or below the replacement level. As a result, many countries are concerned about population decline and ageing, as well as the social, economic and cultural consequences of very low fertility (Chamie, 2005). With the exception of sub-Saharan Africa mortality rates and longevity are expected to continue to increase with global life expectancy for those born in 2050 to be about 76 years (Chamie, 2005). As people live longer the population will include more people over the age of 65. It is estimated that by 2050 the percentage of the population over will 65 will double from the present 7 percent to about 15 percent. Population ageing raises serious questions about the financial viability of pension and health care systems for the elderly (Chamie, 2005). The more developed countries will continue to be net receivers of international immigrants with an estimated 2 million immigrants per year for the next 50 years. This brain drain of the most educated people in the less developed countries will increase the challenges of developmental efforts in the less developed countries (Chamie, 2005). Conclusion As the changing world population continues to increase so will the demand for food. As less developed countries become more developed and peoples incomes increase either in their country of birth or the country they have migrated to they will demand more food and more calories forcing our worlds resources to be spread among an additional 2 to 3 billion people. As this occurs, the topic of food security will once again be at the forefront of many conversations. References Chamie, J. 2005. 21st century demographics: highs and lows. The globalist, Jul 14, 2005. [Online]. Available at http://www.theglobalist.com/DBWeb/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=4629 ONeill, B.C, D. Balk, M. Brickman, and M. Ezra. 2001. A guide to global population projections. Demographic research, Vol. 4. Art. 8. [Online]. Available at http://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol4/8/. Population Reference Bureau. 2001. Understanding and using population projections. [Online]. Available at http://www.prb.org/pdf/UnderStndPopProj_Eng.pdf. Raleigh, V.S. 1999. Trends in world population: how will the millennium compare with the past? Human reproduction update 1999, Vol. 5, No.5p. 500-505. [Online]. Available at http://humupd.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/5/5/500.pdf. UNAIDS. 2007. Aids epidemic update: December 2007. New York. [Online]. Available at http://data.unaids.org/pub/EPISlides/2007/2007_epiupdate_en.pdf United Nations. 2007. World population prospects: The 2006 revision. United Nations Secretariat, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, New York. [Online]. Available at http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2006/English.pdf Wikipedia contributors. 2008. Thomas Malthus, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [Online]. Available at http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_Malthusoldid=194307261.

Rfid in Walmart Essay

In June 2003 Wal-Mart first announced its plan to implement RFID technology in its supply chain by January 2005; this caught many of the suppliers unawares. Though the plans envisaged compliance from the top 100 suppliers, around 129 suppliers jumped into the fray, afraid of being left behind in the race. RFID technology was invented in 1969 and patented in 1973; after thirty long years WalMart has demanded its implementation. Expectations are high, unfortunately RFID technology is still in its infant stage. In November 2003, Wal-Mart once again asserted its requirements. The following were explicitly spelt out: 1. What the EPC (Electronic Product Code) would be, 2. What class of chips they would accept, and 3. Which distribution centres would start accepting RFID deliveries. Much has happened since then. To its suppliers, Wal-Mart has spelt the requirement of 96-bit EPC with a Global Trade Identification number, which is an international standard. The tags are expected to operate in UHF spectrum (868 MHz to 956 MHz). The plan is to standardize the Class 1 Version 2 of the EPC specification [RFIDJournal. Com]. The EPC global, a joint venture between Uniform Code Council and EAN (European Article Number) International, is developing this particular standard. This tag will carry the 96-bit serial number and will be field-programmable. This will enable the suppliers to write serial numbers to the tags, when they apply the tags to the products. The EPC-compliant tags in UHF band consists of 1. EPC data format on 2. One of the existing communication protocols, Class1 or Class0 two main the parts: chip Note: Class0 and Class1 specifications differ. Class0 is a factory programmable tag while Class1 permits the end users to write a serial number on it. They are not interoperable. A multi-protocol reader is required to read both tags. The Class1 Version2 that is being pursued is expected to incorporate both specifications of Class0 and Class1. This Version2 will be a globally accepted protocol. As of now Wal-Mart is already tracking pallets and cases from suppliers coming to one distribution centre. The plan is to expand to other suppliers soon and roll out the technology regionally across the US . By the end of this year, the intention is to track all pallets, and cases of all products from the top 100 US suppliers, and by late 2006, from all US suppliers. Wal-Mart will then begin rolling the technology out internationally. The increased demand has already set Manhattan Associates working on new software that will allow companies to plug RFID technology to warehouse management system, on all platforms. Wal-Mart dreams of achieving a great RFID enabled, fool proof, error free, transparent supply chain. To this end, RFID readers are being installed at distribution centres and stores and buying equipment for printing tags. The expense of investments in new technology every year will be covered in the normal capital budget Why WalMart is adopting RFID? The application of RFID deeper into retail operations than case or pallet-level tracking is not really an Asset Protection driven proposal. The ability to better track SKU level items, smooth out merchandise flow, and prevent out-of-stocks while eliminating non-productive, profit-draining overstock situations is a main tenant of retail. The better Walmart, or anyone can get at doing that, the more control they have in their merchandise investment and the more profit can be squeezed from each dollar invested. With improved profit to investment ratios along with cost-controlling measures such as improved productivity for store level associates, a company can use the gain to pass on in savings to their customers, which is the real secret to success. Asset protection will benefit from the improved operations as well. Shrink is unaccounted for invested dollars. A retailer invests in merchandise to sell and somewhere along the trail from factory to store it is lost, sometimes physically, sometimes in the handling and accounting process. The ability to quickly verify actual quantities of items in a store not only enables the retailer to replenish the stock at the right rate of sale, it also eliminates countless hours of searching for the products in backrooms, overstock boxes, risers and any number of other places merchandise finds to hide in a store. When the count is exact as the product is received, matches the invoice with precision, and is then accurately tracked until it is sold, shrink can theoretically become just a bad memory. There is still theft to consider, however RFID offers some improvements in that respect as well. The key is real-time knowledge of the status of key merchandise. Associates can react to missing one item, instead of hundreds or thousands of dollars worth, before they know there is a problem. Concerns have been expressed over privacy and tags could be used to identify concealed items, but that is not the path to success. If you wait to react to a theft, you still must deal with the situation and there are several pitfalls in apprehending shoplifters and processing internal theft situations. So the bottom line is that it is about immediately identifying loss and taking active measures to prevent further loss. To those expressing concern over the proliferation of technology like RFID in retail, the challenge is to keep the concerns on a productive level. Retailers are not motivated by big brother-like intentions. They are striving to become as efficient as possible in their operation to shave off every non-productive penny invested. It is how they can beat their competition in pricing giving the consumer the benefit of lower prices and the shareholders the benefit of improved profits. There are real concerns relative to unintended consequences of the misuse of technology. Creating a â€Å"personalized customer profile† is a tempting marketing strategy. Imagine knowing exactly what every customer who comes in the doors wants to buy, maybe even before they do. Questions of privacy must be addressed openly and a retailer must make efforts to prevent the misuse of data. This new era is where the professional retail LP leader can make a significant contribution. One day, cash registers may be obsolete. Currency could be exchanged virtually and attached directly to people through some kind of biometric authorization. The role of the LP professional will look much different when that day arrives. Getting from where we are to that point will be an interesting ride. WalMart and RFID: The Test Phase From initial experiences of roll out of EPC in select distribution warehouses and stores, there is confidence that the concept will be a long-term success. Experiments with various tag types and tag placements are underway to see how they impact readability on various products in a non-laboratory environment. Goods shipped to the stores with RFID tags are recorded once at their arrival . By simply waving the scanner at the boxes they are able to know what is inside without having to open anything. Even before the arrival it is possible to know where everything is, which helps to reduce loss during shipment. The tags are read again before they are brought to the sales floor , no reader is installed at the sales point, though. They are read finally at a box crusher after all the items in the case have been put on the store shelves. Their software monitors the different items sold to the customers and the number of cases brought to the sales floor. This generates the information – which items will soon be depleted from the shelves? Automatically, almost instantly, a list is generated of items that need to be picked from the backroom to replenish the store shelves. To reduce the amount of time spent at the backroom Wal-Mart has developed a handheld RFID reader. This acts as a kind of Geiger counter that beeps when a worker gets close to the item he or she needs to pick. It is intended to initially provide this in the original seven stores and then deploy them in rest of the 140 stores in a phased manner during the year. Wal-Mart has also established a retail link extranet with all its suppliers. This enables them to share data from all RFID read points with their suppliers. When a case is brought out to the sales floor, the status reads ~Q being put on the shelves’ , when at the trash compactor the status changes to ~Q on shelf’ . Thus within 30 minutes the suppliers get updated on the movement and location of their goods. Suppliers are also learning how to match tags with products and where to place tags for optimum readability. This initial experience will keep them ahead of their competitors.

Marriage in Other Countries Essay

This paper will be about a traditional dress from my native land and other countries. The traditional dress I will be writing about is called a wedding dress. A wedding dress is used throughout the world in various countries including China, Japan, India, and Vietnam. This paper will also detail different cultures, religions, types and colors of wedding gowns that symbolize the bride or groom wealth, occupation and or belief. In the Americas, weddings performed during and immediately following the middle ages were often more than just a union between two people. They could be a union between two families, two businesses or even two countries. Many weddings were more a matter of business than love, particularly among the wealthy people. Brides were therefore expected to dress in a manner that made their family seem more presentable, for they were not representing only themselves during the ceremony. Brides from wealthy families often wore rich colors and exclusive fabrics. The amount of material a wedding dress contained also was a reflection of the bride’s social standing and indicated the extent of the family’s wealth to wedding guests. In the 1920s, wedding dresses were typically short in the front with a longer train in the back and were worn with cloche-style wedding veils. Today, Americas traditional wedding color is white because of the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Victoria wore a white gown for the event to incorporate some lace she prized. Before then, white was a mourning color, it represented a bride whom had recently lost a loved one. Black was actually a color that was worn by the lower class because it was more favorable and could be worn again on many occasions. In the eastern cultures, the traditional wedding color was red, the color red symbolizes good luck and favorable. In modern Chinese weddings, the bride will opt for Western style dresses and traditional costumes for the official tea ceremony. In India a choice for a bride is a wedding sari, which is a traditional garment for Indian women. Over time color options and wedding fabrics have changed throughout the eastern countries. Fabrics have expanded and today, fabrics like crepe, georgette, tissue, silk, and satin have been used. Colors such as gold, pink, maroon, brown and yellow have also expanded. It seems as if the other countries around the world are starting to adopt the western tradition. At Japanese weddings, brides will often wear three or more dresses throughout the ceremony and subsequent celebrations with a traditional kimono, white and color dress combination being popular. The Javanese people of Indonesia wear a kebaya, a traditional kind of blouse, along with batik. The Native Americans have traditions different from most other countries. A Hopi (A Native American tribe) bride traditionally would have her garments woven by the groom and any men in the village who wished to participate. The garments consisted of a large belt, two all-white wedding robes, a white wedding robe with red stripes at top and bottom, white buckskin leggings and moccasins, a string for tying the hair, and a reed mat in which to wrap the outfit. A Pueblo bride wore a cotton garment tied above the right shoulder, secured with a belt around the waist. In the traditions of the Delaware, a bride would wear a knee-length skirt of deerskin and a band of wampum beads around her forehead. Wedding dresses are very diverse and unique. There are a few things that all weddings dresses have in common among all cultures. The most important thing is that bride’s want to look and feel beautiful. The wedding dress is plays a significant part in the wedding ceremony. The wedding dress gives the bride the opportunity to stand out. A wedding dress represents one of the most precious garments that a woman will wear in her lifetime. It represents religions, cultures and family traditions. Although it’s just material, the wedding dress is very important because it symbolize marriage, the union of two people who love each other.

A Dream about the Return of the Narrator to Manderley in the Novel Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier Free Essay Example, 2000 words

The first few pages of the novel Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier deal with a dream about the return of the narrator to Manderley where she once lived. In essence, it describes the narrator entering the barred gates and walking down the overgrown drive to the main house. The scene is striking in its visualization because it conjures up before the reader s eyes, an image and presentiment of the evil which was once associated with Manderley. The initial description is especially significant when viewed in the context of the story that follows, where the narrator was subjected to the horrific experience of living in a house which appeared to be haunted by the presence and spirit of a dead woman. There are two specific images that the narrator successfully creates through the description in the first few pages: (a) a sensation as if Manderley is a living being and (b) the association of evil with Manderley and (c) mobility or the passage of time. In effect, the dream sequence is like a bri ef capsule that captures the essence of the storyline that is to follow. Scarry describes vivacity in the direction of reader visualization as the gap between the object that is imagined based upon the description and the perceptual object, which is what the author describes as the actual objects the reader is seeing. We will write a custom essay sample on A Dream about the Return of the Narrator to Manderley in the Novel Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page Nature is described as having encroached on the drive with long tenacious fingers , the woods are described as always a menace. ... dark and uncontrolled and the gnarled roots are likened to skeleton claws and the ivy is described as malevolent (Du Maurier 1,2,3). The text also creates solidity through the use of material antecedents; for example the description of the uninhabited lodge with no smoke from the chimney and the little lattice windows gaping forlorn, which provide an indication that Manderley has been left as an empty shell.