Water Management in Jordan Essay -- Environmental Management Science

Water shortage is a global problem and the consequences of water deficit can be a future crisis. According to Hasan Ali (2002, 1-3) the world large water deficient region is the Middle East. Jordan is one of the water-scarce countries in this area, Jordan is similarly in the top of ten water-deficient countries. The reasons of this problem are the features of nature such as semi-arid climate, few water sources and low precipitation. Because of that, the country has the lowest per head basis of water in the world. The other reasons are social effects namely rising population, resulting from a high degree of urbanization, gain of engineering systems and economic development (Akawwic et al. 2009, 197-198). The aim of this essay is to suggest the most effective solutions to avoid the future crisis in Jordan. Four solutions will be analysed in this essay: firstly, adoption of irrigation systems; secondly, water harvesting; thirdly, desalination; fourthly, water management. Initially, the largest customer of water resources is the agriculture sector. It is a really danger for Jordan because the statistics show that water consumption of agriculture is about 80 % of all water. Therefore, firstly, the suitable solution is to reduce water consumption of agriculture (Akawwic et al 2010, 201). It could be realized with using effective irrigation methods such as drip or micro irrigation (ibid.,202). The irrigation methods, in particular, â€Å"furrow and basin irrigation†, which were often used in past, required large quantities of water. Therefore, these approaches were substituted by micro irrigation, in order to economize water resources (Abbasi et al 2010, 337). Generally, micro irrigation is the favourable and effective method, but there is in... ...October 24, 2010 ) Beithou. N. 2006. Proposed water management and control device for water losses problem in Jordan. J.Environ. Eng. Sci. 5:443-446. EBSCOhost http://www.search.ebscohost.com / (accessed November 5, 2010) Hasan Ali, B. 2002. Modern and Traditional Irrigation Technologies in the Eastern Mediterranean: Water-demand management in the Mediterranean. 2nd ed. Ottawa, ON, CAN: IDRC Books. Ebrary http://site.ebrary.com/lib/astana/ (accessed ) Hassan,Y, F. Molle and J-P. Venot. 2008. Irrigation in the Jordan Valley: Are water pricing overly optimistic? Agricultural Water Management. 95:427-438. Science Direct http://www.sciencedirect.com/ (accessed October 24, 2010 ) Mohsen. S. 2007. Water strtegies and potential of desalination in Jordan. Desalination. 203: 27-46. Science Direct http://www.sciencedirect.com/ (accessed November 5, 2010 )

How Macroeconomics affects business Essay

Macroeconomics is a branch of economics that explores trends in the national economy as a whole considering the study of the sum of individual economic factors. Macroeconomics considers the larger picture, and an understanding of how do business operates is crucial to understand macroeconomics. Macroeconomics is intertwined with business because business is affected by the factors that constitute macroeconomics. Circular-flow diagram: a visual model of the economy that shows how dollars flow through markets among households and firms. Using this diagram it can be clearly observed how some factors can influence business operations.. Business is affected by many economic activities. These activities are: Interest rate increase, taxes increase, unemployment rate increase, Inflation. Interest Rate. Interest rate is a rate which is charged or paid for the use of money. Increase of interest rate has a great affect on several consumption opportunities. 1. As it can be observed from the graph, if interest rate increases the consumption expenditures of households will decrease, which means that company’s profit will decrease. In future it will lead to decrease in production output. In order to be competitive companies will need to cut wages or even fire somebody from the personnel, which will again lead to decrease in consumption opportunities. 2. Affect on cost of borrowing. Many companies around the world make their business by loaning money from the bank. If interest rate increases, the interest payments on credit and loans become more expensive. Therefore this discourages companies from borrowing and widening its business. Companies who already have loans will have less disposable income because they spend more on interest payments. 3. Increase in mortgage interest payments. In majority of cases companies borrow mortgages to buy already existed place  for operations or to build a new building. And if the mortgage interest will increase even by very little percent, it will have significant impact on businesses disposable income. That’s why it will be more profitable for them to rent an apartment rather that to buy a new one. 4. Reduced Confidence. Interest rates have an effect on business confidence. A rise in interest rates discourages investment; it makes firms less willing to take out risky investments and purchases Taxes A fee charged by a government on a product, income, or activity. Here are some effects of taxes on business operations. 1. Taxes lower overall gains. There is a statement in accounting which calls income statement. In income statement all revenues and expenses are written. After subtractions of all expenses out of revenues there is a column which name is Earnings before interest and taxes. Results of â€Å"before tax† and â€Å"after tax† business cases can look quite different. Where the business case shows gains or net cash inflows, taxes operate to lower overall gains because operating income and capital gains are normally taxed. 2. Low wages Multiple governments levy so many taxes on businesses that â€Å"taxes† is the highest budget items on the ledger sheets of most businesses. These taxes take away some of the money otherwise used to pay wages. That’s why employers can’t pay good wages. 3. High prices In many countries governments put many taxes on businesses that â€Å"taxes† is the highest budget items on the ledger sheets of most businesses. Businesses have to raise prices to get money to pay these taxes. So product prices go up. This leads to inflation. Unemployment. Unemployment is an economic condition marked by the fact that individuals actively seeking jobs remain unhired. There are several reasons of unemployment in a country. They are: 1. Worldwide financial crisis Companies do not have enough money to hire new staff to the company and to increase their outcome. 2. Population increase When, for example, baby boomers reach the age of 18, they start to search for a job, but the number of work places did not increase. That’s why many of them become unemployed. 3. Low qualification The majority of companies nowadays try to employ more qualified workers, and people that are less qualified fail to find a better job 4. Replacement of workers by technologies In todays world technological progress is very visible. In many factories people force is replaced by machine. And if 10 years ago in order to produce one detail you need 10 people, today you need only one or two persons who will watch after this process of production Unemployment has a direct impact on all business. People buy products and services and if they do not have a job they will buy less products and services. That is why increasing unemployment often results in many businesses reducing inventories because they expect to sell less. Another reason is that many companies in order to develop and reach the new level of production need more qualified personnel. But if there is a shortage of qualified people, company can not develop at all and should whether stay at the same level of find other ways to improve. The third reason is that during the recessions and crisis companies should cut their expenses, that’s why in order to be competitive and do not decrease the level of production they should fire some workers Inflation Inflation is an increase in the price of a basket of goods and services that is representative of the economy as a whole. Effects of inflation on business. 1. People try to get rid of cash before it is devalued, by saving food and  other commodities creating shortages of the saved objects. That’s why in a specific period of time, for example, one week, people will consume a lot of goods, but one week later they will not consume at all. 2. Increased risk – Higher uncertainties. Uncertainties in business always exist, but with inflation risks are very high, because of the instability of prices. 3. Existing credit companies will be hurt, because the value of the money they will receive from their borrowers later will be lower than the money they gave before. 4. Fixed income recipients will be hurt, because while inflation increases, their income doesn’t increase, and therefore their income will have less value over time. 5. Companies will think they were making profits while in reality they’re losing money if they don’t take into consideration the inflation rate when calculating profits. 6. Many companies will have to go out of business because of the losses they incurred from inflation and its effects. 7. Rising prices of imports if the currency is debased, then it’s purchasing power in the international market is lower.For the same amount of money companies will be able to buy less. 8. Competition. If there is a lot of competition in a market, businesses try harder to keep prices low to keep buyers. It means that companies will have less and less profit. Sometimes they will need to cut the wages. But staff do not like when the wages are cut. And if they will not find something else in order to cover their costs, they will soon become a bankrupt. In conclusion it can be said that Macroeconomics has a very big impact on the business operations. Economics intersect with business in almost everything. And whatever changes will occur in economics it will for sure display in business.

Is Schizoaffective Disorder A Mental Illness - 1786 Words

A Schizoaffective disorder is a mental illness. The symptoms of this illness include having strange or unusual thoughts or perceptions, paranoid thoughts and ideas, delusion (i.e. having false, fixed beliefs), hallucination, such as hearing voices, and experience disorganized thinking (i.e. unclear and confused thoughts). They may have manic episodes or a sudden increase in energy and behavioural displays that are out of character. They may become irritable and have poor temper control, and even have thoughts of suicide or homicide. Their speaking style can be erratic, and difficult of others to understand, they may have problems with attention and memory. Their behaviour will be at extreme ends of the normal spectrum (catatonic behaviour)†¦show more content†¦There were many examples of when his behaviour was regarded as socially inappropriate in the way he would express his emotions. Elements of his behaviour included child like behaviours that are not social acceptable of a man his age. His was simple minded and could not see that his behaviour was inappropriate. Examples of this were when he would go swimming naked at the beach, and would often not wear pants out in public. Acts such as this is accepted if you are a young child, but no so for an adult, and goes against social norms. Another example was when he first met Gillian, he grabbed her breast and kissed her, having only just been introduced to her. This act is inappropriate, and can be classed as sexual harassment. It is also unacceptable to treat someone this intimately only just having been introduced. Due to different personalities, people express their emotions in different manners. The ways in which David and his Father displayed the emotion of anger was quite different. David’s father Peter was a meticulous man in his beliefs that he was the head of the household and he was the one to make the decisions on behalf of the Helfgott family. When anyone challenged this he would often lash out in anger ‘disciplining ’ the family member to not go against him. He becomes very violent in beating David after David’s tells him he wants to go to England. Peter’s anger personality reflects through out his role in