Bluewater Case Study Essay Example for Free

Bluewater Case Study Essay * Was built on an old quarry – brownfield land. * Employs around 7000 people. * Good disabled access and a range of things to do for all people. * Bluewater makes sure it remains sustainable – it has high operational standards, water usage is measured and controlled, energy is reduced as much as possible, it has a lake and wildlife area to introduce biodiversity, community partnerships, as little chemical use as possible and green transport e.g. buses. * Was built on an old quarry – brownfield land. * Employs around 7000 people. * Good disabled access and a range of things to do for all people. * Bluewater makes sure it remains sustainable – it has high operational standards, water usage is measured and controlled, energy is reduced as much as possible, it has a lake and wildlife area to introduce biodiversity, community partnerships, as little chemical use as possible and green transport e.g. buses. What does Bluewater have to offer? * Over 300 shops, * Over 50 restaurants to eat and drink in, * A cinema, * Boating and cycling facilities, * A mini sports stadium, * Places to cook, read, play on a computer, * Advice centres, * Homework help. What does Bluewater have to offer? * Over 300 shops, * Over 50 restaurants to eat and drink in, * A cinema, * Boating and cycling facilities, * A mini sports stadium, * Places to cook, read, play on a computer, * Advice centres, * Homework help. * Bluewater is an out-of town regional shopping centre – (definition: a shopping centre containing over 50,000 square metres of gross retail area offering a wide range of comparison goods and services) * Bluewater is located in Greenhithe, Kent and is 17.8 miles east south east of London. A fifth of the UKs population are within an hour’s journey of Bluewater. * Bluewater has capacity for 13,000 cars, is close to the M25, has over 60 busloads arrive every hour and has train and coach links making transport links easy. * It is the largest out of town shopping centre in Europe- cost  £350m to build A bit about Bluewater * Bluewater is an out-of town regional shopping centre – (definition: a shopping centre containing over 50,000 square metres of gross retail area offering a wide range of comparison goods and services) * Bluewater is located in Greenhithe, Kent and is 17.8 miles east south east of London. A fifth of the UKs population are within an hour’s journey of Bluewater. * Bluewater has capacity for 13,000 cars, is close to the M25, has over 60 busloads arrive every hour and has train and coach links making transport links easy. * It is the largest out of town shopping centre in Europe- cost  £350m to build Negatives of Bluewater * Because of the amount of people travelling long distances to the site, congestion can be a problem, as well as noise and air pollution. * Although there are many bus links, they are not necessarily all over the country and access may be difficult for those who do not have cars. * Because many people from the area will chose to go to Bluewater rather than local CBDs, these areas begin to lose business and a lot of money. Negatives of Bluewater * Because of the amount of people travelling long distances to the site, congestion can be a problem, as well as noise and air pollution. * Although there are many bus links, they are not necessarily all over the country and access may be difficult for those who do not have cars. * Because many people from the area will chose to go to Bluewater rather than local CBDs, these areas begin to lose business and a lot of money. Bluewater Case Study. (2017, Feb 12).

Empolyee relatons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Empolyee relatons - Essay Example In case of employee participation the level of participation can be classified in two ways, a) high level and b) low level. High level employee participation is observed in case of corporate houses. It has been observed that employees participate in high level decision making process when it comes to solving doubts related to factors, including, 'co-determination', "pension fund trustees,' and employer-wide collective bargaining." (Farnham, 2000, 38) On the other hand the low employee participation occur at departmental and workplace levels or among the workgroups. There are various degrees of management to tolerate "collectivism ranges from willing co-operation at one extreme, to grudging acceptance at the other." (Farnham, 2000, 38) The modern business and its management have sorted out various connections between collectivism and employee relations. In case of US owned companies deal with factors like collectivism and employee relationship from individualist management perspective. On the other hand a common tendency has been observed among UK companies that they deal with the same issues from collectivist approach. Study of business management shows that individualism and collectivism contradict each other. Purcell has observed this incidence in some of the Japanese owned and British companies and in this context he has remarked, "Management styles operate along the tow dimensions and'action in one area, toward individualism, for example, is not necessarily associated with changes in collectivism scale." (Farnham, 2000, 38) The individualist approach of treating the aspects like collectivism and employee relations is characterized with non unionism, which means there must not be any interference of the union into the affairs of the company. On the contrary, companies that follow collectivist approach encourage in the formation of union and they expect that employee unions must come forward to covey desires and expectations of employees in decision making process of the company. Such approach is mostly observed among UK based companies. Hence, it can be said that, "an employer recognizes trade unions for representational, consultative, negotiating or co-determination purposes is an critical and visible expression of management style and its approach to employee relations." (Farnham, 2000, 38) The employee relations also include within its scope various aspects that are exclusively controlled by management of the company, such as, promotion, internal training and employee welfare. But when it is seen that a company is refusing to accept existence of the union it implies that the management is shifting towards individualist style of approach rather than collective one. In proper maintenance of employee relation, management of a company focuses over two critical issues that are also closely interwoven with each other, namely, the degree of discretion and the patterns of relations. The degree of discretion is used by the managers in making choice about aspects related with employee relations. After the managers execute the discretionary degrees, certain patterns emerge and those are considered as patterns of relation. For proper operation of a company there is a constant need of efficient people. It is not always possible for management of a big corporation to find out the right person, who suits for a particular role.

Economic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 5

Economic - Essay Example This has caused increase in demand for Iron-ore to carry out the firms production and produce the resulting output. Price is derived by the crossing of supply and demand. (Figure 3) The resultant market price is dependent upon both of these basic components of a market. A transaction of goods or services will occur when so ever buyers and sellers can agree on a certain price. When a transaction occurs, the agreed upon price is called the "market clearing price† or "equilibrium price". As the population of China has grown, the demand for minerals and metals has risen. This has pushed the price of iron ore (and complementary products) up and also spurred the development of iron, accelerating the quantity of iron supplied as well. We can see the demand increase in Figure 1 below, that represents an increase in the demand of iron-ore. In the figure, supply and demand have been short formed as S and D. Demand begins at D1 and is moves to D2 provided that supply remains the same. We see that the equilibrium price even increases from p1 to p2, and the quantity moves from q1 to q2. The figure clearly shows that increase in demand for iron ore would clearly cause an increase in price. As the quantity of iron ore increases so would the resultant price provided supply remains constant. In order to meet the increasing demand the quantity of iron ore production would even have to be increased. An increase in supply results about from a decrease in the marginal cost as like the marginal cost of production. As a result, an increased in production is represented by a line to the right on the supply and demand graph. The effects of an increase in production are illustrated in Figure 2. The supply line goes from S1 to S2 that represents a lesser marginal cost. Moreover in this case, the quantity also rises from q1 to q2 and price falls from p1to p2. As the demand of

Internet Banking Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Internet Banking - Assignment Example Internet banking is offered today by all leading banks in UK, though the extent of usage and the features offered by the banks vary and is limited. Internet is available at more than 42% of the homes in UK in 2002 (National Statistics, 2002). Internet is now being used by more than 50% of the population in the UK from their home and they are connected reasonably high speeds of connectivity which enables them to make use of any of the currently available service on the net. Internet banking however has not been adopted by about 30% of the customers to a larger extent. While most of the people make use of the internet banking to look up their balances and to see whether the expected credit or debit has taken place. This avoids may be a walk down to the bank or possibly a call to know the status of the account. Most of the banking customers do not use internet banking for money transfers on large scale. Still they believe on old instruments like the cheques or the other standing instruc tions though they are getting implemented using electronic means more and more. It is also true still that most people access internet to access their emails and of course do some shopping. In UK 70% of the people use it for email and for seeking information on products and services; while 60% come in only to do general browsing. The number of people using internet for banking is pretty limited. Paying or purchasing over the internet which would also be using services of the bank is around 38% of the adults. The adult group itself is about 55% of all adults who are in UK who really access the internet. Out of the population this is still a minority since most of the young between 14 and 20 years access the internet much more widely than the rest of the groups. Interactive systems are a fusion of People, Activities, Contexts and Technologies (David Benyon et al, Nov 2004). The usage spread in UK also indicates the design of the internet and the sites thereof, are dependent on the psychology of the human beings using the same. This is naturally, dependent on the age of the user and on the aims of the user. That is why, we find more people using it for emails in the case of adults whereas among the younger lot, we find that the usage is more towards education and other browsing activities. The Interactive systems need to necessarily take care of this variation in interest and should also keep in mind the adult concepts of security which is primary for internet banking exercises. Usage issues in Internet Banking Most of the banking sites are pretty secure at 128 bit encryption. They are also designed in line with the principles of interactive design. Most of the sites do not go beyond the 4 colors doctrine which is recommended for usage in any web site. By using up to a maximum of four colors, the site is easier to read or work on and do not cause any irritation to the user. Internet banking continues to be a query point where people tend to go and check their balances and possible credits or debits only. Transactions are not happening as expected though it is easier to do over the net. Some of the issues that are faced by the customers include: 1. Comfort of use for lay men. Human centered

Law Essays Legal ownership vested in trustees must be balanced by identifiable equitable ownership

Law Essays Legal ownership vested in trustees must be balanced by identifiable equitable ownership Legal ownership vested in trustees must be balanced by identifiable equitable ownership. Critically discuss this statement and the difficulties inherent in it in relation to the interests of beneficiaries under discretionary trusts. What is the practical importance of determining where the beneficial interest lies in discretionary trusts? The trust is a creature of equity. It has been described as â€Å"the paradigm case of equity’s interference with common law rights in pursuit of justice.† The trust imposes obligations on the legal owner of particular property to hold that property for the benefit of others. Thus the opening quotation can be said to identify one of the basic tenets of trust law in England and Wales. The trust has developed over the centuries in England to incorporate various types. One such type is the so-called discretionary trust. However, arguably disparity exists between the need to establish identifiable, beneficial or equitable ownership, and a discretionary trust which, by its nature, evades such identification. A contrast is seen between the discretionary trust and the fixed trust; although both are types of express trust. Under a fixed trust, the beneficial interests are just that: fixed. Thus the share of the trust property to which the beneficiary is to receive is ‘fixed’ into the trust instrument. However with a discretionary trust, the trustee, in whom legal ownership vests, has a dispositive discretion. Thus under a fixed trust, the trustee must dispose of the trust property in accordance with the terms of the trust; whereas under a discretionary trust he may have discretion as to the precise value of the beneficiaries’ entitlement, or even if they are to receive anything at all. An example of such a dispositive discretion is where a trust is established for a group of beneficiaries â€Å"in such portions as the trustee shall in their absolute discretion see fit†. It is a fixed trusts’ rigidity which seemingly underpins the subsequent reasoning behind the discretionary trust. A fixed trust may become outmoded or outdated due to changing circumstances; whereas a trustee under a discretionary trust can respond appropriately to these changing circumstances by applying his discretion accordingly to the situation. A beneficiary may, for example in the light of his allotted share, decide to forego education or employment and live off the trust property; the so-called â€Å"trustafarian†. Under a discretionary trust the trustee would have the power to temporarily sever that beneficiary from the trust property as an incentive to become more self reliant. To take a further example from the common law, the seminal case of McPhail v Doulton (1971) saw Mr Baden establish a trust for the benefit of the staff of his company, their relatives and dependents. He granted â€Å"absolute discretion† to the trustees to distribute the trust fun d as they saw fit. By 1971, the trust fund had increased significantly, as had the size of the class of potential beneficiaries (the employees alone numbered 1300 in 1941). The nature of the trust was flexible enough to allow the trustees to select which members of the intended class should benefit. An interesting aspect of the discretionary trust, and a pertinent one to the opening quotation, is that no individual who is part of the class of possible beneficiaries, has any equitable title to or interest in the trust property until such time as the trustee exercises his discretion in that individual’s favour. It is also important to note that despite the discretion granted to the trustee, this does not equate to him having ‘free rein’ to do whatever he wishes with the trust property.He will still be limited by the terms of the trust, and remains under a fiduciary obligation to carry out these terms. Again, McPhail v Doulton is significant here, as the House of Lords in that case held that the trustees, despite their â€Å"absolute discretion† to select the beneficiaries, were not at liberty to refuse to carry out the trust. However this does not arguably make it any easier to reconcile the discretionary trust with the opening quotation; rather it highl ights the limits of the trustee’s dispositive discretion. To compare the discretionary trust to the fixed trust and the power of appointment is instructive:no proprietary interest in the fund exists with the objects of a power, unless an appointment is made in their favour. Under a fixed trust, the beneficiaries have an identifiable equitable title to the property: the subject of the trust. However with a discretionary trustit has been suggested that beneficiaries have a â€Å"quasi-proprietary† right;that is that the class of beneficiaries as a whole can be seen to have a collective proprietary entitlement to the fund, although individual members of the class cannot claim individual proprietary entitlement. This was highlighted in Gartside v IRC(1968) when Lord Reid stated that â€Å"†¦you cannot tell what any one of the beneficiaries will receive until the trustees have exercised their discretion.† An important principle in trust law generally is that identified in the case of Saunders v Vautier (1841). Briefly, this principle states that a beneficiary who has an absolute interest under a trust, and who is sui juris (that is, of full age and sound mind) is entitled, at any time, to call on the trustee to transfer the legal title to the trust property in which the beneficiary holds that interest to him. The operation of this principle under a fixed trust is quite straightforward, as the beneficiary’s equitable entitlement will be easily ascertainable. How does it apply to discretionary trusts where the interest is not so easily identifiable? This issue was considered by Romer J in the case of Re Smith (1928). With reference to the earlier case of Re Nelson(1918), Romer J stated that under a discretionary trust where there are two ‘objects’ (the term applied to possible beneficiaries under a discretionary trust), â€Å"..You treat all the people put together just as though they formed one person, for whose benefit the trustees were directed to apply the whole fund.† So essentially, Romer J meant thatthe beneficiaries may, acting together as one, require the trustees to transfer the trust property to them as co-owners. However, perhaps the Saunders v Vautier principle is not entirely applicable to discretionary trusts; namely because the beneficiaries are not treated as having a vested interest in the trust property. Only after the beneficiaries, acting as one, have demanded the transfer of the trust property using the Vautier principle, do they acquire their indefeasible interests in the trust property. This was established in Vestey v IRC (No 2) (1979), but had already been considered by Lord Reid in Gartside v IRC (1968). Here Lord Reid stated that the individual interests of the objects of a discretionary trust are actually in competition with each other until such times as the each object has his own individual right to retain whatever income is appointed to him. To return to the rights of objects of discretionary trusts, how can they enforce a possible interest if that interest is not ascertainable because the trustee has not exercised his discretion? It is well established that objects of discretionary trusts have locus standi to sue trustees in order to enforce the trust. It is, however, difficult to control trustees in exercising their discretions. Trustees are under a duty to survey the range of objects, or the members of the class of potential recipients. Lord Wilberforce considered this matter in McPhail v Doulton, stating that â€Å"†¦Any trustee†¦would surely make it his duty to know what is the permissible area of selection and then consider responsibly, in individual cases, whether a contemplated beneficiary was within the power, and whether, in relation to other possible claimants, a particular grant was appropriate†. Thus the rights and interests of objects of a discretionary trust have caused considerable academ ic debate. Commentators such as Harris have suggested that under a discretionary trust, the trustees â€Å"appear† to be the legal owners, subject to the equitable rights of enforcement of the beneficiaries (as the objects will then become). If necessary, the courts will construe the terms of the trust to determine the boundaries of the trustee’s discretion. In Gisborne v Gisborne, the trustee had been granted an â€Å"uncontrollable authority† by the trust instrument. When the beneficiary received less of the trust property than she had hoped for, the court did not intervene because the trustee had acted within his authority as granted by the trust instrument. In addition, the discretion shown by the trustee must be exercised in good faith, and in the best interests of the objects or beneficiaries. Thus while this does not aid in establishing the beneficial interest, it does provide a crucial limit on a trustee’s discretion. An interesting development in recent years in the area of the validity of a trustee’s discretion is the application of the Wednesbury principle, which was established in the case of Associated Provincial Picture House Limited v Wednesbury Corporation (1948). This was applied in Edge v Pensions Ombudsman (1998), in which it was established that a court should not interfere unless the trustee took into account â€Å"improper, irrelevant or irrational considerations†. Again, although this provides a useful limit to the unfettered discretion of a trustee, it does not necessarily assist in identifying the beneficial interest to counterbalance the legal interest vested in the trustee. A discussion of the beneficial interest under a discretionary trust must consider the important distinction between a trust and a power. As Martin simply puts it, â€Å"trusts are imperative; powers are discretionary.† That is to say the trustees are obliged to carry out their duties under the trust, whereas donees under a power may or may not exercise the power as they see fit. This highlights the essential problem with the opening quotation’s applicability to discretionary trusts, even though the beneficiaries as a whole, or as one, own the interest to equitable title in the trust property, and can even compel the trustees to transfer the legal title to them under the principle in Saunders v Vautiers (1841). This approach was subsequently adopted by Romer J in the Court of Appeal in Re Smith (1928), in which he said that the principle should be to â€Å"treat all the people put together just as though they formed one person, for whose benefit the trustees were direct ed to apply the whole of a particular fund.† The beneficiaries cannot demand payment under a discretionary trust as they would be able to under a fixed trust, because there is no identifiable value to which the beneficiary is entitled until the trustee exercises his discretion. The beneficiaries can, however, compel the trustee to consider what he will do, although they cannot compel him to distribute. This was established in McPhail v Doulton, and also demonstrates where the distinction between a discretionary trust and a power exists: under the latter there is no such duty on the donee to make an appointment. McPhail v Doulton was also significant because of Lord Wilberforce’s criticisms of the rule set out in IRC v Broadway Cottages Trust (1955) in relation to the validity of discretionary trusts. That rule, he stated, ought to be discarded, and the new test ought to be â€Å"that the trust is valid if it can be said with certainty that any given individual is or is not a member of the class† (at 456). The test in IRC v Broadway Cottages Trust was known as the â€Å"complete list† test, and suggested that a discretionary trust would fail for lack of certainty of objects if a â€Å"complete list† of the potential beneficiaries could not be drawn up. Lord Wilberforce’s criticisms focused on the fact that this was only really appropriate where the discretionary trust was a â€Å"family-style† trust under which the class of potential beneficiaries was small, and was inappropriate given the changing social functions of the discretionary trust. In McPh ail v Doulton, however, as Lord Wilberforce identified, this test was simply unworkable, since that case would have demanded a complete list be drawn up of all employees, ex-employees, relatives and dependents. This highlights the administrative difficulties of the original test. As amended by Lord Wilberforce, however, the test becomes more manageable. Harris has described McPhail v Doulton as a watershed in the law in this area. This was largely because of its effect on the existing law as set down in IRC v Broadway Cottages Trust, which stated that to be valid, a discretionary trust had to specify an ascertainable class of cestuis que trust. As Harris argues, this was a welcome development as many judgments, applying the previously existing law, had expressed regret as to the position of the law on policy grounds. An example of this is in the Broadway Cottages case itself, in which Jenkins LJ admitted that the rule was contrary to common sense. What other factors contribute to the practical importance of establishing where the beneficial ownership lies in discretionary trusts? Under the complete list test, the beneficial ownership would necessarily be shared equally by the entire class of beneficiaries in the event that the trustee defaulted in his duty. Lord Wilberforce also addressed this issue in McPhail v Doulton. â€Å"Equal division is surely the last thing the settlor ever intended: equal division among all probably would produce a result beneficial to none†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (at 451). As Gardner points out, this recognised the evolution of the social function of the discretionary trust to enable property owners to â€Å"confer benefits on deserving cases amongst large constituencies – in the same sort of way as charitable trusts.† Where the beneficial ownership lies in discretionary trusts is also important in the context of â€Å"administrative unworkability†, another concept to arise out of McPhai l v Doulton. This applies to situations where, again in the words of Lord Wilberforce, â€Å"the meaning of the words used is clear but the definition of the beneficiaries is so wide as to not form â€Å"anything like a class† so that the trust is administratively unworkable†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (at 457). Lord Reid’s comment in Gartside v IRC noted above perhaps gives the best illustration of the position of discretionary beneficiaries in relation to identifiable beneficial interest in the trust property. He stated that â€Å"two or more persons, cannot have a single right unless they hold it jointly or in common. But clearly the objects of a discretionary trust do not have that: they have individual rights, they are in competition with each other and what the trustees give to one is his alone.† The same principle was applied in Re Weir’s Settlement (1969) and Sainsbury v IRC (1970). The difficulties of applying the principle outlined in the opening quotation to discretionary trusts have been considered. Fundamentally it is problematic because the whole purpose of a discretionary trust is to allow the trustee to use his discretion to assign a value of the trust property to a particular beneficiary. Although the class of potential beneficiaries as a whole own the beneficial interest, arguably there is no way of identifying the individual shares until the trustee has exercised his discretion. Even this assertion is contentious, however, as Pettitt, for example, has argued that the beneficial interest under a discretionary trust remains â€Å"in suspense† until the trustees exercise their discretion. The more significant right of the members of the class of beneficiaries is the right to be considered as a potential recipient from the fund by the trustees. This was highlighted by Lord Wilberforce in IRC v Gartside (at 606). Furthermore, the members have the ri ght to have the trustees use their discretion â€Å"bona fides†, â€Å"fairly†, â€Å"reasonably† and â€Å"properly†. This falls some way short of the rights of a beneficiary under a fixed trust, and again, highlights the fundamental problem with the application of the opening statement to the operation of discretionary trusts. BIBLIOGRAPHY Cases Associated Provincial Picture House Limitd v Wednesbury Corporation [1948] 1 KB 223 Burrough v Philcox (1840) 5 My CR 72 Edge v Pensions Ombudsman (1998) Gartside v IRC [1968] AC 553 Gisborne v Gisborne (1877) 2 App Cas 300 IRC v Broadway Cottages Trust [1955] Ch 20 McPhail v Doulton [1971] AC 424 Re Gulbenkian’s Settlement [1970] Ch 408 Re Nelson, ex parter Dare and Dolphin [1918] 1 KB 459 Re Smith, Public Trustee v Aspinall [1928] Ch 915 Re Trafford’s Settlement [1985] Ch 32 Re Weir’s Settlement [1969] 1 Ch 657 Sainsbury v IRC [1970] Ch 712 Saunders v Vautier (1841) 4 Beav 114 Vestey v IRC (No 2) [1979] Ch 198 Secondary sources Gardner, S (2003) An Introduction to the Law of Trusts, 3rd Edition (Oxford: Clarenden) Harris, J. (1971) ‘Trust, Power or Duty’, 87 Law Quarterly Review 31 Harris, J. (1970) ‘Discretionary Trusts, an End and a Beginning’, Modern Law Review, 33, 6 Hudsdon, A. (2007) Equity and Trusts, 5th Edition (London: Routledge) Martin, J.E. (2001) Hanbury and Martin – Modern Equity, 16th Edition (London: Sweet Maxwell) Pearce, R. and Stevens, J. (2006) The Law of Trusts and Equitable Obligations, 4th Edition (Oxford: OUP) Penner, J.E. (2004) The Law of Trusts, 4th Edition (London: LexisNexis) Pettit, P.H. (2001) Equity and the Law of Trusts, 9th Edition (Oxford: OUP) Watt, G. (2007) Todd and Watts Cases and Materials on Equity and Trusts, 6th Edition (Oxford: OUP)

The Peregrine Falcon :: essays research papers

The Peregrine Falcon The peregrine falcon belongs to a group of birds called the Falconiformes. This group includes vultures, kites, hawks, eagles, and falcons. Other than vultures, all of these birds hunt and kill other animals for food. Falconiformes are equipped with hooked beaks and strong talons, making them excellent predators. All Falconiformes are daytime hunters. The peregrine falcon is the best-known of the fifty-eight birds in the falcon family. The word Peregrine comes from a word that means, "one who wanders." This falcon has definitely earned its name. For example, some of Canada's tundra peregrines fly to Brazil each winter. Peregrine falcons are found in every single part of the world except Antarctica. They were once trained by kings to hunt and bring back kills. This sport, called Falconry, is still popular. However, in the 1960s the American falcon came close to extinction. Most of the damage was done by poisons that farmers used to kill insects. The worst poison was DDT. By the time naturalists learned of DDT's effect on wildlife, it was almost too late. The American peregrine's scientific name is Falco peregrinus anatum. At one time, people called this falcon a duck hawk. That was a poor name, since falcons aren't hawks and they rarely kill ducks. The American peregrine was once found all across the eastern United States and southern Canada. In the west, the species was found from Mexico to California. DDT poisoning hit this subspecies the hardest. Even today, naturalists are still working hard to save the American peregrine from extinction. The smaller tundra peregrine (Falco peregrinus tundrius) lives farther north. Tundra peregrines range across the treeless regions of Alaska and Canada. They are also found in Greenland. Peale's peregrine (Falco peregrinus pealei) is the third North American subspecies. This western bird ranges from Oregon northward to Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. Peale's peregrine is the largest of the three subspecies. The tundra and Peale's peregrines have escaped the worst effects of DDT poisoning. Most peregrines are slate blue on the back and wings. The top of its head is black. Black feathers around the eyes reduce glare and improve the bird's vision. The white underside of a Peregrine's wings, tail, and chest show more bands of dark feathers. A peregrine falcon is a medium-sized bird about the size of a crow. Female peregrines are larger and heavier than the males. An average female (called a falcon) weighs a little over two pounds. The female is eighteen inches in length from beak to square tail. Her long,

Life is a Gift Essay

Life is a gift. It is an honor; a spark; an excitement. We all have a world of our own. A wise author, Albert Camus, once stated, â€Å"you will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life† (Albert Camus). Life is about living to your fullest abilities; why waste our time looking for the meaning of each breath we take? Each person is a part of life. Each life has a world of its own. I believe that the meaning of life, defined by Victor E. Frankl, is to find meaning in our own life. Each and every person on this planet has a meaning to his own life, and is a unique and independent individual. And so, the question comes along, â€Å"Who am I? † The answer is I. I am who I am, and not one person can ever change that. My life is exceedingly meaningful, and is made up of a series of rituals, experiences, a plentiful amount of mistakes, and many various emotions. According to the article, The Rite of Passage, a ritual â€Å"help[s] us understand the changes in our lives and give meaning to experiences† we undergo. Rituals express who we are today, as well as the sum total of our actions, feelings, and thoughts that makes each person in this world, a single, individual person. An example of a major ritual and life-changing event in the Odyssey is the trial of the bow. During this scene, a disguised Odysseus surpassed a difficult task, as he without effort strung the challenging bow. Odysseus, after laying the arrow on the arch, shot the mighty bow â€Å"with careful aim, not miss[ing] an axe’s ring from first to last† (Homer 2011). This scene makes a change in not only Odysseus’s life, but also his son, Telemachus, and his wife, Penelope. The trial of the bow is an important Rite of Passage, offering significance to each one of their lives. Just like Odysseus, I have progressed through a numerous amount of rituals, along with experiences, mistakes, truths and actions, all leading up to the fourteen year old girl I am today. Although each person has a different opinion on what surrounds us, I believe the nature of the universe is full of the unknown. The world is a scary place to be in, it encloses us in, with nothing but mystery. It is a frightening thing, to move on with your life not knowing what will happen in the next few moments, but that is what life is all about; the unknown. We surround ourselves with questions that can never be answered; yet we need to learn to live life in the present, not thinking about the future with every step we take. No one in this world is fearless, in fact, according to H. L. Mencken, â€Å"The one permanent emotion of the inferior man is fear – fear of the unknown, the complex, the inexplicable. What he wants above everything else is safety† (H. L. Mencken). In agreement to Mencken, nothing in this world is safe; we waste seconds; minutes; hours; even days worrying about our fears. Worrying about our fears of the unknown. I believe we can’t relate to this unknown universe, however, we can live with it. Instead of waking up each day wondering what the unknown is, we need to wake up everyday focusing on what we do know, and interpreting that information into what we understand. In order to find the meaning in our lives, we each need control over our lives. I control my life one hundred percent. I make me own decisions, choose my individual actions, and control my responses. We have complete control over our own lives. However, the one think we do not have control over is other people’s actions and decisions. Although we have the power in our individual lives, others may influence our judgments, choices, and conclusions. All of these factors affect whom we are, along with the fact that we can’t control others reactions, which may cause poor influence on us. For example, in the novel, The Odyssey, Odysseus sails a long journey home, facing many distractions, challenges, and adventures. He encounters many different monsters that stop him in his path, including Cyclops, The Sirens, and Poseidon. Although Odysseus can control his actions, and the way he fights, he has a weakness when it comes to his opponents. Just like Odysseus, we can control our actions and responses, but when it comes to having others involves, we have no control over how they can act and make their choices. Living life freely, with no regrets, and accomplishing all of our goals. That is a satisfying life. Taking risks, without worrying, loving ourselves, being happy with our achievements, and experiencing all different emotions is what life is all about. A variety of different feelings occur throughout our lives; we need happiness, excitement, fears, anger, and even tears to lead a fulfilling life. In the independent reading novel, entitled Speak; Melinda Sordino writes about emotions and feelings, â€Å"When people don’t express themselves, they die one piece at a time† (Anderson 58). Melinda believes the reasons people need to express themselves is because everyone needs to experience all kinds of emotions in order to interact and stay alive. In the Odyssey, Both Odysseus and Telemachus are involved by an overwhelming amount of emotions. Without the emphasis of their feelings without the novel, the story would have much less meaning and would not be as dramatic. Emotions add to our everyday conversations and feelings towards each other. We need them to live a satisfying, enjoyable life. I believe, in order to find the meaning of my life, I need to sit back, relax, and let the question answer itself. In order to survive, and live for as long as possible, I have to enjoy my life in the present. Not be thinking about the future, and where life is going to take me; but live life as it is brought to me, rather then bringing myself to my life. By being patient and letting my life come to me as time goes on, I am sure to survive for a longer, happier, and more exciting period of time. Yet, at the conclusion to each person’s life, the certainty of death must strike. Getting ourselves ready for this unpredictable day is very easy, as long as we’ve accomplished everything that we have set out to achieve, death may appear whenever it feels the need to. It is a misfortunate thing, though, as some deaths develop so quickly and suddenly, we do not have time to say our goodbyes. Nor do the victims have time to achieve their goals, and pass on wishes. An example of a sudden death is in the novel entitles Lost for Words, by Alice Kuipers. In the story, Sophie’s older sister died traumatically in a sudden train bombing. Due to the death, it ripped Sophie’s family apart. They stopped talking to each other, and everything became awkward between her and her mother. Because of the unpredictable death at such a young age, her sister was, sorrowfully, not ready for her time to come. She may have not achieved her goals in life, and got to take as many risks as life leads her too, making it an even bigger tragedy for Sophie and her family. There were a number of dreadful deaths in the Odyssey as well. These included Odysseus’ crew, Odysseus’ mother, and many suitors. From reading all of these disastrous scenes and stories about death, I have learned that in order to reconcile myself for the inevitability of death, I need to start living my life with many risks, and no regrets. By living my life without any doubts, and enjoying my life in the present, I can be sure to live a long, satisfying life, ready for the fate of death for whenever it decides to doom on me. I believe the meaning of life, is to find meaning in our own, individual lives. By waiting for life to come to me, and enjoying the present in a way of happiness, enjoyment, and risks, I can be sure to eventually come to a full understanding of why I am here, living today. Each life has a world of its own, and each person his own life. Each person in this world will have a different story to share, and a different meaning and impact on our world today.