Stock Price and Trading Volume Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Stock Price and Trading Volume - Essay Example Wood, McInish, and Ord (71), had found contradicting evidence, in the price-volume relationship. For they established the ratio between the price change and trading volume to be greater for the share prices downticks. Smirlock and Starks (64) had found that the relationship could only be supported during the time intervals when they could distinguish when the new information ex ante had reached the financial market. Due to the lack of the delivery of information to the financial market and the upbeat transaction costs, small amounts of evidence found that the relation had been lower for the up-ticks in the price than for the downticks. Data collected over an hourly basis from an extensive market index by Jain and Joh (38), had discovered the trading volume relates positively to the enormity of the price change. Findings have shown though, that the volume is more sensitive towards the positive price changes in contrast to the negative price changes. Epps, Hanna, Jain, Joh and parts of Smirlock and Starke's findings shown an implication of a positive correlation between the price change and trading volume per se. Ying's items (1) and (2) and a numerous number of researchers had found a similar positive correlation as found above. Rogalski (60) had... tedly found a positive correlation as well as Richardson, Sefcik, Thompson (58), Comiskey, Walkling and Weeks (12) all had found through tests on annual volumes of turnover and the price change to have positive traverse correlations. No such correlation had been found however by James and Edmister (39). So by looking at the empirical evidence summarized in Table 2, the two features discussed are, all the findings are from data collected from stock and bond markets, unlike previously mentioned empirical correlations between the price change and trading volume, and the data collected has not been collected from any futures markets. The statistical results found are weak, certain correlations found by Rogalski were found to be low for example and there were a couple findings that were inconsistent with a positive relationship to be found. Theoretical explanations by several authors of their findings, say the association of volume with the methodical risk through to stock returns, suggested by Morgan (51). A positive correlation between the price change and trading volume had been implied by the 'mixture of distributions hypothesis', only if the conditional indication of the stock price procession is in proportion to the quantity of new information into the market. There is however an unclear sense as to how the above could actually work. For the MDH with indicating minority is inconsistent with the markets equal balance, since it implies that the price change expected is from the arrival of new positive information into the market. Epps (20) found that a positive price change is cause for a larger volume on share transactions than for the negative price changes. His assumption that the 'bull' investors are optimists about their asset value at the close of the

Self evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Self evaluation - Essay Example Basically, the welfare encourages poverty and crime eradication (Shavell, 2009). In addition, it also helps people to realize some basic needs and rights that they would not achieve without the same. Consequently, each world state should adapt welfare programs. 4. What are some of the proofs supporting your position? Have you counted in your survey outcomes? In accordance with my survey, poverty in most states reduces after they uphold welfare programs. Experimental proofs suggest that taxes significantly decrease poverty in most republics whose welfare states generally constitute no less than 25 percent of GDP (Nathan, 2000). Following the introduction of welfare programs, the ultimate poverty level in the Netherlands dropped from 22.1 to 9.3 percent and from 15.2 to 4.3 percent in Germany among other similar situations (Shavell, 2009). Besides, welfare offers a minimum state of wellbeing to citizens through health services, subsidies, housing and monetary payments among others. For instance, The Great Depression presented overwhelming impacts in virtually all countries. Tax revenue, Personal income and prices plunged, whereas international trade dropped by 50%. On the other hand, studies have always revealed that the minor socioeconomic class participates in more felonious activities than the rich. Most criminals are always impoverished characters who live in disordered settlements. In addition, they always lack the social backing as well as economic resources that are definitely available for the well-to-do families in the society. Consequently, since welfare reduces poverty as discussed above, it is also evident that it definitely decreases the level of crime. However, this does not necessarily imply that it totally eradicates criminal activities. 5. Place your stand and proof through the scientific techniques. Are there any phases in which your stand and proof do

Promoting Reading Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Promoting Reading Development - Essay Example The strategy used is highly comprehensive. The other strategy is the use of the use of tests in vocabulary understanding. These tests can be either written or oral (Glasgow and Cheyne, 2010). The written ones can be used to test and improve the ability of the learner to capture English words at a personal level. They also help to improve the spelling ability of the learner. Oral tests can be conducted to help improve the pronunciation of the learner. These oral tests can be carried out in the classroom where each student is given an opportunity to stand in front of the class and spell out English words. For every wrong spelling the learner can be assisted by other learners in the classroom. The other strategy that can be used is the reading out loud of English texts in class. The teacher can come with various English books and distribute them among the students. The books can be of any topic ranging from history to geography and biology. The learners then take turns to read sections of the books out loud in the classroom (Glasgow and Cheyne, 2010). This tests their fluency in reading and helps them in the correct pronunciation of the English words. In addition, the learners also get to improve their vocabulary by learning new words. After the reading out in class, the learners are required to write a report on the book that was read in class (Spiro, 1980). The teacher assesses each report and identifies the level of understanding of each learner. After this, the teacher can then point out each learner’s weakness and give them an assignment of reading a particular book by themselves and submitting another report. The other strategy that can be used is educational video shows in class. These can range from pronunciation shows to just the normal shows. During each show, the learner is required to listen carefully to the conversations. At the end of each show, there can be a set of questions to be answered based

Plate Boundaries and Earthquake Featurs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Plate Boundaries and Earthquake Featurs - Essay Example This analysis seeks to explain and help comprehend diverging zones. A boundary with divergence is a location where plates move apart while occurring above the growing convection currents. These currents rising push upon the base of the lithosphere, forcing it up while flowing beneath it. This tangential surge results in a drag of the plate substance over it, in a similar direction flow. At the apex of fortify, the overlying plate gets elongated thin, and because it cannot hold on anymore, it fractures and tows apart. Divergence occurs when the boundary plates move with different velocities both vertically and horizontally. According to Strickler’s 2nd law of GeoFanstasy, divergence occurs due to a massive stress at a tremendously slow rate on the boundary plates. The up and down movements result in distortion of the earth’s crusts resulting in fractures and joints, breaks and slips and folds. Krafla Volcano; the northern part of Iceland clearly shows the consequences of these plate movements. At the Krafla Volcano region, the current ground fractures continually widens as new ones emerge after a few months. In the period between 1975 and 1984, a number of rifting activities took place close to Krafla fissure region. A few of the rifting incidents were pursued by some significant volcanic activities; the ground gradually rose 1-2 meters prior to unexpected dropping, which signaled a looming eruption. In the era linking 1975 and 1984, the ground rose by a stunning 7 meters due to the plate divergence (Condie, 1997). The movement of the earths’ crust results in different formations. The conditions bringing forth these differences include the Temperature, Type and magnitude of the force and Rock type. Economic resources consist of naturally occurring materials of earth in dire demand for different uses. These economic resources include minerals, rocks and gases. Nature and divisions of these resources relate to geological structure and its hist ory resulting in a wealthy economic resource. Stop 2: Haiti an earthquake feature location Introduction An earthquake feature point is a place where there is a high activity underground resulting to frequent earthquakes and other tremors. Maps of Japan Map of Japan showing the three plates in contact The type of earthquake: Megathrust A Megathrust fault is a boundary connecting a sub-ducting zone and an overriding plate. A Megathrust quake results from an abrupt slip between the two plates down the fault line. It occurs in an area of Megathrust fault. An earthquake results from friction of plates and is increases as it progresses from one layer to another. Grinding of plates against the other is the main cause of earthquakes (Rafferty, 2011). Japan sits at the top of three continental plates rubbing against the other; the Pacific, the Eurasian and the Philippine Sea plates. These three plates continually rub against the other developing a tremendous pressure escaping with a vicious force. According to the Stille (2006), Japan is in a â€Å"ring of fire†, it experiences an earthquake every seven minutes. A seismic network takes down the measurements of the earthquake while a seismograph measures the magnitude or energy released while intensity is the strength the quake shakes things. The quakes produce two waves; P waves, a compressional wave and S or shear wave. The shear wave is slow

Organizational Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 3

Organizational Behavior - Essay Example Thus, some biased individuals cannot perform at the highest level, because of their own prejudices. Actually, biases are too powerful triggers of negative energy and emotions. Moreover, employees can be exposed to biases of the managers and employers. In the result of this type of biased context and relations, qualified people can be excluded from their future successful careers or effective performance at work. There are two main categories of biased people. The first group holds a stronger implicit bias and another group of people are less biased. It is possible to differentiate and claim that there are 2 main types of biases: a counter intentional and unconscious bias. In accordance with this classification, even the person with good intentions, reputation and many other positive traits can let his biased ideas and intentions go. Managers are responsible for prevention of biases. For example, they can motivate an employee's performance, involve a superior character of employee's d evelopments and cooperate with employees effectively at different levels. There is a famous case Thomas v. Kodak where an implicit bias was identified. The court claimed that they identified "subjective evaluations which could easily mask covert or unconscious race discrimination" (Banaji, Bazerman & Chugh, 2003). In this case we can consider a corporate liability and creation of a stable basis for prevention of potential biases in the future. One of possible ways out of dealing with biases is the Implicit Association Test. A person can reveal his hidden biased beliefs if he passes this type of test. For example, he can think about association triggered in his head, when he looks at the words connected with images of different people. Data obtained in the result of tests processed... This paper stresses that cognitive loading implies a large number of ethical issues concerning the use of the faking warning. Whether it is a breach of professional ethics or not is a challenging question. Personal issues should be considered and biases can be revealed in the process of test's application. On the basis of obtained results, it is possible for the managers of the organization to define levels of biases classification. However, it is possible to introduce a certain degree of coaching in the Company and conduct further research on various biases. In other words, even if the cases of biases in the organization are identified, it is possible to develop possible strategies to deal with them. It can be claimed that not always application of Item Response Theory may be helpful in identifying biased persons who provided faked answers. In the majority of cases, IRT is based on a mathematical model and the relationship between test-takers' levels on the personality trait being m easured and their ability to choose different types of response of a certain personality test item. This report makes a conclusion that biased prejudices exist in the modern organizations. The basic sources of prejudices and biases are racism and sexism. A person can be biased either intentionally or not. It is relevant to identify a biased nature of a potential employee to foster the organization's progress. Modern society and media pervert moral judgments of people and there is no one to be blamed for biases, but only people. We have developed the world we live in. We have created conditions for biases development and it is on our behalf to deal with social prejudices biases.

1860 Presidential Election Essay Example for Free

1860 Presidential Election Essay Every four years, each presidential candidate proclaims that the problems facing the nation this year is graver and more important than any other time in American history. The 1860 Presidential election stands alone as the most important presidential election in American history because this actually was the case. There have been other elections that have been important. If Wendell Wilkie had beaten Franklin Roosevelt in the 1940 election or if Al Gore had beaten George W. Bush in the 2000 election, this world may have been very different. But that probability was brought to the light months or years after the election was over. The chief difference with the 1860 election was that the country knew that the nomination of each candidate along with who would be elected would have immediate and then long term results for the country. The 1860 presidential election saw four distinct candidates, all trying for the most important office in the land at our most important time. Abraham Lincoln, a Republican from Illinois, his rival for the 1856 senate race, Stephen A. Douglas representing the Northern Democrats and also from Illinois, John Bell, a Constitutional Unionist and John Breckenridge a Southern Democrat were all in the race. The fact that the Democrats had split over the issue of slavery, forcing members to walk out of two Democrat conventions forced the party to have to send two different candidates and thus, increase the chances that the election would go to Lincoln.   The nomination of Abraham Lincoln for the Republican ticket was unsure from the start and even Lincoln assured himself that he would lose. In the bestselling book Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin details in fascinating fashion, the list of more qualified, more educated and possessing more resources, fought for their nomination for president. But Lincoln was chosen because he was a moderate on the number one issue of the day: slavery.† I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with slavery in the States where it exists, said Lincoln early in the conflict.[1] Seward and Chase, two of the others who brought competition to the field, were seen as either too radical or apathetic towards the issue of slavery and made their displeasure known. While Seward was taking a European tour, Lincoln was meeting and greeting the people. His attendance and speech at New York’s Cooper Union in 1860, solidified him as a man of the people. The Democratic Nomination was complicated as well. The Democratic Party was split over the issue of slavery in the same way the country was. At their convention in April of 1860, fifty Democrats walked out to form their own faction of the party.[2] John Breckenridge was nominated by the Southern Democrats and Stephen A. Douglass was nominated by the Northern Democrats. The Democrats met again on June 18 and this time 100 delegates walked out and would not adopt a resolution supporting slavery in the territories. The Northern Democrats nominated for their candidate Stephen A. Douglass, Senator from Illinois. Douglass had been involved in the famous Lincoln Douglass Debates for the senate. In this senate race, Douglass won but in the process, alienated the South by saying that popular sovereignty could prevent slavery from being enacted in the new territories. The South remembered this and would make sure that his answer would come back to haunt him in the election. This was a chief motivating factor which caused the split within the Democratic Party, thus giving an advantage to the Republican Party which took advantage of such factions. For years, Democrats had united behind the doctrine of popular sovereignty. It was this fact which helped Douglas get elected to the senate in the 1858 debates with Abraham Lincoln. The idea behind this was that slavery within a new territory was up the majority of people within that state. Popular Sovereignty also promised to keep the future of slavery out of the hands of the politicians in Washington as they were distrusted for the most part by the people within the slave states. On the surface, the idea seemed to be a sound and practical compromise to the threat of a civil war. Most Northern Democrats assumed that slavery would not be allowed to spread into the West due to natural impediments. The climate, terrain and the swift movement of Free State settlers into the West would discourage slaveholders from entering the territories. While Southerners demanded that the Democratic Party come out with a platform that defended slavery, Douglas and his supporters could not agree. Despite the fact that the convention went through 54 ballots, Douglas failed to achieve the needed 2/3 vote to receive the nomination of a single Democratic party. However, once the Southern Democrats walked out of the convention, Douglas did receive the needed 2/3 vote from the delegates that were present.[3] Only then was did he receive the nomination of the Northern Democrats. It was a hollow victory. However, his nomination resulted in the splitting of his party and another candidate would only help to confuse the issue as well as spread out the limited number of electoral votes available. The Republicans, after seeing the problems that had been caused within the Democrats, saw this as an opportunity that they could use to their advantage. They were confident, going into their convention in Chicago, that they had a real chance of winning.   The only question was who was going to be nominated. William Seward was considered the front runner.   He was more established, had a classical education, the money and proper connections that prompted the party bosses, at first, to consider him a viable candidate for the nomination. But this all changed at the convention. Alienated factions seemed to arise and served as an unmistakable impediment for Seward and his hopes of becoming the Republican nomination for the 1860 Presidential election: an occurrence which seemed like a foregone conclusion just six months earlier. Delegates were concerned that Seward was too closely identified with the radical wing of the party. Also, Seward, being deeply religious, saw the issue of slavery as an issue that was above that of the Constitution as he called for a higher law to dictate the end of slavery. 19th century America was a deeply religious age but such beliefs seemed to pull him to the right of center in this regard. â€Å"Over the years, his angry phrases calling upon a ‘higher law’ than that of the Constitution that had come from men of freedom†¦ had alarmed Republicans moderates in the West. This only proved that Lincoln was the man to elect.†[4]Compared to Seward, Lincoln had more of a chance to help avoid a civil war as he was seen as more of a moderate within the Republican Party on many issues that were troubling the country and the Southern states at this time. But this did not being much comfort to the Southern States because the main position that the Republican Party he ld on slavery was not in doubt. The key to the success of the Republican Party was its position on slavery as well as the fact that the Democrats were now split. The Republican Party opposed the expansion of slavery and many within the party condemned it as an immoral institution. Republicans thought that by limiting its expansion would put slavery on the road to eventual extinction. Even though this stance was made public, the Republican base rejected a more radical stance that would have Southerners associate them with the abolitionist cause. So in this fact, Republicans upheld slavery within the states where it already existed. Also, there was a faction of the party which included Lincoln, which was willing to support a Constitutional amendment that would guarantee slavery forever in the hope that a civil war would be avoided. In this fact, Lincoln’s announcement in September 1862, that he would be issuing an Emancipation Proclamation, came to the shock of his cabinet because it was contrary to what the platform of the Republican Party during the 1860 election.[5] Republicans would be willing to compromise a great deal with regard to the issue of slavery in order to avoid a civil war and in the process, distance themselves from the abolitionists who were seen as too radical from both the South and even parts of the North. However, as long as the strong Republican base and their beliefs on slavery served as an impediment and a threat to the South and their protection of slavery, either Lincoln or Seward would have garnished a negative response from the Southern States. Since it was essential to carry the West and because Lincoln had a national reputation from his debates and speeches, most notably, the 1858 debates with Stephen A. Douglass, Lincoln won the party’s nomination. This is true also because Lincoln was seen as a moderate on the issue of slavery. It would not be until the Civil War was well under way when Lincoln became more certain that slavery must not continue. But at this time, Lincoln had said that he would leave slavery alone if it meant that the Union would be saved and a civil war would be avoided. The party platform states that slavery would not be allowed to spread any further. This was heavily unpopular in the South but it was in line with what Lincoln believed. The containment of slavery was the best that the moderates within the Republican Party could hope for while at the same time, avoiding a civil war. Doris Kearns Goodwin, in her book Team of Rivals, spoke to the appeal that Lincoln had among the people and the cha racteristics that helped Lincoln, an unlikely candidate in many ways, secure the nomination. â€Å"Lincoln was aware that being a man of the people was an advantage, especially in the raw Western states critical to the election of a Republican candidate Lincoln was astute enough to capitalize upon this invaluable political asset.†[6]   It was also seen that Lincoln was more of a candidate for the people and on the surface, it did not seem that he was as hungry for the office as the others and therefore, would remain true to his own self instead of saying and doing only what was needed in order to get elected. â€Å"Though Lincoln desired success as fiercely as any of his rivals, he did not allow his quest for office to consume the kindness and open heartedness with which he treated supports and rivals alike, nor alter his steady commitment to the antislavery cause.†[7] These are the characteristics that helped endeared Lincoln as a man of the people. The campaign was an interesting one that garnished a great deal of interest among the country. The turnout from the 1860 election would be one of the highest in history as the country knew all too well, that the results may lead to a civil war. Stephen A. Douglas became the first presidential candidate in history to undertake a nationwide speaking tour; something that is now seen as essential in order to win within contemporary candidates. Douglas traveled to the South even though he did not expect to win many votes. He spoke for the maintenance of the Union and would so until the official start of the Civil War. The 1860 Campaign, despite the presence of four separate candidates was more organized than the 1856 campaign. In 1856, John C. Freemont, the first Republican candidate,   crusaded zealously against slavery and these efforts were then countered with the warnings of civil war. As a result, James Buchanan was elected and did absolutely nothing to either speed up or curtail the threats towards a civil war. What also helped the chances of the Republicans was the 1857 Supreme Court Decision regarding the Dred Scott Case. This resulted in a clear advantage in the 1858 general election which gave a commanding lead to the Republicans. By 1860, every observer could see that the Republicans had an almost unbeatable advantage in the Electoral College as well since they dominated every Northern state. This would come to fruition as the number of popular votes that Douglas got in relation to the number of electoral votes he received was far below that of Lincoln’s. The election was held on November 6, 1860. The notable difference was the exaggerated sectionalism of the vote. In nine southern states, Lincoln’s name did not even appear on any of the ballots. Also, the importance of the Electoral College would be as important as any other election history, second only to the 2000 election. Due to the fact that there were four candidates, it would be unlikely that any one candidate would receive the popular majority. While Lincoln only captured 40% of the vote, the division of the Electoral College allowed him to capture 17 states plus four electoral votes from the state of New Jersey to receive a total of 180 electoral votes and the win. Although the three-way split among the non Republicans complicated the issue, Lincoln would have still won the election because he won the majority of the electoral vote. Lincoln also won a popular majority in every state that cast its electoral votes for Lincoln. He finished the campaign with 1,865,908 vot es. Douglas finished second with 1,380,202 votes but because of the split in the electoral votes throughout the country, he only received twelve electoral votes, far short of the 152 needed to win.[8] He received nine electoral votes from Missouri and three of the seven electoral votes from New Jersey. Bell won Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia while Breckenridge won every slave state except for Missouri. The result of the 1860 election was almost an immediate one. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina voted to succeed from the country.   The southern states had been waiting for an excuse to break away from the country and the election of Lincoln fit the bill. Stephen A. Douglas threw his support behind Abraham Lincoln and went on a speaking tour to try to stop a civil war from coming. He died in this process in April of 1861 and neither his efforts, nor the efforts of any single man, could stop what the country knew was about to come. With the succession of South Carolina in December 1860. â€Å"Not surprisingly, South Carolina acted first. There is nothing in all the dark caves of human passion so cruel and deadly as the hatred the   South Carolinians profess for the Yankees,[9] With the following of twelve more states, the Civil War had become a foregone conclusion. With the attack on Fort Sumter in April of 1865, despite the only casualty being a Union horse, the Civil War had started and only after four years and 620,000 casualties, did the war finally come to and end as did the institution of slavery within the country forever. The end of the Civil War also led to the assassination of President Lincoln and his Vice President, Andrew Johnson serving as an impediment to the Reconstruction of the South. The 1860 Presidential Election was one of the most important elections in the country’s history. The main difference with this election over others, was that the entire country knew that the outcome of the election had a direct impact on whether or not there would be a civil war, how the civil war would play out and what would be included in peace. Abraham Lincoln, right before the end of the Civil War, said: ‘With malice towards none and charity for all,†[10] in talking about the need for the North and South to come together as one people again. History knows that the people made the right choice that November day in 1860. And all those that are motivated by his speeches and actions are the benefactors of such wisdom and future generations will continue to do the same. WORKS CITED Burns, Ken. 1989.   The Civil War. Boston: PBS Video. Burns, Ken. 1992. The Civil War Companion Book.   Boston: Alfred Knoff Publishers Goodwin, Doris Kearns. 2006. Team of Rivals. New York: Harper Collins McPherson, James. 1998. Battle Cry of Freedom. London: Oxford University Press. [1] McPherson, James. 1998. Battle Cry of Freedom. London: Oxford University Press. [2] Goodwin, Doris Kearns. 2006. Team of Rivals. New York: Harper Collins p. 142. [3] Goodwin, Doris Kearns. 2006. Team of Rivals. New York: Harper Collins p. 167 [4] Goodwin, Doris Kearns. 2006. Team of Rivals. New York: Harper Collins [5] Burns, Ken. 1989.   The Civil War. Boston: PBS Video. [6] Goodwin, Doris Kearns. 2006. Team of Rivals. New York: Harper Collins [7] Goodwin, Doris Kearns. 2006. Team of Rivals. New York: Harper Collins p. 178. [8] Burns, Ken. 1992. The Civil War Companion Book.   New York: Alfred Knoff Publishers [9] McPherson, James. 1998. Battle Cry of Freedom. London: Oxford University Press. P.641 [10] Burns, Ken. 1992. The Civil War Companion Book.   Boston: Alfred Knoff Publishers p. 321

What Are The Impacts Of Civil Engineering Environmental Sciences Essay

What Are The Impacts Of Civil Engineering Environmental Sciences Essay Discuss the impact of civil engineering on our environment and in particular the extent to which current practice is sustainable into the future. Civil engineering has always had a big impact on our society and environment. Decisions made by the government and private investors are generally money orientated but recently some of the planning and construction of projects has been halted due to the credit crisis. Currently, problems are now being resolved and debts are being paid off. The government and Investors are recently more worried about the environment and how to tackle occurring and future problems. Society is relying on them for plans, improvement and developments to stop civilization from suffering the further effects of global warming. The Earth summit, Kyoto Protocol and Copenhagen conference in 2009 was surrounding the issues on gas emission on global warming and what governments can do together to give society a better chance for the future. With the help of construction projects from eco housing firms, public buildings and private funded structures, this will allow society to be aware of the problems caused by global warming and therefore respond by giving something back to the earth. This report will be based on what the world is doing about global warming, how it is put into action in the United Kingdom and how society can help. World leaders gather for summits and conferences to discuss current issues and affairs that concern the whole nation. Big problems such as fossil fuel crisis, scarcity of water, global warming etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ With these concerns addressed, the government can take action and inform the rest of the nation of the crisis we are facing in the near future. Certain nations or countries would not accept or agree with the issues that are addressed because of their economical and financial status. This causes differences and causes other problems to break out. In 1992, more than 100 representatives from all over the world met in Rio de Janeiro for the first international Earth summit. Ref: http://www.un.org/esa/earthsummit/index.html Where Agenda 21 was first heard, the Rio declaration on Environment and Development, the Statement of Forest Principles, the United Nations Framework convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. The topics that occurred in the summit were, by replacing fossil fuels with alternative energy and concern of the scarcity of water was brought to the world leaders attention. Ref: http://www.un.org/geninfo/bp/enviro.html Agenda 21 is 300 pages, 40 chapters and 4 categories plan to achieving sustainable development for the 21st century. Ref: http://www.bgci.org/resources/article/0011/ The plan consists of social and economics dimensions includes dealing with poverty, promoting heath etc The conference also included a more relevant topic on conservation and management of resour ces for development which would cover how to combat poverty, stopping or minimizing forestation, controlling the level of pollution, protecting the environment and conserving biodiversity. There are 2 other topics which are strengthening the role of major groups that includes the roles of business workers, women and children. The last topic is means of implementation, which consist of education, science and technology. The most discussed topic that is addressed in the Kyoto Protocol from the United Nations framework Convention on climate change is the conservation and management of resources for development as combating global warming due to the current world affairs. The plan of the Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty for controlling the amount of green house gases that goes into the atmosphere to prevent further damage from global warming. Ref: http://unfccc.int/essential_background/kyoto_protocol/items/1678.php Agenda 21: Earths action plan annotated by Nicholas A. Robinson, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural resources Between 7th and 18th December 2009 there was a United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, the topic that started it off was Climate change: Global Risk, Challenges and Decisions where the most important messages was the climatic trends which is proving that the rate of emission had increased, climate changing dramatically and damages done the ocean and ice sheet. Another key message is social disruption where society is also the main suspect for the recent change in the climate. Another key message was long-term strategy which was implying to reduce intensive radioactivity in order to reduce the harm in global warming. Equity dimensions means to take into consideration the affect of the climate change on society. Another point was inaction is inexcusable which mean climate change will affect everything and what benefit they can gain from it such as job growth, restoration of the ecosystem. Finally the last message is meeting the challenge which means with the increase of emissions, can be overcome by the help of the public and private sector. This is done by allowing the society to have better knowledge of the current status. Ref: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-03/uoc-cg031209.php The accord of the conference was to endorse the continuation of the Kyoto Protocol, reducing emission form deforestation and needs to enhance removals of greenhouse gas emission by forest etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ criticism were not good as no decision was taken on whether to agree a legally binding successor to the Kyoto Protocol, only drafted by 5 countries, no real targets to achieve in emissions reductions and no international approach to technology etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Ref: http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2009/cop15/eng/l07.pdfThis shows that the COP15 was not successful enough to make a big change, but the knowledge among the public will allow the government to realize how important they take the climate change in this generation and for the next. Large scale constructions in the United Kingdom are owned by private investors or public. It is important for the planning to go accordingly and not dishearten and upset nearby residents or commuters. Housing estates built in the United Kingdom are mostly from private investors, where they have to go thought a long process with the council to determine whether or not they get a planning permission. Houses are producing approximately 30% of all energy consumed and Co2 emissions therefore companies are staring to develop new eco homes, where houses are designed lower carbon emissions or using renewable resources. Companies that have invested in projects have to seriously consider the problems they are going to face regarding environmental issues. As regular problems such as whether the structure or development will fit into the surrounding environment, what sort of structure is being built and considering the neighborhood. A good example of construction and development problem is Falmer stadium near the University of Brighton. As planning permission was give by Brighton and Hove city council, problem aroused from Lewes council as the stadium was planned for construction on the boundary between Brighton and Lewes. The village of Lewes was not happy due to the problems that will occur in the future such as traffic congestion, road blocks, pollution from vehicles and construction pollution. Problems they will be facing should not be brought to a small village. Ref: http://wapedia.mobi/en/Falmer_Stadium The Falmer for all group held a protest during the Liberal democrat meeting in 17th September 2006, as the FFA said that there was more than 5,000 residents of the Lewes district had signed a petition which opposed their councils court action. And a further hearing is scheduled for the 5th and 6th December. Ref: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/5255088.stm Though further debate and decis ions, the government decided to give the go ahead for the construction of Falmer stadium. Work commenced on the 17th December 2008 but the work on the actual stadium is not ready to start until April 2009. It has been said that the Falmer Stadium was one of the longest struggles for a football club to have their own stadium to be built. Ref: http://wapedia.mobi/en/Falmer_Stadium A good example of an eco friendly building is Jubilee library in Brighton, which was finished in 2004 with the overall cost of  £14,500,000. The library was designed to use the natural energy provided by suns light and wind from the south coast. The suns energy is gathered through the glazed wall in winter. The Solar shading and automatically opening vents will reduce solar glare in the summer. Water use is minimized by the collection and reuse of rainwater for toilet flushing. Heat created by equipment in the building is also reused but energy use has been minimized, as the building has a high thermal mass and a solid, heavy structure called Termodeck. Heat is stored in the floor and walls, being released slowly into surrounding areas as part of a low energy release ventilation and heating system. Instead of air conditioning, natural ventilation from sea breeze is released to cools the building, five meter high wind towers on the roof use the breeze to draw excess heat from the su mmer. By using sunlight, both quality of the environment and of reduction of energy consumption, will sustain a good surrounding environment. Ref: http://www.designinglibraries.org.uk/view/index.php?id=434831a73024a The building itself won several prestigious awards for design and good to the environment. In the recent years, society has been looking for houses which will save them money on utility bills and help save the environment from global warming therefore firms like Baufritz, a design and construction company using eco friendly timber framed. It is calculated that a typical house consumes 250 kWh/m^2 whilst Baufritzs consumes 40 kWh/m^2, a typical house uses 25 liters/m^2 of heating oil whilst Baufritz uses 4 liters/m^2 and brick work wall loses 0.45 W/m^2K though thermal transfer to exterior walls when Baufritiz lose 0.16 on a 400mm thick standard energy wall. The energy wall is constructed from an internal wall finish, plasterboard made from natural gypsum or other requested finish, natural plasterboard with protective shield against external high frequency radiation and low frequency electric fields, building paper to improve air tightness of wall, timber frame with fulfill cavity insulation made from wood shavings, wood fiberboard and external timber cladding with ventilat ed cavity. Ref: http://www.baufritz.co.uk/why_ecology.asp#diagram This concludes that world leaders are doing everything they can to come up with a solution for the concerning problem regarding global warming. Summits and conference are making a difference but not fast enough as Global warming has been an issue for the last 20 years. Although we are making slow and steady progress but if decisions and actions are not made sooner, this generation and the next will suffer. As the Earth summit hardly made an impact, Agenda 21 is still an important topic and plan that nations are still using. This report shows that most decisions made in COP15 are not legally binded therefore not much progress was made. Agenda 21 and Kyoto protocol was brought up in Copenhagen and a continuation of these objectives are in order. The Key messages in the conference were addressed and encouraged nations to do their best in securing a better future. The past conferences had made an impact on the society but not enough to slow down global warming fast enough. As shown on th is report, progress are being made in terms of civil engineering are like companies similar to Baufritz, which is encouraging society to invest in properties that allows them to benefit from the money saved on utilities bill as well as saving the environment. It is important for companies like Baufriz to have a smooth development and construction period unlike Falmer Stadium, which caused a lot of problems due to disruption to the nearby environment therefore putting home buyers off. The government showed a great example with Jubilee library in Brighton where its award winning for its eco friendliness speaks for itself. The library itself is a wonderful structure with the help of advancement on technology that allows it to be very energy efficient. As a whole, civil engineering has made changes in the past, present and will make changes for the future. With the help of governments, civil engineering gives a chance for society to independently help save the planet from global warming for the future generation. Sustainability for the future relies on the government to take further action to allow more eco developments and constructions to take place. With the societys knowledge growing about the rising threat, our chances to save the future is growing.