The British involvement Essay Example for Free

The British involvement Essay During the early stages of the airlift, the British committed around 150 C-47 Dakotas and 40 Avro Yorks to the cause of the airlift. The Dakotas and the Yorks were reinforced by 10 Short Sunderland and Short Hythe flying boats in July. By July 18, the Royal Air Force planes were already airlifting more than 5,000 tons of assorted supplies of goods every day. The flying boats were specifically used in transporting bulk salt because salt would have proven too corrosive when loaded in the other types of planes being used in the airlift. They were flying to the Havel river from their starting point at the Elbe near Hamburg. Sometime in November 1948, the British airlift fleet was further reinforced by several Handley Page Hastings aircraft. The Royal Air Force was able to land 100,000 tons of assorted supplies in Berlin by mid-December (Berlin Blockade). The Negotiations During the early days of the airlift, the allied forces were worried that it might eventually fail. So as an alternative, ambassadors from the Allied countries decided to negotiate with Stalin. During the negotiations, Stalin demanded that the Allies withdraw their Deutschmark and replaced by the eastern zone’s Ostmark. In addition, Stalin demanded that the future of Germany should again be taken up. However, the emissaries from the Allied camp told him that although they were open to negotiation as far as the issue of the currency was concerned, the future of Germany or specifically the creation of a West German state was non-negotiable. However, Stalin did not give in to the Allied demands because he sincerely believed that the Berlin Blockade would succeed and force the allies to negotiate. Even the United Nations attempted to mediate between the two camps to no avail (Wilde). However, although the airlift continued to be a success, Clay still saw a potential danger. He expressed his desire for a continued thrust towards achieving a diplomatic solution to the Berlin problem. According to him, the airlift would only â€Å"add to the prestige of the Western Powers as long as diplomatic avenues to gain a settlement continued. † His view was shared by Dean Acheson of the State Department. In fact, the State Department was already exercising an initiative of its own without informing even Clay in Germany about it for security reasons. The State Department initiative was anchored on Stalin’s remark which he made to Kingsbury Smith concerning the possibility of lifting the blockade. Based on said remark, a State Department initiative was started through private channels without the knowledge of the American officials in Berlin. It was also hidden from the French and British. Only President Truman, Dean Acheson, and selected officials of the Department of State knew of the initiative (Giangreco and Griffin [a]). Acheson chose Philip Jessup, then deputy chief of the United States Mission to the United Nations in New York to serve as his private channel. Jessup was given the instruction of discreetly contacting Jacob Malik, the United Nations representative of the USSR, and ask him whether â€Å"Stalin’s omission of the Berlin currency problem in his answer to Smith was significant. † The first contact between the two men took place on February 15, 1949, and after only a month, Malik informed Jessup that the omission was â€Å"not accidental. † Based on this response, discreet inquiries followed between the two men. They discussed the possible conditions that would influence Stalin to lift the blockade. According to Malik, a possible condition would be if a meeting of a Council of Foreign Ministers could be definitely scheduled for the purpose of discussing the German question in its entirety (Giangreco and Griffin [a]). Aside from the Jessup-Malik negotiation, several negotiations of critical importance were also going on during the early part of 1949. One of these concerned the pact creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). When the NATO pact was ready for signature, the foreign ministers of Great Britain and France went to Washington sometime during the first week of April, 1949 for the signing ceremony. It was only then and there that they were informed of the discussion which was taking place between Jessup and Malik. The two foreign ministers then gave their authority to Jessup to speak for their behalf. On April 5, Jessup advised Malik that the governments of the United States, Great Britain, and France were aware that their secret discussions only concerned two points. The first is the â€Å"simultaneous lifting of the blockade and counterblockade† imposed by the western powers. The other is the fixing of the Council of Foreign Ministers’ meeting aimed at discussing the German problem. However, Jessup also informed Malik that the preparations being made by the three countries for the creation of a West German state would not be postponed or suspended before the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers could be held (Giangreco and Griffin [a]). On April 8, the Western Powers issued a communique concerning their agreement with regards the creation of West German state. Two days after this, Jessup was informed by Malik that it was the understanding of the USSR that the West German state would not be created â€Å"before or during the scheduled Council of Foreign Ministers meeting. † However, Jessup was instructed to reject as diplomatically as possible the interpretation of the USSR. However, part of his instruction was to inform Malik that if the USSR acted quickly, the provisional West German state could not yet be established before the meeting of the council, explaining that several steps would have to be taken before such a state could be established (Giangreco and Griffin [a]). The negotiation between Jessup and Malik continued throughout the last week of April. However, flare-ups occurred which threatened the diplomatic settlement to lift the blockade. For instance, the British wanted â€Å"specificity regarding the restrictions to be lifted and written agreement on Western Power access to Berlin. † The United States, on the other hand, with the support of the French, wanted the issuance of a â€Å"broad statement on lifting restrictions and silence on access. † The Americans did not want to be specific because of the experience of the Military Governor whose negotiation with the Russians during the early part of September of 1948 bogged down because of his insistence of specifics. After being made to understand of this risk, the British finally agreed to do away with the specifics (Giangreco and Griffin [a]).

Human Resources at John Lewis use labour market information to help :: Human Resources Essays

Human Resources at John Lewis use labour market information to help them with there HR planning Task 3 Human Resources at John Lewis use labour market information to help them with there HR planning. The information allows us to look at local employment trends so they can indicate the availability of labour in certain areas, so they can see whether it is in fact easy or difficult to hire .It also can be used to see whether a large company has made employees redundant which means there will be more workers available with the skills that could be transferable to the job. Local skills shortages is another piece of valid information that Hr department find valuable as they can expand their own training schemes for employees to build up their skills. Hr feel that coming together with fellow companies and employers in the area in which is in a similar industry, can support local schools and colleges so that people can develop their skills early on. Competition for employees is important for Hr to be aware of, as they will want know whether fellow competitors are enlarging the company and will in turn have a larger demand for labour. Human resources use this information inparticualr to overview the level of unemployment within certain regions and areas. Through this there will be a higher availability of labour, and so more people can commute easily the work place. This also depends on the regions statistics, age distribution, attitudes to women working and to the extent to which young people stay at school, college or go to higher education. John Lewis’s Hr department also look at internal labour market statistics to help them develop the business. It is important to overview labour turnover as it allows them to forecast for the future, for if staff turnover is high they must recognise why this is so and then make changes to keep staff. However in some ways companies can take advantage of staff turnover as they can see it as an opening for promotions and fresh ideas from new staff. Yet at the same time losing staff is cost effective to the company as they will lose the skills and retrain new employees. Human resources feel that it is important to keep a record of the companies sickness and accident rates. This means holding records of the companies notified absences, absences due to sickness and unauthorised absences. Through this they can take a statistical analysis and use the information to identify any particular problems with a specific or group of employees. However HR then look at whether absences are due to sickness or are unauthorised.

A Study on Comparison Between Chinese Values and American Values

On the culture shock in the film of Gua Sha Culture shock was introduced to descried the anxiety produced when a person moves to a completely new environment, especially when a person arrives in a new country where he is confronted with a new cultural environment. In our modern society, more and more people get this sick. You step into a new culture world. Everything around you is new. You begin to adapt. One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign environment.Culture shock can be described as consisting of at least one of five distinct phases: Honeymoon, Negotiation, Adjustment, Mastery and Independence, are the most common attributes that pertain to existing problems, further hindrances include: information overload, language barrier, generation gap, technology gap, skill interdependence, formulation dependency, homesickness, infinite regress, boredom, response ability. There is no true way to entirely prevent culture shock, as individuals in an y society are personally affected by cultural contrasts differently.But, this process takes time. Generally speaking, culture shock is precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse. Culture shock involved two aspects: physical symptoms of culture shock and psychological symptoms of culture shock. And, how can we cure culture shock? The first coping mechanism is called â€Å"repression. † This happens when we pretend that everything is acceptable and that nothing bothers us. The second one is called â€Å"regression. † We forget everything, and something we become careless and irresponsible.The third kind of defense mechanism is called â€Å"isolation. † It is one of the worst coping mechanisms we can use because it separates us from those things that could really help us. Grandfather Xu comes from China to visit the family of his son, Datong Xu, in St. Louis. While there, he gives his grandson, Dennis X u , a treatment of Gua Sha to treat a slight fever. The authorities, however, mistake the harmless traditional Chinese medical treatment for child abuse due to the obvious marks left on Dennis' back. The family goes through hell when the child is taken away by the child protection agency.Meanwhile, Grandfather Xu leaves America because he finds that the living environment is really not suitable for him, as he feels that a simple, harmless treatment like Gua Sha, which is so common in China, is treated as child abuse in America. Furthermore, he cannot converse in English. An American friend of the father, Benton Davi), tries gua sha and proves that the treatment leaves painful-looking marks that are not actually painful or harmful at all. Finally, the father is able to return home and the family is reunited.Returning to one's home culture after growing accustomed to a new one can produce the same effects as described above. This results from the psychosomatic and psychological conseq uences of the readjustment process to the primary culture. The affected person often finds this more surprising and difficult to deal with than the original culture shock. This phenomenon, the reactions that members of the re-entered culture exhibit toward the re-entrant, and the inevitability of the two are encapsulated in the saying â€Å"you can't go home again,† first coined by Thomas Wolfe in his book of that title.Honeymoon phase During this period, the differences between the old and new culture are seen in a romantic light. For example, in moving to a new country, an individual might love the new food, the pace of life, and the locals' habits. During the first few weeks, most people are fascinated by the new culture. They associate with nationals who speak their language, and who are polite to the foreigners. This period is full of observations and new discoveries.Like most honeymoon periods, this stage after some time, differences between the old and new culture beco me apparent and may create anxiety. Excitement may eventually give way to unpleasant feelings of frustration and anger as one continues to experience unfavorable events that may be perceived as strange and offensive to one's cultural attitude. Language barriers, stark differences in public hygiene, traffic safety, food accessibility and quality may heighten the sense of disconnection from the surroundings.While being transferred into a different environment puts special pressure on communication skills, there are practical difficulties to overcome, such as circadian rhythm disruption that often leads to insomnia and daylight drowsiness; adaptation of gut flora to different bacteria levels and concentrations in food and water; difficulty in seeking treatment for illness, as medicines may have different names from the native country's and the same active ingredients might be hard to recognize.Still, the most important change in the period is communication: People adjusting to a new cu lture often feel lonely and homesick because they are not yet used to the new environment and meet people with whom they are not familiar every day. The language barrier may become a major obstacle in creating new relationships: special attention must be paid to one's and others' culture-specific body language signs, linguistic faux pas, conversation tone, linguistic nuances and customs, and false fries.In the case of Gua Sha, some develop additional symptoms of loneliness that ultimately affect their lifestyles as a whole. Due to the strain of living in a different country without parental support, international students often feel anxious and feel more pressure while adjusting to new cultures—even more so when the cultural distances are wide, as patterns of logic and speech are different and a special emphasis is put on rhetoric.Again, after some time, one grows accustomed to the new culture and develops routines. One knows what to expect in most situations and the host cou ntry no longer feels all that new. One becomes concerned with basic living again, and things become more â€Å"normal†. One starts to develop problem-solving skills for dealing with the culture and begins to accept the culture's ways with a positive attitude. The culture begins to make sense, and negative reactions and responses to the culture are reduced.In the mastery stage assignees are able to participate fully and comfortably in the host culture. Mastery does not mean total conversion; people often keep many traits from their earlier culture, such as accents and languages. It is often referred to as the biculturalism stage. You step into a new cultural world. Everything around you is new. We should devise defense mechanisms to help us cope with the effects of culture shock.

Water Is An Important Factor That Affects Sorption

Water is an important factor that affects sorption because when there is excess water or when water drains through soil from sources at the surface, adsorbed pesticide molecules can become unattached, or desorbed, and wash away to a new location (Rao, 1999). Just as degradation has a measure in the half-life of a compound, sorption also has a measure in the partition coefficient (Koc), which is a ratio of pesticide concentration in a soil bound state versus dissolved in soil-water (Rao, 1999). In fact, â€Å"the solubility of a pesticide and its sorption on soil are inversely related; [in other words], increased solubility results in less sorption† (Rao, 1999). Both sorption and degradation are effected by soil type and pH, both of which†¦show more content†¦Volatilization is a means of major pesticide loss and its rate of loss can often exceeds that of degradation, runoff, or leaching (van der Werf, 1996). For example, in an Oregon study, soil samples 64km from any a griculture were found to have DDT residues, and in Saskatchewan, Canada, 20% of 2, 4-D iso-octyl ester volatilized in 24 hours (Pimentel, 1995). Once in the atmosphere, pesticide residues can spread anywhere, even Antarctica (Pimentel, 1995). Large amounts of pesticides and organic compounds can be transported around the globe in the atmosphere, for example, â€Å"in the atmosphere of the Netherlands, the amounts of BHC, DDT, and heptachlor were reported to be 4600, 1064, and 190 pg/m 3, respectively† (Pimentel, 1995). Topography and Geology Topography and geology affect pesticide movement in as much as directing or transporting pesticides. Topography is very obvious, for example, if a field is right next to a river, it is much more likely for runoff to get into the river system, or if a field is in a low area not very far above the water table, pesticides are very likely to leach into the groundwater. On the other hand, a field could be high and dry and very far from any river or groundwater, but if it is hilly that can pose its own problems. As T. Y. Tong and Chen point out, surface runoff is an important source of non-point pollution (Tong and Chen, 2002). Though it was pointed out by van der Werf that volatilization is the biggest source of