The Historical, Current and Future Sustainability of Cork in Portugal Essay

The Historical, Current and Future Sustainability of Cork in Portugal - Essay Example It makes great contribution to the economic growth of the country also. Almost 800 companies related to the cork industry. Those companies employ over 20, 0000 workers. About 50% of total cork products are made in Portugal. Portugal is the leading country when it comes to the production of Cork. As on 2012, the average annual output was 157,000 tons. It also holds 60% of the overall worldwide exports. The country has Cork industry produces discs, fishing rods, handles, cigarette tips, discs, different kinds of packing, etc. Cork is also used for mattresses and cushion. Brief Overview of Cork Cork is buoyant, impervious material. It is a subset of the bark tissue yield for commercial use mainly from Quercus suber (the Cork Oak). Cork consists of a hydrophobic material called suberin. Due to the elasticity, buoyancy and impermeability cork is used in variety of products. However, the most common use of cork is for wine stoppers. Cork was first examined by Robert Hooke. This led to its discovery and the naming of the cell (Cork2, 2009, p.1). Uses of Cork The elasticity of cork combined with impermeability makes it a candidate for a material to be used as a bottle stopper; even more especially for wine bottles. As a matter of fact cork stoppers embody 60% of the cork productions. Even in the mid seventeenth century, cork stoppers were not used in the wine bottles. Rather oil soaked rags were staffed into the bottle necks. Things changed once the trading of the cork was initiated. Wine cork stop could be made of a single cork piece or from several composed particles. One prime example of such cork stop is the champagne corks. Natural corks were used for 80% of the 20 billion wine bottles produced round the globe. However, the usage percentage saw a dip due to the increase usage of other cheaper synthetic alternatives. However, still the percentage stand at a healthy 60%. A part from the usage of bottle stoppers, cork is also used in musical instruments to tighten se gments of different instruments. Corks can also be used for outer walls of the houses. Cork is used during the manufacturing of baseball and cricket balls. A part from this corks are used in space craft heat shields, printers and also in construction and automotive industry. Evolution of Usage of Cork in Portugal Cork happens to be one of the premier products of Portugal. It makes great contribution to the economic growth of the country also. About 50% of total cork product is made in Portugal. The Portuguese cork industry is a versatile and developed one. In Portugal, cork is used for various functions like developing buildings, architectures; in automobiles; military and aero-space industry. However it is very much needless to say that the just like any other part of the world corks are mainly used in Portugal as wine stoppers. This makes it evident, how significantly the cork production supplements the wine production in Portugal. Contribution of Cork to Portuguese Economy Portug al is the leading country when it comes to the production of Cork. As on 2012, the average annual output was 157,000 tons. It also holds 60% of the overall worldwide exports. The annual turnover is about â‚ ¬850m. It is quite obvious that the cork stoppers holds biggest share with â‚ ¬590m. This is followed by construction material making a contribution of â‚ ¬

No topics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

No topics - Essay Example Police crackdowns can target specific crimes, individuals, or geographic areas. They can involve an increased police presence, a commitment to more severe punishment, or other forms of legal sanctions. In Boston, Kennedy reported on how the local authorities would reach out to the gangs and communicate their intention to reduce violence by bringing every available legal tool to bear on them. This process of 'pulling levers' would dramatically increase the cost to a gang for committing acts of violence. Instead of just one member being arrested and prosecuted for a murder, the system would up the enforcement level of probation, outstanding warrants, and illegal street activities on all the gang members. Sherman reported that similar results were shown in regard to a variety of other settings and crimes. Sherman noted that increased enforcement and greater sanctions can reduce crime. However, the strategy needs to be flexible, because as the crackdown continues it may loose its effectiveness. It may be more effective to move geographical locations and targets on an ongoing basis. Reducing crime in New York City is a never-ending task, as officers put pressure on the streets and target selected criminals and criminal activities.

Garden City Concept Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Garden City Concept - Essay Example The city would be self sufficient until it reaches full population. When it reaches full population, another garden city will be developed nearby. (Wikipedia, 2009) A garden city is made different from others because the concept is planned for its objectives. It is to find the industrial population work for wages of a higher purchasing power and secure a healthier surroundings and regular employment. It is intended to offer a secure a new and better employment for the enterprising, the manufacturers, the cooperatives, the people engaged in the technical field, and to the many who are in various professions. It is a design for the opening of a new market for the talents and goods that are close to their doors. The objective is to raise the standard of health and comfort of the workers of whatever profession they have to offer. This is one way of achieving the natural and economic combination of a town and country life with its own municipality. An ideal garden city is to be built near the centre of a 6,000 acres land and it will cover about 1,000 acres of it. It may be planned in a circular manner. The radius of which could be a 1,240 yards. There would be 6 beautiful boulevards that is 120 feet wide and will traverse the city from the centre to its circumference dividing the city into 6 equal parts. There will also be 5 circumferential roads. A circular space in the centre is to be about 5.5 acres In this area will lay a beautiful well maintained garden. Around this garden will be the large public buildings such as the town hall, the lecture hall, theater, library, museum and a hospital. The rest of the space will contain the public park, which is an ample recreation ground with a very easy access to everybody. Running around the park is a wide arcade made of glass that will be called the crystal palace. The crystal palace is for the wet weather. This will be one of the favorite place of the people because it is very near the central park. One function of this building is that, manufactured goods are exposed for sale. A wide variety of goods to be sold here are of good quality. Shopping for goods in the crystal palace is indeed a joy of deliverance and selection. The enclosed space of the crystal palace is not only used for the manufactured goods for sale. A part of the crystal palace will be used as a winter garden. It forms as a permanent exhibition of a very attractive character while its circular form brings it near to every one living in town. The route around the crystal palace is the fifth avenue. The road is closely designed in a circular manner that it forms a circumferential road. The road side will be planted with trees that would contribute to the beauty of the place as you go around the crystal palace. A beautifully maintained garden adds to the beauty of the place. Moving away from the fifth avenue, you can take the grand avenue and move around to see the beautiful crystal palace on one side and the houses and gardens on the other side. The houses and gardens are designed such that you will find a ring of houses, very excellently built as each is standing on the ample grounds. There will be varied architecture and design which the houses and the group of houses, some will have common gardens and a cooperative kitchen. A circumferential r

Research paper nuclear testing in North Korea Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nuclear testing in North Korea - Research Paper Example President Obama further went on to denote that the act by North Korea will increase the isolation of North Korea, from the international community. It is important to denote that this nuclear test by North Korea was unexpected, despite the regime issuing a warning on the 24th of January 2013, that it would conduct a nuclear test (Davenport, 11). However, the regime did not identify a specific date that it would undertake the nuclear test. It is important to understand that this announcement was made; just two days after the Security Council of the United Nations passed a decision to strengthen the sanctions that were placed against North Korea (Park, Kyung-Ae, and Mark, 39). These sanctions were in response to the decision by North Korea to launch a satellite on the December 12th 2012. It is important to understand that the security council of the United Nations seeks to prevent Pyongyang from launching satellites, and this is because the technology used in launching a satellite is directly used for purposes of making ballistic missiles (Davenport, 33). North Korea is considered a rogue regime, and on this basis, the United Nations cannot trust the regime with a ballistic or nuclear weapon. It is important to understand that the road for North Korea becoming a nuclear state began on October 2006, when the country conducted its first nuclear. The other nuclear test was conducted by North Korea on May 2009. Prior to conducting a nuclear test in 2006, North Korea announced that it no longer recognized the treaty of nuclear nonproliferation. This was on April 2003. In as much as North Korea withdrew from the treaty, the United Nations, and other countries who signed the treaty have not recognized this withdrawal. On this basis, the Security Council of the United Nations, under resolution 2009, and 2006 makes it mandatory for North Korea to abandon all its nuclear activities, and

Crime and Law enforcement (Do the UK police discriminate against Essay

Crime and Law enforcement (Do the UK police discriminate against ethnic minority groups) - Essay Example belonging in ethnic minority groups would not be regarded as acceptable especially in countries, like the United Kingdom, where the protection of equality among all the people in the country is one of the governmental priorities. In order to understand and evaluate the behaviour of British police towards the ethnic minority groups, it would be necessary to refer primarily to the general context of these groups within the national territory (percentage of population, main activities and involvement in criminal actions and so on). The existing legislation related with these groups should be also mentioned ensuring that the principle of equality is applied on all the aspects of life of people with the particular origin. It should be noticed that a major problem regarding the evaluation of the British police practices towards the people of ethnic minority groups is the fact that no recent data are available in relation with the presence of these people in the British population. Probably because a long process is required for the retrieval of the relevant info, the last available data on the percentages of ethnic minority groups in various aspects of British life refer to 2004. A series of photos people of ethnic/ minority groups in Britain is presented in the Appendix section (Figures 2-4). The presence of ethnic minority groups can be characterized as limited. In fact, in accordance with the most recent evaluation of the origin of people living in UK (in 2001) it was estimated that ‘92.1 per cent of the UK population described themselves as white (though not necessarily British); the remaining 7 per cent  (4.6 million) belonged to non-white ethnic minority groups’ (ESRC, 2007, online report). However, in the years that followed it would be normally expected that this percentage has been differentiated – the percentage of ethnic minority groups in UK is expected to having been increased. In the percentage mentioned above the level of Asian people is rather

Advantages and Disadvantages of Undercover Officers Essay

Advantages and Disadvantages of Undercover Officers - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that the use of undercover as an investigative technique has grown into all areas of criminal investigations in most of the countries. Though an undercover officer’s job is an exciting one, it consists of a lot of challenges and risks. â€Å"It’s perfectly legal for undercover officers and informants to engage in criminal activity to protect their cover. Because of the serious threats to their lives, while facing extreme terrorists and criminals, undercover officers are legally allowed to engage in any sort of activities to protect their lives. They can even kill the suspected people if there is no other option to capture them alive. â€Å"Undercover officers are legally allowed to lie when you inquire whether they’re law enforcement personnel.   It does no good to ask, â€Å"Are you a cop?†Ã‚   Undercover cops can just reply, â€Å"Of course not.† As part of their duty, undercover officers need not tell truths all the times. They can manipulate stories and even they can tell utter lies to execute their mission effectively. The aim or target is most important for the undercover officers rather than the method used to reach the target. â€Å"To those engaged in police investigations, undercover operations offer the opportunity for increased efficiency. They allow you to penetrate criminal organizations not susceptible to other investigative techniques.† (Burton) Criminals have well-defined methods to tackle any kind of operations from the police because they are able to watch and act based on the police activities because of their known identity. On the other hand, because of the unknown identity of the undercover officers, criminals may not get enough information about the actions and procedures of these officers and also most of the undercover operations occur unexpectedly. The criminals may not get enough time for preparation or resistance in most of the undercover operati ons.

Cross-cultural interaction Essay Example for Free

Cross-cultural interaction Essay Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The peripatetic traveler is the quintessential image of a globalised man. Today’s traveler is driven by the commercial forces of globalization and improved communications in the World which has seen travel and tourism grow as an industry. In the ancient and medieval ages however, when traveling was not that simple and safe, a few adventurists quite literally walked across the globe or what ever was known of it then. These were men as Benjamin of Tudela, Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta, who covered vast spaces compared to capacity of transportation in the era in which they lived and have left rich sources of history documented in their travels. There is much debate over the relevance of the jottings made by these travelers to modern day history. Sceptics tend to question the authenticity and objectiveness as well as ability to portray a correct picture of a cross cultural interaction which these travelers tend to pursue from their own perspective. Travel literature has substantial relevance in providing authentic information of cross cultural interaction, the cross cultural trends, a perception of cross cultural association between people and is proving to be a good source of authentic and endearing history today as it provides a perspective in today’s world through an understanding of medieval religion and cultures. Information of cross-cultural interaction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The ancient and medieval times were denoted by lack of developed communications and modes of interaction for travel. There were also very limited historical recordings and what ever existed was at the behest of the ruling cliques, thereby making it biased. The historian today is left with primary records which are substantiated by such travelogues for a dispassionate view of cross cultural interaction. Thus travelogues do serve as important benchmark documents for historical purpose. This would be evident from recounting of travels through the Middle East during the medieval period in the writings of Benjamin of Tuleda, which tends to support the various historical happenings during the period by sources from both sides of the Islam and Christian divide.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Travelers as Benjamin who was a Jew could also benefit from interaction with those of his community who were spread across the region. Since the Jews were relatively unbiased during the period of the Crusades, their observations supplanted the travelers own perception providing further substance to the history of the region. While some may consider it as not the purest form of notation, in denoting cross cultural trends it could be considered more than appropriate and accurate. The excessive focus on the state of the Jews in Benjamin’s writing however to some extent indicates that the view of culture is primarily from an overly Semitic perspective of a Rabbi and authenticity is probably sacrificed but then a deeper reading would overcome this perception. Battuta’s writings span a much large cross cultural area extending from Jerusalem, Damascus, Syria, and East Africa while Marco Polo’s travelogues are also very genuine impressions of cross cultural trends. Each of the chapters he writes covers the various aspects of a particularly community that he has observed be it the cropping pattern, food habits and the monarchical way of governance. Marco very assiduously provides an overview of each facet in great detail. Perceptive Observers Providing Authenticity   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The intention of the travelers in their journey was multi focal. Thus some such as Benjamin did it for the purpose of seeking opportunities of trade or to find out about the state of personnel of his own community residing in various parts of the Middle East after being persecuted in their native lands. The meticulous recording of ethnographic details in his writing provides very insightful observations on cross cultural trends which highlights the capacity of its originator. Thus we find in Benjamin’s writings the details of how and when the Egyptian monarch travels, what are the proclivities of the people during various periods and the rivalries that existed even in those time between Cairo and Baghdad. It is also relevant to see that a person traveling beyond his immediate geographical and cultural setting would also be keen to obtain fresh insights into the lives of other communities. Thus observations of Marco Polo need to be taken note off with greater acceptance of the fidelity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The meticulous logging of the timings in terms of a virtual daily log provides an excellent record of the period, the state of development, the manner in which communities lived and the state of their culture in vivid details. Ibn Battuta who was overwhelmed by the need to travel and thus sets out from his native place at the tender age of 22 years, is also a very keen observer and thus his recordings attain a high quality of relevance particularly in the cross cultural context. His descriptive writings on Cairo or Alexandria are very perceptive providing an innate understanding of the era. The description of events, the handling of camels, the holding of ceremonies all are very effectively portrayed by the traveler, giving a good understanding of the period. The meticulous recording of customs such as movement of women naked in some societies as in Mali and cannibalism are stark etchings on the history of a cross cultural trend.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marco Polo again has provided   a wealth of material on cross cultural trends which denotes an excellent eye for detail and power of observation across a large expanse of area from Europe to China, Tibet to India and other areas. The burning of, â€Å"black stones†, is perhaps a recorded intervention by Marco, which indicates the level and depth of his observations. Marco’s observation are supplemented by a comparison between various cultures be it Chinese, Middle Eastern or Central Asian traditions of Bokhara. This provides a deep insight into cultural happenings of the era. Perspective of Modern Day Understanding   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Today Islam and the West appear to be undergoing a serious crisis, some view it as a clash of civilization matching. There is very limited understanding of each others religions, traditions, culture and ideological basis. This is truly surprising given the proliferation of modern knowledge.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is the writings of travelers as Benjamin of Tudela who traversed the Middle East in the 12th Century which provides us a deeper understanding of the roots of this civilizational divide thereby enhancing our understanding of happenings in today’s World. Being a Rabbi from Spain, Benjamin was relatively detached to enable a more objective assessment of the conflict which was occurring between Islam and Christianity in the medieval ages. His tour of the principal areas of the Middle East as well as Europe and Asia provided a fresh insight not just into the period but also the cross cultural linkages between these areas over the ages. The peace and prosperity in Egypt described so authentically by Benjamin provide an excellent insight in the functioning of well governed medieval states. The clash between Saladin and the Christians and the moves and counter moves of the period have been very vividly portrayed by Benjamin denoting how Islam was revived between the period of the Second and the Third Crusades.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Today when we see a similar up rise in Islam which is spearheaded not by the likes of Saladin, but terrorist leaders as Osama Bin Laden, Benjamin’s travels can provide a better counter cultural perspective. A similar understanding of the culture of the Middle East is provided in the writings of Ibn Battuta which can provide us a perspective from an Islamic traveler’s point of view in a different age over three centuries apart and covering some of the same areas. In each of the places that he visits Battuta makes mention of specifics which indicate a keen eye for detail. It is natural that a person with a good view of the details will remain also particular of the accuracy of his writings. Thus enhancing their historical value. The writings provide a cross cultural dimension of the transformation that has take place in these areas over these years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marco’s writings on Tibet are another issue which enables us to correlate between the state and relations of Tibet between the modern and the medieval periods. The fascination which the Chinese felt for Tibet even then is evident as Marco observes their repeated forays to gain hold of territory which they see as a great expanse with its many provinces, the customs of the people, their mastiffs and bamboo cropping are thus set to be matching. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thus it would be seen that the travelogues of Marco Polo, Ibn Batttuta and Benjamin of Tudela are important documents as they provide authentic information of cross cultural interaction, denote cross cultural trends, enhance the perception of cross cultural association between people and prove good sources of authentic and endearing history, thereby providing better modern day understanding and background of medieval religion and cultures as in the Middle East.       References Marco Polo and Rustichello of Pisa. 2004. The Travels of Marco Polo, Volume 1 and 2. E-text prepared by Charles Franks, Robert Connal, John Williams, and Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10636/10636-8.txt (VOLUME I). http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12410/12410-8.txt (VOLUME II). (20 November 2006) Ibn Battuta: Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354. Nd. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1354-ibnbattuta.html (20 November 2006) The itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela. 1907. Philipp Feldheim, inc The house of the Jewish book. New York. gutenberg.org/files/14981/14981-h/14981-h.htm. (20 November 2006).